[PP-F2] The talk of the two 'Blues' (Calrex)

[Greg Baxen 0]

Greg was bored. He'd recently gone off to floor 2, and there were no quests that he could feasibly do (Sans Feeding the Enemy, but he wanted a pet dragon from that quest), so he had nothing to do. He wanted someone to talk to aside from Shizuka who he's seen very often recently. He opts to PM Calrex, <The Ultramarine Knight>, to see if he wants to chat. He did want to tell Calrex about his and Shizuka's relationship starting, after all. And considering Calrex's experience on the subject, it wouldn't be too embarassing to talk about it to the blue-clad warrior who is his senior.

[Calrex 0]

"Hm?"

Calrex looked at his menu as it suddenly gave him a notification for a new message. Swiping with a couple of times on the various tabs he pulled up the notification, seeing that it was from someone he had not seen in a decent amount of time, "Huh, I wonder why Greg's contacting me all of a sudden. In any case, it looks like things are fairly quiet today. At least the corrupted humans aren't attacking the shop during the day."

Getting to his feet he looked over at his sleeping wife, a warm smile coming across his face before he leaned in and stole a quick kiss before leaving the new Amethyst Boutique, locking the door behind him. Looking back, the exterior of the shop certainly didn't match the warm welcoming interior. Riddled with scratches from nights of relentless attempts at breaking in he gave a small sigh before heading for the teleportation circle, activating it and moving over to the settlement of Urbus.

Swiping on his menu he swapped out his barebones gear of the Grand Dragoon, switching it out for the Grand Chariot: Legacy. As the full body armor surrounded his avatar, the armor's helmet completely encapsulated his head, masking his extremely exhausted face with the expressionless appearance of his armor, the only indicator of a face being the light blue slits which marked his eyes.

Turning on his friend tracker he made his way over to the young boy's location, giving a wave as he completed the trek over, "Hey there Greg, long time no see! How's things?"

[Greg Baxen 0]

Greg smiled as Calrex showed up. "Fine, fine. I just wanted to talk, is all." Greg said. He then stopped in thought for a moment. Deciding on what he was going to say, Greg asked a question. "I took your advice you gave me the last time we met (You know what I'm talking about), and now Shizuka and I are a couple. The issue is, I'm kinda worried since I'm new to romance and that sort of thing. So my question is this- do you have any advice?" 

Edited November 23, 2015 by Greg Baxen

[Calrex 0]

Even though his face was hidden by the Grand Chariot Calrex gave a smile as he gave a nod, "Well first of all, congratulations. I'm happy for the both of you. Shizuka seems like a great girl and an good teammate to have. Hopefully you two bring out the best in each other. As for advice..."

"Well...I guess I'm not really the person to be considered a master at relationships. Before Teayre both of the girlfriends I had...well, I'd rather not bring those memories back up."

"Hm...well I can't really give a step by step or anything, as each person is different, of course, heh. All I can say is that no matter what happens, simply being there for her sometimes is more than enough. Teayre and I only recently got married, but I'm sure there's been more than a few times I've gotten on her bad side. Just be aware and receptive, and don't be afraid to voice if something is concerning you. I'm still working on the last part, and it's kind of second nature for me now to internalize things rather than blurting them out. I'm sure you'll be nervous, but if you keep to those things, your relationship should develop."

Giving a calming breath he continued, "Of course, as you said before, always be ready to protect her, but don't become to possessive or anything. It's probably something that's obvious, but she's a person to be with, not to have. However, if you two are an item, don't be afraid to show that you are. It really clears up any awkward air if someone doesn't know. Other than that, well, that's going to be on you, since you're the one in a relationship with Shizuka."

Putting a hand behind his head he rubbed the back of his helmet, "Hopefully that made sense, heh."

[Greg Baxen 0]

Greg saw that he wasn't completely confident in his answers but gave advice anyway. Pondering it, Greg thinks for a moment. "That actually sounds like pretty solid advice. Thanks. Speaking of, how is your relationship with Teayre going? Aside from you two getting married of course." He asked, curious about his senior's life and how it's doing. Perhaps hearing that Calrex was having success with Teayre would comfort his growing anxiety that he might let Shizuka down in some way.

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, thanks, I'm glad that it makes sense."

Setting his arm back down Calrex gave a calming breath as he responded to Greg's question, "Well between the two us of things are perfectly fine. Sorry you didn't get invited and everything, but it was something we had planned for the longest time and when we finally decided to do the quest it was more spontaneous."

Giving a nod he felt a smile come across his face, hidden by the helmet once again, "However, some events happened right after as well, so currently she's actually an orange player as a result of it. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the detriments that comes with the change mechanically, but being an orange player prevents you from entering the safe zones. She recently moved her shop to the thirteenth floor, but without the benefit of a safe zone it hasn't been exactly a walk in the park. Nonetheless, until she decides to take Redemption of her own accord I'll stay by her side and keep her safe."

"A walk in the park would be paradise compared to the nights I've been through so far..."

[Greg Baxen 0]

"I hear ya. If Shizuka were to ever go orange (Though I'm not sure how she'd do that given she plays supportively) I'd do the same thing." Greg affirms. Greg thought  for a moment. "Maybe we could go questing as a team of four sometime? Me, you, Shizuka and Teayre?" he asked. Everything was better with a group of people to share it with after all, be it questing or talking. Greg smiled as he thought of this. A team of four would definitely be more suited for difficult quests.

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, that would certainly be a fun outing. I can't think of any quests I haven't done already, but certainly something that would be interesting to do."

"Well, that would be in Teayre was even feeling up for going out on a double date. The last time we did that was with Clarence and Skylar, and that kind of fell through. Nonetheless it would be something nice to distract us from the death game once again."

Giving a calming breath he decided to redirect the subject, "So how has the training been going? You certainly look like you've gotten stronger from before. I'm guessing that you've gotten some new skills and gear?"

[Greg Baxen 0]

"Skills? Yes. I got Concentration, and upped my Armor and One Handed Straight Sword skills. However, equipment, not so much- I still use the same old <Coat of the Azure WInd> and <Anneal Blade> as always. I also need a trinket to give me accuracy- I missed way too much in the latest quest I did with Shizuka- and by 'way too much' I mean eight times in a row." Greg told Calrex.

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, yeah, I missed more than my fair share of hits when I was lower level as well. I didn't bother with getting Precision, so all of my boosts come from my gear. In fact, if I didn't do my first fight alongside Teayre and another close friend I might not even be here right now, because I missed every attack."

"Yeah, that probably was rather embarrassing. Back then Teayre and I were still only level 1 and 2 I believe, so we were busy flailing at a boar while Oikawa was dazing off for some reason. Luckily he managed to kill it before our healths dropped any further."

"It's good to know you're upping your armor. Mitigation becomes very important the higher in floor level you go. The monsters hit harder, so it's hard to be a glass cannon unless you're fairly agile and lucky. I might have starting building towards that at some point, but after seeing Teayre's becoming one I figured to balance myself out so that I can protect her while also amplifying her strengths."

[Greg Baxen 0]

"I know what you mean. In my case, though, it synergizes well with Shizuka's supportive build, so i figured mitigation would be good to have. That doesn't mean I'm going to slack off on my damage, though. I plan on doing <Feeding the Enemy> soon so I can get a familiar. Preferably a Dragon (Because let's face it, Dragons are cool)." Greg replied. "I am going to get Precision, though. I want as much accuracy as I can get."

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod as Greg spoke about his build once again and his plans for his character's progression, "Depending on you're plans, it doesn't hurt to diversity your abilities. I believe I've gotten this far because most of my stats are as high as they can be without breaking the cap, allowing me high survivability. I certainly can't take a ridiculously strong blow like the resident tank of SAO, Tristan, can, but I can still serve as a competent tank. I can't hit even close to as hard as Zelrius, or even Teayre, but as you know the one-handed straight sword gives a variety of abilities to serve well in many fights. At the same time I can for the most part guarantee a hit, and should the enemy not catch me off guard be able to avoid most strikes."

Catching his breath he gave a nod, "So that's just some advice, but of course feel free to play to your strengths. I've always stressed balance, which is why I turned out the way I did, heh."

[Greg Baxen 0]

"I can gather." Greg said. Calrex did seem like a jack of all trades as far as his stats go. High mitigation, high damage, high evasion, high accuracy, a good way of generating hate, and more. He figured the mitigation, evasion and hate generation were something that he wanted if he was going to go adventure with Shizuka a lot more. Greg thought for a moment before asking another question. "This one's kinda personal but... eh. Is it weird that, despite only having been together for a relatively short time, I already want to marry Shizuka?" Greg asked.

[Calrex 0]

At this point hearing Greg's words gave Calrex a good laugh as the sounds echoed for a second inside his armor's helmet, "Well, I can't really say if it's odd or not. People get married at different stages of the relationship for various reasons. Heck there's always the dramatization of wanting to marry someone after just spending a few hours with them. To be honest, I wouldn't say my relationship with Teayre is exactly ordinary either. However, good feelings are good, no matter what. In this case..."

Taking a second to think Calrex gathered together his words and continued, "I would say be aware of those feelings, but don't go trying to propose or anything just yet. You two have just gotten together, which means you'll be seeing a lot more of each other, and possibly sides of each other you haven't shown anyone before. That can change a relationship dramatically. It's not always easy to keep in mind, as marriage in this game is in some ways simplified and doesn't have many things that comes with the act like in the real world. But, in the end if that feeling is still there or even stronger than before, you should make it known."

[Greg Baxen 0]

"Alright. Thanks for the advice, again." Greg said. "The thing is, I haven't tried proposing yet because I feel it's way too early for me to do that." Greg affirmed. "You've basically confirmed that it's too early, so I'll put it off for a while, and if I still feel that way, THEN I'll propose." He confirmed. "But for now, I'll just act as usual. Showing affection every now and again, and being there for her." He nodded while saying this.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod as he gave a small sigh, "Good to hear. Honestly, it's hard to think logically about these things, but it's good to take a step back sometimes and think. Some people will say you'll know when the time is right, and I've come to think that to be half true. It might feel like the time is right, but remember that it's you having that feeling. You need to know that the other person wants the same thing as well."

He stretched his arms as he felt them starting to go to sleep as he brought the limbs over his head, stretching his chest before giving a calming exhale, "In any case, it seems like your heart is in the right place, and that's the first and foremost thing."

[Greg Baxen 0]

"Good to hear." Greg responded. "As it stands right now, though, my focus shouldn't be completely on my relationship with Shizuka- though it does take a very high priority over almost everything else. The issue at hand is that we're still stuck in Aincrad, only able to access up to the 13th Floor, and we're progressing very slowly. One thing I will accomplish, at any cost, though, is making sure Shizuka is able to escape Aincrad safely." Greg said, resolve evident in his eyes. "I've got to become stronger, for two reasons- first is to be able to protect Shizuka, and the second is so we can escape Aincrad."

Edited November 24, 2015 by Greg Baxen

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, then you've got the same goal I have in mind then. I may be the highest leveled player in SAO, but there's still much I need to learn and grow in before I can consider myself even close to strong enough to get myself and everyone out of here. However, if only one person could, I would wish it to be Teayre."

Giving a calming breath he gave a nod, "Let's keep focusing on becoming stronger, to protect our loved ones, and to make it out of this game to see them back in the real world. That's the path that we've chosen, now we just need to make sure we always keep it in mind."

[Greg Baxen 0]

"Yeah, I'm with you." Greg responds. "I may not be one of the strongest players in Aincrad- Hell, I might be one of the weakest right now- but that isn't going to stop me from trying to protect Shizuka as much as I can." Greg stops for a second. "Speaking of, there's a quest I want to do after this. You may know of it. It's called <The Traveler>. Mind helping me out with it?" Greg asked the higher-levelled player.

[Calrex 0]

"The Traveler? Yeah, I can definitely help you out with it. It's not a difficult quest, but it does require some endurance to brave the desert in order to complete it. While it's not quite as dangerous as the Sand Shark was, having low durability can spell danger if we're not careful."

Getting to his feet he gave a stretch, elongating his back to help relieve the tightened area from sitting for an extended period of time, "In any case, just let me know when you'd like to do the quest. I'd best get moving for now and head back to Teayre. I know she can take care of herself, but I would kick myself if I let her fall into danger without me being there."

With that he turned and gave a wave, heading back towards the teleportation circle as he changed out of the Grand Chariot: Legacy into the Grand Dragoon, his tired face being revealed from underneath the armor, although his back was now turned. "Teayre...I just hope I'm still strong enough to protect her..."