Because I Love You✔️

Chapter 167: Coins

"These should do for a good game of coins," he declared, and with a grin he passed the coins up to Bruno. "You up for a challenge?!"

"What sort of challenge?" Klynn and Kesh inquired simultaneously, leaning forward at the same time with the same curious expression; the synchronized response got a lot of stares from everyone but their brothers, who rolled their eyes. 

"Well," Gus said devilishly, "you're supposed to try to bounce the coins into the glasses."

"Is that even possible?" Obi scoffed. "It seems like it'd be more irritating than entertaining."

"Oh, no, it's quite fun," Gus said, preening with pride. "I'm very good at it, actually."

Obi didn't seem to believe him since his eyebrows were furrowed, mouth pulled down at the corners as he tried to wrap his head around the idea of bouncing coins. His brothers seemed just as skeptical about it, but Bruno merely sighed and held out his hand, palm up.

"Looks like yeh'll need a demonstration," the dark elf said, and then looked at Gus with a smirk. "Wanna go a round and show these whelps how it's done?"

"Aye, sounds like a challenge," Gus chuckled, waggling his eyebrows. "Let's have at it!"

Taking two glasses, they knelt opposite each other in the center of the ring the winged boys had formed. Xaphile lazily lay down on his side and propped his chin on his palm, observing them with raised eyebrows since he was kind of curious about where this was going.

"Coins is a simple game," Gus told them, setting one glass in front of him and the other in front of Bruno, who sat directly across from him. "You take a coin and bounce it into the glass, just like this."

And with a flick of his wrist, the blonde man tossed the coin down onto the wooden surface of the floor. The flat of it struck the ground with a 'ping' and bounced straight up, sailing in a gentle arc that ended in the depths of the glass alongside a loud 'clink' noise.

"Eh?!" Bonks squeaked, leaning forward. "Wow! How did you do that?!"

"Keep the coin parallel to the floor and drop it," Gus said with an amused glance, "but use a little bounce with your wrist to give it some power." 

Druthmar's husky blue eyes grew even larger than the coin. 

"I am amazed," he said. "You accomplished it on your first try! How did you do that?"

"Survival instinct," Gus chuckled, giving a nonchalant shrug. "Years ago, my elder brother, and a man named Dimitri Von Dolan would oft challenge me to this game and win, so I had to learn how to play or else face total destruction of my liver."

"Wait," Xaphile interrupted, feeling surprised. "Amelia's father was good at coins, too?"

"Not remotely," Gus instantly laughed. "You'd think he would have been since he's so good at using magic and figuring things out, but the lout was far too spastic to aim right. He was just as clumsy and awkward with his hands back then as his daughter is today."

From there, Brino took the coin out of the glass and began explaining the game's actual rules.

"Two glasses start on opposite sides of the floor with two people tryin' to bounce their coins into the shot glass. When one of yeh lands the coin into the cup, put it in front of yer opponent and stack it."

"Stack it?" Obi asked.

"Aye," Gus said, and Bruno nodded in acknowledgement. "Eventually, someone will be slow enough to have both cups in front of them. You get one chance to make the coin into the stacked glasses, but they're also higher and harder to get the coin into. If you don't make it on the first shot, you have to take a drink."