Marius rest his hand on his wife's ass as he gazed at his cards. He tickled the base of her tail and she flicked an ear at him impatiently. It wasn't the best of hands, but, it was his best in awhile. Luck wasn't with him right now, and he was a bit in the hole already. Marius was far more used to his luck turning around, and this was a surprising turn of events for him. The ship swayed gently as it cut through the water, propelled by a strong wind. The lantern above them was affixed as most things where, given items the impression of stillness despite the motion.
The Mairead Ranger pushed the last of his chips-- loaned chips-- into the pile, even as Isabella gave him an admonishing glance. Save it for a later round's ante, she would have said. Across the table, Yorin rolled a chip between his gold and brown fingers. The captain of the ship was a Mairead, the feline race they belonged to as well. He was a large man, and muscular, yet he smelled of cologne and his fur was beautifully groomed. He couldn't have been more the opposite of the roughly groomed Marius-- even his clothing was the opposite of Marius's, made of fine silks and golden buttons, he was opulent but tastefully so.
They'd gotten passage, illegal passage, on this ship at the last minute, because Marius had screwed up their booking of a boat ride out to the islands. It was his own fault that they were where they were-- the Captain was gracious enough to offer a game of poker, and Marius had been foolish enough to accept. Isabella played for awhile, but gave the rest of her chips-- a portion of her savings-- to him. The woman had figured he'd quit after he'd spent all of his chips. She was wrong on that mark, and getting rather annoyed because of it.
The well groomed Mairead pirate captain, his fur striped in the pattern of a tiger, continued to roll that chip and then pushed in another pile. "Seems you've run out of options, friend."
Marius quirked his lip to the side, then said, "I have, um collateral?"
The others in the room laughed, a trio of Mairead pirates with a mixture of furs. One like a cheetah, lean like Marius and quite tall, named Ezon. Another, sitting in at Isabella's right, was a white-furred Mairead with huge shoulders. Though he was shorter than Marius, he was much broader, bigger as a person and presence. His name was Irok. The third, named Volus, was the captain's younger brother, similarly patterned though not nearly as majestic in appearance or personality. Instead he was quieter, but seemed clever, and tended to watch Isabella's ass as it swayed by on the deck. Certainly, all the crew did, but he, especially. Indeed, a couple of times he even gave her a gentle pat, which Isabella let him get away with, simply because she didn't want to make a scene.
Unlike the others, though, the Captain did not laugh. Instead he gazed at Marius with a gentle smile, and then looked to Isabella. His eyes roamed over her body as he considered the Mairead's wife. He could smell her scent, so strong-- she'd made the whole ship alive with her sexuality. The scent of her need, her arousal, it was constantly tickling at their senses. His especially, as he'd dined with the couple for the past two nights.
After a moment Yorin said, "I see your collateral right there. She's quite beautiful, and worth more than the amount I raised you.. But if you wish, I wager her ass for this round." As Marius blinked and started to speak, the Captain cut him off, while the men laughed a little, "I want her to sit in my lap. That's all."
Isabella's ears quirked outward, and her tail lashed. Indeed, her first reaction was anger. Then the anger redirected itself, and she looked at her husband with one brow arched beneath her blue-black mane. "Well, why not? I'm sure your luck will turn. It always does, doesn't it?" With a practiced flick of her wrist she squeezed the wineskin so that the stream of rich purple liquid landed deftly in her mouth. At the moment Isabella wasn't thinking of the Captain, she was simply venting her annoyance with her husband.
In a sarong of teal silk, most of her adornment consisted of silver, sapphire, and lapis chains around her waist, her ankles, wrists, neck, and wound throughout her hair. Tiny bells chimed musically as she swayed or moved, a constant reminder of her presence. They were softer than her dancing bells, much too soft to be heard on a stage. In a quiet room, however, they imbued an unmistakeable enchantment to even the dancer's smallest motions.
Marius quirked his lip to the other side and pondered the decision. Well, how else would he get the money back? Chance had to be with him, how many good hands could the other man have? He looked up to his wife, then smiled, "I've got it handled," he said, and then said, "It's a deal. I call."
It was much to his chagrin when the Captain put down a full house to Marius's straight. The Mairead's white ears lowered to his head as he felt defeated, and looked up to his wife. "Um," Marius faltered, trying to find words. Of course, the bet was already made.
"Indeed." She gazed at him evenly, feeling slightly vindicated by his crestfallen look. Isabella rose from his lap and approached the Captain, pacing around the table with her tail undulating behind her.
Yorin held out his arm as he welcomed Isabella into his lap, his hand coming to rest on her thigh here he stroked gently. "Why welcome, my beauty," he smiled gently. "I have seen Sapphires as pure as arctic snow and as large as a wild cat's heart, and even they would be struck jealous at the sight of your orbs."
Isabella preened at the flattery, though she seemed only now to be realizing that she was actually going to be getting even with her husband by flirting with another man... openly, aggressively flirting, as a matter of fact. She tossed her head to cover her sudden uncertainty, her mane spilling over the Captain's shoulder and arm.
Ezon remarked, "I'm struck something at the sight of her orbs." The men laughed, and Marius's head lowered slightly, holding onto the end of his tail as one of his ears flicked back. Isabella merely rolled her eyes, one corner of her mouth quirking. She -did- have a nice rack, after all.
"Speaking of," said the Captain, "There's a matter of continuing the game. I'll ante for you, and I'll take a single wager. Should you win the next round, I'll give you half of all the winnings on the table. If I should win, then I want *those* orbs to be free for everyone to admire-- and all the rest of her beautiful furred body, resting so beautifully in my lap. Do you accept?"
Marius didn't even think to ask Isabella, and simply charged ahead with the thought of winning back his lover's money, "I accept!" Isabella's mouth opened briefly, then she closed it, her eyes a little wide. She hadn't thought he'd go this far, and her ears took a decidedly aggressive tilt, her tail lashing behind her as she leaned suggestively against the Mairead who held her so nonchalantly.
The hand played out quickly, as there were no rounds of betting. Isabella watched as Marius drew his cars, his attempt at a poker face failing. He took three cards. It was that bad. And when they laid down the hand, the Mairead Ranger stared as he found himself defeated again. The other men in the room cheered, a hissing laugh coming from the Captain's brother.
