Word Games

@Thoth

Ulrich made a vague sighing noise, as if he were exasperated with talking to him. Sometimes he was, but Nicolas was a good man even if all his advisers arched a brow whenever he said it. The King kept insisting, really, that Nicolas had a good heart despite... everything else. He was the only one who saw him dive back in after his friends.

"Maybe I don't. But your company is nice, sometimes." After all, land living was awfully lonely. He preferred the sea, surrounded by those he knew. "And besides, you're useful in teaching me about land dwellers. An interesting lot."

@Thoth

Ulrich huffed before sitting down heavily next to Nicolas. The couch might get a bit damp, but it was his couch and he could do what he wanted. Nicolas would get irritated that he was lounging around naked in close proximity to him, but that was his problem. Or maybe he didn't have a problem with it and he was playing coy.

"And I miss the sea." He got to go back occasionally, sure, but it wasn't the same as just living there. He paused, running the idea through his head. No, it was all political now. He couldn't just return to the sea. Not when Luca was still stuck in limbo.

"You know, you don't have to work for me." Even though Ulrich knew damn well he was the only one who'd employ an aggressive alcoholic. Nicolas was a good man, but definitely not on a regular basis enough that people would take it into consideration.

@Thoth

He wasn't expecting Nicolas to get all morose about it. He thought he was just going to harass him some more before passing out because he was piss drunk. Still, Ulrich chuckled and nodded. A shapeshifter he was, a time bender he wasn't and he'd just have to accept that, now will he? Just needed to keep it in his pants a little better.

"I suppose you're right." Ulrich reached over and picked up a bottle, popping the cap off and giving it a sniff. It smelled sickly sweet and heavy and the label said 'rum'; he'd hoarded casks of that stuff when it sunk off ships, though he'd never really had much himself. There was a bit left at the bottom and he took a drag. The look on his face said he was generally displeased.

"Why do you drink this stuff, anyway?"

@Thoth

Ulrich let Nicolas slip the bottle out of his hand, not very interested in drinking any more. Though he did enjoy alcohol, it was usually not the bottom of the barrel stuff. Mixed drinks were nice, even if human men sneered at them for being 'girly'.

"Forget, huh?" The king rolled that thought around in his head. He had a good idea as to what he was trying to forget; it was obvious enough, having known him for the briefest of moments in the past. Heartbreak. Not the romantic kind, though. Heartbreak was a terrible thing, especially bad when you had nobody to attach it to.

"It's fine to forget. You humans are luck you can. I certainly can't. Genetic memory, and all that." Family feuds, friends, enemies, lovers... All stamped into his DNA. He was hatched hating people he didn't even know. His history was burned into him with no way of shedding it.

@Thoth

Ulrich sat in silence, letting it settle between them. It wasn't familiar, per se. It definitely wasn't comfortable, but it was... better. Not like how they used to be, all tension and silence and snide remarks. Huh, maybe he liked drunk Nicolas more than he thought he would. At least he didn't have as much sass.

"Can I?" The question was entirely rhetorical. He could change, sure, but his people would suffer for it. It was just the Panthalassian nature; they were a vicious lot and anything less would get you eaten. For him the stakes were even higher. His crown and his legacy were nothing to be trifled with.

Ulrich sighed. "You're a good man, Miklos." Nicolas? He wasn't entirely sure. He'd just blurted it when he was drunk, but the king was getting that inkling feeling that Nicolas wasn't his actual name.