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"Huh... I was hoping Tereze would be down already... I admit my fears..."
Looking to Gwen, the elf sighed lightly as he poured three more shots and placed them before Gwen, Tereze and himself. "Here we go!"
Downing the next shot...
Shaking his head and clenching his eyes shut for a brief moment, the elf knew he wouldn't last much longer. A moment later he took a deep breath, happily tapping the table to a tune in his head. "Ah-ha! Nothing affects the Lord of Tea!" The elf lied...
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Locke drinks something with a straw, looking at the first round.
It smells like strawberries, to the perceptive.
"Hmm, know what, i'm game for this.
Let's see if lady luck smiles at me today."
Using the straw, Locke drinks the first liquor.
"Hmm, that's a strong fruity flavor. Passion fruit, i think."
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2nd round.
...Locke's shot didn't fall so well. *Cough...cough*
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Gwen grins as the second round is poured and Ery doesn't do as well. Once again she slams her shot glass down bottom-up with a grimace. "I think they must be using regular oak barrels. I think this gentlemen would do well to find something to spice his barrels." She glances at her companions and takes note they seem to be a bit more worse off than she. "Pour it up! Round three, let's go!"
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Watching the shots fly. Ery struggles to keep them pouring. The bottle nearly gone. He order's a second.
Rnd 3
The third shot didn't help the elf much.
"Gwen... You look amazing, Have I ever mentioned that to you before now?"
Setting the shot down, Ery sighed with a laugh and poured himself a shot.
...
"Woo!"
Ery raised the glass up and took to his feet. He slid next to Gwen, placing an arm around her neck. His eyes bore a toasty twinkle.
"Y'know my dear, I'd die for you again." He said, placing a small peck of a kiss on her cheek. With a small, light hearted giggle, Ery collapsed with a smirk on his lips....Ery is first one out.
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"Before ser Urbar takes him out into the rain to wake up, as noted earlier.
Plus we haven't made arrangements on the rooms yet."
Locke gets up and walks up to the tavern keeper.
Maybe surprising (hopefully not scaring) him/her with the multi voice issue, Locke inquires for rooms.
"Pardon, tavern keeper. How many rooms do you still have available for the night? One we will need immediately for our elven friend."
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Round 3
On her third shot, Gwen started to feel the alcohol at work on her and she grins at Ery's cheekiness. "Perhaps once or twice."
Round 4
Gwen's empty stomach allows the alcohol to flow faster through her system and she begins to feel tingly about her fingers and lips. She smiles at Ery when he slides in next to her and turns to look into those intoxicating eyes of his and holds his gaze with a mischievous look in her eyes. She looks almost ready to kiss Ery, but then suddenly she flinches at his statement and stares at him in horror when he collapses onto the tabletop. "I'll take him to the room, alone please." Her speech slurs a bit and she stumbles when she gets to her feet, but all the same she easily lifts the slender elf and begins to carry him to the closest room that the innkeeper indicates. 'Damn fool. Don't ever say such a thing again.'
"Plenty!" the innkeeper tells Locke. "They're all the same, nothing fancy. I'll come with you, to show you which are available."
The innkeeper walks with you and shows you which rooms are available. He goes back to the bar once he's handed over the keys to the rooms.
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Ery, having been hoisted over Gwen's capable shoulder with ease, mumbles lightly a giggle followed by what sounds to be a stifled tone of sorrow. "I'll ensure you never die..." his voice cracked, as if stifling a tear. An arm, albeit meekly, tightened around Gwen's neck in a close hug before he slipped back into his sleepy stupor, a giggle escaping his lips once more.
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"Thank you innkeeper. I don't think you'll have any problems with him sleeping it off."
Locke waits for Gwen to return, before heading down.
"If you yourself need a shoulder to lean against, to get down, just say so. Unless your fortitude is adamantine."
If she says it's fine, Locke just heads down and takes a seat again at the table with Tereze.
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As Ery collapses Urbar turns around and makes ready to take him outside into the awful weather. Gwen is faster though and is already halfway to the rooms by the time he notices what has happened.
"You done now?"
He says as he shakes his head. He finishes his drink and heads upstairs also.
"See you in the morning."
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Locke dreams of past ventures with friends.
Turbulent street dashing and free running across rooftops, running from the guards, but also of the excitement of bombs.
Then comes a flash of the day Locke got drafted, after blowing up a balcony.
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Locke wakes up, sitting upright.
"That...was peculiar, and not too pleasant a dream."
The light of day was modestly creeping through the cracks of the window.
"Ah...time to get down i suppose."
Locke heads downstairs and greets the innkeep, before taking a seat at a table, awaiting the arrival of the others, while daydreaming a bit.
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Gwen takes the keys for both her room and Ery's, then carries the drunken elf to his room. Once there she gingerly lays him down on the modest bed and slips off his footwear. She watches his frail form for a moment while she replays that moment at the sphinx over again in her head... She slumps to the floor, her back against the bed frame, pulls her knees to her chest and cries into her knees so as to not disturb the slumbering Ery. Sometime later she finally cries her last tear and slips into unpleasant dreams still at the foot of Ery's bed...
The Next Morning.
Gwen wakes as the sunrise shines through the window into her face. She squints against the brightness and pulls herself to her feet, feeling quite stiff from sleeping on the hard floor. Her eyes are red and puffy still from the amount of crying, but she looks over at Ery to make sure he was okay. She watches the rise and fall of his chest for a few moments and debates rolling him out of his bed, but decides against it. He deserved a little extra sleep after what he went through to save her; he was different, she saw it. What had he seen during that time? She always wanted to ask him about it, but... what would she say? 'Hey Ery, remember that time you died? What was it like? What did you see before we were finally able to scrounge enough money to force your soul back into your body?' She shook her head. 'Stupid.'
Gwen set Ery's key on the bedside table, gathered her gear, and went into her own room where she dropped her belongings. Once there she noticed a basin and pitcher with tepid water inside. She filled the basin and splashed some of the water on her face and rubbed at her eyes to get some of the salt out of them. She couldn't let the others see her like this. They needed to know she was strong and tough, that she could handle anything. Once she felt she had taken care of everything she headed down into the common room where she found Tereze and Locke already at a table. "Morning. What's it take to get a little bacon and maybe some pancakes around this place?"
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"Mild hang over...Bha!"
Ery chimed in as he slowly stepped down the stairs. His hand was over his eyes, blocking some of the morning light. Order a water and some lighter meal, the elf joined the others, slowly sliding the chair out from the table to avoid terrible grinding noises.
"Well, How much did I have to pay?"[b] He said, placing his money pouch on the table. [b]"I'm only so foolish to know that I was going to loose after shot number two... It all goes black after."
Ery smiled with a short laugh before his stuff arrived. sucking the water down quickly, the elf shook his head then pinched his nose. "Ugh... So much for group gambling."
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Gwen rolls her eyes at Ery. "You only wish. Though it's not too late for me to choke you out with my thighs..." She winks and grins, glad to see a little bit of the old Ery spark shine out.
She looks at Urbar's dirty clothes. "What is your aversion to a soft bed? I don't know that I'll ever understand it. I enjoy being out on the road and in the wild too, but for good sleep there's nothing quite like a soft bed."
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"I'm sure he has his reasons..." the elf said, sipping lightly on a sweet tea he steeped.
He looked over his companions before raising a brow at Gwen. "I don't remember you being in bed, come to think of it." He smirked in as a thought passed through his mind.
"I'm sure I'll get the chance to see your thighs sooner than later."
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Gwen smiles shyly. Gallant. That's a word she had never heard someone use about her before. And then her smile dropped. 'Tomboy. Confused. Freak...' Those she knew well enough, they were almost like old friends. For even in Trunau, where everyone committed to the militia in one way or another, there were those who hated or were frightened by something different... And Gwen was that to some.
She looks around at her traveling companions and smiles again. It didn't matter what those people thought about her; these folks accepts her even with her oddities. Granted... Compared to the others... She suddenly laughs aloud as she watches Locke eating pancakes through a mask, Urbar's dirty clothes and disdain for his own kind, Fiona's utter lack of confidence, Ery's tea among many others, and Tereze with her self-imposed exile... Gwen fit in well. She would do anything to keep them safe, and not simply because that was her job as a member of the Swords, but because she loves them all dearly, quirks and all.