[PP-21] A Valiant Return (PM for Invite)

[Oikawa 1]

Gear:

Spoiler

HP: 1,271 | EN: 126 | DMG: 15 | MIT: 66 | ACC: 1 |  EVA: 0 | LD: +10

Equipped Gear:

Ea, Blade of Kings: +6 Damage

Gate of Babylon: +3 Loot Die

Cloak of the Sands: +7 Thorns & +36 Mitigation

Battle Ready:

x1 Clasp of the Progenitor: +2 Accuracy & +1 Loot Die

x1 Traitor's Peacoat: +36 Mitigation & +1 Evasion

x1 Golden Armor: +54 Mitigation

Skills & Mods:

Search & Detect [Rank 5]: Reveal (Mod)

Charge [Rank 5]

Battle Healing [Rank 4]

Two-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]: Precision (Mod), Rank 5 Ferocity (Mod)

Light Armor [Rank 5]: Athletics (Mod)

Survival

Concentration

Meditation

Martial Arts [Rank 2]

Darkness settled in; comfortably wrapping itself around the cavern-like crag the blonde and his leopard quietly found themselves traversing. Pebbles skittered this way and that with each passing step. Oikawa glanced down to King, his bangs only slightly hiding his gaze from any unseen on-lookers. Though so much time has passed since our absence, it seems Aincrad hasn't lurched forward much. I wonder with the sudden disappearances of the front-line, has progress began to slow? Are players not stepping up to fill their places? What's it like out here I wonder? Should I continue like before? Should I remain- 

A soft nudge seemed to break him from his trance as he now stood completely in place. Frosty blue eyes drifted his to his own crimson pair, as a worried look covered the cubs face.

"I'm fine," reassured the golden knight as he continued forward. "Now where were we?"

Edited October 3, 2017 by Oikawa

[Calrex 0]

"I guess I really haven't taken the time to explore the floor ever since I got enough materials to create my tier three gear. Good thing I'm finally deciding to do so before the next floor boss raid is underway, although I guess I really a kind of starting to run out of steam on this."

As he made his way past yet another tunneled path in the rock walls the bluenette gave a small sigh, looking as his peregrine falcon partner soared ahead, easily maneuvering around the various stalactites and stalagmites that crossed their path. The Ultramarine Knight turned another corner, placing a gauntlet covered hand against the wall the stabilize himself while maneuvering through a more unpaved area, avoiding losing his balance and falling down.

Reaching another brightly illuminated section of the floor Calrex stretched his arms, giving another sigh, "I wonder if anyone that I met back from the early days of adventuring around the floors. Teayre's been busy in the shop, and I got word recently that Takao's retired to being a non-adventurer permanently. I guess having the Coalition be an official guild really was a pipe dream in some way after all."

As he was about to get lost in his thoughts, the bluenette looked up as he saw Roc fly upwards towards another connected area of the floor, "Huh, haven't seen him do that in a while. Did he see something?"

The peregrine falcon rose up to another crag, looking down as it saw a familiar snow leopard cub a few feet below. With a small hunting swoop he descended, hovering a few feet above the ground before circling about, as if he had found an old friend.

Spoiler

HP: 1655 | EN: 164 | DMG: 18 | MIT: 111 | ACC: 4 |  EVA: 1

Equipped Gear:

Grand Gauntlets III: +9 Unarmed Damage

Grand Chariot III: +54 Mitigation

Amethyst Charm: +2 Accuracy & +1 Evasion

Battle Ready:

x5 Safeguard Potion: 1 Attack negated

x1 Grand Blade III: +9 Damage

x1 Tide Pendant: +2 Evasion / +1 Loot Dice

x1 Grand Guard III: +28 Thorns / +3 Heavy Momentum

x1 Basic Teleportation Crystal: Upon use, teleport to the nearest town next turn

x1 Monkey Agility: +1 Evasion for one thread

x1 Woodland Armor (2 charges): +30 Mitigation

Skills & Mods:

One-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]: Quick Change Mod

One-Handed Curved Sword [Rank 1]

Heavy Armor [Rank 5]: Athletics Mod

Search and Detect [Rank 2]

Charge [Rank 5]: Bull Rush Mod

Battle Healing [Rank 2]

Block [Rank 5]: Safe Guard Mod

Howl

Parry

Martial Arts [Rank 5]: Precision Mod

Survival

Disguise

Katana [Rank 1]

Achilles [Rank 5]

 

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru slinked about the twenty first floor. He had been training of how to use his shield, and things had been going okay. He didn't have any ranks yet into his Block skill that he had unlocked once he equipped the shield,  but he knew that the more he used it, the more powerful it would become. He looked about and didnt see anything out of the ordinary that he hadnt seen on his way in that morning. But a small squeak gathered his attention, and looked down to see Sutetchi out and looking towards the sky. He looked up and saw a small blue blob flying above. The only person he knew who had a familiar like that was Calrex. It dove down to an area, and his curiosity was intrigued. 

"Hm, interesting..." he said. He knew that he could have a chance to catch up with the Ultramarine Knight, and that would be an opportunity to size himself up against the other Unique Skill bearer. He started to make his way there, and hoped that his hunch would be right.

Stats:

Spoiler

HP: 1655 | EN: 164 | DMG: 16 | MIT: 84 | ACC: 3 |  EVA: 2

Equipped Gear:

Eclipsed Pendant : +2 ACC +1 EVA

True Master of Shadows: +54 Mitigation

Limbos Fang: +2 Blight +2 Envenom

Eclipsed Shield: Vanity

Flowing Illusion: +4 to Stealth rating when next to water

Battle Ready:

x1 Shadows Eye: +3 LD

x1 Shadows Instinct: +3 ACC

Skills & Mods:

One-Handed Dagger [Rank 5]: Precision Mod

Light Armor  [Rank 5]: Athletics and Acrobatics Mod

Search and Detect [Rank 1]

Charge [Rank 5]:

Battle Healing [Rank 2]

Martial Arts [Rank 0]

Survival

Concentration

Shadowed Path [Rank 5]

 

[Jomei 0]

Standing on one of the long bridges that connected two parts of the city was the ginger haired Jomei, staring down at the long drop and everything else you would see before hitting the ground. Gently, he pushed a nearby rock with the tip of his boot over the edge and listened carefully to hear when it hit the floor. After a couple of seconds, he heard an unexpected splash. "Huh.. didn't think there was water down there." he said with a chuckle, speaking to the small brown owl that was sitting on his shoulder. This had been the man's first time exploring the newly opened Floor Twenty One. It gave him a little bit more hope that things would be okay, as long as they kept pushing floors to finish this game. 

Stepping away from the edge, Jomei continued his walk to the other side of the city. He heard that this floor offered a variety of things to the players, including a natural hot springs. Suddenly, Adere seemed to catch glimpse of something, turning her head quickly to the side. "What is it? Hey!" Jomei questioned as the owl spread her wings and shot up into the air. Jomei watch in confusion for a moment, before he noticed a large blue bird flying upwards. "Roc?" he said to himself, before chasing after Adere in the direction the falcon was ascending.

Stats + Equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 50

HP: 1000 /(1006)

En: 100
SP: 1/212

DMG: 13
EVA: 4

ACC: 4

Light Momentum: 2
MIT: 30

 

Skills:

Grandmaster Rapier Skill (+5 DMG)

Grandmaster Light Armor Rank 5 (+30 mit)
Charge Rank 5 (+5 Dmg)
 

Extra Skills:

Concentration (+1 BD when used)
Martial Arts Rank 0
Survival (+6 HP Out of battle & Not effected by environment)
Meditation Rank 1 (+1 EN on natural CD rolls of 10+)

Mods:

Rapier Ferocity Rank 5 (+1 dmg to Sword Arts Rank 5)

Athletics (+1 DMG, +5 HP)
Precision(+1 ACC)

Sprint and Acrobatics(+1 EVA)

 

Equipment:

Weapon: Saint Andrew's Bane (+3 DMG x Tier 2)(6 Dmg)

Armor: Leather Vestment of Cunning (+2 EVA, +1 LM)

Accessory: Erin's Favor (+1 EVA, +2 ACC)

Familiar: Adere the Tawny Owl (+1 ACC)

 

Inventory: 

Lute

Snowfrost Potion

Matriarch’s Stinger

Hoya of Minos
Essence of Steel
Rum
Teleportation Crystal

Demonic Egg

 

40 Mat

  Col 40621

 

[Oikawa 1]

Spoiler

[ID: 89039 LD: 15 (5+8+2)] (Tier 3 Material Found | Total: 1)

I wonder if I should've messaged Kiru... She deserves to know I've somewhat returned to the surface of Aincrad..

Or maybe it's best she doesn't know...Maybe she'd be better off not knowing... I've caused her so much pain, suffering, and undue distress. Then as if like a myth, I disappeared. My name only a whisper of my existence and leaving her to fend for herself when she needed me the most. Do I deserve to even call myself a knight? Her knight? Can I even say that I loved her?

Calrex? Teayre? I up and left them too. How can I call myself their friend? Their comrade? I'm no better now than I was when I took the life of Zelrius Blackfyre. I'm still a coward...

*flap-flap*

Turning on a dime, light glimmered to a point as his blade arced in the direction of the noise. King snarled as he turned to address the creature that had approached them.

His sword lowered. The familiar sight of the azure falcon caused a slight churn in his stomach as he knew not far behind was none other than his supposed friend, Calrex.

"Roc. Calrex isn't much further is he?" The avian only circled and nodded. Oikawa, sheathed his blade and plucked King from the ground and held the cub to calm him. It had been a while since the leopard had been out and he seemed to be on edge more than ever before. Standing back up, Oikawa noticed a growing cluster of black iron ore. A rather high level material if he recalled correctly. Nudging the item with his boot, the blackened mineral dissolved as a system notification alerted him of the collected material. Setting his sights back on Roc. The blonde awaited the arrival of his old guildmate.

Edited October 3, 2017 by Oikawa

[Calrex 0]

"...of course Roc would go vertical while I'm stuck following the tunnels. How far did he go?"

As he rounded another slope that took him further upwards Calrex gave a small sigh, his breath becoming visible as it passed through the holes on the front of his helmet. Even though his eyes were calmly moving back and forth across his surroundings, the only indication of a face were the blue slanted lights on the upper part of the helm. "Shouldn't be much farther."

Moving up to the connecting bridge-like stone formation where Roc's location was marked the bluenette took a few steps forward before his eyes came upon a sight of slight disbelief. Of course, this was an event he probably should have gotten more used to, due to the frequency of its occurrence. His view included the sight of a young blonde man, one that was holding a young snow leopard cub. Roc saw that the Ultramarine Knight arrived the peregrine falcon flew a few inches upwards before floating over to perch on Calrex's left shoulder pauldron.

A calm smile came across the bluenette's face, concealed by his armor as he walked forward, "Well, talk about a sight for sore eyes. It's been some time Oikawa. King as well."

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru followed the blue Falcon quietly, hopping from rooftop to stalagmites and stalagtites. He had learned this area inside and out, and he needed to so he could find the perfect place to put his house. He saw it dive down and he followed his movements. He was amazed to see a too familiar face standing with a small cub next to him. Calrex appeared closeby and he came out, standing to meet the two of them, pulling down the hood of his blue cloak. 

"Oi... Kawa?..." he said, questioning. He hadn't seen the man in some time, and he knew that he himself had changed drastically in appearance. He gave a sigh and a small, warm smile. "Its good to see you again my friend. Its been.. A long time." he said with a feeling of relief, knowing that his friend was safe within this game. He had lost Beatbox recently, and he had worried about all the other friends and allies he had met in the death game. He feared to go to the monument or to even look at his friends lost, so he knew that he wouldnt know of they loved without seeing them.

[Vale 1]

An embassy of unique darkness, the only light from natural sources deep underground and the rocks latent with crystals that glisten and shine in this light. The cold and damp under dark, something not yet traversed by the Martial Artist. A myriad of locations traveled to, the blistering heat in the sandy dunes to the frozen wastelands of the snowy tundra. But there was no more biome she despised most than a beautiful with the worst possible climate to match with it. Vale could feel the moisture on her skin, it constantly nagged at her, bothering her concentration, "Urgh. Stupid wet air, it messes with my fur and makes it feel so weighted down." She looked around trying to see if there were any nodes in the ground that could yield some worthwhile reward, but nothing that made the girl satisfied.

She heard a flapping of wings, her investment into search and detect giving her an edge at perception. Her eyes danced around the caverns peering around until she saw an azure falcon flying through the under dark. It made Vale think deeply, "Why would a falcon be down here? I haven't heard people in a good minute. That has to be a player familiar." Was the only conclusion for a bird of that pedigree in such a dower like floor. Vale turned to look at Eclipse, seeing the overgrown cub holding a live critter bat, "You know... If you're hungry you can just say so." She mocked the beast in a hushed tone, "Anyways, put it down. And come with me." She instructed her Panther.

The two of them prowled about until they heard voices. Regardless of being able to see the people, the panther-like woman didn't know if these were player killers. To be safe she and the cat hid within the darkness provided by the natural light of this cavern. She searched her inventory for a small little item she had crafted in her inventory real fast to assist using the shadows to their utmost strength. She grabbed the eye drops to change one's entire eyeball to pitch black for a period of time. With everything set Eclipse laid against the wall so Vale could eavesdrop in comfort, one of the few times the largest familiar by systems standard was actually kind toward his Master.

 

RP Effects:
Dark Eyes - (Changes the color of ones entire eye to black for one thread)

ID: 89117 | LD: 4+6=10 (No Materials Found)
Gear + Stats

Spoiler

Level: 41 | HP: 820 | DMG: 14(19) | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 | LD: 6

Purrkitty Bell - +3 LD
Furry Kitten Spandex - +3 EVA
Kitten's Twilight's Embrace - +3 ACC
Eclipse - +6 DMG Familiar
(Equipped but stats not set)
Duskvale Cloak of the Shadowpride - +1 Lifesteal (Def), +1 Light Momentum, +1 MIT (T1)

Martial Arts - R5 [Extra Skill]
Charge - R5
Search and Detect - R3
Gatherer
Curved Swords - R1
Survival [Extra Skill]

 

 

Edited October 4, 2017 by Vale

[Jomei 0]

It was difficult enough to see the small, dark colored owl in the darkness this floor encased itself in, but she was following Roc up to a bridge above him. "Great.." Jomei said under his breath as he increased his speed a bit. The man found a large set of stairs that wound around a large stalactite, the same that a group of houses were built into. The ginger continued up the large stairs, past players who were either walking or conversing on the steps, trying to get to the top as quickly as possible before he lost sight of his owl companion

As the rapier master emerged at the top of the stairs onto the bridge, the owl returned to his shoulder. Jomei glared at the owl for a moment before looking forward. At the far side at the entrance to a cave, he saw three familiar players; Calrex, Hikoru, and the elusive Oikawa. Jomei grinned before making his way across the stone bridge to meet the three men. As he approached, he waved his hand over his head to the two. "Well, must be some sort of reunion here." he said with a laugh. "Its good to see you all again. Especially you Oikawa, haven't seen you in quite awhile."

There was a short while where Jomei held a slight hatred for Oikawa, the reason being why he now held an orange cursor above his head. However, after his meeting with Opal out in the desert, she revealed to him that she had manipulated the man with a poison of some sorts, causing him to lash out as he did. He trusted Oikawa, and knew that he would never stoop to low as to kill someone who they all saw as a friend.

[Oikawa 1]

Despite his question being rhetorical, it was answered by none other than the bluenette as he rounded the entrance. Crimson eyes focused on the man. He seemed different. Though his tone seemed the same, the lad looked as if he had seen better days. And what once used to be a common sight, the absence of red curls and katanas weighed on Oikawa.

Perking up at the mention of his name, King nodded in the duo's direction before settling back into his nestled bundle of fur.

"As are you Ultramarine Knight," chimed the blonde. "Still no sign of the Crimson Maiden?" A question that would probably garner more questions than answers. Sighing, Oikawa turned as the sounds of shuffling feet and scrambling paws alerted them to yet another person. Odd...I didn't think there would be so many players moping about this area. But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at anything at this point.

His brow slightly rose, as the person was revealed to be Hikoru. "Ahh Prince of the shadows, quite the surprise to see you here as well." Gesturing to Sutechi, he offered a nod of acknowledge before focusing on the growing group once more. However, before matters could go any further, panted breath broke the brief silence as a familiar tuft of orange hair bobbed into view.

"You could say that again. What a treat to see so many high level players in the same area."

"Good to see you both. Adere as well," mentioned the gold-plated knight.

As the players gathered, King's curiosity peeked as another cluster spawned into view. Poking at it with his paw, the cluster disappeared just as soon as it had arrived. However, the cub's head remained alert as something was amiss...

[ID: 89136 LD: 21 (11+8+2)] (Tier 3 Material Found | Total: 2)

Edited October 4, 2017 by Oikawa

[Calrex 0]

Upon mention of his wife's title Calrex raised his arms with a casual shrug, "Unfortunately I think she's still just killing time sleeping in her shop, although she was previously busy with some stuff, and even changed her title to be the Amaranth Rose. But other than that, yea just a lot of napping."

Looking over Hikoru made his appearance in a familiar rogue-like fashion the bluenette gave a nod, his armor giving a small metallic clink upon individual pieces making contact with each other. Not long after both he and Roc noted the entrance of Jomei and his owl familiar Adere to the scene. Seeing all of the people around him brought a small feeling of nostalgia to the Ultramarine Knight, as they were all people he had come to know before he came remotely close to taking a lead in level among the players. Oikawa had been one of the first people he met in SAO, with his first encounter with Hikoru being when he tagged along with Azide and a few choice other individuals on an excursion that he still could not remember the end of. Jomei and Lowenthal, back when he was alive, were pretty much attached at the hip, especially after the formation of the Velvet Room. 

Nonetheless, the feeling of nostalgia didn't last long as his consciousness returned back to the present setting. However, underneath his armor he still had a calm smile, a bit of warmth and company to the seemingly long period of adventuring on his own as of late.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru gave a smile and a nod as Oikawa called him the prince of shadows. A title that he had given to him that had been forgotten to time. He let out a small sigh as Jomei appeared. He gave him a nod and one to Calrex as well, then he went to focus his attention on Oikawa, but something felt... Off. It was a six sense that he felt eyes peering into his back. He took a look around, but it was dark and he couldnt make out anything. He let out a small sigh and ignored the feeling for now, but he knew that King felt the same way as he did by how he was looking around. 

"So, since we're all here, lets play catchup. Im quite interested to hear how you all have been doing while we wait to fight the bosses." He said. In truth, he wanted to see if he could gather information about any locations he may not have seen yet. But all in due time. He did miss his friends, but he wanted to be able to learn about locations and sell them for some Col to the info brokers. He let out a sigh and awaited for answers

ID: 89190

LD: 6+1= 7 Vale not found

[Vale 1]

A number of voices could be concluded from the distance, she recognized two of the voices immediately. One was Jomei who she had been spending a considerable amount of time with, strengthening herself along him yet at the same time creating a foundation of trust between the two of them. The other was Hikoru, the person who had recently swept the feet out from under Vale emotionally. The man she had spend many a day thinking about, it was only a matter of time until someone found out that she was there alongside her cat Eclipse. The two of them sitting in the shadows trying to make a little noise as physically possible.

She looked around to see if there were any materials but all she could conclude was the spot she wished to eavesdrop from was barren of anything useful. Since there was nothing for her to collect, the only thing left to do was sit and listen in carefully. There were two voices she couldn't hear, one was named Oikawa which seemed like a rather familiar name. The other person known as Calrex, he was quite well known throughout all of Aincrad Society as one of the strongest if not currently the strongest man in all of Aincrad. The first unknown person was more what Vale was focusing toward. She opened her inventory to bring out a journal of notes she kept. She skimmed through a few hundred pages until she reached the page about the Memorial on the first floor. There she read the note that Oikawa was the one who murdered Zelrius. A bit of information she had yet to obtain, and this was a good chance to listen to them converse and figure out where Hikoru stood with one known as the Feint.

ID: 89232 | LD: 4+6=10 (No Materials Found)

Edited October 8, 2017 by Vale

[Jomei 0]

The group of men, who were unexpectedly brought together by the sudden return of the blonde haired Oikawa. The green clad swordsman took a look around at his friends, a tinge of sadness as he realized what they all had been going through. Things were much simpler when they had all first met, and despite being stuck in Aincrad for these past few years, the world had not gone to hell as it had in recent months. Oikawa had just emerged from some sort of isolation, it seemed, after the murder of Zelrius, betraying many of his closest friends. Calrex, who Jomei felt had enough on his shoulders with the stress of being their strongest player, always being needed, and always being there when things go badly. Lastly, Hikoru, who had pretty much had the same pains as Jomei did. The loss of a good friend and mentor at the hands of his once-was fiancé. Though their pains were hidden behind the happy feelings of nostalgia, Jomei knew their troubles bubbled deep down inside each of them.

"I agree with Hikoru," Jomei looked at the new Master of Shadows, "I may have seen both of you recently, though I feel our conversations kept being cut off before we could really reconnect" The ginger especially had questions for Hikoru, wanting to ask about his new friend, the panther-like woman Vale. Jomei felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand, the feeling of being watched passed over him. What worried him the most was the fact it was a familiar feeling.. similar to the one he felt when he was fighting the those field bosses taken over by the essence of Rage with Vale. The man looked past his friends towards a darkened cave, just out of reach of the natural lighting. In the cave, he saw the silhouette of a woman, light just barely hitting parts of her purple hair. He also noticed some sort of animal against the wall next to her, which immediately revealed to Jomei that it was Vale. 

He was unsure why she was sneaking up on them here, what were her plans? After their last conversation, Jomei had learned that Vale had been hiding important information about Dom and Gram for awhile from him.. shaking his trust in her a bit. Jomei looked straight into the darkened eyes of Vale, cocking his head slightly to the side before returning his gaze to the others. His left hand slowly moved, resting atop the handle of Saint Andrew's Bane.. Just in case Vale tried something strange. He did not want to think that she would attack.. but he couldn't be too careful. 

ID 89237
LD 18 (Vale spotted)

[Oikawa 1]

Nodding, Oikawa replied "Amaranth Rose huh? Nice ring to it I suppose."

Crimson eyes washed over everyone as they gathered, however one thing caught his attention. The combined looks of concern etched into the faces of Hikoru and Jomei as they both nervously glanced into the darkness. The feeling seemed to be universal because soon the blonde felt the piercing gaze of another player from the shadows.

"So, since we're all here, lets play catch-up. I'm quite interested to hear how you all have been doing while we wait to fight the bosses." Hikoru's suggestion snapped the blonde from his thoughts. Acknowledging the notion, Jomei echoed his sentiments.

"Let's invite our friend in the shadows there." Turning to the edge of the cave, Oikawa gestured for the on-looker to come forward. "Don't be shy. Only a handful of Aincrad's strongest players gathered together. That said, rash actions are strongly  ill-advised.."

[ID: 89337 LD: 15 (5+8+2)] Vale Found! (Total T3 Materials: 2)

Edited October 12, 2017 by Oikawa

[Calrex 0]

"Hm?"

As Oikawa redirected the direction of the conversion to include a mysterious presence from the shadows, Calrex's attention was now drawn to it. Previous to this the bluenette hadn't even noticed the presence of of someone in the shadows. Part of this was due to the fact he hadn't been in possession of the Reveal ability for quite some time now, adding to the fact he had a ridiculous about of damage absorption that he didn't need to worry as much about being potentially killed in a single strike. The second reason was because the usual culprit of such stealthy antics was Hikoru, someone he usually trusted to not stick a knife in his back at the drop of a pin.

"Well a handful of us would certainly cause either some form of concern, or curiosity."

"Let's just hope it's the latter."

Looking over at Jomei the Ultramarine Knight gave a small laugh at his comment, "Well I'll admit to being partially at fault for that. I think the past few times we've encountered each other has resulted in some form of friendly duel, so a lot of our conversation time was spent trying to smack each other with sticks."

Knowing that for the most part the current atmosphere wasn't likely to change in the meantime the Ultramarine Knight returned the Grand Blade III to its sheath. With the change to his third tier equipment, he had decided to also migrate the usual home of his sword, which was now within the Grand Guard III when it was equipped. He could still retrieve it for usage at a moments notice, but for now he left his sword hand free for conversation hand gestures.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru raised an eyebrow as Oikawa drew his attention to a certain spot nearby. He looked to see Vale who was trying to do stealth. While it seemed easy to see her now, she had done a good job of hiding from his sight. He quickly disappeared into the shadows, stealthily sneaking up behind Vale and hugged her from behind.

"My my... Trying to hide in my domain? That's not normal of you... " He said as he kissed her cheek. He let go and came out ahead of her, leaving her to follow "Its just Vale, nit to worry. She could kill you if she wanted, but i think shes a bit smarter than that..." He said with a small chuckle. He gave a sigh and looked at Oikawa. "So, ill ask you first. What have you been up to? Why did you disappear from the face of Aincrad?" He asked the Paragod curiously. He hadn't seen him in what felt like years, he wanted to know how things had changed for him

[Vale 1]

As she sat in the shadow's, resting against her familiar that capped the possible size for a familiar to be. She saw Hikoru start to look around as though he had the feeling of being watched, despite him being one of the greatest stealth users the game had come to see. His ability to isolate people with his eyes against other people who utilized stealth was definitely lack-luster. He hadn't a clue where she was, but his moving eyes caused the others to get the feeling of being watched too. It didn't take too long before someone would spot her location, and it happened to be exactly who she thought it may be.

The first person to gain eyesight on her was Jomei. It shocked Vale a slight bit that the man was able to connect his eyes directly to hers despite the fact she was dressed in all dark colors sitting in the shadow of darkness. Instead of pointing her out though, and letting others knows of her location. He turned his head to continue the conversation amongst the group, allowing Vale to continue to sit there and simply learn. She had no ill-intentions against the group since the person slowly becoming the love of her current life and the other who was beginning to become more than just a friend, a Confidant of sorts was among them.

The first person to out her was a blonde haired man with a snow leopard within arms reach, the orange crystal that sits above his head matched her own crystal. An explanation she would eventually have to give to Hikoru and Jomei before it turned into a bigger issue than it actually was. The man had pointed giving away her location without any effort honestly needed. He didn't hesitate to gloat about their power status and gave her a hint of a warning. The Blue armored man didn't even give the hint of a feeling that he was worried as if he was completely sure of his capabilities. A feat that honestly impressed Vale, the other three were looking about as though the danger was actually a possibility. But the man in blue, he gave this vibe that he was in a state of pure calmness.

"My my... Trying to hide in my domain? That's not normal of you... "

Hikoru displaced himself with his stealth-like capabilities that still screamed of unnatural ability, it constantly caused Vale to wonder just how he could do what he did. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek, Eclipse growling in his direction. Vale bonked the overgrown kitty cat with her Elbow and returned the kiss to his cheek, "I was in the area, and didn't want to intrude on your conversation, love. I'll be fine here, he seems like someone important to you." She reassured him that his presence near her was not necessary. He then proceeded to make a claim on her abilities that she hadn't felt like she could fully rely on yet.

Since she was discovered there was no need to hide in the shadows anymore, standing up her orange crystal was revealed to Jomei and Hikoru now, "I also have something to tell the both of you, but please don't overreact... I'll talk to you about it later. Please continue, don't let me be a distraction." She spoke loud enough for the group to hear. She scoured the ground looking for anything she could use for future creations, there still was nothing to yield for her. All the materials in the area were more catered to Blacksmiths, Tailors, and possibly even Artisans. She was flustered, but tried her best not to show it as Vale continued to listen in on the conversation.

ID: 89348 | LD: 8+6=14 (No Materials)

Edited October 13, 2017 by Vale

[Jomei 0]

It seemed as thought Jomei was not the only one that spotted Vale in the shadows. Oikawa seemed to take one look in her direction and spotted her, inviting her to come out and enjoy the group in their discussion. The rest of the group's gaze was brought to the shadows where the panther like woman stood, watching. Hikoru seemed to disappear himself, before emerging from the cavern across from them, walking with Vale. Jomei's olive eyes looked between the two before remembering what Jomei and Vale had spoke about when he asked if she knew anyone on the front lines. The corner of his lips curled into a smirk, looking into Vale's eyes and nodding. Before Jomei had a chance to greet the newly arrived woman, she mentioned that she had something she had needed to speak with her and Hikoru about. Jomei assumed it had to do with the now-orange crystal that floated over her head. The man's eyes caught glimpse of the orange colored marker before looking back at Vale. 'more and more.. you do something else that reminds me of Dom.' he thought to himself, knowing that whatever it was that Vale did.. she most likely had a good explanation about it. "Yeah, we can talk about it later.. It's good to see you again though." Jomei said to Vale. "Happy to see.. things worked out." he said looking at Hikoru once before back to Vale with a wink. 

[Oikawa 1]

No sooner than she was spotted, Vale and Hikoru emerged from the shadows in unison. The pairing quite fitting if the brunette didn't know any better. Hikoru proceeded to boast about her capabilities and he had no doubt she could kill a few of them. That said, Oikawa wasn't one to wait around for death and wasn't intent on letting it happen to him anytime soon. Though Oikawa wasn't familiar with the woman, it seemed she was well acquainted with Hikoru and friendly enough with Jomei. "She can't be all that bad then," he mused. Stroking his chin, an idea came to mind.

Waiting for their inner conversation to subside, Oikawa gestured to the direction of Seijuro Manor. "Perhaps we should move this conversation to my home. My manor isn't to far from here and with so many familiar faces and stories and explanations to be had, we can at least be comfortable in my home." Whether they joined him or not was up to them, but if Hikoru wanted his answer, he'd have to come along.