#anywhere

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Meanwhile back at alaska.....

Another day, another learning experience, and Sylvi finds herself in her element, more or less. That is charming people. The party had good after effects for her.

Currently she's talking to the guest, Dame Darcia Hawkwillow, ap Gwydion. As they play a game, "Thank you so much. The baron prefers poker or black jack"

"I'm guessing my parents wouldn't be pleased with me gambling...though my dad did teach me poker with pennies." Sylvi grins slightly. No matter how kind they are, she's still hesitant to give most sidhe a full smile.

"Your father sounds like an entertaining guy, when I arrived I found myself a warrioress in the body of a ballet dancer. Physicality was there, but 'mumysy and daddy' expected me to be a perfect lady in all my interests."

She's mulling over whether to move her knight or her bishop....

A glance at the dainty-looking sidhe, and a nod. "That must have been really frustrating. Um...tea parties and dancing and things like that?"

"A lot of it was quite nice, the very definition of 'Noble World problems' I'm sure, but it is vexing to feel pre defined," The beauty eyes her own options while the troll thinks it over

She settles on letting the knight venture bravely into enemy territory...but not too bravely, as the piece does have some backup from other pieces.

The encroachment seems to go unnoticed, or does it? there's two prongs of Darcia's pieces spreading further down the sides, "And I did like the sting of battle. Your own chieftain is a Gwydion, I hear. I don't know if she enjoys a good scrape, but many falcons do. Fortunately I evaded the ballet until marriage tract my parents got me on, though I still keep in shape for it. It's a bit like athletic meditation." A curious glance, "What of you? You seem skilled at diplomacy for one so young. Is that what you hope to do in the fae world?"

"Chieftain Brekke is fierce in battle," Sylvi nods, carefully trying to respond to her moves in the game. Then she colors slightly. "I don't know if I'm all that skilled, but I just try to...well...be polite?" It doesn't seem to be quite the right word. "My mother is the Hearth of our Lodge, so a lot of what she does is making sure people can be comfortable. I guess it rubbed off." A pause as she shifts a pawn to block an advance. "As for what I want to do...I'm still sorting that out. I do like visiting places, and finding out how people live there...but I'm not sure exactly how that would translate into a role in the fae world."

"Maybe you'll make a role no one realized was desperately needed? " a tack tack as suddenly it seems that the knight she had ventured out has folks facing it from the front, and the sides. "I know many a noble hold that has positions for travelers. Messengers, Heralds, Troubadours, scouts of course. "

A quiet nod as she considers the options for her knight...and instead leaves it where it is, but moves a rook to threaten one of the pieces threatening the knight...and guarding the queen.

The Gwydion's eyes spark with pleasure at getting a real game going here. And her own knight instead snags and kills a bishop that was barely involved at all. Odd move, nibbling at the back side where the rook was.

Sylvi's puzzled by that, but doesn't like having a knight in the backfield. Still...she doesn't want to just react... After a moment, the imperiled knight moves to claim a pawn and move back to guard the spaces where the sidhe's knight might escape to. A bit more exposed, now. A risk. "May I ask when you came to serve the hold you are with now?"

"Oh, I'm not. I'm an errant currently, I do visit here from time to time. And I did once swear to a lord in Pacifica, the County of Peaceful Intentions. Despite it's name I Saw plenty of action..." And she moves a pawn further down the now totally unprotected side with protection of its own. Sylvi's not sure how she can stop it from becoming a queen.

An exhale as she looks over the board. "Why did you leave his service?" She might not be able to stop the pawn from becoming a queen...but she does attack the piece that's guarding the sidhe's existing queen.

The gwydion seems to wince a bit as she loses a rook of her own, and that's gratifying.. This forces her to bring her queen into play and slay the offending piece, and thus slows her progress on getting the second queen- for now. At the question, "A new lord took over, a good lord to be sure, a fine and upstanding lord who anyone would be proud to serve but I became a hindrance to his hold's order and so, withdrew myself"

Sylvi frowns, moving a pawn further into enemy territory herself. "I'm curious to know how you became a hindrance, but it sounds like it might not be a pleasant story to have to tell."

Sylvi's pawn gets forward, and so does Darcia's, but as Darcia was closer, "A queen she is now" Then a breath, "It's very sentimental. The new Lord and I were infrequent lovers. I liked him, perhaps it bordered on what might have grown to love for me. He? it turned out was indeed in love. Threats arose, and I found myself within the walls. Quests awaited, I found myself watching others go on them. He...tried to protect me. Grumbling from others began to arise about how I was 'favored' even as I increasingly felt trapped. Not his intent, but love's darker brambles can turn to protection to possessive."

Sylvi swoops her knight back into the backfield, next to the threatened queen and, after her, the king. "So...it's like he didn't let you be what you're meant to be." A nod. "That must have been hard." A pause. "Was he mad when you left?"

"I wish he'd been mad. It would have been easier if he were mad," She bites her lip and eyes the risks to take with her threatened Queen now that she's just gained a new one, "I'm a Gwydion. I understand anger. I was angry myself in a lot of ways. No, he was hurt. I had to wound him to leave him, and I don't mean in body."

And she moves a spare knight of her own to protect the threatened queen.

Sylvi moves another pawn forward, making an egress for her own queen should it be necessary. "I'm sorry, Dame Darcia. I didn't mean to bring up pain."

"No no, you were polite but curious and I'd not have told you unless some part of me wanted to," raising a brow "if not, you are the largest bluest pooka lass I've ever seen" A smile "Love conquers all, but Honor in the Seelie Code comes first. Some insist it is a Gwydion Bard who wrote it in that order for a reason. I believe it. Loving someone without honoring them is, well, it's a love without spine, no matter how much heart"

And the new queen shoots and gains on the other pawn that would be queen

A slight grin at being called a pooka. "You never said...what house was he?" Her own queen makes a desperate strike, taking out one of her opponent's adventurous pawns.

"A Fiona, they can be very prone to that sort of thing. Some are Casanovas and dilettantes as you hear, in it for enjoyment and whirlwind romance, but others fall deep and fast for one, and ..well, for them it is what they hope for but it also one of the few ways one can know fear."

As her pawn falls, Darcia makes to make sure that pawn that almost became queen is now dead dead and.. oh dead.

That pawn falls...but the very quiet bishop moves into a spot now protected by the queen and two pawns, and threatening the king. "Check." It probably won't last long, but it's nice to be able to say it.

"Have you ever found a house you considered or hoped to join?" ANd yes, she moves to interpose a knight between the check. To take the knight is to risk a Bishop.

A startled blink at the question. "Oh. No, ma'am." A pause, and an attempt at a poker face as she slips her queen into her opponent's back line, separated from her king by only a bishop. "I have...not considered it."

A clack, and now SYlvi is out of both rooks.

"Maybe you'll find 'The Snorting hat' and find out it's opinion" She sighs with a chuckle

"The Snorting Hat?" Sylvi repeats with amusement. "Not the Sorting Hat?" And there aren't many options left, but she moves the bishop to a spot that threatens the Gwydion's bishop rather than her queen. It puts the bishop in jeopardy...but would delay the attack in her backfield.

"When the books first came out, a Duchess, enamoured of the idea, commisioned nockers tailors to great a sorting hat that would allow folks to know how they'd be sorted into the noble houses, which would suit them best. i'm sure the idea was to make each sidhe house sound very grand, and it's no small magic to examine someone's nature and means alike and see which fits them. The problem being is the hats created, there are five last I heard, did not sing the praise of each house as it was put on the head of the curious person. Rather it mentioned flaws and was rather impolite about it. 'In Gwydion you belong I guess, as if in perpetual PMS. All around you no one dare speak untrue, but your butthurt feelings they will rue. You'll rule justly, more or less, as long as no one tells you you're wearing a slutty dress' is..just one example of the poetry delivered."

That almost startles a laugh out of her, but she covers her mouth and shakes her head instead. After a moment, she grins and says, "I have to admit, nockers keep life interesting."

"They do, suffice to say it was a scandal. The hats were smuggled away before the Duchess could order them destroyed. I suppose with poetry like that every house got offended. There was another verse I learned it spouted about Ailil and over compensation but it's evading me at the moment, and we supposed to be ladies, do forgive the crude recounting. But nocker work is scarce shy. Speaking of the nocker tailors, they decided to vacation in other lands. So somewhere out there are 5 snorting hats that embarrass both the person wearing it and one noble house"

The grin is still there. "I bet I know some people who would love to fine one."

The Lady during this is doing her best to guard her king while using her queens to whittle down the remaining big boys of SYlvi's side -Knights and bishops now that rooks are gone

Sylvi's now down to a handful of pawns guarding the king, a bishop, and her queen....and her bishop takes the Gwydion's bishop that was the only defense between the two queens.

"You're not going down without a fight" The Ladyknight observes approvingly "And yes, the pooka demand alone..." A chuckle

"No, ma'am....though I definitely feel pretty overwhelmed here."

"Well, overwhelming you was my goal so.." A soft smile, "But you're really pretty good for one so young. " And that's true. Sylvi rallies and in flicts a lot of damage , almost getting another pawn down for a shift and.. but eventually "Check and mate.. I think"

A sigh and a nod. "Yes, and thank you." She knocks over her king and offers to shake Dame Darcia's hand.

The shake is given, and at troll thane, who looks rather disgusted comes in, "Forgive the intrusion, there's ah..Nunnehi here to see you. Emmisary, it..she says her name is Dika-Hannah?"

"Oh!" Sylvi stands suddenly. "Yes...I will come and meet her. Thank you. Dame, please excuse me."

"Of course, well played" She says and looks to the Thane, "I don't suppose you play chess?"// "uhm. go fish?"// She sighs

Sylvi heads to the entryway, pauses for a moment to remember what Dika-Hannah looks like before being hit with it again, bracing herself...and then she goes to meet her friend. "You're here!"