Breaking out of the shell (open)

The day was easy yet uneasy for Luna as the pink haired woman sat at the bar, it was late in the evening in the midst of the week. The tavern was uneasily quiet as most of the wild party goers or drunken townsmen had left earlier then usual, while there were people scattered about, all was quiet. Luna had came in over an hour ago, but sat at the bar reading a book, her gentle gaze fixed as she read. Behind the book was a glass of water barely touched, the only thing she had ordered since she had arrived.

Her lips were parsed slightly, her left hand the book while her the tips of her right index and middle finger were on the edge of the corner of the right page. While one could not see it through her calm gaze, she was antsy and excited to read more of the book. She had came in with the intent on socialization but her great flaw in the scheme was bringing a book, she had stopped by a bookstore before and was struck by the book a few minutes after entering the tavern, and had been struck since. An ironic twist as she had failed. She occasionally lifted her gaze to the side, mostly to see the bartender but couldn't tell if they were annoyed that all she ordered was a glass of water hours ago, but returned to her book.

She was already halfway through the book, seeing the page number as her fingers gently turned the page. "Funny how time goes by..."

I had to escort an official from the West Fiore Trading Company to the floating town city of Crystalli. The man would have a dinner with another representative and I was dismissed. Something I did not have a problem with at all, the whole ordeal was boring. My bones ached for action and my brain missed my literature. I thought I had packed enough for the trip but alas the VIP was slow, and I had now read everything.



I walked into my room and took off my black armour and red clothing. I found brown pants and a long white sleeved shirt and got dressed. I corrected my crimson and golden headband and nodded. I almost left my room without a sword. For a moment I stared at my swords, wondering which I should take with me and choose in the end the short wakizashi in its black lacquered sheath. Once I was outside I looked around the street. “Where shall I go now?”


I limped through the streets till I found a tavern. I glided inside after two young lads entered the establishment. My eyes went from one corner to the other as they scanned the room. There were not a whole lot of people and none of the people seemed interesting to drink with. With the exception to one person. A young woman with pink hair sat at the bar, reading a book. A literate person, that ought to be interesting. Was my thought. I walked to her.


“I hope I do not disturb you, is this seat free?” I asked her with a faint smile, while I pointed to the seat to her right.

Victoria had visited a bar in a place called Crystalli because she heard it had some good drinks on tap. She also wanted to celebrate completing the risky mission of defeating the heavily armed black market syndicate in Rose Garden. Unfortunately she took too much of a liking to a tequila called Argentum Aquilae and had lost consciousness for a few hours... well, more like three. She had to be awakened by a bartender.

"Huh? Oh, did I fall asleep?" Victoria asked. The young male bartender politely nodded. She had a pounding headache and her face was red from sticking to the wooden bar.

"...Did I do anything stupid before passing out?" Victoria asked him hesitantly. As an Ace of Black Rose, she should not have even gotten drunk to begin with. A Guild Ace getting drunk and doing stupid things would make the guild look bad.

"No. You just drank until you passed out." He answered honestly.

"Oh. Sorry about that. How much do I owe for the drinks?" Victoria asked him.

"You had six shots of Argentum Aquilae tequila. That's 6,000 Jewels." He answered. He was not angry with her for falling asleep. He seemed resigned to dealing with inebriates as part of his job. That was an expensive set of shots, but Victoria would pay what was owed.

"Sure. Here ya go!" Victoria cheerfully handed over the Jewels. He received them, rung up the sale, and thanked her. She was not going to skip out on the bill, especially after he had been so kind to her. She also liked the drink... she would have to ask about stocking that brand for Silver Moon Inn. Her attention was diverted by the presence of a pink-haired girl and that samurai guy from the Haunted Guild job... Haru-something.

"Whoa." Victoria said while fighting the headache. That tequila had kicked her ass so hard that it was a wonder that she still had clothes on. Her blue shirt, black skirt, and white tennis shoes were still on her body.

"Hi there. Where am I?" Victoria said to the pink-haired girl with a book and the samurai guy Haru-something. She would have to slow down on the Argentum Aquilae next time. At least the taste was not quite as strong as the taste of CEILING vodka.

As the man approached Luna, her gentle gaze lifted from the book to search the man, in the brink of a second, her jade eyes seemed to barely move. The man didn't give off the vibe that he wanted to drunkenly suggest anything intimate, or start anything by offering to buy a drink. She shook her head for a moment. "No, I don't believe anyone has sat there for at least an hour. "

However she started to analyze the man for a minute, she predicted he was a wizard or some form of travelling occupation as well given the fact that he seemed to carry around a sword in his attire. She didn't want to assume as she kept that image at the back of her mind. However she took a bit of a liking to the man based on his appearance, and he seemed to be polite at first. "My name is Lunaris-."

Luna bit her cheek for a moment as she realized her slip of the tongue, she doesn't usually use that name that often, however she figured she could cover it up later. She usually avoids the final part of her name as people get interested in thinking Luna is foreign, then she has to explain the little she knows about her maternal heritage.

She was hoping that things wouldn't get any further awkward then they already could, however her prayers were responded to as the woman who was passed out drunk woken up. When she had initiated conversation with Luna and the man, she hoped this could lighten things until she herself recalled the last few hours for the woman. "Oh, hey miss. You're at the Rising Sun tavern on the Crystalli. You've been here for a few hours, and had half a dozen drinks. You passed out after the sixth. However between fourth and sixth you were mumbling a bit. Inaudible for the most part, something about making a pink thing yours. Might've misheard you, wasn't really paying attention."

"Ah, then I'll take the seat." I told her. I looked for the bartender, but he seemed to be occupied with, by the looks of it, a woman who had looked too far into her glass. "Lunaris, well met. My name is Haru, short for Haruyuki. I listen to either name." I said, "What book are you reading if I may ask?" I had to ask, you don’t always meet someone who is interested in books nowadays.

I noticed in the corner of my eye, that the customer paid the bartender. I raised my hand to signal the bartender, though it was likely that it was not necessary, the bartender had probably noticed me entering the tavern. But the woman called towards us before the bartender walked to us. Lunaris answered her while I was in doubt for a moment. Is that? The young brunette in her black skirt and blue shir, it has to be her.

"Victoria? What are you doing here?" I stumbled out, regretted to phrase it like that. If she drank so much that she forgot where she was, then it is likely she doesn’t know it. "What a coincidence to meet you here."

Victoria's face went beet-red when the pink-haired girl told her what she did. She looked to the bartender for confirmation and the news was not what she wanted to see. He only nodded. This was awful.

"If I really did say something like that, I'm sorry." Victoria apologized to Lunaris with a beet-red face. She was in the Rising Sun tavern on board the Crystalli. She was on a boat in a strange place and had supposedly promised to make a pink thing hers while in a drunken stupor. This was so embarrassing. The brunette wished that she knew some magic to make herself disappear.

The samurai Haruzuke was also present. She remembered him now. Kind of.

"Hey Harusuki, I was here to celebrate a successful job. I celebrated a bit too much with some Argentum Aquilae tequila. Six shots later I passed out." Victoria truthfully explained her reason for being here to the brown-haired mage. She wondered if he saw anything. She hoped that he did not witness her inebriated faux pas.