31st July, 1890 — Destiny Hotel, IQL Dance

Dinner had been a little dull, but the night had started looking up after that. At present, Yassine was milling about close to the card tables, though as that was not something done in their country, he was not partaking. Not yet, anyway.

“Seen Zavala yet?” Yassine said in careless Arabic, not bothering with an undertone when it was unlikely anyone else would understand more than the surname in that; he was too busy scanning the room to glance sidelong and check that it was still one of the team standing next to him, but there had been at least one or two of their players in easy orbit of him all night.

But anyone might get the gist of what he was saying by the broad smirk on his face, the self-satisfied amusement in his eyes as he tried to pick out the British quidditch players amongst the crowd. “By the sounds of it he’s the only one standing between us and total victory.”

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The following 2 users Like Yassine Bensouda's post:2 users Like Yassine Bensouda's post
   Esteban Zavala, Imogen Fox

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Events such as these were not a common treat aside from rowdier Quidditch parties. He was having great fun and had done himself proud at the card tables. Then he had dance with a lady or two and slipped off to flirt with another. Esteban ws just generally making the most of the night. He had not yet gotten to meet any of their future opponents but he was enjoying looking at them.

Esteban did not understand Arabic fluently but he'd had a lover once who had so he knew some basic phrases. At least enough to understand the first words said that had involved his name as he came up beside one of the Moroccons. "Every day when I look in a mirror," he quipped in English. The look in the mans eyes gave him a hint as to what else the man was probably saying. "Enjoying your time in our country so far?" Did the man speak English? The main othe language Esteban knew fluently was his mother tongue of Spanish which would not help here.

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Set by MJ

Yassine hadn’t spotted the British captain anywhere in his survey of the room, which made sense, because the fellow was apparently right beside him. Fortunately Yassine was a man of approximately no shame, or he might have flinched to find himself overheard by the very object of his conversation - as it was, he just barked out a laugh at Zavala’s answer. Speak of the devil.

“Oh, but it is still too early to say,” Yassine answered in - only slightly stilted - English, but he kept the smirk to illustrate it. “Better question is if you are enjoying having us here -” he threw it back with mischievous pleasure, his eyebrows raised, “- and if you will still be when the match is over. Yassine Bensouda,” he added, reaching out a hand to shake his.

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As the man barked out a laugh, Esteban decided that he liked him already. He could appreciate a man of good humor. At least, that was his current first impression of the other man.

"I am very much enjoying it. You are all shaking up the fabric of society quite nicely." As a working class man that also had celebrity status, Esteban was always on the edge of being one of society while also being the outcast looking in. His activist tendencies didn't help either. He shook the mans had with a jovial smile on his face. "Care to make a wager?"

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Set by MJ

“I do like to... shake things up,” Yassine replied, very much enjoying the man’s turn of phrase. Yes, it would be entertaining to shock the British system; he was interested to see that this man seemed as amused as he did.

“If you care to lose,” he put in with a broad smirk, nodding without an ounce of hesitation. Gambling of most kinds was prohibited in Islam - you might get away with it were you a competitor in it, with some control of your fate, but certain loss for possible gain was not highly thought of in Morocco - but then Yassine was as certain of his team’s gain as anyone could be, so where was the trouble?

“How much have you got, Zavala?” He enquired, to that end. He did not know much about their society names here - and if he was captain of the team Zavala was famous and possibly rich - but there was something about him that felt a little rougher around the edges. (Yassine had acquaintances from all corners back home, so he felt like he had an eye for such things.) “Zavala - that is not an English name, is it?”

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"I think I like my chances," Esteban said with the confidence of a confident man that could not tell the future. If he only knew then of what was to come, he might have rethought this wager. "I have a few sickles and a galleon to go towards this wager," he answered. He was not a rich man but he also was not desolate. He also made enough income for himself to be comfortable.

"My father came from Mexico and I think we have ties to Spain from his side of the family as well," he answered when the man inquired about his name.

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Set by MJ

Yassine chuckled, shaking his head at the ludicrousness of the British captain thinking they actually stood a chance. “If you win, I’ll even throw in an extra galleon for your miracle,” he said with an easy wave of his hand; he could hear his father and the most uptight of his brothers at the back of his mind telling him he was an absolute disgrace and this was why they were glad he’d never joined them in business.

“Ah, and do you speak the language?” Yassine said cheerfully, switching to Spanish. “I was in Seville for a few seasons,” he explained, though he fully expected his British opponents, if they were worth their salt and had any designs on an international quidditch career themselves, to have kept up with his. (But then, if Yassine had his way in the world, everyone would know who he was, wherever he went, preferably for at least the next century.) “And it is better than my English,” he barked out in English again, just in case Zavala couldn’t.

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"Sounds like a deal," Esteban agreed with a grin, confident in the team and their abilities. The other man was also confident but that did not throw off Esteban in the slightest.

"Yes, I do," he said, following the other mans example and switching to Spanish. "My father originates from Mexico and I do believe I have family in Spain as well. He was captain of the National Team of Mexico in his own prime."

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Set by MJ

So, the deal was done, and all that was left would be to make good on it when Morocco had thrashed them in the summer. (Presumably.)

That might have been enough to switch his tone or his tactics or go make another wager with someone else, but this Zavala was too intriguing a character not to investigate a little further - and, as much as he was enjoying the opportunity to practice his English, Yassine had to admit that the comfort of a more familiar language was worth basking in for a little longer. “Ah, so it’s in your blood,” he remarked, narrowing his eyes in amusement. “And don’t we all like to be more famous than our fathers?”

After a laugh, he added - “you are captain of your usual team too, yes?” It would be fishing for information if there were not far easier ways of doing this research than from the horse’s mouth, but there was no better way to learn about one’s opponent than baiting them in person. In a friendly way, of course.

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"Indeed. I have a younger brother and he also has a love for Quidditch." Mateo was already dreaming of making the Quidditch team of whatever house he ended up in. Perhaps one day, it would be young Mateo on a National Team. It was an idle dream that would not be able to be realized for years yet but even so, they flittered in the back of Estebans mind.

"Yes, I am. Puddlemere United," Esteban confirmed. "Have you read much into the teams of this country?" It would make sense for a coach to, he figured. To make strategies and the like.

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Set by MJ

“I am lucky that none of my brothers are coming for my position,” Yassine acknowledged, laughing at Zavala’s family being so different from his own; amongst his family, Yassine was the brother whose fate was to be avoided, not emulated. Better for him, really - poor Zavala would one day have to bask in his sibling’s shadow, as the other must do now.

“Only a little,” he added, about reading up - which was a certain understatement, but he had no issue sounding completely cavalier about it. “Although I hear your women’s team placed second in this year’s league.” Something about Harpies... but more importantly in this conversation, their team had placed above the team Zavala captained. National captain, and couldn’t even bring his home team to the top of the league?

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"I will be retired by then," Esteban said with a chuckle. He was not too concerned about Mateo possibly surpassing him someday. He would welcome it, if he was being honest. He supposed he would be a coach, maybe for Puddlemere even if Thom Pettigrew was inclined to keep him on. He was reaching the age of retirement but was not going to stop playing just yet.

"Yes, they did quite well," Esteban said. He was lightly bitter but he was determined to be the face of support in front of this man. After all, some Harpies would be playing for them. "We have a couple on our team. You will see their skill for yourself."

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Set by MJ

Not knowing the age of Zavala’s brother, he couldn’t say he knew what kind of timeline the other player was working on, but he did look close to thirty - so maybe his time was slowing down on the field. If he was already Captain there wasn’t far to go.

He was mildly intrigued about what Zavala’s plans might be after retirement, what sort of game players in this country made of their lives after, but there was always a possibility he’d smash himself in during the summer, so maybe he would wait until after the world cup to inquire.

In the meantime, of watching the British women’s skill: “Or their lack of it,” Yassine could not resist putting in with a bark of laughter, because although they had a few women on the Moroccan team, he did not think much of them when he tallied up their talents in general. Maybe it was less about the flying and more that they seemed more sensitive to his attitude. At any rate, all he knew about British women and the sensibilities of these English roses or whatever did not scare him. If their skills did not stack up, Zavala would be paying up anyway, so Yassine clapped him on the back with an easy smirk. “I look forward to being a little richer for it.”

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"Don't let any of them hear that. They won't be afraid to knock your block off," Esteban said with a laugh. He could think of a couple of specific ones that might wallop the man for his words against their skills. "We shall see which of us prevails."

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ooc: wrap? maybe something new?

  

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Set by MJ