Quest

Chapter 8

Nails were lodged into my brain hole. At least that's what it felt like when I woke up the next morning. I've had some pretty killer hangovers in my day, and this was perhaps the most killer-est of them all. I hardly remember what I had drank or smoked or cast. The part of the brain that dealt with if a blacked out night was good or bad was telling me that I had had a good time, which was good enough for me.

There was no spell for hangovers, which is super fucked up. I mean, people were making people fall in love, turning into animals and shit, and they still couldn't figure out how to make a goddamn headache go away. Go figure.

I lay face down for a long moment, just wallowing like a pig in the mud of my throbbing brain. That was, until I realized that I actually had no idea where the hell I was. I pushed up quickly, too quickly because the nails pushed just a little bit deeper, forcing me to cease all movement. "Fuck," I said and lowered myself back down to the couch that I was lying on.

I looked around the room with winced eyes, trying to shut as much light out as possible. Everything was loud and bright. There was a TV on. Slowly but surely, I was able to overcome the overwhelming pain and sit up. There was a glass of orange liquid nearby, a few newspapers and magazines, an arm chair. There was an orange cap and gown draped across the back of the chair. I was in some sort of living room?

"Hi, take it easy," a silky smooth voice filled the room. Terra. It was clearly Terra. I looked over with only my eyes and confirmed this. "I bet your head's killing you right now."

It was. "I'm fine," I assured her. I was simultaneously filled with confusion, a little regret, anger and a few other things. Mostly confusion. What the hell else had happened the other day?

"I'm sure you are, I just wanted to make sure," Terra smiled warmly and sat against the chair. She pointed to the orange liquid. "You should drink that. I mean, if you want to. I put crescent root in it, it cures hangovers."

"Nothing cures hangovers," I said, trying to sound emotionless.

She grinned. "Well, maybe you just haven't been using elven cures then."

I groaned and sat up, which royaly sucked, and looked away from the cup. I wasn't going to let her win. "Where are we?" I asked.

"My place."

"That wasn't your house yesterday?"

Terra laughed. "No! I wish. I just live here by myself."

I looked around. It was now apparent that the living room was part of a modestly sized apartment. A small kitchen was attached on one end, and a hallway corner led to the rest of the rooms. "Where are your parents?"

The she-elf's warm demeanor flickered ever so slightly, but she skillfully put it back on. "Warner was telling me about you two and how you're looking for your parents," she said softly, changing the subject.

"Wait!" I stood up quickly. "Where is Warner?

"In the other room, still sleeping probably."

"Warner!" I stepped away from the couch, but the nails rode all the way from my toes to my head. Ouch.

Terra grimaced for me and stood. "You should try drinking that, it tastes good!"

I frowned at her. I was thirsty as hell, hungover as hell, and angry as hell but didn't want to let her win. The thirst won, though. I grabbed the glass slowly, to make sure she knew I wasn't happy about it, and took a sip. It was fucking great and I could literally feel my hangover melt away. By the time I had finished the last sip, I was a normal human being who was perfectly hydrated. I needed way more of this crescent root.