Narrita stayed on the bench of the tavern table. The commotion of the day had settled down with the room being filled with Cutthroats and Colligan's employees once more. Despite the fuss, her arm lay across the surface of the table while her head rested on it. Her eyes remained shut, still wet from a stream of tears. In front of her was an empty mug with a small amount of beer at the bottom. As the other people in the bar continued to clean up the mess from the battle, Narrita remained motionless save for the occasional rustling of her body as she sobbed in her sleep.

"Hey, Narrita," Horace whispered. The Cutthroat leader remained silent, still dormant.

"Narrita," Horace repeated but in a louder voice. He still didn't receive a response. Frustrated, he reached down and held onto the woman's shoulder, rocking her from side while saying her name in a voice just short of a shout.

"Narrita!"

The woman blinked a few times, staying in her laying position. With half-opened eyes she stared at the empty glass in front of her. She took her other hand and lifted it by the handle, shaking it back and forth. "G-get me another..." Narrita said in a slow and slurred manner.

"Don't you think you've had enough?" Horace asked.

"N-no," Narrita mumbled. "Ah still remember what happen..."

"Come on, Narrita." Horace took the woman's glass from her limp hand and slid it to the far side of the table. "We've been here since morning. It's evening now."

"Don't care."

"You're not thinking straight, Narrita. You must have had twice your weight in alcohol today."

"Tha's cuz it was... intentional!"

Horace grabbed both of Narrita's shoulders. He slowly pulled her back, making her sit upright. Her head slumped over while her arms dangled limp at her side. "Drinking in Colligan's all night ain't going to do you any good. Do you wanna end up like one of those beggars out in the lower part of Farrowport?"

"Don't care."

"I know you say you don't, but you're not yourself right now. The reason we became Cutthroats was so we didn't become like the rest of the bums that flood the alleys. Remember?"

"Waitress!" Narrita tilted her head back. She opened her eyes wide, looking at a young redheaded woman with her glazed eyes. She clumsily wagged one finger, indicating that she wanted her to come closer. "Whatever this clod told ya... I ain't done." She then pointed at the glass on the far end of the table. "Fill it up!"

The young woman tilted her head back and rolled her eyes. She dropped the soaked cloth she was using to wipe down one of the tables onto its surface before going towards the other side of the tavern in a huff and vanishing behind the bar.

"We need to get going home, Narrita. It’s already early morning! Do you really wanna be here late into the afternoon?" He leaned forward next to Narrita's ear. "And don't you want to get back at those two for what they did."

Narrita's face turned sour. "'Course I do. What kinda question is that?"

"Then we need to stop sobbing and start creating a plan! Those two could be anywhere in Farrowport right now. Drinking away until the sun shines ain't going to do us much good!"

"We're missin' one of our own! My best friend! How do ya plan..." Narrita took in a deep breath and then let out an equally deep belch. "How do ya plan on... getting any kind of 'venge without Pierce?"

"Narrita. That's exactly why we'll be out getting revenge!"

"I-I don't wanna talk anymore. I just wanna drink." The woman looked towards the bar again. "Aurie! Where's my drink?" she shouted. A bit of clatter came from behind the bar. Within a few moments, the same woman from before returned, holding a massive pitcher with froth pouring from both sides. The woman carefully took each step, making sure not to spill the beverage before letting it down in front of the Cutthroat leader.

"Boss says no more until you pay your tab," the woman said aggressively. Her hand rested on her hip, making a sharp angle with her arm while her other hand leaned against the surface of the table. Narrita slowly lifted her head, staring the young woman with squinting eyes. She wore a loose blue top fastened by a brown belt that covered her darker blue skirt. Clearly frustrated, the waitress took her hand and brushed the braid on the side of her hair before leaning in closer to the Cutthroat leader. "Managed to sneak one more outta the kitchen but I need to start seeing some coin if you wanna keep drinkin' your problems away.”

"We'll pay when we feel like payin'. You act like your old man didn't owe us. Maybe we could convert a bit of that debt you owe us... into whittling down our tab." Narrita snatched the mug from in front of her. She clumsily put the edge of the cup to her lips and tilted her head back, letting the beer spill down her face and onto her jacket. Aurie frowned as she clenched her now-empty fist.

“You can’t just keep coming here and drinkin’ till dawn without payin’! Are ya trying to put us out of business? This alcohol don’t come cheap!”

“Can’t you see…” Narrita hiccupped. “Can’t you see… we’ve lost someone? Can’t you be a bit more… passionate? We’re loyal customers!”

“More like regular crooks.” Aurie crossed her arms in front of her and turned her head away.

“You ungrateful…” Even though she was still slumped on Horace’s shoulders, Narrita managed to lift her head up just enough to maintain mean stare. “Doncha forget… who own your debt, lady. Keep talkin’ like that an’ we’ll have to—"

"Forget about that for the moment!" Horace lifted Narrita up from underneath her arm. As she rose, the mug she held to leaned forward, spilling the contents across the table and dripping onto the floor. "We're going now. You're going to get some rest in a real bed. And once you’re sober, we're gonna come up with a plan to get back at Tamma and that Xiwaoan friend of hers."

"M-my d-drink!" Narrita mumbled as her hand lost the ability to hold onto the handle of the mug. It slipped out of her hand and crashed to the floor, shattering and sending bits of glass all across the wooden floor. She reached down to pick it up, only to have Horace tug on her and start to lead her out of the door.

"Let the waitress get it. We're taking you straight home." Horace put two fingers into his lips and then made a piercing whistle. All the other Cutthroats in the bar stopped what they were doing and turned to him. "We're heading out! Everyone, get your stuff together!" There was a small ruckus as the men clamored to get their belongings. Many chugged the remainder of their alcohol before picking up their belongings.

"Hey!" Aurie said with a pout. She stomped her foot and straightened her arms down at her side. Still holding Narrita upright by letting her arm rest along his shoulders, Horace turned his head around as much as he could look at the waitress. "What about paying up, huh? Boss told me to make sure you Cutthroats don't leave without giving us some coin for everything your ordered!"

"Your boss asked a lot from ya, kid. Might as well have asked to stop the sun from shinin' tomorrow."

"You... tell 'er, Horace!" a still-drunk Narrita blurted out.

Horace turned around and continued towards the exit of the building. The rest of the Cutthroats hurriedly put their now-empty glasses back onto their tables and followed their drunken leader. One of the men that had fought alongside Horace during the fight tapped him on his shoulder.

"What is it?" he asked. Narrita kept her head down low and her eyes closed shut.

"I've got... some questions for you," the low-ranking Cutthroat stated. "It's about..." He wobbled his head from side to side while keeping an eye on Narrita. "You know."

"Oh, I get it." Horace handed off Narrita to two of the other men, making sure she was properly balanced between their shoulders before moving off to the side of the room and out of the way of Narrita's hearing range.

"The body is wrapped up tight. We got a couple of the boys keeping an eye on it by the stable," the Cutthroat said. "What should we do with it?"

"Don't let Pierce's body come anywhere near Narrita. You can tell that she's a wreck already. Don't know how she'll react if she sees him again. Even if he's wrapped up tight."

"We holding onto it for now?"

Horace took another glance at Narrita. She remained limb, suspended by the grip of her men. "Yeah. Keep him somewhere safe. Narrita can decide what to do when she's sobered up a bit. But for now, keep him as far away from her as possible."

"Got it. We'll make sure to stay in the back of the procession. That way if she's towards the front we'll be nowhere near her."

"Sounds like a plan to me. I'll go tell the others about the plan once we're outside." Horace ended the conversation by walking up to Narrita and propping her up against the back of his shoulders. He left the tavern first while the remaining Cutthroats followed behind like they were going through a funnel. Within a few minutes, Colligan's was empty save for the few employees.

Aurie stared at the open door. A small rush of wind came through, sending the scent of sweat and alcohol through her nose. She shook her head before leaning down to pick up the small bits of glass through the puddle of beer that Narrita had made.

"Too bad those two couldn't have done the same to the rest of the Cutthroats," the waitress said under her breath. Her hand trembled with anger as she slowly lifted what remained of the handle of the mug.

Art Spotlight: Aurelia Illipoulos