Don't ask, don't tell

The elf rolled her eyes, getting another shot. "Was it Brenda, Becky or Criquette this one time", she murmured mockingly.
Horknath, good soul, couldn't recognize an overdramatic drunk when he saw one. Or a lie, for that matters. "Man, sorry. That sucks", he just told him, going for an awkward shoulder pat.

Yvan sniffled once more, and finally fell asleep at some point, beginning to snore loudly.
Valdyr eyed Horknath suspiciously. "Is that a friend of yours, or just some random drunk guy you just met?"

"Uh..." Horknath looked at Yvan, blinking. "... yeah, no. Just met him." He sighed, emptying his glass. So much for company.
The elf snickered. "He so doesn't know his limits, I swear. Guess I'll have to bring him home again."

"You know that poor guy?" Valdyr asked the elf, arching a brow.

"Sure. He always gets around here", the elf answered simply. "I hang around here a lot, I know every usual customer." She arched a brow at him back. "Can't say I know you, though. New in town?"

"Just passing by," Valdyr replied, not too keen on giving too much information. "We'll be gone by tomorrow morning anyway."

The elf chuckled. "Hey easy on me there, sunshine. I didn't ask for your passport", she said, gesturing for another round of shots. "Whatever suits you, I guess. I'm just here to have fun." She looked at Horknath carefully poking Yvan, to make sure he was ok.

"You just come to the inn to see this poor man drink himself up?" Valdyr couldn't help but smile a bit at that idea. But he had to clench his hands on his beer when Yvan suddenly sprang up, yelling. "THE END IS COMING," the man bursted out hysterically, before he looked around, lost, and laid his eyes on Horknath. "Wow. Big teeth you've got there, sir."

Horknath almost jumped back. "What the f-", he cursed, before blinking at that observation. "...yeah, huh. Thanks for noticing, he said awkwardly, chugging down his drink.
The elf didn't bat an eye at that outburst. She just let out a laugh. "Well, c'mon. You can't say that's not fun, am I right? Your friend almost peed himself there", she smiled cheekily at Valdyr.

"... Well it's true that i've never seen him taken aback until now," Valdyr couldn't help but chuckle.
Yvan, on his side, looked around, feeling more lost than ever. "Man, I wished I didn't have to drink that much," he finally sighed, while looking at his empty glass.

Horknath grunted. "Yeah", he said, remembering the small fire. "...well why don't you just... you know... drink less", he suggested.
The elf smiled more. "Yeah. Big guy doesnt seem someone who'd get easily spooked. What about you, sunshine?", she added, throwing down a shot.

Yvan looked at Horknath, bewildered. "But then the voices come back," he mumbled. "When I wake up tomorrow morning, they come back," he added, as he tried to see if there was another drop of alcohol into his glass.
"I almost dropped my beer too, and I've got nothing to prove to you," Valdyr replied. "Always depends on the circumstances. For example, you didn't get startled because you know the guy, correct?"

"... voices?" Horknath inquired, carefully. He left it there. Yvan didn't have to answer if he didn't want to. He knew better than anyone that there were things people'd prefer to keep for themselves.
"Meh. I know the guy AND I really don't get spooked easily. Jumpscares like that one? It gets newbies. Not me."

"Voices," Yvan replied blandly, before he started to doze off again, and crashed on the counter, snoring loudly once more.
Valdyr looked down at Yvan, arching a brow. "If you know the guy, you should really get that man back to his bed, for his own good."

"Oh, he'll be fine", she waved it off. "I'll bring him away in a bit. What, are you already trying to dump me? That'd set a record. I don't even know your name, and you didn't even offer me a drink, bucko", she grinned at him.

"Well I'm sorry miss, but I don't really swing for elves," Valdyr replied with a quick, forced smile. "Why are you so interested in us, by the way?"

"Heh. You don't see outsiders a lot around here, you know. I think it is normal to get curious. Town's small and all", she just said vaguely. She looked behind herself, exchanging a glare with someone in a darker corner of the tavern. "Ugh", she muttered. "Well. Fun's busted, gotta get to work. Have fun with your new drunk friend and... with the big guy. If that's what you're into", she added, as if she couldn't help herself. Then she flipped some money on the desk and rapidly walked away.
Horknath looked at her quizzically. "Something's wrong?" He asked. That woman looked hella suspicious.

"Nothing," Valdyr grunted. "But I'm not sure I'd like to stay too long in this place. I don't like nosy people like this elf," he sighed, as he gulped down the rest of his beer. "Don't deliver too much information on us both, alright?"

Horknath shrugged. "It's not like people like to talk with me /willingly/, you know. Don't worry", he added then. He didn't miss to notice that she had left that poor man on his own though.
From a far away table, a figure was observing them carefully.

Valdyr felt like somebody was watching them now, but that was his paranoia speaking. He hadn't actually spotted said figure, yet he jumped down from his chair. "I'll go back up. Stay alert," he whispered to Horknath.
And beside the orc, Yvan kept snoring happily. At least this one wasn't spying on anyone.

"Yeah, I will come up in a bit anyway", Horknath told him, waving. He looked again at the sleeping man at his side and sighed. Should he be a good Samaritan? He tried to ask the bartender if Yvan had a room there.

The bartender could assure Horknath that acutally, Yvan had been living here for some weeks now, and never left the Inn. Sure, he seemed completely off his own shoes, but at least, he paid every single bill. Kind of a weird fellow.

Horknath had the bartender give him the number of the room of the man and, after paying the drinks, grunting, he tried to put Yvan on his feet. "Come on", he huffed, grabbing him. The bartender exchanged a glance with the hidden figure, and carefully slipped a folded paper in Horknath's back pocket. The half-orc didn't notice.

Yvan whined as he woke up, and started to sloppily walk his way upstairs with Horknath. "Heeeey bud," he finally mumbled as they got up. "You seem like a strong boy, uh?"

"Yeah, I guess I am pretty strong", Horknath answered gruffly, a bit embarrassed. It had been a long time since somebody had called him a boy, honestly. "Hold on, we're almost there", he reassured Yvan, finally reaching the right floor.