Questionable Days

[Nayt]

"You know, Manny?"

Daniel was already somewhat intoxicated. He'd taken down several shots one after the other, shots of . . . something or the rather. He didn't really pay attention to what he was drinking or where, not after slamming down a full pint. Then, the people of this inn's first floor bar just stopped mattering. Then, there were only three people. Daniel, a barkeep, and effectively one of Daniel's best friends as of now: Manny. He'd lost count of the amount of shots he'd taken down, and was almost ready to forget that he and Manny were technically illegal here.

Somewhat intoxicated was a terrifying understatement.

With a wide wave of the limb, Daniel wrapped his arm about Manny's shoulders and drew the fellow teen close to his side. "We've really been through a lot together!"

Truth be told, Daniel did not have the best memory in the world. In fact, one might argue that he had the worst; that he had some sort of degradation of memory, both retrograde and anti-retrograde amnesia working back to back around the clock, but in such a slow way that it felt like some sort of hellish torture; by the end of his life, he might not have any memories at all. There were only a few things that were sacred--untouchable, unforgettable. Daniel often took solace in these memories.

At least a few of those dealt with conflicts. The rest just sounded like something he'd have done.

"Weird dudes after your blooood! Craaazy hobos! A militia o'goblins in drag, too, oI think. And trolls. oI think there was a troll. Yep. There was totally a troll," Daniel concluded with a stern nod, "At least a dozen of 'em. And oI kept givin' you oranges 'cause citrus was their weakness."

[Mandaz]

“Yeah, Daniel?”

Manny had kept right along with Daniel on the alcohol. He poured the burining water down his throat glass after glass. Earlier they had a game going on to see how fast and how many each boy could drink. But it had since slowed to a sipping pace with neither boy remembering how to count. Manny’s body wavered as Daniel put his arm around him. Even the slightest push had the small boy’s body wobbling. The only thing that held him steady was Daniel’s body pressed against his. Though admittedly he might not have been the best anchor.

“Yeah Daniel. We have.”

He tried to concentrate on his words. Manny was feeling very warm and dizzy. Having never been so drunk, he hardly knew what to make of himself. He didn’t say much, worried that the feeling would leave through his mouth if he kept it open. His head was sloshing around, causing him to laugh a little as he felt the liquid in his body sway with him. He heard Daniel’s words, but didn’t really listen to what he had to say. He sintead smiled and laughed, nodding furiously.

“Yeah Daniel.”

He had no idea what he was talking about.

[Nayt]

"Yeah, yeah," Daniel nodded his head repeatedly, each time feeling like his head was coming closer and closer to the counter. The slightest nod of his head would have dragged his skull down towards the counter; it was with the utmost willpower that he was able to evade this tragedy.

Truth be told, Daniel had never quite been this drunk either.

With his free hand, he grabbed his billed cap. With lazy eyes, he watched the tip of it move up and down each and every time he pulled on it. He pulled up on it, pushed down on it, pushed it down over his eyebrows, and practically pushed it up off of his head entire.

It was amazing how that felt on his forehead.

"That's where Everett is," Daniel mumbled enthusiastically.

He moved as if he were going to nod, but the adolescent could do little more than hang his head, not in shame, but in drunken stupor. It was during times like this that he was able to see the individual grains of marble in the counter. It was quite the work of art. He would have stared at it for days if he weren't in the middle of saying something.

"She's getting those apples," he concluded, "You know, the ones we killed those bandits with."

[Mandaz]

“Did she did?”

Manny said with a perk in his voice. Apples sounded great right now. As did oranges. Manny was having a hard time imagining them wasting food on enemies. As one who grew up in extreme poverty and starvation, he knew the value of a good apple. He put both hands on the cool bar and held his empty glass between his fingers. His nails were pretty substantial and sharp, despite him having bit them all off just this morning. Manny clicked them all along the bar, making the noise of a galloping horse. It made him smile.

“When will she come back?” he asked absent mindedly, too enthralled with the noise his claws made as they bounced along the counter.

“She’s going to be mad, you know. That we’re doing this. We might need to hide from her.”

[Nayt]

"oI dunno when she'll come back," Daniel thought aloud.

He stopped and tried to lift his head up to the best of his ability. It took several attempt, but when he finally did, he felt the triumph of a victorious crusader. His head then nearly crashed into Manny's shoulder, but in Daniel's feeling of glory, he was able to keep that from happening.

"But . . . maybe soon," he continued, "Yes, definitely soon."

They couldn't be here when Everett got back. They had to be somewhere else. Somewhere hiding. Hiding? Maybe hiding. Hiding didn't seem like a good idea. But maybe only temporarily? For a brief moment, Daniel tried to come up with some way to turn this into a way of seeing Everett naked.

He couldn't. They'd have to just do this thing on the fly. Or maybe their combined charm would be way too much for her, and she'd disrobe without prompt.

"If we get get the room 'fore 'er," Daniel slurred, "There'll b'glory."

Yes, he was determined to make the best of this.

"All roight, le's go," Daniel declared with a stern nod, before attempting to stand up quick and determined like--only to nearly fall face first into the table. It took all his willpower to keep from falling, and just stumbled instead.

[Mandaz]

“Don’t make me nervous.”

He said in slow, measured heaves. Manny was scared of Everett and her wrath. Daniel had saved him from her many times before, but he never felt completely safe. He spun around in the chair, losing balance to the point where he found it necessary to hold on to the chair for dear life. He slowly slunk to the ground, making sure it was a steady, solid surface before placing all of his weight on it.

“Don’t go so fast either. C-Come on Danny, I don’t feel…I don’t feel right.”

It wasn’t a bad feeling, but it wasn’t something he was familiar with either. He felt sick, but delightfully so. Dizzy but warm and easily enthused. He reached out for Daniel to balance him. Perhaps, with effort, the two could make their way to the room without incident. Daniel was much taller and stronger for sure, bust Manny was closer to the ground and was doing much better at keeping a good pace.

“Okay. Okay. Just one at a time.”

He giggled softly to himself, dreading the journey, but keeping his attention to the highway of wooden floor panels beneath his feet.

[Nayt]

Following his declaration, Daniel took a step forward, one intended to be strong and determined and courageous, only to nearly land him on the floor. He stumbled forward several paces before catching himself and making a mental note to never try that again. It was then that he looked back to Manny on the floor.

"Aw man, Manny! Sorry 'bout thaaaat," Daniel apologized almost immediately.

Mindful of his current walking problem, Daniel slowly bridged the gap between he and Manny, just as Manny did the same. Manny on the floor and Daniel on his feet, both moving at roughly the same pace. They met, then, and Daniel partly bent down for his friend.

Back before the world ended, Daniel knew he wasn't a physically strong person. He only remembered a very select few events, all dealing with important people he couldn't ever forget, lives imprinted upon coins in his pockets, but he knew that he wasn't physically strong. He used to be lanky and weak; just a quick sprinter that got pretty good at fighting through some months of experience that he could barely remember. He never had to be a workhorse, though. He never had to go find jobs that he wasn't built to handle.

When the world ended, places needed to rebuild. Nearly every livable establishment had work for travelers, and it all seemed to be pushing and lifting. Daniel did a lot of work that Everett couldn't do--and Manny, too, once he joined up with them and made them a trio of wayward vagabonds. Daniel never used to be strong, not 'til he had obligations like these, obligations he was happy to work for.

Daniel reached for Manny's underarms. "Up you go~!"

It was actually kind of surprising how easily Daniel could lift Manny up. Drunk as he was, he didn't stumble too much, almost like it was second nature. Without thinking about it, Daniel wrapped his arm around Manny's shoulder when they were both standing, to better assist his friend in standing.

"All roigh'," Daniel remarked with a hint of victory in his tone, only to pause as he suddenly lost his fervor. "Where were we again?"

[Mandaz]

Manny was like a rag doll in Daniel’s arms; just as light, just as soft, and just as unable to stand. Once his legs gave out, the boy seemed to forget how to use them. With his face planted on the floor, a feral little whine simmered in the back of his throat, sounding like a lost little animal crying for mother. There was a stinging in his nose, but it was only a dull pulse along his numb face.

He held onto Daniel as if his life depended on him. Somewhere during the time of being hoisted up his feet decided to cooperate and help him stand. Manny didn’t feel as if he was controlling them though, and they pressed on with Daniel’s unsteady steps.

“Iono” he slurred, the dizziness in his head becoming more apparent. “Where are we goin?” They had made it to the steps. There weren’t many, but behind Manny’s hair covered face his eyes widened with a look of sheer terror.

[Nayt]

That was a good way of thinking about things. Manny had it all right, it seemed! If Daniel had a good idea where they were going, he could definitely figure out where they were. It made a painful amount of sense.

"Oh. Our room," Daniel thought aloud, "Roight."

The inn. The bar. That's where they were. Past what looked like a mile of hardwood floor, there was a veritable mountain of stairs. Daniel puffed out his chest. He was convinced that he and Manny had the testosterone and willpower to make this distance. It especially helped that if they did not, they risked encountering Everett, who they both knew wasn't happy about drunkenness for any reason . . .

Daniel remembered the problem about Everett and was suddenly filled with a renewed source of vigor and partnered urgency. He hoisted Manny up a bit to try and urge the same senses.

"Thiiiiiis way," Daniel slurred as he started forward, taking Manny with him.

Crossing a long stretch of hardwood floor is actually unbelievably simple once you get used to the fact that you can't feel your legs. When you come to terms with and understand that your legs have become autonomous, the whole task becomes easy. Hazardous, but easy.

Climbing steps in such a state of intoxication, on the other hand . . .

[Mandaz]

When confronted with stairs, Manny’s hands left their safe spot on his companion’s shirt hand gingerly padded the hardwood mountain. Like a child learning to crawl he advanced, finding the situation to be much simpler with four limbs rather than two unreliable ones. That and he felt much more comfortable being closer to the ground. Now, if he were to fall, it wouldn’t be nearly as tragic. He’d just catch himself with his hands or slide gently on his chest until he stopped. It was such a good idea to walk like this; if social norms didn’t dictate that he stand erect he’d crawl more often. Despite his drunken genius idea, it was still slow goings. Thankfully there weren’t as many steps as the two thought. Through their blurred visions they were seeing double the challenge.

“Snot” Many mumbled to the stairs as he climbed them. “that hard.” Hopefully Daniel was having as easy of a time as he was. He’d turn to check if he wasn’t so scared of slipping and crashing into him.

[Nayt]

Unlike Manny, Daniel hadn't the common sense that demanded quadrupedal efficiency over bipedal failures. Walking up the stairs behind Manny was something a ballerina act for Daniel. While Manny slowly but surely made his way up the stairs, Daniel was always on the step right below where Manny occupied a fair stretch of steps. There, he had trouble standing, wavering from one side of the step to the other, pushing against stairwell walls to try and force a balance, but failing each and every time. He nearly fell over onto Manny on numerous occasions.

The difficulty made him impatient, and Manny's slow but surefire means of scaling the stairs was not doing Daniel's newfound impatience well. As soon as they were close to the top of the stairs, Daniel moved ahead.

Nearly tripping over Manny, Daniel stumbled ahead of him and into the hall. He worked hard to catch himself on the wall, though, skidding to a stop until he reached a door. He couldn't make out the number, but he stared at it long enough that he felt like he did--and he felt like it was familiar. So. It must've been their room. Right. It was familiar, so it totally had to be their room.

"All roight . . . oI think . . . is this room," Daniel declared outright and without even the slightest hint of hesitation, and he leaned against the door with all his weight and squeezed the doorknob lazily.

Daniel flung through the door as it opened, landing within the room with a harsh and resounding thud as the door swung open freely. There were no screams or gasps of surprise. The light that spilled into the room indicated a mostly untouched room with two double beds and nothing more.

Last Daniel remembered, their room was unlocked. Also, it had two double beds. This was totally their room.

[Nayt]

Mandaz: Manny trusted Daniel on most things. Even though Daniel was hardly right, he still had all the confidence of a man who new what he was doing. He was as good of a role model as any that Manny had, so the younger boy stuck by his side through every bad decision that Daniel ever made. But yes, this was actually their room. Manny leaned into Daniel with a bit of woozy apprehension, waiting for him to take the lead. His head was spinning a little more each second, what with all the excitement of the hunt for their room and the poison running through him. Drooping eyes looked through his wild mess of hair to the inviting bed, oh so inviting.

“I dunno how much longer I can stand” he admitted, mostly to himself, but loud enough so Daniel could hear.

Nathan K.: "A'roigh'," Daniel huffed in reply.

Truth be told, all the excitement had gotten to him, too. He was somewhere on the line of belligerence, not quite there, but close enough. The trip up the stairs was pretty sobering, too. But not quite enough. After it all, he kind of wanted to lay down, too. But he knew he was going to stand just fine without anyone else helping him. He wanted to lay down for the sake of laying down, not because he didn't feel comfortable on his own two feet anymore.

"C'mon, oI'll help you there," Daniel offered his arm to Manny.

If accepted, he'd wrap his arm around Manny's waist and walk with him slowly, oddly mindful of how frail his fellow teen was, but also of how much strength he needed to keep Manny up and pressed against his side.

Holding him up and against him with too much strength would just hurt, and make it impossible for Manny to walk, but too little strength and he'd just slump over if he lost the power to walk entirely!

Mandaz: The younger boy was surprisingly more resilient than his fragile body made him seem. Manny was a quiet, secretive kid who never really let on much about his past or who he was. It would be fairly simple to assume he was just a wandering homeless child, and thankfully Daniel never questioned that. Everett may have had her doubts, but she had many more important things on her mind then to worry about what Manny might have suffered in his past.

He clutched to Daniel’s arm while he wobbled to keep his balance. Manny’s smaller fingers punctured holes in his friend’s shirt. Not on purpose, of course. It had just been a while since the boy had nervously chewed at his nails, and the tough ends of his fingers grew jagged over time. He didn’t mind that Daniel held him close; it was actually pretty relieving to have someone to care about his well being. Alien, but relieving. Manny’s hands moved from around Daniel’s arms to around his waist, interlocking once they met to hold on to him tightly. The journey was not long or treacherous by any means, but he didn’t want this feeling of comfort to escape him.

Nathan K.: Daniel didn't notice any problems with his shirt; the cuts in it Manny was creating was all but lost on Daniel's drunken mind. He might notice later, but not right now. He probably wouldn't care later, either.

"Up you go," Daniel uttered as soon as they were by the bedside.

Manny may have been surprisingly resiliant, but he was also extremely light. It didn't take Daniel much effort to pick up him and set him upon the bed. Hell, even back before Daniel got physically stronger over time of traveling he'd have probably been able to pick Manny up without much trouble.

It was only after this that Daniel experienced a bit of a predicament. He still stood by Manny's side of the bed, but thought for a long moment of where to go next. Should he crawl into bed with Manny like he'd been doing for . . . what was it, weeks? Months? He didn't really keep track. But still, options, options. If he crawled into Everett's bed, then she'd have no choice but to share a bed with him!

Or . . . maybe she'd just share a bed with Manny instead. Daniel wouldn't have blamed her if she did. He was pretty cute, for a dude and all.

So he stood there, thinking, not quite knowing where to go from here . . .

Mandaz: His clinginess was disrupted by his sudden take-off into the air. Arms that once clung to his friend’s waist so tightly now reached for his neck with equal urgency. By the time he had a firm grip around Daniel’s neck he had been released to fall onto the soft sheets below. However, Manny was sluggish, and did not give Daniel the opportunity to allow him to let go, the force of the smaller boy’s weight dropping would be enough to bring his friend down with him. Unless Daniel was strong enough to boast that he could wear Manny around like a necklace, but in this state of mind that was a challenge that probably would not be met. They would clash, but the younger boy’s head would be off in other places, caught between Daniel and a soft place, with no sense or reason to let go.

Nathan K.: Well, Daniel's mental question--whether he'd sleep in Everett's bed or Manny's bed--was answered rather quickly, and not even by him. He wasn't disappointed, just a bit caught off guard, that was all. He sunk down with Manny and by the time he realized it, his face was planted into Manny's pillow, their heads right next to one another.

Incidentally, he didn't think too strangely of this, either.

Guess this is where I'm sleeping tonight.

Without any verbal warning, Daniel tried to crawl into bed--but Manny was still clinging to him. That made things a bit tedious. He had to crawl over his friend, essentially. Slowly but surely, he tried--and unless there were any problems, he'd succeed. But it'd be awkward. Not uncomfortable. Just awkward. Daniel lifted one leg first, but it'd wind up interlocking with Manny's. Balanced with his hands on the bed, he tried to slide his way over Manny, trying to avoid just outright crashing on top of him, but clumsily so.

Though drunk, Daniel was still strong; he could do this much so long as he wasn't presented with a powerful force pulling back on him. But he was clumsy--there was a fair chance that the process of tangling himself up whilst sliding over and laying on his back might bring someone else along with him . . .

Mandaz: “oh…I’m sorry.” He mumbled, though the sounds that left his mouth sounded nothing like the words he wanted.

Manny hadn’t realized he was making things so difficult for Daniel, or that he was still holding on to him at all. He slowly slid his arms off of his friend to allow him more space to move around as he pleased. His arms felt heavy anyway, but now without something to hold they felt empty. Not just because they were actually empty in the physical sense, but he felt a cold loneliness without having that clinging comfort, no matter how brief. Perhaps when Daniel got comfortable Manny would through his arm around him while they slept. Just to have something to hold on to. There weren’t any extra pillows to clutch, and he wouldn’t mean any harm in it.

Usually the boy kept quiet and still at night, but with the throbbing in his head he could only think of loneliness, and how he did not want to find himself back in such a situation. He waited patiently for Daniel to settle in, though he was deathly nervous on the inside. What if Daniel left? Or never came back? What if he was alone when he woke up in the morning, abandoned by Everett and Daniel? What if this was the last time he’d share a bed with someone? Or sleep in a bed at all? Why where all these thoughts of paranoia creeping up on him when he had previously been feeling so lightheaded and happy? It made him whine a little, becoming frustrated with Daniel’s moving about. Couldn’t he just stay still? With him?

Nathan K.: Daniel settled on his back after a moment of rustling about. He didn't like to toss and turn in bed, and often tried to avoid the whole mess--especially now. But sometimes it couldn't be helped. You laid down, but there was a knot somewhere in your back and you were laying right on that. Well, then you had to move, right? So, you'd move, find another knot, and all that jazz, until you found the softed spot on the bed, on the least pained part of your back. Only then could you settle down and relax.

That was Daniel's problem entirely.

He let out a sigh of relief once he found his comfort zone. It was great, this bed. At first, when he was trying to settle himself in, he thought the bed was terrible, and was beginning to wonder if Everett's bed was any better. But then it started to feel better with time--and now it felt pretty relaxing.

He wasn't too tired, though. That part kind of sucked. But that was usual for him. If he didn't drink until he passed out, he wasn't going to be tired. They were just here to potentially escape Everett if she came back.

Actually, where the hell was she?

Oh well. It didn't matter. They were in a pretty safe town, and she'd come back eventually. Hopefully they'd be asleep by then.

[Mandaz]

Being one who spent a better part of his life sleeping in everything BUT a bed, Manny was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Any slight bit of human comfort he could get his grubby hands on made him feel like he was being lavishly spoiled, including the less than idea mattress the two were currently residing in. To him it felt like he was nestled in the center of the heavens, or what he imaged something that pleasant to feel like. And with the added warmth and companionship of his best friend by his side, the alcohol in his blood, and the quietness of not having Everett around, he was in a state of pure bliss.

It didn’t really matter to him where Everett was. She had proven on many occasions that she was fully capable of taking car of herself, and often preferred to be alone. Or at least away from Manny. It didn’t offend him too much. Manny knew he wasn’t the most wanted person in the world. He figured that out from the first few moments of his life.

“What time you think it is?” he asked idly, just to keep up conversation. He wasn’t quite fatigued enough to sleep, but the draw of the bed comfort was wearing him down.

[Nayt]

Daniel wrapped his arm around Manny in a friendly sort of way. Reassuring. Yeah. He was totally just trying to reassure his friend, because he looked like he was a bit downtrodden. Well, sort of. Daniel couldn't really tell a difference between downtrodden and comfortable in this state of inebriation.

"oI dunno," Daniel shrugged his shoulders.

It didn't seem like it was that late, but the window was shut and the curtains were hiding any potential lights outside. He couldn't even begin to guess what time it was, not without actually getting up and out of bed.

And Daniel wasn't about to too that.

"You toired at all?" Daniel asked. Daniel wasn't too tired, himself, but he was having a bit of trouble figuring out something to do. Maybe lay down until he fell asleep or something, but that wasn't any fun, was it? So--what? What to do? Maybe they could fight their way back downstairs and try their luck with mutually intoxicated ladies? That would've been pretty rad, but kind of required the drive to get out of bed--and he lacked that in every way.

[Mandaz]

“Nuh-huh” he yawned, obviously lying a bit. His body may have been tired, but his mind was wide awake. Or maybe it was opposite? Maybe his brain was too tired to push his body anymore, but his body still fidgeted and stretched. Daniel’s reassuring half hug was nice. It felt good to know you were cared for. Little displays confirming that were just an extra bonus. Manny was becoming more of a fan of being pushed and pulled into arm locks and embraces. He was starting to like just being touched, and being close to other people. Daniel and Everett were his friends, even though they showed it differently. It was good to know that. It was nice to say it in his head.

“You’re my friend” and out loud.

Manny yawned and rolled to his side resting his head on Daniel’s bicep and draping his arm over his chest. It wasn’t soft, more like a rock with how strong his muscles had become, but it was the friendliest rock Manny had ever rest his head upon. It was weird to hear him breathe and to hear the blood pump in his body, but also kind of soothing too. Real rocks didn’t lull him like this.