"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
“Tarr,” Ky said, deciding to push her luck by not adding the ‘Lord’ before it. “If you sent Pratik after him? Seems like the sort of job he enjoy.”
"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, actually. He was originally there to gather intel on Tomhas's movements in the war but at this point I'm strongly--" He huffed; he couldn't discuss that with Ky. "Pratik was sent there exclusively for recon, which he gathered very efficiently. He's returning with a young Seer he met there, 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
“Oh.” Ky nodded. She supposed that made sense — that Gaius wasn’t going to have Tarr killed just for being allies with Tomhas. Still, based on what he’d seen, Tarr deserved it. “… I’m guessing that was… before… Aleth?”
She wasn’t going to rest easy when Pratik was within a 500 square mile radius of her.
"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]
"Aleth actually turned up very shortly after Pratik departed. I still can't believe Tomhas agreed to do that to him; it seems cruel. Though Aleth deserved it, from what I've heard and observed."
"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
"Heh... that would have been interesting if they'd overlapped." Ky didn't have a single idea in the world what would have happened if they had. Would Pratik have ratted Aleth out?
"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 would hazard a guess that Pratik would have told me what was what immediately. Aleth doesn't strike me as the sort to be very popular with 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
"Oh, Pratik hated Aleth," Ky agreed without hesitation. "He only took jobs when Aleth paid him twice as much as the three of them--" She nodded towards the window, meaning the assassins from last night. "--combined."
She hesitated, considering it. Gaius was probably right.
"He likes money, though, and usually doesn't tell people stuff if they don't give him money," she said thoughtfully. "And I don't know if he hates Aleth more than he loves money, honestly."
"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'll have to find out for myself," Gaius replied. "I'd wager in favor of his hatred winning over, though, based on the few conversations I've had with him. As I said, he's a good man." He did have his hand deep in Gaius's pockets, though. And it would go deeper yet if he'd been harmed by Tarr.
"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. "He is. He was always very kind to me. Unsettlingly so, sometimes." She cringed slightly, remembering the most bizarre interaction she'd had, possibly in her whole life. "He once came for his payout and was grinning and asking me if I'd read any good books lately, as if he wasn't coated in blood from his head to his feet. It was so odd. He didn't seem sorry at all."
Which was yet another part of him that she had a hard time reconciling. How could you be so kind and have so much bloodlust, all at the same time? It was different than Aleth. Aleth had a way of kissing peoples' asses so he was generally well-liked by powerful men. Pratik seemed authentic. And yet could murder one moment and ask for book recommendations the next, as if nothing had happened.
"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 was something Gaius admired, actually, depending on the circumstances. "Who had he killed?"
"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
"Uh..." Ky scratched the back of her neck, trying to remember which job that one had been. "I think that was the one when someone had kidnapped the Official's daughter for ransom, but then didn't give her back even after they got paid... it was... not fantastic."
"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 expect it was a justified killing, then. Why shouldn't he feel fine?"
"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 for a moment, startled by the question. Did that mean he wasn't shaken by having killed someone last night? She couldn't fathom. She was still upset about having watched it happen -- and she'd, thankfully, dissociated through most of it so her memory was already hazy.
"I mean... I stabbed someone once who most definitely deserved it, three years ago, and I still feel guilty about it and have night scares sometimes." Last night, for example. But she shrugged. She wasn't sure how to answer that if Gaius legitimately didn't see anything wrong with casually killing someone. "I guess I can't understand how it doesn't phase him."
"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]
"Everybody's built different, I suppose." He relaxed against the bedframe. "I understand why one might feel guilt for taking any life, but I've never lost any sleep over killing someone who deserved it. The slaver who helped me get Pratik into Wolf Keep, for example."
"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
