All 18.3 - Poker Club

“Alright. Call,” Pierce declared. He laid out his hand on the table.
“You weren’t bluffing,” Cohen said, making a somewhat sarcastic face of displeasure at the cards. Looking back up to Pierce, he grinned, “It’s a good thing I was.” Showing his cards, he revealed that his hand solidly beat the others.
Pierce’s eyes widened and he smiled. “You lying prick!” he laughed.
“That coming from you?” Cohen still smiled, taking the chips in the center. “You think I don’t know when someone’s reading my mind? I’ve had people staring in there for the last decade.” He grinned smugly as he stacked the chips in neat rows. “The real problem here is that you actually believed that I was betting that much on a pair of eights.” Pierce groaned, but was still chuckling. Meanwhile, Victor sat quietly, smiling as he shuffled the deck again.
“Alright, alright. You took that one; I was overconfident. But come on, no one ever sees that coming,” Pierce said.
“You’ll have to step up your game, Pierce, or he’ll have you beat,” Victor said.
“Like you can talk!”
“It looks like talking is really my only option at this point, since I’m obviously not leaving with any money,” he said, passing over the deck. “Unless I knock you both out and rob you. I’m pretty sure you both deserve it at this point anyway.”
Pierce grinned as he took the cards, “Just because you’re terrible at it, don’t ruin our fun.”
Victor took a drink, “I'm good at less subtle crime, that’s all.”
“It’s not crime if you get away with it,” Cohen supplied, taking his own drink.
“That philosophy work out for you?” Pierce started dealing.
“It's not the philosophy,” Cohen shrugged. “It's the getting away that's my problem.” All three snickered, and continued playing.
Ryuji walked into the command room, “Do any of you…” he stopped when he saw them. All three were sitting around a folding table covered in a poker game and far more bottles of alcohol than three men needed. “...How much are you drinking?” he asked with some incredulity.
“The real question,” Victor answered, “is why did Cress think we needed this much alcohol.” He gestured around, “I don’t even think this is all of it. Problem with holding bags, is if you don’t know what you’re after, you have to empty the whole thing, and I’m not about to do that. Riast knows what would fall out. So, this is just what we found. Good variety though,” he shrugged.
“Who’s going to steer the ship if you’re all drunk?” the Yetoman asked.
“...You?” Pierce offered, to which Ryuji brought his hand to his face.
“It’s fine. It’s what we have magic for,” Cohen offered, waving him off. Sighing, Ryuji turned to leave.
“Hey, don’t run off. We could use a fourth,” Pierce said.
Ryuji paused. He fidgeted slightly, “...No, I don’t…”
“Come on~,” Pierce intoned.
“You’ll make us feel bad,” Victor added, grinning.
Ryuji turned back around, but he was still obviously uncomfortable. “I...don’t think I’d be any fun.”
“That’s because you’re not drunk yet,” Pierce explained.
Shutting his eyes and inhaling deeply, Ryuji replied through tight-lips, “I can’t drink.”
“Can’t drink anything, or can’t drink alcohol?” Cohen asked, turning about to look at him. “Because honestly my tolerance is too high, so I’ve been spiking with this. Catch.” With a light toss, he threw over a stoppered vial of amber liquid with an oily sheen. Ryuji managed to catch it with minimal fumbling.
He looked it over. “...What?” he voiced his confusion, both to the liquid’s identity, and to what he was supposed to do with it.
Raising an eyebrow, Cohen replied, “You’ve never had it? I heard you were a college man, I find that surprising.” Ryuji continued to look blank, so Cohen shrugged, “Wizard Brew. Academy Punch. Party in a Bottle. Or if you want to be technical, Polypurpose Panacea.”
“Stupid names,” Victor commented.
Turning to look at him, the doctor replied, “I didn’t name it, drunk college kids did. I just sold it.”
“You must have made out like a bandit; that stuff was expensive,” Pierce exclaimed.
Grinning, Cohen replied, “I didn’t even have to make proper stable potions. Five minutes will make an infusion, practically free materials, and no one could tell the difference. Sold it at slightly less than full price, and I could make a few hundred gold a day.”
Victor asked curiously, “Was that legal?”
“Was for me. That stuff is Class 1, you can sell it if you’re licensed. I’ve heard it can get you in trouble with gangs though, since it detracts from legitimate drug sales.”
It was Victor’s turn to raise an eyebrow, “And that didn’t concern you?”
Cohen replied, “Pfft. You think I sold it as myself? And it’s not like I made a business out of it.” Turning back to Ryuji, he continued, “Use it if you want, I assume magic still works on you. Most magic, anyways.” Ryuji just looked at it inscrutably, standing in silence. Cohen blinked a few times, “Or, you can assume I’m trying to kill you. That works too.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time…” Ryuji muttered.
Rolling his eyes, Cohen exclaimed sarcastically, “Well, you beat me to an inch of my life, and I beat you to yours, or whatever counts for it. We’re even, get over it.”
“We are not even,” Ryuji said venomously.
“Fine. Don’t trust me. I thought that was the entire point of this damned thing,” he tugged at the collar on his neck, “but if it’s not, who cares!" His voice became exaggeratedly saccharine. "What’s the point of caring if you trust me or not, since it’s just going to keep making me want to be nice anyways?”
“And you wonder why it’s still on,” Ryuji said flatly. Cohen just shrugged exaggeratedly and turned back.
“Let’s all be honest for a moment,” Victor said, smiling. Looking at Ryuji, he asked, “Do you honestly, even remotely, like any of us, even a little?”
“...No…” Ryuji admitted.
“Do either of you like him?” he asked, looking to Pierce and Cohen.
“I have every reason to loathe him entirely,” Cohen said brightly.
Pierce made an iffy face, “Not really. Bit of a jerk. Strong opinions.”
“Good! I don’t like you either,” he said to Ryuji before turning back. “Do you like each other?” The two considered that for a moment.
“...Eh. I don’t dislike you. But you’re spineless, and kind of an embarrassment, really,” Cohen offered to Mr. Webber.
“Insults coming from the murderer, caught twice for his own stupidity. And don’t get me started on alchemists. Everyone knows you can’t study alchemy unless you’re insane,” Pierce retorted.
“And do either of you like me?” Victor continued.
“No. You’re off-putting and would probably kill any one of us if you thought you had a reason,” Cohen was quick to reply. “And your child isn’t disciplined at all.”
“Leave Virgil out of this,” Victor replied seriously, pointing at him.
Pierce looked nervous. “You’re interesting to talk to, but you’re...intense,” was his carefully-worded response. He grinned slyly, "And you're kind of weird. With the beastfolk and everything," Pierce added with a grin.
Victor rolled his eyes, “At any rate, there. Webber is a cowardly weasel, Cohen is insane and obnoxious, I’m one step away from killing all of you, and you’re an arrogant and self-righteous snob. We all hate each other.”
“Hate’s pretty strong,” Pierce said.
Cohen shrugged, “I’m being actively prevented from hating, which makes me want to hate more, which ends with a lot of wasted effort.”
Pierce continued, “Dislike. Or put-off.”
“So, the question is,” Victor continued, ignoring them both, “are you going to get over it, get drunk and lose your money, or are you going to go stand in a corner somewhere by yourself?”
Victor watched Ryuji stand there for a minute, looking carefully at the vial. Eventually, Ryuji sighed, “...Well, I haven’t been drunk in almost 8 years. If there was a time for it, it would certainly be now.” Taking the cork out, Ryuji downed the oily liquid.
Smiling, Victor added, “There’s another chair in the bag there, and be warned that both of them are cheating.”
“Some of us better than others,” Cohen replied with a smirk.
“Some of us being me,” Pierce retorted, grinning.
Category:Advent of the All