[OP-F1] Just Hanging Around

[Natalia 0]

It was still relatively early in the morning as Natalia found herself lying on a bench, clad in her basic armor composed of: a teal tunic that extended an inch or two below her hips, white leggings that completely hid her actual skin, and a pair of dark brown boots that traveled half way up her legs. Her outfit was exactly what it had been on the first day of the death game with such a stereotypical name: Sword Art Online. "Kayaba, you literally had so many more creative options. Why the hell would you choose a name like 'Sword Art Online' to slaughter thousands of people in?" she said to herself before a yawn escaped her lips. She had lightly slept earlier, but was still a little exhausted, having done quite a bit in the past week.

She arched her back forward and rested her face upon the smoothness of her leggings. Her dark hair fell forward into a clump, her yellow ribbon lost within the millions of strands that had fallen in front of it. Once more, she yawned. Today wasn't a day for adventure. No, she had come to accept that SAO had become her reality; until they left, they might as well live life like they did in the real world. Of course, most people didn't battle monsters and 'level up,' in the real world. Still yet, today was a day to simply, 'just hang around.' She couldn't be the only one who felt that way, could she?

[Razmor 0]

Angel walked down the street, dressed in his casual wear consisting of a black shirt, brown slacks, boots, fingerless gloves, and a bandana holding his hair back. He sighed and stretched as he looked around, wondering what he should do. He had been keeping himself busy for the past three days and now he needed rest. But with Shaya still MIA, he didn't know what to do with himself. Suddenly, he saw a girl sitting on a bench by herself. She seemed tired, like him. He had never met her before, so he decided to change that. He quietly approached her and when he was standing in front of her, asked, "Pardon me, but is that seat taken?" He asked, pointing to the part of the bench that the girl wasn't inhabiting. He smiled his trademark smile as his spiky white hair rustled in the wind.

[Natalia 0]

Raising her head at the sound of a voice, Natalia was met with a rather tall individual, something she wasn't particularly used to as of yet. Her eyes immediately glanced towards the direction of a scar that occupied his right cheek. "Damn, that looks like it must have hurt. Especially in a world where pain is much more severe." she said, referring to the pain filter built into the VRMMO. When it came to realism, she was actually quite glad that they decided not to implement realistic physical trauma; otherwise she was sure at least half of the front-liners would have given up by now.

"Sorry about that." she scratched the back of her head. "Got a little sidetracked. This seat's wide open, if you'd like to occupy it that's fine by me." she chuckled at her own feigning of authority. "I'm Natalia, also known by myself as Natalia the Lion-Hearted. Of course, that's a self-proclaimed title as of yet, so you can just refer to me as Natalia." It was pretty clear that social anxiety simply wasn't existent within the girl.

"And who might you be?" she asked, and went from leaning forward to leaning back against the bench.

[Darius Verand 0]

Darius walked down the streets of the starting city. There was something very different about him compared to usual though. In place of his heavy armor and weaponry, he wore normal attire. A sky blue tank top, black pocketless shorts, and wooden clogs were what he chose for the occasion. His dirty blond hair was only a few inches long and his sky blue eyes seemed rather dim compared his chalk white skin, which was all extremely pale except for the front half of his throat where his armor didn't cover. The small section was extremely tan as it had constant exposure to the sun where the rest of his skin always hid under armor.Under his arm he had a very large book tucked. An experienced reader could guess it would have well over 1000 pages in it. His purpose of the day was to simply stroll until he found a suitable inn with a balcony room. It had been so long since he had taken a break to enjoy the few things he didn't despise; like reading while drinking bone-chilling milk mixed with honey.

He turned down a random street and began down it, spotting a girl at the far end laying down on a bench. As he walked closer, a male player asked her something, being too far away to hear well, and then sat down next to her. As he walked by he simply nodded to the two, after the girl had asked the guy's name, and kept along on his way. At the end of the street there was in fact an inn with a balcony. He nodded to himself, seeing that as satisfying enough for his needs and approached it. He knew no one in it would know him since only two people remained alive that had seen him before his days of wearing heavy plate armor; and the fact that he did not socialize.

[Kirito 0]

Diabel was enjoying the beautiful scenery of the morning in Aincrad, like he usually did. As he took his usual path, he passed the NPC run shops that held the same things every day, he would pass the school house with smaller children who got stuck in Sword Art Online, and then a bench that he would usually relax on to take a breather or two before heading back. Although this time, the walk was interrupted by a few players talking by his bench. As he approached the gathering of players, he stood there with his long, blue bangs in his face. For armor, he had a basic kite shield, a bronze set of iron, that involved shin pads, arm pads, boots, and a chest pad. For a weapon he held a weapon that was given to him by a stranger named <>. The weapon's name was Sepulcher's Blade.

Diabel decided he wanted to engage within the conversation between the players. "Hello, players." he said. "It's a pleasure to meet everyone here, my name is Diabel and I am a Knight in Sword Art Online trying to help join the front lines." just like always he introduced himself as a "Knight/Paladin" because he had given himself this self-appointed title. If there was a class system however in this game, that's the class he would have easily chosen. Diabel reached out his right arm with his hand open prepared to shake the first hand that would make the same gesture towards him.

[Razmor 0]

"Angel. At least, that's what everyone calls me." He said with a laugh as he sat down next to Natalia. She seemed very energetic, which made him think why she was just sitting on a bench and not out doing something crazy, like killing a boss. But before he could answer, another player showed up. He had blues bangs and beginner armor. But something about his attire certainly wasn't beginner; his sword. Angel recognized the blade instantly and his mind went into overdrive to figure out how this player could have gotten it.

"A knight huh? Well if we're going by that logic," he stood up and grabbed Diabells hand firmly, shaking it quickly. "Then I guess I'd be a Tank. I'm Angel by the way." He said before returning to his seat by Natalia. His eyes once again drifted to the sword at his side.

[Kirito 0]

Diabel was glad to have found a player who didn't make a joke about there being no class system. The players firm was grip for the shake, and after the shake was attended for, Diabel was sure to bow before the female, to show respect towards her. Diabel was in need of generous people that he could potentially work with in the future, otherwise he'd be a solo player, and that was exactly what he wants to avoid. Diabel wanted to be a guild leader one day, that leads raids and assaults on future bosses. However, if he wanted to get that far eventually, he will need friends who will be willing to join, and he needed the level criteria to even form a guild. "So, what are we discussing about here?" he asked, curious about the conversation that they had initiated and he had interrupted without intentions.