They drank deeply of the divinity created wine, and drank some more. Soon they were sitting on the hard floor rather than the nice wooden chairs, but neither of them seemed to mind or care. They were shoulder to shoulder, leaning against each other and laughing as familiarly as if they were brothers.
Tumnus felt a great deal more relaxed as the wine unwound his nerves. Belspur, for his part, seemed gentler and friendlier under the influence of alcohol.
They began to talk of all the things goat-legged people are concerned with; dances, music, festivals, moonlight revels, the beauty of nymphs and dryads and the daughters of river gods.
"We've got a hard, hard lot you know" Belspur said, looking as if he was trying not to laugh. The tip of nose was cherry red.
"Whatever do you mean?" Tumnus asked, wrapping his arm around his friend and squeezing his shoulder.
"Fauns and Satyrs that is", Belspur continued after taking another sip of wine. His eyes got big and slightly wet. "We never know our mothers"
"My mother was a nymph," Tumnus commented, casually and without pride, "At least, that's what my father told me"
"Yes, yes, yes, but we never really get acquainted, now do we? They just show up with us in tow and drop us off on our father's doorstep and slip right back into their trees and forget all about us"
Tumnus tilted his head back and took a deep drink before replying.
"I don't suppose they can help it, Bel. It's just their nature. You mustn't hold it against them."
Belspur seemed to think about Tumnus words. In any case he said nothing for a long time and had a serious expression on his face. Tumnus thought his face was not designed for thinking much-his eyebrows were too hairy and looked like one gigantic brow when he scrunched them together.
Tumnus leaned his face against the Satyr's shoulder. He could feel his skin burning against his cheek. It was as if Belspur was some sort of furnace-almost too hot to the touch. When Tumnus looked up he saw his friend's face was flushing crimson.
"Are you alright, Bel?" Tumnus whispered. "You look like you've caught a fever"
Belspur blinked, and then stood up shaking his head. He stamped his hoof on the floor and looked down at Tumnus.
"I'm just warm, that's all", Belspur said, stroking his little beard thoughtfully. "What I could really use now it a good dance"
With that, he began tapping his hard cloven feet on the floor with a clumsy rhythm. Tumnus responded by getting his pipes out his chest and striking up a simple tune. His fingers felt heavy and his lips fat as he tried to tease music from his instrument.
It was all rather silly looking, Tumnus thought, drunken dancing to drunken music. But his hoofs began tapping to his own jerky rhythm, and soon after that he was standing up and dancing beside Belspur. Unfortunately it is rather difficult to do two things at once, especially when one has had too much wine. The Faun tripped over his partner's leg, and rather than dropping his pipes to catch himself, he held them to his chest and tumbled toward the floor.
Belspur's arm shot out and grabbed the Tumnus by his waist. For a moment they dangled their, the small Faun keep upright by the larger Satyr's arm. Tumnus let out a yelp of surprise as he felt himself falling backwards. What was really happening was Belspur was falling down and bringing Tumnus with him, but it took him a moment to figure this out.
By the time he did he was lying on top of Belspur, back facing him. He felt the Satyr's warm chest against his shoulder blades and his arm still against his stomach. It was not an unpleasant sensation, and Tumnus's face reddened from something other than wine.
"I do think", Belspur said in a deep, sleepy voice, "We've had quite enough wine"