Not a Gambler

Bubble is NOT a gambler…how he ended up the one visiting Angora is beyond him and frankly, he’d much rather be visiting Hops in The Rabbit Hole.

Still, this is how Astro and Bubble decided to divide the remaining work needed to help Dan with his mochi…and the lovely owner of the casino was offering him what he needed. Angora had proposed a very generous deal to get the matcha powder he needed, and he wasn’t sure if he could genuinely pass that up, but what game to choose? Slots are too random (and always geared for the house to win anyway), roulette is the same…poker is more about skill than he is comfortable risking…and then it dawned on him. Game….Angora offered any game, not necessarily any game offered by Wonderland Casino but any game in general.
A smirk creeped to his face, which seemed for a moment to make Angora’s confidence waver before he spoke “ So I can choose ANY game, right? You think you have a shot at beating me at any game possible? “

She seemed confused by his emphasis but kept her poker face (she has it well practiced after all) as she tapped her long cigarette holder gently, soft ash falling from the lit cancer stick on the end of it. “Yes, that is what I offered. Any game you can think of, I will challenge you in, and if you somehow manage to beat me, I’ll acquiesce and give you my matcha. Do we have a deal or do you intend to prattle on and ponder some more? I’m a very busy bun you know, you’re lucky I have given you this much time”.
Bubble nodded, feigning thoughtfulness once more before, putting his fingers to his chin and letting out a thoughtful hum as he pretended to ponder this further. After a moment of this, he quickly thrust his hand forward for Angora to shake “Deal!”.

Smuggly smiling back, Angora nodded and  offered her hand, resting it into his but not shaking it, just waiting as if she was expecting something. Bubble was confused for a moment before he realized and quickly brought her hand up to his lips, kissing her hand respectfully which just pulled a wider smile from her. “Well then, boy, what have you decided will be out game of chance?”.
“No no…” Bubble corrected with a smile, prompting a confused ‘hm?’ from Angora before he continued “When you offered this deal, you didn’t say game of chance. You just said game. You never specified that I had to pick something offered by the casino. You said any game and I confirmed that detail with you just now, ma’am.”
The casino almost seemed to go completely silent at the figurative mic drop that Bubble just bestowed upon them.

OH THE LOOK ON ANGORA’S FACE. She paused for a moment in genuine surprise at how ably and easily the unassuming maroon bun had pulled the rug out from under her. However, that quickly faded into a piercing glare that Bubble could almost feel stabbing into his heart…but she seemed to know well that she was beat. Though she was annoyed, she did laugh after a moment (though the undertone of it was cold and bitter) “Well well well…you seem a bit quicker on your hooves than I expected, little one. Alright then, what is your game of choice?”

Bubble offered his hand to her once more, which she accepted as he started to confidently lead her toward the door that lead up to her office “Well I will need to run and grab something before we can properly play, my lady, so you can continue your work while I take a few minutes to get my supplies”.
Though Angora was tempted to stop him from going, using this to her advantage to stop the turn away from a gambling game, she would be lying if she said she wasn’t fascinated to see what the lad had in mind. So, giving a small nod, she stepped into her office, pausing for a moment to whisper to her bodyguard to allow Bubble in when (or if) he returns for their game, to which the gruff man just offered a quick nod.

After the door to the office was shut behind the woman, the bodyguard stepped in front of it to block anyone’s entrance while Bubble turned to coolly exit the casino. However, as soon as he was out the door and around the corner, he did take a moment for celebration, giggling to himself as the slight adrenaline from getting one over on Angora shivered through his body. Not wanting to keep her waiting long, though, Bubble was quick to step into the nearest crafting/hardware store he could find and purchased a simple roll of duct tape.
It would be only ten minutes or so when Bubble was allowed into Angora’s office, taking a moment to admire the luxurious decor within before Angora caught his attention by speaking. “Well, mystery bun, what supplies did you need for our little game, hm?” Her voice was almost a purr as she rested her head onto the back of one of her hands, propped up by the large desk.

Bubble took the duct tape from the plastic bag with a smile, which for a moment made Angora freeze. Surely this bun wasn’t stupid enough to just try to tie her up and steal the matcha. That was answered quickly as he pulled the tape and used his teeth to rip a small piece of it, making 2 X’s on the hardwood floor of the office, a decent length away from one another. He gestured in mock chivalry to one of the X’s “For you, m’lady~”

Angora rolled her eyes before rising from her desk and humoring him, finding her place on one of the marks as Bubble stood on the other, waiting for the explanation as to why. Bubble seemed eager, smiling as he started to explain “I assume at some point in your youth, you played Murmur Says, right?”
He MUST be joking. A child's game, and one so easy not to fail? They’d be playing this forever, there is no end to a game like this for 2 even semi-intelligent buns. Still, he continued “ It’s simple. We take turns giving each other an order with ‘Murmur Says’ at the beginning. First to do something the other says without ‘Murmur Says’ at the beginning is the loser. No illegal commands, like telling them to hold up their left leg and then their right so they fall. No tricks. Just a simple game of Murmur says.”

A scoff came from the elegant bun before she took a final drag from her cigarette, crushing it in a tray on her desk before setting the holder aside and nodding “Sure. I’ll humor you…if I can add to the rules. We will only play this for an hour, if neither of us lose in that time frame then you lose.”
Though he didn’t like that stipulation, Bubble sighed and nodded “Alright, that sounds fair to me. In one hour, if I don’t make you lose, I’ll admit defeat”. With a smile from the woman and a nod, they began.

Bubble started, having chosen this game, and started them off easily “Murmur says  hold up your left leg” which Angora quickly obliged, balancing a lot more easily on heels than Bubble expected her to. She was quick to retaliate with “Murmur says slap yourself”. That was surely revenge for tricking her so easily in the first place, but Bubble did as he was told, a loud smack resonating through the room and a moment of whining and rubbing his cheek afterward while she smiled innocently.
“Murmur says rip your dress.” If they’re going to play dirty, he can do that. She almost growled at him for a moment before looking down at her expensive, custom made gown. She could easily afford it being repaired or for an entirely new one..but this is her favorite dress. Regardless, after a moment she sighed and grabbed at the side seam of her skirt, easily slicing one of the seams with her nail before tugging hard to rip the already high side slits of the skirt even higher.

He genuinely hadn’t expected her to dedicate herself to this so much, but she seems like a very proud bun. They continued on like this for another 50 or so minutes full of ridiculous demands, almost reaching the hour time limit with Bubble now standing there naked, on one leg and Angora with her dress ripped to hell, still on one leg, one shoe missing, and her cigarette holder stuck in one of her nostrils. This isn’t fun anymore, both of them are annoyed but Bubble is sweating. They are minutes away from the hour mark and Angora hasn’t faltered in a little.
Angora on the other hand seemed confident, she had been talking a bit of smack as the time ticked down but now it was ramped up by 100. “Surely you didn’t think this was going to work. I’m one of, if not the most cunning bun in the Burrows. There was no chance of you really beating me, love”. Bubble was beginning to believe her as well, huffing for a moment before he got an idea.  Angora opened her mouth to continue when Bubble interrupted her.

He let out a belligerent laugh, waving his hand dismissively at her “Oh please! Tell me something I don’t know”. An annoyed huff came from the female bun as she was so rudely dismissed. “Oh I certainly can! You don’t know how this works, I never lose and I never will. You are also a disrespectful oaf of a bun to ever assume I would or attempting to trick me into this childish endeavor!”.
Bubble should not be smiling at her…why is he still smiling at her. This was a question swiftly answered as he leaned forward some “But…Ms.Anogra….I didn’t say Murmur Says”. There was a silence that felt like it went on for eons before she let out a frustrated yowl of sorts, stomping down her shoeless foot from its raised position and letting out a frustrated huff as she approached the locked drink cabinet behind her desk.

Quick to remove the sought after matcha powder, she practically threw the container at Bubble “Take it and get out of my sight! This was the most frustrating waste of my time I have ever had to engage in!”
Bubble was quick to oblige, fumbling the matcha container for a moment before he swiftly slipped it into the pocket of the pants he was pulling back onto himself. He quickly pulled his shirt on after, tossing his jacket over one arm as he offered her a polite bow with a smirk “Thank you for the game, Angora. It’s always a pleasure to be in Wonderland Casino!”

He was quick to exit the office after that, not wanting to give Angora a chance to throw something at him after that ridiculous turn of events. She was certainly annoyed that she had been so easily and stupidly tricked into losing a child's game..but it would be a lie to say she wasn’t a bit impressed. Staring frustratedly out of the window of her office that overlooked the casino floor, she let herself crack a smile for a moment as she spotted Bubble running from the Casino.

Not bad, little bun….Not bad at all.