Shady

Tadaaki thought for a moment. “…nearly six years, ma’am.” Gods. Tasia was six now. What did she think of him? What did everyone think of him? Of her? Was she ...

Tadaaki clenched his teeth and stoically sat as she prodded him, the only indication of his discomfort the tightening of his abdominal muscles when she hit a sore one. Of ...

“That’s reasonable.” Pratik nodded. “No need to rush.”

“Rickard.” Pratik sighed, looking at him. “It is not ‘asking too much’ to let them do their job — which is help people find books and lend them to them. ...

(aww sorry to hear that! Feel better!) Tadaaki thought for a moment. His entire body felt like death warmed over. Literally. "My abdomen." But he rested his hand over his ...

"I bet they'd help you get them off the shelf," Pratik countered. "They're librarians -- they love books and talking about books and sharing their resources with people who want ...

That was nice. That it wasn't the wrong answer. Tadaaki nodded and dipped his head, sitting up a bit straighter. He didn't know how to help her but wanted to ...

"Have you asked the librarians about those books?" Pratik asked. "I bet they've got more that are similar."

Tadaaki figured he was up next, which meant he probably had to answer the question. He glanced at Aleth, then at Ky, then back at Ms. Miller, trying to gauge ...

"It's okay," Pratik said soothingly. "You'll get there."

Ky looked at her, worried. Right. She wasn't supposed to have opinions. Opinions led to decisions. And she'd just made the wrong one... right? "... no? I--I don't mind either ...

Ky hesitated. She wanted to pretend that Aleth didn't exist, and that was easier with him out of sight. But she also wanted to be sure that Tadaaki was okay, ...

Pratik hesitated, conscience pricking him. He looked at Rickard a long moment, then decided this wasn't the hill worth dying on. He reluctantly put it back on the shelf. "They ...

Ky nodded silently. Yes. Yes, it was. It was a shame that she was a slave and couldn't just tell Aleth to go fuck himself when he decided they needed ...

Pratik snorted and pulled the book off the shelf. "If you won't take it, I will."