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Tweak says, "The world is an imperfect plac"

Lucius Malfoy (in_deep) wrote in wished,
@ 2009-10-14 22:00:00

Entry tags:

!1997: 10, !incomplete, lucius malfoy

Who: Weiland Mulciber, Lucius Malfoy
When: Wednesday night
Where: Malfoy Manor, in the library
What: Scene Lottery - high-stakes card game.
Rating: TBA
Open/Closed: Closed

The library was far from Lucius's favorite room in the house; he had next to no use for anything sitting on the shelves. But it had always had a pleasantly nostalgic smoky sort of smell - his father had failed completely to pass down his appreciation for cigars and firewhiskey, but the faded scent that years of the man's indulgences had left in the walls and the carpet and the pages of books had always made him feel particularly at home. It was a calming sort of place.

- Or that might have been the wine. His glass was close to empty, sitting on the little wooden card table at his knee. The somewhat tattered but sturdy old deck of cards was shuffling itself again as he scraped the pile of gold into the heretofore rather small stacks on his side of the table. "One more hand before it's off to work?" he offered brightly, with a highly satisfied half-smile. "What do you say to something more exciting than this pocket change? If I'm not mistaken - you have something that used to belong to an old relation of mine. I should very much like to have it back in the family." He knew perfectly well it was worth more than the fifty-some galleons threatening to totter onto the floor as he raised his glass again - but what fun was a game of hazard, if you didn't stand to lose something?

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wizards_forge
2009-10-15 02:43 am UTC (link)

Weiland sat back in his chair, swirling his own wine around in the glass as he contemplated Lucius' request. There was one item in his inventory that he remembered his old dad telling him had come from the Malfoys some time back. Lucius' interest piqued Weiland's curiosity.

"I reckon I know the item in question," he said. "Question is, mate, just how dear is it to you?" This was the moment he lived for in any high-stakes game--the moment where he was sure he had his opponent by the balls and was about to twist. And to have a possibility to put one over on the mighty Lucius Malfoy? It was just too good an opportunity to pass over.

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in_deep
2009-10-15 03:07 am UTC (link)

"One can't put a price on one's legacy, my good man," he said, straightening slightly in his chair. He took the deck in hand when it finally settled down, and carefully dealt out another hand. With a man like Mulciber, you couldn't quite get away with dealing off the bottom. "I'm reluctant to put a number to the blade that Yardley Platt used to rid the world of all those sniveling creatures - no one contributes to society anymore, you know. But, shall we say ... another thousand?" Gold was still cheap, to him; for something that ought to be sitting in the Malfoy vault, a small fortune was little enough. It always felt good to bring something home. "I'm sure I can scratch up the coin from some drawer or other, if you insist on putting it on the table."

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wizards_forge
2009-10-15 03:17 am UTC (link)

Weiland chuckled. "Something like that old goblin-sticker is worth more than its weight in gold," he said, pulling his cigarette case from his pocket. Lucius was always thinking in terms of money, it seemed. Weiland wondered just how much Lucius would put on the line. He pulled two cigarettes from his case and leaned forward in his chair.

"Let's try this for a wager, then. You win, you get the blade. I win... and you give us a lock of that lustrous barnet of yours." He grinned. "Not like I have any hair of my own; I have to envy yours." He reached out his hand, presenting Lucius with a cigarette. "How about it, then?"

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in_deep
2009-10-15 03:30 am UTC (link)

Lucius's smile stiffened a bit awkwardly. His hand froze halfway to laying the remaining cards in the middle of the table, and he regarded Weiland carefully, not sure whether to laugh or recoil. His natural inclinations won out in the end: it was always better to put on an agreeable face until you knew you damn well couldn't. He laughed, and slapped the cards down cheerfully before taking the proffered cigarette with a murmured thanks.

"It's your funeral," he said. There was something fishy about it, no doubt - but he supposed he had no cause to start fearing any of the sharks who'd been swimming around his house now. He could hardly dig himself much deeper. "You have a deal." He picked up his cards. Not bad; swords had always been his lucky suit.

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wizards_forge
2009-10-15 03:44 am UTC (link)

Weiland picked up his hand. a pair of pages, and... oh. He regarded Lucius again as he sat back, and drew his wand to light his smoke. He was pleasantly surprised that Lucius was willing to give up a bit of himself like this. The plans for that lock of hair percolated in Weiland's head...

"Two, sir," he said, setting the pair face down on the table. He was going for a much higher hand than minor suits could provide.

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in_deep
2009-10-15 04:04 am UTC (link)

Lucius leaned across the table to take advantage of the flame - his new wand was close at hand, of course, but he still hadn't quite gotten a firm grip on the thing. For most work it was all well and good, but sometimes the simplest spells would set it off. He wasn't about to go playing with fire in a room full of ancient paper. He slid two cards off the deck as he inhaled, leaning back into his chair again. "Two to you."

He took two, himself, slipping them into his hand. His ten, his page and his king would have for company - the knight and the nine, of all the luck. The queen had eluded him, alas. But a flush with a powerful high was a hand he was more than willing to follow, with such favorable stakes. He reached down to finish his wine, smoke drifting towards the ceiling, and smiled. "Last chance to raise, my friend. You're sure you don't want something more substantial? A pound of flesh, perhaps?"

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wizards_forge
2009-10-15 04:14 am UTC (link)

Weiland took a long drag of his cigarette, and vented the smoke from his mouth in contemplation. He could certainly raise the stakes--he could ask for Narcissa for a night, if he truly had a death wish--but he was happy with what was in the pot at the moment. He made a mental note, though, to ask for a few potion ingredients from Severus...

"I'll call," he finally said, prepared to lay down his hand. "Let's see what you've got."

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in_deep
2009-10-15 04:25 am UTC (link)

"Swords, flush," Lucius said, with an understated pride, letting the cards fall neatly onto the table in front of him. "Appropriate, don't you think? Considering." He wasn't a superstitious man, but it was nice when these things aligned themselves so pleasantly. He knew just where the dagger belonged, too - there was a glass cabinet in the front hall that had always had an irritatingly empty corner. Keeping up the house was practically a full-time job; there was always something needed just that last little touch.

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wizards_forge
2009-10-15 04:37 am UTC (link)

Weiland kept his face and voice stoic as he laid down each card in turn. "The Sun... The Moon... The Star... The World... and Judgment. I think there were higher powers at work here, old son. Straight trumps beats your flush." He grinned. "I'll let you choose where we're getting that litle lock from. I hope the lady of the house doesn't mind something's out of place."

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in_deep
2009-10-15 04:52 am UTC (link)

Lucius's smile fell by degrees as the cards piled on top of one another. After giving himself a moment to take them in, he raised his eyes to Weiland with a grudging sort of admiration (mixed with a healthy dose of dislike). "I have seen that twice in thirty years of play," he said. "You have a demon's luck." He felt no need to spell out the alternative - you're a dirty cheat - knowing that it would be implied whether or not he wasted his breath. "The bloody queen's still in the deck somewhere, or I'd have had you. - Women, what?"

... But, he'd had worse nights, hadn't he? And it rather put him in the mood to do his part kicking up terror around the countryside, which he'd been somewhat lax about lately. He waved the cigarette to extinguish it; time to go. "Nothing I'll worry about. The only thing that grows faster than money is hair."

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wizards_forge
2009-10-18 02:51 am UTC (link)

Weiland smiled broadly. It was the best hand he'd ever managed without cheating, and what a prize to score. Oh, the fun he could have...

"Fortune smiles on you either way, Lucius," he said. "She just looked away from you for the briefest of moments." He stubbed out his cigarette and stood, reaching for the bag containing his mask and cloak. He drew a small coin pouch out of the bag and set it down on the table, on top of Lucius' losing hand.

"If you wouldn't mind completing the wager, good sir? I don't want either of us to be so caught up in the business at hand that we forget."

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in_deep
2009-10-18 04:15 am UTC (link)

"She always comes back, yes." The uneasy feeling crept over him again as he glanced down at the little pouch in front of him, but his smile remained. There were all kinds of dark magic someone could perform with a piece of you, and of course he knew that. But he was also fairly certain that no one would actually be going after his life until they'd obtained explicit permission from Him, and in that case - he was a dead man, regardless.

And who knew - Mulciber was eccentric, as they all seemed to be. Possibly it was nothing. He raised his wand to the side of his head and clipped off a smallish lock of hair. He let it fall into the bag as he stood, stretching away the stiffness that had started through him form sitting stooped over his cards. "I'm sure it could never be said that I failed to make good on a bet," he said with a pleasant smile. "But I do intend to get caught up. I could use some good, old-fashioned fun."

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