Satisfaction curls her lips into a slow, lazy smile. While you can trust Skyler to never make a fair deal, you can also trust Angelo to call her on it and even the stakes - if he's the opposed party. Skyler wouldn't expect any less.

It was their own brand of flirting. Drawing a line in the sand and daring the other to step over it. 

"Deal." A finger curls around a belt loop, unashamedly pulling him closer to the word on her lips, teasingly whispered over the sharp edge of his jawline. "But only at the end of the night, Angel. Or if you feel like backing out - wouldn't want to embarass you too much." There's no way she'd keep these hellish torture implements on her feet for the whole night. Honestly, it would be a small miracle if they stayed on even half an hour. Skyler certainly wasn't planning on it.

Speaking of.

Rico Bassanello 's fabulous appearance is met first with a surprised blink, quickly followed by a lopsided smile. "They were a gift, I think." Her nose scrunches in thought, to no avail. "'Least someone here likes them," she remarks, giving said shoes a nasty look. She suspected Angelo liked less the shoes themselves and more how they highlighted the stretch of sun-kissed leg above. "If I don't fall on my ass tonight, I consider it a victory." 

Polish and class had never been Skyler's strong suit, and they probably would never be in her array of skills.

A scarred hand reaches out for a handshake. "Skyler Dross, ship captain and treasure hunter." The words are worn smooth by repetition, slipping from her tongue easily. "Pleasure to meet you, Rika. Enjoying yourself so far?"

 Killian Decker 's presentation is nearly as much of a show as Melody Miro 's concert. "Wait, is that- Blue Eyes?" She vaguely remembers meeting the man in one of her often frequented seaside pubs. Her memory is somewhat hazy, meaning they must've gotten blackout drunk. Huh. 

Knowing the Casino was about to open its doors, Skyler peers over the crowd to assess it for a suitable victim drinking companion. Moon-touched silver finds Elisabeth Fiorelli , an ethereal flower in field of gemstones. She put her in mind of a queen, subtly regal amongst chattering nobles. She leaves Martín del Mar to angelo vestri 's tender mercies, honing in on Aurelie Lefevre and her eye-catching accessory. So many good options...

b7nSyyZN

angelo vestri | OUTFIT ! 10 STARMIE CHIPS

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☉

Ignoring skyler dross's somewhat boorish comment about falling on her buttocks, Rika seemed far more intrigued by her alleged profession. "Ah, a treasure hunter. I'm certainly enjoying myself more now that I've met someone who's also in the business of collecting pretty things. Gold and silver coins, rubies and sapphires, diamonds and pearls, gotta catch them all!" The flamboyant grunt declared.

Speaking of treasure, the casino's owner soon made his dramatic (and very life-threatening) entrance, officially opening its doors to the droves of thrill-seeking gambling addicts. His sweet harem of Gardevoir and Gothitelle presented the patrons with mystery boxes containing their 'lucky numbers', which would apparently be important for the games that were about to partake in.

Rika began to approach one of the Psychic Pokémon, when Czar purred loudly in order to get his attention. The Alolan Meowth was apparently already holding one of the boxes between its paws. Its Pickup ability had finally come in handy. "Oh, thanks, my sweet baby!" He dotted the cat for being such a good boy. "Now let's see if fortune truly favors the bold and good-looking..." He smirked, opening the box with greedy eyes.

//outfit 10x starmie chips

☉

Cyg couldn’t fight the smile that launched across her features like a missile. “Thanks,” she said, tilting her arm so the sleeve of her overcoat slipped into her palm. “I was going for the allure of picnic blanket chic. Glad to know I pulled it off.” She loved Elisabeth Fiorelli , she really did, but it was amazing how she felt like she could survive this crowd even not standing by her best friend’s side. There was just enough knowledge of who she was mixed in with a dash of incognito to keep the ship from sinking. “I don’t really gamble,” Cyg said, taking a drink, making sure not to smear it across her top lip, “buuuut I do like a good party!”

And knowing the Rocket Crew(™), this night was going to be anything but boring.

She wrapped her hand firmly around BARNABY FINCH ’s, smile tinted with something wicked. “Yes, I know. Nice to put a face to the name.”

A gentle hush fell over the crowd as Melody Miro began to sing, and Cyg took the opportunity to better glean the identity of her company, as everyone was mostly focused on the performance. She didn’t recognize the hot blonde one or his blue-tinted companion; likewise, she didn’t recognize the other hot blonde one and her partner in the nice suit; she knew who Barnaby was by sheer association; and then there was Mars. She waved to the little Meowth when it waved at her.

The one with blue-colored hair made a comment about being an author but, unfortunately, modeling was what made her the most of her money. Cyg’s smile turned a bit pained at that. Imagine being so attractive that people paid you for what you looked like and having that be the unfortunate bit.

Focus, Bothwell. No enemies here tonight. She masked the chuckle that would have escaped her with a big pull from her drink.

Elizabeth, Barnaby, and Mars got into this weird Shakesperean-cum-pissing contest flirt off and Cyg looked away and let them do it, unwilling and unwanting to insert herself in whatever their rapport was. She looked for anyone else she might know and want to say ‘hi’ to; she did see Húxiān Tianyu , minding his own beeswax across the way, and immediately turned back to her current company. Heeeee mostly likely hated her so there was no reason to dabble, there.

Elisabeth, of course, immediately dipped and walked over to him, leaving Cyg with their much-depleted group, what with Mars and Callan and Barnaby gone to see Melody, and she found herself wishing Felix was maybe there, or even Mint. Felix owed her for all the hang-dog hanging on he’d done recently, and Mint was… Mint was fun.

A shrill gasp went up from the crowd then, as a thousand heads turned to see a man with a woman in his arms, her red hair streaking behind her like a comet falling to earth, jump from the roof of the building. Horror dissipated into relief as they blipped from existence, lost in the cross-color streams of Minior, coming to rest near the fountain. Cygne stuck her drink in the crook of her arm and joined in the clapping for Melody Miro when prompted. She listened to Killian Decker introduce himself and explain the rules for the night, then stepped into the queue to grab her chips and lucky numbers.

In the movement of the crowd, she finds herself rotating back to Elisabeth Fiorelli . Somewhere along the way she picked up another drink-- something pink-hued that tasted like gin with a slice of dragonfruit snicked to the rim.

“That was some dramatic entrance,” Cyg said, gesturing to Killian with her glass. Her eyes flicked up to Húxiān Tianyu . “Mr. Chairman,” she said, tone almost apologetic.

---

s|GM5isI
WEARING | HAIR | MAKEUP
Elisabeth Fiorelli Martín del Mar BARNABY FINCH Húxiān Tianyu
mass threads make me itchy

“All of that, and more. You’d be surprised at the amount of beautiful things under the surface,” she tells Rico Bassanello . Of course, most of these could only be obtained with the use of violence and/or by surviving through some pretty rough conditions. Beautiful it might be, but no one had ever accused the ocean of being kind or merciful. “Tell you what, I can procure any particular material you’d like,” her smile sharpens, business-like, “– for a fee, of course.”

Eventually, her attention is dragged back into her husband’s gravity. She would never allow his challenge to go unanswered.

Skyler wants to win. It goes beyond the familiar steps to this dance they’re doing around each other, pushing each other’s buttons and wondering who’d fold first. And really, who wouldn’t want to win when the prize for it would be angelo vestri kneeling at the behest of her desires? After all, she’d learned, he looked his best like that.

Under her. 

Her arm flashes out to catch the pokeball sent her way, seamlessly taking his challenge in stride. Chin tilted back and perfectly poised between arrogance and a fierce stubbornness that had seen her through many a foolish, reckless errand.

“Throw whatever you want at me, Vestri.” She bares her teeth in a semblance of a smile, fierce and wild, high on the rush that whispers down her back like a sudden warm touch. I can take it.

That was the whole point, wasn’t it?

The captain catches ocean blue over her shoulder as she turns to enter the casino proper, drawling her next words as if she were tasting them. Chocolate-coated steel. “Luck, Angel baby? I’ll take you down.” In more ways than one, most of them not relevant to the current dare. “And you’ll thank me for it.”

First she’d have to figure out how she’d go about this. Armed with absolutely zero knowledge regarding anything connected to gambling, casinos or casino games, there were very few options.

Ah, well. She’d never had any qualms about playing dirty.

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