Closed Hexwizard Pregame PV

Val narrowly dodged to the side, avoiding running into Romeo by slipping past and spinning back around by Yefim’s side. As Valentin looked up and caught the Italian’s glance, the seeker emitted a low hum in surprise. Yet, instead of relaxing the way Rome’s face did, Valya’s features furrowed in even greater shock as his mouth dropped open. However much Valentin usually acted “differently” in his co-captain’s presence, this reaction was really something else. Tilting his head to the side, Valentin’s utter fascination locked his eyes onto Romeo’s for as long as the other would look back. Yet, the seeker’s keen eyes blinked thoughtfully as the other spoke, clearly hearing the other’s words, and eventually they both turned to look at the board during the next move’s execution.

"See? Don't abandon the champion. The Knight is a very strong piece... but they are helpless without anyone around. They gathered everyone around the King, which..." went on Romeo, looking much as he did when analyzing a quidditch match.

Stribog, how I love when he gets this way… thought Valya. Having lived much of his life in Russia where chess was culturally prominent, the game came naturally to Valentin. Particularly with his co-captain strategizing with him, Valya easily kept pace with the game state even when a part of him was still repeating that unstoppable melody loudly in his mind. Romeo and Valentin were both in their element at such times, analyzing the game, and nothing quite soothed Valya like listening to the other’s graceful intellect. Eyelids growing heavy, Valentin reached out to lean on Yefim’s shoulder. Champion or not, Valentin never stopped thinking of the other as a stable and important structure in Val’s world… and this was the only alternative to temptation, anyway. As Romeo’s words flowed on and on, the ohrwurm in Valentin’s brain spun itself into near-silence while his co-captain took over all of Valya’s attention. It felt good, standing there, but then… Romeo encouraged Valentin to chime in as well.

As readily as a string being plucked, latent thoughts about the chess match began spilling from Valya’s silver tongue. Right when he was getting to the good part, though, his co-captain pulled away, excusing himself politely. With a sigh, Valentin found that a great warmth had vanished, and his eyes grew heavy once more. Still, the captain would continue on as Romeo wordlessly bade. They were used to pulling each other into position like this, like the Durmstrang quidditch team trained to be, and like it had been with Yefim and Misha for so long… yes, like that, but… still somehow different.

«Итак, Фима, я думаю, в конце концов, все дело в том, чтобы управлять пространством и понимать, какой ход имеет наибольшую ценность. Что ты думаешь?» “So, Fima, I guess in the end it’s still about managing space and perceiving what move has the most value. What do you think?” Valentin's silver-violet eyes watched over Romeo from a distance, still mostly in earshot – Valya only needed to watch Romeo’s mouth when the dialogue became too quiet to understand. The Beauxbaton nearby was none other than Florian LeRoy, and this would be neither the first nor the last time that Valentin studied the other seeker in silence.

Once Romeo came over, he would greet Yefim kindly before delving into the matter at hand. That being the game being performed in front of them, the one that they would need to master in order to begin their reign of terror. Yefim was far from being a patient person, only he knew when to employ patience when needed. He could fight off his pent-up ambition on anyone who looked at him funny or any other excuse he could think up on the spot. But for moments like this, he needed to make sure he understood the game as well as was possible. He wasn't stupid, he didn't just beat things against a rock to make them work as some might have believed. Behind the appearance of someone too brain dead to consider the consequences of his actions, he was someone pure of purpose, driven to his ideals with blinders on.

["I guess so. That's good, less distractions."]

Yefim would answer, feeling completely ambivalent about the other school's work ethic. It wouldn't matter how much they studied anyway, they could never aspire to defeat Durmstrang. Competing for second place, as it were. He would watch the plays one after the other, taking special note of how the moves interacted with the movements to create a surprising amount of versatility.

["Right. The champion as king makes sense to a degree, they can escape while keeping their defenders strong. But..."] Yefim would have been resting his arms folded across his chest while he stood, but would take a moment to scratch his chin in unintentional mimicry of Romeo. He was already growing some stubble at his age, and soon he would be needing to learn how to shave. ["That position works even better as a defender itself, I think. Look at how easy it would be for them to continually move the heart of the formation around... yes, Valya is perfect for that."]

Speak of the angel. Niffler would arrive as if always there, afloat in the conversation on brittle bright wings. The three of them were those expected to show up to such an event-- Yefim as the champion, and the two Quidditch captains who had joined his team alongside almost all of the rest of the Quidditch team. The truth was, even though Yefim had picked the members, it was those two who had already put in the effort of making them function as a unit. Only a few of them, Mikael and Felix, had been assimilated into their jolly crew. Since the three of them had seen what the game had to show them, the victory was certain.

["It's not as simple as it first seems. There are lots of opportunities to capitalize on. I'm thinking of devising a few opening gambits. The opening move doesn't rely on the enemy's positioning, so there has to be a move that guarantees a good spot. One where every piece has the maximum possible threat range."] Yefim would start to theory craft, his eyes drifting to the ceiling, and his hand chopping in the air with emphasis. ["The most valuable thing is damage on their champion, for sure, but also keeping your pieces alive. The more pieces, the more actions. The less actions, the fewer options to save your champion."]

Yefim's thoughts were clicking along at a fair pace, inspired to imagine how best to structure a phalanx in the middle of the board. As long as he kept his most vulnerable pieces in the back, and put shields on everyone, everyone else could focus on slashing through the ranks and taking down the champion as quickly as possible. If he too were a threatening piece, he could make it so the idea of coming after him while they were attacking was in itself a death sentence. ["And the knight piece for me, of course. Its moves are predictable, but it's threat is unmatched."]