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[feintofhart]

[ prettification to come! ]

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[entreats]

I don't want to work, Claude. I want to play games.

[ Which probably is what he meant anyway, but-- it can't hurt to emphasize this, right. Especially when he might be an old man secretly trying to lure her into doing chores, it happens all the time in the movies!! ]

Besides, are you that sure you'd be an actual challenge for me in any game we play?

[feintofhart]

Okay, okay, no work! I promise! Not even work disguised as fun. Which is a shame. My job is pretty fun, you know.

But I'll have you know, I was chess champ back at the Academy. They don't call me Master Tactician for nothing!

[entreats]

[ ...

Completely ignoring practically all of the bragging in there without missing a beat: ]

Who taught you how to play chess?

[feintofhart]

I taught myself. And then I lost a bunch, so I had to teach myself more.

Don't tell me that you've been instructed by some famed chess expert or something like that.

[entreats]

That depends entirely on your own definition of famed chess expert.

By which I mean my mother taught me. She isn't a professional chess player in any way, but she's the smartest person I've ever known in my entire life. So I feel like that counts.

[feintofhart]

I'm the smartest person I've ever met, so I feel like that counts too.

Kidding! Kidding! I promsie my ego isn't THAT big. [ Are you sure, Claude. ] It's great that your mom taught you. You must have been pretty young then, right? Learning chess at that age is downright prodigious.

[entreats]

[ Okay, Claude. You of all people are not allowed to make a joke like that. Because Ange is pretty sure that it's at least partially less of a joke than he's making it out to be.

Maybe not entirely, but-- she sees you, Claude. She sees you!

At least she's fond enough of him that she'll let him get away with it. This time. ]

I was six years old back then.

I'm not sure if I already fully understood the game though. It was such a long time ago. But I played by myself after that, and mom did teach me some really unique techniques that I feel really help with playing chess. Stuff like flipping the chessboard, you know?

[feintofhart]

Learning at all is still pretty impressive. Don't sell yourself short, here. Though now I really want to play against you and see which of us will reign supreme.

I'll know I've really won when you get to flipping the chessboard. Any other hot tips? I bet you I could hide your pieces when you're not looking. That's a surfire road to victory.

[entreats]

Where are you going to hide those pieces, Claude? In that big mouth of yours?

[ If only Ange allowed herself to use cute emojis the way teenage girls like her were meant to, then she could have added an appropriately cheeky emoji like (o`ꇴ´o) to that statement..

Now she'll have to hope the words are enough to convey the tone. It's fond teasing, okay. ]

[feintofhart]

Ooh, good idea. Let me choose the chessboard so I can make sure the pieces are edible. I don't fancy what a knight would feel like going down my throat. Too pointy.

[entreats]

[ Oh no.

He's absolutely outdoing her. Even if Claude can't see it, maybe he can realize from the mere words sent his way that Ange is making a face at her tablet right now, surprised and just a little bit horrified by his answer. ]

Did you seriously just imagine that?

Claude, gross!!!

[feintofhart]

You're the one who brought it up! You can't blame me for taking it to its logical conclusion!

[entreats]

You're taking it way too far!

This is no way to be talking to a young lady from an upstanding family!!

[ Please note how she never uses this argument otherwise.

Only to try and weasel out of Claude's teasing domination. ]

[feintofhart]

In case you've forgotten, I outrank you. So if we're talking about upstanding families, I'm allowed to say whatever I want!

Goddess, can you imagine the Queen? Horrifying.

[entreats]

Do you want me to start treating you like a you-know-what?

[ Yes, even over text and between the two of them she's making sure to not name the actual word. That's apparently how strongly the impression that Claude doesn't want his secret to get out came across to her - or maybe just how much actually keeping his secret means to her. ]

Because I could. And I would.

And I'm pretty sure you'd start hating that real quick.

[feintofhart]

Now, now, Ange. I think that even if you treated me as a you-know-what, you'd be treating me just the same. Don't pretend as though it would have made a difference.

[ ... ]

Maybe I'd even be treated a little worse.

[entreats]

[ Like a petulant kid: ]

I should be treating you a little worse.

[ Don't kid yourself, Ange. You're too fond of him to do that.

But she can't let that show, so-- ]

Maybe I should be telling everyone here you're a weirdo who eats chess pieces for fun.

[feintofhart]

Do your worst. My reputation is not so precious that it couldn't handle an eaten chess piece or two. People might even believe you.

I'm very annoying, you know.

[ And everyone is aware. Claude could stand to sound less cheerful about it, though. ]

[entreats]

Would you seriously be okay with people in this place thinking you eat chess pieces?!

Be serious!! Don't turn this into a stupid joke!!! I really need to know this!!

[feintofhart]

I can think of worse things they could be saying about me. Haven't you seen how up-in-arms everyone's gotten about my selling hashish?

[entreats]

[ ... ]

People have?

[ Apparently it's news to her. Maybe it's since she's just tuned out some parts of the network at this point.. ]

Why?

[feintofhart]

Hell if I know. They'll chainsmoke tobacco and drink themselves half to death every weekend, but apparently there's some moral qualm with smoking a bit of hashish every now and then. It's very common where I'm from, I'll have you know. And it's considered to be far healthier for you than drink.

[entreats]

[ Hm.

The more Ange reads this, the more she realizes she's missing quite a bit of context here. Sorry to not be as hip as you, Claude, but she can't help but ask: ]

What is hashish in the first place?

[ Too innocent for life.. ]

[feintofhart]

A smokeable herb, like tobacco. It's mood-altering in much the same way that alcohol is, apt to make you a little silly and drowsy, just without the hangover.

Some call it reefer, or marijuana. Back home, we call it hashish.

[entreats]

I've never heard of that before.

[ Yeah, because you're a nerd, Ange. ]

How strange that people are so weird about you selling that when pretty much all adults just drink alcohol all the time, and you're saying that's the same thing.

View it as a positive thing, Claude. Maybe you're such an amazingly good person that people really can't imagine anything else to complain about when it comes to you.