Back to the Cave (Part 2)

Artimus returned with the bottle, and one of the rabbits he had stored. As he walked he gathered magic, ready to start the fire, then stopped and saw she already had it started.
He put the rabbit on to cook, then put the bottle on the floor and created a rainbow between his two hands to dispell the gathered magic.
He then picked up the bottle and removed the top, getting ready to take a large sip, but he stopped himself and handed the bottle to Jade instead.

You have first go this time. He smiled and sat down by the fire, to keep an eye on the cooking rabbit.

He looked over at Indis, remembering something from the last time they were here.

Jade, can you go get me a bucket of water? It was odd request, but he wanted to try something out. And if he was wrong he felt he'd need the water rather quickly.

~she took a drink of the whiskey and then raised and eyebrow at the request but something in his face knew she should go. she walked over by the cave and grab the bucket and went to the lake.~

~she watched the two loving all these moments. when he requested a bucket of water she raised an eyebrow. something was on his mind and didn't want jade to hear.~

"Ok. What is wrong?" ~she sat up and watched him~

As she left he turned to Indis.

I don't know if the blood is still working any longer, but I want to try...

She had used part of her blood to help heal him, and it should have given him limited access to her elemental powers. Sure he could probably try it out on something a little dangerous than fire first, but then safety was never his watchword.

Danger WAS his middle name...

He put his hand into the flames, feeling the heat, then removed his hand. He closed his eyes to concentrate and felt his hand on fire. It didn't hurt, well not as much as it should. Slowly he opened his eyes, feeling the small slice of power he had over the fire.

I'm ok he said to Indis, who he knew would be worried for him.

He put his hnds together, feeling the fire grow between them, then slowly parted his hands, palms facing each other.
He kept the flames alive between his hands and stood up slowly.
His hands moved further and further apart, the ball between them growing until it was almost touching his chest. Then he drew back and threw the ball fo fire up into the air, towards the lake.

The ball went no where, it just fizzled out between his hands. But it didn't matter, he had felt a small glimmer of the power.

He smiled as he looked at Indis.

Is this what it's like? His voice was in awe of what he had done, it felt incredible.

He gathered magic, ready for when Jade returned.

~she had watched him closely and nodded when he said he was ok. Still she watched him cause she knew fire was the one of the hardest to master.~

"Yes and you just have little bit of the blood in your system you see why my kind was hunted for the blood now. All that power in a tiny bit."

~she smiled at him~

"And not too bad for your first time."

~she came back hauling the bucket of water. ~

"So what did I miss?"

~she noticed that both of her parents were quiet.~

~she set the bucket down by the fire pit.~

Artimus turned to Jade, using the gathered magic to create a small flame between his fingers. He concentrated on it and let it engulf his hand.
He suddenly realised something was wrong because the pain was far more intense. He tried to move the fire, but it wouldn't obey his command.

He quickly threw his hand into the bucket, cursing, then looked at Jade.

You only missed... me making a fool of myself. Actually, you didn't, you just saw that.

He glanced at Indis, letting her know the blood had worn off. Maybe he pushed it too far with that first one, or maybe it had just been too long since the blood was first mixed.

He kept his hand in the bucket for a few moments, letting the coolness take off the feeling of burning. Slowly he took his hand out of the bucket, and checked it for damage. It didn't seem to be too damaged, just slightly red.

He could almost laugh. What the hell had gotten into him recently?
Hi picked up a stick and poked the fire, checking the rabbit was cooking thoroughly.

~she raised an eyebrow at what he was trying to do. she didn't know he had some of the blood in his system.~

"What were you trying too?"

~she looked at his red hand.~

" Need me to get the salve?"

~she walks over and sits near the fire~

~she walked over to him and got close to his ear.~

"The small amount got burned out by that first one. I didn't give you that much. and it was for the healing effect. but it made me proud you did what you did baby."

~she kissed him~

"You need more to do more." ~she moved over to the other side of the fire and walks over and kisses the top of jades head and smiled at her and sat down next to her.~

He smiled as he rubbed his hand, looking at Jade.

No, I think I'll be alright. Teach me right for trying to be a show off. Your mother gave me a tiny bit of blood, to help with my healing. I thought it might still be in my system and I coudl use it. It's gone now though.

He didn't mention that he still had a quantity left in the vial, he wanted to surprise her with it one day.

He reached over and took the whiskey bottle, knocking back a mouthful and letting it slide down his throat slowly.

Well at least you managed to get from here to the lake without scaring any strange men. He gave her a wink and passed the bottle to her.

~she raised an eyebrow when he talked about the blood.~

~she looked at her mom wondering how he got some... she looked at her arms briefly checking for any marks. then kinda shook it off cause she didn't mind that it helped her father.~

"That explains what you did."

~she took the whiskey bottle and took a drink~

"Of all the things you remember..." ~she chuckled~

"It was funny to see his face. I had to stop myself from laughing. He was really afraid of me. I told him the place was haunted and just as I had finished saying that the wind picked up. It was great."

~she smiled and took another drink and handed it to her father.~

He smiled as she spoke about her naked adventures, glad to deflect the attention away from the blood.

I don't care what state I get in, when my daughter comes over and tells me she's managed to get three bottles of whiskey off some strange men - and she's naked - I think I'll remember. He gave her a wink and took the bottle off her, taking another mouthful. This was good stuff. Better than the stuff from Draco anyway. Draco had the worst whiskey in all of Aegis. Well, in his opinion anyway.
He took a second shot of it, not wanting her to get ahead of him. He was her father, Dammit. He should be able to drink her under the table.

I saw what you did there He said as he handed the bottle back. Thinking you can get an extra drink in without me noticing. But you forget. I am Artimus Morningstar. Observant IS my middle name.

~Indis burst out laughing~

~she looked at her mom laughing at her fathers comment. and took another drink. She chuckled to herself. Oh the old man thinking he can out drink me. pffft.~

~she grinned this was going to be fun. Lets see who could drink the most.~

He heard his wife laughing, and flicked his eyes to her, then back to Jade.

What's so funny? He was watching her, seeing how much she was swallowing each time. He was not going to let her win this. He took the bottle from her and had another large mouthful, swallowing it and offering the bottle back.

You're forgetting who it is you're dealing with here. I've gone up against Mac, and Tiberious. He was certain Indis had seen the results of a couple of their drinking nights - him and Tiberious. Mac hadn't joined in much after he moved to Salarain. Oh, and there Sheldon as well. Indis must remember Sheldon, the legendary drinker from the guards. Ok, so he gave up the drink when he went to Draco, but he could drink most people under the table.
Why did he have to have died?

And that was NOT a tear in the corner of his eye. It was.. a spot of rain..

And Sheldon He said, his voice cracking. Dammit. They were going to need another bottle at this rate!

"You. Observant IS my middle name. pfft. Hon you aren't that observant." ~she was still laughing~


"Oh yes I remember Mac and Tib. And all the stories I had heard. Barfights and all." ~she glanced between them.~

"Are we having a drinking contest here..."

~she saw them taking drinks and passing the bottle. Watching as Jade got up and moved to her bag. Pulling out a bottle. hmm she must have got that from Merridda.~

~she took a drink and passed it back and got up and pulled a new one out of her bag. Now we had a drinking game.~

"I believe we do." ~she smiled at her dad~

"Lets see if I can drink the old man under the table or not." ~she chuckled she like to tease him with the old man joke.~

~she opened the bottle.~

He flicked his eyes to Indis as she said what had been so funny, and gave a small, lopsided grin.

You've forgotten what my middle really is, haven't you. And Tiberious and Mac didn't start any bar fights. We ended them! he gave a small laugh at his own joke, then looked over to Jade as she produced a newer bottle. He stared at the label. Now that one he recognized.

Wait a minute... he said It wouldn't be fair for me to make you start a fresh bottle, and you claim I only won because I had a used bottle. Give me that one!
He held the one he had out for her to swap with him. He much preferred the Meriddia whiskey; it was what he knew after all.

"Actually I have there is a few things I can't remember." ~she smiled~

~she pouted~

"Fine." ~she made a face at him and took the other bottle and down the rest of it~

"There its all gone." ~she looked at him and threw the bottle in the fire."

He gave his lopsided grin once again, and took the new bottle, knocking back quite a bit of this one.
That was better. It was much smoother than the other one.

Tiberious would have liked that one. He was always saying the Meriddia whiskey had no life to it.

Why was he talking about his friend in the past tense? Artimus sniffed and handed the bottle over to his daughter.
Was it wrong to mourn the loss of the people he knew, people he grew up with?
He should go pay a visit to the old Farstrider house, see whatever became on McKinlay and his wife. It was obvious the twins weren't around any longer, and he'd also seen no sign of Louis. Hadn't Louis been hanging around with that girl in the leather, with the blonde hair and blue eyes... Her name escaped him now, but he was sure Louis had been spending a lot fo time around her before he left. Where had they gone?

He realised his face must look depressed, or sad, so he smiled and tried to make out nothing was wrong.
He shouldn't be thinking about the past - he had a future now, with his daughter who could possibly out-drink him, and a wife who.... No.. concentrate on the positives of life!

Is that rabbit done yet? he said, realising he had forgotten all about it, then looked at Indis.

Machiavellian. He said simply. Also the name of my Godson, may he rest in peace. He sniffed once more anf felt a tear roll out of his eye. This one he made no attempt to cover up.
In fact, he wasn't sure if he ever told her about his Godson.

~jade made a face as some of his thoughts came though a mindlink. she wondered who they all were and could see the saddness in his face as she heard some of the thoughts.~

~she took a drink.~

"Alot has changed since you left hasn't it." ~she just kinda said and looking between him and her mother. and handed the bottle to her father. and there was the slowly relaxing feel of the whiskey. she smiled she loved how her father like to compete. she knew where she got it from. She was so used to suppressing it as to not draw attention and now she was finally able to not hide it not here with them. and that she loved about moments. like this.~

~she looked thoughtful at him as he talked about his godson.~

"You never told me you had a godson love." ~she turned the rabbit it was almost done.~

"I remember the hearing about the spar that on woman in the leather with long blonde hair...I met her once..I think her name was Erika...didn't her and one of the farstriders get into a spar and the first to draw blood or something like that."

He took the bottle from Jade, drinking hard once again; having no idea he was broadcasting the images of his friends.

A lot. When I left, Rensain was a bad guy. Now he's helping run the place.

He took a second mouthful of whiskey, and looked at Indis.

There was a tavern in Meriddia, called The Dancing Gnome, run by a woman called Mercedes. To this day I'll never know just what it was I did to annoy her so much, but she hated me. Of course my money was always welcome behind the bar, and i enjoyed drinking there because I could see how much it annoyed her. He grinned his cocky grin. Or at least tried to. It went a bit wrong. Anyway, some of the other guards enjoyed drinking there, so we used to frequent it a lot. Mercedes was pregnant and I was there the night the Queen and Preia helped deliver the baby. I stayed out of the room for most of it - she was already in a bad state and much as i enjoy annoying her, I know where the right time and place was.
Afterwards she said she wanted to see me, so I went in. She told me she felt she wasn't safe, and she knew.. She knew the boy would need a protector. So she named me as his protector.

He could feel the tears this time.

Despite her feelings towards me, she named me. A few months later, the tavern caught fire. I wasn't around, i was off in Grorr keeping out of the Queens way. I read the reports about the fire. Everyone did all they could, but...

He couldn't bear to think about it any more. That poor helpless baby. His only console was the fact no one ever heard a baby crying. Artimus hoped it had been quick for him and he'd never known.

He looked down at the ground, taking a mouthful of whiskey. He'd given Susan a promotion for her work that night. He cleared his mind, trying to think of something different.

Erika, yes, that was her name. And first to draw blood were the usual rules when we sparred as guards. He tried to give a laugh, but it failed.
Tiberious had another rule. No punches in the face. He hated having a black eye.

He took a mouthful of whiskey and handed the bottle over to his daughter.
Dammit, he had to lighten the mood.

~she saw the images flash by she rubbed her head~

"Dad...could you control that alittle you keep mindlinking things.." ~she took a drink seeing things from his eyes.~