(PP-FLOOR 1) Immortals «Secret Medicine of the Forest» // Piera

[Carmine 0]

Standing at the edge of town, the early afternoon sun rays burning Carmine's corneas, she made her way through thick crowds in search of something she'd heard of. This something had to do with quests, and since Carmine dubbed herself a high enough level to begin doing something more advanced than material and animal hunting, she desired to pick a low-leveled quest and kick-start for future quest right now. After speaking to a few people, she'd been given the correct location of said quest boards where it seemed more than plenty of members seek the same exact thing as the woman did. And though Carmine had no problem with people or numerous amounts of them, it did make getting to and finding quests a lot harder than it would be on a less busy day, which most likely never occurred.

 

After an hour of waiting, Carmine had finally been given the choice to search and she'd made sure to read over the details for each quest multiple times before finally deciding on one that seemed perfect: Secret Medicine of the Forest. Still, she felt lonely seeing many guilds and groups going out together to take on quests or just hanging around and talking about them, so Carmine decided to search through her friend list for someone who she enjoyed hanging around (which was everyone, really) and who was about the same level as her. Thus, Piera was chosen and Carmine sent a quick message her way.

 

 

Subject: Hey Cutie

Recipient(s): Â«Piera»

Message:

 

Piera! Long time, no see. Was just wondering if you'd like to take a quest with me? It's really simple, just locate me through your friends list I should be easy to find. Thanks dear~

 

Now standing next to a fountain, with both hands on her hips. Carmine awaited Piera's response and she hoped the other female would accept. She was just so adorable, and fun to talk to, it seemed that doing a quest without Piera wouldn't be interesting at all.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Carmine

[Piera 0]

Piera had been devising new ways to keep entertained with Lee's assistance in their little room at an inn when she had gotten a message. It could only be from a very short list of people, so she was curious as to which of the few it was and was happy to see Carmine's username. Letting out a warm, "Heeeee..." As she read the subject line, she quickly opened it to read the rest of the message. She had a small discussion with Lee about the contents before she replied back.

 

 

 

Subject: RE: Hey Cutie

Recipient(s): Â«Carmine»

Message:

 

Good to hear from you Carmine! I'd love to do a quest with you. See you in a bit.

 

 

Piera kissed Lee on the cheek after giving him a hug and set off to Carmine's location. ...Naturally it wasn't quite that easy, even with the red-head's helpful instructions. The user interface was still a little weird to the brunette, so it took just a few minutes longer to finally reach her destination. Looking around the area, Piera caught sight of her tall friend by the fountain and waved before running over. "Hey Carmine. Sorry about the wait, I kinda got lost." She smiled apologetically up at Carmine.

[Carmine 0]

Startled by such a quick reply, thinking Piera would take a little longer than she had, Carmine jumped at the new message but was ever-so delighted upon reading the short, but pleasant sentences. Waiting took a while, though Floor 1 was extremely busy all times of the day and especially in this area; thus, Carmine had no reason to be upset with Piera. Not like she could be even if she tried, Carmine didn't have the heart and Piera was just too dang adorable to even begin to feel anything other than love towards her.

 

Humming to herself idly, shifting her weight from foot to foot, Carmine eventually heard the voice of Piera and turned to meet the other female only to meet a waving figure rushing towards her. A grin instantly painting Carmine's lips, the twenty-six year old waved back and even bent down a little to give her friend a gentle squeeze before returning to her full height. "No problem." Carmine waved the mishap off, motioning her hand in the air lazily. "Thanks for coming, I really appreciate it. Everything seems better when you're around, so anybody else wouldn't suffice as company." After speaking, Carmine winked just to add on to her compliment knowing Piera got easily flustered.

 

"Now in all seriousness," Carmine began, placing both hands on her hips. "the quest is called Secret Medicine of the Forest. We have to slay a plant mob found in the forest, this should be really simple since we're both pretty awesome. I'll add you to my party." While awaiting her friend, Carmine had accepted the quest and simply had to add users to the group in order for them to successfully join her journey.

 

After Piera would accept her group invite, Carmine would begin the walk to the fields that separated the safe-zone from the rest of Floor 1, unprotected and dangerous. Walking in sync with Piera, with the guidance of her quest tracker, Carmine would glance down at the female while doing so and ask, "Have you done a quest yet?"

[Piera 0]

Piera shrank in on herself slightly as Carmine reached down to give her a quick small hug. She wasn't used to much close physical contact. With people other than Lee that was. Smiling up shyly at the red-head, she felt a glow of happiness at her friend's words, though a bit warm from her wink. "No problem, I was glad to come. And you're exaggerting again, you should be careful. One of your jealous fans might come after me." She half-joked. The brunette honestly wouldn't be surprised to find out that Carmine had fans. Piera's expression became a bit more serious as she listened carefully to the quest being explained. Nodding thoughtfully she remarked, "I've heard of this quest before. It's supposed to be pretty easy, which is always good."

 

Piera grinned again at the 'awesome' comment, but it drooped just slightly as Carmine sent her a party invite. "Um...actually... Could you join my party?" She asked hopefully, declining the invite before sending her own. "It's just that...it's how Lee and I make sure the other is alright. You can always see your party members' health bars  and statuses." Piera shrugged awkwardly and prayed silently that Carmine didn't think it was weird or was put off by it. "And um, I've never done a quest before. Only small combat on the first floor."

[Carmine 0]

Piera gave Carmine the feeling her siblings did, and for that she was grateful to have met such a character. Her comment about fans made Carmine laugh which didn't seem unusual, especially around someone so humorous even if not trying at the moment. "I'll be quiet." She whispered, shifting her emerald eyes back and forth suspiciously, as if afraid someone was following her. "They're always around." Though she didn't show it, Piera's comment flattered Carmine greatly. To think one person thought all these great things about her and so nothing wrong with how she acted, just imagine how many more people were the same. Still, Carmine felt a little off and as if she still had things to change about herself, but for now those thoughts vanished temporarily.

 

Nodding, Carmine agreed with Piera. "It's for low levels, so I expected it to be an in and out kinda thing." She explained, digging into her memory in order to remember what exactly the quest information stated. As she thought about that, Piera had denied her quest and offered an honest answer as to why. Simply shrugging, Carmine cancelled her party and instead joined in Piera's. "Cute~ I like that idea." The thought of two people caring for each other so much as to worry what was happening was alright in Carmine's mind, and not the least bit of odd. "Really? I've battled like... once or twice maybe. I've been pretty laid back, but I feel like if I want to actually be able to protect myself and my friends that I should do at least a little bit of work. Ya know?"

 

After dumping a short rant on Piera, the two now officially out of the safe-zone of Floor 1, Carmine couldn't help but speak again. "So are you and Lee married?" There was plenty going on inside of her head, but that was the question really on her mind at the moment.

 

 

 

 

[Piera 0]

Piera giggled and tried to stifle the noise behind her hand as Carmine began to look around for her fans as if they were hiding behind every bush and store corner before stating wisely, 'They're always around'. The brunette's expression became serious as she nodded, looking around as well before winking at the red head. "Don't worry, I'll protect you. I'm tougher than I look....kinda." 

 

The spear-woman nodded in understanding and slight relief as Carmine explained that the quest they'd be doing was pretty easy. She was honestly really worried that the other woman would be put off by the idea of joining her party instead of vice-versa, but she let out a breath and smiled as the red head quickly joined, even stating that she liked the idea and how it was cute. "Heh, it just gives us some peace of mind. Sorry for the inconvenience."

 

As Carmine said that she had battled only once or twice, Piera continued walking along with the woman, listening as she continued, saying that she wanted to be able to protect herself and her friends and was working towards that. The brunette nodded immediately. "I know just what you mean. That's basically the entire reason why I stopped cowering and hiding in the starting town on the first floor." She gave a sad humorless chuckle. "I've been doing a bit of leveling, just fighting against boars and beetles." She shrugged, knowing that it wasn't much, but it was a big step for her.

 

Piera looked around carefully as they exited the safe zone to ensure that there were no monsters in the immediate area or worse, any orange players. She was barely paying attention when Carmine asked her a rather big question. "Huh, what?" Then the question actually processed in her brain and the brunette looked away bashfully, her cheeks tinted faintly with pink as she easily replied, "Oh, no no. We're not married. Not yet."  Upon second consideration, she wasn't sure if Carmine had meant in the game or in real life but figured that it didn't matter as the answer was the same. Then glancing back at the red head she asked curiously, "Do you have anyone special?"

[Carmine 0]

"Be my bodyguard, then?" Carmine asked, holding out her pinkie. "Promise to protect me, my darling Piera; for without you I would surely perish." She stuck her tongue out, something she did after teasing people or when others teased her. A silly habit she'd picked up from when she used to play with her younger sister, but an action that surely expressed her current feelings. Waving off the small exchange between the two, Carmine felt nothing towards Piera that would make her angry just because a simple party change. "I don't mind." 

 

Not surprised that Piera had been staying behind, much like her, due to their mishap and first meeting in the game, Carmine still felt glad that the other woman understood how she felt and why she was doing what she was. Without leveling up you had less HP and without hunting you had no COL which practically rendered one useless in the game of Sword Art Online. Really, Carmine had no choice but to begin working at least a little bit to ensure she could protect herself and loved ones if need be; even if she only lasted a few minutes, it'd be worth every second. "Right. Boars have become annoying, though, I feel pretty glad when I show 'em who's boss." She joked lightheartedly, attempting to lift the mood even if only slightly.

 

Raising both brows, Carmine smirked at the way Piera reacted to her question. "I can tell you really love him. It's nice to see love that isn't temporary, or with little kids who think they're ready for relationships." She adored Piera, and felt as if she were smart enough to pick the right person for her. And judging be the way she acted a few moments ago, Carmine wouldn't be surprised if Lee were her soulmate. "Nah. I haven't been with someone in like... forever... and I don't want to either. I'm done with that stuff for now, though you could say I'm getting "back in the game" because I swear this guy, Jomei dunno if you know him, is flirting with me but I think he's just a softie so it's whatever. Pretty lame of me, right? I'm way too old to be single." The thought of Jomei made her smile, just because he was always trying to make her blush but always failed. Still, she wasn't planning to be with anybody for a long time since her heart was still in the process of healing. Though, she hid this behind a smile because nobody had to know about something so embarrassing.

[Piera 0]

Piera smiled at Carmine's request and nodded seriously in thought before replying, "I accept this grave responsibility." And formally sealing the deal by linking her own pinky with her friend's, shaking it. She was just glad that this was a fairly easy quest so they didn't need to worry about their lives actually being in danger. Theoretically. The brunette suddenly wished there was a piece of wood around for her to knock on.

 

She nodded as Carmine expressed satisfaction about being able to kick boars around. "Yeah, it's pretty nice when you can beat them without dodging and doing pin prick damage for like four evers. And even take on more than one!" She giggled at their achievements, knowing that they were small but still satisfying.

 

Piera couldn't help the slight blush on her cheeks at Carmine's statement, looking sidelong at her as she mentioned that it was nice to see compared to most flings or tweens trying to have a 'relationship'. Smirking, the brunette shook her head. "Yeah, I know just what you mean. Let's see if they last through a coma that lasts goodness knows how long? It's like a damn soap opera or something. I'm just thankful that we got stuck together. I...don't know what I'd do if I was in here alone. Or if he was stuck in here alone." Her expression turned dark at the prospect before she mentally gave herself a shake to rid herself of such depressing thoughts before finishing, "We've been together for this long. About five years. And no death game is going to change that." She nodded confidently with a small smile.

 

Piera watched her red-headed friend closely as she replied about her having 'someone'. At her negative answer, she shrugged and was going to let it go before Carmine mentioned getting 'back into the game' and then dropping a particular name. The brunette couldn't stop the smile slowly growing on her face as the dagger wielder continued. "You're not old!" She protested, giving the other girl a light shove to punctuate her feelings on the matter. "You can be single or taken no matter your age. Well...as long as you're an adult. Or whatever, you get the point! But Jomei huh? Why do you say he's a softie? You doing any flirting back?" Piera asked with a mischievous smile.