[F17|PP]Feeding a Gryphon?! ft. Mari-chan

[Zajcica 0]

Spoiler

Yuki used a Pheromone perfume.

 

Name:Extracted Perfume
Roll ID:137425
Roll Result:11+1
Item Type:Salve
Tier:1
Quality:Perfect
Enhancements:Pheromone 3 (+3 LD for Familiar)
Post Link:Here

Description:

An elegant fragrance alluring. Produced from a fresh tangerine-dream, a freakish plant with a face. This one has been refined and tempered to produce a truly captivating scent.

What an interesting floor to say the least. It was rare to see anything like this in a video game such as Sword Art Online. Not that there was any complaints or anything, she still thought it was a pretty cool scenery. Sightseeing wasn't the main goal, however, it was what that gypsy had told her. Other players walked around with cool little pets that she hear could give special effects to players if you acquired them. They were supposed to be difficult to find and tame though. Knowing her shitty luck at finding materials, she could likely take days to find one on her own. The pink paladin scrolled through her friends list, a smile growing on her face as she realized just how big it was actually getting, and found Mari's name. She clicked the envelop to start writing a message.

"Oi, Mari-chan!
I decided to take a quest on Floor 17,
would you be willing to accompany me 
and ensure nothing messes with my searching?

Arigatou!" ~Yuki

With a click of the send button and the chimed feedback, stood by the teleporter awaiting Mari's response.

@Mari

Spoiler

General
Level: 11 | HP:  220 | Energy: 22 Hate: 1/3/4(M/H/C)

Stats
DMG: 2 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 27 | ACC: 0 | Thorns: 18 | Regen: 5

Skills
R1 OHAS, Fighting Spirit, Concentration

Equipment(In use)
Regal Cuirass(Heavy Armor): 1MIT, 2 Thorns
Silver Serpent Ring: +2 LD
Covetous Gold Serpent Ring: +1 LD

Equipment(Standby)

Aegis(Shield): 2MIT, 1 Regen
White Spear - Lux(OHAS): 2 Bleed, 1 Taunt

Consumables
2xStarter Healing Potions(50HP)
The Matriarch's Stinger DMG 1
Woodland Armor: MIT 1 (3/3)
Oyakodon with Miso - Overhealth 2

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by Zajcica

[Mari 1]

After fighting the lionesses and lion - Mari was about ready to call it; she had a quick pit stop but then before heading off to the boss room to head all the way back down to floor 4 - a few day trek to be sure. She had gotten a message from Yuki. Mari blinked. She hadn't expected to hear from her again so soon. Yuki asked Mari to join her on a quest, but didn't specify which one. "I suppose I should. I'd rather not see her die..." Mari said to herself.  The lion had been stressful enough.

To: Yuki
From: Mari
Sure. I'll be near where we parted ways.
-Mari.

Mari's messages were rarely long or drawn out, short, simple, and straight to the point. Some would find it rude - Mari was used to not having the time nor luxury to type out long messages. There were a few exceptions, however normally brevity was Mari's friend.

"Wonder what she wants me to do..." Mari said as she shifted to go sit on the edge of a low rolling hill, overlooking one of the towns.  It was...beautiful really. Mari wondered if she'd ever be able to see such sights up close.

@Zajcica
 

[Zajcica 0]

It wouldn't take long for Yuki to return to the place they had split up. It was best to do this while she still had a friend on the floor. She would hate for Mari to have to travel several floors down and then receive a message like that. Stepping out of the barrier and taking a good scan of the area, she could see her friend sitting atop the hill over looking the town. She gave her a wave and smile as she made her way, but from this far, it probably looked a bit like a blur. A few minutes later, they were talking distance.

"Sorry, for messaging you like that when you were probably on your way home, but this is the perfect place for me to start this quest." She pulled out the familiar food that the gypsy had given her a while ago. "This stuff is supposed to let me get a familiar like everyone else has, and I know I can make the choice of what I want to catch. I've already decided that my familiar is going to be..." She paused for dramatic effect. "A gryphon! I heard that it can be difficult to catch these things when you find them though, so I was wondering if you would help me make sure mobs don't get caught up in the catching process and just generally help me keep an out for it. Plus, we should take some time to catch up. We hardly had time to talk during that lion quest."

Yuki pulled up her menu and invited the orange-maned woman to her party and gave her a signature Yuki smile.

@Mari

[Mari 1]

Mari glanced over her shoulder as Yuki approached. Ever the bright and exuberant girl she was. "It's fine." Mari said as she pushed herself off the ground, then dusted off her hands. "I'd rather you have someone with you if you're this high up - familiar hunting can be relatively safe but ya also gotta be careful. I wouldn't be surprised if someone died during the quest."

Mari offered Yuki a grin, "Side's, I was still on the floor - If I was down a few floors maybe you'd be a little more outta luck."  Mari paused. "Ah, no. I'd still help." She admitted in defeat. Mari knew Yuki would be the kind of person who would recklessly dive into a situation because she was just that stubborn. Mari reached out and placed a hand on the other girls shoulder. "Ya would probably just dive right on in regardless - so your foolhardy and stubborn ways kinda guarantee I'll do my best to be there. Can't exactly have someone I like disappear on me now, can I?"

Mari was about to ask her what she was going to hunt but Yuki shouted it out. "A...Gryphon..." Mari asked. "Well, I suppose I haven't seen a mini Griffin running around before - good luck trying to leash something so proud though. "Don't worry, I'll be your lookout." Mari said as she accepted Yuki's invite.

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

No time to waste, Yuki went ahead and started the exploration turning back to make sure Mari was following behind. Her companion mentioned her foolhardy nature and, to be fair, there was basis there. The pink paladin laughed and smiled to her.

"Am I really that hard to deal with?I don't feel like im over confident or anything. It's kind of out of my nature to be as bold as I have been. Maybe the game is really changing me. And, ooo you like me? Slow down now." The joke made her chuckle to herself.

Mobs on this floor were pretty high level, so having a player like Mari with her made her feel so at ease. Maybe that was why she always felt so bold. People like Mari and Life have to ability to help her be a little reckless. She learns best by making mistakes, so she would make as many as possible in these low levels while she could get away with it. The thoughts in her her head reminded her of something she wanted to tell Mari.

"Nee, Mari? I found out recently that there is a quest that removes the orange cursor from players." The paladin's tone got much more serious. "I heard it is hard and pretty much impossible to complete on your own. My goal in this digital life right now is to become strong enough to help you get through that quest so you can see the safe zones again; so you can teleport between floors again. I want nothing more than to return the confidence you gave me."

She looked back at Mari, no smile this time, but something of an understanding nod came from her. "You're probably going to complain and tell me not to worry about it but I won't listen. Like you said, I'm too stubborn." Then the smile came out.

@Mari

[Mari 1]

"I wouldn't say you're that hard to deal with - just that you kinda charge in. without regard to your safety." Mari noted with a small nod. She wasn't gonna lie to the girl. "I can't say how the game is changing you - all I can comment on is the you I know."  Yuki joked about how Mari said she liked Yuki - she chose to ignore the comment, she didn't do well with that sort of thing, and admitting she didn't mind someones company was quite a lot for her. Course, Yuki could never have known that.

It was then that Yuki started to talk about the Redemption Quest. "Yeh. I know it." Mari said a little too bluntly. She sighed and shook her head, knowing that sort of thing would have probably upset Yuki. It was just a reminder of things she'd rather forget. "I mean, yeh...yeh it's pretty common knowledge."   Before Mari could get much of a word in Yuki had already offered to join her and help her. "Whoa, whoa hang on there."  Mari paused and put a hand on each of Yuki's shoulders. " I appreciate the sentiment but I don't know if I am even taking it yet. And...." Mari stepped away and rubbed her shoulder. How could she possibly put this delicately? Especially since Yuki had told her it was her goal to help Mari. 

"This is one of the things you need to listen to me on. I don't want you pushing and charging your way into this. This is a personal matter for me. Yuki, I really appreciate the offer but I don't want your help. It's nothing against you. I hope you understand that yeh?"

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

The paladin stopped as the orange clad girl grabbed her shoulder. Her tempo was interrupted, nearly making her fall, but she managed to regain her balance before tumbling into the grass. Mari then said her piece about whether or not she was even going to be taking the quest, at all. Yuki grimaced afterwards.

"I... uh..." The girl stuttered to herself. To her, there would be absolutely nothing better than to help Mari remove her orange crystal. A moment of heavy silence persisted, but soon Yuki's voice turned a bit more angry. "Why do you insist on dealing with your problems alone? I don't know the details of the situation entirely, but this isn't something you should be putting on yourself dammit! I wouldn't have gotten through years of hormone replacement without my family, and you won't recover from these traumatizing events by closing your heart to people who want to help you.

She realized that maybe she was taking the conversation too far, but she wanted to reach Mari and help her. "Mari, please. Let me help you.

@Mari

[Mari 1]

"You know what really pisses me off?" Mari asked. "People who push. Even after I have kindly asked them not to. You're right. You don't know the situation."  Mari was doing her best to keep things together - to not let her anger gt the better of her. Mari knew she had anger issues; but this? This wasn't fair. Why was she always expected to be so resoulte and perfect when people kept f**king spitting on her.

"You know what your words feel like?" Mari said. "LIke you're literally spitting on me. You wanna help?" She asked. "Then stop f**king pushing yourself into my issues so you can play hero. That's it isn't it? You wanna help because you think it'll make you feel good? But you're not listening to what I want. That's the worst." Mari shook her head, running a hand through her hair. She took a moment to breathe in, and held her breath. Then exhaled. "Someone who really wanted to help. They'd say 'ok' and let me take my time with things. They'd offer to be there if I needed. Not charge on f**king in and not listen to what I want. You don't know what the hell I'm doing, nor going through. You didn't stop to ask if I was already working through my issues with others. You just assumed that I hadn't, and you just put yourself in that position. So. You. Can. Feel. Good. About. Yourself."  To Mari's credit; she didn't yell. Her words were spoken slowly and cooly - with a trembling anger that threatened to roll over her.

Mari turned her back on Yuki. "You're insisting I go at your pace because my pace isn't good enough. That isn't helping. I get you wanna help, and I appreciate it. But this what you're doing now? Its the opposite of helping."

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki was absolutely speechless. How was she to respond to that without making matters worse. It felt like if she just sat here and tried to apologize she would only be sucking up to Mari. She just had realized how insensitive her side of it sounded compared to Mari's. She wasn't trying to be a hero or trying to suck up to Mari in any way, she just wanted to help. After a good does of words sowed with a hint of hatred - probably not directly at Yuki, but at how people tried to sympathize with her - Yuki clammed the [censored] up. Her words could really cut as deep as her dagger.

She turned her back to Yuki, as if to say '-and that's that!'. Yuki stood quietly there thinking about what Mari just said. If she truly wanted to help Mari, should have to do it Mari's way, not the way she wanted to do it. The words came to her, but it was probably too soon. Her boots chunked under the grass as she continued her exploration, turning back only momentarily to see if Mari even wanted to continue.

@Mari

[Mari 1]

Mari was concentrating on her breathing - a way to calm herself down. Breathe in - hold for 10 seconds - Breathe out - hold for 10 seconds-  She repeated this a few times till she had felt better. The wind was gentle, dancing across her skin - literally cooling her off - and it had helped that Yuki had chosen to remain silent rather than try to argue the point. Really, there wasn't anything she could really say to fix it beyond. 'Sorry I didn't realize I was doing that'  IF she had said something like that, Mari wouldn't have minded -she'd accept it. But if she had kept pushing, Mari would have told her that she could find the familiar on her own.

"So..." Mari said after a long silence. "Which way are the Gryphons?"  She turned to look back at Yuki, who looked like she was slinking away.  "You do still want to try and find the familiar, right?"

@Zajcica

 

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki was slightly relieved when she heard Mari's voice still behind her but she was still feeling bad about her inability to realize her own insensitivity. It seemed like Mari had calmed down now, which made it easier to come back to the real world, she turned to her companion. Unfortunately, she couldn't find the feeling to smile to her. Her voice sounded torn up and like she could start the wet-works at any moment. Holding it in as best as possible, she paths around the familiar question to apologize.

"G-Gomenasai... I.. I had not realized how insensitive my motives were. Your words cut me deep. I want you to know that if you feel that you need help with your problems, I wont hesitate to be there for you, but no longer will I press you to speak to me about the subject. Y-Yuru shite onegaishimasu." The young girl folded forward into a bow. She seemed genuinely broken up about offending Mari.

"G-Gryphon? Oh, right. I.. almost forgot. Y-Yeah, let's keep looking." The pinkette's mood seemed pretty deflated at this point. 

@Mari

[Mari 1]

Mari didn't address Yuki's sad voice; if Mari were to console her now; she wouldn't learn that what she did was wrong - and she was just chastised- so she had every right to feel upset. Besides, Mari had a feeling if she did try to console her Yuki would probably burst into tears and Mari would probably just  get annoyed if she did. Not to say Mari wouldn't feel bad about having someone cry in front of her - just the reasoning behind it.  "I appreciate the apology." Mari said simply.  "That's all I ask really, thank you for your offer."  And that's all that had to be said, yuki apologized - and in turn Mari accepted that Yuki was there if she needed. 

Mari cleared her throat when Yuki bowed formally toward her; a lotta people were doing that lately - how awkward. "Really, it's fine. Ya better lead me the way to the Griffin then. Do they spawn in groups or just on its own?"

@Zajcica

Edited March 29, 2020 by Mari

[Zajcica 0]

Barely able to dodge the urge to start crying, Yuki rubbed her eyes to get the welling of tears off her face. Mari was harsh, she knew that. Many people could easily hate someone for just being brash, but even when she nearly brought Yuki to a full-blown bawl, she liked that about Mari. She was real and not afraid to give her own opinion. And not only that, she presented good reason. Yuki took a deep breath and pulled open her HUD to pull up the notes about Gryphons she had made before she started the quest.

"Um...It seems like they usually spawn in a group of two or by themselves near nests on sharp hills. Might have to do a bit of climbing to find a nest." The pinkette read off her notes, allowing Mari to peak on them if she needed to. Yuki tried to smile to her to amend the heavy feelings.

@Mari

[Mari 1]

"Doesn't surprise me." Mari said as she approached Yuki, glancing over at her HUD when the information was offered to her. "Weren't they meant to be quite prideful and territorial? At least from memory, Greek Mythology isn't exactly one of my strong suits...that's more so for Ceres." Mari said with a shrug as she placed her hands on her hips. At least it wouldn't be too hard to spot them. 

Big giant half lion thing flying in the sky? Yeh. Easy. Taming one? Not so much. Especially if it involved climbing hills. Mari grimaced. Part of her wanted to nope on out of there. "I hate climbing..." Mari mumbled as she stepped back and stretched. If she were gonna be moving like that, best make herself feel limber. 

"So if you're looking for a nest, I assume you're wanting to tame a younger one or a hatchling or whatever the hell baby Griffin's are called, right? Or ya gonna go for big mama or papa?"

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

Before closing her menu, Yuki went to her inventory to ensure that she had switched out her weapon and shield with some rings she had obtained awhile ago. They help her find materials, so it wouldn't be weird to assume that they would be able to help her find a familiar in the same right. Once that was done, she closed her menu and approached a cliff face. A quick inspection showed that it would require a bit of scaling to reach the top.but it wouldn't take too long.

"This doesn't look like a bad place to start looking. If there happens to be nothing at the top, we can still get a good vantage point of where to go next. I'll be trying to get a younger Gryphon. I don't think the parents will try to come and murder me five floors up or anything, if it has parents. If we're lucky, we can just find an egg- uh, if that's how they procreate I guess." Yuki said as she began to scale the side of the cliff, looking down to ensure Mari was following.

Once she made it to the top of the cliff, she reached down and helped Mari up. The side of the hill went up much further but there was not need to go any further. A nest laid messily on the other side of the cliff. Huge, big enough for two Gryphons. Upon further inspection, the two could see a cave, likely where they actually slept. Why the nest wasn't in there was the biggest mystery, but that was fine. A batch of broken eggs lay quietly inside the nest, except a single one. Yuki opened her menu over the egg and moved it to her inventory. If she attempted to climb down the cliff with this giant egg in her hands, she would surely drop it. She looked to Mari and nodded at her, making sure not to say anything if the parents were around and the two of them made their way back down the cliff without any problems.

@Mari

Searching for Familiar: LD - 15+3=18 Familiar Found

Edited April 1, 2020 by Zajcica

[Mari 1]

The two found a cliff face, Mari grimaced, she was fine...ish with. Mari didn't really like the idea of having to climb it; she'd have preferred to wait around the bottom but Yuki does as Yuki does. Without asking Mari about it she started to climb. Mari groaned. She'd have to have another word with the girl about manners. Not that Mari was all too great with them herself, but damn.

Mari shook her head as she followed Yuki slowly, She didn't need Yuki's offer of help so managed to haul herself up onto the edge of the cliff herself. "You know Yuki you really need to-" Mari began, but off she went. Well, at least she was determined and driven. Couldn't exactly say that about a lotta people these days. Mari facepalmed and once again followed, she did say she'd protect Yuki but  it was like a DPS getting angry at the healer for not staying close if they ran off. "If you keep running off like that it's gonna be a little hard for me to protect ya, you know." Mari said.

Finally, it seemed that Yuki had slowed down. She simply picked up the giant egg. just like that.  "Well..." Mari said as she kicked at some of the discarded egg shells. "I suppose finding a stationary object is easier than one that's flying around, eh?"

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki winced a little. Maybe she was a bit to eager to get things done, but it seemed like it would probably be best if they got through this as quickly as possible. If they over stayed there welcome there, the parents could have came back and ripped them to shreds for taking their egg.

"S-Sorry. I just thought we should get this done as quickly as possible. I keep dragging you around a lot for my own benefit... She mumbled to herself in frustration. It was obvious that she didn't like relying on another person to ensure that she stayed alive, but when you're playing a tank, you kind of need the help, so she thought. "I promise I'll continue to get stronger so that when we quest together, we'll be on mutual ground, and will be less like me just using you to help me level up..." Yuki went silent after that. Probably best to not go to far into that topic right now.

"I heard this quest could be difficult for some people but it seems like I got it done no sweat. It should hatch soon, since all the other ones were hatched."

@Mari

Attempt 1/3; failed

Edited April 1, 2020 by Zajcica

[Mari 1]

"Just be mindful of the other people in your party." Mari said. "I mean...it's not a big deal but it's not something you should keep doing. I don't wanna chastise you constantly, and at the end of the day - you'll do what you want and as I always say, f**k what other people think. But, at the same time if you are in a party with others. Be mindful of them."  They were walking on even surface now, thank gods there was no more steep mountains to climb. "Since yeh, you have been dragging me around - it's not about how strong you are, its just about being considerate of others. Maybe check with them before running into battles or scaling cliffs."

 

Yuki mentioned how easy the quest had been. That's when Mari realised she probably didn't check the entirety of the quest.
"Finding it is only part of the quest." Mari said, then pointed to Yuki, since she had the egg in her inventory. "You just picked up an egg. You haven't tamed it yet. Can't really tame something that hasn't been born."

@Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki nodded to her friend as she mentioned to be wary of others feelings when she chose to do something in their party. It made sense, after all, if she was in Mari's shoes, she wouldn't want people just running off on their own to get hurt when she was there to help them. "I'll do my best to be more considerate of your feelings Mari."

Yuki looked back through the quest objectives, and Mari wasn't wrong. She had yet to tame the actual familiar, if she didn't try soon, it wouldn't work as a familiar, it would just be an egg in her inventory. She pulled it back out and set it on the ground wondering what she even needed to do. That was when the egg started to break open. Yuki's heart skipped a beat. How would she tame it? Would it not just accept her if it hatched or would it know that it wasn't meant to be with Yuki and just fly off.

"Alright, well here it comes. Let me give it a try then." Yuki watched the Gryphon pop out of the egg and give a hearty squawk before looking over at the two girls. Yuki smiled at it and held out her hand. How were you even supposed to tame a gryphon, surely not like it was a puppy or something. That's all she had to work with though. "H-hey there little guy. It's nice to meet you, my name is Yuki and I want you to be my partner." The gryphon looked a bit confused before it jumped out of the egg and approached Yuki's hand, inspecting it curiously. After a moment, it made another timid squawk at her. Yuki smiled. "H-Hunh. I think that worked." Yuki sighed in relief and looked over at Mari with a slight smile.

@Mari

Familiar Tamed.

Edited April 1, 2020 by Zajcica

[Mari 1]

Mari sighed as she crossed her arms, leaning with her weight to one side. "Appreciate it - I know I seem harsh - but I figure it's better you hear it, than just letting it go unchecked. I'd...kinda hate for you to piss off the wrong person, or get into trouble in a tough fight. Having a talk like this is better than a slap in the face as you watch your health dwindle into the red, or anger the wrong person who just draws their blade without thought."

She paused, knowing Yuki probably felt like she was berating her; that was kinda the case, but it was not without reason. Maybe Mari just didn't wanna see Yuki hurt, maybe in a way it was her taking her frustrations out on the poor rambunctious pinkette. "Thanks for taking it into consideration though, it's all I can ask. Least you're not snapping at me for being a dull voice of reason."  Mari gave Yuki a small smile to show that she meant it.

Mari watched as Yuki pulled the egg out her inventory, then as the Griffin hatched. "Ah." She blinked, well, that was quicker than expected. "Yeh, looks like it worked. If it said the quest is complete then good job. I just fed mine familiar food - but hey, mine's a fish so nothing really complicated about that. Well..." Mari stretched. "If that's everything I'd best be going. You know to message me if you need me." Mari gave Yuki a wave.

"I got a long way to travel after all. Take care, don't charge in recklessly now."

And with that , they parted ways.

@Zajcica