worthallthis | The Last Voyages: IC Inbox

"I know." Godric is an ancient vampire. He can wait a minute or two more while he makes sure the metal arm is under control. And his emotions, too.

Looking down at the board without really thinking about the pieces, he says, "We were bringing order. Give the world the freedom it deserves. Don't know the details of how exactly. If they ever told me, they're gone now." Though he did make some educated guesses based on the mantra "order only comes through pain" and the amount of guns on that helicarrier.

"Hm. Freedom is...not ever as easy as all that." He inspects the board, patient as Bucky anticipated.

"I told you that I had been bought. Put into slavery. The freedom my Master enjoyed was bought from me. Just as the freedom they promised they would give the world would come at your expense, I imagine. Freedom is an excuse."

A lot of people are gonna die, Buck. That's not even a
memory he needs, that's from the helicarrier, he remembers is perfectly clearly. "Expense of a lot of people," he corrects. "According to Rogers." And really, had he had any reason to lie about that? Given the specs on that helicarrier, making it potentially pretty likely that a lot of people could die, it even seemed reasonable to think.

He finally brings a hand back above the board to move another pawn out.

"He stopped it. Rogers did. He only stopped fighting me when he'd stopped the helicarriers from whatever they were supposed to do."

Sometimes Godric wants to just retreat into himself when people talk to him. Especially Bucky and Steve. He wants to help them. Wants them so desperately to be happy or content, and he's fighting a losing battle.

What the fuck is a helicarrier? What happened to him? To Steve? They're both so stubborn. He needs so much context and things can't be simple ever. Trying to figure them out is like trying to do a puzzle with no edges upside down. He gets a few pieces in that fit but it's all a mess in front of him.

But it's worth it. They're worth it.

None of this shows on the outside. He calmly watches Bucky's move before he quickly sets up another pawn. The only sign of distraction is that he's left his queen completely open.

"And when he stopped them, what happened?"

It probably doesn't help that he's trying to get the story out of someone who only talks in fits and starts, most of the time. Getting a whole proper timeline out of that isn't easy. "The helicarriers fired on each other. Rogers got me out from under some debris when they fell apart. Then he wouldn't fight me. He just kept. Talking. So I hit him in the face. A lot."

He doesn't quite sound guilty, but he does sound unhappy about it.

However, no matter how unhappy he might be, he's too well trained to miss an opening. So here comes a bishop to take that queen.

He's lost, but Godric is going to play it out to checkmate. It's good practice for Bucky, and it's something for him to focus on. He shifts a knight around, protecting his king for the moment.

"He does that," he agrees. He's learning that violence and fighting are just a way of life for them, no matter how they might feel about it. "Talks, I mean. I'm glad you stopped. I like him, and I'd rather you kept him around."

It's not over yet, man, that bishop can't do anything to the king. B jumps one of his own knights out, for now, taking one of Godric's pawns. "It made me pretty mad, at the time." He considers, then adds, "Still does, sometimes. He says the stupidest shit for a smart guy. But I'm glad, too."

He still has nightmares about punching that face all the way in, not stopping at those dumb words. It's why he's holding so strongly to his promise not to hit the guy again. Well, one reason, anyway.

Godric's not worried about the Bishop. He's three or four moves ahead, watching the knight and the opposing queen. But his rook takes that bishop anyway. He's not giving up- just tempering expectations.

He says the stupidest shit for a smart guy. Godric has never agreed with anything more than that.

"We attempted to go to the Enclosure a few days ago," he remarks absently. "But we couldn't stop...arguing for that very reason." He smiles to remember it. Time gives him perspective.

That's interesting. He moves the knight again, leapfrogging in to take the pawn right next to Godric's second bishop. "What were you arguing about?"

"Everything," he tells him. "It was not a good night for either of us, I'm afraid. But these things happen. It's not possible to get along with someone all of the time."

He moves his king over, protecting it from harm. Short term gain, but he can sense the end is near.

He considers the board, then plucks the second knight out, not taking anything, but putting it in play where none of the open pawns can take it. "No, probably not. Some days are just bad. Or nights, I guess. If he can still talk to me after all the shooting and punching, though. He'll still talk to you."

"We parted on good terms, B," he assures him. "I am not worried about Steve. Or you. I trust you."

He brushes his fingers through his short hair as he inspects the board, moving a pawn from the front lines, approaching that knight.

Though he doesn't quite make a skeptical noise, his brows do go up a little bit. Seems a dumb waste of trust, to be honest. "Okay." He moves the last pawn out, clearing room for a rook to join the fray next.

He's on the defensive, moving his own bishop back, out of the way of the rogue rook.

"You don't believe me." It's not quite a question, not quite a statement.

"I believe you. Just seems kind of." He chews the inside of his cheek and searches for the right word. "Pointless? I do what I'm told." So there's not really anything to trust except whether the person giving the orders has someone's best interest in mind, as far as he's concerned.

Even if his programming has gotten so corroded, after these past months. The trigger words are still in there. And he hasn't exactly been given any orders he really doesn't want to do.

The rook takes one of the pawns, instead of the bishop.

"That isn't what I mean by trust," he tells him softly. "I am used to people doing what I tell them to do. And I'm fairly certain that if something happened, I would be able to stop you or get away. But I am also used to people resenting me when I speak with them."

Bucky's move means that he can actually push forward a bit, trapping his knight.

"I trust you to...well, to give me the benefit of the doubt." He frowns, as that isn't really the phrase he wants to use, but it is what he has.

That makes a frown, even as he gives up on the knight and moves the rook to the far end of the board to put the king in check again. "Why would someone resent you. You're kind. And you try to help."

Damn. He moves the King again, retreating him behind a pawn. "Remember, if I miss the check and do not save my King, then it is an automatic win for you," he tells him, a way to stall as he thinks about how best to answer his question.

"I had two underlings who were the closest to me- Stan and Isabel. Isabel had a human named Hugo and she loved him very much, but he betrayed us. Betrayed my nest. Rather than sentence him to death, I allowed him to live, but exiled him from my area for his own safety. Stan did not agree with my decision and I knew that he hated me for it. He had been disagreeing with all of my decisions up until his end, and it affected our relationship. He only followed me, I think, because of the power I had. I did not trust him and he did not trust me."

The rook stays put for now, and he brings out the second bishop instead, into a position that threatens another pawn with the next move, but leaves it open for Godric's rook.

"You didn't trust each other because you didn't agree with each other. But I don't. Rogers doesn't always. Agree. Or is it because of the hate?" At least he can truthfully say there's no one on the Barge he hates. He's not fond of a couple people, but anyone he hates is back in the world he left behind.

"I don't know when he began to hate me. He did something...unforgivable and hid it from me. That point, when he committed that atrocious act, was probably when it started. So though I trusted him, he did not feel the same."

He takes that bishop easily, setting it aside with a satisfying click against the desk.

"Steve and I don't always agree. But I trust him. You and Steve might not always agree, either, but you can probably trust him."

There's a slight wrinkle of his nose, very slight. Trust. That's not a thing he even really understands, as it pertains to him. Sure, actual people can trust or not trust each other, but him? There's always fear. Can't have trust and fear at the same time. He can like people, and he'll probably even admit it, but trusting them is just... not a thing he thinks he's capable of.

He hitches a shoulder a little, doesn't answer that, and moves the trapped knight to take another pawn now that the threatening rook is out of the way.

He lets the silence stretch for a moment as he thinks. He plans through the moves, moving one of his final front-line pawns forward to press the knight. It's a last ditch attempt to stall the game a bit longer.

After the move, he switches up his language, finding the natural end to the conversation as a good way to teach him more.

"Swear words or questions today?" he wonders with a hint of a smile, eager for this to go in a different direction.

Moving on is great. Awesome. A big relief, too, because damned if he could come up with anything to actually say on the topic of trust that wouldn't probably make Godric sad.

"Questions," he answers, and contemplates the board for a minute, himself, before moving the rook down on Godric's end of the board to threaten the king again, coming right up next to where it moved up a space behind the pawn. Easy to take the rook, but it still requires an extra move on Godric's part to do it. "Already got a couple swears."

"A good choice." He places his finger on the king for a moment. He eventually takes the rook, though it leaves the king vulnerable again.

He speaks a phrase, then, in English, "It means 'who are you' and can either be asking for a name or, if said with a little inflection, an accusation."

B repeats it dutifully, then moves his knight to take another pawn and put the king in check again. "Are there different conjugations depending on who you are asking?" He's got a bunch of languages with formal vs informal vs disrespectful "you", plural "you", all that fun stuff.

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