Where? (Sinbad)

14. Night Crawlers

"Sinbad? Eve asked.

The silence was deafening as amber eyes stared down at her. Eve fought the urge to shudder as his unwavering gaze focused only on her. With a small huff, she pushed his arm aside and began to move past him.

"If you don't have anything to say then I'll be going," Eve murmured.

Before she could move, an arm snatched out and grabbed her waist. Sinbad pulled her towards him, hiding his face in the crook of her neck. Eve was frozen. Sinbad's arm snaked around her waist in a firm, yet gentle grip. 

"Sinbad? What do you think you're doing?" Eve asked, unsure of how to react to the situation. 

"Who was that guy you were talking to...?" He muttered, his voice muffled from his face hiding in her neck.

"What?" 

"That guy... who was he?" Sinbad asked again, seemingly growing irritated.

"You mean Chitaru?" Eve felt Sinbad tighten his grip on her at the sound of Chitaru's name. "He was just some guy from the village I was talking to. Why?"

Sinbad hummed quietly in response, his grip tightened only slightly on her waist. "Don't... talk to him anymore..." His voice was quieter than before and still muffled. Eve barely understood what he said.

"And why do I need to stop talking to someone? He's just some weirdo from the village, but you should know more than anyone that we're not here to make enemies," Eve states, her tone slightly annoyed. As much as she didn't like that weird guy, she didn't like being told who she could and couldn't talk to.

"Because... I don't like him..." Sinbad muttered. "I know we're not here to make enemies... but I still don't like that guy..." 

Eve was about to scold him for being rude again and ignoring the fact that they were shown hospitality when no one else would take them in, but suddenly stopped herself. A certain scent surrounded the purple haired man, one she wouldn't be able to mistake if she tried.

"Are... are you drunk?" Eve asked, pulling his head away from her neck and looking into his eyes. His golden eyes were hazy and his cheeks were slightly tinted red. The smell of alcohol radiated from him as his head slumped to the side, leaving his cheek resting in her hand from when she pulled him back. A few beads of sweat trailed down his forehead as he cracked a slight smile.

"N-no..." Sinbad stuttered. His once unfocused eyes trained on her face. One of his arms snaked up from her waist a landed on her cheek before running through her hair slightly. His hand stopped once it reached the back of her neck before pulling her closer to him. "Have I e-ever told you... that you're reeeaallly pretty...?" 

Eve sighed as Sinbad slurred his words. She reached a hand up and grasped his wrist, pulling his hand out of her hair before quickly removing his other arm around her waist. She threw one of his arms over her shoulders and braced him from the side, all the while Sinbad muttered little things about how he liked her. 

Eve attempted to block out his words, knowing they were most likely just drunken ramblings, and chose to instead focus on getting him back to the village. Sinbad stumbled along the path leading back to the center of town where Eve set him down where he once was sitting. She noticed almost as soon as she'd set him down that he was once again reaching for a bottle and snatched it away before he could continue drinking.

Ignoring Sinbad's drunken whines for more alcohol, Eve wandered for a few moments before finding the village chief. She quickly asked him where they might lodge, briefly explaining the situation . The chief chuckled slightly before instructing her to look for a building further up the mountain, a little more secluded, but not too far from where they currently were. Eve thanked him before rushing back to find a still drunk Sinbad.