"Excuse me, Alvin, could you spare a moment for a concerned old man?"
Alvin slowly turned around, as the voice had caught him by surprise; he liked and respected Rowen, of course, but he had never been so direct with him, and judging as his standing with the rest of the group wasn't exactly in tip top shape even after they had gained control from the airship over Kanbalar, the rather brunt approach of the strategist turned butler made him a bit uneasy.
"I suppose so. You in need of a back rub or anything, old man?"-Alvin said, his trademark grin flashing through his face
"You are very kind to make such an offer.."-Rowen chuckled-"But I'm afraid my request is actually in regards to our mutual young friend Jude".
"Uh?"-Alvin was now intrigued by the old man's behavior, but still at unease.
"I'm afraid the young Mr. Mathis seems to find himself in a low state of spirits, no pun intended; I'm speaking, of course, about the…tension that seems to have emerged between himself and the lady Milla, ever since her older…sister joined us"-Rowen cleared his throat as he made a reference to Muzet; clearly he seemed to still have some apprehensions about her.
"Oh, right…the kid's somehow keeps adding lovely ladies to his entourage, while a couple of eligible bachelors like us are just teased and ignored"-Alvin couldn't help himself grin at the thought of yet another fact that would help him tease and make some light fun of the kid.
"I couldn't say…but truly young Mr. Mathis's spirits have been rather affected by these unfortunate events, and it just wouldn't do to have him be like that on the eve of such a decisive battle; I would be most thankful if you could see to have him distract him and ease his tensions in the usual way comrades in arms do for each other"-Rowen said.
"You want me to take him for a few drinks and a talk about girls? Why don't you do it? I mean, clearly you have age and experience on these matters"-Alvin shrugged, trying to hide his surprise at Rowen's request.
"I'm afraid that very same age and experience itself has proven to be an obstacle before; you, on the other hand, might be successful were I have not, given the smaller age gap and your…innate ability to chisel away young Jude's calm and collected demeanor"-Rowen smiled, not hiding his blatant attempt at flattery.
"Well, its not exactly like I'm busy right now"-Alvin said as he stroked his chin-"What the hell, I could use a drink myself, and maybe I could knock some sense into that kid's noggin. Leave it to me, old man!"-Alvin said with yet another smirk; the thought of Jude actually having a drink in itself was already making him chuckle.
"Excellent! I wish for your success!-Rowen smiled as he walked away.
"Guess I'm stuck with babysitting the kid now…not that it's a problem, I mean, is just having a few drinks with a kid and telling him to man up, what could possibly go wrong?"-Alvin thought as he headed back to the Kanbalar inn to pick Jude up.
Later...
"Why are we here again?"-Jude asked as he stared at Alvin at the other side of the table at the Inn's bar, where a large bottle filled with some red liquid and a couple of glasses had been se up by a waitress moments ago.
"Just thought we should have a heart to heart talk, between us guys; You know, now that I'm on the truth and narrow with you and the others; Think of it as trying to make up for all the teasing and joking I've had at your expense"-Alvin said as he poured some of the liquid on both glasses.
"I guess that's a nice gesture coming from you…but I don't think I'm old enough for having alcohol yet"-Jude said as he stared at the glass Alvin had just handed him.
"Hey, things are different here in this country; plus come on, we're going to battle tomorrow, and no sense in going in all winded up…Cheers!"-Alvin said as he clinked his glass against Jude's and took a long gulp.
"Well, I guess I am a bit stressed up…plus, just one drink wouldn't matter"-Jude said as he brought the glass to his lips.
Moments later….
"And she gets all angry with me because I shared my mana with her sister, like I had done something horrible and yet both of them don't even care to explain what it was! And when either she or I try to talk alone something always comes up! Its like the whole world is messing with me on purpose!"-Jude said as he slammed his glass on the table, his face rather red.
"I hear ya, kid…I mean, not that I have ever been involved in some love triangle with a God and her Spirit sister, but yeah, getting involved with girls who share a family always comes to bite you in the butt…love always does"-Alvin replied as he took a gulp; he knew Jude was slightly inebriated, but he was surprised by the kid's drinking tolerance.
"Love? I wish it was love, not this…this…whatever it is I've gotten myself into!"-Jude blurted out as he leaned back on his chair-"I mean, do I like her? Yeah I do! And she clearly likes me back enough, but it's not like I can just walk over to a God and ask her out on date or something! And for all her wonderful and amazing determination, every time we are alone she gets all flustered and changes the subject, while I'm waiting there like some sort of statue to see where this crazy relationship, if you can even call it that, is going to!"-Jude exclaimed.
"Been there, kid"-Alvin sighed as he took another drink-"I mean, being a mercenary isn't exactly a profession rife with a stable social life, but man…I though Presa was different, you know? I actually thought we had something special there"-Alvin said as he somehow started to feel he could confide in Jude…it seemed like the kid wasn't as thick as he seemed, and he could even relate to him.
"Presa? You main THAT Presa? With the skintight outfit, the tail and glasses Presa? Presa as in "Tried to kill us on more than a couple occasions" Presa?"-Jude gasped.
"Yeah…long story short, it didn't work out; our personal missions got in the way, so to speak"-Alvin mustered as he took another sip, noy paying attention to the waitress taking away a couple of bottles from the table.
"But you…you were going to shoot her back at the marshes!"-Jude said, completely appalled.
"Nah, I knew you were gonna pull that nice guy routine of yours and keep me from doing it; plus, even if I did, she would had dodged it and I would had to knock her out…that girl can read me like that open book of hers"-Alvin moaned, staring at his half empty glass.
"Uh…well, that explains a lot"-Jude huffed as he crossed his arms around…he suddenly seemed a lot more aggressive and determined than his usual self.
"Excuse me?"-Alvin's eyes narrowed.
"Oh its just that all this time you have been teasing and making fun of me, with the bondage jokes, the sexual innuendos, poking fun at me and Milla…while all along you have a…a...a sort of secret catsuit wearing catgirl ex mistress! The nerve of you!"-Jude snarled.
"Whoa, whoa! Don't get carried away there, kid!"-Alvin said as he pointed his finger at a frowning Jude-"At least I'm not the one that has an armload of cute girls around, while acting like some oblivious moron just because you can't man up and tell the one you follow around like a stray puppy how you really feel!"
"You talking about honesty, Alvin? Seriouly?"-Jude sneered back, as he gulped down another drink.-"Talk about some nerve".
"Hey, I might be a conman, but a least I'm honest when it comes to the big things!"-Alvin snapped back.
"Oh really? Then why aren't you with Presa right now then?"-Jude said as a matter of fact.
"That's…that's …oh hell, you got me there, kid. Sorry for getting you riled up"-Alvin sighed as he admitted defeat.
"Nah, I kinda deserve it…I mean, you do have a point, I'm not being really fair to Milla or Leia myself…and Muzet, she complicates things further, if that's even possible"-Jude sighed back.
"Well, that's girls for you, kid…once they gang up on you, they'll eat you alive"-Alvin said.
"THAT'S IT!"-Jude exclaimed as he bursted up from his chair.
"Uh?"-Alvin said.
"It's not our fault, its theirs! They are the ones stringing us long and making it all more complicated, never being able to choose between us or their personal objectives!"-Jude said, his face now several shades of red.
"You are right! That's why it never worked between me and Presa! She is the one who had to go and choose Gaius and the Chimeriad over what we had! She walked out on us, not me! Ohhhh, I should just go and give that conniving, sexy know it all kitten a piece of my mind right now!"-Alvin fumed, his face joining Jude's in red shading.
"You know what? That's what I'm going to do right now with Milla! I'm gonna walk all the way up to her and tell her to just decide what the hell is going on between us!"-Jude said as he threw several coins on the table and started attempting to make his way outside…he almost fell down before Alvin caught up with him and threw his arm over him.
"Wait, this is a matter of us men as a team! We're doing this together, as a stand for men everywhere!"-Alvin said as he and Jude worked in tandem towards the door; neither of them aware they were still carrying each a bottle of wine on their free hands.
"Yes, men together, forever!"-Jude replied as they both exited the inn, to the shock of the bar's patrons.
"Oh my…I think this is one strategy I should had given more thought beforehand"-Rowen said as the door closed.
Elsewhere in Kanbalar…
"I still think it was…indecent of you to direct tether with him so…blunty!"-Milla fumed as she walked around, Muzet hovering at her side.
"Oh my…I didn't knew Jude was your personal mana source, dear sister, had I known…"-Muzet slightly blushed as she looked at her sister.
"What? Its…its nothing like that between Jude and I! I haven't direct tethered with him at all!"-Milla said as her face went bright red.
"You haven't? But you two look like you had been doing so for ages!"-Muzet gasped.
"That's not it…its…more of a human thing…similar to tethering, but more…special…even…more intimate"-Milla continued to blush as her new found sister's bluntness hit her to no avail.
"Oh, is this that Love humans talk so much about? Have you made the act of love with him? Is it as incredible at mana replenishing it as direct tethering?-Muzet gasped in inquires.
"WHAT? NO!"-Milla bursted out-"We haven't done anything like that…although sometimes I don't know myself…we do have been together a lot, and him carrying me back then did felt…nice..and warm…"-Milla flustered as she barely could handle the memories and emotions rushing over her.
"Very well, I'll see to stop our tethering then if he's so important to you…although I still need to recharge my mana reserves a bit more"-Muzet smiled, clearly enjoying her sister's predictament.
"Thank you, I'd appreciate that…and also do not explain to Jude about the intricacies of direct tethering, please. He may appear a bit blunt and clueless, but he is quite sensitive and innocent inside; I guess that's one of humanity's weak spots"-Milla smiled.
"Humans do seem weak all of a sudden…Jude and Alvin clearly lack the strength to get up from that bench"-Muzet giggled.
"What?"-Milla managed to say when the shock of the sigh in front of her and Muzet; in the main plaza, Jude and Alvin had an arm over each other's shoulders, and seemed to be on a clearly losing war against gravity and balance to get up from the bench they were sharing…the couple of empty bottles around them seemed to be a contributing factor as well.
"Alvin I'm so, so, so very sorry for all the times I've given you the cold shoulder after battle…you're a true pal, a buddy even"-Jude said as he once again failed to get up from the bench.
"That…that means so much to me, man…I know I tease you and have a bit of fun at your expense, but it's just that I don't wanna see you make the same mistakes I did, kid…you're like the annoying little know it all brother I wish I had"-Alvin managed to say as he lost his grip on Jude as he laid back, falling face first on the snowy floor.
"JUDE! ALVIN! What is the meaning of this? And…what is that stench? Have you two been drinking?"-Milla said as she and Muzet approached them.
"Oh my…Jude's mana energy seems…oddly strange"-Muzet gasped.
"Bingo! The kid and I were having a guy's night out, to help him get back into focus"-Alvin slurred out from the floor as his hand pointed up.
"Focus? He can barely stand on his feet! What did you do to him?"-Milla snarled.
"Ohhhh…his mana suddenly seems even more alluring than usual"-Muzet giggled as she hovered around Jude.
"I can focus! I've never been more focused in my life! Check out this arte!"-Jude said as he suddenly got up and attempted…well, some sort of motion, only to slip and fall face first on Milla's chest.
"AHHHH! Jude, are you okay? Can you listen to me?"-Milla screamed as she clutched him further.
"Gahhh…Teepo, let of my face, I can't breathe…hey, why do you feel comfier all of a sudden? You gotten fatter?"-Jude mumbled.
"Let me check on him, dear sister"-Muzet said as she pulled Jude away, cradling him in her arms, her face growing redder as she did so.
"Alvin, of all the irresponsible, despicable things you've done…are you even listening to me?"-Milla growled when not only it dawned on her that Alvin was snoring, but also that Muzet seemed…more peculiar than usual.
"Muzet! Are you still tethered to him?"-Milla snapped in horror as she turned around, only to see Muzet fly away with Jude in her arms, her flight path describing quite an erratic path.
"Whheeeeeeeee"-Muzet yelled as she flew around the town.
"GET BACK HERE YOU TWO!"-Milla screamed as she gave chase, not noticing the two figures next to Alvin as she left.
"Oh my…It seems some things never change"-Presa said as she stared at Alvin's snoring form; the look on her face was an odd combination of warmness and disappointment.
"Yeeeesh, and I thought that annoying little nurse brat reeked"-Agria said as she looked at the snoring Alvin.
"Oh well, these kind of opportunities rarely present themselves…help me drag him to my quarters; I want to check and update some of my personal data on him"-Presa said as she grabbed one of Alvin's arms.
"Can I stomp his head in a couple times before we do? It's kind of a hobby of mine"-Agria said.
"Oh, by all means"-Presa smiled as she replied.