We drink to forget (Ashe)

”Never said anything about taste,” Ashe replied as she watched him sniff the bottle. He was quite… different from the last time she had seen him. When had that been? In passing somewhere around Northaven, perhaps when he was guarding the princess. The last time she had spoken to him… that had been during the explosions, hadn’t it? When she had called to aid, told him to direct the Guard and get as much of the fire under control as they could while she had dove into those destroyed buildings, searching for survivors. And before that? She nearly shuddered at the memory of that colossal stone beast, the one she had nearly died defeating. Kaladin had become a battle buddy of sorts, back when she had that kind of fire in her. It seemed he had lost that fire too. Ashe frowned as he drained a third of the bottle in one go, narrowing her eyes. Served her right for handing off her booze, she supposed. Approaching anyone. At the least, Kaladin didn’t seem to expect or want pleasant company. As he tossed the bottle back at her, she smoothly caught it with a single hand before it could hit the ground, her eyes never leaving the ex-royal guard. She wondered briefly why she stopped to speak to him, why she hadn’t continued on her not-so-merry way to find the next den to curl up in and keep warm. Maybe it was the need for a familiar face that hadn’t had the misfortune of truly being apart of her life, someone who seemed as miserable as her without it being her fault. Ashe took a long pull from the bottle, teeth clenching as she cringed against the burn in her throat and nose. Whatever the shit was - brandy maybe? - it was strong enough to make her eyes nearly water. The effect was rapid, tingling heat spreading from her chest and into the tips of her fingers. Never did take much for the small woman. She glanced at the man beside her, assessing him and his gruff nature carefully. She had never known him well, not enough to know his ticks and quirks, but there had always been a naive and kind sort of feeling she got from him. She didn’t get that feeling anymore. ”I’ve been staying out of sight in this fresh hell hole,” she answered. She hadn’t been here long before her husband left her. Before she had broken them apart with running away in the wake of night terrors. Her jaw clenched as she took another long drink, and it burned less this time as she handed the bottle back towards the man. ”And no. I haven’t.” She didn’t elaborate, didn’t touch on the fact that she’d very illegally become one back in Northaven. Ashe turned fractured eyes to the crackling fire, the meat that cooked above it. ”The fuck happened to you, Kaladin?” Ashe asked, glancing at him briefly before staring back into the flames. ashetta it's live or die my way.