{ oo3 } Action

[bethebetterman]

[Let's take a walk through Casimiro's day, shall we? Yes let's!

A) It's late morning/early afternoon, and the pub is almost completely empty. Casimiro is "working" behind the bar, playing solitaire, practicing fancy shuffling tricks, and the like. Stop in at your leisure, he might play you a round of poker for a drink. But be careful. He cheats.

B)

Comments

A

[predatored]

[The bar Cas was working at wasn't the only place seeing less than favorable activity. The restaurant Finas was working for was virtually empty this morning, and there were more than enough waiting staff on hand. So he took his leave for the time being, and decided to pay Casimiro a visit at work. Pushing the door open with one hand, loosening his tie and the top button of his too crisp white shirt with his other.

Spotting the other man, heading in that direction.]

You seem busy.

[bethebetterman]

[Cas looks up with the sound of the door opening and his mood seems to lift a little. Finally, someone not boring or infuriating. He straightens up and muses for Finas to take a seat across the bar from him.]

Yeah no kidding. [Said dryly as he drops his deck in front of him.]

What'll you have?

[predatored]

[Taking a seat with a bit of a sigh, undoing his tie completely, he'll fix that whenever he chooses to go back to work. He supposes, since it's early he shouldn't have anything too strong.

...

Then again he was god knows how old, scotch wouldn't hurt.]

Scotch on the rocks.

[Taking up the deck, thumbing through the cards a bit.]

[bethebetterman]

[That was a little surprising (considering the hour he might've guessed tea), but Cas just smirked and turned his back for a minute. A bottle was selected from the shelf behind him while he prepared a glass.]

I'll get you the good stuff.

[Returning to the counter, he set the glass in front of Finas and leaned in.]

Fancy a game?

[predatored]

[It was turning out to be 'one of those days' and a nice strong drink couldn't hurt too badly. Elbow on the counter top, chin in his palm as he shuffled the deck idly with his other hand, watching Casimiro work or he'd look at the cards.

He stopped once the drink was set down, taking it and inhaling the strong scent it gave before taking a sip. Slight wince as it's been awhile, but it went down smooth.]

You'll cheat.

[But he wasn't saying no, pushing the deck towards him.]

[bethebetterman]

Nah, not with you. 'Sides, you take all the fun out of it knowing I would.

[As if to prove his sincerity, he rolls up the sleeves of his dress shirt and presents his empty palms. Then, grinning, he shuffles the deck and distributes a round. He looks at his cards pensively. Great, a shitty hand when he wasn't going to cheat.]

You're not going back to work after this, are you?

[predatored]

[He watched that, slightly amused. And he'll study the other man's face when he looked at his cards. Bad hand, Casimiro? He wanted to smirk but he held it back, ever the reserved one. He carefully looks at his own hand, not too bad. Taking another sip of his drink.]

What do I get if I win?

[Inquired with a slight raise of his brow as he considered the question.]

I believe I'll have to.

[bethebetterman]

[After all these years, he still couldn't put up a good poker face. Maybe that was why he was prone to cheating. He looked up, and leaned on the counter with his chin in one palm.]

Well I'm already gettin' your drink. What do you want?

[He looked down at his hand again and furrowed a brow.]

Nah, that's no good. You should just ditch.

[predatored]

Nothing in particular. You're the betting man, after all.

[Pondering over his hand, he had a pair of fours, nothing spectacular but it was better than nothing.]

Are you trying to get me in trouble, Casimiro?

[Finishing his scotch, swirling the melting ice around, wonderng if Cas will play his hand or not.]

What do you propose I do if I plan to ditch then?

[bethebetterman]

[He put down two from his hand and took some from the deck. He might be able to get a flush if they were both clubs- ah, damn, no luck. Jack high, what a lousy hand.]

Kinda glad you're not the betting man right now.

[He lays his hand down in defeat before turning to get the bottle of scotch.]

What, me? No, not at all. [Said so innocently as he tops off Finas' glass. He'd rather it go to his friend than some worthless drone.] I don't know. Stay here. Kick back and relax.

[predatored]

[Perhaps he should have been the gambling man for that hand. Gathering the cards he took the liberty of shuffling and dealing out their hands. Leaning back, shifting to get a little more comfortableas he took a sip of his drink. He should have stopped at the first drink, to be honest- but this second one really couldn't hurt.]

I'll think about it, but it's my first day... It's hardly a good impression to leave.

[bethebetterman]

Think of it this way. You already left once, so there's no harm in not going back.

[Casimiro's logic was questionable. He picked up his cards and grinned. Oh, one away from a straight, how could he say no to that~]

Besides, who're you trying to impress. Buncha drones, they don't need impressing.

[Muttered bitterly as he dropped a card from his hand, selecting one from the deck. And frowning.]

[predatored]

Your logic is flawed. It's still a job, I'd be losing money.

[Hn, there wasn't much he could do with his hand, so he picks two to toss, getting his fresh cards. Still a lot of nothing, he'll take back his previous inward statement about gambling, it was all too tricky and uncertain for his tastes.]

My... family is made up of real people. I do not wish to impress them, but the wife and children need to eat, as do I. I have my responsibilities.

[bethebetterman]

Yeah, well I'm still getting used to all this "money and food matter now" business.

[Oh and he did so not want to hear about Finas' responsibilities to people other than him. He scowls at his cards passively and mutters under his breath, "If they're real they can fend for themselves". Then lifts his stare to Finas and shrugs, laying out his hand on the counter.]

That's fine... I got stuff to do anyway.

[predatored]

It is a little difficult to get used to, hopefully we won't have to for much longer.

[Cas had won that hand, but really it wasn't important. He held that look, watching him carefully. It was hard to know the right things to say to him in this town, things were drastically different no matter which way they looked at it. They weren't living together, seeing each other a few times here or there, losing the freedom that vampirism gave them.]

Cas...

[Putting down his cards, working on the rest of his drink, still watching him.]

...Is it still bothering you this much?

[bethebetterman]

[Cas' eyes lower to the cards as he recollects them and shuffles once. Twice. And again for good measure. Sure, he can admit to having few shortcomings. But he's not going to be the one to cave just because of a little change. Even if it makes his blood boil to think about.]

...

[Oh, but fuck if he had self-restraint.]

What, it doesn't bother you? I mean- it's-

[He couldn't finish his thought past an agitated growl, dropping the deck on the counter and glaring at it. Change sucks.]