Winning is Fun (1/2)

Writers: Devin, Bree
Date Posted: 29th November 2006

Characters: Abrei, K'mai
Description: Abrei finally keeps her poker date with K'mai, who wins a little more than he expected to.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 1, day 4 of Turn 4

Abrei

K'mai

Abrei showed up at K'mai's door wearing several layers of clothing and a
scarf wrapped around her neck in spite of the balmy temperature outside.
She made a face at him before he could say anything. "If you're actually
going to make me take clothing off every time I lose, I need a head
start."

K'mai fought to stop laughing. "You really have," chuckle, "a lot of
confidence," chuckle, "in your poker skills."

Eyes narrowed, Abrei managed to knock her elbow into K'mai's side as she
moved past him into his weyr. "I don't even know if I remember how to
play."

"I can show you how. It's easy." He closed the door and walked over to
the table.

Abrei snorted as she took a seat, dumping the flask of juice she'd
brought with her on his table and wishing it was wine. Shards, she hated
being on restriction. "I remember enough about poker to remember that
it's _not_ easy."

"Winning might not be easy, depending on who you're playing with. But
the game itself is very easy." K'mai sat down opposite her and started
shuffling the cards.

"If you say so..." She watched him deal the first hand, her eyes
narrowed thoughtfully. There was something unfair about the game of
poker. She always could figure out when she was going to get a good hand
and when she wasn't--she was used to holding a lot more information than
that in her head at once--but no matter how hard she tried, she could
never hide that knowledge from the other players.

"Why do you look so serious?" he asked as he set the deck aside. "This
is just for fun."

"I know," she replied absently, picking up her cards. "But winning is
fun."

K'mai laughed. "It sure is." Looking at his hand, he thought Abrei might
have a good chance at winning this round. "Hmmm. But I think I win no
matter what."

"You do, do you?" Abrei wasn't paying any attention to him, too busy
organizing her cards in her hand. Her eyebrows came together as she
nibbled on her lower lip, eyes flicking back and forth. "What are we
betting with, anyway?"

"Clothing," the bluerider said with a grin.

"Oh." Obviously she hadn't been thinking too seriously about that part.
At least she was mostly prepared... it would take a few rounds before
she had to worry about it. "Well then, I bet a boot."

"I'll see your boot and raise you another."

Abrei's eyes went back to her cards as she worried at her lower lip
again. After a telling pause, she nodded. "Fine. Two boots."

K'mai considered raising. Abrei's hand might be even worse than his. But
he decided not to push things too early. "Alright. Call."

In spite of her attempts to appear confident, Abrei quickly lost the
hand and her boots, which had been uncomfortable enough that she didn't
much mind. Obviously she was still just as bad at bluffing as she'd
always been, which was something of a disappointment. "I told you I'm no
good at this."

"So you can't bluff very well. I'm sure you'll learn with a bit of
practice." K'mai shuffled and began to deal again. "This time, pretend
you have a good hand, no matter what it is."

"Alright..." It seemed like a bit of a silly thing to do, since
obviously K'mai would _know_ she was pretending. Either he was trying to
teach her to bluff, or he was hoping to expedite the removal of her
clothing. With him, it could be either one.

K'mai had better cards this time, but not by much. "I bet . . . my boot
again."

Abrei chewed on her lower lip for another moment as she shifted cards
around in her hand, judging how good her chances were quickly enough.
But then, it had never been the _logic_ of the game that had defeated
her. Remembering K'mai's suggestion, she plastered a cheerful smile on
her face. "I call a... scarf?" It was far too hot to be wearing it.

"I'll raise you my shirt," the bluerider said, mostly to see how she
would react.

Any attempts to hide her reaction were futile. She eyed K'mai
suspiciously before glancing back down at her hand, unsure if she should
continue to bluff. Granted, she _was_ wearing three different shirts...
"Fine. I call."

K'mai glanced over at her cards. "Well, looks like you owe me a scarf
and a shirt. But you're learning."

~*~
Continued in Part 2...
~*~

Last updated on the December 1st 2006

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Winning is Fun (1/2)