He stepped inside and out of the way of the doorway, but he kept himself planted just short of being against the wall and remained standing. "Sara will be visiting her siblings in the next few weeks," he informed her. "She tells me she would like to bring you home to your parents. I thought I ought to get your opinion on this." He already knew what she would want; it was really a matter of understanding the consequences and getting Tomhas's permission.
"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, um, yeah.” She nodded. “She mentioned it. I, uh, I mean… I would like that.”
It was a decision. And she still hated having to voice her desires. But. Well. This wasn’t coming as a surprise to either of them, she was sure. She’d already told Sara that this is what she wanted, and she was absolutely certain she passed that along to Gaius. And even if she hadn’t, Ky knew that Gaius knew that this was exactly what Ky wanted anyhow. She didn’t have to say it for him to know.
Which meant that there was no reason why she shouldn’t.
She wasn’t going to give him any excuse whatsoever to say no. No teaching her a lesson in being assertive or whatever other bullshit he may try to pull. No. She was going to swallow her anxiety and tell him she wanted to go home.
He was probably going to say no anyway and get mad at her for wanting it — offended that she didn’t think his home was good enough for her. Unless he just hated her enough now that he wanted rid of her as much as she wanted to go.
Either way.
If he said no, she was going to ensure she could blame him for it, not doubt whether she’d done something wrong to lead up to the decision.
"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]
Also bruh you got me fucked up earlier hahah so kudos to you and your lore xD I went to visit my parents for the weekend and they’re raising my sister's kids and of course I being the fun aunt that I am have been playing with them and at one point we got into a tickle chase and it was really, really cute. And I was chasing my 3.5 year old nephew and he went running up to my mom and basically climbed her xD like made it to base so I “couldn’t” tickle him — and as he went hiding behind my mother’s literal skirt, I had this random flashback to Michael chasing Tomhas and their mom not helping and whew boy that made me feel a certain kind of way lol
Also doesn’t help that said nephew is a charismatic talkative lil redhead haha
"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]
(Oh Jesus Shady that ain't fun Separation of church and state but like fiction and reality? Holy cow)
Gaius nodded. "I figured that. You understand the risks? Trolls, earthquakes, possibly assassins....worse things than all of those."
"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
(Haha yes pls I then had a stress dream about it and I just woke up and he’s got a teeny tiny tick on him like the size of a splinter and is on the way to the doctor. I think I shall wrap the child in bubble wrap and hold him in my lap until he turns 18 lol)
“Yes—“ Gods, why was she regressing? She dipped her head. “I do. I’ve thought through all that.”
And it was worth it. She kept that part to herself — she didn’t want to offend him. Trolls weren’t better than being here. But. Well. The Keep wasn’t going to stop a troll. If anything, it’d probably be safer out there since they’d be smaller and harder to find. Like little ants scattered to the hillside rather than sitting ducks like they were here.
And. Well. She wanted to go home. At this point she didn’t care. She needed to get home. To make sure her parents and siblings were okay. It was torture being here to fret about 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]
(Good lord) (No more scary rps after 9 for you, young friendo)
He dipped his head. "Then I see no reason to stop you. But I intend to wait for a reply from Tomhas so he knows the situation. You're his daughter and technically you have to obey him to a certain extent. If he says no, I will have to abide by his wishes."
"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 hesitated, feeling her heart sink a little. That meant she had a full month left to wait before they could even get started on the trip. And that was provided the birds made it there and back in a timely manner. And that Tomhas answered right away. And that he said yes. But. Well. Obviously he was going to say yes. He’d want her home with him. She was sure of it. Family was supposed to stick together during crises. He’d want her and Lyra to come home. But a full month before they’d get proof of that then another two week journey, and that was provided they had everything ready to go to be able to leave the instant the letter came. Which didn’t seem likely. So it was still going to be near two months of torture. Gods.
Still, it was better than seven.
And she’d realized by now that there was no use in arguing with Gaius when he had his mind made up. Not to mention it’d look terrible for her to try to rush him into bypassing her parents’ wishes.
“…okay,” she said at last. “I understand.”
At least he wasn’t going to stop her once Tomhas and Anneke said she could come home. That was something she supposed.
(Plot twist: they say no and we yeet her even deeper into depression lol)
"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 mean honestly he would very likely say no because it's super dangerous to get there even without monsters)
(Maybe he'll try to go himself or Anneke will try? I bet Anneke will go)
"Good." He nodded. "You are alright with this, then?"
"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 nuuuu Anneke BAD you can’t just abandon a newborn for Ky)(she will be SO unhappy if Anneke takes the risk rather than her haha)
“I am,” she said, inclining her head. She didn’t have much of an option, now did she. “… if you think it’s best this way. I’m sure he’ll say 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]
(I dunno someone will come. I forgot about Rain o.o)
Gaius thought otherwise. "Your father isn't cautious in the same way I am, but it doesn't mean he isn't careful," he said simply.
"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
“But he’ll want us home,” she said. “We’ll be careful. Obviously Sara won’t be traveling without a guard, right?”
"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]
"Not without many guards," he agreed. "But Sara is a fully grown woman, and she has no legal guardian. You are not and do have one. Thus I am forced to defer to him. I expect he'll be concerned for your safety even with the guards."
"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 understand,” she said reluctantly. “… but he gave me the choice to come here. He’ll let me choose to go back… will you tell him that I want to? Please?”
"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 have no doubt he knows. But if you wish, I will write another letter to him informing him of your wishes. Or you may write yourself and I can send it along with a letter of my own."
"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
“… okay, yeah.” Ky nodded once. “I’ll write a little one. It won’t take me long.”
"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]
