That could have gone better… David thought grimly to himself after Ethan sprinted back into the kitchen immediately upon seeing him. He took another sip of the very strong and very good beer the large Innkeeper had poured for him.

He turned around and looked at the table where Miguel, Leah and Alera were watching him expectantly, all with similar looks of concern on their faces. David gave them a shrug and a frown and turned back to the bar.

He’ll come back, he just wasn’t expecting to see me here. He reassured himself.

“Jerry! Mihal!” A panicked male voice screamed from the kitchen. “Chef needs help!”

The innkeeper, Jerry, ran back into the kitchen, the door swung open in a crash as it hit the door. A man in polished metal armor with a glorious mustache jumped from his seat at the bar and ran around the counter after him.

Oh fuck. David thought, getting up to follow them. He stopped before he got to the bar and signaled to his group to wait for him before sprinting into the kitchen.

Ethan was curled into a ball on the ground, his body shaking in convulsions as he sobbed. The guard with the mustache knelt on the ground next to him, trying to calm him down. Shit fuck. He’d seen Ethan have panic attacks before, they were never pretty.

Jerry and the other cook were standing over him, talking in quick whispers.

“Let me see him,” David placed his hand on the guard’s shoulder, motioning for him to give them space. “I’m a friend, from before he came here.”

Mihal looked up and nodded before effortlessly standing up, a feat, David knew, to do in full plate armor.

“Ethan…” David whispered calmly as he knelt next to his friend, reaching out and resting a hand on his side.

“NO!” Ethan screamed at him, tears running down his pale face. “You can’t be here! It’s not safe! Not safe! Not safe! Not safe…” his voice trailed off as he repeated the same phrase through his sobs.

“I’m here, Ethan,” David said patiently, not taking his hand from his convulsing friend’s back. “And I’m safe.”

Ethan said nothing, just continued to sob and rock.

“Take deep breaths,” David said slowly, inhaling and exhaling slowly. “In and out, in and out.” He repeated his breathing.

“Go away! You shouldn’t be here!” Ethan screamed at him again.

“This is exactly where I need to be,” David tried again to calm him down. “With you, I’m always going to be with you.”

“No!” Ethan shouted again, his voice breaking as he cried. “I failed! All of you! I can’t keep you safe! Go away!”

“You didn’t, Ethan,” David channeled holy energy through his body and into his hands. A small, quick healing spell he hoped would calm Ethan down. “We’re all safe, you didn’t fail. Heal.” He spoke the word of power and the white energy transferred into his friend.

Immediately, Ethan stopped shaking. His muscles relaxed and his breathing slowly became more stable. David was surprised at how quickly it worked.

“Ethan…?” He whispered, not taking his hand off his friend.

“Go away, David!” Ethan shouted angrily back through his tears. “Please.” He begged.

A large hand touched David’s shoulder, he turned to see Jerry had walked up behind him. He had completely forgotten anyone else was there as he focused on Ethan.

“Alright,” he said quietly, standing up. “I just…” he paused, now wasn’t the right time to tell Ethan everything. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Ethan said nothing, he just continued rocking and sobbing.

I didn’t realize how bad it was. David felt sick to his stomach as he allowed Jerry to lead him back into the inn.

“Listen, friend,” Jerry said grimly as they walked into the kitchen, stopping by a table full of dirty dishes. “I don’t know how you know Ethan, but thank you.” David thought he saw a single tear roll into the large man’s bristly black beard.

“I, uh,” he wasn’t sure how to explain his relationship with Ethan. “I’ve known Ethan since we were kids. Is he, has he been like this long?”

“Since the day he got here,” Jerry looked sadly towards the back door, “he’s done nothing but drink and cook. Heh, I had to cut him off, I got so worried about him.”

“You’re a good man, Jerry,” David reached out and squeezed the innkeeper’s arm. “He, um, he’s always had problems, but I’ve never seen him get this bad.”

Jerry turned back and looked at him. David felt from the look on his face that he was being appraised.

“Did you come to take him home?” He asked.

“I have to,” David nodded, matching his gaze.

“Do you think that’s a good idea? With him being like he his now?”

“I don’t have a choice,” David shook his head, “we need him.”

“Jerry?” A soft feminine voice stopped the innkeeper from saying anything else.

“Alera!” Jerry’s expression changed to joy instantly as he recognized his former bartender. “What in the hells are you doing back here?” He asked, rushing over to hug her.

“I, ooof,” she grunted as his hug crushed the air from her lungs. “I’m here with David, for Ethan.”

“Now’s not the time, Alera,” David shook his head as he walked over to her and Jerry. “He’s worse than I realized.”

Jerry looked between the two of them in confusion.

“Please, David, just let me talk to him,” she begged, tears in her eyes. “This is my fault.”

“Only partially,” David put his hand on her shoulder, trying to take the sting from his words. “But I know you’re going to try to make it right. Just not now.”

Jerry continued to eye both of them.

“Alera, why don’t you fill me in on what you’ve been up to since you left?” Jerry seemed to understand that David was right, about what, he didn’t know. Just that this wasn’t the time for Alera to see Ethan.

David let himself fall backwards to rest against the wooden table, the legs scratched along the floor from his sudden weight. Fuck. He swore to himself as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Umm… sir?” A voice came from the back door where he’d left Ethan in the care of the guard and the cook.

David whipped his head around and saw the guard half carrying Ethan through the door. The cook behind them, in case Ethan fell backwards again.

“Ethan,” David hurried over to them, but Ethan held up a hand to stop him, his other arm draped over the guard’s shoulder.

“No, David, Listen,” he said quietly, his face still pale and his eyes red and puffy.

“Okay,” David backed up a step, holding his hands open in a gesture of calming.

“David, I,” Ethan paused, “I want you to leave. Please.” He pleaded.

“Ethan, I-“ David tried to say, not moving.

“No,” Ethan shook his head. “It’s what I need. I failed and now you’re all in danger.”

“That’s not-“

“It is,” Ethan nodded, a tear rolling down his cheek. “That’s exactly what happened, and you know it. Please, just leave me here.”

“Etha-“

“Excuse me sir,” The guard took Ethan’s hand off his shoulder, leaving him to stand alone. “He asked you to leave, and I suggest you do.” His words sounded like a threat, but the look on his mustached face was full of concern. “Please.”

David understood his meaning and simply nodded.

“Ethan, please take care of yourself,” he said sadly and began to turn around but stopped. “I love you, brother.”

Ethan just nodded at him, tears pouring down his face as he supported himself against a wall.

Jerry and Alera were chatting at the bar when David reentered the dining area. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Alera looked like she’d been crying and Jerry had his arm around her.

“Well?” Leah asked as David sat down at the table with her and Miguel.

“It’s bad,” he said wearily, taking a drink from one of the mugs in front of him. He didn’t know whose it was, nor did he particularly care.

“How bad?” Miguel asked quietly.

David downed the drink in one gulp.

“Full on panic attack the moment he saw me.” He slammed the mug down harder than he meant to, drawing nervous glances from the people at the tables next to them. “Sorry.” He apologized.

“Fuck,” Miguel swore and drank from the mug in front of him.

“What are we going to do?” Leah asked, playing with the end of her braid nervously. “We can't leave him here hurting like this.”

“Right now,” David looked at her, “it’s what he wants.”

A sizzle and a flash of blue light lit up the table as Alera reappeared.

“Sorry,” she apologized for her sudden appearance, taking the only empty seat, her back to the bar. “Mihal asked Jerry to help get Ethan back in and I didn’t think he should see me. He told me some of what’s been going on, said Ethan hasn’t been sober since he got here.”

“Fuck,” Miguel swore again as he craned his neck to get a look at Ethan. David turned his head slightly, not wanting Ethan to see him either.

“He looks awful,” Leah said.

David hadn’t fully appreciated how terrible Ethan looked as he tried to help calm him down. Mihal was helping him up the stairs as Jerry followed. His cheeks were sunk in and he looked like he’d lost a significant amount of weight. His eyes were still puffy, but dark black circles were clearly visible.

“We can’t leave him here like this,” Miguel said after Ethan disappeared up the stairs.

“We’re not,” David said firmly, “he just needs a little time. I’ll try again tomorrow.”