Scene #7954: Kale Should Not Be Allowed To Gamble

Owner	Pose
Kale Hearthward	"... 22! Horseshoes! House wins!" "Wha- dangit... I was sure I was going to win..." Kale abandons ship (or abandons Fae-Baccarat table, in this case) and makes his way back to the faerie casino buffet, checking his wallet despondently as he goes. "There goes last month's bonus pay..." he says to himself as he takes a seat. "... Maybe I can win it back if I can convince Fairfax to give me an advance..."
Arthur Lowell	>Arthur: Advise the birb Don't say "birb" again. Anyway, Arthur meets up with Kale at the buffet. He's had what appears to be a marginally better time of it in the casino, albeit he looks as high-strung as an airplane full of violins. "DAMN BRO," He declares through gritted teeth. "You getting CLEANED OUT?" He spoons up food with tense hands and a white-knuckled grip. When he notices one hand shaking, he gently knocks the side of his head. An entire interface labeled "CARD ARITHMETORIUM" falls out to one side (jam packed with phantasmal card-images), and he quietly kicks it under the buffet. "Shit, you playing HONEST with these dudes, dawg?" His handling of the tongs is a little less tense now.
Kale Hearthward	"... Um, you're... supposed to play honest, though? I mean, these are games." "... Right? Like, with rules, and... I mean, maybe some people cheat, but like..." "... Not... the people running the games, right?" He peers at where Arthur's discarded UI/UX went, but doesn't mention out loud that he noticed that. "That can't be right, though - wouldn't someone do something about that?"
Arthur Lowell	>Arthur: What is the nature of a casino? What is the nature of a youkai? "Yeah! They'd RESPECT it. Dawg, ain't these MYTH GUYS?" He brandishes tongs as if gesturing with a dramatic weapon. "Why would guys get MYTHS about 'em if they weren't about a little bit of SHOWMANSHIP? Yeah, you EAT SHIT and LOSE YA STUFF if you gamble with what's basically FAE. It's 'cause," He plants the tongs in the buffet dramatically and ends his pose with one index finger insightfully up. "You're supposed to play YOUR OWN GAMES, and make a SHOW that someone could do a MYTH ABOUT. So you finesse ways to WIN, but you NEVER MAKE IT BORING."
Kale Hearthward	"... Oh." Kale looks glumly down at his plate. "... So basically I just lost a bonus paycheck for - no chance of winning." "... Okay, though." He tries to recover. "Like - you said 'play my own games' and 'make a show', right?" "... I understand shows, at least." He looks a bit more perked up and energized. "This makes sense." "... Never had to deal with monsters or fae back at home. Still feels like there's so much to learn out here."
Arthur Lowell	>==> "Oh, yeah, that's the OTHER THING. Looks like you ain't never LOOTBOXED before, dawg." Arthur's trying to get Kale over to a table now, setting down with his food. "Lemme LET YOU IN. Any time you get FLASHY LIGHTS," He gestures around. "And PRETTY NUMBERS," He gestures to the tables. "And an AGONIZING WAIT TO SEE IF THE COST WAS WORTH IT," He gestures to Kale's side. Specifically, his wallet. "Then you're getting BOXED for real." He starts digging into his food, and taps the side of his head. Through a mouthful and some chewing: "BRAIN SCHTUFF, DAWGH." He swallows. "How BIRD are you? Like, you come from BIRDS? It's trying to hijack the BERRY SELECTOR part of ya brain."
Kale Hearthward	"Nearly entirely bird. Like, when I went in for my health exam, they said-" Kale's phone buzzes. "Oh hang on, that's the resort... I booked a conference room there for the war effort, gotta make sure my allies know where to go." He taps on it for a bit, then puts it away, giving Arthur his full attention again. "Right - um, sort of, all bird, but evolved into kind of human form? Like some sort of 'convergent magic-interference evolution', whatever that means." "... Though I'm a hawk. Hawks don't go for berries. We hunt." He grew up on a farm, and has always packed rations and never 'hunted' in his life. "... But close enough, so let's assume it's some... HUNT SELECTOR thing. I know what lootboxes are, by the way. I used the same sorta tactics to trick a norse god into paying attention during his lessons, once." "... Insidious, if this whole place is like that. I need to start playing smarter."
Arthur Lowell	>Arthur: Cover for the birb What did I JUST say? Arthur's voice goes low, his grin goes wide, and he leans towards Kale. "You got BIZ, you gotta RUN? Hey, I'm a GAMER. You here for TAMMY? I'm down to help. Gimmie the LIST of the WINNINGS ya after are, I'll CHUCK-E-CHEESE SHITSCAM these MOTHERFUCKERS with GAMING SCHEMES so rad that they'll be tellin' HELLA LEGEND about this for YEARS." "But yeah. GAMBLING is just THAT but WORSE, up in ya PREY SELECTOR. Dawg, you ain't even got JPEGS for it."
Kale Hearthward	"Yeah, I'm here for Tamamo - want to make sure her efforts here start out strong..." Kale whips out a notepad and writes out what he can remember of what he lost at what game, and slides it over to Arthur. "Thanks man, you're the best. I won't come back here till I have the PREY SELECTOR sorted out - er, I mean, I have an actual plan beyond 'try the games and depend on luck'."
Arthur Lowell	>==> Arthur nods a few times. "TAMAMO'S pretty great. Love to help out any of LILIAN'S GAL PALS." This man is an fucking idiot. He captchalogues the notepad and fingerguns to Kale. "I'll GET'CHA what'cha NEEDIN'. Good luck with the GAMBLING, dawg. That shit's TOUGH to get the BRAINFEEL for. Shit's STEALTH INSIDIOUS." He wraps up with his food and stands, limbering up a little and examining the lay of the land of the youkai casino. Alright, time to get back into the games and get Tamamo what she needs...