The TwiceBorn

Love, Awakened

"You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it."--Barrie 

“So Gre…is that all you’re going to do?  Drink all day?”

Aubery’s voice had taken on that nasally whine that told Gre the little bastard must be feeling better.  Which meant it was time for him to drink more.

“Of course not, Aubery.  To do that I would have had to start much earlier.”  He replied and a mean twist of pleasure rippled through him as he raised the almost empty flask to his lips.

He was glad to be back on the move even if it meant they’d be riding into Lochedge.  Or trying to.  Gre was curious to see what Aubery’s great plans were to get past the Hynti.  As for himself, he was going to delicately balance his ale intake to where he was drunk enough to laugh uproariously at Aubery being dragged from his saddle by eager Hynti hands yet sober enough to keep well out of the danger of having the same thing happen to himself.

And he had to admit that way down in his dirty and drunken heart, he’d enjoy sitting back and watching it all unfold.

“What are you smiling about?” Aubery sulked.  Gre smiled wider.

“Nothing.  Nothing at all.  Glad to be back on the road.”  He replied. 

And that was the truth.  If he’d had to spend any more time trying to sober Aubery up after he’d tossed down that bitterswill, he’d cut his own throat.  Gre took another swig from his flask. 

The high point of this trip, so far, had been acquiring Pixie, his little yellow pony.  Though the loss of his grulla still hurt, Pixie the pony was an adequate substitute.  It was just as he had envisioned; the pony’s gait ate up the ground while Gre sat deep in the saddle and swigged ale with nary a drop spilt.

Aubery had recovered from his bitterswilling and Gre wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that.  When he stepped back and looked at it, leaving a young boy dead in the woods and walking away without a backward glance didn’t feel very good when he tried it on for size.  But, as Aubery recovered, and his wet behind the ears arrogance came to the fore Gre discovered he regretted that Aubery hadn’t died in the woods. Because he would walk away. Without a backward glance.

At first,it had aggravated him.  That sense of knowing what was right and yet still wanting what was wrong.  But as Aubery had gotten stronger…and louder…and more irritating…Gre wished that the scenario would play again because the second time around he’d simply knock the little ass in the head and be done with it.

Regrets.  Another one to add to the fold.  Gre finished off his flask and automatically began searching through his pack for another.

The day was turning into one hot beast.  Gre could tell that the heat was hanging on by its fingernails though.  The nights were cooling off and the trees were coloring up.  Once Aubery was torn limb from limb by the Hynti, Gre hoped to make it back to the settlement before the real chill of the nights set in. 

While he was out this way though, he might possibly be able to find some of the apple mead that was starting to be brewed around this time. Fermented honey and apples.  Done right and three sips was like a mule kick to the head.  Something to look forward to.

“There it is, Gray!! Lochedge!!  So,where are they? I don’t see them!”  Aubery yanked his horse up and stood in his stirrups to scan the grasslands around Lochedge.

Gre pulled up his yellow pony and blearily looked about.  He knew better than to trust his eyesight though at this point in his drinking.  He forced himself to concentrate as he slowly looked about.