Young Writers Society

(we did it again xD @GrandWild)

"I mean... I don't know what you asked of him, but he's a tough kid. I'm sure he can take it... I'm kind of surprised he and I haven't had a run-in, yet." Zander knocked on the wood leg of his seat.

He was silent for a moment, thinking about Pratik. What he wouldn't give to have been that good at Pratik's age. Zander also had a reputation, but he hadn't figured out what he was doing with his life until he was nearing thirty -- and Pratik was, what, Twenty? Twenty-two? He wasn't sure, but Pratik was young all the same.

"Heh... the only meaningful time we've spent together we were actually on the same side." He finally looked up, realizing his gaze had drifted off as he was thinking. "He's a good kid. Had the idea for the two of us to take on a whole band of slavers by ourselves." Zander rubbed his abdomen. It'd left him with quite a nasty wound that'd turned into the scar Ky described. "It was a horrible idea. But you live and you learn. And it made me respect him, regardless."

(Wait omg I didn't even notice!!)

"Gods willing he'll be at Serpent Keep when I return. I'm very glad to hear you think highly of him, though that may make it harder if he doesn't return safely. Perhaps I asked too much of him." He was almost positive Pratik would get out, but in one piece seemed a lot to ask, especially with all the creatures out in the forest, plus the cold.

(haha I don't know why I randomly noticed after my last post that we only had the one left haha)

"Where'd you send him?" Zander asked curiously. He wasn't particularly attached to the boy -- respect for his grit, no doubt. And he was rather likable on a personal level. But he wouldn't be shedding any tears for him -- even though it would be a shame to lose a talent like that.

(fun fact, in cannon Pratik becomes the love-interest of one of Ky's sisters and Zander is like wait a fucking minute--)
(he does eventually come around to the idea, though, so it's all good xD)

(We're on a roll, I wish there was a function in the hall of fame where we could create a little folder of like "Two Crows Volume 1, Volume 2, and so on")

(Wait seriously?? That's nuts! Where are Ky's sisters?)

"Wolf Keep, for recon." Gaius fixed his eyes on his cane again. "I sent him through Gol Nasa, whose head now decorates my walls."

(haha omg that'd be fantastic! I did a post asking for the thread to be moved and Harry was like Why am I not even remotely surprised? xD)

Zander looked at him for a moment then nodded approvingly. The only good slaver was a dead slaver. His opinion of Gaius grew further. Then it hit him. "He went as a slave?"

(And in cannon Zander stashed each of Ky's three sisters -- they're quadruplets -- in different families that had recently lost infant daughters. It was macabre but made it seem natural. One of her sisters became a Lord's daughter. She ended up getting kidnapped due to Politics and Pratik was the one who ended up finding her and staging an extraction. Her "father" was a complete dick and tried to marry her off to someone much like Tarr the instant she got home so she yeeted out of there and disowned herself and joined a Surprisingly Honorable band of outlaws she'd met along the way. And Pratik hung around sometimes and they were fond of each other then the climax is Zander gets kidnapped so all the sisters end up learning about each other and come together to rescue him -- and Pratik got in on that, too)

(XD It's crazy how fast we go now.)

Gaius nodded. "It was the easiest way to get information. Tarr doesn't really see slaves, you know. Not unless they're women, and even then he doesn't see them as potential enemies. I pulled him out whem this war ended, and I'll see if he wants to renegotiate our contract."

(Hot damn that's wild lore! I love it!)

(haha it really is! I told him we'd be back in a few weeks with this one xD)
(And thank you! I didn't want to waste too much time typing it all out in that last response haha but one of Ky's other sisters was planted as a princess and becomes King's Assassin and in cannon, they've got the "shiiit don't wanna go up against him/her" that Pratik has with people here haha I've been lowkey contemplating bringing her in too but I can't figure out how to make that make sense haha)

Zander cringed slightly at the woman comment. He was exactly the sort of person Zander would be able to kill without losing a single moment of sleep. Fuck him.

But he nodded. "Makes sense... I'm a little surprised he committed to going that far undercover. He must really dislike Tarr, too."

(Well I mean would it be possible she works for one of the Eastern rulers or the Taral in the South?)

"I have yet to meet someone who genuinely likes that boy or this father," Gaius admitted. "They're creatures of a bygone age." Brutes, though not nearly as mad as Michael had been. Even Modestus Ash hadn't been as bad as Michael. "I'd be happy to exterminate his bloodline before he can get a child in one of those poor girls, but there are special procedures in place for such a thing, and I haven't put in an application." He smirked at those words. "The King is very particular about extirpation."

(Had to look up the word for extinguishing a bloodline, hoped it would be an -icide word but we're stuck with that wacky thing)

(ahah alas)
(ooh, we could probably make that work! Do you think it'd be realistic for her to get sent up this way for some reason? She's also only 15 but she's quite good. She just really, really hates the fact that she's an assassin and is really petulant about it haha but she's basically the polar opposite of pre-trauma Ky)

"I mean... Pratik is not so particular..." Zander shrugged. Maybe Zander would help him topple a House after all. It'd be fun to fight alongside him again. "If Pratik saw Tarr lay a hand on one of the girls, he'd probably be willing to go back and kill the little asshole for free."

(The last sister actually lives on Earth, because I wanted to write a novel in a more modern setting. I'm changing a lot in her story recently but the basic concept is she's a programmer that gets kicked out of her parents' house for being queer, so she starts being a hacker for a crime lord. In cannon there are multiple realms that are basically parallel universes and people like Zander and Pratik, etc. know about them and can move between them at all, but the vast majority of people are unaware that other realms exist.
(The girls actually aren't from the realm where their stories take place, but they have no idea about any of this until the climax haha Zander stashed them where they are because he thought it'd be far enough away that The Council wouldn't be able to track the girls down -- but all the people who know about Earth are like "yeah that place is a shithole no one wants to go to that realm" xD)

(Certainly! The Grand Reputations and the Orator meddle in foreign affairs ALL the time.)

"Oh, I have no doubt. But because he was on my payroll it would mean I have to answer for it. We can't have that. Not yet." They were treading on dangerous ground, even here in the relative safety of Caracal Keep. Discussing the assassination of a Lord--especially one with whom he shared a border--was bordering on treasonous without the proper contracts.

(Earth is a bit shit, isn't it, especially for fantasy people. You've intrigued me now!)

(Ooh then that could be fun! That sister is named Jerica and is the one I've been working on the most -- like she's the one featured in the novel I completed last year -- so she's best developed and is fun to write even though she's a bit of an asshole xD just another lil trauma-baby that lashes out instead of shutting down)
(Fun fact I recently figured out how to make Jerica's and Ky's stories overlap in book two so now Jerica gets to be the one to kill off Aleth and rescue Ky and Tadaaki and I'm very, very proud of myself xD)

Zander nodded. It made sense not to go off half-cocked. Even if it would be wildly satisfying to do so. "I understand." He rubbed his face. Gods, he felt old. He was so tired and was starting to get sore from the few blows Jaerek had landed before he killed him. What was taking Ky so long? "Hopefully he'll be as helpful for you moving forward as I assume he was so far."

(aha thanks! ngl it's pretty satisfying every time I get to insult Earth through one of my characters haha -- meanwhile when that sister gets yeeted into the realm with her sisters shes like 'excuse me, i have a lot of questions, and all of them are -- what the fuck?' xD)

(Oh nice!! Congratulations! It's always so nice when plot points reveal themselves so perfectly.)

"I hope so as well." Gaius was beginning to feel exhausted, and the pain in his leg had softened to a dull throb. Must be the poppy kicking in. "Mmf, I'm tempted to simply fall asleep in these clothes. It's not like I'm going anywhere tonight."

(thanks!)
(you know, now that I'm thinking about this, it could be hilariously uncomfortable to make this work haha in cannon Zander's baby brother, Derik, is tasked with watching over Jerica and is the War Lord of their country and therefore acts as a diplomat. And his son, Rek, is also a warrior, though not nearly as good or as traumatized as Jerica. And Derik/Zander/Rek/Ky all look very similar so if I yoink the three of them in as a diplomat and two fighters then it could be an 'oh shit' when suddenly they all accidentally end up in the same place haha)
(especially since Zander and Derik are the only ones out of the five of them who know what's going on)

"Fair enough, Zander agreed. "I'm feeling rather stiff myself." He glanced at Gaius's cane. He wasn't one to be sent on errands like a servant boy, but he also was willing to help out and it seemed like he was more mobile than Gaius was. "I can go get you new clothes, if you like. I need to fetch some for myself anyway, it's no trouble."

(Ooooooh that could be interesting)

Gaius shook his head. "I don't want to trouble anyone; I've slept in poorer clothes than these." He let the cane lean up against the bed once more, gingerly removed his boots, and eased himself under the covers with a small sigh. He hoped Sara would come up soon.

Zander nodded. He truly didn't mind, but he wasn't going to fight about it. He was, however, starting to get nervous at the lack of sound from the office. He raised his voice a little. "Ky? You guys alright in there?"


Ky and Tadaaki both started at the sound. They'd finished the change several minutes ago, and were now leaning against each other -- well, okay, she was leaning against him -- murmuring their anxieties that they couldn't share with anyone else. "Yep! Almost done!"

She looked at Tadaaki with a sigh, murmuring under her breath, "I don't want to have to pretend like nothing is wrong."

"You don't have to, Ky," Tadaaki said. "Not anymore. You're allowed to admit you're human sometimes."

She snorted.