-Chapter 2-
-A Bar Fight, Brought to You By Minors!-
It's dark, Rosalio noted as he walked through the sewer tunnel. He tried to avoid the muddy water to the best of his ability, cringing each time he accidentally stepped in the murky waters. Still, he had a job to do. And as much as he hated getting his own hands dirty, he had to do this one on his own, without the judgemental gaze of a child on him.
He chuckled to himself. And, of course, I still haven't figured out how I'll explain this… Perhaps it was an unnecessary move trying to keep it from him this entire time. Ah, well. It's too late now. Not that this isn't an easily rectifiable mistake, anyway. I doubt Amir wants his little secret getting out to the MGA…
Rosalio had quite the hefty amount of experience with blackmail under his belt, but blackmailing a mage was definitely a new addition to his repertoire. The Magic Guild Association was known for being sticklers when it came to background checks on any magic users in Mysteria. A surefire way to prevent criminals like him from manipulating or taking advantage of any of them. How Amir managed to get past their noses, he had no idea. Not even he was able to get past that stupid background check.
Well, if the world thinks you're a criminal, might as well play along with it.
Rosalio slowed his walk when he reached a gate up ahead. A grin made its way onto his face.
Besides…
He pulled out a small knife and began scratching a magic circle in the tunnel wall, right next to the gate.
This type of thing is much more fun than people expect.
He wasn't quite sure at first how he would go about making the circle itself. Creating spells is usually an extraordinarily meticulous task. There were a few basic spells that every mage could learn, similar to how there are some moves out there that every pokemon is able to learn. Unlocking doors and fixing vases, however, only took you so far in combat. Or in any other perilous situation.
Mages often spoke of how the beauty of magic lay in its individualistic nature. It was rare to find any two mage have the same exact style of magic or combat. There were some general similarities, based on one's place of origin or upbringing, but only a mage with a trained eye would be able to notice such a thing.
Luckily for Rosalio, he had exactly that. If it weren't for that trained eye of his…he probably would have never been able to meet Amir.
Alright, finished. He stood back for a moment to look over his handiwork. Inside the circle were three squares, each in an alternating position. One was diagonal, each corner a small space away from the edges of the circle. Inside that square was another square, which was in a vertical position, the long side parallel to the first square's corner. Inside THAT square was another in the same position as the first. At the very center of the alternating squares was a small, filled in, circle.
It was easy enough that even a child could replicate it after a few tries. Or, at least, that was the hope. Rosalio had to consider another factor when designing the spell itself: the competence of Oltony's own subordinates.
He cringed, thinking about when he saw Oltony's own bodyguards loudly arguing over how to pronounce 'tomato' in the train station. Did they have any idea what "subtlety" meant? Rosalio had half a mind to march over to the nearest bookstore and buy a dictionary just to search up the word, cut it out, and plaster the definition on each of their…well, he would say heads, but that was all they had.
Well, aside from arms and facial features…but who cares about those silly things?
Rosalio made his way through the sewers with purpose, unwavering in his stance. He still recoiled in disgust at the muddy waters, though. Ah, well. A small price to pay for the outcome. Just as long as Oltony does his part of the job, this'll all be worth it…
The sewers were a less than ideal place to do business, but Rosalio could hardly think of a better way to execute their plan. Drawing magic circles above ground would certainly lead to suspicion and scrutiny from the townspeople. For this to go as smoothly as possible, they needed to ensure not an ounce of suspicion was thrown their way.
Hence, this fun little trip into the revolting kingdom of sewage. Rosalio shuddered.
Maybe he really should have taken Amir with him.
"NOW!"
As Amir had expected, Esther was the first to react. He tensed as she charged toward him, her cutlass raised, presumably to knock his kunai out of his hands.
I will not let her get one over me that easily, he glared. He deflected each of Esther's strikes swiftly and with precision as she descended upon him. I just need to make sure she does not overpower me before the time runs out.
"Yer quite skilled with that kunai of yers, Amir," Esther commented, briefly stopping her barrage of strikes against Amir to catch her breath. She flashed him a grin. "I might have some trouble with ye."
Amir smiled at her, an amused twinkle in his eyes. Oh, you have no idea.
"I guess it's safe to say…ye aren't as incompetent as I thought." Esther remarked, causing the pikachu to cringe and the surrounding pokemon to burst into raucous laughter.
"We will see about that, Miss Esther." Amir signed. He briefly glanced at the sandglass from the corner of his eyes, feeling the sand trickle down far too slowly. He could hold her off for as long as he needed, but that would grow stale fast. Esther seemed to be one for theatrics and…so did the bargoers here.
The crawdaunt seemed to want the least amount of damage done as possible, so maybe he could try playing this up a bit? His grip on his kunai tightened. How was he supposed to manage that?
"Eyes on me, Amir!" Esther cried out, slashing at him with her cutlass.
Not missing a beat, Amir pulled out another kunai and blocked the attack by crossing both weapons into an 'x' formation. He and Esther stood at a standstill for a moment before he pushed his weight forward and knocked her arms to the side. She was briefly taken off balance and stumbled backward. The extra weight of her wooden left leg prevented her from recovering quickly. Amir took the chance and maneuvered himself around her to stay on her right side.
Esther grit her teeth. "Trying to stay in me blind spot, aye? Well, ye've got another thing comin'!"
She sheathed her cutlass and her paws lit up in a multicolored glow of light. Amir eyed her warily. Was it just him or did she really seem to love punching?
"You better watch out, kid!" A voice hollered. "It looks like she's just about ready to knock you into next Tuesday!"
Amir cringed at the comment and sheathed his kunai back at his sides. That is Dizzy Punch, is it not? He questioned. Maybe…
Quickly tightening the belt he fashioned out of rope around his waist, he got onto all fours and raced around the buneary, who stopped in her tracks, slightly confused.
She raised an eyebrow. "...what is this, a ritual?"
Amir felt his face heat up and internally groaned. He wished Cordell was here now more than ever. At the very least, he would have a quip at the ready. Granted, it was primarily his fault that Cordell was stranded out in who knows where, a good ten or twenty miles away from Oar's Rest with a trio of…bandits.
Seemingly incompetent bandits, but bandits nonetheless.
"...well, if it's a ritual, I'm sure ye won't mind if I decide to…crash it." Esther grinned and chased after Amir.
A contradictory combination of groans and snickers erupted from the crowd watching. This was turning out to be less of a fight and more of a miniature version of a chase. Amusing as it was, it wasn't exactly what one would call entertaining for the course of five whole minutes.
"This is ridiculous," Enkai said bluntly. "Can I just call it quits-"
"NEVER!" The krabby interrupted, shaking his claw at the crawdaunt. "You will NOT call this fight off. You WILL let the children have the full five minutes to eat each other alive. You WILL provide us with entertainment through this glorious bloodbath of youngsters!"
"RAHHHH!" The rest of the bar goers erupted into cheers.
Esther snickered. "Happy to see I have yer support, ye landlubbers!"
Amir looked on the verge of being traumatized.
Enkai groaned and smacked a claw to his face. He sank onto the table. "I swear, if anyone catches wind of this…I'll wring the necks of everyone here."
"Uh…you're aware some of us are respectable members of the crustacean community, right?" The crabrawler pointed out. "And I don't think you can wrap your claws around anything."
"Who said I wasn't just going to snap on those necks?"
"...point taken."
Amir jumped onto the edge of a table and used that momentum to bounce off into a backflip. He narrowed his eyes at Esther, who skidded to a stop underneath him, most likely wondering what the mouse was planning. Still mid-air, he gathered electricity in his hands and formed a makeshift ball of electric charge. With one swift movement, he released the electricity from his palms, prompting it to transform into a web roughly the size of the mini-arena.
Esther's eyes widened in alarm and Amir couldn't help but feel a triumphant smile make its way onto his face. Let us see you try and dodge this one, Miss Esther.
The buneary grit her teeth and backed up against a table. The web sailed harmlessly down onto the floor, almost covering the entirety of the arena floor in electricity. The only spaces where Esther could move was a small ten or so inches away from the surrounding furniture.
A cheer rose up in the crowd.
Amir landed gracefully on the floor, at the center of the arena, his cloak billowing around him. The sparks sailed harmlessly onto him. He was hoping that Esther would have gotten caught in the Electroweb itself, but judging by the limited space she had to move…this wasn't half bad either.
He glanced at the sandglass. Not much time had passed since the two started their fight, but that was fine with him. He wouldn't say he had victory yet, but he had all the right cards in his hand. He just had to play them right…
Esther grinned. "Tryin' to limit me movement, eh?"
"Something like that," Amir replied with a sly smile.
"What're you gonna do now, little girl?" A parasect from behind her asked teasingly. "Looks like you've gotten yourself in a tough spot!"
"Oh, trust me…this is nothing to worry about at all!" She met Amir's smile with her own. "It's not as if I've been completely stopped in me tracks!"
…okay, she cannot be thinking what I think she is thinking. Amir eyed her warily.
Esther took a deep breath, seemingly bracing herself for something. The air cooled around her as ice formed around her paws. Amir's attention went to her feet, however, which also seemed to be channeling energy. Well, more so her left foot than her right, but it was still a notable sign of the buenary's Bounce.
Esther sprang off of the floor with a start, flying high into the air. She barely grazed the ceiling, thankfully making sure to not end up with a repeat of the earlier incident at the train station. Gathering momentum, she circled around mid-air and shot down toward her opponent, who looked a mixture between annoyed and freaked out. "Yer not the only one with fancy movements, Amir!"
Okay, she was definitely not thinking what I was thinking she was thinking. THIS IS WAY WORSE-!
Amir had barely a second to act, but made sure to use it wisely.
By side-stepping.
"OW!" Esther shrieked as she landed on the floor, feeling a surge of electricity go up her veins. "That freakin' hurt!"
That is sort of the point here… Amir thought dryly. He felt his cheeks warm up as he realized he was momentarily freaking out for no reason. It wasn't like Esther could change trajectory if she was shooting straight down like an arrow. Although, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that she had done something oddly similar back during their fight on the train. I had formed spikes from the floor, but she just…decided to jump straight into it.
His eyes fell into a deadpan. Does strategy just not exist in her dictionary?
Esther awkwardly hopped from foot to foot before she uneasily stood on her left foot. "Ye know, last I checked, wood ain't exactly the greatest conductor of electricity out there…" She flashed Amir a grin. "Ye thinkin' of takin' this a bit more seriously now?"
"She's going to fight on one foot?" A pokemon asked. Murmurs of confusion went around the room.
"That feels…" Enkai raised an eyebrow. "...counter-productive."
"Nonsense!" Esther argued. "This just spices things up, that's all!"
"You and I have very different definitions of 'spicing things up', then…" Enkai muttered. "Whatever you're planning on doing, better do it now, since you've got like two minutes left."
Amir and Esther stared.
"Blimey!" Esther slapped a paw on her face. "I spent way too much time tradin' blows, ey?"
"Honestly, this fight was slightly disappointing," someone commented. Esther shot them a dirty look, causing them to shrink back. "Just saying…"
"What're ye expectin', a circus act?!" Esther glared at the crowd.
"This isn't the circus?"
"...ye know, I should've figured that this whole thing is because ye landlubbers are all three sheets to the wind."
"Ha! I have no idea what that means!" A sewaddle laughed heartily. "And this bravado is coming from the little girl who wants to fight on one foot!"
"It's a perfectly valid way to fight! Okay, matey?!" Esther snapped defensively. She crossed her arms and huffed. "I'd hardly expect ye to understand the way of the pirate…"
Enkai raised an eyebrow. He looked over his shoulder at Esther's empty glass of orange juice on the counter, feeling paranoia wash over him. "...did I accidentally give her alcohol?"
While this entire conversation was happening, Amir simply stood silently. Even if he could speak, he wasn't exactly sure what to add to the conversation, nor did he have any desire to try. It was nonsensical enough as it is without him adding to the mix. He glanced at the sandglass and narrowed his eyes. I still have over a minute…she seems distracted enough, so I think I can wait thirty more seconds…
"Jokes on ye, I'm always like this!
"...yeah, I'd believe that," Enkai sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Anyway, let's get down to business!" Esther pointed at Amir. "Come at me, Amir!"
"...I actually think I would prefer to stay where I am," Amir signed.
Esther frowned and her hand lowered. "...what?"
"...yeah, my headache just got worse." Enkai sighed. "Whatever, at least this means these two won't be trading blows like idiots at the moment."
The krabby snorted from next to the bar owner. "Enkai, what makes you think these kids won't take whatever beef they have with each other outside somewhere else? Best they get whatever issues they have out of their system right now, don't you agree?"
Enkai shot the crab a funny look. "...have you not been paying attention to what either of these kids has been saying the past few minutes? They're fighting over a bet."
"...in my defense, only one of them is saying anything."
Esther frowned as she stared intently at Amir. The mouse was stalling for time, but what could she do about it? Fun, as it might have been, fighting through the pain of electricity coursing through her, wasn't exactly ideal for her to win this scuffle. Unless…she tried the same thing.
Wasn't exactly her strong suit, but ah well.
"Hey, Amir," Esther said suddenly. She smirked and lit up one fist in fire, then lit up the other one in ice. "Wanna see a magic trick?"
Amir's eyes widened as she increased the power in both fists before slamming them against each other as she released both attacks. Steam erupted from her fists and filled the arena.
"Wait, I'm confused," a machop commented. "Where was the magic?"
"Buddy, I think you've had a bit too much to drink this morning…"
Amir kept on his guard in the smoke, trying to figure out where Esther had gone. His ears were poised, trying to listen closely for the heavier thumping of Esther's left foot against the floor.
Let's see…there! He whirled around, electroweb forming in his hands, then threw it. He heard the sounds of a thump against the floor, accompanied by a startled yelp. He exhaled slowly, careful not to let his guard down until the steam had cleared.
His eyes widened as he suddenly heard uneven footsteps from behind him. What was-
"ARGH!" Esther hollered as she lunged at Amir, slamming him against the table. She pulled out her cutlass and stabbed it into the table on her right, while she put her left leg on the left side, pinning Amir in place.
"I got ye now!" She grinned triumphantly as Amir struggled to get out of her grip. "Start the counter, boys!"
"You heard the lady!" The crabrawler called out. "Five!"
Amir glared. Alright, if that is the way you want to play it…
"Four!"
He managed to find enough wiggle room to dig his claws into the table leg and draw a pattern into the wood.
"Three!"
And…now! He pressed a finger to the circle, causing it to glow and catch the pirate's attention.
"What are ye-" Her eyes widened as the table morphed and pushed her off the table…and off of Amir. "Son of a-"
Amir glanced at the sandglass. The time was almost up. Perfect! Without hesitation, he charged up an electroweb and threw it at Esther, who had not yet caught her balance. She let out a scream as the web struck her against the floor and electrocuted her.
"Here we go again!" The krabby called out.
"Five!"
"Four!"
Esther struggled against the net, but could not break free. She hissed at the electricity lapping at her skin and glanced at the pikachu, who still held a defensive stance. Her eye trailed over to the floor and saw her cutlass lying on the floor next to the mage's feet. Her eye widened. Me cutlass-
"Three!"
He… She slumped against the floor and felt a rueful grin make its way onto her face. Heh…guess the mage wins…for now.
"Two!"
Amir's shoulders began to relax.
Enkai raised his claw, about to call the match.
Everyone leaned forward in anticipation.
"O-"
Then the saloon doors flew onto the arena.
Small bits of debris flew everywhere, causing the bargoers to cry out and duck under the tables. Amir backed up as the doors slid across the floor of the arena toward him, before it came to a stop. He saw Esther raise her head from off the ground and give him a questioning look. Not sure how to react, he simply returned the look with a shrug.
Silence filled the room as everyone's heads immediately turned to the culprit behind the brutal assassination of the bar doors.
An armored poliwrath stood in the doorway, his arms crossed. The sunlight glinted on the silver armor plates, which caused the pokemon in the room to wince slightly from the reflection. Behind the poliwrath was a crustle, who also donned the same attire as the poliwrath.
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn toward the design on the armor, however. A filled in purple star that had small tildes placed diagonally in between each point. At the top end of the tilde was a filled in red circle.
Amir stepped back and held his breath. Stellian soldiers…
"Well, well, well," the poliwrath finally spoke, his deep voice filled with amusement. "Look what we have here...you seeing this, Cain?"
The crustle snickered. "What, a group of idiots getting drunk before the sun even got to its highest point? Or a bar that's running way behind on an inspection?"
The poliwrath guffawed. "Both, I'd wager!"
Enkai scuttled toward the two snickering soldiers irritably, brushing past the tense crowd in the bar. "Excuse me," he said pointedly. "I believe you two seem to have…a bit of a problem?"
"'A bit of a problem' is putting it mildly, crawdaunt." The poliwrath glared. "We're here on account of reports of this bar, the uh, The Shaken Hat…we've been told that you haven't had a proper safety inspection in months."
Enkai crossed his arms. "Says who? The station guards?" He scoffed. "No offense to them, but they couldn't keep up with their own inspections, let alone with bars this far out in the center of town."
Esther watched the interaction from the floor and craned her neck to get a better look. She felt the sparks die down and grinned when she realized she could move again. Without hesitation, she jumped up and stretched out her arms, then massaged her neck. Yeah, in hindsight, I shoulda' sat up first before tryin' to see what was goin' on…
In the corner of her eye, she noticed Amir slowly backing away and raised an eyebrow. She glanced back at the arguing crawdaunt and soldiers, then made her way to Amir. "And just where do ye think ye'r goin'?"
Amir jumped, then frowned at her. "Nowhere."
"Somehow, I find that hard to believe."
Amir gave her a miserable look. "Why are you trying to gatekeep where I walk?"
"It's fun," she said, with a grin. "Besides, I honor me deals. Ye won that fight, so, I'm indebted to you, remember?"
He didn't reply immediately and his gaze trailed over to the front of the bar, where Enkai was arguing with the two soldiers. Esther looked over her shoulder to follow his gaze, then amended her guess. He wasn't looking at the group as a whole, but rather…their armor. Or, more specifically, the star symbol on it.
She narrowed her eyes. Ah, that's right…Amir's workin' with some shady landlubbers…
"This is stupid!" Enkai threw his claws up. "You can't do this!"
"Oh, yes we can," the poliwrath retorted snootily. "I want everyone here to listen up! Nobody leaves this bar until we complete the inspection!" He paused. "...and we will be asking a few questions to you all as well. Failure to answer will result in a night spent in a jail cell, now, how about that?"
Everyone glanced at each other.
The krabby sighed and plopped himself down on a chair. "Whatever. You heard the man, comrades. Sit down."
Enkai watched with weary eyes as everyone reluctantly took their seats. The cheery atmosphere from before was replaced with a cloud of gloom and irritation that hung over every pokemon there. The consequence of being the only bar open from sunrise to midnight, he supposed. The crawdaunt let out a reluctant sigh and gestured for the soldiers to go ahead with their inspection.
The poliwrath gave a satisfied smirk and made his way to the bar counter first, while the crustle began pulling each bargoer aside to ask them questions.
Along with the other bargoers, Amir and Esther had quickly taken a seat at a nearby table. If Amir didn't look nervous before, he definitely did now.
The poliwrath raised an eyebrow as he glanced at all the pokemon sitting in an awkwardly shaped circle. The floor had a lot of scuff marks on it and some corners of the table were chipped at. "...please tell me this is not how your bar tables are placed regularly."
"Of course not!" Enkai snapped. "My bar is a safe space for the 'mon of Oar's Rest. This morning, it was decided that this placement of the furniture was convenient for purposes of comfort." He gestured to the bargoers. "Everyone is welcome at my bar. I don't kick out anyone willy nilly."
"The way you let Karl throw me out says otherwise…" the crabrawler muttered.
"Sorry, what was that?"
The crabrawler rolled his eyes. "Nothing."
"Riiiight," the poliwrath said, then continued on his way toward the bar table and the back of the bar. Enkai trailed behind, fuming all the way.
"Soooo…" Esther began. "I guess now's a better time than ever to ask…what exactly do ye want from me?"
Amir's ear twitched, but his gaze lingered on the crustle soldier. The soldier was working methodically and was still asking questions to the first person he had turned to. He seems to be taking his time with whatever questions he is asking…it does seem like he is not asking for proof of identification, however…
Esther grunted, then clapped next to the pikachu's ear, causing him to jump and flatten his ears against his head. "Oi. I believe I asked ye a question just now?"
Amir looked lost. "Sorry," he signed. "I did not hear you. I was a bit…preoccupied. My apologies."
"Aye, I can see that." She said dryly.
"...what was it you asked again?"
"Our bet." The pirate leaned back in her chair. "Ye won."
Amir's eyes lit up. "Ah, that! Yes. I have a favor to ask of you…but I would rather not ask you right here…" His hands faltered and his eyes wandered toward the soldier.
Esther nodded slowly to show she understood. "Aye, of course. I guess in that case…it'd be best if we worked together here, eh?" She smirked. "To sneak past those soldiers, that is. Ye know. To be able to do our shady deals without gettin' shot up by a buncha stuck-ups in armor."
Amir snorted. "I am truly thrilled to be working with you."
"I ain't likin' that tone of yers."
"What tone? I am being completely genuine right now."
"...aye, matey." She shook her head and flashed a grin. "So…ready to do some ninja work?"
"...so you ARE a ninja!"
"Aye, I'm a-wait, what?! Who gave ye that bit of info?!"
"Is it true?"
"Are ye outta yer damn mind?! We pirates don't associate with ninjas! If anythin', I should be questioning whether or not YE are a ninja…"
"Unfortunately, no," Amir's shoulder sagged. "I have always wished to be one, however. What do you have against ninjas?"
Esther gave him a sour look. "Oh, it's a long story. Longer than-" She paused, then glanced over her shoulder. "Wait, where'd that soldier-"
She was interrupted by a piece of paper that was slapped on her forehead. She blinked rapidly for a few seconds, then pulled the paper off her forehead. "A…fine for thirty wards?" She glared at the crustle soldier who leered above her and Amir's table. "Who the hell do ye think ye are, stickin' a piece of scraped tree product on my face like that?"
The crustle raised an eyebrow. "You mean aside from being a high-ranking Stellian soldier stationed here at Oar's Rest?"
"Ye know what I meant…" She replied sourly.
Amir felt his frown deepen as he watched the interaction. He had gotten distracted, again… Well, there was nothing else to do about it, unfortunately.
I suppose I just need to be careful with how I respond to whatever questions this soldier has…
"What're ye even finin' me for?" Esther glared at the soldier. "Got a problem with the way I dress?"
"Where did you get that idea from…?" The crustle shook his head. "Your weapon."
Esther blinked. "Me weapon." She pulled out her cutlass. She had quickly picked it up from the floor after the soldiers had ordered everyone to sit down. "Ye mean me cutlass?"
"Is that not a weapon?" The crustle deadpanned. "Anyway, YES. It's illegal for minors to visibly carry any dangerous contraband in the kingdom of Stellia."
Amir looked at the soldier curiously. So, minors technically could carry "dangerous contraband" in Stellia as long as it wasn't visible. Interesting…
"Oh, I'll show ye what's illegal-"
"Now, as for you…" The crustle turned to Amir, who gave the soldier a beaming smile. "...well, there doesn't seem to be anything visibly wrong with you…"
Amir's smile faltered instantly. What in the world is THAT supposed to mean?
"Of course, I do have to ask you a few basic questions about this bar…unless you aren't regulars here?" He paused, then raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'd hope you aren't regulars here. You two look like kids-"
Esther huffed. "Unfortunately, no, we're not regulars."
Unfortunately…? Amir gave Esther a weird look. Granted, he should've expected such a response from her by that point. He sighed and sank into his seat. He was really starting to miss Cordell. Hopefully, the kunai was doing alright…
The crustle nodded. "Alright, well, that was all I needed to know…you kids stay safe. And make sure you pay that fine, young lady."
"I'll have ye know I am planning on ripping this paper to shreds." Esther said candidly.
The crustle chuckled to himself as he walked away to the next few pokemon to be "questioned". "Yeah, right."
Esther and Amir glanced at each other. The pikachu shrugged, which Esther took as a "go-ahead" and proceeded to rip the fine slip in half. "Well, there goes that problem!" She said cheerily. "What say ye on gettin' outta this bar, eh?"
"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," the krabby from earlier piped in, causing the duo to startle. The crab leaned forward from atop the table next to them and whispered. "The reason everyone here looks so darn exhausted-"
Because you are all drinking this early in the morning?
"-is because these kinds of inspections usually take hours. We'll be here til' noon!"
Oh. That makes much more sense. Amir thought, then amended himself. Wait, no it does not-
Esther groaned. "That's so stupid. What're we supposed to do?"
"...well, uh…I guess you two can come play cards with the rest of us who already got cleared by the soldier over there." He pointed toward the pokemon behind him, who all crowded around a single table. "...we'll keep it perfectly appropriate for you kiddies!"
Amir and Esther exchanged looks.
"...sounds good to me! C'mon, Amir, let's go play some good ol' poker!"
Amir resisted the urge to groan. Yeah, this was going to be a long couple of hours…
Next time...
An Interlude, Brought To You By Villains!