(OP) What is This?

[Amira 0]

Manta looked into the window of the candy shop, her eyes flitting from one delicious thing to another. It was her sort of shop, but she wasn't about to indulge herself. She had things to do and people to see. She rested her hand on the hilt of her rapier, unable to tear her eyes away from the various pastries, lollipops, and gummies. She et out a long sigh, staring on one cupcake in particular, with chocolate frosting and pink decals on the top. She would have to make a note of this location and come back again sometime soon. She turned around and started to walk from the shop slowly.

[Lazarus 0]

"Sugar... Delicious CANDY!" Lazarus jumped at the sight of the pastries, literally jumping through the window of the store. Somehow, the window broke but instantly respawned pushing him back. "Aghh.... That hurt..." He got up and brushed the dirt off of him, walking into the store in a gentlemanly way. There! He spotted it, the cupcake that he desired. 'I'll just use a magic trick in here, it'll work and they won't see it coming.' Lazarus walked up to the cupcake and examined it, he then put it in his palm and in a swift motion made it dissappear. "Score!" Lazarus turned the other way before someone put a hand on his shoulder, it was an NPC. "Just where do you think you're going with that cupcake?" The candy man looked at the NPC and showed him his sleeves, he then allowed the NPC to pat him down but he was unable to find anything. "Alright, I must've been mistaken, sorry sir." Back to business, Lazarus smiled and followed the white haired woman thinking she'd lead him to another candy store.

[Kiru 0]

Regret. I stared down at the small yet appetizing cupcake in front of me. The wrapper that lined the moist cake was stark white, in contrast to the dark chocolate pastry that filled the mold of paper. The frosting however was my favorite. It was twirled in flower design and mixed to be a lilac purple, almost periwinkle. There was a slight drizzle of dark and white chocolate on top of the cake as well, which balanced the colors perfectly. Everything about this looked delicious except for one thing: the grief. Somehow, the cupcake gave off an aura, like I shouldn't indulge myself in such a pleasantry. But, I did and now I had to eat it after wasting the everlasting col I had. I sighed and picked up the small fork on the left side of the table, about to dig in. Suddenly, there was loud crash, interrupting me from eating literal heaven. It was a stupid kid trying to break through the glass window, only after shouting his excitements to everyone in Aincrad to possibly hear. I sort of laughed a little when he fell back form his dumb try. Obviously it was an immortal object, meaning you couldn't break through it no madder how hard you tried. But that laugh diminished quickly when he walked in, eyeing a cupcake in the shop window. I looked away for a moment to realize that a young girl was peering inside the shop, probably yearning for something sweet. Then I looked back at the young man, he was now causing even more commotion by being accused of stealing a cake. Judging from his immaturity I could probably guess that he did. After finding no evidence of theft they reluctantly let him go and he strolled out. The question was, how did he do it? I contemplated following the young kid or finishing my cake.

My curiosity could not be stopped. I walked up to the register and order a random cupcake with chocolate frosting and pink detailings, a couple truffles, and a slice of lemon cake for later. I also requested my current cake be boxed up for safety. After paying for all of it I rushed out the door and yelled for the young man to stop. "Hey! You, thief! I need to talk to you!" I held up the boxes of cake and kept my eyes on him. Maybe he would accept my offer, or maybe not.

[Lazarus 0]

"Huh? Is that for me?" Lazarus pulled out the cupcake he stole from his stomach and ate it, he then put four peppermints in his mouth to refresh his breath. "Ah, I see, you saw me take the cupcake didn't you? So, whadd'ya wanna talk about? Sugary candy, or sweet delectable honey cakes?" After quickly finishing the peppermints he pulled out a slice of chocolate cake swiftly, the place where he pulled it out from was invisible. "S-Sugar..." Lazarus devoured the poor thing and then looked at Kiru again. "So what do you exactly want? Is it my candy, or are you curious of how I stole the cupcake?"

[Amira 0]

Manta glanced back, hearing some sort of commotion going on in the shop that she had just been at. Some weird man was throwing himself at the window. She paused and turned around fully to watch. Within moments the man had walked into the shop and then out again before being stopped by an NPC. It was apparent that he had stolen something, which Manta hadn't even thought was allowed by the game rules. Another person went into the shop and came out with boxes of pastries, and the man proceeded to start devouring them as well. The first floor was by far the weirdest in her opinion.

[kacaji 0]

Kacaji was casually walking the streets when he stumbled upon a candy shop.  He was still wearing his tee-shirt, shorts and his cloth mask over his mouth, almost mimicking a bandit.  His scar over the left eye helped to distance himself from other SAO members.  He walked into the building after he double checked to make certain he wasn't supposed to be anywhere soon.  He then witnessed a thief and protector of the law converse, but he didn't care.  Walking into the shop and saw a pink haired girl... He moved towards the girl and asked her who owned the shop.  

[Ranmura 0]

Ranmura stared at the man who just stole some pastries and was astonished. How did he steal that without getting caught? She had to know to get a certain needle to torture and kill players finally start her plushy sewing business. The girl walked up to Kiru and Lazarus and smiled (permanent smile). "Hi! My name's Ranmura, do you wanna bathe in blood? Oops,I meant do you want to hear a joke? Why does the bald fur trader hate the rabbit trapper? Because he has hare! Nya ha ha! Wasn't that joke funny! I know it's funny because I laughed!" This girl seemed to be bubbly, but if one examined her closer they'd notice some mental damage.

[Kiru 0]

I looked the kid up and down, frowning slightly. He looked like he could defeated exactly half a boar but I continued on. For right now I would put his level and combat skills aside and get to my real negotiation. "Yes, actually I would just love to know how you got away with taking that cupcake." I said, adding extra enthusiasm to talk to him. I then opened one of the box of cupcakes and displayed them to him. "If you tell me, these are all your's." With this incentive surely he wouldn't turn me down. I mean, he loved anything sweet as far as I could tell. I then closed the box shut to ensure that he wouldn't take any and so that he could tell I was being completely serious about this deal. 

From behind I heard a small voice belonging to girl. She stumbled upon her introduction by saying "blood," instead of "joke". Right away this set me off, surely something was wrong with her if she was going around making claims like a certain Player Killer I used to know. When I turned around I looked into her beading eyes as she went on, without the consent of anyone, to tell her joke. Although it wasn't funny and I didn't really get it I still laughed anyway to make her feel better. Also I laughed because of how bubbly she seemed to be. I bent over slightly, causing my two toned hair to fall forward, and took one of the three boxes out. I proceeded to pull out a vanilla cupcake with red frosting and a strawberry on top. "Here." I smiled and handed the pastry to the young girl.

[Vayrin 0]

Well, today was just as normal as ever. The girl had been grinding for almost the whole duration of it. Fighting off scores of low level mobs in the fields may have seemed dangerous, but the amount of loot from all those beasts added up into something nice. Of course, as much fun as hacking and slashing was, it did eventually get dull, and for the sake of her own entertainment and relaxation, the girl decided it was enough for that day. Vayrin had been walking down the street as she entered the safe zone, her trusty blade still on her back. The girl had her regular expression, which in turn either made her look pissed off or just really annoyed. Of course, she was still oblivious to this. And she always wondered why people didn't seem to want to interact with her, avoiding eye contact whenever they could. In truth it was just her regular face. The girl had been feeling rather calm despite what her mask seemed to show, and somewhat happy as she encountered a place she'd never seen before.

Vayrin smiled slightly as she looked through the window of what seemed to be a desert shop. She stood outside the glass looking over the creatively decorated cupcakes hen it suddenly shattered and respawned. The girl stepped back for a moment, surprised by the sudden shock, and turned her attention to what seemed to be another player who had just hit the window too hard. Vayrin simply rolled her eyes and walked past him into the store. She quickly scanned the contents of the small shop when her sights fell upon somewhat familiar. A white haired girl. Vayrin thought for a moment, and shot a quick look to her weapon on her back. "Of course..." She whispered to herself as her violet eyes shot back to the girl who she concluded must've been the one who helped her oh so long ago.

"Manta? Long time no see!" Vayrin said with a slightly bigger smile now, her hand extended into a half salute towards the girl. Of course, Vayrin had stuttered slightly, hoping she didn't get the girl's name wrong. It had been a long time...

[Ethereal 0]

Eth was taking his regular route through the medieval settlement of Floor One, full of NPCs bearing quests geared solely for low-level players. Stomach rumbling slightly he mutters under his breath: "I fancy a cake and tea." Glancing around the street he happened to be turning onto, the swordsman spotted a rather busy cupcake store. Nodding mentally to himself with a "That'll do." The man strolls over, cloak of the Crimson Blades billowing out behind him as he went. As he entered the quaint cafe, Eth notices that several layers were bickering about a window and stealing or something along those lines. Keeping out of it, the Blade nods to the NPC behind the counter, "One chocolate cupcake please."

[Madara 0]

Madara has roamed the streets of the first floor for quite some time now.  Madara stood several yards from the commotion nearby to a candy shop.  Every couple of moments, Madara would glance around out of habit, making sure that nobody was carrying any water around.  Standing up, Madara got up and moved towards the shop, looking at the different members in SAO.  Madara caught sight of a robbery, but stayed silent, knowing he didn't want to start any of his own commotion.  Entering the shop, Madara noticed a boy he had never seen before.  The boy was moderately taller than himself, but both seemed to be intimidating at first glance.  Madara walked up to the boy, who was clearly asking a pink haired girl asking who the owner of the shop is.  "Hi, who are you?  I have never seen you around on the first floor until now, which is odd because I have been here quite a while." Madara spoke directly to TheEyeTheif (AKA Kacaji).

[kacaji 0]

 Kacaji was asking the pink haired girl, "who owns this candy shop?", when suddenly a man who was a few inches shorter than himself, with long jet black spiked hair, asked him who he was.  When kacaji looked into Madara's eyes, fear began to build up within him, but he held it there, not letting the fear seep through his expressionless aura.  Kacaji then closed his right eye, making the left eye more prominent.  The left eye sent back the same intimidation through Madara, but for many reasons it did not show.  Kacaji and Madara were similar in some ways.   "I am TheEyeTheif to many, and I have walked the city streets all the time." (lie) Kacaji looked at him and asked him, would you happen to want to discuss this somewhere else tomorrow?  I find this amount of people irritating, so I will be leaving now if you wouldn't mind following.  Kacaji began leaving, but turned and told the guy, "send me a PM latter under the title, TheEyeTheif", and he left the shop and then walked down the street.

-Kacaji leaves the thread. 

[Lazarus 0]

"Oh I see, you want to know how I stole it. Alright, but I recommend checking that box again." The box felt empty as Lazarus had the cupcake in his hand, throwing it up in the sky and catching it. "Alright I'll tell ya', but in a more secluded place alright?" He motioned for Kiru to follow him into the back of the sweets shop and there he'd show her what to do. "It's a thing called 'magic', now you put it in your hand like this..." He put the cupcake in his palm and put his other hand on it, covering the entire pastry with his hands. "And now when I open my hands." The candy man opened his hands it the cupcake was gone. "Oh, damn. I forgot to tell you how to do it, ahahahaha!" Lazarus laughed, and then stopped. "Alright, now I'll need you to listen closely."

[Kiru 0]

After placing the cupcake into the hands of Ranmura I smiled politely and stood up. The kid who stole the cupcake from the shop had obviously been interested in the box of cupcakes I held to him. He summoned my attention, asking me to check my box once more. Even though I thought I had them guarded he seemed to steal them anyhow. I wasn't necessarily angry at the boy, I was actually more amused than anything. His skills were useful as of right now and with his help I would possibly learn them. Before I could ask him for directions he motioned he to follow him to a more sequestered place in order to show me his ways. 

I stood up and followed the young blonde to the alley way. As he explained it was magic I couldn't help but to roll my eyes, it was probably just a party trick. He began by waving his hand over the cake and then it disappeared. I smiled at him. "I must say, you are good." I complimented him, hoping he would speed up his lesson. Nothing bothered me more than slow people, especially children that thought they were the cheese. But, I made myself look very interested anyhow. "Alright, I'm listening..." I placed the three boxes of cupcakes on the ground and crouched down to his level. 

Edited March 7, 2016 by Kiru

[Ssendom 0]

Dom stood outside the town of beginnings, he walked all the way from the thirteenth floor since he hd something to talk about with his Brigadier and fellow Commandant. He leaned against the castle wall far enough away from the town guards, he brought down his finger to type up a message to both Kiru and Manta,

---------

Come Outside the City, gotta talk to you two.

-Dom

---------

After the message was sent, all he needed to do was wait. He was in his full battle attire affixed with all his unique items. Zel had sent him a message that he had not yet informed the two girls about, and thought it was a good time to talk to them now.

[Hydra 0]

*Yawn*, Hydra strolled through the streets slowly but casually. He had been up most the morning trying to craft his first trinket so his hands were stained gray with clay. The player had spent a lot of his time on floor 1, yet he still had no idea where he was going. "Wait how did I get here?" The spearman mumbled to himself glancing around, "this isn't the town's fountain..." *Yawn*. The smell of baked treats invaded the player's nostrils, a few buildings down some sort of commotion was going on near a shop selling treats. He spotted a couple of faces he'd seen before but ones he had not gotten to know. The player walked a little closer uncertain if he should intrude on the conversation, however before he could tell his mind had trailed off again and he had stopped a few meters away from the shop's entrance, staring into nothing...

[Lazarus 0]

"Uhhh, right, first you need the steps." The candy man pulled out his sack of sweets and tossed Kiru a peppermint. "Now first you put that on your palm, like this." Lazarus showed her the certain position her palm had to be in, and put a bunch of pudding in his mouth. "And positioning is everything, your hand has gotta be in this position!" He then instructed Kiru to (Insert magic trick method here). "And there, the most simple trick in the book that anyone can do."

 

Edited March 9, 2016 by Lazarus

[Kiru 0]

As I was crouched down, ready to listen, a sudden message popped up in front of me. I internally sighed at the mere appearance of it. It felt like every time I was doing something remotely important I got a message, telling me to meet somewhere as soon as possible. Silently, I clicked open the message and read it alone. Surprisingly, the sender was Ssendom. I never got messages from him so it was a rare sight, even to see him on a normal day was uncommon. And for him to message me was actually really out of place. I pursed my lips for a moment, would I have to leave without learning this trick? It seems not, as the young boy suddenly got extremely excited and began. 

He tossed me a peppermint, which I almost fell over trying to catch, and instructed me to put it in my palm at a certain position. I tried my hardest to copy him and in all honesty it looked easy but it kept falling from it's place over and over again. Frustrated, I cupped the candy in both hands and decided to just watch the rest. Maybe I would gain more information that way. He made it very clear that positioning was very important, something I could do very well, and showed me the rest. I didn't quite grasp the last step either, as he was simply making it disappear and wasn't explaining very clearly. I furrowed my eyebrows and tried it for myself. I followed every step confidently and in the end dropped the striped mint onto the pavement. I bit my lip and stared at Lazarus' eyes, this was definitely not a normal trick. If I couldn't do it then surely no one but this kid does. I mean, I was very good a tricks in general but this? This was not working. 

I inhaled deeply through my nose and picked up the boxes of cakes. I opened the biggest one and placed three of them in his open hand. "Thank you. I'm Kiru by the way." I said with an irritated voice. Now that I couldn't learn it, it seemed I would simply have to meet up with Ssendom without a magic trick to entertain him. It was sad but the truth. I began to leave but turned back to the child. He seemed to be a free spirit but I couldn't help but feel the need to keep him protected, specifically in a guild. "Listen, I gotta go meet up with someone really quickly. It may take five minutes or it may take a day but if you'd like I could introduce you to my guild mate so you could maybe join one when you're ready. Unfortunately Azure isn't accepting new members right now but you could ask a few questions to him if you like?" I asked, hoping he would at least consider a guild at his level. Surely he wouldn't make it on his own. 

[Lazarus 0]

"A guild? Hmmmm... Let's sweeten the deal first." When Lazarus said 'Sweeten the deal' it probably meant 'Give me some candy' and you'd have to be an idiot not to understand. While following Kiru he quickly got bored and responded by shoving many candies into his mouth. "Frrrrr... Frrrrr frrrrfrrff?" Lazarus swallowed and spoke again. "So do you want to learn some more tricks? I know how to make myself dissappear." The candy man was bored beyond his mind at this point, wondering if there was candy at the end of the ordeal. He yawned and put a candy cane in his mouth and sharpened it with his mouth. "I wonder if this could be my new dagger."

[Amira 0]

Manta noticed a message notification popping up in her HUD, so she quickly swiped it open and read the contents. There wasn't much there, but it was the most she had ever gotten in terms of a message from Ssendom. She started to walk towards the exit to the city, noticing that Kiru, her fellow Azure Brigade member and commandant, if she remembered correctly that is, was heading that way too. It wasn't unexpected as the message had been addressed to the two of them. What was surprising was that the strange thief from earlier was following her as well, for what reason she couldn't imagine. Still, if they were heading the same way, they might as well go together. She altered her course so that she ended up walking beside them. "Whats up Orange?" She asked the player who was chomping down on some sort of candy.