City of Chaldea (Freeform RP Area)

Zephyr Arc - Training Hall

Cherry's eyes went wide when Komori suggested a drinking game and she immediately rushed over to explain why it would be a terrible idea to let Zephyr drink.

In the mean time, Vayu kicked things off. Zephyr immediately took a swig, with no one to stop him. The master had made him read through so many books he sometimes recoiled at the sight of ink.

Amira

She really did not like the bar. It was too crowded! Too much noise! It was hard to think! Hard to focus!
Amira was getting annoyed, although she didn't show it. She kept her annoyance for herself as she took a seat around the others.
She was given a brief explanation of the 'game', hard to call it a game really.

“Never have I ever read an entire book.”

WHAT?! What kind of barbarian are you to never have read a book!? No wait, he said entire book... That's even worse! To start something and leave it half way through!
Internal rage was temporarily subsided as she saw Zephyr take a drink. Right the game, of course, Amira had a read a book, her room was practically filled with them.
Without even thinking she took the drink and began drinking. ALERT MISTAKE, she felt like her throat had just been punched by someone. The taste itself wasn't bad, but it was the aftertaste that really got her. Yes, this was her first time drinking alcohol.

As she drops the cup on the table she coughs and tries to hide her discomfort by hiding her mouth behind her arm.
"How have you *cough* *cough* never finished a book?!"

Amira asks incredulous, she wasn't drunk at all. But the strange predicament from her drink caused her to lower her guard down enough for one of her thoughts to come out.

The Devil’s Cocktail

- Vayu -

Vayu looked at Amira when she sputtered out her question. Clearly, she had little experience drinking and for a brief moment he wondered why she joined in.

“I’m not very good at reading and writing,” Vayu admitted. “It takes me a long time and I find it difficult.” His finger circled the rim of his glass, but of course he made no move to drink.

“Not everybody was in the situation to receive a prime education.” He said with a neutral expression. That was just the way the world worked.

He grabbed the bottle to refill their empty glasses.

- Cleo -

Cleo grinned as red slowly bloomed beneath Scarlet’s features. Her pale skin tone did little to hide her blush, and after throwing back her drink, the effect only intensified. Unfortunately, Komori picked that moment to propose a drinking game, and much like the flickering flame he imagined her to be, Scarlet deviated from the course and rushed off to find Amira. Not that he was going to complain about having another woman around...

As he turned towards the others, Cleo caught Nena, of all people, staring at him. No, that wasn’t quite right. It was more like she was looking through him. He fought off the urge to shake himself as a shiver raced up his spine, instead giving the barkeep a saucy wink.

Only a moment later, Vayu opened up the game with something that was bound to get the majority of the group drinking, Cleo included. Chuckling to himself, he poured another shot of the Sati’s Kiss, this time without the theatrics, and tossed it back. His eyes watered, but aside from that, Cleo displayed no visible sign of the spicy drink affecting him. It was all in the act. If you looked like you belonged, no one would question it.

Amira, who had just joined them, didn’t hold it together quite so well. Cleo glanced at the bottle Vayu was serving from and shook his head. It wasn’t bad stuff, but probably not great for first time drinkers. Unfortunately, his own choice in drink wasn’t much better, and considering what it had added to his tab, Cleo wasn’t really comfortable with ordering another bottle.

Gad - The Devil’s Cocktail

Gad rubbed his neck, "I, uh... heard of it." Said Gad, it was a truth, but it still made him uncomfortable.

"And I also heard it killed people who saved me." Said Gad, eyes looking at her in determination. "And want to avenge them." Said Gad. "I know I can't beat it now, but, I do want to know where it is. I heard he is a territorial demon."

When people started talking about drinking game and such, he drank his cup. After all, the subject made his throat dry and he wanted to show that he was participating it.

Samael

"Oh great, I see someone is trying to get us drunk." Samael returned Vayu's wink with a stern glare, as he downed another glass. He was beginning to feel rather tipsy, but he was still in control on his senses... it was his mistake for letting Vayu get the first question.

"My family was always obsessed with items from a past civilization called France. They had a bunch of short fairy tale books they had restored in stored in our village's library that I read otherwise books were hard to come by outside this place.... though it's just from word of mouth so it isn't completely accurate" Samael stated with a reminiscent smile, as he looked around at the rest of the group to see how much the rest of them were drinking.

Oh wait, someone might question how books were hard to come by if they had a library... better be more careful... ugh stupid alcohol.

"So, who's turn is it next to ask a question besides Vayu?" Samael blurted out quickly before the big bad wolf Vayu could say anything else.

- Bastion -

Never read a book? Bastion started in surprise. It seemed unthinkable, but... no, he shouldn't be too surprised. Maybe it was more surprising that so many people in the group had. Besides Vayu and Mongo, who grinned as though it were something to be proud of, nearly everyone drank. Bastion watched Komori knocked his glass back, then sighed and picked up his own. He didn't think he was going to like this game.

Wincing, he set down his glass as Nena set her own down with a dramatic sigh. "Boring," she said. "We need to spice things up a bit."

Komori grinned. "Well, it's your turn. Spice away."

Nena tapped her chin, then smirked wickedly. "Never have I ever... remained abstinent."

Komori raised his eyebrows and, unsurprisingly, left his drink where it was.

"Oh, for goodness..." Bastion muttered, his face and ears burning hot. He snatched up his glass, downed his drink, and looked away.

"Oh ho," Nena mused, her lips curving as she looked around the group. "How many of our other Vanguards will spill blood before spilling... well..."

Rory turned her gaze from Bastion, her own cheeks a bit pink, and glared up at Nena. Not that it did any good.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Aeris -

Interesting...

Aeris surveyed the young Vanguard, pondering this little revelation. It might prove useful later on.

"If you're not ready to beat it, then you're not ready to know where it is," she said evenly. "Maybe once you get stronger, we'll revisit this conversation."

In the meantime... her eyes flickered to the drinking game going on, which Gad seemed to be tokenly involving himself in. Maybe it couldn't hurt to ingratiate herself.

"For now, enjoy your graduation party," Aeris told Gad, getting up and sauntering over to the group. "I'm going to."

Aeris approached the group and neatly slid onto the end stool.... which Mongo had vacated a moment early at the sight of her. He garbled unintelligibly from the floor, staring up at her, but he might as well have been a dust ball for all the attention she gave him.

"Deal me in," she said, reaching across to steal Komori's glass from him. Of course, she didn't take a drink. Not this round.

Komori blinked in surprise, then turned to Nena and ordered another glass. Nena, her frosty gaze fixed on Aeris, turned away to grab him another.

"Virgins on top of everything else," Aeris mused. "They really aren't ready for the world outside these walls."

Gad - The Devil’s Cocktail

Gad sighed, Aeris was right. He was not ready to know about it. With his current abilities, it was going to be hard to take it down for sure and knowing its location may just make him blind in a rage.

However, it sounded like Aeris knew where it was.

When Aeris told Gad to join in, Gad walked to the group as well. Just in time to hear about keeping one's virginity. Gad's red eyes quickly catch Rory's reaction to that. Gad's fieldwork trained him to be more cautious and be more studious with human interaction.

To be fair, the reason for his studious nature about Rory was because she knew his secret. Gad trust Rory to be able to keep secrets, but he still had to be careful.

Anyways, it was pretty clear Rory had a thing for someone, but as he missed the early reaction, he was not so sure for whom she was reacting to. Then again, the person that Gad saw drank was Bastion... so was she into Bastion? Rory's stare at Nena was a pretty good sign that she didn't like what Nena asked. Oh, but Gad was sure that Rory felt some relief knowing her future was a virgin. Gad smirked and drank his apple juice. Not because he was really a virgin, but because he lied to Rory. He did not want to surprise her by not drinking this round.

The Devil’s Cocktail

- Vayu -

Vayu shrugged when Nena gave a dramatic sigh and called it boring. It had worked, just as Samael suspected. He was trying to get a bit of alcohol into all of them, but mainly to lift the mood and get everyone to relax.

Nena however took everything in a completely different direction. She was right, that was bound to be interesting. His eyes swept over Cleo, Komori and Nena, certain of their answers towards the other Vanguards to see who would empty their glass.

Vayu left his glass where it was and made no move to drink, but grabbed to bottle, ready to refill the empty glasses. It also meant that he witnessed Nena’s reaction to Aeris’ appearance firsthand.

“Maybe you should have this game with the new Vanguard Trainees before they start training,” he suggested, clearly joking. “That way you can cater for their preparation needs more individually.” Vayu grinned at Aeris.

Maybe the alcohol was beginning to take its effect. “I for one, am not even from Chaldea, so I know what awaits us outside of these walls,” Vayu added and then pointed at the shelf. “And I bet you another bottle, that I’m not the only one here.”

Zephyr Arc - Devil's Cocktail

Zephyr very naturally put another one back as Cherry, who'd by now returned as Komori was apparently enjoying this too much would do nothing to stop it. She placed a slap on her forehead, then grabbed a seat beside Zephyr, for when he inevitably started acting up. She was too young to be drinking anyway so she stayed out of the drinking game.

Reacting to Vayu's comments, Zephyr also piped up. "Ahaha, I've been killing demons since I was 10!" Obviously sounding a tad worse for wear already. People's skin were starting to look just a little green...

Amira

Amira blushes as she ears the next question. Why had Haita demanded that she participated?! She could be outside feeling the breeze away from these questions.

That said she felt better as she watched Bastion drink away. If she's not the only one then she can take it. She drank again.

Of course, that was quickly shut down by Aeris comment. Oh god, in her attempt to participate she had shown that she wasn't ready! She didn't understand what being a virgin had with fighting demons but it didn't matter. Aegis was clearly superior to her, so she must know what she's speaking of.

Should she lose hers then? She looks at Bastion as he was the first she noticed that drank. NO! That's embarrassing! But if that meant that she would be ready...

Scarlet - The Devil's Cocktail

Scarlet took a moment outside the bar to get a breath of fresh air before following Amira back into the bar, missing the first question. She got herself another shot as Nena took her turn.

Blushing furiously, Scarlet looked at the others for their reactions. Perhaps it was a good idea that she had taken a moment earlier. She all but threw the shot down her throat, the burning of the drink eclipsed by the heat of embarrassment. City-folk were much more upfront about these kinds of topics than back home!

- Cleo -

Cleo poured himself another shot as Nena posed her question, but it remained on the bar as the others threw theirs back. To his surprise, Aeris took this opportunity to slide up to the bar and join in the game.

What wasn’t a surprise was that both Amira and Scarlet took a drink. Given his interactions with the two of them, Scarlet seemed a little naive, and Amira seemed to be a loner. If the later wasn’t an innocent, it would have been mildly surprising, but there had been on doubt in his mind that Scarlet would drink this round.

Nena and Aeris’ snide remarks, although jokingly aimed at the guys, seemed to have made the female audience a little uncomfortable. While Vayu and Zephyr took a moment to defend themselves, Cleo slid up next to the girls.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about, ladies. A woman’s innocence is a rare gift, something to be cherished by the one you deem worthy of it, because it can only be given away once.”

With a grin and a wink, Cleo raised his own glass in the air. “Never have I ever had a cup of tea.” His mother had hated the smell of the stuff for some reason, and Cleo had grown up averse to it as a result.

Samael

"Oh come on..." Samael irritably muttered, as he raised another shot to his lips and downed the next shot and slammed it back down on the table with a scowl now his face. Ugh, he was only 20, how could it be excepted that he already had lost his virginity. And given his situation, he didn't have a choice in the matter anyways... as he blurted out automatically "Such rigged questions... really."

"Well, I already mentioned my village, so that seems like a rather skewed bet Vayu." Samael quickly responded to Vayu him letting out a rather forced chuckle, as he poured his next class preparing for the next question that would get him drinking that Cleo asked. He never had a cup of tea?

"You've never had a cup of tea? I lived near a fairy forest, so there were all sorts of herbs near us that they grew. So, I had a bunch of the stuff since it's supposed to help you focus and relax." Samael stated with another annoyed sigh, as he downed another shot with him turning towards Vayu and began to ask... "So what was your village like? I'm curious how the other ones fared compared to mine."

- Aeris -

Well, the crowd seemed to be loosening up to her - a contrast to the naked hostility from earlier. Maybe it was just the alcohol getting to them. Aeris raised her eyebrows at Vayu's joke, and then his bet, which was spoiled by Samael blurting out that he was from outside Chaldea as well.

"I think I'll pass on that bet," she said, smiling. "Gambling's always fun, but not when you know you're going to lose."

Zephyr barged in with his boast of killing demons since he was ten, which earned a slight tilt to Aeris' lips.

"Well, I suppose there are plenty of small fry demons out there..." she murmured, shooting a sidelong glance at Mongo, who was currently occupied with scaling up Cleo's back.

"Cleo-sensei," he murmured, clinging to Cleo's back like an oversized spider. "Teach me your ways. I... I need to lose it too!"

When Cleo took his turn, Aeris shrugged, leaving her glass where it was once more. "Never touch the stuff." She sighed. "If someone doesn't come up with something good soon, I'm going to end the night very thirsty..."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Bastion -

Never had tea? That's... absurd. Bastion groaned and drank another shot. It was starting to feel very warm in here. He unbutton the top of his blazer, letting his skin breath. He looked up and found Rory staring at his exposed skin, her cheeks flushed.

Uh... he blinked and turned away awkwardly, only to find Komori, who was setting his glass back down after Cleo's turn, looking between him and Rory.

"Uhh!" he blurted out quickly, thinking of his skin. "Never have I ever... gotten a tattoo."

Komori's expression became distant a moment, and he downed another glass. Aeris' gaze flickered to him a moment, then back to her glass, which she lazily circled with her finger.

Rory tugged on his sleeve and glanced up at him. "What is it?"

Komori smiled and patted his shoulder. "My old squad's symbol. We got it our graduation day as a way to remember each other. It worked, but..." His eyes softened. "Reminders don't always work the way you want them to."

Gad - The Devil’s Cocktail

"Gotcha." Said Gad, grinning. It was now totally obvious that Rory was into Bastion. "Good for him. He got a good future bride." He muttered to himself.

He was not feeling drunk, but, the atmosphere was infectious; the cheery, goofy faces of how some were making, it was fun to watch.

After the tea question, Bastion blurted out about tattoo. Komori spoke about the tattoo he had with his colleagues. Gad sipped in as well.

He, too, had a tattoo on his back. He, too, had it with his buddies.

Now it was only him with that symbol.

Then Gad raised his cup, signaling it was his turn.

"Never have I ever had dated a teacher." Gad gave a shallow nod to Aeris "Please, help yourself." Then Gad looked at his drink. Was he going to fake it to his own question?

He gave a weak smile, and did not let his lips touch his drink.

The Devil’s Cocktail

- Vayu -

Vayu chuckled. “It was worth a try,” he replied to Aeris when she passed on the bet.

He could see a whole lot of blushing from various participants after Nena’s question. Zephyr already sounded quite tipsy and so did Samael for that matter.

Leaving the open bottle on the counter, Vayu quickly downed his shot in an answer to Cleo’s statement. Of course he’d had a cup of tea before.

“It’s pretty high up nearly hidden in the mountains,” Vayu replied to Samael. “Probably one of the farthest outposts from Chaldea.”

He refilled their glasses just as Bastion blurted out his statements about tattoos. Vayu quickly emptied his glass and just as quickly refilled it. Yeah, he had a tattoo as well, a tribal pattern with a raven inside on his shoulder.

“By the way, I’m not getting matching tattoos with any of you! I neither know nor like you well enough to commit to something that permanent!” Vayu threw in loudly after hearing Komori’s story. Maybe he was beginning to feel the effect of the alcohol as well.

He then turned back to Samael.

“While I haven’t been there in a couple years, it will always be home,” he smiled, his eyes going distant for a few seconds. “For most, it is too far and too dangerous to ever take on the long journey to move to Chaldea, so people tend to stay close to together.”

“What about you?” he asked. “The fairy forest? I’m not familiar with that area…”

He looked around. Who was next? Ah, Gad piped up. The young man looked much more relaxed than he had during the exam.

Wait, slept with a teacher? What kind of question was that? Vayu followed Gad’s eyes to Aeris and something clicked. With a light grin on his face, he left his glass untouched.

Zephyr Arc - Devil's Cocktail

"Small fry? Zephyr laughed. Well, it was mostly imps and goblins. Some bigger Goblins. I think Master mixed said there were Hobgoblins..." He drifted off, before taking another shot. He'd been given tea quite often back home. Especially after one of his rampages. Apparently the stuff was supposed to help him calm down...

He looked around the room again. ...Goblins? Shaking his head, he decided willfully to butt into Vayu and Samael's conversation. "Oh hey, mine was near the fairy forest too. Cherry here's from there!" He commented. Cherry looked on worriedly. She knew that look in his eye...

Amira

Amira took another drink with the never had tea, and at this point, she was questioning if they were targetting since they had forced her to drink three times in a row. She could already feel her head heavy.

Luckily Bastion gave her some breathing room with the never tattoo. And then Gad gave her another breathing room about dating teachers. Dating... Perhaps it was the first drinks that were starting to affect her but she began having ideas of love and desire. Yes without a doubt she would enjoy having a date herself.

She had a pretty intense blush as she hides part of her face with the glass in her hand.

"Never have I not felt loved."

There was no show off coming from her or ill intent. Only a small smile as if that was her greatest treasure. Yes, she was drunk.

Samael

A bombardment of questions hit Samael from various different people as his spinning mind tried to gather up each of the questions that were sent his way. He intensely focused on listening, staring intently into his drink as he ran through each. Though at the moment, something clicked, things seemed so much less like he avoid some scary trap and more like a game.

Gotten a tattoo... and slept with a teacher? Hah! What? What kind of question was that?!

"Those demons did have tattoos but since I wasn't a demon myself I didn't ever get one. And, sleeping with your teacher, only teachers I had was Komori so oh boy! That'd be awkward if I took a shot there!" Samael laughed as he placed he began patting Vayu on shoulder playfully when he asked him a question.

"It's a great place! I've been traveling a lot so I lost track of it, there was a troll that would always want to wear the clothes I made! Looked ridiculous!" Though at the mention of Zephyr also being from the fairy's forest Samael's face suddenly looked more serious in a second, his eyes staring at Zephyr for what seemed like an eternity, watching him like he was some sort of enemy and they were caught in some wild west showdown.

Never have I not felt loved....

"Got me there, I'm a pretty crap person." Samael said jokingly, as he downed the shot in his hands mid conversation, as his voice cracked for a moment giving off a lighter high pitched voice that soon returned back to normal as Samael quickly covered his mouth.

"Let's put a spin on it! Never have I ever had unrequited love." Samael stated with a light smile, as he laid back on his seat. He'd always been caught up with demons and those feelings would just be futile anyways.

Gad - The Devil’s Cocktail

Gad smiled weakly at the question that was thrown by Amira, “Well, I am standing here because of love that I have received from others.” Gad commented, and he left it there. He did not speak about how he received such love nor how it was possible for him to feel loved in such dark times.

Memories... Gad replied to his own question of how and then, And the fact that I am still breathing... Then the doctor too came to his mind.

When Samael toss the question about unrequited love, Gad smirked and did not touch his drink.

Scarlet - The Devil's Cocktail

Scarlet's blush persisted through Cleo's statement. Silently, she agreed. She paused as he phrased his statement. Never had tea? That was a shame, she loved the teas from her village. She drank again, the alcohol starting to affect her.

Well, she could safely say she hadn't gotten a tattoo. For once, she didn't drink, using the opportunity to recover from the previous shots. And again, she didn't drink when Gad took his turn. Her head sharply turned towards Gad when he did so. What kind of scandalous question was that?!

Then Amira took her turn. Never felt loved? Scarlet was concerned that a couple of the participants drank. Surely their parents must have loved them?

Samael's statement about unrequited love made Scarlet think back to her village. In all honesty, she had spent so much of her time focusing on getting into the Vanguard training programme that she had never really thought much about the matter. She left her drink alone.

She supposed she should take her turn next. "Never have I ever... gotten lost in the forests." Scarlet drank, the alcohol already in her quashing her embarrassment. She hadn't always been at home in the forests around her village, especially during her early years.

- Aeris -

Never dated a teacher? Aeris raised an eyebrow. Kid obviously thought himself very clever with that. Really, "dating" was far too generous a word. More like "apprenticeship with benefits." But this was hardly the time for technicalities.

Shrugging, Aeris downed her shot and slid the glass across the bar with a flick of her finger for a refill. Nena filled it up, her expression icy, and slid it back like she couldn't wait to get rid of it.

"Never have I not felt loved."

Everyone turned as Amira piped up. After an awkward silence, several people around the room tossed back their drinks with something less than the usual enthusiasm. Mongo gave a dry sob as he downed his drink, Nena and Aeris coolly sipped theirs, and Komori rotated his glass between his fingers a few moments, eyes heavy, before he drank his.

Bastion hesitated, staring into his glass. Never have I not felt loved. That's...

He threw back his glass before he could think more about it. Samael also drank his, his voice cracking as he tried to play it off casually. What was his story?

"Let's put a spin on it!  Never have I ever had unrequited love." Samael stated, moving things along.

Bastion had never been in love, requited or otherwise. Aeris and Nena both ignored their glasses - and each other - but Komori raised his glass and swallowed. Nena's eyes flickered toward him, watching his throat bob, before glancing away.

"Never have I ever... gotten lost in the forests," Scarlet offered.

Bastion, Komori, Mongo, Nena, and Aeris left their glasses untouched. Aeris snorted softly and glanced out the window.

"You have a better question?" Komori asked, nudging her elbow.

Aeris smirked and glanced around the group. "Never have I ever... wanted to have kids."

Komori sighed and tossed his drink back. Bastion regarded his before nudging it away. That kind of life had never really held an appeal for him. Besides, he wasn't sure how he felt about bringing kids into this messed up world.

Gad - The Devil’s Cocktail

Gad sipped his cup when Scarlet asked about getting lost in the forest. He was not so sure, but it was true he got lost in the forest when he was a kid.

According to Eins, that is.

Then when Aeris asked about wanting to have a kid, Gad smiled nostalgically. Remembering what he told Eins...

"Eh, Eins, you never grow old do you?" Eins nodded, "Yeah, I won't grow old anymore. I could grow a beard to look older." Gideon shook his head, disapproving the idea. "No thanks. But, hey, that means if I do get a kid, you could still be around?" Eins rolled his eyes, smiling. "Yeah, I could. Let me guess, you want me to be a baby sitter?" Gideon grinned, without a word. Eins gave a fatherly smile, "Well, it won't be a first time."

Gad sipped his drink. "If I do get a kid, I wanted to show the kid that there are hope, beauty, and light even in this state of the world. To show him or her that everyone has a part to play, to make the world better or worse." Gad sighed and shook his head. "I mean that's what I heard from someone a long time ago."

The Devil’s Cocktail

- Vayu -

Shot counter: 8

Vayu saw the increasingly nervous look Cherry was giving Zephyr. As if that wasn’t enough to give it away, Zephyr’s behavior did the rest.

“You’re drunk. Quite the lightweight, eh?” he asked Zephyr. “Have some water,” he added and placed a glass of water in front of him. When he turned around, he could feel that his balance was affected by the alcohol as well.

Still that didn’t stop him from emptying his own shot glass with a rather somber look on his face in response to Amira’s question.

When he reached for the bottle to refill the shot glasses, he found it empty. A look of disappointment crossed his face. With a sigh, he went to grab another bottle from the back. When he came back, he had to put a steadying hand on the countertop. Reaching out to refill his glass, his hand wasn’t quite as steady as he wished.

He looked up at Samael, who had posed a rather unusual question. Vayu raised his eyebrows at him. “You’ve got some serious issues,” Vayu commented. “And I don’t mean that you made clothes for a troll. Though that’s pretty weird too.”

Vayu made no move to empty his glass. However, when Scarlet prompted her statement and drank to it as well, he had to reconsider. Yeah, he’d gotten lost in the forests around him home. So he drank.

The mood had lost some of its enthusiasm. And Aeris next statement didn’t really do much to lighten the atmosphere. Vayu refilled his glass and downed it just as quickly. He pushed the invading memories away before they fully surfaced. That wasn’t something he wanted to think about in his intoxicated state.

He squinted and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to focus. Yes, the alcohol was definitely getting to him. He gripped the corner of the bar to keep steady.

“So much for having a party,” he said, sounding annoyed. “These questions are total mood-killers.”