1 x 1 with -TruBlue

[Boomer]

Alessa had pinned her ears back as it was clear she was afraid. Her eyes darted around the room, then finally stopped as Margaret spoke. "R-right..." she whispered, "G-good idea." Alessa slowly stood up, then took a shaky breath. Mrs. Potter had been watching the girls from the doorway, jotting down their behavior. This was to help the psychologist learn about their personalities and behaviors so the proper help could be given.

[-Blufox]

Ms. Potter left, and Margaret turned to Alessa. "H-how about we play a b-board game instead?" She asked, and hoped that there wouldn't be any fireplaces in sight.

[Boomer]

"How d-do you play a board game?" asked Alessa, tilting her head a little. She wasn't given any toys, besides Scarlett. She didn't play games with her mother, or even by herself. She hoped that she didn't sound foolish for asking that question. "W-we can try!" she added quickly, not wanting to disappoint Margaret, "I'm s-sure I can figure it out." Although she had little education, Alessa was a capable reader. She would read the same stories over and over.

[-Blufox]

Margaret stood up and walked to another bookshelf, but this one was taller and had games instead of books. She took a random one off the shelf. She couldn't tell what it was because the ink on the lid of the box was now white. The young feline sat down in front of Alessa and opened the box. It was a game of Chess, but many of the pieces were missing. There were no instructions to be found, but Margaret still took the pieces out and put them all in the center of the board.

[Boomer]

Alessa sat down as Margaret sat. She watched her open the box and place the pieces in the center of the board. She appeared to be confused as she was trying to figure out what to do. Alessa picked up a white piece, then felt it in her paw. "Do we just... move them around?" she asked softly, "D-do you know what this game is called?" Alessa figured if Margaret knew, they could always ask one of the adults. She didn't even think about asking one of the other kids.

[-Blufox]

"I-i don't know," Margaret said softly. "W-we can make up some rules i-if you want, though. T-that might be fun."

Sometimes, when Margaret was chopping wood or scrubbing the floors, she would make up a game. Most of the time these games were "How fast and accurately can I do this chore before Father yells at me", where she would count, for example, how many chunks of wood she chopped in an hour.

[Boomer]

"Sure, t-that sounds fine." she replied. Alessa placed the white piece back on the board. "We could m-move them from one end to the other, a-and we can knock the other team o-out of the way if they get close." she suggested. Alessa went to move her pieces to her side of the board. "I g-guess whoever knocks out the other person first wins?" she added, a little unsure if her rule made any sort of sense.

[-Blufox]

"W-we can try that." Margaret stammered. She moved the black pieces to her side of the board and slowly started to move a pawn to Alessa's side.

[Boomer]

Alessa lightly pushed a rook forward. She slowly laid on her chest and used Scarlett to cushion her elbows. She had her paws on her cheeks as she waited for her turn. "What was your family like?" she asked quietly, flicking her tail, "I just had my mother. No one else." Alessa sometimes couldn't help her curiosity. She wasn't able to exercise it often when she was living in her old home. At the hospital, once she could talk, she asked about everything they were doing to her. Alessa became involved in her own treatment.

[-Blufox]

Margaret pushed a knight forward on the right side of the board before trying to comprehend Alessa's question. She paused for a moment without speaking or blinking. Her breathing was light. "Father..." she whispered, on the edge of tears. No, Margaret. Stay strong. Don't cry now. She thought while memories started flooding and coming back to her. "H-he w-would d-drink crazy j-juice." Margaret wasn't sure how she managed to get even one single sentence out about her father.