A dinner with FERNANDO SILPH? How unexpected. Oscar had assumed that Hoenn's premier mega-ceo would rather chew glass than interact with him in person. Perhaps he missed Oscar's roguish charm and bad attitude. Jokes aside, Oscar felt uneasy about the invitation. Fernando did not reach out unless there was something important to discuss, and if it involved Oscar it likely meant bad news.

Oscar would attend regardless, meeting Fernando at the restaurant of his choosing in a fashionably late manner. As Fernando came into view, Oscar would open his arms in greeting. "Well Mister Silph, it's been an age or two hasn't it?" 

OPULENCE

WHEN GLIMMERS CEASE TO SHINE

“CLAYTON.”

fernando’s meeting is professionally curt. whatever pleasantries he may have spared have dwindled with his patience. an unfolded dinner cloth is spread across his lap. it holds him in his seat. there’s no reason to stand when his expectations are seated.

“indeed it has. i’ve been busy,” he carries on nonchalantly. his tone sits in that perfect middle ground that makes it hard to read his mood.

“i hope you’ve been well.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
oscar clayton

Oscar maintained an insouciant smile, unaltered by Fernando's signature blunt mannerisms. If such things bothered him, the world of business would have been far more difficult to navigate. He sat himself into his chair, opening the menu that the host placed in front of him before returning to the entrance.

Oscar aimed the menu downward so that he could still make eye contact with Fernando when they spoke. "Yes, everyone's been a bit busy lately. Can't be helped sometimes. Glad we made some time tonight though." It would have been foolish to believe this meeting was an attempt to reconnect before their world was annihilated. Oscar assumed Fernando wanted something, and he made an effort to stay aloof until Mister Silph showed his hand.

When asked if he had been well, Oscar briefly sucked on his teeth but refused to lose face. "Could be better, but I am trying to make my lemons into lemonade--so to speak. What about you Fernando? What has life thrown at you this year--also recommend something so I can put this menu down."

See it's funny because he clearly lost an eye and Oscar just wants to hear him say it.

FERNANDO SILPH

OPULENCE

WHEN GLIMMERS CEASE TO SHINE

“NOT MUCH,” says the one-eyed man who, when they previously talked, had both. “aside from preparing for the approaching meteoroid.”

a cursory glance at the menu reveals little as fernando relinquishes his agency. “i had intended on taking the server’s recommendation,” he reveals, leaving the decision out of his control.

“after all, who better,” is his silent implication.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
oscar clayton

Oscar dropped his menu abruptly, Fernando had a fair point. "Good idea, as long as it is not seafood." Oscar had enough health problems to worry about, he did not need to add food poisoning to that list. 

Oscar leaned in slightly, placing his elbows on the table and rest his chin on his clasped knuckles. "So how did you lose your eye? I know you live a much more interesting life then you let on, spill the details." Oscar could not hold it in, he was impulsively curious.

FERNANDO SILPH

OPULENCE

WHEN GLIMMERS CEASE TO SHINE

“TEAM ROCKET,” he states with impunity. there is no hushed whisper or flared anger. just an objective fact. plain as day.

“that’s actually one of reasons i wanted to meet with you today, clayton.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
oscar clayton

Oscar raised an eyebrow at Fernando's answer. He had yet to hear about this incident, and it was truly surprising that someone could manage such a wound on Fernando Silph. Oscar would need to get more information about this encounter later--unless Fernando had more to share.

He just might, the cyclops ceo had put down his first card. Oscar's playful smirk faded, replaced by a look of concern. He placed his hands on the table, straightening his posture to appear more attentive. "Enough shenanigans then. What's the situation?" 

FERNANDO SILPH

OPULENCE

WHEN GLIMMERS CEASE TO SHINE

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN,” he asks just as plainly.

“team rocket is a dangerous organization. their very existence poses a threat to the region. especially concerning recent events.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
oscar clayton

Oscar's eyebrows furrowed, he is confident expression be mixed with uncertain confusion. It would seem that he was not on the same page as Fernando.

"Oh, from the way you spoke I thought you had something specific in mind. Like, you needed my help stopping one of their schemes or something? It's cool though we can talk about them more generally. I just probably can't add much beyond the usual discourse."

Oscar took on a more relaxed demeanor, leaning back as he crossed one leg over the other and folded his arms. He was not sure what Fernando was hoping to achieve here--and deep down that made him nervous. 

FERNANDO SILPH

OPULENCE

WHEN GLIMMERS CEASE TO SHINE

“OH,” fernando breaks in, eyes honed in with an uncanny level of focus. “i do.”

his posture betrays nothing. just as unreadable and uncertain as fernando is, his seating remains constant. consistency is what embellishes his symbol. he leaves very few cues and that’s what makes it unnerving.

“but we have much to discuss, clayton. i assume you feel alright after our little venture into the cloud?”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
oscar clayton

Oscar eyed Fernando cautiously, unsure of his motives. He wished he could predict what Silph's intentions were, but the bastard was harder to read than a newspaper caught in the rain. It was like staring into a void, and it should have broken Oscar's composure.

But it won't, not yet anyway. Oscar has taken great lengths to prepare himself for these confrontations, they were inevitable the moment he entered Hoenn's business world. He stayed cool and collected, answering Fernando casually despite the looming danger.

"Oh that? Yeah I'm alright. What a fuckin' mess, can't believe I fell for that wispy haired asshole's lies."

FERNANDO SILPH

OPULENCE

WHEN GLIMMERS CEASE TO SHINE

“INDEED."

before fernando can bite into his talking point, the server appears. an introduction is made, suggestion hoisted right off the menu, and eventually both are asked for their order. like promised, fernando goes off waiter’s suggestion, quick to dismiss as the cue is tossed to oscar to handle.

he waits for them to be alone before opening back up.

“speaking of which, i find it quite concerning that you would offer yourself up like that. but i understand, most of us were not ourselves.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
oscar clayton

The server appears at an inopportune time, and Oscar was suddenly regretting agreeing to meet at a restaurant. Oscar sighed as Fernando quickly aligns with the server's suggestion, and Oscar does the very same when his turn comes. Once the server left, Oscar expected to return to the subject of Rocket.

Instead Fernando brought up Oscar's attempt to sacrifice himself in the Cloud, and Oscar briefly allowed himself to gawk before responding. "Concerned? I hope you mean in the professional sense, I would hate to find out you would actually miss me." Oscar smiled coyly, just in time for the server to briefly reappear to provide water.

As the server departed once more, Oscar took a quick sip for continuing in a more melancholy tone. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. Believe it or not, I'm going through quite the storm. I thought it would be a nice way to go, saving the world and all that. Naturally it's never that simple."

FERNANDO SILPH