Christian was looking through this village, trying to find a new sword to buy. His old one was getting a little bit rusty, and he wanted to find out where he could find a new one. He looked through the shops, but couldn't quite find anything that would feel good in his hand and was also pretty good in terms of material. He got some lunch in a box and sighed, slurping on the noodles as he looked up to the sky. He wanted to just find a new sword, but he wasn't having any more luck here than in Crocus, and the whole point of Baska was that it was crawling with merchants! His legs were getting a little bit tired now, so Christian decided to simply sit down for the time being and relax as he ate his lunch. This was pretty good, and he would love to have more next time he was in Baska. Though, it didn't hold a candle to mom's noodles. That being said, most people were pretty biased towards their parent's cooking after all. Christian was about halfway through these noodles as he sat on the bench, starting as people would walk buy in the busy marketplace in the town of baska.

That a parent's cooking was considered the best type of cooking one could experience was not a biased opinion, even a young lady like Esperia remembered her mother's cooking with a certain feeling of fondness and nostalgia, even if it had been five years since she had been able to enjoy it... five years since her family had been murdered.

Perhaps it was understandable that after the recent events within Baska that Esperia had found herself haunted by thoughts of gloom, her expression clearly betraying the hints of concern and worry that troubled her.

Had she done the right thing? It was a question that had repeated itself several times over the span of the last few days, and it terrified her that each time she came to the same conclusion: yes she had done the right thing.

Those three wicked individuals had taken the life of an innocent person out of greed, and to think Elma had once held such warm feelings toward those very same people who had murdered her. Even if she had been able to help the young lady pass on into whatever awaited one after death, the memory still lingered fresh on her mind.

A sudden bark came from beside her, causing Esperia's gaze to shift downwards to her side to reveal the fact the young Growlithe, Agni had still been at her side.

It was heart-warming to say the least, that Agni had followed her after those traumatizing events out of a sense of camaraderie and an obligation to his late mistress. A hand lowered to caress the back of the Growlithe before she continued wandering along the town square of Baska, a hand raised to her chin as the same memory resurfaced.

That feeling of despair, that urge of self-perseverance, the very core of her survival instinct and that anger and grief as she had swung the cleaver repeatedly into the body of one of the three individuals she had murdered that day.

To say that she was used to killing people was a lie, any young lady like her likely didn't have that much experience when it came to a grim subject like that. However, she knew she would need to harden herself, to overcome her softness if she was to someday avenge her family.

But those thoughts were for later, instead, she caught a whiff of a pleasant scent that lingered through the air, noodles perhaps? Her gaze drifting around she found the source of it being the lunch box that a young man was sampling right now. However, before she even had a chance to consider approaching him it seemed her companion had decided to make the choice for her, walking over to the bench he was seated from, and while lowering himself onto his back legs he raised his front paws upwards, a rather skillful use of a 'puppy-eyes' expression following as the dog seemed to be pleading for a sampling himself!

"Agni!" the girl called out to the dog as she approached the young man, a playful sigh following. "I know it smells delicious, but you can't beg a stranger for a meal." Yet Agni raised his paw at the man as if he had been expecting something. "No, giving your paw to shake it doesn't work either---" Yet a loud grumble came from her direction, no doubt the sound of her stomach as she smiled awkwardly at the man.

"I'm sorry about that, I'm afraid neither I or Agni had lunch yet, and Agni lacks a bit more patience than I do."

The girl chuckled briefly, allowing herself to forget the thoughts that occupied her mind a moment ago while the Growlithe barked excitedly at the stranger.

Christian was really deep into enjoying this bowl of noodles that he had, when suddenly he was interrupted by a noise, looking down past his box of lunch to see a dog of sorts begging for food. Christian knew it wasn't wise, but he was about to take his chopstick to throw the dog a piece of the chicken in the noodles before he was alerted by a woman's voice. The owner perhaps?

Looking up to the woman, it seemed like his guess was right and that the dog was her's. Upon hearing her stomach growl, Christian couldn't help but let out a little chuckle as he would pick up one of the small strips of chicken in the box, and threw it to the dog up in the air, hoping the animal would get the hint to jump up and catch it. Christian didn't like talking much, especially after what happened with Seira last time he talked, but he was trying to get into the habit of speaking a bit more, even if his speech was mainly brief and he spoke in a soft voice.

In this same softness, Christian spoke to the woman, facing her and holding out the box of noodles towards the woman, "You're hungry too, right? Want some?" he asked, as he took out a spare pair of chopsticks he got when he was at the stand to get the noodles, holding them up in his other hand to suggest that she would use them, After all, who would want to eat from someone else's chopsticks? Seemed pretty unsanitary, even if what Christian was doing wasn't exactly the most sanitary thing either... hopefully this woman didn't mind that.

Agni was clearly pleased his efforts to plea for some food worked out, and when Christian tossed the bit of meat into the air the little Growlithe pounced upwards toward the strap of chicken meat and took it in his maw, chewing happily onto it and coaxing a little giggle out of Esperia.

However, when Christian commented about her own hunger she felt her cheeks flush up slightly in embarrassment. She had to admit that the scent of the noodles and the delight Agni was eating with was very tempting, perhaps the reason why she felt the urge to accept the offer.

"Don't mind if I do~" A smile emerged on her lips as she accepted the spare chopsticks and taking a seat beside Christian she leaned closer to him and the lunch box and scooped a bit of noodles and a tiny strap of chicken and took it to her mouth, a soft slurp and a nomming happening while the flush of her cheeks turned an even brighter red and her smile brightened. "It's delicious! Thank you very much for allowing me to sample this meal~"

Her tone was soft, her politeness seemingly replaced with a certain hint of playfulness that showed itself around people she felt comfortable around. A moment passed as she watched Agni raise a paw and gently tried to tap Christian's knee with the pad on the bottom of the paw. "He's trying to thank you for the meal~" Agni barked in acknowledgment of the statement while the girl continued speaking.

"What brings you here sir? Are you a traveler, or perhaps a local?"

The dog's trick certainly did the trick so to say for Christian, and made him smile a little bit more than he should of for his love of dogs, cats and other household pets. It kinda reminded him of a dog that he had when he was younger. The girl was now sitting beside Christian, as the elf boy looked to her with a smile on his face. She really was hungry. Christian pat Agni on his head as the dog gave him thanks, turning back to the girl. "You're welcome." He softly said, still not used to talking too often, thought he was certainly pushing himself to try a lot these last few days.

Christian of course was a local of sorts here in Baska, having grew up for a good portion of his childhood in the area. "I'm a local, somewhat." he kept his sentence brief, and hoped that the girl wouldn't ask questions about the somewhat part. He moved to Crocus a good while ago, so he was moreso a visitor than a local, but being here made him feel at home again. Everyone welcomed him back so quick, and he was able to enjoy all the same things with relative ease. Quite a nostalgic visit, honestly. "What about you?"

A soft bark came from the Growlithe, who seemed clearly pleased at the patting that Christian gave him. Esperia at the other hand had retained a bit more grace in her response, a hand raised to her cheek as she pondered for a moment about how to respond, deciding not to pry into the brief nature of his response. "You could say that I'm something along the lines of a traveler, I likely will be leaving the town in the near future."

She wasn't sure yet where she would go after this, but considering her unexpected reunion with a childhood friend it was likely that whatever destination she would reach, it would be one she wouldn't be going alone to. Perhaps it was that what made the idea of traveling all the more attractive to her, the chance to forget her pursuit of vengeance and instead just enjoy the little adventures she and Liana experienced from day to day.

There was no doubt that it was because of adventures like this that she was able to truly enjoy life to its fullest despite the events of her past. "Of course, I don't have any idea yet where I will go next~ That likely depends on my companion." She nodded her head slightly at Agni who barked in agreement.

Perhaps that was part of the wonders of traveling, that ability to go somewhere without knowing your destination until you arrived there. It was no wonder Liana was so fond of traveling...

The girl was a traveler, huh? Well, Christian could certainly understand the appeal of that lifestyle even if it wasn't something he would do himself. He didn't mind travelling, but he would prefer not to wander as well as settle into places for a little while before deciding to leave. Once again however, Christian could get the appeal: being able to be free and roam where you want without the chains of someone else or something else tying you down... it was like being a bird that could make their nest anywhere, anytime.

"I see..." Christian spoke, listening to the girl talk onwards as he would cross his arms. The dog even chimed in at certain intervals, which Christian had to admit was absolutely adorable. The woman certainly seemed to be a nice one though, and had a cute dog to boot... while it was true that she would be leaving town soon, perhaps Christian would one day run into her again. Not only was she seemingly a cool girl, but he was sure a traveler like her would be able to help out with things like directions and advice on certain areas should their paths ever cross again. Christian took this as a sign that is was most opportune for him to get the girl's name so that he would be able to know her should he see her again sometime after she left Baska. "I'm Christian, you are?"