[PP-Floor 2] Night Terror, with Teion

[Ryo 0]

Ryo's eyes closed further as he was nudged awake. His hand moved lazily to move away the finger prodding him awake. "Juz.lemmy slep sun mor." He said, his voice much deeper as he was still half asleep. He covered his mouth with a large yawn, concealing his mouth as he sat up. He could feel how frizzy and unkempt his hair had become. He looked at his surrounds. Oh yeah, he had grabbed Teion and put her to bed. He looked across the room, but Teion's bed was empty. Was she already outside? He looked beside him, seeing Teion staring at him. He looked down at the bed, then back at Teion. His face filling with blood as he realized that he had spent the night in Teion's bed, rather than his own. He remained in place, unable to move paralyzed by embarrassment. "Good morning." He said, sheepishly. "You sleep okay?" He said, still remaining unmoving.

[Teion 0]

Teion's lips pursed as her hand was sleepily batted away, the color on her cheeks growing more intense at the sight of his reaction. As the man sat himself up with a yawn, she remained frozen until he seemed to eventually find her laying beside him. The way he grew rigid, the blush that covered his cheeks, and the shy tone of his voice each served to hint at the fact that he hadn't intended to share a bed with her, but Teion simply couldn't wrap her tired head around a logical explanation. "U-uhh..." She could still feel her pulse running fast as her mind went blank.

"Yeah." She managed through the thick, awkward air. How long had she slept? Did she pass out outside? Her head started throwing questions at her that she wasn't at all ready for. She averted her gaze, finally feeling the heat still on her cheeks. She brought a hand up and absently tucked her hair behind her left ear. "We... We should probably head out soon." She had to force more words out of herself, just trying to work past the embarrassing tension.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo looked over at Teion as she spoke, saying that she did have a good nights rest. "Good. Glad to hear it." He said, running his hands through his hair, desperately trying to control his frizz. He gave up on that and began to tie his hair up into a ponytail if only to get it out of his eyes. He looked up and saw that Teion had moved a graceful hand to put some hair behind her ear. His arms froze, and Ryo swallowed. That was, insanely cute. His face turned a brighter red, and he hurried with his own hair. He stood up, taking the advice of Teion. "Yeah, let's." He said, hoping to find the exit today. How many days had they been down here? Two, three? He couldn't remember. Finding the exit would fix that issue though, and they'd be trapped no longer.

As they walked Ryo could no longer hide the question inside him. He turned his head to look at Teion, but his face turned another shade of red. He snapped his head back, determined to ask this question. "So, did we? You know, actually?" he said, trying to get the word out, but was unable to bring himself to ask it. "You know?" He said, his eyes pleading with Teion to get the hint and figure out what he was trying to ask her.

[Teion 0]

Teion exhaled a small sigh of relief she hadn't realized she'd been holding when Ryo stood and moved away from the bed. She wished she could will her heart to stop beating so fast, and the color to drain from her face. She was forced to wait both out, pulling herself out of the bed several seconds later. She needlessly adjusted her clothing, combed her long hair through with her fingers, and other such idle movements to keep herself busy before they would leave the room behind and head down the fork in the road they hadn't yet taken.

A thin fog was visible in the air around them after a few minutes of walking, though Teion couldn't spot any other differences in the passage they walked down. Ryo's voice, laced with embarrassment, caught her attention, and she cocked a brow at his vague question. It took a few seconds, but Teion's eyes widened and her face flushed the moment she understood what the man was implying. A gloved hand raised to her face, her palm covering her mouth and fingers curling slightly around her jaw as she looked away from him. "What?!" She asked, the word slightly muffled. "N-No!" Nothing weird had happened last night, right? "I fell asleep outside, so. Unless you did something weird..." She shot a sharper sideways glance to Ryo.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo moved his hands back and forth in a defensive stance. "Wh-what? no!" he said. "I-I would never do that, I mean, not without permission I mean. I mean, not that I would want to! I mean-" Ryo said, trying to backpedal his foot from his mouth. "I mean, what I meant to say was. that you fell asleep on me, so I took you inside to bed. That's about all I remember." He said, his face practically glowing. He turned his head back away from Teion, trying to gather his courage, and see if he could salvage the conversation. Look, all you gotta do is just say what's on your mind, easy. Ryo took in a deep breath before he turned back to face Teion. "I love you. And that thing you did with your hair was really cute." He covered his mouth and turned back around, practically giving into a silent scream. YOU IDIOT WHY'D YOU SAY THAT? You weren't supposed to say THAT MUCH! He cursed at himself.

[Teion 0]

She watched as the man floundered with his words, the color of embarrassment on his face becoming even more prominent. Behind the cover of her palm, the corner of Teion's mouth twitched into a tiny, amused smile. She was about to ask what he meant exactly when he claimed that she fell asleep on him, but before she had the chance to do so Ryo turned his face away from her, likely overwhelmed by the scrambled mess of words that spilled from his lips seconds ago. Teion's hand fell back to her side and she turned her attention back forward, noticing the fog had grown just a bit thicker to restrict how much farther she could see down the tunnel ahead of them. She frowned, but the sight of Ryo turning back towards her in the corner of her eye had her glancing back his way.

The violette blinked in surprise at the words he blurted out. Again, he told her he loved her, and she felt a small tightness in her chest in reaction. 'The...hair thing?' She thought blankly, as if her mind was trying to grasp for something else to focus on.

The toe of her shoe caught on something, disrupting the rhythmic motions of her footsteps and causing the woman to stumble forward. She caught herself, regaining her balance before she would fall, and after a moment to recover from the surprise Teion looked behind her to spot a gnarled root across the stone floor. It seemed the fog around them had thickened even more in just seconds, obscuring their vision at an uncomfortable rate. Forced away from Ryo's embarrassing displays and back to the present, Teion shifted with unease. "Should we just keep going...?" She asked, as if they had much of a choice.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo looked around as a fog began to develop the area. "Yeah, we should get moving." He said, walking deeper into the fog. Ryo was forced to slow down soon after, as the fog thickened immensely. "Damn, can barely see a thing. Teion, here, take my hand." Ryo said, holding his hand out to her. "So we don't get separated." He said. He felt Teion's hand grip his own, and he moved at a more comfortable pace. The temperature dropped as they continued to walk. After a moment, he could feel Teion's hand shiver slightly. Ryo felt fine, more used to the cold ocean's breeze of floor eleven, but Teion lived in the desert, this sudden spike in cold wasn't going to do her any good. Ryo turned to face her and released her hand. "Here, take this." He said, removing his black jacket and draping it over her shoulders. "It's no parka, but it should do." He said, smiling at her. "Shall we continue?" He asked.

The pair continued to walk until Ryo noticed something strange. His footsteps changed sounds. He looked down at his feet and saw that the stone floor had turned to grass. When did that happen, he wondered. The fog was beginning to clear up slightly as well, revealing trees, stumps, and other forest foliages. "A forest?" Ryo asked aloud, still gripping Teion by the hand. 

[Teion 0]

Teion hesitated when Ryo offered his hand to her. Looking back to him, she hardly had grounds to refuse when the air in the moderate space between them was growing difficult to see through. So, telling herself it was out of necessity, she took hold of Ryo's hand and matched his pace to continue walking forward.

She could swear that on more than one occasion she could feel a light breeze. The cold air touched her bare shoulders and cut through the thin fabric of her light armor, causing a chill to run down her spine. The soft shivers that followed were involuntary, and she clenched her jaw in discomfort. She was terrible with the cold. The hold of Ryo's hand vanished, and she suddenly felt a warmth envelop her as the weight of Ryo's jacket fell on her shoulders. Despite the small sense of comfort she felt, the woman's bottom lip stiffened slightly. She wanted to tell him that she was alright, or otherwise try to decline the gesture. But when her eyes met Ryo's smiling face, she paused for a moment before turning back forward and mumbling out a, "Thanks."

They joined hands again, the fog still oppressive as they pushed forward. Ryo voiced the exact question that Teion had been thinking, and she finally cast a glance over her shoulder. "We... Are we still underground? Ugh, this doesn't make sense." It's not like she could see any farther back the way they had come, however, and she simply let out a small sigh of defeat.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. But I don't think we're underground anymore," he said, trying to get a good look around at the surrounding area. "I think we exited, like some kid of water run-off, or tunnel of some kind." He said trying to think of a logical explanation as to why the pair was suddenly outside now. Ryo's head snapped to his left, his skin turning col and the hairs on his body stood on end. "Did you hear that?" Ryo asked Teion, in a hushed whisper. He listened in, trying to see if he could hear the sound again. "Must have been nothing, probably just my imagination," he said, looking back at Teion. A few more feet into the forest and the remains of a campfire could be seen. Ryo knelt down and checked the coals. Not even remotely warm. "Looks like this spot hasn't in used for a good while." He said aloud, looking back up. "Say, you see that?" Ryo asked Teion, noting a dark shape in the fog. "looks like, a building or something. We can probably hang out there until the fog rolls over. Can't be doing well if we just wander around." Ryo said, taking the girls hand again.

The cabin was, fairly decently sized. The porch had a nice overhand that secured a swinging bench, and the front door was cracked open. Ryo pushed the door, and the door responded with a loud creak as it slowly opened. Ryo took in the first few steps. "Hello, anyone home?" he called out. He shrugged as he received no response. It was a bit dark, no thanks to the fog outside, and the time of day. The pair must've woken at an odd time, which made sense as they couldn't see the time of day in the tunnel. Ryo stepped over to the fireplace and started the fire instantly filling the place up with a warm orange glow. "There we go. Much better than the cold outdoors." He stood back up and dusted off his hands. "I'm gonna take a look around real quick, see if there's anything noteworthy here." Ryo said. "I'll be just a holler away if you need anything," he said, walking down the hallway. The kitchen was open, with the wall being ocnnected to the living room with a large window so that either room could see one another. Cabinets line the walls, and a sink was full of clean dishes. At the end of the hall was another door, that opened back to the misty forest. Two doors on the left, however, lead to a storage closet of some kind, and a bedroom. The bedroom had a single window and a large bed. Ryo shrugged his shoulders again and made his way back to Teion. "Not much here, but whoever was here left in a hurry." He said, looking at Teion.

[Teion 0]

The whole journey was unsettling, and Teion only felt a small hint of relief once they had entered the initial safety of the abandoned cabin. The soft crackling of the fire brought a bit of comfort, but even with the fireplace burning and the coat on her shoulders, Teion couldn't shake a lingering chill that seemed to hang over her. Ryo moved to explore, and Teion gave a small nod of acknowledgement.

She turned her attention around the living space, from the thin layer of dust on the mantle of the fireplace to a pair of bookshelves standing on the opposite side of the room. She wandered for a minute or two, waiting for anything of possible interest to catch her eye. It wasn't until she was about to give up and take a seat on an armchair resting near the fire that she spotted a break in the pattern of the floorboards. Curiosity took hold of her, and after determining that whatever it was that she wanted to investigate lay underneath the piece of furniture, she set to work moving it out of the way.

The legs of the large chair scraped against the wooden flooring, but the piece was moved aside rather easily when the woman leaned her weight into it. Hiding beneath the armchair, Teion laid eyes on a square door of sorts with a round, golden ring of a handle--something like a 'trap door' that looked very similar to the one she had stumbled upon in the potion shop. She hesitated for only a second, her curiosity still getting the better of her as she reached down to pull the door open. On the other side, nothing but darkness caused Teion to let out an irritated sigh. Just as she went to swing the door shut, however, it was thrown back open, slipping from Teion's grip and crashing into the floor on the opposite side. From the darkness, several shadowy limbs shot from the darkness to grab at the purple-haired woman. They grabbed at her ankles, her arms, her torso, even sliding across the back of her neck as they jerked her towards the opening. Teion grit her teeth, struggling against the overwhelming force of the unknown creature. Her efforts paled in comparison to the strength of whatever it was that pulled her forward, and the girl could only let out a short scream as she was dragged into the darkness, the door springing to life and slamming shut behind her.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo was in the kitchen, examining its contents to see if he could any materials to make any food. His stomach was starting to ache for not eating anything other than those pancakes the other day, and he was sure that Teion was starting to get hungry as well. He peeked into the living room, hearing the chair squeak against the floorboards. Teionwas moving the chair, most likely just trying to get it closer to the fire to be a bit warmer. Ryo shrugged it off as he went back to work in the kitchen, trying to work together a meal of some kind. A loud crash was heard, and Ryo jerked his head back over to see Teion being grabbed by hands made of darkness. "Teion!" He cried out, leaping up through the window in between the two rooms. But, before he could grab the woman and save her from the hands, she screamed as she was pulled into the inky black beneath the trap door. "Dammit! Teion, hold on!" Ryo said, leaping into the black.

[Teion 0]

Teion struggled for as long as her avatar could manage. She had felt herself landing on the hard surface of whatever ground existed in the empty space beneath the cabin. The shadowy arms had dragged her a short distance until she suddenly felt their grip on her vanish. Teion's breathing was ragged, adrenaline running through her while she pushed herself to her feet as quickly as she could manage. She blinked a few times, realizing with a wave of dread that the space around her was pitch black. She had registered neither Ryo's voice that had called out to her, nor the sound of his boots hitting the ground seconds after she had been pulled down into the shadow-infested basement. With her body tense, her feet were already carrying her backwards, subconsciously trying to distance herself from whatever it was that had dragged her down here. Only a second later, she bumped into something solid behind her. She froze again, taking in a quick, sharp breath as an overwhelming apprehension filled her.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo's feet hit the soft ground of the earthen cellar, the sudden stop forced Ryo into a roll. Ryo's hair came undone and had displayed itself now untied. He unsheathed his katana, slicing one shadow demon in two as he came out of his roll. That was one, but there had to have been more. but first, he had to find Teion. He could see her in front of him if he squinted. His eyes hadn't adjusted to the light just yet. A sound from his left and another quick slice from his blade rendered another shadow being in two. The cellar was dark, Teion was most likely immobilized by fear. "Dammit! Teion, I'm almost there!" Ryo shouted, his voice carrying in the empty room. A quick half spin cut down another two demons with ease. Ryo took another three steps before his back was smacked by a shadow demon. Ryo winced at the suddenness of it and turned to face it, his feet sliding into the dirt. Ryo lept forward, almost changing his momentum entirely to swipe at the demon. his blade connected and it too died like the other. Another slash at his back, and as he turned another hit him. They were swarming him. hitting him from different angles.

Ryo's blade moved as if on its own as he cut a path towards Teion. He swiped killing the two there in front of her and turned to face the rest. Ryo's clothes were town, and red lines on his body marked the damage he was sustaining. "Teion. Hang on just a bit longer. I'm almost done here." Ryo said, flashing her a confident smile. The demons had fallen into his trap. Between him and the demons was the light from the floor above. Idiot monsters didn't bother shutting the door. As they came to attack him, they were clearly backlighted, allowing Ryo to slice them down with ease. After a few moments no more came. "Alright, I think that's the last of 'em." Ryo said, sheathing his katana. He turned to Teion, kneeling down to face her. "Let's get back topside, shall we?" Ryo said, offering Teion a hand. Red scratches marking his face and arms.

[Teion 0]

Her eyes strained against the absence of light and she froze in place. Every so often the woman felt the unsettling sensation of something brushing against her leg, her arm, or even down the length of her spine. She jolted to attention, moving blindly but on instinct to distance herself from the unseen creatures that sent a fresh chill down her spine. She could hear the sounds of their shrieks as the shadowy monsters cried out each time Ryo's blade sliced through them. After a hurried step backward, Teion couldn't determine what it was she had tripped over. Her heel collided with something solid, and the woman fell backwards, catching herself on her palms.

Minutes later and Teion could make out the hand that Ryo offered to her. His smile was illuminated by the softly-glowing gashes that marked his face, and for a moment the violette was stunned not because of the darkness that surrounded her. "Y-Yeah." She had paused for a second before reaching up to accept his hand and get her back to her feet. With the man leading her along, the pair quickly found the iron ladder that hung down from the trapdoor to the living room.

She didn't question or object to ascending first, climbing back to the first floor of the cabin. When her feet were planted firmly on the wooden floorboards, Teion walked to the farthest side of the room and began to pace back and forth when she reached each end. Her hand pulled up and raked through her bangs to push them up before they fell back into place with her fingers continuing down the length of her hair running over her shoulder. She was frustrated, moreso with herself than anything else. She had only crossed one and a half lengths of the room before Ryo joined her in the well-lit room, the soft crackling of the fire still sounding beside them. She stopped, finally taking in the sight of the man after he had fought off whatever it was that had been lurking in the creepy basement. She stared for a moment, her eyes running over the tears of his clothes, the marks of damage that littered his body. Teion's jaw tightened and she forced herself to look away, glaring at short stack of books resting on a shelf across the room. "...Thank you. Sorry I've been so useless throughout all of this."

[Ryo 0]

Ryo let Teion climb the ladder first, keeping an eye out for anything else that may have lurked in the darkness. His gaze shifted back and forth as he tried to keep a trained ear on anything else that moved. When Teion had climbed the ladder fully, he waited a full second before climbing up the ladder himself. Using his foot, he closed the opened trap door, the door slamming shut. Ryo quickly stepped up to Teion, examining her body. He let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness. you're not hurt." He said, letting out a sigh of relief again. Ryo took Teion's hands in his own. "Don't say that," Ryo said, looking at Teion. "You're not useless. You've no idea how much you've already saved me." He said, lovingly. He reached up and moved a strand of hair from Teion's face to behind her ear. He leaned in and kissed Teion's forehead. "You're precious to some people, try not to lose sight of that." He said, before going to check on the fire by adding more sticks and logs.

[Teion 0]

Her eyes were pulled back towards Ryo when she felt his hands take hold of hers. She blinked, cobalt meeting violet, and was stunned yet again by his words. 'What's that supposed to mean...?' She wanted to ask when he told her that she'd saved him. They were lost before they had reached her throat, and the careful movement of his hand immediately distracted her. Teion's mind went blank for a fleeting moment when she felt his lips pressing softly against her forehead.

He turned and moved to the fireplace at the end of the room, leaving her frozen in place for several seconds before she'd regained her composure. With a faint pink hue on her cheeks, the violette walked to claim one of the two seats on an empty couch. A small chiming sound rang with the opening of her menus, and while Teion pulled her left knee up she found herself panning to her friends list again. Her arm pulled itself around her leg and her wrist dropped to rest lazily against her ankle with her heel pressed into the edge of the couch cushion. She sat in silence for a few seconds, just staring at the short list of names again. "When I first met Beatbox... He kind of pissed me off a little." The corner of her mouth pulled up into a small smile at the memory. "We did a quest together to take out a baby dragon. I whiffed my attack, and then he goes and takes it out in one hit with a smirk on his stupid face." She closed her eyes, tilting her head back with a small puff of air through her nose before her lids opened halfway to gaze at the ceiling across the room. "I've always hated getting carried in games. And in real life, I always took care of myself. I really suck at relying on other people. Hurts my pride." She explained with a small chuckle.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo stared at the fire as it grew and he listened to Teion. He chuckled with her, as he took the spot next to her. "I had no intention of hurting your pride." He explained. "I saw you get drug down there into that hole. I panicked. My body acted before my mind could, and I did everything I could to make sure that you were okay." He admitted, not sure if that statement was going to sting at her pride or not. "I'm not the best, whenever I'm alone. I need that outside source telling me 'good job' or 'keep it up'." He said, leaning back on the couch. "I feel like I rely too much on others at times." Ryo admitted, his face turned into a shade of red. Ryo placed a hand on Teions thigh and gave it a pat as he stood up. "Hungry?" He asked as he made his way into the kitchen. "I found some supplies here, most likely left after the last person who owned the place." Ryo explained.

Ryo grabbed a few utensils from the kitchen and went to work. Grabbing a pot from under the sink, and filling it with water he placed it on the heater. Letting the water heat, Ryo produced a few tomatoes from his inventory. Using the menu shortcuts and his skill in cooking he diced one, and turned the other into a paste. When the water was at the correct temperature, he added the tomatoes, alongside some stock and pepper. He stirred it, whilst he produced his pan from earlier. He set it on another burner and buttered it. He grabbed bread he found earlier and began to toast it. when the bread was about half finished toasting, he added cheese and another slice of bread. He flipped the bread over and toasted the other side.

A few more moments of cooking, Ryo appeared around the corner, wearing a small apron around his waist. He presented a bowl of soup and a sandwich to Teion. "Here ya' go." he said. "Soup should warm you up and the bread will be filling." He said, offering Teion the food.

[Teion 0]

She wasn't used to having honest and heartfelt moments, at least not for the majority of her time in Aincrad thus far. Those few exchanges were rare and typically followed some situation that had left Teion emotionally raw. The news of Beatbox's death, her heated exchange in Endilix's bar, and the assault in the moonlit desert were examples that came to mind in the past few months. But this was different. Sitting beside Ryo, there were no breakdowns, no tears. Just the two of them beside the fire, sharing tiny pieces of themselves.

At Ryo's mention of food, Teion was suddenly very aware of how empty her stomach felt. She gave a small nod, and when the man left to the other room she turned her eyes to the dancing flames, finally dismissing her menus and letting herself become lost in her thoughts. She was resting her chin on her knee, mind wandering, when Ryo emerged from the kitchen and presented her with a bowl. She blinked, picking her head up and accepting it in both hands as her left knee fell to the side. She shifted in her seat, holding the bowl of soup in front of her chest as she took a moment to enjoy the warmth that seeped into her palms.

Another regulated twinge of hunger prompted Teion to indulge in the meal after a small thanks to Ryo. After bringing a spoonful of the creamy red liquid to her mouth, the woman blinked with a similar expression as the one she wore the morning prior. "It's really good." She offered the same truthful compliment as when she had tried the pancakes he made.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo smiled at Teion as he hungrily devoured his meal. "Really? You mean it?" He asked with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. Despite the shadows in the basement, today was a fairly nice evening. The two had shared something interesting about one another, they shared a fine meal, and they were sitting together. Ryo was happy. Here he was with a wonderful woman, that he loved who enjoyed his cooking. Ryo couldn't help but smile as he ate.

After he had finished he re-added his utensils to his inventory. It was nice not having to clean things anymore. Saved precious minutes of time. Ryo dusted the crumbs from his sandwich off of himself and the couch and stood up. He stretched and let out a small yawn. His torn clothing stretching with him. "Aight, question time. You want the bed or the couch?" He asked Teion. "Unless you wanna share the bed, I think this one is big enough for two bodies." He said, taking the last option as a joke more than anything.

[Teion 0]

Her lips pursed with his taunting question, but she continued to eat without any attempt at a snarky comment in response. She enjoyed the silence that followed in the mostly-normal cabin. The heat of the fire reached the bare skin of her shoulders and cheeks, warming her through the thin fabric of her adventuring attire.

After another long day of walking and getting stuck in dark spaces, Teion wasn't about to object to more sleep. Her eyes turned to Ryo as he stood up beside her, prompting for her choice of sleeping arrangements. His yawn was infectious, and Teion covered her mouth as she felt one work its way up through her chest. It only took a second for her to decide on claiming the couch for her own for the night, but something stopped her before she got the simple answer out. It was as if something possessed her to respond differently--some mischevious voice in the back of her head whispering to take advantage of the opportunity that had presented itself.

"Oh, is it?" She responded after recovering from her yawn. "Mm, sure." She casually agreed to his suggestion.