Pokerface ( Open to 1 )

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"Dang! Again?!"

"Rest assured, sir, you can always just, hmm.. withdraw?"

A white-haired boy who looked in his bare teens, a nametag labeled "Ein" was tagged lazily to his chest. Apparently, he had to have a kind of sleazy, laid-back kind of appearance, or give off that kind of mood. Usually he was more properly dressed, and it felt kind of.. what was the word, naughty to do this kind of thing? Still, as long as it kept the rupees coming. The man on the opposite side of the table sweat profusely. He was also half bare - many other men were too, to their boxers and briefs even.

"Relax sir.. you're just 'dead money', that's all."

He let out a drawn-out, taunting chuckle. Drawing a few more cards, Ein smiled at them mischeiviously. He set them down on the table in front of him.

"Royal Flush."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Wh-what are we gonna do now?! We've lost for the.. I've lost count..!"

"And we're wearing nearly nothing.. not even socks.."

"Haha.. relax, sirs, I have no intention of seeing you all nude. Just remember to take your clothes with you when you leave."

Then picked up their clothing as they filtered out the room, all of them teary-eyed and sending superstitiously fearful looks behind them back at the boy.

The room was scattered with cards, but a neat sum of ruppees had been left in the center of the card table. Business was done and dealt with.

Lifting an Ace between his fingers, he waved.

"Any time, gentlemen."

The door closed.

Ein sighed and let the card drop to the floor. Leaning back on the comfortable, plushy chair, he stared at the ceiling and the rattling fan above. He'd been a prodigy concerning Poker ever since he was young - he had learned to gamble as a child, and slowly learned to become and expert at it. It was dirty, but indeed, it raked in rupees by the hundreds. Buttoning up his shirt, he stood up and stretched.

"Finally.."

(( You're going to have an awkward time replying to this. ))

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[Piper]

Normally, a girl—such as Piper—walking alone, seemed rather the lonely story. However, if the strangers who overlooked her did not bring their eyes back for just her sheer happiness, they were mad. Skipping along, her smile evaded any feeling of loneliness. Truly, though, she was getting bored of being by herself (at least for that day). She then decided that that was where today’s adventure began. Her eyes led her to a quaint tavern of which she could smell happiness and food. Piper started for it, curious of who sat inside. She hoped there was someone friendly enough to start such adventure.

At the very least, they could play with her! Just before opening the door for herself, she heard someone scream. Her tail poofed. With her hand on the handle, she gulped all fear and stepped away. Of course, just to her luck, she walked into an unfriendly man who, when Piper looked up, was not very pretty. The brute opened the door, ignoring her hand that rested on it and he shuffled her inside. This was very strange because Piper had not yet built up her courage. Now, sitting in Fairy’s Fountain Tavern, she held her tail close to her.

Her ears perked, hearing men exclaim over this and that. Her hearing was like a fox’s, but her nerves, at the moment, resembled that of a deer. Piper decided, out of curiosity, to find where the yelling came from. She sort of stumbled and tiptoed around when finally, she found where the men’s voices came from. Just as she was about to open the door, it swung open on its own. Piper stepped aside and pressed her back to the wall, allowing whoever opened it to come waltzing out.

Then, when she took a second glance, she saw exactly what was filing out of the door. A herd of half-bare men! “EEEK!” Her eyes widened and her face turned red. She covered her eyes to do them the respect, but her tail came around for her to hug. A few greeted her as an acknowledgment to her awkward timing. She waved her fingers, still trying not to look. Poor Piper.

The very last man stepped out, at last. It was not as many men as she thought it was, but Piper often over exaggerated, even to her own imagination. She walked in, finding one man by himself who hadn’t been in almost bare. Still hugging her tail, she did an awkward wave with her fingers, now giggling. She didn’t know what to say. “Wh-why were they...?” she stepped forward to get a better look at him. She noticed the mark over his eye and tilted her head.

“You know, you look like you’d be a lot of fun,” she said as if she were in deep thought. In her mind, she fabricated a story of what happened to his face. It was a mystery that she wanted to know more of. Piper stuck her hand out and she smiled. “I don’t mean that in the rude way. I’m being genuine! My name is Piper. Piper Thimble.”

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Ein finished wrapping up the strewn about remains of the cards and re-arranged the heavily shaken sofas and chairs when a girl came in.

A girl.

"A girl?!"

He didn't really have a problem with females in general - in fact, Ein preffered them over most men in this world. A huge factor was that one of the major people who supported him when he was still ( or at least retained the appearance of ) a child was more of the "big-sister" type. But, this was a Strip Poker room and, although Ein showed mercy, there were still half-bare men leaving the room..

Ein tried as hard as he could not to fall over. It was a childish reaction, but he was only 9 mentally. He lost his balance, tipped over, and fell. The cards scattered everywhere. His unusually lightly-dressed attire nearly fell off as he fell uncomfortably onto the carpeted, maroon-red flooring. The trouble was, he fell forward, onto the girl.

If he was shocked before, he did a bad job of showing it compared to now. Blushing intensely, Ein tried to say something, but it came out in muffled, inaudible, whimpering mumbling. Finally, he got out,

"I-I'm Ein.. Nice to meet you Miss Piper.. And uh.. thanks but.."

He had a bad tendency to call people that seemed around his own age in appearance a formal title because his mind had yet to mature, but it was hard for him to think straight.

He pushed himself up with both hands and buried his face into them.

"I'm.. not interesting at all. S-sorry.."

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[Piper]

Piper did not expect this at all. Normally, her happy and forward demeanor brought different expressions. Any expression but surprise! Her eat twitched at his exclamation and she didn’t know whether to be offended or not. “Well, of course I am a girl!” she responded. “I didn’t expect myself to be anything else, but I can see why you would.” She gestured to the men still leaving. It was very odd how she found him. Suddenly, she gasped. “Is this a ‘men’s only’ section? I didn’t mean to stumble in here. But, I’ve now conquered another silly rule. Look at how rebellious I am.”

Standing, trying to look proud, she found the poor boy was very clumsy. Poor thing! She held her hands out as if to brace him when he fell back, but instead, he did something very strange. His clothes started dropping. “Oh boy, you’ve got two left feet!” she happily exclaimed, covering her eyes. “That’s alright; we can teach you how to dance. It always helps. I mean, I don’t really know how to dance but that’s what I’ve heard.” She noticed, while he was half bare and awkwardly fumbling about that he was handsome. Suddenly (and by suddenly, this means very suddenly), Piper’s body was on the floor.

Her back hit the ground hard, so she yelped in pain. Piper’s eyes fluttered open to see that the gentleman she just met was practically blanketing her! Her face was redder than any apple she’d ever eaten. While she whimpered and squirmed, he finished off their introduction in a polite and broken manner. Never in her life had a boy been this close to her face! When he pushed himself away, her tail drew up and covered her face. She looked up from the fur to see he was covering his face.

“H-hey…” she trailed off. She scooted on her knees up to him and took his hands away to make eye contact. “I don’t bite,” a pause followed, “Okay, maybe sometimes… Not you, though! It’s not your fault.” Piper released his hands and took her fingers to the corners of his lips. She pushed them up to make it look like he was smiling. “See? We’re okay.” Piper stopped for the sake of his sanity, so she might get the proper introduction. “Don’t be ridiculous! I already think you’re interesting, Ein.”

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Unexpectedly, Ein shakily grabbed the hand that had forced his bleak smile. Although his eyes were invisible from the white hair falling over them, tears were clearly falling from them and onto the floor, the maroon carpet quickly sapping the dark stains across the rug.

They.. have the same face..

Under the strain of work that day and the events that already happened seconds earlier, Ein rushed forward oncemore and cried into Piper's shoulder uncontrollably, the nine-year old clearly detectable in his trembling voice as he released a heartbroken sob.

It took only a few seconds for him to hurriedly release her and wipe his eyes clean.

"S-sorry you had to see that, Miss.. I'm just tired is all.."

"How do I put this.. you remind me of someone who had your optimism and.. happiness.."

Ein sent a blank smile into space. It was hard to think in her memory without breaking into tears again.. but as long as he looked like a big kid, he decided that he might as well act like one. Apparently, he had a hard time doing so, added with all the trauma he faced when he was 5.

Which happened to be only 4 years earlier.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you.. I'm sorry, but you're mistaken, there's nothing special about me at all. P-please excuse me.."

Sniffling, Ein hurriedly made an attempt to leave but was only successful in hitting his head into the wall right next to the door.

"@_@"

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[Piper]

This boy was persistently getting stranger and stranger! Piper did not realize that when he took her hand he was crying, at first. She did not pull her hand back nor did she say a word. All while being quiet, she waited for him to say something but he did not. The floor stained in tears, which snapped her attention immediately. What had she done to upset him?! All the guilt in the world came tingling up and down the fox, giving her a feeling of self-disappointment. To herself, she thought she was ridiculous for not noticing whatever she did to make him cry. Her other hand came forth and wiped the tears from his cheeks.

“Are you—,” she was interrupted quickly. Ein rushed toward her and pressed his face against her shoulder. Both her hands drew back as a sign of surprise but as she relaxed, she wrapped her arms around him. Her cheek rested on his head. Whatever had happened to him was so traumatic, so heartbreaking, Piper’s sympathy and concern was drawn out from her normal carefree demeanor. “Hush… It’s all going to be alright, I promise,” she murmured. This young man had given her so many surprises; Piper wasn’t sure what to think anymore. He made her too curious for her own good.

Her happiness was what had made him cry. To be more specific, the memory of someone else’s happiness. Piper’s guilt turned into interest. She had no idea that she would’ve brought out the worst of this boy’s past so quickly. It made her wish to know more and to save him from whatever caused such pain. She opened her mouth to speak, but he rushed to leave. Piper shot up to her feet, one hand over her heart and the other extended out as a symbol of yearning. “No wait—!”

Of course, fate brought them back together.

He hit his head against the wall instead of making it out the door. This was her chance! Piper scurried over and touched his back. Up close, she felt too small to stop him. Piper held his face in her hands and turned him to face her. She began, “I don’t know who you’re talking about, but whoever they are, I’m sure they would’ve hated to see you cry like this. Please, don’t be upset! Furthermore, don’t apologize for things you should know aren’t true. May I remind you that I’m the one who stayed in a room full of men in their Long Johns, just so I could speak to you? If I didn’t find you interesting, I would’ve been long gone already. Now, come down here and let me see where you hit your head…”

Piper pulled his face down gently with her hands so that their eyes were leveled. She hesitantly pushed his hair back with her knuckles and kept his bangs raised with a finger. Examining, she pretended not to notice their distance (or lack of any). “It’s all going to be okay. Cross my heart. Now, let’s fix you up and then I’ll take you dancing!”

She sent him a genuine smile.

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Ein couldn't help it. He smiled.

I can't understand.. how a person could be so weird..

The white-haired child gently, but defiantly put Piper's hand away by her wrist,

"I-I'm no kid, you know.. He mummured, trying to muster a serious face, but ended up looking slightly more childish than before. It seemed to show a lot when he was under pressure.

Slightly tipping from the woman getting in so close , Ein spread his arms out, but succeeded in doing nothing but falling onto the couch behind him. Jeez.. at a different, less flustered angle, Ein would have thought of her as some sort of annoyance, she seemed to be at him left and right with everything. She wouldn't let him down.. just like her. Except, well, she wasn't in Ein's world anymore. Where people go when they die, he always wondered before he went to sleep, and when he did, Ein hoped it was a nice place.

"I'm don't dance though," he said. Folding his hands and looking inwardly happy, he continued,

"And big sis told me not to go anywhere with people I don't know..

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[Piper]

Listening to him murmur was quite interesting, because he had no reason to be this way. Piper had no idea he was a trap waiting to happen. He was just a child and she the adult. She figured they were so close in age, that bringing it up seemed strange. She was pushed back (which did not bother her too much), and then he fell. Poor thing was so clumsy, it didn't seem humorous, it just made her worry.

What worried her more so was his dislike toward her. She was either very loved, or very disliked. Piper couldn't count on both hands the number of people who have asked her to leave them alone. It was a crime she felt she never committed. Her friendliness was mere friendliness! Otherwise, she might be called a... a... floozy! She didn't like the sound of that. His negativity that was being expressed made her feel this way. Piper bit her tongue silently.

He mentioned he could not dance, but she already considered that. "I don't, either! It's always nice to get moving, you know?" She shook her hips side to side without much of a rythmn. Piper thought it was rather funny. She smiled at herself, knowing that the only people who could dance were the dapper folk. Piper's clothes were anything but. Oh, how she wished to one day be the woman in the velvet dress with her hair done in pearls. It was a romantic thought that didn't stick for long.

She realized then that she never introduced herself. Fixing her dress straight and clearing her throat, she extended her hand. "Piper. Piper Thimble," she said in a dignified tone. "Your older sister had a very good point! I can't believe I didn't introduce myself earlier." She did a small curtsey. "Now, shall we dance?" Piper attempt at charm seemed to fail her, but the sincerety in her attempt made it all the more worth while. She began to hum a tune and sway. She murmured between hums, "Just wave your arms around." Piper twirled herself a few times before her dance took off across the room. Her arms waved gently as if she were granting the air her presence.

She looked absolutely insane.

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(( TROLOLOLOLO MADE PIPER INTRODUCE HERSELF TWICE ))

At first Ein couldn't speak from shock. Then eventually, he started to giggle, and eventually it turned from a small chuckle to a gale of laughter. Ein couldn't remember laughing so hard in his life - well, in the past 3 months anyways.

Eventually, he had to wipe tears out of his eyes again, but for a different cause. He didn't really want to try dancing too, on the instance that he either might land himself in another embarrassing situation with this woman, or simply looking like a fool.

"Y-you're.. really funny!" He was still halting in his speech for slight chuckling. Clutching his stomach slightly from the laughing, Ein caughed up a little bit of blood.

"..Oops.."

Ein cleared his throat and used a napkin to clean his chin up.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Piper.."

He sighed and let out the last bit of air he could before he could use it to laugh. Falling back onto the couch with a comfortable plop, Ein rested his chin on his knuckles and peered curously at Piper.

"So, what brings you here..?"

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