[PP-F11] A long walk on the beach, with Loreley

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal stepped out of his shop, the Albatross and Finch. It was more of a home now, than a shop. He had long since abandoned his tailor craft, only now and again picking up the needle to sew a few armor pieces for a few close friends on the side. He only returned when he was tired, as he spent the most of his day exploring and hanging out with friends. He had recently taken a break, and another group of frontliners had gone ahead and found the next boss, and were already in a meeting for it. A meeting in which Lowenthal wasn't invited to, even though he was a guild leader. Perhaps Ariel had an axe to grind after all. Lowenthal grinned, and rubbed away what sand he had in his hair. He was happier now, then he had been in a good while. While he was out on the first floor, he ran into a performer by the name of Loreley. She was cute, and an alright musician in her own way. But he was surprised by himself when he had asked her if he could see her again. And more surprised when she said sure.

Lowenthal chuckled as he walked over to the arranged meeting area. The day's plan was to have a small chat on the beach, then go to dinner and part ways. Not the most, exciting date, if it could be called that, Lowe thought it more of a, hang out than a date. He had only just met the woman, and the hard breakup with Clarence wasn't helping his mind think straight. Lowenthal made it to the area, and waited. He was a good while early, about half an hour so. But he liked being early, made a good impression. Lowenthal thought about Loreley. He wondered why someone of her level, agree to going to a floor several levels above her comfort zone, just for a free dinner and a chat. Lowenthal shrugged the thought off, and thought about a good place to stop for dinner.

[Loreley 0]

Loreley made her way from the inn she had been staying at with a yawn. A creature of the night, Loreley had only just woken up for the agreed upon meeting with Lowenthal, and for all intents and purposes was on her way to have breakfast with the man. The time of day dictated it was dinner, but that was all a matter of perspective, which Loreley honestly didn't think too much about. It was a meal, and company. A contact, and what could be a pleasant night if all things went well. And so she had went. She made her way to the Teleport Gate of the First Floor, before calling out the name of "Taft!" and being engulfed in a blue sphere which whisked her away to the Eleventh Floor.

Once arrived, she pulled up her map which gave her the basic location of Lowenthal and their meeting location, not surprised that the man was already there. It was always good to be punctual, and she could appreciate that. As she made her way over to the man, she gave him a wave, and upon reaching him a light bow. "Good evening," she said simply, her gray eyes looking him over, though her face was yet a mask until things progressed any further.

Edited December 4, 2015 by Loreley

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal turned, as someone called out. "Oh hey, you did show up." He said, quite happy that she did indeed show up. Many a time had he been flaked by the women of his old school. Then he graduated, worked in a lemonade stand for his father's mall and it didn't help his luck any. Lowenthal gave a warm smile, and waved for Loreley to come over. As she did, she greeted him with a bow. Not used to the polite notion, Lowenthal cleared his throat. "Shall we?" Lowenthal asked, as he began the walk along the beach. First question was important. "Say, what would you like to eat?" Lowenthal asked. It was a good idea to get that out of the way. If he had just guessed or tried to 'surprise' her, he had a chance to be wrong and ruin the outing. Which, like working in a lemonade stand, would not help his chances any. "And if you have any questions ask away." Lowenthal said, wanting the conversation to go two ways, rather than him asking all of the questions. He had mentally prepared a list to ask anyway, but he was confidant in his ability to forget half of them and stutter on the rest.

[Loreley 0]

With them walking along on the beach, Loreley thought it best to do so without shoes on, as she pulled up her equipment menu and unequipped her boots, surprised at the simulation of the feeling of sand between her toes. Loreley had never been lucky enough to go to a real beach. No, her life had been far too busy for that. She wondered how close this was to actually feeling like the sand between her toes. She blinked the thoughts away though, before bringing her gaze back to Lowenthal and sticking her hands in her pants pockets as they walked along.

"I'm partial to fish," she said, answering his question. It was polite of him to actually ask her preference, and she figured her preference wasn't too much of a stretch given the location they were currently in. She continued to look Lowenthal over, rather unsure of what to make of the man. He certainly seemed more polite than most men, though after having recently dealt with Lumiel, anyone would seem more polite. He did seem to be attempting to make small talk, which not only was Loreley bad at, but she also rather disliked anyway. She frowned, thinking that if small talk was going to be what drove this conversation forward, the night might end up more awkward than anything. But she made an honest effort to at least tell him the truth, as she said, "Not really good at asking questions. Not generally interested in getting to know people. But if something piques my interest, I'll pursue the conversation, so feel free to try to find that topic."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal noticed the sound effect of an item being de-equipped. When he looked, he noticed that Loreley had taken off her shoes, and was walking on the beach barefoot. The sand was nice at least, and it did a damn good job of feeling like the real thing. Lowenthal remembered the beach he and friends used to visit in the real world. Going to that bech would be a lot more lonely now, seeing as everyone who went died in this game. Lowenthal scratched the back of his neck. "I think i can do fish. It's been a while." Lowenthal had a small restaurant in mind, the pesce è buono. And after asking the owner what it meant, it basically meant 'Fish is Good'. The owner was nice enough at least, as she used to deliver meals to Lowenthal when he was a player killer. "Not interested in getting to know people?" Lowenthal said, repeating what Loreley had said. Guess she was here for the food then. "Yeah, I'm kinda bad at small talk. I either end up bragging about myself, or talking too damn much." Lowenthal said. His conversations with Mari, another player who was lightyears ahead of Lowe in terms of intelligence and skill, had thought him the hard way. But now he was faced with another dilema. How to pass a walk on the beach, without talking. She wasn't going to ask questions, and he was only going to talk about himself. Lowenthal took in a breath though his nose taking in the smell of the sea, and let out slowly. "Well, if anything come up. I'm here. In the meantime, let's enjoy the walk." Lowenthal said, not sure of what to say and not wanting to do any wrong.

[Loreley 0]

Loreley's eyes drifted away from Lowenthal, and out to the beach ahead of them, and then past that out towards the sea. What a strange thought it was to think that there was an entire sea contained on one floor of what was essentially a giant floating castle. Thinking of it that way almost broke any sense of realism, but at the same time Loreley couldn't even dispute the truth of it. She supposed that one way or another, it was possible. Still keeping her steel gaze focused on the waves rolling along the sand, Loreley said, "I've been going from place to place my entire life. Getting to know people often leads to uncomfortable situations. You have to trust people you plan to stick around. Or at least tolerate their lies."

Though Lowenthal had said something that caught her interest, and that was the idea of bragging about himself. Generally most braggarts were hot air, but Lowenthal didn't seem like he was just a walking ego, and so she was colored curious. Her gray eyes brought themselves back around to rest on his eyes, her head cocked a bit to the side. "You would brag about yourself. But can you back it up? If you can, I would be interested to know what would make you capable of bragging."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal looked down at Loreley as she spoke about herself. Moving from place to place, and trusting people to stick around. She was right, in a sense. A lot of people had dissapeared from Lowenthal's life in SAO. Most of them were people who would join his guild, just to leave it to join another. He found the action more infuriating then anything else. And then, there were people like Clarence, Piera, and Lee. Who would just pack up shop and leave, never to be heard from again. Lowenthal was lost in thought, as Loreley looked up to him, her eyes meeting his. He blushed slightly, now caught. Lowenthal let out a chuckle. "Wait, did you just give me permission to brag?" He asked, before taking in a small breath. He thought for a second, trying to find something that he and he alone had done. "Well, I've lost every duel I've been in. And If it's not victory, at least I am consistent. And alive." Lowenthal said, adding the after thought. "I'm also the second highest ranked tailor, in SAO." He said, emphasizing on the 'second' part. "Oh, and third to grandmaster the dagger skill." Lowenthal said, giving a smirk. "And if that didn't paint me as 'cool' and 'exciting' I'm not sure if anything else can." Lowenthal said, his joking being quite obvious.

[Loreley 0]

Loreley's eyes searched his as they walked, a brief smirk crossing her lips as he asked if he had been given permission to brag. She had considered a response, but instead waited as he drew in a breath to begin what Loreley assumed would be his bragging. However, in place of tall tales or huge lists of deeds and exploits, perhaps with accompanying grandiose titles, all Loreley heard was modesty. She raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued even more at the man's nonchalance about being what most would consider "second rate".

After he had finished, Loreley broke her gaze from his, thinking of herself and her desire to become some legendary figure in Aincrad as she stared out at the beach in front of them. "It takes an odd amount of courage to admit that you aren't the best," she began, her voice a bit melancholic, "and an even greater amount to be okay with that." She looked back at him, actually a bit worried she might have offended him with that comment, and so she followed up with, "Not that I'm trying to insult you. You've genuinely caught my interest with your modesty. Here I am, this low level, trying to be a legend and the best anyone has ever seen, and then there's this odd man, a high level with a real past and real history in this virtual world, who is fine with who and where he is." She slipped her hands out of her pockets and crossed her arms across her chest, closing her eyes and thinking as she walked, before finally adding on, "I won't say I'm living my life wrong. But it's refreshing to see that not everyone takes life so seriously."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal smiled, relieved by Loreley's response. It was, quite surprising. Not often did people appreciate the person in second place. "Well, thank you." Lowenthal said. Lowenthal trailed behind, enjoying the sound of crunching sand beneath his feet. She wanted to be the best. Sounded a lot like him back when he first started.  "Well, I'd rather have friends than fans. I want people to like me, because I'm me. If that makes any sense." Lowenthal said. As he followed, his eyes would occasionally glance downward, and eye at Loreley's behind. Lowenthal coughed once, catching himself and walked ahead slightly. "I wouldn't say anyone's living their life wrong. It's thier life. And what do you mean by 'odd man'?" Lowenthal asked. "Don't answer that. Kinda want to know more about you." Lowenthal asked. "If that's fine, with you." Lowenthal said, making sure it was okay. "When I asked you out, for this 'outing'. Why'd you say yes?" Lowenthal asked.

[Loreley 0]

Loreley considered Lowe's question, and actually had to give that a bit of thought, curious if she should tell the man the truth or if she should make something up. She brought a finger to her chin and tapped it lightly as her gray eyes searched the sky in thought. "Well, to start, I think I'll answer your question anyway," she said, dodging the question at first. She turned to him and gave a smirk, "You're odd because unlike the majority of people in this world, you aren't striving to be the best. This entire world is built upon the ideal of being the greatest there is. The most famous, the most popular, the prettiest, the richest, the strongest... the list goes on and on. And then there's oddities like you. Happy staying out of all that."

But then she sighed, the man had been kind enough to her so far, and so she thought a truthful answer would be fair, "I really don't care much about people. So I can't say you 'mean' anything to me. But you're interesting, and this conversation has been enjoyable. And so, I'm enjoying it, even if tomorrow I might never see you again. Isn't that the point of life? To live like there's no tomorrow? So a walk on the beach, something I've never done before, and a dinner in what may or may not have been pleasant company. Either way, it added more excitement than running around outside the Town of Beginnings for another night, grinding boars, right? That's why I agreed to come."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal chuckled, not sure to be offended or not by being 'odd'. There was nothing wrong with trying to be the best, but that end goal just seemed boring. At least in Lowenthal's head. You become the strongest, no one can challenge you to become better. He smiled and listened as she changed subjects to answer his question. "Well, I did only just meet you. I didn't expect to mean much right off the bat." Lowenthal said, rubbing the back of his head. He stopped walking, and kicked at the sand a bit. "But, I would like to see you again sometime." Lowenthal said, being honest. "I mean, we can dinner goes. Or breakfast, I literally woke up a few hours ago. You don't get to be Aincrads number one ninja by walking around during the day." Lowenthal said, laughing, "Anyway, you getting hungry? We can go whenever you feel like." Lowenthal said, smiling at Loreley.

[Loreley 0]

Loreley hadn't initially stopped when Lowenthal had, and had ended up going a few more steps before realizing that Lowe wasn't walking beside her anymore. She turned, and looked back to him with a raised eyebrow, listening to him speak and watching him sheepishly kick the sand and admit his desire to see her again. Her gray eyes looked the man over, and she cocked her head. She pulled up her menu and looked over at him, before submitting a proper friend request to Lowenthal. But as she did so, she blinked at Lowenthal again, thinking, Why did I just do that? I hate being close to people.... Her gaze searched for the answer in what Lowenthal was saying about him being the number one ninja in Aincrad. In what he was asking about dinner, but nothing came. Lowenthal was just... interesting. Interesting enough that Loreley wished to know more.

Finally, she said simply, "Let's go ahead and grab breakfast then. I only just woke up a bit ago myself. Right before coming to meet you in fact. So I suppose that worked out for the both of us." As she began to walk back towards Lowenthal so he could lead the way to the restaurant they would be eating at, her thoughts continued to plague her, So he does have one claim in the world, but considers it less important than the other things he claimed to be. How odd... and past that, she couldn't help but find herself wondering what exactly being a ninja in Aincrad meant.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal opened his menu, and accepted her friend request. "Thank you. If you need any new clothes, or new attire for any gigs. Shoot me a message, and I'll get it done." Lowenthal said, closing his menu. "So, dinner. Most important meal of the day, yeah?" Lowenthal said, turning and leading Loreley back into town. After arriving back into town, Lowenthal lead Loreley to the restaurant 'pesce è buono'. Lowenthal held open the door for Loreley, and allowed her to enter first before entering himself. A blonde woman, with what seemed to be a bob haircut appeared almost instantly. "Lowenthal! It's been too long! How have you been! Come sit, sit!" She said, leading the pair to a booth. She spoke with an American accent, and as if she was on TV. She was sporting a pair of compression shorts under a grey skirt, with a green a-shirt for a top. For a woman, she was surprinsigly muscular, and looked as if she could beat Lowe in a fist fight. As Lowenthal sat down, the woman placed one menu down in front of Loreley. She than pulled out a small pad, and wrote down a few things before looking at Loreley, and then back to Lowenthal. "And I thought I had the catch of the day." She said, giving Lowenthal a wink. Lowenthal spoke, in protest. "H-Hey, it's not like that. We just met, and we're just talking over dinner. Like friends do." He said, embarrassed by the waitress. "Oh, pssshaw." She said, looking back at Loreley. "When he was an orange player, I used to deliver meals to him all the time. Seeing as he couldn't get inside the safe zone here." She said. Before Lowenthal could say anything to protest, she spoke again. "He's a nice guy, but whatch out for him. He's crafty." Lowenthal finally was able to speak up. "Hey, what does that even mean? What are you trying to say about me?" He said, all in protest. The woman giggled, and looked at Loreley. "What can I help you with today?" She asked, in a much calmer tone. Lowenthal leaned back into the booth chair, defeated and frustrated. 

[Loreley 0]

Loreley had followed Lowenthal to the restaurant to get some fish. She had nodded to Lowenthal when he had held the door open for her, accepting the polite gesture and moving to the booth where they were to sit. She slid into the booth with a fluid motion and looked back to the pair. Her gray eyes darted between the two as they bantered back and forth. When the woman had complimented Loreley, she simply gave her a light smile, accepting the compliment. When the woman had mentioned that Lowenthal was crafty, Loreley couldn't help but giggle, thinking, She doesn't know me very well then. Alas... Loreley kept her smile as she said to the waitress, "Smoked salmon would be lovely. A side of salad if it's offered, or the soup of the day, and an iced tea to drink." Loreley had been thinking of exactly what she would want as they had headed to the restaurant, and she hoped that Lowenthal didn't mind that her order was so fast, without her even looking at the menu. Most fish restaurants had salmon, and Loreley figured a restaurant in a video game wouldn't be different, but also supposed the waitress would tell her otherwise if that were the case. Her gray eyes made their way back to Lowenthal training the smile on him now, "Provided you're okay with that, of course."

[Lowenthal 0]

The woman quickly jotted down Loreley's order. "So, that's two smoked salmons, one salad, an iced tea, and a water. Be right out." She said, giving Lowenthal a wink before turning and walking away. As she disappeared, Lowenthal let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry about that, if she overwhelmed you. Satanoka is a bit, much." Lowenthal said. "But, she's a good person. And a better friend." He said, looking back to Loreley. "And yeah, that meal was fine. But, I could do without the salad. I don't like lettuce all that much. It just, crunches too much for me. Like celery." Lowenthal said, explaining his dislikes in food. Riveting conversation indeed. "So, why'd you become a singer? If I'm not prying to deep." Lowenthal asked, as the woman named Satonaka brought them their drinks.

[Loreley 0]

Loreley gave a nod of thanks to Satanoka, as she began to sip her iced tea. "You'll find little overwhelms me," she said, thinking of the man named Lumiel and her own shadowed past. Loreley's eyes stared into his as she considered his question about being a performer. She knew why she had done it, but how much did she want to tell this man? Little to nothing, if she was being honest. Finally, she said, "Given my childhood, I had a lot of experience dealing with performers. They make quite a bit of good money, and so I thought it made sense to become one in Aincrad." I need to choose my words carefully. Lowenthal is interesting, but the less he knows of me the better... she thought to herself, as she looked to her tea, thinking of her conversation and plans with Lumiel. Someday.... Lowenthal could become a target. Would I want that? The thoughts weighed surprisingly heavy in her mind as she brought her eyes back to his, trying to keep a smile on her face.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal sipped at his water. "Better backstory than mine. I just did mine out of sheer necessity." He said, shrugging his shoulders. He looked at Loreley. She seemed to be thinking about something, but forcing a smile. Was it something he did, something he said? Lowenthal looked down at the table, and back up. He racked his mind, trying to think of something to say, so that the two wouldn't be sat in an awkward silence. "So, anything you wanna know about me? We've been sitting here talking about you for a while." He said, giving out a nervous chuckle. In his experience, this was his first dinner with a woman. And he didn't want to just start talking about his life, especially if she didn't want to hear it.

[Loreley 0]

Loreley considered Lowenthal, and couldn't help but wonder at his own personal experience with women, no, people in general. It was odd to think that someone might actually be intimidated by Loreley. Generally it was the other way around, though Loreley never actually got intimidated. But pretending often made men's egos a bit softer and got her what she wanted. No, Lowenthal was interesting because he wasn't trying to show how big of a man he was at every chance he got. He took what he had, and made the best of it. She shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her mind.

"Ninja of Aincrad. What does that mean, and why didn't you mention it sooner?" She asked, breaching the subject that had only momentarily been talked about before the walk to the restaurant. "So far as I know, there are no classes in this game. Is it a title? If so, how did you earn it?"

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal chuckled, and rubbed the back of his head. "Ah well, at first it was 'Master of Shadows'. And it was given to me by a friend who's gone now." He said, sipping again at his water. "She gave it to me, and it just sort of stuck. So I introduced myself as that, but with only a Sneak and Hide skill on 1, can't really be lying to people and claim to be a master quite yet. So I changed it to 'Ninja of Aincrad'." Lowenthal explained. "And I didn't mention it before because, I actually forgot about it." he said, letting out a chuckle. "You get called a thing so much, you forget that you're called that. Like if someone calls you by your last name." Lowenthal said, chuckling. "The only reason that i've yet to let it go, is because she called me that. Guess I'm a bit sentimental on that." Lowenthal said, happy with his explaining. "Anything else?" Lowenthal asked back, wanting to know if she was satisfied with his answer.

[Loreley 0]

Loreley leaned her head on her hand, listening to the story. Sentimental reasons, title from a friend. Here I was hopeful it was some secret thing this man had found. Ah well, she thought to herself, as he wrapped it all up. She didn't want to seem disinterested, and so she smiled at him, saying, "Well, then I suppose the best thing to do is to achieve what you believe works for calling yourself the 'Master of Shadows'." She cocked her head, curious about what the man might think of her next line as she said, "You might not believe it based on what you've heard so far, but I'm the most legendary performer in all of Aincrad. Really, it's not always about whether you actually can back it up sometimes. Sometimes if you tell people enough, they'll believe it anyway. And then, when someone does wake up and smell the roses, you've already achieved and grown into that title anyway, so what does it matter? I'll always have been the most legendary performer in all of Aincrad, even when I wasn't, simply because I was the only person who had the guts to say it."