[PP-F3] A Secret

[Telrenya 0]

The sound of a message alert ringing in Telrenya's ears caused a small grumble to reverberate in the sleeping girl's throat. She rolled to her side in the decently-comfortable bed of the inn room she had taken up residence in for the night. The virtual sun hung over Delilah to mark a late morning on the third floor, and as it's bright light streamed in through the window Telrenya's brows narrowed while her eyes fluttered open. Her hands pulled up and found the corners of her eyes, rubbing at her face with her knuckles to try and push away the cloudiness that clung to her still half-asleep mind.

When her chocolate-brown eyes fell upon the notification of a new message that hovered sideways in front of her avatar, the woman moved her hand forward to give it a curious tap. A yawn worked itself up through her chest as she pulled herself up to sit, her menus rotating along with her body as she did so. The name that appeared as the 'Sender' was one that Telrenya recognized, but was surprised to see--Eatos. Her memory of the blue-haired healer and blacksmith came back to her, and her gaze steadily dropped to read the contents of her message.

When she reached the end of the invitation, Telrenya was wearing a troubled frown. "Aahh... I really appreciate them contacting me, but..." Her hand reached up to her collar and her fingers began to fidget with the ends of the blonde locks that fell past her shoulders. She bit down on her bottom lip, as if mulling something over before her shoulders fell half an inch and her knees pulled up closer to her chest. "Rgghhh, all of my normal gear is out-of-date!" She leaned her body forward until her forehead collided with her knees and the blonde let out a frustrated sigh. After several long seconds just thinking like that, Telrenya lifted herself back up and began to navigate her menus.

'The person who was Leader... Stryder, right?' She recalled the raven-haired player whom she had first met among the harsh sandstorms of the fifth floor. Before her fingers had a chance to hesitate, Telrenya began typing up a message:

Quote

To: @Stryder
From: Telrenya

Hey, I got the message from Eatos about continuing the Dragon Hunter questline. Thanks so much for inviting me again! ^-^

Before I can accept, there's something I would like to talk about. Would you be able to meet me at the teleport gate in Delilah on Floor 3? Any time is fine. I'm sorry, but please don't tell anyone else about this. I'll explain everything in person.

-Telrenya

It wasn't until her hand moved to submit the message that her index finger froze, retracting slightly before she drew in a breath of courage and urged herself to press the button to send the request off.

[Stryder 0]

Sky recieved the message, pretty quickly actually. He had been preparing to head out to do the quest... But something about this seemed urgent. He didn't know what it was, or even if it was... But not many times did someone ask to talk to him in person, without any prior warning or anyhting like that. He had no idea what was going on. He was near the warp gate on floor two, but instead of heading to the first floor like originally planned... He had to head to the third now, and he was very curious as to why. He sent a message to Eatos saying he might be a little late, but he didn't say why.

Spoiler

Something came up, i'l be a little late, wait up for me! 

@Eatos

Once that was sent off, he went into the warp gate, saying 'Delilah!' And with that, his world flashed before his eyes, appearing  on the third floor. His gear was his normal combat loadout, a vanity hoodie over all his gear hiding it. (Look at sig, there is a spoiler with appearance)

@Telrenya

[Telrenya 0]

After sending off her request, Telrenya was quick to get herself ready to meet the tactician if he was to accept. Pushing herself to her feet, she opened up her menus in the humbly-sized inn room and dismissed her sleeping attire before she panned over to her inventory and selected a couple pieces of casual clothing. A pastel pink halter top paired with a white, wavy, high-waisted skirt materialized over her form. As time went on, she was growing more used to wearing everyday clothing during the in betweens of her solo training. Adding on a thin, loose cardigan to match her skirt and a pair of white strappy heels, the small clover charm she always wore dangled from a small silver chain wrapped around her wrist while she combed her fingers through dirty blonde hair a few times and she exited the room.

Hurrying the short distance from the inn to the teleport plaza, Telrenya's chocolate brown eyes scanned the faces of the players in the area in search of the acquaintance she had summoned. After she had come to a stop, her gaze eventually lingered on a teen close to her height with a hood partially covering his raven-black hair. Her bottom lip stiffened, a surge of uncertainty running through her as she hoped she had the right person.

Pushing herself to move forward, she put on a friendly smile and raised her hand in a small wave. "Stryder?" She let out a silent breath of relief when she affirmed she had the right person. "Thank you for coming out here. My shop isn't far, do you mind if we talk there?" She asked with a soft expression.

After leading Stryder down a couple of streets through Delilah, the pair of players made their way to Telrenya's rarely-open Artisan shop. Holding the door open for her guest and carefully closing it behind them, she let out a small sigh of relief now that they were finally in a better position to talk freely. "Thank you again. I'm sure you're pretty busy..." Telrenya started with a weak chuckle, giving her arm a small rub before taking a couple of steps towards the center of the room. Among the many empty displays and unfinished designs for trinkets and accessories that littered her crafting table, Telrenya filled her lungs with a sharp breath through her nose and began speaking. "Well... Might as well get straight to the point. I've been doing quests and leveling...well, in secret. I got new equipment, hide my face, the whole thing." Another tiny, embarrassed laugh escaped her and she averted her gaze as the story began to spill out. "I-it probably sounds stupid, but it's the only thing I could think of to keep my friends from worrying about me. We've...well, we've been through a lot lately." She picked up a hand to rub at the nape of her neck. "A-anyway, I'd still love to continue this quest chain with you guys, but uhh... All of my equipment I was using before is out-of-date. I was hoping I could still come along, but... Well, I want as few people as possible to know what I'm doing...just to be safe."

[Stryder 0]

Sky arrived on the floor quietly, looking around to see if he could find anyone, but it seemed he didn't need to. He was quickly approached by a girl in a in a white skirt, a pink top and a loose carigan. He didn't realize it at first, then recognized her as Tel, and he smiled. He didn't say much, since she pretty much instantly asked him to move to her store. He shruged, following her closely. She was leading him through the streets.. Which looked a little empty, but at the same time beautiful. He didn't know what it was today, but somethin was up. His attention snapped back when she told him she should get to the point. He listened to her closely and intently, taking it all in. It seemed simple enough, she wanted to be more use to others, so she was hiding her identity. He listened as she talked about her equippment being out of date... He didn't have much he could say in response, bit he understood why she had said she couldn't come, and had asked him.

"Well, its good to know you want to stay with us! But... The issue with that is now everyone in the group will know your name, it appears in parties.... Hmm. I also need to make sure the teams are balanced, if they are not then we will have issues.... I'm greatful that you trust me with this... Who else would you trust?" He asks, pondering how he could do this and help her keep her secret.

[Telrenya 0]

Stryder seemed to struggle a bit, already thinking about how her secrecy would interfere with the group's composition and how he would have to compensate. Telrenya's lips pursed with a slightly flustered expression while her hands reactively waved to each side in front of her torso. "Ahh, I'm sorry! I don't want to be an obstacle, so I totally understand if it causes too much trouble." She was about to continue on about how she could just use her old equipment, or get new pieces that matched her old aesthetic, or even step down from attending when Stryder inquired about who else she would trust to know about her plans.

Her attention shifted, taking on a thoughtful and slightly troubled expression. "Well..." She started, pausing for a few more moments as she did her best to recall all of the names and faces of those who had accompanied them on the last quest. Her brows knit and turned upwards, her gaze drifting and lingering on one of the empty displays off to the side of them. "I don't know anyone else very well, so that's hard to answer." Now that she thought about it, she had told Stryder about her plan, but he still didn't know anything about her disguised persona yet. As much as the thought left a bad taste in her mouth, her 'trust' in him wouldn't by any more than words until they were out in the fields together.

Suddenly, a look of dread crossed her expression as she remembered the one player she might consider herself closest to. "Embers would kill me..." She mumbled, envisioning the redhead's fury if she came to the conclusion that her plan was too reckless or dangerous for her to handle. Embers was going on the list of those who she absolutely didn't want to know. Trying to shift her thoughts back to the original question at hand, Telrenya shook her head in defeat. "I can't say there's anyone else that I personally trust, or want to know what's going on. If there's another person that you think needs to know, for this to work... Well, I still want to complete this chain with you guys, so I would at least consider it." She nodded as the decision was made in her head.

[Stryder 0]

Sky listened, it seemed like there wasn't anyone else she would want to know about this... But she did want to still come along. This made things a little difficult... But not impossible. She wasn't taking part in the first quest, this allowed him to make a backstory for her that would make sense. He could put her with people she didn't know, especially since nearly everyone in his guild wouldn't know who she was. He would have to watch out for Hei, Eatos and Crozeph... He could put her with Pinball and Fae... But he would need a supprot for them.... 

"I know who to put you with in a squad, if your willing to take the hits for them. Two people in my guild, Pinball and Fae, i believe don't know you. If you were in a party with them, you could tell them what you want them to call you and it might work, however i do need to make sure they survive, but i trust you enough to do that" He says, smiling at her. Wondering if that was a worthwhile plan. It might work out, who knows.... But right now that was the best thing he could think of.

[Telrenya 0]

"O-of course!" She stammered out as he warned against taking the heat in combat for his guildmates and what would be her party members in the future Dragon Hunter quests. Her expression softened and she gave a confident nod. "My build isn't going to be the same as when we first quested together. I'm still working on my defenses, but I should hopefully have everything sorted by the time we continue." Her fingers found the small emerald charm hanging from her wrist and turned it over between them out of habit.

"I'm not sure if anyone in your guild has ties to anyone in mine, so my plan is far from foolproof." Her eyes lowered with her uncertainty. "But I'm determined to level up and get stronger. So if it's not too much trouble, then I would gladly continue with you guys." She gave a polite bow of her head which she held in place for several seconds before she gave a nervous chuckle. "That sounds pretty selfish though, now that I hear myself say it..."

She shook her head, smiling once more as she always tried to do. "That's everything I needed to say, really. I'm happy to fight alongside you and your guildmates to clear this questline, so if it won't be a burden on you then I really appreciate your help."

[Stryder 0]

 

Sky smiled at her, she said if it wouldn't be a burden then she would like the help. He almost laughed a little, actually, he did laugh a little, but it was just kind of funny. He had been babysitting a lot of people since he started fighting, and even though he loved it, it was still a pain at times. He didn't even mind her being 'selfish', hell she was doing it for the right reasons. He let out a final little 'Heh' before smiling towards her with a warm and bright smile. He looked at her Emerald Charm, but decided to leave it alone for now, it seemed important to her, why, he didn't know.

"Its fine. As long as you can keep Pinball and Fae alive i don't care what build your going for, and don't worry about it. I would trust everyone in my guild with my life, and honestly even if we have to tell them something i know they can keep a secret, but it shouldn't come to that. I don't believe anyone in my guild has ties to others... Maybe Eatos with how much of a buisness woman she is.... And maybe Embers, who i believe is coming" He said, smiling.

"Your welcome to continue with us, you started this with us, your welcome to finish it with us" He says with a wide grin, offering her a hand shake. He did like the girl, and he hoped she would stay with the group until the end. She was someone he could see himself becoming good friends with in the future.

[Telrenya 0]

With the two players having reached a compromise of sorts, Telrenya pulled her fingertips together in front of her stomach, bouncing once on the balls of her feet with a satisfied smile. "Thank you." She offered again with a small nod to the raven-haired teen. Her eyes flickered to the corner of her HUD, eyeing the time as she tried to recall exactly how long they had spent chatting in her shop. "Um, well, I suppose that's everything I needed to say," She started with a nervous chuckle. "If there was anything you were busy with, I don't want to keep you from it any longer." The woman let out a small sigh at the realization of how much time she had left in the day and all of the things she wanted to accomplish with it. "I really ought to start looking around for some more quests I can get done before these dragon raids start up again... I still need quite a few skill points to round out the build I'm going for." She chuckled shyly, bringing a hand up to graze against the skin at the nape of her neck.

(ooc: I still haven't picked a quest yet, so if you have any ideas go for it. Otherwise I'll take another look soon and let you know.)