Three Outsiders Walk Into A Bar... {Mathis, Ling, Pim Event}

If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go
Pimwadee Chakri

Today was a very exciting day for Pimwadee, since coming to Fiore, she had been especially excited to experience its culture. In her country, Lhuk, festivals were an important part of her lifestyle; Songkran, Loy Krathong, Wai Kru and such. All of them were such an integral part of Pim's life and each of them had blessed the Asiatic girl with many fond memories throughout her life. It was from these experiences that she had been so excited to see what kind of festivals and traditions exist in other countries. And tonight it seemed she would finally get to experience this; or at least, that's what she assumed.

She had no idea what the nature of these celebrations were for, but she was more than happy to embrace it. To throw herself into the fray and to make the most of the evening. So in the spirit of the event, she had dressed in bright purple and gold attire, fortunately, it was a warm night in Clover Town, so she got to wear some of her lighter clothes more suited to hot weather. Dressed in a plaid skirt and a navel length crop top that hung off her shoulder. Along with a pair of purple strappy sandal wedges that added a few inches to her petite frame. Her face was a picture of excitement as she wandered the streets with her fellow Silver Wolf members, pleased to see that her outfit of choice blending in relatively well with the aesthetic of the festivities. Although she seemed to be lacking anything neon or glowy right now, she was keen to change that as soon as she had the opportunity.

Pim would glance over at the others as the one who's name she had slight trouble pronouncing, finding it hard to enunciate the 'h' in Mathis whenever she said it, and the girl named Poppi interacted. A part of her wanted to ask if she could give him a nickname like 'Mattee' but seeing as she didn't know him very well, she resisted this urge. As Poppi handed them vibrant neon glasses, Pimwadee would happily accept them. Pressing her palms together and nodding her head in traditional Lhukian thanks, she would take the sunglasses and place them on her head. Choosing to wear them as an accessory than have them affect her vision, she wanted to be able to see as much as possible tonight. Without anything that might impair her vision and the wondrous spectacles, she might see.

After this, she would look around at the sites once more, distracted once again by the flashing lights and the vibrant music. She wanted to dance, although she wasn't entirely sure if her style of dancing was suitable for this music. Still, she was happy to try, everyone else was dancing and looked to be enjoying themselves greatly. As she caught the tail end of what Poppi was saying, Pim smiled. She knew the answer to the question, having studied the Fiorian language at length before her travels. Spelling basic words weren't an issue for her, she had more trouble with meanings, slang and sometimes pronunciation. As the blue-haired female offered to teach her, she would smile politely and shake her head. "Thank you for your offer, but I am fine. Please focus your teaching on Ling." She answered politely. Despite Fiorian being a second language to her, she was actually pretty good at it. Much better than the average Lhukian, particularly when it came to reading. She actually found translating texts much easier than spoken conversations, it was easier for her mind to process the information when it stayed still. Like an image she could analyse and pull from her revision, except instead of images, it was letters. Also, considering that they had already gifted her with sunglasses, it would seem inappropriate for Pim to accept anything else.

Her amethyst eyes would fall on a drinks stand, scanning rows of brightly coloured cocktails carried by glasses of various shapes and sizes. Curiosity peaked, she would say, "I would like a drink," She informed the others, before wandering towards the stool and perusing the menu. There were no listed ingredients and the drinks listed were not ones that she recognised. It would seem that ordering a drink was going to be harder than she thought.

---

Bright, colorful lights, the smell of food, the city streets crowded with people with painted faces and smiles spreading from ear to ear. It was just as he remembered, too. A long time ago, Ling remembered finding a village near the Phoenix Mountains that had the same sort of lights and the same sorts of smiles. At the time, he was bound to the forest, so he couldn't do anything but watch from afar. But he remembered how much fun everyone looked to be having, and how everyone was so friendly to each other despite likely not knowing their names. He remembered it all. It was...

Beautiful... thought Ling, looked up at the festival street beneath his white cloak, his cheeks blushing with awe. He was so enamored with this scene, this world that was previously locked to him, that he didn't even notice Poppi calling out his name. It was true that he was getting reading and writing lessons from Poppi for the last week, and he was a fast learner. Even after a short period of time together, he was able to begin recognizing written words and phrases. It may have been difficult for the average adult to pick up a new written language, but Ling had always had an impressive memory and an astonishing ability to learn and adapt. While there were sure to be many learning opportunities here at the festival, Ling was hardly in the headspace to really learn anything. Right now, he wanted to experience his very first festival. It wasn't until Pimwadee said his very new name that Ling got out of his head, but by the time he realized that he was the subject of conversation, his friend had already made her way elsewhere. Not only that, but a pair of colorful sunglasses were abruptly placed in his hands, leaving the blonde with a somewhat puzzled look.

"Oh—uhm—thank you..." Ling stuttered, looking at the sunglasses but not putting them on. How would he be able to see through these? And seeing as Pimwadee had decided to use them as an accessory, so did Ling. However, he continued to hold onto them as he quietly trailed behind her to some sort of drinks stand. Although there were menus littering the place, Ling knew that he would not be able to read them. He could only put together basic phrases and letters together on his own, so creative and unique names for drinks he knew nothing about was surely going to be in vain. So, he stood behind Pimwadee with a flushed expression until a burly man serving the drinks took notice.

"Hey, boy-o! You looking for a drink, aye?" the man invited, grinning at him with monkey-like ears. Ling flinched when he realized it was him that was being called to, looking at that man with a bashful flush of pink over a strip of his face.

"Y-Yes!! I mean, no—I... uhm..." Ling stuttered, beginning to twiddle his thumbs in a nervous rush.

"Eh? Well, which is it, then? Hey, are you even old enough to be drinking? How old are you, kid?" the burly man eyed him, reviewing his soft features and lean body. Compared to his own athletic, terribly muscular contour, Ling looked like a puppy in the face of a wolf.

"I... uhm... w-well..." he stuttered again, struggling to get the words out. He knew how old he was, as it is a testament to his good memory, but he almost began to doubt himself when people asked. He was sure that he was twenty-two years old, or at least no older, but it wasn't like age mattered when you were living on your own, away from society. What's it to trees and deer how old you were? But he was an idiot to assume that he could carry that same carelessness into their world. Of course, it mattered! Why did he think any differently? He could feel his own embarrassment begin to boil over like a pot of water! He was such an idi—

"Pfthaha!! Just kidding, boy-o! I let even my six-year-old drink! Hell, I don't even know what the legal drinking age is! Ha! What a laugh!" the burly man burst into peals of thunderous laughter, slamming the table with his... beefy hand.

"U-Uhm... pardon?" Ling looked at him, still twiddling his thumbs with a perplexed look on his face. Suddenly, a very colorful drink was placed before him. Three, actually. The luminous green drink looked more like a piece of art than a drink. The bubbles were nearly pouring out of its rim, and he could smell the sweet aroma of apples and citrus.

"Here you go. Three Exploding Maverick Tinctures! One for you and your friends," the man grinned, looking at Pimwadee, Poppi, and Mathis. It was clear by the way Ling had trailed behind those three like a baby duckling that he had known them, or at least relied on them in a puppish way. "Oh, and no refunds."

"O...Okay! T-Thank you very much!" Ling sheepishly took one of the drinks, holding it gingerly within his thin fingers. He couldn't drink it yet, as he was still admiring its fantastic coloration swirling within. He almost became so enamored with it that he nearly forgot the major inconvenience he had brought upon his friends just now. In a moment of clarity, Ling looked from Mathis to Pimwadee before a panicked look transformed his countenance. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't even think to ask if you wanted to drink this before accepting...! I really am an idiot... I'm so sorry, P-Pimwadee...!"

---

If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go
Pimwadee Chakri

As she perused the menu, Pim would bob side to side along to the music. It wasn't exactly the sort of thing she would listen to at home, but she certainly liked the pace of it. It had a much more electric feel to it. Fewer flutes and drums, more booms and well whatever made that sound 'wup'. Still, Pim loved dancing and having fun, and the music catered to that. So she was more than happy to listen along. It certainly added to the excitable atmosphere that was the 'Urban Nights' festival, what with all the bodies that flooding around, shimmying and shaking along to the music. She could see the appeal and took note to find a way to show her family the type of fast-paced songs that Fiorians listened to when she went home. Maybe tonight, she could even learn some of their dance moves, her friends would especially love that.

Pimwadee was still perusing the choices by the time Ling got his drink, like a meerkat her head bobbed up at the sight of the luminous green beverage. The bubbles fizzling intensely as though the liquid was alive with excitement. Her Amethyst eyes like disks as she stared in intrigued, peering up at Ling as he spoke to her, apologising for not offering the drink to her. She would raise her palms and shake her head, "It is okay." She then turned to face the bartender, "Can I have the same please? Thank you." She asked politely, and shortly after she too would have a copy of the green fizzy beverage in hand.

"Um..." She would take a moment to try a remember the Fiorian term that they would use before sharing a drink. After a moment, she gave up and shrugged deciding instead to share her own cultures term for it. "In Lhuk, when we drink together, we say Chok Dee!" And with that she would clink her glass against his, repeated the Lhukian cheers before bringing the drink to her lips. However just before she could sip the cocktail, it exploded suddenly. Streams of green flying everywhere, covering her entirety. She coughed and spluttered, eyes shut as they began to sting from the liquid that had seeped into them. Blindly she stretched out carefully, trying to find the counter. Accidently patting Ling a few times in the process before finding the flat surface of the bar and lowering the now empty cocktail glass on it. She then brought her hands to her face and attempted to wipe away some of the liquid from her features. "Ahhh, jep, jep, jep, oye." She muttered under her breathe, trying to ease the remnants of liquid away from her eyes and ease the stinging.

After several moments, she managed to clear the majority of it from her face and was able to see. She blinked a few times before peering blearily over at the bartender, after a moment she would giggle. Realising that the bartender chortling meant that this had been the intention of the drink. Quite silly but very amusing. She wasn't entirely surprised that this sort of thing happened here, especially after many summers of Songkran. The festival where her people would hit the streets with water pistols and buckets of flour to throw at each other. Practical jokes were just that, she just hadn't anticipated she would be the victim of one so soon.

"Very funny." She chuckled, before grabbing some napkins off of the counter, attempting to clean herself off further. The greatest victim of the prank had been her outfit, which was now stained green and no amount of wiping seemed to get the colour off the fabric. It was a shame but she was a good sport. "Did some get on you?" She asked Ling, offering him some of her unused napkins. Afterwards, she would look around, where had Mattee and Poppy gone? She would wonder, it was quite a crowded street and it seemed that losing each other would be easy if they weren't careful. She could only assume that they had headed towards the dancefloor to enjoy the music, and not wanting to take another risk of a practical joke, she decided to do the same. "Let's dance!" She said to Ling, grabbing his hand she would pull him toward the crowd of shaking bodies and jumping partyers.

Now, in Lhuk, the music and the traditional style of dancing was significantly different to over here. In Lhuk you lead with your hands, palm flat, fingers stretched into a curve. With carefully placed steps and elegant choreography, there was little shaking of one's derriere and the movement was a little smoother in nature. But Pimwadee, who had spent the majority of her life as a village girl, only had so much experience with the art of the following rhythm. And as she looking around at the crowd, watching their dance moves and getting a feel for how they were moving. She attempted to move in a way that combined the dancing that she was used to, and the dancing that she was witnessing.

And what came of it was something particularly... special.

---

Even when Ling was with someone as positive and forigivng as Pimwadee, Ling found it difficult to stop blaming himself and feeling sorry for the simplest of things. He'd apologize for walking a certain way, speaking too passionately, and he'd even apologize for apologizing too often. It wasn't the worst quirk to have, but still it might be one of concern to others.

By the time that exchange had ended, both Ling and Pimwadee had identical drinks in hand. Now, the blonde man had little to no experience with alcohol. When he was on his own, his liquid nutrition consisted mostly of fruit juices and spring water. He knew of alcohol and what it did to people, but he had to admit that he's never tried it himself. And this drink wasn't the typical beer in the can or wine in the glass sort of thing. It was like a piece of art, almost too green and pretty to be consumed.

Now, before they drank, there was a pause between the two of them. It was clear that Pimwadee was thinking of something, but couldn't quite get the words out. It wasn't until a moment later that she told him that where she came from, people said 'Chok Dee' before drinking together. It sounded really nice. Drinking with others, that is. When she brought it up and tapped her glass against his, Ling's cheeks lit up just a little bit before he responded.

"O-Oh! Well, uhm, Chok Dee—uwah!!"

Just before Ling could drink his share of the drink, the one Pimwadee had partaken in quite literally exploded. It combusted in such a way where the green drink that should've been inside of the glass was now all over her face and clothes. The bartender was snorting triumphantly, and while none of it got onto Ling, he was visibly shaking. His pretty face went so pale that it was as if his soul had just made its exit. The poor man was trembling so bad that the ice in his drink was moving around in the glass back and forth!

"P-P-Pimwadee! A-are you okay...?!" Ling struggled to get the words out as he reached out a trembling hand to her, watching her fiddle around for something to wipe herself off with. As it turned out, she seemed completely fine, save for her now green attire. In fact, she seemed to have found just enough delight in whatever just happened to chuckle along with the bartender. Ling was still very much frightened and looked at his own drink with a look of horror before setting it down on the table. When Pimwadee asked if any had got on him, he only shook his head with the same terror of the green drink as before. After that, abruptly, she had pulled Ling into a crowd before he could truly get over his fright, both of them swallowed in a sea of wiggling bodies to loud, invigorating beats. She had wanted to dance together, but...

I don't know how to dance! How am I supposed to tell her that? She'll be disappointed, won't she? Ling thought to himself, his ears turning red with embarrassment.

"U-Uhm, Pimwadee! I really can't da—"

Wide-eyed, shocked, and somewhat enamored, Ling's words would surely fall onto deaf ears, as he couldn't even finish his sentence. He was too enchanted by whatever sort of dancing Pimwadee was doing at that moment to finish his thought. In fact, the only thing he was thinking about right now was how amazing she was at dancing! Every awkward and eccentric swerve her body made inspired the timid Ling to at least try.

Pimwadee is so much braver than me... the least... the least I can do is give it a go! Ling convinced himself, his face scrunching up as he made a last effort to muster up the courage to move his hips.

"Okay! H-Here I go!" he announced, his entire face red as he began to dance. But really, he was just awkwardly moving in place.

---

If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go
Pimwadee Chakri

Ling's concern about her after the drink explosion was very kind, and Pim would appreciate it very much. She hadn't known Ling for very long, but she always found him to be very genuine and pure-hearted. As she eyed his expression, it would seem that he looked even more upset about the prank then she did. She nodded, "Yes, I am okay. It sting my eyes a little bit but I don't mind. Very funny prank, I did not expect it." She told him, chuckling once more and she dabbed away the last of the excess fluid. She was pleased that at the very least he seemed to have avoided being covered by the green drink. It would mean that the joke had only cost them her outfit and a minimal amount of pain. She would have probably found it less amusing had it been an inconvenience for her friend also. Pim completed understood Ling's reasoning for choosing not to drink his one, it was silly of her to fool for the prank. But it would sillier to risk it after witnessing what had just happened to his guildmate. Satisfied with this, she had led him off the dancefloor, where she was fully prepared to embrace the style of dancing that the others in the crowd seemed to display. It was much more provocative in nature than she expected, it seemed that many of those were quite comfortable with gyrating their bodies in such away. And whilst she wasn't so keen on moving as 'inappropriately' as some of them, she figured that with a little skill she might be able to do some kind of dialled down version of this dance.

After a quick observation of the dancing members of the crowd, Pimwadee was able to gather a rough idea of what to do. Stiff, robotic and repetitive moments were clearly the way forward. Bob a specific part of your body in time with the music and alternative. Yes. This seemed right? She started with her head, moving it to and fro, much like the chickens that would wander around the farm. Arms stiff, one down by her hip, the other lifting into an L-shape. It was hard to contain the urge to dance the way she normally wood, her fingers curled back instinctively, but she resisted, focusing instead on doing her best to maintain the dance. She stopped her forward march, instead of bobbing her left knee back and forth at the same pace as her head.

And switch!

Straightening up suddenly, she spun to face Ling, fingers pointing outward, elbows tucked into her sides. She would swing her hips side to side, buckling her knees back and forth as she did so. She spotted someone across the crowd doing something similar and immediately copied them, placing one hand on her hip, and bringing the after to the side of her face. Moving back as she did so, all the while continuing the repetitive bob of her head. This had to look good right? She was sure that she was nailing this attempt at modern Fiorian dancing. Realising she was about to back into someone, she stopping going backwards, using her dancing to change her placement. She would bring her hands back down to her sides, once again thrusting her pelvis whilst simultaneously shuffling forward as she did so. She then would bring her palms up, arching forward ever so slightly, she pointed towards her own face in a rather sassy manner. Before turning her fingertips out, then in again and then out once more.

Noticing that Ling had chosen to join her, Pim brought her hands back down to her side and began to return to the previous style of 'backing it up', only this time so that she would move more in his direction. After all, dancing with friends was the whole point of this experience. Pim smirked happily as Ling joined her, returning to her pelvic thrusts and side steps, albeit using some Lhukian style gesturing in time with the thrusts. She just couldn't resist it and she figured that the means to which she was sneaking it in wouldn't be an issue to the other Fiorian dancers.

It was at this point she could really feel herself getting into it. A few more pelvic thrusts at different angles, and then back to the side shuffle. Which was even more intense than before. Her head flicking to the side in an almost twitchy manner, hands hanging floppily in front of her lap. Although she switched that up pretty quickly too, flapping them up and down in opposing manners. Then with the vigorous sway of her hips, she finished with one final lifting of her hips, boosted by lifting herself onto the tips of her feet as she did so. The song faded off and Pim stood there taking a moment to catch her breath. That had been surprisingly thrilling! It was scary trying to dance in a way that she wasn't used to but also, very enjoyable. And from the looks of it, no one seemed to have been personally offended by her attempt at copying them, which was great. She spun to face Ling, a euphoric grin across her face. She stepped over to him, brushing her purple hair that was still tinged with the aftermath of that green drink away from her face. "That was so good!" She told him happily, "I really enjoyed dancing this way. It is very... exciting." She added with a giggle.

Once again she would glance around the street, trying to find sight of their fellow guildmate and his friend Poppi. After a moment, she would spot her by the DJ booth, a grin stretching across her face. She did not realise Poppi was a DJ, that was very exciting information for Pim. She had never DJ'ed in her life and was sure that she would not be able to do as good a job as Poppi seemed to be doing. Deciding to support the girl, Pim would once again return to dancing with Ling, attempting a mishmash of the dance performance she had given moments ago. Seeing as it had gone down so well, she didn't seem any point in not continuing to do so. She moved over to Ling's side, eyeing his movement for a moment before attempt to copy him also. "Are you having fun Ling?" She asked, during a quieter moment in the song. She was really enjoying herself at the festival, then again she had enjoyed herself a lot since coming here. Her trip throughout Ishgar had turned out to be the best decision the Lhukian girl had ever made. With her onslaught of new experiences and growing friendships, the twenty-one year old couldn't be happier.

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