Gaius continued walking, going silent once again. He supposed she'd make conversation again if she wanted to. If not, he was perfectly happy with that as well. She seemed much more composed than she had inside, at least.
"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 sighed inaudibly and walked next to him, half a step behind. Was he going to subject her to silence again? Grill her to evaluate his performance, then leave her to sweat in the silence that followed? Where could she even go from something like this? No topic seemed safe around this man.
"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 remembered Emery being a lot like this in the beginning. Quiet and subservient, afraid to insult his rescuer. He'd grown out of it of course, but that had taken a lot of time. He had been a teenager when Gaius took him in, too, but Gaius had been close enough in age that it wasn't as foreign as Ky felt. She had come from an entirely different situation, too.
"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
Apparently, yes. She buried her hands in her pockets, still trying to think of a safe topic. The only things she could think of were trite, which would be tiresome to them both. But she couldn't talk about the situation. Talk about her parents. Talk about Zander. Talk about trainers. Talk about how utterly miserable she was because of all of those things.
He was making a noble effort at being supportive. And doing a fairly good job of distracting her. But they both knew he didn't actually want her to open up to him. And she didn't particularly want that, either.
"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 do you suppose your friend is up to?" Gaius asked after a few moments. "Rönn."
"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 him, grateful he offered a safe topic. "Um... I mean, I assume he sleeps during the day. I don't know that he's allowed to be out when it's light."
"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 don't recall being forbidden from light in the legends," he mused. "I suppose that's on point for the gods, though. Where does he sleep?"
"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... I mean... I guess he didn't really say he can't. I just assumed... and I don't know. I also assume somewhere out of sight. People are cruel to him -- he doesn't want to be seen."
"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]
"Mm." Gaius glanced again towards the south wall. "He's a fascinating fellow; you're lucky to have met 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
Ky nodded in agreement, following his gaze. "...I'm glad he came back. I would have looked like a liar if he hadn't."
"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]
"Tribesmen of the North place a lot of value on words and oaths," Gaius replied. "If he said he would come, he was going to come."
"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. "Well... good. He's nice... ish. I quite like 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]
Despite the cannibalism and murder. Gaius could understand it, though. And it wasn't quite entirely Rönn's fault. That was what was so terrible about curses--nobody could do anything about them, really.
"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 glad he's going to protect Zander, too. He'll be safe as far as Rönn is willing to go with 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]
"Do you suppose he'll be willing to leave the Northern Realm?" Gaius asked. He doubted it; Rönn was very old. In his experience, the elderly were rather set in their ways and didn't fancy travel.
"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
