[PP-F2] Guess Who's Back? (Jevi)

[Grave 0]

So it wasn't personal. He hadn't been the only reason Jevi's trust was broken. Though it hurt to hear, Grave felt a twinge less guilty. "I don't plan on running away again," he reassured her. "Ah, yes. In fact, always assume that if you can't find me, that's where I'll be. It's peaceful out there, I like it a lot. It's a place that's close to my heart." He smiled as he reminisced about the time he'd spent in the wilds of the second floor.

Grave choked up as Jevi spoke the name of the player he spoke of. There were no feelings there as there once had been - after the trauma of her betrayal, it was hard to keep any affection - but there was still a glass shard trapped in his heart from the time spent with her, both before and after her transformation. "Yeah," he said quietly and nodded. "God, I'd hoped my exile would make me forget about that, or at least forget the pain and confusion. Apparently not." He shook his head and puffed out his cheeks. "That's not important. That was years ago and there's nothing that can be done now." He threw Jevi a half-smile and leaned back in his chair again. "I know it wasn't just me though. Lots of players loved and respected her. She broke something I don't think we've ever been able to repair." 

[Jevi 0]

"I wasn't sure if you knew...that she was killed, I mean."  Her shoulders rose and fell with a shrug, "I didn't know what she turned into or the fact she had been killed.. I don't think I saw her again after she became a player killer. So.. It was pretty heartbreaking to hear of it." A sigh almost heavy enough to be heard as a groan pushed out from her chest as she let her upper back fall against the back of the chair once more. "But you're right, the past is in the past. Even if she was around, she was stubborn.. I doubt we would have been able to pull her back form her darker self." 

Wrapping her fingers around her drinking glass, she brought it up to her mouth. The tip of the straw placed between her lips, she took a sip as her yellow eyes looked to the table between them. "So." she set her drink back down. "Tell me more about this.. mountain retreat that you ran away to. Did you just sleep on rocks and live off the land like some hermit? Were you out there with others, or were you on your own?"  

[Grave 0]

"I saw her. Not long after. I was arrogant enough to think I could talk her down," Grave groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's all hazy but... she was convinced she was 'doing something for the good of Aincrad', and she said something about revenge. She messaged me secretly during our meeting and told me that Laughing Coffin was watching her. She seemed like she was honest. But she up and died before she could prove I could still trust her." He shut his eyes and breathed calmly. "I just hope she managed to do whatever 'good' she thought she needed to do before that. Laughing Coffin activity seemed to dwindle, so maybe she had a hand in that."

"I stayed close to the Master Yunxiang when I first started my exile. I would occasionally stay at his dojo when the weather got nasty, but eventually I started to rough it," Grave admitted. "I went from seeing a single person almost daily to living on my own. I used a cave as shelter and I sort-of learned to meditate. I kept myself active with strength training and just took in the world around me until I accepted how much bigger than me it was." Grave flashed a toothy grin. "Don't go thinking I've turned into some hippie wildman, though. I'm the same old me, just a little less... volatile."

[Jevi 0]

"No no.. a hippie wildman is exactly the type of person I think you turned into."  her lips hooked into a smirk as she teased the man. The one thing she had missed more than Grave himself was busting the man's balls. He was always so easy to poke fun at, and he knew how to take a joke and even throw it back at her sometimes. "Would you say it was worth it, cutting yourself off from everyone and everything for that long?"  With a small shake of her head, she continues, "I'm not trying to make you feel guilty this time.. promise. I'm just curious. You say you feel less volatile, a little better about yourself.. but before you weren't sure if you found the answers you were looking for."

"If this whole thing was, in some ways, a way to prepare yourself to fight on the frontlines.. do you feel like you're ready for that?" Expression hardened her golden eyes stared daggers into his purple colored orbs, "Because if you go fight a floor boss and don't come back, I won't forgive you. Even if we are just friends now, I still care."

[Grave 0]

"Seriously? Is that what I look like?" Grave whined when Jevi told him he did, in fact, sound like a wildman. He leaned back and groaned towards the sky. "Mission failed, then, I guess." He sat back up and looked at her. What she asked next got him thinking, and he scratched his chin. "Hmm. That's a fair question. I think I got out of it what I was looking for... but in hindsight, I don't think going off alone without telling anyone was necessary. The little devil on my shoulder told me to do that, and I believed him. Having understanding friends waiting on the outside for me to come back might have been healthier for me." He folded his hands and rested his chin on them. "Either way, I think I feel better for it, but I could have gone about it in a... smarter fashion."

Jevi's words grabbed at Grave's lungs like a cold hand. When he first went off into the mountains, that was the idea. He would reach a healthier state of mind that would allow him to fight alongside his comrades on the frontlines without his doubt. But now... "I don't know," he said vaguely. "Right now? Absolutely fucking not. I need to learn to live again, I need to know that I'm still able to fight. I need to reach out to friends, let them know I'm okay. I need to get some new gear. I have lots to do before even thinking of rejoining the frontlines. And even then, it will all depend at the time." He sighed. "It isn't my priority, to put it simply. I will let you know if and when that changes." Grave giggled a little. "What? Jevi cares? Who would have thought that was possible?" he taunted her with a wink.

[Jevi 0]

So he still had it in him to fire them back at her, that was a relief. Here she thought she was going to end up getting bored of teasing Grave. Brows rose as her lips hooked into a smirk again, parting to reveal a soft smile. "You asshole." she said with a small laugh as two fingers dipped into her lemonade, retrieving a small cube of ice that she proceeded flick in his direction. With her hand that tossed the cube at Grave still propped up in front of her, her gaze lingered on him for a moment longer. Turning her attention to her hand, she would summon the small menu screen in front of her with a wave of her finger. A few motions here and there, and a message - all too similar to the one he had sent to her earlier- spun around to face Grave this time. The contents, of course, a friend request. "You remove me again, you'll get your ass blocked.. if I could even figure out how to do that." she said with a small laugh, smiling with the tip of her straw placed between her teeth. 

"I think this will work out well for both of us.. Like you said, we can keep each other in check, make sure the other doesn't go off into hiding again. We can help each other get stronger too.. you'd think in the time you've been gone I'd have matched your level at least but.." a shrug of her shoulders, "I guess I just fell off of questing." 

"But.. we can start over. If, that's what you want." 

[Grave 0]

There it was. That cheeky smile. That's what he was looking for. Jevi caught Grave mid-grin and he winced as the cold block struck right between his eyes, and he rubbed his face. "Ouch. Guess my reflexes aren't as quick as they used to be," he complained. By the time he opened his eyes, there was a prompt floating in the air in front of him. He glanced over the transparent box at the golden eyed girl who'd sent the request. "I'm not going to remove anyone on an impulse like that again, least of all you," he assured Jevi. He prodded the blue circle button, and Jevi was added to Grave's friends list. "We can be each other's lifelines. If we feel like there's no one else to turn to, we have a mutual understanding that we will be there, deal?" Jevi complained about falling off the questing wagon and Grave smiled. "If there's anything I learned while I was away, it's that it's okay to fall behind. You don't need to be strong. If you want to, that's fine, but from now on, we both go at our own pace. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time."

"Yeah... starting over. I think I'd like that," he said and stood from his chair and pressed his hands into his back, before patting off the seat of his pants. "Ah, shit. My butt's numb," he cackled. "I need to go shopping for some new gear. Wanna come with?" he asked Jevi as he pushed his chair in.

[Jevi 0]

Starting over. It was a nice thought, and it was something they both needed. Locking themselves away in their separate corners was doing them each no good. Allowing themselves back into each other's worlds would help to bring out the better in both of them. The more she thought about it though, she more she didn't want to start over.. She hated to say it, but a sliver of her wanted things to go back to how they were right before he left. 

That thought wisped away as an exhale slowly made its way from her nostrils. 

Yellow eyes followed Grave as he rose to his full height. "Sure" she responded to his invitation, following suit and lifting herself out of her chair. "Surprisingly enough.. I still have an empty equipment slot that I've never filled. So I should probably find something to put there." she scoffed at her own inability to equip herself properly. Her face scrunched, "Not sure if you noticed, but I'm not too great at playing games.. even though we're technically living one."  

She followed Grave out of the cafe, making sure to pay their bill before fully departing. As they made their way back out into the streets of Urbus, she turned her attention to the silver maned man. "What're you in the market for in terms of gear? I assume its nothing I can forge for you?"

[Grave 0]

Grave cocked an eyebrow at Jevi as she confessed that she was lacking equipment. "Really?" he asked with a scoff. "I assume that would be your accessory slot? Best you get one soon then, they can have some cool abilities on them." When she admitted to not being great at games, he hesitantly reached out and ruffled her hair. "I'm sure you're not the only one. No one got stuck here on purpose. Some of us are pro gamers and streamers in the real world, some of us just wanted to try something new and suffered for it."

Jevi suggested she could potentially forge something for him, and he rubbed his chin. "Hmm. Well, I need some light armour and some gauntlets. I'll need to visit an artisan for an accessory, but do you think you could hook me up with the first couple?" He pinched at his clothes. "I'll also want to go see a tailor about some vanity clothing. I'm looking for something a little less 'punk' and a little more 'suave'."

"Once we've finished with anything you might be able to forge for me, maybe we can hit an artisan together, fill our empty slots?" he suggested.

[Jevi 0]

"Actually, despite the fact that I stay cooped up in my shop most of the time.. I actually wasn't making anything. I don't even remember the last time I made a weapon or some armor. I was getting pretty good at it for a bit and then.. well.. I just stopped." Her gaze turned towards the ground before her as she continued to walk beside Grave. A bit embarrassed that she'd just let herself sit away and do nothing to better herself. "But.. if you want, I could give it a try. You'll just have to tell me exactly what you want, okay?" 

A soft smile made its way onto her face at the thought of joining Grave for some accessory hunting, "I'd like that. Maybe actually having all the shit I need will push me to go out and get a few levels. Maybe even catch up to you." she said with a chuckle, driving an elbow into his arm. "Do you have any ideas for what type of item I should get? Enhancement wise, I mean.. I'm sure I could figure out the look of the item." 

"Oh God.. on top of that, I still don't even have a familiar." Her palms slammed into the top of her forehead before raking her fingers down her face, pulling at her skin. "Why did I let myself fall so far behind." she said through a groan.

[Grave 0]

"Well, I'd be happy to be your first customer in a while, if you don't mind," Grave offered with a wink. "Oh right, I need to actually think about what I want. I'd want something heavy... big metal gauntlets that go up my arms. Get some paralysis, some bonus damage. I'll be a little more detailed once we start working on it." He scratched his chin. "And armour too... I'm using Light Armour now. It won't be as protective, so I'll want some utility to offset it," Grave muttered to himself, lost in his imagination as they walked. He was shocked out of his thoughts when Jevi's sharp elbow sank into his arm. "Ouch. You have bony elbows," he grumbled. "I'm sure you'll catch up to me in no time. I'm a little rusty, so I'm probably going to be a little slow to get back into things."

She asked him a question, and he tilted his head. "I guess it depends on what you want. I like to make sure I hit things, so I like my accessories to have accuracy on them, maybe a bit of evasion. Also good to have an extra on hand with material farming stats." Jevi lamented not having a familiar yet, and Grave stopped in his tracks. He stared at his feet. "Holy crap. Hikari. I... don't know where she is. She probably doesn't know where I am," he whimpered. "She might be back at my shop. Once I've found her, we should go get you a pet too. Hikari might like a playmate."

[Jevi 0]

Jevi remembered Hikari, Grave's little weasel companion. Though Jevi had her fair share of unwanted rodents back in the real world, she found Hikari to be pretty cute and a sweet companion. So she felt her reaction to Grave not knowing of his own familiar's whereabouts rather..  appropriate.

Hands balled into fists as the soles of her boots planted themselves into the cobblestone street. She shot blazing hot daggers upwards at Grave, before her hands extended outwards to either side. "You cut yourself off from your own fucking familiar too?!" Jabbing a finger forward into his chest, she stood directly in front of him, chin turned up to face him. "You better hope that familiars don't just die if they aren't cared for." Her hand dropped, fingers wrapping around Grave's wrist in a vice grip. She stepped past Grave, back in the direction of the warp gate at the center of town. "Come on. We're going to your diner. Leaving me and cutting off contact is one thing.. but not bringing Hikari with you?" she grunted in frustration. 

Jevi never had the softest spot for animals.. or children.. or other people. But she was still feeling a bit salty about Grave's decision to cut off their friendship and relationship they had worked so hard for as if it were nothing. Hearing he did the same to Hikari as well just caused her blood to boil all over again. 

[Grave 0]

Grave cowered and covered his head as Jevi tore into him. "I know, I know, I'm sorry!" he whimpered. "I really hope not! I... don't think they do?" Grave turned from cowering to thinking, staring at the ground. "Do... do familiars need to eat?" He groaned and rolled his eyes. "Fuuuuuuuck..." Grave yelped as Jevi yanked him away from their spot and across the city. "I need to remember where it is, first," he mumbled. "It was in a courtyard, kind of to the side of the city," he deduced. Though Jevi was holding his wrist, he picked up the pace and walked in front of her, tugging her along using his wrist. He navigated down streets, past storefronts, down a couple short sets of stairs, and finally halted at the entrance to a huge, empty courtyard, save for the small, cylindrical building with the cone-shaped roof standing in the middle of it.

"Please be okay, please be okay," he whispered as he peeled away from Jevi and approached the singular door. It was open just a crack. Had someone managed to enter without his permission? Or did the sneaky weasel find out how to open doors? He gently shouldered it open and peered inside. It was cold and dark, and if this was the real world cobwebs would span the ceiling above. He tiptoed over to one of the stools, placed a hand on it to balance himself and leaned over the counter. "Hikari... you there, girl?" he called quietly, and before he could even finish his sentence a flash of orange streaked over the counter, barreled into his chest and knocked him to the floor.

The horned weasel whined as it curled up on his chest and shook. "Oh, sweetie. I'm sorry I left you all alone. I meant to come back and get you... and I just never did," he whispered as he ran a gentle hand along the length of Hikari's back and tail.

[Jevi 0]

The brunette tugged on Grave's wrist and pulled him about half way down the city block before Grave finally took the lead in the direction he believed his shop was located. She had a vague memory of where the eatery was located, originally thinking it was on a floor other than the one they were currently on. But as Grave diverted their path away from the platform players used to move quickly between floors, she realized she was mistaken and much closer than anticipated. 

It took a few moments of walking alongside him for her to realize her fingers were still wrapped around his wrist, looser than before, but still present. With a jerk of her arm, she let go of the man and pulled her arm back to her own side. The thumb of her other hand gently caressed her knuckles for a moment before letting both hands sway at her sides with each step they took. 

The familiar visage of Grave's diner came into view, and Grave's steps seemed to quicken as he made his way towards the door. Jevi followed after at her own pace, slipping through the now open doorway to the abandoned, yet still clean and immaculate, restaurant. As her counterpart went to check the counter area for his lost familiar, Jevi began to walk around the perimeter of the eatery, pulling out chairs and bending over to check under tables. 

A loud crash of something hitting the floor caused her to spin around quickly, nearly knocking a chair over in the process. There, she saw the white haired Grave sitting on the floor with a shivering, orange weasel curled up on top of him. The poor thing was either terrified from being left for so long, or overly excited and easy forgiving. Jevi's entire demeanor seemed to loosen as she let out a heavy sigh, her head and shoulders drooping forward as the tension released from her body. Slow steps took her towards the two, where she bent over at her waist, placing her hands on her knees and looking down at Hikari and Grave. "You lucked out this time." she said to the man with a hardened expression that softened into a smirk.

[Grave 0]

Grave laughed as Hikari moved and nuzzled up by his neck, still shivering and squeaking. "Hey now, it's okay. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere." Grave rocked his head back to look at the brunette who lectured him from above. She looked funny upside down. "Yeah, I know. I... didn't really deserve to see her again, but I'm glad she was here." Grave sat up and pushed a gentle hand against Hikari's rear to nudge her up and onto his shoulder. She snaked around his neck and drooped over his chest like a scarf.

"I wonder how long she waited in here. Did she go out to find me at all? Did she wander the streets? Or was she here the whole time?" Grave pondered, then roughly ruffled his hair and stood up. "I'm such an idiot." He turned to face Jevi, his hand going up to rub Hikari's head around her horns. Hikari perked up a little to look at her in the dim room. "You remember Jevi, right?" he asked the weasel, who gave a happy little squeak. "Yeah, you do." He turned away to start straightening tablecloths and neatening chairs. He swept around the counter and took a look in the case. Most of his food was still there and didn't look too worse for the wear. Thankfully time didn't take its toll on data the same way it did on real food. 

He peeked over the case at Jevi. "I've got you. I've got my companion. Looks like I can reopen my restaurant. Feels like life is kind of getting back to normal." He took a look around his shop. "This used to be called the Crimson Diner, but that was back when I was with the Crimson Blades. I feel like it needs a new name. Something like... 'Grave Gourmet' or something." He rapped his fingers on the glass cabinet while resting his elbow on it and laying his chin in his palm.

[Jevi 0]

"I'm such an idiot."

"I know" she was quick to answer, offering a smirk as her eyebrows rose and fell. She watched as Grave brought himself back up to his feet, taking a small step back to give him space. "She probably just ended up staying here the whole time. Urbus isn't the friendliest of cities, so who knows what would have happened to her if she went out on her own." she said as Grave addressed the weasel, asking if it remembered his old female companion. Jevi leaned down slightly, putting herself on the same level as Hikari and offering a small smile. "Yeah, I'm gonna take that as a yes.. Ah, if I knew you were here, I would have come and scooped you up myself. We could've gossiped about how much of a jerk your master is."  Maybe she was laying on the teasing a little hard.. eh he could take it. 

As Grave started to tend to his once abandoned shop, Jevi found a place to keep out of the way. Pulling a stool out where Grave had found Hikari, she sat down, letting one foot hang while the other rested on the foot rest. She kept her attention off of the man, simply looking past the counter to whatever items lay beyond. A hand rose from the table top to push the hair that fell over her ear back and out of the way, allowing her hand to linger on her neck for a moment longer.

She turned her attention towards the snowy-haired man once he started to speak again, claiming his life was gaining some semblance of what it once was before he up and left. "Grave Gourmet's got a ring to it.. kind of slips off the tongue."

[Grave 0]

Grave stared at Hikari for a second. "Yeah. Some jerk probably would have kicked her. It was safer in here than anywhere else," he concluded and gave her a little scratch under the chin. Jevi greeted the weasel and said the two of them could have talked about how much of a jerk he was, and he gave a little embarrassed laugh, lifting a hand to scratch the back of his head nervously. "Yeah, if Hikari could talk, I don't even want to imagine how much you two would have to say about me," he confessed shakily. "I'm sure you both have plenty of secrets to spill about me."

Grave reached into the glass case, crouching down to get a good look at the menus that popped up when he tapped at the empty space. Some of them had... changed? He knew the Cardinal system was meant to be an advanced AI that would make alterations to the world over time, but this was new. Did something happen to trigger such a huge change to the system?

Grave stood and peeked back over the counter at Jevi. "Alright, if we're in agreement, then I guess..." Grave swiped his fingers down through the air to bring up a dialogue box and navigated to the shop section of the display that only showed up while inside the store. He went to the store name, opened the box, removed the name and typed the new one in. He tapped the 'confirm' button, and a glittering sound played outside the front door as the sign changed to reflect the new name.

"Welcome to Grave Gourmet, what can I get for you today?" he called over to Jevi as he sidled behind the counter and leaned on it.

[Jevi 0]

“Hmm” she purred as she looked into the weasel’s eyes, the corner of her mouth slowly curling into an impish smirk. “Yeah, thats a shame.. I don’t think I have many juicy secrets on you.. but I’m sure Hikari’s got plenty hidden in there.” Straightening her back once more, she would extend her arms in an overexaggerated shrug, “I guess we’ll never know.”

It seemed as though Jevi’s vote was all that was needed to sway Grave’s decision to change the name of his diner. A few simple changes within his virtual menu and the name Grave Gourmet became real in a flash. “If we had any idea we’d be stopping by this place, we could have skipped the cafe. I actually don’t recall if I’ve ever had your cooking before.”

Her eyes wandered about the interior of the diner, recalling the few memories she held of coming here during a better time. She missed when things were easier, but she could only hope that things would start to look up for her. Turning back to Grave, her golden gaze lingered on him for a moment, “Have you made contact with anyone else yet? Or has it just been me?.. Actually, I don’t even know who else you were even close with aside from me and Opal.” A small snicker snuck through her small smile, “Should I just expect you make friends with all the pretty girls?”

 

[Grave 0]

Grave thought for a moment, then grinned from ear to ear. "How cool would it be if we could actually talk with our familiars?" he asked, slamming his hands against the counter in excitement. "Like, Hikari understands me, but I'm not sure she actually knows what I'm saying. Same way I recognise a couple of her squeaks. But what if our pets could actually talk?" Grave leaned back and looked up to the ceiling. "Cardinal, if you're hearing this, let me talk to animals!" he roared to the digital, omnipresent digi-god of Aincrad.

Grave laughed and looked through his cabinet again. "Yeah, I'm still pretty full myself. I can get you something to snack on? Or a drink? I can do drinks too," he offered as he picked through the items in the case for inspiration. From his crouched position, he leaned to the side and poked his head around the corner of the case to look at Jevi. "Oh yeah. I never made you anything, did I?" He sighed and rested his forehead against the wood edging of the case. "You didn't even get to try my cooking before I up and left."

Grave stood and looked at his stovetop, then swung open the pantry to look at his ingredients. His face fell. Most of the good ones had vanished, likely reaching the end of their durability. The few that were left would be enough to make a simple meal, but it wouldn't give any buffs. He needed to do some material hunting. He rifled through the pantry to see what exactly was left, and called out over his shoulder to respond to Jevi. 

"Well, there was Hirru and Macradon. Mack too, of course. Beoreson. Oh, Xion too. There was a kid named Koumori." Grave gasped. "Oh my god. I said his name properly this time. Why the actual fuck did I struggle so bad before?" he laughed and slapped a palm against his forehead. When Jevi teased him for making friends with 'all the pretty girls', he turned and frowned. "Hey now. I only really hung out with you, Opal and Zandra on the regular. That's not to say I didn't happen to go on adventures with other girls, but they were all incidental," Grave grumbled and turned back to the pantry.

[Jevi 0]

A drink sounded nice, at least it would give Grave the opportunity to put his skills to the test.. even if it was something so minimal. How about a drink. Surprise me."  With her elbows propped up on the counter top, her fingers interlaced, she would gently rest her chin atop her knuckles. "I'm sure there will be more opportunities for you to wow me with your cooking."  she added with a curled smirk. Her eyes followed Grave as he moved about the back of the diner, swinging open cabinets and pantries to take stock of any ingredients that may have remained. She hoped that cooking materials didn't have a shelf life like they did outside of SAO, though if they had gone rotten, the interior of the diner would probably smell putrid. 

"Relax, I'm only teasing you. You just used to be a big flirt first time I met you."

She thought on the names that Grave had listed.. it wasn't many, but she actually knew of half of them. "I saw Hirru not too long ago.. some Christmas party on the Eleventh floor." She laughed, "I didn't know too much about him to begin with, but from what I can tell he's still the same old Hirru. I actually met him an Xion at the same time.. but I don't know whatever happened to them. Macradon's one of the frontliners right? I've never met the guy, but I've heard talk about him before. He's another one of the frontliners, right?"

"At least you have a few names you can reach out to though, I'm sure they'll be glad to hear from you."  The tone in her voice lowered, as her expression faded into a frown, "After the guild split, I kinda got dropped back to square one." She looked back up to Grave, "Not that I don't appreciate your company again.. its just.. they were my friends."