#daretti

"It's an impressive feat," Daretti said, half thoughtfully, half-ruefully to his companion, watching the Amonkhet champions give children rides on the zombified hippos that had pulled their winning team to first place. "Mighty beasts, sure, but who'd've thought they'd beat our machines?"

"It's humbling," agreed Pia Nalaar, pushing close to Daretti's mechanical chair to let a drunken shark-woman sidle past. "There’s plenty of work in the year ahead if we want get the first win for Avishkar."

Daretti’s rubbed his chin. “Plenty of work indeed. For all of us who came up short.” He grinned. “You’ll all be choking on the Rocketeer’s dust next year, of course.”

Pia snorted. "Of course."

On cue, a quartet of goblins trundled cross their path, bellowing out a raucous fight song, and clearly well into the wooden pitchers of ale that they were clanking together with surprising deftness. 

Daretti sighed. "A discussion for another day. win or lose, they’ve all earned a night's celebration."

"It will be a few night's celebration, if memory serves," Pia said with a smirk.

"Ghirapur knows how to throw a party," Daretti conceded. "Your whole plane feels aether-charged sometimes."

"Is that a positive?"

He laughed. "It can be."

“It’s not home though, is it?”

“Mm.” Daretti tapped the arm of his chair. “No. But home will have to wait for now.”

“Somewhere I might have heard of?” Pia favored him with a small smile. “My daughter-”

“Still has her spark, yes?”

“Yes.”

Daretti nodded. “That’s good. It’s not an easy thing, to be cut off from so much of...of everything.” He looked around the crowd. “But this is a nice corner of everything to be stuck on, as places go.”

“I wish I could go with her, sometimes.” Pia’s smile turned wistful. “Sometimes it feels like karma for letting letting her run around Ghirapur as a child.”

“Kids will go where they go; I’m sure Junior’s no exception.”

"And you?” Pia pulled a lock of hair behind her ear. “Where are you headed? Off to rest?"

Daretti shook his head. "Rest'll be for later. All this excitement makes me want to get something done."

Pia laughed. "That makes more sense than anything else that's happened today."

"It's been an odd...well, let's be honest, three days."

"That it has." She felt a smile lingering on her face. "but I understand. I have a hundred ideas for next year already, and I don't want to wait a moment before getting a start on them."

Daretti laughed. It was a rough laugh, but genuine and hearty. "Lots of work ahead. not sure it'll all get done tonight."

"Mm. I'd like to write my ideas down, at least."

He nodded. "The Rocketeers' hangar is close by. I'd be happy to lend you some parchment and ink while I work."