{PP-F1} Helping new friends <Itzal and Eira> <<Earning a Living>>

[Itzal 0]

Itzal leaped from rooftop to rooftop, determined to beat his familiar, Velnia, a small purple dragon who was able to use electricity and lightning, in a race.  A race to Sey's restaurant.  She won most races, due to her being a flying expert, but Itzal was getting better.  A large gap between building's appeared and he pushed off, leaping over the gap, landing on the other roof and rolled in order to keep his momentum as well as keep himself from gaining damage, pushing on with his run.  His purple trench coat (image in journal) was pushed back by the wind as he ran.  He didn't look to his side as that would not only endanger him but also slow him down.  If his familiar was ahead of him then he'd see her.  He could see the restaurant ahead and sped up.  However even though he was, Velnia was faster and she had clearly been conserving his energy.  Itzal laughed as he gave into the fact that and slowed down, approaching the edge of the current roof and leaping from it, rolling as he landed on the ground.  He chuckled as he walked over to the door and tried to open it but before he did he spotted the closed sign.  He looked at Velnia and shrugged.  "Guess no food today." 

@Eira

[Eira 0]

A tiny bit of col given to her by some player she never learned the name of... such a gift was a blessing, and Eira was going to put the money to good use. She wandered through the town on the first floor, keeping her blue eyes open for any sign of a shop worth buying from. Specifically, she wanted food, and good food at that. Anything besides the tasteless bread that was cheap and at least somewhat easy to obtain in the Town of Beginnings. The small girl eyed a rather handsome-looking cafe or restaurant of sorts directly ahead. Quickening her pace, she began to make her way to it, only to stop, startled, by a thud from close by. Turning her head, the blonde gazed at the man who had magically fallen from the sky and now in front of the cafe, along with his dragon pet. 

At first, the child was still upset at being startled so easily, though her attention was quickly diverted to the small purple dragon flying near the dark-haired man. Never before had she seen such a creature in the game. As if by instinct, Eira began to gravitate towards the man and his dragon, her blue eyes not moving to anything else as she drew closer. Once within reach, the girl attempted to reach out her hand to pet the tiny dragon. It had not occurred to her with the suddenness that it was better to ask for permission to do such a thing. Presently, the man nearby hardly existed; only the dragon mattered.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal started thinking about what they could do next.  He turned to Velnia.  "I guess we could always go get pizza...  Or we could try Chinese.  Never tried that before.  Although I feel like Kasier would like to try it with us."  Velnia started to think about it.  She really liked pizza.  It filled her up.  However she had a sudden feeling.  That feeling when you feel like something's hovering over you.  She turned her neck around to check behind her and saw a hand reaching for her.  Instead of leaping back from shock, or strike at her.  Instead she just craned her head high enough to see over the hand.  A girl...  It was an adorable little girl.  Her tail twitched for a moment, catching Itzal's attention.  He turned to see what Velnia was focusing on and saw the girl himself.  Oh boy he thought.  Before he could give a warning Velnia leaped onto the girl's arm and zipped over to look into the girl's eyes.  She stared into them for the longest time.  Eventually she grinned.  She then started to crawl over every area of the girl with lightning fast speed, ending on the girl's shoulder and licked her cheek.  Itzal chuckled.  Still, the fact that an eleven year old was in SAO....  "That means she likes you.  Her name's Velnia by the way and I'm Itzal."  He nodded with a smile.  "We were going to get something to eat if you'd like to join us."

@Eira

[Eira 0]

Eira had been fortunate to have met at least a few reptiles in her life. A bearded dragon at a friend's house, a snake and tiny alligator at a special animal encounter in class, and many small lizards and turtles and frogs in her own backyard. Never before, however, had she ever encountered the winged creature known as a dragon. She read about them in books, but all those books portrayed them as fictional, or simply ideas generated by ancient civilizations in their mythology. Though she could not read well, the pictures in the books were worth a thousand words. Aincrad was a world of fantasy, that much she knew, but in her own imagination, the animals were all somehow real, and had been imported into the game from real life. They were not just computer graphics. As for the NPC that were human, to her, they were also people in real life, like everybody else. The term NPC always confused her, with her perceiving it more as the word, 'enpisee', and not three different letters.

Dragons, somehow, had to be real, or was the game really that magical? The fact puzzled the small girl, though she had not another instant to think about it as the creature climbed onto her arm. Her first impulse was to leap back and shake it off, as she disapproved of the unexpected movement and touch. However, she somehow was quick to remind herself that this was a cute animal, and thus it meant no harm. Besides, if it was anything like the lizards in her yard, if it bit her, it would not hurt much, even though it was larger than the average anole or gecko. 

What surprised her most of all was grin on the dragon's face. It almost seemed more human-like than the 'smiles' she perceived on the faces of other animals, especially reptiles. The creature then began to crawl all over the young girl, who was tempted to jump back in her surprise. The creature's tiny claws and feet tickled, and the instinct to either laugh or protest was strong. Deciding to take the neutral route, for once, the girl made no sound and waited for the creature to end up on her shoulder and lick her cheek. It was acting more like a dog than it was a reptile. Was it sick?

The man who owned the creature chuckled, and his reassurance that the dragon liked her made Eira give a wide grin as she thought about it. The owner always knew the most about their pet, usually, and this person appeared to own the dragon. "Velnia," she repeated, saying the flying creature's name and reaching her opposing hand up in an attempt to stroke its small head, all while being careful to avoid accidentally poking it in the eyes. She heard the man's name, though was not so keen as to repeat it, as the small pet of his possessed more of her attention. However, she did not ignore him completely, and for that, she was rewarded.

They were going somewhere to eat? If she had her way, she would spend the entire day with the small creature, so naturally, she wished to join them. And luckily enough for her, she could say yes, having a bit of col on her, instead of turning it down or behaving awkwardly about having no money. After all, it was rude to impose, her mother had always taught her, and even here, trapped in the game, she still did her best to follow the rules her parents had set. Upon his offer, the blonde took a few moments to consider it, before she eagerly nodded and replied with a smile. "Okay! Thanks!"

@Itzal

[Itzal 0]

Itzal watched as the girl tried hard not to giggle as Velnia skidded all over her and, to his surprise, she succeeded.  After he commented about Velnia the girl smiled.  That smile alone brightened up his day.  Itzal registered quickly that she seemed rather young which broke his heart to see her trapped in this world.  Still she seemed to be doing well thus far so that was good.  He remembered his first days in Aincrad.  He was reckless, hard headed, and filled with a passionate hate towards player killers.  A totally opposite man from who he was today.  If it weren't for that player he'd be dead right now.  However this was just a little girl.  What on earth must it have been like for her when the announcement came by?  Itzal hadn't been bothered by it much since he figured this world was like the real world, except with more gaming details added into it, and jumped right into the game.  When he mentioned that she was welcome to join them for food she seemed extremely grateful.  He smiled and nodded.  "Alright then any idea what you'd like to eat?  Foods on me so pick anything you'd like.  Nothing's too expensive for me on this floor."  Velnia's tail twitched eagerly as she thought of all the possibilities.

@Eira

[Eira 0]

The young blonde continued to keep her blue eyes on the tiny dragon after she had nodded and responded to the man. She rarely thought back to the day the announcement of them being trapped had been made. The scary red-hooded figure still loomed in the back of her mind, somewhat frightening her.
However, he had used long and incomprehensible words for the most part, and while she had gotten the gist, she simply marked him as a confusing one on the list of those she might actually remember, and moved on with her ‘life’. If anything, she had other things to think back to, and daydream about, even though she tried her hardest to push ‘those’ thoughts away.

He then asked what she would like to eat, and told her that she could pick anything. That was a sound for sore ears, as it was hard to get food to begin with here, and she rarely ever got a real say in what she would receive for her next meal. Did this man really mean it?

Eira thought about it, quietly musing her options. She did not know the restaurants, stores, markets, and cafes in the area, but he did not specify where-- only what. At first, the child thought about macaroni and cheese. Her older sister made the best ever, out of a box, and somehow fixed it in a way that was tastier than the way her mother did. Then again, other restaurants typically had a ‘fancier’ macaroni and cheese; so the idea simply would not do. She could ask for any sort of junk food too… but was he offering just a meal, dessert, or both?
At least she had enough sense, despite her age, to make a wise choice in the matter. “I want pizza,” she would tell him in a grateful, chipper, and decisive manner, finally looking away from the dragon for once, to meet his sapphire-hued eyes.

She thoroughly answered his question, and now it was time to ask her own. “Is Velnia coming too?” Eira questioned, tilting her head back towards his companion, and daring not call her just ‘the dragon’, like her parents would call most of her temporary-adoptive pets she would bring in from the backyard.
 

@Itzal

Edited April 3, 2017 by Eira

[Itzal 0]

Itzal nearly chuckled when he heard her ask for pizza.  The very thing he wanted to skip today due to them having it so much before.  He settled for a smile and nodded to the girl.  "Alright then.  I know a great Italian restaurant that serves excellent pizza.  I can take us there."  Then she asked if Velnia was coming along too.  This time Itzal really did chuckle.  "She'd kill me if I kept her from food, so yeah she'll be coming.  And most likely she'll order an entire pizza for herself."  Velnia's head nodded up and down multiple times swiftly, causing Itzal to laugh lightly.  Velnia was adorable and so random.  She made Itzal laugh so hard.  Velnia made Itzal laugh and Kasier made him smile.  Each did it in a way that nobody else could.  He loved having those two in his life.  He gestured for her to follow him.  "Come on!  It's not that far.  If we walk fast we'll be there in three minutes tops."  He waited for her to start moving with him.  He still didn't know her name and he didn't want to just call her 'girl' or 'you'.  He'd need to be creative until she told him her name.  He shared his but he would not press for hers.  As they walked, Velnia flew onto Eira's head and poked her head out in front of the girl's head upside down.  She looked in the girl's eyes then grinned in a silly manner.  Velnia hadn't really interacted with many young ones and thus she wondered if they were as playful as she was.  She hoped she could find a playmate she could hang out with along with Itzi.

@Eira

[Eira 0]

Italian restaurant? It was too bad that the video game appeared to have little in the way of ‘fast food’, which was supposedly bad for you, but extremely delicious at the same time. Pizza was ‘fast food’, typically, but did they serve it at the fancier ‘Italian restaurants’ as well? Only time would tell.

However, the more important question as to if the dragon was coming along was finally answered, and in a way that pleased the young girl. While she did not believe that the cute Velnia was capable of killing a human, concerning her size, it was comforting to know that they would not be leaving the cute creature outside or alone while they got food. But was it true that she could really eat an entire pizza on her own? She was so tiny, so surely her stomach was smaller than a human’s. “Wouldn’t a whole pizza make her sick?” the blonde inquired curiously. Eating too much made her sick, and she assumed it was the same for any animal.

Eira understood the gesture to follow, which encouraged the girl to walk alongside him. Three minutes of walking was nothing, and it likely would not be long before the trio could smell the fresh garlic and tomatoes of Italian cooking. Velnia poked her head down, almost startling the child, as she was unable to see what was dead ahead with the dragon in her vision. “Velnia, I can’t see!” she giggled, attempting to gently pick the dragon up to hold in her arms, instead of letting it ride on her head and possibly obstruct her view again. Like every little girl, Eira simply wanted to hold and cuddle the creature, finding it much more satisfying than just wearing it like a hat.
 

@Itzal  

[Itzal 0]

Itzal chuckled at her question and shook his head.  "There are sooooo many things about Velnia that I ask myself.  So many that I've given up.  Who knows why she can eat that much.  Maybe cause she's a dragon she has fire in her that burns the food?  No wait, she breaths lightning, not fire.  I have no clue, but she ate a whole pizza before.  And I've never seen her get sick."  Itzal wondered if she was immune to fat or something.  Velnia was pleased to hear the girl giggle and let Eira pick her up and tried to get comfortable in her arms, holding her claws up like a cat would.  She craned her neck up and gave her a lick on the tip of her nose before snuggling with her.  Itzal smiled as he watched the two enjoy each other's company.  "You want to have a familiar as well?  I can help you find one if you'd like.  It may take a while though."  Soon enough they reached the restaurant and Itzal found a table for the two.  The waiter walked over and asked what they'd like.  Itzal smiled.  "I'll have pepperoni and sausage on my half.  Velnia here wants a whole pizza, as much meat as you can.  Eira what would you like on your half?  Oh and I'll have a water."  Velnia stretched her tail out to the menu and touched the chocolate milk option which caused Itzal to sigh as the waiter wrote it down.

@Eira