“Full house! Top that, I dare ya,” declared Craz proudly laying out his hand of cards to display triple fours and a pair of sevens. The smirk on his green face was one of utter confidence that he knew he had them beat.
Asana leaned forward in her chair, trying to contain a knowing smirk of her own. They played in a dimly lit wooden shack of a building deep in the heart of Booty Bay. The delightful smell of fish and booze permeated the air. She watched the other two players at the table. The first a grim looking dwarf named Dorin. He didn’t speak much, but was quite crafty from what she could tell. She liked him so far. The other was an old friend of hers, Corina. A human woman wearing dark leather with blonde hair so pale it was almost white. Several other goblins lounged around the walls watching the match.
“I fold,” Corina and Dorin said with muttered curses and dropped their cards.
“And you?” Craz asked now waiting for Asana’s inevitable surrender.
She knew the source of his confidence of course, he thought he knew her cards. That was going to be his downfall. Calmly she laid out her hand revealing four nines, a higher hand. “You were saying?” she asked triumphantly.
Craz gaped at her soaking in the moment. “What…how…?”
Asana gestured at the goblin standing behind her. The one who was supposed to be secretly signaling Craz what her cards were. “Oh your guy here? I rented him out earlier today.” Honestly now, she knew full well Craz’s tendency to not play fair. Well…that went for any goblin really. Just hours ago she quietly paid off his helper to side with her for tonight. Absolutely worth it. “I’ll want my winnings before you leave of course.”
Craz turned to the other goblin who was staring at the ceiling hoping to turn invisible. “Zerik! You lying double crossing—” He didn’t even finish the sentence and had already leaped across the table.
Asana laughed freely at a good plan coming together and ignored the scuffle behind her. She got up and stepped outside to the balcony for some fresh air. The light sea breeze ruffled her short cropped hair and banished the stuffiness of the room. Far from a quiet night, Booty Bay was alight with activity as many others engaged in similar acts of fortune and entertainment. The new year tended to bring out the celebratory side of people. Some gambled, some drank, some looked for company. Most would be waking up with splitting headaches and lighter wallets tomorrow morning. Except her of course, as she resolutely didn’t drink alcohol anymore and had just won a sizable prize.
Corina stepped up next to her. “You know, sometimes I think you’re the worst opponent to go against,” she commented lightly, despite also having lost.
She flashed her friend a brilliant smile. “Oh come now, you know you love me! That was still luck though. I had no idea what your cards were, glad you two folded. I’ll buy you a drink of course.”
“If you let me drink until you go bankrupt then sure why not.” Corina glanced over and gave her a curious scrutinizing look. “You’ve really changed you know.”
She blinked in surprise at the sudden shift in topic. “What do you mean?”
“You never used to smile or laugh this much. It’s interesting. That is you’re still a ruthless gambler, a lunatic in a fight, and probably the craziest—”
“You do know how to lay on the flattery,” she interrupted mildly, unsure if she was being insulted or complimented.
“It’s a compliment,” Corina smiled and playfully nudged her. “I mean you seem brighter is all. In the past even if you won you still looked distant and tense at times. Like you had trouble finding enjoyment.”
Ah so that was it. As perceptive as ever, Asana had to give her that. She leaned on the wooden railing and passively watched the moonlight rising over the sea. The last moon of the year too. A window broke somewhere on the levels below her followed by drunken shouting and cheers.
Corina had a point it was true. Every since her return from Pandaria years ago she essentially was a different person. The heavy weights that had once plagued her heart were finally lifted; a dramatic experience she wasn’t keen on repeating again. What would the pandaren say about it? ‘Just as the years and seasons change, so must we. Every cherry bud blossoms in their own time,’ or some poetic wisdom like that. It was definitely a line old Yu Zao would have told her.
She shrugged. “Oh a lot happened. You could say I’ve reached a compromise with myself is all. Does wonders for your outlook.” She left it vague, not really wanting to go into the story.
Corina took the hint and didn’t press it. “Well I’m glad. Not that I didn’t like you before of course, but you’re more pleasant now. Provided I’m on your good side at least…” They both looked back into the building where the others were trying to calm Craz down after Asana just cheated him off his entire winnings. Though did it really count since he was the one cheating first? Debatable.
She sighed in exasperation. “Maybe I’ll leave him a percentage of it. It is a holiday after all and it’ll settle his temper. A small percentage that is.” The money wasn’t too important to her, but giving some of it back felt like a sign of defeat and that admittedly stung her pride.
“It’s your call, I’m staying out of it. Just as long as there’s enough to buy me that drink tonight,” Corina said with a wink and walked back inside.
Asana took a breath of the cool night air and bounced a little on her feet. Corina was right. Some things never changed, but others did. She liked herself now and that was that. She smiled and strolled back in, “Craz, shut up for a moment. I’m feeling generous tonight.”
![:smiley:](https://d38bqls1q93fod.cloudfront.net/en/wow/images/emoji/twitter/smiley.png?v=6" ":smiley:")
Nice to see characters enjoy some time and reflect on themselves. And heckle goblins. Always nice to heckle goblins XD