Nowhere's turn to deal. Order is Nowhere -> Allanya -> Ailienas -> Aelis -> Ava -> Feloriel.
Clothes status:
Nowhere: shawl, boots, dress, shirt, socks, leggings, banding, underwear
Allanya: belt, boots, bracers, tunic, shirt, pants, stockings, banding, underwear
Ailienas: shirt, belt, thighband, bracers, boots, pants, socks, banding, underwear
Aelis: cloak, boots, belt, armor, shirt, pants, banding, underwear
Ava: headdress, belt, sandals, wrap, dress, banding, underwear
Feloriel: robe, diadem, shoes, earrings, dress, slip, tights, underwear
~~~~
Nowhere grinned as she shuffled the cards.
She took a quick look around the circle. On her right, Feloriel wore her usual stony expression, and on her left, Allanya was looking away from her, chatting with Ailienas. Nowhere couldn't make out their murmurs, but Ailienas looked excited. On Feloriel's other side, Ava smirked confidently. Well, she is good at this game. Aelis, sitting across from Nowhere, bore an expression that clearly stated "what the fuck have I gotten myself into."
"Alright!" Nowhere called out. "You know the rules. We're playing with two decks, so five of a kind ranks just above four of a kind. Everyone for herself. Devotional jewelry is safe, decorative jewelry is fair game. Paired items count as one. Ready?"
The responses varied from Ailienas's "you bet!" to Feloriel's "ready as I'll ever be", but there were no objections. The tiefling grinned again and dealt out the cards.
She looked down at her hand. 7D, 6D, QD, 8C, 8H
Allanya switched out three cards, shrugging at her replacements. Ailienas also switched three, and seemed similarly neutral on her results. Aelis only swapped two, and smiled a bit when she looked at the new ones. Ava handed over three cards, breaking into a wide grin at the replacements. Feloriel also switched out three. When she looked at her new cards, she sighed a bit but didn't seem too downcast.
Finally, Nowhere considered her own hand. Let's go with the obvious pair strategy here. She discarded the non-eights and drew three new cards. 8S, JS, 10H
Nice. Three of a kind!
"Let me see 'em!" she called.
Allanya has: 4H, 8H, KD, 4C, QH
Ailienas has: 5H, 3D, AD, JH, AC
Aelis has: JS, AH, JD, AS, QD
Ava has: 9H, 9S, KS, KC, 4S
Feloriel has: 10D, 2C, 2H, 9C, JC
You have: 8C, 8H, 8S, JS, 10H
Feloriel looked at Allanya.
Allanya looked back. "Fours beat twos."
With a heavy sigh, Feloriel reached up to undo her earrings. The black feathers nearly brushed her shoulders, but with only a bit of work they lay in her palm.
"Really? That's it?" Ailienas grumbled.
"Patience, Li," Ava responded gently. "The game tends to start slow, and that's what makes the later bits more exciting."
Allanya was already gathering up the cards. "Ready for round two?"
