* 20 * 7/10/12

The group had gathered in the inn for a few drinks, though not all were partial to alcohol. Grobnar, for instance, having finished his lute-playing, was sitting at the table with most of the team – where only Zhajeve was absent – but simply had a glass of orange juice in front of him.

Qara had no such qualms, however. She was easily on her third or fourth drink, but she seemed to be handling herself quite well. She was quite obviously no stranger to drinking, or partying, for that matter.

Bishop was another who was quite accustomed to being a little tipsy. A latecomer to the event (presumably he had taken a nap between the explosion fun and now), he had a large tankard in front of him and frequently took to downing a considerable amount at a time. Still fully put-together, the alcohol seemed to be his longtime friend.

Not even his drinking capacity could touch that of Khelgar, however, who was easily the most well-versed in alcohol. Lily had even met him outside of a pub, after all. Having already consumed the most and feeling mostly fine, the boisterous dwarf was due for becoming flat-out wasted any minute now, unless he was made of something other than flesh and blood.

Ammon Jerro was standing by the fire with a glass in his hand chit-chatting with Elanee, who completely abstained from having anything. Lily couldn't tell from afar if he was trying to flirt or actually just chatting.

Neeshka was clearly the only one already completely gone, babbling on about everything and nothing at the same time. Casavir was trying to occupy her for some reason, though Lily couldn't quite understand why. He seemed to be cutting all of her sentences short, especially when he noticed others were listening. The paladin had had hardly anything to drink, a single glass of wine held unfinished on the table in front of him.

Sand didn't frequently partake in celebrating with drinks, and it showed. Not being as hammered as Neeshka, he still showed signs of being far from sober: his words were heavily slurred but he had the conscience to keep himself seated, unlike Neeshka, who seemed to want to get out of her chair every few minutes only to be plopped back down by her teammates' grabbing hands.

Lily was hesitant to accept a drink; she had never drunk this far from home and didn't know what kind of wine and alcohol came from the grapes around this area. She also had never been one for beer or liquor, having found this out at an early age when her father had made her taste some. Little Lily had spit it out, much to Daeghun's delight. "There," he'd said with a smirk, "Now you'll never become a drunkard."

"C'mon, Lily," Neeshka started, interrupting her own random story. "Ya can't expect to have ssome fun without ssome drink. At least haaf a lil' wiineee." She began giggling. Casavir looked dour at this suggestion, yet relieved that the subject of her incoherent mumbling had changed.

"I'm not sure how strong this stuff is," the still-dolled-up Leader returned uncertainly. She looked questioningly at what Casavir had in his hand. She did have to admit that it looked quite rich and delicious with its deep shade of crimson. "I guess...I'll try some of that."

"That'ss the sspirit!" cried Neeshka excitedly. She made a move to go fetch Lily some wine, but once again was pulled back down into her seat by the others.

Bishop stood up immediately. "You'd spill it before it ever got near the table. I'll get it." Having just finished his own drink, he was going for a refill anyway.

Lily smiled and looked after Bishop in a pleasant trance. She was happy to be surrounded by her friends, even though some of them were being kind of loud, what with Grobnar humming to himself, Neeshka trailing off at every opportunity, and Khelgar babbling but letting Neeshka have most of the spotlight. It was nice to relax after having felt tense the past several days. She also was a bit excited to try some of the wine, though she didn't want to admit it aloud.

A glass with an opaque red liquid was set down in front of her. Under the chandelier, it looked a bit lighter than what Casavir had, but still pretty appealing. Lily looked up to see Bishop, but he had already turned to go back to his seat.

"Thanks," she said.

A dull "Yeah," was his only response.

Lily leaned forward and took a sip. Neeshka was staring at her with her eyebrows raised and a big smile on her face, her chin supported precariously by her hand.

With everyone looking at her seemingly so intently, Lily flushed a little. "It's good," she allowed to the onlookers, taking another sip.

Neeshka clapped and cheered. Grobnar looked skeptical of her change of heart about drinking but overall carefree, not wanting to be interfering. Casavir merely had a straight face.

"So what's next on our to-do list?" inquired Sand, trying to speak slowly but clearly and hold himself together. He didn't like faltering in front of anyone, especially not all of his team at once.

Their Leader thought a moment. "Well, we still have Mount Galardrym to tackle. Keros will never listen to Khelgar, or any of us for that matter, if we don't get the Belt of Ironfist."

"That blasted, stubborn loghead probably won't trust me even if we do get the belt. The dwarf's never been known for his tolerance," Khelgar finally broke in gruffly, his face a little red from drink.

"We still have to try," Lily pushed. "We'll set out tomorrow. Don't worry about it, Khelgar, I'm sure not even Keros is that harsh."

"You've barely seen the guy!" Khelgar shouted, but quickly looked ashamed and lowered his eyes to his tankard. After lowering his voice, he continued: "He'll be a thorn in my side so long as the Ironfist clan is under his rule."

"Then it won't be for much longer. Let's forget about that for now, though, alright?" Lily pleaded. Khelgar nodded.

"Sooo, Lily girl, how do you feeel?" giggled Neeshka.

"I'm well, Neeshka, jeez," Lily giggled back. She felt like a schoolgirl engaging in underage drinking for the first time.

Qara rolled her eyes, but had a grin on her face nonetheless. She took another swig, but caught Sand looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

"What?" she managed after putting her drink back down.

"Nothing," came Sand's quick reply.

"Are you jealous of how much alcohol a girl like me can throw back, buddy?" Qara winked.

"Please! As if that's something to be proud of!" But he was betrayed by his narrowed eyes.

Lily wouldn't call Sand's feeling "jealousy". He was probably more embarrassed that he couldn't handle his liquor as well as his rival, but Lily wouldn't say that aloud.

"Hah, Bishop," Lily called suddenly.

Bishop looked up, a bit confused.

"Where's the dagger on your chest? You usually...have one there." Lily stopped. She began thinking the sound of her own voice was a bit foreign. Why had she mentioned that to him?

Bishop didn't look down to check. He stiffened, seemingly taken aback by her sudden outburst.

"Are you okay?" asked Sand of their Leader, though he already understood.

"I think our noble Leader is a little bit tippsyyyy," Neeshka sang.

Casavir's mouth hardened in a firm line, but he said nothing. He did, however, scoot to the side of his chair closer to Lily.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Qara smiled. "Looks like you've finally delved into the world of drinking a bit more than you should." She laughed, and was chewing on something, though it was hard to make out what it was.

Lily looked down at her glass, and gasped. Her wine was already halfway gone.

Sand peeked. "From the looks of how much is left, it appears you're a lightweight." He wore a satisfied face, one that screamed "I'm-not-the-loser-here,-move-along".

"I...uhhh...guess..." their Leader started. Once again, all of their attention was on her.

Noting their eyes, Lily pursed her lips. "...I don't know!" She hid her face in her hands, blushing. Bishop smirked at her embarrassment.

Suddenly, Casavir tilted his head down in front of her face, trying to block everyone's sight while comforting her. Noticing a shadow cast over her eyelids, Lily reappeared from behind her hands and looked into the paladin's close face, her own still slightly red. Doing so raised her head just enough so that her hair touched his skin ever so slightly.

Casavir looked into her face and breathed out a single, strangled breath. Her bright green eyes bore through him. She was...staring at him. And not just back at his eyes, either. She was instead looking lower, at his lips. Now, he stared back in wonder.

The rest of the group was silent, even Bishop. Lily wasn't about to break away to see the ranger's expression, however.

Casavir lingered for another second, took one more deep breath, and pulled away. He couldn't allow anything to happen while she was in her current state...even that, and even with him.

"Looks like the red is contaaaagiioouuss," Neeshka teased, the first to break the silence that had followed in those few seconds that had seemed like hours to the paladin.

Lily laughed. "Shut up, Neeshka." The tiefling responded with a drunken smile. She caught Grobnar looking concerned in a different direction from their own.

"What's wrong, Grobnar?" But then she saw. Bishop had left the room. "Oh."

Qara tsked and leaned back in her chair, arms folded behind her head. "Forget about him. He's always moody."

"You're one to talk," Neeshka ventured, albeit lightly. She tried to soften her accusation with a short but uncertain laugh.

"Whatever," was Qara's simple, airy reply. She was still grinning. Neeshka phewed.

"Perhaps we should include the others again, now," suggested Sand, referring to the two team members still standing by the fire, though they were no longer chatting fervently. Almost as soon as he finished his sentence, he was on his feet and joining the smaller group.

"Yeah, alright..." Lily whispered, a bit worried about Bishop. She didn't quite know why, but it bothered her to think he'd be upset enough with them to leave.

"C'mon, lesss...let's do it!" exclaimed Neeshka, all for every idea of the night, it seemed. She stood up, but this time, nobody stopped her. Khelgar instead just arose to walk by her and prevent her falling.

Grobnar jumped up, eager to set a more joyful example for Lily. Lily caught his eye and smiled again.

Casavir got to his feet as soon as Lily did. He walked to the side but slightly behind her as she progressed toward the fire. When she was standing in front of it, however, she turned around and immediately bumped into him.

"Oh, sorry..." She wound her way around him.

"My lady, where are you going, if I may ask?" Politeness aside, his tone indicated quite clearly this was almost a demand from Casavir. Bishop's room was directly behind where they had just come from, the same direction in which Lily now wished to walk.

"I drank a lot of water throughout the day...give me a few minutes," she explained, turning to obscure her face and skittering off.

Casavir didn't like the idea of leaving her outside alone, but at least it was better than leaving her alone with Bishop in this state. He looked after her movements to verify she actually went in the direction toward the woods, then continued moving toward the hearth.

After a precious half-minute or so, Lily peeked around the corner and saw Casavir facing away from her. The others could see her if she made her move from her current spot, but if she backed up a few meters to where the light didn't reach very well, she could hide. She did so, backing herself against the wall and moving to the left to reach the door to Bishop's room inside the inn.

She opened the door agonizingly slowly so as not to make any sudden noise. After what seemed like a full minute of opening a damned door, she wiggled herself in and closed it behind her.

Bishop's eyes were on her the whole time, and now were glaring into hers, but there was a hint of amusement. He remained silent for a few moments.

Then: "What are you doing in here?" he asked suavely, hinting at the truth they both knew: that they were in his room. Together. Alone.

"You left," Lily stated flatly. "You're supposed to be having fun with the rest of us," she pouted, almost uncharacteristically. She was surprised at her own words, and how whiny they sounded.

Bishop looked surprised, but grinned almost...knowingly. "I couldn't stand the air any longer. This place sucks." Apparently he had taken his drink into his room, because now he took a swig from it.

"There are other places to stay besides this tiny hovel, dear prince. I'm sorry it doesn't suit your exquisite tastes," she joked.

"Ladyship, I'm perfectly fine with sleeping in the woods. This place is a lot seedier." Was that a...wink?

"But, do go on," Bishop continued, setting down his drink. "Tell me about some of these other places I could be staying."

Lily thought for a moment, this time a bit more seriously. "Well, there's the war room, and we could even build another one onto the Keep if you really wanted."

Bishop drew nearer. "Anywhere...else?" Each word weighed a thousand tonnes.

Within a few seconds he was towering over her. He placed his arm behind her head and stared down into her unassuming face. Lily didn't know why she just now thought of it, but he was a decent bit taller than she was. She only came up to about his nose.

Just as she thought that, his lips touched her hairline. Lily's mouth hung open; she didn't make a move but to look up at him. What was he doing?

"Bishop..."

In response, he breathed out, his hot breath against her forehead, which made her shiver and grab the sides of his vest. "Bishop... What..." she repeated, though it sounded like more of a whine this time. She started pushing him away, but stopped midway. Her brain...just couldn't decide...

There was dead silence save for their breathing for several heated seconds. She felt stiff, entranced, and...heavily intoxicated. She didn't feel normal at all.

Bishop hesitated. After a few more seconds, he lowered his lips to her ear and whispered, "You should...rejoin the others now." He was breathing heavily, panting audibly next to her ear. He put down his arm and took her own in his hands, breaking it away from his cloak.

Lily didn't fully grasp what just happened, but her body was frozen solid. Or perhaps burning hot. Whichever temperature extreme meant that she was rooted to the ground where she stood that very moment.

Bishop took a step away and picked up his drink again, taking a gulp and acting like little had happened.

"I..." Lily started, but she couldn't get any words out. Bishop's muddled expression seemed to encourage her to continue her train of thought, but she instead hastily grabbed the door handle before recalling the necessity to be quiet. She tried to open the door slowly again, but now she was far more impatient and instead sacrificed silence for speed.

Luckily, at that moment, Neeshka had burst out laughing from something someone had said, or perhaps because she was plastered. Either way, Lily snuck back to the appropriate position one would be in when coming back from outside the inn. Taking a deep breath, she started walking back toward where the others were.

She rejoined them without a hitch, not even being discovered by Casavir. She inconspicuously turned her head to look at the door to Bishop's room.

But it remained closed.