It was Ashe who asked in the end.
Plainly, because that was how Ashe asked anything that mattered.
Isole had brought her along on the sixth visit more from instinct than plan. The evening passed quietly, almost comfortably. Kest answered Isole's questions about old measures and training records while Ashe sat in the second chair, listening.
She spoke little.
Mostly, she watched.
Kest's hands when she explained something. The way she shifted her injured leg before standing. Which questions made her answer immediately and which ones made her take a breath first.
It was the same stillness Ashe brought into a fight before the first exchange, except there was no opponent here.
Just a room she wanted to understand before deciding what she was allowed to ask of it.
Eventually, Isole packed away the notes.
The kettle had gone cold.
Kest leaned back in her chair, clearly assuming the evening was finished.
Ashe set down her cup.
"Teach me."
Kest's eyes moved to her.
