A tiny hint towards Brewmaster/Tusk and some Kunnka/Crystal Maiden ahead!
Night 5 – Let's drink to this
The sun was setting when I finally got back to the camp. Of course, my fishing skills weren't excellent by any means so I caught nothing. I glanced over at Azwraith and Raigor, carrying a huge basket filled to the brim with fish. I wasn't even mad. I enjoyed watching those two interact. And a couple or not, I knew they were very close. I smiled, watching Dazzle join them and pick the biggest fish out of the basket...and claim he'll need it for science. The rain stopped and even though the night was still cloudy it was pleasant again and it seemed like we would have fish for dinner.
I helped with dealing with fish as much as I could but even with the four of us dealing with that it took a while. By the time we were done the sun set for good and bonfires were lit. It seemed like most of the creatures of the Dire camp gathered themselves around and I have seen bottles being passed around.
I just sat there, by the fire with Raigor, Azwraith, Tinker and Enigma who apparently decided to become my personal pillow. I wrapped my arms around my knees. I rested my chin on them and stared into the dancing flames. Camping or not, fire was usually very nice to sit around. It made me a bit warmer on the inside...even if I was not feeling any cold that night. I enjoyed the calm atmosphere disturbed only by laughs coming from other fires and rumble of talks. And I would have maybe even dozed of like that it it wasn't for the bottle that suddenly appeared in front of my eyes along with a hairy paw.
-Ah, there ya go! -The bottle got balanced on my hands. And I looked up at the Brewmaster who got himself drunk already. Again. - To your health, Graph!
He took a swing of the bottle he was holding and plopped himself next to me. And I might have been a tiny bit preoccupied with the Brewmaster to, at first, notice Tusk following him, handing some bottles to the creatures sat next to the bonfire. Only Enigma and Phantom Lancer declined a drink, I noted.
-Thanks. -I removed the cork from the bottle and sniffed whatever was inside. It didn't seemed too bad so I took a swing. I grimaced. The ale was quite strong. -Any specific occasion for drinking today?
-Some nice kills...-The Brewmaster furrowed his brows, as if to try and remember something.-Ah, yes! And you're doing some good job, running around and stuff! Everyone has to drink to that.
-Nice. -I smiled and took another swing. Strong or not, the liquor was nice. I shook the bottle a bit, presenting it to the drunken red panda. -Where did you got this stuff from ?
-Mangix makes it himself. -Tusk butted in. He was probably equally drunk as Brewmaster.-This, though is better than the shit he usually gives out. He says you need a nice drink for courage.
-Courage?! -I felt like sat next to an old marriage about to start a fight over a newspaper placed on a wrong spot on the table. Mangix turned his full attention towards Tusk and glared at him. -Ymir, this one can't even punch anyone and still runs around enemy's territory! If that's not courage, I have no idea what is.
I sent Tinker a questioning look. In a response he just smiled at me and raised his bottle and pointed it towards the two. Not much to do for me then. I took a bigger swing from my bottle, deciding to just enjoy the show. Tusk chuckled, apparently amused.
-Drinking your ale is a quite brave thing to do.
-And yeeeet you still drink, Hun.
Brewmaster grinned at Ymir, apparently happy about his response. I watched the two bicker for a longer while, sipping on my own drink until they ended up sitting side by side, sharing a bottle. I emptied half of my bottle before I decided it was time for a walk...and then, when I tried to stand up, I felt the alcohol hit me with its full force. I stumbled but managed to get myself up. My vision was swinging but I felt quite confident about walking. I felt a small tug on my arm and I looked over at Enigma. A bit worried Enigma. I jut smiled at him.
-I'm fine, I just need a walk.
He nodded and let go of my arm. Where did I go? Down the middle lane. It was too loud in the camp and I figured that I wanted to walk away...as far as I could. Or at least that was my alcohol-induced idea about. There was a truce during the night so what bad could have happened? I haven't really thought about that until I reached the river. I analysed the bottle I was dragging with me the whole way. Worst case scenario was me getting the quickest way back to the base. The best: me not finding anyone and being able to spend some time alone with my thoughts for a change. I liked the idea so I drunk to that and soon resumed walking into the Radiant jungle.
And I had a plan: I wanted a calm space to gather my thoughts. I walked around for a longer while before I spotted a cliff which seemed just perfect for that. I climbed up and sat on top. The world seemed a bit blurry and moving a bit too much but it wasn't bad enough to discourage me from enjoying it the way it was. The jungle was silent, barely anything moving around. The grass was still a bit damp from the rain during the day and glistened in the light that stars emitted. The clouds were messing the whole thing up quite a bit but I didn't minded.
It all made me sleepy and I decided it was time to head back and actually get some sleep but before I could move I noticed someone walking around.
Two someones. And they weren't exactly walking they seemed to be dancing. I sat back down to observe. I figured out two people, a man and a woman and even from the distance I was easily able to tell that the man was Kunnka. I also had an idea who the woman was...not many women were blond around there after all. I smiled while watching the two slowly waltz around, not exactly paying any attention to the surroundings. I took another, bigger swing from the bottle watching the two stare into each other's eyes and move around. There was no music yet they didn't seemed to need it. I sighed. When was the last time I enjoyed myself so much that I forgot about the world around me? A loooong time ago, as much I was sure about. I kinda envied how happy Rylai was in Kunnka's arms and how well they looked together. I sighed again, I was getting old and sentimental.
As silently as possible, I climbed of the cliff and with an empty bottle as my companion, I headed back to the base, completely oblivious to a pair of dark eyes watching me.