PP - F8 Trek Through the Woods (Baldur, Icarus)

[Calrex 0]

In the main settlement of the eighth floor, Florenthia Village, a single blue flash of light could be seen as Calrex's avatar materialized, having teleported from another floor to the current one. Putting his hands in his jacket pockets the bluenette gave a small sigh as he glanced upwards, seeing that his blue peregrine falcon familiar, Roc, had also appeared, soaring overhead in an overlooking position, "So...what was I doing here again? Heh, I guess I might as well wander around for now. I guess I could go looking for a dungeon, but I think I'll take my time in finding it."

Swiping on his menu he looked around the area. As usual, the floors he had visit had not a single change that had occurred. There were the recents quests that required fighting field bosses, as if the fate of the NPC residents of the settlements were on the line, but each victory merely reset the situation back to the same as it was before. Even on the eighth floor, where there was the newly discovered <<Monkey King>> quest, did Florenthia Village remain all the same, even though supposedly the field boss of the quest was told to return and lay waste to the village.

"Well, I guess at least some kind of consistency can bring comfort with all of the chaos and madness that occurs in this world."

[Baldur 0]

"Consistency? In life? Never! Well, perhaps in a digital one. There are no such things as <<immortal objects>> in the real world, eh?"

Baldur smiled as he stumbled upon the blue haired ultramarine knight. They had spent a lot of time together recently, and the company of his kouhei was always welcome. The ultramarine knight had a calming, easy going presence about him, while Baldur had often been told that his presence was one that said he was always on a mission and was best not disturbed.

"What brings you to this floor my friend? Branching out and trying new things? Wanting to leaf your home floor? Just out on a larch? Perhaps you're trying to root out some new challenges?"

Baldur smiled with a self satisfied grin on his face that said he knew just what he did and he was proud of his handiwork. At that moment, he noticed the bird that seemed to be hovering around Calrex.

"You know, I don't think you've ever introduced me to your familiar."

Spoiler

(( @Icarus ))

 

Edited August 5, 2016 by Baldur

[Icarus 0]

The eighth floor.  Icarus wasn't entirely sure that he belonged here.  It was only recently that he abandoned his position at the Church located on the first floor and started adventuring out in the world.  With the sudden deaths or disappearance of some of the highest ranking frontliners, it seemed like he had no choice.  Despite the close calls and the various mishaps that had happened along the way, he had met a few like minded players that he would consider friends.  Unfortunately, none of them were with him at the moment he phased into the foreign floor, leaving him feeling very much like a stranger in a strange land.  No matter - Icarus knew he had breach the walls of his comfort zone if he was going to stake his claim in the castle of Aincrad.

He was no more than a couple of steps off of the teleporter when he caught sight of a brilliant blue falcon swooping and swirling in the computer-generated sky above.  That momentary distraction was all it took for him to invade the conversation of two other players and nearly bowl them right over.  Just before he crashed into the well-armored man with similar blue hair, Icarus caught himself and jerked to a stop.  The look of surprise on his face that had manifested as a result of his quick, spontaneous actions, soon faded into a light smile that masked his apprehension.

"Guten morgen, gentlemen," he said, though the system within Sword Art Online quickly translated to "good morning" in each players respective language.  "I should pay more attention to where I'm walking, it seems."

His gaze swept from the blue-haired knight to the other man with longer, more naturally colored hair.  He immediately looked familiar to Icarus.

"Sorry for interrupting but you - I've seen you somewhere before.  It was - hmm."  Icarus hummed in thought and placed a single finger to his lips as he mulled over his memories.

"I've seen you with Lessa.  That's where it was!"

Icarus clapped his hands together when he remembered; his gauntlets clanged together upon impact.

"Forgive me.  Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Icarus."

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, fair point Baldur."

Calrex gave a calm smile as he heard the voice of one of his old companions, Baldur, as he interjected into the bluenette's personal uttering. Turning to face the samurai themed player he kept his hands in his jacket pockets, giving a nod, "I guess you could say that. I'm just exploring the floors for now. I initially did it fairly often, but with the frontlines pushing to get the upper ones unlocked I forgot to actually take in all of the work that went into creating these environments."

Before he could speak further he felt a bump on his side as he saw another blue-haired man apologizing. His eyes widened in surprise for a second, not because of the abrupt startle, but because he had yet to see another blue-haired player in quite some time. They were almost one in a hundred, with himself adding to that number. "Well, it's not like my hair is actually blue in the real world. Speaking of which...if things work out I should probably tell Teayre about that, or it might lead to some confusion."

"Good morning to you as well. It's not a problem at all, happens to everyone at some point or another, heh."

Looking over as the man recognized his companion the bluenette oriented himself so that the trio were facing each other, none of them with their backs to another, "Icarus was it? Pleasure to meet you. I'm Calrex."

Looking over at Baldur he addressed the man's previous question, "As to your inquiry Baldur, I believe you're right."

Seeing what was happening his familiar, Roc, descended from his overlooking position, perching on a railing next to the Ultramarine Knight, "This here is Roc. He's been my familiar companion for quite some time now. I found him on the second floor, and he was the second largest peregrine falcon of his flock. Course as you can tell he's got some pretty fierce eyes, and they lend aid to me when it comes to finding enemy weakpoints."

[Baldur 0]

Baldur smiled at his friend's falcon and was still looking up into the sky at it when they were almost bumped into. Baldur smiled and nodded at the man's hasty apology before he realized that the face seemed a little familiar, though he couldn't place where he had seen the man before or what his name was. Perhaps he had just seen him around, after all blue hair made someone pretty noticeable. The man also had a familiar baring to how he carried himself that made Baldur take notice, though he couldn't place what it was.

"Lessa?" Baldur tapped his chin, it had been awhile since their apparent mutual friend had showed herself.

"Yea, I know her well. Maybe at one of her social gatherings, but I don't think we've been formally introduced.

When the man introduced himself Baldur happily took his hand and shook it firmly.

"It is nice to meet you Icarus, I'm Baldur, just another of Lessa's wayward strays." His steel blue eyes laughed at his words, as if to say it was a friendly and kindly meant joke. Anyone who knew Lessa knew how big her heart was and how much she cared for everyone and especially sheltered the low level players and helped them get through the most dangerous time of any player's life.

"Any friend of Lessa's is a friend of mine. I don't know anyone who could vouch for character better than she could." His eyes quickly appraised the player. It was difficult to figure out a player's stature, level, and setup since appearances could be so wildly different. But this player seemed to have a full assortment of mostly custom looking gear, and he carried himself with an air of confidence which led Baldur to think he was probably getting towards the end of the T1 range, placing him in the 20s as far as levels go. The only reason he wouldn't have guessed higher was due to the fact that Baldur hadn't heard much about him, and the players who made it to the T2 range tended to be a much smaller group, and therefore much easier to keep track of.