OP-F1) Jacob's seventh birthday

[Jacob 0]

Jacob woke up all happy. For him this was a very special day. He jumped out the tree he slept in and hit the ground softly. Jacob was wearing his usual purple sweater and black shirt. Jacob went out of the safe zone. Today he was one year older. Jacob ran through everywhere and said, "It's my birthday!" Then Jacob stopped and said, "Wait what am I gonna do for my birthday? Oh! I'll make myself a party.

[Rusty 0]

Rusty was sitting in alleyway sleeping until he heard a player yell "It's my birthday!" Getting up from his spot on the floor, he rubbed his head and got up, curious to see what was going on. Looking to his left, he saw Jacob apparently talking to himself. "J-Jacob, what are you doing?" Rusty questioned as he approached the boy, unsure if he was the one yelling.

[Azide 0]

Azide rubbed wearily at his eyes. His gaze felt sunken and heavy, and his eyelids made constant attempts to close up on him- but he fought off the temptation. "Another sleepless night," he thought, closing shut the book laid out on his desk. With the help of an old pen, he jotted down a few lines of notes in his journal before laying the pen flat against the table. "I'll clean up later," he thought, covering his mouth as a yawn forced its way from his body.

He stood up from his chair and walked over to his window to see that it was roughly around the time that players woke up in this world- which was surprisingly early, as teenagers tended tended to wake up at around noon in the real world. Perhaps they were just eager to continue their gaming, or whatever it was that they chose to do.

His hand clasped around the handle of his door. "Maybe a walk and some fresh air will do me good." He pulled it open with a heave- metal doors were not exactly known for their maneuverability and light weight, but it'd seemed fitting for a laboratory. In any case, he left the confines of his shop and set out into town.

[Mari 1]

Mari was outside the town; around the 1st floor - having receiving a rather excited message from Jacob. Apparently it was his birthday. It was why she was there. Mari didn't feel like dealing with people; but the way he had left her last time...it was so incredibly abrupt. He had ignored most of her advice, and what she had said. He asked her odd questions then acted as though he didn't even hear her answers.

It didn't take long to find the child; he was running around the fields; outside the safe zone screaming that it was his birthday. Mari managed to convince a green player to go to a local bakery for her; and she had even gone as far as to get the kid a cake. Mari approached Jacob. Placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Calm down, you're going to burn through your energy too quickly."

[Zeri 0]

Sitting down in the middle of the field of the first floor playing with his sword he has gotten from Oikawa, Zeri was wondering what he should do now. "Should I go hunting? Should I find a tree and take a nap? Or should I-" His though were interrupted by a kid screaming that it was his birthday. Someone in the guild had told him that there was a kid in the guild, but couldn't remember who it was, and that person matched the description that they had. Then Zeri saw two people, a green and a orange player went towards him, the player killer made him worry a little, but they seem to know each other, which set his mind at ease. As he approached the group, Zeri turned the attention to the kid and said, "Well happy birthday! Hmm... I think someone told me about you before. Isn't your name...Jacob?" As he waited for the kid to answer, he turned his attention to the girl. Looking at her for a moment, then thinking to himself, and saying to her, "Hi there! So are you his mother or sister?" He waited for them to answer without any regards to the other person whatsoever

[Jacob 0]

Jacob was running around when he heard Rusty's voice. Rusty had said, "Jacob what are you doing?" Jacob looked at the direction his voice had come from and said, "I'm throwing myself a party because it's my... Another voice cut him off. It was behind him and it was Mari. She said, "Calm down you're going to burn your energy way to quickly." Jacob looked at her and replied, "But it's my birthday! Then another guy from his guild came over and said, "Happy birthday! It's Jacob right?" Yup! And it's my birthday!

[Rusty 0]

"It's your birthday..." Rusty mumbled. I guess I should attend his party sin- Rusty train of thought was interrupted by the entry of a player, who's cursor was yellow. Looking up, he found himself looking at Mari. He had met her a few weeks earlier when he entered his shop in search of recovery crystal. They seem to know each other well, as if she's his mother.. In came another player who seemed to know Jacob as well.. This was turning out to be quite the party. "Happy birthday Jacob.." Rusty said, forgetting his manners.

[Mari 1]

Mari straightened; shooting a glare at Zeri, he was incredibly rude; and if it weren't for Jacob; she would have said some very rude, and snide things to the boy. "Neither." She said, refusing to elaborate. She instead, turned her back completely to Zeri. She may not say anything crass in front of a child but she didn't have to tolerate him.

"Here." Mari said, as she opened up her inventory, first dropping a blanket on his head. "Put that on the grass, lay it out." As she said this another approached. Mari bit her tongue; this was proving to be difficult. She wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to tolerate all of these people; especially ones as rude as they seemed to be. Mari had been a tad worried about Jacob; but it seemed as though he was doing fine, he was just as boisterous as ever; and still never seemed to really reply to anything she said.

Mari sighed. Watching as the blanket was laid out flat on the ground; similar to a picnic blanket. "Good; now here." Mari said; opening up her inventory again to access the cake she had - it was nothing fancy. A simple chocolate frosted cake. She placed it in the middle of the blanket for him. "I won't stay long." 

[Azide 0]

With his hands in his pockets, he ambled down a worn dirt path. Perhaps he'd head to the teleporter and make his way to some higher floor today. "Yes," he thought, raising his forearm to cover his mouth. He yawned. "That sounds like a decent enough idea. I'll make up for any sleepiness with an extra ten minutes or so per night for the next few weeks. Everything sounds great."

As he took another step forward, his foot caught on something that caused him to stumble and nearly fall over. His muscles tensed as his focus came back just long enough to catch his balance. He straightened himself up and suddenly became aware of several familiar icons amongst the busy scene. It was always bustling on this floor, one way or another.

That distinct green quadrangle- it hovered over two players, and drew his attention. One of them he recognized as Zeri- who for whatever reason had completely white hair, much like Kosan. "Who wants to look like an old person?" he wondered. The other guild symbol belonged a much younger, shorter boy. He couldn't have possibly been any older eight or so, but it was likely that he was a tad younger.

"Considering I've met only one of our two latest recruits, am I to assume that the Jacob we inducted is a little kid?" he wondered. It was somewhat of a shock- he hadn't expected them to be responsible for someone so young. And here he was, running around shouting something about a birthday. From a distance, he waved, hoping the boy would recognize that he too wore the guild's symbol.

[Zeri 0]

Mari was glaring at Zeri for some reason, which made him really nervous and he said, "I-I'm sorry if I did anything wrong." Zeri was the type of person that didn't want to get on peoples' bad side. Then he turned to Jacob and said to him, "What you planning on doing?" Then he saw Mari took out a cake, a chocolate one to be exact, and gave it to Jacob. Zeri looked at the cake, chuckled and said, "No cake for me then!" Then Zeri turned to the player that he ignored earlier and said, "Sorry if I ignored you! My name is Zeri. Nice to me you!"

[Jacob 0]

Jacob watched as Mari began to lay out a picnic blanket. Jacob was confused. Then she was back into her inventory. Then on a plate a chocolate frosted cake appeared on the picnic table. Jacob stood staring at the delicious cake. Jacob looked at her and said, "Thank you Mari!" Jacob went to his inventory and out popped a cutting knife into his hand. Jacob sliced at the cake and four perfect pieces of cake were made. He shared one with Zeri, Mari, and Rusty. Then Jacob seen another boy and cut his piece in half. If he remembered right he had the same square thingy as was on his head. Jacob looked straight at him then Mari.

[Rusty 0]

​Rusty enjoyed this solemn birthday, it wasn't too big, and it was peaceful. Although it was kinda sad that only him and Mari, according to what just happened, only knew Jacob. Rusty didn't know Jacob that well even though they took a quest together. Then Jacob offered a piece of cake to him while he thought about this. It was a kind offer and he didnt want to seem rude, so he spat out a "Thank you." and began nibbling on the piece of cake. It tasted good.

[Azide 0]

By the time he reached the group, he found them sprawled out atop a large blanket. In their hands, they each held plates topped with slices of cake- its flavor was not immediately obvious at first glance, but cake was cake.

He crouched in order to put himself on even ground with the youngest of the quartet and smiled at the seated boy; with all of the teens he encountered around Aincrad, this was definitely a change of pace. How long had it been since he'd addressed a child? Quite a while, at the very least. In any case, he offered his hand to the raven-haired boy. It briefly occurred to him that kids didn't tend to greet people with handshakes, but it'd look stupid to draw back.

A finger pointed to the square which hovered above him, sitting beside his health bar. Like his cursor and health bar itself, it was green- the mark of their guild. "We're from the same guild, aren't we?" he asked. His smile widened into a grin- he was really trying to be kid-friendly, whatever that meant. "It's nice to meet you. You can call me Azide." He gestured to the slices of cake. "So, what's the occasion?"

A nod of his head acknowledge Zeri and the other player, whom he'd had yet to meet before. But the fourth member of the entourage surprised him the most. It was a little surreal to see Mari here of all places, holding a slice of cake. "I can't say I pegged you down as the picnicking type, Mari."

[Mari 1]

Mari frowned when Jacob handed her the cake. She didn't exactly want to eat any of it. She wasn't really one for sweet foods. Especially lately.

The pink haired woman noticed Azide approach, he first spoke to Jacob; then to her; making an amused comment that she didn't seem like the picnicing type. "I'm not." She said simply. Grabbing Azide's hands; she placed the plate with cake on it into his. "Nor am I exactly one for sweet things. Here." Mari approached Jacob again; her cold demanor changing for just a moment as she knealt down to his level.

"Oi," She stated; gently grabbing his arm. "Jacob you may not see much of me these days - nor will you in the future." She gestured toward Azide. "But you are in his guild now. He will look after you."

Mari then pulled the boy into a hug; holding him there for a moment. "Happy Birthday Kiddo."
 

[Jacob 0]

Jacob watched as Mari gave Azide her cake. Jacob frowned for a moment before eating his. The cake was practically devoured. Thoughts buzzed around Jacob's head thinking of how his friends didn't like each other. Mari began to grab his arms and talk about her seeing him and that Azide will take care of him from now on. She pulled him into a hug saying happy birthday Kiddo. Jacob smiled and pulled out his blade. Frost Flame, the blade that was a bigger version of her old knife. Jacob then said, "I will always remember you." Jacob took and sheathed the blade.

[Zeri 0]

"You can have my slice of you want to Jacob. I'm...not really a chocolate person." Zeri said while handing the boy his slice of the cake. Then he saw Azide but turned his attention back to Jacob. At the same time, Zeri was wondering what is it about Jacob that he caught his interest. He wasn't particularly interested in Jacob but for some reason he was. Was it cause they we're in the same guild, or was it something else. Then he remembered something that happened to him when he was a kid.

At school, Zeri didn't have any real interest in anybody at school. His classmates always asks him for favors and claiming to be his friend. But as soon as the favor was over, the acted like they didn't even know him. But there was this one kid, which was 5 at the time while Zeri was 6. He had helped the kid out with something and saying that they were friends. But when Zeri approached him, the kid actually acted like he knew him. After that for some reason he always looked after the kid like he was his own brother, even going as far as giving the kid his whole lunch when the kid didn't have money to pay for it. This kept going on till the kid moved away.

Then Zeri was snapped backed to reality when Mari said that Azide will be taking care of him. Then Zeri looked at Jacob and said quietly, "Is it because they act alike? Or would it be something else?" Then he sat down beside Jacob and asked him, "Is that what you really want?"

[Rusty 0]

Rusty looked at all of them and felt utter confusion. He long forgot how many days since SAO started, but he knew it wasn't that much time passed. The thing that was strange to him was the fact that it felt like everyone here knew and loved each other. At most he thought a year had passed and at the least about 5 months. This "birthday" was being attended by basically just some strangers in a sense and yet it still seemed like a happy celebration. Mari and the other player who's name he picked up as Azide were treating Jacob as basically a family member, promising to protect him and getting him cake for his birthday. "Its something really profound, it really is." Rusty mumbled as he watched this conspire. He let himself have a slight smile at the heartwarming event going on.

[Azide 0]

He stared at the plate of cake that'd been placed in his hand, then looked over to see Zeri returning a slice of his own. "Well this is a wonder, isn't it?" He scratched his head and handed his plate to Jacob with a smile and eyes glinting with regret. "Never thought I'd see so many people in one place rejecting cake, but I'm afraid I'll have to pass as well. Heck, I'm so adverse to sugar that you'll probably pick up on the fact that I only ever drink water around here."

As Mari pulled the young boy into a hug, it occurred to him that he'd never seen this side to the woman before, nor had he expected to. But then again, people were rarely so black and white, and so he quickly reconciled the image with the one his mind had presented him. It was a tender gesture- almost motherly, in a way.

She told the boy that Azide would be the one to look after him from now on- and it began to sink in that this would be different from the other recruits he'd taken in. "Does this make me responsible for actually raising him?" he wondered. The boy had evidently gotten this far by himself, but it would be reckless to let him run around unchecked. In any case, he deal with the implications at a later time.

He took a seat beside the group, choosing to settle down against the soft grass. "She's right, you know," he replied. "I'd like to think that I'm a little too young to be a father, and I don't know a whole lot about kids, so maybe you can think of me as a brother." He chuckled as he noticed the two plates of cake that'd been left with Jacob, along with an empty one that'd just been cleared. "And normally, I'd try to avoid giving a bunch of sweets to a little kid, but I guess I can make an exception once a year or so. After all, it is your birthday."

[Mari 1]

Mari noticed Jacob frown, she reached out, lightly raising his chin. "Chin up Jacob." He stared at her with big brown eyes, smiling as he pulled out his blade. Showing it off. Mari frowned, gently placing her hand over his own. "Never raise a weapon to a person Jacob. Don't hurt people." She urged. He sheathed the blade and she gave him a small smile. Ruffling his hair. 

She was virtually ignoring the others that were around her; aside from Azide. Mari wasn't big on social interactions, and even less so with bothering with strangers; they all had seemed to congregate around the boy. He was shouting and bringing a lot of attention toward himself. She couldn't blame them. Most here seemed harmless enough, nothing more than curious players.

 

"Jacob." Mari said, changing her tone to that of a more stern one; "Remember what I said about orange players? Because of that; I can't continue to put you in danger." She leaned forward to plant a kiss on his head. "If I find your mother I'll tell her where to find you. Take care."

And with that, Mari stood, dusting herself off, and without a word to the others the group she turned to walk away. Leaving them to their festivities.
 

 

 

Jacob smiled and pulled out his blade. Frost Flame, the blade that was a bigger version of her old knife. Jacob then said, "I will always remember you." Jacob took and sheathed the blade. 

[Jacob 0]

Jacob watched as Mari leave and then looked down at all the poor cake that had been rejected. Jacob looked at the rest of his "Family and said, you don't have to really worry about me. I still have the biggest quest ahead of me. Finding my mother." Jacob looked at Rusty. Jacob looked at the sky. She was somewhere. The quest for his life had finally been understood and was started.