𝐂𝐈𝐃𝐒 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃

❛  you  sure?  ❜  she  tilted  her  head  as  she  watched  him  sway  ever  so  slightly.  not  quite  finished  yet,      she  thought.  since  he  usually  made  a  habit  of  swaying  like  a  on  a  sailing  ship  before  the  night  ended.  she  knew  how  hard  his  job  was,      so  most  nights,      she  would  would  indulge  him  and  give  him  her  undivided  attention,      while  maeve  handled  the  others.  she  didn’t  mind.  gav  always  had  a  lot  of  stories  to  tell,      and  she  loved  to  listen.

❛  i  think  i  could  do  with  a  few  more  though!   don’t  think  that  one  cup’ll  do.  ❜   maybe  he  indulged  too  much,  but  with  a  job  like  his  no  one  could  blame  him?  besides  -  this  gave  him  time  to  bond  with  the  others.     or  at  the  very  least  helped  him  get  to  sleep.  a  beat  passes  with  silence  as  she  continues  making  drinks,  small  talk  wasn’t  something  he  was  good  at,  not  like  this…  he  musters  up  courage  and  speaks:  ❛  where  did  you  learn  to  make  drinks  like  this?  ❜  the  question  came  fast  before  he  could  stop  himself  -  gav  had  tried  not  to  pry  into  tifas  business…  he  wouldn't  want  others  prying  into  his  (  not  that  they  needed  too,  given  enough  drinks  gav  would  sing  to  whatever  tune  was  on  the  orchestrion  )  ❛  aa  — you  don't  haf'ta  answer  if  its  too  personal,  like.  ❜ 

‘  if  you  were  me ,  you’d  do  the  same .  ’

When in need of a smile~

❛  𝐢𝐭'𝐬  𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠  𝐭𝐨  𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥  𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬  𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞  𝐚  𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞,  𝐚𝐧𝐝  𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞  𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞  𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞  𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠  𝐟𝐨𝐫  𝐦𝐞  𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧  𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞  𝐨𝐮𝐭  𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞…  ❜  she  doesn't  bother  turning  to  face  him,  not  at  first.  she's  tending  to  her  fire,  making  sure  it'll  hold  before  she  looks  his  direction.  she  can't  help  the  slight  smile,  revealing  the  fondness  she  has  for  the  man.  ❛  𝐨𝐫  𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞  𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲  𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲  𝐤𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝  𝐲𝐨𝐮  𝐨𝐮𝐭  𝐨𝐟  𝐭𝐡𝐞  𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲?  ❜ @lionscout ( ❤ )

𝐡𝐢𝐬  𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭  𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬  𝐚𝐬  𝐡𝐞  𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬  𝐭𝐨  𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝  𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬  𝐭𝐨  𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥  𝐭𝐡𝐞  𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞  𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭  𝐢𝐬  𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭  𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫  𝐡𝐞𝐫  𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬  𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥  𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦  𝐡𝐞𝐫  𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬,  𝐡𝐞  𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬  𝐚𝐭  𝐡𝐞𝐫  —  his  mouth  opens,  but  nothing  escapes  it  except  sighs  and  small  whimpers.  he’d  not  wanted  to  argue  —  he  had  simply  wanted  her  to  come  home.  ❛  i'll  have  you  know...  ❜  he  stiffens  his  shoulders  and  holds  himself  proudly  ❛  i'm  an  invaluable  asset  to  the  hideaway  now  --  even  if  they  did  get  tired  of  me,  which  they  didn't,  they  couldn't  kick  me  out.  ❜  a  proud  smile  broke  against  his  words,  they  came  out  clumsy  with  a  rush  of  negative  thoughts.  ❛  and...  i  am...  ❜  he  added,  softly,  so  soft  it  was  whisper-like.  ❛  you're  always  welcome  back  home,  y'know...  we  all  miss  you.  ❜  he  spoke  mainly  for  himself  as  others  understood  why  she  left,  even  gav  himself  understood,  𝐡𝐞  𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭  𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝  𝐡𝐢𝐬  𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬  𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭  𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡  𝐭𝐨  𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠  𝐡𝐞𝐫  𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤.    

❛ so...  what do you think? ❜ she waited with bated breath asking even before he had tasted the drink.    𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐞.   tifa could not help but giggle knowing that the alcohol would hit gav even harder than his usual spirit.   ❛ hope you got to taste it at least—it’s not bad right? ❜ 

𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧,  so  was  the  company…  in  many  ways,  way  more  pleasant  for  sure  and  most  certainly  easy  on  the  eyes…  he’d  admit  in  hindsight  that  maybe  it  was  a sorry  attempt  to  impress  her,  but  for  now…  ❛  aye,  that  was  good.  real  sweet  too,  ❜  he  hoped  he  couldnt  tell  he  meant  her.  ❛  unlike  anything  i've  ever  had  before  -  i’ll  take  three  more.  makes  me  feel  like  a  new  man.  ❜  he  gave  a  smile,  followed  by  a  small  laugh,  he  felt  the  alcohol  settling  in  his  stomach  already...  ❛  eh,  what'dyou  put  in  that,  anyway?  ❜  he  looks  down  to  his  empty  glass  then  back  to  tifa,  he  was  certain  she  grew  prettier  with  each  passing  moment.  a  flush  beginning  to  grow  on  his  face,  half  alcohol  induced  and  half  embarrassment.    

❛ gav! ❜ she called out with a wave and scurried to his side. maeve was a kind soul—filled her a pint as soon as she saw her. ❛ i don’t see enough of you lately. ❜ karlach grinned widely, hiding the fact that she wanted to pout about his absence. ❛ so, what was it this time? something simple and easy, or were you battling a hoard of aevises? ❜ / @lionscout

❛  there  she  is!  ❜  he  said ,    he  felt  his  mood  instantly  improve ,    she  was  made  of  magic ,    that  was  the  conclusion  he  came  to.    ❛    i  was  wondering  where  you  got  off  too  —  tried  looking  for  you  when  i  got  back.    i  reckon  you  missed  me  then?  ❜  he  smiled ,    almost  too  hard.    if  felt  nice  to  be  welcomed  back  by  her.    ❛  neither  !    —  i  had  to  be  real  quite  like ,    sneak  around.  .  .    got  the  information  without  a  sound  and  made  my  way  back.    did  run  into  some  wolves  on  the  way  back  —    easy  work  that.      but  enough  about  me ,    how  was  home?  ❜  

edda raised her head as she heard the infirmary door open with a creak,    it did not take long for her to recognized the lilt in the voice of the visitor.   a smile formed her lips without thinking much on it.   ❛ do you hear that? it it gav—he has come to pay you a visit i bet.   ❜ her hand rested on her stomach as she waited for him to appear from behind the curtain.   she smiled wider upon seeing his face.   ❛ we were hoping you would come to visit today,    milord.   ❜ / @lionscout

he opened the door as silently as he could — a thought crossed his mind.   what if she is asleep? he shook it from his thoughts and greeted tarja all the same ,   though a hint of awkwardness laced his tone.   if edda were sleeping he’d at least take the time to glance at her ,   and make sure she was well ,   though judging by tarjas response and eye movements edda was awake , tarja knew his plans of visiting in.   he peeked around the corner ,   a grin on his face ,   he gave a small wave ,   and spoke in a loud voice.   ❛ i hope you weren’t too lonely ,   i’ve been meaning to visit whenever i can — just gets busy ,   y’know.   ❜  he crouches ,   meeting her eye level.   ❛ you been getting enough rest ,   eh? can’t have you tired ,   what with the bairn… er ,   baby… due any second now ,   like.   ❜ his eyes move to her stomach , and he can feel the smile on his face grow even bigger , but he stares too long and feels a bit invasive with his stares then quickly moves them back to her eyes with a short laugh.   ❛ and how’s the little one doing ,   you’ve been eating well for the both of you ,   haven’t you? if you need i can go and grab you something.   ❜

he took one long gulp from the pint before wiping his mouth.  it was bitter and stung as it went down.  nothing like the taste of red wine.  the taste had an odd sour flavor that he could not quite pin,   ❛ how do they drink this? ❜ he whispered with his eyes cast down into the mug.  against his better judgment,   he lifted the mug back up to his mouth and took another long gulp.  already,   he could feel the weight drifting away like some form of magic had just taken hold of him.  ❛ do i even deserve to partake in such pleasures to rid myself of the weight of my guilt? ❜ he said aloud,   albeit softly.  he had almost finished his pint when he noticed gav.  he could not tell if it was a mere stolen glance or if he had been watching him this whole time.  when his mouth reached for words he was met with a loud belch.  instead of feeling embarrassed by his action,   he began to chuckle softly until his laughter spilled out.  ❛ please excuse my rudeness…  ❜ he finished the rest of his pint and let his hand fall to place it on the table.  /  @lionscout​

gav watched as he moved toward the bar and witnessed the silent exchange with maeve, who before had been egging gav on in approaching him as though he was a child with a crush, though now he had begun to wonder if maybe she had just wanted him to comfort the prince and had not noticed anything else, still.. the thought sent blood straight to his already alcohol-flushed cheeks, the alcohol hadn’t made him that brave — he waited until dion went quietly back to his seat, watching him closely... when their eyes met gav’s body betrayed him in letting out a noise of audible shock, followed by embarrassing laughter, his cheeks burning a bit hotter now. ❛ no need to apologize to me, prince. ❜ he shot a glance at maeve, who just cocked her head, with that he approached, drink in one hand , placing his free hand on a seat, laughing still, awkwardly. ❛ eh... i don't s'pose i could join you, prince dion? ❜