Jareth took a generous sip, and as soon as it hit his tongue, he visibly relaxed. He hadn’t had beer this good since Bierfest, and years before that. If the thought of home didn’t bring such conflicted emotions, he’d have felt homesick. It didn’t, though, and he savored the mug, careful to not just toss it all back at once. He could only imagine how much it had cost.
“Thanks,” he said after a moment. “Almost as good as being home.”
“You’re very welcome,” she said pleased the moment she saw the tension leave his shoulders. “You just arrived last year, right?” She was starting to remember. “You were sparring Aspel that one time when you first got here. I was having cupcakes with Li,” she explained. “You’re really good. I was really surprised at your ability.” Oh yeah, she’d probably said all this before, but she didn’t remember. She wasn’t as drunk as she was last time, so luckily her words weren’t slurred. There was no reference to them meeting at Bierfest and there wouldn’t be. All she remembered was some rejection then sobbing all over Rene when it was over.
“You moved pretty far. Are you here temporarily or do you think you’re going to stay for good?” Aspel looked like she was staying for good. She didn’t know about Rictor. Several other people immigrated to the city and stayed, but there were a lot who were just passing through, leaving promises that they always had a room for her wherever they lived.
Right, he thought, taking another drink. Li and the fucking cupcakes. “Not planning on leaving any time soon,” he said. “Joined up with the EKP and everything. They’d hunt my fucking ass down if I tried to leave.” He was pretty sure Thornton and Finch would, too - if only to keep their own workloads from ballooning. Finch would deserve it, but he had a grudging respect for Thornton.
“What class are you, anyway?” If she knew Li, either she was decent or he just really wanted some fucking cupcakes. Who knew with him.