PP F1: Let's Forget that Happened [COMPLETE]

[Mari 1]

Mari was peeved, she was in the tavern to get away from death threats, and arrogant people, not have them congregate in large groups around her. It had been a number of hours since her run in with Lotharian, Yuji, Life, Alkor and the rest of the patronage of SAO it seemed. She hadn’t moved from her quaint corner in the establishment – and she hadn’t planned on moving anytime soon.

“A drink Miss?”

Mari gave a small nod, requesting an alcoholic beverage; it was the first time she had requested such in the game and honestly wasn’t sure if the game would allow you to get drunk; it wasn’t exactly real alcohol. But if monsters could hurt you, and crusty bread rolls could fill you up then surely liquor could give you a buzz.

The waitress placed some sort of chocolate mead in front of Mari, who paid accordingly.

- 25 Col

Lifting the tankard to her lips Mari took a few hefty swigs, angrily slamming the half empty jug onto the table. “People…Ugh.”
 

[Zero 0]

Zero sat quietly at a table all on his own like most days, he had been out of sight for a while trying to avoid the sudden surge of activity from guilds and solo players. He tapped the table in front of him as a large glass was placed in front of him, he ordered the same thing every day and got the buzz he needed so he would not go chopping someone's head off.

He slowly picked the glass up and gave its gold colored content a quick taste, glancing at a female player who seemed wound up about something. He kept his mouth shut, avoiding the possibility of accidentally making his presence stick out, and let out a slight sigh as he set the glass down. "Menschen sind schwer zu verstehen."

(People are hard to understand, in German xD)

[Mari 1]

“Lasst Uns Trinken!” Mari’s german was horrible. Atrocious- her accent was poor, and her pronunciation was worse, she had no idea what the man at the bar had said, but she did know how to say ‘Let us Drink’ one of the few ‘valuable’ phrases she had learnt abroad.

Who would have thunk it? Mari was beginning to feel mildly buzzed- an empty tankard sat before her, and she had another clasped tightly in her tiny hands.

-25 Col
 

The annoyance she felt from earlier was slowly dissipating, feeling a tad more at ease Mari sauntered over to the man at the bar. She clambered up on a stool to sit next to him. Grinning as she traced the rim of the tankard with her finger she asked;

“What’s a nice place like you doin’ in a guy like this?”

With her speech, it was clear that she wasn’t exactly drunk, but intended it to be some poorly performed joke.

 

[Zero 0]

Unexpected, this was the current situation Zero found himself in now. He glanced at the woman as she spoke in German, then slowly making her way over to his table. She seemed somwhat buzzed, though he wasn't a hundred percent sure how buzzed after seeing her begin to grin and purposely, from what he could tell, spoke incorrectly as a joke.

Zero simply picked up his glass and sipped from it, not sure what to say at the moment. He wasn't good at direct conversation's, specially when the opposite gender was involved. "Well, currently I am... Uh drinking myself to peace. If I don't I might end up slicing up someone in half, and I'm also avoiding the recent surge of activity from the guilds and players." He placed the empty glass on the table and looked at Mari, trying to keep his somewhat neutral expression.

"How about you? What is a fine lady such as yourself doing in a drunken hell hole like this?"

[Mari 1]

Mari gave a long low sigh; “Remind me not to cross paths with you outside a town then, eh? Then again, I’d rather that than put up with some of the guilds.” She muttered bitterly. So far, she had made an enemy of the main members of the Crimson Inquisition, and an enemy of whatever guild that Alkor man was in.

Mari rested an elbow on the bar, signaling for another drink, which was quickly placed in front of her.

-25 Col

“A fine lady huh?  I’ve managed to make an enemy of everyone I’ve come across, somehow, I feel a drunken hell hole is exactly where I should be.” Mari began absently twisting a strand of hair around her finger. Lidded blue eyes staring the man before her down, “I’d wager I’ll drive you away just as quickly as I’ve driven everyone else away- eh?”
 

[Zero 0]

"You can try to drive me away, but I probably won't leave. As for crossing my path putside the safe zone, you should be fine, I don't purposely strike other players often..." Zero looked to the side, trying to avoid further eye contact with Mari, and cleared his throat. it was quite evident to him she was slightly annoyed by something, so he began to think of what words to use to avoid any negative putcomes. He tapped the table with the tip of his fingers repeatedly, glancing at the unexpected guest every few seconds, before finally speaking.

"Mind telling me something to call you by before we go any further with this... Conversation madam."

[Mari 1]

Mari grinned, somewhat glad to hear his words, "So you're a bit of a gamble then eh?" Mari quipped light heartedly. She noticed he was awkward around her, perhaps he wasn't used to social interaction, or females in general. She had met a few people who had similar mannerisms. HIs crimson eyes darted  between her and the drink that sat in front of him. "Mari," She answered his question, "And should I call you -err - cotton ball?" Mari asked, gesturing toward his tuft of stark white hair.

[Zero 0]

"Zero." The boy finally kept his gaze towards her, passing his hand through what had kust been called 'cotton ball', and let out a slight sigh. "As for me being a bit of a gamble, I guess that's accurate as it comes when reffering to me. Though I am a bet you'll rarely lose on." He still did not fully understand what kind of person the woman called Mari was, or what she was thinking about as she looked at him. "Your German wasn't half bad by the way..." He said in an attempt to not let the conversation die and scratched his head as he slouched in his chair. He tapped on the table as a glass was brought to him and placed down on the table.

[Mari 1]

Mari laughed softly to herself, turning to her drink. "If you're a bet I will rarely lose on, then I guess the odds are in my favour eh?" A small silence fell between the two as Mari finished her drink. She gestured for another this time requesting a glass of wine rather than the chocolate mead she had been drinking earlier;

-25 Col

The glass was placed down before her, she picked it up and swirled it around rather than taking a drink from it. "It's about the only sentence I know in German. Asl me anything else and I wouldn't a clue what you were taking about." She turned her blue eyes toward him. "To be honest I had no idea what you said, but we're in a tavern no?"

Mari now turned her entire body toward him, "You really don't talk to others much do you?" She asked, noting the uneasy mannerisms. 
"Don't worry, I won't bite, but I guess that's a gamble eh?" She held up the glass as if to say 'cheers' "To a shot in the dark!"
 

[Zero 0]

Zero blinked several times as he looked at Mari. He wasn't used to being talked to casually, or being fully included in something. He grabbed slowly his glass and raised it up so it would lightly tap Mari's. "Let's hope that this sho in the dark won't backfire."

He quickly began to drink the glass' contents and placed it down afterwards. "And if you do bite then it's fine, because I do bite." He leaned back on his chair, still looking at Mari. "I may not be very good at conversation, but I am good at a variety of other things. Not that I want to sound arrogant or overconfident by the way."

[Mari 1]

Mari laughed, "Hey - if it does backfire at least we can look back on this moment and know that's where we both made that horrid mistake." She took a sip, giving a satisfied 'mmm' She used to enjoy a glass of moscato every so often, and she enjoyed the sweet -fruity taste. A light hearted wine for the not so enthusiastic wine connoisseur. 

Zero mentioned that he bites; and Mari almost snorted the contents of her drink back out through her nose. "That is one strange pick up line; cotton ball." Mari chided. She was beginning to feel light headed, perhaps slightly tipsy. Mari leant on the bar, leaning closer to Zero. "Oh? What other things? Fighting? Tactics?" She paused, giving his attire a once over with her eyes, "Fashion?"

[Zero 0]

Zero watched Mari closely, sitting up straight when she leaned over, and blushed slightly realizing how she had interpreted what he had said. He picked up his drink and sipped from it, letting out a slight sigh afterwards. "Yeah, guess will know at least when the mistake was made if it becomes one..." He stared at Mari's eyes, his eyes then moved across her face, and thought about her comment regarding his other talents as well as when she motioned to his outfit, leather armor with an attached hood custom made for him.

"Fighting is one of the things I'm best at, in here at least." He answered her and felt the alcohol start to affect him, his head starting to feel light and his body uneasy.

[Mari 1]

Mari slid closer, hopping on the barstool to inch closer to him. She finished off her glass and signalled for another. She accepted it almost too enthusiastically, her fevered mind well and truly under the intoxicated influence. "Ok, fighting." Mari began, "But what about the others?" Mari mused, taking yet another sip of the sweet wine before placing the glass down beside her. Absently running her finger over the rim of the glass. She paused, cerulean gaze intently watching Zero's reaction;

His cheeks flushed, and he quickly glanced away before taking another sip. His eyes landed on her again and Mari tilted her head. "Mmm? Did I say something to embarrass you~?" She teased, "Or you just bit off more than you can chew?" She asked, pointing toward his glass, she waited a few seconds before leaning right over; helping herself to the rest of its contents. "There - I'm your hero." Mari added with a cheeky grin.

[Zero 0]

Zero was slightly shocked by Mari's action, though he did nit mind them, amd scratched his head thinking. He could tell the alcohol had began to affect her and it didn't seem she was going to stop just yet. After remaining silent for a few seconds Zero rested his elbow on the table and placed his head on the palm of his hand. "I'm not much of a fashion guy... I guess I'm kind of good at tactics, I do tend to have my eyes open to details... What about you my brave hero? What are you good at aside from holding down your drink like a pro."

She hadn't been wrong, he was starting to become more loose and sociable due to his drinks. He absentmindedly began to smile at Mari, finding himself enjoying the company of another which was as rare as a boss drop.

[Mari 1]

Mari grinned, noticing that Zero had began to smile. "There ya go!" She cried, giving the man a tad too enthusiastic slap on the back. Mari sat back, triumphantly crossing her arms across her chest. "Thought your face was broken." She joked

Zero noted he wasn't much of a fashion guy, Mari- seeing an opening, and partly because it was true, and partly because she wanted to see his reaction spoke in a sly tone, "coulda fooled me, handsome." She chewed her lip, trying to think of her good qualities, "I can easily make enemies- it seems. Hah." She laughed quietly to herself. "Mmmm perhaps you could say I have a way with words." She thought, tapping her lip. "What do you think my good qualities are? Mr attentive?"

 

[Zero 0]

Zero blushed like he had before and kept smiling, slightly chuckling. He looked at Mari's eyes and leaned over slightly. "I don't know what you mean by handsome, but thanks for the kind gesture beautiful. I appreciate it." He listened to her attentively as she stated her ability to easily make enemies and thought deeply about her question. "Well let me think... You definitely have a way with words, and can make someone smile from what I've seen. You're also very creative in conversation, so I guess you're a fun girl." He chuckled slightly and gestured that two more drinks get brought to them, he was enjoying himself in a way he hadn't done in years.

[Mari 1]

Mari gave a mock pout; speaking in a whiny voice; "You don't know what I mean by handsome?" She cleared her throat, changing her tone to that of a more instructive note; as though she was a keynote speaker addressing a large audience. "Handsome-Adjective; to be perceived as attractive or good looking to the observer."  Mari gave a small salute to h im before adding, "You're welcome"

 

 Mari started on the new drink placed before her, listening to what he had to say about her. She was enjoying the buzzed feeling in her head, and the heat of the alcohol sitting in the bottom of her gut. Mari hummed happily to herself, swaying side to side in time to the tune, before swinging too far one way, and sticking her head onto Zero's shoulder. Mari whined; "Oh geez- for someone who looks sorta like a cotton ball, ya sure don't feel as soft as one."
 

[Zero 0]

Zero smiled at Mari's actions and at what she said. "I know the meaning of handsome, but I meant I have no idea why you called me such. I'm not that much of a sight honestly, specially in real life." He looked at his drink and picked up, giving it a slight stir. He drank down some of it and let out a sigh, his buzz affecting him more. He slightly chuckled thinking about how miserable he is when sober and sighed slightly.

He glanced at Mari when she laid on his shoulder and whined about it. "I am sorry for being so rough around the edges Mari. Would you prefer," He opened his menu, scrolled through his inventory, and unequipped his armor, now wearing a simple white long sleeved shirt. "This then? I'm much softer without the armor." He smiled at her and drank from his glass again, chugging it down all the way before putting the glass back down.

[Mari 1]

Mari pursed her lips, "Buu- you're being booorrring Zero. Just take a compliment - don't be such a wet towel. Sheesh." Mari rubbed her head against his shoulder, as though she were scratching it against him. "May not be heaps comfy but makes a good scratching post~ Scritch scritch~ Scritchy scritch~" Mari slurred her speech a little, clearly intoxicated. Despite being well and truly smashed, Mari noticed his dismayed sigh. "Cheer up buttercup~" She said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, poking him in the cheek. 

At this, Zero turned to her, commenting on how he was rough around the edges, Mari burst into a fit of laughter, "Maybe I like it rough."

Zero removed his armour; revealing his slightly toned chest and what she assumed were battle scarred arms. "So you're like crunchy on the outside but soft and gooey on the inside?" Mari asked, positioning herself so she could lean over him more - her fingers wove into his head, and she started slightly scratching his scalp.

"Scritch scritch, Scritch scritch!"

[Zero 0]

Zero laughed hearIng Mari and smiled more. She had managed to make him smile and laugh in a single moment, something he hadn't had someone do in the past for some time. "I'm sorry for being boring Mari, I'll try to... Uh what's that word? Be more lively I guess?" He chuckled putting his hand on her head and absentmindedly began to stroke her pink hair. "Cotton candy you drunk yet?" He signaled two more drinks be brought over and passed his cheek over Mari's hair. "Soft and smooth~"

He looked at the two drinks being placed on the table and picked one up, he was obviously almost entirely out of it. "Bottoms up my sexy companion~" He grinned glancing at Mari and began to chug down the drink, quickly emptying the glass. "This tastes good," He was hammered and as loose as he could be, not overthinking or analyzing things. "But I bet you taste better~" He whispered into her ear giving her a devilish smile.