He nodded to her and dug in his heels, then trotted off down the road.
"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 let out a sigh and rubbed his face. “I hate this.”
Ky didn’t have to ask what he meant. She hated it, too. “Let’s just get saddled up and go back to the Keep… at least there we know who to look out for.”
She’d spent the ride giving Tadaaki a run down on the family and warning him about how terrifying Ash was.
"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 man on his horse studied the signs outside the village, then nodded to himself and followed one of them, whistling a merry tune.
"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 and Tadaaki decided to take their time saddling up their mounts to ensure whoever the man was wouldn’t be lurking around watching which way they went. Was it paranoia? Sure. Ky knew most of the threats that existed. But what if Aleth had intentionally hired someone Ky wouldn't recognize, so that she’d let her guard down and let him follow her out to the country side and let her bleed out?
Ky stepped to the door and looked around for a long, long moment, checking every place that looked like it might be big enough to cancel a man. Then nodded to Tadaaki and they mounted and started down the road.
"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 he did but he never told Ky that, nor will he)
He wasn't in very much of a hurry, so he let his horse meander down the road at a walk. He only had to get there before dinnertime, and it wasn't too far to his destination.
"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 mean fair but he does keep psyching her out and then laughing about it haha) (Is he heading down the same path as them?)
Ky and Taadki both stayed on high alert as they made their way through the village to the road out of it — and then got even more suspicious as they got out of sight and hearing range of the village. They were on their own now. For better or for worse.
“Who do you think that man was?” Ky asked, voice barely more than a whisper.
“I don’t know,” Tadaaki answered, equally quiet. “But probability says he was no one.”
"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 man could hear the sounds of slow hoofbeats behind him, well enough into the distance that he wouldn't be able to see the followers if he turned around but also near enough that they'd probably close on him soon enough. He frowned but decided to let it pass; this road probably had a lot of traffic with merchants and the like.
"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
“Yeah.” Ky nodded, but was still whispering and scanning the trees for any hint of a threat. She was so anxious. “I want to go faster.”
“Me too,” Tadaaki agreed. The faster they went; the faster they got to safety. They both urged their horses into a trot.
"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 hoofbeats were faster; the man took a deep breath and set a hand against the small knife at his side. It shouldn't come to a fight, but if it did he was 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
Ky metaphorically dug her heels into the ground when she saw the man from the stables ahead of them. She pulled up the reins of the horse and looked at Tadaaki fearfully.
Tadaaki bit his lip, trying to assess what to do. Ky was responsible for charming people; he was responsible for meting out consequences to the people who refused to be charmed. He would protect Ky if it came to something. “… there’s two of us. He won’t try anything.”
“There’s one of you and a girl,” she argued. “No one’s scare of a girl.”
“You can hold your own, though,” Tadaaki whispered back. They both knew she had an arm on her when she wanted to. “I think it’s fine…”
Ky slowly, reluctantly, urged her horse to keep walking, keeping a suspicious gaze not only on the man but doubly so on the woods in case he was leading them into a trap.
"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 man turned, squinting to see who was following him. The two nervous people from the stables...were they going to try and rob him? He gave an awkward wave; best to keep it friendly.
"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, great. Now he’d spotted them. They both gave a hesitant wave back.
“What do we do?” Ky asked under her breath.
“I don’t know,” he whispered back tensely. “… can you try to charm him?”
“Goddamn it.” She sighed, knowing fully well he was probably right about that being their best plan. “Fine. But you watch him.”
Tadaaki nodded. “I won’t be taking my eyes off him for a moment.”
"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 kept riding, pursing his lips. They looked as uncomfortable as he felt; perhaps it was just an awkward coincidence.
"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 a deep breath, channeling her inner Kyber energy. She’d be friendly and upbeat and charismatic and hope to god he didn’t think she was flirting. She rubbed her face. Got it. Kylia off; Kyber on. She could do this.
“It’s going to be awkward if we stay behind him like this,” Tadaaki murmured. “He’s going to think we’re following him.”
“He is the threat here, not us,” Ky argued.
“If he’s a threat. If he’s not then we look sketchy as hell lumbering up behind him.”
She groaned and rubbed her face. He was right. “Fine.”
They cautiously rode a bit closer.
"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]
"Fancy that!" the man chuckled when they got within earshot. "What are the odds of this, eh?" He kept his hand close to the knife but he was no longer touching it; they just seemed extremely uncomfortable.
"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
