Odin rarely considered himself to be a 'normal' person. For one, he hated many things that other people valued in their everyday lives, was quite picky with his foods, and had a demon prince that embodied Pride living within him, causing him to slowly become the most arrogant man in Fiore. Whether it was because of Lucifer that Odin hated the normality of many people's lives, the dark mage knew not. After all, his earliest memory was one after he had become one with Lucifer, so he had never known life without the demon, nor did he wish to. As much as Lucifer looked out for Lucifer above all else, and was horrifically arrogant, Odin enjoyed the company, and power, that the prince provided to their joint body.

However, there was one thing that Odin couldn't help but agree with humanity on: walks in the fresh air of a park on a warm summer's day were among the most relaxing activities one could do. The wind blowing in his face, messing up his already unkempt olive green hair, but at least blowing it out of his eyes as he walked against the direction of the wind. It was a refreshing feeling indeed, and one that Odin had to admit made him feel calm and free, a couple of emotions that the dark mage rarely felt due to his occupation and its hazards. After walking for some time through the park, Odin found a nice bench to sit on, giving him time to look all over the park as he relaxed, looking actually rather approachable for once, a strange change from his own 'normal'.

Sitting on a bench had a strange effect on Odin. For one, it was a lot more dull than he had first considered, mostly due to the fact that he hadn't brought anything to do while he was there. Many people would bring a book to read, some bread to feed the passing birds, or even just their lunch, but Odin had brought none of these with him that day, and so he was lost to simply gaze at the park in which he found himself. He'd managed to seclude himself away from the masses next to a very beautiful fountain, where it was unlikely he would be disturbed or even noticed. As much as Odin wanted to enjoy the park and the normality of human nature, he often enjoyed doing it from a distance, away from the prying eyes of the actual humans. That wasn't to be the case today it seemed, as a woman sat across from Odin on another of the benches, smiling at him as they made eye contact.

At that moment Odin decided to do something he wouldn't normally do. Standing up and straightening his navy joggers and white t-shirt, he walked over to the woman and sat on the same bench as her, making sure to sit on the other end of the bench from her in case she tried something and to remain polite.

"Hello there madam, lovely place to sit isn't it. What brings you out to the park on this day?"

Despite rarely allowing such thoughts and emotions to show on his face, Odin had to admit the woman in front of him was very pretty, compared to the people he'd met in his life. Although, as he thought that, his mind wandered to Nastasya Crowe, the only other woman he'd known to any great regard, but they'd been partners training buddies, maybe even friends, depending on which one you asked. Odin had never thought of her as a female with him as a male, she had always held his respect by simply being a capable fighter, something that was much more important than how one looked. But this woman before Odin today, she was already extremely pretty, how was she at combat? Was she a simple civilian, or something more than that?

Odin couldn't help but join in her laughter as she referred to having stayed indoors on a day like this 'criminal', the grin on his face widening as he replied: "I guess that would depend on your definition of criminal. It's hardly the worst thing one could do on a day like today." As she extended her hand, introducing herself as Alisa, Odin returned the gesture by shaking the outstretched hand. "Lucifer, proud owner of the Swineherd Pub in Oak town. A pleasure, Alisa."

She kept her eyes on Odin, giving the mage a feeling like he had to say more to her, to initiate a conversation and keep it going, something he rarely did, but hey, today seemed to be a day for first times, why not add another to the list. Meeting her eyes as he spoke, his smile still present, the olive haired mage noted her eye colour being very similar, and just as unusual, as his own. He decided to play the role of someone this woman seemed very adept at dealing with: the flirtatious male.

"So what does a pretty girl like you do for a living?"

The comment that came from the girl, regarding Odin's parents, was certainly an interesting one for the dark mage to receive, given his own unique past. Unbeknownst to Odin, his parents had put their son through rigorous tests to make him the strongest mage they could for his age, before praying to their god to grant him more power. That god was actually the demon Lucifer, who granted their wish and imprinted on the young Odin, granting the mage his TakeOver abilities, which were then used to kill the young boy's mother, leaving only Odin's father to care for his son. The olive haired mage's first memory is of training with his father, at the age of eight, after his mother's death. Odin had no idea how his mother had died -he had been told it was during childbirth-, but he knew that Lucifer had taken the life of his father during an uncontrollable rage before Odin had learned to control his power.

He chuckled lightly the comment, before replying, trying to keep himself mysterious without completely destroying the mood of their current conversation: "I didn't know my mother, but I guess you could certainly say that about my father. He just wanted me to be the best I could be. His motive was just, his methods less so." Luckily, the woman was as interested in Odin's occupation as she was his pseudonym. She started by stating that her favourite pastime was sculpting: an interesting one that Odin had never tried during his, albeit short, time in the world. After all, he didn't have time to learn the skills required, and his magic wouldn't be the easiest to 'sculpt' with, given fire's intangible properties. But she had made sure to state that she did a great many things to survive, sculpting was just her favourite. It seem there may be more to this woman than originally had met Odin's crimson eyes.

"It was difficult at first, as I'm sure you can imagine. I won it from a man in a card game after he had lost everything else, but luckily I wasn't the only employee when it came under new management. I had the former bartender working for me, and he runs things in my absence. He helped me through a lot of it to begin with, but then I start enjoy myself. When you own something as big as a pub, you can kind of do what you want with it, and run it how you wish. It doesn't get the most... upstanding of patrons, but they abide by the rules so they are always welcome." It felt weird to actually say it out loud, no one had ever asked Odin how he'd managed to get a hold of the Swineherd, nor had they asked how he'd learned to cope with the responsibility, so it all came out at once. Smiling once more, a much lighter smile as he began to enjoy the woman's company, Odin decided to change the subject off of him, by returning the favour.

"So how long have you been sculpting for? And where did you learn something like that? It's not the easiest skill to pick up and master."

"Sometimes I wonder if that was even the case. If our parents want us to succeed for us, or for them."

Raising a son in combat, making him as strong as he could ever be for his age and perfecting his magic with a demonic spirit combined with his own soul, Odin had often wondered who that had been for the benefit of. Of course he knew about his father's love of the demon prince, the devotion that was often brought out of the man every time Odin made the transformation had been evident, as irritating as it had later become. Everything his father had done to better Odin had been in devotion for the demon within his son, not out of love. And even before that, to the time Odin couldn't remember, his parents had prayed and prayed for the demon prince to commune with them and become one with their son, for their own gain, not for their son's. They had always loved Lucifer, it wasn't obvious if they'd always loved Odin.

The woman listened intently as Odin regaled the story of how he came into possession of the Swineherd, laughing sweetly as she found out the details of how he had won the estate. It was a relief to have someone so interested in Odin's story and his past, and it made telling the story that much more enjoyable. As he finished, he watched Alisa look to the sky and she pondered all the different types of people Odin must've met in the pub, and even suggested visiting it herself one day, which caused Odin himself to release a light-hearted laugh before interjecting briefly: "The people that enter my pub are certainly characters. They respect the rules though, so even the rowdiness I can allow. It's inevitable given the location. I think you'd enjoy it, but of course I'm going to say that. It doubles up as an inn as well, so you'd be welcome to stay the night in one of the rooms. After all, can't have a beautiful woman like yourself stuck in Oak without a place to stay."

It was then that Odin listened to the woman's own story about her sculpting, how she had started five years ago, how she had mastered it rather quickly after doing it every day, and how she hadn't viewed it as art until after someone had pointed it out to her, making her feel like. She ended by stating that passion and aiming for perfection made anything art, even unconventional activities, which got Odin thinking, especially as she then asked which form of art was his own preference.

"I think there are many different forms of art, from the obvious mediums like paint and marble, to the more abstract. As for my favourite kind, this may seem cliché but I've always found the primal nature of battle to be an interesting form of artistry. There are things found in death matches that'll never be seen in any other form of life, and those are things that can be captured. From true fear to primal rage, I think it's why many people view battle as the purest form of humanity, in a way they aren't wholly incorrect. I just think battle is a way to understand human nature in a completely different way from any other concept. But hey, that's my personal opinion, many wouldn't agree with it." Taking a moment to pause, Odin decided he hadn't found out everything he wished to know: "So what is it you sculpt? I know stone and marble are usually the most common, but I don't like making assumptions."

Alisa commended Odin's, or rather Lucifer's, ability to keep the shady characters that came into the pub in line. It was certainly challenging, but many of the one's that entered weren't necessarily mages, and the one's who were usually weren't from Phantom Lord, as they had their own lodging within their guild. Having normal mercenaries and low level guildless mages enter the pub was always a fun sight to behold, especially with Odin behind the bar, dressed in a shirt, waistcoat and suit trousers, he didn't look the most intimidating of people in the bar, which always made for an eventful evening if the mage or merc decided to make their presence known, usually by announcing to the entire pub that they were the strongest, and demanding preferential treatment under the threat of death. The regulars would usually laugh at these threats, as they knew what was coming, but the egotistic one would just get angry, before coming up to Odin and threatening him directly. After a brief discussion and the demon prince of pride being unleashed upon the fool, their differences would be settled, and the one who dared insult Odin's hospitality would end up in hospital, either from physical pain or, more likely, from terror. Many times had it happened, and it was one joke that never got old. All you had to do was respect the rules.

"Usually the roughnecks know not to try anything." was all Odin said in response to Alisa's first comment, before raising an eyebrow as the raven haired woman agreed with Odin's description of pure art being found in the form of battle. It was refreshing to see that he hadn't completely destroyed the mood of the conversation by turning it depressing, which is what he had been expecting. Much to his surprise, she understood and even added to what Odin had said, calling the purity of battle to merely be one part of the duality of human nature, where one could be both barbaric and kind. It was one of the reasons human beings were such complex characters: you could never truly know which part of the coin someone favoured.

His eyebrow did not lower as Alisa told him what it was that she carved, and another laugh escaped his lips: an occurrence that was happening far more often today than any other as she called herself cliché. "I'll admit I'm not quite sure what it was I was expecting you to say, but it certainly wasn't crystals." It was true, Odin had never really heard of someone using crystals to carve sculptures with, and probably for good reason as well. For one, crystals were among the hardest materials in existence, so the tools that were no doubt required to carve it would have to be of the highest quality. And even before that, there was a much more important question that needed to be answered: "Where the hell do you get enough crystals to carve them into something meaningful?" The curse was said much more playfully than angrily. He had been taken aback by her statement, but he was equally as curious. A crystal carver... "Well aren't you just full of surprises."

A cheeky smile, like one that a delinquent child would wear when being told off by a friend, was present on Odin's face as Alisa spoke of his strength. It had been said as a statement of truth originally, as opposed to a statement of boasting, but either way Alisa was not incorrect. Wielding a powerful magic he hadn't seen anyone use to the same level as he -like the man using Beast Soul Takeover he once met while Odin utilised the much stronger Demon Soul- Odin knew he was both powerful and unique, and that made him dangerous to many people, and terrifying to many more, a reputation he made sure to enforce to any who tried to wrong him or his pub.

Despite these thoughts running through Odin's mind, he said nothing instead letting Alisa continue as she explained how she managed to not only sculpt with crystal, but also source the crystals required. The answer he received had been the only logical one, given the circumstances, but it still caused an eyebrow to rise. Pink crystal formed out of seemingly nothing in the woman's smooth hand, as her eyes stayed on Odin's who's own eyes were transfixed by the magic at work. After Alisa mentioned that she still used her hands to sculpt the crystal, despite not needing to, Odin blinked and came out of his trance, returning his gaze to Alisa's ruby eyes as he spoke. "You said you do lots of things to earn money, but sculpting is your favourite of them. Might I assume by the way you sculpt that one of those 'other things' involves being an affiliated mage with the guilds?" Judging by the fact that they were in Magnolia, it was likely that Alisa could be a member of the Fairy Tail guild, a revelation that would make the entirety of their conversation together extremely ironic. Hell, it would be a pain if she were a member of any light guild, but it wouldn't really change much. Odin had already given her a fake name, he had a second identity to go with it. Odin, despite being his true name, was more rarely used than Lucifer, as Lucifer was simply the friendly bartender from Oak town, not a mage or anything special. Besides, even if Odin wanted to showcase his magic for Alisa, he didn't wield the simplest or friendliest of powers.