[PP-F5] Shifting Sands

[Zero 0]

Zero glanced back at the girl as she slowed her pace, he could tell she wasn't used to the cold at this intensity. He slowed down as she began to seem more sluggish and stumbled forward. He quickly moved back and caught her arm. "Careful, you shouldn't lie to others about how you feel Sinon." He pulled his coat off, now only wearing his sleeveless shirt on his torso, and placed it around her. "You need it more than I do. I can stand the cold until we reach the tavern, so you just worry about not becoming a human popsicle." He passed his hand through his hair, now walking calmly, and looked at the full moon in the sky with a slight grin. "Look at that, what a sight..."

[Aoife 0]

I was shocked that he'd give up his coat in this temperature and I inwardly smiled. I held onto the too big coat and flashed a look of gratitude to Zero, not wanting to waste any time or energy speaking. I followed his gaze up to the Moon, remembering that tonight was supposed to be Fullmoon, according to my memory from following the phases of the ghostly orb that hung in the sky. "Look at that, what a sight..." I nodded my agreement. What a sight indeed. Turning back to the situation at hand, I reached out and tugged on Zero's shirt to get his attention and nodded towards the town, trying to get my point across.

[Zero 0]

Zero looked at Sinon when she tugged his shirt and nodded understanding what she had meant. "Yeah, we better hurry." He glanced at the town then back at the girl and quickly swept her off her feet. "Better get going." He grinned slightly and dashed forward before the girl could protest.

[Aoife 0]

He picked me up like I was a rag doll! I thought, flustered. To say that I was upset simply didn't cover it. First off, I was furious that he'd just pick me up without asking, not that I would've allowed it anyways. Second, I was embarrassed at the thought of going through town looking like some little weak thing that couldn't do a thing without help. And third, I was annoyed that he'd done this and dared to grin whilst doing so! I didn't bother protesting, though, and I knew that I'd rather kill myself than tell anyone in Aincrad this. I may have maybe not minded it. I may have sorta, kinda liked it.

[Zero 0]

He glanced down at the girl as he walked into the town and headed for the tavern. He could tell she was slightly angered at the fact he'd swept her up without her permission, but that she also didn't mind it entirely. He stopped in front of the tavern's door and set her down. "We're here," He opened the door and pushed it open so she could step in. "Ladies first."

[Aoife 0]

"Thanks," I said, rolling my eyes at the old fashioned gesture. Stepping forward into the tavern, I was surprised at the number of players here. The majority were guys and a few looked at me kind of funny when I walked in. Averting my eyes from them, I reached behind me and grabbed Zero's hand to drag him to the booth in the far corner, away from the other people. I could feel their gazes following me as I crossed the room and sat down in the booth.

[Zero 0]

Zero allowed himself to be guided by the young girl and sat down quietly. He glanced at Sinon noting her discomfort. "Some people just don't know how rude it is to stare uh?" He leaned back against his seat and looked at his companion as he gestured an AI to attend them. "What do you to drink Sinon? You can have anything you like, anything at all." He slightly smiled trying to make her forget the stares of the other male players.

[Aoife 0]

"A ginger ale would be nice," I suggested uncertainly. "Your turn, Zero." I could still feel a few stares burning holes into my skin and I tried shrinking back into the seat. St-stop looking at me! I put my hands over my head childishly, as if maybe that would make them go away.

[Zero 0]

"I'll have a glass of water, thank you." Zero ordered as the AI the turned around and left, heading back to the bar area. Zero glanced at Sinon, noticing her discomfort, and sighed gently placing his hand on her head. "Ignore them Sinon, don't let them bother you." He whispered, gently petting her head in an attempt to comfort her.

[Aoife 0]

Opening eyes that I didn't know that I'd closed, I blinked at Zero and batted away his hand. "I'm not a little kid. Don't treat me like one," I whispered harshly. A strand of hair fell in my face and I blew at away with a huff of annoyance. A glass of ginger ale with ice was set down in front of me and a glass of water with ice was placed in front of Zero. "Thank you," I said as the AI walked away. I reached for my glass and brought it to my lips. As soon as we're done, we're getting out of here.

[Zero 0]

"Not treating you like a kid, just watching out for you." Zero picked up his glass of water and gave a quick sip. He glanced at Sinon, and placed his glass down. "They're still bothering you aren't they?"

[Aoife 0]

"A bit, but I can deal with it," I admitted and glanced at Zero's still full glass. "You may want to finish that quickly. I have a feeling that staying here for too long is a bad idea." By now, I'd already gulped down most of my ginger ale. It was good but I didn't want to waste more time here than I possibly could.

[Zero 0]

Zero nodded picking his glass back up, and began to drink its contents as fast as he could. He placed his glass on the table once he finished, and scratched his head. "Well, we better get out of here then. Last thing we need is trouble."

[Aoife 0]

I blinked, surprised that he didn't get hiccups from downing a full glass of water that quickly. Wait, this isn't real life. Of course he wouldn't get hiccups! Unless they were programmed in.... But who would bother adding that in? I shook my head at the thought. "Um.... Yeah. Yeah, we shoul-" I was cut off by someone placing their hand on my shoulder, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin. My immediate reaction was throwing a heavy punch to the person's face and sending them flying across the tavern into a really big guy that kinda reminds me of a biker or something and spilling the guy's drink on his face. Of course, instead of solving the situation with words, the biker look alike landed his own punch on the man that I now felt kinda sorry for. That feeling disappeared when he returned the punch and knocked the biker guy into the table that I had thought looked like a date. The boyfriend joined in and the entire situation escalated until there was a full-blown brawl that the majority of the male customers and several females had joined. I turned away from the chaos and rested my head on the table with an annoyed sigh. Of course this happens now. "Zero? I think that it'd be a really good idea if we left here right about now, don't you think?"

(Finally!)

[Zero 0]

Zero quietly watched what had unfolded before him, and slowly escalated into a full on brawl. He sighed feeling annoyed by the unexpected interruption, here he was finally managing to talk with someone casually, but it ended as soon as it had begun. "Agreed Sinon, we better not get involved in this ordeal and head on our way." He stated as he stood up from where he sat, and firmly grabbed Sinon's hand, giving her a serious look contrary to his usual calm or kind demeanor. "Let's stick close, don't want to get separated and dragged into their fighting."

[Aoife 0]

"Alright.That sounds good...." I said, trailing off. Lifting my head off the table slightly to glance at Zero, I inwardly cringed at his expression and turned my gaze away again. I slipped out of the booth and continued to avoid eye contact by watching the fight in front of me. You've done it again, Sinon. Bravo, I thought sarcastically while heaving another sigh of annoyance aimed at myself. Scanning the tavern for a quick exit, I realized that the throng was steadily making it's way over to where we stood. Upon noticing this, I turned the hand in the older boy's grasp and held his before darting to the right and racing towards the small gap in between the pack of drunken wolves and the wall. A chair flew into the wall and fell to the ground, unmarred by the abuse, causing me to jump back and two purple 'Immortal Object' icons to simultaneously pop into existence. "Sorry," I said to Zero.

[Zero 0]

"It's fine..." Zero told Sinon softly as he gripped her hand tightly, and made his way to the exit, pushing and shoving anyone who got in their way. "Move it!" He shouted they reached the door, he quickly pushed it open as a chair flew at him and sent him flying outside. He sat up with a sigh, and scratched his head annoyed. Damn bastards, I should have put them down for being so annoying... He slowly stood up and padded his clothes, giving Sinon a glance. "Come on, let's get out of here."

[Aoife 0]

As soon as Zero opened the door, another chair was thrown and this one hit Zero, sending him flying out of the door while pulling me out until I let go of Zero's hand. He landed on the ground with a dull thud before sitting up and sighing, assuring me that he was fine. I grabbed the poor chair and set it inside before stepping out of doorway as the older boy stood up and spoke. "Yeah, okay," I chimed, smiling. Walking over to Zero, I could almost feel the irritation rolling off of him in waves and before I knew it, I'd started laughing. The entire situation was ridiculous!

(Good gods, this is horrible.)

[Zero 0]

Zero looked at Sinon slightly surprised by her laughing, and slightly laughed as well. He walked up to her, and stretched his hand out to her, things hadn't gone exactly as he had hoped but he wasn't going to allow that to get him down. "Where would you like to go next Sinon? Night's young, and I'm not that tired. Are you?"