Lt. Commander V'Nille - Picking A Bone
Renée Chalfant
(( Tea House, Maklau, Risa ))
Games in hand and planned amusement in mind, the three Caitians were now heading to a place where they could play, as suggested by S’Rorr. The round table was low enough to not require regular chairs, so V’Nille knelt on one of the cushions. It was nice.
V’Nille: Huh. Interesting. I’ve heard of those places before, but this would be my first time actually visiting one. I had a human crewmate once that was madly into tabletop gaming. Something with miniatures shaped like toy soldiers?
V’Nille recognized the purr as one suggesting fondness for the subject,
S'Rorr: War games. I love those. There's a variant where you have two people play as commanders who can't see the battlefield, two people play as messengers, and two play as lieutenants who execute orders. That's a lot of fun. I looove stuff like that. I even sculpt my own little minis.
She nodded and one of her ears flicked in amusement. Wargaming wasn’t a particular hobby of hers, but perhaps she was now thinking that perhaps she should reconsider that.
Once they got to a table and started sitting down, S’Rorr pulled out the Ferengi card game he got out of his pack and started getting ready.
Shivara: What’s the name of the game, S’Rorr, and how is it played?
S’Rorr: Well, this is called Vrin'Taak, or.. it translates to something like Fat Purse or Full Purse. We each play as merchants trying to amass the most amount of latinum. On your turn, you can choose to collect profit, where you add one coin to your purse, to strike a deal, where you add two coins and another player adds one.. but deals can be interfered with.
S'Rorr: You can interfere with any deals being made by playing Rules of Acquisition cards, but you don't have to actually have those cards. You can bluff. If you're called out on it though, you'll lose Face. Lose Face twice and you're out. Don't worry, the Rules cards will say what they do on them.
S'Rorr: The victor is the one with the biggest purse when the bank runs dry, or last Ferengi standing. Sound fun?
V'Nille: ::nods slowly:: Sounds interesting, at least. It definitely sounds very Ferengi.
She was almost positive there was at least one human board game that she had watched that apparently had the reputation of possibly ruining friendships, at least until hurt pride and ego healed.
Shivara: I don’t think I quite get it yet, but I am sure I will pick it up as we go along.
V'Nille: Response
S'Rorr: That's the spirit.
V’Nille waited as the cards were shuffled one last time before he passed them out.
S'Rorr: Let's see.. The one with the most latinum goes first. I don't think any of us have any money, but you're highest rank, Commander, so it's your turn.
She chuckled and shook her head briefly, but with the gauntlet thrown, she was locking in now. Her ears swiveled to focus where her eyes were and her tail curled up behind her. The cards all seemed simple enough. They were a bit wordy and it took reading a few of them to realize they were based on the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition.
oO Clever enough, and fitting. Oo
V’Nille: Well then, I shall play “Get The Money First, Then Let The Buyers Worry About Collecting the Merchandise”.
It was wordy and risky, but it let her collect a few coins without needing to pony up anything immediately. She pulled out the card and set it face-up for the rest to see.
Shivara: Bold move, V’Nille. Are you sure?
V’Nille: That’s how I was taught to hunt. Move fast, strike first. Especially if you’re in the southern forests of my homeworld, where the shaari will shadow hunters to steal their kill.
Shaari were limber, six-limbed marsupials that seemed too far too quick and quiet for their apparent size. They were native to Hochlor IV but old stories said they were a close match for an extinct predator on Cait. The fine fur made for excellent cloaks since it was naturally hydrophobic due to their region’s monsoon seasons, which meant their populations were among the planet’s most closely monitored in case anyone tried to poach them.
She grabbed three of the gold coins, a respectable start to her pile that would let her use some of the other cards in her hand, then drew another card.
S’Rorr: In that case, I'll play 'It Never Hurts to Suck Up to the Boss' and take one of those coins for myself~. ::An evil laugh as he reaches to retrieve his reward::
V'Nille: ::dramatic mock gasp, complete with one hand on her chest:: Sucking up to gain a coin? Shameless!
Shivara: Response
S'Rorr: This kind of game relies a lot on knowing other people and how they think. Whether they're good liars or bad, play it safe or take risks. What do you think, V'Nille? Have you got a read on us yet?
V’Nille tilted her head slightly as she considered the question, her golden eyes sweeping both of the other Caitians. She had gotten a simple read on them, but hadn’t really thought about it outside of that initial snap judgement that was the equivalent of a ship’s IFF system. Now that she was thinking about it, a more complete picture was starting to form in her mind.
V'Nille: A bit, I suppose. Both of you are more social than physical and tend to think along those lines of social ties and cohesion. You also enjoy helping others.
She probably didn’t need to tell them how her upbringing and training taught her to recognize how out of shape S’Rorr was at a glance and that he was clearly only minimally trained to fight, if at all, from the way he moved and held himself. And also, she was pretty sure Shivara was crushing on S’Rorr from the way she moved and looked at him but some Caitians did have a tendency to be mildly flirty with a wide variety of people regardless of how attractive they found them. Perhaps Shivara was one of them.
V’Nille: Anyway, Shivara, it’s your turn now, I believe?
Shivara: Responses
S'Rorr purred softly as he considered his options.
S'Rorr: I think I'll choose to strike a deal wiiiith.. Shivara. What d'you say?
S’Rorr smiled toothily and adopted a look of innocence and pleading. V’Nille watched the pair closely, resting her head on one paw-like hand while the other set down her cards and rested on top of them.
Shivara: Response
The waiter’s subtle reaction to S’Rorr’s order of Caitian tea for the trio made her wrinkle her muzzle in amusement, but her ears perked up tall at the mention of the drink. There were always subtle differences in how each Caitian prepared the “tea”, she mused. As she understood it, her own clan preferred wrapping the bone in broad leaves carefully steamed alongside the liquid as it imparted some interesting tastes and smells to the bone itself.
V’Nille: You know, my family works with a trading company that exports some of the bones from the animals we raise or hunt. I get a small shipment a few times a year to keep my own supply fresh since I don’t much like the replicated version.
S’Rorr/Shivara: Response
V’Nille: They’re mostly farm animals. All ethically raised, slaughtered, etcetera. ::waves her hand placatingly:: There’s a canid creature from Hochlor IV’s north pole that I particularly like the taste of, though they’re a rare catch since they’re solitary predators and aren’t hunted or culled often. I’m expecting my next shipment soon and it’s supposed to have at least one of their bones. I was thinking of making a fine soup with it. Interested?
S’Rorr/Shivara: Response