The Barrow-Downs' Third Birthday Party and Downie Awards

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

Fin gave Sophia a suspicious look as she carefully kept the label of the bottle turned away from him. His eyes followed her hands as she poured out a large glass and slid it across the table to him. Fin's eyes narrowed as he looked from the glass to her angelically smiling face. He carefully slid the glass back.

Sophia laughed, exchanging a knowing look with Alatariel and Thoriel. "Don't you trust me?" she asked him playfully, procuring more glasses from somewhere. She poured one for herself and two more for the other girls.

Fin grinned, "Not after that incident with Annunfuiniel and the brown powder," he countered. Niluial and Donlammenion looked up and laughed at them. Sliding the glasses to each respective person, Sophia lifted hers and took a small sip. The Mudwater burned the inside of her mouth. She nearly gagged, but somehow managed to swallow straightfaced. This stuff must be half paint thinner! she thought. Alatariel snuggled up close to Fin's side and raised her glass.

Looking from one to the other, Fin picked up his glass and gave it a cautionary sniff. Apparently throwing caution to the wind he raised the glass and drained it. The girls winced. Fin's face contorted but he swallowed it. Wide-eyed he looked at Sophia and silently pushed his glass back over the table to her. She refilled it.

Chicken experimentally stuck his beak out toward Thoriel's glass. Thoriel swatted it away. "Don't you know that stuff'll kill you?"