[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ONd4lpK.png[/img][/center]
[color=00F8FE]Time: 11:05 am
Location: Headed to the Entrance Hall
Interactions: Wulfric [@SilverPaw][/color]

[color=ab274f]“Really, brother, alcohol in the morning?”[/color]

[color=9FA1A4]
Wulfric seemed to come out of nowhere, or Callum just hadn’t noticed him, he wasn’t paying close attention to anything besides his own thoughts. Wulfric looked entirely displeased, entirely unimpressed with the closest Callum really came to his best efforts and poked at the same flaw that had already been recently picked at by Morrigan. 

[color=white][i]...can’t function without liquid courage.[/i][/color]

And what was so wrong with wanting a little help getting through an already difficult day?

[color=ab274f][i]Really, brother, alcohol in the morning?[/i][/color]

Didn’t they all have their own ways of getting through the days? Ana got by on naivety, ignorance was her bliss and she could still find enough joy in small things to get by. Auguste had swordsmanship, he’d seen his brother dissolve into a warrior when he fought, and his brother had found a place where he could exist in only the moment. But Callum would never trust himself enough to go there; to let violence become an instinct, a part of him, not with his family’s history. Then there was Wulfric, so tightly wound with secrets and repression that Callum wasn’t even sure who he was. Was their parents' approval really worth that? 

They all had something they leaned a little too much into, his was just easier to notice. 

[color=00F8FE]“I believe I was instructed, by you, to ‘try and find whatever joy I can in this'?”[/color] Callum casually tossed Wulfric’s words back at him. Why should he feel bad about it? Wulfric [i]had[/i] started it. 

[color=00F8FE] “And surely the fine noblewomen would prefer drunken and jolly to sober and sullen?”[/color] He added, but it seemed ignoring Callum was the theme of the day. Wulfric didn’t seem to care what he had to say so Callum didn’t see a reason to take any care with his words. 

[color=00F8FE]“Presentable? I think I’m more than presentable for attending this joke of an event. Properly dressed and more than willing to be polite as we are gawked at by bored noblewomen. I hardly think the Alidashti guests sit riddled with anxiety wondering how our dating lives are going this morning. ”[/color] Callum continued talking as Wulfric ordered those nearby to make him presentable, and ordered Callum to be on time. [color=00F8FE]“Thought you were the smart one Wulfy, fifteen minutes isn’t going to sober me up any. But sure, make me late, spin it like it’s my fault.”[/color] Callum added, but Wulfric was already leaving. Callum was then left alone with a servant charged with the impossible task of sobering him up and making him presentable by Wulfric’s standards. He was led to the nearest washroom. 

[color=00F8FE]“Apologies, my brother is extremely unpleasant. If I could trouble you to maybe grab me a cup of coffee, I can try and fix this unfortunate mess.”[/color] Callum grinned and gestured to his face, hoping to make the poor servant charged with making him look presentable, feel more at ease. He imagined it had to be nerve-wracking to work for someone so obsessed with perfection as Wulfric. 

Callum had hoped for maybe a slight easing of the tension but the servant still looked unsure of how to proceed. Accosting a prince with cold water likely seemed as dangerous as failing to complete Wulfric’s demands. 

So Callum filled the sink with cold water and plunged his face in willingly. It provided a temporary shock to the system, enough to wake him up a bit more. He glanced at the servant, [color=00F8FE]”see, working on it.”[/color] He assured her, and she left, likely to grab him the requested cup of coffee. 

Callum spent the rest of his time attempting to fix his hair in a way that Wulfric would find passable. He wasn’t sure what else to do, he looked how he felt; exhausted, half dead, miserable, there wasn’t much about that he could fix. 

Eventually, the servant returned with a cup of coffee which Callum accepted and he mostly stared into the cup while breathing in its scent. 

[color=tan]“It works better if you drink it, your highness.”[/color] The servant spoke up, and Cal nodded and drank the warm liquid. 

[color=00F8FE]“So it does.”[/color] He answered with a nod. The servant then handed him a bottle of cologne and which Cal also accepted. He sprayed himself, perhaps a bit excessively, with a scent of bergamot and oak. [color=00F8FE]“Smart thinking, thank you.”[/color] He handed the bottle of cologne back to her.  

[color=00F8FE]“How do I look now? Sober as a churchmouse?”[/color] He asked leaving the washroom still swaying as he walked. 

[color=tan]“Better.”[/color] [color=00F8FE][i]But not great, far from perfect.[/i][/color] Callum filled in the rest. He knew it and appreciated the honesty of the simple answer. 

[color=00F8FE]“If you have time maybe you could help me out with a small favor?”[/color] He asked, and the servant nodded. Callum led her back to his room where she waited by the door as he dragged the trolly of food Riona had brought up. [color=00F8FE]“I don’t have time to eat all this but I’d hate for food to go to waste. Maybe you, or someone you know, can make sure this is all properly enjoyed?”[/color] He asked leaving the trolley outside as he relocked the door to his room. [color=00F8FE]“If anyone gives you any trouble for it, let me know, and I’ll handle it, personally.”[/color] He offered before leaving the servant with the trolley of food and heading towards the entrance hall. 

He arrived a couple of minutes past eleven but Edin was not around yet so that was just as good as being on time. Time in Sorian revolved around Edin, whenever his old man happened to show up was exactly right on time no matter how late it seemed to everyone else. So Callum and his half-drunk cup of coffee were ushered to his seat as the youngest of the royal line scanned the crowd that had already formed. 

The sight of the crowd made him feel nauseous and uneasy. Too many unfamiliar faces, eyes shining with dreams of ambitious social climbing, so many people who desired everything he hated about his own life without even an inkling of everything that’d be giving up to have it. He sat in his assigned seat near his brothers without any idea of how long this would take, how long he’d be forced into fake, polite, small talk with no sure sign of relief in sight. He looked around, hoping to spot a familiar face, at least one person he could look forward to talking to, but saw only the sea of the unfamiliar. 

Callum brought the coffee near his face, not drinking it, just breathing in the smell until it was the only thing he focused on. He was pretty sure he’d overdone it with the cologne and now it was giving him a headache. Or maybe it was the stress, or lack of food, or last night. He should’ve left his head in the sink, and breathed in icy water until he merged with the abyss. [color=00F8FE][i]Not a helpful thought.[/i][/color] He reminded himself. After this he’d be in the clear, he could find whatever activity was happening as far away from the palace as he could, get some fresh air, feel normal for a bit. Soon, he just had to be patient. Deep breaths, the smell of coffee, and a bit of freedom in an hour or two. [/color]