Closed [Springwater Fountain] Mutterings of a Drunk (Engghaen)

[Brandon Blackwing]

The 57th of Fall 513AV ~ Midnight The door of the tavern opened and the foot of a man appeared. Stepping into the small rectangle of light the inside of the tavern cast on the streets, the shape of the man’s shadow became visible. A cape clung to his back, a black scarf wrapped around his neck. The man’s face was ornamented with a pleasant grin. His pupils were far larger than usual, his breath carried an odour of wheat beer in it. Taking a wobbly step forward as the door closed behind him, the thief had trouble keeping his balance. Earlier tonight he’d decided to pay The Scholar’s Demise a visit. He hadn’t had a reason to go, but he hadn’t had one not to go either. So in the end he’d gone to the famous tavern. Just to have fun, maybe get his hands on the coin pouch of a drunk present at the bar. He hadn’t had the time to do so, since he’d ordered half a pitcher of wheat beer and had discovered he couldn’t really hold his liquor. He didn’t mind though, as drunk as he was now he felt pretty good. His mood had improved quite a bit, from his usual demeanour to a jolly one. He’d been singing drinking songs with the rest of the tavern’s patrons. A Svefra had been performing and brought a wide variety of sailor’s songs, which were very appealing to the audience. The lyrics had been simple and easy to remember. Accompanied by a merry tune, the song had been sticking in the bat’s head since he’d left The Scholar’s Demise. In fact, the tune was bouncing against the edges of his skull so wildly that he had no choice but to sing it. “What will we do with a drunken sailor? What will we do with a drunken sailor? What will we do with a drunken sailor? Early in the morning! Way hay and up she rises, Way hay and up she rises, Way hay and up she rises, Early in the morning! Shave his belly with a rusty razor, Shave his belly with a rusty razor, Shave his belly with a rusty razor, Early in the morning! Way hay and up she rises, Way hay and up she rises, Way hay and up she rises, Early in the morning!” His throat was hoarse from the many catchy songs he’d been singing, and the words coming out of it sounded rough and almost like a hissing of some sort. Almost. Singing the jolly song, the bat walked trough the streets swaying from side to side. Making weird wild gestures with both his arms while singing, he must have been quite a sight to the other people out on the streets. Fortunately for him, there weren’t much people out since it was midnightrest. Looking up to the sky, the thief ceased his singing and gazed at the night sky, astonished by the beauty of Leth’s kingdom. The clear weather dyed the heavens a dark blue, the few clouds looking majestic and the moon itself seemed to glow brighter than usual. A good night for a stroll! the thief thought. He continued his way, doing his best to walk straight forward. It seemed he succeeded in that task, but that was just an illusion. Too him it seemed as if he was walking in a straight line, but to anyone else saw what was really going on. In reality the bat was zigzagging through the crystal city’s streets and alleys as if there were numerous obstacles blocking his path. Brandon strolled through Lhavit aimlessly, taking a turn whenever he liked it, and often just made a U-turn and walked back the way he came for a while, oblivious to this fact. Eventually, he arrived at the shinyama peak. He’d failed to notice he’d crossed the bridge to the other peak. When he realised where he was he simply shrugged. It didn’t matter where he was going anyway. The bat didn’t have a particular destination in mind, and didn’t care if he’d been striding through the streets all night. He started singing again. Well, the noise he produced sounded more like raspy lisping than what one would consider to be a song. In his drunkenness, the bat didn’t care though. He was having a lot of fun and that was what truly mattered. The song he was singing now was a different sailor’s song the Svefra had played earlier this evening. This song was stuck in his head as well. Singling happily, he arrived at the Springwater Square. “Fifteen men on a dead man's chest Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum Drink and Rhysol had done for the rest Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.” The square, oh so crowded by day, was deserted under Leth’s gazing stare. The relaxing cobbling of the water being churned in the reservoir of the fountain was a pleasure for Brandon’s ears. He started skipping, jumping from one foot to the other merrily, he darted towards the source of the sound. Still shouting out the lyrics of the song with his hoarse throat . ” There was chest on chest of Mizaharian gold With a ton of plate in the middle hold And the cabins riot of stuff untold, And they lay there that took the plum With sightless glare and their lips struck dumb…” A long and high whistle followed the words when he laid eyes on the colossus manufactured from the precious skyglass. The magnificent figures hurling jets of water skywards, never to return to the earth again. The thief wondered how that was possible but gave up soon, his drunken thoughts preferring to sing and ‘dance’. Which was what he did. “And a yo ho ho!” Songs : The first song: - The second song: To ElysiumIf you should ever drop by for whatever reason, I changed the Lyrics of the song so they'd match the mizahar theme. So I changed 'devil' to 'Rhisol' for obvious reasons and 'spanish' to 'mizaharian'.

[Engghaen]

Engghaen

Engghaen yawned slightly. She had not been up this late since ages. At least, if you did not count her cat form. It was not possible while travelling. Travelling by day, sleeping by night. No nightly trips to go and look at the moon. Which she was doing now. If she could just climb up a building and sit there, looking at the starry gaze above..

The people here were inside, or in one of the taverns, drinking until they stumbled outside singing drunken man's songs. The cat smiled at the thought. What was it again, something like "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum". And they would sing it the whole evening, and then forget where their home was and stay on the streets. It happened a lot in some places. Good she did not drink herself. Of course, but not in taverns. Made her dizzy. And you could not walk straight. Chance was big you did something you would regret the day afterwards. Well, you would regret drinking anyway.

She sighed. The ground was getting hard, maybe she could put up her tent and go sleep. She crawled up from the dirt she had been sitting on and watching the moon. She brushed it off her pants and the cat walked in slow paces to the way she had been coming from, which was apparently the middle of the place. From that direction, there was a remarkable sound coming her way.

"And a yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!" Or, in this case, it sounded more like a cat screeching. She laughed. Not just a giggle, but a horrible, big laugh. Arms folded to her chest, curled down, she could not control the laughter spitting out of her mouth. The cat took a deep breath and straightened her back. A hand for her mouth made sure she did not start laughing all over again. The cat smiled at the guy. "Hey, mate. I think you should go home, before you crash into something."

[Brandon Blackwing]

Suddenly, a loud outburst of laughter came his way. The bat’s clouded mind couldn’t really tell where it came from though. Frowning, wrinkles spread over his forehead. He didn’t know where it came from, so weren’t his brains just toying with him? He shrugged, his smile widened. Caring, he did not. Singing, that he did. Dancing too. Jumping around on his left leg, he wildly swung his arms around and switched legs every few ticks. The laughing sound was still there. His forehead wrinkled and his ears did all they could to locate the source. The rasping sounds coming from his throat did not allow that though. If he really wanted to find the person laughing at him, he should stop his chanting. That, he didn’t like. So kept going, throwing his arms around wildly and bouncing up and down as if he was standing on hot charcoals with his bare feet. Then, when spinning in place, he saw her. Curled down, her arms wrapped around her stomach, emitting the sound he’d been hearing since he’d stopped here. He ceased his song, cutting it off in the middle of a verse. He gave the girl a questioning look. And started pumping his arms up and down while swaying left to right, bending and stretching his knees while he was at it. He quit the weird movements when he was getting tired. He wobbled in the general direction of the girl, who had been able to regain control over her lips. She looked at him while holding a hand in front of her mouth. Brandon found her quite attractive. She was almost as tall as he was. Her skin had a beautiful pale tone which created a nice contrast with her long black hair. He noticed he really like her hair, the color, the way it covered one of her eyes… I wonder which color they are. Maybe violet. It would suit her, I think. He just had to go and talk to her. Then she started to talk, her voice enchanting him, pulling him in. Dumbstruck he simply stood there, not moving at all. Her lips moved and a simple line rolled over them. “Hey mate. I think you should go home, before you crash into something." Her voice sounded like silver bells, jingling softly, moved by a warm spring breeze. He gave her an awkward smile. He hadn’t listened to her words at all, he’d just heard the skyglass sound of her voice. Bran waved at her. Doddering towards the girl, he managed to get one foot stuck behind the other, resulting in him slamming onto the ground. Slightly confused why the floor suddenly bumped into him, he shook his head, his grey hairs swinging in the same direction with it. Laying on the floor, he could see the boots of the girl, standing a couple metres away. Hoisting himself up, he got somewhat back to his feet. With surprising swiftness for someone in his drunk state, he crossed the distance between the two of them in mere ticks. He himself wasn’t amazed at all, he was the great acrobatic enigmatic mysterious elusive handsome master thief of Lhavit after all. He smirked and ran a hand trough his long mane. He grabbed the girl’s left hand with his right and bended his upper body down to plant a kiss on it. He’d heard somewhere that it was a knightly thing to do, and quite popular with the females. Maybe he should let go of her hand now… He’d been holding it longer then necessary. He did just that. Letting her fingers slip out of his palm, he straightened up and took in her fair facial features. Her eyes shone a bright blue, something he hadn’t been able to see from afar. The corners of his mouth curled up in a smile, his dark orbs covered by his eyelids falling down. His arms lifted themselves up, trying to pull her into a hug.

[Engghaen]

The cat watched the man and stood a bit helpless with his clumsy actions. Was she supposed to help him..? Laugh at him? Walk past? Why did she have to deal with this? He wasn't that bad though. Horribly drunk. But apart from that, he was fine. Sort of. She smiled at the man and as soon as he came closer, she could feel her cheeks go red. "Engghaen is the name. Nice to meet you." That was just too formal, but she said it, anyway. She didn't expect him to kiss her hand and took the opportunity to look at him closely. He was covered in black, a bit taller then herself. He had very dark eyes, almost black. They didn't look human, so she assumed he had to be Kelvic. She realised he was still holding her hand tightly. The cat softly pulled her left hand back from his grip and stared at him. "I... Take that as a 'yes miss'? Come on, go home, to bed, and curse yourself tomorrow morning. I have no idea what you had to celebrate and who you are, and I don't think I want to know." The girl gave a smirk when the man was standing there with open arms, it was quite a funny sight. To not reject his invitation, she stepped forward and curled his arms around him in a hug.

[Brandon Blackwing]

Brandon’s heart started racing and pumped his blood faster and faster through the maze of veins in his body. The girl had accepted his hug and came closer, allowing him to curl his arms around her frame, while she did the same. He smile grew wider. He enjoyed this snug closeness. He let his chin rest on her shoulder, softly starting to whisper in her ear. “You know, I don’t want to go home yet. I want to stay here a bit longer. With you…” Even in his clouded state, part of him was questioning what he was saying. His lips moved on, forming word after word, letting everything flow right out of his mouth and into her ear. His grip on her tightened a bit. He wouldn’t let her go. Not now. He was telling her important stuff. She had to listen. “I like your eye.” he started. “They’re so blue-ish blue. Nothing is bluer then your lovely eye.” In his ears it sounded like the best compliment a girl could receive. Well, now it did. He loosened his grip, freeing the girl and took a step back. This way he could see her better. He stretched an arm out, raising her chin slightly upwards with his index finger. “You’re soft…” he murmured in surprise. What did she say her name was again? Engg-something. Enggy? He nodded slightly. He’d call her that for now. He tested how the name rolled off his tongue. “Enggy” He broke the contact by retracting his finger, but not to far. He stroked her long black hair out of the way so he could take a look at her other orb. “It’s also blue…I thought it would be violet. It would suit you. I think.” “You know, I…You’re pretty cute. Actually, you’re pretty and cute. I think so anyway. Not that…” He frowned what was it he wanted to say again? He couldn’t remember. He shrugged ever so slightly. He rubbed his hands nervously and shifted his stance uncomfortably. What he wanted to say was possible to turn into a disaster. If sober he wouldn’t have proceeded, but mustering up the courage from the alcohol in his blood, he continued. “Would you like to…no…Can I…no…” He scratched his scalp looking for the words he couldn’t find. “I’ve fallen for you, I think. Twice. First when I saw you and then…” He frowned, doing his best to access his memory. “And then when I fell for you!” To him it made perfect sense. For other people…less. “So, would you mind if I…like…gave you a kiss? Or something?” He stood there timidly, his arms dangling at his sides, his dark orbs sparkling with innocence. He gazed at the girl pleadingly. He gave her a faint smile. He hoped she’d say yes. Of course she’ll say yes. I am really handsome after all. In his imagination he ran his hand through his gray locks while striking a macho pose. And I do recall being dubbed ‘the God’s gift to all women’.

[Engghaen]

Engghaen grinned and listened to his wobbly voice. You could hear he was trying his best. It wasn't his fault. I think. 'Enggy'. It was almost something to laugh about again, but Engghaen could stop herself from laughing. It was fine, I guess. It sounded like my name. She grabbed his hand after he pulled back. She didn't want him to let go. She stared at him, patiently waiting what he was trying to say. It sounded quite cute. Eventually she said: "I don't know if it's the alcohol or if you're always like this, but you have courage. " She fumbled her shirt, inspecting her boots. She thought. The cat wasn't used to things like this. She never even.. What was he doing to her? She lost track of everything, normally she was organised... She realised she was still starting at her boots and she looked up. "I... Err... I mean, I wouldn't mind... I think.."

[Brandon Blackwing]

The girl stared down at her boots, closely inspecting them. Was something interesting happening down there? He copied her behaviour and stared at her boots too. He could see they were made of leather. He couldn’t make out if they were brown or black in color, but it didn’t really matter, did it? Done with the brief boot observation, he shifted his gaze back at the young woman in front of him. Her hands were fumbling with the edges of her shirt. He frowned. Was she…nervous? Was it his fault? It could be. Maybe his handsomeness was too much for her. He grinned. Feeling the pressure the silence had left on them, he tried to think of something to lighten the mood. His eyebrows almost met each other in the middle of his forehead because his frown got deeper. He decided he’d introduce himself first. He didn’t already do that, did he? He didn’t remember doing it anyway. How rude of him! Enggy had done so, but he hadn’t. He shrugged. Then he’d do it now. The bat opened his mouth to speak, although the words coming out of it were pronounced strangely and hard to understand. Not to him of course. “I probably haven’t introduced myself yet to you, Enggy. But don’t worry, I’ll do it right now. I am known as Brandon Of The Black Wings, but you may call me Bran. Because it’s you. And I like you. Very much.” Nervously stroking his goatee, he awkwardly guarded the silence still hanging above their heads. He started fiddling with one end of his scarf, which was hanging over his chest for a change. Why wasn’t she saying anything? At all. She’d grabbed his hand after he’d let go off her chin, so he guessed that was good sign, but the aura of quietness around her was making him a bit uncomfortable. Finally, she looked up from her boots and stared into his dark orbs. His heart skipped a beat when she stuttered she wouldn’t mind. A warm smile appeared on his lips. Carefully freeing his hand from her grip, he placed both of them on the hips of Enggy and pulled her closer. Now, the distance between them almost non-existent, a blush spread over his cheeks, turning them slightly red. He leaned forward, bending down a little bit. Locking eyes with her, he softly planted his lips on hers. Enjoying the soft sensation of her lips, he closed his eyelids. Reluctantly, he disconnected his lips from hers, breaking the kiss. Suddenly feeling shy, he averted his gaze and stared off in the distance. His hands had returned by his sides. Not knowing what to do with them, he placed them in his pockets. The feeling of her lingered on his lips. Tingling, urging him to ask for more. Slowly, he noticed his body was tilting to the right, or was it the floor that was coming up? He shook his head and stared at the ground unbelievingly. He moved his head and the world made a wide bend, slightly moving further even when his skull had stopped its movement. He frowned. One of his feet came loose from the street, leaving the bat with only one unstable leg to stand on. Then it shifted and now the roles were swapped. Maybe he should sit down. He nodded. Good idea. Half falling, half crouching, the thief managed to stumble to a sitting position. He folded his legs into an ‘x’ and placed his palms on his bended knees. Confused about this sudden attack of dizziness, he looked up to view where Enggy was.

[Engghaen]

Engghaen looked at him. So, Bran then? She couldn't hear the rest. Something like 'Black Strings' and that he liked her. She saw him fiddling his scarf and her eyes lit up when he came closer. She let his hand go and realised they were going for her hips. Surprisingly soft for his state, he planted his lips on hers. She closed her eyes and saw him do the same. He then pulled back and stepped away. Engghaen was confused. Now all of the sudden he was shy? She looked away, and realised too late he was, well, falling. Her hands shot forward. Too late, but he landed himself. Clumsily her hands had been sweeping around over his face. She looked at him and stretched out a hand, with which she pushed his head to the right side.

[Brandon Blackwing]

Still not really recovered from his vertigo, the bat’s felt like he was spinning. He unfolded his legs and pulled his knees against his chest. Wrapping his arms around them, he looked upwards. There she was. Enggy. Looking concerned, he wanted to ask what was wrong, but her hand suddenly shot out and touched his cheek, pushing it to the right. Due to his hazy state, the rest of his body followed, smacking him sideways on the ground. His dark orbs widened. What was that supposed to be? He shot her a questioning look, raising one eyebrow. “What was that for? What was it supposed to be anyways?” He frowned, his features displaying a stern face. He scrambled to his feet, looking confused. “I thought you liked me!” he whined. Suddenly becoming sad, the corners of his mouth turned downwards. Walking away ten steps, he shook his head in disbelieve. He didn’t understand, did he do something wrong? Or had it been a sign of affection? He didn’t consider having his head pushed to a side to be a sign of love. He stumbled away, not paying any attention to the world around him. Because of that, he hit something hard. While he cursed loudly, his body started arching forward, tumbling over the low border of the fountain. Head hitting the water first, he broke through the surface of the water with a plunge. Sinking to the bottom of the reservoir, his lungs gasped for a gulp of air, but received one of water instead. The sudden pain of liquid entering the sensitive material of his lungs created a coughing reaction. As you probably can imagine, that’s not quite good when under water. It just made things worse. With every cough, some valuable oxygen was wasted, and when his storage of the gas was empty, his body sent the urge to gasp for breath to his lips. With eyes big of shock and fear, the thief managed to keep his mouth shut, preventing more water to enter his body. That was not enough though. There was still some water in his respiratory organs that needed to get out. By coughing. Stubbornly, he kept his lips sealed, the bursts of air coming out as a sneezing of sorts. By now, the fog in his mind had lifted, sobering him. Realising he was laying on the bottom of a aquatic environment, he noticed he was choking. Well, drowning would be more accurate. The thief gave the floor a mighty push and launched himself upwards, only to surface mere ticks later. Struggling to keep his head above the water level, he soon noticed it wasn’t deep. At all. He placed his feet and got up, soaked to the bone. His hair sticking to his face in long, wet strands of gray. He shivered. Where was he anyway? He looked up and saw the colossus made of skyglass in front of him. He was at the Springwater square? How did he get here? He turned around, facing the square instead of the skyglass structure. Lifting his left foot up, hindered by the dense water, he started pacing towards the border of the fountain. Hoisting his body, heavy of absorbing the water, he got out. The clothes he was wearing were sticking to his frame, small streams of liquid running off them. BY his feet a small puddle had formed, growing larger with the tick.

[Engghaen]

Horribly confused, she stared at him. She wanted to say something, but it didn't exactly get out. She wanted to apologize and give him an answer, but the lump in her throat didn't help her with that.

The cat walked off, away from him. She was ashamed. What did she do? No idea. Why? Same, no idea. She ended up somewhere on the middle of the street. What happened to Bran, was not important now. He wouldn't care anyway. He'd think she wouldn't care about him and so wouldn't care about her. It wasn't ment painfully! She was a bit clumsy sometimes, and it was nothing comparing it to Bran's actions! She sat down.

Idiot, see, you can't do anything right! Noe what did you do again, huh? You know you like him, and then you run away?!

This made her cry. Loudly, so the few people on the streets shot her a weird look, but walked past. She did not notice anything around her, not that Bran plunged into the fountainx not that he almost drowned, not his face when he got out. She only listened to her mind, telling her she was selfish and that it was a bad idea to be here. That she shouldn't have talked to that Brandon. That she needed to get out of here as quick as possible. No, wait. That wasn't true. She should've. There was a reason for everything she did and although she had no idea what it was this time, it was of use.

The cat stood up and walked in the direction she thought she had come from. There Bran was, soaking wet. She looked at him, but she didn't see much due to the teardrops blocking her eyesight. She stumbled to him and murmled "Are... Are you okay? What happened? I.. Didn't really mean to do that. It was an accident." She took off her cloak and handed it over to him. "Here. I think it's really better for you to go home. I'll... I'll be fine. I won't be gone tomorrow." She smiled slightly, though all she wanted was to stay here with him for a while, but it was just too dangerous for him. "I have a tent, I'll put it up somewhere here. "