Because I Love You✔️

Chapter 167: Coins

WARNING: This chapter contains underage alcohol use! If you're sensitive to such things, well... skim carefully?

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Chapter One Hundred and Sixty Seven: Coins

When Xaphile and Adariel returned to their room, he was expecting for the rest of the night to go pretty quietly, but boy, was he wrong about that. About ten minutes after he'd gotten Adariel settled into bed, all the guys save for Gus and Vordt came into their room.

Bruno smirked when he turned and looked at all of them in confusion.

"Hey, Xaphile!" Bonks squeaked, darting over with a grin. "Since we finally made it to the city we intended to and successfully saved your friend's family, we've all decided to have a celebration amongst ourselves and partake of some rather generous wine that Bruno brought with him!"

He stared at the boy with raised eyebrows, then looked at Bruno, who raised his arms: in them was a case chock full of enormous crystal bottles that he assumed was some form of alcohol.

"Bruno, I'm underage, and so are all of the other guys in here," he said lowly. "Did you talk to Ella, Ninira, and the others about this?"

"I did," the dark elf confirmed, giving him a strange look. "What do yeh take me for? I'm not irresponsible. Ninira and that winged bloke who claims to be yer uncle have both decided to sit out on drinking, but that Gus fellow and even Ella seemed keen on relaxing a little."

"Seriously?" he muttered, finding that a little hard to believe. "So, even Gus agreed to it?"

"I did," the hunter's voice said, making him jump; Gus was standing in the doorway, toweling off his hair with subdued jade green eyes. "Tonight, I think all of us need an outlet for the stress we experienced these past few days. First with the Griffin snatching Ella, then the ambush..."

"Oh," he murmured. "Well, if that's the case, I'll sit this one out. I'm not really hip on drinking."

"Suit yourself," Obi purred, running a hand through his wavy hair. "I, on the other hand, am curious to try this legendary wine our fellow dusk-skinned mortal claims is the best in the world!" 

Xaphile rolled his eyes and sat by Adariel's softly snoring form, watching observantly as they sat down right on the floor in the middle of the tiny room. Bruno wasted little time pulling a crystal decanter out and uncorking it with his teeth, but instead of taking a swig, he paused.

"Let's make this a bit more fun than simply passin' the bottle," he said, smiling devilishly. "Do any of yeh lads know what drinking games are?"

Gus's green eyes lit up like Christmas lights and he leaned forward with a rare grin.

"I've got some playin' cards, glasses, coins, and several other things," he said, getting up and trotting out of the room. "Be back in a moment."

When he left, everyone shared a curious glance, but he returned far more quickly than anyone expected, arms full of the things he'd previously mentioned. He set them down on the floor, then leaned forward to look at everything he'd brought.

Xaphile watched, curious despite himself, as the man picked out two coins about the size of American quarters and weighed them on his palms for a second, squinting with his tongue poking from the corner of his bearded mouth.