[Aiden]

Eyes roaming immediately to their spot on the second floor, Aiden winced as he saw the dancing figures of Bree and Kiel. If they were clomping on the table, then food was probably all gone. He hissed as his drunken friend unknowingly booted a mug across the hall, drawing even more attention to the group. Turning his eyes skyward, and then toward Maaike, he sighed with resignation. “The pub was a bad idea, wasn't it?”Squaring his shoulders as if preparing for battle (because dealing with drunks was almost just as daunting), Aiden made a beeline toward the stairs. As he climbed, he avoided the spots that dripped with spilled beer. When he reached the top, he picked up a fallen mug and set it under their table, where people were less likely to accidentally drink from it.

A strong pair of arms tackled him around the waist, then went higher up his torso as Lersa stood to envelop Aiden in an anyeli hug---her wings curled forward to wrap around the both of them. Judging from the metallic clatter on the floor, she probably knocked something off the table. “Aiden, my good friend! I see you've returned without beer!”

Her breath smelled like alcohol, but Lersa was not nearly as drunk as the dancers on the table. In fact, her mischievous grin showed just how much she was enjoying this. Aiden resisted the urge to slap her upside the head, like he might've done to his younger brother. “You don't need anymore—how could you let them get like this? We're being conspicuous. That's the opposite of low profile.”

“Oooo, big word. Con-SPICK---” Lersa paused as she looped Maaike into the anyeli hug too, “Us. US! I love us!”

“Hey hey, where did you two disappear to~~?” Eilisa tugged at the back of Aiden's shirt. When Aiden turned, he saw that Cain was hunched over the table, forehead resting on his forearms. Eilisa resumed braiding tendrils of the unconscious therian's hair.

“Not telling,” Aiden said curtly, then stuck his tongue out as she pouted in protest. Patting the back of Kiels' calves, he called, “Oi! Had enough dancing yet?”

[Kiel]

Kiel didn't notice the returnees at first 'cause he was totally focused on, like, spinning in circles around Bree without, like, falling clean off the table (and, like, probably landing on his head so Zeph would have to come get him and, like, give him that special glower reserved for, like, special occasions and that was totally the worst glare ever 'cause it was all disappointment and "are you serious" rather than, like, concern and "oh em ex, are you alive") or ripping Bree's (or his) arm out of its socket in an effort to keep his balance. Like, you know, he wasn't totally drunk, okay, but someone had gone for more booze when Aiden and Maaike failed to return from their epic, like, quest for hydration or, like, whatever. And Kiel wasn't all that great at saying no to the puppy dog eyes (hahaha, puppy! Bree was a wolf, dude!) even when he was completely sober so, like, yeah. Booze.

But then Bree wasn't spinning any more and something was jabbing his calves and it took Kiel a few seconds to realise that was just his head and that his body was at a stand still. He goggled at Aiden 'cause, like, when he had come back and gotten himself a twin? Like, okay, so maybe Kiel was drunker than he'd thought, but then he realised, like, “Hey! Hey, dude! Like, Aiden, dude!” Kiel hopped up and down like a kid who needed the potty, arms flailing to keep him balanced on the wobbly table-top (like, he was pretty sure it hadn't been wobbly before they got up there, oops) and his face splitting on a grin beneath his waggling eyebrows. “You go, dude!” He made vague, flappy gestures at Maaike and waggled his eyebrows again. He couldn't even be mad that they'd failed to bring booze back from their epic quest if Aiden was getting lucky.

Bree snickered. She grabbed at Kiel's wrist and used him as leverage to claw her way off the table. Kiel winced and whimpered his way through it — “Ow, ow, ow, ow!” — beause, like, dude, that chick had a grip, okay, and his wrist was delicate, “I'm delicate!”

The group burst into laughter and Kiel pouted 'cause he was pretty sure it was aimed at him. “See if I never help you guys escape from, like, money-grubbing slavers again.” Most of them laughed again. Hayden looked kind of offended, but he'd managed to look kind of offended when Cain offered him a roll so Kiel kinda figured that was his default express, kinda like how Zeoh's was all, like, "grr arr".

Kiel eeled himself off the table and accidentally half into Cain's lap. Like, he hadn't meant to do that, so he didn't really blame Cain for hissing and whacking him over the head with the empty tray that had been holding their leftovers. (And, like, where were all the leftovers? Kiel was so totally side-eyeing Lersa, man.) “Sorry!” Kiel yelped, trying not to hurt Cain's leg any more while simultaneously, like, flailing hands over his head to ward off the empty tray and, like, squirm his upper body across the floor and under the table to escape. “Help! Help me! I'm under attack! Heeeeeeeelp!”

[Maaike]

Maaike had to admit... this wasn't actually all that bad. Seeing the gang having fun after what the slaves had been through was... Well, Maaike didn't want to say a good thing because Aiden was right, they were supposed to be lying low and these guys were about as far from that as they could get without walking right up to a guard tower and mooning the guards with their names and crimes scribbled on their naked butts. They probably deserved to let loose a bit, though, and she couldn't think it was really a bad thing. Most of these people were kids, the youngsters of the clan out to prove themselves by volunteering for a job that could have gotten them killed. They'd killed instead, and while every single one of their "victims" had deserved it for being in the slaving business in the first place, Maaike knew what it was to outright murder someone. Even with a perfectly legitimate reason for it...

So, she'd give them this, even though she squirmed under Lersa's drunken attempt at a hug and spat feathers out of her mouth to give Aiden a pinched, I'm-totally-not-amused-but-I-actually-kind-of-am smirk.

The not-so-subtle suggestive remarks weren't even worth acknowledging, really, despite her blush trying to say otherwise.

“You—” Maaike pinched at Lersa's waist until the Anyeli yelped and barrelled away from them, wings knocking aside an empty chair and clouting Maaike across the cheek so hard she saw stars. Maaike had to blink it away and clasp her cheek in stunned silence, but she was still more amused than pissed off — especially when she managed to finish her sentence around the sting in her face. “— can deal with him.” She pointed at Kiel's feet where they scrabbled aimlessly against the wooden floorboards in his efforts to get away from Cain's retaliatory stomping. Maaike would be worried (more for Cain's leg, she told herself, than for Kiel's welfare) if she couldn't hear them both laughing breathlessly through the yelps and growls.

Lersa squealed protests until Maaike narrowed her eyes, lifted both hands, and made pincer motions with her fingertips. Lersa narrowed her eyes right back, glancing between Maaike's threatening fingers and the determination on her face. Lersa was a stubborn one, refusing to budge. Maaike jolted forward and aimed for Lersa's belly; Lersa yelled and ducked behind Aiden.

“Cheat!”

[Aiden]

Lersa and Aiden froze with inaudible panic as one of the anyeli's wings smacked Maaike fully in the face during their play-battle. Anyeli wings hurt. “I'msodead,” he barely heard the apali murmur, though their worry proved unfounded when Maaike merely diverted their attentions to Kiel. Lersa was having none of that though, and when Maaike dove forward in retribution, Aiden quickly found himself caught between the two of them.

“Cheat!”

“Yeah, cheat! How could you?” he laughed at Lersa through his half-complaint. The anyeli's hands clamped tightly around his shoulders, steering him into harm's way (betrayer!) as their threat hovered nearby. He eyed Maaike apprehensively---from the way she raised her fingers, she could be channeling Magda's talons.

“Take one for the team and be my meatshield!” Lersa commanded and then squealed as Maaike dove forward again. Though Aiden tried to twist himself out of harm's way, he felt another pair of hands add power to Lersa's. Eilisa grinned impishly before pushing both of them closer at her elder clanmate.

“Wait, Maaike! Nooooo~ooooo!” Aiden stumbled forward almost comically as he took the hit for his friend. Actually, his ribs still hurt from the ambush in the delta, but he was having too much fun to give it enough notice. “I'm done for---” he said sorrowfully to the group, “give my best to...ack, Kiel!” The 'vari had scrabbled so close that he bumped next to Aiden's leg, and now Cain was indiscriminately kicking at the both of them. Unacceptable.

Cain must have realized Aiden's intent, for when their eyes met, the kid defensively raised an arm. But too late! Pouncing, Aiden locked his arms around the other shifter's torso. “I've got him Kiel, make a run for it!”

[Kiel]

Like, it totally turns out that dodging a herd of stampeding dashiri is crazy hard, you know? And, like, okay so Cain wasn't a whole herd but he was determined and eager to do some major damage to the bits of Kiel that Zeph liked, okay, and that was so not cool.

(He giggled anyway, like, pretty much non-stop because it was kinda like being tickled. He couldn't get away, and he was breathless and the adrenaline was, like, making the whole thing seem crazy funny. It helped when he managed to squirm around and tickle Cain's foot in retaliation. Bwahahahahah!)

Aiden's sacrifice was totally not gonna be in vain, though. Like, “Dude!” Kiel eeled his way out from under the table -- making a pit-stop along the way to tickle Cain breathless while he squirmed in Aiden's grip and giggled obscenities at them both -- and threw up his arms in victory. “All hail Taskel, Hero of the West!” (Like, they were south, but whatever.) He chanted his own name like a crowd and beamed at Maaike even though she was totally giving him the evil eye again, then yelped and accidentally elbowed Lersa in the face when she brushed a fingernail across the nape of his neck.

“Ohhhh, blow me off the deck of a ship,” Lersa hissed, squinting over the curl of her palm. “What's with all the face-jabbing tonight?”

Kiel opened his mouth, closed it, raised his eyebrows, lowered them, and opened and closed his mouth again. Like, he knew it wasn't actually a serious question and it kinda served her right for smacking Maaike with a wing earlier, but, like, “Maybe it's a full moon.” He waggled his eyebrows and ducked the inevitable attempt to swat him like a bug. “Wahahahaha!”

[Aiden]

Now it was Cain's turn to shout “'cheater! no fair!'” amid giggles as he pried at the arms curled over his shoulders. For a drunk person with a wounded knee, Cain had a surprising amount of energy. Aiden almost felt sorry for the other therian as Kiel swooped in for the 'killing' tickles. As soon as the 'vari backed up for a victory cheer though, a sudden weight knocked Aiden forward that his nose hit the back of Cain's head.

“Brother-dear, I came to save you!” was the warning cry from Bree before she mercilessly poked at the ticklish part of Aiden's ribs. He couldn't help but burst into laughter that was bad for his still-bruised ribs, but lightened his mood considerably.

“Dear---Xanth!” Giggling even as his eyes burned with tears, Aiden massaged the bridge of his nose, and those seconds of distraction were enough for Cain to scramble away. To add insult to injury, the siblings decided to double-team by tickling Aiden until his face was close to the ground, and they were sitting on his back.

“And the young ones win!” cheered Bree. She made no motion to remove her weight. Sitting sideways, Eilisa draped her arms over the back of her chair as she peered smugly at Aiden.

“Guys, a little help here?” Aiden waved his arm at Maaike, Lersa, and Kiel.

[Maaike]

OOC: I just clicked on Aiden's profile by accident (his system profile, not his character profile) and man his photo makes him look like a baby! I'm starting to feel like Maaike's a (wannabe) cradle robber.

If anything could convince Maaike that taking Sammy home to the clan was the best thing for him, it was this. (She'd never stop feeling guilty for leaving him there, but at least she'd done as right by him as she could at the time.) Watching her clansmen act like idiots, laughing and joking after a victory, brought back all those childhood memories of she and her sisters and cousins racing around the forest like wildlings, safe inside the sentinel patrols and completely at home with the chirps and chirrups of the animals and the sway of leaves.

Maaike watched from the sidelines, arms crossed over her chest to hold in her laughter, eyes sparkling with an energy and life she hadn't felt in years. She side-stepped Bree's attack and lifted both hands, shaking her head and grinning so wide her face ached when Aiden begged for help. “Sorry, love, I only help damsels.” The term of endearment didn't even register as it slipped through her lips because she was too busy smirking at Aiden's plight.

Until Lersa turned on her with the same kind of wiggling fingers that Maaike had threatened her with earlier, and waggling eyebrows that threatened a tickling session of her own. Maaike skittered back with a very serious, “No, no. No,” as Lersa advanced, and Kiel snickered at them from the safety of a table-top.

Lersa glanced back at him, then at Maaike again. Maaike stared back, lips pinching to hold back a wicked smile. Then, as one, they turned on Kiel and advanced as he yelped and waved them off with flailing hands.

“Help Aiden!” he cried, edging off the table and onto an empty chair. “Aiden! Aiden, help Aiden! Not me, I don't need help, no siree, no help required here, nope, all fine, all good, help him!”

Maaike smirked, still wiggling her fingers, but Lersa shrugged and turned away as if to do just that. The second Kiel's shoulders relaxed and he turned more to face Maaike full-on, Lersa was on him and tickling mercilessly as he pitched a fit and rolled with a heavy thud onto the floor. With Kiel out of the equation and Lersa's wings blocking access, Maaike shrugged and turned to watch Aiden and the trio trying to flatten him. “I don't know...” Maaike let her voice fade away as if in thought. “I guess I could help out a little.”

Maaike's smile turned wicked again. Bree stared at her like a deer in headlights over Cain's head, but Cain and Eilisa were both too busy being merciless in their own fashion to recognise the new threat. Bree squealed a garbled warning as Maaike leaped at her, coiling a rush of Naga scales around her and rolling them clear.

“No fair!” Bree yelped, writhing to get at least an arm free to defend herself. Maaike wasn't squeezing so she didn't know what Bree was complaining about. “No 'shifting, no 'shifting!”

Maaike's reply would have been a smug "too late" if she'd been able. Instead, she used the Naga's claws to tickle the backs of Bree's exposed knees until she was breathless and red-faced with giggles, and Cain was abandoning her spot on Aiden's belly to come to Bree's aid.

[Aiden]

“Ha! Fighting within the ranks. You guys never stood a chance.” Eilisa slid from her chair and sat next to Aiden as they both watched Lersa and Maaike team up against Kiel.

“They just can't operate without a lea---oh no---” Collapsing into a fit of laughter as fingers dug into his ribs, Aiden felt tears building up in his eyes as he attempted to roll Bree off. Cain, ever the helpful sibling, latched onto one of Aiden's arms. Sending a mockingly-baleful look, Aiden wagged his free finger toward the traitor. “Oi! Aren't you supposed to be resting your leg? And you--” he swatted at the youngest therian, who had started braiding his hair, “It's way past your bedtime.”

Cain's smile was so wide and insincere as he experimentally shook his wounded leg. “Well I'm trying to, but you keep moving.” Clearly, the potions had greatly helped with the healing.

“Actually, you're gonna want to run soon,” Aiden grinned widely as he watched his favorite brunette stalk over. In a whoosh that swept reptilian scales over Aiden's back, Maaike dragged Bree away. This gave Aiden the chance to push himself up, eliciting a squeak from Eilisa, though Cain was already running to help Bree.

Unable to catch Cain, Aiden whirled toward Eilisa, who quickly lifted her empty hands. “Truce please!” Her look was guileless enough for Aiden to laugh and sit back.

“Knew you were the smartest,” he said as he leaned back against a table leg. Not far off, Kiel was curled in a fetal position as one of the freed shifters tentatively tried to help distract Lersa. At the other end of the room, Maaike still had Bree in her grasp as Cain shuffled around and tried to pull Bree away (without hurting his own leg).

A loud cough sounded from the top of the steps, and Aiden realized belatedly that they'd had too much fun to be wary. The newcomer was one of the waitresses, and though she looked nervous at the sight of the warrior anyeli hunched over the 'vari and the naga in the room, her words were firm. “We thank you for all your patronage today...but please keep your powers outside, as it may disturb other guests.”

After a pause, Aiden sheepishly nodded. “Won't happen again. Thanks.” As the waitress returned to the bar counter, Aiden scanned the first floor out of paranoia. While some customers looked inquisitively toward the loft, others were still engrossed in their own conversations.

[Maaike]

Maaike froze as she heard the cough. She wanted it to be out of horror that she'd let down her guard and let the gang distract her and themselves enough to let some complete stranger into their midst unnoticed. Instead, her face flamed and she winced from embarrassment. She couldn't bury the smirk, though, or the bright-eyed bushy-tailed twitch of excitement. She felt so energised, in a way she hadn't in years -- not since she left the forest, actually, so she couldn't blame it entirely on Ashton's abuse.

Maaike managed to wait until Aiden had waved off the waitress before letting a snicker burst free, then buried it behind her Naga claws. She peered at Aiden through half-closed eyes, the membranous layer of her eyelids blinking back tears of mirth. She wasn't even that drunk, but there was something so freeing about acting the goat - or snake, in her case - that she couldn't even chastise herself or them.

Nevertheless... Maaike melted back into human form and collapsed into the seat beside Aiden to drain the last of her pint. “We should settle in for the night, anyway. I want people on watch,” she murmured, narrowing her smirk on Kiel to tell him he'd been chosen for first watch just because she could. He huffed and gaped but, shockingly, didn't argue.

Bree pouted over Cain's, “Awwwww.” They glanced at one another and smirked, then turned twin puppy eyes on Maaike and said, in creepy unison, “But moooooom.”

Maaike giggled - nay, tittered, so clearly she was drunk - and pointed an accusatory finger at them. “Not your mom. Now go to your room.” They returned her grin with snickers of their own but began to collect their things anyway. Maaike turned to Aiden with twitching eyebrows. “You want first watch, or shall I?”

OOC: I think we can end this here! (awwww ) This was soooo much fun! Nice to see Maaike let loose for a change, eh?