[OP-F2] Out the rabbit hole

[Lyra 0]

The days grew in Aincrad, and its floors were slowly increasing. Players were getting determined to finish the game as the days passed by. Though not everyone was participating in the race for a certain player was still taking her time.

"Wooooowwwwww!!!!" Lyra, a 13 year old, level five player, gazed at floor 2's bakery as her mouth watered at the sweets displayed.

"I'll take this, and this, and this!!!" She smiled as she ordered from the NPC.

"I guess that's all" The baker said with a laugh.

"Yes! Yes!" Lyra said joyfully, holding her big bag of sweets.

This was Lyra's first time to go up a floor and though she won't admit it, she still feel the fear of being trapped in a game and dying in it. The first floor was her rabbit hole and the fear of dying in the upper floor's was her fear of dying. She has mastered the first floor, made its streets her home, and its NPC's her friends. But the fishes in the lake was getting boring and the places was getting deserted. One floor wouldn't make a lot of difference anyway, so she decided to go.

Lyra paused for a while imagining the real world and how people were doing there.

She took one mindless bite from a doughnut and blushed a deep red. "Ahhhh! Yummy!!"

[Dellis 0]

Dellis had decided to take a small break from his blacksmithing job, and venture to the renowned floor two bakery to get something to eat.

Izzy, the tiny cave lizard on his shoulder, surely did approve the idea. More sweets meant more things to eat.

"I guess the cities on the second floor are just better for shops, huh..." He said, sighing. There hadn't been many customers in his shop at the first floor.

He reached the town's bakery, strolling through all the alleys and alleyways in the city.

"Wow... this is quite a big place!" He said, looking at the enormous bakery.

He went inside, and immediately the little lizard on his shoulder went mad from the sweet smells that there were.

"Quiet, Izzy!" He screamed, maybe a little too high, while grabbing the lizard to hold her still.

He looked at the bakery vendor. "Sorry for the mess, sir. I'd like two sweetrolls, a bit of assorted pastries---" -The little lizard squirmed in his hands- "And two cream croissants for my little scaly friend here, he finished."

"Would that be all?" Said the NPC, preparing a bag with the ordered sweets.

He nodded. "Yes, thanks."

He went out of the bakery, looking around while eating a sweetroll.

Nothing special, except the usual NPCs. Except... there was a little girl, who could have been no more than thirteen, eating a doughnut, two meters away from him.

*That's strange,* he thought. *I didn't think there were children NPCs...*

The lizard on his shoulder eyed curiously the little girl, then decided to jump on her.

"Izzy! Bad lizard! Come here this instant."

He went up to the little girl, trying to get the lizard to come back to him.

"I'm sorry! Really sorry! I should cook that lizard in a plate, not keep her as a pet!" He said, distressed.

Once he had got back the lizard, he addressed the little girl.

"Ah... sorry for my pet's behaviour." He said, pausing a bit. "Uhm... Are you an NPC or a true person?"

He said.

"I'm sorry if i'm rude, it's just that..." he paused. "This game is quite dangerous, you know." He said, scratching the back of his head, smiling.

"Are you sure you should be here on floor two? You're quite young! Aren't you scared?"

He didn't know why, but he suddendly felt like he shouldn't let any harm come to this girl. She was just too young to play in a game in which she could lose her life!

[Lyra 0]

"Ahhh!!!" Lyra bounced up and down as something jumped on her shoulders.

Her face turned pale white as the thought of being attacked in a safe zone occured to her.

"Please, please no." She silently mumured, closed eyes, hands together, wishing not to be killed by any monster or player killer.

"Izzy! Bad lizard! Come here this instant." Lyra opened her eyes that were changed to two comical dots while an anime sweat drop appeared on her head.

"Lizard?" She said in surprise, picking up the small dizzy animal on her shoulder.

"Oh!! Sorry, sorry,sorry!!" She repeatedly applogized to it, stroking its small head on her palm.

"I'm sorry! Really sorry! I should cook that lizard on a plate, not keep her as a pet!" Lyra blinked as a male player approached her. It took a long moment of silence before she realized that he must be the owner of the lizard she was holding.

"A-a-ahhh" she embarassedly stuttered, bowing a deep japanese bow, extending her hands, to express her apologies, and also to bring back his lizard.

The guy took his pet back and apologized about it's behavior.

Lyra on the other hand was still keeping her bow, not wanting to let her red face show.

The fellow paused for a while, then asked. "Uhm... Are you an NPC or a true person?"

It made Lyra look up from her position. "Huh?"

"I'm sorry if I'm rude, it's just that... This game is quite dangerous, you know" he said it while scratching the back of his head and smiling which made her laugh so much, she forgot about her own embarassing moment.

Lyra recovered after making a lot of coughs and distraction from the question.

"Thanks" she said afterwards, her thoughts of fear suddenly disappearing from her head. "Well... I guess I have to be a true person." She smiled a little shyly for he was still a stranger.

"Are you sure you should be on floor two? You're quite young! Aren't you scared?"

"Hmmm" Lyra pursed her lips uncomfotably. "Uhmm" she expressesed uncertainty to answer by looking down and sliding her foot back. "I..." She breathed deeply, she couldn't lie. "I am" she said with a little nod that meant her sincerity.

[Dellis 0]

"Are you sure you should be here on floor two? You're quite young! Aren't you scared?"

Dellis waited for the little girl's reply.

"I... I am." She said, looking down.

*She's quite scared... and embarassed, too. She's so young...* He thought, *I'd better try to reassure her a bit, and introduce myself, too.*

He smiled to reassure her.

"That's nothing to be embarassed about... You know. I'm scared too. I'm not much of a warrior, I normally just play video games all the time." He made again the scratching motion she had laughed at before.

"So, when Sword Art Online was released, i jumped at the opportunity to play a virtual MMO." He paused, looking in the distance. "I just didn't think i'd be stuck in here!" he added, smiling.

"Anyway!" He bowed deeply to the little girl. "I'm Dellis, a newbie Blacksmith. I've just set up shop in Beginner's Town, in Floor 1. And this one here..." - He picked the quite indignated lizard off his shoulders - "Is Izzy, my pet lizard. I'm sorry if she scared you. She may seem menacing," He joked to make the girl smile, "but with a bite off a cream croissant she becomes very docile."

Izzy sniffed at the air, looking at the little girl.

Dellis spoke again. "She seems to like you! That's strange. She's normally scared of other people. I think she stays with me just for the cream croissants." He laughed.

He seemed to lose himself in his thoughts for a moment. *A girl so young in a game like this... the only chance she has to survive is find some good friends that protect her. I'd better try and befriend her, so I can at least protect her in the meantime... She must be so lonely.* He thought, a hint of sadness on his face.

He took out a croissant from his backpack.

"If you want, you can try to give Izzy a bit of croissant." He said, stretching out his arms to give her one. "If you do, she'll nestle around your neck. She likes to stay there, it's warm."

He stopped, uncertain what to say next. "Ah, but I'm so rude, I haven't even asked your name. What's your name?" He said, kneeling to lower himself, dropping his shield to the ground.

[Lyra 0]

"I'm Lyra" The young player smiled more comfortably. "Nice to meet you!"

She gave a slight laugh, one that she usually do after meeting someone amusing.

"And... well.." She said, picking something from her bag of sweets. "I've never played computer games before. Well I might've but..." she shrugged, pulling out a croissant. "It must have been so long ago, that I can't even remember"

There was a huge emphasis on the 'so', pointing it out even more.

"Plus--" Lyra neared Izzy, letting it nibble on the food. "It's my brother's hobby to play games so I pretty much steered away from it"

"Haaa!!" Lyra suddenly screamed in delight as she watched the lizard eat. "Kawaiiii!!!!"

[Dellis 0]

"Plus--" Lyra neared Izzy, letting it nibble on the food. "It's my brother's hobby to play games so I pretty much steered away from it"

"Haaa!!" Lyra suddenly screamed in delight as she watched the lizard eat. "Kawaiiii!!!!"

Izzy finished nibbling on the croissant, then seemed to decide Lyra was a good human. She climbed to her neck, and nestled there, basking in the heat.

Dellis smiled, happy that the two were getting along.

"Look at her! Ahah, well, if you want you can keep her for now. She seems to like you almost better than me." He paused. "Probably because you both like sweets, it seems." He joked.

He suddendly noticed something strange in what the girl said. *Why isn't she with her brother, if he's a gamer? Could it be he isn't in the game? I hope nothing happened to him...* he thought.

"Your brother is a gamer? Is he in the game?" he asked.

[Lyra 0]

Lyra felt a big lump in her throat as Dellis asked the big question.

"I don't know" She shook her head in frustration.

"It took me months to recover from the announcement of the 'death game'. I didn't had the chance to search for him when everyone was still in Floor 1."

Lyra smiled at Dellis, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Oh, sorry!" she said, wiping the tears away.

Turning away from him briefly she stuffed herself with sweets to calm her nerves.

"Ok!" she said energetically. "Shall we go somewhere else? Hunt some mobs maybe?"

[Dellis 0]

Dellis stared shocked at the tears falling down Lyra's cheeks.

*I'm so stupid. What was I thinking, asking her such a thing? I should have just kept my silence.*

He didn't know what to do. Luckily, Izzy acted for him. She started licking off Lyra's tears from her cheeks, to cheer her up.

Dellis snapped out of it. "... Don't worry. I'm sure he's okay, and you'll find him soon." He stated, confident. "I'll help you as much as I can. So... don't cry, Lyra. Okay?"

Turning away from him briefly, the little girl began eating sweets to calm herself down.

She turned around again to face him. "Ok!" she said energetically. "Shall we go somewhere else? Hunt some mobs maybe?"

He smiled, scratching his head. "Ok! Then let's hunt some mobs." He said. "I'm afraid you'll find out i'm a lower level player than you, though!" he joked, laughing, then opened the party invitation window to send her an invite.

Then he went outside the city with her.

[Lyra 0]

The 2nd Floor (第2層, Dai 2-sÅ?) of Aincrad has a generally mountainous topography. The terrain is rocky, full of hills, and not particularly diverse.

Most of the landscape is predominantly flat-topped mountains, which are topped with lush green grass. It is primarily inhabited by large ox-type monsters

The entirety of the Second Floor is mountainous in terrain, and is inhabited by a large variety of plains and cliff-like geographical features.

-SAO Wiki

Lyra gasped at the wonders of Floor 2's unsafe zones. "Ahh!! This is refreshing" she said, being used to Floor 1 and all.

"Look! Look!" she lively pointed at the oxen grazing in a distance. "I bet those are the 'Trembling Ox', specialty of Floor 2, treated like a mini boss" She chuckled repeating words of certain friends from floor 1. "Let's try beating it later if we level up ok?"

Lyra ran from left to right, enthusiastically telling Dellis about the things she heard.

" The main town here is Urbus--- and did you know about the town Marome? They said it didn't had any NPC blacksmith there---- and there's like a whole lot of---" Lyra continued to speak, until she realized what she was doing.

"Oh, sorry!" She said, abashed at being too talkative. "I'll just--" she blushed, shrinking back into her shy persona.

Lyra covered her face and comically walked back a few distance from Dellis.

Being too embarrassed, she didn't noticed the earthen black bee monster with green stripes and ice pick-sized stingers that was only waiting in the shadows to attack.

It quickly used a 'sting' skill, that stunned Lyra.

"Switch" she called. Switching Dellis to her position as the monster's opponent. "I've never been in a party before" she told Dellis. "but I've also heard that players cannot attack simultaneously. The sting will affect me for,I don't know when, so please hang in there for awhile, plus I believe that the monster's a wind wasp. A perfect hunting mob, that has weak attacks and great amounts of XP points to gain"

Lyra intently watched at what would happen next, knowing the mob would not move until five seconds after using its skill 'stinger's attack'.

-------------------------------------

LYRA = LVL 5 ; HP=12/13 ; Healing crystals= 20 ; Teleportation crystal = 10

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[Dellis 0]

They were strolling through the rocky fields of floor two, while Lyra spoke excitedly of all the various things they could find there. "Wow Lyra, you know a lot about this game! Surely much more than me, at least." He laughed.

"Marome Town... it hasn't a blacksmith, huh? Maybe I could..." He said in a low voice, much to himself than anyone else...

A shout woke him up from his thoughts

"Lyra!" He shouted, while he saw her being hit by a sting from a giant bee. "Are you okay?"

"Switch!" She called, switching position with him.

*She's been stunned... I have to hold position and defend her.* Thought the young blacksmith.

"Izzy, stay near her!" Dellis said, while the little lizard went down and took a comically defending position right in front of Lyra.

Dellis took out his shield,... and held it up against the sunlight. *Let's hope its powers work...* He prayed.

Immediately, the sunlight started to flow through the shield he had crafted, divided by the little gemstones similar to scales, that formed the shield, into little rainbows of light, that hit the wasp. "Izzy's Scales Reflection!" He shouted.

He lowered his shield. "This will blind it for a bit. Now, since it's blind and can't move..." He charged the wasp.

Five seconds had passed, so it attacked blindly in the air. All the attacks missed, since it couldn't see his position, apart from one hit, which was blocked by the shield.

*I've got to counterattack,* he thought as Lyra told him the wasp's statistics. "You sure are intelligent, Lyra. You know everything about his game!" He said, smiling.

he attacked the wasp...but he didn't draw the sword. Instead, he raised his shield horizontally, and slashed with it, hitting the wasp in the middle. Not quite dead, it kept on pressing on him.

"It will take a bit more hits to kill her!" He shouted to Lyra. "Sorry, but I'm terrible with swords, so I use my shield even when attacking. That does less damage, but I'm always ready to block."

He stopped for a second. "How's the stun? Did it go away? Can you switch back to finish it?" He asked her.

------------------------------------------

Used Item's Powers:

Izzy's Scales

This shield is made of scales, translucent and gleaming like gemstones. It seems very sturdy, but also very lightweight, just as gemstones and scales are. Under direct sunlight, it divides light, creating little rainbows around it. It is a round shield, but its shape isn't totally round, since the scales at the edges are irregular and create little bumps and squares. The center gemstone is, oddly, the same colour as cream.

Enhancements/Powers: It blinds the enemies with a flash of light at the start of the battle. (Approved GM Oske)

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DELLIS = LVL4 ; HP 11/11 ; Healing Crystals= 20 ; Teleportation crystal: 9

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[Lyra 0]

Lyra watched in astonishment as Dellis took out a shield he most likely forged.

"Izzy's Scales Reflection!" He shouted a weapon skill increasing his enemy's vulnerability by blinding it.

"Wow" She whispered softly, so that only Izzy could hear. "I should visit his shop" she said in a little soft laugh.

After 3 seconds, the stun went out and Lyra was able to stand up. She picked up Izzy and intently observed the fight, readying herself for another switch. It was only that, Dellis was fighting all too good. She wasn't even expecting him to call her.

"It will take a bit more hits to kill her!" He shouted to Lyra. "Sorry, but I'm terrible with swords, so I use my shield even when attacking. That does less damage, but I'm always ready to block."

He stopped for a second. "How's the stun? Did it go away? Can you switch back to finish it?" He asked her.

Lyra nodded, understanding the situation.

"Call 'switch', I'll leave the last attack to you" she said preparing.

HP= 12/13

[Dellis 0]

Izzy listened to what Lyra said, and oddly seemed to understand. She nuzzled Lyra's chin in agreement.

In the meantime, Dellis was still fighting. "Ok! Lyra, your fighting style is with the Longsword, right?"

He bashed into the wasp to get some respite, and extracted the longsword at his side.

It was a gem longsword, again translucent and gleaming, like it was made from the same material as the shield. From the inside, shined a warm light, just like the one of a sunlit day, giving a light yellow undertone to the sword.

"Try this one! It'll be as if your every hit is a critical!" He said, throwing the sword at Lyra's feet. "These two things are my masterpieces. I got really lucky forging them, it's very difficult for a newbie blacksmith to craft unique items." He smiled.

*This is what blacksmiths should do... This is why I became one. To help people unlock their potential... I don't want to become the most powerful. I want... to help people.* He reflected.

Yet, that way he lost his focus on the battle. One hit from the wasp reached him at the arm. *ugh...* he thought, repressing a shout, more out of fear than anything else. It was the first time he had been actually hit.

"Ready, Lyra?" He said, bashing once again into the wasp to let Lyra come into battle without being attacked at once, "SWITCH!"

--------------------

Given Item:

Sunlight Sword

This One-Handed Sword is made of gemstones, translucent and gleaming. It seems to shine in the dark with the same radiance of the sunlit day it was forged in, and is warm to the touch. It weighs a bit less than a normal one-handed sword, but its hits are little less heavy than a two-handed one. On the hilt, in little, shining letters, three words are written. Don't lose hope.

Enhancements/Powers: It raises the wielder's damage by 2 points. (Approved GM Shark)

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DELLIS = LVL4 ; HP 10/11 ; Healing Crystals= 20 ; Teleportation crystal: 9

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[Lyra 0]

"Woah!!" Lyra gasped at the sight of the Sunlight Sword. "I could use this?" she asked, picking up the long sword with utmost care.

"Wow! This is amazing" she muttered, scanning the weapon from the end of the hilt to the point of the blade. "It's beautiful" she said, distracted from the fight.

"I just can't u--" she tried to say, when Dellis shouted.

"Dellis!" She screamed back, instinctively holding the weapon the way she do with her 'zephyr'.

"Ready, Lyra?" He asked.

"Mhmm" Lyra nodded with a worried look. "Ready!" she answered holding position.

"SWITCH!"

Lyra made her first move the instant she was transported to Dellis' position. Quickly,slashing back and forth at her opponent, changing skills just in time for the other's cooldown.

The wasp's counterattacks didn't deal much of a damage and Lyra was just surprise to know that in a minute of battle, she has pushed the mob into the red zone.

"Ha!" she joyfully exclaimed. "I'm still green!!!"

She excitedly ran towards Dellis, enthusiastically reporting her achievement.

"Ok...This is the last attack" she said, glancing at the monster's health bar. "I think" she said in humorous uncertainty.

"Well...I'm leaving everything to you" she told him in a big smile. "Switch!"

[Dellis 0]

Dellis looked in awe as he saw Lyra dance with Sunlight Sword in her hands. She had a strange fighting style, but it was really beautiful to see. She was really agile.

With Lyra's fighting skill combined with the strenght of the weapon's blows, she had the wasp in the red zone in almost no time, much before he was expecting.

"Ha!" She exclaimed, smiling. "I'm still green!!!"

He smiled back. He was so happy that she was having fun. He had managed to make her forget about her fear, and even if that didn't last - and he hoped it did - it was still a precious thing. "You're wonderful at fighting, Lyra!" He shouted, bringing his hands to his mouth to be heard over the sounds of the battle.

Seconds later, she started to run towards him.

"Ok...This is the last attack", she said, inspecting the monster's health bar. "... I think." she added, humurously.

He laughed. "Wha??? It's our loot we're betting on here! No uncertainty!" He joked, smiling to the little girl.

"Well...I'm leaving everything to you" she told him in a big smile. "Switch!"

As soon as he heard switch, he was transported to the monster's location. He raised his shield to cover his shoulder, since he noticed most of the attacks of the wasp targeted that place. Then he charged, behind his shield.

"aaaaaAH!" he shouted, running faster and faster, till he slammed into the wasp, bashing it into the ground, and crushing it between the shield and the terrain.

With a blue flash, it exploded into pieces.

Laid down on the ground, smiling, he noticed the victory popup appear at his side. He didn't even look at the loot, he just said, with a low, almost inaudible voice, "Thanks... Lyra."

He rolled on one side, looking at her. "We did it! You're awesome, Lyra, you know?" He said, smiling, and trying to catch his breath.

[Lyra 0]

“Wohooo!!†Lyra jumped as Dellis finished the wasp.

"We did it! You're awesome, Lyra, you know?"

Lyra blushed, turning tomato red. “A-a-ahhh… It wasn’t actually me… I-I mean thanks… but, it wasn't actually me… It was you†She raised Sunlight Sword, hoping it was enough to cover her red face. “You're awesome. I mean, not just the weapons you forge, but also the way you fight. I’ve never known anyone who uses a shield to attack. One who only uses the sword, yes, but a defense weapon to attack. Well, that’s unique!â€

Lyra paused for a while, only to blush redder than her current color.

“Ahhhh… I mean, if you could use blades, tha-that would be cool tooâ€

She looked around to find somewhere to hide, but found none.

“Sorry!†she said in an embarrassed deep bow.

[Dellis 0]

The little girl blushed at his words.

“A-a-ahhh… It wasn’t actually me… I-I mean thanks… but, it wasn't actually me… It was you†She started to hide her face behind the sword.

“You're awesome. I mean, not just the weapons you forge, but also the way you fight. I’ve never known anyone who uses a shield to attack. One who only uses the sword, yes, but a defense weapon to attack. Well, that’s unique!â€

“Ahhhh… I mean, if you could use blades, tha-that would be cool tooâ€, she started stuttering, visibly trying to find somewhere to hide.

“Sorry!†she said in an embarrassed deep bow.

He stood up, reddening too. "Uh... I... uhm, thanks Lyra. I... I don't know what to say. No one ever said me that." He was speechless, just standing there with the mouth slightly open, suddendly feeling Lyra's same need to hide.

"It's you that are awesome. So young, and yet so smart. And you keep smiling, no matter what happens, even if you're scared."

For a moment, no one spoke. The wind was blowing through the mountain valley, moving the grass and ruffling his hair.

He breathed deeply. "... You know, Lyra... I haven't told you all the truth about the shield. Well... yes, it's true i'm not good with swords, but it's because... I don't want to use them. I... I don't want to hurt people." He looked at the palm of his hands, raising them in front of him. "When I got stuck in here... I knew I would have to fight, someday. Maybe... real people, too. There are Player Killers in every game."

He paused, shivering at the thought. Then he stopped. "That day... I decided I wouldn't use a sword. Swords are made to hurt people. I don't want to do that, not even those trying to kill me. I... I want to protect people. I want to protect every man... every special girl like you from harm. So they will get back safely."

He turned to face her. "That's why I use a shield. A sword is made to destroy... a shield to protect." He said, with a determined expression.

He stood in silence, again, for a bit.

Then, he smiled a little, sadly. "... Man, I'm hopeless, right? With that mindset, in a game like this..." he didn't finish his sentence.

After a few seconds, he decided it was time to get himself together, and change topic.

"W--- Well, Lyra, sorry about that, just forget what I said." He scratched his head. "Why don't we try our hands at the Trembling Ox, when you feel ready? They say the boss's female version, the Trembling Cow, makes a milk that is used to make a cake with a really legendary taste." He said, smiling to make her forget his moment of sadness.

[Lyra 0]

Lyra smiled at Dellis' confession. And though she was a lot abashed at his words, she was happy for what he has decided to do.

"... Man, I'm hopeless, right? With that mindset, in a game like this..." Dellis didn't continued his words, but Lyra could feel the sadness in his tone. Her happiness swerved towards his emotions.

"W--- Well, Lyra, sorry about that, just forget what I said." Dellis redirected the conversation. "Why don't we try our hands at the Trembling Ox, when you feel ready? They say the boss's female version, the Trembling Cow, makes a milk that is used to make a cake with a really legendary taste."

"Tempting" Lyra said, eyeing an Ox in a distance. "you know... I'm not really a fan of governing decisions and I would never try to" her eyes remained on the prey. "but if you really want to protect special girls like me, then you might at least try something manlier"

She smiled at Dellis and handed the sunlight sword at him.

"Don't worry, I have a cool sword too" she made one small laugh then proceeded to ran towards the Trembling Ox. "Come on, Izzy and I needs to taste that shortcake!"

[Dellis 0]

Lyra answered his words smiling.

"Tempting" Lyra said, referring to his proposal of killing the Ox.

"you know... I'm not really a fan of governing decisions and I would never try to" her eyes remained on the prey. "but if you really want to protect special girls like me, then you might at least try something manlier"

He laughed heartily. "Hey! what do you mean with that? I'm the manliest man in Sword Art Online, i'll have you know!" He added with a joking tone, putting his hands on his flanks. "Just because I say what I feel, as opposed to all that gloomy-cool-never-do-anything-wrong guys out there, which never shed a tear, doesn't mean i'm not a man!" He joked again.

"And i'll prove it to you smashing that Ox." He said, walking in front of the semi-boss.

*Last I checked, manly men didn't go around with gleaming swords and little rainbow shields.* thought Izzy.

He laughed despite himself. "Shut up, little lizard. No croissants for you tonight. Is it my fault it's those the gems i found in your cave?" He whispered, inaudibly. No need to let her think he was so mad as to speak with lizards.