etrayalogs | [ closed ] all of sevika's card games end badly

[ Looks like the pub is becoming Sevika's go-to for normal public meetings. It suits her. It's homey. It's well-stocked and has a table big enough for all four to sit at. Admittedly, she hadn't anticipated Jinx inviting the cop, but, well, that's how we learn that text involves many misunderstandings. There's already a deck of tarot cards — to be used for the game, not fortune-telling — and a bottle of whiskey for the shots.

Although Sevika herself isn't partaking in the contest between Jinx and Jayce, she's poured herself a glass of whiskey instead, opting for a big one over a tiny shot. She also already has a cigar lit when the others arrive, filling the space around the table with smoke that isn't quite as horrific-smelling as her usual cigarettes.

She... looks a little rough. Yeah. A little rough. She may have been in a fistfight recently, but there's nothing terribly wrong apart from a healing black eye and a bruise spread across the scarred side of her face.

It's fine. Everything's fine. She's just chilling, waiting, puffing away on her cigar. ]

[Caitlyn has not brought her gun. As a show of good faith. If this is meant to be a reconciliation of sorts, she will... play along. For the sake of saving Runeterra, they all need to work together, and that means finding a way to be in the same room as Jinx without feeling like the walls are closing in on her and her lungs and heart feeling as though they've ceased to function properly. So she will play cards, have a drink, and make an earnest attempt at... getting along.

She's used to her father smoking cigars. His smell decidedly better. She pours a finger of whiskey and immediately realises that whatever's being served here is not the same as the very expensive imported drink found in her parents' liquor cabinet.

Already deeply uncomfortable, she sits opposite Sevika — who looks, perhaps unsurprisingly, as though she's been in a fight recently — and offers something vaguely approximating a smile.]

Good evening.

[She coughs genteelly as a particularly strong whiff of cigar smoke reaches her nose.]

[ The funniest part is Sevika never specified that Jinx should invite Caitlyn, and yet, here she was. That girl needed to get out and meet more people if this was the best she could do. Honestly. Still, she offers her a nod as she takes a seat. ]

Evening, officer.

[ Who isn't an officer anymore, technically. She isn't about to let her forget that, though, even if no one else is aware. Does it matter here? No. It isn't Piltover. There are no laws, government, or police force; here's to it staying that way. All that aside, Caitlyn's right. The whiskey won't be the smooth, expensive variety she's used to. It won't be terrible, either. It's the sort the pub keeps on hand, and it's middling at best. Not bad, not amazing. It isn't bottom-of-the-barrel gutrot, at least. ]

Well, since you're the first one here, let me ask you. [ There's an ominous pause if only to make Caitlyn worry she's about to ask something serious, only it turns out— ] You any good at shuffling cards?

[ She taps a finger on the deck on the table. Shuffling well takes two hands, unfortunately. ]

[Another uncomfortable cough at the pointed reminder that Sevika knows she's not an enforcer. And then a very uncomfortable moment of silence as she contemplates everything Sevika might be about to ask her...

...only to visibly deflate with relief when the question turns out to be about shuffling.]

Yes. I can shuffle. I used to play cribbage and whist at home.

[She reaches for the cards.]

[ ...she better not bring those granny games up in here, wow. ]

How about tarock?

[ Sevika doubts it, but it's worth asking and, although she called it tarock, the deck of cards Caitlyn will find at hand are very clearly tarot cards. She found the smallest deck she could find, trying to avoid the tacky big ones less suited for card games, but she was only partly successful there. ]

[They're bigger cards than she's used to, but Caitlyn still shuffles them dexterously, her long, slender fingers suited for the task despite how infrequently she plays.]

I'm not familiar. I do know the rules to bridge, or gin rummy...

[Not that those can easily be played with tarot cards.]

[ They can't, thankfully. Sevika would call it a night early if anyone suggested those games. ]

Right...

[ Give her a moment. She takes a long drag off her cigar before she ends up saying anything rude. When she breathes it out, it only fills the air with cigar smoke all over again, but that will be a part of the evening for as long as the cigar lasts. ]

You're lucky we aren't doing any betting tonight, huh? [ She and Jinx would fleece the hell out of Caitlyn. Maybe Jayce, too. ] I'll go over the rules once everyone's here. I figure Talis doesn't know it, either.

[As if summoned by name, Jayce pushes the door open and once inside, and begins to take off his gloves. He's not dressed with his usual white coat he wears, opting for slightly more casual puffy jacket in the cold weather, but keeping with the tightly buttoned shirt, tie, vest combo he normally wears. This pub again, huh? Same one as before. Must be Sevika's favorite, if she keeps returning here.

With Caitlyn opposite Sevika, the seat choice doesn't really matter, he'll be next to them both either way.]

Hey Cait.

[Sevika looks much worse than when he last saw her. Clearly got into a fight, but literally over what? How is she already getting into fights here?]

Sevika.

(fashionably late, no good reason, she just got distracted on her way. her outfit never changes, that's what she arrives in, hair recently braided as she makes sure each step she gives is with intent before she reaches the table. she's not one to part with her weapons, her gun sitting on her belt for a second before she gives it to the bot for safekeeping. it's half a compromise, and finally, she pulls a chair and drops to it next to sevika - ugh, she just remembered what jayce said, goosebumps of disgust making the hairs on her arms raise...

and she makes a face.)

Wow, who landed a punch? You have never looked better.

(see, talis. not partners.)

So, what I miss? Been missed? What you guys been up to?

[ Jayce gets a nod of greeting, but Jinx? When Jinx plops down by her in a chair and says that? Sevika considers simply saying nothing. It's not even the worst thing the brat has said to her over the years, nowhere close, but maybe she can get a rise out of her for a laugh. ]

Me and your daddy decided to play a bit. It was a real good time.

[ The word "daddy" is what makes it horrible, in all honestly. She also doesn't specify which dad, but Vander is probably obvious. Who ever heard of Silco landing a punch? Come on. ]

You haven't missed anything. I was waiting for everyone to show before telling those two how the game works.

[As soon as Jinx arrives, the smile Caitlyn had given Jayce falls. The girl's very presence sets Caitlyn on edge. They're here in the spirit of reconciliation, she reminds herself, because they all need to work together to save their world, or they'll be responsible for the loss of every life on Runeterra. But that reminder can't stop her stomach twisting in a nervous knot.

She riffles the deck one last time, aligns the edges of the cards so the deck is neat and square, and sets it on the table in front of Sevika.]

We're all here. Let's start.

Edited 2025-01-22 04:47 (UTC)

[ Sevika... gives Caitlyn the barest of nods. That's the most thanks she'll get for shuffling the deck for her, purely because "thank you" simply isn't something she says. She'll cut the deck, picking it up at the halfway point, setting it aside, and placing the bottom part on the previous top of the deck.

From there, she begins dealing cards. Each of them gets 9 out of a deck of 42. The remaining cards go into the center face down.

For the first game, Sevika walks them through it step by step. This may be tedious for Jinx if she knows Tarok, but if there's one thing Sevika takes seriously, it's her damn card games. She doesn't want this to suck because two players are clueless.

(If you want to know the version of Tarok they're playing, you can visit https://www.pagat.com/tarot/xx-hivas.html - idefk how it goes, though, so lmao handwave handwave.) ]

[If Jinx is trying to show how wrong Jayce was with his accidental mislabeling of her relationship to Sevika, it runs directly contradictory to what he’s been told about Zaunites in that insults are commonly viewed as camaraderie so… This doesn’t change anything to him. He still thinks they’re very good friends.

Oh. So Sevika got into a fight with Vander. He can’t imagine she won, if that’s how she looks.

He picks up enough of the rules as Sevika explains it, enough that he knows he’s got a dogshit hand right off the bat, and that he has no idea what to look for in others tells. With a twist of his lips, he furrows his eyebrows, and attempts to bluff that his hand doesn't suck.]

(she knows the shuffle was right, cheating could never cross caitlyn's mind as she is; or at least, to the cait who exists in jinx's mind. extremes? yes. cheating in a card game? girl doesn't have the poker face for it, so she does not care to watch the shuffle. instead, she giggles at the words sevika gives her, finding them wholly entertaining.)

Vander? You probably earned it.

(and she takes her hand. it's not the best she could have, but definitely not bad at all. her focus, however, it's not on the game completely, but on the other bet she has going on. two shots each to start, she asks the bot, who brings them quickly.)

'K, 'k, 'k! So, before we start for real real, here's the real game. Place your bets, who can drink most, me or Golden boy?

You should have seen him.

[ Anyway. Sevika lays out her hand at the end of the first game. Shocking no one whatsoever, she wins because, of course, she would. Once everyone else lays out their hands to prove as such, she'll motion for Caitlyn to collect the cards and shuffle again.

While the enforcer does that, she glances Jinx's way, then to the shots, and, finally, to Jayce. She takes a minute to consider the two, having picked her cigar back up to puff away on it as she dragged out answering.

But, eventually, ]

Well, now that remember what a scrawny waif you are, I'm going to have to say Talis.

[ No, she doubts it, actually, but there's a chance it'll annoy Jinx and that's what matters. ]

[A grumble at losing so fast, and he slides his cards disappointingly back to the center of the table. He opts to ignore the two shots in front of him delivered by the bot, for a few more moments.]

You... won? Against Vander?

[He's huge. How did she...? And with only one arm??]

We're not doing both shots at once, right?

[He's gingerly picking up one glass, sniffing it, and immediately recoiling. Are you sure you want to pick him, Sevika?]

[Caitlyn understands the rules easily enough, once Sevika explains them, but her hand is poor and the actual playing of the game is more difficult than merely understanding rules. And so she loses — though there's a certain amount of satisfaction in the fact that Jayce also does quite poorly — and picks up the cards to shuffle them again.]

Why were you fighting with Vander?

[She's genuinely surprised. A little concerned, even. Vander doesn't seem the type to start throwing punches willy-nilly, so there must have been a reason for the two to scrap.

It's then that she realises she was so occupied with her losing hand of cards that she failed to take a side in the drinking competition and immediately chimes in with:] Jayce. Jayce will win. [Does she really think Jayce will win? No, of course not. But she's obviously going to support him anyway.]

Edited 2025-01-25 17:01 (UTC)

I said you should see him, not that I won.

[ If anything, Sevika hopes it was a draw. She'd gotten him good with the ace up her sleeve she had brought to the fight, although it had still ended with her thrown into a wall. Her ribs do not thank her.

As to why, well, all Caitlyn gets is a shrug. ]

We were fighting because we wanted to. End of the story.

[ It's a little more complicated than that, but not by much. ]

I'm literally challenging the power here, you could at least be a little supportive for once in your unsupportive life, Sevika.

(affectionate)

Nope, gotta be five minutes between at most.

(who made this rules up? she did, she literally just did, because he asked. if he hadn't, definitely she wouldn't have thought about it. so, she clinks the glasses, and down the first shot goes.

also, don't be so confident, cait... seems like both suck.)

So you lost?

[Jayce blurts out instead to Sevika, realizes a moment too late maybe that wasn’t the brightest thing to say, and then reaches for the shot. One more hesitating moment after Jinx clinks hers against his, and he downs it. It burns and tastes pretty awful, but it’s not as bad as whatever Sevika had him drinking last time he was here.]

Can we— [he waves his hand a little, at a loss for words as he recovers from the taste,] move onto the next round?

[He reaches for whatever his next hand will be, because it can’t be worse than last time. Whatever he can do to put more time between this first shot and the next one.]

[This whole thing is surreal. Sitting around a table with Jinx and Silco's righthand woman, playing cards and having a drinking contest is not something Caitlyn would have ever, under any circumstances, imagined herself doing.

She glances back and forth between Jinx and Jayce, watching Jayce's poor reaction to the drink. Is this fun? Are they having fun?]

You know, there was a series of killings in Zaun about eighty years ago in which the murderer left behind a different playing card at each of the crime scenes. They never caught the person responsible.

[Cold cases from long ago: those are fun.

She follows Jayce's lead and reaches for her next hand. It's not much better than the first.]

[ Jayce gets a look, but not a response. She'll pretend he didn't ask that. There is, of course, an ounce of amusement to be gained from how he hesitates with the whiskey, though. Suffer, golden boy. As for Jinx, well, a shrug. Yeah, yeah, fight the power through... shots... or whatever. ]

I heard it was a yordle.

[ Cold case solved... or, more like, that's what she heard. They don't have case files or even many books written down in the depths, but storytelling still abounds, and she's heard this one. Caitlyn is right, though. Murder is fun to talk about. ]

They're always doing whimsical shit like that. [ Ah, yes, whimsical shit like serial killing. ] And knowing how long those things live? Might even still be around. You never know.

[ May as well help the chit-chat since she also has a poor hand this round... ]

Edited (lmao oh we're already doing cards) 2025-01-28 03:16 (UTC)

(her face is immediately red, the intense taste of alcohol down burning her throat and she is refusing to cough, so she just looks like a whole tomato as she still pretends to be the toughest person around, eyes rolling at jayce trying to stall his next shot.

as if she won't be doing the same, because, damn. at least the fact her face already looks messed up can hide the fact she got an awful hand.

wait. maybe... a yordle...)

Wasn't that Smeech trying to frame that other ugly guy? Pretty sure. Or maybe I dreamed that. Have you guys ever seen a hairless yordle? Ugly rat.

(case right open........)

[His new hand is somehow just as bad as last time. Is his luck really this awful?

And then Caitlyn brings up… that. He loves Caitlyn, really, he does, but if he had a nickel every time she brought up ~~true crime~~ an unsolved murder case, he actually could rival the Kiramman fortune. And now everyone’s in on it.

 At least Jinx isn’t fairing well. One small victory.]

I’m out. Again. Do we have to talk about serial killer yordles?

[Jayce throws in his hand, and goes for the second shot, downing it with a little more ease than the first time.]

Smeech? He's one of the chembarons, isn't he?

[Caitlyn has notes on Smeech. A lot of them. For a little while, she'd even considered that he might be the mastermind behind everything she'd been investigated because he and Silco shared an initial.

She leans forward, suddenly finding this card game significantly more interesting. Though she's barely paying attention to the cards anymore, and loses the round with barely any effort made.]

You really think he might have been responsible? Who was he trying to frame?

Edited 2025-01-29 01:49 (UTC)

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ok roll y'all - Sevika got a 17

rip 5

13

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5 bc pilties are bad at cards

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