“I raise” a middle aged man glanced again at his cards with a look of confidence, then paused for a moment before continuing, “one hundred sohms. Your move Viktor.”

Viktor furrowed his eyebrows as he lost the staring contest with his cards. He sighed softly before he set them face down and looked directly at the middle aged man, trying not to stare at his mustache or the strange tattoo on his cheek.

“I call” he tried to keep a confident tone as he spoke.

Immediately after he finished speaking, the woman on the other side of him threw her cards down in a huff stating, “I fold, you boys can count me out of your pissing contest.” then stood up and left the table. She made sure she grabbed her remaining tokens as she headed towards the door to leave.

The middle aged man smirked, only glancing at the woman as she spoke, his eyes immediately returning to the table anticipating the fifth and final card to be flipped. As it did, a glimmer softly shone in his eyes. He looked at the money on the table so far. He and Viktor had two hundred and fifty sohm each on the line. He had plenty of money left to bluff if he had to but his cards had plainly told him that there was no need to. But still, there was something about this mangy boy that he just didn't like, so he pushed forward all of his chips.

“All in.”

Viktor bit his lip, contemplating the chances of the other guy having a better hand and whether or not it was worth risking his last bit of gambling money. He wanted to fold, but his hand had already pushed his considerably smaller pile forward, causing an anxious look to appear on his face in his mind. He was unaware that it had also shown up on his real face, as he flipped his cards face up.

Viktors opponent smiled like a cat who found a new mouse to play with, flipping his cards face up as well. He looked at Viktor, at the cards he had then back again to Viktor. His smile grew as he reached across the table and hooked all the money on the table over to his side.

As Viktor saw this his eyes immediately dimmed, and his face dropped into his hands as he realized the levity of his mistake. He had used his sister as collateral for that money, and now that he lost she would have to work for the owner of the casino for a month. She was going to be pissed when he saw her again.

If he saw her again. The owner, a mister Buckwell, was someone who not many casino goers knew the face of, but he was not known for treating claimed collateral with kindness. The rumors say that if it was property, when the person who used it to bet finally paid off the debt to get their houses back, all of their stuff was gone, the windows were broken and there were new holes all through the entire house. When people did return from their servitude, they would often stare off, looking at a fly across town, and occasionally shivering from a chill wind only they could feel.

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With this in mind, Viktor dropped his hands to his sides and mechanically stood up and followed the loser's path to the bar and ordered the cheapest drink available.

As he was sipping on his drink the cause of his sorrow came over and put a hand on his shoulder.

“You sure you have the money to be drinking? Who am i kidding, we both know you don't. If you did, you wouldn't be drinking something that tasted like it came from the sewer and doesn't even get you drunk.” he started twirling his mustache with one hand as he gave a sly smirk.

“What does it matter to you? It's your fault I’m going to lose my sister.” Viktor put the cup down and glared at him.

He laughed, “as the owner I’d say any unpaid tabs matter. But, as a consolation prize for losing so effortlessly, consider your tab for the night paid.”

Viktor startled, “does that mean…” his face changed to one of hopeful expectation.

The owner's smile disappeared in an instant as he answered. “No you don’t get to keep your sister. I’m simply offering to pay your bar tab for the night. Not to cover all your losses. Can’t run a business if I operate on losses. If you meant to ask if I’m the owner, then yes. I’m Thomas Buckwell, pleased to meet you.”

The cloud reappeared over Victor's head, “oh. Yeah, I guess you’re right. But at least I can drink until I forget about her, right?” he flashed a wry smile, then finished his drink in one gulp before ordering the most expensive drink.

Seeing Viktor’s drink choice suddenly change, Thomas’ face lit up with a wicked smile. “That’s the spirit boy, drink like it's the last chance you get.”

Viktor finished his drink and put the glass down and looked back at Thomas.

“If you’re the owner then why were you playing poker in the first place?”

Thomas ordered a drink of his own before answering, “I guess you could call it an old habit.”

Viktor got angry hearing this, “you took my sister because you were bored?”

Thomas put his arms up, “Whoa there, don’t get your panties in a twist. I didn’t force you to use your sister as collateral. All I did was play better than you. But yes, I was playing for no reason other than I was bored. Sue me.”

“Can you at least promise you won’t break her? I don’t think I could live with myself if I lost her…”

Thomas paused to think. “If you can manage to outdrink me, then I can make sure you get her back in the same condition she comes to me.”

Viktor stood up and shouted, “you’re on, old man.”