Side Effects of Torture [Plot/Garret]

Ayero had agreed to escort Azix back to his house after a round of particularly effective drinking, feeling a bit responsible for the magician’s current state of being. To be fair, she didn’t think that the man would succumb to total inebriation after just a few drinks but she found the results rather amusing once they were away from the rowdiness of the bar. As she wandered through the streets at Azix’s direction, she began to wonder if Azix was too drunk to remember where he lived. Luckily, Azix seemed to recognize the house they approached as his own.


She wasn’t prepared for the intoxicated mage to leap out of her arms and face plant on the ground, grunting into the dirt. She snorts at his antics, not bothering to try and pick him up herself. She had seen him fight in the coliseum and knew that he could take a hit. She raises a brow as he scrambles up to his feet, following him closely in the case that he would stumble over again. Two figures making their way down the road caught her eye and she squinted into the distance.

Ari carefully directed Garret towards Azix's house, chuckling at the man as they weaved through the streets. Finally, Azix's place came into view and Ari was shocked to see two figures nearing the abode, one on the ground and the other looking down at them. Finally seeing them clearly enough to recognize the figures, Ari burst out laughing.

"Ayero!"

Looking down at the ground, she snorted at Azix, shaking her head as she kept Garret upright. Looking to the redhead, she arched a brow.

"These boys can't seem to handle their liquor... mind helping get Azix through the door, at least? Silly boys, can't keep up with us!"

She led Garret up to the door, shouldering it open before leading him to the couch and dropping her support, waiting for him to tumble on to the couch.

Garret continued to mumble the song as he was lead along by Ariella. He was lucky that he had her as support, as the Magician continually stumbled on his feet as he walked, though those thoughts were not a detterrent at all to the man. When Ariella mentioned that they couldn't keep up, Garret's head snapped forward and his eyes grew sharper. "C..cannae... Keep up? YER... The ONE who stopped SIGING." The momentary sharpness left as he saw Azix on the floor, though he did narrow his eyes in confusion. "Ah... Ozzy. Whatchu doin' down there?" Not caring much for the response, and wanting to get inside, he did not resist Ariella when she propped open the door. He grunted as they got into the the house. Ariella led him to the couch and dropped her support of him.

Garret grabbed the couch but did not tumble onto it. Looking back at the group, he awaited the rest of them to get into the room. The words Ariella spoke before came crashing back into the magician's mind, unbidden. Can't... Keep up? Garret placed a hand on his head, trying to stabilize his dizziness.

Azix blinked at Garret, "Garrrrry? Wen diya get in the ccceell?" He shrugged and looked at Ariella, "I dink he dwunk." Azix pointed at Garret and stumbled up to his door, waiting for the yellow magician to open it. Following her inside, Azix found a cozy corner of living room to curl up in a ball. Lifting his head, Azix pointed to Ayero and announced, "Aterou made me her predy *hic* princess!"

Azix sat up and felt the room spin. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm the swirling sensation. Exhaling, he turned back to focus on what everyone else was doing. "I tink I need more lady drink!" Azix sure didn't know the name of what Ayero and he had been drinking, but at the moment it sounded good.

Ayero tensed slightly as the figures drew near, unable to tell if they were friend or foe. When a familiar voice calls her name through a bout of sudden laughter, Ayero’s posture relaxes and a half-grin settles onto her face. She was mildly surprised to see the lightning magician out here at this time of night, but it wasn’t of much concern. Her gaze rests from Ari’s face to the man she was escorting, her brow crinkling in thought as she tried to place a name to the face. She recognized him from somewhere, she was sure, but couldn’t figure out where. Regardless, the man didn’t seem much better off than Azix. However, the Fanalis caught the note of sharpness in his tone as he spoke to Ariella, deciding to keep him note of him in the case that he got too rowdy.

She lifts a brow as the two heavily inebriated men appeared to recognize eachother, shaking her head and helping usher the unsteady orange mage into his house. At his comment, she can’t help but snicker. ”Yes, Azix. You are the prettiest of princesses. And I’ll get you more “lady drink” soon. I sent Kabu out to fetch some for you.” She didn’t think Azix would notice that she hadn’t even brought the desert snake along with her in the first place.

Once everyone was inside and not face down in the dirt, Ayero turned to Ari. ”So…who’s this guy?” She jerks a thumb in Garret’s direction.

Ari giggled at Azix’s words of being a pretty princess, the man was quite amusing when drunk. She looked from where Azix was curled on the floor to Garret, who looked ready to fall over at any moment before grinning at Ayero.

“This one is Garret, he and Azix are buddies. I decided to be try and be friends with him too, but perhaps drink was not the way to go.”

When Garret blathered about her stopping the song, she let out a few raunchy lyrics about finding comfort in a woman’s chest before looking back to Ayero.

“Now that I think of it, I have done that before! Thanks for making sure the pretty princess made it home in one relative piece… at least Garret stayed on his feet the whole time.”

With a snicker, she turned to Garret, giving him a light shove to check his balance.

Garret continued to think on Ariella's words. Vaguely, in the background, he watched Azix stumble into a corner and Ayero, the woman he had seen in the Coliseum, talk to Ariella asking who he was. Slowly the blue magician began to work himself up. He was going to show who couldn't keep up with who! Just as he had determined this, he forgot the line of thought as he found himself stumbling for some unknown reason.

Both hands reached out, fingers extended and searching for something to steady himself. As he stumbled a short distance through the room, nearly falling, he managed to find the most natural thing for his hands to stabilize themseleves on. Grasping onto a pair of shoulders, Garret looked up into Ayero's eyes and closed his own briefly. He recalled her asking who he was earlier, and didn't remember if Ariella had introduced him. "Gaaarret. Kou operative. Spymaster. You..re... Ayero. From the Coliseum." He smiled to himself, happy he could recall who he was speaking to. Something in the back of his mind was turning, telling him that something was wrong with what he had just said, but he couldn't quite place what it was.

Azix settled down once he heard that Ayero's snake was obtaining some more drink. The orange magician remembered healing Kabu during one of the Coliseum matches. Imagining the snake with a large bottle of booze coiled around its tail as it slithered down a street reduced Azix into a fit of giggles. "Slithery McDrink!"

Looking up at Ariella, Azix wore a mischievous grin and began crawling towards her. Quietly, he came to a halt, once he was at her feet and peeked up her skirt. Unable to hold back a giggle, Azix clasped a hand over his mouth as he continued to look. It was until Garret boldly announced himself as the Spymaster, that Azix turned to the man. "Gary! You're too talk to drunk! Shh!" Azix's eyes were wide in shock that the blue magician had just revealed a secret so freely.

Ari arched a brow at Azix as he crawled over, covering her face with her palm as the man looked up her skirt. Her tail flicked out to brush across his nose as he yelled at Garret for talking too much. Looking to Ayero with a snort, she shook her head.

"Yes, Garret the drunken spymaster. And what a spymaster he is, get a few drinks in him and he lets out allllll the secrets."

She looked back down to Azix with a lascivious grin, a twinkle in her eye.

"Hey Ozzy... why don't you go crawl in bed and when Slithery McDrink returns, I will personally deliver your 'lady drink' to you... and if you behave, maybe I will be extra nice!"

She rolled her eyes at the antics of the two men, shaking her head as the room spun slightly. While she was nowhere near as drunk as they were, she was still decently buzzed. Looking back to Ayero, she gave a drunken giggle.

"I am going to laugh at their hangovers tomorrow. It should be a great time... oh god, I hope Azix doesn't puke..."

Ayero chuckles as Ari thanks her for escorting the orange magician home in one piece. ”I didn’t expect him to be this rowdy after a few drinks…by the way, the princess seems to like to mark his territory.” She speaks with mild amusement, finding the situation entertaining as she alludes to Azix’s earlier shenanigans. She could tell that while Ariella had some to drink, either she had more than the man she had been escorting, or she had a higher tolerance for the drink than he did.

She turned her attention back to Garret as the man lurched forward, finding herself staring down at the intoxicated mage as his hands grasped her shoulders for support. She raises a brow as the man steadies himself before reiterating what Ari had told her, but with…additional information.

…Kou operative? Spymaster?! Her gaze flickers over to Azix sharply for a quick second. Was…was what he told her all a lie? A trap to get closer to the resistance and wipe them all out? Her gaze hardens and she quickly unsheathes her blade, pressing the tip of her scimitar against Garret’s throat. Despite the casual atmosphere of the situation, Ayero’s hostility swiftly rises as she fixes the water mage with a harsh glare. Ariella’s words reached her ears, but she did not register them immediately. While it could be true that the man was lying, Azix’s reaction led her to believe otherwise.

”Is this true, Azix?” Her voice cut abruptly through the air, demanding an answer. However, she kept her gaze focused on the ‘Spymaster’ for the time being.

Garret glanced back at Azix, furrowing his brows. "No, you are... too talk to drunk." That didn't quite sound right to the Magician either, and his head began hurting a bit. As Ariella spoke, Garret frowned. Something about secrets, and drinks, and letting secrets flow. "No... We're all friends, righ'? No secrets here..."However, a short moment later, Ayero had a blade to his throat accompanied by a terrible glare. His borg did not activate, and the Magician himself did not seem to take it too seriously perhaps because of that. When she asked Azix if what was said was true, Garret nodded. "Ss'true. And I'm a matey of the Shark's Fin... Stargazer club... Mining operation..." Garret rambled for a bit, and his words began to trail off before he focused again. "But the sword... Ss'uncomfortable. Should put it away, or I'll have to steal your heart." Garret's right hand slid down from her shoulder to her chest, with his hand cupped against the left side of her body.

Ayero raised a brow as Garret began to prattle on about his accomplishments. The drunk man’s rambling seemed to lessen her hostility as the hardness gradually began to fade from her eyes. She wanted to attribute what he’d said to his inebriation, but something about this situation still didn’t sit right with her. Ariella didn’t seem to take him seriously, however, and now that she had calmed a bit she began to consider the yellow magician’s words a bit more. The muscles in her arm twitched as she intended to slowly lower the sword from the man’s throat, a bit annoyed that he didn’t seem to take her seriously. He asked her to remove the blade, before warning that he’d steal her heart if she didn’t. While he spoke, his hand had moved from her shoulder down to cup her left breast.


This…certainly wasn’t something that the Fanalis woman had expected. A look of genuine surprise set on her face at Garret’s bold movements, and for a few silent movements she was unsure of what to do. The blade at his throat shifted before being removed completely as Ayero dropped her sword arm, letting it hang loose at her side as the woman was overcome by a fit of laughter. While she wasn’t drunk, the few drink she had in her loosened her up considerably. She sheathed her blade, and knocked Garret’s appendage from her body with her own hand, hitting him at the wrist. ”And I thought spymasters were supposed to be sneaky. Keep your hands to yourself, or I’ll send you back to Kou in pieces.” There was an edge in her otherwise light tone, but for the most part she seemed too amused to make any more proper threats.

When Ariella unintentionally covered for Garret, Azix steeled his facial reactions and ignored Ayero's questioning gaze. He was silently thankful when Garret began to ramble about other things and the Fanalis woman seemed to calm down. He was further surprised when the blue magician drunkenly groped the Fanalis woman and she didn't even seem to get upset. Laughing it off, she smacked his hand away and warned him against further touching her in such a manner.

Azix laughed at her comment, "Gury? He's about as bad at being snucky as he is with magic! Couldn't otter an shoot on a horsefly!" He started laughing, not realizing he had misplaced his words once again and didn't stop until the room began to spin. "Ugh..." Clasping his hand to his head, Azix took a deep breath.

Ari gaped at Garret for a moment before breaking into a fit of giggles, shaking her head. Both of the boys seemed to be more than slightly drunk and it was rather amusing.

"Okay, Garret... I think you need to sit down so I can bring you another drink... you too, Azix dearest..."

She snorted before making her way to a bag she had stashed in the corner, digging out a two skins of water. Returning to where the drunken men were stumbling over their words, she handed them both one of the water skins.

"Drink that, silly boys..."

She turned to Ayero with a snicker, glad the woman had put her blade away. She moved over to rest her head on Ayero's shoulder with a giggle and a sigh.

"What are we supposed to do with them now?"

Garret looked at Ayero as she removed her blade and nodded with satisfaction even as his hand was removed from her breast. "Das... much better. Thanks." He nodded, as if everything were fine once more. Following Ariella's instructions, he plopped down on the couch and awaited the drinks to be brought to him. He began to feel a bit heated in the room, and started fanning his shirt in and out. When Ariella came back, he grabbed at the water and started to drink from it. When Azix mentioned he couldn't hit a thing, Garret sputtered his water. "Haaaah?" He suddenly stood up as Ariella asked what they were supposed to do with them now, though that hardly registered in his mind as Azix' provocation filled his mind. "Orrrraa! I'll show you who can' hit wha'!

Garret took out his wand and cast Snowy Expanse, a spell he had only used in the Coliseum and in a forest up to this point. The snow formed and cooled the area, keeping on the same plane half-way up to their bodies. The heat Garret had been experiencing up to that point began to die down, and he was feeling great as the snow flowed and made swirling patterns between the group, almost akin to a Zen Garden. "Whasszat? I got everyone!" Wand in his left hand, Garret crossed his arms and shot a smug look over to Azix.

OOC:

Magoi/Stamina: 240/300

Spoiler:

Ayero exhales and relaxes her shoulders as Ariella rests her head on her, relieved that the intoxicated men seemed to settle as the other woman had distracted them with skins of water. ”They’ll probably pass out soo— Her voice is cut off as Garret reacted to Azix’s comment and she raises a brow, looking more amused than concerned but is prepared to break up a fight if necessary.

But Garret did not swing at the other man as she had expected, instead taking out a wand and conjuring what appeared to be a suspension of snow. Confused, the woman shivered at the icy feel of snow on her skin before one brow shot up in realization. She had seen something like this before, but where? A few moments of digging into her memory allowed her to remember the match she had attended where a mysterious magician had cast some sort of snow spell to obscure the audience’s view of his fight. It can’t…is he…? Unconsciously, her eyes narrowed at Garret upon this realization but could be simply taken as irritation due to the snow.

Azix smirked at the perplexed look on Garret's face as the blue magician took offense to the challenge. The smile melted off the orange magician's face when his living room was suddenly filled with snow that went up to his waist. While the coolness of the wet snow felt good on his skin, it grated with Azix that his friend was trying to ruin his house.

When Garret shot Azix a smug look, the orange magician's wand was ready at hand and he was whispering to the Rukh. Two shadow tentacles formed beneath Garret which wound around his legs before before latching on tight. His Kage Youshiki spell was cleverly hid underneath the snow, which Azix hoped would take Garret unaware. With a flick of Azix's wand, the tentacles lifted Garret up into the air, where he would dangle upside down. A self-satisfied smirk danced on Azix's lips, " 'ou should watch out for da snakes in da snow!" Azix tipped his head back and laughed.

[270/300 magoi]

Spoiler:

Ari watched the antics of the two drunk magicians, giggling against Ayero's shoulder.

"Drunk magicians are fun.... watch... watch this..."

Ari snorted as she pulled her own wand out, murmuring to the rukh in a tipsy slur. All around, the snow was forced out of the way as flowers sprouted up and forced their way above the icy expanse. The flowers had a strong aroma which filled the room. After a whiff of the flowers, anyone in range would begin to feel giddy and giggly, a sense of serene happiness would wash through them. Ari took a deep breath and smiled, falling backwards into the snow with a happy sigh before flapping her arms and legs.

"Ayero! Help me make snow-flies! Like butterflies, but in the SNOW!"

Social Ability:

Without sight, or another means of knowing what was coming his way, Garret soon found his feet pulled out from under him. "Aaaahhh!" His shout of surprise was accompanied by some words to the Rukh and something beneath the snow surface forming. What it was, exactly, was anyone's guess. If one were to have peaked beneath the snow, they would have seen a large fist made of ice form and fly towards where Garret thought the tendrils originated from. There was, unfortunately for Azix, furniture in the way. A loud crashing noise would sound off just as the flowers sprang into existence. While all of this was taking place, his robes flopped down over his face and both his scarred body and his undergarments were revealed. He didn't seem to know what to do from where he was, yet he had an overall feeling of contentment and happiness, so he simply stayed where he was. A part of him was beginning to feel tired from all the exertion.


OOC:
Magoi/Stamina: 210/300

Spoiler:

Ayero didn’t expect Azix to be aware enough to counter with a spell, then again she didn’t know how much exertion magic took. Those thoughts were chased away when Ari summoned flowers out from the snow, their heavy scent filling the room. It didn’t take long for Ayero to begin to feel the effects of the magical aroma, the rigidity dropping from her shoulders and a placid smile coming onto her face. Sighing gently, the Fanalis woman fell back into the snow alongside Ari, nestling her body into the soft white fluff comfortably. It was as if she didn’t even notice the cold touching the bare parts of her body.

Shortly thereafter, she began to giggle and roll about in the snow as if to mimic Ari’s movements. ”Ari is so pretttyyyy~ Azix! I’m going to steal your pretty girlfriend! Cos she’s too pretty for some Kou dog. Boys are dumb anyways.”

Azix's laughter turned to shock as a large ice fist protruded from the snow and smashed up some of his furniture. He let out a cry to protest Garret's actions when flowers sprung up beneath the snow and released an intoxicating fragrance. Before Azix could assault the half-naked blue magician dangling in the air, his annoyance turned to a content bliss. He fell back into the snow and let a sense of relaxation envelop him.

Comforted by the snow, Azix barely heard Ayero's words and it took a moment for him to grasp them. The image of Ayero and Ariella snogging made the orange magician grin. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a sack of gold and turned to the two girls. "How...How much to see this?" He started to pull out a few coins with drunken fingers before just tossing the sack to Ayero. "Take it! I want see!"

Ari giggled as she curled up against Ayero.

"Boys ARE dumb... they don't have boobs... and boobs are awesome."

Ari nuzzled against Ayero's chest just as Azix threw a bag of gold towards them, breaking out in another fit of giggles. Her laughing fit was not helped in the slightest at seeing Garret's undergarments and she pointed at him.

"I SEE GARRET'S UNDIEEEEEES."

She nudged the bag of gold at her feet with a foot, giggling again as she turned to look at Ayero.

"Look, Ayero... he... Azzy is gonna make you rich for stealing me away! He's a ad boyfriend... or does that make him a good boyfriend? I can't... cannnnot decide... I'm too happy to think he's baaaad. Azix, are you a baaaad boyfriend?"

As Azix's spell dissipated, Garret fell to the ground and konked his head. The blow caused him to drop his wand, and the snow slowly began to dissipate. The combination of the exertion of magoi, the alcohol in his body, and the strike on his head caused the man to really want to sleep. Leaving the wand on the floor, Garret crawled over to the couch he was near just moments ago, steering clear of broken furniture, and plopped himself onto the couch. Garret wasn't upset about having fallen, due to the flowers that Ariella had placed around the room.

He lay down upon the couch and kept his eyes towards the rest of the group. Unfortunately, the ringing took up a majority of the magician's attention, and he missed some of what was said. He began dozing off here and there as he watched Azix throw a coin purse towards Ayero.

Ayero let out a loud laugh as Ariella agreed with her, following her line of sight to see the oddly positioned water mage. Snickering at the scene, Ayero rolled her head back in time to see Azix throw a pouch of coins at her, demanding to witness her steal his girlfriend away from him. She frowns at the thought, thinking Azix a bad boyfriend indeed for selling his girl so easily. ”You want me to…steal your woman?” Her words came out slow and slightly slurred with fatigue. Shrugging, Ayero grabs the sack of coins in one hand and rolls up onto her side, supported by her other elbow. Sliding both of her hands under Ari’s torso, she lifts both of them off of the ground. Carrying the other woman princess style, the Fanalis heads for the door, under the impression that Azix was paying for him to literally watch her ‘steal his girlfriend’.


Exiting the house, Ayero takes only a few steps before squinting into the distance, mentally calculating how far her own inn was from here. After coming to the conclusion that it was across town, she grunts before hobbling awkwardly back inside of the house and setting Ari down next to Azix. ” ‘M still keepin’ the coin, princess.”