| Poker Night | |||||
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| What: Taking a break from renovating his hotel/casino/bar/den of iniquity, Gambit invites a few of his friends and colleagues over for a Poker Night. | |||||
"What? No I didn't! I can promise you that even if I drank ALL the mezcal in this dump I'd still never tell you to add 'Nirvana's Greatest Hits' to the playlist."
One of the interesting things about owning your own hotel/casino/bar/'den of iniquity' is the frequency with which you can berate your employees. However, in this case, the DJ is very much deserving of whatever mild tongue lashing he's receiving from the new owner of Hôtel Parieur. After all, the DJ DID add a Nirvana song to a collection of classic jazz standards.
With one fire put out, the new business owner goes about getting everything else ready for the night. Sure, his party is just a small(ish) poker night for friends/colleagues/whoever shows up, but that doesn't mean his regular customers are going to be taking the night off. The bar is relatively packed, as is the casino, and the lobby. Most of the customers appear to be human. Most of the staff appear to be mutant, though not all of them are obviously so.
However, a section of the casino floor has been roped off, and marked 'Reserved.' And for some reason, the purple rope is being guarded by Hôtel Parieur's Most Obese Employee, who stands near the rope with two buckets of chicken wings, one of which is nearly empty.
"C'mon Fred, try to keep from getting chicken grease all over your suit. I spend enough money on size XXXXXL suits as it is, without you dirtying them up every three hours."
With the preparations finally made, and everything readied to his satisfaction, Gambit finally relaxes, and grabs himself a drink. Removing his coat, he rolls up the sleeves of his burgundy club shirt, just in case anyone were planning to accuse him of cheating.
"Let me know when they start showing up, Fred. In the meantime, I'm gonna get sauced up and practice my card tricks. You know, in case any ladies show."
Rogue had received an invite several days ago and she'd set aside the time to make it out here. She'd taken the new car she'd purchased and found a placed in the city to park where she hoped it'd be safe... new car jitters... The next two blocks Anna-Marie had to walk on heeled shoes to the appropriate location and here she was, striding into the casino with a dark green dress on that was low-scooped in the back and the front... and over this was a sheer black drape that allowed one to see the dress she was wearing, as well as all the skin she was showing off, yet still keep anyone safe who may bump into her. Long black gloves rode up Marie's arms and ended just past her elbows, leaving the rest of her bare arms also beneath the sheer drape. She had her hair tied up in a fine set of braids that looped together on the crown of her head... leaving two white strands framing her face. She let her emerald-colored eyes scan the casino as she tried to figure out what she was here to actually do...
A young lady in a blue dress, she looks pretty mature with her air up and her glasses...not to mention she is pretty busty. She walks up to the man guarding the rope, "Is this where the charity poker tournament is?" She opens her purse and pulls out a large stack of bills..."I have the entry fee."
The young woman who enters the casino, showing an ID to the bouncers, wears a very plain cocktail dress - but she wears it well. (And it's not immediately obvious that it's a thrift store find. Zahra's developed something of a knack for that). Her blue dress...there's a theme going on here...is high necked and knee length, sleeveless, with the only jewelry being the silver colored comb supporting her hairstyle and a feather shaped pendant around her neck. Gambit will, though, perhaps remember her as Mab's friend from the street party. She's holding a silver clutch in one hand and approaching the area a little warily - WILL he remember her, or will he ask her to leave?
Beast has been rather occupied for the last few months with a variety of important matters. Including off world for a bit for S.W.O.R.D. dealing with some alien matters. So Gambit's invitation comes at a good time, when he's wanting to just relax with friends and play some cards. The fact that the Brotherhood might be there is a bit of a concern, but meeting on neutral ground of Mutant Town seems to ensure there will be no problems. Beast forgoes the usual tailored suit of S.W.O.R.D. Uniform for his classic X-Men Speedo for the evening. It's just more comfortable and since there's no suggestion of the poker game descending into strip poker, no need for additional layers for the bets.
"Gambit! My Friend!" Hank calls as he approaches the roped off section. "Fred." Hank offers with a bob of his head as he goes to greet Gambit with a hug. "You're a sight for sore eyes. I hope I'm not under-dressed. I've either in Monkey Suits or Uniforms nearly 24/7... I thought my uniform would be acceptable for the evening. If not... I have a suit with me."
Mariah comes in not from the outside entrance but from the hotel's upper floors instead. Though she's been in and out of the place like a stray cat through its territory, she's decided to hang around at least for a little while. She's even gone out of her way to find something decent for the evening. One might even say it's uncharacteristically elegant: A black Saree with red floral patterns and a golden trim. (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lv5sobDmeTU/UgKCWhy29jI/AAAAAAAAB94/Yit3gsrzGnA/s1600/black+saree2.jpg)
She smiles at Fred. "Qu'ubo, big guy. You're looking handsome tonight." She flashes him a coy wink and smile before making her way over towards Gambit.
"Hola miho. How's my favorite douchebag?"
Ruth walks in wearing ballerina flats of wine red and simple elegant dress of royal purple that showed off her figure nicely. A wine red silk blind fold was wrapped around her head to cover her eyes and her her hair had been loosely curled. Draped over her shoulders was a shawl like scarf of silver.
She weaved around everyone without a word, so many people! But what was odd was where sge'd entered from, and that was from the kitchen doors. She walked quietly as if gliding over the floor as she weaved her way through the milling people and made her way toward Gambit "I hope everyone likes fried calamari and catfish, please yes?" then she sniffs the air and smiles at Gambit.
How does Jane know Gambit? Not at all. Neither does she know the Brotherhood, but she does know an X-Man: Logan. Not that he had told her about the poker night, but what would be a friend if not looking out to keep meetings the other can't attend? Well, she didn't really ask Logan about it and he didn't mention it, but he had that date in his calendar on his phone and she knew preyty well, that he was not even in town tonight.
So Jane did come to that casino-thing, not dressed too fancy - or rather a bit unfitting to a poker night, as it was jeans, T-Shirt, biker jacket and rollerskates. Real, 90s rollerskates, on which she just skates into the casino main hall, right to the cashier, handing him 2 grand to trade into chips, and then smirking "I want to go tho that Poker night. Replacing Mr. Howlett." Well, replacing yes, with his knowledge, no.
The ID question was answered with a pretty well made fake, but the numbers on that had no backup - but then again, it was astonishing, what you can do with blank slates for college authenticate cards and their printer, if you know what to print. "So, to the back rooms?"
"All right, Fred, but this is the last time. You've got to watch my LEFT hand, okay? It's really simple. I just put the card back in the middle, like so... and then..." Gambit walks his 'muscle' through a very basic card trick, for about the tenth time this evening. However, it doesn't seem that poor Blob is likely to get it anytime soon. Not judging from the way he's scratching his head with a half-eaten chicken wing, anyway...
After the card is placed back in the deck, Gambit prepares to do a basic shuffle. He's done perhaps millions of them over his lifetime, and it comes about as easily to him as breathing does to most people (though not to poor Blob... he's having some trouble with breading stuck in his throat.)
But just when he's in mid-shuffle, the cards suddenly go flying all over the place, covering the table and the floor. Either he just got a look at Rogue's outfit, or Beast's...
Spoiler alert: It was Rogue's.
"Hey! You! Come clean this up... You! I need a new deck. There's something wrong with this one. It's all... slippery."
One of the employees quickly begins cleaning up the mess that Gambit made (which wasn't his fault. The cards are slippery, didn't you hear?), while another runs to fetch a brand new deck. But this leaves Gambit plenty of time to greet his friends, who all seem to be arriving at virtually the same time.
"Man, if I didn't know any better, I'd think all a y'all just hooked up in the parking lot. What'd you guys do, ride in the same clown car? Anyway... come on over. Blindfold's bringing the food, one of my worthless-ass waitresses will get you guys whatever drinks you want."
One of Gambit's bouncers approaches the area, leans over the rope, and mutters something to Gambit. "Hey boss, did you do the 'I'm throwing a charity event for the orphans' scam again? 'Cause there's some broad here who seems to think you are. I'd 'a sent her packin, but she's got really big...."
Gambit cuts the bouncer off. "Really big, you say? Tell her that the event's been moved due to unfortunate... spastic colon. But that she's welcome to join The Owner at his private game. Be sure to let her know how important I am."
Rogue moves toward the bar to get herself a drink and she passes on a wine glass offered to her by the tender and motions for one of the bottles of beer. He hands it to her and she graciously thanks him before twisting the cap off of its top, even though it wasn't a twist off, she tosses the cap onto the bar top without a care and then takes a drink of it before turning to see the others moving about the casino. "Ah... great." She mumbles and takes another sip of her beer.
Mia of course overhears everything, she is not sure if she should take part in the game, but says, "That trick looked easy enough, let me try it." Of course, since she was watching it in what amounts to slow motion, she has a better view...even without using her special vision.
Zahra Shamoun moves into the poker area. "I wasn't sure if you'd remember me," she says in her pleasant California accent. She's old enough to gamble, if not to drink...although Gambit might well not care with a private game. Now, the question is...did he ever catch her name? She can't remember.
Beast offers a glance at the various ladies and flashes a warm smile, especially to those he knows from the school. "Now I do feel a bit under-dressed. But my cocktail dress is at the cleaners." Hank chuckles just a bit as he picks up one of the scattered cards with his prehensile toes and flicks it towards Gambit. "At least I'm not getting these in the back from you this time...." Hank offers with a playful grin as he makes reference to the 'Diaries Incident' as he finds himself a seat at the table. And when the Waitress does come around to take his order Henry considers for a moment. "I'm feeling daring this evening.... as you can tell from my attire. Either the speciality of the house or somethng suprising. It's rare when I get to just hang out with friends." Hank leans back and cracks his toes like one would knuckles, wriggling them in case he ends up dealing.
Mariah shakes her head at Gambit, catching snippets of the conversation. This man is definitely scum.
Therefore, he should be watched, tormented and enjoyed at all costs.
The girls are people that she has never seen, but it's Hank that immediately catches her interest. She doesn't see much blue fur, let alone on a person. She opts to walk over to Mr. McCoy, leaning over and asking, "Is the seat next to you taken, Sumerce`?" politely.
Ruth shakes her head at Gambit "Your social skills need a lot of work, yes sorry. A jerk boss that doesn't respect or value their employees will find themselves with unexplained losses or a high turn over and it's quite bad for morale as well, yes you're welcome" then just sighs at the exchange between Gambit and his bouncer.
"Please thank you, down boy, tonight is about friends not one night stands, yes please and you wonder why you have so many altverse kids but none with the same partner twice" The look on her face though says something about how nice she really is, because if she weren't then it's clear he'd be hit by this point somehow.
She smiles warmly at Hank "That's ok, the heels are murder on the feet and shins, yes please" all that blue fur just made you want to hug him like a teddy bear and she takes a step forward to do that but then holds herself back.
Jane nods as she grabs her small box of chips, pocketing it into the suzuki-jacket as she skates over to the table, the sound of well oiled beareings hissing as she moves, almost following Beast and the others. Just the two steps up to the private table are a stop, but not too much of a problem. "Seems like quite a crowd for poker night. Replacing Logan for tonight, since he doesn't seem to be in town. Name's Jane Johnson, if you need one. Drinks on the host?" Duh, as if anyone would be called Johnson. Just as she rolls around the table to try to choose a place, she points to the one she feels is closest to the camera over them. "I'll take this one, if you don't mind. So, 5-card draw? Texas Hold 'em? Seven-card stud? What will it be?"
The waitresses buzz around, taking drink orders while Gambit does his best to avoid stereotyping himself. IE, he waits for everyone to start sitting before he dives into the tray of fried catfish like Cookie Monster on crack. So he distracts himself by sipping his glass of Remy Martin (neat), and taking the fresh deck of cards from whichever of his employees hastily fetched it.
"I'm guessing that if you're here, Mab probably ain't too far behind? Haven't seen that girl in ages, seems like." Apparently Gambit DOES remember Zahra, at least in connection to his former Brotherhood crony. Either way, he seems happy to see her, whether or not she brought her friend.
"Looks like Dr. McCoy just volunteered to be our dealer for the evening... apparently nobody trusts me to deal anymore." Gambit slides the unopened deck across the table to the furry would/be card sharp. "But I don't know if you're ready for the house special... aw hell... you're a grown man, what am I talking about?"
The waitress gets a sneaky smile on her face, and turns around to go get Hank's drink. "One pint of 'shine, coming up."
Never order the House Special anywhere in Mutant Town...
"My social skills probably aren't the only thing that need some work, little one. But, I think I'm learning to accept that I'll probably always be a 'work in progress.' Gambit seems a bit sheepish, as it takes kind of a lot to get Blindfold's dander up enough to make her correct someone's behavior.
But Gambit doesn't have the time right now to contemplate opportunities for self-improvement. Right now, he's got to play the role of The Host.
"Okay, ladies and Beast. We're playing poker, Texas Hold'em rules. Dr. McCoy will deal us in as soon as everyone's settled. I've staked everyone at the table 500 bucks worth of chips, winner takes all, losers just leave with free drinks and dinner on the house."
Zahra Shamoun takes a seat, then orders a nojito...that is to say, a mojito with no actual alcohol in it. Unlike some people, the 19 year old wind manipulator did not bring a fake ID. She listens to Gambit and offers him a smile. Of course, she expects to go bust pretty quickly, as nice as the winnings would be. But...a free dinner and a fun game with people who might be interesting? That's enough for her anyway.
Beast is pretty much used to the snugs, ruffles, and such.... comes with the territory. Especially since given his very public activities and membership on the Avengers, everyone thinks it's totally fine to just come up and touch and pet him. "Sit whrever you like, my dear. But no need for formality." Hank notes to Mariah as he opens the deck of cards with his dexterous toes and starts shuffling them with his feet almost as well as Gambit would with his hands. It's actually likely pretty impressive to watch.
"'Shine?" Hank asks with a perked brow as the waitress departs to get him his drink order. "Well... what's the worst that could happen. I wind up in my underwear in public." Hank jokes, poking a bit of fun at himself. "I suppose I could wake up next to Bl...err, Fred." And Hank starts humming 'Back in Baby's Arms' from Planes, Traines, and Automobiles as he starts swiftly dealing out the cards with his feet.
"Manners are always in season," Mariah replies with a pleasant smile to Hank as she has a seat. Watching him deal out the cards and listening to his witty reparte, she chuckles and comments, thumbing at Gambit, "Or - you could wake up next to him. Your pick on which is worse."
Ruth dressed in a elegant dress outfit of purple red and a splash of silver, smiles at Gambit as she reaches a hand up to rub his shoulder "Not always no, there is a day when you are loved and respected and never lose your charm, yes thank you" then turns her face toward the one standing in for Logan "No sorry, Mr Howlette isn't out of town, he is quite well and will find out about this yes sorry" then smirks at Hank before nodding in agreement with Maria about her first comment "Politeness too, yes thank you" She too orders the house special because moonshine was made from sugar and that sounded good to her.
Jane picks the two cards she is dealt, taking a tiny peek under it before setting them down again and tossing her bid to the pot. "Oh, so he is into furries? I wonder what costume is your closet, Sir." Of course, she does not speak of Hank, because... he wears his costume. "I bet it is a mutt." Stretching the feet under the table, jane looks over to Ruth "Well, he isn't here, and even if he finds out, he wouldn't be bothered too much. Otherwise he would be here, wouldn't he?"
Taking his cards, Gambit starts to arrange them while taking care to keep far enough back that nobody will be able to see them. Of course, he's already scanning the rest of the people at the table for any early warning signs, but he can mostly cover that up by pretending to just be checking them out.
"You keep telling me fun facts about the future, but you NEVER tell me the lotto numbers. What's up with that, p'tite? I'm pretty sure that winning the Powerball would go a long way toward making me 'loved and respected' in the future." For a second, it actually sounds like Gambit is complaining about the forecast he's been getting from the X-Men's resident fortune teller. But the smile that momentarily cracks his poker face is enough to indicate that he's joking.
"What is this? Try To Guess The Host's Kinks Day? You're just wasting your time. Even my ex-wife doesn't know any of my fetishes."
Apparently Gambit subscribes to the Larry David School of Thought where relationships are concerned...
"Let's try to keep our minds on the cards though, huh? Otherwise, ya'll are gonna be crying about how I cheated when I take the entire pot home."
Speaking of the pot, he matches Jane's bid, and places his cards face down on the table. "There. Call."
Mia is not here to win as such, so she does not mind having a bad hand. She has no readson to cheat, she can easily make money if she wants. She never understood people with powers having to make money illegally, there are so many legal ways they can do it.
Mia looks at her hand,not good, but she is practicing her kryptonian self control. she is not as good at is as Superman, but she can see perfectly cal when she wants to, She callsand raises.
One eyebrow lifts and then, perhaps daringly, the Egyptian woman comments, "Maybe that's why she's your EX wife." Amused as she looks at her cards - unfortunately, a good poker face Zahra doesn't have, because her frown is far too noticeable. Then more so. But she apparently decides to push through. "Call."
Beast perks a brow at the comments from Jane... offering a bit of a snort. He doesn't bother to comment on those things. But on Gambit vs. Blob, he does offer an idle comment while the round of cards is being played. "Of the two... I think I'd prefer to wake up next to Remy. Grease is terrible to get out of fur." Hank notes, as he seems deals out any cards that are asked for. He's hopeful to win the hand given hand, or in this case foot, but it doesn't seem meant to be. "Now now, let's abuse Remy too much. He may start to like it."
Mariah picks up her cards, and blinks, looking a little confused. "... I thought this was Toruro," she notes aloud, somewhat embarassed. "I don't know how to play 'Holding It In Texas.'" She sets down her cards, standing up, and pushing in the chair. "Que oso..." she mutters, shaking her head. "Buenos noche, parce. It was nice meeting all of you." She walks past Gambit, ruffling his hair slightly and giving him a little peck on the cheek as she leaves.
Ruth considers Jane flatly for a long moment "He has a lot on his plate, many of us do, Missy, yes please, but much of what you say is not true, sorry no" Then she peeks under her cards and matches the highest bid "Call" her face completely unreadable, having no eyes really pays off sometimes.
Then she smiles warmly to Gambit and leans over to whisper a few things to him, namely his fetishes "Sides, I play the lottery, I'm saving it for a certain day, yes thank you" Then starts trying to poke round in Mia's mind for info, not about the game of course, she makes sure to specifically avoid that but for other info about the girl, as she speaks with Gambit "One day it will be greatly needed, either for the school or to found a new one, but little of the funds will be spent on myself, thank you yes" It wasn't the kind of person she was.
"I think that's when you need the laundry or dish soap, followed by the regular shampoo you use, Dr McCoy, yes thank you"
Jane grins as she sees the pot growing, and even as the cards tell her she has nothing on the hand, she seems to have either a perfect poker face, or - which is really the case - she doesn't mind. Partly it is because the first 500 are not from her pocket and otherwise she feels for the camera above her, which might make her look a bit abesntly smiling like a sure winner. Sorting out the signals of the camera from the noise is pretty much a task, and meanwhile trying to find something compromising about the host on the internet is not something you would expect during a poker round.
But besides a blurry Youtube video that shows someone that could be him getting thrown through a wall there is nothing. Poker on the other hand is mostly statistics, and the longer the game goes, the more it plays in favor of her.
At least until Ruth speaks up to her. "Hey, it is poker night and we should be allowed to gossip over those here and those that can't defend themselves, because of absence. So stop being a killjoy. But playing the lottery for the small winnings is cheating - why not win the big pot once? less work."
Still betting for the next round, despite the bad cards, Jane orders herself a Twelve Mile Limit, looking back to Hank "So, not into grease? I bet you are not into rain then either, though I don't like rain either, soaks through the jeans in all the wrong places to feel comfortable: Calfs and thighs."
"Nah, she's my ex-wife because she found out about one of my ex-girlfriends." It's a lie, but it's much simpler than telling his entire Origin Story during a poker game. Still, Gambit raises his glass in Zahra's direction, as if in recognition of the verbal blow. Some guys would say 'touche', Gambit just celebrates insults by drinking more...
For a second, he looks a bit dumbfounded as the Hotel's newest guest takes off in the middle of a game. It's not, strictly speaking, something that's allowed. But this is all for fun, so it's a simple enough matter to just distribute her winnings into the pot. He cringes slightly as his hair is ruffled, but it's likely she'll cringe much more when she realizes just how much of his 'natural grease' is left on her hand...
"Oh. Uh... okay. Goodnight, chere. Don't hit the Pay Per View too hard, okay?"
As he's distributing Mariah's chips into the pot, Gambit watches with bemusement as Blindfold takes the first round. "Damn. I guess it makes sense that the girl with the blindfold has the best poker face..." Gambit is mostly able to keep his own poker face relatively intact, but he can't help coloring slightly when the blind seer mentions a couple of very specific details about his private life. Fortunately, nobody else could hear that, right?
He looks around, a bit guiltily, as if hoping to confirm that nobody was able to hear her.
"You've got to be better to me this round, Beast. I've got a rep to protect around here, after all."
Mia turns in her share of the pot with grace and says, "I do not really play cards much." Which is a bit odd consideringhow goodher poker face is.
Zahra Shamoun shakes her head as she shows her cards. They're not great, so obviously she was gambling. "Neither do I," she admits to the younger woman. "But it's a good way to get to know people." A smile to her, and then she glances at Gambit. "Oh, well...that doesn't surprise me." Another smile, taking the sting off of it. Gambit's a player; he probably shouldn't have got married in the first place.
Beast regathers the cards and once again sets to shuffling with his feet, as he takes a drink of the 'Shine that came during the first round. "Ahhh... that'll put hair on your chest. Good thing I'm already covered there. And no promises, Remy. I don't stack the deck for anyone, not even those with a pretty face." Hank grins as he starts distributing the cards for the next hand as he occupies himself with playful chit chat. "I think Remy just lives and loves by one rule. Live fast, die hard, and leave a good looking corpse."
Ruth shakes her head disapprovingly at Jane "Speaking lies about someone not here to defend themselves isn't gossip, it's slander, sometimes bullying, but in all cases it's not fun, it's just plain wrong, yes sorry. I actually have played the megabucks and the powerball a couple times, but I also make sure not to win too many times, again someday the money will be sorely needed for many, yes please" and because it benefited the many that would be in need of it to help others many more then it wasn't a bad thing to do.
She raises this hand, reaching out to pat Gambit's knee under the table, but his story of his ex-wife gets a smirk. Yeah. Right. Thaat's why she's your ex-wife, not cuz she totes cra-cra? Then grins at Beast and shakes her head "Only for now but not forever yes thank you. Just like you, will one day have children Dr Mccoy and marry, yes please"
She takes a careful sip ofm her moonshine and licks her lips appreciatvely, then takes a large swallow. However every time she tilts her head in Mia's direction there is a curious expression that comes over her, this is one girl that is quite intrigueing to Ruth and has captured her curiousity immensely. But she does turn her head back to Gambit "Oh I'm sorry my apologies, would it help if I removed my blindfold?" in late remark to her having the best poker face.
"An Ex wife? I should try to find what kind of dirty laundry was used in the divorce... You did wash your laundry in court, didn't you?" Jane again gives Remy a little verbal punch before grinning to Beast "Suffering from effluvium in an ammount you have to drink against it? Or such a heavy drinker that all the hair you got decided to turn as blue as you?"
Snickering all of sudden, she might seem a tad mad, but it is really the view from atop the table that is funny - how people hold their cards tightly against the table or just peek under them as if people would cheat and peek. "No need to stack the deck, all but Remy do win anyway, while he looses anything we win." Eventually she looks over to Ruth, shaking the head "How you see your cards with that on anyway? They are not marked with a pattern I can feel, and that would be cheating anyway."
"I think the good Doctor has me confused with the drummer from Spinal Tap. My actual philosophy is best summed up by a phrase I heard back in the day: 'A cœur vaillant rien impossible.' It means pretty much the same thing as 'Hakuna Matata,' for you non-French speakers..."
It doesn't mean anything remotely similar to Hakuna Matata...
One of the waitresses sidles up to Remy, bringing him another drink. It's only his third Remy Martin of the evening, which is probably why he's doing so badly at cards. It's CERTAINLY why he hasn't tried to hit on anyone yet. But why isn't he drinking more? Perhaps it's simply because there are kids at the table. Or perhaps it has something to do with something that both Blindfold and her great grandmother have told him in the last few months: 'You were not destined to be as you are.'
But when she offers to remove her blindfold, Gambit has the same reaction that pretty much everyone probably has: Some variation on 'Oh God no! Please!' However, all he says is...
"Oh, you don't need to do that, little one. The blindfold's pretty much your trademark, after all..."
Gambit is relatively smooth.
Those who are interested in Gambit's love life enough to do any digging will be surprised to note that Gambit has not only never been divorced, but he's also never been married. At least, not legally. Or at least, there's no record of it...
Looking at his cards, he looks a bit suspiciously at Blindfold, as if she's getting closer merely to cheat off of him. After all, she won the last round just a biiiit too handily not to make him suspicious.
Mia simply calls, she feels funny though she can not quite tell why.
Zahra Shamoun is, currently, apparently of little interest to the blind fortune teller...which is as it should be. "Call and raise." And she shows a close to unbeatable hand, smiling a little. "Blind luck." A wry glance at Blindfold. "And blind people can develop an incredible sense of touch, I'm told. Something about the unused brainpower being diverted to other senses. That or she's a mutant." Zahra shrugs one dark-skinned shoulder.
"I don't think marriage or kids are in my future. You might want to recheck your visions of my future." Beast notes with a soft chuckle. "As if anyone could put up with my workaholic nature. If anything I'm likely to snap someday and go crazy and clone myself or something." Hank grins with a wink. He does offer a warm grin though at Gambit's French. And offers him a salute with his moonshine before taking a sip. And of course when the waitress glides by Hank orders himself what Gambit is drinking out of curiosity, and another one for the Swamprat who cleans up fairly nicely. He does sputter a bit at Ruth's offer to remove her blindfold. "I agree with Remy. Your blindfold is as much your trademark as my charming trunks are. Let's keep things on and retain some of the mystery." He's chatty and cheerful because he thinks he has this one.... until Zahra takes it. "Shuzbutt." Hank mumbles as he regathers the cards to shuffle once again.
Ruth smirks at Gambit's fib and to spare most of the table especially Gambit she merely peels up her blindfold from one eye, showing not even an indent of an eye socket, but something much much shallower to Jane "How did I ever see, yes please?"
She finishes her 'shine "Words to live by Gambit dear, words to live by yes thank you"
Then turns her head back toward Mia "You are quite puzzling yourself, never met anyone quite like you before, yes please" and Smiles politely to Zahra "Mutant, yes thank you, active since birth" then calls before smirking at Gambit like she knows a secret and shaking her head at Beast.
"Don't sell yourself short, you may find the person you least trust is the person who wants you the most, please thank you"
"Look at the cards. The print here is less than a micron thick and then layered with a seal, you can't feel it unless you have superhuman touch." Jane smirks, then looks over to Blindfold again, the looks going a bit worried.
"So, you have visions or something? Well, if you do that to cheat at lottery that is your beer, but don't dare to do that at poker. Other casinos might send their brutes to break your fingers or pry out whatever you have under the blindfold. Or they lock you up in their cellar and force you to predict cheaters." Not that Jane would know what it hides.
Taking a bit time to watch at her cards and then send the drink back, as it was not what she ordered - the barkeep mixed up something it seemed - Jane once more looks over to Beast "Hey, I have evidence that you are not the only furry on earth. If that report I read lately is true, then there is a whole mountain full of furries somewhere in east Europe. If you look for someone who is a lookalike, you should look there. But if her vision is accurate, that sounds like your arch nemesis has a crush on you..."
Sometimes, people make random comments that strike a little too close to the truth. Gambit looks away a bit awkwardly as Jane guesses 'exactly' why Gambit likes to keep Ruth around his casino as often as possible...
Gambit calls, though his pile is starting to get a little low at this point. If his fortunes don't reverse soon, he'll probably be out of the game fairly soon.
"I think I figured out why so many men prefer to play poker away from their wives... if we keep talking about Beast's love life, I'm going to have to start hosting these poker games in a tree house with a 'No Girls Allowed' sign." Gambit is kidding, mostly, as he seems to be just as curious about who Beast is destined to end up with as anyone.
"But just for merde and giggles... he's not going to end up with anyone with scales, will he? Because, god, think of the children..."
Mia says, "This does not seem to be my game. I suppose I will remove myselffrom play."
Ah, overconfidence. Zahra goes all in, then pulls her cards...and the poker face drains away. Crap. Well, it wasn't her money she was playing with anyway.
"Just a note.... animalistic mutants or metas arn't exactly big fans of the term 'Furry' or 'Furries'. The preferred term is Feral." It's just a little somethng that comes off a little negative to most mutants like that. Beast's certainly been called worse, given his codename is Beast. But Jane might run into someone who doesn't take it nearly as well in the future. "It's not exactly my favorite topic of the night either, Remy. You know what they say.... unlucky at love, lucky at cards." And then Hank wins this pot and scoops the chips his way. "See. Told you. Come to Papa Beastie."
Ruth grins at Jane slyly "What would they pull out may I ask please yes? There is nothing but skin beneath, nothing, no thank you." then turns her head toward Zahra quite curiously "You, are quite interesting as well, destiny you have faced, and passed, now...you simply are, yes please" Then giggles to Gambit "No worry not please, smooth skinned and not an arch nemesis either no thank you. Though I am not quite old enough to play at casinos, sorry no but when I am I likely will, yes thank you."
"Feral? Nah, you are just a bit fuzzy. A little bit beasty to petting zoo person on the sliding scale of anthropomorphism. Better show yourself as what you are or just crossdressing than cross-species corssdressing, or even taking an animal name when you have nothing to do with that animal. What is exactly Bat-like in Batman? He is neither blind, nor flies. Feral is the wholly other end of the scale btw."
Jane's face seems to be honest on that, but then again, she has been in a hand to hand with him and she had managed to get one good strike - by tasering him when he had not thought something like that would happen - before getting some pretty well placed strikes on her.
"If there is just skin under, then think a bit closer to the back of the head. Want to see the autopsy photos of what happened to some John Doe in Vegas? But seems like I have no good luck tonight, not fully bad, but quite ok."
It's not common for Gambit to be anything other than 'all business' when playing poker. But something about the relaxed environment seems to be making him a bit looser. Of course, it probably helps he wrote the evening off as a total loss when he sent out the invitations in the first place...
"I'm starting to think you're racist against Cajuns, Beast. You're giving your boy straight garbage." It might not be the smart thing to say when you're calling, but Gambit doesn't seem to mind. Or perhaps he's just trying to psyche everyone out? If he's trying to hustle everyone, he's going about it extremely subtly.
Ruth just shakes her head at Jane, after all she was arguing with a doctor in mutant genetics about political correctness. Then looks at her cards and lays them on the table face up "I think the saying is read 'em and weep, yes please?"
"Sorry Gumbo... I don't stack the deck for anyone. Not even you." Hank grins just a bit, but then gives Jane a bit of a glower over arguing about the terminology. He slides the cards to Gambit and gestures for him to deal if he thinks that'll help. "But the preferred term is 'Feral'." He asides once more as he takes a long stiff drink.
Jane just shrugs, being the internet person she is. "Be as it might, there is a huge furry fandom out there. Hell, they even have their own search engine." Taking some more chips to toss into the bucket, she looks over to Ruth again "The blind hen found a corn, doesn't it?"
It goes against everything in Gambit's nature to keep from cheating. He's not allowed in casinos all over Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Morroco, Eth'Alt'Eban, and beyond, after all. But this is the first time in a long while that he's had the chance to just... play for fun. Clearly, he's relishing the opportunity to play with friends more than he's cherished any of the times he's cheated his way into a big payday.
Of course, it's also good for business for the customers to see that The Host occasionally loses... tends to build up confidence in the establishment. Not that that's what Gambit's thinking or anything...
"Merde. Looks like I'm busted. This'll teach me to stake you card sharps though... so the night's not a total loss."
"Come to Papa Beastie." Hank grins wide and leans forward, scooping all the chips into his pile and swiftly stacking them into neat little piles. "That was fun.... I hope you'll invite me to the next one. I might even wear pants or something the next time." Hank flashes Gambit a grin and then salutes him with his glass once more before finishing off his drink. "I needed a nice relaxing evening. So this hit the spot nicely. Thanks to everyone else for giving me your hard earned money."
Ruth smiles at Gambit and pats him on the shoulder, then points to someone at the card tables and a onlooker, then two that were running a scam round the slots, but she does so discreetly so not to give them a running start should they bolt.
Ruth sighs then with a grin as she loses the game Not sure what that saying means, but...yes thank you" as she shrugs to Jane, not understanding the chicken and corn saying.
Ruth then smiles at Beast "Rematch next time, yes please" she says good-naturedly and finishes off her next shine.
Jane smirks as she sits out the last round, idly letting a chip of her own run over her fingers up and down, Jack Sparrow style, before tossing the 10-chip at Remy. "His hard earned money actually, as he sponsored the chips. Not leaving a little tip for him? Otherwise he has to have some of the winners of the night - I think about table 19 ovher there, the guy with the black basecap - get rigged upon. He's just counting cards." Yep, Jane just rattled someone she doesn't even know, because she can see him from above and because his smartphone runs a card-counting app. "Kiddo, not old enough to go to casinos, but to drink shines? You should try some of the real stuff, not the cheap."
"Actually... she shouldn't be drinking ANYTHING." Gambit's not really the best role model in the world, and he's certainly had his attention mostly fixed on the game for the majority of the evening. But he's suddenly reminded that Blindfold isn't quite old enough to be drinking. She's certainly not old enough to be drinking in HIS bar, anyway.
Dexterous hands reach out, snatching the bottle right before she can refill it. "Easy there, p'tite. This stuf'll put you in the hospital. And if Xavier finds out his students have been drinking on my dime... well... I'll probably end up thinking I'm the next contestant on Dance Moms."
It might be a bit too late, but Gambit at least tried to not be a total scumbag. And that certainly counts as progress.
"Matter of fact, it's getting a bit late. For a reprobate like myself that's not an issue, but you heroes probably got Danger Room sessions in the morning or some such. So I'm going to have to kick you out of the Hôtel."
"But Hank, come and see me if you feel like doing some side work. You might have a future as a poker dealer. You know, if you ever give up that whole science thing."
Ruth giggles, but doesn't debate about it. "Now, that's the way to be. We'll get you where you wanna go, yet. Yes. Please." Was she really that drunk or was she just that happy and proud to see him making progress? Leaning over she gives him a big warm hug. "Don't worry. Professor Xavier won't find out. Please. No."