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Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 18)



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Thu Dec 15, 2022 4:49 am
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Shady says...



Her dreams were as violent as they usually were, to start.

Michael trying to bust down her door with his bare hands.

Aleth ripping a chunk of hair out of her scalp from how tight his grasp was as he held her head under the surface of the water of a deep barrel.

Jae and Wyl coming after her.

She woke up between each micro-nightmare, and eventually got herself put back to sleep again, somehow more exhausted each time than the time before.

This dream felt different.

Just as threatening as the others. But... almost real? She wouldn't have been able to describe it had she tried.

She was in her farmhouse back home, but something was very wrong. The outsides were dark and gloomy and stormy and so
cold -- way colder than it ever actually got in the South.

She couldn't find Papa anywhere.

She checked the barn and felt like she had eyes on her, but she couldn't see anyone. Anything. Not even the chickens. It was like she'd stepped into a timeline where every last living creature had died and been buried.

She checked the house but he wasn't there, either.

Ky wandered back onto the porch, feeling very small and very sad. And afraid. She was completely alone in this world. Completely.

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
[they/he]





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Thu Dec 15, 2022 4:58 am
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Ljungtroll says...



A lone traveler on the road ahead of her house was slowly approaching. Something about the silhouette of the figure was wrong...stretched out and lanky, as if pulled out of shape. As it drew nearer, so did the clanking of chains. The chains rose high into the sky and disappeared above the clouds, but the ends were clamped onto the wrists of the figure, who was a skinny man well over ten feet tall and dressed in a Northern noble's robes under a white cloak. He had a pale face that was all angles with a thick pair of eyebrows and a curving nose. His hair was black and straight and hung down to the small of his back, and his beard was just as long. His eyes were dark as well, sunken into the sockets of his skull. In one long, spindly hand he clutched a wooden flute made of pine.
He bowed to her as he reached the porch and the chains jingled, then he straightened. "Pray, young miss, I am a weary traveler and have not rested for miles," he said in a clear, even voice. "May I tarry here on your stoop for a spell? I can pay with a song."
"I’m thinking about the aurora borealis. You can’t tell if it really does exist or if it just looks like existing. All things are so very uncertain, and that’s exactly what makes me feel reassured." --Too-Ticky

Formerly RavenLord; GrandWild
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Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:02 am
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Shady says...



Ky watched the man, getting increasingly more uneasy the nearer he got. She couldn't help but remember when Mr. Rifkin approached her, on this very same property. Her Papa had been so cross with her for being so forward with a strange man. She didn't understand why; she understood now. It wasn't safe.

And yet as she looked at this figure, it was obvious he was exhausted. And she couldn't seem to find it in her to turn him away.

"You don't have to pay," she said gently. "You can rest."


"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
[they/he]





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Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:04 am
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Ljungtroll says...



"I thank you." He dipped his head low, then bent his whole body to fit himself onto the porch, crouching against the wall like a gigantic spider. "This is a grand property you have here," he said to her, gazing out over the farm. "It must have been prosperous once, and full of merrymaking."
"I’m thinking about the aurora borealis. You can’t tell if it really does exist or if it just looks like existing. All things are so very uncertain, and that’s exactly what makes me feel reassured." --Too-Ticky

Formerly RavenLord; GrandWild
she/her





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Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:06 am
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Shady says...



Her throat went tight and she sidled towards the other end of the porch, sitting down in the swing her Papa had built and nodding. "Yes. It used to be very nice."

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
[they/he]





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Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:08 am
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Ljungtroll says...



"What has become of it, I wonder?" He ran his fingers over the flute. "Where has the joy gone, and the life? Has it fled so soon from your memory?
"I’m thinking about the aurora borealis. You can’t tell if it really does exist or if it just looks like existing. All things are so very uncertain, and that’s exactly what makes me feel reassured." --Too-Ticky

Formerly RavenLord; GrandWild
she/her





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Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:09 am
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Shady says...



"It was stolen," she said bitterly, glancing away from him.

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
[they/he]





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Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:11 am
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Ljungtroll says...



"Really?" His brow furrowed, and he frowned. "Who has such power that he can lay all this land barren in one fell swoop? Why stay you here rather than take it back?"
"I’m thinking about the aurora borealis. You can’t tell if it really does exist or if it just looks like existing. All things are so very uncertain, and that’s exactly what makes me feel reassured." --Too-Ticky

Formerly RavenLord; GrandWild
she/her





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Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:13 am
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Shady says...



"You can't just undo death," she said, pulling her knees up to her chest. The swing swayed haphazardly with her shifting weight. "My Papa is gone, forever. What's the point in everything else? There's none."

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
[they/he]





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Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:16 am
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Ljungtroll says...



The man studied her for a moment, then looked back toward the farm. "Death exists to be undone," he said finally. "As does life. They are knots constantly tying and untying one another, like so, and this keeps the world in balance. One cannot be without the other. Yet nothing grows in this land." He let out a long, slow sigh. "And your Papa, he is not here to tend this farm, just as he is not here to tend you--but have you not other tenders? Other gardeners who see that your roots run deep and strong, and that your leaves see the sun?"
"I’m thinking about the aurora borealis. You can’t tell if it really does exist or if it just looks like existing. All things are so very uncertain, and that’s exactly what makes me feel reassured." --Too-Ticky

Formerly RavenLord; GrandWild
she/her





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Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:19 am
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Shady says...



Ky was silent for a long moment, throat even tighter and tears threatening to spring to her eyes, though she kept them held back for now. "Aleth shook my leaves off... and I wish they'd just let me die now. Untie my knots. I don't care. It's too hard to bear this grief. I'm not strong enough."

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
[they/he]





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Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:22 am
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Ljungtroll says...



"Leaves grow back," he pointed out, yawning. "Leaves grow back small but strong, and they become larger with time. Remember that you gain nourishment from them, but you gain nourishment from the roots also, and nobody but your gardeners can reach those. Besides, you have not yet bloomed. Now is not the time for your knot to come undone, child.
"I’m thinking about the aurora borealis. You can’t tell if it really does exist or if it just looks like existing. All things are so very uncertain, and that’s exactly what makes me feel reassured." --Too-Ticky

Formerly RavenLord; GrandWild
she/her





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Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:24 am
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Shady says...



Ky was quiet for a long time, pondering it. Then she nodded reluctantly. "You have fair points... but it doesn't make this easier. Less painful. I'm so tired."

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
[they/he]





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Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:25 am
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Ljungtroll says...



"if you wish, you may rest. But only after all of this is over and donewith," he replied. "We have much to do before you sleep, child. Much to do."
"I’m thinking about the aurora borealis. You can’t tell if it really does exist or if it just looks like existing. All things are so very uncertain, and that’s exactly what makes me feel reassured." --Too-Ticky

Formerly RavenLord; GrandWild
she/her





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Gender: Other
Points: 2806
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Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:26 am
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Shady says...



She furrowed her brow at him. "What does that mean?"

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
[they/he]








Stupid risks make life worth living.
— Homer Simpson