[PP:F1] A Rush of Blood to the Head (Lowenthal) COMLETED

[Persephone 0]

Lisa Edwards was no gamer, far from it. She had been popular and pretty, and spent her time exploring the real world, not two dimensional spaces. As a student of world history, she loved to travel and explore exotic destinations absorbing the history and culture of the lands she visited. She didn’t begrudge gamers their world: to each his own, but it was never for her. And yet, she had somehow managed to find herself stuck in a virtual world with no way home but to fight her way out. The young woman had spent quite a bit of time hiding herself, working her way through the many stages of grief until she had finally come to acceptance. She was here and there was nothing that she could do but work herself out and home again, and get back to leading the life she had before. Though the Town of Beginnings was nice,it was starting to become too small for her, much the way her hometown had when she had begun her explorations. It was time for her to set out and discover what this world held.

 

Lisa walked through the Town of Beginning just before dawn, and found herself at the gates leading out a little before the sun began its trek up over the horizon. She walked through the gates and began the slow decline downhill as she looked about her wearily wondering if she was safe out in the open. Deciding that she was far from safe she found herself drawing closer to a small group of trees. The pretty brunette figured she would get a better view from above and picked out the largest tree as she came closer to them all. She began to climb said tree and pulled herself through the branches going higher and higher until she reached the very top. There she was amazed at what she’d found. The land was vast and carried far beyond what her eye could see. The sorrounding were lush and green and there were animals and things that dotted the land around her. “This is unbelieveable…” she gasped in awe of all she saw before her. Never had she known a pretend world to be so detailed… so real.

 

Wanting a better look , Lisa found herself leaning over far more than she should’ve. The lean branch beneath her gave way and snapped causing her to slip and tumble down through the other leaves and branches. She tried to catch herself on the way down but could never keep a firm grip upon anything to keep her from falling further. But down, down she went, the ground coming ever nearer and she closed her eyes wondering what exactly would happen to her when she hit the ground below. Would it be enough to kill her? What felt like forever happened in a mere couple of moments and Lisa finally hit what was below her. There was a heavy “OOMPH!” as she landed safely and in one piece. Puzzled as to why there was no pain, she found herself laid out across something, or rather, someone soft.

 

“OH MY GOODNESS!” she exclaimed as she pushed of the person and backed away crab walking backward across the ground before falling on her behind. “I didn’t mean to! I slipped and oh my gosh… I didn’t hurt you did I?” She said rather frightened over what might happen next. What if this person weren’t terribly friendly?

 

Edited September 24, 2015 by Persephone

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal was patrolling the first floor, in search of new things to do. Either it be new mobs to fight or quests to achieve. Other then getting a handful of potions, there wasn't much to do. And just sitting on the beach and watching the sun set on floor eleven, was actually beginning to drive Lowenthal insane. He hadn't had much luck in his search for quests, but in things to do he had plenty. On floor seven he met a person who thought he could sneak up on him. The conversation that followed, left Lowenthal's brain straining as he tried to continue the conversation. Then on the fourth floor, he assisted a man named Hirru with defending himself against a guild filled with player killers. So today was an otherwise busy day. Lowenthal walked over to the base of a large tree, and sat beneath it. He was still a good distance away from a safe zone, so he wouldn't get swarmed by new players. And since he was on the first floor, it wouldn't make sense for anyone of a high level to be there.

Being a player killer, Lowenthal couldn't use the teleportation plaza's in the safe zones. Which meant that,  he had to walk everywhere. So, spending about two days walking from floor eleven all the way down to floor one was taxing on the orange haired player. Sitting down under the tree, he tried to rest his eyes. But not before long, something fell on top of him. Something, quite heavy. "Gah!" Lowenthal cried out, as the person then crawled off of him. After she apologized Lowenthal looked up, now seeing that it was indeed a woman who had fallen on him. He looked up in the tree, seeing if there were more. "Uhm, No. I'm fine. That was quite the fall, you alright?" He asked, looking at the woman and seeing if she had sustained any injuries.

[Persephone 0]

Lisa sat there staring at the young man for a moment as he spoke, unable to determine if he were friend or foe. “I’m okay,” she said with a nod, her chocolate brown eyes still transfixed on his face. “I’m afraid you got the brunt of my fall. I suppose I should thank you for being there to save me. I know it wasn’t exactly intentional, but… thank you.” The young woman smiled softly as she brushed a lock of curls back from her face as she spoke.

The man who sat before her was young and he had a rather pleasing face. She noticed his cursor above her was a different color than her own, but being a total gaming noob, she had no idea what it meant. 

Edited September 16, 2015 by Persephone

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal sighed. "Well, that's good. Glad to see you're alright." Lowenthal looked at the woman, who was fairly attractive. Her brunette curls bouncing in front of her face. There was something about her, brushing a bang out of her face that was just, cute. Lowenthal held out his hand, and introduced himself. "People call me Lowenthal. And, I'm really, really fighting the urge to use the whoe 'fallen angel pick up line here." He said, chuckling.

[Persephone 0]

The young man introduced himself and flirted with her all in one breath. She couldn’t help but smile widely, so much so in fact that she buried her face into her hands, her dark curls falling forward hiding her in her embarrassment over how damn cute his comment was. Lisa giggled into her hands and felt her face aglow, flushing red into her fair cheeks. When she finally could (which only took a moment), she dropped her hands and lifted her face to meet his gaze. Taking the offered hand she shook it cordially.

“It’s Li-“ She paused remembering that in this place people didn’t go by their real names. “Persephone… I’m Persephone. Are you always so flattering, or is this just a special occasion.” She said, her hand still in his.

Edited September 16, 2015 by Persephone

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal chuckled. "Depends on the time of day, and who you ask." Lowenthal said, shrugging his shoulders. "Persephone, huh? That's such a pretty name." Lowenthal complimented. Her giggle was cute, like the rest of her. Lowenthal rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to talk about next. He was lacking in the conversation starters. Other than I killed a man once, he was short on topics. "So, um. What have you been doing since we've all got trapped in this world? Hopefully not out adventuring." Lowenthal said, trying to make small talk.

[Persephone 0]

Lisa giggled along with Lowenthal, finding the man rather amusing, sweet even. He certainly had buckets of charm and was quite adept at using it. As Lowe rubbed the back of his neck, she realized his other hand was still in hers. She bashfully withdrew her hands from his and looked away trying not to blush and welcomed the pause in conversation as she felt rather awkward in that moment. The silence was short lived however as he asked what it was she’d been doing. Given that she was still in starter gear and the fact that she was on the edges of the starting city, it would not have been hard for him to guess that she was just a noob.

“To be honest with you…” Lisa began. Her face going instantly hot as her cheeks flushed a deep scarlet. “This is the first time I left the city. I had wanted to see what was out here. It’s what I was doing before I fell on you.” She giggled nervously.

“Pretty lame, huh?” She sighed, feeling rather stupid.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal quickly retracted his hand, blushing as he had only now realised that he hadn't had let go of her hand. Smooth. "No, no. Not lame at all." Lowenthal said. "But hey, no worries. I mean, before I stepped outside the city I was pushed into a fountain." Lowenthal said, laughing at the memory. Back then he was just like Persephone. New, and naive to how the world worked. Thankfully, with a lot of help from Calrex, Lowenthal was able to get off his feet, "Well, I've been around a good portion of the floors that everyone's unlocked so far. I actually live up on floor eleven." Lowenthal said, not sure if he was bragging or not. "And I'm glad you fell on  me. Otherwise we couldn't be having this lovely conversation." Lowenthal said, crossing his legs and placing his hands on his knees.

[Persephone 0]

Lowenthal blush nearly as deeply as she had and that caused Lisa to giggle feeling less anxious since he too seemed nervous. He quickly glossed that over by telling her he’d been knocked into a fountain. “Really?”  Lisa giggled as Lowe told her his story. It made her feel slightly less silly about falling out of a tree. However, the situation was slightly different as Lowe was pushed by another, and Lisa had done the tumbling all on her own.

The young man continued and told her about that he’d been to every unlocked floor and the fact that he even lived on the eleventh floor, which was as far as the advanced teams have gotten. “OH!” she squeaked in delight. “What’s it like there… is the terrain different? I heard it changes by floor… is that true?”  She babbled in excitement hoping that he would share his knowledge with her and tell her about what she would come across in her own journey. As she dreamed of her possibilities, Lowenthal told her that he was glad that she’d fallen on him because without that, they would not be conversing.

“I’m glad you were there to stop me,” she giggled, “You’re very pleasant to be around… I’m sure you get told that quite a bit though.” She remarked with a smile.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal smiled as the conversation continued with Persephone. "Well, floor eleven is a big place. Filled with rolling plans like this one. But the cities are all based on the italian renaissance." Lowenthal said, explaining the theme to her. "I personally live on the beaches there. It's a very nice place. Quiet and lonely, but that's what I get." Lowenthal said, shrugging his shoulders. Lowenthal laughed. "I wish more people were like you Persephone. I'd have a lot less issues if people weren't so afraid to talk to me." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

[Persephone 0]

“A BEACH?” Lisa said as she clasped her hands together. Living on the beach sounded amazing! Whenever she would visit the beach growing up in So Cali, she would often stare at the homes that were built only a few hundred meters from shore.

“That must be amazing!”  She said with a wide smile. “I should very much like to see this place.” She added.  “But why lonely? Surely there must be others who live around where you do?”

Something in Lowenthal’s demeanor seemed off as he said that he wished more were like her and rubbed at the back of his neck. He looked… a bit forlorn. “Why would anyone be afraid to talk to you? I mean… no offense, but you don’t look particularly threatening and you’ve been very pleasant. So why wouldn’t anyone want to talk to you?” she asked him curiously wondering if his sweet demeanor was only a ploy.

[Lowenthal 0]

"Well, the beach isn't on a safe zone. And a lot of my friends have their own place, so they prefer to live there." Lowenthal explained. "It's not so much as, crushing loneliness, it's just. Quiet all the time." Lowenthal said, recounting the last time he had spent the night in his shop. Lowenthal gave out another sigh, as she questioned him about people. "Well, this mostly." Lowenthal pointed to the arrow above his head. "It's orange." And when he was met with her confusion, he gave his own. "You really, don't know? It means, that I'm a player killer. That I've murdered someone." Lowenthal said. "And because of that, people tend to treat me with prejudice, and unwarranted hatred. They see me as if I just walked up to him, and killed him without warning." Lowenthal said, looking down.

[Persephone 0]

“That must be lonely. I’m sorry…” she apologized though she wasn’t exactly sure why other than he looked like he needed one. When it’d come to answering about why others avoided him he sighed heavily before he spoke. He pointed to the orange cursor above his head and pointed out the color.

“So…” she replied but silenced once he continued to speak.

 "You really, don't know?”  He asked her.

Lisa only shook her head no.

“It means, that I'm a player killer. That I've murdered someone." 

The young woman tilted her head a bit taken back by what he had said, still she was not afraid.“I’m sorry,” She spoke after several minutes of staring at him in a bit of a daze. “Did this person deserve it?” She said finally.“It’s just… you don’t strike me as the sort to just openly commit murder. Maybe I’m wrong, but from where I’m sitting… I just can’t see you acting maliciously. I mean if that were the case… I’d already be dead right?” 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal rubbed his forehead. "That's what disturbs me the most. I don't know if he deserved it. I acted without thinking." Lowenthal said, letting out a sigh. "And when I think back on it, I would do it again." Lowenthal lied down on his back. "Which is why, I'm trying to get rid of this marker. 'Why change the past, when you could own this day'." Lowenthal said, quoting someone he had met before. He let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, if I was some kind of raging psychopath you'd probably be dead. But," Lowenthal said, sitting up with a smile beaming on his face. "Fortunately, I am just to god damn nice." He said, laughing. "And, you're much to pretty a woman to strike." Lowenthal said, back to his flirting self.

[Persephone 0]

“I suppose what was meant to be will be. If you would not change your actions, then perhaps it was the right thing to do.” She said with a smile and moved beside Lowe as he lay back in the grass. He sat up and laughed as he told her that indeed, had he been a psycho, she would be dead. She nodded knowing all too well that would be the case. He then told her he was far too nice, and she was too pretty to harm. Lisa smiled widely and shook her head as she nudged Lowenthal’s shoulder. She meant to razz him for being so darn cute, but instead just simply smiled and said, “Thank you.”

Lisa yawned and stretched and then flopped back onto the grass the same way Lowe had. She started up at the azure sky and watched white wisps of cloud sail above her head. “This place really is something isn’t it? Did you game much before coming here?” She asked her current companion curiously.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal looked around, admiring the landscape. "I did game a lot before this. Mostly PC games. I don't have a lot of friends in the other world. Only a handful, but they were all into sports and different games." Lowenthal scratched the back of his head. "Not even sure if you could consider them as friends, seeing as we only hung out for one game." Lowenthal said, remembering long nights of grinding in a different MMO. He let out a sigh. "What about you? What'd you do for fun?" Lowenthal asked, just as curious as she was.

[Persephone 0]

“Umm… this is going to sound silly, but I’ve never gamed in my life.” She laughed as she began to explain, “You see, I’d come here as part of an exchange program. It was my host family’s son who asked if I wanted to check out the opening ceremony, and since I had heard a lot about the game, I said yes. Little did I know I’d get stuck here.”  She put her hand on her forehead and sighed.

 “To be honest, I’ve little idea of what I’m doing. I’ve been trying to follow this,” Lisa sat back up and opened her HUD. From it she popped out her players guide and showed it to Lowe. “Ummm… It’s been helpful, but since I’ve never gamed before, it’s a bit tedious for me to follow.”

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal chuckled. "For someone who's never gamed before, you're doing miraculously well in a full dive virtual reality." He said, complimenting her. "Well, what are you having trouble with? Well work on this one step at a time. Together." Lowenthal said, pulling up his own menu, as to guide her through her questions. Truth was, he didn't read through the guide at all. He just sort of, winged it, along with a lot of the people in the world. Figured he would either end up dead, or at the top. Glad it was the latter. "Books are a bit, silly, when it comes to learning I find it's always best to guide someone through the process. Like tell them what to do, as they do it." Lowenthal said, admitting that books are dumb.

[Persephone 0]

“I feel like I’m failing,” she said as soon as Lowe told her she was doing well as this was her first game and first dive experience all in one. “I just hid. “But today I decided that if I’m going to die here, then I should probably die fighting. Then maybe I’ll feel like less of a failure.”

 When she showed Lowe the book, he told her that the book was dumb. Lisa only laughed. Books were paramount in her world. Sure they didn’t give you practical use, but they gave directions, which in the right circumstances was equally as useful. He pulled up his HUD and asked her what she was having trouble with and the young woman sighed. “It’s everything Lowe. I mean I don’t know how to level or get skills, or get a job, or even what sort of skills to get and what to do here… and mostly I don’t know how to use this.”  Lisa pulled her weapon and showed it to Lowe. “I picked this because it was small, and looked light and it reminded me a little katana.” She said with a smile. “I skipped the daggers because they looked too small to deal much damage.” She giggled. 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal raised an eyebrow at persephone. "Oh really now?" Lowenthal said, as he drew his kunai. "It's not so much of a damage dealer. But more of elegance and style. I mean, anyone can swing a greatsword. But it takes an artist to use a knife." Lowenthal said, casually spinning the blade on his finger, and performing various tricks with it, "But a sword is as good as any other, as long as you take the time to practice. SAO is a bit weird when it comes to that. All you have to do, is swun your sword, ad travel with a few friends. And it just, gives you experience and skills automatically." Lowenthal said, shrugging.