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Gwaine knew how to handle a sword, he could talk himself out of most situations, but one thing he was terrible at was consoling others. Especially women. He'd never had to, so he was rather out of practice. He was constantly worried about making whatever Brynn was putting herself through worse. It was quite unusual for him to be so quiet for so long, but chattering away aimlessly, as he usually did, wouldn't make anything better really would it?

He just kept his arm around her, Jesu even that felt awkward. Of course there was nothing in the gesture. It was to let her know that he was there and nothing more. He couldn't imagine what was going through her head, and yet at the same time he could. Gwaine took grief in a different way. After the death of his father he had just been angry, he'd run through every scenario he could to try and justify why he had died, and the rest of the men around him had lived on. Grief was a fickle thing, it could change your very being, and it had certainly changed Gwaine. He had left home and had embarked on the life of a nomad. In retrospect, it had made him the person he was today, and he wouldn't have had it any other way. He suspected that this wasn't the same for Brynn though, he couldn't imagine how this would ever be alright for her. However, he would at least try to help her while she grieved.

Brynn's words made him wince and he wasn't sure if he should answer her or not. Brynn was still upset, she was bound to say things that she would regret eventually but he shrugged. "You can only do whatever you feel comfortable with Brynn; you were only doing what you thought was right." Now he would start trying to reason with her, because he honestly hated seeing her like this. It wasn't her at all, and he doubted that she liked it either.

To be honest, Gwaine didn't know how to answer her. Everyone dealt with grief differently, and how he dealt with it would definately be different to the way Brynn would deal with it. "You need to be strong Brynn, Alex wouldn't want to see you like this." Perhaps that would make her see sense, or at least get her to calm down.

Gwaine was sat with an ale, but it was a more contemplative drink than he was used to. It had been a long few days, and no one would have known why it had affected him so much. It had felt so strange, dream like even, to see the man who had condemned his family to poverty to be cut down at his feet by Arthur like he was nothing. The King of Caerleon was one man who Gwaine could never forgive, but at the same time was it right for him to be cut down in such a rash way? Gwaine knew better than to question Arthur’s authority, and he wouldn’t assume to hold a position to question him; even if they were quite close.

Now there was talk of peace with Caerleon and Gwaine wasn’t quite sure how he felt about it. He probably still had family there, unless they had moved on. Of course it was better the two nations were going to be at peace, but he could still never forgive the actions of the late King. He had essentially condemned his mother and brothers to a life of poverty after declining to help them financially after the death of his father. It still stung in Gwaine’s stomach, it was something he could never let go of. It was what had spurred his hatred of nobles for so long. Though that view was waning with the more time he spent in Camelot, it was still there deep down.

Gwaine took another sip of his ale, ignoring the giggles of a pretty young barmaid who was collecting the glasses. Usually he would be the first to jump up and take the opportunity, but tonight he just didn’t feel like it. He had been there ready and willing to fight the army of his homeland in the name of King Arthur, he had been ready to take his revenge for his father. But would it have achieved anything? Would he have felt any better for it? Probably not; fighting was never a good method for revenge, any idiot knew that. But still, he had felt it at the time, he had been ready to enact his revenge upon the Kingdom which had ruined his family and robbed him of his father.

Of course none of the other Knights had known this. Gwaine couldn’t imagine anyone having made the connection between himself and Caerleon, he had only really told Merlin about his past, and even then it had been a long time ago; he probably didn’t remember. He groaned to himself, it was too noisy in here; he couldn’t think. Pushing away his drink to now rather happy looking drunk he got up and left the tavern. A few heads turned in surprise at his sudden and premature departure but Gwaine shrugged it off; he couldn’t be bothered with this, not tonight.

He walked out into the cool night air, the sun had only just dipped beneath the hills and the first evening stars had began to start showing in the clear night sky and Gwaine looked up at them briefly. It certainly was quieter out here than it had been in the tavern. Couples and the occasional peasant brushed past him, as if he wasn’t there at all. He didn’t feel like himself at all. He began to walk down the streets of Camelot in a quite quiet mood which was unusual for him, occasionally looking to the side of him as more people began to brush past him. Honestly where did all these people suddenly have to be? Or was evening in Camelot always this busy? He was usually in the tavern so he never really noticed.

Turning his gaze sarcastically to Lucan he raised an eye brow. Alcohol relapse? Seriously? However, his later comment did redeem Lucan somewhat. Gwaine ran a hand through his hair (which was his pride and joy) and gave a small 'heh'. "Well, only one of us will go down as the prettiest, and I think we both know which one of that will be." He grinned and gave Lucan a wink.

"I shall hold you to that quick ale." Gwaine promised faithfully. Of course Gwaine would keep a promise that involved ale; it was him after all. However, Gwaine did make a mental note to not annoy Lucan in training. He'd rather not end up like Yvaine; he valued his good looks too much.

Gwaine hated patrolling on his own. For one it meant he actually had to use his own initiative and face things without a helping hand. But more importantly, it meant he had no ones ear to chew off with his thoughts. It wasn't his fault exactly that he just had too many thoughts to cope with; he just had to share some of them with his fellow knights. Gwaine thought it was unfair he had gained a reputation amongst some of the knights as being a bit chatty, after all, he had spent quite a lot of his life on his own. He was just making up for lost time.

As he journeyed down the alleyway, he took his sword in his hand and began swishing it about as he shifted down the ally. They had been practicing some specific sword skills in training. In particular, Ellyn had been showing him some tricks, and he was after perfecting them. It wouldn't hurt to show off would it? Especially if it meant a few women and an ale or two afterwards. It sounded like a good plan to Gwaine. He made the occasional 'Heh' and 'Hah' noise as he continued to stab the air in a rather impressive way.

Getting mostly drunk was only half the fun really. If you were half drunk then you could still remember the problems in your life. However, when you were completely drunk you were in some sort of bliss. However even that was bittersweet as being in that state meant that you were vulnerable. With Gwaine's life style being as it was, making yourself vulnerable was always a big no no. He could get drunk enough to be happy, but not drunk enough to lose his wits. No he had only done that a few times in his earlier days, and he had regretted it ever since. Shrugging at Griff's words he took another swig of ale. It was starting to get to that point where he wouldn't have known the difference if he was drinking ale or water. He should probably stop drinking soon... "Mostly drunk works for me." He insisted and therefore kept on drinking. "I don't want to look as bad as you anyway." He gave him a grin just to let him know he was joking.

It was probably the amount Gwaine had had to drink, but he liked Griff's thinking! What did it matter how much he had drunk? What mattered most was how much he was about to drink. After all social drinking was acceptable wasn't it?

Gwaine was slightly inspired for a few moments. He should be helping cheer Griff up, not slowly getting drunk here with him. It had been a while since Gwaine had had any fun with another man whilst he was on the way to getting drunk. Perhaps he could make it fun. He looked around them, hmm now the nightlife round here was incredibly dull. Oh well Gwaine had an imagination. He set his tankard back down on the table and looked at Griff. "Well as long as we're here, with drink, shall we play a game?" Gwaine had picked up a few drinking games in his time. They were basically used to get yourself drunk in the quickest and most amusing way possible. "I have a few ideas, unless you'd prefer to drink and talk until we drop?"

Gwaine felt awkward just sat there, watching on as Brynn sobbed. He couldn't even move to comfort her as she really didn't know how to. He didn't want to say the wrong thing or make this any harder for this than it already was. Then again, how was that possible? He knew how close Brynn had been to Alex, he had seen the twinkle in her eyes when she had spoken of him. Now that twinkle was as lifeless as the man himself. Something shifted uncomfortably in Gwaine's stomach and he ran a hand over his face. Jesu he was no good at this. He'd never had to comfort a woman before. The last time he could remember having to comfort anyone had been his own mother after his after his own father's death. He felt just as awkward as he had then. He was a grown man now, surly he should be able to handle this better than he was?!

As she spoke, he didn't move to do any more than the small gesture that he had already performed. He didn't know what to do. Did she want him to do anymore? Gwaine honestly had no idea so he just didn't do anything. He just remained quiet and let her continue to weep. In a way he was glad that he had been the one to find her. Perhaps others would not have understood, or worse, perhaps she would have ended up sitting here for the rest of the day crying by herself. It did no good to grieve alone, and it didn't solve anything in Gwaine's experience.

"I'm so sorry." He finally spoke, and he tried to catch her eye line, though she was not yet looking at him. He couldn't blame her, but he did shift himself now, just slightly closer to her. Her last outcry had been quite out of character to her, and had smacks of desperation within them. He was now close enough to stop her doing herself any harm if it came to that. After all Gwaine was a fickle thing; he had no idea how this would affect Brynn, but he was prepared for anything.

It had been a long night; an extremely long night. The first night of the ghosts attacks, and they had terrorised the citizens of Camelot. Of course they had heard about the creatures appearance the day before, but it still couldn't prepare them for what had happened. The destruction these creatures just left in their wake was something that Gwaine had found quite frightening in a way. He was more worried of course for the citizens of Camelot than he was for himself. He had been on patrol with Lucan the night before, and there was talk of riding out

However there was no rest for the Knights of Camelot while these things were still on the lose. It seemed as if they were only present during the night, but Gwaine was still incredibly jumpy and itchy. They had figured out that fire repelled the creatures somewhat, so they had been using that to full effect. However, he would feel quite foolish walking round in full daylight with a torch, so he had opted merely for his sword. Though he doubted you could stab these creatures, they had seemed pretty unstabable last night anyway. How could you stab air?!

Gwaine was now on his own sweeping through the surrounding countryside. The general mission was to sweep the landscape, and Gwaine had been left to this side of the surrounding area. He was safe enough by himself during the daylight. He had told the others where he was sweeping anyway, so long as he didn't stray too far off the beaten track he knew he would be fine.

As he heard a voice up ahead he paused and stopped himself; his ears pricking up to try and catch the voice up ahead. His first thought was that it could be trouble; well that was always his first thought wasn't it? Years on the road had taught Gwaine to keep his guard up until he had reason to let it down. Stepping cautiously towards the noise, his hand rested on the hilt of his sword in case his predictions were true.

Gwaine began to walk towards the meadows, his hand still on his sword. It didn't sound exactly like a threatening noise; it sounded like...sobbing? Confusion lined his brow and he stepped with a quicker pace until a small, curled up figure appeared in his eyeline. His hand fell from the top of his sword as he realised exactly who was sat sobbing in front of him, "Brynn?"

Gwaine wasn't particularly a fan of heights, but especially not when he was in such close proximity to Arthur. After shifting about a bit, he decided that no matter what he did there was no way he was going to be able to be comfortable while he was still stuck in this net with Arthur. It was nothing personal to the Prince of course, but it wasn't the best position to be in. It was certainly something Gwaine never wanted to relive again, though it could feature in a few of his future jests with the Prince.

There of course was the immediate rush of adrenalin which ripped through Gwaine as he tried to look down to the ground. Had they fallen trap to some bandits, or something more sinister or worrying. Gwaine knew that on his own his meant very little, but the Prince and heir to the throne of Camelot was in the net as well, which raised the value of the catch somewhat. All of these thoughts racing through Gwaine's head was not helping his hangover. Jesu, would this headache ever end?

Although he was straining to see whoever was approaching them, he heard Arthur call out to them to release them and he just nodded in agreement. He was going to shout out something equally as threatening but he managed a, "What he said, let us down!" He just wanted to be back on the ground. Heights and a hangover, could Gwaine's day get any better? He looked across to Arthur and let out a small 'heh' and then gave a cocky grin, "Well this is cosy isn't it?"

It was a shock that whoever it was was complying with Arthur's words in the first place, but the next shock came when Gwaine realised that he and Arthur were hurtling downwards towards the ground. The quickest reaction he had was to shift his sword so that it did not impale in the ground or stab him in the fall. Neither situation would result in a fabulous outcome for him or Arthur. Gwaine let out a sharp groan as he finally hit the floor; Jesu that had hurt. His armour had dragged him to the ground faster than he assumed the average man would fall, which made the impact harder; fabulous.

He was quite sure nothing was broken. His pride and most of his back was bruised but no, there was no serious harm done. He looked across to Arthur straight away as he stretched out his arms, confirming neither were broken, "I can think of better ways to travel." He then turned his attentions to the person standing quite close to him. Her appearance struck him with some surprise, she had a foreign look about her; even with Gwaine's travelling he had not come across someone like her before. But of course she was but a woman, and all women were there to be charmed. He took her hand casually and hauled himself up off the ground, "I am much better now thank you." He said, finishing it off with a rather charming smile, "Tell me," He looked back up to where he and Arthur had been swinging a few moments previous, "Is capturing men a hobby of yours?"

So it was the middle of the night, and Gwaine had found himself patrolling round the dimly lit streets of Camelot with his fellow knight, Lucan. This was ridiculous, at this hour Gwaine should have already had an ale, or two, or several... However it all came with the title of being a knight. Though Gwaine had been slightly reluctant to put himself at the mercy of an enemy they didn't yet know how to fight completely, it had seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

Gwaine cocked a grin at Lucan and let out a small chuckle, "It's not bogeymen I'm worried about." Gwaine could handle an enemy who you knew, for example when you were fighting another soldier or a knight you knew what to expect. What on earth did you do when you were confronted with moving shapes in the darkness? Of course everyone had already figured out that fire had some effect on them. It wasn't permanent, but at least it scared them off. Gwaine of course wasn't completely scared, he just didn't like the idea of these creatures just jumping out at them. It wasn't his idea of fun to say the least. It was nighttime, he should have be in the tavern!

Nodding in acknowledgement of Lucan's words, Gwaine kept close to his fellow knight. The lower town was not too far away, and they had been patrolling for a good few hours now anyway. They certainly deserved some sleep. "Or grab a quick ale, and then get some sleep." Gwaine put in, seeing his chances of getting even a whiff of ale under Lucan's watch. His chances were probably slim, but oh well; he would make it up next time he was in the taverns. Plus, there was no such thing as a 'quick' ale in Gwaine's experience.

He shot Lucan a knowing smile as he mentioned about his shoulder. Training this morning had been a bout of jests that was for sure. It had been one of the rare occasions that Gwaine had turned up to training without a hangover; a rare but welcomed occurance. "Was that from Yvaine's tackle?" He asked with a small chuckle as he held up the torch he was holding in his hand; keeping his eyes up ahead of them in case trouble sprung.

Would he sober up if he was in Griff’s position? In truth Gwaine hadn’t had the pleasure of even being close to anything he supposed Griff was feeling. Looking at the man, he was sure he never wanted to. Running a hand through his hair Gwaine looked back to Griff with quite a jesting expression. He wasn’t aiming to feed the man’s depression, but he couldn’t think of anything ele to say. “Probably not.” He replied before taking the last swig of his tankard. Where on earth had all that ale gone so quickly? Gwaine was not usually one for drinking so quickly in company, oh well, this was going to be a fun evening one way or the other.

Although Gwaine was somewhat unconvinced at Griff’s sudden change of heart he could hardly argue with it. After all, he didn’t want to sit here all evening with a depressed drunk did he? He clapped Griff on the shoulder with a grin, “Thats my man, who needs women anyway eh?” Of course that was complete nonsense to Gwaine, how could you not want to constantly be in the arms of a beautiful woman? Though that was probably not what Griff wanted to hear right now so he should probably just leave that topic alone whilst he was around Griff. Gwaine was sure he could go one night without trying to chat up the local barmaid; he would just have to make it up tomorrow night.

In Gwaine’s eyes this revelation of Griff’s deserved some sort of celebration. And low and behold they were in a tavern. Life just couldn’t get any better sometimes could it? “This deserves another drink.” He declared quickly, it was only his third since entering the tavern, though Gwaine was now convinced he probably wouldn’t be leaving this spot at all until he decided it was time for sleep. Even then he’d probably just slump here until the tavern owner told him to move; that was how he usually coped with this sort of situation anyway. Gwaine called for two more ales and the barman was more than happy to comply. He handed Griff his ale and raised it in some sort of happy, celebratory gesture, “To a life without women.” He jested and winked at Griff, letting out a small chuckle at the man. Well Griff could go his whole life without wanting a woman to warm his bed, Gwaine on the other hand would certainly not let his bed grow cold over the years.