exsiliumlogs | [OPEN] LOOKIN FOR SOME TROUBLE 2NIGHT

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[OPEN] LOOKIN FOR SOME TROUBLE 2NIGHT

Date & Time: 12/31 evening - 01/01 early morning NEW YEARS YEAAHHH
Location: ALL AROUND THE CITY WE'RE BARCRAWLIN BABY
Characters: Bariyan e Kodhi (

stonefaith), Koltira Deathweaver (

deadelfwalking), and YOU.
Summary: drunk undead men assault the island
Warnings: n/a except for zombie drunkards

[ HERE ARE TWO UNDEAD MEN. IT IS NEW YEAR'S EVE, OR MAYBE IT'S BECOME NEW YEAR'S ALREADY. THEY ARE NOT SURE. THEY ARE BOTH EXTREMELY DRUNK.

They've been drinking their way through the city, bar to liquor store back to bar again, to any alcohol-selling establishment still open at this point in time, or gate crashing parties in search of booze. They are wandering all over the goddamn place. You might run into them entering a bar, or exiting it (possibly unwillingly, and possibly via the window in Bariyan's case). Maybe you turn a corner and walk smack into them. Maybe you hear them getting into a fight a few blocks ahead. MAYBE YOU GET INTO A FIGHT WITH THEM (NOT THE SUGGESTED COURSE OF ACTION).

Basically, Koltira and Bariyan are having a grand time of it and WOULD BE EXTREMELY PLEASED IF YOU JOINED IN. ]

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[Koltira's shouting something in Thalassian that roughly translates to 'son of a motherless ogre' as he and Bariyan are forced out of yet another bar. Why is everyone so crazily prejudiced against the undead lately? Couldn't have anything to do with the recent zombie invasion ...

He takes a swing at the guy nearest him, but the surge of the crowd is too much, and soon both he and Bariyan are unceremoniously shoved back onto the street. Koltira is about to turn and shrug the whole thing off, but then he spots a small, familiarly glowing figure coming up the sidewalk.

Oh no, oh no, no no no no. Koltira's felt ambivalent about many of their run-ins so far, but his response to seeing Martin is clear and immediate: get away. He glances back at the still incredibly hostile bar.]

I ... think I may have left my coin purse in there.

[Given the choice between a roomful of people who really don't want him around--and are probably keen to show it physically--and the child whose father-figure Koltira so recently battered to a pulp, Koltira is going to pick the former without hesitation. He moves to step back into the bar.]

[ Bariyan left the bar muttering curses and trying to see if there was a knife embedded into his back or not (fortunately, there wasn't), but he brightens up as soon as he spots the small figure rounding the corner. In fact, the scowl fairly evaporates from his face, replaced by a grin. ]

Hey--

[ only then Koltira tries to draw away. Bariyan frowns and grabs Koltira's arm, tugging him back. ]

Hey. Not worth it. You'll tear them apart if you go in there again. I'll pay you back whatever you lose. [ he cheers up again. ] We ought to go say hello to Martin.

[Martin stops a little late, staring without understanding while the drunken pair shift and move with opposing intent.

he can barely understand the look on Koltira's face, and even less Bariyan's. it has to be...fatigue. or the funny way lamplight plays off bar windows or the slightly moist concrete below.

fatigue. that's it.

he can't really understand them – the distance remaining, their drunken state...fatigue? something.

fatigue is a funny feeling in his gut. right?

~~NO SON THAT'S DREAD; REMEMBER THAT ONE?~~]

[Damn it, Bariyan; he was just lying as an excuse to get the hell out of there. Koltira shakes his head in response, trying to pull away from Bariyan's grasp.]

You go on. I'll wait.

[ Frown. All right, then.... Bariyan slowly lets go. He points a finger at Koltira, meaningfully. ]

Don't go back inside. We're not welcome there. Wait for me. Right here.

[ Then he brushes himself off, and strides off towards Martin. Once he reaches the boy, he places both hands on Martin's shoulder and looks down at him. ]

You're out. [ a beat. uh. there'd been more to that sentence. ] Late. [ right, there it is. ]

[the confusion is late to his face, still gawking numbly as Bariyan approached. contact, at least, seems to tune him back in, and he looks a little surprised, lifting his head up and blinking.

the face Bariyan wears is more familiar, and that's a start. but what is he talking about? late...]

–Oh. [right.] Yes... [his gaze starts to trail toward Koltira without thinking, even as he talks.] I was only...[there's a lapse before he looks back up. only...?] Looking for the. The snow, when there was...[he shakes his head a little, losing the dazed look.] Remember? I was just seeing if there was any left anywhere.

[Ah, the snow. Koltira's not so far away that he can't hear their conversation, and Martin's words remind him that he used the Horn of Winter to call forth some snowfall just a few days ago. His fingers brush against the horn, which still hangs from his belt--he's never without it, because it's one of the few things he can draw on in the absence of Byfrost.

Surreptitiously, he puts the horn to his lips, and breathes out just a little. It's not enough to call down a storm, but a few random snow flurries do suddenly dance down the street ...]

[ Bariyan shakes his head. ] I didn't see it. [ Either he hasn't seen any snow today, or he has no idea what Martin's talking about. Anyone's guess as to which of those he actually means.

Except then a few white flakes blow past them. Bariyan blinks; the color is pure and stark enough to catch his attention. He immediately turns around to blink at Koltira. ]

[Martin bites down on the reply he had partway out of his mouth, confused by Bariyan's sudden confusion.

it takes a second for him to realize why, and he startles.]

How–? [a beat.

he looks toward Koltira, as Bariyan does, and stares. he doesn't really get why, but there's something very...affirmed in him? something very certain, past the physical impulses telling him to feel worry in his gut and under his skin.]

[Koltira lets the spell go on for a few more seconds before he notices both Martin and Bariyan looking in his direction, at which point he quickly drops both the horn and his hand back to his belt. Several more flurries swirl around him and down the street, carrying light, shimmering snowfall with them. He turns away, shoulders hunched.]

[ Bariyan continues to stare at Koltira, though he reaches out and puts his hand on Martin's shoulder, pulling the boy to him. He's not yet sober, but this moment is speeding the process along. The silence is bothering him, as is Martin's behavior -- a little too reminiscent of the way he was before.

The last of the snow drifts past them. A few flakes catch on Bariyan's bare hands and arms, lingering. They do not melt.

Bariyan squeezes Martin's shoulder. ]

Do you want to go say hello?

[he looks up quickly at Bariyan only at the question, looking briefly lost.

say hello? but...

he looks back toward Koltira, the hunched, unhappy figure. This is who hurt Bariyan, he thinks. But Bariyan has told me not to resent him.

and now the both of them are there, and, if Martin listens well (he doesn't), he can hear the dimming ruckus they left behind before he found them.

If I go and he stays, is Koltira going to hurt him again?

it almost, almost feels like an out-of-place thing to even wonder. but Martin's already begun to move, even in wondering, and stops a few feet away from the elf.

Koltira was suffering at the palace, he thinks. And he... he squints at his back. didn't he help somehow?

no, he's sure he did. he can't really see it in his head, but he can feel it, all muddled up with the broken things.

he doesn't get to an actual hello, then; just a silent, confused stare, only broken by the need to blink a little bit of snow away from his eye.]

[This was not what Koltira wanted to happen at all. He steps back as Martin approaches, emotionally paralyzed by his shame and guilt. The child looks so uncertain, so unhappy, and it's more than Koltira can bear. The sight of it cuts through any other feeling--any warmth from the alcohol swimming in his veins, any agitation at the bar they had just left behind, any sense of camaraderie with the man who had brought him out tonight.

He shouldn't have sent that initial message, he thinks. He should not have come here. This is not where he belongs--not that such a place even exists.

He murmurs, 'I'm sorry'. He takes another step back, turns around again. He's going.]

[ Oh, damn it. This isn't what Bariyan wanted either.

He strides off after Martin and Koltira only when he sees Koltira start leaving. He pauses when he reaches Martin first. ]

Hold on. Give us a moment.

[ Then he runs to catch up with Koltira. His footsteps echo loudly, stopping when he draws almost level with the other man. Bariyan reaches out to catch him by the arm. ]

Are you all right?

[his feet stop, just partway through a slight turn – to turn and move backward. Bariyan said hold on, though, and the words glue Martin to the spot.

Koltira's leaving. Koltira's suffering. Koltira hurt Bariyan. Koltira won't look at me.

Martin tilts a hand, staring down at it, vexed. Bariyan's voice washes out last – that's the proper order – while he gets sucked into his own thoughts, standing there, trying to puzzle out what is happening.

What is happening?]

[Koltira's arm is caught, but he doesn't meet Bariyan's gaze. His body is turned away, facing down the sidewalk, down the path out of the city.]

I should not have come here. I had ... no right.

[No right to be among these people. No right to go near this child.]

Don't speak like that. [ Pleading, where he might have sounded cross if he were sober. Or in earlier times. ] I asked you to come out here. That's right enough.

Martin.... [ He stops to look back at Martin. He still doesn't fully understand what's happening here; his mind's having a hard time catching up. But it's clear enough that Martin's unsure about Koltira, which, compared to his attitude towards Koltira before, is already worrying in and of itself. He sighs, squeezing Koltira's arm. ] You may have to give him some time.

[I asked you to come out here.

Martin feels another twinge, a prickle on his neck, watching the both of them.]

It's fine. [he doesn't even realize he's speaking right away, so loud. it startles him a little.]

I'll go back. [out of the way.] Back to the room.

[except his feet remain glued to the spot. Bariyan told him to wait.]

[He shakes off Bariyan's hold, then, steps back. Shakes his head as he looks from Bariyan to Martin and back again. No, this is wrong. And it's his fault. He never should have left the lake.]

Yes. He can have all the time he requires.

[Koltira bows his head.] Go on to him, Bariyan. He needs you.

[ He follows Koltira's gaze back to Martin, feeling a pang at Martin's words. No... that's not what he wants either, gods. This is awful. What is he supposed to do?

He sighs. No matter what, it seems the night's over. He'll deal with the rest later, then.

Bariyan holds out a hand to Martin -- keep waiting -- an turns back to Koltira. ]

Thank you for coming out tonight. Despite... [ The corner of Bariyan's mouth quirks upwards. Well, despite quite a lot, in light of tonight's events. He holds out his other hand to Koltira. ] I'll see you soon, then. [ half-question, half-statement. ]

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[OPEN] LOOKIN FOR SOME TROUBLE 2NIGHT

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