castlenim | (no subject)

[Sunday has had a lot of practice keeping up a polite facade, lest anyone looking for a gap in his armor use a hint he gives away to their immediate and merciless advantage. And it's only through this that he doesn't stiffen noticeably at his personal boundaries being utterly trampled. He should have expected this.

He'll slip out of Aventurine's grasp the moment he gets a good enough chance to, but pulling away right now would cause even more problems.]

Right. This way, then.

[Thankfully, he doesn't have to lead Aventurine through any areas more populated with guests at Dewlight Pavilion to get to where the Feldspar would dock. That would certainly cause a stir.

And as he'd expected, once they arrive, it's not a long wait before the ship slowly drifts into view and comes to a stop for them to board. The staff that greets them expresses disappointment that Sunday didn't send word ahead so they could be prepared better, but he waves them off and mentions it had been a spur-of-the-moment idea to show the ship to his...guest. After that, he and Aventurine are left to their own devices. Relatively.]

( Extravagant is certainly one word to use to describe the ship, though not a luxury that Aventurine is wholly affected by, considering his overall tastes. It belongs in Penacony, that's for sure, and through locked arms still, Aventurine looks around as a child would to an enchanted new world. Curious, yes, but searching as well, for anything worth remembering.

It would hardly be anything of real importance, but information is information, and any chip can be used, as long as it's a role to play and an use to the player. )

I will say, I didn't expect a pool. ( On a flying ship? Not so unlike the ships of the Xianzhou Alliance, no, but those are living places, rather than a vacation spot. A cruise, but through the air. ) Show me around? I am, after all, your guest. And luckily not afraid of heights.

( For all that 'death' is advertised as not being possible within Penacony's many Dreamscapes, he doubts a fear so primal would be hard to let go so easily. )

Oh, and I don't mind if we lack for privacy. Let the people look. When was the last time they saw their handsome Mr. Sunday with the company of someone other than your Family members and your sister?

It was long enough ago for this outing to be notable to them.

[Certainly easy for Aventurine to say he doesn't mind prying eyes when he's not the one who has to deal with any questions. But that's likely his intent, and also the price Sunday pays for his own influence in Penacony.

The damage is already done, though, so he simply leads Aventurine around the pool for a better look before walking down the sides of the ship where the wide viewing alcoves are set.]

I would think you'd like the tour to end at the casino on the upper decks, but if you see anything else that catches your eye in the meantime, speak up.

( He hums in response, only. An interesting part of his job is that it's conversation like this that paints a picture - oft times inaccurate, yes, but it's a jigsaw puzzle of a painting, where pieces can eventually be replaced and spun to fit the correct slots, and only then will Aventurine have the full picture. In some ways, finding all the pieces is a gamble in itself. )

So you guys have casinos even up on an airship? And here I thought I was the one with an addiction. ( A harmless jest, but he will certainly make a mental note of this.

Aventurine hums here too, considering, watching. It is a nice, opulent airship, and it definitely screams Penaconian property. The water on the pool is crystalline, the view is ever-changing, and it seems, so far, that there's about anything anyone would want. A mini-Penacony, within Penacony, soaring through Penacony.

All in all, expected. A moment later, Aventurine returns his gaze to his host. ) Be less boring, Mr. Sunday. And less predictable. It will make you a more interesting person. ( Unwanted advice, but he means it well. For the most part, at least. ) I've seen more casinos than you have in your lifetime. Show me something new, instead. Your favorite part of the ship, if you have any. Impress me, well and truly. Surely you want to render me speechless?

You'll have to take that up with the owner, I'm afraid.

[Sunday certainly had no input in it, but he has always thought the ship might be Oti thumbing his nose at the rest of the Family, a little.

His expression doesn't falter at Aventurine's next statements, no matter how direct and goading they are. In fact, his eyes narrow a sliver as something genuine creeps into his smile, for just a flash.

Snagging the interest and curiosity of the IPC's mole is a double-edged sword, so at this juncture, boring is the highest compliment he could be paid.]

My apologies for the assumption, Mr. Aventurine. But it would serve you well to avoid doing the same. I don't think I ever said that I wanted to impress you, for example. Nevertheless...

[Sunday changes the trajectory of their walk, heading towards the upper decks and areas that are very obviously not someplace normal guests are supposed to go.]

...I will show you my favorite part of the ship.

You have not, but if I am to stay in Penacony for the rest of my life, ( Exaggerated, perhaps, but Aventurine shows no will to correct himself, ) then it would do us well to like each other, and for me to learn to enjoy Penacony, don't you think?

( Another side-glance shot at Sunday, if only for a moment, before Aventurine's gaze turns back to the ship, its extravagant decoration, all the guests making no effort not to stare at them and whisper among themselves, the beautiful and large rooms, and much of everything else they walk by. Figures, if he were to own a ship must like Topaz has her eco-ship, his own would look something like this.

It's an irony not lost on Aventurine in the least. )

I can't imagine you having the time to hang out around here, though. ( If what Sunday said about his last visit been long enough ago is anything to go by, for one. ) So is the ship kind of a childhood memory or what?

And someone must impress you before you like them?

[There's the barest flinch in Sunday's expression when Aventurine mentions living in Penacony his entire life.

There's certainly an endpoint to this, isn't there? And they both know it. The moment either side gets what they want, the whole farce will be useless. Alluding to something else, even for the veneer of politeness, seems a little...pointless.]

No. The owner of the Radiant Feldspar is the head of another Family branch. I've been invited to a handful of meetings hosted here before. Ah, here we are.

[He's led them to the very bow of the ship. The dream has no real weather patterns, so there is no wind, and no real danger even if they step up to the edge.]

It's a good thing you aren't afraid of heights.

( Aventurine smiles that same old smile, at the question. The question will remain unanswered, perhaps for the mystery of it. The truth of the matter is that not even Aventurine himself has the proper answer to it - liking something means having a particular preference, and in his line of work, with the life he has led, such things are luxuries. But if someone impresses him, they might just earn his respect and interest, and isn't that enough?

He hums in response to the information he's given, but walking to clear skies - as clear as they can be in Penacony - and the view of the Dreamscape beneath does, in the end, for all of its irony, catch Aventurine's attention. Enough so that he finally unlocks their arms, and walks forward, all the way up to the very edge of the airship.

It is a good thing he's not afraid of heights, huh. The view is beautiful, all things considering - the sea of lights underneath are captivating, and the skies, through devoid of a sun or clouds, is enchanting in its own way. He could use a breeze, perhaps. But all in all, there's no real complaint from Aventurine - or, for a while, nothing much from him at all.

Instead, in the back of his mind, the view below is haunting, in a way. He knows 'death' not to exist in Penacony, but in times like this... If he tries, from this height, would he manage to defy its inexistence? )

Well, I'm surprised. What is it that you like so much about this spot? The view? I didn't take you much for the sentimental kind. ( He shoots a particular look at Sunday, finding composure again. ) Or does it make you feel like a free little birdie, flying through the skies?

[He'll consider this venture a success if only because it managed to get Aventurine to stop holding onto him and wander over to the edge of the ship instead.

And if he tried leaping from the ship, he'd only cause Sunday a headache and chaos in whatever hour he managed to land in. So long as Ena continued to cradle the dreams in THEIR hands, death could not touch them.]

I do enjoy the view.

[Whether or not that's for sentimental reasons, he doesn't elaborate on, and instead walks close enough to peer down at the view the lights and buildings far, far below.]

Most people will never get to see Penacony like this. Does that help your understanding at all, Mr. Aventurine?

( Does it? He thinks, that even if he were on a ship far above Pier Point, the view wouldn't be this blinding. He thinks, Penacony is too artificial. From the way it's built, to the skies above that resemble no real sky, there's nothing about it that truly calls back to the real world.

He knows arguments can be made, on this. That Penacony is a dream, and why limit oneself to reality when the world of dreams can be anything one wishes for it to be? Dreams are only temporary, however. A solace from the real world, unfair as though it might be. But dreams don't build experience, only cloud reason and feed ignorance.

As sweet as Penacony is, too much of it would only make one sick, wouldn't it? )

It certainly tells me it's a nicer place from down below than high up. ( The view is nice, he stands for it. But it's a lot like looking at something entirely too made up, almost soulless. ) What do you see, when you look at Penacony from here?

Hm. A good deal of hard work come to fruition.

[Sunday would know how tirelessly Penacony is run. There are many cogs that keep it all running smoothly.

Not to mention the founding story of how it all came to be, but it's not readily evident if he's speaking on the inspiration for Clockie and his friends or not.]

And a reminder of just how cruel the world continues to be.

( Something he finds ironic to hear, considering Penacony's overall story. Perhaps the hard work began all the way back when it was still a frontier prison, entirely too forgotten by the IPC, and reclaimed by its last remaining prisoners, alongside Nameless who had stumbled upon it. It's history that doesn't quite involve Aventurine, despite his position. He's just an employee, and despite all, not all the most loyal one.

He enjoys the parallels, however. Between him and Sunday, and the IPC and Penacony. )

Escapism, then. As I thought. ( No one helps maintain a dream this sweet without a reason. The other Family heads might be one thing, but Sunday has always been one of the people the IPC had their eyes on, for one reason or another.

He turns to look at him, then, to really look at him, as though through gaze alone Aventurine could see past whatever mask Sunday wears. ) You never told me what is it that you're running from, in the real world. Do you just think the world is unfair, and therefore living in a dream is easier? Do you really think Penacony is fair?

[The IPC and Penacony have been intertwined since the latter's creation. It's a fact many prefer to ignore, or consider as nothing more than history, but it's inescapable.

He meets Aventurine's searching look with a small smile, representatives of their respective factions at odds once again.]

No. It's not fair.

[Sunday had certainly experienced enough in his position to know that much.]

Despite being a dream, it exists in the same world full of pitfalls as everything else, and reflects some of it. But there's a reason a visit here is so prized, and I think that's worth pursuing.

( Not ignorant, then. With this, at least Aventurine can see Sunday in a better light, that he's not so blind to all the fouls and faults his dear Penacony has. Even as the Hours go by underneath them, a sea of vibrant lights and dream particles, that the world beneath and around them lacks any sort of meaningful reality to it makes that so-called prize feel much too tasteless. )

Is that so? ( Aventurine hums in response, his eyes drifting down and off the airship, admiring the way they fly above the people with a particular distaste to it. ) I guess I've got to make my purpose here to find that reason. Ah - but we're meant to be seen as a pair, yes? Then there's no reason why you shouldn't help me with it.

( A nigh-impossible challenge, for what it's worth. The very core of Penacony is already something Aventurine disagrees with. )

Trust me even a little bit, Mr. Sunday. I have already been given away by the IPC. When the world has turned its back on you, isn't Penacony the place where people like me should turn to?

Oh, certainly.

[There's something lurking underneath Sunday's blithely polite tone, although he doesn't look away from where he's watching the scenery of the hours pass them by below.]

The Family and the tenants of Harmony have open arms for all who seek solace. I'm certainly no different to anyone who sincerely is wishing for a safe haven and trust.

[Of course, he doesn't believe Aventurine has a single grain of sincerity about why he's here or what he's really after.]

( It's the heavy intonation that makes Aventurine widen his smile, and, for it's irony, a sincere one at that, too. What Sunday doesn't know is that, had he been found by the Harmony and the Family at certain points of his life, he would have loved Penacony just as sincerely. A safe haven, an escape, a way to turn off the plague of nightmares that have haunted him for one too many years.

They're truly ships passing in the night, aren't they? Missed opportunities. Men who have just enough similarities as they do differences. They do say likes repel for a reason. )

Then in your sincere opinion, [ stressed in the same fashion, as Aventurine turns his gaze back to Sunday once more, something inscrutable behind his eyes, ] what hope is left for me? Should I repent, and turn to the Harmony so Xipe can find it in THEIR grace to welcome me into their beautiful dream? Ah, of course, I'm asking you as Sunday, not as the head of the Oak Family. If you want me to be more sincere, you might as well set an example, right?

You speak as though you are willing and eager for the escape you previously derided.

[On the surface at least. There could be desperation hidden underneath all the rest of what Aventurine is, but Sunday doesn't think it's quite that either.

Of course, the other doesn't know how sympathetic Sunday would be to that past plight in the first place. Aventurine is a perfect living example of what happens when the strong exploit the weak, of everything he is going to great, great lengths to never see come to pass again.]

Trust is mutual, Mr. Aventurine. Ask me that question again when you mean what you say, and not just hypotheticals.

Eager? Not quite. But it's through mutual understanding that we can really connect with someone else, isn't it?

( Mutual understanding and mutual trust - only one step away from mutual benefit, and is that not what Aventurine prefers to employ the most, both in life and for work? But he knows, too, that what makes this game all the more challenging is that is not simply the lack of trust in between them, but the underlying animosity that runs so much deeper.

And, of course, to Aventurine, perhaps that's why he was picked for the job, far more than his acting skills and unmatched luck. He finds the defiance fun, all things considered, and hardly a threat. This is just another game he has to win, and therefore: )

Let's swear by it, then. I will live my days as a Penaconian immigrant, and see with my own eyes what makes it so worth living - or should I say dreaming? ( Haha... Just a casual joke, to lighten up the mood, really. ) And then, let's see... For the next two months, why don't we set our differences aside, and truly try to build some trust between us? At the end of these two months, I will ask that question again, and you will answer it honestly. How about it?

That's hardly different than what we're meant to be doing already. This whole...partnership, I mean.

[Although that's a farce, and they both know it. Aventurine is offering to make it genuine, for a reason Sunday can't quite parse.

But the real root of the problem is that neither of them can be sure if anything offered is a morsel of truth or poisoned bait.]

Are you really going to take me at my word now, if only because you want to hear my answer?

Is it? I suppose on a surface level. Both of us know it's hardly how it was really going to go.

( To everyone else but them, sure. Playing nice, all smiles and polite words, people of opposite factions who have managed to find a common ground. How truly outstanding the head of the Oak family is.

In reality, however, Sunday wears a mask as skillfully as Aventurine does, perhaps. Like his smiles never quite reach his ears, and his words aren't always full of sincerity. A jigsaw puzzle Aventurine would love to unravel, is how he sees him. )

What's the point of asking me a question if you have a predetermined assumption of me? If I say 'no', you will think that's only expected of someone like me. If I say 'yes', you might try to believe me, but it's going to be hard, won't it?

Instead, ( and Aventurine pauses here for a moment, a smirk rising on his face at the irony of it all, ) make a gamble, Mr. Sunday. Take a risk, this one won't kill you. Is it not tiring to follow everything to the letter? Who knows, maybe it will even make you feel better than you have in years.

[Sunday's eyebrow raises minutely at Aventurine saying it outright. Well, maybe he is putting a few of his cards on the table, so to speak.]

Kill me? No, it certainly won't. But if you're admitting what we both already know, then you should also be aware that I'd be risking Penacony.

[As the head of the Oak family, he's sharply aware that any gaps in his armor are a metaphorical death sentence--and that's merely from the rest of the Family heads, much less an outside organization.]

Give an inch and the IPC takes a whole planet. I have to wonder if you're really putting up an equally valuable bet, Mr. Aventurine.

Isn't that what makes the gamble all the more exciting? ( To a crazed gambler like him, yes. It's more of a show of character than a proper statement.

Aventurine hums in feigned thought, pretending to wage his options. Give an inch and the IPC takes a whole planet, huh. Talk about an understatement. But an employee of a mega-corporation does not speak for itself. He's simply a piece in the chessboard, a cog in the machine. Easily disposable, as he had been.

Penacony is the foundation of Sunday's goals, he wagers; Aventurine has nothing quite like that - Aventurine has, in fact, very little at all that could be even remotely compared to that -, and so he wonders, something of equal value... )

Let's see... If you convince me to the charms of Penacony, I will send the IPC a letter of resignation. ( Spoken with a particular calmness, despite the weight of his words. ) Even you yourself think that's the better option, don't you? The company is famous as it's infamous, but Penacony houses anyone with no discrimination.

And for people like me, ( without anywhere to go, no family to return to - but nothing Aventurine quite specifies, ) there's no better place to be. Another soul saved; does that not appeal to you?

Is that something you can simply do?

[Well, from Sunday's understanding, anyone could, theoretically, resign from the IPC any time they want. Whether or not their life is anything above miserable afterward is the real question. And based on what he's been able to glean investigating Aventurine before he came to Penacony, the other has some unique circumstances behind his employment.

If it could be called that.

But that does mean his offer is of similar weight as Sunday's home. A life for a life. Sunday wonders briefly how far off-script Aventurine is going with his little ploy, or if the IPC expected this out of him all along.]

That requires a good deal more than simply convincing someone of the benefits of the dream world. But if you really want to be saved from your position, it would be...remiss of me not to try.

[And that does have the tiniest grain of truth buried in the center of it, like the sand that eventually makes a pearl. Aventurine is an adversary equally as he is someone who's been trampled by the very same senseless exploitation from the powerful that Sunday is trying to eliminate.]

Is it not? Haha, I guess you've never really been employed before, have you? ( A dismissive jest, all things considered, because Sunday is right. It isn't something he can simply do.

The IPC doesn't allow its higher ranks to simply file a letter of resignation and let their employees go on their merry way. The reason why such thing doesn't happen often is not even for the consequences that come with the daring desire to leave the company, but that there's nothing else outside of the IPC.

And that, exactly, is what he's offering Sunday on a silver plate. A man with no family or home to return to, freed from the shackles of the IPC, who has tasted misery on his tongue, and been subjected to more suffering than many who currently walk on the bright streets of Penacony right below them.

Ironic, isn't it? That for the first time, his life is a chip of high value. )

Always a pleasure to do business with you, Mr. Sunday. ( A hand extended, for Sunday to take it if he so wishes. ) I do quite look forward for what you have in store for me. Hmm~ I guess we could say my life is in your capable hands, right?

Not in the traditional sense, but I imagine your resignation would have similar consequences as mine.

[The fallout would be...substantial. And that's before Sunday considers how all his plans would go up in smoke if he quit now. Neither the Family nor Order's remnants would take kindly to it.

Sunday considers the offered hand, briefly, before taking it. He's still not convinced this isn't some part of the IPC's greater plan but...sometimes traps must be dismantled from the inside. And on the off-chance it's not, then Sunday really is willing to help Aventurine in whatever way he can.]

I suppose we could, Mr. Aventurine. I don't take that lightly.

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sorry for the wait! rl was really tough these past weeks

No worries!

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sorry for the wait, took a break in nov and then holidays. hope you had a good one if you celebrate!

No worries! My long weekend and holiday was good, I hope you had a relaxing time too!

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happy new year! hope the holidays treated you well!

hny!! my holiday was p relaxing, I hope yours was too!

it was ty!! i've been busy with catching up but thankfully i should be around more now 🥹