oo1 ✦ let’s begin.

[richesse]

[ There’s a whisper through the murmur, more a breath of feeling than a fully formed thought. It’s sweet, and warm, and laughing—though it is not gentle, nor kind.

A voice follows the whisper, chased by darkness and shadows, the very suggestion of a nightmare. ]

Do you think we’re still dreaming? Or is this a living nightmare?

[ a hum, and another brush of teasing laughter, there and gone like a brief burst of memory, the last moment of summer that you can taste on your tongue before it’s irretrievably gone. ]

You’ve changed, haven’t you? We all have. What are you thinking, right now…? Who are you?

What are you?

Comments

[sorte]

Mm? Weellll... maybe somewhat, but I say it only when they are more deserving of it than the last girl I said it to.

[ it's like a whisper in her ear from over her shoulder, personable and friendly. superfluous enough to give it all a polished performance-like edge but not so much that the Murmur makes it to feel like anything other than harmless charisma. ]

[richesse]

You must know a quality product when you see it, [ she hums, content as a cat with milk. her words drip with pretty poison.

how eerie. he feels so familiar, in a way. ]

I won’t let you say it to another girl now, you know.

[sorte]

I have exquisite taste.

[ it's praise for the both of them. a chuckle echos, light and intrigued by her response. ]

Oh, you'll show me plenty why I'm right to stop with you as the last without any extra efforts needed on your part, won't you? You wouldn't disappoint me.

[richesse]

[ exquisite.

while she can swallow her laugh, she can’t tamp down the grin that chases it. she ducks her chin, pressing her hand to her heart. ]

I could never.

[ the murmur shivers with delight. ]

And what does my flatterer call himself?

[sorte]

[ very refreshing.

the satisfaction is hard to miss, and even the murmur seems to prostrate itself around her. not insincere exactly, but certainly not free reverence. for a moment the murmur seems to slither like a snake encircling and observing—or, no, appraising is more like it. ]

Your humble servant 'Aventurine,' at your service.

And what name does my newest investment go by?

[richesse]

[ sharp, barking laughter. like a fox in the night. it comes not from her mouth, but from the murmur.

his investment? is that what she is?

how funny. ]

Lortel Kehelland. [ her words have the feel of a mocking curtsy. all sweetness and bite. ]

How confident are you in your investment, Aventurine?

[sorte]

Veritably. It's my job, afterall.

[ the murmur is a fog that's like soup, but rather than humidity, it's saturated with smarminess. ]

[richesse]

[ now she does laugh, for real. it’s like staring into a mirror. ]

And what is your job, exactly, hm~?

[sorte]

[ truly. ]

Oh, I'm just a simple business executive with or strategic investments department, one of the many moving cogs in the well-oiled machine that's my corporation.

[richesse]

A businessman! [ she lights up—genuinely, no hints of poison or fakery. ]

I happen to be a businesswoman, myself. Though… I’m the company head, in my case. I fought hard for that position.

[ poison and flames and fire and fear

gone, like popping soap bubbles. ]

[sorte]

[ there's an air of being genuinely impressed to hear this. ]

Hmm? Might I ask your age? You might be surpassing one of my younger colleagues back home that's considered a prodigy in the business world.

[ and it would be glorious if he could tease Topaz with this info of being beaten out by a girl who's way more like him than she is like her, in particular. once they all get back to where they belong, anyway. ]

[richesse]

[ … ]

Are age and competency correlated?

[ she taps her chin with one fingertip, smiling peacefully. ]

I’m seventeen.

[sorte]

Not necessarily. But the younger you are, the less chances you have had to show it usually, right? You just haven't lived as many hours yet as others, that's all.

Wonderful.

[richesse]

… mm, well. I might have more practice at it than you think.

[ the murmur whispers a name, elte, and it burns like a brand, crushes like a curse. baleful and blackened. ]

Do I surpass your colleague, then?

[sorte]

[ he files that name away for later. ]

You do. Such a fantastic discovery in this situation of ours.

[richesse]

You’re so enthusiastic! Such faith in the skills of a stranger. I’ll have to work hard not to let down your expectations of me.

[ an ally. or at least, a tool.

it’s not nothing. ]