Young Writers Society

(Aw beans. I just forgot my password and was trying to reset. I still have mobile though)

"Um, no. Nobody reads minds, that's ridiculous. I see things in my dreams, like past and future, and if you're a liar then my vision of you gets blurry, like with Pratik here. He was pretty much a blob when I met him."

(could you PM me with the email address? I fully believe you, just an added security step, but I can reset it for you manually ^-^ )

Ky blushed at getting called ridiculous. "Oh."

Pratik glanced between Ada and Ky but didn't say anything. He also felt a prick of embarrassment at getting caught in his lie. But, also, he was a liar, when he was working. And he wasn't about to tell a random girl he'd just met -- one who was clearly emotionally vulnerable and volatile -- that he was an enemy spy.

Zander smirked at him slightly, amused at the slight dig. He was beginning to like Ada already.

(Yup!)

"Why are you traveling with him?" she inclined her head in Gaius's direction. Gaius was standing quietly to the side but grew more impatient with every minute.

Even more anxiety stabbed through Ky at that question. She very much felt like she shouldn't be telling a stranger her secrets -- and yet Ada was going to know if she was lying -- but she couldn't very well -- but --

"I've got people trying to kill me," she answered at last. "He's protecting me."

Ada nodded thoughtfully. "Did you escape from someone as well?" She'd guess so, based on what she was seeing and hearing.

Ky nodded, resting her arm across her abdomen protectively. It was compulsive, at this point, to protect herself at even the hint of a memory of Aleth. She hesitated. "Well... I was rescued, but yes."

"It seems everything I've heard about Lord Ash is true, then." She pointed up to the wall, where Gol Nasa's frozen head remained. "That's the slaver who sold me, Pratik, and Rickard to Tarr." She was still so pleased to see it, and to have reunited with some of the other slaves. Four of them had stayed here while the rest moved on: Ivar, the giant from the Far North; the little girl; a hollow-eyed woman of middle age from the East; and a starving-thin old woman from Rhaebaki who had no tongue. Ada had been hesitant to reconnect, as had Rickard, but the little girl--Ua, her name was--was eager to stick by Rickard and he hadn't had the heart to push her away.

Ky followed her hand, then choked as her gaze locked on the severed head. It was so gruesome to see even now -- much less imagine all the blood that would have gushed out at the beheading. To feel the warmth of his flesh against your hand as you drove his head onto a spike. To -- to --

"I take pride in my decor," Gaius said thinly. "May we go out of the cold, now? I have much to do and very little light left in the day." Ada glanced over at him irritably. He was in such a rush; couldn't they socialize a bit first?

Who was Rickard? Gaius wondered. Had they brought someone else along? He'd have to check on that. He wasn't against having former slaves in his Keep--hell, he'd accepted Aleth and he had four people here right now. But he himself had invited them. He'd looked them over and decided they were alright to stay.

Ky's gaze was still focused on the head, stuck in horrified silence.

Zander wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tried to turn her away. Her body twisted with him, but her neck stayed facing the head.

"Nope," Zander said, putting his foot down on this. For fucks' sake, Gaius couldn't have had it taken down, knowing fully well how utterly terribly Ky did with gore? Or, at the very least, said something compassionate just then? But no. He was focusing on himself and his own wants and desires and ignoring Ky's needs entirely.

Zander pulled Ky further around to the point that her neck could physically not stay craned towards the gruesome decoration. Then he stepped directly between her and it, in case she should try to turn back towards it. "You're done looking. C'mon." He gently forced her to take a step forward, and Pratik stepped back out of the way to let them pass.

He looked at Ky, then up at Gol Nasa, then back again. He also took morbid satisfaction in getting to see the bastard's head upon the wall. But it was clear that it distraught Ky, and he wished Ada wouldn't have pointed it out. Poor girl had already been through a lot and that just made it that much worse for her, it seemed.

Ada realized she had misstepped, upset Ky. She glanced at Pratik, gauging his reaction to Ky's reaction as a prickle of guilt ran through her. It was obvious this kid was still sensitive to that sort of thing; she must have been one of the village folk in Austraka.

"Let's go inside," Gaius prompted as he was joined by Sara and the children. Gods, Ky must have seen worse than a frozen head on a pole, right? But he supposed he couldn't blame her for being horrified. He'd told himself he should write to have the head taken down but then he'd decided it wouldn't be a problem. It hadn't until the Seer pointed it out.

(literally everyone: hah, the bastard got what he deserved
Ky: @_@ )

Pratik met Ada's gaze and shrugged. Ky was going to get over it. She had to. And it was clear Ada hadn't meant to upset her, so Ky wouldn't hold her responsible, regardless. Ky's capacity for forgiveness was the stuff of legend, as Pratik had seen it, anyway. She'd bounce back.

Ky was trembling, but otherwise was forcing her expression to be neutral now that the initial shock had worn off. She couldn't act like it was as monstrous as it was. That'd be an offense to Gaius when she didn't mean for it to be. Even so... did he really take pride in dolling out gruesome punishments? It was one thing to execute a slaver to rescue the people he was hurting; it was another matter entirely to stick his head on a pole and gloat about it for weeks or months.

Tadaaki had, thankfully, realized what was going on before his family did, and distracted Aashi and Tasia and now herded them towards the door, doing his best to keep them facing the Keep and to keep his body blocking the view if they did happen to turn around. It made him feel uneasy. Aashi would have a meltdown if she saw.

Ada spotted Tadaaki and his family and felt another surge of curiosity. Who were these people, now? Did they speak her language? Were they escaping too?
As Tadaaki's family approached the Keep doors, Mattathias and Marcella sprinted after them so they could show Tasia around.
Gaius stayed behind a bit, stepping toward Pratik. "Who else is here?" he asked quietly. "Who did you bring?"

"One of the other slaves in the cage with us," Pratik murmured. "He happened by as we were escaping, so I brought him along... he's a good guy. Very kind. Appreciative. Spent his whole life enslaved, so still getting his feet under him now."

He stopped just short of suggesting Gaius not be a dick when he met him later. Poor Rickard would have a heart attack if Gaius grilled him as thoroughly as he'd grilled Pratik.

"I want to meet him," he said firmly. "Tell me more."

Ada hung back, intending to walk with Pratik. She could see Lord Ash was interrogating him about something--she caught the word 'slave', a word used often enough that she knew it. What was he so hot and bothered about?