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 Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:33 pm
Rain was the bane of Ladon’s life. With spring approaching and winter waving her handkerchief goodbye, the rain was keeping Ladon more indoors than he would have liked. While he could go home and sew, he felt too tired and pent up in his own house, hating the silence and the tapping of raindrops on the roof. Even the TV didn’t quite help anymore, and so he took his umbrella and went out to do something to get out of the house. Still a bit cold and after a gust of wind flipped his baby-blue umbrella inside out, making it a worthless piece of junk, he ducked into the ShufflePuck Café to get out of the rain.
While most everyone here came for the caffeine, he was here for the noise, to dry off, and to just be out. That didn’t mean he wasn’t bored. While there were computers lining one wall and free wifi, he wasn’t one for checking Facebook or any one of those social networking sights. He had few friends in real life, and he didn’t need a bunch of fake ones online who probably were just predators. He watched CNN. He knew!
Instead, he pulled out a pack of cards he brought with him, and sat at a table, watching the rain, sipping on hot chocolate, and playing solitaire. Aside from Go Fish, it was the only other card game he knew, and he worked through placing the Queen on the King, a 5 on a 6, and so on and so forth till he had a Ace in his hand and was wondering which one of the 2 twos he was going to place it on. After some debate, he put it on the 2 of hearts.
Oh yes, Ladon was a little hell-raiser.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:55 pm
Cassius also hated days like today. The only reason he got out of bed was because he had various appointments that morning to look at different apartments. He actually found one he liked so the whole 'waking up early' thing happened to be worth it in the long run. Now he would just have to wait and see if his offer for the place went through, and if it did he'd be free from his father's clutches at last.
On a usual rainy day Cassius never left his bed or his house for that matter. He'd get out of bed to eat but that was about it. Laziness was something to be said when the name Cassius came about..
It suddenly occurred to him that he didn't have coffee this one morning, and that was rare. He was so rushed for his apartment meetings that he neglected to make himself some earlier. So, without further hesitation he made his way to the nearest cafe while scoffing at the weather every few minutes. Ugh, the wind was absolutely brutal. Where the hell was Spring?
Once he finally entered the cafe, he moved to the counter and ordered a large coffee, just black. As he waited for his drink he scoped the place out to see if he knew anybody. The worst was running into girls that he was ignoring or hiding from. But, at the moment- all was clear, thank goodness.
The thought of leaving the cafe and going back into the messy rain was hardly an option so Cassius started to walk to the empty tables but stopped at one suddenly. He noticed a younger guy playing cards! One quick glance and he realized it was Solitaire. He'd seen people play that game on computers but never really in person. It seemed like an odd thing to be doing, especially with so many other great games around. Of course, Cassius was just picky like that.
"How's Solitaire going for ya?" He was now sitting at a table next to the kid and watching the cards intently. After a few moments he sipped his coffee and held a relaxed grin. "I don't see people playing that game very often."
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:20 pm
Solitaire wasn’t a game that needed absolute concentration. Some people even did do-overs if they made a mistake and wanted to go another way, but that wasn’t Ladon. When his card was set down, it was permanent. It was why he was being indecisive with moving over a row of cards, and pretended it needed a great deal of thought when Cassius started to talk to him. Quick to the defensive, Ladon flattened his eyes and hunched a bit, examining his game and trying to figure out if this guy was trying to mess with him. It seemed like he was trying to take a jab at the fact he was playing cards and not on a laptop, or maybe it was a single’s joke. Did he look pathetic by playing a game that said you couldn’t find anyone else to play with? Probably, and that only made his expression flatten into a frown.
“It’s okay.” He mumbled, reaching over to move a row over, finishing it and scooping it up to put to the side before flipping a new card over. “It’s something to do.” He sparred a glance to look over at the guy and noticed that he looked older than he did, and that he had long hair that usually wasn’t fitting for a guy but somehow this stranger managed to pull off. He was sipping something, probably with caffeine, and watching him. Who was he to mock him for playing Solitaire when he wasn’t doing anything?
“I guess with Nintendo and the Internet, it would be rare to see anyone playing with them.” It was true that pulling out cards was usually seen as a very old-fashioned game, what when you could play cards games, pool, and even fighter games on a computer. He just wasn’t into them all that much. Yes, le gasp on that. Even Tate had been amazed when she found out he barely played video games. He couldn’t help if he preferred actually playing games with your hands as opposed to pushing a space bar or hitting ‘A’.
He glanced back at the blonde to see if he also was thinking the same thing. “Do you have something against playing with cards?”
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:37 am
From the other guy's reaction Cassius figured he may have come off in the wrong way. He supposed he should have felt bad but that wasn't really his forte. Instead, he would just fix the situation and be a bit more understanding. "Oh no no, I love cards. I'm an avid card player. I just haven't seen someone playing Solitaire in quite some time. No judgments here." He nodded lightly while placing his coffee back on the table.
"On a rainy day like today anything to do is definitely positive in my book." His eyes were glancing out the window and his face was close to a scowl. "I didn't mean to interrupt by the way, maybe I was just looking for something to do, too." He was still grinning even as he watched the other guy.
It wasn't unusual for Cassius to talk to random people. It was sort of rare the he approached another guy, since Cassius was usually weary of starting 'bro' conversations and what not. But cards were involved, so he couldn't help himself this time. Hopefully the other fellow wasn't too angry about this random encounter.
"Please I'm not a huge Nintendo or Internet person myself." He didn't understand how people could do that all day, especially when sleep or plain old socializing was so much better. "I'm not so technology obsessed. I'd much rather play a card game and get my brain going then anything else." And with that, he nabbed his coffee again and took another huge gulp.
The caffeine was definitely helping to wake him up, and it was no wonder that he was being so friendly and chatty.
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 2:36 pm
It was rare for Ladon to talk to another, let alone a guy. Looking at it, he usually found himself talking to girls, but this was slowly changing. It just seemed to him that guys were more often the ones to jab at his appearance or how he wasn’t really into playing aggressive sports than girls who simply liked his company. It was why he was more wary of the blonde, who he felt was here to tease him, especially since he was older, taller, and seemed to be one of those guys who felt they were cooler than everyone else. You met a lot of those people at the Shufflepuck. The type of person who decided that since they went to the popular café and could text on their brand new phone, they were somebody.
But it seemed the other guy was justified in talking to him, a supporter of cards and pastimes that didn’t involve technology. Since he seemed to be apologizing for interrupting, Ladon gave him another chance. A small chance, but only because he wanted to know what a ‘avid card player’ did. The guy also seemed bored, and was hinting that anything to occupy him on a rainy day like today was welcomed. Since Ladon was stuck on his game, he started to scoop them up and make them back into a tidy deck. “What kind of card games do you play?” he looked at the deck, debating another game. He crudely shuffled the deck, his movements slow and a bit sloppy with the cards. “All I know is Solitaire. That or making little towers, but I guess that doesn’t count.” Probably not.
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 8:48 am
When he saw Landon put together the cards and reshuffle them, Cassius' eyes gleamed. So, he was interested in something new? Or at least interested in talking to him? "Well, it depends on what kind of game you yourself are looking for." At this point in time, Cassius had left his loner table and had approached the seat facing Landon's. And of course, without hesitation Cassius took a seat. There was always the possibility of someone asking him to leave, but he'd deal with that if it came about later.
"There are other solo card games that are great like Hearts, Memory or Beat the Devil. Or there are hundreds of games you play with other people like Poker, Bingo or Blackjack being popular ones. Let's see here.." He thought for a moment on what a great starting game would be. "If you are interested in learning something new and easy I know a good two person game we can play? Also, if you want another option besides Solitaire I can show you how Memory works too?"
Cassius then paused for a moment and chuckled to himself. He was rushing into card games and hadn't even introduced himself. "My name's Cassius by the way. Cassius James. What happens to be your name?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 12:50 pm
The blonde really was bored, and slipped quickly over to his table with his coffee. He seemed chipper for such a dismal day. While it hadn’t been an invitation outright, Ladon saw no reason why he couldn’t sit with him. As long as the boy didn’t get on his nerves, he could stay and maybe learn a few things.
Holding the deck, he listened to card games that sounded familiar, but none of which he actually played. These were all games his grandfather use to play and, since he was young, had failed to learn when the older man had tried to teach him. When Memory was mentioned, his remembered a game from kindergarten and wondered if that’s what he meant, but introductions first. “Oh. Ladon Shepard.” He offered his hand across the table, and then offered him the deck. “I think I remember Memory from kindergarten, but we played with picture cards and not an actual deck.” It had been a fun way to keep the class quiet and still. “I haven’t played Poker, Blackjack, or any of those games. You seem bored. How about a game were we can both play? The rain isn’t letting up anytime soon.” And he had time to kill that would otherwise be spent home alone.
From looking the blonde over, he knew he wasn't from Meadowview, which made him worry if he was from that school of delinquents, Hillworth. Still, he still didn't seem the type. "I haven't seen you before. What school do you go to?" Was this guy even in school now? Had he graduated? Was he working now? If that was the case, the age difference really would be something. Why would an older guy talk to him at all?!
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Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 9:06 am
(( I figured I'd choose one that would be easy to rp along to and allow them to also talk/get to know each other while playing? Let me know and I'll pick another one next post if this one doesn't seem right X3! ))
Sometimes Cassius had this habit of bringing out a 'salesman' mentality, and at the moment he was sort of acting like one when talking about cards. When Landon handed him the deck Cassius took to the cards happily and was shuffling them around as he thought. "It's nice to meet you." he then added, while moving his hands quickly and thoroughly. "I think we'll have some fun and be distracted from the rain." Here was to hoping for that, at least.
Before he could get into the topic of a good two person game to play, he figured it was best to answer Landon's question. "Right now I am at Sovereign Heights Preparatory School." Although he had know idea how long that would last. "How about yourself?" As he finished speaking, he laid the cards on the table and grinned at his new gaming buddy.
"I'm thinking we should start with a game that's simple and takes awhile to keep us distracted from the weather. Have you heard about the game War? Basically the deck gets split in two and we each get half of it. Then we lay cards down at the same time and whoever has the higher number wins and takes the other person's card. Or, if there is a case of us placing the same cards down, we each place three cards face down with a fourth being the determiner of a higher or lower value, and whoever has the higher one in this situation wins all the cards laid down." He took a sip of his coffee then before finishing up the rules. "Basically, whoever gets the other person's cards first wins the game. What do you think? There are many others we can choose from if this doesn't sound like the one?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 7:49 pm
((Sounds good to me. We can also rp it later that Ladon is learning other games from him since he’s now Nega. We don’t have the rp the game, but just write things like how Cassius reached over and pointed out what card he should lay down or when he should ‘hit for another card when they get into more complicated games. ))
While Cassius talked, Ladon was more fascinated with the blonde’s hands, watching him shuffled and split the deck without so much as glancing, showing the same type of flair and quick movements you expected of a magician. Easily impressed by this, he looked back up, glad that Cassius was not one of those guys who talked to impress but really were lying through their teeth. He was an avid card player, and by the looks of it, really enjoyed having a deck in his hands.
The game of War seemed simple enough, but then again, all things were different when spoken. Seeing as he didn’t want to be a bother, he decided War sounded fine and easy enough. “That sounds good. I think I could learn that much.” He should have know that, as a beginner, more well known and complex games would be out of his reach for such a random encounter, but at least if somehow on the off chance that he found himself at a game of War, he wouldn’t be lost. Then again, if Solitaire was rare to see in public, how uncommon would it be to see War?
As Cassius shuffled the deck and then started to form two piles of cards, one for each of them. “I’m from Meadowview. I’m still a Sophomore.” Cassius seemed to be much older than he was, which only intimidated Ladon more. He rarely talked to guys, let alone ones that were graduated. “What are you studying for?” He wasn’t all that sure about Sovereign Heights, but he knew they took majors. His mother even now keep a SH brochure laying around, nudging him to look it over and consider what he would like to study, feeling it was never too early to start thinking about the future.
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 7:33 am
He was relieved Landon agreed to the game, and as he prepared the cards he listened in and learned about his age and where he attended school. He had met a few people from Meadowview before. Although at the moment their names weren't appearing in his brain. Luckily, the sort of 'do you know this person' conversation didn't seem that important anyways. Cassius skipped that whole ordeal and answered Landon's questions instead.
"I'm somewhat undecided at the moment. I've tried a few majors but I can't seem to pick which is my favorite. I'm hoping to with due time. But, right now I'm just taking normal classes for credit- English, History, those sorts of things." His explanation was half correct. He was undecided but not out of interest. It was because school wasn't important to him, and the only reason he was still there was to waste his father's money. The situation itself was complicated but those that knew Cassius were aware of his worth ethic for his father's sake. "What kind of class topics interest you at Meadowview?"
When each of them had their cards in front of them, Cassius motioned for them each to pick their first card. Cassius' was less then Landon's card value, so Landon won that round. "See, you are off to a good start already." The same pattern went on with each of them switching off with who won that round and so forth. The game always went spontaneously so it was nice to see Landon doing so well. "So, what kind of other activities do you enjoy doing? You seem like a well rounded guy with good interests." Plus, even if Landon didn't think so, he was being very friendly and Cassius liked that. It was rare for him to experience that right off hand. And at the moment it was a nice relief for how the day started with the weather.
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 9:58 pm
The game was simple enough and required little to no effort to play. Still, they continued to collect cards quickly, working through their deck, Cassius giving a practiced flip to each card while Ladon took his slowly and turned it over to set down. Winning and Loosing happened so often on both sides that there were plenty of chances to feel as if you were on top. While a small smile tugged quickly on his face at Cassius pointing out that he was doing well, he became more aware how much he wanted to win his favor. A guy from Sovereign Heights was impressive to know, much like how other kids at school spoke about hanging out with their older siblings who attended college. It brought you up a level somehow, and he felt eager to be seen as someone other than a child in the older boy’s eyes.
“I don’t really have much interest in most of my topics. I’m not the top of my class or anything like that, but if I had to pick one, I’d say I like English. I like some of the books they assign, but I don’t like when they pick people to act out scenes when we get to Shakespeare.” He also felt hesitant to voice his thoughts about a particular reading since he didn’t want the teacher to say it was wrong. The best part of class was that he could try his best to hide in the back, read, and simply do his work. “The only problem is our teacher, Mr. Gordon. He likes to pick on people, and I just wish he’d be like the other teachers and just teach and let everyone alone. I think he has too much fun messing with his students.” He flipped another card down, this time it being Cassius’ win.
To be said he was a well rounded guy with “good” interest only made another small smile flicker into existence before going away. Flattery was winning him over very easily, and Ladon felt that if Cassius continued, he’d start feeling embarrassed. “I’m on the Track team, which is what I like best, but a friend of mine started taking me to her anime club after school. It’s fun to just watch movies and hang with her, and I always liked track. I always want to get better at it.” There was always room for improvement in Track, and he liked running. His attention diverted from the cards back to the blonde. “What hobbies do you have?” As ridiculous as it sounded, he could see him as a musician. Maybe it was the long hair.
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Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 8:02 pm
Cassius wasn't sure how he felt about this Mr. Gordon character. The fact that he picked on students sounded horrible. "Ugh, I wouldn't take listening to a teacher like that." But then again, did the students even have a choice? "Sorry to hear he is a jerk." That's what Cassius hated about school. He hated how everyone lost their freedom and had to sit there for hours on end. Oh well, if he and Landon had survived thus far then they could certainly make it in many other boring life situations.
"I remember teachers making us act out Shakespeare scenes, too. The girls would always get really into it in my classes because the content was romantic." Cassius let out a laugh as he continued placing cards down. "Girls are such suckers for those sort of stories." Cassius didn't pay attention to what was actually going on since he found the whole 'acting' portion to be a waste of time as well. He definitely didn't miss High School at all. It really was hilarious he was still in school.
Landon was a track guy? He must have been a really fast runner and Cassius was jealous. "That's impressive!" he quickly added, while listening in on his other details about anime club and a certain female. "Is this female just a friend of yours or is it a girlfriend sort of thing?" Cassius eyes gleamed a bit at his own question. How could he not ask about that sort of thing? "As for me, I'm a pretty simple guy I guess. I like hanging out with friends and since many of them are female, I just take them out when I can, go to house or apartment parties." He paused while looking down at the cards again. "Plus I just play cards, dice and any other kind of chance games." Besides sleeping and eating a lot, that really was his life.
"I wish I got into a sport in high school. But I am thankful gyms exist to keep me somewhat busy and in shape." Although, the whole team-thing made him kind of nervous.
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Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 7:52 am
He hadn’t even expected the conversation to move to his friend, or that Cassius would be that forward to know. It didn’t help that the man said he was familiar with girls and, by the sounds of it, hanged around many on any given day. If he was wondering if Ladon has a friend who was just a friend or a girlfriend, what did that say about the friends he was mentioning? While Ladon wanted to sympathize with having more friends who were girls, despite how few, he felt a rising readiness to dislike Cassius on the bases that he might be a playboy. That was something he did not approve of, and while he didn’t like Shakespeare all that much, he was still a romantic.
His card dropping hand nearly stopped when Cassius had asked about Tate, and he quickly resumed his pace again to recover. “She’s just a friend, and she already has a boyfriend.” The last part of the sentence came out more bitter than he had predicted, and he took a sip of his hot chocolate to cover it up and clear his throat. It was thing chocolate was good against depression.
“He’s not really the best for her, either. His name’s Zachary and he was sent to Hillworth because he forced himself on a girl. I don’t know what she sees in him. I guess it’s either pity or she likes someone with a bad reputation.” There was no other way he could see why such a sensible, caring, girl would fall for a parasite like him.
They both dropped the same card number, and started to throw down three cards face down, Ladon following Cassius’ lead. “Do you have a lot of girlfriends?” Probably. Maybe the long, blond hair, tall, confident posture, and easy way of talking (Ladon usually didn’t even talk with strangers!) did it for them. Girls were becoming more and more a confusing heart – uh, HEADache to him as of late.
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Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 10:51 am
From Landon's expression, tone of voice and overall body language in describing 'his friend', Cassius had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Even so, he listened quietly as Landon described this Zachary fellow. If anything, it sounded like the guy had that bad-boy thing going on. Girls couldn't help but go for that sort of guy. "Doesn't mean you don't have a chance with her." As he said that, his eyes were focused on the cards and nothing else. Even though they had tied, Landon's card won and he nabbed all of the cards on the table. Cassius was glad to see his victory.
"Hopefully this Zachary fellow won't last anyways. She seems way too good for him." Cassius then brought his eyes on Landon's, finally. "Even so, it sounds like you are a really great friend to her. That's what's important." Cassius never understood the normal mental attraction that people got to each other. He had strong bonds with his friends but they never led to romance for him. He didn't trust women enough for that kind of commitment.
"Well, I have many friends that are girls." he then added, while placing cards down against Landon's. "I enjoy casually dating but I can't find the time for something serious. I just like meeting people I guess." That was Cassius' way of answering- no, I don't do relationships. For him he had two areas for females. There were girls he respected and cherished as friends and other women that he.. saw at night from time to time. His private life was never something he boasted or talked about, since he didn't find a need to. Plus, he didn't believe in patronizing or this and that. He was what he was, and he'd accepted it.
Cassius has always had strange habits when it came to women- and unfortunately it looked as though they'd never change.. "I'd say we should come up with a good plan to make you better then this Zachary toolbag, but I don't think you need one. I think your friend will come around if you keep being the great guy you are to her." That's how it usually worked, anyways. "Just be patient and I will hope for the best, too."
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Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 2:09 pm
It wasn’t what he had wanted to hear. Being tricky didn’t seem like it would work, and wouldn’t that be lying? Then again, he was already lying to her, but he knew he was already lying to her when he came to her and told her each day that he was fine. She was already lying to him by keeping secrets, and for not telling him about being with Zachary until he saw her run off on a date. What sort of friendship was that?! Why was he bothering in the first place when it didn’t seem to matter? They would never be close in the end, and it felt like his insides had been fed to a wood chipper when she went off to live another life outside of the one he knew about.
Being good and waiting around wasn’t going to work. There were plenty of girls who fell for the jerkoff in the crowd of ‘good’ guys, and just twiddling this thumbs wasn’t going to cut it. Who knew what Zachary would or already had done to her at this point, all because he probably wanted a casual fling. Is that what Tate wanted to? If they were serious, then he wouldn’t be in the right to stop her from going after what she wanted. If she was into delinquents, who was he to deny her that? If they both just wanted to be casual at the time, then he had no place. Casual relationships were for people who knew what they wanted, could play the game, flirt, and have the confidence to take what they wanted at the expense of others who might want something more. HE was the people who casual people went for, who felt that anything worth pursuing was worth going for 100%. If Zachary was going for a fling and Tate wasn’t, then Zachary would pay with his life if he hurt his friend.
The problem was, he had NO IDEA what Tate wanted. She never talked about it to him, and since she walked past him to go on a date, not even telling him that she was with someone, it was clear she didn’t want to talk to him about her personal life. There was her boundary line. He could not pass over into her personal life.
He flicked the cards down, hardly noticing when he won or lost. “I never said I wanted to be with her.” He spat, watching as he lost a hand. “She’s a big girl, much older than I am, and she already knows what she wants. I just like being her friend.” As he was telling himself this, he looked out to the window, watching the rain come down hard. He would have liked to run all of these thoughts out of his head. Just run and not think.
Returning to the cards, he tried to meet Cassius’ eyes, but only managed as far as his neck. “I don’t expect you to understand. You don’t seem to take it all seriously at all.” He felt the cards in his hands, pausing at he watched a Queen slip through his fingers and fall to an ace. “I just get attached to people who show me a little attention. It’s my fault in the end.” Maybe once he grew up a little, he wouldn’t be so easy to fall for someone who gave him the time of day.
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