[PP-F5] Bonds that Last [Anemone, Aereth]

[Aereth 1]

Spoiler

<<Blood in the Sand>>

This Repeatable quest takes place on Floor 5

 

Word from the Information Brokers speaks of a hidden respawning Field Boss on Floor 5. A small party reported having encountered a dangerous unknown enemy in the sand dunes of Floor 5. 'Swimming' through the sand, the shark like creature would attack by bursting out of the sand and biting with powerful jaws. This monster <<Sand Shark>>, proved to be a dangerous opponent for the relatively low leveled party, and dropped a powerful alchemical concoction.

 

This RP will not count in the benchmark

 

Requirement: 

<<Sand Shark>> must be defeated, Maximum Party Size of 3

At least two [2] Pages  (21 or more posts)

 

Rewards: 

1. [sand Armor Potion] This incredibly potent alchemical salve can be applied to a piece of armor, increasing damage mitigation/resistance by one point for one battle. (MIT +27)
2. [3 Skill Points]

 

 

<<Sand Shark>> is a respawning Field Boss and has the following statistics:

HP: 125

Damage per Attack: 50

 

• Parties or Groups of low level players are encouraged.
• You are free to control Sand Shark yourself, however he must be Rp'd responsibly.

 

Note:

While you may repeat this Quest as many times as you like, the 3 Skill Point reward will only be obtained on the first completion of the Quest. Repeat completions will only yield <<The Sand Armor>>

 

Good Luck Players!

It has been quite a while since Aereth last heard from Anemone, and with his upcoming operation, he wanted to spend some more time with this friend of his, as well as giving his farewell. The other day he had been talking with Itzal about leaving the guild in order to keep those good hearts out of harms way. He hadn't made many friends in here, but he at least wanted give a proper goodbye to the people he held dear in this game. During yet another sleepless night filled with planning and nightmares, Aereth had quickly shot Anemone a short message asking if she liked to accompany him for the next day.
Time skip to yesterday:

Quote

To: @Anemone
Subject: Long time no see
Text: Greetings, milady.
It seems to me like quite some time passed since we last met. So I figured, that if you might have some time tomorrow, we could go on another quest together. If you like of course. It's a pretty easy quest with no risks involved, so we could use the time in order to catch up. I'll be waiting for you on floor 5 outside the safe zone if you decide to come.

Kind regards, from Your Knight
Aereth

 

So there he was. Waiting outside of the safe zone for his questing partner to arrive. Aereth wore his standard Goldcrest armor, and in addition to that a long black coat with a hood, in order to conceal himself as good as possible.

[Anemone 0]

Crimson streaked white hair bounced with every movement of her body as she traveled from her starting location to the teleport plaza. Her red eyes had followed the portal device as she looked at it once. She looked over her body to make sure everything she had on her was needed for this quest. Of course, it would be another one of those crazy days on Floor Five and just when she thought it was all said and done with. Taking a deep breath and holding it for a moment, she called out the name of the city where she needed to go...Floor Five, the desert.

Her body shimmered away with light flecked dust as she was carried off to the dry and arid heat of floor five. She stifled a cough from the pressure of the sun hitting her back and all around her. She felt like the sun was just swallowing her up as she stood there, "Oh yes. I remember this floor. Why did it have to be this floor." She rolled her bright red ruby colored eyes, of course she would come to this floor a million times or more if she needed to be at the side of Aereth, which is why she was here in the first place. Sweeping a palm over her Knights of the Blood Oath emblem on her upper chest, the woman smiled and began to stroll forward meeting up with Aereth at the indicated spot, "Good afternoon, Sir Aereth. Sorry if I am late, I usually arrive in a timely matter. But one had to psyche themselves up for a journey into the desert. To be quite honest, I had thought I would never return here again." The woman placed both hands behind her back. That shyness seemed to still convey much of her personality as she spoke a little higher than a whisper towards the male player. She had not forgotten their last adventure and the fact that he visited her shop, or more like, asked to meet her up near the safe zone for his items which she made for him. "I never got a chance to ask if you enjoyed that meal I made you. I hope it was to your liking. So we are going on a quest today, is that it? Well, I hope we have fun!" A small little cheer from her as she made a fist into the air, right leg lifting up behind her as she gave a small hop.

She didn't realize how corny she seemed to be at that moment and just blushed it away as the strands of colored hair teased in her face. She smiled with her lavender lips none the less and looked down, "We should probably get started then. I was here not too long ago helping a friend of mine, Shield. He needed some materials and we were able to collect a lot of these things called Fulgurites. I think that's what they were called. Interesting things...." Anemone smiled at Aereth, the heat of the sun now hiding her rosy cheeks as she was now just 'glowing' from the heat. @Aereth

[Aereth 1]

When a familiar female voice called out his name, Aereth looked up from his hood and saw how Anemone was approaching him. He cracked a smile and pulled back his hood in order to reveal his full face to her. "Anemone, it's really awesome that you made it. And don't worry about the time. Now you are here and that's everything that counts. How have you been in the last couple of weeks?" Aereth told the woman and started to notice certain changes in her appearance from the last time they met. Gone were the elements of blue in her clothing, now being replaced by strong red colors, and even her new hairstyle had some elements of red incorporated into it. "You've changed your appearance quit a bit since the last time we met. But I really like it. Your new hairstyle looks amazing. And you even managed to get a spot in a guild. So congratulations, milady." Not even the small guild tag went unnoticed by the man. "So the KoB." Aereth thought, remembering the grumpy ginger blacksmith that was giving away free stuff for Christmas. "The meal was awesome. Thank you very much for it again." the brunette replied with a small bow. "Made me feel like home, at least a little bit." he added with a smile. "And we are indeed here for a quest today. It wields good rewards for almost no risk, so we should be done in no time at all, and we could spend the rest of the day anyway how we like."

Aereth smiled at the positive energy Anemone was radiating, and chuckled when she said how she had been here with Shield. "Haha, you know Shield? He was a fellow guild mate of me." It really seemed like the Celestial Ascendants were everywhere

@Anemone

[Anemone 0]

The woman fiddled with her hair and her own fingers when she looked Aereth in the eye when he gave her compliments. "Ah, thank you very much. My confidence in my self worth has ramped up a bit since joining the Knights. Mack has...well, he taught me many things about being a person that I didn't see in myself. Mistakes, missed opportunities, not regretting. I need to be more assertive so I have been trying to 'get in there' the best I can." She was pleased that Aereth had enjoyed his meal. She clapped her hands twice and smiled brightly at him, big red eyes beaming as she did so, "Oh! I am so glad that you were able to enjoy that meal. I put all of my heart and soul into it and then some!"

She shied away from him a little bit, even though he was an orange player, she was not scared of him in the least. She knew very little of the circumstances of what happened to cause the change or the reason why he would not take the Redemption Quest, but those were his own thoughts and actions and she would not butt-in on his world. With her hands clasped up to her chest, the woman gave an outward sigh and smiled, "That is quite good to hear. This heat is already making me glow a bit, I am not too fond of this floor or the heat for that matter. But I won't complain about it anymore. We have a mission to do, yes?" Her lavender lips curled once again into a smile as they headed out into the desert. She would stick to Aereth allowing him to lead while she followed closed behind. Hot wind buzzed across her face, grains of sand flicking over her boots as she moved cautiously through the sandy winds.

"I have been doing well I suppose. Besides working on myself, I have been getting out more and helping where I can. If I could, I would help everyone who needed or wanted it. That is the job of the Knight after all, yes? You are a protector, Aereth. And that is something I admire about you. There are too many people who fall into the seduction of the darkness and they allow it to control them. I don't fear these people, but I do pity them. But anyways, because of you I too wish to protect people of this world, no matter who they are. My goals have unchanged since I  joined the Knights, if anything more it has cemented my beliefs into stronger ideals."

She swept a hand across her forehead from the bead of sweat itching her brow. She hoped against hope that her makeup would not run off her face because of the moisture. The last thing she wanted to look like for Aereth was some Thrift Town Hooker. She cleared her voice, allowing a more audible and louder tone of voice to be heard over the wind, "How are things with you? I know it is difficult to traverse with that over your head, " she said pointing to his crystal, "Are you at least eating and sleeping well? I can help you with that if you need--" She placed both hands over her mouth and ran in front of Aereth, "I- I didn't mean like that! I mean, you and me! I mean me making you meals! Not ...helping you to sleep or anything. Oooh. I'm just making a fool of myself here. I'm sorry. That comment came out wrong. I just mean since it might be difficult for you to procure decent meals and stuff. I don't mind making you food." Her cheeks burned hot from both the heat and embarrassment, she even felt it deep within her uniform making her body quite uncomfortable. Hopefully he didn't misinterpret what she was attempting to say although she did have romantic thoughts of some people, it became very difficult for her sometimes not to daydream about that perfect romance novel she would drum up in her imagination. @Aereth

[Aereth 1]

"That's good to hear. You are such a great person, so it's about time you see that for yourself. So Mack has helped you with these things. Is he still as grumpy as always?" Aereth chuckled. "And you are indeed an excellent cook if I may say so." returning the bright smile she gave him. 

"I feel you there. I also don't like the heat that much, and I decided to leave Fenrir at home on floor four for today. But yes, the quest is about killing a stupid sand shark. It should be done with one hit though..." Aereth told Anemone in a thoughtful tone. "I should have been doing this quest long ago..." he thought while pulling his hood over his head again in order to protect himself from the harsh winds, and they started to head to the location of the boss.

Aereth was very happy to hear that his friend was doing pretty good since the last time they met. But also a little bit worried that the woman would work too hard for her own good. "I came to know over the last couple of weeks, that wanting to help everybody is near impossible. To help everybody you are able to is more than enough. And I'm happy that I'm a reason you want to help other people." Aereth answered with a smile, but flinched a little bit when he had to find an answer to the part where she told him that he was a protector, and that she pitied people that were consumed by their own darkness. "I'm really honored that you see me that way, but I fear that I'm not as good and pure as you think I am..." he simply replied in a low voice. He was nothing more that a merciless murderer. Every time he had killed a player, he had done it without hesitation, and without regret. Sometimes he wasn't even sure if he was really himself anymore...

Thankfully Anemone's next question snapped him out of his thoughts. She asked him how things were going on his end, and if he consumed enough food and got enough sleep. She even offered him some help. Aereth turned around to see Anemone quickly cover her mouth and blushing really really hard. Even though it was hot as f*ck Aereth could clearly see the embarrassment in the face of the woman. "Well, I've got a kitchen and a big bed at home so if you insist..." Aereth said in a teasing tone, and while Anemone tried her best to clarify the situation, Aereth started to chuckle and quickly transitioned into a full out laughter.

"Haha, jokes aside. I understood what you meant don't worry." Aereth told the woman now again in his usual calm and warm tone. "Living with that cursor is either pretty time consuming or expensive, because you either have to walk everywhere or use teleport crystals. You even get used to the looks other people give you..." "And kinda lonely, but who gives a f*ck.." he added mentally. "Eating isn't that much of a problem, although nothing I usually eat has that high quality standards your food has, but that's fine. It makes the times where I am able to enjoy something from you even more special. And as far as sleeping goes, let's just say I'm a night person. So that's also fine." Aereth told Anemone trying to avoid to talk about his sleeping. 

@Anemone

[Anemone 0]

When he joked at her miswording of the situation, she gave him a playful scowl and lightly pushed his shoulder, "Baka..." she said almost so silently it wasn't heard. Anemone didn't mean to harangue him over his special situation about that orange crystal, but he was her friend and she would do almost absolutely anything for him if it came down to it. While the wind was harsh, it helped keep the low end of her hair off her shoulder and brushed it back enough so she didn't have to constantly tweak her hair position out of her face. As they were walking once more, Anemone slowly nodded her head listening to him. A faint smile on her lips as she knew there wasn't something he was talking about, but wouldn't press the matter on it. 

"I'm happy you are at least doing well. You do know if you ever need me for anything you are free to give me a call right? I enjoy making food, so that's no problem. And if you need someone to talk to, I am always here to lend an ear. I pray for all my friends before I go to bed that they stay healthy and strong in whatever they need to do on their day to day routine." She was curious though why he had not taken up that Redemption Quest, there had to be a reason for it. She bit down on her lower lip and teased her hair with her fingers as they coiled around her digits, "Well, to be honest, I am not as pure as people might think as well. I think if we know that we are not all pure then it is easier on ourselves to live here. We need to do the things we need to do here to survive. Sometimes these things are not so pure and great. And you are right, I can't save everyone, but I can at least do what I can to try. I want to heal as many people as I can, which is why I am always usually the first now to take on a dangerous mission. Somewhere out there, someone needs somebody for something. Maybe it's selfish reasoning."

The woman rested her hands behind her back and enjoyed their walk together to the quest objective which he had mentioned to be a Sand Shark, that didn't sound very pleasant. But he said it was a low risk adventure so she would not worry about it. Having mentioned that he was a night person brought a smile to her face, "Ya know, I've been becoming a night person as well? There is a fantastic collection of in game books about the lore of the world here and I find them to be truly fascinating. So I would spend hours at night just reading...I love books, especially romance novels. Now don't laugh, but I think Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorites. "

Talking had caused the harsh heat and sun to become negligible for the woman, she was in good company and was able to speak freely with Aereth around. She titled her head to the side and looked at him with those bright red eyes, "I hope we can do this more often. I enjoy my time with you, @Aereth."

[Aereth 1]

Aereth chuckled once more as Anemone lightly pushed his shoulder. He really enjoyed her company. Especially in situation like this. He was able to laugh and was just freed from all the burdens he kept putting on his shoulders. It was incredible hot under his black coat, but at least it prevented the sand from being everywhere after their adventure in the dessert, and his hood also did a great job in protecting his hair and face from the sand.

"Thank you, Anemone." was everything Aereth seemed to be able to respond to the woman at the moment. "I really appreciate everything you just offered to me, but I don't want my problems and issues to become yours as well. And to be really honest, you might be the purest person I met inside of here. You dedicate your virtual life to healing and supporting other players and always manage to put a smile on the face of your company." Aereth told her with one of the smiles he just mentioned, and all the honesty he could put in his voice. "I'm really glad that I was able to meet you back there. You are a very important person to me, and thus I don't want to put you in any danger." 

When she was talking about how she also became night person due to the many books that were available to the players here in Aincrad, and that she mostly enjoyed romance novels, like the beauty and the beast, he smiled. "Now you have to promise me not to laugh, but back in the real world I too was really into romance and drama novels. My girlfriend and I used to read the same stuff on our e-readers." Aereth said with a chuckle. "And I too enjoy our time together. Helps me turning off the cr*p I have to deal with on a daily basis."

@Anemone OOC: Sorry for taking so long. Muse was kinda dead, and Easter weekend didn't help either, but now I'm back. xD

[Anemone 0]

OOC: No problem. Not having muse, I know how that is. :D

She was not sure why she was being thanked, but her pale lavender lips smiled back to him none the less and would enjoy the company as it was. With her arms folded behind her back, the woman gave a slight nod, "Really it would be no trouble at all for me. You are a dear friend, I would want to help you out anyway I could. And it's not just a virtual life ya know?" The woman smiled back, shifting her arm and pushing back a long crimson strand of her hair from those ruby eyes of hers. She smiled and looked down at the ground once before looking straight ahead, "Everyone sees it as digital. It very is true, this is a digital world. But our minds and thoughts and feeling and actions as people, as humans are not. We are still humans capable of doing so much, we might be away from our bodies, but our minds are still the single most powerful thing in this game. We still have to keep our humanity, I fear there might be a time when we might forget that if we are here too long, then it might come back to hurt us. I understand..." the woman shifted her eyes from the sky to Aereth, a soft smile on her face and looked into the orange glow of his crystal cast by the sunlight of the sand, "...you took a great hit to your humanity when you had to protect those girls. You protected them and you took a person's life because of it." Anemone bit down on her lower lip.

"I am not blind to the deceitful nature people might have as well, or the cloak of hate that people wrap themselves up into for the sake of others. But no one person here in this world is alone. Your burden is not one cast only on you. The moment we spoke, the moment we made a bond and a connection. You shared that burden with me as well, and all your friends. Aereth...You are not alone. You will never be alone." The young woman of the Knights of the Blood Oath tilted her head to the side and smiled with her eyes at him, she would want the best of intentions for Aereth and she knew after all this time between the two there had to be a reason why he didn't take the redemption quest yet. Something was holding him to this 'burden.' With the sand and wind calming down a little, Anemone was able to uncover an object in the sane and collected a rather large piece of what was known as "Fulgurite!" she declared, "I think I said that right. These were the things I was helping Shield look for in the desert not too long ago. Pretty neat, huh? So the story goes, that lighting strikes in the desert and crystallizes the sand and it  creates these rock...things. " the woman stifled a small giggle from her lips, honestly she had no idea she would repeating this area with another friend so soon.

ID: 82712
LD: 19+8 = [+4 T1 Materials]
@Aereth

Edited April 19, 2017 by Anemone

[Aereth 1]

Again, Aereth remained quiet and decided to listen to his female friend and companion. She talked about many things. But when she came to the part where she talked about humanity and that he was not alone, and that he will never be alone, he stiffened. Thanks to the sandstorm becoming weaker and weaker by each second, Aereth pulled back his hood in order to face the woman. "You are right. This here is reality right now. With all the rights and duties a real world brings with it. And you are right again. We need to remember that we are still humans in here. I just fear that I have lost my humanity a long time ago." Aereth told the woman. "Best example is: even now I don't doubt my actions back then in the woods where I saved the two girls. I don't feel sorry or any regret for what happened to the ones I killed. But exactly this nature of mine makes me doubt myself. Am I still human? Or am I just a merciless killer just like them? And what scares me even more are the things that are going to happen in the future..." Aereth told her in a voice filled with worry. "And I know you will say that I'm wrong, but sometimes it's safer to be al..." he didn't get to finish his sentence, due to a sudden shake of the ground they were both standing on. 

It seemed like they had reached the place where the quest mob would spawn. The <<Sand Shark>> shot out of the sand and aimed directly at Aereth and Anemone. Instinctively, Aereth pushed Anemone hard in order to get her out of harms way.  Shortly after that the sand shark made contact with his body and sent Aereth flying back a couple of meters. "Anemone, are you ok? Seems like we need to postpone the talking to after this little fight..." Aereth asked his companion while unsheathing his blade. 

Aereth: 700/700 HP | 70/70 EN

Sand Shark: 125/125 HP | 50 DMG

@Anemone

[Anemone 0]

Anemone kept a certain look in her eyes as she listened to Aereth. What he said, what he did, that was not for her to judge. When you are faced with something dangerous, you don't know how you are going to react to it until you do. Instinct takes over, raw and unhinged emotions and actions. Whatever you are feeling at the time, you are doing out of adrenaline and the rush; it was not a matter of right or wrong, it was a matter of what the moment needed to be. She knew this. She was a flaky woman at times, perhaps a little naive as well, but she understood nature. She had easily been bullied most of her life, taking the jabs that people throw at her. She was more sad than she was angry with them, some of them had even gone to say there wasn't a single solid bone in her body. She was not a hater, she was not a fighter. So to claim that she understood the actions of others, it was a textbook thought, not a real world one. She smiled at Aereth wanting to reply before the ground shook and gave way.

She had been in a small daze, feeling her shoulder be shoved down by his hand. The woman fell to the side, falling on her hands and whipping her head back to see the giant monster nearly taken them both down. Once again, she was moved out of harm's way thanks to her Protector. When her red eyes squinted to see through the kicked up sand and debris she searched for Aereth only just a few feet away and collected back towards her. She got up and dusted her self off, "I-I am fine, thanks to you." she said sweeping a hand over her forehead. The sun and heat seemed to be magnified now that the Sand Shark had appeared. Looks like before they could say anything else to one another, they had to defeat this thing. Anemone looked to Aereth and nodded taking several steps back behind him. "Be careful." She said, and lifted her right hand up to her midsection. When it came down to it, she would be ready to heal.

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

Nodding to @Anemone, Aereth activated his Flame Aura enhancement, and charged at the Sand Shark. "This will be over in no time." he thought while closing in on the sneaky field boss. But the sand shard wouldn't just wait for Aereth to come for him no, he also started to charge at Aereth, while changing directions very quickly in order to reduce Aereth's ability to get a clean hit on the mob. Seeing this, Aereth couldn't help but remember back to the time when Anemone and he did their first quest together. They took on some annoying serpents in the sand, and even though the shark tried his best to evade every swipe, he was nothing compared to the serpents. 

Triggering his Disguise skill, Aereth took on the appearance of the shark, which irritated the mob severely. Using the opportunity, Aereth closed in and as soon as he was in range for an attack, deactivated the disguise and started to attack the shark with his eleven hit combo. Shortly afterwards, the field boss scattered into tiny polygons, and the two of them were done with the quest. Sheathing his blade, Aereth made his way back to Anemone.

ID# 83443 results:
Battle: 2+3+1
Damage: 12*11=132 DMG

Aereth: 700/700 HP | 60/70 EN

Sand Shark: 0/125 HP | 50 DMG

 

[Anemone 0]

All it took was one blink of her eyes to know the battle had been over so swiftly. The woman smiled big at Aereth as he returned and clapped her hands, "Oh, you took it down with one sword art. That's pretty impressive!" Her clapping had stopped and she beamed a smile at the person in front of her but she didn't know what else to say. Now that the battle was over, and the quest was over...what else was there to do? "Well, that had finished faster than I had thought to be honest. I suppose we can stay on this hot floor and look for some more materials or something. I'm not too entirely sure since you finished it off so quick." The woman brought a hand up to her face and smoothed away the fly away strands of white with mixed crimson hair from her radiant and brilliant red eyes. There was something about the heat on this floor that was moderately enjoyable, had their been water or some kind of oasis, she would feel the need for a swim. Her day dreaming had caused her to zone out, but her face was unchanged with that simple smile that she wore.

"Oh! I'm sorry, you don't seem to be hurt so I guess my healing is not necessary right now. Well then, what are we to do next? If you are tired or something, we could call it a day and head back to the safe zone unless you wanted to do something else? I'm not sure how great it would be, but I could search for a dungeon as well here. I didn't have much luck last time I think." @Aereth

[Aereth 1]

Aereth put a smile on his face and even chuckled slightly, when Anemone told him how impressive the little show had been. "Well let's just say I should have been doing this quest a long time ago. But none the less a very lucrative one." Aereth replied while checking out the rewards for the Quest. A tier one mitigation potion, and a good amount of experience. "I'm really fine with anything." Aereth then added before opening his inventory, replacing his accuracy ring with the Discovery Ring, he had ordered from Birdie way back.

Taking a short look around them while Anemone zoned out, Aereth couldn't spot anything, but thankfully had to turn his attention back to his female partner, as she was apologizing to him. "Hey, no need to say sorry. Looking for materials and dungeons sounds good to me. And like I said earlier, I've got the whole day to spend with you today." He exclaimed with a hint of guilt in his voice. "I still need to tell you some important things..." he added mentally.

@Anemone

ID# 83619 results:
Loot: 6+5

[Anemone 0]

"The desert it is." She said with a very, very, very small cheer. When they had reunited on the same page, Anemone turned her head to Aereth and smiled, she always did that. Smile. It was a defensive mechanism for her, while she was a meek and timid woman she found smiling to be her fallback plan even if she was uncomfortable or something, she would continue to smile through it. There were times though when she could not enforce it, something that would belittle her if it were intentional or not, it would make that smile disappear. Yet, she was firm and hardy in some of her beliefs. Even if she were put down by someone she thought of as a friend, it would not matter because her smile would give her courage to get past it. She was the better person after all.

But still...to have those kinds of words said to her. She raised her dark brows and sighed a little from the heat and looked at Aereth with yet another 'I'm not quite here look,' before quickly nodding. "The whole day to spend with me, huh? Sounds like something you would do with a girlfriend or something. I mean, I enjoy your company and all but aren't you with someone? Wouldn't you rather be spending your time with her?"

ID: 83717
LD: 2+ 8 = ;(

@Aereth

Edited May 3, 2017 by Anemone

[Aereth 1]

"I mean, if you want we could also change the floor and so something else if you like." Aereth answered the red and silver haired woman, before spotting some of those Fulgurite items, Anemone found earlier. "I could use a teleport crystal to change floors more quick, but you'd have to wait for me until I find you again." He really didn't mind changing floors.

Hearing Anemone ask if he was with someone, made Aereth stop in his tracks. His hands shortly formed two fists, before he relaxed again. Slowly turning to face Anemone, Aereth locked eyes with her and said. "To be completely honest... Yes I had a girlfriend. And yes, I'd love nothing more than to spend all of my time with her... The only thing is, that I'll never ever will be able to do that again..." After that he fell quiet and looked around in order to find somewhere they could talk in peace, without the wind and sand annoying them so much. Thankfully he spotted something that looked like a abandoned village. "Let's head over there, in order to take a break. There we can also talk with a little bit more comfortably." he told the woman in a low voice while pointing to the abandoned village.

@Anemone

ID# 83740 results:
Loot: 20

Materials: 4

[Anemone 0]

Anemone had forgotten just for the briefest of moments that orange players could not easily up and walk to a teleport plaza like any other citizen of Aincrad. She kept her hands busy behind her as she looked out the horizon as it seemed to have some kind of heat current to it. The land looked blurry due to the heat casting a mirage of her eyes when she spotted the tops of run down buildings. However, Aereth had seen it as well and his voice as well as his body language seemed to give off something of a trigger when she asked about a current relationship. She didn't know what to say to him next, there was something she possibly said that might have just been too much of a personal thing and she heard it in his words clearly. Secretly she had asked to find out subtly if he was seeing anyone or not, but that was probably her biggest mistake. She followed the male scout towards the abandoned and run down village. It seemed everything was lost within it becoming nothing more than a ghost town.

Red eyes cast at the doors broken down, windows shattered and the buildings looking like the weather had just drained them of any life. She beat the sweat from her brow as she popped her collar a few times and looked for a place suitable to talk and not bake at the same time, but anything out of the sun would do, "How about in here?" It was a small saloon of sorts with swinging doors, and there were tables uplifted on the ground and broken chairs. But there was at least a space to sit down away from the heat. Inside she could feel the arid heat sink into the building but they were out of the line of fire from the relentless sun. Anemone had taken a seat at a dusty old broken table. She ran a finger across it as she collected the dust with a single swipe of her finger, "This place could definitely use a woman's touch. I apologize if I drummed up some personal feelings. That was my fault, a little too curious for my own good." Although she would not explicitly say she wanted to know purely for the fact if he was available and even if he were...What could she possibly give to him that any other beautiful woman in Aincrad could not? @Aereth

[Aereth 1]

Aereth cracked a small but somehow forced smile at Anemone's comment about how this place would need a woman's touch. "Seems like you're right in this regard." He answered before sitting down on another one of the chairs. After that he pulled out two water bottles off his inventory, and handed one over to Anemone. "Here have one, and you don't need to apologize. It was just a normal question, and I feel like I trust you enough to tell you about it. Back to the topic. Remember the story I told you the last time we were questing together? About how a friend of mine found his death by the hand of two PKers?" He paused shortly in order to take a sip from his water. "Well to be completely honest, I kinda l-lied back then." Now he was getting visually uncomfortable. "Come on Aereth... You already did it once. Just tell her..." he thought before letting out a heavy sigh. "You see, that friend wasn't just a 'friend'. SHE, was my girlfriend. And SHE had to die because I was too careless, too weak..." After that he felt how the anger, the sadness and the hatred started to emerge from deep within him once more, trying to push tears into his eyes. But not today. He wouldn't cry, in front of a woman. Gulping hard in order to suppress his feelings once again, Aereth waited for the answer of his female companion. @Anemone

[Anemone 0]

"Oh thank you!" Anemone had manners, more manners than she thought she had and even while run dry from the heat found a way to be very genuine in what she did. Taking the bottled water and unscrewing the cap, the woman drank heavily from the bottle but made sure not to spill any from the corner of her mouth. Inhaling and exhaling rather quickly from not stopping for air to drink, the woman finished off the bottle rather quickly but it was much needed nourishment. Slightly cooled by the water, she listened to the story Aereth had only half told prior. Her radiant ruby eyes were downcast when he spoke, it must have been hard to be there and watch that unfold for him and then to call himself weak in that manner when she had only seen strength in him.

"But you are strong. I can't say I understand your feelings. I never had anyone torn from me like that, if they were my better half I would probably have so much hate and anger for the world. But also so much sadness for everyone involved. Player Killers were becoming well known as the events of that horrible day when Opal had declared herself a part of a guild known as the Laughing Coffin. Since that day people have been more entangled in player killing because they see how easy it is a person can be a target, anyone can be a target now and because of that fact...things in this world were more so complicated.

Anemone shifted her hands on her lap, clearly he was hurt and still is. What kept him strong now was his urge for..."Vengeance is that it? You plan on taking up revenge for them taking your girlfriend away from you. Do you think that will help quell that storm in your heart, Aereth? I don't pretend to know what you feel like, and I won't stop you if you plan on going on some crusade. But you have taken one life it seems by the orange of your crystal. How many more people need to pay for that sin? I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want anyone to get hurt. That is why I am here as a Healer. Even those...Player Killers, they..." she stopped and wondered if anyone would go out and kill for her revenge is she ended up being murdered. Would she want that from them? To play out to get revenge for her? No. Never. She would never want that. And she didn't want to bring up that card either...But...

"Do you think...that is what she wanted you to do?" A small voice, barely audible. @Aereth

[Aereth 1]

"And this is where you are wrong. Even now I'm not strong enough. I'm too weak, too pathetic. It was even my fault that she entered that stupid game. She never was the kind of person to play computer games. Just for Sword Art Online, I convinced her to play alongside with me... So it's my fault for her joining this nightmare, and it's my fault for being too weak to protect her... This is my sin. The sin I will have to live with until I die..." Aereth slightly shook his head when Anemone asked if he was doing it only for vengeance. "I'm not doing it for vengeance alone. Sure, I want to get my hands on the two players that killed Alice, but I am primarily doing it to protect the ones who can't protect themselves. It may be true that the motor that gives me the drive to stand up every day in order to become stronger is my longing for vengeance, my hatred, and the whole darkness that surrounds me since that day, but I'm doing it for all those players who aren't able to protect the ones they love by themselves. For those I am ready to take the burden of being a killer. I know that this doesn't justify the things I am doing, but what else is there to do for me... If I don't do anything...." he shortly paused, afraid of what he might have said. Shaking his head and looking directly into Anemone's eyes, he continued. "That's also the reason why I wanted to spend the day with you. I'm going on a very dangerous operation. Long story short, kids are vanishing everywhere around the town of beginnings, and I'm going to find out what happens to them and I will free them, no matter what it costs..." When Anemone mentioned how he already took one life, Aereth quietly said. "Four... I have already killed four players..." He lowered his head, and looked at the ground. "I know that she wouldn't want me to do that, but the thing is... She's gone. I'll never see her again. And in the time I lived on the streets I came to realize.... The dead don't care.... They are gone, and they don't care what you do, or if you live or die yourself... They are just gone..."

@Anemone

[Anemone 0]

 

Anemone looked at Aereth, her eyes dimmed by his lonely speech. He was ten kinds of hurt, mixed up on his crusade for vengeance. But he was not seeing the picture here. He claimed to want to protect people but he only sought to hurt others in his quest. The woman shifted in her seat, both hands lay in her lap as she looked down at the barren and dusty floor. Sand particles had accumulated from the window, the broken windows offering no form of protection from the elements outside. She sighed and had no idea what to do. But, she knew one thing. 

She cleared her throat and stood up. Anemone placed both hands on the table and then sought to look into Aereth's eyes, "Then I can not stop you." She turned and walked around his chair and stood behind him. Her arms moved and gracefully fell over his shoulders as she leaned over his frame. The long tendrils of crimson streaked hair feathered against his cheek as she turned her head. Lavender lips so soft and pure were now inches away from his ear as she spoke quietly to him, "Then let those who are alive; care." She squeezed his shoulders with her fingertips and lifted herself up from him. Her ruby eyes were set up on him as she stood in front of now with her hand stretched out, "Will you stay with me tonight? If I am not to see you again for a long time, then I wish to be with you before you are gone. It  might be a little selfish to ask you of this. You are fighting and protecting what you think is right and I can not stop you from doing that. You say darkness and anger has swallowed you up. Allow me to share my light with you during your darkest hours." @Aereth

 

Edited May 5, 2017 by Anemone