Sometimes one needed to be outside for the sake of it. Sometimes one need to be in a public place. The Steward was in the backyard of his family estate. He wore a suit of clothes. His new grand design as Pestilence was still in effect. He wore not a metallic suit, but a suit made of fine fabric. Recently he had acquired a new lease on life, and was in a constant movement of putting forward his best step.
The Steward sat leaning back into a chair. He held his hands together almost as if he were in prayer. He would have been if only the middle fingers were not rolling back his bottom lip. He was looking at a chess set. He sat across no one. An empty chair. He was trying to do the calculus in his head. He knew at this rate that a check mate was in bound in four turns. He was delaying it. He reached forward and acquired the black bishop. He moved the bishop into a defensive position which protected his knight from the enemy queen from taking it. Sousuke liked the knight piece the best in chess. It was the one peice in the game that had the most unique movement style. Nothing else could move in an L shape. It was either forward, backward, or diagonal. He let go of the bishop.
The Steward then got up from his seat and moved to the other side of the table. He sat in the opposing seat now. There was a singular peice of jewelry on the table. A silver coloured ring. He took the ring and placed it on his index finger. He looked at the board. He held himself differently. He tapped his index fingers together four times, then eight more times. He then tapped his pinky fingers together. He frowned at the predicament. The Queen was the most versatile piece in a game of chess. It had all of the movement styles except that of the knight. When he could get a spawn to the other side of the board, he would trade it in for another Queen. He did this because there was only one queen in the game. He was very close to getting another Queen. He again tapped his fingers together. He could get another queen in four turns. This would allow him to have a tighter control of the board. He moved the pawn forward. He would not risk his Queen to take the knight, which was protected by the bishop.
Sousuke would remove the ring from his finger and get up and move to yet another table. At this table he had a game of checkers going on. He would take his seat and he would put a gold ring on his ring finger. To some this would perhaps be madness or brilliance. The simple truth in all of this? Life was a multi layered game. Not a game for fun, but a tactical one. There were different rules for different moments. There were many many things at work in this much larger world. This was one of those things. While a game of checkers was different from chess, there were some things that remained the same. Get to the end of the board, and gain an advancement.
The Steward sat leaning back into a chair. He held his hands together almost as if he were in prayer. He would have been if only the middle fingers were not rolling back his bottom lip. He was looking at a chess set. He sat across no one. An empty chair. He was trying to do the calculus in his head. He knew at this rate that a check mate was in bound in four turns. He was delaying it. He reached forward and acquired the black bishop. He moved the bishop into a defensive position which protected his knight from the enemy queen from taking it. Sousuke liked the knight piece the best in chess. It was the one peice in the game that had the most unique movement style. Nothing else could move in an L shape. It was either forward, backward, or diagonal. He let go of the bishop.
The Steward then got up from his seat and moved to the other side of the table. He sat in the opposing seat now. There was a singular peice of jewelry on the table. A silver coloured ring. He took the ring and placed it on his index finger. He looked at the board. He held himself differently. He tapped his index fingers together four times, then eight more times. He then tapped his pinky fingers together. He frowned at the predicament. The Queen was the most versatile piece in a game of chess. It had all of the movement styles except that of the knight. When he could get a spawn to the other side of the board, he would trade it in for another Queen. He did this because there was only one queen in the game. He was very close to getting another Queen. He again tapped his fingers together. He could get another queen in four turns. This would allow him to have a tighter control of the board. He moved the pawn forward. He would not risk his Queen to take the knight, which was protected by the bishop.
Sousuke would remove the ring from his finger and get up and move to yet another table. At this table he had a game of checkers going on. He would take his seat and he would put a gold ring on his ring finger. To some this would perhaps be madness or brilliance. The simple truth in all of this? Life was a multi layered game. Not a game for fun, but a tactical one. There were different rules for different moments. There were many many things at work in this much larger world. This was one of those things. While a game of checkers was different from chess, there were some things that remained the same. Get to the end of the board, and gain an advancement.
His continuation with the game grossly irrelevant, it was simply an excuse. She had come here on purpose, she had been watching him for hours. She was waiting for the proper moment to arise to ask a question of the Steward. So she would descend from the roof, she was more cat than woman in how she moved, it was utterly silent. She she approached the Steward, there was a chill in the air. That was her greatest tell since her loss of humanity. The shadows seemed livelier about her, the darkness would move independent of their source and bite and claw at the air. She seemed wrong. Well, Sousuke had not seen the hybrid in quite some time. She looked tired, paler than what was natural even for her. She had been this way since she had returned from Tea Country, sickly and tired. In truth she was simply starving but too stubborn to partake in the process of consumption. Despite the obvious appearance of exhaustion, there was a predatory glint in her eye. There was a part of her that saw Sousuke as a piece of meat.
Michi stared at Sousuke and Sousuke stared back. The two were observing each other. Michi would smell metal and oil on Sousuke's person. He may not have smelled like a human, but he was very much one. It was a confirmed fact he was not a demon. He was certainly not an Ancient. He was certainly not a hybrid either. Sousuke had metallic limbs. Some might argue he was more machine than human. That was a question of perspective. The stare he was giving Michi was a cold stare. He noted the shadows moving about her, and the chill in the temperature. He knew this feeling as it was always present when Kazuki was about. Mikaboshi did not bring about a chill when he was present. He wondered and pondered about the nature of hybrids. Michi looked unwell. Although this was the first time he had seen her in this flesh or having this appearance, she did not look well. She admitted to him that she was in need of his mind.