Miletus Roleplay

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Chazz recovered quickly from the fairly light hit and was able to balance himself easily. His reaction was to swiftly drive his elbow into Makari's chest.

Chazz looked up at Makari as he spoke and then immediately looked down again. The way the guy was acting was certainly suspicious, but Chazz really had no explanation for they way they had woken up. There was really no telling what he would do while being that drunk. He cleared his throat as he stood up. "Well, let's get moving, then." Chazz didn't look at Makari as he got his stuff and grabbed a bottle of whiskey like it was the natural thing to have during a morning of traveling.

"Yeah..." Makari nodded, frowning slightly at Chazz's choice of morning beverage. The guy had done the same thing the previous day. He didn't say anything about it, as he had become aware of how deep in the forest they actually were. "Oh no... this isn't good." He looked around, trying to find some evidence of a clearing, but it was futile. Even he couldn't help but feel a bit stressed about it. He was also starting to realize just how sick he felt. Between those two factors, he didn't say anything as he started to lead Chazz through the forest, concentrating entirely on his surroundings.

Chazz opened up his bottle of whiskey and took a drink. Makari was really acting strange and Chazz wasn't quite sure what to make of it; the guy was being unnaturally quiet. As they walked through the forest, Chazz felt that the silence was becoming more awkward and tense. He took a couple more drinks to calm himself. "Hey... nothing happened, right? Between us?" He blurted out.

Makari had been focused on trying to find a way out of the forest, so when Chazz spoke up he looked a bit puzzled for a second until he remembered that he'd been teasing Chazz earlier. He couldn't help himself; he burst out laughing when Chazz asked that. He hadn't expected Chazz to buy into it quite so much. "Nah... well, at least not that I remember," he said. "I blacked out soo... maybe?" It was just too funny how worked up Chazz was; at least something was brightening the situation.

"Oh..." Chazz was a bit relieved that Makari had only been kidding, but he was annoyed that the guy had fooled him. "...You're a real dick sometimes." He then proceeded to down a fair amount of whiskey. It made him feel a little ill, but he just took another drink. Chazz hiccuped before beginning to speak. "Do you want a drink of this? It makes you feel good." He held the bottle out toward Makari.

Makari snickered at Chazz's reaction, then shook his head at the offered alcohol. "Nah, not today," he said. "I need my inner compass at its best." His stomach had lurched at the smell of the alcohol, which was a bit odd; he'd been known to drink off the hangover a few times. However, his stomach felt awful today. He supposed his injuries weren't helping that fact; he had to walk slightly hunched over to alleviate the pain. "All I see are trees, trees and more trees... I think whoever designed this place got lazy."

Chazz took another drink. "Yeah. They could've thrown in a bar or something. That would have been considerate." He took a few more long drinks as they walked along. "Hehehe..." Chazz suddenly started giggling. "Hehe, hey, do you... do you remember that time? That time we were in the woods with Az? He was teaching us to be all quiet and stuff, but my leg got stuck in this big hole. Hehehe... I got all panicked and Az came over like this." He put on a serious face and pretended to lift something up and set it down. "Hahaha! I was so embarrassed..."

"Yeah, the squirrels could be the bartender," Makari said with a bit of a snicker. However, he gave a genuine laugh when Chazz reminded him of that day. "Hahaha, oh I definitely remember that. The hole was like two feet deep and you were freaking out. Az kept getting mad at me because I kept laughing for the rest of the session." He shook his head; those were good times even in spite of Azrael's frustrations. "Ohh... remember that winter when all the stray cats followed Gabe inside the base and started getting into everything because we forgot to close the door? And we couldn't catch them to let them back out?" He snickered. "I thought Az was gonna have someone's head."

"Hahaha! Yes!" Chazz laughed loudly at that memory. "Man, I don't even know how many cats there was... I think every cat ever in the world just loves Gabe. He just like... has this aura that all cats can sense, I think. Heheh, those guys... you haven't seen 'em in a while, have you? I saw them just the other day... or something like that." He paused for a second. "Oh... that was before betrayed everyone..."

Makari chuckled along with Chazz. "I know, he was always surrounded by them." He blinked and shook his head. "I haven't seen either of them since I was kicked out of the group," he said. He wished he could see them again; the four of them had a nice little group for a while there. Chazz then got all upset about betraying everyone. The last thing Makari needed while trying to get them out of the woods was a sad Chazz. "Hey, nah... don't look at it that way." He shook his head emphatically. "Just think of all the exciting stories we'll have to tell them later." Chazz was drunk so Makari figured he could redirect his friend. "About us gambling and winning and making omelettes and all kinds of stuff. Imagine the looks on their faces."

"Hey... you know, you're right!" Chazz grinned at Makari and took a drink from his whiskey. "We've had some good times, Kar-Kar. I bet those guys'll wanna hear about it... a lot. Well Az'll just be like this-" He made a face as serious as his drunken state would allow. "But he'll like... he'll actually be thinking 'those guys are pretty cool'." He took another drink. "Hey... maybe we... we could give him some of this." Chazz held out his bottle. "That'd make him enjoy the stories more."

Makari laughed at Chazz's assessment, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I think his face got frozen that way a long time ago..." He shook his head, somehow doubting that 'cool' would be among the adjectives crossing Azrael's mind regarding the two of them. "Yeah... maybe. Hey, now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever seen him drunk. That... might be for the best though, he doesn't seem like he'd be a happy drunk. Maybe a violent one." Makari kept navigating the woods as they chatted, trying to head toward areas where the trees looked thinner in hopes that it would lead them to a clearing.

"Ohhh yeah, he's a little violent, isn't he?" Chazz said before taking another drink. "You gotta remember those... those backhands... damn, that stung. Hahaha... you got 'em more than me, though. Haha, you were a rebel!" He punched Makari in the arm, not realizing just how hard he was hitting.

"I definitely remember those," Makari said with a laugh, rubbing his cheek at the memory. "He just had no sense of humour." He laughed more when Chazz called him a rebel, then winced slightly at the punch. His arm was pretty sore from being slammed into the wall, but at least this time Chazz was punching him good naturedly. "Those were good times. Now... do you remember if he taught us any skills for when we're hopelessly lost and at risk of becoming forest creatures?"

The meal passed by silently after that little episode. Darast didn't notice too much, but Nadina couldn't wait to get out of there. She waited until they had all finished, then excused herself and took off.

She collected Yuki on her way and went out into the private garden. It was the one place she had always been able to go and get away from everything that was bothering her. She sat on the bench among the flowers and stroked Yuki's head.

Darast had watched his cousin leave the room and tried to imagine how she felt. They were intruding in her house, after all, even if they were guests. He kind of wanted to go after her, but figured she might want some time alone.

"Well. My home is open to you all if you need anything. Feel free to look around and enjoy what we have, but please do not cause any trouble. Now, if you will excuse me," Manya said, then stood and left the room.

Darast waited until she was gone, then said, "I dunno 'bout you guys, but I feel kinda... awkward or somethin'..."

"Yeah, goooooood times," Chazz said, and then looked thoughtful. "Hmmm... I think there was something about the... the forest creatures. Oh... I think we're supposed to leave 'em alone. Yeah, we should do that-" He was suddenly cut off when his foot caught on a root and he went face-first into the dirt. "Oops..." Chazz slowly sat up and grabbed onto Makari to pull himself to his feet.

Raphael ate in silence for the rest of the meal, not looking up at any of the people around him. He heard the girl leave first and knew that he had offended her especially. When Darast said he felt awkward, Raphael nodded; he certainly knew the feeling. "I-I-I am so sorry for... for... for doing... that."

"Yeah, I think he did say that," Makari agreed. Chazz was too wasted to be even remotely useful and he proved that by falling on his face. "Aww, Chazzy-baby. Be careful." Makari helped his friend to his feet and proceeded to lead him in circles through the forest. By sunset, Makari was feeling a bit antsy; it seemed like there was no way out of this forest. He also felt pretty light headed and fatigued. His stomach felt like his hangover had gotten worse, if anything. In spite of that, he pressed on; the sooner they got out of the forest, the sooner he could worry about all that nonsense.

"Whoa... hey, check these little guys out," Makari said as he turned the corner to see ten bats hanging from the trees in front of them.

Elyse felt bad for Raphael; he had really been trying his best but his tics came out more when he was nervous. "It's all right," she assured him. "It could have been a lot worse." She thought back to the exceptionally vulgar string of profanities he had shouted back when the group was resting.

Casimir nodded at what Darast said and sent a rather pointed stare in Raphael's direction.

As the day wore on, Chazz's bottle of whiskey started to get low. He wandered through the forest as content as could be, totally unaware of how hopelessly lost they were. When Makari mentioned seeing something, Chazz had to look around a bit before seeing the bats. After taking a moment to process, his eyes grew wide with fear. "Ah... ahhhhh!!!" he yelled, backing up very suddenly. Even after falling backwards, Chazz continued trying to back up. "G-get 'em away... get them away from me!!" He sounded desperate and his breathing was rapid and shallow.

Raphael gave Elyse a small smile as his head tilted to the side a few times. "I suppose y-y-you're right." He then noticed the way Casimir was looking at him. Raphael wanted to look away, but instead turned to the boy. "I-I-I had no... intentions of o-offending you, Casimir. I... I am sorry if I m-m-made you feel... feel uncomfortable."

"What the hell--? Chazzy, what's wrong? They're just bats... they're not gonna hurt you! They only eat insects and stuff." Makari looked shocked by Chazz's sudden panic upon seeing the bats.

Casimir nodded when Raphael apologized. "Well... it's okay, I guess," he said only because of the way Elyse was eyeing him, "but these people have a dungeon under their house. They could throw us back in there if we upset them and..." he trailed off, looking deeply distressed as he recalled various stories his mother had told him.

Makari's words didn't seem to help Chazz. He tried to speak, but his words came out in a slurred mess. He continued to back up until he hit into a tree. "Ahh!" Chazz quickly looked back at the tree and tucked himself up against it. "Th-the bats..." He pointed at them with a shaking hand and didn't budge from his spot.

Makari watched Chazz and frowned. This was definitely unexpected behaviour. "Yeah... the bats. I see 'em there, all... batty. We're gonna get away from the bats now, okay?" He grabbed Chazz's arm and started to rather forcefully lead him in the opposite direction of the bats. "What was that all about? What did bats ever do to you?"

Chazz nodded when Makari said they were going away from the bats. He stumbled after his friend, becoming calmer once the bats were out of sight. "Bats did things... to me," he said quite seriously. "When I was... uh... little, I found a bat one time. I had this... a stick to vanquish evil... it was like this." Chazz picked up a long stick and held it out, as if a visual representation was vital. "So I found the... the bat, and I knew it was evil! So... so I swung the stick... like this!" He hit a tree with the stick. "But I hit the bat, not a tree. I hit his wing a little, and... and he didn't like it... so he bit my finger. It hurt a lot, so I went to... ran to Mommy and cried." Chazz smiled. "And she put a bandage! But it still hurt and then I didn't like them... the bats."

As Makari listened to Chazz's story, the corners of his lips began to twitch. By the end of it, he couldn't help but snicker." Chazzy... you hit the poor bat and it bit you. What did you expect?" He shook his head, trying to stop snickering. "You know, you just gotta let it go." He patted his friend on the back.

"I dunno... I didn't want it to bite my finger," Chazz slurred. "It hurt! So... I dunno, I just panic when there's... when I see the bats. They're bad." He took a drink and then hiccuped. "I don't like them... how can the people like 'em? I don't like those at all..." Chazz downed what was left of his whiskey and stumbled around a bit. "I'm gonna... I'm gonna sit here... for a minute..." He dropped his bottle and sat on the ground, though he partially fell. "Hey... Kar-Kar..." Chazz sounded like he was going to continue, but instead he passed out.

Chazz woke up just after sunrise with a headache. He couldn't remember much from the day before, but apparently they were still in the forest. Makari was curled up on his side nearby; at least they didn't wake up in an awkward position again. When Chazz moved from his spot, he suddenly felt quite ill and vomited in some nearby bushes. He looked around at his surroundings, figuring that if they were still in the forest after a day, then they were probably lost. He then sat next to Makari and got another bottle of whiskey, which he promptly began to drink.

Makari had nodded in what he hoped was an understanding fashion as Chazz rambled about his fear of bats, though he was still pretty amused. "I dunno, I guess 'the people' just have weird taste." Chazz then said Makari's name but before Makari could even respond, his friend had passed out. Makari sighed; this was getting a bit ridiculous. He wasn't feeling any better than before so he curled on his side and was instantly asleep.

He awoke to find Chazz drinking again. He opened his mouth to say something, but Chazz was already visibly impaired. "Well... even if you're wasted, we're getting out of this forest today," he said. He didn't feel better than the previous day and actually felt a little bit worse, but it wasn't like they were going to be magically transported out of the forest. He pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the mild ache in his bones. "Come on, Chazzy. Let's do this~"