Green: Daisy
GM: Black
Damien/Dexter/Jonah
Daisy strolled into June's gambling parlor, where she was not an unfamiliar face. Her favorite was
the dice-rolling game that had won them June's allegiance, though she was
always up for trying out the hot new game of the week.
The berserker quickly
scoped out the place. She didn't know all the soldiers in here today, but she
recognized Dexter, Jonah and Damien at a table off to one side. Daisy couldn't
see what they were playing yet, but she called out to them anyway. "Mind
if I join you guys?" she said, pulling up another chair.
"Sure, the more the
merrier!" Damien yells, patting you on the back. "We could always do
with the company of a beautiful woman." He says, and gives you a look
over.
"D-Damien!" Dexter
stutters. "You're going to get hurt acting like that."
"Oh relax," Damien says.
"We're all here for a good time, so let's enjoy ourselves, eh?"
"It's okay, Dexter,
I've got the bear thing under control... Mostly," Daisy said calmly. She yawned
widely, showing off a full set of deadly bear teeth that took several seconds
to revert back to her own.
"So what's the
game?"
Jonah nods at the cards.
"Poker."
"You ah, know how to
play?" Dexter asks.
Damien laughs. "I'm sure Daisy
here has played many a game, likely of the strip variety," he says, giving
your shoulder a slap. "Am I right?"
Daisy spread her
arms, showing off her leathers. "Sure, but a girl runs out of armor so
fast, you know? I've found a way around it, though. You know how some people
collect monster claws? I've found that the market for body parts is a lot wider
than you'd think," she said cheerfully, giving no indication as to whether
or not she was joking.
Dexter's mouth drops, and Jonah just
shakes his head. Damien, unsurprisingly, laughs.
"All right then!" Damien
yells. "Deal the lovely lady in, so I can show her how it's done!"
The game starts off with a win in
Damien's favor.
"See that? I told you I'm the
best!" he laughs.
Dexter sighs. "I have no luck
at this game."
"Come on,
Dexter. It's about nerve as much as luck, so buck up a little, huh?" Daisy
said lightly, watching Damien with a slight smile. "That's something your
buddy's got no trouble with. Your deal."
((I’ll say you can notice on the
second hand, having figured out the trick; Jonah is essentially counting the
cards with his 'eagle eye' and tipping Damien off, so one of them will always
win, and they split the profits after. You can notice the slight signals Jonah
sends, and can call them on it.))
"You've got guts, little lady,
but hey, I'll be happy to take your potch!" Damien says, chuckling.
"Nerves, eh? I guess that's why
I lose so much..." Dexter says. "Ok, I'll give it my best this
time!"
"That's the
spirit, Dexter. But there is such a thing as having too much, though,"
Daisy said, leaning forward over the table. "For example, there's quite a
difference between having a cool poker face and just straight-up subscribing to
the June school of gambling. Isn't that right, boys?"
Daisy grinned at the
cheaters and spread her hands flat on the table so they couldn't miss the
wicked claws sprouting from her fingertips. "But I know I don't have to
tell a couple of experts what a bad idea it is to play that way with someone
who could rip them apart without drawing her sword, do I?"
Damien laughs. "Well I'll be
damned. Only Pearl has ever been able to call me on that one."
Dexter looks confused. "Huh?
What does Pearl have to do with gambling?"
Jonah just chuckles, and Damien
looks at him, then nods his head.
Daisy settled back
into her chair, thoroughly enjoying her new control over the bear. "Well
if that's all behind us, let's just have some fun, hmm?
"Speaking of
Pearl, though..." Daisy added thoughtfully. "Well, I hope she'll be
happy with all this when we finally get her back. Looks like we're making good
progress, but I don't know how her philosophies and Kuarjav's really line up,
either."
"Well, Dr. Kalas is doing a
good job, I suppose, but I really do miss Pearl," Dexter says.
"What he said," Damien
grumbles. "When I get my hands on the bastard who kidnapped her, I'm going
to tear him limb from limb!"
Jonah nods. "Agreed."
Jonah says. A moment of silence follows that, and you can see them all turn
their thoughts to Pearl.
"I think," Jonah says at
last. "Kuarjav is a bit more cynical than Pearl. Pearl was always so
optimistic, so full of life. Kuarjav tries hard, but he's seen so much, that
his weariness is apparent. he's not as...charismatic."
"That's a nice way of putting
it," Damien grunts.
"Well, he may
not be as lively, but he's saved my life enough times," Daisy said as she
dealt the next hand. "Kuarjav's a good guy, but anyone would have some
damage after being locked up for thirty years. Who knows, maybe he tried to
escape a bunch of times when he was younger, and had the urge to take
initiative beaten out of him. I trust him, though -- I just hope he believes as
strongly in what we're fighting for as Pearl does."
"You and me both," Damien
grunts. "He's nice enough, don't get me wrong, it's just he doesn't seem
to have the same spark."
"True enough, I suppose,"
Dexter said. "His plans are solid though, and he's a good thinker like
Pearl."
"But there's more than just
plans. He needs to act more like a leader, if you ask me," Jonah says,
quietly.
"I don't
know-- there's more to leadership than being able to bellow over a crowd,"
Daisy shrugged. "And we do have Harold to make sure our voices are heard
out there. Not that I know much about playing leader anyway. I'm actually doing
my best to avoid it, if I can help it."
"You and me both," Damien
grunts. "I just want to bash things with my sword, and they have to go and
make me a squad captain. I mean, do I look like the leader type to you?"
"W-well...,"Dexter
stutters.
"Not even a little," Jonah
says.
"Thank you," Damien nods.
Daisy laughed.
"You think that's bad? I've got a whole village trying to make me their
chief just because I seem to fit some old prophecy. That's no reason to entrust
someone with that much power. And heck, for all I know the tyrant I kicked out
of town before me got the same spiel twenty years ago. If these people know
what's good for them, they'll figure out a way to govern themselves without a
ruler. No one should want me in charge of anything," she chuckled.
"Really?" Jonah says,
giving you a look.
"That's not true," Dexter
says. "You have charisma in spades, Daisy, and you know a lot about
battle. You make an excellent field commander, and I'm sure you'd do fine in
other roles too if you so wanted."
Daisy snorted.
"Thanks, but I'm not looking for a pep talk, guys. I'm just like Damien; I
know what I'm good at and which jobs I probably shouldn't be doing. If I can
help protect the Beast Village, sure, I'm all over that. Sometimes I feel
really connected to that place. Just don't ask me to sit on a throne somewhere;
I had a cousin once who did that, and things didn't end too well for him."
"What, you mean you're royalty,
for like, real?" Damien asks.
"Oh yes, the St. Anicets are
cousins to the Blights of Highland. Your cousin was... Luca, yes?" Dexter
says, knowingly.
Daisy rolled her
eyes. "Yeah, my dear cousin and I weren't exactly close, seeing as how he
died before I was born, but there's no shortage of stories. I'd say he murdered
enough people to satisfy our whole family tree, except I find it hard to
believe he could be an isolated case. Then again, his sister seemed fine, so
maybe he got all the crazy for his generation. I hope the rest of my relatives aren't
quite so horrible, if they're still out there somewhere. But even if they are,
my dad is all the family anyone really needs anyway," she shrugged.
"Well, I always say you choose
your family. Like how I chose these guys and Pearl." Damien says, slapping
Dexter on the back.
"Too true," Jonah says
nodding solemnly.
"Still, one's biological family
is important too," Dexter adds. "I mean, I'm sure you've had some
good experiences with your father, even if your cousin was, um, touched."
"Touched?" Damien laughs.
"Dude was batshit crazy from what I hear."
"Oh yeah, me
and my dad have had a great time. I just wish I'd been there to help him kill
my cousin back in the day! Anyway, they're both family to me in a way, but Luca
Blight and all those crazy nobles are on my mom's side, not dad's. He doesn't
have any family left but me. I hear mom was real sweet, but if what I've heard
of the rest of her family is any indication... Well, it probably didn't help my
dad warm up to her family if they knew he helped kill their most illustrious
cousin, hmm?" she said wryly.
Jonah smirks. "Nothing like a
little mass murder to get in the way of a family reunion, eh?"
"That's....that's one way if
putting it," Dexter adds.
Daisy
leaned back unconcernedly. "Well, maybe it's for the best that most of
them are gone or scattered. Like you said, you choose your family, and I'd pick
April and Phoebe as sisters any day over finding some blood relatives I've
never met. And then there's Royce, the crazy little brother I never expected,
and all the others... I've never lacked people to talk to," she chuckled.
"That's for
sure. This place sure is a lot busier than our old hideout," Damien says.
"And we didn't have card tables. So how about I raise this bet
here..."
((The card game
goes on for say, an hour, and you make 500 potch for your own personal use.
Nothing fancy, but I don't see the guys betting big bucks on a friendly game.))
