Mari

Don't mind sharing Amore? Little parched over here." Huh Mari straightened her back at the thick accent. Italian? Mari blinked. Crap…she knew some Italian - she knew a lot of phrases in a lot of languages. Linguistics…Language…Science…the violin… all things she loved. Instead of failing to introduce herself in Italian Mari pulled a second small bottle out of her casque, handing the man the entire bottle. “It’s frustratingly sweet.” Mari said. “I’d rather something like whiskey, but this was free.” Mari would never be one to knock a free gift. She hadn’t realized th

Floor 11… Taft The place Mari broke her creed. Her decision to never willingly step into a town with her orange cursor. Yet here she was again - on the outskirts. A half hour walk from the large, thriving city - and yet - not a soul was nearby. Rarely anyone walked this far out. Why would they when they could just fucking teleport? Mari didn’t really have that luxury, she only had the one crystal left and needed it for the upcoming boss fight. With her current status, there was no real way to just wander into a city and buy another. Friends would have spares, probably. Maybe.

Floor 10 Mari was kneeling over the bioluminescent lake on the 10th floor. Staring into its deathly still surface. It looked so inviting in a way - mystical almost. The shimmers reflecting on the surface reminded her of all manner of fairy tales one was told as a child. But, that was a lie. Most often - the pretty things in the world - were the most dangerous. This was no different. Mari would sit against the wall sometimes, and watch creatures wander in, never to return. She had a feeling she knew what was in it. At least in theory. The water was stagnant. There was no telling wha

This felt....different to the Raids she had been to in the past. Maybe it was because it was the first time she had stepped foot back onto the battlefield after so many years locked away. To some, this was essentially her debut back into society and the woman was still marked a Pker. There were many people she didn't recognize - a couple it would seem. Who were squeezing each other tightly. Giving each other comfort and whispering words of encouragement. To have someone like that...must be nice. The closet she had? Maybe Oscar...maybe, but that wasn't the same thing. At most

She flinched. Scared. Mari felt a pang of guilt. She didn’t mean to upset her. A pain bubbled up in the surface. Memories she had tried to forget, words hissed at her by former friends You’re tarnished. Debased. -Deserve to be alone. Fester. Die. Her hand shook slightly, and Mari had to curl her fingers into a ball, clutching at her tattered scarf with her hand. The other still held the cup, liquid sloshing inside. The pain, the panic lasted only a moment. A few seconds, then with a deep inhale. Exhale. It was gone. This wasn’t the same thing. T

Mari had almost made it to the door, but a cold grip wrapped around her bare ankle and it took the woman all her strength to not tumble back down to the floor. “We’re not doing this.” This? Mari turned to stare at him. A turbulent wave of emotions crossing her face. Confusion - why was he grabbing her foot? Couldn’t he see just how uncomfortable the woman he supposedly loved was? - Anger -Mari did not want to be mistaken for some bullshit other woman trope. The two needed to talk, and Mari was trying desperately to give them that time. Pain. Sure, it meant a hasty retr

Fervor touch, heated caresses- Mari couldn't remember the last time anyone had given her this kind of attention - and she greedily took it all. Every murmur, every sharp inhale - the dipping of fingers into flesh. The woman writhed beneath Oscar - and practically pulled him into her. Hungry, and greedy. There was little pause, and little time for breath as he pressed harder into her- his body enveloping her frame. her legs lifting to trap him. Her thoughts briefly tore into her past - was this a lie, did he mean any of it?? Would it be like last time where they'd share kisses and sweet wh

The woman’s bright eyes shifted back up to Mari’s crystal, then, finally - as though she realized there was an actual person beneath the warring beacon their eyes met. Another few seconds passed. Funny how time works, they stretched on as though they were minutes and hours - but, with a blink of her eyes, shifting away from Elora, to a small corner - the moment had passed. The tense heaviness in the air remained. "Geidmirning." The greeting tore Mari’s eyes away from the intricate little mushroom painted tile back to the woman. She seemed tense. Her jaw clenched, fingers twitched. Ah

"Sometimes, I think...yeh...they....grow - but - seeing them die, then come back just ruins that immersion." She yawned. How many drinks had she had? Mari counted on her finger - trying to figure out how many shots were in the bottle she had downed a good 70% of. She had at least 4 shots of whiskey at the bar in the span of about 15 minutes, then she continued to drink out here. It was nice. It was relaxing. There weren't any strange concoctions to be made, she wasn't following a plague doctor. Her curiosity wasn't spiraling her down some kind of morally questionable hole. Freyd

"Yeh....what was that one book?" Mari asked as she closed her eyes trying to recall a particularly bad one. "It was about a vampire -who was in love with a warewolf- who was also a witch, who was also secretly royalty? Gods..." She laughed and went to reach for the bottle, realizing it was out of her grasp Mari's hand fell to her lap. "Raidou - I always sleep in grass." SHe paused then realized that was no longer true. "Wait..no....I slept in a bed once - but I don't think I was very welcome." Freyd had taken her to his house after she got drunk with him - and the next day

Mari's giggles died down as she found herself sitting on the floor once more, her back leaning against the cool brick wall. "Thanks." Mari said now she had regained some sort of composure. A hand reached up to run through her hair. "I...can't remember the last time I laughed like that." She gave him a wry grin as she tilted her head toward him. "And it was something as silly as a pun - maybe its the alcohol. Maybe its enjoying freedom again. But thanks." Mari's cheeks felt hot, and when she closed her eyes, her head swam, feeling like she was swaying side to side when she was perfectly still.

A bed… Something so simple, and yet - it was something the woman had been denied not for days, but for years even before prison - she had denied herself such a comfort. She had denied herself soft pillows and a heavy blanket - a warm nights sleep. When was the last time she had one of those? Mari couldn’t remember. Even lying there awake - as the morning rays burned her eyes beneath closed eyelids, Mari had to wonder if this was real. She stretched and felt the blanket shift with her. Linen. She smelt clean linen. Mari almost didn’t want to open her eyes, she didn’t want this mo

"Lost her?" Mari asked. She furrowed her brow - her alcohol riddled brain trying to figure out the sentence. "Whaddaya mean you losht her?" Mari asked. It was really beginning to kick in now - the 4 shots of whiskey at the bar - and the half bottle of sickly sweet Chartreuse. Mari watched as he mimicked a violin being played. She missed that, just sitting there and playing. Not fighting monsters, not fighting herself - just getting lost in a skill she adored. "Diddya check between the couch cushions?" Mari asked. Then snorted. As if a person could fit between them. Mari then snorted and l

This conversation…was nice. There were definitely things that hadn’t been said, things Mari wasn’t sure if they should let sit. There was the glaring matter of her gemini… the distrust, not in her as a person - but in her whims. “Yeh.” Mari said quietly as Freyd contemplated the daggers. “Honestly - makes me want to pick it up myself, I used to be a dagger user - I liked the simplicity of it…but the systems were outdated - and the thing was borderline useless.” Now…she had her spear - which stood taller than her. “You’re not wrong though.” Mari reached out and accepted the cup of tea. She

Mari was ready to leave then and there; things got too heated. There was that sort of dangerous electricity in the air, one you could not blame on one too many drinks. It scared her. The rejection. It was easier to just not try. “Too tarnished?” A long silence followed as he practically scoffed at her words. Then, with a single action their roles were reversed. Her hair flung out around her like a halo of fire. She would wince when he mentioned damaged goods - a term her ex had often thrown around. He loomed closer, legs either side of her- but no part of him was quite touching, sa

“I’m not exactly taken in the traditional sense,” He wasn’t? Mari was still leaning over the man, his head tilted back to look up at her. One arm still leaning back against the grassy ground, the other seemed to linger where he had brushed tendrils of her fiery hair behind her ear. She must have given him quite the confused look, because he continued, explaining. Ah they were in one of those relationships. What was it? Polyamory? Polygamy. Something Mari was familiar with, but never exactly had much luck with. “Yanno…” Mari began, trying to choose her words carefully.

“Maybe that’s what makes it all so complicated…" “Complicated?” Mari was confused at his sudden reflection, and catching the confusion in his eyes when she acknowledged it, Mari could tell that those words weren’t meant to be said. “Hmm….” Was it though? What part about it made things complicated? Her? Them? Mari guessed that made sense… she wasn’t exactly easy to deal with in the past. Mari wasn’t sure she was even easy to deal with now. “I think…both you and I have a habit of making things more complicated than they need to be.” Mari picked up a second honey bun, and to her credit, this

Mari closed her eyes. Wherever they were…she wasn’t entirely sure. A forest. A thicket. Their exact location? Hell…even what floor they were on? Mari hadn’t a clue, frankly… she didn’t care. She was enjoying this - for the most part. The feeling of the sun against her face. The tickle of her hair as the wind blew it gently across her skin. Freyd had been quiet for a long time - and in turn - Mari too was quiet. Accepting his silence as he worked through her responses. Mari wouldn’t rush him. She was simply enjoying the moment. Every so often she’d open her eyes to glance at him, almost as

Raidou. Even fucking Raidou had someone. Mari supposed it was not that surprising. It just still stung. "Invading your personal space..." Mari mused as she reached out for the bottle, she clasped it and ran a thumb over the top of it. "Yeh. I see that working." Mari snorted, a small smile - imagining some poor woman all up on Raidou as he tried to read or collect herbs. "Im sure you drive her nuts too." Mari said as she took another swig. "But, that doesn't sound too bad." Another swig. Mari could feel the heat radiating from her stomach now, a pleasant feeling that came with th

"A...A Grandma?" Mari asked incredulously - he wasn't....serious was he? No. He couldn't be, Jomei and Mari had run ins, in the past - he knew her, he knew her history. It was just a joke. Almost as ill concveived as her own, so Mari rolled with it. "Yeah." She said with a big grin. "I got real hungry, and stole all her cookies! So they threw me in jail, threw away the key - or - maybe the key was a big ol' cookie and I accidentally ate that too." Pure gibberish, Mari was spouting pure gibberish but it was the only thing keeping her going at this point. They were all absolutely soaked, we

Arcanthus took a seat next to Mari, something that shocked the woman. Who just blatantly sat right up all cozy like next to a Pker, and take their drink? Mari blinked.Then when Arcanthus remarked about it being a wonderful green all Mari could do was slowly nod, then slowly bring her own cup to her mouth. Finishing off its contents. What an odd woman. Mari allowed her to talk, about how tired she was. Mari could relate to that, on a deep, emotional, borderline traumatic level. “Mmm…” Mari said quietly, her eyes lowering to the small cup in her hands. “That’s…how a lot of people tend to l

Wait… so you know about the floor’s effects and chose to setup a ‘store’ there anyway? “To be fair…” Mari began, leaning forward to set her cup down. “The effects were never that bad when I first set up shop. It wasn’t till months…years later that they became apparent.” She tapped her lip. That…would actually explain a lot. In regards to her sanity back then, but Mari wouldn’t…couldn’t blame it entirely on the floor. “But yes. You gotta remember Freyd, back then I was hunted relentlessly. I didn’t want to be easily found.” “What was Beat’s role in your past?” Mari’s fa

Mari shivered as she rubbed her arms - Freyd mode of...transportation always felt like she had taken a dip in an ice bath. "Not many people realize..." Mari began, her head already feeling clearer - "But Flooor 10 has an adverse affect on cognitive ability. It's normally not too bad, because most people spend a day or two there - but the longer you're there its like..." Mari pursed her lips as she continued to run her hands over her arms. "It feels like you hear voices - it feels suffocating." Now the two were away from all that, sitting on a checkered blanket. Mari couldn't help but sn

Mari snorted, then laughed aloud at the mention of Aincrad Pompous Dicks. He had a point, practically everyone she had ever met who had associated themselves with the APD had their head so far up their ass they could taste their own shit. Mari turned and sat with her back against the wall. It meant she couldn't people watch anymore, but she didn't mind. The overly bright glare from some of the brass was getting to her. Looking up at the sky was much nicer. Gods how she missed the sky. She missed being able to just sit...and listen, listen to life. The players arguing below, to the sounds

"- I feel like an asshole." "You are." Mari commented, her eyes shifting from the bartender to Raidou then back to the bartender. "But I'd prefer an honest asshole over fake niceties." As the bartender shifted away Mari slowly...slowly...slowly reached over the bar - as though the slower she moved the less noticeable her actions. She held a finger up to her mouth to signal Raidou to be quiet. Then... Yoink She got a warning in the top corner of her HUD - stating she had stolen something, but Mari had taken far more than that from here in the past. "How about we get the he