worthallthis | The Last Voyages: IC Inbox

Godric gets a skeptical look at his right cheek. "You don't want to listen to me. Start and stop my way through that much talking." He's aware of how he sounds, chopping his sentences up into pieces, abrupt and jerky. That's no way to tell a story.

"Don't make decisions for me," he tells him softly. "I enjoy listening to you, B. Please?"

He doesn't try to meet his eyes, but instead focuses on the board.

Ugh fine. B rifles through his mental collection of stories from the shelf behind him, and decides on: "Stand back, said the elephant. I'm going to sneeze. I hate to alarm you, but I don't wish to harm you, so you'd better stand back, I'm going to sneeze."

He might chop pieces of out the recitation, because it seems like a very long poem to recite. But he does have it memorized, and recitation is not exactly an unfamiliar passtime for the first half of the twentieth century. Plus, the rhyming rhythm makes it easier to say.

It's a decidedly silly poem, though. He hopes Godric appreciates what he does for him.

Another pawn takes the knight. That defensive line is there for a reason.

Godric absolutely appreciates it and can't help but keep a smile on his face at it. It's a very silly rhyme with a very silly scheme and there's something that's just so perfect about it.

He's not even bothering with the game much any longer. B can have his knight; he got his revenge anyway. He moves a remaining bishop out, though cautious about those dangerous pawns.

When B's done, he grins. "That was perfect," he tells him. "Thank you."

The story, the poem, is long enough, and he's had to take a couple minute-long breaks in the middle-- that by the time he's done they've practically finished up the game. B is closing in on Godric's king a second time, mostly because he's good at doing multiple things at once, and Godric doesn't seem to care about winning.

"It's on the shelf," he says, and tilts his head at the brightly colored collection of kids books. "It's cute."

"Cute?" he laughs. "I hear that word quite often around here."

He doesn't yield quite as easily this time, moving his pieces defensively to see how long he can last.

"Have you read Aesop's fables?"

He thinks, makes another move, circling around to try and find an opening. "Don't think so. Nothing called that in the books Steve brought."

Godric closes rank on his King, taking one of B's pieces in the process. "WI will bring you a copy from the library. Aesop was a Greek slave who told stories about ethics and morality that were, over time, turned into stories for children. They are entertaining though, and give a set of rules to live by."

"Rules?" There's one way to get his interest. He could use some of those. He doesn't really have a sense of what ethics and morality even mean-- well, he does, but not consciously-- so that could in fact be pretty useful.

He moves a rook to take the piece that just took his, but he's running out of options, too.

Seeing an advantage, Godric presses it, sliding his queen out from hiding to safely secure that rook.

"Ah, well, there is the story of the Lion and the Mouse. A lion was sleeping peacefully in the forest when a little mouse came across him unexpectedly. In her haste to get away, she panicked and ran across his nose, waking him. The lion placed his paw on the little mouse, intending on killing her. The mouse begged for him to spare her, saying that, one day, she would be able to pay him back.

"He laughed at her, but he was generous and he allowed her to leave. Later, he found himself caught in a hunter's trap. He roared so loudly that it woke the entire forest. The little mouse recognized that roar and found him trapped in the net. Using her little teeth, she set him free.

"'See?' she said to him. 'You laughed when I said I could help you. But even a tiny mouse can help a mighty lion.'"

He considers the board a moment, then moves his last bishop to a position to threaten the queen-- which would, if not blocked, threaten the king if he took said queen. "Don't discount the small or weak. And don't laugh at people," he guesses as the rule there.

He isn't letting his queen go easily this time. He blocks it with a pawn, sacrificing it for the greater good.

"That's right. And no kindness is wasted." He thinks a moment. "I'll tell you one more. There was once a dog who had a bone from a kindly butcher. The dog was eager to go home and took the bridge. He happened to look down and see himself reflected in the water. But, being foolish and a little greedy, the dog thought that the dog in the water was real and that it had a bigger bone. The dog jumped in the water to try and steal the bone from the other dog, but ended up paddling for his life to shore. Of course, he lost his bone in the process and had to go home with nothing."

"Don't be stupid and think your reflection is someone else," B says dryly, though he's pretty sure that's not the actual moral of that story. He moves another pawn, putting it temptingly in that pawn's line of fire.

He doesn't move his pawn, instead sliding his queen over to take it. Still blocking his rook, but taking that pawn away for the moment.

"Don't be greedy," he laughs. "But also, yes. Be thoughtful before making decisions. I'll find a book for you and you can read them all for yourself."

"Thanks." Whether or not he winds up internalizing the morality of the tales, it'll be helpful to at least know what it's supposed to be... find out just how off whatever HYDRA programmed him with actually is. (It's pretty off. Just thankfully being mitigated by examples around him and what's left of the actual Bucky Barnes in there.) "I'll add it to the collection."

He glances over his shoulder at his books, and frowns a bit. "Is there a limit? To how long I can keep them? Steve didn't know."

"I can't imagine there is," he tells him softly. "Unless someone else goes looking for them. But your collection is unique."

He follows his gaze to the bookshelf anyway. "I think you're alright keeping them for as long as you need."

It's true that there probably isn't a lot of call for kids books around the barge, there's no real... kids here. Entrapta, maybe, but he can't see her reading Stand back, said the Elephant, really. (Maybe she should, it might do her some good.)

He focuses back on the board and moves another pawn to threaten the queen instead of moving his bishop. "I don't need all of them. Can I just leave some outside the library?" He still can't go in. He's working on it, but for some reason all those shelves with all those books seriously freaks him out.

"I can take them back with me when I go," he tells him. "If you want to leave them in my cabin instead." Which is always unlocked.

He doesn't know why B would be afraid of the library, but if he doesn't want to go in, then there has to be some reason for it. And Godric is frequently there, so it just makes it easier.

He considers his next move, sliding his queen to take the pawn.

Now B takes the protective pawn, and now Godric's king is in danger again. "Thank you. I'll do that." His own best guess is that there's too much choice, but it seems harder to get over than the wardrobe issue, so far. It's kind of frustrating, to be honest, but he's still prodding at it every couple of days. He'll get there. "Especially since Steve wants to get me new books."

Back in check.

"I'm glad that you two are friends," he says, bringing his queen back. It's too late but, again, he's playing until the end. "Or, whatever you wish to call yourselves."

"We're friends," B says, shaking his head a little, chasing the queen with the bishop, though not able to take it this time. "I'm. Reconciled to having them. I guess."

"Reconciled doesn't seem very enthusiastic," he reminds him, switching the Queen out of the bishop's path. It's a fun game of chase.

"And are we friends?" he asks.

"I regularly let you into my cabin. And then beat you at chess, apparently." He keeps chasing. Go run and hide, queen. Or else take the bishop already. "Yes, Godric. We're friends."

Then, after a pause, he explains quietly, "Friends weren't a thing I ever had. It was scary. Seemed important, and like it shouldn't be allowed."

"You beat me at chess because I don't mind losing," he says, moving his Queen into check on his King. Not nearly enough for checkmate, but at least he's pushing.

"And I'm glad that we are friends, B. You know I have thought of you as a friend for a while. Friends are important. And they are, of course, allowed."

The Last Voyages: IC Inbox

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AHHHH, how did I miss this?!

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