NEVER SPLIT THE PARTY: The Adventures of the Creeping Bam (BOOK 4: The Hunt)

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: VIFRI

"You really think that's a smart move?" Udre exclaims now, I hear the dismay in her voice but still pick up on just how tired she is underneath it. The same as the rest of 'em, I know. I been feeling the fatigue as much as the rest o' my squad for a while now. "I mean that's your ... Thorin, is that five now? Really?"

I pause just short of stepping into sight of the group at large sat in the booth, not wanting to give my presence away just yet as I listen in on my friends and those they're sharing their evening with. Even so, most of the others are sat at the table close by, and I'm in clear view of them now, catching Gril's eye quick enough as he gives his a roll. Like he's heard this a thousand times before.

Tuthi just raises the tankard in her hand the rest of the way and takes a big pull from it before treating the cleric across from her a particularly sharp look that so far don't seem too dulled by drink. "For your information, I plan on getting good and shitfaced before we go back to ... wherever it is we're going. I'm gonna get up sometime tomorrow afternoon with a big bastard hangover so I don't have to think about what we had to deal with today. You can't stop me."

As I step up now, her eyes shoot up to watch me pass, widening a little as she wipes her sleeve across her mouth, and while there's a little alarm in her feeling like she's been caught out now, I think there might be a little bit of challenge too. I pause in front of her now, cocking a brow, and she looks away fast, visibly blanching as she sits back, putting the cup down on the table. "Shit ... um ... sorry, boss. I'm ... um –"

"Carry on, Private." I sigh, starting to walk again but giving her a little sidelong glance as I go. "You're off duty now, for better or worse. Just remember what it is we're doing right now."

As Tuthi growls low, her cheeks visibly darkening even more than they've already started to, Udre shoots her a reproachful look. "See? You're being an idiot. What if we get called back into it? You won't like me having to sober you up again."

"Don't you fucking dare." the half-orc snarls back, but there's no real threat in her words. Udre's her closest friend in the squad, Tuthi'd die before she even tried to hurt her.

Keeping on to the back of the room, I hook my foot round the leg of my chair at the smaller table in the corner, drawing it out so I can settle into it easier once I've put the two tankards of ale I've brought from the bar down. Tormed gives me time to get comfortable again before picking his up and casting a watchful eye towards our two mingled squads across the way, seeming strangely wistful as he ponders for a long moment. Meanwhile I pick my mug up and take a small swallow before putting it down again, planning to continue taking it as easy as I've been doing since we came in here while I wait for him to make the point he's clearly working his way to.

Finally turning back, the half-elf takes a similarly light sip of his beer and puts it down too, licking his lips before finally speaking. "They're tense. Even now."

"You can't blame 'em. That was a rough fucking scene they left to meet us. 'Side from Gril an' Vid, the rest o' mine didn't serve on Barricade. That was their first taste o' that kinda mess. I doubt yours are much different."

Leaning back as much as the crappy chair he's folded his tall, long-legged form into can really allow, he folds his arms again and looks across the room, not at our folk now but just off into no particular distance. Thoughtful again, but with an edge, as before.

"They ain't alone, either." I add after another beat, leaning forward to cross my own arms across the table as I just keep my eyes on him. "Are they?"

He looks my way at last, blinking a little, but if he's really surprised he hides it well. Mostly he just seems a little annoyed. "I'll admit, it was a first for me too. I've worked on some ... difficult cases in my time, some of them with Mil, but ... no, nothing like this."