jigokulogs | ( open ) you doing anything to keep her by your side

Of course not!!

[ wow, he's fired up... and kinda noisy; a few fellow bar patrons glance their way. biting back any embarrassment at announcing this, he taps his mug against the table in a way that's supposed to be meaningful or something. ]

I'm aware it's a stupid skill not to have... [ especially for like. a dude that's supposed to lead on boats. ] I'm gonna conquer it!

[ wow, isn't he loud. he's clearly hiding something if he's trying to brush it off with his own bravado. eula orders another glass while she's at it. ]

Of course you will. Since you sound that excited, I shall sign you up to a swimming course first thing tomorrow. I might even find it in me to help you.

[ she's joking, clearly. ]

[ the joking tone helps. running a hand through his hair, barton then folds his arms over his chest. ]

Ah! Back home, you'd have a lotta guts, poking fun at a commander.

[ he's not there, though, is he. he's aware. it may not be the most graceful of attempted topic shifts, but he'd rather it than this one -- ]

But you're supposed to be a scout back home or something, right?

[ luckily, she doesn't notice the clumsy topic change with how inebriated she's starting to become. she huffs out a short laugh. ]

Not just a scout. Captain of the Knights of Favonius' Reconnaissance Company.

And you, for the record, are not the boss of me. I'm free to say whatever I want.

[ saying that as her third glass arrives, taking another sip from it... uh oh. ]

Oh?? This is news.

[ welcome to his own dose of dry humor, eula. while he doesn't bother to try to peruse the menu this time, included in their all-you-can drink special or not - barton proceeds to order a shot of rum for himself. seems like he's gotten bored of beer... ]

[ while he doesn't uncross his arms, he does look a touch more amused. ]

So you're a Captain and a Knight--? No clue how knightly rankings work, that sounds pretty old-fashioned. [ a tipsy explanation, please. ]

[ does she have to explain knight titles of all things while she's on her way to getting drunk?? barton???

but it's. whatever. fine! fine, she'll do it. drunk history, let's fucking go. ]

Knight Captains serve under the Grand Master of the Ordo Favonius. But despite us being called the Knights, none of us were knighted by any royalty since we've gone away with a form of government as per the Anemo Archon's request and it is more of a title we earned from the noble duties we assume...

[ is that right? yeah, sounds about right. ]

Edited 2022-07-14 14:21 (UTC)

[ yeah! fuck em royals! and his grin probably said as much, even if it's only brief before barton pounds his shot back. he stares at her a moment, listening, even if the finer points of those titles are lost on him with being a few beers deep. ]

[ he sounds incredulous, ]

Noble duties? Really? You do more than scoff and spit on peasants.

[ huh??? where did the sudden hostility come from? no, maybe she explained it wrong— ]

Don't jump to conclusions. The Knights of Favonius was established after the aristocracy was overthrown, in the hopes that they'll never have to go through such dark times with the Lawrence clan. When I said noble duties I meant our obligations as knights, you dolt.

[ but why is she getting so heated too... perhaps it's the mention of her family name that she hasn't uttered a word to after all this time. ]

[ it's barton's turn to scoff. he leans back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head. trying to absorb as much as he can, particularly names (he can't try to feign sobriety in that instance), is a tall ask. but the lawrence clan, huh? sounds like bad news. ]

You offended by that—?

[ at least she's made it more than evident that her heatedness is due to confusing her duties with that of nobility; that's plenty to be insulted over. he taps his empty shot glass against the table. ]

Good! Most of 'em are all real pieces of work.

[ a hollow pit starts to form at the bottom of eula's stomach when barton puts it like that. the slip of the tongue regarding the lawrence clan is a huge blunder on her part, but it's too late to turn back — like how she's already been disowned by the clan itself, really. it doesn't matter what he thinks of the nobility in general, right? she agrees with the sentiment, in fact.

and yet curiosity gets the better of her, as she rests her cheek on the palm of her hand and tries her very best to focus her gaze on him. ]

Didn't think you have such strong feelings towards the aristocracy too.

Edited 2022-07-14 17:43 (UTC)

Oh, yeah!

[ -- but certainly not as personally intense as any that eula may harbor, unbeknownst to barton. he lifts two fingers this time to hail for two shots. the topic is something he's enthusiastic to allegedly agree on, what with the askew grin and how his voice has lifted in volume. ]

There's this city - Lumopolis. Full 'a buncha nobles that talk 'bout the purity of bloodlines, crap like that... [ he waves a hand. ] Ah, it's 'bout high time they're knocked off their high horse. If if it were up to me, we'd have steamrolled 'em by now!

[ oh jeez, doesn't that sound familiar. the lawrence clan too would think that they're too good for the common folk at mondstadt, yet they still wish to exact vengeance on the city of freedom and take it back for themselves once more in the present day. ]

...They're all the same.

[ she's going to steal the other shot when it arrives at the table, knocking it back in one go. ahh, that one hit different this time. must be the spite she's feeling right now. ]

What's stopping you from eliminating them completely, then?

[ sniped! barton does let out a little hey! as it disappears, though there's plenty where that came from. he picks up his full shot glass. propping an elbow to the table, he leans forward conspiratorially, in a can you believe this shit kind of way. ]

Because the Committee and the Grand Marshal would have my head over it.

[ replied with a slight slur to his words. while he makes no secret of those ambitions, he probably shouldn't be sharing this much - he's banking on the presumption there aren't any other aurorians to hear, and it's not as if eula has a stake in this. ]

Ah, it's not something I could pull off with the Second Legion alone... Not enough man or fire power! And I wouldn't wanna pull my troops into a war we don't have authorization for, besides.

[ it's true that eula doesn't have a stake in it, considering how her noble family kicked her out a long time ago, but... wow. he doesn't seem to have a personal vendetta against the aristocracy, but he's still willing to go to war with them if the higher-ups would let him. that's almost terrifying to think about.

well, that's fine. she'll have to one-up him in that department. ]

You don't have to bring an army. Be more discreet and take them down on your own if they make you that angry. [ her hold around the shotglass tightens. ] I'll show them. I'll end the Lawrence clan with my own hands if I have to. They're on the very top of my list of grievances, after all. I'll...

[ her head nods a little. ah, she's starting to ramble there. ]

[ barton tips his shot back. should he order another one...? well, he has yet to succeed in getting the attention of their server. they actually look like they're going to fetch some waters for the table instead. ]

Ahaha! The only way I'm infiltrating is after I've dropped a missile on its dome.

[ -- lumopolis has the power of god and anime on its side, unfortunately. barton clacks his shot glass back to the table, peering at eula as she begins to rattle off her intentions. ]

With that kinda determination - yeah, you will! [ -- cheering this with a closed fist and all. though he also does sort of - laugh again. sorry, eula, it might be the flush to her cheeks, or that wandering declaration. while that definitely sounds scary - ] You don't look that intimidating though, right now.

[ if she were more sober she would've cringed at the idea of nukes being dropped at buildings. but nope, she's starting to tap out already. this still isn't enough though, she should order another glass at this rate--

but instead all she can make out is a glass of water that's been wordlessly delivered to them. hold on, let her drink that for a bit... ]

Didn't ask for your opinion on that. [ she's totally intimidating! look at her leer at your direction, barton, red cheeks and all. ] I may look like this now, but tomorrow... Tomorrow.

[ do they still have work tomorrow. please don't remind her. ]

Yeahh! Tomorrow's gonna be waaaay worse. [ he raises his glass of water to that point. ] But - but don't think 'bout that.

[ thankfully, past barton did at least ensure he didn't have any morning patrols. and the moment the server's snuck them some water, he doesn't have an issue ordering... whatever he'd had before. is there such a thing as being overserved in hell? ]

Ah, it's a good thing you can have it anyway, huh!

[ not to worry. he is always Ready to give an opinion. ]

[ too late, she's already thinking!! kind of. she's actually one of those annoying ass morning persons who'd sign up for morning duty since she's so used to them back home, but maybe she shouldn't have gotten one scheduled for tomorrow if she's gonna get this drunk...

oh well! she is a citizen of mondstadt, and they all... are kinda like this. so she places an order for a glass of lemon shochu for something completely different. and when it arrives, she swirls the glass around a little before bottoms up. ]

...Thanks, though. For going out with me today. I always end up drinking alone, so...

[ her voice is inaudible and possibly even unintelligible? but she may as well say it now before her drunkenness will make her forget. ]

[ barton basically has to lean over the table to hear, nearly knocking aside one of his empty glasses, and still fails to catch the first part. it takes him a moment to piece that together, processing - ]

Eula. You gotta speak up...

[ he'll pause on slamming back another shot; he can't be sure of context, but drinking alone? that tends to be pretty discouraged in illumina. and so, with enough volume to spare, ]

Why the fuck does that happen?

Edited 2022-07-16 03:06 (UTC)

[ she's not LIKE YOU, barton. but maybe that's why he's never experienced drinking alone, huh. she flushes a tad more than usual when he tries to get closer to hear though, and promptly cants her head aside. ]

Because they'd... they'd usually make me leave. I'm lucky if I manage to sit down without anyone breathing down my neck.

[ not in hell, though, which is a refreshing change of pace for her. she takes another sip of her shochu and shakes her head. ]

Everyone here's been nice, to me. Something I'm not entirely used to. Especially you. So... thanks. [ she can't help but let out a small burp here, but. that's normal. ]

[ barton gawks, dumbfoundedly, for a solid moment - did he really hear that right? drink abandoned, he's scooted his chair over to eula's side, nearing enough to place an arm over the back of her seat. ]

Huh? What's wrong with people?

[ he doesn't understand, so his immediate reaction is that it's infuriating to hear - it sets his blood boiling. he doesn't even register the gratitude; what the heck is there to thank him over? treating her with basic decency? he punches a fist into the air, and his stare towards her turns almost beseeching. ]

I'll beat the crap outta 'em for that—!

Huh...?

[ wait, why did he move seats? as if eula's not red enough on the face as it is, but it's not as though she has it in her to make him go back. oh well, she'll have to improvise and steal barton's other shot as an convenient excuse. bottoms up again! ]

You don't have to... I can do it by myself.

[ the road to vengeance is lonely and unforgiving. the guy can probably handle it, but this is a battle that she should only face on her own. the last thing she wants is to bring other people down with her, and besides, if he ever finds out that she has noble blood--

but ah, that final shot must've been too much for her, and she wobbles in her seat a little before falling sideways and resting her head on barton's shoulder to close her eyes for a bit. she's fine, she's had too much as usual, shut up. ]

I could do it with you..!!

[ almost whined; this is, in fact, not true, but the alcohol has him believing the sentiment behind it to be enough. eula's head plops against him, and barton slips his arm over her shoulder to steady her in place. he's quiet a moment - he even, remarkably, stills. she looks pretty... peaceable there, and he doesn't want to - ]

[ unfortunately, the server takes this as a cue to slide their bill to the table. barton reaches for it. ]

Unbelievable...! [ what's unbelievable, exactly? is he still annoyedly muttering about how people have treated eula? is it the fact that he's realized all those shots he ordered weren't, in fact, included in their all-you-can-drink special? hard to say! barton slaps some cash onto it - probably too much, but he's in no state to do math right now. ]

[ he gives eula a gentle squeeze to her shoulder. ]

C'mon. Wanna get outta here?

[ nope, those other drinks weren't included in the promo, including eula's lemon shochu. should've told him that from the beginning.

eula isn't paying too much attention at what he's saying at first. do what with her? she doesn't know. and even if she does know, she doesn't want him to. he's probably just running his mouth like he usually does.

still, though. everything feels hot all over, from the drinks she'd consumed to the arm comfortably wrapped around her shoulders. who knew he's capable of being gentle either? but as much as she wants to stay here a bit just to rest, it'd be better to call it a night for now. she lets out a small hum of agreement.

without opening her eyes, her hands clumsily fumble around her purse, and she nudges a set of keys at barton's side. she rented a car just to get used to its controls after getting her license, but it's pretty funny how barton still ends up being her driver anyway. ]

[ and barton accepts automatically. with a jangle of metal, he dangles the keys in front of his face - like he needs to figure out what the set matches to. she'd drove here? he'd taken a taxi, and they could very well, probably, return in a taxi. no doubt most public transport has shut down for the night. ]

[ so nah. he's still got his shit together enough that he can do this, obviously, and not a youkai here is going to stop him, either - this is hell, after all. he finds he's not particularly eager to part from eula, slipping that arm around her waist. it's time for them to stumble for the car. barton forgets there's an automatic unlock button, instead clumsily scraping it into the keyhole to manually unlock it. ]

[ leaning heavily on it, he can at least hold open the door for eula to clamber into the passenger seat. ]

( open ) you doing anything to keep her by your side

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