14 Jun 2020, 00:19
Counting Down to Christmas
December 15, 2019
A heavy snow had fallen around the castle over the last two days, leading Elspeth to retreat from her usual outdoor activities into the warmth of her new favorite spot. While houses tended to sit together during meal times, the rest of the time students could be found co-mingling around different tables working or playing games, and she loved the spot closest to the giant fireplace at what was typically the Slytherin table. There were a couple of scuffed up wizards' chess boards scattered about where couples were quietly engaging in a battle of wits with one another.
Elspeth had never been particularly good at chess, but she liked the idea of finding a game that she could play with someone else that didn't require a whole lot of talking or physical prowess. Her father was an avid player of muggle chess, though. At first he'd found commanding the pieces to feel a bit too pushy, but after enough practice he soon commanded them with the fortitude of a real general, annoying her mother to no end as she'd been the one to grow up with the game in the first place.
Opening the board, all of the pieces sat in their velveted compartments, waiting her command. "Wake up boy-os. It's time for battle." The knights, as always, were the first to stand up making a loud whinnying sound to alert the other pieces that a game was about to begin. They all hopped their way out and then onto the top of the board, the poor pawns struggling a bit with the height and so Elspeth would offer them a hand.
She didn't tend to have a preference for which color she'd be, though today the white pieces had arranged themselves in front of her and that decision felt good enough to work for her. A young Slytherin boy walked over to the table, and she looked up, hoping that he would choose to play with her so she wouldn't have to sit here by herself looking like a goober for much longer. Just to make sure, though, she cleared her throat a bit and offered, "Um, excuse me? Are you looking for someone to play with? I've got a spot free."
She whispered to one of the pawns, who dutifully hopped forward two spots, readying for battle.
|| t r u n k ||
Stamina: 4 | Evasion: 6 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 4 | Arcane Power: 6 | Accuracy: 6
Stamina: 4 | Evasion: 6 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 4 | Arcane Power: 6 | Accuracy: 6
17 Jun 2020, 18:49
Counting Down to Christmas
Whistling a merry tune as the boy finished his stroll to the great hall, Eldridge's gaze scoured the room. Noticing quite a few students gathered by the tables left a grin on his face. Nothing spelled "bored" better than a hall full of students trying out chess games for "fun". Snorting as he approached, his mind took him back home. His little sister would have loved this. No, not loved, she would have swept the floor with everyone in here and rubbed it in their faces. It's why Eld decided he hated strategy games with a passion. There was no fun to be had with these. All it brought was humiliation.
Yet his feet dragged him over anyway. The Slytherin wasn't the mocking type, but he could not resist a snarky grin either. Fools, the lot of them. He unwrapped the scarf around his neck as his body adjusted to the warmth inside.
"Um, excuse me? Are you looking for someone to play with? I've got a spot free."
His attention snapped to a girl who was blatantly inviting him over for one of these games. The green in his eyes would flare up as the mere thought of him playing the game with his sister again was torment enough. Gritting his teeth in frustration he nearly snapped towards the girl before he reeled himself in. Only a low growl would have escaped, causing a few strands of his blond hair to fall out of form.
It had only been three days since his last transformation. Settling back in always took some time. "Ehem. Well..." He straightened his posture, trying to recover from his own weirdness. It was always so blatantly obvious. "Fine." He nodded shortly. "Just this once though..." He grumbled as he took a seat across the girl. Leaving his shoulderbag under the bench as he shuffled closer.
Studying the board, he had to force himself to cast his grinning sister out of his mind. He noticed the tiny white pawn waiting for his action. Quirking an eyebrow at the soldier's resolve, he tapped his own pawn. After the pawn shot him an angry look for waking him from a late nap, the little piece nodded as it was awaiting his command. "Pawn to F6!" The pawn did not move and simply looked back at Eld. "P-please?" Within a split second the tiny black soldier seemed to smile at the Slytherin and advanced forward to the instructed position. The game was on.
Yet his feet dragged him over anyway. The Slytherin wasn't the mocking type, but he could not resist a snarky grin either. Fools, the lot of them. He unwrapped the scarf around his neck as his body adjusted to the warmth inside.
"Um, excuse me? Are you looking for someone to play with? I've got a spot free."
His attention snapped to a girl who was blatantly inviting him over for one of these games. The green in his eyes would flare up as the mere thought of him playing the game with his sister again was torment enough. Gritting his teeth in frustration he nearly snapped towards the girl before he reeled himself in. Only a low growl would have escaped, causing a few strands of his blond hair to fall out of form.
It had only been three days since his last transformation. Settling back in always took some time. "Ehem. Well..." He straightened his posture, trying to recover from his own weirdness. It was always so blatantly obvious. "Fine." He nodded shortly. "Just this once though..." He grumbled as he took a seat across the girl. Leaving his shoulderbag under the bench as he shuffled closer.
Studying the board, he had to force himself to cast his grinning sister out of his mind. He noticed the tiny white pawn waiting for his action. Quirking an eyebrow at the soldier's resolve, he tapped his own pawn. After the pawn shot him an angry look for waking him from a late nap, the little piece nodded as it was awaiting his command. "Pawn to F6!" The pawn did not move and simply looked back at Eld. "P-please?" Within a split second the tiny black soldier seemed to smile at the Slytherin and advanced forward to the instructed position. The game was on.
Race: Werewolf
Sta: 7 Eva: 5 Str: 8 Wis: 8 Arc: 1 Acc: 1
23 Jun 2020, 07:50
Counting Down to Christmas
Elspeth hadn't realized she'd invited a Slytherin to play. Sure, she'd noticed his green robes, but the idea that she'd invited a Slytherin to sit down with her for an extended time hadn't quite landed in her brain until the boy sat across from her. Her rational mind knew that it didn't make any sense to be afraid of all Slytherins. That the house certainly had lovely people who were a part of it. But the stories she'd heard growing up, about he-who-must-not-be-named and all of his cronies, always rattled in her young brain whenever she saw a set of emerald robes. What if this kid was the next Dark Lord?!
But, then, the way that he commanded his pieces suggested he wasn't exactly a general in wait. Elspeth felt her breath soften at the sound of his voice. This was going to be fine. More than that, this might possibly be her chance to show someone up in chess for the first time. Her eyes followed as his pawn moved into position across from hers. She wondered if the pieces knew each other. These pawns must have spent ages together in battle and in box. While the charms didn't grant the pieces a sense of sentience, something about the idea of them getting into their velvet compartments and talking strategy made her hope against her better judgement.
Looking at the board, it was clear she didn't have a plan for where to move next. What's more, while she'd hoped a chance to sit in silence with someone would feel refreshing it turned out it was mostly awkward. She could feel the boy waiting for her to move her piece, which only made the decision making process that much more difficult. "Sooooo. I'm Elspeth. What's your name?" Add another question. Any other question. He's gonna just answer with his name and then it'll be quiet again. Ask him what his favorite animal is. No, that's a dumb baby question. Ask him what his favorite color is? No, wait, that's a step backward from animal. Ummm- "Looks like we might have snow for Christmas this year,"
Internally it was as if a tea kettle had started boiling. Something akin to a high pitched squeal went off in her brain telling her that, no, talking about the weather with another eleven year old probably wasn't the most engaging conversation. But then, the longer she sat there, not moving her piece, the more weird it all got. Just STOP THINKING ABOUT HOW WEIRD YOU FEEL.
"Knight to C3." The small horse looked up at her, as if sizing her up at first, before cautiously hopping to its spot. Elspeth scrunched her face up. I don't need guff from you too, tiny knight.
|| t r u n k ||
Stamina: 4 | Evasion: 6 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 4 | Arcane Power: 6 | Accuracy: 6
Stamina: 4 | Evasion: 6 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 4 | Arcane Power: 6 | Accuracy: 6
5 Jul 2020, 18:17
Counting Down to Christmas
"Eldridge Alastair Seath" The boy smiled at the girl as his Scottish accent rolled from his tongue. "Most folks call me Eld for short. As I understand people generally are not big fans of names longer than one syllable." His shoulders shot up in an unimpressed shrug. "Elspeth sounds nice though." Finishing off his comment with a compliment seemed to be the nicer thing to do. After all, he wasn't one to make enemies. Unless by accident, he knew a few that tried to kill him on their first meeting.
With a pensive look his eyes traversed the board. "Hm?" His head shot up as she mentioned snow. "Oh. Sure, I love slow. Are you more of a winter person then?" His green eyes searched the girl for an answer before diverting his attention back to his army. "I'm sure my sister would wipe the floor with me in the next phase. She is regrettably quite good at this game." The lad confessed to his opponent. He wasn't going to pretend any sort of expertise in this game. Losing at the very least taught a person some humility.
"Ehem, mister D7? Hello? Would you please take a step forward?" The boy quietly asked as he leaned forward so the pawn could hear him. "Where I'm from were sort of used to the cold winds from the bay. I think cold wind's a bit more nasty than just snow in general. You can't play with the bloody wind!" He grinned at the girl. "So... you're a Ravenclaw right?"
With a pensive look his eyes traversed the board. "Hm?" His head shot up as she mentioned snow. "Oh. Sure, I love slow. Are you more of a winter person then?" His green eyes searched the girl for an answer before diverting his attention back to his army. "I'm sure my sister would wipe the floor with me in the next phase. She is regrettably quite good at this game." The lad confessed to his opponent. He wasn't going to pretend any sort of expertise in this game. Losing at the very least taught a person some humility.
"Ehem, mister D7? Hello? Would you please take a step forward?" The boy quietly asked as he leaned forward so the pawn could hear him. "Where I'm from were sort of used to the cold winds from the bay. I think cold wind's a bit more nasty than just snow in general. You can't play with the bloody wind!" He grinned at the girl. "So... you're a Ravenclaw right?"
Race: Werewolf
Sta: 7 Eva: 5 Str: 8 Wis: 8 Arc: 1 Acc: 1