Kita and Raya make their way through the bustling streets of the first floor as the sun sets beyond the river's horizon. Shining through the gaps in the city, to provide the last remnants of warmth before the cold night.

"What are we looking for?" Kita asks, glancing at Raya.

"Suitable candidates," Raya chuckles, before pointing at what looks like the ugliest tavern in the city.

"Ah," Kita nods, "I see plenty," She adds as she glances at all the civilians passing by.

"Not them," Raya chides as she walks up to the entrance of the pub.

As Kita approaches the entrance, she can hear the bustle of drunkards in the form of incessant yelling and tedious song. All-in-all, it sounds like a good time in there- If you can overlook the noise.

As they enter, they're greeted by a young lady in a flower-themed dress.

"Hello there," The lady says, "Table for two or will ya' be at the bar?"

"Table for two," Raya answers.

Kita looks around the wood-built store, with her first thought being- It's ugly as shit in here. She scans the tavern to see wooden panels decorating every wall and counter in the place. The walls are decorated with small sculptures of various flowers. One of which is made of stone, and has a purple glow streaming through it like a river.

A slightly older woman is standing on stage with another gentleman sitting at some large, black device with many white teeth spread across its front. The two on stage briefly look at one another before the woman gives a short countdown and begins singing. In tandem with her voice, a soft melody trickles from the black device, harmonizing with her as they perform a song.

Kita and Raya both take a seat at a table near the music, and the same young woman in the flower dress walks over.

"Can I get ya' anythin' to drink?" She smiles. "We got a lovely strawberry ale- freshly brewed,"

"Sure," Raya says, "We'll have two of those,"

"Comin' right up,"

The waitress skips over to the bar counter where she passes along our order before posting back up in front of the door.

"This is a good place to take souls?" Kita asks, glaring at the rowdy group of men behind her, who are all yelling at the top of their lungs to the excitement of their gambling.

"There's bound to be a few bad eggs in the city," Raya says, "This seems like the place they'd come to,"

"I doubt it's anyone's choice to come here," Kita scoffs, looking around at the dishevelled drunkards making a ruckus. "The liquor must be quite delicious, then,"

"Are you a fan?" Raya asks, "I've never seen you drink before,"

"Eh, I dabble," Kita shrugs before admitting, "I'm more attuned to spirits than beer,"

"Spirits are for those who drink to get drunk. Ale is for those who drink for pleasure," Raya winks, chuckling under her breath.

"Pleasure?" Kita chuckles, "It must be very easy to pleasure you, then,"

"What can I say- I'm a simpleton," Raya says before the flower dress waitress returns to their table with two pints of ale.

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"Two strawberry ales," The lady says, smiling. "Will ya be ordering food?"

"Let us get a few more drinks in us before we start thinking about food," Raya says, lifting the nearest glass to her face and taking a 'sip' that depletes her pint by a third.

"Your taste for alcohol is not very royal," Kita says.

"My people understood the importance of drinking and being merry,"

"Ah, is that wisdom you used when you would charge your army into battle with a flask in hand?" Kita jests.

"I was an excellent commander," Raya says, lifting the glass to her lips to take another 'sip'. Kita follows suit and tastes the strawberry ale. The sweet scent and taste of strawberry is familiar to Kita. She can't remember the last time she's had an actual strawberry but she feels a dreamlike recollection of the fruity flavour with each sip before it is quickly replaced by the bitter taste of beer.

The loud thudding of Raya's pint glass smashing the table sends a jolt of shock through Kita as Raya then releases an obnoxious burp.

"Another!" Raya yells, smiling at the flower-dressed lady who walks over and collects Raya's glass.

"During the age of the old humans, there were creatures that were believed to have lived in continental bodies of water," Kita says, "I'm not sure of the name of these creatures, but I do believe you are one of them,"

Now a little less sober, Raya laughs a lot louder than she usually would at a joke of this calibre. The liquid has given her confidence already, which is unsurprising considering she downed the entire pint in three sips. Being the Princess of a nation and commander of an army must have been quite stressful for her to become this proficient at drinking.

The young lady returns with another glass for Raya- bigger this time. "Since ya had the last one so quick. We got a big girl glass for ya,"

"Thank you," Raya says, gleaming with excitement.

"We've got the coin for this, right?" Kita asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure," Raya answers, suspiciously glaring back as she takes a sip from her colossal glass.

The Princess's body is warrior-like and toned. Well defined, but not of the muscular variety. Yet Kita is still stunned as Raya heaves that glass to her lips, one-handed.

"You achieve supernatural strength when you're presented with alcohol?" Kita chuckles under her breath.

Raya spits a tiny bit of alcohol in her attempt to suppress her laugh. And focuses on swallowing before answering. "It is quite the source of strength,"

"Oh, yeah? What kind of strength?" Kita asks.

"The mental fortitude kind," Raya grins, pointing a finger at her head. "Can't allow the dark one into my head,"

Convenient excuse, Kita smiles. Taking another sip of her drink. Having a way to shut the dark one out of her mind would be great, but she isn't so lucky. Regardless of how she tries to ignore the feeling of the void her soul once filled, she's always aware of it.

"So, where are those souls?" Kita asks.

Raya grins, taking a high swig of her ale before nodding as she looks over Kita's shoulder. Kita follows her line of sight to a table of nearly a dozen, off-duty guards.

"Great," Kita says, standing up to her feet. But Raya grabs Kita's hand before taking a large gulp of the rest of her drink.

"Let's make it interesting," Raya adds.

"Okay?" Kita raises an eyebrow.

"No spells," Raya winks, "Except consume,"

"What, you want this to be difficult?"

"Noo… Maybe- Look, you need souls and I want a good fight," Raya stutters, standing up to her feet. As she rises, her body sways like a leaf in a breeze before she whips herself upright. She's drunk? And wants to fight? Those seem to be what she's best at- Fighting and drinking. It's no wonder she does them at the same time.

Wait a second…

If she functions on alcohol, that means-

"Oi, how many times have you been drunk around me?" Kita asks, stunned by the realization.

"Only when we were in danger," Raya chuckles, hiccuping afterwards and then winking at Kita.

All Kita can do is laugh. Raya's cute hiccup masks her performance well, but Kita's pretty certain she's drunk. Or drunker than usual… unless of course, this is the usual, and Kita just hasn't noticed.

Kita looks back up to see Raya approaching the guards with no social awareness. They all glare at her as she encroaches on them with a look of fury in her eyes.

"Come on then, Kita. Time to eat up,"