The Marrow Man shrugged and bit into the liver. "They rich? They have swords and tall walls? Or they farmers?"
"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
"Both," she sighed, thinking of Wick and Ana. Surely the assassins wouldn't go after them... would they? Probably not. It was probably the Loquiturs and Ashes directly in harm's way. "But, I guess, rich. They're taking me to Serpent Keep."
Why was she venting to him now? She was pretty sure it wasn't possible for this night to get more absurd than it already 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]
"Serpent Keep?" The Marrow Man's brows shot up. "Old, old Keep. Been here long time. Good, thick walls, you safe there I bet. You whole family safe there. Why worry then?"
"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 scared of something happening to them," she muttered. "I don't want them to get hurt because of me."
"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]
"They not get hurt in Serpent Keep," the Marrow Man snorted. "Who chieftain there now? Lord?"
"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
"Ash," she murmured. Part of her felt like she shouldn't be telling him this -- but at the same time, it was public knowledge, so why shouldn't she. "Gaius Ash."
"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 nodded thoughtfully. "I hear about him. He dangerous, everybody scared of him. Smart man. You safe with him if he like 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
Ky nodded numbly. Yeah, he was dangerous. He was scary. So why did she keep lashing out at him? She wondered if that was another sort of passive self-harm -- subconsciously hoping she pissed him off enough he'd kill her himself. Or let the assassin get into his Keep -- if he let Pratik in, she imagined he'd let another in. Or at least turn her out in the cold. That'd do it just as easily. It'd be much slower than a beheading, but from his story in the infirmary, it didn't seem like he minded that sort of thing.
"I don't know if he likes me," she admitted. "But he likes Tomhas, and Tomhas likes me, so I guess that's good enough."
"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 his brother?" The Marrow Man nodded again. "I hear about him too. Smart too. Too nice, too kind for Lord." He rose, growling again as he put weight on his infected hooves. "I make fire now. You come?"
"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 didn't know what was coming over her. Was she really making friends with the Marrow Man? She stood up, scooping up the pieces of poultice and also the knife and her shed bandage. "I thought you couldn't be near a fire?"
"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]
"My fire fine. Peoples fires, I not go near. Nobody come out in cold to spend time with Marrow Man who suck on people bones and eat childs, so nobody know they sit at my fire." He limped a short distance until he was directly under a tree, then reached down under the snow and began to pull up fallen branches and twigs. "You hear story about me? They still telling stories?"
"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
Somehow this was exactly like the very first moment she'd met Gaius, when he asked if Tomhas had been telling her terrible tales about him. Only this time, she had been told bad things about him. She wasn't sure whether to risk a lie that she hadn't, in case it offended him that he'd been forgotten; or to just own up to it. She followed him towards the tree. "Yes."
"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]
"Nasty story." The Marrow Man dropped the branches near Ky and went back for more. "Some true, some false. All sad. Tell you story. Who you, who you family?"
"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 never built a successful fire in her entire life, despite her father's best efforts at teaching her. But she still did her best to make a little cone of the branches. "My story is also sad."
"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]
"Tell anyway. I like stories." He came over to her and dropped more sticks. "I like new stories best."
"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
