"A Flavor that You've Never Tried"

[Reiner Dornkirk]

Reiner's eyes widened at that new tidbit about the increasingly wondrous Windworld upon which he was embarking.

"Whoa! That's incredible!" He tilted his head, "But sounds worse for you than just falling, if I hafta keep slamming you against it!" He laughed and playfully nudged Kuno with his shoulder as they passed through the door at nearly the same time. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of the jacket and held his shoulder high, as he waited for things to be locked up.

"Nothin' like it." He agreed with a nod.

"Right! Right, no, I figured. It's fine." Kuno's answer made Reiner instantly embarrassed at having posed the question in the first place. It was exactly the rationale he came to moments after voicing it. "I was only playin' around, anyhow." He considered what was said of his cousin's unconventional philosophy, pursing his lips and nodding slowly. Maybe it was because Stefan was more of a businessman than a military man, and he was thinking about things in business terms. Maybe that was progress. Reiner wanted progress after a fashion, and Stefan was likely much smarter and definitely far better educated than he was.

Reiner almost missed the toss of the key, fumbling a bit behind Kuno but ultimately clapping it between his hands, and pocketing it.

"Not a one, actually. When the first one comes out this pretty, why bother?" He grinned jovially to himself, casting his eyes down to the ground in front of them until a ciggy was offered. "Thanks for not making me beg." He said with relief, as he took the second drag pursuant to Kuno's inaugural.

"I was just thinkin' to myself. I wonder if grungers are such big smokers 'cause we're not used to fresh air. We need something to dirty our lungs up every now and again to make as feel at home." He wasn't sure the thought was profound, but it felt clever enough in his head. Now that it was out, he wasn't as sure.

"My usual go-to is whatever's cheap and gets the job done on the quick." He patted his trousers and frowned. "Shit. I left my wallet in my own pants, but oh! Wait, didn't you say everything was free?" His eyes lit up, "Think they have Gelerian schnapps?" His grin turned downright impish.

[Rune]

The idea of the diminutive Private picking Kuno up by the legs and repeatedly have him actually snickering in delight. He still wasn't mocking the other man but it had been a while since any of his fellow soldier's had been willing to proper banter with him. Most of them had lost a lot of men from their squads, Kuno included, but it felt so good to act normal with someone again. It was real likely that they two of them had been in the same places at the same times more than once without taking notice of each other and it gave the budding friendship a flavor of kinship.

The fumble he'd caused was a little intentional, something to balance out the fact that Reiner was, well, a Dornkirk. Kuno didn't want to embarrass him, not exactly but the other Private would fit in better with the other servicemen serving on the Islands if someone was around to keep his pride in check. Kuno was supposed to be looking out for him and he would do everything in his power to ensure things went went for the pretty...Hmm.

As they walked Reiner would feel something in the pocket of the jacket, a folded piece of thick parchment, or, no, it was too smooth. A heliograph, maybe?

When Reiner's words echoed Kuno's thoughts he almost stumbled, feeling instantly like he'd been caught at something. He hadn't though, Dornkirks were a lot of things but mind-reading witches they were not. Unless...

The side-eye he threw at Reiner as though if he started hard enough he would see any secret runes through the borrowed clothes by sheer will. But no, surely the new brass would check for something like that before letting him near the Minister. Relaxing the scrutiny before it could be noticed he waited to hear Reiner's beer order.

The idea of making this brand-new Dornkirk beg was... It was nice. Kuno took a longer drag and filled his lungs fully with it. Part of the urge was definitely from the resentment he'd felt towards the upper-crust as a kid, but another part was because, well, Reiner was pretty. He was slim and almost elegant, even if his body moved like a soldier. Clearing his throat and attempting, unsuccessfully to clear his mind he nodded, gave a halfhearted laugh at the at the joke about their original homes and then pushed his way into the overstuffed pub. It really was forcing his way though the throng of bodies vying for drinks but most people knew the fighting men on sight now and anyone who did gave him a nod of gratitude or respect and let him by.

He asked for two bottles of the best beer he was aware was available and then, grimacing, asked for schnapps. The Bartender gave him a weird look, the man knew what Kuno ordered, but then, with a shrug, he examined his stores and, strange miracles, found a bottle. It wasn't Gelerian, but even Dornkirks couldn't always get everything they wanted.

Shouldering his way back out he made some drama out of peeling himself out the door. The beer was held by the tops in one hand, which he held out for approval for a long moment before pulling the bottle of clear liqueur out from behind his back.

[Reiner Dornkirk]

Reiner ran his fingers over whatever was folded up in the pocket of his borrowed jacket. He was curious, but he didn't want to seem nosey, so he lagged a little behind during their walk at one point and took a quick peek behind Kuno's back, before quickly stuffing it back where he'd found it and playing the innocent tourist as he jogged to fall back into step with him again.

Incognizant of any suspicion on Kuno's part, the ZDC private was just smoking and smiling to himself and walking with a little spring to his step toward the promise of booze. Even when he looked his most innocent, there was something a bit impish about his features that smacked of mischief. Especially when he smiled.

He lowered his eyes, and followed close behind Kuno so he could weave through the wake the taller private left. He got nudged around a few times and, at one point, grabbed the waist of the other man's trousers as not to lose him. He felt like a little kid holding onto his mother's skirt so he wouldn't get lost. Especially with how bashful he felt as the new boy in this whole scenario.

Once they were back outside, Reiner smiled gratefully and took the bottle of schnapps first in a pale fist. "Thanks! Sorry to make you order something weird- I hope that wasn't embarrassing. It's just... Eit-... Captain-Seeker.. Seeker-Captain? Uh, Captain Angevin said it was my cousin Brenner's favorite." Reiner didn't know enough about Gelerian schnapps to be aware that this was not it, but he popped the cork free of the bottle and offered the first swig to his new friend, as he grabbed his beer, raising it.

"To the friends we lost, and the new one's we make!" He winked at Kuno, and sipped his beer, then wiped the froth from his upper lip.

[Rune]

The picture, for picture it was, was of an older couple, possible only in the fifties but worn down by a life of obvious hardship. They stood before a house in what was recognizably the poorer part of the East End of Zaichaer. They were not smiling, and the lines on their faces did not imply that they had spend much of their lives doing so.

The fact that Reiner seemed to be genuinely impressed and taking time to seemingly gawk at parts of the Island, having to jog a bit to catching up with Kuno's longer legs, endeared him to the older soldier. He had not expected to be followed into the crush, but it felt nice in him what he was, somehow especially when he felt Reiner's hands on him to ensure they didn't get separated.

He did make note of any female eyes that caught on the new man amongst a group that may have been strangers a season ago but who were as close as family now. When they had made their escape he gave up the bottle of clear easily, eyeing it like a cat might eye a strange dog in its neighborhood.

"Is it... good?" His already partially formed judgement showing on his face. He pulled a 'as if' expression next.

"Pffh, takes more than ordering poncy beverages to embarrass a distinguished member of the ZADC's finest!" He struck a dramatic attention pose before dropping it and laughing. "Thankfully we don't shy as easily as you ground-pounders."

He did not say that the drink made the once-second-in-command-of-all-Zaicaher sound a bit like a ponce. Saying such a thing to anyone he was likely to know, ever, would earn him a punch in the face, most like. The world needed big men with big ideas but they weren't to be compared to real soldiers. Still, indulging the nostalgic younger man in honoring his ancestors on this day of all days felt like the right thing to do.

"Come on." He tilted his head to one side and led away from the more populated areas until they ended up on a street that seemed wholly empty.

"These buildings haven't been filled yet. A lot of people seem afraid to leave the temp shelters in the Windworks, and considering what got us here and what is holding us up, can hardly blame the old-timers. But, look what I found."

He pushed at one of the shop-level doors and showed the way into what had also, once been a drinking establishment. Decidedly middle-class and thus a step up from any places either of them had grown up with. It was empty, but plenty of moonlight filtered in through the wide, and surprisingly unbroken windows.

"All to ourselves, eh?"

[Reiner Dornkirk]

Reiner's eyes glassed over at the image upon the picture. Instantly guilty for his nosiness, he tucked it away, feeling as though he'd stolen something precious from the other man by snooping. Although he'd already pocketed it again, he felt pangs of recognition and wondered whether he'd seen those faces in the old neighborhood they'd shared. Memory was a strange thing, though, and these days were stranger. It was entirely possible that he was just projecting something.

Reiner chuckled,

"No! It's awful." He replied, grinning, "But not in the way you prob'ly expect. I figured it'd be all sweet and gross like a girly drink, but it's just like... potcheen, but expensive? Try it." He urged with a nod.

"Ugh, I'll bet you'd be shy, too, if you were plucked out of your aquarium and introduced to a brave new world overnight, flyboy. 'Sides..." He delivered a playful punch to Kuno's shoulder. "M'not even shy." He nodded, following the airman where he led. It was becoming routine, at this point.

He frowned a bit at the explanation for the little ghost town upon which they now embarked. He'd expected this place to be full to bursting with refugees, and it was troubling that there were so many people groundside who could be saved. People just like him, but without the random happenstance of having had a super rich uncle whose only surviving son happened to find his unopened letters at just the right moment. It sounded like pulp fiction, when he thought it all through in those terms.

He let those thoughts pass, as they passed over the threshold of a new venue. He smiled, taking a spin to take it all in.

"Wow, this is great, Kuno! It's wild they're not putting this place to use, with the other joint so packed. Hey, you gonna hog that-... what did you call it?" He smirked, and arched his brow in a mock affectation of what he considered posh, even putting on an accent as he quoted, "...Poncy beverage?"

[Rune]

"Really? I've no idea what it feels like to have my world pulled out from under my over night?" His one raise brow spoke multitudes about the difference in their experiences. Reiner had achieve the floating city by way of a luxury yacht, Kuno had achieved it by way of being in the epicenter of the rifts pouring out their calculated destruction, having survived by the grave of government oversight and pure luck. Whether these ideas landed or not he shook his head, not trying to suppress the idea that, despite having been in the Army, Reiner was a bit of an innocent. The sobering thought that, compared to people who had survived the 34th in the city, everyone from then on might feel like an innocent.

Not wanting the sobriety he washed it away with a long pull at the familiar beer, sighing contentedly as he took a seat at the table just under the main window. The best seats in the house, once had been. Leaning back comfortably in the chair that he considered posh he let his attention focus on the other Private.

"Things are super well organized yet. We have folks seeing to factory, folks to see to food gathering and distribution, medical type folks, the Order members, and the military leaders, but no one is has really taken stock of what is available yet. This place, all these apartments and houses and such. People need them, yeah, but everyone was so concentrated on getting us airborne and surviving up till then that things are slipping through the cracks. I'm sure the Minister will assign like a Domestic Liason or some other fancy title to someone soon enough to take stock and begin distribution. Till then tho, there is exactly one spot to get each type of thing, including booze."

He took another long swig and then eyed the bottle of clear appraisingly.

"Potcheen you say?" The version he knew got you drunk quick and kept you that way for a while, which didn't seem like a wholly bad idea. He hadn't had anything like a day off in months, technically, he was still on duty right then. But everyone was allowed a day to let go, and damned if he wouldn't enjoy it. Standing he went behind the bar and searched through the mostly empty shelves. The alcohol had been either looted or taken with the rest into the Windworks' stores, but there were some glasses and he returned with two glass tumblers.

"Well, lets try it then." He poured for them both.

[Reiner Dornkirk]

"Heh..." Reiner started to take Kuno's response for teasing, but then his hazel eyes met icy blue and his face went flush. "I... Oh. No, no. I am so sorry. I wasn't even thinking in those terms. That was... Ugh, what a stupid thing to say. Please, fuck... forget I said that." He lowered his head, almost an unintentional bow of deference.

Reiner hadn't been in direct danger where he was, which was ironically supposed to the the frontline of the war. But it was a war he signed up for and, even though he was a soldier, he took civilian lives to be more precious, because they didn't walk into their situation with the same understanding or agency as a soldier. What Kuno must have seen on those first dread days... His time back couldn't even scratch the surface. He felt so, so guilty for being thoughtless and making such a blunder with the guy he hoped would be his lifeline up here. His cousin was aloof. Eitan was nice, but he lived in a different world, too. Kuno was the only one he'd met up here who felt like he was on his level.

The airman seemed content to move on, though something felt lost of his warmth that distracted Reiner a bit from what he was saying. Still he got the gist, that the sky island was a work-in-progress. That made sense.

He just nodded, pursing his lips at the clarifying question. His understanding of potcheen was much the same as Kuno's. It was the sort of thing people distilled in tubs down in their old neighborhood. It burned going down and it burned coming back up, but it got the job done. He hadn't had enough of the Gelerian stuff to get nauseous or, perhaps because it was the posh version of rotgut it had more staying power, but it burned the same and got him tipsy on the quick.

"Sure..." Still a bit tentative from his chastisement, Reiner just lifted his glass with a sheepish smile paired with a shrug, and waited a moment for Kuno to pose a toast if he so wished.

[Rune]

Reiner's abject apology and obvious embarrassment went a long way to soothing what ills his thoughtlessness had caused and, after a moment, Kuno waved his had as though the brush the incident away and smiled again.

"You didn't meant anything, I know. Forgive me too, I'm a bit tetchy about it, you understand." Leaning forward to toast wasn't really required over the table that was small enough to show that the establishment had served drinks but not food, but he did it anyway. Bringing their faces closer together he lifted his glass and said,

"Hail, Zaichaer!" Before tasting the liquid. It wasn't as bad as the version of potcheen he'd had back home, but he still grimaced. There was an odd back taste to it that he imagined posh people got used to and had discussions about. When he'd swallowed he covered a slight cough with a slight laugh.

"Yeah, pretty bad." But then he raised the tumbler again, toasting, "And to the absolute salting of the pidge midden they call a city!"

He let this drink sit in him for a moment, trying to decide if he would be returning it to the earth before the evening was over. It didn't feel like it so far but one never knew when one mixed drink types. His smile was shaded with something brotherly as he said,

"I'm glad you weren't there, I'm glad for everyone who wasn't there. Honestly, if most of the military had been stationed in or near the city as they usually are we'd be left practically defenseless." It was one slim silver lining to the whole situation, the majority of all militant forces had been away from the Jewel of the Northlands protecting the borders from the invasion that, now, no one seemed to know if it would come at all.

Finishing the last gulp of the strange new liquid Kuno wrapped his hand back around his beer bottle.

"So, are you going back down after your leave?" He'd been told the man had leave, though he wasn't sure why the stuffy personal butler had told him so.

[Reiner Dornkirk]

Reiner let out a relieved sigh, and shook his head in the negative.

"No... You're right to be tetchy, I was wrong to be thoughtless. I've been around enough people who were there for... When it happened. I guess I'm... already getting too comfortable up here." He wrinkled his nose, but there was still some satisfaction in the penance offered.

"Hail Zaichaer!" He answered in content, tone and volume, the smile finally returning to his boyish face, though dimmer than before. Reiner was a bit better prepared for the drink, so he didn't go as far as to cough, but he did wince and stick his tongue out reflexively after the first shot.

"Right?" But already Kuno was toasting again, and Reiner's smile came back to full intensity at the sentiment, "To roasting the poultry!" He riffed, before taking back another warm swig that got warmer on its way down.

"You may be glad of it, but it's hard it's own way... I guess it's what Captain Angevin calls 'survivor's guilt'?" He paused, to let that register if Kuno had ever heard of it. Reiner hadn't before today. "I'm just up at night with thoughts about the things I could have done... the folks I could've saved. I know that's stupid. There ain't no god cares enough about humans to get involved, so what happens just happens, right? You can't go back. Can't change it. Even if you could, it'd prob'ly be worse. 'Cause that's witchcraft, right?" He knocked back the rest of what was in the tumbler, and shrugged.

"My cousin said I could stay and the Captain-Seeker said he'd help out my unit with wards and the like. I figure maybe I can go on down with him and make sure I have the all clear to transfer up here." He offered a weak half smiled, "I hope there's room up here for one more private and you don't feel like I'm stealin' your flyboy thunder. But... I'm sure we have different skill sets. Probably won't overlap, too much." His grin turned impish again,

"And now that I know there's this whole street full of empty lodging, I know I won't need to impose on your hospitality for too much longer."

[Rune]

The older Private shook his head at the pause over the term 'survivor's guilt', having never heard it before. He wouldn't speak ill of the Captain-Seeker but it sounded like more soft rich-man's excuses to withdraw from fighting when losing friends got too hard.

Leaning closer Kuno shook his head,

"Don't think of it. More than like, you'd be dead. You can save people now. 'Do the work in front of you', my dad used to say, 'Regretting yesterday's or worrying about tomorrows just mucks up the gears under your hands today.' We'll get it back, rebuild, then roll over the pidge empire in glory and revenge."

His smile went sharp, dangerous, his eyes hard even as the gleamed in the reflected moonlight.

"See!" Leaning forward he clapped Reiner on the shoulder,

"You will part of the great work! Not that the ZDC's work on the ground isn't important but here," He waved an arm to imply the flying islands as a while, "This is where things will get done. You want to be where the choices are being made, even if you aren't the one making them. Or..."

He eyed the other Private teasingly,
"You might just be in the rooms where the big decisions are made, won't you? You'll have to let me know if you get any special intel, so we can be ready when we're called on, eh?"

He laughed at the jibe, "Hey now, you'll be a flyboy yourself from now on! This is an airship, and don't you forget it!"

At the mention of their lodgings he shook his head, "I doubt it. These houses and such will be used to house families not us fighting types. We'll keep to the smaller apartments close to the Windworks and lucky if we stay just two men to each. We might get lucky, seeing as who you are, but unless you plan on taking a wife and filling her with babies any time soon..?"

When the question was denied he relaxed, or maybe it was the alcohol that made him relax. As short as their acquaintance had been Kuno had taken a distinct liking to Reiner and didn't feel like letting him go. If the Lords in their manor lured him away with their unfair advantage he would have to let the man go, but, short of that, he planned on keeping him.

They kept drinking for several hours, till beer and schnaps alike were depleted and both of them were what would be considered only passingly stable on their air legs. It could be said that Kuno led the way back, swaying with his arm around the shorter man's shoulders, only because he knew the way and Reiner did not. They were still laughing and teasing as they went, drunk on the idea of their own cleverness nearly as much as they were on the alcohol that filled their bellies. They had eaten nothing and would likely be regretting it by morning (if not before), but if it meant that Reiner was less than elegant and genteel at his dinner party the next day, Kuno would not be saddened by it. Keeping the balance between the Minister wanting to provide for his younger cousin but not being personally impressed enough with him to promote him or take him away from the other troops (from Kuno) would be a delicate rope to walk but he was brash enough to give it his all until a better opportunity came to nestle under his arm.