[PP-Floor 2] Night Terror, with Teion

[Ryo 0]

Ryo witnessed Teion flinch as she rose her voice, then clutching her chest. Ryo bolted to the front counter, sliding over the front counter and into the kitchen area. He noticed the tied up NPC staff workers but had to ignore them. That other NPC had to be here somewhere. Instead of checking the kitchen Ryo ran to the back door and was surprised to find it locked. or stuck. The first kick knocked the door free, and what was blocking it loose as well. A few more kicks and the door was open just enough for him to peek through. He saw a figure running off in the distance, the rain pounding all the while. A large dumpster had been pushed in front of the door preventing him from opening it fully. "Dammit!" He cursed, as he could do no more to catch the man. "[censored]!" he screamed again, running his hands across the kitchen counter tossing cutlery across the room.

Teion had now entered and had seen the tied up NPC. Ryo walked over, his katana now equipped. "Damn, French bastard. How'd did he even manage all this?" He asked himself, freeing the NPC. Underneath the NPC was another note with exact coordinates. Most likely the shop where the French man had hidden the antidote. The hell was this man's game.

Ryo stood up, looking over Teion. "Hey, you alright?" He said wincing and touching his temple. His HP had been taken down a tick as well as a new icon appearing underneath his health bar. "That, sun ova bitch." He cursed to himself. "The drink wasn't the only thing poisoned." He said to Teion, as he knelt down and freed the NPC from its bounds. It thanked them, and quickly returned to its routine. "He got me too. Probably when he handed me the note." He said, holding the second one. He was already poisoned with whatever the not was laced with, and he didn't want to risk cross-contaminating Teion with a second poison should it be a different one. "I'll handle the notes, okay?" He said, sharing his feelings about the notes poison.

The note included a smug taunt of them being lovebirds, how this was all just a game for him, and the exact coordinates for the shop. "Gameplan. We go, we find this antidote. And if there's not enough for both of us." Ryo said, looking at Teion. "You get it, no exceptions. Then afterward, if we're both still breathing we kill this French [censored]. Questions? Objections?" Ryo asked, before getting ready to set out.

[Teion 0]

"The hell is this...?" Teion repeated in barely more than a whisper. After discovering the NPC they were after had escaped them, the woman's jaw clenched once more, fists tightening at her sides. Ryo set to work freeing the other waitstaff, only to realize that he was afflicted with the same--or at least a similar--status effect as she was.

The same question just kept playing back in her mind--What the hell was going on here? She should have been more suspicious of that weird NPC. Switching floors like that was something she'd never seen before, so what did that make this? Some kind of event? Some hidden easter egg character? Whatever it was, it picked the worst time possible to [censored] with them. She had come out and said it--she admitted that she had pushed Ryo off to the side and ignored him while she got involved with someone else. And now was when Cardinal choose to pull them around on a string?

As Teion was still busy broiling over the day's events thus far, Ryo was formulating a plan. He had just finished speaking when Teion turned on her heel, moving past the other NPC patrons who were blissfully unaware of the entire ordeal, and jerked the front door of the tavern open.

The sound of the pouring rain was suddenly very clear, and Teion seemed just about ready to walk out the door when the realization that the man that had accompanied her here was the one between them that had the coordinates of this potion shop they were supposed to investigate. "Let's go." Was the only response she offered, ignoring his self-sacrificial gestureand subsequent mention of revenge.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo went out the front door and stepped into the rain. His anger fueling him as he stomped into the mud into the teleportation circle. "Teleport!" Ryo called out, teleporting himself to the second floor. His armor dripped from the previous floor's rain. His boots squished and his breath hung in the night sky. He took a few steps out of the plaza only to clutch his side, and begin to breathe heavily. He wasn't experiencing pain, it was something worse. If his body had organs he could feel them shutting down, or at least he hypothesized that. He took in a deep breath, trying to catch his breath. The shop was just outside of the town limits, making it inside the wilderness. A perfect place to set up an ambush for them. They'd have to be careful when they went, as to avoid that.

Ryo, waiting for Teion to arrive, went on his way his path being lit by the full moon's light. His boots tapped off the cobblestone road and his coat trickled against the ground. breathing became more irritating, as though the cold air was mixing with a scratchy throat. It was soothing, and irritating all at once. Ryo let his mind wander, let him get distracted to focus on the mission and not the poison spreading through his body. 'Save her.' Was the first thing that came to mind. 'Even if it costs me my life.' He thought back to Aramail, the first of his demons he faced, asking him if he would be willing to sacrifice himself for another. Ryo coughed, more than ready to die for Teion in this situation. He would die, but before he did he would confess everything to her. The way he felt, how she helped him, how much he was sorry, and that it wasn't the end for him. That'd he'd live on and see her again in the real world someday. He'd live on, for her. Ryo snapped back into reality as he stared up at the tower that served as the 'shop' of choice.

The tower was about ten feet tall, sporting a domed roof, and from the looks of things run down. Everything except the door. The door was neither steel nor wood but a mad fusion between the door. Ryo pressed against with his hand, using the other to cough into. The door didn't budge and when he tried to use his weapon the immortal object message appeared. "Look for a key or something. Door's locked." He said as he started to walk around the building. A few moment go by, and Ryo spent a good chunk looking in through a small barred window.

"Teion, I think I found something," Ryo said, motioning for her to come over. "Look, in there." He said, pointing to the moonlight that was inside the building. "There's a fire ventilation hole in the roof. We can get in through there." He said.

[Teion 0]

By the time they had warped to the second floor, the ends of Teion's long hair dripped with moisture and her bangs clung to her forehead and the sides of her face. Her normal adventuring attire had been just as soaked through, and she felt a shiver run down her spine as the cool night air washed over her. She walked in silence, following the man that led the way as she did her best to ignore how her breath would sometimes catch uncomfortably in her burning throat.

The pair finally reached their destination only to find the front door uncooperative and locked. Teion only scowled, beginning to circle around the structure in an attempt to find something else she could break to serve as an entrance. The door, windows, and stone that made up the tall building were all immortal and impenetrable, causing the violette to growl once again in impatience. She was just about to throw her axe against the stone walls when Ryo called out to her.

After making their way to the roof, Teion easily spotted the framed opening that stood high above a fireplace inside. The woman sighed, resigning herself to the only form of entry they seemed to have found. She crouched down and took a deep, painful breath before she dropped into the potion shop. Her boots landed in a pile of soot and ash, kicking up a thick cloud of dust that quickly found its way into her already-burning lungs. Teion stumbled forward after her landing, her hand finding the edge of a wooden table to support her as she fell into a fit of strained coughing.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo positioned himself with his back against the wall, and his hand in front of him. "Alright, come one. Up you go." He said, assisting Teion to the roof. Then Teion using her battleax helped Ryo clamber up onto the roof. Teion hopped down first, landing in the pile of ash and soot, filling the room with unbearable dust. Ryo held his breath and hopped on down, only to miss his target and bounce off of the table, then onto the floor. He lied down on the floor for a few solid seconds, letting the air fill back into his lungs. Thankful he hadn't lost more than some of his dignity, he stood up and brushed himself off. Looking at the table, Ryo was thankful that several books had broken his fall and he counted his blessings that he didn't land on the mirror that had been blackened out by age. 

"It's almost like, no one's been here in years." Ryo said, observing his surroundings. He picked up a book and thumbed through its contents. Most of it was just what herbs could be mixed with what that made potions and salves. Some sounded interesting, whilst the rest yesterday. He set that book aside and kept fingering for something else, trying to see if he could spot the poison they were afflicted with, and how to cure it. "Teion. How do you feel? What're your symptoms?" He would ask, still flipping through pages. Ryo began his coughing fit again, this time feeling woozy at the end of it. "Christ this [censored] sucks." He said to himself, setting that useless book aside.

He turned around, taking in the view of the place. The center of the room was the firepit that Teion had hopped onto, and beside it was the table that Ryo had landed on. It was adorned with various books, and other little things as well as an old broken mirror. The front door was seen, but now sign on how to open it from this side, something they'll have to figure out later, and next to it was an armoire of sorts. A shelf filled with various plant life, that had dried out and rotted away long ago. Another large bookcase held their key, well one of the many keys there. Several potions were lined up on the shelf for display, many glowing some pulsating, others sitting dimly like ocean water. Ryo approached the wall of potions. "Well, one of these has to be it, right?" Ryo asked, his breath becoming shorter. He wanted to a plan besides just quaffing all of them. Neither one knew what the potions would do. He looked underneath the counter. "There's some salves under here as well." He said, cursing to himself silently. Great, they had to drink random stuff they found, and they also may have to rub it on their bodies. 

[Teion 0]

A few  more coughs to expel the dirtied air from her lungs, and Teion found herself clutching at the still-damp beige cloth underneath her leather bodice now that her small fit had subsided. "Breathing sucks." She choked out half-sarcastically, wincing while she urged herself past the burning sensation in her chest and throat. "God, I've never seen an effect that was so annoying." She muttered in a lower voice as she was finally able to turn her attention to her surroundings. This had to be some kind of really, really weird event or hidden quest, right? Teion was still trying to figure out how and why they had found themselves in this situation, and most importantly what part that obnoxious NPC played in it.

The woman sighed, immediately regretting the action when her chest suddenly tightened again, as if to reject the breath of air she'd tried to draw in. She glanced up at the health bar hovering in her field of vision. Thankfully, it was still green, but the unfamiliar status icon persisted and she could tell the bar had been gradually draining in the time it took them to reach the dusty potion shop.

Her wandering eyes found Ryo and the shelves of all kinds of concoctions he stood beside, and she soon let her hand fall back to her side while she moved herself closer. She reached past the man, pulling a crystal vial from the shelves at random and holding the item in front of her. She gave a single tap on it with her free hand, pulling up a small window where Cardinal listed all the information available about the potion--which was practically nothing. Teion grit her teeth in frustration while the game cheekily informed her that she needed to be an Alchemist to learn the effects of the potion in her hand, and she almost had to stop herself from tossing the vial across the room. Instead, thinly-gloved fingers pulled up and pinched at the bridge of her nose while her eyes closed and brows furrowed. "So... What, we just start trying them out?" She asked, half-tempted to take a chance and uncork the vial in her hand right then.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo noted the effects of the poison. Difficultly breathing was common, but there had to be different symptoms. He ungloved his hand and pressed the back of it to Teions forehead. "Fever. Coughing fits." He said to himself taking the mental note. "Tell me about it." Ryo said, looking for another book or guide or something. Thanks to his cooking skill he was able to identify ingredients and what they did, but after they were a potion he had no clue. His brow furrowed as he regloved up and thunbed through another book. "I'm getting closer, but there's just too much here to go on. The symptoms we share are just to common. We may as well have the flu." He said, coughing the last few words out. He was feeling dizzy but he couldn't tell if that was poisons fault or his own for coughing.

He watched as Teion plucked a potion from the wall, eyeing it over. Ryo looked up from the near useless book. He weighed the options in his head aloud. "Well, if one if these is the antidote then we're in luck. But there's at least twenty here." He said looking them over. "Well have to consume the full thing for the effect to happen, and who knows what the effect could be." Ryo said. "It'll either kill us, cure us, or inconvenience us." He said, taking a potion of his own. Taking potions randomaly didn't set right with him, but with thier lack of knowledge there was little else they could do. Best case scenario was that there were two cures, and they found them without any adverse side effect hiccups along the way. He pulled the cork off the bottle with a satisfying sound that echoed slightly. "Cheers?" He said to Teion, as he quaffed his potion.

[Teion 0]

Teion stared at the potion in her hand--a clear crystal vial with a mostly transparent, almost shimmering liquid. It looked more like glitter water, she thought, and the thought of drinking the stuff nearly had her make a face. Before her expression had shifted, and before she had decided whether or not to jump the gun and down it or place it back on the shelf, she felt the back of Ryo's hand pressing against her forehead. She flinched just slightly at the unexpected contact, but when her eyes pulled up to the man across from her he had already pulled away, mind working to connect whatever dots he could find.

She turned her attention back to the wall of potions and salves that he pointed out again. He took one of his own, seemingly making the same decision she was struggling with moments ago. Teion's brows narrowed  into a defeated expression, and she reached for the cork of the potion in her hand as she watched Ryo do the same. "Cheers." She mumbled under her breath, bringing the edge of the glass to her lips and tilting her head back to down the potion in one swift motion.

She was surprised, and also feeling rather lucky, that the liquid didn't seem to have any kind of taste. In fact, it really was as if she just taken a drink of water. She pulled the empty container back and eyed it for a moment before the glass shattered into pixels in her hand. A couple of tense seconds passed, and then the tiniest flicker of light caught her eye. Raising a brow, she turned her hand over in front of her. Not only the exposed skin of her arms, but her hair and clothing as well--her whole avatar began to glow with the faintest of twinkling white lights. "What?" The only word she could think of, she turned her gloved hand over again before pulling her arms to the sides and looking over her front to see the same faint sparkling effect.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo took back his potion bottle and threw it back. It's thick consistency sticking to his mouth and throat as it went down. It reminded him of a liquid that was akin to cough syrup, but tasted salty in a way. After downing it, Ryo began coughing but stopped when he could notice Teion, sparkling in a sense. Ryo's bottle dissipated into pixel as well, and Ryo looked at teion. Ryo looked at his body, not seeing any dramatic change. "So, is there anything different about me, Miss Sparkly?" Ryo asked his now blue bangs hanging in front of his face. Wait, blue? He grabbed a bit of his hair and looked it over. "Gah! Blue?" He exclaimed. He snickered. Of all of the adverse effects that could happen his hair turned blue, and Teion sparkled. Perhaps, the potions weren't all bad? But, why would the NPC hide the cure within these? Ryo looked at his health bar and noticed that the icon hadn't gone away. "Well, I'm still dying. You?" Ryo asked, his blue hair now floating slightly as if it was encased in water.

[Teion 0]

Once she had determined that the potion's effect was neither dangerous nor the cure they were looking for, Teion turned her attention back to Ryo. She didn't have to inspect his avatar for long--the change in his hair color was immediately noticeable. He seemed to realize the change himself just a second later before she had the chance to point it out, and the corner of Teion's mouth hooked into a smirk while half a chuckle escaped her at his reaction. "Not a fan?" She asked in reference to the stark contrast in color from his usual magenta hue.

The first two weren't what they wanted, but at least they were harmless. If she had to go through a few more randomized vanity effects to get rid of this stupid poiso, so be it. "Yeah. Same." She replied flatly, shifting her weight as she eyed the many remaining bottles that lined the shelves. A short sigh left her, and the dull throbbing of her head was growing harder to ignore. "God, how long is stuff going to end up lasting for?" With a small shake of her head, Teion knew they were left once again without a choice but to try out different potions. She picked out another, this one an opaque golden color. She hesitated a brief moment, but urged herself to remove the cap and drink the second potion.

This one was oddly sweet, and noticeably thicker than the first, almost as if she was drinking honey. Teion blinked with another moment of apprehension that steadily grew the more time that passed. She looked herself over, unable to spot a physical change and not feeling any different otherwise. Unbeknownst to the violette, however, a pair of cat ears that matched the tint of her hair stood atop her head, twitching curiously. To match, the potion had also provided her with a tail that unconsciously swished from side to side behind her.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo chuckled. "No, not really. I mean I liked my hair. The only way that this could be worse if this was like, all hot pink or something." He said, laughing again. His hair floated still as though he was encased in water. he was fine with that, but why the blue hue? He could feel his hair floating and swishing lightly in the air. He batted a bit of his blue hair out of the way, and grabbed another potion one that was dark green in hue. "I've got no idea, but hey if they're all harmless I'm sure that we ca-ha ha ha ha!" Ryo said, nearly dropping his bottle. He had just noticed Teion's wonderful cat ears. "Oh my god, you're adorable Teion." Ryo said, looking at Teion. "You've got cat ears!" He exclaimed. Ryo uncorked his potion and threw back the contents.

Ryo almost spat the vile, bitter swill back out. "Oh god, that tasted like [censored]." He said, feeling an itch appear near his waist. "Huh?" He said looking. "GAH! TAIL!" Ryo exclaimed, his now blue tail swishing about behind him. He stared at the tail as it swished back and forth. 

[Teion 0]

"Huh?" Ryo's sudden laughter caused the woman to flinch, and she stared at him perplexed while he called her adorable. Before she could stammer out a word of confusion, he informed her of the change the potion had brought about. Her brows narrowed and her hands slowly raised at her sides until they reached the top of her head. Her fingers searched the air for a second until they felt the pointed ears that twitched in reaction. What startled her more than feeling the soft fur-covered ears on her head was a different, stranger feeling that come from the contact. She moved to gently pinch them between her thumb and a curled forefinger, tugging just lightly. Half a second later, she hurriedly released them as an uncomfortable shiver ran up her spine. Somehow she could actually feel a response from the new attachments, as if they had nerve endings of their own. God, this whole ordeal just got weirder and weirder.

Ryo took another potion as well, the both of them relieved that the potions didn't seem to cause any real harm. The man pointed his chin over his shoulder, and Teion simply couldn't hold back a laugh of her own at his flustered reaction. Much fluffier than her own--more like a dog's tail than a cat's--she watched it move side to side behind the man, and she covered her mouth as her laughter subsided to a small chuckle.

Might as well keep going. Teion took yet another glass vial from the shelves. This one was an onyx black, but she had given up on hesitating before just giving this third potion a try. Immediately after drinking the smooth liquid, she wrenched her eyes shut. This time is was her turn to receive a foul-tasting concoction, the sour and bitter taste causing her to hold the back of her hand against her mouth. "God, that one was nas--" Her words cut short with her breath. She had opened her eyes, so why was everything still dark? She blinked once, then again, shifting her hands to rub at her eyes. Nothing changed. Her cobalt eyes grew wide while a surge of panic coursed through her: breaths grew a bit shorter than they already were, and her hands were the first thing to start shaking. "R-Ryo...?" She called his name in a small voice. Ryo, the potion shop, even her in-game displays were replaced with an inky blackness.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo continued to chuckle as his hair gained weight and sunk back down to its normalness. His hair was still blue, however, but much more faded. "Aww, the blue's fading. Hurray." He said in a complete monotone voice, as he petted his tail. A guy could get used to having such a thing. Ryo's tail swished back and forth as Teion grabbed the third potion. He grabbed another potion, light yellow in color. He pulled the cork and chugged the liquid. No flavor, no taste, almost no texture. It was like, water but lighter and somehow unsettling. He coughed, letting out air and went to go speak but Teion called out his name.

Ryo went to go speak Teion's name, ask if everything was alright but his voice didn't come. Nothing but a raspy gasp of air escape. He coughed, trying to clear his throat. "Te-" Was all he was able to gasp out before he was silenced. He clutched his throat trying to speak. But alas, he couldn't he could only let out wheezes and gasps. Ryo clutched his side, the poison taking effect again, and Ryo toppled over from the sudden onset of pain. Ryo tried to grab a table but instead toppled over a salve causing the bottle to shatter against the ground. The salve covered the ground, spreading over the floor.

[Teion 0]

Her eyes made small movements as they darted around the space in front of her, searching for something, anything to come into view. She was frozen in place, Ryo's name hanging in the air while she waited desperately for a response. She flinched again when the sound of the man's coughing reached her ears, her brows naturally turning up in concern. Then she heard the much more alarming sound of a crash, and she took a half-step backwards. "Ryo? A-Are you okay?" She tried again, the fear now clearly present in her voice.

She wanted to feel something--a piece of furniture, a wall, even Ryo. Anything that would give her an anchor in the middle of the darkness she had been lost in. Her head pounded, her chest was tight, and her throat burned with every short, ragged breath she took. Her other boot traveled backwards in another cautious step, but despite her terrified carefulness her heel still collided with the spine of a heavy leather-bound book. Her fragile balance was shattered, and Teion stumbled back before she fell to the ground herself. The pointed ears atop her head had practically folded flat against her locks as the expressive additions displayed her distress just as clearly as her facial features. Her trembling hands pressed against the dusty wooden floorboards and gingerly searched their immediate surroundings. "R-Ryo, what's going on? Are you... Are you still there?"

[Ryo 0]

Ryo leaned onto his elbows, picking himself up off the ground. Ryo tried to speak again, this time no sound escaping. He looked at his icons and saw one of a man with an 'x' bandage over his mouth. Dammit, he was silenced. But why would Kayaba have that sort of punishment in the game if there was no magic? Maybe he planned to have magic at some point, but it was scrapped for any number of issues. That aside, and the point being, Teion was still looking terrified. Teion stepped backward and tripped over a book. She leaned up and was flailing her arms as if she was blind. Wait, maybe she was blind. Ryo wanted to say something, tell her that it would soon be over and that she had nothing to fear whilst he was here. But, he couldn't. He grits his teeth and clenched his fist. Every time Teion cried out in fear. She asked for his name, and the fact he couldn't respond was like a million daggers in his heart. His chest wrenched as he voice wavered. He reached out with his hand not to touch Teion, but just in her range so she could grab it. He couldn't say anything, the least he could do was try to console her through touch. 

[Teion 0]

Fingertips ran along the dirty flooring, slowly making out her surroundings. She found the book she had tripped over moments ago, leaving it be once she had discerned that the item was harmless. She still had no idea what was going on with Ryo, and the more time that passed without some sort of assurance that he was alright had her feeling more and more uneasy. She shifted carefully and unsteadily to her knees, sitting on her legs while she hesitated to make another move.

Her hand found another and she quickly retracted her fingers at the unexpected discovery until realization set in. Teion reached back out, finding Ryo's hand in the same space before she instinctively took hold of it. She still burned with uncertainty and concern that he hadn't--or couldn't--respond to her calls, wondering what exactly had happened in the short time.

But now Teion had an anchor, and at least the smallest reassurance that Ryo was still there with her. Trying to ignore the dizziness that clouded her mind, she held on tightly to the man's gloved hand and simply waited. It was several painstakingly long minutes before Aincrad came back into view. The world in front of her was blurry at first, but quickly came into focus as the effects of the potion faded. Teion blinked a few times, a strained sigh of relief spilling from her lips as the darkness had released her from its suffocating grip.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo watched sadly as Teion reached for him. He didn't dare make the first move for fear of terrifying her further. His throat soothed as he was able to hear himself breathe again. The only good thing that came from the silence was his coughing had ceased, and had turned into more of a wheeze.

Teion had finally found his hand in the darkness and Ryo was surprised by Teions grip. Ryo clapped another hand over Teion, trying to let her know that everything was going to be fine. He moved around slowly behind her. Ryo embraced Teion, holding her close to his body. Ryo tried to speak, his voice not able to be raised above a hoarse whisper. "It's alright." He repeated. "I'm here. I'm with you." He said, over again. His voice strained against itself as he forced the words out. Ryo wanted to do more, but this was all that he could do.

[Teion 0]

With her surroundings still hidden from view, Teion felt Ryo return her grasp. Though her sight was still locked away behind the potion's effect, she realized that the man was moving closer to her just before his arms wrapped around her still-trembling shoulders. His small, strained voice reached her ears, and with it a wave of relief washed over her. As if it wasn't busy enough, her mind then immediately wondered if his difficulty speaking was brought about by a potion's effect, or the intensity of the poison that still coursed through them. Perhaps it was a mixture of both.

The feeling of his chest pressing against her shoulderblades, his arms holding onto her, his reassuring words in a whisper beside her ear all did well to quell her panic. Her shaking subsided and soon stopped completely, and her breathing slowly regulated.

When the world finally came back into view, Teion registered her heart pounding in her chest. "I-I'm okay." She lied as a heat burned on her cheeks with the realization of their closeness. The twinkling lights had faded from her avatar some time ago, but the violet tail behind her twitched with lingering nerves. The furry ears that poked out from her hair were still turned down, though they had raised a few centimeters since she had fallen to the floor. Far too shaken and embarrassed to pull away or raise to her feet on her own, she would wait until Ryo released his hold on her. The silence that followed left the atmosphere just as thick and awkward as their time at the cafe. Teion stared past her knees at the dusty floorboards. "Sorry. I'm alright now." She lied again with a much more even tone.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo watched as his health dipped slightly faster than what it was before. Seemed the potion he had chugged only served to damage his health more. He ignored it as he still hung onto Teion. His hair returned to normal, and his tail had already vanished. Teion shook his hold, terrified of being blind. The warm darkness that it was. "Yes." Ryo replied, his voice becoming more soft and clear, an improvement from the harsh and hoarse noise it was from before. "You're going to be fine." He said again.

He sat there, holding Teion for some time. He didn't bother counting the seconds, but she mentioned that she was fine again. Ryo released his hold on her, as she apologized. "No." He said, declining the statement. "You're not fine. You're still poisoned." He said, jesting slightly. He had heard that kind of terrified tone of voice before, and that was when players that called him friend we're begging to him to help them. To save them from being carted off. Teion was terrified of being blind, losing her sight, the darkness.

Ryo rubbed his throat instinctively, as if that would help soothe it. He stared at the potions on the wall. "So, what now? We continue?" He asked the violet haired player. 

[Teion 0]

Teion's bottom lip stiffened when he called out her boldfaced lie and denied her reassurance. He played it off with a half-joke, causing the corner of the girl's mouth to twitch upwards in a ghost of a wry smile. She wordlessly pushed herself back up to her feet, her cat-like features naturally disappearing after she had taken a couple of steps across the dim shop. She let out a short sigh that was still shakier than she would have liked after Ryo's suggestion. Her eyes flickered upwards to the health bar in the corner of her vision and her brows knit when she saw that its color had shifted to yellow. If it was going off of a percentage of their health totals then she figured Ryo wasn't too far behind her at the half-way point. One hand rested on her hip while the other pulled up to pinch the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger as she tried to pull herself the rest of the way together to figure out what they should do.

"I...don't know." She admitted. Part of her was incredibly stubborn and wanted to just keep trying until they eventually got it right. A smaller piece of her--whether it was brought about by her lingering nerves or something else--wanted to backtrack. Maybe they could look at the note again, see if there was some kind of clue they were missing? She didn't know any alchemists to try and call on to help them out, and there was still a chance that there were potions or other such surprises that would cause more harm than good.