"I'm going to a gambling ring," Rosa announced, emerging from the kitchen five minutes later.

I almost dropped the stool I was carrying. "What?" I exclaimed.

Idel, in my peripheral vision, raised a hand to her lips in slow surprise.

"I'm going to a gambling ring," Rosa repeated, shrugging. "Tomorrow. Cook's taking me."

I sputtered. Who said that like they were announcing a trip to, I don't know, the bathroom or something?! "You're going to a gambling ring? Tomorrow? And Cook's taking you?"

"Yup!"

"What the-- why is Cook taking you?"

Rosa looked immediately shifty. "Uh, yeah. He, uh, knows the-- knows the way."

"Cook knows the way to a gambling ring?!"

"Yeah. Uh, he has connections. You know, like we all do," she nodded, but she also wasn't meeting my eyes, so that either meant that Cook was very involved in this gambling ring she spoke of, or... Yep, Cook was very involved in this gambling ring.

I slowly shuffled to my destination and set down the stool in its proper place by the counter. Staring at the stool, I muttered, "What in the world..?"

Meanwhile, Idel tilted her head and asked, "Why are you going to a gambling ring for?"

Oh! Nice one, Idel. A very good question. I turned fully to Rosa again, hands on my hips. "Idel's right. Why are you going to a gambling ring for?"

"Oh, just going on your average secret undercover mission to save the world," Rosa replied, strolling over and seating herself by the counter. She flipped her hair over her shoulder nonchalantly. "You know, like we all do."

"Of course," Idel agreed, a ghost of a smile on her face. "Like we all do."

"Idel, please don't encourage her," I sighed, then took out my rag to start wiping the counter. Wait no, I did that already, didn't I? What was I going to do again? I ran a hand through my hair, trying to remember, but all I could say was, "So you're going to a gambling ring tomorrow with Cook for a secret undercover mission?"

"Mmhmm! Reconnaissance, actually. I'm going to be acting like a gambler and infiltrate--"

"I'm going with you."

She blinked at me. I blinked at her, then said it again for good measure. "I'm. Going. With you." Because who knew what mess Rosa would get herself in with her acting abilities.

"You sure? We need to leave at 3 in the morning." She held up three fingers, as if I wouldn't know what I was talking about.

I scoffed. "More like, do you want to succeed in your mission whatsoever?" I leveled an accusatory finger at her. "Rosa! Remember--you're a horrible liar!"

Rosa gasped, looking properly offended. "Not! I'm the hidden gem of the acting world--"

"But did you get into that theatre club you were practicing for last time?"

"...no."

See? I smiled, then scanned the area. No really, what was I going to do again?"

"I'm a better liar than you are," she huffed, as I snapped my fingers. Right! I had to refill the beer.

Taking the empty pitchers from under the counter, I gave her a fake smile. "You wish."

She gasped again, and Idel laughed.

Leaving them behind, I turned to the kitchen where the barrels were, sighing. I did have tomorrow off, and if Cook was going too, then it would probably be before the shift began anyways. But three in the morning did sound pretty early, especially since I would be finishing around midnight today--

"Mph!" I stumbled backwards, then blinked up at Cook, who stood looming in my way with his arms crossed. "Cook?"

"Make that girl stop," Cook rumbled in response, looking very, very disgruntled.

Ohh, so that was why. I chuckled dryly, clinking the empty pitchers in my hands together. "If I could, I definitely would." I shook my head. "How'd she make you take her?"

Cook gritted his teeth, and I decided that I probably shouldn't ask. Smoothly pretending I hadn't asked that at all, I asked, "Have room for one more, though? I was thinking I'd go with you.

He hesitated, so I added, "I could probably keep Rosa more in check then." Key word: probably. I generally had a fifty-fifty rate of success.

Cook narrowed his eyes, seeming to consider it. When I nodded encouragingly at him a few more times, he just sighed really slowly and then headed past me. "Three in the morning," he reminded me, and I outright laughed at that.

"Don't worry," I called to his back, then paused. Did I have the right to say that when I was pretty worried myself? I wasn't sure, but hey, I couldn't very well tell him to worry, so I shrugged it off and continued on my way.

As I went, I heard the distant voice of Rosa telling Idel, "As much as I hate to admit it, she's right. I'm sadly a bit lacking in the lying department..."

---

This was a horrible decision.

I was being too nosy. I shouldn't have cared whether Rosa's grand plan to save the world by spying or whatever in this gambling ring succeeded or not.

It was currently sometime after three in the morning and we were, apparently, headed to Plantar, Durova's seaside town that was two hours away by cart, for this oh-so-important gambling ring. And guess what? This cart was filled. As in, I-have-someone's-elbow-in-my-ear kind of filled. Why were so many people from Minstia headed to Plantar this early on Saturdays? And who would've known???

"You learn something new every day," I whispered mournfully to myself, then tried to go to sleep again.

"Filian!" hissed Rosa, ahead of me. She was faced my way and sat kind of in the middle of the cart, squeezed in between other people. "You're going to get a concussion! Stop letting your head fall back like that!"

"Baack," I agreed, my voice a whine. "I want to go baaaack."

She huffed and gave me a look, but my eyes were half-closed, so I barely noticed. "I said no take-backs!"

And she had, yesterday, when I'd come back with pitchers full and she was headed out to go home for an early night-- "No take-backs," she'd warned me, and I, the absolute fool, had rolled my eyes (????) and retorted with, "Over my dead body."

Ah. I see. That had been an omen. I'd written my own prophecy. I was going to be a dead body soon. Past me, you were so right.

"I take it back," I whispered to her miserably, then almost bit my tongue. "Gragh," I added weakly.

Massaging my temples, I sighed and squirmed, trying to find a position that didn't bump my spine against the side of the cart every three seconds. Impossible, really, with everyone here cramped around us. I'd even put the shawl I'd brought behind my back to soften the bumping, but either the shawl was too thin or the bump was too strong-- my bones were taking hit after hit every single time. I sighed and gave up. My eyes rose tiredly to Cook, who sat at the opposite side, looking grumpy and irritated and very cramped as well, but also very much awake.

Which?? Didn't make sense?? I had afternoon shift instead of night shift today, which meant I finished work at around midnight rather than three or four in the morning. Cook must have basically slept no hours, and yet here we were, one of us was dying (me) and one of us very alive (him). How did that even work? Shouldn't I, the one who got some sleep, be in a better condition than he was?

"How much longer to Plantar," I whispered, and attempted to bury my face into my knees. It didn't work-- some random person's elbow stood in the way. Or was that elbowed in the way? Could elbows stand? Whimpering, I squeezed my eyes shut. Was this a sign that I was going crazy?

Rosa shrugged. "My inner clock could be wrong, but I think it's only been around thirty minutes since we started. We still have two hours and thirty minutes to go."

"Crazy. Horrible. I hate you," I mumbled back, then tried to let my head hang backwards instead.

"Stop that! You'll get a concussion!"

Yeah, well, either that or I die. I ignored her and let myself fall back.

In a moment, I heard a weak thump, and then a yelp.

"Oops, my bad. Wrong person," Rosa whispered, then proceeded to successfully give me a small kick instead.

I glared at her through the dimness of the cart. "Ow, Rosa!"

"Stop leaning back!" she hissed again.

"It's my head!" I complained, my face scrunched up in tired pain. "Just let me do what I want with it!"

"Filly!"

"Then what, are you just going to let me die like this?!"

Rosa probably rolled her eyes, but my eyes were now closed again, so I didn't see. "Just lean on the person next to you!" Duh, she seemed to be saying.

I raised my head to look at the person next to me, a huge, muscly, bald dude with a mustache. He looked back at me stonily. He was the one whose giant elbow, due to the lack of space, was partially lodged between me and my pulled-up knees.

"May I ask permission to use your elbow as a temporary pillow?" I asked politely. "If your arm starts to go to sleep, you can just shake me off."

We stared at each other for a tense five seconds, and then he gave me a small nod.

I gasped. "Seriously? Thank you-- thank you so much," I warbled, sniffing back sudden tears. "I don't have to die now," I told him, and he raised an eyebrow at that, his expression not changing at all.

Well, no matter what he thought. Not wasting any more time, I placed the side of my forehead on his elbow, then promptly lulled off to sleep.

And thus, in that way, I somehow made it all the way to Plantar alive.