[PP-F16] <<The Swashbuckling Buccaneer>> A Rag-Tag Crew

[Teion 0]

"Dammit!" Teion cursed in between ragged breaths. She had been running for several minutes now, which was several minutes longer than she would have liked. A few generous paces ahead of her, the smaller frame of a younger player dashed through trees and thick brush alike, casting a hurried glance over their shoulder only once or twice. They wore a navy-blue hood, and a matching scarf with long, ragged tails dragged through the air behind them. Their armor was primarily made of leather, and minimalistic to both keep them from standing out in a crowd and allowing for a nice range of movement. By comparison, Teion's amethyst tunic, thigh-high boots, and the half-cut dark purple cloak that whipped behind her felt more like an outfit focused on its fashion rather than functionality. Even so, the soles of her boots pounded against the mixture of dirt and grass that covered the main island of the sixteenth floor. She was well outside of the borders of Zugaikotsushima, having chased the thief all the way from the village's main square thus far. The green cursor that spun above their head indicated that the mystery player hadn't done anything wrong, by Cardinal's standards. And although Teion had been watching them swipe things here and there from different NPC vendors for a good twenty minutes, it was what she spotted them doing with the items afterwards that had caused her to involve herself. "Just...quit...running, will you?!" She yelled at the player's back just as they broke through the edge of the sparse forest. They were nearing the edge of the island now, several docked ships lined the piers in the distance, and the hooded player seemed to be heading straight for them. Growling under her short breaths, Teion kept chasing.

Once they were close enough, the stranger ahead of her took every opportunity to get Teion off of their tail. Knocking down barrels and crates, and weaving past NPCs and other players, Teion had a hell of a time keeping up, and struggled not to lose them entirely behind each new barricade they fashioned. Dashing up a gangplank to one of the larger ships, they circled around the deck causing enough of a fuss for the few NPC guards in the area to finally take notice, shouting in their direction to stop their commotion. The thief rounded a corner, holding an arm out to swing themselves around one of the masts with their momentum, and Teion grit her teeth as she practically ran into the ship, pushing off of the solid wood to get herself back on course. Not colliding with any of the other people around had proved to be the most difficult part of her chase, and the stranger seemed to realize this. Passing by a blonde bystander, the thief reached out to grab a handful of the woman's long locks, giving it a swift tug to yank her into place. Teion scowled, trying to veer herself to the left in order to avoid running straight into Ruby, but in the seconds that everything happened the thief had finally managed to trip her up. The violette hadn't fully cleared her own path, and her right shoulder clipped Ruby's as she tried to pass in a hurry. Taking precious time to ensure their escape, the hooded player grasped at a free line of rigging and pushed off the left side of the ship. They swung around in a semi-circle while the two women bumped into each other, their momentum carried them around to Ruby's back. The balls of their feet crashed square in between the blonde's shoulderblades with enough force to have her crashing back into their pursuer. And, with Teion already dangerously close to the edge of the ship, its low railings would hardly be enough to keep her--or very likely, the both of them--from falling overboard.

@Ruby @Pinball

[Ruby 0]

Ruby had taken a few breaths of the ocean air as she had walked onto the docks on the sixteenth floor, she hadn't explored this floor at all and it certainly filled a hole in Ruby's heart as this scent was one that left her own memory. This scent reminds her of home, her father used to go fishing as a hobby and would occasionally bring both her mother and Ruby herself to go onto a fishing trip... however they never had ships as fancy as these are. Ruby could feel a bit of jealousy as she had continued to look at all the ships... however a the ever growing question had been festering in her mind trying to figure out how much a ship like this would even cost both in the real world and in this one. However with a bit of a breathe she had figured it had time to stop looking around at all of the ships and get back to business which was the growth of level Ruby needs to accomplish.

However as she had turned from the ocean she had looked to see a purple haired woman chase green crystal players, Ruby had looked forward with a bit of a blink thinking to herself "Why in the world are green players in a bit of a chase right now?" she had pondered the moment, however she had broke back to the world once one of them had grabbed onto her hair "H-hey, I am not apart of you bus-" before she could finish speaking he had moved her in front of the purple haired player. The player had slammed into her back, as she had been stopped the player had then pushed them backward. Ruby had tried to stabilize her balance, however she had failed and the two had fell to the ocean. As she had submerged underwater she had looked over to the other player and grabbed her arm to make sure she was going to make it to the surface and she herself had began to swim to the surface. 

[Pinball 1]

It wasn't unusual for Pinball to visit the 16th Floor. Though hot and usually filled with people either taking vacations or just looking for a brief respite from the grind of an MMO, the islands' beaches reminded him of life before SAO and life before Japan. He wasn't particularly social during his visits. Oftentimes, he'd just do a lap around the outskirts of Zugaikotsushima, and then promptly return home to his shop, where he'd sleep for another four hours. On occasion he'd find himself filled with wanderlust. On these days, he'd rent a boat and explore one of the smaller islands that dotted the map. Once he'd decided to see how far he could swim out into the ocean before having to use a Teleportation Crystal to get back (it wasn't very far). Another time he had tried spearfishing on the pier, and ended up falling into the ocean. Today was a boat day. 

After taking his lap around the island, a lazy Pinball found himself on the docks. As usual, there were several boats hitched to the pier, and a good amount of NPC workers going about their day. Pinball was trying to decide which ship to board when the crashing of crates stole his attention. Two players engaged in a chase of some sort. They weaved around Pinball, leaving him to watch as their antics carried them onboard to a nearby ship. It was almost like it was out of a movie scene. The hooded man managed to swing around, kicking the pursuer and a bystander overboard. Jesus! Pinball scrambled onto the deck and over to the railing, glancing over his shoulder at where the man with the scarf just was. Worried, Pinball called out to the two in the water. "Uhh, h-hey! Are you guys alright?"