Punch Drunk

As I was walked homed, I could feel animals living in the city. They were more interesting than the man thinking of rain. For some reason I had not thought of animals living in the city. I had thought of it as a sterile lifeless place. That wasn't true, not even close. There were plants growing in the street as they couldn't be maintained like they have been in the time of man. The tops of what was left of the buildings were forests in some cases. In those forests lived birds, frogs, insects, rats and other small animals but there also seemed to be wolves? and rabbits.

I felt the people in the house before we got there. It took my mind a while to figure out what I was seeing. Humans had much more complicated minds, even this late at night.

I pulled myself away from the pretty colors of the complex minds I was seeing as I felt the black flames in the person carrying me move. I blinked at the door of the house as it opened without a hand touching it. That would be creepy if I couldn't see the black flames.

One of the slaves had been in the hallway beyond the door. He ran off as the messenger priest started up the stairs to enter the house. I thought that was rude, couldn't the man see that I was leaning on Jose for help? I tripped on the ledge of the door frame, but Jose kept me upright like it wasn't much of a burden.

Before Jose had taken another step, Travis and my two teammates appeared at the bottom of the steps. I felt bad because by the states of their clothes and hair, I must have interrupted something.

Travis frowned at me as I blinked and tried to stand straighter. He was confused about something and not sure if he should be angry, or disappointed or what. Wasn't I just with our lord? How could I get drunk while being watched by…

I pulled my mind back. I was seeing more than I meant too. Travis stepped up to take my other arm. The messenger priest didn't let go though; I got the impression Travis had helped the man with me before. I hadn't been awake or drunk last time.

I tried to get a handle on my thoughts by looking forward. My eyes tightened in pain as we moved into the lighted hallway. Fire in buildings was not safe so I had created the lights the messengers used and tied them to the ceilings. They were powered by people walking around the house. The energy got stored in a stone for each floor. The caps on the stones were just enough to power all the lights for one night. They worked very well and didn't dim at all through the night. That was not good for my head at the moment.

"Take him to the dining room first he needs to eat something."

Travis nodded at the priest and took me to the room he had mentioned before he opened the door. I got the bright idea to talk. I looked right at the man and said, "You so icy, like, like," I was having a hard time coming up with what was icy. "Fire." I frowned in pain at the loudness of my voice.

Travis shook his head at me and looked over at the priest. "I don't smell anything, guess Mir cannot hold his liquor?"

"He isn't drunk like you would get drunk. Well, I guess if you were punch drunk that is the closest thing. Then again maybe if you go long enough without sleep you can get the same effect." Jose used the black flames to pull out the chair and then Travis and him dropped me in it. That was rude, fun but rude. "Esma, you can leave the dirt here if you wish and return to our lord."

The woman who had been carrying the man I had used so much power on dropped the man on the floor. "Our lord has decided there are too many interesting people here for only one messenger to watch everything anymore. I will be staying as well, Jose."

I couldn't figure out why the two priests were still talking so loud near me. I tilted my head back and regretted it immediately so I tilted it forward again but that wasn't any better. It could almost make one believe in little demons running around the body making it work. My demons were not happy with me right now.

A bowl of soup and bread was set in front of me. It smelled like plants. I didn't want plants. I lifted the bowl to toss it but one of the teammates was there to stop me. "Eat alfa, it will help."

I frowned at the man, "Loud wolf." I blinked as the man pushed the bowl against my mouth and I couldn't stop him. Well, I reacted too slowly to stop him, so it left me the choice of drink the soup or drown in it. My mind decided to drink after a few seconds. I was able to push the bowl away though it was more like my brother took it away. I got the wise idea to speak again, "Wolves are nice. I like my fluffy wolves."

I set my arm on the table before leaning forward to rest my warm head against it. I had missed something. The woman was gone now. Well, that is good, the woman belonged to our lord in a strange way. She wasn't a woman, but she was a woman, but she wasn't. My mind went in that circle way too many times before more people talking pulled me back to the now.

"...finish feeding him?" I tried to remember what the start of that was, but it just wouldn't come.

"Eating!" I flinched at the loud yell as I sat up. I managed to grab the bowl and down the whole thing in two swallows. That was not good for my throat, but I didn't care. The bowl was empty, I unsteadily picked up the bread and started to take a much too big bite but a small, beautiful hand stopped me.