colorofthesky | IC Contact for lastvoyages

"Ehh...I think it's coming up on four months, but I was in one of those coma things for a while so I guess it's more like three."

He tilts his head a little.

"What do you think about this place? The Barge, I mean."

He's genuinely curious.

Edited 2021-09-07 02:18 (UTC)

He takes a long drag, holding it as he speaks.

"Better than Hell." Sweeney flicks the remaining embers out into the greenhouse, not mindful of where they fall. The breath escapes him.

"Or just not bein'."

His knees drawn up, he rests his elbows over them, his arms crossed. His fingers flex for only a moment before the amber whiskey bottle appears between them, grasped by the neck. There's no flashiness to the manifestation; it's like he does it more on instinct. His other hand shifts to open the bottle.

Zack is about to open his mouth to respond to that - but of course, that's the moment the bottle appears, seemingly out of then air.

Bright blue eyes grow a bit round, and Zack looks at the bottle, then at Sweeney.

"Okay. Sorry, but...did you just summon that?"

Edited 2021-09-13 03:23 (UTC)

Oh. Right.

Sweeney shifts the bottle to his off hand. "Guessin' they didn't mention the leprechaun part."

He looks back to the man with a dry indifference and flicks his fingers upward, a gold coin manifesting nestled between them. The whole act is fluid and natural, for he's done this countless times over the centuries. And while there's no reason they should, it kind of surprises him that there's someone on the Barge that doesn't know what he is.

Well...that's a neat trick. He clears his throat a little.

"I, uh...don't think we have leprechauns where I'm from." None that he's ever heard of, anyway. "And magic - if that is magic - doesn't really work like that back home, either."

As quickly as it had appeared, the coin vanishes again. Sweeney's brow lifts casually. "Not from Earth then, I take it."

Not that all versions of Earth have magic or leprechauns, but at this point, he's willing to hazard a guess.

Zack smiles a little. "Nope. Seems like a pretty popular place around here, though."

Which is weird to him, considering what the Barge is. Why play favorites?

"So...what is a leprechaun?"

"Well, if ya don't have magic..." That's a tough place to start an explanation from. Sweeney's not eager to go all the way back to the beginning. That sparks a thought though.

"Ya'll have mythic stories at all? Gods an' monsters an' the like?" Here's hoping.

Zack flaps a hand. "No, no, we have magic...it's just different."

He's never seen anyone really magic something out of thin air - except maybe Sephiroth and his sword, but that isn't like what Sweeney does.

As for question, he lets out a soft hum.

"Yeah, we have...some of those. Monsters are a pretty normal thing, and I know the people in Wutai worship something called Leviathan? I've heard a few stories too, but not very many people believe them."

That's something at least.

Sweeney shrugs and brings the bottle to his lips, swallowing as he considers the words. The context helps, but there's still narrowing down to do.

"Believin's what got gods where they are, fer good or ill." It's a blunt conversation, but just in being matter-of-fact about the subject. He tips his head in internal debate.

"Leprechaun are fairie folk. Faire folk are...well, like monsters, I guess." Some more than others. "Square-rectangle thing." The meaning being that all leprechaun are faerie, but not all faerie folk are leprechauns. Not that the reference phrase necessarily translates.

The comment about gods goes a bit over his head. He doesn't really have much experience with deities (real ones, anyway) so that mostly just gets an odd look.

The topic of monsters is something he's much more familiar with, but looking at Sweeney, he's not so sure they're talking about the same thing.

"Monsters where I'm from can be a couple of things. Dragons, for example - we have those, and they pretty much live in caves, lay eggs, all that stuff. We have some that are animals that somehow got exposed to some pretty high levels of what we call Mako - and it mutates them. Sometimes too, in place where there's been a lot of death, you'll get undead things that won't go on to the Lifestream. Not sure if that's anything like what you have, but back home, you can't really go anywhere without running into them. They usually stay out of towns and cities - but not always."

"Oh yeah, we got that sorta monster too," he assures him. "Just..." How can Sweeney put it? "Humans dreamt up a good variety of shit."

He shrugs and takes a swig. "Some things made of nightmare, others ta be benevolent. Some in between. Faerie are a lot like that. Some look like 'em..." He tips his head to the man, implying himself and leprechauns as a whole. "Some more exotic. Some...look like all sorts of shit." There's a large list to choose from. "Horses that'll drown ya, some part fish. Others takin' pieces of bugs an' hares an' lizards ta shove together."

Sweeney takes a slow breath. "In towns, woods, the sea. Fae wander most places."

Huh... Maybe they are talking about the same thing, then. Or something similar at least.

But there's one thing that's a bit confusing to him.

"So...if humans 'dreamt up' all those things where you're from...where did humans come from?"

Because Zack knows where everything comes from back home.

Sweeney just shrugs. "Jury's still out." His fingers shift to softly caress along a blade of the long grass.

"Gods make humans 'cause humans make gods. Can't really speak ta it 'cause I don't make humans." Just made to fucking serve them. And tempt them, and punish them. There's some comfort in the latter.

The way Sweeney describes it sounds very...cyclical. Interesting, too, but he's not so sure he likes the implications of it all.

He sits back a bit and looks at Sweeney thoughtfully. "What do you do, then? Or...I guess, what do leprechauns do, in general?"

Edited 2021-09-17 03:04 (UTC)

His jaw flexes. He doesn't do anything. He presses his tongue to his lip, not looking up to Zach when he answers. "Deal in luck. Gold." Sweeney gives an uncomfortable shrug.

"Blessin' of Luck in trade fer offerin's. See ta turns of it on occasion."

Zack notes the discomfort quietly. Maybe if he knew Sweeney a little better, he could take at guess at why he's bothered.

Expression thoughtful, he lets out a soft hum.

"Sounds fair."

Zack isn't religious in any aspect, but the idea of offerings in exchange for favors makes sense to him.

"So now that I've asked you a bunch of questions - do you have any for me?"

Sweeney thinks on it for a moment and then glances at Zach. Really, he doesn't generally give a shit about learning more about people. But normally they don't ask him about it directly.

"Whad'ya want from yer inmates?" That's the only thing that's really important.

Well, that sure is a question. Zack thinks about that for a second, rubs the back of his head, and lets out a sigh.

"I mean - at the bare minimum, I'd like for people not to kill each other, but that's a general rule, not specific to just inmates."

It feels stupid even saying that. To him, it seems like that should just be a given, but after being here for a few months, apparently, it is not.

"As far as other expectations go, the only thing I'd really like to do is check in once a week, see how you're doing. If there's something you need help with or want that you don't already have, we can talk about it."

In other words, he doesn't want to be breathing down someone's neck - especially if they don't want it.

He tips his head in acknowledgment about killing folk. Not that he wants to; obviously it's been a large part of how he ended up being here, but also...people here seem to have extremely strong opinions and reactions about it. No one is worth that, especially if they're going to immediately become Not Dead again. What the actual fuck.

Sweeney nods more clearly about the check in. That's easy enough. He goes to work weekly after all; maybe he could do it the same day and two birds, one stone that shit. Leave plenty of time for being drunk and not responsible.

At the offer of getting him things, Sweeney eyes darken. It's not the man's fault that he can't get him what he truly desires.

He shakes his head slightly. "It's fine. Don't need much." Which is true. He's used to surviving on very little.

"An' weekly ain't a problem."

Zack smiles a bit.

"Great. Same time, same place, next week?"

"Sure." The tone and simplicity of the answer summarizes how much Sweeney does not care about this but is willing to go through the motions. This is the deal. This gives him the best chance of staying. And though he fights to avoid the thought, being here is far better than Hell or Nothingness.

He tips the bottle towards Zach, implying agreement to the terms, and he seals it with a long swig.

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