Swamped

"So do you do any other sort of entertainment besides juggling? Say, telling jokes?"

Nathan's smile shrinks a bit.

"Not any more. Used to, but I was careless with them, you see. Let's just say if you'd met me a few years ago, I might have asked you to give me a hand."

You wince at that one.

"Learned my lesson now. Not easily, but after enough well-deserved smacks it finally started to sink in. Ah, but you asked if I've got any other tricks, didn't you? Now, it so happens I do. Just, well, don't have the right gear with me, it's back in my room. But perhaps I can show you another time."

"That does sound fun. I think I'd like to see that."

"Good, good. But for now, I'm a juggler." He starts tossing the balls around again. "At least until my next shift starts, then I'm a lookout."

You suddenly notice a deck of cards on his belt.

"You've got cards," you say. "Do you happen to play Swamprats?"

"No, well, not regularly. I've lost to the Black Queen more than a few times, but then, we all have."

It takes you a moment to realize he means Lisa.

"No, these cards are special. Not for playing, that'd be cheating. They're for a trick I've been practicing, but I haven't got it down yet."

"Well, you can try it on me."

"Fair enough."

Nathan pulls out the cards and shuffles them, then hands the deck to you.

"Take any card in there. Remember what it is, but don't show it to me."

You decide to make this easy on yourself and take the top card. It's the Eight of Blades.

"Now, you remember that card? Good. Put it back in the deck and shuffle it and then give the cards back to me."

You do what he says. It's a bit hard with one hand but you manage as best you can.

He looks at the cards for a while, a fierce look of concentration on his face. Finally, he speaks up.

"Was your card the Ten of Leaves?"

"No."

He shrugs and puts the cards away.

"And you see, that's the part I haven't gotten just yet. Tricky, isn't it?"

You chuckle a little.

"Well, you're good at making me smile, at least. I appreciate it."

"Thank you! It means a lot to an artist to have their work acknowledged. I am delighted to have been of service."

You think on whether you have anything else in particular to say to him. You expect he'll leave for his shift soon, and you may not see him again for a while.