Merlin ♟ Liam Gallagher (merlyn) wrote in mythologs, @ 2012-05-12 00:23:00 |
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Entry tags: | lethe, merlin |
[closed/complete]
Characters:Lethe [lethe] & Merlin [merlyn]
Date/Time: Sometime during the week.
Location: A casino.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Gambling.
Summary: Blackjack, Merlin & Lethe
Power.
That's what it usually came down to, power. He folded his arms, elbows on the table's edge as he watched with an interested look. The man on his right, a distinguished gentleman in a full tux, released the dice with an arrogant flick of the wrist (Merlin, smiled, eyes closing briefly, he knew what this outcome would be). He wet his lips, and turned to look at the man he'd been advising all night. He'd made a bet that he could double the man's winnings. (And he could, probability was mathematics, which was another language, which really was magic in a way).
"Hard ten."
A grin as a round of applause and a few of the guys clasped the winner in the back. Slowly, Merlin tilted his face upwards flashing a toothy grin. "Told you so." It was not about the money (though it was nice when the man counted out the stash of bills and handed Merlin a portion).
"Yeah, yeah, you're the golden boy and good luck charm around here." He grunted, "Most of the guys here want to know what your secret is."
Merlin laughed, pocketing his winnings, "No secret, just mathematics." Not quite true but, "You guys have to stop gushing about my reputation so much, otherwise they're not going to let me in." He teased.
"Like hell, they know you attract the big bets and there is always someone who bets wrongly. Want to go another round, Lee?" The man looked eager, but Merlin shook his head.
"Not tonight, someone else has booked my services already." He laughed, "But next week, yes. Don't burn through too much of your winnings till then." Liam teased, all smiles, all jokes. He straightened away from the table and slid his hands into his pockets. Now it was off to grab a drink, and a small break before picking out another one to advice. It usually would be a new, inexperienced one coming in, who deserved help.
She hadn't come here to gamble, although to say so would imply that Lethe wandered into the casino with any sliver of purpose at all, only drawn in by the obnoxiously flashing lights and a desire to distract herself for awhile. She certainly didn't look dressed for the occasion, a bag full of books and the casual attire of a college student betraying the fact she had just gotten out of one of her night classes and didn't want to go home quite yet. But after a drink or two bought by strangers that had quickly and thankfully lost interest, Lethe had spent more than two hours trying to figure out the secrets of the penny slots. The first mystery being they didn't actually take pennies or any coins at all, but had already happily stolen the twenty dollars she had budgeted for the rest of her meals that weekend. Well, who actually needed to eat?
While she hadn't moved at all since she sat in front of the machine, eyes glued to the spinning pictures as they displayed yet another losing combination of mismatched fruits and coins, the people surrounding her had come and gone in an indistinguishable blur. The man sitting to her right had forgotten it was his anniversary that evening, and she had known it before he had to step away to answer a rather angry call from his wife who had been stood up at a restaurant halfway across the city. To her left, a stressed businessman that had failed to deliver his presentation to an important client that morning due to a cab stuck in traffic. That she heard straight from the source as he ranted over what was probably his fifth glass of whiskey, nodding along without much interest as she robotically pressed the button again. And again when nothing happened. It took her five confused pushes to realize she had run out of money, and with a defeated sigh Lethe's face crashed against the screen.
Someone was not having a lot of luck.
Merlin watched as the girl's face connected with the screen and his lips quirked upwards in the beginnings of a smile. By the time he descended on Lethe, one hand companionable settled on her shoulder, he was full out grinning down at her, "You know these things have the worst odds." He informed her cheerfully, "Now if you want to try another game and make some money, I can totally help you with that." He dropped his hand quickly, not wanting to seem presumptuous despite the fact that Merlin could be a very touchy-feely type of person in a totally platonic manner. He pulled out a twenty from his pocket and held it out to Lethe.
She sort of looked really familiar.
"You want to make some old men lose old their money in blackjack?" To be honest it would amuse Merlin a lot to watch this pint of a girl clean out a table of well-experienced players. It would make for some really good evening entertainment. When he got home, he could tell wild stories to Morpheus about it, arms flailing and everything.
Blackjack. That caught her off guard more than the hand on her shoulder, which she was about to twist away from when it was voluntarily removed.
Lethe didn't know even the very basics of how to play, although she suspected the overly enthusiastic stranger could guess that easily enough. Regarding the twenty with some suspicion more than temptation despite her losses, Lethe's eyes narrowed as she chewed the tip of her tongue and considered. It wasn't often that somebody managed to pick her out of a such a flashy crowd, but maybe it was the luck of the draw that he managed to target her specifically. It was a rather shady offer, not one typically made by somebody with the intentions of being helpful for nothing in return. Perhaps some sort of scam or a plot that would find her stuffed into a plastic bag at the bottom of the dumpster by the next morning, and the possibility was intriguing enough. "What's the catch?" she inquired, which was as close as he was going to get to an agreement.
"Catch?" Merlin echoed back and considered the question seriously, as if he was going to break out into a serious monologue about contracts and life or death. Instead he tossed his head back and laughed, "No catch, we play some Blackjack, and you let me advice - whatever you win in the end I take one fourth of. Reasonable, yes? I make a small gain, you make a big gain. Everyone wins, except the other guys at the table." He shrugged, smile disappearing, "You look like you have no idea what you're doing, no one will expect it."
Also known as, Merlin was going to be a douchebag and trick everyone. Oh well, he wasn't a trickster god, but part of his trade was deceptions and lies. He had to get Arthur conceived somehow back then. "You don't have to say yes. I'm doing this for fun." Of course, Merlin wanted Lethe to say yes because otherwise his fun would be cut short but life went on.
Lethe indeed didn't know what she was doing, which was applicable to most situations she found herself in, and she didn't take offence for his observation either. But it still didn't explain why he needed anybody else at all for whatever scheme he was running. If the man was as good as his confidence projected, he should have been capable to win without her, and somebody that good at playing the odds definitely had to realize that it'd be far more profitable that way. Even if he did claim it was merely for fun and she didn't know how this sort of thing normally operated, one-fourth did seem rather low a share of winnings when she suspected he'd be doing most of the work. "Fifty-fifty," she compromised in his favour, compliantly sliding off the stool and to her feet. She didn't have anywhere else to be.
Merlin shook his head, he was pleasantly surprised by her offer, but his ability didn't work like that, the bigger his share, the less likely he was to get it right. The less their profit, ironically, he was more likely to gain more by asking for one fourth than asking for one half. So was life. "No, trust me, it works much better this way." Besides he liked it this way, yeah he could also play to win himself but he liked to advice someone. Like back in Camelot, Merlin had never been the one to rule, he'd been the one behind the curtains whispering the advice. Just the way he liked it.
"Liam, by the way, most guys here call me Lee." He gave her shoulder a warm squeeze, "And you, my new friend, are?" he waved his free hand at her prompting an introduction.
Not understanding his insistence but willing to leave it at that, Lethe shrugged in concession to the terms. It wasn't a battle she was going to fight even if the circumstances were flipped. She was curious enough to see where this was going to lead, if Liam's boasting actually had any substance, and if there was more to the arrangement than he was letting on. Especially since he seemed to imply he had a reputation here, enough of one for people to know his name with any familiarity. And with him fronting the money, it wasn't as if she had anything to lose. There was no telling how long the man would even be capable of staying focused around her, how soon he'd forget her and wander away in a daze.
"Lottie," she offered vaguely, a name that certainly didn't match the ID she had used to get in. If she was actually old enough to be there, she wasn't quite sure anymore.
The entire situation was amusing enough to Merlin, especially when looks when around the table- Lethe seemed harmless- but when Liam leaned over and whispered a few choice words and she began turning the tables of the game, people weren't happy. He was frankly enjoying himself, though he wasn't sure if his petite companion was. Ah well, money was money and making some was never a bad thing. For all Merlin cared, she could spend it again on the slots machines once they were done.
True to his words, they won three games in a row, and Merlin split the winnings like he'd said with a cheerful smile. "Here you go, Lottie." He pocket his own, wrinkling his nose. "And this for me is enough, time to call it a night." He spoke to no one in particular, announcing it to the room at large (hey, Merlin was an arrogant sort of douchebag).
"I'll catch you later." He gave Lethe an exaggerated wink. With an innocent face like hers? God, he could really con people into betting everything only to have it beat right under their nose. It was a plan. If he found her again. He'd see, Fate had a funny way about these things.