Ky looked at him with wide eyes but shook her head. "Thankfully no."
"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 expect you'll see one at some point; everyone who lives in the Northern Realm does. They're not bold unless they're in a pack or they're starving, so they don't usually attack a group of more than three. And you've got to take size into account: they can be as small as cats, sometimes. Nuisances."
"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
"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]
"Best hope you're in a large group when you run into one." Harold shivered and looked up into the trees. "Good thing we've got daylight left or I'd have spooked myself just 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
Ky nodded. "I don't think I'll be leaving the Keep again any time soon."
The anxiety in her gut at not knowing who Harold was when they first interacted -- the realization that she would have died today if he was here on behalf of Aleth. It was stupid of her to be out in public. She needed to stay inside where she was safe.
"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 a fair judgement, based on what you told me of your situation. I'm sure Lord Loquitur will keep you safe." Harold glanced back at Tadaaki. "Did this Aleth fellow order you found as well?"
"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," Tadaaki answered, dipping his head. He felt a pang of anxiety in his gut, still dumbfounded that he was speaking to a king. Rather, that a king was speaking to him. How had he managed to get this sort of attention? "I, uh... Ky did all the smart and charming person stuff. And I did everything else."
He didn't like to think of what he'd had to do.
Ky glanced at him. She wanted to argue with him. To remind him that he was just as important as she was and every bit as smart, too. Education didn't equate to intelligence. But she didn't want to have to specify what he meant by that. Neither of them liked thinking about 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]
"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 blushed. "Yes, sir... they'll be coming for both of us, whenever they figure it out."
"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]
"Hmm. It was brave of you two to leave the gates at all, then. I'd certainly recommend staying in until this is dealt with. And perhaps we ought to ride a bit faster, yes? The three of us are desirable targets, aren't we?"
"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
Which made Ky circle back to the question she'd been too terrified to fully process earlier: "...you travel without a guard, sir?"
"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 usually, no. There's usually a huge entourage, and my children are usually here as well. I elected to travel alone this time so as not to attract too much attention to myself and this ceremony given the....sensitive political atmosphere."
"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
"That makes sense." Ky nodded, once again shocked at the lengths the king was going to on her behalf. "Seems a bit risky."
"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]
"Well, I always said to my sisters that one day I would go out into the world in disguise and see how my lands were faring. And now here I am!" He grinned. "Is it a very good disguise?"
"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 said with a nod. Good enough she feared he was an assassin, in fact. “It never crossed my mind that you might be the king.”
"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]
