Floris' eyes lit up, he loved talking about his work. "I'm a scientist!" He cleared his throat, trying to not sound very excited. "I'm a scientist." The man nodded before speaking again. "I mix magic and science to make things to help the world, it ends with a lot of dead ends, but I've found some pretty good stuff."
(Claude is my little meow meow I stg, little bitchboy, little guy, little fella, fool, etc. /pos)
(I know exactly how to bend him to my will now 😈 I'll have so much fun with him)
Lucius chuckled. "A respected job. I like that. It sounds that you enjoy your job." He nodded his head. "Yes yes. I on the other hand (have stated multiple times before) that I work as a butler, an assistance, an aid. What ever you'd like to call me. It sounds like you have more pleasant time working." Lucius stopped for a few seconds, his stomach growling. Lucius took a cookie from his plate and ate it, trying not to get himself or Floris dirty. After he had finished the cookie he joked, "If you ever need some assistance of any kind, send me a letter. I'm sure I'd have time to spare."
"Oh, I'm not much of a fan of red wines. I prefer white wines, myself. And who said it was a challenge?" Reyna says, acting innocent. But she knew, as soon as Claude had repeated the name of the alcohol, that she'd hooked him.
She watches as he drains the glass with a small smile. "My, with that much you'll be begging for mercy before the night's over."
She takes one of the larger glasses that were sitting on the table and fills it with the Kłunsen rum, staring Claude down as she downs it all in a few seconds.
She licks her lips delicately.
"Indeed it is delicious." she agrees.
How could she drink that much with no fear? Claude was astounded. Luckily for her, Reyna had caught the young man alone, and he was not always the best decision maker. Someone like Véronique would have had a clearer head, or if he were with a friend or partner then he could potentially be talked out of this foolish endeavor, but on his own, Claude was too interested in the thrill of the challenge to back down now. God, if things went south, his stomach would certainly feel it later tonight.
“You do know that it’s not always terrible, or you wouldn’t be drinking it yourself,” he said in return. “So either you’re some sort of masochist, or you know something that I don’t. Or you’re just that much of a daredevil. But I’ll bite. Even without whatever trick you’re using, I can stomach my Kłunsen rum as well.” He didn’t have the best history with the drink, but he doubted she knew that. Even when he was in pain, he kept his haughty attitude and general decorum about him, and never threw up in front of others. He’d had enough times where he felt the oncoming disaster that he knew when to gracefully exit.
With that, Claude refilled his original glass. Anyone watching would probably think he was either crazy or stupid, though he didn’t care. He would win this bet, anyone else be damned. He downed it again, giving Reyna a wink before going back to his glass of red wine and sipping. God, he could already feel himself starting to get a bit tipsy.
Floris nodded and stood up, walking towards two people by the drinks table who were seemingly having a drinking competition of sorts, which he could get in on. He nodded to the butler guy as a farewell, scampering the fuck out of there.
He stepped closer to the pair and pulled out his bottle of whiskey, thinking he might as well get a refill if he were to partake in this battle of wits.
"Oh, I just enjoy the texture and taste." Reyna chuckles. "I have no tricks. You know that the Kłunsen rum is finicky. It chooses who it agrees with, and it just so happens that I'm one of those that it has chosen."
She didn't mention that the alcohol itself couldn't affect her - she must keep some secrets.
She refills her own glass, downing it and chuckling.
"You, Claude, are crazy, and I like that." she says after a moment, staring him down.
She glances over at this new person and chuckles.
"Care to join us in this bet? We're seeing who can stomach the most Kłunsen rum." she explains casually.
Floris chuckled lightly, he's usually a whiskey drinker, but he'd had his fair share of Kłunsen rum. He smirked.
"Sounds fun, I'm in." He poured himself a glass, he tended to opt for drinking straight from the bottle, but he supposed a glass would be the most polite thing to do at the moment.
Floris looked into the glass for a moment, admiring the liquid, before chugging the whole thing.
Reyna raises an eyebrow.
"Have you ever even heard of Kłunsen rum before today?" she questions.
Floris laughed, pretending to play dumb. "Oh no, never, is it strong?" He lied through his teeth, smiling obviously. The smile did not look like it fit on his face whatsoever.
Reyna rolls her eyes.
"Oh, you're one of those types." she mutters.
"Well, there's two options here: A, you have no respect for yourself or B, the drink agrees with you. I'm thinking it's more A than B, but we'll see." she sighs.
(wait have claude and floris met before? idk if this is pre-established or what lmao)
Claude watched as the newcomer arrived, continuing to sip his red wine as classily as he could. This man was quite handsome, he had to admit, watching him with more admiring eyes. Claude was sure there that there was something that Reyna was hiding. There was no way that she was crazier than him. And he wouldn't really consider himself crazy, just someone with a bit of a gambling addiction that he should have tried harder to curb at this challenge, but the betting side of him was racing to go now.
At any rate, he would win this drinking competition. It didn't matter that he was more of a lightweight and that he and Kłunsen rum had an interesting history (mostly rough, but sometimes it had worked out). He was determined.
"I wouldn't say I'm crazy, but thank you," he fired back at Reyna with a wicked grin, showing off his fangs. He turned to the newcomer, watching his obliviousness with a smile. He loved explaining things to people like he was smarter than them. "Kłunsen rum is very…finicky. It agrees with some and others, and can switch on the turn of a dime. Good luck."
(i am gonna have to pump out shorter responses to keep up with y'all lmfao)
(Lol sorry; I type fast XD)
(And I'm keeping them short-ish most of the time too lol)
"Oh, for someone whom Kłunsen rum hasn't agreed with to be drinking so much of it? I'd say that isn't exactly sane, my friend." Reyna chuckles. She watches as Claude explains to the new man what the alcohol was.
"How would you know that?" Claude asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. His past with the drink wasn't exactly a secret, but he didn't think it was common knowledge, either. Just how did this woman know about him? Shit, he had been too distracted by the competition to ask the important questions. His stupid habit of betting was not paying off now, that it usually did. "Up until tonight, we had never met before. Why exactly did you approach me, Reyna?"
(no worries lmao,, just haven't been in smth this active in a hot min and i gotta recalibrate lol)
Floris was quickly getting tired of the dumb act, deciding it would be quite funny if he dropped it now. "Oh I wouldn't say that, it is the Gambler's Drink after all. The alcohol components in it do change based on whomstever makes it, but most of the time, it keeps with the theme of fucking someone over. I would say though, once you build a tolerance to the stronger stuff, it doesn't do nearly as much damage." He hummed, taking another swig before smirking at the two. "Duke Floris Orion Caprese Brook Astor, at your service." Floris introduced.
"Oh, you have a certain look about you. Also, you said you 'would not lose,' meaning either A, you plan to drink a lot, or B, you plan on drinking enough that you will be in pain for a good long while. And knowing the Laurent family and how risky you are, I'm assuming it's option B, not A." Reyna shrugs. "As for why I approached you? I merely wanted to have some fun tonight. The bastard that I came here to find was nowhere to be found-" a lie, but Claude didn't need to know that. "-and I saw you enter with your father and make a beeline straight towards the alcohol."
She turns to look at Floris.
"Well, I am Reyna Freedform, official Ambassador for the Shapeshifter Unions." she smirks. "And I already know all that about the Kłunsen rum."
(NOOOOO I WROTE TOO MUCH AND NOW THE RESPONSE DOEN'T MAKE SENSE /lh /dra)
(RIPPPP)
(MY FANCY INTRODUCTION PLUS REVEAL, NOOOO, SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME SAVE IT /LH)
(Lol don't worry, look at my response)
(THANK YOU FORCE, ALL HAIL, YIPPIE!)
(XD you're welcome Cryptid)
So it appeared the handsome man wasn't an idiot after all. Claude had so easily believed his playing dumb act as well. He would blame it on the alcohol for now, not wanting to think about the implications of him being gullible. Perhaps he would leave parts out of this story as he recounted it to Véronique or Neo. He didn't want them thinking he was stupid, after all. Just not always the clearest thinker with alcohol in his system or a competition in his head.
"Claude Laurent," he responded to the man, winking. "Enchanté. And I hadn't realized that you were interested in the rum as well. It appears we really do have a competition brewing here." He chuckled. Like the arrogant fool he was, he assumed that the man would recognize the Laurent name.
As for Reyna, he frowned as she started speaking again, turning to glance at her with narrowed eyes. "Mm." He took another sip of the wine he was holding to fill his mouth with the taste. Kłunsen rum didn't taste terrible, but red wine was truly unparalleled by other alcohol in Claude's opinion. "Wait, what bastard are you speaking of?" Shit. The alcohol was making him sloppy, and he was playing his hand much too soon. He should be better at this considering how often he did these sort of reckless things.
(okay i tried and i hope that made sense lmfao,, i get kinda wordy whoops)