[Open Post] ..like the bird that you can't see..

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot is in a very good mood indeed. He feels settled, assured. He feels as he did, he thinks, back when he first found his feet at court -- he is someplace he belongs, he can be assured that people will treat him with respect, if not kindness or welcoming. He lets himself revel in it, a little, as it's been a long while since he felt anywhere near as nice as this.

The weather is good: sunny, crisp, the familiar feeling of autumn as winter is hovering close by. He goes to his own room and fetches his sword. He runs his usual drills, though with a kind of ease and almost carelessness he hasn't had since he was young. (Perhaps he is young enough, still. He can't be sure. He has already lived past the age his father was when he died, but that means almost nothing. His father died in battle and Lancelot is, now, no longer likely to ever see such a fate.)

Afterwards, he showers and decides he might as well find breakfast. So he's now heading toward one of the kitchens, looking cheerful for once.

Comments

[lanselos_du_lac]

He looks thoughtful. "I may move my pieces as I like. If I jump one of yours, I take it. I am trying to capture as many of yours as I can."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"And there is power in reaching the other side of the board," Susan nods. "Pieces must be moved on a diagonal, one space at a time unless you are jumping or you have been..." She pauses. The standard term is 'Kinged.' "Queened. Have you a preferred color?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

"I believe first choice goes to the lady."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Then I shall take red, and allow you black and the first move," Susan says, twisting the board accordingly. Her eyes are sparkling. "This is the only concession I shall give you, sir. Be warned."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Oh, I assure you, I'm very much on my guard," he grins. He absolutely isn't.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"See that you are," Susan says, faux-primly. She settles back in her seat, watching Lancelot closely as he fails to survey the board. "Do your worst, sir."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"For thee? Never." Even so, he really doesn't give it much consideration at all, just selects a piece and moves it.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan glances briefly at the board, but this is hardly an opening that inspires a great deal of concern. Still, she pouts a little, tapping a finger to her lips as if in a great deal of thought before reaching down and sliding one of her own pieces up a square, letting it rest under her long, delicate fingers for a moment before withdrawing her hand. This is, after all, a flirtation.

[lanselos_du_lac]

He watches her warmly, but then as he considers his next move his competitive urge kicks in. This time he is more deliberate, and moves such that he might plan to go on the offensive.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Interesting! This has presented an opening for Susan, should she choose to take it - but an opening that, if taken, could also leave her vulnerable in short order. She pretends to ignore Lancelot's move entirely, and moves a piece on the other side of the board, preparing her own attack.

[lanselos_du_lac]

He sits forward a little, pushing his mug to the side as he considers tactics. After a moment, Lancelot looks up at her and smiles. "Thou'rt very pretty. Surely, thou knowst it so."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"I know what you're doing, sir, and it won't work on me," Susan says, primly, now tracing the neckline of her dress slowly. She tugs it delicately aside, almost as if by accident; Lancelot might see a mark he left behind when she does. "I hope you don't find it gauche for me to admit that I know well my own beauty."

[lanselos_du_lac]

He does see it, and it makes him flush, as she might have expected it would. "I find I like it well," he says lightly, "And if this gambit will not work, at least I will have tried."

He makes a move, still on the offense, and lets himself take a moment to look at her.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Fond, Susan lets herself be looked at while she surveys the board. She has a choice to make: a safe move, more defensive than anything, that shores up her ability to circumvent any clever attacks he might make down the line, or a risky move which might leave her vulnerable but has the opportunity to impress him if it goes well.

She takes the risky move, and two of his pieces with it. This could leave him an opening, but only if he risks something in return.

[lanselos_du_lac]

He grins, moving the mug away still further, as if he needs space for engaging in this duel. "Oh, lady-- a fierce move." Lancelot considers again and then takes the risk; it wins him only one of her pieces, and it feels like a risk, but more than anything he enjoys watching her react.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan has spent quite a bit of time over the past half-year unable to smile, so it's easy enough to swallow the urge right now and fake a solemn expression. This is going to be good. Her next move is a defensive one, but also a trap - if Lancelot goes for the obvious piece, she'll be very well set-up.

[lanselos_du_lac]

And, of course, he does exactly that, and with very little further consideration. He does, though, take the liberty of reaching for her hand.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

As Susan curls her fingers around Lancelot's, she takes three of his pieces.

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot laughs, squeezing her hand, "Christ! My reputation as any sort of strategist is lost."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"My esteem is not so easily swayed," Susan says, the corner of her mouth curling up. Unfortunately, in her decisiveness, she has now left a much clearer path for him to seek to be kinged -- no, queened. Worth it, she decides.

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Ah, I see," grinning at her, "I had no such reputation with thee to start."

So he moves toward the opportunity to be queened, and though he keeps her hand he does at last take up his mug again.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan decides to let him pursue it: she wants to see what he will do with the additional power, and anyway, he's now left her a route to the same. She slides one piece safely to a border square along the sides.

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot considers again, then moves into the queen space. "Ah-- there."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Oh, well done," says Susan, not bothering to feign surprise. She's pleased; she's so terribly pleased as she deposits a piece on top of his successful bid. Then she moves her safe piece to be queened, too, and raises an eyebrow at him.

[lanselos_du_lac]

He laughs, letting go of her hand to do so, "Aye, your majesty. Well-crowned."