perfectmatch | week three

You can say that again.

[ To the whole sentiment, really. If he's been on a picnic before, it has been many, many years. ]

Oh? Indulge my curiosity, if you will. Who would you picnic with in the past? A family member, or perhaps a former lover? [ A little teasing; the reality of asking anything about either of their pasts can be fraught. ]

[His lips twist wry, and he pops off the cork with a little flair. Verso then works on pouring them both glasses while Aventurine gets everything else spread out — the chefs were kind, indeed.]

My family. I come from a prominent one back in Lumière, and our mansion had large enough grounds to allow for the occasional picnic without having to really leave the house.

[The wine pours, fills the glass with rich color. Talking about his part of his past is easy, because it was all very elysian. The melancholy part comes from everything that came after.]

But even back then, they were rare. Everyone was always so busy.

[ A light hum as he continues to sort through the basket's contents. They sure packed it to the brim with a five course meal, and there's a nice little salad for each of them to start them off.

He'll offer one of the bowls to Verso to exchange for the glass of wine. ]

It's difficult to make time for things like this, isn't it? Haha, I can't remember the last time I met someone for lunch that wasn't part of a business deal. What they say about there being no free lunches is true!

[ ...Except for the one they're having right now. ]

[A salad for your wine, sir. He will take the bowl, already spearing it with a fork. He's peckish.]

When was the last time you afforded yourself a vacation, Aventurine? Was it always business, all the time?

[ And Aventurine is already taking a light sip of his wine to sample the flavor. Quite nice... ]

I couldn't really say...but I do believe mixing business and pleasure. Who says a man can't enjoy his work?

[ Lol, lmao even, ]

[hm]

Do you enjoy it? I never asked how you even came about getting a job like that.

[ Watch as he gracefully swandives around answering that question. Impressive form. ]

As a matter of fact, I got it through trying to scam the very organization I now work for. I wanted to catch their attention, and I managed with flying colors. Care to hear about it?

[Don't think he doesn't notice that, sir!!!]

Sure, if you don't mind telling the tale. It sounds thrilling.

[But maybe he'll get more context first.]

I'll save you some of the less-thrilling details, but while I still lived on my home planet, I hatched a little scheme based off of some rumors I heard. Long ago, the Aeon of Propogation was fractured into dormancy, their remains scattered across the cosmos to theoretically prevent them from ever returning. That didn't stop people from looking, of course, and an isolated, unexplored region like the Egyhazo desert of Sigonia-IV was the perfect site to mislead the Intelligensia Guild into thinking they might find them. Greed and lust for knowledge have a way of outweighing even the most logical of minds.

In the end, they wasted an incredible amount of manpower and millions of credits, and only unearthed a few worthless aventurine stones in the process.

[ Hardly the remains encased in amber they were hoping for. He can't help a smile. ]

[Oh, how positively devilish.

And wait....]

Hold on. Aventurine stones... Is that why...?

[Hand waggle; is that why he goes by Aventurine?]

[ A quirk of his lips. ]

You've got the idea. When I was invited to join the Stonehearts, it was only the natural pick for my Cornerstone. A stone symbolizing luck and trickery...fits the bill, doesn't it?

That it does.

[Though maybe that pick is somewhat ironic and bittersweet, knowing what he does of Aventurine's past.]

Why did you join, then? [He is circling around the question of "do you enjoy your job, actually" like a shark, sorry.] The success? The thrill?

Surely not the paperwork.

[ Ironic certainly fits the bill. It was the first real name he had been given since he left his own buried in the sands of Sigonia-IV, and it belonged to his lies. Even the numbers branded into his neck belonged more to him than his Cornerstone. ]

The thrill is a part of it. The cosmos is ripe with opportunities to gamble on a scale unlike any other...but that's not why I took the job initially.

[ A pause, his gaze drifting off into the distance. ]

Truthfully, I...was seeking my own freedom. After what happened to my people, I was...sold, by the men who found me. So you can understand why joining the IPC wasn't an opportunity I could pass up.

[ Ironic, then, that this opportunity only landed him in chains of a different sort. ]

[This information is going to hit a lot differently when Secret Lore Drop 2: Electric Boogaloo happens.

For now, though, it's already a bit of a solemn revelation, isn't it? That Aventurine was not seen as a person, but rather something that could easily be sold off like an object. He hesitates to ask what that might have entailed. Verso is smart enough to know it couldn't have been anything good, not when a person lacks their freedom, no matter how that manifests.]

...No doubt the IPC was a step up from your previous circumstances. You've plenty more freedoms, I assume.

[Right...???]

Though I suppose having that many responsibilities on your plate is also its own kind of cage.

[right????]

[ WAGGLES HAND... ]

Well, I traded chains and a death sentence for bureaucracy and red tape, so it depends on how you look at it. [ A little put-upon sigh, once again saying so much with the expectations he's set up, and what goes unsaid. ] I've certainly seen my fair share of the universe since I joined the Strategic Investment Department, at the very least.

[ People who see the stars aren't imprisoned, right? Neither are those who wear fine clothes and gold watches, who have more wealth than they know what to do with. He's no slave anymore...

At least, in the literal sense. ]

week three | dates

(affectionately) slut

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