Week 1 Mingle;

[omnivoracious]

❤ Week 1 Mingle

Welcome to a new week, lovebirds! Monday dawns gray and misty, and it's actually not long before a thunderstorm rolls in! You can, of course, kiss dramatically in the yard in the rain and risk getting struck by lightning-- or you can stay inside, cuddle in the conversation pit, USE THE GODDAMN BOOM BOOM ROOM or do anything else until the storm blows over by the evening! Don't worry, the rest of the week will be bright and sunny and beautiful!

There's also a new section of the house, weirdly enough! There's a bright turquoise door located near the bedroom and opening it leads to... a massive indoor pool. The water is a pleasant temperature, there's a hot tub, there's an assortment of flotation devices for those of you who might have trouble swimming (tubes, life vests, boogie boards, pool noodles that can also be used to wage Deadly Combat if you are Sara and Kasque or Jeritza or anyone else ready for Violence). And if you somehow didn't pack a swimsuit because why on earth would your canon let you have one--

Worry not!! There's a rack of swimsuits in every size you lot could need! The catch (or not): they're all sexy. Like. Barely there sexy. Impossibly adhering to you sexy. Shoelaces would maybe cover more sexy. Absolutely great to play Chicken Fight in sexy. You get the idea.

Anything having to do with being able to write is still also Not Present.

Enjoy!!!

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[aldaft]

[Pool noodle. Pool noodle.

Cyrus lifts his hand. The pool noodle bounces off his head and palm both.]

Well, if I must . . .

[Lowering his hand to chest level, he murmurs softly to himself. A spike of ice shoots out from the floor of the pool, missing Rufus and aiming to pierce the pool noodle with its fine point.]

. . . the safest course of action would be to disarm my opponent.

[corporative]

[The reaction time’s impressive on its own, but when the spear of ice comes flying and practically spears the pool noodle, the momentum flings it upward and it goes wheeling away. It lands harmlessly by the poolside.

Surprised, Rufus actually looks it for a moment — then laughs a little.]

See? I knew you had it in you. [In fact:] It’s almost like someone’s tried to hit you with something a little more worrisome than a pool noodle before.

[aldaft]

[Cyrus smiles as he lowers his hand to his side in the water.]

Oh, they have. Not long ago, I was on a journey where I encountered many a monster and adversary. Were it not for my companions, I surely would've died before I could complete my task.

[corporative]

[Rufus will have to go fetch his pool noodle soon to assail a few others, his own little test of their might — and just because he can. But that’s put aside mentally for now.]

Oh? What kind of task were you on? [He holds up a hand, interrupting his own request for information.] Wait, let me guess. Something about expanding your knowledge?

[aldaft]

[Cyrus' smile widens a touch. The eagerness to answer his own question is charming.]

Ahaha, I admit that that is what ended up happening. However, I was on a quest to recover a stolen tome that had gone missing fifteen years ago.

[corporative]

[Well now, that’s a story that needs to be told.]

Fifteen years ago is a long time. Who had stolen it?

[aldaft]

[His lips turn down into a slight frown. It's still a terrible pity, everything that happened.]

. . . Headmaster Yvon. He'd taken the tome and made use of its contents for nefarious deeds. When I first bore witness to the evidence of what had been done, I was sure that a demon walked among us.

[corporative]

[A floatie drifts by, and Rufus has absconded it to lean his arms onto the material, casually listening as Cyrus explains. He considers this tale of theft and ill-intentions.]

Hm. Sometimes people surprise us when they show their true colors. Or maybe your Headmaster Yvon wasn't- [He taps at his forehead.] -all there to begin with.

[aldaft]

[Even as he speaks, he learns. That floatie is so very fascinating.]

He and I were not so different. Aside from our respective stances on what should be done with knowledge, I am just as consumed by the desire to acquire it as he was . . .

[Cyrus can't say that they ever got along. They bickered in nearly encounter. All the same, he regrets the way things turned out, and his expression is solemn to match his feelings on the matter.]

A colleague solicited him by appealing to that unquenchable thirst, before ultimately discarding him once she found him wanting. In the end, he was naught but a pawn.

[corporative]

[Ah, so it sounds a bit like— rivals may be too general a term, but something similar. Not so different in interests, but a different way of utilizing those interests.

Rufus can, surprisingly, empathize.]

Do you feel like you would’ve fallen into the same trap if your positions were reversed?

[aldaft]

No. [On this, he's firm.] The same colleague approached me in the aftermath, and I took issue with her solicitation. The only trap in which she caught me was when she pushed me into a pit with the intention of silencing me.

[corporative]

[He notes his certainty.] So even you have a moral line that you won’t cross for the sake of knowledge. I suppose that’s what differentiated your success from the Headmaster’s failure.

[aldaft]

Indeed . . .

[Though Yvon's downfall was manufactured. The loss of what could've been is sorrowful.]

In any case, I recovered the tome as I had set out to do, and have since returned to teaching at the Royal Academy.

[corporative]

And now you're here with us.

[He spreads his hands.]

Did you think you needed a vacation after all you'd gone through?

[aldaft]

[He nods, then lifts his hands just out of the water to indicate that he didn't.]

Oh, no. That was my sabbatical. In fact, I could hardly wait to teach again upon my return.

[corporative]

Then what’s brought you here? Are you lonesome without love, Cyrus?

[He quietly doubts it, but who knows?]

[aldaft]

Truth be told, I had never given it much thought until now. When I saw the advert, speaking of a perfect match and a wish, I found myself intrigued . . . and considered this a learning opportunity for myself.

What of you, Rufus? Are you here to find yourself a match in business?

[corporative]

Maybe you'll find someone after your own heart while you're here. You may be the epitome of the scholarly type, but there's got to be someone else who can come close to matching your intellect.

I am. One man can only spin so many plates at once; some support would always be welcome, and who can you not trust if not your perfect match?

[aldaft]

[Rufus paints an interesting image of plates. Meanwhile, Cyrus thinks of the contestants here, and how it's felt to engage each of them . . . ]

Do you not trust in your employees?

[corporative]

I do. [And that’s not a lie — he trusts in the ones closest to him. His Turks are unwavering, their loyalties solidified. But their responsibilities are different than his. They do the dirty work; Rufus is an extension of the company itself, and he is, unfortunately, just one man.]

But an employee doesn’t share the same burden as being the head of a company, and I wouldn’t want to put that on them, anyway.

[aldaft]

. . . Though the pressure and responsibility of leading an entire company are beyond me, I see what you mean. Is there anyone here whom you can envision beside you in that capacity?

[corporative]

Oh, I don't know. [Teasingly, at least he's obvious about it:] What about you?

[aldaft]

[The glint in his eyes betrays his excitement. Romance may be lost on Cyrus, but the thrill of a mystery always sends his heart aflutter.]

There are many whose company I enjoy—like yourself. However, most of us here do not seem to be scholars by trade. If she were to allow me the privilege, I could perhaps see myself conducting research with Marcille . . .

[corporative]

[His grin goes a little more lopsided at Cyrus' eagerness to answer.]

Good to know, but that's not what I meant. I mean what do you think about a match-up between me and you, specifically?

[aldaft]

[Ah. Cyrus blinks before bringing a hand to his chin.

It is his belief that matches need not be strictly romantic, which sets him thinking. He understands that Rufus desires a partner in business foremost. To that end, Rufus requires someone who's equally confident and decisive—someone who is shrewd.]

I did study the teachings of Bifelgan, the Trader, for a time . . . Although I lack Tressa's acumen in business, I did not find those studies wanting.

[But what else would benefit this charming man before him? Rather than throw out thoughtless words, he would think some more.]

What are your thoughts?