- Final Fantasy IX : Have and Have Not -- Chapter Two : Inebriation -
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-- Well. Chapter two. Here you all go. heh It just lets you in on a bit more of the story, nothing too special. You'll probably love it if you're a fan of Tantalus group, though. No Zidane here at the moment. Sorry about that. Beyond my control, though! Blame the whole thing on Garnet!Anyhow,on with the reading(and positive reviewing - hint HINT!)--
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"So!" Blank demanded, pounding a fist on the table. Some of the beer sloshed out of his full pint and added another soggy stain to the wooden table. He looked down at it, then mumbled an apology. Whether it was to the newcomer for being so rude or to the beer was unknown.
Marcus slid into the seat opposite him, trying to ignore the questioning looks he was getting from all around the table. Instead of answering, he adjusted his bandanna, and reached for the pitcher in the center of the table. After pouring himself a tall glass of beer, he'd almost taken a swig when someone punched a fist into his back.
"Come on now!" Baku thundered, just short of a drunken rage. "You've been filling us in on your love life for weeks, now's not the time to be gettin' shy!"
"Especially if there's juicy details to be discussed!"
There was a general murmur of assent around the table. Blank grinned and took a long pull of beer, relieved that they were ganging up on Marcus and not him. For once.
Marcus set his beer down on the table, where it would be as safe as it could get while surrounded by drunken thieves. He looked around the table for a moment in contemplation, taking in the excited (and drunken) gazes that the other members of Tantalus were giving him.
"Fine ..." he said after a moment, defeated. "I'll fill you in ...
"Well, I saw her again today. I was down near the auction hall. There's an auction there today, so all the rich snobs are in one place."
"So easy ..." Baku muttered.
Marcus nodded before continuing. "She must have thought so too, 'cause she was there. The both of us just minded our own business for a few minutes, I found a couple of rally fat wallets ..."
"Get on with it!"
Marcus raised his hands. "I'm getting there! So, she ended up seeing me, and--"
"Did she kiss you!" Blank demanded.
Marcus huffed. "This is my story here, Blank!"
"Right, right ..." the thief mumbled into his beer.
"She was fighting her way through the crowd towards me, but this guy walked in front of her and I hid. You know, I just wanted to see if she could find me. Before you look at me like that, I just picked up a newspaper and hid my face behind it." There were some murmers of agreement; that was alright. It was still possible for the girl to find him. "And ... er ... well ... I think I got her into some trouble."
The eyes of his fellow thieves around the table were wide. "Did ... did you get ... her pregnant!" Cinna asked in a reverent whisper. Blank looked around as if he expected to see the Girl sitting at another table nearby.
"No. No!" Marcus waved his hands to bring all attention back to him. "No, nothing like that! What do you guys take me for anyways!"
There were a few embarrassed mumbles, which were quickly shut up by those responsible taking rather long gulps of beer and then choking on them.
Baku pounded on Cinna's back. "Shut up! He's gotta tell us exactly what went on!"
Tears were streaming down Cinna's face as he sucked in a gasp of air. "Alright, alright, just stop that!"
Marcus finally got the time to take a drink. The cool liquid was welcomed wholeheartedly by his dry mouth. "Anyways." He set his cup back down on the table and leaned forwards. "She walked right by me and went in this door at the auction hall. Not the main one, this smaller door off to the side. The one that there's usually a guard outside of. Okay, there was no guard there today, that's how she got in."
"Aaaand?" Blank looked expectant. "What's so wrong with that? So she got a little lost."
"I'm not done yet. I figured that I'd make it easier for her on the way out and stand closer to the door, without the newspaper and all, but then this guy walked up. And let me tell you, this guy was acting as though he had every right to be there. I could tell by looking, this was no guy to be messed with. He went through the door ... I waited there for a few more minutes, and I can tell you guys, I was sweating." He took a swig of beer. "I waited for half an hour. She never came out."
There was silence at the table.
"Whoa," Blank finally said, slumping back in his chair. "Harsh, man."
Cinna put on a goofy grin. "To me, it sounds like this other guy found her and then two of them're gettin' along pretty well." He laughed, but he was the only one who did. Blank glared at him, and Baku made a rather threatening gesture which involved his neck.
Marcus groaned and kneaded his closed eyes with the palms of his hands. "I was trying not to think of that. I was hoping that she was just taken prisoner. You know, something fixable."
Baku looked thoughtful. Well, as thoughtful as a drunken man could look. "We're close to some people with the inside scoop. Why don't we just ask around! Someone'll know where this guy hangs out." He took a clumsy pull out of his near-empty glass. "We're gonna get this girl o' yours back!"
Marcus offered a grin, then took a long drink to hide the fact that he really didn't think that they could do it. For one, the guys were drunk. Promises made when the guys were drunk, were usually forgotten in the hangovers that followed. For another, they hadn't seen the guy that had walked in after Her. He, Marcus, had and he knew that this was certainly not one to be messed with. Especially not if the aggressor was a small-time group like Tantalus.
Marcus looked down into his mug of amber-coloured beer and heaved a troubled sigh. He just wanted to be back on the street, stealing wallets and other little things that people just wouldn't miss until later, not in this bar worrying about a girl. When was the last time he'd worried about a girl? Who knew ... there weren't many out there worth worrying about. And now he'd found one and what did he do? Led her right into a trap. If that wasn't a relationship ender he wasn't sure what was.
Oh well. He picked up his mug and took a long swig, followed by a belch. He might as well. If he was inebriated, he couldn't remember what he'd done wrong. Thank goodness. There was a lot he didn't want to remember.