However Long The Night

SEVENTEEN: You are the sole survivor

"This is the place?"

They stood outside the tavern Rosario and her friends had frequented often throughout their lives. The bartender knew their orders and there was a table that had been designated theirs. From the reflection of the window, Rosario could see Mariola in the chair she always chose.

"This is it."

Armin looked at Rosario, waiting for more than those three short words. Nothing came. "Do we go in?"

As if triggered by his voice, Rosario abruptly turned to face him. "There is a high chance this is a trap. I need you to understand that. I can probably get away with hurting some people. There'll be questions if you're found."

Armin frowned, his eyes going over her shoulder to the small crack in the wooden boards. The bartender wiped the counter as he laughed at what someone said. Armin couldn't see who. "I thought you trusted them."

"That doesn't mean things can't go wrong or change."

"So you're saying you might have to injure people if a fight breaks out."

"If the Kenny gang is looking for me, they'll do anything to get me. Give their lives for it. I can't let them get me."

It was clear in his eyes the suspicion that clouded them. It drew a barrier between them that Rosario should have taken down if she wanted to go in there as a team. It'd come back to bite her in the ass to be at odds with Armin in that moment. Still, she walked in and he trailed behind, that moment lurking beside them as they took their chairs. Keegan had already joined Mariola.

"Yer late," was the first thing he said.

Rosario placed an ankle over her knee, shaking her head. "No, we weren't." The underlying meaning could be heard by anyone. We were around. We were watching.

Keegan's eyes slid to Armin as he poured two glasses of clear liquor. He slid one over to Rosario. She knew what it meant. Keeping her eyes on Keegan, Rosario threw back the burning liquor, keeping her face stoic as she slammed the glass back on the table and slid it back.

There was a custom in Tamashi, native and exclusive to the city, that set the boundaries between possibly hostile situations. For many, honor was the only currency that held weight. You could be a thief, a murderer, anything you wanted it, but when you gave your word, everything lied in it. Still, you couldn't ever be sure and with liquor, defenses lower. To ensure least possible deaths, the strongest liquors in every tavern were always stocked so that opposing sides could never be at their full potential. Both parties drink, both parties agree to keep the peace.

It was hostile in and of itself to decline, so when Keegan slid a glass to Armin and Rosario took it before it could reach him, the tension cut through the ceiling boards. Eyes were cast their way, everyone knowing the implications of meets like these, and Tamashians braced themselves for the possibility of more to come.

Rosario consumed Armin's liquor, sliding the empty glass back at Keegan, who didn't look impressed or pleased with the blatant interjection. Even Armin, who'd never been to Tamashi before Rosario came into the picture, could feel the weight of the moment and Rosario's actions.

"Let's get started, yeah?" Rosario said, ignoring the guarded looks of her friends.

"Let 'im drink," Keegan said.

Rosario shrugged. "There's no reason for him to. He's not the one to worry about."

"So we should worry about you?" Mariola asked. She was particularly good at being both a sweetheart and a menace. It always puzzled Rosario how quickly and efficiently Mariola could switch personas when it became convenient or necessary. She was no fighter, but she had enough flame in her to never need it. And Keegan had always been there to fight for her.