[Open] Where There Is No Wine

[judgemewhole]

WHO: James Norrington and You. Yes you.
WHAT: Drinking wine solves everything. Or at least that is what James is trying out this month.
WHEN: After the Tevinter debacle
WHERE: The Blooming Rose - he's only there for the good vintages and the chess games, kids.
NOTES: Warnings for talk of torture, bloodshed, and general warning for drunk James

There are times in one's life where one simply wants to blot out a few of the worse hours of their lives. For fewer, it is days, perhaps even weeks. Very few want to blot out about four months worth of time from their memory, but after returning, barely, from Tevinter?

James Norrington, Knight Commander and 'fed-up with being calm, polite, and gritting his teeth', had decided to get absolutely and totally shit-faced. He was also going to get shit-faced in the best brothel in all of Kirkwall, but honestly it was because their wine cellar was second to none, and all of the ... employees of the establishment were more than willing to get 'paid' for their time with a glass of wine and a good chess game.

He didn't just disappear from his office. He wasn't off to have a bender and never be seen again. There was a note tacked to the door of his quarters, and his office, in the same bold print so anyone could find him if they really desired to.

It said simply, Off to share the Maker's love at the Blooming Rose. Blessing the fallen with holy wine. Please join if you are looking to save the sinners and enjoy a good Red from Antiva. - J. Norrington

He was saving them, persay. They wouldn't have to sell their bodies for at least an hour or two while playing chess with James. It totally counted as an act of charity from a member of the Templar Order. If he got to drink wine along with it, well, he was just blessing himself.

He needed a lot of damned blessings.

Comments

[judgemewhole]

"...I have never been known to be a sloppy drunk." He thinks about it himself, "I have been known to be an amorous drunk, but I believe you are safe in that regard."

Considering that his entire life is social interaction without the singing of birds -- she is doing quite well for someone unaccustomed to it.

He eyes the glass, and nods. "I could use a refill, and I think, so could you. I will accept you buying this round if I might purchase the next." It was only polite, after all.

[zombra]

"Dude, of course I'm safe. Have you seen these guns?" She lifts an arm and forms a pretty pathetic bicep. "Eh? Eh?" she asks, before laughing and dropping her arm.

"Be right back." She heads up to the bar and asks for another of whatever James has been having this evening, and another for herself as well. The coins are counted out, set down, and a minute later she's back with more libations.

"Here you go. Let's see if this round starts you making 'fuck me eyes' at someone."

[judgemewhole]

"You are truly a force to be reckoned with." James deadpanned, before he shook his head and stretched himself out in the chair. Comfortably drunk, keeping away from the dangerous subjects, and now he had someone to drink With.

"Doubtful." He snorted softly, "Knowing that 'fuck me' eyes will be accompanied by 'ten silvers, my sweet'. I do not pay for those sorts of favors." He took a nice sip of wine, and nodded his approval. "Good year."

[zombra]

"Okay, fair, but if I have to haul you out of here, there's always the opportunity to make those eyes on the way back to the Gallows. Or wherever you live." Tessa has no idea. She stays at the Gallows because it's convenient and she has no need for more than a room to herself. Plus the boat ride to the city is pretty annoying. They should have a big ass bridge. Pittsburgh was full of bridges. She's used to them.

"Guess they keep it classy here." Taking up her old glass, she quickly finishes it off like she just lost a bet, then starts on the new one. "Classy" doesn't apply to Tessa here.

"So, merchant's son, huh? Did you get recruited to be a Templar, or volunteer? Is recruiting a thing? I don't even know."

[judgemewhole]

"If anyone catches my eye from here to the Gallows - " Yes, that is also where he lives. He's a Templar Knight Commander, after all. " - I sincerely doubt that my level of insobriety will help me in any level of romance." He pauses, then adds, "Well, unless it allows me to be more honest about my desires, then yes, I suppose 'fuck-me' eyes would actually work."

He snorted softly, "Considering the clientele, yes, but they like to keep it open for all sorts. More coin in the bedding." He smirks, "As you might have been able to tell after you were not kicked out soon after your ...memorable entrance."

A pause, then his fingers curved around the stem of the goblet a little harder than necessary. "I volunteered, when I was ten years old."

[zombra]

"Ha," she says, by way of agreement. "It'd probably give some people a good laugh, though." It's kind of funny to be having this conversation with a guy with a big, fancy title like this. It would be like sitting down with a General and having him talk about what kind of drunk he'd be.

His explanation of The Blooming Rose has her looking around thoughtfully. "That makes me wonder... are there male prostitutes here? Not that I'm like, ready to dive in, but I'm curious." She can't help but be curious about it, since it's not like brothels were just out in the open like this back home.

Eye widening at his explanation, Tessa scoots forward in her seat to get all the dirt on this. "No way! You can just do that? You aren't like, taught swordfighting and shit at that age, are you?" Because that's pretty fucked up. It's not like karate class where two little kids just kick in the general direction of the other. Swords are sharp, man. Maybe they use safety swords; like the Thedas version of safety scissors.

[judgemewhole]

"Oh yes, it probably would, Especially if it was anyone I knew personally." James snorted, leaning his head on the palm of his hand. Her next statement had him clearing his throat, and then tipping his head off across the room.

"You see that rather handsome man there, with the silver hair? He is Adriano, and yes, he is a male prostitute. There is quite a few here, if such a thing interests you."

Now both of his eyebrows raise, before he shakes his head, "Nothing but wooden blades, until you have reached a certain level of proficiency. I was fifteen when I was given my first real sword."

[zombra]

"Oh, hot damn," she says on seeing the guy. But Tessa still has her hangups and her gaze darts quickly to James as she weighs it in her mind. "Well, it's good to know, but—" she pauses, then decides that there's no harm in talking about it. The wine is probably a big factor here.

"There's this guy from home I'm kind of waiting on? I really want him to fall through a rift because home is a shitshow right now. But yeah, I'd really, really like to see him again." Because then she'd say all the things she should have said but didn't, because it was too cliché, because she knew he'd tell her she was just growing too attached because it was the end of the world and there wasn't a lot of choice. But she doesn't care now. If he shows up, she's telling him about her feelings.

"Oh, right right. Wooden swords. That makes more sense. What's it like, though? Like I kinda only half know what a Templar is anyway and I'm pretty sure that's because you told me about it before. I haven't talked about it with anyone else."

[judgemewhole]

"...Yes, quite." He supposes the other man is attractive enough to get that sort of exclamation. However, surprise registers quickly over his face as Tessa shares why, precisely, she might be waiting.

Something in his expression tenses, then he sighs, "I suppose some people have to fall through rifts for relationships to work, and some of us are simply shite at them."

Another drink of wine will help with that, thank you bottle. He sips before he answers, "Austere. For my particular upbringing - it was hard work, but extremely satisfying. I learned how to handle myself in battle and over the books, so much so that I enjoy the battlefield and the library in equal degrees."

[zombra]

Wow, it's just the Confessions Hour, isn't it? Tessa doesn't really mind that he's revealing this about himself; if anything, it helps to have her own admission built on so she's not the only one giving up personal info.

"Sucks, doesn't it? I've had exes before. Do you call them that here? Relationships that didn't work out are ex-boyfriends, or ex-girlfriends." She smiles a bit thinly, because she gets it. Anyone who claims that a man just settles into a relationship and it's the woman who wants excitement and adventure is full of it. Tessa's been dumped for being a lazy, unambitious person with a partner who's wanted way more.

She shakes it away with a movement of her head. They're sort of having two conversations here, but both are important and she doesn't want to neglect one for the other. Templars seem to be a often talked about group in this world and she should probably get off her ass and learn more about them.

"I've never been great at reading. I get too easily distracted. But I think the world I was from was kinda to blame for that. Too many things trying to grab your attention away." Phones pinging with notifs, advertisements on everything; the whole nine yards.

"So I've been familiarizing myself with the weapons you guys use here since that day you found me sorting through them. What do you like to use in battle?"

[judgemewhole]

"Oh yes, it does indeed ... suck." It was an absolutely the strangest word for things being absolutely horrible, but he did like the fact that it got straight to the throat of the matter. "We have ... former lovers, I believe the term is. She was not even my lover, so."

"Honestly, considering how many things happen in my life, I hope to have more peaceful time reading than going out and doing things." He sighed deeply, before he looked over at her once more, before his mouth twitched. An odd sort of question to bring into all this - but still.

"Sword and shield are my specialty."

[zombra]

"Oh, okay." Yeesh, poor guy. "Hey, you know what I'm really good at doing?" Scooting to the edge of her chair, she reaches out to clink her glass against his bottle. "Saying shit like: 'Forget her, dude. If she can't see how awesome you are, she doesn't deserve you anyway.'" She punctuates that with a nod and a long drink from her glass. Back home, Tessa had been an expert at consoling her drunk friends at the bar after they'd been dumped or found out that their love would always remain unrequited.

"Cool. I have a shield. I won it playing games at the Grand Tourney. But I use a hand axe. It's pretty sweet. I've got a crossbow too but I gotta work on my aim."