Fable - Ask Drunken Mess, Part II

[Kor]

"Almost shocked you didn't do it to spite me." He returned to Sol's comment.

Kor's first priority was making himself decent. The next was walking out of this tavern, and shortly after that was forgetting any of the morning's events had ever occurred, just like he had the previous night's. Gods, he wished Repent were here so he could see, but even the raven were at its master's side, Kor's head ached too much to connect with anything, most likely.

He heard more shuffling and bickering from his equally disoriented flock. Whatever state they'd found themselves in, as long as they weren't dead or dying it didn't matter to Kor. There was nothing he could do as he was anyways. Soleil seemed eager to help though, making the suggestion they search together before offering to help him with his pants.

Which, given her unsteadiness, would require her to drop down in front of him and...

There are times in everybody's life where they have to decide whether or not to take certain risks at the cost of avoiding others. Kor realized, exactly, both how it would look to everybody else were he to accept Soleil's help, and the inherent dangers of allowing Soleil to take such a... proximate position.

And Kor didn't mind nudity, but every minute he wasted here was time without the coat he sought, and trophies within it.

"Okay, yes, Soleil... Just don't get any funny ideas, yeah?"

 

[Zinnia]

Beware of ambush!

"Heh...y-yes, very clever Soleil. Y-you know, I--" The wallflower's voice fell away and her face went pale as Caeso marched across the floor with naught but a hand to cover his...

Uh. Well. Wow. Zinnia really wasn't prepared for today.

She hadn't intended to stare, but, well, there it was. Her face felt hot as her eyes tried to find something, anything else to draw her attention. Though, the heat might have been coming from the hat atop her head, which had shimmered once again and turned itself into a fluffy trapper hat. She'd really need to learn what that thing was about at some point.

"Aelitajustgivehimhisdamnpants!" Zinnia spat rapidly, tugging on the ears of the trapper hat.

Before she'd even realized it, Lumen had sat next to her and was requesting assistance with giving her medical attention. Zinnia breathed. She welcomed the distraction, but also recognized the need to aid her friend. As much as Lumen looked out for Zinnia, Zinnia was eager to return the favor whenever possible. Meekly, she nodded and began to dab the wound, then start the process of wrapping it.

Okay, yes, Soleil... Just dont get any funny ideas, yeah?

Zinnia didn't bother to look to see what the context was. She didn't need it.
"It's S-Soleil, Kor." Was her only reply. This was the girl that trekked across the country for a prank. There would be funny ideas, as inevitably as the sun would set this evening.

 

[Caeso Diemut]

Caeso was a man on a mission. He was aware of Lumen's remark and of Zinnia's rapid exclamation, but he was focused on Aelita. He just rocked slightly when Lumen hip-checked him, but kept his gaze on Aelita and the attire which rightfully belonged to him.

A hint of irritation crept into his voice.

"I do not know how you came to acquire them," he said, "but I know where they are going to end up in the next five minutes."

He glanced over to the Yuna Lager's storeroom. There was a passed out patron there, slumped down in front of the door. He pointed to it (with his free hand).

"There. Change. So that you do not damage your marriage prospects."

Aelita Lumen Zinnia

 

[Soleil Verdane]

Soleil trilled her tongue. "Good idea! Will do. Plenty more."

Maybe she was being serious, and actually would puke on Kor to spite him, or maybe not. It certainly wasn't above her to be intentionally provocative, but she never did anything without some amount of calculation.

It's Soleil, Kor.

"Me," Soleil confirmed with a bright smile, knowing full well that Kor couldn't see it.

She crouched down. Hands lacking perfect precision found the laces to his trousers. "Easy," she said. "No harm. No—"

Soleil puked and it splattered all over the front of Kor's trousers. The worst of it, of course, being right in his most sensitive area.

Kor Zinnia

 

[VigiloConfido]

At this most inopportune time did the door to the Yuna Lager open. A local courier from Vel Yuna himself, an elderly but fit man for his age, was there. As it so happened, he was just the same man as before, when Zael, Kristen, Gaage, Liza, Alistair, and Delaney all found themselves in a similar situation right here a year ago. A prime example of history rhyming.

"Dreadlord Initiates," said the courier. All business. "Your Proctor—"

The first sight he was greeted with was, without context, Soleil crouching in front of Kor, hands on the laces of his pants, fresh vomit running down his trousers.

With a disgusted frown, the courier said, "I'll try again in a moment."

And he stepped out and closed the door.

Lumen Zinnia Ysobel Aelita Kor

 

[Aelita]

“Right,” Aelita flatly replied. A slight hiccup ensued.

After placing her utensils down, Aelita stood up and shuffled – almost stumbling – over to see this passed out patron.

However, the courier entering Yuna Lager grabbed Aelita’s attention. She turned to see the stunned courier, then kept moving her head to see the sight that stunned him.

“Oh, wow.”

After the courier quickly department, Aelita then peeked over to see the patron on the ground. She groaned.

“I... think I can go up the stairs... now,” Aelita told Caeso, “I'll just grab one of my spares. I’ll be right back...”

 

[Ysobel]

For a few minutes, Ysobel ignored whatever else was going around her. She laid back down and prayed that whatever gods there were would be merciful and either end this hangover quickly or get it over with and kill her. Swiftly, please.

Most of whatever was going on went unnoticed as she lay there aside from Soleil vomiting again and some new voice talking about proctors.

The vomiting was fine, but the mere thought of work? At A tImE lIkE tHiS?

Ysobel groaned loudly and forced herself up, lacing her arm with Aelita's and yanking the blonde towards the rooms upstairs. "Great idea. Lets. Go."

To anyone other than Aelita, it would seem Ysobel finally decided she should put on more than a bra and underwear. Aelita, however, would be pulled into the room they were sharing before the little blonde shoved her toward her own belongings and ran for the window, opening it and vomiting.

Much better.

"The fuck?" A man's voice shouted from below.

 

[Kor]

Regret was a harsh mistress.

Zinnia was right, this was Soleil they were talking about, a fact she herself eagerly confirmed before dropping down in front of him. He couldn't see that, but the tugging of the laces on his trousers were confirmation enough. To say it was rather bizzare would be understating it, but Kor didn't really have any other options. Ysobel and Aelita were leaving, Caeso was angry and presumably half naked himself, and Kor didn't trust Zinnia not to faint putting her hands that close to a man's crotch.

It would have been better than what Soleil did.

He felt the torrent of warmth across his nethers and swore sharply, bringing a hand down and wrapping it tightly in the hungover woman's hair (though this likely didn't help with how it would look to whoever it was that had just walked in for a moment.) "Fuck, Soleil! You couldn't have turned your head?" Kor snarled, even as the viscous fluid quickly turned to sand and fell off.

 

[Lumen]

"Thanks Zin," Lumen said quietly as the other girl wrapped her head with a surprising amount of gentleness. That didn't take away from the pounding in it but it was certainly helping to stave off the bleeding. Ysobel and Aelita went upstairs.

Caeso remained a naked statue in the center of the room. Even in the state he was in he had a profound air of righteousness. Must be his noble blood.

Kor and Soliel. Saints.

And the courier. Gone just as quickly.

Standing carefully back up, Lu shouldered her pack back on. A frown as she looked at Zinnia and the strange magical hat that seemed stuck to her head.

"May I try?" Hand reached forward and she went to try and lift it off.

 

[Zinnia]

Welp. That Soleil/Kor interaction went almost exactly how Zinnia had expected it to. Soleil was generally well meaning, but Zinnia had been around her long enough to recognize that she was mischief incarnate. Vomiting on Kor's nethers might not have been her specific intention, but she was bound to do something uncouth down there. She wasn't the type to let opportunities like that pass her by.

The courier popping in was an unfortunate bit of collateral damage that she hadn't accounted for, but oh well. Hopefully he, and everyone else in this room, would eventually be able to put all of this out of their heads.

Aelita, meanwhile, was being uncooperative. That figured.
"W-would someone please just get Caeso something to c-cover up--" Zinnia began, unfortunately distracted from Lumen's attempt to pry the hat from her head until she was already pulling. While Zinnia hadn't been able to get it off herself, she hadn't exactly wanted to either; given present company (that being, any at all) she really didn't want to be totally uncovered. "W-wait, don't!"

To her shock, Lumen did indeed begin to lift the hat from her head. To her even greater shock, however, the hat would shimmer that same bright light it had while previously shifting between forms, only this time it turned itself into some sort of...fluffy...glowing...caterpillar creature...roughly the size of a house cat. The thing made a squealing noise before gripping several of its forelimbs onto the front and top of Zinnia's head, glowing brightly once more, and turning back into a stovepipe hat, now firmly glued to Zinnia's head again.

"...Wh...wha...?" Zinnia mumbled, bewildered.