There was no way of hiding the shock on her face when the burly man struck the woman so openly. Especially since the woman didn't seem to do anything that could be interpreted incorrectly. So even though she fought to hide it, Iris' eyes still widened in surprise and her jaw slackened a bit. If this mortal man was so willing to cuff a women he knew, how was he going to treat strange women invading his space?
She didn't really have much of a chance to ponder that when Hera exchanged coin for cups and one was passed to her. She took a cautious sniff, hoping that it least had a hidden fragrance that was only overpowered by the wretched stench of the still. Instead she was greeted with an even more pungent odor, if that was even possible, foul enough to make her want to abandon this entire trip. But then the Rainbow watched as Hera took her first sip and noticed her employer's very careful movements. Oh dear, it was just as horrible as the odor implied, wasn't it? Or worse?
Must have been since Hera then downed the rest of the cup in one swallow. Judging from the cheers, it was a way to test the mettle of outsiders. If they played along, drank this foul beverage and conversed as best they could with the locals, they might get the information Hera was seeking. If not, they could be attacked, captured or run out of town. Hera's giant swallow of the liquid seemed to earn their favor and...
And suddenly everyone, including Hera, was staring at her.
Oh drat, Iris was going to have to drink it, wasn't she?
Iris raised the cup to her mouth and was so revolted by the smell she immediately lowered it and gave Hera a rather firm look to say: There is no possible way I can drink this. But one more scan of the crowd of filthy common locals had the Messenger taking a deep breath, closing her eyes and drinking the entire contents of the cup in one swallow. The technique was important, the speed at which she tossed the liquid into her mouth ensured it hit the back of her throat instead of lingering on her tongue for even a moment. Even still, she couldn't contain the cough that came right after swallowing as it burned the whole way down her throat.