Snort. And Muggle chess!

Cam does better when he doesn't have to telegraph everything he has in mind.

The game is no fun without all the people to persuade! Or maybe he just thinks that because he lost.

Well, even people who lose at chess get kisses. If they are Timothy.

It so happens they are Timothy.

Yay!

Kib is slightly less fun to play chess with.

What, his snark at the chess pieces isn't entertaining? "You're going to advance three squares because there is candy there."

"Really?"

"No, of course not, you're going to advance three squares because you don't have a better idea and that's the one I've got and I'm driving, go on."

It would be really cute without context; with context it is instead horribly sad.

"You know, if you find me so depressing you don't actually have to play chess with me, it was your idea."

"I enjoy spending time with you. It also tends to leave me really really loathing a lot of people, but that's not your fault."

"If you say so."

"I don't actually think I'd be doing you favors by hanging out with you and resenting it. You're not actually worse company for the hating-us-all - and it's sort of useful, for the Killing Curse, to really want Melkors dead -"

"Happy to help. You could ex hypothesi get my Maitimo for added oomph if this is important."

"No, the order of operations is the other way around - if the Killing Curse works on Melkors then we can handle your world, if it can't then your world has to stay paused until we find something that does."

"I see. Lemme know if you need lurid descriptions or anything."

"I don't think so and if I did I'm not sure I'd bother you about it but thank you."

"Wouldn't you? Why not?"

"My loose model of our effect on you is that we should be endeavoring not to share things that sound like plot? I can have Cam conjure my alt's notes or something, rather than accidentally say something that gives you more to worry about."

"You'd just be beside yourself with the impulse to drop hooks, I see."

Sigh. "I - I'm not going to say anything. I haven't, have I. If you want to tell me horrible things I will continue to not say anything. But you're not the first person I'd go to for deeply upsetting information I need to react to correctly on the spot, no."

"'kay."

"Is your Maitimo going to want to die."

"Can't, really, he'd just show up in Mandos and get edited."

"If that weren't true."