The young man was deciding that this was going to be a long night, though he’d never thought himself a greedy man gaining more than Halla’s attention was weighing heavily on his mind. As much as the next pot of tea. This one was a nice black tea that he would normally drink in the morning for the caffeine, but he hoped he’d have use of it now. He added a bit of peppermint as well, half hoping the bright scent was enough to lure another woman closer.

Carefully Iroh poured the hot water into his bowl, having another empty one close by for his next guest, as well as his chosen cask of liquor. By now Sarabi had long left him, mentioning something about missing Benkos. Iroh wore a mischievous grin, he was feeling the effects of his brew and was feeling quite comfortable and content laying there as he waited for the tea to steep.

Aryn was certainly beginning to feel the effects of the liquor, coming to enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling that the brew granted her. Fireside may have it's quirks and it's King might have been a bit prickly, but they definitely knew how to make an interesting drink. Eli's appearance had been a sudden and unexpected one though not unwelcome in the slightest.

Should she have remained sober then surely the lady in her would have been content to sit by his side - and unknowingly protected - for the entirety of the party, though after finishing her drink a little too quickly she found herself distractable enough to stray from his side. It was only to get another drink, after all the first one had felt good but tasted a bit off. Jupiter had laid out a wide variety so surely something less sour was available.

The tantilizing scent of peppermint filled her nose and she breathed it in deeply, relishing familiarity in a place so.. off. It led her away from the laid out refreshments and towards a very handsome blue and black male. Her paws seemed to stumble when she walked too quickly, so she kept as slow and graceful as a step as she could as she approached. "Oh, that smells lovely.." She offered, leaning in towards his pot. Inhibitions lowered, Aryn did not wait politely for him to accept her company. She lay herself down and crossed her front paws, giving the man an easy smile. "Do you have enough to share?"

You always attracted more flies with honey than vinegar and his efervescent brew was enough to bring him not a fly, but a blossoming butterfly. Iroh’s easy expression brightened with agrin as she walked slowly to his circle and made herself comfortable without any hesitation. Besides her pretty face Iroh couldn’t help but notice the scent of her pleasantly settled over her. Had he been a little more drunk he might have mentioned that she smelled much better than the tea.

This was the whole reason he had a second bowl with him. ”Of course, especially for a pretty lady.” He told her with a smile as he carefully poured the tea for her. He’d have to slow down on the booze if he wanted to keep using this bait through the rest of the night. Getting to his feet Iroh nudged the bowl to her paws, bringing his own along before he settled himself close enough beside her that their fur would touch. ”I’m Iroh, it’s a pleasure.” He added with a wink before returning his attention to his tea for a delicate sip.

He graciously offered her a cup of her own and Aryn accepted it into her paws happily, taking no time to sip upon the warmed beverage and letting all remaining tension go with a sigh.

Oh, he called her pretty. The words seemed more genuine then Tyrian's had (although she still considered the alpha's compliment to be flattering, regardless of the circumstances that brought it) and the way he moved so close to her only made her feel more welcomed and wanted. The warm blush was already filling her cheeks, intensifying as she caught his wink.

For a moment Aryn stumbled on her words, though she wasn't sure if it was his presence that fuzzied her mind or simply the drink. "Iroh." She tasted his name on her lips, smiling. "I'm Aryn." Was this setting too impersonal to give her last name, her pack, her rank? She assumed it probably was, and bordering on drunk it was easier for her to not second guess it.

Small talk, small talk, the lady in Aryn's head had not entirely vanished, and still she knew she was meant to start a conversation if she was being polite. "So, this party. It's really something different, isn't it?" It was a lame opening, though words were becoming a bit harder as time passed. Without really thinking she leaned into him, feeling how solid he was and enjoying having something stable beneath her when she felt so loose and airy.

She took his warm beverage and seemed to enjoy it immediately. She relaxed, and he was glad he could make her feel at ease. This seemed like it could turn into a crazy party, and she was even younger than he was. Iroh felt a dual emotion of wanting to protect her sweet face or take advantage of her presence. Her imperfections in speech and innocent smile made him grin as she repeated his name and gave him hers back. ”Aryn, that’s a lovely name.” Iroh offered, but kept his focus on his tea as he took another sip and debated about returning to his liquor.

She spoke up softly, commenting idly on the party as Iroh poured a shot of his chosen bottle into the tea. He offered up the bottle to pour a bit for his new companion should she wish more. He could smell the liquor on her breath and she was likely feeling as good as he was. Wouldn’t do for her to lose her buzz.

”I’ve never been to anything like it.” He didn’t miss that she leaned against him, proving further her trust and comfort in his presence. Surely he couldn’t take advantage of that. Iroh leaned against her in return, lightly as his body was much bigger than her. ”Did your boyfriend invite you?” He asked her boldly as he slyly wrapped his striped tail around her charcoal hips. Surely she wouldn’t have been allowing him so close if she had another man along with her. Or if she did perhaps he shouldn’t have let her out of his sight.

His compliments continued and Aryn feared that at this rate the blood in her cheeks would never fade. She watched as he spiked his own tea, her head tilting curiously to the side but not asking the question. Iroh struck her as a man who really knew how to make a drink, and if he had decided his needed a little something extra then she'd accept it too. Her head nodded for him to proceed as he offered it to her own cup, recognizing the scent immediately as what she had been sipping earlier.

At his question she let out a small laugh concealed into what was mostly a squeak, her paw lifting instantly to cover her smile. "Oh, no, no. Honestly, my father would kill him." She admitted, unable to censor her words as well as she'd like. Thankfully she managed to contain from the most important part of her thoughts - "Especially an Abraxas." It was a faint fleeting thought, Eli was barely an aquaintance to her after all. "Then he'd kill me. I don't think he sees me as quite an adult yet." Her head shook as she admonished Torin, though there was only amusement and no bite to her words. Her protective father was something she was used to, and Aryn knew that when one day she brought home the man of her dreams that Torin would love him, too.

"What about you? Do you have to bat ladies away with your teapot?" Iroh was handsome, polite, tall and muscular and with his skill working over a fire she doubted tea was the only thing he could make. She felt him share in the closeness, his tail enveloping her hips and causing an odd shiver to pass over her. Since summer had rolled over her body had felt different, but now it seemed even worse somehow.

He couldn’t help but grin as she accepted his offering of the alcohol. Iroh didn’t pour quite as much into her bowl as he had his own, the intention to get her more drunk was not there. The young man lapped lightly at the drink, feeling its temperature warmth mix with that of the brew’s burn. He almost choked out a laugh as she denied his assumption three ways. Two no’s and the assurance that whoever her father was would kill whoever the boyfriend was. And then her. Good things he had little intention (at that moment) to ever meet the dainty woman’s parents.

”I’d protect you from him,” Iroh committed himself boldly as he lifted his muzzle from the tea to catch her vibrant violet gaze in silent promise. Little Aryn asked about his own problem with beating off girls. Iroh grinned but remained silent for a moment as he shifted slightly, craning his neck slightly so that he could groom the silver hair down her neck while he spoke. ”Well, I didn’t hit you with it, did I?” Iroh retorted with a chuckle as he daringly aimed to nibble gently at the delicate skin below her ear.

Iroh was doing everything right and Aryn felt herself being lured in by his charm. The alcohol was in the drivers seat now, conveniently ignoring rationality and responsibility to make way for deep desire and fantasy. The way he sought out her gaze only intensified the following moments where his tongue and then teeth were upon her.

She had at least enough control remaining to be hesitant, even a little tense as his breath came close to her ear. Should she had been sober Aryn might have declared a boundary crossed then and there, though the fantastical dreamer in her was quickly overwriting any doubt. "Iroh." His name was almost a gasp, a tingle spreading along her spine once more. There was a lot more she wanted to say, though neither excitement nor reluctance had yet won the fight inside her. "I'm a virgin," Oversharing. "This is inappropriate," But was it really? "More please," Whore. "Slow down," Prude. "I wasn't kidding, Torin will kill you." Too honest?

In the end, she stuttered instead a simple fact. "You're - mm - really good at this." Was she offering too little? Coherency was a fleeting thing beneath his touch. Rather then continue speaking she turned her head, offering Iroh a shy kiss upon his cheek.

She melted into his touch, he could practically feel her eyes roll into the back of her head as he held her close and offered his affection. The combination of her tensed body and the tempting way she said his name made him take great pause. He was given a moment of clarity, though he wasn’t drunk drunk he was getting ahead of himself. Aryn was sweet and innocent, just because he enjoyed hooking up with stranger didn’t mean she did or even knew if she did yet.

He rumbled amusedly as she gave him her assessment, a grin played on his features and he felt himself blush as she kissed his cheek. Aryn was too sweet for this, maybe he’d try and remember to find her when they were both sober again. He’d try to forget about how good she smelled, but he wouldn’t let her go completely. With a chuckle the massive man aimed to wrap his arms around her and snuggled his face into her soft fur.

”I haven’t shown you anything yet.” He teased her as he spoke into her fur. He gave her a light squeeze for luck and then released her. Iroh worked on straightening himself before turning his attention back to his tea. Maybe he’d regret letting her go, but that was a worry for the morning. He cleared his throat and took another long draught from his bowl.

Iroh could have been carrying Aryn into the clouds and she doubted she'd have noticed, she was too lost in his warm embrace. Her hesitance was burning away more and more each moment and just as she was contemplating how it might feel to have his lips upon her own, he released her.

She tried unsuccessfully to keep the hurt from her face. Why had he stopped? Was she not good enough for him? The alcohol made it easy to forget entirely that just a few moments ago she may have been giving him the wrong signals. Iroh was a true gentleman; he'd seen through her inebriation to the innocence behind and yet all Aryn could think was how badly she might have screwed up. There were many other women here who seemed more-than-willing, she'd seen it in the way they rubbed up on their men and led them away into the brush. Aryn doubted Iroh would have let go of those much braver wolves.

He returned to his tea and she found herself desperately missing his attention. Aryn rolled into him and onto her back against his plushy fur, gazing up into his eyes from beside his drink. "Are you going to show me more?" She asked, doing her best to emulate the other girls' seductive tones.

Honestly he didn’t have any desire to let her go, but he wasn’t inebriated enough to ignore the signal flags. Perhaps he held too tightly to his morals because as he returned to finish his tea the girl’s features dropped, if only for an instant. Now he’d gone and done the opposite of what he’d intended. Oh boy. Iroh gulped down the rest of his drink as she rolled into him. The young Abraxas was beginning to realize he had a very big weakness to pretty tummies. He couldn’t help the slight bulging of his blue and lavender eyes (and maybe something else.) As he was forced to look her up and down before resting his half lidded gaze on her pretty face.

Iroh couldn’t get over how cute she was, being a gentleman was hard when you had her beaming up at you. Practically begging him to give in to temptation. He grinned down at her, shifting slightly so that it was her belly she was pressed up against. Iroh put one huge paw on her chest and wrapped the other around her shoulders as he held her close.

”You didn’t seem like you wanted me to.” He whispered while unable to remove his eyes from her sweet features. Maybe he just needed to slow down a little. ”Do you?” Iroh pressed further, brushing his lips against her muzzle as he spoke.

The way his gaze roamed her brought another warm blush to her cheeks, though the feeling was almost impossible for her to recognized with how hot the alcohol already had made her body. His eyes upon her made her feel beautiful and wanted and loved. Aryn of course had experience with none of those feelings, making it very easy for her to explain away his lustful eyes as anything other then the desire for sex.

His arms enveloped her once more and Aryn's youthful heart threatened to stop entirely as his lips brushed against her own. All her prior hesitance was long forgotten, her only thoughts upon how badly she wanted him and how amazing he made her hormone-ridden body feel. "I didn't realize how much I did before now." She admitted shyly. Her muzzle moved against his in reply, just as lightly as his had. "Please, general Iroh?" It was not like her to beg - and to beg for sex was as far from her personality as it got - but she was determined to not have him reject her once more.

When Aryn had wandered off to get another drink - he probably should have stopped her, or made sure to give her something without alcohol in it - Eligos tried to pay attention to what was going on around him. He wasn't in the least bit embarrassed to play the voyeur, as it were, viewing the proceedings with the sort of professional detachment that precluded the need to feel embarrassed. Watching who did and didn't partake in the drinks and the other partiers, watching for one to slip up. But when Aryn didn't return, he found his gaze searching over the partiers with concern. And when he spotted her, he winced. Iroh. He'd been worried that the girl would get knocked up or, Fallen forbid, raped and Torin would blame an Abraxas, but if an Abraxas really did mate her the blame would fall upon Aerie for certain. He wasn't particularly fearful of Torin's wrath, but they could little afford that sort of attention just now. Rising gracefully to his feet, Eligos ghosted up the beach to Iroh's tea-fire and cleared his throat significantly. An apologetic glance was thrown to his young cousin. Iroh would probably not be best pleased by Eli interrupting a potentially fun evening, but Eligos would explain it to him later. Maybe he'd find him a pretty slave girl to make up for it... one that wasn't related to an alpha. "Miss Valentine," he said softly, smoothly. "I apologize for interrupting your conversation - " Oh yes, 'conversation', no doubt it was a titillating discussion, from what he'd seen - "I was concerned for you when you did not return. There are many unkind wolves gathered tonight that would not hesitate to do harm to a pretty young woman like yourself. I could not bear it if you were hurt under my protection." Especially a pretty young woman who was wafting out heat-scent like a banner that said 'come hither' to all the males there. He could ignore it readily enough, but there were any number of less discerning wolves there who would undoubtedly stoop to taking a young drunk girl without remorse for her inexperience. He could excuse Iroh as young and inexperienced enough to not think through the consequences of mating in the girl's heat, but there were those who would burden her with pups deliberately, and the risk to Aerie from her foolishness was not a disaster he was willing to court just now. "Speak" "Listen" Think

Her sweet words at the tip of his tongue had Iroh reigniting the fire that burned deep beneath his skin. He grinned as she spoke and seemed to decide where it was she wanted to go. The young Abraxas was thrilled in more ways than one as she returned his gentle touch and softly begged for him to keep going. He wasn’t about to deny those sweet words. His grin spread but right before he went to move he heard a very obvious and familiar cough.

”Shit. Eligos?” He spoke softly, trying to figure out why he felt like he’d just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Blue and lavender eyes rose from Aryn’s sweet features to see a quick apologetic glance from his alpha while at the same time trying to hide any bits Eli had no interest in seeing. While still holding Aryn while she was addressed. It seemed that Iroh was not the one he was interrupting for, though that didn’t make the young man feel any better. If Eligos had been anyone else Iroh would have gotten very much upset, but what was he going to do against Eligos?

It didn’t take but a few words to realize that this wasn’t going to go any farther tonight. Iroh’s foggy mind could comprehend that. Carefully, with gentle drunken grace, he let Aryn go so she could return to Eli. He wanted to remind her that she’d said she didn’t have a boyfriend, but that couldn’t be correct with the way his cousin spoke and acted around the two of them. It pained him to release her without even offering a parting kiss, after they’d gotten so close… Iroh grit his teeth and held his breath as he tried desperately not to make eye contact with Eli. ”You should go with him, Aryn.” The words were forced, but she likely wouldn’t realize it. ”I’ll brew you more tea someday.” He promised her with a pained grin, but the real question was if she’d remember that promise.

Aryn was finally ready to accept what was going to happen, every inch of her body screamed it's desire for the young handsome male. Her breath caught in her throat as he began to move, and then a loud sound from beside them drew her prince charming away. She frowned hard, blinking away the fogginess and flopping her head to the side to study who exactly had interrupted her.

If with a dizzy and drunken mind she could not quite distinguish his characteristic golds, the way Eligos spoke was enough to make her realize very quickly who it was standing before them. She swallowed, suddenly shamefully aware of the position she was in beneath the dark male. Aryn was not one of those girls, and now she appeared as one to the excrutiating polite gentleman who had offered her his protection and company on this night. "Oh, Eli." She tried to keep the shock from her expression, so instead it leaked into her voice. "This- uh, this is Iroh. Iroh, Eli." Her nose gestured weakly towards the alpha as she said his name, and her paw patted Iroh's shoulder gently as she introduced his. Well this was awkward.

Then it occured to her what exactly Eli had said, and her head turned back swiftly towards the younger male. Unkind wolves? Was Eli hinting towards something? Iroh released her and Aryn squeezed out of his arms, manuevering her stumbling paws until they brought her closer to the golden-marked man.

Without the barriers of sobriety, Aryn stretched up high to whisper not-so-quietly into his ear. "He wasn't hurting me, I kind of liked it." Why she'd said it, Aryn had no idea. Perhaps to protect the maybe violent and dangerous offender who made such a good pot of tea. Whether or not she'd accept his promise to have her once more she wasn't sure - Eli hadn't given her reason to not trust him, and if he'd interrupted their tender moment out of worry for her then surely Iroh was someone to worry about, right?

Iroh was sober enough to not argue the point, and drew away from the girl, who proceeded to... introduce him to his packmate. He tilted his head to Iroh neutrally anyway, not wanting to embarrass her by pointing that out. "Iroh," he greeted, keeping his voice clear of the irony. When she teetered over to him and stage-whispered in his ear, though, he closed his eyes for a brief second in a completely internalized prayer for patience. He really, truly had not wanted to hear that. "Of course not, Miss Valentine, I'm sure Iroh had only your welfare in mind," he said in a slightly strangled sounding tone, then cleared his throat and tried again. "But many hear would not be so kind. And certainly you would want to wait until you were not... When you were... that is to say..." He closed his eyes again and gritted his teeth. "When you aren't in heat, Miss Valentine. You wouldn't want to risk having pups with a stranger, surely?" The last was as much for Iroh as for the girl, who was likely too far into her cups to be reasoned with, but Iroh at least should be more careful about where the Abraxas seed might sprout.

This was not where he’d seen the night going, he’d resigned himself once to keeping his distance from her, doing it again after giving into temptation was rough. Thankfully he was drunk and it wouldn’t weigh on him too heavily, there were more than enough pretty little women wandering the beach. Surely he could share some tea with one. Aryn was just as surprised as he was, but even after her sultry words she didn’t attempt to go against Eli’s wishes.

Iroh did not stand up to greet his alpha, but tried to remain as regal as possible for the position that he had been found in. It was hard to be upset at Eli, but he did kind of wish the alpha had minded his own business. He hid a chuckle as Aryn introduced them and returned to Eligos’s side. Iroh tried to just sink back into the shadows of the small campfire but as Eli spoke, somewhat strained, Iroh realized he was supposed to be heeding his words as well.

Though he was loathe to admit it, Eligos’s words jarred him. No, the last thing he wanted was to leave Aryn with a random litter of puppies because they couldn’t keep their paws off each other. He was a little too drunk to realize the length of those repercussions, but he knew he didn’t want anyone to be calling him ‘dad’ anytime soon. It was a sobering thought, and he realized quickly he was ready for another drink after all that.

He interjected while subtly trying to get the both of them away from his slice of beach. He was more than ready to forget about Aryn and his alpha for the rest of the evening. He wouldn’t be forgetting Eli’s words however. ”I’ll see you around, Eligos.” Though it was hard Iroh met his cousin’s red gaze in silent promise to heed his words.

Aryn was too far into the bottle to notice Eli's discomfort, though his warning did somehow manage to reach her. Her tail immediately tucked defensively between her legs and she flinched backwards - no, to have pups you had to have sex, and that's not what they were going to do was it? She shot a shocked look towards Iroh, forgetting that he couldn't read minds and thus her accusation. Drunk or not, Aryn was a proper lady and that wasn't a lady-like thing to do with a stranger, no. Whatever was almost to happen with the tall dark and handsome man, it definitely couldn't have been that. Right? She swore to herself that no, she'd have stopped him at a kiss.

"No, you're right." She agreed quickly, pink eyes shifting around the darkness towards the other couples in the distance as if she was seeing them all for the first time. What was happening at this party? "I should go home, can you take me home?" Her words were rushed, and in her desperation to get away from these sex-crazed, pup-making strangers she did not notice the way Iroh had spoken Eli's full name. She definitely hadn't introduced him as Eligos - perhaps if she had any memory of this night tomorrow she might start to wonder on it then. Already her paws were starting backwards, willing Eli away with her. If only she remembered which direction Lirim was, it might make the journey a little easier.

-Exit with Eli?-