[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/OEh1rTU.png[/img][color=9AF781][h1]Lord Leo Smithwood[/h1]
Time: 6 pm to 7pm
Location: Guest House; Dining Room
Interactions: Charlotte[@Princess], Nahir[@Rodiak], A terrible drink made by the world's worst mixologist[@JJ Doe], everyone else at the dinner.[/color][/center]

[color=CBCBCB]

[color=9AF781]“Don’t be sorry. A good detective wouldn’t leave his partner without backup.”[/color] He whispered back to Charlotte. Despite how tense and melodramatic the entire affair was, it was an invaluable experience. It was situations like these that offered glimpses into who people were based on how they reacted. These were powerful people, and knowing how to gauge their reactions was useful. And Leo had not embarrassed himself. As the only Varian at the table, he had been a pretty good representative of his country. That was a win for Leo.

As Nahir ordered for everyone’s glasses to be refilled, she had staved off any potential embracement for Leo that rested inside a bottle deftly tampered with by Riona. His glass, along with the others at the table, was refilled and the wine paired nicely with the suggested chicken dish. The chicken tikka masala was both pleasing to the eye and the palate; warm-colored curry spiced enough to bring the sun's warmth to the body and rich enough to be called decadent. [color=9AF781]“Perfection, a bite like this could melt one’s stress away.”[/color] He said to Nahir after he had tried the perfectly tender chicken bathed in its curry. 

[color=9AF781]“I would like to thank the high and radiant House Kadir for their willingness to share their nation's cuisine with us tonight. Every bite was truly something special.”[/color] Leo spoke, trying to bring a more positive atmosphere into the room once again as the dessert course was brought out. 

At the start of the dessert course, Leo simply glanced at his empty glass, snapped his fingers twice, and glanced toward one of the servants with the expectation that it would be refilled. Since the servant he’d glanced at was not RIona, Leo’s glass was correctly filled with some sort of wine that smelled nothing like what he was used to. He ignored the strange scent of the drink, figured it must be some sort of exotic drink he’d never tried or heard of before, and in the excitement of yet another new thing, he took a large gulp of the strange concoction. 

His taste buds sincerely wished he hadn’t because the foul, acrid liquid held a taste that reminded him of the way a skunk smelled. He could only assume that this strange beverage was some sort of test of fortitude because there was no way anyone drank this for enjoyment. But the drink’s pungency did not last, and Leo did his best not to make any childish faces at the table while he waited a few moments for the awful taste to reside, looking merely a bit shocked as he did so. 

Then Leo felt the heat creeping up his throat. While the meal itself had been pleasantly spiced whatever had been in the drink was leagues beyond that. It started as a mild burn but the longer he sat with it, the more the intensity cranked up. He could feel his skin turning red, beads of sweat forming, and a churning in his stomach as his body fought to try and expel the drink. He choked bile and saliva back down and those too carried the drinks spice on them. But Leo Smithwood would not be vomiting at the dinner table. So he continued to keep his mouth tightly closed wondering if he should go outside and just his stomach win this battle. 

But he stuck to his own advice, he was not fleeing the table over a spicy drink if Charlotte had managed to sit here through threats of violence against her family. So Leo covered his mouth with his fist and tried very hard not to pant like a dog at the table either. In through the nose. Out through the nose. Why was his whole mouth on fire? 

And if Leo thought this dinner couldn’t get more bizarre, Princess Anastasia then walked in holding a bird, with her family's advisor Alden, and joined the table. Just in time to witness his struggle with overwhelming spice. 

He began coughing vigorously into his elbow, before choking out, [color=9AF781]“I don’t know what that is, but it would certainly wake a man up in the morning.”[/color] He tried to make a light joke of his inability to handle whatever this spiced drink was, still thinking it was some sort of Alidasht test of fortitude, and if he was going to look foolish for having tried it at least he would appear in on the joke. Any thought of trying the desserts was gone, adding sweetness to the concoction that sat in his stomach seemed like a terrible idea. [/color]