Royal Flush! Crashing the Party!

[The Shimmering Banana]

The slight swaying motion of the enormous cruise ship had become relaxing to the young huntress as she lounged on the upper deck next to the crystal-clear pool. It was two weeks since Octavia set sail on this new chapter of her life, using all the money she earned back on Pikt to ensure she would have a comfortable voyage as she traveled the North Blue. For the price she paid this was defiantly a comfortable voyage; the luxurious ship filled with free buffet food, higher end restaurants, game rooms and of course the three levels of casino games aside from the V.I.P. gambler’s room where the real money is thrown around. Yup this was the best way to travel and the best way for someone to get out and see the world.



As the sun kissed her light brown skin covered only by her dark yellow and purple one-piece bathing suit the curvaceous girl let out a large YAWN as she continued her tanning session. ‘Ahhhh this is the life’ she thinks to herself as she opens one eye and peers through her rose-colored sunglasses. Her wandering eye quickly finding its target as Octavia sees the pool area cocktail server making his rounds taking orders. The young woman opens her other eye and sits up in her lounge chair raising her left hand in the air fluttering her finger attempting to call for the hard-working seaman. The server hands his current guest their drink and nods towards his new guest acknowledging her request for his services. As his current guest places a 20 beri bill onto his tray the server makes his leave and glides towards the tanning girl weaving in, out and around tons of guest enjoying the pool area. “A lovely afternoon were having today mam’, what can I get for you?”



“Can I please have a banana daiquiri” Octavia replies as she slides her sunglasses atop her head, her brown eyes locking with the young mans. The server nodding at the girl again as he quickly takes his leave to the bar to request the drink from the bartender. The server then slides a slip of paper with the order written on it to the bartender who was hard at work. The bartender, an octopus Fish-man, takes the order ticket with his right bottom appendage and raises it to his face to read it. As he quickly skims the paper he vigorously shakes two metal tins pouring their contents into three evenly sized cups. With his extra limbs this was the perfect job for the Octo-Man. With the drinks poured the bartender places them on the bar-top and a different server recovers them taking them to their new owner. The bartender’s limbs then extend outwards in different direction as he gathers all the ingredients for his next order.



The mixologist combines fresh banana’s, cream, crushed ice, and a special blend North Blue whiskey all together and tosses them into the blender. With the push of a button the blender perfectly blends the ingredients together into a cool, sweet adult treat. As his center set of arms stops the blender and picks up the pitcher from the base his top set of arms reaches for a large glass and a pineapple garnish to place on the rim. With the drink fully assembled the bartender places it on the counter plopping a straw inside and then picks up the next drink ticket moving on with his busy afternoon. The server waiving as if to say ‘thank you’ as he places the drink on his tray and once again makes his way through the busy deck towards Octavia.



“A banana daiquiri for the young Mrs.” He says as he lifts the beautifully crafted frozen tropical drink off his try and gently places in onto the side table next to Octavia. ‘The Monkey Princess’ replying “Its looks amazing” as she reaches between her breast and pulls out a 20 beri bill placing it on the server’s tray as she winks at him “Keep the change”.

[Fox]

Picking a wardrobe appropriate for a job was an endeavor in and of itself. Blanchette sighed as she looked in the mirror of her private cabin. Jet black fur and lupine features made it difficult to pose as human without covering literally everything up, and doing that attracted more attention than she cared to draw. That all being said, she needed to pick out something relatively inconspicuous while also looking festive or like she was on vacation. Maybe a light coverup that concealed most of her torso? Jeans with her special boots…. Gloves were unfortunately a must, and they’d go up to her upper arms. Her tail… hm. She rather hated stuffing it down her pants. Maybe a dress then? Hm…

After much debate and going back and forth, Blanchette eventually decided on a light gold sundress with floral patterns, white gloves and stockings, sandals, a little red shawl to cover her shoulders, and an enormous wide brimmed straw hat to tuck her ears into. For her face, she selected a simple white mask with red tropical patterns and flowered attached. Once she was all dressed up, Blanchette spun around in the mirror to examine herself. Not bad. She still was rather eye-catching, but she at least looked like she was here on vacation, and wasn’t some fairy tale character that had walked off the page from the Black Forest. Good.

Blanchette nodded to herself, and, after collecting her bag, stepped out of the relative darkness of her cabin and out onto the sun washed deck of the ship. A gentle breeze ruffled her clothes as she clicked the door shut behind herself.

Strolling out onto the deck, Blanchette was extremely aware of every eye that fell on her and how long their gazes lasted. It was more than a little uncomfortable, but she grit her teeth and bared them. They’d lose interest eventually. She made her way to the upper deck where a pool was available. She wasn’t interested in swimming - even if she still could - and instead chose an empty lounge chair to sunbathe on. Next to her was another woman who appeared to be enjoying… Blanchette sniffed. A banana flavored daiquiri. Not her kind of drink, but she wasn’t really one to judge.

“Isn’t it just a beautiful day?” Blanchette began, keeping her voice sugar sweet, “Nice to meet you! I’m Blanchette!”

---

Blanchette | Post Count: 1

[Aromancer]

The princess and the masked woman would most likely find their conversation rudely interrupted as a cheerful girl plopped herself down at the bar a few seats down. "Ooh, an Octopus bartender! Nice to meetcha!" She held her hand out for a shake; the man ignored it. After a few seconds, she shrugged; Caroline Grace was not one to let herself be brought down by a disinterested conversation partner.

"I had a fishman on my crew once," she offered, apropos of nothing. "Well... fish woman. She ended up leaving to join some martial arts group. She was super cool, though! I bet you woulda liked her!" She had the faintest hint of a southern drawl as she spoke, but it was subtle after months away from home.

"Oh! Those arms probably make it easier to multitask, huh?" She asked brightly. The octopus man gave sort of an affirmative huff; the kind that said "I know you mean well, but don't push it." Remarkably, it seemed the girl caught on, and she stopped pressing the subject.

"Alright, alright. A mug of ale, please!" She said, a cheerful smile on her face. The fishman poured her a large, frothing mug of booze and she whooped in excitement before taking a big sip. Lowering the mug from her face, a frothy ale mustache remained on her wide smile. "Oh, that's the good stuff! I knew this boat was where the party's at!"

As she continued with her animated chatter, she drew several eyes, something Blanchette might possibly appreciate; her unconventional appearance simply couldn't match the distracting power of Grace's voice. Some of the eyes she attracted seemed alarmed, or even hostile, though, not that Caroline paid such attentions any heed. It was only to be expected that some people would be less than welcoming towards a pirate with a 100,000 berri bounty on her head.

She turned her head towards the other two girls at the bar and gave them a friendly wave. Then she climbed off the barstool, mug still in hand, and started walking over to them to introduce herself. Her reputation probably preceded her, but honestly Grace didn't consider herself too threatening; in fact, she doubted she was even the highest bounty on this ship!

[The Shimmering Banana]

The thick liquid rushed through the straw into Octavia’s mouth as she slurped down every drop of her tropical drink. That annoying hollow straw noise making sure she knew that the drink was empty as the soft-spoken woman next to her introduced herself. Placing the glass down at the side table next to her the young woman takes off the pineapple garnish and replies “Hi, I’m Octavia.” before devouring the slice of fruit in one bite. As she props herself up in the lounge chair to make conversation with her new pool buddie the huntress attention is caught by a loud-mouthed woman at the bar tipping back a huge mug of ale. “She’s having a good time huh…” she continues to say as she continues to look at the now mustachioed woman.



Octavia knew and was raised to believe that it was rude to stare and this time she would find out exactly why that was. Although she did not intend for this lively woman to notice her looking at her or to even acknowledge her she did. Grace was on her way over to the two lounging ladies and Octavia could tell that this was going to completely change the vibe of her planned relaxed day.

*Ding Dong.. Ding Dong..*

“Hi Folks this is your Captain speaking. In just 15 minuets the lunch buffet will be rolled out so make sure your ready to eat. Todays lunch special will be shepherd’s pie made with ground wagyu beef and topped with a runny egg. Yum!! As always food, juice and soda are all complementary alcoholic drinks are an extra charge. Today for our little one we will be playing a movie after lunch on the lower deck just in time for parents and other guest to sign up for the first round of the poker and black jack tournaments. The top five from each game will earn a grand prize of 100,000 to split amongst themselves and a spot in the V.I.P. gamblers room for a chance to win money, fame, and of course this voyages mystery prize. Good luck to all and as always, thank you for sailing with us on Royal Blue Cruise Line.”

*Ding Dong.. Ding Dong*

‘Woow… literally saved by the bell’ thought Octavia as she prepared to use the captains message as the perfect escape from what was sure to be an awkward encounter. She then quickly raises to her feet and gently grabs Blanchette’s hand and shakes it. “Sorry to leave you so soon but I need to go and change if I’m going to have enough time to eat and sign up for the tournament. I’m a black jack fiend, maybe I’ll see you at the casino later?” she said to the fully clothed woman as she turns away quickly heading back inside the ship to get ready for the rest of the day.

As she ventured towards her room Octavia passes another bar and decides to make a quick stop. ‘When in Romano’ she thinks as she ordered an Irish coffee, the perfect combination of perk and liquid courage with just a hint of pumpkin spice. “Thank you” taking that first hot sip and dropping 10 beri into the baristas till before continuing to her cabin to change her clothes.

[Fox]

Foiled at the start. Blanchette fumed silently about the other woman’s rather loud arrival, scaring off the person that she’d aimed to chat up and potentially get some intelligence out of. She rubbed her temples to stymie her annoyance. Well, at least she’d gotten some news about the tournament.

“Oh, it’s not a problem at all, Octavia,” Blanchette replied cheerfully, “I’ll see you at the casino, yes!”

Blanchette waved as the woman retreated then turned her attention to Caroline, the object of her current frustration. She kept her voice light and cheery.

“Hello! Nice to meet you,” she began, “I’m Blanchette. Would you perhaps care to join me for lunch? Or, perhaps, does gambling interest you at all?”

---

Blanchette | #e4d00a | Post Count: 2

[Aromancer]

"Oh, sorry if I interrupted you two," Grace said, rubbing her hand behind her head in embarrassment as Octavia left to change. The smile on her face remained unchanged, although it seemed to be more sheepish than before.

She quickly recovered when Blanchette invited her to lunch, or alternatively, to gamble. "Oh, hell yeah!" She replied, suddenly clearly enthused. "You just listed two of my favorite things, girl! I'd LOVE to do some gambling with you! I'm killer at roulette!"

Obviously it was tricky to be "good" at roulette. Grace typically just bet it all on black, but if she was ever on a streak and had some money to play around with, she'd stack chips around 23 in a move she called "the Fortress."

Thank goodness, then, that she was more interested in the announcement that had just gone off. "Oh, but Poker and Blackjack are where the money is, huh?" She smirked and elbowed Blanchette. "What say we work together on Poker? A "secret alliance?" One of us would be SURE to win; then we'd split the winnings, 50/50!"

last time she'd been to a casino, Caroline Grace may or may not have stolen the jackpot. She wanted to get an honest win this time around; she hadn't come on board planning a repeat of last time, after all. But she wasn't totally squeaky clean; she was a pirate, after all. If she needed to pull a little trickery to ensure the win, well, she wasn't above that.

[The Shimmering Banana]

The steam of the hot shower covered her curvy body as the young woman covered her body in soap suds. Close by on the bathroom counter rested her now warm Irish coffee as she reached out feeling around to grab it. The girl was not prone to drinking and its effects were already starting to take effect. In fact, this was her first time away from her home and the first time she had ever had more than just one drink in a day. It was the beginning of a new life so why not let loose a little bit while she still had a chance to. It was rare that she would find or even hunt a bounty on this ship after all. Octavia peaks her head out of the shower laying eyes on her drink and sucks down the rest of it. Continuing her shower, the water runs down her backside washing away all the soap suds. With her curvaceous figure nice and clean she exits the shower, wrapping her self with a towel, and heads over to the dresser where she placed her clothing.



As she rummages around her clothes, Octavia locates a pair of short shorts and a yellow tank top with purple lining, that came with her bathing suit. As she slides the clothing on she finds a pair of black sneakers and laces them up on her feet. Looking into the mirror she thinks ‘yeah I look good!’.



With her new look the girl quickly heads out of her room and straight towards the buffet. Her stride a bit wobbly after a combination of her tipsiness and the ships rocking. As she continues to walk the now intoxicated young woman begins to bump into the wall as she catches herself before slamming into it. “Hahaha *hiccup* excuse me the ships swaying must be getting to me” she says assuming her clumsiness was due to the rocking. “Oh well better get to the food”.



As Octavia enters the buffet room the enticing aroma drug her around from try to tray as she loaded her plate with food from all over the Blue’s and some deliquesces from the Grand Line that she has never even seen before. This was sure to be a grand feast and an awesome meal to give her energy for the rest of the days gambling tournaments. As she takes her seat the girl waives over a near-by attendant and begins to place her drink order. “Hi Sir., can I *hiccup* excuse me!” covering her mouth out of embracement as she spoke. “May I have a banana daiquiri?” the server simply nodding as before walking away to get the guest her THIRD DRINK.

THREE

It was a number she would soon remember forever even though she was just going to forget about it in the morning. Unbeknownst to Octavia three was her maximum number of alcoholic drinks before she was drunk and before another completely person emerged from the body of ‘The Monkey Princess'. As she continues to eat the server brings over her drink and she places another 10 beri on their tray. As she waives in thanks to the man Octavia pops an item from her plate into her mouth and soon regrets it. The dark red bacon wrapped pepper burns her mouth as she chewed it her first reaction being to swallow it instead of spitting it out. “AAAHHhhhh!” she cries out from the burning sensation as she looks around for something to drink with only the daiquiri in sight. The light weight quickly picks up the glass and chugs down the sweet alcoholic beverage. ‘Wow, man that was hot’ she thinks to herself as her head begins to spin. “I feel kinda funny, hahaHaha!” she bellows out uncaring of her surroundings.

[Fox]

“I wouldn’t worry about it, mon cher,” Blanchette commented with a dismissive wave, “Just trying to make conversation and find some drinking buddies to pass this delightful vacation with.”

She seemed more than happy to accept her invitation, which pleased Blanchette just a little. At least this one wouldn’t go running off. In fact, she had a sneaking suspicion that it would be incredibly difficult to lose her. Hm. Well, she’d burn that bridge when she came to it. Blanchette made a show of considering the other woman’s strategy.

“Oh, sounds like a grand time. It’s a deal,” she replied with a practiced amount of cheer, “But first, lunch, oui? Come, come!”

Blanchette gestured for the other woman to follow and headed off to the buffet. The food was classy, fine, but Blanchette didn’t really care to eat big meals in front of people. She just picked the special, the shepherd’s pie and scanned the room for a table to eat at. It didn’t take long for her to spot her new acquaintance Octavia sitting at a table by herself having yet another one of those questionable banana daiquiris. Blanchette’s ears shot forward as Octavia cried out and downed the whole thing in one go, nearly disloging her hat from her head.

She made sure that it was secured before deciding if she really wanted to try pursuing a conversation with that girl. Mm. Well, she couldn’t just linger about. More and more tables were filling up as she deliberated. Deciding just to bite the bullet, Blanchette walked over to Octavia and forced a cheerful tone to her voice again.

“Ah, Octavia, darling! Do you mind if we join you for lunch?”

---

Blanchette | #e4d00a | Post Count: 3

[Aromancer]

"Whee! Lunch!" Caroline didn't seem to fully grasp the idea that Blanchette was speaking another language, confusing her affirmation for a celebration. It probably didn't matter, though; the enthusiasm would've held either way.

Caroline had just placed her seafood order when she noticed her new companion's eyes straying. "Blanchie? What's up?" She asked, following her gaze over to Octavia. "Oh, hey! It's the girl from before! Man, she can not hold her liquor!"

A sleazy-looking gentleman in an unbuttoned suit seemed to notice Octavia's lowered inhibitions. In an attempt to perhaps get lucky, he slicked his hair back and slid over to her other side.

"Hey, hot stuff," the guy said, flashing a dazzling set of pearly whites. "How 'bout you ditch your friend and come- OUGH!"

He was interrupted in the middle of his pitch by a punch to the side of his head, collapsing to the floor only to be replaced a moment later by Caroline. "Howdy again, Octavia, was it? C'mon, let's all eat together!" She subtly shooed away the bartender; Caroline loved to drink, but Octavia had definitely had enough.

The man lay on the floor below her, forgotten. Caroline had decided that this would be an impromptu Girls' Lunch, and that meant No Boys Allowed. She doubted anyone would mind; the guy was obviously a total loser.

"Ooh, is that a pepper bacon?" She eagerly took a bite of the discarded confection, chewing and swallowing the spicy pepper without apparently any ill effect. "Mmph, sho good..." she mumbled through a mouthful of pepper.

[The Shimmering Banana]

As the two women approached the drunk girl Octavia’s vision swayed their image seeming strange to her. ‘Waite what?’ she thought as she attempted to regain her composer. “Oh hay it’s my friend from the pool, of course you can join me” she quickly replied. Octavia didn’t even notice Caroline at first or her protective action knocking out the sleezy man that was attempting to gain her attention. Probably for the best as Octavia didn’t have the best track record with sleezy male callers. That knockout punch would have been the least of his worries after this girl was done castrating him drunk or not!



As Caroline addressed Octavia she instantly felt embraced as she just ran off avoiding her at the pool. As if she was in the position to talk the girl thought ‘Oh great its that loud mouth girl from the pool this is awkward’. The girls slide their chairs back taking a seat the legs to Caroline’s chair knocking the floored man on the head again assuring that he would stay down for their meal. As Caroline popped the pepper in her mouth Octavia began to call out “That’s really ho…” stopped short as Caroline chomped it down and wasn’t phased by the devilish pepper. ‘Man, this girl has an icebox for a mouth’ she thought before complementing her new friend? “Wow you can take some heat, *hiccup* that thing almost killed me, I had to chug this daiquiri just to deal with it *hiccup*. But I’m feeling waaaaayyy better now.”



Oblivious to the fact that her sense of feeling better had nothing to do with the drink being ice cold and everything to do with her inebriated state of mind. She then stuffed a large forkful of the shepherd’s pie into her mouth. “Man! Have you guys tried this shepherd’s pie its like a layer of meat then cheese then mashed potatoes then more cheese and then they bake it. It’s really really good” she rambled before realizing one really rude moment. “Oh man I didn’t ever properly introduce myself” addressing Caroline, “I’m Octavia, Octavia Saix. What’s your name?”

*Ding..Dong…Ding..Dong*

"Ahoy Travelers! don’t forget that registration to the afternoon tournament will close in thirty minutes and the tournament will begin shortly after at 2 P.M. Make sure you sign up in order to get a chance to enter the V.I.P. tournament and win our grand prize."

*Ding.Dong...Ding..Dong*

[Fox]

Well, she’d certainly chosen interesting eating partners. Blanchette simply sat down after Caroline punched a man in the head and sent him tumbling to the floor. She huffed softly, eyeing the man on the floor as some others helped him up and escorted him away. Well, more like dragged. Probably security or some such. Shaking her head, Blanchette turned her attention to her meal even as Caroline stuffed her face.

Octavia seemed a little different from before as well, but that was likely the effects of alcohol taking their course. She really couldn’t understand how anyone would willingly poison themselves and ruin their own judgment. Maybe it was just because they didn’t have the fear of being hunted looming over them like a knife at all times. Ah, to be that innocent.

While the two were distracted with one another, Blanchette tapped her shepherd’s pie with a finger, infusing it with a bit of pink-gold energy. As she did so, it shrunk smaller and smaller until it was about the size of a coin. Blanchette blushed. Oh, it was so cute and tiny. She delicately stabbed it with a fork and carefully slipped it beneath her mask in an instant before anyone could get a look at what was beneath. Biting into the tiny pie made it explode with savory flavor in her mouth. Ah, she was in heaven.

Heaven was over in a single bite as it should be just as another announcement sounded. Blanchette cast her eyes toward the source of the sound even though there was nothing to look at.

“Ah, we should get to that, cherie,” Blanchette commented, looking at Caroline, “Would you care to join us for a bit of gambling, Octavia? We’re aiming to win the grand prize.”

---

Blanchette | #e4d00a | Post Count: 4

[Aromancer]

Grace grinned broadly as Octavia commented on her ability to take the heat, flames licking at the sides of her mouth and steam puffing out her ears in comical fashion. "Oh yeah," she replied. "I basically grew up on spicy foods, so I've gotten used to the heat! You just keep at it, you'll be chompin' down hot peppers like they're candies, too!"

She directed her gaze towards the Shepherd's Pie when it was pointed out to her, her hunger not fully sated yet; but she could only watch as Blanchette shrank it down and ate the whole thing in one bite. She cast her gaze up to the masked woman, eyes watering and bottom lip trembling. "You... why would you...?"

Wait a second! "You have a Devil Fruit!" Caroline's eyes shot open as she leaned over to speak to Blanchette directly. "Woah, I've never met a Devil Fruit user before! Is it true that the ocean chews you up and spits you out if'n you try and swim?" Her heartbreak at the loss of the pie was forgotten in an instant, replaced by excitement over the capabilities of what she hoped was her new friend.

The impromptu interrogation was cut short by the announcement overhead, however. Registration would close in half an hour? But the line to register was still so long! Caroline sighed; "you're right," she said to Blanchette. "We should probably get in line now." Waiting in line was so boring! But maybe she'd have some good conversation during the wait?

"C'mon, join us!" She said to Octavia, grabbing hers and Blanchette's wrists and pulling them up to the back of the line. "I'm sure between the three of us, one'll win the grand prize!"

[The Shimmering Banana]

With her wrist in Caroline’s hand it made it difficult for Octavia to refuse to join the two women. The girl dropping pieces of potato as she was mid-bite prior to being pulled away. Although she wasn’t against gambling, in fact she was planning on joining the tournament, Octavia wasn’t the best gambler around. She had only played poker a few times in her life with her father and blackjack a few more times than that. So that would probably be her best chance of winning any type of prize that may be in store. As the trio made there way to the line, Octavia couldn’t help but slightly stumble attempting to keep Caroline’s pace and regain her balance.



‘The Monkey Princess’ couldn’t shake this feeling clouding her mind and just started realizing what it actually was. ‘Am I drunk?’ she questioned herself as they reached the back of the long line. ‘Ok play it cool, you finally meet a group of cool girls you don’t want to seem like a chump’ her thoughts continued as she took a deep breath and brushed herself off. As she looked around Octavia noticed that the line started off as one long line however broke apart into three separate sections once you reached the table in the front. Squinting ahead Octavia read the three signs propped in front of the attendants at the table. The first read poker, the next read baccarat, and the last read black jack. “What the heck is baccarat?” she asked her companions never hearing of that game.



It was clear to her that she would sign up for black jack and maybe poker depending on how many games you were allowed to enter. But what were her new friends going to play? If you were only allowed to sign up for one and they chose poker should she join them? Decisions, decisions…



“So, what are you girls going to sign up for, I was thinking I’d play black jack” hoping that her question would lead her friends to join her in her choice of game if it was that they could only choose one. Regardless the group did have some time to decide judging on the length of the line and the speed that it was moving. As several other people signed up for their games the line moved up and the trio met with another server passing out drinks. Octavia glanced towards him and locked eyes to a glass of water as if she had been wandering the desert for days. She quickly grabs the glass of the server’s tray, the talented worker keeping it steady as the glass was removed, and chugged it hoping it would help her intoxicated state.

[Fox]

Ah, bother. Blanchette had hoped the other two would be too distracted to notice the use of her Devil Fruit abilities. Unfortunately, that was not the case for Caroline. It also struck Blanchette quite curiously and suddenly that despite both herself and Octavia introducing themselves and asking, she’d yet to give her name. A little suspicious, that. Or she was a total airhead. Or both.

“I do,” she said simply in response, “And more or less, I suppose, though I’ve never had the displeasure of testing that legend.”

Of course, with her usual exhausting energy, Caroline pulled the both of them up and away from the table. Blanchette sighed audibly and allowed herself to be pulled along, half considering just going on a rampage and being done with this whole farce. She knew she’d never do it, but it was therapeutic to consider even for a moment. Blanchette straightened out her clothes as soon as Caroline let go.

Up ahead, the line split into three. Blanchette picked a stray hair from her sleeve and brushed it off onto the floor. “Mm, well, I plan on signing up for black jack and poker both,” she said, “I’m in it for the grand prize, after all.”

Blanchette turned to Caroline.

“What about you, miss? I don’t think I caught your name yet. Care to share?”

---

Blanchette | #e4d00a | Post Count: 5

[Aromancer]

"Oh my goodness," Caroline put a hand in front of her mouth, realizing her faux pas for the first time. "Where are my manners? Y'all can call me Grace; Caroline Grace, at your service!" She gave a polite curtsy, a little awkward without a dress. She wobbled slightly as she did so; apparently, despite her lucidity, Grace too was quite drunk.

It didn't pass her notice that this was the first time Blanchette was actually inquiring about her name. Although Octavia had asked previously, but Caroline had been too distracted by the pepper bacon, so she decided against saying anything; she'd only embarrass herself, after all.

She smiled at Octavia's question. "Baccarat's super simple," she explained, pronouncing the game's name "back-a-rat." "All you gotta do is add up the numbers in your hand of two cards! Then you take the last digit of the sum; jacks, queens, and kings're all worth zero. You can ask for more cards if the total in your hand is five or lower, and the winner is whoever has the higher total!" She turned her attention away from the baccarat table. "There's more rules, but it's only a two-player game, so it won't work for our alliance. Probably best if we stick to Blackjack!"

Caroline may not have looked it, but she was a master card counter; probably something to do with her ability to keep her wits about her no matter how drunk she got. Once the three of them were sitting around the table, she would wow the other girls with her skills, she was sure of it!

She plopped herself down at the registration desk and grabbed a pen. "Hey, do y'all wanna sign up together?" She asked the other two girls, "Or should we each do it individually? If we're gonna be an alliance, we need a team name!"