Ky nodded. "I'll ask Rönn what else may be hanging around when he comes back. Hopefully it won't be too..." She glanced guilty at Gaius. Right. That. She looked away. "Late."
"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]
"We'll get to him as quickly as possible." Gaius wasn't sleeping tonight, certainly. "Tomorrow." "What, how close is he?" Ada asked. "Just outside the wall, as I understand it."
"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
“We should… maybe… um…” She really didn’t want to admit what she’d done. But she wanted even less to have to admit it in a few days after it was far too late to do anything about it. “Let him… know that we, uh, want to uh, talk tomorrow? Before he, uh, may not be around for a few weeks? Maybe?”
"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]
"Pratik, would you be willing to find Rönn?" Gaius asked. "He should be near the south wall. The troll has moved on from there. I need to speak with him urgently but we need to wait until morning."
"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
"Uh, sure, yeah!" Pratik nodded with a little smile. He wasn't sure Rönn wanted to talk to him, though. He was pretty sure the introduction was just meant to protect him from becoming a snack when he was on the road -- he doubted Rönn would care enough to come to meet with him unsolicited. He liked Ky. Pratik looked at Ky, "Do you wanna--?"
Ky shook her head vigorously.
He smirked and nodded. "Alright. I'll see what I can do." He started down the next flight of stairs.
"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]
(Just found out I've been using my sister's good toothbrush for the past two nights without realizing I am Horrified)
Gaius watched him go. He hoped Rönn would react favorably to him. He'd seemed wary before. After a moment he pushed himself off the wall. "I can make it the rest of the way on my own," he said to Ky. "Let's get to the library." "Why would the gods contact me now?" Ada asked, following as he started walking. "Not sure about the timing," Gaius replied. "But I'm sure every Seer felt something tonight. Interesting that this coincided with the arrival of the troll; I'll have to make note of that."
"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
(nuuuuu that's quite possibly worse than my video chat mishap earlier xD)
"... are there other Seers here?" Ky asked, keeping pace.
Pratik walked quickly, realizing as soon as he stepped outside that was a mistake to have not gone for a coat. He hesitated. It'd waste time to run all the way up five flights of stairs just for a coat. Not to mention it'd risk them all still be standing there and him having to sheepishly slink past Gaius with an admission of being too stupid to get his coat before he went.
This would be quick.
He took a deep breath and crossed his arms in front of him, jogging to the door and letting himself out. He was trembling a bit by the time he got there from the cold, but the exercise helped warm him up a bit.
In the distance, he could see the proof -- giant footprints in the snow, and evergreen needles shaken onto the ground like a dandelion dropping its seeds, blown to the wind. Nearer, he could see Rönn's hoofprints, and Ky's. How did this work?
"Rönn?" He shouted. "Rönn, it's Pratik! Ky wants you!"
"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]
(She just came in and saw me brushing and there was this moment of unrelenting of horror on her face as she said it was hers and I just stopped midbrush It's good she's a good sport it seems like she's already over it but ooooof)
"All over the place. They're rare, but not that rare." Gaius kept walking. "Power varies, I believe."
Almost immediately Rönn emerged from the trees, standing up straight and tall. He looked down dubiously at Pratik. "What she want? She look? I tell her no looking."
"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, she looked." Pratik couldn't help but feel a small pang of anxiety as he looked up into the face of this gruesome 'good friend' of Ky's. But he didn't retreat. "And Lord Ash did, too. They've got a lot of questions. Lord Ash is asking for a meeting with you in the morning in hopes you've got some answers for them. Ky seemed to think you wouldn't be here for long?"
"Do you have books about what in the world all this means?" Ky asked. It was probably a stupid question. But she wanted answers. And she didn't want to have to step outside to get them for herself. And it'd be dumb to let Rönn into the courtyard. She trusted him, mostly. But she wasn't sure she'd trust him around the children. It was one thing if he lost control of himself and put a half-grown pest out of her misery -- it'd be an entirely different thing altogether to go after her cousins.
"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 thought it was an unused toothbrush sitting in the holder!! It looked and felt brand new!!)
"I following Zander to South tomorrow," he replied, ears flicking in irritation. "She want me stay longer now? What questions they have?"
"I have many books in the gods and the time before they went to sleep. A few speculations about what would happen if and when they wake." Gaius was moving as fast as he could, nearing the library. "I'm sure we can find correlation between books. This will require a lot of work."
"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
(oofta that's rough -- best of luck on your journey of emotional recovery xD)
Pratik blinked at him. No wonder Ky was being so hesitant. Gaius would be very annoyed to hear that Ky was sending Rönn after Zander. It was her right, really. She was the reason anyone knew about Rönn anyway. And she'd made it more than clear how she felt about Zander leaving. It was completely reasonable for her to want Rönn to protect him, since she was safe here. "Um... don't know, really. They just asked me to ask you to stick around. Ky thought you'd be mad if she came out here herself tonight."
"I'm a fast reader," Ky said with a nod, quickly stepping ahead to pull the door open and hold it for them.
"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]
(Thank you Hopefully a good night's sleep will help)
"She right." He crossed his arms, jerking his head east. "Troll go that way, but might come back. You stupid to come outside. Go in. I stay but only til high sun."
Gaius stepped inside and immediately collapsed into the nearest chair. "Bring me the first six books on the fifth shelf from the floor, third row from the back," he said.
"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." Pratik inclined his head. "Are you... able to come out when it's daylight? Or where should they find you?"
That was oddly specific.
"Fifth... third..." Ky hurried towards the back, trying to remember her orders. That was a lot of numbers all at once. Six books. Fifth shelf. Third row. She could do 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]
"I come out in day. Look for me here." He jabbed a finger at Pratik. "If you leaving anytime, you be careful. Things strange out here."
Ada followed her quickly. "This is insane," she whispered. "Did you really see a troll? What did it look like?"
"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
Pratik nodded. "Seems like it... you know if anything else is coming? Are the gods waking up?"
"Horrible," Ky whispered back. "Very, very ugly. And huge. And it looked like it was looking right at us. I couldn't breathe."
"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]
