09-12-2020, 05:08 PM
Nhysa was not sure what the apology was for, but she accepted it anyhow. She shifted from her haunches to sit cross-legged in front of him, surprised at how palpable his fear was. It reminded her a little of how abnormal she was, though it was not a realisation that particularly disturbed her. Fear was a lot like pain; just an outside stimulus.
“Neither a little darkness nor a little temptation must always be a bad thing,” she told him. A coy smile teased her lips, like perhaps she spoke of something else, but the advice was meant sincerely enough. She had seen nothing in the boy that Li ought to fear turning into, but she suspected the roots of this problem thrust far deeper than the surface level to which she was privy. Scars were like that.
Anger twisted the answer to her question. Such stark vehemence fountained from the words that she wondered how long he must have been holding on to the emotions with no outlet. Nhysa killed the Custody’s enemies and protected those it deemed worth protecting with barely any personal distinction between the different jobs, and she asked no questions and had no insight into what happened after registration. She trusted, though, in the way of the blindly loyal. The Ascendancy was not a good man, but he was a just one. The empire he built might bury bones, but it was not built on lies. “The Custody is a cruel mother. She will not hold your hand and nor will she wipe your brow when you are ailing. It does not mean she does not care.”
If the registered Atharim were ever deemed a threat, it was someone precisely like Nhysa whom Li would find as the executor of that death sentence. He wasn’t wrong in his assessment -- of course it was necessary for any government to know of the threats lurking within its own borders. Just as it was necessary to know those who might have cause to become loyal to it. The world changed overnight, but the consequences were slower to build, and it was foolish to second guess the Ascendancy’s intentions. Despite Li’s frustration for the way it had ruined his life, she was glad he had registered. He might doubt, but she did not. He was safer for it, she was sure.
“Would it make you feel better if I swore to kill any Atharim who tried to harm you?” Her lips twitched, and she gave a husky laugh. Probably joking.
“Neither a little darkness nor a little temptation must always be a bad thing,” she told him. A coy smile teased her lips, like perhaps she spoke of something else, but the advice was meant sincerely enough. She had seen nothing in the boy that Li ought to fear turning into, but she suspected the roots of this problem thrust far deeper than the surface level to which she was privy. Scars were like that.
Anger twisted the answer to her question. Such stark vehemence fountained from the words that she wondered how long he must have been holding on to the emotions with no outlet. Nhysa killed the Custody’s enemies and protected those it deemed worth protecting with barely any personal distinction between the different jobs, and she asked no questions and had no insight into what happened after registration. She trusted, though, in the way of the blindly loyal. The Ascendancy was not a good man, but he was a just one. The empire he built might bury bones, but it was not built on lies. “The Custody is a cruel mother. She will not hold your hand and nor will she wipe your brow when you are ailing. It does not mean she does not care.”
If the registered Atharim were ever deemed a threat, it was someone precisely like Nhysa whom Li would find as the executor of that death sentence. He wasn’t wrong in his assessment -- of course it was necessary for any government to know of the threats lurking within its own borders. Just as it was necessary to know those who might have cause to become loyal to it. The world changed overnight, but the consequences were slower to build, and it was foolish to second guess the Ascendancy’s intentions. Despite Li’s frustration for the way it had ruined his life, she was glad he had registered. He might doubt, but she did not. He was safer for it, she was sure.
“Would it make you feel better if I swore to kill any Atharim who tried to harm you?” Her lips twitched, and she gave a husky laugh. Probably joking.
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