A Stranger

Beckett couldn't help but smirk just slightly as Zulime expressed her thoughts on taste for the extravagant. While they both seemed to share a sentiment such things weren't innately born into a person, she wouldn't had agreed with the notion it came about by simply being experienced or worldly. Of course, there was no shortage of fine connoisseur who went to the farthest reaches of the world in search of the perfect taste, or someone who studied a wine so intensely they could pinpoint every miniscule detail of its making… then there were those born with a silver spoon in their mouth, raised on the finer things to the point they became a normality.

The beauty in red hadn't been raised to appreciate the finer things really. She didn't like them because they tasted better, went down smoother, or looked better. Her taste wasn't honed by study, love of the craft, or anything outside of a personal drive to take what she, by all accounts should not have. If it were easy to obtain, where was the fun in that? No planning, no chase, no sense of anticipation. It's why no matter how much money she had or how well off she was, there was always a thirst for something more. This evening was no different. She didn't want these people’s money simply to become richer… she wanted it because it belonged to them and not her.

She couldn't over indulge in Zulmine just yet. She had a gave of cards to win which required a great deal of her focus. Casting her eyes doubtful of the bet to the side, heisting as she picked out her chips to put in, then reconsidering for a moment before tossing them in to call. This woman was good, brash, and was no doubt use to being in a position of power wherever she roamed. The redhead would play to that, making it seem as though her cool exterior was crumbling to this woman. The table may have been playing poker, but Beckett was more interested in playing Zulmine.

With a soft sigh she nodded, forcing a smile to portrait half hearted confidence. “Of course, I wouldn't want to pass up that bottle, at your expense.” Beckett lifted the corners of her cards, pretending to check them again before her eyes drifted back across the way to her mark. The table was yet another body lighter, the lesser competition dropping like flies around them. She caught the other woman's eyes briefly, playing coy and looking off to the flop as the cards were flipped in the center of the table.

The vision in red seemed to have mellowed slightly once the stakes had been made, as if there was more than money and fine spirits hinging on the outcome of this hand. It was hard for her to mask her usual self which would float above such things and take them in stride. Right not, she needed to lean into what would put Zulime at ease with her, which meant letting the force of personality that was the Riverboat Queen seem to be the more dominant role between there interactions. She had to bribe herself into playing possum with the thought of how sweet the fruits of her labors would be once she stole this hand away from her only real competition at the table.

Her focus had been split between the flop as each card was flipped and Zulime as she spoke. Her neutral expression sported a faint downward curl at the edge of her lips into a frown as each was revealed. What made her so believable was how faint the traces of emotion were and how fleeting they faded. Had someone not been paying attention they could have been missed, easily. Beckett’s plan of luring her foe in relied solely on how attentive and sharp eyed she thought Zulmine to be which is what also gave her act a feeling of credibility.

The redhead let slip a soft chortle, leaning back in her chair with a gentle sigh as if the question had broken past some barrier of tension that the game had been erecting between them. She was a firm believer in crafting one's own luck, in the sense she could and would use everything at her disposal to tip the scales. Her idea of gambling tended to weigh heavily into the side of only making bets that were certain, not because the odds were favorable but because she had assured she secured the outcome through chicanery. That was how she made her own luck… of course she wasn't going to be honest about it though. Why start now?

“Luck?” Beckett pursed her deep crimson lips, tapping her chin lightly with a lace covered finger as if the question required deep insightful thought. “While I consider myself to be rather fortunate, after all, I am here in such fine company…” She gestured with a flourished sweep of her arm around the table. Two of the men still delt into the hand grinned like fools, one of which gave the air a small kiss at her. What a charmer. One seemed unphased, older, gruffer, annoyed in general at Zulmine and Beckett’s back and forth slowing the game. “I feel some are just blessed.” It was truly horrifying how a smile so pure and genuine could come from someone as deceitful as the redhead. She was a model example that with enough practice, anything were possible.

She made a small show of counting her chips and checking her cards again, stacking just enough to make it appear as though she were considering raising. After a brief moment of thought, she seemed to backpedaled on that to simply call the raise Zulmine had made. Had the two been playing a straight hand, she would have been making a poor attempt at working the pot high… this game however had a small wrinkle though. No matter how large or small the pot, Zulmine was forced to play it out due to their agreement.

She had plans once everything came to a head, for now much of her braisen betting and confident chatter seemed to have been dialed back to play a more serious hand… though it was all really part of the same light hearted game to her in reality. "Tell me... Do you practice any of this so called hoodoo?" The woman tilted her head with a small innocent smile. She had a faint hint of something in her silver eyes... Hunger perhaps? A faint glimpse into something beyond the surface of their game of cards.

The vision in red shifted, crossing her legs beneath the table as she listened intently to Zulime. She seemed amused when the game itself was not the topic of conversation, careful uphold her well constructed act of trepidation though any time when dealing with her hand, the chips, or the unfolding deal before them. It came across as a woman struggling to maintain control of the situation despite never once having lost it in actuality. A lifetime of being a liar had tempered her far better than a formal career as an actress would have.

“Danced with snakes. Intriguing.” Leaning in, she propped her elbow lightly on the table. Her chin rested easily on two laced fingers as she watched her mark across the table. “I am almost certain some at this table would pay to see that.” Her lips parted in a cool crisp smirk that she owned every day of her life. The few men still at the table shuffled a bit in place uncomfortable either at the banter between these two or in the realization they would have thrown down a sizable amount of yen to see that sort of show here tonight. Beckett’s mind was elsewhere though, she was the snake in this case, one that would coil around the other woman and claim her with a bite. Wistful thinking, perhaps, but who could say what Zulmine would do after the cards finally fell.

She had so many questions, just a want to continue to pick this woman's brain for more insight into who she was and how everything under the hood worked. What symbol would she associate with herself was the top of the list though. Self reflection was a telling thing and with someone with this loud of a personality was sure to have a good answer, if not amusing. She relented though, not wanting to seem too interested otherwise she risked a shift in power, a real one.

“I haven't been to see a fortune teller, I always thought it sounded fun, in proper company. To share ones future for a laugh.” Beckett gave a small smile with a hint of warm. She seemed wistful, appearing true to her words despite having seen all manner of soothsayers and fortune tellers with her carny life. She had even impersonated her fair share in her day. Her head lifted slightly, enough to tap her chin gently with both fingers before she leaned back all the way. "If you were to tell my future, what do you think you'd find?"

Once the next card hit the table, she looked at it from the corner of her vision. Once again she lifted the edging of her card to look at her own options with a rather neutral expression. A small distraction, her attention returned to Zulmine rather quickly as if to avoid giving anything away from her hand, playing at seeming nervous and jumpy.

“Rude? Hmm. No no… forward perhaps? Bold… audacious. I like that actually.” She lofted her chin, peering down her nose at Zulmine with a great deal of consideration. She mouthed the word “audacious” in silence, a smirk forming on her delicate features. She seemed quite smitten with the word as it related to her new acquaintance.

“I can't say I keep any voodoo dolls, nor do I believe in such things. Utter nonsense.” She waved a hand lightly, pausing in place before leaning back in. “You wouldn't happen to have any spare locks of hair or a drop or two of blood just laying about would you? No real reason for asking, of course.” She flashed a grin, her tone made it obvious she was joking. She had considered playing it straight, but hadn't wanted to raise suspicion her other behavior was also a ruse.

If Beckett had a hand worth sharing, her expression didn't say it, if anything she appeared flustered as the next card was overturned, prompting her to once again check her cards. The turn had been an interesting one, giving their game an added wrinkle. Beyond the veil of uncertainty she wore, the woman beneath the surface had remained unshaken, resolute to see this through and maintain her guise to the very end. It would no doubt be worth it when everything came to a close. Her choice of the establishment's drink with victory to hang over Zulime's head. What would the riverboat queen do to try to even the score if the redhead took this game from her? She wasn't sure, but was all too willing to string the other woman along for everything she was worth, material or otherwise.

Her thumb slipped off the bent edges of the cards, letting them softly smack back to the table as she mulled over her hand, perhaps even what her opponent across the table had to say as well. "A great struggle." She mused softly as her silver eyes flitted from card to card the dealer had laid out before them. Once the initial bet was thrown in, she did nothing more than call once again. Her gaze shifted back to Zulime, just in time to observe her looking away. Her painted lips tugged at the corners, forming a small smirk. "I'll have to be very careful than, I suppose."

A laced finger tapped at her lower lip once, twice, than settled, applying just enough force to pull at it gently downward letting her mouth remain slightly open as she made a thoughtful, yet suggestive sigh that caught the attention of the dealer. "Mmm. I think I'll leave my cards as they lay, for now." Beckett's hand hovered over top of her face down cards, two fingers lightly drumming the backs of each. "No need to rush, I like to take things nice and slow. It gives me time to soak it all in and really enjoy myself." Her silver gaze had remained locked on Zulime as she spoke in a low, soft tone. Was she still talking about poker? "Besides, we wouldn't what to spoil the climax, would we?" The question seemed addressed to the table as a whole, a few moments passing before those who remained looked among one another before slowly nodding along. They seemed to only be here to see this to its natural conclusion at this point.

"Perhaps I should pamper you a bit more than, a extra bit of color would look nice on you. Red especially." The tip of her tongue briefly slipped between her lips, rolling along the painted surface before hiding away again. "Once I win, I'll have a whole bottle to myself. A shame really, perhaps you'd like to share? I'm fond of souvenirs you see. A lovely braid of dark hair would prove to be a more memorable find, to be certain." She gave the faintest of breathy chuckles. "Sweat? Me? No, I glow. Though, you are welcome to try and tucker me out." She gave a small wink.