Janine
*Ralki walks into the tavern, hoping to get a good meal cooked for her, after such a long day of pottery. Maybe meet someone else, who knows! All she knows is that this tavern sells good soups.*
Simon
*Arthur, after loafing around for a couple of days at one of the Silnarian border towns, would eventually give up trying to meet Nox. At this point, he was just dying to do literally anything, struck with simultaneous feelings of boredom and melancholy, due to the fact that he had sustained one of the worst losses he'd ever gotten in his life. Why did he try to meet Nox anyway? He didn't do anything to help him in the fight, nor did he go out of his way to help him AFTER the fight! The nerve of some people... 

It was nighttime. As he got up to leave the town, he eventually settled to make a dangerous decision. He would take a road leading to the outskirts of the Salvainian empire, since even though he was a wanted fugitive there, he would still find some form of stimulus, be it a bounty hunter coming his way or perhaps a meeting with another one of the boss's employees or affiliates. As he walked, Arthur reflected on his battle with Vinran earlier, noting everything that went wrong. Most of the faults he found were, obviously, directed towards Nox, but Arthur was heavily biased towards that matter. He would run his hand along his chest, feeling the cold armor covering his scars. He hated how they looked, even though no one else could see them. He sighed, knowing that he'd have to put up with them for the rest of his life. Ensuing this thought was a period of mental silence, silence in which Arthur walked along the dark road for a good bit, and then stopped once he noticed a lone building on the road. A tavern, maybe? Maybe he could get some food, drinks, and bread to go. Even better, maybe he could get someone to raise his spirits, for he was feeling down the entire trek.*

*He walked in.*
Janine
*Ralki looks towards the lonesome adventurer walking in and she waves, says* "Hey you! Would you like to talk, it's been forever since I was able to talk to another adventurer. I'll even buy your meal, it's soup!" *Ralki then thinks that he should be honoured that the great and magnificent Ralki has invited him and feel obligated to join her. It's true, she hasn't been adventuring in a while, much to her disappointment.*
Simon
*Arthur would snap to attention, taken by surprise that he had been called upon as soon as he got inside the tavern. He would see a short, brown haird air macen wave at him from the bar, talking about how she would buy him some soup. That would be great, he had nothing to eat for the past few days besides bread and some D-rate beef loin. Elves didn't care about customer service to other races, it would seem. Besides, he needed someone to talk to. Anyone would do, really. Taking care to hide his Kitsune ears and tail, he would walk over to Ralki, looking at her at what tried to be a smile.*

"Y-Yeah, that'd be great. Haven't had anything to eat for the past couple of days besides bread, and even that taste's starting to get... Dull. What's your name?"

*He would say this as he looked down on her, involuntarily. It was pretty awkward, seeing that Arthur was about an entire foot taller than her. He squatted slightly, getting face to face with Ralki.*
Janine
"Then you're in luck! This place has the best soup! Did you know this place sells octopi? I had no idea either! That's why I'm going to try it out! Speaking of which... Bartender! Can I get octopi soup! Actually make that 2!" *Ralki then clears her throat,* "I do hope you like Octopus, fellow adventurer."
Simon
*Octo... Pi? He hadn't heard of this delicacy before. What was it? Was it a kind of beef cut? Either way, it sounded pretty good, so he would sit himself down on one of the barstools, setting his backpack down on the floor next to him as well. He would then clear his throat, and asked for some water from the bartender. His throat was parched and dry from the amount he had walked earlier, so he downed the glass with gusto once he got it. He then turned to Ralki.*

"What's an octopus? I've never heard of it. Is it a kind of beef or pork cut?"
Janine
"I have no idea! It may be absolutely terrible, but if that's the case, I'll purchase another soup for you, any of your choosing! So, you're an adventurer, right? Do you have any stories!" *As Ralki said this last part, she looks even more intently at Arthur, excited to hear stories.*
Simon
*Stories? All of the stories he had to tell thus far were grim and somber, for the most part. It usually involved around Arthur taking a job, and ended with someone dead. Damn, what kind of life was he living now? His father would be extremely disappointed, wherever he was. He tried to pull up some random story out of his ass, something that wouldn't incriminate him in anyway possible.*

"Well... There was this one time where I... I ate food. It was pretty good food too."

*Soon after saying this, he internally cringed so hard at the embarrassment of what he said. He ate food once? Seriously? That's the best he could come up with? He would become slightly red, and would turn away from Ralki, tapping his index finger against the table rapidly.*
Janine
"Ooooh, you vanquished a beast and cooked it?! How did it taste? Was it good? Exotic?" *Speaking of food, the bartender places down their soups, it has tentacles in it, also carrots and yeah.*
Simon
"No, not really vanquished, per se. I just ordered it at a tavern much like this, but the food was amazing. A-class, in my opinion."

*He would then look down at his bowl, gazing on the carrots, herbs, and what appeared to be... Tentacles? Were those a part of the octopus? The entire bowl looked somewhat... Repulsive, yet appealing at the same time. It was like how those certain kinds of dog could be considered ugly and cute at the same time. It was honestly quite puzzling to Arthur how that worked. He would then take the wooden spoon that came with the bowl, tasting the food for the first time.*

*His first thoughts? The ocean. It tasted exactly like fish, and the aroma he caught wind of as he downed the soup reminded him of the ports ran by fishermen. It smelled of the salty air, of the open sea. The taste of the soup was reminiscent of some kind of exotic fish, a kind he had certainly never tasted before. It was fishy... Yet not completely. It was weird, but in a good way. He would continue to eat the soup, eventually reaching the tentacle. He plucked it out of the bowl, held it to his mouth, and ate it. The taste of ocean water and fish was way stronger in the tentacle, and it also possessed an odd, rubbery feeling to it. It was chewy, which was different from all other fish Arthur had eaten. Surprisingly, he found the dish to be pretty good! He turned over to Ralki, a bit of tentacle poking out of his mouth.*

"Hey, this is really good! I like this, it tastes amazing!"
Janine
"Goodie! I know, this place sells the best soups, too bad I never visit" *Ralki frowns, she never gets to come here anymore, seeing as the other tavern is so much closer.*
Simon
*They sat in awkward silence for a little bit, partly because Arthur didn't know how to respond to this. He would continue to eat his soup, his mood being lifted as he finished. Noticing Ralki's frown, however, he wondered what was wrong.*

"What's wrong? You feel like you're down about something."
Janine
"Naw naw! I'm not down about anything! I'm too great for that. I'm just disappointed that there's another really good tavern near me, and I never get to go here because like, its easier to get to."
Simon
"There's another tavern there? What makes it so different than the one we have right here? This one seems perfectly fine, after all."
Janine
"This one makes great soup, somewhere a distance away is a place that makes wonderful meat pie. I always go to the meat pie one since it's closer to where I'm situated, but this is just as good!"
Simon
*Arthur became slightly more wary after she had mentioned herself being 'situated.' Could that mean she was a guard of some sort? Even worse... Could she be a member of the New Sunlight guild? Was she, perhaps, feigning friendliness in order to let Arthur's guard down? Or maybe he was just overthinking things... Nevertheless, his guard amped itself back up to a state of alarm present prior to a battle, but he kept his demeanor of being calm on the outside.*

"Situated? Are you like, a guard or something?"
Janine
"Nah nah! Not a guard, an adventurer! My dream is to explore the world, find wonders no one else has ever seen, and run in the forests with my companions!" *Ralki seems a rather lost in thought as she says this.*
Simon
"Companions...? *Arthur paused, wary still.* "Could you be affiliated with the New Sunlight guild?"
Janine
"Yes! Why do you ask? Have you heard of me! You should!" *She said those last 2 sentences with pride and egotism.*
Simon
*He froze. A member of the New Sunlight guild was right in front of him. His blood ran cold with fear, but he realized that Ralki probably didn't know about his bounty, otherwise there would've been an attempt on his head already. He played it cool, and decided to try and exit the conversation before any incriminating questions came up about himself.*

"The New Sunlight guild? Wow! That's impressive, joining the guild! I tried out for it once, but I didn't even make Fletchling rank. Haha..."
Janine
*Ralki was not paying attention his sudden freezing and keeps talking* "I know! I mean, I always expected I was great enough to be there! So what happened to you? Why didn't you reach the fletchling rank?"
Simon
"I flubbed it up on the physical test. I tripped over my own sword, and the instructor obviously saw it. I'm not the best with a sword, but I think I'm pretty good with my magic. It's a right shame they didn't have an exam meant for magical abilities."
Janine
*Ralki does a quick laugh then covers her mouth* "Sorry about that... I just never heard of someone tripping on their own sword. So, you're good at magic? That's nice! I'm great at it too!"
Simon
"What types of magic are you good at?"
Janine
"Uh, I'm particularily good at this one spell, called 'mold earth', it allowed me to be one of the best potters in the nation! If not the best! But yeah, I'm good with magic involving earth and air."
Simon
"Cool! I'm also pretty good at earth magic, though I usually spec into fire most of the time. I've got 4 fire spells, but only 2 earth spells. I don't even use one of my earth spells, though. Come to think of it, I don't use either. Or, at least, I haven't used them in a long time."
Janine
"Yeah, they're not flashy like fire, but they are darn effective! They also make good armor if you learn a spell to do so, which is something I specialize at!"
Simon
"A spell? Mind explaining the details?"
Janine
"Earth investiture, it allows me to cover myself with dense dirt. I also have a variation of it that is... More glamourous!"
Simon
"More.. Glamorous? Is it like, covered in gemstones or something?"
Janine
"Bingo! You're a good guesser, you should become a mentalist or something!" *Judging on how Ralki has said this, she has no idea what a mentalist is or what they do.*
Simon
"Doesn't that mean you could make tons of money off of it? Why aren't you already rich?" *Arthur paused, coming up with an unnecessary snarky follow-up.* "Or did you not realize that you could do that?"
Janine
"I mean, sure. But, the thing is if a simple magic spell such as mine can do it, do you think it's actually worth much?"

"But yes, I could incorperate it into my pottery" *Ralki frowns.*
Simon
"Well, obviously. Honestly, i'm surprised you haven't thought of it yet."

*He pauses for a second, then speaks again.*

"Actually, it might depend on the kind of gem that you make. Mind if I take a look? I'm no expert, but it always helps to have another perspective on things."
Janine
"It's made of dirt, formed into a crysalline structure, it's clear, but not too clear. If I were to find some metals, I probably could form more exoticly coloured ones, if my spell was strong enough for that..."
Simon
"Heh, you could probably con some people into thinking they were real gems. Or..." *Arthur took a gold coin from his pocket, then set it on the table.* "Do you think you could make something that would replicate this coin almost completely? Hypothetically, anyway. I don't plan on breaking the law."
Janine
*Looks thoroughly at the coin,* "Yes, I think? If I had materials that looked like it, and my mold earth spell becomes stronger, I could."
Simon
"What kind of material?"
Janine
"There's something that looks like gold, that fools people into believing it's gold, it wouldn't stand up to scrutiny, like it being weighed, but to the eye it'd probably be fine. But we aren't going to counterfeit anything!" *Ralki chuckles at this last thought.*
Simon
"Yeah, we won't. It wouldn't hurt to have a few extra cash, though, right?" *He would wave the bartender over to get some water, only because he had ran out. The octopus soup was salty, and it had dried his throat once more. He could have gotten some alcohol, but Arthur personally disliked the taste of it. He would take a sip of water, then set the mug down on the countertop.* "I still never caught wind of your name. What is it?"
Janine
"Ralki!" *She said o so simply.*
Simon
"Interesting name. I swear I've heard that before, but that's to be expected of a New Sunlight guild member, isn't it?"
Janine
*Ralki nods,* "So how was the soup?"
Simon
"I thought I said so before. It's pretty good, but that's my opinion. You should try it for yourself."
Janine
*Unbeknownst to Arthur, Ralki has already had her soup completely* "It was good."
Simon
"Yep."
*He would then sit there silently, not knowing what to talk about. He wasn't one for conversations, after all.*
Janine
"Alrighty! Why did you ask about counterfeiting in the first place?"
Simon
"I thought itd be a pretty obvious thing to do. Like, the amount of people you could con if you were good with words would be pretty astounding, if you think about it. I would do it, if I wasn't worried about getting put in jail. That never looks good to an employer."
Janine
*Not the morally upstanding sort, huh? Ralki asks a question* "Have you done this sort of thing before" *She actually said this rather judgementally.*
Simon
"Nope. I've never dabbled in anything illegal before. It would really disappoint my parents to see their only son in jail."
*He then thought of the irony in what he said. He had been in jail before, just not behind bars. It was somewhat amusing.*
Janine
"Mhmm..." *Ralki was not sure what to think about him, but since she's an abosolute bafoon, she thinks he is nice enough.* "Well, I should be going soon."
Simon
"Same here, I've got another job to take. You have to make a living somehow, right?"
Janine
"Yep! See you sometime later, ok!"

*The bafoon leaves the tavern.*
Simon
*Arthur also leaves the tavern, and decides not to pay for his tab. What was stopping him from leaving, anyway? He would take his backpack and walk off, going ito the wilderness alone.*