[PP-F1] Enclosed In SAO

[Starrine 0]

Starrine stood in the midst of a small crowd, which was quickly fading off as it became evening; mind you, the place was still a bit bright out, and it would be another hour or two before it was completely dark. The girl looked rather confused as she looked around, a map displayed in front of her character. Uh.. She'd thought that the restaurant had been here, before, though.. "Was I always this bad with directions..?" She mumbled to herself in a mockingly exasperated voice. Straightening herself to look for someone to ask for help, her eyes scanned the crowd. Mostly everyone looked busy or unapproachable. It wasn't like she was the social butterfly, either, but.. With a small cough, she reached out and tapped someone's shoulder, hoping they'd turn around and perhaps help her out. "Ahh, hello.. Sorry for the burden, would you mind helping me out a bit?" Starrine asked in a sheepish voice, hoping it was someone at least semi-friendly.

(( Either of you can jump in here, maybe one of you can also hear the conversation and offer to help as well? Feel free to find any other way to jump in, though! Maybe you're also looking for some place! ))

[Mack 0]

"He's an NPC," Mack said, glancing up from his very simple blacksmith's shop that he had just completed setting up. Sure enough, the NPC completely ignored Starrine and began to move off. Coming around from behind the tables that made up his simple canvas tent shop, Mack leaned backwards against the edge of one of the heavy wooden tables and regarded the woman with a penetrating grey-eyed gaze for a moment, while his face probably didn't have the friendliest look in the world on it those who looked into those eyes would see that he wasn't angry or surly with the girl in front of him. Clearly, she was a new player though he hardly had any room to talk in that regard since he'd only been in the world of Sword Art Online for about twelve hours. 

"What is it that you need help with," he asked in a gruff tone, crossing his arms over his bulging chest. "If you're wanting a new weapon, you'll have to wait until tomorrow and help with the material gathering though I won't charge you any col. My first crafting attempt didn't take and you're no axe wielder," he continued, pointing a finger at the curved sword at the girl's hip. "So, my Ceremonial Bearded Axe won't help you. I can't craft armor yet, so I can't help you there either. If it's something else you need, I'll do what I can now." Though he was loathe to party up with other players, when it wasn't necessary, day one in the game had made it clear that it would be important to not antagonize other players and, equally, to look out for other players to do what he could to prevent any in game deaths.

[Rainia 0]

(Sorry for the late reply, something came up)

Chiyo sighed. This was going to be a long time in SAO after all. She just had to accept it. She hasn't been here all that long but what she did know was that she would be here a long time because it would be a very long time before she could make it to the 100th floor, let alone beat all the other floors. Chiyo's hand landed on the hilt of her straight bladed sword and she felt momentary relief. As long as she had a straight sword, she felt secure. It was the weapon she was best at after all. Hmm, Chiyo's eyes fell on a blacksmith's shop. Maybe she could browse around the shop and see if she could maybe order something and pay for it later. When she entered, she heard a man saying something about battle axes and not being able to craft armor so he wouldn't be able to help her. Chiyo frowned. So that meant that he wasn't able to make any straight swords she guessed. Once it would seem like the two of them stopped their conversation, Chiyo would ask, "Hey, excuse me but do you sell any straight swords?" She was hoping that they did. Even if she didn't have the money to cover it, she may be able to put it on lay away or something...

[Starrine 0]

Watching in confusion as the man walked away, she jumped in embarrassment. An NPC? Blushing a bit as she glanced over, she took a step over into the little shop. Her eyes moved around the.. well, rather empty tent, and then once more focused on the man who'd spoken to her. Wow.. Intimidating. She pretended to cough, and scratched her head, lips moving upwards in a sheepish, embarrassed smile. "Ahh.. I see," she laughed, glancing upwards. Really tall, too. And scary eyes, but.. She giggled a bit, wondering if he was just like a manga character; tough on the outside, but sweet once you get to know him. Well, that would be the best scenario.

Oh.. What should she say? "Well, I was looking for a restaurant, but.. A new weapon would be great, too," she said, pulling out her beginner's curved sword and showing him it's dull blade. Ah, but.. Did she really want to go alone with him? He seemed like he had good intentions, but.. Hmm.. "If you're up for it, I'd love to go material hunting with you tomorrow!" She said quickly, forcing a fast decision out of her mouth. "I'm Starrine." She bowed in respect, hoping her first impression was good. Well, she had just asked an NPC for help. As another voice sounded in the tent, she looked up, eyes wide. A girl. She glanced at the blacksmith whom she still didn't know the name of, lifting her body back up to its normal stance.

[Mack 0]

Mack's grey eyes snapped up from his conversation with the raven haired woman as the flap of his tent snapped open again to admit another woman. Well, woman might have been a bit generous since the sandy brown-haired girl did appear to be awfully young. Not that Mack was any great shakes when it came to judging the age of women, he almost invariably wound up guessing that they were much younger than they actually were. With his arms still crossed over his chest, he regarded the newcomer and then uncrossed his right arm to gesture at the mostly empty shop tables.

"I don't have any straight swords for sale at the moment, only the two-handed battle axe, the poniard, and the clawed warhammer. However, if you care to go hunting for the materials with me tomorrow, I will do what I can to craft you something better than your starting weapon. I can make you no guarantees of success, though. My smithing level is only beginner," he said in reply to Rainia's question. While many smiths would have boasted that they made the best weapons and that they could make glittering blades beyond the wildest dreams of avarice, Mack preferred to have happy customers who would refer others to him for business. If that meant giving away a few weapons in the interim, so be it.

"Mack," the Smith said, turning his attention back to Starrine and offering her a hand that was, seemingly, the size of a dinner plate to shake. "I tend to do my farming early in the morning, you're both welcome to come along if you want. Meet here at the shop at six in the morning, or at the Inn where I've taken a room if you decide to take a room of your own in the same place," he said, making sure that Rainia knew she was also included in the offer. "As for food, I've heard several different players mentioning various places nearby, I guess it really depends on what you're hungry for."

[Rainia 0]

Hmm, no straight swords for sale. Only two-handed battle axes for sale, the poinard, and the clawed warhammer. Yeah, those weren't any items that interested Chiyo. He said that if she went hunting though, he can craft her something better then the starting weapon. That would be nice. He said that there were no guarantees of success though since he was only a beginners smither. "It's fine." Chiyo replied. Apparently this man's name was Mack. He invited them both to go farming (for experience she guessed) in the morning and said to meet him there at 6:00 in the morning. Hmm, 6:00... she could probably wake up by then. I mean, she was never a morning person or anything but she wouldn't mind getting up early in the morning. "Really? Cool, I'm in." Chiyo said. "Oh, my name's Rainia." Chiyo said to Mack and she guessed also to the black haired girl. She didn't catch her name.

[Starrine 0]

[[ Actually, if you guys want, after a few posts, maybe we could just use this thread for material gathering? ^.^ ]]

Starrine watched as the blacksmith regarded the newcomer, spoke about the same words as he'd spoken earlier to her, and continued on. He seemed like a very modest man, as well; a good trait. She already knew that he was a good guy; just.. huge, and intimidating. As he turned once more to Starrine, and spoke his name, she blinked. "Mack," she repeated, a gentle smile growing on her face as she reached out and gripped his enormous hand to shake. A bit awkward, but.. Whatever.~

Early in the morning. Six? Worked for her; Starrine was an early bird, and rather enjoyed collecting various materials. "Sounds good!" She said, her smile becoming brighter as she stepped away, as to not overcrowd the large blacksmith. "Hmm, maybe we could all go and eat together! And discuss where we'll be going, and the plan for battling, if we come across any monsters?" She suggested a bit shyly, glancing up at the two.

As Rainia introduced herself, Starrine straightened up, looking over at the sandy-haired girl. "Pleased to meet you, Rainia! You can call me Starrine," she said, waving her hand at the fellow girl, giggling a bit. She hoped niether of them minded her suggestion. It would be nice to get to know each other a bit more before they went out getting materials, though.

[Mack 0]

[OOC: That works for me, Starrine, as long as Rainia is also fine with it. I propose dinner, ending with each going their separate ways to sleep... then we can jump forward to the hunting and farming, if that works for everyone.]

"Mack," the soldier said in reply to Rainia, turning his grey eyes on her when she mentioned her name. Crossing a few feet in his tiny tent smithy shop, he offered her an enormous hand to also shake. When both of the girls indicated that they were willing to show up early in the morning to go farming and to gather materials, the burly blacksmith nodded his blonde head. "We split any col evenly among the three of us, you girls can keep all the crafting materials that you get from your drops, minus whatever you give to me to make your weapons. Now then, we're not going tonight it's too late. So, are we taking dinner together or simply meeting up here in the morning?"

[Rainia 0]

(That's cool with me)

Although Chiyo already knew his name, Mack didn't, so he introduced himself as Mack. He offered his hand for a hang shake. Chiyo shook his huge hand. He had a really... firm grip. She guessed that was only to be expected. Then, the black haired girl proposed that they could all go and eat together and discuss where they'll be going and a battle plan. She then introduced herself as Starrine. That seemed like a fitting name for the girl. She actually kind of looked like a Starrine. Of course Chiyo didn't know of any Starrines but if there was anyone named Starrine, now Chiyo would always imagine her to look like that girl. Mack said that they split the Col evenly among all of them. They could keep the crafting materials, minus the ones needed to make their weapons. He said that it was too late to go hunting and asked if they were going to have dinner, or just meet up with each other in the morning. "I'm fine with dinner." Chiyo said.

[Starrine 0]

Starrine nodded in agreement as the blacksmith spoke, watching as he shook Rainia's hand as well. "Dinner sounds great; let's go look for some place!" She said excitedly, nodding all official-like to herself, walking out of the little canvas tent and gesturing for the two to follow her. "What are you guys hungry for?" She asked as she glanced over her shoulder, amber eyes bright and friendly. She herself wasn't picky, and liked quite a variety of food.

The streets had calmed down quite a bit, now that evening had settled on the village. Looking around now, it was quite a bit more easy to find shops and restaurants. "There's a diner over there, and I think a curry place on the opposite side," Starrine said, pointing towards two buildings a little ways down the road.

[Mack 0]

At the mention of food there was a snuffling grunting cry from over by the forge. A brown mass of fur exploded into motion and came ambling out into the midst of the group of players, mouth open and tongue lolling. The animal looked like a dog, and it was about the same size as a medium sized dog. But, the round ears and somewhat shambling gait made it clear that the animal wasn't a dog. It was actually a grizzly bear, though the small size also made it clear that the bear was a mere cub. As it came rumbling like a miniature freight train underneath the tables that were laden with items for sale from the shop the bear cub tried to turn a tight corner, over balanced, and tumbled sideways. The cub rolled over several times and came to a stop against Rainia's feet.

"Ah, Chewie heard you say the d-word," Mack replied dryly, clearly used to the antics of the small bear. "Curry doesn't agree with him though, know that from horrifying experience." As he was speaking Chewie had picked himself up off of the ground. Getting up on his hind feet, the bear cub began batting at Rainia with his mouth open. Everyone knew that meant he wanted food. Everyone knew it. When that didn't have the desired effect, he wandered over to Starrine and repeated the process. "He's also a beggar."

[Rainia 0]

Starrine said that dinner sounded great and asked what they wanted to eat. "Hmm, I don't know much about all the food here so I guess I'm fine with anything." Chiyo answered. Chiyo looked over at a brown mass of fur that as it got closer, she began to see as a bear cub. It came to a stop at her feet. Mack said that Chewie heard her say the "d-word" as in "dinner." The tiny bear cub started to paw at her. Aw, he was such a cute bear. Mack said that he was also a beggar. Chewie turned to Starrine and started to paw at her.

[Starrine 0]

Starrine looked a bit startled at first, hearing something scampering around, but as soon as the little bear cub came into view, she stared down at it, eyes wide and sparkling. "S-so cute.." She whispered, watching as it skidded to Rainia's feet, and after he was done with her, ran over to Starrine herself. The dark haired girl sucked in a breath, shocked by how cute it was. Cute things were one of her weaknesses. She got on her knees, and began petting the little bear cub, not being able to resist the adorable creature before her. After a moment, she remembered. Oh, right. Dinner. She shook her head, embarrassed for getting off track.

"So.. the diner, it is, then," Starrine said, making a gesture for everyone to follow her to the little lit-up building near the end of the road. It only took about thirty seconds for the group to get to it, and Starrine pulled the door open, holding it open for her new acquaintances. 

[Mack 0]

"Stop begging, Chewie," Mack said in a low-rumbling tone. Reaching down with one massive hand he grabbed the grizzly cub by the scruff of its neck and lifted the squirming ball of fur off of the ground. Then he deposited the creature across his own broad shoulders. "Anywhere that serves meat will be fine with the cub, though he will eat most anything. The bear of a smith and his bear companion followed the two women out of his shop and he followed Starrine in the direction of the diner that the raven haired girl had mentioned knowing about. When she pulled open the door to the eatery, and held it open, Mack entered assuming that the two ladies would be right behind him.