Consumed with the task of collecting her winnings as quickly as possible and shoveling them into her pockets, Aurora was perfectly oblivious to the glint of rage in the men's faces as they watched her sweep away their money. She was too busy weighing the pleasing heft of her earnings in her palm and imagining the frivolities that they would purchase for her to realize that they might not take her victory so easily.
The sudden presence of the tall man at her side took Aurora by surprise. Craning her neck upwards, she blinked at him in confusion, trying to figure out his angle. Her fingers tightened on the credits, irritated at the thought that he had mistaken her for an easy mark. Straightening her back, Aurora attempted to shoot him a look of sufficient scorn and haughtiness to dispel any notion he might have of stealing her winnings. Cheating or no cheating, she had worked hard for the credits and wasn't about to let some upstart waltz off with them.
A split second later and her heated mind finally took in the name he had pronounced with such ease. Jonah! Hostility instantly fled from her features, replaced by cautious apprehension. Her gaze flickered quickly across his features, trying to read his impassive face. From the corner of her eyes, Aurora glanced at her erstwhile opponents, finally processing the ill-concealed anger and the threat of violence apparent in their expressions and tightening fists. Startled to realize she had inadvertently placed herself in danger once again, Aurora leaped to her feet, nearly overturning her makeshift chair in the process.
"How kind!" she enthused, attempting to both press herself against Eli's side while also leaving the sight of his holster clearly on display. "I'm lucky to have an entire crew on the lookout for me." She enunciated this last statement carefully for the benefit of the two men who still sat scowling over their losses. "But you don't need to wait on me, we're all done here."
She cast a perfectly charming smile at the men whose money she was about to abscond with, noting happily that the pair was now busy with sizing up the stranger. Relief rushed through her as she saw them settle back into their chairs, apparently deciding that the stranger's appearance had sufficiently raised the stakes to make them fold.
"I'll have to buy you a few cups of Shimmerwine with my winnings," Aurora said pleasantly to the stranger, taking an experimental step away from her opponents and towards the awaiting ship, her hand still resting lightly on his forearm.