[ if alhaitham is surprised by the sheer volume of kaveh's outburst, it doesn't remotely show; nor does he flinch when a lithe finger is pointed accusingly in his face, so close that a drunken sway in the wrong direction would end up with a digit in his nose. there's a noticeable drop in the ambient volume of the tavern as kaveh's lyrical voice cuts through it in an impassioned yell, some patrons giving the two of them sidelong looks and whispering things behind their hands.

public opinion was never really much of alhaitham's concern in the first place - people would always talk, so why bother caring about it? but kaveh was always the one worried about his image, about his downfall, his living situation, the perception others had of him; and here he was, drawing all that attention he didn't want to him, as usual.

most illogical.

with a bemused expression, the scribe nods a brief 'thanks' to the bartender, both for the water and not for getting further involved in what was already a messy situation. both of the glasses of water end up slid over in kaveh's direction as a suggestion to drink, though the thought of pouring one over the blonde's head does briefly pop into alhaitham's head to speed the sobering process up. ]

If you're slurring your words, you need a welfare check. [ he replies flatly, one arm leaning against the bar as he fixes kaveh with that unwavering gaze of his. ] You can't even sit up straight.

[ and maybe he'd seen the architect in a much worse state but - he wasn't often this furious. something had crawled under kaveh's skin, and the curiosity inside alhaitham was dying to figure out what it was. ]

'This asshole' would also like to point out that's going to leave a stain.

[ alhaitham points at the wine kaveh had just spilt over his hand, the crimson alcohol starting to creep into the cuff of his white sleeve. with a stilted sigh; ]

Why are you so worked up tonight?