Gaius finished talking to Bay, and they both headed to the third floor.
"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
She ducked her head and smiled a little, then hesitated as she finally recognized where she was. She was usually pretty good at keeping herself oriented, but this was a massive Keep with a lot of doors and hallways. And while there were a few things to help her not get fully turned around... there weren't many. Not to mention she'd really only been through this way on her way to her room, and again for the tour, and again...
Her gaze locked on Tadaaki's door.
That was it; she was sure of 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]
Gaius brushed past them with Bay at his side, heading for the infirmary. Emery watched them, and he and Bay exchanged a nod. Bay's eyes rested on Ky for a moment.
"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 stared at him with wide eyes, stricken. That must be Captain Bay. She wanted to say he looked familiar, although she really couldn't be sure of that with the state she was in. But, well. He carried himself like a military man. And had a cold, withdrawn manner about himself.
She could see him doing anything Ash asked of him. Anything at all.
Her breath caught and she looked from him, to Tadaaki's door, back to him again... back to the door... back to him. Gods. He was-- this was-- he'd come back. But-but they'd been telling the truth! She told him everything. And-and so had Tadaaki. Tadaaki didn't know anything; why were they going to his room? Had they changed their minds?
Gods, they'd changed their minds.
She-she had to do something. Had to stop this. At the very least, had to put herself right in the middle of it so that she'd be more likely to get hurt than Tadaaki. She was the one who deserved that after all.
Her gaze went from him to the door and back to him again, yet again, as she silently panicked. But she made no attempt to hide the distress in her expression or body language. "Please."
What else could she say? Nothing. Nothing at all. Just... beg for mercy. Get Ash to un-change his mind again. What did he want? She'd give it. She'd give it in a heartbeat to keep Bay away from Tadaaki's room.
"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]
Gaius turned to her and frowned, then glanced at Tadaaki's door and the frown deepened, though not in anger. "We aren't here for him," he said simply, then looked to Emery. "Where were you headed?" "The library," Emery replied promptly. "Good. Go there and keep her out of sight; close the doors. We're fetching Aleth."
"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
"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]
"Come on, Ky," Emery said quietly, heading toward the library doors. Gaius and Bay continues on their way. Bay stopped outside the infirmary and stood against the wall while Gaius went inside.
"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 felt progressively sicker the closer they got to the infirmary, and she kept her gaze on Bay, but obediently trotted along behind Emery.
Aleth straightened as Ash walked in. Ah, fuck. One of them fucked up, had they? Probably Tadaaki. With the number of lies Ash had told Aleth when he was trying to get him to crack, he had no doubt he'd managed to rattle Tadaaki. Hopefully, for all of their sakes, not enough for him to break and spill any secrets. But. It didn't seem like a good sign that he was back so soon.
Still, he had to try. Had to pretend to be innocent. He forced a little smile and dipped his head, "hello, sir."
"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]
Gaius nodded to him and went to Sera's door without a word, knocking briskly. "A word, if you please," he said when she opened the door. She nodded and let him in, shutting the door.
Emery glanced at Ky. "Are you okay?" he asked as he opened the doors.
"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
"Yessir," she said weakly, though she definitely wasn't. She was visibly pale and seemed to be taking up less than a third of the space she'd occupied moments before, now that she'd deflated entirely.
Aleth watched them uneasily. So... Ash wasn't here for him? Hm. That was odd... and odd things were rarely good. He wondered what this one would be.
"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 ushered her into the library and shut the door. "Wanna have a seat?" he asked. "I'll grab some reading material."
"Can he be moved?" Gaius asked in undertones. "To the dungeon?" Sera stared at him. "That was fast." "Tadaaki cracked with little effort," he replied. "I'll explain what I learned later, but I want that man moved to a secure place as soon as possible. Can that be done without risking his death?" "How vigorous are you going to be in questioning him?" she asked after a pause. "Questioning can wait awhile if need be. He can be kept warm and fed if that's what's necessary to get him out of the woods. But--" He glanced at the closed door, lowering his voice even further. "I was assured he wouldn't risk revealing himself, but I have reason to believe he may pose a very real threat to the children. He's a danger to Tadaaki and Ky for different reasons. I want him locked away." Sera took a moment to digest this. "You've got to keep him warm and fed if you want to get anything out of him," she said finally. "Give it a month, then I think you can stop. If need be. But why not just kill him?" "He has information," Gaius replied. "But I have no doubt his usefulness will be short-lived. I'll see to it he's cast out in a similar condition to Osmund Ponir." Sera dipped her head. "Do what you need to do."
"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
“Yessir,” she breathed, sitting down in the nearest chair. Godsgodsgods—
(Wait who is that? The oh shoot who was it rapist? Or whatever bad guy that Gaius horrified Ky with stories about back in the infirmary in the other RP? 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]
(That's a name I just made up of some random pedo that Gaius dealt with in the past.)
"What do you want to read?" he 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
Her gaze was fixed upon the door. And her mind was far, far away.
What were they going to do to him?
And what would he say to him when they did?
He was a much better liar than she was. What if he convinced Ash that she was the liar here? That she was a spy and coerced him and Tadaaki to come along with her?
Aleth always came out on top.
Always.
Which meant she was swiftly on her way to the bottom.
She swallowed hard. Gods.
"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]
Gaius exited Sera's office and approached Aleth. "Can you walk?" he asked coolly.
"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
