[PP | Floor 7] Kitten Frenzy (Training your friend.)

[Xena 0]

Xena nodded listening to his backstory, it was a interesting one for sure, though it lacked any real semblance of danger. She couldn't exactly say much about her life, it's had its ups and downs. "Hey uh... this is a bit of a touchy subject but, have you heard of Laughing coffin?" She asked with a tone of voice saying it's something she's afraid of, or at least afraid to talk about. She had her own past, and it wasn't a pretty one to say the least, by the time she finished asking that the two pets had found a chest, interesting, she had seen one in a prior dungeon. But this was the first one shes seen up close, it could be a mimic though. Looking at Freyd she just asked quietly, and with a somber tone. "Uh... did you wanna open that...?" As she asked that Amber had climbed a top the chest now looking at persi with simply curious eyes, they had never seen something like persi so it made some sense, as they did they went towards the lock of the chest pawing at it, only for the chest to suddenly pop open causing persi and amber to get flung back. 

A Mimic has appeared.

[Freyd 0]

Freyd's head whipped around at the sounds of both familiars getting flung about, and the tiger cub's eep of surprise.  Persi, of course, never made a sound, despite her eager azure eyes trying hard to bulge out of her shadowy head.  Somehow, the box leapt without any legs and snapped its trap shut on Xena's leg, sending a spray of pixels out as it clamped down with enough force to wipe out over a third of her health in a single swipe.  

"SHIT!"

Though not quite clear as to how he managed it, Freyd instantly stepped out from behind his companion and bent low, driving a fist hard against the hinges holding the upper and lower portions of the mimic together.  The air filled with a screeching sound as the soft white light girding his gloves peeled back, exposing the endless void of oblivion contained within.  The back end of the mimic instantly disintegrated, allowing him to grip both halves and rip the entire mob apart with his bare hands.  A shower of blue pixel shards sprayed out in both directions, covering them both before vanishing into the breeze.

A quick glance at her health bar confirmed that she'd taken a blow, but it was far from fatal.  She hadn't even dipped to yellow.

"Heh.  Bad luck, but you're fine.  You're perfectly fine."

Freyd turned and glared at Persi, fury simmering behind his eyes.  The normally proud familiar slunk down completely flat on her rock, her eyes still wide as saucers and looking more sheepish than they ever had.  She'd never received such a silent scolding.

Spoiler

Post Action | AoE-I (x15 AoE, 11 EN, +2 AoE Shift, +2/hit,): 15 EN - (Rested 1/2; Stamina) = 12 EN. 
Free Action (Skill) | Quick Change - Replace Small Konpeito Sack with The Shadowed Rose (CD 0/3) - stats re-adjusted below.

Mimic attacks Zena first:

ID #203879 | MD:6 (hit).  DMG (128-18) = 110 - (misspelled name as Zena in roller)

Xena | HP: 150/260 | EN: 44/44 | DMG: 9 | MIT: 18 | BH: 5 | LD: 3 | BLD: 12 | REC: 2 (260-110)
Freyd | HP: 1100/1100 | EN: 136/144 (144-12) | DMG: 24 | MIT: 78 | ACC: 5 | BH: 60 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8

ID #203880 | BD: 8 (Fallen +16].  DMG (40*15=600)

[H:0,2] Mimic | HP: 384/384 | DMG: 128 (384-600)

Loot Mimic: ID #203881 | LD: 4+6=10 | CD: 9

T4 Rare trinket [203881]
2 materials (+2 CD odd)
2419 col (HP[384]*6 - incl. +2 LD even, +5% Col Deposit)

[Xena 0]

Xeba definitely wasn't expecting it, one moment she was asking Freyd a question the next she found herself on the ground, if there was any realism to this game she'd be missing a leg and bleeding out. She seemed to be in a bit of a shocked daze, everything had been so calm and now she felt her heart was racing. "What just...?" She could barely mumble those words as she sat up adrenaline whipping her into standing though she felt like the leg that got bit could collapse at any second, looking at her health bar that one attack did 1/3rd of her HP. "O-oh..." she mumbled quietly her eyes seeming to dull and sink a but into her head. "Well... that happened." Her tone conveyed a lack of emotion, one of her responses to sudden trauma. "Well, good work you two." She stated at the two familiars with no sign of sarcasm, it wasn't their fault they found a mimic, anyone could make the mistake.


203886 CD 3
0/3

Edited February 20, 2022 by Xena

[Freyd 0]

A quick touch on the shoulder reassured her, on the off chance that the whirlwind combat had left her in a state of shock.  If she'd never really left the safety of the cities, then Xena had likely never faced the realities of battle in a meaningful way in years.

"Go play, you two," he told their familiars as he led Xena to sit for a moment.  Pulling a pair of Freya's tasty honey cakes from his inventory, he offered one to his companion and insisted that she take eat it to help her nerves settle a bit.

"You did well.  Most people panic when they take a sudden wound like that."  If he could reset their previous conversation, he thought it might help her recover.  Sitting next to Xena, Freyd munched on his own cake, moaning his appreciation for the treat.

"Yes.  I've heard of Laughing Coffin.  Most people have, and certainly not in a good way.  Is it even possible to cast that group under a positive light?"

***

Training roll to assist Xena | ID #203912 | CD 5 (Failed.  Xena's CD target is reduced by 2)

[Xena 0]

Being sat back down the the chopped stump she was sitting on, said stump was big enough for 2. She just held a hand to her head, processing everything that just happened. "Well that was... Sudden, i hope that doesn't happen all that often..." She mumbled somewhat rethinking this whole scouting thing if that could happen even more times. "Th-thank you..." She mumbled taking the thing Freyd had offered her as he tried to recontinue their conversation. "I, can understand that, apparently i was on their hit list at one point or another for some reason, i might of sold one of their players information, I'm not entirely sure, but that was a year and a few months ago, I'm probably fine now." She shrugged taking a bite of the thing Freyd had handed her, that mimic definitely knocked the emotion out of her, her tone of voice made that evident as she talked in a cold somewhat robotic tone. "I haven't actually heard about them sense last year, did you guys kill them off or something...?" She asked turning her gaze towards Freyd her eyes still somewhat dulled by the shock. "I ask you cause, apparently you guys are the new front line top guild or whatever." She clearly didn't mean any harm as she stated that. Taking another bite of the honey cake she was given.

[Freyd 0]

"Eh... It's complicated."  Reaching behind his cowl, Freyd scratched as if attempting to summon a suitably simple explanation.  "Laughing Coffin are an entire guild made up of player killers, and definitely not a group to be taken lightly.  Dealings with them, of any kind, are never easy or free of consequences.  Even though I've never openly crossed paths with them, our interests have occasionally overlapped - and not in a cooperative manner."  

He sighed, wondering at what future trouble this might bring, but also knowing that a confrontation with this guild was inevitable.  

"I'd steer clear of them, as much and whenever you are able.  And, if you get even a whiff of them sniffing around, let me know.  They're not a bunch you want to be dealing with on your own."

Taking a look at the wound on her leg, it was already starting to heal on its own.  The game's pain suppression systems would deal with the rest.

"That may actually be the first and only time I've seen a mimic first-hand.  Honestly, I'd started to wonder whether they had simply purged them from the game altogether."

He blocked a chuckle by stuffing another bite into his mouth.

"Look at it this way: you just earned a bit of extra info that could be sold to would-be treasure hunters on this floor, and also learned a few valuable things for yourself."

[Xena 0]

"You say all of this as if i didn't know it already, that group is practically one of the main reasons I was afraid to leave the town of beginnings, though, I guess my fear just isn't as strong anymore." She commented still in a dulled tone, she sighed shrugging taking another bite and finishing the honey cake she was given. "If I survive long enough I'll let you know." She hadn't been paying attention to her leg, perhaps out of simply not wanting to deal with that stress. It was getting better though and that was a good thing. "From my knowledge, mimics have a random chance to just take over the spawn code for chests, I can only imagine how long that ones been here." She looked back towards the area the mimic had attacked the two, which was about 7rl feet behind them. That was honestly a shock that snapped her back to reality, she had been having fun for once only for this game the remind her fun was second place to survival, it was a annoying fact. "I don't imagine I could sell something like that, most people know what mimics are and how they work, besides amber apparently." Despite meaning it as a joke it was said in a more direct tone. 

 

203936 CD 2

0/3
(Void roll, Freyd is dumb)

Edited February 22, 2022 by Xena

[Freyd 0]

"I suppose that we could keep hunting mimics, if you'd prefer to gather more data."  Freyd's smile raised the corners of his eyes, the grin was so wide.  "This is the first mimic that I've ever actually encountered, if you can believe it.  They tend to spawn mostly from treasure hunting, and I think also fishing, but I can't say that it's ever happened to me.  I've only just taken up the trade since the flood that coincided with the last raid, so..."  Raising his shoulders, he just shrugged by way of further explanation.

"Switching gears back, for a minute, what exactly have your interactions been with Laughing Coffin, and how have they been a problem for you?"  She seemed to have garnered genuine interest with her comments, but it was difficult to determine how much concern went with it.  Freyd was often frustratingly inscrutable when it came to such matters, by deliberate intent.  His duties with Firm Anima brought him into contact with plenty of questionable characters, and it was his job to maintain a safe distance.

[Xena 0]

Xena gazed at Freyd with a hurt look, not from the issues with the mimic but with laughing coffin. "If, it gives you a idea. They killed my second ever friend. Guess you call them my last friend..." She had stated that opening her menu to the friend list sliding the screen over to be read by Freyd, there were two names, Freyd, and Hannah. "Can't say I looked at the list often without covering your name first... as far as I can tell the reason was because I never left safe zones and I had done one of their members a sin only a life could pay for... and the only thing I could possibly think of was selling info on one of them, can't say, I have much emotion about it anymore." Her voice had become distant as if she didnt want to talk about this but also couldn't stop herself. Tears seemed to run down her cheeks despite her just saying she hadn't had much emotion about it. "You'd be surprised just how many people dislike me or want me dead just because I decide to wear these things..." Having said that she had pointed at her ears and tail, the tail being curled and laying flat behind her and the ears laying to each side somewhat. She had grown off topic but looked back at Freyd. "You said your interactions haven't been good with em, but out of curiosity would you be willing to go more into detail, if you don't mind of course...."

203964
CD 1 

(had to move this twice cause Freyd confused me causing me to be stupid.)

Edited February 22, 2022 by Xena

[Freyd 0]

"I've had to rescue players held captive by them in the past."  It was all Freyd was willing to say.  While he felt sympathy for Xena, the truth was that he didn't know her affiliations.  She could have made deals that compromised her, and he wouldn't risk the guild's safety.  "I'm sorry, Xena.  I'd like to say more, but there are people who rely on me to look after and protect them against factions like Laughing Coffin.  It would be a betrayal to say more, and I take that responsibility very seriously.  Hopefully, you will understand."

Glancing over her feline paraphernalia, Freyd couldn't help but ask the question.

"Is there some special significance to them?  Judging by Amber, I assumed that you were simply fond of cats.  But this is taking it farther than most.  Given how many lolis and other tropes we have in this world, I'm not really sure why anyone would give you grief over this.  That said, people are also just terrible, most of the time."

He looked wistful for a moment.

"I should have reached out sooner.  But what's done is done.  We make a path forward for ourselves."

[Xena 0]

Xena simply shrugged, she couldn't take Freyd with offense in this state, he did just save her life after all. "Can't really say I'm not curious, but i trust you with my life so." She let out a slight giggle rather quickly covering her mouth, she hated when she did that. "The people in this world are cruel Freyd, I shouldn't preach to the choir of course but, they really are... It's why I don't try being friends with people anymore... almost everyone will use you for their own gain, and i've had to go and follow that mantra against my better judgement... though with you... I feel I don't have to be like that..." After being asked about the cat ears and tail she simply shrugged. "Actually... They were the first vanity items I ever got, surprisingly... I've worn them for at least half  a year now, not that that matters. Most people just call me weird or try to pet me." Saying that she gave Freyd a look of 'like some people I know' "A lot of the times without consent... Pulling the tail is the worst part of it, it just feels incredibly weird..." She finally seemed to smile and commented to his finishing statement. "Don't worry Freyd, i don't blame you for not contacting me, life seems to have been kicking your butt what with the guild and front lines, I'd help but, I'm clearly too low leveled." She giggled happily tilting her head her eyes had shut as her head was facing Freyd with a smile.

Edited February 22, 2022 by Xena

[Freyd 0]

"I know what you mean.  It took a long time before I could trust people, even after I'd left the starting city.  It just seemed like the system was ready to pounce on me from every shadow I saw.  Eventually, things settled down and I learned to navigate my way around, made contacts and allies.  Got stronger.  You know how it goes."  He blinked, realizing that he'd been talking to her as if they were both front line veterans. 

"Well, you will soon enough," he added, laughing at himself for so easily slipping into old habits.  "You're smart, Xena.  That will carry you far.  Just be careful not to piss off any more people than necessary as you climb your way to the top.  And you know that you can count on me when you have need."

"I'll be there," Freyd added, "and probably manage to find a way to fling you out of another tree in the process."

[Xena 0]

Xena smiled listening to him talk, until the tree comment, she with a rather annoyedlook punched him softly in the arm. "I'll throw you INTO a tree dumb dumb." She scoffed flopping backwards spreading her arms to either side, the stump was thankfully big enough for that. "Maybe once I get a decent way up there we could take a day to just relax, be free, of everything. Responsibilities, jobs, just life. We could sit in a house and share cookies, talk about life, the future. Just fun stuff that doesn't risk our lives." She doubted she'd actually make it to a decent level, she'd likely die sometime in the future, if not by a monsters, then laughing coffin may come after her. "Maybe... maybe I will join Firm Anima, as long as it gives me more time to hang out with with heh." She was rambling at this point just being happy for once, life has been awful are for once she had hope for the future. No matter how things may turn out, things should be good. Thinking such she had closed her eyes for the time being, waiting for the familiars to come back.

 

203979
CD 4
(Voided)
(Fuck this Quest)

Edited February 23, 2022 by Xena

[Freyd 0]

"Relax?"  Freyd blinked for dramatic effect, but it was fair comment on his own obsessive work ethic.  "I'm not sure if I really know how, to be perfectly honest.  With rare exceptions, it's been a wild ride of putting out fires and rushing towards the next floor." 

Dusting fictional dirt from his pants, Freyd ventured into his own past, realizing the truth of it. 

"For the longest time, all I was focused was getting to the point where I'd could stand side by side with the front lines.  Contribute, yanno?  I went from hiding from my own shadow to... " he glanced at the ground between them, the sun shining brightly at his back.  "To talking to it."  He laughed, because it was true.

"Look, I'm not trying to push you to join.  It's just an offer on the table.  Take it or leave it, it will still be there.  But a day off? That's actually rather tempting." 

In typical fashion, he glossed over her near-declaration.  The man was just so frustratingly enigmatic that it was impossible to tell whether it was on purpose, or if he was just that naive about people and relationships.

[Xena 0]

"Even asking me to join it is kind of a push ya silly, like who am I to refuse a offer to join the most prestigious guild in the game?" She giggled a tad the wind blowing her bangs into her face somewhat. "I mean, I can't imagine you people just invite anyone into the guild." As she said that she yawned a bit opening her eyes and looking at the back of Freyds head. "Honestly If I didn't know any better I'd say you might want to hang out with me more then i wanna hang out with you." She giggled jokingly, it's obvious he'd never say anything like that, he was too emo and emotionless half the time to even think of saying something like that. Meanwhile off in who knows where Amber and a certain Shadow Mongoose had found a small pile of coins. Not that they'd be useful in any way too the two's owners.

203999
CD 8
1/3

[Freyd 0]

She had a point.  He wasn't actively trying to recruit her, but rather just to provide options.  

"Prestigious?  Maybe.  That sounds almost pretentious.  If anything, the guild's grounded nature and leadership is what attracted me to it in the first place. I... " Freyd seemed to hesitate, as if pondering how best to craft his words.  "I considered becoming a broker myself, very early on.  But I'd spent too much time hiding in the shadows.  It felt like it would be stepping back into my original doubts."  He shook his head, eyes closing for a moment, lost in dark memories.  "Couldn't do that.  Not again."

A smirk and sideways glance replied to her tease about who wanted to spend time with whom.  It felt good to spend time with an old friend, especially having so few who fell into that category.  In a way, it was what bound the two of them together, and was worth enduring more than a little ribbing.  He did tend to dish it out, after all, and had to be ready to have it returned.

Noise signaled Amber's return.  Persi was the strong silent type and basically tagged along for the ride.  Something had them rustling in the bull rushes along the edges of a nearby creek.

"What are you two up to," he wondered, craning to see and hoping that they hadn't dredged up another mimic.

[Xena 0]

Xena herself hadnt heard the familiars returning, her body felt laxed, and heavy, as if on laughing gas, or in other words as if she was about to fall asleep. "Its been such a long time sense I've felt this good..." She had simply mumbled to herself her tail curling a bit out fron underneath her. She slowly just wanted to drift off to sleep but she also remembered she had a quest to get finished. She slowly sat up with a loud yawn, she could sleep later, maybe she'd try sleeping in a tree. "F-fuck, fuck I'm up sorry." She had stated rapidly looking around now facing Freyd and the familiars. "Oh hey you two, find anything?" Asking she pulled her legs off the ground setting them on their sides in front if her as she leaned towards Freyd and the familiars curiously, wondering what the two might have found. 

Edited February 23, 2022 by Xena

[Freyd 0]

Persi poked her head out of the rushes, something slick and slimy wriggling in her mouth.  She bit down and the thing went rigid.  Being a grappling type familiar had its advantages.  Making eyes at Amber and twirling imagined eyebrows, she looked quite proud of herself.  Funny how an inky blob of shadow with nothing but a pair of blue orbs to emote with could manage so effectively.  Freyd just palmed his forehead, trying not to laugh and set her off at the same time.  She was a good familiar and had carried him reliably out of more pinches than he'd ever care to admit.  If it meant that he had to accept her eccentricities, it was worth some leeway.

"What about you, little Amber?  Did you happen to find anything of interest?"

Glancing over at his companion, Freyd simply observed as Xena played around in the scrub grasses the grew across the rocky landscape of this particular floor.  Part of him wanted to simply, blindly trust, but that wasn't his world anymore.  Maybe it had never been.

[Xena 0]

Amber had pointed paw towards the pile of coins about 30 feet in the direction, it didn't seem like much but the cat seemed happy to of found anything at all. Xena meanwhile was just enjoying the terrain, now sat against a hill, the grass pressed against her back, She simply laid there happily, the terrain was so different from the city it gave her a sense of wonder, and amusement, it wouldn't of made sense to Freyd, he hadn't locked himself away long enough likely, But for her she was happy to just be here, noticing Freyd looking at her she patted the area next to her. "If you wanna come sit silly you don't gotta ask." She smiled with a innocent smile, one of a simple life, not bound by fear or anxiety currently, but just pure happiness. The world wasn't able to throw anything horrible at her right now and she was happy for that. And that Freyd was here, enjoying himself, at least she assumed he was. She couldn't tell all that much, but she figured he was at least alittle.

[Freyd 0]

Mere days ago, he would have refused and kept his distance, not understanding the significance or import of the ties that bind, beyond an exercise in abstract philosophy.  So much had happened in so little time.  Memories of laughing and crying friends flooded his mind's eye.  Eruda, Raidou, Sam, Freya, even Gaius and so many more.  All those faces at the raid.  What a heaping mess that had been.  But, because of it, he'd grown and changed.  

Hopping down from his stony perch, Freyd moved to sit at Xena's side and allowed himself to gaze up at the cool blue sky overhead.  Scattered fluffy clouds hovered on high.  Even though he knew that it was just an illusion concealing the underside of yet another floor, it didn't matter.  It was important to just be able to enjoy it.

"That one looks like my uncle Hiro," he said, pointing at one passing directly above.  "He used to drink too much and break all my father's favourite things, completely unintentionally, and always wound up falling into the pool.  I loved him for it."  A great big smile spread across his face, savoring a moment from his past he'd nearly forgotten.

"Thanks for this.  I think I needed it."