[PP-F1] Night Campfire (With Arabelle, Basuke, HoaxDemon, Mari)

[Andromeda 0]

"Ahahahaha..."

Smile. And laugh as you kind of died on the inside. That's all you could really do in the face of a light scolding that definitely held some water. "Ah, um, you see-- Col's tight, you know? Especially for adventurers who are just starting off!" An was grateful, and just as guilty, when she accepted the offered container. "Thank you. I usually eat once before heading out, then I bring along a small lunch... and-- oh!"

She did have something to offer and the reminder came with Basuke's musings.

"Yeah, mhm. They get to enjoy their own crafts the most, too," she said conversationally as she set the container down on her lap and quickly located the items in her inventory. It was all she had left, but An couldn't start acting so selfish now that one person had practically provided the entire group with free food. "I have a friend who basically runs a Starbucks. She loves her beverages, and she gave me a few vanity crafts some time ago. One for everyone, please pass it around!"

Five in total. Tano-something... Tanoshi! was seated by the campfire with then, while Flirty HD-- she wondered what was running through that curious guy's head? Whatever the case, An followed Basuke's example. She pulled out a moderately-sized cup of red iced tea, set it aside for herself, then passed the other four to the members of their mismatched little band of campers.

Gingerly, she looked over to Mari. "Would this count?" Her natural apprehension for people of the more serious type showed in her stiffer tone, but her own curiosity was enough for An to push past her comfort zone. A frontliner. It didn't matter if her cursor was orange, the title still held its prestige! They were the strongest, the ones who valiantly fought for everyone's freedom, and they were the ones everyone looked up to. It was very surprising that, of all people, the most sensible of them (at the moment) didn't know what 'frontliners' were. "Here's mine! What did you do to level up?"

Kind of dumb question. Elaborate.

"I-I mean..." An made a little wave of her hands and stammered as she tried to come up with a way to get her point across. "The usual answer is to go out and kill a lot of mobs and do a lot of quests, right? But, a lot of players are already doing that! And... as far as I know, only a few actually manage to catch up. Floors get cleared and the frontliners themselves don't just stay in one level either. So there had to be something you did differently, right? Is it really all just questing?"

Edited March 19, 2020 by Andromeda

[Basuke 0]

When Andromeda began passing round a set of cups, Basuke took it with thanks in a lowered bow of his head, and examined the drink closely. The tell-tale symbol of the store's brand was etched on the plastic. Funny, how images as such could transcend language barriers. The boy whistled at the gift, a smile dawning on his face. "Looks good," he remarked, feeling a little nostalgic for home. "I'm impressed."

He took note of the explanation about frontliners. So that's what people've been up to these days. The boy clicked his tongue, a slow realization of being away from the vanguard creeping up on him, and he wondered for a moment how much effort it must've taken for them to get to where they were. Years had gone by since he'd been at that rock. What a stupid reason to fall behind with...

Floor bosses, labyrinths, tower. He'd mark those terms with a pin to his mental bulletin, and get back to researching on them. "Hard workers, then. The more important people fight to free us... I understand."

As he began to uncover and drink from the handout tea, Basuke turned to watch Andromeda explain her question with a wave of her hands. It was a lot more beneficial, it seemed, to him and the rest of the group. A voice at the back of his mind told him he should've saved his own query for something similar, but he whisked it away easily. No question's stupid, he justified, gaze returning to Mari in anticipation for a reply.

[Mari 1]

"Starbucks..." Mari mused, she tilted her head to the side - offering her food a faint smile. "Yanno - they weren't really successful where I live; they tried but they shut down like over half of their franchises...guess we are picky abut our coffee."

IT was then, that Andromeda? Right. An had handed her a coffee, complete with tiny logo reminiscent of the famous franchise - course - Mari had hoped it tasted nothing like Starbucks, awful stuff that was. Mari sniffed it and to her relief, it wasn't hot, hell it wasn't even coffee. "Oh." Mari said in mild surprise. "Is this rooibos tea?" Mari asked. "I much refer tea to coffee so thanks. I uh..." She was a little overwhelmed. She wasn't expecting everyone to try and give her something.

"Yanno...I didn't mean for everyone to give me food - I just wanted to eat - really, it's fine."

An had asked a question, simple enough - Mari hadn't ever really expected such....questions, she had steeled herself for more adventerous ones - one's that would question who she was or why she did what she did. Instead; this was just light conversation. Mari exhaled, relieved. "What I did...yanno I'm not a big fan of just mass murdering things."  Hypocrite   "I never was a fan of quests; I guess in the beginning I worked with a lot of people. Then when I came back from isolation, that's when I started doing quests.  I think...what was done differently...." Her eyes travelled upwards to the night sky.

"Working with others. Taking breaks. It sounds...odd I know, but I think when we stand united it's much easier to do things." Mari blinked, diverting her attention back to the small gathering. "Oh, and events - do any event you come across."

Mari span the cup upon her knee, balancing it with her hands. "There is no shame in not being on the frontlines though. Everyone plays an important part. Frontliners are not more important." Mari shifted her gaze to Basuke. "You are important." She tried to keep it simple, knowing the language barrier. "Everyone is. I hope you all know that."

Mari took a sip of her drink. "I really don't mind answering anything else...this...is nice." She admitted. Not just the tea; but everything.

@Andromeda @Basuke @Tanoshi @HoaxDemon

 

[Basuke 0]

Everyone is important?

Basuke titled his head, silently raising a brow. What a strange turn of phrase. He understood, of course, each player's individual quality to provide for each other, to take care of one another in these trying times... but what might've prompted that turn of phrase?

He'd file that tender quality of Mari's at the back of his mind. Perhaps he'd find out one day. Most likely not. Connections with people was tough, and if the woman was as important as he thought she might've been, maybe they wouldn't even be here on the first floor most of the time.

He continued drinking the tea Andromeda provided them, mulling over the information. Work with others, take breaks. It sounded like pacing oneself was one of the more important qualities of life in Aincrad nowadays. That was fair -- he'd been pacing himself too, even during the two years it'd taken him to crush some dumb old rock. There was a method to the madness of being trapped in some isekai world, that much was obvious. And now he had confirmation of its practice.

Good for him! A light smile graced on the boy's face.

And events, of course. The public sure loved its timed parties. Any special goods might come into play to help aid them in the future -- at least, if the events Mari was speaking of something akin to the one game he'd played in the past.

"People" he began, working on drumming up another question to pose the troupe. "You find... friends, that is your... key?" He swished the cup in his hands, watching the liquid swirl around gently. "Isolation... You mean you were lonely? Or lost? I can understand, too. Friends important." Basuke recounted how he got out of his extraordinary predicament. "With friends, safe."

"... How you meet yours?" With a glance to Andromeda, he added, "You got story too?"

@Mari@HoaxDemon@Tanoshi@Andromeda

[Andromeda 0]

An blinked.

Rooi…bos…?

It took her a moment to find where her sudden confusion lay. Players had the ability to name their own crafts. A quick tap of a small semi-transparent circle that appeared as she focused her view on the beverage opened a window which displayed the simplistic name: ‘red iced tea,’ but when she brought it to her lips and drank, she recognized its taste and nodded. “Yeah,” she hummed. Maybe that cafe girl wasn’t a fan of tea? “I think this is really fun! Like… a picnic, but at night? I’ve never done something like this before and,” her gaze dropped down to the lunchbox still warm in her hands, “a full meal adds onto the experience.”

Any reservations she might have had earlier disappeared as the group settled down, the glow of the campfire at their center banishing the cold and darkness of the night. Mari talked as they ate and An nodded along, paying close attention to everything the woman said. Events? Her hand unconsciously went over to where her blighted rapier was sheathed – she had that one down, alright, and it was far from the best five hours of her life, but the sweet gear made up for the difference. 

“I see,” An said, momentarily lowering her lunchbox when she spoke. If the difference was doing things with a party… she never knew who to bother, but not wanting to ask what might already be obvious, she silently concluded that the player request boards were there for that express purpose. “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you very much!”

Everyone is important.

…?

She wasn’t too inclined to ask about a few of the things Mari had mentioned, but Basuke went and did it anyway. Then, rather unexpectedly, he turned and asked her, too.

“I-I got, huh–?” Maybe it was the way he phrased it, but it took a moment for An to process the question. When she did, it only took less than a moment of contemplation to decide Leah was the best person she could talk about. It was weird, assigning the stern, scary woman the label of ‘friend,’ but they met regularly to check up on each other and her face was the first that popped up in her mind. Yeah– that sounds like something friends would do…!

An carefully placed the container down on the grass beside her and casually pulled her legs close. 

“Oh, yeah! I have one. I… met…”

A strange daze settled in pools of red. She couldn’t find the words to explain the memory; maybe it was a longer story than she remembered? 

“I met her during the Halloween event,” she shared instead. The girl turned her head up to look at Basuke, then Mari, light returning to her eyes. “If you guys weren’t around for that, an NPC drew players in with a circus attraction in Floor 1 then trapped them and started a zombie invasion. It was crazy! Her, um, friend – the Starbucks girl – secured my entry into the event area, but neither of us really knew what we were walking into. When the first zombies started spawning, me, her, and her friend somehow found each other in the mess and decided to party up for our own safety. We spent the entire night fighting for our lives, the three of us.” She grinned at the memory and leaned back, propping her hands on the soft grass as she stared aimlessly ahead. “That’s one way to make friends, huh? What about you, Basuke? Since you asked the question.”

[Basuke 0]

Halloween event? Of course they'd be centered around the different occasions celebrated around the world, though Basuke never had the opportunity to dress up and visit door-to-door for treats before. Aincrad wouldn't afford him the chance either, he found out that much as he listened in to Andromeda's words. A zombie invasion sounded much more pleasing to the rowdy kid, and had he been there, he surely would've had a blast watching the fights take place all at once, or beating up a good few ghouls of his own.

Kind of funny to call someone 'Starbucks' girl though. A grin graced his face as he ruminated on the thought. But it's nice being known for something.

It didn't occur to Basuke that the question might be turned on him eventually -- all he had was two years of cold brutality and loneliness, and just as many contacts to make up for it. "Ahh-- l-long story!" The boy waved with a hand, sweat drops nearly visible from his panicky, frantic disposition. At the same time, it felt cheap to chicken out of sharing his own, while another member of the crew had already confidently shared their own. With an exhale, the kid rubbed at an itch at the back of his neck, choosing to look back into the light of the campfire. "Um... No laugh, okay?"

Everyone in the floating castle had a story to tell -- maybe his would, perchance, happen to be normal rather than not, contrary to he'd expected. One sip of his tea, the boy quenching his thirst and drowning his anxieties. "Floor 2. Urbus." The town's name came out of him in a drawl, as though he was speaking of an ancient demon's curse. "There is one rock quest. Big stone. Must beat with two hands."

His cup was set to the grass by now, only a quarter filled with red liquid. His right hand held the other, thumb pressing upon its palm, rubbing in circles around the folds of his flesh. The flame's glow continued to linger, brazenly burning bright, puppeteering the dancing of shadows all around the group in the midst of the forest and fields. "Not very good at rock fight. Mistake to go to Urbus -- did not know how to come back to Floor 1. Stuck for long time. Then two people, friends show me way out."

"A few... bats though. Explore cave adventure with them. Was nice, fun time." Basuke let out a chuckle, before he looked back up to Andromeda, smirking. "Think your story is better. I mean, at least no one end up hurt, right?"

[Mari 1]

The fires flames began to dwindle as the four of them continued to banter. Mari, Andromeda, and Basuke. It felt...nice...relaxing. Mari normally didn't get to experience simple things like this. It felt nice. Even if her entrance to the group wasn't exactly the best - having tripped over into their gathering. Somehow, it all worked out. A small hand clenched over the material of her clothing, as though she were desperately clenching at her heart - wishing for the memories of this calm and serene feeling to stay. Willing away the unrelenting cold of the nightmares and her reality.

Mari leaned forward and placed her empty cup gently into the grass. It sat nestled there; unassuming till it slowly began to deteriorate. It's use having been fulfilled. "Friends..." Mari said quietly as she released the grip on her clothing. "Yeh. Something like that." Then, the youth asked if Mari was lonely. Instead of verbalizing her feeling she gave him a small nod. She was. Then, realizing he wanted clarification Mari looked up at him. "Lonely, and lost. I still feel that way sometimes." She said with a forced laugh.

With that Mari stood, as the final flames flickered away to glowing embers. "This...has been nice. Thank you." She said in appreciation to the group before her. 

Maybe the four of them would meet again in the future; if they did, Mari hoped it would be just as pleasant as it had been here.
 

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