Scents of Liquor and Linen

Written by Thyme and Wolsal

It was late- the sun was beginning its descent below the skyline, disappearing behind the droves of trees surrounding the village. Zealots and residents alike gathered around the bar- placing bets on the current game of cards. Some residents were still grabbing their dinner from the pot of stew that sat atop the outdoor kitchen counter, others poured themselves glasses of wine from the large barrel.

From within the lively village, a goat came stumbling through the residential area- bottle of presumably stolen alcohol clutched loosely in his clawed grip. 

He arrived in front of the doorstep of his abode- trying the door handle. It was locked. With an annoyed groan, he lifted his free hand- giving 3 rapid knocks to the wooden barrier. 

If he didn’t get an answer he certainly wasn’t above climbing through the window that he knew had no lock- however he’d rather avoid the trouble. He was admittedly exhausted after a night of drinking, losing at poker, and engaging in town vandalism of all kinds.

There was a shuffle inside the house before the door creaked open. Keith looked at Solomon before stepping aside to let him in, giving him a nod of acknowledgment. 

Before Keith could even determine for himself that Solomon was anything but sober, the scent of liquor hit him like a bag of rocks.

This was not the first time something like this had happened mind you- ever since Ratil had assigned the seal as Solomon’s unlucky roommate and supervisor while they worked on constructing his own house, this had happened a handful of times. Not much else to do for fun- not for him at least. 

He marched straight towards the bed, taking a seat on the edge- bedframe creaking under him. He could’ve used the wooden chair in the room by a desk, admittedly it just wasn’t as comfortable. 

He looked over to the other person in the room, almost an analysing look as if assessing whether or not he felt like getting in a fight that night. It seemed he decided that no, he didn’t have the energy to attack anyone, and looked away. He let out a yawn, rubbing his eyes with a grumble.

Keith shut the door behind him, heading over to the desk that sat pressed against a wall and strewn with papers. He reached behind it, pulling out a bottle of his own alcohol. He went over and sat on the bed next to Solomon, looking over at the goat before taking his own bottle in his hands- fidgeting with the corked top.

Solomon glanced at Keith, only loosely seeming to notice his presence near him. He murmured something incomprehensive to himself- not even sounding like actual words.

 “Why’re you here…” He finally spoke- it was unclear if he meant why he was in the house. That they shared. Or why he was sitting on the bed. Which they also shared. Keith shrugged, sighing deeply as he twisted the bottle in his hand. “Because I haven’t left yet, Sol.” He responded dryly, turning fully to look at him.

Solomon furrowed his brows, lifting up the bottle he held and pulling out the cork. “Yet?” He questioned before taking a swig from the bottle.

He leaned slightly on the seal, head lightly brushing against his shoulder. It wasn’t really clear if it was intentional or if he was simply tired. Keith felt Solomon's head brush against his shoulder, distracting him for a second.

 "I need to get out of the house later, we're running low on some supplies." 

 He started to fiddle with the cork in the bottle he was holding. "It can wait till later though."

Sol hummed in acknowledgement, fully resting his head on his shoulder now. “Are youu gonna get ‘nother bed finally?” He asked, tapping his claws against the glass bottle rhythmically. 

“Or does the stinkyy stinky rat not have one yet…” The slurring of his words only got more obvious the more he spoke. He almost entirely lacked the hostile and aggressive stance he took towards everyone- especially Keith.

"It's one of the things I was planning on checking on." Keith tried to sit still enough to not scare Solomon off, tentatively setting one of his hands behind him. The goat yawned, taking another swig from his drink. 

“They better hurry up… haven’t had my own damn bed ‘n like…” He paused, scrunching up his face in concentration. “Like a b’milllion years.” He concluded, grumbling something else.

Despite his complaining, deep down he didn’t mind the company. 500 years of solitude followed by a few months in a hospital bed did a number on him. 

His expression seemed to change to a genuinely contemplative one, thoughts clearly far away from where he was now, gaze distant. 

Keith popped open his own drink and took a sip, slightly leaning against Solomon and snapping him out of his daze.

"Yeah, it'll probably get finished soon, if it's not done already." He didn't particularly mind sharing his bed, the company was pretty nice at times, but Solomon always seemed so keen on getting his own. He supposed a part of him could understand.

He nodded, yawning again. He placed a hand on Keith’s arm, moving his tail to partially wrap around his waist. “‘s fine… I don’ mind.” He shuffled slightly closer.

Keith didn’t say anything, simply taking a much larger sip from his drink and moved his hand closer to Solomon. "That's good to hear."

He looked up at Keith, not moving his head from his shoulder nor his hand from his arm. He seemed to think for a few moments. “What’d y’do today…?” He asked, seeming sincere in his inquiry. "Well, not much. I guess I cleaned up a bit." He sipped his drink again. 

Solomon scrunched up his nose. “Ugh, y’need to do better stuff s’you can tell me ‘bout it…” He murmured, taking another swig of alcohol whilst not moving from the position he sat in.

He snorted, "Oh, am I just entertainment for you?" 

He wrapped his arm around Solomon. He leaned into him, moving his arm to lay across his back and over onto his shoulder. “Yeahh-“ He said, partially making his way through a laugh before a hiccup interrupted it.

He leaned forward slightly, making it easier for Solomon to hold onto his back.

"Really, well I should go do something entertaining then, how does starting a fistfight with the giraffe sound?” Sol chortled, the idea admittedly amusing. “I’d like t’see you try- you’d loooose.” He said, somewhat teasingly. Though it was also just entirely true.

He took a swig of his drink and smirked. "Hey, I would have a chance, if they don't look down, they'd never see me coming!" He was obviously over-exaggerating his own abilities.

“Don’ worry, I took care of the seeing issue.” He seemed to half chuckle to himself before he once more was interrupted by a hiccup. “They’re baddddd n’ stinky…” He grumbled, taking another sip from his bottle. It was almost empty by now.

"That is true isn't it." He chuckled, shifting his hand onto his shoulder. "I couldn't agree with you more." 

He absent mindedly offered his bottle to Solomon. He took the bottle, taking a swig from it without hesitation. Had he been more sober he may have taken a moment to think about drinking anything from a bottle someone else had already put their mouth on- but right now, he just couldn’t be bothered to care. Especially not with him. He leaned further onto him, not even holding himself up at this rate.

Keith sat for a bit holding the both of them up, Solomon’s weight was... nice. The familiar warm presence was a welcome one. He stifled a yawn, well, he tried to stifle a yawn. His eyes were growing heavier.

Solomon moved his head so it was resting in the crook of his neck. He placed down the bottle he held, moving his now free hand to hold onto the front of Keith’s shirt- seemingly just to hold himself up more than anything.

He looked up at him through eyes partially obscured by hair. “I know y’were in the room with me when I ws’in the doctor room…” He said, seemingly out of nowhere as if it was the most casual thing ever. Keith took a quick breath, he was a tad bit caught off guard at the statement. "Yep."

He furrowed his brows, grip slightly tightening on his shirt as he shuffled a little closer- so close he was practically pressed up against him side to side. 

“Why.” He asked, seemingly a mix of genuine curiosity and interrogating.

He didn't mind the gap closing between them, but it was making it hard for him to make up an excuse.

“I don’t know.” He lied- swallowing hard. “I think it was just nice having another familiar face around?”

Solomon frowned, shaking his head slightly while not moving it from where it rested. “You’ree lying.” He half-mumbled half-spoke. He leaned a little more into the arm that held him, it was unclear if he was just getting more tired or if he was legitimately enjoying the contact.

Keith froze up for a moment, gears turning to try and think of an excuse- but nothing came to him. “I- uh- well,” He sighed. “I guess I- um- missed you?”

Sol looked at him for a few more seconds, almost as if thinking, before looking away and yawning, seemingly satisfied with his answer.

He slooooowly half slid half leaned onto Keith, pretty much having him fully hold him. He blinked a few times blearily, yawning again. “‘m tired…” He grumbled, resting his head onto his chest. 

“Well…” Keith paused. “It is getting late.” He noted as he observed the pitch black forest outside the window.

Keith attempted to gently move the both of them to where they were half-sitting half-laying in the middle of the bed instead of the edge.

Solomon shuffled to where he was more sitting on his lap, practically laying on him more than he was sitting up. “M’gonna sleep now….” He grumbled, nestling his head in the crook of his neck without giving a moment for protest.

Keith leaned back a little, hopefully making it more comfortable for Solomon to sleep, eventually drifting off himself with Solomon in his arms.

“Missed you too…” Sol mumbled, words barely even legible before he passed out, eyes slipping shut as he finally hit the hay.