Private Tales Brothels and Broken Things

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi could only half shrug when Cassian threw her a look for reassurance. It honestly did depend on the person about how they faired with sailing. He drunk as much as a sailor so maybe he would take to it like a duck to water. In truth it made her a little green around the gills too but she wouldn't admit that here.

"Jörmungandrs are these massive sea serpents - there are some legends that say they actually grow so big they can encircle the whole world but I've never seen one that big. They can eat a whole ship pretty easily though," Alec grinned, he looked excited about the prospect of their new adventure. Peter looked a little more apprehensive but Tryst slammed his flaggan down and gave a hearty laugh.

"Giants wrestle Jörmungandr's in Blightlands, mark of honour!"

"Yes... and that's why it's now causing havoc, some giant didn't finish it off and just pissed it off," Lexi frowned and Tryst had the tact to look a little guilty.

"Tryst would never disappoint Amazonian in this way, Tryst will wrestle serpent, prove strength."

 

[Cassian]

Cassian squinted a little as Peter explained what it was they were going after. He doubted it would be an easy thing to bring down, he was used to fighting on land, not wrestling sea monsters. He finished his ale and poured another whisky.

"Well that sounds fuckin' fabulous." he commented and raised his drink into the air. "Here's to Tryst bringin' the fucker down." he nodded and threw it back. He couldn't say why he felt broody, Kain's comments perhaps, more probably anxiety. Some place in his mind was panic, he'd been so disturbed by a small scratch on Lexi's face that he was struggling with the thought of letting her march out toward any sort of danger the way she had on their last two missions. He was more involved, perhaps too involved, and he worried he wouldn't be able to control those urges to protect her and it brought up too many issues.

His head was a fucking mess, alcohol could quiet it, Lexi could soothe it, but nothing would cure it.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi's face was impassive but she could sense the tension in Cassian, and that in Kain. She shared a look with Alec who seemed to be figuring it out too and finished her ale. Nip it in the bud, Lexi.

"Everything will be fine," her voice was smooth and confident, with just the right amount of arrogance that seemed to relax the growing agitation in the young lad opposite her. "I've fought these things before, Tryst has, Aleanora has," she glanced to Kain. "I have a spell for your sea sickness," the man looked relieved and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Look, I know we're all a little tense after last time and what happened with Alec, but this is the risk we all run. If you don't want to come on this mission tell me by midnight and I will take you off, no questions or resentment," more than a few faces round the table lowered their gaze a little. She paused as they mulled that over then nodded slightly.

"Alright," Lexi said into the silence and then stood up. "I'm going to go finish up some paperwork. Come see me if you need to talk," she ran a hand through Cassian's hair then squeeze his shoulder a little before heading off towards her apartment.

 

[Cassian]

His gaze was one of those to fall as Lexi spoke, and his jaw clenched as he fought off the image of Alec's ripped open chest. He swallowed down another shot of whisky. He wasn't about to stay here without her, he frowned at the worry it would cause him.. Fuckin' hell, Cass...

Cassian's eyes closed briefly as the woman's fingers ran into his hair and he turned to watch her go with a quiet huff before pouring himself another drink. It had already gone to his head, he hadn't eaten since breakfast. He cast a look to Kain and rubbed at his face. "You need to learn to drink better." he commented, and leaned to pour more whisky into his cup.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

"That," Kain grimaced and picked up the cup. "I can agree with," a soft laugh and he half raised it before downing it in one go. He slammed it back down in front of him and indicated for him to fill it up again.

"Was it really that bad?" Alex piped up after a while, looking a little concerned and rubbing at his chest. "I promise I have no intentions of that happening again."

"Dude it was fucking gross," Peter nudged his best friend to lighten the mood.

"Nearly dying basically makes me an adult right? Entitles me to whisky?" a grin as he held out his own mug. Peter rolled his eyes. Kain barked out a laugh and Tryst joined in with it.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian grinned and refilled the man's cup and then his own and downed it. He frowned at Alec, lifting his eyes to him with a more serious look than he'd usually wear when interacting with the lads, but he frowned. "Aye, you better fuckin' not be.." he muttered and reached to pour him both lads a cup.

"We're gonna need more whisky.." he groaned and poured himself another and shoved the bottle over to Tryst.

Cassian drank back another, having quickly lost count of how many he'd slammed now, and he stared into the empty cup for a moment as his head started to feel a little more numb.. "The fuck am I doin'?.." he muttered and rubbed at his face again.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Alec and Peter shared the conspiratory look of boys who had managed to wrangle something they weren't meant to drink. Both decided to take the dive, downing it in one, and instantly grimaced and gasped at the strength of the burn.

Tryst began roaring a laugh at their red expressions.

"Do you mean... with the White Ravens in general or drinking with us?" Kain took the cup and shifted along the bench into the spot Lexi had vacated. His jaw was still covered in the bruise from his punch but it was beginning to look a little less angry.

 

[Cassian]

He grinned and gave a quiet, husky laugh at the boys.. “Perhaps you should both stick to ale. ‘S a man’s drink.” He winked.

"Hm?.." Cassian frowned and looked up as Kain shifted along and he shook his head with a growled huff. "Nothin', don' worry 'bout it." he forced a grin and winced slightly as he looked over the man's jaw. "How's that feeling'?.." he asked, his brow creasing as it rose in question..

"Coulda handled that better.." he admitted, but he still wasn't sorry.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

The boys did indeed go back to their ale but only after a few weak protests about being able to handle whisky even if their faces said otherwise. Tryst, on the other hand, was faring much better despite chugging the rest of the bottle. He threw it on the floor with a smash and demanded another which resulted in one of the barmaids storming over and proceeding to give the giant an earful about smashing bottles.

Kain was half watching before turning his attention to Cassian.

"I've had worse, you handled it how most men would. I'm not sure how much of a comfort to you it is, but it was only Rose I spoke to about you and Lexi," he shrugged a little and rubbed at his jaw. "You've got a mean right hook through," he snorted a little. "It may surprise you to know out of me and Lexi I'm usually the one people talk to about their emotions," he gave a small humoured grin before looking down at his glass. "Are you worried about what happened in the ring today?"

 

[Cassian]

The whisky had hit him well and his physical tension had at least eased, though his eyes were slightly heavier as he listened to Kain speak. "That was the worst fuckin' person you coulda told.. And aye, I do." he smirked and flexed his fingers on his right hand.

Cassian rubbed at the back of his neck at Kain's question and he frowned at him "That so?.. I'm good brother. I don't need to talk about it." he growled, lacing his hands together at the back of his neck as he leaned back, a distant look on his face. He was normally a very closed book, except with Lexi, he'd shared more with her than he had with anyone. But the alcohol wasn't suited to his current mood and it only heightened the troubles on his mind, and made his tongue far looser and his shame far less of a barrier.

"What if I can't handle it? If she gets hurt. What if I put everyone else at risk because I care too much about her?." he asked, staring at the ceiling with a drunken huff.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Kain said nothing about his comment on Rose and when the next bottle of whisky came he silently filled up his cup and Cassian's too. This time he swirled it in the glass as he considered his words.

"If you can't handle it you have others there to support you, that's why we're a team. I think the biggest worry you are going to have is dealing with her anger afterwards rather than anything from any one of us. We've all been there," a deep sigh and he downed the drink. "She's my best friend; you don't think I feel that every time we go out on a mission?" a small smile. "I know she humours me by bringing me along on all of her missions because I would worry if I was stuck here and she out there, but you just..." he laughed. "Watching her fight all these years has just made me realise I should worry more about myself or getting in her way."

 

[Cassian]

Cassian hadn't planned on having another, but as the drink was poured for him he reached out and took it. "Aye.. An' she'd have every right to be pissed off about it.. She can figh' like fuck an' she's far stronger than I am, she has more than weapons.. I just.." he huffed, threw back his drink and rubbed at his face.

"I got in my brother's way, tryin' to help him when he told me not to. It was my father's fault we were there in the first place, he wouldn' let us retreat, but it was my fault Remy was killed.." .. Words spilled out without him meaning to, he hadn't spoken to anyone other than Lexi about his brother but he had omitted that part from her even still. "I was better at workin' alone. I didn' set out to get myself attached to any of you, I wanted to take my coin and crawl back to some fuckin' town an' spend it on drink an' women.. You an' the lads are brothers to me.. An' Lexi." he shook his head, staring into his empty cup again. "I'm fuckin' hooked mate."

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Kain listened quietly to every bit he said as he slowly poured himself and Cassian another one; he felt the man would want one after that. It seemed they would have no more anyway for as soon as he set it down Tryst took it up and sucked on it like a mothers teat.

"It's hard to get over your past when you feel you are to blame... and emotions make it harder that's for certain..." he seemed to be thinking before he looked the man in the eyes. "You're well liked here Cass even if you cause a bit of a stir," a wry smile. "And I've not seen Lexi this... content for a long time. But we would all understand if you wanted to go. If you stick around though you might just figure out a way to work through it and be the damn good soldier I know you are."

 

[Cassian]

Cassian huffed and lifted the glass to his lips as Kain spoke, feeling himself grow more and more intoxicated by the minute. "I can't leave." he frowned, making that point strongly before he considered anything else.

"Bein' a soldier is all I'm good at. I ent good at all the other stuff" he frowned, staring at the man with a tired, drunk expression. "I mean I ent bad in bed neither obviously." he snorted and lifted his drink as though that went without saying.

"She jus'... She don' need me as much as I need her, y'know? My head is a fuckin' mess an' I don' wanna be...That guy. I don' wanna be the fuckin' burden tha' can't sort his fuckin' head out.. She could break me, any fuckin' minute and she could break me if she wanted to. Like I couldn't fuckin breathe without her now..." he frowned and reached to grip the man's shoulder "She's like... A fuckin' Lioness. An' I'm a stupid fuckin' rabbit. You know what I mean?..." he blinked at the man.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Kain was struggling to keep a straight and serious expression as Cassian continued on his drunk tirade. He nodded sagely when appropriate and in the end, patted the hand on his shoulder in brotherly solidarity.

"Aye, I get it Cass but at the end of the day what's the point in life if you don't take the risks? Do you want to just lay around in bars or gutters like when we first met or... do you want to prove your good enough for her?" he canted his head to the side slightly. "Lexi is far from perfect as well, she's got a lot going on in her own head. I think you two... will find your way through it together," another affectionate pat.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian downed the rest of his whisky and reached his other hand to the back of Kain's neck with a firm grip and kissed him on the forehead. "You're righ', an' you know when you're righ', you're righ'.. right'??" he nodded and patted him with a firm nod "Righ'." he agreed.

He pushed himself up from his chair, leaning heavily on the table as he realised just how off balance he was. "Fuck.." he chuckled. "Only had two drinks." his head shook and he rubbed at his face before staggering back and pointing at Alec and Peter. "You two. No more drinks. Lexi won' be happy..if yer hungover." he frowned and blinked heavily. "Tryst yah big bastard. You can do what the fuck you want..." cos no way was he telling the half giant what to do.

"I'll see you all in the mornin'. Sharp." he nodded and wandered off, hitting every chair and barrel on his way.

By the time he got to Lexi's apartment he was soaking wet, and he leaned heavily on her front door, scraping the key over the lock again and again with one eye closed as he tried to regain single vision to find the keyhole.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

There was more than a bit of muted laughter when Cassian left them before returning to their own conversations.

The scraping at the door finally drew Lexi too it, mainly because Red had decided there was clearly another cat on the other side of it and was scratching and mewing her little head off.

"Alright, alright," the Commander muttered before she finally unlocked the door and opened it. There was a moment when all she could do was stare at him before managing to scoop down quick enough to catch the cat before she made a break for the smell of cooking meat that was wafting on the wind. Then she stepped aside to let him in.

"Do I need my Commander hat on or my Lexi one?" she mused and leaned against the door once he was through. She was dressed only in a shirt, a sign she had been about to go to bed.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian almost fell in as Lexi opened the door and he leaned against the door frame, lifting the key to show her. "Lexi...Lexi...Lass... Your key doesn't seem to be workin'..." he groaned and his head fell forward slightly, realising he'd left puddles of water where he'd walked. "Fell in the pool..." he snorted and looked up with a grin at her, but he tried to hide it and compose himself, failing to apply a serious face.

His eyes wandered down over her and he let out a lusty sound and attempted a wink at her. "That... is a good look on you...Are we goin' to bed?" he grinned and staggered inside, lifting his wet shirt up over his head and getting slightly stuck for a moment before ripping it free.

"Lets go then..." he purred, squelching toward the bedroom.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

She watched as he trailed water through her apartment and wrestled with the urge to both laugh and kill him. Setting Red back down on the safety of the sofa she wandered to the kitchen and then began to wipe the floor up after him.

"Look, stop - stop walking, hold still," she wasn't house proud but she didn't particularly want to have water on her floor either. She grabbed a towel and threw it at him once he had stopped before finishing drying the floor and leaning it against the wall. "Breeches off, they're soaked," Lexi frowned a little, picked his shirt up off the floor and hung it up near the fire to dry. She motioned for him to throw her the breeches too.

 

[Cassian]

The towel hit him and he grabbed for it, knocking him a little more off balance. He grumbled and wrapped it around his shoulders, still stumbling toward the bedroom, trying his best to get his breeches off. He managed to get them to his knees before hopping on one leg before eventually landing on the floor at the bottom of her bed.

He sprawled out on his stomach and groaned. "I'm good here, lass...Why don' you come down here and join me?" he slurred, face squished against the floor.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

"An Adonis right now," Lexi muttered as she padded over and relieved him of his breeches. She hung them next to his shirt before returning to the pile of man on the floor with a soft sigh.

"How much did you drink, Cass?" her question was barely above a whisper as she cupped his face and searched his gaze for a moment. With a slight shake of her head she rolled him over onto his back then scooped him up effortlessly, one arm under his shoulders and the other his knees. She carried him to bed and lightly placed him down before going and returning with a glass of water. Lexi sat on the edge of the bed and pushed the hair from his face before handing him the glass. "Drink."

 

[Cassian]

"Mhh only two..three tops." he mumbled at her, fully intent on falling asleep on the floor before he was rolled and lifted up.. "I'm good, lass.." he groaned and curled against her as she sat down, his arms reaching to snake around her waist and his eyes closed. He managed a sip and grimaced to find that it was water.

"I'll try ..not to get in yer way..." he growled quietly and huffed.. "Don' take care of me lass..I don' deserve it." he squeezed at her and smiled "Come lay with me."

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi gave a low chuckle and swept her hand through his hair again, her fingers lingering against his jaw as she shook her head slightly. Two or three my arse, she thought quietly. She attempted to coax him to drink a bit more before finally putting the glass down on the side and gave in to his demand to lay with him. She had to shuffle him over a bit so there was room for her to lay down within his firm grip.

After a bit she rolled over onto her back and shifted so his head rested on her chest, then slowly ran her fingers up and down his back in lazy winding patterns.

"You do deserve it Cass, sleep now," she murmured softly and rested her cheek on the top of his head.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian grumbled a little in protest to the water, but he happily shuffled over and held her close, a soft growl sounding in his throat as she stroked his hair and he sighed deeply, his body and mind soothed and he was quickly drifting off to sleep, a small smile on his lips at her words.. "I don't deserve you." he huffed, and he was out cold.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

A ghost of a smile played about her face and for a while after she laid awake thinking. In time however, she succumbed to sleep also.

"C'mon," Lexi gently nudged his arm, crouched beside the bed so she was in his direct eye line when he finally managed to open his. A faint smile before she shoved coffee towards him. "We need to leave soon, here," then she stood and was moving back out of the room. Lexi was already dressed in her full gear; white riding breeches, black thigh high leather boots, and her white robes over the top of her white shirt. Her cloak was hanging by the door ready for when the left along with her sword, shield and helmet. She sat down behind her desk and ran her eyes once more over the reports, brow furrowed into a frown.