A Study in Tolerance

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It was a decision to abandon all common sense that brought her to where she was now. A singular moment of simmering, hidden rage that tipped her away from her right mind and drove her to do something that she had done less than a handful of times in her life. With this new knowledge that Sanis had indeed joined the Alliance, the Lupine knew all too well the reasons behind it... that he'd done it to spite her; an action born of his own brand of rebellion. That she might have gone beyond her boundaries she refused to accept. No. She had been in the right, she was convinced of it. For too long Prent had done his best to dance a fine line without doing what she knew, and what he knew, needed to be done. That he'd done it - not out of conviction for any sort of righteousness but rather to flaunt it in her face was enough to banish any notion of productiveness for the remainder of the day.

And instead of being allowed the chance to further chastise him for throwing her own words in her face, s'Il had instead opted to delay her engagements. She didn't want to have to think about each and every little nuance of the duties expected of her. Despite the calm exterior she put forth while making her way back to the quarters belonging to herself and Dan, the utter contempt and anger directed at Sanis consumed her inner being. The mask she wore hid her true emotions flawlessly. She even gave passing nods to those who dipped their heads in respect.



But now?

Now she sat, half hunched over the table in the kitchenette. A blank look in her eye and an empty bottle of Lupine whisky almost lovingly cradled in the crook of her arm, s'Il stared. With her back to the rest of the interior of the quarters, her brooding continued in silence. She'd sat like this for hours, content to do, well, nothing. Each drink she'd taken took her farther away from reality. It was something that she'd never thought herself capable of; becoming so inebriated that her only thoughts became centered on the wall across from her. The anger had been transformed into something far more irrational than when it'd originally started, and from there it became a competely ludicrous train of thought. It all flew int he face of sense; of order... of everything. Who in the hell did Sanis Prent think he was? Who did he think he was to spit in her face and act like some rebelling child throwing a temper tantrum?!

What was worse, was the fact that he'd completely ignored her on the flight deck. Passed by her as if she wasn't even there. Oh, he'd seen her. She knew he had. Yet despite that he'd still simply acted as though she'd not existed.

In a way it depressed the Lupine, which only served to further her own sense of self-pity, and with each new level she dropped to, she'd tipped the bottle up, swallowing a mouthful of its' murky contents before setting it roughly back on the table. She wallowed, lost in her own rambling thoughts until the bottle was empty. And even after that, s'Il still remained where she sat. Her mind eventually reverted to a blank slate, muddled with alcohol and a sense of listless pondering.

The cooler unit switched itself on, running through its' hourly cycle of refilling the ice tray in its' top freezer.

A chime sounded in the background, coming from Dan's desk no doubt. It went unanswered.

The cooler unit fell silent once more.

For the first time in a long while, Loklorien s'Ilancy was drunk.

[General Dan]

The door opened to the quarters, and Dan paused a moment after taking a few steps in. He could smell the familiar notes of the Lupine family label hanging in the air, and that spoke enough to him. Carefully, he unbuttoned his jacket, discarded it into the closet, and stepped into the kitchenette.

"Tough day?"

He arched an eyebrow at the scene before him.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She didn't answer. In fact, it was as if his arrival hadn't been registered at all.

Only when the sound of his voice interrupted the random musings of her mind did she stir, but it was still not enough to make her take her gaze from the far wall. Instead, s'Il tightened her grip on the empty bottle.

"Whatever might have happened doesn't have to dictate my current state of mind... right now, you know," she finally managed to slur in answer, her words managing to convey a more than noticeable disgruntled - and exasperated - demeanor.

[General Dan]

With an amused face, he watched her stumble over her tongue to justify her current pickled condition.

"Of course not. You tripped and fell into the dark stuff."

For a moment, he debated on whether it was best to let drunken s'Il's lie, or to exacerbate the situation.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine gave a groan, and leaning back heavily in her seat, she angrily pushed the empty bottle away. Her gaze turned upward to stare at Dan's face, and in response to his own amused features, she pulled a sour expression, eyes squinting and lips set in a scowl.

She swayed a little in her chair.

A hiccup, and her scowl deepened before she reached up in an attempt to push him away. It was a comically useless gesture if nothing else.

"Yes in fact, I did. Not all of us are blessed with the delightful task of commanding a task force."

[General Dan]

"Maybe we should get you out of those robes first, before you start talking about responsibility."

He carefully made sure she didn't spill comically onto the floor.

"It would be a shame to get your white robes a shade of something not entirely white."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She allowed him to help her up to her feet, though the task of actually standing suddenly became a rather difficult thing, which was nothing to say of the feat of having to walk. She blinked, clutching the sleeves of his shirt to keep from pitching to the side.

"That's funny, coming from you."

The Lupine gave a forceful jab to his chest to drive home her less than sober line of thought.

"I bet you'd like nothing better than to burn these things."

[General Dan]

"Maybe, but that's a sight better than you spilling all over them."

To hell with it. Dan grinned and reached into a nearby cabinet. This one was Ithorian Gin.

"You're gonna feel like a bed of flowers in the morning."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Still clinging to him, she watched as he pulled out another bottle. What it held mattered little to her.

"I already feel fine," she grumbled drunkenly, "though if you bring out that damn 'My 'pologies' game, I'll not speak to you for a week."

She pushed away from him to stand precariously on her own, shoulders slumped and her hair falling into her face.

[General Dan]

Dan kept an eye on her in case she decided to fall over or something. He uncapped the gin. pouring it over some ice in a tall glass, followed by fizzy and a squirt of tart namana juice. He sipped the crisp and sour drink, swallowing, before taking another sip.

"Guess I'd better find more suitable entertainment than the usual board game."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Yes I think you'd better."

Her words were snapped out, though soon enough followed by a sigh as she sank once more into her seat.

"Do you know what happened today?"

There was of course no answer, for she allowed him no time to give one.

"Sanis Prent is now a member of the Alliance. He joined up, just like that -" she snapped her fingers as well as her motor skills would allow. "... but he didn't do it because it was the right thing to do, or because it was the only option available," she ground her teeth.

"He did it to spite me."

Reaching out, she pulled the bottle of gin towards her, unscrewing the cap and upending a mouthful of the clear liquid.

[General Dan]

Dan winced at the sight of her drinking straight gin. It wasn't exactly the best idea.

"Spite, eh?"

He smiled.

"Just when I write the kid off, he makes things interesting, that's for sure. What did you say to send him off like that?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il made a face as she swallowed, but otherwise made no move to release the bottle.

"I didn't say anything that already didn't need to be said."

She gave another hiccup, and one hand came up to cover her mouth for a moment before falling away once more.

"I told him he had no priorities," she finally grumped.

[General Dan]

"Hah, I can see why he went that way then."

Dan shrugged and took another drink.

"For whatever the kid's shortcomings are, he's got a pride of a sort in his own way."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A sharp stare was sent his way, and the Lupine screwed her features into an expression of disbelief.

"Don't go taking his side in this," she slurred angrily.

[General Dan]

Dan shrugged, surprised at the outburst.

"Could always kill him, I suppose?"

He tested the waters with that one.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She waved that particular notion away with a sweep of her hand.

"Oh please. That'd do no good."

Taking another drink from the bottle, the Lupine gave a hiss through clenched teeth at the taste.

[General Dan]

He smiled at her rebuke.

"Oh I suppose not."

Another drink, and he thought about it more.

"I wouldn't think he would suspect your change of allegiance anyway. Let the poor vagabond get a few war stories then."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il gave a forceful hrumph at that.

She stewed in her own dizziness, swaying ever so gently for a few moments before propping her head up, cheek in hand. It wasn't terribly hard, but she still closed her eyes tightly as the world continued to run relentlessly around her in unforgiving circles.

The Lupine blew out a long breath and let a silence hang between them. She peeked open her good eye for a moment to regain some semblance of equilibrium, then shut it once more just as quickly before tipping up the bottle she still held. A gasped breath as she swallowed, and s'Il muttered.

An odd sort of look descended on her features then, and with her eyes still shut, she turned her head in Dan's direction.

"War stories."

It wasn't necessarily spit out, but there was a bit of sorrowful discontent lacing the undertones of the word she spoke. It had reminded her of Zem's words not so long ago, and a fresh wave of self-pity washed over her.

"And is your heir one of those 'war stories'?"

Even through the haze of alcohol , the Lupine purposefully neglected to include 'son', curious as to whether Dan was truly as 'enthralled' by her sense of family as he claimed to be.

[General Dan]

Dan paused in the middle of his drink, eyeing her as he slowly set it to the side.

"Exactly what are you trying to trivialize? Does my dismissal of Prent trouble you that much?"

He frowned a little, lacing his fingers together as he sat across from her.

"I know you and he were friends, and perhaps there is still something there. Don't let my opinion of him distract you."