Song as Old as Rhyme

[yamikuronue]

[Imported from NodeBB]

[yamikuronue]

Trains were definitely the best invention humans had come up with since cities. Pandora never travelled except in style and comfort; the first-class train car was prepared hastily by her servants with the lace, cushions, and tea set she required before she even boarded the loud, messy beast. Of course, the servants would be one car over, sitting with other humans, keeping their noise and clumsiness far from Pandora. Her three disciples were the only ones allowed in her presence while she travelled. Well.. with one other exception.

Travel made the master vampire uncomfortable. She was a creature of habit, and by definition, travel was not a habitual action. Still, this matter was worth leaving the comfort of her nest. An infestation left unchecked would grow to become a problem that even the oldest of the night people could not ignore.

Pandora sat in her chair, observing the room as she sipped her tea. Tea was the one exception to her usual distaste for human provisions. She could absorb them, though they did nothing to sate her true hunger, but what was the point? Americans like their provisions sweet and fatty and excessive. Tea was a more refined, civilized beverage. The ritual aspects to it soothed her: pour the hot water, wait just so long, remove the leaves, pour the tea, add just enough milk and sugar, wait for it to cool, take a dainty sip. Green or black, Pandora never travelled without tea to soothe her nerves. Which was good for the current occupants of the train car. When a Queen of Pandora's age grew agitated, a lot of people -- human or night-kin -- died.

A few short yards away, a game of whist was being played by the remaining four occupants of the carriage. This was a challenge, as while the three vampires were (by now) quite used to the game, the human occupant had never played before in her life. The girl was not yet thirty, her hair short and spiked upward in a way Pandora found undignified and unfashionable. Instead of a lacey dress with multiple petticoats like the Queen wore, the girl instead had "dressed up" into a pair of untorn jeans and a button-down blouse -- terribly uncouth clothing in Pandora's mind. She did not understand why her disciple Shinigami wore pants, but at least she wore tailored trousers and a waistcoat while in the presence of her Maker. The new human brat was in clear violation of the unspoken dress code, and worse, did not even seem to care. She sat brazenly, legs apart, chattering away, as though she had no shame whatsoever. What was Horvar thinking, taking her as an apprentice without turning her? Honestly.

(Tag https://what.thedailywtf.com/uid/1727">@cloak15  for Horvar and https://what.thedailywtf.com/uid/650">@accalia for the unnamed third disciple; I've got Pandora, Shinigami, and the human punk)

[CalamityJade]

Horvar looked over his cards as he started missing cigars again. There were just some things that were a...leftover comfort that he would enjoy now and again. Besides, how do you play cards without having cigars? Still, he wasn't going to smoke in front of Pandora. She'd find it distasteful and it'd hurt his standing, and she MIGHT be annoyed enough as it was to make an example of him. No reason to risk that for small comforts.

Unlike his Queen, he still enjoyed trips out. Sure, the old haunts were comfortable and much easier to find a bite to eat, but variety was the spice of...existence? He smiled inwardly at that. A couple decades short of a century and he's still finding things like that entertaining to think about. To be honest, that's the entire reason he'd gotten an apprentice. That and she was scrappy and had a lot of guts. She'd see where she went and if it became too much of a hassle, he'd just get rid of her. Only thing he'd lose is time, and he had that in spades.

He'd decided to 'dress down' slightly for being in the car. He'd removed the suit jacket and was in a white button-down with slacks and suspenders. It also proved to Shini that he wasn't sneaking cards onto the table.

"So like I said, the point is ta play the best card out of each set and the one with the most won sets win. Easy, right?"

[yamikuronue]

Caelwyn had dressed down intentionally, of course. Horvar had said to dress up, and while she knew exactly what he meant, she had intentionally misunderstood his orders to see how he would react. Had she known her mentor's maker would be present, she would never have done such a thing; still, having done it, she held her head high, pretending to be the sort of brave fool who would dare risk an elder vampire's wrath.

She had expected to fit in with the vampires, as she never had with humans. After all, she was quite fond of the evening hours, and her contempt for humanity matched her mentor's maker's quite well. So why shouldn't she fit in with this group of misfits? And yet, somehow, she did not. Still she was set apart, marked, different. So she reacted as she always had: with cool contempt.

"Sure. Whatever." she retorted, crossing her arms, tapping her foot impatiently. "Let's just play."

[accalia]

For her part San was dressed more or less normally, her only concession to the formality of the occasion was an extra sharp crease to the folds of her jacket and pants, and she did wear the gold braids instead of her usual rope ones. Overall she looks uncomfortable, occasionally shifting her shoulders to try and resettle a scabbard that is not there right now. That was quite the fight over taking her iconic sword off her back, in fact the fight only ended when Pandora put her foot down.

San glares at her cards for a moment before looking up at Caelwyn.

"Got any....... threes?"

San was hard to read, did she really not get the concept of cards, or was she trying to wind the others up in retaliation for losing the fight earlier?

[yamikuronue]

Caelwyn glances at the pair of threes in her hand. "Go fish", she retorts, gravely, with a bit of a smirk.

For her part, Shinigami had already mentally checked out of the conversation and the game both. This was a weapons-free car, according to Pandora, so she had only the small bone blade tucked into her braid, the derringer settled at the small of her back, the thigh sheath under her pressed pinstripe pants, and the small yet deadly dose of poison tucked away in a pretty bauble in her necklace. She had confirmed the exits as they entered, and while the back window was looking a bit dodgy, the others were in good condition and easy to open and slip through. Now, though her eyes were on the cards, her attention was on her rival. What did he mean by taking an apprentice? It was a change to their usual routine, and she did not trust it. Silent, pale with dark features, and stoic, Shinigami watched as the game happened around her, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

[accalia]

San shrugs and reaches forward to draw a card as directed...

[CalamityJade]

Horvar gave a bit of a chuckle. "Wasn't aware we switched games, not that it matters ta me much. Guess that's the problem with a game with no stakes." Horvar hadn't really worried about having weapons in the car, but he knew how much Shini hated going without a damn armory under her metaphorical, and sometimes literal, skirt. To be honest, it was a lot more fun to see her have to give up anything. Also helped to know what things she felt safe getting rid of. "Course, we could always spice it up a bit."

[yamikuronue]

Caelwyn perks up a bit, her scowl turning into what she considers more of a seductive pout. "Oh yeah?" she asks, sitting up straighter, her torso shifting to one side a bit as though to emphasize her hips, twisting a little to put her chest more foreward. It looks a bit silly, to be perfectly honest, especially with the spiked hair.

[accalia]

San picks up a card, inspects her hand then tosses the cards on the table.

"Royal straight flush in spades."

There's that shoulder twitch again.... She might be hiding it really well but having her primary weapon taken away from her's really bothering her.

[CalamityJade]

"Well.." Horvar sighed a little at San's 'act'. He couldn't PROVE that she was doing it on purpose, but it's pretty obvious. "Well, trips this far are rare, so we should take a bit of time to enjoy ourselves. Course, that can't mean ignoring orders...so why don't we play to see who gets first crack at seein what's goin on, eh?"  There would be plenty of time to do so, and Horvar was hands-off with things he thought weren't 'his speed' unless Pandora asked him.

[yamikuronue]

Caelwyn's shoulders slump slightly as she frowns. "First crack?"

[accalia]

"What do you have in mind?"

San seems to be a lot more interested now that something other than cards is being discussed, or at least the possibility of something other than playing cards.....

[CalamityJade]

"Ya know, gettin ta see what's going on? Get a bit of a head-start on the competition?" Horvar gave something of a smile. "Gain some notice for upward mobility? All that jazz."

And ruffle a few feathers. He doubted that Shinigami would go along with it, but she'd have to say something to make her point, especially with no weapons. Any time he could draw her into the conversation, something she seemed to despise if it wasn't to her interests, he felt it was a small win...course the BIG wins would come later, but he was patient. Not like he was getting any older.

"We go through one hand like you did, San. See who can either get the others to back down or outright beat them. You win, ya get a free day over the rest of us."

[yamikuronue]

Caelwyn rolls her eyes in that huffy way that only modern teenage girls can truly pull off. "What good does that do me? It's not like you'd let me out of your sight."