bad decisions make for great stories

Keen gaze tracked the ever melting tension as it left her shoulders, and when she lightly beat her tail against the ground he did the same unconsciously. The fae admitted that she'd gotten caught in the brewing storm while out exploring the region. He hummed in understanding, bobbing his head lightly. He uncorked the bottle and spat the cork into the corner where he'd gotten the bottle from, to retrieve later when he needed it. He was finishing this bottle, no question. She made an observation of her own, that the cold wasn't really an issue for him. He chuckled lightly, gaze drifting towards the entrance unconsciously. "I grew up in the northern reaches of my homeland, as did my mother and father before me. Can't handle the warm weather for long." he admitted with a small shrug, crimson gaze returning to the dun coloured fae again. She introduced herself, and he dipped his chin in the polite greeting that had been ingrained into his brain after all of these years. "Deion Aeris. Pleasure to meet you, Jack O'Malley." he rumbled, flashing his teeth in a little grin again.

Before the silence could grow too large, she spoke up again. This time, the query rang genuine. He snorted, unable to hide the very real smile that pulled at his dark lips. Charcoal tongue slipped from his maw and swept over his whiskers bashfully. "Trying my hand at the craft," the titan began, taking another pull from the bottle between his paws. "got sick of trading an arm and a left testicle for the good stuff every few weeks. I'm just trying to get drunk by myself, anyways. Don't need the good stuff for that." the admission was joined by a rumbling laugh for just a few moments, before he quieted down again and took another drink. Fuck, he hadn't spoken this much in... months. At least. Already he could feel the hoarseness rattling in his chest and grating his throat. At least the mead dulled it, more and more with each drink.

"Only tastes like shit for the first half of the bottle, then it doesn't matter. Right?" the cosmic male flashed her a quick wink and took another drink for emphasis.