A Year Is A Long Time Passing

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera shrugged. Stories weren't really for her. They were always based loosely on facts and largely on exaggerated claims bordering on the impossible, if not clearly over the top. "If you say so." It was all she could really offer in response to his claims. She wasn't one to cling towards fame for her time as a Jedi. Sitting on the council was a brief page in her life, and really made her in no way better than any other Jedi of the time. She simply answered the request to join the council. There were many before her, and would be many after her, so her brief time aboard would in all likelihood be overshadowed rather quickly, if not immediately.

The rather sudden and public passionate kiss took her off guard, a multitude of low audible noises came from her as she returned the gesture, her hands placed lightly around his back, leaning up and into him before they broke away, leaving a rather large smile on her face that refused to subside afterwards. Taking a seat at the table she glared towards him, unaware he was planning to play against her. But if he wanted to lose another competition like always, she would oblige his request. She placed a handful of credits down to exchange for chips and smiled at Varus. "Luck is something those without skill cling to in hopes of a chance victory. Loser does what the winner wants for a week?"

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

The young blonde's right eyebrow arched as she made her offer for a bet. A week?! That was a long time to have a slave, and Varus was well aware that, if she won, she would use that bet to her advantage no matter what they were doing, not to mention to her hearts content in the bedroom. Varus was a betting man, though, and a lot of the risks he'd taken had turned out good enough. The best chance he'd ever taken had been on the defiant little Twi'Lek across the table from him after all.

"Fine.", Varus said, matching the credit that Sera had put down in exchange for chips. "Five hundred cred worth of chips each. The first person to go broke loses.", he told Sera as he grinned at her from across the table. What was funny about it all, though, was the fact that there were six other players at the table with them, who they would have to play against as well. Either way, it didn't matter if they were the first two out of the group, it just mattered which one of them lost first.

"A chance victory is about all you've got against me, so again...", Varus said as he turned in his seat to order a glass of whiskey as they were finally dealt into the game. "Good luck, Love."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera's smile looked almost fanged. So he really does want to be my slave for a week? So be it. Sucker. "Fine with me, tough guy. I hope you're ready for a week's worth of making me meals, massages, and pampering. It's gonna be a long seven days for you." She was eager to get started, and the dealer at the table looked relatively amused by their bet. The others at the table were far less so. They clearly were playing for real, and looking to win, not to play some precious game of winner/loser with their spouse. Sera paid them no mind and looked at her cards as they were dealt.

Her two cards were an Ace and a 4. It was quite possibly the worst position to be in for her. So close to 23, but shuffling the 4 into the deck could cause her to go over 23. She took a chance and put in a bet of 50 while she waited for the others to check their cards, put in a bet or fold, so that the game could continue. Her eyes glanced over to Varus to gauge his hand as he picked his cards up.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

One thing that Varus had always been good at was keeping a straight face when necessary, and right now it was necessary, knowing that Sera herself was watching him. She probably thought that she could pick up subtle hints and tells with him, but Varus was from the slums of Coruscant where gambling reigned supreme. Although he couldn't get into casinos to play this game, he'd been playing it with some of the other orphaned children since he was 10. He knew his way around this game, backwards and forwards, betting things like toys in high stakes when he was young and moving on to the real cred he'd earned when he was working in an old speeder mechanics shop.

Varus had gotten good enough that he'd even been able to help pay for parts shipments with his winnings on occasion when his employer just couldn't afford it. It had been hard on them both before his old mentor had died, and when he had Varus had broken and begun gambling and drinking full time until a certain Kel Dor challenged him to be more.

"Fifty on top.", Varus said calmly as he glanced up to see one, two, three and then four people fold. Still there were two others left besides Sera that had called his raise to 100 from her 50. Both of them believing to have good enough hands to stay in, but would Sera? She had been the original bet, after all. Clearly there was confidence there in her, but could her confidencebeat his Ace and 7? It was so close to perfect, and he was confident enough in it to play his little mind games.

"Would you like to know what I have?", he asked aloud to no one in particular, although his ice blues were bearing down on Seraphina.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera was discouraged by Varus' lack of tells. She wasn't great at gambling either. She smiled to him, though she wasn't sure if that was out of frustration that he knew what she was trying to do, or if because she had just given herself away. Regardless of which it was, her hand was not good, and the likelihood of drawing something that didn't put her over the top was slim. The Twi'lek shyly lowered her two cards and folded, her eyes fixating on Varus with a narrowed glare and puckered lips. "Luck." It was the only word she could mutter without losing her dignity. And with that, she sat back and waited to see if the other two would at least beat Varus so that he would be down 100 credits, whereas she had only lost 50. Starting off the first game like that wasn't what she had hoped for.

The Twi'lek reached her hand forward, as if she was about to pull the cards from his grasp with the aide of the Force, though she knew better than to cheat at casinos. Rarely did it ever end up well. "Would you like me to show everyone?" She grinned an evil grin before lowering her hand back down on to the table atop of her other, returning her expression to a sarcastically warm smile. "Good luck."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

"Luck is drawing the right card. Skill is making you fold.", Varus said, his calm blue eyes watching her carefully as he watched her fold. A smirk crossed his face as he glance to the other players at the table who called. "That's up to you, really, Brighteyes., he whispered to her as he shifted his eyes back over to her.

When the betting was done, Varus finally revealed his hand, before even the dealer had asked, and he turned them towards Sera to show her the near perfect hand that he had been dealt. He hadn't even said a word during the drawing phase, feeling that confident in himself as the other two men second guessed and drew cards that made their hands even worse. There in his hand was a seven and an ace, which had been there the whole time despite his offering to share those cards with Sera.

"Good hand, boys.", Varus said as the dealer reached out and scooted the chis over towards him, which he picked up one by one to stack them in little towers on his side of the table. 250 from Sera and the other two men shed limped in with, plus an ante of five a player with eight at the table had landed Varus a decently sized pot. "285 to the winner.", the dealer announced as he began flicking out cards to each player for the next round.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

One eye squinted towards Varus as she picked up the next pair of cards as they were dealt. "It's not over til one of us are out of chips. Don't get so cocky yet, boy." Her eyes glanced down at the pair she had received. Moderation & Endurance. a -22. The woman waited until the table went around, before throwing in her initial 50. Two folded right off the bat. She looked over to Varus, a blank stare at first, followed by a moderate flicker of her eyelashes and a warm smile. "Your move." Two words were all she offered this time.

Some noise from a ways away caused Sera to turn her head for a moment, looking back at a table a few rows down. It looked like someone had been caught cheating and was now involved in a rather heated scuffle with the other players and security. It didn't look overly serious or dangerous, so she simply laughed a bit before turning back to the table. The dealer did not find the ongoing assault humorous, and glared at the Twi'lek with unfaltering eyes. "Sorry. It's not funny." She hushed herself and looked at Varus, holding back any further giggling.


[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Demise and Endurance...

Varus groaned inwardly, but he didn't show his disappointment int he least bit. It was a dangerous hand that could get you caught in a bad spot if you weren't paying attention to the numbers. Also, he knew it was not the best hand for this game, seeing as they had a surplus of players at this table. One of his seven opponents would most certainly have him beet, which meant that he should just go ahead and bow out early, but he'd gotten himself ahead already, so what was a few chips to see who folded?

He had a -21, which was something that he could win with, but he one of them likely had the game won already with a 23, and if anyone had -23 it would be almost as good as a win. In a situation like that, Varus just knew someone was going to be betting confident, and those typically had it in the bag already. Still, there was the slightest chance that, for the second time in a row, none of them had a perfect hand.

"No raise this go around.", Varus said as he glanced around the table, his sapphires blues falling on Seraphina who looked a little more confident this round. That might have even been because he hadn't raised her right away, which he knew she would read as a lack of confidence in himself this round. Perhaps he could make her believe that he was luring her into the hand, though, and get her to fold, but if he did that he could doom them both, knowing that there was someone else on that table with a hand just as good or better than his own. He was, after all, not playing against just Seraphina.

"Eyes on the table, Love.", Varus said as he tossed in his chips to match her ante as four others did as well, another two folding before they spent any money on a bunk hand. "You might just miss something..."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Looking at Varus curiously after he passed the round without upping the bet, Sera glanced over to see that another two had folded their hands as well. That left just four remaining, including both her and Varus. "My eyes go where they wish, love." With a rather sinister grin she looked over at her chips, sorting a few out as she contemplated what to raise to. She wanted to raise just enough to force the others into playing into her hand, especially Varus. Finally she decided and threw in another 100 credits. "Perhaps you ought to keep an eye on your hand. Not feeling as confident this time around are we? Or do you think you can play me again?"

The dealer checked the credits, announced the raise, and circled around the table once more. One of the other two folded, fearing that his hand was likely not sustainable to continue, while the other met her raise, and increased it by another 50, totaling to 150. Sera bit the inside of her lip, wondering if the man beside her was simply bluffing his way through, or if he truly had something that might beat her own. Still, she had gone this far, so she may as well follow through. Besides, if Varus folded, he would at least be down some of what he had just gained. If she lost though, she'd be in relative trouble. A soft smile met Varus' eyes as she waited for what he might do next.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus watched Sera with a small smirk upon that confident face of his as she tried to taunt him and get into his head. "I am well and truly beaten...", he said to the Pink Twi'Lek as he shifted his eyes to the table to see that again the bets were low and he had just won a sizable pot. "That is, unless I get exactly what I need... and seeing as your betting is as weak as it is, it doesn't express much confidence in your hand.", he told her as he collected the correct amount of chips to call and tossed them in the center of the table.


"It all rides on one card.", Varus said as he took a glance at the two he had before placing one face down again, but the other he turned over to reveal the card Demise. He flicked it out into the middle of the table as the next round began and looked to the dealer as he said. "If you would be so incredibly kind, I'll take The Evil One.", he told the man, verbally requesting the card he would need to make for him a strong hand as if he had the option.

By a stroke of incredible luck, however, as he looked at the card he'd been passed it was The Evil One, which surprised him a bit, knowing the odds were incredible. "Ask and ye shall recieve...", he whispered as he flipped The Evil One face up on the table to show the others, earning a few gasps from some interested onlookers now.


"Now all you have to decide is, have I had this card all along? Is this merely a trick to set you on edge? Or, if it was indeed the card the dealer gave to me, was it the one I really needed?", he asked as his smirk grew a little bigger, his sapphire eyes narrowing on Sera's pretty face.

"Raise fifty.", he said, tossing in more chips as he limped into the next betting phase.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera looked down at her hand, still feeling overly confident in what she had going for her, so his attempts to sway her otherwise were simply not going to work. She had a good hand, and was not going to throw it away on the off chance that he hand just one number better. The table came back around and she increased the wager and called him. It was time to see if he was bluffing his way through like usual. She didn't trust him in the least bit. A narrow eyed look stared him dead in the eye. She wasn't interested in being his personal pet for a week, so she had a lot riding on this rather large hand.

The person sitting adjacent to her threw in and placed his own hand down, revealing a positive 21. Sera smirked and layed down her -22. "Well, let's see it, darling. Show me that -23 and I'll concede right here and now to you." That might have been a mistake...Though how was she to know what his other card truly was?

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus's eyes narrowed at Sera as she kept her spine in tact, which he had to applaud her for. Many other women would have squeaked in the excitement and folded or melted under his gaze before quitting, but she was strong. She was brave and willing to fight him, struggle with him and most of all, she challenged him. She was perfect.

When she challenged him to show his hand after the cards were being laid down, Varus glanced at each set and realized that he'd had the hand won. He stopped himself, however, when he was about to turn over his hand and reveal to them all his -23, sapphires gazing down at Endurance and the Evil One. He hesitated for just a second before revealing the one card he had left to reveal, and the next second he pressed it back face down and placed the Evil One down on top of it, which was still face up. He then slid them both towards the dealer before relinquishing the cards to him as he folded.

"Fine... you've beaten me, but I'm not about to show you that other card.", he told her as he leaned back into his seat after handing off his cards. "I wouldn't dare give you the pleasure.", he told her as smirk found its way into the corner of his mouth.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESGLojNYSo​

One thing she was quite good at, despite his best efforts, was knowing when he was lying straight to her face. She smiled, though it was not the typical cheery faced warm smile she gave, but rather an I know what you did smile. She didn't like the idea of him throwing her the game, simply because she was a girl, or his lover, or any other reason. It didn't mean anything if she beat him then, because it hadn't been for real. I know you cheated. She spoke, though nobody at the table would hear her words aside from the man she intended it for. Don't do it again. I know you too well.

Her facial expression returned to normal and she slid the pile of chips towards her. There was little she could do, the cards were already shuffled into the deck again before she would have a chance to prove it to herself. Instead she leaned back and called for a server, ordering a rather expensive glass of wine while the dealer rehashed a new pair of cards to each participate. One patron stood from the table and withdrew, leaving an empty seat. Sera took her cards, and left them face down, throwing the ante in blindly, trusting in luck for this round.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

I suppose we'll never know... , he whispered back to his pissy, little Pink Princess with that same, annoyingly confident smirk he'd already been wearing. "...and another honey whiskey for me, please.", he said, to which the server nodded before stepping away from the table in order to fix his fresh drink. Before he could look at his new cards, a confident young Zeltroni tart stepped up and rested her hands on his shoulders before leaning down next to his ear and whispering to him.

"Why would you do that, handsome? You had that hand wo...", but her words had been cut short by his sour look when he turned and glanced over his shoulder at her. "Please... take your hands off of me.", he said in a calm manner, although he wanted to yell at the little airhead for intruding and saying stupid things that she shouldn't have. Immediately she grew a bit afraid and removed her hands before taking a few steps back to rejoin the crowd of spectators.

He then turned back to his hand and took a glance at his new cards. An eight and the Mistress, which was rather appropriate seeing as his own Mistress was none to pleaded with him at the moment. This time he silently called, tossing his chips in to call the ante. He couldn't afford to play foolish games with stupid Zeltroni women who were under the impression that they could entice a man who'd known their tricks since he was a kid.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera's face went from rather stagnant to an impressively irritated glare at hyperspeed. Her hand twitched atop the pair of cards she had yet to even look at. Her eyes glaring with a bright fire behind the pupils as she watched this other woman dance her hands around Varus and speak to him with a sultry tone that she hadn't wanted to hear from any lips but her own. It mattered little that Varus asked her to stop, and even less so that she confirmed her suspicion that Varus had in fact cheated to let her win. As the woman backed slowly away Sera focused for only a moment, far too short for the average person to notice her brief distraction from the table. In that moment though, the woman who had just laid hands on Varus found herself shoved by some strange gust, as if it were some invisible hand thrusting her forward, causing the poor girl to lose her balance in those platformed shoes and fall face first onto the floor with a spectacular thud.

Happy with herself, she turned back, smiled at Varus, and waited while the others threw in their bets, the pot raising another 50 by the gentleman beside her. She still had no idea what was in her hand, so she threw in the 50 all the same. "Guess fate will determine my luck this time."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

When Varus heard the thump of ribs and gut against the floor, he spun slowly in his chair to see the young woman, confused and sprawled out on the floor as her legs bobbled about while she tried to get her feet under her again. That wasn't just a coincidence at all. Varus knew better than that, and as he turned around to cast his frozen eyes back across the table at Sera he found that happy little smile on her face he was expecting to see, his own eyes narrowing as he frowned at her lightly. He disapproved of the way she'd handled that entirely, although he couldn't fault her entirely. If that had been a man hitting on his Pink Goddess he would have probably cracked his knuckles and made threats that he very well would have kept. He was the man of the two of them, after all, and so he wore that brash, hard headed and quick to anger persona quite well while she took the more subtle, creative and devious approach.

Either way, it was done, and he knew she would torture the poor imbecile no further than embarrassment and a bruise or two, so their game was allowed to continue. "I like your confidence...", Varus said as he glanced at his cards again and threw out his chips to match bets so that the round could end. "I think I'll sully your style a bit, however.", he told her, his smirk finally replacing the light look of displeasure on his face as he tossed his cards to the dealer.

"I'll replace both.", he told the dealer, who dealt him his two new cards, which he received and left face down before turning in his seat in order to rest his right elbow on the table. When he did he noticed the waitress come back with his drink, which she sat down in front of him while he got comfortable. As she tried to take his other glass, though, he stopped her and downed the last sip of liquid inside before handing it to her so that she could scamper off. He then took a sip of his fresh glass of honey whiskey, sighing as the sting of alcohol ran down his throat and said. "Let's do this."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera paid no attention to Varus' clearly displeased facial expression to how she accidentally made that poor girl trip her way back into the crowd. She simply kept that same smile on her face. She watched as Varus returned his cards for new ones, playing the game of chance just as she was. "Following in my footsteps are we? Such a good little pet." Her teeth shown through the widening smile at her own comment. The server placed her own glass down beside the Twi'lek's left hand after getting Varus'. "Ok then. Let's do it."

She grinned, pushing the remainder of her chips into the pot. "I've got confidence. How about you?" The dealer counted out what she had, and the rest of the table folded their hands before arriving to Varus. It looked like they weren't ready to bet so high on a single hand. A small crowd began to gather around the two, with such a large bet between the two people began to crowd around to see which one would win. It really wasn't a grand amount of chips, as the professional players often bed hundreds of times more credits at a time, but for regular folk, this was huge.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus knew that this was about to be the end of him, but he didn't care. His bet with Sera had been playful, and he was sure she wouldnt torture him with it if he lost, right? Now that he was thinking about it, though, he wasn't so sure, and he shifted in his seat for comfort as he realized just how spot on her blind, dumb luck had always been. Varus, however, had to make his own. He had to make his hands work in Sabacc, not just get whatever he needed when he needed it.

In that regard, Sera had him beat with luck, but perhaps fate and fortune wouldn't be so harsh this time around. Perhaps he had already had this won, but who really knew? "Fine...", he whispered finally as he slid his stacks of chips towards the middle of the table."...but you get to flip the cards", he told her as he flicked his cards across the table, which remained face down as they slid to within about a foot of the Twi'Lek. "I could use a little bit of your luck, if you'd be so kind."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"Very well." The girl stood from her seat, leaning over the table, her height playing against her. Had Varus done that intentionally, to make her have to tip toe and lean her body halfway over the table to reach his cards. Her head tilted up as she did so, catching his eye. She flipped his two cards with the tips of her fingers. Her jaw dropped. She stared at the cards for several moments entirely speechless. A pure sabacc? Sera sat back in her seat, flopping over her own pair of cards. A 9 and a 7. Not even close. "The gentleman wins the pot." The dealer announced, sliding the chips away from Sera and to Varus. There was a boisterous cheer from the crowd, filled with clapping.

The Twi'lek slid out from her seat, taking her drink with her and wandered away from the table and over toward the balcony, looking up to the sky. She would wait for Varus to collect his chips and join her. Oddly enough she felt alright with losing. Besides, what would he possibly make her do, anyway?

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus smiled lightly as he watched Sera push herself up from the table, though that smile wasn't brimming with confidence or elation for having won. It was a caring smile, and one that faded almost as quickly as it appeared as he watched Sera walk away. She didn't want to be around for his triumph, which didn't bother him as much as the simple fact that she seemed bothered. Like he had somehow hurt her, which was something that he had promised never to do again.

Pushing up from his seat he requested a cash out and waited for the cred that he had won to be transferred to a card. When he got the card he stuffed it into his pocket and swept up his drink, slowly following Sera who had retreated through the casino to the balcony. As he walked, he raised his glass in his left hand before taking a sip of it as his right hand slipped into his pocket and produced a velvet box about the size of his palm.

When he stepped outside he reached down and sat his glass on a table a few feet behind Sera. He then pried the box open and pulled a sparkling string from it before he closed it and tucked it back into his pocket. "To the victor go the spoils...", he whispered as he came to stand right behind Sera, arms swinging out above her head before they gently laid something cool to the touch across her chest, carefully fastening it around her pretty neck as he held his breath.

He didn't know what she would think, after all...

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]