Milling about (FINISHED)

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik smiled reassuringly not even acknowledging that she had stepped on his foot other than to help keep her steady as she tripped. He kept the movements slow until he was certain she was more confident in her ability.

"The exact moves are still jumbled when I try to order them for speech but I've got them ingrained in my memory. When I was eight I remember my aunt told me I would need to know this one day. I told her I was a warrior and that warrior's did not dance to which she laughingly replied that warriors frequently dance the Dance of Death. She then drew her sword and advanced, I automatically retreated, she circled me and I followed to keep her in sight. Then she stopped and told me that, sword and distance aside, we were already dancing..." he said as the music continued. "I've always been better at the Dance of Death...more comfortable with a blade in hand than a partner's hand..."

[hecatia]

Hecatia stifled a laugh, "You and I both. But I have also found gaining grace in battle can afford you other experiences as well. There are many hidden meanings in the way of battle."

The song continued for one more movement before coming to a halt. The band struck up another, livelier tune, and Hecatia halted their dance. "I do believe we are out of our league with this number. Would you like to embarrass ourselves further or find some other form of entertainment? I think some of the other tables have decks of cards for the guests to entertain themselves with."

[Merik Dragmire]

"Cards? I'm not sure, I've heard that Gerudo are nothing but liars and cheats...though I suppose you've got an honest enough face so we could give it a go. I'll get us some drinks and meet you there." Merik said he made his way to the refreshment table and grabbed two glasses, one empty and one full.

Returning he sat the full glass before her and then pulled a flask and a small bag from within his coat. After a quick consideration he removed his coat and handed it to Hecatia as well.

"You might need that shortly...I'm not sure how this will go." the Gerudo said cryptically as he filled his glass with an amber colored liquid.

Letting it settle for a second, he reached into the bag and filled his hand with something from within before revealing it as some sort of powder as it slipped from his fingers into the glass.

[hecatia]

"I've not played cards in ages, and I've never cheated against anyone, with the exception of my sisters,"She laughed, "I think we should have a fairly decent game, sir, as long as YOU do not cheat." She sat as he went to retrieve drinks, and was slightly confused when he only returned with one full glass. By the end of the night she might have to go get another cup full; she could drink more than most males.

She wasn't all too surprised when he poured his own drink; the powder was a little ominous, but she was used to Gerudo's being picky about their "drinks". He handed her his jacket and she raised an eyebrow but put it on.

"What game are you proposing we play?"

[Merik Dragmire]

"I'll admit that cards have never been my strongest game type as they tend to get lost or ruined very easily out at sea, I'm more accustomed to games like Liar's Dice and Dice Poker...usually games with dice because they're a bit hardier." the Gerudo replied as he watched the powder floating around his drink for a few more seconds before looking up at Hecatia again. "I've got to let it sit for a few minutes so it mixes right before I toss in the catalyst. Anyway as I was saying, I'm okay at poker...in fact it might be the only card game I've played..."

[hecatia]

"Well then I see that it is only appropriate that we play poker. I should say now they call me the "Luckless Gambler" for a reason. But if you have a pair of dice on you I'd be more than willing to try something new..." Her gaze drifted towards his drink, and she leaned forward. Ran finally came drifting over and leaped up into her lap. "There you are you lazy good for nothing."

She rubbed her nose against his and settled him down. "If I'm not overstepping here, what in the goddesses names is in your glass?"

[Merik Dragmire]

"Poker is fine, though I do have some dice in one of my pockets in case we want to change things up." Merik said as he picked up the cards and began shuffling them, mixing the entire deck four times before setting it aside and moving to Hecatia's question.

"It's a special mix that, unless you make it yourself, you can only get from the bars in Pirate's Bay...mostly because they're the only ones crazy enough to make it and sure enough to usually get it right, we call it Blackpowder Rum. You take a container of rum, add in some explosive powder from a bomb, let it spread around the drink and add fire. Too little powder and it'll barely spark, too much and...well you can guess what happens with too much powder. Get the right amount and there is a lovely fireball as the entire mix starts smoking and bubbling. A single cup is guaranteed to give you a raging hangover the next morning but damn it's good...once you're throat stops being on fire anyway. The primary problem here is that I've never tried to mix it in an actual glass before, so I'm not so sure whether the perfect mix won't blow up the glass...hence why I gave you the coat to cover up with...and I pray the Goddess is watching if I put too much in." he finished with a smirk as he swirled the glass a bit.

[hecatia]

"Thank you for the advanced warning." She shifted into a more comfortable position in her chair. She lowered her voice and looked at him conspiratorily. "I would assume then you are not the only pirate who likes to gamble...and watch things explode. Trade habit?" Hecatia remembered then she had her own drink and lifted the glass for a sip. Light and fruity, just how she liked it. Although if she *wanted* to get drunk she would need a few more than one glass. She gazed off at the refreshment table and grinned when she saw there was plenty more stock on the table. Tonight was going to be fun.

She took the cards from him and shuffled them again herself."I'll deal. What's the ante, and are we playing five cards or seven?" She readied the first card to be dealt.

[Merik Dragmire]

"Aye, there is a lot of gambling aboard though for job shifts not rupees or treasure, it leads to a lot less conflict among the crew if the prize is simply a break in work. As for the explosions...well lets just say that when they see what happens when a little powder gets ignited, they are much less likely to bring an open flame near an entire barrel of it and they are much more careful around the cannons." Merik replied as he considered the game.

"We'll keep it cheap to start, one rupee ante...and seven card should be fine."

[hecatia]

Hecatia dealt seven cards a piece and placed the deck down in the center. "I'm afraid I didn't bring that many ruppees with me. I guess I'll just have to win." She laughed and began considering her cards. Sitting back she realized she couldn't recall which hands were better than others. Only that you could get some pairs, straights and flushes. Well this should be interesting.

She sipped at her drink and felt it go down into her stomach. Then she realized she was hungry and hadn't eaten all day. On another note, are you sure your crew would trust a skinny chef? You know the old adage." It would take far fewer drinks than she had planned on. Hecatia glanced over at Merik's drink wondering if he was ready to light it...and what would happen.

The ball seemed to be just as lively as ever.

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik looked down at his own cards and mentally swore up a storm.

Whole lot of nothing to start, great... he thought as watched Hecatia take a drink and looked down at his own, chuckling at her words.

"I'd rather a skinny cook than a fat one, it makes it much easier to tell if you start taking a lot of extra food." he said with a smirk as he pulled a pack of matches from his pocket and flicked one out. "Now would be the opportune time to cover up and hold on to your cat."

After giving her time to do so he ignited the match, brought it close to the drink and with a quick breath touched the flame to the rum. There was a quick flareup, barely more than a candle's flare, before the drink started bubbling faintly and just barely smoking.

"Damn, just a pinch too little." he growled as he downed the entire glass in one gulp, loving the (literal) burn as it went down. When he spoke next a little of smoke escaped his mouth. "That's the other thing about it, it doesn't do well for a full tankard or anything. You have to take the entire thing at once or you wind up burning yourself more than necessary."

[hecatia]

"I would think not." She laughed. She looked at her hand again. She had one pair and three other low cards all of the same suit. Nothing much to go on. Even though she had proposed the game she was already bored of it. She tried to stall with conversation.

"I think I may have asked this before, but when do we set sail again? This sounds exciting, and I'd really like to get going. Maybe I could follow you after the party?" Horrible attempt, but maybe it would get her to the ship faster. Along with that would come shelter and food. Albeit at sea, but better than she could find slumming it on her own. Leaving home without anything to her name had left her at quite the disadvantage. She cursed her mouth.

[Merik Dragmire]

"We won't be setting out for a few days but if you got there early you would be able to find your way around the ship and meet some of the crew." Merik replied as he sat his cards down for a moment. "I've got a bit more business to handle here at the party tonight but once it's done I could escort you to the Fortress. I won't be headed back to the ship until probably the day before we launch but you'll be able to catch a ride with one of the wagons travelling to and from the Defiant."

"I'm not sure how long I'll be but if you just want to relax around here I'll find you when I'm done."

[hecatia]

Hecatia non-chalantly placed her cards down and 'accidentaly' knocked over the deck. She made to pick it up and pulled together all of the cards.

I could very well entertain myself for the evening. Unless, and only if it wouldn't inconvenience you ot blow your 'cover', you could take me around and introduce me." She bent her head to sip her drink again, and looked up at him through her bangs.

Hecatia looked out the side of her eyes and around the floor. Many people were dancing again, and she spotted some that had the look of 'pirate'. Maybe it was all her years of pretending to be something else to survive that helped her to spy the spies. They had that survival instinct look to them that all of the nobles and upper class citizens lacked. Were these Merik's crew?

[Merik Dragmire]

"Unfortunately my business tonight mostly involves spying on Zelda and trying to get a better understanding of her before I formally introduce myself to the Hyrulean Council. It should be relatively easy to get near her tonight without arousing too much suspicion over the matter." the King said apologetically in response to the possibility of bringing her along with him.

As she quickly gathered together all the cards and turned back to the dance floor, Merik followed her gaze and was able to quickly pick out two of his officers across the room.

"Across the room is a Zora, two young women, one blonde haired and the other brown haired, and a young red haired lad. The last one is one of my newer recruits: a Minish named Volkin; he's a good lad but I think he's still working out how the world works." he said with a smirk as he watched the young Weasel talking with the other three.

"Now if you look down at the other end of the refreshment table there is a silver haired man in a long red cape. The dark haired lad he's talking to is another of my recruits, Iadar...he won't admit to it but he's also pretty new to the way the world can be." he said as he watched the two for a minute before adding with a quiet laugh. "I'm actually surprised he made it to the party alone, last I heard from him he had some Knight following him all over the place."

[hecatia]

"All interesting characters I assume. You won't have to worry about me. I know plenty about how 'the world works'. However pirate ships not so much." She looked down at her glass but it was already empty. She lifted the glass so that he could see where she was headed.

"If you'll excuse me, I think I'm still thirsty."

She waltzed over to the bartender and requested something a little 'stronger' and returned with something a little more bitter, but at least it had bite this time. And tasted slightly like licorice. She hated licorice, but supposed it would serve the same purpose.

"Must be a lot of new recruits here then; I suppose then that you are off to your important 'political'," She winked at him, "business?"

[Merik Dragmire]

"We are Gerudo..." the King replied simply to her comment about understanding the world, though taking a second before finishing his thought. "...it is unfortunate but I don't think a single one of us has been born that doesn't intuitively understand the hardships of reality because without that knowledge we cannot survive. Compared to the other tribes we've always been right at the bottom, just barely above the species collectively known as 'Monsters' and within the last few decades above the half-bloods as well. But it's the hand that we've been dealt and all we can do is our very best to rise."

As Hecatia went to get another drink Merik watched the other guests carefully, though his eyes did tend to drift back to his crew in case of trouble.

"It would appear that you are correct, a few of my more seasoned officer's had planned to attend as well but I suppose matters arose that demanded their attention..."

I damn well hope T.R. didn't ignite another would be mutineer only to have 'em fall into the hold again... he thought bitterly remembering the one time her ability to quell a mutiny had backfired, literally, and nearly sent the Defiant to the depths.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by her final words, giving his companion a sly grin.

"I would only be so lucky if matters took that turn, certainly be more interesting than what I'm expecting to occur...though given all the Knights around I'm fairly sure I'd wind up being hunted through the streets without the honor and dignity of a quiet exit through the window."

[hecatia]

((I'm alive!!!))

"Well then I shall have to entertain myself with the other guests for now and I shall meet you or your crew at the appointed meeting grounds in a few days. Give me time to recover and make my way over there."

She stood up from her chair still holding onto Ran, and extended a hand to Merik. She was about to speak when she noticed some guards walk past. She quickly changed what she was about to say to something a little more appropraite.

"It was nice to meet you. Good luck in your endevours."

She looked away from Merik only long enough to see a guard looking at her. She winked at him and blew a kiss and he looked away, clearly trying not to react in a way unbefitting his position.

Hecatia hoped Merik would realize there were Guards behind him judging by her reactions, but then again he was supposed to be experienced with these kinds of things and would catch on on his own she supposed.

[Merik Dragmire]

"I'll make sure we don't leave you behind." Merik replied quietly as he kissed the back of her hand as she stood to leave.

He was quick to catch the movement of her eyes and spotted the guards moving in his peripheral vision.

"The pleasure was mine m'lady. Good luck with your own endeavors, and may your path never stray too far into danger." he said as he gave her one last smile and disappeared back within the crowd.

[exit]

[hecatia]

Hecatia watched him leave and smiled. There was plenty of opportunity lying within his path. Merik was definitely a man to stand behind. Well, he was a Gerudo.

She sauntered her was over to the refreshment table holding Ran, and downed a glass of port. 'Well, this was a good night.'

She grabbed another glass and walked out the door.

[exit]