[PP-F2] Bird Call <<Feeding the Enemy>>

[Arabelle 0]

The purple-haired axe-wielder propped her arms against an NPC merchant’s counter, scrutinizing the pack of birdseed it had placed before her with narrowed eyes. Floating in front of her was a notification window, prompting her to accept or decline a quest called <<Feeding the Enemy>>, something that would supposedly grant her a familiar as a reward. Her amber gaze shifted to the NPC. “Sorry, I honestly just came here on an errand for the inn,” she began, momentarily forgetting that she was just speaking to maybe a hundred lines of code with the appearance of a human. “And I’m not really that interested in getting a pet--”

“But they’re not just pets!” the annoyingly-persistent NPC interrupted, also leaning forward on the counter. “Familiars offer adventurers different bonuses that can help them as they traverse the floors of Aincrad. For example, some types of familiars have the ability to assist adventurers with combat, some can assist with healing and crafting, and--”

The NPC stopped talking as Arabelle tapped the <<Accept Quest>> button, and transferred some Col over to the merchant. Letting herself be won over by some pre-programmed lines of dialogue. This virtual world sure was making her weak. “You had me convinced at the combat part,” she said with a smirk, taking note of the NPC’s surprised face. It’s not every day you get to see a surprised expression on an NPC. “Turns out I’m pretty horrible at it, so I guess I’ll need all the help I can get.”

With that, Arabelle turned and left the store before the merchant could convince her to buy anything else.

@Macradon

[WC: 268]

[Macradon 0]

The knight in casual clothes was running through the streets and plazas of the 2nd floor, chasing something that could be a disaster if just let loose. Belphegor, Macradon’s familiar, had escaped from not only his sight, but his grip. The chain that used to be wrapped around his wrist had slipped out of his grasp. The three headed hound was running around the 2nd floor between people, scaring some and stunning others as the blazing hellhound just ran around without any specific target, Belphegor just ran and ran because he could. Macradon was following the trails of his familiar, his partner, his companion. It was hard catching up to a hellhound that would be taller than him if it stood up on its hind legs. Belphegor continued his happy run until he stumbled upon a person that had just exited a shop. The three headed hound would growl and bark at the peculiar person, even though he didn’t know who this was, he wanted to play. Despite being a of a canine species, Belphegor had quite a different way of showing his happiness, he was a hellhound after all. Belphegor would continue to growl bark and snarl, all at the same time with its three heads before Macradon finally caught up to it. Leaping forward, Macradon would land on the ground, finally grasping upon the chains again. “Ugh!” he grunted as he landed “Finally …” he said and tried to catch his breath again “finally … finally got you”. He would take his time to catch his breath while still laying on the ground until he stood back up as he would be able to control his breath again. He would look up and notice that Belphegor had been annoying someone “Oh, sorry!” Macradon said as he wrapped Belphegor’s chains around his arm with a proper grip this time. “I’m sorry if he have done anything to annoy you!” he said and would tug Belphegor’s chains, making him stop barking snarling and growling, realizing its master was besides it again. Belphegor would return to Macradon’s side and sit down, looking up upon the girl.

[Arabelle 0]

Arabelle exited the shop leisurely, whistling a little tune to herself as she looked at the birdseed she had just bought from the NPC. "Wonder what familiar I should get?" she pondered. She already knew she wanted a damage familiar, but she still wasn't sure what type of bird she wanted. Hawks were big and their beaks were kinda scary, owls were cute but they weren't her type, and--

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of feet--no, paws-- pounding against the pavement. Arabelle turned her head, then her neutral expression quickly morphed into one of fear and surprise as she realized that the source of the sound was a big, flaming, three-headed dog with chains trailing behind it and it was heading straight for her. Her mind blanked and she leaped to the side, ready to dart back inside the NPC's shop at any moment. Still, the hellhound stopped in front of her and oh god it was way bigger up close, and all three heads were all barking and making angry dog noises, and it looked ready to bite her at any moment-- "Wah! [censored]! Bad dog, bad dog!" Arabelle shrieked, momentarily forgetting that she was in a safe zone and the hound couldn't hurt her. She twisted the NPC's doorknob open and was just about to dart inside when a man lunged and grabbed the chains attached to the hound's three collars, which somehow made it stop barking at her.

It quietly sat down beside its master, and Arabelle warily let go of the door. God, that was someone's familiar? She thought it was a mob that had somehow gotten into the safe zone, or something. "It-It's alright," she sighed, still a bit shaken up by the event. The purple-haired girl inched a bit closer to the hellhound and picked up the pack of birdseed she'd dropped. "Is that your familiar? It's a pretty...unusual choice, I should say."

[WC: 323]

[Macradon 0]

Macradon nodded with a smile as he pet the middle head of the three headed dog as its flames would vanish from its body. The hound would slowly calm back down from its leisure trip down the second floor. As the flames went away, Belphegor would begin to match the personality like any other tame dog and would proceed to walk around within range of the china, sniffing to every inch and corner, trying to find something. “Y-yeah” Macradon replied “This is Belphegor. We found each other in need, so I guess it wasn't really a choice at that point” he said as he presented his big hound, suddenly realizing he hadn’t said who he was himself. “Oh, and I’m Macradon, nice to meet you!” he said and bowed his head down again. He would crouch down to a height where his head and Belphegor’s head were the same height, which didn’t take that much to be honest. Belphegor came over to his master as he saw Macradon had crouched down. The two would touch foreheads with each other and close their eyes as Macradon said to Belphegor “She’s a friend, don’t need to be aggressive”. He would stand back up and let Belphegor walk around again “He’s my fighting familiar, and he’s aggressive by nature, so I just have to … train him a bit more before he’s ready to walk around without a chain” Macradon said with an awkward smile.

[Arabelle 0]

Once the guy introduced himself and his familiar, Arabelle found it a bit easier to talk. "I'm Arabelle. Nice to meet you," she said with a friendly smile. "But since my name's a bit long, you can call me Ara. Or Belle. Whichever you prefer." Now a bit more confident around his familiar, she skipped a bit closer and subtly looked up and down, sizing the other player up. He looked older than her, maybe around university age, and (thankfully) wasn't as tall as the other guys she'd met. Bountiful in the looks department, and was maybe one of the higher-leveled players in the game, judging by appearance and familiar. And he was here, in Floor 2, talking to her now. She would be a fool if she didn't take advantage of this situation. "But your name's a bit long, too. Can I call you Mac?" she inquired hopefully. "As in, Big Mac? Apple MacBook? Mac and Cheese?" Arabelle waited for him to react, then she let out a playful giggle. "Sorry, sorry. I know that was lame!" she said, still grinning.

She looked down at Mac's familiar. "So he's a fighting familiar..." she echoed. Arabelle looked down at the small pack of birdseed in her hands, then looked at the familiar again. Well, she supposed she should start to consider her options. "So how helpful is he?" she asked. "In battle, I mean. I do know that familiars give a stat boost, but do they actively attack the enemy or do they just passively enhance your stats while staying on the sidelines?" She hoped it was the former. She wasn't the best at swinging her heavy axe around.

[WC: 279]

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would nod towards the girl who had introduced herself. The girl’s name was Arabelle, quite the name he hadn’t heard before, but who could’ve head Macradon before. Listening to her rambling of Macradon’s name, what you could call it shortened or other nicknames, Macradon would chortle lightly “No worries, I’m quite used to it now. But you should probably stay away from Big Mac, as there’s a Mack much bigger than I” he said with a slight smile as he remembered his Vice Commander, Mack. A great big man towering above mosts, even on the raid grounds. The question imposed towards Macradon’s familiar was a good question, as you wouldn’t know before experiencing it. “This guys here -” Macradon said and proceeded to pet the middle head of Belphegor “- is not a passive observer. He likes to get into the fight and get rough, you could say it’s in his nature” Macradon would say and look down at the happy three headed hound that liked his head pats. The tongue would hang out and it would continuously gasp with all three heads like it was in a blissful setting. "He usually charges in and sets up my kill, like a herding dog, herding the monsters into position so I can take care of the rest" he said with a smile down towards his familiar.

[Arabelle 0]

"Lil' Mac, then!" Arabelle exclaimed with a tone of finality that assured the man she was going to call him that for a long, long time. The fact that there was another guy(?) named Mac walking around intrigued her, but that was a topic for some other day. For now, she was interested in learning about familiars and this player seemed very knowledgeable about them. 

The short-statured girl listened attentively to the friendly player's explanation. She could imagine Belphegor and Mac doing that in combat. It was a nice team dynamic, something that could work with her horrible combat skills, and finding a similar familiar (maybe a normal dog) would've been lovely. But upon looking down at the pack of birdseed in her hands, she realized that it wouldn't work. What type of dog would eat birdseed anyway? "So, you're saying that familiar fighting styles can vary? Like your familiar can fight a certain way, another type of familiar can fight in another way..." her voice faded, and she regarded the birdseed thoughtfully. "Hrm. How do you think winged DMG familiars assist in battle?"

[WC: 184]

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would fiddle in his pockets and throw off a piece of meat he had in a bag to Belphegor for him to eat and be distracted while Macradon was talking. He would ponder at first but would think of the many different fighting familiars he had seen through his time on the frontlines. “Well, one of my friends, Calrex, has a hawk as his familiar. It usually jumps in and distracts while Calrex goes in for the opportunistic blow. I haven’t seen too many other fighting familiars that are winged creatures. The most winges familiars I’ve see seen are passive supportive rather than frontline fighters, but you could probably find an apex predator bird who can dive down and get some damage done of lock down an enemy or two” Macradon would say “Belphegor here can easily grab 3 enemies and place them for me to execute a proper sword art against 4 enemies at the same time, most of the time taking out a good chunk of their health with this guy’s support” he would say.

[Arabelle 0]

Another name drop. Calrex. It was a name she'd heard a few players mention in passing. Particularly while they were talking about the frontliners. Arabelle regarded the man in front of her curiously. He did say his name was Macradon, the name of a high-leveled blacksmith who offered discounts for low-leveled players hoping to start off on their journey. And in addition to that, he was buddies with a frontliner. But, just in case, she decided to confirm her assumptions. "So basically, predator birds are the best options," Arabelle summed up his response to her question. But, like he mentioned before, different types of familiars have different fighting styles. After a few more minutes of contemplation, she finally had an ideal familiar in her mind, though she didn't exactly follow the friendly player's suggestions.

"Say, Lil' Mac. You're the blacksmith and front-liner I've heard about lots of times, right?" Arabelle paused for a moment, waiting for him to respond. "What brings you to Urbus? Out for a casual stroll? Or were you perhaps planning to search for the rare materials outside the safe zone?" Another pause, then she realized how oddly suspicious she sounded. "Ah...not that I'm suspicious of you or anything. As you might know already, I just recently accepted the familiar quest, though I'm a bit under-leveled. So, if you're looking for a companion..." her voice faded, but she probably got her point across effectively.

[WC: 237]

[Macradon 0]

Macradon nodded agreeingly “Aye, predatory avians makes the best fighting familiars, they know what to do” he replied. The few Macradon had seen that were fighting familiars were either small critters like snakes and the likes that could sneak in an attack, or birds that could swoop in for an attack. On the frontlines, Macradon hadn’t seen anything like Belphegor, entering the combat like its master, it was quite a different kind of fighting familiar. As he heard Arabelle’s question, Macradon would look with a slightly confused look “I could be, if by name people would talk about me. But I’m not the only blacksmith on the frontlines. If not by name, I can’t be assured that it’s me they’re talking about” he said and shrugged lightly. It could be one of the many, mayhaps even the other Mack, who was also a blacksmith. A question was posed towards him, and it was indeed a good question for why the second highest leveled player was doing on the second floor. “I’m on a stroll with Belphegor here, I’m trying to train him to be nice and more civil around players, and only encourage his carnage when facing enemies. I live on the first floor, so this is the closest place with mostly strangers to train this fellow” he said with a smile. “I think that would be lovely! Teaching Belphegor to also stay put against wildlife would also be good idea” he said with a smile.

[Arabelle 0]

"The first floor?" Arabelle echoed. It was rare for high-levels to stay in the Town of Beginnings, mostly because of how crowded it was (since players who've never left the safe zone decided to stay in there, too scared to even check out the higher floors' main settlements, and they probably comprised of more than 50% of Aincrad's current population, which was a lot) but if they were rich enough to buy a house or open a shop that's big and comfortable enough to live in...yeah, that was plausible. "I think you're the first person I've met who's actually willing to stay there. I mean, there must be more interesting places up there, right?" Arabelle turned and started walking as she talked, expecting Macradon to follow her. Now they were headed to the forests outside the safe zone. "Not judging your living choices or anything, but if I ever got the chance, I'd totally buy a house up in the higher floors. Say, do you have any favorite places up there? I've heard that each floor has a different theme, though I've never actually gotten to check them out."

[WC: 189]

[Macradon 0]

Macradon nodded towards Arabelle “Perhaps” he said as they began walking “I’ve taken an oath when I joined my guild, and the closer I am to the first floor, the better I can fulfil what I swore to do” he said with a confident tone. When he joined the Knights of the Blood Oath, he swore to protect those who could not protect themselves, he swore to help those in need to rise up into the ranks of fantastic frontliners that could hold themselves against the dangerous boss rooms and monsters, not just for themselves, but the entirety of the floating castle of Aincrad. “I get it, when you think of the first flor, you don’t really think of anything fantastic, but I had collected more than enough Col to buy out an estate in the town of beginnings and place my shop just besides it so I have my work station beside my house, everything is fine for me” he said with a smile. “The upper floors, aye. I’ve seen them, I’ve helped unlock them, but I’ve never really fancied being up there, the death and gloom that clogs up the air for me, it … isn’t pleasant, at least for me” Macradon would say.

[Arabelle 0]

Was that a somber tone in his voice just now? Just listening to his last statements...Arabelle didn't really know what to say. Most people only saw front-liners as glorious people, the saviors of all, and must have thought their lives were a party, having such a good reputation, fighting with strong people at their side, and stuff. But there was also pain and loss up there, on the higher floors, the reality most people weren't aware of. "Oh, I'm...sorry." She was walking a few steps ahead of him but didn't look back to make eye contact like she usually did when she was talking to someone. Arabelle felt a bit guilty, even though she knew she wouldn't have known. She just met him after all, but she knew what having bad memories--a white room, a blue clock that goes on ticking and ticking and ticking for ages--felt like, and she didn't like bringing it up or talking about anything related either. Heck, she even went as far as to walk out of conversations in order to avoid...triggers.

They reached the forest without any setbacks, and Arabelle skipped ahead of Macradon before spinning around to face him with a grin like she hadn't just been thinking about those things earlier. "So," she nodded at the three-headed dog, who had stayed beside its master during most of their short walk. "How's your familiar doing?"

[WC: 232]

[Macradon 0]

Macradon shook his head and adorned upon his lips a smile despite Arabelle not looking at him. “You don't have to be sorry, it’s just my small comment about the higher floors. Some of the floors are quite beautiful … “ he said and halted himself, only listening to his words in his mind “... but the sacrifices made …” he thought and would shake off the bad thoughts for now. While having his hand clenched to the chains in his hand, Macradon would make sure Belphegor was besides him like a guard dog, following Macradon’s direction and tempo. As they arrived to Arabelle’s desired location, she would spin around and face Macradon again, which he would answer with a smile. “Oh, he’s doing fine I’d presume. If he was agitated we would all know” he said with a slight chortle as he looked down at his three headed hound.

[Arabelle 0]

It didn't take her long to find a familiar. From where she was standing, Arabelle looked up and spotted a lone crow perched on the branches of a big tree. Not exactly the predator bird Macradon had suggested, but she'd always wanted a crow. They were smart, and while they had the most annoying bird screeches, they looked pretty cool.  This was a lucky search... "Up there," she said to Macradon, an excited grin forming on her face.

Now for the part she'd been dreading the most. Arabelle reached into the pack of birdseed and grabbed a handful of it, holding it out in the direction of the crow. The feed spilled through her fingers as she whistled through her teeth and caught the crow's attention. The crow inched along the branch and stared at the food in her hand, its head tilting to the side curiously. "Come on..." she muttered to herself impatiently. After a few more agonizing moments of waiting, the crow swooped down from its perch and rested on her hand, pecking at the birdseed. Arabelle stared, her mouth half-open, not knowing whether she should start celebrating or stay quiet and wait. She turned to Macradon, though she couldn't do anything but grin and make a few excited gestures that didn't disturb the hand her familiar(?) was resting on.

The crow ate the last of the birdseed and looked at her expectantly. Arabelle stayed still, and it moved up her arm until it was perched on her shoulder. Then gingerly, she raised a gloved hand and patted it softly on the head.

<<Familiar Tamed>>

Spoiler

ID: 98433 | LD: 15 (success, familiar w/ no enhancements)

[WC: 265]

Edited March 18, 2018 by Arabelle

[Macradon 0]

The two had not walked long before Arabelle quickly spotted something atop the trees. He and Belphegor would look up towards the place Arabelle gestured towards. The four heads together would look up towards the perched crow. A crow wasn’t really that big of a predatory bird, but it could still be useful if trained correct. They could be smart enough to find weak points in enemies and make one’s blow become more solid and stronger. Macradon would crouch down in a squat beside Belphegor and just spectate what Arabelle’s tactics were to catch this lil’ bird. Macradon smiled as the crow finally decided to interact with Arabelle, landing on her arm and pecking at the seeds. “Congratulations, you’re now a Disney Princess” he said with a smirk. “Whadya gonna call it? Are you gonna keep it?” he would ask, looking at the bird as he still sat down in a squat.

[Arabelle 0]

Arabelle laughed at Mac's remark. "I don't think Disney Princesses tame scary things like crows..." she said, stroking the bird's soft feathers. "And one of the requirements of being a Disney Princess is to have a nice singing voice. I'm pretty sure my singing voice can break glass. Not because of how high it is, but because of how terribly off-tune it is. So," Arabelle suddenly stopped talking as she remembered something and swiped her menu open, and selected the familiar panel. Crow tamed from Floor 2. The name was still blank, but Arabelle put off naming it. Her gaze wandered down to the familiar skills, and she squinted. This familiar has no bonus skills available. What? "I'm good enough with this guy, but...he doesn't have any skills." Arabelle looked down at the crow on her shoulder and sighed. Killing it would be a callous act. "Hm, name. I'm bad at naming stuff. Got any suggestions?"

[WC: 156]

Edited March 26, 2018 by Arabelle

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would snigger lightly at Arabelle’s reply. He would close his eyes and lean his head down forward a bit and open them back up and raise his head to reply. “I’m quite sure there’s a princess who had interacted with a crow that wasn’t hostile, I just can’t think of one right now” he said and chortled. “Do all Disney princesses sing? Like uh … can Jane from Tarzan be called a Disney princess? Or are the requirements for being a princess royalty?” he asked, actually confused about the matter. Macradon nodded at Arabelle’s decision and would speak up “My first and second familiar didn’t have any enhancements either. They were just there to keep me company” he said with a smile, smiling at the crow. “Well, they’re linked to other nocturnal species of avians and mostly gloomy horror genres. Moondust could probably be a name for it” Macradon would suggest.

[Arabelle 0]

"Moondust..." Arabelle tested. She took some more birdseed out of the pouch and held it out to the crow, watching with delight as it pecked at the seed hungrily. Crows were normally scary things, but she thought this one was cute. Maybe she was just biased cause it was her familiar now. She giggled and patted it on the head, then guided the crow back to her shoulder. It rubbed its head against her cheek as a gesture of affection(?), and she turned back to Lil' Mac with a grin. "Yep, it suits him. Moondust it is!" 

Arabelle was tempted to play with her new crow--Moondust--a bit more, but they were outside the safe zone and Lil' Mac would probably get bored. So she turned and started walking in the direction they came from, gesturing for her new friend to follow her. "Well, that's all I needed to do," she said, a bit disappointed that she didn't get to talk to him as much as she wanted to. Maybe she'll be inviting him along on another quest. "Wanna walk back to the safe zone with me?"

[ooc: Closing the thread in my next post! :3]

[WC: 186]

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would smile, chortling lightly at Arabelle “I’m glad you like it, I hope the crow, I mean, Moondust like it as well” he said as his gaze went towards the crow on the girl’s shoulder. “Names for your familiar are good to have, not only does it give another bond than just calling it your familiar, it’s like a way of telling that you trust each other” Macradon said with a smile. The name he had given his own familiar, Belphegor, was just a name he had thought up on the spot as he saw the cerberus on the ninth floor, it was a hellish creature and therefore deserved a hellish name, which was where Belphegor fit right in. “Glad to see you cleared the quest” he said and listened to her last question, perhaps request, and would answer “Aye, I’ll walk back with you” he said with a smile as he held Belphegor close to himself with the chain.