"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 shrugged, wishing she could tell him, but she couldn’t. “Thinking, I guess.”
"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]
Was she completely mad? Predators aside, it was freezing out here. "You could easily have died," he said, trying not to scold, trying to sound patient. "And the guard only just set this fire up; I heard him talk to you. You were returning?"
"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 didn’t think you’d hear him,” she said lamely, not actually answering the question.
"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 sleep light and wake early," he replied. "Where did you go, if you never went to bed? The nearest village is four days out on foot."
"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 didn’t go to a village,” she said, even though he’d literally just said that he was impossible to have done so. She hesitated, realizing he was gonna keep pushing if she didn’t give at least a partial answer. “I don’t know. A walk, I guess… I came back before anyone woke up, though. So it’s fine.”
"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]
"How long of a walk, and why? The likelihood of your survival would have plummeted the second you stepped out of the camp." He pointed upward. "The trees are never empty. They've moved on from this spot, but they're hanging around on the outskirts waiting for us to leave. The spiders."
"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 shivered at that, contemplating the thought of getting strung up in a spider web somewhere. Did northern spiders even have webs? She still had very little concept of what these spiders were like. She just imagined a normal spider, but a lot bigger and iron, she guessed.
“I don’t know,” she muttered again, shrugging. Plausible deniability was easier to maintain than a proper lie that could be fact checked.
"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]
"It wasn't wise, for someone who's decided she wants to live. Will it happen again?" His pale eyes were fixed intently on her 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
“No.” She stared into the fire for a long moment before she looked up to meet his gaze, shrinking a little as she did so. “I decided that when I was walking… I won’t do it 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]
"Good." Gaius relaxed his gaze slightly. "I'm not riding back to my brother with one of his daughter's bodies in a shroud. It simply won't happen." Her timeline still didn't make sense. He'd heard her return. He knew when she came back. The fires had been put out after the guards went to bed. So she'd been warm somewhere for the past few hours, or she wouldn't be here right 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
"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 came back shortly before the guard approached you, by the way," he said, deciding to bring it up against his better judgement. "I was awake. As I said, I rise early."
"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 looked at him, then back at the fire. It wasn’t a question. He didn’t need her to agree. He was right and they both knew it. “It was a long walk.”
"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 wouldn't have survived it," Gaius said firmly.
"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
