Gem had taken the night off. If her boss hadn't let her, she'd have taken it anyway. It was her birthday, after all, and she felt she had every right to do so. She had developed a tradition for her birthday over the years-- go to the Mad Queen and get plastered, then go to the drought and pass out. She always managed to wake up in time to see the sun rise from the gardens. As long as it didn't rain, it was a great way to start the next year of her life.

As it was, she had just turned 27, given her corset an extra cinch, put on her favorite heels, and gone out for the night. She waltzed into the Queen feeling like one. Planting herself midway down the plank, she turned to face the crowd. She put one hand on her hip and raised the other in the air with a little finger wave, and called, "Which one of you gentlemen would like to buy the birthday girl her first drink of the evening?"

Jahi strolled into the Mad Queen. His walk was relaxed and nonchalant. He whistled an upbeat tune often hitting higher notes which resulted in some spit dribbling down his chin. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jacket, fondling a few cards shoved up his sleeve. His boots echoed with each step against the warped and old wood.

Upon entering he noticed Gem sitting at the Plank, wearing her best and summoning attention. Jahi found her to be quite cute and upon hearing her request for a birthday drink though that he could perhaps benefit. He was a little behind on cash but figured that he could perhaps win the heart of a young lady, at least for the night. Maybe it'd benefit him later on.

He waltzed over to Gem and plopped down next to her. Flashing his coined devilish grin in her direction he started off with a friendly "hello" followed by, "Is it really your birthday or are you just trying to get free drinks?" He winked at her and then waved down the bartender. "What'll you have?" he said to Gem.

Blind Barney, the bartender with a single working eye, growled at Jahi. It was a friendly expression, but the years had been particularly cruel to his physique, and even a smile came off as a grimace of dislike.

Jahi jerked slightly at the growl as it caught him off guard. He didn't want to come off as rude so he smiled sheepishly hoping his charm would win the bartender over. "Oh how unfortunate " he mumbled to himself pretending to think of a drink to order. His eyes jolted from one side to another until he weakly asked for a Balshem's Chrove. He cocked one eyebrow to the side, still unsure of the bartender's intentions.

Gem gave the wick a sensual little once-over, and said with a wink of her own, "What do you think, Blue Eyes?"



"I'll take a Deal Breaker," she replied. Let's start the night off right! She turned to the bartender, "D'you catch that, Barney? My usual starter."

"Thanks, Blue eyes," she said, turning back to the wick she held out a hand, "I'm Gem."

Jahi batted his eyelashes in a girly fashion at Gem, flattered. Then squinting slightly and lifting his chin up a half of an inch he responded jokingly, "You would like...pudding. I can always tell when someone needs pudding." After totall smashing the playful banter that had emerged Jahi hoped the joke went over well.



Jahi's eyes widened at the drink order but then his surprise melted into a smug smile. "If she keeps this up I'll have her purse in no time. Perhaps this won't be too hard after all," he thought to himself. Jahi grinned at Gem. "That'a girl!" he cheered. He grabbed her hand and shook it forcefully. "I'm Jahi the Great! Perhaps you've heard of me? Entertainer extraordinaire?" he boasted. Jahi really wasn't well known...period but first impressions are everything and if Gem is all liquored up it wouldn't really matter. "It's a pleasure to meet you,Gem," he said sensually following up with a kiss on her hand.

((Just a quick fyi- usual format for thoughts is to italicize it without quotation marks-- just makes it easier to tell when chars are thinking rather than speaking.))



Gem laughed- sense of humor. Cute.



She broke out into a broad grin, "Jahi the 'Great', hmm?" Gem raised a brow skeptically, "just what makes you so great, then?"



Mmm, flirting already. Nice. He was definitely shorter than her. And being lean as he was... He seemed plenty friendly, so perhaps a drinking game is in order? she thought mischievously.

((Mmk. Thanks. ))



"Well..." began Jahi drawing it out as dramatically as possible. "I don't want to sound egotistical but I'm quite the performer. I can juggle, I can eat fire, I can even put on a one man play. And with any luck you might even get so me do a little jig...but only on a really good day," Jahi rambled. He paused with a smile to allow Gem to soak it all in. He continued, "I'm also one for games. Games of chance and luck, no doubt. Out trick the trickster, eh?" He raised his eyebrows up and down quickly hinting to Gem that there is much incentive to play one of his 'games'. "Now you look like one who enjoys games, no?" he asked brushing his pointer finger on the tip of Gem's nose. If Jahi could get Gem to play a few games of chance in exchange for her taking shots he should be able to get her out cold within the hour. Then it was only a matter of swift hands and feet to retrieve his 'prize' and move on. Jahi removed his hat and held it out in front of him. Reaching inside he pulled out the thin green stem of a rose and handed it to Gem. "For the birthday girl," he teased. "A rose, is a rose, is a gem." He placed his hat back on top of his head and awaited her response.

Gem scrunched up her nose in response to the brush, but kept smiling. He was entertaining, indeed.

She took the rose with a smile, which twisted playfully. The moment he said "juggle" and "games" she was hooked. She leaned over the bar, "Hey, Barney! Hold those drinks 'n do me a favor. Bring up a bunch of unopened bottles of whatever and some shot glasses! We have a challenger!"

Barney would know that meant a drinking game-- she had been there often enough in the past for him to know her style. She leaned toward different-sized bottles-- it added to the challenge of balancing and keeping track

While they waited, Gem laid out the rules, "So, here's the challenge. Juggling. We'll start with three bottles. First to drop one takes a shot. Then we add another bottle. Next drop is two shots, and so on. Two hours, or until someone passes out. Loser pays for the drinks and any damage. You up to it?"

She was grinning like a madwoman-- she loved drinking games. It was looking like a great birthday celebration to her.

Jahi grinned. "Alright, I'll play your game, but only if you play one of mine. And in the spirit of your birthday, it'll be not for money (this time) but for a shot. If I win, you take one or two shots. If I loose, I'll take three shots. Just a simple little game for fun. What do you say sweet cheeks?" Jahi was a master of chance and trick games. He had this one in the bag. He also had a few tricks up his sleeve for the juggling contest that would tip the scales in his favor. Jahi reached into his bag and pulled out three cups, a red ball, and a skull of a small bird and placed them on the bar. "Pick the red ball and you've won. Pick the empty cup and take one shot. Pick the bird skull and you take two. Got it memorized?" Jahi winked and began sliding the cups around the counter without waiting for Gem's response. "So you see," began Jahi, "to win this game it's not a matter of wondering which cup has the ball because it's not important. Any of the cups could have the ball. You don't know. It could be magically slipping from one cup to the other without you knowing..." Jahi rambled on describing the complex logistics of the game making sure to keep her plenty distracted.

Gem gave him a look that said I know you've got something up your sleeves, but tell me about it anyway. "Alright. What game?"



"You'd have to be a dolt not to," she said. Internally, she smiled. Two shots at most. Clock, I can juggle bottles with three times that and blindfolded. Props for trying to bump your odds, bub, but you don't have a clue what you're messing with



Gem was nodding, but she wasn't listening. In Old Rose, you learned the tricks of chance and how to work with it to up your odds. She knew better than to watch the cup with the ball- it would be doing the most distracting dances in order to lose the watcher's eye. Instead, she kept her eye on the cup with the skull. If anything, she would make sure she didn't have to take two. She kept nodding and watching his nimble hands...

Jahi could tell that Gem wasn't impressed and that she had seen this game before however she had no idea what was in store. "But as I said, the ball isn't important," continued Jahi still spinning the cup around. He needed to catch her attention and fast. With a twitch of his vocal cords and some good old practice he threw his voice to the other side of the room making a high pitched cat call whistle and a grumbly "lookin' hot baby" in the voice of an older man. Gem's eyes were still on Jahi so he could improv this little scene with ease. He tilted his head to the side as if looking at the mysterious onlooker. He gave a disgusted look at the imaginary man and responded ,"I'm not your baby!" He glanced at Gem and smiled embarrassed. "Not you, idiot. The lady in front of you!" he projected again, his lips not even quivering. "Oh, sorry. My mistake," Jahi mused to no one. "I think you have an admirer," he told Gem motioning to the nothing behind her. He stopped the cups and waited for her response to either him or the imaginary admirer. Jahi was cracking up inside, hoping that she'd turn around. It wasn't vital to the trick that she take her eyes away. He had already placed the trick under the cups without Gem noticing. He mostly wanted to see her look confused, for his own pleasure.

Blind Barney, grumbling to himself, went behind the bar and brought up two large, dusty bottles of some unknown liquor. Drinking games meant more money, but often the patrons became so drunk that they ended up beating each other up. It was rare that he got paid when his customers were too guttered to remember their names, let alone hear him as he bellowed out the amount of their bill.

He slid the bottles and the shot glasses to Gem. He didn't mind her, too much; she was a classy lady, even if she was probably a tumble.

Gem kept her jaw set and her eyes on his hands. There had to be a trick... Unfortunately for Jahi, he didn't realize how much she was ignoring him. But when Blind Barney put the glasses on the bar, one of them bumped her arm, and her eyes flinched away for mere milliseconds. Her eyes darted back and she was instantly uncertain. She pursed her lips. Son of a bander...

Jahi arranged the cups in a single file line, one right next to each other, waiting for the decision. "The real trick, is to know what the trick is," Jahi finished as he placed his hands down on the bar after giving his knuckles a few cracks. He rubbed the ring on his thumb. His eyes squinted ever so slightly, reading Gem's face and body. She was nervous. Uncertain. She suddenly had doubts as to which cup was the correct one. A slight grin seeped across Jahi's face. "Alright Gem, pick your cup," Jahi said smugly knowing that no matter which cup she chose, she would be drinking tonight. He tapped his fingers rhythmically on the bar as if he was playing a wooden out of tune piano. He tipped his hat down a little on his forehead shading his eyes slightly.

"Yes, and you wicks are always the tricky lot," Gem muttered. She had lost it. Now there was no skill involved- just pure chance.



She gave him a look of mild, flirtatious doom. He wouldn't reveal the trick to her, she knew (something a bout wicks never revealing their secrets...), but he wouldn't let her see under the others. She made a choice at random, said "Center!" and snatched up all three cups at once.

Jahi chuckled. "Yes, we are quite tricky, but never with rude intentions," he said smiling. Watching Gem squirm under her skin gave him a great feeling inside. His trick worked. When Gem snatched up all three cups at one time he jumped back a little bit but simply smiled. Three bird skulls bounced slightly onto the counter top. Jahi burst out into laughter, throwing his head back and shaking up and down. "Oh my dear, it seems that you can't play fair. Looks like you loose threefold," he explained. "You see," he continued snatching back the cups and placing them over the skulls, "I was going to be nice sine it's your birthday and have the odds fall upon you." He lifted the cups back up to reveal three balls instead of the skulls. "But I knew you'd loose your patience and somehow manage to break the rules so I figured that you deserved something a little more...raw." Jahi could barely control his laughter. He lifted up the three cups once more to reveal nothing under them and then stacked them one on top of each other shortly before returning them to his bag. "So it looks like to me you need to take a few shots. I'll only require two but if you really want to take 6 I won't stop you," Jahi said stretching his had out in the direction of the alcohol, his face still smug.

"I knew it!" she shrieked with mirth and a I'd-throttle-you-if-you-weren't-so-cute look.



Gem let out a little gasp. It was only an instant, so how could he..?

She was impressed. He was very good with his hands. Ah, but how good? she thought wickedly. Then she wondered, chrove crap, how well does he juggle? Not that she couldn't hold her own.



"You knew, did you?" she asked, reaching for the bottle.



"Hey, I said center. That's only two," she looked at him with sparkling eyes, and looked to the bottle. Let's let him get a taste of what he's getting into...

She picked up the bottle and made as if to drop it on the floor. Quick as anything, she bounced it up off the side of her foot (no mean feat in heels), caught it behind her back, did a spin and tossed it into the air. She hit it with the flat of her hand, and with a twist sent it spinning like a revolver in the palm of her hand. She stopped it and poured two shots. Taking one, she balanced it on the back of her hand, sipped the shot, then flipped it up and palmed the shot glass with the rim away from her thumb. She slid it deftly over the top of the bottle while she snatched up the other, took the shot, and turned it over between her fingers as she reached out, and finally placed it upright on the bottom of the first glass. She ran a finger across her lips as if wiping away residual rum, and gave her fingers a flick and a snap in his direction. Oh, yes. I'm that hot.

Jahi's giggling subsided only to seep out at Gem's reaction to the trick. His fingers tapped playfully on the counter watching her drink. His eyes widened at the theatrics that were taking place before him. He watched the bottle flip and slide and bounce all around with amazement. Wow, this girl is good he thought to himself. This might be a little more tricky than I expected. When Gem finished her performance Jahi let out a solid round of clapping. "Wow, I'm impressed," he said. "Where'd you learn to do that?" he said trying to humor her. He grabbed two of the bottles and held one in each hand feeling the texture and weight of each. He looked back and fourth at he bottles, analyzing them in his head. He spun them horizontally around his palm a couple of times and gently tossed them a few inches.

"Oh, here and there," she answered with a giggle.

She looked at the bottles. There were several different types, so the weight and heft of each would be different. Excellent, I bet he's used to uniform pins, or something, she thought. She picked three bottles, based solely on their contents-- they were the more expensive of the choices, and while she had complete confidence in her juggling abilities, she didn't know about Jahi. Dropping that Hoxian vodka would be a sin...

"So," she asked with a grin, "are you ready for this?"

Jahi grabbed one more bottle to make three. He held two in his right hand and the other in his left. The bottles of the neck rested firmly between his fingers. He clenched a bit harder causing his knuckles to pop. He wiggled his fingers a bit, still holding onto the bottles firmly. He glanced over at Gem. "I was born ready," he said in a low theatrical voice. He tossed one of the bottles from his right hand up into the air. The others followed shortly after. They floated and flipped in a perfect arch above his head. His eyes were glued above him for a minute but slowly drifted down to face Gem after he established a rhythm. Each bottle made a soft slapping sound against his palm. "Well...I'm waiting or should you just start drinking now?" Jahi mocked.

Gem rolled her eyes at the line and laughed. "If you say so." She readied the bottles in her hands



"Ahuh, just you wait," she said, and began. She was instantly in her element. Juggling bottles in a bar felt so right to her, it wouldn't matter to her if she had taken all six shots to which he had challenged her.

"Alright, Ladies and Gentlemen," she called, ever the show-woman, despite the fact that she was one of few women in the bar,"Would anyone care to judge the competition and ensure fair play? Make your bets now, before things get underway!"

((I think who drops should be up to mods since Gem and Jahi are fairly well balanced. If we could get some crowd interaction, too, that would be great!))

Jahi watched Gem, still making sure that his bottles still flew the appropriate path. He then altered the path around his back and under his leg to add some excitement. He glanced around as people were beginning to notice their little competition. Jahi was excited there'd be a crowd. Perhaps he could do a little show for them all. After a few behind the back and under the legs he started to throw them over and under like a braid and then criss cross behind his back. He looked over a Gem hoping that she'd get the hint that this was more than mere juggling.

((I'm down with that. But of course this won't be fair and you know that. I have no doubt that both Gem and Jahi will attempt their own little tricks to win but in the end it should be the mod's choice. Huzzah for crowds. Yes please. ))

((haha- I figured as much. Hey, if you're still on head over to the chatroom-- link at the top of the page-- If I'm on here I'm over there, too, as well as a lot of other thornsians))

Gem pursed her lips, show off. It was early in the game, but she might as well have fun. She began dropping the bottles and flipping them back up with her foot. At least I didn't wear the heels with the bow on top, she mused.