and some by virtue fall; Gallows

[Kushiel]

To look at him, you would think Kushiel was a grown man who relied on no one. Those who knew him would tell you otherwise. In many ways, Kushiel was just an overgrown kid. Now was one of those times that he felt like it. It may be a remnant of a rather rambunctious childhood, but he always got an uneasy feeling in his stomach when his mother wanted to talk to him. His first reaction, as ridiculous as it might be, was, “oh shit, what have I done?”

It was not something he was proud of.
So, it was with some unease that he fidgeted in the meadow. He tried to think of the things that could have displeased her. That list was uncomfortably long. Let’s see, what had he done since they last spoke? He had told Straia about Gallows’ mind reading. Then there was that business of burning the Gates’ mother tree to the ground. And lets not forget the diplomat he had kidnapped and then followed home. Kushiel winced a little.

Dammit, this might be a long talk.

But still, certainly most of those things would be less offensive to his mother then they would be to most mothers. She already had expressed her displeasure at the spilling of her secrets. She had bit him, really hard. True, it hadn’t done much more than bruise, and true he had it coming, but still. It shocked him to his very core.

And still it left the question of what Gallows could have to say to him. Kushiel hunkered down by a tree, and tried not to feel like a little boy sitting in the time out corner.