Work Text:
In a sleepless town close to the border, in a casino, hidden behind the general store and the morgue, sat six people around a table and played cards.
The man with the pipe had been winning, but even now, looking at his cards his expression betrayed nothing.
To his left sat a young widow, who the court hadn't been able to prove guilty, but the glee with which she bet away her late wife's fortune spoke for itself.
To her left a peacock of a man, the son of the head of police, carefully thumbed through his cards, a mild frown on his face that he did his best to smooth out whenever he noticed it, less to keep up a ruse and more to avoid wrinkles.
Opposite of him, a man of self described great importance, whom none of the others had heard of before, except of the pretty lady leaning on his shoulders and crooning his praises.
Opposite the man with the pipe sat an individual with more money than they could explain away, so they'd used the breaks to give some to the peacock and the important one, to keep the game going and suspicions down.
Between the two sat the dealer. It watched the players, kept one eye on the spectators to ensure no one was trying to cheat, and ignored the lady in the lap of the man of great importance, already familiar enough with her kind.
The peacock left the table, after his fifth loss, claiming that he needed his beauty sleep and trying to hide his frustration. The dealer knew he'd be back tomorrow night as he always was.
After the eight game the young widow realised that she was a lot drunker than she'd meant to be and excused herself from the table, still in high spirits despite her heavy losses. The dealer knew she'd be back tomorrow night as she always was.
The table was down to four people.
The man with the pipe lost the tenth game and threw his cards down, heading straight for the bar to drown his anger in whatever was cheapest. He yelled at the bystanders that got in his way and lit and relit his pipe until he was shrouded in smoke. The dealer knew he'd be back tomorrow night as he always was.
The person with too much money grew more and more nervous as the games went on, now that both people they'd given their money to were out of the game. They started making mistakes and playing worse and worse until they panicked and fled the table. The dealer knew they'd be back tomorrow night as they always were.
Only the man of great importance and the dealer remained. The beautiful lady in his lap murmured praises and he insisted on one last game.
The dealer delt the cards and ignored the beautiful lady. It knew her and her kind well enough.
The man of great importance tried to put on a show for her and she giggled like a much more inexperienced woman might.
The house always wins.
The man of great importance fumed but the beautiful lady kissed his cheek and said that it was a bit boring anyway, wasn't it, and she had something else in mind they could do instead. She slipped a finger under his collar, pulling slightly at the knot of his necktie.
The lost money already mostly forgotten and a sly smile on his lips the man of self proclaimed great importance got up, an arm around the beautiful lady, and left.
The dealer knew he would not be back tomorrow as he always had been.
With no one left to play at its table, it lit a cigarette and leaned back in its chair, allowing itself a break.
Meanwhile, in one of the rooms upstairs, a man who wasn't all that important in the grand scheme of things, at best a medium fish in a small pond, eagerly stripped his layers as the lady had asked to use his ensuite to freshen up a little.
He was down to his socks by the time she stepped out in only her chemise.
She stroked his chest and they moved to the bed where she climbed on top of him and nipped slightly at his neck.
He laughed and told her to keep it where his collar would hide so noone would think someone had tried to eat him up.
She laughed and told him not to worry. She wasn't planning on trying.
She bared her fangs and dug her claws into his flesh and -
In a sleepless town close to the border, in a casino, hidden behind the general store and the morgue, sat five people around a table and played cards.
An individual with more money than they could explain had accidentally won the past three games and was steadily turning into a nervous wreck as they realised that they had a good hand once again.
A peacock of a man sat opposite of them, perfectly oblivious of the money that had made its way to his side of the table. He'd bought a new drink that was meant to prevent grey hairs and it made him a little hazy, but this time he'd surely win, he told himself.
A young widow sat next to the individual with too much money and had mostly given up on pretence. She still wore black, but she didn't hide how she was flirting with the beautiful lady leaning on the back of her chair.
The man with the pipe poured more violett powder into his pipe and struggled to get his match to light. He hadn't slept well and the loses had put him in a bad mood, especially since he could see through the individual's tells.
In its usual seat sat the dealer. It watched the players, kept one eye on the spectators to ensure no one was trying to cheat, and ignored the lady.
As it had since last week and would for three more nights.