Honor out the door (Dominik)

[teperehmi]

It was a bad night. Joseph had just a little bit too much to drink on top of some of the worst card playing he had ever done. His drinking had actually started early in the morning, so by the time he had reached the tavern, he was pretty far gone. He knew he wasn’t thinking clearly, but that still didn’t prevent him from throwing a larger than normal sum of money on the pile in a game of whist. Joseph didn’t even usually play whist. There were usually too many people involved. But, still, that is what he did.

Naturally enough, he lost. And to add salt to the wound, the gentleman who did win, gloated. It was hard enough seeing just how much he had lost and knowing that he made a mistake; he just couldn’t take the gloating. It pushed him to the edge and knocked him over it.

Joseph lost it. “Well, it’s easy enough to win when you toss honor out the door.”

The man stopped gloating and stared at him. “What did you just say?”

Joseph threw down the cards he had in his hands. He slowly pushed his chair back and stood up. “You clearly heard every word that I said. I play with honor. Some of us…do not.”

By this time the gentleman had also stood up. The tavern fell to silence. Everybody was beginning to gather around, waiting with bated breath.

The man gave a short derisive laugh. “Did you just accuse me of cheating?”

The tension in the air was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Joseph knew that he was walking a dangerous path. One couldn’t make such an accusation without it leading to a call for satisfaction. The man he was calling out was a highly respected patron of that tavern. Joseph knew that no one would back him up. But perhaps it was the alcohol, but he couldn’t bring himself to back down.

“So there is some sort of intelligence in that fat head of yours, after all.” Joseph was clearly looking for a fight.

The man was beginning to turn red with anger. “How dare you…”

Joseph laughed. “Like this.” He tried to take a swing at the man but a couple of other men had grabbed him and pulled him back at last second. He struggled against them but in vain. “LET GO OF ME!”

[Dallas]

>>DOMINIK

Dominik walked down the street, a little spring to his step. The French man, Jacques Timothee, had sent him recently to his distributing office in Pennsylvania. He was just suppose to pick up some papers then head back to Virginia. Though the man seemed to favor Dominik and he could have sworn he wanted him to be his apprentice. It was nice to know, it also meant that he had a chance to earn more money. It amused him to think of the houses he could buy if only he could make more money.

Well... It would probably also be nice to finally start searching for his brother Andreas, but realistically his brother was probably dead by now, or very far north since that is where he heard most of the action is happening. It would be impractical for him to go that far north anyway since he was living in Norfolk now. The Colonies in general though seemed to be better for opportunity, and whether or not he found Andres he wanted to stay in the Colonies.

People were beginning to clear off the streets, after all it was getting late in the evening. It was tiresome to think that he had to start the journey back even though it was getting late. He had some money in his pocket for the ride back, but he was beginning to wonder if he should stay the night then head home in the morning. Suddenly though he heard a shout down the street. Everybody turned their heads for a moment and he gazed over, trying to see past the spectators. What in the hell? He saw a man being dragged out of a building by two men, fighting the whole way. It only made him wonder what he could have done to make them pull him out like that.

Dominik hadn't lived in the city for very long, compared to how long he had been living on farmland, so he still didn't get everything that went on in cities. He didn't like them though, and never understood why his brother liked being in town better. He pushed his way past a few people to see the man being thrown down into the gutter. The man reminded him of his brother, so many times Andreas had been thrown down like that, only to get up again and continue making trouble for the soldiers. He was interested in why exactly he had been thrown out so harshly. He grinned at the man as he thought of the right words to say, “Td'ey must be really angry wi'dt yea, eh?” He put his hands in his pockets as he finished. “What dit you do?”

[teperehmi]

Joseph just laid there and laughed. Oh he was furious, alright. But a part of him, a small part, found the entire situation absolutely amusing. He stood up suddenly, stumbling a bit as the world briefly spun.

“You’re all a bunch of bloody cowards.” He shouted at the closed door of the tavern.

“You are-“He stopped suddenly as he was suddenly aware that someone was speaking to him. He looked around to find the source of the voice. It belonged to a young man, hardly older than a boy. He stepped close to him and looked him closely in the face. He hadn’t actually caught a single word that he said. “What did you just say? Nevermind. They’re all a bunch of cowardly sods. Cheating and the like without the noble attentions of even taking a swing. You’d never do that, right? Backing down from a fight and all that. Because if you did, I’d have to fight you right here and now.”

Joseph suddenly ran up and kicked the door. “Ow!” He grabbed his bruised foot before falling to the ground from lack of balance. “Damn it.”

Stumbling up again, he looked for the young man. “Who are you again? And why are you in my business?” He looked at him curiously. “Are you good at cards?”

He knew he was no longer thinking clearly. Hell, he hadn’t been thinking clearly since noon. His anger had gone as quickly as it had come. At least he thought so. Regardless, he now needed something else to do.

“Nevermind any of that. I’d offer to buy you a drink, but I seem to be out of money at the moment. And I don’t seem to be welcome here anymore.” He thought a moment. “But there are other taverns. You want a drink? I know I sure as hell could use one.”

[Dallas]

>>DOMINIK

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In all his life Dominik had never encountered a man who acted like this guy. Well he was probably drunk, from what he could tell. It definitely looked and sounded like it. Suddenly the man came right up in his face. He would have made an effort to listen to what he had just said to him, but he was to busy trying to breathe through the man's wretched breathe. He blinked his eyes a couple of times and turned slightly away from him. Yep, definitely drunk. The man seemed to be talking about something. Then a question. He hoped it wasn't directed at him because he hadn't been paying attention to what he was saying.

It didn't matter anyway the man suddenly ran to the door and kicked it, which only made Dominik laugh. Through his merriment he strung together a sentence, “I do not td'ink td'at worket!” Then the man turned to him again and asked who he was again. He just grinned at him, it was funny to watch a drunk man babble on. He asked if he was good at cards. Dominik wasn't exactly sure what that meant to be good 'at cards' but he had a feeling he didn't need to say anything logical to a drunk anyway. It was obvious why he had gotten himself kicked out though. Probably mouthed off someone.

Everyone around them had started going off to do their own things once again. Dominik sighed as he realized he did have to start heading back, even though the sun was very close to setting by now. Then the man said something else. He listened, though he didn't expect much. When the man asked if he wanted a drink Dominik grinned again and fought back another fit of laughter. Though he did want to do anything other then paying for a ride back to Virginia. He hadn't ever drunk before though, but he knew that you weren't suppose to have to much or else you end up like this guy. Tonight he didn't feel like calculating risks though, he'd throw caution to the wind. Why not he was usually so stuck up and never had time for fun. So he walked over to the man's side and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Alright I will have a drink widt yae.”

[teperehmi]

The man was laughing. Joseph looked at him. He certainly wasn’t from around there. “Is that English you’re speaking? Doesn’t sound much like it. Said your name was…was that, Worket or something? Odd name.” He shook his head as he tried to regain his focus. “Must be from Boston,” he muttered to himself.

As they walked, Joseph’s mind went a mile a minute. That usually happened when he drank large amounts. Thoughts just seemed to spin and swirl around over and over again, tumbling into each other in one large incoherent mess. Most seemed focused on his father. Angry thoughts at the old man and bitter recollections of the last time they spoke. It was nothing out of the ordinary. But before he knew it, his mind stopped on something a bit unexpected. His three sisters.

“How is it, that a gentleman…such as myself, who enjoys the occasional drink and the rare game of chance…like all good gentlemen of fortune…such as myself do…on occasion…I mean not very often at all. Hardly ever drink, really. What I mean to say was…well…” Joseph suddenly lost his train of thought as he looked around. “Where are we? Oh, wait, nevermind. I know where we are.” He nudged his acquaintance. “Good thing about Philadelphia is there’s a tavern nearly every hundred feet.” He laughed.

“What was I saying before? Oh yeah, I’m a gentleman of fortune. A large fortune. Maybe. Maybe not anymore…at least not after tonight. But a gentleman is what I am.”

He stopped outside a small stone building. A loud sound of laughter was coming out the door. “Here we are. You are paying, right?” Joseph pushed him inside. “Good.” He said without waiting for an answer. “Sounds like a cheerful lot. Maybe we can get a good game going.”

[Dallas]

>>DOMINIK

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The man was so confused, it only made Dominik grin even wider. He was going on about his name. Haven't even told him that yet. The man then said that he was probably from some where called Boston... He wasn't even sure he knew where Boston was. Must be in the North. He concluded. Really he didn't know much about the northern colonies, he had mostly been in the south, Virginia specifically. This man seemed to be a fun guy, maybe if he wasn't so drunk. Of course he was fun to watch when he was drunk.

To his excitement they began walking down the road, towards where ever it was they were going. The whole time though all he could think about was what his father and mother would think of what he was doing. Making friends with a drunkard then following him to a tavern. Well if Andreas was alive he would cuff him over the head. Strange, since Dominik had been the one cuffing Andreas over the head when he told them that he was going to work at a printing press. He took a breath in and tried to clear his thoughts. It was starting to make his head hurt, thinking of his family and all.

Then the man spoke up, and he listened intently to what he had to say. He got the basis of what he was saying, though he didn't understand a few words. That was partially because he was just rambling in a drunken state. He smirked when the man said he hardly ever drank, Oh ya, like I believe that. It could be true, but it could also be false. He looked around at the stores when the man nudged him slightly. There was in fact a tavern near by. Again a little red flag went up in his mind. Quickly he put it aside. He worked his butt off every day, for the past seven years of his life. He deserved one night off from the stress.

The man continued to babble on, but he didn't listen. He was to enthralled by the new sights, sounds, and smells that were lingering in the building. It was an adventure he had never been on before, and it was overwhelming any caution that was with him. Then the man asked if he was paying, “Well-” He didn't have time to reply, because the man just simply pushed him in. He looked around at the different men that were littered across the tavern. I suppose I could pay only a little... As long as he had some money left then he could get a ride back to Virginia at least. He'd have to walk the rest of the way, but he could make an excuse for his lateness. The man then stated that they could probably get a good game going. What kind of game? That was yet to be discovered. Though it was probably gambling. What had he called it again? “A game of chance?” He looked back, not really expecting the man to understand anything he said.