Going Out

[Damon Andaris]

A moment of silence, and then Vaughn spoke. It would be soon. Damon knew that. He'd been in enough bar fights to understand the tension in the air, and Damon and Vaughn were doing nothing to help that - in fact, they were purposefully adding to it. Damon took the drink Vaughn offered, taking a swig, and he laughed as Vaughn spoke. But before he could finish speaking, it began.

Damon dropped his drink instantly, not paying attention to the smash of glass and the spill of a full mug of ale. Damon noted that the punch went wide, and a burst of pride went through him. Maybe Vaughn would be better at this than he thought. It was a good duck. Vaughn grabbed the closest man, called for music, and Damon cheered aloud. What was a bar fight without a good soundtrack? Crouching slightly, Damon backed up from the table, eyeing the three men who had stood up from the gambling table. They advanced slowly, and Damon felt the itch of lightning in his hand.

And then Vaughn went down, and everything went to chaos.

The two men jumped forward. Damon lunged forward, too, which they hadn't been expecting. He dove right into the first man's stomach, tackling him to the ground - the one whose wife he was going to borrow. Grinning, Damon arose, straddling, and pulling his hand back, he slammed his fist right into the man's nose. A scream emerged from him, and blood poured out of his nose. But before he could land a second punch, the other two men grabbed him, kneeing him in the spine and pulling him up.

He groaned in pain, and the two men pushed him back against the wall. He was vaguely aware of Vaughn fighting, but the whole bar had erupted into chaos. Everywhere people were throwing punches, fighting, and the music played on. Damon couldn't help but grin, even as one of the men kneed him in the balls while the other man through a punch. The pain in his groin caused him to double over, but it caused the other man to miss his punch, slamming his fist into the wall with a sickening crunch. Definitely broken. Through the pain, Damon used the opportunity to dive forward again, headbutting the other man right in his sternum. He stumbled back, and Damon rushed through the crowd again to find Vaughn.

Well, stumbled, more like it. But he shoved his way through the brawl, finding the final gambler standing over a hunched body, kicking it in the ribs repetitively. Vaughn. "Hey!" he yelled, but the man didn't hear him above the din. Grinning, ready for a lightning fight, he drew on the power of Palenon and hurled a bolt of lightning towards the man. But with the alcohol and reevi, he missed - completely. It went wide, and hit another woman in the back. She yelled, the tingling pain surging through her body. "Shit, sorry!" he called, before trying again.

This one hit. It hit the man in the back of the leg, causing shocking pain and numbness. But with his alcohol, it was nothing more than a sharp sudden shock. But it distracted the man from Vaughn, and turned to Damon. "Ready for a light show?" Damon teased, and got ready to face the final man, giving Vaughn a chance to recover and rejoin the fight if he chose.

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[Vaughn]

He was not a brawler, had never been a good fighter, and so when the second and then third punch hit him in the gut he went down to his knees. The others dropped his arms and he crumpled, and the man stood over him, bringing his foot hard into Vaughn's side. He went to the ground and struggled to get back to hands and knees but the man kicked him again in the ribs and this time Vaughn stayed down. Looming over him, the other laughed.

Something happened then; there was a great flickering of light. A noise like paper tearing, only it was the air that tore, and then what looked like a bolt of lightning went soaring past, hitting a woman in the back. Those nearby who saw what had happened scrambled out of the way as she went down, screeching.

Another noise like the air being torn and then the man standing over him flinched, going at once rigid as light danced over his body. But unlike the woman he didn't go down. Instead he turned around to face the lightning-wielder. Damon.

Vaughn, lying on his back on the ground trying to find his breath, gave out a weak, wheezing cheer. "Fuck you," he slurred to the man who had been kicking him, and hobbled to his knees then to his feet. His belly and sides ached and he stumbled in place, leaning on a table. But never one to stay down for long he wiped at his mouth with his arm, smearing a bit of red-silver blood on his sleeve, and reached out to tap the man on the shoulder. He grinned as the other turned once more to face him, and punched him hard in the face, sending him sprawling back into Damon's waiting arms.

"Light 'im up," he said, and watched as the other did Ilaren's good work.

Soon as the man was downed Vaughn put his fingers to his lips and whistled, sharp and sudden. "Everyone!" he called. Trying to get their attention. Most if not all kept fighting. He laughed, looking to Damon with eyes shining gold. There was a bubble of space around them. No one wanted to bother the man who threw lightning.

"We did this!" Vaughn said, incredulous, and strode over and scooped the other man up in a tight hug, high on more than just the moment, lifting Damon off his feet and squeezing him despite the ache in his own ribs. "Woo!" he screamed, pulling away, stumbling a bit as he did. Having to keep a hand on Damon's shoulder for support. He found another glass that had been abandoned on a table, who knew whose, and took a long drink. Wiping his mouth again.

"Next round on me!" he shouted to the rest of the tavern, and all who were still fighting let up a wild cheer, almost a scream.

"To Ilaren!" he roared, pounding Damon's back, and they all screamed once more.

The crowd might have been Ilaren's but Vaughn had given the fight to Chrien, and so he rededicated the taste of blood in his mouth to Her, thumping his fist against his chest and giving Her the feel of his pain, thinking the brawling tavern was in some ways much like a storm.

In this case, a storm complete with lightning.