24 Mead is life

Hellie and Demze walked into the burrow together. Hellie weighted down as she carried a large barrel of mead under one arm, and a sack of meat in the other. Demze carried the coin purse...

Hearing the howls of laughter, they both entered the foyer, "What the hell happened here?" Hellie asked as she put down her items.

Xa'Gun looked up with a face full of Hard Mash, "Midka doesn't seem to like Hard Mash?" Xa'Gun grunted and shrugged.

"...Why is she eating Hard Mash?" Demze interjected as she moved quickly to the Kitchen of the Burrow.

"She seemed interested," Xa'Gun replied, after brushing off the crumbs on his face with his large arm.

Demze returned to hand a cup of water to Midka, who took the cup up and drank large mouth fulls as if to cleanse her pallet.

Hellie seeing that Midka was alright, then joined Jukzuk in laughter, while Xa'Gun looked up perplexed.

Demze glared over, as she spoke, "Not everyone has the stomach for Hard Mash..."

Xa'Gun shrugged again, as he didn't really know what to do.

Helpless, Demze shook her head.

Jukzuk got his last chuckle in, as he stood up to inspect the barrels placed on the floor by Hellie. Slapping his calloused hands together as he rubbed them, he asked, "And what fine brews have you brought tonight?"

Hellie calmed down when the talk of alcohol came up. "We got two barrels! We got Grak's Famous Melomel Mead and Peon Sty's Finest Mead. Funny enough that gave us both Barrels for free!"

"Obvious from what happened there." Demze laughed with some mischief laced within...

Hellie shrugged, as she popped the top of the barrels to smell the alcoholic and spiced mead's aroma.

"Ahhhh! This is what mama has been looking forward to all day!" Hellie sighed and spoke with relish, as she rushed to the Kitchen for a tankard.

"Get me a Tankered while you're in there!" Jukzuk yelled toward the Kitchen.

"...Yeah, yeah!"

"I'll go prepare the food. Demze, please assist me."

Demze's head drooped, as she followed behind Midka, just as Hellie emerged from the Kitchen with three tankards.

Hellie went over to the barrel and scooped up three tankards full, as she passed one to Jukzuk and Xa'Gun. She couldn't wait any longer, as she drained her tankard.

Xa'Gun looked at the thick mead in his cup, and to Jukzuk and Hellie.

"Son, what's the matter?" Jukzuk asked.

"I've... Never had mead before... Smells funny. Burns my nose." Xa'Gun replied.

"Never?" Hellie asked in shock, as she filled her tankard again.

"No... Never." Xa'Gun thought back to how he barely afforded food, and sometimes it came down to rent or going hungry... Rent always won.

"Tin-Can, this is the best! This is the lifeblood of Orcs everywhere! NO ALL OF EXISTANCE!" Hellie passionately spoke.

"I wouldn't go that far, but I would say that it is in fact one of the finest things in life. Drink it, and see how it does you. Everyone feels alcohol differently." Jukzuk motioned.

Hellie looked on with bright eyes, while Jukzuk had an encouraging smile. Seeing both pressuring him, he steeled himself and drained his tankard in one go like Hellie.

"Whoa, there son! I just said it does everyone differently!" Jukzuk.

"I only did it like Hellie did... Is that wrong?"

"Hellie has experience... Too much, actually..." Jukzuk shook his head.

"Hey...! Never enough..." Hellie smiled over her cute tusks again, as she got another tankard full.

"When's your next match, Tin-Can?" Hellie asked out of the blue.

"That...?" Xa'Gun was at a loss, he didn't remember much about his last match...

"That would be in three days." Jukzuk took a large cut of his mead, as he spoke.

"Oh, good. I'll bring over my weights and see if I can get that Ghostberry." Hellie spoke out her plans, "We are going to get your strong. I'll also bring a weighted dull axe so you can pratice your 'Chopping Block.'"

Xa'Gun grunted questioningly.

"I don't know, it's your technique." Hellie shrugged.

"Whatever works," Jukzuk laughed.

Several Tankards later and Hellie's words began to slur, while Jukzuk paced himself, though his complexion took a darker appearance with a flushed face. Midka and Demze were nearing the evening's feast completion, Xa'Gun looked over the drunk Hellie with a slightly amused face.

"Hmmmm? How are you feeling, Son?" Jukzuk asked.

"A bit of a buzzing feeling in my head, and my top lip feels like it's a bit too small."

"That's it?"

"Hmmm... Maybe a bit warmer than usual... Why?" Xa'Gun followed up.

"How much have you drank? Seems to be a bit more than me, right?" Jukzuk continued.

"Ummm... Let me see..." Xa'Gun counted on his fingers, and then, "About eight tankards... Speaking of which, I need to go." Xa'Gun stood up and paced quickly to his bathroom.

Jukzuk looked on with an amazed face, "Orc has some amazing tolerance."

"What goods ish tolerance. Thatsh takes all the fun out of drinking." Hellie giggled, as she drank another cup.

"You're going to be too drunk to eat, or worse, dear niece," Jukzuk warned.

"I'll eat when I wakes up. Imma go nap, heh." Hellie stood up and left.

Jukzuk watched her sway around the corner to the hall. He rubbed his chin in thought for a while. Noticing that Xa'Gun was taking a little too long, a thought struck him. He put down his tankard on the low table between the two coaches, as he rose to follow the same path that Xa'Gun and Hellie took.