"I love this place," Vulpis randomly told Trix, the blue Cybunny by her side. "It reminds me of home."
"What does?" Trix scrunched her nose. "The funky smell, the general state of grouchiness or the filthy streets?"
"That," Vulpis nodded, "and the people trying to cheat you out of your money."
Trix sighed.
"Ooh! Bagatelle! I'll be right back!" And the distracted human girl sprinted in the general direction of a creepy Lupe and his improvised stand.
Trix had long since given up trying to convince her owner that, yes, the stands were rigged. The corkgun was faulty, the coconuts were glued and that weight in Test Your Strength didn't go farther up than two feet. But what could one do with such an... enthusiastic (and gullible) owner?
She dragged her feet closer to the Bagatelle stand.
"Wow, check it out, the jackpot is like, three million neopoints!" Vulpis pointed eagerly.
"Possibly because nobody has won anything since the stand openned," Trix piped in, but it was lost on Vulpis as she shoved 250 neopoints in the Lupe's paw.
Unsurprisingly, Vulpis only won 5 neopoints.
"One more time!" she promised and searched her pockets for some more cash. Trix just sighed.
"The table's tilted," the Cybunny said, slightly louder than she intended. "See those books under the table leg?"
The Lupe grumbled threateningly.
"Stop scarin' the customers. 'S a bad table. Just don' want it t'go all crazy."
"One book is enough to stabilise the table," Trix deadpanned. "Two are tilting it. And your throw is crooked."
"Y'sayin' I'm a crook, li'l girl?" he loomed over Trix.
"Naw," Vulpis put herself firmly between her pet and the increasingly angry vendor. "Trixy's just tired and wants home. Er, just another half hour, s'okay with you, Trix?"
The Cybunny shrugged.
"Hey, just enough to buy a scratchcard. How 'bout that?" Vulpis said, checking her watch. "Bet ol' Sid's gonna be happy to see me!"
And she wandered off, humming happily. Trix seemed a bit dumbfounded.
"She does this every week," a crystalline voice offered.
The Cybunny was momentarily confused until she saw the Aisha from the Cork Gun Gallery looking at her.
"Does what?"
"Oh, Vulpis is a regular," the Aisha smiled winningly and flicked her hair. "She never wins, but she always comes back. I think that once in awhile, she just wants to spend some money without worrying. Stress relief, I reckon."
"Huh..." Trix considered. "Maybe you're right." After all, Vulpis was downright obsessive compulsive when it came to making neopoints.
"So, how about you have a go?" the Aisha's smile grew. "For a mere 100 neopoints per shot, you could be on your way to winning fabulous prizes!"
"Do I have 'sucker' written on my face?" Trix scoffed and hopped off after Vulpis. Behind her, the Aisha burst into laughter.