Down the Hatch [Talian]

The young man was sure that he was at the right room. Dinner had ended a little while ago, but it was terribly like Erisi to be a little late. He had to return to his own room so he didn't look like a slob and to grab some wine. He honestly did not trust Talian to have anything good on him, especially since the man himself admitted that he did not drink very often. It was Erisi's obligation as the veteran drinker to initiate Talian properly. If they were going to be friends, Talian was going to learn how to drink without puking up his stomach contents the next morning. Erisi considered it a prerequisite to any relationship, whether it be friendship or even mere acquaintances, and shells, flings too.

He didn't bother to introduce himself at Talian's doorway. His new friend should be expecting him, and if Talian had any faith in people who also hated Katila Weyr, he would not have gone to bed yet. "I brought some wine, since I figured you'd be lacking in provisions of that sort." Who knew, though? Maybe healers had a stash of wine to calm patients with... or make them belligerently drunk. All right, so wine didn't seem to be the medical answer for everyone's problems, so it was a good thing that Erisi had brought wine himself. Talian really couldn't be trusted with having a stash of his own. "I also brought some sweet rolls just in case." He really did not have to add that he brought them just so Talian had something to dilute his intake of wine with.

This was supposed to be a casual drink and get-together, but one could never be too careful. "This is the only way I think I'll be able to survive this candidacy - if I drink my way through it." He was being fairly conversational for someone who had been so off-putting when Talian first approached him. But, he was taking a chance on making a friend. He couldn't survive at this Weyr alone - at some point he'd get lonely, because even Erisi craved some human company every now and again. It was just a huge bonus that Talian wasn't a dragonrider. It made him out to be far more favorable company than Erisi could have hoped for.

"So, you've really only drank when you eat dinner? That makes you seem... really sheltered."

Talian was in his room, seated comfortably on his bed and flipping through one of the medical books he'd managed to get his hands on. His bottle of wine was sitting on the floor beside him, uncorked but missing only a little bit of it's original contents. The young healer's knots were sitting idly on his bedside table, for he'd tossed them down without thinking and forgotten to pick them up. As soon as Erisi came to the door, however, Talian's hand snapped over and snatched them from the table. He shoved them under his bedsheets and sat up.

"I actually do have some," he said softly, a coy expression creeping onto his face. "But it's just something I got from the dining hall the night I was released from the island," he said. He nodded appreciatively when Erisi mentioned the sweetrolls. He understood the implication. "I already had dinner, but it never hurts, right?"

There was a moment in which Talian didn't know what to say. He was stuck somewhere between serenity and awkwardness. He didn't know Erisi well, and this wasn't the sort of thing he'd ever done before. Still, he was trying to gradually open up, and this was one of the first opportunities he'd really had. He motioned for Erisi to come inside and manged, for only a moment, a little smile. "Thanks for joining me...I guess this means I have two friends here now." Lymsleia counted, he imagined. B'jin not to much, though B'jin was certainly something.

What was B'jin? Talian wrinkled his nose and reached for his bottle. He didn't speak, instead waiting for Erisi to start the conversation.

Erisi tried his hardest not to arch his brow at spotting Talian sitting on a bed while waiting for him, but failed. It was difficult for him not to read into Talian's actions too deeply, because the man was giving off the completely wrong impression without even trying. While he may have failed to prevent some eyebrow arching, he did succeed in not getting the wrong idea. "Where can we sit down?" he asked, mostly because he wasn't going to sit on Talian's bed and give him the wrong impression.

Scanning Talian's room briefly, he noted that it wasn't a bad place. Really, what his attention focused on was the bottle of wine that Talian had in his possession. It was a surprise to him. For someone who didn't drink, it was awfully handy to have a bottle of wine in his room. "Well, the more the merrier." Erisi never truly enjoyed getting drunk. He liked reaching that perfect state of alcohol-induced tipsiness where he could live a little without losing control. It was a hard state to reach, and he usually either overshot it or undershot it. The times he overshot it were terrible. Back at home, he was renowned for being the worst person to meet when he was sober, and the best person to meet when he was drunk. Or at least, that was how it was amongst his friends.

Yeah, Talian definitely wasn't making a move on him with that 'friends' comment. Erisi almost rolled his eyes again, but this time managed to resist the urge. He was almost disappointed, since Talian was cute enough for his tastes. Then again, he really wasn't that disappointed. He had the creeping suspicion that romance was never going to be in Talian's range of skills. "You have any cups, if not we can certainly just drink straight from the bottle. I promise I have no incurable diseases, or any disease. Unless, y'know, hating this Weyr can be considered a disease. I'm pretty sick from that one." Erisi smirked, apparently satisfied with himself for that snarky comment about their new home.

"I requested a desk and a couple chairs, but I don't have it yet," Talian said. He moved from his bed to the floor and assumed a cross-legged posture, his bottle still beside him. He assumed the bed wasn't suitable, since Erisi hadn't helped himself; he seemed like the kind of guy who would if it struck his fancy. Naturally, the healer was oblivious to the signals he was giving. The idea of men flirting with men still seemed distant and foreign to him.

"No glasses either, unfortunately," he said apologetically. He almost - but not quite - laughed at the dragonrider allergy that Erisi suggested. Talian was slowly coming to hate them less. He remained bitter and doubted he'd ever forgive them entirely, but outright hating them was contrary to his nature. Rather, he resented them, feared them... and avoided them when he could.

It was still hard to believe that he was never going home. He uncorked his bottle and took a cautious sip. It was dry, but smooth..the sort of wine he was conditioned to enjoy. He looked back at Erisi, staring straight into the other man's eyes, as he tended to do. He was curious about Erisi, wondering how he ended up at the weyr as well. He wasn't sure what he could ask without being invasive. Some of it was obvious, though. Erisi was a harper, obviously stolen because of his craft...probably by one of the few that had taken the others he'd heard about. It seemed like a small group was responsible for most of it...

"Where are you from?" Talian finally asked.

There was... no place else to sit, other than the bed and floor. At least this explained why Talian was sitting on the bed when Erisi first walked into his room. He knew he was right to believe that Talian was giving off ridiculous signals unintentionally. Erisi wasn't the type of person to sit on the floor, so while Talian seemed content to situate himself there, he took the more comfortable spot on the bed. It was really his only option. However, he did leave Talian enough room to climb back on it. "Man, they really didn't feel like giving you any provisions? It's fine." Erisi decided to let Talian have his own bottle of wine, and work on consuming his own. He had built up a considerable tolerance to alcohol, so it was of little surprise that he took a good first sip of his own.

Releasing a soft, content sigh, he looked back down to Talian, readying to direct the conversation into territory he was comfortable with. Having Talian staring straight into his face completely sidetracked him. What was this man doing? If Erisi hadn't figured out how oblivious Talian was to the signals he gave off, he would assume Talian was coming on to him. It was rather bold, anyways, for Talian to look him straight in the eyes. To shake off the weight of that look, he took another sip of his wine. Maybe he was over-thinking things, reading too much into what Talian was doing. That thought alone frustrated him. Either Talian was coming onto him hard, or he was completely oblivious to what he was doing. It would be easier to believe that Talian was hitting on him, but he still doubted it.

Fine. He needed to figure this out. "I don't know why you're sitting on the floor," he commented, while subtly suggesting that Talian should get back onto the comfort of the bed. He honestly could not tell what the man's motivations were, and it was going to irritate him all night until he figured it out.

"I'm from Fort Hold. Harper, sucked at the teaching aspect of it, but my masters were lenient enough since I have a pretty good voice. Grew up with a big family, the basics." He assumed that was what Talian was getting at - he was trying to get to know Erisi, and Erisi was feeling particularly forthcoming this evening.

Oh, so he was invited back onto the bed? Oblivious to the implications, he slid back into his previous position. He took another sip from his bottle and listened as Erisi spoke, though his mind was preoccupied. He wasn't aware of the signals he was putting out, but he was quite aware of Erisi's strange behavior. The harper seemed sensitive to something, though Talian couldn't imagine what it was. He saw the cues, though: bright eyes, arching brow, strange facial expressions...something was going on.

He decided not to say anything immediately. Erisi appeared to be one of those surly types who almost always had something negative on his mind. For all Talian knew, Erisi was just being himself.

"Fort? I'm from there as well," he commented as he took another drink. His stomach served him well in times like this; while the wine wasn't exactly fit for quick consumption, he would be able to keep it down, at least within reason. He didn't particularly care for the taste, but the warm feeling in his stomach was quite welcome. "My father is also a healer...he and my mother were stationed at Fort, but they moved me to the hall when I was six turns old."

Talian certainly hadn't hesitated to climb back onto the bed, which only gave Erisi more questions rather than answers. He decided to play things safely, leaning back to give Talian some space. While he wanted to figure out what exactly Talian was doing, he was not so wherry-headed to come right out and ask him. It would probably be the quickest way to find an answer. 'Hey, are you hitting on me?' would be easy enough to say. But, if Talian actually was hitting on him, that would not be an enjoyable way of finding out. So, Erisi kept his peace. All that the Harper was noticing was that Talian was paying close attention to him. But, that was to be expected. Erisi was Talian's guest, after all.

"I'm of the opinion that all the good people come from Fort," he responded with an easy smile. Erisi was already starting to relax, less so because of the wine, and more-so because he was comfortable with Talian. Talian was feeling less like a stranger, and more like a friend. When Erisi was in anyone else's company, his guard was up. He didn't trust the dragonriders in this Weyr at all, and he saw little point in putting his trust in future dragonriders as well. In reality, it left him with very few people he would choose to associate with. Talian was one of those few, which was why he wasn't opposed to the idea of hooking up with him... if that really was what Talian was trying to accomplish here.

He still had his doubts.

"My parents... definitely weren't Harpers. I was happy enough to move to Harper hall, though. I never got along well with my siblings. In fact, I have a terrible record with handling kids anyways. It's really a wonder why I was apprenticed." Erisi was definitely not a family man. He probably would have been horrified if he got any girl knocked up - thankfully, such a thing had not happened, and now was very unlikely to happen. There were hardly any girls around for him to like. They were all involved with the Weyr in some obscure ways, or less-than-obscure ways.

"I enjoyed it," Talian said softly. He placed his hands in his lap ad started to twiddle his thumbs idly, keeping his hands busy while the wine bottle rested beside the bed. He eventually reached for it again, taking a few moderate sips as he thought back to his days as Fort. He'd visited frequently as a journeyman and enjoyed his time there more than most other places. If anything ever truly counted as 'home' to him, it was Fort Hold.

Of course, that felt like a distant memory now. "My father went into healing when he was young, and my mother is a housewife," he explained. "I've got four sisters myself, no brothers..." Not that it mattered too much, since he hardly knew either of the younger siblings. His attitude on children was neutral. He thought them charming, but also quite intimidating and mysterious. Caring for them wasn't a science, you couldn't really learn it from a text book.

He found himself wondering how long it would be before Carys started having children. How interesting it would have been to be an uncle!  Of course, such thoughts inevitably reminded him of Fiora as well. His expression contorted unhappily for a moment before he banished the thought and took another drink.

"What's your specialty?" he asked after some thought. It was a go-to subject for him, since his craft was one of the few things he really knew and loved. It helped him find rare common ground with people, even people from another craft. He casually fidgeted with the sheets to obscure the knots hiding beneath them. That was the last thing he needed anyone finding out about!

"Yeah, I did too. Far more than I'll ever enjoy living in this place." He gestured to the room around them, though it was clear that he meant the entirety of Katila Weyr, and likely the Southern Continent as well. It was a small gesture that meant big things. Erisi wasn't adapting, not because he couldn't, but because he didn't want to. Maybe the fact that he didn't want to was obscuring the possibility that he couldn't, but that was delving far deeper into the problem than Erisi wanted to. "If anything, that's what I wouldn't miss, having so many younger siblings. I'd visit them from time to time, promptly get a headache and take my leave." He loved his family, sure, in the way where all he needed from them now was meeting up every now and again. There were too many, and Erisi's patience wore out long before the day ended when it came to visiting him.

"I spent a lot of time going back to Fort Hold, though. I could stomach seeing my family for a little while, and the taverns were always a good place to pick up some marks." He wasn't half-bad as a singer, truthfully. It was just that his personality was so rotten that it was hard to get past that to realize how good he was. Maybe that was why he earned more marks when performing in front of an unfamiliar group. They had no idea what kind of nasty personality laid underneath a somewhat attractive face.

Erisi's blue eyes lowered to Talian's hand, his brows knitting in momentary confusion. All right, shard it, there was no way at this point that Talian was being subtle or oblivious. The healer's fingers were teasing the bedsheets, and that was the last clue that Erisi needed to confirm his suspicions that he was being hit on. He could disregard Talian's personality, because there was no way any person could be so oblivious to the kind of gestures he was making. So, fine, he'd take the bait. Talian was attractive enough for Erisi to consider more with him, but that was usually the only requisite Erisi needed. Partners had to be attractive, and well, he'd tack on now that they couldn't be dragonriders either.

The slender man leaned back, crossing one leg over another as he took a sip from his bottle of wine. "Here, try some of mine," he suggested, holding out the bottle of wine for Talian to take. "I don't teach, can't stand it," he continued on with the conversation. "I sing. If you want, I might even sing for you."

"I liked my younger siblings," Talian mused as he sipped again. "But I rarely saw them. Mother stayed in the hold more often that not." Mother, no 'mom'. He didn't know her nearly well enough to use a more personal word. He didn't even seem to notice, though, and continued conversing accordingly. "My littlest one Talira...she told me last time I saw her that she wanted to be like me. A healer, I suppose she meant.." That's all she could have meant. If only that sweet little girl knew what being 'like Talian' entailed!

He cocked his head to one side and reached out for the wine bottle, his slender hands moving tentatively. He had no idea what Erisi's suddenly relaxed posture was supposed to mean. Hmm, the alcohol is clouding my vision Talian thought mechanically as he took a sip of Erisi's wine. He was trying his best to lean away form his normal regimented tendencies, trying to think of this as a relaxing exercise instead of an academic one. He normally shied away from alcohol because of the effects on the body, but now that he took a moment to relax and focus on how light and relaxed it made him feel, it didn't seem so bad.

"It's good," he said warmly. He took a second modest sip before handing it back. "You can try mine if you like. It's a little bit less sweet," he said. He eyed Erisi with curiosity. The other man seemed so suddenly comfortable, when moments before he'd been alert, almost agitated! Pleased with this development, for he assumed it meant he was making a friend, Talian relaxed as well, allowing his back to rest against the headboard of the bed.

His brow quirked at the next offer. "...Oh?" he asked, not sure how else to respond to such an offer. He was pleasantly flattered, and a little bit too warm from the wine to be confused.

"Perhaps that's why you liked them, since you only got to see them once in a while. I promise you, the more time you spend with them, the more time you have to notice that they're ridiculous and frustrating. Ridiculously frustrating too. My mother had a craft, but she ended up popping one kid out after another every turn and a half. After that she really had no time to dedicate herself to her craft. I viewed it as a tragedy." It had likely scarred him for life. Erisi couldn't look at a child without feeling the corner of his mouth tick downwards and his teeth grind together. His dislike of children wasn't so bad when he was still an apprentice. The moment he was promoted, though, he had made the foolhardy attempt of trying to put up with kids. Now, he never did. It was the greatest revelation of his young lifetime.

Erisi was beginning to feel a slight buzz, and that only because he continued to sip his wine between conversation. He was far more alcohol tolerant than Talian, so he'd say it was his duty to drink more so Talian didn't feel like a drunken fool alone. With his wine bottle back in the safety of his hands now, he indulged himself in taking a sip of Talian's. He couldn't help but promptly pass it back - he did like his wine sweeter.  "Not bad, a little too mild for my tastes. You could have done a lot worse," he commented.

He knew Talian was eying him again, and he was silently debating what to do. It should have been obvious to Talian by now that Erisi had caught on to his flirtations, so why the boy wasn't pressing forward with them was beyond Erisi. This would normally frustrate him, but with a little alcohol in his system he was feeling happier. Certainly, he was feeling more flirtatious too, but he figured Talian was a little new at this, and he didn't want to overwhelm the man by coming on to him too hard. It should be fine, since Talian had been doing the same exact thing to him. Erisi wasn't willing to take the risk, though.

He pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, musing over what short ballad he could sing. Ah, that one would work well enough he supposed.

"Harper, your song has a sorrowful sound,
Though the tune was written gay.
Your voice is sad and your hands are slow
And your eye meeting mine turns away."

It was a short ballad, but it felt appropriate. He could have picked one of those silly old dragonrider ballads, but considering his new disposition towards dragonriders, he wasn't going to sing a single sharding thing about them that was pleasant. Erisi really did have an enjoyable voice, a sort of tone that was easy on the ears, soothing and sweet. It was truly the exact opposite of how he talked normally. His voice was normally cold, with a condescending tone that grated on most of his acquaintances. It usually felt like he was talking down to someone rather than at them. "And that is all you're getting, unless you really want more." Personally, Erisi felt like he was almost serenading Talian, and it was mildly demeaning.

The things he did for someone attractive, shells.

"It was more Talerian that I would avoid spending time with," Talian remarked carelessly. He frowned and pursed his lips, as if hoping that clenching them shut would reclaim the words he'd already spoken. He'd avoided talking about his father so far, even though he was something of a cancer on Talian's life. If he had one thing to be happy about now, it's that Talerian would never, ever get his teeth in the boy again.

He accepted the bottle and continued to sip away at it. Erisi's little song was brief, but quite pleasing to the healer's ear. He wasn't around harpers back at home. Their songs, according to his instructors, were useless. A boy like Talian needed to focus on pure academics, not frivolous stories. After a flickering moment of hesitation, Talian smiled. It was a tipsy smile, but a smile just the same.

"Your voice is nice," he said. His trained ears detected his own slight slur, but he didn't pay it any mind. He picked up on something in Erisi, something uncharacteristically humbled and calm about him. Erisi didn't seem the type to act this way. Had Talian read him wrong? Or was something else going on?

Not knowing what he was saying, he just smiled again. "...More would be lovely," said the wine.

There was a considerate pause when Talian name dropped 'Talerian'. Erisi was not so imperceptive that he couldn't tell when an uncomfortable subject had been breached. Most of the time, Erisi would pursue the conversation anyways, because all that mattered to him was that he remained comfortable. Right now, he was being considerate. He could tell that Talian was into him, the boy had given off every signal in the book that he was. So, being his normal brat-like self to Talian would ruin the man's confidence and, quite blankly, Erisi's chances of enjoying himself. "I guess there are people we don't miss," he answered vaguely, finding that a better alternative to ignoring Talian's comment entirely.

"Thank you," Erisi responded with another shrug. It was a compliment he heard often enough, usually countered with 'your personality is worse than a feral feline's'. Sometimes such compliments went to his head, but right now he had enough wine in his system to simply just accept the compliment for what it was. Erisi was pleased that Talian had at least enjoyed the short, if not sorrowful, tune. Harpers usually sung upbeat tunes, songs imbued with happiness and pleasant feelings. Erisi's voice was far more suited for somber songs, and he enjoyed singing those more.

"You have to earn more. I made marks with this voice," he answered with a sly smile. His tone was a little too casual to be flirtatious, but the undercurrents of his voice carried the flirtatious sentiment anyways. From what Erisi could see, Talian definitely was into him, but he sometimes hated chasing after partners. He was the sort of person that let people come onto him, and either turn them down flat, lead them on and then turn them down, or feel genuinely inclined towards them. Chasing was not his specialty, but he was going to need to do a little chasing now. For coming on to him so strongly, Talian sure was taking his time with it.

Talian took another long drink before corking his bottle and setting it aside. He looked around the room, watching with mellow mystification as everything floated and whirled around him. He wasn't totally drunk, but it was the drunkest he'd ever been. He'd gotten tipsy on accident once while enjoying some wine with a dinner, not long before he walked the table for the first time. He'd never tried to get drunk before. Being an inexperienced drinker, he wasn;t quite sure what to do next. He decided it was time to stop.

The warm fuzziness he got from the wine was nice, though. It loosened him up and numbed his fears, while also somehow kindling his inborn curiosity. He slid closer to Erisi, his eyes widening with curious interest. "...And how exactly would I do that?" he asked, still unaware of his own actions. He paused and blinked, trying to bring his vision into focus as he looked back at Erisi.

Erisi was quite amused when Talian put his wine bottle aside. He had gotten through most of his own, and likely was feeling less drunk than Talian. The harper had built up a tolerance to it since he usually went to taverns to play music and earn some marks. Only when he was desperate for marks did he muster up every last ounce of his patience to teach children some basic memory ballads. Usually, there was very little that would even get him within a dragon's length to a child. Perhaps... if he was really drunk, but then again he doubted parents would want a drunk harper teaching their kids. No harper was probably better than a drunk one.

The characteristic eyebrow arch that Erisi had master showed up once again when Talian slid closer to him. Perhaps he would have to do less pursuing than he thought. Erisi doubted that Talian was so drunk to be unaware of what he was doing, and Talian was perfectly sober when he first invited Erisi to his room. Things were adding up nicely in Erisi's mind, and all there was left to do was push for the next few steps. He didn't consider that Talian was so much of a dimglow that he couldn't tell when he was hitting on someone, nor did he consider that Talian could be straight. The healer was giving off signals that Erisi was responding to in kind. He felt confident that the situation was going the way that he and Talian wanted it to.

Usually, Erisi would have led Talian on a little more, been slightly evasive even. But, he assumed that Talian was new to this, and so he was going to cut him a break. Erisi really had little to no human contact lately, and he considered himself overdue for some. "A kiss will earn you another ballad, I reckon," he answered casually, as if the very suggestion of a kiss was one of the most innocent things he could ask for. It probably was, too.

Talian stared directly at Erisi for several moments before he realized what had been said. A kiss? He'd heard somewhere that occasionally, people came along who preferred the physical forms of their own sex...it was a behavior associated with dragonriders, if he recalled correctly. The idea of actually being presented with it was so startling that he wasn't sure it was really happening.

He blinked a few times and pulled back slightly. "Wait..." he said, stopping cold. His drunken brain swirled confusedly while he thought about the evening thus far. He remembered suddenly how he'd invited Erisi into his room, fiddled with his bedsheets...

..Dear Faranth, it was just like how Fiora approached him!

He immediately started to blush nervously. "Oh...I...I didn't realize I was.." he stammered shamefully, not sure if he could look the man in the eyes after this. "I...didn't realize how I'vew been acting. I'm a little bit tipsy..." he continued in vain, trying to explain himself. "Iv'e never...k-kissed another man before.."

He wanted to sink beneath the floorboards!

What.

How the -- ? This wasn't possible.

Talian had clearly been hitting on him for a better part of the day, and Erisi had resigned himself to giving Talian a good chance at a one night stand... only to find out that Talian had not meant a sharding thing he had done to flirt with Erisi. It was his first suspicion that he had dismissed coming back to bite him in the ass. It was as plain as day to Erisi now that Talian was just the most socially inept individual he had come across, and he had no idea whether to be angry at Talian for misleading him, or angry at himself for being misled. In fact, he felt vulnerably idiotic, and it was a chore to keep himself from blushing.

He just couldn't believe that this was happening to him. He took a chance on somebody new, and this was what happened. Erisi wasn't looking for a relationship, just -- agh! The harper was too frustrated to think, and moved a hand up to his face to cover his expression. He was worried that Talian would see the embarrassed flush to his cheeks, and there was only so much humiliation in one night that Erisi could take before getting truly pissed off. "You were acting this way before you were tipsy," Erisi pointed out, though his words were slightly muffled behind his hand. He hardly thought drinking played such a huge role in this.

Maybe he could salvage the situation and his dignity somehow. "Look," he began, and then decided better. In fact, he couldn't make up his mind on what to do. He had scarred Talian and himself for life. This was why he preferred it when other people came onto him... but then again, that was exactly what Talian had done! "Here. It's not that different than kissing a girl, which I hope you've done before." Talian had to have some experience... there was no one at their age that didn't. If there was, Erisi both pitied them and was disgusted by them.

The young man sat up with a soft sigh, pushing some of his bangs back out of his face. "I'm probably better than any girl you've kissed anyways," Erisi said, gentle and coaxing, the sort of voice he used when he was trying to get something he wanted. As far as he saw it, he did not get to this point for sharding nothing.

Talian inched backwards, like a wave ebbing away from the shoreline. His face fell and he cut his eyes away in embarrassment. Normally he'd have been stoically quiet through such an ordeal, but his blood'alcohol level distracted otherwise. Before he could stop himself, a fumbled apology left his lips.

"I-...Yes, yes I've kissed a girl before..." he muttered, thinking hotly about his single evening with Fiora. He remembered it with such vivid intensity, like it happened only hours before! He could remember how she smelled, how she felt, everything. He remembered her warm breath against his neck, how it made him melt! He'd only had her for one evening. One amazing evening.

She was gone now, though. She was back at Fort, possibly carrying his child. He would probably never see her again. How badly he wanted to lean into her soft body! How badly he wanted her by his side now. That wasn't going to happen though, and pining for her wouldn't change that fact. Was that why he sought someone else out? Was he trying to find something to take her place? What a horrible thought. Was he afraid to seek a replacement, and therefore avoided girls, only to throw himself to a man?

Or was he really just clueless?

He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked at Erisi with shame. "I didn't mean to tease you," he admitted. Subconsciously, he found himself leaning closer. "I really didn't. I suppose I was just so eager to have someone to talk to."  The last time he'd met one of his fellow stolens, he was afraid to get too close.

"I...I don't think I can," he said, his breath shallow.  His eyes widened timidly and he wring his hands. The wine on his breath was strong.

Well, he supposed kissing a girl was better than nothing. However, he would also imagine that it would make Talian more aware of when he was hitting on someone, and the gestures he had made towards Erisi were too bold to be excused by his subconscious acting out. Erisi wasn't entirely buying that idea. To some degree, Talian had to have been aware of what he was doing. "At least you're not a lost cause," he grumbled. He had no idea how to progress through this situation. It had definitely escalated into an awkward territory Erisi was used to only after having a one-night stand with someone.

"It's fine, really, I understand wanting someone to talk to. Do I have to list out what signals you've given me, though? I can, but I think it'd bring us to a degree of humiliation that I am in no state to cope with." How could Talian not see how blatantly he had been hitting on Erisi? The man obviously realized that he had to a degree, and clearly that degree was small enough to be excusable. "You can talk to someone without hitting on them, you know." He was embarrassed, and to hide it he was lashing out at Talian. It was better for him to pin the blame on someone else. His conscience could rest easier thinking that this was entirely Talian's fault, and not his own misjudgment. The words themselves, though, lacked the usual venom he was known to infuse them with. For some reason, it was nearly impossible for him to be an angry drunk. Drinking seemed to calm him, sate whatever vile beast that resided in him. If he was sober, he would have been a whole lot more upset.

Erisi removed his hand from his face, blue eyes cutting back over to Talian. While the man had put some distance between them earlier, that distance clearly had been shortened again. A thought was rolling through his head that could not be so easily dismissed, and he was very inclined to act upon it.

And so with a heavy sigh, he did.

He did not exactly jump Talian. His movement was fast, but fluid, hardly giving Talian time to react before he had closed the distance between them. A hand lifted, placing itself on the back of Talian's head to keep him from bucking away (which Erisi completely expected him to do). Slender lips pressed against Talian's own, and to Erisi's credit, he was not a bad kisser. He had a fair amount of experience underneath his belt, and he fully intended to win Talian over for a few seconds. It was his reward for putting up with this wherry shit of a situation. His lips were claiming and persuasive, if not impatient. His body was close, but not so close to press every one of Talian's boundaries. The kiss was doing enough of that.

Talian really didn't think he'd behaved so badly. He could explain everything he'd done all night, from sitting on the bed to ruffling the sheets! He had nowhere else to sit, he was trying to hide his knots! He started to open his mouth in self-defense, but he already knew it was futile. His reasons, while true, were all outlandish. He wasn't used to defending himself, either. That was the sort of behavior he'd been punished for his entire life, especially at Katila. Ashamed, he turned his face away and bit his lip.

"I'm sorry. You can go if you want, I don't blame you if you don't want t-"

Before he could finish, he felt Erisi close in around him. There was the instinctual struggle, but it lasted for only a few moments as a strange new sensation came over him. In his tipsy state, he was unable to offer up much coherent resistance. He meekly twined his arms around Erisi and returned the kiss. He wasn't terribly experienced, but Fiora had giving him his virgin rite of passage, and that came with a few 'lessons', so to speak.

Something twitched inside him, prompting him to stay locked into that kiss far longer than he meant to. When it was over, he recoiled anxiously, horribly embarrassed and completely unsure of what to do.

He felt Talian stiffen against him and suspected the man to recoil in disgust. Erisi shouldn't have pushed the healer so far, but he thought he deserved something for what he'd put up with throughout the day. So, he held fast to the kiss until he felt Talian cave into it. Then, he could kiss him the way he wanted to, and he did. There was little doubt that he would do anything else in this situation. Erisi likely would have kept kissing him, kept pressing for a little more than Talian was inclined to give him, if Talian did not end it. Perhaps if he did press more, Talian would give in, but he relented.

The kiss ended and Erisi leaned back against the headboard of the bed. "See? You can kiss me. It wasn't half bad either." he pointed out in a smug tone of voice, despite how visibly upset Talian was over the kiss. Truthfully, the man sitting next to him could not deny that he had responded to that kiss, that he had put his arms around Erisi and had returned the kiss earnestly. He had made the move on Talian, but he had not locked the healer into it. Talian could have resisted, and he didn't. Erisi considered it a victory, even if it was clear now that he wouldn't get much more out of the man, likely ever.

He wasn't as upset about that as one would think. Erisi hardly indulged himself in romantic relationships. They didn't work out. Erisi had a personality that grated on every one of his partners' nerves. When the nice fluffy feelings of the initial spark in a relationship dissipated, it ended. Erisi had learned to like it that way - he far preferred flings to actual relationships. It was more satisfying.

Admittedly, getting a little bit of what he wanted out of this encounter did wonders for his disposition, and eased some of his own embarrassment.

Talian wanted to melt. It was mostly shame. He'd made a little bit of a fool of himself, though Erisi seemed calm enough that perhaps their potential friendship wasn't spoiled. Talian wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. His attitude towards sex and relationships was horribly skewed and mostly ambivalent, since his experience was so limited. He'd spent his entire life pursuing the same girl, though with varying levels of awareness. He'd locked on to her the moment they met. Even as children he adored her. When he finally got her, he didn't know what to do with her...and just as quickly, she was gone.

He didn't know if he liked flings. He didn't know if he liked kissing boys.  He didn't know if it was possible to be friends with someone he'd screwed around with, even if it was so mild an encounter. There was also the smallest splinter of guilt buried within him; guilt because he'd enjoyed the kiss more than he wanted to admit.

He shrank away. "I...well, that was a new experience," he said, his cheeks flushing. "I really didn't mean to frustrate you, Erisi," he added softly, pausing and closing his eyes, stoically awaiting judgement. Was Erisi about to walk out on him? Possibly. That was probably the only thing on Pern that would make the healer feel worse.

Doubtlessly Talian was going through some deep internal struggle with himself, and while Erisi had taken some care with his new friend, what Talian was going through now did not matter as much as what Erisi was going through. He seemed to be surprisingly calm. While Talian was struggling through a torrent of emotions and thoughts, Erisi had calmed. The range of emotions he was feeling now were simplified, hardly as complex as his friend's. He was sated, neither happy or unhappy, though there was a twinge of disappointment in his expression. He likely would have been far worse off if he hadn't gotten Talian to return the kiss. At least there had been some payout for the embarrassment he had suffered through and was still suffering through.

"You enjoyed it, though," Erisi pointed out with a sort of casual indifference. "If you didn't enjoy it, you wouldn't have kissed me back." The words would definitely give Talian something to think about. It was a little bit of payback for all the awkwardness he had endured. "I am frustrated, more physically than mentally, but definitely both. We could have drank anywhere, but you invite me into your room, we sit on your bed, you stare into my eyes, fiddle with your blankets suggestively... what impression do you think anyone would get?" It was like he was scolding a five-turn old.

"But, if you ever want to experience it again, I'm around. Just don't lead me on like that. It's not enjoyable, and I don't have any patience for it." That was the bottom line. The friendship was repairable, but Erisi wasn't going to put up with subconscious flirtations from Talian, especially if he couldn't follow up on it. He wasn't going to let himself be misled again.

He cringed visibly. "It all made sense at the time...I could explain, but something tells me that won't make much of a difference." Shards, he felt like such an abysmal fool. He normally wouldn't have bothered to defend himself, and in fact he'd already restrained himself once, but wine and emotion were a deadly mixture for the confused boy.

"Erisi..." he said, slinking backwards and pressing himself against his headboard. "It...won't happen again. I didn't mean any harm," he said. He had the explanation, but not the will to deliver it. It was probably best to just let it go at this point anyhow. He continued to blush, hanging his head awkwardly and trying to blink his vision back into focus. He certainly had a lot to think about. It hadn't been so much different; so was he bothered because Erisi was a boy, or because he wasn't Fiora?

He sighed weakly. His buzz was quickly fading. Serious situations like this weren't called 'sobering' for no reason. Rather than continue to humiliate himself, Talian just gave in, practically cowed in front of Erisi. "...I'm sorry. It won't happen again." A safe answer, he knew it. Everyone loved someone who would cave to their desires.

"Don't they teach you that even if you don't mean to inflict harm, harm can be inflicted? At least I think it comes up in another ballad that I won't be singing." He wasn't yelling at Talian or throw a hissy fit, so that meant that he wasn't as upset anymore as he first seemed. There was a strange sort of acceptance in the situation, or at least peace in knowing that Talian hadn't intended to hit on him. But, Faranth, he did wish the man had meant it. He was never going to survive this Candidacy without an ample amount of distractions, and Talian would have been such a good one.

"I'm sure it won't. I am going to go back to my own room now." It was less that he wanted to leave, and more that he was giving Talian enough respect to let the man recuperate from the encounter. Talian still looked to be shaken up, especially if he was nearly cowering in front of him. What did Talian expect, for Erisi to hit him? Erisi probably would not have enough weight behind a punch if he was even inclined to physically hurt Talian. "I'll see you some time, and hopefully we won't get some awkward mixed signals sent between us." Erisi's pride wouldn't tolerate another incident like this.

With a soft groan he climbed off the bed. After a few moments of consideration, however, he left his wine bottle with Talian. He figured that the healer would need it more than him right now. Erisi did not bother to glance back to Talian as he left the room, not because he was mad at the man, but because there was no reason to. He had said what he wanted to say, and what had needed to be said.