Strong spirits

JP with Alexis, Omni, Lorem and Lucian

Desdem

Tarmen accepted the cup warmly, though hesitated on throwing it back. Boisterous drinking was just another aspect of his past self and a hang up he realized had never helped him. Just helped him sink deeper, like his thoughts were now as he idly swirled the drink and stared within the maelstrom.
Alexis’s attempt drew him back to the room, keeping alive the tenuous good mood that Gonyaul had revived.
Tarmen looked to the others and found a measure of peace from his present company, perhaps the largest amount of people he could truly trust ever gathered in one spot.

Raising the cup, he decided to play the fool and downed the whole drink.
He figured he could handle it better than the others based on experience, but nothing prepared him for what crawled down his throat. He could believe Ekero drank venom like afternoon tea as his face flushed instantly and he stifled several coughs that mixed with attempts to suck in air. Thankfully he had the fortitude to keep his head and feet steady, but he already felt his mind dull a bit as he nodded to the beaming tinkerer.

Gonyaul took the cup with a grateful gesture. He had never had anything alcoholic before. Upon inspection, his sense of smell found the drink to be very potent and new to his senses. He very hesitantly brought the cup up to his lips with both hands and took just a tentative sip.

The taste was awful the moment the liquid touched his lips and rolled around the inside of his mouth. His tongue actively tried to avoid the foul taste. Meanwhile his face contorted into mixture of pain and disgust.

He swallowed, thinking getting it out of his mouth faster would help, and it only made things worse. Not only did that bad taste linger on his taste buds, but it burned fiercely down his throat. He felt like he could feel it moving inside his body southward. The intensity of it caused his throat to spasm, his nostrils to flare, and a torrent of coughs burst out of him. Gonyaul couldn’t control himself as he coughed, wheezed and sputtered over and over again. It was the foulest thing he had ever tasted.

His eyes were watering by the time he was able to control himself. In addition, he was saying something in vauxian with an increase in volume. He tried to hand his cup off to the nearest person that would take it away from him as he muttered, “no, no, no….”

Gonyaul felt like he would be sick as the liquid hit his stomach.

Tarmen couldn’t contain his laughter at the sight of Gonyaul’s apparent first time with liquor, the effects of his own swig only decreasing his ability to contain himself.
Taking the cup and wrapping an arm around Gonyaul in case he hurled, Tarmen put down the spirits to pat him on the chest.

“Looks like I can’t call you a boy anymore, though that tolerance of yours needs work for sure.”

Gonyaul was still smacking his lips and wringing out his tongue, like a dog with peanut butter on its nose, trying to get that taste out of his mouth. He could feel a budding warmth spreading in his body.

Tarmen’s laughter, words and strong pat, which nearly had him lose his balance from the suddenness of it, had Gonyaul smiling. It was half embarrassment and the other half that he had passed some strange rite of passage. It was a contagious feeling of solidarity and he couldn’t help but chuckle in the end. But by no means was he planning on drinking anymore of that disgusting beverage. He would stick with water.

Not one to turn down the offer of a generous host, Voah accepted the drink kindly, held it to her lips and smelled the contents. Having experience in the company of nobility, clergyman, and traveling families, the ex-arbiter had tried her share of alcohol.

She found it interesting that no one hesitated to drink. This was clearly a house of trust.

Gonyaul’s reaction had her nearly in hysterics but when she had finally calmed she sipped it slowly and rolled it round her tongue to examine its flavor, which was indiscernible to her. It was a powerful brand of spirit for sure that reminded her of a Mizaran herbal liqueur. Her throat and stomach agreed with her tongue’s assessment. She pursed her lips and sucked in a breath of air as the burn took her and she let it slowly out of her nose. Wow! Finishing this cup would put her in a VERY relaxed mood. She decided to drink it quickly and have her discussion with Berus before is there effects of incitement settled in.

Alexis leaned back a little and just watched the antics of ‘the boys’ with a warm expression. That levity had been sorely lacking lately, and with all what was to come, would be gone all too soon. Best to enjoy it while it lasted.

She directed a truly grateful smile at Ekero. He probably didn’t even know how much his kind hospitality had helped them...