[F19-PP] Through Turmoil, An Identity

[Raidou 1]

Amongst a heated scuffle long removed, a myriad of wooden tools of war littered about in a pile. A chore of fizzles and pops that force them to be reclaimed by the system. A single swaying robe in red held as a battle standard against a pair of shoulders, mirrored eyes shielded by what sunlight burned ablaze above.

The wanderer clad in his attire, single exposed steel as a flicker of yellow drains from its surface. A flourish to one side casting it away as it spun to a scabbard. The news would need to be delivered to Ralberg, that their crops would no longer be threatened, at least for a time. But for now rest, as he shuffles through a massive sea of gold in the wake of conflict. Behind him, a littering decay of equipment with no owner, breaking and vanishing. He takes a moment feeling the wind upon his brow, knowing this was non-negotiable. There was no other path, and although he wished there was he was not foolish enough to attempt to parley.

Not anymore.

Finding comfort in the smells that assailed across the wide expanse, drawing further and deeper a chill from the floor's birth. Taking a single seat in the center of a wide rolling sea of gold, a soft exhale as he sat. To his pocket a hand, to a book to which he had yet to finish. The Red Wanderer trying his damned to allow himself the ability to remember who he was after all this game had changed, losing himself in the drive forward. A single container with tea within, although bitter reminded him of home. He didn't enjoy it sweetened, and as it poured and offered to a cup he unfolds the book.

Raidou | HP:1790/1790 | EN:176/176 | DMG:20 | MIT:61 | EVA:1 | ACC:3 | REC:1 | TAUNT | LD:5 | BH:89

Spoiler

Raidou, The Red Wanderer
Level: 88
HP: 1790/1790
EN: 176/176

Stats:
Damage: 20
Mitigation: 61
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 3
BH:89
REC:1
TAUNT
LD:5

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Auric Sol - Corona [T3/Perfect/2HSS]: Damage 3
Armor: Red Wanderer's Robe [T1/Perfect/L.A] +3 Evasion
Misc: Commander's Scrutiny - Duress [T1/Perfect/Trinket]: +2 Accuracy, Taunt

Skills:
Gatherer [Obtained]
Two Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Extended Mod Limit R3 [Obtained]
Parry [Obtained]
Howl [Obtained]
Battle Healing [Rank 5]
Fighting Spirit [Obtained]
Light Armor [Rank 5]
Searching [Rank 5]
Charge [Rank 5]
Extended Weight Limit [Obtained]

Extra Skills:
Concentration
Familiar Mastery: Protector
Survival

Active Mods:
Focused Howl
Finesse Rank 3
Athletics
Sprint and Acrobatics
Tracking
Ferocity
Justified Riposte
Precision

Inactive Mods:
Vengeful Riposte
Emergency Recovery
Detect
Bull Rush
Reveal
Stamina

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystal*1
Pillar Fragment [Unique/Glowstone]
Eternal Watch - Tenacity [T3/Perfect/Trinket]: Recovery 2, Accuracy 1
Mass Heal Crystal*5
Incarceration [T1/Perfect/Debuff Song] Double DoT*2
Hypnosis 2 [T1/Rare/Debuff Song/Instant] -2 Accuracy*3
Tactician's Gaze - Ogma [T1/Perfect/Trinket]: +3 Accuracy
Eye of Midas - Larceny [T1/Perfect/Trinket]: +3 Prosperity
Empty Slot
Empty Slot

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor []: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:
Kumatetsu Statue: +1 Base Damage for a thread

 

[Astreya 0]

Just one more floor.

Astreya had been telling herself that for the last fifteen floors.  She had been stuck, almost entirely due to her own fear, in the Town of Beginnings since the very near start of the game until now, just eking out an existence in a day-to-day life that had become mind-numbingly normal.  She would chat and hang out with the other lowbies that had seen the death that would come from a failed combat with a monster, and were also too afraid to leave.  They would work together to gather materials in the safety of being right near the towns gate, selling enough to get the Col to eat.

It wasn't exactly a glamorous existence, but they had made it work while each of them tried to deal with the trauma of the situation.  They were effectively prisoners in a game, and with how long had passed on the outside, it seemed to be impossible for them to be disconnected in any way at all- leaving them here.  

Astreya had been absently aware of those on the front lines, battling to get further and farther, to 'beat' the game.  But it wasn't until one of the lowbies she had been friends with had nearly died from a monster attack that she realized that was happening on the front lines as well.  The brave people up there didn't have any replacements.  If they died, that was it, and if they ran out of people at the top... they'd all be stuck here forever.  

That sudden trigger in her mind had brought her to the current mindset.  She had to help.  She wasn't a gamer in any way- this was her first MMO, let alone VRMMO.  She was extremely active in her day-to-day in the real world, and had some of the natural reflexes to be decent, here.  But thanks to her dad, she was tactically-minded... she just didn't know the game well enough.  So she had thought to expand her horizons and climb up a bit.  Just to see how far up she could go, to face her fear and come to understand it, so she could confront it and deal with it.

But she was hesitating on Floor 19.  Getting through from 10 to 11 had been a trying experience, and she was certain that 20 and 21 would be worse.  Currently she was just absently wandering throughout the Floor, and was currently in a vast field of what seemed to be wheat, when she saw a momentary flash of red.  Curious, she set a hand on her blade, steadily coming closer in case it was a monster and she needed to beat a hasty retreat... but it was a man.  

A man reading and having tea.  

She paused, arching a brow.  She was far enough back as to not be threatening or imposing, but nonetheless, she was curious and nosey both.  "Kind of a weird place for a tea party," she called out, a small smile on her face.  "I've got some snacks, if you'er feeling social."  Astreya wasn't used to going as long as she had without talking with someone.  Truth be told she was socially starving for contact- human or NPC or whatever.

Full Stats:

Spoiler

	Astreya
Basics:	Skills:	Equipment:
HP: 180 Energy: 18 Damage: 6 Mitigation: 17 Thorns: 9	2H Straight Sword[Journeyman] Sword Arts: Spoiler [x2 AoE] Blast (2 Energy +2 per target hit) - A pair of horizontal sweeping strokes that hits multiple targets. [x2] Straight (2 Energy) - Begins with the player bending their knees before thrusting forward with a singular powerful strike covering the gap between you and your opponent. [x3] Scooped (3 Energy) - A three-hit sword art that employs varying over and under-cut motions. [x4 Stun] Lightning (7 Energy) - A combination of four slashes of varying angles aimed at a single target stunning them. [x4] Cyclone (4 Energy) - A multi-hit sword art that uses the user's heel as a pivot to spin violently, chaining together multiple hits. Heavy Armor[Novice] +8 MIT	Weapon: 2H Straight Sword [Damage] Armor: Battle Dress [Mitigation][Thorns] Items: Starter Healing Potion | 50HP | 3 T1 Health Potion | 40 HP | 5 T1 Damage Potion | 1 Damage | 1 T1 Overhealth Potion | 50 MaxHP | 1

 

 

 

 

[Raidou 1]

"Isn't it." Raidou replied rhetorically to the girl, unsure how to respond but all of these little exchanges had begun to make them easier. A fold of the leather-bound book in his hands shut, after a ribbon is tucked between the pages. His reading would have to wait for another time. A soft breeze carries across the rolling field of gold, casting them into a gentle fold before springing back upright. A death still lingered on his thoughts, and although he was content with how it played out, and that the decision was the correct one.

It didn't make it any easier in the end.

"You're welcome to take a seat." Raidou responds again, upon his robe like a tarp with his legs crossed. Lifting his hand and peeling from the ether a salve container to play the part of glass. He was hardly a chef so only the single topping screw cap was what he usually carried but it would suffice. A deep inhale catches that smell, that liberating freedom that played on the wind. It was all too few that he had these moments of reflection with a clean plate, and he learned to savor their existence. A tide of battle on the horizon, an entire warehouse prepared to make that assault. A new black blade ready to stand in defiance. All the pieces were in place, all that was left was the calm before the storm.

Raidou was ready.

[Astreya 0]

The rhetorical question came across to Astreya as someone who was trying to either buy time to figure out something more to say, or who was just relatively unused to these sorts of 'small talk' styles of conversations in general.  She could be wrong, but the response left her with little to come back with and continue on with a back-and-forth with him, which left her a little uncertain on how to proceed.  

Thankfully, he didn't leave the conversation at that, and invited her over to take a seat.  The young woman beamed a grin at him.  "Sure!  Thanks!" she called as she approached, the curiosity on what he was doing here hidden behind her smile.  

As she approached, she opened her own inventory and pulled out what seemed to be a set of cupcakes, before she paused, glancing at him.  "Do you like sweets?  I think I got some other stuff in here if not," she offered, not entirely sure given the fact that while she had been here in Aincrad, she really hadn't eaten much else.  She figured she might as well get to taste what she enjoyed the most while in here and not have to worry about any of the caloric values or having a balanced diet.  

Adjusting her battle-skirt, she came to take a seat in the fields a short distance from him.  Not so close as to crowd, but not so far as to show any sort of fear of him.  "You look pretty deep in thought," the young woman commented, the sapphire eyes watching him in curiosity, flickering over his features, expression and body language as her father had taught her to do.  "Anything you'd wanna share with a wandering stranger?" the girl asked, mostly just teasing him about it at the moment.  

"I'm Astreya," she offered, extending her hand for a handshake- showing that she, as a player, was Western from that habit alone.

 

@Raidou

Edited April 19, 2021 by Astreya

[Raidou 1]

A lift of his hand with a slow draw from the book as its placed to his side, grasping the girl's hand in his own. Recalling another that had done the same, even still it almost burned his skin with pins and needles accepting it. There was no change outwardly, practice came to effect but within the nomad was still nervous just repressed down. "I am not too particular on sweets, No." He responds gently to her with honesty, as she'd search him and find a pair of reflective lenses on the bridge of his nose.

She was younger, chipper, unspoiled by this world it seemed. Where most were left callous and detached, she was still beaming with hope. A rare thing. Releasing that handshake after a firm turn as she perched upon the red tapestry and begun to dig beneath. "Raidou." The name came with a nod, a link and a place of it away into a pocket for safe keeping. He'd begin to pour a glass of the stuff and offer the jar to her, while speaking with a quiet yet strength to his voice. "That optimism, do not let anyone take it from you. Keep close to those around you, protect one another and see this through. No risks. That is what I would give from one wanderer to another."

A truth he lived by, preached and ironed through solid concrete. A teaching that had created numerous of fighters that relied so heavily on another that they could overcome anything they faced. A network of support that seemed to have no end. An outstretched hand with an offered cup of tea to a frosted blue set of sapphire, from a gaze hidden beneath a sheet of glass. An anchor, a wall and a barrier, to keep what lay beneath that veil for only him to peruse. But one small act of kindness, that breeds another. Where Raidou struggled and yet others seemed to find him in that exposure, he cared but played a villain to many. There were only a select few that acknowledged the truth, and that was in a sacrifice willing to be made.

[Astreya 0]

"Whaaaaat?  You're like the first person I've met who doesn't want do sweets," the girl spoke, her mouth open in mild shock, before she had managed to get herself together for the handshake and introduction.  "Well hang on, let me see what else I have," she spoke, the young woman seemingly not at all in any sort of uncertainty surrounding this fellow, even if she had zero idea who he was.  But as he offered the tea to her, the girl politely closed her inventory, reaching out with mailed hands to take the tea from him.  "Thank you, Raidou," she returned, using his name with a smile as she pulled it close, about to take a drink, when the fellow began to speak further.

She nodded slowly at his words, a small smile spreading across her features.  "Yeah.  I knew some people that were scrambling to try and get to the Front Lines and they... aren't here anymore," she spoke quietly, the young woman's tone making it clear as to their fate.  "But!" she spoke, changing gears almost immediately, "I also just can't, like, sit back on the First Floor and wait for all the people clearing things out on the upper floors to do all the work, you know?" she added.

"Honestly, I just recently totally realized that up at the top if... things don't work out, that there might not be anyone to come up to replace them.  So I need to make sure that I take things nice and slow and get strong enough so I can help out in clearing out the floors.  Everyone's gotta have something they're, like, trying to get back to, right?  I just totally want to help everyone out," she cheered, the upbeat mood returning as quickly as it had gone with her momentary dive into uncertainty.  

"How about you?" she asked, curious.  She'd met a few interesting people so far.  This game attracted all kinds, it seemed.

[Raidou 1]

A slight smile, in a way the girl reminded him of a few someones. Wasn't the first to misunderstand how his tastes could savor bitter over sugar, but that was who he was. An almost desperate and frantic search cut short, a polite gesture and an ode to her desire to share what she had. As the jar playing glass was given away, she'd breathe deep in that green tea. "Not a problem, a small gesture paid in full." He'd swell in his own cup before finishing the last, pouring more with fluid and soft movements.

"Risk, A walk into the unknown." He'd speak nursing the liquid into the cup, living sentiment and ideals as it would drain into the white cylinder. "Haste can place you on uneven ground, underestimating your opponent and not preparing beforehand simply increases that risk. Lives are lost when such careless motions are made." The words would come off almost filled with sorrow, a mourning that lingered like a storm cloud. "It is important Astreya, that we do our best to understand what we face, every time we draw a blade. Prepare for the worst, know our enemies better than they know us." Setting down the carafe and using rounded fingers around the brim to lift it from where it was placed, he'd cup it with his other and smell softly the fumes as they played away.

"The frontline needs soldiers, patient ones. People ready face that risk with those around them." He spoke through closed eye, before taking a sip of the heated green mixture. "Take your time, make steps to grow without danger. Form bonds and trust in those who share your situation, protect them in equal. We are stronger together, this entire world is against us. It is much harder to face it alone." That last statement was tried and true in first person, he had tried to force it to his will and his strength was a decree to that. But one hand and one blade, one ideal and one heart only went so far.

[Astreya 0]

There was a certain eerie cadence in the way that Raidou spoke.  It felt a little like he was trying to come off as wiser than he might have actually been- but there was also a rhythm to it- so much so that she found herself almost lost within the way his words came across the field to her.  But all the same- he was correct in much of what he said... at least so far as she had been able to determine from her time here.  His was the voice of experience and she had been taught to pay attention when those with more knowledge than her offered some of that up- especially when there was no cost to do so.

"Yeah, like, I can totally get where you're coming from, too," she spoke with a nod as she leaned in, shimmying closer to him in her own excitement and willingness to learn.  "Exploring up a few floors, I was really able to see, like, just how much the whole game changes with each floor.  And it's crazy to think that, like, there were those who came before me and were able to clear out all of these floors, and the labyrinth and everything else in between."

She shook her head, grinning slightly.  "I think it's really awesome that people are like you say, Raidou.  Everyone is in this together, right?  I mean, there's probably a few bad eggs here and there, but like... I guess that for the most part, everyone wants out of here.  Which is like, totally understandable, right?"

Astreya was definitely a chatterbox, the girl always finding it difficult to know when to stop talking- which was perhaps, her biggest grievance.  You couldn't listen if your mouth was going.  "Have you...been on the front lines?" she asked, suddenly curious.  His wealth of experience and information had to come from somewhere.  That or maybe he was just full of it and had pulled her in, hook line and sinker.

[Raidou 1]

A bit of a lean toward the nomad sees him lean a bit back in his own right, there was still a barrier that he kept. Personal space was his own to keep and there was still some semblance of discomfort when it arose. "Every landscape imaginable, every smell and sight a new one." He'd cough softly, before taking another drink to steel his rising nerves. His attentions shift to his robe, laying beneath them both and still stunk of brimstone and oils. That smell would never fade, although it looked untarnished it remembered just as he did where they had been.

"To resist captivity is to be human, we are no animal yet are treated as such. Nothing more than a zoo." Raidou quipped to the state of affairs, and to how the system was designed to watch them through the bars. "Bad eggs...?" For a turn of phrase, it was stuck on his tongue. Risque, the most recent rendition of one such that she described. A man torn to pieces, and an animal proven in that moment of weakness where terror made him break away. His weakness was others strength, by sacrificing others for his own hide he had sealed his fate. An animal.

"Everyone wants to escape, save a select few. Some misguided, others to avoid reality in a false sense of security. It is hard to truly live with a guillotine hanging over you." He quipped peering into his glass still struggling to keep his distance, she was a curious one. There was something pleasant about one so eager to learn, but the proximity was unnerving for the nomad all the same. A silent nod to a lowered cup. "I have." The answer seemed low and humbled, allowing it to pass as truth but no boast. There was no crown to be held, as some would like to believe but union. Those willing to stand for what they believed in. Against odds stacked against them.

[Astreya 0]

The slight movement back away from her hadn't gone unnoticed by the sapphire-eyed girl and she reached for her tea once more, pulling back away from Raidou as she took a drink, all in one fluid motion.  She didn't want to cause anyone any undue stress- at least not on purpose.  She was something of a bleeding heart- she hated to see anyone in any amount of pain or discomfort.  It was part of the reason that she had taken it upon herself to be a tank sort, on the front lines.  She figured that no one else would want to be directly in harm's way... so she would do that for them.

His drink of tea and averting of the eyes was telling to his nervousness- perhaps she shouldn't talk quite so much.

"That's... true, yeah," Astreya admitted, when he referred to the game itself as a 'zoo.'  All the people were trapped here in this environment, and there was no one watching them except the guy who'd locked them in here.  Presumably.  Unless he'd been caught and jailed already back in the real world and then they were all just stuck in here until they managed to get out?  It didn't really change the perspective, but it sure felt a lot more depressing, that way.

The second thing she hadn't missed was how he had turned that phrase over a second time- but didn't elaborate on it in his eloquent manner of speech.  It had caught his interest- and yet he hadn't spoken on it.  There was something there- but it was not a bear that Astreya was ready to poke, at least not yet.  Maybe given some more time if she learned more about him.

His gaze remained on his own glass instead of keeping the conversation with her, and she couldn't help but to feel for him.  She had always been a social butterfly from a young age, even with her overbearing father.  People who shied away from conversations made her feel bad- as if her own excitement to talk somehow was an attack on their psyche.

"I think that even those that say they don't want to leave here are only doing so because they don't know what they have, back in the real world," she spoke, her 'peppy' speech dropping as she shifted up to her knees and then to her feet, taking a few steps away as she glanced away from him, giving Raidou some reprieve.  "I hope that when everyone is able to 'wake up,' that their friends and loved ones are waiting for them.  And if there aren't any, then I'll be their friend!"  She lifted her arms up to the warmth of the sun with that statement.

As he'd answered her regarding the front lines though, the smile she wore became a little sad.  "Not as exciting and glamorous as it sounds?  Fighting against the hordes of enemies for our freedom and all that?" she asked, glancing back over her shoulder at him.

[Raidou 1]

A spin of that cup in his hands, twirling a bit of the mixture in it before taking another sip. "It isn't no. Yes we are fighting for our freedom. But at what cost. I do hope your right, that once the players trapped in here are finally returned to reality, that they remember what it was like." He spoke through the lenses on the bridge of his nose, his anchor and ode to that very place. In Aincrad he hardly needed them, but in reality he did. By wearing them, he was constantly reminding himself what it was him and everyone was fighting for. Something so simple as a pair of glasses, playing the part to keep him sane and on track on the regular.

"You have quite the perspective, I would ask of you Astreya." The nomad pauses trying to swallow that discomfort and allow the girl to take back the seat he had stolen. "What is the plan, what is what you intend to do to make that happen? I would not pressure you, a war needs soldiers. People willing to die for what they believe in. It is not for everyone." Taking his index aloft and pressing the lenses firmly up in a glare of white. "Would you hide, or should I expect to see you there, fighting at our side some day?"

It was a question, that he had repeated so many times. One that could not be answered dishonestly in a way that would be convincing. It was easy for ideals to get in the way, but when push came to shove there was a proving that came along with it. There were those that hid, cast away from the conflict after failing that proof. In inverse, there were those that stood stronger against the tide. Took fate into their own hands and placed that bet two fold upon the table, the very same that would fight against a maelstrom of blood and fire. The very thing that assailed Raidou's dreams, his fiction made real. What would be her answer?

[Astreya 0]

Astreya didn't respond at first, merely glancing back over her shoulder and nodding at him as he spoke.  He was in agreement, that he hoped the people that were trapped here would be able to return to a semblance of normalcy once they finally left.  That they would be able to be with those they loved and had lost in this way.  Or rather, that their loved ones had lost them to this game.  It wasn't like a gaming addiction, where someone could find professional help and exist the spiral- but quite literally with their minds trapped in this hellscape forever, until they carved their own exit.

At the question Raidou began to propose to her, Astreya looked out to the distance once more, over the endless golden waves of swaying wheat.  It was a question that she had asked herself for a long time, now.  Despite her rather ditzy outer demeanor, the young woman was raised primarily by her father who had taught her to be perceptive, to think for herself and to think critically from a young age.  She knew that if someone died on the front lines, there wasn't going to be a respawn, and the only way that they could repopulate those numbers were to have people like her raise up from the bottom to come along to the front.

"There's no pressure," the girl spoke, her tone quiet- not at all how she had been.  "It's not like it's possible for every battle on the front lines to have everyone come out fine, right?  There's going to need to be people like me that are stepping up to help," the girl spoke, nodding toward him.  "I was saying it before too- I want to help everyone.  I get it.  A lot of people are still on the First Floor because they're scared and they don't want to put their life on the line.  I can't blame them for that- I was there too.  I'm not going to hold that against them.  I'll take all their hopes of getting out of here with me to the Front Lines and make sure that I rescue everyone," the woman spoke.  She wasn't being animated or silly- she was speaking from the heart.

However, she did seem to realize this, and immediately began to wave her hands in front of her face, as if dispelling fog or something else.  "Oh man!  Like, that totally sounded weird, right?  I'm, like, so sorry about that," the girl spoke.

[Raidou 1]

As she'd look to the field for her answer, Raidou set his glass down. There was an intensity searching her expression and her body language, with enough force to tear a hole clean through her frame. There was a shift, a newfound softness and honesty. Truth. Her eyes shift to his, a dead locked share of vision as sentiment is waved across that line. Shared. Listening to the whole of what she had to say, his head turning slightly toward his right shoulder. His eyes shut and take on the breeze that was playing against that field that they chose to hold this exchange, through chance alone.

This was not at all how he expected this day to turn out.

She seemed discouraged as soon as she realized she made that dive, trying to dismiss the truth and allow it to roll of her shoulders. "Not at all, you understand what you face." The nomad quipped as he removed his lenses and folded them up. A flare of red began to take his iris, mixing and swirling into a violet hue. Fighting spirit, a form of show and tell. Proof that she shared his vision. Again like a chain his eyes lock to hers. "People like us, you are not alone in this path you chose to walk. If you ever need assistance, some guidance, some support." A lingering miasma of red trailed off of him, a hatred tapped but contained in a focused fury. A slide of his hand opens a menu on his side.

A friend request sent.

A blur of crimson that matched the robe beneath him, like meditation with his legs folded. "I am ever only but a single call away. No risks, use what you have to help you. Carry that dream for as far as you can. Their hopes. Their lives. Become an Ideal, lose yourself in the cause and be prepared to make the sacrifice. You may just see the end."

[Astreya 0]

Astreya was not one to bare her soul to anyone, but she had found it happening more and more than what she'd like to happen, especially lately.  She wondered if this was in the same vein that caused people who were in dire straits together to draw closer if only because there was no time for secrets to be shared between them.  Her own armor that kept other people away from her real thoughts had dropped away there for a moment... and she had let Raidou see her for what she was, if only for a moment.

And then he was not teasing her for letting herself speak that way, but instead was offering his own assistance to her, and she blinked as the Friend Request came through, and the young woman blinked, a small smile flitting over her features as she accepted.  She didn't really know Raidou that well, but at the same time, he was still someone that she felt was open enough with her to trust him.  Besides, she didn't think that she'd ever actually turn down someone's friend request- even if that turned out to be a really bad idea.  

The red-to-violet in his gaze showed her that he was serious- that he wasn't just fooling with her or just trying to get information from her.  He was also very dedicated to getting out of here.  "I...thank you.  Sincerely," the girl spoke as she looked from him back out to the field of wheat.  "I don't really know what I can do, and how far I can go, but I intend to do as much as I possibly can for everyone," the girl spoke.  "Just because, like, I want to be there to help everyone if I can, y'know?  So if that means rubbin' shoulders with you in the future on the Front Lines then I'm gonna be there," she spoke with a wide grin, giving Raidou a thumbs up.

"But first I should probably, like, get brave enough to deal with some of the big scary monsters out there... or like, totally get some better gear first," the girl commented, glancing down at her own outfit.  "I've been rocking this since I started.  It looks real nice on me but I probably like, shouldn't judge my gear by that, huh?" she asked, still not quite sitting down yet.

[Raidou 1]

Still a bit of hesitation, but that was only natural. "I don't know what to say. There is nothing worth thanking me for." The notion perplexed him, as he took those lenses back open and returned them. He'd laid himself to bear for a moment, showed her the skill that he used to do what she wished to. "The desire is all it takes, and you'll be surprised how far you'll go." He opened the menus open and began to work them like a conductor with both hands, opening a roster of names in a cascading list with different shades.

A pause of his shuffling as he resized and transitions composed messages. At her armor, it was standard looking equipment for certain. "That can be solved faster than you think. One moment." Raidou slide open the boxes and checked her from head to toe, before sending a message to the guilds smith, the tailor and his own cousin. "I would offer you direction, but I understand if that is a bit more than you are willing to take. Your devices should be your own. There is value in doing it alone if you wish, what I would offer..." The screens slam shut all in unison with an almost clap of his hands. "Is a place where there are a range of faces and voices that share your own."

This mirrored that simple gathering trip so long ago, where his ideals found others that shared it and Firm Anima was formed.

A slide to his feet as he began to pick up and return the pieces that littered his robe into his inventory. A tea cup and and a thermos. A brush of his hands and a free of the crimson red robe, before a flutter sees it return to his shoulders. A slight sway, this reprieve was over it seemed. Now he would wait for her answer which would change the path he'd walk for a while.

[Astreya 0]

Astreya understood that he had done what she'd done initially- opened herself up, showing what it was that moved her, just as Raidou had done.  With many less words, but nonetheless the man had shown his resolve and tenacity to her- the fact that he too wouldn't stop moving forward no matter what.  And she appreciated that- sincerely- but with how awkward he had been in conversations so far, with him laying himself bare like that, she had been uncertain about commenting on it further...

But as he responded to her armor commentary, she slightly let her head tilt to the side in confusion as he began to open an array of screens, looking to send messages, maybe?  Or just analyzing her equipment?  She wasn't really so certain as to exactly what he was doing over on that side, but he seemed like he was looking to assist her.  "Solved?  Oh wait wait, like, you are seeing about getting me some more equipment?" the girl asked, her eyes a little wide in response.  She had been thinking about upgrading now and then but she hadn't really ever gotten around to doing so.  She figured that she would just upgrade bits and pieces as she went, until she got to the level cap.  

"That's... that's really kind of you, thank you," the girl spoke, not really aware of likely how little resource investment it would take for a guild of their size to outfit one adventurer.  

But as he continued, she leaned her head a little to the side, starting to put together what it was that he was offering her.  "I... maybe in the future, I would, like, feel a bit more comfortable in accepting.  But right now I'm totally still learning the game.  I never really played games at all before this one, so, like, I'm super flattered if you're offering what I think you'er offering but I think I still need to find my own way a bit, y'know?'  

She felt a little bad in turning down the offer (assuming that she was reading between the lines well enough) but at the same time, she wasn't sure if she would be worth it yet.  Fierce independence was one of the traits instilled in her by her father and while asking for help if needed wasn't against her tenets, she felt like she needed to stand on her own two feet first, before she could ally strongly with others.

[Raidou 1]

A subtle nod toward the girl, for he understood the sentiment. Being able to walk on one's own legs before attempting to shoulder the weight of others, and she most certainly would as a tank. "Take your time, make your decisions, but I pray you do so with tact and care. I'd like to see you at the end of this journey, and even though our paths may diverge here. That I see you when they may converge, and whatever banner you hold, you do so proudly." On him was a soft smile, for he had been in her shoes once.

"I'll be listening, and waiting. If you ever need a hand, you have my contact. Don't hesitate to message me if you need it. I'm only ever a single call away." In that tone, it would be obvious that he was honest, undeniably truthful. Rolling his shoulders as he fastened that robe around his neck, pulling it taut and tight. "Take care of yourself Astreya." another soft breeze blew across the rolling field of gold, folding the stocks down but a bit. The soft rustle as his legs started to pierce that pile, cutting a path through it with every footfall. More matters, for this break had ended.

His menu sliding open and closing quickly, moving screens and windows about with his left as he walked on.

[Astreya 0]

Once more the man's words were cryptic and flowing in a way that she felt was so... different from her own manner of speech.  She wondered if this was how the player actually was, or if he had just started to take on the persona of the character that he played as?  She knew it was called 'roleplaying' and while she wasn't really sure about it herself, she could at least understand other people doing it if needed.  "Totally!  Next time we meet I'll show you all the progress I've made and how much closer I am to helping get everyone, like, out of here!" the girl called cheerfully even as Raidou's stance made it clear that he was soon to be leaving.

She had his contact information- that much was true- but she wasn't sure if she could really... justify it to herself to call upon his help unless she truly, desperately needed it.  There was something about forging through the darkness with your own hands and feet that she was desperate to do.  To prove to herself, and now to this Raidou fellow who she felt she'd had a deep talk with in only a few moments of time over tea.

"You too!  I'll see you again!" the girl called, waving one harm rapidly overhead as she watched him depart.

[Raidou 1]

A slow twist as he peers back over a red clad shoulder, looking at an expression of true determination mixed with a sense of glee. Astreya may just be the sort that would make it out of this, and that optimism may just push her that much further without being tarnished and defeated by this place. "I'll hold you to that." Raidou remarked with a soft turn of phrase, an answer to both of her decrees at once. A lift of his hand toward his neck, to a dangling gemstone that racked the surrounding space. A soft glimmer of sapphire as he murmurs a destination beneath his breath.

An instant a blinding flash, a teleport crystal that never ceased to function. Once that dust cleared, Raidou was no longer within eyesight. What was left was the conversation that he'd shared, with a girl that despite any number was more than capable to make her way in Aincrad. Smarts, and Persistence, went leagues further than any number. She had it, and although Raidou had his concerns and worry, he was sure she would be fine in the end. And if she wasn't, then perhaps she'd heed the offer.

He was only ever one call away

[Astreya 0]

The woman watched as the man had uttered those last words before he vanished, leaving the young woman alone now in the empty rolling fields.  Astreya heaved in a big breath before exhaling, and then looking out toward where the map would lead her further into the world's dungeons.  She was wanting to go up as high as she could, but maybe she should listen to Raidou's words, here.  Running in blindly, headlong into what might become a dangerous situation was not the way to do it.

She frowned, reaching back to set a hand on the hilt of her sword.  Maybe she should just...head back down to the first floor and make sure she was ready for these upper floors?  She didn't want to get completely creamed if she screwed something up.  "Okay.  Well, to keep that promise, let's not get, like, destroyed by some random enemy, okay Streya?" she asked herself aloud, before turning smartly on her heel and making her way back down the tower.

One day she'd be back.  She just...needed some time first.  And she knew that if she ever did get in over her head, she had his contact.  That helped to make her feel a little better- people needed to support one another here, if they were going to make it further.  And Raidou had chosen to support her.  That helped to ease some of those nerves that had been bundled up inside.  

Now she just needed the strength to do him, herself, and everyone here, proud.