A/N: In a slight departure from the norm, this Guild Bar tale is set after the events of Phantasy Star IV. It's not entirely new territory—an earlier story had Chaz tagging along after Alys—but it lets me add some minor variation to the formula. Very minor.
~X X X~
"So then the farmer looks at the giant bird and says, 'I guess it was a bad rap!'" Chaz Ashley broke into chuckles at the punchline, even if it was his own story. After a few seconds, he noticed that no one else was laughing, and fell into an embarrassed silence.
"I guess you had to be there," the bar owner said kindly, passing over Chaz's drink. Chaz's companion, however, chose honesty over kindness.
"I was there, Garn, and it still wasn't funny," Rika said. The pink-haired Numan girl patted Chaz on the shoulder. "But we did get paid when we chased the Rappies away, though."
"Well, that's good, since I need customers more than I need jokes. Of course, some people can be both at once," he amended his remark, glancing over Chaz's shoulder. The two hunters turned to see a beefy wall of muscle approaching the bar.
"Garn! 'Nother round of the same!" the wall slurred. Joss Howland had obviously been at it for a while, especially given that he had the capacity of a small sand worm. He still retained the coherence to dig into his pocket and come up with ten meseta, which he tossed in the general direction of the bar. The coin bounced on impact, though, and started rolling towards the edge. Rika's hand snapped out and caught it just as it was about to fall.
"Thanks! You're a cutie, aren't'cha?"
"This is Rika," Chaz introduced them. "Rika, Joss Howland."
"Rika, huh? Cute name, too." The owner of said name shot Chaz a look. "Y'know, maybe you an' me could—" Joss continued, then suddenly broke off. His eyes flicked from one side of her face to the other. "Actu'ly, y'know, never mind. Don'…Don' take this wrong, but m'mother always tol' me to stay 'way from girls who've got horns."
"Oh, but those aren't—" Chaz started to point out that the protrusions peeking up through Rika's long hair weren't horns, but the tips of her ears. She'd gotten quite upset about that once when Raja the Dezolian had made the same mistake. He found himself unable to complete clearing things up, though, when in another demonstration of her genetically-enhanced Numan reflexes Rika slapped her palm over his mouth to stifle him.
"Yes, right, horns. Well, you can't go against your mother's advice, right?"
Joss smiled at her.
"Glad you understand! Noth'n' personal, really. You're a cutie, like I said, but that's the way it is."
He accepted his full mug from Garn and weaved away back to his table, somehow without spilling a drop.
Chaz and Rika sighed as one as she took her hand away, he from the need to breathe and she in relief.
"That was close!"
"Sorry," Chaz said. "I was a little slow, there."
Garn snorted.
"Kid, I know that being raised by Alys Brangwin taught you to respect a woman's right to make her own decisions, but even she'd tell you that you're taking the principle too far when some guy's trying to flirt with your girlfriend and your first instinct is to help him."
