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Who: Kaveh and YOU
Status: Open
Where: Surasthana Cafe on Eltrut!
What: The grand opening of a book cafe.
Warnings: God I hope not.

[Kaveh hasn't talked much about what he's been working on for a few months now, because he wanted this moment to be a surprise (and because he didn't want to be scolded for overwork). It has finally paid off, now, with the grand opening of the Surasthana Cafe, just in time for the deep end of the fall season. The cafe is cozily furnished and warm, the smell of lovingly brewed coffee floats through the air, and soft music plays from Mehrak.

Kaveh isn't expecting a huge rush on any given day--this was done for his own sake more than anything, but now on weekday afternoons, the little book cafe can be found and people can stay a spell, enjoying expertly made coffee drinks and some light reading in a ridiculous plant paradise.

If you have any requests for new kinds of books, or wish to purchase various accessories, stop by the front counter! The owner is happy to accommodate you, after all.

ooc: you may also treat this post as a mingle and toplevel accordingly, just mark if you are doing so! Otherwise, Kaveh will be coming for you!]

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I am.

(And since it looks like he's actually interested, they'll take a seat.

Look, they might look like a scruffy kid wearing a terrible outfit choice and drinking a coffee so loaded with cream and sugar it's really debatable whether you could call it coffee... but they're actually a scruffy 30 something making these choices. Which probably inspires even less confidence but they're actually pretty damned good at the game.)

Black or white?

[Alhaitham is not really one to judge people's choice of clothing, but even has has to agree that their current outfit is certainly a Choice. But hey, if that's what works for them then whatever.

He will however judge that mess in their cup that they're trying to pass off as coffee. Why do so many of you drink it with so much sugar... it's not even coffee anymore at that point.]

You can pick. [He answers the question when it comes, shrugging. He has no real preference, and since they're offering to play, might as well let them have first dibs.]

In a mathematically perfect chess game white always wins because it goes first, but humans can't play mathematically perfect games.

(They take black. Mostly because they like the color better.

They take a swig of their not-coffee. Your move first, Alhaitham.)

[There's a mild eyebrow raise at that remark but Alhaitham doesn't comment on it, though he is filing that as something to note should it ever come up again.

Either way, since they've taken black it means Alhaitham is first, and so after taking a second to consider what to do he goes on to make his first move.]

(Shiny is not a very practiced chess player despite having plenty of knowledge of the game, but the dice rolls are currently pretty mid so for now Sidestep will play some decently average, not too stupid but not amazingly clever, moves. Rusty from lack of play? Trying to lure Alhaitham into a sense of false security? Having trouble focusing for some other reason? Who knows, but they are casually listening to his thoughts.

Has Kaveh told him about their powers? They hope not.

They really shouldn't be doing this. Playing chess. Talking to people. Making friends.)

[Alhaitham's own skill is above average so he's doing much better, and while he does aim to win he's not above switching to a more defensive playstyle when its needed.

But that aside Kaveh may have mentioned about the mind reading powers in passing, but its not like Alhaitham would have put two and two together instantly since he wasn't really given a description to go off of. And as long as Sidestep doesn't make it too obvious that he's reading his mind to cheat in the game, Alhaitham won't quite pick it up just yet (his boss is the only person in Teyvat who can read minds however, so its going to be a matter of time).

Until then what Sidestep will get are his musings over potential chess moves, ideas for dinner tonight... and thoughts about his husband which for the sake of all the children involved, will not be detailed. But needless to say they are very, uh, graphic. And explicit. And may involve the very cafe they are in right now.

How Alhaitham is able to let that happen while still able to maintain a completely straight face is perhaps a mystery for the ages.]

(...

...

...

They pick their drink up off the table they had set it on and make a show of focusing really hard on the board before them to hide the blush threatening to darken their cheeks.

Not that said blush is super visible with their skin tone but... look, they just really feel a need to hide their face now, okay?

They also slam their mental shields down so hard Alhaitham might sense it. A feeling of being watched so subtle it would normally go unnoticed now suddenly noticeably absent.

Their newfound focus on the game considerably improves the skill and quality of their moves, at least. It may become clear that, while not necessarily a grand master, they are quite skilled.)

[Alhaitham doesn't think too much of the way Sidestep reacts, having been subject to far more blatant reactions of just Alhaitham being himself. As it is he just assumes the other is intending to take the game seriously, which is something that he has no reason to be against.

There is however a brief moment in where Alhaitham throws a glance over his shoulder at the strange sensation that'd come over, but all he sees is Kaveh who is busying himself with another customer, so that's a little... strange. Maybe it was just the wind.

Needless to say, he simply shrugs it off once it passes, returning his attention back to the ongoing chess game. Sidestep being decent enough at chess means that Alhaitham is willing to not hold back anything, which means he starts playing with far more sharper stratagems and somewhat cutthroat decisions as long as it means gaining an advantage. If there's anything that's especially prominent, its the fact that Alhaitham is a fairly decisive player, never once backtracking on any move that he makes.]

(And well, no matter who wins the match, it's apparently gonna be a pretty good game, because Sidestep is absolutely 100% giving it their all. It's possible that cheating might have given them an edge if they were able to use their telepathy without... all that, but they don't actually need it to be able to play.)

So ...did your husband ever tell you that that fish is actually an ancient creature that's supposed to be extinct?

(It pops into their head because of the horny thoughts they're trying to block out, hilariously enough. Kaveh was having them too when they were trolling him about the fish.)

[Talking about the Fish is probably one of the last things Alhaitham would expect over a game of chess, but the topic is certainly not unwelcome.]

Yes. [The one thing people don't know is that he and Kaveh are huge gossips and have almost zero boundaries with each other, so anything that one knows will inevitably be known by the other, unless either one of them were explicitly told to keep things under wraps. Or that it doesn't come across as something worth mentioning at all.

That aside, though.] However the ones here are native to this world.

[Number #1 Fish fan has done his homework as soon as he saw these little bastards.]

Huh. Though I guess humans are also native to a lot of worlds.

(The fish is a safe topic. Not too distracting, and not likely to lead thoughts anywhere too distracting.)

[There's a brief, considering look at those words, but he hums all the same as he makes his next move on the chessboard.

...yeah he doesn't have much to add to that. Its not like there's anything to refute it, though he'll admit that it is interesting to think about. Teyvat's own origins are far more nebulous, only speculated through stories and vague accounts, but that is pretty much what's on his mind now as the game between them progresses.]

(They catch a stray thought about the origins of Alhaitham's world and it gets them thinking about their own. They were never much of one for religion--even if some kind of god existed they aren't one of its children--but if magic and other worlds exist, it seems unlikely that there isn't some kind of supernatural involvement in the creation of their world and the life on it.

Despite their musings, they manage to focus enough to keep playing the game fairly well.)

[The musings continue as the game goes on... for all the inconveniences that being here has given him, there's also no denying that its given him a whole wreath of information. It's just unfortunate that he remembers none of them when he'd got sent back with Kaveh not too long ago. It would be interesting to see what Nahida would think about all of this, what with her being the God of Wisdom.

And speaking of Nahida, the Sabzeruz Festival has just passed. Kaveh had put up some decor in their house which may not mean too much, given the fact that they are very far away from Teyvat, but it has helped with the homesickness a bit, much like being in this place. The sea is... fine, but at the end of the day both he and Kaveh have and will always be children of the forest.]

(They can't remember if they go back home?

Alhaitham might notice the sudden pause in their reach for the black knight. The intake of breath. The game forgotten for a fleeting moment.

They already know if they go home they'll lose Turo, and Ranma. But to forget them entirely?

They grab the knight. Make their move. But their hand is shaking as they do so.)

[Alhaitham does indeed pick up on this rather abrupt (from his point of view anyway) reaction from Sidestep, and its enough to have him pause for a second himself as he silently observes the way the other suddenly becomes so shaken for no reason. From what he can see the chess game is going fine enough—the match is going well and Sidestep is holding his ground well enough despite what Alhaitham is throwing at him.

...well, he does look a little gaunt there, he supposes...]

You're free to ask for a break if you need to eat or use the bathroom. [He says somewhat casually as he makes his own move after, noting afterwards that the move that the other just did was... not great. Clearly something has wavered their focus, but he has no idea what that might be.]

I'm fine.

(They snap, refocusing on the game. Their next play is overly aggressive, sloppy, leaving an opening that Alhaitham could use to destroy them if he wanted.

Fuck! They hate this world and everyone in it.

Should have known better than to let themself care.)

[People being snappish at Alhaitham isn't anything new, so he takes it without batting an eye. But that being said, this sudden shift of demeanor is curious, and its getting Alhaitham wondering a lot more. The last time he played chess with somebody and they got this shaken up....

His mind immediately flashes back to his meeting with Xehanort, and how the other was also just as rattled by what Alhaitham told him of this world. This reaction feels similar enough, but its not as if he'd said anything out loud—

...

Hm.

Alhaitham doesn't say anything, but the next time Sidestep attempts to read his mind, they'll instead get a recitation of a certain Light Novel plot synopsis.

At the same time, Alhaitham does indeed take advantage of the mistake that Sidestep has done and swiftly move in to start ending the game.]

(They notice the shift in focus without noticing, a sudden bolt of terror that startles them badly, so that instead of figuring out how best to escape the very precarious check that Alhaitham has pushed him into they instead stare at him for a moment with eyes as confused as they are colorless.

It takes a moment to realize that wasn't his terror, but their own.

Huh.

They reach out to poke his mind, find out what had startled them, but ...huh. There's a shield now. A stupid shield--seriously, what is this crap--but still a shield.

Did he...?)

[Well if that staring isn't enough to clue him in, then the strange... poking sensation that he feels is more than enough. He huffs, bemused, but it doesn't hide his thinly veiled annoyance that can be felt from how dry his voice gets when he speaks.]

Usually, one asks for permission before they start rummaging through the thoughts of another.

[Granted, his only other experience with a mind reader has been Nahida, but she is very polite about it.]

And usually people who don't want their thoughts read don't blast them everywhere.

(The mind reading is kind of always on regardless, they can't stop. Even if they want to.)

[If it were possible Alhaitham's expression flattens even more. Falling back to excuses now, he sees.]

Our thoughts are no more open than a book that has been left out. The choice to read it is still squarely on you.

[Alhaitham certainly would have known before if he was blasting his thoughts as so eloquently described, but the fact that past experiences have not suggested as such tells him otherwise. As far as he's concerned, its still the other's choice to go about reading minds.]

(And both Sidestep's fist and teeth clench at that, because people always like to think they know how telepathy works when they don't actually have a clue.

And maybe if it were someone they knew they might try the patient explaining things route but man, fuck this stranger.

They make a very exaggerated eyeroll.)

Sure, because some random norm knows how my powers work better than I do. Just because I can try not to listen doesn't mean I don't end up hearing things anyway.

(And maybe they don't want to spend all their time doing the psychic equivalent of jamming their fingers in their ears so they don't accidentally pick up on any conversations people are having nearby!)

Edited 2024-11-30 12:09 (UTC)

[All Alhaitham is getting from this is skillissue.jpeg.

Just making a careless shrug now, clearly unphased by what the other has just said.]

Sure I don't, but from the sounds of it, neither do you.

[After all, if they know their powers as well as they said they do, then clearly this should not have been an issue at all. The fact that it is thus proves otherwise.]

(What the fuck?!

What. The. Fuck?!

Look. It's really hard to describe the actual combination of completely bewildered by this seemingly intelligent man's total lack of anything resembling logic in his reasoning and the building furious rage.

It's much easier to describe Sidestep launching themself across the table. It's a stupid decision, one that will draw attention to them or get them put in jail, but what is anyone going to do? Send them back to the farm? Can't fucking do that here, assholes.

Hey Alhaitham, Sidestep's fist is now coming toward your face.)