Cat got back into the tavern, finding the group standing around as Orion sat across the table with another Andresian male. They each had a line of half a dozen tankards in front of them, and others were sitting around watching them. Orion just smirked at him and said something in Andresian.
"What's going on?" Cat whispered to Gia.
"It's some kind of Andresian drinking game." She replied. "They're trying to psych each other out before they begin."
"They're going to try and drink all that?" Cat asked. Emma just sighed and nodded.
"Draco here challenged him to a game of Frakkushia tomorrow." Emma explained. "Apparently this is all part of that whole deal."
"So...they get drunk before the game?" Cat asked.
"I think this is how they decide who kicks off." Gia replied, furrowing her brows. They caught bits and pieces about what was being said. Between the noise in the room from raucous singing, and the fact both Orion and Draco were already a little well-oiled and speaking rapidly in Andresian, they weren't exactly certain what was going on. Emma was pretty close to being fluent by now, but even she could admit that she lost well over half of the conversation.
The Andresians around them started pounding their tankards on the table, and stomping their feet. They started singing in a low, rumbling tone, at which Orion began. He barked out a line of the song, at which they both threw down their first tankard.
As they finished, slamming down their tankards together, Draco looked to Orion.
"You look unsteady." He commented. "We can call this off anytime."
"I was going to offer you the same thing flower blossom." Orion replied. Draco barked out the second line, at which they started quaffing down more drink. Some of it slopped carelessly down their faces and their shirts.
"Well, that's attractive." Cat said sarcastically. "I can see what you see in him."
"He's not always like this." Emma grumbled as they slammed down their tankards. "Still...it is a side of him I'm not used to seeing."
As they slammed down their tankards, Draco finished marginally faster than Orion. He leaned across the table, slapping Orion hard across the face, causing a cheer from the others.
"Did he just...?" Gia asked. "Um...is this a part of the game?"
"Well, Orion's not responding, so I assume so." Emma said, noticeably wincing from having seen Orion taking the hit. Instead of being angry though, he just smiled.
"You should back out now." Draco told him. "That pretty face of yours is the best thing you have to offer your future wife."
"You think I have a pretty face?" Orion responded, before barking out a line of the song. They both started chugging their ale, which Orion finished first this time. As he slammed down his tankard, he leaned forward and slapped Draco hard.
"OK, it's definitely part of the game." Emma said as she rolled her eyes.
"It's a pretty dumb game." Gia commented.
"Well, can we say everything we do makes sense?" Cat asked her. Gia just shrugged.
"I guess not." She answered. They watched as Orion and Draco chugged another tankard, but Draco seemed to struggle and gag a little. Before long, he spluttered out some of the drink, conceding the match. Orion finished his tankard, before getting up from the table, throwing up his arms in triumph as others cheered him. He swayed a little as he stood triumphantly, slamming down his tankard.
"I'll let you kick off tomorrow." Orion told him. "It looks like you'll need all the help you can get!"
Draco just nodded and got up, shaking Orion's hand before walking away. Emma just stared at Orion.
"Well you didn't tell me about this bit of Andresian culture." She commented. He just smiled at her goofily.
"Hey, I've heard Jake's stories about the locker rooms at his soccer matches." He said in a slightly slurred tone. "OK, I think I might need to sit down for a bit."
"With the amount you've put away I'm not surprised." Troy commented, helping Orion to a chair. "You do know you are meant to help Centuri with services tomorrow."
"I'll be ready for all of that." Orion assured her. "Though I probably could do with lying down for a while."
"We'll get you upstairs." Gia told him as she and Gia positioned themselves under his arms and lifted him up. "Jeez he's heavy!"
As they went upstairs, Noah just watched. Despite the party, there were a bunch of Andresians watching him go, and making comments about the fact he was heading upstairs with women. He couldn't help noticing that Libra, who had joined in the revelry and was downing large quantities of ale seemed far from impressed.
In a corner of the room, Cass was just finishing a drink and was about to leave when Jake plomped himself down next to her.
"You're not leaving already are you?" He asked. She just nodded. "It looks like the party's just getting started."
"I should probably..."
"Hey, if you want to party, stay and party." Jake told her. "Hell, I'm playing tomorrow and I'm already loaded."
"You're playing Frakkushia?" She asked him. Jake just nodded.
"Orion asked me to be on his team." Jake told her. "I love the game..."
"You should back out." She told him flatly. "You'll get hurt..."
"I've played before..."
"But when you played they were matches with youngling." She put down flatly.
"I can hold my own." Jake answered.
"Do you really think so?" She asked. "You're half the size of anyone on either team! They'll break you in half!"
It's not exactly the first time I've been up against someone bigger than me." Jake chuckled. "Besides, I've got the moves!"
As he started to dance in his own, unco-ordinated, frantic way, Cass snorted, trying to keep in her laughs, but it wasn't long before she couldn't and laughed loudly. They were only interrupted as her brother, Libra stepped between them with a stony expression.
He glowered at Jake, before turning to his sister and saying something in Andresian. Jake had heard some phrases from his time playing Frakkushia with them, but he was far from fluent, so he really had no idea what he said. All he could see was the look in Cass' face as he gestured to the door. Cass looked between her brother and Jake, before backing down and slipping out quietly. Jake just looked to Libra.
"Look man, I have young cousins, I get it." Jake told him. "You don't need to worry..."
"You are playing tomorrow aren't you, on Orion's team?" Libra asked. Jake just nodded. "Well, so am I, but I'll be on Draco's team."
"Oh...well..."
"Good luck." Libra interrupted him, offering him a hand. Jake shook it, but as Libra held it in a strong, painful grip, he pulled Jake in closer. "It is a rough game. People get hurt."
As he let go, Jake just stared at him. It wasn't much, but the threat was pretty clear. He already knew about the arranged marriage, and it was clear that Libra was ensuring Jake knew his sister was off-limits. He just smiled.
"Yeah, they do." Jake told him. "I hope you're not one of them."
Libra just growled under his breath, before turning and walking away. Jake just shook his head in disbelief. He was a bit of a flirt. He had been all of his life, and at times it had gotten him into trouble. This time though, Libra had seemed like he was genuinely ready to attack Jake. As he headed back to the party, Jake had to feel sorry for Orion telling Cass' family he was turning his back on their offer.
In the middle of the night, Troy got up from his bed. The party had finished long ago, and the whole town seemed to be completely silent, but he needed to get up. Ever since his amputation, he'd had times where he just needed to get up and wander around in the night. He didn't really know why, but he couldn't sleep until he satisfied the urge, so he had taken to just doing so.
He headed out onto the balcony of his room and looked out over the reservation. It was incredibly peaceful at this time. In the city, things ran 24/7. People expected to be able to buy a coffee and a bagel at 3AM, so that meant there were people around at that time but here it was different. It was like a different time, one a hundred years or so past. There was a time to work, and a time to rest. Right now, it seemed it was the time to rest.
He noticed something curious out the corner of his eye though, some movement. At first, he thought it was just a fox or something, but when he heard voices, it seemed like that wasn't the case. He pulled back a little, into the shade. As he did so, he could see someone coming out.
It was an Andresian...he didn't know his name, but he seemed to be young, probably a teenager. He looked around like he was checking the coast was clear, and then waved out some people. Other Andresians around the same age ran out of cover, following him behind a building.
Checking his watch, he could see it was 3 AM. It was earlier than most Andresians, even the bakers preparing bread for the miners and farmers were likely to be up and about. Sensing trouble, he hopped the rail and followed them at a safe distance.
Troy ducked behind some crates as they headed to an old radio tower. At one time, it had broadcast to the whole village, but had been sitting, rusting and useless for a long time. He could see one of the kids trying to pry open a junction box as others kept a lookout.
Troy had to admit being almost completely ignorant of Andresian. He knew a word or two, but he'd never really taken the time to learn the language. He could recognise the scene though, the kids seemed to be up to mischief. Seeing that they were just breaking into an unused radio mast though, he had to think it was more mischief than any real criminal activity.
"Give...here..." He recognised the one at the control panel saying. He knew enough Andresian to catch a word or two. He was surprised when one of them handed him an I-pod. The one by the control panel started to wire it in.
"Number?" He asked.
"Seven." The other replied in a giggle. "Do it."
He listened in as the ring-leader finished his work, queueing up the song. He smiled as he heard the song starting to play over the public announce system that likely hadn't been in use for decades.
"Don't stop! Never Give up! Hold your head high and reach the top!" The song blurted out of the speakers. It wasn't exactly to Troy's taste, but S Club 7's old track was pretty catchy, and he couldn't help but smiling. He had worried they were up to no good, but this seemed like a pretty harmless prank. A few people would wake up a little early, but other than that...
He almost jumped out of his skin as he heard someone yelling in Andresian. All the kids looked alarmed, and started scattering. The ring-leader tripped as he was about to flee, when some older Andresians appeared, grabbing him roughly. Troy watched as they threw him against a wall roughly, while a third ripped the I-pod out of the radio tower.
He watched for a second as two of them held the kid in place, one of them grinding a baton into his throat, while the one with the I-pod approached. He said something in Andresian Troy didn't understand, but as he threw the I-pod to the ground and stomped on it, smashing it into pieces, before punching the kid hard in the stomach, he quickly got the gist of what was happening.
"It's a bit extreme for a kid playing some music don't you think?" Troy asked. The guards just looked to him.
"Mind your business." One of them told him. "We'll deal with this."
"A teenager...looks really dangerous." Troy said sarcastically.
"I said, we'll deal with this." The guard repeated. Troy could see all three of them were holding clubs, and could guess exactly how they intended to 'deal with him'. He looked to the kid.
"Get out of here." He stated.
"He's going nowhere!" One of the guard replied. "Mind your business."
"Three armed adults against a kid IS my business." Troy replied. "Let him go before I make you!"
One of the guards made the mistake of rushing for Troy, only to end up hitting the ground fast as he caught a prosthetic foot straight to the jaw. The other two ran at him, but were quickly dispatched too. The kid did the sensible thing and ran off as soon as he saw the opportunity. Troy looked to the guards, hoping to get some answers, but could see they were all unconscious. He just turned and headed back for the tavern. He figured his answers would have to wait.