Floor 11: Taft's Spring Festival COMPLETE

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Stun and paralyze weren't things that the blonde liked... a friend of hers used a build that was based on those and when they dueled she had to wear him off before ending it. But she didn't expect to feel the effect of both in the same time. As she was pulled into an embrace by Hikoru she couldn't help but go along. She felt so lightheaded as she was being 'in the ninth cloud' but her instincts kicked in, the blonde returning the embrace as her body reacted to his warmth. As he let go, she felt that sanity was starting to return as the aforementioned effect on her brain started to lessen. But the next set of words almost send her into the same state as before. Being kissed didn't help either but the blonde trusted her instincts and after closing her eyes, she put her hands behind Hikoru's neck and passionately returned the kiss. She could feel her heart beating rapidly with every second longer.

Edited March 15, 2016 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Kiru 0]

"Right?" I stated in agreement to Azure's need for more activities. Ever since I had joined on Christmas of two years ago we've only celebrated as a guild three times. The first was obviously the party I threw upon the peer pressure from Keith. It wasn't specifically for the guild, because I wasn't in it quite yet, but it just ended up that almost everyone attending was part of Azure. The second was Zelrius' birthday party, open to a lot of people I guess. And the third was the most recent party I threw for Azure, but for everyone else in he game as well. Since I had been throwing the celebration for two years now I thought that I was officially the unofficial social chair. It was funny because I was probably the most antisocial in Azure if you spare Zelrius when he isn't feeling it. 

A smile grew on my face as Oikawa accepted my hand and stood up. "With pleasure." I slightly bowed with an over dramatic smirk.This was a classic move that I hadn't done in awhile. Actually, when was the last time I'd used sarcasm? I shrugged off the thought and followed beside the blonde towards the various lights and sounds that signaled the festivities, it didn't matter anymore. Cliche but, what mattered most was right now; having fun with Oikawa and enjoying myself right now. Maybe it was unhealthy to distract myself from Zelrius by pretending it didn't matter right now, maybe it was healthy that I was "being strong" about it. Either way, I would make this night with my fellow Azure Commandant as entertaining as possible. 

Torn from my thoughts, Oikawa spoke again and offered his arm to me. At first I was a bit hesitant to accept, as this wasn't a very normal occurrence for me. The last time I had done something like this with someone was a little bit ago, and I couldn't remember if it was with Zelrius or Keith. It was a bit scary to have to make this decision, and I didn't know why. Maybe I was afraid of moving on? Or maybe it was just me being childish. I sighed internally and after not much thought I knew my answer to his gesture. "Why thank you." I said stated politely and gladly took the young man's arm. a. "Well, I've never really thought of Aincrad as limited, but I never though it was a free space. I mean, in real life we can't just go around killing animals with weapons from an inventory- from an imaginary space might I add. We have to buy it pre-cut from the store and cook it. I don't want to delve too much into it but I think Sword Art Online is a lot more free in the sense of creativity and survival. I mean, what are we doing back home? Spending our lives doing meaningless jobs at the grocery store or something? We aren't fighting for our lives in the real world, we're literally just doing the same thing every day, you know? So, it's true what you said; the possibilities are endless, even if I am there!"

[Jomei 0]

Jomei looked at Zandra as she bought another try at the game. Seemed like she was about to turn this into a competition. Jomei smirked, "Alright then. You're on." He transferred the col over to the man and received another paper net. This time, he figured he would go a bit faster with his technique instead of letting the water slowly kill off the paper. He brought his body down and waited for the perfect moment to strike. That was when he caught a fish swimming towards a corner. "Gotcha!" he yelled as he swiped the net into the water, creating a small splash. "Aha- huh..?" His olive eyes blinked wide as he looked at the small hole  that was punched right through the paper. His attention was brought to Zandra's cheering, the fish flopping around inside of her net. He let out a heavy sigh, and dropped the net into a can dedicated to the trash. He walked over to her, and saw that she was less than pleased with what was the prize for winning the game. Jomei, on the other hand, found it to be a pretty cool mask. Zandra, not wanting it, placed the mask on Jomei's face. "I think its pretty cool." the muffled voice from behind the mask said, before he moved it off of his face and onto the side of his head. He grinned at the girl. 

[Grave 0]

I was bolting through the cobbled streets of Delilah, my half-Haori billowing behind me, an amber ball of fuzz tucked under my arm. "Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap..." I cursed myself as I worked my tired legs harder than they wanted me to. "Damn those orders, damn them..." I complained as I finally reached the teleport ring, diving forwards, I shouted "Teleport: Taft!" And was swiftly engulfed by a swirl of blue energy, leaping out the other side and rolling to my feet. I was panting heavily, and the weasel I carried shivered with terror. "I have to find her, I have to find her..." I muttered to myself, scouting the area for a particular purplette... and there she was, wandering the various festival activities... in a white and purple kimono. The image I had described to her at my diner - an angel, to remind those who do not know - now stood before me in physical form. She was stunning, and my heart rate just would not leave me alone.

I slowly approached her, breathing heavily from the exhaustion of my mad dash. When I was within earshot, I spoke loudly, projecting my voice. "Jevi, I am terribly sorry I am so late! I have so many orders I need to fill... I spent most of my day making nothing but rubbish..." I mumbled guiltily, flushing red with embarrassment and scratching the back of my neck. "I, uh... at least hope this outfit makes up for it." I continued, shifting the weasel onto my bare left shoulder and motioning to my wardrobe; a white half-Haori, covering my right side, with a deep pink cherry blossom design and black lining, and long samurai-style pants that sagged around my ankles. I am sure I looked like a dork, but at least it would maybe take Jevi's mind off of being mad at me...

[Hydra 0]

The roaring sound of celebrations startled Hydra, "Ah what?!" He sat up alert, hand on his spear rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the other and quickly glanced around him. "Where in Aincrad am I?..." All around him people seemed to be dressed in Kimono's, talking and laughing. The spearman scratched his head in confusion. He noticed a sign pop up in front of him and read it aloud to himself... "You have been invited to the Spring Festival on Floor 11.........Floor11!" The player had been drinking the night before, but to end on floor 11 was something more than drunkenness. The player scratched his head "Now what?" He noticed a woman up by a beautiful looking cherry blossom tree, she seemed to be friendly enough and speaking to people". Hydra ran up to her in a panic.

"Sorry I don't mean to bother you"... He paused momentarily, up close the woman was beautiful and very sweet, Hydra was flustered. Still panicked he didn't want to make things awkward so said the first thing that came to mind. "What a lovely dress you have! Would you mind pointing me in the direction to floor 1". The woman looked at him and smiled "Why thank you, and just head in that direction" Hydra bowed and thanked her, then turned to leave "please wait a moment, pick a flower any flower". Hydra looked puzzled but decided to comply, "Alright..." He moved his finger to one of the largest looking and pinkest ones "I choose that one". The woman picked it off and in a few quick moments the spearman had a beautiful looking flower pin on his head. "Um... thanks..." He turned away slowly unsure what had just happened and began to look for the passages down to the lower floors.

+ 1 Cherry blossom pin

Edited March 14, 2016 by Hydra

[Jevi 0]

It was beginning to get dark now and the lanterns above her head lit up the streets. She continued to slowly walk forward, watching as a group of young kids ran by her, playing. She had to admit, whether or not Grave showed up, she would be able to definitely enjoy herself her tonight. She was also sure that she would be able to find someone she knew to hang out with, maybe even message Opal. Just as her mind started thinking of such, she heard someone run up from behind her. The surprised girl slowly turned to look behind her, seeing the silver haired man dressed in a traditional robe. She crossed her arms and scowled at the late comer, walking forward towards him with her arms crossed, listening to him apologize to her. She stopped right in front of him, taking in a deep breath that extended her chest a bit, as if about to yell at him. ~"Ya'know, I thought for a moment you were going to just not show up, making me get dressed like this for no reason." Her 'angry' face then broke out into a smile, especially as she looked over his outfit just more, ~"Have to admit, the samurai look really suits you." She stepped to his side and hooked her arm around his, ~"I'm just happy you made it. Come on, lets go find something to do before the festival ends."

[Zero 0]

Freya looked at the stands as she passed by, watching the merry faces and hearing the joyous laughs of everyone attending the festival. She glanced at the fox masked she had won earlier and slipped it on, stopping at a shop serving what seemed to a drink she had not tasted in a long time. “Is that sake…” She muttered to herself quietly and grabbed a cup, sipping it down and finding its taste to truly be something she had long missed. The young woman grabbed a bottle of the drink and nuzzled it against her face like a mother would do with her child. “It is sake, it’s been too long since we last met my old friend. I missed you so much. I remember when I’d sneak some of the bottles we had stored away and finished them on my own when I pulled all-nighters while playing Royal Road and when I first got into playing The World.” She cheered as she repeatedly kissed the bottle, quickly asking the stall owner if she could take the bottle with her. Her face lit up happily when the vendor allowed her to take the bottle, offering her a second, and swiftly ran off with two full bottles in tow.

“Ah sake, you would never betray me. I missed you so much while being stuck in here. I wonder if cooks could recreate you. Oh who cares, we can make it last a while since that man was generous enough to give me two bottles.” She ran across the crowds pushing and shoving all that got in her way as she headed for the exit, taking the top off from one of the two bottles. She immediately pulled the bottle to her lips and walked happily when she spotted a man struggling to carry fireworks, one of them falling off from without his notice. Freya carefully walked up to the object, putting away the second bottle in her inventory, and picked it up, contemplating whether to return it or not. She groaned realizing she could get something out of returning it and ran after the man. “Excuse me, sir. I believe you dropped this.” A charming smiled carving itself across her face as she held the roman candle up to the man.

The man blinked realizing what was being held out to him and looked at the young lady. He smiled slightly embarrassed and shook his head. “You keep young lady, as a thank you for your honesty. Plus I’m sure you can give that far better use than myself.” He chuckled as he continued on his way, leaving the young woman to keep the small firework.

She blinked a few times as the man with the fireworks walked away before glancing at her hand and holding the roman candle tightly in her grasp. She felt a little irritated at first but quickly calmed herself and sighed. “Guess it’s alright, this and his compliment are enough to sate my rage. Plus I always have you don’t I sake?” She smiled at the bottle, putting away the firework, and continued to stroll by the stand set up just a bit outside the settlement in search of anything else she could take with her. Soon her eyes spotted what seemed to be a cherry blossom tree in the distance, something she had not noticed earlier, and rushed towards it.

~Firework Acquired~

[Grave 0]

That scowl certainly told of agitation, and I winced in preparation for a loud shout, when Jevi suddenly dropped back into a normal voice, although in a scolding tone, and began to berate me for a small moment. "I-I know, and I am very sorry!" I apologized again. "I-I promise I will make it up to you..." I muttered, looking down nervously. My attention was brought back to Jevi as she commented on my look. "A-ah, I thought you might like it. Let me guess; 'not enough black'?" I parroted the girl from the time we had done <<The Traveler>> together. I laughed and beamed at Jevi as she voluntarily slipped her arm around mine; I had to suggest it on our first date. "I am happy I did too. I hope I can make this worth your time..." I muttered, belittling myself. Thankfully, a little orange creature was around to save the day, and wrapped around my waist, fluffing up her fur to look like a giant furry harimaki sash. "Hey, you are making me look like an old man." I grunted at the weasel, who proceeded to 'giggle' at me.

[Zandra 0]

Not like Zandra, it seemed Jomei thought the mask looked pretty cool. The girl shrugged her shoulders."Well, the taste is different from different people. Im glad you liked it." Then she grabbed his hand and led him away. It seemed like the festival wasnt that far from shutting down. She wished that this evning could last forever, the wonderful smell, the exotic things to look at."Well, we have done a thing I wanted to do. Now its your turn to decide our next destination." She said when walking down a street, holding hands with the man she loved.

[Teayre 0]

The red head skirted along the edge of Taft, her eyes scanning the lines of people enjoying the festivities. A small smile crept to her lips as the noise from the festivities reach her, the laughs of all those people enjoying themselves. Her hand flicking down she makes sure that her weapon is equipped. “They… No not They, He.” Tears started to roll down the petite girl’s cheek, moving herself to the very edge of the lighting she watches as a figure wanders about. Opening her menu she sends him a message.

To: Calrex
From: Teayre

Message:

Cal,

Treeline, F11, Now.

Tea x

Hitting the send button she slumps down her back against a tree, gazing at the figures flicking against the lit backdrop of the settlement. Breathing gently she kept her ears pricked ready listening for any signs of any approaching people.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru smiled and pulled away from Ariel slowly, enjoying the feeling that he had now, and that was bliss, pure bliss. He had proposed to the most beautiful girl he had ever met, and she had said yes, and they ended it with a kiss. He felt a huge blush cover his face, and he did his best to hide it, unable to think of doing anything else but that. He breathed deeply and took Ariels hands in his own, feeling her warm hands in his to calm his beating heart. He sighed and looked her in the eyes, a small smile forming on his face and his he could feel his cheeks burning red.

"I...." He breathed deeply "I really can't wait. Let's plan a big wedding, and be ready when the time comes." He said with a small smile. He hoped that they could get this wedding go and be together for the rest of this game, and possibly the real world as well, if he could find her. He had high hopes for something that hadn't even happened yet, but he was just so excited that he couldn't stop himself from not.

[Oikawa 1]

"I suppose your right," mused the Azure General as he and the two-tone haired girl moved away from area they had only occupied moments ago.

Lights dotted the city. Showering the night with little rays and notions of activity as things began to wind down. Ironically, it seemed like the show was just beginning as peple began to move from the festival itself to fields to enjoy the supposed fireworks that were to be on display. The awe of it all, actually left him speechless. To the point he noticed that he and Kiru had traveled in silence for quite some time.

Despite his display of words today, he had always been rather shy around her. While this may be due in part to the presence she invoked on their first few encounters, as back then she was much scarier, he also chalked it up to the feelings he had made mention of earlier. His thoughts seemed to jump around more and more with each step, and before he knew it they had sill been walking in silence though now he had a tint of red to him.

Looking down to his companion for the night, Oikawa just smiled. A grin of bliss if you will. There were no worries tonight, no training to be done, no floors to be cleared, and no drama to be had. For all intents and purposes, they were free for the night.

"Kiru....Thank you..."

He didn't quite know why he had said it, but he was glad that she could at least enjoy the night.

"We should go catch the fireworks before they start. I'd hate for you to miss the best part of the festival after all."

[Jomei 0]

The girl took Jomei's hand in her own and led her away from the game, being they were now finished and had won their prize. Now, according to her, it was up to Jomei to decide what to do now. "Hm.. Well, I'm not really sure. Maybe we can grab something to eat, try out some of those foods you mentioned you wanted to try. Then afterwards, we can go check out the fireworks." He smiled at the girl before a great smell caught his attention, causing him to stop and turn his head. The stand that had caught his attention had a variety of foods cooking, from various meats on sticks, to bowls of fried noodles, and even some desert like items. Jomei pulled on Zandra's hand and brought her up to the man cooking the food. His eyes scanned all of the food available, until he had come up with his decision, "I'll take the chicken on a stick please.. and whatever she wants as well." he said with a smile.

[Jevi 0]

Jevi giggled as she walked forward with Grave, ~"Oh you know I was just teasing you.. I know you would never stand me up on a date." She gave him a playful look with one raised eyebrow and a sly smirk. ~"But you'll make it up to me huh? And just how will you do that?" Jevi watched as the orange weasel that rested on Grave's shoulder spiraled down his body and around his waist, creating a large fluffy waistband. Jevi laughed and scratched at the barely visible head of the animal. ~"Oh yeah, we still have to go out on the familiar quest so I can get a companion of my own. Maybe we can go a couple days from now? I'm honestly still trying to think just what type of familiar I should look into.. But I'm sure I'll think of something when the time comes. Anyway for now, what do you want to do?" She watched as groups of people began making their way towards the edge of town. Was the festival already ending? Or was there something bigger planned.

[Grave 0]

I smiled back at the girl when she declared her tease. "Ah, good... sometimes it is a tad hard to tell the difference between seriousness and teasing with you." I commented idly. "How will I make it up to you? By being by your side the entire night, of course! Is that not payment enough?" I responded confidently, a cocky smile on my lips. She reminded me about the familiar quest, and I smiled once more. "Sure thing. As I said, I personally think a cobra would suit you." I reminded her, hoping she remembered the compliments that I had given her. "Hmm... what do I want to do... I want to do... anything you want to do." I offers with a chuckle and a kind smile. "As I said, I am going to make it up to you. One step of that is letting the lady pick the activities."

[Jevi 0]

Jevi smiled and laughed, little did he know.. Jevi was terrible at this type of thing. She barely did dates, the one the other night with Grave was her first, aside from getting lunch with Shaya the one time. It would have been paying her back if he had chosen all of the activities, but she appreciated his chivalry. ~"Hm.. well, it looks like there's a lot of food we can eat, and a couple stands with games we can try out. Why not a little bit of both before we head towards everyone else is going?" Jevi made mention to what she noticed earlier, wondering if Grave noticed the same. She pulled on Grave's arm, leading him towards a tent that was serving different types of delicious foods. She smiled as she took in the various smells, her eyes shooting from delicacy to delicacy, trying to decide what she wanted. ~"Ah, theres too much to pick from!" she nudged Grave with her elbow, ~"You're the chef, pick something out." she said with a chuckle.

Edited March 15, 2016 by Jevi

[Grave 0]

I smiled with half-closed eyes. "Game, ehh? I like me some sideshow games." I muttered in a jesting maniacal growl; I loved sideshow games, and loved how good I was at winning them. "Alright sounds good to me... seems like everyone is heading for the main event." I noted, before being hauled the other way by a rather excited purplette. "Christ, Jevi, near on tear my arm off, hey?" I yelped and chuckled as I came up beside her. "Of course, you need someone with a distinct palate to help you. Never fear, I shall find you a meal." I laughed heartily, browsing the wares available. "Humm, humm, humm..." I murmured to myself scratching my chin like some kind of a detective. "Oh, my, I wonder how many times the hunter had to run before getting this... alright, one Aldram stew." I ordered, and with a smile the NPC retreated into the tent. "Remember the Aldram I introduced to you on our first day? Somebody made a stew out of one, and from what I hear, Aldram meat is divine." I explained, almost melting as I imagined the taste.

[Jevi 0]

Jevi remembered the Aldram, how beautiful and majestic the creature was, and how at ease it made her feel when in its presence. And now it was being served to her as tiny bits cooked up in a stew. She was not sure what to think at first, knowing she would be eating something like that. But after smelling the dish, her worries were completely gone. As she took the bowl in her hands from the NPC, she took a couple steps back and turned towards the street, taking the chopsticks in her hands and grabbing some of the meat. After observing it, she popped the morsel into her mouth. Grave was right, the meat of that animal surely was incredible. It was a taste unlike she had ever had before. ~"Mm, you were right. This is amazing." she said, handing the bowl over to Grave to try out.

[Ssendom 0]

Dom sat in a tall tree far from the town where the spring festival was occuring, not wanting any part of the people in the town since he couldn't be with the one he cared about. He was in his specially made Kimono that Lowenthal had made him, slunked up against the tree. The Berserker knew he was in the perfect tree to see the fireworks brighten the sky brilliantly. He looked up into the darkening sky as night was beginning to overcome the land, "Here's to you Meokka." He sighed, took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "Always know, that my heart still belongs to you." He said to himself in a quiet tone of voice as the fireworks began in the distance.

[Grave 0]

The various emotions that played across Jevi's face revealed her initial distaste of the thought of eating the creature that had provided her comfort and lowered her stress for the little time we were with it, but it seemed such empathetic thoughts were quickly shut out by the bliss that came tightly packed with chewing on one of the small cubes of meat in the stew. "Ahh, so I made a good choice, hey?" I responded with a smile. I gratefully took the stew with a nodded thanks to the girl and brought it to my mouth, using the chopsticks to retrieve my treasure. I plopped it onto my tongue and chewed; a stange shiver went down my spine as the juices within exploded in a waterfall of flavour, accentuated by the minor spice of some chilli-like herb and sweetened by what tasted like pumpkin cooked in cinnamon. "H-holy crap!" I shouted, staring into the stew. "T-that is bloody amazing! Here, I want you to have all of it. Do not share with me. The stew is all yours." I offered, handing the bowl back to Jevi. "Because I plan on making my own." I grinned wildly, silently vowing to make the most divine Aldram meat meals in Aincrad.