How Quick is Your Eye? [Attn: Drin'far'ji Danos & Drin'far'ji Avram]

[Bella]

It is said that a person cannot truly stop being who they are, and that seemed to be true for Natlya.

She had been on her best behavior--mostly--since coming to the Grey Tower, but she found old habits luring her back. She felt the need to keep herself sharp at those old skills. Why? Even she wasn't sure. In theory, if she survived the training ranks of the Warder Yards then she would never have to resort to this again.

Then again, in her heart of hearts, she was fairly sure that she wouldn't make it through the ranks. She would try, she really did mean to try, but she didn't believe she would. So, she'd need skills she could survive on when she left the Tower...

...without Morgan.

It wasn't a thought she enjoyed, but it was fairly unavoidable. Nat tried to keep those thoughts away from her mind as she sat at a small table in the trainee's common room during one of their rare hours off. "Bet's a half mark worth of chores," she said to the two naive creatures standing before her as she shifted around here small, opaque cups with her swift, smooth movements. "Watch the one with the ball."

[Damien]

Danos

Danos was walking through the common room on his way back from sparring with Master Riahana. His muscles were protesting the soreness in his shoulder, the sword forms having been especially intense this session.

Looking at the corner, he saw a small table and a woman in Drin'far'ji grey that he did not recognize. Unsure if she was new or if they had never shared a class yet, Danos came over to see what the fuss was.

The first thing he noticed was her haircut, far shorter than women had worn in his home of Jornhill. Grey was not her color per se, but Danos could see the confidence and swagger in how she engaged the crowd. The second thing he noticed was the way her hands were shifting those cups, the motion smooth and with obvious practice.

He could hear her voice calling out the bet softly, and a half mark of chores seemed like a safe enough bet. He knew his classes had made him far more observant than before.

Squatting down onto his heels, Danos tapped the table,"I'm game, a half Mark worth of chores is it?"

Then he waited for the game to start, watching the cups and trying to keep the one with the ball in sight.

[Bella]

Natlya was just finishing up the first round, with the poor Drin losing of course, giving him a sympathetic smile. "We'll catch up later to figure out the chores," she said, earnestly sounding like she felt bad about it, as he slumped and then trudged off. And it wasn't even a moment's worth of time before there was fresh meat.

The redheaded girl, not quite so soft and squishy as she had been when she'd arrived but certainly far, far, far from the whip lean look that trainees got by the time they were Ji, she turned to him and flashed a smile. "Welcome!" All her old skills had come back very easily--working the audience, getting it light.

"Yep, bet is just a half Mark and if you win, I will double that time and do your chores," she said. It sounded too good to be true because it was, and she knew it. She would have bet he didn't. "All you have to do is follow the cup with the ball and when I'm done, pick which one it is. Watch it now." She held the ball up and then placed it down, covering it with the cup.

Her hands were the most skilled part of her body. They had to be, after so many years as a thief, pickpocket, and con. A little sleight of hand and he'd never be able to pick the right cup, but he wouldn't know that. She slid the cups around, switching speed and rhythm and patterns as she did so. Finally, she stopped and leaned back, spreading her hands. "Which one? You only get one try."

[Jiggity]

Avram Nolaisen

Avram arrived in the common room distracted, reading another book recommended by a Brown librarian who'd been watching his reading choices as he walked in. The unusual soft sound of the rapidly moving cups alerted him and he looked up, putting his bookmark in and stepping to the side, leaning against a wall to watch the 'game' ending. His brief stint in crime had shown him his leadership and judgement weren't as good as he'd thought, but he had seen a number of the games of chance used to fleece the many tourists who came to visit the Foregate. One of his seconds had explained to him quietly that even the fastest eye lost track most of the time, letting ball disappear with some skill on the fleecer's part. After that game confirmed his suspicion, he was torn between options.

The right thing to do would be to catch her in the act and report her to Ravak Gaidin for him to deal with her as he saw fit. What that punishment would be he had no idea, but being a snitch would hardly endear him to the other drin'far'ji. Attention in general wasn't something he wanted, but negative attention was much worse. He could simply ignore it and let any drin who didn't know better than to gamble at someone else's game get fleeced. He nodded. He wouldn't feel great about it, but ultimately it wasn't his problem, was it?

Then Danos squatted in front of the table and that plan evaporated. The big, friendly andoran wasn't his closest friend, but he seemed like a very trusting fellow. And he should have some loyalty to his roommate, shouldn't he? Being reminded of the time he took the coward's way out every time he went to bed did not sound fun. So he waited for the game to end and stepped forward, putting a hand on Danos's shoulder and leaning forward.

"Pardon me, I hate to interrupt but I wondered if I could place a bet as well. If Danos here picks the right cup, he wins. But if he picks an empty cup and flips the other two over and it's nowhere to be found I get the same bet he would." He smiled at her. "Of course a drin wouldn't hustle another drin, but I found that to be a much fairer game when I was in the Foregate. Just thought I'd... even the odds a bit. And he has to be the one to flip the cups, not you."

[Damien]

Danos

"And he has to be the one to flip the cups, not you," Danos heard his roommate Avram state as he placed a second bet.

What in the light is he talking about, thought Danos as he heard Avram mentioning the Foregate and other games.

Danos knew his new roommate was much more well traveled than him, and was generally a quiet fellow. Since being roommates, Danos had rarely seen him without a book and though Danos preferred more active pursuits he had seen in several classes that Avram had a keen mind.

Twice he's beaten me to an answer in class, both time with a better answer thought Danos gratefully. Their instructors could be ruthless in follow up questions if someone did not answer correctly.

Danos turned his attention back to the pair as he awaited the woman's response to the new bet. He was also he had to admit to himself enjoying the attention of the female Drin'far'ji.

She reminded him a little of a peddler, placing their wares just so to make the cups and tin look less battered, but as she had been moving the cups he had enjoyed the flash of her smile, flirting with a hint of smirk that put Rose, the barmaid from Jornhill to mind.

[Bella]

Well, now here was an unwelcome addition.

While the first one had the look of a big, dumb farmboy, this next one was far smaller and clearly far more shrewd. Natlya kept her face schooled into it's pleasantly polite blankness, but was sizing him up. If her skills were still on point, he had the look of a Cairhienin. Most men about that size were, it seemed. A nation of small people.

However, what they lacked in height, they more than made up for in the keen minds and suspicious eyes that allowed one to so suitably play the Great Game. She liked games, she played them, but that was one she usually lacked the proper place and power to do well. And she hated that.

Think fast, girl, she thought. It was the same little voice that popped up whenever a guard came into sight.

She drew down her pale red brows and tilted her head like she didn't exactly understand what he was saying. "Are you trying to accuse me of something, sir?" she asked. With conscious effort, she pitched her voice to sound wounded but without overdoing it. Over-acting the part always had a bad effect, and one she was not seeking to discover. She just needed to put him off-center.

[Jiggity]

Avram

Avram smiled widely, trying to keep it friendly rather than threatening. "I'm sure you're just passing the time in our free hour. Who doesn't want to relax in the little time we don't have to be cleaning the armory or beating the stuffing out of each other? I merely suggest a modification that I thought was interesting when suggested to me originally." The resistance to the idea had settled it. You're lucky I'm the one who caught you. There probably isn't a ball anywhere on this table anymore.

His hand tightened slightly on his roommate's shoulder. "Of course, hypothetically, someone could be doing something very similar to what you're doing but slightly less honestly. Hypothetically someone with less control of their temptations could be using one of the oldest tricks on the streets to part their peers from what they have of value. Of course, if this hypothetical person were found out by the authorities, someone like a hypothetical Ravak Gaidin, they would likely be in rather deep muck." He tilted his head to the side. "Now, if Danos and I were to look away for just a second because there was some sort of distraction before we checked these cups, I'm sure that wouldn't change the end result would it?"

He paused for a beat, looking at her, before slowly and deliberately turning his head to the side and looking away from the cups on the table.

[Bella]

Every word he said about the "hypothetical" situation built her adrenaline. Of course, she didn't really know what "hypothetical" meant--education wasn't foremost for orphans or thieves--but she had heard the word used before enough to suss out a general idea of what it implied, even though it seemed... She didn't know what it seemed, but it made her uncomfortable.

However, by the time he reached the end of his speech, she was completely thrown aback. Looking away? He threatened her with going to the Master of Training, but now he was giving her an out? This had to be some kind of a trick. Her mind raced. What was the catch? There had to be one. No one was nice just...to be nice.

It was only a moment, his head turning... If the other Drin's did too, she only had a split-second to make her decision and then her move.

[Damien]

Danos

Why in the world is Avram talking like he's a clerk for the lord thought Danos to himself as he heard his roommate discussing the game.

Hypothetical, side bets, all of it kind of jumbled in Danos' head as he listened to Avram and watched the woman's reactions.

She definitely seemed rattled, but Danos supposed the mention of the Master of Training would do that to even the most seasoned Drin'far'ji and she was a new arrival as far as he knew.

Noticing how Avram pointedly looked away, Danos shrugged his shoulder and followed suit. He knew there was some subtle undertone occurring, but it seemed harmless to humour Avram. And the game was in good fun, he knew which shell he wanted to pick so it wasn't liable to change.

Typical Cairhien, making everything wheels within wheels Danos thought as he kept his head turned and waited to see what Avram would do

[Bella]

There they both sat, their heads turned as if they were looking at the same fascinating spot upon the wall. It would have been quite comical, if it hadn't been for the edge of panic in her mind. She still rushed to try to determine if there was a trick here. Would they turn back quickly to catch her and then use that as evidence to have her flayed before the Master of Training?

Despite her struggles, she had (thus far) managed to avoid the truly sharp edge of the Warder Yards' reprimand. Would this be the moment when her dancing failed?

Natlya knew that they would not keep their heads turned for long, so she had only this handful of heartbeats to make her choice. To her, there were two options: replace the ball and act as if it had been there all along, or pick everything up and call the game done. The latter would probably make her look more suspicious and this annoying little man would perhaps pursue her.

There was no choice. There was no time. With their heads having been turned for really just a second, she kept her eyes on them while the hand with the ball slipped it back under the cup it sat before. Her movement was swift and furtive, practically silent--if she wasn't able to make that move almost perfectly, this would never have worked in the reverse.

She said nothing, choosing to not announce "I'm done fixing the issue" and simply sat back. Nat folded her hands on her lip, her eyes switching between the two of them with an intent look; still looking for the double-cross.