(PP-F11) A Break From Duties (Lowenthal, Piera)

[Jomei 0]

Jomei's stepped from the blue ring players used to teleport from place to place. This time, he found himself on Floor Eleven in the center of the city of Taft. The auburn haired player had a solemn look on his face, which was an obvious comparison from his usual cheery smile. There were many things going through his mind, none that made his life any easier on him.. and they just seemed to put add more weight on his shoulders. With the small owl on his shoulder, Jomei placed his hands into his pockets and began to slowly walk through the city towards the outskirts of Taft. His destination was the calming beach where Lowenthal held his birthday party a couple of weeks ago. Originally, the lake on Floor One was his usual place to go when he felt he needed to get away from everything.. but since he was now considered a front liner, he needed to stop escaping to the lower floors. 

He knew that the walk between Taft and the beach could have been dangerous, with mobs he had never encountered before possibly in his way. However, with his slow pace, he was able to avoid entering the aggro zones of the monsters he had seen on each side of the road. He would look at them as if watching animals at the zoo.. telling them in his mind that he would come back and fight them, just to see how strong he had gotten. But for now, that was none of his concern, as he was looking get things off of his mind. Jomei finally came to that small hill he recognized that hid the beach from plain site.

As he stepped over the hill onto the beach, he opened his inventory and unequipped his boots so he could walk on the beach barefoot. He also got rid of his cloak, so he was only wearing his casual green, sleeveless shirt. As he stepped onto the sand, feeling the warm sand, he opened up a private message to send out to his best friends, Lowenthal and Piera:

Sender: Jomei
                            Receiver: Lowenthal, Piera
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We've all been pretty busy lately with reforming the guild, looking for members, and the upcoming boss battle. The three of us have not been able to hang out as friends. I'm up on Floor Eleven on the beach if you want to meet me.
--------------------------------------------

Jomei sent out the message to his friends and then let out a light sigh. He managed to find a couple of logs that may have drifted in from the water, as well as a damaged, overturned rowboat a short ways from the water. He brought the logs over to the damaged craft and sat upon the boat. He reclined backwards, placing his hands behind his head as he looked up at the sky, waiting for his friends to reply or show up.  

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal was exploring the beaches of floor 11, looking for materials for his shop. Zelrius had sent out a mass message, looking for tailors to make him four perfect cloaks to represent his guild. Lowenthal sighed, he was lacking materials to even try to make them. But he refused to let some currate amatuer show him up. SO Lowenthal had taken the assignment as a challenge. So now he had to make the cloaks, find more Guild members, prepare for the boss fight, and try to get ahold of Clarence. Perhaps, he should send another message. Perhaps Clarence was tied up, or busy. Lowenthal sighed as he grabbed a pebble and skipped it into the ocean. The waves didn't let it go far, but it relieved stress. Lowenthal opened his private messages, and was surprised at his timing as he did. Jomei had sent him a message, wanting to hang out. Not buisness, just hanging out as friends. Like taking a co-worker to see a movie. This was something Lowenthal needed. There was too much work, and politics on his shoulders.

Lowenthal stared out into the ocean, and noticed something quite odd. An abandoned boat on the shore. Sitting inside the boat, was a recognizable tuft of red hair. It had to have been Jomei. Lowenthal creeped up, and peeked over. "Hey." Lowenthal said, peeking over the bow of the boat. Lowenthal laughed silently to himself, and looked at the logs. One of them looked small enough to be used as a fire, perhaps Jomei had the day planned out. "You been waiting long?" Lowenthal asked, sitting across from Jomei in the boat.

[Piera 0]

Piera was in the midst of cleaning her cauldron after a particularly bad failed potion attempt, trying to level up her alchemy skill as quickly as possible to prepare for the upcoming boss raid. She needed to get better faster so that she could make the items that they would really need in the middle of combat. There was the huge order that Mack put in as well as the things that she'd like to make to give to her guildmates, knowing that they'd be going as well. Mid scrub, a tinkling sound alerted her that she had a new message and she wiped off her hands before swiping her menu open to look at it, her expression softening as she read the contents. His idea sounded....perfect quite honestly, though she was somewhat conflicted at taking a break. Still, she reasoned that she had already used up her crafting attempts for the day, so there wasn't much she could do now other than grind for more materials and it was a bit late for that.

The brunette put away her tools and found Lee, explaining where she was going and with who before kissing his cheek. Then picking up a few potion bottles from her secret reserve stash, the alchemist set off into town to buy a few things. Even with the aid of the teleport pad to travel to Taft, her journey took quite a while as she overly cautiously negotiated floor eleven to avoid catching the aggro zones of mobs until she heard the waves of the beach. Looking out at the sand and ocean, she felt much more peaceful and started scanning the shore for her friends, sure that at least one of them would be here by now. A smile came over her face as she spotted ginger and sandy heads over by an overturned boat. Seeing that there was no danger, Piera unequipped her armor and weapon to be more comfortable in only her starter clothing, walking over to the two guys. "Hey." She greeted as she got closer, walking over to Jomei's side as she nodded at Lowenthal. "Nice spot for a picnic. How've you guys been?"

[Jomei 0]

The man closed his eyes, listening to the peaceful sounds the beach had to offer. The sound of the gentle waves pouring onto the sand, and then retracting again.. the birds above him.. and the sound of his own breath. Maybe he should move his shop up to this floor too.. to wake up to this sight everyday would be to die for. Lowenthal sure was lucky. And, speak of the devil, he heard the sound of Lowenthal's voice greeting him, asking if he was waiting long. Jomei opened his eyes and looked backwards to see an upside-down Lowenthal, "Hey there, no I just got here.. Was just relaxing is all." he sat up, stretching his arms. "I'm sure your out here on the beach all the time, with your shop being just over there and all" he looked out towards the water, a soft smile on his face. 

He then heard the sound of someone approaching, the sand shifting underneath their feet. He turned to see a familiar pair of glasses and brown hair, he raised his hand and gave Piera a small wave, "Hey Piera. Yeah.. a picnic would have been a good idea" he chuckled, why had he not thought of that idea before? "I've been okay." Jomei said softly, looking towards the sand as he spoke. "Been better, but okay. And yourself?" He scooted over on the boat more towards the edge, allowing Piera to sit there if she was interested, between her and Lowenthal. 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal adjusted himself, now sitting on the boat itself. He leaned his body on one knee. "Hey, Piera." Lowenthal said, smiling. It had been a good time since the last time the three got together like this. If memory served correctly, the last hang out was on floor four. Both Jomei and Piera have grown a lot since then. Jomei seems to be more outgoing and daring now. And Piera is no longer the bumbling and shy woman she was. Now she was his right hand woman, as Jomei was his right hand man. Lowenthal didn't know what he would do without the two of them. He ran his hand through his hair. "I'm glad you two are doing alright. I'm not quite sure how I feel anymore." Lowenthal said.

[Piera 0]

Piera smiled softly at the twin greeting she received and upon hearing Jomei's chuckle, she thought for a moment that it sounded a bit subdued compared to his normal cheery self. "Good thing I packed one. Sorta." Her smile was somewhat mischievous as she took the offered seat between her two friends, hesitating for a brief moment as the odd thought of her 'coming between them' popped in her head. Relaxing on the boat she shrugged, "About the same I guess. Sorry it hasn't been great for you Jomei." Turning her head to look at Lowenthal as he spoke and immediately a sympathetic frown graced her features before the brunette raised a hand to grip his shoulder reassuringly. "Do you wana talk about it?" She offered before smiling slightly. "Not like we have much else to do for once. Might as well take a break and just talk and hang out. I even brought drinks." After saying this, the spearwoman swiped open her menu and three bottles of ale materialized in her hands, which she then passed to her two friends. Twisting off the top with a 'crack', Piera took the first bitter sip before swallowing semi sweet alcoholic liquid while looking out at the waves.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei sighed after hearing Lowenthal and Piera both express they were not feeling at their best, "Jeez, sounds like we are all in the same boat here.." He then leaned forward to look at Lowenthal past Piera, "Really? Whats bugging you lad?" He did not notice his friend seemed a little down at first, but after thinking about it, he did seem like something was eating away at him. He then ran his hand through his hair, pushing the bangs out of his face, "What happened to us.. we all used to be so cheery and full of life. Maybe this game is finally getting to us." he placed his arms behind him, hands on the boat to support himself as he slightly leaned back. The mentioning of drinks caused Jomei to sit forward again, raising his eyebrow "Oh?" Going into her inventory, Piera then took out three bottles of ale and passed one to the two men beside her. Jomei smiled at her, "Thank you Piera." he slightly tipped the bottle to her after taking the cap off the top of the glass bottle. He then took a nice, long drink of the ale. Pulling the bottle away from his mouth, he let out a relieved sigh and wiped his lip. 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal politely declined Piera's drink. "Sorry, not my kind of drink." Lowenthal said, handing Piera back the bottle. "Feel free to drink mine." Lowenthal said, smiling. However it quickly faded. "Well, it's just." He sighed, unable to find the words. "Clarence. He hasn't talked to me in a good while. We see eachother every now and again. But that normally just leads to guild talk, or awkward silences after awkward conversations." Lowenthal said, slinking down into the boat again. "I mean, I love him. At least, I think I do. And then, I meet all these other people, and I get to thinking about, stuff." Lowenthal said, taking a breath to continue speaking. "I mean, he wasn't there for me when I murdered a man. I mean, I love him. But I keep asking myself is he loves me. Y'know?" Lowenthal said, one arm over the side of the boat.

[Piera 0]

Piera's mouth quirked at Jomei's terrible pun, letting out a small sigh before her expression became serious again as she pushed up her glasses. "Maybe." She echoed the ginger man as he mentioned the game finally getting to them all. "Some of the stuff would've happened regardless if we were stuck in here or not though." The brunette nodded as he thanked her for the drink and took another sip that was smoother than the first thankfully. Looking back to Lowenthal as he declined the ale, the alchemist shrugged and offered an alternative as she placed the bottle between her and Jomei's feet for whoever should want it first, "I have some homemade moonshine I haven't tried yet if you want."

Her brow furrowed as his smile quickly dropped before explaining what was going on with him. The bespectacled young woman's lips pursed at his confession, remembering what he had briefly said at the beginning of the guild alliance meeting. Her bottle was lowered as she listened, looking down at the sand on her boots. Piera was quiet for a moment as she thought before asking, "No one should have had to go through what you did alone Lowe. But...I mean you'll never know unless you talk to him about it. But if he avoids you...I just can't imagine that a person that really loves you wouldn't want to at least talk it out with you."

[Jomei 0]

Jomei nodded, "You have a point there." He took another sip of his drink, watching as Piera placed the bottle Lowenthal declined between the two of them.. knowing he would get to that one shortly if he did not want it. Jomei then listened as Lowenthal told his story of how his boyfriend, Clarence, had been distant lately. The last time, well, the only time, he had seen the two together was at Lowenthal's party in this same place.. and the two seemed inseparable at the time. And that was only a couple of weeks ago.. did something happen to Clarence to change his feelings towards Lowenthal. Jomei slightly frowned as he held the tip of the bottle in his fingers..knowing all too well that lonely feeling. He was happy Piera decided to give him the advice he needed to hear.. for Jomei's thoughts at the moment would keep him from saying anything too helpful. He looked at the brown bottle as he brought it back to his lips, sipping from the alcohol, once again taking a long drink. He placed the nearly emptied drink next to him as he opened up his menu. First, he scrolled through his friends list, passing by names of friends and acquaintances.. letting out a sad sigh once he saw what he was checking. He then switched from his member list over to his inventory, where he took out the small wooden lute. It appeared in his lap in a flash of blue light, and he lifted it up into his arms. He listened to his friends speak as he, very faintly and slowly, began to play a melody on its strings. 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal sighed, as Jomei pulled out a lyre. "Hey, do you mind if I give it a try?" Lowenthal asked, taking the lyre from Jomei. "It's like a guitar, right?" He asked Jomei. Lowenthal knew a few chords, but not enough to be a star. Speaking of stars, a song came to mind. Lowenthal cleared his throat, and began to play a few chods. Getting into the feel of it, Lowenthal began to play and sing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neweVrb72SE

"Starlight, starshine, please come back into my life
You left me all alone, can't you see that my, heart’s your home
There's a void in my soul (and it leaves me feeling cold)
Will I ever find peace from it's tolls

Starlight, starshine, all of my mind couldn't unwind
What it was, what it'll be, what future can I hope to see
I am not in a dream (and there's no reason to scream)
And this is not the end, or so it seems

You were like starlight, just like starshine
Casting down on me
When the light would go down and the darkness was found
You would shine hope to me

Starlight, starshine, no longer do you shine so bright
The sun frowns, the moon sighs, sad is the universe through my eyes
l am not just a machine (through my heart I will sing)
I'm just a person holding onto a dream

You were like starlight, just like starshine
Casting down on me
When the light would go down and the darkness was found
You would shine hope to me
You were like starlight, just like starshine
Casting down on me
When the light would go down and the darkness was found
You would shine hope to me"

 

Lowenthal cough once. Then a few times more. He certainly felt better. He laughed nervously. "Sorry." He said, handing the instrument back to Jomei. "Didn't mean, to show you up. Not like, i was any good." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. Lowenthal suddenly felt embarrassed and he didn't know why. Lowenthal didn't know what came over him to do something like that.

[Piera 0]

Piera felt like her words weren't very helpful, especially since her own partner couldn't take such advice, but she felt that she had to at least try. The brunette was more surprised that Jomei was being uncharacteristically silent, simply drinking and scrolling through his menu before materializing a lute and beginning to faintly strum its strings. Lowenthal seemed to take an interest and she couldn't really blame him for not wanting to speak on the matter further, simply watching her sandy haired friend as he began to pick at the strings before assembling a tune. Her bottle was raised to her lips for another long drought as he began to sing and she swallowed as she listened to the words while gazing out at the orange sun sinking down past the water's horizon, reflecting on the wave peaks. His voice wasn't silk, but she definitely enjoyed listening, especially to the message he was trying to get out in song that he couldn't with normal words. She couldn't help but find her torso swaying along with the beat, a faintly contented smile on her face as she leaned back and tipped the ale bottle upwards again, finishing it off before tossing it into the sand where it shattered into particles softly.

When he finished and coughed a bit, possibly due to the strain on his voice, Piera smiled and glanced over at him as he apologized to their ginger friend for showing him up. "Don't quit your profession. But that was pretty nice." The alchemist let out a long sigh and her mouth quirked into an amused smirk. "If SAO had anything resembling a keyboard we three could start a band. Heh." Glancing back over at Jomei, the brunette then bumped shoulders lightly with the Irishman before asking softly, "What's got you down?"

[Jomei 0]

Jomei blinked when Lowenthal asked if he could try playing his lute, taking him slightly by surprise. He wondered if his friend actually had musical talent, or if he just wanted to play with it. Nonetheless, who was Jomei to say no to a friend. He nodded his head, holding the lute by the neck and passing it over Piera to Lowenthal, "Sure, give it a go." Jomei crossed one of his legs over his knee and used it as a surface to prop his arm up on, placing his cheek in the palm of his hand. Lowehtnal seemed to play with the strings and chords at first, figuring out the instrument and seeing how different it was from a guitar. He then began to play, picking it up much faster than expected. And not only that, he began to sing. Jomei was pretty impressed.. very impressed for that matter. He had no idea that Lowenthal had that musical talent before. After he finished, Jomei picked his head up off of his hand with a smile, "No need to apologize, that was quite good lad." He took the instrument back from Lowental and placed it on the ground in front of him.

The man then felt a shoulder bump into his, and he looked up to see it was Piera. The two were looking in his direction now, Piera asking why Jomei looked upset as he did. Closing his eyes, Jomei picked up the nearly empty bottle of ale and finished off the rest of it. He followed the bottle with his gaze as he slowly lowered it down to between his knees. Letting out a poor excuse for a scoff, he looked over to his friends without moving his head, "..Im sure you both know whats got me down..." his voice was soft, slightly pained. He flipped the bottle in his hand to he was holding the top of the bottle in his fist, the larger cylinder pointing up. He then pulled his arm back and threw the bottle as far away as he could, eventually hitting the sand and shattering into blue data fragments. 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal visably blushed as his friend complimented his song. "Thanks. Truth was I only learned that one song, so I could impress a girl." He said, watching Jomei place the instrument before him. "Which of course backfired, as she wasn't impressed. As guitars were 'loud and unnecessary'." Lowenthal said, mocking his middle school crush. He glanced back over to Jomei, who was obviously having relationship issues. Lowenthal laughed to himself. "Are we all having relationship issues here? I mean, me and Clarence. Jomei, and Carmine." Lowenthal looked over to Piera. "What about you? What's your plight?" Lowenthal inquired, to Piera. She had been pestering the boys about thier issues while keeping quiet about hers.

[Piera 0]

Piera smiled sympathetically at Lowenthal as he explained that he learned to play the song in middle school to impress a girl but it didn't work out like he'd hoped. "Damn, that's harsh. I didn't think anybody couldn't at least appreciate when someone puts in time and effort to do something to impress them, even if they don't particularly like it. It's the thought that counts, right?"

The brunette looked over at Jomei as he stated the obvious and her lips pursed, thinking of their missing red headed friend. She had really been rooting for them too. "I'm sorry. I was sure that she'd contact somebody by now..." Not knowing what else to say, the bespectacled woman pulled out two more ales and passed one of them to her ginger friend. She glanced back at their Fool as he laughed quietly at their shared relationship problems before asking if she had any troubles of her own. Piera glanced down at the bottle in her hands, silent for a moment as she took a long drink and swallowed before finally admitting, "Things haven't been great with Lee and I. Nothing serious. Just little spats." The alchemist shrugged and was quiet before opening her mouth with an annoyed expression and then closing it before finally saying, "I'd never leave him. But sometimes he just..." Her brown locks shook along with her head.

And then it all came spilling out. "He has no ambition. He doesn't even care if we ever get out of SAO. And he thinks that I'm spending too much time with guilds and stuff! But..he also says that I'm not spending enough time with him. And sometimes I wonder if he's right. He goes off on his own constantly just to wander around safe zones or grind on floor one, but then at the same time, I've been so busy with the Velvet Room, the Crimson Blades, grinding for mats and now all of these huge orders for the boss raid." The young woman seemed to deflate, her expression looking rather tired and depressed as she shook her head slightly before taking another long drink, feeling only slightly better at having gotten some of her feelings off of her chest.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei took a deep breath before turning his head with a fake smile on his face, "I'd prefer not to talk about it now. Maybe later." he scoffed, taking the ale out of Piera hand, cracking open the top and drinking most of the alcohol. Then his face turned slightly sour again, "Not like she ever showed signs of caring for me the same way anyway.... why does this always happen to me.." One of his hands, which rested on his thigh, turned into a fist, clenching at the cloth of his pants. He managed to keep a straight face though, despite all the pain built up inside of him. He wanted to keep it to himself for now. Lowenthal then asked Piera how things with Lee have been, and her response slightly cheered up Jomei.. knowing his two friends were still happy. He lifted the ale to his lips again, "Well, its good to hear that at least." he took a sip, and then Piera seemed to explode emotions. He choked on the liquid in his mouth as Piera's outburst took him by surprise. He turned his head to the girl, eyes wide. Was this really all going on? Then again.. Lee was absent from The Velvet Room.. and he had not seen the lad in awhile. Did he completely overlook something as being wrong. He slowly lifted a hand and placed it on Piera's shoulder softly. "Piera, I'm sorry.. Maybe he just has not realized how much you have going on.." 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal shrugged his shoulders. Lowenthal kept silent, trying to find the words to say. Instead he just chuckled. Which turned into a laugh. "What a sad sack we are." he sad. "All of us, unhappy, and mopey. That doesn't seem like us." Lowenthal said. "I think I might leave Clarence. As nice as he is, he's not exactly my type." Lowenthal said, shrugging his shoulders. He was obviously distraught about his choice, but he tried to not show it. "I mean, in a relationship I expect at least some affection out of it. If one thing I hate, it's being ignored." Lowenthal said, smiling to hide his pain. His chest hurt, but he ignored it. Who cared if Clarence was his first, everything. First kiss, first night alone together, first love. Lowenthal would get over it sooner or later. "I'm gonna take a walk." Lowenthal said, quickly standing, taking a few steps down the beach.

[Piera 0]

Piera looked somewhat distressed at Jomei's reaction and she couldn't help but hate Carmine a little for doing this to her friend. Did she even know how much he had cared about her? How much he still did even if he tried to deny it? She didn't even know what to say. Nothing could comfort him or make it 'better'. But still she tried, placing a hand over his tightly clasped fist.

After her mild burst of emotions, the brunette felt a bit self conscious, but welcomed the friendly hand on her shoulder before snorting at his suggestion. "He knows. He just doesn't care. Doesn't think it's 'important'. Not to him at least." Her expression twisted as soon as the words left her mouth and she felt ungrateful. Like she shouldn't be complaining. She had a relationship with someone that she loved and loved her back. Shouldn't that be all that mattered? She didn't want to feel like she was rubbing it in her friends' faces. The brunette took a long drink from the ale.

But then she heard Lowenthal's laugh and her expression blanked at his words before she looked up sharply as he stated that he was thinking of leaving Clarence and that he hadn't been his 'type' anyway. "Lowe...." She said despondently, not knowing whether to encourage him, dissuade him or simply stay out of it altogether. When he said that he was going to take a walk, standing and already walking away, Piera quickly leaped to her feet, leaving her bottle in the sand as she reached out to grab her sandy haired friend's hand. "Hey. C'mon if you do that we'll never get un-mopey." A sad crooked smile was on her face, her green eyes pleading with hope behind her glasses. "Why don't we do something. Take our minds off things. We could do anything right now. Make sand angels, go swimming, dance, set fire to those useless items we always pick up, anything! Aincrad is our oyster." Her tone became more enthusiastic as she went on and she glanced at Jomei for help.

[Jomei 0]

The man sighed, he truly felt bad for Piera. Not having someone care back for you is one thing.. But when that person actually does care back, but they aren't being supportive or.. hell.. easy to deal with.. then thats a completely different pain. "I can't say I know how you feel.. But his mindset is probably on survival right now.. rather than fighting to earn survival for all.. Maybe he just needs to be talked to about it. He needs to realize that you.. all of us.. are fighting for everyone's freedom. And that you need his support more than anyone's if you were going to do it. If Lee loves you as much as I think he does.. that knowing that you need his support may be enough to change his mind." He gave her a soft, reassuring smile. "He's a good lad. A total muppet.. But in the right mindset, I'm sure that guy would die for you." 

All of this talk about relationships and the ones we cared about seemed to hit Lowenthal hard. He blurted out that he might leave Clarence.. claiming him not to be his type and needing affection. Jomei wanted to tell him to think about it.. that he was happy with Clarence. But then he realized just how he felt. That he wanted the affection.. and hated being ignored. His eyes looked at first at the sand, until Piera quickly hopped up to stop Lowenthal from  leaving them. She tried to take his mind off of things, saying they could do something to get their minds off of it. She then shot a glance to Jomei, probably looking for him to agree with her. Jomei took a deep breath, swallowing his own pain. He then jumped off of his seat, finishing off the rest of his ale as he walked towards his friends. "Aye. And what better place to do something than the beach." Jomei extended his arms out, as if showing them where they were exactly. "And a master of the beach like yourself, I'm sure you know all the fun things to do around here." he walked up behind Lowenthal, placing both of his hands on each of his shoulders.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal looked down as Piera took his hand. Lowenthal didn't move, but instead held Piera's hand tighter. The oranged haired, Master of Shadows wiped his hand across his face. "Look at me. Blubbering like an idiot. A fool." He said, giving a soft chuckle. He turned around, and hugged Piera tightly, his height towering her by almost a foot. "Thank you Piera." Lowenthal released her from his grasp. "And thank you Jomei. You two are the greatest companions, I could ever ask for. I don't know what I would do without you two." Lowenthal said, his face pink. "You know what.You're both right. Let's have some fun!" Lowenthal said, changing into his swim suit. "Last one ins a rotten egg!" He called out as he quickly made his way into the water of the ocean.