(OP-NK-F4) The Frost Bites

[Seul 1]

Of course it was kind of silly to think that treasure would just be lying around in the open like this. The game world was much smarter than that. Or maybe it wasn’t and some other, luckier person had managed to swipe it long before Seul got there. Either way, he thought even bothering to look would be a pointless act.

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he looked over at the snowman he had constructed. What was he even doing? There was a time not too long ago when he never had to worry about such things. Fighting, leveling up,  equipment, and treasure. All of those were foreign concepts until he was forced into living in Aincrad. Some days he regretted putting on the NerveGear on that fateful day, but at least on days like these was able to relax and not worry about anything out of the ordinary.

Edited December 19, 2016 by Seul

[Corvo 0]

God knows, Corvo wasn't a paragon among socialites. What drew him toward this crowd was less a desire to interact and more a vague, if morbid interest in what people trapped inside video games came together to talk about. As anticipated, they maintained hold of his attention span for the time it took to spin his pipe twice and lift it to his lips.

When his eyes slipped shut, the deviant youth took a seat amid the snow drifts and folded his arms, body language that spoke to the tune of "screw off."

Despite his frankly unkind demeanor, Corvo listened as different things happened all around him. Snowball fighting kids more prominently than anything else. "Feels like Michigan," he spat in monotonal disgust. "I hate Michigan."

The smoke cleared his head as he let it out all at once, a practiced release that almost felt like he was exhaling every care in the world. "Wonder how the fam's doing," he pondered absently. He thought of them fondly, and often. 

Of course, never around people he didn't know. There was Corvo, and there was the man behind the mask. The two were separate. They had to stay that way.

This world couldn't have the real him. It didn't deserve him. He wouldn't give it the satisfaction.

When a stray snowball struck him upside the head, Corvo's eyes snapped open. "Okay," he hissed. "Who's the wise ass what's about to get strung like a fiddle?"

[Lessa 1]

Frostbite Lake looked a bit like a postcard. A deep, endless blue sky was broken by only a few thin, wispy clouds; they floated lazily on the chilly breeze. Had the air been warmer, and the lake thawed, Lessa imaged that those same clouds might have been reflected in the crystal-clear water. However, the thick sheet of ice distorted the picture, and even the looming mountains appeared only blurry shapes in the water. Of course, the lake held its own beauty, without any help from the sky or the earth. A dusting of recently-fallen snow shimmered like diamonds beneath the mid-afternoon sun; the entire lake seemed to shimmer. It was certainly picturesque, and the woman never grew tired of looking at it. She also appreciated the tranquility, and the serene silence that came with the fourth floor's hidden treasure.

Or, at least, that normally came with it. The player's invitation had brought hoards of wide-eyed, snow-booted individuals. She stood a short distance off, content to perch on the shore of the ice-capped lake, but it was impossible to escape the noise. Their excited squeals carried across the vast space, echoing between the mountains. A small, tight-lipped smile of dry humor appeared as she envisioned the beginning of a great avalanche, racing down the mountain's steep face, falling trees like bowling pins. The blonde hardly wished for anyone to be injured, but her more curious side wondered if such a thing were possible in this virtual reality.

A shout startled her from her daydream, and instinctively, she flinched away from the noise. It was fortunate for her that she did so, as a sudden snowball arched just past her. She watched, transfixed, as it lodged itself in the side of a nearby player's head. Lessa rounded on the source of the stray ball, a boy no older than twelve, who gave her a wide-eyed look of panic before scampering off.

The scene was so ridiculous that she stifled an amused snort as she turned back to the unsuspecting victim. Of course, when he also turned, snarling his disapproval, she was the one in his line of sight. Recognizing the situation she found herself in, Lessa held up her hands innocently. "Don't look at me," she drawled, before giving a small shrug. "Maybe it was a glitch or something."

@Corvo

Edited November 21, 2016 by Lessa

[Opal 0]

Opal was struck sometimes by the Crimson Maiden, even ventured a kiss on her cheek. The hell was that all about? Opal stood there without a movement or twitch of her muscle. She was hit with a stunning sword art, that was pretty much how this would go down. If you can take away their evasion, player's were pretty easy to hit. But it seemed @Morgenstern had slipped a little, or perhaps he was too nervous to strike her. Opal's eyes twitched momentarily, "You give a player killer from an infamous guild like Laughing Coffin, sympathy? When you are in a duel, you go all out or you face the consequences of that actions. This game is life and death, even in a friendly duel moods can swing, and tempers could rise. You are a fool to allow needless honor to cloud your judgement. If you do not strike your opponent when the opportunity is in sight, then they will come after you with everything they got! Don't be such an idealist!" 

Opal still suffered from Teayre's stun, until it would be her turn in the rotation. Till then, Opal kept her eyes on Morgenstern. He needed to learn that people were not like him, some people had no hearts, had no sympathy and they would fight dirty if it meant survival. She shot @Teayre a glance, she knew above all else what it meant to fight as hard to protect yourself and how hard to fight to kill someone. @Bhairyuu, although a novice had a bit more bronze and struck Opal in her shoulder. She gifted him with a smile even though a slither, if not less, trickled off her HP bar. 

[Morgenstern 1]

O.o an @Lessa 

Jonathan stood as the Bhairyuu attacked, successfully attacked the woman and he smiled. His smile quickly faded as he hear the woman that he had not struck. She began to scold him for giving a player sympathy. Jonathan opened his eyes, his eyes dark as he looked at her but shut it quickly. The woman was indeed right. He had been a fool to allow another player the upper advantage and not taken the one literally right in front of his face. The man sighed and looked off, seeing as a few players had begun to gther, and just had not joined there little games. Jonathan sighed and looked @Opal. I understand where you are coming from ma'am. I should not have given you the upperhand. Anyway, you scorn me for not attacking, but that is not my job. My job is too take damage. As long as I can keep players like you from getting hit, then I do not even have to touch the boss. From there Jonathan turned, walking off. H had hoped he did not sound too rude, espically since he wanted frontliner friends, not overpowered enemies. Espically since one was orange, and the other one used or is a Laughing Coffin member. He began to walk towards a man and a woman. The man from this distance appeared to be irritated. As he grew closer, he began to get a better view of the two. One seemed to be rather low leveled, and the other.... Dead Familiar. As he neared, his brows furrowed and he pointed at the girl ( @Lessa)  You. I know you. You... You were that woman that Nathan and I encountered right after we met. It was in a tavern. Jonathan did not know what to say. He knew he knew the women from SOMEWHERE. He had not seen Nathan in forever, but they had definitely met this woman. She was quite high leveled at the time. Well at least compared to him. She played high and mighty and warned them to not engage in combat. 

[Typhoon 0]

The small bluenette walked forward on the fourth floor. He liked it here. He knew that snow and ice were frozen water. Water was blue, and his mother liked that. He sighed, letting out a pleading look as he had a faint memory of what was lost to him. He wore his blue jacket and scarf, trying to keep from getting cold. He kicked some snow, when he heard the crunching of snow from something else. The boy began to look around, finding the glimpse of two other players, both green. One was a blond and a red head. They both appeared to be seperate, as they did not even converse with one another, and the red head was much farther down the hill. I really do not want to these people not to like me, but It should be Fun! His bright blue eyes glanced around and he sank his hands into the soft cold snow. He began to form it into a ball, compacting it as much as he could. He looked back down the hill, looking at the blond. He began to aim for her, she was much closer any way. He focused and chucked it, the snowball glided through the air. Sadly for him, it glided past the @Lessa and sailed right into the red head. He heard some cursing and watched as the blond looked up his way. He stared at her, his face going wide eyed as his snowball had hit @Corvo. "Probably bad..." He muttered to himself. The boy scampered out of sight and then around, remaining hidden and being able to look at the other players. Oops....
 

Typhoon in hiding.   LD of 10 to find... 

[Corvo 0]

The kid was lucky, this time.

Corvo snapped his head around and managed to completely miss seeing the would-be assailant. That was probably for the best. The Assassin had a glowering expression that spelled violence for pretty much anyone who pissed him off. That wasn't hard to pull off.

When his eyes fell on Lessa, his mood lightened just a bit. The cute blonde from before. He had hit on her and she hadn't seemed totally averse to him. That at least made her fun to talk to, if not interesting enough to drag to an inn and pretend to have meaningful conversations with her.

No, Corvo liked to keep it real. He wasn't gonna pretend to be in love with anyone. That didn't mean he wouldn't have some fun.

"Well, well, Blondie," he greeted, his grip on the dagger going lax. It slipped calmly back into its sheath and his cloak fell over it. "Must be fate, runnin' into you like this. What say you 'n me disable our ethics protocols and paint the town white."

He smirked. "Or we could just grab a beer, and see what else the night has to offer?"

It was about that time when another guy came out of seemingly nowhere- well, not nowhere; but lets be honest, Corvo wasn't paying any attention to him before that moment- and spoke to @Lessa. Corvo shot the man a dirty look, but didn't interrupt their heartwarming reunion. 

"Encountered eh? In a tavern? Two guys at once?" He winked over toward @Morgenstern and then looked back to Lessa. "Hell, I'm not opposed. Let's spice things up a bit."

ID# 71147 results:

 Battle: 6

 Craft: 1

 Loot: 6 (Failed to find the kid.)

 MOB: 8

Edited November 22, 2016 by Corvo

[Lessa 1]

When the blonde approached, Lessa's blue eyes narrowed as she tried desperately to place the man. His face rung no bells, or even so much as sparked a flicker of recognition. Even after he had explained himself, the woman could only offer a small shrug and an apologetic smile. "Sorry," she told him, "but I don't really remember."

All the while, her attention had flickered between the newcomer and the victim of the unfortunate snow-balling incident. She preferred not to be rude, and so she did not shrug the stranger off, though her first instinct might have been to do so. But she was still curious as to how the man with the hair like fire would respond to her comment, and the situation as a whole. His body was initially cold, and rigid, and she supposed his reaction to her quip would be much the same.

But he surprised her. He seemed to relax a bit, some of the tension draining from his expression, and the hand that clutched his dagger. Nothing was lost on the observant Lessa, who had grown even more aware during her time in the game; missing even a seemingly insignificant detail could result in disaster. Besides, she had inherited her father's love of people watching, and that was one thing that Aincrad had not changed.

Though it had been weeks since their first meeting, the player's mannerisms left little question as to who he was. It was difficult to forget a man who appeared to have so little concern for how he was received. Throwing caution to the wind might be the understatement of the century. Her hands moved to her hips, and she gave him a quick look-over. Oh, I remember you.

"Two guys at once?" she echoed, cocking an eyebrow in Corvo's direction. Then, flashing a goodnatured smile toward the blonde stranger, she added, "that, I would definitely remember. Believe me." She placed added emphasis on the last bit, more for Corvo's benefit. Then, so not to frighten the other man off entirely, she extended a gloved hand. "My name is Lessa, in case I didn't introduce myself back when we first met."

With a nod toward Corvo, she continued. "And this charmer here isn't with me, for the record. Might be, though, if he could offer me something better than beer. I never had much of a taste for it."

@Corvo@Morgenstern

Edited November 23, 2016 by Lessa

[Morgenstern 1]

Jonathan stood with a half stare- half smile. He heard the man mutter a few things, like two guys at once in a tavern? He did not pay two much attention to it, as he knew that would satisfy him a bit too much. He returned his attention to the woman.The woman seemed confused, at first, but then muttered something. Perhaps she remembered him now, but he was not sure. It really does not matter though. That past is behind us. She echoed th other man's words and said that she believed that she would remember that. Jonathan stifled a laugh and remained focused on the woman. She introduced herself as Lessa. Jonathan smiled. Call me Jonathan. I don't really like to be called by my last name. He looked up, believing he seen a small movement, but he ignored it as well. Well... I guess enjoy yourself. You two... ah... have fun. He turned away. He did not really enjoy drinking. He had once with Domarus, but he hated the after effect. He turned back walking back to his original group. As he arrive he smiled and looked @Teayre and @Opal. I am going to take a hint, that you two are frontliners? You are quite strong and seem to know what you are doing.  Jonathan took a quick breath and then continued. What erhaps is the boss fight like. I plan to join this boss fight or the next one....

[Typhoon 0]

Typhoon crept out of his hiding area with a mischievous smile. It had appeared they did not care or did not find him. He snickered and looked back oer the hill and theen the players talking again, this time another blond male was with them, pointing at the girl. He smiled and looked around, seeing a forzen over tree. He moved o it quickly and peeled a rather large piece of bark from it. He poked it for a few seconds, determining it was solid and sturdy as it was frozen over. He placed it down and formed a few snowballs. He jumped onto the bark, snowballs in hand, and began to sled down the hill. As he sled down he let a loud and exciting "WEEEEEEEEE!" The boy laughed and threw a snowball, hitting the blond girl ( @Lessa ) in the back of the head. He snickered and flew past the group at the bottom of the ill. As he went down, he managed to hit the blond boy ( @Morgenstern ) in the back, hit the red head ( @Teayre ) in the leg, and miss the white haired girl ( @Opal ) by a few inches. He finally came to a stop a hundred feet or so past the final group that he snowballed. He smiled and began to run away, laughing crazily. 

[Teayre 0]

“Frontliners…” The red head muttered, “In short we are, although…” She gave a side long glance at Opal, “We have our differences.” Swallowing Teayre was about to continue talking when she felt and heard a soft thud on the back of her head. Turning her eyes narrowed, as if she was embodying death itself. Her left foot went forwards as she crouched. “NO!” The red head yells. Falling to a knee, her blade clattering to the floor. Repeatedly she punched the floor of Aincrad, her health bar beginning to slowly creep down. “DON’T!” Teayre’s voice carried through the clearing. She looked at Opal, her eyes streaming. “Please… Finish it…” She implored the woman, although she knew that it wouldn’t happen. “You are right Opal I am a coward.” She let her words hang in the air. As her eyes flicked around to the attention she had obviously drawn herself. “Callie... Kun… I’m sorry.”

@Morgenstern @Opal

[Corvo 0]

"Beer, wine, whiskey, whatever," Corvo took a swaying step toward @Lessa and spun on his heel, draping an arm across her shoulders and sagging so that his weight pulled her closer to him. "Whatever wets your whistle, ma'am." The scarlet scandal licked his lips and threw the girl a quick wink; if she pushed him off, there would be no hard feelings. It was just amusing to see what sort of reactions he could get from people.

The man's quick hesitation and willingness to back down from the conversation echoed with supreme modesty, and in some echelons of society, that was a marketable trait. In Sword Art Online, it only got you so far.

Willingness to do dirty kept Corvo's pockets full, among other appetites. The Assassin ran a hand down his leg and stopped over his blade. "D'ya like weapons?" he asked Lessa in a raspy voice. "I really like a good blade, myself. Feels amazing when you thrust one good and deep."

He gripped the hilt of his weapon and lifted it to where she could examine it, close to their now perilously close faces. "How about it?" he crooned. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

The others were all but forgotten for a moment as he smirked and eyed her, then slipped his weapon quietly away. "But really, a drink sounds good."

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had sat back and watched the events go by, but one thing didn't really stick out to be... etiquette... he smelled a rat. Turns out he found a man named Corvo disrespect Lessa in a way in which he wanted something from her. Beatbox didn't like where he was going, he walked up behind the player and tapped his shoulder "Hey man, you should back off and learn to respect others and their personal space." he pulled out his blade "or I'll show you a good blade that'll hit you deep." he looked at him with an angered look and waited, because it was his turn next to reply. He looked over to see that Opal and Teayre had gotten into a fight... as usual, but he was too busy with this weasel to really do anything about it. He just wishes that Teayre will be fine, after all... she did help Beatbox start off as a player. 

 

@Corvo - Free Drama ;)

[Bhairyuu 0]

Bhairyuu had expected the duel to continue with @Morgenstern making his move next, followed by @Opal, but to his surprise...and great confusion that was not what had happened. Instead, a group of new faces came into the mix and started interacting, so not knowing how to respond, Bhairyuu simply chose to observe the goings on all around him for a good long while. After that, he turned to @Opal and tried to speak over the roar of the crowd so she could hear him

"Uh, so...about that duel...I am guessing we'll be post-poning it till a later date? It seems a little too hectic right now to continue, and I can see that I won't be able to inflict much damage on you anyways...so what do you say, Opal?"

He fell silent as he waited for her response and while he waited, he kept his eye on all the new players who had joined them and was wary of them since pretty much all of them looked to be stronger than he was by several leagues, at least. He also tried to dodge some stray <<Snow Balls>> that were hurtling through the air at some of the other people present since he really did not fancy getting any colder than he already was thanks to the snowball fight he took part in earlier.

[Khrysaor 0]

Khrysaor had been behind one of the trees holding up a snowball, and no one had seemed to notice him. When he was about to make his appearance known to the group of other snowballers, he looked and observed the interactions and saw @Bhairyuu getting into a fighting stance and unsheathing his sword while two more did the same. He thought, 'What the hell are they doing? We should be in the safe zone so no one should be able to die. Well it's looks like I have nothing better to do, why don't I observe everyones fighting styles and learn try to learn a bit about the characteristics of the fighter.'

So, Khrysaor sat on a mound of snow, and took out some warm hot chocolate from his drink inventory and took small sips, while watching the amusing seen of Bhairyuu trying to take down someone who was way out of his league. Even Khrysaor knew at his level, he would not be able to take on someone of that level that his buddy Ryuu was having a go at.

After, a few showdowns, other players started to show up on the scene and the fight between the two males against the female warrior slowed down, and Khrysaor decided to call out to them and said with a amused smile, "Come on get back to show, I want to see some more bloodshed people." While, he took a few more sips of the throat soothing drink.

[Lessa 1]

Lessa gave a less-than-ladylike snort at the situation she found herself. Recognizing that it might appear rude to her knight in shining armor, she reached out and clapped his shoulder; the action was clumsy, as Corvo still clung to her in a strangely leech-like manner. The visual such a concept conjured made the scene infinitely more comical. "I appreciate it, Beatbox," she assured him, fighting to stifle a laugh, "but I don't need any help. I can handle myself." Her blue eyes flashed wickedly as she shifted her attention from the warm blonde to the fiery redhead. 

"He has a thing for blades," she continued, still speaking to Beatbox, but clearly doing so for Corvo's benefit. Without warning, she dropped her inner shoulder, and ducked under his arm. It was a motion that had been perfected during her youth; older brothers have a particular fondness for putting their younger sisters in headlocks. Before she had danced more than a few steps away, her HUD was open, and her fingers were nimbly combing through her inventory. As she worked, her face twisted in feigned disappointment. "What he doesn't know," she informed Beatbox, "is that his is one of the smallest I've seen."

Then, with a final flourish of bells, and a fiendish grin, she equipped the Demonic Sword Gram. As it materialized in her hands, she felt its weight pull her forward slightly, and she bent her knees to settle in. Though the weapon now fit her like a glove, it was still unusually large, and such a thing had to be accounted for. She clutched the vibrant magenta hilt, and held it at her waist, the tip pointing at Corvo. She gave it a gentle shake, and said, "mine's bigger."

@Beatbox@Corvo

Edited December 7, 2016 by Lessa

[Corvo 0]

"Oh holy hell, I've gone and fallen in love." Corvo reached down and adjusted his pants as Lessa danced out and away from him to conjure a massive blade. The weapon was certainly less finesse oriented than his, and infinitely heavier, but this was a man with a true appreciation for all edged weaponry. "Put it in me, mon chéri," he cackled.

He sighed after a moment and turned his gaze to Beatbox, his expression unreadable. "You sure you wanna dance, pretty boy?" he asked with a lilting tone to his voice. "I can fit you in with the pretty blonde, and we can take turns stabbin' each other. Yer a little girlier than my usual type, but-"

Corvo made like he was spitting in his hand, then clapped and rubbed both his hands together. "-I won't discriminate. I hate everyone equally."

He redirected his attention to Lessa, grinned, and winked.

@Lessa @Beatbox

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox face palmed as Corvo had explained that he had fallen in love... with a blade? He couldn't believe what had been going on at the current moment, that or he had suddenly gone full numb with this situation. He took offense when he had exclaimed that Beatbox was a little girlier than his usual type, he grew angered and said "What!? Oh, I swear to god when I'm done stabbin' you, you wouldn't DARE mess with me again." he said while opening his hud and offering Corvo to a duel, it was half loss because he doesn't want to kill, he just want's to shut this guy up and teach him a thing or two about respect. Typically, he doesn't like to fight other people... but in this case, he just wanted to teach him something. Beatbox's eyes shifted to Lessa, and thought to himself "Is she really enjoying this sort of disrespect?" he sighed and waited for Corvo to make his move.

[Aereth 1]

Getting tired of standing alone in the snow, Aereth sighed and made his way over to the "party". He had the drinks and the food after all.

He immediately saw his friend Jonathan as well as Beatbox, Lessa and Corvo. First he went to Jonathan and greeted him. @Morgenstern "Hey my friend, how have you been? And by the way, I brought some food and drinks, so now the party can start." He then turned to @Beatbox and @Lessa "Also greetings to you two. And I hope everything's fine with you as well." He sent them a wave with right hand. Sighing he then turned to the last person he knew here. @Corvo "I hope you didn't mess around with them too much buddy." Aereth knew Corvo from an encounter in the past, and he knew how annoying he could be at times, so he hoped to be able to keep him in check while he was here.

[Birdie 0]

Ava glared towards her bird who floated high in the air, circling above a small school of trees. "We came to this floor to get you some food! Didn't you wanna come here?" Despite her shouts and taunts, promises of punishment and even an attempt to bribe with treats, nothing could sway the phoenix's decision to give up the rebellious display, and the bluenette gave a half-defeated sigh.

Glancing around the area, she wondered what the gathering of people was about- a group had formed in the distance, though she had little intention of getting involved. She could point out a few familiar faces: Beatbox, Aereth and Morgenstern from the guild, and Lessa all looked to be talking between themselves. 'Maybe I missed an announcement?'

However, as her eyes fell upon a peculiar red-headed player, a sinking feeling ruptured her gut. There was no mistaking it. 'Oh god, it's him..'

Amidst her visual eavesdropping, a familiar caw sounded from near her left shoulder- Glacia's tantrum had drawn to an end, and the bird landed graciously on Ava's shoulder. "You love getting on my nerves, don't you?" She couldn't stay mad. Instead of scolding, the woman smiled and sigh lightheartedly.

Ava brought a hand upwards and groomed the phoenix's neck, turning on the spot in order to look for an exit path. 'This can't be good news if Corvo's here.. or maybe he's just trying to entertain himself?' She didn't think on it for long - one foot in front of the other, she fled the scene and returned to town.

[Birdie has the left the thread]