"It was my pleasure!" Ingrid gave her a little bow. "I hope to see you in here often; enjoy your stay!"
"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 you.” Ky smiled and nodded to her, then took a step away, satisfied with the interaction.
"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 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 wandered for a while longer, working up the courage to go find Elise. She didn’t particularly want to have to ask for help. But she could search a full year and not find what she was looking for if she tried on her own.
It took her a while, but finally she found the office.
"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 door was open and the office was very small and cramped, with piles of papers and books stacked atop the desk and on the floor. A middle-aged woman with light brown skin and curly graying hair in a messy bun was sorting through one of the stacks, muttering to herself as she periodically pushed a pair of round spectacles back onto her nose. Her head jerked up as she heard Ky. "Oh, hello!" She smiled, flustered. "Who are you, how can I help you?"
"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
“Hi, sorry to bother!” Ky said, very much feeling like she was intruding— or at the very least, interrupting for no reason. “My name is Ky Ruiarc. Are you, um, Ms Elise?”
"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's me." Elise straightened, and the stack began to slide apart. She caught it at the last minute and pushed it back together. "Ky Ruiarc? What can I do for you?"
"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
The state of this office made Ky anxious, and she felt like she should help, but she didn’t have the first idea of where to begin. So instead she awkwardly mumbled. “Oh, um, I was wondering — interested in — learning more about astronomy? But I can come back later if now’s a bad time! Or, I, uh, can just look myself, if you could point me in the right general direction?”
"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]
"What, specifically?" She let go of the stack tentatively and stood carefully on front of it. "Planets? Stars? Galaxies? Comets?"
"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
“Um…planets, I guess?” Ky buried her hands in her pockets. “I want to learn more about the thing upstairs.”
"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 orrery?" Elise nodded. "Planetary and solar alignment is what you'll be wanting." She frowned. "I haven't seen you around before; is this your first visit?"
"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
“Yes, ma’am.” Ky smiled and dipped her head. “I’m Gaius’s new niece. I’ll be staying here the next few months, so you’ll probably be seeing a lot of 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]
"New niece, eh? They don't make em the usual way now?" Elise raised an eyebrow. "Welcome, anyhow." She jerked her head in the direction of the door as an indication to follow and headed out of the office.
"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 laughed at that, startled but amused at the joke, and followed her out. She felt like she should make a joke in return, but the only ones that came to mind would fall flat, so instead she just followed with a grin.
"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 take it this is your first time taking an interest in astronomy?" Elise asked over her shoulder as she wound her way into the maze of books.
"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
