brighter than the sun

SUNJATA

she bought the last line, i'm just the worst kind
of guy to argue with what you might find

Apparently, the young enforcer has been stupid. Not for any reason you might think up to this point, but for the one selfish fact that he managed to catch a glimpse of Adam (who he’d just spent some of the party with) with Nate (because he can clearly tell that’s the doctor right there, outfit or no), watching for a belated moment as they grow close and handsy. He looks away quickly, chastising himself for being such an idiot, working his jaw beneath his gilded mask.

Of course thinking that Nate might have actually been interested in him was ridiculous, right? Not only is he an enforcer, he’s the Bratena heir, he’s a Plater, and he’s engaged — even if Savera and he weren’t interested in pursuing it.

It’s a never ending battle in his gut of his own frustration, a never ending mantra of staying in his lane. He can be professional, still set out to do what he thinks is necessary in helping the Drenchers, but he realizes how he needs to be less… Emotionally involved, in some ways.

These are all things that he could handle and compartmentalize in a healthy manner, of course, but that isn’t what he does. Sunjata, dressed as a gilded Saint, slips toward the drink booth again and obtains one of the more boozy cocktails they have as an option, and downs half of it before he realizes it’s important to pace himself.

Hopefully it would dull the upset in his stomach enough that he wouldn’t care anymore, though he doubts that’s the case.

and for the last night i lie
could i lie with you?

CIAN

The mirror house had left him a bit dizzy and he had found a convenient chair by an equal convenient drink booth. He had taken off the borrowed coat and hung it over the back of the chair; it had simply become too warm for it after all that moving around. It would probably be needed again later when evening came. The colourful mask he had kept on, at least.

Cian sips on a drink that is as colourful as the festival itself. Layers of colourful liquids, accompanied with a fancy little umbrella and a straw. It truly was the theme of colours. Tasted very fruity too. He is back to his usual people-watching, admiring everything. Decorations and costumes alike as people walked by on the street going past the drink booth.

A very golden person caught his attention as they came up to the booth. Cian tilts his head to the side with a small frown. Something felt familiar about the person, but he could not exactly put his finger on it. Could just be someone he had seen in the crowds during the day without thinking of it. He shrugged for himself and leaned back in the chair. Should the person look his way, he would raise his drink in a polite greeting anyway, even if the person would turn out to be a complete stranger.

SUNJATA

she bought the last line, i'm just the worst kind
of guy to argue with what you might find

He can’t help the annoyance that ticks on his face, luckily a majority of it is hidden by the glass he sips from and the mask that covers the rest, but the alcohol hits his stomach with a roiling mixture, upset as he tries to damper it down. It’s when he notices someone looking at him (or he thinks someone is, there’s been a lot of looks during this festival and he’s practically put a target for attention on his back).

He glances over and makes eye contact with the one he’s sure has been glancing at him, and when he sees the cup rise in a small toast, recognition flares a few heartbeats after. It numbs the senses enough that for a moment he doesn’t think about his jealousy and self loathing, the young enforcer pushing himself off of the post he has been leaning against in order to take up a spot beside Cian.

“Hey,” he greets softly, tilting his head toward Cian to offer him a smile of greeting that’s somewhat fleeting. “What do you think so far?” He gestures to the carnival around them, then takes another heavy sip of his mixed drink.

and for the last night i lie
could i lie with you?

CIAN

It wasn't until Sunjata spoke that Cian fully recognised who it was. He responded with a soft smile of his own and took a sip of his drink through the straw, while looking around at Sunjata's gesture.

"I like it. It is almost overwhelming, but not quite. Could go around all day looking at things without running out of new things to look at. Even tried one of the game challenges I saw around here. Some house filled with some maze of mirrors. Was an interesting experience.

He took another sip of his drink and looked Sunjata over. Probably just having a look at the outfit and mask, as he gets a curious and impressed expression on his face. His eyes then flickers to Sunjata's glass, that seems to be quickly getting more empty.

"How has the festival been treating you so far?" He asks with a small sideways tilt of his head, looking up at Sunjata's face. What can be seen of the face from behind the mask, at least. Cian felt a hint on concern, but he was not sure why. Sunjata was still pretty much a stranger to him. Perhaps it was just in return for the unexpected kindness the man had showed him the first time.

SUNJATA

she bought the last line, i'm just the worst kind
of guy to argue with what you might find

Amusement does break through his own self wallowing at the mention of the house of mirrors, his head tilting toward the building a ways away as if he could see through the perfectly manicured trees and the crowds of people to see it from where they sat. “Run into any mirrors?” He asks curiously, though he doesn’t expect Cian to actually answer him with it – still, anything to distract him from his unrealistic jealousy of which he has no place to put it.

But the question gets turned on him and he almost winces with it, taking a small inhale of breath, pasting on a mask for the other man to see beneath the gilded mask, he turns his steel gaze back to his acquaintance. “Good so far. I personally enjoy the far and few between days where we pretend like there isn’t a terribly large divide between the Drench and the Plates.” Is it too much information that the Arbiter’s kid is giving out? Is it too much of a statement to be made for someone like him?

Oh, absolutely. But he’s not quite thinking straight about it. So instead, Cian gets the first words that come to mind rather than the carefully cultivated drone he’s supposed to put on.

As if realizing it, Sunjata shuts himself up with another sip of his drink, leaning forward and rests his forearms on his thighs, the costume shimmering with the movement as he does so. “Was thinking about trying the pop the balloon game.” He tries to change the subject, though he wonders how successful he'll be at it.

and for the last night i lie
could i lie with you?

CIAN

Despite not being able to see much expression behind the mask, Cian still gets a feeling that something might not be quite alright with Sunjata. He listens to what the man has to say, nodding slightly while doing so and then remains silent while thinking the words over. Part of him wanted to prod for more details about the statement, but he eventually decides against it. This bright joyful festival might not be the time for digging into less happy topics.

"I saw that one. Not sure I would do well on it myself. Not really a gun man." he responds to the comment about Pop The Balloon. His eyes goes to Sunjata's costumes as it shimmers. He feels the sudden urge to touch it. It looks so smooth and shiny... Cian keeps his hands on his glass, however and takes another sip through the straw.

"The mirror house was something." Talking about the festival itself did seem like a better topic. "Was dizzying, though. Ceiling, walls... All mirrors and you had to find your way from the entrance to the exit without walking your face into a dead-end. There were some fun mirrors too that distorted your image." A soft chuckle leaves him. His own face had been spared, but perhaps the thought was still amusing.

SUNJATA

she bought the last line, i'm just the worst kind
of guy to argue with what you might find

Luckily for Cian, the way that Sunjata dives into the drink in his hand might make it more likely for him to pry what's bothering him out into the open, especially as he takes yet another sip of it, down to the last little bit of it as it burns in his stomach and starts to warm him further, numbing his mood temporarily. “That’s fair. I’m trained to use them for work, so I’m hoping it might give me an advantage.” He murmurs, glancing through the crowd before his attention fully shifts to Cian now, a bit more of his face revealed beneath the gilded mask.

“See, now that is something I would be terrible at.” An amused, crooked smile blooms on Sunjata’s face at the idea. “But the fun mirrors sound like a good time.” He admits with a soft huff of a laugh, wondering if they had any just wandering around without being inside the house of mirrors, only because he’s curious what he might look like as a tall, golden telephone pole with the outfit he has on.

In fact, he glances back that way, catching a brief glimpse of the two that have soured his mood, and he redirects quickly into looking back toward Cian. “Welcome to the Core, by the way.” He hums, remembering a prior conversation when they’d met about how the Core was out of budget for the other man. A free event within it, though? Almost as if it were perfect timing for him.

and for the last night i lie
could i lie with you?

CIAN

"Makes sense." He mumbles and observes the drinking, then glances at his own glass that is still more than half-full. He looks back to Sunjata to meet the man's eyes and gives him an amused smile of his own in return. "I just had to stop and fool around in front of them before moving on. Just have a silly laugh at myself." If he could read thoughts, he would most likely have a good laugh over Sunjata the Golden telephone pole.

His eyes follow Sunjata's gaze over yonder for a couple of seconds, then back again. "Thank you! I really like this version of it." He makes a general gesture to the surroundings. "Wish this one could stick around for longer. Although, feels a bit special in a way to have this brief chance to wander around freely here." Not that he was for all the checkpoints that were usually up, but perhaps the festival would lose its charm if it was up too often.

Cian chews thoughtfully on the straw before taking another sip. "Anything interesting over in that direction? You keep glancing that way." The question may come a bit sudden. Cian himself had not first planned to ask it out loud, but it just happened. He nods in the direction Sunjata had looked. The question was asked out of curiosity more than anything.

SUNJATA

she bought the last line, i'm just the worst kind
of guy to argue with what you might find

A snort leaves Sunjata as Cian admits to stopping and making a fool of himself in front of the mirrors, something Sunjata certainly would have done himself as well. However, as the conversation shifts to the Core his attention flickers around, returning back to Cian once he’s taken in the charm of the festivals. “When the Plate heads want to put on a show, they make it everything you’d ever want it to be.” He offers, though completely biased, given he was a noble plate kid, and these little festivals even helped remind him that there were things around here that were brighter than the most coveted of the plates up top where he lived. “It is admittedly less striking when there isn’t a festival running.” He adds in case it helps Cian not feel like he’s missing out too much.

The question that follows, though, makes him still — and if he weren’t otherwise drowning himself in a fairly strong drink, he’d likely come up with a shitty excuse. But he’s beyond buzzed at this point and his lips are loose with the thoughts behind his mind, and if Cian looks close enough he might spy this little embarrassed flush that spans across his cheeks, partially hidden by the mask. “Uh, well… I’ve been sort of getting close to one of the guys over there and I thought maybe it was becoming something. But I didn’t make any moves or anything and he’s quite occupied with someone else at the moment.” He trails off, a huff of a laugh at himself for the ridiculousness.

Nevermind the fact that he’s engaged to someone else. “Sorry, you were probably wondering if it was something fun or interesting instead of me being bitter about something ridiculous.” He gives Cian an awkward smile, before burying it with the rest of the glass before he lowers it and sets it aside, turning to keep Nate and Adam out of his line of sight, hoping it might help.

and for the last night i lie
could i lie with you?

CIAN

Make it everything you’d ever want it to be. They sure had succeeded. The festival is very much to Cian's liking, even if it did not paint an accurate picture of The Core. Perhaps one day he would have the opportunity to experience the true nature of the district. Cian's eyes wander around, taking in the decorated surroundings once more while he works on making his glass closer to half-full. He started to feel a hint of that cosy numbing feeling at the edges of his mind. The drink certainly hid the amount of alcohol well with the sweet flavour of fruits.

His eyes settles again on Sunjata and he notices the embarrassed reaction to his question. His head tilts slightly to the side again as he listens and he sips some more on the drink to give himself time to think. Relationship troubles were not his strong suit. Advice on them even less so. Relationships in general were something he was far from an expert on. Still, he offers Sunjata a genuine soft smile.

"I would not call it ridiculous. I probably would be bitter too if I had something going on with someone and then found them with someone else." Cian throws a glance in the direction Sunjata had been looking before, but can't see any obvious couple that way. To him, it was just a big mixed crowd of people moving about. "I probably would have done something impulsive... Like, confront right away. Would probably cause quite the scene in a public place like this." He could see himself in a situation like that. More than a few times he had done things without thinking them over five times first.