[PP-F5] Start of an Arc <<The Traveler>> (Teion and Ryo)

[Spencer 0]

Today was the day, and it was the lowest of the days he has ever had. It was surprising, the depression he felt was different, intense and more developed than he had felt before in the real world. The separation and feeling of loneliness was intensified by the fact that his family was a whole world away. He sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair, his eyes were softly blood shot from his late night. He sighed and signaled for another drink. The ability to get drunk did not exist in game, but the process in which he was drinking copious amounts of alcohol helped dull the pain, in any sense really. He rubbed the back of his neck and took a sip of his beer, the taste was horrible, but it also helped distract him.

Maybe he was over reacting. Maybe somewhere in his mind he was hiding, screaming for the man to stop this nonsense and get back to being normal and come to the real world, but the voice was silent. He groaned a bit and his hair was covering his eyes, his beer blocked from his vision. He was not in the mood, for well, anything. It was getting to him that he didn't look like himself, but he didn't want to be himself at that moment. He wanted to be anyone else other than himself right at that moment. Maybe he was over-reacting. But in his mind he didn't care, he almost wanted to feel this sorrow, it had become apart of him now at that moment. I'm one sorry sap... He trailed off and shook his head.

@Teion @Ryo

[Ryo 0]

"Yo'! Spencer!" Ryo called out to his friend as he entered the bar. Ryo Sat down next to his friend at the counter. "You see a girl walking about? Little taller than me? Lots of purple hair." He asked his friend while he scanned the bar. He was going to do the Traveler quest, but he didn't want to do it alone, so he had invited Teion to come along with him on it, see if he could fix some of the mistakes he made a few days back. "Her name is Teion and," Ryo thought of the best way to word the situation. He didn't feel the need to explain the time they spent nearly a week together in what was basically a cell. "She kinda fell on me, and we had a drink." He said happily. He looked at Spencer, noticing his bloodshot eyes, and unkempt hair. "Yo' my man you alright?" He asked, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.

[Teion 0]

Teion couldn't stop herself from wearing a soured expression as she pushed open the door to one of the more popular bars in Fortaleza. A place she would have normally never spent much of her time, she had become somewhat of a regular in the past few days, almost starting to grow accustomed to the unpleasant burn of acidic liquid that she forced down her throat. Today Teion brought herself her for a different occasion. Was she forcing herself to show up? Absolutely. Her mind was slowly deteriorating to the same wreckage that she had been reduced to after her fallout with the Endilix brothers.

She still had Max to hold her together, which she was thankful for. But the lingering guilt, uncertainty, and the occasional touches of depression that still haunted her weighed heavily. Perhaps the fact that she hadn't yet tried to open up about all that troubled her and explain everything that had happened during her short absence was what made it all the worse. Today was one of those days.

The woman spotted the familiar magenta and violet shades of Ryo's long hair from across the room after only a few seconds. His gloved hand was resting on the shoulder of another man who was leaned over the bar, a half-finished drink sitting in front of him. Teion cocked a brow, but had already resigned herself to the encounter when she stepped into the tavern. Letting out a small sigh, Teion walked up and positioned herself behind Ryo's shoulder opposite of the sandy-haired blonde. "Heyo." She called out a casual greeting, though her tone and expression held a matched impassiveness.

[Spencer 0]

Spencer was inside of himself. He didn't really want to be there, anywhere but there, the man that he liked was there, and decided to be happy and bubbly.. and talk about someone else. The name he said bothered him, he didn't want to know the name of the woman, he didn't want to know that a woman existed. It wasn't his fault, he did not know how Spencer was feeling, and he didn't want to make Ryo pity date him. However, the idea that everyone else is together and he was the add on to everyone around him really stabbed at his heart. When Ryo asked if he was okay, he forced himself to be okay. "Oh yeah! Sorry I've just not been sleeping that well, little stressed is all, I want to do a lot all at once." He ran a hand through his hair, and smiled at him, forcing himself to be okay.

A woman walked up to Ryo, talking to him, and he knew that this was Teion. He looked at the girl, then looked at Ryo, they honestly could be a match, which hurt even more. It wasn't that he was in love with Ryo, just the one chance he had at someone, it was thrown out the window and he could not get it back. It's obvious that he liked her, so he knew there was no chance. He smiled at the girl, because Ryo wasn't looking it was obvious that he wasn't really feeling okay, but he was acting better towards Ryo, so he didn't ask too many questions and open up the flood gates.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo chuckled., "Don't worry bud. Everyone has those kinda nights" He said, giving his friend's shoulder a reassuring pat. "And if there's anything I could do to help, just let me know." He said, smiling at the man. Ryo removed his arm from Spencer as he turned around to respond to Teion who had managed to sneak up on him. "Hey, Teion. You doing alright? Oh hey." He said, turning around. "Spencer, Teion. Teion, Spencer." Ryo said, introducing the two. "I met him at the Halloween party. We got along and we went for a drink afterward." He said, giving some backstory to how they met. "And I met Teion at the Fireworks Festival. And failed at winning her a prize." He said, thinking to himself. "Man, I meet a lot of people at parties." He said, chuckling. "So Teion, I was asking Spencer if he wanted to go on a quest or something. I know The Traveler is nearby here, and I asked if Spencer wanted to tag along. If that's cool with you Tei." He asked last minute.

[Teion 0]

"Mm, yeah." She most certainly wasn't doing alright, but she wasn't about to tell Ryo that. Or anyone else for that matter. She had paired her mumbled reply with a small nod, and shortly after her attention was pulled to the man on the other side of Ryo. Introduced as Spencer, their blue eyes met for a brief moment until Teion pulled her gaze away. She had never been good at holding eye contact. "Hey." She greeted him simply. From just the fleeting glance she had taken of Spencer, she could tell that the man opposite her was just as miserable--if not moreso--as she felt beneath the standard indifference she wore.

"Oh. Uhh, yeah sure." She answered almost automatically when Ryo motioned for Spencer to join them on the Traveler quest. Although the blonde didn't seem too thrilled to be doing much of anything besides forcing down his drink, she wasn't going to question his willingness. Besides, she wasn't a stranger to this quest. The first and only time she'd completed it, she ended up having to take shelter in a cave for a night while the desert storms were too strong. If they didn't find the cargo they needed quickly, she would end up in the same situation, alone with Ryo. "Might as well, especially if he needs the quest." She added on at the thought.

[Spencer 0]

Spencer rolled his eyes internally, the man had not even mentioned the quest to him, but he decided to just go along with it. But, as the two talked, he was starting to think that maybe Ryo liked this woman, which kind of hurt less, knowing that maybe it wasn't him that was causing his loneliness, maybe it was that everyone had some one else that they wanted, but that didn't really help him. Spencer sighed mentally  and slowly stood up, putting on a front for Ryo, making it seem like he really was sleep deprived. He gave a small nod to the woman, and tried his best to act normal, what ever that was.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to get around to do this quest, glad Ryo found me when he did, I was bored out of my mind and trying to stay awake." He said with a fake smile on, rubbing the back of his head. He adjusted his cloak and took it off, leaving the skin tight black shirt on under neath. He brought out his umbrella to shield his head from the sand and the sun. He sighed a bit and looked between the two, wanting to get this over already. He gave a small look at Teion, trying to give a smile to her, to be friends, but the smile faltered a little bit. "I'm ready whenever you guys are ready." He smiled a little bigger and looked at the two of them.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo could feel the awkward tension in the air as the two spoke. They seemed to get along so that was good. "Sorry about not asking you ahead of time Spence, but I kinda thought that I could get my two closest friends together for an evening or two," Ryo said, explaining his plan. "Kinda got excited." He said, chuckling and rubbing the back of his neck. Perhaps, he should've planned a bit more ahead of time instead of just springing plans onto people. He chuckled nervously. "Alright. Shall we then?" Ryo said, trying to take the initiative of the party and get the show rolling. He hoped that his friends would get along well enough. He really liked Teion, enough to profess his love to her. And he really enjoyed Spencer's company. 

He stepped outside, was harassed by the NPC, and initiated the quest. And took his first steps out into the desert.

(gotta roll that CD from now on)

[Teion 0]

Teion knew that the smile he wore was false. Perhaps she hadn't seen the exact same expression many times before, but she felt like she had worn it herself often enough. If she cared about making friends or good impressions anymore, she'd probably be wearing it right now. With a swipe of her hand, Teion pulled open her menus and tapped to equip her battle axe. The tri-colored weapon appeared at her back, and another selection materialized a thin, silver hairpin in the shape of a crescent moon a couple of inches beside her right temple.

She followed Ryo's lead and stepped out of the tavern into the harsh light of the desert sun. Despite being quite used to the oppressive heat, Teion reached behind her head to gather her violet hair. Combing loose strands into place with her fingers, Teion held the high ponytail in place with one hand, moving to summon a plain blue hairband from her inventory.

By the time she'd secured the hairstyle in place, the trio had passed over the invisible border that determined the edge of the safe zone. They hadn't walked more than a few minutes before the winds of the open desert began to whip up around them, kicking up plenty of loose sand.

[Spencer 0]

Spencer smiled a tiny bit when Ryo said something about his two closest friends, but the idea that he is just a friend brought him down a bit. He hated the fact that these pesky emotions were for some reason tied to Ryo, the man that was next to him. But they were, even though they weren't directly about him. The feeling of being unwanted was only amplified by Ryo not wanting him, but he didn't want him to know that, his emotions were his to deal with, Ryo doesn't need the sadness. "It's okay Ryo, glad I get to hang out with you too, been a while since Halloween." He said and gave a small laugh, looking at the two of them about to leave. He took off with them, into the heat. Great.... Stuck in the desert with these two. I hope they aren't an item.... That will just break me...

His thoughts trailed off as he stepped into the desert. The heat was more intense than any other heat he felt. He was at a lose for words, and he grabbed onto his umbrella for more support. He brought out his scarf, covering his mouth with it, letting the ends of it flap in the desert wind as they walked. "So..... Where exactly are we going?" Spencer asked Teion and Ryo. He was just going to go in, do the job, and leave. He didn't want to accidentally let loose why he was upset and all, considering the fact that in part it deals with Ryo. Please let this be a short trip.. He mumbled and ruffled his hair, sand already getting lodged into it.

ID: 94877 CD: 4

[Ryo 0]

Ryo chuckled. "Yeah, it's been a good while. Sorry for not messaging you. I was trying to clear my mind of a lot of things, and got caught up in some kind of event thing with Teion." Ryo said, trying to explain his absence to his friend. Ryo looked at Spencer took out a scarf, and an umbrella. The umbrella made sense, but the scarf did not. "We're to go out, and find some missing supplies. Most likely, is that they were lost when a sandstorm hit. And if I learned anything from desert levels in video games, is that when we get there another sandstorm will hit our location. So there's gotta be a cave nearby it. So it should be easy spotting it." Ryo said, hypothesizing most of it. Ryo removed his jacket, unable to bear the heat from it anymore. Spencer had a scarf on, and Teion friggin lived here. They had to be demons is a past life.  Ryo thought to himself as his feet shifted sands below.

ID: 94937 CD: 6

[Teion 0]

'Yeah, some pretty stupid event.' Teion held her tongue from speaking the irritated words aloud as Ryo brought up the memory of a few days past. She was grateful for his assistance in pushing the topic away from the forefront of her mind shortly after when the topic shifted to their destination and goal. Teion chimed in, offering her own experience with the quest. "I did this one ages ago after setting up my shop here. Assuming nothing drastic changed, then you're right. The quest is stupid easy, but it's everything else we can run into in the desert that can give us a hard time." She explained. Unrelenting storms, vicious monsters, and sadistic assassins alike, Teion didn't like to admit that she'd encountered many dangers that Aincrad had to offer in the wilderness of the fifth floor. With her idly thumbs pressing into the leather straps that hung around ether of her thighs, she offered little else in the way of starting conversation.

[Spencer 0]

Spencer In This Thread

Spencer began to listen to Ryo, apologizing for not keeping in touch. "Oh no, you're fine. Don't worry about that. I've been kind of busy with some quests I've been trying to do. I'm a slow leveler, but I will get up there." He smiled and gave a fake laugh. It was scary how easy it was to be fake happy, but it didn't really make him upset, he was actually almost proud of himself for hiding his emotions well enough to fool Ryo, but Teion seemed to know what was going on, the look she gave him when they first started the adventure told him that she kind of knew what was going on with him. Might as well ignore her, she is the reason why Ryo wont be with m- Stop! Don't hate her! Its not her fault, and its not Ryo's fault either. I'm just sad from my lack of people wanting me, I can't blame them. He groaned and looked at Teion, who talked about how the path isn't that difficult. He shrugged a bit, holding the scarf to his face, the sand was whipping against them a little worse than before. He turned to the girl and forced himself to talk. "I never did introduce myself. I'm Spencer... obviously." He smiled at her the best he could, trying to make it seem like he was okay, he didn't want her saying something to Ryo then Ryo poking around in his business. "Also Ryo, how are you liking the guild so far? I know that we have had some events already, just wanted to see how you were holding up with everything."

ID: 94978 CD: 11

[Ryo 0]

Ryo unequipped his leather jacket, letting his sleeveless shirt cover his body instead of the heavy jacket. On other floors it was fine, but this one just made him miserable. "That's the spirit Spenc." Ryo said, complimenting his friend. "I'm more than confident that you can do it!" Ryo said, giving his confidence in his friend. Ryo's shoes buried themselves in the sand as they walked. Spencer introduced himself to Teion, and vice versa. A few seconds later, Spencer asked him another question. "Oh, it's fine. Haven't really done much except with it. What with being busy and all." Ryo admitted sadly. He had joined another guild and had nearly abandoned it completely. They even had a Christmas party, that he avoided going to. He had no right to be there, not until Jomei knew the truth about him and the things he had done. Ryo sighed, letting the sand envelop him, none of it caused damage just mild irritations.

ID: 94987 CD: 4

[Teion 0]

The desert sun wasn't any more forgiving than it had been a few days prior when she had traversed the sands with the trio of guild members that she tagged along with. The tall blonde turned to introduce himself more properly, though Teion cocked a brow at the odd timing. Forcing a more normal reaction, she gave a nod. "Mm, nice to meet you." As if the exchange reminded her of something, Teion pulled up her menus in order to send a quick party request to each of the other players.

At the mention of a guild, her eyes traveled to the corner of her vision where Spencer and Ryo's health bars would have appeared below her own. She had forgotten that the other violette was part of a guild, and hadn't even realized that Spencer was a part of the same one. Something seemed to catch her eye, however, and she found herself staring at the guild emblems beside each of their names in the corner of her vision for a few seconds longer. Gears clicked into place in her mind, and she realized they were in the same guild as the three players she had agreed to join on the Arabian Nights quest chain.

[Spencer 0]

Spencer smiled a bit when Ryo gave him encouragement, it felt nice to know that someone was rooting for him, even though it didn't do much to really bring up his mood, or his emotions for that matter. "Thanks, and it's fine that you didn't show up, not much of significance happened. We exchanged gifts, that is about it. We don't really have many guild things planned at the moment. Kind of at a stale moment of the guild, I think things will start picking up soon though." He smiled and shrugged to Ryo, and turned to Teion who introduced herself. There was nothing to really say to her, he didn't know her that well, and he didn't really know how to continue the conversation. He gave a very faint smile in her direction and continued to walk. "So... what have you two been up to? I've just been doing some quests and hanging out with people in my guild, nothing much. What about you two?" He was determined to actually give a conversation and make this not the most awkward time he had ever felt in his life.

ID: 95125 CD: 8

[Ryo 0]

Ryo regretted not showing up the Christmas event for the guild. It, in all honesty, sounded like a good time. But no, Ryo had to spend the moment sulking in his empty mansion. Then Spencer asked what the two had been up too. Thoughts of those nights flashed back into Ryo's mind.Teion and him running into each other again, running from the rain, the waiter. His fists clenched at the man who would dare try to harm Teion, or even use her life as a toy while playing his sick game of love doctor. Them becoming trapped in that tiny room, becoming trapped in a tinier room, escaping through the floor, the cabin, and finally the kiss he gave her at the end of it all. "Nothing much really." Ryo said, not wanting to spill the beans about him and Teion. It was obvious that Spencer had feelings for him. And frankly, Ryo couldn't blame him. Not through some egotistical self-gratitude, but because Ryo had done the same thing with Teion essentially. Ryo needed to tell Spencer that he harbored no romantic feelings for the man, but he figured he already knew. There was no sense in just confirming the same ideal twice.

As the trio walked, another group was walking towards them. Ryo shielded his eye from the sun, hoping to make them out better. About four men, dressed in desert attire stepped to them. The crystals above their heads all glowing orange. Ryo swallowed, recognizing two of them. "Oi! Iz dat?" One of the ones said, looking at Ryo more closely. "Oi! It iz Ryo!" He said as the group burst into laughter.

"Where you been? It's been a long time! Last we heard you were out of the game!" One other said, throwing a muscular arm around Ryo's shoulder. "Say, she's kinda hot. She yours?" He asked, beginning to pester Ryo. Ryo clenched his teeth, fighting the urge to tell them to leave. Telling them to leave would just make them hostile, he'd have to play along for now. "Who's the other guy though?" He asked, giving Spencer his attention.

The four stepped around Spencer, giving them their look. "He looks like a fairy. You a fairy?" One said, taunting Spencer.

"Don't be rude, they're called 'equal operatists' now, right?" Another said, pacing around Spencer. "Just cause he's a bit of a f-"

"Enough!" Ryo said, getting involved. "He's called, a friend. Now leave us alone. I don't work with you anymore."

"Oh come now Ryo, you know full good and well that people in our line of work don't just quit. How much for the purple broad?" The one around his shoulder let go. Ryo's eyes blanked out, as his fist traveled through the air slamming into the face of the one who spoke up. The other three grabbed their weapons, ready to defend themselves. "Oi! You dun crossed the line!" One said, ready to attack Ryo.

ID:95123 CD:3

[Teion 0]

Was Teion ever in the mood for idle conversation? Not for a long time now, no. Getting to know people never really seemed important, or interesting. Not that she had anything against the blonde travelling with her. In fact, she felt a bit sorry that Spencer got wrapped up in such a situation. The man seemed as though he would have much preferred to be staring into a fresh beer stein. But if Ryo was insistent on playing the role of cheerleader to improve his friend's mood--or perhaps he was just oblivious--she wasn't going to get involved.

As the group of strangers came into view across the scorching desert sands, Teion was content to pay them no mind. They, on the other hand, seemed to have plenty to say as they regarded Ryo with a deceptive fondness. The violette struggled to keep her gaze impassive at their snide remarks. She failed to hold her tongue as the insults kept coming, her words spoken in a low mutter. "Damn, for a second I thought Aincrad was finally starting to run low on degenerate scumbags."

Though she could feel their taunts crawling under her skin, Teion had planned to wait it out. The dots in her mind connected after a short while, and she recalled the tale Ryo had told that day in the study of his mansion. 'Guys he used to work with...? Great.' She let out a small huff of breath before gritting her teeth as another reference to her reached her ears. What caught her off-guard, however, was Ryo's strike landing directly in the man's face in response. Teion blinked in surprise, her body instinctively growing rigid as the threat of a fight presented itself. "The hell was that?!" She hissed under her breath at the violet-haired man, her gaze flickering between Ryo and the group of bandits. "Are we really getting into a fight with these guys?"

[Spencer 0]

Spencer heard Ryo say something about him not doing much, but it seemed like the look on his face said otherwise, he shrugged it off and sighed, walking with the two of them. He was trying to drag his emotions out of the mud, but it was getting difficult to seem happy all the time, so he just let his face drop, almost perfect timing when four bandit-looking men came around and started to talk to Ryo. He learned that Ryo used to work for them, but the four of them turned to Spencer, something he wasn't expecting to happen.

His stomach dropped, his heart beated faster, and his face turned a bright red. Not once in his life had he had to deal with homophobia or hate crimes/ hate speech. He lived a pretty okay life, but he was not going to stand for it, but their words were really starting to get to him, but that slowly turned to anger as well, the redness faded from his face, and his hands balled into fists.

Spencer had never really looked 'scary' before, sure he can be angry or upset, but never scary. This was the first time Spencer really looked somewhat close to 'scary'. He took a step forward and looked directly in the eyes of the man that got punched, and gave him a look of death. "Wow, too scarred to finish your sentence? What were you gonna say huh? Faggot or Fag? The two have different meanings, but you probably didn't know that. You're probably too busy trying to get somewhere in life that you wont ever get", He took a step forward, "You know, being a decent person, being loved by someone, and actually being able to contribute to society." He gave small smirk and turned around and walked back to the two of them, not wanting to look at the four of them.

"Oh, and yes I am gay. I'm so glad I've met four more of my own kind, makes me happy to know I'm not the only faggot that is in the death game." He gave a coy wink and grabbed his mace and shield, glaring at the four of them. He turned to Ryo and Teion. "Go easy on these four, looks like they can't handle more than a manicure." He said, the malice in his voice was more than he knew he could have, his depression forgotten about for a moment.

ID: 95126 CD: 6

[Ryo 0]

The homophobic bandit squared up Spencer, ignoring that one of his buds was just grounded. "I was gonna say faggiet." He said, getting closer to Spencer. "But I can come up with more if you'd like, twink." He said, shoving the man into one of his fellow bandits. The other bandit grabbed Spencer from behind. "Ha ha! Got you now Ya fairy!" he taunted. "Come on, kick him!" He cried out, to his other bandit friend. The homophobic bandit smiled and stepped forward bringing a boot between Spencer's legs.

Meanwhile, Ryo turned around to nimbly dodge one of the bandit's attacks. His dagger cleanly missing as he tried to swipe and stab at Ryo. "Fist yer sorreh arse! Then the broad is nex!" he cried out, his accent coming in stronger. Ryo stepped back, only to find his feet being tripped up by the bandit he had originally punched. Ryo fell backward gripping a handful of sand and tossing into the cockney bandits face. He yelped and covered his eyes as he flailed forward, tripping over himself and dropping his knife. Ryo felt a twinge of pain hit him from his right and looked over to see that the first bandit had given him a quick kick to his side. Ryo rolled back to his feet, putting up his fists. "C'mon then!" Ryo taunted back.