"Please come with me, sir." The servant headed for the door.
"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
Jerica had a pissy energy now but didn’t say anything.
Derik quietly followed after the servant. What in the world had happened? Wasn’t the idea for Derik to not come back in the Keep so he wouldn’t accidentally run into the child?
"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]
"Loren Carthe," she replied quietly. "The former lord's best friend."
"I don't know, sir." He shrugged. "I was told to come get 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
“Alright.” Derik nodded, following him up the stairs.
"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]
They reached the office. The servant knocked, then opened the door for him.
"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 flinched, jumping out of her seat and whirling around on the door.
Derik stepped inside, stopping short when his gaze landed on the girl. Gods she was a clone. He swallowed hard and immediately looked at Ash. What had this fool done? Bringing them together? “Hello?”
"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 heard from someone that you were going to take her away," Gaius said coolly. "We assured her this wasn't the case, but she has seen Jerica."
"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
Derik blinked, glancing at Ky. Her seeing Jerica was less of an issue; she wouldn’t have put that together, probably. Jerica was more of the issue there. But now the cat was out of the bag, it seemed.
She was staring at him with wide eyes, steadying herself against Gaius’s desk. The man looked like Zander. Why did he look like Zander? It was hard to breathe.
Derik softened his gaze and his posture to look more relaxed and like an average man, not a military official. The girl was clearly terrified of him. His voice was gentle when he said, “we’ve no interest in taking you anywhere. This is your home. Your family. This is where you belong.” For now. “We pose no threat to you.”
Everyone posed a threat to her. She nodded hesitantly, still watching him suspiciously.
"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
Derik was silent for a moment, trying to think of what else to say to reassure her. “May I ask why it is you think we want to take you?” He didn’t want to panic her by mentioning Makata or tipping his hand that he knew about her background. Best to let her drive this conversation.
She looked to Tomhas for help, not sure what to say.
"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]
"Because Loren was as bad as Michael." She picked up the pace.
Tomhas looked back at her. "That's what I'd like to know," he admitted. "Not a lot of detail was given--who told you they were here?"
"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
Jerica glanced over at her, speeding up to match the pace with a furrowed brow. Cruelty, then? An eye for an eye? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Even Levin didn’t let people rot in his dungeon. He’d torture them — force her to torture them, more like — but then an execution was usually swift to follow.
Ky’s eyes widened a little, and she glanced at Gaius guiltily, then dropped her gaze and shook her head. “I don’t know.”
"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]
"Was it because of what we discussed with our friend in the village?" Tomhas 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
There is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way, and not to give others absurd maddening claims upon it. — Christopher Darlington Morley
