[PP-F1] Starting at Square One

[Lucifer 0]

I entered the Starlight Cafe, hoping that I wasn't the first one here nor the last one. Looking around, I saw a few players sipping on tea or coffee, but nobody in particular looked like my group. I'm always too early, it's still another fifteen minutes before the meet up time. I walked over to the counter and ordered four cups of herbal tea along with a tray of biscuits before taking a seat at a table for four. I hope they get here soon, the tea might get cold before then. I took a swig from the tea, impressed with how spot on the flavor was before taking a chunk out of the biscuit, it was really good. Now, they had an even more important reason to get here, otherwise, they might not have any biscuits or tea to last throughout the meeting.

[Oikawa 1]

"This seems like the place" I muttered as I walked into the cozy cafe. Hmm I'm a little early but I don't like being the last to show up to a get together. Looking around, I spotted a younger player who I could only assume was Lucifer. Hmm, guess I'm not as early as I thought. Waving to the girl, I headed in her direction. Upon sitting down I formally introduced myself. "Hello. My name is Oikawa, nice to officially meet you. Ah I see you ordered us tea and biscuits, nice!" Grabbing a cup, I sipped on the tea and fiddled with my biscuit. "So..how much longer til the others show up?" I asked in between sips.

[XWuZHeAR 0]

I walked threw a couple alleyways making my way towards the cafe which was this "meet up" spot. I saw a dude on the corner selling some kind of food. I walked up seeing as how I never really liked what they had at cafes.

"Hey man how much?" I said as I aproached the guy.

The guy looked at me for a sec with a puzzled face. Then went on to say "hey I know you, your that performer, the one that does all the cover songs! Hey man look for you anything, I got uh some candy here with your name on it." The guy seemed pretty cool to recognize me and give me candy just for knowing me.

"Hey thanks dude tell you what you need anything, you come to me, I'm actually on my way right now to a project thing to help lower leveled players." I said to the guy.

We said our goodbyes and I made my way to the cafe balancing my sword on my nose and eating the candy. When I walked in the owner yelled at me. "Hey! No outside food or drink!"

"Hey shut up! You know Il make it up to you. One of these days il perform here and get you some more customers alright." I yelled back sorta causing a scene.

The owner calmed down and had a faint smirk on their face. I went and sat down next to who i was supposed to meet.

"now you know I can make quite the entrance hahaha!" I joked to my new acquaintances.

[Azide 0]

"What the hell is taking everybody so long?" Azide wondered. He raised his cup to his lips and blew gently across the surface of the warm liquid before sipping it slowly. He could only assume that he was the few people to request hot water in a cafe such as this one, but he'd never been one for tea or sweets. Something about them bothered his delicate palette, so if he had to put up with a few weird looks every so often, then so be it. He began tapping out a melody on the table, although to anybody else it was likely incomprehensible- he'd never been particularly gifted in the artistic side of things. He glanced at a clock in on the other side of the room, noticing there were only ten minutes to go before the meeting was to start. "I wonder if it's out of the question for me to hold a meeting of one?" he mused. He shook his head, then opened up the menu interface and began hastily tapping his way to messaging section, intending to give everyone a stern reminder. As the guild chat appeared in front of him, he began typing out his message, until something earlier in the conversation caught his eye.

He called out to a waitress nearby. "Excuse me, this is the Starlight Cafe, correct?"

The waitress laughed, shaking her head. "Sorry sir, this is the Starbright Cafe. The Starlight Cafe is on the other side of town!"

Azide promptly left, running like mad across the whole town, closing his menu on the way out of the shop. "God, at least that water was complimentary," he thought. It was times like these that he was thankful for those years he spent on the track team, building up his resume for college. But that didn't make any of this suck any less.

[Lucifer 0]

I looked up to find that the first of the three had arrived, naturally I returned salutations with a small wave. Oikawa, that was him alright, "Nice to meet you as well, I'm Lucifer, but please, just call me Luci." I was glad to know the biscuits and tea were going to be enjoyed, even if it was only the two of us, "Well, I thought everyone would be a few minutes early due to the nature of the meeting, but as far as I know-" Just then, some guy high on his ego barged in with his own food and drink, causing a scene with the owner of the Starlight Cafe. He began bragging about making this place notable, but I covered the side of her mouth so that only Oikawa could see, "Please tell me that's not one of them..." Unfortunately, I would soon find out that it was one of them, but I wasn't sure which. I just shrugged my shoulders, unsure how to come off as kind after such a display of arrogance, "I'm Lucifer, please call me Luci." I opened one hand towards Oikawa so that he could introduce himself as well, then followed after, "Are you X or Azide?" I wasn't too fond of his full username, but found this to be an acceptable way of referring to XWuZHeaR.

[Oikawa 1]

Hey there! The name's Oikawa. Nice to meet you." Making room for the newcomer, Oikawa inquired, "So do you always make such a ruckus?" Chuckling a bit , he took a bite of his biscuit. â€‹He's a little rambunctious but aside from that he seems tolerable. Luci prodded the newcomer with another question. Hmm, what if this guy is Azide? I can't picture him being the leader of a guild. Guess we'll find out in a bit.

 

Letting his thoughts wander, he waited for an introduction from the new guy and the arrival of the remaining player.  

[XWuZHeAR 0]

I looked at the little girl who was talking to me she didn't seem old enough to be one of my co council members. She was a sister maybe? Who got stuck in the game with her brother. I've always liked kids I had a couple of nieces and nephews before I got stuck in this game. Though the girl talking was twice there age she still seemed little. I wasn't listening to what she was saying I was more concerned with my candy.

"Hey little girl want some candy? It's not drugged or anything I was just eating some... Wait can you even drug food in the game I mean I guess paralysis potion but I'm not an alchemist... Anyways the red ones taste like candy canes the blue ones taste like koolaid and the purple ones taste like grape. I know they look hard but there actually really chewy!" I said with a smile as I slid the bag of candy across the table to the little girl whose name I am not aware of.

Then I simply leaned back on my chair and got more relaxed.

"Hey your um Oikawa. Right? Do you know were Azide is?" I asked the guy to my left.

[Azide 0]

"One minute to go," thought Azide as he hastily pulled up the in-game time. "Well at this rate, the best I could hope to manage would be showing up a few minutes late." Spotting human traffic ahead, he shoved some girl out of the way to continue his little run unopposed. "Sorry!" he called, waving over his shoulder. He shook his head, knowing that his current pace couldn't get him there in time, no matter how reckless. Remedying this, he pushed aside another three or four people within the next twenty yards or so, followed by another five or ten in the coming stretch, while also jumping over what looked like some dead guy, but was probably just a sleeping one. Azide was aware he'd thrown all caution to the wind all in the name of saving face, and he even accepted it was somewhat petty, but it seemed a fair tradeoff. "Good god, I might actually make it now," he thought, willingly ignorant of the trail of destruction he'd laid down across the Town of Beginnings.

As the Starlight Cafe finally came into view, he exited from the menu, relieved to see that he was still currently on-time. He came bursting through the doors just before the clock rolled over, lungs on fire and what not. Immediately, he straightened himself up and fixed his hair, then casually strolled over to a table which hosted three other players- presumably his fellow guild mates. Pulling up along side them with a smile, his chest secretly beating as if it were going out of style, and took a seat. He cleared his throat. "I would be he."

He called a waitress over and ordered a cup of warm water, not really a fan of the tea that had been provided. Besides, no price could beat complimentary. He looked calmly at the players around his table. "So, now that we're all here, let's get started with Square One's first ever meeting."

[Lucifer 0]

I lacked the ability to respond to such an immature and impulsive mind such as his so I kept quite about it. I didn't touch the candy, but I did consider what I would do with it if he didn't check himself. I was beyond pleased to hear him asking about Azide, relieved to know this wasn't the individual responsible for leading the guild. Otherwise, I would have walked out right then and there on the spot. Though, I would have bumped into someone if I did as a man with windblown hair entered. He straightened himself up before approaching us, "Fashionably late, aren't you?" While he had entered the cafe right before the clock rolled over, he hadn't been at the table for the meeting until a few seconds after. I was prodding, but I was already irritated by the other young member, "What is the first item up for discussion today?" I was ready to knock things out one by one so I could start training, especially since I was currently the weakest link... but at least I was only lacking in statistics, unlike a certain someone else.

[Oikawa 1]

OOC: XD Luci firing shots all over X :lol::lol: Will he bounce back? Will Luci eat the candy? Can Azide keep his heart from exploding? Find out next time on Dragonball Z

 

IC:

 

Still lost in thought, I was a little surprised when another figure busted through the door of the Cafe. He was slightly disheveled, and appeared to have just been running for his life. What if he's running away from the guards? I mean why else would you need to run in a safe zone? On the other hand maybe he just likes running? I suppose thats possible as well. Flicking my internal inquiries aside, I then focused on the stranger as he straightened himself up, walked over and pulled up a seat. So this is Azide eh? Hmm for someone who just ran in here, he is surprisingly calm.

 

"I would be he" Azide replied in response to X as he sat down.

 

With a smirk, I gestured to Azide and spoke "Found him!" Amused at my own joke, I turned so I could face everyone. Turning a bit more serious, I answered Luci's question with a question. "As for our first order of business, I would say we determine a name, but seeing as Azide has taken care of that, how about a motto?" 

[XWuZHeAR 0]

The little girl didn't eat the candy. I punched the table and made the candy fly up and I caught it with my other hand. Suddenly who I now know is Azide enters and sits down with us ordering warm water. Then the little girl began speaking in such a sophisticated and grown up tone. I gotta say I was impressed and I had just thought of the perfect thing.

"Guys! The real first order of business should be getting this little one a business woman suit! Think about it she could be like a little secretary or something that be insanely funny!" I started yelling picturing it more and more in my head as the best running joke ever.

I took another piece of candy out of the bag and flicked it up in the air and caught it with my mouth.

"Seriously kid you have no idea what your missing." I said after chewing and swallowing the candy.

[Azide 0]

"Clocks must be running a little fast today," said Azide to the girl, dismissing her comment with a wave of his hand. "And even if that were true, they wouldn't be the only things," he thought. Oikawa had made some sort of remark as he'd sat down as well, but Azide chalked it as the sort of joke you had to be there to understand. Either way, he feigned a laugh as the waitress handed the cup of warm water he'd requested. He held it up to his lips and blew across its surface in silence, watching with a certain amusement as X's antics. "Sure is an energetic fellow isn't he?" It suddenly occurred to him that the girl was actually quite young. "Normally I'd take a bit of issue with that, but in a video game world, I think even younger kids are a rather valuable asset."

After X finished his little episode, Azide decided to address both Lucifer and Oikawa's comments, while glossing over X's. He took a sip of his water, then set the cup back on the table before looking back at his fellow guild members. "Originally, I'd wanted to start by confirming that none of you would be backing down from the guild- but seeing as you're all here on time, I think we can move on to the next topic." He nodded ever so slightly at Oikawa. "A guild motto would be a great place to start. After all, we'll soon be recruiting new members, and we need to make a name for ourselves if we'd like to compete with the other guilds." He chuckled. "Speaking of names, I have no idea who each of you are, actually. I know I'm sitting with a Lucifer, an Oikawa, and an X- not to be confused with the girlfriend variety, but as of right now I have no idea who these names actually belong to."

[Lucifer 0]

Azide took a seat, blaming it on a clock and not taking my joke to heart. I had long since become used to people not being on time. A few minutes was fine, but if someone hit five minutes, they would have to deal with me. If they were a good thirty minutes late, then they might as well not show up. I'd long since be gone. X brought up the topic of whether or not I was deserving of a business suit, "I wouldn't necessarily mind that, so long as you're wearing a miniskirt to settle things." It was one of those things that I would be willing to take up if he had the gall to follow through with his ideas, but he was all talk and no walk. Oikawa suggested that the first topic of discussion should be a motto, something of importance to guilds and groups in general. Azide had the same thing in mind, "I would be Lucifer, otherwise known as Luci." No handshake was needed, this wasn't something too formal it seemed, "I believe that we need something focusing upon our goal as a guild, though it should have a catchy vibe, like 'From Square One to Cloud Nine.'"

[Oikawa 1]

"I'm Oikawa. Nice to meet you in person. Luci just introduced herself, So obviously that's X" Oikawa stated as he pointed at the loud man next to him. "From Square One to Cloud Nine? That's rather clever yet simple...I like it! We can have it engraved to X's miniskirt if you end up getting that business suit" he chuckled as he took another bite out of his biscuit. Swallowing the bite he continued. "Anyone else have any motto ideas? If not I'm all for this one." 

[XWuZHeAR 0]

"Gee you guys the miniskirt idea may be a bad idea considering the only charecter creation option only allows us to change hair and eye color. I can't exactly shave my legs." I joked back at everyone.

I looked down at my cup of tea. I never really liked tea. My damn cutlass holstered at my leg made it very difficult to sit comfortably. I brought up the menu and selected the back sheath style.

"Damnit even worse!" I yelled out as the cutlass hilt dug into my back.

I selected this style called "holding" now basically I have to hold the damn holster in my hand. Finally atleast it's not bothering me.

"Ok like the motto sounds easy not exactly a lot of thought out into it perfect. Now on the topic of guild uniforms... Not wearing one." I said as I finally got comfortable in my chair.

[Azide 0]

Azide moved a hand to his chin and considered the suggestion for a moment. "'Square One to Cloud Nine'? Personally I was hoping to put my support behind 'Hip to be Square', but Lucifer's suggestion should work well enough." He clasped his hands together and looked up. "Alright, I think it's agreed. Our guild motto will officially be, 'From Square One to Cloud Nine', as suggested by Luci over there." It was short, simple, and evoked the ideals of the organization. It would suffice. "And as for miniskirts and guild uniforms, I'm going to have to pass on both. I could definitely do without seeing X in anything of that sort, and I'd rather not be stuck wearing anything that brings back memories of grade school." He laughed, then took another sip of his water, which had begun to cool off.

[Lucifer 0]

Oikawa had the same thing in mind, much to my liking, "Ah, yes. We couldn't due without some advertisement. We could have it imprinted on the backside, everyone knows that's the prime location." However, X and Azide didn't seem nearly as up for the whimsy suggestion. Particularly, X, whom had been offered as the sacrifice for this deadly ritual, "Oh, come now X. You could wear it to your next performance, I'd buy a ticket to go." I snickered, but I couldn't help it, it was clear that it would be far too embarrassing for him. In the meantime, it seemed like my first idea for the guild motto was a hit, "Okay, I guess that's covered then." I was surprised to know it had been so easily accepted, considering I gave it little thought. Maybe it was a little better than I gave it credit for, "I personally don't believe guild uniforms would be necessary, but it would be nice to have a certain... mark, a piece of jewelry or cloth per say, that would allow us to recognize each other."

[Oikawa 1]

Oikawa couldn't help but laughing at his and Luci's ideas for X's costume. "Backside? Genius. Hahaha". Calming down, he began to address the new topic, uniforms. "I agree, actual uniforms would suck. Plus do we really want to look like those guys in the Liberation Army? Didn't think so. I agree with Luci on the fact that maybe something like an armband, crest, or necklace be used as a showing off our affiliation with Square One. Maybe even a cool insignia I can engrave into our weapons or armor."

[XWuZHeAR 0]

"I can't say I'm all for even the little showing of guild affiliation, I mean you can see the emblem above our hp bars isn't that enough?" I said to the group.

The truth is I didn't like these ideas because they reminded me of the gangs from the real world I had problems with. Now I leaned back on my chair and opened my menu to look at my messages. Nothing much to see here just a few messages from info brokers. I quickly closed the menu and returned my attention to the group.

"Now what we really need is a mascot of sorts, sorta like a guild pet we all care for!" I offered to the group as a very interesting idea.

Maybe a dog something nice and furry I can hang out with in my hammock. I also used to own a dog IRL but it died when I was seven. I remember he used to always bark at anyone and everyone pretty useful for the neighborhood I lived in.

[Azide 0]

"Although I wouldn't mind something minor, such as an engraved or embroidered square on our armor, I'd rather keep all group decisions made here today unanimous." He turned to X. "So I take it you're against any sort of additional marks of identification?" he asked, glancing at Lucifer and Oikawa. Azide propped his elbow against the table and rested a cheek on the flat of his fist. He gave a look of faint, and perhaps feigned, interest toward X as he raised the idea of a guild mascot. "You know, the only animals I've ever kept were for lab purposes. I can't say I'm the sort of person you might want around your pet." He shifted his gaze back to the other two. "If either of you has anything else you'd like to discuss today, this is the chance for your voices to be heard. Otherwise, any minor topics are free to be discussed at any of our later meetings." He tapped a finger gently against the surface of the table. It wasn't a conscious decision, but it'd become a familiar habit over the years. "Soon enough, we can begin active recruitment. We can only go up from here."