[Fin] Not such a good evening

[TawnyAngel]

They were going somewhere now which was.... He was being led and so he followed. It was hard to make out the man's face or focus but the air of authority was familiar, was enough. He tried to recall how the night had started but found himself unable to, unable to place himself at all really. The air, it wasn't right somehow, and the voices that swirled around them as they made their way down the street rung harshly with strange accents.

His foot caught on- on what, he tried to look down as he was falling but he was caught half way to the ground and hauled back upright. He looked up into the man's face - still unclear - and smiled uncertainly. //Where are we going?// It was hard to think, had he been drinking? The guildmaster would be displeased if he wasn't fit tomorrow unless... maybe... had they... done something good? Where were the others though? But if they had, drinking, fine, so maybe he wasn't needed tomorrow and now.... Now he was going somewhere with somebody more senior. Where? He hadn't got an answer, had he? The music coming out of the clubs sounded loud and yet distorted, like it was pounding into his ears underwater. Walking was difficult but he was being supported to... to... somewhere.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Grocery shopping was always a short and depressing affair these days. Sonia had accompanied him out this evening not to help carry the bags - there was only one to speak of - but to render them both invisible, lest Alyssa spot him and decide to harass him or take what little money he'd managed to save for groceries, or take the groceries themselves.

On their way back from the store, they spotted not the unfortunately familiar redhead, but someone much better - too bad he didn't look better. Abel paused midstep and frowned; Zevran certainly looked about as drunk as one could get, and yet... And yet something seemed off. He looked like he could barely walk, and Abel wasn't too sure if the shorter blond would really get that drunk, especially in a public place. Or at least, he knew he himself wouldn't do such a thing. No, if he were going to get that drunk, he'd do it somewhere safe and familiar, and definitely not alone. Not that he was alone...

...but who was it that he was with? Zevran knew other people in the city besides himself and Taavi, of course, but he couldn't help but regard the unfamiliar person with a heavy amount of suspicion. Something was wrong. For all he knew, something was very wrong - or it could've been fine, but he would prefer not to assume that was the case. Turning on his heel and still invisible for now, Abel and Sonia crossed the street and drew quite close to the pair to get a better idea of the situation - and what they should do about it, if it turned out to be necessary to do so.  

[TawnyAngel]

Where were they going though? He didn't think he really wanted to go anywhere other than back to the apartment but refusing... No, he was being led and so he was following. It was okay to ask though yes? Yes. //Where are we going?// he asked again, his words coming out slurred though he didn't realise it. The man didn't answer him, just laughed. Laughed. Why?

//Am I... Am in in trouble?// Oh no. Was he? Gripped by sudden dread he stopped dead but the man dragged him roughly onward and after a couple of staggering steps he fell into line again, if he was - why would he be? - he didn't want to make it worse.


A cab was making its way down the street, not too fast because of all the drunk pedestrians around but fast enough that the Caterpie gripping onto the back was catching up with the stumbling blond and his companion quickly. As it drew close the small bug launched itself from the back of the moving vehicle and landed in front of the pair with a splat. Dazed though he was Amigo straightened up quickly and chattered furiously at the stranger. The man looked down, huffed, and kicked the Caterpie back into the road.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

A moment or two after Amigo was punted aside, Sonia's illusion engulfed him and Abel quickly knelt down to scoop him up. "Careful there, bud," he whispered, looking over the Caterpie for a moment to make sure he wasn't fatally injured. He looked rather worse for wear but definitely not about to expire, so the blond quietly passed his Zoroark the bag of groceries and the small bug. He hadn't wanted to make any assumptions, but his gut reaction proved right after all. Something was unquestionably wrong.

Sonia hung the bag on her elbow and held the bug with that same arm to leave the other free as she and Abel moved closer. She sidled up on Zevran's other side as Abel circled in front of the pair and, when they walked close enough, the illusion vanished a split second before the blond swung his fist towards the stranger's face.  

[TawnyAngel]

Amigo squeaked urgently at Abel but when he already seemed to have the idea he happily subsided into Sonia's grip.

Suddenly he was falling. He tried not to but his limbs weren't working properly and he hit the ground in a boneless heap, his head cracked against the pavement and he tried to get up - fight, somebody attacking them - but he didn't even make it to his knees before slumping down again. Everything spun. He tried again, collapsed, and tried again....


The green haired man gave a cry of shock as he was stuck and dropped the blond he had been dragging along. "What the hell?" he demanded, bringing a hand up to his bleeding mouth and turning to stare at Abel. "What the hell is your damage?" he demanded, but even as he spoke he was backing away quickly.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Poor Amigo, left behind and kicked aside like so much garbage... Sonia held the Caterpie close; he wouldn't be left behind, kicked or run over by a car now. While the dark-type was eager to ask him what happened to his trainer, there were more pressing matters to take care of first.

Abel took advantage of the space made by Zevran falling and the unfamiliar man backing up, and quickly placed himself between the two with a threatening posture, his hands balled into fists. Sonia joined Abel's side with her fangs bared at the stranger, a guttural growl rumbling up from deep within her throat. "You are you disgusting waste of space," he shot back, glad that he was already backing up because he was quite sure he would be the loser in a fistfight. "Get the ******** out right now or your face won't be the only thing bleeding."  

[TawnyAngel]

"W-what? I was... just going to get him a cab and... ******** you then!" With that the man turned and dashed away down the street without so much as a backwards glance, soon turning the corner onto a busier street and vanishing into the crowd.


Zevran meanwhile had managed to sit up and was now swaying there slightly and looking lost. Somebody had fled so- He looked up at Abel, amber brown eyes unfocused and uncertain. //We... won?// Were they going to go again now then? He reached a hand up towards the taller man but he couldn't seem to keep his hand steady. //Can you help me? Please?// He wouldn't normally ask anything of a superior but it seemed standing up on his own was not something he could do, so if they were going somewhere he needed help.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yeah ******** right!" The blond yelled after the stranger's retreating form, not bothering to chase after him and quite glad he left without much of an issue. With that done, he turned to Zevran, hesitating a brief moment - he didn't speak Spanish, he couldn't understand a single thing he was saying, but he clearly wanted help - before reaching down to grasp his arm to help him up. "Come on man, let's get you somewhere safe, yeah?" Man, the poor guy... He didn't deserve this. No one did, but especially not one of his friends.

As Abel slipped one arm around his friend's waist and pulled Zevran's arm over his shoulders to support him, Sonia moved closer to wrap her free arm around the indisposed human to lend her support too. She asked of Amigo, though she focused on the pair of humans for now.  

[TawnyAngel]

Upright again; he managed to grab onto one of the man's shoulders again but it felt different. He sounded different. Did he? Or maybe not? Zevran blinked up at Abel, still failing to focus properly and now looking a little apprehensive. //Where are we going?// Why wouldn't he say? Somebody else was supporting him too now, it was.... What was that? The shape was familiar but he couldn't recall it. It was the shape of a 'monster though not a human, it must be controlled by the man leading him.

Amigo replied anxiously, still staring down the street in the direction the stranger had fled. Amigo blinked and looked up at Sonia.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

He looked terrible, and Abel couldn't help but feel worse with each passing second. "I don't speak Spanish," he reminded him gently, although it was obvious Zevran didn't exactly have his wits about him at the moment, but maybe it would prompt him to switch languages. Maybe. He could hope. "I can't understand what you're saying. You're okay, right Amigo?" He asked the Caterpie, switching tracks for a moment as he guided his friend down the sidewalk. "I don't really know where he lives and I don't know that I'd want to just drop him off and leave him there even if he did, so I'll bring you guys back to my place until he's better." Hopefully he'd be better in the morning, but he knew some things didn't leave one's system for a few days even. Poor guy, it had to be hell to go through...

Sonia growled low in her throat, ears flicking back further. she mused aloud, the dark-type went on with a glance down at the bug in her arm,  

[TawnyAngel]

Amigo agreed in worried tones. Ever, maybe. All the same he nodded at Abel, he was a bit battered but he'd be okay.

Why was...? "Are you testing me?" Zevran managed to ask hesitantly, his accent thick and his words sliding into one another. "I don't..... I did okay?" He couldn't remember what he had been doing before. Nothing felt right. The two arms holding him up did nothing to reassure, all he wanted really now was to escape but he couldn't do that. Sagging between Abel and Sonia but still managing staggering steps Zevran mumbled; "At your service."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The Zoroark made a quiet noise but otherwise didn't reply; she didn't feel it necessary.

The more Zevran tried to speak and keep himself together, the further Abel's heart sunk into his shoes. He just... He hadn't thought it was possible to feel even worse, but he did. "You did just fine," he said soothingly in an attempt to reassure him, though he wasn't sure how effective it would be. He didn't even know what Zevran thought he'd done that was good or not, or if much of what he was saying was even sinking in. "We're going back home to rest now, so you can recover."  

[TawnyAngel]

Amigo fell silent too, there wasn't really anything to say.

"Oh." Zevran nodded without emotion. Somewhere in the depths of his gut he felt cold and wrong but he pushed it hazily away. "Si. Yes. As you wish." He didn't really want to go home with this man but the choice was made anyway. Where were the others though?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Take heart, insert knife. Repeat.


Thankfully they weren't far from Abel's apartment so it didn't take long for them to reach the building, ascend the elevator and halt outside his door. Abel made an attempt to keep Zevran's arm over his shoulders before he removed his hand to find his keys in his pocket. Once he unlocked the door, he returned his keys to his pocket and carefully grasped his friend's arm again to keep it over his shoulders. "There," he said as Sonia entered first to help guide the indisposed human in, with Abel entering last. His mouth remained open, poised to speak, but the words died in his throat as he locked eyes with Alyssa as she stood in front of Taavi.

Abel inhaled deeply, leaned back against the door to close it, and sighed. s**t.  

[TawnyAngel]

No Abel wasn't here but he was and yes he'd given her all the money he had on him before subsiding into a corner and hunching up like a dead spider, pale green eyes glaring over his bony knees. He could tell them, the Officers. What could they do to him, because what had he really done? Technically, having done some research, nothing illegal. Bad, but not illegal but... but... What was it she had over Abel? He didn't know. He stayed where he was, and would have for some time had the door not opened to;

"Oh no, what now?"


It was bright in here.

Zevran hooded his eyes against the light and kept his head bowed. It didn't smell right here either, he didn't want to be here.