escordvi | (no subject)

[Alhaitham is used to people regarding him with a fair amount of hesitation and uncertainty—it'd been par for the course back in Sumeru, to the point where he was known among his peers and later colleagues for how unapproachable he seemed to be, and in some aspects it hasn't been very different here either. Certainly, there are a fair bit more loud characters around, but its not like he's required to interact with them in the same way he would otherwise have to for the sake of work, so ultimately its no skin off his back.

And this instance is pretty much the same thing, too. If this stranger decides to retreat even after having approached him first Alhaitham wouldn't really be bothered, simply taking it as a momentary interruption and nothing more. But it soon turns out that things are not going to play out that way, as the stranger settles down on where the other side of the chess board faces.]

It's surprisingly uncommon, even in a place like this. [He says with a careless shrug, in response to the first part. He supposes that may in part be due to how this place is like, where ships are far more common than anything else. Chess pieces don't exactly mix well with boats and the like after all.

At the second part, well. Alhaitham sees that stare and returns it with his own, much more nonchalant and impassive compared to the other's careful nature.] It's custom made. Got it as a present some time back.

[One can thank Cid for that, who figured it as some kind of funny housewarming gift. Alhaitham, with his esoteric tastes in aesthetics, found it as a rather thoughtful gift, though if you asked his husband (who is currently puttering about to serve the other customers) he'd have a completely different opinion.]

There were other games around, but it seemed like a lot of gambling.

[ it was always noisy, excited, crowded. and to him, lacking in strategic merit, the challenge of seeing moves and moves ahead that he so enjoyed. playing against a stranger would be a new experience - it had just been him and his classmates, one in particular, for a very long time.

this opponent is an adult, probably with a wealth of experience xehanort couldn't possibly have. a serious type, grounded, perhaps. xehanort blinks, tilts his head to one side, panning his hand over the pieces but not touching them yet. ]

What a good present. Do you prefer playing white or black?

[ oh, he's moving too fast. reel it in, man. ]

I'm... Xehanort, by the way.

[A hum of acknowledgement. Eltrut, with its mix of just about everyone who's ever set food in his world, does hold its share of boisterous activity (like gambling) that doesn't really try to hide itself. Of course its nowhere to the level that Nogard has, but Nogard is... Nogard. The important thing is that Eltrut still has its quiet corners, and this cafe is located in one of those spots. (The fact that they live nearby also helps.)

It only takes a minute at most for Alhaitham to get the board ready for the game, and once its done he watches the way the stranger goes on to examine it, using this brief moment to study them in turn. There's certainly a youthfulness to his looks that places him under twenty years of age, but Alhaitham knows better than most to not judge one's age based on looks alone. Still, for the most part they do more or less look and feel how they look, so he'll just stick with that assumption for now until proven otherwise.]

I'm fine with either. [He answers the question easily, seemingly not too bothered with being asked. And then since a name has been given—] Alhaitham.

[Xehanort... that certainly sounds like a name that'd come from Natlan, though its clear enough from his clothes that it is very much not the case. The people of Natlan are known to dress much more... colorfully, for one. Not to mention the tattoos.]

[ xehanort doesn't mind being scrutinised, but makes sure to flick his eyes up to meet alhaitham's for a brief moment to show him he was aware of it. the board is kind of cute, fully set up, though he kind of misses the extravagance of his classroom's elaborate gold and silver set.

the coffee smell washes over him again, and he picks up his mug to take a long drink. it's good, even the bitter edge mellowing into a pleasant sensation on his tongue. the environment was nice. the waves of emotions from the streets did not affect him here. alhaitham - xehanort inclines his head to acknowledge the introduction, hand twitching as if about to offer a handshake but deciding better of it - was a quiet, comfortable sort who seemed like he belonged here. questions for after their game, maybe. ]

I'll take black, then. [ his usual. playing white would feel odd at this point. ] Standard rules?

[ alba and ater was the variant he played most, but its odd uneven game state was something he had begun to suspect was exclusive to scala, as tied in with old legends as it was. he knew the standard rules just fine, and the board was set up normally, so... ]

[Alhaitham hardly cares for the fact that he's being watched back in turn, mostly since they are going to play a game of chess and such scrutiny is to be expected. Plus thus far this stranger—Xehanort—hasn't really done anything to leave a bad impression, so he doesn't really feel much of anything one way or the other.

He hums an acknowledgement when Xehanort announces that he'll take black, then tilts his head a bit at the next question. Standard rules... that implies there are other variations of chess, which while the concept is not new to him (Liyue-style chess and Inazuma's shogi come to mind), does draw up a stirring of interest. Perhaps it's something to ask later...]

Mmn. Sure.

[And with that settled, its time to play. Since Xehanort has taken black it means Alhaitham is white, and in turn the person who makes the first move. It only takes a second for him to decide on what to do—an easy, classic move, shifting one of the pawns forward.]

[ oh, they're right to it. xehanort is quick to make a responding opening, familiar with the options. the pieces feel strange in his hands but the movements are familiar and comforting, the sun warming his side.

it's a quiet game, which is... the strangest thing about it. the movements may be familiar but the lack of his usual opponent's animated reactions is a little offputting. it's not the he isn't enjoying the game - he is, truly, eyes alight with intense concentration - but it's a little hollow nevertheless.

xehanort plays unassumingly. a little defensive, nothing explosive or aggressive, but every move is eventually made with decisive finality. he spends time before shifting each piece, of course, minute movements of his fingers or little tilts of his head reflecting the cogs turning in his brain. it's not until there's a tiny opening in the board state that he starts to push and attack. ]

[A quiet match is pretty much Alhaitham's favorite way of playing chess, so its nice to see that being respected in this instance. It also doesn't take very long to pick up on the fact that Xehanort is somebody who is in all likelihood much more familiar with chess as compared to Alhaitham—which while isn't shocking in and of itself, seeing as Alhaitham doesn't really get many chances to play it, be it here or back in Teyvat—is still uncommon enough anyway that it surprises him still. But its definitely something closer to a good kind of surprise, and when Xehanort switches to the offensive Alhaitham finds himself a lot more invested in the game compared to before, taking the time between each move to study the board and the moves that Xehanort makes in response to each of his own.

Just like with Xehanort Alhaitham too has his own mug of coffee to drink, which he'd been taking sips from every once in a while, eventually finishing it while still in the middle of their match. But Alhaitham doesn't bother with pausing the game to get himself a new mug, and it doesn't take long to see why: almost as if on cue Mehrak floats over with a beep! and a fresh cup of coffee that it places down onto the side table where the empty mug stands, swapping the two around easily.

Alhaitham picks up the new mug almost as soon as it'd been placed, taking a drink from it which he gives an approving hum, glancing to the toolbox after.]

It's good. Thank Kaveh for me.

[The toolbox beeps again, making a ^_^ face on its plate before it floats away to return to its owner. Alhaitham watches it for a second before he turns his attention back to the ongoing game, studying the way the board has shifted during that brief time he'd looked away before making his next move as if nothing has happened at all.]

[ chess had been one of his favourite discoveries when arriving in scala. there was the obvious things; his keyblade and innate magic were obvious, though they felt destined for him as if waiting, his friends were another, the concept of even having friends the stuff of dreams before then. chess was mundane, yet with a depth he had pounced on the second the rules had clicked into place. he'd played hundreds of games by now - (261 wins, 81 losses, and 3 draws), just between the two of them - and still discovered new ways to win, and occasionally lose.

as engrossed in the game as he is, it's startling to have mehrak's cheerful beeping snap him out of focus. he blinks a couple of times, the board suddenly blurred, realising his unconscious had overlaid an image of the classroom's board onto it. not against his usual rival, but more similar to playing against urd or even hermod.

xehanort looks lost for a moment. slowly, he picks up the now-lukewarm remnants of his coffee, draining the cup. mehrak is... interesting. he'd read of robots, but never seen one before - the spark of curiosity in his eyes following the toolbox as it floats away. ]

It knows your order?

[ not the question he'd wanted to ask most, but the least invasive one, unlikely to interrupt the flow of the match. ]

Yes, but it didn't make it. It's creator did. [Even with the Teacaf machines present here Kaveh still makes his coffee by hand, which Alhaitham can't say he doesn't appreciate. There's always something about handbrewn coffee that hits differently, for all the convivence that the machine gives them.

He takes another drink of that very same coffee as he makes his next move on the chessboard—a knight moving forward, potentially to take a bishop.

With his move done its Xehanort's turn once more, and Alhaitham is quiet as he watches the way that he considers what to do next, and how he does it. It's easy enough to see, if Mehrak's interruption earlier hadn't made it blatantly obvious, that this is something that the other clearly has invested a lot of interest in.]

Is chess something that's more common where you're from?

[Given how familiar he is, that's the assumption Alhaitham makes—but he supposes it could also be a similar situation to his own to some extent.]

It's good.

[ a truthful compliment. xehanort watches mehrak for a long moment more, briefly looking over to kaveh as well, filing his questions away. the empty cup is set aside as xehanort brings a hand to his chin, eyes flicking between the pieces as his attention returns to the game. the bishop is a sacrifice he is willing to make, maneuvering his own knight to pin alhaitham's queen with a satisfied little smirk.

one that disappears quickly at the question, as he flusters slightly. he fights to maintain neutrality in his expression, glancing away as he answers. ]

Sort of. There was a board in my classroom, but I hadn't heard of it where I grew up.

[ he hadn't experienced much of anything at "home" on destiny islands. he supposes chess was fairly common on scala, since all his friends had known how to play. ]

I'll be sure to give him your compliments.

[Kaveh is far more picky with his coffee than Alhaitham is, so he'll definitely like being told that somebody enjoyed his work.

And he can't say he'd expected the way Xehanort so abruptly seems to fumble over his question. It's not the reaction he'd have expected from something like this, and while he is making a note of it, Alhaitham is not really the kind of person to pry. It's just something he'll keep in mind as they move forward.]

I see. [A pause. It would be easy to just leave it at that, but he supposes he can give his own context in return, since he was the one who asked.] Chess isn't something that was ever unknown to me, but it was not common where I live. It'd be fair to say that I've played more of it here compared to the world I came from.

[All things considered that is a pretty blasé way to say that he is a riftfarer too, but its not as if Alhaitham was ever trying to hide it.]

[ it's a defensive reaction to the question, one he hasn't quite been able to shake off even after two years on scala. avoiding bringing up the islands was his way of fending off the judging gazes and hushed words of the scalans who didn't think he belonged. the reaction is even more ridiculous here, where so many were from different worlds, but it makes him uneasy anyway.

especially when alhaitham readily admits to being a riftfarer as well. xehanort blinks at him, mildly grateful for the openness, and nods. ]

You're a very competent player, I can see. [ it sounds a little arrogant, especially addressing a senior, but he doesn't care. he is arrogant about this. ] How long have you been here?

[ he asks it lightly, but he's been ravenously curious about the average stay in this world. the time differential between worlds gave him hope, but he was still not so keen on staying here too long. ]

[The small display of arrogance isn't lost on him, though in this instance Alhaitham doesn't really mind it. Confidence is always a good thing, so long as its in moderation. And from the way Xehanort plays he doesn't inherently feel like that kind of person who'd let things get to his head. Of course, these are just his initial surface level impressions, but so far its been pretty positive.

He hums at the words nonetheless, taking a moment after to pick his next move—shifting the queen to safety, even if it does leave one of his rooks vulnerable. But that may or may not be bait for a greater plan in the works.]

Eleven months. [He speaks once his done, answering the question a little belatedly. Speaking it out like that, it is a little strange to think of how much time has passed since he found himself in this place... they certainly would have been far worse if Kaveh were not here with him.]

[ it's not at all the answer xehanort had wanted to hear, but one he had somewhat expected. his grip on the queen he's holding tightens, expression flashing with - pain, loneliness. in just over a week, he'd already started to feel sluggish with the loss of routine, the uncertainty of how to progress. his friends should have been right behind him. where were they? did he somehow go that far off-course? maybe this time was only a blink to them, and they'd never know he was gone. the loneliness would be his to bear alone, until he found a way out of here or they found a way to him. or they'd be out looking for him, frantic that they'd lost another friend.

surely, if no one else, eraqus would come looking. he would rally the others, say something bold and ridiculous, strike out on his own even, just so they could have one more game. settle the score, as if it wasn't wildly out of his favour.

xehanort grits his teeth behind his pursed lips. in that moment, he sees it - the queen now no longer in position to protect the king as efficiently, his own queen gripped almost painfully between his fingers. he sets it down, gently. ]

Check.

[Alhaitham sees the way Xehanort reacts to his response, which in turn answers a few of his own. He'd already suspected, but now its all but confirmed that this person before him is a new arrival, which isn't too surprising. It's around that time when it happens—in this place of so many surprises and inexplicable things its almost funny how these arrivals are perhaps the one constant that exists.

He says nothing at first, keeping his attention back on the game especially considering the move Xehanort had just made. It very much is not the one he'd expected—yes, he has checked, but it leaves his queen wide open for the taking.

Alhaitham goes for it, of course, since it'd be foolish not to, though he doesn't make his play quite yet, instead fingering over his remaining bishop as he contemplates.]

Time doesn't pass there while you're here. [He starts after a pause, gaze briefly flicking up to meet Xehanort's own.] And when you leave your memories of this place are forgotten, too. It'll be as if nothing happened at all.

[What he doesn't continue to say is that that is something he and Kaveh seek to change. While they do desire to return home to Teyvat, neither of them want to forget their time here. They may have not come here by choice... but the understanding they have forged between each other is something that they do not wish to lose, after all the work it took.]

[ the mistake he'd made in his emotional turmoil takes far too long to dawn on him, alhaitham's hesitation enough to let xehanort's mind catch up to the rest of the gamestate. a tightness appears in the corners of his eyes. it makes him look younger, somehow. he doesn't quite meet alhaitham's glance, feigning still studying the chessboard. ]

I don't know if that's a comfort, or even more reason to worry. [ tone low, a waver of uncertainty in it, despite the lighthearted wording. ] How do you know all this?

[ if the memory of this world simply left when its visitors did, how would that be a known consequence? it didn't make any sense. a bubble of time, suspended for... what point, exactly? so many questions he was beginning to realise would have unsatisfactory answers. ]

[Alhaitham makes the move once Xehanort realizes it himself, taking away the the black queen piece after swapping it with his bishop and placing it off to the side.]

Because it's happened to my husband and I. [He answers the question without missing a beat. Alhaitham has never been good with gestures or expressions of comfort or even commiseration, but what he can give are the truth of his own experiences.] We returned to our world, but did not remember anything that transpired, only recalling everything upon our return.

[Which was... certainly something, to go back to Teyvat as roommates but then coming here again to recall that they were already married. Kaveh had taken it far more personally, but Alhaitham can't say that he wasn't not affected himself. They'd worked hard to resolve the differences between themselves, and for Alhaitham to understand the depth of his own feelings—and so to have all of that ripped away by a force that they cannot control did not sit with him well at all. Even if there is an understanding that they would still eventually choose each other back in Teyvat, neither of them could stand being denied the one thing they'd worked so hard for. And so that is why they're working now, to try and find a way that will let them return but still preserve these precious memories.]

Your... husband. [ oh. ] The proprietor, here.

[ that explains the general sense of homeliness and... light, xehanort supposes, not confident enough to label the pleasantly echoing feeling he can sense as "love", and not willing to unpack that right now. even though if these men were married, that's clearly what it was. whatever.

with his queen gone, xehanort's plan of attack is heavily reduced. he's still not in a totally unfavourable position, but he's thrown off enough that finding his outs are going to be difficult when he had been zeroed in on that particular pattern. he's back on the defensive, moving the knight he'd moved previously to try and pin alhaitham's queen again. ]

That sounds... terrifying. [ that sense of loss. hollow and strange. ] I'm sorry to hear it.

[Well light would not be an inappropriate metaphor to use here regardless, for Alhaitham would readily admit that Kaveh is his. Back in Teyvat Kaveh bore the title of the Light of Kshahrewar—and though Kaveh was never a fan of it himself, Alhaitham personally felt it lacking. Kaveh, to him, is far more than a mere light—he is also the breath in his lungs, the warmth in his heart, and now the mirror in which they can see each other for who they are, without any of their previous trappings.

With such thoughts in his mind there's no hiding the touch of fondness that comes onto Alhaitham's face as chances another glance at Kaveh. Maybe he won't tease his senior as much as he usually does later, once they have the night to themselves after closing...

He turns his attention back to the board after that when he hears the soft click of a piece against the surface when Xehanort makes his move, not surprised by the switch back to something more defensive. Losing the queen was not great on his part, that's for sure.]

No need to apologize. [He says then as he moves his knight, using this opening now to push forward. If he can get his last pawn piece over it should get him the win.] It's not as if its something any of us are able to control.

[For now, anyway. Alhaitham certainly hopes that will change eventually.]

[ oh. oh no. xehanort glances out the window, tips of his ears burning, shuttering his heart as best he can from the wave of fondness that alhaitham is giving off right now. it feels like he's intruding on something private, even though he's just sitting there. his own troubled emotional state had left him careless about keeping his sensitivity to others in check. with a sharp inhale, he wills the feeling to fade out.

there's no filtering out the expression on alhaitham's face when he looks over to kaveh, though. so clearly something special about it, given how stony-faced this man had been until now.

(is that how he looked at-- ugh, no, embarrassing. he's not thinking about that now.

the chess is not helping, actually.) ]

I have a lot of questions. [ he shifts a rook into the path of attack. focus, damn it. ] If you don't mind answering them after the match.

[ stubbornly, he draws them into the promise of a long stalemate. he's probably still going to lose, but he's going to make alhaitham work for it. ]

[With as distracted as he'd been with his own thoughts of Kaveh, Alhaitham doesn't really pick up on the way Xehanort had reacted. As it is he simply takes it as the other still being troubled over their earlier conversation, which he can understand why. It's hard for one to not feel troubled, considering how much of it is outside of anyone's control.]

Mmn. Sure. [He easily acquiesces when asked, seeing no reason to deny Xehanort the answers that he seeks. They are all in this stiuation together, after all, and he's sure that as a newcomer there is much that he wants to know. Asking questions is always a good first step.

But for now he will focus on the game, playing out the stalemate that Xehanort pulls them into. He has time to kill anyway, and seeing what Xehanort does to extend this match is also rather interesting to watch, since its more than evident that he is far better at this game than Alhaitham is—he's certain that the other would have won if it were not for that one slip-up.]

[ the stalemate is not as long as xehanort assumed it would be. he makes his own moves quickly, spurred on by the roulette of thoughts in his mind that varied from completely harmless to threatening to tear him apart if the answers were as bad as he feared. the mellow atmosphere was really pulling its weight, here, to keep him grounded.

the game draws to a close, xehanort having not said a word since. there are too many pieces off the board for him to make a recovery, so he slides his remaining bishop into the only position he can. it's over. ]

It's terrifying, [ he begins, sitting back to accept his imminent defeat, ] because your memories and your heart that holds them should be thing you have the most confidence in.

[Ever content with the silence, Alhaitham goes through the rest of the game with no words on his part either. Still, given the way Xehanort had been earlier, Alhaitham does sort of keep an eye on the other... mostly just to make sure nothing big happens. He doesn't think it will, but it also doesn't hurt to be careful. After all, Kaveh did just open this place and it would be a hassle to already need to have things fixed and cleaned.

Thankfully, just as he'd suspected, the rest of the game proceeds smoothly enough, and Alhaitham watches as Xehanort makes what is in all likelihood his last move for this game.]

It is troublesome. [He gives his agreement as he reaches over and makes his last move, too—the pawn that he'd managed to promote to a second queen piece to the right square, firmly locking the king down in a checkmate.] Doubly so when nobody truly knows how and why the rifts function the way that they do.

[There's been speculations, of course, stories and tales from both the locals here and the little bits of things previous riftfarers have left behind, many of which Alhaitham has read through in his own search for information. But five years hasn't exactly been a lot of time to fully understand a phenomenon such as this when what it brings so much interruption to everything, and the world being more water than land adds an extra layer of fracture that doesn't help anyone. It's all incredibly annoying, if Alhaitham has anything to say about it.]

Good game.

[ it's honest. if anything, xehanort is not a sore loser. everything is an opportunity to learn more, to plan ahead next time, to notice mistakes and lock them down. admitting a loss openly was rarer, but there was no reason to put himself at odds with anyone right now by acting haughty. alhaitham had played very well, even if it had been xehanort's own lapse in judgement that had cost him victory. he's pretty sure alhaitham recognises that, too.

he shifts to the side, bringing both legs up onto the bench to cross them and rest his arms over his knees, staring out the window at the ocean. wherever he ended up, there was always an ocean. ]

It's so different from worlds I'd read about. Like a bubble of activity in a sea of little else. [ the fledgling, incomplete places he had visited with his classmates felt so empty compared to this. ] It would've been nice to come here normally.

[ then, bluntly, but not rudely; ]

How old are you?

[Alhaitham acknowledges the victory with a nod, though just as Xehanort had suspected, he is well-aware of the fact that the victory had only come by chance. Doesn't make it any less of a win, of course, but while Alhaitham has never been arrogant enough to assume he has a mastery over this game, its still humbling to witness it for himself all the same.

With the game now done Alhaitham leans back himself, lounging comfortably against the cushions Kaveh had gone out of his way to pile up behind him. It just almost borders on overkill, though Alhaitham can't deny the comfort that its bringing to him now. Though it would always be nicer with his senior right in his lap...

Later, perhaps.

Hearing Xehanort as he muses out loud brings with it a new wave of questions himself, because from the sounds of it it almost seems like he's used to the idea of going to different worlds which... is enough of a topic to unpack in and of itself. Until his arrival here Alhaitham didn't even think there could be other worlds beyond Teyvat, so that aspect has been especially enlightening to him since.

The question about his age is a little unexpected, though, and he blinks for a second at it, but sees no reason to not answer it, so he does.] Twenty-nine. [A pause, and then he asks.] What relevance does that have to traveling between worlds?

[That's... the assumption he is making anyway, based on what Xehanort had said.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

and now time to completely bullshit at chess

such complex and in-depth gameplay about to occur

a game only for the biggest of brains

real cerebral stuff. theatre of the mind here.

a mind palace, if you will

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject