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Post by Skylos on Sept 17, 2023 13:54:05 GMT -5
"Ah. Good, then. You have years of experience so I don't have to worry about getting served pisswater." Skylos shook his head with some amusement crossing his face. "I'll bet. I heard about the place awhile back from a couple of loudmouths. Figured I'd check in eventually, but you know... "work" keeps me busy..." At this point he took the glass into his gloved hand and examined it for a moment. Although he was here to gather information, this was also a visit for... pleasure. Taking a drink, his eyes jumped wide for a second as the battery acid went down his throat. "Aw yeah..." he couldn't help but say in appreciation.
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Post by Aqua on Sept 17, 2023 14:05:01 GMT -5
"Nah, I take a lot of pride in what I serve here. Shitty ass drinks don't keep people coming back, even if I am the only spot for miles." She chuckled at that. She appreciated Skylos' reaction to the drink, even after so many years she enjoyed watching people enjoy her work. "Well we try to keep a low profile around here. As you can see I don't have too much trouble pulling customers, so too much business can be bad for business, if you know what I mean. We're pretty short staffed, so normally our regulars only recommend this place in small numbers to trusted clients." She briefly explained. And it was the truth, but it was very much a double sided truth. Did that mean that Hawking was one of those trusted clients, or just knew one who came here? Normally it would be unlikely for lawyers to associate with people like Bounty Hunters, but reality is a big place, and the cases he was on were far from simple, and he never was clear on how he knew of this place. Only that he suggested Skylos check it out.
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Post by Skylos on Sept 18, 2023 11:52:23 GMT -5
"Hm. Yeah. You do seem to have some interesting clientele. I couldn't help but notice them when I came in. Wouldn't be surprised if they were working on the same things as me at some point or another." Skylos chuckled a little. He was fairly sure the business was pretty competitive. Truthfully, he hadn't really been looking at anyone in particular as he wanted to keep a somewhat low profile, and staring intently at everyone would probably not win him any points. However, since the topic had drifted towards other people, Skylos took the genuine moment to glance around at the gathered lot. "I'm sure you've got your regulars, after all."
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Post by Aqua on Sept 18, 2023 13:44:18 GMT -5
The barkeep chuckled a bit to herself at that comment. "I wouldn't be surprised. It's pretty often I learn my regulars tend to know each other, even if they come from entirely different places." And considering the type of people Skylos expected to find here, it probably wouldn't be so surprising. "We have the locals for sure. Lots of sailors come in all the time, probably the only thing keeping the rest of the town afloat. But it helps being the only place to drink around here. Gotta make sure they don't wanna dock elsewhere." She started cleaning a glass at the moment while she talked. "Aside from locals and sailors, we do tend to get a lot of your type. Travelers stopping in for a break in between their work. For people like that, no matter your lot in life, a safe place to just relax away from this big world of ours is important. So a lot of my more...well paying regulars come around for that."
"You sure are chatty tonight Joanna." Someone also sitting at the bar commented. He was about two seats down from Skylos, putting one person between them. The person speaking was in a mostly black and gray high tech looking suit, with various designs and mechanical patterns on the suit. He wore no helmet, but it looked like there should be one, so it had clearly been removed to drink. He had dark brown hair and gray eyes, looking like he was possibly close to his thirties in human years.
The barkeep, Joanna as she was now revealed to be called, looked to him to respond. "Well you and your brother don't exactly have a lot to talk about lately, now do you John?"
The person between Skylos and the black suited 'John' spoke up at this, his mouth slightly full. "Come on Joanna, you know work has been slow and unexciting." Upon inspection, Skylos would notice that this suit was much like the other. It was metallic blue and black, looking almost like a matching suit to the black one. His helmet was also removed, showing a person looking very similar to the other, only with a lighter shade of brown for his hair. They must've been twins. Though...it was possible that Skylos might recognize the blue suit. The face would've probably been covered, but how common were these suits?
"Ugh! What did I say about speaking with your mouth full Jim?! If you get food on the counter, I'm making you clean it up." Joanna said. 'Jim' seemed to look annoyed, as she looked back to Skylos. "You'll have to excuse them. All brawn and no brains these two. Or manners it seems." She cast a slight glare towards them.
'John' looked annoyed. "Aww come on, you know we always tip to make up for it. Give us a break...and could I get another?"
"Fine fine." She said, grabbing another glass. The two brothers hadn't been paying Skylos much attention up to this point, since he didn't look very out of place. But now that he had somewhat been roped in, the two bothers gave Skylos a visual inspection. The black suited John didn't really look at him much other than a brief glance, but the blue suited Jim had looked for a little longer. His eyes looked like he was trying to place Skylos, but returned to his food before his eyes overstayed their welcome.
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Post by Skylos on Sept 20, 2023 15:42:01 GMT -5
Skylos snickered at Joanna's label of brainless. Granted, he didn't know them and he was pretty much just putting on an act to better blend in. "I suppose we can't all be geniuses." Skylos noted to her. Maybe it would rile them up a little bit, but it would make him fit in more. "Not that we're typically hired for our brains." Skylos shrugged his shoulders, chuckling ever so lightly. He seemed to be dropping a hint that he was in fact like the others gathered here, if that hadn't been already observed or inferred by present company.
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Post by Aqua on Sept 21, 2023 22:02:42 GMT -5
The two brothers didn't enjoy this berating they were getting from both of them, but they had been told to watch their temper in this place before, so they let it go for now. But the blue brother was doing more thinking than could be seen.
Joanna found Skylos' agreement funny, as she laughed a little. "They pull their weight where it counts for them at least. B Rank Bounty Hunters are to at least be considered." She mentioned. At this point it seemed like Joanna was convinced enough to drop the act with Skylos. "So now that we've got that all out of the way, are you looking for work? Work is a bit slow right now, which is why it's so busy here, but I might have something."
"Unless you gotta death wish going after anything 'he' is interested in..." John muttered to himself, as he took another drink of whatever he had.
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Post by Skylos on Oct 25, 2023 15:31:11 GMT -5
Skylos was about to see what was on the job menu, but John's comment caught his attention. "Oh? Who would that be? I'm no stranger to danger."
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Post by Aqua on Oct 25, 2023 17:20:40 GMT -5
John noticed he picked up Skylos' attention, and looked back to him. "You must be new to inerdimensional bounty hunting if you aren't aware of who I mean." He paused for a second, understanding that probably sounded a bit rude, and continued before Joanna chewed his ear off for it. "I'm talking about Hunter R. He's a big shot S Rank bounty hunter. Doesn't seem to do it for profit though, just seems to swoop in on high target jobs, and either kills the target or just makes off with whatever item is requested. Jim here had a nasty run in with him a while back when he and another bounty hunter were hired to pick up some fancy item from Terra 002."
Jim looked nervous remembering the encounter. "Me and Wolfen are no pushovers. Wolfen is even a A Rank hunter in his own right. But Hunter R...he's just cold and ruthless...Probably would've killed us both had it not been for the fact that he was after that Elemental. Guess the orb housing a Master Elemental would justify the cost."
Joanna looked to Skylos at this point. "Hunter R also has one of the biggest bounties out there in the Terra on his own head. Hunters and job posters alike want him out of the scene. No one seems to want to take that job though. He's killed his fair share of bounty hunters since the bounty was put on his head, so most people don't want to mess with him."
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Post by Skylos on Oct 25, 2023 17:33:57 GMT -5
"Oh." Skylos then said, putting on a stoney expression. "Him. Yeah. I know all about him." Skylos shook his head. "I can see why you'd you skirt around the name. I can't say that I care much for him either." It was interesting that Hunter R had his own bounty on his head, but that naturally came with the job for someone so... efficient.
Granted, it was about this point that Skylos realized he recognized the hunter's name and it occurred to him that they had probably met before. Granted, there was no way he'd be recognized since he had his Aura under lock and key... Skylos could have been any Skylos. It's not like there weren't plenty of him wandering around Reality. Yeah. Totally. "I take it that he doesn't really grace this place with his presence much, then." Skylos pretended to be annoyed.
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Post by Aqua on Oct 25, 2023 18:28:04 GMT -5
John seemed to be less cautious of Skylos now, assuming his behavior came from also being on edge of Hunter R, and his questions about him supported this. "Far as I know he never has. Least not after he made a name for himself. Not sure if its because he's not foolish enough to wander into a place full of people who would jump him given the chance, or if he doesn't see the crowd here as worth his time. Either way we're all better off."
"His assumed 'alter ego' called Renta of Terra TEC has been in here once before. I remember him pretty well. He tried to inlist some help to take Hunter R, but no one would take him up on it. My bet is most either thought it was actually Hunter R trying to lead would be hunters to their deaths, or were to afraid to actually try and mess with him. Personally I don't believe the rumors that they are the same person, but I've never had the pleasure of serving Hunter R to tell the difference myself. He just didn't seem like the cold killer type to me." Joanna said, pouring herself a drink at this point. Seems Hunter R wasn't the most pleasant topic around here.
"Didn't ol Massa have a run in with that Renta when he visited? Dragon Slayer Massa always seemed interested in Hunter R." Jim commented.
"If they fought, they didn't do it in here. But I do think they at least talked when he visited." Joanna answered, taking a drink.
"Heh. I'd rather deal with dragons then Hunter R. Massa was a fool if he actually thinks he can take Hunter R, A Rank or not " John added.
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