"Another one," Shin said as smashed the glass of whiskey upon the counter. The red-haired male began to rock back and forth on his stool, awaiting for his next drink to arrive. This was now his eighth drink of whiskey, and was beginning to feel himself getting drunk. It wasn't normal for him to be drinking alone but this would be his final time in Crocus for a while. It was best he went out with a good drink.

As the bartender arrived with another glass of whiskey, Shin snatched it from his hands. As he did, the stool underneath of his lost its grip on the ground, causing Shin to fall onto his back, the whiskey spilling over top of him. Resting on the ground, he couldn't help but laugh to himself. "Get me another one!" he demanded, pointing his finger in the air. For now, he would await on the ground till his drink arrived.

North had decided that it was high time that he had a drink during his stay in Crocus. His skin was starting to chafe from the constant application of makeup needed to cover his guild tattoo, but he was still having fun on his visit. After a long day of sight seeing and thrill seeking he just wanted to relax with a few shots of gin. He'd found his way into a bar that at least wasn't quite as posh as the other's he'd wandered by. He'd sat down on a bar stool at the end of a line of patrons. There seemed to be four of them all together and on the other end of the line was a red haired man who was tossing shots back as if they were water. North enjoyed a good drink, but he still couldn't make it through a shot of liquor without at least a grimace. In the time he'd had three, he'd already seen the man take six, and he was almost astounded at his constitution. As he watched the man take yet another glass from the bartender, he caught full view of him tipping his stool over and spilling the whiskey all over himself. Instead of showing anger as North might have expected however, the man only laughed. He then called for another round of whiskey, and North couldn't help but become interested in the happy go lucky man who had appeared before him.

After downing his own fifth shot, North imitated the man's performance and intentionally tumbled over his own stool. The other man didn't seem to have minded much, and it actually looked like it might be fun. In the process, the glass he was holding broke and a shard flew up past his cheek and left a thin, shallow, yet rather long gash across his left cheek. North winced at the pain, but the cut was rather clean so it didn't actually hurt all that much. Before he did anything, he called out to the bartender. "Another round for me as well." He shouted from the ground. He then  turned over to the man on the right, his cheek bleeding rather heavily, his face showing a friendly smile. "What's your name, friend? I'm North Rickley." He said, pulling himself up to a seated position and rearranging hisbody into a seated cross legged position.

As Shin awaited for his next drink, he heard a loud thud to his left. Tilting his head in the direction of the noise, he noticed another male laying on the ground in a similar fashion to his. As the male introduced himself, a nasty gash revealed itself on his cheek. Following suit, Shin pushed himself off the ground, taking a seated position across from North. Removing his wet leather jacket, he revealed a white V-neck t-shirt underneath. Stained with some whiskey, someone with a keen eye would be able to make out the Phantom Lord tattoo underneath. Placing the jacket aside, the bartender arrived with his drink. Clasping the handle, he took a large sip before resting it to his side. "My name's Shin Katari!"

Vision a little hazy, Shin struggled to make out the face of the person he was talking to. His drinks were beginning to catch up to him. As onlookers exchanged gazes towards the two, the bar didn't seem to mind a whole lot. Instead, Shin and North appeared to bring an uplifting spirit into an otherwise dull bar. Spreading his feet forward, Shin placed his hands by his sides. The floorboards around Shin gave off a strong whiskey scent as the liquid had become one with the building. Grasping his drink, he finished it off before raising the glass in the air. "One more! And another for my friend South!"

Not aware of his mistake, Shin just offered a friendly smile in response. He began inching towards North, before he was a mere ten feet away from him. He took a good long look at the gash on his cheek before bearing a stern expression. "Who the hell did that?" Shin asked pointing at the gash on his cheek. Although an intelligent person, liquor had a hand in flipping his attitude around. What would usually annoy him made him laugh and he would enjoy the night giving a damn. Tonight, it was going to be one of those nights.

North still ached in a few places after taking his tumble, and his cheek was still bleeding steadily, but the pain seemed to fade away quite easily due to his drunken state. He got a better look at the man before him, his stark red hair definitely standing out as his most eye catching feature. His clothes were dampened with liquor, and North could make out some sort of marking imprinted on the man's chest through his t-shirt. Not able to fully recognize the mark, he quickly moved past it and listened to the man's introduction. As the other man was talking, North was handed another shot glass of clear, foul smelling liquid which he quickly tossed back into his gullet. He shook his head in disgust for just a moment, set the glass down next to him and returned his full attention to the man before him. His name was Shin, and he had just called for another round. He'd slipped up with North's name, which North could only assume was some playful jesting. North didn't mind in the slightest, and had a good sense of humor which allowed him to laugh at himself. He also liked to play along though, and he spoke up after Shin ordered the round. "Well met, Knee. Glad to find a friendly fellow in a place like this." He said, retaliating with a playful jest of his own.

Shin drew attention to the gash on North's cheek, asking who had committed the offense to such a gorgeous face as his; perhaps in not quite so many words. North could only chuckle at that, remembering that he'd done it to himself just moment's ago. He pulled up his right forearm and wiped a bit of the blood off of his face. "Oh this?" He asked in a humorous tone. "I kinda cut myself on the way down here, funnily enough. Nothing a little spit won't fix though." He said, taking a moment to spit into his right palm and rub the injury for a moment, stopping the flow at least by a minuscule amount. The injury wasn't bothering him much however, and he decided to try and steer the conversation away from his bloody cheek. Though he still found it hard to believe he could have cut himself in such a manner. "So, you from around here, friend?" He'd ask, wondering if he was dealing with a local or another traveler such as himself.

"Knee?" Shin looked at North with a puzzle expression. It took him a moment to realize his words were meant as a playful jab, mirroring what Shin had done earlier. Soon after, North began to explain the gash on his cheek, explaining he was the cause of his own injury. The loud thud that North was responsible for in turn caused a shard of glass to cut across his cheek. Worried, Shin moved his hands across his face. He felt no fresh marks nor did he see any blood. Letting out a sigh of relief, he looked at North with a chuckle. "Good thing I'm not as lucky as you."

Arriving at this footsteps was the bartender, drinks in hand. Placing them beside the two, Shin thought about North's question. He had two possible answers, each containing truth to a certain degree. He was originally born in Era, a city not too far from the capital. However, nearly a decade has past and he had been residing in Oak. Either answer he offered was true, it was a matter of which answer he would supply. "I was born not too far from here. But I've been living in Oak for about ten years now," Shin answered as he grabbed the glass of whiskey. Bringing it to his lips, he let the stinging liquor clean his throat. Looking around, he noticed an empty table towards the back of the bar. Lifting himself off the ground, he motioned for North to follow him to the table.

With a little stagger here and there, Shin placed the glass of whiskey on the table as he collapsed on the wooden chair. Regaining his composure, he rested his back against the chair. He would await for North to become seated before proceeding. The ground was beginning to feel uncomfortable. At least this way now, they could speak without having anyone look down at them. Looking in North direction, Shin would reiterate the question North had asked. "Are you from around here?"

North watched as his new acquaintance examined his own cheek to see if he had any similar injuries. He took a second to glance down at his own body to see if he'd gotten cut anywhere else, and finding nothing he looked back up when Shin continued speaking. "Nah, if I was really lucky it would've been a rougher cut. It'd be a cool place for a scar." North replied thoughtfully, angling his face so the injury was on his profile and raising a hand to stroke his chin and allow Shin to imagine what the scar might have looked like. Even if the background of the scar might not have been the most glamorous, he could have had fun making up cool stories about how he got it and try telling taller and taller tales. North actually looked a bit dejected as he thought about it, wishing that that glass wasn't so damn sharp and clean.

As the bartender approached and gave the two their drinks North rubbed his cheek once again, trying to alleviate the minor sting that the liquor hadn't quite erased. He listened as Shin explained that he'd actually been born rather close to Crocus but had been living in Oak Town for ten years. North thought it quite the coincidence that they both lived in the same town, and more so that he'd been living there since he'd moved out in the first place. He was about to interject, but Shin stood up and motioned for them to move to a table towards the back. North was fine with that as his back was starting to get a bit stiff from sitting on the floor. He quickly downed his drink in a single unpleasant gulp and replaced the glass on the ground before picking himself up and following Shin to the table.

Once seated, North was about to explain that he was from Oak town as well but he was reaching such a level of inebriation that his perspective started to spin for a moment and he failed to find the words. Shin beat him to the punch and asked him if he was from around Crocus himself. "No," North started, putting his fist in front of his mouth and letting out a small drunken belch. "I'm actually from Oak as well. Surprised we haven't run into each other before now." He said, quickly regaining his composure as he spoke. "I work as a wizard at the local guild." He continued, thinking that another citizen of Oak wouldn't have any problem with him being a Phantom Lord member. He certainly didn't seem like the type that would rat him out to the guards, at least. "How about you?" He'd ask, half out of politeness and half out of genuine curiosity.

The two possessed a few similarities. Like him, North also resided in Oak Town. Considering Shin had been living in Oak for nearly a decade, it was strange the two had never bumped into each other. Even stranger was the fact that the two were apart of the same guild. Scanning North's body from his head to chest, there was no visible guild tattoo. It was normal for guild members to conceal their affiliation, as to avoid conflict with rival guilds. This was the case Shin and he would assume with North as well. Grabbing his glass of whiskey, he proceeded to finish off the drink as North asked a question. "I'm a Phantom like you," Shin responded as he pulled down his shirt, revealing a small portion of the tattoo that was inked upon his left pectoral muscle.

Fixing his shirt, he began to lean back in his chair. Kicking his feet up onto the table, he let out a small drunken belch similar to how North had done. It was a nice change having an acquaintance to drink with rather than drinking alone. Making it better was the fact that the two were apart of the same guild so in theory, they had nothing to hide from one another. "So, what caused you to join Phantom Lord?" Shin asked curiously. Having his reasons, it was always interesting to see why others decided to join the same guild.

North was a bit incredulous as he heard Shin reply that he was a Phantom as well, and it was shown easily on his face. His eyes had gone wide and his mouth was forming a visible and pronounced "o" shape. "No shit?" He'd ask rhetorically, the question already answered by the clearly visible mark on Shin's pectoral. After hearing that, North was even more astounded that he hadn't run into this man in Oak Town. Sure, he didn't spend much time at the guild and he hadn't been there all that long, but he felt he frequented the hall and the town enough that he would have run into a man who'd lived there for an entire decade. Even stranger that he was meeting him now in Crocus, but North was glad to have met one of his comrades so that he could converse openly for the first time since he'd arrived.

Shin lifted his feet up onto the table to get more comfortable as he asked North why he'd joined Phantom Lord in the first place. North splayed his own legs a bit wider to get a bit more comfortable and laughed shortly before replying. "That's a funny story, actually. I was originally going to join Blue Pegasus, beings I'm so passionate about the beauty of the human body. Turns out they had a dress code over there though, so I guess I'm not fashionable enough for them." He said, letting out another laugh as he thought back on his first visit to their guild hall and how badly it had gone for him. "They were probably a bad match anyway though." He continued, his tone becoming just a tad more serious. "You see, I'm a bit of a thrill seeker. Always out for that adrenaline rush, y'know? I was a pretty wild kid, did a lot of stuff that sure didn't make my pops proud." He said with a chuckle, obviously not very apologetic about it. He then sat up in his chair a bit straighter and a bit of excitement could be seen sparkling in his eyes. "I'm also real partial to what I like to call 'Brawl's Fair'. I'll come up with some wacky rules for a no holds barred match, and challenge somebody. I don't much like taking no for an answer, and I can get a little carried away sometimes too." North said, acting as if he was embarrassed to admit it and even blushing a little bit.

"Anyway, illegal guilds seemed to be the only place I fit in and Phantom Lord seemed to share a lot of my ideals. The master also never told me to put any clothes on." He finished with a smile, his cheek still smeared with dried blood. "In any case, I've rambled on for a while. What about you, why'd you end up at the guild?" North asked, curious as to what a man who'd been there for a decade would have to say. Phantom Lord had almost certainly been different back then, and he was interested to hear about it.

The story North had told was intriguing from beginning to end. He was originally interested in becoming a Blue Pegasus mage. Reclining back in his chair, Shin could not imagine himself in another guild. He believed he didn't necessarily meet the requirements for being a mage of a Light Guild. One thing that stuck out from North's rambling was his mention of having a no holds barred match. Considering he was annoyed by the slightest of things, Shin was usually engaged in a fight more often than not. As a result, he came to enjoy these fights over the years. Like North, he could not take no for an answer and often got carried away. "During a time we're both not drunk, we should definitely have one of you're 'Brawls Fairs'," Shin responded with a wide smile.

The conversation now shifted to Shin. Letting out a deep sigh, he motioned for another glass of whiskey for the two men. A story was only that much more enjoyable if there was a drink involved. Awaiting for the arrival of their drinks, Shin cleared his throat before beginning to speak. "Originally, I was supposed to be a bitch of Fiore, a Rune Knight. Considering both my parents were knights, it was only ideal that I too would end up following in their footsteps," he said just as the drinks arrived. As he grabbed his glass, he took a nice long sip before continuing. "However, my mom ended up dying during an ambush which caused my dad to become an alcoholic. His belief was liquor was the best way to rid of pain. A pathetic ideology if you ask me. In the end, I decided to leave and travel through Fiore. During that time, I stumbled upon Phantom Lord and the master accepted me." Shin said as he took another sip from his whiskey. Both men had two very different stories, one lighthearted and the other not so much. That's what allowed for a deeper conversation.

"Besides, Phantom Lord is the only guild that shares similar ideals to mine." Shin added on. Looking at North, he finished off his glass of whiskey before letting out a refreshing sigh. "So, if we ever see each other in Oak, how about we do that fight I asked you about?" Shin asked with a slight grin. He would love to see how North was in combat and what kind of magic he used, if any.

When Shin offered to have a Brawl's Fair, North returned his wide smile with one of his own and replied with a firm, "Definitely." He could never turn down a challenge, and taking on someone with over a decades worth of experience in his guild would certainly be something that could push him over his limits. The thrill and excitement were almost enough to make his mouth water, but Shin's condition on their relative sobriety was probably wise. North's insides were starting to rot a bit as he hadn't eaten in quite a while, and he was having a bit of trouble with his fine motor skills; made evident when a bit of his whiskey dribbled down his chin and onto his chest as he took his next shot. He quickly rubbed a bit of spit on his thumb and cleaned up a bit as he listened to Shin's own tale of woe. With a late mother and a drunkard of a father, it was no wonder that Shin wouldn't want to go down the same path as his parents. North couldn't help but shed a few tears as his new friend recounted the tale, and he wiped it away with his forearm. Perhaps a bit of his crying could be contributed to the alcohol, but most of it was just North and his overly emotional self.

Shin finished his drink with a refreshed sigh before reaffirming North's willingness to compete in a Brawl's Fair with him, and North nodded with a large grin on his face. "You can count on it. I'll look you up when I get back to Oak." He said, reaching out his hand to give Shin a shake while also motioning to the bartender for one more round, the one that would most likely be his last for the night considering his current state of inebriation. Once it had arrived, North would hold up his glass and give a small toast. "Whatever the circumstance I'm glad our paths have finally crossed, Mr. Shin. Here's to many more meetings and to the name of Phantom Lord." North said, in perhaps slightly too loud a voice when speaking of such sensitive matters. He wasn't in a mind to care however, and he waited for a clink of the glass with his new friend so he could down his final shot. After he had done so, he'd stumble drunkenly towards his room in the inn. He'd wave a quick goodbye over his shoulder and exit the bar.