And that was why Hera valued Iris' presence on such trips. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the movement of her messenger's gesture. Hera might have come to the conclusion that was needed eventually, but Iris had thought of it right away. Between the two of them, she was certain they'd get some sort of response.
To ensure it would be a good one, she employed a time honored tactic: bribery. In her fingers appeared a shiny, gold coin. It did not matter denomination or point of origin; shiny and gold was universal. Though it was not without it's risks. There was a chance this motley mob might attempt to take any other valuables they might be carrying as well. By force. Though Hera was hardly concerned. She'd faced, and defeated, far worse.
The coin definitely got their attention. So she repeated Iris' gesture and said again, “Drink?”
That resulted in a woman stepping forward, Hera assumed to find cups full of their putrid smelling concoction to sell. She'd barely moved, however, when a giant pile of fur and dirt that was vaguely man-shaped cuffed he woman across the face hard enough to make her stagger. Hera's eyes narrowed. That was certainly not the way to win favor from the goddess of women. But she held her tongue. For the moment.
The furry blob seemed to be weighing his options and from the silence in the rest of the building, Hera concluded this must be their leader. Or at least the highest man on the ladder in the current company. Hera knew he was considering attacking them, and she almost welcomed it. It would give her an excuse to smite him blatantly without being called a bully for it later.
As he reached for a pair of crude cups, apparently having made his decision, Hera was forced to plan her punishment in a more circumspect manner. She'd only begun to organize her options, however, when something foul was thrust under her nose. It stung the delicate lining and she blinked back the resulting tears. Her hand cam up to take the cup, but he didn't let go. She tugged and he grinned. Hera wanted to remove his arm for that look alone, but instead she gave him the gold coin. That gained her both the cups and she passed one to Iris.
Every eye in the place was on them, waiting for their reaction. Hera knew they would be seeking an excuse to mock, but she was not about to give it to them. She lifted the cup and took a cautious sip.
Words could not properly describe how vile it was, there were simply not enough superlatives invented yet to do so. It burned. It burned her tongue, it burned all the way down her throat to where it finally sat, burning a hole in her stomach. Fortunately the flavor of whatever it was got lost in the burning. Unfortunately, it reared it's horribly ugly head as an aftertaste that was reminiscent of burnt wood. Utterly revolting.
Hera looked around the room, then promptly emptied the cup in a single swallow. When she held it out for a refill, the room exploded in cheers as they all turned their eyes to watch how Iris would react.
Hera was going to have to give her a raise after this.