Choices

[Oriena]

"A duel?"
She laughed at the archaism, not that she would have stopped them if the idea had gotten into their heads. Ori liked to manipulate vices, but to do so you had to encourage flaws that already existed, not force prescribed situations. Giovanni was spoiling for the fun, but Nox brushed it aside carelessly. In any case, she didn't intend for them to kill each other; she was just pointing out that Giovanni was no longer unique, probing for his reaction to that diminished status, and discovering, perhaps, his thirst for blood. "To prove what?"
Dark-lashed eyes made an obvious dip south, a blatant tease. Toying with him again.

She clinked the bottle against Nox's in agreement, and grinned at Giovanni, who'd stopped drinking some time ago. Probably about the same time he'd decided he needed his wits about him in order to deal with her. Oriena had no such inhibitions; she necked a mouthful from the stolen bottle, then held it out to him in challenge. Without the ice the bite was harder. "Come on, drink with us, Giovanni."
She swirled the contents waiting for him to take the bait, and meanwhile angled her head to address Nox. "So what does make for interesting stakes?"