Two for one [Aelin]

[FlowyWolf]

"Yeah, me too." Jiran thought aloud as he heard about her hate toward that stupid sand, raising his mug as to toast to their common enemy.
The man was finally feeling good, all his muscles were relaxed and a deep fog covered his almost asleep brain, warming his mind and even his thoughts.

"Oh, I'm right from this fucking desert, and I live in a rat hole near here!". He said with a sarcastic smile onto his face, but trying not to start complaining about his poor life. As to help himself to shoo those unpleasant thoughts, he raised his head launching the landlord another coin and then grabbing happily those two mugs, holding one toward his new drinking buddy.
He needed that last ale to finally stop staring at the door, agitated, fearing some guard could come there to arrest them. But when that sweet nectar reached his stomach, and then his mind, he finally felt relaxed.

"No... well, not exactly..." words started to became harder to find and to spell "you see, I'm a mercenary. But I also needed badly some money, so... well, if during a fight or in other occasions, a kill is just a kill, right?".
Jiran's head was heavy, and so his eyelids, but he didn't want to leave that relaxing state, and he was also enjoying that drunken chat.

"And what about you, you... you were pretty good, that wasn't your first time, was it?". All his inhibitions were finally down, he spoke to that woman as if they were friends from ages. He rarely drunk with someone else, or better, not on purpose, but he was really enjoying to have someone to keep away his sad thoughts.

As the last mug was finally empty, and his eyes were fighting badly not to close, he finally said while his head was slowly sleeping down his arm.
"Well, what do you say, can you handle one last mug, or... hey, wait... do you have a room here?". 

[aelin]

The woman happily accepted another glass from her new friend. A term she had always used loosely. Growing up in the Keep she had never allowed herself to have friends - they were always trouble. She watched with amusement as the man before her was beginning to slip away into the peaceful land of sleep. She would fall out of her chair laughing if this poor soul passed out right here.

A mercenary, huh? Interesting. Ehiela found herself wondering if this mercenary had an array of weapons he kept to himself, perhaps something interesting from Essyrn she could steal as a souvenir.

The man had called her pretty good and she inwardly huffed. Pretty good, my ass. She thought to herself as she finished her ale, her thoughts beginning to become shrouded in fog. "Yup, I'm pretty good." She nodded sarcastically, confidence flowing freely now that the alcohol had opened the gate. "No, love, not my first time." She gave him a dramatic eye-roll, not being able to help herself. She was the bringer of death, a honed weapon trained from youth to steal the life from men but the man in front of her would have never guessed that. No one would and that was part of her success - she was always underestimated.

As Jiran finished his own mug his question brought a very important factor to mind - she had no where to stay. "I hadn't planned on being here longer than the day." That's how much I hate it here. She thought to herself while she pulled out three gold coins and placed them on the table. That would cover the ale and ensure the bartender's silence.

A plan began to hatch inside of her mind, overzealous as always, "Perhaps I could take that last ale in your home?" She blinked towards the mercenary with false shyness.

[FlowyWolf]

Jiran didn't notice the sarcasm in Ehiela's voice; in that state, he wouldn't distinguish a love declaration from a death sentence. However, he wasn't surprised about her answer, he was pretty sure she was an expert assassin and he appreciated the fact she was talking so freely with him, without hiding anything.

Probably because of that feeling, or probably because of the surprise in seeing all that gold on the table, Jiran couldn't find any reason to refuse her proposal.
"Sure, why not. But I warn you, I wasn't kidding when I told you I'm living in a rat hole." As he spoke, he slowly got up, almost falling back against the wall behind him, and he went toward the counter to take two more mugs to bring to his house. His mind was gone, he hadn't a single thought about how dangerous could be to bring an unknown woman to his house, especially because of what he saw her doing.
To him, it was just a normal thing, to offer a place to sleep to a lonely, nice woman like Ehiela.

When he arrived to the counter, however, and he put his hand into his pocket, Jiran suddenly realized he hadn't anything more but a small copper coin.

Therefore, throwing an embarrassed look to the gold coins the landlord had just taken from Ehiela, Jiran finally whispered him, trying to seem as fierce as he could.
"I think those coins can cover even two more mugs, don't you think?". When he saw the landlord nod, embarrassed, Jiran was proud he was still able to threaten someone successfully, even in that state; as drunk as he was, however, he couldn't notice the pity in the landlord's eyes.

"Better if you take yours..." he said to his new guest, hardly holding back a burp and shuffling toward the door with his mug in the right hand.

[aelin]

The man stumbled around but when he finally made it to the bar Ehiela tried her own legs. Slowly, she rose and found that the tavern was only spinning slightly. Good enough. It was instinct to pull her hood up over her face, always hide who you really are - she had always been taught. But she drunkenly reminded herself that the hooded version had murdered in front of witnesses earlier so she shoved her hands by her side, leaving her hood down. She strode slowly to the bar, taking care to make sure she didn't sway despite the loose feeling in her limbs.

The man before her was quite intoxicated and a devious smile crept onto her face as she took her mug and began following him to his so-called rat hole. Part of her knew if he couldn't afford to live somewhere nice then there was little chance that he had anything good to steal but it wouldn't hurt to take a look around.

"So the mercenary business in Essyrn...doesn't seem like there's a lot of action." She mumbled against her glass as they walked. She used to coolness against her cheek to ground her. It took more of her energy than she realized to keep her walk straight. Ehiela took in the run down houses, lack of greenery, and beggars around them. Pitiful. It would be a favor to the world if she burned this whole place down. She couldn't imagine why anyone would want to live in this yellow crack of earth.

[FlowyWolf]

Jiran risked falling at least three times, before to finally exit from the tavern. If he actually had been still able to make a reasonable thought, he would have been surprised about how drunk he was.
He hadn't a lot of qualities, he was aware of that, but if he could definitely be proud about one thing, that was surely his capability to handle the alcohol.
Of course, he hadn't eaten a lot those past days, mostly someone else's offal left on the taverns' tables, but deep inside him, under those gallons of alcohol, he knew why he was so drunk.

He had witnessed to a cold-blooded murder, and he hadn't done anything to prevent it. Even worst, he had been happy that someone else did the dirty work.
Probably, that was why he was letting that unknown woman spend the night at his home.

Ehiela's answer finally called back Jiran from his rush of thoughts, remembering him he had still some ale to drink.
"Well, you know, there are a lot of merchants here, people who needs us to protect them while they travel through the desert, but beside that..." a loud burp interrupted his explanation without bothering him. "... no, there's not so much action here."

Then, after a lot more turns than necessary, Jiran stopped in front of a dirty barrack in an even more dirty alley and pushed the half-closed door with a creepy creaking.
"Here we are." The door opened in a big, run-down room all covered by rags and soiled blankets. A deep smell of alcohol and humanity filled the heavy air inside.

"My room is there, the door near those two tramps sleeping." Jiran said, astonishingly at ease in showing his new friend his rat-hole.

[aelin]

As they walked deeper into the slums their surroundings became harder to look at. Everything was so unpleasant to Ehiela, who narrowed her eyes at everyone around them. She would have barred her teeth too but she was too busy losing herself in her last ale. Finally, they came to a door and Jiran announced that this was his home. Rat hole didn't even begin to describe the filth around her. The stench alone was a challenge to overcome and it took real mental focus for Ehiela not to hurl up her day's worth of ale.

"Fucking wow." She breathed as she stepped around two raggedy women who were slumped against each other on the floor - their dresses were torn and discolored. Ehiela winced as she glanced back towards them before entering into Jiran's room. The women hadn't even moved and Ehiela wondered if they had smoked too much opium and would ever come back.

Ehiela took in the room before her and forced the lump in her throat to go away. No way in hell she was sleeping here tonight, not for one second would the assassin close her eyes in this place. As dirty as her soul may be - she was a woman with standards. She would sooner sleep upon the roof or even in the desert. At least Jiran didn't have an overflow of possessions or this place would be filled with a lot more bullshit than trash.

She didn't make a move to go deeper into the room but stood by the door, back pressed against the wall. "Definitely a rat hole." The ale was slowing her mind but the awful stench helped suck some of her drunkenness from her mind. "I wouldn't expect a mercenary to live like this." Honestly, she didn't expect him to not live like this either. If business wasn't good out here then what else could this man do? Not be lazy and clean his house. Ehiela grumbled in her own intoxicated mind. Her slow deliberate gaze searched for anything worth taking but found nothing.  What a waste of time.

[FlowyWolf]

Jiran noticed the repugnance in Ehiela's eyes, and he couldn't find any reason why she wouldn't be so disgusted about that place.
He shared that revulsion too, that place was so horrible, so filled with that strong smell of vomit and opium, he barely stood to spend there his nights.

"I know, this place sucks, sorry. But hey, my room is way better than this!". Downing his ale and letting the mug out of the door, he finally pulled out from his pocket a small key and he used it to open his room's door.

It wasn't so good, actually, probably worse than more of the Essyrn inns' bedrooms; but at least, it was cleaner than the rest of the building. The floor, in fact, was free from all kind of garbage and on his bed there was a clean grey blanket that, in a contest like that, could almost look as silk.
Besides that, there wasn't a lot more, just a small open closet with anything but a waistcoat and a pair of pants identical as the ones Jiran was wearing and, in the corner near it, a great axe, the mercenary's favorite weapon. 

"Listen, it's not so good, I know, but..." another burp almost interrupted him again, but he managed to hold it back "... well, you can take the bed." Jiran finally said, grabbing another blanket from the broken sofa near there and laying it out on the floor.

[aelin]

At least the man wasn't trying to make excuses as he showed her the way to his room. It wasn't even close to what Ehiela was used to but the difference was obvious. Perhaps this man created the illusion of filth in his front room to sway intruders from even trying to break into his bedroom. Ehiela pondered the thought as she stepped forward and touched the blanket that lay on the bed, it wasn't as coarse as she expected.

She gave a slight nod as she turned back to Jiran but a shine caught her eye. In the almost empty closet sat a beautiful axe. The blade was sharp and Ehiela could imagine the weight of the weapon in her hands already. As she watched him settle another blanket down on the floor she felt a wave of guilt fall over her. This man had little to nothing and she was considering stealing his beautiful weapon. She inwardly sighed as she realized how selfish she was.

"Thank you." She settled herself down on top of the covers, her sword beside her. She hadn't bothered taking off her boots or unstrapping her daggers as she lay on her back, hands on her belly. It had been a long day and the ale had settled in her stomach, weighing down her head as well. Sleep claimed the assassin before she even realized it.

[FlowyWolf]

"Don't need to, I..." the umpteenth burp interrupted Jiran, filling his throat with the few scrap he had eaten that night.
He was drunk as a skunk, he needed more than ten minutes just to recover after bending over to stretch out the blanket.

"Well, if you want to undress..." Jiran stopped talking, seeing his new friend had already fallen asleep. She had to be really tired, she didn't even put off her clothes, not even her weapons.

"Ok, then, goodnight." He whispered wearily, talking mostly to himself and launching his waistcoat toward the closet, but missing it badly.
Then, falling onto the blanket on the floor, he almost instantly fell asleep, filling the small room with his loud snoring.

[aelin]

Initially, the sleep Ehiela found was deep but it didn't last. Long before the sun rose Jiran's snoring woke the assassin. The room was filled with darkness as Ehiela lay on her back, looking towards the closet where the axe rested. The alcohol had long left her blood yet the pounding in her skull refused to stop. She shoved the heels of her palms into her eyes, pressing until a new pain lessened her headache.

Ehiela resented those who could drink and not have a hangover the next day. Slowly she pulled herself into a sitting position, a heavy sigh drifting from her as she focused on holding down the rising bile in her throat. After a long moment the room stopped spinning and her golden eyes were able to focus in the darkness. She could easily take the man's axe and pawn it off to find a ride home - probably a better idea than having to walk the whole desert again.

Her legs whispered against the blanket as she slid off of the bed, glancing down towards Jiran who mumbled and turned but didn't wake. Instantly, Ehiela realized her throat was bone dry and the rolling feeling hit her before she could find the bathroom. In the foreign room the assassin found herself fumbling to find anywhere to release the poison in her stomach. Her foot caught on Jiran's and she fell forward, loudly crashing into the wall before throwing open the window and heaving her head out into the cold air.

Her body hung half way out of the window as she heaved out the contents of her stomach. By the time her stomach had stopped clenching she was panting, thankful that it was a cool night in the desert as the air caressed her sweaty face. Once she was certain that she wasn't going to throw up anymore she slowly slid herself back inside and down onto the floor, looking towards Jiran with hair plastered to her face.

[FlowyWolf]

His heavy sleep was suddenly interrupted by a kick in his leg, and then a loud crash, as if some burglar had entered in his room. At the beginning, Jiran raised his head, almost frightened, and when he saw the woman sticking out from the window, he almost jumped onto his legs to face that stupid thief who came there for no reason, since he had nothing to steal.

However, after those few moments needed to the world to just stop turning so quickly and confuse the man, his lost memories of the previous night finally came to his head, he then remembered who that woman was, and that there were no needs to get up.

So, tired and turned stupid, he laid down again on the floor, closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep again.
When he heard, however, that the woman had stopped throwing up onto the Adela's streets, feeling guilty for not doing anything to her, he finally said:
"Do you need any help?". His eyes stayed closed, his eyelid were too heavy to be lifted with his few strengths remained, and in his mind Jiran prayed strongly to receive a negative answer.

[aelin]

Ehiela dragged her sleeve across her face, drying the sweat on her brow. She pressed her forehead down onto her knees until her breathing came easier. "I'm fine." She mumbled when she heard Jiran's rough voice. There was no hint that he actually desired helping her and she really didn't need a stranger's assistance.

The sun hadn't risen yet but Ehiela could see the sky beginning to turn shades of pink. Her body was tired but her mind was wide awake - there was no way she would find sleep again. Had she been in a normal place she would have been able to go into the living room and relax but the man kept his living space so dirty she couldn't bare to sit in the filth.

It was only moments before Jiran's heavy breathing filled the room once again. The window behind her was still open, pouring chilled morning air down her neck. On her empty stomach the assassin felt better, the last of the alcohol finally out of her. However, her body clearly needed substance and the persistent headache proved that.

A few moments later she had gathered herself enough to stand. After ensuring that her weapons were secured onto her body she tiptoed around the snoring man and exited his apartment without another incident.

ooc: did you want to continue or end the thread?

[FlowyWolf]

OOC: I've figured out this, now it's up to you, decide what to do without any problem! ;)

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As Ehiela refused his help, Jiran sighed relieved; he wouldn't have been able to help her in any way, as tired as he was.
Therefore, without even thinking she could have refused just to act politely, he tried to find again sleep.

His mind, however, was slowly beginning to work properly, throwing against him his so many worries and pushing that craved sleep away from him. He even tried to focus onto his breath, as he usually did those rare nights in which he wasn't drunk, but no matter how deeply he breathed, his worries were always louder.

Between all those worries, however, a small light sparkled in the darkness, giving him at least something to be happy for.
He hit rock bottom, he was forced to accept to turn from a simple, almost innocent mercenary, to a bloody murderer, just to avoid to be killed by his wolf at the door; but that night, when he actually would have had to kill an unarmed man for the first time in his life, it was as if an angel had come to relieve him from any responsibility.
Of course, she was more like a death angel, but she still was what he really needed that evening.

Suddenly, while his thoughts were finally blending with his dreams, an unexpected noise woke him up, and he quickly moved his right hand toward the small knife he always kept under his pants. If any stupid thief had decided to enter into his house, he would be well prepared to take that kill he had avoided before.

When he saw there was anyone inside his room, however, he thought for a moment it was all due to his sick mind.
But when he finally realized someone else should have been in that room, he quickly jumped onto his legs, scared.
Firstly, he looked around in his room, trying to notice if anything was missing, but the only things he could give some values, his axe and his waistcoat with his daggers inside, were still there.

Feeling ashamed for having thought Ehiela could have robbed him, he ran toward the so-called living room to see if she was her; but obviously, she was not.
"So, she ran away..." he said to no one, thoughtful. He couldn't explain why he felt that way, he had just met that woman, so why was he so disappointed for her escape?

And then, probably pushed by the alcohol still in his blood, he finally ran to the window and stuck out it, looking for the woman down the streets. He needed some instants, before to finally spot her figure in the dark.

"Wait, why don't you stay for breakfast?" he shouted with all the little breath he had in his chest, hoping his voice could reach Ehiela's ears.

[aelin]

The morning chill had made Ehiela feel much better yet her empty stomach drove her weakened limbs forward. She wasn't a huge drinker and she had gotten pretty drunk the night before. Luckily, expelling the leftover liquid earlier had made her feel much better already. A beautiful dream of bread entered her mind and her stomach growled in response. As the dew clung to her clothes, she pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders. She could feel the light layer of water clinging to her hair, frizzing it no doubt.

Out of habit she stuck close to buildings, always traveling in the shadows even when she has no need to hide. Her steps echoed in the streets as the sun began to peak over the horizon, washing the desert town in a pale pink. Ehiela always did like the morning even though she rarely saw the sunrise. Her profession usually required her to be up all night so the only sleep she got was early mornings.

Her pace was slow due to her low energy and she hadn't made it far when a voice faintly reached her. She glanced behind her and quickly found Jiran leaning out of his window calling after her. Slightly surprised the man had awoken from his slumber that he barely stirred from when she was vomiting. The young woman paused, unsure if she should actually go back to the trashed apartment but the calling of breakfast was too much to resist.

She turned on her heel and walked back until she was looking up at Jiran's window. "What's for breakfast?" She asked as she tilted her head up, hood falling back onto her shoulders.

[FlowyWolf]

Luckily, his voice had managed to reach her ears, and when he saw Ehiela walking back toward him, he found himself really happy about it.

"What's for breakfast?" he repeated, caught off guard, trying to think if there could be something edible in his house, but the only thing they could eat was some dried meat he usually ate during his travels, and that wasn't at all what normal people called a breakfast.

"Well... we could go to the tavern, what do you say?". Putting his hands into his pocket, he quickly counted the coins in it, and a large smile appeared on his face, noticing there were still some of them.
"Come on, it's my treat!". He knew he had to save his money to pay his debts, but after all, he would have soon received the money for that murder he didn't even committed, it was the least he could do to pay for her breakfast.

[aelin]

Ehiela leaned against the building, arms crossed, while she waited for the mercenary. She had little desire to fight her way through the debris in Jiran's home. Instead she found herself staring down the few people who were beginning to file out into the streets to begin their mornings. All of whom wisely avoided her gaze. Her stomach had taken to rolling instead of growling and she was going to be in a royally bad mood if Jiran didn't hurry up.

She wasn't sure what the tavern would have to offer but any food would suffice. She normally took to the bakeries in Connlaoth. The thought of the pastries made her mouth practically water and suddenly the assassin felt immensely homesick. She was aching to be out of the desert - her least favorite place. Her mission was complete so she could head home whenever she pleased, the thought comforted her.

Jiran's footsteps sounded from inside the building. Finally. Ehiela sighed and pushed off of the wall, turning to face the door. The man had offered to buy breakfast for her and although the offer was kind she had a feeling that he needed the money more than she did. She was a valuable assassin, her success showing in the blood money she had collected over the years. Which in turn had bred a love for luxury. But men were prideful beasts and perhaps she would allow this man to spend his money on her this once.

[FlowyWolf]

Jiran quickly grabbed his waistcoat and controlled to have with him his two daggers, just in case.
Then, fighting his way through the mess of his house, he finally reached the door and closed it back with his key. He knew there wasn't anything valuable inside, and no one there would have robbed in his house; he had quite a bad reputation in the city, and he was pleased about it.
However, if he had not closed his door, he would probably have found inside at least two trumps in his bed.

"Here I am, sorry for the waiting!". Ehiela seemed to be a bit disappointed for the waiting; or maybe, she was just hungry. However, since even Jiran was pretty hungry, he quickly moved toward the nearest tavern he knew, the only one in which he didn't go just to drink.

"It's not too far from here, and their kitchen is pretty good." He wasn't an expert about food, he rarely ate something different from dry meat, but he had already eaten there a couple times, especially when he received some big reward for his job, and he remembered with love the tavern's pancakes.

"So... are you ok now?" Now that the alcohol was gone, Jiran found it was hard for him to talk with the woman; that situation was almost new for him, and his uncertainty seemed to wrap his tongue, lowering his voice to just a little whisper.

[aelin]

She fell into step beside Jiran as he made his way to a tavern, one that she hadn't been to yet. "I'll feel better once I get some food." Ehiela grumbled as she shoved into the tavern. She didn't have patience to wait to be greeted and instead made herself comfortable in a side booth that was stationed beside a window. She inhaled the water a timid waitress had set down and scuttled away.

"So what do you get to eat here?" She glanced over the tiny scrap of paper that supplied them with the thin menu choices. Nothing special popped out at her so she took to just staring out the window and sipping on the lower half of her water.

[FlowyWolf]

It seemed Ehiela wasn't in a good mood, so Jiran simply decided to give up talking and entered into the tavern.
He wasn't surprised seeing the woman sit without waiting for the waitress, but he simply followed her and, giving a quick smile to the well-known waitress and, ignoring her stupid winking, focused on his menu and on the yearned water she had given them.

"Well, I usually have some pancakes for breakfast, they're quite good..." and quite cheap too, he was going to say, but he stopped in time; even if it should have been obvious for her that he was a poor person, he didn't want to make it even more evident.

"But I think even the other things in the menu are pretty good..." the woman was staring bored out of the window, she didn't seem so happy to be there with him, but Jiran didn't give much importance to it; after a hangover like that they had the night before, he usually woke up hating the whole world too.

"Ok, I'm going to take the pancakes, so, if you want, you can pick any other things, I'll let you taste some of mine."