Chapter 398: Game Of Survival

Sacha finished the last bite of her meal, set her utensils down with a soft clink, and looked up. Stan sat with his usual calm composure; Camilla remained perfectly still, her expression carefully neutral, crimson eyes half-lidded as though the entire afternoon barely concerned her. The residual awkwardness from the earlier "not a normal relationship" exchange still lingered in the air like static.

Sacha rolled her eyes with clear exasperation. "Gosh. You two are so boring."

Before either of them could respond, she reached into her handbag and pulled out a familiar rectangular pack. The moment the colorful Uno cards appeared, Stan’s eyes widened in genuine recognition.

Sacha turned the pack toward Camilla with a small flourish. "Do you know this?"

Camilla studied the bright packaging for a second, then gave a slight shake of her head. "No."

Sacha let out a long-suffering sigh. "Boring..."

Camilla’s brows drew together slightly.

"I don’t believe my lack of knowledge makes me boring."

"It does today."

Stan couldn’t help but chuckle.

Camilla immediately glanced toward him. "You find this amusing?"

Stan straightened slightly. "No."

"You are smiling."

"I wasn’t."

"You were." Camilla saying this with an expressionless face made everything funnier without even intending to...

Sacha burst into laughter. "Okay, I already like this."

Camilla looked between the siblings, clearly unimpressed.

Stan wasn’t surprised that Camilla didn’t know what Uno was. A vampire who had only recently set foot on Earth could hardly be expected to know a mundane card game that children and college students played for fun. Still, the sight of the pack tugged at something old and familiar in his chest.

Sacha turned to him next, eyes narrowing in mock accusation.

"Brother, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about this."

Stan exhaled, a faint smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"How could I forget? We used these to pass the time when we were kicked out, homeless, and completely on our own as kids. I’ll never forget Uno, Sis."

Sacha’s expression softened for a moment, the shared history passing between them without needing more words. Then the competitive spark returned to her eyes.

"That’s my Stan. Good thing you remember, because I want to make sure we actually spend some quality time together before I leave."

Stan smiled. "Then you came prepared for war."

Sacha’s eyes immediately lit up. "Exactly."

Across from them, Camilla had been watching the exchange in silence. The sudden shift in atmosphere, the clear rivalry, and the quiet excitement that lit both siblings’ faces stirred her curiosity despite herself. She tilted her head slightly.

"...What is that card?"

Sacha blinked, still mildly surprised that anyone could be unfamiliar with it, but she recovered quickly.

"You really don’t know?" Sacha asked in a surprised tone, after all Uno was really popular...

Camilla shook her head.

Sacha sighed again. "Boring."

Camilla’s eyes narrowed slightly. "I am beginning to think you use that word whenever you encounter something I don’t know."

"Only when it’s deserved."

Stan shook his head. "Sis, give her a break."

"No."

Camilla looked at Stan. "You are her brother. Why do you allow her to speak to me like this?"

Stan paused. "Because she’s my sister."

"That doesn’t answer my question."

"It answers it perfectly."

Sacha snickered.

Camilla looked increasingly unconvinced.

Before Stan could answer her question about the cards, Sacha launched into an explanation with the enthusiasm of someone who had been waiting for an excuse to play.

"It’s called Uno. A card game." Saying this, she slid the pack open and began spreading a few cards across the table so Camilla could see the colors and symbols.

"There are four colors, red, yellow, green, and blue, and numbers from zero to nine. The goal is to get rid of all your cards first. You play by matching either the color or the number of the card on top of the discard pile."

She pointed toward a few of the cards.

"There are also special cards. Skip makes the next player lose their turn. Reverse changes the direction of play. Draw Two makes the next player draw two cards."

Camilla nodded slowly, following along. "And the wild ones?"

Sacha smiled. "The Wild card lets you change the color to whatever you want."

She picked up another card. "And then there’s the Wild Draw Four."

Stan leaned back slightly. "Oh, here we go."

Sacha ignored him. "This one lets you choose the next color and forces the next player to draw four cards."

Camilla examined the card for a moment. "That seems unnecessarily hostile for a children’s game."

Sacha’s expression became completely serious; "Camilla."

"Yes?"

"That’s the point."

Stan laughed. "She’ll learn."

Camilla looked at him suspiciously; "Learn what?"

"That Uno isn’t really about friendship."

Sacha nodded solemnly: "It’s about survival."

Camilla’s crimson eyes narrowed. "Survival?"

"Absolutely." Sacha confirmed and continued arranging the cards across the table.

"You’re going to understand soon."

Camilla studied the cards with quiet interest. "And if someone refuses to play a matching card?"

Sacha stared at her. "Then they’re not playing correctly."

Camilla nodded. "I see."

Stan raised an eyebrow. "That’s the part you decided to question?"

Camilla looked at him. "I am trying to understand the rules."

Sacha laughed. "Don’t worry. You’ll understand once we start."

She picked up another card.

"Oh, and there’s one very important thing you need to know."

Camilla’s attention shifted back to her. "What?"

"When you’re down to one card, you have to say ’Uno.’"

"And if I don’t?"

"You draw two cards."

Camilla nodded. "That seems simple enough."

Sacha’s grin returned. "Good."

Stan watched his sister suspiciously. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Like what?"

"That smile."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"I know that look."

Sacha placed a hand over her chest in mock offense. "I would never."

Stan stared at her. "You absolutely would."

Camilla’s gaze moved between them. "Is this another rule of the game?"

"No," Stan said.

"Yes," Sacha said at the same time.

They looked at each other.

Sacha grinned and Stan sighed, knowing that something devilish was going through his sister’s mind

Camilla however, remained completely serious.

"I see."

"You don’t see anything," Stan muttered.

Sacha laughed, clearly pleased to have an audience and a potential new victim.

She gathered the cards back into the pack and shuffled them.

"Want to learn by playing? I promise we’ll go easy..."

Her eyes shifted toward Stan. "...at first."

Stan’s expression immediately became wary.

Camilla, however, simply studied the cards with quiet curiosity, the earlier stiffness in her posture easing just a fraction as something new and unfamiliar presented itself.

Sacha smiled. "It’s simple once you start, but it gets vicious fast. Especially when people start holding grudges over Draw Fours."