[PP-F8] Building Bridges - COMPLETE!!

[Mack 0]

There was a soft shimmer in the air within the portal plaza of Florenthia Village on the eighth floor of the Aincrad tower. Within a few seconds, the form within the teleportation portal had resolved itself into the hulking blonde form of Mack who was clad, as ever, in the radiant white armor of the Angelic Sheath though today he had replaced the armor's cowl with the gold trimmed crimson hooded cloak that declared him to be the Grandmaster of the Crimson Blades. Moving down the steps and into the plaza proper, Mack took a few moments to survey and get comfortable with his surroundings in the tree-top village of Florenthia. The town itself seemed relatively small and it was strung up among a series of trees that rose from brackish water down below, with the buildings attach to and built out from the various trees being connected by a series of interlocking wooden bridges. Moving into the middle of the plaza to await the arrival of Piera, Lowenthal, and Xion, Mack swung Guillotine down from his back and planted the weapon on the wooden planking of the plaza with his right hand resting on top of the head of the axe looking, for all the world, like a statue as he slipped into his own thoughts.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Mack

[Xion 0]

Xion sighed as he walked up to the teleportation gate on floor one, he was supposed to be meeting Mack on floor eight, to discuss the forming of an Alliance between the Crimson Blades, and a guild called the Velvet room. While usually this would be fine, something was...bugging the tank, as he had not been told about this, usually he and Mack would discuss such things, but this time he had just been sent a PM telling him a place and time. He shook his head, now was not the time for such thoughts. 

 

Before he entered the gate he checked one last time, to see if he was at the least presentable. The player was wearing his Maelstorm Armour set, with his blade, the Slicing Maelstrom strapped to his back, and his shield in his left hand. There was a shoulder piece, with a long cloak attached to it draped over his left shoulder, emblazoned with the colours of the crimson blades. Around his neck he wore a crimson medallion, one similar to that of the other blades, but his was of a crimson shield, showing that he was the second in command. Now sure that he was fit to go to the meeting, he stepped up to the portal, shouting "Teleport: Florenthia Village!" before disappearing in a brilliant blue glow, and re-appearing in the centre of Florenthia village. 

 

Xion then searched for Mack, the blonde haired leader of the crimson blades, eventually finding him, encased in his Angelic sheath armour. "Mack, good to see that I'm not the only one that made an effort for this occasion" he said with a chuckle. 

[Mack 0]

"Yes, we need to make a good impression. The Leader for The Velvet Room is a front line fighter, as is Lessa who heads the Guardians of Aincrad," Mack said in reply to the blonde swordsman's greeting. "If we're going to get an invitation to join the front lines ourselves, we need to make a good impression on these players and forming beneficial alliances with their guilds won't hurt our chances either. However, Lowenthal can't meet us here in a safe zone, he's an orange player though I'm told he's orange for a justifiable reason. As in a reason why you or I would go orange." Mack said in a tone that indicated that the axe-man was going to wait to pass final judgement until he had heard Lowenthal's reasons for player killing from the man himself. 

"We're supposed to meet him and Piera outside of the northern gate of Florenthia here in about ten minutes, so let's get a move on since I don't want to be late for this meeting," Mack said, shouldering his two-handed axe and setting off in the direction of the northern gate to the city. "Nice armor touches, by the way. I like it."

[Xion 0]

Xion nodded in thanks. "I thought having the armour equipped at all times was a better option then just having the cloak for occasions such as this, it shows that we are serious players, with some power and skill. Not just a random group pretending to be a guild" he said, as he followed Mack, the two of them slowly heading towards the gates of the treetop village. As they walked, Xion couldn't help but admire the floor, it was a true wilderness, practically untouched by the players of this world. That was just the canopies however, deep below, on the floor of the jungle could be described as hell. It was dark, MOBs where in high supply and the way back to the village was long...too long. 

 

Xion sighed as they finally arrived at the gate, but there was no sign of Piera...or anyone for that matter. "We're early then..." he said. 

[Piera 0]

Piera was a bit ahead of Lowenthal now that he had told her that the town of Florenthia was close. The trip had not been a happy one for her. She shuddered recalling all of the many bridges they'd had to cross from skyscraper tree from skyscraper tree. Entirely too high. She'd been worried about the actual journey as they'd encountered several mobs, but her guildmate made quick work of them thankfully while she happily stayed at the back to avoid drawing aggro. As she approached the gate that announced the start of the safe zone, the brunette caught sight of a hulking man in white heavy armor and red cloak with gold trim and a teen that she had seen before, though he was in much more impressive armor this time accompanied also by the same red cloak that his fellow was wearing. The bespectacled brunette smiled as she walked up to them, clad in a mix of purple starter clothing and furred heavy armor gauntlets with no weapon out currently, she raised a hand in greeting. "Hey. Sorry for making you guys wait. The mobs on this floor are scary..." Glancing between the two finely armored players, she sighed, "Now I feel under-dressed." Then her face a bit more hesitant and apologetic she asked, "Do you think you could both follow me? Lowenthal stayed more towards the forest as he's a bit worried about getting in trouble being too close to the safe town's gate."

Edited September 3, 2015 by Piera

[Xion 0]

"I do believe this is our contact" Xion said, nudging Mack and gesturing towards the girl that was approaching. Xion looked upon her, he had talked to the girl once in her shop, but only briefly, she was clad in purple coloured starter gear and some gauntlet, it wasn't much but even the greatest started off weak. "Piera..." Xion said, nodding towards her with a smile. "Lead the way, I'm sure that Mack too is eager to meet up with Lowenthal, let's not waste any time" he said, lifting his shield from the ground and waiting for Piera to lead them to Lowenthal. 

[Mack 0]

"Better early than late," Mack replied, though no sooner had the words left his mouth then Piera appeared. "She is, indeed, our contact Xion," Mack replied, crossing to the brunette and taking one of her small dainty hands in his rough blacksmith's hand before raising it to his lips and brushing the back of it with a light kiss. "A pleasure, as always. We'd be delighted to have you lead us to Lowenthal and to provide you with an escort along the way. Please, lead on."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal was impatiently waiting for Piera to return with the other guild. He had chatted with a man named Mack, the leader of another guild., and Lowenthal wanted to pursue a sort of partnership with that guild. Velvet Room was small, around 5 members, which met the minimum by guild standards but several members were doing less and less for the guild. Mostly by being no shows for guild vote. Lowe's top two members, were Piera and Jomei. Clarence was just as active, bu he rarely did anything for the guild other than vote. In fact, that seemed to be the only thing his guild was doing lately, voting and scrambling for new members. He sighed, his guild not living up to the dream he wanted it to be.

Lowenthal rubbed the back of his neck, as he prepared the area he was in for the meeting. He stood before a large tree trunk, about ten feet in width. There were no chairs, or seats but Lowenthal figured the me could stand. At least, for a little while. he leaned on the table, still waiting for Piera to show up. And, as if some god was answering his thoughts, Piera had showed up with two men behind her. "Ah, Piera. Welcome back. I trust she wasn't to tough on you twp." Lowenthal said, welcoming back his friend with a chuckle. "You must be Mack, Grandmaster of the Crimson Blades. And you his plus one." Lowenthal said, welcoming the two men. "I'm Lowenthal. Council member of the Velvet Room." Lowenthal said, his player arrow matching the color of his hair.

"Please. Allow me to say why I wanted this meeting." Lowenthal said, taking a spot on the tree table. "I'll be brief and honest. Velvet Room is declining. I had to remove some members due to inactivity. And a few of my very own council members are walking the same path of inactivity. Even my boyfriend is starting to avoid me more and more." Lowenthal said, somberly. "My most trusted members are both Piera whom you've already met." He said, waving a hand to show off Piera. "And, Jomei, another council member." He said, noting that he forgot to invite Jomei to this meeting. But at least he followed the plus one rule. "But, too my main point which is of course. The front lines." He said, becoming a bit more serious. "From the last meeting, there was about 10 people there. Now as three of those members were extremely skilled, and experienced. There was still some, uncertainty within the group. Whether or not we were strong enough to face the floor boss." Lowenthal said, referring the Mari, Zelrius, and Tristan.

Lowenthal crossed his arms, looking at the table. He needed to talk to Piera about the Velvet Room, but that was for later. Lowenthal was curious, as to why Mack agreed to meet a player killer, for a guild meeting in the middle of the woods. His guild was plenty tough enough. Sure it's members were weak, but they had a system. A system far better than Velvet Room's current Council. "I wanted to ask Mack. What do you think your guild can do to assist the Front Liners with the floor boss?" Lowenthal asked, getting the first part of the guild meeting underway. 

[Piera 0]

Piera nodded back to Xion in greeting with a polite smile before turning her attention back to Mack as he took her hand, she assumed to shake it, but her eyes widened behind her glasses as he turned it to kiss the back of her hand, immediately causing her ears and cheeks to flush at the gesture. Her posture becoming stiff, she nodded a bit jerkily to whatever Mack and Xion had said, turning and walking away from them, not even aware of if they followed or not as she awkwardly retraced her steps back to Lowenthal, her head buzzing with thoughts and questions even as she tried to beat them down.

It didn't take them long to finally come across the very large tree stump that the two Velvet Room members had stumbled upon on their way here. At her friend's teasing remark, she went a bit stiff until she realized that he was just joking and she was about to make official introductions when he launched right into things. Walking over towards the sandy haired dagger user, the brunette stood with her hands loosely clasped in front of her, listening intently. At Lowenthal's own description of their guild, Piera couldn't help but frown at the rather bald and blunt facts that he was stating. It wasn't that she didn't believe it or that it wasn't true (obviously), she just could hardly believe that they had gotten this bad....and moreover that he was informing others that they were this bad off. The most distressing thing mentioned being that even Clarence was avoiding him. That made her gaze turn sharply to her sandy haired friend and she couldn't help but wonder if it was due to his recent cursor change.

But then the topic changed to the front lines, surprising her slightly. It seemed as if this was the true reason that he had called this meeting and she wondered why until he reached the end of his little speech. She had known that Lowenthal was participating on the front lines now due to Jomei, but didn't know that there were so few clearers. Piera's gaze fell to Mack, wondering how he would answer and what he thought of all of this.

[Mack 0]

Mack nodded and followed Piera out in the direction of the place that Lowenthal had selected as the meeting place for the Guild Leaderships of The Velvet Room and the Crimson Blades. The dark haired potion maker was being uncharacteristically quiet as she led them out to where the meeting would take place, but Mack shrugged that off to this meeting between them taking place in a more official capacity than many of their previous encounters. Before too long he, Xion, and Piera were entering a small clearing with a massive tree that had been removed, leaving something of a natural wooden table. Lowenthal had already begun to introduce himself and explain, in frank terms, the situation of his Guild. Given that the high level player's cursor matched his hair color, the blunt honesty was a good sign in Mack's book.

"Indeed, I am Mack, Grandmaster of the Crimson Blades and this is Xion, my Seneschal which is to say the second in command," Mack said, slipping easily into the manners and nature he would use when addressing a non-commissioned officer of equivalent rank to himself in the Army. He considered Lowenthal's remarks carefully before beginning to frame his own responses. Lowenthal had jumped right into business without any beating around the bush, the proper way to do things.

"Right now, we can commit three fighters to the front lines. We have three players who have reached level twenty, and I'll not send anyone to the front lines under level twenty because it's not safe. Beoreson, Xion, and myself are the troops I can commit right now. Grave is getting close and, given enough time, we'll have several players to add to the assault teams. However, I'm starting an army from the ground up and that takes time," Mack said, advancing to the wooden table and placing both of his palms flat upon it to lean on the tree stump. 

"Speaking of time, I'll be frank with you, but it sounds to me as if perhaps the greatest days of your Guild are behind you," the blacksmith rumbled, his storm grey eyes drilling into Lowenthal's and his tone making it clear that he meant no disrespect by the remark. "Speaking frankly, though we're here to discuss a Guild Alliance, might it not be prudent to instead consider a Guild Merger? We have an opening on our Council and, though I'd have to put it to a vote, I believe we could offer you the open Council seat as well as allowing your current Council Members to join the Blades at ranks higher than the standard Recruit. Of course, I quite understand if you need to take such a measure back to your own Council or if you're not interested, I also understand. If that's the case, I would suggest we each appoint liaison's to sit in on the Guild Meetings of the other, simply for informational purposes. I'd suggest you send Piera as your representative to the Blades. She already has a relationship with two of our Council Members, and I'd be open to entertaining any suggestions you might have for our Liaison to your Council."

[Xion 0]

Xion nodded Towards Lowenthal as he greeted them, before going straight into the details of the meeting, obviously not wanting to waste any time. The orange haired man went through introductions, and the current state of his  guild before asking about what the Crimson Blades could do to help on the front lines. Mack's response was accurate, but Xion decided to add on to it. "As for the builds of those that we can send to the front lines right now, Mack is a DPS, Beor is an all around fighter and I am a tank" he said, looking at Lowenthal as he did, before Mack suggested a guild merge. It was a bold move to be sure, but maybe it was...not the best. Lowenthal was stronger than anyone in the guild currently, maybe having a liaison yes but a full merge? "It may be too soon to be discussing such things mack... remember we are still one of the weaker guilds in terms of actual player strength. I am in favour of the Liaison idea though, strong connections between the guilds will ensure a long lasting and healthy alliance" he said, confidence in his voice. 

 

"Also, on the topic of the front lines I think that it may be beneficial, once the alliance is set in stone for both of the guilds to send a small party of scouting missions to new floors, maybe two or three members from each guild which would form the whole scouting party"

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal looked at Mack. "Your friend is right. A full merge would be foolish, and probably something that I would never agree too." Lowenthal said. "Besides, the better days of Velvet Room are not behind us. But, they lie in wait for us. In the future." Lowenthal said. He crossed his arms, and looked down at the rings of the table again. He didn't like this idea of an 'army' that Mack was building. If he would grow to strong, then that would have problems. Knowing Zelrius, enough power can make even the kindest man drunk with power. "I agree to the idea of a Liaison. But on one condition. There is no Guild Membership change. These are people, not items to be traded like cattle." Lowenthal said, looking back up from the table. "I propose that for future meetings that you message dear Piera here, and she can choose if she wants to sit in. And I'll do the same, but with your man Xion there." Lowenthal said, pointing.

[Piera 0]

Piera surveyed Mack as he laid out what he could currently offer to the front lines and what his level limit was to sending future Crimson Blades to be clearers. The brunette nodded at the number, finding it reasonable enough, though to be honest she had little experience with such things. She was more focused on Mack's out of the blue proposal. She realized that (especially after Lowenthal's frank description of the Velvet Room) that it would seem like their guild's days were numbered, but a merger... The bespectacled woman seriously doubted that Lowenthal or Jomei would be willing to do such a thing. Not to mention that members of the Crimson Blades might not be too keen on the idea either. Her point was made when Xion spoke up that while an alliance was fine, it was too soon to consider a merger considering the newness of their guild. Her posture straightened somewhat as Mack spoke her name, offering her to act as representative for their guild and for her to sit in on the Blades' guild meetings. She glanced at Lowenthal and nodded, thinking that that was definitely a good idea, but wasn't sure who to suggest to her friend as their own liaison. She only knew two of their members well and Mack was excluded because he was the leader and Beoreson....well she couldn't see him sitting through a meeting happily. Otherwise she'd only had brief encounters with Xion and Grave, not long enough to get a feel for them quite.

The brunette's interest was caught at Xion's suggestion of a joint operation between their two guilds as a scouting party to search new floors. "That sounds promising. It could definitely build repertoire between the two guilds not only between the leaders and representatives but regular guild members as well. Though of course they'd have to be our best." She momentarily worried about squabbling happening out in the field if there was no clear 'leader', but hoped that they'd be able to find a solution before they enacted such a plan.

Piera wasn't surprised at Lowenthal's immediate agreement with Mack's second in command and dismissal of the merger. But what did was his tenseness. There was a certain way he was holding himself and a tightness around his eyes that made her wonder if there was something else at play. Now wasn't the time to ask however so she made a memo in her mind to ask him about it later in private. The bespectacled woman frowned as her sandy haired friend agreed to the alliance on one condition that didn't entirely make sense to her. "I'm sure no one is suggesting such a thing Lowenthal. However, be that as it may, there's nothing any guild can do from stopping a player from leaving a guild to join another one if they so choose. Can we all agree that there will be no hard feelings of any player joins either guild to join the other, or truly, any other guild?" She looked between the three men and hoped that she wasn't the only one thinking this.

When Lowenthal agreed to her being the representative and suggesting Xion also, the spearwoman nodded, surveying the younger man. "That sounds fine. Also, we should all exchange contact information so that we don't have to play tag the messenger." Referring of course to herself that had played telephone between the two guild leaders until now. To cement this sentiment, she pulled up her menu and send a friend request to Xion, who was the only one here that she didn't have on her friends list.

Once that was done, she cleared her throat and tried to rally her courage to begin, "I've also been thinking about something else. A while ago, I briefly considered the idea of a Crafting Guild, but wasn't willing to leave the Velvet Room to do so." Her eyes glanced apologetically to Lowenthal for a brief moment before continuing, "That being said, it might be beneficial for both guilds if we were to buy from each other when needed. I'm not aware of how many people in your guild have professions Mack, but I still seriously doubt you have one of each yet, and the same can be said for us. We could all benefit if we were to help each others businesses by going to them first rather than some other professional. I know that Mack and Beoreson are excellent blacksmiths and that you have a cook. We have a tailor, alchemist and bard. And with any luck both of us will have more. Perhaps we could even orchestrate material gathering parties."

[Mack 0]

Mack shrugged his broad shoulders at the idea of the merger being discarded by the other players that were present. He hadn't truly expected Lowenthal to go for it, but it had been worth a try anyway. Adding a high level player like Lowenthal to the Blades, even if it was through a Guild merger, would have given the Crimson Blades instant respectability though it also would have been a bit of a demotion for Lowenthal. It was clear, though, that Lowenthal had the wrong idea about what a Liaison would be doing. "You are quite right that players are not commodities to be traded, and I wouldn't trade my Seneschal for anyone in The Velvet Room, including you Lowenthal. I mean no disrespect by that remark, but I trust Xion with my life and I've only just met you," Mack rumbled, clapping Xion on the shoulder with one massive hand.

"Liaison's would only sit in on Guild meetings for each guild, but would have no voting rights and they would not become members of the other Guild. Piera will remain in The Velvet Room and Xion in the Crimson Blades, unless they or any other member of our guilds should decide of their own volition to change their guild allegiance. At the end of the day, the goals and aims of each of our guilds are very much the same, assuming that Piera is a good representative of what the Velvet Room stands for," the large blonde man continued, speaking in the same low rumbling tone.

"Piera also makes a good point about linking our guilds, in a limited sense, economically. We have three blacksmiths, a merchant, a chef, a tailor, an alchemist, a performer, and an artisan. We had a fisherman, but he's no longer with us," Mack said, referencing the recently deceased Lindow. "Still, I know we've thrown a good bit of business Piera's way, and I for one will continue to do so."

[Lowenthal 0]

(As it's been a full 24 hours, I'm skipping Xion so that we may move on. No disrespect, just need to get threads done.)

Lowenthal thought for a moment. "I have just the man for scouting." He said, referring to Jomei. "He's a good man, and practical. He'd be more then willing to go scouting." Lowenthal said. And it was then that he realised that Xion was to Mack, as Piera was to him. He liked him, well at least respected him. Mack, had a bit of work to do to impress Lowenthal. Lowenthal had seen guys like him before, time and time again. What surprised him was that he was going with a Glass Cannon build. He was a bit too forward, and something about him didn't sit right with Lowenthal. Perhaps it was, his lack of eyebrows? Lowenthal shook his head once, and let out a chuckle. "We've only got a Tailor of our own. As well as two Alchemists, and a Bard. But we're hard workers in our own way. And I believe, that I'm the second highest ranking tailor as well." Lowenthal said, tooting his own horn if only a bit. The only tailor he knew that was a higher rank than him was Ariel, ex-leader of Absolute Pin.

[Piera 0]

Piera was glad that Mack was like minded in not thinking that they would be trading around guild members like Pokemon cards, smiling slightly as the statuesque man clapped his companion on the shoulder. It was good to see such camaraderie and trust, especially in guildmates where it mattered most. When he outlined what the duties for the liaisons would be and segued into a questioning statement that his interactions with her was a good indicator of the Velvet Room's morals, the brunette glanced at Lowenthal and since he hadn't said anything, she answered professionally, "I'd like to think so. We're not a large guild by any means, but we do have a moral compass that we always try to abide by." Her eyes momentarily flicked to her friend's cursor with a sympathetic glance behind her glasses before continuing, "I have a pretty good idea about the Crimson Blade's stance on a few things from interacting with you Mack, but for the benefit of others, are there any things that your guild feels strongly enough about to mention?"

Her head turned from Mack to her sandy haired friend when he spoke of knowing who to offer as a scout and she smiled, having a fair guess at who it could be. "As long as it's just scouting." The alchemist cautioned, knowing their ginger friend's opinion on going into major floor boss battles.

When Mack mentioned his guild having a player that was a fisherman but was no longer with them, her mind immediately slipped to the worst conclusion and frowned with a sympathetic and somewhat shaken look. "I'm so sorry for your loss." For a moment, she felt a bit off balance but knew that now was not the time to dwell on such things when they were supposed to be discussing business. "Most of my customers have been Crimson Blade members lately. You guys are single-handedly buying me out and at the same time helping me pay for a full set of perfect items." Her mouth quirked in a grateful yet amused smile.

Piera's eyebrows raised slightly as Lowenthal mentioned that the Velvet Room had two alchemists and briefly wondered if it was Clarence or the other member that she hadn't met yet before getting distracted as her friend bragged a bit about his tailor skill. "Yep, he's the best damn swimsuit crafter you'll ever find in SAO." She quipped with a teasing smirk.

[Xion 0]

Xion smiled and nodded as he listened to the other members of the guilds talk, deciding to stay quiet for a little bit as they spoke. "As for our stance, we are an honourable guild that strives to help and train those who seek to join our folds. While we are strongly against PKs I can see that Lowenthal here is a good man, I'm sure that he had his reasons" he said, with a smile before Piera made the swimsuit comment. "I may have to buy something from Lowenthal, I don't have enough casual clothing"

[Mack 0]

"Agreed on the scouting," Mack said after thinking it over for a few moments. "I've heard whispered rumors of major changes coming to the combat engine for SAO," the blonde man said darkly. "Bigger mobs that hit harder, more defined roles for players. It's all very quiet at the moment, unconfirmed rumors. But, if it's true then alliances and parties will be more important than ever when it comes to scouting at the front lines. If your scout needs an extra damage dealer and a tank, we're ready to go with him," Mack rumbled, leaning on the tree stump table. "As for things we feel strongly about, there are only a few. You only PK in self defense or to protect another player. Help the lower level players. That's it." The blonde man fell silent again and then offered a hand to Lowenthal. "Do we have an agreement?"

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal's eyebrow twitched slightly as Mack made his demand. Lowenthal place his palms on the table and leaned in. "Mack." Lowenthal said. "Did you just, tell me what to do, what I think you just did?" Lowenthal asked, in a serious tone. "Do you think that for one second. That I enjoyed murdering that man?" Lowenthal said, losing his cool. If he had a button, Mack certainly pushed it. "I don't enjoy killing people. And I'm sure that if I did, I'd still tell you to shove it. I mean, where the hell do you get off, telling me what to do? This meeting is not to all of a sudden discus the color of my cursor, but whether or not you and I can work together to solve a common problem." Lowenthal said, catching his breath. Lowenthal looked at Piera. "After the meeting, we need to talk." Lowenthal said, giving her a soft smile. Not wanting to make her worry. Lowenthal turned back to Mack. "We require members, and you have more then plenty. I'd like it if you'd turn some hopeful recruits my way." Lowenthal said, holding out his hand. "Not anyone already inaugurated of course. Just those, asking around, looking for a place to stay. I mean, if we're allies, it shouldn't matter. Right?" Lowenthal said, waiting to see if Mack accepted his counter offer. His tone was far more calm now.

[Piera 0]

Piera was glad of Xion's positive attitude and light tone, smiling as he mentioned needing to stop by Lowenthal's shop for some casual clothing. Her expression became more serious and somewhat apprehensive as Mack mentioned changes to SAO's combat engine. If that was true, it would be a blow to them all, especially boss raid party. There wouldn't be much time to acclimate before their lives would depend on how much they knew. "Thank you, we appreciate it." The brunette listened as the blonde man laid out the things that he and his guild felt strongly about. It wasn't a surprise, though she'd been prepared for a bit more than just that. She didn't think it would be a problem since she was sure everyone in the Velvet Room felt much the same, though perhaps not all as strongly on the part about helping the lower leveled players.

As the axe wielder extended his hand over the large stump to her friend, she looked over at Lowenthal and his expression was anything but accepting. At his flat no-nonsense tone, Piera's eyebrows raised and when he asked if Mack thought that he enjoyed murdering the player that gave him his orange cursor, a man apparently, the bespectacled young woman paled. As he let loose a mini tirade, her mouth opened half in shock and half to want to try to say something, anything to try and calm her friend and the situation. Her entire body was taught with anxious tension and she was half afraid that one of them would snap and she'd have to get between them.

But then he took a deep breath, seeming to calm himself and glanced at her and said that they needed to speak after the meeting. Shutting her mouth, the alchemist nodded wordlessly, her expression filled with concern. "Lowe...I-I'm sure that he wasn't trying to insinuate anything like that. Right Mack?" Piera looked over at the other guild leader expectantly.

Her sandy haired friend's return terms surprised her though and made her do a double take back at him. "I...I'm not sure we have the right to ask that Lowe, even as allies." She stated cautiously before continuing, "I wouldn't even feel right if Mack asked us to do that if we were the bigger guild. Which guild a player chooses to try and join isn't our decision, it's theirs. I can understand if perhaps Mack feels that the Crimson Blades need to be trained more before accepting new members or simply not accepting a person for one reason or another and instead recommending the Velvet Room as another guild, but otherwise..." She drifted off uncertainly, looking between the two guild leaders with vague anxiety.