Now That's The Spirits! || 7.13 late night-early morning || Theodoric/Kaedon

[Theodoric Severne]

By the gods! What happened to his bottle!? It was full a minute ago! ...Wasn't it? He could have sworn it was. But who could have snuck in without him knowing? Falmek? No... Falmek would have asked first. Kaedon! It had to be Kaedon! Wait... That didn't make any sense either. If Kaedon had come in, he would have drank his alcohol and then hit him over the head with the bottle. Couldn't have been him. Fallon didn't drink... Rhiannon wouldn't have taken the bottle from him. That left only one person he could think of. His wife! Of course! She poured his alcohol out just to spite him! That spiteful woman... But her plan was incomplete. He still had a half empty bottle... Or half full... Depending on how you looked at life... And for Theodoric... It was half empty.

He poured himself another glass and held it up in front of his eyes. Looking through made everything in his study look amber. That made him smile. It was the little things, after all. And, this little thing happened to take his mind off of what he probably would have to do in the morning. He was not looking forward to scolding Fallon. That thought back in his head, the misery returned full forced and, putting the glass to his lips, he downed the contents and reached for the bottle to pour another glass. At the corner of his desk was another empty bottle and one he had opened, started on, and forgotten about.

[Kaedon Severne]

Kaedon sat perched on the garden wall, looking out over the city. He was happy he’d made up with Fallon, but his wife still remained the one blemish on his life. If there was some way he could make his brother see that marriage had been a folly, one their family had been misled into by the ambitions of a greedy man, perhaps he’d change his mind. Sando-lat had already conned the royal family in accepting Dori-Mae as a queen, despite the fact that their bloodline wasn’t high enough for royalty. Kaedon might not enjoy the world of politics, but only a deaf man could have missed the rumblings of undercurrent that flowed from House Sterlyn’s decision to take her as queen. Couldn’t his own brother see that associating with their House was fraught with ruin?

But the real reason Kaedon cared so much was that he already missed Rosalie. She’d been gone only a few days and already he longed to caress her soft ivory skin and smell the perfume that laced her neck and hair. His memories of their time in the meadow only made his need to see her worse. But she was already gone on some ship to Vadra to wait there for the next wedding.

The hour was late and the city was sleeping except for the occasional guard or tavern drunk. Sighing, Kaedon pushed himself up and walked along the top of the wall until he reached the tower. He had no relationship with his brother; the last time they’d spoken they nearly fought physically. Any time Kaedon attempted to ask a favor of Theo, his brother shot him down. Perhaps you need a stronger reason…

He found himself walking by his brother’s office, as though he’d suddenly decide to frame an offer Theo might understand, and oddly heard a sound from within. He stopped at the doorway and leaned on the frame, resisting the urge to burst out laughing. For once, Theodoric looked drunk, while Kaedon was entirely sober. “Now this is a sight to see, dear brother. I’d have never taken you as one for the bottle.”

[Theodoric Severne]

Theo's eyes snapped up to the door way. For a moment, his vision swirled. "Kaedon!" he said a bit louder than he intended. "Good of you to come around. Was just thinking about you. Oh... and you brought a friend!" Theo said, not realizing that he was just seeing two of the same person. He looked down at the bottle, giving it a hateful look. "It's a necessary evil," he said, tilting it slightly. "It's really the only thing I have left. But enough about me. Come... Sit. It looks like you have something to tell me anyway."

It was probably not so wise to let Kaedon come in now. Theodoric wasn't exactly thinking straight... or reasonably. "You know... I've never cared for rum... Wasn't my preferred drink. But... alas, it was the first thing I could find and we seem not to be lacking for any. What about you, brother? Do you enjoy rum? Or is it ale that is popular at the taverns? It has been so long since I've been to one... Though it would be a lie to say that I haven't been considering it as of late. Hell, I'm drowning myself in the bottle. The tavern can't be too far away..."

He set the glass and bottle back down and sat up straighter. "So... what is on your mind, Kaedon?"

[Kaedon Severne]

Theodoric was welcoming him in? And Theo was drunk? Kaedon couldn't decide if he should be shocked or just roll over and laugh. He hoped to the gods he didn't look so foolish when he'd had too much to drink. But here was his opportunity to put on over on his brother with ease, and Kaedon slipped into the room with a smile on his face. "Rum is as good as the rest of it, Theo, but it's harder on your stomach. I prefer ale. Less mess in the morning, and it doesn't hit you in the head like well placed hoof."

He strode to his brother's desk and pulled himself up to sit upon it. Swinging around he faced his brother, his legs still dangling over the side. "I think first I'd rather know why you're drowning in liquor and crying to the stars, something I've never seen before. I hope to Avskar you've got some reason for suddenly swimming in rum."

[Theodoric Severne]

"Never thought about it that way," he said, looking at the bottle as though it were his worst enemy now. He noted how Kaedon sat in the chair... It was the chair, right? He supposed he could get after him for it. But why? In fact... Taking his glass in hand, he leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk. "Is that what this has done then? Hit me in the head? I see... It explains why there used to be two of you. Ugh," he groaned, putting his hand to his forehead. "I've been such a fool..."

"Drowning? I'm not drowning in liquor. Nor am I crying to the stars... or to anything. I'm... erm... Okay, so I may or may not be drowning in liquor, but I am most certainly not crying about anything. And yes! I bloody do have a reason to be swimming in rum. Give me more time and I'll empty every bottle in this room... Not like I have anything else to be doing... Anything... Anything."

[Kaedon Severne]

"You've never thought much about drinking before either," Kaedon pointed out, reaching for the half drunk bottle on the desk and putting it to his lips. The rum burned slightly on the way down, but the feeling was nothing Kaedon wasn't used to. He did usually prefer ale, but he'd had plenty of nights of hard liquor. "Good stuff. Not has harsh as that crap they make in the lower city. Must have come from Strom." He took another swig, and then set the bottle down. He needed to keep a few of wits, at least until he'd gotten what he wanted.

He looked at his brother again. There was something he was missing here. The alcohol was certainly a big change, but Theo had been through plenty of hardship. A lost father and a lost brother had not been enough to turn him to the bottle. "You look like your drowning. And I find it hard to believe you have nothing to do. Don't you have a wife to fuck and an heir to make? That's more fun than vomiting rum, I promise. At least in my experience, the two go better hand in hand."

[Theodoric Severne]

"Only the best for House Severne," he said more cheerily than he meant. "Hey... when did you get on the desk?" He asked, looking at him with his confusion written plainly on his face. "And where did your friend go?" It only then occurred to Theodoric that maybe he'd had a bit too much. He stared at the bottle and then looked back at Kaedon. "This is the reason I've not given hard drinking any real thought before." He set the bottle down and tried to sit up a bit.

Then he started laughing. Really laughing. It had been a long time since he'd laughed like this. But quickly it turned into a sound of pain and he let his head plop down on the desk. "No... No I don't! That's why I'm drowning," he said. Well, part of the reason. It wasn't so much that he wasn't able to get around to the heir-making business (but that did play into some of this). It was that he couldn't be close to his wife at all. Even so, just thinking that he was miserable because he wasn't getting any was enough to make him feel like the most shallow man in Forsilvra.

"I'm making a career of having no choice, it would seem," he said, propping his chin up on his arm and looking up at Kaedon. "To just see how things work out. You think I wanted you to marry a Mar-Stellar? You don't think I thought you could do better for yourself. You didn't have Nazriel and maybe you could have had a choice. But that..." he really didn't want to curse, "fucking sod came in and demanded it. Had evidence too. I swear... He had more tabs on his daughter than any father should have."

[Kaedon Severne]

"I've been on the desk," Kaedon laughed, taking another swig. His brother could be a riot when he was drunk. Too bad Theodoric didn't indulge himself more often. Maybe the two would have been better friends growing up. "Trust me, you get used to it, and then you realize that most people are more tolerable when you're drunk than sober. How do you think I managed to fumble through all these social events? Over half of those people could drive you straight to the bottom of a bottle if you're not careful. Like House Korning." He half shuttered and took another drink. That was one banner house he wished belonged in someone else's province.

His brother's laughed was infection and Kaedon found himself bellowing along, even though he had no idea what his brother found so funny. "You don't what?" Kaedon finally managed to asked, slightly confused at his brother's response.

His laughing ended immediately though, when the subject of Ara-Lynn came up. "You could have told him to fuck off," Kaedon growled. "Like my reputation was any secret anyway. What would have possibly happened? So what if Sando-Lat dragged my name through the mud; everyone knows you're the honorable one." His brothers thoughts were hard to believe after spending the last two months certain Theo was punishing him.

[Theodoric Severne]

"Oh... Heh..." he laughed, amazed by his own loopiness. Even so, the further away the bottle was now the better. He was already going to stumble into bed smelling like rum, and he was almost ninety percent positive Marilynn would suspect something was up. "Oh? Would explain a lot," he said, concentrating on his words not slurring together. The last drink he took was hitting him. When Kaedon mentioned house Korning though, Theodoric made a face as though somebody had stuck something fowl smelling under his nose and said, "I'll drink to that." He reached for his bottle and took another generous gulp.

He sighed loudly and dramatically. "I don't have heirs to be making." He realized that the way he said it must have made it sound like there was already an heir on the way. "I won't be making them for a while now... Not until my lady wife is ready. I think I've held her hand once... or twice. At the wedding. That has to be the extent of the contact though... I'm fairly certain... Maybe."

He groaned and sat back in his chair. "I started to... Even implied that his daughter was a whore and that the father could be any number of people... Gods, I wanted to tear his head of. He had the audacity..." he stopped for a moment because he had the sudden urge to empty the contents of his stomach on his desk, but he held it down like a pro. "The audacity to come in here and demand that I be honorable. Made it a direct challenge on my honor. It wouldn't have been only your name... Wow... That was horribly selfish of me... wasn't it? No wonder you hate my guts..." He looked down miserably.

"I should have given you the input you deserved. I let Sando-Lat control the situation... He manipulated me, and I let him. The bastard." He fell into a deep quiet, his eyes fixing on Kaedon. After about a minute, he leaned forward again and said, "I'll find a way to get you out of it."

[Kaedon Severne]

Kaedon laughed and lifted his own bottle, taking another chug. House Korning wasn't dangerous, they were just irritating and annoying. Always wanting to get ahead by trying to wed the Severne's. His father had once laughed that the Korning would crawl through fire if it meant getting their daughter in bed with a Severne. The laughed quickly died though, as Theodoric began to speak of his marriage. The last thing Kaedon had expected was to hear his brother had yet to be laid. "She is a woman isn't she?" Kaedon questioned, his eyebrow raising. Marilynn looked like a woman, and she spoke like a woman. Kaedon hadn't thought to question her sex before. "Have you at least tried to bed her? You know, you at least need to consummate your marriage." That had been the last time he'd slept with Ara-Lynn, and it hadn't been a good experience. He still remembered how much he'd vomited just after they'd finished having sex. Perhaps no one had a good marriage experience? At least he'd gotten laid.

Kaedon stared at his brother as the confession rolled out. Yes, he'd hated Theodoric for what he'd done. But his brother looked so pathetic just then, Kaedon was having a hard time being angry at him. He turned back to the bottle his hands, a source of both comfort and sorrow. Somehow, Kaedon had a hard time believing a pig like Sando-Lat could have said much to dampen the public's opinion of Theodoric. But then, his brother had never held much confidence, part of the reason Kaedon had always tormented him so easily. And now would have been the easiest time to drag his brother through the mud. But then Theodoric had offered a window of help, support to get out of his marriage. And that hope was something he grab onto and believe he might actually have a chance with Rosalie.

"He's an asshole through and through. I'm pretty good at spotting them." Kaedon took another drink of the rum, just because he could. "I want to leave, Theo. I want to head for Vadra now. I want to be away from her as much as I can. Send me on some stupid mission or something. Anything." Let me go be with Rosalie... But he couldn't say that outloud.

[Theodoric Severne]

He gave Kaedon a look which said, "I'm not amused." But then he put his head back down and groaned into his sleeve. "She's a woman all right... And... well, it's complicated. I promised her on our wedding night that I would give her the time she needed. How big of a cad am I? Drowning my sorrows because I... well... there's not eloquent way to put it, is there? And yes... I'm aware that I need to consummate my marriage. But I gave her my word..."

He opened his mouth to give him permission, but some how, even with his mind addled by liquor, he remembered why that wouldn't be a good idea. "No," he said flatly. "But... I'm going to explain why and you're going to agree with me. Fallon needs you." He sat up again and rested his chin on his hand. "Everybody is against her right now. Marilynn has even gotten after me for not scolding Fallon for what happened with Ara-Lynn yet. I promised her I would... even though I'm a little passed my deadline. Got caught up with other things... But I'm going to have to eventually. Fallon's already angry with me... She has said maybe ten words to me since I married Marilynn... And after I get after her, it's likely to become worse. She's going to need somebody on her side, and that's going to be you."

[Kaedon Severne]

Kaedon raised an eyebrow. "Why would she need time? Everyone consummates their marriage on their wedding night. Hell, even I managed to do that!" He laughed at his own expense; bedding Ara-Lynn drunk and unexcited hadn't exactly been the best of experiences. But then, Kaedon wasn't one to pass up that duty. "You've always been too honorable, Theo. Honor is well and good until it gets in the way of the natural order of things." And wedding Ara-Lynn had been anything but natural. But then he thought about Rosalie and the promises that he'd made and he knew he'd hold his word to her as long as he too. Or at least, he hoped he could. So maybe somewhere deep in him there was a small shred of honor. He frowned. "I can understand though. Here and there when I've actually given my word, I want to keep it too." He couldn't let on to his brother who or where he'd given his word. Not because he thought Theo would betray him, but he could not take even a little risk of word filtering back to Rex.

Kaedon felt himself nod, even if disappointed surged through him. Fallon's needs were more important than his, especially when they'd spent the last two months practically ignoring each other. Kaedon knew what it was like to be surrounded by anger and family who didn't want to talk to you. He couldn't abandon his sister to that fate. "Alright," Kaedon replied softly, "I'll stay for her. But when we arrive in Vadra, I will be free to... do as I please." He left his last word ambiguous. Theo would assume he'd be off to the whore houses or the taverns.

[Theodoric Severne]

"I had wondered about that," he admitted thoughtfully to himself. "I don't know any other way to be," he confessed. "I don't know if I'd call it honorable. An honorable man wouldn't be imbibing as much as I have just because his wife won't consummate... And she has good reasons. I can't share them... I think she doesn't want people knowing. Secrets... and all that..." He took another drink. He stared at the bottle, wondering if it was perhaps time to call it quits when Kaedon's words struck him. He looked up curiously, but it was clear that his brother was going to keep that ambiguous. "I know you do, Kaedon," he said seriously. "You are a better man than you think you are."

He smiled a sad smile. "Thank you," he said. "I mean it. I would let you go otherwise, but Fallon... I would never want her to feel alone. If I can't give her what she needs, then I have to be content knowing that she'll at least be happy in your presence." He understood the heavy meaning, and at first, his instincts were about to take over to scold and lecture him. But he sighed and decided to let it be. "I am done trying to control you, Kaedon. You're a man... And I know you have pride in the family and wouldn't do anything to harm any of us. I suppose I'll just have to accept that." With that he added as if sealing a deal, "When we arrive in Vadra, you're free to... do as you please."

[Kaedon Severne]

"You don't have to tell me," Kaedon offered. In truth, he really didn't want to know. Marilynn's business could stay her business for all he cared. "And having a few drinks is nothing like losing your honor. What do you do after you have a few though," Kaedon grinned, knowing exactly what he normally would have done. Would, in any case. Since Rosalie he'd found his appetite for the whorehouse had significantly diminished. They were no longer appealing when he could think about her perfect ivory skin and thick lush hair that tumbled softly over sculpted shoulders.

"Thank you, Theo," Kaedon replied, pouring both men another glass. His brother had taken his meaning perfectly, and Kaedon was not going to correct him. "I'll spend time with Fallon here, and you know I would even in Vadra. Let's have another drink to celebrate your celibacy though, just for shits and grins."