Logs:A Good Distraction
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| RL Date: 27 December, 2013 |
| Who: Ali, Lilah |
| Involves: Fort Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Dice is closing for the evening, and Lilah has a suggestion to serve as a distraction for the Weyr. |
| Where: Dice, Fort Weyr |
| When: Day 22, Month 8, Turn 33 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Faye/Mentions, Hattie/Mentions, Reyvar/Mentions |
| It's late evening - or early morning depending on your perspective - at Dice. It's been a busy night, the kind of warm summer evening that keeps people from being able to sleep properly, and draws them away to seek out some sort of entertainment. The tables are beginning to shut down, and the patrons are slowly beginning to make their way out - some more slowly than others. Ali's there, which is unusual in itself - normally her brother Reyvar's doing the late night close, heading to each of the dealers and murmuring to them to deal the last round. It's to Lilah that the dark-haired woman heads, lingering back a moment to watch. Lilah's table is still full of guests, the draw of red-gold hair that the regulars of Dice have started to consider to be lucky. And it is true enough that people do seem to win at her table, though likely not more than the average of any table. More, patrons notice it and are more likely to overlook when they bleed their marks as well, thanks to the dealer's dry humor and a pretty smile despite the plain grey clothing that hides the rest. "Do you have a ride down tonight?" one of the blueriders at her table questions. It isn't surprising or unusual that her response is a deflective, wry, "I don't think you could handle a ride with me, C'ther," while his wingmate at his side starts to laugh at the rejection. "Maybe he just needs some consolation for the bad luck he's had tonight," Ali's murmur cuts in briefly as she steps up to the dealer's side, glancing towards the pair of riders with a rueful smile. To Lilah, "Are you ready to kick this lot out? I don't know about you- but I'm tired." The queue waiting at the weyr's entrance to depart is clearing rapidly- the swiftness and agility of the smaller dragons making for a quicker exit. "I don't think I can provide that much consolation," agrees Lilah easily, her smile playing about the corners of her lips as she gathers up cards to shuffle with quick ease. C'ther's wingmate adds his own guffaw of: "I don't think anyone can provide him enough consolation." But, with a tip of her chin to the goldrider, the dealer adds, "Last hand of the night, gentleman. Your junior weyrwoman wants to go home. Make it worth it." C'ther puts his chips out, though he adds, "And who you go home with, on top of it." Her brow slides upwards, a challenge, but she answers, "Only if you put all of your marks on the line. All or nothing tonight, hmm?" The table laughs, and the bluerider adds the rest of his pay to the table as Lilah begins to deal. A faint noise of surprise (or is it disapproval?) comes from Ali at that last, not quite quick enough to conceal the press of lips that follows. With a nod, she circles away to the next table, where there's some laughter (and groans, too), the mix of folks slowly gathering their things up and heading out, until the group at Lilah's table is about the last left. It isn't the most ethical thing that anyone has ever done, though one has to imagine that at least Reyvar wouldn't mind, given the outcome. Lilah's fingers a quick, sure, practiced. Even the sharpest eye would have trouble noticing the flicker of fingers that ensures certain cards end in a certain order before she hawks cards with graceful tosses towards each player. When the dealing is done, there is a chorus of sympathy and laughter for C'ther, with his wingmate assuring him that a green is likely to rise today (technically) in any case. Lilah only smiles, as her table moves to leave, and starts to gather marks and chips to count them for her nightly breakdown. Certainly, Ali doesn't notice that flicker of fingers- she doesn't have her brothers' eye for that sort of thing- but she is watching from the sidelines with a slight furrow of brow. As the group's leaving, the goldrider approaches them, promising a free round of drinks next time they're in - which might help perhaps more than the sympathy. It's only after they've left, and the quiet of the various dealers packing up is the only noise, that the goldrider seats herself on the other side of Lilah's table, hands folded together. "How long have you been working here now, Lilah?" she asks, even though there's little reason for her not to know the answer. "Almost half a turn now, weyrwoman," Lilah answers politely, her gaze sliding over Ali as she takes a seat though her fingers do not stop moving in the sorting of chips and marks in careful stacks. "Six months," Ali echoes, with a musing tone. "Rey says you bring in a lot," there's a fondness in her voice for her brother, and it makes her pause for a beat. "It isn't always about the house winning, though. Sometimes it's about letting them win and having them come back another day, rather than going home angry and broke. Not everyone has C'ther's good humor." Lilah's brow curves upwards in the same gesture as before, though it is subdued for the weyrwoman, her smile softening the expression. She answers with a sharp edge to wry humor, "I can't say that I care how they go home, as long as they go home." A pause, and then with more deference (likely forced for all that there is no sign of it in the ease of transition) she adds, "I will be careful to make sure that our patrons return." A lengthy pause follows the dealer's answer, with Ali taking a careful breath. "The last thing I want here is violence. I won't tolerate it." That's firm- about the firmest she's heard from the genteel weyrwoman. "Are you-" a pause, as if considering her words carefully, "-do you enjoy this work?" "Of course not," Lilah agrees with a reassuring smile, the soft curve of her lips colored pink subtly with a touch of shade. It lingers where she studies Ali, cards tapped sharply against the table to put them in order. "I do. It's better than drudge work. I am grateful to your brother for letting me have this job." Ali's visibly surprised by that: clearly Lilah's previous job is news to her. "You were doing drudge work? How did that come about? You-" a gesture of fingers towards the dealer's, "-seem to have a way with cards that makes it seem natural, and a quick tongue." It's a compliment, but perhaps an inadvertant one for all that. A laugh catches in Lilah's throat, a whiskey-warm sound that sees crinkles at the corner of dark eyes as she says dryly, "Too quick of a tongue, I've heard. But, you aren't exactly the picture of a weyrwoman here, either. Your brother's made a place that is quite the escape, hasn't he?" Even Ali can't miss that Lilah didn't answer her question; it makes the dark-haired woman's brow furrow. "This isn't an official venture," she says, in a manner that is well-practiced and oft-used. "My brother- has certain skills that are best directed rather than left to- to chance." A wince, at the perhaps unintentional pun. "But more importantly, how did you survive drudge work with a- self-described quick tongue? I'd have thought that a harper, at least, would peg you for work, if nothing else. They're- talented at that." "The Weyr was--preoccupied, during my time as a drudge. Though, truthfully, it wasn't that long before I sought out this position," Lilah answers with a quick smile, a counterbalance to furrowed brows; a bright flame to a dark shadow. "Was this your idea, then? If he was directed, it sounds like you're implying something more--." She allows her words to trail off, teasing curiosity in her tone. That's certainly a reason Ali can accept, judging by the visible wince and the slow, deep breath she takes as she presses both palms flat against the table. "We're always- preoccupied. By something or /other/." And if there's something unsettled in her voice, well- it's been a difficult few Turns for the Weyr at large, if rumor is anything to go by. The dark-haired weyrwoman isn't that good at disassembling; the slight chew of her lower lip acknowledges that she hears Lilah's latter question, yet when she goes on it's with no indication of it: "The Weyr could use a good distraction." Lilah's smile softens, sympathetic, and she tips an agreeing nod as she watches the other woman. She doesn't stop from her busy-work, making sure that everything is getting back into its correct place, but she does suggest lightly, "Maybe you need to do a Weyr-sponsored card tournament. Bring in people to help your brother; distract the Weyr with a prize. A bigger weyr for a couple months, maybe, or something that only the Weyr could provide." "That's a- that's a good idea," Ali says, straightening, green eyes flickering up to study Lilah anew. "Although that prize would only work for weyrfolk. Still-" a slow exhale. "I think this should be something you can work on. Maybe you and Faye can talk about the specifics." That she's handing off the responsibility is obvious, and perhaps pointed. "Even without the prize, a tournament in itself could be distracting," Lilah replies, light and careless as she offers a simple smile in the face of the weyrwoman studying her. "I will talk to her. I'm sure she'll have ideas on how to actually organize it." "I think it would be," Ali says, slowly, but she's considering even as she pushes to her feet. "Even if only to bet on who might lose. Though- I'd take care not to pitch wing against wing, not at this stage. If there are going to be teams or group games, as well as individual, they should be random. And I'll- I'll think about what might serve as a prize. Maybe talk to the Weyrwoman." A smile appears, now, "Thank you." Lilah's nose wrinkles, slightly, as she dismisses easily, "It's nothing. Don't mention it." Seriously, don't mention she said it. To anyone. But she doesn't say that; not even a hint in the way she smiles at the weyrwoman. "Better if we just left it as singular games, and whoever has the most chips at the end of the night wins, then." Perhaps Ali misinterprets Lilah's dismissal: "Anything that helps-" she begins. "I don't know- the Weyr is- could use some team spirit. Maybe a couple of different focuses then- one individual tournament and one team one. For the team one we can comp them drinks here for a time, or house credit, or the like. Come up with something more substantial for the individual prize." "Whatever you think is best. We'll keep the teams small and random, pair residents with riders and different wings with each other--," Lilah agrees lightly, tapping her card deck against the table as she talks and shuffling it again out of habit before she realizes what she's doing and stows it away. "Maybe the Weyr leadership can deal for everyone," she adds cheekily. "So us dealers can play, too. Also, so that you can be involved, impartially, while mingling." "I- I'll have to think about that one," Ali says, of the Weyr's leadership dealing. "I'm not sure whether it- well, I'll think about it," the woman concludes. "I should- I need to get some sleep before Iska wakes me up," a smile appears, as always, at the mention of her child. "You're okay to finish packing up?" Not that she's alone- there's a few other dealers around, still clearing their tables. "if you manage to get your Weyrwoman to agree, I would be surprised," replies Lilah, a subtle hint of, well, something to her words as she fixes a soft look on Ali for a moment. But then she straightens, nodding, her hands moving faster to finish off her closing duties. "We'll be fine. Go, sleep." "The Weyrwoman is apt to surprise," her junior murmurs, with a wry sort of smile. "Good evening, Lilah," Ali adds, as she heads for the ledge for the greenrider waiting there to take her down to her own weyr. |
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