[F4 - Event] Dance of the Crossed Paths

[Macradon 0]

Many people had arrived at the party, the party growing in size for every minute going by. Not sure of how many were actually present, Macradon would think about the possibility of 20 something participants, possibly more than that. Amused by the large amount of participants to an Event like this warmed his heart. This game wasn’t filled with hate, fear, fright and the like to those negative emotions. Macradon was happy that something like the festival of Love was a thing, a party where people could mingle, have fun and enjoy each other’s company. This was what Macradon tried to make of, but struggled heavily to. Mack was much better at social events than Macradon was, he was just a warrior while Mack was a leader. He had tried multiple times making social events, but failing miserably in both planning and executing. Macradon would sigh audibly as the thoughts of his failures strofe his mind.

[Shield 0]

Shield nodded and stepped out of the way as @Ariel - The Crowned Lion selected @Beat to dance with rather than him. This suited him just fine. Despite his ability to maintain a stone visage when the situation called for it, an entire dance may have been difficult as far as keeping the sourness out of his face. He turned instead to the spread of food behind him and began loading up a new plate.

Norbert was having an interesting time as well. Unfortunately, he had considerably less choice about what was happening in his personal space than Shield currently had. The spiny carapace bucked as much as the stumpy, clawed feet allowed, which was very little, making the ride more akin to a rather spirited pony ride rather than the bucking bronco that Norbert hoped to be. The turtle resigned itself to its bear-mounted fate and plopped the underbelly of its shell down onto the floor with a heavy flump. The alligator snapper opened its jaws wide in warning, despite being unable to back its warnings up with anything other than a grumpy gurgling sound intended for @Mack's companion. Although he was a turtle, Norbert's species lacked the ability to retract their limbs inside of their shells, and so he sat there like a dark, spiny stone, waiting for anyone to dare to approach his jaws.

[Mack 0]

OOC: No Roll needed, Stunned.

@Hydra: 715/715 | 59/70 Energy | 12 Damage
Mack: 928/1020 (+20 HP [Battle Healing]) Stunned

As Hydra charged in Mack leaned back from the strike and tried to duck under the on-rushing spear, marveling at how much seemingly lighter on his feet he was without the encumbrances of the heavy armor and axe that he was normally sporting. Still, the colossal man presented an equally large target and he wasn't quite able to escape the attack as Hydra jabbed him several times in the chest, delivering a stunning blow to boot. There was nothing to be done for it but to remain standing in a slightly ridiculous, semi-Matrix-like pose, and wait for the stun effect to wear off while pondering an appropriate response to Hydra's refusal to accept the bet.

"Very well then, I'll wager my mats against that weapon you got from the Werewolf Baroness, Lyrica," Mack rumbled, recalling the fight perfectly well since he had gone along to watch it. "It's no longer useful to you, at your current level, but we might have a Knight or two that could make use of it," he continued in an easy tone, watching the stun countdown timer out of the corner of his storm grey eyes. If he could keep Hydra talking long enough it might be possible to run out the stun timer before the spearman could launch another attack. At least, that was the plan.

[Macradon 0]

Something was going on, something interesting indeed. It seemed like someone had begun a duel. Macradon would look over his shoulder to see who it was. Present was his Vice Commander, Mack, seemingly in a duel with someone. Macradon had to really scout through the crowd to be able to find whomever he would be dueling against. It was quite hard to see who it was. As he scouted with his Search and Detect, he would see would player in a battle stance, it seemed like it was Hydra. A person he had met a few times, but still didn’t know much about. Macradon would look over at the man approaching him, giving him a small wave to signal that he should follow Macradon. Macradon wasn’t against talking to the man, but he also wanted to see the duel, so draggin the talk to the duel was the optimal solution here.

@Takeshi

[Hakai 0]

Hakai smiled at the cute girl that hopped out from behind Aereth. She had managed to escape Hakai's notice before, but now had her full attention. This Aereth fellow had good taste. Wow. She smiled to the girl, a genuine smile with perhaps the slightest tinge of desire in it. "I'm Hakai. I must say, your looking beautiful tonight. Aereth is a lucky man to have you on his arm." She said, her usual cold or even tone now imbued with warmth. She turned to Domarus as he moved closer and spoke quietly to her. She didn't see the need for them to talk privately, unless he had something he wanted to discuss with her. She didn't have anything in particular to speak to him about. From what she could recall she had made a mental note not to interfere with him or his business, but now that she was a completely solo player it might be time to revise that. "Maybe..." She said back to him quietly before turning her attention back to the three of them rather than Domarus exclusively.

@Yui @Domarus @Aereth

[Macradon 0]

“This is going to be such a cool fight” Macradon thought as he looked at the two participants of the duel. The thing was clear, no one were capable of wearing armor whilst inside the castle, only thing they had were their skills, weapon and sword arts. Macradon was intrigued to see how things would go on to evolve into, not knowing who would win this fight. Hydra seemed to take the initiative and start out with a classic stun lead, as always. Macradon usually did that tactic as well when farming mobs and targeting bosses, it was the easiest way of getting the monsters down faster and unharmed, as it stunned the creatures, making them unable to actually even try to hit you back. Awaiting who would make the next move and what that move was, Macradon would look eagerly at the two warriors on the dance floor, killing that beat.

[Beat 0]

Beat chuckled as he watched @Shield return from his familiar-sitting duties. He had never seen so many familiars in one place, but it made sense to him that he and Shield were far from the first people to acquire a traveling companion of their own. From his experience, Horus was more behaved than many of the other familiars he had seen at the party so far, but he figured each animal companion had a unique personality and the obedience of a familiar did not necessarily reflect on its owner. He smiled at @Zandra with a nod, glad to see others having a good time. 

"Glad to see everyone having a good time. It's too easy to get caught up in the fact that we're trapped in the game."

Ariel's question caught him off guard, his eyes showing only a little of his lack of preparation for her offer. He had little experience with women and naive was an understatement when describing him in those regards. He quickly collected himself and decided to go with the flow, hoping he could simply wing it. He looked to Horus, who seemed somewhat nervous, and stroke the feathers behind his head, using the distraction to hide the nerves that were beginning to simmer in his stomach. 

"Go socialize or find something to eat. I'll return shortly." 

Horus seemed hesitant to leave his master's side in such a crowded place, but the mention of food coaxed him off of Beat's shoulder as he began to soar over the buffet table, looking for something tempting and small enough to snatch up. Beat smiled and, assuming they had Zandra's blessing, offered @Ariel - The Crowned Lion his hand, doing his best to avoid worrying about looking foolish. 

"Shall we?" 

 

[Takeshi 0]

Takeshi stares at @Macradon with his stoic expression as he hears the joke, finding it to be quite 'meh' in his mind unless he is a trap. That would make the joke more effective to the afro warrior. His gaze shifts towards Macrodon's sword and examines its features, the blade looks a little larger than its handle, and it has a serrated double edge cut near its hilt. Takeshi is very impressed with the blade as he imagines that this sword must have deal a very fat load of damage.

As he smiles while saying, "Nice sword," to Macrodon, a commotion ensues somewhere in the ballroom. Macrodon immediately beckons Takeshi to come with him so he can see the duel in his own eyes. Without hesitation, Takeshi nods and does so. Soon, he sees two participants wearing no armor, only equipped with their sword and Sword Art. He has a feeling that the duel will turn nasty somehow.

[Itzal 0]

His nerves racking violently, he placed his hand on her back and held her hand accordingly.  He nodded.  "Alright then."  With that, the two began to sway to the music.  As they danced Itzal's nerves slowly faded away as he gazed into his girlfriend's eyes and the music guided him.  Just as he had ended up doing in Aereth's lessons, his feet began to find the rhythm and began to move smoothly, not fast though.  He couldn't keep from smiling at the one woman he loved.  He hadn't forgotten about his parents or his sister for that matter.  However that's what increased his drive to get out of this game.  He wanted to introduce Kasier to them.  To his loving parents and sister, for them to see him changed and remade as the man he was now.  To make up for the lost time.  He noticed a message that popped up and his eyes naturally scanned real quick before spotting the player who was closing her menu.  Mina.  He nodded to her and continued to dance with Kasier.  Once this dance was finished the two of them could go talk to her.  And then at another time the two could dance in private, just the two of them.

Meanwhile Velnia noticed that her attempts weren't as swift as she hoped, but she was making progress.  She ate the fish along with the teddy bear and she noticed the turtle as well.  She stretched her neck out, slowly making her way over and tried to sniff him when he snapped his jaws at her.  She backed away like lightning, hissing at the creature.  That's when the bear hopped on while it was distracted.  Her head popped up with interest and flew over, pushing the turtle a little to get it started and landed on it's shell as well.  Hopefully this was one of those fast turtles.  She didn't like going slow after all.

@Kasier @tricolor_mina @Shield @Mack

[Shield 0]

Now that @Ariel - The Crowned Lion was set to dance with @Beat, Shield had the luxury to become uncomfortable with the situation for other reasons. Beat had always been a little more lenient with his position on Ariel, wanting to give her a shot before passing judgment. While this was fair, becoming too familiar with her was an idea that the tank disliked, at least for the time being. He took a few pastries from the extravagant display of sweets as well as a handful of iced berries, doing his best to keep his apprehension to himself.

Norbert was beside himself. One unwelcome rider was unconscionable, but a second spun him into a degree of grumpiness that his little turtle mind struggled to cope with. He began weaving his broad, lumpy head from side to side, trying to get a better look at the freeloaders on his impressive carapace through his tiny, black eyes. This proved difficult, or rather utterly impossible, considering their angle. The stalwart turtle attempted to turn to get a better look, hoping he might be able to hone in on one for a good snap at @Mack or @Itzal's familiar, but all this succeeded in doing was to revolve the trio on the dance floor in a slow-motion merry-go-round of groaning, turtley rage.

Despite his targets being well out of reach, Norbert still snapped at the air, unable to contain his indignation. Occasionally, his wild bites would catch the hem of a dress or nearly clip a shoe, his attacks so ill-aimed given his straining to see the objects of his ire. Dancers began to stumble as articles of clothing were grabbed and tugged, being caught in the crossfire of the spectacle.

[Soredell 0]

"Well, Hydra is going to need a miracle if he wants to win." He says, overhearing @Mack's bet. "And unless he wants to join the Knights of the Blood Oath, he has to win, otherwise he's going to have to join, whether he likes it or not." He says out loud to no one in particular. He then sees that anticipation and excitement is building in the crowd around him. The growing crowd were getting pumped up for what looks to be a very exciting duel, people beginning to cheer for their preferred or favorite fighter in this duel. Soredell didn't really cheer for anyone, mainly because he didn't really know the two fighters, and he wasn't really one for cheering on one side, so instead, he watched. "May the best fighter win" he mutters as the match begins, @Hydra landing the first hit on Mack, stunning him. "Huh, not bad stunning him." He says, watching to see how Mack would react after the stun and his held pose would wear off. "This already shaping up to be quite the fight." He says as he continues to watch to see what will happen next.

[Dominion 0]

Dominion did not see Row or Keres make gestures, as he used this time to center himself. Alright, dances, where have I seen them before? Dominion stopped with Row on the "dance" floor. Dominion heard her mention something about an old American song. He shook his head, slightly confused but still smiling. "Is it a dance, or just a song?" Dominion found himself asking this to buy him some time. He could only recall some simple slow dances from the high school which he had joined. They were done with slow music, which seemed appropriate in a place such as this. The teachers were explaining to them about partner dances, and that day Dominion found himself without a partner. Dominion did, however, memorize the steps having watched intently. Thus, he was going to try to slow dance with Row... Despite this being his first time. He tried to explain how it started. "Well, unless you would like to do a different kind of dance, I would like to try slow dancing, as that dance fits with the music", Dominion recalled that the boy would hold the girls hand and waist, while she would hold his hand and place her other hand on her arm. He didn't quite know how to make this explanation not sound strange, but he would try his best. "Basically, I will hold your left hand with my right, you will put your right hand on my left shoulder, and my other hand on your waist. If that happens correctly, I will take the lead and you will have learned how to dance", And while saying this Dominion made a gesture to a couple doing basically what he described. Dominion did his best to sound formal about this, but it was very difficult. Dominion extended his right hand forward, lowered slightly to be at Row's shoulder height. She would need to take his hand if they intended to start the dance.

@Row

[Anemone 0]

When she was lead out to the dance floor, she felt his hand come up above her waist. She knew this sort of dance required a more intimate touch, and her face tinted with a hue of pink against her otherwise snowy colored pale skin. But she smiled lightly up at him and the dance had begun. With her hand in his, she was able to let him lead through the dance. It was a nice change of pace to actually dance with someone who knew what they were doing. It was simple yet very romantic all the same, but she would only dance with herself in front of a mirror at home. Boys didn't seem very much into this sort of thing, old courtships and hopeless romanticism were things of the past. Which is why she enjoyed Sword Art, there was more of that old gothic, renaissance style in the game that made her feel more at home than in her home. 

Looking up into the now introduced Vargas, she smiled and shook her head, "No it's fine. He is more like a friend I guess. He asked me to join him this evening and I wanted to see what it was like to be part of a Valentine's Event, so here I am, all dressed up. I'm normally not dressed like this or anything. But yeah, Seul he's got his own charms. He's more casual oriented. I have just weird dreams of being a Princess sometimes," once more she blushed quietly, the rose color of her skin blooming once more as she was swept side to side with the dance. It was encouraging to know he was a good dancer. 

"Men usually aren't this fluid in the Waltz, have you practiced at home? I love dancing, I do a little ballet as well actually a lot...but any kind of slow dancing or something with a simple rhythm I tend to get into. Classical music is very precious to me and I simply fall into a dream like state when I listen to it. But you are very good, I'm quite enjoying myself Sir @Vargas." 

 

[Aereth 1]

Aereth chuckled as he heard @Domarus talk about how Keres had been informed not to play her games tonight. “Haha, I can understand that. Not everybody likes to play along with her, and might even get offended or ‘uncomfortable’ around her. I even think that watching her struggle against the desire to do her thing might be funny thing to do on its own.” He said while chuckling.

After that Domarus interoduced a blonde female player to him. He remembered that he as well had an encounter with the woman already. @Hakai “I also remember meeting you some weeks ago. You were my party leader in the Nerius boss fight. Nice to see you again here.”

Just then @Yui popped out from behind, grabbed herself an alcoholic beverage and asked who Domarus and Hakai were. “Yes Domarus is a good friend of mine who helped me out a couple of times in the past. And Hakai over there was my party leader in one of the last event boss fights.”

Taking a brief sip of his whiskey, heard the comment about Yui being beautiful and Aereth being lucky to have someone like her on his arm. He chuckled, because he was expecting that people not knowing him surely assumed that Yui was his date for the evening. “She is indeed looking gorgeous.” He added with a smile.

“But how have you been lately? Ever since the end of the boss fight I didn’t see you around.” He asked @Hakai.

Edited February 10, 2017 by Aereth

[Seul 1]

He was beside himself. In reality only a few minutes had passed since they had met up and already she was being taken by another guy? This was why relationships were never near the top of the priority list. Things rarely played out the way he desired them to be and to make matters worse there was nothing he could do that wouldn't result in getting thrown out of the castle.

***

At least Anemone was enjoying herself. Albeit only once they were apart, but the point still stood. Above all else Seul wanted her to have a good time and if that wasn't something he could provide then it was nice she could find happiness with someone else.

"l guess I'm dateless now."

A hand gripped his chin in thought while trying to figure out what to do now that he was alone. Glancing around the area showed that basically everyone was already off in their own groups, but maybe something interesting was going on in the kitchen. Only one way to find out.

[Khrysaor 0]

Khrysaor had listened to @Soredell as he told him he did not want anything from the snack bar, so he shrugged his shoulders, but then Soredell asked a pretty tough question from him, about why @Hydra became a orange player. Khrysaor had to take a minute, to come up with a response to that and when he did, he said, "Sorry, I don't know all the details about why he became a player killer, and wasn't too interested in them, but I have know Hydra for a long time. He was one of the first players within this game who became one of my first friends, and I have trusted him ever since. I don't think he likes to kill because I have seen him having great remorse for what he has done, so I don't think he did it intentionally. But if you want to know his story, you could ask him for it. Ok, well I will be back, see ya in a few minutes. I will get myself a drink, and hopefully the duel does not start. You can come along with me @Damien, since you wanted more water as well." He turned and walked out and looked for the drinks. He picked up a glass of water and drank it right there, before he picked up a glass of orange juice. He took a few sips before he went back to the duel arena.

It took him just under a minute to make it back to his spot, and it seemed like Hydra and Mack were conversing with each other, but couldn't exactly make out what they were saying, but lucky for him Soredell had heard everything and he was talking about some of the things that were agreed upon in the duel. Khrysaor was kind of shocked, and said, "WHAT, Hydra joining the KoB if he loses, are you sure about that @Soredell, I thought he wanted to reform the Crescent Moon guild." Khrysaor went into a little reminiscence as he said, "I remember when me and Hydra and a few others had first made the guild. It was going good, but it slowly fell apart and the guild was no more."

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru looked around as the young girl had grown silent, and he just shrugged and moved around. He saw a player that he hadn't spoken to in a long time. He came over to the young @Seul and nodded, un-crossing his arms and holding one out for the young man to shake. It had been a long time since he had spoken a word to im, and he noticed that he had grown in level a bit compared to what he used to be months ago

"Seul, long time no see." He said, giving a small smile, looking around and seeing no young lady come to his side, so he raised an eyebrow "You come here alone as well? Or is your date pre-occupied with other things?" He asked in curiosity, not fully knowing the answer as he was too focused on making sure his guild-mates had been safe at the event. He looked to see a clashing of arms between a few players, and they seemed to be going at it quite hard, and he watched for a moment before getting back to Seul, waiting for the young man to answer his question

[Soredell 0]

"I see. Thanks for telling me anyway. I sure as hell won't ask a question like that to him. That wouldn't be appropriate at all now would it?" he says to @Khrysaor. "See you soon." he says as he and @Damien left for drinks, leaving him be for the fight. His attention soon turns to a loud "WHAT" next to him. He turns and its @Khrysaor once again from the drinks area. Well that was quick huh? "That's what I managed to hear over the rabble around us." he says, which is followed by a round of cheering from spectators watching the duel. "All I managed to hear was, if @Hydra lost, he'd have to join the Knights of the Blood Oath. And if @Mack really is as good as you say he is, then it's quite likely that he'll be joining the Knights of the Blood Oath, and not reforming the Crescent Moon guild like you believe." he says. He also manages to see @Mack and @Hydra say something, but because of the cheering, he can't hear anything.

[Seul 1]

On the way there he was met by Hikoru who decided to start up a casual conversation. He shook his hand, but had to resist the urge to cringe at the question. The wounds let by Anemone’s departure were still fresh after all, so talking about what had transpired only felt equivalent to taking a bag of salt and pouring it all over an open cut.

“It has been a while, hasn't it? To answer your question though I came here alone. I thought I would be able to spend time with someone once we were both here… That didn't really work out though.”

He fidgeted slightly as he idly looked around to make sure she wasn't around. The coast was clear, but even if they weren't going to be on the best terms after tonight he didn't like talking behind her back. Elaborating further was out of the question in that case. Still, there was something he had on his mind now that Hikoru was here.

“So I'm guessing you and Ariel are still split up?”

@Hikoru

[Hydra 0]

As Hydra dealt the first blow he paced back a few steps, once again raising his spear arm. With the lost effect of charge he would need to put all the power he could into his next succession of attacks, as well as land them. In addition to that he noticed the effect of his opponents battle healing. Growling in frustration slightly, he readied his <Merciless Flurry>. In the short space of breathing time the players had, the giant mentioned an 'alternative' bet so to speak. Hydra couldn't deny he felt his heart sink a little upon the unique spear being named as 'Lyrica's Fang'. Yet it was past time that Hydra should have passed it on by now. "Now that's a deal I can accept!" He responded with a rather sinister smile, before rushing forward.

This battle would end with a couple of blows from his opponent, possibly even one. Whereas Hydra knew for himself it would be a game of whittling his opponent down with each hit. "I have to remain light on my feet, dodge if I can. Or rely on him missing. Still..." This time as he struck outwards, he plunged his one-handed spear as fast and as forcefully as he could into his opponent, over and over again, doing justice to the name it matched. Finally Hydra paced back once more, letting out a hefty breath. His energy had nearly halved and the stun timer on his opponent had run out by now. The only thing he could do was prepare himself for his opponent's next move. Turning his head slightly towards the crowd he noticed a few more players had come to spectate, one he believed was another member of the Knights of The Blood Oath known as @Macradon although the other he did not recognize. "No time to feel nervous now." The brunette mumbled to himself.

ID# 77055 results:

Battle: 8 (hit)

SA: Merciless Flurry (12x1) = 12x12 = 144 DMG to Mack
________
Hydra: 715/715 | 47/70 Energy | 12 Damage
@Mack: 784/1020 (928-144)

Edited February 10, 2017 by Hydra