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In the end, Éliane had taken third watch to a thankfully very uneventful night. That wasn’t to say that she didn’t like eventful days. But there was a time and place for eventfulness, and bedtime was not one of those times. But there were no blightbeasts, bandits, or even nightmares, and the day broke soon enough. It seemed like some of her companions had enjoyed a better night’s rest than the others, as she glanced over towards Arton as everybody woke up to greet the morning at the end of her watch. 

The rest of the journey to Midgar had been slightly inconvenient on account of the heavy industry they passed, but it was nothing Éliane wasn’t familiar with back home, only more concentrated. As they approached the city proper, she took in its sights, comparing them with what she knew in Solitude. It was a dirtier, grimier place than the Skaelan capital, and the more temperate climate didn’t help, allowing some of the smog from industry to linger more than its counterparts in her country did compared to its colder climes. Objectively, like Balmung, it was an inferior city to any in Skael, but it had some very obvious upsides that weren’t as common back home. 

The abundance of coffee houses. 

The quantity and variety of available coffee. 

Éliane knew that they wouldn’t be spending too much time here, but before she left, she had to try at least a few coffee houses. She cursed the oncoming rain; if it weren’t for the weather, she would have been prepared to do a coffee shop crawl right then and there as she tied her chocobo to an available post along with the others. With the talk of inns and planning, she decided to join the conversation. 

[b]“Spending a few weeks here trying out the coffee shops sounds like a fun idea to me,”[/b] she bluntly replied, but she nodded at Galahad’s offer of lodging via his family. It sounded like it was out of the way, but free was a great equalizer. It was then that she caught Arton staring at her with a strange expression. Giving him a bit of side-eye at first, she tilted her head in mild confusion before frowning as he turned away. What was that about? She decided she would have to ask the fellow Skaelan about it later. If he had problems with her, then she didn’t want it becoming a greater issue in the future given their mission. 

But for now… She fixed the dragoon with an intense stare of her own. [b]“Galahad. Tell me more about the coffee shops. What are the best places to visit?”[/b]