[Closed to Ardyn]

[vrdantwind]

Who: Claude and Ardyn
Where: Olivine City
When: June 25th
Summary: Claude won a date with Ardyn at the auction!...technically. What he actually wanted is a chess game. But in the spirit of things, he'll treat Ardyn to a nice cafe lunch first before they head to the nearest park for a game.
Rating: G for content, caution advised for probably a lot of intellectual bullshit and Ardyn being Ardyn

After the auction, Claude and Ardyn had chatted briefly about what would be a good time to set up their chess date. Claude had kept the conversation mostly to that, at the time; the auction was a rather hectic time, and getting to know Ardyn had seemed better saved for their actual outing. They'd chosen a time several days after the auction itself, which gave Claude plenty of time to pick a place to go.

He'd chosen Olivine, after some consideration; cafes aren't too hard to find in any city, but Olivine is a particularly pretty place, and his superficial sizing up of Ardyn had made him conclude that a place on the fancier, classier side would be a good choice here. Of course, he doesn't want too intimate, either...he doesn't want Ardyn to read too much into this.

What he eventually finds is a beautiful but breezy outdoor cafe that is visually impressive without being overbearing. The menu is charming, too, albeit largely Japanese Johto-style cuisine; it's nothing like Claude's used to from home, but he's experienced a fair amount of it since arriving in this world, and he's perfectly content with that.

He's waiting in front of the cafe a few minutes early, just in case. That superficial assessment of Ardyn (which was primarily 'laid back but flashy') has him half suspecting his date is going to be fashionably late, but whether or not he is, Claude will be waiting for him - in a nice but not overly nice outfit.

Comments

[scourgingstars]

Despite Claude's (debatably correct) assessment, Ardyn wasn't more than a minute or two late--not overly eager, but reaosnably punctual. Apart from his strikingly violet suit at the auction, he had taken to wearing far less ostentatious clothes in Johto; fingerless gloves, black pants and blazer, gray shirt, and an orange scarf loosely around his neck. It still felt strange to walk under sunlight without need of five or six layers of protection, but he hadn't yet found reason to complain.

The location itself was very like Galdin Quay in most respects--at least, how it used to be. He had no idea what it looked like now, but was more than willing to wager it was far less charming. The thought very nearly brought a small and bitter smile to his face, a near thing quickly brushed aside as he approached.

"Ah...'Claude', wasn't it?" He greeted his date with a small bow and charming smile that didn't quite manage to make it to yellow eyes, glancing over him as if trying to determine just what the game was here. He'd entered out of boredom but why anyone had actually bid on Ardyn was a mystery well beyond him. "It's truly a pleasure."

[vrdantwind]

Ah - why is Claude getting Emet vibes already? It must be the bow, and the way it doesn't exactly (or, rather, at all) feel like sincere humility.

Still, Emet would probably make for a good chess partner, and that's what he's looking for with this guy, so he doesn't let it throw him off. Instead, he rises to the challenge, answering with an equally charming smile and bow of his own. Claude recognizes a smokescreen performance when he sees one - Ardyn's creating a deliberate impression behind a mask and dramatic gestures, making any true intent behind them hard to see for all that he's putting in the way. A magician's trick - look at the flashy show over here, while the real action is happening somewhere else.

Claude can't possibly object to that; it's very much the sort of thing he himself has done in the past, and will continue to do in the future as necessity dictates. By answering Ardyn in kind, he's just keeping them on equal footing, in a way he knows Ardyn will recognize - and Ardyn will likewise know that Claude knows what he's doing, due to how clear the parallels will be. It puts them immediately at an understanding.

In a way, they're already playing chess before they've even set up a board. And the first move of pawns can be instructive...or it can be carefully inscrutable. Clearly they're both going for the latter. Claude certainly has no intention of letting Ardyn get an immediate read on him while he himself is denied the same. But it's a friendly game they're playing, where everyone knows the rules and there aren't any real stakes(for now). That makes it fun.

"Claude's the name, yes," he says cheerfully, straightening from his bow. "And you're Ardyn. If the auction was an informal meeting, then I guess this is our formal one, huh?"

[scourgingstars]

Absolutely nothing about Ardyn felt sincere--affable, yes. Eccentric, definitely. But he was lightyears and universes away from 'sincere', absolutely radiating an aura of suspicion to near-comical levels. Few had ever truly believed he was anything but suspect, but the transparency of the act was all part of it. Those smart enough to know better had kept him at arm's length when they knew he was hiding something, and the distance was what made hiding all manner of unthinkable things far easier.

So naturally he recognized when someone held up a mirror to the simple yet elaborate act, and it only gave that insincere smile a sharp edge of something resembling amusement.

"I suppose that it would be, indeed. Ardyn Lucis Caelum, at your humblest service."

On the other hand, using his real name felt almost uncomfortably honest. Was it right, after all this time? Of course. It was unassailably and indisputably his own, especially in a world without Noctis (or, gods forbid, Somnus) to debate his claim to the bloodline. Discarding one mask with no hope for recovery, however? That had given him an unexpected sentiment of something he couldn't name and wasn't sure he liked. 'Nostalgia', maybe. After all, how long had it really been since he was a mortal using that name freely?

"I'm truly flattered you thought such an afternoon of any value. Truth be told, I hardly expected anyone to look at me twice."

That last part, admittedly, was also the honest truth no matter how disingenuous the tone. Claude didn't strike him as stupid enough to buy into Ardyn's entire act, so what was this really? Threat assessment? He almost hoped that was the case, that sounded like it might have been fun.

[vrdantwind]

"Oh, well, if we're doing full names," Claude drawls, amused in turn, "mine's Claude von Riegan. And if this is your humblest, I'd hate to see you prideful."

Of course, then Ardyn promptly tries to make Claude eat his words with something that kind of does sound like actual humility, and Claude chuckles. "Well, I guess that's definitely not prideful..." He shrugs and smiles. "To be honest, I almost didn't. Not that I have anything against you, but I'm already dating a few people quite happily, so I wasn't exactly looking for random dates. I figured I'd let them go to anyone who seemed interested...and, y'know, who might actually be single." He winks. "But then I remembered what Jaskier said about you being a chess player, and I realized that there wouldn't be any problem with a chess date...and that I'd love a new opponent."

He grins. "I had a feeling you might be a good match for me, just looking at you. And honestly, closer observation just feels like it's bearing me out. People say I'm a schemer, and I say it takes one to know one."

[scourgingstars]

"I'm a bit beyond romantic inclinations myself. The honest truth of the matter is, I've been painfully bored since my arrival here. Animal companions are all well and good--preferable to most humans, really--but they're a bit lacking for conversation at times."

That much was all true enough. Though it was less 'beyond' the inclination and more like he knew the kind of trouble one got into when trusting people. Not a mistake Ardyn planned to make again anytime soon, and in the past handful of decades he'd more or less held to that.

"Me, a schemer?" He pressed a hand to his heart in mock offense, smile not slipping in the faintest. "Why, I'm hurt. Brokenhearted. Utterly devastated." you ACCUSE miette? accuse her like the CRIMINAL?

"Well, I say it takes a particular mind to be overly skilled at chest. If 'scheming' is what people call it now, then as you will."

[vrdantwind]

"Oh, my deepest apologies," Claude replies, grinning. "Let me buy you lunch to make it up to you." And he gestures toward the cafe. "Hopefully you're hungry...though I admit I picked this place more for the atmosphere than the food. I can't speak to how good it is."

It's obvious that the both of them are having fun with this little charade, this grandiose display of deliberate insincerity. It's the sort of thing that makes normal people deeply suspicious of men like themselves, but really, this is when people should trust them the most.

When men like Claude and Ardyn are being wildly, ridiculously fake, they're doing the opposite of trying to con anyone into trusting them - they don't expect trust at times like this, and are very obviously not making any kind of play to gain it. It's like distrusting a tiger at play. Sure, the tiger might be dangerous in a general sense, but it's not threatening anyone when it's just casually entertaining itself. And if that tiger does decide to go on the hunt...well, it certainly won't be making itself casually visible.

Claude knows he's at his most dangerous when people don't see him coming at all, and he's guessing Ardyn is the same. Knowing that they can't trust each other, and that neither of them are invested enough to even attempt a play for trust...well, paradoxically, that's relaxing. There's no opportunity to try anything, and neither of them are displaying an interest in trying anything, and there's a measure of security in that.

"I would say scheming's a prerequisite for chess, actually," he remarks. "I mean, thinking multiple moves ahead, trying to predict or even steer the moves of your opponent...I'd say that you can't be good at chess without those things except occasionally by accident. And isn't that the definition of scheming? Thinking ahead, planning, and even laying traps for your opponent?"

[scourgingstars]

"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind some lunch, if you're offering." It really was just a simple yet elaborate game; the blatant insincerity a completely transparent mask. It was already proving fun to have someone see through it and answer in kind, rather than the intent of vague suspicion and others keeping their distance.

"Perhaps so. Some might say it only takes a mind for strategy, but perhaps the two are one and the same more than others would wish to admit."

[vrdantwind]

"What kind of date would this be if I didn't do at least that much?" Claude says with a chuckle, ushering Ardyn towards the cafe. (Only by gesture; touching is a level of physical intimacy he doesn't want to invite on a purely platonic outing.)

"And of course scheming and strategy are the same rose by two names. It's a rare tactic that's effective when your opponent knows exactly what you're up to. So you need anticipation, obfuscation, diversion, deception, and of course that pinch of opportunistic asshole." He winks at Ardyn. "You need to be able to not just hide what you're doing until it's too late to stop you, but to be able to predict your opponent's moves to the point where you can influence them with your own actions. A real chess master is playing both sides of the board at once."

[scourgingstars]

Ardyn laughed under his breath, edged with something decidedly more ominous than his pleasant demeanor indicated.

"Of course, of course." He waved a hand in a vague motion, following along with a distinct confidence to his steps. "I am certainly not above considering myself 'opportunistic' now and then, at the absolute least. But there's also the other approach, which is to simply make oneself utterly unpredictable."

[vrdantwind]

"I mean, that's not really so much a separate tactic as a specific implementation of what I already said," Claude says with a smile. "It all falls under hiding what you're doing, right? Whether that's by being secretive, deceptive, unpredictable, whatever...the means might be different, but the philosophy is the same."

They're soon shown to a table, and Claude settles into his chair with every appearance of ease. "I am curious, though...just how do you go about making yourself so unpredictable?"