To the Farewells and Friendships to Come

A drink. It sounded like a good drink, at that. Wine was fairly in the range of Anton's preferred tastes; he wasn't as much of a wine drinker as the old aristocrats, but it was still something that he knew how to enjoy. But ale was much more suited to his tastes, even as boring as it was. The richness and complexity of the variety of brews offered by the clans was wonderful to Anton.

Though, the dilution was an interesting idea. It wasn't something that Anton wished to attempt at the moment; he simply found it to be such a wonderful idea for the Vetr. Get everyone around you drunk, while you remain merely tipsy. It was the perfect way to slip people around your finger and have them do whatever you asked with even the simplest suggestion. To be honest, Anton respected the ingenuity of Cedric. This wasn't necessarily ingenious by any stretch of the imagination, but there was so much that he could figure out with just a simple glance at the world.

"This is a very common misconception, my dear Tiro, and one I shall endeavor to clear up immediately. There is no such thing as someone not immediately stunned by the power of double blue hair."

Double Blue Hair was infinite in its power? Does that mean that they truly could do whatever they want, even if it required some effort? The possibilities were limitless! They could steal grapes and melons from the Market Plaza in Midgardborg! They could kill ruthless mercenaries simply by showing up in such an amazing fashion! They could usurp the throne and overthrow it (if there was a throne, which there is not).

Though, that would require some effort. And as Cedric had just explained, perhaps even more effort if the people they were attempting to usurp had blue hair as well. Perhaps Anton should create a Royal Family and specifically select only the children with blue hair to survive? That way he could be certain that the Throne would be more difficult to usurp by crazy blue-haired men.

The innocence of the mind was a beautiful thing sorely missed by Anton.

But these fantastical thoughts were interrupted by the waitress coming in with her drinks -- true to style, Cedric's drink was in a fanciful cup that seemed superfluous yet beautiful to Anton. The mug was filled with a cold drink, and Anton happily took a hearty drink of it. The brew seemed to rely more on grains than Anton was used to, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Perhaps there was another time to try this "dilution" technique, but for now, alcohol was the way to go.

After all, he was trying to distract himself from the happenings of not too long ago. Though, it was best not to purposefully remind yourself of those things.

"There are some unsavory characters in the Midgardborg. Many of the things that I need doing are, well... they're more undercover things, though." A slight pause came from the man, which stirred the curiosity of Anton. "Although! Ahh. I'll give you the contact information for an undercover Drakonrhedi that can point you to a target that needs elimination if you'd like to test you slayer skills. Otherwise, they can also give you info on how your illusion skills might come in handy to disrupting some troublesome gang activity that's recently sprung up, as it always does."

Both seemed like effective tests for Anton, though the former would be more suited to what he was used to. The latter was more likely to be a bit more involved with subterfuge which while he had no issues with, he also had little experience first. The eyes of the Tiro seemed to stare into the frothy mug for a moment before he came to a conclusion. "This may be a bit much to ask, but sometime before I leave for those two assignments, may I speak with the Pryfektus that you will be assigning to me? I would like to speak with that person about illusions specifically before I am required to use them in a fight. As much as I trust my skills, I would rather not kill a comrade from an avoidable mistake. As for the former, I am more than used to doing things such as that. Svana had little compassion for those who sought to harm humanity."

A small grin played at Anton's lips, though it was the type of grin that came from his sadistic side, not from his playful side. Even though the two could work together, they were extremely separate. It was simply uncommon to see them apart.