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Davia De Angelis (calculated_fate) wrote in halcyon_houses,
@ 2008-03-23 05:38:00

Entry tags:

davia, rafe

Week Six : Sunday
Who: Davia and Rafe
When: Early Sunday Afternoon
Where: Terrene Common Room
What: Chess is not a solitary game

The weekends were always the worst. There were no classes, no club meetings, to distract her. It was so much easier being here during the week. She had a routine. Wake up, get ready, go to class, go back to her room. It worked for her. That was how she liked it. Davia was not, after all, a very sociable person. She didn't even know how to be. But she was attempting to make a conscious effort to change, it was just turning out to be a slow process.

This Sunday, however, was an improvement from the last. She was not going to sit in her room all day, hiding away in her bed behind some books. Though she might not make it much further, she had at least made it as far as the common room where she sat in a chair positioned on one side of a chess board, looking down at the knights and rooks and pawns. This was a game she knew how to play. Her father had taught her and she was rather good at it, though she had only ever played against him.

With a sigh, one long leg crossed over the other as a hand brushed back through blond hair. Her aqua eyes scanned the room around her with mild curiosity and moderate boredom. She recognized a few people in the house from her classes, but there was no one that honestly stuck out in her mind just yet. Names were never something that she was good at keeping track of. Faces she could remember, but not the names that went with them.

Her attention soon moved back to the chess pieces, her hand reaching out to take a pawn in hand and thumb the figure lightly. She placed it back down, making the first move though she had no opponent and she certainly wasn't planning on playing by herself. It was more of an invitation though she honestly didn't expect anyone to notice nor to accept if they did.

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sininblood
2008-03-25 02:38 am UTC (link)

Often on Sundays, unless he had specific plans, Rafe took the opportunity to sleep insanely late. He'd always been nocturnal even before he'd been turned, and he'd had a terrible time adjusting to the early morning Air Use class for which he was scheduled. He'd actually done well since he'd been here; he'd only missed the class once from oversleeping. Sunday was different. He'd stayed buried beneath his covers in his darkened room until about half an hour ago. It might make life difficult in the morning when he had to go to class, but today he didn't care.

He'd gotten up and gone down the hall to the bathroom for a quick shower, nothing more than what his ma had called a lick and a promise when he and his siblings had been children. He was a meticulous groomer when he was going somewhere-- or when he was fairly sure he was going to see Tay-- but he'd eased up since he'd been here. For hanging around Terrene, his standards weren't nearly as stringent as they'd been when he'd first arrived at the school. A fast soaping and rinsing, deodorant and a smidge of faint cologne, running a brush through still-damp hair and dressing in his most worn and comfortable jeans and a blue hoodie and he was done.

He was still sleepy even after the shower, but Rafe had decided to stir himself and see if there was anything going on in the house. It seemed to be a soporific Sunday afternoon, so there probably wasn't, but it was worth checking. Often he stayed in his room at the computer for a while after rising for the day, but today he was restless and didn't feel like staring at a screen. He grabbed his acoustic guitar and headed downstairs, the slip-on shoes he wore barely making a sound on the treads of the steps. Muffling a yawn with the back of one hand, he stepped into the common room, hesitating for a split second when he saw that it was already occupied. Maybe he should go out onto the steps.

What the hell, he thought. The girl sitting in front of a chess set looked bored and vaguely familiar. Wasn't she in his Supernatural History and Bloodlust classes? He thought she was, though they'd never spoken and he believed she was fairly new, though he could be wrong on that. He used one foot to kick back the empty chair before planting himself in it, guitar casually resting in his lap as he regarded her with lazy blue eyes. "Afternoon," he mumbled, then yawned again.

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calculated_fate
2008-03-25 02:52 am UTC (link)

Davia could feel someone enter the room but she had a bad habit of never paying that much attention, at least not here, and not really ever unless there was a point to it. She felt fairly safe here and rather invisible as well so she didn't so much as glance at the man until he walked over towards where she sat, slightly curious blue-green eyes glancing upwards momentarily before moving back to the chessboard. "Afternoon," She basically whispered in reply, teeth capturing that lower lip in a nervous gesture she seemed to have inherited since coming here.

With a breath inhaled, she allowed her eyes to take in more of him, assuming that it was fine since he initiated conversation with her. "Do you play?" She asked as her eyes briefly rested upon the guitar. "Guitar or chess, either one." The first question was probably a dumb one considering that he was carrying a guitar around. If he didn't know how to play, then why would he have one? And actually, if she thought about it, she knew that he did because she had seen him in Music Club the few times that she had gone.

"I'm Davia." She offered her hand. "I think we have some classes together."

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sininblood
2008-03-25 08:36 pm UTC (link)

Rafe eyed her, trying to figure out what her deal was. Shy or just not really wanting company? Sometimes it was difficult to tell. She was young and, he thought, most likely a vampire too. Why else would she be in his Bloodlust class? Of course, a lot of the students looked young to him. He'd been twenty seven when he'd been turned, and he was older than even the typical college student. Not that it seemed to matter here, he'd discovered.

"Chess, no," he told her, a smirk playing around his lips. "Guitar, I make a valiant attempt." As if to accentuate his words, he shifted the guitar into position on his lap and chorded a bridge that sounded ominous and dramatic, even on the acoustic. He'd been working on his music more than he had in years since he'd been here. It was actually more enjoyable than he'd thought it would be. His fingers meandered along, turning out something that sounded like the bridge of a moody Spanish song and faded into a quavering lament before he stopped.

Showing off? Maybe a little. It was a typical Rafe thing, much how he'd formed a mini-cyclone with the air outside for Natalia's entertainment the night he'd met her.

"Rafe," he said with a nod when she held out her hand. He extended his own to shake hers, keeping the guitar balanced in his lap. "And yes, we do. Vampire, right?" He thought she probably was, but one never knew. There were, after all, other sorts of creatures in Terrene, maybe even creatures who drank blood.

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calculated_fate
2008-03-26 12:05 am UTC (link)

He did look a bit older than she but then again, she was used to looking young, and on occasion much younger than she actually was. It was strange the way that it had worked for her, growth that is. She would go years and years without changing and then grown overnight. Well, not overnight, but she had been known to shoot up nearly two feet over the course of a short year. It was nice though, to meet another vampire, not that she hadn't been around several she was certain of that, but it was almost like.. well in her mind it was almost like they were family. It helped to make her feel less alone.

"My father taught me." She remarked in regards to the chess, then smiled a bit when he added the next part. She listened carefully, watching the grace of his fingers as he played. And once he concluded she spoke in a soft voice, "I'd consider that much more than valiant."

His hand was cool to the touch, a bit cooler than her own, and she could feel, briefly at least, the slight bit of callous that had formed on the skin of his hands from his hobby. She drew her hand away slowly and nodded her head. "Dhampir, actually." Her eyes dropped away from his own. There was a small bit of shame, if that were the right word, that she felt when admitting that she was at least a little more human in nature than others of her kind were. Different people reacted to it differently. She never knew what to expect.

"I play piano. Not well, but I play a little. Mostly my father played while I sang." A faint smile formed upon her lips. "And I was learning how to play the violin though I didn't get too terribly far with it."

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sininblood
2008-03-28 12:33 am UTC (link)

Rafe did not think he'd yet gotten used to the concept that he would no longer age. Frozen in time at the age of twenty-seven, and in all honesty he was vain enough to think that to be a good thing. Forever young, attractive, vital. Despite the way he'd been turned, he did not regret it, and he didn't think he ever would. Because well... he'd be dead instead of just Undead.

"Well, thank you," he said to her compliment on his playing. A smile curved his lips upward; he was proud of the way he'd improved. He'd never realized how nice it would be to garner praise that was truly deserved instead of just getting by with flash and flair and tricks to make his playing seem better than it was. "Are you a master at chess?" he wanted to know. Not that he'd know if she wasn't, because he knew nothing about it.

Rafe's eyebrows lifted slightly when she said she was a dhampir. He'd heard the term, knew what it meant, but as far as he knew there weren't any of them in the school. He watched curiously as she dropped her eyes, wondering why. Was there something wrong with being a half-breed vampire? It was possible that he hadn't been a vampire long enough to know these things, if there were indeed anything to know on the subject. It hadn't been covered in Supernatural History that he could remember. "Interesting," he remarked, and there was nothing snide or condescending in his tone. He was aware that the word interesting could be taken in more than one way.

"Yes, I remember you being in Music Club now that you mention it," he said. "Piano and violin... that's fairly impressive." He idly strummed the opening chords of 'Hallelujah'. Rufus Wainwright's version was his favorite.

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calculated_fate
2008-03-28 12:41 am UTC (link)

If asked, she would have to agree that his vanity was not unfounded. He was very nice to look at. And even though she was never the type to gawk at anyone, she was taking ample opportunity to look at him, to take in the color of his eyes and the shape of his brow and the strength of his jawline. Yes, she was paying more than just a little bit of attention.

A smile graced her full lips at the question and she shook her head. "Not nearly. My father was, I think. I mean.. I never really played with anyone but him." She gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "I could teach you how to play if you'd like." She offered, not that she had ever taught anyone or thought she would be good at teaching but she'd get to know him better, get to spend more time around him, if he accepted the offer.

"My father turned my mother when she was pregnant with me and killed my biological father. Noah. That was his name. Noah Shaye. My mother named me after him, after them both." She offered, since he seemed interested in it all, and not in a snobby or condescending way like she had encountered more than once while she was here.

"Will you play for me?" She asked. "I'd love to hear it."

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sininblood
2008-03-30 10:39 pm UTC (link)

Rafe was used to getting female attention, and he'd never be able to say he didn't appreciate it. Admittedly, he had an ego. He smiled easily at Davia, and while it couldn't be said that he was flirting-- something he could be heavy-handed at when he wanted to-- he was definitely giving her a dose of the ol' Rafe charm.

"Anyone would be more so than those of us who don't know how," Rafe told her amiably. "Perhaps we could do that sometime, if you don't mind putting up with a beginner." Chess would be a relaxing activity, he thought, even intellectual. It would be something to do while hanging around Terrene on those afternoons or evenings when he was in and he tired of being in his room by himself.

He nodded at her brief story of how she'd become a dhampir. Condolences didn't seem to be wanted, not for someone she'd never known. So he merely listened, then began his opening chords once she'd finished speaking.

"Certainly," Rafe said, never averse to playing under most circumstances. He could hear the words in his head as he strummed 'Hallelujah', though he did not sing them. It was rare that he sang. He was passable, though not nearly as good as he'd like to be, and he didn't like to do things unless he could be near-perfect at them. Concentrating on the chords, his gaze fixed somewhere between his bent knees and the floor, he played the song through and ended with a light flourish that he faded out.

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calculated_fate
2008-03-31 01:53 am UTC (link)

Davia knew he wasn't trying really, but he was definitely putting on a bit of the charm. For him, however, that seemed perfectly natural and not something that she should think much of. He was probably equally charming with all of the pretty girls that he met. Yes, she knew she was pretty. Her father, and other men, had told her often enough.

A smile. "I guess you do a rather valid point." She admitted, giving a soft shake of her head. "I wouldn't mind. It would give me something to do." She said, and shrugged her shoulders, thinking in her mind that, admittedly, she was more interested in having someone nice to look at, and possibly get to know, than she was in sharing her skills at chess.

She listened with rapt attention and appreciation as he played the song, hands coming up to offer soft applause as he finished. "How long have you been playing?" She asked. "You're much better with that guitar than I am with the piano." A soft laugh. "Do you know lots of songs?"

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sininblood
2008-04-04 03:43 am UTC (link)

"Chess it is, then," Rafe said cheerfully. "It can be a bit boring here at times. It never hurts to have ways to pass the time." Normally his idea of a good time was wilder than learning chess, but even those with an adventurous streak needed quiet time on occasion. "Perhaps we could get a vampire chess team going," he joked. His smile was slightly mocking, though it wasn't directed at her. He was just amused at the thought of the vampires he knew playing chess. Charlie? Hell, no.

"I've played since I was middle school age," he said, segueing into Coldplay's 'Yellow', a song that always made him think of Tay. "I wasn't serious about it though, until I got here. Sometime we should play a duet, and we'll just see." He missed a note and wrinkled his nose, then got himself back on track. "Not as many as I'd like to, but I'm working on it."

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calculated_fate
2008-04-05 06:43 pm UTC (link)

"I normally just study if I am bored." She said, giving a soft shrug of her shoulders before smiling sheepishly. "I guess that makes me kind of boring my own self." She didn't mind being boring sometimes. Though she had to admit that she missed her adventurous nights out with her father where they would wine and dine and flirt and dance and find beautiful people to take home with them and then drink until their hearts were content. She got the feeling, however, that that particular idea of fun wouldn't go over so well here. "Perhaps we could," she went along with the jest.

"How old are you now?" She asked, hoping that it wasn't too rude of her to ask. "You're talented. You should be serious about it." She replied, a small smile creeping onto her lips as he reached the chorus. "That could be fun." The wrinkling of his nose was absolutely adorable and she couldn't help but to laugh. "Are you self taught or do you read music?"

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