Ryoubai

Ryou stared as Kat got onto her hands and knees, acting like one of the boars. Her brows furrowed in confusion. She couldn't keep a straight face for long, breaking into a giggle fit. She wondered if Kat acting like a boar would actually help, but then she came up with nothing. It wasn't like her luck the first time around, finding a mushroom where a boar had been sniffing around. She went up to Kat after she was done, looking at the dirt all over her and cracked a smile. "Now you're all messy... here." She began to wipe Kat's face with her sleeve, concentrating. "That's alright. You tri

Ryou sat up with wide eyes once Kat ran off, there were more baby boars. Ryou frowned. One of their parents could be around and be very angry at Kat for scaring them away. Hopefully they would be able to find their way back. Then she remembered, they would have to. It was part of the game, right? If she was understanding it correctly. She got up and went over to Kat just in case she needed her there and stood next to her. She didn't like leaving Kat alone, even if she didn't want to admit it to her. Ryou was perfectly content with gathering flowers all day. It was the most peace she had

Ryou looked at Kat, surprised by the fact that she didn't make her nervous. She seemed to make everyone else around her nervous. It was probably the angry or bored look on her face at all times. It didn't help Ryou wasn't prone to letting her guard down, and here she was, treating Kat much differently than she did in real life. Though, she supposed it was warranted given the fight they had and how much of Ryou's stubbornness Kat had to endure throughout their friendship. "I... really didn't?" She asked, her brows raising. "I guess I'm not used to that either. You know me, always scaring all of

Her face grew redder with each compliment. She covered her mouth. "Y-You... really think that of me? Kat, you're too nice to me..." She said, smiling. Though it was a bit of a sheepish smile. Ryou hugged her a little tighter. Kat had paused to hug her back and Ryou wondered if she had made Kat uncomfortable with the gesture. Perhaps it wasn't the proper way to show her appreciation for the bouquet. She wasn't sure. She was stuttering as she talked, was she making her too uncomfortable. Ryou gently let go of her, looking into her eyes. "Did I make you feel too nervous? I'm sorry! I'm not.

Ryou's eyes twinkled and she smiled as well, looking into Kat's eyes. She then looked at the bouquet, it looked good even though they were just gathering random plants. The cool breeze blew past them. Ryou felt breathless. The sun shined on Kat's hair just right. She had never noticed it before. She felt like an idiot for not noticing sooner. Her eyes widened and her cheeks went flush when Kat asked her if she wanted the bouquet. "W-Well... if you feel okay with giving it to me, yes. I'll take it. I hope it won't wilt in my inventory." She gently took it from Kat and looked at it, examining th

Ryou was starting to feel more content in this strange new world. She didn't want them to have to stop doing things like picking flowers in a meadow or doing whatever non-dangerous odd job would come their way. This was the nicest she had ever felt. She felt as excited as when she had won Kat a prize at the festival they went to. She remembered trying to aim true with the cork gun. The game was primarily meant for children and Ryou felt self conscious playing the game. Kat was whining about how she wasn't winning anything so she wanted to make her feel happy by winning her a prize. She tended

Ryou looked down, brows furrowing. She felt a pang of guilt. No wonder Kat was trying so hard, she was just trying to help Ryou to be happy. She watched as Kat tried to meticulously pick small flowers from the patch they were by. She thought as she stared blankly at Kat. No one, not even her parents, tried as hard as Kat did to make Ryou happy. She stared for a few moments more, blush slightly growing on her face. She blinked a bit and looked away. "I'm sorry I haven't ever really known how I'm supposed to act. I've never really known who I'm supposed to be. I'm at least glad I get to discover

Ryou kept repeating in her head that she had to focus on gathering. She could already feel herself starting to slip back into a cycle of doubt and panic. She held the flower close and backed up before sitting in the grass. She looked at the wind blowing through the grass. She sighed as she looked up at the sky then back at the meadows. "I'm really happy that you're here, you know that? It's keeping me together. I'm sorry I'm having a hard time. Picking flowers with you is making me feel a lot calmer." She smiled weakly. "I thought I should tell you. I don't really... want to bottle things up a

"I'm trying, I really am, Kat. I promise you." Ryou sighed once again and rubbed her face with the other hand. "This is the most fun I've had in a long time besides that festival you brought me to. Can you believe I've never been in a field like this? Or that... I've never picked flowers like this? It's so nice to be able to do this, and with someone who actually cares about me." She let a gentle smile grow on her face. "Thank you for at least being here for me for this. I'm going to keep trying my best to have fun. Oh, let's see... Maybe I can find a flower that matches you again! Maybe blue

A smile grew across Ryou's face as she looked at how careful Kat was being with the dandelion puff. The wind gently blew past them. She reached out to her and brushed some of the long blonde hair from being in Kat's face. "He never specified what he needed, only that it needed to be out here so he's getting what we manage to grab." She said, almost offended that Zackariah would be upset at them for following instructions. "He'll probably tell us what it does. That or we can ask people like him, can't we?" She didn't know if they would have the option to, but given that alchemy was his specialt

Ryou watched Kat for a moment. She looked a bit confused as blush grew on Kat's face. She wondered what was wrong as Kat rolled away. She was doing her best not to blow it out of proportion. It wasn't that serious, she hoped. She didn't seem hurt or sick. Ryou looked back up at the sky. She wondered why she had never done this back home. She supposed it was because she was always too busy. She was sick of being too busy for anything. She worked so hard all the time and had practically nothing to show for it. The relationship with her family was close only in the regard that Ryou was the one se

Ryou's eyes widened as she watched Kat dramatically fall to the ground. She walked over to her and loomed over her, staring down at her. She chuckled and sat down in the grass with her. She looked up at the clear blue sky and took a deep breath. She was never able to see clearly without her glasses but she could see everything around her quite clearly. She looked at Kat and smiled. She hoped she was having a good time with her. She oddly enough hadn't felt this relaxed before. She didn't think she had ever felt like this in her life. There was always some level of stress and urgency in her lif

Ryou gasped and covered her mouth. That boar was definitely bigger than the others that were scared off before. She was scared that the boars might become angry and charge her but they seemed more stubborn than anything else. Ryou remembered her father chasing away a boar that had gotten too close to her when she was small. She remembered crying because the boar was being very forceful about taking the snack from her hands. The memory sent a pang of sadness from her. Kat acted like such a little kid sometimes. She gently flicked Kat's forehead. "I saw that it didn't. The boars didn't care this

Ryou laughed along with her. She wondered if this is what her childhood was supposed to be like. She was having fun skipping with Kat. She felt the wind going through her hair. It was nice and it felt like she was finally letting loose. It was nice to feel this free. Her eyes glistened in the sunlight. She looked out at the street ahead of them. The weight seemed to be lifting off her shoulders. She hoped Kat was feeling happy too. She looked less uncomfortable as well. She felt calmer once Kat was being her usual self again. She looked out at the wide plains and her eyes widened as she w

Ryou thought about leaving the city herself. She didn't even want to know what it was like out there given how much of a hard time they had while they were within the city's walls. She took a few deep breaths and then nodded and smiled lightly at Kat. "Yes, lets go. I'm sure there will be things growing right outside so we won't even have to travel far." The reasurrance was good for both Kat and Ryou, they needed it badly. Ryou hoped that they really wouldn't have to travel far at all. She watched Kat dance around with a chuckle, seeing her happy always did make her feel better. She got off th

Ryou gently smiled at her. Her tears had finally dried and she was relieved that Kat was starting to feel better despite their shaky start to the day. She thought about what Zackariah had said, he didn't mention having to kill anything, only gathering. She checked the details of the quest just to be sure, and she was correct. "No, it doesn't say anything about killing things. We just have to gather stuff, it doesn't say what though. Just five things outside of the city walls." She shrugged. She didn't like how open ended it was. It could be worse, she thought. It could be something highly spec

Ryou hated how guarded she continued to be after Kat had been so good to her. She wanted to open up more about everything she had asked her about. She was friends with Ryou for long enough to ask about her past and her family, after all. Ryou always thought there was wasn’t much to say. If she was being honest, she wasn’t sure if she had her own personality or if she ever did. She had always been working herself to the bone, too busy, and too quiet. She didn’t allow herself to have fun. She had to keep moving like a shark or else she felt she would get too comfortable and too lazy. She was jus

Ryou wanted to reach out but moved her hand back as she looked at Kat. Her lips were tightened into a frown as she tried to keep it together herself. She hated seeing Kat cry. She made her cry too much already. The worst case scenarios already started playing in her head. Kat wouldn't want to play this with her anymore and they would go off on their separate ways and never see each other again. They would be injured or worse while she was angry at her. She didn't know what to think anymore. She wanted so badly to loosen up. She didn't want to be the serious type anymore. She stared back into K

Ryou could already feel Kat beginning to ice her. She didn’t like making Kat upset, but to Ryou, this was so much more than a game now. It was their life and she wanted to make sure they didn’t get into any trouble. She wanted them to be okay, so in her mind, they had to be careful. This was only the beginning, so they should make a good first impression to the other players. All except for the man Kat had promised them to. She hadn’t seen him around and hoped it would stay that way. Ryou rushed to follow Kat outside. “Kat— wait!” She called out. The door was slammed in front of her face. She

Ryou watched Kat carefully, an eyebrow raised. Ryou's stare bore into Kat, Kat knew that stare well, she usually saw it when she was doing something bad. Ryou knew that she was up to something, probably debating on what to break and unfortunately she was right. She shook her head at her mouthing "don't do it". Ryou listened to the man repeat what he was trying to say. So they really would have to do his quest before they could ask if he had Dorian's money. Then Kat pushed a potion off of the table. She screamed out of surprise. If that was the effect that happened when something was destroyed,

Ryou still didn't understand the concept of what an NPC was. She wasn't sure what an older man was doing playing a game like this. She just assumed they wouldn't have the time or interest. She wondered about Dorian's life outside of the game. Was he that scatter-brained in person or just here? Was he a mayor in real life like he was in the game? She set it in her mind that she would create a spreadsheet for him, just like she had done at work for all of his outstanding loans once she had collected enough information and give it to him. She hoped it would help. With the weird mashup of technolo

She turned around and gave a nod, smiling slightly. She completely forgot to get the name of the person who Dorian had given his money to. She turned around and walked away with Kat. She looked around and then tried to open the menus to look at her map. After a few minutes of trying to get it open, finally the map was open. She looked like she was concentrating hard on not getting lost. She wasn't even sure how they had gotten around without it in the first place. Maybe that kid was looking at his map as well, but she didn't see it, as far as she knew. She occasionally glanced over to Kat to m

Ryou listened intently and nodded. Her eyes widened and she jumped a bit when the quest notification popped up in front of her. He must have really been in character. She pressed the accept button after Kat said that they would. She may have been the party leader, but she didn't want to make big decisions like that without her companion's input first. She looked at Kat with a raised eyebrow with her sudden exclamation about the weirdness of the game. He responded like someone deeply in character would, saying it wasn't. It felt wrong. Why did they have to act like this? Did it help with coping

Ryou looked at Kat, tilting her head a bit at her frustration. "I'm not sure why they don't just call it a group. Is it like that in all the games like this? Was your group called a party in Dragon Quest?" She asked, looking confused herself. She still didn't get it, but the wording didn't quite matter to her. Hopefully when Kat accepted the invitation, they would be able to keep better track of each other. She desperately didn't want to relive having to sift through people to find her, for both of their sakes. She watched as Kat struggled with the menus, Ryou was still having a bit of trouble

Ryou still seemed very groggy after their nap in the alleyway. Her back didn't hurt which surprised her as they were resting on a bumpy, uneven cobblestone road. Ryou explained to the boy that she had never played a video game like this before. She had played Tetris or Snake, but that was it. She frowned as he seemed surprised. She also wondered how they found each other after they had wandered for most of the day. Ryou spent a lot of her time before they had all been teleported to the square trying to open her menu and log out. She hoped that the starter quest wouldn't be too dangerous. She d