Of Chosen and Templar Knights
Zelos Wilder groaned as the dark-gloved hand came down on the surface of the bar, cards fanning out over the tabletop.
"I win." The man paused, then chuckled. "Again."
"There's no way you've won this many hands without cheating," the scarlet-haired Chosen of Tethe'alla muttered, watching his opponent pull the rather large pile of gold between the two away.
"Normally, that would be true," the other man replied, brushing back his own silver hair, "but, in actuality, you're just really bad at this."
Zelos made a face, although when the man started laughing again, he found he couldn't help joining in a bit. He'd probably had one too many drinks.
The two of them were sitting in a bar in some nameless little town, although the place itself was much more lively and interesting than its simple surroundings. That worked for Zelos- it meant there were some hunnies for him to hit on (without him getting hit back, as was usually the case with Sheena), and some good times to be had.
The man beside him was elegant-looking, he guessed (not that he'd ever admit that anyone could look nearly as good as he did, himself), with pale skin and silver hair, dressed head-to-toe in red. He had his feet propped up on a vacant chair nearby, and was eyeing the passing ladies, in, well, what could only be described as a Zelos-like fashion.
Zelos glanced at him from where he'd been watching the ladies, as well, and raised an eyebrow slightly at this.
After a moment's pause, he found himself asking, "Hey, who are you, anyway?"
It had just crossed his mind that he didn't know the man's name, and while he hadn't really cared enough to ask at first, something about the red-clad gambler told Zelos that he was no ordinary bar-lurker.
"Angelo Semprise, of Maella Abbey," the silver-haired man replied, examining the ring on one gloved hand in the dim bar light.
"Zelos Wilder, of Tethe'alla," Zelos replied. Part of him was thinking something along the lines of- If this guy's some kind of religious upholder, then pigs can fly- although he wasn't exactly a model Chosen himself, so he shrugged it off.
"Charmed," Angelo said absentmindedly, winking at a girl who had waved at him. The girl blushed and giggled before disappearing into the crowd, and the unordinary Templar Knight chuckled. "By the Goddess, I love this place."
"I know, right?" Zelos agreed with a laugh, waving at an admiring girl of his own. "Any more of these angelic little hunnies hanging around, and we'd be in heaven, my friend."
The barmaid set two more glasses down for them and winked.
"Thanks, beautiful," they replied in unison.
A pause. Angelo raised an eyebrow at Zelos. Zelos raised an eyebrow at Angelo.
…That was weird…, Zelos thought, blinking.
Angelo straightened up and opened his mouth, looking as if he meant to say something- but then abruptly glanced at the door, gasped, and scrambled behind the table.
…And that was weirder.
Zelos stood and leaned over the table, looking down at him. "What was that all about?"
"Shh," Angelo hissed, looking around nervously. "Don't let her find me- not now!"
"Let who find-" Curious, Zelos turned towards the door.
Standing there in the doorway was a rather curvaceous young woman with fiery red hair in shoulder-length pigtails. She had her fists on her hips, calling attention to both the sheathed dagger and the coiled whip hanging from her belt. A truly furious expression was plastered across her face.
…Not that Zelos spent much time looking at any of those things, however…
Angelo kicked him underneath the table, drawing his attention away from his, er, appraisal of the girl's…other features.
"Ow! Hey, what's the deal? …And who's that fiery little beauty over there, huh?"
"Her name's Jessica," Angelo snapped softly, "and don't you go around ogling her, you hear? That fiery little beauty is going to be my 'hunnie' someday…provided she doesn't beat me to death for sneaking off here first…"
Zelos couldn't help a small chuckle. "Hey, surprise, surprise. Your Jessica reminds me an awful lot of my Sh-"
He felt the color drain from his face as he glanced again at the door. A second woman, dark-haired and clad in lavender, had entered…
"…Sh-Sheena!" he yelped, and hastily took cover besides Angelo.
"Hey, what's the deal?" the silver-haired Templar said mockingly.
"Shut it," Zelos grumbled.
They waited like cornered animals as the girls moved about the area. Judging by the sounds of things, they were asking for the boys' whereabouts…And neither of them wanted to imagine the pain that would be coming their way when they were found.
"So, you're pretty much in my predicament, I wager?" Angelo muttered after a while.
"You'd win that wager," Zelos replied.
"As I would many others," the other man joked, before his expression became a little- well, thoughtful. Not the kind of look Zelos usually had in these situations.
"Some girls, right?" they said in unison, and nearly started laughing again.
Angelo nodded. "I mean, talk abut denial. It's one thing to blatantly lie about your feelings for someone like me-"
"Or me," Zelos cut in, but Angelo either didn't hear him or chose not to.
"-But beating me to the ground for a simple little pick-up line? That's just inhumane. She simply can't resist me."
"You know, you're right, Angelo," said a clipped, no-nonsense-sounding accent from just over their heads. "I find I can't seem to keep my hands off of you."
Jessica was right beside them.
Angelo rapidly paled and attempted to flee, but Jessica had already taken her whip off of her belt and forced it over his head, trapping him in the coils like a noose. She hauled the man to his feet, and, as she did, he stumbled, knocking both drinks off of the bar and dropping several playing cards from his cape.
"Wh- Hey, you said you didn't cheat!" Zelos cried- too loudly. As if the commotion Jessica and Angelo were causing hadn't been enough, his yelp was enough to draw the attention of Sheena, who came over and wrested him to his feet, as well.
"Y- Hey, Sheena, babe!" he chattered nervously. "Don't mess with the material!"
"Oh, I'll show you m-" She paused, looking down at the cards. "Have you been gambling? Again?!"
"Have you been cheating? Again?!" Jessica simultaneously snapped at Angelo.
"Well, I, er, uh-" both men stammered, cornered.
"How much of our money did you lose?" Sheena demanded.
"How much of their money did you swindle?" Jessica chimed in.
"I didn't swindle anything!" Angelo protested, holding up his hands. "Honestly! He's just really bad at this!"
"Y-Hey!"
Both girls gave disgusted sighs and began to drag their respective men off in opposite directions.
As he stumbled along behind Sheena, who had a very painful hold on his ear, Zelos was just able to make out Jessica forcing Angelo through the door. As she did, she uncoiled the whip from around his neck- but promptly cracked him across the back with it, sending him tumbling out of the bar.
Zelos blinked, then pouted.
"…Lucky son of a gun…"
At least when Angelo got hit, he reflected as Sheena hauled him off, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.