Mark wasn't really one to trust a few anonymous online reviews, but he didn't have much of an option at this point. The Second Skin was just a few short blocks away down in... the warehouse district? Guess they had cheap real estate. A small gaggle of frat boys had formed behind him as he left, but he was the one with the GPS instructions.
The store was wedged between a nightclub and a coffee shop. It stuck out like a sore thumb. Its exterior made it look like a log cabin, complete with a wood carved sign that read, "The Second Skin" over the front door. The window displays in the front made the place look like a mixture of a costume shop and a pawn shop. There were dozens of items on display. Magic wands, horrific masks, and even a few authentic-looking swords. The window displays were mostly focused on a pair of plastic mannequins however. One of them showed off a heavy suit of armor, and the other featured a stylized Anubis outfit with an impressive dog-head mask.
A small bell rang overhead as Mark entered. It rang a dozen more times as the rest of the crowd followed in after him. Mark wandered aimlessly into the entryway, giving the store a good once-over. He didn't want to dally too long and have all the other good outfits get snatched up, but there was a lot to take in.
This didn't appear to be a fly-by-night Halloween shop. A lot of the outfits appeared to be movie-quality costumes, and the shelves in the store were all sturdy, and in a few instances, built into the walls themselves. It was taking Mark a while to figure out the organization of this store... there seemed to be some rough theming to it, but unless he got someone to show him around, this might take a whi-
"Good evening sir, can I help you?" A voice rang out from behind Mark. It wasn't anyone he recognized. Spinning around, the pledge saw someone standing behind him in what appeared to be... a bath robe? Ah, he had a name tag though! "Merlin - Owner and Operator, The Second Skin".
"Uh, hi. I need a costume?" Mark glanced around, then back at the... shopkeeper?
"Well you came to the right place! Are you looking for anything in particular?" He sure seemed eager. The clerk was young enough to be a student at the local college.
"No, nothing in particular. Just something fast." Mark joked. "TFU's doing a house party tonight and we all need costumes." Mark gestured to his friends as they scattered around the shop. He couldn't help return his gaze back to Merlin though. Everything here looked top of the line, but his getup was a little hokey. "I'm sorry, are you supposed to be a wizard?"
The man nodded, "Ah, good eye. I'm in my third year of transmogrification studies up at the university, but it's never too early to start a side business, right?"
Mark laughed politely. "Sure." He eyed the tag, "Merlin though, really?"
Merlin coughed into his hand, "It's a family name." He took a few steps deeper into the shop, clearly intending Mark to follow, "So! Not looking for anything in particular? Wonderful, that means you can be whatever your heart truly desires."
Mark looked around as Merlin lead him through the store. That assessment didn't actually seem that far off... This store looked a lot bigger on the inside. He couldn't see the front door anymore, and he couldn't see many of his housemates in the nearby aisles. The selection here was incredible! Any time Mark thought of a potential costume, he'd notice something in a similar vein out of the corner of his eye. When he considered one of those over the top Hollywood monster movie costumes, he spotted a row of werewolf outfits that looked like they were made out of tanned lycanthrope hides. When he considered doing something a bit less drastic in scope, he saw an aisle full of classic wild-west outfits. It was a bit spooky actually... When Mark wondered just how complex the costumes here could get, he and Merlin passed an end cap with a two-person centaur costume.
"Right now I'm mostly looking for what my wallet can support. Your costumes look... very authentic." Mark stared up at the centaur, hoped the comment wasn't overly to the point.
Merlin laughed, "If you're going to go to all the effort of becoming something else, I feel like I should be doing my part to support that." He grinned, "But rest assured, we've got plenty of flexible payment options. I know my demographic, this town's full of college kids." He stopped, admiring the centaur costume with Mark, "In most cases, I recommend people try renting an outfit before they buy it anyways." He grinned, "Much more affordable that way."
Merlin turned, heading towards a nearby aisle, "Now then, want me to show you some outfits I think you might like? Or perhaps you'd just like to look around?"
Mark hesitated for a moment. Maybe he should go see what his friends were up to? He could hear Merlin shout from deeper in the aisle though, "Ah, I think you're going to like this one!"