A Fresh Start

Rebel's taunting of her being afraid of getting into trouble sealed the deal. Ember was already going to partake of the wine, but now that her courage was being impugned and put to question, she absolutely had to do it! The Carpathian princess' eyes narrowed and chest puffed up indignantly as she leered at Rebel. Oh, she'd show her up! "Don't call me 'princess'," she snapped back, trying to keep up the tough front and not be seen as a meek girl afraid of trouble. Em watched while Rebel took the first sip of wine, eyes wide and following the bottle as she brought it to her lips. There was a brief moment of a surprised reaction from Rebel, but the older girl quickly recovered and drank the wine with no issue. When all was said and done, Rebel assured her that it tasted better than it smelled and handed the bottle over. Now it was Ember's turn.

Still putting on that indifferent front, Ember grasped the neck of the bottle and brought it straight to her mouth, trying not to inhale through her nose so she didn't psyche herself out going into this. She threw the bottle back until she tasted the bittersweet liquid splash against her tongue, the bitterness of the alcohol mild all things considered, but to a first time drinker, it was enough to make Ember cringe. She sputtered a bit, almost spitting up some of the wine, but she forced herself to recover and swallowed down a single mouthful. It definitely wasn't as bad as she feared it might be, but it was definitely stronger than she was expecting. Em swallowed and gave a little shudder in response to the alcohol, smacking her lips a couple of times. After the initial alcohol shock, the lingering flavor of fermented grapes and summer berries stayed on her palate. Hey, it actually was pretty nice! Still, she didn't think she'd be downing this stuff by the bottle like her parents did any time soon.

"Oh yeah, totally not as bad as I thought," said Ember with a soft laugh, sticking the cork back in the end of the wine bottle to seal it. She handed the bottle back to Rebel to put back where she had found it, waiting for the newest Hallows member to be ready to continue on their tour.

"Ember Carpathius" | "Carpathian"