Emery, in turn, looked to Zander. It was his call, fully. Emery was a shadow that could talk, as far as he himself was concerned. That was his job.
"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
Zander glanced between them, then scoffed and dramatically said, “no, of course not. I am staying here explicitly to pace around parlors and ignore you entirely.”
Ky snorted but smiled, pleased.
"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]
Emery grinned. Ada glanced toward the kitchens, wondering if she could slip off to get Pratik to ask for her so Ky could have her uncle for awhile.
"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 glanced at Ada, then back at Emery. “Can you speak Akarataran?”
"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 shook his head. "Afraid not. Moon Speech and Upper Tongue, that's all. And a little Rhaebaki."
"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
“Ah, that’s unfortunate.” She hesitated. “Ah, well, we can just flip flop,” she said, looking back at Ada and switching to Akarataran. “I think we want to hang out. Do you all want to get tea together?”
“Sounds good to me,” Zander said, looking to Ada to see if she wanted to.
"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]
Ada looked back at Zander, then to Ky. She didn't, not really. This man wasn't someone she could trust yet, and she'd been looking forward to some peaceful sipping by herself or talking with her fellow girl, left alone by all the men in the castle for once. "Sure," she said with a small shrug. If it had been Pratik asking, she'd have said no outright. But Ky was too fragile; she'd think it was her own fault, and Ada didn't want the complications that would then cause.
"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 smiled and gave a reassuring nod, then looked back at Emery. “I think we’re agreed on tea.”
"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]
"Great!" He clapped his hands. "Off to the kitchens we go, then." Ada stuffed her hands in her pockets, wondering if it was too late to change her mind.
"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 smiled at him, then turned back towards Ada. Her smile faltered as she noticed the change in Ada’s body language. She felt like a jerk. Perhaps she shouldn’t have invited Zander and Emery along. Ada was wildly uncomfortable around men. She shouldn’t have made her choose between tea — which was her idea in the first place — and being around men.
Maybe she just needed to show her that Zander was really nice. Emery seemed really nice, too. Less threatening than most men.
“So, I was telling Ada that I cannot drink coffee,” Ky said, looking at Zander.
He gave a little laugh. “No. No you can’t.”
Although if Ash had coffee here, maybe he’d goad her into drinking it. She had no filter whatsoever when she was on a coffee rush. And it’d be nice to get her actually talking to him again.
“Perhaps your body can tolerate it better now?” He suggested.
“I am not hopeful,” she said, turning down the hall. Zander laughed again. She continued, “besides, they don’t have it in the North anyhow. But Ada quite likes coffee. So you’ve got that in common.”
“That we do,” Zander agreed, turning towards Ada with a smile. He was careful to keep Ky between himself and Ada. He also noticed the shift in her demeanor, and assumed it had something to do with them being men. He didn’t know what she may or may not have been through. But he knew how slaves were treated, especially female ones. He wanted to make her as comfortable as possible. “I don’t know how they survive up here without a proper dose of caffeine to start the day.”
"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]
"It certainly helps," Ada said with a nod. It was depressing as hell up here; caffeine might wake people up. But as things were, it seemed like Serpent Keep was devoid of any energy, with the exception of the children and some of the soldiers. And Emery. She didn't particularly mind Emery; she knew his sort and knew he had no interest in her. It was his unending chatter that vexed her. She couldn't understand any of it, so it was just noise. He was thankfully silent for the moment, letting Zander and Ky take the lead in this conversation.
"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
“So, how long have you been up this way?” Zander asked casually.
"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]
Ada glanced at him, frowning. "Well, I was kidnapped from my home something like three months ago. Traveled in the South for awhile via slave caravan, then we came into the North about two months ago. So I've been up here for two months, either traveling or staying in a Lord's Keep." It felt weird to be asked that question, as if she was just vacationing in this ice land.
"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
Zander nodded, keeping a neutral expression, but silently kicking himself for being so clueless. “… I meant here at Serpent Keep. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to poke.”
"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]
"In that case, close to a month. I'm going a bit stir crazy."
"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
Someday, everything is going to go right for you, and it will be so wonderful you won't even know what to do. — Hannelore Ellicott-Chatham, Questionable Content
