Chapter Text
Edgin was the only one who thought it was strange to run into Xenk like that. Everyone said yeah, of course, it's what he does, a noble quest.
A noble quest they had tried to profit off of by skimming off a bit during the transaction. Unluckily, their old companion, definitely *not* an ally, caught them and, um, strongly encouraged them to return the stolen goods AND join him in a more honorable quest.
It was infuriating and exhausting, much like the paladin himself. And yes, they were able to save a village and defeat a monster, but what did they get out of it?
Ed huffed to himself, chugging the warm piss of an ale at the tavern afterwards. Xenk was still with them, somehow having followed them to the tavern afterwards, and was now sitting with them drinking and chatting. Doric was unusually talkative, catching Xenk up on some of their more recent adventures, with Simon interjecting occasionally. Xenk smiled and nodded and drank his ale slowly, as if it were a drink to be savored. Probably not a big drinker, Edgin rolled his eyes. Although it would be wonderful to see him inebriated.
This thought cheered Edgin up. What would it be like to see that stood perfectly polished paladin drunk off his ass? Ed brought his empty tankard to the bar and waved down the bartender..
"Here's to another worthy victory!" He announced to the table, sitting down between Holga and Xenk and setting down 5 shot glasses and a bottle of liquor.
Simon and Doric cheered, but Holga next to him murmured "you sure, Ed?" As if he used to be a drunk or something.
Well, yeah.
Ed shrugged her off and poured out five drinks. "I think we should celebrate?"
"What are we celebrating?" Simon asked good naturedly, grabbing two shots and handing Doric one. Ed slid one to Holga and one to Xenk.
"A reunion of sorts," he said, slapping Xenk on the back and turning to grin at him. Xenk looked up at him with a flicker of confusion, which Edgin reveled in. Anytime that asshole didnt have his smug little smirk was a win. ¨To old friends and renewed morals! To helping instead of stealing!¨
They all lifted their glasses up and shot back the liquor. It burned on the way down, and Edgin shivered as he set his glass down with a large thunk. He looked over at Xenk, who had taken one tiny sip and then set it down. ¨Seriously?" he asked.
Xenk looked back at him and then down at the drink. ¨I dont drink much," he admitted.
¨Whats one shot between friends? After you were able to find us and set us back on the right path. That deserves a celebration, dont you think?" Edgin kept his arm on Xenkś back, looking at him intently. Xenk swallowed hard. What a beautiful image he made, nervous and unsure and so far away from the cocky self righteous asshole they had first met.
Holga grunted beside him, aware of what he was trying to do. ¨You dont have to drink it," she told Xenk. ¨Dont let him push you.¨
¨Now, Holga, is that kind?" Edgin asked. ¨Here I am, just trying to celebrate with an old friend, and you have to make it something like that.¨
Simon, sensing tension, turned to Doric and started telling her about a new spell he had been working on. Doric listened but watched Edgin.
After a moment, Xenk reached out, grabbed the shot glass, and knocked it back. Edgin cheered, pounded him on the back so that he sputtered and coughed. ¨To friends and allies!¨ Edgin whooped. Everyone else at the table smiled wanly, as Xenk continued to cough.
¨I feel so good, I think I should sing now,¨ Edgin said, grabbing his lute. ¨Weve got to make money somehow, and apparently our main source of funds is "not allowed*.¨ He strode away purposefully before anyone could argue. He knew he was being petty. But Xenk was not their keeper. It was one thing for him to demand that they give back the treasures to a quest that he was assisting them on. Quite another to meet up with them randomly and overturn their money making scheme.
But it was Xenk! thatś what he did. And he was a pretentious asshole that Ed just couldnt shake.
Edgin leapt up to the fireplace, on the small space that acted as a stage for performers wishing to try their luck. Everyone was chatting and drinking and laughing, so he strummed a note on the lute and hummed loudly. He might have been a little drunk actually. His fingers danced against the strings, discordant at first, but then finding a melody that was strange and almost mournful. It wasnt what he had intended to play but he went with it, letting the music flow and fall like water crashing down on rocks.
¨If you said a thousand words,
I would say a thousand more.
In the rain or in the woods,
underneath or on the shore.
What if, when you told me, so,
What if then I said
All the things inside your mind,
all the thoughts inside my head¨
He stopped. This wasnt coming out right, and the jovial atmosphere had quieted, more of the customers looking up, distrustful and disgruntled. He pressed his palm against the strings to quiet them and cleared his throat, looking up, and straight at Xenk, who had his head cocked at a strange angle as he watched Edgin intently.
He strummed a higher chord and hummed a higher hum, as if to reset. Then he plunged into one of his more cheerful song, a collection of love poems that started as a bawdy romp at a whorehouse. jumped to a sweet first love, then an angry, toxic relationship. He moved amongst the crowd as he sang, stopping to sing to a particular patron, who blushed and smiled and clapped when he serenaded them. Others brushed him off, embarassed or angry.
And finally the last verse, written for Zia:
¨She was always shining bright, beside my side forever,
and now I toss and turn at night, reaching for my lover.
If only all the things I said, could reach her ears again,
if only all my love for her could bring her from the dead."
But instead of stopping here, he continued, the words flowing from him without warning, unwritten and unspoken ever before.
"And now I come to you, sweet love, and now I turn to see
All the things I couldve missed and how sweet they could be.
You show the world an edge, my lord, you fight with blood and teeth.
But what of all the quiet nights, and what lies underneath?"
Everyone was quiet now, and he slowed, still moving through the crowd, but no longer looking at them. Instead he walked as if in a trance, staring out into the distance as the words spilled from him with no thought of his own.
"You are the scared lost child who only needed home,
And now you walk across the earth, only meant to roam
But many years and many quests soon will blur together
and what will you be left with when you reach the nether?"
He reached his table. Simon and Doric were holding hands, watching him, and Holga was drinking another ale. Xenk was holding his shot glass with two hands, looking hard at it.
"I come to you then, come again, asking to be saved.
For if you only tamed me, I think I could behave.
Your gentle words and your soft lips..."
But instead of finishing the lyric - unable find a rhyme for lips - he leaned down and pressed a kiss on the lips of the nearest patron.
It just happened to be Xenk Yendar.
He hadn't meant to do that, and he froze in the moment, Xenk melting against him, his lips soft and pliant as Ed pressed against his with a sudden fervor. The crowd around them suddenly whooped and cheered, and Edgin sucked Xenkś bottom lip with a tenderness he hadnt expressed in ten long years.
When he pulled back, Xenk was pale and frozen. The crowd was clapping and hollering and Edgin went to his default mode, raised his hand to accept it, pivoting and bowing. The only two people not clapping for him was Holga. Oh, and Xenk--
Edgin turned back to the paladin to see him up and walking away. The patrons near the exit called out to him and tried to grab his arm, but he pulled away violently. And then he was gone.
Edgin felt his stomach drop. He looked down at Holga, who grunted in disapproval.
What had happened? He hadn´t meant to do that. He looked back at the exit where Xenk had disappeared, and then dropped his lute on the table and went after him.