[PP-F2] Roundabout Ruse

[Telrenya 0]

Wearing an expression filled with apprehension and unease, Telrenya wasn't sure how long her finger had been hovering over the name listed in her messaging options. It had been a couple of days since she had withdrawn from the Holy Dragon Alliance, and she had felt a sense of relief that she had done so right before she managed to run into her boyfriend on the ninth floor under a disguise and false name. Another ball of guilt manifested in her chest as she recalled their exchange, and for a brief second she doubted herself. But the feeling was fleeting, and as it passed she pressed down on the name of the tan-skinned woman to select Jevi as the recipient of the message she would move on to write:

Quote

To: @Jevi
Subject: Can We Talk?

Hi Jevi, I'm sorry to bother you out of nowhere like this! I was wondering if we could meet up soon and talk about something. I know it's a bit much, but I was hoping to ask you for a favor.

Please don't tell the others in the guild about this. I'll explain everything in person.
-Telrenya

She drew in a deep breath, as if to fill her lungs with the courage to send off the message before pressing the button hovering in front of her. With the exchange now out of her hands, Telrenya let out a sigh and picked herself up from the workbench she had been sitting on inside of her shop. She needed to keep herself busy until she either received a reply or enough time had passed that she would have to start considering different options.

[Jevi 0]

Standing inside of her oven of a shop on Floor Five, Jevi stared at the large, curved sword she had put on display above the rest of the wares she had created. Talon of The Eagle, she called it, with its brown and gold handle with an ivory looking blade, representing the bird of prey's vicious claw. After her past adventure with Spencer in the Pyramid on Floor Six, she had lost the Izunami she had been gifted from Opal, and was in need of a new blade. Originally, she wanted to sell this piece, but felt it may be her best course of action to use at the moment, especially since it seemed to match her current armor scheme pretty well. Taking the sword off the hooks that held it to the wall, she tested it for its weights, raising her arm and letting it fall a few times with the sword in her hand. Then with a determined nod, she placed the sword into her inventory. 

In the same moment she placed the blade away, she saw the icon in the corner of her menu light up as well, stating she had received a message. Curiously, she tapped on the icon to reveal a message from Telrenya. It was the first time she had ever been in contact with the blonde when not around the rest of the guild, thought determined by her wording of the message, it seemed important. 

Quote

To: Telrenya
Subject: RE: Can We talk?

Of course. I won't tell anyone. Just let me know where to meet you. I'll make my way over to the teleport ring now. 

- Jevi

Jevi did not know what was going on, she knew that she had been dating Jomei.. why hadn't she contacted him with this? Was it something that had to do with the two's relationship? Feeling a knot of worry in her stomach, she hurried up the stairs of her shop, replacing the thing black tank top she wore with her regular town clothes. After locking the door behind her, the woman made her way through the sandy town towards the square, awaiting Telrenya's coordinates. 

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya was lucky that she hadn't needed to wait long to hear the familiar chime that alerted her of a new message, hurriedly pulling up the notification to allow for the contents to display before her. Letting out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, she took on a small smile and typed out a quick reply back.

Quote

To: Jevi
Subject: RE: Can We Talk?

Thank you! ^-^
Let's meet up at the teleporter in Urbus.
-Telrenya

She was grateful to receive such an accepting response from the woman who was a near-stranger to her. After switching over to her inventory, her free hand traveled up to the nape of her neck as she wondered how she might be able to make it up to Jevi, especially if she would be so kind as to help her out after listening to her explanation and request. "I wonder if she'll think I'm being stupid..." She wondered aloud in a small mumble while her fingers pressed down on a couple of clothing pieces. A pastel pink halter top and a white, wavy, high-waisted skirt paired with white strappy sandals and a loose-fitting cream-colored cardigan whose thin sleeves reached just past her elbows. Erin's Favor hung from the silver chain around her right wrist as it always did, and her chin tilted down with a satisfied smile at the casual outfit. "I think Ruby's started to infect me." She spoke to herself with a small chuckle before dismissing her menus.

Leaving her shop and heading towards the center of Delilah, it only took Telrenya a few minutes to reach her destination and teleport herself one floor down to the more robust city of Urbus. Blinking away the fuzziness that came with the bright light of teleportation, her head swiveled from side to side and her eyes searched for the woman whose most prominent features she only vaguely remembered from their first and only meeting.

[Jevi 0]

Her brown boots trudged through the sand, the blue ring that served as a teleporter that hovered just in the center of town. "I really need to find a new place to live.." she said to herself, wiping the beads of sweat that accumulated on her forehead. The sun was too hot in this desert, and having a forge that sat underground was even worse. Something to think about for a later date, she figured, as she finally received a reply from Telrenya. Halting her walk, she tapped on the icon and read the short reply. Telrenya figured it best for the two to meet on Floor Two in Urbus. Nodding her head, Jevi closed the message and continued on to step up on the platform. "Warp, Urbus." she said, her body disappearing in a bright blue flash.

Once she felt the cool, fall breeze of Urbus on her exposed shoulders, she opened her eyes to find herself in the bustling, stone city that served as the center of the second Floor. Now to find Telrenya, she thought to herself as she looked around for the vaguely familiar bob of blonde hair. Keeping herself on the high ground of the platform, she looked over the heads in the crowds, looking for the girl whom she assumed was standing alone. Her golden gaze eventually fell upon the cutely dressed girl as she stood there, trying to blend in with the rest of the crowd, but also seemed to be looking for someone. Stepping forward, Jevi pushed past the players that walked the streets to greet the girl with a smile. "Hey Telrenya." She looked at the girl for a moment, wondering just what she needed to talk to Jevi about. The two were guildmates, but not truly good friends yet, which Jevi hoped to change by this encounter. "So.. should we go somewhere to talk or..?" she slipped her hand under the brown hair that poured over her shoulders, scratching at the base of her neck. 

[Telrenya 0]

A voice called out her name, catching the blonde's attention and causing her to spin around for her brown eyes to meet the blacksmith's golden. A bright smile formed on her lips, and her fingertips came together in front of her chest. "Jevi!" She exclaimed the dark-haired woman's name and gave a quick nod when she presented the question of where they should go in order to talk in peace. She turned her shoulders, tilting her head to the side in a short motion for Jevi to follow her lead. "I was thinking we could take a walk."

Once the two players had slipped away from the dense crowds surrounding the teleport plaza and had reached a less populated area of town, Telrenya let out a small sigh. She looked to the woman walking beside her, hands having laced together and fallen to hang in front of her skirt. "Thank you again for meeting me all of a sudden." She opened, her brows pulling down into a troubled expression as she averted her gaze when she continued, "I know we've just barely met, but..." She hesitated for a few moments, gently biting down on her bottom lip as she tried to figure out where to begin.

"I... I've been leveling on my own lately, without telling anyone." Just that one sentence filling the air felt like a bit of weight taken off of her, but it only led her to keep going. She faced forward again, staring at the stone walkway laid out in front of them as they continued at a leisurely pace. "When Jomei said he was going back to the frontlines, and Ruby joined him... Well, I didn't want to just stay back and do nothing. But if they knew I wanted to join them as well, they would worry, and go even farther to try and keep me safe." Her bottom lip stiffened, and she gave a small shake of her head. "I don't want them in any more danger than they already are trying to keep an eye on me."

"So, I got new equipment and all that, but," Her eyes flickered up to the corner of her vision where her guild icon would have normally resided. "The guild tag is a dead giveaway." Her tone dropped to a defeated one before she looked back to Jevi, eyes widening slightly and an apologetic smile forcing its way to her face. "S-sorry! I shouldn't unload all this stuff on you at once." A nervous chuckle escaped her, giving the brunette a chance to respond before thinking about continuing on with all of the jumbled thoughts in her head.

[Jevi 0]

The brunette was greeted warmly, which made her eyes light up and smile. It was not very often that she felt as welcome as she did around all of her new friends. After asking where they would go to speak about what was on Telrenya's mind, she suggested a walk. With a nod in understanding, Jevi followed aside the blonde woman towards a less crowded part of town. Whatever was on her mind seemed to be eating away at her a bit, and after hesitating for a moment, she spilled her heart out to Jevi. Apparently, Telrenya had been going off and gaining experience and leveling up on her own. A curious eyebrow rose at the woman's confession.. believing it to be not that big of a deal at all. Jevi had done her own fair share of leveling up alone, what was so secret about it this time. Going on with her story, she revealed her intentions were to soon join Jomei and Ruby on the front lines without causing the two to worry and feel the need to protect her, putting their own lives at risk in the process. The brunette nodded her head, now understanding why there was such secrecy. Telrenya even had gone as far as to buy a whole new set of gear, but the guild's logo was what she believed would give away her secret. Looking from Telrenya's eyes to the health bar that floated in front of her, Jevi noticed that the dragon-like logo had now vanished, meaning she had left the guild to keep this a secret. "Does Jomei know that you left the guild? I guess not.. aren't you worried that he will find out?" Jevi ignored Telrenya's last comment about this being all too much to dump on the girl at once.. she knew that she was troubled and had no one to go to. So she wanted to help. 

[Telrenya 0]

Though she kept her eyes trained on the path ahead of them, the intensity of her guilt shone in the chocolate-brown orbs. As Jevi's first question answered itself, her second was met with a small nod. "It's only a matter of time... And I don't want him having a heart attack when he sees my name isn't on that list." Telrenya sighed, her brows turned up while her forehead creased with worry. "So, I mean, I kind of have a plan that I think...might work." The confidence was only fleeting in her voice, and she brought up her hands in front of her stomach so that her thumbs could run over her knuckles and fidget amongst themselves.

"I first thought that if I leave the guild and then join as this...'other person', it would be fine." She gave a light shake of her head. "But the more I think about it, the more holes there are in that plan. And Jomei is clever, he would find them quickly, I'm sure." She said with a nervous half-chuckle. "So...well..." She seemed hesitant to continue, backtracking a small step in her thoughts in order to preface her new plan of action. "It probably sounds crazy, but it's the only thing I can think of that would work. The only way for it to make sense that another person is in the guild is if their name shows up on the member list, right? I've...well, I've been using a fake name with the people I've met out on my own. And I was curious, so yesterday I went to the monument to check, and... There's actually someone by that username in the game. I was thinking...maybe if I found them and convinced them to join the guild, just to have the name on the list, that could work."

"But it might just make things worse if I'm the only one that "knows" this person, so... I was hoping you could vouch for her? Err, me...as her?" As soon as the oddly-worded question she had stumbled over left her mouth, Telrenya brought her hand up to the back of her head, sliding her fingers through her golden hair and ruffling it slightly. Her nerves had her stutter at first, but the tempo of her words picked up as she tacked on more of her messy thoughts. "O-of course I don't actually want you to lie to anyone for me, and I get it if it sounds like a pretty stupid idea, so I'm sure I can figure out something else, y'know?" The smile she wore was forced and weak, eyes still facing forward as if she either felt too guilty to look directly at Jevi beside her, or her mind was working too quickly for her to focus on anything else.

[Jevi 0]

Jevi slowly nodded her head as she tried to follow along with Telrenya's dilemma, as well as her plan for getting around it. Her plan of leaving the guild without anyone knowing was risky, especially since the guild leader was, in fact, her boyfriend. The blonde would need to work fast before Jomei, or anyone else for that matter, took notice of her temporary leave from The Holy Dragon Alliance. Telrenya then laid out her entire plan to Jevi, how to keep both herself, Telrenya, and this alter ego of her's in the guild at the same time without raising too many questions. She needed a way to have both the names of Telrenya and this ego on the list at the same time. The only way to do so, was find someone with the same name, and have them join the guild. Jevi only hoped that she could find such a person, in the 9000 players who remained, who had chosen the same name as her. Lucky enough for Telrenya, there was one other player with the name. Jevi chuckled and shook her head, "Yeah.. that is a hell of a crazy plan." 

Jevi took a couple steps to walk ahead of Telrenya, turning on her heel to stand directly in front of the woman to look her in the eyes, and stop her from walking forward. . "So let me get this straight.. you want to find this person with the same name as your alter ego.. and convince them to join the guild so that both names can be on the list.." her arms crossed under her breasts, and her head cocked to the side, trying to fully understand everything. "..and you need me to help convince them, so that I can say that I also met your alter ego and brought them into the guild myself?" Jevi's curious expression turned into a smirk, "You know.. I thought you were just a quiet girl with a cute face.. But you've got some spunk to you." she said with a chuckle, placing a hand on her shoulder. "No wonder Jomei loves you." She then gave the blonde a confident nod, "Alright. I'm in. I'll help you out... My only concern is.. What if this girl we find with the same name is around when you are in disguise?" 

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya stopped short, not expecting Jevi to cut her off as she did. Her eyes snapped up to lock with her intense golden gaze while the blacksmith summarized her plan and what it was she was asking of her. Her bottom lip stiffened into more of a flustered expression than anything else once a smirk appeared on the woman's lips. A crimson hue appeared on her cheeks, though whether it was brought about by what Telrenya thought was a compliment, or the remark regarding the Irishman was left unclear.

Even so, Jevi's agreement caused a warm smile to spread across her face, as if her worries had been temporary quelled in the face of a new ally. With Jevi's voiced concern, her expression then shifted to a thoughtful one, a touch of her own concern surfacing as well. "That's...our wild card." She frowned, raising a hand to lightly tap a curled knuckle against her chin. "I mean, I might not have to get you involved with her directly," Her volume dropped to a mutter as her thoughts spilled into the air, "or him, since I guess it could always be a guy," She shook her head lightly to draw herself back to the main point. "As long as I can get out of being around as both Tel and Erin at the same time, I shouldn't need to ask them to do anything besides accept a guild invitation. Assuming they're not already in a guild, maybe they'll just say yes...?" Her question was rhetorical, and almost hopeful as her gaze pulled up and to the side. "Still, just finding them will be a lot of work... I'll have to figure that out first."

[Jevi 0]

Telrenya seemed to have already thought about that part of the plan. The only thing she needed was both names on the list, so she could be in any of their friends' presence with the guild logo on each persona of herself. Though, Jevi had to admit, if this person did end up wanting to actually be a part of the guild and be around more, especially if it did turn out being a guy with a much different body than Telrenya, it would make things difficult. However, at this point, it seemed as though they had no other options. Telrenya still went on with her thoughts after revealing the second name to Jevi; Erin. Her brows lowered in thought, not looking at the girl anymore as she tried to remember where she had heard that name from before. 

"Did you say.. Erin..?" Jevi questioned her, after she had finished, a slight bit of distaste in her voice as she asked the blonde to confirm the name. Her golden eyes closed and chin dropped, a hand raising to her face as she pinched the brim of her nose for a moment. "I may know where we can find him..." she sighed "If its who I think it may be.. I'm not going to like it.. and under normal circumstances, I'd never want to work with a scumbag like him." she shook her head, "But.. theses aren't normal circumstances are they." a small chuckle caused her shoulders to bob. She looked back up at the blonde with a smirk, "Lucky enough.. last time I heard of him, it was here on this floor... Though..." she looked up and down at the cutesy outfit Telrenya wore before rubbing at the nape of her neck, "Just.. be ready." she said, before leading the girl back into town. 

[Telrenya 0]

"Hm?" Jevi's prompt and the furrow in her brow caught Telrenya's attention, causing the blonde to tilt her head in confusion. There was no way she actually knew the person whose username that belonged to...right? "Erin? Like, well I mean I've never told anyone how it's spelled, but I was going with E-R-I-N." She rambled a bit before spelling the name out. Her eyes were trained on Jevi as she continued to say they might already have a lead to find this player. Although, given her warning, Telrenya cocked a brow in mild confusion before simply giving her a nod in response.

The two women had continued walking, Jevi offering direction to whatever place it was she believed he would be. When they had finally arrived at their destination in an area of Urbus that seemed less-than-friendly, Telreyna's eyes fell upon a tavern with a large wooden sign sitting above the doorway that featured an intricately-carved snake tangling itself over the letters that formed the establishment's name: The Drunken Serpent. The sounds of general rowdiness could be heard permeating the large oak door marking the entrance. Furniture clattering against the floor and the yells and shouts of riled players faintly reached their ears while they stood outside.

She gave a wary sideways glance to the brunette beside her before the duo pushed open the door and let themselves in. Telrenya couldn't stand out any more if she had tried. The oppressive atmosphere loomed over the blonde, causing a tension in her shoulders. Her brown eyes scanned the room, unsure if she was pretending to know what--or whom--they were looking for, or if she was just trying to process everything around her.

With Jevi's assistance, or more aptly put, following Jevi's lead, the pair of players found themselves approaching a table in the far corner of the room with a small handful of players gathered around it. The one that seemed to be at the center of attention was a man who had himself leaned back in his seat, arm around a woman on his right while another had her arm hooked through the one at his other side. With short, wild, fiery-red hair and a sharp jaw, the green eyes that rested under his fringe looked to the two strangers while an amused smirk danced across his lips. "My my, what a lucky day!" He exclaimed as he looked both Jevi and Telrenya over with a mild interest. "To what do I owe the pleasure of you lovely ladies?"

Pushing past the feeling of dread in her stomach, Telrenya stepped up to the table's rounded edge before Jevi had the chance to lead the conversation. "Y-your username is Erin, right?" She mentally kicked herself for the stammered word that left her mouth. Her chest puffed a bit with a bit of forced courage. "We're here because I need your help. Please, would we be able to have a few minutes of your time?" She felt a small sense of relief as she got the words out, thinking nothing out of place with her polite approach. Erin's smirk grew wider, and the man pulled his arm away from the brunette at his side, picking himself up while the opposite woman reluctantly let him slip away. He placed an open palm at the center of the table between them, leaning forward and reaching out his other hand to hook his index finger behind a lock of Telrenya's hair, pulling the strands forward as he locked his eyes with hers.

"For you, my dear, I have more than a few minutes." He chuckled lightly, his intentions quite the opposite of the girl standing across from him. "It's not every day I have a blonde beauty like you." His hand shifted over to take her chin between his knuckle and thumb while his eyes drifted downwards to look the girl over again.

[Jevi 0]

The part of town that housed The Drunken Serpent was just as rundown and dangerous as the bar itself. NPCs who begged for Col on every street corner, some a bit more forceful with their pleads than others. Even some ruffian players tried the mix in with the crowd, pestering bystanders and trying to rummage some coin out of defenseless looking kids who don't realize they are safe in the city's walls. Jevi could hear the malicious chuckles and catcalls coming from the men who hung in the area, seeing two women walking their way. Closing her golden eyes and clenching her fists, Jevi knew that she would need to toughen up a bit for this situation. The woman brought her hands up behind her neck and bunched all of her brunette hair into one fist, and tied it up into a high pony tail. The hair down on her shoulders made her look too soft, she thought. As her eyes reopened, they greeted any of the players that looked their way with an icy cold gaze that sent shivers down their spine. 

Finally, The Drunken Serpent was in their sight at the end of the street. Jevi took in a deep breath, the smell of trash filling her nostrils. Despite it being a place Opal liked to go to, Jevi never liked it here.. too loud, and full of too many people that she'd rather see falling off the side of Aincrad. However, for Telrenya's sake, she would suck it up. Pushing open the creaky wooden door, they were immediately met with the smell of cheap bear and body odor. "Oh, the place cleaned up since the last time I was here." she said sarcastically, before looking over to Telrenya and shaking her head to show that she was lying. Her golden eyes scanned the room until she spotted the familiar face in the corner, with a bunch of other players drinking and talking loudly. "Great..." she said with a scowl, "That's him over there.. The hot-headed douche in the corner with the girls on his arm..." 

The two women walked through the bar to the far corner, where Erin immediately took notice of the two women, despite already seeming to have another two to himself. Before Jevi had a chance to break the ice a bit a knock his ego down a few notches so they could talk to him in a slightly civilized manner, Telrenya was already confirming his name before stating that they needed his help. The grin on his face red Telrenya's plea differently than it should have, and with a large, grimy hand, he gently held a lock of the blonde's hair, before touching her chin. Jevi could see the uncomfortable look in Telrenya's eyes, causing her to smack his hand away from her. "She didn't say you could touch her Erin, now are you gonna listen to what the girl has to say? or not?" 

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya was practically frozen in shock when the stranger leaned in close to her, blowing past any boundaries of personal space as he ran his finger along her hair. She felt her head move slightly when he directed her face, and it wasn't until Jevi interjected and swatted his hand away that she could snap back to her senses. Grateful for the brunette's support, she kept her mouth shut for now, waiting for what kind of response the man would offer them.

Erin's smirk vanished just as quickly as his touch after his hand was pushed to the side. His emerald eyes lazily shifted to meet the intense stare of the blacksmith, holding her gaze without any of the fear that she had elicited from at least a dozen other players that had caught her glare on their way to the tavern. It seemed as though there was a wall standing between him and his new toy. A couple of seconds passed after Jevi's prompt filled the air between them, after which Erin pulled away and straightened himself where he stood on the other side of the table. His palm withdrew from the wooden surface and he looked the two women over again before sitting himself down again, leaning back in his chair while his arms crossed over his chest. The corner of his mouth turned up into another smirk, as what seemed to be the man's default expression. "What kind of guy would I be to turn away a beautiful flower and firecracker who came all this way for me?" He asked, unfolding an arm to beckon them--or at least Telrenya--forward. "Come on, sweetheart, don't be shy." He spoke with a false kindness and an expertly-crafted smile. "Spill your heart out, it's alright."

Telrenya's bottom lip stiffened slightly as her lips pursed, somehow feeling even more nervous in the man's presence. When he urged her to speak again, her chocolate eyes glanced nervously between the other players whose eyes were also trained on her--a handful of individuals who didn't look quite as friendly or accepting as the redhead, which was saying something. 'I was hoping for something more...private.' She inwardly sighed before her mind worked to come up with the best way to explain herself in so much company.

"I'm asking you to join our guild." She started with a forced firmness in her request. Erin likely didn't mean to let the surprise show on his face, but with it Telrenya was quick to continue. "I don't mean to ask you to participate in our guild, or, well...do anything, really." She tried to explain. "I... I've been borrowing your username without realizing it, so for that I'm very sorry." She instinctively bowed her head towards the man, despite how little he deserved the respect. "All I need to ask is for you to be registered as a member of the guild. Please, is there any way you can help me?"

Her expanded request naturally left more questions than answers, but Erin simply stared at the girl's face as she unintentionally gave him the only thing he needed: power. "Borrowing my username?" He repeated while the corners of his lips pulled into a slight frown and his brows turned with a troubled look. "That could be a problem..." He averted his gaze as if he was in thought for a few seconds. "I wanna help you out, sweetheart, but you're putting me in a bind, y'know?" The tip of his right index finger tapped against his bare bicep a few times and his brow furrowed slightly. Without the other two women at his sides, he might have spoken his conditions to comply right there. "This sounds serious." He turned his gaze back to the duo. "Maybe we should go somewhere a little more...suitable to talk?" He suggested, wearing a practiced smile.

[Jevi 0]

Erin's gaze shifted to look Jevi in the eyes after she had swatted his hand away from touching Telrenya's face. The brunette knew that Tel did not fit in here, and would normally be eaten alive by all of these poor excuses for human beings if she had come here alone. However, she wasn't alone, she was with someone that knew how to deal with guys like this, and would if the situation arose. Hell, she would love if the situation arose, if it meant punching Erin's teeth in. The man stood and stared across the table at the two, the fiery woman's golden gaze not leaving his emerald eyes, a silent war of wits between the two. The man eventually seemed to pull back and sat back down, that same [censored]-eating smirk forming on his lips as he looked at Telrenya again and told her she could speak.

Telrenya seemed to give in, and told her exactly what they needed of him.. the guild, the guise she was using, everything. Jevi bit her lip, not sure exactly how the man would react to all of this. Spotting the frown on his face, she immediately knew it wasn't going to be good. Despite averting his gaze multiple times from Telrenya, he still did not return to look at Jevi.. trying to ignore the fact the the bronze skinned woman would not let the man lay a pinkie on her innocent friend again. Apparently, however, he thought that he could possibly get away with it, and speak with Telrenya in private about the matter. Jevi caught the man's true intentions instantly, and she hoped that Telrenya did as well.

"Yeah. We can talk about it." The brunette put a bit more emphasis on the 'we.' "My friend here may be the one in the situation..but because of the guild's permissions.. she doesn't get final say with who gets into the guild.." the woman bluffed, keeping her best poker face on as she spoke, "Since I'm second in command, I can confirm it and add you if you'll accept.. But then again.." her scowl turned into a smirk as she slammed both of her palms into the table, her face leaning closer to Erin so show she had no fear, "You might not be worth it to let into the guild."

[Telrenya 0]

The brunette spoke up again, and Erin was forced to turn his emerald gaze on her again. He normally liked a girl with a bit of spunk in her from time to time, but the fire in Jevi's golden eyes seemed to burn in spite of him. If blondie was a rose that had wandered out of the safety of her garden, this firecracker was the thorn that would prick anyone who dared try to take her.

"Hey now, sunshine." His lips turned up in amusement as he met her intense gaze. "Sounds like your friend's in a bind. Why don't we play nice?" His lids closed with a deceptively cheerful smile.

Telrenya's gaze danced between her friend and the stranger, her hands held nervously in front of her. She wasn't so naive not to realize that Erin was a rather...unsavory character, to say the least. Perhaps the full extent of his motivations escaped her, but she struggled to come up with a solution that eased the tension in the air between everyone present. The burning eyes of the other players on them, some she was sure she felt stretching from other areas of the tavern, did nothing to help her. The blonde hesitantly reached out her hand to place it gently on Jevi's shoulder, giving the brunette a small nod. "Yeah, we can go somewhere else to talk." She kept herself close to the other woman as her gaze shifted back to Erin, not planning to leave her side.

Erin stared at the two players, his mind weighing the pros and cons of humoring their odd request while he wore a neutral expression. After a few moments the redhead let out a small sigh and stood himself up again, walking around the edge of the table and ignoring the disappointed and disapproving eyes of the women he had left behind on him. With a hand on his hip, Erin stood with Jevi closest to him, holding a few inches over the taller player. He raised his other hand palm-out in front of him, as if to show the protective brunette that he wasn't playing dirty. At least not yet. "Lead the way, ladies."

Given that she would have been completely lost in what was essentially the slums of Urbus without Jevi's help, Telrenya had to rely on her guidance once again to navigate to an area that was secluded enough that they could talk freely, but wouldn't leave them in a dangerous situation. Once they reached a location that the women deemed appropriate, Erin faced them with the same hand on his hip, shifting his weight as he turned his attention to the prickly brunette. "Second-in-command?" He questioned with a tone that was neither condescending nor too invasive. "Why not just have the guild leader contact me?" He approached with harmless conversation, expressing curiosity above all else with brows slightly raised.

[Jevi 0]

Oh she would play nice alright, at least as nice as she needed to be to get the man to comply with them. And if not, there were ways she could get the man on their side. Jevi's smirk faded as she pushed off of the table top and rose up to stand straight next to Telrenya once again, offering the red head a simple nod in understanding that she would... play nice... After a moment of letting the offer linger in the air for a moment, Jevi felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, before Telrenya's voice sounded out, agreeing with Jevi's statement that the two would not be separated with this man in their presence. Another moment passed of silence, the thoughts seeming to go through Erin's head as he looked between the two women, before finally standing and making his way around the table to join them. He stopped directly in front of Jevi, his head looking down from a few inches over her. In his best attempt at being a gentleman, he let the two women lead the way to their secluded spot to converse the details of the plan.

Jevi nodded and lead the group out of the bar, keeping Telrenya close to her side, making sure not to let her fall too far behind. Her eyes closed with a silent sigh, feeling the burning stares of Erin's emerald eyes upon her ass, and most likely Telrenya's, in the wavy skirt she wore, as well. Pushing open the wooden door to The Drunken Serpent, she walked around the side of the bar, which was a pretty quiet alleyway. Usually the ruffians of this part of town would not hang out in this area, since the fairly large bar owner would come out the side door to shoo them away. However, since this would, hopefully, be civilized conversation, the three of them should be fine while they conduct business.  

Once they had reached the end of the alley, Jevi stopped and turned to look at the man. Before any other questions were asked, he questioned her position within the guild. Crossing her arms under her breast and shifting her weight to her opposite leg, the woman's expression remained the same and did not falter, waiting for him to continue with his thought. "He's a front liner." Jevi simply started, "Last I saw him, he was off to fight the Floor 21 Boss ... Most likely he's joined up with the scouting team right now to find the next Dungeon so we can all get out of here a bit faster. Besides, while he usually deals with those aspects, he leaves me in charge of the little things like recruitment." 

[Telrenya 0]

The dynamic between the two women was almost impossible to work with at once. The little he'd seen and heard from each of them was plenty. He knew exactly which angles to play with each of them, but in the presence of both players he was forced somewhere in between. Erin had found himself questioning for a moment if this whole ordeal was worth it, but resigned his doubts as he had already come this far along in their little game. Jevi revealed that the leader of their guild was a frontliner, stating that he was off fighting a floor boss. With a healthy amount of skepticism in the back of his mind, he continued. "But let me get this straight, sweetheart." He turned his attention back to Telrenya, his tone more passive and innocent in Jevi's presence. "You want me to join your guild, but then what? Not do anything, you said?" He prompted. While most of his attention was focused on warming up to the blonde while keeping her guardian at bay, there was a tiny part of him that held a genuine curiosity. Blondie said she was using his name, after all, and he was interested to know why and what for.

Telrenya stood beside Jevi with her fingers laced over her skirt. Unsurprisingly, she felt the oddity of the situation both parties were in. It weighed a bit heavily on her shoulders, and when Erin's eyes turned onto her, she tensed a bit. Her chocolate eyes moved to the side, hesitating while her mind worked to determine the best approach. Without all the time in the world, her bottom lip stiffened with defeat as she decided to share her secrets for the second time that day. She explained everything that was necessary: that she was using a disguise to hide her identity from her friends, and that she used his name as a persona for that disguise. When she finished with the reason for adding him to the guild and Jevi's involvement to back up the story she was weaving, a short silence hung in the air.

'Oh my god. This is precious.' Erin had to work hard to keep his lips from curling into a smirk and stop a laugh from bubbling inside of him. Straight out of some TV show drama, the man was now thoroughly amused with her story. He had half a mind to ask the girl if she was joking, but the look on blondie's face was all too telling.

"I would just need you to tell me if you get a message from someone thinking that you're me. It shouldn't happen often..." She shifted uncomfortably, still avoiding his eyes despite the effort he put into softening his gaze. Erin's chin tilted down, and he caught it in his free hand with an index finger curled over and his thumb pressed against the bottom. Another troubled expression made it's way over his features. "Like I said, I wanna help you ladies out," He lied, "but I can't do all that for nothing, sweetheart. It causes trouble for me, y'know? And it's risky to let someone else go around calling themselves you." The pressure he applied was skillfully disguised with a reasoning tone. He kept his eyes from darting to Jevi, as they would normally gauge her reaction. The brunette was sharp, though, that much was obvious, and even something small like meeting her gaze was likely to get him caught. "Tell you what. Go on a date with me, and I'll do it."

[Jevi 0]

Erin sought out for confirmation on exactly what he was needed of, a hint of wonder at just why they were asking a stranger of such. Why did it really matter that he actually joined the guild. Crossing her arms at her chest, the brunette looked to the blonde next to her, letting her tell the story of just why she had thrown on this guise that was Erin. She explained the entire story in detail of the situation she was in, and why they needed his help. Her golden eyes went back and forth between the blonde and the man, wondering just how much enjoyment he was truly getting out of this whole situation. And that smirk he so constantly wore, it sickened Jevi.. just what did he truly thing he was going to get out of all of this? 

Once the story had been finished, Erin admitted that he would help them, but would need some sort of reward for his chivalrous actions. She inhaled deeply through her nostrils, expecting as much she could only imagine what he was going to ask of them.. specifically Tel. That being said, her mind was already going through all of the options. Once he confirmed what he had wanted, it felt like a thorn had pricked into Jevi's side. Of course that was what he wanted, the dirty pig. "F*** that" Jevi spoke up. "You don't even have to do anything, except just join the guild. Then do whatever the hell you please. You are not getting a date with Telrenya, or myself for that matter, just because of this. Besides.. both of us are spoken for." she looked over to Telrenya after her rant before sighing, turning back to Erin "I can make you a brand new set of armor, and a weapon of your choice if you help."

[Telrenya 0]

It came as no surprise that the firecracker lit up after his request. Erin lifted his hands during her outburst, a small frown appearing on his lips as he opened his palms towards the women to show his surrender. "Damn..." His disappointed mumble was loud enough to be heard in response to Jevi's claim that each of them were off the market. Although that wasn't something he hadn't worked around before.

The brunette seemed to give in, however, offering him something else: a new set of gear. Though he normally had little use for such things, his lips curled back into a smile at the arrangement. "Ahh, a crafter, huh?" His hand dropped back to his hip as he shifted his weight to one side. Drawing in a deep breath through his nostrils, he matched Jevi's sigh of defeat. "Alright ladies, you win." He picked up his other palm, pulling his fingers back in a small wave to motion for Jevi to send him a guild invitation.

Once he had accepted and the icon of the Holy Dragon Alliance appeared above his health bar, Erin opened up his own menus and shortly after a friend request appeared in front of the blonde. Telrenya seemed a bit flustered by the menu that appeared in front of her, but the redhead quickly spoke up after her reaction. "You said I have to contact you if anyone messages me, right? Like your guild leader, or something?" He repeated in a reasoning tone. It seemed as though the man really had given up on seducing them, and since he had only echoed her earlier instruction, Telrenya pulled up her hand and accepted the request.

Once again despite the fact that the man across from them didn't deserve the respect, Telrenya's hands stacked atop one another in front of her skirt and she offered him a bow. "Thank you for your help!" She said simply, straightening back up after a few seconds and looking over to the woman beside her. "Um... We should probably go." She prompted, all too eager to bring the conversation to an end.

[Jevi 0]

Jevi could not help but smirk when Erin finally gave in and decided to help the two women out, without trying to pursue the blonde anymore, at least during this confrontation. With a simple nod, the woman swiped her hand upwards and into the limited guild menus she had. Luckily for her, Jomei had not restricted guild recruitment to merely the leader, allowing her to add whomever she wished. At the same time, Jevi also sent a second guild invite to the woman that stood next to her with a smile on her face, "Guess you can join back up and not have to hide it anymore." Her eyes then shot back to Erin with another, slightly more serious expression. Her hand lowered, dismissing the small screen from in front of her. "Just.. send me a message with whatever you want for the equipment, and I'll see what I can do." She then offered the man the most polite nod she could for the asshole he was. "Thanks." she simply said, before turning around and walking with Telrenya out of the alleyway, and as far away from The Drunken Serpent as they could get.

"You must really love Jomei." The brunette said, her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face as she shot a sidelong glace at Telrenya. "You're going through all of this trouble to keep this secret identity... just so that you can train and fight alongside him, and Ruby. Make sure that they're safe.. and not worry them too much with you being there." she shook her head, "I used to have someone like that.. once.. But.." she let out a heavy sigh, knowing that Grave was not coming back. She had Ruby now, and that was all that mattered. "That doesn't matter anymore." she said with a forced chuckle, "Lets get back to Urbus."