"An unlikely helping hand" (Ledgic & Eothan)

“An unlikely helping hand”

Ledgic stepped out into cutthroat alley and let out a long sigh as he turned to peer at Eothan’s home. He’d been a little concerned with the situation since meeting Eothan in the bay and had decided to come and check on him. His concern had only been heightened when he received a note from Vale, asking him to check on Eothan. A number of things had gone through his mind at that point, the most prominent of which was a certainty that Eothan had spoken to Vale about all of these apparent feelings he was having.

He turned to his right and walked towards the house, deciding to peer in through the window first. He scanned the room and clenched a fist, books were scattered everywhere, the table had been flipped and the ground was covered in broken glass. As he looked towards the rug he could see Eothan lying there, an empty bottle barely being held on to by his index finger. Ledgic stepped away from the house and rubbed a hand across his mouth. He knew that Eothan wasn’t going to deal with the situation well, it didn’t help that he’d never experienced feelings like this before, but the fact he had managed to develop them for Vale was going to leave him in a bad way.

He walked towards the door and shook his head as it opened from a simple push; he’d gotten himself into that state without even closing his door properly. As Ledgic stepped into the house and quietly closed the door, he was sure that he’d be getting dragged into this situation, at least a lot more than he would have hoped. He pulled his gloves from his hands and laid them on a small table near the door, before turning and walking across the room to Eothan. As he knelt down beside him and took the bottle from his hands, Eothan groaned a little. Ledgic narrowed his eyes as he stared at a small cut on Eothan’s lip; he shook his head before peering across the room again.

It was unlikely that he’d punched himself in the face and judging by the state of the living room he could only assume it was Vale, clearly their conversation had gone even worse than he originally assumed. “You’re the ugliest thing I’ve ever woken up to with a hangover like this, I must be losing my touch”

Ledgic peered down at Eothan; he had woken up and opened his eyes. “Well, look a’ ye. I reckon ye’ve lost somethin’, even if ye’ve still got yer touch. Yer a soddin’ mess mate”

Ledgic reached forward and took a grip of Eothan’s shoulders and lifted him from the floor. He shook his head slowly at Eothan’s groans as he did so, but he knew he wasn’t going to leave him lying there. “Why are you here, Ledgic? I’ve already had my pathetic moment with you” said Eothan.

“Well, I was comin’ t’check on ye, an’ stop callin’ yerself pathetic y’arse. Ye fell fer a girl, get over it” said Ledgic as he moved his hands and hurled Eothan over his shoulder. “Hey! Fucking put me down!” barked Eothan as he tried to slide from Ledgic’s shoulder. Ledgic grumbled as he stood up and walked across the room, dodging the carnage of the night before as best he could. As he walked up the stairs he kept a firm grip of Eothan’s back, nodding as he eventually stopped struggling. Ledgic was aware of how hard the situation must be for Eothan and he wasn’t looking to treat him like a child, but he had little choice in the matter right now.
He stepped into Eothan’s room and dumped him on his bed. “Now, y’stay there fer a bit an’ try n’ get rid o’ some o’ tha’ ‘angover, yeh? … I’m gonna sort yer friggin’ ‘ouse out” he said as he turned and left the room, heading for the stairs again.

Eothan stared at the ceiling and shook his head slightly, paying little attention to the noise of Ledgic clearing up his living room. He hadn’t asked for help, he’d accepted that he would end up like this. He had cracked and messed everything up; he had destroyed the one thing that brought any enjoyment into his life by developing much more than a simple attachment. He brought a finger to his lip and gently probed the small cut on it, this had been her reaction. He had done his best to make her see exactly what he meant and why he had not misplaced his feelings, that he would have much preferred to care for her than some random airhead. She had lashed out and punched him in the mouth and then she had left, he wasn’t even sure if she’d ever come back.

Even if she did, he didn’t have a clue what he would say to her. “Don’t hit me again?” “Hi, I’m a moron?” “Get the fuck away from me?”. None of it would make sense or be justified because in her eyes he probably deserved that punch. He didn’t even disagree, if a past version of him and witnessed that conversation he’d have likely been cheering her on. He let out a quiet sigh and looked over at the bedside table, smirking slightly at the empty glass sitting on it. The glass of water he had left for Vale had been completely consumed and emptied and as much as it pained him, it was as if that glass represented what was left of their time together. All that remained was the shell of what was.

--

Ledgic carefully set the last chair in place around the table and gazed around the room. He’d returned it to the state it was usually in, he had managed to collect all of the glass shards and put them in a small box he had found but during that he had come across something else. He lifted a spell blade from the table and wrapped it in cloth, before sliding it into a container on his belt. He had recognised it instantly when he found it surrounded by broken glass, the blade belonged to Vale. Obviously their conversation had gotten so heated and angry that she had forgotten to take it with her, which was very unlike her.

He scratched his chin as he wondered how she was doing. It was clear from the mess and Eothan’s cut lip that she didn’t return the feelings he was experiencing, but clearly it had messed with her to some degree. She wouldn’t have left the blade in Eothan’s house or sent him that note if she wasn’t feeling some measure of annoyance or guilt over the entire affair. He turned and picked up the box of broken glass and walked across the room. As he opened the front door and stepped outside he realised just how odd it was to be in the middle of a situation like this, one where he felt as though he was dealing with a couple of squabbling children. He had felt like this before, but this was certainly different. He was in between Vale and Eothan, two people that he had always assumed would never change. The thought of the two of them ending up together and raising a child was nice, but completely unlikely in his mind. Eothan was not a man of feeling or fatherhood; Vale was not a woman of love or devotion.

He threw the box in a large crate full of rubbish outside the house, before turning around and stepping inside again, closing the door carefully behind him. He gazed around the room with a quick nod; he’d done a decent job he thought. He headed for the stairs and began to climb them slowly, considering a few things he could say to Eothan. He wasn’t even sure how the man was taking the previous few nights, especially with last night as a prominent factor. Nobody had been there to help him out of a hole like this, when he had been in one. He stood at the top of the stairs and watched as Eothan rested a hand over a glass on the bedside table. He tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes as Eothan drew the hand away again and moved his gaze to the ceiling.

Ledgic opened his eyes and stepped into the room, he sat down on the foot of the bed.

“You don’t need to be here, Ledgic. I’m not a child, I can deal with my own problems” muttered Eothan as he continued to stare at the ceiling.

“Yeh, sure. ‘cause y’really looked like ye were dealin’ wit’ ‘em well when I walked in ‘ere n’ found ye. I ain’ gonna stick aroun’, jes need ye t’know somethin’ mate. I ain’ lookin’ t’be dragged inta’ this… but feck it, if y’need me’ ‘elp, if y’need t’talk t’someone I’ll be waitin’” said Ledgic as he stood up again and walked out of the room.

Eothan closed his eyes as Ledgic slowly walked down the stairs, both men had the same situation on their mind, both men had their own view of the situation.

Eothan sat up as he heard the sound of the door opening and closing again and sighed deeply. He turned and slid from the bed and turned as he stood up, he knelt down and reached beneath the bed, pulling out a brown box. As he opened it he closed his eyes momentarily, the thought of him drinking because there was nothing else he could do was painful but he had little choice now, it was the only way to make it go away, even if it was just for a moment. He reached into the box and pulled out a small bottle of whiskey, this would be his saviour for the moment.