Zander buried his face in his hands -- which was enough to remind him that he was also soaked in blood. He stripped off his outer layer and walked to a nearby basin to wash the blood off. Then he came back with it and began to dab the blood off of her as well.
"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]
Laura returned a short time later with a tray of tea and a few teacups. She poured one for Ky and another for Tomhas, bringing the tea to them. "The rest of you are welcome to tea as well," she told Tadaaki and Zander. Anneke came in almost immediately after, rushing first to Tomhas and then to Ky. "Oh, my gods," she said breathlessly. "What happened out there? Are you both alright?"
"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
Tadaaki stayed put, shifting her in his arms so that he could help her sip the tea. It hurt her throat and she choked slightly. Apparently, swallowing more than spit was harder.
Oh. It was Anneke. Her original question stood. Just because Tomhas wasn't angry didn't mean, "Is she mad at me?" she asked weakly. "I didn't mean to be bad."
"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]
"Of course I'm not mad at you!" Anneke resisted the urge to hug her and instead sat down beside her. "I was worried sick!" She saw the cut and hissed in sympathy. "Oh, Ky, I'm so sorry!"
"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's fine," Ky murmured, shaking her head slightly. "It's my fault."
"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 absolutely is not." Anneke fixed her eyes on Ky. "Ky, none of this is your fault at all, understand?"
"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 don't understand anything that's going on," Ky murmured, opening her eyes to look at Anneke. "I don't know what happened or why I'm here or where Aleth went or, or..." She cringed a little and looked down at her arm. It was hurting much worse now. "...it hurts a tiny bit 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]
"Honey, Aleth is gone. He can't hurt you anymore. You're safe." Tomhas looked up. But she wasn't safe. She wasn't safe so long as there were people like that out there.
"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
"Where did he go?" she murmured. "Is he in the market?"
That was weird. He usually sent Tadaaki for 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]
"He--" Anneke's brow furrowed. "Ky, he's dead. He's been dead for weeks. You're safe, now, you're with us."
"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 twisted, trying to look up to Tadaaki for confirmation. That couldn't be right. "He's dead," he agreed gently.
"How--?" Ky looked like she'd been punched in the gut and she gasped as all her memories came flooding back at once. It was so overwhelming. Yes, Tomhas had killed him. And now they were here. And there was an adoption. And Jaerek and Nyler and whoever had pushed her -- she hadn't gotten a good look at him. And her arm. And-- "Oh my gods..."
"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, are you okay?" Anneke rested a hand very gingerly on her shoulder.
"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
"They came," Ky said miserably, breathing shallowly. "I knew they'd come. I shouldn't be here. They could have hurt someone."
Ah, so they were back to this. Zander wasn't sure if this was a good sign or not. He didn't like how distressed she was now; but this meant that she was alert and her memory was working again. That had to be a good sign, right?
"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]
"They're gone now," Anneke told her. "Your uncles took care of them. You're going to be alright now." "They hurt you," Tomhas said grimly.
"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
"Uncles..." Ky repeated, suddenly remembering Zander, too. She looked up to find him. He was sitting nearby and gave her a nod. "You're here."
"I am," he agreed gently.
He'd killed Nyler. There was no hesitation. No remorse on his face. She didn't see any now, either. She didn't know how to process that information. Her sweet, goofy, gentle Uncle Zander had just killed someone.
She took a deep breath, cringing slightly, and nodded. "There was a third one. Who was it?"
"The fellow that's got a jagged scar from his hairline to his chin," Tadaaki said. "He came to the house a lot."
Ky closed her eyes. "Wyl." She swallowed hard and then opened her eyes again. "What happened to him? And Jaerek?
Why did Ky know the names of assassins? Zander looked at her in concern. She'd known Jaerek and she knew Wyl by name -- and Nyler sure seemed to have known her. He was still so perplexed about what all of it meant.
"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]
