Drugged [Open]

[Laydon of Jagkha]

The oasis was overrun. Shapeshifters were piled everywhere the eye could see. The little town itself was in shambles. Someone had burned it. Someone called Than. Why? What had happened there? Well, it should not have been all that strange. The Boil was full of cutthroats.

So what was Laydon doing there? Surely he was not running away? Oh, but he was. Because he was injured. He wanted to go far. He wanted to go everywhere. He wanted to be free, free from everything. No more responsibilities and nothing to worry about. So why not visit the place filled with the most dangerous people in all of Litharia? It was a sound plan…for someone with a suicide wish.

Laydon did not have a suicide wish. He was simply feeling reckless. Rash. He had a need for adventure and excitement. So there he was dancing with the shifters. They liked him. Thought he was charming. It helped that Laydon was a pretty good dancer.

Shifters…

Like her. He could lose himself in them. Give in to the pleasures of alcohol and women. Was that what he wanted? He felt confused. Delirious. His train of thought was all over the place. Wait a second…Was he drugged?

[Lael]

The firelight flickered, dancing off the many bodies that surrounded the immediate area. Normally there wouldn't be so many here in the Boil. It was only because the volcano had erupted. That was why she was here. She made her home on the Island which was now being overrun by burning hot lava. Hopefully it would widen the Island. Space was always a good thing.

This place that they had take refuge in was mostly burned down and abandoned, as if the volcano had reached out to touch it. But that was no matter to her, this was a suitable place to live with an oasis. Shelter didn't really matter as long as there was water. Water meant survival and survival was what she cherished. So she stayed here in this place overrun by shifters, making the most out of their time here.

And there was that human. The white-haired human that could actually dance compared to other humans. Humans... a race that she hadn't come in contact with for a long time. It didn't come across to her that humans would dare play with shapeshifters, but this one did, with a little alcohol to propel him on his way.

Lael smiled. She was oblivious and happy enough even without alcohol's hand. She needed no drug, for the mood was just overwhelming. Made her want to dance. And so she did, totally ignorant to the fact that she was wearing no clothes and most humans were sensitive to nudity. Ah, well, the fact that the human had made it here was good enough. And besides, she wasn't the only one. She was safe and she was itching for a little round of dancing.

[Laydon of Jagkha]

She was not the only one without clothes, but she was the only one with an innocence that seemed to shine like a beacon. In a room full of criminals, desperate refugees, and alcohol, that innocence was the wrong sort of thing. Unless you were Laydon. He was not noticing much of anything. Just the music and the way the room was spinning and somehow he was keeping his footing. Perhaps it was all his knight training. Perhaps it was magic. Laydon did not care. Thinking did not seem to be in his best interest at the moment. Life was about fun and not caring.

But when Laydon noticed the two men zeroing in on the innocent girl, his natural instincts kicked in. He may have been trained to protect humans, but something in him was a little confused when it came to differentiating between the species. He did not know what to feel or how to think, which was why he turned to alcohol for his answer. The alcohol, it seemed, decided that the girl was human enough to protect. Anyway, Laydon did not wish to see anyone lose their virtue. Odd that she was naked and still seemed to be innocent.

Laydon had to move before he started to think about that little oxymoron. It would give him too terrible of a headache and the two men were going to hurt her. He could see a knife in the one’s hand. He snuck up behind her. The other went to face her, smiling and friendly. Laydon knew better. He had seen this trick too many times before. They were slavers. Without pausing to hesitate, the knight drew his sword and knocked the hilt into the head of the man behind the girl. This was a practiced move and the man dropped easily.

The man in front of the girl was not pleased. The look he gave was very much akin to a snarl, causing Laydon to briefly consider the man’s species. In this, the alcohol was not kind to him. It made him hesitate when he should simply attack. “Leave this place,” he told the man, “Leave the girl.” Thankfully, his words came out clear and firm. The man smirked, but he turned away. Laydon considered pursuing. The man may come back with reinforcements. But he was drunk and did not feel like a chase. The knight turned towards the lady and offered a small bow.

[Lael]

Lael spotted a man coming towards her. He was smiling and he looked friendly. He also looked human. Strange. She hadn't seen any other human besides the white haired one. This one had brown hair and brown eyes with some weird emotion conveyed through them. Not happiness even though he was smiling. She had seen this expression with humans before and it meant nothing to her. She wasn't what humans would call normal. She returned his smile, but before she could so much as open her mouth to speak, a very ominous sound occured behind her.

Thwack!

She turned behind her with a start, eyes wide with surprise, dancing out of the way as a blade clattered to the floor ahead of a heavier figure, also human from the looks of him and unconscious. Lael caught sight of the white-haired human; he was holding a sword and the hilt was pointed in the direction of the man. He was the one that had knocked the human out.

Lael's brain did not allow her the grace to analyze the situation very well, but the fact that the blade had fallen from the man's hand and he was in between her and the human didn't mean that it was anything good. She glanced back at the man that had approached her to find that he was glaring at the white-haired human. But the man simply turned with a strange look; a smile when he shouldn't have been smiling. That was strange, very strange. She didn't know what to think.

She turned to the human, watching as he bowed to her. The fallen celestial's cheeks reddened slightly as he did so. She was the one who owed him! So why was he doing that? It didn't make sense to her, but she was uncomfortable when he did that, but she was so flustered that she had no idea what to do! Right, think calmly and carefully. The man had a knife and this human had saved her from whatever he was going to do that was surely not nice. She had to thank him. "Th-thank you, mister!" Lael managed to get out. "I-i'm very sorry for causing you trouble." She twitched a little, what was she missing? Ah, the man was making it hard for her to think. "My name... is Lael." She remembered, offering him a small, timid smile. That was all, right? She didn't seem very impolite, did she...?

[Laydon of Jagkha]

The knight rose from his bow and looked her right in the eyes. She blushed, and he smiled. Laydon enjoyed making people blush. It meant he had an effect on them. Laydon loved to leave an impression. Especially a good one.

"Th-thank you, mister! I-i'm very sorry for causing you trouble.

Gods, even her voice was innocent. What on Litharia was she doing here without any clothes? Laydon was baffled by shapeshifters. Never in a million years did he think he would ever understand them.

She fidgeted and he tilted his head to the side curiously. Was she okay?

"My name... is Lael."

She was kind of an awkward thing, wasn’t she? No matter. Laydon’s smile was gentle. “You are more than welcome, my dear. I am Laydon of Jagkha.” He stopped himself before giving his full title. Laydon did not feel the need to betray the fact that he was a knight in the service of King Quirinoh around anyone there. People in the Southern Boil were not inclined to follow a king. His presence would probably be unwelcomed there. Even in his drunken stupor he knew that.

“You should not make such a target of yourself, Miss Lael. The people here are dangerous. You should put clothes on.” That last statement was more blunt than he had intended it to be. It seemed the alcohol was dampening his natural eloquence. Laydon blinked and swayed slightly, but he was determined to stay upright and at least put on a show of being partially sober.

The knight blinked again and the room tilted. Strange how different everything looked when it was shifted like that. Laydon smiled strangely as he looked at her. “You look like my mother,” he told her, “But younger. A lot younger. You could be my little sister. Except you have wings. That is strange. Did you know that? Nobody in my family has wings.”

Laydon frowned and tried to analyze everything he said. This was hard because he could not truthfully remember what he was trying to talk about. Words were just spilling from his mouth. “Forgive my clumsy speech, Miss Lael. I fear I have had a bit too much drink tonight. But do not fear. It will wear off eventually and then I am sure you will find my company more tolerable.” He studied her again. She really could be his little sister with her blonde hair and brown eyes.

[Lael]

Lael watched the human somewhat nervously, noticing that his eyes were brown. Deeper than hers were, but it was hard to be certain in this light. All she knew was that they were definitely brown.

“You are more than welcome, my dear. I am Laydon of Jagkha.”

Laydon of Jagkha... he wouldn't mind if she called him Laydon, right? Hopefully not, it would be a little too awkward to ask him that and it might seem to him that she wasn't the brightest of crayons--she wasn't. Not by a long shot, but his smile... his smile seemed to tell her that he didn't mind. It was a kind one that convinced her that he wouldn't hurt her.

“You should not make such a target of yourself, Miss Lael. The people here are dangerous. You should put clothes on.”

Target? Was she making herself a target, no one had tried... oh wait, never mind. Two people had tried and been stopped by Laydon. And people being dangerous, it didn't seem so, or at least not to her eyes. But the matter of clothes was a different one. Before she could reply to that, Laydon was off again.

“You look like my mother, but younger. A lot younger. You could be my little sister. Except you have wings. That is strange. Did you know that? Nobody in my family has wings.”

[/i]

His... mother? She looked like his mother or little sister? Lael didn't know how to take that. Was it a compliment or a mere observation. And she wasn't his little sister, she could tell, for she remembered that her family was gone. Nevertheless, she laughed. It was no wonder that his family didn't have wings; he was human! And since no one in his family had wings, she wasn't related to him directly, unless somehow they were cousins. She didn't know, her parents had never told her about cousins. "I... do not have a family." She said, tilting her head. And neither did she really need one--at the moment.

“Forgive my clumsy speech, Miss Lael. I fear I have had a bit too much drink tonight. But do not fear. It will wear off eventually and then I am sure you will find my company more tolerable.”

Well, that was more than obvious. And the way he said that, it made it seem like a mistake rather than an intentional purpose. But even if he did have a little too much to drink, he was still good company. "I don't mind." She told him with a smile. He was making her feel less awkward and more comfortable. Well, she had nothing to lose now. "But..." Lael twitched a little uncomfortably. She hadn't needed clothes on the Island. "I... do not have any garments. I'm sorry!" She said, ducking her head in apology and hoping that he wouldn't mind too much. Lael did not like making people sad or angry.[/center][/size][/color][/font]