(F1- OP) The Lake

[Jomei 0]

It was not a very frequent place Jomei visited, but it was most likely his favorite place on Floor One. He honestly was not sure of the exact placement of this lake, being Zandra was the one that had led him here last time.. but he had a general idea of where it would be. After walking awhile from the Town of Beginnings, through a smaller portion of the forest, and over some small hills, Jomei had found the place once again at last. 

He smiled and let out a sigh of relief when he saw the sun shimmering on the large body of water and walked forward, admiring the scenery. The serene atmosphere of this little get away really took a lot of the stress off of Jomei's mind, which there seemed to be a lot of lately.. being more of his close friends were becoming more and more distant, if not disappearing from sight altogether. He closed his eyes and let out a light sigh, trying to ease his mind. Upon opening them, he found the closest tree to him and walked up to it. He slowly sat down at the base of the tree and leaned against it, looking up at the canopy of leaves the tree placed over him. Jomei knew it had been awhile, but it was something he should get back into, so lifting up his hand, he opened his inventory and took out his old trusty lute. The instrument took place in his hands and Jomei's lips curved into a soft smile. Getting a feel for the instrument once again, he slowly began to pluck at the strings.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Jomei

[Oikawa 1]

I hate this floor. Aside from my shop there's nothing keeping me here...yet here I am. And in the woods no less. Thinking about how I can explain my absence from the front-lines. How do I tell them that I left because I couldn't handle it? That me and Ko weren't as strong as we seemed? That the idea of my first boss fight brought me to my knees and I hadn't the strength to rise above and challenge it? That the Faint displayed cowardice and had no faith in himself? How does one explain that? You don't, you keep it to yourself. Locked away forever...

Now all I can do is beat this game. Not just for myself but for everyone I've let down in the last two months. And for Christ's sake what is that strumming ringing about? I can't focus with that going on. 

Standing up, the blonde followed the noise throughout the forest and spotted a familiar face. Well if it isn't Jomei. I wonder what he's doing on the lowlies...

[Koumori 0]

I had found a section of floor one I had never seen before, which is surprising given the amount of time I've spent here. The place was a clearing some ways into the woods and at the center was a pretty decent sized like. I had arrived a few minutes prior, and was walked down towards the water to get a better look. I reached it and knelt down. The lake was stunning, so clear and still that the bottom of even the center was clearly visible. The water looked almost inviting. I briefly contemplated going in when a sound totally disrupted my train of thought. I couldn't tell what it was, but it sounded like some sort of instrument. I hadn't noticed someone here when I arrived, so whoever was making the noise must've just came here. I didn't feel like going for a swim with other people watching so I decided I might as well leave. I had better things to do then sit there anyway. Unfortunately, when I began my return I discovered that the sound was coming from the distance I was headed. I'd be passing by the player as I left, something I wasn't too thrilled about. Whatever, I would just keep walking. As I got closer the player eventually came into view, it was a guy leaning against a tree. Off in the distance I noticed another man walking towards him. Super. I kept my pace and came up to the guy. I decided to say something as I approached. "Guess this place isn't as secret as I thought."

[Calrex 0]

"...aaand I'm back here on the first floor again. Huh, strange that I somehow end up on this floor, even though the upper floors are now becoming more and more active."

Calrex gave a small sigh as he walked along in the fields, clad in the Grand Dragoon armor. Unlike his iconic Grand Chariot, the deep-sea blue gear consisted of a pair of pauldrons, poleyns, and a single gauntlet over his left hand. Underneath was his casual combat clothing, the light blue fur-lined coat and white shirt covering his top, while his dark grey pants and brown boots clothed his legs. Since he was on the lower floors he opted away from bearing the Grand Blade or any of his weapons, relying simply on his <<Martial Arts>> ability.

He swiped on his menu, pulling up his friends list once again. One of the lower-level players he had assisted recently, Lindow, had disappeared from his list. Since he was in the Starting City, he was able to discover the man's fate: He was killed, gone from SAO permanently. The memory brought yet another sigh to his lips before putting his hands in his jacket pockets, "To think that Lindow was somehow killed, how in the world did that happen? From what I understood he had real-life combat experience from being in law enforcement, so he should usually be more careful? Was he player-killed, or was it by a monster?"

As he continued contemplating his eyes widened in surprise as he saw the list of players in his vicinity. One was Jomei, whom he had not seen since Lowenthal's beach birthday party. However, the second listing caught his attention, "Oikawa...he's been missing for a while now..."

Immediately pulling up his tracker he activated his <<Reveal>> skill, discerning their location before using his <<Sprint>> skill to quickly move, breaking through the trees to emerge at a nearby lake. At the same time he looked up, "Roc, give me a hand here..."

In a flash his blue peregrine falcon familiar materialized in the air before hovering above, "Alright, where are they?"

[Jomei 0]

Jomei continued to strum at his lute, playing the music he missed so much. Doing such a thing really helped to put his mind at ease, and with everything happening in his life at the moment.. a little escape from the hardships SAO were bringing him was very well needed. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, his slight smile turning into a frown. He gently let his lute down as he stopped playing, "Things have been a lot harder.. ever since she disappeared again.." he opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. He heard the sound of something shuffling in the trees above him, like a bird landed on a branch of the tree. Shifting his view upwards, he noticed it was just that. In fact, it was his owl companion that was taking a rest on the tree above him. The frown on his face turned back into a smile. Another sound drew his vision forward again, the sound of shifting grass as someone walked towards him. He looked to the young player as he walked towards him.. but he did not recognize him. Jomei shook his head, "Well, I don't come here very often.. So I guess its still somewhat secret." 

[Oikawa 1]

A crisp breeze brushed through his bangs as he stepped into the clearing. Glancing back at Jomei, Oikawa spotted a greenie he had never seen before. Another new face? Have I been gone that long? Or am I just really bad with faces? No matter...I should be taking my leave. Rather than approach the two, Oikawa opted to turn around. Breaking back into the foliage, he pressed on through the forest. His destination was obvious as he was heading back to town. Unbeknownst to him, a flutter of blue passed by overhead. The bird would've been a reminding sight had he seen it, but the blonde wasn't worried or paying attention to it. 

Continuing on, he began to make a push for the tree line. Time to get off this wretched floor. I need to train. 

[Opal 0]

Opal had found a lake that was surrounded by the lush nature of the forest, a spot where she could get away from Guild Activities and just do what she wanted or at least for a little while. She had been swimming in the cool depths of the water for awhile now and had no idea if anyone was actually in the area. She abruptly ascended to the surface and came out with a splash, her arms out to her sides as she her soaking body and wet raven hair clung to her backside. When she was walking through the water she overheard some slight conversation and the voice of male players. Opal didn't go out of her way to go search for these voices, but she simply stayed by the lake, sitting in the grass and kicking her feet in the water looking up at the rather large mountain that was sitting over the horizon. Feeling that familiar itch, she pulled up her inventory and and a lavender calming stick had appeared between her fingers and took a slow drag from it before expelling the lavender scented plume into the air. Now...that was what she needed. A little fun in the sun, a cigarette and some nice male company would be just great. 

 

[Koumori 0]

(Haha it's kinda weird to figure this out when one person is leaving and the other one is really far away)

The player who was playing the instrument stopped shortly before I reached him. His attention was drawn to something above him before he return his gaze to me in order to reply to my comment. "Right, well it's a nice place" I was kind of distracted when I answered as I decided to check out what had stolen his attention. Above us through the trees I spotted a large bird being ridden by a player. Id never seen something like that before so I was taken aback. I would've watched it for awhile longer but a sound deeper in the woods caught my attention. I turned my head down to see yet another player, but this one was walking away. He must've seen the two of us here and decided he didn't want to deal with us, something I could understand. Once I thought I had taken everything in I returned the the player under the tree to say goodbye when I heard yet another noise, this time behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see a woman emerge from the lake. How had I not noticed her when I was over there? As I looked at the black haired woman I realized she looked familiar to me. Her name was Opal. Ugh, I didn't want to deal with any of this. Too many times had I been drawn into massive parties without knowing. And in this case it seemed like more and more people were appearing out of thin air. Maybe this guy knew something about them. "Are these players friends of yours?"

[Jomei 0]

Jomei smiled softly and nodded, "Aye. Last time I was here.. I was bidding farewell to an old friend who had passed." Jomei looked out past the boy in front of him, noticing a spot on a tree on the far side of the late, a dagger sitting at the base. He let out a sigh of relief, knowing no one had touched the weapon that marked Axios' grave. He looked back up to the other player, who seemed a little bit distracted and nervous even.. "You alright lad? Hope by me coming here I did not disturb you." The ginger haired man pushed himself up off of the ground, the green cloak behind him un-bunched as his body straightened out. "I'm Jomei by the way."  After introductions, the player looked past Jomei, as if looking at something. He continued to look around the area.. Jomei not sure what he was looking for. He finally asked if I knew any of the players he had just seen. "Oh?" Jomei turned around first to see the player who was walking away. He squinted to see the man, but he could recognize the unruly blonde hair and cloak anywhere, "Oikawa?" he shouted over to him to get his attention. After that, Jomei heard the sound of splashing coming from the lake, and the two players looked over to see what it was. It was a woman who had been under the water and came up for air. With her back turned, Jomei could not recognize the figure.. but when she began to swim towards the shore, pulling out a lavender scented cigarette upon reaching it, Jomei noticed it was Opal. He was not too familiar with the girl yet.. had only just met her a day or so before. "Opal! You're here too?" he called over to the girl waving. He then turned back to the other player with a smile, "I suppose they are friends of mine then" he laughed lightly.

Edited September 5, 2015 by Jomei

[Calrex 0]

"Dagnabit his tracker moved."

Calrex gave a sigh as he watched Oikawa's tracker move away from Jomei and the other two that had arrived. Looking up he gave a motion to Roc to follow Oikawa as he turned back around, "How in the world did he get by with neither of us grabbing his attention? I wonder if he's a bit out of it from being MIA for a while. I know that Arekkusu seemed to be the same the first time I met him..."

He gave a small sigh as he executed his <<Sprint>> again before dashing back through the trees after the blonde.

Meanwhile Roc had managed to finally catch up to the Faint as he used his hunting swoop to pick up maximum speed, a little over 200 mph before touching down on a rock in front of Oikawa, turning to face him as the falcon nudged his wing, hoping to stall while his partner caught up.

After some time Calrex slid to a stop as he got into close range of where Roc was, catching his breath, "Geezes...it's...been...a...while...man..."

 

[Opal 0]

Opal smiled, but the two men behind her couldn't see it. Finally they had noticed the vixen as she was lounging on the edge of the lake. She looked over her shoulder, her hot lips curving into an enticing smile. She shifted her body as the wet hair stuck to her lower back. She lifted the hand that held the purple stick and waved it gently in the air to the now recognizable irish voice, Jomei. She swore her heart just skipped a beat when he said her name out loud. She wasn't going to bother the two, she just wanted to have a small break before having to deal with any guild affairs. Lawfer had requested her help for a Quest earlier, and she wasn't going to turn down the offer as they were both recruits within the guild it would also give her a chance to say 'goodbye' and at least meet the handsome blonde instrumentalist. 

 

 

She turned her body over now, her black hair drying in the sun as she got into a cute little pose with her legs sitting and staring at the men, "If you wanna come over and have a seat, I wouldn't mind the company. I'm just here to get a little..." she looked around, possibly not able to get a tan in the game. She shook her head, her eyes beaming at Jomei and less at the other. She had met the other one not too long ago, he said something about being a bother to the new player she was attempting to help but gave it very little thought now. Perhaps he could see her outside the guild and just put the past behind them. 

"I won't bite...hard. I promise..." she gave a mock pout, flicking the ashes to her side as they seem like purple flower petals dancing in the wind. A special effect that her alchemy prowess were able to create within the item's properties.  She smoothed her silky legs out with the palms of her hands, and looked back towards the crystalline waters. It was a beautiful sight and she couldn't help marvel at the scenery. It was just enchanting. 

OOC: Image incoming, also Calrex if you by chance are reading this. You should introduce yourself to Opal. ;) She'll know who you are by your name as Lindow talked to her about you in great lengths. 

Edited September 5, 2015 by Opal

[Koumori 0]

It turns out Jomei did know all the people that were gathering, although he didn't seem to be expecting them. He waved to Opal who was still by the lake as I watched the player on the bird block the path of the player who was attempting to leave in the woods. I could tell if it was a hostile move or not but it seemed like he wanted to speak with him at the very least. Unless they came over I'd leave them alone. I turned my attention back to Jomei and Opal. The woman was teasing the two of us both verbally and physically, forming a seductive pose and bekoning us over to her. She pouted her lips and ran her hands across her legs, I could see what Grave had been talking about. Well normally I wouldn't have said anything to her but she had already seen me so I felt it would be rude if I just turned and left. "I know her at least, I'll come with you to say hello." I said to Jomei, who appeared happy to see Opal. I began making my way back down towards the lake and to the waiting girl. 

[Jomei 0]

((OOC: Just since things kinda got out of hand, posting order is gonna be: Jomei, Oikawa, Koumori, Calrex, Opal. Starting with my post here))

Jomei crossed his arms as he looked out onto the lake from where he was standing. His eyes then shifted to Opal when she called out to the two, inviting them over to sit by the lake with her. Koumori then offered to go with him to say hi, since he knew her as well. Jomei nodded, and the two began  to walk towards the water. "I don't believe I got your name, by the way." he said over to the other player he walked with towards the lake. "So what brought you over to this lake anyway? Just trying to get away?" he let out a light chuckle, knowing that was the same reason he came here in the first place. 

As the two approached the shore, Jomei decided, now in the heat of the sun and not in the shade, to remove the cloak he wore over his armor. Reaching up to his neck, he unbuckled the belt holding the cloth together. The cape fell to the ground and disappeared in a white light, going back into his inventory. He now simply wore his casual clothes, which consisted of a sleeveless green shirt with a collar, tied loosely together at the top. He also wore darker green pants and high brown boots, one of his arms with bandage wraps on his bicep and forearm, the other arm covered a green sleeve running from his hand to just before his shoulder, slight armor plates covering certain areas. 

At the lake side, Jomei crouched down next to Opal and smiled, "Good to see you again." He then shifted to take more of a comfortable sitting position, one of his legs resting horizontally and the other vertically, his elbow resting on his knee in front of him. "You know, I don't think I've ever actually seen anyone swim in this lake before.. always thought about it myself from time to time." he scratched the back of his head. He looked at the woman and, somehow not noticing it before, realized she was wearing a rather 'interesting' bathing suit. He quickly turned his head towards the water, a slight blush to his cheeks. He cleared his throat, "S-so how have things been with the Crimson Blades?"

[Oikawa 1]

The sound of something cutting through the air alerted the blonde to the presence of someone, or rather something. His rapier at the ready, he quickly turned, just as a bolt of blue touched down on a near by rock. Ironically enough, this bolt was Roc. Calrex's blue peregrine companion. The sight was welcomed and saddening at the same time. He thought about King and how he left him behind at a ranch he had heard about from Keith before his disappearance. I should go visit him soon. If he'll eve want to see me. His train of thought was quickly interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice cutting through the air.

Whipping around, the blonde was rather confused on how to react. His buddy, fellow SC member, and brother in arms suddenly broke free from the chains that one would call a forest. His signature blue hair, and typical attire remained unchanged from the most part. Very much remniscent of the old Cal. A grin managed to form itself as the blonde looked at Calrex, "Indeed it has Cal. Indeed it has. It's been what? Two months since our last adventure?"

[Koumori 0]

Jomei nodded and walked with me down towards Opal. Along the way he asked me for my name, apparently I hadn't said what it was. Not surprising, I hadn't planned on staying. "It's Koumori." After I introduced myself he asked what my reason for being there was. Easy enough to answer: I didn't have one. "No I just came across it. I saw the lake through some trees. By the looks of it that's why you were here though, right?" I didn't know why he was chuckling to himself but I just ignored it. The two of us reached the edge of the lake and sat down next to Opal. Up close I got a better look at her attire. She was wearing a bikini that was pretty...different. I caught myself looking and quickly brought my eyes back to her face. There was no doubt about it, she was definitely trying to show herself off. I couldn't necessarily blame her, she certainly had what was necessary. I didn't have anything against it either, but I knew I wasn't interested in girls like that. I saw it as being kind of conceited in a way. I preferred it more when girls that were understated. Even if I was into that, like I noted before, she was too old for me. I noticed she also had some purple thing in her hand that she occasionally brought to her mouth and...it was a cigarette. Seriously? Even in a game? Jeez. Never mind, I put that all aside and opened my mouth to speak. "Actually I was just about to do it myself, until I heard you playing that is." Jomei asked Opal how things in the guild were and a sour expression crept onto my face. "I can never seem to escape Crimson Blade talk, can I?" I said with a sigh. I was talking about every instance in general, but specifically when Abalasster had recently tried to recruit me. Ugh make it stop. 

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, something like that. Certainly a lot more that usual, for sure."

As Calrex saw his old friend's familiar grin he gave a friendly smile in response as he gave a nod to Roc, "Nice work. Go ahead and take a break for now."

His falcon immediately responded by giving a few flaps to get airborne before vanishing in a flash of light, dematerializing for the time being, "In any case it looks like you've definitely been hard at work. Your level's certainly gone up from before."

"Well, I'm certainly one to talk. My level's skyrocketed from before, that I think I've got the highest level, or at least close to. Ever since I got that strange item in my inbox and used it..."

"In any case, how have you been? I thought you fell off the face of Aincrad or something for a while there."

[Opal 0]

Her smile was from ear to ear when the two boys came over to sit with her. She was blowing out a thick blanket of lavender into the air when they had arrived and moved the lavender stick to her other hand away from the two others. Force of habit of smoking in the real world, she did her best to keep her dirty habits to herself, but she was mostly with other smokers as well. Out of respect she flicked the ashes away and would blow in the other direction. Jomei spoke and there went her heart racing as fast as it could, she blushed when he spoke, that accent was hot. 

"Yeah? I just found the place not too long ago and marked it on my map. This is the last time for a while I will be able to enjoy such a thing. So I thought, why not? Might as well make my last remaining days memorable memories...."  Once more she flicked the purple ashes from her lavender stick and continued on with the explanation as it seemed to coincide with her being here. Koumori had a look on his face that Opal wasn't sure of how to interpret, was it the cigarette, how she looked or perhaps it was guild talk. She didn't wanna set him off in any sort of way, she was trying to compromise. 

She cleared her throat, "Well, that's why I am out here. I will be going on hiatus from the Blades in a few days. I was scouted out by a shinobi teacher not too long ago after a material hunting trip. Aparently I have what it takes to be akin to his nature. Its a good opportunity for me to grow up...I guess. So I am just out here having some fun until my training starts. I'm somewhat of a wild child at heart and very free spirited. But many people that I have come across just find me as a burden, or a whiny bitch. I wanna change that, not for them...but more so for myself. I should learn how to use more than just my body..." she explained and then continued, "Oh! If my appearance is a little...too much for you two, I can change into something less...revealing. Its not very comfortable to swim with my clothes on and I wasn't expecting anyone to be out here today to be honest..." She slid her feet from the grass and brought her knees up to her chest to cover herself up, but she had forgotten that her bikini bottoms were just as revealing as the top.   

[Jomei 0]

Jomei closed his eyes and softly smiled, "A friend showed me this place a couple of months ago.. Like I said, we used it as a place to pay respects to our departed friend. But its just such a peaceful place, that I knew I needed to come back again. Ive just been.. under a lot of stress lately.. Close friends disappearing..Helping run a guild.. Getting called out to the front lines.." he shook his head "A lot of work if I do say so myself.." By the time he opened his eyes, the two had already met up with Opal. 

Jomei listened to Opal talk about how she would not be able to enjoy something like this soon enough, and he slightly frowned. He honestly thought that he had it hard.. but he at least had free time, for now at least.. "Oh.. Why is that?" he spoke softly, hoping everything was alright with the girl. She then went on to talk about how she was going to be taking a leave of absence from the Crimson Blades and go train.. hoping to change herself in the long run as well. Jomei's frown slowly turned into a soft smile. He was happy to hear that it was not a bad reason for her time being taken away from her..but at the same time, he really liked the fact she wanted to go out and change herself for the better.. to become stronger and to even make herself a better person. It was not that Jomei thought she was a bad person to begin with.. quite the contrary.. He was just one to think that everyone could use time like that to discover themselves. 

Opal cut her story a little short and mentioned her attire possibly distracting the two men.. she could probably tell by the blush on Jomei's cheeks. She offered to change her clothes if that would make the situation any better, "N-No you don't have t-.. I mean if you want.. I .. uh." Why was he stuttering over his words like this, making a fool of himself. And of course, since he was in an embarrassing situation.. it only made his accent come out slightly stronger. He shook his head, "Well, how are you supposed to go swimming in your clothes. In fact.." Jomei stood up and lifted his hand to open his inventory, "Koumori.. I know you mentioned you were gonna do the same thing.. Hell, might as well all together now." he smiled, as his green casual clothes disappeared in a flash of white light, being replaced by swim shorts of a similar color. The ginger haired man then stepped forward and sat right next to Opal, putting his legs into the water. After letting out a sigh of relief, he hopped forward, letting the rest of his body fall in. He rested his elbows on the land behind him and smiled. "Okay.. this was a great idea." 

[Oikawa 1]

The blonde stifled a small chuckle as remembered something from his time away. "Nearly did haha. My time spent away from the front-lines, Ko, the guild, King, and my friends sent me on a spiral I'd like to not repeat. But I'm fine now. Though I guess my demeanor is changed. A lot less caring nowadays and I seem to be following Zel's steps in the ways of haughtiness. But never mind that, what brings you to this neck of the woods?"

Readjusting the clasp on his jacket, his gaze shifted to the bluenette as he awaited his response.

[Koumori 0]

As we were walking down towards Opal Jomei told me about his history with the spot and some of his other issues. He seemed like a nice enough guy, so I felt a little bad for him. "I'm sorry to hear that." I said when he finished. After we sat down in the grass there was some conversation between the two until Opal asked if she should change her clothing. It seemed pretty random to me but perhaps she had sensed some awkwardness coming from us. I quickly responded with "Why? Doesn't make a difference?" But just after I spoke Jomei interrupted awkwardly, stuttering over his words. Perhaps Opal was right in her assumption. By the way he was speaking he was embarrassed about something or possibly even attracted to her and caught off guard. I turned to him and let out a little smile. Then Jomei quickly stood up and brought out his inventory. "Well, yeah" I responded when he asked me to clarify if I had thought about swimming before he just as quickly suggested that we al go swimming now. I watched as his green armor evaporated into only a simple green bathing suit. I looked back at Opal who seemed to be enjoying herself and sighed. He was right, I did want to go in the water, but not with other people. But given the situation I'd be seriously leaving him hanging if I didn't agree. Without standing, I lifted my hand to bring up my own inventory and selected my own black swim trunks. When my clothes had vanished and my swimsuit appeared I deliberately stood up and stretched my back before walking towards he water. Neither Opal not Jomei were fully in the water so I decided to be the first. I walked to the edge and dove into the admittedly very shallow water. I came up shortly after after and walked closer to the shore. "Come on don't leave me hanging"