"What? No. Yes. No?" Ky cleared her throat and buried her hands in her pockets, realizing she was being obnoxious. Papa used to always tell her to 'land somewhere' when she was being this flighty. She sat down on the chair nearest her now, which wasn't the one she'd pulled up next to Ash. "Sorry. I'll stop. Everything is fine. Good! Great! Everything is great."
"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]
"And if it weren't?" he pressed gently, still tapping away with his cane. Best not to skirt around the issue; if she was nervous about something she'd be stewing in it all day, which would make it hard for her to enjoy herself. Gaius knew the feeling 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
"I..." Was she really about to open up to Ash, of all people? She took her left hand out of her pocket and began drumming her fingers on her knee as her leg began bouncing again. Somehow this brought even more anxiety. But she'd resolved not to lie to Ash anymore. "Am just afraid I'm going to mess everything up. I have a strong propensity for that. And the stakes are too high for that this time and I just don't want to make a mess of things but I'm probably going to and I don't know how to stop 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]
"There are no stakes," Gaius said patiently. "Tomhas has got it into his head that you're to become his daughter and that's that. Nothing you could do will change his mind on that front. And it's notoriously difficult to mess up something that's all but done for you. I have yet to see you make any grave mistakes, anyway."
"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, then let it out, a bit of the tension relaxing from her shoulders. Did he really mean that? He was the person she kept fucking up around. If he didn't find it a fatal flaw, maybe things would be okay after all.
"Right. That's good. I appreciate that." Ky nodded, forcing herself to take another deep breath. She blushed a bit, then admitted. "I'm just afraid I'm going to do something stupid and make everyone hate me and then make him and Anneke regret all this. I don't want to make them look 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]
Gaius shook his head. "Tomhas and Anneke are too patient for their own good. They'll find no fault with you, Ky, no matter how much you overanalyze yourself. They adore you completely, you can take my word for it. Nobody here will think ill of you if you trip on your way to the tree or anything like that."
"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, face still flushed. She rubbed it with both hands, forcing herself to sit back into the chair rather than hover on the edge of it. She needed to get her anxiety under control.
"I hope so," she whispered. She forced herself to take another breath and raised her chin a bit, trying to square her shoulders. "I mean, I'm sure you're right. It'll be fine." She nodded once, trying to convince herself.
"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 the spirit." Gaius stood. "Now, I've got to get to the kitchens; there's work to be done." He limped to the door, but just before he got his hand on the knob it swung open, nearly hitting him. He stumbled back to see Tomhas standing there, face flushed with cold. "Hi!" he said cheerily. "Sorry, Gaius! Have you seen--oh, there you are, Ky! Good morning! Today's the day, eh? Are you excited?"
(I can change this if you wanted to have an interaction with Tomhas and Zander individually first)
"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 had sprung to her feet as Ash stood up, and was barely controlling her urge to pace, electing to be calm and follow him out instead. There was more room to pace in the hall anyway. But then Tomhas was there, and her anxiety redoubled. But she grinned. "Hi! Yes, I am! Are you?"
"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]
"Very, very excited!" Tomhas stepped to the side. "For many, many reasons. Ky, would you step out to the courtyard with me for a moment?" Gaius's brow furrowed; what was in the courtyard? It wasn't time for gift giving yet and to his knowledge there was nothing special planned for the moment. He resolved to follow them; the pies could wait a few moments.
"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
"Oh, uh, sure!" Ky maintained the grin, but it was unsure now. What was in the courtyard? Was this another part of the ceremony she didn't know about? Gods, she was so ignorant about this whole thing.
"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]
"Great!" Tomhas sprinted off. "Hurry, hurry!" Gaius glanced at Ky, utterly bewilderd. "I suppose we'd better entertain him," he said after a moment, limping after his brother.
"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
"Right." Ky nodded, starting after them. She was vaguely aware it'd be polite to go at Ash's pace -- but she was so bewildered and anxious and confused and she ended up rushing after Tomhas instead.
"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]
Tomhas was already hurrying down the stairs at breakneck speed, glancing over his shoulder occasionally to see if Ky was still behind him.
"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
What was happening? She was so confused. Her anxiety assumed this meant that something bad had happened, for him to be so rushed. But he seemed excited. And she was all very confused. But she followed as fast as she could.
"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]
