[PP-F5] Fortune of Wheel (Zahra)

[Asen 0]

Asen wondered around this god forsaken desert without his armor on as he only has a sandy stained shirt giving it a slightly brown look about it while wearing a pair of light brown shorts and a pair of sandals. None of these clothes had any special effects on them, just to cover up his body mainly when he sleeps. Asen was just walking almost aimlessly as he was just focused on getting something to drink while scavenging the sands to look for any possible chance on finding a Mat lying around here. Little did he know though that he was getting pretty close to a spot that might be an oasis, but he's not sure if he's hallucinating it for he once read that being underneath the scorching sun for too long can cause them to have hallucinations of something that they want. Of course this was a game, so naturally he's not as hot as he makes himself subconsciously to believe. He is still a bit warmer than usual, but he would still prefer the snowy fields down at the Fourth Floor than this sandy place.

[Zahra 0]

The dry, hot wind brushed across the desert floor bring with it a seemingly unbearable heat. Most players disliked this floor for the pure reason that it was a desert. Even though they could not technically "feel" anything the mind liked to play tricks. Meaning people felt hotter than they actually were. That was what drew so many people to the location of the oasis that lay inconspicuously in the middle of the desert. That is, if they could find it. Currently, there was one person occupying said oasis. Zahra, who had been under the water only a moment ago, popped up and made her way to shallow end of the oasis. A black and gold two piece decorated her body as she sat down in shallow water. Stretching out she enjoyed the feeling of the sun against her skin and the cooling sensation of the water. In reality, she should have been paying attention to her surrounding, but the blackette was so content that it just...slipped her mind. Humming to herself she closed her eyes and leaned back on her hands; face toward the yellow ball of fire in the sky. 

[Asen 0]

(ID: 8647)

 

Asen decides to start looking for the one thing that he always love to find since he's been really into setting up his own shop even though he more likely won't find much around here since this is the desert and at first he thought there was less of a chance of finding one. So at one of the many sand dunes amongst the fields, he kneels down unaware at the time that the oasis was literally just over the dune he was at as he digs into the hot sand only to be surprised. He found not just one Mat, but two Mats instead as he got incredibly lucky it seems. He quickly takes up on the Mats that he found and that was when he started to hear something out of the ordinary. "Why the hell does this feel like Egypt?" He asked himself about the desert area as it was a bit delayed. "And who's humming around here?" This was all mumbled to himself as the hot wind tugs at his stark white hair while tracing the humming over the dune. So he toggles his hiding skill to hide his cursor if he hasn't been already to peek over the dune to see that there was an oasis. For that he was glad to find, only one problem though. He sees a female player with a green cursor over her head wearing a black and gold two piece of a swim suit.

 

He cocked his brow at the sight as this scene a bit more like a Deja vu or something. Probably because he watched too many animes before when the clueless main protagonist walks in on the main heroine while she was bathing and the protagonist would get a foot to the face or something else that'll be painful. He just hoped that it doesn't come to that even if she is a bit attractive. He let's out a silent sigh as it would probably end that way if he continues to hide himself from her. So using his stealth abilities to his advantage, he gets around the oasis to where he would be behind the player with his feet as silent as the wind though he can't hide the tracks that he leaves. When he was just ten feet away from her he made his presence known unless she has some skill on detecting his presence. "Kind of a bit dangerous taking a dip out here wouldn't you agree?"

 

LD: 20 (Crit, found 2 Mats)

 

Stealth Rating: 16    

[Zahra 0]

There Zahra had been, just off daydreaming while lounging in the oasis without a care in the world, when she should have really been paying attention to her surroundings. Her thoughts roamed toward her life in the real world as memories flew through her minds eye. The night that her sister and she would chase each other through the camp under starry nights moonlit nights. Or the way the wind felt while playfully tangling through long obsidian locks. Even the nights where her mother would stay up after being out hours on a dig just to read them the longest bedtime story possible before they both passed out from the exhaustion. 

 

Suddenly, a deep male voice brought her out of her memories. Head snapping around Zahra found a male player standing about ten feet away. That wasn't what caused her pulse to start racing though. It was the bright orange cursor that hung over his gray locks. A player killer. "It would appear to be," Zahra mumbled more to herself than him. Slowly righting herself, as if facing a predator, Zahra turned toward the male player. Judging by his armor and weapon he was a powerful player;  if that was truly the case then she had no chance against him. . With a flick of her wrist, the HUD was brought down and her gear equipped. Now to wait and see what he was going to do. Although the raven haired women found it strange that he had brought attention to himself before actually approaching her. 

[Asen 0]

"Well that's nothing new." He said more to himself as he simply stood up his feet and stretched a bit before turning his crimson red eyes towards her that gives off a glow of sorts that only can be read as acute and aware of the situation though his face remained as casual as it was before. He waved at the her weapon in dismissal as he doesn't raise his blade though that doesn't mean he was going to defend himself if he needs to. "If I really wanted to kill you I would've done it already, besides i'm not in a fighting mood today." He mumbled as he simply sheathed his sword at the back of his belt that was bumping slightly on his thigh as he made his advancement unarmed now to walk past her where he kneels down at the water to scoop up a handcup of water to drink it. He had to conserve his thirst even if this was just a game.

 

The air about him was not as hostile as his cursor radiates as much, and he doesn't make much movements of hostility towards her as his sword is sheathed in plain view. "You can go ahead and put that thing away unless you're ready to kill me with that. Plus fighting women really isn't my style if I can help it that is." He's not trying to be rude to her as he motioned with his head towards her sword that she has pointing at him. He was just trying to be honest as he simply doesn't like fighting anybody in particular unless he can't help it. Or if push comes to shove he can easily flip on his other personality that'll be the complete opposite of him. However that wasn't him today as he was not in the mood to battle anything it seems.

[Zahra 0]

There was a moment of stillness between the two players. Then the male player killer waved his hand in dismissal. Zahra had expected something to happen and that was definitely not it. The male then went on to say, ""If I really wanted to kill you I would've done it already, besides I'm not in a fighting mood today." Keeping the dull end of the spear raised toward the male figure, the black-haired female studied him. He was correct, after all. If he had wanted her dead he could have done it in those crucial moments when Zahra had been lost in thought. Instead though, he brought attention to himself. Perhaps there were some people who liked the challenge of facing a player before killing them, but as of right now he didn't seem like that kind of person. 

 

Then, as if to prove that he was really was not going to kill her, the male sheathed his weapon right before her eyes. Muscle that had been tense and ready for a fight eased as a wave of relief washed over her. He was serious. Exhaling, Zahra rested the dull end of the spear in the shallow tide of the oasis. Finally, after another second had passed between them the female opened her menu and placed the spear back in inventory. "I have no reason to fight you." Zahra reasoned, while scrolling down on her inventory and reapplying the bathing suit. With that said she turned her back on the male and dove into the water. Normally, Zahra would never make a decision like this, but instinct was telling her that she could trust him. Plus, she didn't even know if he was planning on staying or not. 

[Asen 0]

"And neither do I." Asen replied to what she said to him about her not wanting to fight. Though he did not expect her to switch back to her bathing suit afterwards though his only response to that was cocking his brow at her one brow going up and the other going down. When she turns around and goes to dive in the oasis, Asen merely lets out a sigh as he simply takes a seat on the sand. He's not doing anything that's really important anyways. Plus seeing on how careless she was earlier and letting her guard down, he believes it might be best to just stick around temporarily at least.

 

At first for a few seconds his eyes were following the girl, but afterwards his eyes shift to look around the oasis. It's mostly made out of sand which is no surprised with little vegetation sprouting from the sand around the oasis. Least to say that there is some wild life going on around here. Of course, Asen doesn't really have any feels nor attachments to this type of stuff. Though he does value life over everything else, but as of right now he's just being lazy and sadly too broken in the heart to try.

[Zahra 0]

After their little standoff, which had lead nowhere, Zahra had expected the male to go back to roaming the desert floor. Only, that didn't happen. As she resurfaced for underneath the refreshing water the young women found him sitting in the exact same spot he had been standing. Strange. It was almost as if was sticking around to make sure that something didn't go wrong. That couldn't be possible, could it? He was a player killer. The more she thought about it the more it began to dawn on her that not all player killers were really player killers. There had been instances where normal players would get orange markers from protecting themselves. Maybe he was one of those unfortunate enough to have to take a life by his blade. Now, Zahra was curious. 

 

As she relaxed she couldn't help but noticed the indifferent aura of the male become slightly tainted with some sort of melancholy. Running her hand through the  soaking obsidian locks the female debated on if she should ask what was bothering him. Finally, she decided. "You don't have to answer this," Zahra stated evenly, keeping a sideways profile of the male and skimming her hand across the water, "But what's bothering you?" Zahra then offered a somewhat worried sideways glance toward the player. Her mother had always told her that her heart was too tender. That there was danger in putting others before oneself. On her mother's comment, Zahra had tried to bring herself not to care so much, but the overwhelming instinct to reach out to others was stronger that initially thought. 

[Asen 0]

He opened his mouth to answer that but no words came out of his mouth so he just shook his head. "Nothing, just dozing off I guess." He excused himself as his crimson red eyes drifts to the side, though he knows all too well that there's something wrong with him. Though when one goes through as much corruption as him and as much blood on his blade it wouldn't be much of a surprised if he's mentally unstable. Frankly he's not that unstable, and retains a piece of his humanity. He shifts a bit on the sand to get more comfortable as his eyes drift from sand dune to the next.

 

"What about you? I don't see too many players wandering around in this desert since its unbelievably hot around here than the other floors are and dry to top it off." He asked her curious as to why she was out here of all places as he gives her a glance from the corner of his eye. He can understand if it was a forest or even the frozen wasteland like the Fourth Floor. Though not too many people as noted before wander through here unless they have to.

[Zahra 0]

His mouth opened, but the words that came out were not an explanation to the question; just a dismissal. It was clearly a lie. That much was obvious by the air that surrounded his person and the way he was avoiding even glancing in her direction. Pressing her lips together and closing her eyes, Zahra found herself rationalizing the action. He has just met her. There was no way that he would disclose such personal information about himself. Yes, there were some people who opened up to strangers, but this player was not one of them. And if that was the case then it was not up for debate. Sinking into the water, the silence once more feel over them. 

 

Only this time, it didn't last long. He had shot a question back at her as to her presence on this floor. A verbal answer was not automatically given. Instead, her shoulders dropped as if a sudden weight came upon them. Golden orbs watched as the ripples fanned out and then disappeared. "This floor is...special," Zahra hesitated, searching for the right word to plug in. "Or to be better worded its familiar territory. I spent a majority of my life living in a desert back in the real world." Then there was a slight pause. The dryness of the air and wind blowing grains of sand around was home. Or at least reminded her of it. "Ah, sorry, that was depressing of me, wasn't it?" Zahra offered the male a rueful grin.

[Asen 0]

He merely shook his head as he kind of winced in doubt about her being depressive. "If you were trying to be depressed then you could've fooled me, though I already had endured my fair and long share of depression." He admits as he clearly wasn't hiding his opinions let alone his thoughts as he didn't think they necessarily need to be hidden. It's just his past is filled with too much hatred and sorrow. "So you basically live in Egypt or something?" That was the main sandy place he's read about in the world maps back in the real world where he had to learn about countries and what's in those countries. Some of his history included Egyptian people, and some science theories included them as well as possibilities of something scientific.

 

His crimson red eyes were now brought back to her though he was mainly trying to look into her eyes without leaning or anything of movement aside from his eyes wandering around her body. The dry and warm wind of the desert blows through his silvery white hair that was short yet comes just along the cheeks of his face where the marks on his cheeks the forehead can be seen. It was put there when he made his avatar and was stuck on him even when he looked in that mirror Kayaba told them to look into to reveal their true faces. Not that he had a problem with it as he did in fact got some laughs from the fact that some of the flirtatious girl avatars winds up being a guy and their dates flipped out because of it. That was the problem though, at that time he never took this game very seriously and was thus reckless in his decisions and didn't really think twice about his actions. It took some people that he truly cared about to break his mind and heart upon their deaths, and now bears the eternal guilt deep into his heart. Even though that was a year ago, it still aches.

[Zahra 0]

A cheeky grin makes it way onto her features when the stranger--yes, stranger--mentions Egypt. It's always the first place people guess when a dessert was mentioned. Of course, it was correct, but still; there were other desserts in the world. "You would be correct," Zahra stated, smiling slightly as a fond memory resurfaces, "I spent my summers and breaks with my mother in Egpyt, while going to school in Japan where my father resides." There wasn't a day that went by where she didn't think about her family. Zahra knows that although she thinks she has it rough, other people have had it worse than her. This stranger more than likely fell in that category; meaning she wasn't going to press anything, even if the curiosity was there. 

 

Feeling his gaze on her, Zahra turned to face him and placed her hands on her hips, as if asking "What?". That was the first time she fully facing him since the stare down earlier. Now that he wasn't seen as a threat it allowed her to actually study him. The first thing that caught the golden orbs attention was the marks that decorated his cheeks. Probably put there when originally making a character and could not take them off now that SAO had become a death game. Speaking of character, she should probably get of his so he's not just the stranger. "By the way, I'm Zahra." Hopefully, that would give him a hint. 

[Asen 0]

He shrugged his shoulders as his eyes briefly closed before opening themselves to reveal the same pair of crimson red eyes of his. Those same red eyes locked onto her golden eyes as he was more of an eye contact type of person anyways, mainly because he can get a better sense of one's soul so to speak by looking into their eyes. Usually in this game some had the eyes of a killer, others tend to have a pair of strong confidence and strength behind them or negatively have the weak and broken pair of eyes. He seemed relieved to find out that she was one of the strong ones, of course just about anyone can wear a mask to keep their true emotions hidden like himself.

 

"Zahra eh? Well it certainly is a first that I've seen anyone who has been in Egypt truth be told." He admits as a small smile cracks on his lips. Not a sinister one nor a hostile one at that. Just a friendly one just like any other people who considers other people as their friends. "Though i find it also rare that anyone would be taking a swim in this game, unless you prefer breaking the ice like yours truly accomplished once and almost fell in." He was referring to the heart shaped ring that was a frozen lake used for the Valentine's Festival down in the 4th Floor. "I suppose i should also introduce myself, though..." He raised his hand to his chin as his eyes seemed to tell that he was thinking about something else. "I think it would be wise for you not to know mine. Who knows what other fool would stoop low enough should you go muttering my name." He was doing that for her own safety as there are hunters who are players trying to claim the huge bounty on his head, and some would do anything to take his head off his shoulders even involving innocent people. They've done it before, and failed miserably.

[Zahra 0]

The strangers friendly smile was responded in kind. He even earned a small laugh at the mention of him almost falling into the crack on the ice skating rink. Zahra had not gotten to go the Valentine's Day event, but there were rumors flying left and right about what had occurred there. It sounded like it had been a wonderful experience. Maybe next year. That smile suddenly turned into a slight frown when the stranger wouldn't reveal his name. From the way the phrase was worded it sounded as if was to protect her. But why would he want to do that? He just met her. "Fine, fine," Zahra murmured, mimicking his nonchalant shrug from earlier, "But what should I call you then..."  Tapping her chin in thought names bounced through her mind. Hercules? Cadmus? Senuhet? None those seemed to fit him.

 

Looks like it was back to Stranger until something to be figured out. 

 

"And I go swimming because it's something to do," as if to emphasize her point Zahra splashed water in his direction. None of it reached him due to the distance. "I don't have to worry about fighting or staying alive. I can just float and not have a worry in the world. Well, that is until someone stumbles upon me by chance and decides to have a conversation." A pointed look was sent in the direction, all in the name of playfulness, "but I don't really mind. It's nice to have company." 

[Asen 0]

That was something Asen definitely could agree with about it's nice to have company. But once again he's quickly and painfully reminded the faces of his friends that died. All of them flashing in his mind almost in an instant as if playing a movie through that one horrible day. That was enough to cause him to wince as he placed his hand over his left eye as if trying to suppress those memories as he's been haunted by them for a year now. "Fine call me NightShade, it's my former name anyways so I doubt anyone aside from my two siblings would remember." He made it sound like he gave into submission even though she wasn't really pressing on the matter. It was just for him to brush away those memories for another time honestly, but at least he told her his former name even though its not his present name.

 

"Taking a swim huh?" Come to think of it if one wants to get somewhere comfy and enjoy something it would be unlikely that anyone would tread through such as the desert unless one really wants to. So in all technicality Zahra had the right idea here as she would be somewhat safe out here. It was mainly Asen's crazy mind that drove him out here in the first place due to that fact, and it kind of gave him a little more respect for Zahra. 'Do I dare let my mind go?' He thought to himself as his eyes looks from side to side a bit. "I honestly can't remember the last time that I've actually been swimming." That was a bluff of course as he does remember the times when he swam with Yukari and all of his friends both in SAO and in the real world. Still he swipes open his menu and puts back his sword in his inventory and takes off his shirt and sandals before he gets up only to sink into the water up to his chin. He still kept his distance from Zahra mainly staying at the edge of the water as he closed his eyes and smiled warmly as he remembered the good times. In a sense he's like an old man, and really he does feel like an empty shell as his heart felt like it's been smashed so many times that its irreparable. Though he does his best to feel, he still bears a huge guilt that was at first that started a year ago overwhelming. Now he's pretty calm as he tries to focus on the good memories and sinks his head below the surface to hide the unexpected tears swelling up in his eyes.

 

Then he couldn't help but grin as he comes back over the surface and with a wave of his hand sends a weak splash that doesn't reach her as it stops short maybe a foot or so away from her. "So what did you do when you were in Egypt?" He asked her more cheerful now as he was trying to think of something else besides his scarred past. Plus he was curious about how she grew up and more interested about her time in Egypt.

[Zahra 0]

Much to Zahra bewilderment the newly dubbed Nightshade stood, strips off most of his clothes and then headed into the water himself. All the while keeping his distance. Before he ducked down under the water the brunette could have swore she seen tear fall down his features, but he disappeared too quickly for her to tell. While he was under Zahra let out a soft sigh. The way he winced and placed a hand on his head had not gone unnoticed. Either right then he had gotten a headache or he was remembering something. Zahra was going to go with the latter. She had witnessed people in the game who had lost friends and loved one. They had reacted several different ways. The main ones that had been noticed had been the ones who become nothingness or the ones who lose it. It was possible that Nightshade fell into one of those categories or even both. There is no way Zahra would ask him though. For one, that would be considered rude and two it was not her business. If he was willing to open up at some point, great, and if not then so be it. 

 

Suddenly the water rippled and he reemerged; this time a grin and splash were sent her way. The splash fell short but caused her to smile anyways. "What did I do?" Zahra muttered, thinking about all the activities her sister and her hand done, "Took care of my younger sister while my mother worked. We would run around and play tag or watch the stars at night. So many things. We were always together." Images of her sister and her lying in the sleeping bag talking or reading. Them seeing who could steal more cookies until they were caught. That little girl was her life. "You're going to know everything about me before we go our sperate ways and I'm going to know nothing about you," Zahra commented jokingly, sending another splash at him. This time making sure it hit him. 

[Asen 0]

He closed his eyes as he lets the water splashed his face as he still has a grin on his face. He shakes his face a bit to shake off the water before he opened his crimson red eyes again. "Well you haven't really asked anything about me other than my name. So you can pretty much ask me and i'll answer as long as you do the same." He made it sound like a exchange really, like if I tell you this then you tell me this type of deal. "Granted some of my past is rather unpleasant, but not all of it is bad. So you have a little sister as well? Huh, good to know that i'm not the only one who is the eldest of my two siblings." He adds somewhat of a wink as he holds one eye close as there was nothing wrong with it but it was just for a change of expression.