[img= http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h461/kathichan1/ariacastshot.png]

 [u][b] Los Paraísos: The Pellagio [/u][/b]

Aria shivered a little as the cool air of the hotel lobby swirled around her, the thin material of the cover dress not doing much to keep her warm. Her group had reconvened in the lobby after the parade had ended, and judging by everyone’s reactions it seemed that they would be going down to the casino before having to meet up with Chirps who hopefully had been more successful in gathering information. Then again, knowing him it was just as likely that he spent the day picking up girls. 

She followed Moira and Syed’s example to shower first and get changed out of her swimsuit, and within a short while was walking down the shining stairs of the balcony that led into the casino, now decked in a black evening gown and her feathered scarf. 

The golden splendor and vast size of the Pellagio never ceased to dazzle despite her having come here a few times in the past week, and Aria had to pause for a while for her eyes to get used to the shining lights before being able to scan the room for anyone familiar faces. Amy, Moira and Syed were sitting at the bar, as well as a familiar pretty blond male she could swear was from Xan’s group. So the metallurgist had beaten her back, it seemed. Unfortunately she couldn’t spot Xan anywhere around here, so instead Aria decided to venture a bit further into the bustling casino in order to find her friend. 

It took a while but finally the illusionist was able to recognize a familiar face standing near the poker tables. “Xan! I didn’t expect you to have an interest in gambling.” She crooned, quickly striding over and swinging an arm over her friend’s shoulders cheerfully. Only then did she notice the guilders sitting around the table, engrossed in a game of poker. Judging by the number of chips in front of the blond guilder and the redheaded girl hugging him from behind (Mark? and Es… something. She was never good with names.) they were doing quite well, as was the rugged and rather good-looking man sitting opposite them. Aria tugged Xan nearer to the table so she could get a better look at the current chip stacks, letting out a hum of approval. “Not bad, not bad at all!” She grinned. “Just a heads up, M…M… Marco?” No that didn’t sound right. Ah well.“We’ve only got two hours left so you might want to wrap up things with your friend here soon.” She tossed a nod and a wink to the blond gambler before lowering her voice and addressing Xan. “So, did you guys find anything?”