"Nce4"  Amara's voice came after a long moment of quiet concentration. She watched bemusedly as the knight from the c-file moved to the square e4, sacrificing it brutally for a combination that would hopefully and eventually force mate on Black. Her eyes took a violent gleam as Black's Queen gruesomely disemboweled the knight, causing the antiquated board to fill with blood. A family wizard's chess set. It was rather aesthetically pleasing. The blood washed away magically at every check mate. The purple marble of the lighter squares was glistening red in that decidedly warmer Spring Saturday.

She watched as the Black Queen dragged the gored knight off the board with something of a sadistic smile and joined her in expression, knowing she'd have it worse in just two more moves. "Awfully cocky aren't you" she hummed in sweet voice ending on a rather strange giggle. The Black queen merely scowled at her and dumped the Knight off the edge of the board. As the board prepared its next move, Amara raised her eyes off the board and scanned the interior courtyard absently. It was rather deserted, although it was early on a weekend. With her arms and legs crossed she leaned further into the chair and leaned her face up, soaking in the sunlight.

She didn't particularly enjoy the sun or warm weather in general but it was a quiet day and it had been a long rainy spring. She heard movement and without even opening her eyes she extend an invitation. "You could join me. Although, I should warn you—" at this point she opened her eyes and turned her face towards the intruder, a cryptic expression on her face. "This chess set isn't for the faint of heart" she ended with a rather disturbing smile and an arched eyebrow. She huffed softly under her breath. Chess was the best mind game one could play. It was obvious from the very first moves just who was hunter and who was prey.

But Mara knew when to play pray in order to achieve hunter status. She dipped the tip of her finger in the miniature entrails that the Knight had left on the board and lifted it in the sun, watching the light play on the viscous red. She rubbed her index and thumb together, watching the string of tissue form as she pulled them apart. The corner of her lips was still turned up and she hummed again. "Well? Up for the challenge?"

It was a quest of nigh futility, then, as Philo stumbled about the court yard. He had slept in and everyone else he knew had plans of their own at various unknown parts of the castle. Seeing as the Owlery, Library, those misty covered couches in front of the History of Magic classroom, and two common study halls were empty, he considered looking outside. Tim Pepper might have said something about 'fresh air' last night, and if Drea was with Heliotrope that meant finding Heliotrope, which typically meant along the lakeshore by the castle.

Looking for friends soon lost emphasis in his mind when the tone of the other student suggested he had be 'caught' at something and Philo froze up as if in stern words from a professor.

The name of the silver haired Slytherin flitted about the edges of memory. When your own house had a Prefect with even paler hair you tended to notice such things. The Báthory girl. Which, as much as Slytherins went, had just as much of a reputation and suggested viciousness.

However...

She was offering to join into some kind of game, piquing Philo's curiosity. And games could not get any more familiar than Wizards' Chess. Certainly, in past experience, Philo had faced some pretty brutal players that were older students but at least this wasn't exploding snap during the train ride home with a bunch of then fifth years seeing how much they could shatter finger bones during the deck slapping.

"I've probably seen worse," Philo said, unassuming of the board's true nature. It surely looked ornate and very ritzy, far more expensive than any board game back at the Falkin homestead of Steeple Underfoot. Really, what could be worse than the most horrifying cards in Canterbury's Terr-Oh! set, which had been circling the gaming club and Ravenclaw dorm like a set of History cliff notes by this point.

Mousy little thing, she thought looking at the boy. She had no memory of him, but neither did she believe she had any reason for that. People, after all, posed only so much interest to her. She couldn't get a read on him, but at least he seemed interested. And it would remain to be seen if he posed any sort of challenge, however.

With a sly little smile and an arched eyebrow she chuckled softly, one hand  flitting at the corners of her lips. "Oh, we'll see" she almost promised, waving her hand over the board as it folded unto itself and then unfolded to reveal all the pieces in their starting positions and everything in a pristine order. Uncrossing her arms, she leaned forward and squinted her eyes, giving the boy an intense but unreadable look.

"White, I should guess? You are the guest, after all" she said softly after a moment, head tilted to the side as she continued analyzing him, only to then give him a small, terrifying smile that spoke of awful things to come. Dropping back into the chair she crossed her arms again and started quietly balancing one ankle atop the other. "What's your name, little Ravenclaw?" she asked eventually, eyes intent on the board as she quickly flitted through possible strategies inside her head.

He looked bookish, so there might be some skill to him, but he also looked ridiculously easy to distract or manipulate. She'd have to wait and see...

Being two grades removed, Philo about as little about the Báthory girl outside of appearance, where others in her year might question the hospitality and deceptively simple game. But Philo was only interested in a new chess opponent outside of the club and common room, taking a nearby seat.

"Um, Philo. Falkin." Almost with a wince, anticipating many a joke or malapropism based on his name of which there was an extensive list wrought by the creative insulters at school. And in truth, there was something entrancing but reciprocally horrifying about her smile, though not anything Philo could put into thought. He glanced to the board.

"Pawn to D3," he said, the sliding piece opening the diagonals for his queen and black tiled bishop.

She eyed him quietly as he introduced himself with a quizzical look on her face, neither too curious but neither indifferent. She did however almost smile in amusement as he appeared to be expecting sort of commentary related to his name. Mara couldn't find anything remotely funny with his name. As strange as it was, her family had its fair share of unfortunate names.

"Amara" she declared, eyes still intent on their target. "Pleasure to meet you" she added with a polite little smile, inclining her head in greeting. "Knight to f6" she said without eyeing the board, instead holding Philo's gaze. "A knight on the rim is grim" she sing-songed with a giggle and winked at the Ravenclaw.

"What year are you, Philo?" she asked softly, tilting her head back to resume enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face. A few months ago she would've called him Mr. Falkin and never dared sketch a smile at him. Then again, neither would she be playing chess in an open-space.

It was one of the more surreal things Philo had experienced in the while (which was saying much for what contributed as normal around Hogwarts). The was something head-stracthingly creepy as to the Báthory girl but yet he was still drawn to remain in her presence playing chess.

Her rhyme wasn't lost to him, given that Philo sometimes got his Knights moving early as well. There was something about thinking in L-shapes that he could do quite naturally to pick the best way to move about the board. He followed with a similar move. "Knight to F3."

"Second year, nearly third. I'm going to have to sign up for elective classes soon."

Without moving her head, her gaze lowered until her eyes were mere cold slits, as she eyed him curiously, lips twitching at the corners. After a soft hum, her eyes closed again and started bouncing one leg atop the other absently. "Arithmancy and Runes" she declared after another moment of silence, finger twirling a long silver curl. "And Care" she tilted her head forward, gaze lowering to the board and frowning. " But only if you have a passion for it."

"Pawn to d5"  she said after a beat, finger coming to rest in the dip under her lower lip, eyes calculating and actively flitting about the board, imagining the possibilities that particular move would open. Everybody overlooked the pawns... And how tedious  not to mention foolish, was to do so.  "The rest is complete and utter idiocy" she added distastefully with a little scowl. Muggle Studies and Divination... What a caricature of education.

"Choose wisely, little bird. Your interests say a lot about you" she continued, smirking just so, finger tapping a soft rhythm on her lips.

To say Philo was not thoroughly freaked out by this point would be an understatement worthy of the Quibbler glossing over a major issue. He pulled his eyes away from the board. Nothing on Amara Báthory's face suggested anything and her focus was still on the game.

Was she like a Seer? Or very very good at Divination if she took it? Those had been the top courses Philo had been considering. Well, not Creatures, not really...save that there was a high high chance a certain somebody he knew might be taking it at wouldn't be taking things like Runes and Arithmancy. True, they still shared other classes, but still...

Her spot on accurations unnerved him enough that he almost questioned his next move after he made it, his opened piece scooting across the board.  "Bib-bishop to F4."

"Yeah," Philo said, knowing what most thought about his interests. "Boring."

Amara eyed the little thing with thinly veiled amusement. Twitchy and nervous, suited him; just like a trapped little mouse. His words came as a bit of a surprise however, and she barely raised both eyebrows in question. "Boring? Boring how?" she inquired for further details, although more as a means of expressing her disapproval rather than actually awaiting an answer.

"How would such esteemed subjects like Arithmancy and Runes be any indicators of anything boring?" she continued on her previous train of through, tilting her head sideways to squint her eyes at him. "Arithmancy is not only a highly treasured tool in the mind's logical processes, but it's also imperative in calculating and therefore drawing conclusion on... well, just about anything" she said softly with a little shrug. "And Runes... Runes are just as powerful in their own right. The right rune can turn a banal object into an instrument of power, protection and so on" she said, drawing lazy circles in the air to demonstrate continuity.

"Pawn to e6" she said as an afterthought, eyebrows drawn in concentration, before her eyes were upon the Ravenclaw again. "Knowledge is power and there is nothing at all boring about power, little Philo" she concluded, smirk hanging at the corner of her lips as if in a promise of wretched things to come.