Back Again?

[Poker]

Poker strode into the bar again and looked at the bartender. They noticed each other, not by name, but by the fact that Poker was now a regular member, and the youngest. Go figure.

"Usual?" The barkeeper asked.

"What else?" Poker croaked. His throat stung everyday and was showing no sign of improvement. Archer sat beside him. While Poker may have been drastically changed in the last few years, Archer had remained the same. Loud and energetic. Poker smiled while looking down at him and the barkeeper sent a mug of some rum down the slippery bar.

Poker caught it and drank deeply.

It burned his throat the whole way down and brought tears to his eyes, but there was no doubt he was addicted to the damn drink. At least he was still thin thanks to his metabolism.

Poker felt the scars on his neck from the basilisk but hurriedly lifted his collar up again, to ward off any stares that might be directed towards him. They were itching and painful, even on the inside of his neck. The rum burned the sensation away.

Poker hunched over his rum mug and began running his finger aimlessly around the outside of it.

He had been left alone of late, he couldn't even remember the last time he had seen even Chase, who had once been a good friend. Wouldn't he laugh seeing him like this. Poker didn't find that thought amusing. Instead, he remained over his mug with the same melancholic face he had been wearing for some time now.

[chase]

Chase walked quite proudly down the street with his crossbow slung over his right shoulder, and a bag full of naval swords hanging from his left, the product of his last infiltration mission, which he had just returned from. He had gone to Isla De Meuna to get some information of their heirarchy, only to discover that their Supreme Lord had died in his sleep 'mysteriously'. A small smile crept across his lips.

The past few years had changed him slightly. Every now and then he was sure he was feeling something. Emotion was returning to him, ever so slowly, but it was creeping in every now and then.

He eyed one of the larger pubs and saw a place to sell the swords for a quick coin. He pushed open the door with his shoulder and quickly took in the large, musty room. Lots of drunks. The smell of alcohol hung heavy in the air, and he wrinkled his nose at the smell. Chase didn't drink.

Horus flapped his wings on his left shoulder and let out a soft screech, immediately drawing attention to him even if he hadn't meant it. What little emotion he felt, it was compassion for the bird. After all they had been through, he was still alive, strong fighting. And he was also still by his side. He had saved his life by raking out the eyes of a naval soldier last month who was about to stab him, and that was when he truly fell in love with the falcon.

He sat down at the bar and leaned his crossbow up against the wooden surface. Even when it was rested on the floor it stuck out over the top of the bar. Horus jumped down onto the bar in front of him and streched out his wings. He looked around to find someone to sell a sword to when he suddenly noticed somebody sitting next to him who he hadn't seen in months.

"Poker!" he clasped the pirate on the back lightly. "Fancy seeing you here..."

[Poker]

Poker felt Chase's hand on his back, and an acid taste seemed to well up in his throat.

Figures. Poker thought dully as he turned around to Chase.

"Hello, Chase." Poker said, slowly, trying to think of something with substance to say. "Haven't seen you for a while." He knew his voice sounded croaky and quiet and that his breath stank of too much rum, but last time he had seen Chase he couldn't talk so this was an improvement, he guessed.

All in an instant, the acid taste of discomfort in Poker's mouth changed to the acid taste of regergitated rum.

Poker spun around and vomitted explosively onto the ground. Every retch sent hot knives running up and down his throat, the pain was even worse than when the basilisk had hit him with its massive tail. He had to live with this pain the rest of his life?

[chase]

Chase's arm froze in the middle of another pat on the back. His eyes were wide as he watched Poker vomit onto the ground, again and again the thick, motled green liguid oozed out of his mouth and onto the floor.

The attention of most of the bar patrons was now on them, and in disgust. So much for being able to sell the swords here. He watched as Poker kept vomiting onto the ground. "Uh god Poker? What have you been drinking?"

"You and him are cleaning that foul mess up by the way," the barkeeper said firmly, almost forcefully, pointing a stubby finger at Chase, "And you'd better do a good job of it as well."

Chase didn't even bother replying, grapping Poker by the back of the head and lifting it up, "What have you done Poker?"

[Poker]

Poker stood up shakily and wiped the vomit off his mouth with the back of his dirty sleeve.

"What?" Poker asked hoarsely, looking around at the crowd angrily. "Haven't you ever seen vomit?"

His throat felt like it was burning and by now Poker was terribly drunk. Was it his imagination or could he almost feel the thump thump of a headache growing.
Just my luck. Poker thought, irritation creeping through his body. Can't even get drunk without pain.

Poker turned so that he was looking at Chase, he was kneeling on the ground so he had to look up. "What does it look like?" Poker said, his voice was hoarse and every word hurt. He had never even got an attack at the basilisk before it destroyed his neck.

[chase]

Chase put his arm under Poker's armpit and roughly picked him up, dragging him out of the bar. Chase made sure to pick up his crossbow and swords before he left in his free hand. "I think you've had quite enough to drink young man. It seems you're not old enough to handle it fully yet."

"Hey! Where do you think you're going!" The bartender yelled after them, and Chase threw a sword at the ground, it skidding across the floor towards the plump man.

He set Poker down just outside the bar and leant down to look him in the eye, "What exactly are you hoping to achieve by casting aside all of your sobriety!?"

[Poker]

"I can drink just fine without your opinion needed!" Poker said, writhing about it Chase's arms, but it was no use. He was too drunk to muster any decent amount of strength.

Poker was roughly thrust into a sitting position and Chase was beside him talking to him. Poker, now fading in and out of consciencness, only caught snippets of what he had said, but enough to catch the main idea.

"It's none of your business!" Poker said, suddenly angry. He threw a punch in Chase's direction, but his hand-eye co-ordination had become completely demolished and he never felt contact. "Can't a man drink in peace? Obviously not anymore. What did you hope to achieve by waltzing back into my life." Poker doubted if Chase could understand him, even he could tell his words had become slurred.

[chase]

Chase hit him across the side of the face, not hard, but hard enough. Plus in his stupper, to Poker it would have seemed like the end of the world to have been hit like that.

"Poker shut up! And wake up to yourself!" Chase said roughly to him, he wasn't one to deal with incompetency or self-pity. "You made a mistake alright. Live with it! So you were beaten once. Who cares! The only thing dragging you down is your own self-pity, not the damned snake!" Chase already knew that Poker was despondent about the basilisk knocking him out, so it was his best choice that Racana hadn't made it any better.

"You're acting like a fool and an old man without a cause! What is alcohol going to achieve!? Nothing that a sword and a spirit can!" he stood up, still pretty much inidifferent to the situation and his pool of woe. "Get back up and act like a man! Act like a pirate for gods sakes! Because like it or not... You are one!" He slung his crossbow over his shoulder and picked up the pile of swords, Horus flapping his wings from his perch on Chase's shoulder.

Chase turned and walked away from Poker, perhaps there was somewhere else he could sell these things...

[Poker]

As soon as Chase hit Poker across the face, something within Poker changed. Archer was growling and snarling, baring his teeth at the man who had attacked his master.

He took a step towards Chase, but Poker held him back.

"You're a bastard!" Poker called to Chase as he walked away. "You're a bastard and a swine and you don't have any idea what the hell you're talking about."

Poker didn't know if Chase had heard, but it made him feel better. He stood up on his legs again and was about to walk back into the bar when he remembered that the bartender might get him on cleaning duties. Instead he turned around and walked the other way.

[chase]

Quite a few hours had passed, and Chase emerged from a brothel with a broad grin on his face, he'd just managed to sell his last three remaining swords in there for quite a fair amount. Two pompous, rich patrons had been using its 'services' tonight, and Chase had made the best of it. Now he walked away from it with a heavy coin purse and a lightened spirit.

He wondered whether he should try and find a room now, it was getting late. Horus sat sleepily on his shoulder, one head tucked beneath a wing. He had recieved quite a few strange glances from randoms in the city. It wasn't everyday someone dressed in weathered basilisk scale armour walked down the street with a monster crossbow on his back and peregrin falcon on his shoulder.

He walked his way down towards the nearest lodging, half expecting to see Poker on his way. I wonder what he's made of himself... he thought...

[Poker]

Poker was walking down the street, as he had been randomly doing for the past few hours. Drifting from inn to inn, but not drinking anything. He couldn't tell why he had suddenly gone sober, and if someone had asked he wouldn't have found any words that could satisfy an answer.

So, aimlessly he had drifted around Tritern until he had found another inn he hadn't been to before. Poker had gone to one of the tables in the corner and put his head on the desk. Unsurprsingly, his neck was still hurting after all the vomiting he had done recently.

Poker would have groaned, but it hurt too much to even bother.

So he just lay, completely silent, waiting for something, anything to happen.

[chase]

Chase opened the door to the hotel, and again he was welcomed by the constant staring of the men and women in the bar, at his peculiar, strong visage. He walked up to the barman and rented out a room, dropping the coins on the counter with a content flick of his wrist. He turned and scanned the room, and immediately caught the sight of a dog in the corner, and he recognised him as Archer almost immediately.

Chase followed the dog with his eyes and they came to rest of Poker, his head resting in his arms. "What are the odds of us meeting again?" He asked himself as the barman hand him a key.

He walked over to Poker and resigned himself to a chair, setting his crossbow against the wall, and letting Horus jump down onto the table to peck at the scraps left on it by its last occupant.

Chase sighed, "I am heading back over to Isla de Meuna tommorrow. Geddo has ordered me on another reconnassaince mission to try and discover the situation of their leadership. Thei Supreme Lord died did you know? Of a throat cancer. Poor old man."

He looked at Poker, his head still in his arms, "Why don't you join me? I'm sure we could find you a naval officer or two or kill, and you might regain some of your pride if you're the one to discover who is their new ruler..." It was true of course, it was just a question as to whether Poker would know that...

[Poker]

Poker stirred and lifted his head. Unsurprisingly enough he looked like crap. His eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks were a bright red, contrasting poorly against his pale skin.

"What do you want me to say?" Poker asked, and every word sent knives through his throat. "I can't lead troops anymore. If I can't lead, what hope do I have of making a name of myself? I can't even speak without pain."

"You want my to follow you to Isla de Meuna? Chase and Poker, facing the seas again?" Poker tried not to smile. "A good old stealth mission." Poker drew in breath heavily and sighed.

[chase]

Chase nodded, "Thats pretty much the jist of it, but seeing as you don't want to, I'll leave you in peace." Chase got up, picking his crossbow off the wall and Horus fluttered back to his shoulder. "And there won't be any troops. It would've just been me, you and one other pirate spy..."

With that Chase walked over to the bar and ordered a drink. Why not? I'll try just one...

[Poker]

Poker scowled. He wasn't going to make him crawl back to him, begging to go. Poker's dignity had been cut enough without him having to crawl back to Chase.

So as Chase got up and walked to the bar, Poker remained sitting, not willing to indulge Chase's wants to have him admit defeat.

Archer moved towards Chase as he sat at the bar, but Poker called him back in a deep voice. Archer obediently obeyed.

So Poker sat, with his chin resting on his arms, waiting either for Chase to return to the table or walk away.