Pratik eyed him for a moment, wondering if this was a dig at last night. He doubted Ash would have brought it up otherwise. Pratik's behavior had been rather... rash. And was exactly the reason why he got locked in to begin with. "Of course. A reasonable safeguard, I'm sure."
"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 believe so, yes. It has yet to fail me." Gaius cut into the filet. "I'd like to discuss the long term service you offered me, along with the mercenary you mentioned. We can talk about that after breakfast, if you would like."
"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 blinked at him. He'd prepared himself for a hazing. The offer of long-term employment hadn't crossed his mind as a potential topic of breakfast conversation. He still wanted to hire Pratik, even after last night?
"Yes, of course!" Pratik answered cheerfully, offering a smile. "That sounds good to me."
"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]
"Wonderful." Gaius glanced up. "The fee we agreed upon is still sufficient, I hope." If it wasn't he would have to rethink his willingness to employ Pratik.
"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
"Yes," Pratik answered simply. The previous job had been worth much more than what he demanded but, hopefully, the ones going forward would be a more reasonable amount of effort. "That will be fine."
For now. Many more bloodbaths like last week and he'd need to seriously reconsider working for Ash. At least for the price he'd agreed to.
"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 nodded. "Very good." He fell silent, digging reluctantly into his food. The rest of the table was quiet except for Regulus and the twins. The former babbled constantly as he spread his food over his plate and on his face. The latter conversed amongst themselves.
"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's gaze flicked around the room as he shoveled as much into his mouth as he politely could. He thought he'd noticed at their very first breakfast together that Ash didn't eat much, but this was confirmation. Pratik supposed it made sense that he was as thin as he was.
He glanced at the women, wondering what they thought of all of this. It was apparent from the conversation the night before that Sera at least resented his presence. He didn't particularly blame her. But he did wonder if Ash had told either of them what'd happened.
The boy was clearly too young to fully understand what had actually been happening, but he was clearly talkative and he figured the other adults could probably piece together what had happened. Maybe not the poetry part, but his temper tantrum at least.
They probably all thought he was a child at this point. A little boy that threw fits when he got his toys taken from him. Immature. Brash. Weak. But he certainly didn't want to be the one to bring it up, so he turned his gaze back to the berries in front of 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]
"I received a letter from Cecily this morning," Gaius said finally. Both Sara and Sera looked up, and a cautious smile crossed Sara's face. "How is she?" she asked. Gaius spooned a few berries into his mouth. "She's as well as one can be in her situation," he replied. "And she and her family are coming to visit." He was less than pleased about this, but she said in the letter she was already on her way. His sister was a willful person and made decisions at the drop of a hat. It was an annoying habit, really, but Gaius couldn't really do much to stop her.
"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 tried to remember who she was. He'd definitely heard the name before, but he couldn't quite remember if she was an Ash or simply one of the noblewomen in the region. He didn't keep notes like others in his profession -- for the exact reason that last night had led to and him being discovered -- but moments like these he wished he did.
He was pretty sure she was an Ash.
"A relative?" he asked, hoping that his curiosity wasn't going to make them clam up. It was always such a fine balance -- blending into the background so that they forgot you existed, or probing for more information.
"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]
"My little sister," Gaius responded. "Is it wise to have her come here?" Sera asked warily. "Now of all times?" "No, but she's coming even so."
"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
He decided to test his luck. "Does she live far away?"
"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]
"Quite far." Gaius nodded. "Of course, she only saw fit to notify me of her intent to visit when she was already in Fledgeholm, so it won't be long before she arrives."
"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
A smirk reached Pratik's face before he could stop it, so he plopped a berry in his mouth to try to regain a serious composure. Sounded to him like little sister knew Ash wouldn't let her come, and decided to ignore his wishes and come anyway. He admired her already. "I'm sure you must be excited to see her again."
"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]
"Of course." Gaius wouldn't call it excited; he was concerned. Her lifestyle wasn't the healthiest and her husband was an animal, but her little son had a good head on his shoulders. He was about the same age as Mattathias and Marcella, but he was already learning to grow up fast. Gaius looked forward to speaking with him and monitoring his sister's condition would be easier if he had his nephew report on it.
"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 hesitated. The only questions and comments he could think of were going to get shot down faster than he could say them. How many children does she have? I look forward to meeting her. Are the two of you close? He finally thought of a safer topic. "Has it been a while since you last saw 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]
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