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[pawntakesking]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, REGULUS BLACK. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 079.07.1663.55 *** REGULUS BLACK has joined 079.07.1663.55 <ToujoursPur> This is the current address of Regulus Arcturus Black, formerly of London. <ToujoursPur> Please leave any messages here, and I will respond as soon as I can. Alternatively, ask at the Kit-TEA-Kat Café if you wish to see me in person. <ToujoursPur> Yours, R.A.B.

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[pawntakesking]

Chess, you say?

[Regulus smiles back, one dark eyebrow arching.]

Perhaps we ought to play a match, one of these days. I'm something of a chess player myself, as it happens.

Besides, there's nothing wrong with being rather boring. It's done me well enough, so far.

[icy_veins]

[Eridanus' brows go up at that smile, and while it looks odd on such a nebulous countenance, it is still a comfort. His mind has been in its own haze for weeks, and suddenly it dawns on him how much he needed to just sit and have a cup of coffee with someone kind.]

Perhaps, I am very good you know. In my homeland we have a game much more advanced than human chess. It's called fethesi.

[A somewhat dark chuckle leaves him, as if relishing in the thought of conquering yet another opponent in stratagem.]

But... yes. It would be nice to play sometime, I think I would like that. Did you play it often before? I am curious what games existed in a land of magic that is not my own.

[pawntakesking]

[Regulus nods, and, after a moment's consideration, holds up a slender, pale finger, reaching into the pocket of his robes. He brings out a small silver box - a travelling chessboard, engraved with elegant designs along the edges.]

I played it often enough, in fact, that this is one of the few things I have asked for from my own world. If I say so myself, I was quite good. Hardly a grandmaster, of course - I hadn't had nearly enough time to reach that level, I was only eighteen - but certainly able to hold my own.

Though I always had to muffle some of the enchantments. Chess is so... loud.

[icy_veins]

[Once more Eridanus' brows go up at the reveal of the traveling board. The silver is carved beautifully, and he has to keep himself from gawking awkwardly at it. In a sense, it reminds him of the gold-gilded fethesi board he has at home, in his study.]

I've never heard someone call chess loud before. [Eridanus laughs, the sound pleasant and full of mirth. He takes a sip of his coffee as he watches Regulus' ethereal hands smooth over the box.]

I enjoy winning, I won't lie, and I've made stratagem my hobby no doubt. Yet, in my humble opinion, the battlefield of a chess board is more interesting when it is used as an arena for two great minds to embrace one another. You can learn a lot about a person by how they play.

[Eridanus lowers his cup from his mouth, one brow quirking with curiosity,] would you like to?

[pawntakesking]

[Regulus considers the troll for a moment, then nods.]

Why not? I don't doubt I'll be outclassed, but I can at least try to give you a fight.

[With a small smile, he moves to set up the board. It's a slightly clumsy operation - really, the board is supposed to come with a whole battery of charms to resize it, not to mention that when it was properly enchanted, the pieces would set themselves up - but one he's done before, and although the pieces are a little too small for comfort, they aren't so small as to be unmanageable.]

Would you like a fresh pot of coffee, if we're likely to be here a while?

[icy_veins]

[Eridanus watches as Regulus sets up the board, and there's a curious gleam in his eyes as he does. The symbols inscribed on the box itself are ornate, but he wonders if, in the context of the other's realm, they are symbols of magic. Unfortunately nothing would come of that knowledge, seeing as how they are both magical victims of Ryslig—but the thought is still there, of what magic in other worlds is like.]

I wouldn't discredit yourself, who knows, you may be me just yet. [He smiles at Regulus and pulls his mug back towards his lips for another sip.

At the query though, Eridanus' ears perk. His gaze drops to the bitter black liquid that pools at the bottom of his cup and he gives a lazy half-shrug of his shoulders.]

Well, if you don't mind, more coffee would be lovely actually.

[pawntakesking]

[Regulus nods, placing the last couple of pieces, and stands.]

Why don't you take white? You can make the first move while I put the coffee on.

...If any of the cats try to get up on the table, just push them off. The last thing we need is paws on the board.

[icy_veins]

[Eridanus' angled gaze watches with idle curiosity as Regulus sets the board, his mind still trying to fathom at just what point does his body solidify. It almost distracts him from those words, were it not for the scrape of wood against floorboards to catch his attention.

He smiles up at his host, and gives him a small understanding nod,] no, it would not.

[He eyes the board and, after a moment, moves a pawn at the far left of it forward. Then he lets his gaze wander the shop.

Eridanus has been within its confines a handful of times before, but never at night. The streetlights beyond the wall of glass windows cast dim light into the interior, across the furry bodies of sleeping cats who've made beds out of a few tables. As if by premonition, a soft mewl catches in Eridanus' ears before one jumps up onto the table.]

Oh, no, no little one. [He softly chides as he scoops the feline into his lap instead. Living with Lucius has given him more of an appreciation for the creatures, that's for certain. He pets at the cat with gentle claws,] Regulus would be unhappy if you messed up our game so soon.

[pawntakesking]

Regulus would be far more unhappy if you messed it up later.

[He says it over his shoulder, from behind the counter, and even smiles a little. Something about this just feels... comfortable. He's reminded of the more rose-tinted parts of his childhood, sitting with his uncle and learning chess as a boy - but without that constant weight of expectation to consider, and without the knowledge that any misbehaviour or stupidity would find its way back to his parents.]

[It's... nice. Genuinely nice.]

[He returns with a full silver coffee pot, setting it down gently beside the board, and considers Eridanus' move as he shifts back to sitting on his own side of the table. He's quiet for a moment, hands wrapped around his teacup, before one of the dark, serpentine tentacles unwinds from his form and nudges forwards a pawn of his own, on the other side of the board.]

I should be very interested to learn fethesi, one day, if you'd be interested in teaching it. I've always been fond of puzzles.

[icy_veins]

[Eridanus laughs as he catches those words that call from beyond the counter, and he clicks his tongue down at the cat in his lap, as if saying: see, I told you so. Yet his claws finds her small under-chin, where they roll gently over her jaw in soft scratches.

When Regulus rejoins him, Eridanus reaches a hand over to pour himself more coffee as he watches the other make his move.]

Fethesi is complicated, as I've said. The columns can be configured for your chosen strategy, and there are eighty pieces to play with. I have been thinking of getting my own board commissioned, perhaps when it's finished I shall invite you over to play?

[His gaze lifts away from the chessboard as he asks the question, and without looking back at it, his claws find his knight and he sets it forward.]

I've also heard that it is comparable to a human game called "go."

[pawntakesking]

Ah. Yes, we have that in my world. Chinese, I believe.

[He is slower to move in answer, considering the board in silence for almost ten seconds before moving his bishop.]

I always thought I would like to learn it, but it wasn't all that popular at school. Not enough smashing, I imagine.

[Seriously, wizard chess is so stupid.]

There was a certain lack of teachers, is what I mean to say.

[icy_veins]

[Eridanus watches Regulus' ethereal visage crease with concentration, if you could even consider it creasing in the first place. Decidedly, he's taken to sitting back in his seat, with an air of quiet confidence as he pets the cat in his lap.

He doesn't bother asking what "chinese" is, but he does raise a brow regardless.]

Well, if you lack for guidance, surely I can lend my own. [He murmurs as he leans forward just enough to take a pawn set at the middle of his frontline forward.]

As I've said, fethesi is far more complicated than any human stratagem game I've had the pleasure of playing. There is a painful lack of players here, and my usual partner is indisposed.

[It's a bit hard to go play a game or two with Rosefica when things are so strained between them.]

Tell me about this "smashing," though. Is it literal? You use magic to bring the pieces to life?

[pawntakesking]

You don't?

[He looks genuinely surprised by that - though not in a bad way.]

Yes. Or, well... the makers do. I went to some trouble to take those enchantments off this set when it was given to me. I find it incredibly distracting.

[There's something very childish in the way he glances around at the empty café, as if he expects to see someone eavesdropping, and lowers his voice with the air of someone saying something very naughty.]

Your world's magic users seem like they may be a little more considerate than mine.

[icy_veins]

[Eridnaus' brows go up with his own boyish surprise, and soon after the eyes below them wrinkle at the corners with his smile. A huff of a laugh escapes him as he continues to curl his claws against the underchin of the cat who's cemented her place on his lap with kneading paws, and vivacious purring.]

You say considerate, I say eccentric. [He corrects,] no doubt magic is used for sport and games, but I think my people are a bit too uptight for brawling chess pieces.

So would to will the pieces with magic, then? [Eridanus asks as he reaches his free hand over to draw his mug towards him. He lifts it to his lips for a slow, savoring sip before he continues,] or did you simply let the things roam free and watch it unfold like a gladiatorial battle?

[pawntakesking]

[Regulus moves his knight, and reaches for the teapot to refill his own cup.]

Of course not. You tell them where to go. Knight to E5, and so forth.

And then, when they capture one another, they smash each other to bits. You can repair them afterwards, of course, but the noise is horrible.

There were a few other Slytherins who played chess regularly in the common room, and it made it quite impossible to study in there.

[icy_veins]

[The explanation is simple enough that Eridanus can imagine it somewhat, the figures of small pieces sauntering across the board, to claim their foes.

He looks down at the pieces that decorate the one between them, and the thought of a mini-battle right before him almost seems laughable in its absurdity, if he wasn't so familiar with magic himself.]

What is a "slytherin"? [He asks, this time with only one brow raised.]

[pawntakesking]

[This, at least, is a question Regulus has come to expect.]

It was my House, at school. You got Sorted into one of four on your first day, and that determined your classes, your common room, your dorms... all of that kind of thing.

Slytherin, and then the other ones were Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. But, of course, most of the people I spent time around were Slytherins.

[icy_veins]

Are you saying that you were barred from certain lessons just by what order you were sorted into?

[The very idea of it was preposterous to Eridanus. He could understand segregation to a certain extent, the nobleman from the beggar, the cultured from the boor, and so on. Yet, when it came to the school of magic?]

Was this based on background — race, rather? Though it seems like in your world there are simply magic users and non, unlike mine.

[After all, elven magisters differed from human, or orcish ones.]

[pawntakesking]

Oh, no. Not quite to that extent. It just affected when your classes were scheduled, and who you shared them with, mostly.

It's a historical institution. There were four Founders of the school, you see, and they disagreed on what the criteria for entry ought to be. Slytherin felt blood purity, ambition, and cunning should be valued. Ravenclaw, intelligence and learning. Gryffindor, brute force and ignorance. And Hufflepuff... well, Hufflepuff really just takes everyone else.

When you first enter the school, the Sorting Hat decides which of the four you're best suited to. Historically, it almost always put my family into Slytherin House.

[icy_veins]

[As he listens to Regulus' explanation, Eridanus' visage twists up into all manner of confusion, to the point where even his curling claws have paused in lavishing his lap-cat with affection. Her soft chirp from below is enough to break him from his thought, and he fixes the young man across from him with an incredulous gaze below knotted, greying eyebrows.]

Surely this is an elaborate joke, yes? [He asks, the disbelief palpable in his guttural tone.] This is the sort of system someone who has no idea how a college is run would come up with.

[pawntakesking]

It's worked well enough for nine hundred years.

[Okay, maybe he's a little defensive. He couldn't necessarily explain why - as far as he's considered, he's put the wizarding world behind him - but he does feel a little ruffled by the doubt.]

It's a large school. It has to be divided somehow.

[icy_veins]

[Eridanus' brow lofts as he brings his cup of coffee to his lips. Regulus' defensiveness is plain as day, but he sees no point in poking fun at him for it.]

Perhaps into age groups? The college I taught at separated classes by skill level, so some had varying age groups within one, and so on. It worked well for us, since with skill groups you would teach the same spells to a child you would an adult.

[Equal opportunity? Yes please.]

[pawntakesking]

[Now it's Regulus' turn to look confused.]

I mean... of course? But we were all the same age.

We had exams. It wasn't as though you could just stay in first year for your whole life.

[icy_veins]

Well of course, exams are mandatory of any educational establishment. Magisters could not graduate to the next level without first proving themselves.

[Eridanus' claws return to the cat's under-chin, curling against it softly.]

Though at some point it's customary for an apprentice mage to follow under a master, and learn from them. I trained under several, the faction-neutral magic council known as the Tower of Xemorn, as well as the last 'Guardian' of my realm. I would have taken his position, too, but I had family duties.

[His expression hardens for a moment as those last words leave his lips, and then he looks back towards the chess board.]

It is your move by the way, dear Regulus.

[pawntakesking]

Ah.

[He notices that hardening expression, and something closes off a little in his own expression in response, a distant wariness. Still, he nods, reaching out to move his bishop.]

That sounds more like how things were managed before Hogwarts' founding. But that's a good forty or so generations ago. I only know that kind of teaching from books.