“Alright.” Pratik glanced at Ada, then back at Sera and sourly buried his hands in his pockets and planted his feet to curb the desire to follow them. “Fine.”
"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]
Rickard guided Pratik past them. "She'll be just fine, I'm sure of it," he murmured. "She's walking pretty steadily, see?"
"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 glanced at Ada again then walked past her wordlessly, following Rickard. He didn’t need a babysitter. And he didn’t want to do this. To be coddled. Taken to a playroom like a toddler to be distracted. He wasn’t in the mood to pretend like Rickard was helping. Couldn’t he just… go… find something that needed stabbed? Surely there was something in a Keep this big to take his aggression out on. And it certainly wasn’t Rickard. He wasn’t in the mood to force himself to be gentle. And he always made sure he was gentle with Rickard. He deserved 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]
Rickard walked alongside him in silence, glancing at him every now and 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
He was making him uneasy. Of course he was. Who wouldn’t be nervous around an agitated mercenary? Obviously he wasn’t going to hurt Rickard. They both knew that. At least… Pratik hoped that Rickard didn’t think he would ever hurt him. Because he wasn’t. At least not physically.
Gods. This was a bad idea.
“You don’t have to babysit me,” Pratik said, giving him an out. “I’m a big boy. I can entertain myself.”
"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'm doing this of my own accord," Rickard said. "So Sera can do her job. I'm perfectly happy to keep you company."
"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
“Mm.” Fine. Pratik took a deep breath and held it for a moment, then let it out, forcing his shoulders to relax a bit as he did. And again. He needed to calm his energy. Let Rickard believe he was helping.
"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]
"Have you been up to see the artifact room yet?" Rikcard asked.
"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 haven’t,” Pratik answered. It was another of those things he was being careful of. Didn’t want to appear to be snooping. “Have 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]
"A couple times. It's fascinating, full of historical objects." He smiled slightly. "I don't know anything about any of them, but they look amazing."
"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
“That’s what counts,” Pratik said with a little smile. “What’s your favorite thing up there?”
"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 thought for a moment. "There's a lovely piece eof stained glass wreathed with gold. I think it might be from the East?"
"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
“Ooh!” Pratik nodded. “There’s next to nothing redeemable from that place, but their craftsmanship is excellent, I’ll give them 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]
"Absolutely. I went there a few times when I was quite young and I was just astounded by how expensive the cities looked. There seemed to be gold dripping from the buildings."
"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
“Luckily money gives them one thing to care about. Dunno what they’d do without it,” he said dryly. “It’s their entire personality.”
"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]
