Drinking Fool

Writers: Kenya, Sunrose
Date Posted: 4th March 2006

Characters: Illiana, Jer'ic
Description: Illiana finds Jerric drinking in the Dining Caverns
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 10, day 11 of Turn 3

Illiana was tired, sore and hungry. She had to stay longer at the herd beast barn because one of the cows had gone into labour. So all the candidate wanted was some food in her stomach and some good company.

Jerric had been in the Dining Caverns for some time now. He had been finishing up with his hidework in the Records Room as a scribe early for the past sevenday. Sitting at a table with a few others, he had been feeling more sociable lately but that was perhaps due to the heavy drinking he had also undertaken. It was undeniable that he had a problem but among the others in the Weyr, it was hardly noticeable. The more Jerric drank, the more talkative and fun he became. He sat next to a girl at the bench with an empty mug before him.

The red haired candidate went and found some still warm left-overs and piled as much food as the plate could handle before scanning the cavern with her green eyes and spoting the back of a certain male candidate. She made her way over and sat herself down across from Jerric. "Hope you don't mind if I join you guys?"

Jerric stood up, immediately recognizing Illiana despite his state. "Of course, you can! Everyone! This is Illiana!" he decalred despite the fact that he didn't know most of the people there anyways. He was normally a very quite person who kept to himself. He smelled heavily of the alcohol he had been consuming.

Illiana looked up at her friend, wondering why the normally quiet Jerric was so . . . loud . . , and then the smell of alcohol hit her. "Have you been drinking?" She whispered across the table once Jerric had sat back down.

Jerric's stupid grin made it obvious as to what the answer was. "What? You don't drink either?" he asked. "Do you ever do anything at all that you shouldn't?" He had been trying to whisper as well back to her but his voice control wasn't as good as he thought.

Jerric's words stung a little, Illiana had be raised to know right from wrong, and she could drink at anytime she wanted. Just never felt the urge to do so. "Well . . . no, but I could." She spoke her thoughts out loud after a moment.

His response was a laugh. He had already determined in his more sober hours that Illiana was one of the purest women in the Weyr. He couldn't imagine the very proper, though at times hyper and a bit too talkative, Illiana doing anything of such like. He could see Illiana wasn't amused. "What? It's not a big deal."

"Drinking a little isn't a big deal, but drinking so much that you become someone else is a big deal." Illiana said, completly forgetting her hunger and the big plate of food in front of her. She couldn't believe how stupid Jerric was acting.

"Oh, come on now. Lighten up Illiana," Jerric said in his defense but his posture and behaviour have every indication that he was certainly not himself this night. "Don't be such a prude." He didn't appreciate her reaction. "You're acting like my mother."

Illiana narrowed her eyes at Jerric, she didn't want to fight with him, but he was starting to get closer and closer to that certain line that shouldn't be crossed. "Well someone has to look out for you, you're acting like a complete fool! Look around you, your other friends have already left." She indicated the empty seats around them.

"That's jus' because you chased them away!" he accused her, just realizing that they had left himself. He really hadn't cared about them so much but now that meant he would have to sit here and argue with Illiana. He was beginning to lose his energy and feel sluggish.

"I did no such thing Jerric, it was the alcohol that did it. And I too am going to leave." She got up, leaving her plate, no longer feeling like eating.

"Wait! Don't get all bent out of shape about nothing," Jerric tried to say to prevent what he knew would inevitably lead to lots of apologizing the next morning. It was too late though. Illiana was already gone and furious with him.

Last updated on the March 5th 2006

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Drinking Fool