[PP-F3] Lax Adventure (Kirito, Lessa)

[Kirito 0]

Kirito walked through the tall grasses of Floor 3, his long, black coat brushing against the reeds that spurt from the ground. The Beater held a hand over his eyes to keep the sun out of his gaze as he scanned the area. "Where did it go to...?" He mumbled, looking about the grass. What he was referring to was a voucher that would get his sword sharpened at a local smith shop. And when fighting a bit too hard a while ago, it slipped out of his quick inventory. Kirito sighed as he looked around some more. "I'm never going to find that thing..."

[Lessa 1]

The golden-haired player stomped through the long grass, her gaze on the ground in front of her. Her familiar trotted along beside her, weaving and out out of her feet with every step. She loved the little creature, but she had come to learn that she needed to keep an eye on him or else she would trip over his tiny body. "You little brat," she hissed to him, but her navy eyes danced with laughter. She really enjoyed having the stoat along for extra company.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lessa noticed another figure. She immediately grabbed for her claymore, Hell Rose, which was always strapped to her back. Though she was only on floor three, she was still outside of the safe zone. Any beast, or worse, player killer, could be on her in seconds.

She soon realized, however, that the player in question was not intending to jump her. In fact, he seemed just as preoccupied as she was, if not more-so. Her brow furrowed in concern.

"Hey," she called out, also shielding her eyes from the sun. "Uh, do you need some help?"

[Kirito 0]

Kirito looked up to see another player near him, having spoke to get his attention. A little surprised, he hadn't thought that players were still on this floor. "Just trying to find something, no help needed." He lied, frantically continuing the search in the grass. Realistically speaking, his detection skill was very low, as he had been investing in other stats. So he was having a hard time finding his voucher. He probably did need her help, but he wasn't one to trouble another for his mess-up.

[Lessa 1]

Lessa tilted her head slightly, studying the boy curiously. Then she gave a small smile. It was plain to see that he did need her help, and he assumed he was simply too embarrassed or proud to ask. He certainly was not the only player that she knew who refused her aid, and he would not be the last. But he looked so frazzled, and she could not simply walk on.

The woman moved into a jog, and her startled familiar had to increase his speed to keep up with her. The brown-haired stoat trotted along beside her, plowing his way through the tall grass. Whatever it was that he was trying to find, Lessa figured Orion would come across it first.

"What is it that you dropped?" She asked him, slowing to a walk beside the boy in the black coat. From the way he was searching the ground, she figured that was what his problem was.

[Kirito 0]

Kirito sighed and figured she was going to help him one way or another. "A small slip of paper, kept in your average size envelope. It has a brown color, so it blends in with the grass here, unfortunately." He said, moving some hair out of his eyes as he looked up to the stranger. "My name is Kirito. You?" He said, standing up and brushing some gold colored blades of grass of of his dark black coat. He figured if she was going to help she may as well get to know the name of the guy she was helping.

[Lessa 1]

"Yikes," Lessa murmured, scanning the ground around her. "That will be tough to find. But my familiar likes to pick out strange objects for me, so I'm sure he'll be able to help." She motioned to her stoat, who sat up on his haunches and gave a few high-pitched chirps of greeting. Then, he scurried deeper into the grass, and began to search. The young woman was actively training him to find materials, but he still had a habit of bringing her odds-and-ends objects. He's carried her pieces of cardboard, chunks of rock, and even scraps of fabric. She imagined he would present her with the piece of paper as soon as he found it.

"My name is Lessa," she replied, holding out a hand for him to shake. "Kirito, huh?" The name sounded incredibly familiar, but she could not place it. I must have overheard someone else talking about him, she finally decided.

[Kirito 0]

Kirito shook her hand and gave a small smile. "Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it." He let go and then turned back to the field, scanning it again. "So you're a Beast Tamer? I hear that's a tricky business to undertake." The Blackswordsman said, looking through some grass. Personally, he didn't want a familiar. He needed to be the only one fighting a monster in order to level up his skills at a better rate. Any familiar would just divide up EXP. Though, a few people he knew made it work.

[Lessa 1]

At the thought, Lessa giggled. "Well, I suppose I am. If, of course, you really consider that a beast." As she spoke, she pointed toward Orion. The little brown stoat was scurrying through the grass. At one point, when his attention was elsewhere, he tripped over a small rock. Watching the foot-long critter roll onto his back caused the woman to laugh again. "He's pretty ferocious," she commented with a stern nod, and then a wink in Kirito's direction.

"I really just keep him around because I like his company. Plus, he is helpful when trying to track down loot. But he's a wimp, so he isn't helpful when I'm battling." She looked at him fondly. "Little guy normally just goes off and hides somewhere."

Then, turning back to Kirito, she said, "I'm surprised I haven't seen you before. But I tend to run into the same people over and over, so its nice to meet a new face."

[Kirito 0]

Kirito nodded in agreement. "Same. I especially enjoy just one person to socialize with. I'm not exactly a fan of large crowds." He said, as the stoat searched around for the voucher. "Never seen a creature like that before. Most people go for the generic dragon or wolf. Where did you find this one at?" Kirito inquired, looking the small creature over.

[Lessa 1]

Lessa's smile grew as he asked about her familiar. It was a question that she heard often - why go with something so boring when you could go with a cool, fantasy creature? "Truth is," she replied, "he sort of chose me. I found him up on the forth floor. The little brat was chewing on my foot, and actually inflicting a bit of damage in the process. Seems they have some sharp teeth, and can be deadly when they want to be." She shrugged, then continued, "I probably would have just killed him without a second thought, but some crazy gypsy woman had told me to feed the beast instead of killing it." She laughed softly. "So I did. And now I'm stuck with him."

The brown creature loped back to the pair, a piece of paper clenched tightly in his jaws.

[Kirito 0]

Kirito produced a small smile as he heard the story. Definitely an interesting listen. He saw the familiar come bounding back with the paper and Kirito kneeled down. "Well, I'm surprised. It found it no problem." Kirito said, reaching out a hand to take the paper. He was iffy though. Usually an animal wouldn't let go of something to anyone other than it's master. 

[Lessa 1]

Orion emitted a guttural growl as Kirito reached for the paper. Immediately realizing what was going on, Lessa stepped in. "Orion," she warned sternly. "Drop it." The warning sound stopped suddenly, and the little brown creature opened his mouth. The paper fluttered the short distance to the ground. Afterwards, the stoat turned and hurried back to his master. He stood at Lessa's feet, regarding the black swordsman with careful eyes.

"Sorry," she apologize softly, "he's still working on his social skills." She stooped down and gave the familiar a pat on the head. "But he is excellent at finding things. I'm glad we were able to help you out."

[Kirito 0]

Kirito noded to Lessa with thanks as he knelt down to pick up the paper. "Thank you. I really appreciate your help." Just as he touched the paper, words popped up and announced, "ITEM EXPIRED" and the paper burst into blue crystals. Kirito's face went blank and stayed expressionless as he kept his hand held out to hold the paper that wasn't there. 

 

"...Oh no. That, was going to restore the durability on my only sword. And now..." He checked his items and opened up his sword's info.

 

<<Durability>> 3/250

 

"I can't fight anything or my sword will break... And right now we're in a..." He looked up as wolves spawned nearby. "...A mob spawn territory."

[Lessa 1]

The blonde nodded, understanding the gravity of their situation. Though they were still only on the third floor, they were outside the safe zone. That meant that they were at risk. And more difficult enemies sometimes spawned out of nowhere, especially as far out as they were. There was no telling what might crop up, and Kirito's weapon was in bad shape.

As if on cue, a pair of wolves peeled off of a nearby pack and loped toward them. Their faces were twisted in a terrible snarl, and their black eyes watched the pair intently. "Go figure," Lessa quipped. She drew her pink claymore, the metal grinding along the sheath with a familiar metallic sound. She threw a glance toward Kirito. "I don't think they'll be a huge deal," she told him. "Just do what you can. We'll take a look at that sword of yours when we're done, yeah?" Then, she turned to face the enemy.