[PP-NK-F17] On the Trail We Blaze

[Kooh 0]

Kooh leaned over the table, staring down at the knotted wood of its surface when a familiar voice roused her from her thoughts. Looking up at Aereth, her mind drew the memory of the lifeless expression she had seen on the man's face for a split second, causing her to tense. Still, she willed a small grin on her face in response to his greeting while her body slowly relaxed itself afterwards. "Yo. Good as it could be, I guess." She offered a small shrug. The brunette waved the innkeeper over to them, and following their short exchange Kooh let out a small scoff. "Yeah, didn't you know? You can only order tough-guy stuff, like rusty nails with raw eggs." She chuckled to herself before catching a glance of the innkeeper's unamused expression. "Orange juice." She said simply afterwards. The burly man simply raised an eyebrow before turning away to fetch their drinks, perhaps a bit impatient to excuse himself from their odd company.

The blonde would have ordered herself a coffee, if only Aincrad hadn't taken away the effects of caffeine. To her knowledge--and probably for good reason--the game couldn't recreate the chemical compound, meaning she had to adjust to life without it early on. With how the game allowed her brain to rest during her and her avatar's sleep, it generally wasn't a problem. After a night like the last, however, she would have appreciated the drink.

"So, any exciting plans for today?" She spoke up to make conversation with the brunette, a small smirk on her face to match her sarcasm. Their trip to the main island had been tiring, but also surprisingly uneventful, causing Kooh to wonder if the open water on this floor was relatively safe on its own. After all, if there were no sea-dwelling monsters programmed into the game, the only thing they had to worry about was treading water. Even if that could somehow be confirmed, Kooh was most definitely not looking forward to their next trip in the water, regardless of Aereth's help in keeping her from drowning.

[Aereth 1]

Aereth noticed the short moment where Kooh tensed up when she first saw him. "Did I surprise you?" He asked and would have asked more deeply about it if she didn't put on a grin and seemingly relaxed after a couple of moments. "That's good. Cuase I slept like a brick." Aereth said and let a small chuckle escape his mouth when Kooh made her comment about the food in the inn. 

"Haha, yeah. Swimming to another island in order to make it down another goddamn floor. I hate this f*cking place." he replied just before the inn keeper returned with the stuff they ordered. When the inn keeper shot them another unamused expression, Aereth sweat dropped before adding. "The floor. Not the inn." After that Aereth payed the two things, and added the bonus he had promised the man yesterday if they had a safe night. After that the player nodded once and left the two of them alone again. "Any particular reason why you don't like the water?" Aereth asked out of pure curiosity, before taking a sip of his hot chocolate. "Damn, that's some good stuff..."

@Kooh

[Kooh 0]

Once it was placed in front of her, Kooh brought the glass of juice to her lips. When she set it back down on the table, the girl held the item between both hands and tapped lightly on the cool surface. "Yeah. A very specific one, actually." She responded to his question, giving a small chuckle at how satisfied the man seemed to be with his hot chocolate. She leaned forward slightly, her forearms pressing against the wooden tabletop while she stared at the glass in her hands.

"When I was a kid...maybe six, or seven?" She started, her brows narrowing thoughtfully for a second as she recalled the details. "I went to the beach with some family. Believe it or not, I was a handful back then. My parents said I was really reckless and acted out all the time." She looked a bit melancholic for a moment as she spoke about her childhood. "Anyway, even though I didn't know how to swim, I wanted to play in the ocean. So I did." The blonde girl took in a small breath, bringing up her shoulders slightly as she shifted her position in her seat. "I went too far out. As soon as I lost my footing, an undertow pulled me even farther."

Kooh took on a wry smile as her story came to an end. "Basically, it was a miracle I even survived. I was too stubborn to ever learn how to swim, though, even years later." Half a smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. She rolled her shoulders, leaning back in her chair now. "That's all for my story time. Is it your turn to share some weird, personal bit now?" The girl joked, finishing off her juice and allowing the empty glass to dematerialize once she set it back down and pulled her hand away.

[Aereth 1]

Aereth listened to the story of the blonde while slowly sipping away at his chocolate. She went through different emotions and facial expressions while telling her story. Setting down his cup, he also let out a small chuckle, and replied. "Well then it's understandable why you don't like the open water. If you want we can also stay on this floor in case you feel too uncomfortable clinging to my back while swimming. It would be risky because if we would stay here it makes it easier for possible pursuers to find us. But I'll keep up my promise and protect you. Your call. And about the that personal wired stuff...." he said trying to think about some things. "Besides from spiders scaring the sh*t out of me, there's not much. I swear, if there is a boss fight including a spider... Not with me." he said and laughed. "If you really want to know something like that, you need to ask me about my quirks if you mention one."

@Kooh

[Kooh 0]

Kooh was a bit surprised when Aereth offered for them to stay on the sixteenth floor after hearing her story. He reasoned that it would be a riskier choice, reminding her of the players they had been running away from in the first place. The blonde had her doubts that they had even bothered to chase after them past the labyrinth, but saved her reservations for now. The girl crossed her legs, still leaning back in her seat. She let out a chuckle when Aereth admitted his fear of spiders, giving a small nod. "I'll keep that in mind. Hmm?" She mused at his last statement. "Quirks, huh?" She wasn't sure what the man meant by that, but made a mental note to pester him about it if the opportunity presented itself.

"So, is this what you do?" After a few moments, Kooh changed the subject. "Wander around between floors, constantly on the lookout from people after your head?" Despite the subject matter, the girl held a small smirk. "I don't think I could get used to it." She added on. Even though some of her ideals might have changed a bit lately, she still didn't want to think of Sword Art Online as anything more than a game. Ever since she became 'trapped', she had spent her time as she pleased, doing whatever she liked and simply having her own fun in what so many others called a prison. Giving Aereth some time to finish his own drink, respond to her question and collect his thoughts, Kooh stood up and stretched her legs. "Better to keep moving, right?" She prompted, slipping her hands into her pockets and waiting for the brunette to take the lead.

[Aereth 1]

"Damn, those eight legged b*stards are creepy..." he said with disgust in his voice but then chuckled afterwards, before Kooh changed the subject. It really seemed that slowly Aereth was getting through her defense lines, and the blonde female was starting to open up to the brunette. 

"The good thing, is that you don't have to get used to it in the first place. That cursor's thankfully just temporarily orange." Aereth replied with a smirk of his own. "But would you believe me if I told you that you GET used to it?" He said and chuckled. If he was traveling alone, he usually would be able to cover a little bit more than two floors a day, so with a little bit of planning and scheduling the stuff he wanted to do, it was a bearable nuisance. 

Just as he finished his awesome hot chocolate, Kooh got back up and stretched her legs while exclaiming how she was ready to go again. "These are some damn fine legs..." The brunette mumbled, while watching the scene in front of him. "Seems like you made up your mind. Well, then let's go. We should be able to swim over to the island with the dungeon and make it through it with no problems today." Aereth said, now finally looking back into Kooh's eyes.

@Kooh

[Kooh 0]

"Nope." Kooh gave a flat response when Aereth asked if she would believe that one would get used to life outside of the cities. She still wore half a smirk while rolling her ankles one at a time. "Have fun when we get to floor seventy and you can't use teleportation gates." She teased before moving to the inn's front entrance. Just before she could push against the heavy wooden door to lead their way outside when it swung open in front of her without her touch. The girl stopped short, surprised by the sudden movement, when a figure on the other side of the inn's entrance caught her attention. Her head tilted up as the man in front of her was slightly taller, sandy brown hair and piercing amber eyes. The player already looked irritated before she felt his eyes lock with hers. The presence of others behind the man had her glancing over his shoulder where two familiar faces stood. Kooh had just tensed in reaction to seeing the faces of the brothers that had started this whole thing when a sudden force yanked her forward. The player in front of her had a fistful of her dress, holding the girl in place by the collar in the middle of the doorway.

"No way this chick took out Tallas." The man mumbled while his eyes drifted to spot Aereth behind her. "No... It was you, huh?" He asked, a wicked grin crawling over his already sharp features. Not expecting or waiting for an answer, his grip on Kooh's clothing tightened and his other hand raised in a fist aimed at the girl's head. A pair of fingerless metal gauntlets were strapped to his wrists, indicating the man was most likely a martial arts user. "Think you can kill me before her health would hit zero?" He addressed the brunette again, as if to serve as a warning that he would strike if Aereth attacked them. The two players behind the man--the same younger green players that had approached Kooh at the beach on the seventeenth floor--had taken up defensive stances as the tension in the air peaked.

Edited June 22, 2017 by Kooh

[Aereth 1]

"I should probably start spending some money on teleport crystals. But these f*cking things are expensive..." Aereth replied and chuckled once more as suddenly the wooden door opened and a group of three players became visible. Aereth's eyes widened as he immediately remembered the three players. "You!" he spat at all three players and his Flame Aura flickered to life as he prepared to charge at all three of them. 

Unfortunately the player standing in between the two sh*theads that dared to come back for him grabbed Kooh by her skirt, and Aereth immediately dropped the thoughts of charging at them head on. The flames of Aereth's armor flickered wildly while he listened to every word the a**hole spoke, and a frown worked itself over Aereth's face when he asked if he could kill him fast enough before Kooh would die. Just a couple of minutes. If Aereth just got up a couple of minutes earlier, they would have been outta here without meeting them. But on the other side... A couple of minutes later, and they would have been able to take Kooh without him even noticing. "What do you guys want? I thought I made a statement, when I told the two guys behind you to get lost, and when I took care of that Tallas guy." An opening. Aereth needed only a small opening to get Kooh out of direct danger, and he could start ripping through the group of three. He needed to buy time, and somehow bring them to make a mistake. The two idiots in the back were no challenge for Aer. The only dangerous factor was the player that had grabbed Kooh. 

Aereth hoped that the player would know that Kooh currently was their life insurance. Either the moment he would start attacking the blonde, or the moment when Kooh would be able to free herself, Aereth would immediately start running through them without mercy. With every second Aereth started to radiate more and more killing intent. Once you grab a lion by its tail, make sure you never let go...

@Kooh

[Kooh 0]

Despite the turn of events, Kooh simply glared up at the man that held on to her. The balls of her feet were still on the ground, but the player held most of her weight with what seemed like little effort, removing her ability to try and slip away from his grasp. She didn't seem frightened or intimidated by the player, even with the orange cursor over his head, the curled fist hovering in front of her, or the look of twisted excitement on his face. Instead, she simply looked annoyed with him, but the player paid her dirty looks no attention.

"To think that he lost to a brat like you..." The man's expression scowled as the words left him in a mutter. It was unclear whether he was more angry towards Aereth or disappointed in his former guild leader for the outcome of their battle. Aereth spoke up, his words causing the man to smirk again before a low chuckle escaped him. "Ah, yeah. You were really loud and annoying about it, so I came to make you apologize for being so rude." His tone was a mixture of condescending and amused. He jerked his arm back and forth a couple of times, causing the girl in his grip to involuntarily sway with his movement. "Seems like you actually give a damn about what happens to her, so we'll make this real easy."

'Tch...' No matter how much Kooh wracked her brain, she couldn't think of a way out of the situation. These weren't the type of people that would be easily distracted with words. At least, the guy holding her up by the collar didn't seem that way. The girl had thought about struggling, fighting back, and even tried to come up with words that would distract the man. Every time she ran through the scene in her head, it simply resulted in a worse outcome than what they were currently stuck with. Before she could try to come up with another plan, the man continued speaking to Aereth. Noticing how the brunette was seething at this point, he frowned and shifted his weight impatiently. "Don't get any stupid ideas, or you and your girlfriend will just wind up dead faster." He warned before getting back to his point. "I want you to say sorry for killing Tallas by doing a little job for me." He started, waiting a few moments to gauge Aereth's reaction before he would continue.

[Aereth 1]

Kooh was keeping her game face up, and that was a good thing. Never show weakness or it will get exploited. "You call me a brat? Hey, if your leader really was so stupid to order all of you to split up, then it's his own damn fault for ending up the way he did." Aereth spat, at the bulky man and Aereth's frown deepened when he mentioned that they intended to use Kooh as a hostage until they got what they wanted from him. 'Just one opening...' he thought and deactivated his unique enhancement, before slowly walking over to the three guys. "I'll do it. But only if you leave us alone afterwards." Aereth said in a calm but threatening tone.

When he came face to face with the man that was holding Kooh, Aereth locked his brown eyes with the garnet colored ones of Kooh for a moment as if he was saying 'Everything will be alright, trust me.' before whispering to the bulky player just loud enough for everybody to hear it. "If you only lay one finger on her, I swear to all that is holy to you. I'm gonna rip you and everything that is important to you apart." and radiating all the killing intent he was able to get from the many deaths he had witnessed and caused in this game. The two idiots behind their seemingly new leader flinched once they heard what Aereth promised the bulky man in front of him, and they simply stepped aside when he made his way out of the inn, not wanting to fight inside of a closed room with limited ways to escape. No he would play his cards right and choosing the place where the fight would be on his own.

@Kooh

[Kooh 0]

With tensions high, Aereth had agreed to go along with the PKers' demand. Kooh gave the brunette half a smirk when he looked at her with a reassuring gaze, as if to tell him she'd be fine. When Aereth had stepped past the trio and the flames surrounding his armor had died down, the leader relaxed the arm that threatened to strike the blonde. He moved the girl, practically lifting her off the ground as he did so, passing her over to the dagger-wielder named Jay. 'Of course he's gonna have the loudmouth watching me. Great.' Kooh thought with annoyed sarcasm. The black-haired player had taken her by the arm, his smaller frame unable to mimic the strength that his leader had displayed. Besides, even though she had the potential to get away now, she knew it would be a bad move if she tried to pull anything. There was no telling if they had ways to stun them, or if they would just kill them on the spot if she didn't obey. Even if she managed to get away from the area, Aereth might not be so lucky. As much as she could tell he wanted to kill them all, Kooh didn't think this was a three-on-one fight he could survive.

Brandishing same ornate dagger Kooh had seen on him just yesterday, Jay tugged at her arm to keep her close. Who she assumed was the younger brother--the more timid-looking blonde boy--held his spear in both hands, standing in between the two pairs of other players. The leader spoke quietly and briefly with Aereth, giving him the only details he needed to complete the job he wanted done. As he described it, there was a single hut on the other side of the island in the middle of a large and dense forest known as the Overgrowth near the capital city on the sixteenth floor. Aereth was to locate a kill the hut's owner, a woman with tanned skin and short black hair called Leyna. For proof, he was to bring back the emerald amulet she wore around her neck.

Out of earshot, Kooh waited impatiently for their conversation to end. Her mind began to consider whether or not she should really just wait for Aereth's return from whatever task they were making him do. If she found an opportunity to run, should she do it? Or would that be the stupidest decision she made in this entire situation? The girl wordlessly glanced between the player at her side and the blonde a few paces away. The former talked a big game, and she was willing to bet she could rile him up with only a few sentences. The blonde boy, on the other hand, looked afraid of almost everyone around him, even his own brother at times. Kooh almost felt bad for the poor kid. Still, if she played her cards right she could be left with two useless lackeys. Her gaze fell back on the man with amber eyes. He practically gave off an aura of intimidation, and she already knew there was nothing she could do about him. If she was going to plan anything, he would be her biggest obstacle.

"If she behaves, she won't get hurt." The leader said flatly after he had given Aereth the last of the information he needed. "He'll go with you." The man jerked his head towards the blonde boy. "When you're done, send a message to your girlfriend and he'll get the coordinates to where we meet up." He then closed the gap between himself and the young spear-wielder to inform him of his part of the plan. The blonde gave a quick, nervous glance towards Jay before simply nodding and walking cautiously towards Aereth. The leader simply watched the two of them, waiting to relocate until the brunette had left.

[Aereth 1]

Aereth didn't speak another word and simply listened to everything the leader demanded from him. It turned out to be a simple tracking and assassination mission. Kill the objective, and confirm the kill. Nothing more, nothing less. "Understood, I don't care who I have to kill, it is as good as done, but don't forget what I told you. You do anything to her what she doesn't want, and you guys will wish to have stayed on the seventeenth floor. So take care what your little friend is doing with her..." He said one last time, before nodding once more to Kooh and starting to leave the area with the blonde boy.

After they were out of sight, Aereth spoke up once again. "Hey Boy. You don't look like you agree with what your pals are doing, so why are you with them?" he asked still in a pissed tone, testing if he could talk the boy into helping him to get Kooh out of there. If he wouldn't cooperate, he would have to go over to Plan B. He already knew how he would save Kooh, he just needed the proper set up. "And tell me everything important about the player I will go up against. Level, weapon, anything that will give me the edge in the battle..."

@Kooh

[Kooh 0]

It must have been a full ten minutes or so after Aereth and the blonde player were out of sight when the group's leader finally gave a short, "Come on." Jay moved to follow the man, pulling Kooh along without any resistance. The girl had remained silent ever since the door to the inn had swung open, and didn't plan to open her mouth anytime soon. It didn't take them long to reach what seemed to be their destination, which was a shallow cave nestled into the side of one of the large mountains on the island. The sandy-haired player leaned back against the rocky wall near the entrance while Jay nudged Kooh past both of them. The girl was surprised when his grasp on her arm vanished, but seeing both of the men standing between her and the cave's exit quickly explained that she was still being held in place. The blonde simply frowned, shoving her hands into her pockets while their waiting game began.

"Huh?" The blonde boy that followed closely after Aereth flinched slightly when he was addressed. "Oh, uhh..." Naturally, he hesitated to answer the brunette's questions, even giving a nervous glance over his shoulder, even though they had traveled several minutes out already. Finally, as if the weight of such a simple question was too much for him, the boy began talking. "We got mixed up with these guys a while ago. My brother and I." He started in a quiet voice. "Of course I don't like it, but..." He hesitated again. "There's nothing I can do." The boy seemed like he wanted to say more, but shook his head lightly before addressing Aereth's questions about his target. "I didn't hear what all he told you, but uhh... Her name is Leyna. I think she's level thirty-two, or at least she was about two months ago." His grip on his spear tightened slightly when he continued. "She ran away from the guild after she found out uhh... what it was all about. The uhh...old leader and Kree--err, that guy have been tracking her ever since." His stuttering seemed to get worse the more he went on about everything, but the boy swallowed as he continued. "She's clever. She knows all of our names and faces, so that's probably why Kr--err, he wants you to do it. But uhh, she's probably been on the defensive all this time. Even if she doesn't recognize you, she won't trust you. I should uhh...probably hide when we get close so I don't screw it up." He mumbled out the last part.

Meanwhile, Kooh did her best to keep herself calm. On the outside, the blonde appeared more bored than anything else, earning her a scoff and an occasional annoyed glance from Jay, as if it bothered him that the girl wasn't visibly worried or scared about her situation. In fact, those emotions were very faint compared to the mixture of emotions that festered inside of her. Frustrated with herself for getting caught and putting both of them into this situation. Furious with these damned guild members for, at this point, even existing. Worried about the situation that Aereth had been forced into. Whatever the brutish commander had instructed him to do, it wasn't going to be good.

[Aereth 1]

"Jackpot." he thought before answering "So how did the two of you got 'mixed up' with these guys? And what besides f*cking around with weaker players is your guild doing?" Frowning at the comment of the boy about how there was nothing he could do about his current situation, Aereth turned his head to face the boy and locked eyes with him before speaking. "There's always something you can do. There are always choices to be made. Sometimes you choose the wrong thing to do, but also sometimes opportunities arise to do the right thing... Just think about it." Aereth said, closely watching every reaction that the boy would give away. 

When the house finally came into sight, Aereth gestured him to hide with him behind a large bush. "So here's the plan: I will go in and see if she let's me enter her house, and you will stay here and wait until I come back. But before that..." he opened up his inventory and stored away all of his battle gear, only leaving him in the very same clothes he used to swim over to this island. Basic shirt, basic trousers. "...you need to hit me down into the red health zone." Aereth said and and opened his arms, indicating that the boy should start hacking away at his health with the spear. Aereth wasn't afraid from operating on low health and besides that, if everything would go according to his plan he wouldn't even have to fight until Aereth would come back to that a**hole that was keeping Kooh as a captive. 

@Kooh

[Kooh 0]

The boy let out a sigh, as if to try and exhale some of the stress that was obviously gripping him through his whole endeavor. He opened his mouth to speak again, but flinched when Aereth locked eyes with him. He stared back at the brunette for a few moments, taking in his words before he averted his gaze to the side. His emotions were on his sleeve like always, a look of guilt mixed into a troubled expression on his face.  "L-look, we can't just leave." He started, a bit of a defensive tone in his voice before he stopped himself and another small sigh escaped him. "It's uhh...a long story. But we had to start working for them if we wanted to live. I-I know we've done bad things since then..." He mumbled out the last part, and continued in a quiet tone. "If we try to run away, we'll just end up like her." The boy moved his spear in front of him slightly, indicating that he was referring to the woman they were tasked with killing. "Besides, uhh... My brother... I don't know." He seemed as though he wanted to keep talking, despite his poor communication skills. He hesitated, ending up shaking his head after a few moments. "I'd uhh...get in big trouble if anyone knew I was even talking about this stuff." He mumbled to try and dismiss the topic.

After some time had passed, the pair found themselves in the middle the Overgrowth outside of the floor's main settlement. The brunette had waved the boy over, and he obeyed, crouching down beside the foliage while Aereth shared his plan. "W-what?!" He asked in hushed exclamation, trying to keep in mind not to be too noisy. He watched as Aereth unequipped his armor, weapon, and anything else that gave him a combat bonus. "I-I can't-- I mean, you'll..." The boy stopped himself before his stuttering got even more out of control. He took in a deep breath, clutching the spear tightly to his chest and giving a sideways glance to where Leyna's hut laid in the distance before looking back to the brunette. "O-okay, if you're sure." He finally agreed, silently hoping that he wouldn't get in trouble for returning with an orange cursor, even if it was temporary. He swallowed, hesitating again before the fear of annoying the man set in. It was his plan after all, so he would just be following orders like he was supposed to, right? After holding another breath, the boy began to follow Aereth's instruction, running the blade of his weapon across the man's body multiple times. It didn't take long to get the man below 30% of his health pool, most likely due to the fact that any of his defensive stats had been removed. The boy obviously hesitated the closer his health crawled to zero, the last strike leaving Aereth just above 15%.

In the shallow cave where Jay and the guild's leader stood guard, Kooh had sat down while she continued to think on the situation. It was hard for her to keep a level head as she weighed her options. Sure, she could wait for Aereth to do whatever task he had been assigned and come back. If the lying murder guild decided to keep their end of the deal, everyone would part ways and they would have an easier time traveling without worrying about someone on their heels. If they were still going to try to kill Kooh and Aereth at some point, things weren't going to be any different even if they had played nice and managed to get out alive. Lastly, if they were the ones that deviated from the plan...well, would that be any different from the last outcome? Only if they found a way to get themselves off of their radar. What would that involve aside from killing off more of their guild members? Could they even take that big guy?

"Hey, what's taking so long?" Kooh finally spoke up. Her cheek rested against her palm, a dull and bored expression on her face as she looked over at the two men. In quick response, Jay snapped back at her. "Quit your whining, it's up to him how long he wants you to stay here." Kooh simply frowned in response, moreso because she hadn't gotten any of the information she had hoped for. Maybe she could switch her angle. "So once he's done, you're really gonna just walk away like nothing happened?" Her tone was both casual and skeptical. As Jay opened his mouth to speak again, he stopped himself when a low chuckle came from the sandy-haired player opposite him. "You're not a very good hostage, are you?" He asked without turning to face her. "Not really, no. I do all the stupid stuff like question my captors' mercy and stick my nose where it doesn't belong." She answered, wearing a small smirk.

[Aereth 1]

Aereth already knew exactly how that boy was working from the inside. Deep inside he was a good boy. Only some wrong choices and the seemingly bad influence by his brother caused him to be in the situation he was in. Shaking his head, he replied. "I know that. Are there more members of the guild than just the two of you with that big guy?" Aereth asked curiously, while noticing how the boy was feeling more guilty with every passing moment.  "Maybe you will end up like her, but that most definitely will be much better than ending up like that bulky id*ot after I'm done with him..." he thought.

"Besides... Your brother is enjoying what he's doing with them right?" Aereth plainly said with no emotion in his voice. He had seen the other dude actively pissing off Aereth and Kooh, and if he wanted to cover up his enjoyment, he did a very poor job in it. 

"Nothing will happen. Just do it!" Aereth ordered and quickly felt the dull feeling when a blade was making contact with your virtual flesh. Aereth didn't flinch or move at all while the boy was ripping away his health. And after he was done with it, Aereth only sat at about 15% of his health. "Now you will wait here until I come back, understood?" With that he rose to his feet, and started to walk away, but turned around once again with red damage markers littered all over his body. "What if I told you that there was a way out of this mess for you and your brother. Would you be able to put your trust into the slight chance of being 'free' again?" Aereth asked the boy, taking care to add a warm and calm tone to the word free, and now started to walk towards the house, giving the boy some time to think about what Aereth just implied.

But now there was a job to be done. He immediately started to sprint towards the house, of course not at his full speed since everybody would be easily able to tell that he was quite strong if he used his high speed, while screaming at the top of his lungs. "HEEELP. OH GOD PLEASE, SOMEBODY HELP ME." When he finally reached the house, Aereth started to throw his fists at the door. "PLEASE LET ME IN, THEY'RE AFTER ME, HELP." his voice was full with fear and despair, in order to try and get the woman inside of the house to open the door. It wasn't his best plan, but hey, he had to come up with it on the fly so let's see if it would work.

@Kooh

[Kooh 0]

The boy gave a nod of his head when Aereth asked about there being more members in his guild. After their exchange, he did what the brunette had told him, kneeling down at their designated hiding spot. When he was alone, he let out a sigh while the words weighed heavily on him. Was there really any hope, for either of them?

Just minutes later, Aereth was pounding on the simple door that block off the hut's entrance. Yelling and shouting, putting on a rather convincing act as he tried to lure the woman out. He hadn't been at it for more than a few seconds when a figure nearly silently dropped down behind him. With swift movements, Leyna clamped one hand over Aereth's mouth and the other held a dagger up to his throat. She spun both herself and the man around so that she was facing the open forest in front of them, her green eyes darting back and forth. "Shut up and don't do anything stupid and I won't have to kill you." She hissed beside the brunette's ear.

If the man didn't try to break free from her hold, Leyna would pull him along as she walked carefully back towards the door of the hut. Pushing it open with her heel, the woman stepped inside before releasing her grip on Aereth, spinning him around and pushing back against his chest to put a short distance between them. She was already brandishing her weapon towards him when she started to speak. Clearly, speed was one thing Leyna excelled at. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" She demanded from him, eyebrows narrowed as she kept her suspicious glare trained on him. Leyna herself fit the description that the new guild leader had given Aereth--tan skin and very short, messy black hair. Her equipment looked fitting for one who lived in a forest known as the Overgrowth--nature-inspired leathercraft that allowed plenty of room for free movement. The blade of the dagger she held was slightly curved, and the what was visible of the handle seemed to be an off-white color, as if it was carved from bone or some kind of bleached wood. Around her neck rested the emerald pendant that was to serve as proof of her death.

Inside of the hut, some sunlight shone in from small gaps in the small ceiling--whether they were only an aesthetic effect or actually reflected the building's poor structure wasn't clear. The only other light source came from a lamp-looking item attached to the wall. There didn't seem to be any other items of interest laying about--a small wooden chest and some bedding were the only eye-catching pieces of 'furniture' around them.

[Aereth 1]

"There she comes..." he thought, when he heard some movement from above him, and just a moment later he found himself with a hand over his mouth and a dagger on his throat. When he then told him to shut up, he simply nodded and didn't resist anything the black haired female as she pushed him into her house. He didn't think that it would be this easy to get inside of her house, but how would he now convince her to help him getting Kooh out of there alive? 

As soon as she closed the door, Aereth dropped his fear and panic, before answering her question with one of his own. "Are we safe in here?" And after she would confirm that nobody besides them could enter the house, Aereth said: "My name is Aereth, and I need your help Leyna. But let me explain myself before you attempt to stab me to death..." Aereth waited a couple of moments to see how the woman would react.  He hoped that the woman would at least listen to him and his story. 

"Me and a friend of mine are having trouble with your ex-guildmates. Long story short, they tried to take away my friend, which led to me killing the leader of that stupid guild. But those f*ckers didn't leave us alone like any other sane person would, no... They got a lucky shot at us, and now my friend is being held as a captive by them." Aereth paused and locked eyes with Leyna. "They ordered me to kill you if I ever wanted to see my comrade again... But have no fear. I mean no harm to you. I'm gonna f*ck them up so bad, they won't even know what hit them... They just want to see that fancy emerald pendant of yours as a proof of your death... Those id*ots...." Aereth explained, now leaning against a wall. "So will you help me getting her out of the or not? I need your pendant, and I'll return it to you as soon as I'm done with those pricks..." he said hoping that she would just say yes, hand over the pendant and let him go again, but in case she wouldn't want to give it to him, he would simply have to take it...

@Kooh

[Kooh 0]

Leyna's brows narrowed further, confusion and suspicion raised further by Aereth's sudden change in demeanor. She stayed silent for a few moments without the intention to answer his question until it was clear he wasn't going to continue speaking without one. "Yees..." She dragged out the word hesitantly, waiting again for him to continue. When he spoke her name, her emerald eyes scanned him and his mussed appearance. Prompting her to allow him to explain himself, the woman wordlessly lowered her weapon ever so slightly.

Leyna's eyes widened a bit when Aereth revealed that he had killed the guild's leader. As the brunette's story went on, the hand clutching her dagger lowered further, until the raven-haired woman no longer seemed to consider Aereth an immediate threat. In fact, Leyna began pacing the length of the small room as he was talking, muttering to herself even while he continued to speak. "You took out Tallas?" She spoke in a mumble. "If he was on this floor himself, he must have that brute Kreeyin with him. If he's the one that's going to take over for him, and if he's the one you're dealing with now... Filho de puta..." As soon as Aereth said they wanted her pendant, Leyna froze in her tracks. Her hand instinctively moved to the trinket around her neck when she looked back over to him. Her eyes narrowed again as she seemed to have made a decision to his request.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know if I can help you." She said plainly, still clearly on her guard. "I can't give this to you." She didn't expect the man to take her refusal well. If he had come all this way, it wasn't likely that he would just walk away empty-handed. Leyna wished that she could have offered him something--any advice that would have helped him and his friend without her own real or faked death, but none came to her.

Kooh frowned as the gears of her mind continued to work. 'Come on, Luna, think...' She had a dozen ways to get past the dagger-wielder, but the other player's presence kept causing her plans to hit a brick wall. If she could just keep moving, if she just managed not to get caught...

Kooh took in a sharp breath, picking herself up on her feet. The movement gained her a sideways glance from the male players, but when she lifted her arms over her head in a stretch, she lost their interest. 'Alright, let's hope I don't die, I guess.' She slipped off the cardigan she'd worn for so long, draping the item across her shoulder while she slowly paced back and forth in the small cave. Left in just a white, sleeveless dress paired with her black leggings and knee-high boots, the girl let out a huffy sigh as if her impatience was continuing to grow. "Why did you send that kid with him, anyway?" She complained. "He looks like he would just slow them down."

"Hey, watch your mouth, b*tch!" Jay immediately snapped, turning to glare at the blonde. Kooh simply glared right back at him. "What, you're sticking up for him? I don't know why you guys even let him in your guild, unless you wanted to go for the innocent little kid angle in your baits or whatever. He looks like he's more trouble than he's--" The blonde didn't even get to finish her last sentence when Jay yelled back at her. "Shut up!" He gave a quick glance towards Kreeyin, who didn't seem to pay the exchange any mind. Turning his attention back to Kooh, Jay took a few threatening steps towards her. "You're not in any position to talk, girly. Keep it up and we'll have to break our 'promise' to that other brat." In response, Kooh simply scoffed, placing a hand on her hip. "Yeah right, and ruin your little agreement? He'll make you guys pay if you even touch me." Her voice was dripping with over-confidence as she taunted him. Her words easily did the trick, causing the boy to grit his teeth and march over towards her. She quickly wiped the smirk from her face, taking a step back as he approached, acting as though she didn't expect to call his bluff. The boy twisted the dagger in his hand, and when he had closed the gap between them he reached out his other arm to grip her wrist. He lifted her arm and with a single movement he slashed the blade diagonally across her forearm, causing the girl to wince from the tingling sensation that followed. An impressive red gash was left in the knife's wake, and Jay threw her arm back down. "I don't give a sh*t about his stupid threats." He said defiantly, turning away from her.

Once his back was facing her, Kooh pulled down at the cardigan over her shoulder, taking each end of the clothing and quickly looping it over Jay's head. The girl moved swiftly, her heart racing as she pulled against his torso and held on tightly to force his arms to stay at his sides. Jerking the boy back and holding him against her, she had finally caught Kreeyin's attention. He glared at the pair as would an irritated babysitter, unfolding his arms and calmly walking over to them. "S-stay back!" She didn't have to force the fear into her voice as much as she thought she would. Her words didn't even cause the man to hesitate, and he continued walking towards them at a steady pace. His fingers curled into fists, and Kooh's heartbeat quickened with the realization that she was now playing with an unpredictable threat.

[Aereth 1]

Aereth didn't have the time for this bullsh*t. How could a single item be more worth than a innocent human's life. To say Aereth was boiling on the inside was an understatement. He would get the pendant one way or the other. "Calm down Aereth. Calm down." he thought while his target was speaking. And while replying he opened up his inventory to equip his armor and weapons again. Thankfully his survival skill steadily healed him, so he at least was making it out of the red zone with every minute that passed. "Yes, and I intend to follow up with that Kreeyin and Jay as well. I already gave them a warning back when I killed Tallas, but these stupid f*cks didn't listen." Aereth sighed. "Listen, I don't have much time to do that, and I don't even want to start thinking about what they could be doing with my 'female' friend right now. Additionally to that, a jitterbug of a boy is waiting outside for me to return with your pendant. So please help me. Either lend me that item, or come with me for yourself and help me taking out those idiots. I think I can even talk that boy into helping us. The madness of those guys needs to stop. Or do you really think that a in-game item is more valuable than the life of an innocent girl?" This was Aereth's last attempt at trying to talk Leyna into helping him with rescuing Kooh, and if she still didn't want to cooperate... He would have to use force.

@Kooh