"You as well, ma'am!" Tadaaki grinned at her, genuinely pleased to see her again. The Loquiturs were so kind. "I'm doing well; and 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]
"I'm fantastic. It's getting more difficult to squeeze into chairs now, but that should all be over soon." She leaned forward. "And this must be your wife and daughter! Aashi and Tasia, right? Welcome to our home!"
"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, ma'am!" Aashi said with a grin. This must be Lady Loquitur; Tadaaki had had nearly as many positive things to say about her as he did Ky and Tomhas. She considered getting up to go shake her hand as well, but decided that would be awkward. "It's an honor to meet you all! We're all very excited to be here!"
Tasia was standing near Aashi's chair, suspiciously glaring at everyone around the table. "Come here, Tasi," Aashi said, scooping her daughter up in her arms. "What do you say?"
Tasia frowned at her mother.
Aashi raised an eyebrow. "We went over this."
Tasia frowned down the table at Anneke now.
Aashi poked her.
"How do you do, your lordship?" she asked sourly.
"Ladyship," Aashi whispered.
"You said lordship!" Tasia argued loudly.
Aashi and Tadaaki both cringed.
"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]
Anneke chuckled. "I do very well! How about you, young lady?"
"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'm good!" Tasia said proudly. "I'm the fastest runner here."
"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]
"No you're not!" Mattathias piped up, and Sara shushed him. "Don't be rude," she told him. "She's a guest here." "But she's wrong!" he insisted. "Well, that's a matter for another time. Be polite, Mattathias."
"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
Tasia snorted but dropped the matter. She looked around the table. "Are we eating? I'm hungry!"
"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]
"Food is coming soon," Tomhas promised. "Very soon." "Thank the gods," Wick chuckled. "I'm absolutely famished."
"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 in agreement, deciding she was glad that Aashi was here to be a distraction. She was somehow the least threatening of any of the strangers here -- and she was taking the entirety of focus off of Ky and Tadaaki. Which suited both of them absolutely perfectly.
She looked around for Lyra.
"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]
Lyra entered the dining room quietly and sat down, giving Ky a small nod. Anneke spotted her daughter coming in and smiled at her. Lyra smiled back, though it looked forced.
"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 back to Lyra. She thought about greeting her, but decided speaking would draw attention to them. And she knew that Lyra, also, wasn't a fan of being the center of attention.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name?" Aashi had said, leaning down the table to see Ana.
"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]
Ana nodded to her. "Hello! I'm Ana, Lady Anneke's aunt. Everybody just calls me Auntie Ana. And you're Aashi?"
"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, ma'am!" Aashi said brightly, filing the name away. There were so many new faces and names to memorize, but she thought she was doing a decent job of it. She hoped she was, anyway. She was sure Tadaaki would ask her for a recap -- he was never good at that sort of thing. "It's an honor to meet you. Do you live here 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]
"Oh, my, no. Perhaps one day, but so long as I can bake and provide Wick with decent company I'm living on a farm-turned-tailor shop in Pawholm. I think it suits me better than this cushy life my nephew in-law has given my niece." She gave Tomhas an affectionate smile, and he returned it.
"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
Aashi smiled as well; barely stopping herself before asking Ana if she knew how many bedrooms were in this Keep. The slightest scrap of a filter keeping her from looking completely idiotic. "You're a baker, then?"
"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]
You are going to love some of your characters because they are you, or some facet of you, and you are going to hate some characters for the same reason. — Anne Lamott
