Ky nodded again, considering what he said. Was there actually hope of a safe future ahead of them without her dying? It felt too good to be true. It felt very much like her inner cowardice looking for something to latch to to weaken her resolve. But it wasn’t going to work. She could keep the resolve alive long enough until she wasn’t.
"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 and myself will talk it over with our spouses, but the decision is largely up to you and Tadaaki, I believe." He reached for his cane and brought it up into his lap, fidgeting with 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
Ky should say something. Anything. She was looking like such an ungrateful, petulant child right now. And she didn’t mean to be. But that’s how she felt. “And those are the only two options? There or 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]
"Unless you have somewhere else in mind that would satisfy Tomhas's need for your safety, yes." Gaius nodded, rubbing his thumb along the cane. "I suppose we could whisk you up to the Far North with a couple of my contacts, but I don't think you'd like it up there."
"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. She certainly wouldn’t. It was already too cold for her liking, nevermind going even further north. Then again, she’d feel less guilty about drawing assassins up to his ‘contacts’ than she would to one of the Keeps.
"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 don't know what sort of deadline Tomhas gave you, but I would prefer an answer within the week so I can send orders up ahead." He glanced at her again. "Why are you back here, Ky?"
"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 looked at him, then looked back at her leg. Somehow keeping her gaze averted made this more tolerable. Even though it was excruciatingly embarrassing. “… I worried Wick.”
"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]
"Wick is a hard man to worry." He left that hanging there; he didn't want to press too hard. Pressing hard was unwise in many interrogations, and though this wasn't an interrogation the same rules applied.
"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
It felt like an accusation. And yet he hadn’t actually said anything she could argue with. She didn’t know Wick well enough to say one way or the other. She wanted to say he overreacted. But had he? Had he really? He kept his cool surprisingly well given he’d figured out what she’d been about to do. Calm intervention. But intervention all the same. “…I…”
She had no defense.
"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]
His cold blue eyes shifted to her and stayed, not quite a challenge but something akin to one.
"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
Her stomach lurched and her heart began racing as she stared at him in guilty silence. For someone who claimed not to be able to read minds, he sure was making her feel like he was reading her mind again. She dropped her gaze again, blushing. It was making her head feel worse. She furrowed her brow, trying to focus on her breathing.
But the only thing in the world she was aware of as his icy gaze on her. “… I went outside without a coat. And he saw 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]
"A blasphemous act, as we all know," Gaius said dryly, though without scorn. "Weren't you worried you'd catch cold?"
"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 glanced up at him, face somehow blushing even with her pale and weakly constitution. “I didn’t plan on being out long enough for it to matter.”
"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 how long did you plan to be outside?" He was beginning to see where this was going, but he maintained his mild tone. Softening his voice would just sound patronizing, and adopting a more demanding approach would just frighten her into silence.
"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, dropping her gaze again. She didn’t want to reference a ‘however long it would take’ because then he’d ask what and she didn’t want to explain the ‘it’. “Not long.”
"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]
