[OOC] Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

[xivyxx]

Lucien was quiet as Faolan finally began to explain. It.. wasn't the story he had been expecting but.. now everything made sense. Hearing it.. was difficult, he couldn't imagine what it was like.. to go through that. His golden eyes glanced over the bite mark, he had noticed it before, back when they had first met too, but had never asked about it.. and now he knew where it had come from. Tears had filled his eyes, but he tried to restrain them from spilling over, the sadness he felt from hearing his story was nothing compared to how much pain Faolan had gone through.

He noticed him trying to clean the stains from his hands. For a moment he was quiet, processing, but he reached into his own bag and pulled out his canteen of water, and set it down next to Faolan for him to use if he wanted. He really wanted to hug the man, but he didn't feel like that was something he would want.

"I'm so sorry Faolan.. I'm sorry that you had to go through that.. that this happened to you.." He said quietly. "I can't imagine what it must have been like to go through something like that alone.. What happened.. it wasn't your fault.. that beast.. you said it yourself.. it wasn't you.." Now he understood why Faolan had gotten so angry. He had been afraid that something like that might have happened again. This made him feel guilty for not having listened to him, because he hadn't wanted Faolan to feel like that again.. to fear hurting someone again.

"I understand now.. I truly am sorry that I made you feel this way.. but.. I'm glad that you told me the truth. I always knew.. that there was something you were keeping from me I just.. didn't want to pry to deeply, but things don't have to change.. " No one deserved to be forced to live a life of such isolation. He wanted to make sure that Faolan understood that learning this had not changed the way he saw him.

"You've.. always been a man of few words.. but in the year we've been travelling together.. I've seen how kind you really are.. You go so far to make sure you don't bring harm to anyone else.. and I'm sorry that my recklessness put those efforts in jeopardy. I assure you, it will never happen again. You are my dearest friend, Faolan, please let help you in any way I can.. whether it's keeping track of the full moon or something else.. we can make this work."

[FreckersFrog]

There wasn't a day that went by that Faolan didn't think of his parents and the others that had died the day of his first fateful transformation into the beast. It was usually fond memories, mostly of himself and his sister when they were young, and the slight twinges of pain at their recall had faded over time. It was only close to the full moon that he ever felt any sense of guilt or sadness. Deep down he had always known it was not his fault, but that didn't stop their deaths from being on his hands.

Sharing this most intimate of details with another person...it did not give the immediate relief and peace of mind he may have expected. Still, there was a sense of calm that had fallen over the two men as Faolan finished his story. It was done, and he never had to voice it again if he didn't want to. He trusted Lucien, even with this, and he knew that the words that followed were absolutely true.

But that did not ease his heart. His whole life he had tried to desperately to keep others safe from the horror that borrowed his body once every month. He had given up companions, the possibility of friends and a family of his own, a permanent home, all to protect others from himself. The image of Lucien's torn clothes, his bloody leg...all of his precautions and still he had hurt the one person he cared for in this world. It was frustrating, to say the least. He knew in his mind that the best option was to separate, now, before anything else could happen to the boy. Even a life of servitude as a priest would be better than the constant threat of danger that staying with Faolan would bring. Lucien had to see that, didn't he?

Despite this knowledge, he could not imagine it. It had been only a year and yet Faolan had changed so much. Lucien had done that, made him a kinder and more patient person. Being along had made him hard and rough, but Lucien had softened those edges. He felt good, this new version of himself that was allowed to laugh and forget, just for a moment, that this terrible creature lived inside of him. But did he deserve this chance at happiness?

He didn't know, he wasn't sure he ever would.

Finally, after a long silence of Faolan listening to Lucien but not looking up, staring down at his dirt and blood caked palms, he raised his head to look at the Frenchman. "Lucien...I..." he started slowly, his voice still rough and heavily accented as his brain readjusted to being himself, "The thought of hurting you..." he looked away, but only briefly, "Of hurting anyone...I can't do that again." Despite how vulnerable Faolan felt and appeared in this moment, his words were final. This was a non-negotiable truth, and he had to make Lucien understand.

"I could have killed you, et you even. It's so...It gets so hungry." He said, his voice cracking from the strain as his eyes began to blur. "I couldn't live with myself if it happened again." Faolan had never considered suicide; knowing how his mother had felt about it, he could not bring himself to sully her memory in that way...but Lucien's death, his dismemberment, it may be enough to push him over the edge. Just the thought that he had consumed human flesh made him feel sick, and now he was doing all he could to keep himself from retching.

After taking a moment to compose himself, he swallowed hard, and found himself reaching for the canteen, not to clean his hands with, but to drink from. He simply held it, feeling how still and cool the metal was as a way to steady himself. "We can't let it happen, do you understand?"

[xivyxx]

Lucien did not break the silence that followed his words, wanting to allow Faolan to process everything he had said. When he finally spoke, he was glad to hear that these weren't words of denial, but seeing Faolan like this... so vulnerable. He knew how important this was to him. He wished that there was something he could do to help him.. to rid him of this terrible curse, but as far as his knowledge went on these things.. there wasn't any type of cure. All he could do was make sure that he didn't hurt anyone again. That.. he felt was within his capabilities.

"I understand Faolan.. I do.. I swear I will do whatever it takes to make sure it doesn't." Despite the emotion reflected in his expression, his tone was firm. He didn't want Faolan to think he wasn't completely serious about this. He was.

Even though he could see the tears that blurred Faolan's expression, he didn't comment on them, and as much he wanted to at least give the man some sort of hug for some type of comfort he knew that it would be a bad idea to right now. Maybe they could start by getting him cleaned up. It would be less of a reminder.. of the night he had just gone through.

"Let's.. get you cleaned up okay? While I was flying around, I noticed a lake nearby. Can you stand?" He asked.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan absently nodded upon hearing Lucien's words. It took him a moment to full process them, but when he did, he made the move to stand. Still clutching the canteen, he leaned forward and steadied himself with his free hand before pushing himself to his feet. He was a little wobbly for a moment, and only vaguely aware of Lucien right in front of him. He supposed this is what shell shock might be like, or as close as he would get to it.

He made to walk, and slowly his body warmed and became accustomed to movement again. He followed Lucien, watching his head bob from side to side with each step. Occasionally, he would glance down at Lucien's torn clothing and feel a pang of guilt and anger, but it would pass quickly. The lad was limping, but he was walking at least, Faolan was sure it was merely a flesh wound. If Lucien had been any slower, or a normal human for that matter...Faolan didn't want to think about that.

Eventually, they reached the lake Lucien had mentioned. Absently, as if he was sleepwalking, Faolan dropped the canteen on the ground and began to undress again before he waded into the ice cold water. He was glad for it, it sharpened his sense and dulled the ache in his muscles. He splashed the water on his face and scrubbed his skin until it was raw and red, but clean. He would not leave the water with a speck of Lucien's blood anywhere on his body, he couldn't stand the sight of it.

[xivyxx]

Lucien forced himself to walk on his leg as they traversed through the trees. It was fully healed, so there was no need for him to lay off it. It was only the pain and discomfort that made it irritating to deal with. Still, it was something he wanted to get used to. He realized now that in not having felt any extraneous pain for well.. the majority of his life, he had become spoiled. He didn't want this to become a weakness later. Honestly.. he was still surprised it had even happened. Faolan being the.. 'thing that could get him' made no sense. There had to be more to it than that, something he wasn't considering, but he felt it was too soon for him to speak to Faolan about it, considering he was sure that he probably still felt guilty about it.

When they arrived at the lake, Lucien gave Faolan his space heading further off to the side, placing his bag at the edge, before he too began to remove his clothing. Trying to keep up with Faolan all night had been incredibly taxing, and he felt like he could use some cleaning up himself. He turned away from the man to give him his... privacy. He shuddered as he stepped into cold water, but he couldn't deny it felt good on his leg. It helped ease some of the soreness in his muscles. Once he was finished washing himself of all the dirt and blood, he left the water, dried himself off, and quickly dressed before taking a seat on the ground while he waited for Faolan to finish. In the meantime he allowed his mind to wander again, his expression becoming pensive as he thought back to how he had received his injury. Almost absentmindedly, he took out his small calendar from his bag, and marked the full moon for last night's date. He was planning to begin keeping track of the full moon dates to help Faolan keep track.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan spent a good amount of time in the cool water, rinsing his skin, his hair, washing his mouth out until he could no longer taste the blood. Halfway through this ritual, he waded back to shore and retrieved a bar of soap and jar of Pepsodent to clean himself and his teeth. Once he was done with this, he returned the items to his bag and simply floated in the water for a while. He tried to keep his mind blank, but images of the previous night continued to assault his brain, as they usually did. For a moment he was chasing a deer, then he was rubbing himself against a tree, then digging, then reaching for something that flew above his head, blood raining down on him...it was all a mess of images and sounds and smells, tastes and feelings. He hated every second of it, but over time he had begun to remember more and more. Maybe this was bad, maybe it was good, but there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Once he felt rejuvenated by the cool water, and properly iced down and relaxed, he waded back out, dried and dressed himself in fresh clothing, then sat on the bank, drawing his knees up to his chest and resting his elbows on them as he looked out across the placid lake.

He glanced briefly at Lucien, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say. He dropped his gaze and looked away again. He couldn't fathom why on earth Lucien would want to stay with him after what he had witnessed...what Faolan had done. If it were him, he would have cut and run as soon as the transformation had begun. Although he had never actually seen the transformation himself as he usually blacked out around the time it began, he could feel enough to know it must be horrifying to watch.

It occurred to him then that, although he knew vaguely what the other beast that attacked him looked like, he had never actually seen himself in that "form". It was strange, realizing this, and suddenly he wanted to know.

"Lucien," he heard himself say, quietly, as he looked at the water, "Can you...can you help me with something?"

"Yes, of course. What do you need?" As Faolan spoke, Lucien put his calendar away and grabbed his bag before rising to his feet and walking over to him, taking a seat beside him and watching him attentively.

Faolan never took his eyes off of the water, feeling, of all things, shame, as Lucien took a seat next to him on the bank. "Could you...maybe tell me what it's like? The...change?" His voice was tentative as he asked, which was unusual for him, but, then again, so was the question.

[xivyxx]

Faolan's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, causing him to close his calendar as he turned to look at him. He had planned to give him some time to himself, but it seemed things were alright now. His request made him curious, considering Faolan never really asked him for any sort of help.

His request had certainly been a little surprising. Honestly he thought that Faolan would want to completely drop the subject... but it wasn't like he didn't understand the question. He wasn't sure how aware Faolan was during all this, and if he had never talked to anyone about this before, it wasn't like he had anyone who could describe it to him. He shifted his gaze back to the water.

"It.. was.. frightening.. Not because of what you were turning into but.. the pain you go through.." He muttered, and then shook his head. That was probably not what he wanted to focus on. "Your body reforms. If I had to describe it simply.. the beast itself is a wolf-like creature that's very tall, I would say at least eight feet in height if it stands on two legs." He began shuffling through his bag, before pulling out his journal, along with a pencil. He quickly flipped through it, finding an empty page to work with. There was a part of him that wasn't sure if he actually wanted to know Faolan what he looked like in that form, he didn't really want him to feel any worse about it.. but he of all people deserved to know. He knew what it was like to have things about himself that he didn't know, and wanted to discover. He wasn't going to deny Faolan that.

"I'll just show you." He muttered, as he began to sketch on his journal. This was one of the many hobbies he had picked up back at the church. Drawing was something that gave him a little bit of peace. His journal held plenty of sketches of some of the different places they had gone to, of things he had found fascinating. This was one of the times he was very thankful for the skill. His hand glided expertly through the paper as his mind tried to envision the beast he had seen tirelessly running through the night.

"It looked like this." He said, showing Faolan his finished sketch.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan nearly flinched when he heard Lucien begin to describe the creature, and the transformation. Even after what he had seen, what Faolan had done to him, he was still more worried about Faolan's pain than his own safety. It would have baffled him if it were anyone aside from Lucien.

Some of what he described he knew already, just from the vague images he could remember and piece together from the night. Of course, the beast could look down on itself or view its reflection in a puddle, but Faolan's chances of remembering something like that were almost zero. It had been many years, and many changes, and still it had never happened. The creature was far more intent on expending every last bit of its energy, and feeding, than it was on self-discovery.

Faolan found himself comforted when Lucien took his notebook out and began to draw. There was something calming about the way his pencil moved rhythmically across the page. Faolan watched this more as a collection of lines than anything else and he found himself getting lost in it. Really, Lucien was quite good, and he looked so focused on the page. Watching his face for a moment, Faolan felt the corner of his mouth twitch into a half-smile, but it faded quickly.

After he was finished, Faolan found himself looking at the page, feeling somewhat detached from what he was seeing. Of course, it made sense, and it reminded him of the brief encounter he had had with the creature that had attacked him in the woods. It looked like he felt when he wore its skin: viscous, unrelenting, and hungry.

When he had studied it well, he nodded as if in acceptance. "Thank you." he said, then turned away and looked back out over the water.

After another pause, he felt his lips moving on their own, "So...you're staying then?" He asked, still feeling detached. At this point, he wasn't sure what he wanted the answer to be.

[xivyxx]

Once he was sure Faolan was done looking at it, he closed his journal, and then tucked it away back into his bag. It seemed he had taken it well at least.. so that was good. He was sure there was a part of him that was glad to know what exactly it was he turned into. If it was him in his position.. he'd probably want to as well.

"You're welcome.." He responded, before following Faolan's gaze back onto the water. It was relatively peaceful to look at. At the man's following question however, he looked back at him, a little surprised.

"Of course." He responded, no hesitation in his words whatsoever. There had been no moment throughout this entire ordeal that leaving had ever crossed the Frenchman's mind. He was worried about what would happen if he left Faolan alone, and honestly.. he just didn't want to leave him. Their travels together had been rather fun.. and he really enjoyed his company. More than he had ever anyone else he had spent time with growing up.

"I wouldn't have gone so far to get you to stay if I had been planning on leaving." He muttered. There was a small pause, and then Lucien smiled up at him. "You can't get rid of me that easily. At this point I think you're kind of stuck with me?" He attempted to joke, hoping to lighten the mood a little.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan felt a wild mix of emotion at Lucien's answer and following statements. Partially, he was upset to know that Lucien would stay with him despite the danger...the horror he had witnessed. Another facet of him was relieved to hear that Lucien had no intention of leaving. Despite his nearly twenty years of travelling on his own, Lucien's presence had won him over. In this moment, he honestly could not imagine what it might be like to be alone again after having a companion. The two had grown close in the short time they had been together, mostly because of Lucien's natural charm and persistence, not that Faolan had really tried to resist all that much.

If this was true though, the two would have to move forward with a strict plan in mind for how they would approach the full moon and resulting shift. Although, Faolan wasn't quite ready to discuss that yet.

For now, he simply nodded, and laid a hand on Lucien's shoulder. "Thank you," he said, making eye contact with the Frenchman once more, "You're a good friend..." It was all he could think to say. He let his gaze and his hand linger for a moment, then dropped them both and turned to the water once again.

They had a long road ahead.

[xivyxx]

Lucien's smile widened at Faolan's words. There was something about the way Faolan had placed a hand on his shoulder that stirred his feelings of happiness. "Anytime." He said brightly.

The words that he had followed with were so simple.. but they meant a lot to Lucien. He treasured their friendship deeply, and he was glad they were able to get over this hurdle together. Not having to hide anything from each other anymore.. he was sure that would be a lot more refreshing for both of them. He felt like in learning this.. he had grown closer to him. Despite how long they had been travelling, there had always been a part of him that felt a bit of a distance when it came to his errand, but now that was gone.

"I'm happy to hear that.. I consider you my best friend you know?" He said, briefly glancing down at his hands before looking back up at Faolan.

"Because I'm such a good friend, will you finally let me heal you? I know there's a limited amount of things I can do to help you but.. in terms of recovery, that's certainly what I'm best at." He said, hoping Faolan wouldn't deny him this time. Considering he never really got to see Faolan after his change, this would be his first chance to provide him with aid much sooner, to hopefully help him get over his fatigue a lot quicker.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan couldn't help but huff at Lucien's description of him as his "best friend". Although, when he thought about it he couldn't really argue, by default Lucien was Faolan's only and closest friend. He wondered vaguely if he had ever been closer with anyone...even back home, there was distance between his parents and himself, and he had no really close friends growing up. His sister Fiona was probably the only one who could come close, but there bond was different...Faolan couldn't say how exactly, but his feelings about Lucien were...different.

Before he had time to examine that any further, the Frenchman spoke up again. He looked over in Lucien's direction, specifically down at his hands, then looked away again and sighed heavily. Faolan knew from what he had seen that Lucien was drained by his healing ability, and if he was already tired it would do him no good to use it now, he would only be trading Faolan's exhaustion for his own. However, he also knew that if he refused, Lucien would simply just ask again when some time had passed, and make that face he did...To avoid both, Faolan simply shrugged and nodded. "If you insist..." he said, and held out his arm without looking in Lucien's direction.

[xivyxx]

Lucien smiled slightly at Faolan's response. Over time he had learned that if he was just a little stubborn enough, sometimes he could get Faolan to give into him when it came to things like this. He knew the Irishman didn't like asking for help so, he never wasted any time in offering it. He scooted closer to him, and placed his hands on his arms, before he began his healing process to get rid of the physical weakness and exhaustion in the man's body. He didn't deny it made him a little tired because of their long night, but he was sure it was not nearly as bad as how Faolan had felt. They continued to sit at the edge of the lake after he was finished, continuing to rest a little. The view was nice enough to provide them with a bit of relaxation, and once they were ready to go, they headed out again.

--

The nephilim had kept his promise to try to help Faolan in any way he could. He had been able to keep a detailed record of the moon phases in his calendar, and between the way the Irishman would get when the time grew near, it became a lot easier for them to keep track of it, and no incident like that ever happened again. Lucien had spent a lot of time in their travels continuing to train with Faolan, and he had also began to practice his barriers much more, whether it was simply cutting the amount of time they took to create, or learning to spread them across much larger areas. He had even learned how to reverse it so instead of keeping people out, it kept people in. He did this mostly to provide Faolan with more reassurance that he could protect himself, but despite this practice he still would not allow him to stick with him close to a full moon. It's not like he didn't understand, it was just.. his way of continuing to keep him safe. It was simply not a risk he wanted to take, and Lucien respected that, even if it meant Faolan had to be absent a lot more than he used to be.

It was because of those longer period's of absences that Lucien gained more independence. Throughout the years that followed, growth had treated Lucien well, and he now stood only four inches under the Irishman, he felt like catching up was a fruitless dream, but at least now he didn't feel as small next to him. He hadn't slacked on any of his physical training either, so by now he had gained a good amount of muscle. There were no signs of the frail looking Frenchman Faolan had met on the boat long ago. Lucien never stopped sending letters to both Father Cyril and Father Thomas, who he had been relieved to know feared well during the war. In general, it seemed Bordeaux had been spared from a lot of damage, much to his relief.

In the rest of their travels, Lucien's skills to negotiate and interact with other people had greatly increased. Finding jobs had become a lot easier, but Lucien's politeness tended to get him into a few misunderstandings with the ladies, even more so in the times the Irishman wasn't around. There were times where he was not aware that the things he said could make it seem like he was interested in them, but the Frenchman never had such intentions. Luckily it had never caused a huge problem, as they were very understanding of the fact that Lucien was simply a gentleman, and treated everyone with equal kindness and politeness, no matter the gender. Despite the amount of people that ended up expressing their interest in him in their travels, Lucien always politely declined them. Not once throughout their journey had the Frenchman considered settling down with anyone. He always enjoyed Faolan's company the most, and the thought of not travelling with him anymore was something that never even crossed his mind. With Faolan he could always be himself, and he never really had to think about the way he spoke. He could always be honest with him, no matter what. Even if the man's absences were more frequent than before, Lucien always found himself happy and relieved when he returned.

Now, the two men found themselves walking through one of the cities in Wisconsin. They had already finished working for the day, and were looking for something to pass the time. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a group of men who were coming out of a bar, enjoying themselves in song. One thing the Frenchman had learned over the years is that there were many different type's of drunk people, not just the dangerous ones the priests had told him to stay away from. Honestly he had always been curious to know what it was like. Plenty of times Lucien and Faolan had found themselves working in bars, and he had always received comments here and there about the French's love of wine. This was something he was not unfamiliar with, considering he had tasted it before back at the church, but had never completely indulged in it. This made him curious. He glanced up at the Irishman, and then back at the bar the men had come out of.

"Hey, Faolan. We're done with work for the night, and we have tomorrow off. How do you feel about a visit to the bar? I'm honestly a little curious, I've never been drunk before." He said.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan accepted the healing ad begrudgingly as he normally would, but he could not deny the results. Although, when he noticed that it was tiring Lucien out more than he was willing to cause, he let the Frenchman know that he was feeling much better, physically at least. After they had rested a little longer by the lake in placid silence, the two men set out once more on their journey.

--------------------------------------------------

Half a dozen or so years passed, and the two traveled most of the United States doing odd jobs, healing the sick and assisting the poor. The two were known as "drifters", travelling from town to town with no permanent home and offering their services wherever they were needed. In some crossroads towns, they were even known by name, and the two of them had jobs waiting whenever they would return. They faced hard winters and cruelly hot summers, and had their fair share of other hardships, but nothing they couldn't see the other side of. They did well for themselves, and even after the incident in the woods, not much changed between the two of them.

For a while, Faolan took longer and longer to come and go from the trips during the Full Moon. Thanks to Lucien's tracking and his own instincts, it was easy to make sure that they did not repeat the mistake that had nearly cost the two their friendship, but his anxieties about the possibilities never waned. Faolan knew the only way to be sure of Lucien's safety was to be positive that he would never be in a position to encounter the beast ever again. He made sure to leave at least three days in advance of the Full Moon, sometimes even a week if it made sense to do so, and return no sooner than he was able. This shortened the two's overall time together, but Lucien had gained some independence from his time alone, and Faolan was glad to see that he was able to handle himself well, even for weeks at a time.

Despite the slight strain these long partings had put on their relationship, the two quickly recovered and were back to their old ways within hours of Faolan's return. They had certainly grown closer over the years, despite Faolan's slight resistance to this. He found it hard to deny that the two of them made a good team. He found himself subconsciously caring for Lucien in small ways which he would not notice until long after the deeds had been done. Similarly, he found Lucien never to be far away when he needed something, and the Frenchman had learned to read his moods, subtle expressions, and silence better than any person ever had. He often negotiated for the pair with strangers while Faolan stood by "looking capable", as Lucien liked to call it. Overall, the two had a sense of balance and equality in their relationship that Faolan had never experienced before.

Recently, Faolan had even found himself trying to return from his monthly errands as quickly as possible. This was more instinctual than anything, and even though he was confident that Lucien would be fine on his own, it became important to him not to leave him alone for longer than was absolutely necessary.

Due to this, and Lucien's negotiation skills, the two had recently experienced a boom in the pay for their work. They had even saved enough to buy a truck with a trailer in the back, which they slept in when they were on the road. It was poor condition when they first bought it, but Faolan had managed to patch it up so it ran well, and Lucien had helped to furnish the inside so they would be comfortable. This also meant the pair had much more free time lately, as travel time was cut drastically by driving. They would use this time for recreation and training, and Faolan watched Lucien's improvement with pride. Lucien was even an accomplished fisherman now, though he had never had a knack for hunting. He had also saved up some money and purchased a violin, which he was teaching himself to play. He and Faolan had also practiced sharing their respective languages so much that each of them was now fluent in the other.

On one such weekend, just before Faolan was due to leave for the full moon, the pair had found themselves with a free day and a half. They had just finished working a shift at a bakery together and had gotten off rather early and were now walking through town back to the town house they had been boarding in.

Faolan had been enjoying the sunset and the quiet when Lucien spoke up. He glanced over at the two men and subconsciously his eyes narrowed disapproval. He huffed at Lucien's comment and shrugged, "Mm, it's not all it's cracked up to be." He assented. The men stumbled by, arm in arm, singing so boisterously that Faolan couldn't understand the lyrics through the slurring. The smell of their breath wafted over to him and he looked away, turning toward the fresh breeze.

[xivyxx]

Lucien tilted his head slightly at Faolan's comment, eyes following the two men as they walked down the street. They genuinely seemed to be having a good time, and it was clear that they were very close friends. There was a part of him that was curious as to what Faolan would be like in such a state. He couldn't really imagine Faolan singing in that manner, but the thought of it made a smile tug slightly at the corner of his lips. He would definitely be sure to ask him about it sometime.

"Well there is only one way to find out isn't there? I would like to try it. I don't mind going on my own, but it would probably be more fun if you join me." He asked, pausing for a moment before looking up at the Irishman.

"If you really end up not enjoying yourself at all, we can leave." He added, golden eyes held a twinge of excitement as he spoke.

[FreckersFrog]

Despite their loudness ruining his nice afternoon walk, Faolan couldn't help but agree that the two did seem to be in high spirits. He glanced between them and Lucien as the Frenchman made his plea, and felt himself fighting a smile as Lucien looked up at him. Faolan had found that Lucien's negotiation skills did not stop with strangers, and in fact, he used them on Faolan more often than the Irishman would like. He knew just what face to make, and what to say, to make Faolan agree to whatever plot he was hatching.

He sighed heavily as the singing men made their way around a corner behind him and Lucien and disappeared. "I suppose it couldn't hurt...we do have a free day tomorrow." He said, then shrugged as he looked back down at Lucien, "I may be a 'grump', but an Irishman would never let his friend drink alone. Lead the way, if you must." He nodded in the direction the men had come from, knowing it to be the way to the pub. Lucien was mature enough to make his own decisions, and Faolan would never feel the need to actually stop him if he wanted to do something. He would learn on his own, and make his own mistakes, but that also didn't mean Faolan had to leave him alone to do it.

[xivyxx]

Lucien's expression brightened as Faolan agreed to come, smiling widely. He had called Faolan a grump on a large variety of occasions, most of the time in a joking manner. He of all people knew the Irishman was not the best at expressing himself, so he didn't really blame him for seeming that way.

"Good to know." Lucien said a little amusingly, before quickly beginning to lead Faolan to the inside of the pub. "I'm sure it will be fun!" He exclaimed as he opened the door. Noise quickly surrounded around them because of the liveliness in the bar, but that much he was used to. He had wasted no time in heading over to two empty spots at the bar, before taking a seat with Faolan.

"What can I do for ya?" The bartender asked them.

"Red wine, please. Your choice of which." He said, figuring the bartender would know best in these situations.

"Ah, a Frenchman. I know jus' the thing." He said before turning to Faolan. "And you?" He asked.

[FreckersFrog]

"MMhhmm..." Faolan grumbled as the two made off. The walked down the street a ways and around a corner before coming to the pub. It was a small place with no name, but he had seen many a man wandering out of it at all times of the day. It was late evening on a Friday, so the place was rather full.

The two made their way to the bar and had a seat, luckily right in front of the bartender. Faolan took a moment to assess the layout, noting entrances and exits, how many people were there, how drunk they were, etcetera. Considering the time, it was rather tame and seemed perfectly safe, at least for the moment.

When the bartender turned to him, Faolan shook his head, "Nothin' fer me."

[xivyxx]

The bartender raised his eyebrows at Faolan's response. "An Irishman that doesn't drink? I thought I'd seen it all." He commented a little amusingly, before moving to get Lucien what he had asked for.

The nephilim looked up at Faolan curiously. "I'm not one to follow stereotypes, but I thought the Irish were rather fond of alcohol? Or is it simply misconception?" He asked. Honestly in all the years they had been traveling, he had never once seen Faolan drink anything aside from water and milk.

The bartender quickly returned with a glass of dark red wine, which Lucien thanked him for before turning his attention back to the Irishman, picking up the glass from the table and swirling it a bit in his glass. The smell was rather strong, but it wasn't bad. It had been a really long time since he had smelled wine. Doing so reminded him a bit of home.

[FreckersFrog]

Faolan did not react at all to the bartenders comment, he was used to this sort of thing. It was a very well-known fact that the Irish loved to drink, especially whiskey, they had invented it after all. Though the Scottish would claim differently, anyone with a decent understanding of history would know the truth. Faolan, however, had never been particularly fond of drinking, and this dislike only increased after the introduction of Lycanthropy to his everyday life. Of course, he had been drunk before, on multiple occasions, but he didn't like the way it made him feel. Given his condition, Faolan never liked anything that made him feel as though he were out of control, and this is what drinking did for its consumer. He decided it was best for him if he just stayed away from it.

But, watching Lucien take his glass of red wine and swirl it brought a rare smirk to his lips. He looked away and chuckled quietly to himself, then looked back to the Frenchman and said, "Well, we can't all live up to our stereotypes, Mr. Red Wine." He was quite proud of this response, to the smirk stayed on his lips much longer than he would normally allow.