[OP-Safe Zone-F1] Time to start again {Complete}

[Wolfie 0]

Wolfie was sitting in the town square of the City of Beginnings contemplating the live that he had and those that were lost. “Why do I still fight?” He asked himself out loud, his voice deep and penetrating the space around him. There was a mix of anger and sadness to his voice, though those who had met him before would know, that is his normal voice. He hasn’t a clue how to shake the unhappy connotations his voice tends to give but he never really needed to. “I see all these people die around me, every day it is someone new. What is the point in pushing forward? I can’t even see Abigail anymore…” he trails off at this point. It finally setting in on him that his faithful companion was left to fend for herself. He realized that she was probably dead and even if he made it out there was no way he would ever be able to see her again. “Why do I fight?” He asks again, softer this time.

Edited November 26, 2016 by Wolfie

[Row 0]

Row was wandering around, delighted about the lack of players. It was not like there was no player around as a few groups of people could be found scattered across the city. What made it delightful was the lack of human current. The streets were not busy and thus it was easy for a smaller girl like herself to walk around. While population equates to more money, such things did not matter if you had nothing to sell. It was hard to be sad while being a noob in this area like this. Everyone had so much potential and hope. While everyone did not smile, none could deny the shear joy from being innocent in a fantasy world. That is what she told herself at least. Then she saw something with stood out. A player was sitting alone in the town square. He seemed to be in deep thought about something but Row was as good a mind reader as a worm was as good seeing. Could worms even see?

Back to the main point, she started moving closer to the man until she heard him say something almost depressing.

“Why do I fight?”

She giggled while standing beside him, "Isn't it obviously? You fight to get the treasure!" She turned to him smiling not knowing or caring how it made her look or how it made him feel. Treasure was the best thing ever and who could be sad over that.

 

Edited November 15, 2016 by Row

[Wolfie 0]

Wolfie heard a giggle beside him from the girl who just strolled up.   "Isn't it obviously? You fight to get the treasure!" His face remained unchanged. “Treasure cannot bring back the dead” Wolfie said with a dominant but distant tone “Treasure cannot right the wrongs of ones past.” He lights a Cigarette, takes a puff and blows the smoke in the direction opposite of the girl to show respect. “Treasure cannot unlock a chest of forgotten and closed emotion, treasure cannot teach you how to hunt down those who wronged you, treasure is no more useful to me than wind is to a fish.” Not looking at the girl, his hood continued to shadow his face. “Where is it that naivety ends and Ignorance begins?” he though to himself before knocking some ash off his cigarette. He was now more aware of his surroundings, realizing that every word he spoke could be heard by anyone in the vicinity. He feared he may have already said too much.

Edited November 15, 2016 by Wolfie

[Row 0]

So the man was sulking in his sadness, judging by his outburst. She flinched at first but after he calmed down, she build up the courage to look back up at the broken man. He spouted blasphemy about how useless treasure was. Clearly his mind was too narrow to see the truth about treasure. See, treasure does not have to always be col. It does not solely exist as a rare drop or a limited item from an event. Treasure can be anything, as long as you value it. It can be the people, time, and even memories. While she could be all cliche and say how memories are the best treasure, she would be only lying. In her mind the best treasures were the things you could hold in your hand.

Either way, this man needed to be taught a lesson. She walked in front of him and leaned down with her hands on her hips. "The only useless treasure, is something with no value, dummy!" She stood up and shifted her hands up from her hip to fold her arms. Turning around, she looked up to the sky. "You cannot find treasure in the past. Instead, you can only find the clues needed to bring value to the future. Once your map is completed, then you can find the most valuable treasure ever." She did not smile even though she was bubbling with excitement.

[Wolfie 0]

Wolfie paused for a moment in shock. “Did she just call me a Dummy?” he thought to himself. After she finished he stood up in one swift motion, allowing his hood to fall to his shoulders. His Unkept dark grey, wolfish hair and piercing multicolored eyes now easily seen. “You speak of value as though it is an inherent part of existence.” He said, his voice becoming more of a growl. “When is it not true that anything that exists only has value if someone gives it value? Not to mention the fact that in order for someone to hold up a claim of value they must have someone else who agrees.” Wolfie pauses before reaching down and picking up a pebble. “For example, to you and me, the pebble has no value because we don’t give it value. However, if we were to agree on the value of this pebble and make it work something, then, in that instant its value would drastically rise. Just as well, if everyone in the game decided that they didn’t want to use col anymore and instead wanted to trade using iron ingots as currency then the value of col would become zero"

Edited November 15, 2016 by Wolfie

[Row 0]

Row smiled while lowering her head. Her eyes darted to the edge of her eye to catch this seminar that the man was giving. He clearly understood economics and it was nice to speak in such an easy and clear manner. However neither of them were in a position to play merchant so such a topic was wasteful at best. Still, she could not help by play along. "Maybe if you describe value as monetary worth but I am sure you understand that their is more ways to identify how much worth an object has then some number of pretty coin shape metals." She turned around grinning. "Even then, that is the beauty of treasure. Treasure does not need the acceptance of others to hold value. It does not need a tag labeling how many rocks are require to purchase. What determines true value is demand or a need. No matter what the world said, if you want that rock then it holds value. If i want the rock, then it holds value."

She picked up the rock out of his hand.

"Even if the world thinks this rock is worthless, all it takes is one person to find something unique be it tangible or not and then you have your self a treasure. Memories, bonds, experiences, are all things that bring value to something. It brings happiness to those who want it. If that treasure threaten, it brings out the fighting spirit in us and then we fight. Why do we fight? We fight for treasure. We fight to keep our treasure safe. We fight to make more treasure and to turn the things around us into a priceless gem. That is why I fight."

[Wolfie 0]

Wolfie’s eyes seemed to change in intensity. The Red eye was not so fiery and the Gold eye became more prevalent and calming. “What happens when you cannot find anything to put value in? What happens when the world get devoured and all the things around you fall away? Memories cause wounds, Experiences can never be relived, and bonds just open you up to be pushed away and stepped on.” His growling voice relinquished some of its intensity. He then took another drag of his cigarette. “What can you value when you have nothing left? How can you look to for direction when everything you know, have and love is torn from your grasp? Life goes on with or without you, time flows on even after you perish.” Wolfie took another drag and realized that he was almost out of this cigarette, apparently, he had been more focused on the conversation the Cigarette. He shrugged and threw it aside, making sure that the cherry tip was extinguished on the concrete.

[Lessa 1]

The conversation was one that Lessa had grown familiar with; the frustration, the longing, the sense that there was nothing left to live for. She was no stranger to this black cloak of despair, which seemed to surround most people at some point in their time in Aincrad. Some wore the anguish like a second skin, their mood never much brighter than the first inkling of dawn. Others only produced it at their weakest, when they were most vulnerable, like that expensive fur coat that was only appropriate for certain situations. When it was not needed, the hopelessness hung in the back of the closet, or the back of the mind. It remained, always, and though it was occasionally forgotten, it was never truly gone.

For Lessa, such negative emotions came and went like the changing of the Michigan seasons. There were days of bright sunlight, and unusually warm temperatures, like the Indian Summers that she had grown exceptionally fond of. There were days of rain, where fingers of electricity fanned across the dark sky, invigorating her, and breathing new life into everything that she did. And then there were days of darkness, of frigid temperatures without the welcome arrival of snow. These days were the worst. They were the days where she paused to remember, and reflect, and regret. These periods were as brief and unpredictable as any Michigan weather. Yet they still came. She could not escape them entirely.

So while it pained her to hear the brown-haired boy speak, she could not fault him for feeling the way he did. She, too, had asked similar questions of herself, and her faith. The answers had never come. Instead, she had found support. And often, that was enough. "That's a dark way of looking at things," the blonde mused aloud finally, crossing her arms tighter against her chest, and settling deeper into the nearby bench.

@Wolfie

Edited November 16, 2016 by Lessa

[Wolfie 0]

Wolfie looked at the woman who just sat down beginning to analyze her person "The only way to be strong is to look at the world in a hue of shadow. Never assuming anything, leave nothing to chance. No one is your friend, No one deserves trust." The light behind his eyes shift from the gold eye to the red one. His vocal tenor pushing his dominant aura to strengthen. The menacing quality about how he holds himself rose but still remained the same. He wasn’t sure how he felt about these people, though he did know that he had said too much. "You need to quell your words and bite your tongue" He thought to himself "No one needs to know your past, No one needs to understand you, No one needs to know anything that you do." Looking back to the pink haired girl “There is nothing in this world that can give value to the life of someone that who has nothing to value or live for”

[Ashrah 0]

"Nihilism  is a really fun way to go through life," Corvo remarked in a deadpan as he emptied out the contents of his pipe. The assassin had slipped into the Town of Beginnings without a sound and made his way into the gathering with every intention of finding another info broker. They frequented places where people gathered, because that was the best place to ply their trade. When he overheard someone commenting about the lack of intrinsic value in life, he had no choice but to offer sardonic commentary. He dismissed the smoking device into his inventory and glanced around, aware of any shift characters that might slink past. "Me? I like to value things. Women, drinks, fights- it's all more fun when they mean something."

Of course, he knew that the other person probably had other things to do than get into existential debate with him. He only went on about his beliefs for self-gratification; after all, who cares what other people think? He took a seat next to the blonde haired woman, Lessa, and crossed his legs like a true boss. Corvo the Killer was never anything short of a lady-killer. "How about you, blondie?" he asked with a wink. "How'd you like it if I added some value to your life?"

"Oh Jesus Christ," Arc groaned loudly as he flanked his volatile friend into the plaza. "Is that really how you want to start a conversation with someone you don't even know?"

"At least I can start a conversation, unlike you or Alkor." Corvo laughed. "You two idiots could stare for hours at someone without a word. Is that how you would start a conversation? Noooooooo! You wouldn't even start one."

"I'm really sorry about this, Lessa," he apologized. His blue hair and open chest outfit were starkly contrasted to what she would remember from their last meeting, but his name and voice pattern, even his eyes remained the same. She'd easily recognize him. "Corvo's- he's a strange one."

"Oh, you know her? Man, Arc, you're really getting good at this ladies man thing. Teach me your ways!"

"Shut up, Corvo." Arc took a step forward toward the two people conversing. "Sorry about my friend, he's really horrible at talking to people."

"Says the guy who can't talk to people at all."

"Go smoke another pipe," the blue haired spearman spat at his friend. "Anyway, my name's Arc. Hope ya'll are enjoying this nice day."

 

@Wolfie @Lessa

Edited November 16, 2016 by Arc

[Lessa 1]

"A hue of shadow," the woman mouthed. She drew in a breath, and blew it out on a long sigh. The boy had that cloak of despair wrapped so tightly about himself that it seemed to be suffocating him. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if there was really any use attempting to drag a person back from such depths. Before she could come to some sort of decision, another figure cut in. His voice was strong with confidence, despite the ease with which he carried himself. When he planted himself beside her, draping one leg effortlessly over the other, a bemused smirk blossomed across her face. In the heat of a first interaction, confidence and arrogance often appeared nearly identical. Despite her better judgment, Lessa found herself wondering which it was that lit the sly spark in his eyes.

There was a myriad of witty remarks that cried to be made. It had been a long while since she had exchanged pleasantries with a new face, and longer still since she had done so with one so assertive. It came as a breath of fresh air, and for a moment, she merely reveled in it. She embraced the challenge, and with the reckless abandon of a woman with nothing to lose, she forged ahead.

"At least I can start a conversation, unlike you or Alkor."

All at once, the words died on her tongue.

During her stint in the seventh floor mountains, Lessa had spent hours attempting to control her storm of emotions. On more than one occasion, she had fallen victim to violent nightmares, and she had awoken, shaking, her mind awash with memories she had preferred to leave buried. To calm herself, the swordswoman had recalled scenes from her favorite works of fiction. How did her literary heroes calm themselves? Meditation. Reflection. Daine's inner threads of fire. Kvothe's heart of stone. And, through hours of practice, she had sought to reach a similar place. A place where there was nothing, save for the thud of her heart in her ears. There was white, and empty, and alone. But there was life, and that undeniable fact was enough to hold onto, when nothing else seemed within her control.

She felt herself slipping back to this place, her place, after the player spoke Alkor's name. It was so cruel, somehow, that a complete stranger might drudge up a face, a voice, that she had been content to forget. She had moved on. She had. Yet this boy threw the name about as casually as one might remark on the agreeable weather. It left her breathless.

The words of another held her firmly in place, keeping her from finding the solace she now instinctively resorted to. This was no stranger, though through her haze, it took Lessa a brief moment to place him. It was Arc, and he was apologizing. He deserved her full attention, and not merely whatever part of her was not otherwise occupied by her pity party. I moved on. Her hands clasped so tightly in her lap that the knuckles drained of color. But the smile she tossed him oozed charm.

"No need to apologize," she countered with a nonchalant nod of her head. Her blonde hair spilled across her cheek with the gesture, but she made no move to replace it. Rather, she cast Corvo a devilish grin. "Fortunately, I don't mind strange." The smile did not reach her eyes.

@Wolfie@Arc

Edited November 17, 2016 by Lessa

[Wolfie 0]

The commotion that followed Wolfies last statements were such that he had to make a decision, "You need to leave! You need to run! You are not safe here!" His mind yelled these things at him, along with a barrage of other things. "But I am curious to see what happens next in this Situation" chimed a part of his mind. The light behind his eyes constantly shifting back and forth, Red to Gold. "There is nothing here for you, You need to go!" his expression changed to one of distress and he felt as though he would have another panic attack. Looking around frantically he saw an opening as This man, (Arc) moved and left an opening out of the group. Not letting himself make any further decision he darted for the opening, His breathing quickened and he could already feel his mussels tightening. This was bad, and he needed to go. His body would fully lock up soon and once that happened there was no turning back.

[Zandra 0]

I was walking around, thinking of nothing in particular, just strolling around in beginner town all the way down to first floor. I did still remember that day, allost two years ago. As I stopped for a moment and counted, I realised it had actually already been one and a half year in this death game. And thru the time Ive knit many good and strong relationships. And sadly, also lost several of them. Not only thru player killing no, I had lost friends in a way they seemed to just like, disapear without a singöe word. There is also at least one case, where I broke up due to the actions of that particular player. On second thougth, Ive lost two thru the last way. I continued to walk around, looking at people. Then I passed a tree where I paused. I remembered this special tree. Together with another girl, they had been watching passing people frombthe top of the tree. After some more walking, a boondie entered my field of vision. It was a familiar face. Ive wanted to talk to her to get to know her better. From my source of information, Ive now knowed that her name is Lessa. I walked up to her as I saw she was already in a conversation. So I entered a little more discreatly then just barge in. "Well hello @Lessa. Im Zandra, how are you doin'?"

[Row 0]

Row was a little started at the attention the two were getting. First it was a blond high level player who notice the newer player's mood. It appeared that she had experience similar things as well the two started talking, sharing opinions until another man entered greeting the blond player. The two poked fun at each other but it was clear that they knew each other. In fact they were probably good friends. Suddenly the depressed player appeared a little off. Was he the type who got scared around groups of people? "Hey everyone, I think..." Before she could finish another player appeared looking for the blond hair girl. This girl seemed to be popular.

Feeling too small to just interject with the woman friends, Row walked up to the Wolf. "Hey is everything ok. We can move to a quieter place if you feel uncomfortable." She was careful not to just jump in his bubble but she wanted to be heard under all the commotion.

[Wolfie 0]

Wolfie's expression was that of panic when @Row approached him. Scared and unsure Wolfie tried his best to calm his muscles that where repeatedly tensing and relaxing. He took a moment before responding, as he tried to get his mouth to cooperate with his brain. “Y-Y-Yes,” Wolfie said the panic still attacking his mind “I-I Would A-appreciate th-that.” His gravelly voice still heard but in a scared manor that wasn’t like the tone that most were accustom to him using. “My head hurts so bad” He thought as he raised his clenching arms to his head, trying to calm his breathing. “I need to find somewhere to be safe” His mind thought frantically. He tried to move but his legs wouldn’t let him nothing would move more than a sudden and painful clench of his muscles. He felt his vision fading as his brain was stripped of Oxygen. He needed to calm down but this time he didn’t have Abigail to help him.

[Zandra 0]

My cheerful mood quickly started to disapeared due to what happened next. Just as I have arrived, a young girl suddenly mentioned that she and another one should be leaving to a place that was quieter. I looked at them with a confused look on my face. Did I scared them away or what? I have got drifferent reactions when arriving to places with my heavy armour that showed my status in this world. But today I weared my casual townclothing I ordered from the blonde lioness all those months ago. There was no way they could spot my high level, that was intended as well. The more I spent time down here, the more Ive started to hide my level. Next, I felt even worse. The man she had spoken to seemed to not feel alright. He was stuttering and holding his hhands on his head, like when having a headache. ‘’Oh, Im so, so sorry. Did I do anything that offended you? It was rely not my intention. How do you feel?’’ I said as I started to swipe thru my inventory.

[Dominion 0]

In a manner most odd and different, a bond haired boy entered near the town square.  He wore his regular clothes with a giant battle axe on his back.  He looked incredibly beat up, but he was smiling, completely innocent.  He saw the people forming around a point and walked to them. He called out, "hello everyone, why are you all out here? This is my very first game and I cannot wait to learn how close it is to the world I dwelled in before." With that, the boy noticed a bird flying way up in the sky. He remembered when he figured out that birds could fly, but humans couldn't, but just maybe the game could let humans fly too.  He proceeded to attempt climbing a building about a fourth of the way up, and jump off in an attempt to fly.  

[Wolfie 0]

"CALM DOWN!" Wolfie mind yelled at him “PEOPLE ARE TALKING TO YOU, YOU NEED TO REGAIN YOUR COMPOSURE!” taking a deep breath, or attempting to, he takes a moment and looks at Zandra “No, it wasn’t your fault,” his voice wavering and weak “I just….. I just don’t do well with a lot of people all at once, all in the same place.” Still physically fighting the contractions of his muscles, when *THUD* “What was that?” Wolfie asked to the air looking around. A kid (Dominion) had apparently landed flat on his face from high up. “What the hell just happened?” He thought to himself before looking up to the building behind the kid “did he just jump from that building? Is he alright?” He began to walk toward the kid but realized that if he went much further then he may have another panic attack based on the multitude of people, and elected to stay back and let someone else check on him.

[Zandra 0]

What happened next, made my jaw drop down to the ground and eyes wide open. A new player had arrived. I was just on way to greet him when he started to climd the wall. But it wasn’t this that made my jaw drop. No. Thou it became a little suspicious. Why would someone climb the wall? The answer came not long time later. The blonde jumped. ‘’What the f***!!!’’ I scremed. ‘’Are you crazy?!’’ followed up. He held his arms out to the side, like a bird. Was he thinging he could fly or what? Thou, not even in Aincrad, a VRMMORPG it was possible. If high enough level you could jump pretty high. But flying without some help of machines or tools, that was impossible. Or was it? A few moments later I got to found out the answer when the boy dropped like a rock. He landed right on the other guy. Was this a mistake? I wouldn’t be here it felt. As I looked around, some peoples watched the happening. ‘’Oh gosh.’’ As one of the strongest frontliners, I had a reputation to think of. ‘’Well, it was nice to seeing you.’’ I said with a fake smile. It had not been nice to see them. ‘’Well, I think Im gonna go @Lessa. You wanna tag along?’’ I asked. If she agrees I walk beside her and asks where she wants to go. If she disagree, I walks away and becomes one with the crowd.

[Row 0]

Row was not somebody known to have social anxiety. In fact, she adored being surrounded by people with giant wallets. However, the one thing she was not comfortable with was the strange that were not going to give her money. She can overlook any kind of customer as long as they were a customer. These people were not customers and most looked very strong. That was just an assumption though. Still, saying some of these players were crazy was not. Anyone who had to insanity to freaking jump off a building was too much for her. A dead customer is not a good customer. She leaned towards the other player (Wolf) and whispered that they should probably just leave now. Sure, he needed some help, but at least he was not jumping off of buildings. She then waved to everyone who might be looking and proceeded to walk away. If the other player followed, then fine. If not she did not really care.

Edited November 26, 2016 by Row