Eddie
Josephine was enjoying the warm bowl of soup that filled her stomach, even if just for the next few hours. She didn't have the desire to eat much, maybe because whether she wanted to or not, she was still worried about the others. However, she was much more optimistic after talking with Amaryllis and crying on her friend's shoulder. The young girl smiled genuinely at the shepherdess, just as she finished taking a spoon full of soup to her mouth. She swallowed the hearty meal, cabbage, potatoes and carrots all mushed up, and nodded before swallowing.

"Much better with food in my belly!" She replied and giggled a bit. "How are you, Ryllis?"

The sun set with the cool draft of the evening greeting those that were outside their homes or the taverns. The runners did their last assignments or prepared to continue on their current tasks and trading caravans stopped in Midde to spend the night before moving on the next day. At the inn Ryllis, Tagus and Josephine were staying, the crowd was very simple and drunk. A bard played his tunes and cheered everyone up as they partied merrily.

Tagus joined Josephine and Amaryllis, a bit estranged from the ongoing party. He scratched the back of his head as he sat down on the other end of the squared table and smiled at Josephine and Amaryllis. "Lively place, huh?" He asked, in small talk.
Frankie
Amaryllis sat back in her chair and propped her feet up on an empty one as she smiled at her two companions. "I'm quite well!" She replied to Josie. "It's so nice to be somewhere so safe and warm... It definitely feels safer than even Iron Gate. I asked around, and no plague has been through here in years. It's... Satisfying, really." She glanced at Tagus and continued, "We don't have much, but we party well." 

The young shepherdess looked quite comfortable in this setting. Actually, with her clothing, she looked perfectly in place, and in truth, she was at home. She was among her own kind! She felt more comfortable here than she did with Josie and her knights, that was for sure. Conversely, Josie and Tagus looked supremely out of place for once, and they looked as uncomfortable as Amaryllis had looked among the knights. 

After a few minutes, one of Amaryllis' favorite songs came on and she smiled radiantly, her toe tapping to the music as she sang along. She really did have a beautiful voice, and her enthusiasm, along with a little bit of alcohol, made her all war and bubbly. Suddenly, she rose to her feet and took Tagus' hand, saying, "Dance with me! Come on!" There were plenty of other people dancing in the tavern, so he didn't have to worry about being the only one.
Eddie
Thus began a night of merry festivity and dancing. Caught unprepared and out of his place, much like he had been all his years as a squire and more so as a knight, Tagus didn't find the words to stop Amaryllis from dragging him onto the dance floor and show him how the lowborn had fun. It was different from the balls and high society parties he attended in his short time as the right hand of Josephine, but the sound of music vibrating in wood and rolling back to his ears reminded him of simpler times as the only son of his mother, single parent to his upbringing in the streets of Raunkastel.

Josephine, who experienced the tavern life for the first time, folded her arms on the table and smiled. In the reflection of her gaze were Tagus and Amaryllis, spectrum blurred of other people as the dance floor was carved open by her friends' steps. She couldn't help but laugh when Tagus stepped on the shepherdess' foot by mistake.

"Oh! Sorry!" The young man blurted out nervously, obviously entranced by the sound but with a rigid stance. He did make some improvement, though his two left feet had a problem to catch the rhythm. It was the first time he was actually dancing, especially with someone else. With a girl. His cheeks were tinted pink, then red when he stepped on Amaryllis again. "Oh!! I'm so sorry!" He yelped. "Should we s-stop?"
Frankie
Amaryllis laughed. A bright, cheerful laugh that was filled with excitement and a sort of giddiness that she hadn't felt in a long time. She may have been a tiny bit drunk too, which helped... But she was honestly having a wonderful time, and even Tagus' two left feet wouldn't stop that! Really, she found his embarrassment rather adorable, and it didn't hurt too badly when he stepped on her feet. 

"Only if you want to," She said with a grin. "But then I'd be sad about losing my dancing partner." With that, she spun around him, smiling brightly as her skirts swished about her. She was in her element now, dancing with ease. She was practically dancing circles around the poor man... Though she hoped he didn't mind. He at least gave her a partner to dance with!
Eddie
Tagus was away from home for weeks and out of his element for sure, like a fish out of water. But he couldn't stop the swelling happiness inside his heart. He already smirked and grinned here and there, but those were lapses of the anxiety that withered away with watching the girl spin and her skirts flutter around to turn her into an illusion of movement, human turned swirling flower. The good knight held her hand, like he watched nobles and peasants do from the taverns as a kid and the feasts as a teen. The simple joys of life didn't really change from blood to blood. But why did they have to be so different?

Tagus could move his legs and feet a bit by now, maybe holding the shuffle like the others did for a longer time. When he tripped, he made sure it was a short skid, so that he could prevent himself from stepping on Amaryllis again. She twirled and went around in a circle, causing the boy to follow the spiral and follow the spiral, round around she went. And the smiles grew wider, the night grew wilder, all around them the people cheered. Tagus pulled her unexpectedly and, with his two hands on either side of her clothed hip, he elevated her into the air. There was a swiftness he did it all with, along with the strength packed by his rising legs. He came down from a slight bend of the knees for the effort, though the effort was none at all. He caught her in his arms, lowering her feet to the ground, then pulled away politely with a stupid grin on his face. He sure was very happy about it all, about the moment of respite and festivity, without the worry of outside cries.
Frankie
Amaryllis gasped a bit when Tagus scooped her up and lifted her into the air, swirling her around for a moment before setting her down. It made her feel even more giddy, somehow, and really impressed her. It was now her turn to blush as she smiled up at him and giggled a bit. He was getting into a rhythm with her! They actually made a nice pair as they danced, especially as he grew more comfortable. He had lifted her with such ease! She was a slight, petite woman, and she knew that, but she was still rather floored with how easily he could lift her up! 

The two of them danced for quite some time after that, though eventually Amaryllis grew tired after a particularly vigorous dance and panted, "I think I'm going to have to sit down for a bit." She made her way back to the table, where an idea struck her. A moment later, she grabbed Josie's hand and pulled her to her feet, giggling and panting at the same time. "Come on!" She said, tugging Josie towards the dance floor. "You should dance with Tagus!"
Eddie
It was a surprise for Josephine to be pulled from her seat so promptly and shoved towards Tagus. They never did dance together before and the thought of it struck the girl with a bright smile. She knew a bit more about dancing than the knight, that was certain, but there also room for error in the way that she tripped after a few turns. But Tagus was there to hold her and keep her from falling. He held her arms tightly and pulled her to her two feet and in that moment they shared they weren't noble and knight, but just two friends having fun. Tagus was laughing, cheery, like she never saw before. The young girl found herself laughing red and gripping his shoulders for a moment before he let go.

"Again?" The boy asked.

"Of course!" Josephine replied gleefully and went spinning again, round and round, like Amaryllis before her. Then she stopped and Tagus felt like doing the little toss again, prompting the girl into the air and holding her so after she fell on his arms. They danced for a good hour, maybe two, and if there was encore, they were on the dance floor too. But exhaustion started to invade heir bodies, especially Josephine's, which hadn't had a proper night's rest. She cupped Tagus' cheek with a soft smile and said.

"I'm going upstairs and have some rest. Please stay with Amaryllis." She kissed the boy's other cheek and jogged to the shepherdess, hugging and kissing her quickly before pulling away. "Good night!" She said, ever so delighted by the fun but tiring dance. She went up the stairs of the inn with a grin on her phase that wouldn't go away even as she laid on the bed.

As for the young man, he approached Amaryllis.

"Would you... Like to go for another round?" He asked shyly, looking away in a little fit of awkwardness.
Frankie
Amaryllis was a bit buzzed by this point, having sat and drank and eaten. She had some money on her, and she splurged a bit in celebration of her newfound friendship and the start of a great adventure. That being said, she would have had a great time with or without the food and the little bit of alcohol. She wasn't hammered, per say, but she was definitely more giggly than she usually was. 

She had enjoyed watching the two teens dancing for the past hour or so. It had been a wonderful, entertaining sight as the two of them danced and danced. They were so sweet and so cute! Tagus had really come into his own, once he got going, and had quickly, naturally taken to dancing. He'd stepped on a few feet, but by the time he got to dancing with Josephine, he seemed as if he had been dancing these peasant dances his entire life. 

When he approached her and asked her to dance, she blushed and smiled a bit, quite surprised at his offer. She had realized that he enjoyed dancing by this point, but after he had danced so much, she hadn't expected him to ask her to dance again. He certainly had more stamina than she or Josephine! 

A moment later, she regained her composure and smiled brightly at him before she stood up, giggling as she took his hand and headed back out onto the dance floor. "Of course!" The tavern would be closing for the night, after a while, but for now, she would dance with the young (k)night.

The alcohol had definitely gotten to her a bit though, and it was now her turn to be rather clumsy on the dance floor. She stumbled a few times and fell into him once or twice. Once, she even stepped on his foot and blushed deeply as she giggled, "I'm sorry! It looks as if it's my turn to be the clumsy dancer."
Eddie
Tagus didn't drink. Not alcohol at least. He chose water to complement the meal that preluded the merry evening before being thrown onto the dance floor by the shepherdess. Perhaps he did not need to drink to enjoy the party full, though his natural awkwardness to interaction was a hindrance soon blown away by the charm of the peasant girl, then the dance with his best friend. Returning to the scene with the former rejuvenated him into going for the more daring steps, misreading just how tired and a bit tipsy Amaryllis was.

As the dance floor was emptied by grinning and drunk patrons, it came to a point where only the staff of the tavern were around and they were still dancing. Perhaps it was a music that only they could hear, or the simple rhythm of feet shuffling in the wood that made them not stop. But soon enough, at the end of the young woman's stumbling, there was the stepping that made the boy chuckle lightly.

"You're really cute, Ryllis." He said, holding her sides after she stepped on him. "But we should go upstairs to the bedroom. They're closing the tavern, it seems."

And they were! The innkeeper was just really waiting on the last two of their clients to remove themselves, because everything else was pretty much in place for the next day. It was only a couple of hours until the break of the first rays of light.
Frankie
Amaryllis leaned up against him, her head resting on his chest as the music slowed and died away. The two of them were the only ones left, and a rather tipsy Amaryllis leaned up against Tagus with a faint smile on her lips. Although she had been clumsy and had made a fool of herself in the second round of dancing, she was quite content at the moment and had enjoyed it immensely. 

She blushed a bit when he called her cute, and even more when he suggested going upstairs. She knew he said it innocently, but that didn't stop her from giggling, "How forward of you!" She tilted her head to look up at him then, her eyes sparkling with her amusement and her cheeks all rosy. 

The moment was over though, and the music was done. They needed to rest. Besides, the staff in the tavern were looking at them with a look that begged them to go away.So with that, Amaryllis let go of Tagus and started making her way towards the stairs up to her room. She ended up needing his help a bit. She could walk without too much difficulty, but the stairs proved just a tad bit challenging for her, and she ended up giggling through most of it as Tagus helped her up. Amaryllis was, most certainly, a happy drunk.