The world was still turning. Days, months, years. They all seemed to pass by, one by one, off to the past. Lives were spent fearing their passing, and lives were spent fighting it. People had their own ways of taking it, and people had their own ways of coping. There wasn't necessarily a right or a wrong, simply different. For each person, they found their own answer. Regardless of if that answer worked for them in the long run, it was the one they came to. This fear, this coping of death, seemed to be a unique thing to humans.

What animals feared death? What animals avoided the hunt, or avoided battle, for fear of death? Certainly there were monsters who gained intelligence that grew to fear the loss of their might. This, however, was a rare thing. Fear came to them in the final moments of an intense battle, when death seemed definite. Even then, it was a survival instinct. In the final moments, a sort of peace fell over the beasts, taking in death.

Finn was a unique case. He was human, and yet he was raised by beasts. He had the instincts that had driven his race to the pinnacle of the world, and yet he had the instincts that had allowed beasts to continue to vie for the seat. In his mind, there was little thought about death. It was a thing that lay before him- Something foreboding that brought a sense of unease. However, this was not a fear of the inevitable, but rather the inability to know what lied beyond. A part of him held excitement, for that would be an adventure unlike any other for one way or another.

And yet, he had an appreciation for those who could attain longer life. Even with the unique opportunity of Death, it was a door that closed on what life offered. Adventures could be held by proxy, in a sense. The thrill of watching the world evolve. The ability to see the changes as they came, led by both the need for survival and the want for a better world. It was this curiosity, and near envy, of longevity that had driven Finn to find comfort in things that were unlikely to grab his attention. Trees which could live for thousands of years, buildings that housed a multitude of generations, beasts that lived for eons and magicians who banished Death.

And, of course, art.

Here in the gardens, the very layout of the place was an artistic statement. That sort of depth fell short on Finn, who had not the experience nor the want to understand the arbitrary purpose of the gardens design. Instead, it was the statues that were placed through that had caught his attention. What lives had the artist live to bring them to that? What had the statues seen that no one else was around to remember? And what made each statue unique?

Finn had come upon one that confused him to no end. This statue seemed, for lack of a better word, real. It was oddly placed as well. It had not not been placed like the others, and yet it was... It seemed fleshy. It seemed like it would exude warmth. It was not stone, but what had made it? There was the chance that it was a human, but it had been stationary for ten minutes now, with Finn's face mere inches away from the statues own face. It had not blinked. It had not breathed, and if so it hid it with perfection. Its hair moved in the wind, but even when the wind slammed into its face its eyes did not twitch.

This was either a statue, or a man whom could shatter all norms that Finn knew. Either way, he wanted to understand it.

Crocus was abuzz with activity, with all manners of people out and about enjoying the peaceful weather, or using the chance to get some work done. The air was alive with the sounds of laughter and pleasant chatter, and a slight breeze wafted delicious aromas up out of the kitchens and bakeries throughout the streets. On such a beautiful day it was only logical that many would make their way up to the illustrious gardens that Crocus was so well known for. It was the same for North Rickley, who had ventured up there to stop and smell the roses for a moment during his stay in Crocus. He was here mainly to sight see, so it only made sense for his first stop to be the famous botanical wonder. North climbed the stairs up to the entrance, a gentle breeze caressing his exposed skin. His Phantom Lord tattoo was covered with make-up so that he wouldn't draw any unwanted attention to himself during his short vacation, so he strode up the steps confidently without fear of reprisal. One woman covered the eyes of her child as they both passed him on the stairs, but North didn't mind. It seemed a bit silly to him that the mother would try to teach the child that the human body was not something to be shown to others, but he certainly didn't have the time nor will to try and explain that to her. So, quickly brushing aside all thoughts of the pair North continued to ascend towards the gardens, excited to see what all of the hubbub was about.

Once he reached the top, North instantly realized why the gardens were so famous. The view was breathtaking, and he was almost forced to step back after being overwhelmed by the vivid color and beauty. There were no guards or employees at the gate, which made sense as the gardens were a public space. He walked in slowly, his bare feet slapping the sun warmed pavement softly with each step. As he continued on, he tried to take everything in that he could, there were all manners of flowers; from lilies to roses to daisies and plenty of types North had never seen or heard of before. They aren't as stunning as my mushrooms, but they certainly do have a magnificent beauty to them. He thought to himself as he leaned down to sniff one of the begonias nearby. As he was leaning down however, a man who appeared to be one of the gardeners based on his garb, noticed North and started walking towards him. North turned around as he heard someone approaching and saw the man. He smiled and waved, greeting the man politely. "Hello sir, this is a wonderful garden." He said loudly enough for him to hear. The man didn't seem to acknowledge the complement however, and appeared to look quite angry. "Hey you! What the hell are you doing walking around here in your birthday suit?!" The man shouted, speeding up in his approach. North became slightly worried that he had broken some sort of rule, but while it might have been frowned upon by most, it wasn't illegal in Fiore as far as he knew. Still, it was very possible it was against the policy of the garden.

North considered stopping and explaining to the man exactly why it was that he was nude, but he didn't want to risk being kicked out of the garden so soon after he entered. After a quick mental debate, North decided that running and hiding was the best course of action for now. Surely the man wouldn't pursue him far, if at all, at least that was what North would assume based on the man's age. So run he did, his hair bouncing in the breeze as he sprinted across the stone walkway and slight beads of sweat running down his chest. Being chased like this was rather exhilarating, and North didn't actually dislike it, still he'd want to find a place to hide soon. He turned a few more corners, and after he felt he'd lost the man he stopped to look for such a spot.

Looking around, he noticed that there were several life size statues around the garden, many of them presenting the human form in its entirety. He thought that perhaps if the gardener from before was passing by quickly he wouldn't notice him among the statues. He found a small patch of ground devoid of flours that would allow him to stand there without harming the garden and jumped in. He struck a pose, and there he stayed for several minutes, waiting for the gardener to pass by. He stilled his breathing as much as possible, and did his best not to move a muscle. As he did so, he noticed several patrons of the garden walk right by him without noticing that he wasn't a statue, which amused him to no end. Were they so absorbed in the flower's beauty that they failed to notice, or were his statuesque features just that convincing. He started to feel quite the thrill from this game of his, and North had decided to try and maintain this statue charade until someone finally noticed.

After many people casually passed by without stopping to examine him closely, he started to grow a bit tired of the game and considered taking one last round around the garden and heading back to the inn where he was staying. Just before he did so however, a young man wearing blue clothing and a white hat approached dangerously close to him. It seemed that the young man had taken an interest in him, or was at least suspicious of his legitimacy as a statue. This was North's chance however, and he did his absolute best to remain as statuesque as possible. He quieted his breathing to almost a standstill and stood as rigid as he could, forcefully willing his mind to remain calm so as not to begin sweating from the stress. Surely he'll just leave in a few moments, there's nothing to worry about. I've got this. He thought to himself confidently. Then ten minutes passed. Seriously? What is this guy's deal? North thought to himself, unable to believe that this man had truly stood here for such a length of time. His eyes were growing dry from his inability to blink without drawing attention to himself, and his arms were growing tired from holding his pose. North found it ridiculous that this man would stand here this long without moving on or calling him out. Either he was being extremely thorough in his check, or he was just fascinated at such a life like statue. The thrill of being so close to being caught was becoming intoxicating to him, and he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to continue his charade.

The temptation within Finn was mounting with every passing moment, growing at a nearly exponential rate. Before, it was the sheer realism of the statue that caught his attention. Now, though, it was something else. An urge to find out whether or not this statue was as it appeared. To a civilized person, such inclination would likely be gone before it had fully developed. To touch art was a crime, to some even a sin. For him to try and deface a public work would surely bring only scorn and hatred from those around him. And yet, something deep in him fought for there to be a test. Such realism was impossible, surely. Even with there being such magic as to make this sort of thing possible, Finn couldn't fathom it.

Unlike most, he had not grown under the ire of rule and law. He had grown with Jake and his adoptive family, in a set of standards that would never fit this "civilized" standard. For them, if something caught ones attention to this degree, it was explored thoroughly. That is what fueled part of Finn's love for adventure, and what now tempted him to lay his hands upon this statue. There was just so much wrong with it- He could feel it. Subconsciously, he had noticed the lack of a platform for the creation, as well as no artist plaque. Such distinguishing features would be enough to raise anyone's suspicions, despite Finn not consciously realizing the deduction he had made.

I... I can't fight it.

He had won. This statue, whoever he was, had bested Finn. He had proven beyond a doubt that his stamina and will power could exceed Finn, at least on this given day. What he had yet to prove, however, was his own wit and ability to think before acting. This was the chance Finn had been waiting for- His chance to strike at what could possibly be the greatest opponent he'd ever faced.

Straightening his body and flashing a grin towards the humanistic statue, Finn sighed and offered a short laugh. "Man, you almost had me. I can't believe I was staring at you for so long! If you were actually a statue, I would have felt so stupid!" His words made him feel dumber than he probably looked. Who did he think he was, speaking to a statue like this? Of course it wouldn't hear him.

Unless, of course, it wasn't a statue at all.

Finn raised his hand, offering the palm towards the statue with a genuine smile. He was offering a high five. No mortal could withstand its allure- Certainly, if Finn's hunch had been right, the statue would cave and beseech to him the highest of fives.

North remained in his statuesque pose for as long and perfectly as he could, waiting for the man to finish his examination and pass on. The man before him seemed to be determined however, and no matter how still North remained he just wouldn't let go. It was difficult to maintain such a quieted manner of breathing, and his arms were begging for release from their raised position. He also had to dedicate significant mental faculties to prevent himself from becoming aroused due to the increased thrill of being so close to being discovered. When the man placed his hands on to North's chest, he almost completely lost it. It was near impossible to prevent himself from sweating at least a bit in this tense situation, but he managed to hold on for a few moments. He could do nothing to stop his own heart from beating, and his flesh was warm, surely there was nothing he had in his disposal to keep up his charade. Still, he continued to stay as still as possible on the off chance that he was under the impression he was a magic statue. Such things were not outside the realm of possibility after all. North didn't think that was all that likely however, he certainly wouldn't have come to such a conclusion.

Sure enough, as the man backed away he began talking to North as if he were a human. It's over, I suppose. North thought to himself, somewhat defeated. Still, he had put up a great effort and he had to commend himself for that. It seemed the man also thought so, as he commented that North had almost had him and offered him a high five. North wasn't exactly sure what to do in this situation. Should he continue mimicking a statue, trying to bring the man back into uncertainty, or should he give it all up here? North was frozen once again, this time in indecision. It was unsportsmanlike to leave a man hanging however, and North couldn't help but want to return the high five. As he was contemplating all of this, he didn't notice a large bee buzz by towards him and land directly on his face, crawling quickly up towards his nose for some reason known only to that black and yellow beast. North struggled violently to maintain his composure, but the tickling from the bee caused him to sneeze loudly, sending the insect and bits of snot and spittle directly onto the man in front of him. He shuddered involuntarily from the shock of being so close to a bee, and let out a deep breath to calm himself down. "You were commendable as well." North started, acting as if the situation had never happened and quickly returning the high five before the other man could pull his hand down in disgust. "I couldn't count how many people walked by and didn't notice a thing." He'd say, slightly embarrassed that he'd just sneezed on the man but trying his best to ignore it. "My name's North Rickley, by the way." He said, extending his hand for a shake as he introduced himself.

The spittle, snot and bee landed with equal velocity onto Finn's shirt. Looking down with a grimace, he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and cupped the bee, allowing it to fly off. For a moment he thought the tiny stinging bug looked disgusted too. Looking back at the man who proved he was no longer a statue, Finn couldn't help but shake his head. Grabbing the mans hand and shaking it, he offered in a quick "That was gunk man. At least it was all to keep the statue rouse going. I'm Finn Mertens"

As he let go of the hand, Finn chalked this round up to a draw. Whoever this man was, intentionally or otherwise, had become a sort of rival to Finn. "So what made you decide to do this man? Don't get me wrong- It was awesome. I could have never done it. Just seems a little random." He didn't know how else to bring up conversation. The fact that the man was naked was someone diluted by the fact that he'd though the man a statue for the past ten or so minutes. That allowed for them to engage in normal conversation now.

North casually brushed away Finn's comment on the gunk, and stepped outside of the flower bed now that he was no longer keeping up his statue camouflage. He brushed a stray petal out of his curly black hair and looked back towards Finn. He didn't have any reason to hide the truth, so he just came right out and gave his reasoning for hiding like a statue. "I started out hiding from the gardener who was chasing me around. Then when people started passing by and not noticing I wasn't a statue, I started to think it was kind of fun." He said, chuckling a little bit at the thought of all the people who had passed by without a second glance.

"Never expected anyone to get so close though." He said, rubbing the back of his head and laughing. North was in a pretty good mood even though he didn't exactly feel like he'd won the challenge he'd imposed upon himself. It was also a nice chance to meet someone new that North surely didn't want to pass up. "I suppose you're right about it being random, but I sure got a kick out of it. How about you? Do you often like to examine naked statues so closely?" He'd ask, winking at him and smirking. North couldn't help but tease his new acquaintance a bit after having to go so long without saying anything at all.

"Oh yeah, that makes sense." Truth be told, the explanation for why the man was hiding did kind of make sense. That was, there seemed to be a progression of things. It wasn't sudden inspiration or voices in the mans head that led to the act of hiding in the bushes, pretending to be a statue. There was a beginning, middle and end to the progression of things. At the very least, it confirmed that this man was not crazy. North, although eccentric and unique, was not an insane person in the normal sense of the word.

When North began to question him, Finn looked with intrigue. What about him? As it was elaborated, Finn stared at the man as he winked and smiled. This dingball is wack. It wasn't a bad thing, but a quick thought as Finn laughed. "I just couldn't believe it I guess. I have to look at gunk that doesn't make sense to me. I couldn't figure out if you were a statue or a realdude, and I had to get close and figure it out! Scientific!"

North was rather amused by Finn's interesting manner of speech, thinking he had made a rather eccentric acquaintance. He found these types of people to be far more interesting and fun to be around, so he was excited to try and get to know him a bit better. "Well I'm glad your curiosity got the better of you. You made that a lot more fun for me." He said with a laugh, going so far as to throw his head back with his hands on his hips. "I'm North Rickley, by the way." He added, realizing that he'd forgotten to introduce himself to his new acquaintance. Some illegal guild mages chose to hide their names to prevent themselves from being discovered, but not only was North not notorious enough to require such a measure he didn't think that hiding his name would do much when the word got around that there was a nudist dark mage loose in Fiore.

North was still getting a few stares as he and Finn continued to talk but, as was the usual, he didn't mind. "So, what sorts of things do you like to do for fun?" North asked, wondering what this man did to entertain himself other than determine the "realdude-ness" of a statue. He was always interested in what other people did to receive thrills or rushes, often in hopes that they could give him some new ideas to use himself.

"Oh, nice to meet you!" The two of them had quite the odd introduction, all things considered. Things between them sparked in a sort of awkward way, this type of meeting only being possible due to the two of them being odd individuals. Still, such a meeting would only cause a stronger friendship. With both of them being more on the eccentric side, they would either clash awfully or meld beautifully.

"I'm Finn Mertins," he said with a quick smile, waving his hand as if to deliver his words with the motion.

As North attempted to continue the conversation forward, wanting to find out more about Finn, the young man found his mind wandering. What did he do for fun? "I do, uh... Stuff and junk, y'know?" In his mind, the answer was complete as is. That being said, he continued speaking. "I like adventuring and exploring. I like seeing new stuff and trying new things. And I like kicking butt. What about you, Northickly?"

North was glad to see that Finn seemed to be a person rather unconcerned with his lack of clothing, as that was often a rather large hurdle to overcome when making new friends. Having even gone so far as to say it was nice to meet him, North thought that Finn was quite the open minded and polite gentleman. He thought it was a bit funny that he'd go ahead and introduce himself again, having already done so a few moments ago, but North figured he might have just forgotten that he had or perhaps had assumed North had forgotten his name. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Finn Mertens." North said with a smile, happy to think that he'd been able to make another friend here in Crocus.

After Finn had answered North's query of what he did for fun, he shot the question right back at him. North placed his hand on his chin and began his thoughtful reply. "Well, I'm a big fan of stuff. One of my favorite things, hands down. Junk though, not so much. I've never really gotten the appeal." North started, being honest of his opinion on junk. He had no use for garbage, and it always seemed to remind him of the fertilizer back at the mushroom farm he'd grown up at. Stuff though, stuff had all kinds of substance and wonder. "It's funny cause all those things you said happen to be some of my favorite things as well. I'm really a thrill seeker at heart though. Free diving off cliffs, riding wild animals, spelunking in caves, you name it. I just wanna get my blood pumping, if you know what I mean." North said, speaking with excitement and apparent passion in his voice. Talking about it made him want to go out and do those types of things right now, but he kept those feelings restrained as he was supposed to be relaxing and enjoying his vacation in Crocus.

"I don't know man," the young man started, his dominant hand rubbing the back of his head. "I've always thought junk was pretty cool. I mean, not all of it. But some of it. You know? Like the cool parts." Their conversation was a unique one. Any who overheard would either be lost to the meaning, or convinced that it was some sort of secret code. Finn had found himself a like-minded individual, and that was definitely the last thing he had expected to discover within the capitol.

"I feel you there. There was actually a guy who tried to fight me in the park the other day." A laughter came at the end of his sentence, one of amusement and fond memory. "He was a weirdo. He got real mad that I wanted to use the water fountain that he was at. Shin was his name." The memory came rather vividly, as clear as if it had just occurred. Flashing North a smile, Finn shrugged. "It's fun, but the capitol is too wacko. If we had caused a problem, we'd be arrested, you know?"

As North was about to concede that junk certainly did have its redeeming points, he heard a few sets of footsteps rapidly approaching from around the nearest flower bush. He turned around to see what the commotion was all about, and to his dismay he realized that the gardener from before seemed to have brought a couple of Crocus guards with him after being unable to find the random nudist polluting the sanctity of his garden. North thought he heard Finn mention a name familiar to him as his thoughts raced on what would be the best course of action for him. He turned back around to face Finn for a moment as he formulated his next move, sure that he didn't want to have any conversations with the guards any time soon, and trying to figure the best escape route. He realized that up on the plateau of the garden there was nowhere to run but the opposite direction from their pursuit. So, with a quick wave he bid adieu to Finn. "Sorry, seems I've gotta go. Hope we'll meet again sometime." North said, breaking into a full on sprint past Finn towards the stairs on the other side of the garden. Even if he hadn't done anything illegal, a Phantom Lord member being questioned by the guards could only lead to trouble, and as per the guild's rules he had to take care of such matters himself. With his buttocks jiggling sensually in the wind, he fled back into the city where he would likely begin his journey back to Oak.