Belle snorted. Ha! I'm not betting against that. Thomas might be trying to rub on us at some point, though, knowing him. She couldn't help but roll her eyes as she tossed the paper back.

Thomas glanced back at them, but for once he wasn't the first to lose his shirt. Al actually did, scowling fiercely the entire time he stripped. Thomas snickered at him.

Andy just blinked when her Tia Dalma went and muscled her way into the poker game. There was a devious look on the sea-goddess's face as she did so, which made Andy reach for the paper again.

He may not get all the way over here, she wrote after a moment. I know Tia Dalmas are supposed to be unpredictable like the sea, but I don't think I've ever seen her have a mood swing like that before. She paused, and then added, Though it fits her character.

Very true, Belle agreed. This will be very interesting to see. Grinning, she handed the paper back and settled back to watch.

Thomas blinked before grinning, making eyes at Tia Dalma. He was very curious to see why she'd muscled into the game.

Tia Dalma sent a similar look right back and settled in for the game.

It didn't take long for everyone to figure out that the designs on her skin weren't just on her face.

Thomas grinned and, within five turns, all three incubi lost their shirts. Because they could. Besides, Thomas was having fun messing with the emotions in the room.

Tia Dalma was shamlessly shirtless as well, sitting there with a confidence that could very possibly have put the men to shame. A few of Andy's guys had lost their shirts, as well, but it didn't seem all that important, considering Tia and the incubi seemed to dominate the game.

Thomas waggled his eyebrows at her before shucking off his boots. The game never lasted too long, but this time he someone else to focus on. Belle just snorted at them.

Tia Dalma sent Thomas a flirtatious grin even as she toed off her own shoes. The last thing she had to get rid of was her skirt, although Andy doubted the game would last quite that long.

She also doubted she would see Tia for the rest of the night.

Thomas grinned and kept playing, keeping his pants on. For the time being.

As it turned out, the game didn't last too much longer. Thomas lost his pants and bowed out, slipping off to his room and leaving the door open part-way. Belle rolled her eyes.

A minute or so after Thomas left, Tia Dalma bowed out of the game as well and gathered her things. She didn't even bother putting her top back on, though. Instead, she just followed Thomas into his room and shut the door behind her.

"I suppose it could be worse," Andy commented after a moment.

Belle snickered. "At least Thomas will be good for a couple days." She shook her head, highly amused.

Eclipse rolled his eyes at that. So far he'd just lost his shirt, and he figured they could go another half dozen rounds or so before he won.

Andy just shook her head as well. There was just nothing else she could say on the matter.

Sesshoumaru snorted softly and turned back to the game. He was a little further along than Eclipse, having lost his shoes as well as his shirt, but the game wasn't over yet.

Eclipse glanced at the others before focusing on the game again. He lost his shoes that round, but he didn't mind.

Andy sat back and watched to see how the game would turn out. She forgot who had won last time, so she had no idea whose 'turn' it was to win.

Eventually it came down to Eclipse, Sesshomaru, Sebastian, and Lawrence. Sebastian looked at the two demons before bowing out of the game, going to go find somewhere to lounge for a while. But he didn't pull his shirt back on just yet.

Lawrence decided to escape while he could and dropped out of the game as well. He'd had remarkable luck so far, no need to tempt fate at all.

Sesshoumaru just glanced at Eclipse. It was down to the two of them now, like usual.

Eclipse glanced at Sesshomaru and raised an eyebrow in silent question. If the demon wasn't going to back out then they'd just have to let luck decide for them.

Sesshoumaru just shook his head slightly and settled in for the next round. This time, they were going to play until one of them caved or ended up naked, whichever came first.

Eclipse won the next round, and he smirked faintly. Hopefully he'd win the next round, and then they'd be done.

But just in case, he glanced back (very sneakily) to check on the girls. Belle, at least, had gotten more interested since it was down to just the two of them.

Sesshoumaru wasn't about to let Eclipse win the next round, not during a serious game. No, this time, he actually wanted to earn his win.

And yes, there was a certain amount of showing off going on, too. He wanted to impress Andy.

Eclipse lost that round, going down to his boxers. But he didn't care. He left his pants off to the side for the moment. This round would be the deciding round.

It was down to the last round of poker, and it was clear that neither demon wanted to lose. And Andy was shamelessly watching the game, not entirely sure whether or not she wanted Sesshoumaru to win. It seemed like she'd get a treat either way, at this point.

Belle grinned briefly when she saw the a glimpse of Eclipse's card. She figured he had a decent chance of winning. But without looking at Sesshomaru's cards she couldn't tell for sure.

Although she was reasonably sure that she and Eclipse might retreat to his PD room for a while after this.

In the end, it was just a bit of bad luck that decided the winner, and Sesshoumaru ended up folding and gathering up his things. Andy watched in appreciation and a bit of disappointment as he got dressed again, but then he sent her a sort of look that she'd never gotten from him before.

Although, there was really no way for her to mistake the look.

The next morning they got going again, starting to wander towards Dresden land. Everyone was relaxed and cheerful, which made the going much better.