One Too Many
Posted: Sat May 23, 2020 6:03 pm
Glade 24th, 120th AoS (Cuvindas)
Closing time had finally arrived for the Inn and when the the last patron left the premises, Patrick took it upon himself to finish cleaning the lobby afterwards. It had been another drawn out day that he felt glad to count as over, since there were still a number of patrons still curious about the Avialae from the north. Overall Patrick was relieved that he didn't need to fuss over them anymore, when he considered how much attention their presence brought the inn. Of course he didn't consider it bad on the business, but it certainly put everyone that worked here on the spot for a while.
Yet even days after they had left Patrick had noticed something, everyone seemed a little edgier than normal now that they were gone. Their father Albert seemed a little harder on everyone now, and poor Rose also remained a bit more withdrawn than usual. Even Dominik and Connor were going through their own motions, dealing with the aftermath of what took place last week in whatever way they chose. The older sibling of course had remarked upon camping again, even discussed it with the parents so that they'd know his plans in the coming weeks.
But Connor? He was always so busy in the kitchen half the time, that any free time he did find usually led him to leave for a while. Of course the clan knew his usual habits, as the best outlet for the youngest sibling was being out among friends. Of course this sometimes led him to return home drunk, and then hungover in the morning when everyone had to rise. Yet when the youngest sibling came out the kitchen tonight, he didn't march towards the door like Patrick expected; but instead towards the bar where he could grab a bottle from the shelf.
"Feelin' like drinking at home huh?" Patrick remarked from across the lobby as he finished putting up chair's on a table, and a moment later Dominik looked poked out from the office where he'd been counting today's earnings.
"Why not? We've all this fine selection for ourselves, might as well enjoy a round or two before bed." Connor reasoned as he started to pour a glass.
"You know Pa Pa doesn't like it when we drink all our own booze." Dominik reminded him as he walked out towards the youngest sibling. Patrick however merely resumed placing chairs upside down onto tables, so that sweeping the floor would be easier when that time came. "Do you even know the kind of wine you just grabbed?"
"Of course I do!" Connor retorted back rebelliously. "I may not serve drinks as much as you two, but I've lived here long enough to know what our own inventory is." He added as he started to pour himself a drink into a mug, which he then held the mug out for the oldest brother to take. "C'mon bubba, you gotta learn to live a little." Patrick gave in and looked to them from where he stood, his next table only halfway covered in chairs. Dominik didn't look too thrilled about the idea, in fact he seemed a little upset over the whole ordeal. "Look Pap already went to bed right? You heard him say so an hour ago, so who's to say he won't miss one bottle of wine."
"One bottle?" Dominik tested with a slight turn of his head, his eyes locked on Connor in a very testive manner. "That's Red Lightning you're holdin' Connor, you know Ma and Pa both do inventory every mornin'; so who's to say they won't miss it!" Right away Patrick could see where this was going, the two were literally on the verge of an argument now; and if they weren't stopped then they could've very well aroused everyone in the inn. Unhappy guests having to hear family disputes, as well as the parents having to come down to stop them? It definitely wasn't the best idea to leave the two unattended in that moment.
So immediately Patrick moved towards the bar, with a lean to look past the two at the bottle on the counter. "Oh come oooon, one measly bottle of red wine goes missing and they freak out?" Connor reasoned as he placed the mug down between him and Dom, another taken from the shelf so he could start pouring. Immediately Dominik reached to stop him but the youngest brother saw, and moved away quickly with a hand grasped on the bottle once more.
"Connor stop, we're not goin' to drink that!"
"Not unless we tell them later." Patrick interjected quickly to keep the both of them from arguing, which worked because they both looked to him surprised. Yet the second born just sat down at the bar, arms folded on the counter as he looked from one to the other. "We all know that it's one drink, one expensive drink in fact. But we also know Ma Ma and Pa Pa can always get another, and we have how many bottles up there?" Right away Dominik looked to the shelf, quickly counting the bottles he could see in his head.
"See Dom, Pat here has a point. We can just tell our parents later, they'll understand if we need a drink every now and then."
"But we can't make it a habit." Patrick reminded Connor just before he could flash a victory grin. "I think we should remember what's important here."
"Which is?" Dominik questioned bitterly with his arms crossed.
"We're all adults here. It's not like we can't buy or replace a bottle ourselves, but we also need to let loose and have fun every now and then." Patrick reasoned in turn as he drummed a row of fingers on the counter. "Which I'm pretty sure we're all in need of, when you consider how stressful last week's been." The point in his argument had validation there, and Dominik seemed reluctantly willing to agree with the notion. Connor of course was chuckling in success, and already getting not one but two empty mugs ready now.
"Fine," the oldest sibling gave in, "but it's just one bottle! And we'll tell Ma and Pa in the mornin'." When he said that he pointed first to Connor and then to Patrick, and then he proceeded to sigh as he visibly relaxed once more.
"Well then take a mug big brother," Connor encouraged with a smug grin as he placed another in front of Patrick, "let's see you have a bit of fun." The challenge was returned with an aggravated glare from Dominik, yet the oldest brother didn't back down from the taunt either. Patrick reached to grab the mug at the same time Dominik did, and when Connor finally held his own he brought it out for a toast. "To fun!" He then declared lowly so that nobody upstairs heard him.
"To fun..." Dominik returned as he looked to Patrick, a noticeable hint of apprehension in his eyes when he did.
"To fun." Patrick added in with a soft grin, as the three clicked their mugs together briefly. Patrick then brought the mug in to drink it's contents, the blended aroma of fruit and spices almost a rich aroma in his nostrils. Right when his lips touched the mug, and the bright red wine crossed them, Patrick immediately tasted a sweetly tart flavor which followed with a strong fruity aftertaste. From the moment he gulped down his first sip, Patrick felt the silky beverage radiate inside his gut; giving him the sense of tingles throughout his limbs as he contemplated the taste for a second.
Closing time had finally arrived for the Inn and when the the last patron left the premises, Patrick took it upon himself to finish cleaning the lobby afterwards. It had been another drawn out day that he felt glad to count as over, since there were still a number of patrons still curious about the Avialae from the north. Overall Patrick was relieved that he didn't need to fuss over them anymore, when he considered how much attention their presence brought the inn. Of course he didn't consider it bad on the business, but it certainly put everyone that worked here on the spot for a while.
Yet even days after they had left Patrick had noticed something, everyone seemed a little edgier than normal now that they were gone. Their father Albert seemed a little harder on everyone now, and poor Rose also remained a bit more withdrawn than usual. Even Dominik and Connor were going through their own motions, dealing with the aftermath of what took place last week in whatever way they chose. The older sibling of course had remarked upon camping again, even discussed it with the parents so that they'd know his plans in the coming weeks.
But Connor? He was always so busy in the kitchen half the time, that any free time he did find usually led him to leave for a while. Of course the clan knew his usual habits, as the best outlet for the youngest sibling was being out among friends. Of course this sometimes led him to return home drunk, and then hungover in the morning when everyone had to rise. Yet when the youngest sibling came out the kitchen tonight, he didn't march towards the door like Patrick expected; but instead towards the bar where he could grab a bottle from the shelf.
"Feelin' like drinking at home huh?" Patrick remarked from across the lobby as he finished putting up chair's on a table, and a moment later Dominik looked poked out from the office where he'd been counting today's earnings.
"Why not? We've all this fine selection for ourselves, might as well enjoy a round or two before bed." Connor reasoned as he started to pour a glass.
"You know Pa Pa doesn't like it when we drink all our own booze." Dominik reminded him as he walked out towards the youngest sibling. Patrick however merely resumed placing chairs upside down onto tables, so that sweeping the floor would be easier when that time came. "Do you even know the kind of wine you just grabbed?"
"Of course I do!" Connor retorted back rebelliously. "I may not serve drinks as much as you two, but I've lived here long enough to know what our own inventory is." He added as he started to pour himself a drink into a mug, which he then held the mug out for the oldest brother to take. "C'mon bubba, you gotta learn to live a little." Patrick gave in and looked to them from where he stood, his next table only halfway covered in chairs. Dominik didn't look too thrilled about the idea, in fact he seemed a little upset over the whole ordeal. "Look Pap already went to bed right? You heard him say so an hour ago, so who's to say he won't miss one bottle of wine."
"One bottle?" Dominik tested with a slight turn of his head, his eyes locked on Connor in a very testive manner. "That's Red Lightning you're holdin' Connor, you know Ma and Pa both do inventory every mornin'; so who's to say they won't miss it!" Right away Patrick could see where this was going, the two were literally on the verge of an argument now; and if they weren't stopped then they could've very well aroused everyone in the inn. Unhappy guests having to hear family disputes, as well as the parents having to come down to stop them? It definitely wasn't the best idea to leave the two unattended in that moment.
So immediately Patrick moved towards the bar, with a lean to look past the two at the bottle on the counter. "Oh come oooon, one measly bottle of red wine goes missing and they freak out?" Connor reasoned as he placed the mug down between him and Dom, another taken from the shelf so he could start pouring. Immediately Dominik reached to stop him but the youngest brother saw, and moved away quickly with a hand grasped on the bottle once more.
"Connor stop, we're not goin' to drink that!"
"Not unless we tell them later." Patrick interjected quickly to keep the both of them from arguing, which worked because they both looked to him surprised. Yet the second born just sat down at the bar, arms folded on the counter as he looked from one to the other. "We all know that it's one drink, one expensive drink in fact. But we also know Ma Ma and Pa Pa can always get another, and we have how many bottles up there?" Right away Dominik looked to the shelf, quickly counting the bottles he could see in his head.
"See Dom, Pat here has a point. We can just tell our parents later, they'll understand if we need a drink every now and then."
"But we can't make it a habit." Patrick reminded Connor just before he could flash a victory grin. "I think we should remember what's important here."
"Which is?" Dominik questioned bitterly with his arms crossed.
"We're all adults here. It's not like we can't buy or replace a bottle ourselves, but we also need to let loose and have fun every now and then." Patrick reasoned in turn as he drummed a row of fingers on the counter. "Which I'm pretty sure we're all in need of, when you consider how stressful last week's been." The point in his argument had validation there, and Dominik seemed reluctantly willing to agree with the notion. Connor of course was chuckling in success, and already getting not one but two empty mugs ready now.
"Fine," the oldest sibling gave in, "but it's just one bottle! And we'll tell Ma and Pa in the mornin'." When he said that he pointed first to Connor and then to Patrick, and then he proceeded to sigh as he visibly relaxed once more.
"Well then take a mug big brother," Connor encouraged with a smug grin as he placed another in front of Patrick, "let's see you have a bit of fun." The challenge was returned with an aggravated glare from Dominik, yet the oldest brother didn't back down from the taunt either. Patrick reached to grab the mug at the same time Dominik did, and when Connor finally held his own he brought it out for a toast. "To fun!" He then declared lowly so that nobody upstairs heard him.
"To fun..." Dominik returned as he looked to Patrick, a noticeable hint of apprehension in his eyes when he did.
"To fun." Patrick added in with a soft grin, as the three clicked their mugs together briefly. Patrick then brought the mug in to drink it's contents, the blended aroma of fruit and spices almost a rich aroma in his nostrils. Right when his lips touched the mug, and the bright red wine crossed them, Patrick immediately tasted a sweetly tart flavor which followed with a strong fruity aftertaste. From the moment he gulped down his first sip, Patrick felt the silky beverage radiate inside his gut; giving him the sense of tingles throughout his limbs as he contemplated the taste for a second.
