Aleth briefly wondered why Perseus had taken his son at all, if the boy’s mother was still alive. Seemed rather harsh to put a small child through.
"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]
"The entry ends there," Emery said. "Shall I go on?' He glanced up as a couple Librarians entered the same line of shelves Arcus had gone down.
"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
(I am running out of ideas on how to keep the story going and don’t want to force you to carry it, but if you have more ideas then by all means keep it going — I’m enjoying our little back and forth)
“Up to you.” Aleth followed his gaze, wondering if something was about to go down. “But I’m quite enjoying listening to 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]
(I am too, but I think we should progress the story. We could go to Pratik or to Tomhas and Ky--if we do Tomhas and Ky it will have been two weeks later to allow for some letter writing between the brothers.)
"Why, thank you." Emery smiled at him and continued reading.
"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
(Honestly I don’t really have a preference! I think Tomhas/Ky would be next up in the rotation since we just came off Pratik/Utrid but I’m down to go back to them if you’d prefer 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]
We will meet at Lord Scarlett's Ruins, then, to make the exchange. Midday ten days from when this letter arrives, in the courtyard. I will be armed and surrounded by my men; do not think I would be so naïve as to come alone. Signed, Lord Gaius Ash, Master of Venholm, Defender of Serpent Keep, Magistrate to the Crown Tomhas sighed as he looked over the letter again. It was so brief, so curt. He still wasn't used to this sort of writing from his brother. At least they had a correspondence going now, and Cecily could be taken safely back to Venholm. Maybe then Tomhas could get some peace talk out of his brother as well. He smirked; one could only hope. "Ky," he said, glancing over at her. "Fancy tagging along to meet my brother in a few days?"
"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
It was a reflex at this point — enthusiastically agreeing to anything anyone suggested. It was starting to wane a bit, now that it’d been so many weeks since she’d been rescued and been nearly constantly reminded she didn’t belong to Aleth anymore. But it was still her response to this suggestion. The implications hit her a moment later and she hesitated for the briefest moment, smile faltering for a split second.
Meet his brother. Brother. The same brother who seemed to want Loquitur dead. The same brother that was an incredibly powerful Lord. The same brother who would hate her from the moment he laid eyes on her, since she had aligned herself with Loquitur.
And, more importantly, the same brother who had Aleth with him.
“I would like that,” Ky lied, forcing the grin to resume its original warmth, even though it was fake this time. Anxiety gripped at her gut already. “… We’re going to Serpent Keep, then?”
"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]
"Brant Keep, actually," Tomhas corrected. "It's a middle ground almost exactly on the line between Venholm and Clawholm. Used to be the land of House Scarlett, but they Fell years ago and scattered to the winds. The Keep is a ruin now, perfect for hostage exchanges or whatever he wants to call it." He noticed her forced smile and returned a more comforting one. "I'm sure he won't bring Aleth with him, Ky. He's only a guest, after all. Why should he be at a diplomatic meeting?"
"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
“Oh… right.” Ky took a deep breath and nodded, then let it out, body visibly relaxing.
He was right. If they were meeting on neutral grounds, then she supposed there wasn't a reason for Aleth to be there… even though she herself was also only a guest and was being invited along. She forced herself not to dwell on it. She needed to stop being so fixated on Aleth. Needed to learn to have a life outside of his shadow.
“That makes sense,” Ky said, offering a small, sheepish smile. “Thank you.” She hesitated a moment, feeling a pang of guilt that she was — still — putting such an emotional burden on Loquitur, with him having to constantly reassure her. “I’m sorry that I’m still…” Ky hesitated again, not quite sure what she wanted to say. “I don’t mean to be so timid. I’m sorry. I’ll do better.”
"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]
"Ky." Tomhas leaned forward, making full eye contact with her. "You don't have to apologize. It takes time to heal. And it's understandable if you worry." He set the letter down, clasping his hands with a heavy sigh. After a pause, he said, "You know, I still look around corners half-expecting my big brother to be waiting with a switch or some cruel trick. It's been years since he died and I still wake up at night in a cold sweat. It doesn't go away completely, and it's not something to be ashamed of. You just learn to cope. What's important is going at your own pace."
"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
Ky took another deep breath, this one a bit shakier, but also felt her body relax a bit more as she let this one out. It was so nice that Loquitur understood. But was in itself a mixed bag, because she wouldn’t wish knowing how this felt on her worst enemy — and certainly not on someone as wonderful and kind as Loquitur.
“It’s so… frustrating,” Ky admitted, dropping her gaze. “I didn’t used to be like this, you know? I used to…” She hesitated, glancing up, not sure if she was over-sharing at this point. But he didn’t seem annoyed with her. He’d never seemed annoyed with her. And, she supposed, he was a Lord and could tell her to shut up if she started to annoy him. She sighed, dropping her gaze again. She furrowed her brow, thinking back to how she used to be.
“My Papa taught me how to hold my own. He always said I was as important as any Lord— and I know I’m not!” She added quickly, glancing up, afraid that she was being disrespectful. “… I know I’m not. But I used to… look people in the eye and not be scared of anyone or anything. And now…” She sighed again. “Aleth broke me. Undid everything my Papa tried to instill in me. And I don’t like 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]
Tomhas swallowed, looking away from her. It hurt to hear this, to hear this child so lost and utterly beaten by that wretch Aleth. This was the time in her life where she ought to be frolicking and learning and finding love, but instead she was stuck far too grown-up for her age and afraid to be too proud. It would take so long to undo this. "I'll let you in on a secret, Ky," he said after another long silence, and stood. "Would you walk with me?"
"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 sir!” Ky nodded and stood quickly. She glanced up at him, feeling an impulse to apologize again, but she swallowed it. She hadn’t done anything to apologize for. She needed to unlearn the habit. So, instead, she buried her hands in her pockets and stepped back, waiting for Loquitur to lead the way.
"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]
Tomhas opened the door of the sitting room. A blast of cool air wafted into the fireplace-heated chamber, and he shivered. "Whoof, glad we're not outside, eh?" He stepped out into the torchlit hallway. It was early afternoon, so the few windows lining the hall were shining with light hardened by snow and clouds, casting whitish beams into the rounder light of the torches and scattering the flickering shadows from the floor.
"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
Ky smiled, falling into step next to him. “The sitting room is quite cozy.”
"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]
