Young Writers Society

(Ooh nice!)

Ky nodded vigorously, relieved to have concrete instructions. “Okay! I can do that!” She turned quickly and started down the hall.

(Also I’ve been dozing on and off the past few hours which is why my responses were spotty lol but my alarm just went off so I’m awake, awake now. But in one of my mini dreams I dreamt that *I* was Aleth’s employee and hecking hecc it was stressful hahah)

(That's alright!
And oof that's not a fun dream at all.)

Sara watched her go, then headed for the barracks.

Gaius was still lying outside. He'd fallen down in snow many, many times in his youth. He'd had it scrubbed into his face. He'd bloodied it. And now he was lying in it face-up, glaring at the sky because he was too weak and too permanently injured to do something as simple as walk back to his own damn Keep. It was Michael's fault, just as it always was.
He closed his eyes, huffing out a breath of frustration at his helplessness. This was no way for him to live. He knew he was bound for a wheelchair one day--maybe even in the near future, if Sera dictated it. It was infuriating and humiliating, and he wanted nothing more than to scream at the unfairness of it all. He wished he had killed Michael for doing all the things that he did. For crippling him twice over, for killing Tomhas's lover, for locking him into so many rooms he didn't want to be in....

(Haha it really wasn’t. Altho, I will say. I’m apparently a freak and this isn’t supposed to happen to people lol but I can feel pain in my dreams. Like once I dreamt I got stabbed, and it was the pain of the wound that woke me up rather than the fear of it, you know? Like I distinctly remember being able to feel the blood gush out of my forearm and drip onto my shoes a moment before I woke up. And was so stressed by it that I cut myself with my fingernails and was bleeding irl when I woke up haha but that’s not every single dream. So I couldn’t feel pain, really, when he was beating me so that’s nice I guess haha)

Ky sprinted down the hall at break-neck pace. It was easier to function when she had a task, not just trying to retreat for her own benefit like after breakfast. So, she stumbled on the stairs, but they went significantly better than they had last time. Then she sprinted to the infirmary.

She was out of breath when she got there, and so focused on her task she forgot to knock, so she burst in without warning.

(Oh shit that's awful! That sounds like the actually worst nightmare)

Sera and Rickard jerked apart at the sound. They'd had their hands clasped in silence, simply staring down at them, but upon Ky's entry Sera was up on her feet and Rickard was red from the neck up.
"What can I do for you?" Sera asked briskly, coming forward while quickly regaining her composure. Rickard got up, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding eye contact.

(Dude this has been such a long time coming I had this planned from freaking part 6 and you just handed it to me on a silver platter)

(haha it was pretty rough ngl -- actually kinda Ky energy, too, now that I think of it lol the concept was there was this mass-murderer on the loose, just running around stabbing people for the fun of it, and there was a manhunt for him and I was like "if the police were coming after me, I clearly wouldn't be going to Walmart, which means going shopping is a safe bet" which was, in fact, not true lol so he came walking out and I look at him and am like O.o because I recognize him from the wanted pictures and was like 'wait are you--?' and then realize that is dumb as fuck to let him know that I recognize him and so I go 'that kid I went to high school with? Tommy, right?' and he goes 'you are a terrible liar' and I go 'I KNOW!' and sprint xD)
(omggggg WHAT! I fully did not see that twist coming omg!)

Ky was too flustered to fully process what that meant, for now. Instead her gaze locked on Sera. "Sara said that you need -- to please -- if, uh, Gaius needs poppy milk because he's-- and-- outside, so she's-- she wants that ready. And she said I need a heating stone? I don't know what that is but she said to get one and put it in my fire."

(Hoooly shit you have the wildest dreams)

"Heating stone and poppy milk." Sera nodded and headed for her cabinet. "Is it his leg again?"
Rickard was pacing all the way at the end of the room now, arms crossed tightly around himself. He shot a glance toward Sera and Ky every now and then.

(haha you have no idea -- sleeping is such a stressful experience for me haha that's why I avoid it)

"Yes." Ky looked at Rickard. He seemed embarrassed. Why? What had they been doing? She looked back at Sera. "He was limping pretty bad and stayed outside. Sara's looking for someone to carry him up here."

(Isn't there something you can take that makes you not remember dreams or something? That sounds like something that should exist)

"Alright." She pulled down the bottle of poppy milk, then went to a chest near the cabinet and pulled a round, flat stone out from a pile of similar stones. "Do you know what to do with this, Ky?"

(I asked my psychiatrist and he acted like I was crazy lol thankfully since I've left my PhD program for the time being I am significantly less stressed so the dreams haven't been so bad lately. For a while they were stress dreams that I vividly remembered every single night)

Ky looked at it, having no concept of how a stone was supposed to help her. "She said fire then covers."

(That's good at least--it's important to take care of yourself)

"That's right. You'll need tongs to get it out. Leave it in for about two minutes, then put it under the covers. It's meant to warm you up after being out in the cold." She offered it to Ky. "Anything else you need?"

(For sure! PhD life is not good for me haha I am actively applying to real jobs in hopes of a saving grace lol)

Ky shook her head and took the stone, glancing at Rickard again before looking back at Sera.

(Yeah my mom is in the PhD program right now and she's been super stressed trying to balance it with work. Sounds like a nightmare.)

"Alright." She, too, glanced at Rickard for the briefest moment. "There you go, then. I'll have the poppy ready for Gaius when he gets up here."

"Okay." She very much felt like they wanted her to leave. Had she interrupted something? Were they--? ... no. No? She shook the thought off. "Thank you."

She stepped towards the door.

Sera watched her go. Rickard kept pacing, looking pained.

Yes? Huh. She hadn't expected that. Was there something more to Rickard constantly hanging around Sera?

She didn't know. And she also didn't have the capacity to care just then.

Ky opened the door and stepped back into the hall. Her energy dropped the literal instant she was alone, and she let out a heavy, shuddering breath. She was so exhausted. It was as if all of the events of this morning -- well, of the past two days... past month? She didn't even know. But they had compounded. And the weight of it all was bearing down on her all at once.

It was too much.

It was too much.

She started trembling badly and had to lean against the wall with her shoulder, clutching her stone with both hands for fear of dropping it.