Taj and Aero: Advent of the Feather King

Ryleon's mouth dropped open as he listened to what she had to say. "Are you serious?" He leaned forward to her, not meaning to get too close to her but this was a piece of news that sounded rather important. "It would make sense...we found a man before we were attacked who also had the same thing happen...he too is avian..." It made sense, if they were attacking just avians...but something did not seem right. "Are you sure they were men who came asking around...?" Men were not something to describe the things that had attacked them.

~*~*~*~*~

If Oriana's heart was beating fast before now it was like running a mile. His light and gentle kisses down her face down to her lips left little tingling sensations where his lips had been. Once he had kissed her lips, she left her hands on his shoulders and looked up to him. A grin found its way to her face. "I think I like this side of you." A rare thing it might be, she thought, but she was going to take full advantage to remember this.

Silvia blinked in surprised, leaning back when Ryleon suddenly came closer to her, startled by the ration that the rumor sharing had prompted. "Not really…" She murmured, trying to remember the details, not wanting to disappoint him. "I remember distinctly that it was humans who had come asking after the avians but…" She shook her head. "They weren't the same ones that were wandering the streets at night during the disappearances. Rumor says that it was the ghosts of the war, brought back from the dead in their armor and had been enslaved by a magician to do his work. You don't… you don't thin that could be true, do you?"

*~*

"There's a side of me you don't like?" Alex asked, sounding entirely too bewildered by the statement to be taken for anything less than sincere. In the state that he was in, it was easy for him to forget that there was a time in which the two of them were mostly at war and sharing such close space with her was more usually a direct result of invading her personal space and then fleeing for his life from her wrath. He leaned forward and kissed her again, feeling that the matter was slightly less important than getting another taste of her lips, but in the back of his head still wanted an answer.

Ryleon got a grim look on his face. No way. It was happening to other people. "It is true...we've had to fight them off a couple times already..." Ryleon looked as if he was in deep thought as he leaned back against a book shelf and then flicked a gaze on her. He would have to tell his family but there was no way all of them were in once place right now. He knew the twins had left before he did and he would guess Alex would have chased Oriana either into a corner or she beat him out of the inn. Who knows? Perhaps Rose might be there...?

~*~*~*~

Before Oriana could answer the question, she found Alex's lips once more against hers in a gentle kiss. Her blush had lightened some but remained on her cheeks covering them in a soft pink shading. She pulled back and look up at him. "You have a certain way of making me feel wrath, Alex."

Silvia gasped and put her hands to her mouth, her eyes going wide. "It's really true…?" She couldn't believe that dead soldiers were coming back from beyond the grave at the whims of a magician, but to hear that someone had actually fought with the creatures… She was scared. What if they came back to Racksom? Obviously they hadn't done a thorough sweep of the city, for there were still pockets of other avians around. What if they returned and captured her? Who even knew what they were up to? "Isn't something being done about them?"

*~*

Alex moved to kiss her cheeks, smiling himself silly when he noticed her blush again. She got so flustered so easily. "Only 'cuz you're frustrating too." He replied honestly, his sense of tact having more or less abandoned him as well under the influence of the drink. "It took way longer than I thought it would to win you over. But I like you're stubbornness for whatever reason."

Ryleon nodded, though now he was a little unsure he should have said something. She had a look of fear to her eye, but who would blame her? She too was avian and any day they could return. Hell they had randomly shown their faces to them in the middle of no where. "I don't know...This is the first I heard of someone else knowing about it..." Ryleon shrugged helplessly. "I'm sorry.."

~*~*~*~

"Mm, well it did not help your cause when you first met me ya know? Trying to buy me." She laughed gently at the memory of seeing him the first time, and minutes after meeting him giving him a good smack to the face. "Though, I have never seen you actually frustrated with me." She blinked, trying to recall a time when he had showed anything but interest in her body.

Silvia shook her head. "You have no reason to be sorry… It's good to know that I should be looking for trouble. I will take greater care now, knowing that the streets are dangerous." She look out her store front's windows, as if expecting to see one of the mysterious men returning right there and then. "I haven't hear where the others disappeared to though… I'm sorry that I can't be of more help."

*~*

"Eh, yeah, well I was young and naive then." He replied with a shrug, apparently completely unfazed by the fact that their relationship had stared out in such a rocky manner. "All the frustration was in here." He tapped his chest with his hand, looking solemn for the briefest of seconds. "But I'm not frustrated anymore. And I'm not confused either. It's nice, knowing what you want." He pulled her closer, squeezing her waist slightly and planted another kiss on her lips, lingering for longer this time.

Ryleon nodded, also looking out at the window. If they were to come now, he would be in trouble. Taking down one was one thing but more than that and he would have to hope they would be able to take to the skies. "Perhaps I should go." He offered an apologetic smile, even if she had said there was nothing to be sorry about. He had come in here just wanting to help her put up a book and ended up scaring the poor girl.

~*~*~*~

Oriana listened to him, interested in the turn of the conversation. She had not known he was confused but as his lips met with hers once more and his hands gripped her waist she thought it not that important. She leaned up slightly to deepen the kiss and wrapped her arms around his next to pull him in closer, her body pressed tightly against his own.

"Alright…" She agreed a little reluctantly, folding up the map into the tiny rectangle it had come from. Silvia didn't particularly want to be left alone, but at this point she wasn't seeing that there was really much of a choice in the matter. "I hope that you find your parents… I really do." She sighed, putting the map on the main counter so that she could put it back in it's rightful place once the stranger left. "Thank you for your help again… and… If you're ever in Racksom again, please don't be shy and come by. I'd like to hear how things went."

*~*

Alex reacted to Oriana's eagerness readily, letting his hands slip down her body and lock his hands around her behind, pulling her literally off her feet up and against him, nullifying the space of their bodies. He attacked Oriana's mouth with his own, wanting with every fiber of his being to get as close to her as was physically possible.

"Yes of course." Ryleon said with a smile. He wanted to see her again, perhaps get a chance to talk to her about something other than his parents and the frightening events happening around the country. He did not like that it had spread this far and even more so that humans were involved in this. None of them had seen humans thus far. Maybe they were close?

With his goodbyes, Ryleon left the shop and headed into the cool night air and sighed. He would have to talk to everyone but for now he would head back to the inn. Once he got there he noted with some interest that he saw none of his family or friends. Perhaps they went to bed early? As he head up the stairs Ryleon stopped at a certain door. There was a loud noise coming from it and with a horror of realization, Ryleon recognized the voice. Rose. No way. Moving quickly away from the door, Ryleon went to his room and closed the door shut.

~*~*~*~

As Oriana was lifted up she made a small, adorable squeak that she tried to cover up by sealing her lips against his own and moving a hand to run through his hair. She felt her body heating up being so close to him. "Alex..." She said softly,

For a long moment, Rose was wondering what was sleeping next to her, only half awake when her hands rubbed against something very solid and very warm. When she opened her eyes, a small smile curved her lips and a content sigh escaped her. Demetri was sleeping next to her, his face relaxed in sleep and his arm laying loosely over her waist. With warmth bubbling in her heart, Rose leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose gently, feeling like nothing could ruin the moment. She almost wished that they wouldn't have to travel today, but as the sun began to warm up the room she knew that Oriana or Ryleon would be summoning everyone to get up and go, staring with a search for her wayward twin brothers.

*~*

In the room next door, Alex was sleeping soundly with Oriana nestled firmly against his body, his arms wrapped around her hips to prevent escape. She was supposed to have slept with Rose that night, but for whatever reason, by the time that they got back the door had been locked and Ryleon was looking severely disturbed. He wasn't about to ask questions either, his ability to guess at what was going on behind closed doors fairly accurate.

Pain. Throbbing pain was what Demetri woke to on that morning. He felt something warm against him and then again on his nose and he couldn't wrap his head around what was going on. He laid there with his eyes closed for a long moment, the thought of opening his eyes to the morning sun not pleasant. He felt comfortable though...was in he in bed? That wasn't right...Demetri finally got the will to open his eyes and he was met with a warm and loving set of golden orbs. What normally might have melted a man's heart confused Demetri and probably scared the life out of him. He lept out of the bed and landed on the floor, immediately dropping to his knees from his headache. "Oh god..." He noted that almost right away though that he was cold and an even colder feeling dropped to the pit of his stomach. He looked down at himself. Naked. Oh no. He looked to Rose and saw her undressed as well. What happened..?!

~*~*~*~

Oriana too woke in pain, but more so the pain which was a pleasant reminder of the activities of the night before. As she tried to move around to test the soreness in her lower extremities she felt, whom she could only assume was Alex, a strong arm around her hips that prevented her from moving. She was pleased to find herself and Alex both had clothes on and that made her feel slightly better but as she looked around she saw Ryleon sitting up in his bed and giving them some sort of look she couldn't read. A dark blush instantly came to her face. "Oi! Alex! Let me go we need to get up!" She said in a rushed tone, not wanting to be under her brother's gaze any longer.

Ryleon was more so wondering that to think about the entire thing. He had been mortorfied from hearing Rose and Demetri the night before and then Alex and Oriana came strolling in rather late. Well at least they were clothed, but the way he was holding her and she wasn't really fighting it concerned him. What concerned him more though was the dark purplish mark on Oriana's neck.

~*~*~*~

Tristan woke with a smile on his face. The night before him and Ilario had found a beautiful brunette and had kept themselves occupied for most of the night. The poor woman didn't have the stamina to go for the entire night like they wished but she gave it a good try. Alas it was nice to release some pent up energy. He sat up in the bed, letting the covered fall to his waist. A hiss of displeasure escaped him as the cooler air hit his bare chest but it was inevitable. Oriana would give them an ear full if they took too long to get back. "Oi. Ilario, the sun is up rather high. I have a feeling Oriana might try to kill us."

The sudden flurry of motion caught Rose completely off guard, and when Demetri practically teleported off of the bed in his haste to get away from her, she was more than just a little confused. A frightened squeak left her and immediately she sat up, grabbing the sheets and twisting them tightly in her grip, holding them against her chest. A groan of pain left her at the sudden movement however, her body not responding well to being put to task so abruptly so early in the morning. Demetri had that frightened look on his face almost like he did when he was caught in a large crowd, which immediately concerned her. Had he had a nightmare? "Demetri?" She asked softly, leaning forward to get a better look at him from his place on the floor. "What's wrong?"

*~*

Alex's head was a little fuzzy, the remnant of his buzz the night before, but Oriana's rather abrupt command gave him a slight headache. He didn't particularly want to let go of her, and so squeezed her around the waist hard before eventually letting his arms go limp. "Whatever you say, princess…" He mumbled, keeping his eyes closed, knowing that the sun would be doing him no favors this morning.

*~*

Ilario groaned, raising himself from the sleeping position he had taken lying on his stomach. "That Oriana… got a stick up her ass…" He mumbled, and with a heavy sigh rolled out of bed, locating his clothes first and pulling on the cold material. What he wouldn't give for a fireplace on a morning like this. The woman that they had been entertaining the night before was passed out dead cold, and with a shrug, Ilario simply turned to leave. There was no point in waking her up, after all. Besides, they would have to get going here soon if they wished to survive the meeting with their cousin. "Come on, let's go." He mumbled, stretching as he walked out the door with a wide yawn.

Demetri looked at Rose, she didn’t seem confused. At all, why not? He put a hand to his head, trying hard to remember what the heck had happened. “Rose, what happened?” He asked her, hoping to get some answers. He looked up at her with absolute fear, there was no way he did…that…right? She wouldn’t let him, right? He kept his eyes locked with hers; waiting for an answer, hoping to anything that what he was thinking wasn’t true. All he could remember was sitting at the bar with Alex. The bar….He had something to drink; he didn’t even remember asking Alex what it was. He moved quickly putting on at least his pants and sitting on the corner of the bed, as far as Rose as he could get. He stared at her hard now.

~*~*~*~

Oriana slipped out from under Alex and stood, fixing her clothing. For a moment she was sure that he wouldn’t let her go. She looked to her brother and tried to rid herself of her blush. “If he doesn’t get up on his own, please force him up.” She said, making her way to the door and out of it. She wanted to find out why Roses’ door was locked last night. She wasn’t, in all honesty, bothered by the fact that she slept with Alex but she would never admit that openly.

~*~*~*~

Tristan gave one more look to the naked woman in the bed before standing and dressing himself as well. He followed after his brother with a groan, not wanting to really leave and join up with the group but knew he had to. “Think she will try to punch us?” He asked for a moment, contemplating his own question. “Suppose it all boils down to how much Alex bugged her last night…” He said to himself, putting his hands behind his head and walking with Ilario. They had slept in later than usual.

She nearly stopped breathing when Demetri inquired as to what had gone on between them the night before. Her eyes widened at the realization that he didn't remember what had gone on between them the night before and her heart sank, the color leaving her face. This was… awful…

Rose's eyes tracked Demetri's movements as he walked around, putting on his pants and sitting as far away from her as she could get, her heart already crying for the reality that had quite suddenly pounced on her happy morning. "You don't remember?" She whispered, her face blanching. "Nothing at all…?"

*~*

Alex smiled when Oriana left, glad that she was up to her old feisty awkward self. He would talk to her later when she had some time to come to grips with things and her brother wasn't around to glare at them, of course. Women got really touchy about that sort of thing. As it was, he rolled out of bed, not particularly wanting Ryleon getting on his case and stretched, groaning as he did so. These beds were better than sleeping on the ground to be sure, but they definitely weren't the most comfortable thing he'd ever slept on. Ah well, small losses for the greater good, yes? "No need to get up in arms." He drawled casually, finishing his stretching and leveling a look at Ryleon. "I'm up."

*~*

Ilario chuckled, knowing that Tristan's assessment was probably true. That Alex really could get under her skin. The two left their sleeping place for the night and headed to the inn that the others were located in, arriving in time to walk up the stairs and see Oriana huffing and puffing, looking somewhat agitated. With a curious raise of his eyebrow, Ilario walked over, examining his cousin. What he found quickly had the curious look turn into one of hilarity, and he could only just barely keep from bursting out into laughter. "So Oriana, had a nice night last night?"

Demetri’s heart sank; the look on her face felt like someone was stabbing him in the chest. He shook his head no, “I don’t, and last I remember was getting a drink with Alex…” He admitted rubbing his hands along the side of his aching head so as not to look at Rose anymore. Guilt was not something Demetri was really used to feeling and this was pure, deep guilt he was getting. Even if he was under the influence he should have controlled himself. How did he let himself go like that? He starred at the floor, almost not wanting to hear that they had bedded the night before. “I’m sorry…” He whispered, keeping his head low and his eyes on the ground.

~*~*~*~

Ryleon eyed Alex, looking the man over. He seemed content. “Things going well with my sister then?” He asked, packing up his gear a little moodily. First Rose screaming her head off, then the mark on Oriana’s neck…Ryleon did not want to know what was happening to his family.

~*~*~*~

Oriana was on her way to Rose’s room when she was confronted by the twins. Now what? She looked a little taken a back by their sudden interest but there was no way that they could know what happened with Alex. The two of them were off with some whore last night. “I’m sure not as nice as you two did.” She said a bit dryly as she placed a hand on her hip. She wanted to get everyone up and out of here and sitting by making small talk with the twins seemed rather counter productive.

"Getting a drink…" her mind flashed back to the night before, watching with only the vaguest interest as Demetri and Alex talked at the bar. It had seemed a regular enough conversation, a couple men drinking and talking about who only knew what… She had certainly seen her father and uncle do the same thing enough times to know that she really didn't want to be a part of the activity. He only had one drink if she remembered right but… "You were… you were drunk?!" she hissed, her eyes widening a bit in surprise. How could he have gotten drunk after only one round? "You can't have been! It's not- it's just not possible! You said-" She choked up then, one of her hands covering her mouth as tears filled her eyes. Dear god, she'd made a horrid mistake…

*~*

Alex paused slightly, gauging Ryleon's reaction to his obviously good mood. Well, there was no point in letting the cat out of the bag just yet, especially to Oriana's brother. The twins would probably find out first, just because they were inclined in such areas if nothing else. "I think that I've finally managed to get on her good side, so yes, things are going well." He gave the boy a playful grin, resting his hands on his hips and headed for the door, hearing the voice of the twins out in the hallway and expecting Oriana to give them a sound tongue lashing.

*~*

"I see, so, Alex is no good in bed then, eh?" Ilario asked as casually as he dared, folding his arms over his chest and taking a relaxed stance. In reality though, he was quite ready to run for the hills if Oriana turned violent, which she could and probably would. "He gives good hickeys, though. That one's a keeper." He gestured to the huge purple splotch on Oriana's neck, just visible from her collar.

Demetri watched as Rose tried to make sense of his apparent attitude from the night before. He had no idea what he was like drunk, having it only happened once and he certainly did not remember it. What he did not expect though was her reaction and it brought a painful sensation into his chest. He looked at her with guilt ridden eyes. Even if he was acting off deeper desires brought out only by the alcohol that effected him so easily, he had still done it. "Rose...I-"...What could he say? "I'm so sorry..."

~*~*~*~

Ryleon eyed Alex. How was it that he had just suddenly got on her good side? For some reason, Ryleon didn't want to know. He went to get his pack and double check to ensure there was nothing left around the room while Alex left.

~*~*~*~

Oriana stopped dead in her tracks as Ilario mentioned Alex in bed. She felt her face getting red but it wasn't until he mentioned that she had some sort of hickey on her neck that she got hot. She could vaguely recall Alex biting on her neck the night before but bad enough to leave a mark?! She slapped her hand over her neck in the spot her cousin was staring at and her face was a dark dark red.

"My my brother you are right." He leaned on the opposite side of the wall. "Though I think Oriana was pleased with her experience with our friend. I think she is turning an odd purple color." Tristan added leaning against the other side of the wall. He watched as Oriana grew from embarrassed to pissed off.

"Shut up!!!" Was Oriana's only warning as she round house kicked Tristan, connecting a solid hit on his head and watched with mild satisfaction as he went down. She leveled a wild gaze at Ilario, picking out her next prey.

Her tears were spilling over now, leaking down the sides of her face and she clutched the blanket tighter to her chest, feeling a sob welling up inside of her. "Just… just get out, please…" She mumbled, lowering her head so that she wouldn't have to look at Demetri anymore. She felt so dirty and sad, she just couldn't look at him, meet those wild dark eyes and not remember the night that they had spent together. And he didn't remember any of it…

*~*~*~*

Alex stepped out of the room just in time to see Tristan dropped from Oriana's kick. From the redness of her face and the tenseness in her shoulders, he determined that now was not a good time to make an appearance. Did that mean that he wasn't going to enjoy watching the twins get the snot beat out of them? Hell no!

Ilario was slightly horrified with the demise of his twin, dumbfounded by his very sudden unconscious state. He looked up to Oriana's face, grinned, and started to beat a hasty retreat. "Every man for himself!" He yelled briefly before tearing through the hallway at full speed, reaching the front door and immediately spreading his wings, taking off into the sky.

Guilt washed over him like a title wave and the sobs caught in Rose's throat only tighten the pain in his chest. Hanging his head for a moment in defeat that she asked him to leave, he then stood, ensuring he was fully dressed before heading to the door. He put his hand on the door handle, looked back to Rose and then exited the room. He was slightly shocked to see Oriana standing so close to the door and Tristan's body on the ground and some of his guilt was masked with confusion.

~*~*~*~*~

Oriana stood in the hallway, breathing hard from the sudden burst of action and let Ilario go for now, not wanting to exert the energy to chase him down. She looked down to Tristan and a mild satisfaction grew, as soon as it started though she clearly remembered that the reason she was in this mess was not entirely her own. Alex. She spun on her heel and was about to go after him when Demetri came out from Roses' room. Normally this would not stop her in going to catch her prey but Demetri looked even more sad than usual and she could hear sobbing coming from the room before Demetri closed the door. "What happened?" She asked, turning her attention fully on the man.

Demetri looked away from Oriana's gaze and slowly let his hand fall from the door. "She might need you." He said, making his way from the door and downstairs. He needed fresh air, even it that meant going to deal with the crowd outside of the inn. He stepped out, breathing in the slightly warm air and sighed, snapping open his wings and pumping them hard to get himself straight up in the air and on the roof.

Oriana was slightly torn at getting her revenge and what happened with Demetri in that moment but if he was the one saying that Rose needed her help that he couldn't very well be lying to her. She walked over to the door and knocked gently once. "Rose, I'm coming in." She did not give the woman the chance to deny her access to the room. She saw her curled up in the covers, sobbing and she did not appear to have clothes on. "Rose..." She said concerned, picking her pace up to get to her side. "What happened...?" She sat on the side of the bed where Demetri had previously been and slowly reached her hand out to put it on her shoulder.

~*~*~*~

Ryleon watched the entire thing though the doorway where Alex was hiding, he guessed from Oriana, and gently pushed the man out of the room and closed the door behind him. He looked to Alex, down to Tristan, and then where Demetri had gone to. He sighed. "Goodness." He said, unsure how to express how much drama had gone in less than five minutes. And so early in the morning too...

Alex had raised his hands in his own defense when Oriana locked those predatory eyes on him, already thinking up some excuse that would hopefully get him out of the impending sticky situation. He was relieved when Demetri provided an excuse for Oriana to not beat his face in, and looked back over his shoulder when Ryleon gently pushed him out of the doorway. Well, whatever had happened between Rose and Demetri had to have been traumatic for the big man to be making such a face. Looking to Tristan's body, he sighed. "I'll go get Demetri." He said quietly to Ryleon, walking out of the door and onto the street, looking around for his dark wings.

*~*

Rose averted her face when Oriana walked in, leaning her forehead against her drawn up knees and attempted to stifle her sobbing. She felt Oriana sit by her side, hearing the bed squeak when she did so, a shuddering sigh leaving her as more tears pushed out from her eyelids. Oriana's touch on her shoulder seemed to break open the dam that had been holding back all of her emotion, finally cracking under the strain. She twisted on the bed and practically leapt on her cousin, wrapping her small arms around Oriana's shoulders and squeezing. "It's terrible!" She mumbled with a shaking voice, her whole body wracked with silent sobbing.

Ryleon nodded when Alex said he would go get Demetri and watched as he left. He wanted to sigh once more as he looked to his cousin on the ground. "Might as well get you out of the hallway..." He said as if he were taking on a job he really did not want to do. He bent down grabbed the mans arm, wrapping around the back of his neck and his shoulders. Once he was sure he had a good hold on Tristan, Ryleon stood pulling the full weight of Tristan's body with him in a grunt. He wasn't overly heavy but compared to Ryleon the man was a little bit bigger. He heard Tristan moan but he made no move to show he was awake yet. "She got you good..." He looked at the bruise already forming on the side of his face and slowly started making his way down the stairs careful not to trip over anything including Tristan's body.

~*~*~*~

To say Oriana was a bit shocked at Roses' reaction would be an understatement. She sat frozen on the bed for a moment as Rose sobbed against her and slowly wrapped her own arms around the girl. She wasn't really sure what to say, fearful if she asked something that Rose wouldn't be able to answer anyway while being wracked with sobs. Though, she had to try. "Rose...what happened? Did he hurt you?" She asked, pulling only slightly away to look over her cousin for injury.

He didn't have to search for long, spotting Demetri's dark form on the roof. With a small jump and a flap of his wings, Alex crested the ledge of the roof and stood on it, walking toward where Demetri had made himself more or less comfortable while things sorted themselves out inside. He settling himself down next to the bigger man, his gaze cast out over the city. "So, you upset the princess, huh?" He asked in a deadpanned voice, not even bothering to look in Demetri's direction. "What'd you do? It seemed like you two were hitting it off last night."

*~*~*~*

Rose clung to Oriana tightly when her cousin returned the embrace, sniffling hard as the tears continued, unable to get a hold of herself. She leaned back a little when Oriana asked her question, wiping at her eyes with the palm of her hand. "Yes… I mean, no… I mean… I don't know." She whimpered, resuming the position with her legs tucked up to her chest and her arms around her knees. "I don't know what to do… We… we did… that and he-he doesn't remember any of it!" Fresh tears spilled from her eyes again, and choking sobs wracked her tiny little body.

Demetri only spared a short glance at Alex before he too returned his attention, or gaze rather back onto the city. He didn't really want to talk to anyone but if it had to be someone he supposed Alex would be the one he could tolerate the most. At the mention of hitting it off the night before Demetri winced. "I think I would agree...but...I don't remember it. Any of it." He was silent for a moment before sighing and rubbing at his head as if hoping that some memory of the night before would come back to him. "Last I remember was talking to you." He admitted, flicking his gaze at the man before letting it fall back into his lap.

~*~*~*~*~

Oriana nearly jumped from the bed when Rose said yes to Demetri hurting her. Suddenly she realized she might have inherited some of the protective genes from her father. She listened a moment more and her eyes grew wide with shock. Not only did Rose have sex but Demetri...didn't...remember? That did not make sense to her and she knew the confused expression on her face would be evident. "What do you mean he doesn't remember?"

Alex contemplated Demetri's statement for a second, trying to remember what had happened after they were talking together at the bar last night… "Wait…" He suddenly snapped his attention to Demetri, studying the man's face. "You don't remember pulling Rose into your lap after finishing your pint?" He asked, a tad bit bewildered by it all. He certainly hadn't acted drunk last night. Was it possible that someone had slipped something into the man's drink? No… unless it was the bartender, in which case that would be pretty creepy. "Are you a featherweight?"

*~*

So caught up in her own little world, Rose didn't even notice the instant reaction that Oriana had when she hedged that maybe Demetri had hurt her a little the night before. She snuffled, wiping at her eyes with her palms again. "We woke up this morning together, and Demetri… he freaked out and jumped off the bed… I think that he was drunk." It hurt to think that the only way that Demetri would say those things to her is if he were drunk stupid out of his mind, but that seemed to be the harsh reality of it all.

Demetri gave him a look that begged the man to stop talking about the subject but he knew all to well that Alex would not stop until he was satisfied with the information he had received. He thought it he got it all out on one go that he would accept it and move on but with questions further coming that was a fleeting hope. "I've never had a drink before in my life. I told you, I don't remember anything expect talking to you." He said in a slightly bitter tone. As much as he wanted to blame Alex for drinking with him it was his own fault for not being able to control himself. He sighed, this was going to be a long day.

~*~*~*~*~

Oriana frowned, a bit of sympathy going out for her cousin. If the same thing had happened to Oriana she had no idea what she would do. Crying really wasn't her thing, and since Alex so was stupidly happy last night she figured the more drunk he got the more euphoric...She doubt it would happen the same way. A thought click into her head and she sighed, whatever would help right? Oriana placed a hand back on Rose's shoulder and sighed. "If it helps any Rose...Alex and I..." A dark stain of a blush colored her face as she looked away from her sniffling cousin. "We had sex." She blurted out, removing her hand from Roses' shoulder and looking up to her. Her train of thought was simply that if Rose knew she too lost her virginity then it might get her mind off of Demetri for a little bit.