Drabble – Too Loud II

Hephaestion sat sipping his wine calmly. He was very relaxed, mellow and at ease, the complete opposite of the man in the room with him.

Alexander was angry. They had just returned from a meeting with all of his other generals and it had been a disaster. Things had not gone as the King had planned which had resulted in a lot of yelling, mostly coming from the King himself. The more he yelled the worse things had gotten. Finally he dismissed everyone and stomped to his rooms with Hephaestion.

Hephaestion remain quiet, letting Alexander wind down. His face was getting a little less red and blotchy; his throat scratchy from raising his voice and his pacing had slowed down to a slow circle. Finally Alexander took a seat across from his trusted friend and commander and sat quietly.

"What do you think?"

Hephaestion smiled before he answered, "Which part of what you have yelled do you want to know?"

Alexander frowned but didn't loose his temper again.

"They are making me insane. Why won't they listen to me?"

"They didn't hear you." Hephaestion said calmly.

"I was screaming it at them in the end, are they deaf?"

"That's just it, you were yelling so loudly, they quit listening and tuned you out."

Alexander leaned forward in his chair, "I don't understand what you are trying to say?"

Hephaestion took a deep breath and sighed. "When you're trying to get someone to understand what you have to say, if you talk they listen. But if you start to yell and rant, they only hear the anger, they quit listening to the words you are trying to convey. The anger drowns out the words."

Alexander sat back in his chair and starting chewing on his lower lip. He looked at his friend and Hephaestion could see him thinking things over.

"When you let your anger take over the conversation, you loose some of your control over any situation and they see that and they use it."

Alexander nodded.

"Do you see what I'm trying to say?"

"Whatever point I'm trying to make means nothing if they don't hear it, if my anger gets in the way, they tone me out."

"Right."

"So you are saying to always keep my voice down and don't get too loud to show they who is really in charge?"

Hephaestion nodded but broke out in a big grin. "There is, though, a time when you have no control of how loud you get and, I might add, you don't even care. And it's alright to not keep your emotions in check at those times."

"When? You just said I had to not loose control?"

Hephaestion slipped off his chair and moved closer to Alexander. He straddled Alexander's lap and started nibbling on his earlobe, then his neck and captured his lips, all the while moving his hips slowly on Alexander's thighs.

Alexander groaned loudly.

"Like now, Alexander, you can get as loud as you like."