Bird of a Flock (Bow 2) - Chapter 35: Chapter 35

There had been no spark of realisation, no vision of the goddess but somehow, Ryraso felt more prepared for the battles he was about to face now that he had prayed to the Goddess. The mark on his arm was not burning so he could only assume she agreed with what he was planning to do. He left the room with Dyn'ad on his heels, the k'nairi vaguely grumbling at the fact Ryraso had made him pray.
"Stop grumbling," Ryraso scolded. "We need the Goddess on our side," Ryraso pointed out calmly, patting Dyn'ad's arm as Dyn'ad hooked their arms together. Ryraso let him take the dominant role in the gesture and ignored the hopeful looks their way from the passer-by's. People were really invested in Ryraso accepting his place.
"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Dyn'ad commented, leading Ryraso back to the consort quarters calmly. Glaring at anyone who tried to come closer who was clearly just waiting for a chance to get a claw into Ryraso. The nobles were hungry and it had Dyn'ad's feathers puffing slightly. The nobles were the last thing any of them needed to deal with at the moment.
Smiling, Ryraso let Dyn'ad move him as he wanted, eyes still watching though he made no interest in the ones who were desperate to talk to him. "Few people enjoy it, but that's not the point of it," he said softly.
"When did you become religious?" Dyn'ad asked, slightly rising an eyebrow.
"When someone put their mark on me and threatened to harm everyone I care about if I don't play along," Ryraso said calmly.
"She..." Dyn'ad trailed off and exhaled slowly. "I'm sorry. We never meant for this to happen," he said honestly, picking Ryraso up and jumping up to the next level. A guard was there to help humans but Ryraso was his mate. Dyn'ad wanted to help him, not a stranger. It was his right and in many ways his privileged to be able to help in such a way. Ryraso accepted the help quietly and looked down at the drop once they were at the top of the ledge.
"You are going to have to put a few more ladders in place if you aren't going to restore the stairs," Ryraso said idly, clearly not willing to discuss that topic. "Even a few rope ones. You have two humans living up here now."
"There will always be guards," Dyn'ad shrugged.
"Not the same as being able to do it ourselves," Ryraso stated calmly, leading the way. Dyn'ad quickly caught up and took his arm again. Ryraso smirked and pressed close to Dyn'ad. "The staircases were beautiful. It is a shame you had them destroyed," he sighed, thinking back to the stone cases which had been entwined with gold and vines. The stone pillars carved with the myths of old and the occasional more modern story. Ryraso idly wondered what had happened to them or whether they had simply been demolished.
"Safety is more important than beauty," Dyn'ad said firmly. "Ryraso, what are you about to do?" He asked cautiously before they entered the consort rooms.
Ryraso looked up at Dyn'ad and lifted three fingers. "Stop Zaro and Fetmar from being sent to Fiant. Stop Tai'ray from isolating Eyeri overnight. Stop Tai'ray from branding Eyeri or any other people who don't deserve it. One of those three," he said determinedly before entering the room before Dyn'ad could really react to the statement.
"Ry!" Dyn'ad called after him, quickly catching up again. "This is really the time?"
"If not now, when?" Ryraso demanded. Dyn'ad hesitated not having an answer for that statement and Ryraso nodded firmly. "Where is he?" he asked seriously.
"Nel'os is with Eyeri," Dyn'ad muttered.
"Good for him. I'll make sure to give him a thank you kiss tomorrow. Where is Tai'ray," Ryraso asked again. Relief filled him at the news the Royals hadn't left Eyeri on his own in the cage, even if he knew it wasn't likely Tai'ray's idea to have Nel'os keep Eyeri company. Nel'os was the heart of the triad, he was the one who would understand the most how Eyeri would be feeling right now and why it was a terrible idea to isolate him. Still, Ryraso forced himself to stay focused on the argument he needed to have with Tai'ray.
"Ry, please," Dyn'ad pleaded, really not wanting that fight to be that night.
"Dyn'ad," Ryraso's eyes burned darkly.
"I'm here," Tai'ray said softly, interrupting them. Ryraso turned to face him and just watched as Tai'ray shut the door behind him. "Aw'endo's asleep," he commented at a more normal level, visibly squaring up his shoulders. "You know I can't go back on my word," he offered up. A solid truth if ever there was one.
Ryraso just looked at him. "On which issue are we discussing first?" he asked coldly.  "Because ignoring sending Fetmar to Fiant if he fails to bow to your commands, I'm not sure you have given your word on anything."
"I gave my word I would follow the word of the flock," Tai'ray disagreed. "The flock decided that all caw would be branded and their families would be brought to Navat too."
"Is that the wording of it because last time I checked branding them isn't in there," Ryraso shot back. "Branding innocents has never been the intent. The brand is supposed to be a punishment and while you have tried to make it ceremonial," Ryraso grimaced over the word, hating the fact Tai'ray had tried to make it a thing on the loose hope people would accept it better. "It still doesn't change the fact it is a lump of literally red-hot iron being pressed on the backs of people who have done nothing but be close to people who had betrayed you. People who are going to spend the rest of their lives here. We made the decision to leave here. We made the decision to move here. They did not!"
"It is out of my hands!" Tai'ray practically yelled back. "I have tried to change the law. It got better!" he offered weakly.
"Being better than the original does not change the fact it is wrong," Ryraso did yell, glaring fiercely at Tai'ray. "This isn't even changing the punishment, it's amending a massive hole that everyone seems to be skirting around. Children of people who betrayed the k'nairi have never been punished for their parent's mistakes before this and now they will be. Wives and husbands have never been punished for their partner's mistakes, and now they will be. This is not how the law works in Navat and now there is a law that will ensure the suffering of innocents."
"I was the one who read the link, I was the one who begged for them to give a lighter sentence. The flock commanded that family be branded too to stop them escaping. It is not to punish them by association," Tai'ray exclaimed desperately. "It's not a punishment!"
"Yes, yes it is," Ryraso glared. There was a tense standoff for a moment as both refused to back down from the positions they were in.
"Let's shift topics," Dyn'ad tried to meditate, knowing of the three things which were angering Ryraso the most, that one was the one least likely to be resolved. The flock had spoken whether Ryraso liked it or not and there was very little they could do about it now. A mockery of the goddess's gifts, a punishment, a way to keep people from running away from the k'nairi, it didn't matter at the end of the day, it was going to happen. "Ryraso doesn't want Zaro to go to Fiant," he offered.
"Or Fetmar, but you gave your word so there is little we can do there," Ryraso growled. "I know he has injured you dearly, but did you really have to threaten that?" he demanded, putting his hands on his hips expectantly. "You knew he was Eyeri's brother and therefore my son."
"Not the point," Dyn'ad coughed, really not wanting things to spiral out of control into a shouting match. Ryraso gave him a look that promised pain if he uttered another helpful comment.
"Zaro... Something is tugging," Tai'ray admitted, his voice tense.
"He was lovers with the twins," Dyn'ad admitted as Ryraso continued to scowl angrily.
"I was looking for something a little less Zaro only," Ryraso grumbled. "The twins..." he trailed off. "If that is what is tugging, it only makes the mystery about them and their connection to the k'nairi more confusing," he sighed. The twins, they had been friends with the royal triad but then disowned Ryraso as a friend when it became apparent he had lied about how close he had been to the k'nairi. They had a strange hate for the race but had always been kind to Aw'endo. It was a very confusing combination. "It's not right to send Zaro to Fiant."
"I fail to see how," Tai'ray sniffed. "He tried to invade Navat and kidnap a prisoner here. There is no city in the world where that would not warrant a serious punishment."
"Fiant?" Ryraso stressed. "I'm not arguing that he doesn't deserve punishment but even Loror only sends unruly prisoners and those known to have committed atrocities themselves to Fiant. Zaro is neither of those things."
"I know," Tai'ray nodded, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead. "It's overkill but I don't really know what else I can do. He's a Namya prisoner on D'mar lands. Navat has no prison and the only one in a reasonable range is Fiant."
"He's a human in Navat," Ryraso retorted. "Last time I checked, you are D'mar but Navat is not."
Tai'ray blinked at that statement. Ryraso was not wrong with how he had worded that. D'mar rule ended at the border forest. On k'nairi lands, it was k'nairi law first. The Namya soldiers had not attempted to break into a D'mar stronghold, they had attempted to break into a k'nairi one. It was just that the k'nairi didn't really have any laws to deal with such a thing as it had never happened before. Tai'ray found himself nodding. "Navat is certainly not D'mar land," he allowed. "There may be a way with that reasoning. What would you suggest instead? I cannot let people think it is an acceptable thing to just walk in here and attempt to save people."
"Any human who steps on k'nairi lands without permission will remain on k'nairi lands until given permission to leave," Dyn'ad offered slowly from the side. "We treat Zaro like caw. We treat any intruder on to our lands like caw. They chose to risk coming here. They can now stay here. We give Zaro a good whipping and the brand, and declare to everyone that the next person who attempts such a thing will face a much worst fate."
"That could work," Tai'ray agreed, testing it out in his heart. The link seemed to hum in a thoughtful way. It wasn't officially being judged yet but the link did seem to like the idea. "It is much like how I will be treating Fetmar should he choose to stay," he commented. "Assuming the brand is acceptable to you," he said, looking back at Ryraso, not wanting to start another fight.
"In this case, yes," Ryraso agreed reluctantly. Zaro had come to Navat knowing there was a risk of something terrible happening if he was captured. At least here, much like Eyeri, Ryraso would be able to keep an eye on him. "I told you, I'm not contesting its use as a punishment. I'm contesting it being used on innocents."