Talia hesitated, not sure if she was supposed to admit the truth. But she tentatively shook her head. "...No sir. He got taken with the rest of us."
"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]
"Hold off on that goodbye, then." He glanced toward the door. "I'll have Captain Bay take you to your rooms and my apothecary will drop by with a change of clothes. Is there anything else you'd like to ask? Questions, provisions, anything you need."
"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
Talia had a little pang of fear, afraid that she'd made the wrong choice by admitting the truth. She wasn't allowed to say goodbye anymore? She wished she wouldn't have told him. She just wanted one last hug. One last 'love you'. Was that really too much to ask?
"No sir," Talia murmured, shaking her head reluctantly, not having the courage to beg to see Kaelan again. Hopefully the man wasn't going to hurt him.
"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]
"Very well." He gestured to the chairs in front of the desk. "Feel free to sit until the Captain returns. Miss Talia, I'll see to it Ky is informed of your arrival."
"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
"Thank you, sir." She nodded to him, obediently sitting down even though she didn't want to in the center chair still directly in the center of attention. The other girls sat as well.
"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 read over his notes, then glanced up again. "I apogize if this is...surprising or uncomfortable for 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
"I... admit it's not quite what we were, um... expecting, sir," Talia said with a nod, still not quite sure what to make of it all. And it was fucking with her head to know Ky was still here. What was she like these days? Did she miss Talia as much as Talia missed her? Would she still like her? She was very different these days.
"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 should hope not." He frowned. "Exactly how old are the three of you?" They couldn't be more than seventeen.
"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
Talia hesitated, her gut reaction. She didn't like that question. It was always hard to gauge what the correct answer was. Most of the time when men asked it's because they felt guilty about her age and wanted her to pretend to be an adult and make them feel better about it. Sometimes, though, they viewed younger girls as purer and wanted her to act younger. She was used to trying to pretend to be whatever age she thought they wanted.
But this man was increasingly seeming genuine in his assertion he wasn't interested in them. So, honesty, she supposed. "Fifteen, sir."
"Sixteen," Dar'shaya murmured quietly. "Sir."
"Sixteen," Harlyn agreed. "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 gave an appalled huff, and he shook his head. "Gods." He ran a hand through his hair.
"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-I mean, we-we can be older," Talia said quickly, panicked that they'd said the wrong thing. "S-sorry, sir. We. I-I mean--e..ighteen?"
"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 shook his head. He'd forgotten what this was like. "This isn't some sort of perverted game," he said with a sigh, trying to keep his voice level. "I'm not playing with you. That was a genuine question."
Bay entered the barracks where the soldiers had been taken, looking for Kaelan.
"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
"...Oh." Then why was he upset by the answer? Talia dipped her head.
Kaelan was pacing angrily in front of his bunk, getting progressively more worked up with each moment that passed. He didn't know what Ash looked like, but his mind's eye was still somehow managing to fill in enough to let him envision sinking his sword through the bastard's throat.
He hadn't actually killed anyone, sure.
But he'd be happy to start with this bastard, if he couldn't start with Makata himself. Or Borrond.
His hatred grew each moment. Was he up there gawking at his sister? Fondling her? Was he raping her yet or taking his time with it? It was enough to make him want to throw up. Or kill something. Or both.
"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]
