Booze [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHeaT2GQ92TwQyKrEiMMzeZd9Gy_LMThHyYB52vGKRLCq8E-h0Wj3TfHkx_VRCWPPVo8tA6_HtUd2t1yO36RLhwydaTQJkX2fVqcbdvLAYMYQZebHu-hpUnn0-ohpNTXjdOzjvRF45I63s1EvSOEdDaF=w621-h931-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
Along their route, the group only stopped to sleep in the mornings using Uriel’s mobile ice fortress. From the capital city they had first gone west, hitting the fort city of Linnake across the massive gorge by the sixth dawn. From there they made their way south and began a large curve that would eventually lead them to the Razorteeth Mountains to the east of Tulimeir where their last delivery stop, Suoja, would be tucked away.
The party of Adventurers had gotten to know each other much better over the course of their journey, in regards to both combat cohesion and social personalities. Phoenix was much more comfortable around the other women now after experiencing their honest, and often blunt, words and actions.
The voxen, in return, also seemed to enjoy the group's company, with Rayna teasing Dazien mercilessly while bonding over monsters and avals with Uriel. Apparently the pugilist’s love of turning creatures into loot meshed well with the Mage’s love of learning all about the various capabilities the beasts had.
Phoenix and the bard shared a love of music and the musical prowess of the Dewsong clan was on full display as the voxen took some time to try and teach her how to play a stringed instrument that was similar to, but not quite, a guitar. The Wayfarer was happy for the chance to learn to play anything really, having only had her voice in the hospital and slowly growing to hate it as she aged and it started betraying her.
Saiya, on the other paw, became like a pseudo mother to all of them with her gentle and comforting presence along with not putting up with any of their crap. She not only tended their wounds but also made sure they were not burning themselves out and helped facilitate open dialog between everyone. The Healer’s new Familiar, Snowbelle, also tried to help by flitting around and offering a soft furry belly for therapeutic pets.
When Phoenix mentioned to the group one evening that she had begun seeing Priest Jacob to deal with some grief at Paul’s suggestion, Saiya had reiterated her mentor's words that the priest was a very good mental health specialist but the voxen didn’t mention his specialty as the Healer looked at the Wayfarer with a bit more concern than before.
The Supporter had been surprised when Uriel also agreed that Priest Jacob was a great counselor and learned that the Mage had recurring sessions with the therapist as well on every other Unsol, which she mentally translated to Sunday.
As they reached the southwestern city in their route, they stopped for the morning at the fort town of Vallinsarvi, dropping off crates of food and fully charged mana batteries as well as a few other sundry items. The ducal government had arranged the packages, gathering and preparing them for transport back in Tulimeir, before loading up her, Dazien, and Uriel’s personal dimensional storages for the trek. The mana batteries were an item that interested Phoenix greatly as they seemed to store up ambient magic to be used later in place of [Mana Bits] for certain types of enchantments; in this case, they helped fuel the wall's defenses.
When they retired to their temporary dorm, which was just barely large enough to house them all, Rayna surprised them with a bottle the voxen had bought and Phoenix had her first taste of moonshine. Even though she had some manarin wine at the restaurant Dazien loved so much, it had not prepared her for the harsh burn of the slightly glowing green drink that she was sure was dealing some Corrosion damage with each sip. The Wayfarer wasn’t sure she liked it as it practically destroyed her throat, causing her to hack and cough as the others chuckled with sympathetic looks.
“Sorry, this isn’t the best stuff but I’ve also had worse,” Rayna apologized while filling her, Saiya, and Dazien’s glasses again. “At least this stuff is Crystal Caste and actually able to affect us,” the bard added. Apparently those three were familiar enough with liquor to not be as affected as she had by the horrid burn and she mildly wondered if the burning got better or worse with Caste. Uriel drank a bit too but was taking his time with the glass, not seeming bothered to rush.
The bard gestured to Phoenix’s glass and prompted, “Keep drinking. It might take a while but you’ll get used to it and then you’ll start to relax.”
Phoenix looked at the glass skeptically but sipped at the liquid again. She scrunched her face at the burn but didn’t cough this time. After a few more tentative sips, she started feeling a bit warmer and decided to set the drink down.
The others seemed to be getting friendlier the more they drank, with Rayna provoking Dazien into another glass and another. Saiya was leaning against Phoenix and using her shoulder as a pillow since she wasn’t moving around as much as Rayna was.
“So!” Rayna began suddenly, pointing at the warrior, after downing another glass with him, “When I first arrived in Tulimeir, I saw you at the temple of Warrior with your entourage of admirers, though you seemed to shrug them off.”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow then gave an impish grin, “You noticed me, did you?”
“Shiny purple hair isn’t exactly common in the tundra,” the bard said, waving a free paw in the air dismissively, “Anyways, since you haven’t been around lately, the loyal following seems to have gotten much smaller. There was one girl in particular asking for you, though. She knew that I was in your party somehow,” the voxen explained, then took another gulp of the green drink, the bottle precariously held by a tail, “And asked about joining King’s Dream. She seemed under the impression that we needed a quick scout Supporter but I told her that we have Phoenix for that Role, she can be pretty quick too.”
The Striker looked at the ceiling as if remembering something and corrected, “Not me quick but she can portal back to us if noticed,” then the bard leaned forward and grinned at Dazien, “Is the Noble Murinah Ruwena your betrothed or something?”
Phoenix went immediately still at the mention of the woman who had caused her death twice, feeling the silent panic start to overwhelm the relaxing effects of the alcohol as she interrupted, “When did this happen exactly?”
Rayna seemed to think really hard for a moment before saying, “Like, right before the attack from those Berg Sirens? I remember having to turn around shortly after to regroup for it. Anyways, She said that she wanted to join Dazien's party and would make the perfect Supporter if we ever found ourselves in need of one.”
Phoenix’s eyes went wide as she tried to think of ways to inform Paul of this information, wondering if it would cause a change in his plans or even matter at all. She wasn’t anywhere near the crazy cinderen girl now though, and if it had happened before the hired assassin had killed her then the woman likely still thought she was dead. Saiya stirred against her, as if shrugging off an uncomfortable weight, and she tried to calm herself before causing the empathic Healer to wake fully and worry.
She refocused on Rayna as the tipsy voxen added, “It was really weird how she knew about me but acted like Phoenix didn't even exist. Also, she seemed rather…” the bard paused, seeming to search for a word then went with, “Intense?”
“Ah,” Dazien said with a sour expression, “No, while her admiration is an honor, especially considering her position,” he shook his head at the mental image, “She is rather intense, as you say, and I’m not particularly fond of that rather… aggressive trait.”
Rayna leaned back gesturing at him with a half empty glass and teased, “What do you like, King Dazien? What kind of queen are you looking for? Or is it a prince?”
“Either actually. The qualities I seek are not limited by gender,” he responded, which surprised Phoenix slightly, dragging her thoughts from Murinah and back to her friends. She hadn’t really seen any of them in those types of situations before. Now that she thought back on it, Dazien had always treated everyone equally even when he was acting charming and flirtatious, except maybe Uriel. However, that made sense with them being best friends for years.
“Oh? And what qualities are those exactly?” the Striker prodded further.
“Courage, honor, curiosity, compassion,” he glanced at Uriel, then to Phoenix, then to the glass clutched between both of his hands as he smirked softly, “Maybe a little silent chaos.” Then he downed the last of his drink and held it out for Rayna to refill, “What of you, Lady Rayna? You’ve made it clear that I’m not your type.”
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“Oh, definitely not,” the bard assured as she opened another bottle with just her two wobbly tails, which involved breaking it near the top and definitely spilling some in the process, and topped off the glass, “I prefer soft curves and softer lips. Give me a girl that loves to love and I’ll be happy.” The voxen gave a fanged grin and refilled her own glass before gesturing over towards the quiet cinderen who had just finished his own drink, “What about you, Uriel? What does the strong and silent Mage desire in a partner?”
Uriel seemed to pause for a moment as he held out his glass and Rayna refilled it as well. Then he shared a glance with Dazien before saying simply, “Leadership.”
“Ooo, spicy,” Rayna said playfully, obviously noticing the shared look that the rest of them noticed as well.
“Rayna, don’t tease,” Saiya sleepily admonished, as the soft head slowly sank from Phoenix's shoulder and onto her lap as though planning to nap right there. The fuzzy Snowbelle was already curled up under the blankets next to the Healer and Tala had roosted right beside the fellow Familiar in a fluffy pile of fur and feathers.
“I’m just sayin’,” the pugilist said defensively, “We know those two are, like, close childhood friends but I didn’t think they were that close.”
“How close we are is not really any of your business, Lady Rayna,” Dazien said sharply.
Phoenix felt her cheeks blush at the implications and found that she was suddenly very curious just how close the two men were. She wasn’t exactly sure why she was curious though, like Dazien said, it wasn’t any of her business. Then she began to wonder just what the booze had been doing to her as she glanced from Uriel to Dazien, uncertain why she wanted to know.
“Fair, fair,” Rayna said, raising her hands defensively, not wanting to anger anyone while trying to relax and have a fun time.
“What about you, Lady Saiya?” the warrior asked, obviously trying to shift the attention away from himself, “Do you share your sister’s proclivities?”
“Hmm?” the Healer asked sleepily from Phoenix’s lap before registering the question and giving a bright smile as she shook her head, “No, I would like to find a kind and loyal man that would make a good father while we rebuild our clan. I do wish to have children someday, perhaps when we reach Emerald Caste and have the time to slow down a bit more,” the voxen gave a dreamy sigh and went back to resting on the Wayfarer.
Rayna spoke up again, moving the attention now towards the redhead, “What about you, Phoenix? Any lovers back home?”
Dazien and Uriel both winced slightly, already knowing the answer.
“It’s not really my home anymore,” Phoenix said as she looked down at her empty glass, “My home died when my mom did.”
She held out the glass for the Striker to fill, suddenly wanting more of the warmth it provided. The voxen gave a small frown but filled the cup again as Phoenix sipped it then she went on to answering the question with more details now that she had the assistance of the liquid courage, “I haven’t really talked much… well at all, about this topic since coming to this world. I’m not even sure people here deal with it since you have magic,” she tried explaining and glanced up at her friends to ask, “Does my translation ability work with the term ‘transgender’? Do you know what that means?”
Dazien and Rayna both shook their heads as Saiya nodded against her and Uriel spoke up, “I’ve read about it. It’s a fairly rare condition where the soul and body are out of alignment. A girl born with a boy’s body or vice versa.”
Phoenix nodded and asked, “And what happens here to those children who are born like that?”
“They are taken to the temple of the Mender, obviously. There are higher Caste rituals that can realign the body to match the soul and-” he halted speaking as it seemed to click suddenly for the cinderen as his ember eyes widened, “Your world doesn’t have Mender or the high Caste rituals.”
Dazien looked from his companion and back to Phoenix before asking in confusion, “Wait. Are you saying you were born in a boy's body in your world and had to stay that way?”
She nodded and took another sip of the burning liquor, “Yup. I got lucky in that my mom was pretty chill about it once she found out and helped me as best she could. Most others are… Well, let’s just say I’m really lucky with the little support I got.”
“I don’t understand,” Rayna interjected, “I mean, I get the whole ‘can’t change your body without magic thing’, but what does that have to do with the question?”
Phoenix took another sip and gestured to Dazien and Uriel, “Well I mentioned to these two earlier that I was bedridden most of my life. No god of healing left us with little in the way of combating illnesses and there just wasn’t a cure for me that was known. I basically grew up in a hospital full of other sick kids.”
Saiya’s face scrunched up at the mental picture and the voxen readjusted herself to hug Phoenix more, the soft tails curling around her waist. Rayna’s face fell a bit, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I can see how that could make courting difficult. You must have hoped though, what kind of person did you want?”
“That’s why I brought up the trans thing,” she said with a slight sigh as she tried to put her feelings into words, “Aside from being physically ill…” she gave a crooked smile as she admitted, “It was hard to picture someone who might want my body when I didn’t even want it.”
She took another drink, “What if they didn’t see me as a ‘real’ woman? What if they were only interested because I was trans? What if they got angry because they thought I was one thing but was actually something different? If I couldn’t stand looking in the mirror, why would they look at me any differently?”
The redhead paused, fighting back tears and taking another sip of the glowing poison in her glass, before finishing with a slight tremble in her voice, “The thought of becoming intimate on any level was honestly terrifying.”
The looks of sadness and pity her friends gave Phoenix made her feel uncomfortable and she finished off her drink quickly, making her feel slightly dizzy as she continued, “So with all that fear and anxiety rolling around up here,” she tapped at her temple with a free hand, “I never really thought much about what kind of person I’d want, or really even the traits I found attractive. I mostly just went along and agreed with what the other girls around my age seemed to like.”
“What about since arriving here?” Uriel asked softly, “Your body is healed now.”
She gave a lopsided grin, “But my mind is still a bit of a mess. That’s what Priest Jacob’s for, after all. Besides, aren’t we all a little too busy being Adventurers to worry about stuff like that?”
“Bah, plenty of Adventurers get into relationships,” Rayna said waving a hand, then conceded, “Maybe not in the middle of a blood moon but you just wait till the party starts when the moon ends. It’ll be like the Lover herself sent up a signal flare to start the mating season!” the bard laughed, taking a long drink to finish off the last of the booze, and causing the others to chuckle along with her.
The now very drunk voxen leaned forward conspiratorially and motioned for Phoenix to move closer as though to whisper something, “When the blood moon ends, and the parties start, you and I will go find all the fun places and you can start to figure out what exactly makes you run hot!”
Phoenix blushed crimson and Dazien leaned forward and playfully pushed Rayna back, “Not alone you hedonist, we should all go out together! We will all need the respite…” He gave a devilish grin, “And the warmth.”
“Don’t you have Uriel for that?” Rayna said with a little pout, “You would take the rest away from those of us looking for someone to keep us warm at night? You would leave him out in the cold?”
“I am not some jealous lover,” Uriel spoke up with a smirk at the inebriated woman, “No matter what you might be picturing.”
“Oh, ew, no. I do not want to be picturing all that muscle,” the Striker said with a scrunched up face and shook her head, the long ears dropping slightly to the sides, as though trying to banish the mental image.
Phoenix laughed, “I think you’re all drunk.”
Dazien leaned over much the same way Rayna had to whisper in her ear, though he actually managed to keep his volume turned down, “I can’t get drunk,” the Defender admitted to her with a mischievous grin and a wink.
She blearily blinked at him before glancing at the clearly drunk voxen, then back at the gemite’s glass that he had been matching Rayna for the whole time and asked in a return whisper, “But she’s higher Caste level. Isn’t her Fort higher than yours outside combat?”
“I have some cheats of my own,” he replied and used his hands to hold his palms open and facing upwards like a book and she managed to connect the gesture and conjured her [Guide Book] which the Defender moved himself to tilt in an effort to only show her his explanation.
Natural Talent: Earthborn
* Fortitude and Strength attributes are increased.
Natural Talent: Drinking Buddy
* Cultivated from [Never Drunk] due to unlocking the Noble Aspect.
* Cannot become intoxicated via alcoholic beverages at or below your Caste.
* When drinking alcohol, you may grant nearby allies increased resistance to intoxication.
* Covenant abilities have increased effect.
“What are ya looking at all secret-like?” Rayna shouted, making her jump in surprise as the bard pushed the book down to look at the hidden information. Dazien, Uriel and Phoenix all held their breath as the pugilist read. The vulpine features grew confused for a moment before slowly turning towards the amethyst gemite with an amber gaze that threatened annihilation as the voxen then yelled, “AND YOU DRANK IT ANYWAYS?!?”
They burst out laughing as the irate voxen lunged for the glass the Drinking Buddy still had in an attempt to not waste another drop on the likes of him.