Drinking to Forget

Talonia was definitely Mythal's favorite place. Granted, there weren't many places that held any dear appreciation in his heart, save for his own family home. And if he was speaking frankly, it wouldn't be the whole of Talonia that really inspired such loving feelings either. No, it was actually just this bar; the Soul Bar. The reason he could truly appreciate the establishment was because it was almost always in a mood and setting he could feel comfortable. The lights were always dimmer in here -- clearly an attempt to ease into that souly feeling. The drafts were basic, with the occasional special if they got an odd shipment in. It was because of all these things that this bar generally wasn't occupied by a vast amount of patrons.

It also helped that it was the middle of the day. Not many stopped into a bar to drink when the sun was still up, at least not usually. Summer hours were the only exception but they were so far from summer now that it was the least of Mythal's worries. There were about as many people as he had fingers on his right hand, each one clearly wanting to keep to their own devices. That was perfectly fine by Mythal; he was more than satisfied with his little side booth and the alcohol that had been coming his way constantly. The jewel he had earned for the shipment job at River Village was easily -- and quickly -- spent on his liquid pain reliever. He was in such a chipper mood that he couldn't fight back the buzzed smirk that had plastered itself across his face.

The gentle creak of the main door caught his attention, the man turning his head just enough to see a cloaked figure enter the bar. He eyed the figure as it made its way to a corner booth, placing himself in a place to observe the bar and the people that came and went. He could sense magic power in him, like a faint, flickering flame in an endless wasteland of darkness. Mythal, himself, had mentally diminished his own magic power down to such a point that it was near unknowable... at least to most. A spectacularly powerful wizard would probably be able to see through his charade but not many of those were wandering about these parts anyways. Interestingly enough, as his gaze was moving away and back to the alcohol in front of him, he spotted another woman who seemed just as curious as he. And she seemed set on staring at the new arrival with quite the intense focus.

Oh hell, Mythal just couldn't resist his internal, inebriated prankster. He picked up his drink and swallowed down the rest of it in one, long gulp before he put the mug down. The server knew better than to wait for any other signal; once his drink was polished off, Mythal had made it known he wanted another one until all of his jewel was spent. When she came over to take the mug from him, he unexpectedly reached out and put his hand on hers, shocking her. He'd said no more than ten words to her since he had arrived but now he was touching her? Some men got so stupidly bold when they had liquid courage in their bodies.

"Hey listen. I want you to do something for me," he muttered, turning his crimson gaze up to meet her pretty blues. She swallowed hard, ready for his inappropriate comment to spit out from his lips. But instead he pushed himself up so he was closer to her, making her even more uncomfortable. Yet with all of that, all he did was whisper to her quietly, giving her calm, uncreepy-like instructions.

"Are... you sure?" She asked him, as he plopped back down in his seat.

"Crystal," he answered her incorrectly even as he leaned back.

She looked at him oddly for only a moment longer before she shrugged and went back to the bar. She poured him a brand new beer and brought it over to him, shooting him a look of finality, giving him one last chance to abort. He simply nodded, his answer and path secure.

She returned to the bar for a few minutes, doing a bit of cleaning behind the counter and organizing. Once she was satisfied with that, she poured a new mug of beer and walked back over to the white-cloaked stranger. "Excuse me," she said softly, her voice barely a whisper. "The lady in the corner wished for you to have this." And with that, she placed the beer on the table for him.

Talonia	Fairy Tail
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