Oh, Lonely Games!

Adrian Hexe Grimm

Though it was a little embarrassing to be seen in this kind of place, Adrian had to admit that the pastries were more than passing. Her tastes were not nearly as refined as her sister's, so the rather commonplace quality was not a concern to the dark haired young lady at all. The lines at the counter were never too long -the staff were very quick- and waited without any fuss. When it came her turn, she paid with cash and came away with a box of four fruit tartlets and a cup of espresso. She grabbed some napkins as she left the cashier.

Because Adrian knew full well that Aurélie might be a little displeased to find that she had been there alone without informing her first, the vocalist went to find a table. Most of them were filled right now but as she looked about, her eyes fell on a peculiar sight.

Is that a gryphon? she wondered, blinking a few times. It looked like a gryphon. It looked like a gryphon who was about to start playing chess with itself. Himself. Herself. Or perhaps it was waiting for somebody else? Adrian waited for a little while longer but no such person appeared. What she did see, however, was that the gryphon was quite capable of communicating with the staff.

Curiosity fully peaked now, she approached the table tentatively, from a direction clearly in the gryphon's eyesight. "Excuse me," she said quietly. "May I sit here? It is quite crowded here and it would be a little strange for me to be alone, I think."

Adrian Hexe Grimm

Having never met a gryphon before, Adrian was slightly taken aback to find that this one was capable of quite good, quite polite speech. There had only been a vague idea in her head of what to expect and this certainly had surpassed that. The dark haired young lady dipped her head in thanks and sat down across from the creature, putting her things down in the space he -definitely he, she thought- had cleared for her.

Sipping her espresso, Adrian studied her companion now. The gryphon was a rather small creature -the fact that it could fit well enough into the booth was indication enough of that. Feline body, avian head and wings. The classical descriptions of gryphons. The coloring was really quite charming. Even though she preferred the occasional splash of brighter shades, Adrian was far more partial to darker tones. Sometimes it was hard to stand up to her sister's brightness. And though she could not be sure, the dark haired young lady thought that the gryphon looked a little nervous or embarrassed.

"Would you like to play a round?" Adrian asked politely after she had put down her coffee cup, glancing at the half set chessboard. She was not normally one for small talk or offering such social niceties but she was something of an intruder here. "I would have to warn you, however, that I have not played in quite a while."

Adrian Hexe Grimm

How odd, Adrian thought, in a not unkind way as she watched her companion set the chess board. She was still getting over the surprise of coherent, civil conversation. The dark haired young lady had been admittedly working off of the assumption that non-humanoid beings were somewhat less intelligent. It was a rather embarrassing blunder, one that she hoped did not come across especially clearly.

And though certainly no sign of it showed, Adrian was starting to worry a little. Aurélie would most likely never come to this location, but that gilded young lady's absence in itself was not enough to be relieved about. As Adrian had seen from the situation with Félix, her sister was more than capable of exerting control over an event occurring nowhere near her. And Félix, of course, was human. That was proper. Adrian could not imagine what Aurélie would do here, if she found her in the company of somebody who was not.

Now what is it exactly that I am doing? she wondered. Impulsive curiosity had caught her in this booth. There were no regrets in her thus far for having gone ahead and done it. But Adrian always weighed her actions against her sister's silent judgment. This would have been a disappointment... But Adrian could hardly be so rude as to leave that instant. And her curiosity was still not satisfied in the least.

Stay for a single game. Just like how she had stayed for a single duet with Félix. Well. The situation was somewhat different now, wasn't it? For the first time in quite a while, Aurélie was occupied with academics. Not Alice Mordrake and her schemes. Not the gilded young lady's own.

To be certain of her sister's schedule, Adrian discretely scryed for Aurélie in the lens of her glasses. As she did so, the gryphon answered her unasked question of how he was connected to the Academy. "I see," she remarked lightly, with many different layers to those words. For one, she managed to locate Aurélie sitting peaceably in class, looking as if she would be there for quite some time. For another, in all of her scryings, Adrian had never once seen the gryphon but that could have easily been because of her tendency to rush and not mind the darker, smaller blurs in what she saw. It only went to show that she had to be more careful.

Especially right now.

"I am a music major myself but I still have science requirements left to fulfill," the dark haired young lady said. "Forgive me, my name is Adrian. Adrian Hexe Grimm."

Adrian Hexe Grimm

A gryphon’s laugh was one of the oddest sounds that Adrian had ever heard in her entire life. That was not to say that it was an unpleasant sound, just one that was completely unexpected. Of course, the dark haired young lady thought to herself in something like annoyance aimed solely at herself. If he can speak then surely he is capable of laughing as well. Simple, obvious logic. Now why had she not thought of it before?

It is only a creature, her golden sister’s voice said in her mind, laughingly with a charmed air. A nobler and more interesting one than most but still a creature. Do not let its perceived intelligence deceive you.

Well, then let her be deceived! The rebellious thought made Adrian cringe internally but there was little helping it. It was rather difficult to follow that command when she knew that Blackfeather was aide to Professor Reva –the woman’s classes could be brutal and therefore anybody associated with her must be of substantial character. And besides that, they both did happen to be engaged in a game of chess at that moment.

Pursing her lips, Adrian moved her knight from G8 to H6. She stared a little at the board after having let go of the piece, deliberating. “I am not much of a scientist,” she admitted after a short time. Though her family had rather hoped that she would have been. “Did you study here yourself? At one point?”

Adrian Hexe Grimm

Understanding that she had hit upon an awkward subject, Adrian backed away from it immediately. The dark haired young lady was hardly the kind to press these sorts of things, having been on the receiving end far too many times for comfort herself. Personally, the German would rather that people in general would bleed off more of their prying tendencies. Not only for the sake of her privacy but also for the sake of their safety. Ignorance was bliss, after all. Sometimes it really was for the best.

Adrian moved a pawn from G7 to G6, pursing her lips. A moment later, she said reluctantly, "I might have made a miscalculation when I was choosing courses." The slight frown on her face was aimed solely at herself, partially out of disappointment in her abilities and partially because of her noble pride.

Unlike her sister, however, Adrian was used to putting aside things like dignity if needed. The point was that while it did hurt to admit her failings -and there were many, she knew- the dark haired young lady was quite capable of recognizing when it was time to ask for help. Much of the time, there simply was no other help to be received outside of the family. But if somebody was offering it up now, and if she truly needed it, well.

I would shame my family if my academics were anything less than perfect, she thought. It was not that she did not enjoy her courses; she really did. The problem was that personal enjoyment did not always lead to actual skill.

"I may require some sort of assistance," Adrian said musingly, although what she really meant was that she greatly needed it. "I was told to take an intermediate chemistry together with a beginning biochemistry and received permission to do so, on top of my music classes."