[PP-F2] Taking a Step Forward (Takneil,Ariel) [COMPLETED]

[Takneil 0]

The boy takes in a deep breath as he stumbles away from the gate. "Ugh, gods I'm never doing that again" he mumbles a little nauseous from the trip, how could that even happen? in real life he could never be in cars due to motion sickness but come on this was crazy how would he go to higher levels. shaking away the grogginess Takneil forces himself to ignore the headache caused from his sickness. "Guess it had to follow me into the game, well this blows" he states as he wanders through the city's streets.

 

Takneil turns a sharp corner. "I should try find an area to fight some enemies...maybe level up in the process" he muses to himself not realizing of another standing in front of him. feeling something hit his shoulder the boy quickly turns to apologize but out of the corner of his he spots something flying through the air. "I got it!" he yelled as he quickly fell to the ground the item falling into his grasp. looking to the player Takneil offers a small smile as he hands her the item. "here you go, sorry bout that" he apologizes as he moves on not wanting to bother the other any further. 

 

Coming to a stop at a bench the boy yawns as he takes a seat, examining the city Takneil smiles. "One step closer to surviving" he says as he leans back. "Wonder what adventures I can make today" he muses out loud. 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

A certain blond was heading towards the teleport gate after finishing some reconnaissance for a possible quest in the future. She wanted that bare handed fighting skill, even if she wouldn't get many chances to use it in the 1 in the million chance she does need it..she wanted to be prepared. But that still had to wait for a while longer as she now was heading to her shop to do some work. Her companion as always by her side was looking around sniffing the air for something. 

 

"I told you that we'll eat when we get home!" she said in a slightly upset tone. Kimba in return let out a mild roar in protest and kept sniffing around then out of the blue, she dashed towards a nearby tavern barging in through the front gate and scarring the NPCs and players that were inside. Ariel let out a sight while rubbing her forehead then headed in to once again apologize for her familiar's behaviour. After a while inside they exited the establishment, Kimba having a very satisfied face while Ariel had a somehow angry expression.

[Takneil 0]

The boy yawned lazily, sometimes he almost forgot that this was a game it actually almost soothing...he didn't want to forget his mother but in a way by being trapped in SAO was a way for him to forget everything his real family did to him. Takneil's near laid back expression formed into a frown as he covered his right eye with his hand, feeling the fabric beneath. he had hoped that by entering the game he would have been able to see through it but the fact it was completely removed had taken away the ability to see from it at all...

 

Takneil sighed as he removed his hand away from his eye, he couldn't let things like that bother him right now, as if to help to distract him from his memories a angry looking girl exited a building with some sort of cat. "Well...that's interesting"

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

While blowing off steam Ariel sat on a nearby bench and stared intently at her familiar that seemed pretty happy given the circumstances she was in. 

"You know... I'm getting tired of your stunts, not to mention poorer every time you go by yourself and break/eat stuff from the others. Get your act together already, we're not in the jungle anymore." And so Ariel started scolding her companion once again in a mother-like way, bringing upon the two the unwanted attention from the nearby passers. "Why can't you learn a little from King? he's so nice and obedient to Oikawa, I know we've agreed on something else but...you gotta understand that here, amongst people one pays for his mistakes and right now I only see myself paying for yours."

 

The blond then stared at the clouds and the blue skies. It always seemed strange to her that even if there was always another floor above them... the clouds were still always present every time she looked up. She then broke the silence and asked her companion, without expecting a serious response from her: "I wonder how the view is at the top floor? But until then we have to make it past the first 10% of this thing"

[Takneil 0]

Takneil's eye widen in worry as the girl approached the bench, quickly scooting to the opposite side the boy felt uneasy as she sat down on the bench. Was she a PK?, no...there was compassion in her voice. Takneil chuckled softly as the girl scolded her companion, in a weird way it reminded him of the way The Librarian would scold him when he did wrong...

 

Something else caught the boy's eye, the girl's username...Ariel...why did that sound familiar?. Takneil frowned as he searched through his head, he had heard that name before but fro where?. His frown flipped into a smile as he remembered, the other day he had met up with his friend and he had mentioned her to him claiming that a girl named Ariel gave him pants. 

 

Clearing his throat Takneil looked to the girl. "I'm sorry...but you wouldn't by any chance know a person named Hikoru?" he asked hoping he was confronting the right person.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The blonde was a little surprised as she heard a voice coming near her. She had sit on the bench without noticing that it somebody already was seated. Firstly she changed her remaining frown into a light smile at the mentioning of the newbie Hikoru, then responded: "Yeah timid fella, I've meet him a while ago at the first floor. Him and another guy named Noctis... this one didn't give me such a good first impression. Is he a friend of yours?" she asked in a curious tone, then noticing that he was still in starting gear.

 

Her companion, seizing the opportunity, made herself disappeared when the boy engaged in conversation with Ariel, wondering off to someplace that wasn't there, without making a sound. When Ariel noticed that it was too late as Kimba made a turn and disappeared from her sight: 'I'm not finished with you! ' she thought while looking in her direction and making a "Tsk" sound with her tongue while letting out a sigh and returning her attention towards the boy's response.

[Takneil 0]

Takneil nods, "Yeah, me and him go way back" he states as he relaxes, this was good he would have been highly embarrassed if he had asked the wrong person. "we only recently met up the other day though, I was glad that he had gotten off to a smooth start." he says with a thankful smile. his eye widening in realization the boy instantly stands falling into a low bow in front of the girl. "I'm so sorry!, I haven't even introduced myself yet" he apologizes as he extends his hand out to Ariel. "My names Takneil, but most just call me Tak" he states as he introduces himself.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"That explains it then." said the blond in a calming voice while looking at his hair...the two-toned color reminded her of another person with longer hair but about the same color. "Yeah, I think he will do just fine if he toughens up a bit. He had me and neesan watching over while he and an the other guy fought a couple of boars. They did good but this game won't allow him to be backed by high level players on a daily basis but as long as he sticks to the lower floors and high lvl field bosses, there are no worries." she said ending her impromptu 'evaluation' with a cough before changing her gaze at the skies then to the nearby streets in search of her companion.

 

As the boy started introducing himself in a formal manner, after something that looked like a panic attack, Ariel shook his hand and responded with a smile: "No need to be so stiff and formal. My name is Kayla Ariel D'Sole, some call me 'Crowned Lion' from the full interpretation of my name: 'The Crowned Lion by the Sun God' but you are welcomed to call me Ariel if you like. Nice to meet you... Takkun*. If you don't mind me asking what brings you to the 2nd floor?" 

 

 

*Normally I would write Tak-kun, given that Ariel was born and raised in Japan...even if she's half Japanese, only from her mother's side. But a certain cat name gave me the idea to write it without the '-' connecting the 2 words 

[Takneil 0]

Chuckling a bit as he shook the girls hand Takneil relaxed his posture. "Sorry, my mother always taught me that if you're going to do something make sure to do the best I can" he explains as he retakes his seat. "Takkun huh?, sounds catchy...hmm like most it's probably a nickname that's going to stick." he mumbles remembering how in IRL his friends had taken to calling him a similar name based off of his real name. 

 

Takneil sighed as Ariel asked him the question. "it's alright, I asked you a question so it's only fair. I need to get stronger...and the first floor wasn't giving me anything to use at all, so I took a chance on coming up here to try and grind for better stuff" he says as he looks to his beginner gear and sighs once more in frustration. "So what are you doing here?"

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The blond thought about how to reply to that quest....What actually did she do there today? oh right, looking for that giant rock in front of the cave. She drew one long breath then started talking, reminiscent of the things that happened earlier: "Well actually you caught us in our way towards the 4th floor, we were returning to our shop after doing some...reconnaissance for a specific mission involving a huge rock. Supposedly you have to break it with your own fists without using a weapon but I found other players that attempted and succeeded the mission. Guess I gotta return another time for it..hehehe." she said while remembering her meeting with the other two low lvls. 

 

She saw him sigh and could guess the reason, with a few elegant hand gestures she summoned her shop's inventory and extracted a item from it then handed it to him. It was a neatly folded pair of black pants that she had made a while ago. "There you go. Something to give you a kickstart at this floor. I could join you in fighting a few mobs...*she then hesitated for a second before continuing* but we'll have to fight some pretty hard mobs to get any rewards. My lvl is a bit too high for these lower floors, usually I'm around the 9-10th floor or back home at the 4th where my shop is located." lately she'd offered to help others but forgot that they would only get experience out of the fights. This time it happened the same thing, she talked before thinking.

 

-Gifted Item to Takneil:

 

Item: Evasive Feature

Item type : Leather Armor
Quality: Uncommon
Enhancement: +1 Evasion
Shop:  The Lion's Den
Description: A black pair of pants easy to move in, making its user to be able to dodge attacks more easily.

[Takneil 0]

"Breaking a rock with your own fists?, that sounds...interesting." he muses not sure how he would go about taking on the request if he were the one faced with the challenge. knowing him he wouldn't take the time to plan to take a quest like that until he had more than enough power to easily take care of the job. 

 

catching movement from the corner of his eye Takneil looks over to the girl to find a pair of pants being held out to him, "are you sure?" he asks though his hands moved without him realizing taking the item from Ariel, harshly cursing at himself the boy nods to the girl not wanting to be disrespectful and decline what he had already taken."Thank you...what are they called?" he asks.

 

 shaking his head as he equipped the pants the boy sighed. "No I couldn't ask that of you" he states not wanting to burden Ariel though he definitely appreciates the girls offer. "I'll take a rain check on that, until I get up to your level so we both can stand as equals rather you having to protect me the entire time." he explains

 

Takneil received item from Ariel.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"And it is indeed but I feel that I might be a bit late for that quest. The guy that was already there told me that he got a unarmed skill, his fists inflicting damage like any other weapon. I didn't believe it at first but then his hand started glowing as he was to activate a system assisted skill. It looked pretty cool" she says, remembering the recent encounter. It was a very productive trip for her as she saw how to break the rock and what rewards it yelds.. 

 

She lets out a chuckle then continues with a smile after hearing his decline on her offer: "Fair enough, I can respect that. Also I should be the one apologizing, I was a rather rude thing to ask. Sometimes I can't help myself from speaking what's on my mind." she frowns a bit, thinking of some recent events that happened in the first floor's forest area. "I've made for myself quite a few enemies due to that 'quality'...Anyway the item's name is Evasive Feature and it gives you exactly that, a little bit of evasion during fights, making it harder for the mobs to touch/hit you."

 

She leaned back on the bench, watching the skies above them and sighs : "I know this is a weird topic change but I'll give you a piece of what is on my mind. Maybe you can take it as a advice or simply ignore it as the talk of a 'madman'. Don't even turn red, for whatever the reason. If you cross that line there might be no way back...Sometimes I wish the Guardians were still here. " she finished with a sigh, her facial expression turned into a sad one at the mentioning of her former guild. She lets out a sigh while still looking at the skies, so blue and vivid for a fake landscape.

[Takneil 0]

"It's fine, you were just trying to help" he states as he leans back on the bench letting out a sigh. "so, these pants pretty much make it so monsters can't hit me easily...cool" he says with a smirk, he had been having problems with Enemies deciding they were faster than he could hit winding up with him nearly dying several times. 

 

Takneil frowns at the girls words, what were they supposed to mean? and who were the Guardians?. noticing the sad expression on Ariel's face, the boy decides to take a different approach. "I think I know what you meant by those words, you meant to not become a Player Killer right?." he asks as he stands stretching out his arms, letting himself enjoy the cool breeze Takneil offers the girl a friendly smile. "I'm not exactly sure who the Guardians were but would they want you to be sad?" he asks mostly at an attempt to cheer the girl up.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

She lets out a sigh at his question then regains her smile: "Yes, I don't know why but most front liners are PKers for some reason. I had a recent encounter with 3 of them...it didn't go so well. But you shouldn't judge them only by the orange mark, they have it pretty rough..not being able to enter towns, always on the run from potential bounty hunters and so on. Plus their reason for gaining that damned mark in the first place.." She let's out a chuckle thinking that she ended up saying the same things Lessa told her when she was in the 'noobish period'.

 

"As for the guardians, we were a guild here. Full name 'The Guardians of Aincrad', we were a front lining guild while offering help to those in need. I made a vow to protect EVERY *she put a very clear accent on this last word to evidentiate its importance*  player in Aincrad when I joined the guardians. And even now even after we've disbanded, I still uphold that vow."  She then snapped out of her nostalgic mood, the past should be left there and room must be made for the future and the unknown things it holds. Her gaze switched to him as he began stretching and she asked in her normal tone: "How about you do you have a guild or any plans of joining one?"

[Takneil 0]

The boy sighs as he reaches his arm to behind his head scratching it in thought causing his Black and white hair to ruffle slightly, he wasn't exactly planning on becoming a front liner anytime soon...especially with his current gear and stats but he had thought about maybe going up there in the future though he wasn't cut out of the same cloth they were. shrugging it away Takneil listens further to the girl's words.

 

quickly forming a smile on his face Takneil lets out a soft chuckle. "So you're a hero of sorts?, Ariel! the warrior who slays monsters with pants!" he jokes. becoming more serious the boy gives some thought on the question she had asked. "Well...I don't know if I'm going to join a guild or not...but I'm not really going to focus heavily on becoming apart of one unless I actually find the rest of my friends or not." he states a brief flicker of sorrow flashing onto his face but soon returned to his normal composure not wanting to be in a down mood. "hey...wasn't there a cat around here?"

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The blonde cracked a smile "Hero? no... I'm not that self centered. In the best case scenario I just have lots of junk items from my store and am using you guys to regain some inventory space." She chuckles, thinking about why does she actually follow that vow now. 'I guess father's teachings are in sync with that vow' she thought while releasing a couple of chuckles. Then after hearing his answer she frowned her brows in deep thought: "friends huh?" she who let out a sigh looking at the skies towards something inexistent. Out there she was simply Kayla, the world renowned fencer, of whom boys were intimidated and girls were thinking that she was just a muscle brain. But here... she found purpose to all her IRL training and teachings, so far this game wasn't so bad from her point of view. The blonde blinked twice in surprise and shook her head to drive away such self-pity thoughts, regaining her usual mood at the mention of a certain 'cat'.

 

"Don't worry about her, Kimba has always been like that.. wandering off by herself. Don't let it bother you too much, she'll come back soon. She likes to sleep a lot or wander around" she said with a smile. Her mind going back to the time the two first meet in the jungle.

 

Then after a few seconds of silence she continues:" In any case having a guild isn't just about fighting, is also about making contacts. And that is very important here..take me for example, I joined the Guardians as a noob and they taught me the basics of this world. After we got disbanded I was invited to the Brigade thanks to a recommendation make on my behalf from my ex-guildmaster. For that and much more I will always be grateful to them, because afterwards I made friends with the S1 guild on my own and so many more things happened. It pains me to recognise that I was thinking of acting as a solo player..like a certain beater." again, she wasn't sure why she was saying all this things to a player she just meet. Maybe because she just wanted to let it out loud to somebody since she couldn't even mutter this to Lessa. 

[Takneil 0]

Giving off a playful shrug The boy smirks at Ariel's response. "Isn't there a saying that goes something like 'Someone's trash is another's treasure'?" he asks as to make a point, Takneil study the streets of the city as the girl spoke. It wasn't terribly busy but there were a few NPCs running around, following their set algorithm. The boy hoped Ariel didn't think he wasn't paying attention, he had yet to fully explore this area and was itching to see what kind of quests he could do...though he was pretty sure he wouldn't feel comfortable taking them on without getting some more equipment. Focusing more onto what the girl was saying Takneil raised an arched brow in question. "Wait Familiars have that much freedom over what they do?" The boy was honestly impressed with the game, despite the fact they were stuck in here. "I had no idea that SAO could develop such unique personality traits for A.I.'s, I wonder if they're based off the player themselves?" he mused aloud wondering what his familiar might be like once he finds it.

 

"I do know guilds aren't just for combat, I'm low level not living under a rock..." he mumbled the last part under his breath, hoping that what he said didn't come off as rude Takneil continued."I wasn't as fortunate when I came to SAO, My friends dived in on the same day everyone else did...And sadly in the real world, I did live under a rock" he stated with a sigh. "I had some things to do so I wasn't able to join them until the next day, when I came here it was confusing, many brushed past me without explaining anything and I couldn't find my friends. Luckily I put two and two together once I found out I couldn't log out so for...I don't know...Days?, Weeks?, I roamed the first floor without any clue about how to do things and feared exploring." The boy explained deciding that now would be a good time to sit down. "Knowing my bad luck I would still be there...or dead if I hadn't run into Calrex, A solo player that helped me get started." he said a genuine smile forming as he said the words.

 

Realizing that he had just taken over the conversation Takneil turns towards Ariel. "I'm sorry!, I didn't mean to rant" he apologized.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"yes they do" she replied with a smile, as she continued "I think there is a special algorithm designed for them that evolves and adapts. So far I haven't seem a bit of redundant pattern, except that she is lazy and likes to sleep and eat. Just like any other ..big cat. One can never know what to expect of her and this is her tamer talking." she then could hear a displeased growl behind them. As Ariel turned a not so happy white lion was facing her, Ariel started chuckling and continued: "I stand corrected..'as her companion'." Ariel would've usually evaded in calling herself a tamer or master..or something that hinted possession over Kimba, as the two didn't have that kind of relation. But she couldn't find a better word for it at that moment.

 

Hearing Takneil tell his story, made Ariel somehow happy that he decided to share some of his personal information with her. She decided not to pursue the guild topic and seeing him smile, she said in a slightly faked surprised tone:

"Calrex? I know him. He's one of the guys that was at the stone that I was telling you about. IDK why he was there since he already had the <<Martial Arts>> skill but he helped this other guy get it instead. He's a pretty decent guy, straightforward and honorable from what I can tell. But again, I don't know him that good." she said while gently petting her companion on the head. kimba apparently forgave Ariel as she was now purring beside the blonde.

 

P.S. This thread is before Absolute Pin was founded and Ariel got to know Cal better:D just keeping the timeline

[Takneil 0]

Sitting up straight from his previous apology Takneil nodded. "I think it was made so that Players that are generally alone didn't feel alone" he muses out loud only part of his statement. 'It's weird to think that a Death Game would develop a system to aid Players in staying alive' he finishes to himself. hearing a growl the boy turned to see The White Lion cub. "Speak of the devil" he jokes. 

 

"I can understand that logic, to be truthful if I find my familiar I don't think I could use those words either...it's like calling your best friend a slave" Takneil explains not able to withhold a wide grin from seeing the two together. 

 

Nodding as the girl spoke about his friend Takneil shrugged. "he helped me when I was nearing my end, for that I owe him...for everything" he says. That day he had been contemplating his own death when he had seen Calrex sitting on the fountain, the boy didn't know how to describe it but there was a feeling of 'Good' from the man. "he is a reliable guy, I know from just our first meeting he is a person to stand by a friend till the end" offering a smile Takneil chuckled. "Who knows? maybe the three of us could do a quest together sometime"

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"He sounds like a good friend then. And yes we could!" she replied and with a few hand gestures, Ariel send Takneil a friend invitation. then she turned her gaze to Kimba: "Finished with your stuff? Can we go home how?" she asked in a somehow maternal tone that had a bit of joviality in it. To which the white lion simply let out a pleased roar, only she knowing where she had been until now. Then with a nod Ariel turns back to Takneil and says: "Well it was nice meeting you Takkun! I hope to see you again sometime, who knows maybe it will be earlier than we both think. Until then, I wish you to get stronger so that one day we may have a friendly duel to gauge our strengths" and with that, the blonde waved goodbye at the silver haired guy and started walking towards the teleport gate. kimba looked at Takneil for a second and after releasing a low growl, as in saying goodbye, went after the blonde, outpacing her as the white lion started once again walking in front of the silver eyed girl.

 

-Ariel leaves the Thread-