Post by Oolong on Jul 7, 2023 11:47:47 GMT -5
Yan
Yan did not hide his interest at the explanation on the kai portion of Puar. Her persona had changed quite a bit, her presence, though it felt more like a merging than an erasure. Didn't Aria experiment on something like that? The seven sounded familiar, but he had been dead a large part of that venture, and Aria's attention span for projects danced about.
"She's the goddess to a bunch of minions?" Yan let out, unable to contain himself, but keeping in a laugh. "Or did the devolve that way without their god..." he continued, more to himself as his thoughts wandered. He'd worked with a lot of Lahanans throughout the years. They were always faithful little subjects, their eyes glinting with wonder at some new plan, while unable to come up with anything on their own. It wasn't stupidity either, it was preference.
"So what do you want to do?" he asked in the end, once more leaning his cheek in his hand, his elbow rudely on the table. "Guide her? Serve her? Remove her?" They all seemed like interesting options.
"She's the goddess to a bunch of minions?" Yan let out, unable to contain himself, but keeping in a laugh. "Or did the devolve that way without their god..." he continued, more to himself as his thoughts wandered. He'd worked with a lot of Lahanans throughout the years. They were always faithful little subjects, their eyes glinting with wonder at some new plan, while unable to come up with anything on their own. It wasn't stupidity either, it was preference.
"So what do you want to do?" he asked in the end, once more leaning his cheek in his hand, his elbow rudely on the table. "Guide her? Serve her? Remove her?" They all seemed like interesting options.
//
Trade Master
"I am... unsure," he said while placing his chin in a hand as he thought. "I do not know if I could guide her, it feels out of my league. Serving her again feels like a demotion from my current standing as a independent contractor. Removing her doesn't seem beneficial. It would be the safest option, but also the toughest.
"Revenge was on the table years ago, but only Name Master feels bitter towards Soul's death. His death was not impactful to us, Soul could have brought himself back ages ago. The fact that he did not means that death was a benefit for him."
The waitress came back with Trade's tea and Yan's coffee along with sugar and cream containers for him to mix and add.
"Here you both go," she said. "Anything else?"
Trade shook his head. "I sent Anna to attack her only to pull out Distora again. I didn't send Anna with thoughts that Puar was in any real danger, though I may have misjudged it a bit. Anna's power seems bottomless, and Distora isn't who she was. I also intructed Anna that I really just wanted Puar to come to me, or be brought, it didn't matter. Death was not on the table at any point."
"Revenge was on the table years ago, but only Name Master feels bitter towards Soul's death. His death was not impactful to us, Soul could have brought himself back ages ago. The fact that he did not means that death was a benefit for him."
The waitress came back with Trade's tea and Yan's coffee along with sugar and cream containers for him to mix and add.
"Here you both go," she said. "Anything else?"
Trade shook his head. "I sent Anna to attack her only to pull out Distora again. I didn't send Anna with thoughts that Puar was in any real danger, though I may have misjudged it a bit. Anna's power seems bottomless, and Distora isn't who she was. I also intructed Anna that I really just wanted Puar to come to me, or be brought, it didn't matter. Death was not on the table at any point."
//
Yan
Yan sat up when his coffee arrived, a frown finally gracing his features.
"I'm seeing myself in that 25% right now," he said moving his hand to his mouth and chin trying to remember. He could probably text Aria right now, or he had a feeling Adler knew something too, but he didn't like Trade Master enough to make an extra effort. So he made a mental note, and shelved it for now, resting his hand back down to fix his coffee.
"Guide her seems the most opportunistic, but unfortunately, while revenge is off the table for you, I don't believe its off the table for her," Yan said as he poured the cream in. "She might be swayed by knowledge, but never enough to appreciate that guidance in such a way that would truly benefit you. It's a bit of a pickle. It doesn't help that your brother is in a prison she has access to seething with his hatred, and you went out of your way to find out her true name, when you did not need it for this."
"I'm seeing myself in that 25% right now," he said moving his hand to his mouth and chin trying to remember. He could probably text Aria right now, or he had a feeling Adler knew something too, but he didn't like Trade Master enough to make an extra effort. So he made a mental note, and shelved it for now, resting his hand back down to fix his coffee.
"Guide her seems the most opportunistic, but unfortunately, while revenge is off the table for you, I don't believe its off the table for her," Yan said as he poured the cream in. "She might be swayed by knowledge, but never enough to appreciate that guidance in such a way that would truly benefit you. It's a bit of a pickle. It doesn't help that your brother is in a prison she has access to seething with his hatred, and you went out of your way to find out her true name, when you did not need it for this."
//
Trade Master
He grin at that. "That is an assumption that I went out of my way. It was simply just part of a trade. Her real name was given to me as part of a trade for an ability. Part of the business. If I was properly prepared I could have approached her at any time, but I did not feel properly prepared for Distora -- not until I was able to put Anna on a one off contract."
//
Yan
“Yeah, but you’re supposed to be able to weigh assets,” Yan said with another frown. “Triggering someone you don’t want to react even more negatively towards you, sounds like you didn’t weight the assets correctly. What did knowing her true name get you?”
//
Trade Master
"What do you know about a man named Tyroniche Argoni," he asked right after. "That man added a lot of weight to her true name. You must not know much about the Argoni Family if you think not knowing she is an Argoni is invaluable."
//
Yan
"I guess you know that without knowing that," Yan said thoughtfully. He could know the value even without knowing what he was getting.
"Still, it seems my weighing of things is simply less mathematic," Yan said, stirring his coffee before picking up the mug. "I wouldn't consider it worth it unless I could keep her from knowing I know, especially when I'm already enemy number one. I can usually get more when I manage to get on someone's good side, but that's also factoring in my abilities, not yours," he said, turning to his own musings at the end. There were times to create more paranoia, and there were times to cozy up.
"Still, it seems my weighing of things is simply less mathematic," Yan said, stirring his coffee before picking up the mug. "I wouldn't consider it worth it unless I could keep her from knowing I know, especially when I'm already enemy number one. I can usually get more when I manage to get on someone's good side, but that's also factoring in my abilities, not yours," he said, turning to his own musings at the end. There were times to create more paranoia, and there were times to cozy up.
//
Trade Master
"Indeed, what you would do and consider is exactly what you would do and consider," Trade Master said in agreement. "Is there anything else you were looking for in this meeting?" Trade finally took a sip of his tea after saying that.
//
Yan
The coffee wasn't bad though still quite sad, so he set it down again.
"Besides insight?" Yan asked with a hum. "I doubt anyone comes to you about anything without considering a trade too," he noted, his face splitting into another smile. "It's a lucrative business, and the game is in the name."
"Besides insight?" Yan asked with a hum. "I doubt anyone comes to you about anything without considering a trade too," he noted, his face splitting into another smile. "It's a lucrative business, and the game is in the name."
//
Trade Master
"It is, it is," he said with a grin. "Do you have something more thatyou want? Is there another trade that you would like to make. What exactly can I do for you? You've provided me with decent credit with a connection. I could always trade pieces of information with you for another."
//
Yan
"I thought you would have had a guess," Yan said, watching him again, as if trying to tell whether he was feigning ignorance. Maybe he just didn't expect it from Yan, considering the type of man he could be, especially cut off as he was. It also might not have registered to him how Anna's current state could even pose a problem, it definitely wasn't one for Trade Master.
"I'm sure it's also not uncommon someone comes to you wishing to trade something to undo the trade you made with their loved ones," Yan revealed, taking his coffee and sitting back in his chair with a wistful expression. "Of course, this is a tad more complicated than that."
"I'm sure it's also not uncommon someone comes to you wishing to trade something to undo the trade you made with their loved ones," Yan revealed, taking his coffee and sitting back in his chair with a wistful expression. "Of course, this is a tad more complicated than that."
//
Trade Master
"I don't really like guessing too much but I suppose I can try now," he said but his grin didn't go anywhere. "This is about Anna? Undoing the trade that we made? Typically the tradee makes that request and it is backed with a lot of paperwork and its own penalty fee."
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper that didn't look to have been small enough to even fit in there.
"She was given the ability to trade her connections away to capture other connections. I took her employment for a job as the trade. All she has to do is complete the job and she is free to go, that is all. But her ability to trade away connections to capture others is still active and forever will be unless nullified. Which, that is what you are trying to do, I guess?"
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper that didn't look to have been small enough to even fit in there.
"She was given the ability to trade her connections away to capture other connections. I took her employment for a job as the trade. All she has to do is complete the job and she is free to go, that is all. But her ability to trade away connections to capture others is still active and forever will be unless nullified. Which, that is what you are trying to do, I guess?"
//
Yan
"Nope," Yan said quickly after Trade Master finished. "Like I said, its a tad more complicated than that." He took a sip of his coffee to leave him in more suspense before gently setting it down.
"Though, she might do something stupid with it in the future, I want to see if there's anything else that could be traded for those connections," he said, watching the man closely once more. "In that realm it attacks you in such a way, tries to gobble you up. It's terms are specific and extreme. If you could capture them in another way, or even if you were interested in a different price, something worth more to you than my silly purpose in life~" He lifted his hands from his cup in a shrugging motion. "It might be worthwhile."
There was no saying Trade Master could even access those connections now, let alone trade for them, and Yan doubted anyone would trade something like their purpose away, but did it really have to be so direct?
"Though, she might do something stupid with it in the future, I want to see if there's anything else that could be traded for those connections," he said, watching the man closely once more. "In that realm it attacks you in such a way, tries to gobble you up. It's terms are specific and extreme. If you could capture them in another way, or even if you were interested in a different price, something worth more to you than my silly purpose in life~" He lifted his hands from his cup in a shrugging motion. "It might be worthwhile."
There was no saying Trade Master could even access those connections now, let alone trade for them, and Yan doubted anyone would trade something like their purpose away, but did it really have to be so direct?
//
Trade Master
He laughed a little at the sudden nope. "See, I don't really like guessing. I am not a know it all." Trade waited between the sip and then listened. "Trading for the connections that she traded off, but with a different medium of trade value than just connection for connection. I could probably see memory or life being a suitable trade replacement. Though, now I am getting into magical territory. The ability I gave Anna was a bit simple to fashion out of a power I already had in a vault, which she now has. I would probably need to dip into wishing power a bit to conjure up something of that sort."
Oolong (Combat, Human): 866
Puar (Combat, Human): 691
Puar (Combat, Human): 691
//