#m. affarista

[delusionaid]

@affarista sent: ❛  i  have  been  generous  up  until  now .  ❜ // pantalone @ childe!

It's a threat if he's ever heard one coming from the regrator, or as the man himself would probably say: a warning. Admittedly Tartaglia's expenses in Liyue may have exceeded his initially allocated budget but what hasn't gone awry with that particular mission? At least on his end - Rosalyne certainly played her cards well. And it is that very circumstance that makes Childe even less contrite about his expenses than he normally would be. His victories tend to speak for him and overshadow his unconventional methods - something he has been robbed of in Liyue, leaving him with nothing but an open animosity from the Geo Lord's nation and glaring red numbers on his ledger.

"Liyue posed some.. surprises," Childe starts his defense without having a full argument in mind yet. It doesn't help that he knows a good chunk of the mora he spent went to entertaining Zhongli, who is a whole other topic and quite the sore spot for him for a whole other reason. It is the thought of the archon that suddenly jumpstarts a deep-rooted spite inside the young Harbinger, torpedoing his tender attempts at diplomacy with Pantalone. "Perhaps if we didn't use each other as stepping stones while executing our Tsaritsa's orders, expenses wouldn't explode and our relations with other nations wouldn't suffer unexpectedly," he snaps.

"By all means. Be less generous. I have other means of persuasion if need be."

[delusionaid]

@affarista sent: ❛  is there anything i can do for you?  ❜ // diluc @ dainsleif!

Something about the bartender's voice is familiar, as is the way he forms his words and the melody he speaks them with; together with his scarlet hair and the subtle elegance that's carried by his every gesture he resembles that man so much it's no surprise Dainsleif mistook him when he first entered the tavern. He might just be putting up an act for paying customers but something about his manner of speaking and holding himself gives him the air of a son of a good family - even noble, perhaps. It could have been him; of course only if the stories the knight roves through on his journeys remained untouched by time. Dainsleif may look the same as he did back then, but he would be much older now.

Assuming the bartender is referring to the empty glass on the table, Dainsleif shakes his head. "No more for me," he replies. Before the other can turn away, however, he looks up to study his face. It's not him, and yet the familiarity is striking. "--but, there is something," Dainsleif adds. Some days and events in centuries past are hard to forget, others hard to remember. How many years has it been since last he came through the city of freedom? "I've been in this city before, some time ago. Back then I met someone.. but I have no way of finding him, nor do I know where he lives. Perhaps you know the one I seek."

Red hair, a friendly smile, and an ambition to rival all Dainsleif has seen before come to mind. It would be interesting to know what came of him. "His name is Crepus. I'm afraid that's all I remember."

[delusionaid]

@affarista sent: ❛ and where do you think you’re going? ❜ // kaveh @ alhaitham >:)

The question comes with such attitude there is little doubt about Kaveh's opinion on Alhaitham's sudden departure. Expected. It doesn't stop the scribe in his steps towards the door where he puts on his boots and picks up his coat, all before offering Kaveh a response. The later he gives it the less opportunity there will be for his roommate to voice his protests in the time it takes him to step out the door and close it behind him.

"I'm going to the library. If there's more to be found about this in the Akademiya, our first focal point should be Spantamad. You're talking in circles about the facts you know until one of them sounds more believable to you than the others. This is not going to get us anywhere beyond a misguided confidence in your ability to draw logical conclusions from faulty presumptions based on limited knowledge. There is more to this."

He pulls open the door and steps over the threshold, pausing for a moment. He considers adding the words that appeared on his mind but decides against it after brief contemplation. Kaveh will know, even if he doesn't say it. And so he pulls the door closed, leaving Kaveh alone with the silence of their home, and heads down the path to the House of Daena.

[delusionaid]

@affarista cont. (x)

Thoma's optimism and enthusiasm for a potential win were almost rewarding enough. Naturally, Ayato wasn't one to hold back in any aspect or situation - not even something as seemingly trivial as a couple of rounds of a board game. But he had to admit (silently to himself, of course) that a part of him was tempted to lose on purpose, only for the sake of seeing his housekeeper's optimism bear fruit.

He wouldn't, though, knowing that if he genuinely lost to Thoma, the reward of seeing his joy of winning would simply be that much more... well, rewarding. " Is that so? " Ayato couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle at this, blue optics momentarily settling on the board as it was positioned between them. " Is there a particular reason why you feel like your optimism might bear fruit this time around? " Being genuinely curious, Ayato waited a beat before he'd reach out and make his first move, as suggested.

The first move says a lot about an opponent's strategy and they've played this often enough by now that Thoma can tell what kind of game lies ahead of them. Ayato's first move suggests a balanced strategy - not an unusual choice for a first game of the day; as time progresses and afternoons unfold oftentimes their moves become bolder or more cautious, depending on the mood of the day. He takes a few moments to consider his own move, his hand coming up to rest against his chin while he thinks.

"No reason," Thoma responds with a bit of a delay. His hand picks a stone from his bowl and reaches out, hovering over the board for a moment. "Just a feeling. Fate favors me today," he adds good-naturedly as he places his first stone. Befitting his optimistic outlook he chooses a strategy that is bolder right off the bat, knowing he'll have to accept higher risks and sacrifices on his way to victory, but also improve his chances of leading Ayato into a trap.

Once he's done he lowers his hand back to rest on his thigh and looks up at Ayato, smiling. It's nice to see the young lord in a relaxed mood like this, despite the piles of papers they both know to wait for him at his desk. Luckily he never loses his delight in games and usually doesn't require a lot of convincing to take a break for a quick game of something. Whenever he doesn't take those breaks, those are the times Thoma can't help but worry about him more.

"Waka, I just remembered that.. drink you made the other day," Thoma suddenly brings up, just as Ayato's gaze seems to focus on the board in front of them again. Maybe with a bit of distraction he can get him to stumble into making a few early mistakes. This might be considered a dirty tactic but against an opponent like Kamisato Ayato, anything is fair. "I thought about it this morning and I actually quite liked it - do you remember what ingredients you put in it?"