Get tipsy[Maria:Night]

It was late at night, Albrecht did not intend to stay away for so long. Yet in a moment of weakness he spiraled out of control, memories he'd rather bury surfaced, and in an attempt to forget he drank a bit too much, which brought shame and with it the desire for some release eventually leading him to get drunk. The Lion knew he had made a terrible mistake, one that he deeply regretted, and he couldn't let the other members of the church see him like that, and of course not repeat the mistake again.

The knight had arrived at the church's door at late night, to make sure nobody would see him. Slowly the door was open and he stepped in, each step would be thought out calmly to minimize noise. As carefully thought out as a drunk mind could that is, four our five steps in the knight lost his balance and fell, hitting his forehead on a nearby bench in the process. A loud thud would echo. The Lion found himself on the ground with his forehead bleeding.

It was a quiet night in this evening and possibly the only peace in this evening for Maria to enjoy. All of her chores were finally finished and nothing else required her immediate attention. It felt good to have nothing to do for once. But it also felt awfully empty because of it. When she finally entered the chapel through a door to the side near the altar, everything was remarkably dark save for the moonlight leaking through the stained glass windows. There was something that felt so lonely here, but oddly peaceful.

Peaceful it would be, if it weren't for a motionless body near the pew. Surprise and curiosity were the emotions she felt. It isn't every day that people chose a Church as a place to willingly sleep at. The lights flicked on and she could finally recognize who it was.


She scurried down over to his direction. But quickly noticed a red wet patch beginning to spread on the carpet around his head. Maria knelt down and examined him carefully. No wounds on the back, that was for sure. She carefully and gingerly pushed him to the side to flip him over. Flecks of blood stained his forehead, but there didn't seem to be any other known injuries as far as she could tell. Who could've done this and why? "Brother? Can you hear me? What happened?"

Once Maria had flipped the knight over, she'd also notice his cheeks were red, due to the alcohol in his blood. At first he was startled by the light and Maria talking to her, reflexively he'd lean with one of his arms and reach for his wound for the other, the same hand would wince upon actually touching the forehead. Albrecht would finally lay his eyes on Maria, she appeared worried.

"Heeeey Maria." His speech was slurred, it was not hard to tell something was off about the knight, although the odor of alcohol in his breath would probably give him away. "Don't tell anyone buuuut, i think i had one too many... like 5 or 8..." He'd look at his hands attempting to count, before turning back at the Nun and showing the amount he had drank with his fingers.

She hissed in worry just when he touched his own forehead wound and quickly grabbed his wrist to prevent him from continuing to touch the opening. The smell of alcohol stung her nostrils. It caused her features to scowl. Albrecht seemed to be such a well-rounded individual.  She never believed he was such the type to allow himself to fall into such vices, but it wasn't the first for her to be disappointed in someone. Many of the Clergy here were just as guilty more than anyone outside knew. There was something about religiosity and alcohol that mixed far more than expected.


Maria began to grasp for his other arm. She was planning to help him get on his feet and hopefully guide him to the location. If she had to, there was another alternative. But she wasn't too keen to get the stench of booze on her person like last time. Her eyes glanced at the carpet drenched with a significant spot of dark crimson. That was going to be a pain in the ass to clean and they just steam-vacuumed just this morning. Why in God's name does everyone in the Church have a drinking problem?

While drunk, the knight still had some awareness and could read the mood of the situation. It was not hard to tell she was not pleased with this situation, he did not blame her as his current state was nothing short of shameful, if only he had not tripped he'd have reached his bed and Maria would never have seen him like this... His head hanged low, in silence, for a while.

"I-i'm fine." He'd look at Maria, his tone was meek and his cheeks were red from shame. He wobbly attempted to stand up, ignoring Maria's hold of him(Unless she attempted to stop him from walking away, which shouldn't be hard)

While not exactly happy at this behavior, Maria was still concerned for Albrecht. That cut in his head didn't look very good and it was still a long way until the dormitories for someone this inebriated. She tapped his shoulder for him to stop. But before allowing him to say anything, the Cadet began to lift him almost bridal-style with relative ease. "You're drunk. And you're bleeding. Let me get you to your bed and I'll bandage your head. I won't take no for an answer, Brother."

As much as he wanted to resist, he didn't had the strength or dexterity to do so. Without any struggle Maria would be able to lift the Lion in her arms. His face completely red, such situation would be the butt of joke among his Black Lion battle brothers! Thankfully they weren't around to see him humiliated like this... So instead he accepted, although begrudgingly, and held onto Maria.

"Siiiister... P--!" Interrupted by his own hiccups, the knight took a moment before his mouth opened again. "--lease don't tell about this to anyone." He feared this event would weight on his name and result in mockery, maybe even demotion as a cadet. Maybe he deserve such things for his sin and causing Maria trouble, but it would wound his pride as a holy knight.

He fell to silence again, struggling to not pass out in her arms as she carried him through the church. He'd eventually mumble the words.

"I'm s-sorry."

In spite of Albrecht's embarrassment, Maria seemed almost amused of his reaction. While it was relatively easy to tell he was embarrassed, hopefully this was lesson enough for him to have a little more control over himself. "No worries, Brother. It will remain a secret between us two. But please be more careful and don't overindulge yourself like that. I already watch over enough people with drinking problems."

She carefully carried him over to his room. Her feet scaled through stairs and traversed through hallways with relative ease. Compared to Andraste, the Knight was like a feather to her. But it seemed locked and Maria knit her brows together in slight annoyance at this. "Brother Albrecht, do you have your room key?"

The cadet blankly stared at Maria for a brief moment, surprised that others in the church were struggling to control their impulses too, while he still felt bad he felt a bit more at ease after hearing such information and also a bit curious of who Maria was speaking of... Although it was none of his concern and he shouldn't ask, he wishes for secrecy and so probably does this mysterious alcoholic.

"Should be in my pocket..." He awkwardly tried to reach for the front pocket on his coat, it was hard to move while being in the arms of Maria, however when he actually got his hands inside he realize something was missing, a groan instinctively escaped his mouth upon this realization. "I... i think i lost my keys." It was just a snowball of problems that he was causing... he should really quit drinking.

She waited patiently as the drunkard continued to rummage for the keys. It wasn't so much that he was heavy, which he should be for someone of Maria's size. But the alcohol was reeking from his maw, it was beginning to make her feel sick. However, Maria began to close her eyes when it turned out he didn't have his key. By the next second when she opened them, she said to him.


Before allowing Albrecht to ask why, Maria raised a leg and then fiercely stomped on the door. The door knob mechanism bent and the wood splintered in a small compression from the force. It didn't blow out the door from the hinges, but it was enough to cause it to swing open despite the broken door knob. She quietly moved towards Albrecht's bed and gently laid him down there.
"Do you need anything else, Brother?"

If there was ever any doubt about Maria's strength, they were crushed just now and also worked as a reminder to not anger the nun, she could seriously destroy a man with those powerful legs. As for Albrecht, he was honestly shocked by this display of physical prowess

"I-it's fine." They could probably fix that door when he wasn't shitfaced anymore, explaining the mess tomorrow to the others at the church would be another big issue... Christ, you slip up once and the problems just snowball into one huge mess. Just thinking about it gave him a headache. Once placed in his bed he'd roll over to the other side, as if he was hiding himself in shame.

"Thanks, Astrid." He mumbled while burring his face in the pillow.

She hurriedly tried to stop him from rolling over completely. It would be a pain in the ass to wash them too, especially with blood. The red never ever gets off of the white so easily, it just leaves behind a muddy maroon stain. But it was already too late as Maria would quickly understand at the tell-tale signs. She clicked her tongue in displeasure, but at least tried to move Albrecht back down to the bed anyway. What's done is done. "I-it's okay. I'll just wash them later... By the way, who's Astrid?"

"A-ah shit..." He mumbled as Maria called him out, at this point the wound had went numb and the knight had forgotten for a moment in his drunk and bumbling state. It was quite disgraceful the situation he found himself in. "... Just put some vinegar, it should be fine." He waved his hand dismissively. However when inquired about Astrid his carefree drunk demeanor was replaced by a somber expression.

"No one important, Sister Maria... I think i'm just hallucinating." Hopefully she wouldn't press any further in the subject.

She bit her lip when he was rather dismissive about the stain. But, that wasn't important right now. That cut on his head must be tended. It didn't look that deep upon a bit of closer inspection, but infection was a thing after all. She nodded quietly and began to rise as she held up an index finger gesture with a knowing grin. "Ah, I guess all that drinking is doing the job then. Wait here, I'll come back to deal with that cut."

She left the room, but it wasn't like she didn't know. Despite the intoxication, he was able to express something outside of his stupor. Everyone had their own chips on their shoulders. Those under the Vatican's leash were no different either, especially Maria. It quickly became an unspoken rule to shy away from digging too deep in someone's personal life.

Once she came back with a a metallic white box with a red cross, the Cadet gestured him to sit back up as she began to unpack. A gauze in one hand and a bottle of rubbing alcohol in the other.


As she did, she would gingerly begin her work and pausing only when the Knight did wince before continuing again. But in the midst of all of it, she began to ask. One of idle curiosity. "Are the Black Lions all like you?"

"Hng... alright." He watched Maria leave the room, though with his blurry vision he could barely see anything past the door. He remained with his head held in the same place, his eyes felt heavy... they closed and Albrecht's consciousness began to drift away. That was cut short the moment the nun stepped inside the room again however, his eyes opened wide again, slightly startled by the noise.

Albrecht managed to remained still as Maria tended to his wound, he simply gritted his teeth during the process. During his training and lifetime he gained many scars and wounds, so he was no stranger to this situation or the pain either, he'd withstand and endure like he always does.

"Heh, this is nothing compared to what the demons can do to me." He replied to Maria's warning, attempting to grin. She then inquired about the Black Lions behavior... he was almost sure he had mentioned something before but he was open to speak about it regardless. "Drinking alcohol is part of our 'traditions' in a way. Often used as a reward to those who perform well and depriving from it as a punishment. Drinking games and competitions are the second most popular way of settling disputes as well... and have i mentioned the revelries?"