[ PP - F01 ] Hello? Hello? [ Spangie & Arabelle ]

[Spangie 0]

Spangie strolled through town, looking through shop windows and cafes. Her bright smile was plastered on her face and her cloak was waving in the air. I wonder if anything interesting is going to happen today. Probably not. she shrugged and went back to skipping around the small shops and restaurants. I want to buy some gear. Is there any good places around here? she looked left and right to see if there was any low leveled shops. I don't see any.. she sighed dejectedly. Maybe I can ask someone! she piped up, scanning the crows for any players. 

She spotted a purple haired girl and sprinted over to her. She looks nice, maybe she knows some info around here. "Hey! Excuse me! Do y-" she lost her footing along the way, tripping in front of the player. "Oof! Dang, that would've hurt a lot in the the world," she muttered to herself, slowly rising up. Forgetting the other player was there, her eyes widened and she bowed apologetically. "Ah sorry, I was being really clumsy there!" she gave a bright smile and held out her hand. "My names Spangie!" 

@Arabelle

[Arabelle 0]

It was a nice, sunny day and Arabelle was definitely not wasting it on quests unless something with good rewards came her way. Which, actually, had a pretty low possibility of happening. Most quests were player-initiated, but she did hear of some that just...randomly happened without any warning. That was reserved for the higher floors, though. Hopefully. Because the purple-haired girl was pretty adamant with just slacking off for today.

Dressed in casual clothes that consisted of a long-sleeved cream colored blouse and brown denim shorts, she wandered around the busy streets of the Town of Beginnings, looking for something fun to do. She found herself standing in front of an NPC merchant's stall at some point, but fled quickly before it could start offering her stuff she might end up buying. Her wallet had already suffered enough as it is. Arabelle was just about to move to a different--quieter--part of the town, when an opportunity to socialize presented it to her.

In the form of a blonde-haired girl who tripped on her feet as she approached. Arabelle mirrored the clumsy girl's bright smile. "That's alright~" she reassured. If this were one of her friends, no doubt she would be teasing them about their clumsiness already. But...stranger boundaries. "My name's Arabelle!" she offered, also mirroring the blonde girl's cheerful tone. While she was a bit clumsy, Spangie seemed like a person she could easily get along with. "Oh, but since my name's a bit long, you can just call me Ara. Or Belle. Or Da--ahem." Gosh, she almost let her real name slip back there. She looked at Spangie, a bit sheepishly, knowing the other girl would probably have noticed her near-mistake. "Were you going to ask me something?"

@Spangie

[Spangie 0]

Spangie raised a brow at the girls mistake but shrugged it off. "Its nice to meet you Ara!" she smiled. What did I come to ask her..? Darn I forgot again.. She rubbed her chin then pointed up at the sky. "Oh yeah! I wanted to ask you if you knew any good shops around her. My equipment is pretty crappy so I wanted to find a shop that sold stuff," she said sheepishly, finding it hard to admit she was such a low leveled player. Well I am.. I probably won't ever be as good as those front liners. she sighed but gave a reassuring smile. "You seem like a more experienced player than me so I just wanted to ask you," she gave a small laugh and fumbled with her fingers.

Wow, I am really making an idiot of myself, what am I doing? she gave a mental face palm but held her sweet smile. Maybe I shouldn't buy too much.. I wasted more than half of my Col for this cloak, I still have to gain some more.. she thought to herself. Aghhh! I'm thinking to much, my head hurts now! She huffed. "You don't have to if you don't want to though."

@Arabelle

 

[Arabelle 0]

The cheerful blonde was looking for equipment shops. Something Arabelle didn't have much intimate knowledge in, since she hadn't even bought enhanced equipment for herself yet. One more thing to add to her ever-expanding checklist of things to do. Gosh, she wished she'd started levelling earlier so she wouldn't be rushing everything now. "Shops...huh?" Arabelle brought her index finger to her lips and allowed her gaze to wander. NPC stalls, more NPC stalls, and more NPC stalls. And NPCs didn't even sell stuff that were half as good as player crafters. "Well, if you're looking for really good equipment, don't rely on NPC merchants. They're expensive, and you could get better stuff from players."

Then she paused and her cheeks turned a bit pink at the girl's compliment. "No...not really!" Arabelle said with a nervous laugh. She was good at taking compliments, only if they actually applied to her. "In fact I'm only level 1 as of now. I've been avoiding the outside for too long, I suppose."

Then, having gathered her thoughts, she continued speaking in a more serious, informed tone. "I haven't checked these shops myself, but the good ones seem to be a smithy owned by a guy named Macradon, a shop for light armor owned by another player named Hei, and an artisan shop owned by someone named Domarus," she said with a grin. "Oh, and also, I think the first two offer discounts for players under level 15. Pretty neat, don't you think?"

She allowed for Spangie to take all the information in, and repeated it to the girl if needed, before speaking again. "My turn to ask a question!" she piped up cheerfully. "If you wanna buy from them, can I come with you? I kind of want to check out those shops, too."

[Spangie 0]

"Ah.. I'm kind of on a tight budget," she laughed nervously. "I got something from Hei not too long ago and it did quite a number on my Col amount," her fingers tangled in her hair. I need to find some way to get money fast. she thought,  maybe open a shop? she shook her head and sighed. She listened to Arabelle's question intently and nodded her head. "Of course! I would love to have a shopping buddy!" she squealed and clapped her hands together. "I'll totally message you if I want to shop, but I think I might pass for today and try to gain some money," she laughed awkwardly. I am kinda hungry though, food shouldn't be that expensive compared to gear though. she poked her chin and shrugged. "I can eat, maybe we can find a café to grab a bite to eat, then we can talk more there? Sound good to you?" she leaned forward a bit and smiled at the player. 

I haven't interacted with much girls, I can finally have someone to relate to! she thought excitedly. Maybe something will happen after all..

@Arabelle

[Arabelle 0]

Spangie mentioned something about a tight budget and Arabelle found herself grinning. "Same here!" she said. "Though most of it was me spending a bit too much on lodgings and food. And yeah, if you were gonna ask, I'm that type of person."

Then the blonde-haired girl offered to bring her a café, and Arabelle, being the sociable person she was, jumped at the opportunity. Maybe this would be an enjoyable day, after all. Sure, she'd talked to people a lot, but met none as bright and cheerful as the girl standing before her now. It was like a breath of fresh air, compared to the depressed faces she'd seen standing around. "Sounds good to me," Arabelle replied, doing a slight bounce on her heels in excitement. She was evidently a lot different from her bored and somewhat tired self earlier. "I actually know a nice café nearby. Cheap prices, but good stuff. Follow me!"

With that, she turned and walked in the direction of the café with her newfound friend following her. Arabelle opened her map and set a green marker on the destination, letting it hover in front of her for a minute before dismissing it. Granted, she'd been to that café quite a few times, but she could never be too sure with her severe lack of directional ability. The purple-haired girl turned to her companion and started up a conversation. "So, Spangie. What brought you to SAO?"

@Spangie

[Spangie 0]

"I can feel the same way," Spangie gave a giggle. "I literally have to restrain myself from buying things," she gave a small smile. It is actually pretty hard to restrain myelf from buying all that food. She chuckled to herself.

Ara went on about how she knew a nice café nearby. "Really? That sounds great, I'm taking your word this is a nice café," she smiled gleefully and followed Ara through the town. The violet haired player turned to her and asked why she was in SAO. She scratched her head. "Oh, I was never here for gaming purposes," she laughed nervously. "My parents got me this game because I loved doing art, and I've heard that this game had fantastic scenery-- which it does-- but yeah, that's basically it," she shrugged. "What about you?" she reverted the question back to her companion. 

She twirled around gleefully as they walked. It feels nice to talk to someone, maybe I can hang out with Ara more often.

@Arabelle

[Arabelle 0]

"So you came here for art purposes?" Arabelle repeated, a bit surprised at the girl's backstory. It wasn't every day she met a person who played the game for something other than...you know, gaming purposes. "That's--that's pretty cool, Spangie! I never pegged you as the artist type." Then, as if to confirm, she gave the blonde a quick once-over. "No wait, now that I know, you do look like the artistic type. You should show me your drawings sometime. And I'll play you a song in return. I'm pretty confident in my piano skills~"

Arabelle stopped walking for a bit, as if contemplating what to say. If Spangie would look back, she would notice a blank look on the girl's face, maybe even a hint of sadness. When Arabelle started speaking, though, voice was cheerful as ever. "Typical reasons," she began. "I heard about this upcoming virtual reality game from my friends and I just had to check it out. You know, SAO was a huge hype beast. Gamers everywhere wanted to try it, and I remember my friend saying a bunch of people got in to a fight over line placements...or something."

The two girls arrived at the café, and luckily, there weren't much players around. Arabelle skipped toward her usual seat, a table for two beside the store window, and sat down. "Caramel frappe. Non coffee-based," she recited right after the waitress asked for her order. Then she absent-mindedly flipped through the menu (which she had all but memorized already. which was weird, since if she could barely remember directions, then why could she remember three-page menus?) as Spangie gave her order.

@Spangie

[Spangie 0]

"Yup!" she chirped. "I really wish I can show them, too bad they don't have any sketchbooks here, I think," she mumbled the last part. I really wish I had mine. "Oh, you're musical, I wouldn't picture that easily," she joked, nudging her with her elbow. "Yeah, I was in Europe when I first heard about it. And I am certainty impressed with it though. So were you a gamer too? You know before you got SAO," she cocked her head. I guess people can have a bunch of different hobbies. she told herself. I guess I did kinda like cooking back at home. she smiled to herself at the though of home. 

Once they arrived at the café, Spangie sat down on a chair in front of Ara. The waitress came up to them and the purple haired player ordered without even looking at the menu, she must go here a lot. she thought as she skimmed through the menu. "Uh.. I'll have the green iced tea please," she said, smiling at the waiter. "Sweetened too, thank you!" she chirped, setting down her menu. "So, what have you been doing since SAO started?" she said brightly, attempting to start a conversation.

@Arabelle

 

[Arabelle 0]

"Well, I wouldn't consider myself a gamer," Arabelle leaned forward and propped her elbows on the table. "I mean, whenever someone says 'gamer,' I think of someone who dedicates lots of time to playing games and is real good at it. And gaming is just a thing I resort to whenever I have nothing else to do or when one of my friends want me to play a game with them. But I did try a fair amount of MMOs before this one, so I at least have some basic knowledge." 

As it always was with this café, their orders arrived after only a minute of waiting. Arabelle gratefully accepted her frappe and sipped from her cup, intently watching Spangie try out her drink. Once the other girl had taken a sip, Arabelle smiled knowingly. Because she'd invited lots of players to this place already, and maybe 99.9% of them loved the café's cold beverages. "So, what do you have to say about your drink, Miss @Spangie?" she asked in a strangely formal and uppity tone. Her playful smirk implied that she was just teasing, though.

The purple-haired player leaned back on her chair, relishing the taste of her favorite beverage. It hadn't been more than a week since she last came here but she enjoyed it as much as she did during the first time she ordered from this café. "What I've been doing? Well, the past six months, I've been trying to help the other players through crafting. Though since performers' songs don't hold as much demand as other crafts, like weapons and armor, I haven't been able to up my craft level yet. You should visit some time. I'll let you listen to a song or two."

Self-advertising at its finest. Though, to remain a bit more subtle about it, Arabelle decided to ask the blonde the same question. "And you? What have you been doing?"

[WC: 319]

[OOC Note: Ara doesn't actually have the profession yet, still need to finish the quest for that. But on her character timeline, she's been crafting for a long time already. It's more of me keeping her IC than giving her an advantage though.]

[Spangie 0]

Spangie leaned back in her chair and gave a soft sigh. "I had no knowledge of games at before I got here so everything is still new to me," she gave a light chuckle when she finished. "You probabaly have more knowledge than me, even when we get out of here," she gave a chuckle. I never considered gaming as a hobby though.

Once the waitress had arrived with their drinks, Spangie happily accepted them. "Thank you!" she glowed at the waitress. The waitress returned the smile and left shortly after. She look at her drink with a bubbly expression and took a sip out of it. "This is honestly better than what I've had at home," she gave a small laugh at Ara's teasing tone. "Why I think it's  lovely my good dear," she said in a similar voice. 

"Woah that's so cool, you gotta have guts to help random people here y'know?" she said, twirling her straw around. "I'll definitly do that sometimes! I plan on opening a small cafe soon and you should totally come!" she said gleefully.

She clenched her cup with her hands as Ara reveresed the question back to her. "To tell you the truth, I was pretty traumatized when Kayaba announced his true intentions. I was sulking in a few ins for a while but then I decided that it wasn't going to do me any good. So not too long ago I started going out and doing quests," she realized she has been holding her breath the whole time and finally exhaled.

@Arabelle

Edited February 26, 2018 by Spangie

[Arabelle 0]

Absentmindedly swinging her (short) legs while sipping her drink, Arabelle took note of Spangie's reaction as the girl answered her question. The blonde felt guilty about being scared, maybe. "Hey, that's okay," the purple-haired girl reassured, placing her drink back down on the table. She still retained her cheerful tone, though it was a bit subdued. "I didn't do anything for a long time, too. It's been two years since then, so I suppose I'd been sitting around for around one-and-a-half year." She gave the other girl a sheepish smile, though she was a bit worried at how @Spangie would react. People who were currently feeling negative emotions, even just a bit, were the hardest to predict. "And hey, at least you're moving forward. You're doing way better than before, right?"

She leaned back and grinned at Spangie. Hopefully, the other girl felt better now. Or if she didn't have that problem in the first place, Arabelle would've totally made a fool of herself by assuming. Now that she thought about it, she should have asked first. Well. Whatever. Spangie didn't look like the judgmental type. "Say, Spangie, are you in a guild?" Arabelle asked, picking up her drink again.

[WC: 200]

Edited February 26, 2018 by Arabelle

[Spangie 0]

Spangie smiled as Ara tried to reassure her. "I guess we've both been sitting around," she admitted, a small chuckle followed it. Her grip on her cup loosened as she calmed down. She gave an assuring smile to the purple haired girl letting her know that she was indeed fine. "Oh, I'm definitely doing better," she took another small sip for her cup. "I swear, I didn't even know how to open my menu when the game first came out," she joked, toying with the straw. "But to answer your question, yes, I am doing wayy better than before," a grin formed on her face.

Spangie's tensed shoulder relaxed as she leaned forward and propped an elbow on the table. The cafés here aren't bad, maybe I should ask them for advice on how to start one.. she zoned out, looking down at the table. Regaining her thoughts when Ara asked if she was in ad guild or not. She shook her hands and gave a small giggle. "No, so far I've been going it solo. The guilds around here those days are pretty tough, and I don't think I have the guts to even kill a mid level boss," she said sheepishly, poking the tips of her fingers together. pretty weak compared to most people.. She sighed at the thought and took another mouthful from her drink.

@Arabelle

[Arabelle 0]

"Well, that's understandable," Arabelle said in reply to @Spangie's statement about guilds. "I've been looking for a guild myself, but most of them weren't very noob-friendly. As in, most if not all of the members are about level 20 or so. And joining in would only make me feel out of place since they're so high-leveled already..." Her voice faded as she unintentionally focused on another line of thought.

Then a few moments later, she suddenly started speaking again. "It would be nice to have a bunch of people to rely on, though~," the purple-haired girl said with a grin. "I mean, the guilds I've observed before...they all seemed very close. Like family, even. Guess that comes with fighting alongside other players for a really long time. Well, I guess that's another reason why I don't want to join. I'd feel like I'm intruding, or something, since they're all so closely-knit already."

[WC: 152]

Edited March 5, 2018 by Arabelle

[Spangie 0]

"Heheh.. I get you fully, they all honestly look super skilled," she gave a small laugh but nodded her head, "low leveled guilds aren't as easy to find these days.." she replied, trailing off. Would it be easier to join a guild? Hoe do they even work? She sighed and took another small sip of her drink, the sweetness of it soothed her. She lost her train of thought and ended up staring blankly at her cup. Do guilds make this easier? Easier to cope with being in this game?

She then realized that Ara had stopped talking, only for the purple haired girl to tal once more. "You're right'" Spangie gave a curt nod and smiled, "It must be nice to have someone you could trust like that here," she said, her voice a little sad. "It's hard not to trust anyone here.. death basically lurks at every corner y'know?" she said, leaning back in her chair. "Sorry to be an old mood pooper," she giggle, a small smile appearing on her lips.

@Arabelle

[Arabelle 0]

Arabelle leaned back on her chair. She tilted her neck and lifted her eyes to stare blankly at the café's beige ceiling. Nice to have someone to trust. But it's hard to actually trust someone. Death lurks everywhere. Trust, trust, trust. Gosh, it was hard to understand the concept of that one word. "I get that," Arabelle said quietly. "Like you want to rely on someone, but you don't know who. And you don't want to take that first step because if you trust someone, they could take advantage of it. It's like giving them a knife and hoping they wouldn't stab you, knowing that they have the capacity to do so anytime." Uh-oh. Now she was being the 'old mood pooper'. "But! If you don't ever take the first step, you'd be forever alone and stuff," Arabelle exclaimed with a knowing smile. "And that's kind of sad."

"Speaking of forever alone..." Arabelle leaned forward and smirked playfully. There was one thing girls always talked about, and she was about to bring it up. "@Spangie, how's your love life? Come on, don't be shy~."

[WC: 184]

[Spangie 0]

"Yeah, I guess trust doesn't come too easy in this game, huh.." she crossed her arms and gave a small chuckle. I guess I just talk to random people though, I never guessed that some of them may be dangerous.. she sighed to herself. "Yeah.. that's true I guess," she grinned, taking another sip from her cup. I take the first step.. even if it's the most stupidest one you've ever seen. She smiled to herself. I guess I am kinda weird.

Spangie's face became the color equivalent to a tomato instantly. "W-wha?! Nonono, I'm not interested in anyone.." she sighed, looking off in the other direction. "And I doubt that anyone is interested in me," she gave a forced laugh and pointed to herself. "I mean who would want to date this?" I haven't even ever thought about dating, much less about relationships.

@Arabelle

Edited March 5, 2018 by Spangie

[Arabelle 0]

Arabelle smirked playfully at @Spangie's flustered reaction. The blonde's face had turned red and for maybe a few moments, she found it hard to speak properly. Girls always had the cutest reactions to that certain question, boys not so much. Arabelle propped her elbows on the table, casually swinging her legs on the chair as her new friend babbled on about her lack of love life. Frankly, it wasn't something that was on Arabelle's mind either. She liked messing around, but never let it get too far. She was more of a matchmaker than anything. 

Arabelle decided to prod a bit more. "Well, everyone has their preferences," she responded in a singsong tone. "You'll never know~. Come on, Angie." The purple-haired girl placed her half-empty drink aside and leaned forward so that she was almost halfway across the small café table, but because of her height she had to stand on the chair's stretcher and it tipped forward dangerously. "Not even a type or anything? I'll tell you mine~, though it'll have to stay between us girls, 'kay?" Arabelle grinned and held out her hand for a pinky swear. 

[WC: 189]

[Spangie 0]

Realizing that she had finished her tea, she set it off to the side. Her chest heaved a great sigh and she gave a small smile, her cheeks tinted pink. "I've never been in a date, much less a relationship so I don't know how those things work," she shrugged, having herself a small chuckle. Considering a relationship has been taboo for me, never have I thought bout it. She thought with a sad sigh, what would you even do in a relationship, sure you would have someone to share everything with but still. She raised an eyebrow at her own question.

Spangie shrugged and giggled. "Maybe, but it kinda doubt it'd be anytime soon, I'm still young," she plopped her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her palms. She giggled and shrugged again. "Types? I dunno. I would like sweet guys or something," she held out her pinky finger and hooked it around the girls. "Lips sealed."

@Arabelle

Edited March 8, 2018 by Spangie

[Arabelle 0]

@Spangie told her she liked sweet guys. Arabelle puffed out her cheeks and harrumphed. "That's unfair. All guys are--" a certain blue-haired man who somehow never smiled at her silly jokes came to mind. Just remembering his monotonous tone and apprehensiveness towards her when they first met brought about a mix of annoyance and misplaced curiosity. "Heh. Right." Arabelle agreed to herself with a smirk. But now that her blonde friend had said her part, now it was time for Arabelle for share. "Hmm, type in guys," the purple-haired girl mused. The personalities of her crushes varied, but she remembered having a certain ideal in mind back when she was still in her romance-novel-binge-reading phase. "I would like someone I have a history with, but that doesn't count. I suppose I prefer the quiet, artistic type. You know, the type who's super creative and has lots of ideas in his mind? Definitely not the broody ones, though."

The short-statured girl leaned back on her seat and was about to pry just a little bit more, but then was interrupted by the ping of a notification. Arabelle swiped her menu open and a new message popped up. "Say, Angie. It was nice talking to you and all, but I think I have to go now," she began. Arabelle turned up the brightness, just so the girl across her could see the length of the PM sent to her, then quickly turned it back down. "Duty calls~. Need to go talk to an informant, and they're typically the type who gets bored and leaves once you're running late. Friend request?" As she spoke, a friend request popped up in front of Spangie, and Arabelle stood up. Once her new friend accepted the request, Arabelle started out of the cafe with a little wave. "Thanks for talking. Let's go out and do a quest some time?"

 [WC: 313]