Anaise’s teal eyes swept first over her empty glass and then Gwen’s. They hadn’t really had much more than water for most of the trip, and she wasn’t sure that turning to alcohol in the face of the unknown danger facing the<i>Queen</i>was a good idea.<br/><br/>On the other hand, Gwen still looked like she was on the verge of tears. Anaise squeezed her hand between hers and found that her hands were shaking almost as much as Gwen’s were. She remembered the touch of that dark mana against her own and her stomach turned. Her etherform was like her soul. Something like<i>that</i>trying to probe it the way it had was an intense, almost sexual-feeling violation. It went against every instinct a mage had.<i>If I’d waited any longer… if it had…</i>She shuddered and felt her cheeks flush a little.<br/><br/>“I…” she started, losing track of what she’d been about to say.<i>Right, drinks.</i>“Spiced rum,” she said at last. She shared a glance with Gwen, who was starting to look a bit better. “For Gwen, too.” There’d been something else… “Oh. If you mention they’re for us, you’ll probably get them on the house. He seems to like us.”<i>That, and he’ll know if it’s not water, something’s probably wrong.</i><br/><br/>After Tyora had gone, Gwen poked her arm, then pointed at the retreating elf and smiled weakly. “Well, that’s good,” Anaise said. “I thought she might be dangerous.” Gwen shook her head, then seemed to reconsider and shrugged. “Dangerous, but not to us, then.” Anaise frowned at that. She said she could channel mana from the sea. She was a mage, then, but what kind? The woman had struck her as a fighter of some sort from her build - which was<i>very much</i>on display - but… “Good enough for me.”<br/><br/>Gwen poked her again. This time, she pointed to another table, where three women were seated. Anaise immediately recognised the dwarf - she spent a lot of time in the lounge, since the lounge was where the drink was. She seemed like a very honest, genuine person, and Anaise liked her a lot. The other two… the pretty dancer, she’d seen, although Anaise sometimes felt like she was giving her dirty looks when she wasn’t looking. The other girl reminded her a bit of Gwen, which could only be good, and she remembered that their names had been similar. An… Anna?<i>Maybe.</i><br/><br/>When she looked back at Gwen, her friend mimed a kiss. She… wasn’t sure what that meant. Gwen gestured back at the group, then did it again, blushing a bit. “I have no idea what you’re doing,” she said, smiling a little. “And I think that’s probably for the best.” Anaise looked again at the empty cup. “Anyway, a sip of two of rum will do you good, after that… outing. It’s warm, and a small glass won’t hurt even we<i>do</i>need to fight something scary afterward.” She paused at the dour look Gwen gave her. “Which, uh, probably won’t happen.”<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>