Fly, fly away, like a bird in the sky.

"Oh, they did. Trust me. I didn't learn enough from my mother before she passed when I was eleven, and I refused to continue learning until a few months before my decision. That clearly wasn't enough time with my low attention span at the time, and me not knowing intermediate English at the least didn't help. Essays were quite hard," he laughs again, shaking his head. "Likewise. It's my pleasure to be serving you this evening, Ka'Zinthas. You've got quite the exotic name, by the way~"

"We do," he agrees. "We really do. Oh?" He leans forward onto the counter, raising an eyebrow at the patron. "I suppose so. Feng -- especially Xi'an was quite exotic where I grew up." He straightens up as the waiter approaches again, waving goodbye to a few customers as well. He gets started on his work yet again, but keeps an eye on Ka'Zinthas -- to make sure he's quick in refilling his drink. The bartender sends out another tray of drinks, just as another guest replaces the ones that had left. This place really is popular...

Tanjiro nods in agreement, "I try my best! They are really important to me, after all. I'd be pretty sad if anything were to happen to them," he admits. "Not to pry, but please do tell me more about yourself as well! Perhaps more about your corporation? It's really quite interesting to hear about anyone else other than the Demon Slayer corps -- no matter how hidden they are! Of course, you don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable!"

"Oh, I see." Xi'an offers a sympathetic smile. Before he could respond, another member of staff approached him, both an order and a tray of cups in hand, and places both things on the counter. He thanks the man before turning back to his guest. "I can understand. I'm not from here as well -- I was born in China and I grew up in South Korea. I moved here for college, then decided to stay," the bartender responds as he starts working on cleaning the cups, wiping them, then setting most of them aside for the next use -- and using two of them for the newest orders. He occasionally glances down at the piece of paper, but otherwise he seems pretty skilled in mixing these drinks -- and remembering what was on the paper. He places them on the tray after wiping said item as well, and the waiter who'd brought the tray over comes back soon enough to take it.

He chuckles, nodding in agreement. "I am. Well.. it was my mother's dream to come here. I suppose she'd always had an interest in their culture or whatnot. When I was about eight.. she'd started to teach me English. It was our little thing together, whenever she had the free time to teach me. She never got the chance, so I decided to come here. Plus I heard the colleges weren't too bad." His mood seems to have depleted a bit -- but that doesn't stop him from pouring more bourbon into the man's cup, carrying the same smile he's had. "You can call me Xi'an, by the way. Xi'an Feng."

Tanjiro chuckles at that, shaking his head. He grows confused as to why his new companion seemed to alter his demeanor and stance, but he notices his own mistake soon after, and quickly holds out his hands apologetically. "Forgive me. It's a force of habit at this point.. you can never be too cautious! I didn't mean to startle you. If it isn't a demon, I don't intend to hurt anybody." The next question seems to be a bit personal for the young man, yet he doesn't look away, and his tone is still far from protective. "It was a gift from my father. Something he passed down to me when I was younger. I don't think they contain any spells... If they have, I would probably know about it."

Xi'an glances back up from the counter, raising an eyebrow at the question. "Well.. Blanton's is 93 proof, which is pretty normal. If we look at most drinks around that range... I'd say four to six shots. It also depends on how well you handle your alcohol. If you want a stronger drink, I could grab you one." He finishes up with his cleaning, soon rinsing the small towel and wringing it out. He makes sure it's completely dry before folding it away. "Have you any personal favorites? I could check if we have any," he suggests. The bartender doesn't usually go that far out of his way to serve a guest.. but here he is.

The bartender chuckles as he takes the cup, "it might be a good idea to keep the cost in check as well." He takes the bottle from its place again, pouring more of its contents into the cup before sliding it right back down. "Ka'Zinthas Shadhan, huh? I'll make sure to remember it for you, then. It's quite alright -- you wouldn't imagine how many people confide in me in a day of work. Don't worry about it." He turns away for a moment to serve another guest -- taking up a quick conversation with them as he usually does -- before they walk off and he's left with Ka'Zinthas again, whom he tilts his head at. "You don't seem all that accustomed with drinks here."