Drink About It

---

Velek turns up to the fancy Fiore Popolare in days old clothes, looking like shit, and visibly confused about where he's walked into. Matches is sat at the bar with a drink in hand, gives a wave and a little grin at Velek’s appearance. He is personally wearing his standard outfit of shirt and trousers, both looking impeccably clean and well pressed. “Glad you decided to come out.”

"Sure, I don't often get asked to come out like this. I would have changed if I knew it would be..." And he gestures vaguely to the decor and immaculately presented drink in front of Matches, failing badly at hiding the slight scowl.

"And I won't lie I was also kinda curious why, we didn't exactly, er.. get off on the best foot. Thought you'd be glad to be rid of me, not asking for more."

Matches shrugs and has a fairly nonplussed look on his face. “Don’t stress, I know the owner, come how you like.” He waves down whoever is tending the bar and continues talking while he waits for them to be available. “I mean, we can get out of here if you aren’t comfortable. But you’ve got to have a drink before you go, they’re brilliant here.” He turns to look at Velek properly and grins. “And don’t worry about what you said. I thought it was fun. I like to get challenged.”

The tired look fades for a moment as Velek returns the grin, "Well good, cause I wasn't planning on stopping just cause you're showing off with the fancy bar where you apparently know the owner."

He plops down in a chair next to Matches, taking in the place a bit more. "But it's fine, drinks here are fine honestly. It was a bit of a surprise is all, not an unpleasant one, but I've had a fair few surprises these last few days already."

“Trust me, I know the feeling. That’s why we’re here. This adventuring career has thrown plenty of surprises my way too. It can suck. And when I get some, I come here.” Matches orders a drink for Velek and slides the gold over the counter.

Eyeing the easy exchange of gold, Velek nods his head in thanks before continuing. "It's not a bad place to think, beats being at home on your own."

He fiddles with a sleeve, considering something. "You know, we started adventuring just to get money for spells and studying, me and my friends, but it feels like it's drawing us in more and more these days. It's overwhelming, so I'm looking forward to this 'brilliant' drink."

“I started that way too. Not for spells, of course, I can just do mine.” Matches winks at Velek. “But you know. I figured it was better paying than anything else I’ve done in my life. And it wasn’t an option before. So why not, you know? Turns out the why not is the-“ He makes a vague hand gesture towards Velek. “The overwhelming. The other shit that gets mixed in.”
As he gets to the end of his thought, a cocktail arrives for Velek. “One Goblet of Fire.” the bartender says with a smile, Matches smiles back and nods in thanks. Then turns back to Velek. “Blackberries from the Darkest Forest of the Shadowfell, Rum from the Golden Fields of Elysium, and just a drizzle of Neuyayan Honey. This drink is the dog’s bollocks, I promise you.”

Velek rolls his eyes at the wink, but makes a reach for the cocktail anyway "Dog's bollocks, what a delightful way to describe it." He takes a sip and tries to cover his expression, but he's too impressed to stop a hint of it seeping through. "Okay but it is justified damn, fine I will admit you're right."

"So how do you do it? Apart from the good drinks, cause it ain't enough, how do you get over all the other shit."

Matches grins in smug victory, proudly sipping his own drink. He thinks about the question for a moment before shrugging. “I’m lucky. My other shit got packaged with a new family. You met Frigus and Waffles. I also have two other cousins I discovered whilst being here, as well as a few others who I’m not really related to, but they help out as if they were. And no matter how hard I try they will not let me do anything on my own or feel too bad for too long.” Matches glances at Velek up and down. “I don’t know the ins and outs of your wizard gang, but you’ve gotta have something similar, right?”

The half-orc flinches slightly as he goes for another long drink of the cocktail, the tired look from before returning with a vengeance. "Yes, yes we do. An unlikely group at first, we banded together by our shared rejection from wizarding academies. Found our own ways to study magic without such institutions. We've become close as family."

"They're indeed my support in everything but... it's always good to get other advice yah know? It's nice you've found something similar, just be fucking careful if you're all adventuring." And the look Velek gives is intense, like he knows something that scares him, but drops it to look at his drink again.

“Not surprising you’re obsessed with books, you’re like an open one yourself.” Matches smirks and leans on the bar, resting his hand on his chin. “Not a criticism, to be clear. I’m much the same. I used to hate it, but thanks to my previously mentioned annoyingly supportive new family, it’s turned out to work in my favour more often than not. So I find myself speaking my mind a lot more. Like how I don’t mind telling you I hardly feel scared for my family while adventuring, they’re all way stronger than me anyhow. I’m more scared for me.” Matches finishes his drink with a satisfied “Ahh.” before looking back to Velek. “You should try it. Feels good.”

"Ha. Ha. Feeling scared for you? Or speaking my mind? Cause one of those you couldn't pay me to do." The serious look now replaced by a scowl, he finishes his own drink, not wanting to fall behind. "And you might like it but I'd rather not be an open book for anyone to read. It makes things too complicated, people knowing things, and usually I'm better at it but it's be- whatever. I'm just trying to give you advice as repayment for the drink. You can take it or leave it, though it involves Frigus and Waffles so hopefully take it.”

"Wait, are the others you mentioned also elemental representatives? Is that the theme? I've got a wizard group and you got an elemental one."

Matches just keeps smiling through Velek’s frustrations, then shrugs, once he’s finished. “Kinda. Frigus and I are fire and ice. We’ve got a fella called Florian, he’s nature. And Orianna’s kind of at the head but hers is stars. But it’s a dragon thing really. We’ve all got ancestors who are these fuck off massive dragons with different powers and what have you. And those dragons are all related, so we’re all related.”

"Sorcerers" is muttered, clearly not amused "Bonded by ancient dragon blood, how very dramatic. It truly does help to have powerful ancestors it seems."
Velek looks around, trying to catch some attention for another round. "I know I asked, but let's move away from family. Likeeee what are you scared of happening to you then? Or is that more a five drinks in kinda question, cause I ain't afraid of getting shit faced tonight."

“We can reach that many drinks in time, I’m not going anywhere.” He raises a hand to signal a bartender without breaking eye contact with Velek, making a small ‘same again’ gesture by circling his finger. “But I’ll only tell you mine if you promise to tell me yours.”

He considers and Velek's expression sharpens, almost as if for a moment someone else is looking at Matches through his eyes. But it's lost as he heaves out a sigh and holds a hand up, pinkie outstretched. "It's a promise, and Penny says pinkie promises are the most binding of contracts."

Matches slightly tilts his head, then extends his own pinkie. As all of his fingers are, it is scaled along the back with dark black scales tinted with a fading dark red, and his fingernail has a long dark claw which gently pokes against Velek’s skin.

“I’m scared of falling behind, and dying without having made an impact. My family is very capable, their abilities can reach greater heights than mine by a mile. I would rather be a help than a hindrance. We had a close encounter with the land of the dead recently, made it all quite a bit real.” He retracts his pinkie to reach into his pocket and retrieve more gold for the bartender as two new drinks arrive.

He glances at Matches' clawed hand for a moment, nodding in understanding as he processes what's been said. "Death can certainly have that effect, like a ear ringing slap in the face, but if you're still going that's what really counts right?" Glancing to the drinks, he also retracts his hand to fidget with the glass in front of him. "I was gonna... You gotta give me a chance to pay for a round at least, lowly wizard as I am."

"But anyway, I'm not stalling and I promised so... I'm scared I won't be able to fulfil my promise I made to my friends, it's becoming harder as time goes on. They're not aware before you ask, but I've put everything into holding on to it. Recently though I think I'm becoming more scared of losing myself to it, the promise I mean, fading like a forgotten bit of clothing shoved to the back of the drawer."

Matches raises one hand in defensive surrender while sipping his new drink with the other one. “Alright, you get the next one then darling.”

He smirks again, then gets quiet and listens as Velek continues. He nods with an honest, stern look of understanding the gravity of what is being said. He thinks for a moment, and takes another sip of his drink before speaking.
“I assume these are your wizard friends. And of course, you don’t have to tell the fella you met the other day the details of a personal promise, but in turn you’ll have to forgive me if this isn’t relevant. The thing I’ve found most tough about this new family of mine, in particular this Orianna I mentioned who was the first to meet me, is how quickly they accepted me and brought me in. I’d known Orianna for.. A couple of hours before we were related. And she immediately promised we were in it together. Without even really knowing me, and without knowing if I’d be helpful or capable or even good. And she’s kept that promise, and I know she’ll carry on keeping it.. My point being, it wasn’t ever about what I’d promised to do, or who I should be. It was just me as is. I don’t know much about your friends, but I think they’d find keeping you around more important than anything you think you need to do.”

"I certainly won't tell all, trying to be a closed book remember?" Velek drinks deeply, considering Matches' words. "That's one way of thinking about it, I guess perhaps they would prefer I stayed. I need to think on it. Oh but it's so much more complicated than that, which you wouldn't know. Whatever. Thanks." More to himself than Matches he mutters, "Perhaps I should meet this Orianna and see."

"But emotional secrets aside, you want more? We've made a deal after all and it seems only fair you ask your own."

Matches leans back, studying Velek and his response. He shrugs a little and strokes his moustache with a finger and thumb while he thinks.

“If emotional secrets aren’t coming out tonight, why don’t we just get a bit more personal? All I hear from wizards is work and study over and over. How do you relax? Unwind, have a good time? What’s that secret? Drink? Meditation? Someone keeping you company in the late hours?”

"You're asking about my hobbies?? Well I, and don't laugh at this, but I like to journal and scrapbook a lot. Then practice spells I guess and a bit of contemplation on errr life. Nothing exciting, sorry to disappoint."

"It's just myself and my friends keeping me company." He panics slightly as he considers the question fully. "But not in the way you're implying. That's not- I don't have any of that happening."

Velek snaps his mouth shut to stop himself rambling, and waves a hand around Matches' direction. "There, I hope your curiosity is peaked."

“Curious is definitely the word.” Matches grins at Velek’s panic and flustered response. “And do tell me if I am overstepping the terms of our deal by asking too much but.. Are you looking for any of that happening?”

That gets Velek to raise an eyebrow. "No it's fine, but that's two you owe me then." He tries to school his features into something more calm after all of Matches' grinning "I haven't thought about it in a while I won't lie, and perhaps beforehand sure. But as I am now? No. It would be really weird for me and probably not very fair on the other person either." He shrugs and takes another sip. "Sorry to disappoint."

Matches sighs a little, but smiles earnestly. “Oh no need to apologise, I can respect that, fair enough feller. But you can’t fault a man for being curious.” He takes a sip of his own drink, finishing the second one. “Now what two things do you want out of me? I think I lost count somewhere in there, I dunno how I got to this point. But I’d like to be even before I can leave.”

Velek tries to signal some more drinks their way, sliding gold onto the bar when they arrive, it's nowhere near suave but it gets the job done. "No fault, but be careful, I hear curiosity killed the cat." He holds up a hand, two fingers raised. "But yes, let's even this deal. Otherwise that might get you instead.
Firstly, how do you unwind in the evening then, if us wizards are so boring and studious." He flips a finger down, leaving just the middle one, "And secondly, if that mirror back there showed the past and not the future, what would have been shown of you?" He closes his hand into a fist, so as to rest his head on it and smile innocently at Matches.

Matches smirks back at the innocent smile and raises his index finger to start. "Drink, gambling, and company in the late hours, if I'm lucky." He then raises his middle finger, the scaled back of his hand facing Velek. "A less scaley, more pathetic version of me."

"And here I was hoping you were secretly a nerd this whole time. A pity. Well it seems we're even for now." He shuffles slightly to pick up his drink, holding it aloft in Matches' direction. "Here's to sharing secrets, drinking our feelings, and family."

“I have been and currently am a lot of things my friend, but a nerd has never been one of them. Sorry to disappoint.” He grins widely and raises his own glass. “Right you are, mate.”