"Don't wait on me, bao bei," Eli said mildly, gently patting her hand on his arm. "You know how Jonah gets when you make him wait. He gets annoyed, he likes to shoot things. I'd hate to have that happen here. It was such a mess at the last port, remember? All those dead bodies, all that blood. Very distasteful."
Eli looked down his considerable nose at the men. They scowled in return. He could practically smell the rising testosterone amongst the three of them, feel the prickle of escalating tension. One looked pissed enough to start something, but the other had more sense. Or less courage, and Eli didn't care which, really, as long as he backed down. He stood, tugging at the sleeve of the other, muttering curses and imprecations at them. For a moment Eli thought the second man was stupid enough to start something, which would've ended badly for him and completely blown Eli's cover--this was enough to dent it, but it wasn't irreparable quite yet.
Eli didn't blink at the names the man called him; they were just words, easily ignored, a last stand of bravado. He merely stood there, the woman's hand on his arm despite his attempt to get her to go back to the ship, the corners of his mouth curled slightly in thinly-veiled threat.
Finally the other stood as well, and they melted into the crowd, Eli's sharp eyes watching them all the while to make certain they wouldn't find their lost courage and return.
"Well, that was interesting," Eli said, and turned his attention back to the woman, letting his body language soften again, even sag a little in faux-relief. "I think that I'll accept your offer of Shimmerwine, if you don't mind." He slipped a pristine white handkerchief from a pocket and blotted at non-existent sweat on his brow and the back of his neck. "That was a little more excitement than I'd anticipated for an evening walk into town."