#avarice | verse 01 (one more deal just a roll of the dice)

[stellarhistoria]

@terredivine liked for a starter from here

Characters: Lorenz & Avarice

"Hey." It's a gentle tone that the cartographer normally doesn't find himself taking, reaching out to grab the younger's wrist before he runs off to do something inevitably far more stupid than he was already planning to with the new information he was just given after looking over the maps of the new part of Sumeru. "I know what I said yesterday. But... do you want to sit down someplace instead, and take a break? We've been running around a lot, and I think we could use a moment to breathe."

[stellarhistoria]

"And what, you DON'T want to know where the spots are, kid?" He can tease right back don't you start with him Lorenz. "I can just... not tell you when I'm headed out from the Adventurer's Guild."

"Suuuuure, a system. You've marked every single individual spot where we've found mint growing."

What? This was prime teasing material. He's not sorry. Not yet, at least.

[stellarhistoria]

usually people just look the other way, but you actually care. - Lorenz to Avarice

[ A SHOT OF KINDNESS ] characters: avarice & lorenz

@stellafortunae

"Mm, yes, The Archons have saddled you with the unfortunate dilemma of finding someone who actually cares about your wellbeing," the man of endless greed finds himself jesting at the drop of a hat, partially influenced by the other being sincere before him. "Truly a moment of woe, wouldn't you say? To be loved and to have nothing asked of you in return but to live?"

[stellarhistoria]

"Y'can want something and still know when someone's too stupid to handle them." His ears pin to the back of his head in irritation.

"I thought it was because you wanted them?"

[stellarhistoria]

"I never said it was a bad thing, just that it's a curse upon you, because now you have to deal with me, mm? Unless you'd have something you'd like to say, Lori." it's a pet name he knows slightly annoys lorenz when he's called it, so he doesn't use it very often, and only ever in jest, as evident by such he's smiling - also rare.

and then there's a flicker of surprise behind his glasses, new and improved as they are. "... Huh. You're weird." his tail swishes absently behind him, not a wagging but more of a content pleased motion of having heard the command to relax.

@stellarhistoria || oh woe? how about no?

"You say that like it's a bad thing." He laughed, like Shan had told a joke, before seeming to...relax, almost. Feeling at ease, as he leaned up against the person that 'the Archons saddled him with'. Funny, it felt more like a blessing than anything.

So the smile stayed on his face, turning his head to look up at this person he would trust his very life with. "I'd say it's a great thing. I wouldn't want to ask for anything other than you."

[stellarhistoria]

"I know, I know." Avarice chuckles softly at the admittance from Lorenz that he seems tired and truthfully he is. He's exhausted.

He's dependable ─ and with dependability, came downfalls.

There's a certain level of exhaustion that came with being reliable among the merchant market, and it made him feel as if he could never quite breathe, and he could never truly say no, because if he said no, then he wouldn't be able to pay for the next gig. But at the end of the day, he knew he was far past loaded, enough that he could support both of them thrice over for months to come. (he just never tells lorenz, because then there'd be questions about how he'd managed those negotations.)

"You pick the place, Lorenz. Anywhere. Somewhere. I'll be able to get us in." A tired smile. "Even that one place you say you've never been able to get into because the wait time's months."

He stopped in his tracks as soon as he felt the hand on his wrist, turning to look back at his friend. "But..." This was a whole new area! Somewhere new and exciting, surely with plenty of interesting things to find. But the way Shan's voice sounded...

There was a beat of silence before Lorenz stepped closer, back from where he was about to bolt off. "Sure? That...doesn't sound like a bad idea." Didn't make the young adventurer any less confused, of course... "You could always just say you're tired, Shan. Nothing wrong with that!" The brunette grinned as he spoke, though there wasn't any teasing in his voice; Just an assurance. He knows that the merchants talked a lot about how energetic he was.

[stellarhistoria]

"----ah got a system, celestia damn it--"

It's not a LIE, per say, but that doesn't mean he's not embarrassed.

"No kidding. How are you even able to read any of this?"

Too late. He's already staring at the map over their shoulder.

[stellarhistoria]

"... and this is why you're not allowed to have the high end materials, bud."

"Look, all you gotta do is slide down juuuuuust right. As long as you bend your knees when you hit the bottom, it won't hurt as much!"