[PP-F2] Mountains and Woods

[Zelrius 0]

A drop of sweat beaded down from the golden haired boy's face as he made his way to the top of a rather tall Mountain that towered above much of the Second Floor. It was to this end, Zelrius breathed in cool air and surrounded himself with the peaceful, and occasionally annoying noises, of the plants and large insect beasts that surrounded and owned the wilderness outside of towns. Nonetheless, This spot was relatively say, given people like Zelrius himself had gone up here when the Floor was first opened hoping to find stronger monsters and therefore gain more EXP. Since then, It had been mostly desolate and left alone, with the occasional Wasp left alive here and there, and rarely visited by players. That fact was for the reason that either most players were far too high a level to get any real Experience and col from these monsters, or they were far too weak and the needed number of them would make the split outcome equally useless as the former.

Down below, The sun beat down on the plains and was in full swing, Only for a little longer, Zelrius thought to himself, checking the Date of his HUD. It was mid august now, Summer coming to an end, soon to turn to fall, then back to winter, How unfortunate... A flick of his hair, the cool air of the mountain breezing through. Eventually, the boy found a nice rock, Straightened his black bowtie, pulled back dark gloves, and flattened the frills and creases in his white and gold tuxedo. Adjusting the golden sheath on his hip, centering the Azure pendant around his neck, and placing the Hydra skull down on the rock, He say, and for a moment, Enjoyed solitude.

[Starrine 0]

A girl with long, black hair sat in a tall, withered-looking oak tree, which sat at the top of said mountain. Somehow, she'd managed to doze off while watching the monsters trek around; she'd been fighting wasps for awhile, and when her HP got low, she'd decided to climb up into a 'safe' place. With a leg dangling from the tree, she exhaled a soft sigh. Hearing something moving along the mountain top, she froze, eyes widening from their sleepy state. Another monster? Her hand instinctively moved towards her curved sword. However, seeing the blonde-headed boy, her hand retreated, and she simply watched him. Curious.

After a few moments of him sitting in long silence, she decided to approach him. Moving her other leg off of the branch, she jumped down, landing with a soft thump on the grassy ground. "H-hi, there!" The girl called out softly, slowly advancing towards him as not to set him off. Starrine sank onto a flat rock a few feet away from the man, making sure to tuck her dress underneath her as she sat down. "Sorry for approaching you like that," she said with a slight laugh, turning to look at him with a smile. She wasn't sure if he was friendly or not, but she decided to take the chance. "You just seemed so approachable."

[Zelrius 0]

Soltitude didn't last long, as a girl dropped down not too far and began to approach him. Can't be left alone for more than a few moments nowadays. He sighed as she began talking, then apologizing, then explaining herself. For only a moment, the golden haired boy let aggravation show on his face, only to be switched to a narcissistic over-confidence in which Zelrius used to mask many things. "Greetings and Salutations be to you, dear Lady," He stopped, Standing and walking toward her, the dirt making a neat little tapping sound with each step of his ever so clean dress shoes. "Approachable? Aye, I get that a lot," He let out a breath of exasperation clearly bored with this new person already.

When he got close, all Zelrius could think to himself was how he was tired of spending time on the lower floors, running into Low leveled players like this and wasting his time. Mari better put a god damned spring in her step with that scouting already. Nonetheless. as he drew near to the female, His right hand stuck out for a handshake, His left going to the golden and leather pommel of the sword strapped to his right hip. For now, Zelrius would humor her, if for just a little bit.  "You know, it is quite rude not to give someone your own name first?"

[Starrine 0]

Watching as he seemed aggravated for a moment, Starrine tilted her head. She tensed up a tiny bit, barely visible as he walked over to her. Seemingly already bored with the conversation, he sighed, and spoke again. "I see.." She mumbled, eyes scanning his strange get-up. Her face faded from a happy, sincere smile, to a cautious one within only a few moments. As he reached one hand out for a handshake, the other moving for his sword, she smirked a little bit.

Grabbing his left hand instead of the obvious right one, she shook it, once more pushing a bright smile onto her face; amusement shone through in her amber eyes, however, and it was obvious she didn't really care that he was a higher leveled player. "You're right, my apologies! I hadn't thought about it. I'm Starrine, and you are..?" The girl asked, innocently cocking her head and fluttering her eyelashes.

[[ Sassy Starrine, pffhaha. ]]

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius made no mind or note to the small details, not being very analytical about everything, mostly due in part to his infinite boredom with the world around him at the current moment. Once they shook hands, Zelrius took a slightly closer step forward, deciding he better make the best of a bad situation. Running a gloved hand through his hair, the boy spoke once more. "Aye, that's more like it. Starrine? I would say nice name, But I never really understood complimenting people's names. Though I suppose here you can do it and it'd make sense, given that most people choose their own name here, much unlike the real world," Zelrius stopped realizing that is little babbling session may have gotten her lost, partly in due to the fact that it seemed like it was more to himself than directed at her.

His left hand retreated from his right hip and went back to his side. His own blue eyes searching to meet her amber ones. The boy made notes of her appearance, and to say the least, was really quite impressed with what he saw, but quickly shook off, attempting to not seem interested. "Tell me Lady Starrine, What brings you up this peak."

[Starrine 0]

Starrine didn't move as he stepped forward, and kept a cool face as he ran a hand through his hair, and began speaking. A bit confused as he went off on a tangent about.. complimenting name, she lifted her brows and adjusted her footing, flattening out the wrinkles on her dress. As he met her gaze evenly, he seemed to examine her, think something, and then push the thought away, resuming his bored stare again. Lifting her hand to push a strand of hair behind her ear, the girl placed one hand on her hip, staring up at him with a small smile.

"Well, I was fighting those bug monsters, but decided to take a break. Hence the tree," she said, gesturing towards the tree with a little laugh. "Plus it's nice and quiet up here." Her amber orbs softened for a moment. Forgetting it entirely, she paused. Leaning a bit forward, a tad too close in his personal space, she wrapped her fingers around eachother, tucking them behind her back. "You know.." she began, gaze lifting to meet his blue ones, "you usually give your own name after a lady tells you hers." She said with a teasing giggle, leaning back again as to not make him too uncomfortable.

[Zelrius 0]

Tch, simple mindless grinding, how monotonous. Zelrius thought to himself as he was aluded back to the memories of doing similar grinding not too long ago, just with slightly stronger creature. Her words slightly annoyed him, and brought a bit of nostalgia right now. The golden haired boy began to have mixed feelings of the girl. Some lead to him being interested, Some being annoyed, and others being just downright tired of Low Levels like her. Starrine's comment about the silence and "Niceness" of the place, Zelrius automatically threw a smart-ass comment back. "Correction, it was nice and quiet here. Then one of us decided to ruin the other's solitude." He said, his wrist rolling, gesturing to her teasingly.

When she leaned in, Zelrius didn't flinch or lean back, simply closed his eyes for a second, moved his gloved hands up to his neck and adjust his black bowtie, then resumed his gaze to her amber eyes.  "Aye, I apologize, where are my manners? My name is Zelrius," He mouth forming into an egotistical curve as he continued to introduce himself. "Commandant of the Azure Brigade, Level Forty, Champion of the Clash of Blades Tournament, and" Clearly the boy loved showing off, Drawing his weapon wrapped in maroon and sky blue flames "Wielder of the Twinfire Blade."

[Starrine 0]

The dark haired girl laughed at his smart comment, allowing herself to relax a bit. "I suppose so. If you want, I can be quiet too!" She offered with a polite, just barely mocking smile. "Just ask and I'll oblige." Starrine crossed her arms neatly, and gently kicked away a small stone at her feet. Lifting her amber eyes once more to meet his, she listened with interest as he introduced himself. "Zelrius.." She repeated, trying to get a hold on its pronunciation. It was a strange name. Azure Brigade? She was sure it was probably some type of guild, but being a solo player, she didn't really keep track of guild names. Level fourty, however, did cause her eyes to widen a bit. So far, this was the highest leveled player she'd ever met.

"..Impressive," she said after a few moments, gaze fixated on his neat blade. Tightening the bow on her dress, she looked up the showoff, giggling a bit at the fact that if he'd just repeated that to someone in real life, they'd have thought he was a huge MMO nerd with pride issues. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Zelrius. I hope you won't mind talking to a low level like me," she said with a genuine smile, peering up at him as if daring him to make another comment.

[Zelrius 0]

His grinned stayed on his face as he responded to her various statements and answers. "As it is pleasant meeting you as well, Lady Starrine. I am going to be honest here," He said, sheathing his dual flamed sword, extinguishing the flames and everything returning to a nice peaceful state. "In the first bit of this little meet-up, I'd like to admit I wasn't all that thrilled with talking to a low level. Nonetheless, you have proven yourself a slightly more tolerable and even a tad bit pleasant to converse with." The boy spoke, his voice smooth and fluent, only stopping at the end of the sentence, as speaking was a practice of his.

"Now I have a question for you, if you don't mind me asking," He said, another slight step toward up, his eye brows lifting slightly questioningly, more so in a teasing way. "Though I will not ask you to be quiet, I wonder if that "Ask and Oblige" Policy includes things like say, Accompanying me to a nearby city?" The golden haired boy had in his mind the small village just below the mountain, with the goal of possibly doing something a little more fun than sitting on a mountain.

[Starrine 0]

Starrine cocked her head, her hands still intertwined as she stared up at him, eyes fixated daringly on his own. The edges of her lips moved upwards into a pleased smile, somewhat satisfied with herself as he said that she was a tad pleasant to converse with. Allowing a small laugh to escape her mouth, she shrugged her shoulders, fluttering her eyelashes once more. "Well, sir Zelrius, you're fun to talk to, as well," she said with a giggle, putting emphasis on the word sir. She wasn't usually this straightforward with people, but it seemed like the right approach for this one in particular.

Lifting her brows as he continued speaking, stepping towards her again, Starrine followed his every movement. "Hmm.. Well, I have nothing better to do and you asked me nicely, so I'd be glad to oblige. Lead the way!" She said with a smile, nodding and gesturing for him to lead the way. Starrine wondered where they'd be going; but anywhere seemed entertaining enough with this guy. It was fun to speak to him; normally she'd be a stuttering mess, but he just seemed very.. familiar, in some kind of sense.

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius laughed lightly at the way she said sir. The comment made him realize his habit of adding Lady and Sir (Or Ser, depending on his mood of eloquence) to the beginning of everyone whom he spoke of or to, completely by accident. The boy felt a bit embarassed and spoke back to her in response to the comment and giggle, "If calling you lady has bothered you, You're more than free to say so and tell me to stop," Another confident grin "Doesn't mean I will listen, But if you ask nicely enough, I just might consider it." The golden haired boy guessed it probably didn't bother her, she was just teasing, in which is the case why he responded with a tease of his own, testing her personality just a bit more.

He turned looking down the side of mountain to a trail. "Tis a rather long walk, Lady," Now he put emphasis on it, teasing her back. He hooked his elbow out, offering it to Starrine. same as he walked the first floors with Shaya, their arms locked. At this point, this kind of stance was instinctive to Zelrius, and he hadn't even realized he had done it.

[Starrine 0]

Starrine's brows lifted slightly as he spoke again. Wow, he actually does have some empathy, she thought humorously, glancing his way. "It makes me feel like a princess," she joked with a hearty laugh, "now, your highness, on the other hand.." Starrine giggled, sort of intrigued by his confidence; not many could keep their head held that high in this world. It was.. a nice change, however. It wasn't often that she found an over-confident person she actually liked being around, while in Aincrad.. Well, things were different here.

"I've got a good pair of legs, sir" she replied, still laughing a bit. Starrine paused as he held his arm out, kind of confused as what she were to do with it for a moment. Was this normal? She shrugged, and decided to roll with it, hooking her arm with his, a small grin making it's way to her face. "Off we go, then!" The black haired girl laughed, glancing upwards at him.

[[ Considering making her one year younger, since most of the people she's meeting is below her age. o; ]]

[Zelrius 0]

He laughed again at her response. "Makes you feel like a princess huh? Are there other things that the Lady thinks will make her feel like a princess?" His brows furrowed and raised in a teasing manner once more. And Now Zelrius actually believed his previous words. She was in fact pleasant to talk to and converse with, Much to the polarizing opposites that many of Aincrad shared. It was clear to the boy that she was one of few who were receptive to his arrogant nature, even just a little. Nonetheless, His expression changed to clearly show a bit more content then when he had initially begun talking to Starrine. Yet, the arrogant grin didn't move an inch.

"I suppose your legs do work just fine, But y'know if they ever stop, let me know, We can arrange a carrying process, princess." He called her princess, testing whether or not should we take it well. Regardless of which, Zelrius elected to probably never call her that again, as it felt to him like it was slightly mocking, in which he wanted to avoid. Much to the Golden haired boy's surprise, she actually did the arm thing, in which he expected her to respectfully reject. He looked back to her, Dark blue pupils looking at her face then down the mountain. "Shall we get going then?"

[Starrine 0]

Sure, the guy was quite arrogant, but he was pretty funny and once you saw through his teasing, pretty nice, as well. She wouldn't mind sticking around him for a bit longer. He brought out a side of her that anyone rarely saw; she wasn't usually so playful or straightforward. It was fun, to say the least, being in the presence of this guy. "Treat me like royalty?" Starrine suggested in a joking voice, glad to be able to joke with someone in this death game. Plus, for once, her level didn't matter. She let out a nearly inaudible sigh of relief, a smile still forming on her lips.

Saying the first thing that popped into her head, "will do, prince," she paused, as if realizing what she'd just implied, and then glanced away in embarrassment, hoping that he wouldn't notice. Clearing her throat, she nodded, tugging on his arm a bit, trying to brush it off with a laugh. "Lead the way," she agreed, prepared for the long walk down the mountain. She quietly wondered where they'd be going, but didn't worry much about it.

[Zelrius 0]

He began walking down the dirt path of the mountain, the heels of his dark dress shoes lightly making a tap sound with each step he took. Zelrius made a mental note of how easily he got sidetracked, and elected to not let something like this happen again. He looked to Starinne, then back in front of him. Actually, This is a nice little distraction. He thought to himself, thought still argued within his mind whether this was better than his solidarity state he was in before, and finally decided this was much better. Starrine seemed to have a good sense of humor and, in Zelrius's eyes, was actually quite pretty. Despite his ego, That was one of the few things Zelrius wouldn't admit out loud to a girl he had just met, probably much to his luck.

"I suppose treating you like Royalty would make you feel like it," He responded with a laugh and flick of his golden hair. "Does her highness want a surprise, or do you want me to tell you where we are going?" He said, not glancing to her, only continually looking down the path they were walking down. He chuckled lightly at her calling him prince, mostly in embarrassment. For once, his arrogance dropped a peg as his face turned a slight hue of pink. Zelrius decided to try another joke in return. "Well, a Princess always need a Prince," Still in the fluent and smooth voice, only trailing off at the last word.

[Starrine 0]

Rather focused on walking down the mountain so that she wouldn't trip or stumble, she tried not to allow herself to get distracted. Though, she couldn't stop herself from stealing an occasional glance at the boy walking next to her, their arms linked. He was.. despite being pretty smug, kind of cute, in a way. There was something intriguing about him, and though she couldn't put her finger on it, it was enough for her to go off with some random guy. Which, thinking about it now, would've probably gotten her kidnapped or something in the real world. In a sense, she was kind of glad that her real body wasn't at all involved with anyone physically in this world.

With laughter escaping her mouth, she shrugged. "I'm curious about it, but if you want to surprise me, I'm fine with it." Starrine said, gaze fixed on the mountain path that they continuously walked down. Her pink cheeks notched up to bright red as he made the prince comment, and she stumbled for a moment, relying on her linked arm to catch her fall. Pulling herself back up, she glanced at him, somewhat thinking that someone else had made the comment. After glancing around and reassuring herself that it was actually Zelrius, she cleared her throat, trying to come up with something to say in response. "W-well, some princesses, uh, lead by themselves, y'know?"

[Zelrius 0]

"Surprise it is then, Lady Starinne." His pink hue slightly fading away. It was funny to Zelrius, really, He never got embarrassed or had any nervous tendencies, usually. But every once in a while someone would come along and prove to him that he was still the emotional person he was back in the real world. He was fixed on the mountain path, and soon they'd be off of it, down back in the hot air of the woods below. Zelrius disliked that idea, and was far more comfortable with the cold mountain air. So much so that he stopped moving and simply stood there, realizing the air was already warming up just a tad.

Of course, the air wasn't the only reason he stopped. The golden haired boy kind of half frowned at her last statement, a bit disappointed that she may not be interested, despite the earlier conversation. "Well, if you're one of those princesses that do like their own lead, Let me know, and I will find another princess. I apologize if the conversation has made you a bit uncomfortable." Now the pink hue returned, even Zelrius was beginning to get nervous. 

[Starrine 0]

Nodding as he said a surprise, she decided it would be more fun to just find out once they got there. Feeling the air heat up a bit, she was reminded of the humid air in the forest farther down, and internally groaned at the thought of walking through it again. As her partner stopped rather abruptly, she skidded to a stop as well, pink cheeks finally beginning to fade back to a normal color. She lifted her brows in confusion as to why he stopped, however was soon met with a reason.

As if suddenly realizing that her response had come off in a bad manner, she shook her head, laughing a bit. "A-ah, it's not that; I enjoy your company," Starrine stuttered a bit, becoming her tongue-twisted self as she tried to reason with him. "I think I  just got a little surprised is all," she mumbled with a sheepish giggle, glancing down the path. When she looked back up to see his reaction, she found his face tinged with pink, and her heart dropped a bit; had she actually hurt his feelings? Wide-eyed, she stared at him, not sure what to say. She was sure seeing him with such a blush was an uncommon thing, so she did her best to save this picture mentally.

"A-anyways," she said quickly, once more grabbing his arm and avoiding eye contact, she began walking again. "Maybe you could give me a hint as to where we're going?" Starrine asked, trying to change the subject.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Starrine

[Zelrius 0]

(Sorry for late post, was playing a game of Dota :\)

Zelrius began to slowly walk along again after she spoke. Though her words were kind, Zelrius's mood was clearly affected. I suppose I am still emotional... He thought to himself, reputting on the arrogance he had earlier. "Though I am glad you enjoy my company, as I do yours, I feel this has taken a turn neither of us wanted it to." He said stealing a glance at her then back down to the forest ahead as they reached the foot of the mountain. Zelrius contemplated pulling his arm away and walking off on his own, though many things stopped him from doing that. Instead, he closed his arm more, pulling her slightly closer, hoping to maybe mend the past event.

He had clearly made her a bit uncomfortable, and felt a bit bad about it. When she attempted to change the subject, he welcomed it openly and responded with an elusive voice of sorts. "Hints? Isn't that cheating?" He said, teasing once more, but not with the same type of allure as he had before. The golden haired boy also didn't look at her while saying this though his eyebrows still raised in question. His face remained a slight pink as the words came out, still reeling from what was said just a few moments earlier.

[Starrine 0]

[[ I don't mind, haha! c: ]]

Starrine smiled a bit, relieved when he said that he also enjoyed her company. She shrugged as he mentioned it taking a turn for the worst, and glanced up at the sky, blowing her bangs out of her face. "Maybe," she replied, doing a double-take at his face with lifted amber eyes. Catching his gaze in the same glance, she offered a bright smile, pushing him to not worry about it. When he pulled her a bit closer, she felt a pink haze drift over her cheeks once more. Now thinking about it, this was the closest she had ever been to a boy she'd just met. Not wanting to make the situation more awkward than it already was, with a playful giggle, she tugged his arm towards hers and blinked long lashes at him, smile still lingering on her features.

"Cheating? Is it?" She asked with a small laugh, practically feeling the awkward aura that wafted off of him now; it seemed some of his confidence had diminished in the past exchange of events, and she wasn't sure how to make it come back. She had to admit that his child-like blushing was charming in some sort of weird way, and it added a dynamic side to his personality. She wondered what his other expressions looked like, and made it her goal to become good friends with him and see them. "Would one little hint give it away?"