Gaius had finished delivering the letters to Lyra and was heading back to his office. He'd spotted Sara looking for him and was no actively avoiding her; he knew she was trying to talk to him about the letters but he'd be damned if he got distracted from writing these before he had his leg chopped off.
"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 took a long, long while to herself to re-read the letters, especially Tomhas's and Anneke's and -- when she was getting her blood pressure elevated from Tomhas's -- reading Oscar's as well to cut through her annoyance. You couldn't stay angry in the face of something that adorable.
"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 sat down at his desk and set about writing to his Counts first. He'd work up to the King.
"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
Eventually, she folded the letters back up and set them very gently on her dresser, then decided to check if Lyra was in her room. She was fascinated to see how her sister was responding to all this. She knocked on her door.
"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 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]
The door opened, and Lyra let her in. "Did you get your letters too?" she 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 did." Ky nodded and stepped inside. "What did yours say? Like... gist? You don't have to tell me specifics..."
"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 they want me to write and they miss me." She shrugged. "They're worried about the gods, too. What about 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
"About the same... did they tell you about Oscar?"
"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 nodded. "It sounded very painful, poor kid. I certainly don't envy him but Mother says he's in good spirits."
"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 nodded as well. "I'm glad to hear that at least... could have been much worse."
"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 think the snow broke his fall a little. I'm just glad he's alright. I'm glad it wasn't his head."
"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]
Lyra nodded as well, hesitantly. "Father says he's coming here because of you," she said after a moment. "Why?"
"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
