Los Paraisos - Ddaear Cafe

Soon they were caught in a sea of limbs. People swayed right and left, some singing beautifully and some singing off key, thankfully, most of the people were focused on busting a move instead of giving their vocal chords a work out. There were no steps to follow and instead people danced wildly, stomped around and did whatever they wanted to do. The summoner however was focused on his feet, trying his best not to trample on anyone's shoes. "This is hard..." he huffed as he shuffled around awkwardly, flailing more than dancing.

The summoner felt a tug on the back of his shirt and turned around to see the new lady. "Oh, hey, Ari? Aria, yeah?" He gave her a grin as he kept moving in a clumsy fashion, avoiding the hands that were thrown right and left. This wasn't a dance...it was a freaking stampede. "This is pretty interesting, huh?" He noticed Selan was fairing well then looked around for Moira, Amy, and Syed. He couldn't find any of them and when he spun around again was instead greeted by a tap dancing, green haired clown.

"AH--cool costume." He did a little hop towards Aira, avoiding as many of the weirdly dressed people as he could.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Lucien tensed up before a mischievous grin lit up his face. "What if this is some ritual and they're sacrificing visitors? For all we know, we'll be dancing up a volcano and jumping in!" He continued dancing in his own clumsy way while trying to stick close to both Selan and Aria. He didn't want to get separated in a sea of freaky, dancing, masked people.



Los Paraisos - The Pellagio

As soon as they had entered the others ran off on their own and disappeared.

Xan didn't know whether to be impressed by their energy, or nervous because of their recklessness and lack of planning. She waited for orders and not long after that Estelle stated it would be best if they stuck together. "Alright, sounds like a plan." She gave the energetic redhead a salute then followed after Estelle as she bounced away, yelling for Marcus. It wasn't the most organized search and recover plan, but she had to admit it looked effective. Still, the metallurgist hoped no one else would be annoyed by the girl's yelling.

"Excuse me, have you seen a man about this tall with yellow hair and...you haven't thanks for your time." Xan made sure to keep an eye on Estelle so they didn't get separated and while the girl yelled Marcus's name, Xan followed behind, asking whoever was taking a break from gambling or just relaxing.

"Hmm, Estelle, if you were Marcus where would you be?" Xan asked as she quickened her pace and walked beside the swordswoman.

Los Paraísos: The Pellagio

"Marcus! Trixie? E-Estelle..." Lisette called, walking briskly on the carpeted path through the casino. She thought that maybe platinum blonde or red hair would be relatively easy to spot, but the hundreds and hundreds of people were covered head to toe in garish colors that it was beginning to make Lisette's head spin.

"Okay, I'm done..." she mumbled, rotating in place to try and spot the exit. It wasn't anywhere in sight, and she could no longer remember where they had entered from. "Okay, I guess we're not done..." she said to Kapi, resigning to keep walking forward.

If one squinted closely and looked over her shoulder to the center of the room, a pair of women leapt from the balcony and landed on the floor below, shouting a man's name.

Lisette continued on. She was bound to run into either a friend or an exit eventually. Hopefully.

---

Los Paraísos: Beach

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

In response to Syed's scream, some of the surrounding dancers interpreted it as a cry of joy, and imitated him, only in a much more jovial manner.

"What if this is some ritual and they're sacrificing visitors? For all we know, we'll be dancing up a volcano and jumping in!"

"Don't be ridiculous, they... Hmm." Selan stopped herself, remembering that in her culture, they had a dance just to catch a specific kind of fish. And most cultures had some ritual or another for calling forth rain, or wishing for blessings from the gods. It wasn't actually that farfetched of an idea.

Where are we going...? Selan thought, looking around as more and more tourists joined their throng. They were taking up most of the street and were continuing on at a surprisingly fast pace, and anyone caught in their path was either forced to dive into a shop or join in.

Los Paraisos: The Pellagio - Casino

Estelle's voice boomed through the entire casino. Well, not the entire casino, but Trixie was alert enough to pick up on it right away. She piped up, a curious dog, trying to glance over the myriads of people all sitting or rushing in her way. But her all too small size prevented her from seeing absolutely anything beyond clothed towers of differently colored hair.

Welp. Maybe she should respond back to let her know she wasn't having much luck either? Estelle would appreciate that, right? So Trixie cupped her mouth and shouted towards the ceiling - "I DON'T SEE HIM!" - although her scream was practically reduced to a squeak thanks to the booming palace drowning out anything that wasn't a machine.

But her cries were heard. Hallelujiah, the message got through to Estelle somehow, wherever she was. Like Trixie's voice, her response was muffled compared to everything else too - but it was still there. "WHAAAAAT?"

So Trixie squawked back. "I DON'T SEE HIMMMMM!"

"......WHAAAAAT?"

"I SAAAAAAAID!" Trixie paused to cough. "I DON'T. SEE. HIMMMM!"

---

Los Paraisos: Some randomass parade outside the Ddaear Café

Right so instead of helping Amy out of her dilemma, Moira caved in and plopped a mask on herself as well. Ah. So that's what they were wearing!? Geez, looking at the massive size of that thing nearly made Amy topple over again just from knowing she was trapped under one too.

Of course she buggered off to frighten the panties off of Syed. Luckily whoever made these godsforsaken masks left enough room to see. Although if Amy weren't on the brink of tripping over herself and dying from a stampede attack, she would've found the whole thing to be hilarious. And with Moira unreliable for help, Syed offered in her place. Awesome. Amy's voice was laced with subtle sarcasm. "Yeah that'd be great if you could—"

Then Moira came back and ripped the demon right off Amy's head. She nearly fell over probably the fifth time by now had she not landed on that freak woman who came back and pouted at them. Amy was ever so ready to tell the woman to piss off right on back to the hellhole from which she spawned - but Syed already spoke up for her. Fantastic. She looked to him, her expression unreadable. She appreciated the help but especially now that she could see where she was going, she really didn't need some guy to go and—

Aaaand then the freak came back! With more hats. With fucking hats and fucking pieces of fucking paper. She proffered them to both Amy and Syed before cocking her head - probably winking at them through her demon dragon head - and waltzing back to her groupie. Amy too just looked down at what she received. "I'm not wearing this. This is--OW, WHAT THE FUCK."

One hand over her head, Amy whirled around to see a group of three potbellied men wearing white oni masks. They waved around giant wooden panels. The two in the back were humming some freak chant that went along surprisingly well with the rest of the parade's music, while the frontman screamed something along the lines of "Begone, ye impure spirits!" Then the other two chimed in as well, their bodies in shaky movements to keep up with the rhythm of the rest of the parade.

"Yeah begone, bro!"

"Yeah demon-dragon-sis, begone!"

Obviously recreating some outdated demon-expelling process. As much as Amy wanted to comment on how backward it looked, the frontman just whacked her on the head again and kept screaming at her to begone. She withdrew her sword, her palm of death, and readied it to smack the paddle right out of this 'bro's hand. But then more of them started to pop up behind the oni-bastards. What the fuck was this stupid shit.

"Gotta pass onto someone else, demon-dragon-chick!" someone from the back called. "Else we gotta batter you senseless! Keep the game going, yo!"

"Yeah demon-bro!" Another oni-face popped up behind Syed, smacking the paddle into his palm. "Ye evil spirit gonna run or what, bro?"

---

Los Paraisos: The Pellagio - Casino

In the meantime...

As Lisette bustled through the palace of sweaty gamblers and deafening noise, a woman stood in her upcoming path, watching her with concern. With the way the girl glanced around worriedly as she pushed her way through the crowds, it was obvious she was either lost or desperately looking for someone. That or trying to figure out what to do with the cute critter that was in her arms - unless that belonged to her? No one ever seemed to follow the rules with this place, since she could've sworn she saw a child much too small to be on her own running around as well. Then again the security guards were too busy gambling away themselves to even bother enforcing anything.

The woman, dark skinned and barely clad in ripped jean shorts and a corset-like red top to emphasize her curvaceous figure, stood along the center of the aisle flicking her nails as she waited for Lisette to approach close enough to nearly bump into her.

"Hey girlie, lookin' a little lost. Need any help?"

Los Paraisos: Pellagio Casino: Blackjack Table

“Big Bro,” Dylan began, exasperated, left in disbelief at the staggering result of Don’s first betting that ended miserably in failure and a bust. “Do you even know the rules of the game?”

“Huh? That’s a silly question, Lil’Bro!” Don winked back. “It’s to collect all the cards, isn’t it? Hit me again!”

The card dealer, Serena, cast her eyes in Dylan’s direction, wondering if there might be some help forthcoming from him, or if the weird greased haired man in front of her was just… deranged. Was he a bit off kilter in the head, or drunk? If the latter then he should be escorted off the premises. If the former then… the hotel’s casino would be happy to take his money, but for her that was…

“Hey, why’re you taking my cards away?” Don asked as Serena took the cards back.

“Er… sirs… would you like me to explain how the game works…?” The polite woman offered.

“C’mon little bro, sit down! Let’s play!” Don laughed, gripping Dylan’s shoulder and pushing him down in the next available stool. He flicked another chip onto the table. “Hit me!” He called, before he’d even been dealt his first two cards.

---

“WHAAAAT?” Estelle screamed back, Trixie’s distant screaming indecipherable amongst the loud, flashy sounds from the surrounding slot machines, the general excited murmur amongst patrons and the clinking of chips from winning payouts. Trixie also seemed to be heading away from Estelle and Xandra, and moments later her words were completely inaudible to her even more.

“Rats!” Estelle swung her arm. “Now we’ve lost Trixie too! Oh well, she’ll find us okay.”

Xandra could only look in disbelief and wonder how these people possibly operated. She knew Estelle, Trixie and the rest were all Guilders, but now she also wondered what rank they were. Did Tiberius send a bunch of new rookies to help solve the troubles of Los Paraidos? Because she couldn’t imagine Guilders her rank or above could ever act like this. Then again, Aria and Thunderhawk…

"Hmm, Estelle, if you were Marcus where would you be?" Xan asked as she quickened her pace and walked beside the swordswoman, her personal questions amongst the various occupants of the casino about as effective as asking them with regards the missing women. If it wasn’t the people not knowing Marcus, it was also not caring, the people instead being much more focused on their games of chance instead.

“Oh! Oh that’s a good idea!” Estelle’s eyes widened and her hand slammed her palm as if a lightbulb suddenly flicked on. “Good idea, Xan! Now… hmm… if I was Marcus, I’d be… I know! Follow me!!”

Without warning, Estelle suddenly sprinted off, leaving a flabbergasted Xandra to follow behind.

---

“And that, bros, is a king, jack and ten on the flop.”

“Heh.”





Los Paraisos: Pellagio Casino: Texas Hold'em Poker Table

Situated in the Poker section of the Pellagio’s casino, a familiar wind mage sat comfortably rested at one of the many tables, his hands folded on top of one another as the three first cards of the current round were dealt out. Many of the table’s five players carefully rechecked their hand whilst making sure that prying eyes could not witness, before a new round of betting and raising was made. The stakes were high and the pot was quickly growing quite sizeable, but Marcus was fairly confident in his abilities, even despite his and Estelle’s limited funding. Marcus was actually pretty good at playing cards, wearing a proud smiling poker face no matter how good or bad a hand he was dealt. And so far, from the few rounds he had already played, the competition wasn’t much. At least, not much apart from one player on the opposite side of the table to him.

Rugged good looks, beach blonde hair and a sharp tailored suit, the man wore just as much of a grin as Marcus did. But whereas Marcus’ was pleasant and polite, this man came from one that was dominant and assuring. A real charming, ladies man. Already Marcus had noted a lot of the casino’s passing women had eyed him up, and he even had the sole female player on the table constantly stealing glances in his direction, to which he’d slyly wink back.

“Ah, bro, you’re not allowed to smoke at this table here, bro. Wrong section.” The card dealer spoke up, as the man inserted a white stick into his mouth.

“Nah, don’t you worry none, buddy,” The man grinned back, pulling it out to reveal a lollipop. “I follow the rules, alright. This just keeps me going inside, I wouldn’t want to smoke amongst all you fine and dandy people. Wouldn’t be nice.”

“Can I get any of you gentlemen and lovely lady a drink?” Asked a waitress in a fetching and revealing outfit with a notepad and tray, empty glasses propped on top.

“Get me a rum&coke, sugar, and something nice for yourself too. Thank you.” The man tipped a couple the lady a couple of gald, and received a most very grateful smile in response, as he leaned back into his seat again and casually raised the growing pot without reassessing what the table’s situation was. He exuded complete confidence.

Marcus couldn’t keep his eyes off the man either, albeit for different reasons to the love stricken women and jealous men.

This was going to be an interesting game.

Marcus called the bet.

Los Paraisos: Parade
"Gotta pass onto someone else, demon-dragon-chick! Else we gotta batter you senseless! Keep the game going, yo!"

"Yeah demon-bro! Ye evil spirit gonna run or what, bro?"

Syed yelped and put his hand to his chest in an attempt to keep it away from these crazy people. He had absolutely no idea what was going on. Some kind of traditional thing? Why them?! Was it because they complained about Amy's mask?

He craned his neck above the crowds to try and catch the girl's eye. It was a mistake, right? She wouldn't set them up like that, right? The girl did indeed seem to catch his gaze, but she just span on the spot then gave him a wave. She did! She bloody well did! What a-AAAAAAAH! He was struck once more, having to raise his arms above his head in an attempt to defend himself. They couldn't hang about anymore, they'd get battered to death!

So it was pass it on or run? Well, thanks to Moira the latter wasn't exactly likely, and many of the people had backed away from them making the former difficult too. Perhaps he could pass it to her?

"You can't give them to the dragons, bro!" the paddle guy interjected as Syed stepped towards her. Wait, so they gave away the opportunity to be able to sit back during this ritual or whatever?! Amy would probably be pissed.

"Huh?!" Moira span around, her mask lifted up slightly to allow her to pick her nose. Her eyes were obscured, but the rest of her face looked pretty blank. Well, she sure wasn't paying any attention. She lowered the mask again, allowing to see through the eye holes again. And what a bizarre scene it was! Perhaps... perhaps it was for the best that her face was obscured. What on Ddaear were they doing? "Bloody hell, I ain't been to this type of party for a while..."

"Amy," Syed span around, his gaze a lot more intense than usual. A smile started to spread across his face - it looked like he was enjoying this more than he was trying to let on. He held his hand out to her. "We've gotta run!"

Amy stared at his hand as if he had five or so too many fingers. Well. It was worth a shot, he supposed. She curled up the corner of her lip to say something, but he cut her off. They didn't have time for her man-hating bullshit. "We shouldn't get seperated, we've lost the others already," he explained. "Moira!"

"What?!"

"We gotta run, come on!"

"What!"

"Urgh, ju-OW!"

The smack once more on the back of his head was enough to spur him into diving into the colourful crowds, Moira following suit. As much as he was being a pain in the arse, she did quite enjoy how everyone scattered in terror at the short, stocky woman with the giant dragon head.

The people with the paddles cheered and wooped, before giving chase.

Los Paraísos: The Pellagio

“Collect all the cards?” Dylan repeated Don’s words, stunned. What did he think this was? That silly kids game where they threw down cards and slapped to collect the pile on doubles?

“Hey, why’re you taking my cards away?” Don asked as Serena took the cards back.

“Er… sirs… would you like me to explain how the game works…?” The polite woman offered.

Dylan help up his hand, signaling to Serena that he had this. “Don, the goal is to get to twenty one or as close as possible without - ooh!” Don didn’t seem to care, though, pulling him down and instructing him to play as well. “No!” He scrambled off the stool. “No thank you, but I am not a gambler.”

Not knowing what else to do he signaled over a waitress and ordered another drink. This was what, his third in as many hours? As the lady hustled off with his order, he turned to back to see Don’s small pile of cards as Serena continued to fleece him. He couldn’t blame the woman, she was only doing her job and Don was being willfully ignorant.

“Don, you win by NOT going over twenty one - the closest at the table wins. Please...please just stop.” It was embarrassing to watch, and the whole table was laughing at his Big Bro. “Gods, where did Estelle get to?”

Los Paraísos: Streets

Aria had to duck to avoid being hit by a flailing arm before quickly scooting to the side when a few boisterous men stumbled through the crowd, singing their hearts out. It seemed that parades were quite the dangerous affair, she mused with a grin. It certainly kept everyone on their toes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Ah. It seemed Syed was alive and kicking- very energetically too judging by that scream. She only could assume that Moira and Amy were close by as well.

"What if this is some ritual and they're sacrificing visitors? For all we know, we'll be dancing up a volcano and jumping in!"

Pfft. Lucien certainly had an interesting way of thinking. “It wouldn’t be the worst way to go now, would it? Certainly better than being hacked to bits. Not to mention it would save the trouble of having to be cremated, no?” She responded over the din of the parade. Still, the man did have a point. Where exactly were they going? They still had to meet Chirps back at Pellagio at six, and she certainly didn’t want to give him an excuse to chew her out for losing track of time with her group and arriving late to their meeting point. Judging by the sun there was still quite a while before the agreed time was reached, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to check the exact time. A passing balloon made Aria look up, and upon spotting the close-set roofs an idea flitted into her head. Perfect.

“I’ll be right back! Probably.” She called out to Selan and Lucien, before allowing herself to be bumped towards the edge of the crowd by a group of people in horse costumes spinning in circles, somehow managing to squeeze out of the crowd with a bit of effort and into a nearby alleyway where a few tourists were hanging about waiting for the parade to pass. She gave them a cheerful wave before scaling a conveniently place ladder leaning against one of the walls of the buildings.

From her new vantage point on top of one of the buildings (Were people allowed up here? Oh well.) she could see the parade stretch down several blocks, the streets teeming with people all jumping around. She started to jog so she could keep up with her group members in the street below. Ah, there was Lucien dancing goofily with Selan next to him- Why were Amy, Syed and Moira being chased by people in strange masks? She blinked in confusion but was quickly brought out of her temporary distraction from almost tripping over a chimney. Right right, back to business. She peered over to the head of the parade, trying to figure out exactly where they were heading. Was that… The Pellagio? there was no mistaking the large sign on the extravagant building. She shook her head in amusement. How convenient. According to the large clock face on a nearby building they were actually two and a half hours early for the meetup. Early, not late. Hah, suck on that Chirps; she could be responsible when she wanted to be.
The parade was winding to a halt in the large square in front of their hotel, where Aria somehow managed to find her way back to her little group. Everyone was a little breathless, though whether it was from the excitement or from being chased around she couldn’t be sure.

“Ok guys,” She raised a hand in the air to draw everyone’s attention. “we still have about two and a half hours of free time before we’ve got to meet up with Chirps. I’d suggest going to check out the casino, not sure how much gambling we could do in that short amount of time but it’s always a good idea to scope out the place first!” Her hand was feeling a little numb now so she dropped it to her side. “Or you could go back to your rooms and rest for a while. It has been a tiring day, after all.”

Los Paraísos: The Pellagio

Lisette was about to give up hope when she spotted flowing, platinum locks standing in her path. Unfortunately, absolutely nothing else matched the person she was looking for. But at the very least, she was willing to help the frazzled, directionally-challenged Lisette, and asking for some assistance was better than wandering around for ages.

The woman, nearly spilling out of her corset, was dressed and posed in a manner and confidence that was rather intimidating to Lisette, who felt like an unremarkable, mousy, lost child in comparison. Nevermind that she did in fact have a rodent in her arms, and she was lost.

"Um, yes Miss, I can't find my friends. Have you seen a really nice-looking man with hair the same color as yours and glasses? Or a little girl with brown hair? Or a girl my age, with really bright red hair? Or a blonde man, or..." Lisette continued her vague descriptions of each of her friends and acquaintances to the woman, whose meticulously-sculpted eyebrows arched higher and higher as she went on.

---

Los Paraísos: Beach

Just from sheer will from not wanting to be noticed by the oni-masked men, Selan kept dancing, although without any of the joyful vigor from before; things had taken a turn towards the unexpected, and she doubted that any of them could have predicted any sort of violence getting added to the mix of things.

To their luck, Moira, Syed, and Amy dashed and quickly disappeared into the crowds to escape the paddle-wielding men, who followed after them in pursuit.

Aria returned a brief time after she had departed, and suggested going to the casino, which was drawing closer and closer as the parade was coming to an end.

"Anything to get away from this..." Selan concurred. If they didn't already have enough reasons to leave, an obnoxious bang! bang! bang! erupted from the center of the crowd, sending sparks and confetti flying into the air to signal the conclusion of the march. While some shuffled off in confusion of what they had just participated in, other tourists stood with their mouths agape, curious and interested about joining in for the next one. And thus the cycle continued. By the time the mass of people dispersed, the main dancers had arm-and-maskfuls of coins.

The three quickly ducked into the Pellagio, covered in bits of paper and chucking their headdresses and hats into the bin at the door. They could still hear muted whoops and cheers outside, but the steady hum of the casino below was much more prominent. "I suppose we could check things out down there?"

Aria's response made him chuckle. "Mhm, you'd get to save gald too. No need for a funeral or a coffin." He gave the woman two thumbs up and a cheeky grin. However, before he could say anything else she disappeared, leaving him with Selan and the crazy dancers.

The dancers hurried down the street and they could do nothing but follow or get trampled on. Perhaps he was right about the sacrifice to the gods thing? He chuckled nervously as he stuck close to Selan. He didn't want to get separated with these weirdos...he really, really didn't. Then someone began yelling something about banishing spirits and he froze in place, staring at the songstress with wide eyes and a look of utter confusion. No way was he going to keep dancing...he was getting off this crazy parade to who knows where.

Then again, if this was some sort of ritual there'd be magic and monsters. Lucien's expression shifted from worried into ecstatic and soon he was grinning from ear to ear like an excited kid who was high on way too much sugar. Then more screaming reached his ears and his silly thoughts flew out the window and genuine concern for the well being of his friends made him skid to a stop. "Maybe we should go somewhere else, yeah? These people are off their rocker." He made a cuckoo sort of gesture only to be pushed forward by a tall man who was built like a rock. Lucien gulped before flashing another one of his dopey looking grins.

"The main event is just 'bout to begin, little dude. It's time for the banishing of demons. It'll be totally righteous, man." He gave the summoner a blinding smile and ushered him along, but before they could get very far, the man froze. The crowd parted, making way for the demons and the men with paddles.

"Crap..." The summoner stared at his friends with wide eyes as they ran for dear life. The trio ran and Aria swooped back in suggesting they head to the casino. Not long after the parade ended and they rushed into the casino looking worse for wear. Lucien pulled confetti out of his hair then shuddered. "Anyplace away from dancing sounds grand." He nodded at both women before peering out the door. Phew, it was over...

He cupped both hands around his mouth. "Guys! Guys, over here!" The summoner waved his arms in the air then called out to the trio.



Estelle looked like she knew what she was doing so Xan followed after her without question. The girl however broke into a run and soon Xan was doing her best to keep up and not bump into people. She dodged people left and right and at one point almost lost track of the girl, but in the end spotted her due to her fiery hair color. It took a while to catch up but she managed to and eventually was just a few steps behind the energetic swordswoman.

The metallurgist looked around extra carefully for anyone who might resemble the man, but her luck was pretty bad...she would make a terrible gambler. The girl followed Estelle all the way the poker section before a three men came into view. "Is that him?" She huffed before pointing in the men's direction. She hoped it was and if it really was Marcus, then how were they going to alert the others. This wasn't the most thought out plan, was it? "Excuse me, but how are we going to call the others--" she paused, Estelle was going to start yelling again wasn't she and that wouldn't be good. If someone high and mighty got annoyed they'd be kicked out. "I'll go find them, and maybe we should regroup here so we know where to meet up?"

Los Paraisos: The Pellagio - Casino

"Um, yes Miss, I can't find my friends. Have you seen a really nice-looking man with hair the same color as yours and glasses? Or a little girl with brown hair? Or a girl my age, with really bright red hair? Or a blonde man, or..."

The woman couldn't help but bring a soft finger to her lips as Lisette went on with the most vague of descriptions of her friends. Well, that wasn't surprising. The little girl she had seen running by her not too long ago was already out of sight, but she didn't want to dampen the girl's mood any further.

"Oh, hang on a moment. A nice-lookin' young man, white hair n' glasses? Hah!" She lifted her kissed finger in the air, a eureka moment. "Don't find too many nice-lookin' folks around 'ere, everyone's out here to take advantage of somethin' or other. But white hair n' glasses too? Oh! There's been a game goin' on for quite a while, back by the poker table - 'ah think it's still runnin'. Someone there fits that description. To a tee, rather. 's got a pretty cute poker face too. Maybe he's one of your friends."

The woman's words were rather questionable... Marcus? Gambling? Perhaps this was the wrong guy?

She turned around, motioning with her arm for Lisette to follow her. "C'mon, ah'll take ya."

The woman continued to waltz further down the aisle, not even bothering to check if Lisette tagged along. She assumed she was though, and continued rambling on jubilantly as she walked about some details of how the game was running. Who lost out, who won big, who tricked everyone. In only a matter of minutes, a table garnering a small crowd came into sight. The woman pushed straight on passed those standing in her way - "Pardon, gotta get through, hun." - and arrived at the confident, suited blonde man seated opposite from the white-haired man with glasses.

"Kenny! Still at it, hun?" The woman pecked him on the cheek, then continued waltzing down the aisle - and sat herself right on the empty stool beside Marcus. "You cuties been at this for a while now. 'Ah leave half an hour for some fresh air, an' ya still here. Some dedication, hehe!"

"Uhh... Excuse me, Miss," Clive the dealer spoke up, running a hand behind his head. "You can't really..."

To which the woman winked back at him, bringing her finger back to her lips. "Shh, it's okay hun." Immediately she redirected her attention to Marcus. "Ya got some friends wanderin' 'round 'ere? 'Ah think this girlie's been lookin' for ya."

---

Like a deer stuck in headlights, Trixie remained exactly where she called out Estelle from, now that the older's voice had completely drowned out beyond recognition. She stood there, blinking, watching as tall smelly people shuffled and bustled through the narrow aisles. Her attention turned next to the big sweaty guy sitting in front of this giant golden box with flashing pictures. He huffed and wheezed as he gathered his collection of chips from a tray hidden somewhere in front of his potbelly. Almost smacking right into Trixie, who backed away in time, the man squeaked as he swiveled in his stool and dropped onto his feet.

A mountain of playing chips were lugged in his arms, and as he waddled off, a couple of them dropped to the floor. Trixie cocked her head at the man's departure, then strode forward to examine the coins he dropped herself. She sniffed at them, only to find they were made of plastic and sweat rather than anything edible. "Umm?"

Once she plucked them off the ground however, the man was already out of sight. So she turned to the big golden box beside her instead - he had gotten these from that thing, right? On one side was a pully lever with a giant red ball at the tip, while towards the other edge was a thin hole just large enough to squeeze the coins in.

She glanced around before plopping her butt onto the swivel chair and, with a giggle, swirled around to face the shining box of gold and magic.

"Oooh, this looks like a vending machine," she cooed to herself, eyes reflecting the constant sparkles the giant gold box gave off. "Maybe it has orange juice!"

She plopped in one of the coins and, seeing as there were no additional buttons to press, yanked the lever. The three vertical panels began to spin - "Huh? Is this some stupid chance thing? Maaaan I hope I don't get soda. But I can just give it to Lucy so it's cool." - and slowly clocked in on a single image each as the girl spoke to herself.

A row of cherries.

"Eh? Cherry juice?"

A chunk of coins spilled into the tray below the panels. Trixie ducked down to watch them drop up close. "... Huh!?"

---

Los Paraisos: Parade

"Amy, we've gotta run!" Syed turned to Amy, a wide smile creeping on his face.

She gave him a look back. Just when this parade couldn't get any worse. Running? Really? First that crazy witch tried to crash Amy to the ground with some dumbass mask, and now Syed thinks it's fun to run while being chased after cult-worshipers with paddles. Okay. Putting it that way though made the situation rather humorous - but fuck running.

Except he caught onto her protest and quickly repelled it by saying they shouldn't separate any further. Oh, that's right, the other three are lost in this damned parade too. Though Amy did not express it, her subconscious brewed a rather interesting thought. "Yeah. Let's find the others." Hand them off the stupid demon hats so they themselves could break away free. Brilliant! The trio took back off into the crowds.

Once Lucien and Selan came into sight however, handing off the hats would have been moot; the perpetrators were totally out of sight. That and the rest of the parade seemed to be calming down as well. It was... a very peculiar turn of events. Amy had no time to even ponder what the fuck kind of parade that was, and instead she found herself willingly participating in the child's game - after her initial near stumblings and silent threats. Come to think of it, Syed seemed to have enjoyed himself too, despite nearly being battered to death. With the way Moira held herself up, it seemed she quite enjoyed the terrifying mask she bore. Perhaps the others got themselves tied up in similar stupid scenarios too?

First a bar with no seats, then a dumb volleyball game with a wild pack of musclebags, and now participating in a ritualistic game during some parade? While this wasn't her idea of a typical day to relax...

Mulling it over with some panting in between, Amy shot a wry smile in Syed's direction. "Hah. Some fuckin' day."

Aria soon returned afterwards with details on the time and perhaps checking out the casino; the parade had come to a stop close enough to the lobby they were to meet up at, anyway. The minute they stepped foot beside the casino's entry, however, Amy had already walked off inside (though not out of sight), seemingly dazed by the golden palace before them. Incredible. She had never been in a casino before, but for this castle to be her first?

"Gods... this is massive." Her mouth still agape, she looked back to the others back by the entry. Thanks to the cool breeze inside the casino, shivers ran amok all along her spine; the running around from the parade had definitely led to a hefty amount of sweat all along her back. Usually she'd be disturbed by something as gross as that and run straight for the showers, but... the casino's hypnosis immediately took it off her mind.

Two and a half hours, right? Aaaand how much money did she have in her clutch again? "Uh... yeah. Let's... definitely search this place."

Los Paraísos: Pellagio Casino: Texas Hold’em Poker Table

“There! There! We found ‘im!” Estelle squealed with excitement like a young schoolgirl, bouncing up and down in one spot. “Good going, Xan, you had just the right idea!!”

Xan’s smile returned how glad she was for them to have found Marcus, but now they were left with the dilemma of finding everyone else, and with no way of signalling them to where the trio was. Estelle and Trixie’s method of communication… simply didn’t work. The casino was too large and too noisy, not to mention Estelle’s method of contact too rude for that to work.

"Excuse me, but how are we going to call the others--" Xan paused, knowing exactly that Estelle’s reaction would be to shout, and instead coming up with a better idea. "I'll go find them, and maybe we should regroup here so we know where to meet up?"

“Ooh, that’s a good idea. Thank you Xan!” Estelle grinned and smiled, giving the Metalurgist and impromptu hug. “It’d suck if you had to walk more though… my legs are starting to feel beat. Can’t you like, fire some pretty flares from that neat arm of yours?”

Estelle would have continued to talk to Xan, and wait for an answer forthcoming from her, when her attention was suddenly stolen by what was happening at the poker table Marcus was seated at. Some… some woman, with big hips and big everything suddenly plonked her much rounded derriere right next to Marcus, and after winking to the card dealer, wrapped one of her arms around Marcus’ shoulder.

What was this?! She left him alone for only a few hours and this already happened?!




"Shh, it's okay hun." Mordie eased Clive’s worries and turned to ask Marcus a question, briefly pulling out the lollipop Kenneth had given her (to the much loathed stares of the other women around) when she’d kissed him and then plopping it back in mouth after finishing. "Ya got some friends wanderin' 'round 'ere? 'Ah think this girlie's been lookin' for ya."

Mordie was in fact referencing Lisette, but the brash and loud mouthed Estelle was the first to appear, throwing her arms over Marcus’ neck and hugging him.

“Marcus! We’ve been looking all over for you! What’re you doing?”

“Oh ho ho,” Kenneth laughed, easing back in his seat and examining the interesting scene before him. This skinny white haired man in glasses was certainly attracting a lot of attention. He’d been offering up solid competition throughout the game so far, but now it looked like he was able to compete with him in other respects too. “You’re quite the popular guy, aren’t you friend?”

“Ah, haha. Hello Estelle. How are you? How was the water park?” Marcus turned to look towards his companion with his typical smile. Mordie followed suit, smiling carefree towards Estelle as well, oblivious to the redhead’s jealousy.

“Ah, it was good! Right up until…” Estelle caught herself, not really certain if she wanted to mention Josette, considering how much Don’s sister fancied Marcus as well…rrrg what was going on?! “A-anyway, what’s happening here? Are you winning?”

“Winning? Little lady, this game’s only just begun!” Kenneth shot another cocky grin. “We might be here quite a while yet… well, normally, at least. But don’t you worry, I’ll try my best to end this game quick so you can play with your friend.”

“Really?!” Estelle shot back excitedly, missing the implications of Kenneth’s statement.



“Ahem… bros, can we get on with the game…?” Clive asked, he and the rest of the table’s players being completely ignored…

Los Paraisos: Parade
"Hah. Some fuckin' day."

Syed laughed in return, leaning over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath and hopefully cool down a little. She was right, of course. Today, while somewhat fun overall, was already somewhat chaotic. Only really they could try and have a sit down in a cafe and end up being in the middle of parade getting chased by a small mob. "This sort of thing sure seems to follow us, doesn't it?" he grinned.

"'Ere!" Moira sauntered before them, one hand behind her back. Luckily, the mask was gone. It looked like they were a bit too fancy for the parade people to be willing to lose. "Look what I got!" She whipped out whatever object it was... one of the paddles?!

"What, they gave it you?!"

"Well, sorta."

"What do you mean sort of?!"

They were interrupted by Lucien's shout, followed by Aria's short briefing. Casino or relaxing? Well, for Moira that was an absolute no-brainer. They come all this way after all, like hell was she going to waste it relaxing! Selan seemed to agree, and Amy seemed to have the right sort of idea too, stepping into the casino entrance and looking thoroughly awed.

"Uh... yeah. Let's... definitely search this place."

"Well, I'd like to... rinse off a bit first." Syed cringled a little apologetically, holding his arms out to emphisise his point. "And I think a lot of casinos tend to have dress codes, right?"

"Depends on the casino," Moira shrugged.

"I dunno," Syed shrugged. Truthfully, he had never been in one either. "I'd still like to, though."

Moira thought about it for a moment. To be fair, she felt pretty gross too. Especially her face - the heat plus the mask really was pretty stuffy. She was pretty much sweating rivers here. "Alright then, but we'll be quick," Moira nodded. "Need to get rid of this too," she gestured with the paddle.

"I still dunno why you took it! Why would you possibly need one?!"

---

Los Paraisos: Pellagio Casino
The pair of them returned a short fifteen minutes later, which was fairly impressive considering how their room was on the top floor of the hotel. Moira in a slightly too tight cocktail dress, Syed this time with long sleeves and a waistcoat. And Moira sans the stupid paddle! At least since they had changed now, they shouldn't have to worry about changing again later to meet up with Thunderhawk. Which was probably for the best considering how many times they had changed today already.

And when they stepped into the main casino itself, it was downright intimidating. The place screamed wealth, every surface a mixture of rich golds, greens, reds and blacks. Lights flashed from the various machines and reflected off spinning roulette machines. And then there was the noise! It was an absolute din!

Well, it seemed that everybody else had either gone already or went to get changed too. Either way, it was just them two out of the group on top of the balcony by this point. Syed leaned over the railing a little, squinting a little in the hopes that it would help him focus better. Luckily, Amy hadn't gone far - even with the crowds, they spotted her fairly quickly. She was pretty unmistakable really. They quickly made their way over to her.

"Well, where do we start?"

"Well we got all the card games, like poker, bridge, blackjack, all that sorta stuff," Moira explained somewhat nonchalantly. Of course, she was terrible at pretty much all of those, but she still knew of them. "Or the machines. Or... is that a bar?!"

Attention span broken. Both Moira and Amy were gone at that point, leaving Syed trailing helplessly behind. Resigning himself to his fate, Syed sighed... wait, was that?

"Dylan? Don?" he called out as he walked past. He tried to stop, but he just ended up stumbling and barely avoiding landing flat on his face. Don... Don was playing card games?! He... he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "What you playing hangonI'llbebackinatick!"

Los Paraísos: The Pellagio

The game continued onward, the waitress returning with Dylan’s drink. Finally opting to let go of the iced drinks, he settled in with a nice glass of wine and sat back to what Don’s destruction.

“Dylan? Don?”

“Syed?” Dylan spun around just in time to see him scurrying off after Amy and Moira. The two girls were headed straight towards the bar, naturally, and Dylan glanced back at Don. “Uhh, you stay here Big Bro, I’ll be right back.”

“HIT ME!” 


“Right then.” He hurried off after the group of his friends, catching up as they were ordering their drinks. “Thank Aislin you’re here. Don is going to lose all his gald because he doesn’t understand blackjack. He. Doesn’t. Understand. Blackjack.”

Los Paraísos: The Pellagio

Aria shivered a little as the cool air of the hotel lobby swirled around her, the thin material of the cover dress not doing much to keep her warm. Her group had reconvened in the lobby after the parade had ended, and judging by everyone’s reactions it seemed that they would be going down to the casino before having to meet up with Chirps who hopefully had been more successful in gathering information. Then again, knowing him it was just as likely that he spent the day picking up girls.

She followed Moira and Syed’s example to shower first and get changed out of her swimsuit, and within a short while was walking down the shining stairs of the balcony that led into the casino, now decked in a black evening gown and her feathered scarf.

The golden splendor and vast size of the Pellagio never ceased to dazzle despite her having come here a few times in the past week, and Aria had to pause for a while for her eyes to get used to the shining lights before being able to scan the room for anyone familiar faces. Amy, Moira and Syed were sitting at the bar, as well as a familiar pretty blond male she could swear was from Xan’s group. So the metallurgist had beaten her back, it seemed. Unfortunately she couldn’t spot Xan anywhere around here, so instead Aria decided to venture a bit further into the bustling casino in order to find her friend.

It took a while but finally the illusionist was able to recognize a familiar face standing near the poker tables. “Xan! I didn’t expect you to have an interest in gambling.” She crooned, quickly striding over and swinging an arm over her friend’s shoulders cheerfully. Only then did she notice the guilders sitting around the table, engrossed in a game of poker. Judging by the number of chips in front of the blond guilder and the redheaded girl hugging him from behind (Mark? and Es… something. She was never good with names.) they were doing quite well, as was the rugged and rather good-looking man sitting opposite them. Aria tugged Xan nearer to the table so she could get a better look at the current chip stacks, letting out a hum of approval. “Not bad, not bad at all!” She grinned. “Just a heads up, M…M… Marco?” No that didn’t sound right. Ah well.“We’ve only got two hours left so you might want to wrap up things with your friend here soon.” She tossed a nod and a wink to the blond gambler before lowering her voice and addressing Xan. “So, did you guys find anything?”

Los Paraísos: Pellagio Casino: Texas Hold’em Poker Table


As the woman's back turned to stride down the aisle, Lisette silently squeezed her fists together, pleased that she had managed to run into one person out of gods knew how many who seemed to know who she was looking for. It definitely sounded like Marcus, at least!

She paced along, at one point even attempting to walk with the same casual swagger that the woman did, and feeling silly in doing so. She tried her best to follow her explanation of the card game, and Lisette had a feeling she couldn't manage a poker face to save her life; her freckled cheeks would probably redden at any sign of a good or terrible hand.

When they reached the table, the woman excused herself to squeeze through and make her way to a seat right next to--

A blur of red hair sailed through, attaching itself to Marcus's back.

“Marcus! We’ve been looking all over for you! What’re you doing?”

Lisette beamed, happy that they had all managed to reunite again, and in probably record time, too. She was afraid they would all be lost for hours, but here they were!

"You can do it, Marcus!" Lisette cheered, causing "Kenny" to look over his shoulder at her as well. His cocky grin widened. Somehow, winning that pot was more satisfying now that his opponent had so many fans.

---

Los Paraísos: The Pellagio

Like the others, Selan followed the others and returned to her hotel room to wash up, fix her hair, and as Thunderhawk said, "get ready to work". Feeling satisfied from a full afternoon of shenanigans and more alcohol than she would normally admit to consuming, she was in a much more suitable mood for getting dolled up.

She returned to the others, with her hair tied in a neat bun and adorned with a fancy ornament, and wearing a white, low-cut cocktail dress with a fur collar and accessorised with pearls and strappy heels. It was a head-turning ensemble, but once they reached the casino, she began to look less and less out of place.

As the others went off in search of the missing half of the group, Selan walked through the casino on her own. Being very careful with her money, Selan thought that gambling was a foolish waste of time, and the only ones who profited were those who knew how to take advantage of the overconfident and naive (case in point, a certain ex-bandit on the other side of the room).

Something did catch her eye, however; a small girl was perched on top of a stool in front of a machine, and one of her pockets were bulging from coins. Like clockwork, she was pulling the lever and inserting coins, over and over, occasionally reaching down into the payout slot to check for more coins.

Selan waited until she was standing just behind the girl before speaking.

"Trixie... Looks like you're doing pretty well, hm? But maybe we should go before someone else catches you."

Los Paraisos: Pellagio Casino
“Thank Aislin you’re here. Don is going to lose all his gald because he doesn’t understand blackjack. He. Doesn’t. Understand. Blackjack.”

Poor Dylan, he looked like he was about to start pulling his hair out. Syed's eyes flicked back towards the blackjack table (although his view was now obstructed by the crowds), while Moira snorted.

"How the fuck can you fuck up on blackjack?!" she bellowed, suprising the female bartender and causing her to slosh her beer slightly as she handed it over. "It's the easiest game they do!"

"Uh..." Syed flushed a little with embarrassment, "I don't know blackjack," he admitted. "I've only really played crazy eights, and never for money or anything..."

"Piss easy," Moira flicked her wrist. "Try and get a total between seventeen and 21, highest wins. Over 21 and you lose. Kings and jacks and all that equal ten, ace can be one or eleven."

"That's it?"

"More or less."

"Okay. Okay I think I got it," he nodded and gave Dylan a mock salute. "We'll see what we can do, leave it with us."

"He owes Whats-her-face money, don't he? I wouldn't want to piss her off," she grumbled with a shrug, the memory of a giant Marise pummeling Lucifer into the ground still fresh in her memory. If they just let him throw his money away like that... "Alright then."

The pair left the bar, weaving through the crowds to get back to the blackjack table. It was fairly easy to find it again, thanks to the guffawing crowd growing around it. And sure enough, right in the middle of it was Don, who seemed to be oblivious as to why exactly he was getting so much attention. Gods damnit it don't encourage him! Moira pushed through first, Syed following meekly after, until they came up behind him.

It looked like a new round. Each player had a card each, and the dealer was just dealing out the second cards. Don so far had a seven, and his second card...

Was a nine! So that was sixteen! Syed's eyes flicked this way and that as he sipped on his lemonade, watching everything carefully as he tried to take in how the game worked. So his total was under the minimum of seventeen, so he'd have to pick up another, right? Were they playing against each other? Against the house? In hindsight Moira was probably a bit too brief in her explanation.

"Hit me!" Don shouted, looking like he was enjoying himself very much. The crowd responded with more laughter and cheers, one man even promising Don a drink when he was done. The dealer gave Don one more card...

A four! So that's twenty! You can't get much better than that.

"Hi-MMMMFFF!"

Moira slapped her hand over Don's mouth quite roughly and pulled him down a little, shutting him up. She shoved her drink into Syed's free hand in the process. "What are you doing?!" she hissed to Don, locking those scary eyes with his. "Say hold!"

Los Paraisos: The Pellagio - Casino

A lady's voice stirred behind her, close enough to be heard above all the other background shenanigans running amok. It was definitely a recognizable one too, as Trixie knew no other lady's voice could ooze with the charm Selan's did. Naturally the prankster would swirl around on her sticky stool to give the dancer a hug - but she didn't. Her eyes remained glued to the golden box before her, her hands systematically popping in coins and pulling the lever with every spin of the roulette panels. The trey in front of her stomach began to overflow, but Trixie hadn't even noticed.

Coin drop. Coin insertion. Lever pull. Roulette wheels. "Miss Pretty. You have to help me. Please."

Cling. Clunk clunk clunk. Brrrrrrr.

"I can't stop."

Pang pang pang pang pang. Cling. Clunk clunk clunk. Brrrrrrr.

"It's not even givin' me any apple juice but I still can't stop. I don't understand what's going on."

Her right hand was glued to the giant metally stick. Cling. Clunk clunk clunk. Brrrrrrr.

"I can't stop."



The second Moira pointed out a bar located somewhere within the golden palace, Amy had already begun making her way in its direction; surely enough the other two expected this to happen, and Syed didn't even bother resisting. The trio soon passed by an anxious Dylan, who stumbled along after them as they retrieved their drinks. Naturally both Amy and Moira went straight for the beer as Dylan arrived and began explaining Don's incompetency at blackjack.

Eyes half-open as always, Amy gulped down a chunk of her beer nonchalantly as Moira and Syed replied. Still judging from the panic on the matter artist's face, he was probably going to have an aneurism if he watched Don any further. Ah, well, it was nothing she couldn't fix anyway. No big deal.

But then they all wandered back to the poker table. Amy watched as the trio returned to Don and sighed before following after. She just wanted to snag a drink, have a sit, and do a little devil play with whatever small bits of money she had left. But... if Don's already in a game and using his own money, and the trio do well enough to "assist" him in winning... he'd have to share his spoils, right?

Listening to Moira's explanation earlier, the game seemed simple enough. She stood off to the side and continued to slowly take in her beer as the game ran on, with Moira nearly knocking the ex-bandit out of his seat. Well... that's a start.

Amy pulled the mug from her lips, turning to Dylan for a second, but still keeping her eyes on Moira and Don. "...how much money has he lost so far doing this."



"Oh my," the woman cooed after Estelle stole away her sweetie from him. "He sure is quite the popular one here." Winking at the redhead, she slid right out of her stool and waltzed her way back over to Kenneth, swishing the lollipop between her lips from side to side. Once she was close enough, she wrapped one arm around the cocky man's shoulder and pressed her cheek against his.

"Seems like your losin' your appeal, Kenny! Better deal with this cutie quick, 'fore he steals ya money too!" She looked back over to Marcus, playfully sticking her tongue out before backing away and giving the table some more space. All the banter was really unfair to Clive, who started to grow anxious from the sudden incoming cluster of passersby intruding on the game. Oh boy. Swishing her lollipop again, Mordie ended the interruption with a clap. "All right, boys! And girlie. Let's see what ya got!"

Los Paraidos: Pellagio Casino: Blackjack Table

It was without fanfare or announcement that Moira, Syed and Amy suddenly arrived at the blackjack table, courtesy of Dylan panicking over Don’s pure efforts of playing, and the former clasping her powerful mitts over Don’s mouth and forcing him to obey her next words. Normally Don would have been ecstatic to see his bro and his two wonderful sis’s, but not like this!

"What are you doing?!" Moira hissed to Don, locking those scary eyes with his. "Say hold!"

Don paused for but a fraction, and the crowd of onlookers that had gathered around the table all watched the friction with bated breath.

Don’s cheeks puffed out, before he suddenly gripped Moira’s wrist and wrenched it free, his own eyes becoming scarily passionate. A wagging finger extended out from his other hand.

“Now hold it right there, sis, you-”

“Hold,” The dealer, Serena, repeated, the assembled crowd all breathing a heavy sigh mixed with a variety of emotions – some relief and some disappointment. Even Serena herself had a small smile scribed on her face to see this hapless man finally win once. His collected twenty, beating the dealer’s sixteen, meant he was returned twice his bet.

Don looked at the table, stunned silent.

“See, you idiot?” Moira folded her arms and grumbled a mammoth huff, looking off into the distance with pride… making sure to look cool but not be too obvious about it.

“Well done, bro!” Dylan clapped Don’s shoulders, wiping his brow and then turning to Amy to answer the cleric’s question.

Don, meanwhile, seemed transfixed on the table, his eyes bulging wide, as he studied the procedures that just happened. And then… then…!

“I’ve got it now!” Don screamed at the top of his lungs, slamming down a fresh bet of chips. He eased back into his stool, flicking another of his chips up and down, up and down. A cocky grin forming.

“You know how to play now?” Syed looked bewildered. He was still having some trouble himself.

“I’ve got it!!” Don flashed the dealer a look that spoke pure confidence, one leg folded over the other, and a lithe, slender finger tapping against his forehead. The dealer gulped, and nodded. Praying herself for this man to be lucky, for as ridiculous as he was, he held a mesmerising charm.

What was dealt to Don was a two and a three.

“HOLD!” Don screamed again, thrusting his open palm out across the table, his head turned the other way, looking smoothly into the distance. He knew now… he just knew… that ‘HOLD’ was the way to win. He had this game in the bag.

A chorus of screams echoed throughout the casino.

---

Los Paraidos: Pellagio Casino: Texas Hold’em Poker Table

“Well well well, lookee here. Who’s a popular ol’son of a gun, eh?” Kenneth laughed, amused with the way beautiful young women of all varieties swarmed from out the casino, latching themselves to the lanky thin silver haired man with the boyish face opposite him. If Kenneth wasn’t the type of man he was, he might have felt jealous. Instead, he felt proud.

First it was the red haired Estelle, clutching onto him tightly as if jealous of Mordie’s own advances, with a diminutive looking wallflower of a brunette accompanying a short distance behind. And then another girl, the one Mordie had brought with her to the table, called out from over Kenneth’s shoulder, showing enthusiastic support for the man who’s name was Marcus, her pigtails bobbing up and down with the energetic shaking of her cheering body. And another woman, this one much more of an actual woman compared to the others, filled out in all the right places in a stunning black evening gown and fluffy scarf draped over her shoulders. Kenneth let out a silent whistle, as Mordie shuffled all around the table again to rejoin Kenneth, feeling her Kenny-poo was beginning to look outmatched, not that there was ever any worry of that happening.

“Just a heads up, M…M… Marco?” Aria spoke up, smiling as she greeted the Wind Mage, Estelle, and Lisette with a short wave. “We’ve only got two hours left so you might want to wrap up things with your friend here soon.”

“Two hours? Shucks! Sweetheart, you don’t need to worry about your little friend here running all you fine lasses late. This here game will be done in no time at all upon your ol’ friend Kenneth’s honour.” Kenneth grinned and winked again. Marcus simply laughed and thanked Aria for the time update. Casinos held no clocks at all, designed in such a way as to beguile the sense of time and keep customers trapped inside far longer then they otherwise might.

“Hmm…” Estelle frowned, gladly taking the free seat Mordie had offered her, and leaning in close to whisper to Marcus. “I don’t like him. Make sure you kick his butt, Marcus!!”

Marcus just laughed and nodded again.



“Er, bros…? Can we… get back to the game now bros…?” Clive blinked.

“I reckon so,” Kenneth grinned. His sight turned from Clive to his right, towards his left, and at the next player they were waiting for, Kenneth having been the last one to raise the pot. When suddenly-

“ALL IN!” The thin hair receding middle aged, sweaty man declared, pushing all of his pot in. It wasn’t much compared to the considerable stacks Marcus and Kenneth had already accumulated, but it was enough to provoke a surprising reaction.

“Woah-ho-ho-ho! Looks like our little cowboy over here wants in on some action!” Kenneth grinned.

“I’m… I’m sick of being ignored! I’m a player here too!!” The unassuming man shouted, hunching down, mentally preparing himself to ride the buckling bronco gauntlet. He had actually gotten jealous of all the female attention Marcus and Kenneth were receiving, and wanted to be noticed too.

“I CALL! ALL IN TOO!” The next player, the sole female, pushed her stack in as well. It wasn’t as large as the other man’s, but she too wanted to become a part of things here, and she didn’t like how the white haired woman Mordie had suddenly stolen her crush’s affections. Why didn’t he give HER his lollipop?!

“ME TOO!” The third player added, a large, bulky man throwing in all of his chips, an amount hovering inbetween the two called stacks so far. Compared to the others, this one was simply following the motions everyone else was doing too.

“Oooh… this just got serious…” Estelle tilted her head in curiosity.

Marcus, at the end of the table, seated at Clive’s right, opposite Kenneth, just kept smiling. He didn’t pause to check his cards, instead counting his stack of chips. And then…

“Call, with a raise of…”

With everyone else already throwing everything they had in, there was only one thing this action could mean. It was a challenge.

Kenneth grinned. This little doggy had teeth.

“Hohoho, didn’t I say this game was going to end quick…?” A flash sparkled from Kenneth's teeth.

Like the others he decided to head back, shower, and grab a change of clothes. Lucien returned in a white shirt, khaki shorts, and a pair of slippers.

The place was gigantic. How on earth were they going to find the others here?

Lucien blinked, taking it all in before a goofy smile lit up his face. "This place is grand," he wasn't a gambler or anything, but hey, he was open to trying new things and if he got lucky he'd spend his money on food and souvenirs! He looked through his bag, and decided to just look for the others instead. He didn't exactly have a lot of money left and losing would mean he'd leave with less than he came in with. Hmm, he'd be wise with his coins and ooh! Was that a guessing game?

He returned by himself, since he took his time raiding the fridge in his hotel room. There had been a delicious lava cake and a can of cherry soda in it. There were also other things, but he'd get to them later, for now, he had to find the others. Lucien looked right and left, but there was no sight of them. He decided to dive in and if he couldn't find them he'd just go back to where they were all supposed to meet later. Lucien strode past pool tables, bars, and slot machines before he took a quick left.

WAIT, wait, wait. Was that Trixie he passed...in a casino? There was the clanking of coins and he swirled around eyes wide. It really was her! What was she doing alone--oh! Selan was with her too. The summoner was relieved to see familiar faces. "Hey Trixie, Selan." Lucien gave both girls a wave followed by a grin. "Whatcha guys doing? Where are the others and, whoa," he gave the girl two thumbs up. "You're a real good gambler," the summoner beamed like gambling was a good thing or something to be proud of. "Mhm," his eyes lit up before he turned to Selan. "Did you teach her? Teach me too, yeah?" He asked with a cheery smile and an eager nod of the head.



Flares...

She tried hard not to chuckle at the thought and succeeded despite how silly it sounded. "I'm fine, I'll go get them and catch up with you." Estelle's attention was stolen by Marcus and Xan watched as the girl gave him a hug. They were very interesting people and hanging around them was confusing but she'd be lying if she said it wasn't fun. The metallurgist turned to leave before she spotted Lisette. She gave the girl a wave as she passed by, but was stopped by Aria. The only missing person from the waterpark group was Trixie, Don and Dylan. Last she checked both men were together, so did that mean the girl was alone...here?

Xan sighed, this wasn't really the place for minors, but she'd make sure she found Trixie quickly.

“Xan! I didn’t expect you to have an interest in gambling.”

"Mhm, just watching a poker game," Aria swung an arm around her shoulder and tugged her back towards the table. She gave the others a reminder, cheered Marcus on then lowered her voice and asked about the mission. Xan shook her head before giving her friend a frown, "nothing, no clues or anything. Were you any luckier?" Hopefully Aria was and if she wasn't then she'd pin her hopes on Thunderhawk. He was the most experienced out of all of them after all.

"Oh, excuse me, but I need to find the others. I'll be right back." She gave Aria a small salute then wandered off in search of familiar faces.

Los Paraísos: The Pellagio

Aria shook her head in reply. So Xan’s group didn’t find anything either? It was too bad, but not unexpected- the people here really were tight-lipped about the entire situation. She slipped her arms off the woman’s shoulders as Xan left to find the rest of the group, giving the metallurgist a small salute in return.

She turned back to the poker table, nodding at Maxwell- Marius? Screw this, she was calling him Pretty Boy until she figured out what his name was- with a smile at his thanks. Seeing how Pretty Boy’s fanbase had grown and how he and the other attractive man were gaining all the attention seemed to have made the other three players rather disgruntled judging by the way they suddenly raised the stakes on the table by going all in. Aria raised an eyebrow. They were either really confident about this next hand or were just wanting to hurry the game along but no matter the reasons behind their actions it meant that there was quite the sizeable winning for the victor of this round. Things were getting interesting and Aria watched on as the tension around the table thickened almost palpably, anticipating the cards the dealer would hand out next.