[PP-F3] Never Miss a Beat <<Worn Out Welcome>> (Completed)

[Birdie 0]

Humming softly, a woman dressed in basic clothing sat idly on a park bench, set beside an elderly oak tree. Legs swinging to and fro, she gazed curiously into the sun kissed sky, her mind left adrift to wonder as she patiently awaited a friend's arrival. Today would be like any other, an itch for adventure slowly eating away at the back of Birdie's mind until she found herself up on her feet, making way for the closest object of excitement.

She'd called upon a certain star's assistance the day prior, asking for help with a quest long overdue, and whose rewards would hardly be worth the effort  Accepting it more so for the skill points than anything, she thought to tackle it with a spot of company to make the endeavour somewhat enjoyable - and as luck would have it, Beatbox hadn't completed the quest either. Organising to meet up with him beside Delilah Village's teleport gate, her eyes briefly deviated towards the platform every now and then, each time hoping the blonde would pop through.

Rather than the rapier's sheath hanging from her hip, a heavy two-handed straight sword bearing the mark of an eagle upon its guard took point upon her back. The lucky necklace she so dearly clung to hung from her neck, accompanied by the faint glow of an accuracy ring that fit snug around her index finger. Bringing a hand to the pendant, she fiddled with the jewellery and let a silent sigh escape. "Why am I always so early?"

@Beatbox

Edited December 6, 2016 by Birdie

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox yawned, he had just woken up from a nap. He got extremely worried when he had received a message from Birdie to help her out on a quest, "Oh shoot shoot shoot!" he thought to himself when he had quickly opened the message and read it, worried about how long ago this message was. He was relieved that this message was not too long ago and he quickly made his way to her location. "Come on Ocarina... we got little time!" he said as he grabbed his fox and placed him on his shoulder as he dashed out to make sure he's not too too late. He strangely hadn't gotten to do this quest so he happily accepted to help Birdie out on this quest just to get EZ SP. SP was an honest struggle, he needed more and more of it to increase his skill ranks upward. He eventually had made it to where Birdie was and placed his hands on his knees breathing "Sorry... that I... am so late...". from his back his new sword could be seen... "Sharpened Stardom", his new prized possession.

 

@Birdie

[Birdie 0]

The humming came to an abrupt stop as a frantic set of footsteps approached from behind. Birdie twisted around in her seat to see who the noise belogned, releasing a relieved sigh as she laid eyes upon Beatbox.

"It's all right," she waved a hand to dismiss his worries, picking herself up from the bench right away. "It's been too long! How have you been? Explored the new floor yet?" As she faced him, her cyan eyes fell on the flashy weapon holstered behind his back, immediately entranced by its electrifying aesthetic. "Ooh.. new sword too, huh?"

Birdie smiled to the small fox perched upon Beat's shoulder, faintly recalling the animal from the time she completed <<Search for the Hoya>>. "So! You all set for this quest? If we see any mobs along the way, I'm gonna test out this new weapon skill- see if I can't rack up a bunch of materials for that event on the 18th floor."

@Beatbox

Edited November 13, 2016 by Birdie

[Beatbox 0]

"Good... good... I was worried that I accidentally came late..." he said to her with a smile as he looked up breathing. He quickly got his breath back and stood back up and said with a giggle "Oh I have been good. I have been getting up there in levels. Got to rank 2, and level 32 right now at the moment..." he said trying not to brag. He took a deep breath and noticed that she was looking at his new weapon, he giggled and unsheathed it and showed it to Birdie "this is my new prized possession, Sharpened Stardom" he gave her a wink and put it back into its sheath. He listened to her and gave her a determined smile and said "this quest is too easy Birdie, I could literally solo the boss without using my sword and just my bare fists..." he giggled "You got a new weapon skill? Or did you just increase the one you are using?" he asked with a questioned look. "I couldn't see you with any other weapon but a rapier!" he said with a laugh as he placed his hand behind his head.

@Birdie - Sorry! Had something to do.

[Birdie 0]

Birdie's smiled shifted, her eyebrows raising as Beatbox's words impressed. "You're getting pretty strong! I'll catch up to you soon enough," the woman spoke with a smirk, relaxing her arms to the side of her hips. She faintly recalled a conversation with him about the Frontlines- had they talked about that before? The memory may well have been false but the point behind it was still true; no matter which way one looked at it, Beat seemed ready to fight the good fight.

The woman smiled as Beat referred to her new weapon and she proudly held onto the colossal blade's hilt. "Bingo the first time! I'm still a primary Rapier user, I needed something with a little bit of AOE damage so I thought picking up a two-handed skill would be worth a try." Her eyes moved to the weapon's eagle guard, and as she went to lift it up a little, her arms visibly tensed up from the stress of trying. She huffed, "It'll take a while to get used to it, I can hardly lift the damn thing."

Legs turning to face north, she glanced to Beat and turned her palm to the sky, holding her arm loosely towards the direction of the quest giver. "C'mon, let's go!" And with that, Birdie's feet began to carry her along the path, advancing onwards. "So, are you gonna try and join the Frontlines soon?"

Edited November 14, 2016 by Birdie

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox giggled and looked at her "I'm not that strong, I haven't even finished my One Handed Straight Sword Skill yet... even though I am really close to doing it though." he laughed as he placed his hand behind his head with a wide smile. He had saw the new weapon that she had been attempting to use and he giggled "Oh, a two handed weapon I see... those are always a tad bit better due to the extra damage that you are given. However my secondary weapon of choice that is a technical two handed weapon is..." he said as he scrolled through his inventory and brought out a pair of gauntlets "Martial Arts! the quest to get the skill wasn't too bad, I heard a lot of bad things from that quest, but it wasn't too bad for me... probably because of my dangerous cute fox Ocarina..." he said with a cute voice as he snuggled his head against his familiars. He nodded his head and followed Birdie towards the location and looked over with a smile "The Frontlines? Yeah, I'll be more than likely participating in the next boss raid. I was a part of the boss meeting not too long ago in fact."

@Birdie

[Birdie 0]

She glanced over to Beatbox, and then to the small animal sitting on his shoulder. "Martial arts? Don't you have to like... beat up a huge boulder to complete that? Ocarina's one scary little fox!" Laughing to show she hadn't meant the comment in any ill-mannered way, she had to wonder how strong the familiar was.

Old style houses and buildings passed as they ventured on down to the Blacksmiths, housing two NPCs with an interesting proposition for all adventurers. She'd skipped the details but understood roughly what they were to do as players; seek out a boss in the Forest of Wavering Mists, slay it and harvest its rare material, and have it returned to the couple to collect the rewards. Not that she had any need for an uncommon piece of armour, having recently received an outfit as a gift from Aincrad's star himself.

"No way, you're heading into the next labyrinth already?!" she spurred in an envious tone. "Talk about getting things done! Good luck when it comes to it! B-but, um.. are you sure you have enough HP to survive up there?" A dire question which probably shouldn't be asked, but it slipped from her lips nonetheless. "I've only heard reports and rumours and such, but apparently the bosses hit pretty hard.. and the Frontlines are lacking tanks, aren't they?"

Edited November 14, 2016 by Birdie

[Beatbox 0]

He looked back with a giggle "Yeah, you had to beat up a boulder that has been infamously been known to take a long time... however, since I had my fox by my side... the quest was very easy... I took down the boulder in a measly few hits." he looked at Birdie with a wink. He had looked around in the village, he hadn't really been here before and with this quest it is told that the players get a piece of armor that's supposed to help beginners out on getting equipment... however Beatbox has just way too much col and actual equipment to not care at all about the equipment rewards, they mean nothing to him. He giggled at hearing Birdie's concern about the front lines, he had waited for her to express all of her concerns and he returned said "Do not worry Birdie, First, the boss room has already been found. Second, I believe I have enough HP to survive... plus safeguards exist you know." he winked "Third, we do have a lack of Tanks... yes, especially since someone decided that he was done with the front lines, and we've had a recent tank from KoB want to join our guild. If anything I can just hide behing him or I can hide behind Calrex. Whoever is closest." he giggled.

@Birdie

[Birdie 0]

She gave an understanding nod to his comments on the martial arts quest; it wasn't a task the woman planned to undertake, not for a while, but at least she knew someone who would make the experience bearable. 

A metaphorical drop of sweat was swept from her forehead as she breathed a sigh of relief, smiling back to him. "Well, as long you're sure you'll be safe! I did kinda forget about those safeguard potions.." One piece of news in particular tickled her interests, and she glanced curiously to her blonde friend. "Hey, you said a tank's taken an interest in the guild? And they're from the Knights of Blood?" A gallery of faces scrolled through her mind; Macradon and Lowenthal were the two members of the Knights she'd formally met, and the mention of a few others had sprung up from time to time.

"Sounds like we're getting some pretty strong talent in the guild," she spoke excitedly, looking sidelong to Beatbox. "Do you know who it is?" In the distance, the designated Blacksmiths swiftly approached, sitting at only a few hundred feet away. "Hey, I see the place! Want me to talk to 'em once we're inside?"

Edited November 14, 2016 by Birdie

[Beatbox 0]

"Say." he said with a questioned look, "Why are you caring so much about me anyways about it? I already know I am going to die here, I honestly believe it is inevitable because of the acts of others. Living to the end seems like a desire, but I know it is impossible." he sighed and looked back with a smile "I don't know the guy, but I have heard that Hikoru knows him so I guess we can trust him, I guess.." he said as he looked forward with another sigh. "The place was really fancy, more than all of our stores combined, it was really really fancy... I hope we could get something like that in the future." he said with hopeful eyes, he shook off his thoughts and looked forward with a yawn. He had still had woke up moments ago, and he was still rather tired. He looked back to Birdie and said "So where do we begin this quest? I want to get it out of the way so we can fight some actual mobs... maybe then we'll get an actual challenge that way." he giggled.

@Birdie

[Birdie 0]

Birdie blinked, a look of confusion overcoming her. Wasn't it normal to care about friends? In a game where one small mistake meant the difference between life and death, the only way she knew to cope with the thought of losing someone was to wish them well, even if the sun wasn't shining as brightly that day. "I'm just worried about ya', Beat. It's a pretty big undertaking, fighting the hardest bosses in the game and all.. not that I have any reason to worry, you'll do great out there."

To hear that the meeting had taken place in a nice venue wasn't so surprising. Considering most of the game's strongest players would be gathering in one room, elegance was to be expected. Her smile dimmed as Beatbox mentioned Hikoru knowing the new initiate, he was another member of the guild she hadn't had the pleasure of running into yet.

"Just inside this building- here, I'll send you a party invite so the quest accepts for the us both." With a flick and a few clicks, an invite to her party had been sent to the blonde, and she dismissed the menu with another flick of her fingers. With that out of the way, she stepped forwards and into the shop, greeted briskly by two NPCs dressed in working garbs.

After being briefed of the mission's objective- find the boss, slay the boss, retrieve the material- Birdie thanked the two and accepted the quest on both her and Beat's behalf, quickly hushed out through the shop's back entrance. "Thanks!" she called out one final time, releasing a sigh as she glanced to Beat. "Alright, all done! Now we're off to the Forest of Wavering Mists. You still remember where it is?"

[Beatbox 0]

(I am still Green in this thread, I am not Orange.)

Beatbox had looked forward with a smile, he had heard Birdie explain why she had cared about him and he pat her on her back and said "I'm just checking to make sure." he gave her a wink and a giggle. He genuinely hadn't done this quest before and he generally doesn't even really know this floor, he looked over with a smile and said "Alrighty then, you can do the talking since I don't really need the equipment at all." he said with a smile. While waiting outside for Birdie to return he took a deep breath and looked up to the sky, lately he had been rather upset and it seemed to never get any better he had thought. It didn't take long for Birdie to step out, successfully starting the quest. She had asked if he had knew where it was, Beatbox shook his head with a "oops" look and said "Well uh... I have never really been on this floor, I don't really know where anything really is..." he giggled with worry.

 

@Birdie

[Birdie 0]

"Oh, really? That's fine, I think I still know the way. C'mon, let's get this over with, no need to hold ourselves up for no reason." Birdie made way for the fields surrounding the third floor's main settlement, leading further out into the 'dangerous' zones.

"So! What else ya' got going on? Joining the Frontlines is a pretty big undertaking, have you planned out your build yet?" The last she checked, Beat sought to become a DPS. The fact that his familiar had a damage enhancement told the woman that he was already well on his way to dealing some heavy damage, though the only way she'd truly know was to hear it from the man himself.

As they ventured further into the grassy fields, the wind shifted as a forest layered with mist came into sight. A chill ran through her spine, reminiscing on the last time she'd been to the ominous landmark. "God, I hate this place... it always reminds me of those silly found-footage horror movies." She glanced sidelong to her friend, "What do you say, wanna fight some mobs and get to the boss faster? Or take the long way around?"

Edited November 15, 2016 by Birdie

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox felt bad for not knowing the way there, he was the one with more experience and it was probably expected for him to know where to go around this floor, he took a deep breath with a saddened expression and thought to himself "Thank god she still knows the way...". He walked with Birdie to the location and had listened to her speak, he looked back with a warm smile and said "Not much is planned right now, I am about to finish my sword rank with ferocity to go along with it. And Athletics, but other than that I really don't need to really do much else for my build. Except get rank 5 light armor and get the really cool skill mod that comes with it, or get to rank 2 martial arts to get a cool One Handed Straight Sword sword art." he looked back forward and followed behind Birdie, after a bit she had described how she hated this floor and asked if they wanted to take the long route or fight some mobs to make it go quicker. Beatbox looked back at Birdie and said "I'm down for either or... you know I am bad with decisions." he said with a giggle.

@Birdie

[Birdie 0]

"You're already close to getting a Ferocity mod? Geez, talk about damage, I'm excited to see how strong you've gotten since you fought those minotaurs." Of course, a level 3 boss with 12 health points wasn't going to be much of a test, but it was always something she could look forward to in the future. "At any rate, it sounds like you're getting there! I'll still be scrounging for skill points by the time you reach tier 3," she jested with a quiet laugh, her eyes returning to the path ahead.

"Alright, mobby way it is. I'm sure we can deal with them in one shot- I mean, it'd be pretty embarrassing if we couldn't." Birdie led the way into the forest, entering through a small passage that led astray from the main path.

Small groups of mobs appeared around, and for a moment, none seemed to get in the way too much. However, as they neared the clearing that would clear the way for the boss, a group of <<Lesser Dark Elves>> jumped out from a nearby bush. She huffed. "Shoot, we were so close too.."

Crusader's blade sparked against its sheath as she pulled it from behind her back, both hands holding onto the colossal sword's grip. Letting the momentum do most of the work, she sluggishly swung from the blade through the air into a series of horizontal strikes, the blade leaving a faint neon trail in its wake as it split apart the mobs with ease. As the sword's blade dug into the ground, she loosed a grunt and took a moment to catch her breath. Birdie smiled at how easy it'd been to take apart four enemies on the spot, "Okay, I love this weapon."

With the boss room mere dozens of metres from where they stood, she lugged the blade back into its sheath and turned to Beatbox. "Come on, not much further now! Just uh, keep an eye out for hidden mobs..."

ID# 70822
BD: 4+2=6 Hit
LD: 16+3+1=20 <<Bonus quest items>>
MD: 8 Dead

Birdie: 460/460 HP (42/46 EN) ~ Activated <<Blast>> sword art ~ (3+2+1) * (2*1) = 6 * 2 = 12 AoE damage.

Lesser Dark Elves 1-4: 0/12 HP <<<<Gained 8 Normal Fat and 4 Materials>>

Birdie's loot:

8 Normal Fat
4 Materials

@Beatbox

Edited November 16, 2016 by Birdie

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox giggled as she was surprised yet again on how close Beatbox is close to finish his sword skills, he didn't think it would be that much of a surprise, but he is talking to Birdie after all... its very entertaining to speak to Birdie. "I don't know about that Birdie, I will be taking a break after the next boss raid for a bit, I have been doing nothing but grinding for col and SP for the past few months after my return." he winked and noticed another group of Lesser Dark Elves away from Birdie. He turned around and said with a smile and said "Take care of that group, ill take on this one with ease." he giggled as he lunged forward and took care of the group without issue at all. He looked back to Birdie that had taken care of that group of mobs and he said to her with a smile "Your getting better by the moment Birdie! Nice work!" he giggled. He walked with Birdie towards the location and he stopped for a moment and looked over to the side for a moment and said "Hey Birdie. Can I speak to you about somethin'? There's something I need to get off of my chest. It hurts y'know?"

 

@Birdie - I AM SO SO SO SOOOOOOOOOO SORRY THAT IT TOOK ME THIS LONG TO POST, PLEASE DONT HATE ME ;-;

 

ID: 71732 - BD: 9 - MD: 5-3=2 (I forgot what level and stats I had... whoops. I'll use 13 DMG)

Sword Art Used: Rage Spike (Damage: 13+1=14*2=28)

 

Beatbox: HP (UHHH.........): 675?/675 - EN: 62/66

Lesser Dark Elves: 0/12 -28 Damage

Loot:

4x T1 Materials

[Birdie 0]

@Beatbox - EXCUSES! You're good. ^.^

Birdie swung her sword overhead, carefully storing it away in its sheath. As it slid in with a satisfying "shing", the scout loosed a sigh as her breath finally calmed. Even though she'd become stronger in recent times, the act of swinging a sword twice her size wont become any easier for some time to come.

She gave a smile towards Beatbox as he praised her skills; compliments on her sword technique? Christmas must've come early. The woman's legs brought her closer to Beat and she stopped around halfway, watching as he gazed elsewhere for a second. The question seemed to come out of nowhere and she tilted her head to the side slightly, curious for what he was going to say. "Are you okay? What's bothering you?" Birdie#s tone employed a faint hint of concern though, she wasn't try to make it obvious. She was wise to his issues, or rather the fact that he was having troubles, however the specifics were lost on her.

Edited December 6, 2016 by Birdie

[Beatbox 0]

"Well, it has been bugging me for the past few weeks I should say. I need to get it off my chest." he looked down before finding a nice tree stump to sit down at, "Before I made my return I found myself hiding away from this world in a local inn for a long time, I just had enough drama for one month, but before that I was a part of a guild named Silver Moon, and our leader was the bestest friend you could ask for, she was caring... just like a mother. While in this guild I met so many people, Cho... Emblem... Scarlett... but, Golden was uh, the rotten of the bunch I would say... he started some unnecessary drama within our group. Some of which kind of was my fault though, either way... I found myself hiding away without notice... and, well... I never heard from any of them again. Gone, without a trace, they don't even appear in my friends list anymore." he sighed and looked down onto his hands that curled up to a ball "I'm scared that the same will happen to this guild, I am scared that if I go into hiding again that everyone would stop talking to me, stop caring about me... heck, if anyone died from this guild... I'd honestly blame it on myself to be honest Birdie." he shook his head trying to avoid the unnecessary tears that began to form. "I wouldn't let myself down if someone died from this guild..." he said with an upset tone.

@Birdie

[Birdie 0]

Birdie's mood shifted as did the tone of the conversation, and rather than excitement for what lied ahead, she felt only a pang of sadness that sat dormant in the back of her throat. "I'm so sorry to hear that..." The woman was shocked, even appalled that Beat's old guild would cut ties with him so abruptly, and she raised a hand near his shoulder to offer all the comfort she comfortably could.

"Beat, you don't need to worry about any of that. You've got friends now- real friends- who will always care. I would be sad to see you go for a while, sure, but I'd still message you to see how you are, and I'd never try to delete you from my friends list." Her words were genuine, spoken gently so as to not be misinterpreted negatively. "As for... well, the death of somebody in the guild... if it ever does happen and you happen to be away at the time, there's only so much that can be done to prevent it. Just.. know that it wouldn't be your fault, Beat."

The boss room lied right ahead, and Birdie understood that so much as a tickle would topple the monster. Giving Beatbox a moment, she gently squeezed his shoulder before lowering her hand to Retaliation's hilt.

@Beatbox

[Beatbox 0]

"With my level you would expect me to be a little more protective over the people I consider friends... heck, more than that. Family, you're the sister I never had in this world Birdie. We're all working toward the same goal: getting out of this death game, and one's death truly can mean a lot... heck the past few boss raids proves that statement..." he said trying not to blame himself or look down upon himself any longer, "Its just been a long road Birdie. Thank you for listening..." he reached over and patted her back giving her a side hug. He shook off his saddened thoughts and realized that the boss was just up ahead, he stood up and smiled "Well, this boss isn't gonna come for us, lets go end that sucker." he giggled and held onto his sword "Sharpened Stardom", Beatbox knew that this boss wouldn't take any sort of skill or anything, he knew that it was going to be rather simple to defeat, heck... Beatbox could defeat him without necessarily trying. 

 

@Birdie