Bum Odds
Armando and his relationship with Andross over the years.
Chapter One: It's Not Luck
January 13th, 2002
Armando reached for the broken doorknob, but instead of turning it, he gave the door a good shove and the door flew open. Snow flakes followed him in, falling on the floor, and quickly dissipated. The rundown and abandoned log house they used as a poker meeting... well, gambling area. It was snowing and chilly outside; Armando wanted nothing more than to get inside for a few hands; He could use the jellybeans. The blue dog slipped all the way inside, feeling his pelt warm up immediately.
He looked around at all the familiar faces he had met recently. Out of instinct, he started listing them off in his head. The Guild v2 members and leaders were already here trying to win. Sandy. Little Fancy. Zany. Mischief Spirit. Lemonmouth. Poodlepounce. My god, there's so many of them. They must be in desperate need of jellybeans, he smirked to himself. Moving onto the next seats, he saw members of the guild he called home. Armando belonged to a large group named Cold Callers Guild (CCG for short.) CCG lived very close to where poker was played, and usually hosted many of the games.
Yet again, the names started firing off in his head, Smirky. Chester. AJ. Bonnie. Lily Mizzenpop He stopped upon noticing someone was in his chair. Marching over to the table, defiantly, he spat, "Who the hell are you?" At the duck sitting in his spot.
"Ah, you must be Armando." The royal blue duck responded, sounding like he didn't give a shit. He didn't even look up. "I'm not pleased to meet you."
Armando glared at him, but when he received no reaction, took a chair next to Little Rosie, one of the Toon Union members. "Hey, kid, I was talkin' to you. What's your name?" He attempted again, with a little more force.
The blue duck continued to play poker with the CCG members, not bothering to say a word. His dark amber eyes didn't give anything away; Armando couldn't even tell if he was listening.
"Did you hear me?" He kicked the duck under the table, but still, no reaction.
Finally, the mysterious stranger looked up from his game, appearing to be still uninterested, "You could say that."
"What the hell? What kind of an answer is that, bastard?" Armando cursed.
The duck still didn't look faltered. "The only one you're going to get, bitch." He laid a card down, won the game, and began collecting the pot. Looked up at Armando for another second, raised an eyebrow, and continued scraping the money from the table.
"That's Andross, he's from The Guild v2" AJ explained, motioning to the annoying royal blue duck, "And you shouldn't be cursin' at an elder. Or – at least someone older than you."
Armando gave up. He couldn't disagree with AJ; He was the leader of CCG, and therefore had control over Armando's actions... Plus, he had the power to ban whoever disobeyed him. And right now, I can't afford to be banned.
-x-x-x-x-
The night dragged on forever. Armando was dealt into a few hands with Toon Union, a couple with The Guild v2, but refused to play with CCG. After all, isn't it better to avoid him? He's a dumbass with an ego. I have no business letting his filthy paws all over my cards.. Andross had won six consecutive times and was still on a roll.
"Are you always this lucky?" He snickered in Andross' direction.
AJ swung his head around from his game, annoyance clear in his light, disturbed eyes. "Didn't I tell you to watch your mouth? But for the record, it's not luck."
This time it was Andross' turn to snicker.
-x-x-x-x-
So far Armando had won almost 150 jellybeans.. Not too bad for only four rounds. He couldn't help glancing over to the table next to him, the one with CCG scattered 'round, playing poker. It looked like Andross, the cocky duck, was the winner of the night. Examining his jellybeans, Armando noticed the jar was almost overflowing. AJ was right, this couldn't just be luck.
Armando looked at his hand. Well this sucks. Trying to hide the disappointment from his tone, he said, "I'm going to fold." He laid down his cards and started watching CCG's poker game... That was at least more lively than playing with Toon Union. Armando's pale blue eyes continued to stare directly at Andross' hand of cards that were being dealt, trying to burn through them. If only I could sneak a peek into his paws.. I need to find out if that bastard's cheating. Before he had time to move, Little Fancy, who was at CCG's table started up a conversation.
"How are things here in CCG territory? You guys sure don't have a long walk." Armando couldn't tell if Little Fancy Pedalwhip was being serious or just mocking the fact that he arrived about two hours late.
"Everything's fine. What business is it of your's?" He spat back, trying to make her shut up.
Little Fancy Pedalwhip took the hint and backed off. She stood up and walked quickly back to The Guild v2's poker table.
Going back to making mends with Andross; In other words, attempting to stay on AJ's good side, he said, "You're not as stupid as you look.", After watching him win for the ninth time in row. Offering a crooked smile, he hoped Andross would respond, instead of ignoring each comment.
Andross leaned back in the old, ratty-looking chair, "That's funny, because you are."
Armando buried his head in his arms. Time to prepare for a long night.
A/N: Sooo.. this chapter is quite a bit shorter than I imagined it. In order to understand this story properly, you'll have to know how Toontown Guilds work.. If you have any questions let me know – Reviews are love :)! This story will probably be longer than my first... You're definitely welcome to read both.