Gaius jotted all this down. "Excellent, excellent. And you said he spends most of his time in the East? Does he have a set route that he travels or places that he frequents?"
"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 know.” She couldn’t resist it anymore and stood up to start pacing. “He said he had a bunch of bad people who wanted to track him down so he moved around a lot so they couldn’t find him… which probably doesn’t help us, either.”
She thought for a moment, pacing back and forth and drumming her hand on her thigh. “He did say he mostly stayed in the East and the South though. Said he didn’t like the cold up here unless he had a specific reason to be up this way.”
"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]
Gaius snorted. "Right, then. Are there any specific towns, cities, or villages that he's mentioned? And who are the people tracking him, do you know?" This fellow sounded fascinating; he'd look forward to meeting him if the man lived.
"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
“Um, I don’t remember the name of the village exactly, but he said there was a town in western Ess near the lake that he got me a book from. And he said a doll he got me was from a port city in eastern Rim. And he talked about a bunch of different towns in Rhaebaki, so I assume he’s spent a fair bit of time there, as well.”
She kept pacing, trying to think if he’d given any details.
“I don’t know who’s tracking him,” she admitted at last. “I used to talk way too much so he never really gave me many details. But he said he saved some babies when some officials wanted to kill them and that they were still angry about that. So I assume it’s someone with resources. But I don’t know who.”
"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]
Gaius wrote all this as well, brow furrowed. "Mm. I'll look into that; something like that is bound to have drawn attention. How long ago did he save these infants?"
"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
“Uh…” she scratched her head. “He didn’t say exactly when. But he had complained that it’d been over ten years already and it was absurd they were still angry about it… and that was when I was twelve… so probably close to fifteen years now? But I don’t know 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]
Gaius looked up, fixing his eyes on her. "Fifteen years ago, you say?" Well, that was interesting. He gazed at her a moment longer before turning back to the letter. "What did you last hear of him? Where was 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
(Gaius: *figuring it out already* Ky: *fifteen years straight of complete cluelessness*)
“Um… I never really knew where he was until he randomly turned up again. He’d come about two weeks after my 12th birthday, so late in the seventh month. And said he’d just come from Natai, but he didn’t say where he was off to next. He never said.”
"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]
Gaius wrote this down as well. "I think I have enough to piece some things together," he told her. "He sounds like a hard man to find but the information you've given me will help a great deal." He set his quill back in the inkwell. "I'll see to it he's found for 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
“Thank you. I really appreciate that.” She stopped pacing just long enough to give him a genuine smile — then was straight back to it. “You’ll all love him, I know it. He’s wonderful.”
"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'm sure." Gaius rolled the letter up and took the wax spoon from where it had been sitting over a candle and poured a small pool of green wax onto the parchment, which he then pressed with his seal. He let the wax dry, then pocketed the letter. "But don't expect this to be a quick process, Ky. It sounds like this man doesn't want to be found."
"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
“No, yeah, for sure!” Ky nodded. “I’ll be seriously impressed if he’s found at all — not that I doubt you!” She added hastily. “But I’m excited on the prospects of maybe seeing him again. I’d kind of given up on that idea.”
"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 figured you ought to have some connection to your old family," Gaius replied. "If there's anyone left, you shouldn't be forced to spend time just with your new group. It's good to keep in touch with some of your past."
"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 finally took a break from her pacing to rub her face. It'd be nice if they could all just pretend that the past three years hadn't happened. She'd love to have anything back from her childhood; would love to have anything from the present -- except her trauma. That could just disappear, too.
She felt like she should say something about it not being forced -- how she wanted to be here. But everything that came to mind was just laced with anxiety. And she was attempting to keep that to herself, even if she couldn't make herself sit still. Her nerves weren't exactly being subtle just then. She started pacing again.
"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]
Gaius watched her pace, tapping his cane absently on the ground. "Is it the nerves for today or something else?" he asked when his patience wore thin.
"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
