Esiar followed Paloma.  Their clanking echoed around them. Nobody noticed. The casino's enchantment muffled it. Esiar could hear Paloma talking with the casino employee Luck. Luck liked Paloma. Paloma was good at making people like her. Paloma liked Luck too. Paloma liked a lot of people. Paloma trusted Luck. Esiar wasn't sure. Esiar was never sure. Luck didn't seem dangerous. But people can lie. Paloma had been lied to before. So Esiar stayed with Paloma to protect her. That was their duty. That was their purpose. 

Paloma suddenly stopped. So Esiar stopped. Esiar looked around for any threats. But it seemed safe. Paloma smiled up at them. "Esiar, you don't need to follow me around here. It's a casino, there's nothing to hurt us!" Esiar cocked their head. "We're here to relax and have fun for once! And I think you especially really need to have some fun after all of that!" Esiar looked around again. Leaving Paloma alone didn't seem safe. But Paloma continued speaking. Her voice was soft. It made Esiar feel better. "I'll be perfectly safe, don't worry. Go on! Have fun, lighten up!" She giggled. "...Pun not intended, but still!" Esiar found it funny too. They were made of light. So they should lighten up. Paloma spoke again. "There's so much stuff to do here! Let's all take advantage of having some downtime for once!" Esiar wasn't sure. Luck spoke up. "Don't worry, I'll keep her safe and sound! And from what she's told me, she can handle herself just fine!" Paloma blushed. "Haha, thanks! Go on, Esiar! Experience something fun!" She gestured for Esiar to go and Experience something fun. So Esiar did.

Esiar wandered around. Some people looked at them. They looked confused. Scared. This was normal. Esiar looked strange. Esiar looked scary. The armor they inhabited was large. Ornate. Intimidating. But they meant no harm unless provoked. They only wanted to protect. It is all they knew to do. Ever since they were formed. They knew little else. They had never Experienced something fun before. But Paloma wished them to try. Paloma only wanted what was best for Esiar. Just like Esiar did for Paloma. So Esiar would try to Experience something fun. For their friends if nothing else.

Experiencing something fun was difficult. Esiar tried to Experience cards first. But it did not work. Namei had told them the rules before. But the other players did not like them. Esiar could not hold the cards well. They kept dropping them and losing. And when they won a cyclops got very angry. "CHEATIN' BASTARD WON'T TAKE 'IS 'ELMET OFF SO WE CAN SEE 'IS EXPRESSIONS!" The cyclops attacked. Esiar simply nonlethally subdued them. But then everyone was too scared to let Esiar play. So Esiar left. Esiar then tried to Experience dice. But Namei had never taught Esiar dice. Esiar did not understand what the dice meant. The other players said Esiar was very lucky.  But Esiar did not know how. Esiar could not Experience something fun if they did not know why this was something fun. So Esiar left.

Esiar felt lost. Esiar felt purposeless. A terrible thing to feel. Esiar looked around for purpose. They saw Maideen. They swiftly approached Maideen. Maideen looked startled but happy. "Ah! Oh, Esiar, you scared me!" Esiar was sorry. "What are you doing alone?" Esiar looked around. They gestured at the Experiences. They hoped Maideen would understand they were looking to Experience something fun. Maideen seemed to understand. "Well... I did see something that might be interesting to you... A bit loud and flashy for me, but... Perhaps you'd enjoy it!" Esiar nodded. They appreciated the help. Maideen led Esiar over to a line of strange boxes. The boxes had pictures of colorful spirals on the front. Pictures that moved. Maideen put a gold coin in one of the boxes and pulled a lever. A rabbit woman suddenly appeared on the picture. She danced as symbols spun around her. Her dance was very beautiful. Loud but pleasant noises played as the symbols spun and spun. Then the symbols stopped spinning. The rabbit woman happily displayed them as they started to flash. More loud and pleasant noises played. There was a clattering sound. Many gold coins fell into a tray on the box. Maideen smiled. "Looks like I won! Do you want to try?" Esiar nodded. This looked like a fun Experience. 

The Experience was confusing at first. There were so many symbols. But Esiar eventually figured them out. The carrots were not good. The rabbit ears were better. The eyes were better. The spirals were very good. And the pocketwatches were the best. The better the symbols made better noises and lights. The better symbols made more gold coins fall into the tray. Esiar felt very happy when the pocketwatches appeared. They found this Experience fun. They enjoyed watching the rabbit woman as well. Her movements were so smooth and graceful. She was very beautiful. She looked familiar as well. She looked like the hypnotist that had hypnotized Maideen. Esiar had enjoyed that Experience as well. Esiar wondered why she was here. But they did not mind. They enjoyed watching her.

Esiar stood in front of the Experience for a long time. They fell into a rhythm of putting in the coins and pulling the lever. Then they watched the rabbit woman dance. Then they listened to the noises. Then hopefully they got more coins. Whether they did or not they put more coins in. And pulled the lever. And it started all again. They weren't sure how long they should stay here. Maybe they should go find Paloma again. But this Experience was fun. Perhaps they would just do one more pull. The rabbit woman danced again. The picture filled with pocketwatches. So many pleasant noises. So many pretty lights. So many coins. Esiar felt so happy. Perhaps they would do a few more pulls. More pocketwatches appeared. The pocketwatches made Esiar happy. Esiar enjoyed this Experience. 

Everything was starting to blur together. Esiar kept pulling the lever and watching the rabbit woman dance. The pleasant noises and pretty lights washed over them as they stared. They hardly knew what they were doing anymore. But the pocketwatches made them happy. And the rabbit woman was so pretty. Her hips swayed back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Like the pocketwatch the hypnotist used. The hypnotist swung their pocketwatch back and forth and made Maideen sleep. Thinking about that made Esiar happy. Thinking about pocketwatches made Esiar happy. Watching the rabbit woman sway back and forth like a pocketwatch made Esiar happy.

Esiar was starting to sway back and forth. Their body felt heavier than usual. Their thoughts were fuzzy and hard to form. Everything around them felt hazy. Was this what being sleepy felt like? It felt nice. The pocketwatch made Maideen sleepy. The pocketwatches made Esiar sleepy. Sleepy. Sleepy. Sleep. Esiar's armored body now stood motionless before the Experience. The lights and sound washed over them as they stared blankly. Their core was dim and stagnant. They hardly noticed as someone took their hand and began leading them away...

Esiar woke up but still felt so slow. They could feel something comfortable beneath their feet. Like the carpet from their room. But this wasn't their room. They heard someone approaching. It took effort to move their head. They saw the hypnotist. Was this a trap? But they couldn't focus. All they could focus on was her hips swaying back and forth. Back and forth like a pocketwatch. She smiled up at them. "Feeling so tired, aren't we~? Not used to having such powerful emotions~?" Esiar stared down at them. They could barely think. But they needed to try. They needed to fight back. They needed to-

The Hypnotist took out her pocketwatch. "Watch the Watch for me, if you please~" She swayed it back and forth. Back and forth. Esiar felt so happy. All their thoughts melted away as the happiness filled them. The hypnotist smiled. She began singing something. It sounded like the pleasant noises. Esiar felt even happier. Too happy. Everything started to fade away. They felt like she was looking down at them even though they were so much taller. All they could do was watch the pocketwatch sway. Every sway made them happier and happier. Washing everything else away...

The Hypnotist smiled up?down? at them. "Good... pet~ So happy for me~" Esiar was happy. Esair was a Good... pet. She leaned closer. "Good pets obey~ Whenever you obey my words, you'll see my pocketwatch swaying in your mind~ And you'll become so happy for me~" Esiar was a good pet. Esiar was happy. Esiar was obedient. Obeying was their duty. Obeying was their purpose...

Lucia smiled up at the hypnotized suit of armor. She giggled to herself. Sometimes she even amazed herself. Hypnotizing a being of pure holy light seemed so daunting at first, yet here it was, completely and blissfully hers~! Those slot machines were truly a marvel of technology~ Hardly took any modifying to make them ensnare her newest slave. And now, there was only one left to grab~ And while she could certainly rely on her preexisting traps like with her companions, she wanted to make the last one feel special~...