Coye 5.10 (Patreon)

Chapter 10 - Britni’s Party Time

Tonight, Britni drank to celebrate a tremendous achievement- five nights of binge drinking in a row. She moved on from drinking because of Coye and was now drinking for more personal reasons. That said, it was starting to grow old, and Britni was becoming tired of her bender. This was her last hurrah until her next cycle began anew.

She didn't want to fuss around with any other bars, so Britni returned to the Stone Cold Tavern. If only she had known that there'd be a party when she arrived, Britni would've worn something more fit for dancing instead of her gray virgin-killer sweater, black tights, and furry brown boots. Her favorite bar was more packed than it had been in a long time, and for a good reason.

Tonight, Brick's establishment was hosting some famous bard whose name Britni already forgot halfway through his first act.

Musicians were among her greatest soft spots, owing to her love for dear uncle Bjarte. After the business with her mother and what that did to her grandfather, Bjarte was all Britni had. He looked after her when no one else did, and he'd repeatedly proven that he was the only one in all the Realms she could genuinely trust.

Bjarte would always sing such beautiful songs and recite the epic Midgardian sagas of old to Britni as she was growing up, and the sweet sound of her uncle’s voice was the only thing that got her through her years of training.

The clown on stage didn't hold a candle to the talent Bjarte possessed, blessed by Bragi as he was, but this Vico D'Gallo character was entertaining enough. He was a young roguish, handsome, goateed man with olive skin and dark black hair, which he wore in a ponytail. He wore expensive, patterned silks, pointed shoes, and multiple extravagant sashes across his waist, a fancy cloak billowing behind him wherever he walked.

From his flashy outfit to the numerous pieces of jewelry he wore seemingly everywhere, everything about this man screamed 'loud' save for his silvery voice, which proved even softer than the silks Vico paraded around in.

As the night stretched on, Britni conceded that Vico D'Gallo was more interesting than she initially gave him credit for. The skill with which he played his instruments was comparable to his beautiful voice. At any given time, the bard had an ivory instrument beset with a green-glowing jewel in his hands. Whenever that jewel burned brightest, it would transform into whatever music-making tool he desired.

This allowed Vico to serve as a one-man orchestra that specialized in bawdy ballads, saucy sonnets, and lewd limericks- each sounding more beautiful and, at times, even haunting than they deserved. He had to be doing something right, as Britni had never seen anywhere in Cransmere so full of life and merriment as the Stone Cold Tavern was during its magical evening with Vico D'Gallo.

Shame she had no one to share it with.

Marlie was sick and tired of babysitting her drunk ass, while Tiph had roped Coco into going off and gathering ingredients with her, and they didn't plan on returning until tomorrow. They didn't know what they were missing out on, as the excellent music and the many drinks combined put Britni in a happier, friendlier state of drunkenness than usual.

Instead of sitting up at the bar and acting pissy, Britni was all over the place. She would drift from table to table, inserting herself into conversations, telling jokes, and buying random strangers rounds with her stuffed purse full of gold. Everyone loved her, and this friendlier version of Britni had many friends and was the life of any party she appeared at.

As the night wore on, Vico took a break from his concert, and the energy in the bar calmed. Everyone was in a pleasant buzz, waiting for the Maestro to resume his magic, but Britni noticed something as she left her current table of strangers to find her next group of unsuspecting friends. The bard himself was harassing a young girl tucked away in a corner booth, isolated from everyone else.

Britni couldn't believe it. What was with this place and all of the sexual harassment it kept attracting? She'd ignored the last incident but wasn't in as good of a mood then. Britni was feeling great tonight, and she wanted to help. That poor girl tried her best to ignore Vico, who leaned on her table with a seedy smile oozing with either slime or pure charisma, depending on who you asked. He was slinking closer, almost inviting himself onto the seat beside the girl.

"My dear, it must be said that you have the most beautiful eyes in all of Karnalle. As if glimmering dewdrops were fashioned into shimmering sapphires," Vico whispered, his silken voice singing even as he spoke plainly. "I only wish I had some gift to give that matched your charms, but I'm afraid there's no such gift in all the Realms. Instead, I must offer what I have."

The showman reached behind the girl's pointy ear and, through some clever sleight-of-hand, manifested a red rose out of his puffy sleeve. He held it beneath the nose of the girl for her to smell before remarking, "Wait a moment, something's not quite right here..." and then tossed the rose into the air, clapping his hands against it.

After another trick, Vico swapped the rose with one from his opposite sleeve. The new rose was a more fitting shade of blue that better matched the girl's eyes. She smiled awkwardly, shifting around her seat and scratching the back of her head. For whatever reason, she couldn't tell him off, even though she looked like she wanted to be anywhere else.

Vico pinned the rose behind her ear and asked in a seductive whisper, "Do you have any plans for after my show, my dear? If not, I have a room with the fanciest inn in town..."

"O-Oh, Gods..." the poor thing was sweating and stumbling with her words. She took the rose from her ear and tried to hand it back toward him. "I... I don't- you should, um, really know that I'm a-"

Britni arrived just in time. She raised her foot and brought it crashing onto the table, startling the bard amid his pickup attempt. "Fuck off, creep. She's, like, super not interested."

Vico had surprisingly fast reflexes. He put distance between himself and the violent woman who'd just arrived, and in that same short span of time, Vico had already weighed Britni's level of hotness versus her level of danger. Vico was an expert in sensing these things, though he didn't always pursue what his common sense told him to do.

When it came to girls like Britni, though, Vico always listened. This one was trouble- more than he could ever hope to handle. A shame. She really was a beauty, too.

Vico threw his hands up, still smiling as he said, "Is that so? My, my! I must not have noticed. An honest mistake- some people tell me I'm much too persistent for my own good and that I rush straight ahead like a blinded bull, yes?"

Britni noticed his fast moves and sharp intuition, but he didn't strike her as a fighter. More like someone with years of experience slipping in and out of trouble despite the odds somehow always being stacked against him.

"You're lucky I like bards," Britni leaned across the table and cracked her knuckles. "Because I'm gonna give you one chance to apologize before I fuck your hands up so hard that even the best healer in Karnalle won't be able to fix them!"

He seemed to shrink at that, but it was hard to tell whether it was just a performance to appear more defenseless or if he really was just that pathetic. "I truly am sorry," Vico insisted. "Had I only known this young lady was here with friends, I would never have..."

"Did you realize how much worse that sounded?" Britni raised an eyebrow.

"...Quite. Tragic though it might be, my wit is often unable to match pace with the agility of my lips." Vico smiled, a nervous bead of sweat dripping down his greasy brow.

"Y-You're still not listening to me," the girl was fidgeting back and forth, the frown on her face growing more frazzled and adorable. "I've been trying to say that-"

Wait a second.

"...Coye?" Britni blinked, the fuzziness from all her drinking clearing up enough for her to recognize that her favorite little femboy was the girl and that some sleazy dude was hitting on him.

"H-Hey, Britni..." he finally looked up at her and smiled, nervous but relieved to see a familiar face.

Coye knew Britni was here the entire time. It was hard to miss her going all around the bar chatting up strangers as she kept drinking. He might've even worked up the courage to try and talk to her if he hadn't spent the whole day in front of Suzette's store wearing that slutty outfit Shayla cooked up. After all that humiliation, Coye wanted to be left alone.

He expected Britni would harass him like she always did whenever drunk, getting touchy-feely or aggressive. Coye didn't expect her to be as friendly as she was. Britni removed her leg from the table, sat beside him, and hugged the boy.

"Oh my gods! You, like, totally should've told me you were gonna be here!" Britni nuzzled her cheek against the softness of his hair, enjoying the way it felt. He should wear that stupid hat of his less often, Britni thought. It was so soft! "Move over. I'm hanging with you from now on, loser!"

Coye blushed heavily as he was thrust into the dead center of that sexy gray sweater she was wearing, which showed gratuitous amounts of sideboob. He didn't know how to react, the same as ever. Britni was like a bear. Some people would tell you to lay down and play dead, while others insisted you stand up to it and try to scare it off. Sadly, neither tactic worked with Britni, and she'd only stop giving him attention when she grew bored.

She was even more unpredictable when drunk, so Coye avoided her whenever she was in her cups. This playfulness threw him off, though, and he thought maybe this wouldn't be so bad? Still, it was better to err on the side of caution.

"Britni, I don't think that would be a very good-" she didn't let him finish his protest. Britni lifted the boy by the collar of his tunic and forcefully scooted him further down the booth so she could plop beside him. As soon as she was there, Britni smiled and wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

"What the fuck do you know about good ideas?" Britni laughed, though it didn't come off as mean-spirited as it usually did.

During the brief moment when Britni had lifted him up, Vico caught sight of what was beneath Coye's shirt and blinked in disbelief. Though no stranger to the beauty of elves, Vico believed himself an expert in telling apart the sexes. The bard laughed at how stupid he'd been.

"Oh, such a fool I am! You should've just said you were a man in the first place, you know. I have my moments, but I'm not in the mood for experimentation tonight and would've left you be." Vico relaxed his threatened posture, casually leaning against the booth now.

"Spoken up? This little guy? He's, like, way too shy for that!" Britni smirked, continuing to nuzzle her face against Coye's. Vico noticed the boy looked as if he didn't understand what was happening to him and couldn't help but smile.

"I-It's not like that. I was trying to tell you," Coye mumbled as his possessive bully continued to rub on him. "But I'm a huge fan of yours, and I was just excited you were even talking to me..." he managed to make eye contact with Vico for the first time, bringing a blush to the bard's face the moment he met Coye's sparkling blue eyes.

It was no wonder he'd mistook her for a girl. Vico was convinced this boy was more beautiful than half the elves he'd ever slept with, which was saying something. Smiling only made it worse, posing questions to the bard that Vico was uncomfortable answering.

Vico coughed into his fist and turned up his smile once his nerves were calmed. "Is that so? Well, thank you. I'm honored to have a fan like you in such a dark and dreary town as this. At least let me buy the both of you a round for all the trouble. What are you drinking?"

"What aren't I drinking?" Britni giggled, slamming down a bottle of beer she'd pilfered from another table.

"Quite so," Vico looked to Coye. "And you?"

"You really don't have to, but... I'll take another glass of raspberry bloom..." Coye said as he looked at his half-emptied glass of wine.

He found it funny that Vico was so nice even after the misunderstanding and Britni's threat. As he often did when nervous, Coye played with his hair until his fingertips brushed against the rose he'd forgotten about. Plucking it, he offered the flower back to the bard with a kind smile to show he didn't hold anything against Vico.

"Here's this, by the way. Better luck with the next girl."

Vico raised an amused eyebrow at the boy. "Beauty is beauty regardless of gender. I stand by what I said: you're charming beyond compare, and that flower was a gift to appreciate the honor of looking upon you. I-"

He thought Britni was no longer any threat to him, but the more Vico showered praise and called Coye beautiful, the more that dangerous woman looked like she was on the verge of murdering him. As a purveyor of the arts and a teller of tales both romantic and bawdy alike, Vico D'Gallo understood the signs.

A storm was brewing between these two, and it was only a matter of time before lightning struck.

"On second thought... If you don't want it, why don't you make a gift of that rose? Surely that charming companion of yours would make better use of it than either of us could, don't you think?" Vico led Coye's attention straight to Britni, pointing at her with a ringed finger and smiling as smooth as silk.

"Uh..." Coye stared at Britni while twiddling the rose in his hand. His heart started beating fast when she looked at him with an expectant, smug smile.

Britni found it hard to stay mad at Vico for flirting with her Coye, not after giving her this prime opportunity to tease. "He's got a point, loser! That rose totally matches my outfit. Come on! Pin it in my hair already!"

Britni tilted her head at him, and Coye found it more difficult to keep composure. She was waiting and was damn cute about it all of a sudden. If only she was always like this, Coye thought. He took the rose and awkwardly tucked it behind Britni's ear where it belonged.

She was blushing at how close he was, but the sheer amount of alcohol in Britni's system kept her from acting out. Once the rose was nicely pinned, she smiled brightly and laughed at how cute his nervousness was. Britni had to tease him even harder, she realized.

"Well? Don't hold back, Coye! How do I look? Am I the most beautiful bitch you've ever seen, or what?"

Coye gulped. This felt like another one of those trick questions of hers that had no correct answer. He looked to Vico for guidance, and the bard nodded subtly.

He couldn't tell her exactly what she wanted to hear because of his three girlfriends, but he said something nearly as good. "Y-Yeah, you look gorgeous, Britni..."

Britni looked at him with opened, startled eyes, and for a moment, he feared for his life. Coye's concern over whether or not he said the right thing faded away as soon as Britni pulled him in for another hug and reintroduced him to her sweater puppies.

"Oh, stop! You're such a fucking tease, you little manslut. I know I'm pretty. I don't need to hear that coming from you!" Britni exclaimed, sounding ecstatic to hear that coming from him. If only Coye could see her face, he would've known she was smiling as wide as possible. At least his current point of view wasn't too bad, either.

Vico D'Gallo had seen enough. He was excited to find out whatever fate had in store for these two. It was a rare discovery to find two souls tightly bound together who somehow remained ignorant of that fact. There was always a chance he was wrong, and nothing would ever happen with them, but Vico trusted his instincts for theatrics.

The bard grinned, imagining what might become of them by the next time he rolled into Cransmere. Perhaps he'd write a song about Coye and Britni, or perhaps not. That was for them to figure out.

Whatever the case, Vico had better things to do than stand around all night watching these to flirt without getting any action himself. He took a bow and plucked a few melodic strings on his lute, announcing, "I hope the two of you enjoy a magical night together, but alas, I'm needed elsewhere. There are skirts to chase, and I've eventually got to get back on stage sooner or later. Wish me luck."

"You don't need it," Britni laughed him off. "You're a pretty good musician... you know, for a sleazebag."

Coye waved and smiled at the bard innocently, "Good luck. Maybe next time, try flipping the skirts before chasing them?"

"A revolutionary idea, but alas. I've woken up behind bars enough for one lifetime and have little desire to earn myself yet another invitation to the local dungeon." Vico japed one last time before departing. "Fare thee well!"

One of the tavern waitresses dropped off their drinks soon after, but after that, they were utterly alone. Britni wasn't interested in getting back up and partying anymore, while Coye was stuck with her. He thought things were uncomfortable when chatting with Marley the other day, but this was something else. Shayla wasn't even around to help him, either, and Coye genuinely didn't know what to do with Britni when she acted so differently.

Would Britni even remember any of this the next day? If so, would she be right back to normal and resume her bullying? That almost made Coye think he should get out of there before making it worse for himself in the future.

The only thing stopping him from leaving was that Britni was so damn cute and friendly toward him. Things were so tense between them the day the Baddest Bitches got back from their quest, and aside from their brief encounter the following day, Coye hadn't seen Britni since. He'd honestly been dreading it, not out of regret for what he said and did but because of how unpredictable Britni proved.

Case in point, she reached down and suddenly started holding his hand beneath the table. He almost jumped in his seat, her touch giving him a static electricity shock, bringing to mind how she unintentionally zapped him the other day. Coye gulped and forced that memory down- it would only lead him into trouble.

"Soooo..." Britni chugged her latest drink and slammed it on the table. "How come you're all alone tonight, huh? I thought you were hot shit now and had a bunch of sex friends. Can't even get them to go on a date with you, loser?"

"They're not sex friends," Coye frowned. "I'm going out with them."

"Right," Britni dismissed the notion, not wanting to think about it for too long. "Why aren't they here, then?"

"Everyone was busy tonight, and I still wanted to see Vico. It's not like I mind doing things alone, you know. I've always kept to myself."

"Whatever you say," Britni smirked. It made her feel superior to all the other bitches in his life, knowing she was here with him and they weren't. "I get it. My friends ditched me, too. Marlie tore a new hole in me earlier about sobering up, and Tiph and Coco fucked off together to gather potion shit. Stupid sluts! Sometimes I think I'm better off without them." She insisted, although something about how she slurred her speech and furrowed her brow didn't strike Coye as convincing. Britni was upset no one was with her tonight, which probably had something to do with all the table hopping.

"Been drinking a lot lately?" Coye sipped from his wine with a frown on his face. He kept remembering what Coco had said about how Britni had been feeling worse lately.

"Maybe a little more than usual. Why? Are you gonna get on my case, too? I'd like to see you try!" The bully laughed and stuck her tongue out at him. Beneath the table, her hand squeezed his tighter.

Blushing, Coye looked away. "I'm not gonna get on your case. I-I just think you should take better care of yourself. Coco is-" he stopped midsentence, remembering that Coco wanted to keep it a secret they saw each other.

Coye hoped he hadn't just slipped up too hard, but unfortunately, he'd already earned the drunk's attention. Britni stared at him in silence for a moment before raising a brow. "What the fuck does Coco have to do with anything?"

"Um, I..." Coye tried his best not to shrink before Britni's icy glare. He was just thankful she wasn't breaking out the lightning so fast this time around. Grasping at mental straws, he conjured up a good lie that Shayla would've been proud of.

"I was coming back from a quest the other day, and I ran into her on the way to the Guild. We didn't talk much, but she did say she was worried about you. That's all." She also employed some rather unsavory things about her relationship with Britni, but Coye wasn't going to touch that now of all times.

Britni kept staring him down for a moment, measuring his words. Then, she smiled. "Isn't that adorable? I have the cutest little puppy- hand to Odin! You know she doesn't know what she's talking about most of the time, though. Right? I'm totally fine. I was gonna sober up tomorrow, anyway."

Coye didn't appreciate how dismissive she was about Coco's feelings, but at least Britni was planning on getting better. "You really mean that?"

"I'll go back to my normal level of sobriety, I mean. That's a pretty big step up if you ask me." Britni shrugged.

"Guess that'll do..."

"Why? Don't tell me you're worried about me, too? I would be, like, so flattered... you little brat." Britni snorted at the tail end of her sentence, and soon Coye felt her hand leaving his only so it could wrap around his waist. Coye realized they'd assume they were a couple if anyone saw them.

"I'm also worried, yeah," he took another sip of his wine and then pushed it away. "But I think Coco cares a lot more than you think. She's upset. You should talk to her or something."

Britni looked at him with suspicion, then leaned close to his face. "Yeah? And why do you suddenly care so much about Coco's feelings, huh? Are you trying to steal my pet from me? Is that it?"

Changing his mind, Coye took back his glass and drank the rest of his wine all at once. "Of course not!" He insisted.

"Good. Because if you were trying to add Coco to that little harem of yours..." Britni stared him down, a flash of electricity sparking in her eyes as her grip on Coye's shoulder tightened. "Let's just say I don't think you'd enjoy finding out what I'd do to you, Coye. Even masochistic pervs like you have a breaking point, you know."

There was an awkward silence following her sudden threat. It was only broken once Britni started laughing at him and patting his back. "Oh, come on. That was obviously a joke! Lighten up, silly."

"It's tough to tell with you," Coye sighed. "I can never guess whether you're about to rough me up or laugh in my face..."

"I know, aren't I fun?" She smirked, enjoying the increasing nervousness on his face. "Anyway, did my little puppy bark anything else at you? Anything I should know, perhaps...?"

"No," Coye lied. "You know how she is with me. She mostly just growled and tried to start a fight."

"Good girl," Britni praised her pet and smiled at the thought of Coco. Though she was only teasing him, Britni was relieved his eyes weren't actually on Coco. It wasn't time for that- not yet.

Coye felt dissatisfied. He wished he could've dug in more and tried to hear Britni's side of the story regarding her relationship with Coco, but she was in a great mood, and he didn't want to invoke her wrath. Regardless of how drunk she was, Britni would notice something was off if he pushed her on the subject.

That left the conversation at another low point, and he didn't know how to proceed. "So... were you going to go back and party more soon, or-"

"Are you seriously trying to get rid of me already? Lame! And here I thought you wanted to hang out with me. Isn't that what you said the other day?" Britni let go of him and put her elbow on the table, smiling seductively as the tip of her fingernail reached out and stroked his chin.

Coye was left breathless. This was usually something Tiph would do-Britni never had it in her to be so outright flirty. It took him off guard, but he forced himself to respond.

"I-I'm not trying to get rid of you. I just... It's like I just said. I can never tell what you want from me."

"Oh?" She continued grinning at the boy. "So you want to know what I want from you?"

"Well, yeah. If it's not too much to ask?" Coye said though he expected nothing of substance in return. If Britni was going to openly revealed her secrets while drunk, it surely would've happened by now.

Instead, Britni surprised him by being honest for once. "What I want is simple, loser. You're here, I'm here, and none of our respective friends or girlfriends are here. I want you to hang out and party with me!" While Coye struggled with that mental image, Britni hailed the waitress and ordered another round.

The idea of partying left Coye utterly baffled. "Uh. By partying, do you mean, like... get super drunk with you, or what?"

"Hell yeah! Ditch this booth, talk to people, dance with me, fun shit like that! Be a man!" Britni laughed as she said the last bit, and Coye could feel a warmth behind her words that he wasn't used to hearing. Instead of all the mean-spirited times when she'd told him the same thing, Britni came off like she was trying to motivate him and wanted him to be better than he was.

"I... don't know about all that..." He laughed awkwardly. "I've never been, like, actually drunk before. Not to mention I'd feel like I was encouraging you to drink more."

That soured Britni, and she looked annoyed. "How many times do I have to tell you before it sticks? I don't need you of all people worrying about me! I've been through more shit than you could ever fucking believe, Coye. Just because you saw me slip up once doesn't mean a thing, damn it."

"About that," Coye saw a chance to prod the topic that Shayla pointed out was suspicious. "What's this slip-up you're talking about?"

Britni stared back before smiling. "Now you're getting it!"

"No, I really don't remember..."

"Alright, alright. You're hilarious, Coye. More importantly, have you made up your mind yet? I'm gonna get even more shitfaced with or without you, and whether or not I find some other dude to party with is your call, loser." Britni was hoping her empty threat to find another man would get a rise out of him, but she wasn't expecting Coye to react as visibly as he did.

For whatever reason, the idea of Britni partying with someone else didn't sit well with Coye. He didn't have anything more than a simple crush on Britni because of his submissive interests, but it still upset him more than he would've liked to admit. He blamed his petty jealousy on the alcohol and tried to ignore it, which only made him look grumpy in an adorable way.

Seeing she had a chance to drive it home harder, Britni traced her finger down from his chin to the middle of his chest and grinned wide. "Well? What's it going to be? Are you going to be a man and hang out with me, or are you gonna stay in your little loser corner wondering what could've been?"

Coye was predictably weak to such rhetoric. His entire goal in life as of late was to take chances and do new things, so when Britni taunted him about that, there was little he could do. Before, he wouldn't have ever considered drinking and partying with his primary bully, but Coye was a different person now.

The waitress brought them their next drinks, and while she was there, Britni ordered them another round and scooped up Coye's wine glass. She offered it to him and pressed it closer to his lips. "Last chance! Open up and show the gods in Asgard that you can party like a real Midgardian!"

Succumbing to peer pressure, Coye caved in. He wasn't so sure about impressing her foreign gods, but impressing Britni didn't sound that bad of an idea. Maybe he was already drunker than he noticed, though...

"Fine," he sighed and then gave Britni a cute smile. "I'll party with you. Not like I have anything else to do."

"Damn straight! Now that's what I like to hear!" Britni was positively beaming at his surrender. She tilted Coye's drink back so the raspberry wine flowed into his mouth in a steady stream.

Coye was surprised but didn't choke, instead swallowing the alcohol gulp by gulp as it slid down his throat. Even though his drink wasn't stiff, it went down rough, and Coye was unused to the feeling of so much liquor going into his system all at once. Britni threw the glass onto the floor when Coye was finished chugging, shattering it, and pumping her fist in the air in celebration.

"Good start, but it's nowhere near enough!" Britni took his wrist and forced him out of the booth before he could even worry about the broken glass. "Come on, loser- it's high time you and I had a little fun!"

Right as Britni dragged him into the crowd of people, Vico was just getting back on stage and starting up his next set. Now that he'd successfully set up some fun later in the night, thanks to a few willing waitresses, the bard was ready to give everyone what they came for. Vico got to work, putting everyone in the Stone Cold Tavern in a mood for partying thanks to another one of his raunchy, upbeat songs that inspired their hearts to dance.

At Britni's insistence, Coye had a wild night- one so epic in scope it defied belief.

The two adventurers knocked back drink after drink, dancing and chatting up random strangers as the outgoing drunken bully dragged him around to the different tables like a dog on a leash. Coye got an even greater look at her astounding social skills while awkwardly contributing to these conversations. He never thought he'd be envious of Britni, but it was hard not to be when he saw her charm and charisma on full display. Every word she spoke was gold; people flocked to her, laughing at her jokes and listening to her stories.

Coye wasn't anywhere near as fun of a drunk as Britni could be. Getting shitfaced mainly made him more relaxed and susceptible to outside influence. Given that the boy was already weak to peer pressure, he practically did anything Britni told him to throughout their night of alcoholic adventure.

So many things happened in rapid succession- it was like the Realm was spinning before his eyes. Coye and Britni danced for a long time, much of it quite suggestive. There was some grinding and creative hip movement on Britni's part, and the way she twisted around revealed the tiny bra she was wearing underneath her open-back sweater more often than not. Britni insisted he not be afraid of touching her while they were dancing, and the agreeable drunk conceded.

Coye tried mainly keeping his hands to her waist, but Britni moved around so much it was inevitable he'd rub up against this and that. While that would usually be grounds to give him a good bullying, Britni didn't seem to mind much, even if Coye wound up groping her ass or copping a feel of her big, bouncy party girl titties. It helped that he was drunk enough that it didn't embarrass him much, and overall the two were exhilarated from having a good time together.

The fact that Coye couldn't dance his way out of a paper bag even while sober was irrelevant, as Britni was supportive, patient, and very insistent on returning every accidental groping with a purposeful counter grope of her own.

There was a cooling-off period where they went back to a booth and chilled for a bit, slamming down even more alcohol than anyone should. They got to talking, and Britni told him about her family and what it was like training in Midgard, but she slurred through all of her words, and he couldn't parse much of her stories. Coye only caught bits and pieces, missing large sections of essential details that would've explained a lot about how she treated him. If only he was a fraction more sober or had a conveniently hidden companion who could relay this vital information to him later, things might have made a lot more sense.

Alas, Coye didn't even notice she was close to crying a couple of times during her rant. He was so sloshed that the only thing he could think about was that Britni had a cute voice, and he liked listening to it.

Britni tried getting Coye to open up about himself, but he was far too gone by that point. Shrugging it off, Britni drank further still and achieved a fabled state of drunkenness that raised her consciousness into a higher form. Naturally, things spiraled from there.

They somehow wound up on stage together with Vico. Owing to his masterful skills as a showman, the bard prevented them from crashing his entire act and adjusted by using the humorous situation to his benefit. He danced with them, they sang with him even when they didn't know the song, and the crowd was drunk enough to find them hilarious. They were like Vico's personal jesters, and he didn't even have to pay them for the help.

Even the Stone Cold Tavern's artificial owner watched their antics from the bar with amusement or perhaps curiosity in his shining yellow eyes.

Everything that happened after Vico's performance was a blur. Coye and Britni walked to the streets of Cransmere late at night, wandering aimlessly amid drunken conversation. There may have been a stop in an alley or two for one or both of them to throw up, and there may have been some drunken merriment and singing. Pretty sure there was a fistfight somewhere in the mix, too, but it was hard to be certain.

Eventually, the pair made it to their destination, and there was only blackness... until Britni resurfaced from her inebriation the following morning.

She awoke with a legendary hangover that felt like Mjolnir had been cracked over her head. Better than waking up from another one of her terrors, at least. Good to see her binge drinking was serving its purpose.

Britni couldn't open her eyes because of all the light coming in, and she was too tired to grumble at Coco or someone else to go and close the curtains. Speaking of Coco, her beloved pet was curled up right in front of her, and Britni was cuddling her from the big spoon position. She pressed her nose into her pet's hair, taking in her scent to remind herself she wasn't alone. Strange, Coco's hair felt even softer than it usually did. Almost like silk.

Smiling, Britni lazily wrapped her leg around Coco's slender hips. What use was a pet if you couldn't use them as your full-body pillow anytime you wanted? Coco was a good girl this morning. She wasn't struggling to fight off the cuddles at all. Instead, she was still and silent save for occasional whimpering sounds. They didn't seem like noises Coco would ever make, but what tipped Britni off that something was amiss was the absence of a certain something.

Some of the drunken fog clouding her mind blew away as Britni started to wonder where Coco's tail was. That fluffy thing took up nearly half the bed and was almost always pressed between them because Britni loved burying her face in the fur and using it as a pillow.

Cursing the light with a few Midgardian swears, Britni opened her eyes. Almost immediately, the pain proved too much. She closed them right away, but after rubbing them a little, she made a second attempt to join the waking world and discovered that the person she was cuddling was not her faithful puppy.

Her little spoon didn't have light brown hair or fluffy dog ears. They had blond hair and long, pointy elf ears, causing Britni to stare in absolute terror. Britni feared she'd made an enormous mistake and scooted away, nearly falling straight off the bed.

Britni's cuddle buddy rolled around after she left, but they otherwise showed no signs they would be waking up anytime soon. The boy looked near comatose, his mouth opened wide like an idiot as drool trailed down the side of his face. It was Coye.

Britni was sleeping with Coye, and what a relief that was. She couldn't live with herself if she wound up in bed with someone who wasn't Coye, but the relief was short-lived and soon became a mix of terror and confusion. Britni tried running through everything she could remember about the night before, but that was a no go. Most of it was all jumbled together.

Britni was desperate to make sense of this, but a shred of optimism couldn't be held back. She stared at him, wondering if it had finally happened. Even if she couldn't recall the specific events of the party or the concert, the idea of Coye taking a hint, bringing her home, and finally showing her what a man he could be was all Britni could think about.

As Britni's fantasies took hold of her, the panic, stress, and terror left her body entirely. Instead, she was beside herself with bliss. And then Britni noticed one crucial that contradicted the best-case scenario she'd envisioned.

She was still fully clothed. Britni took the blanket and pulled down enough to confirm Coye was fully dressed, too.

"Are you fucking kidding me...?!" Britni's rising anger was fueled by a mix of disappointment and hangover pain, wide arcs of lightning weaving themselves around her body.

This was the most insulting thing that had ever happened to her.

"You fucking coward! What kind of a man brings a drunk bitch back to his house, invites her into his bed, sleeps next to her, and then doesn't fuck her?!" Britni yelled at the top of her voice, but Coye was so passed out it did nothing to wake him.

Having been around drunken Midgardians her entire life, Britni could recognize precisely how drunk someone was. Coye was at the point where she could've beaten the living shit out of him, and he wouldn't have moved so much as a muscle. Screaming at him in rage was hopeless, and Britni forced herself to tone down the lightning. Holding back was difficult without her runic gauntlets to channel her power, but as mad as she was, she didn't want to burn Coye's house down.

Not when she presumed this place would be hers one of these days, in a manner of speaking.

Just because she managed to hold back the thunder didn't mean Britni was any less pissed, however. Didn't Coye know anything? Real men were supposed to take advantage of women- that was how it always went in uncle Bjarte's songs. Vikings took what they wanted. They pushed maidens down and didn't ask for stupid things like consent or even consider whether or not their conquest was too drunk to give it.

That's what Britni would've done to him long ago if her hands weren't tied.

Beyond her fury, an onset of melancholy willed up within her heart. It only worsened the longer she stared at his sleeping face. Even drunk as he was, no one could deny how adorable Coye was. His skin was soft and without blemish, his lips thin and feminine, and Thor Almighty, if he didn't have the most beautiful lashes she'd ever seen...! Britni would've hated him in jealousy over those lashes if it weren't for how much they added to his radiant beauty.

Maybe Bjarte would understand if she took the initiative and claimed him here and now? Well, Bjarte probably wouldn't mind. He was the only one who ever cared for her, after all. It was her grandfather who was a different story. Coye might've been strong, but he'd be rendered helpless before the full force of the Leiptr-Vikings...

But it's not like Grandfather Eirik would know if she leaned in, wiped up Coye's drool, and gave him a quick kiss, would he?

Britni's heart beat out of control. She thirsted for him more than the All-Father for ancient wisdom and Loki for japery. Nervously brushing hair out of her face, Britni leaned closer to the sleeping boy, bending over ever so slightly. Only inches apart now, she hovered over him.

For perhaps the first time in her life, Britni forgot all her troubles. The pain, the suffering, the abuse. All of it vanished, the storm clouds in her heart whisked away by a gentle breeze blowing out from idyllic Alfheim. There was only peace.

She could have him right now if only she pressed forward. Britni hesitated, though. She could only think about how that cute boy looked so different from the person she met on that fateful night nearly a year ago when he-

Coye stirred, made a grumbling noise, and stretched out in bed. Britni's troubled emotions burst back into existence, chief of which were her fear and concern.

She couldn't kiss him. What was she thinking? They would know. Britni didn't know how, but they would. Just as the All-Father saw through the eyes of Huginn and Muninn, Britni feared they hard to be watching somehow, someway.

Britni jerked away, falling off the bed and yelping as she landed roughly on her ass. As confused as she was, one thing was certain. She couldn't be here when he woke up. Britni stormed out the front door and left Coye's house in desperation. She felt like she was ten years old again, fleeing from the twins as a harsh Midgardian blizzard raged on- practically naked, fearful for her life, and totally alone.

So many emotions were churning through her heart as she performed her walk of shame. Britni was angry at Coye for his cowardice, embarrassed at herself for winding up in his bed in the first place, and afraid of what would've happened had she been foolish enough to act on her desires before beating him into the kind of man he needed to become.

Britni needed to balance it out- needed to inflict pain instead of suffering more of it. Her flowing anger eventually consumed all her other emotions as Britni strode into town, terrifying the gate guards and townspeople thanks to the thunderstorm that raged around her body.

She made it home to the Guild after causing no small commotion, and before entering, she chugged a hangover potion from her purse. It lifted the painful veil from her mind but did nothing to cure her temper. That was good enough for now, so Britni marched right up to the front door and kicked it down.