"No." He looked down at the carcass, then down at his hands. "I forget. I try to remember for you, okay? I wish I know." Slowly, he began to cut away the skin again. "My foots hurting," he mumbled contemplatively.
"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
That made her heart ache for him. How dehumanizing this had to have been for him, forgetting his very name. She'd assumed no one else called him by it, which is why she wanted to use it -- she didn't like being called 'The Slave' and she doubted he liked getting called 'The Marrow Man' rather than his name. But it seemed it make things worse, not better. As she was apt to do.
"I can try putting this poultice on it," she said gently. "They only put a little poppy milk on it to numb a little, not much, but it might help clear up the infection a little?"
"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 Marrow Man nodded, looking very old for a moment as he rose and limped back around the bear to the fire to stretch his legs back out. His shoulders were hunched, and he stared at the fire sullenly. "Thank you," he sighed. "You too kind to Marrow Man. Tomhas Loquitur rubbing off on 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
She smiled a little at that. She didn't think anyone would ever pay her a higher compliment than comparing her to either of her fathers. It made her feel nice inside. She quickly shoved the rest of the cold piece of meat into her mouth and swallowed it only after a few chews. She shoved the entirety of the half-warm chunk in her mouth and started chewing on it as she gathered up her supplies.
It felt like she'd dropped an apple into a barrel of water, for how heavily the meat hit her stomach. And yet it filled some of the emptiness in it. Filled some of the hollow within her. She knelt down in front of him, grateful for the fire to actually let her see what she was doing this time.
"You were kind to me, first," she pointed out, taking the knife back from him and rubbing it in the snow to get the bear's blood off it, then sliced her bandage in half.
"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 always alone," he pointed out. "I eating bear, scared girl come up to me, and maybe I see my boy for a moment. Maybe I have friend for little, while I not as hungry as always. While my belly a bit fuller than usual. Maybe I not alone for hour, two hour. Selfish. Selfish, dangerous."
"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
"But you didn't kill me, when you could have," she countered, hesitating with the poultice, not sure if she needed to warn him to brace himself. It probably wouldn't feel nice. "I explicitly asked you to, and you still didn't. You talked to me until I felt better. That's very kind."
Even if he had called an idiot several times in the midst of it. She supposed she couldn't really argue with him on that point.
"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]
(Hell yeah now she can have two traumatized dads and one dead one)
"Waste of life is serious," the Marrow Man said gravely. "Very serious. And you scared, so I know you not thinking right. No one who really want die is scared. And like I say, I only kill to eat. I not killing scared childs who asking me to kill them when I have big old bear to feast on." He eyed the poultice and shifted his right hoof closer to her. "Go on."
"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, very, very gently pressing the poultice against his hoof and tying it in place, awkwardly, with a scrap of the bandage.
"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 Marrow Man growled deep in his throat again, but he stayed still and kept his eyes on the fire. "You arm okay with no bandage?" he asked her when he recovered himself.
"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
She tensed at the noise, but was, again, thankful that he didn't look at her when he did. It made it feel like he wasn't angry at her. She couldn't handle people being angry with her.
"It's okay," she assured him, picking up the other half of the poultice. "It's already scabbed over and not bleeding anymore. This was just to make sure it doesn't get infected. But they make me change it morning and evening, so this one is only a few hours old, and I'll get a new one in a few hours. It's okay."
(you know, now that I thought about your comment, I think Ky's daddy issues are truly legendary xD)
"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]
(Yeah that's the truth. Who knows, maybe her absolutely bizarre new family and adopted cannibalistic cryptid will help her out)
"Okay." The Marrow Man dipped his head, reaching up to rub his horns. "The peoples who do that, they dead now? Someone get them 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
Ky cringed a bit at the memory, blood flashing across her mind's eye before she could stop it.
"Yeah," she murmured softly. "My uncle took out two and Gaius -- well, I guess Gaius is my uncle now, too -- but my other uncle killed two and Gaius killed the last one. So they're dead now." She shuddered slightly, thinking about the weight of Nyle's corpse dropping on her after he died. She didn't think she'd ever get that heaviness off her.
"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]
"Good." He nodded in approval. "I eat them up for you if not. They go away, not bother you again." He propped his bandaged hoof up on his thigh to get a better look at it, prodding the poultice gently. "You do good here," he mused. "Tight."
"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 blinked at him, startled at the offer. It was like she was building an army of people eager to protect her, when she didn't deserve it in the least. Still, it was a nice thought. Ish. It wasn't a nice thought at all, but she appreciated the sentiment, at least.
"Thank you." She smiled a little. "I hope it helps."
"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 help already," he assured her. "Foot hurting less. And talk help too. Miss talking. Miss peoples."
"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
