“Yes’m.” Ky ducked her head, eyes still fixed on her toes. She didn’t like that they were this color. Didn’t like how badly they hurt.
"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 set about doing that. "I'll work on your broken arm next, then your ribs, alright?"
"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
“Yes’m.” Ky nodded, watching her closely, marveled at how she was hacking off Ky’s toes without… actually doing so. Sure felt like it anyway. Just pain. And now it was damp — which her brain was convinced was blood, even though she could see it wasn’t true.
Her toes instinctively curled against the pain, which made the situation so, so much worse. If the cloth had been scissors to snip at her toes, her movement was an axe hacking at her ankles. She gasped, yanking her knees up closer to her chest. It was too much. Her toes. The compression of her broken ribs. The way her binder dug into the little lacerations the ribbing had made on her torso.
She blacked out, entire body going limp as she collapsed fully on the bed like crumpled rag doll. She only stayed out for a few seconds before she started to stir again.
"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]
"Being me a screen, please," Sera said to one of the assistants, who headed into the back. She put a hand to Ky's head. "I'm sorry, dear...I know it stings. But that's good--it means your feet have blood flow."
"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’s breathing was shallow and labored now and she made no attempt to lift her head as she cracked her eyes open. Who was this? Why did she feel so bad? What was—?
Her memories came back a moment later. She let out a shaky breath. Had she passed out? How embarrassing. “…sorry.”
"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]
"No need to apologize." The assistant spread the screen so Ky was separated from Tadaaki and Aleth. "May we get that binder off, 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 hesitated, looking at her and then at the assistant, and then dropping her gaze and nodding. “Yes’m.” She weakly tried to push herself up but didn’t make much progress.
She didn’t like people seeing her naked; the scars were absolutely humiliating. But. Well. She’d already seen half the mural. There wasn’t much respect left to be lost at this point. And it’d feel really, really nice to have it off. She’d never worn it longer than a week before. She was pretty sure you were supposed to take it off every day to let your body rest. But now it’d been two weeks and felt like an iron cage around her torso.
"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]
"Let me help." She eased her upright and gently pulled her shirt down to undo the bindings. "This is an expensive binder...where did you get 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
“I…” Ky cringed as a fresh twinge of pain stabbed through her. She took a moment to take a deep breath. She was weak, but more cognizant than when she first got here. More capable of speech. “My master… wanted me to appear male. He… invested in this. To help.”
"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 foolish--what was he using you for? If I'm bot being to forward in asking."
"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
“A translator, ma’am,” she murmured. They’d settled on claiming illiterate and only fluent in three languages as her cover. “He… thought people more likely to… he thought people would scorn him for having a female assistant. He said this makes me seem smarter.”
"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]
"Your master sounds like a bloody idiot." She took a damp cloth and began to gently wash the bruised areas. "Lord Ash would have his cock for doing this to you."
"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 flushed and stayed very quiet. Screens didn’t stop voices. And Aleth was definitely listening.
"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]
"Where were you born? Do you know?" She started wrapping Ky's chest with bandages, making sure the ribs were in the right position.
"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
“Austraka, ma’am.” Ky was careful not to react with anything more than grimaces as the woman poked and prodded at her sore ribs.
"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]
