Heart Of The Cards

Log Info

• Title: Heart Of The Cards

• Characters: Ravenstongue, Telamon

• Place: Lupecyll-Atlon home

• Summary: Telamon returns home as the last days of summer beat down. Cor'lana expresses some interest in learning how to 'read' other people through the false expressions they might use. So Telamon proceeds to give her a crash course in playing cards, especially 'pocket' and its rather risque version, pickpocket. Needless to say, Cor'lana is still easy to discombobulate when Telamon loses his shirt (so to speak).

Lupecyll-Atlon home, afternoon.

The heat haze that bears down into the garden is the last gasp of a summer that is turning quickly into fall. It's hot enough out there that Cor'lana's expression is pushed into worry as she puts out a small bowl of cold water on the windowsill of the kitchen. "Hopefully Mirabilis and Lily-of-the-Valley will find it," she says as she latches the window shut again and turns around, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"They'll be okay," Pothy murmurs as he splits open a peanut. "I mean, they're magical beings. You should be worrying about yourself instead. You didn't catch onto that vendor at the market flirting with you the other day."

Cor'lana pouts. "He wasn't flirting with me. He was just being nice and offering a discount."

Pothy sighs. "People who offer discounts 'just to be nice' don't also say, 'Please return with your radiance again next week,' Lana. Sheesh."

The front door unlocks to admit Telamon, who pushes the door shut again. "Gods, I think I actually felt the heat today," he growls. Pulling his walking shoes off, he rakes his fingers through his hair, tugging at a lock. "Hm. Might be time to have it trimmed back a bit."

The half-elf pads into the living area, carrying a bundle of papers. "Honey, I'm home!" he calls out with a smile. "Everything in order? Or close to it?" Tel smiles at Lana as he catches sight of her, as well as giving Pothy a grin. "What's happening next week, Pothy? I only caught the tail end of that..."

Cor'lana bounds over to Telamon and throws her arms around him, her head ending up right under his chin. "Hi honey," she replies with a little squeeze. "Just put out some water for the pixies in case they need it. I got worried about them with how awful the heat is today."

Pothy flaps into the living room, landing on the coffee table with a freshly opened peanut. "I wouldn't trim it," he advises. "Lana's poetry about you keeps mentioning your long locks of starlight hair. Also, she's dense as ever and didn't realize the gentleman at the market yesterday who sold her the honey-roasted peanuts was flirting with her."

"Okay, yes, he gave me a discount, but isn't it normal for people to compliment each other's appearances in a non-romantic nature?" Cor'lana huffs. "I mean, people tell each other that they're wearing nice clothes, or their hair looks nice, all the time." She looks up at Telamon for backup. "Right?"

Telamon is clearly happy with this state of affairs, cuddling Lana up under his chin as she hugs him. "Probably can't hurt. Besides, if it gets too bad I told Bo to collect them and come tap on the window. We're getting into storm season soon, and I'd hate for them to be stuck outside in a downpour." His eyes twinkle. "I can even commission a little dollhouse for them as an apartment."

Tel glances at Pothy, and just shakes his head. "Lana, you are a lovely woman. I am unsurprised people will offer you compliments, ring on your finger or not. And men are..." He pauses. "Men will, for lack of a better term, pay attention to a pretty woman instinctively. It's like birds flying."

Cor'lana pouts a little. "I just wish I could tell the difference from people being nice and people flirting with me," she bemoans. "I mean, sometimes it's super obvious--like with that disgusting sleazeball we won't name. But sometimes I just don't know. I mean, I never exactly... was chased or flirted with until you came along."

"Stjepan is chopped liver, I see," Pothy comments dryly. Then he looks over at Telamon. "Maybe you ought to tutor her or something. It could be troublesome in the future if she can't pick up what people mean when they talk to her."

"You may be right, Pothy," Telamon says. "And for a woman who was so worldly, you'd -think- Nadina would've -covered- this..." He looks thoughtful for a moment, his eyes glinting. "Alright, go sit down at the table. I need to get something." He kisses Lana on the cheek, before letting go and hurrying into the study.

He returns after a few minutes, carrying a small wooden case. "Do you play cards, Lana? Whist, vingtun, that sort of thing?" He slides into the chair opposite hers at the table, opening the box to reveal a deck of cards.

"I don't think Nadi ever wanted to talk about it, because she didn't want Lana to run off with the first pretty elvish boy she met and get pregnant and have to blast /another/ fey lord in his face," Pothy quips. "For the record, she's sorry--and also wants me to spectate this, because she thinks it's funny."

Cor'lana snorts a little as she takes a seat at the table. "Thanks, mom," she mutters, before she turns to look at Telamon's deck of cards. "I've played... one game of cards? It was something I played for a Society professor as a favor, but I've forgotten the rules. It was way too complicated."

"The snacks were good, though," Pothy comments.

Telamon deftly removes the deck of cards, and begins to shuffle them. "We'll try a few. A lot of card games rely more on luck, and being able to 'read' an opponent, rather than strategy. Bluffing is common. Especially as you can't depend on luck to give you what you need." He ponders. "We'll start with five card 'pocket'. The idea of pocket is to get the best hand you can muster, based on the cards you draw. Of course, the trick is to convince the other person you have a good hand even if you don't."

He pauses, then shrugs, reaching into his haversack and pulling out his moneypouch. "We'll use this for scoring. Otherwise it gets harder to properly bluff."

Cor'lana raises a brow as she tries to digest the concept of the game. "So... it's not just about the luck of the draw, but also how good you are at lying... And how good you are at interpreting your opponent's cues?" she asks. "Interesting. I'm used to games of wit with the pieces on the board, not games of wit in social cues."

"Oh thank heavens, you're not playing the version where you bet your clothes," Pothy says as he splits open a peanut.

That gets a blink from Cor'lana. "Wait--people /do/ that?" she asks, wide-eyed.

Telamon's expression is wry. "Yup. 'Pickpocket' is what I heard it called -- supposedly because you'd lose your pants to it." His eyes twinkle. "Maybe we could play a round or two of that at some point, when you're used to the game." Grinning at Lana, he begins deftly pulling cards from the deck.

"Two through ten are fairly straightforward -- the higher the number, the greater the value. Then you have the four 'face cards': knight, queen, king, and archon. There are also two coyotes: those can be any card as needed. Four houses, or suits: sword, diamond, staff, and heart."

Cor'lana blushes, of course, at the suggestion of the full Pickpocket game. "Oh, well... if it's just you, then--"

"Don't worry," Pothy interrupts. "If Telamon's a gentleman, which he is, he'll lose on purpose."

This does nothing to help the blushing situation on Cor'lana's face. "But that means Telamon would be...!" She averts her gaze, as though Telamon'd already lost the game of Pickpocket and he's standing there in all of his glory.

Pothy guffaws at his mistress's reaction. "You really aren't like Nadi. This game was her favorite--for obvious reasons. Now stop blushing. Do you get the idea of the game or not?"

"I do," Cor'lana eeks out. She smacks her cheeks--in a futile attempt to get herself to stop blushing, of course--and turns her attention back to Telamon. "You're trying to get the highest value. So you want the face cards as much as possible. Right?"

Telamon smirks. It's clear he's reading Lana as though her thoughts were being painted in glorious colors right over her head. But to his credit, he says nothing about it. Instead, he continues, "Sort of. You want face cards if you can't make any of the latter combinations. A pair, two pair, three of a kind, barony, duchy, royal court, four of a kind, and imperial court." He goes through each one, assembling the hand needed.

"You 'ante' to start drawing -- depending on what the stakes are. Then each player is dealt five cards. You determine what you have, what you can use, and what -isn't- useful. Then you lay wagers. All players have to at least match the wager, or fold -- quit the hand. Sometimes this is a good idea if you draw a poor hand at the start."

At least Cor'lana's flush is abating as she focuses more on learning the game, her brows furrowing as he explains. "So," she says, "if you quit a hand or fold, you don't play and forfeit any right to win that round, but you can still participate in the next round?"

"You should play with peanuts," Pothy comments, "and then I get to be the guard of the pot."

"You might steal from the bets when we're not looking," Cor'lana fires back, before she returns her attention to Telamon.

"Precisely. Sometimes you're better off quitting the round. Of course, the other players -want- you to quit the round... hence the bluffing." Telamon finishes reshuffling the cards, setting them in a deck again. He empties out his moneypouch, divvying up the silver and copper coins there between himself and Lana.

"I did think about using peanuts, Pothy, but before long we'd both be wondering why there wasn't anything in the pot." Tel grins at Pothy, before pushing a copper into the space between the two of them. "Alright. Ante up, let's get started."

Cor'lana draws a copper piece and pushes it into the space as well, resting next to Telamon's. Her violet eyes become very focused, her mouth pushing together into a small line. "I'm ready," she says.

"Fair enough," Pothy sighs. "Thankfully, peanuts make for good spectating snacks."

"Thank goodness the pixies aren't here, or you'd assemble a proper little peanut gallery," Cor'lana quips. "I have a feeling we shouldn't let them know we could be playing the full pickpocket, or Lily-of-the-Valley might turn it into a full-blown event."

Telamon snorts. "I wasn't going to make that joke, myself..." He deals out five cards to Cor'lana, before dealing five to himself. He settles his face into a neutral expression, before picking up his cards to look at them. Staring at Lana over the top edges of his hand, stars in his eyes as he contemplates his hand.

Deliberately, he pushes a silver piece in with the two coppers, but he says nothing.

GAME: Telamon rolls bluff: (10)+19: 29

GAME: Telamon rolls sense motive+3: (4)+13+3: 20

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls bluff+4: (8)+16+4: 28

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Sense Motive: (2)+7: 9

Cor'lana takes her hand as well. Her eyes meet his. The violet eyes are, for a moment, frighteningly inscrutable, like that of her ancestor's--and it's clear why she sometimes introduces herself as the child of the Feathered One, for she has the right to do so.

She raises him and also says nothing, her expression not shifting at all. Pothy, meanwhile, eats peanuts.

Telamon studies Lana's face for long moments, before pushing another silver piece across. "Now," he says calmly, "you may draw up to four new cards, discarding an equal number in your hand. Like so." He takes two cards, laying them face down next to the deck, and draws two more.

Are his eyes twinkling? Certainly the stars never stop glimmering in their depths. He's doing a good job of being inscrutable as well, though it's in a different way than Lana.

Cor'lana discards only one card, maintaining her careful expression as she draws one to replace it. She locks gaze with him for only a moment before she nods again, a quiet tension already beginning to build.

"Yeah, probably for the best the pixies weren't here. They'd totally ruin whatever the two of you have going on," Pothy quips.

"Pothy, I cannot figure out how the hell you were beating both Grandfather and I at cards that day." Telamon's voice is even, calm, as he studies his hand before watching Lana again. Are his eyes twinkling? Yes, yes they are, because Tel casually remarks, "Now, what I heard was that every time Lana walks through Sage Orum's Plaza, there's at least one student who walks into a lamppost or trips on a bench because they're so distracted by her."

Casually, he pushes another silver coin into the pot.

Cor'lana flushes as Telamon divulges the 'rumor', losing all of her cool. "They don't say that," she complains. "Nobody says that. I don't think they do, anyway..."

She purses her lips for a moment as she stares at her cards, and she matches Telamon's bet. Pothy just shakes his head. "You'll have an easy time beating her, Tel," he says. "Just be glad I'm not playing!"

Telamon grins slightly. "It's why we're not playing pickpocket. I could probably lose a few hands, enough that my shirt's off... and then she'd be so flustered she'd start losing hands." He watches her flush, smiling at the expression on her face. "Alright, let's see how we did. Three of a kind." He lays down a trio of nines, plus a knight and a four.

"Not the best hand I've ever had, but not a terrible one. What'd you have?"

"Duchy," Cor'lana says as she reveals her hand. Sure enough, it's an archon, a nine, a five, a four, and a two of hearts. She smiles pleasantly, although the mention of Telamon without his shirt on has her flushing again. "I probably /would/ be distracted," she admits. "But for now, I win this one, right?"

Telamon's eyebrows shoot up. "Nice. Someone likes you, I'd say -- I never seem lucky enough to get a proper duchy, myself." He collects the cards, setting them in the discard pile, before pushing the coins to Lana. "Another hand?" he inquires, picking up a copper coin and flicking it in his fingers idly. "Or a different game? Vingtun is a lot simpler. Whist, you kind of need four players for best results."

There's a look that crosses Cor'lana's face as she takes the coins. It's a glint of mischief that starts in the eyes and spreads to the rest of her face. "Pickpocket," she says.

Pothy stops his snacking and looks at her for a moment, clearly shocked. "Weren't you blushing about the very idea just a moment ago?"

"I want to try it anyway," Cor'lana replies, still grinning. "I mean, what if /I/ make Telamon blush?"

Pothy looks at Cor'lana for a long moment. "I take it back," he says. "Maybe you are Nadina's daughter."

Telamon manages to keep his expression even. "My, someone's feeling lucky." He pauses. "Then again, she does win either way..." He grins slightly. "Anyways. No ante; whoever has the losing hand has to remove an article of clothing. One round of draw and discard."

He collects all the cards, and starts reshuffling them. "I do hope you wore those fetching violet undergarments, though. I like those."

The blush returns to Cor'lana's face, but she giggles a little. "Maybe I am," she says. "Wouldn't you like to find out?"

Pothy actually chokes on his peanut--just a little. He gets it down and coughs a little afterwards. "Sounded just like Nadi," Pothy mutters. "You two have fun, because /I'm/ folding."

The white raven flies back to the sanctity of the study, apparently to escape the metaphorical magic missile barrage that's about to happen.

"Well, now's my chance to find out, I suppose..." Telamon grins as Pothy flees in exasperation. "He just -cannot- handle it sometimes, can he?" After shuffling the deck, he deals out five cards to himself, and Lana. Setting the deck to the side, he picks his cards up, staring at them with a carefully blank expression...

GAME: Telamon rolls bluff: (15)+19: 34

GAME: Telamon rolls sense motive+3: (10)+13+3: 26

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Bluff+4: (17)+16+4: 37

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Sense Motive: (20)+7: 27

"He just isn't used to me acting like mom," Cor'lana says with a giggle. "I think, in a way, he misses her, and can hardly cope with it when I act like her."

She takes her cards and looks them over in her hand passively, like she's barely looking at them, and then she nods to indicate she's ready to move on.

Telamon fixes Lana with a blank, thousand-yard stare, as he deliberately lays down one card in turn, drawing. Looking at his hand, before flicking his gaze to Lana to see if she wants any cards. There's no sign of -anything- good or bad in his face -- he's doing a bang-up job of hiding his emotions.

Cor'lana... doesn't discard a card. She does, however, smile genially. "I bet my slippers," she announces. She's wearing the ridiculous bear slippers that are a perfect match to Telamon's favored pair. "Are you matching me? Or raising?"

Telamon smiles ever so slightly. "My slippers... and my socks." He tilts his head, regarding Lana. "This is rather interesting, I admit... I wonder if there's a value attributed to clothing articles? Usually it's been just one item at a time..."

Cor'lana's violet eyes twinkle as Telamon raises her. "My guess would be the closer the garment is to the skin, the more valuable it is," she says. "I'll match yours, then." She's still smiling. Maybe she's confident in her cards... Or maybe she's just looking forward to the result.

Telamon shrugs lightly. "It's not like there's a set of actual rules for this..." He calmly lays down his cards. "Duchy in swords," he says with a wry grin. "Guess there's a first time for everything. I was half expecting to blow it when I drew that card." His eyes meet Lana's. "And yourself, my dear?"

"Three of a kind," Cor'lana reveals, but she's still smirking, violet eyes twinkling in feytouched mischief. Did she set herself up to lose?

She kicks off her bear slippers and pulls off her heathered-gray socks, kicking her feet around for a moment before offering Telamon a sly little grin. "Well," she says, "another round?"

Telamon shuffles the cards again, watching Lana with that cool, collected gaze. Dealing out five cards, picking his up and studying them calmly. He doesn't say anything yet, but his starry eyes meet hers, and his lips curl up ever so slightly in a smile that looks familiar; very similar to the small family portrait he received a few days ago.

Cor'lana peers at him for a moment as she takes her hand of five cards. Once his expression changes, her eyes narrow and she purses her lips a little. "You're up to something," she accuses.

But then she smiles again. "Shirt," she says, simply. That's her bet.

Telamon casually puts down two cards, and draws two more. "No idea what you're talking about." He studies his hand again, regarding Lana over the top of it coolly. Is he smiling? Impossible to tell now, his 'game face' is on. "Shirt it is," he says agreeably. "It's a hot day out, after all."

Cor'lana huffs. "It is," she says, her face flushing a little. Perhaps she's already picturing Telamon sans-shirt. "You're ho--I mean, it's hot."

Smooth, Cor'lana. She coughs and discards two cards, drawing two more. "Shirt... and pants," she declares. She's rapidly running out of layers to bet, but that's the nature of the game unless someone shows up wearing five sweaters.

Telamon keeps his cool. It's infuriating! "I'll match your bet. Shirt and pants." He looks over at Lana deliberately. "Are you wearing pants, though? Oh well, no matter. We'll work it out either way." He taps his cards on the tabletop. "Let's see what you've got, dear. Perhaps Tarien's smiling on you... or me... or both of us."

"Wouldn't you like to know," Cor'lana repeats again. She's trying to regain the cocky facade she started the game out with, but it seems to be slipping the moment that Cor'lana realizes that Telamon losing... Just might be Telamon winning. (Really, they both are winning. Or losing. ... No, the endgame after the game seems to imply they are both winning.)

She reveals her hand. "Two pair," she declares far too confidently, revealing her goal is, in fact, to lose. "I'll make you blush after all."

Telamon hmmms. "Probably. But... I think you'll be blushing first." He casually drops his hand... only a pair of kings. "Oh dear. For shame. Whatever will I do? Guess I'll be taking off my shirt and pants..."

His eyes twinkle as he matches Lana's gaze. "Sometimes, the trick is knowing what the 'win' and 'lose' condition really are." And with that, he casually peels off his tunic.

All of Cor'lana's confidence melts away as she just watches Telamon take off his tunic. The feytouched mischief is replaced by her own basic nature to simply be overwhelmed by her fiance's beauty. Once the tunic is off, and before he can begin taking off his pants, she squeaks out, "I yield! I fold! I quit!"

Her cheeks are bright crimson as she averts her gaze. "Clearly I need more tutoring," she mutters.

Telamon doesn't laugh at her. That would be rude, for starters. Instead, he rises from the chair, and glides over to where she's seated, blushing furiously. Deliberately, he puts his arms around her, and kisses her brow. "We'll work on it together. Remember that I'm -always- here for you, love."

He tucks a hand under her chin, tipping her face up to his. "In the meantime, why don't we get dinner started, and we can talk about other ways to play the game of motivations and what's hiding behind someone's eyes?"

Telamon's words of reassurance do the trick--Cor'lana relaxes a little. That is, until he tips her chin upwards and she looks into his eyes. She blushes again rather furiously. "This is worse than the soup," she mutters. But she smiles at him despite the fact she's overwhelmed. "Sure. But... Umm... Maybe you should..."

She can't seem to bring herself to finish whatever her thought was and instead wriggles out of her chair to go into the kitchen. "Dinner sounds nice!" she declares. Dinner would never hurt her, after all. Unless it's soup.