Kitty's comment went mostly unnoticed, although there was one who stood out from the group as sober who caught her words. He gave Atiq a momentary glance as he greeted the others, and when he was done the visitor motioned to Kitty.
"You're bringing your pet?" he said, using a similar tone as Kitty herself, a tone which Atiq bristled at.
"Jalai, I am the one paying for and organizing this excursion. I can bring who ever I want. Is there a problem?"
Gedhi and Pilo, the other two friends, seemed to sense the tension through their addled state, and Gedhi himself rubbed Atiq's shoulders.
"Don't pay him any mind, Atiq. He's just grumpy because he didn't have any wine," the man said. Gedhi was an overweight man in his 30s, sporting a long rectangular beard and cropped back hair. Pilo was his younger brother, who was shaved bald on his head and face and of a wiry appearance. Jalai, the grumpy one, was around Atiq's age but not nearly as worldly, and he sported a short goatee.
All three of them were not dressed appropriately for a hunting expedition, rather they seemed to have dressed for a party.
Atiq sighed, and then put on a smile.
"Well, hopefully we can fix that during the carriage ride," he started, and motioned up to the carriage. As his friends started to pile in, he looked to Kitty. He had a labored quality in his eyes, he'd spent the better part of the last two weeks stressing over every detail and quadruple-checking all of his supplies and plans.
"Be nice, girl," he said, low enough so his friends wouldn't hear.