Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 13)

(Rebranded Tristan indeed.)

"We won't let anyone take you." Sara pulled her into a hug. "King Harold won't do that--he'll likely extend an invitation to anyone who wants to come seek refuge and information in Rein, but he's not the sort of King to force it. You'll stay here or at Caracal Keep, I promise."

(Nice! I wish you luck… I just got to the hotel from where I’ll be staying for work this week. Maybe actually have some time to get caught up on RP Mo stuff tonight we shall see)

Ky returned the hug tightly, tears dribbling into Sara’s shoulder as she clung to her — relieved to hear that, and yet still driven by the residual terror. “Are you sure?”

(Oo fun! Hotels are great)

"Positive." She tightened the hug. "Absolutely positive. You're safe here and at hime; nobody's going to force you to go to Rein."

(Well… it’s generous to refer to this as a hotel xD but I’m still excited! I’m taking a technical writing class for freeeeee and get paid my regular salary and also provided meals so I’m looking forward to this week haha hopefully it’s good… the syllabus looks 50-50 for ooh that looks like an interesting topic!! And “ughhhhhh” so we shall see how it shakes out lol)

Ky nodded, still clinging to Sara for dear life as she tried to calm herself. How embarrassing. Having a meltdown like this for no reason. “Sorry.”

(Ahhh nice!! Lucky you taking summer classes, I'm so jealous.)

"You don't have to apologize." She rubbed her back. "It's a valid concern."

(^-^ it’s pretty great for sure — I’m at this place that our entire office idolizes apparently the food and the beer and grounds and just literally everything is awesome here and my bosses were like you should def sign up for a summer class but most of the classes offered this year suck. It’s really unfortunate lol I decided a technical writing class would be helpful and signed up for it in hopes that it’ll also be enjoyable lol and all my coworkers are like erghhhh I don’t WANT to take a writing class but I wanna take A class but no. So I’m the only one getting to take a class this summer xD they envy me for that fact, but think I’m crazy for wanting to take a writing class lol)

Ky hiccuped, nodding again as she attempted to take a deep breath, though it was shaky. “I don’t want people to know.”

(What does one do in a technical writing class? Is it like a grammatical thing or..?)

"Okay. We don't have to tell anyone else. I'll talk to Gaius about it and we'll keep it on the down low."

(Yeah it is actually a course through the US Fish and Wildlife Service where I work so it’s all about how to be a good writer as a federal biologist lol how to organize your thoughts and arguments, proper appeals to authority, structuring reports, etc. there is one unit on grammar and another about “legal standards” that sound like the fucking pits lol but overall seems like it’ll be interesting! …hopefully lol they made me submit a writing sample and I get critiqued on it tomorrow which I am a wee bit anxious about but oh well)

“Okay.” Ky nodded, slowly starting to get control of her breathing, but she couldn’t quite seem to find the willpower to pull away. It felt safe in Sara’s arms. She hadn’t felt safe most of the past few days. She sniffled, still holding on to her. “Thank you. Sorry.”

(Ah okay cool! Kinda like comp class then?)

Sara let her keep hanging in, continuing the comforting back rub. "Best tell Tomhas it's a secret too; do you want us to do it?"

(I think so, yeah! Just more focused on application than anal busywork… hopefully. I feel like writing skills are universally helpful tho so I’m excited to see if there are any tricks of the trade so to speak)

Ky sniffled as she took a deep breath, about to answer, but hesitated instead. “…does… he know that you know?”

(I fully agree. Good luck to you and have fun! I beg you'll do great.)

"I talked it over with him yesterday to see how he's doing. I didn't mention Septimus; it didn't seem like be needs that sort of stress."

(Thanks! I’ll let you know how it goes c: )

“Yeah.” Ky nodded in agreement, pulling away. “…what did he say? He didn’t want me to tell…”

"He's upset that Gaius is upset, but he seemed happy to have people to talk to. He doesn't want to worry you too badly but he knows Gaius and I understand his fears. He can vent to us more easily."

Ky nodded. “That makes sense… he could talk to me about it, too… but… yeah. You all do understand better than I would… yet, anyhow… who’s to say what I’m going to learn before this is over.” She shivered.

"Hopefully not much." She frowned, giving her a quick hug again. "That sort of thing isn't for you to bear. It's not for anyone to bear, but unfortunately some of us are stuck."