[OP-F6] Looking for a Friend...

[Celesmeh 0]

I miss her, Her smile every morning, the way that whenever she looked at her with sleepy eyes it was the gentle curve of her lips that greeted me. She was warm... Celes hugged her pillow, wishing that it was the one she had left behind... not some silly fluffy thing... 

 

Celes woke up. She had dreamed of...of her again...  She got up and went to the cafe at teh inn. She had been so lonely lately. Sure, she had Tristan as a friend. And she had met many. But she had yet to connect with anyone... she had yet to tell them anything about her life. Did anyone know her? Know her really? 

 

She sat thinking. She would ave known me. she always knew, just by looking... Onde day was all it took, you knew me like no one else. 

She sipped her coffee. looking for something to do today. Maybe the info brokers had something for her to do, or maybe she would go collect materials... 

[Rintaro 0]

Rin was walking casually down the cobbled street outside the cafe. He was here by sheer coincidence, as he was actually on his way home - then he turned to look through the nearest window as people do.

His ice blue eyes surveying the interior with little interest. He thought he recognised somebody, but the window was misty.

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes looked out the window at the different people passing, suddenly, one caught her eye. His eyes locked with hers and for a moment she thought she saw something.... no, nothing, it was nothing. A lost connection of sorts. she began to eat her breakfast as she sat. Perhaps recovering mats would be good....

[Guest]

Unyie was walking down the street carrying a huge supply of mat. The bag was twice her size and she looked like an ant holding a rock. "Stupid old man... why did i have to carry this... it would be quicker if i could just put this in my inventory... stupid baka man npc" As she was strugging, she tripped of a curve she overlooked causing her to drop the mats all over the street. "ouch ouch ouch...my MATS T-T there everywhere omg... " 

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes looked out the window as she ate her food, she saw little Unyie, she seemed to have fallen over. Celes walked outside to check on her "Oh, unyie-chan, what are you doing with all of these mats! theyre huge! Come ill help you with this, lets have breakfast and then we can move these to wherever you're going." 

 

She got onto her knees and helped Unyie pick everything up. stuffing it all into the bag. Once inside she ordered another orange juice from the NPC.

[Rintaro 0]

Rin lightly tapped the pink-haired girl on the shoulder. "Excuse me, I believe you dropped this" he opened his hand to reveal a few mats. "Wait a second.." he said quietly, recognising the pair of females.

"We've met before, haven't we?" he queried.

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes looked at rintaro for a moment and smiled "yes, we have, listening to a sad concerto, If i am not mistaken" She picked up the mats and helped put them back into Unyie's bag. "Sit with us, wont you?" 

[Arekkusu Sepera 0]

"Heh." Arekkusu laughed a bit. "The irony of life on here. I have learned the art of floor jumping."

 

Arekkusu still wondered how the Concert ended, but it wasn't like he wanted to dwell on it. He personally would rather not talk about it, he was a bit weirded out by it. But he did see a few that were familiar in his eyes. Unyie I most certainly remember well. Arekkusu thought. Celes I still know well enough... then... I know that guy, not that I ever got his name.

 

"Hey there." Arekkusu said as he approached the group. "Unyie, nice to see you again. Hey there Celes, what's up?"

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes smiled at Arekkusu, it was nice to see him again. Maybe i cna really find a friend here, in all this, maybe these are my friends but... is this real? are our friendships as real as what we do outside of game?

"We're having breakfast, Are, want to join us?"

She looked down at her orange juice, strange how it was always the perfect temperature and taste. wouldnt this be heaven. if i could leave this would be amazing.... but now... now what is this?  I am surrounded by people right now... why do i feel so alone?!?

[Arekkusu Sepera 0]

Arekkusu sat down to join them, accepting the offer of breakfast. Another neglectful owner. Arekkusu looked through his inventory and pulled an apple out and started to munch on it hungrily. Arekkusu then saw everyone else, then noticed something odd about Celes. She was just staring hollowly.

 

"Ummm Celes?" Arekkusu called ."Are you all right? Hello? Celes! Are you there?"

[Celesmeh 0]

"Ah yes, i'm sorry, i'm here... i'm just... distracted. Arekkusu..." What was she doing to say?  do you ever feel like you cannot connect? that you miss those you love so much it tears you apart? What do you ask?  where does one start? what..... "Do you ever feel lonely here?" 

 

The temperature in the room was perfect but she felt cold inside, a numbing cold. What was teh point of this? what if she never made it out?  was she even waiting for her anymore? 

[Arekkusu Sepera 0]

"Lonely?" Arekkusu asked. He then looked down at his apple. He doesn't feel so lonely in this world, it treats him much better than the real world. But Arekkusu knew there was someone waiting for him. "I... I don't think I am... but I think someone is because I'm not there."

 

Arekkusu bit into his apple tightly so he could calm down a bit. The apple really crunched as he bit into it. He missed only one person in the real world, anyone else he didn'r really care too much. It was his brother that let Arekkusu still rmember why he wants to be strong. It was his brother that allowed him to continue pulling forward so Arekkusu can see him again. It was his brother that let Arekkusu remember that the real world still exists. All Arekkusu wanted to do was stand side by side with him once more, just to at least say hello.

 

"Brother...Dan..." Arekkusu said out loud.

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes smiled "I too... I have.. someone waiting for me. someone I love, but not having them here make this all feel... hollow, almost. As if everything I do here is just and echo, but i lose time with them in the real world. I ind it so tiring..."  She exhaled. everything she had been feeling, everything still in her head. it was too much. too mcuh for her to bear. She put her hang against her head, as if to hold back those thoughts from spilling....

[Arekkusu Sepera 0]

Arekkusu then tried to remain calm. He wasn't going to show weakness by grieving. He let go of the apple and closed his eyes. He forcefully tried to talk out some encouragement from his mouth. "Everyone..." Arekkusu said as his eyes were then covered by shade. "We need to remain strong, the insanity is breaking among us all. We need to remain calm, the ones we love are... waiting. So we need to fight... for th..."

 

Arekkusu then coughed to avoid losing a tear from his eye. He knew that remaining strong was easier said than done.

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes laughed dryly "Strength? ive been pretending this whole time, I dont know about you. I am not strong, i am just a good liar." She smiled, and for a moment all those worries seemed far away. she knew well how to hide it. 

[Rintaro 0]

Rin had taken the offer to sit with the group, taking an exquisite wooden chair for himself. As the people spoke in turn about who they left behind, he had to ask.

"I'm sorry but what is loneliness?" He asked quietly.

[Arekkusu Sepera 0]

"Are... you... f**king SERIOUS!?" Arekkusu exclaimed with rage in his voice, the old him getting the better of him. Then Arekkusu looked down again and realized that it was only a joke, it's just that Dan cared about him and even hacked his way in to contact Arekkusu... not that that worked out so well. "You bastard you had me going through memory lane Celes."

 

Arekkusu then threw an apple from his inventory at her head playfully to cheer himself up, which actually did work a little bit. Then Arekkusu turned to Rin. "You don't know what it's like to be lonely?" Arekkusu asked.

[Celesmeh 0]

"Rintaro, being lonely is being alone while wishing there were people you could safely and comfortably interact with nearby. It is the feeling of wanting that." Is what i feel loneliness? it feels like a piece of me is gone....completely torn away.... She looked at arekkusu "Memory lane is difficult..."

[Rintaro 0]

Rin sat in silence, he'd always been on his own. I guess that made him lonely by Celes' definition, though he felt fine and exhibited no signs of sickness. Hmm.. He'd have to look this up more when the time came. Chewing on some bread he brought out of his inventory, he looked at the faces gathered around him and felt.. something. It was the opposite of pain and that was the only way he could describe it.

[Guest]

Unyie smiled as everyone was helping her with the mats after they got them all up she quickly finished the quest. They said they where going to have breakfast so why not return with something special. After a few minute Unyie warped back onto floor 6 carrying a big as if she was Santa Claus except the back had the words Gladiolus Checkpoint.

Unyie lugged the bag into the room and greeted everyone. "Hi everyone, sorry I'm late to the party, I just had to pick up some stuff from my shop. "Is anyone hungry"

Rei opened the bag and out popped a stall with a buffet of food on a rotating wheel. "Please people help your self... It's the least I can do for you helping me" anything the players wanted was there was could be cooked there on the spot. "Can I take your order *wink*"