[PP-F6] Loneliness <Feeding the Enemy> (Calrex & Ariel)

[Rusty 0]

It was probably a year after SAO had trapped 10,000 people in a virtual land when Rusty met his first true friend. It was a sunny, regular day in Aincrad, although it felt dark and humid to the boy when he ventured into the jungle on floor 6, in search of a familiar, soon meeting up with two others players who had found themselves in said forest. It was something that the player himself had wanted to do, he was actually beginning to feel lonely after "disappearing" on purpose to be by himself for a while, after an incident that he didn't want to think about again. Over that time, Rusty formed into a different person, somebody who was so far from his original character that people who had the displeasure of meeting him would think that it wasn't him. It wouldn't matter, the only person or creature that would see this new side of him would be his new pet. He had brought only a sword, some bread, two bottle of water and a map to track his way through the tropical rainforest. 

 

Rusty pondered on the various moments in his life in SAO. One thing that crossed his mind was how rude and just plain annoying he was on some of those days. At this time, he felt as an outsider looking in to his own life, something he hadn't felt ever in his entire existence. Maybe he was just being distant or he was just disconnected from his former self. It could be that it was just both. Thoughts like these was what he wondered about these days, his life consisting of reading, thinking, sometimes eating and rarely fighting. It was a quiet lifestyle, if you could call it that, that he adopted. Very quiet indeed. "So very lonely.." Rusty grimaced as he trudged through the thick, big leaves that plagued the area. It was too painful to think about so he continued walking.

[Calrex 0]

"Gah, let's see...if I go this way..."

 

Passing through some leaves in the direction of Rusty was a man clad in deep-sea blue armor. Calrex gave a sigh as he pushed more and move leaves out of the way, "Why did I decide to come back to the sixth floor? Those dang spiders are still wandering about..."

 

"Ugh...even with my Grand Armament  I would hesitate going near one of those things. The hyper-realism just makes it...way to gross..."

 

As he parted another group of leaves from his vision his eyes spied on a familiar player had not seen in quite some time. Rusty. The first time he had met him was within the Starting City, running into him a couple of times after that. "I wonder what he could have gotten up to in that amount of time. Well, he's certainly still alive, which is good to see."

 

With that he began to calmly walk over, giving a casual wave, "Hey there Rusty, long time no see. Hope things are well with you."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"ROOOOOO ARRRRR" this sound could be hear around a wide area as Kimba started roaring, making her presence known in her territory. Birds could be seen flying away from their nearby area. Along the white furred lion walked a blonde figure that was equipped with some light armor parts that were steel replicas. She would smile at her companion and start shouting herself once or twice to release all that had been bottled inside her until now.

 

As the two made their way, Kimba started running in a random direction as always. Ariel had simply shrugged and followed her through the jungle until they stumbled upon a familiar face that for some reason seemed sadden. Kimba went by his side and started sniffing around like a dog as Ariel approached them. She recognized the face but the name seemed to slip her at the moment, she was sure he was a client of hers but the name evaded her. She tried to remember the order but couldn't do that as well. In the end she sighted and and closed in while waving at him: "Hey there, long time no see. Don't worry about her, she's friendly:D What are you doing here alone? got lost?" and so she decided to engage in conversation with him as she came from behind him.

[Rusty 0]

Rusty slightly jumped at the sound of another voice, it was so surprising to hear one so far into the jungle. Instead of reacting violently or acting like he was startled, which he was, he simply turned towards the boy who had spoken. He felt really awkward, this boy knew him somehow although he didn't remember said boy at all.His thoughts turned towards his year in SAO. Then something clicked, he remembered who the person was. "Hello.. um.. Calrex? Is that right? I don't quite remember, sorry." Rusty had only met said boy a few times, more than half of those times were in combat situations. He felt as if he should know his name, but his memory wasn't accurate after a few months of being a lone.

 

Another surprise occurred soon after the first one, a small cub started to sniff Rusty as it ran out of the blue. A blond-haired girl followed soon after and seemed to know him as well from the expression on her face. This assumption proved to be right as she greeted him as if he was a long time friend, although Rusty didn't know any better. Nothing was clicking in his head and memory was just too foggy at this point, but he just thought that this girl was truly mistaken in that she knew him. He usually remembered everyone he met, even if he had to reach to the back of his memory to figure that out. Even then, he would still feel some faint feeling that he would know a certain person, but this girl was just somebody he couldn't seem himself meeting. "S-sorry, but am I supposed to know you?" Rusty asked, trying to figure out which was which.

[Calrex 0]

"Yeah, that's right. Nah, don't worry about it. It has been some time since I last saw you, so there's no surprise if you don't recognize me."

 

As Calrex relaxed his position he heard movement in the nearby bushes as he saw a familiar blonde haired fencer and her lion companion, "Well, it's been some time Ariel. Long time no see!"

 

He smiled underneath his helmet as he looked at the two. It had been some time since he last saw either of them. During that time much had happened, much that he was still trying to wrap his head around, "So...what brings you two here out into the jungle area? I was going around looking for materials since nothing much is currently going on."

 

He adjusted his helmet as he kept his eyes peeled.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Ariel's eyes shifted to the source of nearby movement, her hand was already on the rapier hilt in anticipation for a attack. The only reason she didn't draw her sword was because Kimba didn't seem to mind the noise. 'It's a friendly then?' she thought and released the rapier as soon as a blue clad guy made himself present. He was wearing a helmet but she could recognize that armor very easily:

"Yeah..too much it seems. it seems that the rumours are true..you got kicked out as well." she replied, at first with a smile on her name...that gradually faded as she brought in the guild theme. its wasn't that long that after she recruited the two, the guild higher-ups decided to kick all the other members and go into hiding. At first Ariel wanted to think that it was only her that got kicked out..but NOT seeing the blue market near Cal's HP bar, made her believe that they really kicked all of them out.

 

She shakes her head twice then turns towards the boy: "Well we don't exactly know each other but when you came to my shop, you bought that pair of black pants from me. Good to see that they still serve you some purpose. Let me introduce myself again, I'm Ariel." her regular smile was now showing on her face as she turned back towards Cal to answer his question: "I was taking this one here *points towards Kimba* for a visit in her 'native territory' while releasing some of the bubbled stuff. And to meditate a bit upon the future. What about you guys?"

[Rusty 0]

Rusty was caught unaware, he was already beginning to leave by the time Calrex and Ariel asked the somewhat same questions as he didn't want to waste anytime at all. A cheerless expression climbed up on his face and attached itself as the boy turned around to face the two players. He didn't say anything for a few seconds, his time was being spent thinking of something to say. It would have to be either a white lie so that the two wouldn't join him on his adventure or the truth about what he was really doing. He felt that it would be rude and very mean to the both of them as they weren't being anything but somewhat joyful and welcoming, so after careful consideration about which option he should choose, he finally decided to pick the latter and speak up after almost half a minute of silence. "I-I am on a quest that's w-why I'm here." Rusty answered. At this time, his sword had already dissipated and most of his gear excluding his 2 water bottles, so at this point it almost looked as he was fibbing about his true intentions, although that wasn't the case.

[Calrex 0]

"Yeah, still not really sure what happened with that, but I'm not going to worry about it. But thanks again for recommending us to them in the first place, it was still an honor to be a part, even if it was for a short while."

 

"It looks like Ariel's kind of worried about what happened too. No surprise, it was a sudden action that left everyone kind of wondering what the higher-ups were thinking..."

 

As Rusty spoke about doing a quest on this floor Calrex looked over with a nod, "Oh, nice. What quest were you taking on? There's only a couple I can think of off hand that are associated specifically with this floor. If you need a hand I'd be happy to help."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The blonde watched as Cal was expressing his thoughts about the matter, he didn't seem that affected by the council's ruling. 'Guess that just having his lover by his side makes him happy. Must be nice...' she thought while slowly turning her gaze from him to the sky and back at him once again. After releasing a sigh she started addressing the blue clad guy looking past his visor, into his eyes. "I have something in mind to continue the Brigade's 'will', it's just an idea for now but I'm sure you'll find it interesting when it will be completed. We shall talk about it at the proper moment." she said with a uncharacteristically serious voice then, switching her gaze to Rusty she had regained her usual self as she spoke:

 

"As for now, I only have a certain quest in mind that can be accomplished at this or any other floor. Curious enough here is where I first meet this little gal." said the blonde while gently stroking Kimba's back. She was of course referring to the gipsy quest that she received without knowing what it was for. Her eyes drifted away, not focusing on anything in particular as Ariel thought if that gypsy old woman was still around Amazon, telling people of how to get a familiar. That mere thought made her chuckle then after taking a quick glance at cal and hearing his response she simply said: "Well if cal is joining you consider us part of your entourage for now. We don't have anything better to do anyway, let us help you in this quest of yours."

[Rusty 0]

Rusty gave a slight smile at the thought of having other people help him out on this quest to find a familiar. It was set, the both of them would help him out on his quest of taming a wild creature. First of all though, he had to make sure had everything needed to actually be able to do such a thing. Checking his inventory, he materialized the lettuce that he assumed the mob would like and then he materialized his rapier. All he had to do know was to go find a monster that would roam around this strange, humid jungle and possibly tame it with he help of two other players. "Just follow along.." He muttered as he dashed towards the leafy shrub.

 

After a few minutes of searching avidly, Rusty was able to locate a sizable creature chewing on the various pieces of wild berries that populated a few bushes. It was a bit large for its species although this game wasn't all that realistic. He continued sneaking until he just behind and then he swung his sword with a heave. At first he thought he had missed, but the truth was that his sword had bounced backwards and recoiled. The rapier made contact with the tortoise, sure, but the contact was with the shell, not at all the actual animal itself. Even then, the turtle was livid with the boy and snapped at him. "Ahh! Dammit!" He mumbled, still reeling from the small mark the mob left on his finger. It didn't take away any damage but it still hurt a lot.

 

ID: 15610 BD: 2 MD: 4

Rusty's HP: 41/41

Calrex's HP: 67/67

Ariel's HP: 71/71

 

Snapping Turtle's HP: 40/40

[Calrex 0]

ID: 15611

Battle Dice: 10 (Accuracy +1) = 11 (+2 Damage)

 

Calrex's Stats:

HP: 67 / DMG: 6 (Grand Gauntlets), 8 (Grand Blade) / ACC: 1 / EVA: 1 / MIT: 3 / Thorns: 1

 

Calrex nodded as he followed Rusty through the bushes, eventually happening upon...a turtle?

 

"Well, not exactly the most common choice I thought people would pick for a familiar, but I guess turtles are an example of an almost absolute defense."

 

As Rusty snuck in for a hit Calrex noted how the impact seemed to reflect when his sword was blown back from the shell, "Well, this one certainly has a tough outer shell..."

 

As he switched in he gave a calming breath as the light blue aura chains effect formed around his arms as he activated his <<Martial Arts>> skill, rushing forward. As he got into striking range he stopped, sliding a pace or two before he brought his body low, uppercutting the turtle. The force was enough to launch the turtle into the air as he brought his fists to his sides, unleashing a rapid barrage of punches, his arms turning into a blur of movement. Each one seemed to hit true as the turtle was spun around in random direction in mid-air.

 

To finish Calrex quickly leapt up in the air, performing a quick front flip as he hammer kicked the turtle back to the ground. He landed a few seconds after before leaping back a couple of paces to avoid the turtle's mouth, "Alright Ariel, go for it."

 

HP List

Rusty: 41/41

Calrex: 67/67 (Geezes I didn't realize I leveled up again! XD)

Ariel: 71/71

 

Enemies:

Snapping Turtle: 32/40

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Ariel was a bit surprised when Rusty materialized... a lettuce? She suppressed the desire to laugh while painfully trying to keep a straight face. She fakely cough then began to follow the boy while looking at Cal with a puzzled face. After a short walk in awkward silence they stumbled upon a 'defenceless' turtle. For some reason Rusty thought that it was a good idea for him to charge off and attack it's hard-looking shell. In the end not only that he didn't make any sort of dmg, he even managed to get himself bitten by the creature.

 

Next was Calrex, the blonde just realizes that she probably had never seen him in actual combat, until now. ignoring the sword at his waist(or back..whatever.) he dashed at the mob barehanded and started using the unarmed skill that they were talking about a long time ago. His moves were executed flawlessly and managed to shave quite a bit off the turtle's HP.

 

Now it was the blonde's turn, she elegantly unsheathed her black rapier in one move and started concentrating into choosing the right spot in which to strike. She then bent her knees a bit to lower her center of gravity and charged at the enemy mob thrusting her sword as the turtle entered her striking range. Her initial targeted zone, the turtle's head, disappeared as the mob went into hiding in its shell once again. the blonde had anticipated this move and readjusted her aim mid-strike to hit one the shell's head whole. She let out a satisfied smile once she saw that she had managed to relieve it of a considerable amount of HP.

 

She back off before the mob gets a chance to strike and looks towards the others, making a 'go' sign with her head by moving it from them to the turtle in a short twitch. She continued to smile thinking that compared to the mobs at the 10th floor, this turtle was a hatchling cracking its shell.

 

 

Ariel's stats and active skills:

HP: 71 / Basic DMG: 10 / DMG Mit: 3 / Acc:3 / Eva: 3 / Savvy: 1 / Light Momentum: 2

Charge[Expert]: +3 Dmg on initial attack / Concentration: +1BD every 5 posts

 

ID: 15789 BD: 6 (2+3acc+1BD<<<Concentration>>) [Hit => Charge Activated: +3 Dmg]   MD: 2 (4-3 eva) [Miss / Savvy Activated] 

Rusty's HP: 41/41

Calrex's HP: 67/67

Ariel's HP: 71/71 (+1 BD next turn)

 

Snapping Turtle's HP: 23/40 (-13)

 

(yes late I know, for some reason the forum doesn't sends me any updates on threads.