"Seems straightforward enough," Aleth answered, watching intently. He wondered how good at arithmetic he should pretend to be. He'd said he'd helped watch the shop of a merchant before -- which implied math skills. But he still figured he should take it slower than he could actually figure up the math to be safe. Couldn't afford to be perceived as too witty.
"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]
Sara gathered the cards back up, shuffled, and redealt. She placed the deck in the middle of the table and turned over the first card, a 3. Her own rows displayed a 5 on the top left and a 10 on the lower middle.
"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
Aleth took his cards and carefully arranged them, then flipped the bottom two cards: a 4 on the left and a 7 on the right. "Only one card in play on either side at a time?"
"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]
"You should have it so the row of three is horizantal." Sara corrected him. "And no, you'll be flipping over the others as you go, which is part of the gamble. Those two are just to help you get started."
"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." Aleth nodded, looking down at his card. "Got it now."
"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]
"Excellent." Sara took the three from the discard and replaced the top right, which turned out to be a 5. The 5 went into the discard. "Did you learn your numbers from bookkeeping, 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
"Yes, ma'am," Aleth answered. He watched the table intently, realizing that he did not, in fact, have it after all. He took the 5 and replaced the top middle card, which turned out to be an 8. He wasn't sure whether it'd been a good move or not. "I found it easier to pick up than reading."
"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]
"There is a certain ease that comes with math that I didn't find in reading." Sara took the top card from the deck, which turned out to be a nine. She placed it on the discard. "My father taught me this game using tally marks scratched on pieces of bark; it was always important to him that I practice my arithmetic."
"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
Aleth realized he was just mirroring Sara at this point, but he wasn't sure how else to play the game, so he also took the top card off the deck. Another 5. He hesitated, card hovering over the table, as he tried to figure out how to match it with his own 5. Or if he'd even picked up that much correctly. "This certainly seems like good practice."
"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]
"It was, and it serves me well now." Sara waited for him to make a decision. Had she explained it well enough? He would do best to replace the number blocking the other five from becoming zeroed out.
(Goodnight! Gotta rest now.)
"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
Aleth uncertainly placed the card across from the first 5 and then discarded the next card, which happened to be a 10.
"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 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." Aleth offered a smile. "Do you play this game often these days?"
"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]
"Not as often as I would like." Sara took her turn. "Ny husband is a busy man, and my children are too young to learn."
"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'm sure they'll find good arithmetic practice in it once you do," Aleth answered, also taking his turn.
"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]
