OP-F6 Returning To self

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes sat at the edge her seat. She had disappeared without warning. But she needed the time. Too many had died. Too many friends gone, so much death. What was she fighting for? 

 

She sat drinking tea. A small shop outside of the town.

A two room shop with a sweet old woman as NPC, the wooden walls lined with a few pictures and dolls... 

It was tiny and inconspicuous, enough so that she didnt expect anyone to enter...

[Calrex 0]

"Hm...I wonder what this place might have?"

 

The bell at the front door of the store rang as Calrex made his way inside, looking around. He was dressed in his new combat gear that Teayre had picked out for him, shifting the fur lining on the jacket as he looked around.

 

"Hm...I wonder why there's a shop like this outside of Amazon. In fact I don't remember seeing this place at anytime since I've gotten up here. I must be losing my edge or something."

 

As he looked around the small shop he noticed there was only one customer. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw it was an old face from at least a week back, if not more from when he started SAO. Giving a friendly wave he walked over, "Celes, man it's been a long time no see!"

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes hears the bell at the front of the store.

 

 

Celes smiles, her smile is different though, tired, almost sad. "Hello Calrex, its been a long time..."  She gets up and pulls over a chair. "Have something, on me. How have you been darling? " She asks, happily. 

[Calrex 0]

Calrex nodded as he took a seat, taking note of Celes' strained smile.

" She seems rather worn down for some reason. I wonder what happened since after I last saw her... "

"I've been doing alright so far. I've gotten at least a little stronger from when I last saw you. Oikawa's been a big help with getting me stronger, and..."

He put a hand behind his head as his face turned slightly red at the thought of Teayre, "Teayre and I became a couple."

He put his hand down as he gave a calming breath, politely requesting a cup of tea from the owner of the shop, "How about you? It's only been about a week but it feels like it's been forever. I haven't seen you, Sousuke, or Tyrius since I last saw you all."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

After one of her usual errands, Ariel was making her way back to Amazon, through the thick jungle when she could see a small shop ahead, almost invisible to the untrained eye. The blond looks to her companion asking in a slightly tired mood: "I for one am thirsty, how about we go and have a drink and maybe something to eat." She was planning to lure her white furry friend inside with food, since this was the floor where the two meet, Ariel wanted to somehow celebrate that fact with a full course treat for her friend. 

 

Walking into the shop she could see a couple of figures casually talking and a sweet old woman that was greeting them. She returns the greeting and closes in to the bar ordering a green lime ice tea for her and the chef's specialty for her companion. Specialty that of course contained meat in it..lots of it. While awaiting her order Ariel takes a better look at the two and recognizes one of them immediately, she stands up and approaches the couple with a mischievous smile:

 

"What do we have here..Cal, I hope you are in no way, planning to cheat on your 'kawaii' girlfriend." as a translation bubble with the text 'kawaii=cute/lovely' appears above the blond's head, she lets out a chuckle and direct her attention to his partner: "Hello there, I'm Ariel nice to meet you. Also to clear it up from the start I wasn't referring to myself earlier and yes he is taken already." she said in a joking tone. She didn't knew her but seeing her casually chatting with Caldrex, Ariel thought she wouldn't mind a harmless joke as a way to break the ice and lighten the mood.

 

((pics in the sig.

(( nice timing:))

[Oske 0]

Oske had been wandering around, looking for some good materials and possibly some new ideas. After failing to find proper cocoa beans (or whatever Aincrad had remotely similar to cocoa beans), she was wandering around the nice town, browsing through cafes. When she spotted a rather cute looking one, she pushed her way into the doorway and heard a light jingle and ringing from the bell by the door opening. 

 

Inside was a man wearing a fur-lined jacket, and a stunningly beautiful and kind looking woman. Oske felt like she had been hit by a wall. She felt so drawn to this woman, itching for friendship, but quickly assumed that she was a sociopath. But... she was so kind! Oske quickly ran over her plan on how to befriend people. 

 

"Hi," she said nervously, approaching them. "Mind if I join you?"

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes allows her face to smile once more, another warm feeling. So contrasting to what she had been feeling as of late... "sit down, of course, My name is Celes, and you are?"  Se asks, as she motions the NPC to come and bring them more tea "What is your name?"  she asks, after the NPC leaves. 

 

She feels strange with this woman, perhaps it was her smile, she remembers her friend, her darling for a moment. The pain returns- She almost winces but no, back to my centre, back to my self. 

 

Celes turns to Calrex, "I'm glad you have foudn Love!  that is always beautiful to see" she says softly, willing herself to forget, just for a moment, her dalring. Celes turns to ariel "welcome, goodness this is quite the party, we will need more tea" 

[Calrex 0]

All of a sudden Calrex heard a familiar voice poking fun at him, making it seem as if he was coming on to Celes. He turned and saw Ariel and Kimba, giving a friendly smile, "Hey you two, and no if I tried to pull something like that I'd kill myself before it happened."

As Ariel finished introducing herself to Celes he saw another face pop into the shop. As Celes invited her to join he responded with a friendly nod as well, and after she introduced get self he would do so as well, "Pleased to meet you. I'm Calrex"

OOC: Sorry for the not as detailed posts, I'm on my phone at the moment XD

[Celesmeh 0]

"Calrex, HOw long have you been with your love?  It must be going well, yes?"  she asks gently, hoping her face does not betray her feelings. 

 

She remembers love, her kisses, her warm touch and blushes for a moment. She turns to calrex; friend "Hello, I am celes" 

[Teayre 0]

As she pottered around the sixth floor trying to find something she notices this small quaint shop, deciding to pop her head in she hears a very familiar voice. 

 

"Hey you two, and no if I tried to pull something like that I'd kill myself before it happened."

 

Beleram screeches and flies towards Calrex, landing on his shoulder and begins nibbling his ear. Walking in she notices Ariel, Celesmeh, a brunette and the blue haired boy. Marching over to him she slaps him hard across the face, leaving a red mark across where her hand struck. Beleram took flight and landed on the brunette's shoulder instead and rubbed his head against her temple. Teayre screaming at him her voice hysterical, her eyes piercing like Beleram's.

 

"What the hell do you think you're saying? You'd kill yourself? As if I'd let anyone do that, even yourself!"

 

Turning to the others she smiles, her eyes a lot softer as is her voice.

"Hello Ariel, Celes long time no see." turning to look at the brunette, "I don't think we've met before, I'm Teayre and that's Beleram" Pointing to the eagle, "He must've taken a liking to you, he's only ever nuzzled me before."

 

ID:12924

BD: 9 (Succeeds in Slappin' (Cause she's too pro for slapping :)) Calrex)

[Calrex 0]

OOC: HEY!

 

"Gah!"

 

"What the hell do you think you're saying? You'd kill yourself? As if I'd let anyone do that, even yourself!"

 

As if hit by a gust of wind Calrex fell out of the chair from the force of the sudden smack across the face, hitting the floor with his eyes feeling like spirals, "H-Hi Teayre..."

 

He finally got back to his feet as he righted the chair and looked around, seeing Teayre giving him a piercing gaze. He felt a bead of sweat form on the side of his head as he raised both hands apologetically, "I-I meant it only for emphasis. Of course I wouldn't go killing myself like that." He made sure to keep a light hearted tone to his voice to avoid sparking any more of Teayre's fury as he gave a calming sigh, "In any case looks like we've got quite a group here. I'll go grab a couple more chairs. Here Teayre, go ahead and take mine for now."

 

With that he went over and quickly retrieved a couple of chairs and brought them to the table.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

As Ariel was taking a sit more and more people kept coming: "For a place this remote, it's quite popular!" she said jokingly, sipping from her iced tea as Teayre comes storming in and slaps Cal. With a light smile the blond says "Speaking of the devil..Hey Teayre! long time no see. Guess you got yourself a companion as well. Beleram is it? I hope you can get along with my Kimba here." Seeing all the commotion the white lion cub takes her food bowl and goes by Ariel's side and notices the eagle on Teayre's shoulder. While letting a growl she extends her paw at it. Looking at her Ariel lets out a chuckle then turns towards the other new girl with glasses. "The more the merrier, I'm Ariel BTW and this white furball is Kimba, my companion. I don't mean to be rude, but are those really necessary? I thought the NerveGear corrects those kind of inconveniences." says Ariel with a honest tone, pointing at her glasses.

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes looks at the merry group. Maybe Friends was a good thing to invest in now... Then she sees calrex get slapped. She sighs "Why do that, its just talk, I dont htink hurting the one you love helps give a positive message" She says with a frown.

Maybe this is what youth was. Maybe she was just getting old....

[Calrex 0]

OOC: Sorry guys I think I broke the post order O_O

 

IC:

 

As Calrex returned with the two chairs he set one next to Teayre's seat and another around on the other side to equally distribute the amount of people around the table. 

 

"Why do that, its just talk, I don't think hurting the one you love helps give a positive message"

 

Calrex made note of Celes' comment on Teayre's entrance, "I have a feeling I should probably not respond to it. Besides, going from her expression earlier it seems like something might be weighing on her. If I were to do so it might aggravate it."

 

He assumed a friendly persona as the NPC owner came by with additional cups and another pot of tea, giving a thankful nod as he looked over at the others.

 

"I should probably steer the conversation towards a less awkward subject."

 

"In any case, how have things been with with you? It's been quite some time since we saw you last. We still haven't gone on that raid either, heh."

 

He made sure to put a more light-hearted tone to his voice so try and ease any awkward tension that may have developed. At the same time he was curious why no one seemed to have taken any effort in assembling the raid.

 

"If it was going to be easy when I was Level 1 I wonder how it would be now that I am Level 9...probably even easier."

[Celesmeh 0]

"I am sorry, I failed you but... I saw too many die. I needed to take a break, it was..." she thought of everything that has happened. Everyone that had gone. "Now i think i'll try to solo for a while, I cannot see that again."  she adds seriously.

 

She could have been nice, but no- 

 

She needed to be honest, she wouldnt let anyone else dies because of her, and to do that she needed strength, not smooth words. 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Ariel quietly listen to their conversation until something piqued her interest, she turned towards the brunette that had some orange or crimson feathers as a hair accessory and said: "I am sorry to hear about that but if you don't mind me asking. What are you talking about? My instincts tell me its something about a quest and that ....*she lets out a soft chuckle* that is a topic that interests me very much." After finishing her sentence she took another sip of the ice tea and continued speaking.

 

"You see, I'm aiming to become one of the elite, one of the front liner team. And at the moment I search and take all the quests I deem doable at my current level. There is always the possibility of asking someone from the Brigade to join me but I'd rather try hard and solo it than accept charity." she affirmed with a serious voice looking at each one of them in turn before continuing. "The latest info I got on quests is about some huge rock that needs to be destroyed only by using your bare hands. I went one time there, to the 2nd floor, to attempt it..but I arrived too late as another player was already there. So I decided to observe him instead."

 

She then cut her words short not wanting to tell more and potentially overtake the currently discussed subject turning it in something about her, like she tended to. Instead she took another sip from the tea and awaited for the other's responses.

[Teayre 0]

Sitting down in the seat Calrex offers her she waits for him to take a seat next to her, raising her eyes to Celesmeh as she comments on the slap.

 

"Why do that, its just talk, I don't think hurting the one you love helps give a positive message" 

 

"W-well... I-I'm... Sc..." pausing to take a breath she tries again, "I'm Sca... I'm sorry Cal, I didn't meant to hurt you, I just..." Looking at Calrex she lets out a sheepish smile, her hands running through her hair, brushing them back into a ponytail. 

 

"Things happen Celes, if you want to be a solo player that's entirely up to you. Just remember you do have friends around that can support you. There's always one person who'll be able to help you somewhere... When we all first met, there was a raid that Celes knew about and offered to take us there however a few things happened and we lost contact for a while it was early, Cal, havn't you done that quest Ariel's on about? I think you mentioned something about it."

 

Stretching she beckons to Beleram, who had worked his way round to Oske's other shoulder of the brunette, eyeing up the lion cub.

 

"Is he okay there? Why don't you have a seat?"

 

Standing she walks around behind Calrex, before leaning down and whispering in his ear.

 

"C... Can we talk later p-please?"

 

Straightening up she begins to serve the tea that the NPC had brought over, her eyes focused entirely on the teapot as she began humming.

 

"Hmmm..."

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes smiles and looks around "I cant offer you guys a raid anytime soon, but i can tell you this, if you need any alchemical items, Come over to my shops, and i i'll help you out. Maybe i can help you all be safe, instead of hurting yeah?" Se says, the pain returning ot her voice.

 

She needed to eb stronger, to make sure that she could keep others safe. That was her goal. she needed to focus on that.

[Calrex 0]

As Teayre apologized awkwardly in front of the other Calrex waved his hand apologetically as well, "N-No it's alright, don't worry about it."

 

He put a hand behind his head as Ariel began to speak, acknowledging her comment about the <<Breaking the Unbreakable>> quest. He was actually there when Niklaus took on the quest.

 

"Come to think of it I haven't seen that player in a while. I wonder what he's up to, or more what he might be plotting..."

 

"Well if you ever need a hand with it Ariel I can give you tips. Remember that Niklaus wasn't the only one that took on that quest."

 

He gave a friendly smile as he clenched his right hand into a fist, the familiar yellow glow of the <<Martial Arts>> skill activating as he brought his arm back. As he relaxed it the glow faded as he put his hands back in his pockets. As Teayre came around and whispered to him he gave a nod, whispering back, "Sure thing, Besides we've got a lot of catching up to do right?"

 

"I guess Teayre's got something to discuss outside of public conversation. I'm glad to do so, but I also really want to spend time with her again. It feels like forever since I last saw her and I'm really curious about what she's been up to."

 

As Celes commented about the raid Calrex put on an understanding face as he nodded in response, "Don't worry about it Celes. I have a feeling we're much stronger compared to when we last met, so the raid can be put on the side for now. But I'll be sure to stop by your shop and check it out. Also..."

 

He gave a smirk as he rested his hands in the table, "If your shop is ever in need to materials I've started a freelance material gathering service, so feel free to let me know if you're even in need."

 

As the NPC owner brought some extra cups he offered the others to pour for them before finally pouring his own, taking a sip.

 

ID: 13453

Loot Dice: 2

 

Unfortunately it was still a little hot as he felt the burning liquid run across his tongue. His eyes widened for a second as he set his cup back down, "æš‘ã„! Okay a little hotter than I had planned, heh, but delicious nonetheless."

[Teayre 0]

"Perhaps it might be an idea just to go out somewhere on a lower floor together? None of us should be in danger, if anyone knows a couple of lower levels they can come along to..." Pausing for a moment she lets out a sigh. "Actually there's a place on the second floor that has a reasonable field boss called a Pyro Scuttler we could go and kill, it's easy enough I went along with Oikawa and myself and we two manned him."

 

Smiling at Celesemeh, "I've been putting a lot of thought into the professions actually, I thought I'd like to be a tailor originally but seeing as I've not yet completed the quest I was thinking about becoming a performer and seeing about being able to produce the buff crystal things, what do you guys thinks?"

 

As Calrex spluttered about his tea being hot Teayre turns her head to look at him, concern showing in her eyes reaching a hand out she places it on his shoulder.

"Cal, are you okay?"