Gambler

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"Not counting this as a victory yet. I’m just amused at how things seem to be going."

Because this was a situation birthed from an assumption; he underestimated her, he stumbled down a path well traveled. She’d been discredited for the better portion of her life. He’s done it twice, now, albeit in different ways, albeit for different reasons. Vengeance is a thing of the past for her but just this once, she sees an exception, a break in the cycle. “Though it was kind of silly to assume I’d never played before. Remember, I was raised in an environment prominently masculine, and there weren’t many things my squadron could do during downtime. I never really joined in, but I saw them play a lot of card games. It’s not hard to pick up the basics.”

The rest was natural instincts paired with the world’s best poker face. Stoicism went a long way in games like these. She was steel and bone and a gaze iced over. “I’ve also seen most of your tricks. Unless you have an entirely new game plan, I think you might have to raise the white flag.”

And just like that, she’s a slate wiped clean, pride and prowess masked beneath a static stare, movements deliberate as she shuffles and arranges her own cards, a hand full of promise that looks a lot more like a battlefield, now, than a game. 

It was unfortunately true that he had underestimated her once before. He'd made a bet, a simple one at that, one which he'd only ever assumed that she'd play fairly. Yet she pulled the carpet out from under him when it was revealed that she'd used a double sided coin, a trick he'd used so many times before that he'd never seen it coming. Since then he'd always headed caution and kept his wits about him when dealing with her, yet here he was underestimating her for a second time. Maybe it was because he was confident in his skill at the game, or that she made a very convincing amateur.

Either way it was intriguing. It was rare for him to ever pair wit against wit over a game of cards. Usually he was able to out think and out smart whoever he came up against, and for whoever he couldn't, well, he always had a cheap trick up his sleeve just in case. "How foolish of me to forget." He mutters as he removes to cards from his hand and places them face down on the table before drawing another two from the deck. Pleased with his hand for the moment he passes the turn over to Celes.

Another sip of wine and his eyebrow raises at her proposition. One more hand. Winner take all? It was likely that she was playing him again, luring him in with an offer he couldn't resist, but Setzer was never one to back down from a gamble so how could he say no to this?

all of these were taken from writeworld, with their permission. i selected a few to use as ‘sentence memes’ so we can find some inspiration. there will be more of these, check this tag for any updates.

❛ Tell me a secret. ❜

❛ I’m worried about you. ❜

❛ Why is it always me? ❜

❛ I wanted to love you. ❜

❛ Don’t touch me! ❜

❛ Find them and bring them to me — dead or alive. ❜

❛ I need to go to the bathroom. ❜

❛ Please talk to me. ❜

❛ You are not who I thought you were. ❜

❛ Where are you now? ❜

❛ Hand me that knife. ❜

❛ I have never in my life been so insulted! ❜

❛ Don’t forget me. ❜

❛ Don’t do this. ❜

❛ I’ve never done this before. ❜

❛ This is wrong. ❜

❛ Why do you even have this? ❜

❛ I think I’m drunk. ❜

❛ If you love something, you have to let it go. ❜

❛ I’m not looking for love. ❜

❛ Just go, alright? ❜

❛ I want it to be over. ❜

❛ Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here? ❜

❛ S/he’s just too beautiful, you know what I mean? ❜

❛ You don’t remember me? ❜

❛ That isn’t the only trick I have up my sleeve. ❜

-

It’s understandable that he would need a break from all the latest members of his ‘crew’. Perhaps the ship was much quieter than it is now. Much like how she wished her life to be. Quiet, and harmonious. Perhaps, dare she think it, normal. Her life has never been normal; how could she even want for something she had no idea of how to identify? It’s rather discouraging for her to think about, and as she watches Locke, Celes, Edgar and the rest of them converse, and enjoy each others company, she can only wonder: were any of their lives ‘normal’, before she came along?

A short lived feeling of guilt befalls her for a moment. Has she been the catalyst that’s pulled her friends out of their state of normalcy— out of their comfort— and tossed them into an never ending war-zone with the empire? The voice of Setzer, however, brings about the turning of her head. Her deep thoughts now lost within the deep pool she has previously been pondering.

❝Hm..?❞ She pivots, turning herself towards him. Her gaze removed from the clouds and distant starry skies. Confusion mixed with curiosity spikes across her facial features. ❝You.. preform magic cards..?❞ She is mused by his inquiry.

If Terra could have a peek into her subconscious, she could recall a time from childhood, before Kefka became truly wicked. He would often put on puppet shows, and hold small magic shows to amuse his  otherwise sad ward.

However, those are memories that are more like a distant, hazy dream. ❝I’ve.. never heard of it before.❞ She drapes an arm across the bar before her. Curiosity laces itself within her tone of voice.

❝Will you show me..?❞

- ♥ - ♦ - ♣ - ♠ -

Cards fly left and right though its through careful technique and countless hours spent perfecting the trick that he's able to be it all centralized. Eventually he stops and fans the cards out into a wide arc. There's a small chuckle as he watches her carefully and he takes a bit of pride as he notices that look of curiosity upon her face. Its childish and he can almost faintly remember when he himself had once worn such a face. Yet that, was a story for another time and one that Setzer wouldn't give up easily. 

"Of course." He says as he extends his hand towards her. Its been a long time since he's actually preformed a trick for someone, but its simple enough that he hopes he can pull it off. Normally he's more focused on gambling or running from the Empire to do small card tricks, but that innocent face of her pulls his strings. Terra, despite all her gifts and what she was caught up in, was still a child at heart and it brings him a small bit of joy if he can make her forget about all the terrible things in the world, if only for a moment. 

Keeping his arm outstretched he looks off to the side and covers his eyes for good measure. "Alright, now go ahead and pick a card, take a look at it, and when you're done put it back." He pauses for a moment as he feels the need to clarify a bit. This had been the first time she'd ever seen a trick like this before. "And make sure its in the a different spot and with the face of the card the same as all the others." And with that he feels a small tug as a card is withdrawn and a small shove when its placed back in his hand.

Hoping that she'd followed his instructions he looks back at the hand with a small grin. "Alright. Now pay close attention..." He says as he begins to shuffle the cards into one another once again. Slowly he starts tossing cards out of the deck as he continues to shuffle them while muttering small "No that's not it"s and "Not this one either"s. Eventually he stops and gives a small shrug as half the deck still sits in his hand. All evidence points towards him giving up, however...

His shoulders lift into a shrug before his lips flash a small smirk. Tossing the deck up into the air, the cards scatter and with the small flick of his wrist a dart slips into his hand. There's a small chuckle which is followed by a small wink directed towards the young Esper. Eyes lock onto a card as it slowly falls towards the deck of the ship, and with a snap of his wrist the dart impales the card onto the railing of the ship. With a confident smile he turns to the side and with a overly exaggerated bow motions towards the card.

-

His words could not have been more true. The nine of them, excluding herself, and Setzer, were quite the group. All of them unique, with some sort of strange personality quirk. However, Terra was not like them. As far as she was concerned, the only thing about her, that made her special, was the fact that she was naturally born with the gift of magic. It is natural to her, unlike Celes, who has been artificially infused with such talents. The world is a strange place, and still, Terra feels like a fish out of water here. Setzer— the newest addition to their party— has proven to be quite interesting himself. He is the only man in the world who owns an air ship, and somehow, has agreed to join them in taking down the empire. The task seemed almost suicide. The empire owned this world; how could such a small group of people break the chains it held over the planet? Eyes that momentarily flickered toward the gambler now gaze back towards the dark clouds that fill the night sky. It is true; she would prefer to spend time with Locke, or Edgar, over a new person that she has yet to know. However, with all of the celebrating and noise going on below the deck, Terra can hardly hear herself think. Tiny fingers grasp the railing, as her head shakes slowly. ❝ I.. just… ❞ Speaking is not her strong suit, still. Espeically with that ever-penetrating mind of hers. ❝ …I needed some air. ❞

"Mmmm, so we're in the same boat then, no?" He answers as he stares out into the darkness of the night which really only had two sources of light, the moon which hung above them still, and the light coming from the ship itself. Both just barely illuminated the clouds below them, and Setzer had seen many crewman loose their bearings just from the sight of it. A small smile breaks his facial features at the thought but his attention if quickly turned back to Terra. 

How did one so young get involved in a mess like overthrowing a corrupt Empire? Celes made sense, a betrayed general tossed to the side like a broken toy. Terra however remained a mostly a mystery to him. He'd never really gotten much of a chance to ask the others about her, and while he could easily asks her more about herself he got the feeling like that wouldn't get him too far.

The girl who stood beside him was like the shining embodiment of innocence and the furthest thing from a soldier on the ship. Even the child who had been raised in the wilds was more fit for battle than her. Yet she wielded incredible magic, something he'd never caught a glimpse of until recently. Needless to say that the young girl prodded at his curiosity. Yet he had trouble getting past that innocence of hers...