She huffed and resumed her pacing. It’d been worth a shot.
"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]
Sera entered with Ada and the rest, and Gaius got to his feet again. "Yes," Ada said before he could ask. "I had a dream when the earthquake happened. Thank you for your concern." "I was going to ask if you were alright first," Gaius said, rankled.
"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 towards the door. Maybe she could slip away when he was distracted.
She shook the thought off. She certainly didn't have the courage to defy him a second time in the same week. She should have just bode her time and used this as her out, before he explicitly told her she had to stay here.
Pratik followed in close behind, but had done a better job of getting himself put together. He couldn't very well show his employer how worried he was. He had a reputation to uphold, after all. Although Sera would no doubt rat him out. Still. It was better given as second-hand information than a direct observation. So he hung back a bit and tried to pretend that he wasn't paying as close of attention as he was.
"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]
"Will you tell me your dream?" "Obviously." Ada sank into a chair near Gaius. "I was in a stone circle again, with the same animals. The gods were yelling at me in a language I couldn't understand and it was loud enough that I thought my eardrums were going to burst. There were living animals around the stones as well, and the big white cat came up and snarled right in my face. Some of them came forward too but a few stated back by their stones and watched. The whole ground was trembling."
"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 stopped her pacing to turn and listen. Gods… literally. It was the fucking gods. At it again. She had a spike of fear as she listened silently.
"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 did the stones look like?" Gaius asked. "Wuat condition were they in?" "Same as before, pretty much. You're thinking they might crack when the gods are awake?" "Perhaps. What about the animals? Which ones stayed back?" She thought for a moment. "The fish...I mean, it was sort of in a stream nearby. The white raven, the doe, the fox. And the brown bear." Gaius sorted through them. Frugra, Haelar, Moora, Ast, and Ljos. Mostly gods involving wholesome passion of some sort, and the light. Interesting...
"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
None of it made sense to Ky but she listened in case she happen to understand something despite the fact that she hadn’t ‘gotten started studying’ folklore regarding the gods. Because she was apparently still bitter about that.
"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]
"Should we be worried yet?" Sara asked Gaius. "Not yet. On our guard, but not worried."
"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
What the fuck guard did Gaius think he had against the gods? Goddamn. She needed to go get her family. Her real family. Beg and cry and plead until Tomhas relented and gave her what she wanted — them to all be safe in the South.
"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]
"Are you still going through with your plan, then?" "We seem to have a little more time, but yes." Gaius nodded.
"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
How did he honestly believe it was smarter to go to a childish god with an ego the size of the entire continent than it was to hide from them? He couldn’t even talk to her without being an asshole. Did he really think he’d have better luck with gods that acted like petulant children?
"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]
"But you'll talk to Sera and me first." "Nautrally. But not right now."
"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 Sara. She was more reasonable than Gaius. By a lot. Maybe she could be swayed into making good decisions. Especially if he insisted on going off on his suicide mission.
"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 librarians were streaming in now. Gaius glanced at Sara. "Some people here don't know about the gods yet. I'll be making an announcement once everybody's here." Sara nodded.
"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
There wasn’t even room to pace anymore. At least there felt like there wasn’t. Just like it felt like there wasn’t a single breath of oxygen left in this godforsaken room. Just anxiety and fear and way, way too many people. Ky sank down on the floor in the back corner and pulled her knees to her chest, making herself as small as possible.
Tadaaki and Aashi were also beginning to get anxious at the sheer quantity of people amassing in this room. It was hard enough to have the knowledge of how massive this place was and how teeming with employees. Let alone having to face them all at once. And scared besides.
"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]
