Welcome to Gaia! ::

"I was thinking it was about time for me to get another," said Arorangi brightly, stretching out his arm in front of him to examine the tattoos wound around the dark skin. "I would like to add some so that the sleeve is fully done - it is pretty nice that he does tattoos, is it not, little bird?" he added, with a grin at Oliver's expression. "You could get yourself a bird tattoo."

Arorangi winked, and then reached for the deck of cards that sat next to the cans of soda. "I thought we could play a little poker using M&M's to bet, or maybe something else, if you have something in mind," he said, giving Oliver a discrete nudge with his elbow in the direction of the food. "Any thoughts, my friends?"

Outlandish height aside, when Oliver had first met Arorangi it had been the tattoos that intimidated him most. But it had since become an object of quiet fascination. He liked the designs and the way they seemed to flow, it was a sign of strength and culture, neither of which the young Canadian could claim to have in the slightest.

He shook his head. "I couldn't... A-and it wouldn't be a bird! I d-don't even know how you came up with that..." Oliver took the gentle nudge as a sign that snacks were okay, and picked up his own can of pop. He just played with the tab on the can rather than opening it straight away though.

The more they talked, the more nervous Oliver began to look. Candy was more his pace, if he had to gamble at all, he didn't know anything about tattoos or inks! Plus there was one big, glaring problem. He didn't even know how to play poker.

“You don’t HAVE to get a tattoo either, but at least you’ll know if you’d want one where you can go.

“Poker, well… I’ve lost already.” Grinned Zac. “If I remember, keeping a strait face Is a pretty big part of this.” He shook his head as though to suggest that indicated that he was a lost cause.

“Besides, I can help with designs too if you have a basic idea but nothing solid.”

He sat down slowly, like maybe he’d had a few days to make him rather sore but it was better than not being able to sit at all.

“I promise I don’t bite either Oliver, and any friend of Arorangi is a friend of mine.”

"What did I tell you about selling yourself short?" Arorangi said sternly, giving Oliver a pointed look. "Think positively of yourself, mate. Zac here probably gets lost, and I am terrible at baking, so there are always things that we are not good at, but that is what makes us better humans."

He patted the space next to him again, and smiled.

"Half the fun is playing when you do not know how," said Arorangi cheerfully. "I never said I was good at poker, but I always had fun playing with my dad back on the island. It was just a good time to be had, nothing too serious."

Zac's careful descent wasn't missed, and Arorangi turned to look at him, frowning slightly as he began dealing out the hands.

"Yes, are you all right, mate? Did something happen?"

Oliver couldn't help but smile shyly at Arorangi's appraisal. Not good at baking... getting lost... they sounded like such normal things. At least until mention of fighting things came up.

"I-I don't get assigned there often..." Oliver muttered, watching the cards get laid out on the floor in front of them. "I've only been once... got bit... by a zombie..."

He didn't need to even mention his reaction to feel his cheeks start to glow, and promptly tried to cover his embarrassment by tipping his chin down and letting his bangs fall across his face. "Um, d-do we, uh, look at the cards?" He asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose with one hand. Why couldn't he have been born a person who didn't blush at the drop of a hat?

“Already been, pretty happy to escape the infirmary princess.” He laughed. He was so not about to tell them he didn’t get there under his own power though. “Wait till you meet her, all blond and blue eyes and pink and ribbons and –attitude.” He rolled his eyes.

“Mmm… I, think I’ve got it, but I guess we’ll see soon enough eh?”

Arorangi laughed. "Sounds like quite a piece of work, doesn't she?" he said, tossing a wink in Oliver's direction. "I will have to be careful the next time that I get myself in the infirmary - right, little bird? Same goes for you too. As for if you are unhappy, well...you are trying to get the highest cards you can. Straights, or several of the same card, or several of the same suit, things like that."

He grinned. "Ready?"

Zac had a good point too, aces were not a big deal in card games Oliver knew, like Go Fish, but poker was supposed to be more... mature.

He didn't confirm out loud that he was ready, but there was a sort of tenseness in the way he sat that indicated he was still a bit nervous, and there was a bit of a determined angle to his eyebrows. He couldn't be ready, not when he didn't know exactly what he was ready for, but he was ready to be thrown into it.

"Um..." he muttered, staring at the cards face-down in front of him. "What i-is a straight?"