Kuromaru

The tavern residing along the Tsunami Flats looked worse for ware and smelled of week-old fish, but Kuromaru couldn’t think of a better place to make some coin for the night. His birdskull mask hid his smirk as he sauntered into the modest pub and took a seat by what some would refer to as the “gambling center.”
But if you asked Kuromaru he’d tell you it was the “pushover center.”
There wasn’t a soul within the Sea of a Thousand Currents that hadn’t heard of his legacy. Even small hatchlings knew what an infamous irritable gambler he was… and knew just how far to stray from him. Ever since he was old enough to understand how games of chance worked, Kruomaru dedicated most of his time to mastering every trick (be it legal or not) and eventually began to have a rather dangerous reputation surrounding him.
Growing up it was never hard to earn coin for his family. A few late nights out in the slummy areas brought home an immense payout. Unfortunately, his family would not accept his “filth money” so after a particularly heated argument Kuromaru bitterly turned away from them. He had no business helping his so-called family if they showed no appreciation for it.
Would they make it through the winter with hardly a treasure to their name? Well, he helped, and they turned him down. Who was he to care? The wildclaw thought at he maneuvered through the pools of water. He really could care less about those ungrateful baku snouts… but whether he liked it or not the scars of betrayal still marked him long after he had left.
Giving a small shake to clear his head, the masked dragon pulled up a chair as he sat down at the rugged but somehow sturdy table. Kuromaru knew first impressions meant everything, so he made sure he appeared slightly hesitant as he joined in on the new game. It was always amusing to see the look of horrified shock on their faces when his outwardly hesitant farce won the money pot. After all…
There was no fun in taking their treasure without toying with them first.
Because his reputation was known far and wide, most dragons gave up when they saw his face, hence why Kuromaru paid a pretty penny for the mask he adorned. Honestly there was no merit if his prey ran as soon as he approached the table, he thought idly to himself as the cards were dealt out. He tossed a handful of coins into the pile and carefully observed the other dragons, waiting for their tells to show.
After a few passive hands were played one dragon ran a talon over his mouth…. Almost as if to stop himself from smirking.
Jackpot.
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Kuromaru just couldn’t resist looking into the pouch of gold he held between his talons. Ah, so wonderful the sight of treasure was. Truly gold was akin to what most would call a shimmering light in the dark…. Well perhaps not so much for the dragons he won it from.
Although, they had been particularly insistent that his earnings were less than honest, Kuromaru thought with a roll of his eyes. It’s not as if he could help that those blundering idiots had practically written their faces what their cards were.
Some people shouldn’t gamble…. Although at the same time…
“What easy money.” Kurumaru said with a chuckle as he tied the bag with his winnings up and threw it in his pouch. As he strolled down the dark and rather unsavory part of the small town, he heard footsteps behind him.
Well, that didn’t surprise him in the least bit. No one was ever happy with him taking the winnings. With a smug smile that he did nothing to hide, Kuromaru turned around and stared down the approaching spiral dragon with a great deal of snark in his eyes.
“Can I help you? Did you perhaps…. loose something?” The wildclaw said as he shuffled his pouch of gold from one hand to another. If this sore loser was going to approach him, he had best be ready to receive some backlash.
“You cheated! There’s no way you could have actually won that money! Give it back ya slimy thief!”
“Oh, I’m slimy now eh? Well, I’m nowhere near as slimy as this!” Kuromaru sneered as he quickly reached into one of his pockets and threw a jar of slime he had for situations like these. The spiral screeched in shock as the slime covered him from head to toe. The slime was almost fresh from the cauldron so no matter how much the dragon tried to lunge towards Kuromaru, he fell over every time from the sheer slickness of the material. After effectively occupying the pathetic excuse for a gambler Kuromaru strolled away, but not before sending a condescending smirk to the now screeching spiral.
Really now, if someone was going to accuse him and then whine about how unfair life was…. They should at least prepare for an unfair fight too. Kuromaru hummed an older tune he had heard from his travels to the Tangled Wood and adjusted his bonemask as he slipped into the darkness. The light was beginning to peak over the horizon, it was time for him to rest since he needed his energy for another fun night tomorrow.
There were more losers out there waiting to provide their treasure for him after all…

Lore written by FoxIsSilver!