Imagine being so pitiful that you need to fight a literal young adult to maintain your reputation.
This fellow was Smithson, who stood there like a statue - rubbing his hands together like he could do no wrong as he looked down at the defeated party. He attempted to maintain a stoic expression, though it was fairly obvious that this wasn't the outcome he was looking for. In fact, his entire frame was trembling as the chandelier that floated besides him just... Stared... Ominously. It was a terrible contrast, to see the man known for being just a little bit sketchy with his allegiances suddenly wish he could just take it all back.
"That band of yours... It put up a good fight," he started before glancing off, "It's... A shame that it wasn't as strong as a sentient chandelier, huh?" He wanted to scoff, he really did, but when he tried to do so, it just came out as a fucking cough. Disgusting. Also, really, really pitiful. Smithson rubbed the back of his neck before taking a step backward, "I would've admired that type of power if it was seen in a different context... If it was wielded by someone respectable and not just... Just some vandal..."
Real funny, then, that a so-called "vandal" posed that much of a threat to the aristocrat's dignity. The man gulped before sighing and rubbing the wrinkles underneath his eyes with a sigh. It was definitely because the other party was being too aggressive, too standoffish in the face of someone who was clearly higher in ranking than them. Yes, that was it. It wasn't because he thought the other party knew where his son was, nor was it due to Smithson's lingering desire to uphold the laws of his aristocratic circle - even if it meant breaking different laws in the process.
He kicked at the pavement before stating more coldly, "But next time, do be careful what you ask, don't you think? It's none of your business as to what I might be doing around these quarters at this time..." Eyes diverted off to the side as if he was expecting a passerby to pick up on what had just happened. "I understand that young people like you are so curious and want to constantly rebel, but," Smithson grunted with a scoff, "Sometimes, it's just better to adhere to principle, and take people's words for granted." His lips pursed together into a thin, saccharine smile.
"You can understand that now, 'tough guy?' It'll make sense once you're allowed to reflect a bit..."
breaking news: edgy teenage girl defeats an edgy man with daddy issues.... at chess. HELL YEA.
anyways here's a follow-up because I like these two.... even if they seem like they'd just exist to fight each other to the death oops:
This was technically the second time that Smithson lost to the girl, and he didn't like it at all. And no assonance intended, he really did seem like he was in awe as he looked down at the chessboard and saw that his pieces were all... All a mess. Only the girl's seemed like they were in a neat pattern, though that really didn't matter given that the objective of chess really didn't give a single shit about how the pieces were arranged. All he knew was that her queen piece had taken his king piece, and that it counted as a checkmate.
Disgusting.
"You don't need to remind me," he retorted dryly while placing a hand inside his cloak, "You said something like that the first time you beat me." With a roll of his eyes, he opened up a bit of his cloak to provide ventilation while giving the other party a glare. "You don't think I remember that, huh? Just because I look old and all that?" Gee, that'd actually be a very good reason as to why someone would forget Smithson in the first place.
He laughed bitterly before leaning back against his seat, still silently fuming over his loss to the girl. In his eyes, the game was perfectly unfair; he had no prior experience with the game, and he remembered his father playing it once at a party before he suffered the same fate. In other words, sucking at chess seemed to run in the family, and thus Smithson pinned all the blame on Johnson as expected for someone with major daddy issues. But also, yes, from an outsider point of view, watching the girl beat this stupid man at chess would've been both satisfying and epic as all hell.
With a huff, he concurred, "I could say the same about you, idiot," before pulling out a red-and-white capsule that definitely contained his weird jellyfish thing. "It's not exactly wise to pick a fight against someone and deliberately skew the field against them," he continued coldly, "That wouldn't demonstrate skill, or even cunning. You just need something to boost your delicate ego through an easy win, miss." Okay, hypocrite. He tossed the sphere in his hand before sighing with much apprehension.
Does this girl really want to see my Jellicent that badly? he thought to himself with a frown, though said frown was more confused than truly pissed. He shrugged. Whatever. The man placed the capsule on the table, then gently nudged it to the girl.
Reluctance laced Smithson's voice as he told her, "This thing should contain the jellyfish that you keep talking about. Thank goodness it's not one of my main team members; otherwise, I would've put up a bigger gripe... But even then, just know that I'm only doing this because I'm a man of my word." Sure. Okay. Man of his word. "Though I must ask, miss, how long do you plan to call this thing yours? I'd need it for a tournament eventually, so... I can't really afford to not have it by my side by then."
Then, he had a very stupid, very risky idea that he blurted out on impulse, "You know... Miss... If you like the thing that much, I could try getting one for you... After the bet is over, of course. But, yes, know that the offer's up in that regard." He really hoped that wouldn't piss her off and cause her to shatter his knee, even if he did deserve it. Besides, Smithson had to admit that he was a bit too attached to that blue thing of his for his own good; such was the case when you had the same jellyfish by your side for several decades straight.