Golden Fortune, eh?

As the sole representative of the Brooks family in this particular event, Loraina received nothing short of a VIP treatment upon her arrival, and she certainly dressed the part as well - a figure-hugging maroon sleeveless dress, complete with shoulder-lengthed gloves and a dreaded pair of stilettos that would've earned her all the brownie points in the world if only all these males knew hot it felt to walk in them, let alone spend hours upon hours mingling around with them gradually threatening to snap the ligaments in her ankles. Oh, and there were earrings and other bits of jewellery too. Fun times.

After purposely arriving fashionably late just for the sake of avoiding any unwanted attention from the masses, she figured that once they were all hung up on all the gambling and the booze, she'd be left alone to her own devices instead of having to deal with snobs repeatedly asking her for her hand in marriage. Well, the latter was inexplicably unavoidable, but drunken proposals were certainly far more entertaining and humiliating and fun to watch.

With a champagne glass in hand, she went around greeting all the big shots who weren't preoccupied with irresponsibly throwing away their hard-earned money and spent several minutes speaking to each of the little groups that had formed around the banquet. From what little she knew, this feast was apparently held in celebration of a successful business venture by one of her father's close associates. A shame, really, that he couldn't be here to drag her out of this nightmarish endeavor since she had no interest whatsoever in the realm of businesses.

An eternity or more passed by during what was greeting after greeting after greeting filled with the most uninteresting crap that one could imagine. Older celebrities, nobles and even business owners approached her with the intent of introducing her to their next-in-line, hoping that some sort of romantic friction would bloom like the ones often depicted in works of fiction. Their efforts bore no fruits, to say the least, and all was left as they were before, though she had an inkling that they wouldn't stop trying no matter what.

"How about.. just a conversation?" For the sake of getting away, Loraina opted to take a seat at one of the tables and pretend as though she was preoccupied with these money-wasting activities. Truth be told, she had no idea how these games worked, and what all those cards represented, and unless they had remotely anything to do with magic, she wouldn't be interested.

A long, drawn out sip of her glass resulted in the immediate downing of her drink - which, to be frank, wasn't even good champagne. Initially, she paid the male before her no mind, but as the beginning of what was to be their first interaction commenced, it'd be rude of her to not make eye contact. Regardless of how unstable her mental state could be at times, the constant reminder that she was a Brooks existed in the back of her mind, and she had to place that responsibility above all else. "Interesting job you have, though I have no idea how it works."

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"Wow."

Amused, unamused, who knows. Though, she would readily admit that watching this card dealer's performance was most definitely more entertaining than talking to rich snob after rich snob, with nothing interesting other than the amazing progress their respective businesses were doing. One could only withstand so much of the same things after all. It'd be equivalent to eating cheesecake - if one had too much of it, they'd soon grow sick of the flavors, and would want something else to munch on. Something savory. Well, imagine a rotten cheesecake being continuously shoved into her mouth against her will, that was this party in a nutshell.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Knowing how was better than not knowing at all, and even though Loraina was strictly against flaunting her wealth on things that held little to no benefits for her life as a whole, who knew if she'd ever be presented with a scenario where these skills may be pivotal. A farfetched idea, but in a day and age where entertainment came in all shapes and sizes, it shouldn't be too far off the realm of possibility.

The pinkette would continue surveying each movement the blonde made, and all the while a tonne of questions swirled around her mind, almost like a miniature tornado. There were little bits and pieces of things she had already known somehow, like the little symbols next to the numbers and what they were called, but as for how they were used and what exactly differentiated them between one another aside from their shapes? She had not an inkling of a clue.

There was one tiny detail that made this person's technique stick out amongst all the other dealers around, or at least the ones that she has had a chance to examine, even if it was only from a distance away, and she couldn't resist pointing it out. Of course, she kept it classy, purely as a subject of conversation between the only two persons present. "Is there a reason why you're showing me all the little shufflings you do in a manner that I could clearly see, as opposed to.. say, the dealer on the table next to us who seemed to be fumbling and switching certain cards around underneath the table while no one is noticing?"

Either that dealer had a habit of making rookie mistakes, or Loraina was simply far too observant for her own good? Some may say that curiosity killed the cat, but she has yet to be presented with a situation where asking questions put her in harm's place, lest those questions held stupidly obvious answers, then yes, she'd feel the need to rattle her brain for not being in the right frame of mind.

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Story time with Loraina.

Since her youthful days, the pinkette's brewing hatred for numbers grew when she had to start attending mathematics classes. Unlike most children her age, the tutor actually came to her family estate instead of her going to a public housing full of kids who are ready and, some might even dare say willing to learn. Excelling in most of the subject that she was taught, the only weak links she's constantly suffered ridicule from was her physical education - what with her being a chubby, physically inactive kid; and maths - because numbers are a mere fad. So long as she could add and subtract, multiply and divide, she felt good enough to move on with life without knowing all the formulas and square roots of numbers.

So yes, there was a slight bit of discomfort when it came to her agreeing to actually do this, but it shouldn't be all too hard, right? If other adults her age and beyond could enjoy this as a pastime, all she had to do was pay attention and all would be well. At least she hoped it would.

"I would agree that making mistakes is a quintessential step in learning to get better, but I doubt he'd ever want to make a mistake or be seen by others, lest he enjoys losing his job. Or worse." Cheating was one thing, but cheating like a complete novice? That's just asking for trouble. With years of experience under her belt in places like these, it wouldn't be a rare occurrence for dealers like these to be kicked out of establishments, or even killed as a direct consequence of their actions. They were, in a way, stealing money, and even though the ones who profit the most were their superiors and the organizations that employed them, the poor fellows would be turned on in a heartbeat. Expendable workers, at the end of the day. "If I were you, I'd warn him against that."

"I must admit, you do have a way with complimenting a lady." Just as she herself had a way with words. And with the added mixture of a posh, British accent, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that she'd be able to make any male in the world swoon. Well, at least the ones who are interested in the opposite gender, that is. Yet, even as she spoke, her expression showed next to nothing of her being impressed. Hell, most people found it hard to decipher what it is she seemed to be thinking, and when they actually thought they'd have an inkling of success, she'd completely flip the script on them just for the sake of keeping herself entertained. "Forgive me, but I'm not really the type who'd find words to be impressive. Actions tend to speak much louder."

"Yes, proceed."

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"No arguments there."

Practice makes perfect, but if you're still as green as goose shit, maybe you should think about all the consequences that might come your way before you actually decide to go along with it. There will come a day where you'd have to take that giant leap to actually start doing it and make yourself more comfortable as time rolled along, but if you're fidgeting and fumbling just from the most basic of practices, then you of all people should know that you were not, and still aren't ready.

That little quip about how compassionate she may be - while yes, she certainly could pull that off every once in awhile, especially in a big event such as this, where any and all actions could have immediate repercussions, her tendencies to accidentally let her sadistic side slip out every once in awhile still remained as strong as ever.

Compared to the aforementioned dealer, this one possessed a set of skills that she never thought would be necessary for a simple shuffling of cards. In a way, it was like a performance of sorts, wasn't it? Luring one in with a beautiful display of grace whilst handling the deck before eventually robbing them of the contents of their wallets and draining it dry. Though Loraina had no experience with gambling, she knew the ins and outs of how things worked. The only reason she'd accept his little lesson was to mask the fact that she had no interests in mingling around any further, at least not for the time being.

Who knows if she'd have a burning sensation that required some.. intimate relief, later on in the evening?

The pinkette blinked when shown the cards, and though her understanding of this subject was fairly limited, she knew how to count to twenty-one. All she had to do was add onto what was already in her hand until she'd come close to, or on an off chance, actually hits the target right in the eye of the bull. Unfortunately for her, the reveal showed a less astounding number of a two of hearts plus a king of clubs. "Twelve, I suppose this means? From what you've shown me, I'm only guessing that the unnumbered cards represent a ten, while an ace is an eleven?"

Of course, it was pure speculation on her behalf. Good speculation, but there's still missing details that she hadn't been presented with just yet. "But aren't aces usually a one?"

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Observant as she may have been, Loraina's unfamiliarity with the rules and how these types of games generally worked offered her zero insight as to how a dealer could've cheated his hand, or even maneuvered cards into her's unless it was blatantly obvious like the man she pointed out earlier on. Individuals of every profession had tricks of their own trades, and these gambling card dealers were no different, though one tiny slip up could potentially endanger their lives. Unfortunately for most, these were some of the chances they were willing to take.

The heiress of the Brooks family continued listening into the man's descriptions and instructions. Slowly but surely, she understood the gist of what the game was actually like. At the end of the day, all it boiled down to was the thrill and exhilaration of your luck being better than your opponents, or even the rest of your friends who were joining you at your table.

And she knew, only because she felt it first hand.

Winning gave her a small rush of adrenaline as she stared down at her cards, the total number tallying up to an astounding twenty-one, beating the hand of the dealer's, which was already the closest it'd get without the huge risk of going overboard and losing it straight.

"A-Ah, well. Ahem." It took her a moment to fully recuperate from her shocking fluke victory, and though she knew deep down that the man had somehow planted the cards that sealed her win for the sake of demonstration, she could now understand how enticing it'd be just to sit down like this and earn some easy cash without much work. Would she participate in more of these though? Probably not. It just wasn't her cup of tea. "I don't think it is."

"So this profession of yours, is it sustainable? It.. does seem like it'd take years of practice alone for you to even begin thinking of doing this in public, let alone be confident and suave in the midst of all the pressure."

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"Mm, as much as I'd appreciate the gesture, it'd only be taking the fun away."

Oh, this man was bold, no doubt about that. Unlike most of the folks in this snob-filled banquet, he dared approach her in a way that didn't make her feel like she was pedestals above everyone else. Just the thought of all these people coming onto her and either directly asking for her hand in marriage, or simply for the two younger generations of nobles to 'get more acquainted' with one another. If it wasn't obvious enough already, the Brooks family heiress did not appreciate being treated like a prized possession, or a rare antique at a museum.

Perhaps this was what fueled her hatred for people, and her love for all things chaotic.

Listening to the man explain his profession in more of a detailed fashion, she came to the conclusion that although one could technically make a good living out of this, so much so that that they'd be able to raise and take good care of a family of their own, it still didn't seem like a job that one would want to continue doing for an extended period of time - at least to her. A transitional one that would hopefully lead to bigger and better things in the future, but a full time, no nonsense nine to five occupation with high risks and high hazards? Most definitely not. "I don't suppose you have another backup plan, in case this one fails to meet your expectations?"

It was a fairly often sight to see Loraina sugarcoating her words, especially in environments like these where she was essentially dealing with some of the most elite politicians and businessmen there were, not only from this particular country, but all over the world. Seeing as her own family wasn't from here, and she'd just relocated from her native homeland to Sundial City not long ago, she understood first hand the importance of forming connections and generally having people watch out for you. When it pertains to what she's capable of though, let's just say she had no restraints when it came to using her appearances to get what she wanted. Yet, when it came to things she had an interest in, she'd show no restraints in asking whatever question came to mind. "It'd seem like an awful job to lose your head over, but that might just be my way of thinking."

When the little proposal was made, the pinkette blinked several times toward his direction, her brows slightly raised, both in apparent surprise and curiosity. "Now wouldn't that be the easiest date you've ever secured in your life." she chuckled, knowing full well that she stood as much of a chance at beating him as a single worker ant beating a human. Still, that didn't stop her from leaning forward, a gloved arm placed on the table and her signature almost-smug smile surfacing. "Yet, you've somehow managed to rope me into this.. enticing little charade, so to speak. I accept your challenge. But, dear little jester, what is it that I get if I somehow pull off a miraculous upset? It'd only be fair if this were a wager."

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It was nice for some people to come prepared. From her father's words, she knew that the poor often had to resort to various means if it meant feeding themselves and their families, and often more than not, that meant taking up odd jobs and learning to become what was essentially a jack of all trades. There are those who prefer not to though, pushing themselves forward with only one goal in mind, focusing on that one specific thing to sustain their livelihoods, and failure was not an option because it'd either result in a chance of dire or even fatal consequences.

She was one of the latter.

Try as he may, her father had never forced it upon his daughter to bear the burden of carrying the family name, but she did. She took it upon herself - the want to represent the Brooks, the thought of not wanting to let her father down, and the will to be better than everyone else in her family and beyond. Perhaps this was what caused that little spark of madness to overtake her sanity, igniting an insatiable lust for blood, power and chaos. While her family had often leaned towards the law-abiding side of things, there were a few renowned witches in her ancestry that took matters into their own hands, whether it be to change the course of history, or to rewrite their very own fates. Those who could see it deep within her wretched soul could easily figure out where she gets her inspirations from.

"Oh please, stop it with the compliments. I've heard enough this evening to warrant earplugs."

A roll of her eyes and a rather snarky attitude showcased just how pompous she could be, though it wasn't like she made it a point to hide it in the first place. There may have been a time where naive little Loraina cared about what most others thought of her, but as she grew and began learning to pave her own way in life, she obviously grew smarter over the course of time and experience. "A favor."

"A favor during a time of need. Nothing substantial. Just something you could potentially do for me if a day comes where I'd need it." A simple enough answer to a question that would have plagued most minds of wealthy individuals who would already possess whatever purchasable things they could ever want. Thus, a favor seemed to be the most logical step she could take to move forward. It's always been an important point to form connections all over, even with those they'd generally look down on. You'd never know if there comes a time where you'd need someone with a particular set of skills for either an important opinion, or even some help.

Loraina twirled a strand of her shoulder-length hair, a half smirk half smile combination plastered across her face as she awaited the man's cards, knowing full well that her chances of victory were slim to none, and it was up to this guy to decide if it was worth forfeiting a date for. Of course, there's still some who'd rather choose the one off chance of a lifetime just to say they've had a grand, expensive date with a renowned individual, but only the smarter ones would be able to say they've formed a friendship that might earn them some brownie points in return.

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