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“Grace! Grace! Grace!” Rocky trilled happily, scampering toward him with springs in his steps, and pulled Grace off of his bed. “Grace! Grace! Grace!”
“Whoa!” He gasped, stumbling forward, as his arms shot out to protect himself. “Stop! God! Be careful!” He tried to avoid falling over Rocky, but ended up slamming against a wall. “Oww, Rocky!” He groaned, rubbing his head with one hand as the other helped to stabilise himself. “Patience, please! What’s going on, buddy?”
“Rocky have surprise for Grace!” He exclaimed, vibrating with excitement. “Rocky ask Mary for ideas for more games Rocky Grace can play, and Rocky build! Now Grace Rocky play new game!”
“You… built a game?” Grace gasped. “Is it a Human one? Do I know it?”
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Grace will know!”
Grace followed an enthusiastic Rocky to the Projection Room.
“Mary say Humans like card games, question? Mary say this popular game!” He scampered over to what he’d left on the floor. “Grace know cards, question?” Rocky picked some up to show him.
They were about the size of an A4 piece of paper, each made out of textured xenonite strips, but painted in the colours red, yellow, green, and blue. The numbers and symbols on the special cards were all raised, so that Rocky would be able to ‘see’ them, and it looked like he’d added some Eridian symbols in the corners to know which cards were which colours, too.
“Is that…” Grace’s eyes widened. “Did you make uno?” He gasped.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Rocky make Human game called Spanish One!” He waved the cards excitedly. “Grace like?”
“Yes!” Grace beamed. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of adapting playing cards for you sooner! This is amazing, Rocky!”
“Amaze! Happy, happy, happy Grace like!” Rocky began to shuffle the pile of cards between two hands. “Grace sit! Rocky will be dealer!”
“Okay, buddy.” Grace chucked, and sat down in front of him. “We need seven cards each to start, alright? The rest will make a draw pile.”
“Yes, yes, yes, Mary tell Rocky all about Spanish One.” He continued to shuffle the cards as if he was putting on a flashy juggling show. “Player must play a card matching the discard card’s colour, number, or symbol, can play a wild card or wild draw four card, or take the top card from draw pile if cannot go. Rocky understands how to play. Eridian children play more complicated games than this. Easy, easy, easy. Rocky will win.”
“Alright, pal, if you say so.” Grace chuckled. “Just don’t be a sore loser when I kick your butt, okay?”
Rocky made a confused chirp as he dished out the cards. “Rocky has no ‘butt’, statement.”
“It’s just a Human saying, pal. Don’t worry about it.” Grace chuckled. “What I was trying to say if that I’m going to beat you! I’ve played uno so many times, and you’re just a noob! You’ve got a lot of catching up to do if you want to beat a Human at their own game!”
“Rocky disagree!” He trilled. “Rocky beat Grace’s butt, statement! Rocky know all the strategies! Rocky been studying with Mary! Rocky prepared to beat Grace!”
“Hey!” Grace feigned distress. “That’s not fair!”
“Fair! Fair! Fair! Rocky had to learn! Mary teach! Grace already learned! Mary not teach!” He argued. “Now Rocky same level as Grace! Game more fair! Rocky can beat Grace at Spanish One!”
Grace picked up his cards, and faced them away from Rocky. “How do I know that you’re not going to cheat? You could be looking at my cards, and I’d never know.”
“Rocky no cheater! Grace trust Rocky. Rocky no cheat Spanish One. Promise.” Rocky swore.
“Alright, I believe you.” Grace flipped a card over from the deck to make a discard pile. “I’ll go first, since you were the dealer.” The discard card was a blue four, so he placed down a blue seven.
Rocky violently slammed down a card. “Miss go!” He yelled.
The sudden outburst almost made Grace fall back with suprise. Breathlessly, he looked down to see that Rocky had, indeed, placed a blue miss a go card. “Nice, Ro—“
“—Miss go!” Rocky slammed a red miss a go card down with a cheer. “Now Grace cannot go again! Rocky good, good, good at Spanish One!”
“Beginners luck.” Grace shrugged. “Have your extra turn, then.”
Rocky placed down a red two.
Grace smirked. He took great pleasure in silently sliding a wild draw four card onto the pile.
Rocky slammed down his own wild draw four card.
“Fudge it!” Grace yelled.
“Grace pick eight! Grace pick eight! Grace pick eight!” Rocky sung-laughed.
That was it.
Grace picked up eight cards from the deck.
This was war.