Check Mate [Closed]

"Ish-apia," Raphael corrected. Not that Mori was likely to take it to heart, but to not amend the title seemed disrespectful to the deity. Moments passed as he contemplated his move and his own words. At first, he wasn't sure if what he wanted to say could actually be explained in words, but finally, he moved another pawn to forfeit and sat back, squaring his shoulders and rectifying his posture.

"Yes," he answered. "Shortly after injection, I felt the usual symptoms; immediate fatigue, decreased heart rate, feelings of calm. But after that," Raphael gestured with his hands to drive the point home, "you grew a long nose and ears. As if you had become possessed by him."

There were dozens of stories of Ish-apia occupying bodies that did not belong to him and rarely for any good purposes.

Regardless of the religious aspect, Raphael was still a man of science. He knew the sedatives could possibly produce hallucinations, especially when he was exhausted having just been on call, but the nature of his vision wasn't just run of the mill. Or so he believed. Visions of Ish-apia were rare, usually only bestowed upon the medicine men who were clever enough to interpret the meaning behind them.

Light brown eyes flashed upward to check on Mori's expression. Was he amused but what most would perceive as ridiculousness? That didn't matter to the Native, rather he was more interested in knowing if he was being humored or if the man across the table was indeed also curious for answers.

Ah, he was being corrected, was he? The doctor released a quick chuckle behind his smirking façade to that. People and their religions. Always up in arms about defending honor and that sort of bullshit.

When Raphael began to describe what had happened, Mori's eyebrows rose. Well that was interesting. He didn't need to point out the obvious; that wasn't supposed to happen. But the other male was quite aware of that, or he wouldn't be examining the doctor so closely, now would he?

Mori's expression remained somewhat stagnant. He was always wearing that smirk, it was a part of his being. His hand outreached for one of his own pieces, swiftly stealing the pawn for sacrifice. Glancing up the table, the Asian male gave a rather judgmental face.

"I thought I asked you to try."

Who the hell said he wasn't trying? Raphael scoured the board with his typical stoney expression, thinking Mori should have been happy the Native had even survived the game this long. Chess definitely wasn't his forte, but he endured it if only for a chance to continue talking with the smaller man, never mind that the conversation was slow and strained at best.

He took his time in quiet thought. Honey eyes alternating between the board and Mori himself; never for too long, he'd been rude a few times before, apparently. Large fingertips hovered over one of his last remaining pawns, about to cast it forward when he noticed he had free reign to take his competition's bishop. His head canted slightly to the right. Had the doctor been hinting to him to look for a better move?

Perhaps even Mori didn't want their game to end quite so soon? Through dark lashes he cast another look at the Asian's scowling face.

No. That was very unlikely.

His mouth smirked as he took the bishop anyway. "Check."

If Mori were a nicer man, he would have given the other credit for lasting this long in a match. however, he wasn't. He was an asshole, and he knew it well. So no praise was given. Instead, he was mad that Raphael's intellectual prowess was not as extraordinary as his own. At least in the mind game of chess.

When the other put him into check, Mori sighed and leaned his body forward to wrap his finger around another one of his pieces. He admitted in his mind that he didn't expect the other to make that move. He saw it fold out turns ago.

He slid his piece to the side and stole that offensive pawn that put him into check. "Sometimes the best moves are not the obvious ones." With his piece in position, Mori looked all over the board for a moment. His eyes moved quickly. Analyzing every possible move, his eyes darted about the squares.

"I was hoping this would be a more worthwhile match." The doctor pushed his chair away from the table, rising to a stand and adjusting his clothes. He began to step away, when he spoke. "Check mate."

Ahh, so it seems Mori had been backing him into a corner after all. Not surprising really. Raphael smiled at his defeated king before his eyes flicked to the form of Mori standing with his back facing him. In his mind he saw a small flick of a tail; a prideful coyote so certain of his victory, but the Native too, was like a coyote in many ways, keen and clever. Mori might have won the battle but the war was far from over.

"Good game, Dr. Mori," Raphael called after him, rising from his own chair and smoothing out his clothing and readjusting his tie. He took the time to realign the pieces for whoever wished to play next, ran his hands through his long hair and walked purposefully back to his office, his head full of thoughts that immediately needed to be penned down.