Young Writers Society

(I think I went with him pretending to be a Ruiarc as far as Gaius knows. His real surname is Medeiros but I don’t think he would have shared that)

“Ah. That one.” So it wasn’t a bluff. From what he’d heard of Ash, he was the type to see through bullshit. So he needed to think quick on his feet and find something that resembled the truth enough to get by… somehow. “Yes, I know him. May I ask how you do?”

(Okay gotcha)

"Let's call him a friendly acquaintance for now. Are you related to him, by any chance?"

(Okay so in canon there’s a magical force called the R’hyk that allows for instant teleportation of people and objects. It’s a pretty well guarded secret form of magic but both Derik and Zander can use it proficiently. How would you feel about potentially bringing that in? I feel like if Gaius backs Derik into the corner it seems like they’re heading towards xD then he’d want to yank Zander back into the thick of things and want to send a letter demanding Zander come join them in this scene. Maybe. Depends on how it goes, he’s not going to jump to that solution right away, just thought I’d ask about how you’d feel about that in case it becomes appropriate. Don’t wanna cause too much chaos since this is your universe not mine lol)

Friendly. That was good, at least. Asking about their relation wasn’t good, though. It wasn’t good at all. He hesitated for a long moment. Did Ash already know they were brothers? Was this a test? Would he be able to pass the test without telling the truth? Would Ash be able to uncover the lie before they departed? Probably. All he’d have to do was mention Zander around Jerica before Derik had a chance to prep her to deny knowing him. She’d light up like a light. She always did when precious Uncle Zander came up.

“…yes,” Derik admitted, deciding the truth was the best option. He’d already hesitated too long to lie convincingly anyhow. “…he’s my half-brother.”

(I feel like since it hasn't been used where it would have been convenient we probably should add that in but it's an interesting concept!)

Gaius nodded thoughtfully. "You share a likeness to one another. Do you get along? Are you on good terms?"

(You mean we shouldn’t add it?)

“…yes,” Derik agreed confirmed with a nod. Ash had said that he was on friendly terms with Zander as well. Hopefully it wasn’t a mistake to link himself with his brother. “We prefer to keep our business separate-“ ish “but I see him from time to time and always welcome the opportunity… I take it he’s been up this way at some point?”

(Yeah oopsies)

Gaius nodded. "My niece--I mentioned Tomhas had adopted a child recently--is his biological niece; he intended to check in on her. I suppose that makes her yours as well."

(Haha all good! That’s fine with me ^^)

Derik’s brain came to a screeching halt. Oh gods, what had he done? He shouldn’t have come here. How was he going to get out of this mess? Explain this one away? Gods… gods…

Godsdamnit why did he let Zander get away with being so elusive? All of this could have been avoided with even a crum of communication. At the very least Zander could have told him to avoid Loquitur and Ash. He wouldn’t have come if he’d known this was where Zander planted Sofieke.

Derik felt sick to his stomach. “…oh?”

(If you have any minor magic you do want to include though please let me know! This is when things are starting to change after all)

"She'd fallen into some rather unsavory hands. I'm sure you know her father died--my condolences, by the way. That must have been difficult."

(True! Hmm… what if we retain the ability to send letters instantly but remove the whole teleportation aspect of it? Like. It wouldn’t have come up that Zander can send letters instantly since he’d be communicating with Gaius/Ky by traditional means to maintain appearances. Would that be minor enough? Like get Derik to send a letter to Zander but it still take Zander a couple weeks to get back to the Keep by horse? If you’re not feeling that then that’s totally okay, too! Zander definitely doesn’t have to be summoned. At least not immediately. Gaius is giving Derik more benefit of the doubt than I expected haha. I not married to the idea, just thought I’d throw it out there as an option that could be helpful in the future as well as now haha)

Derik nodded, not quite sure what the appropriate response was. He needed Zander here. Needed to know what story he’d woven so Derik could go along with it. As it was, he was going in blind. And he didn’t like that even a little bit.

(Yeah that sounds good!)

"She'll be back in the afternoon, if you wish to see her." He opened the door. "I just thought I'd ask; I figured if you were one of her relations you'd be anxious to know she was well."

(Cool!)

“Thank you,” Derik said weakly, dipping his head and stepping into the hall. He needed to get a letter out to Zander immediately. Hopefully he’d get a response before the child returned. Gods. He needed help.

Gaius's brow furrowed; his reaction wasn't what at all what he had expected. He seemed...surprised? Maybe dismayed? Perhaps he'd made the wrong decision. There had to have been a reason Zander didn't tell them about his relation to Derik and the Governor.

Derik noticed. God. He was being painfully obvious. He needed… to… say something. He needed to fix this… but he needed to think about it first. Gods. He took a deep breath. “…this is…a delicate situation… I need… to think on it more.” He wet his lips. Gods. “…would you be willing to give me some time to myself but speak with me again before you inform…” gods, he didn’t even know her name. Her cover name anyhow. “… the child that we are here?”

"If that's what you want," he replied warily, making a mental note to have a guard with him next time. And to get someone assigned to Derik as soon as humanly possible.

(Rip my little diplomat getting in over his head)(fuckin Zander strikes again)

“Thank you.” Derik nodded to him. It didn’t smooth things over. He knew that. Knew he was making this awkward. “I… understand this is an… uncommon situation. But I appreciate it. For her sake as much as my own.”