awashlogs | May Catch All for Kaoru

[ dextera doesn't know, exactly. it just occurred to him, a voice in the back of his mind that wasn't his own—as if it was taught to him by someone else. another member of the koriel, or someone even before that? he's not sure.

he shakes his head. ]

I don't know. I think someone told it to me when I was younger.

[ the unspoken truth: he has no memories of that time. ]

[She tilts her head a little and just looked at him for a while.]

Were you...too young to remember?

[ dextera shakes his head. he doesn't want to worry her, though he has no qualms about revealing the reality of his past—he can't remember it, even though it does trouble him not to know. ]

I have no memories. That's all.

No memories? None at all?

[ again, dextera shakes his head, but this time without typing anything to add to that.

the memories he does have are memories of feelings, not people or things—memories of pain, and sin, and death, but they're all such abstract concepts he can't tie them to any moment in particular. he remembers his brother somewhat, too... but that's not something he wants to discuss with kaoru.

before he gets too sad about it, though, he adds this: ]

I remember how to play chess.

[That seems...lonely, somehow, to not have a past. But he didn't seem to want to talk about it though, so Kaoru won't push.

She laughs.] Which is good! Otherwise we wouldn't be here right now. [She rested her chin on her palm.]

So, the knight needs to be kept near the centre. And this one? She reached out to poke the bishop.]

The bishop can move diagonally, for as long as he wants to, as long as there's no other piece stopping him.

[ it is a lonely life, having no memories, but dextera is grateful that kaoru continues their conversation about chess as if nothing is wrong. ]

The bishop and knight are equally strong, but for beginners, the knight is probably easier to play with.

[She still remembered their previous conversation on the forums and it wasn't hard to guess that the two were related. Still, the past was something people will talk about when they feel like it. When he was ready to talk to her (or when she's come to a point where she doesn't feel like passively waiting anymore), then they'll have that conversation.

For now, she'll try to focus on this game that's really...way too complicated.]

And the castle moves straight, right? [...what was the name of that piece again?]

[ it doesn't feel complicated to dextera, but then, he's got years of experience. for someone like kaoru—yeah, maybe there is a lot going on. ]

The rook.

And yes, it does. It's very strong in the endgame, and it's easy to use for a checkmate if your opponent isn't careful.

[ he pauses, thinking. ]

Why don't we try? It'll be easier to see it all in practice.

[She nodded. After all, she was fairly certain she learned better by doing than just by listening.]

Right! Let's do it! Can I be white?

[ dextera returns her nod, setting up the board appropriately from where he'd been moving pieces around to explain to her. he wants to show her a good opening move, but what's the point of trying to teach her if he doesn't trust her to play the game?

he's almost positive he's going to win, but it'll be good to see how she plays anyway. ]

...

[ he motions for her to go ahead, willing to let her take all the time she needs. ]

Okay! Let's do this!

[She's absolutely going to lose! But it doesn't mean she won't try her best.

Okay...so. First move. Uh. She'll have to move one of the pawns right? She may or may not have forgotten the pawn can move two spaces on its first move.]

[ yeah... maybe he should have seen that coming. dextera smiles sympathetically, reaching over to move her pawn one more space in the same direction. he meets her eye to make sure she remembers why he did that, and then he sits back to consider his own move.

for an opening, though, it’s pretty limited. he moves his pawn, too, apparently without thinking much about it. ]

...

[ should he take it easy on her after all...? ]

[...ah, right.]

I forgot they can move two steps...thanks. But you know, I won't learn if you keep helping me like this. [She grins.] Don't worry! Even if I lose I won't cry or anything!

[She's used to losing against Shiho in basically any and every kind of game anyway.

But, let's see...she's going to move another pawn. There's not much strategy going on here, she's just trying to free up the space so her other pieces could move.]

[ dextera smiles slightly, when she happily informs him that she won't cry. her cheerful grin is hard to deny, even at a time like this—he can see that she's not appreciating the potential power of a pawn, but he wouldn't expect her to! she's new. it's fine. the important part is that she understood she forgot something, which means she learned it in the first place.

he answers her moves evenly, trying to avoid going immediately for the throat so she has some practice. there's one point where she could easily take one of his pieces, and he holds his breath, watching her to see if she's going to go for it.

he has no plan! it's not bait! it's just a piece that could genuinely be hers, and he feels like he's trying to mentally communicate that to her just by looking. ]

[She really doesn't appreciate the importance of the pawns, but she's trying to remember everything he taught her and, for the most part? She did remember how the pieces moved and all! Though setting up for anything is a bit beyond her at the moment.

The most she can do is try to react to his moves and try not to lose her own pieces.

She was sitting there, thinking with a hand on her chin and she almost missed her chance, her hand starts going for the wrong piece before she stopped, her eyes widening when she spots a piece she can take.]

[Her eyes light up and her hand quickly changes course, reaching out to take that piece.]

Haha! You're mine!

[Honestly? Even if this had been a trap she would have been happy enough just with this.]

Edited 2018-05-21 05:19 (UTC)

—!

[ dextera is happy for her! she saw her course and corrected it, which means she did learn something after all! he would consider this a great success, considering she couldn’t even remember the pawn’s first move was two spaces, and now she’s captured one of his pieces without him just giving it away to her.

he nods, oddly, genuinely proud of her. it feels good to teach someone something?! that nod is accompanied by a smile so she knows how pleased he is, and then it’s back to the game—one she will lose, but with dextera trying to pull his punches, she actually hasn’t done that bad. ]

[She's absolutely pleased with herself, like the cat that got the canary. Especially when he nods at her with a smile.

What was it Minamoto had said before? It'll be fun when you've learned something new...that's what I want to teach you girls. She sort of understood that a bit more now.

So, even when she inevitably loses (and there was just no contest, really), she can't help but still be smiling.]

I guess I won't be ready to play against Minamoto any time soon...

[ dextera shakes his head, retrieving his laptop now that the game has ended. he’ll fix up the pieces later, but for now, he’s happy just to sit and talk with her. ]

A friend of yours?

I bet he would be impressed at how far you’ve come.

[She couldn't help but smile when he asks. It was something soft and a little embarrassed but mostly? It was full of warmth.]

He's not...exactly my friend. He's [our supervisor] like our live-in nanny? We've been living with him since we were ten and he's and incredibly kind person.

I don't get to impress him often, so it'd be nice if I could do it with this.

[ a nanny... dextera doesn't know whether or not to take kaoru at her word, based on her smile, but he doesn't question the way she phrases her relationship with him. ]

I would be happy to keep teaching you, if you want.

[It's complicated.]

I'd like that! I wasn't sure if chess would be my thing, but it's pretty fun!

[ dextera knows all about complicated relationships in the worst way possible. it's fine. ]

Then whenever you feel like it, let's play again. I think you have promise.

You think so? [Look at how pleased she is to hear that.] Maybe I can even beat Minamoto one day if I keep practising!

[Probably not, but hey! Let her dream.]

May Catch All for Kaoru

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I suck at chess so... XD

ME TOO

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1/2

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