Young Writers Society

(Manifesting on your behalf over here, too; I'm gonna use all my brain cells tonight)

"Oh, Ky..." Anneke sighed and hugged her tighter. Raina struggled between them, and Anneke took her to cradle her in the crook of her arm. "Oh, dear. It's alright now."

(aha, thanks!
This morning I texted my friend and was like "yo did you get into that graduate program you applied for?" and she said she'd been getting radio silence and was discouraged and I was like hey you never know. At this point yeah, probably not looking too great, but I didn't get my master's program invite until April when I was applying, so definitely not unheard of, keep your chin up.
And then she messaged me like 3 hours later and was like omg Shady you manifested it into existence I just got an offer!!!
I'm very proud of her... and also trying to work my magic on myself today if there's any luck left xD
Job, job, job--)

"I'm... sorry..." Ky managed shakily, grateful Anneke had taken Raina. She wrapped both arms around her mother and clung to her tightly. What a little whiny crybaby. Not even Raina cried this much.

(Aw yeah!!! That's great XD Bet that was scary though.
No doubt there's luck for you left, there's plenty to go around!)

"You're alright, you're alright." She massaged her back gently, rocking them again.

Ky nodded, breathing unevenly as she tried -- and failed-- to calm herself. She wasn't alright. She was a broken piece of trash that needed to be discarded. Everything was so wrong in the world. "... did they tell you?"

"About which specific thing?" She holds her tighter, resting her chin on Ky's head. She kept rubbing her back to calm her.

(The adhd tax of having literally no idea where I was going with this xD)

“I…” she shook her head helplessly, clinging to her mother even tighter.

~

Jerica was tense and on edge as the party approached the gates. She’d wanted to accompany Ky when she’d gone charging off, but Derik hadn’t let her. Something about giving her a moment or something.

It still made her uneasy that she didn’t see Ky or even her horse in the courtyard now. Was she okay? Where was she? Who were these other people around?

(Hehe don't worry I forgot too. I thought I knew but I was wrong.)

Tomhas was sitting on the steps of the Keep, catching his breath. He leaned his head against the cool stone, rubbing his face wearily.

Anneke stroked her hair. "Take your time. You don't have to talk if you don't want to.

Ky nodded and buried her face even deeper in Anneke’s shoulder.

Jerica dismounted and looked around, then strode up to Tomhas. “Where’s Ky?” And what was wrong with him? Why was he acting like this? Shouldn’t he be looking for his children or his wife? Oh, that’s right. He didn’t actually care about any of them. She looked at him expectantly.

Tomhas looked up, blinking at her. "Probably with her mother by now." He shakes himself, face flushing, and gets to his feet. "I should probably join her. Do you want to come with me?"

Jerica hesitated, then nodded curtly. She didn’t want to go with him per se. But she did want to find Ky. And she’d probably get yelled at thrice over if she went wandering around the Keep herself uninvited. “Yeah.”

"Great." He opened the doors, holding one for her. "Maybe she can give you the grand tour later."

Jerica nodded to him in thanks and strode through, looking all around and taking everything in. The energy of this place was different. Warmer. Or maybe she was just cold. “Okay… no rush.”

He followed after her, making sure the door was closed behind him before he caught up, leading the way to the stairs. "It doesn't have a whole lot to offer beyond art and gardens," he admitted. "It's a newer Keep, not as much history as my brother's."

Jerica buried her hands in her pockets, still looking around. She was still having to make an active effort to be nice to this man. But she was getting better at not insulting him. Out loud. To his face.

“A house is a house.” She shrugged. “The history doesn’t matter so long as you’ve made it your home.”

"Hm." He smiled slightly. "Well said. I'm not sure I'll ever feel at home anywhere. But it's a nice thought, and this place does have happy memories."