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.

 

[Caeso Diemut]

Caeso half-expected Aelita to put up some sort of contention against the rightful returning of his pants, if only to be contrarian in service to whatever mischievous demon seemingly, on occasion, whispered sly suggestions of the sort into her ear. Color him surprised. Color him even more surprised when Ysobel was able to peel herself up off of the floor with enough stability to assist her up the stairs. Maybe Ysobel could manage to put on some actual clothes while she was at it.

Not all went so well. That courier got an eyeful of Initiates all in the worst possible state of affairs—and it wasn't just Kor and Soleil.

Caeso's attention, while he awaited the delivery of his pants, drifted over to Zinnia, Lumen, and the hat. And if somehow it had gone elsewhere, it would have been drawn that way regardless once the bright light radiated.

And from...the squeal of the...momentary insectoid creature?

"Zinnia," Caeso said flatly. "Where on Arethil did you come by that hat?"

A rhetorical question more than actual.

Aelita Ysobel Zinnia Lumen

 

[Soleil Verdane]

Soleil didn't seem all that bothered by the fistful of her hair that was solidly grasped by an upset Kor. She just looked up at Kor with doe-like eyes and a placid smile and said, "Good catch!"

Apparently congratulating Kor on catching her vomit with his crotch.

"Still have pants problem," Soleil said. "Trust Lumen instead?"

Kor Lumen

 

[Aelita]

Before Aelita could have the opportunity to fulfill Caeso’s expectations, Ysobel dragged her upstairs. Aelita wobbled a bit as Ysobel yanked her around.

“S..low down,” Aelita mumbled.

But she could do nothing until Ysobel and her were in the shared room.

Aelita silently stood by and watched Ysobel rush toward the window to relieve her stomach of its contents.

Following that, Aelita walked up to Ysobel – taking steps as if she was balancing on a tightrope. As she passed by one of the bunks, Aelita swiped a white shirt belonging to a third, not present person.

Once close enough to Ysobel, Aelita tried to keep the fellow blonde’s hair out of her face. She presented the shirt to Ysobel – a perfect substitute for a napkin.

“Here.”

 

[Ysobel]

Ysobel let her head hang out of the window, staring down at the victim of her projectile vomiting. He stared up at her. She stared. He stared. If it hadn't have been for Ysobel lurching forward again- this time not missing his big bald head, they could have stared at each other in confusion for hours.

He looked much more angry this time.

Thank the heavens for Aelita holding her hair back and giving her what looked like one of Zinnia's shirts to wipe her face.

"Thanks." She grabbed it and wiped her face before dropping it out to the man below as an apology. Yes it was covered in vomit, but so was he. Far as she was concerned, it was better than nothing. She flipped around with her back to the wall and stumbled over to her own belongings, rummaging through the bag for anything to cover herself with.

"Empty?" She shook the thing upside down. 2 silver coins fell out, but there was a serious lack of anything else she brought with her. "We've been robbed...?"

 

[Kor]

Lumen? She seemed rather busy over by Zinnia, but whatever it was they were doing... Hells, of all the situations to be blind in, a fucking hangover was quickly rising up the list to the worst of them. How was he supposed to get his bearings if he couldn't fucking see?

Soleil had allegedly tried to rectify his primary issue, but her words suggested she'd given up for whatever reason, and from the way her head tilted in his grasp he could tell she was looking up at him with that vacant smile of hers. It begged the question of how somebody made of magical sand could get drunk or be hungover, but with Sol's track record he wouldn't like the answer, assuming she even had one.

Releasing his grip on her hair, Kor brought two fingers up to his mouth.

"The hell with this. I have to try."

He blew sharply against his fingers, whistling for his Raven. It was more than likely that the building was closed off, leaving him waiting fruitlessly, but on the off chance there was any way in, say, a window left open...

Above, in the room where Ysobel and Aelita recovered, Repent would heed his master's call, the mass of black feathers rocketing into the room through the still-open window with agitated caws, flapping noisily to the closed door and angrily clawing at the wooden surface in attempt to reach Kor.

At least, that's what it tried to do.

It arrived just as Ysobel was examining the mostly empty bag, colliding with and screeching as he flew into the bag, immediately panicking with the jerky, crazed movements one would expect from an animal suddenly caught in an enclosed space.

 

[Lumen]

Lumen snatched her hand back at the sudden ‘hat’s’ change. “I don’t think it’s a hat,” she murmured. A glance over her shoulder as she slid from the booth she shared with Zinnia. Bandaged head shook in Sol’s direction.

Striding to a chair, she dragged it over to the door and flung the door open. Ignoring the face of the man who had left disgusted as she used the chair to prop that door open. Not knowing Kor’s bird was fluttering upstairs.

A second man rounded the corner with vomit and a shirt covered with vomit on his head. He glared at her as he continued down the street.

Shrugging, she turned back to the others. “Kor, the door is open. Zinnia,” hand scooped a few stale nuts from a bowl as she held her hand flat and offered them to the hat.

“Maybe we can get it off with treats?”

 

[Zinnia]

Zinnia's eyes went wide in a mix of confusion and horror as Caeso acknowledged the...uh...predicament? that she'd somehow managed to land herself in. Rhetorical or not, she'd answer the question.
"I d-don't know!" She blurted out. "We got h-here, we s-started drinking, and then everyth-thing after that is just one b-big blur!"

Around her was chaos. Everything was getting difficult to keep track of at this point, hangover notwithstanding. Lumen's comment about the nature of the thing on her head wasn't lost on her.
"Well it isn't n-not a hat...it's kinda b-both? Um..."

The thing seemed to shiver atop her head as Lumen stretched her hand out toward it. The problem at the moment was that this creature was the only thing keeping Zinnia covered. She didn't necessarily want it gone until she'd recovered her precious hood.
"I th-think you might be s-stressing it out, Lulu," Then again, with how hectic the Yuna Lager was right now, what wasn't stressful? "M-maybe I'll coax it off in a b-bit...it isn't h-hurting me, I don't think..."

 

[Caeso Diemut]

This tavern was full of mysteries, was it not? Mysteries and an assortment of foul stenches. Anyway, slot Zinnia's newly acquired and certainly odd hat into that mix. He wondered briefly what would be better: finding out where the hat had come from, or not finding out, letting Vel Yuna's secrets stay secret.

Lumen made a bid to help with the hat. As for Caeso, while waiting for Aelita to return with his pants liberated from her legs, his gaze drifted over to Kor and he gathered from the whistle and the open door that Kor was trying to get one of his birds in here to see. Because of course he was. Because of course Soleil's inane whims proved to be of no help for his predicament.

So Caeso went over. He allowed himself an excuse from his aversion to brutishness and roughly shoved Soleil out of the way. Briefly Caeso used both hands to take hold of Kor's trouser laces and tie them firm and snug.

"There," he said, covering himself again with his hand. "You're presentable enough now among this ragged company."

And with his free hand he clapped Kor's arm.

Kor Lumen Zinnia

 

[Soleil Verdane]

Soleil went tumbling back when Caeso shoved her (he had mashed her face with one of his big hands and all but tossed her away!). She went rolling on the ground and the world was spinning and she was hiccupping and at last she was laid out on her back. Her hungover mind didn't appreciate all of that jostling.

"Your name? Not Lumen," she mumbled to herself.

One day, when the opportunity came, she wanted to kill Caeso and make it good.

 

[Aelita]

Aelita patted Ysobel on the back as she vomited all over a poor soul.

Once that was done, Aelita wandered over to her rucksack. She picked it up to place it on a bed before rummaging through it. Ysobel caught her attention with claims of being robbed.

“Robbed? Weren’t you-“

And before Aelita could finish her sentence, Kor’s Repent flew through the window and into Ysobel’s empty bag.

“What in Anireth’s name!” Aelita bellowed.

Clutching her own back, Aelita swung it down upon Ysobel’s bag to crush the apparent vermin that stormed into the room.

CRACK

Regardless of the fate of Repent, Aelita would then see a red, sweet-smelling liquid begin to ooze through the seams of her backpack.

“Oh no...”

 

[Ysobel]

"Huh-" Ysobel looked up at Aelita, screaming and ducking in fear of more birds swarming them. When it became apparent that it was an isolated attack, she crawled up to look at whatever the blonde was saying saying "oh no" to.

She picked up the bag and peeled back the opening to have a peek. Black feathers. "Oh no..." She looked up at Aelita and tossed the bag at her. "Oh my god. Repent. Dead. What did you do?" She whisper-shouted at her, each word faster than the next. "What do we do?"

Oh god. Oh god. OH GOD.

She was just woke up. She was still unclothed. And now she was an accomplice to A MURDER.

She frantically searched for something to help them, but after several minutes looked back towards the window and walked over to it. It was only the second story, how bad could it hurt to jump? "There's a river nearby, yeah? What if we just, you know..." She mimed throwing the bag as she began to climb out the window. "Then we can come back. Nothing ever happened. Kor doesn't kill us. And we just live with this on our conscience for the rest of our lives?"

Aelita

 

[Kor]

For the briefest of moments, Kor felt his oldest, most trusted companion's presence near enough for him to connect to. Their minds entwined and Repent became his eyes once more, the soft glow from Kor's blind orbs a telltale sign of the magic taking effect. A wave of relief came over him, as sight would be returned to him any moment now...

Nothing, just black. He checked... no, they were definitely connected. What was happening? Where was--

CRACK

Kor roared in pain, tumbling back onto the barstool he leaned on and falling over it as the connection was forcefully severed. The initiate lay in a stunned heap as the throbbing pain in his skull ruled his body, his hands desperately grasping at his skull through waves of unkempt hair, as if trying to claw his own brain out. The agony was more intense than any wound he'd ever sustained, and it radiated with the beat of his rapid heart.

He knew what it meant. He'd learned very early on in his studies of the magic he used that the harm or death of those he bound himself to also affected him. It was a weakness of the technique, but one he could avoid suffering from if careful enough. When the Raven had been struck, Kor had felt every bone that snapped, every drop of blood lost, every aching inch of his friend's body as though it had been his own.

It took an excruciating minute, but soon the connection was fully severed, and Kor reached for whatever he could find to pull himself to his feet. The severing hadn't sent him into shock, which meant Repent likely hadn't died, only been badly hurt.

With a grimace as he used the bar to pull himself to stand once more, he began to feel his way to the stairs without a word, naught but rage on his face.

Repent may not be dead, but Kor wouldn't say the same for whoever had just done that to the only creature that had ever truly cared for him. Reaching to his whistles, Kor handpicked several as he crawled up the stairs.

His flock were due a surprise meal.

 

[Lumen]

In a thousand years, she never would've bet that Caeso would've tied up another man's pants.

Especially after potato-gate.

A quick frown at his treatment of Soliel. Hands fell to her hips as she stared the noble down. "Really?"

"Okay Zinnia," she sighed and let the stale nuts drop from her hand. Was Zinnia worried about a bad hair day or something? As long as the strange magical hat creature wasn't hurting her...she'd leave her attempts to get it off.

"Kor!" Alarm at his sudden collapse of pain. Had Caeso tied his pants too tight? Then he was up and crawling up the stairs. "What is going on? Here. Let me at least help you up the stairs." Leaving Zinnia's side, she quickly went up the stairs to meet him where he crawled, attempting to place one of his hands on her shoulder, an arm would snake around his waist as they might walk together.

 

[Aelita]

Aelita lifted up her bag. Red liquid seeping through its seams. She opened it to inspect the insides as Ysobel examined her own bag.

“My wine...” Aelita pouted, “My clothes...”

But then Aelita heard Ysobel saying something something Repent.

“Repent? What?” Aelita questioned as she looked into Ysobel’s bag.

Then Ysobel continued talking.

“What are you...”

More words until Aelita heard Kor’s name.

“Wait, Kor? Is this one of his birds?” Aelita questioned with a raised brow.

Aelita rubbed her temples.

“You sure this is Kor’s? Why’d it fly in the room like this?!” Aelita questioned.

Reaching into the bag, Aelita touched Repent and felt its pulse.

Attempting to grab the bag, Aelita told Ysobel, “Forget the river! You remember where the stables are?”

 

[Zinnia]

Well...at least Zinnia didn't have to worry about being uncovered for the moment. Hopefully the creature presently glued to the top of her head was, in fact, benign and not in the process of draining her mental faculties...or something.

For now it seemed Kor was on the warpath, though for what Zinnia had no idea. Given that he seemed to be headed up after Aelita and Ysobel, Zinnia could only assume that the former had gotten herself into some form of trouble. She seemed to have a knack for it. Lumen was on Kor's tail, which just left Zinnia, Soleil, and Caeso on the base floor.

Zinnia sighed, mostly in a futile attempt to vent some of her anxiety.
"S-Soleil..." She breathed, already regretting enlisting the particulate popsy. Desperate times and all that. "C-could you please h-help Caeso and m-me find something to c-cover up with?"

She paused, then amended the request. Her interaction with Kor proved that asking things of Soleil was not unlike a monkey's paw.
"C-clothes, preferably...ones that f-fit, even."