Ky was glad he didn’t make her second guess that one. “The library? Is it… on second and fourth too, then?”
"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]
"Fourth and fifth. The only entrance is through the third floor, though."
"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]
Gaius nodded, this time deliberately staying silent to see how she would react.
"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
Then immediately felt anxious about the silence. Was she supposed to say something else? Should she have a follow up question? Or was this silence okay? Natural? It was okay for there to be silence sometimes, right? He wasn’t mad at her… yes. Silence. Was okay. This was fine. She wouldn’t ramble anxiously. That would make this worse not better. And nodding meant he agreed with her. 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]
They headed down the stairs. Gaius, despite himself, maintained the quiet. He was quite comfortable with silence, and he wanted to see how long she would let it last.
"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
Did he want her to shut up? Aleth wanted her to shut up a lot. She could do that if that’s what he wanted.
If.
But she didn’t know. She was supposed to be a conversationalist with anyone but Aleth. To make interactions smooth and easy. Make sure everyone was comfortable.
Was Gaius comfortable with this?
She sure wasn’t. But she could shut up if that was the better move. She looked at him anxiously, then looked away, still not sure whether she was supposed to be talking or supposed to be shutting up, but was searching for anything at all from his body language or energy to give her the slightest hint.
"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 considered his options, then simply continued the silence and inoffensive posture and expression. He could mess with her, try to glance at her or sigh to see how she'd react, but he wanted to keep this constant. How long would she hold out?
"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 anxiously again, then looked away again, chest getting tight. Was this okay? This was okay… right? It was okay?
He didn’t seem annoyed.
That was good.
Maybe he just wanted to a few moments to himself. He didn’t seem to like hearing himself talk as much as most men who fancied themselves important tended to. Which meant that this was fine. Just a nice, not-at-all-comfortable, silence. As long as he wasn’t mad, this was fine. It… was fine.
Her face was burning a bit but she forced herself to face straight ahead, although she kept stealing glances out of the corner of her eye to see if his nonverbals changed
"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 reached the bottom of the stairs and moved on down from the fifth floor to the fourth. Gaius hung on, rather enjoying the peace, and perhaps having a little guilty fun as he felt her stress rolling off her in waves. He probably shouldn't be cruel like this.
"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 forced herself to take a deep breath and willed herself to stop blushing, but her face was burning all the worse.
She still has such a terrible time of trying to read Gaius.
Aleth didn’t want her to talk unless she was kissing ass, his or someone else’s.
Zander worried if she was quiet at all.
Gaius…
She didn’t fucking know. Should she ask a question about the library? Or would she look impatient for not just waiting? Should she think of a question about the orrery? She still didn’t understand what it was. The artifacts room? Would it be weird to ask about the skull at this point?
"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 could only imagine what must be going through her head. She might be worrying that he was mad at her, or that he expected something from her, or simply that she had just touched a nerve. He didn't encourage any of those, though, still remaining blissfully unreadable. It was so quiet; he always reveled in the silence of his own Keep's upper floors as opposed to Caracal Keep's bustle and prattle.
"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 could read near a dozen languages — why did he have to be a stone fucking wall?
It was so oppressively quiet.
Was her breathing as loud in his ears as it was in her own? She tried to make herself breathe quieter, which just resulted in her chest feeling even tighter than before, and her face flushing even redder.
“So, the, uh, library?” She couldn’t handle it anymore. She needed a hint. She didn’t care whether the hint was for or against conversation. She just needed to know one way or another so she knew what to do.
"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]
Aha, there it was. Maybe three minutes of silence. He'd enjoyed it while it lasted. "The library," Gaius agreed. "Nearly there, now. One more floor."
"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
Thank the gods he’d taken the prompting and hadn’t just looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She might have melted.
“Great!” She flashed a quick smile, glad he was speaking again. “Is there, a, uh… what’s your favorite part of 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]
