Cajun play. (Tzargos / Open)

[Malicia Cyr]

“A royal flush, again? No way!” One of the campers said as he threw his hand face up on the table. He crossed his arms in a pouting way. This guy was a black dude with corn rows, an orange camp hat, and a faded orange camp shirt. Helooked to be around sixteen and six foot even. The other people threw their hands (cards) on the table and shook their heads in disappointment.

“C’est la vi. Dat’s life, for yo non-Cajun Texians. Ya win some an’ ya lose some, but as I like ta say, laissez les bon temps roulet! Let de good times roll.” Malicia said with a smile, his Cajun accent flowing heavily. Malicia was an average Tzargos guy. She had on an orange Camp Half Blood shirt, blue denim jeans that were tight on his, black and white Jordans.

“You got to be cheating!” Another camper guy said, as the other two agreed. Malicia started to grow angry. He wasn’t a cheater and she definitely didn’t like to be called one.

“I’m notta cheater, if yo don’t like losin’, den don’t play. An’ if ya want ta play one mo time, den you can shuffle an’ deal, an’ if I win, den I want all of de money dat y’all owe me.” Malicia growled.

“Then let’s do this!” The black cabin mate said. So an hour later they were done and Malicia won. They all were angry, and this time a big crowd was around the table. They all laughed as the other Hermes cabin guys gave his their money. The other cabin mates left and the crowd grew really small, until two were left, not including Malicia. Malicia sighed at the other two.

“Soooo. Whatcha need? I’mma too tired ta really play, unless y’all have money? An’ if I owe ya anything, den we’ll settle dis right here, right now. But if ya wanna talk, den havea seat.” Malicia said as he looked at the two. Not knowing what they wanted, he just picked up her deck, and started to shuffle, waiting for their reply.

[Tzargos]

The two figures wobbled awkwardly as the crowd brushed by, not seeming to care as only inertia kept them from toppling over. They had blended in so well with the crowd of onlookers, but once alone with them their strangeness stood out like chimeras at a petting zoo. Both had skin white as paper, long golden hair, and nearly identical faces.

There were only subtle differences between them; while one had straight hair, sad eyes, and a curly mustache stolen from some old silent film villain, the other had a perfect row of curls that fell at his shoulders and was staring sternly at Malicia. Aside from that, the former wore a shirt embroidered with the name 'Jack O'Hearts' in red stitching, and his counterpart’s shirt read 'Jack O'Clubs' in black.

Even after the camper had acknowledged them, they continued to stand in utter silence. Finally, the creaking of heavy doors reverberated piercingly throughout the feast hall. A strong and unusually focused gust of wind circled around the entire length of the building, before reaching Malicia from behind and carrying away some of the cards between his hands.

Next in its path was the motionless pair of strangers, who exploded into a shower of playing cards on contact. Their clothes fell flat against the ground and marked the beginning of a messy trail of cards leading out the doorway. Hopefully Malicia wasn't too tired for a game of fifty-two-hundred card pickup.

Either way, a Tzargos kid would be hard-pressed to resist being adventurous, a fact that the man at the end of the path seemed to be relying heavily on. Outside at the back of the feast hall he had been waiting patiently, apparently with enough time to build up a gigantic house of cards. Any Athena camper would instantly recognize it as an architectural anomaly; it was nearly impossible for the thing to be standing so tall!

And still the man continued adding to it, pushing the very limits of chance. He would've been completely hidden behind the structure if not for the peepholes between the intersecting cards. The tower was much taller than the average human, and it was almost as if he was adjusting his own height with each level added on.