[[PP-F29]] Time for a REAL drink <<On The House>>

[Mari 1]

POST ACTION: DRINK  ID: 244761  CD: 12 - FRUITY COCKTAIL

 

“And fully agreed. Let’s see what we manage to salvage from the wreck of this god-forsaken floor, and hope it can keep us hammered for another seventy more.”

 

“You know…that’s probably one of the smartest things you’ve ever said to me.” Mari said to Freyd - the carriage was moving now - and it wasn’t that much longer till they arrived at their destination. Mari grabbed the two extra bottles of wine she had pilfered and pushed off and out of the carriage - with Freyd following not far behind.

It was odd… to see him like this. Mari chanced a glance back at him, and when their eyes met he offered her another grin. Yeh. Odd. Not like the Freyd she remembered at all. The man she knew from her memories…was cold and calculating. BEfore then…

“Its funny…” Mari said as she followed the path to an angled cellar door on the outside of the building. “When we first met - you were in the water- fish in your mouth. You looked almost like a child. I thought you were. You kept telling me that I was in your dreams.” Those days seemed so long ago now… the tanabata festival - Mari had pleasant memories of that day. Too bad all her memories couldn’t be that way.

Kneeling down Mari managed to pull open the door to the cellar with two fingers hooked into the handle. It swung open and both her and Freyd began their descent down. The Cellar was oddly…well kept compared to the rest of the tavern. Mari continued her train of thought. “Then, you turned out to be this enigma of a person - following rumour after rumour. The Sundered Spire. The Gemini.” The last word was spat with vittrol. “Now, I’m not sure who I am looking at.”

A single bare bulb hung from the ceiling, swaying gently in the breeze the two had let in. Mari had no idea where to put their cargo, so simply placed it on the floor.

<<RETURN TO THE BAR>>

“Well…whoever you are, Freyd…just Freyd.” I think its about time we get that drink.

Mari trudged up the stairs - and to her surprise there was a very bright and colourful cocktail waiting at the bar for her. “What the…” Mari approached it apprehensively. It looked so very out of place. 

“Fuck it.”

Mari said as she pulled out the red straw from the cup and downed the entire thing in several large gulps. She just wanted to get this quest over and done with. Mari could feel her head already begin to spin - and her throat tingled with the burn of alcohol. Her stomach felt warm.  Mari set the glass back down.

Then…something unexpected happened.

 

[̸̧̡͎̗̦̺̲̦̼̯͇̪̣̗̋̔͋̓̍̂͛̃͘̕Ĥ̵̛̳͍̣͍́̇͂͗͛̐͛̏̆͋͝ave a drink, it's on the house].

 

What the…

The glass had refilled itself - that same fruity cocktail. The prompt was still there. Popping up over and over again. “Uhmmm….”  Mari glanced over to the stairs leading to the basement. Freyd must still be unloading.

“Free is free…” Mari muttered as she downed the drink again.

[̸̧̡͎̗̦̺̲̦̼̯͇̪̣̗̋̔͋̓̍̂͛̃͘̕Ĥ̵̛̳͍̣͍́̇͂͗͛̐͛̏̆͋͝ave a drink, it's on the house]. 

Edited yesterday at 02:09 AM by Mari

[Freyd 0]

“You know…that’s probably one of the smartest things you’ve ever said to me.”

About to object, Freyd’s lips parted to find no rebuke, no quip, nor sarcastic remark.  He had nothing, because she was probably right, and the realization of it had left him flabbergasted.  

Grabby hands yanked back her two rescued wards, Mari cradling them like they were newborns, save the suckling went the other way around.  Actual glee glowed behind her green eyes, made extra verdant with a sudden greed and hunger for their contents.  Freyd saddled the casque up beside him, trying to set it in a way that might survive any more unexpected surprises. So, of course, there were none.

“Oh no… you actually remember that?!" He cringed - the only time she had ever seen him flush with embarrassment, and possibly the only time he ever had. “I swear,t that was the weirdest fever dream ever, save that multiple people I spoke with had shared exactly the same one.”  Groaning, his brows arched upwards, resigned to acceptance that he could ever have been such a complete and utter noob.

“You and Cord were really cool about it, as I recall, especially given how much I must have seemed like a total raving maniac.”  it took every ounce of will not to yank his cowl over his head and hide within, plus it was still soaked and glacially cold.

“Well…whoever you are, Freyd…just Freyd. I think its about time we get that drink.”

“Look,” he added, sounding more human than he’d ever felt, “you spent two years trying to forget and find peace.  I really hope you did, Mari.  I spent that time doing the same thing for myself, just along a different path.”

She had already raced up the stairs, leaving him to collect his own crate and haul it into the cellar.  By the time he made to follow, several bottles of aged single-malt whiskey were already tucked into his inventory, and he could hear hiccups and giggling from above..

“This quest seems hinky. What do you say we go finish this in the High Fields of Crossing?  They should be safe for you. I can jiffy up a shortcut, like before, but it can get a little chilly in the void, so you’ll want to hold on tight.” Eyes darting first to a conveniently sized patch of shade, his hand reaching in like he was opening some sort of celestial doorway, Freyd wasn’t expecting to find Mari already well along when he turned to offer her his other hand.

All he heard was "Yanno..." in a semi-familiar voice before a flurry of frilly drink umbrellas and freckles body checked him through the intangible hole, sending both of them hurtling though the cold, black and oppressively silent nothingness to which the Whisper in Shadow claimed uncanny access.  Her drink chilled almost instantly, ice rimming the edge for the half-second they were nowhere before Aincrad sucked them back into the material world.  Stumbling out from the castings of a lonely oak on the rocky grasslands of floor two, Freyd tumbled and fell flat on his ass, sliding to a stop near a pair of very startled kingfishers, who  promptly squawked and booked it.

Edited yesterday at 03:47 AM by Freyd

[Mari 1]

Mari was getting frustrated - it didn’t seem to matter how much of the overly fruity cocktail she drank - the quest just didn’t seem to end. After the third drink her head buzzed - to the point where even shifting it from left to right seemed to make the world spin just that little bit more. 3 drinks?  Mari was never such a light weight before - then again. She supposed the quest drinks may have been  that little bit stronger.

“-so you’ll want to hold on tight.”

Before Mari really had a chance to react to his suggestion she stumbled backward, and there was an instant sting of cold - as though she had jumped into an ice bath. It was daunting, she couldn't see anything - and for a moment she couldn’t feel anything either - it reminded her of her time in that bottomless pit. The dark was suffocating and she could feel its icy claws begin to tear into her very being - the only thing that kept her grounded in those few seconds was Freyd. Feeling his hand firmly clasped over her upper arm, the other around her waist.

The two tumbled forward and the feeling was gone - Mari drew in a sharp breath. Hands and knees  shaking on that grassy knoll. “What the fuck was that…” She muttered. Talk about a sobering experience. “Y-You do that? Regularly?” 

Mari crawled over to the tree and leaned her back against it. “Dammit Freyd…those fruity drinks really aren’t my style. I was…just trying to finish the quest.”

She fell silent for a moment, thinking back to his words earlier in the basement. “I’m not entirely sure if I found peace or not…but…I think I’m better? Maybe? At least - I don’t hate myself.” Mari’s face fell into her hands with a small groan. “Too bad the rest of the world probably still does.”

[Freyd 0]

“Y-You do that? Regularly?” 

"From time to time, yea. Ever since we fought Shadow in that raid, ages ago. Something passed on, I guess.  And I was already numb enough inside that it had little impact.  Speaking of which..."

Rolling over and up into a seated position, Freyd set himself akimbo before summoning two toblers. Each frosted and equipped with a single hunk of ice eerily similar to the familiar algid blue of her home's floor, Mari watched as Freyd summoned an ornately blown glass bottle filled with dark amber ambrosia.  he started to pour.

"Whiskey, if I sniffed it correctly.  The casque I nabbed was full of these.  Care for a dramm?"  Spinning the vitreous vials positions between fingers in a single hand, he offered her the first filled glass while topping up his own.  "And given the error messages I saw in the cellar, I'd say there's a fair chance that quest is completely glitched and fucked.

“I’m not entirely sure if I found peace or not…but…I think I’m better? Maybe? At least - I don’t hate myself.” Mari’s face fell into her hands with a small groan. “Too bad the rest of the world probably still does.”

"That last bit is Mari-just-Mari talking, and she's still supposed to be gone away.  Besides, the Mari-I'm-Mari I'm with certainly has a few friends left to call on.  Even if they're totally compulsive liars and  manipulative jerks who spend way too much time waxing philosophical about shit."  Ice swirled for effect, chiming off the glass in a way that made him wonder if an angel had just lost its wings, or a devil gained its horns. Too heavy for the now.  He really needed to just not think about anything for awhile, if that was even a possibility.

Taking a sip from his own glass, he let the viscous fire water swirl in his mouth, anaesthetizing any overactive taste buds and savouring the flavour/scent as one.  An appreciate moan rumbled through his chest as it went down, warming frosty innards nearly flash frozen by their passage through the void.  Probably not a good choice of travel methods when soaked. He made a mental note for next time.

"Is it actually... Scotch?  Almost tastes like a Speyside, single malt.  My father hated this stuff, which is why he never noticed when I swiped it from the bar."

Propping himself up against a nearby boulder, Freyd tapped Mari's sullen foot with his own, a smirk of concern visibly behind the thawing of his greying beard. 

"You getting mopey again?  I would have thought, by now, you'd have realized that most of the world doesn't give a shit about anything, including you, me, this moment, any moment, or just about fuck all except themselves.  If you don't hate yourself, that's good.  I'm prepared to call that a step in the right direction and raise a drink to the notion.  Or several, as may be required."

[Mari 1]

Mari lifted her head and gratefully accepted one of the frosted tumbler glasses. “Whiskey…” Mari breathed. “Is much more preferable than that fruity mess.” She added with a thankful tone. The woman all too readily accepted his offer. Unlike Freyd though, Mari didn’t have the same desire to cherish the taste, nor the scent. She emptied her glass in its entirety.

The burning sensation that tickled her throat, that heavy warmth in the pit of her stomach. The buzz that made her head that little bit heavier. So you can get drunk here now Mari thought to herself.  She had planned to test it - but it was clear. She was already feeling the effects of the alcohol. Granted - at this point she was about 4 drinks in.

Mari held out her hand, expectantly, and with a chuckle Freyd reached out and poured her a second glass. “I promise…I’ll take it easy on this one.” Mari admitted sheepishly. She leaned back against the tree - the two sat opposite each other. The soles of their shoes touching.She listened quietly as Freyd did his best to alleviate her doubts. “You’ve always done that.” She said quietly. There was a pause as she took a long sip from her glass. The first flavour she was hit with - was a smokey malt. Reminiscent of the countless drinks she had back in the real world. There were other notes - but Mari couldn’t quite pick them. She licked her lips, and continued her thought. “Try to bring me up - I mean. Even if…” She offered him a tilt of her head and a wry smile. “As you say - the ways were manipulative and philosophical.”

Mari felt him tap her foot and she snorted. “No. I’m not moping. This…is nice.” She had to rest her head on the back of the tree, it swam. “Takeshi.” Her voice was soft, and the use of his real name created a pensive atmosphere. There was a long pause.

“Amari. I know - All I did was take off a letter but. Amari.” The woman admitted, using her real name with him for the first time. “And Right now, Amari is fucking cold.”

[Freyd 0]

Pouring the second drink, Freyd took her observations in stride.  Candor was rarely a problem, the man’s own brutal pragmatism having long since done away with any ease for getting under his skin.  

“You remember,” he replied, a pensive, pleasant smile spreading as the cool mountain winds dried and tossed stray unruly hairs atop his head. 

“Amari.” It felt familiar, like she’d somehow told him before and it had been buried in the snowdrift of a thousand lifetimes since they’d last just sat and chatted. Realizing how much had happened to him in Aincrad made it feel like forever, but not in a bad way.

“You took me to your home, once.  Feels only fair that I should extend the same courtesy.”

Scissoring his legs like the stilts on some sort of powered lift, he stood on the spot and reached down towards her with an open free hand. It mattered to him that everything he offered was a choice.

“Warm bath. Warm blankets. Warm hearth. And no town guards or strings attached.”

Downing the rest of his drink, glass and bottle were both instantly consigned back to his inventory as he guided them towards the sheltered private refuge. As they reached the edges of the plateau upon which rested and ended the High Fields of Crossing, Mari would see a deep, broad green valley nestled into rocky cliffs and landscape etched by several small waterfalls that collected into a small pool at their base. Following the flow led the eye to a sprawling, homely abode of wood and stone, dimly lit as if simmering deliberately in its isolation.  Smoke trickled from a chimney or two as lights flickered with orangy warmth from within.  Waters fell further down to the lower tiers of the floor, just beyond, cloaking the entire area in a cloud of mist.  Fortunately, the dominant winds kept it away from the house, providing the perfect quiet shelter.

“We call it Witherwind Rest.  And you are always welcome here.”

***

Details and images on Witherwind Rest can be found here.