Ronnie would have crawled into the sink if she could have, but she settled for splashing cold water on her face. Her eyes were normal; all she could see were blue irises specked with brown, with no sign of whirling emotions that may or may not have belonged to her. 

She smoothed her dress and noticed that it was currently a plain matte black — she wondered if she was too far from Earnest for the effect to travel. Beyond the flush to her cheeks, however, her glamour makeup was unchanged. As she tried to tuck the dyed blue and green hairs back into place, the stall door behind her opened. 

Ronnie’s throat clenched as her sister appeared in front of her. Sarah blinked a few times, still in the damn cocktail dress all the servers wore, her blond hair in a tasteful braid that complemented the gaudy golden makeup. “Ronnie, I’m so sorry about earlier!” She blurted. “I panicked — I didn’t want to get you in trouble or something!” 

Her youngest sister all but leaped into her arms, and Ronnie crushed her in a bear hug, letting herself enjoy an embrace without strings for about ten seconds before she pushed her back to arm’s length. “Sarah…” 

“No lectures!” Sarah said, crossing her arms. “Not after what I had to see in your booth, Ronnie — goodness!” 

Ronnie blushed but furiously shook her head, trying to shift the conversation back to her sister. “No, we are not talking about me right now. Why are you working at a planar-operated casino? I told you a hundred times you cannot get involved! I know your powers are minor, but any planar worth a damn could use them against you!” When Sarah opened her mouth, Ronnie held up a finger. “I don’t want this life for you — I don’t want you in some contract you can’t get out of, sis. Not like me, okay?” 

Sarah wiped her nose, sniffling. “I was working the tables downstairs in the human area. Apparently, the planars had some big event tonight and needed extra hands. My boss picked me. I figured…I thought I’d risk drawing more attention if I refused.” 

Ronnie sighed, wondering about the odds that Sarah’s involvement was only a coincidence — probably zero to none. 

She pulled Sarah back into a hug, which she returned tightly. “How are you feeling, being around all that?” 

“We’re all warded,” Sarah said. “I acted like I didn’t know what was happening, but I recognized them from some jobs you’ve done before. Just…bigger and stronger, and a lot more of them.” 

“Let me see,” Ronnie said. Sarah obliged, stepping back and holding out her open palm. Ronnie had to watch her skin for a few seconds, letting her gaze go slightly unfocused to see beyond the concealer charms for human eyes. As far as she could tell, nothing beyond a shitload of wards, which were necessary considering that Lirianna brought in a fucking deity. “You didn’t feel anything?” 

“No, aside from really embarrassed. I saw way too much of way too many things.” Sarah blushed again, and Ronnie did, too. She mumbled, “I thought you said you’d be done this morning. Contract over, and we’d be done with this shit.” 

Ronnie rubbed her face, suddenly on the verge of tears. “I was, but Vent is making things complicated, just like he always fucking does. The job is just…it’s going to take at least two more days, maybe longer. Can you tell them one of the planars scared you or something? Maybe getting out of working this floor again?” 

Sarah thought about it for a second, then nodded. “Yeah, okay. I can try?” 

“Thanks.” Ronnie sighed, happy not for the first time her youngest sister had not only some power but also the most agreeable nature of all three of them.

Still, she was also the nosiest of the sisters, and like clockwork, Sarah cleared her throat. “So…uh, who is the guy?” 

“No one,” Ronnie said, wincing as her words came out way too fast. “He’s part of the job.” 

Sarah quirked a brow — Ronnie's cheeks heated. “The job, huh? That didn’t look like work to me.” 

“Look, I got hammered with a planar roofie, okay? At least Earnest isn’t a total fucking pig — he got it removed before anything happened.” 

Sarah watched her for a moment, and Ronnie knew she was feeling her out, trying to sense her surface emotions, and she shook her head. “Don’t do any of that in this casino, Sarah; I mean it.”

Her sister shut down her empathy as much as she could and nodded. “Okay, but I want to hear more later. He’s really cute.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Later, fine, ugh. Go, I don’t want us to walk out together. And be careful, alright? Don’t take any gifts, tips, touches, drinks, anything, okay?” 

Sarah cocked her head in confusion. “I was told human staff is off-limits for this event.” 

“Not everyone follows the rules, Sarah,” Ronnie sighed. “Promise me?” 

Sarah nodded. “I promise, sis. You be careful, too, alright?” 

“I always am.” 

“Liar,” Sarah whispered, then ducked out of the bathroom.

Ronnie exhaled, trying to shake off Sarah’s teasing. It’s just a job, she told herself, fixing her dress and walking out of the bathroom. We need to find this totem, unwind ourselves from this bridge, and then my life can return to normal. 

But is that what you really want? The thought floated up from nowhere.

Ronnie froze, hand resting on the door handle. Was it really what she wanted? True, she wanted to get out from under Vent’s thumb like no one’s business, but other than that? She paused, the cold reality crashing over her like a wave. If I’m not caring for my sisters or working for Vent, then what am I? 

Sadly, Ronnie knew there really wasn’t a normal for her. Everything was always for someone else — there was never any time or place for what she wanted. 

Do you want him? 

Shaking herself, Ronnie pushed open the door. She didn’t know this dude from Adam’s house cat, and if it wasn’t for the magic roofie, there wasn’t a chance in hell she’d ever consider letting him get that close. This is a problem for another time, she told herself. Focus on the mission for now. 

“Everything ok?” Earnest asked, startling her as she exited the bathroom. He paused, then leaned down next to her ear. “I saw your sister leave,” he whispered, pausing when she went stiff. “Just making sure you two are all right.” 

With that, Ronnie decided that fuck it, she could play this game just as well as the next person. Smiling brightly, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. “Perfectly fine,” she replied, caressing his face with her hand for a moment before gently slapping his cheek. “Thought you were going to show me some cards?” 

Earnest faltered momentarily before smiling, letting their clothes turn that rainbow-colored hue again. “So I did,” he replied, his eyes flickering with that sunny yellow as he extended his arm to her. “Allow me?” 

Ronnie smiled, then frowned as green swirls started creeping up the bottom of her dress. Is that him or me, she thought, watching as flecks of grey began creeping up through her sleeves- she huffed with exasperation. “You know, this is annoying,” she groused, covering her chest with her arms. “How do you do anything when your emotions are literally written all over your face?”

Earnest just laughed, wrapping her in his arms and guiding her to the blackjack tables. “Grekelhinds aren’t known as some of the weaker beings in the planar community for nothing,” he said, resting his head on hers. “We make wonderful conduits… and terrible poker players.” 

Despite her frustration, Ronnie laughed, making their clothes shimmer with gold. “I take it that’s why we’re going to the blackjack tables?” 

“Got it in one,” Earnest replied, kissing the top of her head. “We do much better with games of chance.”

After a few rounds at the rounds at the table, Ronnie learned that Earnest was quite good at games of chance. He’d won a few rounds, and so had she — to her absolute surprise, Ronnie settled into the evening, both of them letting out exclamations of surprise or congratulating the other when they won with hugs. I can’t believe how normal this feels, Ronnie thought, hugging Earnest as he won the next hand. If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was actually a date.

But, almost as if reality insisted on making its presence known, the announcer’s voice carried through the casino floor. “Let’s have a round of applause for our wonderful entertainers this evening!” 

Trying to stifle her surprising sense of disappointment, Ronnie settled back in Earnest’s arms. “Looks like we’re up,” he whispered. “Thankfully, we seem to have more than enough for a generous tip that should buy us a warded booth to chat with our favorite performer, don’t you think?” 

Ronnie frowned, angling her head to stare at him — he immediately placed a soft kiss on the tip of her nose, and she blushed. “Warded booth?” 

He nodded. “Performers don’t want to spoil the magic,” Earnest explained. “But, if you can afford it, you can get a booth and book a little one-on-one time.” Then he shook his head, helping Ronnie from her seat. “And since our Eve is a leprechaun, she’s a bit more money-motivated than most.” 

Ronnie looked down at the pile of chips and smirked. “Good thing we’ve been storing up bait, huh?” 

“Told you,” Earnest said with a grin of his own, “I’m not the moron you thought I was, Rainmaker.” 

“Color me surprised… you might actually be useful,” Ronnie teased, walking away and trying to mimic Lirianna’s sultry walk as she did. When Earnest didn’t follow right away, she smirked again as she tossed a look over her shoulder. “Coming?” 

“Just admiring the view,” Earnest replied, making Ronnie roll her eyes as he made his way over. 

Ignoring him for now, Ronnie looked over at the rapidly forming line of creatures and frowned. “Long line,” she murmured, tugging on the bottom of his shirt. “Think we’ll get the chance to talk to her?”

Earnest sighed, then raised his hand- immediately, a server appeared at their side. Ronnie tried to listen to the conversation, but Earnest had leaned over, whispering in the man’s ear. Suddenly, the server went ashen before nodding furiously, scurrying off so fast that Ronnie would bet her left tit he was using the aether. 

Frowning, she turned to Earnest, who had a stone-faced expression as they headed toward Eve’s booth. “What was that all about?” 

“Just booking some time with her,” he said casually, his tie and her dress shimmering with multicolored flecks. “After all, we’ve got a job to do, right?”