(Untitled)

[majorum_pride]

Who: Gaheris Rhade
What: A Day in a Nietzschean Life (Rhade discovers things day!)
When: Todayish
Where: All around the Barge
Warnings & Notes: Maybe some mentions of sex. Mostly going for humorous themes because bummed and hurting but there may be a couple of conversations that turn more serious.

Comments

Morning

[majorum_pride]

There's an interesting discovery in a post-breakfast venture to a common room. A box with the top missing, with a board in it and pieces to a game. On the board are multi-colored squares, and there are tiny wooden squares with letters on them and numbers in the corners. There's also little wooden... He has no idea what they're for. But he'll figure it out. There are no instructions with it, though, and he's generally very confused by what he's looking at.

Hopefully if you arrange the letters in a certain way it won't explode.

[sepfield]

Simon's been keeping to himself for the most part. He's still not used to the Barge and he's never been good at adjusting. He can cope, just about, but it's overwhelming and strange and more than anything it's easier to huddle in his room telling himself it's Sunday and tomorrow he'll be back doing community service again.

He knows he can't keep that up forever, though. He's been isolated for most of his life and even after being taken from the first group of real friends he's ever had he can't let himself go back to it. Which is why he's entering the common room, hoping there'll be someone he can try to strike up conversation is. There is someone, staring at a Scrabble board like he's never seen one in his life. Maybe he hasn't. It wouldn't be surprising, given some of the people here.

"Scrabble," he tells him, then realises how weird that will sound if he already knows what it is he's looking at. Or even if he doesn't.

[majorum_pride]

It does sound weird, and it get the look to go with it. Rhade looks up, back down, and back up again before he holds up one of the pieces.

"Is this what this is called?"

No, he's never played Scrabble before. It still probably exists on Earth where he's from, but he's never cared much about Earth and some of his cultural history is more limited than others.

[sepfield]

Simon's used to those looks, but at least it's not followed by him promptly being ignored or told how weird he is. At least he knows now he was right in guessing he didn't know what it was. He nods.

"It's a game. You make words with the letters. The numbers are for points."

[majorum_pride]

For being such a mundane thing, Rhade is listening as if one of the secrets of the universe is being unlocked to him. He holds up the wooden letter holder, equally inquisitive.

"What are these for?"

[sepfield]

"For putting the letters in. The... tiles. It's keeps them together. And makes it easier to keep your opponent seeing your letters."

He demonstrated by miming placing a tile on his thumb, more an awkward quirk that helped him speak than anything that made his explanation more obvious. It was strange, explaining Scrabble. Something he almost took for granted in understanding.

[majorum_pride]

He looked at the multi-colored board very intently, and seemed to be taking Simon very seriously. As simple of an explanation as it was. "So, these squares affect how you count points if you make words over them?" The tiles seemed to be the appropriate size.

He took one of the tiles and tried putting it in the holder, giving it a bit of a perplexed look. "Is this a common game where you're from?" It was probably three-tiers and thrice evolved in his universe.

[sepfield]

Simon looked down at the board, nodding. "Double letter, triple letter, double word, triple word," he told him, pointing at each coloured square in turn. "Double and triple letters have the points of that tile multiplied. With double and triple words it's the points of the word that are multiplied."

He watched Gaheris curiously, as intent on his reactions as he seemed to be of Simon's Scrabble explanation. "It's common. Most people at least know of it where I come from. I used to play a lot." Picking up a tile, Simon smiled slightly. "I still do. Sometimes," he added. "My sister likes it."

[majorum_pride]

"You have a sister?" His curiosity raised again at the mention of family. He missed his frequently, and made no secret of it. Even worse was the fact that he was fairly sure he'd never be able to return to his.

At Simon's age, a Nietzschean would be expected to act like a grown man. He couldn't help but think that he seemed young for a place like this.

He sat one of the place holders on Simon's side. "Show me how. How many do you start out with?"