[PP-F11] Petals of Twilight

[Sey 0]

Thanks to the wonderful patches of this lovely game, his house was taken back! The col is now theoretically his, but the guilt of keeping it and using it to buy The Dawn prevented him from getting it once again. At least for now, until that bit of guilt washed off. Other than that, no regrets at all. Sey adopted a relaxed persona from the time he was kidnapped and broke out with his special new skill. He hummed gently a piece from the days where ?????????? used to play the violin for practice in his room, where the whole house could hear it. But somewhere in this game... Hm. Regardless, he lived inside of his shop until he could earn the col to buy the dawn back with his money once again. As for right now, he was baking a few candy apples and caramel apples to give to his lover, looking to knock her back with a wave of nostalgia. If not for that, at least to give her a nice little gift for the time being. For the moment, he was cutting some more apples into slices so that he can replicate the bagged apples with caramel dipping sauce. The whole shop lingered with a sweet aroma, as he had been at this for about a good hour or so.

[Hidden 1]

She awakened on the first floor in her bed in the bedroom in the backroom of her shop. Ever since her house had been taken back by the patches of her game, she had moved back into her shop and Blackshade was now sleeping on the floor. She had brought herself new sheets and blankets, but it wasn't the same as snuggling with Sey. She sighed, sitting up. She was wearing a T-shirt and Black sweatpants. She swung her legs off the bed and made her way to the door, startling Blackshade into the waking world. She quickly moved into the closet, changing into her cloak. She would change out of it once she reached her love's shop. 

After running errands a few hours later, she opened the Door to Casper's shop, the sweet aroma of food inviting her in. She made haste to the bathroom, changing from her cloak into black shirt, skirt and boots. satisfied with her appearance, she swung open the door to the kitchen and found him cutting apples. "Helloooo!" She said to greet him. She stepped up to the counter that he was cutting apples."So, whats going on, hmm?

@Sey

[Sey 0]

A familiar lovely voice resonated through the room as the bells rang to accompany it for every guest to walk through it. It wasn't hard to pick her out from a crowd, as the familiar dark clothing she comes equipped with resembles a beacon for him. She didn't hesitate to approach the counter where he was slicing the apples, a little out of his plan. But he needed to guide her to go along with it, but not without a greeting. "Hey love!" Sey greeted brightly, a bit of his accent shown with the latter of the two words. "Well, I'm trying to make a gift basket for you, but you arrived so early!" No she didn't. In fact, the timing couldn't be any better for him. Of course, he needed to direct her away from him for the moment. So he pointed his knife towards the pantry. "But while you're here, I assume you'd like to help me help you. Over in the pantry should be a bag of apples, I'm running a bit low. Would you be a dear and get them for me?"

There were no apples. But a part of surprise is to mislead in order to build up, and Sey was born from a bloodline very well known for their trickery. As for his knife, it played a far bigger role in his trick. With an apple in his pocket ready for the final act, he was prepared to put her through an emotional roller coaster.

[Hidden 1]

Im imagining Pantry as "Cabinet" 

As she looked down at the apples he was cutting he had a smile on his face. He greeted her lovingly, and admitted to her that he was making her a gift basket. "Oh. Well, you really didn't need too! I don't even have anywhere to put anything right at the moment" He sliced another apple, one of his last ones. With a smile, she plopped one of the apple slices into her mouth, stifling a laugh. He didn't seem to notice, meaning he either didn't care or she was getting much better at her thief/assassin skills. Instead, he asked her to get another bag of apples. Her violet eyes widened. "Casper!" She said in a pouty whine. "I don't need a bunch of apples everywhere!" She did as told though, tapping the sink to get it to spew some water. After a few seconds under the water, she dried her hands and moved swiftly over to the pantry. The pantry was a little tall for her. She reached up, swinging open the door. Nothing. "Hey! You know I am short already, but its going to be in the back of the cabinet? Really!" She climbed onto the counter, looking up higher. She minded her skirt to make sure it wasn't going to ride up when she got up. On her knees on the counter, she looked into it. "Casper? I think you misplaced the apples!" 

She got down from the counter, turning back to the white-haired boy. 

@Sey

[Sey 0]

To keep the act going, he went along with the dialogue that she replied to him with while she was searching for apples. "Oh come on now, who doesn't want a bunch of apples in their inventory from the best?" He asked, keeping his icy gaze fixed upon the apples, though noting anything else but the apples as he continued to slice, though now unevenly. As her stepped reached their destination, she continued to whine to him about things that he fortunately already knew. Now for the big event. "Keep looking," Sey started, purposely making the chops far louder so that she could take note of them. "I know I put the apples in the- AHHHHH" With a scream so sudden and perilous, he held his wrist as if he cut a finger from it with the cutting knife. Sey knelt over as if in pain, holding his left wrist near the pocket of his hoodie, but making sure to cover it with his right arm to prevent her from seeing anything. Taking steady breaths as if trying to convince himself he's fine, he would collectively whisper to Hidden. "Hidden, can you... *ack*, check my hand?" She wasn't a healer, nor did he thing she could pull out a potion and throw it at his face fast enough. But should she step closer, the real surprise would be revealed.

[Hidden 1]

The sounds of apple cutting slowly seemed louder as she moved slowly and carefully to get of the counter, but as she was, a shriek filled the air, her stumbling off the counter, and onto the floor. She rolled to her feet instantly, her heart pounding as she came to tend to her love. "What did you do? Cut yourself?" The man was kneeling on the floor, holding his hand, where he had perhaps hurt himself. She hurried over, but became more hesitant as she got there. No red shards filled the air. You couldn't really get hurt in Aincrad, but worst of all is that his hand was perfectly fine. "D-Did I just fall off of a countertop for you? Hey, jokes like that aren't funny! I am going to get my dagger and stab you into next week! Anyway, what am I going to do about your stupid hand, I don't have healing skills!" She stared at him. She had seen from this perspective before, where she had been looking down on him. As the thought of their first time came into her mind, her face instantly reddened. "Get up! You aren't hurt!" She just kept staring at him though. It was getting annoying. If this was real life and she had fallen off the counter for a thing like this, she would have left for a good week. "Alright, enough playing around, get up and-" 

@Sey

[Sey 0]

Perhaps the scream worked... Too well. Falling off with as much grace as a squeaky violin in the Philharmonic. But he refused to compromise his position, not even addressing her comments until she mentioned he wasn't in pain. Ten points for the boys back home, but she was right where he wanted her. She continued to order him around, telling him to get up, though he looked up at her with his collected half-closed eyes and a genuine smile. A classic sweet and smart personality, it reminded him of why he loved her. His left hand swiftly flicked out the box with the gem inside. It was time for him to claim what was his. Adjusting his right leg so that he was kneeling before her, he opened the box to reveal the classic colors of the two of them twining together to show the strength of their bond. "Marry me?" Sey asked rhetorically as if he were finishing her sentence. But no further will that statement go. "As sly as the wolf but as gentle as a dove, there's nothing I wouldn't give to you. But first I would give you my last name, will you marry me my love?"

[Hidden 1]

The violet eyed girl would watch as he slowly moved upon being yelled at, taking a kneeling position as if she were about to knight him. She didn't have a sword to tap to each of his shoulder's. As she went to finish her sentence, he quickly interrupted, changing her words to 'Marry Me'. She instantly frowned, her eyes changed to a look of annoyance and she was about to say something when she realized the words he interrupted her with. Her look quickly became one of a surprised nature. She took a look at him, and he now faced her, a ring in a box kneeling in front of her. Her mouth made an 'O' as her chest seemed to explode, time slowing as he spoke his words. She wasn't sure if he spoke of himself or was complimenting her with as sly as a fox but gentle as a dove. His words fell out, her heartbeat was the only thing she felt. "Will you, marry me my love?' Her eyes glassed over, her eyes seeming distant. She tried to force her body to move, to say yes, but darkness quickly enveloped her. 'Oh... not now... Please not now!' Her knees would buckle, falling into Sey as darkness was all she seen. 

Spoiler

July 7th, 2003
2:19 P.M

Hilda stood there, wearing a dress of white and red at the ripe age of three. It was her Mother's and Father's wedding a day. So far, it had been a day of high emotion, her mother bursting into tears of happiness several times throughout the day. Being too young too understand much, she had been assigned as the ring bearer for her parents. She stood, peering into room where a long aisle would be seen, much of her mothers friends and family sat, watching the wedding happily. As it became her turn to walk down the aisle, she walked down the now flower-covered aisle to the end, where her grandmother instructed her to stand. "Stand there until they ask for the rings, my little warrior" Later in life she would find her grandmother called her that as her name translated to "Battle Warrior". The name had been given to her as her mother had to put up a fight to get through the labor with her and her child alive. It was the Grandmother's idea. Her mother walked down the aisle, her long black hair tussled, her green eyes beautiful and curious. She looked to her father who stood at the alter, he was handsome in his suit, and his purple eyes seemed bright with happiness. The wedding would proceed successfully. Never would she forget the happiness on her mother's and father's faces as they were madly in love. 

Her eyes would flutter open and she would find herself in Sey's arms. She smiled and whispered her reply. "I would fall in love with you again every day until I died if I could" She would push her head up, placing her lips on his to create an intimate embrace. She had only been out for a minute or two, but to her it seemed like seconds. She pulled away from her lips. "Yes" She said to make things simpler if he didn't get her fist sentence.

@Sey

[Sey 0]

A small silence was present as all sorts of shocks seemed to pass through her mind based on what he saw. The adorable nature of her fluster usually was the cherry on top of that sweet sweet shake, but she instead seemed to be losing consciousness when her eyes were boring onto him. "Hidden?" He asked, his tone with slight concern, though he tried to play it off with a chuckle. Shortly after, the shock nearly seemed to strike her dead as she fell into his arms. "Hidden!" Concerned completely bare as he reached out his arms, though only for the moment to seemingly freeze before him. As if his body were stuck in place, not even his eyes could shift.

"Voices in the shadows..."

That voice... One so mellow and proud, but vague with his wording. Sey remembered a tiny amount... And only in the best of times did he present something so cryptic. Leru... Sey thought to himself, somewhat smiling a bit from the memory. He's watching somewhere... And he approves...

Anything in between seemed like a mere blur, as Hidden suddenly was in his arms. A timeskip? Hallucination? Whatever it was, it left a sudden bittersweet smile on his lips, though only for her to seal those lips with her own, flooding back joy in him as he heard the word she was looking for. Yes... Yes... Echoing like a church bell, he didn't believe it'd actually happen. Despite the plans, despite the build-ups and the way she usually reacted to him, he still didn't believe her pulled her in.

But he did.

"Hear that, love? The wedding bells seem so distant, we better close that gap." Sey proposed, placing his hands on her waists in an attempt to lift her up, making sure to look his eyes with hers and refused to see anything else other than those two precious jewels. "And my heart belongs to you. The day I can't love you is the day that it stops beating." In which he would push motion his lips towards her once more.

[Hidden 1]

It would appear her love was unnoticing or perhaps uncaring of her flashback, but she ignored the small detail. She was now sitting on the floor in his arms. So, she was engaged to this white-haired boy now. She knew her father, if he cared at all, would disprove the idea of her getting married. He used to be much happier and would have loved to take Sey in as a son, if thy waited a bit. Now, her father was a depressed drunk, longing for his deceased wife. She was his reason to go on, and his meaning of life. "Casper? What will be of my name now? I know not of yours and you no none of mine" Her violet eyes peered into his bright blue ones. The thought of being a wife to such a man was endearing, and she wished her mother could have met the man she had given her heart to along with her father before he changed. He mentioned wedding bells, none of which she heard, but perhaps it was another of his metaphors. After he would speak his name, she would think of the last name on hers. "Hazel Amyth Yukino.... I like it! Though, I will tell you my name currently is Hazel Amyth Bidden, and yes, Amyth is short for Amethyst" She kissed him on the lips before pushing his body into the ground. "Now. DON'T TELL ME TO GET SOMETHING THAT ISN'T THERE!" She shouted, pouting throughout. "I fell of the counter" She looked away. She found the piece of apple he was cutting when he "cut off his hand" that had fallen off the floor. "So wasteful, you dropped this on the floor too!" She pciked up the piece and instantly playfully drove it towards his mouth. "EAT IT!" 

@Sey

[Sey 0]

It seems like she enjoyed the event, though then questioned on what her new last name was. With that, he might as well throw in his full real name as well. "Well, my real name is Semato Yukino." The snowy player explained with a warm tone despite his usual cool gaze appearing even more chill than usual. Hazel, was it? It was short and sweet. Though his last name broke the traditonal naming of her family, his has been broken ever since an oriental and western decided to have him and his brother. What was there to lose at this point? "The name suits you, has a nice little ring to it. Glad to place mine at the end of it." Sey said, expecting the kiss at this point with critical analysis of her body movement towards him when she did so. It was brief, but comforting. Her attempted push back would make him stumble back a little bit, but his skill in Martial Arts gave him near perfect body control, thus allowing him not to fall. "Hey now, it's not my fault you have such bad balance!" Yukino retorted playfully, placing his arm under hers when she tried to force an apple in his mouth, remembering the Aikido hand movements, to completely redirect her arm to the side by having his arm contrast against the force of hers.

@Hidden

[Hidden 1]

As she drove the apple towards his mouth, he quickly redirected her hand, the apple slamming into the floor. She let out a sigh as a puff of air. He spoke, his voice joking and happy as he said, " Hey now, it's not my fault you have such bad balance!" She pouted, powerless now to attack him with the apple. "I don't have bad balance!"  She looked through her inventory, finding the magnolia. She clicked the button, and the flower came to rest into her hand. She would do something to display this flower, but she had no idea what. They had no house temporarily, but that would be done after they became married. With the housing update, they could now have a house that they couldn't before. A bell was heard, indicating someone had entered the shop. She sighed, slipping back on her cloak and throwing back up her hood. "Get him his food dear" she said lovingly. As Sey would attend to the man, he would stand in front of a tall and well rounded man with a full beard and moustache. When Sey would speak to the man, he would humbly reply, "I am in search of a cloaked player that is seen entering this establishment quite often. I need to ask them some questions and if you could tell me where she is, that would be most helpful" Hidden herself remained behind the wall, her face scrunching inquisitively at what the man could possibly want with her. It was rather annoying that on her engagement day that someone would be looking for her. The real question is why. 

@Sey

[Sey 0]

Ah yes, it's that part of the day where he gets to deal with a customer who wanted to start trouble. Sey was familiar with the sorts that had a business with one who wishes to speak to an employee. Being a pathological liar back in the real world, he applied the same logic over here with Hidden being portrayed as an employee. The man seemed to have a mean poker face, good or bad intentions unknown despite his good reading of these types of things. "Oh? Well I am unable to give that sort of information unless my employee wishes to do that, which they have yet to do so." Remembering to use "they" instead of "she", which could eliminate the population of half the population of Aincrad should he make that fatal mistake. But lying was second nature to him. Crossing his arms, he'd gaze eye to eye with the man, since the both of them had perhaps a few inches in difference between their heights. "If you'd like to relay a message to them, I'd be more than happy to do so. But I cannot give you an employee's details without their permission. If that is all there is, may I ask what message you'd like to send?"

[Hidden 1]

She stayed behind the counter, listening in on the conversation. It seemed to her so far that the man wished to speak to her, but Sey smoothly put that aside explaining he would not give away his employee's information like that, but was willing to relay a message. 

The man would smile, happy that the man was gracious, but gave a frown as he realized he would get no information of the Shadow Walker's whereabouts. Also, he had not know that she was employed here by this cook. "That truly is a shame! I suppose a message will have to do. Please inform your 'employee' that I would wish to speak with them. I am currently trying to find a player and I believe she can help me with that. This other player and I have business to make" 

After hearing the man speak again she stood, needing to hear more. She walked into sight, the man's eyes in surprise as she walked into the room. "Speak your meaning" she said cooly. She was aware of the man smiling at her. "Ah, Shadow Walker! What a pleasant surprise. I am in search of the player who calls them 'The Demon King' and I know you know who I speak of" hidden by her hood she grimaced. The Demon King was Aereth. The question was, who is this man? "I am not interested in your business with him, nor would I give information of a player I call my ally away like that" The man shook his head. ""That is not good to hear, but I will make my leave now. A pleasant day to you two!" Hidden watched as he walked out the door. She could have sworn she had seen the man's face before. Where though? She stood there, trying to jog her memory. 

@Sey

 

[Sey 0]

The demon king? And some association to them? After the man left Hidden and Sey alone, his cool gaze fixed back onto Hidden with question dancing in his eyes. "Care to give me some context about that?" He asked, placing his hands in his pockets. "Also, I'm pretty sure he couldn't get to you without my permission. Was there some gain to reveal yourself?" After all, it took two in order to make a lie work when defending the other. All these things made little sense to him from a logical perspective, and he tried his best to wrap his head around it. Looking back over to the kitchen, he proceeded to walk back towards it before cutting up some apples again. The mess couldn't be left there after all they went through, it was bad business to waste materials. "Would you like some candy apples, love? I'm sure if there's nothing that man had to say that was too important, we can talk wedding plans over with some sweets."

[Hidden 1]

As she stood there watching the man walk through the door and leave, her love turned to her and asked for an explanation. "He is looking for a man named Aereth. I don't know why he wants to talk to him, but I don't give away information like that" She shook her head, turning to Sey. "I've... worked with Aereth before who decided one day to take on the name Demon King. I don't know why, but he did. He is a cocky man who gets himself into trouble quite often. I prefer to stay out of his bubble unless I need to"  He then stated he doubted he could have got to her. "There was no gain, and no loss to it. Hopefully, he will now understand that I won't be helping and move on. He might've kept looking for me if I didn't tell him" He then would ask if she would want some candy apples to which she frowned. "You mean the one's I fell twice over" She stated popping one of them in her mouth. "Well.... I'll have to start thinking about how we can have a wedding. Its unprofessional for me to wear a cloak" 

@Sey

[Sey 0]

Aereth, now that was a name he wasn't so happy to hear again. Considering how the last moment with Kooh went, it was best for him not to give it any more thought than that. "Yes, keeping your distance from the matter would be best. It's better not to involve yourself in... Well, whatever goes on out there these days." Being apart of it in the real world was interesting, but money was enough of a shield for him. In this game, that wasn't so much of a thing. The following comments were brushed past, since he didn't really have much to reply with at the moment, especially since she helped herself to one of the apples. The last part was an interesting one, though tradition suggested that he didn't help with that with anything more than advice. "Do you not have anyone on your friends list to help you search? The fund are in my hands, it's just the hunting portion that belongs to you." He stated, leaning his back against the counter with his hands in his pockets.

[Hidden 1]

It was great that Sey also agreed that it was best to stay out of Aereth's business. She wanted to remain in her and Sey's business alone. They had their own futures to worry about. "I really don't have any friends in this game. I tend to stay by myself all the time. Though when it comes to hunting, I got everything covered. I am able to take care of myself" She looked to meet his eyes. She was certain now that there was a small buff to married players, not that it really mattered to her. She was strong enough without it. She just needed to be able to gain a few more levels, and she would become one of the strongest frontliners. "Maybe I need to start getting a few more friends. I have allies, but they are almost like a lot of your friends. They are just... business partners" Domarus would help her if she needed it, but she understood with him came a cost. Often, even his small deals had larger gears working unseen in the background. She didn't like to be in debt to the man, it was more dangerous than it seemed. 

@Sey.... Sorry lol. I am still around

[Sey 0]

"Enough with being alone then, we'll have to get wed." Sey replied, though he knew full well what she meant with finding friends other than him. A lover was nice, but she did need other people in her life. Was she bound to do it was Hidden? Only time could tell. Regardless, there was a celebratory date to enjoy, and so he needed to match it with a smile. A ring was on it, now he needed to gather the people to help make it a reality, though who could he start with? It will be interesting to figure that out. At least for right now, he would confidently walk up to her and place his pointer finger below her chin. If successful, he would tilt her head upwards before leaning in for another quick kiss on the lips. Gentle, soft, and brief. "I love you, Hidden. You're not some business partner to me, fortunately. Just a partner, the best one." And with that, he would lean back before taking off his cooking attire, returning back to his casual hoodie and tie. "Well, I won't hold you here if you have something better to do, but I'll be here if you need me, love~."

[Hidden 1]

She offered the man a smile as he told her that he was there and no more reason to be alone. It felt good to know someone out in the world cared for her, either of the worlds. Life had been so hard ever since mom passed away, and she felt like she could escape that through Sey. He told her that he loved her, and that she wasn't a business partner. "That was sweet" She would tell him. Hidden would watch as Sey came closer, leaning into her which she would stand on her tip toe to reach him. After a soft embrace, they would part, the dark haired girl pulling up the hood to her cloak, obscuring her face and her blush. "Well, I won't hold you here if you have something better to do, but I'll be here if you need me, love~." She would nod to him and move towards the door. "I will be back quick, promise" She pushed open the door, darting to the left into the alley as soon as she exited. 'First I have to find out who that man is, and where he went. I don't believe for a second that he would no keep trying to come after me.' 

RP Completed!
Sey receives: 1 SP, 200 Col
Hidden Receives: 1 SP, 200 Col, Black Ice Ring(Vanity)