Drunken Poker (1)

Writers: AL, Elyriel
Date Posted: 3rd December 2008

Characters: T'marek, Zelle
Description: Zelle helps T'marek while he's had a bit too much to drink.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 13, day 13 of Turn 4

"Hey there." Zelle approached the brownrider who sat alone at the table, nursing a large mug of ale and certainly not his first if Zelle was any judge. Cards sat before him, ready to be played but there was no opponent. She had heard others speaking about him, not wanting to play with him because of his rather reclusive and often grumpy nature, but Zelle didn't let that stop her. If it had, there would be a certain bronzerider who wouldn't have the joy of her company, now would it?

"Care for a game?" The greenrider motioned to the cards upon the table. "I'm a decent player."

Blinking heavily, T'marek's head turned slowly. He had to squint to focus on the woman speaking. Her features were blurred, a sure sign he'd had more than enough to drink. Not one to over indulge often, when he did, the brownrider usually did so in style. "Huh?" He finally managed to ask, her words having already escaped his soddened brain.

"A game?" The greenrider repeated, pointing once more to the cards, then leaning over to pluck them from the table. "You play poker at all?"

His gaze wandered to the cards laid out on the table. "Oh." Turning to look back at her, one large shoulder lifted, then fell slowly. "Sure." He wasn't usually one for company but the past had refused to stay buried. A distraction was just what he needed.

Zelle slipped into the chair opposite of the brownrider and began to shuffle the cards with practised ease. After a few rounds of shuffling, she stacked the deck and placed it in front of him. "Care to cut it?"

With his mind stuck in a wine induced tunnel, T'marek merely shook his head. He found himself not caring one way or the other about playing, which was unusual for him since he tended to need to win at nearly everything he did. "Just deal." The brownrider grumbled, taking another long gulp of wine. Setting his cup down on the table it hit so hard that some splashed over the edge. Watching the droplets pool on the hard surface, he huffed softly but didn't make a move to wipe the mess away. He simply couldn't bring himself to care enough to bother.

Zelle scooped up the cards and cut them herself, then dealt out a hand for each of them. She plunked the rest of the deck in the middle between them and took up her own cards. "My name's Zelle." She stated by way of making conversation. It wasn't something she would necessarily do in a serious game of poker, but he was so sodden real stakes were pretty much thrown out to Thread.

"T'marek." The man barked gruffly as he picked up his cards. Pulling them up close to his face, he then extended his arms to their full length in an effort to make sense of what he held. Bringing them up practically to his nose again, he quickly organized them and then grabbed four and tossed them in front of him face down.

Zelle arched an eyebrow but didn't argue as she dealt out four new cards. She took a moment to study hers once more then placed down two and drew two. "Well met, T'marek. Forgive me for not knowing you beforehand, but I'm still learning faces and names around here."

"I'm not a bronzerider." He replied in that same gruff tone. "You're not expected to know me." Looking at his cards again, they all seemed to swim together. T'marek had no idea exactly what he held in his hand, in fact, he was having a hard time even remembering how to play at the moment.

"Just because you're not a bronzerider doesn't mean I would _not_ know you." Zelle clicked her tongue and put down her hand of two pairs.

Setting his own cards down, he didn't even look at them. If he won, he won, if not it was nothing to him. Looking up at her, he actually felt one side of his mouth lift in something that almost resembled a smile. The action didn't reach his eyes but it was more than anyone had gotten out of him in a long time. "Not many people _know_ me." He informed her. "They prefer to go out of their way to avoid me." Which was exactly how he liked it.

"That's a real shame." Zelle laughed softly, "All though if you're this good at poker as drunk as you are, you'd probably scare off half the weyr when you're sober." A flush. It was a good thing they weren't playing for marks or trade. "Been here at the weyr long? I'm originally from the North myself. I transferred down here about two months ago."

Staring at his cards, he tried to see what she saw. Since he couldn't, he shrugged mentally then focused his attention on her question. "Long? Yeah, you could say that." T'marek murmured, taking another long drink from his cup. Draining it he grabbed the wine skin and poured what was left of it in the cup. "Hmph." The brownrider said with a bob of his head. "I need another. 'Scuse me." He tried to push his chair out but it seemed to be caught on something. "Or not..." Of course, had he not been quite so far into his cups he would have realized the reason his chair wasn't moving was because his feet were curled around the legs.

"Perhaps some klah would be better." Zelle suggested as she pushed back her own chair. Klah and probably no more poker. Maybe when he was sober. "I can go get you some if you like."

T'marek made a face. "No, that's fine." His words were slightly slurred but not so much so that he couldn't be understood. "I'd rather have wine."

"I'll just go get you some klah." Zelle stated cheerfully. Without waiting for a response, the girl stalked off. A few moments later she returned with not one but two steaming mugs. She set one down in front of T'marek, then plopped back down into her chair. "What's your lifemate's name?"

Frowning at the steaming mug of Klah, T'marek didn't reply for a long moment Pushing the mug away, he sighed. "Iriketh." The brownrider finally said in a tone that said he was far from pleased.

"Mine's Rillith." Zelle eyed the untouched klah and took a sip of her own. "Oh, would you care for a bubbly?" The greenrider asked as her eyes strayed back to the table. "It looks like they're bringing out a fresh batch. It's probably the last of the night."

Last updated on the December 5th 2008

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Drunken Poker (1)