tergiversant | IC Inbox

( it's — a miscalculation.

a huge one in fact, the likes of which would be enough to make barma smirk at him over his fan, flutter it and say something irritating, only it's one thing, isn't it, when barma's only being coy about some information he'll inevitably provide them and another when the last oz heard of him rings in his ears now, sharon almost in tears for her beloved grandmother. i never thought he'd do something like this, and neither had anyone.

but personal timelines are as fluid as water here, and barma may be from before that, before even considering it, or even from the uncertain future leo warned oz about more than once. it means treading even more carefully than ordinarily, and it means operating alone because that betrayal is certainly not something he'd wanted to worry anyone else about, least of all with what little can be done about it from here.

so, his voice is bright, bubbles on a laugh. )

So this is where you've been! How am I supposed to greet you properly if you take so long to show your face, Duke Barma?

[How... inconvenient. He HAD planned on a meeting in person. It is far easier to read people there. Not to mention, Oz's usual contingent of allies added to his own expressions, tell tales that the cheery smile and waspish words didn't reveal were often painted in bright colors in how Gilbert's brow pinched, or in Alice's outbursts. In Sharon's declarations and the Hatter's subtle shifts in posture.

This was very, very inconvenient.]

Properly? Very well. I shalt wait for thee to attempt such.

One gives proper lenience to beginners, after all.

( this person is so annoying — )

How kind of you! Does that mean you'll be granting me an audience?

[On one hand, he is getting what he wanted. On the other, cheeky brat.]

This day hath given me a dearth of pressing matters. To wit, such may be granted to thee.

I shalt remain upon the observation deck a time hence.

( he would, wouldn't he; of course rufus barma would manage to think of the single place oz loathes most out of a building, an astronomical body, he already despises. )

I'll be sure not to keep you waiting, then.

[When Oz arrives, Barma has not taken the middle of the room to himself, as he was often prone to. Instead, he sits, leaning against the first of many panes of clear material, standing between them and the crushing pressure of the void.

Barma, himself, has settles a pillow upon the cold metal bench, and further draped one of his silk coats upon it before taking a seat. In his hand is a styrofoam cup of tea, for lack of proper materials. A second sits nearby, though who he had persuaded or commanded to fetch it for him is no where to be seen.

He doesn't turn to look at Oz.]

A curious fact, is it not? Abysmal comes from 'Abysm'... meaning a bottomless gulf, the greatest of depths.

It seems a proper word for the view afforded.

( barma may have his silk coats and pillows, but oz looks very thoroughly exile by now, just days shy of the ten month mark in this world. he's got the one frock coat in which he'd arrived in september back, borrowed to caesar at vanadi's fateful party, but that's all; the venetian finery is lost in a cold united earth facility, and anything else didn't survive the trip to the moon or didn't exist in the first place. it's locally-made shirts and trousers for him now, long-sleeved against the weather there and chill here, brightened primarily by a familiar gold chain that jangles musically when he moves just so, evidence of jack's pocket watch still never leaving his person. his hair wants trimming, and his boots — local again, it's only been dress shoes that he's brought in from reveil — make his approach audible enough.

(not things he's thought to notice in recent months until now, not even with alice's arrival; but then barma hasn't seen him splattered with gil's and his own blood, clothes ragged from low-ranking chains, hasn't at all besides the luxury that a scion of vessalius house would be expected to wear.)

the additional steaming cup doesn't go unnoticed, scarcely gives him pause; this may be a farce of a meeting between members of two of the four highest ranking families outside of the reigning one, but at least it's a proper one. not surprising that barma would think of the abyss, looking out at space, even if it stiffens his shoulders and makes his steps feel heavier, because it's true — there's no one in pandora who'd look at this view and think of anything else. )

Does it? I didn't know. ( a lie. ) It's a surprise to hear you volunteering information for free.

( on a chuckle, like they're friends, and he sits himself and picks up the cup. he neither drinks it nor looks outside, sits up straight so he doesn't have to lean as barma does, and lets the steam tickle his face. )

Edited 2013-11-27 15:02 (UTC)

[Even a pittance has its price. Whether Barma directly demands it or not, he takes it in information. It's not the state of Oz' squalor, or uneasy but still neutral posture in front of the starscape.

Rufus' eyes focus on the glimmer of a gold chain at Oz' collar. The rest of his expression is hid by the lip of his own cup, and masked by the act of a sip of tea as effectively as either of his fans.]

There art occasions whereupon I might seem generous.

Thou hast resided here some time.

( he'd considered digging up that frock coat, dressing carefully, but had ultimately rejected the thought. it'd likely be obvious anyway, and he'd be surprised if rufus barma of all people, already a not-so-new arrival, hadn't yet seen his face over the network, stretching back for months. there can be value to such short-lived deceptions, but he hadn't seen the point of this one. besides, it puts him at an informational advantage, and he's sure they both realize it. )

Well! That's true of everyone, I suppose. ( he finally has a sip of the tea himself, though certainly not pointedly. ) Quite some time. I'd welcome you properly, but I'm sure the greeters did that already.

Twas an informative experience.

[Incredibly so, there are layers of factions, history and other information that he had yet to even skim the surface of. And yet...]

Prithee tell, why hast thou donned the act of propriety at such a time? I wonder, what question you have aches so soundly for an answer.

You mean you don't know already?

( he can't help himself sometimes, and with duke barma — with the moon, with the ue, with the mutiny, with everything — even his own temper has been harder to mind. )

Though even so, I was supposed to be the one greeting you.

[At the first question, Barma simply smiled. It was only what Oz continued with, that he answered.]

I believe, indeed, tis what hath been promised. Proceed.

( it's answer enough; he lowers his eyes a moment as he has another sip of tea. he hadn't expected much else, truthfully, perhaps because if nothing else he's not so lucky nor so hopeful.

after a moment he says, ) The United Earth is a formidable enemy.

[When Oz looks back up, Barma is looking out the window, his own expression hidden by the ridiculous volume of hair around him.]

Enough to scour a city from the very ground. Why, I must wonder, whence they took heroes and villains of many worlds, powers of strangeness and might... and yet, tis all within hidden movements and nibbling attacks?

Because if we do otherwise, we'll lose. ( he does look back up, says it levelly and almost without a trace of emotion. ) It's all these people can do to survive. In fact, if the United Earth wanted us dead, we would be; they've already chased us off the planet and murdered everyone on another. A direct attack wouldn't be any better.

( lets that hang in the air a moment. )

— at least, the way things are now. ( hence this strategy. ) The United Earth doesn't keep allies, and they don't need them, either. It's no problem for them to do something like sealing Dodo, even without a Key. Our status, everything about us from home, doesn't mean anything to them.

( he breathes out, lets his gaze drop again briefly. )

What I'm saying, in other words, is that the situation is dire.

( what he's saying, in other words, is that while the initiative is the disadvantaged side, there's equally no advantage to even considering the other. and because, in all honesty, there isn't anyone he'd wish the united earth's might against, no matter how untrustworthy or irritating they may be, and no matter what they may have done. )

Edited 2013-11-28 00:40 (UTC)

Thou hast experienced it thineself. [At the first touch of Oz's tone, Barma had looked back, watch him, listening to the pauses. There's no question in his statement, merely confirming what hasn't been said, but should be. The emotion, the investment meant little to him. But a do or die situation, at a time like this, when it is truly imperative he live to finish his plans...

Barma straightens up slightly, a spark in his eyes that often lit whenever someone's temper broke. A shout, or an attack, something unexpected and complicated...]

So, we art playing a game where our king hath already been checked.

( the conclusion isn't a difficult one to make, and he doesn't acknowledge it. after the destruction of keith's world, he'd wanted to be honest; kano and he had discussed in the catacombs while the ground above them shook how the new transports would need to know these things, how much of a lie it'd be to let them think things here could be peaceful. this is personal, though. it was unpleasant enough to allude to the united earth monstrosity that had affected everyone at vanadi's party, to whatever technology they'd used to keep everyone helpless at the compound, and it's not as though rufus barma of all people needs to know any more detail than that.

(and it's more than he has done with alice, even by now, and every intention of telling gil has still quietly gone astray.)

but the other reaction, that's — not quite what he expected. he'd been so concerned with trying to prevent another betrayal that it hadn't occurred to him that this could sound like a challenge. his brows almost draw together, but he smoothes out his expression as he straightens in turn. )

That's right.

[For a long minute or two, he doesn't answer. Almost immediately after Oz had finished speaking, he had withdrawn his fan from its pocket and snapped it open, expression covered as he considered it. Both what little Oz had conveyed and what he had gotten from Break's confidence in 'Reim.']

Tis that, then: the information I wish from thee. What scraps of knowledge thou hast gathered at our enemy's swordpoint.

( barma doesn't know, can't know, not precisely what it is he's asking for. but even if he did — even if he did, it wouldn't stop him, of course. but you don't care what happens to me, oz had said once, for why barma makes an unbiased (in certain respects, anyway) source of information.

his expression cools, and he says, ) That's something you could hear from anyone here.

( a lie, of course, but he's not so eager to share this; and it's all part of the game, isn't it, making him have to say it. )

[Barma's eyes narrow in amusement over the edge of his fan.]

That should make thy price paltry, should it not?

( it's something else entirely that makes his own eyes narrow. )

Not at all. If it's not valuable information, you don't want to hear it — isn't that right?

Perhaps. [Not at all. He had found in many years that all knowledge had its value, all trivia had its place, often in the most unexpected ways. But for Oz to neglect a detail he'd already revealed, their first meeting no less... The unlovable brat was hardly off his game, as much as...]

What Oz Vessalius neglects to mention may be so commonplace as stones in the ground. [He closes his fan and sets it in his lap.] But what he doth not wish to say? That hath value to mine ear.

Its value should be worth your cooperation, so long as you're here. ( picks and chooses his words carefully, knowing their weight ) Frankly, I don't trust you at all, and there's no reason for either of us to be loyal to one another. But bringing the conflict between the Baskervilles and Pandora here benefits no one — and that includes you.

( one show of cards for another, perhaps, though the greater of oz's is yet to come — almost promised, now. )

[For what it is worth, it gives Barma a pause. He stills, almost entirely motionless to consider Oz.]

Very well. As long as both thee and thine companions [The emphasis is subtle, barely even a rise in his tone.] wish it, I shall work towards thy goal.

But be it clear, is it survival or triumph that ye seek?

voice; not long after he replies to riku's post

Voice

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ACTION, BABY

ACTION, BABY!!

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