[PP-F22] Bittersweet (Tricolor_Mina)

[Morgenstern 1]

The evening sun hungover the horizon, casting its orange hue on the lake of reflection. A slight breeze moved through the air, rustling the leaves on the trees. Amidst the beauty was a streak of yellow as a man stood in front of it, gazing at its reflection. Once upon a time, he stood here questioning what to do next, no he questioned what choices he had made and searched his soul for the glimmer of hope that still remained despite the darkness that overcome it. 

Morgenstern adorned a yellow haiku, one that covered a black armor speckled with orange. On his left hit sat a katana his demonic weapon, Raikiri. An orange cursor circled over his head as he had not taken the time to go and do the redemption quest yet. He had just one place he needed to go beforehand. The waterfall. He was here to reflect, than face what he reflected, than take on the quest and show that he took being a better player serious. He wouldn't make the same mistake again. Behind him, the fallen Ascendants, Elsea, and Hazado. In front, the future. 

@tricolor_mina

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina had silently arrived to the location, her eyes scanning out around the area, probing for any potential dangers to herself. Normally, she wouldn't go out this far up into the floors of the floating castle that everyone here called their prison, but she figured that a change of pace would be a much-needed respite from the hectic scene in the lower floors. She wasn't going to be able to handle that kind of thing for very long, and she knew it. She loved to help out others, but she knew that it was necessary to take a break every so often. Such was the reason she got brought here today, she reasoned. She was wearing a simple black turtleneck, with a long red and white skirt, and a small pink jacket that barely came down to her ribs. Her new weapon, Jack's burned Lament, was sitting in it's sheathe, swaying slightly in a faint breeze.

She noticed a blonde haired player staring at their reflection in the water, when she stopped dead as she saw the orange cursor, giving her a start. She placed her hand on the pommel of her weapon, a nervous look on her face at first... until she saw some familiarity in that person. she vividly remembered sitting down and chatting with him before, remembered relaxing with him at the shop of their best friend's, and drinking to good health. She remembered sitting in guild meetings and having parties with him. One of her closest friends in this game, save for itzal... She called out to the blond player, reaching out the hand that had briefly hovered over her weapon, as if she were attempting to touch him.

"... Jon..?"

@Morgenstern

[Morgenstern 1]

He stared down at the water for some time, sitting in silence. He was almost completely lost in thought when a rustle was heard behind him. Instintively, his hand reached for his katana. Thanks to his training with Baldur, he could pull out the weapon within a flash if needed to. He could be prepared to defend almost a the same time that the attacker would know that he knew of their presence. Just before he released the weapon and all of its horror on the player in self-defense, he heard the source speak. 

"... Jon..?"

His eyes widened as he spun around, shocked. "Mina? What are you doing here?" He didn't think she was wearing combat gear as she wore a skirt with a light pink jacket. It had been forever since he had seen the girl, since even before the Fall of the Ascendants. She had been one of the members of that guild and he believed she wasn't there when it all happened. He swallowed, worried of what the girl would say. She hadn't known why he had the orange cursor, and she might hate him for it. It was the opposite thing of what he stood for. If she hated him, he would take it. There was nothing to excuse what he had done and what he hadn't done for her and the rest of the guild. For the first time, she was the one that ranked above him. He was the murderer, the outcast. He was no longer her superior. 

"Im just, looking at the water. It's... pretty at this time of day" 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina saw Jon turn around swiftly at the sound of her voice, his eyes wide with shock and fear. Well, that certainly wasn't the effect she'd wanted to go for. She didn't want to make him freak out, or worse, run away. This was the first time in months that she'd been able to meet up with him again, and she would be damned if she tossed that aside because both of them were scared. She refused to run away, to shun him. It was so painfully obvious that he had changed from the bright and cheery guy she had met alongside the rest of her old guildmates. She missed those days, hell, she regretted not spending enough time with everyone. Everyone else seemed to have gone their own separate ways. She just didn't want him to run away like he'd done so many times in recent memory. Every time she'd tried to say something to him, he'd run away... It hurt, but she figured that it was because he'd been hurting inside. He asked her why she was here, calling out to her from where he was standing. she didn't respond, her hair hiding her face initially, her entire body shaking like a leaf.

Then, he'd turned to face the water once more, before saying he was just looking at the water, saying that it was pretty this time of day. Her breath hitched in her throat, before she managed to let out a response, barely loud enough to be audible. "...I-I... I'm... I'm here to..." her mind couldn't form a proper response, she was just being thrown around by her emotions. Without even really thinking, she launched herself forward, running towards Jon. 'I can do this!' Memories from their old encounters with each other and their guildmates. 'I can do this!' she sped up slightly, before tackling Jon into a hug. "I-I'm here because I needed to talk to you! I won't let you run away this time!" she cried out, burying her face in his shoulder as she hugged him. They wouldn't be knocked into the water due to the force of the hug.

@Morgenstern

[Morgenstern 1]

Mina had been one of the many apprentices of his guild, and before the Uprising began to intefere with it it had been a nice quiet time. Hanging out with friends at the guild hall, talking about adventures they had, stipulations of floors to come. As he gazed back to the water, he would hear Mina speak, but it was too soft to hear. Within the next second, she was racing towards him, covering the short distance between them in an instant. He turned back to her in just enough time to have her slam into his body. Luckily, her small size didn't have enough force to actually move him. She burrowed herself deep within his shoulder. She would wrap her arms around his body, his eyes widening as she did. "I-I'm here because I needed to talk to you! I won't let you run away this time!" 

The warmth from her presence reminded him... reminded him of someone else. The hug was kind and comforting, a warmth that he didn't even know he desired. A tear came to his eye as he felt his crushing guilt lift even if just for a moment. "I... I-I am through with running." he would assure her, locking his arms around her shoulders to keep her in place. He leaned his chin down to the top of her head, resting it there. He wasn't exactly sure what was happening, but one thing he was certain of. Whatever she was giving him right at that moment, he was absolutely starved of it. "What did you want to tell me?" he asked in a hushed voice. 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina heard jon reassure her that he was through with running, through with leaving. She felt relief, and hugged him closer, though she freed her head so she could look up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "I... I wanted to be able to see you again, without you leaving me behind..." she said, locking her gaze into his. "I just... I can't handle being alone like I've been lately, without any of you. You, Itzal, Kasier... all of you left me behind, intentional or not..." She thought over to the shadowy figures of Kasier and Itzal, and the brighter light of Domarus... She almost laughed at the irony of it all. The guy who once ruined people's lives, and acted like an egotistical prick ended up turning out to be more of a beacon of light than the person that she was hugging at the moment. Mina knew that things weren't ever going to be anywhere near the same as they were before, not unless they worked hard to make it that way.

She felt a tear run down her face as she thought about what she wanted to say next. She shuddered, before continuing. "... I guess I just... really, really missed you... " she said, a faint laugh escaping her throat towards the end of her sentence.

@Morgenstern

[Morgenstern 1]

As he assured her that he wasn't going anywhere, her embrace would tighten and she would look up at him with a smile. Her eyes glistening with tears from what he assumed was happiness. "I... I wanted to be able to see you again, without you leaving me behind..." Their gazes locked and he though to himself. 'Did I just move on without thinking of the rest of the surviving members? Is that what happened? I left them with nothing? I failed all of them even more than I realized.' "I just... I can't handle being alone like I've been lately, without any of you. You, Itzal, Kasier... all of you left me behind, intentional or not..."  He would look down at her with a smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you would ever want to see me. I failed everyone in the guild including you. I have done some terrible things that don't settle well with me." He hated having to admit that he had did something worse than anyone else could have imagined. He killed out of greed, not self defense or purpose. 

"... I guess I just... really, really missed you... " She gave off a faint laugh that made him smile. He missed it too. He missed the Ascendants and the happy, family they all were. He moved one arm from being wrapped around her and wiped her falling tear with it. "Please don't cry. I'm already having to work hard enough to keep myself together. I've been through more than you can imagine. I missed you too. I miss everyone. I miss seeing Itzal, Kasier, you, Hikoru, Sey, everyone there at the guild." 

He looked down at her. "I'm sorry for not being there and leaving you while I dealt with my own problems. What could I do to make it up to you? I'm trying to clear all debts I owe, even the smaller ones." 

[tricolor_mina 0]

"I'm sorry, I didn't think you would ever want to see me. I failed everyone in the guild including you. I have done some terrible things that don't settle well with me." Mina frowned when she heard him say that. She knew that he'd gotten rather depressed and dark during the fall of the CA, and that he'd done something to earn himself a perma orange cursor that hadn't gone away. She just hadn't expected him out of all of them to get one. Jon was always the brighter member of the CA aside from Itzal, though there was the fact that he also had his own demons... 'Guess that shows just how oblivious I am...' she thought to herself, tears still dripping down her face. 

"Please don't cry. I'm already having to work hard enough to keep myself together. I've been through more than you can imagine. I missed you too. I miss everyone. I miss seeing Itzal, Kasier, you, Hikoru, Sey, everyone there at the guild." Mina let out a snort of amusement, gently headbutting him in the chest after he spoke. "Dummy, these are happy tears." she said, shaking her head as a lopsided grin crossed her face. "Nothing beats a good cry when you need to vent, or get something off your chest! If you need to vent, I'm here to listen." She wiggled free a moment later, and stepped back a bit to admire his outfit before she heard Jon speak again. "I'm sorry for not being there and leaving you while I dealt with my own problems. What could I do to make it up to you? I'm trying to clear all debts I owe, even the smaller ones." mina blinked, before opening her inventory to fish something out. "well for starters, Jon... care to share a drink with me while I come up with something..?" she asked, holding up a bottle of what seemed to be a fancy wine, and a few crystalline wine glasses. "I managed to nab this from an inn a while back, and I need someone to have it with me... It's kinda a bit much for one person to drink alone, and it's pretty good tasting." She had a faint smile on her face as she spoke.

[Morgenstern 1]

As he asked her not to cry for his own sake, he would feel a pound on his chest from her head and a laughing noise would emit from the girl. "Dummy, these are happy tears." He would involuntarily smile. "Sorry, not the best at reading people other than Itzal yet." he would say with a chuckle. "Nothing beats a good cry when you need to vent, or get something off your chest! If you need to vent, I'm here to listen." he would smile. "Thanks, but I think i'm done with venting for a while. I just need a break from everything for a bit" he would tell her. He had been facing everything that he had done wrong for several days. He was mentally and physically exhausted from it all. She freed herself from his grasp, looking at him. As he asked her what he could do to make it she answered almost immediately. "Well for starters, Jon... care to share a drink with me while I come up with something..?" His eyes would widen. He wasn't exactly the correct age for drinking, but since they had removed the drunken status effect, he supposed it wouldn't hurt him. He also didn't want to admit his age to a girl he had no idea of the age of. "Ummm... sure. I've got no problems with it" He sat and watched as she produced a few items from her inventory. 'What is she coming up with though? What is the something?' he would sit back on the ground, the sun reflection off the water casting a brilliant light on the scene. It was a gorgeous setting. 

Ignoring the fact that it sounded like she had stolen the drink, he would place his hand on the bottle, giving it a slight tug to notion her to let go. When given the bottle, he would fill the two glasses before replacing the cork in the bottle and leaning back to sit down. He brought his own poured glass to his lips and quickly tasted it. It had a good taste, but he wasn't fond of the aftertaste. "Other than taking random fancy wines, what has been going on with you?" he would ask her to keep the conversation going. 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina snorted with laughter when Jon mentioned that he was still garbage at reading people. "Jeez man, I don't think you're that oblivious, you just need some pointers!" she wheezed, holding her stomach with laughter. when he mentioned that he was good on the venting front, she gave him a pointed look. "Don't put it off for too long, Jon. What happened to you isn't the kind of S**t you sit on for too long, especially if you actually did what I think you did..." she said, shaking her head as she spoke. "Oh Kami, I know I'd be more of a wreck than I am now if I didn't talk to someone. Probably wouldn't have lasted here this long, that's for sure."

Mina blinked in confusion when Jon asked her what she had been doing while he'd been away, before she took a long drink out of her glass. "Well... I've been slowly getting levels up, doing quests, the usual kind of things." She said happily, thinking back to when she started up that questline with Domarus a while back, a fond smile on her face. "I made a new friend after I took a dive off a cliff, and I've been hanging out with him for a while now. To be honest, I didn't actually expect to befriend him after my initial opinion on the guy, but eh. Guess I learned not to judge a book by it's cover, ne?" She laughed quietly, a wistful smile on her face. "He's not you or Itzal though, I miss hanging out with you two! One day when Itzal works through his issues, we need to get together and have some fun, just like old times!"

[Morgenstern 1]

"Jeez man, I don't think you're that oblivious, you just need some pointers!" She would laugh hysterically, confusing Jonathan a little bit. 'I don't think I am that funny. Its been a while, maybe this is hows she always been and its the first time I've noticed' he thought to himself. After he mentioned that he was ine with venting, she would tell him, Don't put it off for too long, Jon. What happened to you isn't the kind of S**t you sit on for too long, especially if you actually did what I think you did..." He looked at her plainly. 'Its quite obvious what I've done. The only question is, how can you sit here and laugh with me as if nothing happened? How can you just forgive me outright?' She mentioned talking to someone herself. He wanted to say something, but no words came to mind. It was his fault she had to go through it in the first place. He couldn't protect the guild and allowed it to crumble. 

His attention was gathered when he heard about her new friend and she was with him quite a bit. He couldn't help but feeling a twang of annoyance, but he wasn't sure of the source. "Yeah, books and covers. Learned that recently." he said nonchalantly. He was happy to hear her say that he wasn't him or Itzal and she wanted all of them to hang out again. 'Yeah, I don't think thats gonna be happening. At least anytime soon. Mr.Edge is playing Bounty Hunter.' He would flash the girl a smile. "Yeah, that would be great. He'll get through soon and then we can hang out. Maybe even get Kasier and Hikoru to hang with us. It would be just like old times. Even if Kasier didn't talk too much and Hikoru was normally busy" If he recalled, Kasier hung out there to be next to Itzal, and that was the only reason. He took another drink of his Wine, hoping that Mina would bring up the next topic of conversation. 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina downed the rest of her glass when Jon mentioned that he was more than aware that it wasn't ok to judge books by their covers, before flashing a smile at her that set her heart into nervous fluttering, and caused a faint blush to dust her cheeks. "To be honest though, I... I'm not even sure what's going to happen anymore..." she said quietly, her expression suddenly changing to a somber one. "I've been so focused on worrying myself half to death about you two that I would've made myself sick had this been the real world." She looked up at him, her eyes dark with sadness when he mentioned that they could meet up all together at some point. "I know you guys disappeared for a reason, but to completely drop off the face of the earth and flat out ignore messages from friends, and stop talking to the people you care for..? Reminds me too much of what almost happened to me IRL, but thats... not exactly something that I think you'd want to hear..." 'Probably the last thing he'd want to hear from me, too...' she thought, pouring herself another glass of the wine, silently drinking it while she quickly became lost in her thoughts.

[Morgenstern 1]

He watched as her face quickly changed, the rapid changing almost confused with it. Her face seemed become slightly more pink for a second and then quickly became somber. "I've been so focused on worrying myself half to death about you two that I would've made myself sick had this been the real world." His smile faded, become a mixture of confusion and worry. He had done that. She was the walking example of how even the smallest actions had large impacts. "I know you guys disappeared for a reason, but to completely drop off the face of the earth and flat out ignore messages from friends, and stop talking to the people you care for..?" He grit his teeth. "I'm sorry. I had turned off the messaging feature entirely for a good period of time. I also had disabled the friend list so I couldn't be tracked by anyone. I was so far lost, I didn't want to be found." he would state plainly. He skipped over the part that he had wanted to die himself for some time. 

When she mentioned the real life, his eyes became full of concern as he looked at her. He took a slow and steady sip of his drink before he scooted closer until their legs were touching. "Remember what you said about talking to people? If something from that world is still holding you down, I think you need to let it out." as he looked her, he would give her an encouraging smile and subconsciously wishing that she would just curl up to him and tell him absolutely everything. 'So she didn't have the best life out there either? I wonder if she came her to escape as well.'

[tricolor_mina 0]

mina deadpanned when Jon said that she was free to vent about her past, which nearly made her choke on her drink. "You sure about that Jon..?" she said, shock on her face. "No offense, but uhm... It's not exactly something that I'm proud of..." 'Probably shouldn't tell him I tried to kill myself a few times before I even got in here...' she thought morosely, looking down at the ground. She already figured that he'd killed someone, it was pretty much the only way someone would consistently have an orange cursor in the first place. 'Poor kid... probably wouldn't wish that on anyone, especially not a guy as sweet and awesome as he... is...?' mina froze for a few seconds, before her face slowly began to turn to a bright red color, her eyes wide. At this point she had no clue where her emotions were going to take her. In the span of mere minutes, they'd been all over the damn place... And she hated it desperately. 'What the hell, when did he go from being a friend to being someone I have a crush on?!' she thought, her face in her hands. 'I don't even know what to do now! There's no way in hell I'm recovering from that!'

[Morgenstern 1]

As he watched the girl closely, he noticed that she seemed befuddled that he would tell her that she could share her real life experiences. "No offense, but uhm... It's not exactly something that I'm proud of..." He grinned. "The last month of my life has been filled with things I'm not proud of. There is nothing that you could say that would make me think any less of you. You have to remember, everything that we do, everything that we've done, it affects who we are. Whatever happened, made you... well you." he honestly could not tell if having killed Elsea had changed him in anyway, he hadn't talked to as many people he supposed. 

He watched as the girl's face randomly became beet red and she buried it within her hands. One of his eyebrows raised as did his confusion. "Are you okay? You're not choking on the drink are you?" His face was filled with concern, but he had no idea what action to take. He remained frozen, starting at the girl's who's face as almost as red as her eyes. 'What is happening? Her mood swings are absolutely off the charts! Shes really happy, but is crying. Shes depressed, and then happy.... I can't keep up' he thought to himself. 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina's blush deepened more and more as she continued thinking, her mind missing what Jon was saying due to her flustered mental state. This was not what she learned in her negotiation lessons, and certainly not something that she'd ever really felt before. She felt her mind slowly melting from... something. She couldn't remember any time in recent memory that she'd ever felt anything remotely similar to love, other than for her friends and family... but, never, never like this. She tried to formulate a sentence that would let her express her current thoughts, but she kept stopping short as her mind kept getting sidetracked. She heard him say something about her possibly having choked on her drink. She nearly dropped her glass in bewildered embarrassment. "E-eh..? Y-you can't choke on things in the game Jon." she said weakly, her blush lessening slightly. "I... I think I actually figured out the favor I wanted to ask you... will you... will you go out on a date with me..?" she glanced towards the ground, not daring to look Jon in the eyes after her question. She figured he was probably going to say no, but she guessed that it would be a bit better to be obvious with her question, seeing as he was just as oblivious as she remembered.

[Morgenstern 1]

He watched as she turned towards him, her face a strange mixture of emotions that made him wonder if somewhere up her ancestry was a chameleon. 'It seems I have said the wrong thing' he thought to himself. "E-eh..? Y-you can't choke on things in the game Jon." Her blush faded a little bit, and he cracked up with laughter. "Well shoot, I must be pretty talented then" he noted aloud. He had choked on several various food items. A few moments of silence would ensue before she would break it. "I... I think I actually figured out the favor I wanted to ask you... will you... will you go out on a date with me..?" 

For a few moments, Jonathan's facial expression remained the same as it was before. Then it hit him. Immediately, his face would reach a hue that would match the girl's in front of him. "HUH"  is the first sound he would be able to produce. "A date? Like a date date? Like the kind that couples go on?" Flustered, the blond would lean back, away from the girl that sat just in front of him. 'Oh my god, what just happened? What do I do? What do I say?' A couple of seconds would ensue where he mentally screamed at himself. 

'Smooth Jonathan.' he would have to tell himself. His blush would fade and he would close his eyes and take a deep breath. "Mina. I think that would be lovely. I would love to go on a date with you." Having resorted to a battle mindset, he would calm himself and focus on his one target, removing all extra thoughts. An odd place to be using such a mindset, but he seemed to think that it would work phenomenally. 

[tricolor_mina 0]

Jon's laughter snapped her out of her utterly confused mental state, and it elicited a faint chuckle from herself, scratching her head in mild embarrassment..Mina blanched when she saw Jon go from being fairly neutral after her question, with the same smile from earlier plastered on his face, to a shade of red that was almost brighter than her eyes were, and spluttering with surprise. He questioned whether or not she was being serious at first, a pang of uneasiness running through her... then he said that he would love to go on a date with her. He actually agreed to do that with her..!? Her jaw dropped open, her eyes wide with shock. "W-wait, you mean it?! are you being serious jon?" she said, dropping her glass in shock, the crystalline object shattering into polygons after it hit the ground.. "Are you really willing to do that..?" 'I don't believe it, he actually said yes! HELL YEAH!' she thought excitedly, mentally pumping her fist into the air in victory.

[Morgenstern 1]

After he agreed to the date the girl's jaw dropped with shock as she looked at him in wild bewilderment. "W-wait, you mean it?! are you being serious jon?" he watched as her glass slipped from her hand and broke into several pixelated fragments. "Oh dear" he would state plainly. He would poke one the shards as it parted off into the air. He turned his attention back to the girl. "Are you really willing to do that..?" He would chuckle. "You do realize that its a double edged sword. You have to go one a date with me."  Putting on a smooth smile he would look away. "However. I'm sorry to say that It will have to be after a bit. There are some things that I need to take care of. I can't reciprocate your feelings appropriately unless I deal with those things. We can have the date afterwards, when and wherever". 

His heart patted along when he thought of what to do next. If there was anything he learned in the real world from google searching, it was to leave a girl wanting more. He would take a deep breath, remembering what Baldur had taught him to train his own emotions from getting out of hand. "I'll prove i'm willing" he leaned back forwards, putting his arms on each side of the girl that sat in front of him. He closed his eyes, pressing his lips to her own, holding it there for a few seconds. Afterwards, he would stand up and turn around. "It was good to see you" he would say, his voice slightly higher pitch than normal. He turned to hide the extremely red hue that covered his face. Afterwards, he would walk away from the area, leaving the girl to herself. 

-Jon exits the thread-

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina's expression changed to one of excitement when she saw that he was being genuinely serious, a wide smile breaking out on her face. She returned his smile with a lustful one, her red eyes locking into his amber ones. "Well, we have lots of time to figure that part out, ne?" she said softly, warmth flooding her body. For the first time in almost 10 years, she was legitimately Happy! She didn't have an underlying sadness to her thoughts, and she felt like her heart was on cloud nine with the rest of her mind...

Then her mind went straight to oblivion when he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her for several seconds before pulling back from her. Mina's eyes were wide with shock, her mouth an almost perfect O in shape. Mina raised up a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. 'He... kissed me..?!' she thought, a faint blush dusting her face. Meanwhile, just going off of the tone of his voice Alone, he was pretty embarrassed that he'd actually gone through with it. Needless to say, Violet was rather happy with the entire situation, and figured that it couldn't have gone much better than it did just now. She flicked open her menu to shoot a message off to Jon, before pulling out a crystal, and vanishing from the area in a sparkle of blue light.

 

Quote

To @Morgenstern

You know, I think I've been feeling like this towards you for a while now, i've just only recently gathered the courage to say something in person...
But that's not why I wrote this message out for you, is it..? No, I'm messaging you because I wanted to share something that you haven't heard from me. After all, what kind of date would it be if you didn't know my Actual name?

My real name is Violet, though if you want, you can still keep calling me mina like you always have, but I feel like you should know it since I know yours, right?
Well.. I guess that's all I really have to say to you in this for right now...

P.S: Thanks for giving me an excuse to kiss you next time we see each other~ It takes alot of guts to do that, Ne?