you must learn control (open)

[Ethereal-Star]

Once again the unicorn was surprised. Chestnut wondered what his life must have been like to be so mistrusting and rigid, thinking a harmless game such as 'I Spy' were some kind of test.

He quickly recovered once more, and shook his head at Mathew. "Mathew, Mathew, Mathew, tsk, tsk, tsk." he made sure to say this in as playful a manner as he could. "It is only a game, nothing more. And no telepathic skills are needed. If you do not want to play this game, I suggest another instead. Sooo, hopscotch? Tic-tac-toe? Pin the tail on the dragon? Come on, one of these must interest you!" Chestnut looked hopefully at the boy, hoping he would take the hint.

"Or we could go visit the local tavern and go bobbing for apples! Or pears! What do you say, Mathew?"

[R.R. Pebble]

Mathew was still unconvinced that the unicorn wasn't testing him. 100 years of being tested by elves can have that effect.

He pulled a board and some wooden pieces out of his bag. "Checkers?" he asked. "It's good for focus." and he needed to focus if he was going to keep his control....

[Ethereal-Star]

"Ooh, I love checkers! See, that's what I'm talking about! Let's play!" Chestnut eagerly sat down on his haunches and waited for Mathew to set up the board and pieces.

"It's been aaaaaaggess since I've played me some checkers!"

[R.R. Pebble]

Mathew was trying hard not to think about the last time he played checkers, for fear he might start crying. And experience had shown him that level of loss of control could have... disastrous results.

Instead he focused on the board: setting out each piece methodically and planning moves and countermoves in his head. When the board was set up, he said respectfully, "You take the first move."

It should be perhaps noted that, without asking Chestnut's opinion on the matter, he had set the unicorn up as BLACK and himself as RED. He always played RED these days; it felt to him fitting for the mark of elven blood on his soul.

[Ethereal-Star]

Chestnut eyed the board and pieces with a careful eye. He didn't mind being set up as black, after all there were only two choices in checkers, red or black anyway. It didn't matter to him, the unicorn was glad for the game and the chance for Mathew to lighten up a little.

After a couple moments of careful observation, Chestnut made his first move. He pushed with his hoof the top piece on the leftmost of his side of the board, diagonally one space to the right. He hoped his knowledge of checkers wasn't too rusty, but then again this was meant to be fun and playful and not a fierce competition.

Glancing up at Mathew, Chestnut stated, "Your turn."

[R.R. Pebble]

Mathew did not take his eyes from the board. He played his moves methodically.

If Chestnut looked up, however, he might have noticed that the sky had finally cleared from the earlier rainstorm.

[WildsFlower]

Soaking wet and shivering, Maria was glad for the sky clearing.  As she walked through the town she spotted the temple.  No one would ever rent a room to a girl who looked like she was 5 years old, and she was sick of being sent to orphanages.
Thinking it looked like a nice place to sleep she walked to it.  Wringing out her cloths as she walked in she saw the strangest thing.  It was a horse (not knowing what a unicorn was) and a man playing chess.  She burst out laughing.  She couldn't help it, after all of the stress she had been through this was the most ridiculous thing she had ever seen.
"I must finally be going crazy!"  She laughed out. 

[Ethereal-Star]

While the unicorn was waiting for Mathew to take his turn, he idly glanced up, noticing that the sky had cleared to a soft blue again. White puffy clouds were taking fuller form as the rest of the storm finally left the vicinity. Chestnut smiled at this. It seemed as though the boy were finally calming down and learning to relax, at least for right now he was.

He was about to comment on this when girlish laughter met his stallion ears. Interested, he looked over to where it was coming from and saw a little girl carrying a green backpack over one shoulder laughing her head off at the two of them. Her blue-green eyes shone with both mirth and kindness, although the former was more evident now for some reason Chestnut didn't quite understand. Although he supposed it was indeed a funny sight to see a unicorn playing checkers with a little boy.

Chestnut harrumphed but nonetheless grinned in merriment and beckoned the girl over with a large blue tufted hoof. "I'm happy that you find this amusing little one, but why don't you come over here and introduce yourself? I'll start." Pointing at himself with a hoof curved in slightly, he indicated to himself. "I'm Chestnut, a unicorn resident of this fair village you see before you. I don't believe I've seen you around before? I thought I've met all the little children around La'marri?"

[WildsFlower]

Maria was taken aback when she saw the magnificent horn on this horses head, but even more so she was taken aback when he talked.  Eyes going wide at his voice she stuttered out:
"I..I'm Ma..Maria Haystack."  Trying to say the last word with a bit more confidence. 
At that point her curiosity got the best of her.  She cautiously walked half way over, placed her hands on her hips, scrunched her eyebrows together thinking and asked:
"Why can you talk?"

[Ethereal-Star]

Chestnut's eyes glittered in playful mischief and amusement as Maria asked her question. "Why can I talk? Why, all unicorns that I know of like myself are able to talk. After all, we are of celestial origins and as such, speech is no hindrance to us." He neighed a little and shook his head in a silly manner, then grinned at the girl, big white teeth shining in all their toothy glory.

"So, Maria Haystack, care to watch our little game of checkers here? I'd invite you to join in, but sadly this is only a two-person game. Perhaps later, you and I can play some checkers if you want." He looked back at Mathew at this time to note his reaction to Maria's arrival.

"I'll let my checkers partner introduce himself."

[R.R. Pebble]

Mathew looked up after playing his move.
Then he looked quickly away. "I'm Mathew" he muttered to the floor. He sneaked another glance at her. The look in his eyes wasn't angry but it might have been envious, or was that nostalgia?
"Where are you from?" he asked with interest that almost didn't sound forced.

[WildsFlower]

Still wary of this talking... what did he call himself a unicorn?... Maria turned her attention to Mathew. 
"I'm from the edge of Connlaoth."  She stated a little sadly as she plopped herself down too watch this strange game. 
Thinking she should ask a question back to be polite Maria asked:  "Do you play with talking horses.. I mean uhm.. unihorns" casting a questioning glance over at the majestic creature "a lot?"

[R.R. Pebble]

Mathew had no idea where Connlaoth was. At least it wasn't fairy country, that much he was sure of.

"No." he said, rather too abruptly.

[Ethereal-Star]

Chestnut watched their interaction with interest. It would do Mathew good to socialize more. He needed to break out of that shell he had constructed around himself.

Taking his turn then, moving another checker piece across the board, he spoke up again. "Mathew here is a great checkers partner. Smart and methodical too."

Looking over at Maria, the unicorn asked her a question. "So Connloath, eh? What brings you all the way to La'marri?"

[WildsFlower]

Maria cast her now green watery eyes down to the ground. 
"Well I.." She began in a soft voice before pausing.  Suddenly she looked up with a new fight in her eyes. 
"I am an adventurer!  I travel lands far and wide searching for the next big adventure!"  She held a fake smile on her face, but made up for it with the fire in her eyes.

[Ethereal-Star]

Chestnut observed the little girl when she cast her eyes down to the ground, the hint of tears glistening in her green eyes. He didn't mean to make her upset and was glad she perked right back up, at least she attempted to make herself sound strong and confident again. He decided to humor her on this.

"Adventuring, eh? I do love me some adventures here and there myself! What have you discovered in your adventures, little Maria?"

While Chestnut was unsure what had made her tearful, he chose not to say anything about it, unless it came up in conversation that is.

[WildsFlower]

Maria's eyes went wide, just for an instant.  She hadn't expected to be asked what she had discovered.
"Well...umm..."  Maria began.  "Lots of things!  Like um...  This one time I had these men who attacked me!  I beat them all up!  And guess what!"  She said getting excited.  "They were all bigger than you!"  She jumped to her feet, yelling the end of her sentence and pointed right at Mathew. 

[R.R. Pebble]

Mathew laughed in spite of himself. It was the first laugh that had reached his eyes in a long time.

When he did a wind came up, seemingly from nowhere, knocking him back against the wall. It sent the checkers and board flying off in all directions. The doors of the temple rattled.

It was over as quick as it had begun.

Mathew dusted himself off and returned to the group. "I'm sorry," he said, "I'm just so used to thinking of myself as being your size that..."

This time, he managed to get a lid on his laughter before more than a small breeze had started.

(((OOC: Yes, Mathew just caused a small twister to touch down in the middle of the checkers game. Sorry about that!)))

[Ethereal-Star]

Chestnut harrumphed a small snort when the checkers board and pieces went flying, completely disrupting their little game they had in place. "Aw, there goes my future win!" But he chuckled along with everyone else, enjoying the easy-going atmosphere around them.

To Maria he said, "Yes, I'll bet you showed them!" Winking at her, the unicorn gestured to the misplaced game with his hoof, black and red checker pieces still lying all over the place. "Well, now that our game is supposedly over, what shall we do now?"

[WildsFlower]

Maria was thrown slightly off guard by the random wind, but after seeing a talking unicorn she just rolled with it.
     She looked over at Mathew with skeptical eyes.  "I doubt you were ever as small as me."
     Maria reached down to a red checker piece and looked over at Chestnut.  "Do you play fetch?  I had a dog once, she didn't talk like you do, but she loved to play fetch."