(PP-F1) Scouting (Piera, Iolite)

[Jomei 0]

In the center of the Town of Beginnings, the two players phased onto the platform in front of the warp gate in a bright white light. Once the light dimmed, the pair stepped off the the platform and scanned the area. Jomei rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around, "I did not realize how much of a pain this recruiting business could be.. " he said to the brunette with glasses who accompanied him. "I don't know if people are just afraid to join a guild... or if they just want to be part of the other 'more famous' guilds like Azure" he let out a sigh. The pair of players, both second in commands of The Velvet Room under Lowenthal, were sent on a scouting mission to find potential members to join their ranks. If they were to be one of the top guilds on the front lines.. they would need more members to join them. Scratching at the hair on his chin, he let out a hum..as the two slowly walked from the main plaza. "So have have things been with Mack and all?" he meant to ask how the meetings with The Crimson Blades were, but the guild name had briefly slipped his mind as he focused on finding people. Hopefully the mix up would not confuse the girl.

 

[Piera 0]

Piera squinted behind her glasses as she waited for the brightness of teleportation surrounding them to fade before glancing at the ginger man beside her as he griped about the pains of recruiting with a tired smile. "Honestly I think it's both. They're either the players that don't want to participate in combat at all and stay in safe zones, the ones that are hardcore solo players, the ones that are in or shoot for the famous guilds and the ones that make little nooblet guilds among themselves." She ticked each one off on a finger on one hand before holding up the remaining finger, her pinky. "Which leaves us with the very minute population of normal players that hopefully aren't in guilds already."

Wiggling her pinky finger, the bespectacled young woman sighed along with her companion and began to walk from the plaza, her green eyes gazing critically at passing players for any ones with potential for their very vague criteria. But her eyes immediately snapped to Jomei as he asked 'how things were with Mack'. "What? What do-I mean we're just friends, he's busy with-"

Then her eyes widened as she realized what he had actually been asking and her ears flushed as she continued, "Uh, the Crimson Blades are doing well, he's always busy with new recruits. There haven't been many meetings yet that I need to sit in on." Piera's expression twisted in a grimace. "He's honestly a bigger competition than Azure or those other guilds. He said he was building an army and he sure seems to be doing it."

[Iolite 0]

Iolite really missed his home country, and would rather be roaming the streets there instead of in this game. Better yet, he'd rather go back to Tokyo and stand on busy streets among numerous other aspiring artists hoping to sell their art just as much as he wanted to. Iolite hadn't played games in a long, long time... let alone a role-playing one; during those times he was a she, and she only played shooting games, with cards, or a board-game set found in the attic. Thus, such advanced technology happened to be a bit confusing for a male like Iolite who preferred to use traditional items. 

Reading the guide and understand the game along with other players came easily, Japanese was Iolite's second fluent language after all. What he didn't seem to get was how to work out the system even after reading every tutorial available out there. He needed first-hand experience, someone willing to teach him a thing or two, and anyone would suffice at this moment to be honest. Not once had he handled a spear, nor had Iolite fought a single soul or animal. Where wo-

Iolite gasped as he collided with a frame much taller than his, much bigger and probably stronger. Sighing loudly, and nothing short of dramatically, Iolite backed up and began wiping at his cloth clothing. "Should really look out..." He mumbled monotonley, displeased with the way his attire had to be fixed and put back into place as they'd been moved slightly on his body. After straightening everything out, Iolite would lift his head and place both hands on his hips while fixating his eyes on the stranger before him. "Apology?"

[Jomei 0]

"Aye, aye.." Jomei nodded as Piera listed off the various players they have, and would, run into when recruiting for their guild. He shrugged his shoulders, hoping they would eventually find people to join them. "Maybe we should just take a break for the day.. doesn't seem like we are going about this correctly. People probably see us like Jehovahs Witnesses, bugging them at their doorstep." he chuckled, placing his hands into his pockets. After asking how things were with the Crimson Blades.. well.. Mack, Piera began stuttering over their words, claiming they were just friends and all. Jomei's eyes slightly widened and blinked, "Uhm.. I meant... how things were with their.. guild.."

Oops

He could not help but let out a loud laugh after Piera's slip. He did not expect that as an answer, and knew it was his own fault for forgetting the name of The Crimson Blades. Laughing caused him to not realize where he was going, when he suddenly felt a force in front of him that he slightly knocked back. He stopped laughing, wiping the tear from his eye, to notice he had bumped into another player. They did not seem very happy with Jomei not seeing where he was going, "O-Oh, I'm sorry lad.. I didn't see you there. Are you alright?" 

[Piera 0]

Piera sighed at Jomei's suggestion of taking a break before making a very un-ladylike snort at his comparison. "But Magician Jomei we must spread the word about our Lord and Savior, Fool Lowenthal. Hehe." She couldn't help but crack the joke but was starting to feel the same. They were a pretty laid back group of people, not to mention guild unless they were in combat. "Maybe we should just be going to more appropriate places. I wish we still had the internet, forums an bulletin boards an all that. At least we could officially advertise rather than through word of mouth. We don't even have headquarters or anything where someone can just walk in and apply." The bespectacled young woman was starting to get a little discouraged but tried to shake her head of such thoughts. "Let's keep trying for a bit longer at least."

At the ginger's surprised expression at her unorthodox answer to his question, Piera's cheeks began to match her ears and she pursed her lips in embarrassment, though it quickly turned to a grimace of annoyance as he began to laugh openly. She was about to chew him out for not being clearer as well as laughing when he ran into another player, who was much slighter in build and height than himself, causing the poor guy to stumble back. The alchemist immediately wanted to laugh at her friend's minor blunder, but settled for grinning as she surveyed the player he'd bumped into. The player seemed to be a very pretty male roughly their own age if not a bit younger but what truly caught her eye was the lack of gear he had equipped. Now she knew that this honestly wasn't much to go on as even she herself didn't like to go about wearing armor all the time, but even the higher leveled players kept all of their equips on unless they were at home.

Said dark haired man curtly demanded an apology, which Jomei readily gave, asking if he was alright. Piera's grin subdued into a friendly smile as she echoed her friend. "Sorry about that, I was distracting him. I'm Piera by the way. And this is my guildmate Jomei." The alchemist hoped that her choice of vocabulary in her introduction would catch her friend's attention at what she was getting at.

[Iolite 0]

"Just..." Iolite shifted his eyes from the man to the woman, and back to the person whom he'd bumped into. "fine." He smirked, tapping a slender finger with painted red nails to his chin. "And I am in presence of beautiful people!" Moving behind Jomei and Piera quickly, Iolite wrapped his arms around where his long arms could reach and squeezed the two acquaintances closer to him in a tight embrace. "Iolite! My name is Iolite, like gem. You know?" He let go, yet remained between the two and pat Piera on the head. "You are forgiven. Are you always sweet, hmm?" Iolite hadn't said her name just yet, knowing he'd have trouble pronouncing either username no matter how hard he tried and that was a tad embarrassing especially in front of players he just met.

"And you... you are a tall one. I like this, very good looking." Iolite seemed to squint as he inspected Jomei, keeping a straight expression before decided that he was indeed attractive to some extent. "What are you two doing out tonight, then?"

Edited September 11, 2015 by Iolite

[Jomei 0]

The man's attitude seemed to change rather quickly, calling both Jomei and Piera beautiful people. He swiftly moved behind the two players, embracing them in each of his arms. The man's name was Iolite.. and he had a thick accent.. thicker than Jomei's. Sounded like he could have been somewhere from Eastern Europe.. like Russia or one of those countries around it. "Iolite huh.. Nice to meet you lad." Jomei raised an eyebrow as Iolite forgave Piera for Jomei's actions.. even though he was the one who did it and apologized himself. He shrugged it off though, seemed like an alright guy. He then turned to Jomei and looked at him, Jomei only being slightly taller than the man. "Oh, thank you." Jomei said, scratching the back of his head as the man with the accent complimented him for his height and looks. "Well, we were out looking for some people who might be interested in joining our guild.. but we haven't had much luck today." 

[Piera 0]

Piera watched the man give Jomei and herself a once over each before complimenting their appearance and embracing them with each arm. The brunette blinked in surprise with wide eyes, mildly uncomfortable with the close contact from the stranger. She hadn't expected such a....warm reception quite honestly. Perhaps it was due to the fact that they were treated with barely polite annoyance the entire day. "Iolite? I've never heard of it. I'm sure it looks as pretty as it sounds though."

A frown tugged on her mouth when she received a pat on the head from the stranger but she tried to keep her expression neutral as she was called sweet. "Uh...I wouldn't know honestly." She'd never particularly thought of herself as sweet. Unless she spilled something sweet on her. The alchemist's lips twitched in an amused smile as Iolite then turned his attention to Jomei, complimenting his height and appearance as well. She felt like they were being picked up or something and the entire situation was a bit awkward but amusing.

Glancing over at her ginger friend, Piera nodded. "It's been a challenge, that's for sure. We won't give up hope though. What about you?" She posed to the attractive man before elaborating after a moment, "What are you doing out tonight?"

[Iolite 0]

"It would be color of purple, a dark shade... gorgeous gem." Iolite ranted, pointing to Piera's cloth clothing she had equipped. "Like that." He nodded, rubbing his chin while inspecting the color with squinted eyes before letting the perfectionist side of himself agree that the color of her equipment could match the shade of an iolite gem. 

"I will just continue to think you are." He replied to Piera's comment about herself. Iolite wouldn't be able to get any other impression from the woman other than she was your typical sweet, innocent, beauty from afar even if that wasn't the truth; Not all too interested in guilds and the sort -only because he had no idea about how they worked - Iolite shrugged but stuck out his bottom lip as if he were pouting. "How terrible for you. I wish I could help out." A lie, though Iolite could easily pass as someone who had great sympathy for the pair's misfortune of the day. "I am surprised that nobody would join... or at least not be attracted enough by you two to consider~" He held a piece of Piera's hair gently, tossing the piece up in the air only for the brown strand to neatly fall back in place. Crimson eyes flickering back to Jomei, Iolite curled both ends of his lips up genuinely. "Da, very surprised."

Crossing both arms over a flat chest, Iolite titled his head up to glance at the sky while continuing to walk in sync with Piera and Jomei. "Taking a walk is all. But-" He clapped his hands together loudly. "I have found people to share this night with! Wonderful."

[Jomei 0]

Jomei could not help but scoff at the man's continued compliments towards the two. It humored him.. especially since not even a moment ago, he was angry at Jomei for accidentally bumping into him. All in all, he took the compliments and thanked the man for them. Piera seemed to think the same way, given her tone of voice. This was an interesting character indeed. 

"Its alright Iolite." Jomei found the name almost slightly tough to pronounce, given his accent.. but he did not butcher the name. "Not really much of a way anyone could help unless they joined." he sighed, and then blinked in surprise when Iolite mentioned he was surprised himself no one else was joining the guild because of Piera and Jomei's looks. He shot a glance to Piera, wondering what she thought of the whole situation. He, personally, was not bothered by it.. Iolite was just very.. blunt and was unexpected with his choice of words. 

Jomei smirked, "I have no objections to that lad. The more the merrier." he laughed.

[Piera 0]

Piera's eyebrows raised in surprise and she looked down at her clothing as Iolite stated that it was the very color of the iolite gem. Smiling she replied, "Well then I definitely like this gem."

As the man sympathized with their plight and stated that he wished he could help, the brunette stated, "If you happen to know or come across anyone looking for a guild, please tell them that the Velvet Room is always looking for members." But when the dark haired male complimented the guild members once again, this time touching her hair before letting it fall from her fingers, Piera's expression was tense and awkward as she met her friend's glance with uncertainty. She wasn't used to such close contact, from a stranger no less. But he didn't seem to be a bad sort of guy, even if he wasn't much for personal space.

Then Iolite stated that he had just been taking a walk and was glad to have found people to share the night with, which Jomei agreed to with a laugh. Seeing the ginger at ease let her relax and she nodded. "Why not? Not like I had anything better to do tonight, heh."

[Iolite 0]

"I would think so. Is very calm color. Said to enhance relationships~" He sighed satisfactorily, checking his nails for a split-second to see if they were alright; a habit developed from the real-world. Let's just say, for someone who despised being a female in the first place... Iolite tends to be a very feminine person. Most likely because that's his origin, though Iolite is completely oblivious to this trait of his. Fortunately, Iolite's nail color decided to stick and was impossible to scratch or chip. "Will do my friend. I will spread word whenever possible." He nodded sternly, pacing ahead of the group so he could walk backwards while in front of Piera and Jomei. "Specifics? Like... who would you want in Velvet Room? I suppose "eye-catching" should be trait ." Iolite strode backwards confidently, shoving dainty hands back into the pockets of his pants, crimson eyes ablaze.

"I am glad you have chosen to accept my presence. Is very kind thing to do. Not many have been so... willing... Anything to do here in Aincrad?" He waved the comment about other players off, hand moving in the air before returning to the comfort of a warm pocket. Iolite couldn't handle rudeness emotionally, though he pretended himself as someone who didn't mind harsh words. Too many uncomfortable memories would make anyone's bark worse than their bite.

[3 compliments in a row ;D You guys should feel special~ <3 <3]

[Jomei 0]

As his guild mate states they could use any help they could get when looking for new recruits, Jomei nodded his head. "Yeah. We really could use the help. Do you know of anyone who might be interested?" Iolite then asked if the two were looking for specific types of players. He placed his hand on his chin in wonder, if there was really any sort of players they would turn down. "Specifically? No.. Not really.. Anyon-" it was then Iolite continued with his thought, asking if they should be 'eye-catching' which he assumed meant attractive. A bead of sweat dripped down Jomei's jaw line, "Er.. n-no they don't have to be.." He chuckled "I mean, Lowenthal let me in the guild, so I would assume its not a requirement" he spoke in a playful tone to let the others know he was joking. 

Iolite expressed his happiness for being accepted into Jomei and Piera's group for the night to hang out. Guessing from the sound of his voice, it would seem there were others were not as kind to Iolite. He gave the man a half smile, but figured he most likely would not want to talk about it. After all, he merely just met Piera and Jomei. "Hm.. Well theres plenty of things to do in Aincrad.." he scratched his chin, thinking of what could be fun to do in the area.. Choices escaped him. "What do you think Piera..?"