χαρμολύπη | K. Brekker

two

Cecenia Brudev sat beside Jesper, a mischievous glint in her eye as she scanned the gambling table. It was full of odd smelling men, all of whom eyed her more greedily than they should have, whilst beating Jesper in the round at hand. Jesper's arm was around the Shadow's smaller shoulders, her braided hair over his forearm as he snickered at the men. Cecenia wasn't much one for gambling, but watching Jesper lose continuously was quite entertaining.

Her black cloak hung off her shoulders loosely, the comfort of it making Cecenia more than happy for the moment. The cloak truly made her a shadow. 

With a nudge on her shoulder, Cecenia moved her attention back to Jesper. Quirking his eyebrows up a few times, he shot her one of his most charming smirks. Cecenia just rolled her eyes, smiling lightly as he settled his gaze on the man directly across the table. He stood tall, a man on the heavier side. His accent was clear as day due to all the drinks he had already consumed, Cecenia feeling her lips curls up slightly as the way he shouted at the waitress for more. 

"Hey, you take Zemeni coin, yes?" He called across the table at the dealer. Tossing it toward the man, Cecenia could practically feel Jesper's eye roll from where she sat. She slid her feet down from the table, leaning into the Zemeni man while waiting for him to speak up. 

"Let me see that." The sharpshooter called out, the dealer knowing better than to disobey one of Kaz's own, tossed one of the coins over swiftly. Jesper's hand shot up, catching it with ease as he kept his eyes trained on the gambler across from them. Cecenia felt her head tilt to the side slightly, whether it be out of cockiness or pride she didn't exactly know. 

Pulling his arm off Cecenia, Jesper sat up straight while staring down the gamblers around them, "The Lucky Nine casino up the block has had trouble with counterfeit coin lately." Cecenia just nodded slightly, knowing well that she was the one who acquired this information for Kaz. 

"Heavy, but brittle." Cecenia stated, sitting up as the gambler's eyes widened. It wasn't often that Cecenia spoke to those outside of the Crows, but when she did she surely got their attention with ease. The light accent that no one could truly decipher rolled off her tongue with ease. Her calculating eyes were more intimidating than any part about her, and the way they stared into the gambler's made him greatly uncomfortable. 

"Right you are, darling." Jesper praised, not breaking his gaze from the gambler. 

"Oh, come on, now. I've been here for hours. My money is good, no?" The gambler said in a weak defense against his cheating ways. 

"Zemeni coin can take a bullet. But the knockoff.." Jesper trailed off, winking at the gambler slyly before flicking he coin into the air. Happening quicker than most had ever seen, Jesper's gun was in his hand and a bullet was going straight through the coin. The shot made most of the gamblers jump back, Cecenia just staring up at the coin as it started to fall back down. Her hand shot out, catching the coin with ease.

Bringing it up in between her and Jesper she shook it off slightly to relieve it from the smoke. Staring through the hole, she raising an eyebrow at the Zemeni boy across from her. 

"Busted." Jesper said in a sing-song like voice, Cecenia just smirking as she flicked the coin back to the dealer. 

"What does that prove?" The gambler started, not noticing the way Cecenia motioned two of the bouncers over to the table with her fingers, the two men grabbing him without question, "Hey! Wait! What are you doing?"

Jesper tapped his fingers on the table happily, reaching to grab the money that was left. Just as his fingertips touched it, a cane smacked down on the table on front of them. Jesper fell back in his seat quickly, both him and Cecenia looking up at their boss. Kaz slowly nodded at him, the scolding look in his eye as he stared at Jesper was enough to make someone piss their pants.