"A master hunter ? Hide and seek you say ?" His eyebrow ridge rises.

"I presume though always a danger in doing so, that you would want me to be the one to hide ?"

"Oh my name is Ashton, how thoughtless of me, and you are ? Can I offer you something to drink ?"

Smiling, Tanique nodded
"I am Tanique, of the Great Crech, rider of thunder and Mistressof Storms.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
And tea would be lovely, if you have any"

"That is quite a title, and tea is certainly available." he gets up and shuffles about setting a pot of water to boil. He shows her several blends of tea none of which she has heard of save for one which her father has in Arden.

He sits back with her at the table, "So Tanique, of the Great Crech, rider of thunder and Mistress of Storms, are you any good at chess ?" He smiles showing wide flat teeth.

Tanique smiled demurely
"Well, I've played a game or two, though I'd hesitate to overestimate my skill"

Ashton starts setting up the board.

"Your father he must really enjoy hide and seek to send such a lovely young woman to look for people to play with. Most out grow that as they get older and move on to other passtimes."

He gestures to the board, "Your my guest, ivory or ebony ?"

Tanique chuckled
"It's a surprise for him, actually.  I'm not even positive he'll enjoy it, and might not be willing to play the game.  Though that will have no effect on the compensation for the participants i hire. "
She looked at the board
"I'll take ebony, just to make things interesting "

He nods and lets you go first as he moves to check on the pot of water.

"So, this is a surprise, is it a birthday present kind of something to bring back his youthful days maybe ?"

OOC: my apologies.   I thought white went first

Tanique made a move, and grinned impishly
"Not really.   He's a hunter now, going after dangerous creatures who wander into his home territory.  He fancies himself a skilled hunter, not without reason,  and i thought he'd love a challenge "

"Dangerous creatures, Ooooooh then I know the type. So then you're thinking perhaps I am a dangerous creature that will give your father a challenge? Hunters are not as fun as young boys playing hide and seek young lady. They tend to like to take trophies and stuff things to show off to their friends.

He pours the water into cups and sets out the various teas in little metal containers with holes and a tiny chain.

"Is that more along the lines of what you were thinking?"

He moves his piece.

Tanique smiled kindly
"I was not specifically thinking that you were a dangerous creature that could be hunted, just that i was sent here from the main business mall to inquire further, so perhaps you knew where i should go.   And, rest assured, if the quarry of this hunt were a sentient creature, there would be rules in place about trophies and such.  Perhaps an artificial trophy could be provided if anyone felt the need for souvenirs. "

"I would hope so !" He twiddles his thumbs.

He lets his tea steep for a while.

"So you are not into hunting yourself, more into thunder and storms eh ?" He looks across at her with his large hazel eyes with gold flecks.

Tanique shrugged,  looking at the board
"I'm not not into hunting.  I just like the searching more than the finding, I'll admit."

"That is a rare trait for one to enjoy the search more than the finding. Though I have known a few in my time that have shared that sentiment. I myself like finding a good fruiting bush or nice fresh stream though we might be thinking different things."

Move by move it becomes apparent he rather is good at chess in fact very good at chess.

He refreshes your tea and his.

"So, you must practice a bit of magic to find yourself here in Afiera, does your father also possess magic ?"

Tanique nodded at the conversation, concentrating, at least a little, on the game
"Father has magic in a roundabout way.   He is no sorcerer, thinking such things are needless distractions, i suspect.  He's more about being in tune with his surroundings and confronting his environment head on"

Ashton seems to ponder that taking a longer then normal amount of time then he had been on his next move.

"I do know of many creatures, though a lot of them are friends. There are some creatures that are no ones friends. Do you think your father may be up to something like a manticore?"

Tanique paid close attention to the game, suspecting that the next moves might be important

"A manticore might be perfect.   Traveling by ground as well as air, and able to attack with range and close up, and a tough opponent.   A good package "

Ashton nods, "Very few can handle such a creature young lady. That is why I asked if you think he is up to it. Who is your father by the way ?"

Now that she is more focused on the game she is able to see that he has either missed some moves that could have won the game for him or chosen not to take them. She is leaning more towards him possibly drawing out the game or playing more for the fun of it. Though she is not sure his body language is hard to read.

Tanique does her best, based on the times she's played chess in Amber, to stretch out the game as well.  Though she tries to keep herself one or two moves away from winning.

"my father is Prince Julian of Amber"

The game stretches and as Tanique starts to play to her skill she catches Ashton off guard and makes some gains before he recovers. He smiles, "Oh, oh you lured me in." He chuckled in a deep gruff sounding laugh.

When she mentions Julian he straightens.

"JULIAN ! Pah so thats it ! He wants a rematch does he?" His eyes flash with perhaps anger.

"Are you really his daughter?" He looks Tanique over squinting a bit.

Tanique blinked in surprise and gave a hesitant smile
"You know my father?  What was your last interaction like?"

He sniffed the air a bit.

"Yes, I know of him, little prince dark hair, well big prince now apparently. Has some annoying big brothers Eric and Cor something." Ashton scritches his chin.

"He was one of the children I played hide and seek with. He caught me once when I was relieving myself and so wasn't at my most watchful." He grinds his teeth a bit.
"Your father made a big deal about it and said I needed to train him how to hide in the woods. You know you should lead with; I am from Amber." Ashton goes to refill his tea and finds the pot empty.

"I'll be back." He fills the pot again with water setting it to heat up.

"I taught him some of my skills, not all. He wanted to best his brothers at some dumb sport, I am not sure what. He kept wanting a rematch with me, since he felt like he cheated, catching me going to the bathroom so to speak. It was not in the spirit of things but wasn't exactly cheating. I left because he kept pestering me the way children do. Honestly, I thought it would be the last I would hear from him. Though a friend tells me he is doing well, has armor and a mighty steed now. I guess, I am happy to see he has a daughter. Would have been fun playing hide and seek with you. At least now I know how it is your so good at chess."

Tanique smiled shyly,  though she blushed at the man's talk of relieving himself in the woods.  Granted, Tanique was no spoiled city girl, amd was trained in the rigors of outdoor survival, but hearing about personal details from a stranger was a bit embarrassing.

"If you do not wish to play these kinds of games again, i completely understand "

"You really didn't know who I was before coming here?" His eyebrow ridge rises.

"I would have thought you sought me out, heck I would have thought the well not a young prince anymore, how old is he now fifty ?"

Tanique shrugged
'As much as i do not hide my titles and parentage, i also try not to rely on them for my reputation,  preferring to let my actions speak for me.  Likewise, I'll admit that i didn't know you, and am pleased to meet you now"

He tugs at his lower jaw a bit and sits down to continue the game and conversation.

"Manticore is a beast your father and I spoke of. They occasionally came into the Kingswood in that kingdom he lived in. Nice forest one of my favorite has a unicorn occasionally prances around in it. I might be old but I haven't lost all my skill." He makes a deep growling sound that seems pleasing.

"Lad has probably forgotten about me, though he was pretty sharp if not a bit annoying. Fine I will play hide and seek with Julian again, ah Prince Julian he would correct me." He gives a deep bellied laugh.

"No killing, and give a man some privacy when he needs it. I can only imagine he has gotten better, I would like to see how he has turned out for old times sake."