Jove had made his way to Baska without drive or reason. He hadn't come here due to a specific assignment, and he wasn't set to meet anyone. His only orders at the moment were to monitor Oak and to enforce the peace.

Yet truth be told he hadn't the slightest idea what that meant. For whom was he keeping the peace? Certainly not for the poor and hungry, scraping up the crumbs of their fellow man to survive another day. Rune Knights were, truth be told, more of enforcers than they were maintainers of tranquility. Still, Jove wasn't one to get caught up in the semantics of it all. He had signed up for this job knowing entirely all too well what came with the uniform. That wasn't to say that he would just blindly follow any and all orders, of course, but that he wasn't one to get so into the ethics of the work as to find misery in his employment.

He was rather happy with his job, truth be told. It certainly possessed some perks, such as a stable income and clear path for promotion if one so desired. There had yet to be a single occasion in which he was forced to enact a sense of justice with which he did not agree. He had met several individuals with high bounties, choosing to let them go instead of arresting them. This wasn't due to cowardice, though he would never be described as someone who would through their life away for such a simple reason as courage or bravery. Rather, he was the type who wished to form his own opinion after meeting an individual.


There was a non-zero chance that this method would come back to punish him. He knew that, of course. Still, he would continue to do what he believed was right. He had prepared himself to accept the repercussions of his judgment if proven wrong, and it would not serve to destroy him internally.

Yet none of that indicated as to why he was here, in Baska. The truth of the matter?

He had heard the Boar Hat Pub had the best pulled pork sandwiches in all of Fiore.

Stepping into the absolutely packed pub, he made his way to the filled bar stools and leaned over the bar to get the tenders attention. There he was informed that people were having to share benches with complete strangers due to lack of space.

Jove stared at him in silent protest for a few moments, but the owner had already made his way to the next customer. Realizing that it was out of anyone's control, Jove found his way to a two person table that was still empty, albeit in close proximity with a few of the longer benches. Sitting himself down, and letting out a sigh as he loosened the tie around his neck, he waited for a server to make their way to his seat. Who knew, maybe he wouldn't end up needing to share his table with anyone?

Jove looked up at the voice, a meek sounding woman standing before him. She had eye catching blonde hair, which directed his gaze to the pointed ears. His eyes then fell back onto hers, and the discomfort of her expression and body were practically palpable. "Sure thing." His voice rumbled out in a matter-of-fact tone, showing neither excitement nor disdain for the girl who wished to sit before him. When she would move to make herself comfortable, the Rune Knight would cast one more sweep around the pub. It truly was filled to capacity.

As she took her seat, and before the two could work towards a forced conversation, an employee approached the table. The girls hair was disheveled, brown locks which matched the freckles on her face. She had a sort of small town cuteness to her, but her voice was that of a gruff woman. "What c'n I do ye fur? Her accent was noticeably thick, and stood in slight contrast to her more fragile looking build. Jove sat in silence for but a moment, processing the information before him, and then continued as if nothing had happened. The pause was no more than a couple of seconds, something that could easily be chalked up to him mentally confirming his order.

"I'll just have a whiskey on the rocks, or ale if you don't carry any. Also a pulled pork sandwich." As he finished ordering, the woman looked over to the elf expectedly. "Aye, an' you love?"

The girl before him ordered, and as her eyes tilted upwards at the waitress, he let his own gaze settle on the side of her head. He once again took in the appearance of her unusually long and uniquely shaped ears, and made the mental note that he was likely dealing with an elf. They weren't exactly unheard of, and in fact, Jove had dealt with members of her race a few times in his past. From his experience they were no different than humans, at least in the regards that each was entirely their own being despite a shared sense of culture.

He would casually turn his attention to her face, and she would learn that even his resting expression was mildly intense. Elves were famed for a beauty that borderline the mystical, and she was certainly an embodiment of that ideal. Jove's eyes broke away as quickly as they had found her, and he scanned the room. Men from multiple tables could easily be caught staring his way, though he understood that he wasn't who grabbed their attention. Well, this is oppressive. He imagined it must be hard for her to go into crowded places like this, both as an elf and as a woman. For a moment, he felt pity for her presumed plight.

"I have not." He responded succinctly, his hands coming together as his elbows rested on the wooden table before him, as if he were locked in prayer.

That clearly was not the case, however, as his hands fell forward and landed at approximately the halfway point between them. He hadn't moved to the point of invading her space, but instead seemed to simply make himself comfortable at his seat.

"From what I understand, though, everything on their menu is worth getting. Apparently the cook here was once a chef for some of the local nobility, and so he brought some of those flavors to the Pub." Jove spoke casually, his tone clearly indicating that he was merely regurgitating the things that he had heard. "You ordered the stroganoff, correct?" Turning his attention back to her fully, his eyes sought hers out. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I had always been under the impression that most Elves are vegetarian. Is that not the case?"

A look of mild surprise crossed his face, an eyebrow raising despite the rest of his face remaining the same. He was not expressive by nature, and though he had certainly learned to be more social when the situation required it of him, that didn't change his nature. He had no way of knowing that she had looped him into the category of the introvert, and even less of an opportunity to understand that she herself belonged there as well. Despite that missing piece of knowledge, he had to admit that there was a sense of sitting across from a kindred spirit. She explained that elves were trained from a young age in how to hunt, and how they made sure to eat their prey. It seemed fairly obvious; a species known so well for their archery, it wouldn't make sense that they became skilled without some sort of actual experience.

"When you say it out loud, I assume it sounds like common sense." There wasn't anything such as embarrassment laced into his words. It felt like a conversation, casually sustaining itself in the form of embers. "The dish certainly won't taste homemade, but it has its own special charms." With that said, the silence between them festered once more. The surrounding patrons continued to steal glances when they could, and it seemed painfully obvious that Atani had also noticed.

"My name is Jove by the way." Introductions only felt right, since it seemed as though they would be sharing a meal. He motioned with his head to the space behind him, implying the entirety of the restaurant. "Seems like you're quite the popular individual." He let out a sigh, on laced in empathy towards her situation. "Sorry you have to deal with this. I assume it's not a new situation for you?"

She continued to speak, allowing their conversation to form a healthy flow. His lips curled slightly upwards, forming into a relaxed smile, as he took in her words. "Blue Pegasus, I presume?" It was a fairly safe bet. They were a guild well known for prioritizing beauty in all its forms, and they encouraged members to accept and flaunt their beauty however they had it. He could quickly understand why this wouldn't be the ideal situation for the elf before him, however. Introverted by nature, and obviously made uncomfortable by the not-too-hidden agenda of the men who stared, telling her to simply welcome and enjoy the attention thrown her way was an impossible task.

"They mean well, I'm sure." He spoke of the guild she had come from, not the people surrounding them. "However, Blue Pegasus is certainly one of the more... Eccentric guilds in Fiore. Sadly, their philosophies won't fit everyone." It hadn't been long, yet already their food was brought out. Placed before them steaming, Jove gave a nod of his head in acknowledgment to the server before she left them to their own. "Yes, I am from around here by the way. My father is from Seven, but I was born and raised in Fiore." With that, he began to dig into the food before him.

The two seemed to bask in the peace that fell before them, even when submerged in the torrent of noise that raged around them. So often had Jove met people who seemed to want to drag out conversation, as if they felt the need to fill the silence, which made this a unique experience for sure.

Continuing to dig his teeth into the meal before him, the steam of a freshly pulled pork rolling off the sandwich, he enjoy the rather simple taste that had been perfected at this pub. He had just finished chewing his next mouthful as Atani asked about whether he'd ever the chance to visit Seven.

Placing the sandwich down and grabbing at the napkin before him, he dabbed at the sauce around his lips before shaking his head. "I've had limited excursions outside of Fiore I'm afraid. There was the fiasco in Bosco, which us Rune Knights were forced into supporting, and the ball in Stella which was a rather unique circumstance." He took a sip of the drink before him, raising a hand to request a refill. "I'm afraid personal trips are rather hard when you're a Knight."

As the drink came to the table shortly after his request, decided to return the question to her. "It's rather rare to see Elves wandering around Fiore alone, and even rarer to see an Elf join a Fiorian guild. Do you mind me asking the story behind that?" With a light grin as he finished the question, he decided to elaborate. "Asking as a curious man, not a Rune Knight."

The elven woman before him shared a bit about her life, and her circumstance. Jove nodded along with her words, enjoying the food and drink before them while the space around them seemed to muffle. Something about sharing a conversation with another, at least when the conversation was good, allowed for the surrounding world to blend into the background. As the two finished their dishes, Atani was quick to stand. She had to get going, making it clear that she had a prior engagement. Jove nodded; even had she said nothing at all, he would not have tried to stop her. A fellow introvert, Jove could understand the need to just slip away from the crowd. "It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Atani. I hope to meet again." With that, the elf made her way from the pub, with Jove shortly behind. The two split away at the door, and the brief meeting with one another had come to an end.

[EXIT]