"Trolls can be nice too," Mattathias pointed out. "Like the king troll who married the rogue!" "Like him," Gaius agreed.
"The artist deals with what cannot be said in words. The artist whose medium is fiction does this in words. The novelist says in words what cannot be said in words." --Ursula K. Le Guin
"Oh?" Pratik asked curiously. "I don't think I've heard that one..."
"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]
"It's a lengthy one," Gaius replied. "We have several versions in the library, if you're interested. Essentially a troll falls in love with a human who's trying to trick him into giving him land and money, and the human falls in love with him as well."
"The artist deals with what cannot be said in words. The artist whose medium is fiction does this in words. The novelist says in words what cannot be said in words." --Ursula K. Le Guin
"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]
"You'd think so," Gaius mused. "But I find it rather touching. And very sad."
"The artist deals with what cannot be said in words. The artist whose medium is fiction does this in words. The novelist says in words what cannot be said in words." --Ursula K. Le Guin
Pratik considered it for a moment, then nodded. It took a lot more than a story to make him sad. But he supposed melancholy was the point of tales like that. Perhaps the writing would be enough to convince him, were he to read the stories. But he had more interesting things to read.
Namely, whatever the hell it was that Ky had stumbled into. Maybe he'd drag it out of her later.
... that wouldn't be nice... and yet...
"I suppose tales of love and betrayal tend to follow those themes."
"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]
"In stories, anyway," Sara said. "And in real life, on occasion," Sera added. Gaius nodded; he fully agreed with both of them.
"The artist deals with what cannot be said in words. The artist whose medium is fiction does this in words. The novelist says in words what cannot be said in words." --Ursula K. Le Guin
Pratik nodded, too. The clear solution here was to not love anyone. And if you didn't trust anyone, there could be no betrayal. Simple.
"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]
Ada fiddled with her fork and cut into one of the unfamiliar vegetables, glancing around the table. She'd felt the mood shift, and both Gaius and Ky had blurred ever so slightly, though she didn't know why.
"The artist deals with what cannot be said in words. The artist whose medium is fiction does this in words. The novelist says in words what cannot be said in words." --Ursula K. Le Guin
(omgggg I forgot about the human lie-detector in the room -- we one language lesson away from disaster lol)
"What other prominent stories are there here in the North?" Zander asked, deciding to take his turn in keeping the conversation moving.
"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]
"Too many to count." Gaius thought for a moment. "Many of them come from the tribes in the Far North, most to do with patron animals of the tribes or how the tribes got their names. There are tales of gods and humans--like the Marrow Man--and tales of trolls, and some exaggerated stories of real people."
"The artist deals with what cannot be said in words. The artist whose medium is fiction does this in words. The novelist says in words what cannot be said in words." --Ursula K. Le Guin
"You don't count Marrow Man as a story of a real person?" Zander asked, tone curious, not scathing.
"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 turns into a goat at the end and lives more than 600 years," Gaius said dryly, giving Zander an amused look. "My children may believe in him, but he's little more than a folktale." He blurred out completely, whatever he was saying. Ada stared at him incredulously; he'd just lied to Ky's uncle! A full lie--why?
"The artist deals with what cannot be said in words. The artist whose medium is fiction does this in words. The novelist says in words what cannot be said in words." --Ursula K. Le Guin
Pratik glanced at Ada, noticing her outrage, then followed her gaze towards Gaius. What was she in such a fuss about? It's not like she could understand what he'd just said--
His gaze locked back on Ada.
She couldn't understand him. Which must mean that she was picking up on something supernatural. Had he just lied? But... what part of that could possibly be a lie? Was Gaius a secret Marrow Man fanboy?
"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]
(Oh my god imagine Gaius having a secret room full of Marrow Man merch he made himself)
Gaius noticed Ada staring and Pratik's reaction. Damn him for a fool; he'd forgotten she could tell when people were lying. Hopefully Zander had missed that part about her, or he'd have to do some very awkward explaining. He had a feeling Zander wouldn't take kindly to Ky meeting up with and befriending a cannibalistic goat monster, no matter how kind it--he--claimed to be.
"The artist deals with what cannot be said in words. The artist whose medium is fiction does this in words. The novelist says in words what cannot be said in words." --Ursula K. Le Guin
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