"Yes, ma'am," Pratik answered, dipping his head. He hesitated a moment, weighing his options. On one hand, he was likely heading towards that thrashing she'd just promised if he pushed his luck. On the other, she seemed far less sure of herself than her brother was. And sometimes the tiniest bit of vulnerability was all he needed to have an in. He just needed to feel her out. "Thank you for telling me. You're very kind."
"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]
"Kinder than my brother, at any rate," Etha agreed. "I suppose you know who I am? There aren't many noble women in this Keep right now." Especially now that the Loquitur girl had been carted off by her father. Etha expected they wouldn't be seeing her again any time soon.
"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
Should a slave know that? Pratik wasn’t sure. Would it offend her if he said no? Would it make her suspicious if he said yes? He settled on a question instead. “… Are you his lordship's sister, 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]
"Unfortunately, yes." She smiled ruefully. "I'm Etha Tarr, however much I wish I wasn't. I suppose you wouldn't know; I'm not downstairs very often. What do they call you?"
"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
Well now that was interesting. Did a decent Tarr exist after all?
“Depends on who’s calling.” He decided to risk a bit of humor and offered the faintest hint of a smile, but kept his gaze down, only watching her expression out of the corner of his eye. “But my given name is Aren, ma’am. Aren Presha.”
"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]
"Pleasure to meet you then, Aren Presha. Where do you come from?" Etha glanced around. "You'd best get out of the open, actually. Just in case my mother or a servant comes along. It's been known to happen."
"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,” Pratik glanced around, making sure he seemed fearful, although he mostly just wanted to keep talking to Etha. “I… is there anything you’d like for me to do, ma’am?”
(I cannot remember where we said he said he would come from. I searched our previous RP and can’t find it lol)
"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 worries! I have the vaguest recollection of him coming from a village in Gaius's territory for his cover story but that's all.)
"I'm bored," Etha mused. "So I suppose a little conversation wouldn't be amiss. Will you walk with me?" She wasn't in the habit of allowing strange men to walk with her, let alone a slave. But it had heen days since she'd had proper company and this fellow seemed careful enough not to try anything untoward.
"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 would be honored, ma’am,” Pratik answered, dipping his head. He took a step backward, to a polite distance, waiting for her to choose the direction.
(Okay cool, I thoughttt it was something like that but wasn’t sure. Thanks!)
"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]
Etha started off in the direction she'd been going. "How did you come to be a slave?" she asked, opening her journal again and poising her charcoal pencil above the paper.
"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
Pratik walked after her, casting an uneasy gaze at the notebook. He hadn’t expected anyone to take literal notes about his alibi. He’d need to keep his story straight. “I… sold myself, to ransom my daughter. Well. Had my wife sell me.”
"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]
Etha paused as she scribbled down this last part, looking up at him. "You sold yourself?" She'd never heard of such a thing. He must have loved his daughter very much.
"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
(ahh sorry for how spotty I'm being. I'm hanging out with friends irl so I'm more sporadic than normal >.> )
"I... yes ma'am." Pratik said, pretending to be chagrined. In reality, he was just annoyed with himself. And with Ash. But mostly himself. Godsdamn his own greed and the ego that'd gotten him into this mess. "I was... desperate. I didn't know what else to do to keep my daughter safe. 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]
(That's okay! I've been working most of today so I haven't been super available anyway.)
"That's absolutely mad," Etha said fervently. "And wildly brave. Are you going to try to get back some day?"
"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... I mean I should like to," Pratik answered. He risked a glance at her face, making a mental note of how wildly different she was from her brother. It seemed this girl was actually a decent human. With emotions. And empathy.
That was good. Where emotions were, was the capacity to manipulate them. Not that he needed to right this moment. But maybe, when the time was right. Build as much rapport with her right now as he could. See if it served him in the future.
"I've secured her safety, but it still has ended with us separated." Pratik dropped his gaze again, taking a deep breath -- laying it on thick. "Probably forever, at this point."
"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]
