Build-A-Doll!

Anthia felt someone touching her and shivered lightly. She went back to her senses. Yes, that's right, she wasn't there anymore... she saw that it was Vinanye comforting her. She gently leaned against her. She didn't feel well; those memories hit her pretty hard. At least she was among good people. She nuzzled the empty doll and remained quiet. Her emotional state was still a mess, but it was improving now. She required time to relax.

"Oh thank you!" She gleamed, just happy to know that she wasn't screwing up her sister's doll representation. It was of course her first attempt, so she would hopefully be able to make a remake later on in her life. "Oh?" Her head slanted to the left as she glanced down at her doll. Of course Sherry had heard of temptations, but she would have never expected her sister to actually go there. With that, she finished up her doll rapidly to join in on the conversation. Her eyes widened at the realization that Vinanye worked at a brothel. She seemed so sweet and not about that lifestyle, but Sherry wouldn't judge. "I hope that you're happy there, at least." There was no way that she was going to put her down. "Ohh? You have a boyfriend?" Sherry leaned in, saying the question rather quietly so that she didn't disturb the main conversation.

Dorian nodded carefully, muttering a small, "Huh." And then, he flushed, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry if that question was too intrusive. It just came out out of my mouth. Forgot my manners, and all."

Dorian looked over at Annie, wondering if there was anything he could do to lighten up the situation. He pulled out a deck of cards from his coat and shuffled it in front of her. He pulled out five cards he wasn't even looking at and covered his eyes. "Pick a card, Annie. Any card."

Dorian got out a deck of cards. She didn't notice this until he started shuffling them. Seeing the odd hand motion from the corner of her eye made her look up at him. She watched him curiously as the cards were shuffled. Then he pulled out five cards and asked her to pick. Oh! He wanted to do a card trick. Annie blinked then stopped leaning on Vinanye as much so that she could reach over and pick a card. She chose the card and glanced at it. It was the Ace of Hearts. She waited for further instruction on what to do next.

Dorian put the rest of the cards back in the deck. He honestly had no clue what card Annie took, but that was part of the fun.

"Put it anywhere, anywhere in the deck at all." He held out the deck for Annie to take. "Give it a little shuffle!"

Anthia slid the card in the middle of the deck. Then she shuffled the deck. She didn't really know how to shuffle, so she was mixing the cards up really slow. No fancy shuffling techniques for her. The girl evened out the deck so that the cards were in a perfect pile, as if they came fresh out of the box, and then held it out to Dorian. Her expression at this point was pure curiosity; the sadness from before faded.

Annie looked like she was feeling better. Dorian shuffled the deck again, in that fancy, magician's card tricks way. He pulled out a random card from the pile and smirked, showing Annie... The King of Clubs.

"Is this your card!?" he asked, enthusiastically.

Anthia watched eagerly. Magic tricks were always cool, even if they were on an island full of magical beings. She eyed the deck as it was shuffled once more. She expected him to somehow miraculously pull out her card. The elf girl prepared to tell him yes....

....but saw him pull out a card completely different from hers. She blinked and then looked at him confused.

"No...that isn't my card."

Did he mess up?

Dorian furrowed his eyebrows. "Wh — It's not? Alright. Can I try again?"

He shuffled the deck again, making thoughtful, humming noises as he did. He slammed it back on the table. "Alright! I think I've got it. Issss thiiiiiis......" He pulled out a card and showed it to Annie with a smirk. Seven of hearts. "...your card?"