outwards:
"disallowed," kokomi answers sweetly, the smile in her voice falling just short of her eyes. "you'd need to be a registered supplier with watatsumi's port commission. otherwise, i'm afraid you lack the proper clearance."
what is this, the desert? regardless, this man is standing and walking and talking in sangonomiya jurisdiction. kokomi has heard a thing or two through the grapevine—maybe three from the captain of swordfish ii—and were the island not embroiled still in its post-war affairs, she might have received the eleventh far less easily. to his very little credit, he has not yet taken this most opportune hour to stir trouble, nor sow seeds of further discord. which leads to the obvious question:
"are you truly here to fish, though?" the chuckle that leaves her chimes soft, light, still amenable for now in the salt-kissed air. her pearl-gloved fingers tango languidly with a passing jellyfish wisp. "i took you to be in the business of casting different sorts of nets."
“Ah, you caught me,” he fesses up early on, head thrown aback in a mannerly laugh. “The Tsaritsa would like to make reparations, financial and otherwise, if it pleases you. My colleagues assigned to this area are... indisposed at the current time. Her Majesty’s explicit orders were that I provide any assistance you might require around the island.”
Tartaglia is a liar only by ommission. Relations between Watasumi Island and Snezhnaya are of ultimately little consequence. However, the loss of not one but two Harbingers demands a thorough investigation. Scaramouche’s status at present cannot be confirmed and even with opening of Inazuman ports, information does not flow freely as sails do.
“It’s a shame - about the fishing, I mean. I was looking forward to it. In moderation, mind you. Battle and fishing are the two sports that reveal a man’s true character.”
Reports have clued him in on all the particulars of Kokomi’s position as Divine Priestess and role in the war. From the onset, he recognizes that she must be sizing him up, weighing the situation on a ruler’s scale to determine the risks of his presence in her homeland. Tartaglia cannot imagine the burden of walking the path of a warrior with the tender heart of a priestess.













