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"Oh, if we're talking about money...let's do a gamble." Your grin widens. "Maybe a few simple games of poker between us. Whoever has the better hand wins." You glance at Benjamin to see how he takes this. He gives a thumbs up. Alright. Let's see if she takes the bait.
Her eyes light up like stars in the night sky. "Deal. Let's make it quick, I'm busy. We'll do a best of three. Whoever wins two gets to keep the pot." In a blink of an eye, she already has a deck in her hand.
Benjamin takes the role of the dealer. He quickly shuffles the deck with his fingerless gloved hands.
[UNSTABLE] IMAGINE IF THOSE TWO SHARED THEM. HOW FUCKING LEWD.
"How did you know that?" Max chirps out. Oh. <span class="mu-s">Oh. You said that out loud?</span>
You look away in shame while Benjamin deals out the cards to the two of you. You eventually gain the courage to grab your cards. Two pairs, 7s and 9s. Not bad but not an instant win.
"L-lucky guess?" You mumble. "Blind bet of $50. Your move?" You place a $50 bill on the table. So does she.
"Raise. $75." She places another $25 on the table. "You know, it is weird how you mentioned you were dealing with an anomaly. Last time he had to deal with one, it didn't go so well."
"Call." You place $25 as well. "Yeah, I heard. Something about a crash test dummy. What about you? You've probably seen one before."
"Hey! A gun didn't do shit to it!" Benjamin huffs. "I'm not exactly great at dealing with high threat abnos like that! You need a full team of suckers! And, well, I haven't had a good team of those since..." He pauses, clearly dredging something up.
"Sorry, sorry." Both of you mutually respond.
"Raise." She places another $25 on the table. "Well, I've been in the business for a while. After a year or so, you see something eventually. For me? It was this really big bird. A con...con..."
"A condor?" Benjamin chimes in. Max snaps her fingers. "Yeah, that!"
"The weird thing is that it was made out of snow and ice. Like one of those weird snowmen but for a bird. The other thing is that, well, <span class="mu-b">something about just being near it HURT LIKE HELL.</span> Like...not my heart but something deeper was being burnt away."
[ANOMALOUS ABILITIES] The soul is something that can't easily be protected, outside of PARADIGMs. Perhaps that is what she refers to.
"Call." You place another $25 on the table. "Really? What else did it do?" Both of you are betting $100 now.
"It made the place really cold and foggy. I could barely see three feet in front of me. T-then it started talking." She exhales. "Call. Place your cards down. It was telling me to 'go easy' and to 'be washed away in the sleet and cold'. It sounded like my father. Commanding but gentle."
You place your card down. So does she. Both of you had two pairs but hers were 6s and 8s. Just barely below yours. "Damnit. You win this round." She sets aside the pot of $200. "You distracted me with that story. But yeah, that contract was...hard to fulfill, to say the least."
