[PP-F1] Shaded Flame

[Cyn 0]

Cyn sat there, gazing at the ground while listening to Itzal's words of wisdom. He did seem to know what he was talking about after all. He went on to explain all the different kinds of damage she should focus on, and also tell her his current situation. She simply nodded in agreement, but her expression turned curious when he mentioned a name she hadn't heard before. "DPS Paladin?" She asked, turning finally to stare at him straight with her crimson colored gaze. She was interested in knowing what exactly meant about that. If there was someone who he thought could help her out with this stuff, she would most certainly like to meet them. Based off the title this "Hikoru" person had, she either expected him to be apart of a guild, or possibly one of those NPC's who could give players advice on how to train with the specific build they were going for. Of course, either would be just as fine for Cyn. Assuming Itzal would be inclined to tell her after he mentioned it.

[Itzal 0]

When Cyn questioned the word paladin Itzal nodded.  "Yeah, right, sorry, you wouldn't have known.  Uh, it's something in the guild I'm in.  The council is made up of four paladins:  one for each build.  Hikoru is the dps paladin, I'm the scout paladin, Kasier is the healer paladin, and Jonathan is the tank paladin.  Below the paladins are sentinels, who are players skilled in their builds and who assist in the training process.  Apprentices are low level players who are still getting used to the swing of things.  Our guild's purpose is to help low level players get to a higher level, work through their build in the way they want and need, and finally help them reach the front lines if they wanted to.  Players don't have to stay with the guild though we do need more members."  He showed the crescent moon on the right shoulder of the purple trench coat he wore.  "Scouts are represented by a moon.  Tanks are black holes, healers are stars, and dps are comets.  The guild's called Celestial Ascendants."  He took another bite of his sandwich.  "Though, I kind of soloed for a while before I even had the idea of a guild."

@Cyn

Edited November 10, 2016 by Itzal

[Cyn 0]

Cyn just stared at Itzal as he began to dump her with names of players, ranks they held, the roles they played, and what other positions there were. She arched an eyebrow as her response, and thought silently to herself. It definitely sounded like a large, and organized guild to be sure. And its purpose sounded interesting to be sure. A guild soley focused on helping players like Cyn advance through the game. That's exactly what she needed! Not to mention he had just told her they needed more members.

At this, Cyn remained quiet for a minute. Soaking it all in, and becoming lost in thought. Before long, she finally turned over to Itzal, with the same serious expression.

"Have any openings?"

[Itzal 0]

Itzal was a bit surprised but a little pleased when the woman asked if there were openings.  He wondered if her serious features were complete truth or just a mask, but either way he knew she wanted to join the guild.  He shrugged.  "I mean I don't see why not.  We're always looking for new members and such.  However it's not just me who makes the decision.  I need to introduce you to the other paladins and if they don't think there's a problem then we can initiate you.  Since you want to be a dps you'd be initiated by Hikoru and trained by him as well.  Once you get to a certain level, and Hikoru deems you worthy, you'll be upgraded to sentinel, where you'll have more say and will be able to train your own apprentices if your willing to.  Actually, you could technically be trained by Beatbox now since he's a sentinel...  Hmm....."  Itzal thought for a moment.  His friend was very flashy and wanted to be a sort of popstar, the 'star of Aincrad' as he had put it.  This woman though he knew very little right now, was often so serious.  The two were opposites.  He considered whether the Beat should train her but then recalling the times he snapped at Itzal decided against it.

@Cyn

[Cyn 0]

Cyn stared at Itzal with the same face as he continued to explain the details. So far the rules of the guild seemed fair. And if the purpose of it was actually working, then she'd obviously want to be apart of it. Cyn wouldn't mind having to meet the other "Paladins" as Itzal mentioned, or have any issue being trained. After all, she needed all the help she could get. The sole reason as to why she asked about joining. Hopefully it was the right path. For many months, Cyn had been thinking about leaving the safe zones and trying her luck. She wanted to help in the fight to get out of this death game, but the entire time she had no idea how she'd do it. And then comes along the perfect opportunity to escape from the first floor. An opportunity to actually contribute to the people fighting for freedom...

With a small smile, she stood up. "I don't care if I have to meet people. I'll do anything you need me too, if it means I can actually have a shot at helping the fight."

[Itzal 0]

At her words he smiled and nodded.  "Well I definitely hope and think that we can help you with that.  Alright then, I can message them all and when we set up a day then I can send you a message.  Sound good?"  It seemed Cyn either liked to have a serious face, or it was hard for her to smile due to history and other reasons.  Either way he hoped that one day she'd share with him what was making her so down.  For now however he would not pry.  He took another bite of his sandwich, almost finished by this point.  "So, if you're desperate to fight so much am I right to guess you want to reach the front lines?  I was in the boss meeting myself but I don't think I'm ready just yet to enter the boss battle.  Still it was good to hear how things were discussed."  If she wanted to join the front lines, he was sure the front liners would be happy to hear, though he knew they were hoping for tanks.

@Cyn

OOC- Sorry for the wait

[Cyn 0]

"Well then, I look forward to getting your message." She responded, before opening up her menu. With a few quick taps, a notification would appear on Itzal's menu. It was a friend request from Cyn. She wasn't sure if he would accept it, but then again, Cyn assumed the only way people could receive or send messages was if they had the person on their friend's list. Then Itzal would ask Cyn a question. Raising an eyebrow at it, she would respond her her flat tone. "That's the goal, yes. Granted it may take a while, but I'm hoping to be faster then the floors they clear." She said, obviously referring to the fact she wanted to get a good level before the floors became too difficult for her. Of course, if they were cleared fast, that would be a good thing. Except Cyn would still be forced to grind until her strength matched the speed of the cleared floor's.

[Itzal 0]

He nodded when she mentioned looking forward to the message and smiled.  "Hopefully it won't be too long!"  When she responded in a flat tone he switched to a more sheepishly embarrassed face.  "S-sorry, desperate was too strong of a word...  Anyways, yeah they're working hard but the boss raids are a bit slow right now.  The most recent bosses have been pretty rough and this one is a huge stone like monster, so we're assuming it has lots of MIT, immune to most or all status effects, and while we're guessing it's very slow we're also guessing that it deals very strong AoE attacks, which is bad for me since I've got little to no MIT whatsoever.  Since I'm a glass cannon and not a level I'd like to be, I might be sitting out of this boss raid.  Maybe the next one."  He hoped he would be able to join the next one at least.

@Cyn

[Cyn 0]

Itzal would explain to Cyn the details about the boss raid he had attended, but wasn't sure if he was going to participate in the next battle or not. He'd go on to lay out all the details about the boss itself, and it indeed sounded like it'd be a tough one. Cyn simply looked him over a second, her eyes scanning his body and gear before responding. "Right. Well, if there is any chance you may get killed, it'd be smart not to take it. Better safe then sorry, right?" She'd tell him. Even though she was a low level, Cyn wasn't that ignorant about the game. If anyone felt they couldn't handle something, it was probably a smarter option to no engage. After all, this wasn't a game anymore. There was no 2nd, or 3rd chance. One strike, and you're out. 

"Hopefully we can fight side by side there though. One day in the future." She'd say truthfully. She wouldn't want him dying after all.

[Itzal 0]

She seemed to be soaking in everything he told her, eager for knowledge it seemed.  Kind of like himself he thought.  It was rather interesting, to talk with someone who rarely spoke, and yet wanted you to keep speaking.  When she replied he nodded.  "Oh don't worry, I refuse to take a risk if I can help it.  Not only do I have people that I need to see again but so does everyone else.  I can't help them if I'd dead."  Then he heard her say that they might fight together on the front lines.  He turned to her, hearing the honesty in her words.  "Yes, we'll see each other most definitely."  He smiled confidently to her before taking another bite of his sandwich.  Despite her hard appearance he could tell she would be a good friend.  He hoped that he didn't mess up the next few steps to befriending her.  Hopefully it would end well.  No, it would end well.  He hadn't met anyone he couldn't befriend yet.  He even was working on befriending Teayre for crying out loud.

@Cyn

Edited January 2, 2017 by Itzal

[Cyn 0]

Cyn simply processed what he had said. She was glad he shared similar feelings as she did. Otherwise he may not have lasted as long as he did. She wasn't sure anyone would if they didn't have a careful mind about these things. Cyn could guess most people would feel similar. They'd have too. Or at least she would hope so. The last thing Cyn wanted to worry about if she managed to get to the frontlines was having to worry about other people's stupid mistakes. In her opinion, this game didn't have heroes... No one should have to sacrifice themselves to defeat a mob. Not unless other people's lives were on the line. But she couldn't stomach needless battle when you'd gain no benefit from it.

"That's a good way to go. Needless fighting can often get people killed. Risky battles are even worse." She said, before taking a bite of the sandwich. "Can I ask you something?" She said. The question sounding more like a statement then an actual inquiry. "Does it get easier?" She looked down at her blade. "Fighting I mean... Does it eventually feel like a normal part of your life? Or do you always feel out of place holding a weapon... Despite the amount of time you've held it for..."

[Itzal 0]

Itzal listened to her words and nodded.  That was exactly what he had thought during the meeting.  He didn't like that leader of the knights of the blood oath, telling everyone they needed to rush to keep morale up.  Morale was a very important factor, yes, but so was caution.  It didn't help anyone if players died along the way.  Then she asked if she could ask him something though it sounded like she was telling him to listen to her question.  He turned to her.  "Sure, anything."  Upon hearing her question however he stopped and sat there to think for a moment.  Does it get easier?...  The only way he could answer really, was by sharing a little of his life.  Not seeing any other way he decided to share.  "I have to honestly say that's a hard question.  I suppose it depends on what emotion your wielding alongside your blade.  Growing up I was locked up in my bedroom, locked myself in to clarify, and played video games all my life.  I was both excited to try wielding one, as well as experienced in how they worked, I just had to adjust my body.  Mentally it was a different matter.  While it was exciting for me to fight with a physical weapon, I had bitterness, hatred even, for red players.  Over time however I learned that not only are there red players who didn't deserve the red crystal, or have a shot at redemption, but if I killed a red player it would have only made things worse.  Over time I stopped fueling my blade with hatred and instead started fighting for love:  To protect others, to return to my sister.  Things like that.  So I guess what I'm trying to say is, depending on why you fight will determine if it becomes easier or not."

@Cyn

[Cyn 0]

Cyn would sit, staring ahead as Itzal told her his answer. He was right, or at least that's what she was thinking. That's at least how she thought about it anyways.
 It all depended on what you were fighting for. Cyn's reasons were just the same as anyone else though. She had a family, and she wanted to see them again. But perhaps there was something else. She wasn't even supposed to be in SAO for the first place. No it wasn't her place. This whole experience wasn't meant for Cyn. It had someone else's name on it. And she was stuck here because curiosity killed the cat. But she'll be damned if satisfaction didn't bring her back.

"Thanks." She said. Not saying another word, or stating why she asked in the first place. She was just glad to know that it did. Hopefully her Kendo training would change the feeling of holding this weapon in her hands.

[Itzal 0]

When she answered very bluntly and straight to the point he blinked.  From how she'd been acting thus far it didn't surprise him this time, but it was clear she had a lot on her mind and heart and thus he understood, and hoped things would turn out better for her.  He smiled and nodded to her.  "Anytime Cyn."  He liked the woman.  She sought out any information she needed or could use and reached for it without hesitation.  Not only that but while she seemed a bit cold on the outside he believed she was a wonderful and very nice woman.  In fact she reminded him a bit of Kasier.  He turned to her again.  "So what do you want to do now?  We could hunt a few more monsters, chat a bit, or meet up at a later time if you'd like.  I'm always available if you need me Cyn.  Anytime."  Make friends.  Help them in any way he could.  And build relationships with them.  That was his wish and goal in this game, higher even than the goal of escape.  Because if they didn't make it, if they didn't get out of this game.  He wanted no regrets.  He wanted a full life.

@Cyn