One Shot of Whiskey [Aragos & Red]

Posts : 16 Join date : 2023-09-01

For the most part, Aragos was happy to let Red chatter. The more the other man talked, the less he was required for the sake of the conversation to add himself. What he hadn’t been expecting was to find out that Red had a child. He suppressed a wince at the mention of Red’s child, masking his pain with a drink and a motion for his next. The world was going foggy around the edges. He wanted to sink into the sensation, not talk more. Red talking would have been a good middle ground but his topic of choice…

Aragos grimaced and when the next drink came he was sloppy taking it, the whisky running over the edges of the cup and down his fingertips. He sat the cup down and licked his fingers clean, only grunting in commentary to Red’s words.

He was so intent on his cleaning up of his mess that he almost missed when the topic of conversation - thankfully - changed. "Ah here's a question, how old were you when you had your first alcoholic beverage?"

That one was taking some thought. How old? He couldn’t remember. So much of his early life was a haze. Flickers of remembrance rather than full memories. He shrugged disgruntledly. “I dunno.” He offered instead lazily, not trying overly hard to remember. “Sometime when I was a teen? What does it matter?”

Posts : 17 Join date : 2023-08-27

Red raised an eyebrow noticing the wince. Guilt. Shame. Pain. I see it. This is growth...next time I can dig further but for now this is stretching for him. He tiredly drew the next glass closer to himself, drowsy he gulped it down, a wash of detachment fell over him. A teen?...Doesn't surprise me. Still, it's certainly not the best thing to carry from your teen years to adulthood.

"Ah, I was fourteen, a long while ago for sure. We all have reasons for being so early don't we?... It matters because it gives me an understanding, tells me more about you than you'd think. Sure, I've done most of the talking, but that's just as important as not saying anything at all. You figure that out in university." By god it was boring, stressful. But boring.

"Alright, since you seem to lack a connected understanding of this...Your turn. As for me anything, I'll be honest. Anything you wanna know? Though I want to know your answer to your question." Red eyed a bottle stored behind the bartender. With a nod he brought attention to it and asked to purchase it. It wasn't the cheapest, but it looked to be worth its price. Whiskey of course, plain but well brewed.

Posts : 16 Join date : 2023-09-01

In truth, Aragos wasn’t sure how much he was actually enjoying this particular little conversation. Lubricated as it was, it was… weird wasn’t it? Sure he’d had weirder conversations in the depths of his cups, but this one was particular in its weirdness. He wasn’t used to someone trying so hard to get to know him. He didn’t particularly want to be known. Aragos could feel the alcohol sapping his strength. Wearing down his willingness to argue or even try very hard. Right now, a nice nap sounded like the best course of action.

He stretched a bit, rolling his shoulders and shrugging at Red. “Look. I’m not that interested you know? I don’t feel the need to get to know you any better than I know you now. What’s the point?” People came and went. He doubted he’d even remember this conversation tomorrow the way it was going. That was a good question though. “So there. If you want a question answer that one. What’s the point of all this? I’ll tell you what I think: there isn’t one. No fucking point at all.”

There was whiskey left in his glass. How had that happened. Cheerfully he drank it down and eyed the crowd. Maybe he’d start a bar fight. That’d be something.

Posts : 17 Join date : 2023-08-27

And there it was. He slipped out emotion, raw emotion; purely unhidden. Red hadn't expected to get this far with him; it gave him a fulfilling sense of achievement. Oddly he needed that today. Red looked away from Aragos with a satisfied look on his face, he gladly filled his glass back up and set the bottle between him and Aragos. His own mask cracked, a grin-no a smile. A real one, slim and shiny it looked dark but it was genuine.

With a breathy chuckle he sipped his whisky, without looking back to the other man. Like a ghost his voice slipped out. "Oh you care. It takes the will to try not to care, you have to care to not care. You just care too much for your own good..." He cut himself off there, it was more than enough. He worried it would sound insulting, as Aragos would likely have a bitter reaction to such a personal profiling.

You're the hardest to read, I'll admit it but I appreciate your tolerance through socializing with me. He thought to himself with the remembrance of his job. "...Thanks, for condoning the unwanted socializing..." He filled up Aragos's glass fully; more than the bartender would've. He took the cap and set it in his pocket for later. Reaching back out of his pocket was a neat pouch of coins, maybe one hundred and fifty. "Find yourself a good place to rest for the night, you've more than earned it." He held the bottle in his right hand as his left slightly loosened his tie.

Posts : 16 Join date : 2023-09-01

You have to care to not care. You just care too much for your own good.

What kind of bullshit was that? He had to care to not care? He cared too much for his own good? Aragos bristles a little at the words, but not as much as he usually might. He’s just too tired to sit there and teach Red the wrongs of his ways. Let the man think what he wanted. Let him think Aragos a fucking saint if that’s what he wanted. What did Aragos care?

He supposed… In the end he cared just enough that he didn’t want Red to be deluding himself, but he didn’t have the energy at the moment to correct the mistake. So he grunts and waves the other man off. “What am I a charity now?”

Aragos grumbles low in his throat at the offer of money and snags the bag after two tries. He stuffs it in his pocket and wearily waves the bartender down. Throws the man an unsteady couple of coins and then rises even less steadily to his feet. No fight for him tonight. He’d go down with the first blow. What fun would that be?

So he makes his way without another word away from Red. Just waving a hand at the other man and heading toward the room he’d just purchased. He hopes the other man gets half as drunk as he is. Red seems to need it. Guy needs to loosen up.

Posts : 17 Join date : 2023-08-27

He watched Aragos with a studying eye, no matter how negative his response was it was certainly something to take note of… If he remembered to write it down once he got home. This. This is why I took this job, everyone else tossed aside your case like you were a charity. I took your case up because you aren't. Because despite your behavior and logistics, I've never met someone more worthy and in need of my skills.

He took a swig from his bottle with one last glance to Aragos. "You’re no charity case. Either way, you took the money. Next time, I'd love to hear your opinion. Maybe even take you up on a spar… Sleep well." The burn of the ale had completely numbed, he wondered just what he'd encounter the next time. He swept his coat off his seat and with a sense of slight but drunken pride he strutted out of the bar, bottle in hand.

He welcomed the rain as it fell on his face and shoulders, he hadn't bothered to put his coat on. It would influence him to head home sooner. But for now, he'd walk the streets sipping on his bottle with a sincere smile on his face. His eyes gave his face much more of a dark look, but he was above causing mischief despite his expression.

He found a bench somewhere… He wasn't entirely sure where he was, but there was hardly anyone out there but himself, and it was perfect. All he could hear was the rain and his own voice as he spoke to himself. "...You are certainly worthy of my time, I think.. .I quite like this case. I can't wait to see what he grows to become.." His words left his mind once he spoke them, he'd forgotten what he was talking about; his mind blurred by the whiskey, a fine feeling indeed.

End.