He growled to himself. "Fine. They meet me, but quick."
"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
“Okay!” She grinned. “Thank you! I’ll go grab them. One second!”
Ky started back towards the door.
Pratik and Zander both looked at each other. Holy hell was this really happening? They’d been in absurd situations before. Hell, they’d been in them together before. But this was in a league of its own.
Ky pulled the door open.
Zander and Pratik both flinched. Gaze snapping towards her, then, sheepishly, at one another. Gods, they were edgy.
“He said he’ll meet you.” She hesitated, looking over her shoulder. “Both, or one at a time?”
"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]
"Both. Make no difference if they fools." He paced in a small circle.
"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 cringed and turned back to Pratik and whispered, “be nice.”
“I will!”
She frowned at Zander. “And you, too. Don’t be all overprotective. Just be nice.”
Zander snorted but nodded.
She looked between them until she was satisfied they were calm enough not to do something dumb, then stepped backward to let them come out. They exchanged another glance. They’d both been listening to the other-worldly rasps. The idea of coming toe to toe with it was another thing entirely.
And they were both eager and completely and utterly terrified at the thought.
Zander hesitantly stepped out first. He stopped in his tracks the instant his eyes locked on Marrow Man. He was massive. And gruesome. And, and…
"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]
The Marrow Man looked Zander up and down, sniffing again. He stood tensely where he was, fur bristling and flat eyes wide and staring. "Which one this 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
“My uncle. Zander Medeiros.” Ky tried to push him a step further so that Pratik would have to come out, then thought better of it and decided it was better for her to stay in the middle. She took his hand pulled him a step forward. It was emasculating. He’d never felt so weak in his entire life as now, letting his niece stand between himself and a threat. Especially not one she wasn’t afraid of, when he’d never been this scared in his entire life.
“He’s the one who killed two of the assassins who came after me,” Ky explained, turning back to Ruh. “And then Gaius took out the third.” She gestured up at the wall, wondering if he could hear what was going on. And wondering if he was coming down to meet Ruh, too.
Zander took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders, willing his voice not to tremble. “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for protecting my niece.”
"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]
Gaius was indeed thinking of going down to speak to the Marrow Man. He was itching to learn more of him. "Will you be alright up here?" he asked Emery. Emery smiled anxiously. "I can point and shoot," he replied. "Then I'm going down." "What?!"
"She good to me," he replied. "I good to her in return. You kill two men for her?"
"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 did,” Zander said, inclining his head. “And I’d do it again.”
Ky cringed slightly at that. She didn’t like thinking about that.
“Anything to keep Ky safe,” Zander concluded. “She deserves it.”
"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 thinking like me, then. Good." The Marrow Man approached slowly until he was only five feet from Zander. His beard and mouth were still stained with the stag's blood. "Friend of Ky is friend of me also."
"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 grinned, pleased that the introduction was going well.
“You as well,” Zander agreed, inclining his head. He was still wildly uncomfortable. But was painfully slowly starting to relax into the conversation now that it seemed likely that they were on more or less good terms.
Pratik’s heart was pounding in his ears, chest tight. He forced himself to shake it off. Marrow Man wasn’t going to hurt him if he didn’t hurt Ky and Zander… probably. And, well, fuck it. It’d been a long time in the coming, if Pratik did die tonight. He took a deep breath and stepped out of the doorway.
It was… awe-inspiring. He was every bit as taken aback as Zander, but did a much better job of keeping it off his face.
“This is Pratik,” Ky introduced, looking at Ruh, then back at Pratik. “This is Ruh.”
Pratik inclined his head, not quite finding the courage to go up and stand side by side with Zander and instead staying a step or two behind. “A pleasure to meet you, sir.”
"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 friend as well?" He stayed still again. "You not from North, either."
Gaius descended the stairs slowly, leaning against the wall to support 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
“I’m from the East,” Pratik confirmed. “And I’d also kill to keep her safe, 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]
"East." He nodded. "War still there? It start before even I alive."
"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’s still there,” Pratik confirmed, but his eyebrows rose. It somehow seemed even longer of a war to hear that out of an ancient creature’s mouth. “I don’t think it’s ever going to go anywhere. Too much greed.”
"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]
"Greed everywhere," he agreed. "Peoples come here running from burning homes and we let them in or we kill them. They try settle, cut down trees, they die. They follow us and travel with us, they live."
"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
