"You're fucking kidding me. I'm not doing that shit."
Gowri Sindal spat as she spoke and wiped her nose where it twitched from the peppers in her meal. Gowri always ordered everything too hot.
"You want me to lose to fucking Khaled Anders? At Thallia's work? In front of Thallia? Where she can see me?
She reached for the bottle beside her and drank. It was empty, but she only remembered that when nothing came out but a bit of foam. She raised two fingers, still wrapped from practice, and summoned the waitress. Omni Sindal squirmed in his seat and Dunne kept his eye on his hands because he knew that particular waitress and they were far from friends.
"Hey, can I get another one of these? Or maybe two if you're gonna disappear again?"
"Gowri...
Omni muttered and made a facial expression that looked something like shame.
"Mhmm."
The waitress rolled her eyes; they were too far apart.
"Can I get you anything else, then, while I'm here?
"No, thank you."
Dunne shook his head and looked back to the table.
"Look, Gowri, do it or don't, I don't give a shit. I'm just telling you what I was told to tell you. You want to do it, great. Tell me and I'll pay you out. You don't, fine, go tell Monterro in the morning, yourself."
"Twenty-five?"
Gowri asked and took another bite of ast coated in dry peppers. Dunne nodded because he had already said the words 'twenty-five' roughly a dozen times since they sat down.
"This is bullshit. I bet it's fucking nothing to do with Khaled. I bet too many watchers put their silk down on me for next week, and he doesn't want to pay out, so if he has me lose before the tourney prelims start, then maybe we'll move it off, and he won't have to pay out so much."
"Maybe."
Dunne shrugged and ate faster.
"Would you do it?"
Gowri asked, and his eye rolled back into his head until it saw nothing but orbital bone.
"Well, you're pissy tonight."
"Because I'm not a fuckin errand boy."
He pulled two jin from his pocket, threw them on the table, and left.
"Shit."
Omni smiled and looked at his sister.
"He is pissed."
He shoveled another ball of steamed dough into his mouth.
"Least he left money."
He ate another dough ball and Gowri said nothing for a moment.
"You gonna do it for real, though?"
Omni asked.
"I don't see what the big deal is. It’s just losing once, and twenty-five hundred jin is a lot of money. And, like, I mean, people can probably guess that you threw it if they think about it enough, you know? It’s really just so Monterro isn’t embarrassed letting Genny marry Khaled now that he’s a weakass business dude. All I’m saying is, I’d get punched for twenty-five hundred if it’d make a difference to anyone.”
"I don't want Thallia to see it."
Gowri winced and leaned back in her chair.
"I just got her to take me seriously like two weeks ago, and she's been watching all my matches and shit, and she'll be there working, and it won't look good. It won't."
"Just tell her why you're doing it and to keep it quiet."
Omni shrugged.
“I don’t see the issue, there. Just get her a present with the money. Then she’ll totally be cool with it. And it’s not like it’s your last fight. You’ll win again. And maybe buy me a present with it, too. And I mean, like, Thallia’s hot, yeah, but...I mean, she’s a club waitress; she can’t really be that judgy, can she?”
"Like you're so much more important?"
Gowri looked over at her brother. Doughy and colorful in his second-hand Iskan shirts, with his hair longer than she had ever let hers grow and piled on his head like someone's overworked mom.
"No, I'm not. I'm also a loser, just like Thallia. And my point is, if my girlfriend lost one fight for two thousand jin, I'd understand."
"Alright, alright, fine."
Gowri nodded.
"Dunne's a piece of shit for this. He knows what he's asking. It's against code, you know? Just cause of fucking Monterro...Khaled fucking Anders..."
She muttered and started on her third bottle.
"Rather throw a fight to a Lustofian."