[F2-OP-NK] A Bit More Himself

[Jomei 0]

((OOC: Not going to allow this to get out of hand, will probably let 3-4 people join at most before changing it to PP))

In a flash of white light, the green clad ginger warped onto the second floor, in the center of the stone town known as Urbus. Before opening his eyes, he took in a deep breath, recognizing everything from the sounds to the aromas filling the town square. It had been some time since Jomei had visited his once favorite floor, the last time being before he had packed up shop and moved to the house he once shared with Zandra. He wondered if that spot outside of the city was still there, where his music studio once stood. Though, for now, he was taking up residence with his good friends, Piera and Lee, the thought still crossed his mind of setting his shop back up. Especially since the couple had been out frequently, leaving Jomei by himself to the large house most of the time. 

Stepping from the platform, Jomei's boots sounded against the cobblestone roads as he began to walk, taking in the surroundings the he was once familiar with. The past few months for the man had been rough, from splitting with his ex-lover, to learning of the deaths of many of his friends during his absence in the same day. Jomei truly had been living in a nightmare. Even now, more and more of his friends go missing, whether dead or just gone. Jomei didn't know who to turn to anymore. Taking him by surprise, his small owl familiar had dropped from the sky, perching on his shoulder. Jomei looked to her, shocked at first, but then scratching at her chin with a smirk "Maybe we should just go solo for awhile. What do you think Adere?" The owl cooed and tilted its head at the swordsman.

Finding the local pub that he had once frequented, Jomei went inside and ordered himself an ale. Taking his drink, he found a seat outside of the bar. The man relaxed in the chair with a sigh of relief before raising the glass to his lips, looking at the various players walking by. It amazed him, that he could look at every player here and feel as though they had all just joined. Mostly because he had never seen them, but some even sported weapons and armor of beginners. They were playing it safe, he assumed, not venturing out onto the higher floors to avoid getting killed. His face took on a solemn look for a moment as he stared into the amber drink, wondering if he should have done the same and stayed back.

[Hikoru 0]

((OOC: Phone posts FTW))

Hikoru sipped his cup if coffee quietly. He had decided to try out new pubs and bars around the floors, and today the second floor was on the list. He wanted to have a good list to take lower levels out for when he went on quests with them, so this should help him. He heard the doors open, and usually he would ignore this and play it safe. But he felt something familiar. He couldn't tell what's it was, but as he looked he saw that it was Jomei, and old friend of his. He had been there when he had learned the truth about Lowenthal, and he knew him and Zandra had broken up, something that really hurt him. They seemed to be the perfect couple, but then again, so did him and Ariel. He made sure to blend into the background, his blue hood covering his face as he opened up his HUD under the table. He shot him a message, and made sure that there was an empty spot at his booth. Hopefully he would understand the message enough to know that he could find the booth easily.

Spoiler

To: Jomei

From: Hikoru

To your left, the seemingly empty booth in the far back. Come and have a drink, let's chat for awhile hm?

~MOS

 

[Jomei 0]

Jomei sat there in silence, watching as players roamed by. Taking the glass in his hand, he raised his drink to his lips. As he poured a small amount of the amber liquid into his mouth, he heard the light sound of bells chiming. Peeking over the end of the cup, he saw a small letter icon on his HUD flash. Someone had sent him a message. Bringing up his free hand, Jomei gently touched the icon with his middle finger and pointer finger extended. The small box enlarged into a message. It was from his friend Hikoru, who was inviting him to a drink. Apparently he was in the same bar as Jomei. Turning his head, Jomei looked into the window behind him back into the bar. He saw, in the corner, a seemingly empty booth with a hooded figure sitting there alone. That must have been him. With a nod to Adere, she flew off into the sky above him to wait to be summoned once again. With drink in hand, Jomei walked back into the bar and past the tabled of players. He found the booth in the corner with the blue hood sitting across from an empty seat. The ginger lowered himself into the seat and slid over. "Didn't notice you when I first walked in. It's good to see you again Hikoru." 

[Winik 0]

Winik pushed into the establishment, his armor clanking as he hit the door. He rolled his shoulder, holding onto it with the opposite hand. He heaved a heavy sigh and settled down onto one of the stools at the bar. Waving a hand to get the server's attention, a menu popped into the air in front of him. He scrolled through the menu, ordering a simple cup of the local special. His drink appeared in a flash of pixels, draining the prerequisite col from his wallet. He lifted it with his offhand, sipping at it as he scrolled through his inventory. The sounds of the establishment pressed against the back of his mind, immersing himself in rearranging his inventory. Choosing to be less auspicious, he unequipped his armor. The flurry of pixels swarmed around him momentarily before settling into nothingness. He leaned heavily against the bar, taking longer drinks from his mug as he tried to relax.

[Dazia 0]

Dazia remembered playing RPGs that had quests within Inns and places people tend to spend their time at. Whether that worked in this game or not was currently a hypothesis at the moment. "I don't think I'll be taking anything unless I can manage, or have a virtual meat shield to tank it as we go along. But seeing what is available wouldn't hurt, and perhaps I can find a new ally." She had little at all, not counting the rapier she was given, and she felt that she would need more. She slowly entered the building, and walked over to a seat close to the corner of the building. She didn't care about the fact that she was close to a corner, she cared that she could easily see what was happening in the room, which wasn't much to say the least. Perhaps she would wait a few minutes for someone to come to her, player or NPC, she didn't care which. She would go to someone on her own after several minutes if someone didn't come to her.

@Jomei @Hikoru @Winik

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru gave a smile as Jomei soon appeared near him. He pulled down his hood, revealing his raven-black hair and his blue-grey eyes. His smile shone brightly, but there was a hint of sadness that could be seen within his eyes. He knew that Jomei and him had both gone through heartache, and thinking of him without Zandra was a bit hard for him to think of, as he knew that they had been close, and he did his best not to cry thinking about it. He held up his mug to the man.

"You as well. Where have you been hiding out all this time? I haven't seen you in awhile." He said with a small chuckle. It had been a good while since he had seen him, and probably for good reason. He had grown in himself these past few weeks, and he learned that he was truly a pacifist at heart, unable to kill any player that he knew. This went against him, but he knew he couldn't help it. If death was truly on the other side of this game when you died, then that was something that he couldn't bring to another person, that's something that he feared to think about.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei looked down at the table when Hikoru asked where he had been hiding, chuckling to himself. "I.. haven't been getting out much. Mainly keeping to myself." He sat there silent for a moment, before raising his ale to his lips and taking a long sip. His eyes gazed over to the man in hulking armor who had pushed through the bar and took a seat at the counter, followed by a girl who moved in utter silence. He found the comparison between the two's entrances ironic.  After placing the glass back on the table, he cleared his throat. "Though, recently I've been starting to feel a little bit better about everything. Had Piera, Lee, and Calrex to thank for that.. Though Piera and Lee have been gone for awhile, probably taking some sort of a break from everything so I really haven't had many people around in the past few weeks." He shrugged his shoulders, "Figured it was finally time to get off my ass again." The man smirked and sat back in the booth, his back flattening against the back of the chair. "And how about you? What have you been up to?"

[Winik 0]

Winik drained his mug, gesturing with a gauntleted hand for the barkeep to poor him another one.  He kept one wary eye on his wallet, making sure that his little indulgence wasn't hurting his bottom line too much.  He sighed heavily, turning in his stool to lean his back against the bar, one arm outstretched along it.  With his other arm, he lifted his mug to his lips taking a long pull from it. He cast his eyes around the bar, taking in the various players and NPCs alike.  He could see two players conversing in the corner, but that was none of his business.  He swirled his glass, watching the liquid slosh around and spin in the glass.  He drained his glass, dropping it onto the bar and reclining back against it with both arms outstretched.  From his vantage point he had a good view of all that occurred within the bar and little chance of anyone coming up behind him.  He didn't think the system would allow that.

[Atzo 0]

Atzo entered the pub, keeping to himself. He walked to a back corner, ordering a chalice of pink fox wine. He knew that you couldn’t get drunk in this game but he still enjoyed the taste. The hood of the Cloak of the Changing Tide was on his head, hiding his fiery hair. A strand of yellow and a strand of blue seemed to dance on the emerald green, gemlike background of the cloak as they swam about it. “I am glad I got out of the house today” he thought to himself. “It has been quite the interesting week that I have been dealing with. I wonder what else is in store for me. I am sure that Stryder will be sending me a message very soon to ask me to go on a quest with him. And I am sure to get as much of an earful as I did with Eatos.” He sighed quietly. His face was completely emotionless and he sat with perfect posture. “I hope that things turn up for us tough I know that when it rains it pours.”

[Dazia 0]

Dazia watched as another player entered, as well as the fact that there was nobody who came to her. She thought about who she might move over towards. The players that seemed to stand out in the current scene were: a black haired player( @Hikoru) that was talking to a blond haired player( @Jomei), someone who appeared to be a tank( @Winik), and someone wearing a cloak that could easily catch someone's attention( @Atzo). "Aren't cloaks meant to separate yourself from others? Some people seem to prefer cloaks in order to 'look cool' or something of the like. But I know the original purpose. If I was wearing one, I would use it to hide from those around me, or at least my face." Dazia thought for a minute longer. "This is a safe zone, so I shouldn't encounter any problems here..." She then walked over to Atzo. "Aren't cloaks designed to hide yourself from others?"