lcdyblackwood:
Clara was never much of a drinker. A glass of wine at dinner is the most she poured down her throat, even when her brothers would edge her on to take more. Ladies should never present themselves as the drunken fools that men are, she would reply haughtily to resounding laughter. Now, she saw the merits in it. The Dornish wine made her mind fuzzy and eased her thoughts in a pleasant way. She set her near empty goblet before her, her fingers idly brushing along the warm metal.
“I don’t think I could take advantage of anyone.” She said with a small smile to her new friend. “Much less while I am on my fourth cup of wine.” She took another sip, her face scrunching slightly at the sharp taste of it. “I also don’t think I’ve ever drank this much. Is this what men are always going on about? Drinking themselves silly?”
Lyssa giggled again - it amused her hugely to see Clara’s cheeks flush and her eyes go bright, and she felt an odd rush of affection. The Dornish women were many things - some of them were even her friends, after this long - but they weren’t soft and gentle in the way women of the Reach and the Riverlands were. She settled further into her seat, tucking one foot up underneath her and letting her skirts settle, clutching her glass with both hands and smiling into the dark-sea redness.
“Men are different to this when they drink, as I’m sure you know,” Lyssa said wickedly, glancing up through her eyelashes. “If they are stupid when sober, imagine how stupid they are when drunk.” She swirled the last dregs of the wine contemplatively. “I think the problem with men and drinking is that they always have just one glass too many.”
Arnem used to do that, and fall into bed and sleep for hours without moving; but at Starpike, Lyssa had never had more than a cup of wine, it wouldn’t have been appropriate, and so perhaps it was just her intense sobriety in comparison that made him distasteful. When she was tipsy - or, more likely in the desert, incredibly drunk - the men she knew now were more amusing than irritating.









