Tripping (closed)

[jamesoftaversal]

Who: Sir James, Allan, Emmaline
What: Sometimes a man need a little wine to get to sleep
Where: The Trip to Jerusalem Inn
When: 29th September, very late. Or very early 30th September. After a party like this one, it’s hard to tell.

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[jamesoftaversal]

“Don’t give me that ‘you don’t know me’ bullshit, laddie! And don’t try to fob me off with talk about your Saracen friend, either!” Sir James snapped. “There’s only so many ways this game of yours can play out, and I’ve seen ‘em all. Played a couple myself.” A sanctimonious voice in his head said, “Now, this is why we should presume to judge our fellow man,” but he swatted it down quickly enough. He had done his damnedest not to “lay a guilt trip” on Allan. He could have brought out his big guns--he could have made a snide variation on his earlier “It’s amazing how you can lie to yourself about these things” comment, but he hadn’t; he could have pointed out that Allan led the charge up the stairs tonight against Robin, but he didn’t….

But instead of taking it further and possibly turning the encounter into a brawl, Sir James sucked in a breath of air and held it in an effort to calm himself. Allan had gone from fairly sober to morbidly drunk in the blink of an eye, and now was belligerent. The man was melting right in front of him; he’d start weeping soon, if experience was anything to go by. It wasn’t alcohol alone that caused all this-no, it was because Sir James had accidentally hit a nerve, and an indication that Allan did have some proper feeling about him. That actually made Sir James feel better, realizing that this likable man had a conscious after all. He still felt a little responsible, but more for Allan as a whole-for his soul, maybe? Sir James thought with some horror at the enormity of his presumption-than for his present condition.

He stood up to go, and in so doing placed a heavy hand on Allan’s slumping shoulder. He looked around, thoroughly embarrassed as well as concerned, and too uncomfortable to look at Allan directly. Sir James finally caught Violet’s eye and gestured her over. She looked concerned, and Sir James thought she had probably never seen Allan like this. “Violet, my love…will you look after my friend here?” Sir James said it with some seriousness, as if to emphasize that Allan really did need care that went beyond a whore’s slap and tickle. He bent down to whisper, “Allan, friend…when it catches up with you-and it will catch up with you, believe me….”

Sir James stalled out. When Allan’s sins caught up with him…what? Sir James barely knew the man; he couldn’t exactly say, “Come see me and I’ll talk you through it,” and he didn’t see any other viable options at the moment. So, helpless, he gave Allan’s shoulder a squeeze and a heavy sigh.

He settled up with Tom, who was holding a blanket for him behind the bar as his part of the deal that let Sir James spend the night in the stable hayloft. Sir James went there and made a nest for himself and wrapped up well against the night. As he suspected, it was really quite comfortable, probably more so than one of the tavern rooms would have been. Thoroughly exhausted, Sir James barely had time to murmur his prayers before he fell asleep-the usual prayers for Robert’s soul, and for his lord Vivian, and for the people of Teversal…and, this time, for Allan a Dale.

[jamesoftaversal]

ooc: I just noticed I had Sir James give Allan's shoulder "a heavy sigh," which makes no sense whatsoever, but we've posted and deleted so many times lately, I don't want to delete to edit! Anyway, mea culpa....