[Fairy Tail] Headquarters

[Bloodedge]

"When I say it won't be easy, what I actually mean is that it will be harder than anything any of you have ever been through," Axel clarified. He then leaned against the bar counter, putting out his cigarette on an ash trey beside him while slipping a vodka bottle from the other side of the bar. "Lucky~!" he said as he pulled the bottle around to his front. He then found himself facing away from the bar, both arms propped up against the counter. "A bribe is a bribe. Depending on the quality of the offer, anyone would take one.

[Apollymi]

Iris simply shook her head, a look of mock disgust spreading across her face as the man spoke on the difficulty of the S-class trials. "Eh, when you say it like that, it seems daunting. If I was easily dissuaded from goals, I'd be considering not even trying right now." she said a smile forming across her face as she finished this sentence. "But, I am not so easily dissuaded and I like challenges... sounds like fun to me." she finished. Along with being goal oriented and exceedingly motivated this girl seemed to be very pleased at the idea of facing a new challenge when it was possible. With that in mind it made perfect sense to her to continue on with her goal of facing the S-class trials this year when she didn't have to worry about rent or taking extra jobs. The fact that it was supposed to be the hardest challenge she or any of her peers would face, made it even better. There was a light in her eyes in this moment akin to a burning flame, her desire to face that challenge unaffected by what was said about it.

Moving right along. It would seem that this young man thought everyone would take a bribe if it was presented in the right way. Beyond that he seemed to have found whatever he was looking for behind the bar and was now having a drink of vodka. "Oh? Don't put your off sense of morality on everyone else. I am sure there is someone somewhere who wouldn't take a bribe. Again, not considering giving any but.. seems like the sort of thing that take just as much time and motivation as learning to do the thing in the first place. I mean... if you are going to go through all the trouble, of figuring out what someone likes enough that they won't turn it down... you could just better spend that effort figuring out how to complete the original task yourself. Unless there was something else in that bribe for you directly." she said thinking about this from a logical standpoint was too much. "Eh, you're going to share right?" she asked reaching behind the bar and coming up with a glass.

[Bloodedge]

When he finally decided to open the bottle he'd acquired, which came only after he was sure Aine was nowhere nearby, Axel took a swig directly from the bottle. He fully intended to keep the entire thing for himself. After a few gulps, he lowered it to address Iris. "You're thinking too hard. The point of a bribe is that it's the easier way to get through something. Well... it could be. It could also be difficult, but it's the experience of a different kind of challenge... or something like that. I dunno." With that said, Axel held out the bottle with its tip pointed in Iris' direction. "Fine; here. I'm obviously not gonna say anything about someone else drinking."

[Apollymi]

"Eh, what you're saying sounds more complicated." she said waving off the boy but accepting the drink she'd obviously been waiting to get. She sat there with her legs crossed at the ankle enjoy the drink she'd now accepted from the young man at her side. With that she filled her glass and once it was full she passed the bottle back. A huge grin crossed her face as she took her first sip which would only be followed by a slight shiver. "Thank you~" she said making a note to remember this moment of friendliness later when she was actually the bartender and this young man might require a drink. "I don't do bribes I think... but if I ever did, obviously you're the one to offer it to." she said with a chuckle. She took this moment to look around and take in this atmosphere which she enjoyed while wondering if she'd be able to finish this drink before Aine returned from upstairs, which she knew the blue haired woman would do eventually.

[Bloodedge]

"Probably because I have no clue what I'm actually talking about. I was just tryin' to bullshit you," Axel replied as he reclaimed the bottle. In the next few passing moments, he took a few more swigs, followed by a deep sigh which accompanied the young man's reddened face. "Of course I'm the guy to bribe! I'm the strongest Mage in Fairy Tail... probably. And I'm... not incredibly good with alcohol. I should probably not drink much more of this. Aine says I'm a bit off my rocker when I've gone too far, so she never lets me have a proper drink."

[Apollymi]

Upon hearing what the young man with her had to say about his earlier speech Iris' eyes widened and she turned her head to look at him directly. In her time in this guild she hadn't recalled seeing this young man drink and seeing how he reacted and hearing what he had to say... she realized why this was the case. "Oh my... aren't you an honest man while you're drinking? Got any other confessions to make?" she asked as she sipped from her glass at a leisurely pace, mostly because she was slightly interested in what else would fall out of his mouth while he was still drinking. As this continued on, it became more and more obvious that this man indeed had a bit of a problem handling his liquor which was interesting. "Strongest Mage in Fairy Tail... huh? I'm sure Sis is gonna have lots to say about that, and Genbu too~" said teasing just a tad as she finished her drink and though her ears were tinted a tiny bit there weren't any other signs that she'd been consuming anything other than water. She reached for the bottle then and attempted to pour herself some more. "Fine~ I'll help you out with that then... wouldn't want you going and doing anything crazy while you're... 'off your rocker'." she said that last bit with quote fingers while holding the bottle a huge grin on her face.

[Bloodedge]

"Are you a priest now?" he asked rhetorically while releasing his hold on the bottle. As Iris continued to speak, his head drifted back, and his eyes closed while another sigh escaped him. When the girl brought up Aine and Genbu as competitors for the title he'd somewhat claimed, his eyes opened again. "Psh! You can't count the Master. That'd be cheating. I'd stomp a hole in Genbu, though. Probably. Shouldn't be too difficult."

[Apollymi]

A smile spread across this black haired girl's face. "Well, I could be. Feel free to tell me all your secrets~ Don't worry, I won't do anything crazy with the information." she said as she poured her fresh drink. Once it was done she handed the bottle back and waited for his reaction. And what he had to say about the other people in their guild only made her smile more. "Ah, so for you, Sis doesn't count, huh? And Genbu is no competition..." she said her sentence trailing off just a bit as she took a long swing off her most recently acquired glass. "Can you beat Konan?" she asked a smile most devious spreading across her face. She wondered how this young man ranked himself compared to the others. To be fair, she wasn't interested in fighting any of these people on any day, but she was at least interested in what this young man had to say. And since he was a very honest drunk she figured she'd get a reasonable answer out of him. Apparently the ladies of the Fairy Tail guild were no laughing matter.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah, I don't exactly believe you." When the bottle was returned to him, Axel took one final sip before placing the bottle's top where it belonged and returning the liquor to the bar counter. As he did this, another name was dropped regarding his claim of being the strongest. This one was a bit trickier than the others, and to be perfectly honest, he'd almost forgotten it. "Konan, huh... I always want to think she's with the others after what happened. She's pretty good. If I had to guess, I'd say she could match me, but I'm pretty sure I could pull off the win there too. I'm just glad those other guys aren't around anymore..."

[Apollymi]

"What's not to believe. I'd like to think I'd be great at keeping secrets~" she said a huge grin forming across her face. "Plus leverage is always good, right?" she added, making her seem a tad more sinister than her normally happy demeanor would indicate. But it was pretty much a fact, that any one as driven as this young girl was, had to be a bit more complex than the happy innocence she seemed to exude. That particular bit of conversation taken care of, she heard out Axel while he explained how he thought he compared to the one known as Konan. With this she scoffed just a bit. "Eh, you think really highly of yourself... I can't say I know where you match up against everyone, but at least the S-class trials will be fun if you guys are all going to be involved." she finished as she knocked back the rest of her drink hopping over the counter to place the empty cup in a sink and to tuck away the previously consumed liquor that the boy with her had already placed the top on. She decided in this moment that being behind this counter felt somewhat normal to her, and she'd likely enjoy her new job. With this in mind she leaned against the counter from this side.

"So, any more secrets from you, before Sis gets back?" she asked, it wasn't as if she was prying this question was mostly teasing in nature, after all this girl was bored now that she wasn't working or doing anything particularly important. And now that she was just a little buzzed she began entertaining herself with just a little magic.... small gems being produced from the tips of the fingers of her right hand and subsequently juggled just that way... a small smile on her face.

[Bloodedge]

"I'll show you leverage," Axel replied through an extended yawn. He wasn't sure if Iris was actually prying for information, or simply poking fun, but he had nothing to give regardless. He did however, have something of a thought regarding the other S-Class Mages of Fairy Tail and how they compared to him. "That's not me thinking highly of myself. That's me comparing Magic and Magic Power. Genbu has a lot of Magic Power, but a pretty big weakness I can get through. Konan's got versatility, but I doubt she's got me beat on Magic Power, which makes that a bit tougher." As he spoke, Axel leaned back until his head rested upon the bar counter. From this angle, he looked toward Iris, whom he now saw upside-down, causing him to chuckle before he continued. "If Naruto and Sasuke were still around, I wouldn't even bother making a comparison. Hell, if Sasuke didn't end up going somewhere else, we probably wouldn't be here now. I still don't trust Naruto, though..."

[Apollymi]

Iris' brow rose as the boy commented that he'd show her leverage. She was quite sure he was flirting just a little but that wasn't really a problem. After all she was teasing so it was about the right response, regardless of how it worked out in the end. "Eh, that sounds like the sort of thing that'll get me in trouble with your fan girls..." she said a cheeky smirk coming to her face as she continued her juggling without bothering to switch her gaze from her own hand. Moving right along he went on to give her a bit of information on how he thought the guild work, and outlined the difference between himself and the others kind of made sense when she thought about it the same way he did. "I guess, I could see that." she said but when he mentioned the two former members of Fairy Tail she wasn't sure what to make of it. They'd both been more than reasonably strong, actually the one who was still associated them was on a different level than she assumed most people would be. "I hadn't considered them... I suppose this wouldn't be a matter of fun if they were both still around." she said but on the matter of trusting Naruto she could only shrug. "He's never given me a reason not to trust him... it'd be a shame to discount him completely simply because of who his friend was. He shouldn't be guilty by association... right?" she questioned. Knowing the history of the guild from her earlier times there.

[Bloodedge]

"Fan girls? Oh, right... them," he said, remembering the two arguing girls after a few moments of thought. "Whatever. They can learn too..." Axel's eyes slowly closed as he spoke. A small grin, which existed without his knowledge, was plastered upon his visage, and his face was flushed throughout. It would seem as if he was losing consciousness, but he was merely relaxing. "Don't trust Sasuke. Don't trust Naruto. Barely trust Konan. The three best things you'll hear all day. Meh... I feel like fighting now."

[Apollymi]

A huge grin crossed this girl's face as she nearly dropped the gems she was juggling. After a second she seemed to recover looking at the young man before her as he seemed to be falling closer and closer to unconsciousness. She couldn't help but shake her head from left to right. "Oh? Aren't we being generous today~" she said still teasing. She didn't really have anything else to say, and it wasn't like the two arguing girls actually managed to make her feel the slightest bit threatened. After all, she had no problem trapping the pair of them in a gem and waiting for them to come to their senses, she had nothing but time on her hands at present. But as the conversation moved on, it became obvious that this young man wasn't particularly trusting of anyone who had been friends with Sasuke after the incident which had their Guild Master so recently replaced. Even so she couldn't help but shrug. "I can understand that, but again, association shouldn't make you guilty... that'd be like everyone being mad at me 'cause you wanna fight while you're drunk. It's unfair." she said a cheeky smile coming to her face as she stopped juggling each of the gems coming to fall into her hand as she stared at them intently then pocketed them like she did with most after she was done. "Anyways, don't you always want to fight. You're usually the one on top of tables taking open challenges, when you're not just out somewhere doing those super secret "S-class" missions." she said knowing that this young man was probably most likely to be seen fighting anyone for no reason other than to see who would win.

[Bloodedge]

"Explain to me why both of those guys are missing an arm, and what Sasuke was doing all last year, and maybe I'll stop being sketched out by the people he was always hanging out with. A thousand Jewels say they know some secrets." Axel's eyes opened after a bit, and when they did, he looked toward the open space of the Guild Hall. "Pfft! I'm not always looking for a fight. I'll just take the challenges if they're given, and taking a bunch is a good way to keep up my exercise routine."