Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, in a gatehouse of the outer wall. Charice stood alongside Paul and Leo.
"Well… Here goes nothing!" Paul nervously yelped, the thick, wooden door to one of the towers swinging open.
The warm scent of mead and steel filled their nose, ears racked by the loud cheering of drunk, gambling men.
Charice flinched, but after covering his ears and getting adjusted, he took a deep breath and stepped inside with a thumbs up from Leo.
"Ey mother-lancers wassup?!" Leo shouted, smacking one of his friends on the back. Who nearly barfed over the table.
"You've been drinking without me?! How rude." Leo smiled, taking a seat.
"I will not be cleaning up your mess today, so don't you dare throw up!" Paul declared, sitting at the table, pulling out a chair for Charice to sit on.
Charice followed his lead, and only now did the soldiers notice the Consort's presence. Charice's eyes blinked red and blue as all sound grew quieter, left at just the right volume to make it audible and comfortable.
"Woooah. You guys…" One of them, particularly clever, gasped, "That's… A really hot girl. Did you guys get a fuckin' look-alike or something?! She looks like the Consort!"
Charice chuckled, and the men laughed, one of them throwing down more cards.
"Well whatever! I want money or booze on the table people next round is starting!"
The cards flew as Charice watched every put down a few silver or gold pieces, Paul put matched the bet of the others. Leo, on the other hand, smacked down a pouch of gold with a lumbering thump against the wood.
"Pussy." Leo said with a smirk at Paul, who's eye twitched.
"Oh. It's like that?" Paul asked with a daring smirk, and Leo nodded slowly, savoring it.
Then, Paul threw down a pouch of gold with a heavier thump, the soldiers around them shouting.
"We're gonna be fuckin' rich!!"
Charice glanced around and quietly put a few coins on the table, but then-
"Wait! Pretty girl, you be the dealer! My luck will be so much better!"
Charice blinked, looking around, suddenly the center of attention, and gulped.
"I uh… Don't know how though?"
Leo patted him on the back, "No worries! Come on, get up and stand at the head of the table, everyone needs 12 cards and the other dude already gave us 4 so keep 'em coming!"
Charice reluctantly stood up as the men cheered, and he dealt them the cards with a cute smile.
"Well, what next?" He asked, and Paul motioned for him to put down five cards down.
"Turn them around one by one after the start of every round, don't worry, I'll tell you what to do."
Charice wasn't sure if this is how poker worked or if this version was weird, but he nodded and let them take charge.
Quietly, he turned around every card, bit by bit, and chuckled at the passionate screams of victory every time. He hated how loud it was, but at this point, it was the only thing that could distract him.
So he preferred it to the alternative.
Finally, one of the men did the inevitable.
"Hey beautiful, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" Charice tilted his head in confusion, prompting the man to shift on his seat.
"Oh!" Charice realized that he was, in fact, being flirted with, and blushed furiously.
Of course they would try, he was pretty, they were drunk, and nobody had any idea he was taken or that he was their boss.
"I uh… Sorry but uh… I'm taken so…" Charice admitted awkwardly, and the man leaned back on his chair with a resigned look. His friends patting him on the back.
"You're a hero," they told him, "took the shot for us all."
After that, Charice quietly prayed that the man's next hand is good, and he won the round.
And the round after that.
After dealing cards for a while and politely rejecting any advances, the men were all either on the floor, slumped on the table, or wishing they were passed out like the other two camps.
Charice, despite drinking, was fine. Leo and Paul seemed slightly off, but it could just be that they were tired.
It was two in the morning, and neither of them had realized until Charice walked outside, and saw the moon had moved a wast distance.
"Uh… Guys? I think we should head home." Charice whispered, careful not to wake anyone up, and Leo looked at the carnage around him.
"Yes, good idea. They are usually a bit calmer than this, but its natural to show off in front of someone pretty I guess." Paul sighed, standing up and prompting Leo to do the same.
The walk back was quiet, tranquil, and peaceful. Charice deeply appreciated the silence, basking himself in it.
"We should do that again… But I might need some ear muffs."
The trio chuckled, until Charice saw Michael standing outside the Ark, alone, illuminated by only the moonlight.
"…Oh."
It was time for a conversation nobody wanted to have.