Akane let out a small laugh at Geralt's compliment, glad that they had been allowed to join. It was certainly a nice way to pass the time with everyone, not to mention get to know Geralt, since he had just joined them. At his question, she nodded excitedly. That game had been easy enough to learn, though was hard for her to win when it came down to the last few cards, but that was fine, the experience and the fun she could have with her friends was what mattered. 

Ivory glanced at Akane as she agreed, and decided to lean over to the kitsune, though she didn't have to speak up too loudly, knowing how sharp her hearing was. 

[color=darkgray]"If you hide your ears, your chances of winning will certainly increase."[/color] She whispered, causing the fox's ears to straighten. 

[color=rosybrown]"Oh right!"[/color] She responded in a light whisper, letting out a small giggle. She knew those usually ended up giving her away. Without a second to spare, her ears flattened against her head, and in an almost completely smooth transition, they disappeared. 

[color=#a7d3d4]"This deck doesn't have a joker though.. so should we take out a Queen?"[/color] Aurel spoke up. It had gotten lost in one of the few times they played, considering how often the cards got moved around, and they didn't really use the jokers often. 

--

Lucien's expression softened slightly at Illyana's response. He felt a little bad for being too hard on her, but she knew how much she liked to overthink things. Gently, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

[color=burlywood]"I'm sorry, Illy, I don't mean to sound like I'm disregarding what you're saying, I'm not. I really am trying to figure him out just as much as you, but if you make that your goal every minute of every day, he'll begin to notice, if he hasn't already. He's very sharp."[/color] For a moment, he hesitated, unsure if he should mention what had happened with Akane or not. Part of him didn't want to, because it would only concern Illy more, so he decided against it. 

[color=burlywood]"I know.. that you're just worried about everyone and I don't blame you, I am too, but we can all work together on this. We don't have to get hasty, doing so might lead to slip ups. You don't want him to catch on, right?"[/color] His tone was more gentle as he spoke, realizing he had probably sounded a bit harsher than he intended. If he had to be perfectly honest, he was a little stressed out with this whole impeding situation, as today would truly prove whether Geralt's addition would be enough to get them out of their current financial crisis.