Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 20)

(Wow you remembered the snake
I didn't)

Gaius rose, using his cane to boost himself upright and resting his weight on his leg. He did a quick sort through the information he had readily available, then moved off toward the shelves. She would have to come upon him organically, if she was going to at all. There would be other meetings, of course, to much the same effect. It depended on which turns she took. He, for one, did not want to intentionally run into her.

(aha it's a cool detail!)

Rana meandered through the collection, pulling interesting looking books off the shelves, flipping through them, then being certain to put them back exactly as they were before she touched them. This place was incredible! She got lost in the euphoria and forgot all her crankiness about being here in the first place.

Emery settled himself in a chair near the front. Blood pounded in his ears, fingers clenched tightly on the arms. It had been a long time since an Eastern dignitary had been to Serpent Keep. He had known they'd be coming, of course, but it had caught him off guard how immediately he hated the stranger he met at the bedroom door. She was nobody to him, but at the same time there was so much she represented. His stomach turned, and he glanced toward the door.

(aww, poor buddy)

Rana quickly forgot about Emery's existence and the fact that he was waiting for her. It seemed like any topic she could possibly be interested in was well documented in this collection. There had to even be books about topics she'd never even heard of. The amount of knowledge! She decided she wanted to read as many as humanly possible before they left. Maybe more.

(If he thinks Rana is bad then he is gonna HATE Gowan and Shea)

Gaius weaved through the shelves, deliberately directing his mind elsewhere in order to create randomness to his steps. His wooden leg joint clicked gently as he walked, accompanied by the tap of his cane.

(it's true)

Rana heard the tapping, but couldn't place what it was. Her curiosity got the best of her and she silently strode towards the noise, trying to figure out what it was.

Gaius felt a pull, suddenly, in his head but almost physical, and he turned toward its source. She was coming towards him--that was what it was. The young herald to-be was approaching.

Rana hesitated, furrowing her brow. The noise had stopped. Was she going crazy? She could have sworn she heard something.

(I feel like it's going to break Gaius's brain that he didn't anticipate her being Ky's sister lol)

(I think he knows at this point but hasn't gotten to acknowledge it because everything is coming at him so fast. He's probably forgotten, honestly.)

Gaius waited, his cold hands clasped around the head of his cane.

Rana hesitantly stepped around the end of the shelves to peek into the next aisle over, doubting her own sanity.

And there she was. Gaius tilted his head, looking her up and down curiously. She looked very much like Ky and Jerica...uncannily so. Indeed, they were three of a kind as information rose up without his consent. Sisters, so many sisters...how odd that the three of them should all end up heralds. And what a shame that she had just missed Ky and Jerica. Should he tell her? No, that would be catastrophic. Should he tell Ky? No, that would be even worse.

He must look a sight, he thought, unshaven and sunken-eyed. A proper spectre.

Rana blinked at the man in front of her, tensing slightly. He looked like hell. Did Ash really treat his librarians so poorly? That was terrible! She tugged her shirt straight. "Um... hello?"

(HA)

Gaius blinked at her in the dim light, drawing his cloak a bit closer around himself to ward off the cold. "Your face is an unexpected sight," he said to her in a stilted voice. He spoke Eastern perfectly. "Familiar, and yet you're a stranger."

(Gaius is literally incapable of talking like a normal human without extra effort at this point. Good job Froenig)

(lmao)

Rana blinked at him, furrowing her brow slightly. "Are you quite alright?"

(leave it to the teenager to casually roast you)

"At infrequent intervals." He took a creaking step forward, then thought better of it. "When did you arrive? I was distracted."