|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:41 pm
Upon reaching the table, Xee tolerated the suggestions of where she ought to sit with a slight shake of her head. Were it not for Val she probably would have had to make room for herself at the table. As it was though, he seemed to be taking things in hand himself. Perhaps because this was his crowd and he knew them better?
Once it was that she was seated comfortably close, and with her mug clutched firmly in her palms, Xee got back to her important task...of drinking as much as her stomach could hold. She was in the middle of taking another long swallow of the ale when Val leaned in to speak to her. She tilted her ear a bit to better hear him...and pulled the mug away to flash him a ale wetted grin.
"Not quite." She responded a bit loudly on her part so he could hear her as well. "I wasn't expecting to get so many free drinks. The fight was a perk too. I wasn't expecting a display like that." Xee's head bobbed slightly and she took a moment to polish off her mug before continueing. "A bit better then a bar brawl I have to say!" Xee was just...in such a good mood! She half sat up and reached for one of the sitting and untouched mugs.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 7:12 pm
Val grinned, still experiencing a bit of an adrenaline high. He could relax and enjoy this if he let himself. He didn't have to over-think everything or deny himself fun. He'd managed to get through much of his time at the academy without making himself too miserable. He'd done so by distracting himself with companionship, which was what he now had an abundance of. It didn't matter if they didn't understand that there was a world beyond the academy. They probably knew it was there the same way he had, but chose to ignore it because there was nothing they could do to change it. He should follow their example and blithely ignore things he couldn't change, rather than dwell upon them.
"I'm glad I was able to entertain you," he said dryly. "There're brawls here, too, but they're less frequent. Everyone here is a show-off, and it's hard to look impressive when everyone else is doing the same thing."
Others at the table protested his judgment, but it was obvious he was right just from the poses they struck unconsciously as they sat there. Muscular arms and defined chests abounded with the males, as did taut stomachs and powerful thighs with the females. It was actually amusing, because Val was certain they weren't all posing to show off their physiques. Or maybe they were. He'd never done much of it because there was no one he wanted to impress that way, but he'd actually overheard conversations in the baths about whether someone's a** looked big while standing a certain way, or something similar. He'd not payed them much attention beyond throwing a towel at the speaker, as had most of the other straight males, berating him for preening prettily.
In a lower voice he added, "I bet you could get more drinks for free if you put your mind to it. They're eventually going to tire of congratulating me, after all." He didn't elaborate on how she could put her mind to it because that was what he meant for her to do. If she was interested in acquiring more drinks, that is.
As he was asking this, one of the female warriors who had squeezed in beside Ilmxena asked, "Where's your whip? If you're Val's cousin, shouldn't you have a whip of some sort? I thought you Baen'duis types were famous for that."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:03 am
Xee found Val's dry remark rather amuseing. Chuckling into her drink, her red eyes crinkled up rather merrily. Particularly at the way others around the table protested at his remark. Her eyes switched from looking up at him, to scanning the crowd. Even with the amount of drink in her, she was able to catch quite a few good examples of just what Val had meant right there at their own table...it only made her chuckle all the more.
Xee had set her drink back on the table in front of her. This was now...what? Four inside...two outside...one from Val.... This was her eighth mug. There was no need for her to hurry through it, as the amount of drinks offered seemed to be plenty for her. Besides. She could finally start to feel that enjoyable sense of detachment and she didn't want to hurry past that all for the sake of drinking more. Her head cocked to one side again so she could hear Val's lower comment better. The smile on her lips parted as she prepared to respond to his 'advice'...but before she could the female sitting beside her turned and asked her a rather pointed question. Whip?
Xee's eyes flickered down to her belt throughfull for a moment. What sort of answer was there for her to give? She was a black sheep? SHe doubted that would be a satisfying answer. She left it home? Oh no. As true as that reply would be she could already see that it would probably result in a bit of disbelief. She supposed that she could say it was broken or damaged and being repaired? But... judging by the reputation 'her House' had it was likely to be expected that she'd have a back up whip avalible.
So... Xee grinned and pulled her mug up closer to her chest. " I am his Cousin, and you are right about the House reputation....however..." And here Xee paused to take a shallow swallow from the mug. "...there's a story as to why I don't have a whip with me...and I'm not nearly drunk enough to spill it. Heh."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:09 am
Val was gratified by Ilmxena's laughter. After their initial meeting, he'd been fairly certain that he'd made an enemy in her. He wasn't sure, but this might actually still count as part of their initial meeting, as they hadn't really parted company for long enough for their reunion after Val's match to count as a second meeting or anything. Fine. He was sure after their first conversation that he and Ilmxena would be enemies. He'd been incredibly offensive, after all. Thinking about it made him cringe inwardly. He really needed to develop a thicker skin. He thought he had, but clearly he was mistaken in that thought. At least now she seemed to be enjoying herself and didn't look like she was ready to end him in the next few minutes. At least not while he was a decent source of alcohol. She drank like someone thrice her size.
When the female asked about Ilmxena's whip, Val tensed, trying to prepare himself for whatever might pop out of Ilmxena's mouth, and wondering how she could twist it around to put him on the spot. He was also trying to think of a viable excuse at the same time, in case Ilmxena couldn't come up with one. Honestly, there were very few reasons why a female member of his House wouldn't be carrying a whip. Even when they bathed, most of them tended to keep a lash within reach, just in case a servant displeased them in some way. Leaving the manor, a female of Baen'duis would never be seen unarmed.
He wasn't sure if he was relieved by the response she decided to offer or not. It didn't stop him from smirking as though he was in on the secret, even though he had no idea what kind of story she was concocting in her head. He knew she didn't have a whip because she'd cast Shri's whip aside in what had seemed to be disgust, but that was hardly a reason anyone present would have accepted. They wouldn't have understood why she was using someone else's whip in the first place, although if the'd been more familiar with the practices of his House they'd know that allowing someone else to use your whip was actually a very personal gesture. Which is why he'd come to the wrong conclusion about Ilmxena at first.
He was definitely impressed with how she'd managed to convince their audience to buy her more drinks. He'd heard that excuse given before, and variations on it relating to hunger, but that didn't make it any less amusing. He wondered if it was universal, though he'd only heard it among the less formal company of the lower classes. No one in the House would have tried such an excuse because to do so would have been to risk chastisement for complaining needlessly. Not that needful complaints were welcome, either, but they weren't frowned upon as anything but a lack of self-discipline, rather than weakness of character.
In the interest of furthering Ilmxena's cause, Val added, "I'd really rather if you didn't indulge her."
His tone indicated that the story would probably prove embarrassing to him in some respect, or at the very least was not something he wanted generally known. It would encourage people to ply her with drinks, hoping to see Val made uncomfortable. Apparently he was funny when he felt awkward or uneasy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:43 am
Well! If not for her excuse, then for Val's response Xee found herself with several more offers for drink. Xee could not possibly have been happier then at that moment. Unless she was back with her old comrads, happily drinking themselves into the ground after a particularly exciting day of hunting. Xee accepted every offer for a drink, and was rewarded with a comment or two from the group about the amount. Obviusly they all underestimated her drinking ability. This...could only make Xee's mirthful expression brighten all the more.
It had been a long while since she had drank with a new crowd. Fresh and unknowing of her tolerance level. She never would have been able to fool her old comrades. They all knew full well Xee was able to out drink them on a good day. On a bad she could at least keep up.
Xee was still searching internally for a good enough of a story to feed the crowd as to why she did not have a whip with her. The part of her that was still quite jovially listening to the warriors banter wanted to state with false offense she always had a whip with her, and to flick her tongue out as the example. However, she didn't want to go down that road. Lewdness was something she reserved for jokes about others. Not for her own actions. Reguardless of how tipsy she was becoming. Besides, some could take that utterly the wrong way. As she sipped at her drink, she lifted her gaze to glance at Val. She was honestly a bit surprised he had not offered his explanation. He knew the real reason she didn't have one..well... -part- of the real reason. Perhaps he had not spoken up because he wanted to know what she would say. Perhaps a inadvertant way to get his earlier questions partly answered?
Holding her mug in both hands she turned back towards the group. Of course, she was also waiting for the rest to get good and drunk. It was highly likely by biding her time and slowing her drinking down the rest could end up getting nice and sloashed. The question would be forgotten in the pursuit of other topics, ot another fight would be brought up. In which case Xee could simply stumble home and leave them without any answers. She did not think this group would get offended. After all..she was quite...small..and in their terms would have to be seen as a lightweight drinker...
Xee lifted a hand and reached out to lightly tap at Val's arm. Her head tilted towards Val to speak up at him. "I hope you don't get too tipsy. I still have that favor I want to ask of you later. Think you could handle lugging a Keg back to my room?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:42 pm
Val listened to the suggestions the student warriors came up with as they plied Ilmxena with more and more drinks. They ranged from almost plausible to downright ridiculous and covered the entire spectrum of vulgarity. A number of them were also quite comical, and he chuckled with these theories. He was also astonished at the amount of drink his cousing was consuming. She would probably end up drinking her own body weight in alcohol at this rate, which he was certain wasn't healthy.
When she tapped him and asked about his ability to tote kegs Val stared openly in wonder. Surely she didn't intend to consume an entire keg for herself later on? She could fit inside some kegs. It seemed like a very bad idea to him. However, as she had reminded him, he owed her a favor, and if she wanted to kill herself with ale, it wasn't really any of his affair. She'd said she didn't want him to try to look out for her well-being. Fine. But he would have to explain her demise to Shri, who might not be so understanding, or his mother, who wouldn't be understanding.
"A keg? Really? I can manage that, sure, but are you sure that's a good idea?" He didn't add his true question: Can you handle that?
Fortunately, a number of side conversations had begun as Ilmxena held out on her audience, and so he was able to hold this conversation mostly un-eavesdropped upon. Not that it mattered if anyone heard she was planning on bringing a keg back to the manor, he supposed, except that someone might offer to help, and he wasn't keen on the idea of bringing friends home. The manor wasn't a good place for class reunions. Too much family. Not that most of his friends would see his family as a deterrent, as they tended to be good-looking (except Trielnolu), but Val didn't really want his family members seducing his friends and addicting them to the Baen'duis way of life. His older brother'd experienced that, and it had been incredibly awkward and embarrassing for everyone the first time he begged to be whipped, and each subsequent time. In the end, he'd been like Malree.
It occurred to Val that if he could guide one of the side conversations he heard to becoming a main topic of conversation, Ilmxena being unarmed would no longer be an issue. He sifted through them and finally decided that it would be safe enough to turn the conversation back to things which were happening at the academy.
"Someone told me you'd gotten a new instructor for advanced axe techniques?" he said. "What happened to Thax?"
A warrior who carried a pair of short-handled axes provided the answer: that Thax had been hired away by a caravan to serve as a guard. Val couldn't understand the appeal of wanting to travel with a caravan, rather than have the security and prestige of a position training the warriors of Llurth Dreir, and said as much. Everyone else just shrugged. They couldn't understand it either, even those who would be going back to caravans when they finished their training.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 2:31 pm
Such imaginations!! Xee was more then willing to let the students come up with their own theroys as to the mystery of her missing whip. It almost seemed like they were enjoying that more then they would have a true story! Well! All the better then! Xee had not finished her eighth mug, as she was still nursing it contently. The offers remained, and there were plenty of mugs on the table to be snatched up if she wished to carry on...but not right now...she was enjoying listening to the warriors and their theroys.
Every so often Xee would get proded by some needling questions, and she did her best to remain avoidant in her answers. Not too avoidant though...she didn't want to dampen the spirits at the table and she really was enjoying herself immensely!
Val's surprised look gained him a amused expression from Xee. "Where is the bad idea in having a keg in one's room?" She called back to him, shifted her mug upwards a bit, and actually laughed. "The servants never send enough up with my meals and I think it would be a grand idea to have a ready supply on hand." Xee turned back to the table. Her head tilting now and then to better hear the comments and conversations being held. For the most part she was happy to let them carry on without speaking up too much. Her mug was finally empty though..and as she was cheerfully claiming her ninth she paused. The topic was one that, in all honesty, she couldn't just ignore.
"Are you kidding?" She exclaimed at some of the head shaking. Her red eyes had widened slightly, and in order to sit up a bit taller she folded her legs under her on her seat. "Being in a caravan demands a ldifferent evel of vigilance and skill that simply hanging around in the city would never provide. Here you know what your normal threats are. Where they come from and how to be on guard against them. In a caravan, Goddess alone knows what you may come across! There is not a single moment that you can possibly call safe. You can't relax completely. The types of enemies and opponents you come across are not the sort you can just take your time gauging and feeling out. If you manage to succeed and win there are often rewards you wouldn't have even realized exsisted."
She reached down to her belt and began to flip open one of the flaps. From within she pulled out a pair of matching bone fragments. Each was longer then her index finger, and curved subtly so that the could clasp together. Small serrated edges along the outside were overshadowed by the deadl looking points. Xee placed the pair of ivory bones down on the table, her eyes a glossy from the ale, but with a slight kindled light within them. "I took these off a Cloaker beast. I haven't found anything half as sharp or half as strong except perhaps a Master wrought blade. I've used them twice when I've found myself without a weapon. The fit perfectly between my knuckles and I can't tell you how easily they slice through most things."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:07 pm
Actually, Val could see the advantage to having a keg in one's room, but it wasn't something he would have dared. As far as the family knew, he didn't drink. It's a bad, debilitating habit for a warrior to get into, and they'd be extremely unhappy if they found out he indulged in even social consumption. It was fine, of course, for priestesses, but warriors could never afford to relax for a moment. He agreed, but that didn't mean he didn't relax every so often. He just did his penance for it later and tried to be truly repentant. Often his repentance was directly proportionate to how bad his hangover was the next morning.
Before he could reply, however, Ilmxena made her outburst about caravan life, and how much more it required of a body, and how rewarding it could be. She was missing the point entirely. The points she brought up were all reasons why no one wanted to be a caravan guard. They weren't well-paid, and they tended to end up dead far more frequently than those who were wise enough to remain in the city. However, Ilmxena seemed so passionate about her cause he opted to keep his mouth shut. Her trinkets from the cloaker beast were impressive, of course, but most warriors didn't decide to pick up finicky weapons like that except to show off. Generally people stuck with more conventional weapons which were easier to replace, even if they weren't as show-offy.
It had probably been a bad idea for her to show off the claws, though, and to talk about their special properties. The people around them were the sort who would demand a demonstration of the claws' abilities, and then the story of how she had taken them. Maybe that had been her intent, though, to distract them from the issue which had been at hand. Besides which, Val was quite content to let her talk while he learned what he could of her. So far, he knew for a fact that her upbringing was not standard to a drow from a noble House, and she'd apparently spent some time in a caravan with companions who were fairly easy-going persons.
There was, as Val had expected, a clamour for her to show them how easily they slice through things, rather than try to tell them. Val, too, was interested, but he pretended not to be too interested. If they were related, he should have heard this story before. Instead he rolled his eyes and looked resigned, as though this was usual behavior for Ilmxena to exhibit when she was out drinking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 5:37 pm
A argument ensued. Granted it wasn't angry, the mood was too light for it. Xee was greatly outnumbered as support obviously was heavily weighed on the side of the students who disagreed about caravan life. It did not dampen Xee's spirits any though. If anything the disagreement brought out a bit more of that passion Val had seen and been quieted by.
Even in her drunken state Xee did not dismiss city life. She did not put down the quaint little rules the warriors had abided by earlier. No. In fact she pointedly made mention that inside the city was just another form of danger. Outside the city was the type she preffered. Stalking the tunnels where creatures that had so keen a sense of hearing they could hear the sweat beading upon your brow. Where things were so stealthy they put even a master thief to shame. Where every moment in the tunnels was a perilous test! Inwardly she vexed at not being able to show these other drow just what they were missing. her hands waved off any mention of payment and money. They just didn't get it! It was the hunt! She stressed that. It was the risk of coming across something you had never met before! The test to see if you could take it down, reguardless of how unprepared or how much stronger it was. It was the gratification of holding it's unmoving body and knowing you were the better hunter.
She gave in with hardly any real encouragement to share the tale of how she had collected the cloaker talons. Picking them up, she slipped the talons between her index and middle fingers, her hands fisting over the bone knobs at the end, and flexing them to show how well they set in her hands. As she began recounting the tale she was more then happy to demonstrate how shrp the points were on the talons. Coins, the table, a few mugs...she lightly drew the talons over the edges to leave behind clean thin scratchs with no pressure applied. She even went so far as to draw the talon across the back of her own hand. She never cut too deeply. Partly because she wasn't about to gouge herself and because she didn't want the owner of the bar to make her pay for any damages she might make to his belongings.
Her story started out simple enough. Explaining how she had been forward scout and checking out the cavern they were passing through. Their usual route had been blocked off and they were trying to get around to their next stop using some old maps the Caravan Master had dug up. The cavern had turned out to be far bigger then depicted on the map, and Xee had to spread out further from Nuumia then she cared. It was when they had reached the middle of the cavern when Nuu had spied the Cloakers hanging from some slagtites. Nuu thought they could backtrack and go around the cloakers, but Xee already suspected they had been marked and were just being watched. When they did try to retreat, the cloakers attacked, proving her suspicions correct. The ensuing tale was ripe with little details of gore and painful wounds. She, and Nuumia, and Thalzoz, along with Jalkan and three other guards fought with the cloakers. In the end two of the guards ended up horribly mutilated by the cloakers, and the third had comically wet himself when Xee had thrown a blanket down over him during cleaning up from the battle. The cloaker talons she had claimed for herself had come from one of the smaller ones, as the larger ones were unfortunatly claimed by the Caravan Master to be butchered for trade.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:09 am
All right. So the claws were impressive. It still didn't mean that Val wouldn't prefer city life. He was very partial to his amenities. Running heated water, for instance. He'd had to live with the cold, sluice-style bathing for a while when the academy decided to take them Out into the wilds, when bathing was available at all, and he'd hated it. Yes. Bathing was that important to him. He liked to be clean, and hated to smell bad. It reminded him too well of his time in the pit, when he'd been unable to bathe properly for years, and the closest he could get was when someone threw a pail of water on him. If they'd just given it to him, his survival instincts would have forced him to drink it, even if it was foul, because he'd been kept on the brink of starvation the entire time. Thinking about it, it was kind of amazing he'd recovered as well as he did.
He was actually more impressed by her careful acknowledgment of the dangers of city dwelling. It was a very politick thing for her to say, whether she agreed with it or not. He could see that she had sold a few people who might press their instructors for excursions into the Underdark beyond the relative safety of the city, but so many were city-bred and as fond of their creature comforts as Val was, if not more so. The caravanners in the group who'd been forced to adjust to city life nodded with Ilmxena as she listed the dangers of the city. Clearly they'd been among those who thought city living was for the soft and weak. They were right to an extent, but the warriors of the city, while less skilled in stealth than those of the wilds, had different skills they had to learn to survive in a world where your own kind was an enemy. Most of them had been mugged at some point early in their tenancy, Val guessed, despite their warrior status.
Val listened more closely to Ilmxena's story and paid it more attention than he had paid attention her souvenirs. He'd seen sharp objects before, though it was convenient how these particular sharp objects fit into her hand. He didn't think they'd be so accommodating for someone with a larger hand, like most of the warriors he knew. Her story, however, brought back some of the characters she'd mentioned on the walk to the Fat Serpent, and added some illumination to her life before coming to Baen'duis. He was almost certain that she'd not been raised in Baen'duis. At least, not on the family side of the stairs. No one in the family had ever spent time in a caravan. Not in his memory, which went back for a fairly long time, even though he was one of the youngest people in his family.
The problem with tale-telling among warriors was that everyone had tales to tell, and it was impossible to escape any gathering without everyone trying to tell their tale, even if it'd been heard by everyone present multiple times. Ilmxena was a new, fresh audience, and as soon as she finished with her tale of derring-do, a warrior to Val's right launched into a description of the goblin horde she and her two sisters had taken on practically bare-handed. The sheer implausibility of the situation struck Val as incredibly funny, but he listened politely and kept his comments to himself. Apparently the poor horde had no chance against such seasoned, ingenuous warriors. He wondered if she'd ever smelled a goblin, because if she had, there was no way that three people could have endured the smell of a horde of them long enough to defeat them.
When she had finished, a slender male with a scimitar at his belt took over and described how he had rescued his kidnapped niece from a group of Tren. He wasn't very clear on what his niece had been doing so close to where the reptilian creatures lived, but his story about how he'd snuck into their encampment and slaughtered everyone who was conscious appealed to the drow sensibilities and feelings of innate superiority, and no one protested. He claimed that spilling the cold-blood of such monsters was how he knew he was meant to be a warrior, and that he asked to be thus trained as a reward for returning his niece.
It seemed as though it was time for tale-telling, which meant that things were settling down and would probably stay that way unless someone challenged too vehemently the facts of a story, and then a fight would ensue. It would be a good time to leave. Val said as much to Ilmxena in an undertone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 11:21 am
Xee enjoyed a good story. Both telling it and hearing it. Particularly in the company of ale. Once her story had been finished, she collected her claws and tucked them back away in her belt. Then she settled down to slowly nurse her current drink and listen to the stories being told. She found it humorus that a pair of drow would attempt to take on a hoard of goblins. Xee supposed that if the hoard was just a small group it would be possible to take them on weaponless. They were nasty creatures and she'd only seen the results of their attacks on other caravans. She was quite fortunate that nearly all of her encounters in the wilds had been against mindless beasts. Or so she thought of them as.
She was entering a wonderful haze of comfort and disassociation by this point. She rarely took a drink from her mug, though she kept it close enough to take tiny tasting sips from. Her features were quite relaxed, even her body was relaxed. The noise of the bar was fading to a low and pleasent rumble. She could almost imagin hearing the claw scratchs of the lizards pulling the wagon and the rumble of the wooden wheels over smoothed stone. Almost, but not quite.
Val's voice broke through her haze. Informing her that now would be a good time to leave. "Suppose your right." She mumbled in reply. "Better to leave now while it's still a good night then to linger and risk something upsetting it."
Though she didn't really want to get up and make the walk back to the House. Ah well! Xee pushed her unfinished mug away and swung her leg's around to stand up. She swayed, reasonably considering the amount of drink she had guzzled for the night, but she remained on her feet with a steadying hand placed on the table until her body remembered how to balance itself. She turned her red gaze over to the bar itself. A dull and thoughtful look upon her face. She wanted that keg brought to her room...but now that she had drank so much...well...odds were it would prove a inconveinece to carry right now. She really shouldn't have over indulged.
Tomorrow! She'd just drag someone down here tomorrow to buy one..if she could remember her way back. With a soft little giggle to herself, Xee turned towards the door and carefully began to walk. "Nnn... This..this was....a great suggestion Val...."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 6:34 am
Val nodded his agreement. It usually was best to leave while it was still a good night. Nothing seriously bad had ever happened while he was out with his friends, but there was a first time for everything, and he didn't want this to be it. Not when it seemed he'd made some progress in getting onto Ilmxena's good side.
He watched her get to her feet somewhat unsteadily and wondered if he should be carrying her back to the manor, rather than carrying a keg. He rarely drank enough to get particularly drunk, and this had not been one of the occasions which would be an exception. He was pleasantly buzzed, but mostly he had been nursing his last ale for the past hour without taking any more. He'd also acquired a mug of water which he sipped from occasionally. Not too many people he knew bothered to do anything proactive about hangovers, but he hated them.
He followed Ilmxena's departure at a careful, watchful distance, waving over his shoulder at the people he was leaving. Few people even noticed that he was no longer there. They'd been there longer than he had, and drinking the whole time. It was kind of amazing they could stand up or string sentences together, really.
Outside the bar, in the warm air of Llurth Dreir, Val replied, "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."
He didn't remind her of the keg. She looked like too easy a target right now, and he'd rather not have to use a keg as a weapon to keep her from getting mugged or abducted. She was small enough to abduct easily, and if anyone figured out that she belonged to Baen'duis, there'd be a ransom to pay and he'd get in trouble for letting it happen, and...really it was better that he didn't allow her to get kidnapped.
"Home?" he asked, hoping fervently that she agreed.
He wanted to get on with sleeping the alcohol off as soon as possible. Of course, he also had to piss badly, but that could wait for home, too. If she decided that was where they were going. If not, she'd just have to deal with some facts of life: consuming lots of liquid in a short period of time results in an urgent need to urinate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 11:17 pm
Taking to her feet had left her head swimming a bit. It always took her some time to get used to the tipsy way the world slanted after a good drinking binge. Xee loved it. She never felt quite so refreshed or content then when she was drinking. It helped ease away the nibbling worries and tense paranoia she often struggled with on a daily basis. Unfortunatly it severly cut down on her keener observation skills. Xee was only likely to take note of a obvious threat at this point, and only after a moment of owlish blinking.
Making her way to the door, Xee turned a little to give a fare well wave to the crowd in general. Her good spirits remained raised even after she and Val had exited the building She walked to the fore, mouth turned into a overly jovial smile and a perk to her slightly swaying steps. "Best crowd I've met since being dragged back here." Xee would cheerfully agree with Val.
Currently...Xee had no idea where she was going. All she knew was that she was walking and happy. When Val mentioned the word 'Home' so hopefully, she paused and blinked with a wide eyed glance about her. "Oh? Is that where we're goin?" She took a step forwards, then paused, and with a glance over her shoulder she pointed forwards. "It's...that way right? I think...I think the city moved itself around while I was gone..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:11 am
"Yes. Home is that way," he agreed, beginning to walk in the indicated direction and hoping that Ilmxena would decide to follow him.
We walked briskly, not really considering what that would mean for somebody of his cousin's stature. He had more pressing things to consider. Besides, he wasn't likely to lose her. It was a bit of a walk, but it wasn't a particularly difficult one. The warriors' academy was practically across the street, and the street was one of the main byways in the city. Baen'duis wasn't important enough to be located on that street like De'Rretep, the second House of Llurth Dreir, but it was not so unimportant that creatures from the Underdark frequently made their way into its gardens because it was on the outskirts. The manor was somewhere in between there.
It wasn't late enough that he had to be concerned about being accosted. Especially not since he was walking purposefully. People his size who walked with purpose were generally better left alone. Even if they have no formal training, it doesn't take much in the way of brains to smash someone else into a building hard enough to make them see spiders for a few hours. His cousin was another matter, but it wasn't late enough that she was likely to be kidnapped. Besides, he couldn't think what anyone would want to kidnap her form. Baen'duis remained remarkably enemy-free these days, and it seemed that her relation to the family was hardly known within the House, so it was unlikely anyone outside of the Houe would have found out about her. Unless there'd been someone lurking in the Fat Serpent, which was possible, but not very probable.
When he had to turn off the main thoroughfare he hesitated, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he hadn't lost his cousin in his haste. After this he would have to pause at each juncture to make sure she wasn't lost. She'd said that in the caravan she had to have an excellent sense of direction, but directions in the wilds were different from directions in the cities. He'd had his fair share of both in all the traveling his aunt had required of him during his training. She had probably experienced a number of cities, too, and had her own system for not getting lost, but he didn't want to be mistaken. So he waited, his toes curling in his boots with the effort of not breaking into a smooth lope for the rest of the trip home, or at least losing his cousin long enough to relieve himself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:19 pm
Xee was not in a state to be rushed...or hurried...or even swiftly motivated. She hardly noticed, or perhaps it was cared, that val had strode on past her and was on his way down the road. She ambled on. Hands clasped behind her back and with that drunkards glaze to her eyes as she walked more or less purposefully forwards. She was going in this direction now. Right ahead. One two! One two! Feet going forwards and a** pointed backwards!
Xee was marginally aware that Val was leading on in the direction they were meant to go. If this mattered to her though she would show no outward sign. Actually...she didn't give a damn that he was walking quickly onwards and waiting. Still, her steps did pick up unconsciously. This would not have been the first time she had lagged behind others after all. "Seems your inna hurry." She commented as she got to one of the corners that Val was waiting at. Her lips picked upwards into a smile. "Or maybe I'm moving more slowly then usual? Are we home yet? I'm suddenly really hungry...."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
