hell of a party | Glowfic Constellation

unmarred

"Sounds about right."

middlingalong

"Did you ask for that book or did Bar guess it with her magic bar guessing skills?" Pause. "By the way, Bar, I probably shouldn't have any more pink things anytime soon, cut me off for a while."

Noted.

unmarred

"She guessed."

middlingalong

"Good bar."

Thank you ever so.

unmarred

"Yes, I was very pleased."

middlingalong

Ivan sits at the bar a couple seats down from Linya and her big spread of various books. "Got a guess for me?"

The bar offers him a chess set.

Ivan snorts.

unmarred

middlingalong

"Everybody else in this bar is busy," Ivan tells the bar. "Unless Mark is just killing time over there."

unmarred

"Why, did you want to play chess?"

He hasn't gone back to reading his book since he joined the conversation.

middlingalong

"Bar seems to think I do, and she took one look at me and came up with a pink thing, so she knows what she's doing."

unmarred

"I wouldn't mind a game."

middlingalong

Ivan carries the chess set over to where Mark is sitting and plunks it down. "Black or white?"

unmarred

"I'll play black."

middlingalong

Ivan sets up white on his side, and advances a pawn.

unmarred

Mark responds immediately, without taking time to think.

middlingalong

Chess ensues. Ivan is mediocre.

unmarred

Mark is much better than mediocre. But he seems entertained.

middlingalong

Linyabel Miriat ⍟ "Linya"

Eventually Ivan loses. He flicks his king over.

isthisart

Linya has been watching the latter half of the game, distracted from whatever she was doing.

unmarred

"That was fun," Mark says cheerfully. "Want to play again? How long does it take you to get bored of losing the same game?"

middlingalong

"Eh, two-three times," says Ivan, standing his king up again.

unmarred

"All right."

All pieces back to their positions. Mark takes black again. He still has that tendency not to think about his moves before he makes them.

middlingalong