One Too Many
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2020 7:45 pm
One Too Many
Ash 37th, 120th Year, A.o.S.
The High Hopes Tavern had reached its quieter part of the evening, as Rickter and Telion spent their time helping Rien put down the ring. It had been another tournament of brawls earlier that night, though this time the guard around the inn increased in turn. Clearly, the members of House Novalys weren't in the habit of allowing mistakes to happen twice, even if that meant preventing them from happening to begin with. Not that Rickter minded the extra patrols looming about, just a few more pros he had the pleasure of sharing the ring with in his opinion.
"You took quite a hit earlier, how are you holding up?" Telion checked as she finished piling down the leather mats, looking towards Rickter as she then moved to approach him.
"Yeah, it didn't hurt as bad as it looked." He assured her in regards to the light nick under his left eye, his way of reassurance being that of a faint smile when he did. As Rickter finished putting away the posts for the ring, Rien seemed to be distracted by somebody at the bar, another tall and bulky Synnekar with dirty blonde hair, who slouched heavily onto the bar for support as he argued with the bar owner apologetically. "What's that about?"
"Oh him?" Telion inquired after she looked to see what caught Rickter's attention. "He decided to drink a little excessively, Margo tried to cut him off but he just didn't want to."
"So now Rien's doing it." The wolf surmised as he watched the two talk with one another, the drunken Avialae lowering his head into his hands as his shoulders rose. Rien reached out to him then, calming him through what Rickter could only guess was that Bond existed. Whether that was really the case or not, he was not aware, but given how much compassion he'd observed from Talon alone? The sense of brotherhood and camaraderie between Avialae was something beyond Rickter, but now that he'd been given a chance to share in that, he had slowly begun to understand the value they placed in such nurturing ways.
Rien convinced the drunken Synnekar to let go of his bottle, moving the whiskey to the back counter so that it rested entirely out of reach for the drunkard. "Poor guy looks to be in rough shape huh?" Telion remarked softly between him and her, with a sympathetic gaze held onto the sobbing Avialae. As Rien seemed to step around the bar to approach his fellow companion, and when he reached out to embrace him, it looked as though he intended to help the drunken Synnekar onto his feet. The wolf didn't hesitate then, seeing that another pair of shoulders could really help lift this man evenly. It was as he approached that Rien looked over to him in turn, shifting his empathetic expression to that of a light grin as the wolf drew near.
"Oh, hey! Thanks!" He shared humbly as Rickter shifted to ease himself beneath the Synnekar's other arm. It wasn't actually hard since he was far taller than Rickter, by three heads in fact, and getting the drunk onto his feet proved almost just as easy until his weight bore down on them. The wolf and Rien both grunted lowly for a bit, shifting so that they could both distribute the weight a bit more properly in turn. Finally, the two of them could carry the Avialae so that he didn't stagger, shepherding him down the hall towards the room Rien had in mind for his companion. Rickter remained rigid and steady as he waited for the barkeeper to open the door, allowing him to be the first to enter so that the Avialae in question could get their wings in through the doorway easily.
Entering in that angle, however, was not as easy in turn. Although the wolf made sure he continually supported the lugging of the Synnekar towards the bed, where both men helped ease the drunken one onto the mattress, lying on his belly with his head left laying on the pillow near the edge. Apparently, that was something useful to do with a drunken person, though if the poor guy missed the pail or floor... then Rien or Margo would certainly have some smelly bedsheets to change later. A silent prayer says that it didn't come to that. With the Synnekar now resting though, Rien and Rickter left quietly with the door shut behind them in turn. The two made a stroll back through the hall, and onward to the bar once more where Telion and the others waited for him.
"Thanks again for doing that Rickter." Rien stated once more with a humbler tone than before, the grin on his face overshadowed with a thought on his mind.
"Twas no trouble, even if he was a bit heavy." The remark seemed well-received, as Rien seemed to chuckle a bit in turn. "Something tells me there's a story there." Rickter elected to point out as he'd taken his seat next to Telion, as she and Hannah paused their conversation to listen in on them.
"Sure is," Rien agreed half-heartedly, "by now you've grown acquainted with your Bond no?" To that question Rickter looked a little surprised, giving it a moment to ponder before he settled on an answer.
"It's still quite new to me, but I'm not as estranged to it as I was before..." He timidly answered in turn, unsure if that was as good of a response as the barkeeper hoped. It seemed to do well enough at least, as Rien smiled a little more before he resumed his speech.
"By now you are aware that feelings and emotions can be shared, but the stronger the bond becomes, the more difficult it can be to bounce back." Telion and Hannah looked back and forth between the two, the brunette eyeing both men curiously while the blonde looked sympathetic. "My friend's recently one who once had such a strong bond, and without it, he suffers greatly on his own." To that the wolf started to do the same, appearing sympathetic to the Synnekar's plight in turn. "It's hard to put it into words when it's at that level, devastating just doesn't seem to do it justice."
"It's like the loss of a loved one, the absence of someone dear who is no longer in your life." To that Rien's eyebrows rose, the two ladies doing the same in turn, as Rickter had just abruptly disclosed that experience without lingering on it. Rather he looked calmly confident in being able to relate to the situation, because he actually understood what that pain was like on his own. Just as he'd understood the weight of Talon's worries, in turn being able to compare them with his own for reassurance. Truly, the Bond had significantly improved much of Rickter's inability to express himself, mostly because at every turn when he did seek their aid, Talon and Aoren were always right there to ease his uncertainty or fear. That pain of being alone? Already relatively numb in comparison to before, because the wolf not only had friends he valued, he had a pack he was gradually yearning to protect.
To lose any one of those members would devastate him as is, therefore, it was arguable that he might've already had an incline on the matter. A poor one but an argument that could still be posed, plus with given time who knows, maybe the bonds between Rickter and his Bondmaters would one day be just as strong. Rien seemed to agree at least, as Telion padded him on the left shoulder a few times. "That is one way to describe it I guess, in some ways it's even worse, it all depends on how significant that Bond is between partners."
"I can imagine so." The wolf agreed in turn, his eyes watching Rien as the man dipped a hand into his pocket. He then surprised Rickter by handing him what looked to be a silver coin. "That isn't necessary Rien."
"It's not coin, if that's what your thinking." The barkeeper remarked in return, gesturing for Rickter to accept it. Once the wolf did he inspected it, surprised to find that it had indeed not been minted. It was just a silver piece all on its own, with a star engraved on both sides. "You helped me, so now I'll help you. Give that to Aoren when you go to him, he'll know what it means when you do."
Rickter looked from Rien to the piece between his fingers, tucking it between them as he held it snuggly inside his palm. For the remainder of their evening, those present at the bar would continue to share in light-hearted conversations together.
Ash 37th, 120th Year, A.o.S.
The High Hopes Tavern had reached its quieter part of the evening, as Rickter and Telion spent their time helping Rien put down the ring. It had been another tournament of brawls earlier that night, though this time the guard around the inn increased in turn. Clearly, the members of House Novalys weren't in the habit of allowing mistakes to happen twice, even if that meant preventing them from happening to begin with. Not that Rickter minded the extra patrols looming about, just a few more pros he had the pleasure of sharing the ring with in his opinion.
"You took quite a hit earlier, how are you holding up?" Telion checked as she finished piling down the leather mats, looking towards Rickter as she then moved to approach him.
"Yeah, it didn't hurt as bad as it looked." He assured her in regards to the light nick under his left eye, his way of reassurance being that of a faint smile when he did. As Rickter finished putting away the posts for the ring, Rien seemed to be distracted by somebody at the bar, another tall and bulky Synnekar with dirty blonde hair, who slouched heavily onto the bar for support as he argued with the bar owner apologetically. "What's that about?"
"Oh him?" Telion inquired after she looked to see what caught Rickter's attention. "He decided to drink a little excessively, Margo tried to cut him off but he just didn't want to."
"So now Rien's doing it." The wolf surmised as he watched the two talk with one another, the drunken Avialae lowering his head into his hands as his shoulders rose. Rien reached out to him then, calming him through what Rickter could only guess was that Bond existed. Whether that was really the case or not, he was not aware, but given how much compassion he'd observed from Talon alone? The sense of brotherhood and camaraderie between Avialae was something beyond Rickter, but now that he'd been given a chance to share in that, he had slowly begun to understand the value they placed in such nurturing ways.
Rien convinced the drunken Synnekar to let go of his bottle, moving the whiskey to the back counter so that it rested entirely out of reach for the drunkard. "Poor guy looks to be in rough shape huh?" Telion remarked softly between him and her, with a sympathetic gaze held onto the sobbing Avialae. As Rien seemed to step around the bar to approach his fellow companion, and when he reached out to embrace him, it looked as though he intended to help the drunken Synnekar onto his feet. The wolf didn't hesitate then, seeing that another pair of shoulders could really help lift this man evenly. It was as he approached that Rien looked over to him in turn, shifting his empathetic expression to that of a light grin as the wolf drew near.
"Oh, hey! Thanks!" He shared humbly as Rickter shifted to ease himself beneath the Synnekar's other arm. It wasn't actually hard since he was far taller than Rickter, by three heads in fact, and getting the drunk onto his feet proved almost just as easy until his weight bore down on them. The wolf and Rien both grunted lowly for a bit, shifting so that they could both distribute the weight a bit more properly in turn. Finally, the two of them could carry the Avialae so that he didn't stagger, shepherding him down the hall towards the room Rien had in mind for his companion. Rickter remained rigid and steady as he waited for the barkeeper to open the door, allowing him to be the first to enter so that the Avialae in question could get their wings in through the doorway easily.
Entering in that angle, however, was not as easy in turn. Although the wolf made sure he continually supported the lugging of the Synnekar towards the bed, where both men helped ease the drunken one onto the mattress, lying on his belly with his head left laying on the pillow near the edge. Apparently, that was something useful to do with a drunken person, though if the poor guy missed the pail or floor... then Rien or Margo would certainly have some smelly bedsheets to change later. A silent prayer says that it didn't come to that. With the Synnekar now resting though, Rien and Rickter left quietly with the door shut behind them in turn. The two made a stroll back through the hall, and onward to the bar once more where Telion and the others waited for him.
"Thanks again for doing that Rickter." Rien stated once more with a humbler tone than before, the grin on his face overshadowed with a thought on his mind.
"Twas no trouble, even if he was a bit heavy." The remark seemed well-received, as Rien seemed to chuckle a bit in turn. "Something tells me there's a story there." Rickter elected to point out as he'd taken his seat next to Telion, as she and Hannah paused their conversation to listen in on them.
"Sure is," Rien agreed half-heartedly, "by now you've grown acquainted with your Bond no?" To that question Rickter looked a little surprised, giving it a moment to ponder before he settled on an answer.
"It's still quite new to me, but I'm not as estranged to it as I was before..." He timidly answered in turn, unsure if that was as good of a response as the barkeeper hoped. It seemed to do well enough at least, as Rien smiled a little more before he resumed his speech.
"By now you are aware that feelings and emotions can be shared, but the stronger the bond becomes, the more difficult it can be to bounce back." Telion and Hannah looked back and forth between the two, the brunette eyeing both men curiously while the blonde looked sympathetic. "My friend's recently one who once had such a strong bond, and without it, he suffers greatly on his own." To that the wolf started to do the same, appearing sympathetic to the Synnekar's plight in turn. "It's hard to put it into words when it's at that level, devastating just doesn't seem to do it justice."
"It's like the loss of a loved one, the absence of someone dear who is no longer in your life." To that Rien's eyebrows rose, the two ladies doing the same in turn, as Rickter had just abruptly disclosed that experience without lingering on it. Rather he looked calmly confident in being able to relate to the situation, because he actually understood what that pain was like on his own. Just as he'd understood the weight of Talon's worries, in turn being able to compare them with his own for reassurance. Truly, the Bond had significantly improved much of Rickter's inability to express himself, mostly because at every turn when he did seek their aid, Talon and Aoren were always right there to ease his uncertainty or fear. That pain of being alone? Already relatively numb in comparison to before, because the wolf not only had friends he valued, he had a pack he was gradually yearning to protect.
To lose any one of those members would devastate him as is, therefore, it was arguable that he might've already had an incline on the matter. A poor one but an argument that could still be posed, plus with given time who knows, maybe the bonds between Rickter and his Bondmaters would one day be just as strong. Rien seemed to agree at least, as Telion padded him on the left shoulder a few times. "That is one way to describe it I guess, in some ways it's even worse, it all depends on how significant that Bond is between partners."
"I can imagine so." The wolf agreed in turn, his eyes watching Rien as the man dipped a hand into his pocket. He then surprised Rickter by handing him what looked to be a silver coin. "That isn't necessary Rien."
"It's not coin, if that's what your thinking." The barkeeper remarked in return, gesturing for Rickter to accept it. Once the wolf did he inspected it, surprised to find that it had indeed not been minted. It was just a silver piece all on its own, with a star engraved on both sides. "You helped me, so now I'll help you. Give that to Aoren when you go to him, he'll know what it means when you do."
Rickter looked from Rien to the piece between his fingers, tucking it between them as he held it snuggly inside his palm. For the remainder of their evening, those present at the bar would continue to share in light-hearted conversations together.
