Survival With A Pyne

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

For some strange reason Cenric almost breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Mariya’s two numbers flip up. A negative six and thirteen brought her down to a negative nineteen, four short of what she needed to win instantly.

His relief however didn't come from beating her, it instead came from losing.

Cenric placed his own cards down, showing a positive eight followed quickly by a six. He gave a satisfied smile at the numbers for just a brief moment before looking up at Mariya. He caught the mischievous look in her eye and wondered if she had known that she would win, that the fact that she'd bet her pants had simply been a way of distracting him and getting him off his concentration for the rest of the game. He frowned, and then spoke. ”Right…”

He lost, and thus stripped off his jacket, throwing the garment onto the ground.

Before he finished taking it off he glanced at Mariya, half self conscious about what she was thinking.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

There was a slight curl to her lip as she watched the Jedi reveal his cards. In reality she didn't care what he had hidden there. For her this was all a victory for her. The only real loss would have been if he had backed out initially. Sure she would have the opportunity to tease him, but it would be short lived, and much less entertaining than the scene that was now unfolding. Being what he was ultimately was of no benefit in this particular game. If Mariya won, he had to embarrass himself. If he won, Mariya really won, because the boy was simply too awkward to make anything of the situation. It was all highly amusing, and if nothing else, absolutely served to take her mind off of Naboo for the time being.

"Well then, next round." She said as she flicked a pair of cards over to him and another two to herself.

Again, without looking at her cards she made her own bet before Cenric this time. "Same wager as last time."

For added effect she laid her legs across the edge of the table over one another, waiting for the Padawan to make up his mind as to what his play would be this time.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

He frowned for a moment, glancing at Maryia as she slowly shifted her legs.

The way she moved was to tease him every subtle stretch every little twitch. It was all there, and he could read it plain as day. At least that was how he felt. His lips thinned as he glanced at his cards. Once again he kept his face entirely blank. This time however a thought entered his mind. He was still under the impression that Mariya was genuinely attempting to win, not only that but humiliate him in the best way possible. For him it was still about turning the tables.

Even if he had that brief relief when he'd found out he'd lost the last round. There was just...it was hard to explain. "Shoes."

Cenric contended for a moment, but then slowly sat up just a bit straighter, eyeing Mariya wearily. It would not be her call. She could raise and then he would have to fold, or follow her lead. She could also just mimic him and call. Either way the next decision would tell him a bit about her mindset.

He still wanted to win this, he just had to get over his...qualms.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"How drab." She said in reference to him opting to wager his shoes, eyes peering down at her cards as her fingers folded them up to reveal the numbers beneath. "Afraid, are we?"

The brunette released the cards and raised her attention back to Cenric. "Tell you what. I'll bet my pants and my shoes that you'll back down."

Mariya was rather convinced that the prospect of having to remove two items would immediately make Cenric recoil and fold. Losing the jacket was nothing, the shoes wouldn't be either, but once he got past the safe clothes he would have to start making much more serious decisions, while for the smuggler, this was every step of the way a game of entertainment for her. There was no intent to win based off of any kind of Sabacc skill in this particular game. There were no credits involved, so to her, there was no intent to play with any legitimate strategy.

Blind luck was well enough a strategy for her.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric glanced at his cards, then to Mariya. ”Shoes and shirt.”

She wouldn't be expecting that!

The confidence in his voice was mostly take of course, but he was fairly sure that his hand was a strong one. Besides, she could also always think that he was merely bluffing and then play weaker cards against him.

Either way he intended on winning this round.

The Padawan leaned forward slightly, trying to put on a smug expression. It was not something that came to him naturally.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"Well, that's something I suppose."

The girl reached forward and drew a card from the deck, adding to her total score. For a moment she left the card face down, looking across the table at Cenric as he spoke with a sudden change in tone and expression. He had decided to try and play bold this round, though would it be in what he considered his favor or not? Obviously he was looking to win this time, so as to not have to remove two items, putting him at a three to nothing disadvantage.

"To you." She said, waiving her hand across the table.

This round would be interesting.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric drew a card, keeping his face stony as he placed it on his hand with the other two. If he remembered the rules right he played them out immediately. He glanced down at them for a moment did quick math, and then gently placed them on the couch between himself and Mariya.

”Nine, five, and an eight.” Which of course brought his total to twenty two.

Originally he had only had the eight and the nine, drawing the five on the other round. It easily could have come back to bite him, but a little bit of faith and trust had set him on the winning path. He gave Mariya a bright and confident smirk.

Cenric wasn't going to lose this round.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

He hadn't lost, well, at least in the sense of the numbers on the cards he hadn't. In fact he had quite a good hand, one that had won Mariya a fair share of games back on Corellia. The difference this time was that Cenric was essentially playing against himself, in that he was hoping to win but he wasn't prepared for the revelation that Mariya won either way. The brunette raised her brows for a moment and parted her lips as if she were about to say something, but instead chose to remain silent.

Rather than call out her hand she pushed her cards towards the center of the table near Cenric. He could choose to flip them if he so desired, there was a four, a ten, and a three underneath, for a total of seventeen.

In the meantime, with her legs still propped up over the right most edge of the table she made two single, quick motions with both feet, pushing her mid calf boots off and over the side of the table onto the floor. Mariya then drew back her legs, placing her feet onto the floor of the common area and stood up directly in front of Cenric. She was mildly worried that the poor guy might go into shock if she did what she was in fact about to do. For a long moment she simply stood there, wondering whether or not this exceeded even her moral boundaries. It wasn't quite like she was about to reveal anything more scandalous than an ordinary swimsuit, but there was something more unspoken and personal about undergarments than there was with swimwear. Mariya didn't much see any difference, and so determined that her continued teasing of Cenric and his lack of exposure to the opposite sex was acceptable.

Her hand pulled gingerly at the small button at the top of her pants, the soft snap of its release almost echoing in the quiet room. Mariya made a full show of the act, adding a coy lip bite whilst releasing the second button in order to loosen the fabric from around her waist. Then, with a hand at each side, thumbs looped inward towards herself she slowly pulled the tightly fitted clothing past her hips and lower still to her thighs before enough slack permitted her to simply let go and allow them to fall to the floor. Beneath was a rather regal looking shade of purple undergarment with a subtle floral lace trim pattern. Mariya then knelt down a moment, picking up the pair of pants and set it on the back of the couch before returning to her seat.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric gaped for a moment as Mariya stood up from the acceleration couch, eyes bulging as he immediately looked away and towards the floor. His face had taken on the color of a full blown Pureblood Sith, his ears were burning, and his whole body seemed flush with embarrassment as Mariya followed through with her side of the bet.

For some reason he had been under the impression that she would back out, that she wouldn't do it or quote some obscure rule that actually meant he had lost. When she actually followed through Cenric felt like an utter rube. His eyes cast down so that he didn't watch her, but all that he saw instead was the slow reveal of her thighs and then quickly the rest of her legs. His face somehow managed to take on even more color, and then teenage temptation got the better of him and he glanced up.

But for just a second. A short second.

Not longer.

He definitely wasn't staring or anything like that.

That would be untoward an inappropriate for a Jedi, and Cenric was certainly neither of those things. His eyes cast away quickly when Mariya looked at him, not so subtly staring at the ceiling as if there was something extremely interesting. As she settled herself back on the couch he glanced down again...and then slightly lower for just a few seconds before his eyes swept back towards her face. He coughed, once, pulled himself upright and shifted uncomfortably. "Umm."

What was he going to say?

"Uhh." Words were difficult at the moment, and he had lost track of whose turn it was. "My bet?"

It wasn't, but who could blame him for forgetting?

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The brunette collected the cards and shuffled them back into the deck, thoroughly content with the reaction she'd gotten out of Cenric. Never before had she ever seen someone's face light up so red that it looked like a Tatooine sunset. It was by far the simplest form of entertainment she'd discovered in quite a long time. The poor guy didn't even know which way to look without feeling inappropriate, and for the singular moment he had peeked, it was all the better to see him quickly shy away.

Priceless.

"I guess maybe you had some Jedi luck." She said with a smile. The Padawan had never seen her play before, not for real anyway. When stakes involved credits she turned into a whole new person. Her eyes never shifted, she didn't chit-chat with the people at the table, her expression remained blank. This was entirely for her own enjoyment, and it seemed that Cenric was still in the dark about that. All the better, really.

Once shuffled, Mariya dealt out a pair of cards to both, and then waited for the Jedi to make his decision.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

"No luck about it." Cenric countered, though truthfully a string of guilt touched him. "Just skill."

Cenric wasn't really a ruthless being, not in the least, and now that she was sitting there bottomless he couldn't help but feel slightly bad about it. Sure it had been her decision, but she'd chosen to go with something big instead of starting off small like him. He frowned slightly, looking up at her and studying her for just a brief moment as he decided on what he would do. After a few seconds passed he took a breath and finally answered. "Shirt."

That wasn't so bad. He trained shirtless most of the time anyway, and it was at least something more than his shoes. Besides, this way he would still have some things in his pocket if Mariya suddenly decided she was going to get more aggressive.

Though he dreaded finding out what that would be like.

The Padawan was still entirely convinced that she was doing all of this just to mess with him, gaining no real advantage for herself other than just humiliating the young padawan. He glanced at R7 for a moment, making sure that the droid wasn't pointing it's photoreceptor at him. The last thing he needed was this getting back to the other Jedi.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"Mhmm." She responded sarcastically. "Very skillful of you Master Jedi." The words rolled off of her tongue enunciated like silk. That was what she'd heard real Jedi referred to, so it was still a mild dig at the Padawan. Fingers then pulled back the tops of the two cards to check out her hand. She lingered for a moment in thought, then allowed them to fall back to the table. "I'll match your bet with my own shirt." She said with a smile. She then passed on her opportunity to draw another card and waived for Cenric to decide what he was going to do.

While the man decided what his course of action would be Mariya stood up and sauntered over to the cabinet, retrieving another bottle of blossom wine and one or two glasses, holding the bottle up behind her as she called out to the Padawan. "Yes? Or am I drinking alone?"

It was really just another ploy to force him to look over and flare his cheeks up once again.

Cruel, but amusing.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

For a brief second he concentrated on his cards, frowning slightly and realizing that if he wanted to get anywhere he would likely need another card. His fingers tapped against the outside of his thigh, and only then did he turn to see Mariya walking away towards the cabinet.

Instantly his eyes fell low, and then shot back up, cheeks coloring. "Sure. Princess."

If she was going to take digs at him then he would to the exact same thing to her. Cenric may not have been good at...well any of this truthfully, but he was a quick learner. Maybe he'd never have the same cutting wit as Mariya did, but at the very least he could fire back once or twice.

"And I'm also raising." He said as he drew another. "My shoes."

Good thing he had kept those earlier.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Mariya set the bottle onto the table between them with a heavy thud.

"Oh, you are, are you? What confidence we have after winning a single hand." Before the girl made her decision, despite it already having been made, she removed the cork from the bottle and poured out a glass for herself and Cenric, then swirled the cup around in her hand for a moemnt as if contemplating. Finally she took a sip and looked once more at her cards. Not because she had forgotten what the numbers were, but because she was playing him.

"I'll call it." She said. "Socks."

The bet left her with nothing more than undergarments if she lost.

"Pair of Balance." She said, flipping the cards upright to reveal a total score of negative 22.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric stared at the cards in dismay.

He hasn't been confident in his cards when he'd initially drawn them, in fact he'd only had a total of eleven, however he'd thought that drawing another card would bring him closer to what he'd needed. Unfortunately, what hed drawn instead dug him deeper into a hole he couldn't get out of.

With no small amount of hesitation Cenric flipped over his cards. He revealed a nine, a two, and then a negative ten.

All in all Cenric had just a measly one.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The brunette looked at the cards as they were revealed and snorted. "Impressive." She said with no small amount of mockery.

She crossed one leg over the other, lifting the glass of wine to sip from with a smug expression, her free hand waiving at Cenric. "Say good-bye to the shirt and the shoes." The girl leaned back, lazily sipping from the glass once more as she waited for Cenric to further embarrass himself, though now he would have to carefully think about how to play his next hands. Raising was dangerous territory now.

A single raise and subsequent loss would leave him well...With little room left to maneuver.

Was this in the Jedi Code? She wondered...

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]
Cenric grumbled, but he would comply with the rules of the game. Pointedly not looking while she shifted her legs against one another Cenric went about unlacing his boots, pulling them free and wiggling his toes inside of his sock for a moment as he allowed the heavy leather footwear to this onto the floor.

”One bad round doesn't end the game.” That was something his father had always said, though that was more about pazaak than it was Sabacc. The principal was similar enough though he thought. There was still a way to make her capitulate to this game and end all of this silly business. He just had to get her to that point and she would admit defeat.

If he played right he could do it. He understood this game now.

Before he did however there was still one more thing. Hesitating slightly Cenric looked over at R7, frowning and slightly shifting away from the droid before he reached down and pulled his shirt over his head. A heartbeat later he tossed the garment onto the droids head and over his photoreceptor, blocking the droid from recording as he turned back towards Mariya. Well toned muscle highlighted by the blast wound and half a dozen scars more than plain for the smuggler princess.

”Come on.” He urged. ”We'll See who plays more carefully now. ”

He would get her to give up.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

R7 beeped in rapid succession, clearly disgruntled by the fact that it now had a shirt over its dome. Though perhaps to Cenric's surprise and dismay, a small articulating arm ejected out of the droid's inner casing and latched onto the garment, tossing it onto the floor before promptly rolling over it several times, all the while its binary language rattling off a succession of indignant comments about the man. Mariya simply laughed and sipped from her wine again.

"We will see indeed." She agreed.

The brunette shuffled one more time the deck, and zipped a pair of cards over to the awaiting Padawan, and set two down in front of herself.

It was her turn this time to go first, and so she made the same bold wager as the previous. "Shirt." She said again, chocolate brown eyes gazing down at the set of cards before her.

"And you?" She asked without looking up.

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Really he didn't have many clothes left noe. Just his socks, pants, and of course the skivies underneath. He had felt bad earlier about...Cenric glanced down one more time before quickly darting his eyes back up to his own cards, hoping she didn't notice.

The time for guilt was gone however, and her taunting words had driven him to the point where he wanted nothing more than to hear her call it quits. Sure she was a bit less modest than him...but there had to be a line that she wouldn't cross. There certainly was for him, and he just wanted Mariya to reach that line first. At least then he'd be able to hold his head up high after all of this. ”Socks.”

He was playing to win now.

Cenric didn't care if she found it cheap. He was going to push through with his strategy and make her call uncle.

With a deep breath Cenric took a full glug of the wine in his cup.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The girl made an Oh expression as if she looked surprised in a sarcastic manner to his decision to call socks, twirling her fingers in the air to further mock him. "High stakes." She proclaimed. Reaching forward she drew another card from the deck to add to her total. Before she looked at what it was she eyed Cenric. "You don't know what you've gotten yourself into, playing with me. Poor little Jedi student."

It was easy enough to get into his head, to make him flush like a crimson lightsaber, and to use that against him.

Too easy.

Mariya waited for him to either call, raise, or draw another card, and in doing so, took a few sips of the wine, thereby emptying that glass.

"You're move."

[member="Cenric Marus"]