my friends and i, we got a lot of problems (rp for ihatepuns)

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

The morning after returning to Emon and Vox Machnia is right back where it started. Sort of. They are, thankfully, not still in the Underdark and there's light, real light, spilling in from the window beyond the table and turning the remains of more than a dozen breakfast dishes from silver to gold, but the arguments have started again. Vax really isn't surprised, given the gravity of the situation, the Horn, whether or not they can trust Kima and her people, whether or not they can trust Allura for the same reasons, but they're all going around in circles, now, and anytime someone tries to step up, to say their idea is what they're going with, the end, the others shoot them down in unison. It's the only thing they can seem to agree on, really, and it's getting fucking tedious.

That in mind and despite the fact that he already unofficially excused himself from this conversation long ago, throwing the towel in on trying to be heard over the others, he shoots a sideways glance at Clarota. A glance turns into a thoughtful look, accompanied by a frown, a moment after that, and a moment after that, Vax focuses himself inwards, practically shouting in his own head, even if his only outwards tell is him vaguely tilting in Clarota's direction.

Hey, Noodles. If I think really loud, can you hear me?

Comments

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

"This is when we should have a word with my sister," Vax echoes. Taking a half-step forward, that said, hip pressed to the counter, he leans across it, reaching to put a hand on Gilmore's arm. "Think you could do us a favor and put a hold on that, Shaun?"

"It's not going anywhere," Gilmore promises.

"We'll be back in a bit, then," Vax answers, rocking back a step. And no, he's not going to ask how much it is, exactly, before they leave. He figures someone back home will have a guess, that his sister can tag along when they come back, if she wants to try and bring the price down and, most importantly, he doesn't want Clarota feeling bad, if it's truly outrageous. Which he imagines it is. "Ready, Noodles?"

[ihatepuns]

Clarota is likely to feel bad for whatever price they do eventually decide on, but for now, he glances at Vax to nod and then look back to Gilmore. Thank you. For your help.

And for not blasting him to smithereens on sight, but mostly for the help in making sure no one else jumps to the wrong conclusion and goes after him or causes the rest of the party grief because of what he is.

He looks to Vax again, then. Let's go.

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

Gilmore hums, nodding, and tries for a smile. He mostly manages.

Vax, meanwhile, repeats, "We'll be back," before turning to head for the door and the stairs down beyond it. He leads the way back out to the street, glancing back at Clarota several times to make sure he hasn't lost him, and when they're somewhere between Gilmore's and the Keep, he slows a little, so that he's walking with Clarota rather than leading him along.

He studies Clarota for a moment more, before, "How're you holding up?" He knows that encounter was, for lack of a better word and despite how much of an understatement it is, uncomfortable. He also knows it's his fault.

[ihatepuns]

Clarota follows along behind Vax as they head back for Greyskull - and when Vax slows, he almost floats into the back of him, adjusting so he falls into metaphorical step with the rogue. He also realizes he's been hunching forward, trying to camouflage his height, and he straightens again, now. This is still all very new. I'm sure I will.. get used to it, but for now, it's.. overwhelming.

He doesn't blame Vax for what happened at the shop, but it also didn't really help his culture shock.

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

"We're almost home, at least?" Vax posits, a ray of hope for Clarota. They'll need to go back, get his ring, but he and Vex can do that, if he's not feeling up to tagging along again, and they still need to go see Allura, but -- but okay, they'll probably have to bring Clarota along for that one, since it's Vox Machina business and he's part of the team, now, but. That can and probably will wait a few hours? Clarota will at least maybe have some time to recover.

[ihatepuns]

He also knows they need to find somewhere to get him clothing so he can stop borrowing from Tiberius, too, considering the dragonborn is shorter than Clarota and likely to want his clothing back eventually. He'll feel better about going out once he has a sturdier piece of magic to hide his nature, though.

He pauses a beat at Vax's answer before he lets out an amused hum. Home, he echoes thoughtfully. I suppose it is now, isn't it?

He doesn't actually seem bothered by that.

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

"Yeah," Vax confirms, nodding. "You might have to spend another night, playing sleepover with me, but ... " But he'll have someone clean out one of the guest rooms, sooner rather than later, so Clarota can have a place to call his own. "You're probably going to have to fight Tiberius for his lab space, though."

A beat.

"Or ask if you can share." Sadly, they don't have the room or the resources to add another work space onto the Keep. He's pretty sure Tiberius won't mind sharing, though. He'll be glad to have someone he can get excited over magic theory with, he thinks.

[ihatepuns]

Clarota's actually smiling a little, though he doesn't seem particularly aware of it. He likes the idea of home, though it's never been something he's experienced himself, only seen memories of.

He tilts his head to one side, considering. Sharing will not be a problem. I would like to compare knowledge with him anyway.

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

"I'm pretty sure Tibs won't mind, either," he begins, spitting out the thought he had just a moment before, regardless of whether or not Clarota might have already gotten it. "He'll appreciate having someone he can talk about magic to and who might actually follow."

Clarota might not have the experience that Tiberius does, but he still has magic. He's got a leg up on understanding anything more complicated the dragonborn might get into, as a result.

[ihatepuns]

Clarota did, actually, though he's trying to respect privacy and not blurt out things that aren't directly addressed to him. Now that Vax has said it, he nods. I'll do my best to keep up. I have a lot to learn from him.

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

"Yeah," Vax answers, for lack of anything better to say. He has no idea how Clarota's skill level compares to Tiberius's -- they both looked good in a fight, to him?

Though, if he really thinks he has that much to learn from Tiberius, he should probably warn him. He should probably warn him, regardless, and so, after a beat, he continues, "I should probably tell you that Tibs is kind of ... an intellectual snob. And he's got kind of a temper. So, there may be a lot of yelling in your future."

Another beat.

"I wouldn't take it personally, though. He yells at Scanlan all the time and they're pretty close." Scanlan just knows how to not take Tiberius personally when he's on one of his tirades. They all do. Tiberius always runs out of bluster, eventually.

[ihatepuns]

Clarota turns his head to look at Vax, and there's something bemused in his voice when he answers. I appreciate the warning. All of your family express their emotions more readily than anyone I have had reason to associate with before.

He's mostly only had much experience with people expressing fear. Anything else is something else he's going to need to get used to.

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

"Yeah, well. We're pretty emotional people." Tiberius and Grog and their tempers. Him not being shy about how much he cares for his sister or Gilmore or -- well, lots of people, really. And so on and so forth.

He doesn't get as far as saying that aloud, however, if he planned on it at all, if only because his train of thought seems to derail abruptly and with a breath of a laugh. Without thinking, he nudges Clarota lightly, and tells him, "And you think this is bad, you're in for a treat when we're all drunk. I can't remember, exactly, what happened last time, but I can guarantee you it was ridiculous."

[ihatepuns]

Clarota looks down at his arm, at the point where Vax made contact. Casual contact like that is still going to take him a lot of getting used to - though he's finding, increasingly, that he doesn't mind as much as he could have.

Something tells me I should likely not admit that I have never experienced being 'drunk' before.

He has a feeling Vax might take it as a challenge.

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

"Too late, Noodles," Vax answers, grinning widely. "We're so getting you drunk." Hopefully before Tiberius, spoil sport that he is when it comes to their pub crawls, can drag him away from the booze.

[ihatepuns]

He looks abruptly unsure, now, eyebrows climbing up his forehead. This is something I should be looking forward to, yes?

He knows what "drunk" means from his collective's absorbed memories, but he's a little nervous, suddenly.

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

"It's not that bad," he tells him, something more gentle in his tone, now. He may not be a mindreader, not like Clarota, but he can still all but sense his nervousness. "We'll start you off small, and Tibs doesn't really drink, so he can get some water in you, so you don't end up with a hangover."

[ihatepuns]

I would appreciate that, he returns, still sounding a little unsure, though he's also at least partly joking, now. He's actually looking forward to getting to know Vox Machina better and spending more social time with them instead of just fighting with them.

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

"You and the rest of the world," Vax assures him. "Hangover's the worst part." Being drunk, on the other hand, is the fun part, and he really, really wants to see Clarota drunk, now. The mental images he's already getting are hilarious; the real thing is probably better.

[ihatepuns]

Clarota hums something like agreement to that. He can imagine the after effects of drinking might be less fun than the actual drinking itself. You have favorite places here in the city, I assume?

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

"'course," Vax answers, shrugging. "Though, are we still talking about drinking or is this a general question?" Because where he likes to drink is very different from where he likes to hang out when he's with the rest of Vox Machina or when he needs to get away or -- well, point is that Clarota needs to be more specific.

[ihatepuns]

Clarota pauses a moment, considering he had meant to ask about places they went to drink, but he also wouldn't mind if Vax answered it more generally. A general question, he returns, finally.

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

As far as drinking establishments go, Vax lists a handful easily, including what part of the city they're in and a vague sense of direction from the Keep. Everything else takes Vax longer to come up with, silence falling between them as he tries to decide where to start and which of his hidey holes he really wants to give up and so on. Eventually, he pauses in the street, turning to face Clarota.

"You mind a quick, little detour?" It's not a detour, not really, not when they'll have to walk back away from the Keep, then back again. He figures it'll be easier, somehow, to actually show Clarota rather than just name places blindly, however.

[ihatepuns]

Clarota hesitates a moment before answering that - but then shakes his head. He needs to get used to being around people, around cities, if he's ever going to hope to be of any use to Vox Machina. Where are we going? he asks after a moment, and it really is more out of curiosity than concern about dark alleys and the like.

[dagger_dagger_dagger]

"Somewhere I like to hang out, when I need a few minutes," he answers, hesitating himself, trying to decide if Clarota is really okay with this -- or if he is, even he's not sure. Either way, after a minute, he seems to decide the answer to that is yes, and so he turns, leading them back towards the city but into a quieter part of it, if only for the number of people.

Sooner rather than later, they're standing at the foot of a ladder, propped against the back of a blacksmith's and half-hidden in the dark and dirt. Vax gestures to it before climbing up and when he reaches the top, and after getting out of the way so that Clarota can follow, he takes a long look around. Across the way there are other shops -- a leatherworker, a fletcher and so on -- and all the sounds and smells weave together to remind him why he loves the people he loves when he forgets, when he's frustrated, when he's tired.

"Here we are," he says belatedly, quietly.