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—What?

[ It's a question that's both disbelieving and demanding, Katsa's voice just a little more high-pitched than she usually ever speaks. Of course, since this is her first time using the TAB and among her first days in Thisavrou, it's not a detail that too many people should recognize, but still. Squeaky.

It's especially obvious once she continues speaking—lower, but no less demanding, with the look and tone of someone who's accustomed to getting answers when she asks them. ]

Is it a common welcome here, then, to offer some sort of poor beast's heart as a gift? Or does someone imagine they'll disturb others for amusement? A gift from a king, perhaps?

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Not really, no. Gross, isn't it? Kinda thoughtful, but gross.

How in the Middluns' name would giving a fresh heart be thoughtful? I'm no Nanderan lord, with their delicacies.

[ And it's not as though it was delivered on a plate. ]

I assumed it was meant as a friendly gesture. Maybe whoever sent them enjoys having hearts and wanted to share them. I mean, it could be an intimidation tactic, but that's a lot of people to intimidate at once.

A gutted heart seems more a threat to me. [ frown ] How many people received one?

Pretty much everyone I've talked to—a bunch of our neighbors for sure. Anyway, you shouldn't be so culturally insensitive. Maybe animal hearts are a valued commodity somewhere.

[He's kinda joking/kinda not.]

[ She's going to ignore that. Mostly. ]

A valued commodity wouldn't be tossed on the ground so carelessly. But that's why I asked.

And why wouldn't someone who could be seeking power wish to intimidate numerous newcomers and strangers?

Well, they might, but they wouldn't do it like this. These are animal hearts, not people hearts. They're already not that scary, and to try to use them to intimidate this many people is pretty weak effort.

Tell me your ideas, then. How many women and children handle raw hearts here with some frequency? Or even the men?

[ This is a genuine question, though it's possible it comes off as derisive ]

Like I said, they're still gross. But I can think of worse things to show up on my doorstep. A bullet would put me more on edge.

A bullet on its own is only a piece of metal.

[ How many years has it been since she held a gun or a bullet? A few—but she's fairly sure they were rather unthreatening without the gun. ]

Just like a heart on its own is only a heart. But I'm a lot more worried about someone who has that much ammunition and can still afford to dump a ton of it just to make a point.

[ She opens her mouth to argue that they're very different comparisons, but settles for being generally irritated instead. ]

Wasn't that my question? Who's behind it, and what they hope to achieve?

[ Katsa doesn't wait for an answer waves herself on with a hand. ]

They could have used anything. Arrows are easy enough. Traps. Dogs. Does it matter how?

And they're good questions, I just don't think they're worth freaking out over.

You're a new arrival, right? Did you just come through the Ingress?

[ Katsa's still bristling. listen nate, assuming her motives and reactions,, ]

Yes, if that's what it's called. I didn't come through it on my own choice.

None of us did. It's basically a mass accidental kidnapping. So you've got at least one thing in common with a lot of the people here.

Well, I wonder about that, that it's accidental. It wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened.

Sounds like you speak from experience.

Enough of it. [ She reaches over to rub a shoulder with a free hand. ] Three years, before I returned home, and I one of the few even to return at all as far as I've been told since arriving here. So lucky of me to be chosen again, though at least I'm not the only one.

Huh. The same thing happened to a guy I know. [Putting the pieces...together...] What's the place you were taken to before, if you don't mind my asking?

It was called Allaidh Darach. The Drabwurld.

[He snaps his fingers.]

That's it. You know Arno Dorian, right? He's talked about that place.

[ The look on her face is all that's really needed to confirm an answer, immediate and smoothing over any left over irritation from before. ]

I imagine he has all sorts of stories. You can even believe most of them.

Oh, yeah. I wish he'd tell me more, honestly. I don't think he likes talking about the Revolution much, though.

...No. [ Katsa is quiet, remembering those few days she spent with him in Paris, the falling out they'd nearly had in her last days in the Drabwurld. ] I don't think he does. Likely for reasons that are for him alone, to share as he sees fit.

That's fair. Everyone's got some things they want to keep private.

[Not all of them as dramatic as the French Revolution, but all the same.]