[PP-F03] Wolf am I

[Inu 0]

• 
  There was no sun today - only rain; rain so heavy that it had seemed to fall at no less than a torrential downpour since it had begun some hours ago. A surprisingly warm rain at that - a spring rain, but rain none the less. It felt good though, refreshing, and it surprisingly helped her focus... she dare even say relax.
  
  It brought back memories of a life outside this digital world as it's realism made her, once again, feel alive. It also cut out all the background noise that might have otherwise distracted her from training, something she'd picked up the habit of doing in private, that way she could impress Saix and the others of The Ebon Vanguard when she returned.
  
  Here the young blonde was able to train, without the timidness or bashfulness that might otherwise torment her when she often went out with her brother or the rest of the guild; here she didn't have to apologize for still being their weakest link. But Inu knew she was getting better, she could feel it in the way she handled point, her long curved sword, and she could see it in Ezo, her direwolf, who'd doubled in size from when she'd first found him. Ezo had continud to sprout up with each new level she reached in order to reflect his master, something she was well aware he'd do. Inu wondered then exactly how big he'd get, or if she'd even make it that high in the rankings herself.
  
  A sigh escaped her. "Good boy," Her little voice coo'd as she bent over ever-so-slightly to rustle his hair, "The others will be very proud of us when we get back and show them how much we've leveled today. I just know it! But while we still have the time, we should keep at it... Brother said they'd be gone for an hour, if not more." Ezo whimpered softly, and brushed against her side. "I know, I know. But the only way we can go with them is we catch up." Inu smiled softly, "Fifteen more minutes?" Ezo yipped, his tail wagging as his tongue lopped out of his mouth lazily. Inu giggled at the sight, "Good boy!"
  
  Though just as Inu moved to pat the wolfpup a rustling of bushes sounded from behind her. Immediately she spun around, her lilac eyes fighting the foggy haze that the rain left this level in. Squinting, Inu tried harder, and she could hear Ezo's low growl rise up. Something was out there... but a monster? She questioned. No, it can't be. They weren't likely to sneak up and stay in hiding. The girl readied her blade a bit more, though there was a quiver to the steel that testified to her fear - that's when the laughter rose up.
  
  Inu's stomach turned as three boys stepped forward from the bushes she'd been using as a shield of her own - guess that didn't work as well as I thought. Stupid, stupid, girl. Inu shook her head, trying hard to ebb the doubts rising in her mind, especially as the voice seemingly tormented her by shifting to the tone of her father. Stupid girl, you won't last a moment in this world. What are you thinking? "Please..." The girl cried, attempting to stiffen her grip on her sword, and steady her blade. The boys laughed as they circled in, the orange glow of their cursors like phantoms approaching. Ezo continued to growl, even dared to bark and snap at them a few times, as Inu continued to shift between them, not really knowing what her next move would be.
  
  "Please... I don't have anything of value..." One boy stepped more forward than the others, and rose his own blade out in a readied stance. "I'm not opposed to finding that out myself... this could be fun..." Another laughed, than shouted out from behind him. "Silly girls should be taught a lesson... wandering out here by themselves..."
  
  "Please..." The little one begged once more, but the boys wouldn't seem to have it, and the closest to her dove in for an attack. Inu rose her blade up quickly in defense, however, even though she'd managed to block it, the blow still sent her hurling back. These boys were clearly above her level. As Inu pulled herself weakly from the ground, Ezo moved quickly without command... and leaped at the boy who'd struck his master. The boy had anticipated the move and struck the pup down quickly. He wasn't dead, but he was near enough to it that it pained Inu to see. Tears flowed as her eyes darted between the pup and boys. Finally, after taking a deep breath, the little one screamed; just praying someone would hear her.
  
  "Help!! Anyone! Please!!!"
  

tag // Zeke

[Zeke 0]

The drenching rain was impacting upon any players day out on the battlefields of floor three but this had never been too much of a bad thing for those who knew that training was needed in various conditions. Safety was only assured in blinding weather like this if you were wise enough to test yourself against the weaker opponents of Aincrad in comparison to your level. However true it was to be a strange day for grinding, Zeke was not here for the battles but for the quest, specifically retrieval ones that fetched a high reward without the risk of death.

The rain today only sought to improve this player's mood instead of hindering him. Each rain drop that hit him made only another goose bump pop up on his arms while the sound and mixture of temperature reminded him of his active days as a child. Even though the smell of wet concrete was not present, Zeke could still recall vivid hallucinations of his old antics with friends long moved on. A look to his hand and he shivered in delight and fear from the re instilling of emotion that overcame him when he first discovered a stick bug. The trip down memory lane was closing though, he couldn't keep bringing back memories in the middle of an active field filled with enemies that could aggro in a second during the downpour.

"Rain.. rain.. go away.. come again another day.. All th-" Zeke stopped himself quickly at the sound of someone yelling for help. The wet grass almost had him falling forward from the jolt that took him over after the startle of another's voice. Equipping his straight sword immediately without question, he then ran towards the sound with an executable burst of speed thanks to his sprint skill. It wasn't but a mere minute that the dark haired boy found the scene with the searching passive ability he thought to choose from his creation process when first logging in. (I hope these @$$holes are a level close to the number of the floor, that's the only way I think I can help without martyring myself.)

There was no time left for the boy to think but that one thought and the situation had seen a dire turn for the girl and her familiar. With the Wolf now in red, it wasn't the time to examine for the best way to enter, the opening was given to him. Using his sprint ability once more, his approach was a straight on run to the familiar from the side once a small rock had distracted them towards the one of the three that stood the farthest out from the location. "There ya go!" Zeke ran past Ezo with a swift placement of a healing crystal that had already been activated, once the item was resting on the Wolf's back, a glow emitted from it's source and spread over the animal to restore it's health.

"No time to explain slowly, listen up. We keep our eyes on each other and watch for attacks coming our way. If you see me compromised for an attack, block it and I'll do the same for you and your friend. Stay close and keep these ready." The boy's speech sounded close to jibberish at the speed of which he belted out the words to Inu. A couple of healing crystals were being transferred with Inu's consent all the while the reaction of the mean three were taking place.

[Inu 0]

• 
  Just as Inu was pulling herself back to her feet in hopes to make it to the wolfpup's side, the sound of another approaching caught her attention, and the attention of the others as well. Her lilac eyes watched as the boy tossed a healing crystal down to Ezo, restoring him quickly to full health. It had taken the little one off-guard initially, but as he spoke, she figured there was little else to do now but trust him, given that there was no one else anywhere near her that she actually knew. Inu prayed that this wasn't some sick trick because she certainly wasn't ready to go yet - but felt it safe to assume by the angered looks upon the faces of the boys who'd initially attacked her, that they were just as surprised to see this man as she was. "I'll have your back, I promise." She murmured, raising her hand to quickly dial through her hub screen and accept the transfer.
  
  As she readied her blade, the boys began to spread out, semi-circling the two. There eyes hungry, angered, and ready. "So what, you got your boyfriend here to save you?" The head one laughed, and the others followed in suit. "He will do you little good. There are three of us, and only two of you. It's pathetic to even try, you do realize this don't you?" Inu whistled, and Ezo moved to her side, though bore his fangs and snarled just the same. "How about this, boy... we'll let you go free, and you just leave this little one to us like we had originally planned. We'll pretend like we never even saw you... and you will live to suffer this game another day. Sounds fair enough, right? I mean... this really isn't your fight." Inu swallowed deeply, her lilac eyes darting between her enemies and this stranger. If he left her now, she would certainly perish - but together they had a chance. "Please don't..." She cooed quietly, her wide eyes hopeful that he would not waver in the face of PKers.
  
  PKers were a concept Inu had never really grasped a hold of. Perhaps if they game had remained just that, a game, it would be a little more understandable. She was well versed in the world of bullies, and the title seemed just that. Those who liked to pick on others who were weaker than them, in hopes to gain something from it. But now that it was practically life... they were nothing but cold blooded murderers; murderers who would never face justice for what they had done. This sickened her, and she let that fuel her will to fight.
  
  "Aye, then you'll be foolish enough to die beside her then... how romantic, for two people who seem to barely know one another..." It was then the boy sprinted toward the one who'd just approached, and with a leap he rose his blade high above him, attempting to strike down at Zeke. As soon as he had, the other two rounded in on Zeke from the side, but it was then Inu made her move. Training alone had certainly done the young one her fair share of good - she was quick, and agile, which both proved to be very handy in the situation. Besides that she had Ezo, who moved at relatively the same speed as her. Another whistle, and the wolf bolted towards one, as she went for the other. It was clear that she'd be sent back again by another blow, given that these boys seemingly ranked high above her in level... but she would not let them strike the boy who'd come here to save her, it only seemed fair.
  

[Zeke 0]

As the battle scenario seemed to be unfolding before him, he tightened his hand into a fist and held it there until one of the Pkers had noticed it. They began to laugh and accuse this motion of fear but Zeke only rose the fist to cough into it instead of on his scarf. He was thoroughly acting out the part of not giving a care towards the predators to the point he seemed like he was just going to see if he could do this without actually fearing a death bringing outcome. (Is this going to start or not?) He thought and smiled behind his scarf once the first attempt at his life was made.

With a huge grin on his face and his eyes growing to glaring proportions, he appeared to be more maniacal than the one coming down for an attack on him but only used this as a small distraction in battle to keep the enemy guessing. Before the complete jump interval could be completed, Zeke dashed up with a combination of his acrobatics and sprint skills to get a quick slash in on the first enemy to move and used his blade as a camping spike to plant the guy in the ground with his weapon. "You don't rush without knowing an opponents skills first, amateur." Zeke kept his foot on the Man's weapon to hold it down as well while the torso was struck over and over repeatedly to kill him before the other two arrived to help.

"You guys should be more of a challenge." Zeke whispered to himself and dashed around to the side of the charging players, only to keep an eye on the girl he was helping. (Use a healing crystal already..) An aggravated plea held him back from focusing on his own danger, not even the littlest amount of time could be given while health was still depleted.

Leaving it up to his battle healing and parry, he faced off against the opposing numbers while managing to find small time slots to glance at the wolf and girl for assurance that they were being handled without too much opposition. For every hit he took upon himself, the time he could block and avoid during his battle healing, would save the gap in his literal life timer. "You idiots realize I was here to kill her too! I've been tracking her for days and was ready to take action myself until you both jumped in and ruined the surprise tactic from the fight. I'll kill you both and then her if I have to!" Zeke yelled out right in front of them so Inu could also hear his words. His plan was too have Inu flee in shock and have one try to chase after her so he could finish one off quickly and then make this a three on one battle.