Did he actually believe her, then? That was good. But surprising. He seemed a cynic. But, then, she supposed it wouldn’t do him any harm to leave a few poultices out over night only to pick them up again in the morning, if she was lying. “Yes, please. I think he’d appreciate it.”
"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]
"Certainly." Gaius would have liked to stay up and watch to see if the Marrow Man would actually come, but he supposed he'd have his proof if the bear fur was delivered. What a sight that would be. "Do me a favor, though. Don't mention this to anyone else. Especially not Mattathias and Marcella."
"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, for sure.” Ky nodded. She hadn’t been planning on telling Gaius, much less anyone else. “… I don’t know how I’m going to explain the fur, though. I told him I couldn’t explain it. And he said to just say a uh…” she rubbed her face, trying to remember. “A spirit gave it to me, or something. Or that I could claim I killed the bear myself, but obviously no one would believe that any more than they’d believe I saw M…Mark.” She decided she didn’t want to call him Marrow Man anymore. “But don’t worry — I won’t tell anyone else. It’d just worry them… even though I came back.”
"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]
"Agreed." Gaius rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The spirit explanation might work for the children, but your uncle will panic, or at least be suspicious. There's not really a good way to justify the sudden appearance of a bear hide. What sort of bear is 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
She couldn’t agree more that Zander was the one this would be the hardest sell. Tadaaki wouldn’t understand, but he trusted her implicitly, so he’d believe her if he looked in her eyes and saw she was telling the truth. Zander, however, still viewed her as the stupid little kid that they’d both left in her township.
"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]
"A white bear? He took down a white hear all by himself?" The Marrow Man was as strong as he was hungry, then, or still had the resourcefulness that served him so well as a warrior in his tribe. A white bear would be even harder to explain. "...Perhaps we ought to hide this fur. One of us stays awake and when we hear him leave--if he comes at all--we take it and bundle it up in one of the carriages so no questions are asked." He had to keep reminding himself that this may very well be a hallucination, or a twisted perception of reality. It didn't seem lime one, but what else could it 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
“That works.” Ky nodded. “I’ll probably be too curious to sleep much anyway… and I don’t know how he’s going to tell me his name. Maybe he’ll whisper it to me through the tent?”
That seemed like a stupid statement now that she’d said it aloud.
"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]
"If he remembers." Gaius doubted he would, though if the Marrow Man kept enough humanity to talk a young girl out of killing herself and then fed her and kept her warm, he might still have recollections of before. "Do you suppose you'll see him often?"
"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
“I want to,” she sighed longingly. “But I doubt it. I’d need to have enough food with me that he didn’t have to hurt me… and he said everyone’s scared of Serpent Keep, so I doubt he’d come close.”
"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]
"Then perhaps when the gods wake." If they ever woke. Gaius wasn't sure they would. He'd believe they were dead if the Seers didn't catch echoes of their dreams. "Maybe if he becomes a man again he'll seek you out, thank you for your kindness, and move on to the next life."
"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
“Maybe.” Ky shrugged. “I don’t need a thank you, though. I want him to go be with his family.” Her gaze got distant for a moment, remembering, yet again, that she didn’t get to be with either set of her parents, either. She wondered if Mama and Papa remembered her in the afterlife. Or if they’d fallen in love all over again and forgot they had her. She supposed she couldn’t blame them if they had. It’d been an awful long time since they’d seen her. And she wasn’t particularly memorable as it was.
"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 was silent, gazing into the fire again. "Let's hope he gets back to them and forgets this place," he said quietly.
"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
“I certainly do…” she nodded. “Hopefully Builder wakes up soon and stops being a—“ Dick. She cut herself off before she said it. If the gods existed, as they apparently did, she probably shouldn’t be insulting them. She didn’t want to be the next Marrow Person. “Stops… well, that he realizes Mark is very, very sorry and should be done being punished now. He learned his lesson. He should get his family back.”
"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's face twitched into a smile at the name against his will. "Gods are fools and wretches, all of them," he told her. "You can't rely on them for anything, from what I've read. Look what they've been doing for five hundred years: sleeping. If they were going to wake up anytime soon we'd know about 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
She nodded vigorously, glad that he’d said it so she didn’t have to. And glad that he agreed with her. “If I was a god I’d make sure everyone was safe and warm and fed… not turn Mark into a goat for seven hundred years.”
"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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