[PP-F1] ....Friends

[Mari 1]

There she sat; upon the edge of a hill, if she were to fall here - she’d sustain damage, but not die. Here… Mari was able to overlook the expansive Town of Beginnings, it reached beyond the horizon- where the sun was slowly rising. Bathing her entire field of vision with a warm amber glow, it was almost as wonderful as the sunset. There was a soft smile on her freckled face as her blue eyes watched the miracle of both nature and man before her.

Friend….

Mari still struggled to comprehend it. How Macradon smiled at her with his mouth, eyes, and spirit. Chuckling as he said the words 'that's what friends do they help each other'

He said it so simply, and with such ease she almost envied him. Mari considered him her friend at this point.

Her hand reached up to trace the armour that she wore. It was nothing more than a simple dark brown leather harness, it had scratches and cracks - like it was worn. But between those cracks, were flickers of fire, as though the leather was nothing more than a thin veil that covered a blazing inferno. It sat tight, wrapped over her shoulders and under her bust, she had affixed her dimensional backpack, which took on the form of a small pouch to one side.

It suited her simple attire. Dark denim shorts, and a black, fitted v-neck shirt. A far cry from the gaudy hues of pink she previously wore. Gone were the thorns and the bubblegum hair.

Instead she took on the appearance of a dim fire, heated coals ready to burst into flame with fiery red hair and dark clothes - splattered with the dull throb of energy that came from her harness.

“I Should try harder...with others….” She mused softly to herself.

@Mephisto

[Mephisto 0]

"...and I just want you to remember." I leaned in close to the other man and gave him a slow, languid smile. He was kneeling next to his unconscious friend, who was twitching slightly as phantom sensations danced along his nerves. "This is what happens when you poke your nose where it isn't wanted, little worm." The duo had come sniffing around a little scheme I had set up - 'guiding' new players to some of the easy quests, in return for a cut of their col. 

"J-just you wait! Once we're done with the Pink, we'll come for you too!" The shaking man pointed his finger at me, and I raised one eyebrow slowly. I'd heard rumors that the infamous 'Pink PKer' was somewhere near town, but had largely been ignoring them because it didn't matter to me. But this - this sounded amusing. I walked over to the man, tapping the tip of my sheath on the ground then knelt down next to him. The blunt end of the sheath pressed against his chest and he swallowed as he looked up at me. 

 

"Do, go, on. You lot are going after the Pink PKer?" He swallowed again - then nodded furiously after looking at his unconscious friend. 

 

"You bet we are! She's been here too long, free of punishment for her crimes! She's killed people, the lunatic! She needs to pay!" I snorted as he kept ranting. "Then once she does, we'll come for you so you stop fleecing new players!  Then both you and the Pink -" I ignored him as he kept ranting and insulting me - well, he didn't know it. So he was safe for the moment. Besides, he'd just offered me a bigger source of entertainment than anything I'd had since being trapped inside this infernal game that kept me from Him.

 

@Mari

[Mari 1]

 

Mari watched as the orange broke away, instead bringing  shadowed brightness as the sun rose ever higher over the horizon. Hidden secrets below would no longer have the sanctity of shadows to sneak around in. Mari snorted. The thought sounded like something Raidou would say.

Right...it was technically morning now. So it wasn’t such a faux paux to message Ceres now, was it? Mari wasn’t sure if the redheaded merchant was a morning person or not. But Mari didn't want to wait.

 

Quote

Ceres;
I need to purchase one of those scope things from you so I can get a familiar.
I also want you to make a food order for items that buff accuracy, evasion, and mitigation. I’ll pay you double whatever the food is as payment for your swift compliance.

-Mari

With the message sent, all Mari had to do was wait and watch the world she was ostracised from below pass her by. Soon...she’d do redemption, and she’d rejoin the frontlines. She’d atone for all the mistakes of her past… she may never be well liked, but Mari wanted to improve herself, at the very least. She owed it to Alkor, and to Macradon - and to all those lives whose names were etched on the monument of Life because of her.


@Mephisto

Edited January 20, 2020 by Mari

[Mephisto 0]

“Alright, boys. We move at dawn.” I’d slipped away from the duo that had accosted me - and lost - hiding out of sight until the unconscious one had woken up. Then once they’d gotten up and together, I had followed them - they were, after all, the best bet for entertainment I had had in a fair while. In fact - this was the most interested I had been in something in literal years. And it seemed I was in luck. The two I had followed had led me right to a little ‘planning meeting’, where they were discussing their plan for assaulting the Pink PKer.

 

Gods - while this was a world where we could die - did these idiots have no concept of the fact that this was still a game? This wasn’t the real world where a crowd could kill someone with ease. In here, a higher level literally meant you were basically untouchable. Assuming Mari had even a little bit of health regeneration, she would be able to outpace whatever these idiots could do to her. That was, assuming of course, she didn’t just massacre the lot of them.This was going to be an absolutely glorious bloodbath.
 

“We’ll meet back here in a few hours, boys and girls. Let’s DO THIS!” The ring leader cheered his men on. I leaned against a wall, a wide smile stretching my lips. I couldn’t wait to watch this death spree.

“Yes, let’s do this, let’s add all of you to her kill count.” My voice was very soft as I tucked myself out of sight and waited. 

Morning came soon enough, and a smaller crowd gathered. The leaders of this little cavalcade seemed disappointed that they’d lost men, but had they honestly expected everyone to be as dumb as they were? It didn’t stop them though - as the sun rose, our little group left the city, with me at the back. I filtered off to the side, not quite disappearing into the brush as the rest of the group made their way. The sun’s rays were lighting up the floor when we came across a redhead sitting on a rock, not even really paying attention, her eyes focused on her menus.

“WITCH! IT’S TIME TO PAY FOR YOUR SINS!” Oh sweet sting. Did he think he was a light novel protagonist or something with that line? I bit back a chuckle.

 

@Mari

[Mari 1]

Mari was vaguely aware of a crowd of players behind her, she wasn’t stupid. She had seen them come up the side of the hill. She just...tried not to stand out, did her best to pay them no mind. If she didn’t bother them, maybe they wouldn’t bother her. Alas...it was not meant to be.

“WITCH! IT’S TIME TO PAY FOR YOUR SINS!”

Mari took one look at them. The leader, dressed in drab green robes and holding a basic 2 handed sword had pointed it at her, it shook in his grip. “I...don’t want to fight you okay?” She said as she turned her head away from them. Refusing to move from her place atop the grassy hill. She leaned back with a sigh. They could prattle on all they wanted about justice and valor. She really didn’t care. She had enough potions spare that she’d be able to regenerate her health for a good few hours at least. And if not - then she’d just teleport out of there.

“This is for everyone you killed!” The brown haired youth screamed as he charged at her with his two handed sword - the strike hit her back, but with her mitigation it dealt a total of 1HP of damage. Mari hadn’t noticed it straight way, but a lick of flames burst from her harness, travelled up the brown haired youths blade and burned him. Scraping away all but 5 of his HP.

He took several steps back. “W-what just happened? What the hell are you?” Somewhere, Mari thought she heard a laugh.

“Hmm?” Mari wasn’t entirely sure what he meant, she turned her gaze over to him - and her blue eyes widened in shock. “Ahh...f**k.” she swore under her breath. She had known about the skill… but didn’t think it’d do that much damage, she didn’t think these people were that low levelled. There was a sinking feeling in her gut as she recalled Sugar and Spice, and how they had tried to attack her in the same manner. No…. She wasn’t going to let anyone die in front of her again.

“This isn’t ok.” She stood and faced the first man, among a group of about several low levelled players. “I was willing to let you all have your fun and take out your aggression, but this is dangerous.” She patted her chest twice. “I have a unique enhancement on this, it’s called ‘Flame Aura’ and it will burn anyone who successfully hits me. Normally - not an issue but if most of you are not above level say… level 15 - it’d probably kill you...hang on…” Mari paused as she opened up her menu, quickly bringing out a health potion and chucking it toward the man who had just lost his HP.

“Please... “ Mari said with genuine concern in her voice. “Drink this - I’d rather not see any more death today.”

The timid player caught the bottle, then immediately threw it back to the ground. “I don’t trust YOU! We know about you and your concoctions!” He spat, the small crowd behind him jeered, although they were already making their way backwards.

“Understandable.” Mari said with a sigh as she crossed her arms over her chest. It’d...been some time since she dealt with something like this. She tilted her head to the side, eyes surveying the group. Most, if not all were in beginner gear. “If you insist on fighting, please come back when you’ve levelled up more. Okay?” She offered calmly.

@Mephisto

Edited January 21, 2020 by Mari

[Mephisto 0]

“Not a chance witch! For everyone you’ve hurt, you die here and now!” It wasn’t the first man who’d hit her who said this - it was someone else from the crowd. He looked around at everyone. “Come on, there’s no way her armor has unlimited charges! GET HER!” Are you serious right now? I actually had to bring one hand up to my mouth to hide my smile as three men rushed her together, all three striking at the redhead together. It happened exactly like I thought it would, and I would guess like Mari knew it would. All three burst into flames and fell backwards, flailing at their bodies to try beating out the flames that scorched them. 

 

It was even better than I thought it would be. I had thought that they would wail on her and then get devastated when she finally start striking out at them. I was wrong, and while I normally hated that, this time I was pleased. She wasn’t even having to do anything to them and they were getting hurt for it. I smirked as I saw the crowd faltering.

“Come on guys, that’s three less charges for her armor! We can do this!” I called out from the back, spurring them onwards. One of them looked back at me, clearly confused - but then his attention was pulled away when more charged her.

 

I slid away from the spot I had called out from as I rubbed my chin in thought. There was one thing bothering me though, as this next little group of people charged into their burning time. And that was a very simple thing.

 

Why wasn’t she attacking back? This entire group would die in like, a single attack from the redhead, albeit one at a time. So why was she just letting them burn themselves? This felt more like something I would do to drag out the enjoyment of watching these morons hurt themselves.

 

@Mari

[Mari 1]

“Stop!” She shouted as she managed to dodge another blow, she pushed him to the floor and out of the way. “It doesn’t have charges it will keep hurting you!” She pleaded. It hurt, multiple people had tried hitting her, and each and every time their health had dipped into the red - at least - the only respite she had is that the ones who had hit her, refused to hit her again.

Mari finally pulled out her blade, and that seemed to stop the next person who was about to charge her. “I said STOP!”  She said, with cold hard authority in her voice. “I will not have you all uselessly throw your lives away!” She spat. “If you want to fight me FINE but don’t come back till you are at least level 50 - then, I will gladly let you take your aggression out on me - but if you keep doing this you will die.”

The crowd mumbled amongst themselves, one of them had questioned why she hadn’t drawn her blade till now, why she wasn’t fighting back. Mari shook her head. “I don’t want to fight.” She said simply, and as a show of good faith, she threw her dagger to the ground. It’s glinting red blade stuck deep in the earth.

“Now.” She said with a calmer tone. “Please leave me alone.”

Finally...they began to leave, one by one. Each cussing her out, or swearing their revenge, calling her a monster, a vile beast - words filled with hateful vitterol that she was all too used to. The woman barely even flinched. When all but one white haired man had left Mari sighed, picking up the blade and placing it at her hip once more. Who the f**k was this person now?

“Please…” Mari mumbled. “I’m too tired to deal with anything else today. You saw what happened. Can you at least use some modicum of logic in that tousled head of yours?”

“Oh, relax your pretty little head Peaches, I’m not going to attack you. I came along for that show.” The man’s voice was droll as he tilted his head to one side, staring at her.
Peaches? Mari thought. That was new. But she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of a response. He was morbid, wanting to watch something like that.

“Then you’re worse than them.” Came her response as she walked toward him, pushing him out the way so she could leave the area. The last thing she needed was them coming back. She’d go hide out in the forest or something.

[Mephisto 0]

“Oh, yes, quite easily.” There was a slight grin on my lips as she said that. “That was absolutely hilarious, though I honestly expected it to take longer for you to get through to them. I suppose seeing their friends going up like little tiki torches scared them.” I laughed. “But then again, I came out here expecting the infamous Pink PKer to have absolutely trashed them all.” 

 

“As you can see I no longer suit that mantle. My reputation far precedes me.” She muttered as she continued to walk away from me. “I don’t want anything to do with it.”

 

That was it. That was it. She was - oh this was going to be fan - tas - tic. “Are you serious, now?” My grin widened. “The most notorious killer on Aincrad. The Pink PKer with more kills than anyone else still alive.” I held up one hand, gesturing to her. “Peaches, are you trying to go good?” Oh this was glo-o-o-rious. 

Her cold doe-eyed gaze shifted to me. I could tell she was trying to bite her tongue. She clearly had a fiery temper. “Yes.” Came her reply. “I’m planning on taking redemption.” I laughed, clapping my hands together.

“Oh, that is just precious.” I ran the fingers of one hand through my hair. “The most hated player, trying to go good. Well that’s going to be hilarious to see. Because it is clear that you don’t really think about things, do you? I mean, you just sat here and let this happen after all.” I laughed and waved one hand at the scorch marks on the ground. “Hope you’ve found some people who don’t hate the sight of you and think you’re the pink devil, because this is gonna keep happening if you do what you did here today.” I couldn’t help it. I had came out here for a bloodbath and been denied it. So cutting her with words, striking at that mental state of hers…. Felt good.
 

@Mari

[Mari 1]

His words...hurt, and they made her equally angry and upset - but Mari really couldn’t fault...whoever this man was. Because a lot of what he said held truth. Why hadn’t she taken the chance to teleport away when the first few people were hurt?

Her eyes lowered to the ground and her quick stead toward the forest lulled to a stop. “I just…” She turned her gaze toward the sky. “I wanted to try and resolve it peacefully. Someone told me I should stop running. So I thought if I stood there, and explained things to them. They’d leave me be.” Mari sighed as she lowered her gaze back to the floor, kicking at the grass with a black boot. “I guess It was a little foolish of me to think so.”
 

The man hummed, rubbing his chin with one hand. “Oh, yes, no doubt.” He waved one hand. “You’ve got an absolutely horrid reputation. Just standing there like that? Going to make it worse. ‘She knew she was so much better than us, that we’d never be able to hurt her, and now Frank’s burnt and terrified to go out’. That’s what they’re going to say.” 

“I have people who believe in me.” She said as she tightened her grip on her arms. “People who want to see me take redemption.” She said again as she thought first of Alkor, then of Macradon. If she thought harder, she’d probably consider others too, such as NIGHT or Ceres - maybe even Gladiator. Right. She had friends. This wasn’t like it was back then, this time, she had people who believed in her. Who wholeheartedly wanted her to succeed.  Mari turned her gaze back to the stranger.

Her eyes narrowing. Why was he being like this? “People can think what they want. My future actions will speak louder than words, I guess. If something similar occurs again- I’ll know to teleport away, thanks to your toxic words of wisdom.” She added bitterly.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have someone I’m meeting soon.” Mari said with a half hearted wave as she continued on her trek toward the forest. He wouldn’t follow her forever.

@Mephisto
 

[Mephisto 0]

“Why didn’t you teleport away before hand.” My voice was calm, measured as I chuckled. “You had to know this was coming. I’ve been in town for all of a minute and heard about it, which means these idiots were not subtle in hiding their plans. If you’ve got people who believe in you - did none of them warn you about it? Or did you just ignore those warnings?” I folded my arms over my chest as I studied her. This… could be interesting. But how to get her to listen to me? Having someone like her indebted to me could be invaluable.

“I have had a couple warnings, but…” She sighed in frustration. I was clearly bothering her. “I hear it so much, that it becomes white noise. I already answered your question. I’m not f**king repeating myself. Don’t you have someone else to bother?”

“Not particularly.” I waved that off with a chuckle. “You say actions speak louder than words. The problem is, Peaches, now you’ve hurt your chances to get a chance to show those actions all over again. Hmmm. You need help.” I rubbed my chin. “Not from that idiot who just told you to stop running - that’s fine advice and all, but if it leads to this kind of amusing scenario, it’s just gonna be one step forward and two steps back for you.” I held up one hand and pointed a slender finger at her, my sleeve swaying in the breeze. 

“You, Peaches, need a PR person. Might want to start considering it. You need more than just people ‘believing in you’. You need someone whose gonna tell people you ain’t that bad and that you deserve chances. Good luck.” I smirked. 

 

[Mari 1]

Is this guy serious?

Mari took a deep breath and held it. Just keep walking, let him ramble. People like this just love to hear the sound of their own voices. She thought to herself. Exhale.

“I don’t know your name. Nor do I know who you are. You speak words that are thick and viscous like poison. So you can be f**king damn sure I won’t be trusting you to...” Mari paused as she swivelled on her foot and rose her fingers to give him air quotes. “My PR Person.”  
 

“Oh, you thought of me already?” He grinned. “The name’s Mephisto, dear Peaches.” He gave a flourishing bow. “And I wasn’t going to suggest myself right away, but hey, if it’s already on your mind…” He trailed off, still chuckling.

“Good, now I know a name to forget.” she muttered. “If you want to help mayhaps I suggest to not call my friends idiots?” She huffed. Whilst using the word friend hurt, just a tad. She knew that Alkor was indeed her friend, and had cared for her deeply. She’d trust his word over a strangers any day. Despite what happened in the past.

“And must you call me peaches?” Mari said exasperated. They were in the forest now, and she pulled back a branch to pass - letting it go in small hopes that it’d hit im in his angular face.

[Mephisto 0]

“Yes, I must.” I easily tilted my head to one side, the branch swinging past me with a swish. “Step one, Peaches. Gotta make you less scary to people.” It was not entirely why I was calling her that - but it would be why I ever spoke to others about her and used that name. “It’s one thing to be scared of ‘the Pink PKer’. Can you really see people being angry at someone known as ‘Peaches’? And I’ll try not to call them that again, unless they do something idiotic.” That was about as much of a concession as I could make. Telling her to ‘stop running’ - it was good advice. But incomplete. Actually - 

“The advice that person gave you was sound enough, I suppose. But you shouldn’t have just applied it wholesale. You gotta pick and choose your battles. Know which ones you want to win, which you don’t need to - and which ones you need to lose.” I stressed those words. Give and take, how to balance opinion.. I knew that song and dance well. 

"...I suppose…" She relented. I just barely held back from clapping. She was listening to me. Excellent. Step one. I held my tongue when I saw her eyes twitch, switching to the spot where menus showed up. 

[Mari 1]

A new message popped up and Mari quickly opened it in hopes that she’d be able to meet up with Ceres, maybe dump Mephisto or whoever he was into her lap and let her deal with him. She was the type of person to latch onto anyone she met. Literally.

 

Quote

 

Ahh sorry Mari! I got held up I met someone named Raidou. I think he knows you? Anyway we're gathering some materials. Can I get your order to you in a few hours? UwU sorry!!

 

Xoxo Ceres

 

 

 

 

Mari shut her hud with a frustrated groan. "That's the last person I wanna f**king hear about…" she mumbled. Remembering how hard Raidou had pushed her in an attempt to 'help' her.   Mari knew he meant well...he just… didn’t listen to reason, he didn’t give her space when she asked for it. He kept insisting things could be fixed if she just ‘let it out’ and that just.... Annoyed her. She’d speak to people she wanted to speak to, if and when she was ready. Not to some red cloaked stranger who cried in the snow.

 

“So thank your friend for letting you know what’s going on, and tell them that whatever this other person was, that you aren’t too interested in hearing about right now. No need to just stew to yourself. That’s just gonna give you stress lines.” Came the droll comment from behind her. Speaking of oddly dressed strangers...

“F**k off and don’t read my private messages.” Mari spat. The sheer audacity of this person. She turned and shoved him away. So he wasn’t so damn close to her. “I’ll reply when I”m good and ready. I know this girl and I know she won’t reply till after he gathering session because she’s too focused on it.”
 

He laughed. “I didn’t - you spoke out loud. I have no idea who messaged you or what’s going on.” He held his hands up, waving at her slightly. “Sorry, sorry.” He actually backed up further -not enough to leave, but enough to give her space. 

Mari didn’t believe his words, they were too pointed, concise for it to be a coincidence. “I have no business staying here.” She said. “The entire reason I was on this floor was to meet up with my friend and exchange some things.” Mari put stress on the word friend, purely to rub it into his grimy face.
 

Edited January 21, 2020 by Mari

[Mephisto 0]

“Ah, ah, I see. Well - excellent.” I rubbed my hands together. “Now you’ve got another line of communication. And I suppose I can spread some good words about you.” For her to be in my debt but hey. “Now you have a chance to get some rest, and maybe set up an alternate meeting point without the common mooks deciding it’s a chance to ambush you.” I grinned easily, though it didn’t quite reach my eyes.

“And might I suggest something?” She didn’t outright spit in my face at that.

“I’d say no but you’re going to suggest it anyway. So go on, what?”

“Do some of the low quests to help someone. You’ve got a terrible reputation. You need to work on reversing that. Through one of your friends that you can trust, try to find causes you can donate to. The orphanage, or people in need in some way.” I ticked two fingers as I spoke. 

Her stance shifted, it wasn’t so defensive this time. She paused to lean her shoulder on a nearby tree as she lifted a hand to push her hair back, revealing freckled cheeks.
“I have been actually. I’ve helped several people with beginner quests. If I see someone who needs it, I’ll generally offer my help.” She said softly as her gaze shifted forward, looking at something unseen.

“Good - now, get them to try suggesting you to others. A service, like mine is. Ferry new players through quests, letting them take the rewards.”

“Like yours?” She scoffed as she turned to look at me. “If mine were like yours I’d be out of business in a day.” She joked.

“Oh, Peaches, I knew you liked me!” I laughed. “It’d take a lot longer for a cute girl like you to go out of business.”

Ahh, it worked for everyone just the same. Her eyes widened and she scoffed as she shifted her face away from me, trying to hide the evident blush in her cheeks. Oh, ho, ho. So complimenting her was a way to get through her armor. Good.I pointed one finger at her, not quite looking at her to give her a modicum of privacy.

“Peaches Guide Service. Offers new players a helping hand through new quests, and a good view at the same time. There ya go. Now, you just need satisfied customers to help spread the word.”

[Mari 1]

Mari cleared her throat. “What’s your game, really?” She asked as she eyed the white haired and silver-eyed man. He paused, rubbing his chin with two fingers as he studied her.
 

“I. Want. Out.” He was blunt. “Of this damn death game.”
 

That was a little simple, perhaps too simple. “Mmm…” Mari wasn’t sure - everyone wanted out. That was a given. There had to be more to his game. Mari liked to think she was smart when it came to things like this. He was a cunning man, and wouldn’t do things for free.
 

“But I can’t get out yet. My brother is out there, alone,and I am not there.” He hissed. “So until such time as I can get out… I want entertainment. And helping you reverse your reputation, and seeing you struggle, is going to give just that at times. Because it is going to be a struggle, Peaches.”
 

Mari sighed at his words. “You know….” She began. “You remind me a little of...well… me. Your actions are fuelled by desires, and you don’t ever do something for nothing.” Mari noted. “It’s why I asked you what your game is. Everybody wants out.” Mari shifted so she was facing him. Her eyes matching his intense gaze with a doe-eyed one of her own.

“I know it’s going to be a struggle - it’s why I’ve been helping others, why I’ve been exploring more. I get that you wanna go out, everyone does. Because most people have others outside waiting for them.”  She averted her gaze, tugging on her hair. Mostly everyone anyway.

“What I don’t understand is why do I need to fit into that equation?”

 

[Mephisto 0]

I paused and rubbed my chin for a moment as I thought about how to answer her. I shrugged. “Because I find you interesting. Cute girl, terrible reputation, who wants to reverse it? Skilled fighter? Useful.” I shrugged. “If you tell me to just go, that you aren’t interested, well, I might not believe you, but I’ll listen to ya Peaches. I ain’t gonna force my presence on you.” Just - make myself present when she wasn’t expecting it at times, until she got so used to my being around that my absence bothered her. Win win. 

“I’m….not all of those things though.” Came her slow response. “I’m only just getting back into the flow of battle, and honestly, fighting doesn’t interest me. I’m not really….cute or whatever, I just do what I can to get by. Just like everyone else.”

I laughed. “Oh, Peaches, someone has clearly done you wrong if you think you aren’t cute. Like, I’ll buy you’ve been out of service for a minute or two here, but -”

“They HAVE NOT.” She snapped back, then quickly covered her mouth. Oh. Oh, I touched a nerve there. I held up one hand, waiting for her to recover her calm, as I locked my eyes on her big, doe eyes.
“Mari.” My voice was steady as I raised one brow. “One very important thing to know about me. While yes, you are right - I am worse than those people earlier, you weren’t wrong. While yes, I am a vicious, often times cold man, who very little matters to,” hiding things in this situation would just end up making her distrust me and I didn’t need that now. “I am always as honest as I can be. I do not lie if I know any different. So when I say that you are attractive, or cute - I am being entirely serious. I am sorry that someone hurt you like that.” I shrugged and started to back up, giving her space.

[Mari 1]

He’s not sorry. He doesn’t know me. Mari shut her eyes away from the world at that moment. He doesn’t know the situation. He doesn’t know me, nor does he know Alkor…

Mari’s heart still ached at his name, despite her best efforts to do as he asked, and to not love him. Mari wanted to be over the tall dark man, she wanted to be able to stand on her own two feet, or hell, even find someone else - but it wasn’t so simple now, was it?

“I’m always truthful.” Mari mused. “To a fault, really. It’s probably a part of why I got a bad reputation because people don’t like hearing it. And I don’t sugarcoat things. I don’t have any sort of tact.”


“That sounds familiar.” His voice was droll. “Though I usually wait until asked.”
 

“Mmmm… If I recall I didn’t ask you how you thought I looked.” Mari chidded. In truth, he pissed her off. She didn’t like his cavalier attitude towards others, and how easily he was amused by the pain of others. But… it annoyed her because Mari had fallen down that path before, and she struggled to climb out of it. She didn’t have anyone to help her. No hands to hold onto pull her out of that dark abyss. Was that where Mephisto was now? Was he using this entertainment as a way to mask his own issues?

“Ah, ah, I apologize, then. I will wait until you ask me how you think you look, next time.” 

“Nah.” Mari said as she finally opened her eyes. “There won’t be a next time, I don’t ask others about how I look.” She said with a snort as she pushed herself off the tree trunk. “You talk about me helping others with quests, but have you completed any? Or are you subtly hinting at me to aid you in return for your so called compliments? I’ll help you in one, but you gotta help me get a familiar.”

It was a decent offer, and Mari’s very awkward way of extending the olive branch rather than shutting him out. It also helped her get what she wanted. To her, it was a win/win.

[Mephisto 0]

I blinked once, then twice, and shrugged. "To be entirely honest, I do not care in the slightest about completing the quests. So that thought didn't cross my mind." It hadn't. I mean, no, I hadn't completed any of the quests, but I also wasn't trying to. "But hey, if you want to add me to your list of satisfied customers, I won't turn down the view." I shrugged. "And helping you find a familiar doesn't sound too onerous. Might even be amusing if more stuff like earlier happens."

She appeared to get flustered very easily. She puffed out her freckled cheeks and her brows furrowed. “N-No. We’ll avoid stuff like that you asshole! And what v-view are you talkin’ about?” She waved her hands as though she were trying to remove the thought from the air between us.  “Get your mind out of that gutter.”

"What gutter?" I blinked once. "Mari, I was meaning your freckles are adorable." She had asked. Her face went redder. Which just made them stand out more. "See? Just like that. And I suppose I'll have to find my own method of amusing myself then." I sighed over dramatically, and threw the back of one hand against my forehead.

She rushed and stepped forward, her hands planting themselves on my face to cover it. “Shush. Just shut up you!” Maybe I needed to call her Cherry instead with how red she was turning. I laughed and stepped back, grinning widely at her. 

"You know what this means, don't you?" I waited for her to respond. 

“It’s time to take over the world Brain?” She muttered as she looked to the side.

"Yes, Pinky! It's time to take over the world!" It wasn't the I wasn't the going for initially, but it worked. 

“Sh*t. I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” She mumbled as she dragged her hair over her face. Wow. This was the person everyone was afraid of?  She was - oh sweet God. She was a total tsundere and everyone bought it, didn't they. I burst out laughing, both at her response and that thought.

“What? What do you want?”

 

[Mari 1]

It took the white haired man a few moments to recover himself from laughing. It flustered her, just what did he find so damn funny? He stood up and pushed his hair back from his face, letting her see that he was still grinning. "I have missed banter like that. I don't think anyone else would have gotten that reference."

“Yeh well…” Mari mumbled. “I used to watch it with my daughter.” She finally admitted. “But thats...what do you actually want?”

"I already told you." He deadpanned. "Though right now, I suppose I'm getting a bit peckish. Actually, I want to watch that show now. I used to watch it with my baby brother. Hooo, it's been a while." His eyes unfocused slightly as he stared over her head, not looking at her.
 

Right… his brother - that must be what drives him. I wish I could relate.

“We have a long way to go before that happens, but I’m sure he’ll enjoy it.” Mari said in a poor attempt to comfort him. She even went as far as to reach out and give him two pats on his shoulder. Perhaps the childrens cartoon show was a bit of a sore spot for him, she’d try to shift the subject.

“But I mean - you asked me ‘you know what this means’ but no. No I don’t know. What does this mean exactly?”

"Ohhhh." He had stiffened for a moment. Now that she thought about it, he had also stiffened for just a second when she touched his face earlier. He didn't say anything about it though. Instead he shuffled back and resumed his dramatic pose, leaning back and putting one hand over his face.
 

"It means I have to go shopping." He split his fingers and peered at her with a slight smirk on his lips.

“That...tells me nothing.” Mari said with an exasperated sigh. “But...if you’re looking for items. I’d suggest a merchant store called ‘Best Kept Secret. It belongs to a friend. If you’re looking for weapons…” Mari paused. Sh*t. What was Macradon’s shops name?

“Look for a shop owned by a player called Macradon. If you’re looking for weapons, I may have a spare rapier but I doubt you use that.”

[Mephisto 0]

"Ah, isn't that the Blazing Typhoon or something similar?" I snapped my fingers. Looks like my decision to come here was turning out better than I could have thought. A line on a merchant store and one of the best blacksmiths in the game? "And I was trying to make you laugh, because guys are supposed to hate shopping." Ah well. At least the impromptu joke had gone better. 
“Ah. Yeh. That’s the one. Tell him Mari sent you.” She tapped her cheek in thought. “Hmm...I don’t have any T1 armour- maybe if I check I might be able to wrangle up a different weapon...what do you use?”

She was already so wrapped up and willing to help me. Good lord this poor girl didn't have any idea what she'd gotten into. Ah well. At least I tended to care about my tools. 

"I use one of the noblest, though honestly most silly weapons." With a flourish, I drew out my weapon - a long thin metal spire. I gave it a few flicks, the weapon swishing through the air. "The rapier, milady Peaches." I gave her a dramatic bow with the rapier across my chest. 
“Holy sh*t that’s cringey.” She blurted out. “Right… I think I can work with that. IF you help me with the familiar quest today, I’ll give you something in return.”