Discordant Note | TBATE

Chapter 61: Backers

Toren Daen

I groaned slightly as I awoke in bed. I rubbed my forehead, furrowing my brows as a slow pulsing headache pressed against the backs of my eyes.

I immediately wanted to sink back into my bed. It was so warm; so soft. There wasn't that irritating sunlight out and about.

The events of last night slowly dragged themselves to the forefront of my mind. How I slowly nodded off during Darrin's story. And I hadn't drunk any water or eaten any food with my magically enhanced alcohol. And this body had never indulged in a drop of booze before in its life.

Crap.

"I wasn't even that drunk," I said with irritation as I rolled off the bed, hitting the floor with a dull thump. "Ow."

I wallowed there in my blankets, every now and then taking in new details about the room. It seemed Darrin had rented me a bed in the Shimmerken's Hoard. It was a cozy little place, if spartan. A simple bedstand was next to my little bed, and the room was small. I spotted a door leading to what I suspected was a bathroom.

The Unseen World washed over my vision, revealing a very disappointed phoenix looking down at me from above. "I advised against this course of action," she said. "And now you suffer for it."

I groaned again, rolling to my hands and knees. I'd need to make myself presentable before I went downstairs. "For all your magic enhancements, this world has to have some sort of hangover cure," I moaned, slowly pulling myself to my feet. "It's got to."

"Our asuran bodies are more than powerful enough to banish 'hangovers,' as your races call them. After nights of revelry in Epheotus, our Clans have never needed to soothe such pains," the phoenix replied.

Lucky bastards and their improved physiques. But my bond's words made me pause as I hauled myself up. "Asura have parties?" I asked, somewhat incredulous.

"Of course we did," the phoenix replied, sounding almost affronted. "Lifespans stretching toward infinity does not negate the desire for short bouts of enjoyment."

I remembered the aftermath of college parties in my previous world. What kind of cleanup would deities have to do? "How did the continent handle that?" I asked, genuinely curious.

The phoenix appeared to flush, something that gave me pause. "Clan Aerind hosted the grandest of gatherings. Hundreds of leagues away from our populous centers."

Ah, I thought, understanding the implications. They don't clean up.

Honestly, that wasn't too far off from my previous life either.

There was a quiet silence as I finally got to my feet, one that was finally broken by my Bond shaking her feathered head. "You are a troublesome bundle of human desires, Contractor," she said, trailing behind me as I lethargically brushed my teeth in the attached bathroom.

I spit out my toothpaste. Really, it was a common mixture of baking soda, charcoal, and a bit of mint for freshening the breath. Not even a paste. "Don't put it that way. I think I'm growing on you," I said with a weary smirk as I washed the mix down the sink.

"You have burdened me with caring for your wellbeing," the phoenix replied primly. "That you do not make it easy does not endear me to you."

I rolled my eyes, moving some mana from my core to them. It helped dull the pain somewhat. "That's an interesting way to say you were worried about me," I said, withdrawing a brush from my dimension ring and doing a once-over on my hair, which was starting to grow out. I would have to tie it back into a tail eventually.