just don't let me disappear [m'kai]

[Avu]

Futh sighting!

Which, really, was a good thing, because A’emi didn’t feel like wheedling information out of people at present. Not when he was doing a very, very delicate balancing act. The act in question consisted of trying to keep all the pieces in their proper place on a chessboard on dragonback. At least Kyrahth was cooperating – no fancy flips or twirls, which would’ve sent all of the pieces going everywhere (and probably knocking some poor unsuspecting people out, given their current altitude). He wasn’t really sure why she was in a good mood, but hey – not questioning it. Kyrahth’s ups and downs tended to fluctuate on the best of days and were downright mercurial on the worst.

The green banked neatly, coming to a landing on the pad – on the other side of the Main Hall from Futh, as per A’emi’s instructions. No need to give himself away to M’kai so early. Futh probably wouldn’t deliberately sabotage his plans, but A’emi figured the blue was innocent enough to accidentally do it anyway. He slid down from Kyrahth, let the green slink away from the landing pad towards what little warmth the sun had provided a few rocks nearby, and cast a quick eye over the chessboard. Nothing was exactly in order, but nothing had tipped over and started a domino effect, either. It would do.

And besides, it was far too cold to stay outside and reset them in their proper places.

A’emi bolted as gracefully as he could – which wasn’t very, but he tried anyway – indoors, and spent a moment basking in the rush of heat from the kitchens. He actually preferred the cold to the heat of before – more like the North, more like home. But cold was cold and this cold was too cold, please and thank you. Especially since he was still, yeah, definitely in the South. Huff. A’emi wandered into the Main Hall, scanning the tables intently until he caught sight of his…his…plaything? Victim, his mind provided helpfully.

He slid into the seat opposite of M’kai, depositing the chessboard in between them and setting a fallen piece upright again. “Black or white?” A’emi inquired – there was no ‘do you want to play?’ attached to the front of that, of course. “And yeah, I did actually sand them, so no splinters regardless of which you pick.” He’d actually had to carve and make the entire board and set by himself – the last Gather had had a distressing lack of chess sets.

As it was, the black squares on the board had been burned on, not painted, and the white ones weren’t really white so much as just pale wood, matching the white pieces. The ‘black’ pieces were all just dark wood, too. All of the pieces were just detailed enough to make out what they were, and none of them had the delicate curves that most professional chess sets had – they were rough sharp angles. A’emi was good with knives, but not at carving – it had taken awhile. And he so did not plan on making them any better. They functioned.

[Ruby]

He had to stop eating in the dining hall.

Cry had just left, and M'kai was finishing a final glass of wine as the Hall slowed down after the main dinner rush. His plate had already been cleared, and the Bluerider was watching night fall slowly outside the window. It was cold out there these days, but the redhead approved. He'd grown up at Benden, after all, and while he'd been in the South for a good two years, now, he hadn't quite shed his aversion to the extreme heat and lack of a real winter. Another thing he hadn't shed his aversion to: A'emi. M'kai lifted his glass to his lips as the Greenrider slid in across the way, chess in tow. Unfortunately, winter did not appear to keep A'emi at bay any better than summer had, and M'kai sighed aloud as he moved to put down his glass (before thinking better of that decision and draining the remaining red. Benden, of course). Perhaps it was time to rethink his eating strategy if it meant he was accosted every time he entered the Hall.

Generally, M'kai would have made some excuse and fled, but A'emi had three things going for him. First, it was cold outside, and as much as M'kai approved, he wasn't quite ready to leave the Main Hall's warmth. He also had nothing exciting to go back to tonight, just an empty, probably chilly Weyr and a snippy Reina, along with an undoubtedly annoyed Futh - napping out on the rocks in what remained of the sun was one of the Blue's favorite past times, these days. That explosive combination was number two, which left the final factor that tipped things in A'emi's favor: namely that this was M'kai's third glass of wine, and while he held his alcohol quite well, it did make him feel more generous and friendly than normal. With a decidedly less hostile glance than normal, M'kai raised an eyebrow and reached out to turn the board so the paler pieces were on his side. "White. Which means I go first," he added, contemplating. It had been a long time since he'd played chess.

A brunette drudge with a wineskin and doe-eyes for M'kai and A'emi refilled the redhead's empty glass without asking, then bustled off. As M'kai contemplated his first move, she returned with another glass and offered it to A'emi, batting eyelashes at both of them. M'kai ignored her, instead leaning forward to move a single pawn, the one in front of his queen, two squares forward. After considering again, he let it go, and slid a challenging gaze up to meet A'emi's. "Your move," he offered, crossing his arms and leaning back, legs extended to one side. Might as well get comfy; M'kai figured this could last a while.

[Avu]

No arguing? No complaining? Oh, he really had to come around at this time more often. A’emi managed to hide the wide, wide grin that wanted to stretch across his face, instead humming in agreement. He didn’t usually play black – he’d only ever played with one person steadily before and given that said person had had much more experience than him, had generally given him white. But this was okay. M’kai was roughly his age (younger, maybe a little?), and really, how long could someone have been playing chess? Not too terribly long, surely. He opened his mouth to speak – which was the reason that he’d even been there at all. Chess was nice; making bets was nicer – when a Drudge approached them and he snapped his mouth shut until she’d left.

And then she came back.

Nggh. Well. She came bearing wine, wine for him, and that was good enough for A’emi. He smiled at her playfully, lifting the glass towards her in a silent toast, and mouthed, “Thanks” at her. Didn’t want to shatter his dear chess partner’s concentration, after all. He sipped cautiously, eyes back on the chessboard for a minute, before he set down the wineglass, hummed. “Let’s make a bet, yeah? Like…” He tapped his fingers along the edge of the wineglass – as if he hadn’t already thought it over – “you win, I won’t bother you anymore. Or anything else you pick. ‘F I win…um. Well. I’m sure I can think of something while we play, so I’ll give you a few options and you can choose something.”

And of course he hadn’t already decided on what those ‘options’ were. Of course not. Why would anybody think that? He deliberately didn’t look at M’kai as he surveyed the chess board for a moment, clicked his tongue quietly, and then matched the bluerider’s move on his side, gaze sliding away from the board with a faint smile. “Your move,” he added sweetly. Despite all his planning, A’emi really didn’t have any set strategy – he never did. His playing was aggressive as a whole, but it also more or less hinged on moves that looked random – and basically were random, designed to confuse. Yeah. Lots of strategy, right there.

[Ruby]

M'kai paused mid-lean, eying A'emi suspiciously. Figured that the Greenrider would wait until M'kai had committed himself to the game before suggesting stakes. Although, to be totally fair, M'kai should have asked before they started, so he supposed it was too late now. Not to mention that A'emi's suggestion was very, very tempting. With a considering sip of wine (calculated more to make the Greenrider wait than to actually give M'kai time to think - being rid of the A'emi forever was a powerful motivator), the Bluerider leveled his gaze at A'emi and agreed. "Sounds like a bet. But you've either got to give me the options now, or give me veto power if I don't like any of them, or the deal's off. You've got the advantage over me if we're playing for stakes I don't know," he added, which was probably more true about A'emi than about any other opponent M'kai had faced. If nothing else, the Greenrider had a built-in way to make M'kai squirm.

As A'emi considered, the redhead pushed his hair behind his shoulders, contemplating the board. He could start out slow, castling his king to safety and playing a tight defense, but A'emi's opening move (matching M'kai's) was both playful and generally useless, meaning either a) he was waiting to see M'kai's strategy before launching his own or b) he had no strategy. Either way meant M'kai was likely to have the most luck playing a riskier, more aggressive game - unless A'emi was bluffing, of course. Risky it was.

M'kai had always favored Knights in chess, although he also liked how often people forgot about Rooks. Rooks would come in to play later, however - now was the time for tricks, for throwing A'emi off guard (and taking as many pieces away from him as possible. M'kai brought his left-handed Knight out, diagonally behind his first Pawn, in position to take the black pawn. That would, of course, put him in danger of the Queen, and no one was that stupid, but that was a turn or two in the future. Plenty could happen (and would, if M'kai had any say) between now and then.

[Avu]

How…totally expected.

A’emi tilted his head, flashing a smile at M’kai and barely resisting the temptation to bat his eyelashes at the bluerider. Flirting over chess was awesome and all, but he didn’t want to scare away his partner. He made a low “hmm” noise in the back of his throat, blinking innocently. “Scared you’re going to lose?” he asked, playfully, before he leaned back in his seat, adding, “You can go streaking around the Weyr, that’s A.” He paused, quirking one eyebrow, allowing an amused smile to tug at his lips; given how cold it was outside, he’d be willing to bet that M’kai totally wouldn’t be up for that. “You could…hmm.”

His nose crinkled, idly, as he leaned forward and pushed the pawn in front of his king forward a space so he could cover his first pawn. He liked pawns. They were small and unobtrusive and generally considered useless, but hey. They could control the center of the board just as well as any other piece. “You could,” he went on, after another sip of the wine, “let me use you for target practice. Once a week, blindfolded, and all you have to do is make a little noise. Downside of that is I can almost guarantee you you’ll be hit, and the arrows are blunt, but still, stone. B.

“Final option,” he went on, “Chess-boxing.” A’emi offered the sport the dramatic pause it deserved, even if nobody seemed to know about it. “I can teach you how to play if you don’t know, it’s pretty simple. Three full games a week, continuing until I get bored. Or someone dies, obviously, but I could always resurrect you and keep going. It’s fun. Option C.” He pressed his lips against the rim of the wine glass, but didn’t drink. “If you think you’re going to lose already we could always just skip the game and go straight to picking,” he added cheerfully, challenging.

Even if, honestly, he’d be very disappointed if that happened. A’emi happened to like chess, thank you very much.

[Ruby]

How totally... unexpected!

With a bemused "Not scared, just don't know how you play," he listened to A'emi's options. M'kai had been prepared for any number of nights in A'emi's weyr, Gather dates, a collar with matching leash... but no. His eyebrow moved higher with every bet suggested, attempting to disappear into his hairline by the end of it. Streaking wouldn't bother him one bit (especially since A'emi hadn't offered a time) if it wasn't so cold, and target practice sounded like a good form of exercise, but then again M'kai wasn't particularly partial to bruises as a weekly fashion statement. Option C, however, sounded intriguing. "What on Pern is chess-boxing? And how does death come in?"

M'kai reached out without hesitation, picking up a pawn on the far corner of the board from the current action, then appeared to contemplate as A'emi kept talking. That particular piece wasn't part of his strategy quite yet, but M'kai was a strong believer in misdirection, and making A'emi think he was going to start working on that side of the board couldn't hurt. After a minute or two, he returned the pawn to its original location, moving the pawn in front of his king to close ranks on the board's center. Moving into danger, sure, but not without reason.

M'kai did drink again, his cheeks now pleasantly warm and his head buzzing lightly. This would be his last glass, that was for sure, unless he wanted A'emi's assistance getting back to his weyr (which he did not want). He could handle a few more before that point, of course, but if he committed to another glass he was sure to have more. "No chance," he replied, answering A'emi's question about giving up on the game. "I hope to crush you, if at all possible. As entertaining as this little interlude has been, I prefer my meals without paranoia, thank you very much. Being kidnapped for chess is not always on my to do list, and I doubt you'd let me escape," he added, just in case A'emi hadn't gotten his drift the first time.

"Option C, however, sounds intriguing." M'kai crossed his arms, assessing the likelihood that he could hurt A'emi bad enough that the Greenrider would call the experiment off. He had distinct advantages in the boxing realm: reach and height, mainly, but those were key. Chess remained to be seen, but either way, chess-boxing sounded like the way to go. He wasn't quite ready to pick yet, but option C was a pretty clear front runner.

[Avu]

Surprised, was he? A’emi didn’t even try to hide the triumphant little grin that quirked at the corners of his mouth, appraising M’kai lightly across the table. Of course, if he could’ve told M’kai the options after he would’ve tacked on a fourth option, being an unnamed sexual favor, but more to see the look on the bluerider’s face than any delusions that he’d actually choose it. The mention of chess-boxing, apparently, had been the one M’kai locked on, probably because it was the only one that most people were unfamiliar with. It was also the one A’emi had been hoping he’d choose, honestly.

“Well,” and his gaze flicked up to M’kai, the greenrider barely managing to keep his lips from curling into a triumphant smirk, “death doesn’t usually play into it, much. Anyway, chess-boxing. Alternating rounds of chess and boxing, starts with chess, one minute break before rounds. Speed chess. Checkmate or knockout counts as a win. Pretty simple, lot of fun. The actual rules are probably a little different, but that’s how I learned and I’ve never met anyone who played different. Actually, I’ve kind of never met anyone else that plays, period, other than the guy that taught me, but that’s okay.” A flash of a smile. “I’m a good teacher,” and he cheerfully infused his tone with a hint of a purr. Wouldn’t do to go too long without flirting.

His gaze slid down to the chessboard again, lingering on the move that M’kai didn’t make. Wetting his lips thoughtfully, A’emi tilted his head, eyes half-lidded momentarily in thought. He tapped his fingers lightly against the table before he hummed. “Kidnapping kind of implies that you’re unwilling,” he pointed out, crinkling his nose playfully. “And while that’s just so flattering and all, you could’ve just taken off, you know.” The game was still early enough that A’emi didn’t really feel the need to concentrate too terribly much; he was still playing mainly defensive, but…eh. Guess that was what he got with black.

He moved his knight, the one on his king’s side. It didn’t pose an actual threat, but it would if M’kai moved his pawn to the center. Preventative, kind of. “And hey, look on the bright side,” he added, after he’d settled his arm back against the table. “I win, you choose option C, you get to kick my ass. Or try to, anyway. And I know you want to, even if you don’t hate me as much as you pretend to.”

And if M’kai won…then he’d just have to wait for Kyrahth to Rise again. He could hardly deny his lovely, lovely greenling, could he? Or, come to that, for M’kai to get bored and actually miss his company. Although maybe that was a tad on the delusional side. He could hope.

[Ruby]

So, chess-boxing was... well, exactly what it sounded like. And while streaking and target practice gave A'emi much less of an opportunity to get his hands on inappropriate places, the lack of a sexually-themed option actually lured M'kai into a false sense of security. Maybe A'emi wasn't as much of a leech as M'kai had assumed. Perhaps, for some reason, he simply liked M'kai, wanted to be his friend. Understandable - M'kai liked to think he was a likable guy. Then again, he might just be more drunk than he thought.

"As long as we can avoid the death, I'm game," he offered, pretty confident that he could knock A'emi senseless in multiple ways. He ignored the purr for now (plenty of time to get A'emi back for that later, apparently), focusing on the game instead. As much as he was inexplicably warming to the Greenrider, being free from A'emi's company forever would be a relief. "And yes, I'm counting on kicking your ass. It's the only thing that'll make all this torment worth it. Make no mistake, the only reason I didn't bolt is because you caught me on a good night, somehow." Hold on. Was M'kai... joking? Teasing, perhaps? Well, whatever he was doing, his tone wasn't nearly as frigid or sarcastic as it usually was. How odd.

The game progressed quickly, mostly in silence - M'kai launched a complex strategy shortly after deciding on option C, which took all of his concentration. He'd never played speed chess, but it was obvious that he'd have to get a lot faster. A'emi put up a good fight, but in the end - shards! In the end, it was one of A'emi's lesser pieces that M'kai had overlooked, neatly trapping him in a cage he couldn't get out of, just one or two moves away from a checkmate of his own. They were quite well-matched, it turned out, unless one of them was suffering from beginner's luck. M'kai studied the board, looking for a way out, but... "Shards. How did I miss that?" he asked, mostly rhetorical, leaning back to survey it all from a different angle. "Well, shells. Alright, you got me. Well done." He offered a hand to the Greenrider. "Good game, I'm impressed."

[Avu]

“Checkmate.”

The announcement came with far more cheer and smugness than was socially appropriate, but A’emi didn’t really care. The wide grin that quirked across his face was also decidedly too blatantly delighted, come to that. Chess was one of the few times that A’emi didn’t bother with idle conversation – so instead he’d shifted around in his chair until his legs were draped over one arm, one elbow resting on the back of the chair and the other migrating from the chair’s other arm to the table as was necessary to make his moves. He uncurled in short order to shake M’kai’s hand – he’d been playing primarily with his left, but trying to shake with his left hand was just awkward – with a little more pomp and circumstance than the gesture really demanded.

“Guess you’re going to have to put up with me,” he commented, not even bothering to hide his amused approval of the thought. “But it was fun. ‘S been ages since I’ve played.” A few Turns, maybe, since playing against himself was never any fun (he always ended up with a draw, given he knew what he was planning on doing. Not terribly exciting), Kyrahth didn’t understand why he would want to spend any time at all, let alone potential hours, poking at what she considered to be ‘pieces of wood on a bigger piece of wood’ (and put like that it really didn’t seem like that much fun) – so no. No chess partners for him. Sad.

Sometimes he really wished his ex-weyrmate were alive, just for the chess-boxing. That had always been fun, even after actual conversation had lost its appeal. A’emi leaned forward in his chair, affectionately touching the adorable little rook that had gotten him his checkmate, and tilted his head at M’kai, pressing the tips of his fingers together expectantly, and offered his best evil smile. It would’ve probably worked a lot better if he wasn’t so distinctly not evil looking – blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin an evil overlord doth not make – but it was an attempt. It was also ruined by the actual little smirk of amusement that followed it immediately.

“So.” His smirk widened a little. “You need me to run those options by you one more time, or you want to go ahead and choose? A, B, C – or, you know, you could do all of them if you can’t decide.” Which he doubted would ever happen, but – just throwing it out there.

You won.
How’d you guess?
The waves of smugness you’re radiating. It’s fairly sickening.

…well then.