Xue had successfully managed to tune out most of the ramblings of the weapons master, but when he spoke of 'handling' Keirin the corners of her lips twitched in an almost smile. "I don't think that would be the best idea, but thank you for the offer." She said, her tone holding the slightest bit of sarcasm though the gratitude wasn't entirely insincere. Truth be told, Xue wasn't expecting so much support as she was getting, first from the Avatar, then the fire bender, and finally Jin. The earth bender, Asad, hadn't done anything in support, but he hadn't spoken against her either.
"Good lord, what ever he has in there I need a sip. As do you Xue, you need to loosen up some."
She turned her body to see what Jin was speaking of just as Asad staggered over to where they were gathered, fell, and then shakily sat himself on a crate. Both the fire bender and Jin gravitated towards the drunk man and Xue, against her better judgment, followed suit. The fire bender declined a drink and moved to the far side of the deck, but Jin took up Asad's offer happily and took a large gulp. The drink seemed to have taken effect rather quickly and Jin attempted to sit beside Asad only to fall down and give way to a fit of giggles. Xue curled her lip in disgust at the display, two grown men giggling and stumbling about like children. Not only that, but they were willingly numbing their own senses, leaving themselves incredibly vulnerable to attack.
Still...would it be so bad to take a small sip? Xue was more than a little stressed, she could feel the dark tendrils of anxiety curling in her chest and finally decided that she would take a tiny sip, just enough to calm her nerves, and then that would be it. Quickly, before she could realize what she was doing and stop herself, Xue snatched the gourd from Jin's outstretched hand with a huff, and taking a tiny sip. The foul drink burned all the way down and the chi blocker cringed and gave the gourd back to Asad.
Despite not taking much, the drink was strong and her vision was blurred at the edges. Xue was already beginning to regret her decision. With a sigh, she stood and half-stumbled over to the fire bender to have a few words but was shocked to see that the air bender, Keirin had approached her.
"I'm... Sorry."
Keirin looked about as shocked about the words that came out as Xue was. Xue saw a look of panic cross his features and before she could open her mouth to say something, Keirin was no longer there. She turned her head about to look for him but didn't see him anywhere on the deck. Xue knitted her brows and looked up into the air to see that the air bender was sitting atop one of the masts. If she were anyone else she may have laughed, but she was confused, dizzy, and slightly drunk so she turned back to speak with the fire bender as she originally intended.
"Eris, correct?" Xue began, allowing a bit of timidness into her voice. "I heard what you said to the air bender. Thank you for standing up for me, but I don't want you fighting my battles." She shivered against the breeze coming off of the water and pulled her jacket tighter around her, swaying slightly from both the motion of the ship and the alcohol in her system.