Felix counted each coin in his hand carefully. "Twenty four, twenty five..." He quietly said to himself before slipping the money into his pouch having confirmed he'd not been cheated. A smile grew upon his face as he put said bag into his pocket and walked along the road. "They don't con with coin around here." Grand Harbor was a good town for a mercenary like him. It seemed like every man, woman and child had a job for him, each willing to negotiate to his heart's content about the exact payout. From Felix's understanding this exchange of work and commerce was being pretty pushed by the government around here. Chances are one day they wouldn't need to appeal to foreign mercenaries like him as much, so for the time being he ought to stick around and take advantage of the present.

Felix was renting a little apartment near the center of Grand Harbor, one of many that had been newly constructed to appeal to foreign workers. He'd managed to become quite familiar with the area around it - he knew which streets would get him out of the neighborhood the fastest, he knew the best places to buy supplies and he knew which of his neighbors were eligible bachelorettes. But perhaps most importantly of all, he knew which taverns were worth spending his time in and which weren't. Tonight's destination was The Flying Boar - the best in the area. While he did occasionally visit The Winking Robot, a rowdy but fun place or The White Ale, a more generic but still good type of establishment, he found that on some nights he enjoyed the more peaceful, less crowded vibe that The Flying Boar gave off. It was tucked away in a little street corner between bookstores and antique shops. Easy to miss, unlike the two others he had considered, with their big signs and well placed locations right on major street corners.

But that was the thing about The Flying Boar. Less people came, but each one found it for a reason. Perhaps they were curious, perhaps they were lost, perhaps they were crazy - there was nobody generic here, not that he had met since arriving. One man from two nights ago had so many tales of monster-slaying accidents that he might as well write a best-selling book about it, and another was a master painter who only came to such a quiet tavern thanks to that refined contrarianism that so many of the finest artists possess. Felix would almost say he was the least special man there, but that was a lie - he thought far too highly of himself to ever admit that!

Felix took his seat at the counter, the barkeeper smiling on approach. "Ah, Felix! Been half a week since we last saw you, eh? Though you might've finally gotten bored of this little place." Felix didn't even need to order his drink, the bartender already making it as he walked in. 'Heh, you're far too humble. This place is the strangest thing on Earthland, bar none." The bartender passed Felix his favorite as he spoke. "As flattering as always my friend. I've got to go fetch something from the cellar - if I could be less humble for a moment, do you mind watching the bar to make sure nobody gets some smart ideas in the few minutes I'm gone?" He asked, Felix making an affirmative sound as he drank. "You don't even need to ask." He'd finally say as he lifted the cup away from his lips. [color:4c9d=ff99cc]"I won't take my eyes off the back for a single second."

The bartender's smile turned even warmer. "Thanks a million." He'd say, hurrying past the door that led to a place that only the employees could go. Felix then had his eyes on the bar for a single second... before quickly setting them free on the rest of the building, seeing just who was here tonight.

Old guy. Old guy with an eyepatch that made him seem mysterious. Construction worker. Construction worker's girlfriend. She was cute. Good for him. Washed-up... comedian? His suit was rather funny. He looked like someone had just stolen all of his money and half his pride though, poor guy. Felix assessed each of the customers around the bar, finding none of them particularly interesting. It didn't seem like there were any women worth chasing either, at last not without having to worry about a contruction beam being rammed into his stomach while he slept. But then that all changed. She walked in.

There were many things that could make a person's appearance stand out. Clothing was one of them - a good example being the old man with the patch. A person's facial features or hair could as well. As could their body. In Felix's experiences Fiore had, quite frankly, a lot of very exceptional and unique people. This was especially true among mages and adventurers. It seemed like everyone had the fashion sense of a play's main character. Some of the hairstyles he had seen looked more like a pretentious artist's sculpture. Faces were often at least alright and so many women had a ridiculously large chest that it wasn't really ridiculous anymore.  But this girl was different. She was different because she surpassed so many in all of the right ways.

Her hair was tastefully short yet its bright blonde color was a delight to look at. Her top was well chosen and the bright blue worked well with both her hair and eyes. But Felix would be lying if he said those took up the majority of his attention. Instead it was when she walked past him towards the other side that he knew he had to speak to her. He had seen countless people in his life as a wandering mecenary. But never before had that side of someone been so perfect - and in the perfect outfit no less. It turned out that he would spend a hell of a lot of time looking in the complete opposite direction of the bar.

Felix turned to face her. "Bartender's out for now, but I can tend to you." His lines were about as usual - a mix of horrible and bad, somehow finding their mark despite the arrow being made of duct tape and straw. He quickly invited himself behind the counter, playing at being a bartender and grabbing a glass effortlessly, as if he had worked here for many years. "Tell me your name and you'll get a discount." He flashed her a smile, raising an eyebrow a little bit. "What can I get you, Ms...?"

Felix had spoken with quite a number of people since he had gotten here and almost all had been multi-lingual in some way so he had begun to just assume people would know one of his languages. He was lucky enough to not have to switch over. "De Luca. Felix De Luca. As for what's good in this place..." Felix turned back towards the shelf, reaching up towards a bottle near the top without hesitation. It was a rather easy task for someone as tall as himself. "Is this. You might be telling me your secrets in a few minutes though." He jokingly warned, spinning around and opening the bottle. It was rum. The liquid poured somewhat quickly into the glass yet he still managed to pull the bottle away at just the last second before the entire counter was soaked. "Name discount's 50. Beauty discount's 50. Go ahead." He gestured at the glass, smiling even wider at her before slipping the bottle away. He would probably have a bit later, especially if she brought it up.

"No, I'm not from around here. I guess you could call me a... wanderer looking for work. It's hard to focus on work in a city as amazing as this though. Would be like eating a salad first when there's a steak right there." Contrary to his words Felix didn't actually harbor any distaste towards salads. "And yourself?" He turned around again, stepping forward towards the part of the counter she sat at and resting one of his hands on it. Even when leaning on the counter the sheer height difference between the two was very apparent. He looked down on her eyes, admiring their color. It was a rare color where he was from. "Fiorian elf, I take it? What do you plan to do all the way out here? I certainly hope it's me."

Felix was rather happy to hear that Atani approved of his pouring skills. In truth he had once served as a bartender for a while after receiving an injury on the job. that prevented him from fighting. It was a rather amazing and relaxing way to spend a few months. "Athalran? Never been there, but I will one day. Far too many interesting places in the world sometimes... hard to make room for each one." In a sense he talked as though he was muttering to himself. While Felix would certainly love to visit every single location in the entire world he knew it was impossible. He hoped he'd get to visit somewhere as signifigant as Athalran eventually though.

Felix smirked to himself and let out the smallest of half-chuckles at her reply. He was a bigger fan of her every second. "I'm not that forward with any girl at all." He placed his other hand on the counter now, leaning slightly down towards her - though definitely nowhere near close enough to be right up in her face. "A body like your's isn't one I'd associate with anybody but... a goddess, perhaps." It was perhaps one of the boldest things he had ever said within 5 minutes of meeting someone but he couldn't help himself. It was also among the cheesiest, yet it really didn't feel that way. For some reason or another this particular lady just made him unable to stop himself. Why? Even he had moment of ocassional self-restraint. The fact of the matter was that he knew exactly why. That same reason why would probably cause him to say and do at least 12 other stupid things by the end of the hour. "Anything else this mere mortal can do for you?" He asked, his eyebrow raised.

"If it's a first then clearly nobody's been looking at the right angle." He had to wonder if she knew about how amazing it was. How much it completely trumped all the competition no matter where she went. She had to have, right? Then again, people on Earthland were weird sometimes. "I see your... divine sight has also clued you in~" He joked, the face of being a bartender being thrown out the window as he went to search through the bottles again. "I'm the bartender's favorite, so I get to watch after the bar while he's gone. Though depending on how you look at it his opinion could be upside down." Felix began drinking straight out of the bottle almost the moment he found it. Good stuff. He never quite liked glasses, as barbaric as such a line sounded.

"I'm sure he'll understand." He winked, leaning on the corner of the counter which was pretty close to Atani anyways. "So what brings you to this bar specifically, Atani? I find it very interesting in some respects. Everytime I come here I always think about how everyone's... weird." Feliix took yet another drink as he started to shove more of the stuff all the way down his throat. Clearly he had no more intentions of holding himself back. That bartender was taking wayyyyy too long to get back. "Beauty aside, nothing stands out as weird about you... yet. Go on, spill your secrets. Spill your heart too, if you don't mind. Felix doubted she would just start talking so early and so easily, but you never know. He had found that a mix of charm and luck had gotten him many places before - and he had felt incredibly lucky since the moment he saw Atani walk in.

"I can't say I know Orchidia that well, but I've been there at least a couple times. Too mossy for my tastes, I think. I'm more of a desert or snow town kinda guy. Port towns are cool too." Felix considered ranking every archetype of town but he stopped himself. He'd have to say that forest towns were definitely low on the list though. Best not mention that to an elf. "As for my profession, it's technically a mercenary. Served for a pretty reputable company of them, but everyone else got a little too old for that life. So now I look for new jobs myself. It's a good excuse to go to many places and meet cute elves in bars, you know." He smirked at her, taking another drink. He felt so forward tonight. Why? If he fumbled this girl then he'd be missing out on the best rear in all of Earthland, hands down. But he never really considered if he'd fail or not. He was him. He'd succeed before the night ended, obviously.

"But tell you what. I can tell just by the way you look that you've had countless handsome young men approach you and tell you how they're oh-so well traveled. But let me show you I'm more than just well-traveled. Ask me about any detail about a town in Fiore and I'll give you a completely true answer. Go on, think of a little quiz for me. If you manage to beat me I'll let you ask me a question that isn't boring." He joked, wondering if she'd even bite. Most people would probably take a moment to think of some challenging piece of trivia about a country. He just hoped to god it wasn't about Orchidia. "Same goes to me. If I get it right I might open up a secret from that chest of your's." His eyes moved down a little bit. "Treasure chest, of course."

"Joining a guild, huh?"" Felix had never really been one for the more organized structure of a guild. While he was part of a band of mercenaries in the past something along those lines was much more informal than a guild. Guilds seemed to fancy themselves as being important and structured while a group of mercenaries was really nothing more than a group of greedy men looking to tackle jobs as a group rather than risk having their head blown off in the pursuit of a few thousand jewels. "Can't say I have before. No guild's ever been interesting enough to sign up for - besides the one you're a part of, if there is one?" He raised his eyebrow, smirk rising. He'd do just about anything for this chance, even get a tacky tattoo.

Felix was of course rather familiar with Dahlia. He'd been there less than some other towns in Fiore but he tended to remember it more. It was the kind of place that you couldn't forget - for all the wrong reasons. At the very least it wasn't boring. "While I'm sure you'd like to hear there are ghosts, that kind of fantastical answer is rather booring." Felix delivered the pun without any real fanfare, almost as if he barely noticed he made it himself. "No, the lycans are what you'll actually find. Hideous beasts - they're your antonym for sure. Now let's see..." Felix was bold to assume he had the right answer and pressed his fingers to his mouth gently, thinking of what exactly to ask her. There were far too many things he was curious about. Ultimately he decided to let her pick the secret - it was a good way of learning how her mind worked, what things she was most willing to give up. It gave him clues on the things she was actually hiding. "Your choice. Give me a secret. One you think I'd like."

Felix narrowed his eyes further at the girl. He supposed that she would have little reason to lie, especially to some random stranger who was already convinced she was a walking goddess on a metaphorical level. "Power, huh? What exactly does that entail? Bending the fabric of reality?" Finishing what was left in his glass he began pouring himself an additional helping from the bottle, topping up what was left in Atani's as well. "No, knowing the gods it's probably either very stereotypical or full of enough complications to make even a lawyer's head spin." He placed the bottle back down on the counter, hoping that the absentee bartender would not notice just how little would be left when they were done with the place. "So?" He asked, taking a sip when he got the chance. "You off to slay a legendary dragon or has she become your prison warden?" Something told him that it was most likely the latter. The first was far too cool - errr, cliche. Gods never did that kind of stuff anymore. They most likely never did at all...

"But I suppose I am curious about one thing..." Felix said, swirling around the ice cubes in his glass, focusing on them instead of Atani for the time being. He'd never actually seen any goddess - or god, for that matter. This could be an interesting opportunity to either confirm or remove some deeply-rooted skepticism. "Can you call upon her? Have her speak through your voice, or something like that?" He raised his eyebrow, looking back to Atani. "It's not that I don't believe you - I'd believe anything you say, especially when you look at me like that - but to have confirmation would be... life-changing, quite frankly. I've always been the more skeptic type." Felix was suddenly struck with a recollection of where he was and looked around, only to see a bunch of bored patrons who were either alone or talking amongst themselves. Phew. "Seems like the sleepers in this place wouldn't notice even if you smited the cieling, so don't worry about drawing attention."