[F04 - PP] Where do I Begin?

[Bahr 0]

Spoiler

STATS
LEVEL - 60
HP - 1230
EN - 120
DMG - 19
MIT - 79
ACC - 3
EVA - 4
FALLEN - 12
HOLY - 6
HOLY BLESSING - 24
BATTLE HEALING - 62
PHASE

HOME BUFFS
» WELL RESTED
     ➥ -1 EN FOR THE FIRST THREE TURNS OF COMBAT
» RELAXED
     ➥ +15 TO OUT OF COMBAT HP REGENERATION
     ➥ FULL ENERGY REGENERATION AFTER TWO POSTS OUT OF COMBAT
» SQUEAKY CLEAN
     ➥ REDUCE INCOMING DOT DAMAGE BY 25% FOR FIRST INCOMING DOT INFLICTED IN THREAD
» FILLING
     ➥ INCREASE EFFECTIVENESS OF A SINGLE CONSUMED FOOD ITEM IN A THREAD BY +1 T1 SLOT
» ITEM STASH
     ➥ +1 BATTLE-READY INVENTORY SLOT
» DELICIOUS
     ➥ COMBINE 3 IDENTICAL FOOD ITEMS INTO A FEAST ONCE PER THREAD
» SKYLIGHT EXTENDED MOD LIMIT
     ➥ EXTENDED MOD LIMIT EXPERTISE INCREASE BY 1
» ANGLER
     ➥ +1 MATERIAL GAINED WHILE FISHING
» MULTIPURPOSE
     ➥ GAIN +1 TO LD, STEALTH RATING, STEALTH DETECTION, OR PROSPERITY TO ONE POST IN A THREAD
     ➥ CAN BE APPLIED AFTER THE ROLL
» DECOR: <<SPOOKY AMENITY>>
     ➥ REDUCE INCOMING DOT DAMAGE BY 5% FOR FIRST INCOMING DOT INFLICTED IN THREAD

SKILLS

NON-COMBAT SKILLS
» EXTENDED MOD LIMIT R1 >>> R2 WITH SKYLIGHT BUFF
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ ALLOWS FOR THE USE ONE 1 >>> 2 ADDITIONAL MODS
» FISHING

COMBAT SKILLS
» PARRY
     ➥ POST ACTION
     ➥ REDUCE FINAL DAMAGE OF NEXT ATTACK AGAINST YOU BY 50% (ROUNDED DOWN) AND NEGATES STUN/PARALYSIS EFFECT OF THAT ATTACK
          ➥ COOLDOWN: 2 TURNS
» BATTLE HEALING R5
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ WHILE IN COMBAT, USER HEALS FOR 5% (62 HP) OF THEIR MAX HP EACH TURN

EXTRA SKILLS
» DISGUISE
     ➥ FREE ACTION
     ➥ +1 EVA UNTIL START OF YOUR NEXT TURN
          ➥ COOLDOWN: 3 TURNS
» MEDITATION
     ➥ POST ACTION
     ➥ RECOVER AN ADDITIONAL 15 ENERGY - GETTING HIT BY AN ATTACK BEFORE YOUR NEXT TURN REDUCES ADDITIONAL ENERGY RECOVERY TO 9
          ➥ COOLDOWN: 3 TURNS

WEAPON SKILLS
» TWO-HANDED STRAIGHT SWORD R5
     ➥ +7 DMG WHEN TWO-HANDED WEAPON IS EQUIPPED

ARMOR SKILLS
» LIGHT ARMOR R5
     ➥ +25 MIT

MODS
» LIGHT ARMOR MOD: ATHLETICS
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ +1 DMG WHEN WEARING LIGHT ARMOR
     ➥ +30 HP WHEN WEARING LIGHT ARMOR
» LIGHT ARMOR MOD: SPRINT & ACROBATICS
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ +1 EVA WHEN WEARING LIGHT ARMOR
» PARRY MOD: JUSTIFIED RIPOSTE
     ➥ POST ACTION: COMBINE WITH PARRY
     ➥ SUCCESSFUL PARRY STUNS OPPONENT
          ➥ COOLDOWN: 3 TURNS
» WEAPON MOD: PRECISION
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ +1 ACC
» WEAPON MOD: TWO-HANDED STRAIGHT SWORD FEROCITY
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ +1 DMG WHEN USING 2HSS SWORD ARTS
» WEAPON MOD: TWO-HANDED STRAIGHT SWORD FINESSE R3
     ➥ PASSIVE
     ➥ REDUCES THE EN COST OF TWO-HANDED STRAIGHT SWORD SWORD ARTS BY 3

EQUIPMENT

WEAPON
» [EQUIPPED] "DAWN'S DEMISE" - TWO-HANDED STRAIGHT SWORD (T3 - DEMONIC)
     ➥ FALLEN 2
          ➥ +12 TO BASE DAMAGE ON NATURAL ROLLS OF 6-8
     ➥ HOLY
          ➥ +6 TO BASE DAMAGE ON NATURAL ROLLS OF 9 OR HIGHER
     ➥ PHASE
          ➥ IGNORES 50% OF MIT ON NATURAL ROLLS OF 9 OR HIGHER

ARMOR
» [EQUIPPED] "BLOODSTAINED COAT" - LIGHT ARMOR (T3 - DEMONIC)
     ➥ +54 MIT
     ➥ +1 EVA
     ➥ HOLY BLESSING
          ➥ AFTER TAKING DAMAGE, USER HEALS 24 HP AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FOLLOWING TURN

TRINKET
» [EQUIPPED] "EAGLE'S EYE" - TRINKET (T1 - DEMONIC)
     ➥ +2 EVA
     ➥ +2 ACC

FAMILIAR
» [EQUIPPED] SWINE BAJESUS R3
     ➥ +9 DMG

They'd been sitting in silence for awhile, eyes focused anywhere besides one another. Bahr's had settled on what lay beyond the glass pane separating them from the frosty outdoors. Wisps of snow carried by tumultuous gusts of air defined the environment of the fourth floor, the same as it did many days. Despite having just been out there, Bahr found it a bit hard to relate to the harshness of the weather from where he sat. The White Rabbit Tavern was as warm and inviting as always - even if his company wasn't.

It was here that he should have been seated the whole time. This entire situation could have been avoided had he simply stayed to his route and put off visiting that site to some other time. A more private time. Though, if she hadn't appeared when she had, what would have been the outcome of that skirmish? It was anyone's guess.

"I..." The word croaked through tired vocal chords, practically atrophied by the extended silence they'd subjected themselves to. How long had they been sitting there? An hour, at least. But it felt like more. "I can explain everything."

She didn't look convinced. Skeptical. Maybe even fearful. Studying her expression was even more painful that the reality behind it, so he averted his gaze once more. "I wouldn't just do that for no reason. You know that." His practically pleading assertion was only met with more silence. "Do you even want an explanation?"

[Lessa 1]

Spoiler

Basics Level: 50 Health: 1045 Energy: 100 DMG: 16 MIT: 89 ACC: 4 THNS: 36 BLD: 24   Skills/Mods    R5 2HSS R5 Heavy Armor Howl R3 MIT Familiar Survival Precision Ferocity Athletics Fishing

Equipment Scarecrow's Sickle (DMG/DMG/DMG/BLD) Rosebud Charm (ACC/ACC/ACC) Rose Gauntlets (THRN/THRN/HM) Inventory Transportation Crystal

Housing Buffs Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat. Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down). Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests. Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating,   Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll.

The cup was long-since empty - Lessa had downed it in three long gulps within minutes of sitting down. Now she simply passed the container from hand to hand, occasionally pausing to watch the remaining drops race down the smudged glass surface. Otherwise, her gaze rest on the crackling fire, the scuffed table-top, the other patrons. Three different times she caught Alexander's eye, but dismissed him with a short shake of her head when he moved toward the table. As the minutes piled atop each other, a trembling Jenga tower threatening to topple, Lessa's eyes moved restlessly from point to point. After an hour, she'd looked at everything but him.

"I..." 

Her eyes shot straight to his.

 "I can explain everything."

They dropped again, content to study her clasped hands as they rest beside the empty glass. Did she want an explanation? Of course. The bigger question was whether she'd be able to handle it. Whether she'd accept what he had to say. Whether they'd walk away from this stronger... or not walk away at all.

She drew in a long, slow, measured breath. "I know. I know you had your reason. I just-" A full sixty minutes of sitting in silence, and she'd failed to compose an adequate response. "I just don't know. I don't understand-" No, this was the wrong road. If she continued down this path, she'd lose him. Despite everything she'd seen, and everything she felt, she didn't want to give up on him. I just need to know what I've fallen into. So she forced herself to look at him, and said, "But I want to. I want to understand."

[Bahr 0]

"But I want to. I want to understand."

Good. That was a start. But how could he even go about getting her to understand? Everything had become so twisted. She'd been on the outside of all of it.

"Alright," he sighed, a mixture of concern and relief in his tone. "Alright." An echo of himself. Doing anything he could to buy time while he sorted out his thoughts. A few more minutes passed in silence while he grasped at straws in his mind. Eventually he relented, realizing that there would be no way to adequately put his feelings into words, or explain his motivations. Words wouldn't be enough. More would be required to persuade her.

So he stood. Extended his hand as an offer to help her out of her own seat. "If you really mean that, I'm going to need to show you." Even there, in a safe zone, she seemed hesitant to so much as grasp his hand. I won't hurt you, he wanted to whisper, but knew he couldn't. That's the sort of thing someone in Aincrad tells you before they lead you straight into an ambush. He'd been on the receiving end enough times to know.

"Do you trust me?"

[Lessa 1]

A memory came to her. The sweet perfume of flowers mingled with the aroma of home-cooked food. Tables and chairs were replaced by towering trees and lush vegetation, and she could practically feel the warm sun on her face. She saw his face as he beamed down at her, those mismatched eyes wide and laughing. The breeze through his white hair, his hand as he offered it to her. The way his lips moved as they formed the words.

"Trust me, alright?"

She had. She'd taken his hand, taken his word, and given herself over to him entirely. The result had been the best day of her life. 

Now, as she studied his outstretched hand, it felt more like an olive branch than an invitation. If she followed him, everything she'd known might be proven false. If she believed him, he might use her emotions against her. If she trusted him, the Bahr she'd seen in that snow-covered clearing might return. 

"Do you trust me?"

She heard herself say it, voice weak and barely a whisper. She felt her fingertips graze his palm as her hand slid into his.

"Yes."

[Bahr 0]

"Yes."

It wasn't convincing, but it was still better than the alternative.

"Alright."

FLOOR ONE

It wasn't long before they emerged in the Town of Beginnings. It had been a short jaunt from White Rabbit to the teleportation plaza, and now they found themselves are where it all started. Bahr had found himself thinking back to those first days several times since he met Lessa. He'd wondered if perhaps they'd crossed paths during his stay here. You'd think that someone like Lessa would be memorable enough to know for sure, but the truth was that he couldn't remember. Everything from those days was a distant blur. He hardly remembered any of it.

"This way," he instructed as he started toward the gate at the edge of the city's perimeter, maneuvering through the flock of lower leveled players that typically crowded in the plaza. It was too loud there to have a meaningful conversation, but the ruckus began to quiet the further they made it away from the town square. Things here weren't the same as they had once been, and it seemed that with each passing month the population of the Town of Beginnings stretched thinner and thinner. There were plenty of visitors still - Bahr and Lessa no exception. But after years trapped in the game, it was only natural that the volume of lower level players would slowly diminish. Eventually, with enough time, the place would be a ghost town.

Eventually, they made their way into the field. Scarcer still were the players that perused these rolling plains, only a handful of travelers visible as far as the eye could see. "I spent a lot of time here before I started climbing to the higher floors," Bahr explained. "I completed every quest available before I moved on. Even then, I had a late start. The game had been going almost four years by that point." His feet carried him without much input from his brain, mind muddied with the memories this space held - both the good and the bad. That was fine. He knew the trail well.

"My very first time out, I was following someone who had decided to go fight the Dragon Hatchling on this floor. The emerald one, if memory serves. I honestly don't remember." The rocks that littered the dirt path crunched beneath their feet as they moseyed along, the only other sound being the whisper of the trees as the breeze disturbed their leaves, and the chirping of the birds that resided within them. "Her name was Kit. We formed a party. And it was stupid, what we'd planned to do. There was no way we could have beaten it, and the third player who joined our party told us as much. Her name was Kirbs. Higher leveled then either Kit or I, but similarly ill-equipped to fight the monster."

"Hello there! What are fair people like you doing on a nice day like this?"

She'd been so full of life back then.

Get it together.

"The three of us became thick as thieves after that," Bahr continued. "I owe my progression through the first tier, and parts of the second, to them. They were my reason, for a time. Like little sisters to me." 

He came to a stop at a crossroads. The crossroads. Slowly, he turned toward her - and for a moment, he saw flashes of both Kit and Kirbs' faces in hers. The flicker dissipated as quickly as it had come. 

"They were my best friends."

[Lessa 1]

Did he even realize he was holding her hand? 

Lessa rolled the question over in her mind as they walked, side by side, down the busy first-floor streets. He didn't treat the connection like a leash to drag her along, nor did he squeeze it tight like an anchor. The contact simply was, and she looked at her hand in his as Bahr's gaze remained fixed elsewhere. Though his eyes searched the space mere feet ahead of them, his mind was lightyears away. 

This isn't my show. She understood the fact as completely as any other truth she'd ever known. He wants to walk me through it all, but my presence really isn't necessary to tell the story. I'm not a part of this, I'm just along for the ride.

So she let the stifling silence surround them, even when it threatened to suffocate her. She forced away the anxiety that dogged her, and the fear that nagged at the back of her mind. This was not the Bahr she knew, but neither was the one she'd seen poised over Pinball, sword pulsing with potent power. No, she insisted, they're the same. They're both my Bahr. The man who walked beside her now was too complex, too dynamic, to be packed away in a neat, tidy box. And if she ever hoped to love who he was, she would have to understand who he had been. So she followed, wordlessly, as he led her down memory lane.

"The game had been going almost four years by that point." 

She remembered him telling her about his delayed start, though she couldn't entirely remember why. He'd stayed in the Town of Beginnings, but for what? Waiting with a friend? Lessa could hardly imagine that fear was the culprit, given his aptitude for combat. Then again, this was based off the Bahr she knew, and not the man he'd been half a dozen years ago. At least his zeal for completing quests came as no surprise. It was likely he'd finished more quests than she had.

Even as Bahr began to speak of his friends, a sense of dread settled over Lessa. Like a thick storm cloud, it stole some of the shine she was used to seeing on his handsome face, and dulled the warmth of the bright sun overhead. These two women had meant the world to Bahr at one time, but until now, she had never heard of them. Are they who he'd spoken of when he'd mentioned saying goodbye to someone that night in the White Rabbit?

There were simply too many unknowns, so she said the only words that came to her, as uninspired as they were. "They sound really great."

[Bahr 0]

Bahr nodded. "They were great," he concurred. Then, he pointed to a patch of grass.

"That's where I first encountered Pinball. He was lazing about in that patch there, trying to sleep from the looks of it. He had an orange cursor even back then, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. We even talked, a little."

"You from the Frontlines? Tell me something. Is it as bad there as it is here?"

"They're barely human."

Bahr's face contorted into a grimace. "He looked at me as though I was an ant. I suppose I was, back then. I didn't even have any Perfect equipment yet." He shook his head, as though to shake the memory away. "We actually only survived against the dragon that day because he tailed us. Killed the thing before the fight had even started. So, again, I was inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt."

His feet started moving again, away from there. Off of the path, and into the grass of the rolling knoll. "It wasn't until some time after that, but Kirbs filled us in on how he got that cursor. There was a boy she'd liked, and Pinball struck him down right in front of her. No rhyme or reason, apparently. Snapped, and her boyfriend was gone. Just like that." He squeezed her hand, absently. A reminder that they still had each other, when some people didn't. "Killed other people after that, too."

Eventually, they came to the shore of a lake. A tree provided some shade, which was welcome given how hot it was that day. As they basked in its cool, Bahr's eyes trailed around until they came to a rest on a nearby boulder. "And that..." He pointed to it. "... is where I almost died." He allowed his hand to fall to his side. "Pinball found me here. I met up with Oscar, when he was first starting out. I was actually taking him on the dragon quest, as coincidental as that may sound. Pinball found us, and tried to cut me down. Almost killed Oscar in the process, too." 

He paused for a moment while trying to collect the words. "I still don't know why he let me live that day. He could have killed me in an instant. Oscar, too. I was one mediocre strike from evaporating into nothingness. Lord knows, that was his intent. He told us as much. He wanted me dead. Labeled me 'corrupt.'" For the first time since the crossroads, Bahr's mismatched eyes once again met with Lessa's cool blue. "We'd met by then, you and I. At the Monument. We hadn't fought the Lich King yet. Part of the reason I was so fast and reckless back then was because I needed to get strong enough to stand up to him. In my eyes, my life - and the lives of those closest to me - depended on it."

[Lessa 1]

Pinball cut down Kirbs’ boyfriend in cold blood? And for no reason whatsoever? The concept clashed so completely with what she knew of the man, and a part of her longed to say as much. There must be more to the story, she nearly said, the words dancing on the tip of her tongue. But she pressed her lips together, drawing them into a paper-thin line as Bahr continued his tale. Arguing with him would be both inappropriate and insensitive. Instead, Lessa clenched her jaw, drawing in a deep breath through her nose, and squeezing back when she felt his hand tighten on hers.

”I’m grateful he didn’t kill you that day,” she eventually commented, then regretted it immediately. What a lackluster reply to such devastating news; it was the real-life equivalent of replying to an important text message with “k.” So the blonde turned, watching the clouds drift across the lake’s mirror-sheen surface. A fish leaped, splashed down again, and waves of shimmering sunlight rippled out in seemingly endless circles. It was beautiful, but not to Lessa. Not in that moment, for though she watched it all, her mind was somewhere else entirely. She saw the lakeside as Bahr described it, and the brush with death he’d received there. She saw a frozen clearing, where he’d nearly dealt the final blow himself. She saw a boy In the shadow of a towering monument, reaching for comfort. Reaching for her.

Now she reached for him, placing her other hand gently on his shoulder. “I’d suspected you had your reasons,” she told him, “even back then. Something had to motivate you to fight so hard. I figured it had to do with what you saw on the Monument that day but now-“ Her voice trailed, and she realized she wasn’t entirely sure how to end that train of thought. “Well, it makes more sense.”

[Bahr 0]

"I'm grateful he didn't kill you that day."

Something wasn't right here. Her hand may have been on his arm, but she was miles away. Hesitant. But why? What did she have to be conflicted about? Her boyfriend had almost been murdered by the very man she had caught him fighting. The same man who had killed others, and had the orange cursor to show for it. "He killed someone else and almost killed me." That wasn't enough to convince her?

"Well, it makes more sense."

Bahr was genuinely annoyed, now. Makes more sense? She didn't know anything.

"There's more," he breathed, doing his best not to let his agitation come through in his tone. His eyes flickered back toward the path, and then back to the Town of Beginnings. There were no clouds, no rain. Nothing to accent the tragedy of the situation. It was sunny, and the heat of that spherical inferno bathed the land with a familiar warmth. The world kept turning, even if Bahr had felt like he'd been standing still. "Let's head back."

As Bahr kicked a pebble down the path, he took a deep breath. "It wasn't long after that that my party began falling apart. Or- well, I guess it had been for awhile. Both Kirbs and Kit were starting to spiral. So was I, I suppose. But a big argument broke out between Kit and Kirbs one day, because apparently Kit had gone to Pinball asking for advice on what to do if she planned on killing someone. A few days after that, I looked at their location data, and saw that they were in the same place. I decided to go and tag along, because I figured they may have found a way to make up."

"But when I got there, all I saw was an orange cursor over Kit's head, and Kirbs lining up the killing blow toward her." Never mind. There was a cloud. Just one. And it have very convenient timing. "I managed to get in the way of the spear in time," he continued to explain, "but it hardly made a difference. It was clear that Kit had lost it enough to start a fight, and Kirbs had lost it enough to finish it. They both ran off, and I never saw either of them again." 

They were making their way back into town now, and the Monument of Life was only a short jaunt away. 

"The last thing I told her was that she was no better than Pinball."

There it was. That horrifying edifice. The space it occupied held both good memories and bad, but more bad than good. In fact, the only silver lining about this place was that he'd met her here.

"There," he hissed as his finger traced a line through the air toward her name. 

«Kirbs»
Player-Killed by Pinball.

There were three other such names on the Monument that had been crossed out, with Pinball as their reason. Bahr did what he could to keep his eyes from trailing off to the 'Z' section in search of them. "There's others. How many more before someone stops him, do you think?" There was a sharpness in his eyes as they found hers again. "How much goodwill can someone like that be afforded?"

[Lessa 1]

"And you set out to be the one to stop him." 

There was something poetic in the fact that Bahr's journey concluded where their's had begun. Unfortunately, Lessa was not in the mood for appreciating such things. Instead, she stared at the monument's slick, reflective surface. Her gaze flicked across the nearby names, and though none said Pinball, the pit of her stomach still roiled. There was absolutely no reason for Bahr to lie about the multiple murders, especially when it was so easy to confirm for herself. And if that were true, it was likely he didn't lie about Kirbs' boyfriend, either. Besides, she trusted Bahr. 

Right? Her blue eyes slipped closed, and without sight, her warring emotions took center stage. Pinball had saved her, a completely undeniable fact. Yet perhaps she was giving the man far too much credit. Would she excuse Jack the Ripper if she learned he'd saved a life while killing so many others? Forgive Jeffrey Dahmer his sins because he might have had redeeming qualities? Why was her life worth more than those that Pinball had ended? What was it that carried the most weight, and better yet, why was it she who held the scales? What right did she have?

 How much goodwill can someone like that be afforded?

Of course I trust him.

Her eyes opened. All thought of Pinball's heroic rescue was shoved aside, locked away to be brought back out later. Or not. If she were to share the information with Bahr one day, it would be at a time when he might better process it. He didn't need any more on his plate, and god only knew that she didn't want to be the one to break him. Bahr mattered. Kirbs mattered. She, and the rest of Pinball's victims deserved better than Lessa's excuses. Pinball may have had his reasons, but so did Bahr, and she was beginning to understand them.

Lessa's first instinct was to turn Bahr away from the monument, a fruitless attempt at distraction, but something stopped her. Instead, Lessa slipped her arm inside her best friend's jacket and around his waist, taking up her post beside him. "I can't pretend to know what you're going through," she finally told him, looking back to the perfectly etched name of Bahr's lost companion. "And I don't really know what to say. What I do know is that you're not a monster." She paused for a moment, allowing her words to sink in, before she added, "For any of it. Not for what you said to Kirbs, not for the way you two left things, not for the fact she's dead, and not for what you almost did to Pinball." 

Without even recognizing the action, Lessa's hand groped for something to hold, before clutching a bit of his shirt's loose fabric. "I saw something that I wasn't meant to see, and I didn't understand it. I probably still don't, so I'm not going to say that I do. None of my friends were killed by other players, so I have no idea I would have done in your shoes." Her voice trailed, and she fell silent for a moment before she circled back around. "But you aren't a monster, and I'm not afraid of you. I just - well, I want you to know that."

[Bahr 0]

"You're not a monster."

It was what kept replaying in Bahr's mind, over and over, as she continued to explain herself and what she felt about all of it. It wasn't that Bahr didn't appreciate the rest of what she had to say, it was just that he appreciated that the most. I'm not a monster, he reminded himself as he let loose the breath he'd been holding back ever since she'd caught him fighting Pinball. Then he sucked in newer, fresher air. Desperately, like he'd been moments away from suffocating without it. And in that air, he felt the essence of her. Everything he'd been longing for since this twisted journey began.

He just wanted her. He wanted her to believe him, and understand him. And, for the first time since she found him dueling with his arch nemesis, it looked like she did. 

"But you aren't a monster, and I'm not afraid of you. I just - well, I want you to know that."

When had her arms snaked around his waist? When had he mirror the action, and pulled the comfort that was his love toward him? When had tears once again carved rivers into his cheeks?

"Damn it. I don't want another breakdown here," he sniffed, raising a palm to his face and wiping away the moisture. It was replaced immediately. "And it's always when you're around. What's up with that?" A chuckle followed, albeit weak. Then, silence. And that silence persisted for awhile as they remained frozen there; unmoving monoliths amid the patrons that shuffled nervously about that unholy place. And they held each other. Clung to each other, really. 

"Thank you."

THREAD COMPLETE.
No rewards.