A Night to the Wolves [Nicolae]

[shonz]

His timing was impeccable. He had barely set foot in Cenred’s kingdom, and already Gwaine stumbled upon a celebration in one of its village taverns. Apparently, the son of the tavern owner had just married their barmaid, and the whole village was up and about rejoicing the union. Who wouldn’t be? It was open bar all night! Now, who would have thought Cenred’s kingdom was anything but fun. Tonight, people were happy and merry. It was exactly Gwaine’s kind of night.

This was his first time in Cenred’s kingdom, and he decided he should frequent this place in his travels as people seem to be all jovial. A carefree soul himself, Gwaine would rather spend his days in the company of cheery folks than trouble himself with problematic ones. At least jolly old people don’t get that frighteningly mad when he causes them trouble. Jolly old people were also easier to appease than grumpy ones. That was a fact he knew for sure, and had experienced for himself.

Trying to be in good graces with the tavern owner, he meekly asked for a drink at the bar even with all the dancing and laughing all around him. When he fished out a coin from his pocket, the barmaid refused him. “It’s my wedding night! Everything’s for free as long as you don’t cause trouble!” she shouted over the joyful noise. Gwaine couldn’t help the smile on his face, and thanked the lady before taking a swig from his drink. “Best wishes to you and the groom!” Gwaine shouted back raising his tankard to her.

[nicolae]

It seemed that the wind had drawn him in the direction of King Uther's kingdom of Camelot. The traveler had heard many stories of it from his adoptive grandmother when he was a child. Sadly, those stories weren't exactly comforting. . . what with the constant purging of sorcery. Nicolae himself was a sorcerer, and he would stop practicing magic prior to arriving at Camelot. On his way out of Cenred's kingdom, Nic heard a celebration going on inside one of the village taverns. Out of curiosity, he entered the tavern. It wasn't normal for him to go into taverns, for he didn't exactly like drinking that much. There was of course that rare exception, and perhaps tonight he would make that exception?

Nicolae found out that the son of the tavern owner had just married their barmaid. He did not ask for a drink right away though, as it wasn't really his nature to drink at all. Instead, he just picked a random table and sat there, just generally watching. As that was what he did best, aside from practicing magic. What did surprise him was that he spotted a man that looked similar to someone that he had known in the past. He just couldn't exactly place the name. This man was not far from him, in fact he was only about two feet away at the maximum.

He still could not place the name. Nicolae could see him closely from the side, but no identity came to him. It was very unlike him to start a conversation, what with him being more quiet than most men. But if this man was someone he had known in the past, then he would certainly like to know about it. He had many childhood friends, so perhaps this man was one of them? Some of them even knew that he practiced sorcery, but those were only the few he trusted. . . that majority consisted of one person, perhaps two?

"Open bar all night," the traveler Nicolae said friendlily to the strange but somewhat familiar looking man, glancing over at him for a few moments. "It's not a wonder these people are happy." Of course they would be happy about the newly weds also. But open bar all night sounded exciting, too. . . even if it didn't always interest him.

[shonz]

Gwaine was so engrossed looking at the groom who was dancing with some of the neighbors in the middle of the tavern to the beat of the music provided by a live band banging drums and playing some string and wind instruments. It was quite a merriment, one that he hadn’t experienced in a while now, and one that he would gladly indulge in fully tonight.

”Open bar all night. It's not a wonder these people are happy.”

Gwaine laughed at the voice he heard nearby. “It’s not everyday that you stumble upon a tavern offering free drinks for all,” he commented without turning towards the speaker. He took a sip from his tankard before turning, and when he did turn to face the other man, he paused and looked at him closely. The other man looked familiar, but he couldn’t quite remember exactly where he had met him. He tried to recall his previous journeys in other kingdoms, and tried to see if he had met the guy in any one of them. But no. Gwaine had quite a memory when it comes to people, but this one wasn’t too easy to place, and that intrigued him. "Have we met be---"

Before Gwaine could even finish his question, the answer came to him all of a sudden, and he couldn’t help the wide smile that flashed on his face as recognition set in. “Nicolae?” he gushed out over the loud music and laughter as he fully turned towards his old friend. Old in the sense that Nicolae was not one he had met in his many travels, but from his distant past before wandering, his past in Caerleon. Laughter bubbled up inside him at the thought of having found a dear friend, one that he thought he would never see again after having left Caerleon. “How are you, old chap? What brought you this far from Caerleon?” he asked as he clapped Nicolae’s back in a friendly gesture.

[nicolae]

All of a sudden he realized who this man was, after hearing the familiarity of his voice. Nicolae wasn't that good at remembering faces, but tended to never forget a voice. It was his old friend Gwaine, from Caerleon. Old as in they had been friends in their childhoods, and basically had not seen each other since that time. That had been, what? About seven. . . six. . . five years ago, maybe? Nicolae had intended a stronger expression, but all that came out was a faint smile when he heard Gwaine recognize him. The expression was generally used as a nod would be, as if to say that his old friend had guessed correctly.

"I've generally become a traveler," he explained. Nicolae knew this would be an interesting conversation for him, and perhaps them both. After Gwaine had left Caerleon he had never expected to meet up with him again, for during his own travels he had realized just how large the world was. . . and he had only been to Gwent, Cenred, and Mercia. He knew there was much more beyond those three kingdoms. And that the chances of meeting Gwaine in those travels were slim, so this was a nice coincidence for him. Nic would see the rest after his future visit to the great Kingdom of Camelot. "I found it hard to stay in one place for a long time," Nicolae added and then asked meekly for a drink from the barmaid. That was odd for him, he seldom ever drank. But he guessed that whenever he had conversations he felt the urge to do so.

It was then that he became curious about what had happened to his old friend after he had left Caerleon all those years ago. "So how have you been since Caerleon?" He asked curiously, quickly returning the friendly gesture that Gwaine had given him.

[shonz]

There was no mistaking it. It was one of his childhood buddies back in Caerleon Nicolae. Gwaine couldn’t imagine the glee he felt at having met someone from home. It’s been nearly a decade now since he had left, and he hadn’t seen anybody from Caerleon in his many wanderings. Granted of course, he himself had been trying to steer clear away from that place or anything or anybody related to it. But seeing Nicolae here was such a joyful surprise that Gwaine didn’t worry about being reminded of his past. Nicolae had been a good kid then. He wasn’t nobility, and neither was Gwaine until his father had become a knight of Gwent. That never did matter to Gwaine, and moreso now that he had denounced that part of his past. Perhaps it was the reason why he didn’t mind chatting Nicolae up.

“So have I. I’ve been pretty much around Albion myself. It’s a fun and interesting world to explore,” he agreed with Nicolae before downing half his tankard of ale. It was interesting to know that his friend too had been a wanderer like himself. Gwaine never did know much about Nicolae, for they never really revolved in the same circle once Gwaine and his family had moved into the upper part of village. “Haven’t really found a home for myself. I am practically a nomad so to speak.”

“What about you? Last time I was in Caerleon, you were living with your grandmother, right? How is she? Do you still live with her?” he asked utterly curious. Then a maiden walked their way bearing a tray full of small fried shrimps, and Gwaine took a couple and thanked the girl, not hiding the fact that he was looking a little too admiringly at her round backside as she sashayed away from them. “Isn’t this a lovely night?” he remarked with a wide smile on his face.