Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 15)

(Rip the changes that this RP has made xD but I agree. Tadaaki has a whole family now which wasn’t originally canon lol but I enjoy the change. It’s been good exploring strengths and weaknesses)

Jerica walked in, holding the door for the soldier with her heel.

(Yes, this is what rps are for!
Admittedly this has been a very long rp but look how we've grown in just a year or two!)

She stepped in without thanking her.

(Haha true dat! It’s actually been kind of fun skimming through the first thread as I copy it over. The vibes are so different lol)

Jerica grunted again and made a bee-line for her corner.

(I keep thinking about how I did a 180 with Rickard's character especially
Like he's absolutely completely different
Mostly because that was between my massive hiatus
I like this one better; Alexander Siddig's vibes and look suit him better than whatever other character I thought I was writing. It definitely wasn't my Rickard)

(Speaking of which I was wondering if we wanted them to meet up again after a skip or if we want Ky to talk to Gaius and Sara about Tomhas's toy, or if we wanted to do Tasia seeing the heartboxes or something?)

(I love Rickard. He’s a good egg) (I’d also love them to meet up again but Jer is going to obey for once in her life and stay in the barracks so Rickard would have to come seeking her out, which doesn’t seem likely lol tho I would love to see his summation of the situation to Sera or Gaius or something if you’re feeling it ^^ poor guy’s been through a lot)

(Speaking of characters hiding, I would love for a Gaius and/or Sara and Ky scene about the heart box but she’s absolutely not leaving her room unless she gets guilt-tripped out of it lol she wants nothing less than to run into D’Ara or Narfi rn… but also I do want a D’Ara/Ky interaction eventually if you’re feeling it)

(So all that to say is my characters are gonna be difficult rn lol but I’d be down for whatever if one of your guys wants to initiate with one of mine! Maybe one of your guys could come by to check on Ky and guilt her into coming to dinner what with it being the first day of the deal and she gave her word and all?)

(Yeah he isn't going anywhere near the barracks just yet. I can do any of those interactions; want me to have Sara knock for Ky? I can intersperse that with some Sera and Rickard.)

(That sounds perfect!)

(Wunderbar!)

(Also I'm just leaning so hard into feeling orcish right now I'm listening to the LotR soundtrack and vibing and it feels amazing
I really need to read those books again)

A few minutes later, Sara knocked on Ky's door. "Ky? It's me."

~~

"Do you want to talk about it?"
Rickard was lying on one of the infirmary beds in a fetal position, hands clasped around the back of his neck with his fingers massaging the scarred skin every few seconds. Sera sat beside him with his head in her lap, one hand on his head and the other rubbing his back slowly and methodically. His eyes were tightly closed, and his narrow chest had stopped heaving with breaths but he was still trembling. He shook his head at her question, exhaling quietly and clenching his hands on his neck again in a stroking motion, as if to comfort himself.
"Can we try the nods and head shakes instead?" Sera asked patiently. There was a pause, then he nodded.
"Was that one of your old masters?"
A shrug and a hesitant nod.
"Someone your master knew?"
Nod.
"Did he treat you well?"
Nod.
"What about the girl? Was she one of the ones you cared for?"
Nod.
Sera ran her hand through his hair and he sighed softly. She looked down at him, lips tightening. He looked so small, so frail. Like he'd looked when he and Pratik and the others arrived here all those weeks ago. He'd come a long way from there, but he still had so long to go. "The one you told me about? The one who stood up for you?"
He nodded again, and a small sob escaped him. Sera moved her hand from his head to his hand and held onto it, rubbing the knuckle of his index finger gently. "Okay. Were you happy to see her just now?"
No answer. His trembling was lessening, but his hand tightened around hers at that question. Sera waited quietly, keeping the repetitive motions going and feeling his muscles slowly relax beneath her palm.
"She...surprised me," he said at last in a cracked voice. He coughed. "I was--I think I was happy. She was good to me, I only let myself get close to her. She was like a daughter to me." He cringed, and he squeezed her hand again. "I wasn't supposed to get attached, I wasn't. But I did."

(Nice!! Gandalf has taken hold lol)

Ky started, whirling around on the door. She’d been pacing anxiously ever since Narfi left. And now he was back. Oh gods—

She took a shaky breath when she heard Sara’s voice. That should be reassuring. She’d wanted to talk to her, right? And yet she couldn’t help but fear Narfi might be prowling in the hall. Ready to eavesdrop.

And yet her conscience couldn’t quite find it within her to lock Sara out of a room in her own Keep. She sighed heavily and walked to the door, opening it just a crack and peering out past Sara’s shoulder immediately to check.

(Awwwww omg!!! That is so heart breaking and endearing all at once. Look at Jer starting to rack up bonus dads now Lmao)

(He most certainly has)

(Ky and Jer are gonna have so many dads by the end of this)

There was no one there. Sara glanced over her shoulder. "Is it safe?" she asked. "Anyone behind me?"

~~

"It's human to love someone," Sera replied. "I'm sure she loved you as well. She seemed delighted to see you."
He nodded miserably, drawing his knees tighter to his chest. "She shouldn't have been," he mumbled. "I just sat there and watched her fight him. I should have helped."
"They'd have killed you if you'd laid hands on him," Sera reminded him. "Or worse. And then you and I wouldn't have met, right?"
"Mm." He turned his head to look up at her. "Why do you put up with me?"
"You've asked me that before," she said with a small smile, and bent down to kiss his forehead. "You're a good person, Rickard. Too good for this world and the life you've been given. There are so few people like you in the world." Rickard blushed and looked away, cringing again. "I'm serious. A lot of people wouldn't come out of slavery still willing or able to be patient, to love. To mend. But you beat it, Rickard. Look at you."
"I didn't beat it." He stared at their intertwined hands, shuddering.
"You're here, aren't you? You smile, you laugh. You have things you want to do--you're learning to read. That's proof."

(Meanwhile Rana has big time daddy issues and wants 0 lol)

“No.” Ky shook her head, glancing back at Sara. She stepped backward and pulled the door open more. “Come in? Please?”

(If she's in the north she's gonna end up having a dad like it or not
Or a mom)

She stepped inside. "Absolutely. I just figured I'd check in on you; Gaius and I hadn't seen you since you left. Is everything okay?"

(Haha Sara finally gets her hands on a broken little girl who misses her mommy)

Ky glanced past her to be safe and then shut and locked the door. “Yes.” She nodded and forced a smile, but she was oozing anxious energy. “Everything’s… great.”

(Sara and Sera)

"You're sure?" Her brow furrowed.

~~

"I just feel lost," Rickard murmured. "Still. I've never been free before...it's...frightening. To have so many choices. To be in charge of my own routine. To be around people who've been free all their lives. I don't know how to act."
"It will come with time," Sera assured him. "Keep practicing; decide what you want for dinner and when you want to wake up, just little things like that, and soon you'll be making bigger decisions."
"Maybe." He shifted so he was holding her hand with both of his. "Thank you, Sera. For everything."
"Any time, my love." She glanced toward the door. "Will you talk to Jerica if she's at dinner?"
He tensed up again. "I don't know. She's upset. I don't want to make her upset again."
"She was upset because she was worried about you," she pointed out. "Perhaps her father--"
"Uncle."
"Perhaps her uncle will have talked her down. I think it would be good for you both to have some time alone, to have some space to talk and think."
"Maybe," Rickard said with a shudder. "But what if it's not the same? What if she doesn't like me anymore?"
"I think she does. At least give it a try?"
Rickard huffed and buried his face in her lap, nodding reluctantly.

(True ^^ I think she’d be more receptive to it than the other two honestly. Her mom was an enabler for her dads narcissistic abuse but didn’t condone it and actually genuinely loved Rana so being mom-less stings)

“I…” she rubbed the bone anxiously, through her pocket. “Chieftain D’Ara is here?”