There was just something about the Village of Estolad that Az liked about it. He couldn't figure it out, but that little thing just kept him coming back. Maybe it was the quality of supplies he got here whenever he needed them. Or could be that it wasn't crowded like Lomedor. Whatever it was, it brought Az back again.

He entered through the front gates walking for once. Normally he'd just drop in from the skies flying at dangerous speeds and land like he wasn't just about to die doing a dive bomb to the ground. Nope, today, it was just him, and his normal fighter's clothes. Though he didn't have his masterwork bracers, so it was just his bare arms, his jacket open revealing his brawny upper torso. It was a nice sunny day, and it was too hot to be wearing his black dobok shirt. Though he was wearing his two toned dobok pants. It was really all he had to wear, which was fine, because it was comfortable, breathable, and battle ready.

Stopping in the middle of the small town, he took a look up at the clear blue and took a deep breath of the clean fresh air. It was such a refreshment from Lomedor or the ocean. Az always found clean air in the country the best. He also found it the best to train in as he got more oxygen to his working muscles.

A few people bustled by on business trips, not noticing anything but the ground ahead of them. Even though this was a small town, it was always bustling on business. Not as much as Lomedor, but still a lot for its size. Az towered over everyone, since he was 6'2" and everyone was like, 6 inches shorter than standing up straight. And everyone slouched. A strong sign of a peasant. No matter. Everyone was welcome here. Maybe that's why he liked it here.

Feeling a bit parched, Az turned and walked to the Kaima Inn, where there was a pub where everyone went to socialize. Even kids. At least they served them non alcoholic drinks. He entered the pub sat at the counter, and ordered himself a non alcoholic drink. He never drank strange substances like alcohol. He preferred water, which was what he got himself. He cramped up everywhere in his muscles when he didn't get enough water. He hated that, especially in a fight.

Fighting. Something Az did. A lot. Now Az was beginning to think otherwise. He found it fun, since he won a lot street fights and got money off of stupid bets. He got himself his own name on the streets. But now he was getting a little tired of it. Always though Az is up for a good fight, but in the back of his mind, there's that prick that's starting to say, 'Is it really worth it?'

Az never had these thoughts before. He figured maybe his mastery of fighting was beginning to take itself to a more, mental level, rather than hardcore physical. Maybe he didn't even want to fight, settle down somewhere and take it easy. Open a shop maybe. He didn't know. He took a swig of his water and turned around at the sound of some commotion. A bar fight. Cliche. He didn't even want to join this round. So he just watched in amusement drinking his water. He laughed when someone went down just plain wasted.

Eva leaned back against the counter with a sigh. Her hair was a tangled mess, there were dark circles under her eyes, and, already, sweat was forming on her brow. Waking up late was never an issue with her. However, the night before, her brother had invited "just a few friends" around, and Eva was stuck with making sure the young men found their way home before passing out. It was the sound of her brother banging on her door complaining about a horrible hangover that had finally woken her up. After putting him back in bed and giving him something for his hangover, she had rushed to work. But as it turned out, they didn't need her that day. What a waste of valuable time.

Since she wasn't in a very good mood, she ordered some ale, asking specifically for the strongest they had, not caring about her low tolerance for alcohol. It didn't matter if she got drunk. After all, she wasn't on duty. Eva looked around the pub. There were kids and adults alike. The difference between the drunk and the sober was especially prominent. A loud, hearty, burst of laughter or a shout could tell you that those were the ones with the alcohol. The more quiet ones were obviously the responsible ones. The children sat at a large round table, some playing hand games, others simply talking, and others were just... there. Eva chuckled, remembering when she was younger and used to come here with her brother and his friends, trying to act as if she were grown.

Taking a big gulp of ale in a very unladylike manner, she glanced to the door. There was someone coming in. At first glance, Eva guessed he was human. But another look proved he was something different. His eyes were pitch black. For a quick second, she wondered if he even had eyes. But yes, they were there, and yes, they were black. She quickly looked away, not wanting to be caught staring. Although she found this quite difficult when he sat not too far away from her at the same counter.

Her attention, however, was drawn to a fight. Of course. There couldn't be one day without one. Eva rolled her eyes and downed her drink. Maybe, just maybe she would join them... She called for another drink, and took a gulp once it arrived. Yes, maybe she would fight. She wasn't working, so it wouldn't matter. Would her brother even care if she came home all banged up? Perhaps he would mildly scold her, then send her to her room. As if she were a child. She finished off the second drink and got up to join the fight when someone went down. But a chuckle near her caught her attention. She whipped around to see the strange human laughing at the fight. Frowning, she approached him.

"What is so funny? They don't know what they're doing," she demanded.

She immediately regretted it when looking into his black eyes. For some reason, she got chills up her spine. Maybe she shouldn't have had that second drink.

He watched as it was just a loose rumble between like 6 guys. They obviously didn't know what each other intentions were, even their own. Something like was probably started by something little, like a compliment or something. Who knows what drunk people would take wrong these days. Plus they didn't know what they were. That's why he laughed with a smile on his the whole time. Then he heard someone ask why he was laughing.

His smile never left his face as he looked to the young woman approaching him at the counter. She couldn't have been older than 17, and drinking the strongest ale the pub had to offer! It always surprised Az how young they can handle strong alcohol like that. Az, being 26, couldn't even handle a single light beer. He hated the taste, and it made him woozy. Never a good condition with a fight underway.

Without missing a beat he answered back, "That's why it's so funny. They don't know what they're doing when their drunk." He took a chug of his water, and set the empty glass down heavily. He looked at her harder with his pure black eyes still smiling a little, seeing she looked like she had a night of complete unrest. Her hair was all frazzled, dark circles bordered her eyes, and she had a light sweat forming. Huge signs of unrest. He didn't say anything about it since it looked like she had things under control. Though he did notice that she had signs of intimidation or even fear when she looked at him in the eyes. He took little notice of it, as they all soon realize that he wasn't what he looked half the time.

"Now unless you really want to see what I mean by laughing, I think I'll stay here out of it." He said with a nod and another quick smile. During almost every bar fight he had been near, he would join in and play clean up with the dirt that he'd make downing every drunk guy that tried to take what they call a swing at him.

She couldn't help but wonder why he kept smiling. What was there to smile about? Eva didn't like that he could just sit there and act like everything was fine and dandy while she was having a very bad day. But then again, she decided as she tried to clear the fogginess that had begun to cloud her mind, just because she was in a bad mood didn't mean everyone else had to suffer.

"Now unless you really want to see what I mean by laughing, I think I'll stay here out of it."

Eva squinted and raised an eyebrow at this. She wondered if she should back away slowly. But something about the way he said it made her want to know more. She straightened up, trying to mask the effect the alcohol was having on her. No need to make him think she was just some drunk girl who had no idea what she was talking about. She opened her mouth to reply, but just as she did, she heard a crash. She wheeled around to see one of the fighting men collapsed on a broken table. Ale and water and whatever else was on the table spilled onto him. His face was bruised and a bit bloody. The other men laughed and threw insults at him. Eva moved to help him, to see if he was alright, when he grabbed one of the fallen mugs and drained what was left. Then he got back up and started to fight again.

That's sad... she thought.

She glanced sideways at the man next to her. She decided that his black eyes weren't that frightening anymore, though she still avoided them.

"Still think it's funny?"

She looked at him a moment longer and then blurted, "What are you?"

Az still smiled at the fight. Yes, he had it in him to smile and laugh at a bar fight, even when someone gets punched so hard to fall and break a table and get back up and keep fighting. That's exactly what Az would do if he was ever hit that hard. He has been hit that hard though, so he saw a strong fighting soul in someone who gets back up. He admired it. He had it. If it wasn't for easy picking, he would have helped the man out a little, and then buy him another drink.

He could also see why this girl wouldn't be laughing and see it as cruel. It was obvious she grew up with too much hateful fighting, or not enough of it to experience it fully. Az had 20 years of fighting experience, and loved it ever since he first lesson on how to throw a punch. But, being a halfling, it was kind of his nature to like that type of violence. So much of it had he experienced.

Guys with shifty eyes like Eva's also got him into fights like such going on. They were always suspicious of him because of his black eyes. They never knew what to make of it, and out of fear they always thought violence would make things better. Leave it up to the scared ones to pick a fight. But he still enjoyed it.

"Yes, I still think it's funny." He said grinning still. He ordered another water and it was slid down the counter right into his hand. He took a good long swig of it as she looked at him a little. Then she asked what he was. His smile never faltered. Being what he was he had to get used to these kinds of questions. That or retreat into some hole and punch whoever got curious. Nah, not for Az.

"Tell me. Do you really believe that what I am is more important than who?" He asked with an inquiring expression. He decided to turn this part into introductions. "I'm Azlateen. Just call me Az, its a little easier on the tongue. And, for what I am, I'm just your normal halfling with black eyes." He shrugged with a friendly smile. "Now half with what is what some people consider taboo." Maybe he can make a big boom with the fact that he was half with the demon side. "And you are?" His black eyes looked into her avoiding eyes to try and get an honest answer. He also wanted her to not be afraid of looking into his eyes. He was still human.

Now that she thought about it, Eva decided it probably was a bit funny. It had been amusing to watch her brother and his friends the night before. She hadn't cared if they were hurt. Here, it wasn't much different. After all, if it were her and she had been fighting soberly, she might have done the same. Getting up and back to fightingshows strength and endurance. And no one wanted to be thgouth of as weak. Especially not someone like Eva.

She watched as Azlateen ordered another water and drank some. She suddenly felt ashamed of drinking the alcohol. If he, a full grown man, could resist drinking, surely she could. She had often been told when she was younger that drinking didn't help solve problems. When told this, she would scoff and say, 'I would never drink. Alcohol is disgusting.' Yet here she was. With an inward sigh, she leaned over the counter and asked for water.

While Eva sipped her drink, she watched Az over the edge of the glass, listening to him. His question caught her off-guard. She had never thought of it that way. Of course, she didn't usually go around asking people what race they were, but she did judge alot by what they were. It would usually be the first thing she would notice. Working as a barmaid, she met and saw beings of all different races. She averted her eyes from Az while she thoght about how many possible friends she could have made if she had thought of who someone was before she thought of what they were. After making this self-discovery, she chose not to reply, hoping he wouldn't notice.

Trying her best to look into her eyes, she listened as he introduced himself. So, he's a halfling? That explains the eyes, she thought to herself.

"I am Eva Larken," she replied, straightening up. "I'm a half-elf. My father is an elf, my mother was a human." She paused for a second. Involuntarily grimacing, she was bombarded by memories of her mother. Trying to push them out of her mind, she continued. "And I normally work here. But I wasn't needed today."

She finished off the water and ordered another, realizing that soon nature would be calling.

Her mentioning she was half elf explained a lot about her. Her immunity to alcohol at her age, skin tone, ears, eyes, anything that an elf defines. It kind of boggled Az how different races define everyone. Normal humans didn't look like much, demon's tended to look like Az, elves looked somewhat like Eva here, and so on. No two races were the same at all, whether it be in looks, physical abilities or magical powers. That's what Az liked about this place. No one was the same, and it was very diverse.

Az chuckled when Eva gave up on her ale and ordered a water. Maybe he gave her a little insight on what to drink at her age or at all times. Or maybe she was just trying to not feel guilty around Az, a grown man. Even though he was a grown man, he just couldn't stand alcohol. The taste got to him before the effects of alcohol did. He liked his water better anyways.

"Well, at least your mom was the normal one." He chuckled a little. "It was my mom who was the demon. My dad was the normal one. He took good care of me. I liked my dad." He shrugged a little. His dad was accepting of his son, no matter what he was like. That's why he liked his dad, because he treated Az like he was a normal kid, which is pretty much what Az came out to be, was normal. He finished off his water, and stopped there before his own nature stopped calling.

"So you said you work here? What, do you only work nights? Or just when I'm not here?" He asked sarcastically, looking at her with a playful expression. He had never seen her work here before, but that was probably because he wasn't here that much. He was in and out a lot, and pretty much had a permanent room here at the inn since he tended to drop by, but no longer than a night before heading back out on his travels.