Lyra's brow furrowed. "Why would you want to lose weight? It's a tough journey and you'll need a lot of fat to help with the cold." That sounded like an idea her father would have, so there must be a good reason for it. Lyra couldn't imagine what it was, though.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"We're, ah..." Ky hesitated. This didn't seem like a good idea. She'd only shared information with Loquitur because it was extremely apparent that he knew the game as well as Aleth did. Every word considered and weighed carefully before he spoke it. If he told Aleth, then that would most certainly be intentional. Lyra seemed more likely to spill information given to her. "I'm not quite sure I'm supposed to say, ma'am."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Lyra's heart sank, and she nodded slightly. "Fine, then. Only the people in the war room get to know. I completely understand." She snapped her book open and turned back to the words. She'd thought she could be at least a little involved. Her father had refused to tell her, too.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
She could sympathize with feeling let out. Papa had sent her away any time he had to talk business when she'd been a child. It didn't feel good. It was probably good that Lyra didn't seem to realize that she could just order Ky to tell her... but, then, what would that hurt? It's not like Ky particularly cared whether Lyra caused problems for Tarr or not.
"It's not my place to make that decision... I simply do what noble people tell me to do." She wasn't quite sure if Lyra would understand what she meant. "I can't disobey the order of a nobleman... or noblewoman..."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Lyra glanced at her irritably. "I know what you're implying. It's fine, I'm not interested enough to give you an order." It was enticing, though...
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
“Yes, ma’am,” Ky answered quickly. She certainly wasn’t going to argue about it. She wasn’t particularly eager to let Lyra get her in trouble in the first place.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Why did you come in here?" Lyra asked after a moment. She didn't see much reason to do so other than to hide and read, and Ky was just a servant. She wasn't really supposed to be reading books here.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
“Master Klev asked me to look for any books Lord Tarr might have about Serpent’s Keep,” Ky answered. Things felt so awkward now and she wasn’t quite sure how to move past that.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Lyra raised an eyebrow. "There's a brief history of the layout of the various Keeps on that shelf." She pointed. "It's not incredibly detailed for obvious reasons, and some of the Keeps have been remodeled since then."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
“Thank you, ma’am,” Ky answered, genuinely appreciative for the help. Even though that meant she’d have to go back to Aleth sooner. “Do you of any others that might be relevant?”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Lyra shook her head. Why would there be many books on the Keeps? They were places to be defended, not penetrated. "That's the only book here, I think."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
“Thank you,” Ky repeated again, stepping forward to look for the one Lyra mentioned. She pulled it off the shelf and then looked down at it. It was thick. She hoped Aleth wasn’t going to make her finish it tonight. It’d already been such a long day already. “I look forward to reading it.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"No, you don't," Lyra said dryly, looking back at her book. "It's dull as anything."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
“Ah, well.” That was most of her job. “Hopefully it will at least be useful.” Ky hesitated. It might be pushing it. “Are there...” It was definitely pushing it. She lifted the book a bit. “Thank you.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Lyra dipped her head. She sat there for a moment, trying to think of what else to say. She wanted to talk about what she'd heard when she was in her father's room. She wanted to know how often that happened, how bad it got...she wanted a companion in her pain. "I hope it helps," was all she said after a long silence.
(I'm working on a poem from Lyra's point of view. It was my NaPo poem for today but it's not quite ready)
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
