Rescuing the drunk - ATTN Daxson

[Nani]

Prompt: Nani is found drunk in the bar and Daxson finds her and is obligated to pick up her check and help her home.
Bonus Prompt: Start the thread with the words, "Darling, stop."
Nani Hatherton

"Darling, Stop." She said as she felt hands on her shoulders. She was so gone in her cups, that she figured that it was merely Kain come to take her home and help her sober up. But when she opened bleary eyes, she saw the man that she had trained days before. She gave a watery sigh, and put her head back down on bar pillowed by her arms. "Go away Daxson." She said softly, before she remembered why she was here tonight. And that reason was the loss of the love of her life for the second time.

She had arrived in the bar with the sole purpose of drinking herself drunk, and asleep. She couldn't fall asleep easily because of the bond she now shared, and the less she slept the worse she felt. But her ability to stay up so long was leaving her with plenty of time to think, and that was dangerous. And so she had gone drinking with the whole purpose of drinking herself deaf, blind and dumb. If this affected Calder, all the better.

One wrong comment from Daxson and she would either start weeping, or get very very angry.

[Sunny]

Dakson Torellion The night had been an excellent diversion from his not-so-friendly ongoing competition with Jain. The women had been plentiful, beer had flowed freely, and the songs had been rowdy. It was late now, however, and he had to be up with the sun to practice the bloody Forms.

One more drink, then I'll go back, he thought, turning toward the welcoming glow spilling from the windows of the Laughing Queen. He pushed the door open and went in, grinning his acknowledgment of the enthusiastic greeting the other occupants of the common room gave him. He walked to the bar to order a drink, and to his consternation realized that he knew the figure slumped over the counter in a drunken stupor.

What on earth is that woman doing here? He eyed Nani with some trepidation as he ordered a mug of beer from the innkeeper. He didn't know how much he had consumed, and this one would surely finish him off. He put it to his lips, then hesitated, looking again at the Gaidar on the bar.

Cursing himself silently for the sliver of humanity that forced him to care, he looked at the innkeeper. "How long has she been here?"

"She arrived as the sun set, and hasn't budged an inch. If she doesn't wake soon she's going to get carted out to the midden heap, and then who's to pay for all she drank?"

Dax cursed extensively, setting his beer on the bar and shaking Nani roughly by the shoulder. "Darling stop," she said in a slurred voice, pushing at him ineffectually. Then she opened her eyes and saw him. "Go away, Dakson."

He contemplated doing just that. What good would possibly come of bothering a Gaidar so far in her cups she couldn't stand up? He took a pull off his mug as he thought it over, then realized the barkeep was staring at him. "What?"

"You know her?"

"She's my teacher. Sort of."

"Someone needs to pay for her drinks," the man said, "You Tower prisses might think you own the world, but you still have to pay for what you take." Dax cursed again, this time pointed insults directed at the man and his mother. The barkeep simply repeated his statement, and Dax realized the brute by the door had taken a few steps toward him.

He shook Nani again. "If you don't pull yourself together, I swear by the Creator's scrotum I am going to dump your drunken ass in the lake," he told the Gaidar. How much beer had the woman consumed? Would she be able to pay him back if he covered her tab?

Why didn't I just go straight back to the Tower?

[Nani]

Nani Hatherton

She didn't hear his conversation with the bartender until he shook her awake and she basically told him to piss off. But being aware, she heard the conversation between the bartender and the man at her side. She tried to raise her head but was unable to. Everything was so heavy, it was exactly what she had wanted, and she was happy that she had finally gotten there. A few more moments and she was going to be fast asleep again.

"If you don't pull yourself together, I swear by the Creator's scrotum I am going to dump your drunken ass in the lake." Those words were accompanied by a shake again. She hated that she was being rescued. She wanted a brawl, and she knew that she wouldn't get it here and she wouldn't get it tonight. It took a great amount of strength, and she reached up from her near prone position at the bar and grabbed a hold of Dax's shirt lapels, dragging him down to her. "Pay...my....t-tab, and.....I wi-will....payyouback." She said, the last three words coming out as a rush in her control to keep her drink down. It would not bode well to throw up here and now. That would be very very bad, considering that the bartender already didn't like her.

Her hand moved up over her mouth, not sure how much she had drunk to get to this point. Her tolerance for everything had increased since she had been bonded, and it made it hard to judge what would get her drunk and what wouldn't. Her stomach was revolting on her, and she needed to get outside, but she wasn't going to make it there on her own.

[Sunny]

Dakson Torellion "If I saw you before I came to the Grey Tower, I would certainly have never signed up for this happy horse show," Dax told Nani in a conversational tone, "You're a disgrace." She just flapped her hand- either she hadn't heard him, or was too drunk to care.

"How much did she drink?" He asked the barkeep in a resigned tone.

"Half a barrel of my best ale and two cups of that Aiel firewater," the man said. "Two gold marks, if you please."

Dax stared at the man in unfeigned shock. "The best inn in Hama Valon would sell a barrel of beer and more for that much money. That's sheer thievery."

"Two gold marks, or you AND your friend will both become intimately acquainted with the taste of manure," the man said, eyes narrowing.

"Light help me, but you are a bloody stinking cunt," Dax said, his hand automatically dropping to his sword hilt. He saw others in the room shifting- some out of perceived danger, others to intercept it. His gaze assessed the situation with practiced speed; the likelihood of escaping unscathed was fairly slim, but with a Gaidar at his side, any damage done to him would be redressed. Did he dare push it further?

"Just pay...the damn....bill..." Nani said groggily. "My money...'member?" Dax kicked her stool with deliberate force, then dug in his pocket and produced two gold coins. The innkeep snatched them away and started to say something; Dax just arched an eyebrow and the man fell silent.

With a long-suffering sigh, the Tairen pulled Nani upright by one arm, realizing only when the movement nearly toppled him over how much he, too, had had to drink. "Time to hit the road, princess," he told her.

[Nani]

Nani Hatherton

He wasn't wrong. If she had met her before this shit, she wouldn't have signed up for this either. She was a mess, and it was all Kain's fault. Everything that had happened since she got here had been that man's fault. But that wasn't wrong, in its entirety. Yes, he had made her fall in love, but she could have walked away. She was very very good at that, but she had chose to stay for what ever reason. She had chosen to stay. And look where it got her. Drunk, but successful.

Had she really drank that much while she was here? Really? Half a barrel of Ale and two cups of Ooosquai? But her ears clued in and heard Dakson call the owner a cunt. "Just pay...the damn...bill.... My money....'member?" she said before her stool was kicked. Her hands splayed out, and held onto the bar to remain in her seat. Her bleary eyes glared up at Dakson and she grumbled softly.

She let him pull her up, and she partially fell against him, trying to stay standing with him, as he nearly toppled over with her. "Outside..." She whispered holding onto him a bit tighter then intended, but she needed to get outside before she was sick in the tavern. The pair managed to get outside, and as soon as she got to the alleyway, she let him go and went to the wall spilling her stomach onto the cobblestones.

Once she finally emptied her stomach, her sleeve was wiped across her mouth. "Thank you Dakson...." she muttered softly, before she stood up and leaned against the wall for a moment. "Why were you there anyway?" She asked him, looking at him with bleary eyes that were having a hard time focusing on him.

[Sunny]

Dakson Torellion She emptied her stomach as soon as they left the tavern, leaning against the wall and heaving for what felt like an Age of unfortunate sounds and smells. Perhaps she really had consumed a half barrel of ale- that could be the only explanation for the quantities of liquid escaping her body in that moment. He turned away, partly to grant her privacy, and partly to prevent his own unsteady stomach from emptying itself in response.

Finally she stopped, and wiped her mouth on her sleeve as she thanked him. "Why were you there anyway?"

His mind traveled briefly over the evening, remembering snippets of songs, the feel of flesh under his fingers, the smell of beer and smoke. It had been no better and no worse than any prior night he had spent, until he had decided to duck into that bar.

“I was there for the same reason I come to Hama Valon every night, much to the dismay of my more respectable and discerning instructors," he said, the drawl to his voice showing his true opinion of said esteemed personages. "To make a spectacle of myself, find a strumpet to bed, lose money at dice, and drink myself into oblivion in hopes that tomorrow I wake up somewhere far away from here."

He settled against the wall next to her companionably, and pulled a flask from his belt. The liquor burned his throat, but it chased away the blurriness creeping into the edge of his vision. He offered it to his companion as he asked, “What about you?”

[Nani]

Nani Hatherton

Nani watched Dakson and gave a small sigh. "Then why are you even here if you want to be waking up away from here?" She asked him before his questions really sunk into her mind. Why was she there? Why had she gone to the worst bar in town? Oh yes, that's right, her former love. She took the flask from him and took a swig from it. The alcohol burned on the way down, but mellowed out completely as it hit her stomach. Nani gave a watery gasp, and then leaned her head against Dakson's shoulders.

"I came here to forget, but all I could think of was him...He's the reason my left hand isn't properly formed anymore." She said as she pulled the glove off and showed him the blackened husk that was her ring finger. "I fell in love with a man I couldn't have. We were never fated to be, and when he died, he was pulled into a bubble of evil, and I was still attached to him through a Ter'Angreal." Nani gave a small sob, and closed her eyes, trying to keep calm and not dissolve into tears in front of the Drin.

"Come on, let's get back to the Tower. I'll say that I brought you out so that we don't have to sneak back in." Nani wiped her eyes, and stood up, giving a small moan of pain as she moved too much too fast. Her hand moved out and gripped onto Dax's hip. "Light....I moved too quickly."