[F4-PP] Happier

[Raidou 1]

Entering the rather rustic White Rabbit Tavern amidst the bitter cold outside. It was the middle of the afternoon but even still that chill permeated the place. A kindling fire in a hearth offering travelers of all sorts a bit of respite from the rest of the floor. A number of other people scattered to various platforms. A slate gray haired girl in gown rushing back and forth with a pen tucked behind her ear, a small bit of parchment on plank held in her left. Precariously balancing a large silvered disk in the other, four mugs burn off some steam containing the ripest scent of caramel.

A few footsteps into the interior, Raidou makes for the fireplace and begins to shuffle his hands together. Two others players to his sides, both dressed in heavy furs and much better prepared for the temperatures. The guy gives them a polite smile, and they proceed to look at him like he's a damn weirdo. Who would be stupid enough to brave such a tundra with nothing more then a long sleeve shirt, even better a black one that stood out like a sore thumb amidst the backdrop. It was as if he had painted a target on his back to every creature that waltzed this floor. Even still that slightly goofy grin of his, did wonders to disarm them.

Moving up to the countertop and looking to a new face. "You must be Alexandar?" Raidou asked the gruff fellow hoping he was in the right place

Spoiler

Raidou, The Truth
Level: 32
Paragon Level: 93
HP: 1000/1000
EN: 138/138

Stats:
Damage: 11
Mitigation: 69
Evasion: 4
Accuracy: 2
Battle Healing: 55
Loot Dice: 6
BLGT: 32
REC: 8
TAUNT
V.D.: 110
V.O.: 165

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Ebon Star - Vanguard Revenant [T4/Demonic/Straight Sword]: V.O 2, Taunt, Blight 1
Armor: Red Wanderer's Resolve - Sympathy [T1/Demonic/Cloth] 2 Evasion, 2 Vampiric Defensive
Misc: Vision of Wisdom - Whisper [T4/Demonic/Trinket] Evasion 1, Recovery 2, Accuracy 1

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Straight Sword R5
Cloth Armor R5
Battle Healing R5
Howl
Searching R5
Fighting Spirit
Energist
Charge
Quick Change

Active Mods:
Detect
Athletics
Vengeful Riposte
Tracking
Justified Riposte

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Nimble
Ferocity
Precision
Focused Howl
Stamina
Reveal

Active Extra Skills:
Parry
Survival
Forgotten King’s Authority
Concentration

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystal x2
Resonance of the Grave [T1/Perfect (Instant)/Debuff/Incarceration] [184322] x1
Misperception Masterpiece/Instant (4): [178761] [200882][200893][200896] x4
Hypnosis 2 Masterpiece/Instant: 186609 x
Lullaby 2 Masterpiece/Instant: 190648 x

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: +10% Exp 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:
Tanos Statue: +25 Mitigation for a thread.

 

[Lessa 1]

The barkeep glanced toward the newcomer, the lift of one bushy eyebrow the only expression on his weathered face. “Aye,” he answered, “that would be me.”

But before he could say more, the barrel-chested man rounded on another patron. “I’m cutting you off.”

His victim, a blonde in a pastel pink hoodie and black yoga pants, stared back incredulously. “But there’s no alcohol in these.”

”Doesn’t matter,” came the NPC’s reply. “No more.”

Even as the man grabbed for her empty mug, the Player snatched it back, cradled it against her chest, and snapped, “I’m not drunk, you know. I can’t even get drunk. It’s honestly a real pain in the ass.”

Alexander leveled her with a glare, though faint traces of humor swirled in his dark eyes. “I know you’re not drunk, but you’re sulking. You’ve been sulking for too long.”

Again, the blonde argued, shaking her head. “I’m not sulking! Maybe a brood, at best, but definitely not sulking. I’m just thinking.”

”You should think about sulking somewhere else. Or better yet, doing something to change your situation so you don’t have to sulk anymore. Now, out you go.”

She gasped, feigning offense, even as she slipped from her barstool. “This is discrimination!”

”It’s really not. And leave the mug.”

“You can’t make me.”

Behind Alexander, his wife rolled her eyes, as amused by the exchange as she had been the dozens of other times it played out this way.

Before she stomped away from the bar, precious mug held tight to her chest, the woman studied the man who sat nearby.

”Raidou, right?” Lessa asked, her free hand jabbing a finger in his direction. “It’s been a long time.”

Spoiler

Name: Lessa, Guardian of Aincrad True Tier: 9
Level: 33
Paragon Level: 57
HP: 940/940
EN: 126/126

Stats:
Damage: 23
Mitigation: 55
Accuracy: 2
Battle Healing: 47
Stealth Rating: -5
REC: 8
HM: 8
HLY: 8
Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Arcael's Might (T4 THSS - DMG DMG DMG HLY)                                                        
Armor/Trinket: 
  - Empress Armor (T4 HA - HM HM THNS THNS)                                                             
Shield/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Neutron Star Necklace (T4 TRINKET - ACC ACC REC REC)

Combat Mastery:
  - 

Combat Shift:
  - ST Shift

Familiar Skill:
  - Rending Familiar

Custom Skill:
  - 

Skills:
  - Battle Healing R5
  - Charge
  - Energist
  - Fighting Spirit
  - Heavy Armor R5
  - Straight Sword R5

Extra Skills:

Inactive Extra Skills:

Addons:
  - Ferocity
  - Iron Skin
  - Stamina

Mods:
  - Emergency Recovery
  - Impetus
  - Justified Riposte

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:
 - Blacksmith[465exp] R6
Gathering Profession:
 - Forager[0exp] R1                                                                                                                        

 

[Raidou 1]

Caught completely by surprise by the sudden exchange between the presumed tavern owner and a blonde he'd met maybe twice before. A bit taken aback by the moment, weighing how he should proceed his eyes trace to Alexander who had already taken a reprieve, putting some distance between the countertop and the source of his small argument. The nomads eyes dart back and forth, guess he'd back for an order of caramel apple cider later. He manages to only make it about four steps toward the door before.

"Raidou, right?"

It rings out across the bar, and adjusting his glasses for a moment he puts on his best smile to hide his shock. "You caught me." Eying Alexander with a plead who does nothing more then shrug while polishing a mug he'd since swiped back from the woman when she wasn't paying attention. Turns out the guy knew his tricks. "I...uh, how have you been? How's Ryker?" Other patrons within direct eyeshot begin to stand and take to different seats, it seemed that they were more than familiar with this song and dance and didn't want any part of it.

This change doesn't do well to shift Raidou's nerves at all. What exactly was causing this scene to unfold? Taking a seat and feeling a tiny bit trapped, maybe she just needed an ear?

[Lessa 1]

“I thought so,” Lessa confirmed, nodding once as Raidou admitted to, indeed, being Raidou. As the patron seated directly beside the Red Wanderer vacated his stool, Lessa claimed it for herself. Then, setting her stolen mug on the bar top with a solid thud, she gestured to the empty container. “Another please, bartender.”

Alexander paused in his cleaning to stare at her for a full five seconds. Then, he heaved an enormous sigh. “You’ll be the death of me,” he informed Lessa before turning to Raidou. “Can I get you anything?”

Once he’d disappeared into the kitchen, the Guardian shifted on her stool to face Raidou. The warm fire crackled cheerfully, tossing dancing light across his features. He, in his long-sleeved shirt, and she in her hoodie. All things considered, the pair looked completely out of place in the snowy tavern. Like the two normies wandering through an anime convention, or a ren faire.

“Yeah, I’m good,” she answered mechanically. “Riker’s good, I’m good, everything’s good.” She propped her elbow up on the bar, leaned her head against her closed fist, and gave a smile that betrayed the lie she’d just told. “But what about you? Still out there questing, or have you done it all by now?”

[Raidou 1]

The brown haired guy just adjusts scratching the back of his head in hesitation, taking in the escapade that was unfurling itself all across the bar. Alexander seems to look down in a bit of surprise as Lessa once again had the mug, plopping it back down. As it would turn out, he wasn't as smooth as he thought. His eyes trained on that mug, why did he feel like he may have bit off more then he could chew. Pressures released as he lowered his arm, finding the solid mahogany wood of a platform as a brace.

"I uh..."

*cough*

"Green Tea, if you have it. Unsweetened."

Clearly, he was a man of routine. Even on a cold floor, despite a specialty the drinks were not for him. He'd order them to go. Sizing up Lessa's attire: "We both look the part, huh." simple small talk, that was about as lucid as talking about the weather. "I have done nearly everything imaginable. But its not really... relevant?" Raidou questioned his own response, not sure why but it seemed so pointless. Well beyond what could challenge him, and beyond the needs of everyday life. "That was rather convincing. I can almost buy how good it is." Straight to the point and as about as tactful as most have come to expect from him.

[Lessa 1]

Alexander returned a moment later, placing matching mugs in front of the two adventurers. Raidou's contained his unsweetened green tea, while Lessa's steamed with the sickly-sweet smell of hot caramel apple cider. "Thank you," Lessa said, and this time all silliness had dropped from her tone. The NPC studied her for a moment, head cocked, as if the shift caught him off-guard. Then he nodded, gave a soft "mhm," and returned to his cleaning. She was genuinely grateful for his kindness, even if they took shots at each other most every day. She was also grateful for his seemingly endless supply of apple cider and caramel.

"It's neat that you've done so much," she stated, shifting back to her bespectacled companion. "I haven't done much of anything. I bet I haven't finished half of the quests in the log." But why did that matter? The fact wasn't one that really upset her or anything. She didn't lose sleep over her lack of tangible progress in the game. She just lost sleep over, you know, everything else.

Beneath Raidou's stare, the blonde finally heaved a sigh. "Yeah yeah," she muttered, curling in on herself as he pointed out how delightfully unconvincing he was. "Look, it's been a wild couple of years." She brought the mug to her lips, sipped at it, set it down again. And then, for some reason, she simply unloaded. "My ex-boyfriend disappeared on me, and when he showed up months and months later, he didn't know who I was. I have no idea how to talk to my best friend, because he's all sorts of conflicted, and I approach delicate situations with all the finesse of an M1 Bazooka. My self-worth is kinda shot, as I had one guy fake his own death, one guy get amnesia, and one guy actually kill himself after associating with me. And that's pretty crappy, because now I'm crushing on someone, and instead of doing something about it, I'm hiding in a tavern with my comfy NPC family... and I'm sulking."

Alexander flicked one finger across his temple in an I told you so gesture.

[Raidou 1]

As Alexander wandered his way away, moving toward the interior of his kitchen. At the rate that Lessa was headed, he was already burning through his stock in the back. Even still the man continued his business, and with a hefty sigh he turned on a boiler. "Is it, right now it seems almost like I was wasting my time." Raidou remarked, milling the green tea in his cup with a twist as he stared intensely at it. "Its not really that important, the rat race. Its the people you meet along the journeys that matter." A brutally honest answer, as he took a swig of his tea.

An intense gaze from the wanderer sees the empresses ice begin to shatter, one that Raidou didn't even begin to fathom that it existed. "Wild doesn't begin to cover it." He remarks with a heavy sigh gesturing toward the back of the counter. Listening out of the corner of his eyes, checking carefully the contents of his drink as to prevent burning the shit out of himself. With a bit of a squint as Lessa told her tale, Raidou couldn't help but wince under the sheer shitty hand the woman had been dealt. "That sure is something. I haven't the damn clue how to respond to that to be perfectly honest. I'd love to ask you if you've told him how you feel but given your history I wouldn't blame you if you've been drinking yourself stupid in a bar that you can't get drunk in."

The thoughts flowed out quick, no filter and no reluctance. What was on his mind flowed like water out of a facet.

[Lessa 1]

"Drinking myself stupid in a bar I can't get drunk in," she echoed, then snorted out a laugh. "Yeah, that's about right."

Lessa turned back to the bar, pressing against it as she rest both forearms on the scuffed surface. She cupped the warm mug between her hands, watching the steam rise lazily into the air. "It could be worse," she said flatly. "And we've been in here... god, we've been in here a really long time. So I know I've had plenty of time to just get over myself." Pausing again, she chewed on her lower lip as she considered her next words. For whatever reason, her story had burst from her like water through a broken dam. Now? Piecing each sentence together took tremendous effort. If her dad had been there, he'd have reminded her that complaining is the easy part - making a plan, and acting upon it, is harder. 

"But it gets old, you know? Waking up in the same bed. Fighting the same mobs. Knowing there are still seventy-some floors between here and home." One fingertip delicately traced the rim of her mug, circling over and over and over. "Having a relationship felt kind of good. It was fresh, and new, and it just sort of gave me something to look forward to."

Lessa's lake-blue eyes tracked Alexander's wife as she moved up beside him, shifting onto her tiptoes to whisper into his ear. The burly man's rough exterior softened, and with a small laugh, he dusted an absent kiss across his woman's forehead. Lessa's heart ached.

"I don't need anyone else. It would just be nice to not feel so alone all the time."

After another beat, she glanced back to Raidou. "So no, I haven't told him. Maybe I will though. Anyway, how about you? Someone special waiting back home for you?"

[Raidou 1]

The nomad couldn't help but reciprocate her smile, when before he could hardly bear the weight of one. Like a single straw, it would have broken the camel's back. Admiring the same scene, like two old people witnessing a pair of teenagers playing a fool: Lessa and Raidou watched, Alexander and his loving wife teach them how it was done. "It can always be worse, or could have been worse. Can't say that I've had your experience though." complimented with another short sip of tea.

Adjusting the lenses on his nose, as if stirring the moment and keeping his own adamant composure. "4 years, 10 months, 27 days, 16 hours and... 23 seconds. Feels like we've been here forever, and yet it is as if someone hit pause. The entire world has been halted by a single pushed button. Turns out your just as pathetic as me." Dropped on the counter like a bag of bricks, an honest telling that was a joke with a sour note. "All my traveling, my adventures, my questing. I could overcome nearly everything I came up against. The one thing I could never completely conquer on my own?" A rhetorical statement bled from his lips, as he removed the glasses and began to clean them on his sleeves.

"Myself, and how much I condemn my own actions. Now I can tell you that your treating yourself too harshly. But frankly that would make me a massive red colored hypocrite." Shooting that green tea like it was glass of whiskey before gesturing another from Alexander, hoping that between the pecks with his wife he could see the motion. "I thought that I could fix everything, I thought that I could make a difference alone. That I had to become some icon or menace, some proof that others needed to band together to stop or aid. At the end of it all, I was overwhelmed and going mad trying to get all the bits of string to line up. It left me so empty, and so angry. You don't need anyone else to survive, or hell thrive. But my future wife." Raidou pulled off a fingerless glove to reveal a silver band. "more valuable then everything I've ever accomplished. Also don't need a damn sword or a mountain of col to succeed."

*cough*

Then it dawns on him, the strange and obtuse tangent of his thoughts oozing out of his mouth like a river. "What was in this tea? I feel like I may have been drugged." Raidou smiles and puts his glasses back on.

[Lessa 1]

Lessa regarded the man in silence, her blue eyes focusing as if she looked at him, truly saw him, for the first time. Nearly thirty seconds passed after his final statement, and she knew that if she didn't say something now, the silence would drag on for too long. But the words simply would not align themselves properly in her head. Instead, too many thoughts, too many memories, buzzed around her like annoying flies. She tried to mask her sudden speechlessness with another long drink of cider, but after she'd swallowed, she was no better off.

Finally, she shifted back to face the bar again. With a sideways glance toward Raidou, she simply opened her mouth and let the pieces fall where they may.

"That's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. Honestly, it is. You both have something so special. Not only your relationship, which is great and all, but your knowledge of how precious it is. How fleeting that kind of thing can be." 

She breathed in, long and slow, recognizing the way the oxygen filled her chest. She listened to the crackle of the fire in the hearth, and acknowledged the nostalgia it always brought her. She took another sip of her drink. Then she said, "I understand though, about those bits of string. I feel so disjoined, all the time. Maybe it would be like this in the real world, too, and I just hadn't reached the age where it really applied. But I don't know who I'm supposed to be, or what I'm supposed to be doing. Sometimes, I'm a friend. Other times, I'm a Frontliner. I've been a teacher, and a coach, and a therapist. For a while, I was a girlfriend. I'm pretty sure I spent some time as someone's arch nemesis."

The faint flicker of a smile appeared, but it held little humor. "I'm wearing a lot of hats, but none of them ever seem to fit right. I've done so much since getting locked in here, but none of it has seemed to add up to anything. If I couldn't point at our clearing the floors and say 'here, progress,' I'm not even sure I could prove to myself that I've accomplished anything at all."

"I know I've changed. But I don't know if its made any sort of difference, in the big scheme of things."

[Raidou 1]

Alexander finally broke away long enough to pay both players a refill. But it was clear that his wife had clearly his attention. A couple of the players that still held residence near the hearth added a couple more logs, it seems that a quiet had claimed the place and stuck like glue. Either they were terrified of a pair of eccentric weirdos or they were eating mental popcorn at the drama. Even still, they had an audience that neither player seemed to acknowledge. Helping a pair of fingertips around the rim of his glass, a slight spin as he spoke. "Is it?" Raidou dismissed it with a smile, is heart laid to bear and he found it to be a little raw. Such was speaking so clearly your mind, a soul exposed.

"That I'll drink to." Raidou offers the unsweetened tea to his lips, and takes a hearty swig and clicking it against the countertop. "Labels. Nearly impossible to live up to expectations set on you." He responded quizzically in return with a disarming exhale finding himself replacing the glasses. "I think its easy to let them stick. A frontliner, a friend, a monster, a jerk." Allowing a pause as he searched his thoughts, finding a chain of voices matching every label. He'd met hundreds of players, and to each prescribed a different perspective to he was.

"A villain, a murderer." His memories found their way back to Gabrandr's trial. He still felt the exact same way he did before. The nomad found himself getting into monologue status. "Anyway, the point is. People will always find a way to paint you the way that they want to view you. Fuck them, be you. I've worn my own share of hats, and frankly I'm not really a hat person. I can pretend they fit, they may look like they fit. But its hardly ever the whole story." Raidou couldn't help but feel her confusion, for it was so close to his own it was as if she was reading him like a book. "Its the little things." Raidou gestures to a cup in her hand, and then to Alexander. "Your important. I don't need to know you well to know that. A teacher, A friend. Maybe they don't fit, because they are all you."

Another drink, before a single quote

"With every broken bone, we live." then to defuse the heavy moment, he tilts his head and looks down. "An arch nemesis?" The question has him find a smile, as he sized up the woman's yoga pants with a raised brow. "Do I have to ask?"

[Lessa 1]

Lessa hardly knew the man, having only interacted with him once in the distant past, and for a short while in the present. Still, when his praise landed, she felt her cheeks growing warm. Pleasure unfurled like flower petals, turning to welcome a sun that had been absent for far too long. "That means a lot," she told him, and meant it. "I think its difficult to feel important in a place like SAO, when you've got stats attached to everything you do. Am I the highest level? Do I have the rarest items? Have I cleared the most floors, completed the most quests, dealt the most damage?" She quirked a small smile, shaking her head as she answered her own question. "No. I am not, I do not, and I have not."

But she didn't seem overly disappointed by that fact. Instead, some of the weight that had dragged down Lessa's shoulders appeared to have lifted with Raidou's words. "So then you have to ask yourself, 'what makes a person important?' I guess if you go by the real world's standards, it's a little more complicated than the numbers attached to them. Because if you ignore the things like 'how much money they have' and 'how many houses in exotic places they own,' you're kind of left with less quantifiable stuff. What have they accomplished? How do they feel about themselves? What do other people think about them?"

Meeting and holding his gaze, Lessa continued. "You think highly of me, which means something. Since I haven't thought so highly of myself lately, your doing so kind of fills those gaps." Her entire demeanor softened, and she glanced away from him, cupping her hands around her steaming mug. "I think I can let that be enough for now, propping me up until I find my own feet. And it'll happen. I'll probably be kicking and screaming the whole way, but I've spent a huge chunk of the past decade mourning, and I'm getting a bit tired of it. Even widows in the 1800s only had to wear black for two years. And I'm a modern woman."

She finally brought the drink to her lips, and hiding the slight smirk as his last question registered. "Maybe I'll tell you one day."

[Raidou 1]

Raidou cannot help but chuckle, as Alexander started to pour liquids in each of their respective cups. A bit spilled as it clearly startled the man given how abrupt it was. The wanderer begins to rub his eyebrows "You wouldn't be the first woman I had to drag kicking and screaming to reality." Taking a piece of cloth from his coat, he starts to aid in efforts to mop up the mess. "The answer is simple, importance is a perspective." He looks to Alexander, with a smile. "To me, Alexander here is important." Getting a raised eyebrow from the man. "But you know how many players probably treat him like dirt."

"Too many." Alexander responds.

"Too many." The wanderer reciprocates the statement, as if to further his point. "As players we all forget the little things. The potion that saves your life, was made by someone out of something. Every speck of dust on a road, every leaf on a tree. We get so focused on the big picture in here, it becomes so easy to overlook the small details." An explanation to his fixations on the smallest little things, the scent in the air or the temperature of a river. "Guilds, millions of col, the fanciest weapons, a mansion you can sneeze and it appears. Doesn't mean jack, because none of it is real. No offense." He offers a raised hand toward Alex, who shakes his head and passes a rag onto his right shoulder. "Alexander, proves that they are more human then we are these days. We forgotten to focus on the one thing that is real. That being what we learn from the experience, and how we treat each other."

*pointing his thumb at Alex and his wife*

Raidou looks to Lessa, locking his eyes with hers. "You want to know what makes you important, look into the eyes of those your close to. See your reflection there, and how much of a difference you've made for them. That is what will exist once this is said an done. The rest will fall away, but those bonds and acts of kindness will remain. The value of person is not their wealth or their status, but what they do on the path they walk through life. Levels are just a number, its how you use them that matters. Don't let a frontliner blow hard ever tell you differently."

The nomad moves to silence and lets that linger for a moment, sipping carefully at bitter and piping hot tea. "And I'll hold you to that, if you ever feel like dropping a load. You'll find I've got some strong shoulders from all the carrying I do."

[Lessa 1]

Lessa pursed her lips in thought as Raidou spoke. When he fell silent, she finally commented, "You know, you're an odd guy." She paused to sip from her mug, though she eyed him over the rim the entire time. Only when she'd returned the cup to the bartop did she continue. "I don't believe that I've ever met anyone else like you. Anyone so..." She spun her hand in in the air, as if that might help her find the word she was looking for. "Introspective?" She scrunched her face up, as if that wasn't quite the term she was going for, but apparently decided that it was close enough. "I think most of us have fallen into one of two camps. One sees the NPCs as equals, or at least, treats them with respect. That's probably because we've been in here so long that it's hard not to. I wager most of those people now see Aincrad as their new normal, and consider it our 'real world.' I'd put myself in that category."

Lessa pressed both palms to her still-steaming mug, but rather than bringing it to her lips, she simply let the drink warm her hands. "The other camp still treats this like a game. They treat NPCs like lines of code, like background characters at best, and slaves at worst." Her lips pulled down at the edges. "I've seen some pretty messed up shit where NPCs are concerned. I've never understood those people, but if they joined the game just to cause chaos, its possible they never outgrew it. Anyway, I figure those people are still painfully aware that this is a game, and refuse to accept it as their reality."

"But you." She poked a finger in Raidou's direction. "You seem like you marry the ideas together. You talk about col, and guilds, and the quests you've completed, and you count down the days since we came in. But then you have so much respect for NPCs, and awareness when it comes to how interconnected everyone in here is. You also give excellent advice. I feel like I should be paying you a therapy fee or something." She propped her elbow on the counter, balled her hand into her fist, and balanced her chin atop it as she regarded him. "Fascinating."

[Raidou 1]

Offering a handful of silver coins to the countertop, for another round for this has had to been one of his longest running conversations up to this point. It was an ode to simply being a person instead of anything else, and strangely Raidou clung to it. "I appreciate the compliment, I think." The man remarked nervously as he'd rake the hair on the back of his head, remembering a time where he would have fled the room with every ounce of his being under such scrutiny. "There isn't harm in being realistic, and the fact is two things are true. One: this is a game that teeters on the brink of acting like a glorified electric chair."

The darker topic drew him into a more complacent thousand yard stare, but only briefly. The world pausing for a moment as he'd weigh the gravity of the statement behind his eyes. Alex offering him more tea snaps him back to focus, given that the players were about to pay off his mortgage at this rate. "and Two: that is true for NPC's too. We need them just as much as they need us. By design some settlements need a direct guiding hand, our overseer choosing to punish them for our existence. Charko comes to mind, or Senimoh to which we are both familiar."

The nomad of course referring to Byakko, the respawning fire hellion that took pleasure at raising the pastures of the fair city on floor 6. "Kaiba chose to make them this way, and as players we are free to ignore them and let them be destroyed. My answer is, what if we didn't let them. What if we chose to help them in their time of need, put all this power put in our disposal for their sake. Defend those who cant defend themselves, and preserve a lifeline that Akihiko never saw coming. What if they evolve? What if they could return the favor one day? Doing exactly the unexpected, and the benefactor?"

Raidou paused and looked a solace and serene lock on Lessa.

"A small bartender that serves a drink in a hodunk town. The preservation of life, no matter the shape it takes. And your lucky I'm rich, this sort of therapy doesn't come cheap."

[Lessa 1]

"Very lucky," she countered with a sage nod, "since I'm dirt broke. You'd think after all these years, I'd have more to my name. But I figure that would require grinding for col, and I've always been a bit too lazy for that." She watched him as she sipped, then set down the mug and breathed out a long sigh.

"You're right. Of course you're right. It's wild to me that there are still people out there who don't see NPCs as humans. Like I said, after all these years... you'd think we'd all be settled in by now." She gave the bespectacled Player a small nod, then added, "So yeah, it's nice to talk to someone who feels the same way I do. That they're people, and they deserve our respect. More than that, they deserve to be protected." Her expression darkened, and as clouds ghosted across her eyes, Lessa momentarily shifted away from Raidou. "I was just about to get my teaching degree back home. Before all this, I mean. And active shooter drills were a necessary evil. We did a lot of training, and yeah, I was totally ready to take a bullet for my students if the situation called for it. If that was all that I could do to protect them."

The Guardian's voice trailed as she let her gaze linger on the amber liquid in her cup. Then she slanted Raidou a quick look. "That need to protect people didn't go away when I entered the game. In fact, I feel like I'm probably better equipped to do so here, with my big sword and my fancy skills. I actually have a friend who has joked that I could be Aincrad police. I don't know that there's a need in a system like this, but it's sort of fun to imagine."

[Raidou 1]

"And here I was going to charge you a fortune, guess I'll swing pro bono." Raidou jests with the most straight face and a gentle gesture toward the back of the bar with an extended finger. "I can't really say the same. Although you do have a bit of a 'teacher' aura." The wanderer gestures down to the yoga pants, with a sense of acknowledgement. "I wish I was half as brave as you back then. Truth was, I was very withdrawn. Used books as a way to divorce myself from the world. I can admire that bravery." But his focus locked to his cup, as with that remark his heartstrings stung just the slightest but it wouldn't show upon his face. Instead it hid itself easily behind a smile that he'd much rather wear.

"Instead, I avoided everyone and would end up fainting having a conversation like this. Nosebleeds and hiding in barrels or lockers back home. Couldn't do it, the intensity of having someone look at me. Couldn't imagine being a teacher, kids can be so cruel." Spoken as if from direct experience, it was left to hang like the sour off key note in a otherwise perfect composition. "But that is the past, and I can see those goals have stuck with you from long before. As much as I hate to say it, Aincrad has turned me into someone else completely. Through necessity, through violence. Hold on to that, that desire to protect others."

Spoken from a man who doubled down as both an unsung hero, and a despicable villain "Your not missing much, given the Aincrad Police can preach but cannot solve the problems this game allows. Its unbelievably hard to incarcerate someone here, which is why I was about to gut Gabrandr. A crown that was willing to commit genocide. There's a need, but its not really a real option. Prospero a name I shall not bear." He'd met quite a number of the APD, and their failed attempts to jail murderous monsters. Hell, a couple of his friends were on the bounty list through misunderstandings. His eyes stare what seems like a mile through the back wall before he shakes his head and allows his happiness to return. "Ugh, enough of all that. Too heavy. At any rate, I'm glad we can make a difference, and I'm pretty sure you've got a bigger sword then me."

 

[Lessa 1]

Lessa turned his words over for a moment, then loosed a quick shrug. "I don't know. I guess I never really thought of it as bravery. I thought of it as something that just needed to be done. The kids needed protecting. Though I suppose it varies from person to person. I consider the soldiers who are deployed overseas brave. Even if they claim it's their duty, or it's something that they have to do, I still think it's brave." She stared down at her mug for a beat, then burst out laughing. The sound was short-lived, dying away as quickly as it had come, but the amusement lingered in Lessa's blue eyes. "You," she began, stabbing a finger in Raidou's direction, "have an uncanny knack for sending me on philosophical side-quests."

She let her hand fall back to the bartop, but the woman continued to study Raidou's face. "I'll admit it," she began finally, "I have a really hard time imagining you as the terrified type. You come across as so confident. But hey, I guess that's always been the draw of video games, right? You can escape reality for a little while, and be whoever you want to be." With a grimace, Lessa added, "Exxxxcept for when that escape becomes your new reality. I suppose you either end up resorting back to your old self, or letting Aincrad shape you into something else. In your case, it's something better. In my case..."

Her voice trailed, then she blew out a breath hard enough to send her bangs flapping. "In my case, I turned into a broody baby. It's temporary though. I'll snap out of it."

"I should hope so," Alexander grumbled from other side of the bar. "You're going to drink me out of business."

Lessa scowled at him. "Eavesdropping is rude, you know."

"So is loitering."

With an indignant huff, the woman shot back, "I am a paying customer."

Alexander leveled her with a hard gaze, but the corner of his thin lips curled up slightly. "You haven't paid in years."

"It's true," Lessa stage-whispered to Raidou. "They like me too much to take my money."

[Raidou 1]

Sliding open his inventory, Raidou produces a handful of small lemon squares as an offset to all the tea he'd drank up to this point. Paired well with pastries although the man wasn't exactly born with a sweet tooth. He'd slide the plate that was in the pocket with it closer to his conversation companion, because Aincrad was weird and you could carry an oil drum around in your pocket without a second thought. "Yeah, your probably right. Although I will say its only from an outside perspective that you can appreciate the nuance for someone's actions when they are normally taken for granted." Plucking up the tiny vanilla white square and pulling a zested chunk off with a light dust of powder. A brush of his hands on his pant legs as he leans on the bar countertop. "I can't help but see the fact that not everyone does that. For every person like you, there is someone whose only goal is their own goals and ambitions. Self serving and selfish..."

A break of the sentence with a swallow paired with a sip of tea to wash it down.

The sharp and sudden bout of laughter causes Raidou to jump, leaving a trail of red out of instinct from his eyes. Full tank reflex. A shake of his head "You scared the hell out of me." He remarks with the quickest slap of gloved hands, catching a cup before it hits the counter and begins to clean up the mess. "I suppose I do that to everyone, Its my secret. Not much of a sharer, more of a thinker." The implication was obvious as it was made with a smile, and it was the first time he'd ever said it out loud. "Confident? Please, I'd avoid every player and NPC I could. Hiding behind sign posts, quest boards, in barrels, under countertops or tables." He'd chuckle not quite to the same abrupt caliber, but a much softer form of happiness.

"I'd like to be whoever I want to be, but instead I'll have to settle to being me. It's easier to be someone else, but at least its real if your yourself. Yanno?"

A pause as he leans back just a tiny bit, as if he'd bit his tongue. The truth was? He just mirrored Mari. A wandered road had left an earnest impression upon a fool. "I can't but help but think. Where does Alexander here get his supplies? The caramel, the apples. Does he brew it himself? Is it import? Better yet, does inter floor trade for NPC's actually exist? Imagine if it didn't and a few players introduced such a thing..."

Raidou joins in the whisper like a pair of high school girls gossiping, "I'm sure your right. Otherwise we'd have been kicked out about 30 minutes ago. We're bad for business."

[Lessa 1]

At his words, Lessa's face lit with a broad smile. She tore off a corner of a lemon square, popped it into her mouth, then said, "That, I can answer. For the apples, at least. I've spent an embarrassing amount of time scoping out the best apple orchards in Aincrad. I've picked out my favorites, and I make it a habit to fill up my inventory and bring them back here every week or so. It's therapeutic, honestly. Makes me feel like I'm contributing somehow, even if it's just to help Alexander and his family out." She once again pivoted atop her stool, leaning her elbows back on the bartop as she stared out across the White Rabbit. She took in the crackling fireplace, and the comforting light and warmth it flung across the space. She took in the gentle murmur of conversation, such a nice change from the rowdy taverns found elsewhere in the floating castle. And she watched the snow fall outside the foggy glass window, great fat flakes that never ceased to remind her of Michigan.

She sighed, and then suddenly, she was speaking. "I spend a lot of time here," she heard herself tell Raidou. "Eat a ton of my meals here. Drink all their cider." A beat of silence, and then, "I spend the night here when my house feels too empty. And they've never expected anything from me. Alexander, Margaret, and Wren are the closest thing I have to family in Aincrad."

Alexander, who had moved down the bar to help a customer, still managed to toss her quick glance that said as much as their familiar banter did - you have a place here. Lessa swallowed back a soft laugh. "Yeah, we're definitely bad for business."

She shifted to look over her shoulder at Raidou. "You've shared plenty with me," she stated conversationally, her gaze tracking his expression. Her intention wasn't to prove the man wrong, or come off as argumentative, but she found his claim interesting. Besides, why not shift the focus back to him? It saved her from more internal reflection. "And you haven't hidden in a single barrel since we started talking. We've been going at it for a while now, and there are a lot of barrels in this place."