With a pout, Johnson edged one of his black pawns forward before grunting, “You know, miss… For someone who’s reasonably adept in politics, you sure are a bit… Lackluster in chess.” He chuckled and gave her white bishop a gentle nudge with his black pawn, as if to try irritating her further; obviously, he couldn’t make such a move, but he did consider just knocking it down out of spite- Or, well… To flex. Because of course he did.
Why else would he ask her to “fight” against him with chess - instead of something more up her alley like drawing the other as fast as possible, or folding as many origami cranes within a set time interval?
“It’s not bad chess, of course,” admitted the middle-aged man with a chuckle, “but you can tell who’s really passionate about politics based off how they play chess. You use strategy for both - so you might as well make conjunctions from there now… Yes? With that asides, it’s good to know that those who view politics with passion will therefore play chess with ease, and those who just see politics as means to an end will inevitably play chess adequately but never with much flair or excitement.” Explain why your son lost to her grand-niece then, asshole.
“Besides, only the most pitiful and incompetent of politicians are terrible at chess. It’s a popular misconception that it’s the other way around - that only the most intelligent and shrewd of statesmen can play chess,” Johnson rambled further while moving his knight forward when it was his turn, “Similar principles can be applied to both, as mentioned before. Still, at least you’ve taken somewhat of an interest in this whole chess business… Or maybe it’s because of the banana bread I offered you later on, mm?” The chuckle that escaped from his lips soon afterwards seemed more genuinely teasing than - well - one intentionally made to be rude, but…
Don’t tell him that. It’d make the edgy old man even edgier.
Still, Johnson shrugged and huffed, “If you want some banana bread now, though, then we can stop. Chess takes a lot of brainpower anyway.” Which was basically his way of saying that he had a big brain, but- Holy shit, old man. Take it back a bit. “It gets exhausting in time, especially for old folks like us now, huh!” He laughed and leaned back against his seat while folding his hands together. “Brains don’t work well or rationally when exhausted. Trust me.”
He thus glanced over his shoulder to beckon a servant over, his focus placed on them while… Ignoring the other party. Great. Maybe now was the best time to kick his ass and teach him a lesson? Wait- Not maybe. Definitely. Do it. There’s a chance right there.
I can't believe I'm encouraging Nathaniel, but.... kick Johnson's ass, you edgy fish. it's what he deserves.
FOLLOW-UP TIME. cw for mentions of cannibalism and graphic(?) violence!!
Johnson let out a low hiss under his breath while Nathaniel forced the stick back into his hands. Out of all the times he had to have a training session thrown upon him… It had to be now. Why now? His brows furrowed while he looked up at Nathaniel, then mirrored his posture… Or tried to, at least.
Someone wasn’t a fighter. Guess who?
“Well, of course it’s not Krakers,” snarled Johnson with a roll of his eyes, “They’re thieves, not murderers. Or thugs, for that matter, even if I do faintly remember one of their members being such-” He broke off, wincing slightly when the other adjusted the position of his kram. The fuck was this matchup? Was this just to increase the stakes, or what?
Make one wrong move, and he could lose an arm… A finger… An eye?
Dreading the possibility of getting a laceration yet again (as was the case so many months ago), Johnson gave his so-called mentor a swing of his stick and grunted, “I’m surprised that they’re even getting themselves involved, if I have to be honest with you. We’ve mostly been targeting Krakers by now, if I remember correctly?” Yea, because you’re a bitch with far too many grudges up his sleeve. While he could whine about Roswell for hours on end, the leader of the Wilgen - Graak - was far, far more elusive in his memory. They had perhaps met once, and… That was it? Johnson couldn’t remember too well. She had given him a warning, but he forgot what it was about.
It was definitely going to kick him in the ass later on.
“Whatever-” he started before trying to wring the stick free when Nathaniel grabbed it, then hopping off like a coward when the kram was swung at him. “You should at least give me a proper weapon for this sort of thing,” whined Johnson while giving his arms a quick shake, “or give yourself a downgrade. Maybe a downgrade is what you deserve, you know that. Right?” He coughed into his sleeve just before getting punched. Which was what he fucking deserved, by the way!
But Johnson, alas, had no self-awareness - as he was knocked back and actually dazed for a few seconds, before he shook his head and snarled, “The hell is wrong with you!? Are you trying to kill me right now!?” He wiped a hand at the area where Nathaniel hit him, surprised that there was no blood yet unsurprised that he felt nothing but tenderness and pain. “Shit, I think you broke my cheekbone, or maybe my mandible,” griped the aristocrat before scrambling up to his feet and starting to see droplets of blood pooling on the sand below. “The hell did you do…” Another swipe at his nose would prove that yes, Nathaniel had drawn blood… From his nose.
His nose was broken, wasn’t it?
“Are you just looking for an excuse to beat me into the dirt!?” hissed Johnson while trying to wriggle free from Nathaniel’s grip, ignoring the blood trailing the ground in favor of whining even more, “Besides, it doesn’t matter whether you’re Wilg or Zeewolf. You’re still going to be someone I despise, if only because of-” He broke off to gesture at the blood streaming down his nose, his cloak… The ground. Johnson’s lip drew back to form a snarl while he continued, “Besides, as far as I know… You’re just as lowly as a gutter. So consider that the next time before you start- Hey!”
Dangling in the air like the latest catch was Johnson’s capsules! Creature-capsules! The middle-aged man started to writhe even more in the other’s grip, not caring how much it would’ve attracted his ire. The bar was so low anyways! Just existing was enough for him to be attacked, and yet-
“Why are you talking about this,” the middle-aged man, helpless as a fish out of water, growled while continuing to flail. Give it up, old man. “I already get enough death talk from Brown…” Even though he hadn’t spoken with her properly in… What? A week? He suspected that it was because she needed to plan something - yet again - with Roswell, but he wasn’t one to say. So much had happened that he barely noticed the kram being pointed directly at him, or the hiss that had settled into Nathaniel’s tone. Nice! Denial was a bitch. “Besides, Nathaniel… You’re making yourself look like a cannibal. Do you eat people too? Do I need to establish a new crime just for that?”
Don’t give him ideas and make yourself his first cannibalistic meal, dipshit.
He let out a slight “oof” when pushed away, shaking his head while the stick was unceremoniously placed into his hands. It wasn’t long before it started to be dyed with red, though that might’ve been due to the fact that the blood had started to dry and cake a bit. He was going to look like a mess when he returned to the aristocratic quarters, huh…
His brows furrowing in thought, Johnson merely grumbled to his supposed ally, “Well, they’re more powerful than you think. You think I have dodos and horses in there? You’d be wrong. They have to be contained for a reason, you know.”
“That’s real brave for a fish with the smallest damn brain I’ve ever seen,” he retorted while nonetheless complying with Nathaniel’s directions, “I bet a sardine or a hagfish would have more intellect than you, or at least more caution… Just saying.” Sure.