A Game of Cat and Mouse [Private/Truthseeker]

"Spare change?"

Sara sat on the streets, her bag of many things set behind her and the jug she'd received from Destiny on the street next to her. Begging wasn't her first choice of getting money, but it was the easiest option open to her right now; with the Weaver dropping her in the middle of a busy street of a city she'd never been to, there wasn't much else she could do. After swapping out the cloak and staff Destiny had given her for the rattiest pair of clothes she owned, the weak-looking girl was truly a pitiable sight. This also assisted her with pickpocketing; sitting here on one of the busiest streets of Plasma City let her sniff out several wealthy merchants, and her light hand ability made them a swift action away from suddenly missing their wallets. Through a combination of pickpocketing and begging, Sara was quickly making herself a tidy sum of money. Not anything that would actually get her anywhere, but enough to live on for now.

As she turned to watch the street again, Sara put on her saddest, most beaten down face to greet the coming crowd. "Spare change?"

"Well well, looking for change now, are you?"

A face simply floated in the air behind Sara. The smile showed sharp teeth and the eyes were a bright yellow. Chester slid around the girl, almost taunting her with his smile. The rest of his body began to slowly fade into sight as he slid around in circles. The rest of his head was the first to come into sight, revealing his long, pinkish hair. "You know, begging isn't exactly the best way to earn money. You could work like a good citizen."

Sara whirled around as she heard the voice, only to recoil when she saw the smiling face hanging in midair. This was most definitely nothing like what she'd seen before, and the biting tone behind it wasn't very favorable either. As the face slid around her and came into view, she retreated into a huddle, trying to put some distance from the face circling her. When the being's full body came into view, Sara inspected it; the...man? Woman? She couldn't tell. Whatever it was, it was severely invading her personal space, and insulting her current work at the same time. How rude.

"Excuse me," Sara said, trying to make herself sound as weak and pitiful as possible. Just for fun, she activated her Curse of Generosity as well, maximizing the pity the person(?) would feel. "I'm just a poor girl with nowhere else to go. Nobody will give a weak girl like me work. Will you please spare a coin to help a girl in her time of need?"

Chester chuckled. His body fully in view, he began to slow himself down and squatted next to the poor girl. She looked so pitiable and vulnerable, it was really a shame to see. Of course, that's what he'd be thinking if he could feel any pity towards a small girl begging in the streets. He placed his hand on the girl's head and ruffled her hair. "Sorry kiddo, I got nothing."

He stood up again and slid himself backwards. His smile stretched far across his face, fully showcasing his sharpened teeth. He bent down, picking up a rock and toying with it in his hand. "I mean, I guess I could give you something, though I don't know if you'd want it..."

Sara's hands instinctively went to her head as the strange cat person ruffled her hair, glaring at the man(Woman? Thing?) as she straightened it again. She had put effort into making it look that disheveled, and they had messed it up! They'd pay for this transgression. Unfortunately, he seemed to be telling the truth; she couldn't smell much of value on the person. It was possible that they were even poorer than Sara was, an impressive accomplishment. Not that she had any pity for the poor. Elkomere's Book of Greed, verse 3:9, 'the poor are only poor because they lack the wits and strength to take what should be theirs'.

Still, she'd humor the man. "Do you have something?" Sara asked politely, putting on her best pout. "Almost anything would be appreciated."

Chester smiled at the girl. "We all have a little something, girlie. The question lies in what." She slid up close to her and put out his hand. "For example, I have this rock. There are many others like it, but this one is mine." He put it in his pocket. He didn't actually care about the rock, but he might keep it for a while because it would be funny.

Suddenly, Chester had an idea. "Say, girlie, do you like games? We could play a game if you'd like." He sat down and beckoned her over, taking out a deck of cards. "I love games, and a young girl like you certainly should too."

Sara's eyes narrowed as she watched the cat person suspiciously. Not only were they not giving her anything, they also were spouting off some philosophy about ownership. He was in no position to talk, poor as he was. Only the ones who actually had something deserved to talk about ownership. That's why Sara was here, begging in the streets. You had to have something to be something; it was one of the rules of the world.

Her face turned up a bit, however, when he brought up games. Games were a thing Sara enjoyed, especially once she figured out how to cheat at them and earn some extra cash. Card games were usually easy enough, once one figured out the trick. Even if she didn't get any money out of it, it'd be some nice experience for her once money was actually involved. "A game?" She asked, letting her face lighten up a bit to show her enthusiasm. "What kind of game, mister?"

Chester shuffled the deck of cards rather impressively. "Oh, we can play any number of games! But for now, how about we bet on a magic trick?" His smile grew wider. He was always good at magic tricks. He was very confident in his ability to guess the right card 100% of the time. It was a special something he'd picked up over time. "The rules are simple: You place a bet, then you take a card. Without showing me the card, shuffle it back into the deck. Then I'll look through and try to guess what it is. If I guess it right, I get whatever you bet. If you win, I'll owe you something. It can be anything, really." Chester finished shuffling, then put the deck out in front of him.


"So? Pick a card. Any card."

Sara didn't look away from the strange cat creature as they spoke, listening intently to the magic trick/game they proposed. It sounded interesting, to be sure; a chance to make some money. That being said, it sounded far too easy for Sara to win. There had to be a trick, some technique to picking the right card that Sara wasn't aware of. The cat was probably rather confident in said trick as well, to be the first thing they recommended to Sara as a bet. It all seemed rather suspicious to her. She sniffed the air, her eyes widening. The stupid feline sapien didn't even have any money if she won the bet! What a travesty.

Sara's nose wrinkled slightly as she concocted a response for the cat person. "I'm sorry, but I don't have enough money to be betting." And neither do you, she thought sourly despite the sweet tone of her outward response. "I'd still love to try, though! Is that okay with you?"

Chester sighed. "You know, kiddo, it's just not as fun without a bet. We could do something different than money. Material belongings aren't everything. Again, Chester's sharp, toothy smile showed itself. "There are more valuable things we could be trading. Like favors, information, or even our bodies!" He put the deck of cards forward once more. "So, little lady, let's make a bet. The loser owes the winner a favor. What do you say?" His eyes seemed to almost glow with excitement. Games always excited him. He spread out the cards in a fan shape.

"So, pick a card."

Sara's brow furrowed as she listened to the damn cat try to weasel his way into convincing her that money wasn't everything. Of course money was everything! It determined who you were, how others treated you, and how well you could survive in the world. She shuddered. The thought of owing people immaterial objects just didn't make sense to the girl. How in the world would you get those things out of people? Just trusting them to make it was a stupid proposition. With that in mind, though, this might be a good idea. Since the cat had suggested it, it was likely that he'd adhere to it, while Sara had no intention of doing so. This could be an opportunity.

Sara put on her sweetest smile. "Sure, I'll play." She reached out and gingerly grabbed a card, looking at it only briefly before returning it to the cat. Ten of spades. Now, to see if the cat would get it right.

Chester took the card and placed it back in the deck without looking. His toothy smile grew wider by the second, and his eyes raised to meet the girl's. "So that's your card, eh?" He shuffled the deck, maintaining eye contact. "You seem up for this. I hope you're ready. Because I guarantee you, the card you picked will be at the top of the deck." He shuffled and shuffled, the entire time he eerily maintained eye contact. After several minutes of just shuffling in various, rather flashy fashions, he finally stopped. She put his hand on top of the deck. "Now, here's the trick!"

He pulled his hand back, taking the card with it. He pulled up the card, showing the side with the numbers to her. "Ten of Spades, eh? I'm really a queen of hearts guy myself, but I can respect your decision." He gave the card back to her. "That was your card, right?" Chester maintained eye contact with his toothy grin. He never even looked at the card.

Sara's eyes widened as the Cat showed her the card she had picked. How the hell had that happened? They hadn't even looked at the deck! This was beyond a trick. This bizarre...thing...definitely had some strange power that she didn't understand. It had to be using that to its advantage. She'd call it out on cheating, but she would have done the exact same thing if it had been her; she didn't exactly have the moral high ground in this situation. She wracked her brain for an explanation, but she couldn't find even a single clue. She had no choice but to admit defeat.

The girl took a deep breath and sighed. "Alright, I have no idea how you did that, but you're right," she muttered, defeated. "If you tell me how you did it, I'll give you your favor." At least this way, she'd get some knowledge out of the deal. Not like she was losing money.

Chester chuckled. Her confused reaction is just what he was looking for. He put the card back, then picked up the deck. "The trick is real simple, girlie." He dropped the deck on the ground, revealing the card. Ten of Spades, ten of spades, wait a minute... Chester spoke up. "The whole deck was just the ten of spades! There was no chance for you to pick something different." He laughed loudly, basking in the trick. It was a great trick, he didn't even expect it to work! It was so simple, yet so great. He managed to calm himself down after a bit. "So, you owe me a favor now, right?" He smiled.

"Why don't you come with me? I could use a partner, and it would be fun!"

Sara sputtered as the cat laughed at her. The WHOLE deck was made up of the ten of spades? What an absurd strategy. Even more absurd, though, was the fact that she had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. For all her training in ripping people off, she had overthought the issue; she hadn't even considered to think of something so simple. She'd lost this round, completely and totally. That didn't mean she couldn't be angry, though. In fact, she was furious. That being said, it was easier to follow them and plot a cold revenge rather than act on it now.

And just her luck! They were offering her a chance to follow them around. This was a perfect opportunity. She'd follow them around, plan her vengeance, and when the chance came around, they'd know what it meant to cross a disciple of Elkomere. "Well, it seems I lost the bet," she sighed, trying to sound as dejected as possible. "I guess I have no choice but to follow you around for now." And eventually take everything you hold dear, she added to herself.