[ OPEN ] hide your love, don't be shy

[godshattering]

Who: Claude and you!
When: all throughout August and September
Where: Cadens (pre-Nocwich), the Horizon (any time), and Libertas (post-Nocwich)
What: Catch all for both months
Warnings: For anything referencing Libertas: death, violence, and war


( Open and closed starters in the comments! Also good with prose or brackets and if you'd like to plot something more specific, you can find me at indech, arboria#1862, or by PM at any time. )

Comments

[bloomly]

I never thought of putting it that way... ( --comes the sudden admission, thoughtful, as though his words have some impact on her. ) That the places themselves chose us, rather than us choosing them.

( but it's true, isn't it? perhaps her way of thinking has just been backwards, in some respects; she's never really thought to call the settlements in solvunn home, and perhaps part of that is due to the fact that it always feels like she's drifting between them for jobs or tasks or whatever she can manage to do to help. if solvunn itself is the one that called her, did it do it for some sort of purpose? she's always just assumed that this place was some sort of happenstance, a mistake in the great wheel of fate that they had spun at a whim at the edge of midgar and beyond.

curious, her lips perk up into a smile; there's something contented about the thought, and she appreciates that the stranger himself is the one that brought it up to life. patiently, she waits for him to move a piece--and though she accepts his bow, it's accompanied by a playful seated curtsey, her hands gripping the edges of the skirt of her dress to fan it out as she dips her shoulders down with little movement. )

Why thank you, my lord. ( is that how royalty talks? it makes her laugh, tickled by it, before she reaches her hand to stretch across the board--and with a forlorn sigh, she picks up another pawn. rather than deposit it where it belongs, however, she lifts up one of claude's pawns as well, holding them between her knuckles; the pieces knock together. ) A terrible play on your part, though. By the rules of the Dance Duel, your piece is now mine. He broke his ankle and has to be retired to the castle.

( the bluff sounds believable enough if only because it's so ridiculous--with a shake of her head, she plops her pawn down where claude's piece had been, and she neatly sets his pawn down at the side of the table.

mischievous, her green eyes glint up at him, as though waiting for some sort of reprimand--she imagines this is absolutely not how the game is played at all, but--local rules? )

[godshattering]

[ At what she says about the places choosing them and not the other way around, Claude shifts to studying her from the corner of his gaze despite the illusion projected of still studying the board post-quasi-bow. An interesting way to phrase that, he thinks, given that none of them chose to be here. Or so he's thought based on what he's heard; perhaps there's more to that than he knows or what he experienced himself that he's centered so much on while finding his way in the Free Cities.

A familiar enough feeling to go through again, not having much idea or in this case, zero, of where he's going or what he'll find. This time he'd been prepared after arriving and that there were others there who knew exactly what it felt like helped immensely. It seems each faction is different, however, so Solvunn could be something else entirely. He'll have to set that line of thought aside for now as her laugh causes a genuine smile to appear on his face despite his usual rules of filtering reactions through something (or multiple somethings) else, and so does the casual rewriting of chess rules and his pawn meeting a quick end before being swept away.

This is probably a good sign it's not for the best to get mired down in too many thoughts hardly given a chance to begin. ]

That's unfortunate, because I hear as part of the duels there is an actual dance they're all invited to later. Some sort of ball or something close to it - very formal and well-regarded - but maybe there'll be a chair he can sit in to not be left out. [ Claude shrugs with his hands turned up towards the sky as if to say, how unfortunate, as he sits up from slouching back in his chair. ] Though if that's the case, it'd probably also be a kindness to make sure he has some company. Wouldn't want him to feel left out all by his lonesome since that can make it difficult to properly enjoy a party.

[ He is, shamelessly, immediately going to copy her move by bringing a pawn forward to capture hers. But true to his words, Claude places it next to his captured piece much as two wallflowers on the edge of a ballroom floor might stick together. There is something else important to mention, since - ]

I'll leave it up to you to decide whether that earns me getting to know your name, what with copying your pro piecer strategies but I have to say I've always liked collecting chess moves I admire. And if it's not enough, then maybe it can be swapped out for telling me about Solvunn instead. Only whatever you'd like to say about it, that is.

[bloomly]

( it shouldn’t surprise her that he seeks to copy her move—especially since she’s almost positive it’s not even a proper move, not even something standard to the game. her hands sit in her lap, poised on her thighs, and she stares at the board, then at the two pieces, as though trying to puzzle out a way to save her own; but it is what it is, and their two pawns sit on the sidelines now, the perfect company for two wallflowers hoping to pass an evening by observation only. so she does the only thing she can do: and laughs, wrinkling her nose slightly as she shakes her head. )

What a marvelous play. I should have prepared for it!

( her lips press out, as though half-disappointed with herself, but a deal is a deal, and before she can lift her hands to inquire about moving another piece, she decides to relent by the terms of their deal. )

But, I guess you’re just as pro as me, huh? Just remember that names have power, your lordship, or whatever I should call you. ( she’s beaming a little, as she lifts up one arm. ) My name is Aerith. Last name, Gainsborough. It’s okay to just call me Aerith, though.

( her hand stretches out across the length of the board: she’s holding it patiently over his pieces, her slender fingers pressed together to offer him a handshake. it isn’t the sort that might be done at the end of a game, as though conceding the victory, but more that it seems polite to introduce herself with proper manners, instead of continuing on with her next play, first. )

Since I won a piece, too, you have to return the favor, right? Or should we just use royal names instead? I kind of like that.

[godshattering]

No Lady Gainsborough as a title, then?

[ He's teasing, ever so slightly, all based upon what feels like a polite insistence that first names are more than acceptable. Something which suits him fine considering even made up titles can be unwieldy after a while, and the lack of formality and all its guidelines here has been a welcome change for him. Still, Claude leans forward in his chair to grasp her hand in a firm handshake with a smile. ]

Regardless, you're right that fair's fair - even more so because you won your piece outright whereas I merely borrowed your method to ensure I'd get to know your name. Which is, perhaps, not the best demonstration of fairness on my end. [ As he lets go of Aerith's hand he lifts one shoulder in a vague shrug, unrepentant about that copying as a method to get them to here. ] I'm Claude von Riegan. It's very nice to meet you, Aerith.

[ Claude turns in his seat then like he's recalled something abruptly, as if it isn't just the Horizon's malleable nature at work when he reaches for the tea tray at the edge of the table their chessboard rests on. Somewhere, he thinks wryly, he can hear his mother admonishing him in an echo of lectures from ages ago. There's a chance to make up for it now with offering her something to drink with her choice of Fodlan's teas waiting in the different compartments inside the box. ]

You'll have to forgive me for not offering any tea sooner as I may have been a little too distracted by having someone to finally play chess with to think of it right away. This is all assuming you also drink tea, but you're also welcome to have something else if you'd prefer.