Backstory: New friends: Lunch for Felix and Joie

[Joie de Mornay]

The way was short, thankfully, and within a few minutes we'd arrived at the old, beaten doors that opened welcomingly into the Cockeral.

I waited patiently as Felix secured his mare, who, if I was any guess, was absolutely lovely, to a hitching post before going inside. Tossing him a smile over my shoulder I shifted the packages in my hands, my voice clear-cut through the low din that filtered across the busy room. "Anywhere in paticular that you would like to sit?"

[Felix de Thoire (I)]

"I've no real preference," I admitted, returning Joie's smile. Glancing around the room, I made a quick assessment. The furniture was worn, the atmosphere busy and cheerful; already, I liked the place.

[Joie de Mornay]

Two tables were open that I could see; one sitting in the middle of the room with a rambunctious crowd on either side, and another along the back wall - and a booth toboot. My instinct was to reach out and take Felix's hand to lead him through the throng since I was left to decide, though I fought against it. Instead I touched his arm and made a silent indication towards the booth. "Is that one alright?" I asked, my eyes turning up to meet his.

[Felix de Thoire (I)]

"Of course," I said, a bit absently; still studying my surroundings, I made my careful way to the booth and sat down on the weathered wooden seat.

"You've come here often?" I asked conversationally, once settled.

[Joie de Mornay]

"Often enough I suppose," I said pleasantly as I settled myself, smoothing my skirts out across my thighs. "Is this your first time here?"

I was well and indeed curious; I couldn't place where he might be from. D'Angeline by face and name, though his time in the army apparently must have dimished any obvious source of his rearing.

[Felix de Thoire (I)]

"Yes, from what I can remember." Without realizing it at the time, I splayed out in more of my old style; leaned back, my left arm resting across the back of the bench. "I've not been in the city since I was a child, and if I came here then, I would have been far more interested in the horses and dirt outside than anything here," I added, with a bit of a grin.

[Joie de Mornay]

I grinned. "You and I are on the same page for the most part, then; I'd have been more interested in much the same rather than sitting around in here." Settling back I tucked my hands into my lap and looked around us, taking in the people as well as the decorations. "I wasn't a tomboy persay, though I didn't mind getting dirty."

[Felix de Thoire (I)]

"You mentioned you grew up in...Eisande, was it? Were you near a town, or in the country?" I inquired, curious. Children were largely the same everywhere, but the activities they could engage in varied so much depending on environment. "I always wanted a pony," I continued, with another grin, "but we weren't so rich as to have somewhere to keep it in the City."

[Joie de Mornay]

"Country," I said, a warm smile on my face. "My parents manor is out into the country a way, though a small village lays near it. I had an apprenticeship with the local healer for a few years before leaving to come to the City."

My sight returned to his handsome face, my voice gentling slightly. "If you don't mind me saying so, it appears you're doing quite well now in comparison to your childhood. Your mare is beautiful."