Oh, goddammit.

[thornofcamorr]

Locke is currently sitting in the kitchen drinking a bottle of wine and shivering rather rapidly. He doesn't look nearly as pleased with himself as someone who just successfully filched said bottle from someone's room should, especially since said person was still there. He's trying to remember if there's any sort of thing one is supposed to do

Comments

[cursed_bent]

Valen wanders into the kitchen, perhaps after some wine himself, and smiles when he first notices Locke. "Hello, L--" He pauses and the smile fades as he notices the state his friend is in. "Locke? Are you alright?"

[cursed_bent]

"Maybe you stumbled into something not meant for you," he suggests. It's something he's not unfamiliar with.

[thornofcamorr]

Locke, halfway through a drink, looks up at Valen briefly, blinks once, opens his mouth to say something, and promptly leans over and vomits on the floor.

[cursed_bent]

Valen just stands blinking at him for a few moments. "Are you alright there, Locke? Maybe you've had enough to drink for now." He reaches for the alcohol with the intent of exchanging it for some water.

[thornofcamorr]

Locke lets him have it and spits. "Dammit," he says, hoarsely. "Only the second bottle, too."

[cursed_bent]

Valen goes to dump the drink, stops and drinks it himself, then fills a larger glass with water and hands it to Locke. "You're worrying too much. Drink your water and relax a bit."

[thornofcamorr]

Locke just looks at Valen. "No one has ever told me I worry too much," he says, very dryly. "Too little, yes. That it's going to kill me, yes. But never too much."

He almost laughs. "Goes to show, I guess." Taking a tentative sip of water, he sets down the glass and puts his face in his hands, rubbing his eyes. "I can't live like this."

[cursed_bent]

"Usually, you can't. But when it's making you sick, take a break. You can't watch out for anything when you're just trying not to vomit on your shoes." He ignores that Locke doesn't drink the water...if it were him he wouldn't have drunk that much of it.

[thornofcamorr]

Locke glances down at the floor, looking wryly amused. "Oh, that was less the worry than the downright scared shitless," He says dryly. "Because when it comes down to it, if they want to do something to me, there's not a whole lot I can do about it."

[cursed_bent]

Valen sighs and sits on the edge of the table, unable to really argue that. His experience with Pureblood sorcerers has been much the same. "Well," he says finally, "at least you won't have to face them without help." He smiles, but inside he's trying not to think of how it turned out for the last few people he tried to protect. He hasn't got the greatest track record.

[thornofcamorr]

...If only you know, Valen, that Locke's thoughts are almost exactly along the same lines. Suddenly serious, without any trace of laughter or wryness or anything, Locke looks at Valen and says quietly, "Don't try. I don't need anyone else killed on my account."

[cursed_bent]

Valen looks back just as seriously. "I've gotten pretty good at avoiding death. Besides, Matronn's bent is for divination, and I'm supposed to die in "blood, and ice, and water." It's too warm for ice, I'll be fine." He gives a crooked smile. "I can't guarantee I'll be much use, though. Last time I promised to protect someone it didn't turn out too well."

[thornofcamorr]

Locke laughs, almost a rasp. "Yeah, I'd rather you weren't help then you were helpful and dead."

[cursed_bent]

"I told you, I'm not going to be dead. Matronn may not have liked me much, but she is never wrong in her divinations. 'Face down in a cesspool' as Patronn put it. Not a word about Bondsmages. Besides, you look like you could use the help."

[thornofcamorr]

Locke blinks and just kind of stares at Valen for a long several moments. Because of course he can't admit that he's touched or whatever by Valen's determination, he's momentarily speechless. After all, other than people who are either dead or not here, mostly dead, no one's cared a penny about Locke since he was about six.

[cursed_bent]

Valen just looks back, he wouldn't give two pins about most people, but when he does care about someone the strength of his loyalty is shocking, especially to anyone who knows his history.

Besides, Valen's got few enough friends, he doesn't want to lose any more.