there's a pause before he answers again, like he's trying to figure out what to say. or, maybe how to. gu yun's brow is furrowed, eyes focused on the table in front of him for a moment before he lifts his head. ] I can barely see or hear either of you.
I think my medicine will be out by tomorrow. Sunday at best.
[also just immediately coming to sit close by (as always he just rikers over the back of the chair) - and harrow can be disgusted by how quickly he reaches over to take one of gu yun's hands.
He looks over at Harrow's question, because he wants to know the answer to that too.]
[ admitting to this, willingly, is a new thing. it is a huge motion of trust, but both harrow and molly have held onto the information that they got from him - one voluntarily, and one that might have come voluntarily, eventually - and even though it's hard to unstick the words from his chest, once the first is out, it's out.
gu yun lets molly take his hand, if he wants to, cold fingers lightly curling around his and anchoring in the sensation of familiarity, something he can feel out. he can feel the air when harrow moves closer, when molly does, too, checking back into his poor senses as they really are, when left unchecked. ]
The medication itself is a concoction of different sorts of poisons that attack the nervous system and restore my sight and hearing at a great cost. It nearly killed me the first time I took it, and I have built up a resistance to it since, but if used for purposes beyond what I intend it for, it could easily be a weapon.
[ "self poisoning" on his profile makes a lot of sense! haha! ]
...Wrath said they would look into an alternative method, but I was offered one clear solution to get such a dangerous item. You can imagine what that might be.
[Oh wait, I should be clearer. She isn't disgusted Molly holding Gu Yun's hand - it's sweet, that it's easier for Molly to do things like that. She's fairly disgusted by the rest. She considers that, tapping her chin.]
Is this how it's happening? Bribery for trinkets?
[She knows this isn't a trinket, but her tone is a little cold.]
[Squeezing the hand then, since he has it. He doesn't particularly care if it's cold or not.]
So they're denying it because it could be poison? Fuck that-- Fuck that! That's what all medicine is, just-- [making an irritated noise.] I'll ask too. I've got things I can trade. Could be something short of that, we can make a deal. That's what this place enjoys, isn't it? Deals?
throws gu yun for a loop??? he really came in here ready to say "hey guys, I have to do a murder next week, may need some help covering, cheers" and now?? ??? ???
... a little slowly. ]
I did tell Wrath I'd wait until she looked into things - she wasn't the one who mentioned the exchange, nor did she seem happy about it. Like I said, I didn't act this week, or anything. With what happened this week with the Avatars, it seemed even more foolish to press further. [ but, in his logical brain, he's got to chase down every single potential outcome, and at this point, with each week more and more dangerous, Hey Let's Do a Murder seemed like the quickest and most likely success.
give him a second to readjust his answer here. wow is this what its like to have friends ] You don't have to trade anything. [ ... ]
...I'm capable of defending myself. If I'm chosen for execution on Sunday, it - I should be fine. What I do not want is for anyone to find even a hint that something is off, because I will likely be seen as an easy target.
[She looks even angrier when he says that. It's nice week, so she can't really express her feelings, but there's venom in her voice.]
It should be fine? Well, then. That settles that! If you kill someone in the dead of night - if we sit there and wait for them to find you and they do - it will probably be fine, once you're in the ring, assuming you aren't ejected out into space or anything. A grand plan.
[This is really testing the limits of niceness.]
One small problem. You don't know who will be in the ring with you, do you? Will you cut me down? Will you kill him? Please, tell me the answer is yes - I'll be relieved that you at thought it through.
[The rest of what he's asking is way more important than any of this, but Harrow processes her feelings about things in one way.]
[there's a fierceness in that too, a little bitterness. of course he'd do anything. of course he would? he'd promised, hadn't he?
kindness week is a real bitch! sometimes you just want to Say Shit.
molly's hand tightens on his almost to the point of pain, probably, just. thinking it through. though, of course, now he's just thinking on a loop about those thoughts he'd had pressing against his mind in that cold hotel room.]
And what happens when whatever poor soul you decide to hunt down has a counterspell that overwhelms you, and leaves you bleeding out on the floor? Are we going to scoop you up and put you on that table and search your cold corpse for clues about who managed to pull that off? That'll be a fun one to use my new item on.
gu yun sighs, after a moment. he has to listen very carefully to catch each thing they say, though, trying to keep cognizant of every detail. molly squeezing his hand tight, tight is grounding, actually, and he lets it happen, fingers flexing gently. ]
Secondly, I have a counter of my own; I was given an item that will reflect any power used on me, should I choose to use it. I've been holding onto it since I received it in case I was awakened on a Thursday evening, and it is something I have told no one of until this moment. It won't expire like a boon will.
...I do mean it when I say this is the last resort - I will exhaust the other options, first. It is not an action that I will choose to take, if it's not necessary. I don't have any desire to kill someone, but I will not die here. Not like that. Not here.
[ not blinded. not deafened. not weak. ] What will appear a likely weakness to others is not so necessarily that weak to me - at least not in the immediate moment. It isn't sustainable.
...So. My plan is to goad someone into attacking me, and win in self-defense.
[ he already knows they're both going to hate this plan
Oh. That was Mollymauk's plan, too. You're both such an equivalent level of brilliant.
[Boys!!!
Anyway. She rubs her temple. Just. Trying to think, calm her feelings down. She just. Hates the idea of Gu Yun, dead, a circle of people cheering for it. But she also can't stand the thought that. . . ]
If it's a last resort, then very well. Let's make it an unnecessary one. I will see what I can do on my end. [She truly, deeply believes if she stamps her foot enough one of the Avatars will listen to her. Keep trying it, Harrow.] In the meantime, have you considered that we can protect you? We can help you avoid detection, if that is your preference. Or we can reveal it, but minimize the extent of it - that may be the better strategy, but I leave it to you to decide.
And. . . no one will believe that you're an easy target. You're clever, you're strong, and I am myself, and if anyone hurt you they will know how dearly I would make them pay.
[well he'd been ready to, uh, experience the sin of Pissed Off for a second there but
yeah that was also his brilliant plan]
And much like what happened to me, I hope we can truly impress upon you how it's a stupid, stupid plan that will not work. Not a road paved with blood.
[he softens a bit, bringing gu yun's hand up to kiss the knuckles (sorry harrow) because prides are so FUCKING stupid truly just the dumbest boys in school]
... If you wanted us not to interfere, you'd have just done it and then told us, Zixi.
[the question of them covering isn't the one that's being asked. of course they'd cover for him. but now they're partially responsible for any blood too, aren't they?]
[ glad they're both like this! he doesn't quite wince, but, he does at least look like 10% guilty that both he and molly are made from the same exact stupid cloth. give him a second to unstick himself from the instant, immediate urge to clam up and shut down - it'll work fine, is always his first answer.
the kiss to his knuckles comes, gentle. he exhales through his nose, and tries to swallow down the massive reason why he was matched to this aspect in the first place.]
Next Thursday night, there's nothing that either of you can do if I'm the only one awake, and someone chooses to target me. [ pointedly, but, not meanly.
gu yun softens, just a bit, lips pursing. ] ...I have considered it. [ it's his turn for his grip to tighten, now. ] As Molly said. [ he would have just done it. ]
...That's why I came. [ reaching out, asking for help - something he never does. ] I can survive like that, but it isn't sustainable. The more weeks that pass without my medicine, the more likely it is to become blatantly obvious. I won't be able to speak well, nor will I be able to find my way around the newer floors as they are opened to us in a way that won't be blatantly obvious. I need to have it by the end of the next week, to mitigate the potential damage.
...I thought perhaps I might make as though my liuli glass has been stolen when the week begins. It will at least cover for my sight being weaker - and the glass is useless to me when I can't see at all, anyway. I agree with you that most likely wouldn't try and target me because of it, but there's at least one wildcard who I know I could provoke into doing so without much trouble, were that route to be the one chosen. I also have no desire to lean into the fact that they're gone. I'd rather have my sight and hearing restored to me, and no one to know the wiser.
I've memorized the floors we have available to us currently, in terms of layout. I've also memorized the placement of the keys on the phones. I have ways I can communicate. [ here, his fingertips briefly tap against the top of molly's hand, tracing "okay" with slow, careful strokes of his fingers. ] Trial will be a unique challenge, too, no matter what happens next week.
But it is still only a short term solution - and there are no guarantees as to how to get it, besides the one named. I'm willing to search alternatives, and exhaust every avenue to do so.
Edited (trying to do this and play dnd at the same time im gomen) 2021-03-13 02:57 (UTC)
When the new floors appear, I'll wake with you at dawn. We'll walk them together and get you accustomed to their layout. We can return at night until you're confident. Show me now the methods you use to communicate, so I can use them easily. I'm a quick study with such things.
[Molly. . . will need to get a lot better with his letters, too.]
Losing your glass is good, and if needed I can claim to have cursed you - some sort of silence curse could do the trick.
For the record. . . I doubt we have many weeks left. When I spoke with Gluttony, they - made note of the fact that we get a new floor each week, but suggested there was a different number of floors than we might expect. I think perhaps there are only two remaining.
O-K- okay! Oh, I got that one. I'm getting better at these.
[He's been practicing! He's been practicing, sort of. He'll do more.]
This fucking place is testing you. I know that's trite, don't tell me that it's trite, because I know, but-- this is what it wants. All that shit it said in my head when we went to that cursed hotel. To push you this far.
[It isn't as if he can't see the logic here? That he wouldn't have considered it himself. He did consider it himself, for even less reason. But he'd made the mistake of not thinking to ask either.]
I'll walk with you too. And I'm very good at distractions.
[...]
Be a hell of a Pride indulgence to pull this off, wouldn't it? Not let it break you like that.
[ lifting his other hand, he reaches across the table to find harrow's hand, if she'll let him and traces "L-I-K-E T-H-I-S" into her palm. ] I've learned to adapt well enough over the years. I can detect motion fine, and my sense of smell is strong. I was planning on taking the walks, but - I wouldn't mind the company. I can speak in return to others fine, but not if I'm alone, and if someone begins questioning me or something in a trial, it will be difficult for me to parse what they're asking of me. [ if someone can get the messages across to him, though, as chang geng had done in dong ying, he can do just fine.
... he still really hates it, though.
finally, it's that last comment from molly that finally gets the corner of gu yun's mouth to lift up, in a small, wry smile. ]
It wouldn't be the first time that I did such a thing. [ after all, the last thing he did before he ended up in this place was fight off assassins without his medicine. just the feeling of air moving, his strong sense of smell, and years and years of experience.
...but even then, he'd been offered the chance to take his medicine. when it was all said and done, he mitigated the risk - the pain, the migraine, the way it knocks him off of his feet - for the immediate reward. gu yun can't stand being weak. he can't stand being vulnerable. even now, it's making him twitchy, when the temptation to have it is right there.
he huffs, a little, turning his gaze back to molly. ] I can't say that I'll be much for an entertaining conversationalist. I can shout at you, if you like.
It's all right. You've never been an entertaining conversationalist.
[She'll let him take her hand, yes. And she'll spell back "U-N-D-E-R-S-T-O-O-D" She does understand - the need to avoid showing weakness, what he feels it costs him. Another of those ridiculous things that tie them together, and only make her angrier at the thought of being unable to help him.]
I'll say this. All of this, we can do. With curses in play, there are very many ways around this mess. But I also. . .
I haven't been troubled so much with madness as I have at points in the past. Occasionally something odd happens, such as I'm cursed with visions of Santa or Yuel yells the name of Ortus Nigenad at me until I pass out, but it hasn't been anything like the easily exploitable weakness I've feared.
I recognize the situations are not the same. But I have yet to find it a true liability, that a few people know.
[gross joke aside, he glances a bit worried at harrow because. Yuel did what but--] Should we come up with a phrase you can shout when you might need assistance quickly? Something you'd likely ordinarily say, with a bit of a twist, so it won't strike anyone else as odd.
anyway. he will actually, seriously think about this for a moment now, chin to his hand. ]
How about, 'whiskey'? Along the lines of 'fetch me a glass of' or 'I need a glass of'. I'd normally just say baijiu. Not so strange, since I'll drink near anyone in this base under the table at any hours of the day, but odd enough with notice that you would know.
[She feels as though she missed part of this conversation.]
If you ask for whiskey in the middle of trial, it will be conspicuous. Just send a message with the phones - any key will do. They can be set to vibrate, if that works better.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[She's coming into the room. Half her face paint is like smeared, though. Like she slept on it weird.]
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[hi his makeup is still perfect because he seals it]
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[ ...
there's a pause before he answers again, like he's trying to figure out what to say. or, maybe how to. gu yun's brow is furrowed, eyes focused on the table in front of him for a moment before he lifts his head. ] I can barely see or hear either of you.
I think my medicine will be out by tomorrow. Sunday at best.
[ so
at least the makeup isn't a problem! ]
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[But Gu Yun would have obviously asked already, if they could. Also, she'll come closer, take a seat near where he's sitting.]
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He looks over at Harrow's question, because he wants to know the answer to that too.]
What do you need us to do?
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gu yun lets molly take his hand, if he wants to, cold fingers lightly curling around his and anchoring in the sensation of familiarity, something he can feel out. he can feel the air when harrow moves closer, when molly does, too, checking back into his poor senses as they really are, when left unchecked. ]
The medication itself is a concoction of different sorts of poisons that attack the nervous system and restore my sight and hearing at a great cost. It nearly killed me the first time I took it, and I have built up a resistance to it since, but if used for purposes beyond what I intend it for, it could easily be a weapon.
[ "self poisoning" on his profile makes a lot of sense! haha! ]
...Wrath said they would look into an alternative method, but I was offered one clear solution to get such a dangerous item. You can imagine what that might be.
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Is this how it's happening? Bribery for trinkets?
[She knows this isn't a trinket, but her tone is a little cold.]
Unacceptable, as a solution to your problem.
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So they're denying it because it could be poison? Fuck that-- Fuck that! That's what all medicine is, just-- [making an irritated noise.] I'll ask too. I've got things I can trade. Could be something short of that, we can make a deal. That's what this place enjoys, isn't it? Deals?
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throws gu yun for a loop??? he really came in here ready to say "hey guys, I have to do a murder next week, may need some help covering, cheers" and now?? ??? ???
... a little slowly. ]
I did tell Wrath I'd wait until she looked into things - she wasn't the one who mentioned the exchange, nor did she seem happy about it. Like I said, I didn't act this week, or anything. With what happened this week with the Avatars, it seemed even more foolish to press further. [ but, in his logical brain, he's got to chase down every single potential outcome, and at this point, with each week more and more dangerous, Hey Let's Do a Murder seemed like the quickest and most likely success.
give him a second to readjust his answer here. wow is this what its like to have friends ] You don't have to trade anything. [ ... ]
...I'm capable of defending myself. If I'm chosen for execution on Sunday, it - I should be fine. What I do not want is for anyone to find even a hint that something is off, because I will likely be seen as an easy target.
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It should be fine? Well, then. That settles that! If you kill someone in the dead of night - if we sit there and wait for them to find you and they do - it will probably be fine, once you're in the ring, assuming you aren't ejected out into space or anything. A grand plan.
[This is really testing the limits of niceness.]
One small problem. You don't know who will be in the ring with you, do you? Will you cut me down? Will you kill him? Please, tell me the answer is yes - I'll be relieved that you at thought it through.
[The rest of what he's asking is way more important than any of this, but Harrow processes her feelings about things in one way.]
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[there's a fierceness in that too, a little bitterness. of course he'd do anything. of course he would? he'd promised, hadn't he?
kindness week is a real bitch! sometimes you just want to Say Shit.
molly's hand tightens on his almost to the point of pain, probably, just. thinking it through. though, of course, now he's just thinking on a loop about those thoughts he'd had pressing against his mind in that cold hotel room.]
And what happens when whatever poor soul you decide to hunt down has a counterspell that overwhelms you, and leaves you bleeding out on the floor? Are we going to scoop you up and put you on that table and search your cold corpse for clues about who managed to pull that off? That'll be a fun one to use my new item on.
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I meant this Sunday, not next Sunday.
[ harrow please.
gu yun sighs, after a moment. he has to listen very carefully to catch each thing they say, though, trying to keep cognizant of every detail. molly squeezing his hand tight, tight is grounding, actually, and he lets it happen, fingers flexing gently. ]
Secondly, I have a counter of my own; I was given an item that will reflect any power used on me, should I choose to use it. I've been holding onto it since I received it in case I was awakened on a Thursday evening, and it is something I have told no one of until this moment. It won't expire like a boon will.
...I do mean it when I say this is the last resort - I will exhaust the other options, first. It is not an action that I will choose to take, if it's not necessary. I don't have any desire to kill someone, but I will not die here. Not like that. Not here.
[ not blinded. not deafened. not weak. ] What will appear a likely weakness to others is not so necessarily that weak to me - at least not in the immediate moment. It isn't sustainable.
...So. My plan is to goad someone into attacking me, and win in self-defense.
[ he already knows they're both going to hate this plan
but that's fine ]
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[Boys!!!
Anyway. She rubs her temple. Just. Trying to think, calm her feelings down. She just. Hates the idea of Gu Yun, dead, a circle of people cheering for it. But she also can't stand the thought that. . . ]
If it's a last resort, then very well. Let's make it an unnecessary one. I will see what I can do on my end. [She truly, deeply believes if she stamps her foot enough one of the Avatars will listen to her. Keep trying it, Harrow.] In the meantime, have you considered that we can protect you? We can help you avoid detection, if that is your preference. Or we can reveal it, but minimize the extent of it - that may be the better strategy, but I leave it to you to decide.
And. . . no one will believe that you're an easy target. You're clever, you're strong, and I am myself, and if anyone hurt you they will know how dearly I would make them pay.
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yeah that was also his brilliant plan]
And much like what happened to me, I hope we can truly impress upon you how it's a stupid, stupid plan that will not work. Not a road paved with blood.
[he softens a bit, bringing gu yun's hand up to kiss the knuckles (sorry harrow) because prides are so FUCKING stupid truly just the dumbest boys in school]
... If you wanted us not to interfere, you'd have just done it and then told us, Zixi.
[the question of them covering isn't the one that's being asked. of course they'd cover for him. but now they're partially responsible for any blood too, aren't they?]
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the kiss to his knuckles comes, gentle. he exhales through his nose, and tries to swallow down the massive reason why he was matched to this aspect in the first place.]
Next Thursday night, there's nothing that either of you can do if I'm the only one awake, and someone chooses to target me. [ pointedly, but, not meanly.
gu yun softens, just a bit, lips pursing. ] ...I have considered it. [ it's his turn for his grip to tighten, now. ] As Molly said. [ he would have just done it. ]
...That's why I came. [ reaching out, asking for help - something he never does. ] I can survive like that, but it isn't sustainable. The more weeks that pass without my medicine, the more likely it is to become blatantly obvious. I won't be able to speak well, nor will I be able to find my way around the newer floors as they are opened to us in a way that won't be blatantly obvious. I need to have it by the end of the next week, to mitigate the potential damage.
...I thought perhaps I might make as though my liuli glass has been stolen when the week begins. It will at least cover for my sight being weaker - and the glass is useless to me when I can't see at all, anyway. I agree with you that most likely wouldn't try and target me because of it, but there's at least one wildcard who I know I could provoke into doing so without much trouble, were that route to be the one chosen. I also have no desire to lean into the fact that they're gone. I'd rather have my sight and hearing restored to me, and no one to know the wiser.
I've memorized the floors we have available to us currently, in terms of layout. I've also memorized the placement of the keys on the phones. I have ways I can communicate. [ here, his fingertips briefly tap against the top of molly's hand, tracing "okay" with slow, careful strokes of his fingers. ] Trial will be a unique challenge, too, no matter what happens next week.
But it is still only a short term solution - and there are no guarantees as to how to get it, besides the one named. I'm willing to search alternatives, and exhaust every avenue to do so.
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[Molly. . . will need to get a lot better with his letters, too.]
Losing your glass is good, and if needed I can claim to have cursed you - some sort of silence curse could do the trick.
For the record. . . I doubt we have many weeks left. When I spoke with Gluttony, they - made note of the fact that we get a new floor each week, but suggested there was a different number of floors than we might expect. I think perhaps there are only two remaining.
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[He's been practicing! He's been practicing, sort of. He'll do more.]
This fucking place is testing you. I know that's trite, don't tell me that it's trite, because I know, but-- this is what it wants. All that shit it said in my head when we went to that cursed hotel. To push you this far.
[It isn't as if he can't see the logic here? That he wouldn't have considered it himself. He did consider it himself, for even less reason. But he'd made the mistake of not thinking to ask either.]
I'll walk with you too. And I'm very good at distractions.
[...]
Be a hell of a Pride indulgence to pull this off, wouldn't it? Not let it break you like that.
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... he still really hates it, though.
finally, it's that last comment from molly that finally gets the corner of gu yun's mouth to lift up, in a small, wry smile. ]
It wouldn't be the first time that I did such a thing. [ after all, the last thing he did before he ended up in this place was fight off assassins without his medicine. just the feeling of air moving, his strong sense of smell, and years and years of experience.
...but even then, he'd been offered the chance to take his medicine. when it was all said and done, he mitigated the risk - the pain, the migraine, the way it knocks him off of his feet - for the immediate reward. gu yun can't stand being weak. he can't stand being vulnerable. even now, it's making him twitchy, when the temptation to have it is right there.
he huffs, a little, turning his gaze back to molly. ] I can't say that I'll be much for an entertaining conversationalist. I can shout at you, if you like.
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[She'll let him take her hand, yes. And she'll spell back "U-N-D-E-R-S-T-O-O-D" She does understand - the need to avoid showing weakness, what he feels it costs him. Another of those ridiculous things that tie them together, and only make her angrier at the thought of being unable to help him.]
I'll say this. All of this, we can do. With curses in play, there are very many ways around this mess. But I also. . .
I haven't been troubled so much with madness as I have at points in the past. Occasionally something odd happens, such as I'm cursed with visions of Santa or Yuel yells the name of Ortus Nigenad at me until I pass out, but it hasn't been anything like the easily exploitable weakness I've feared.
I recognize the situations are not the same. But I have yet to find it a true liability, that a few people know.
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[gross joke aside, he glances a bit worried at harrow because. Yuel did what but--] Should we come up with a phrase you can shout when you might need assistance quickly? Something you'd likely ordinarily say, with a bit of a twist, so it won't strike anyone else as odd.
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[ looks into the camera like this is the fucking office ]
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because
well. there's multiple reasons that he's like taking a moment to look at his hands a bit sweatily. Um.]
Not a password, a codeword. And not 'Lie back and think of Great Liang.`
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[ sorry harrow
anyway. he will actually, seriously think about this for a moment now, chin to his hand. ]
How about, 'whiskey'? Along the lines of 'fetch me a glass of' or 'I need a glass of'. I'd normally just say baijiu. Not so strange, since I'll drink near anyone in this base under the table at any hours of the day, but odd enough with notice that you would know.
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If you ask for whiskey in the middle of trial, it will be conspicuous. Just send a message with the phones - any key will do. They can be set to vibrate, if that works better.
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