[PP-F8] Water Under the Bridge <<Earning a Living>>

[Piera 0]

Floor eight was chirping with life that would normally be quite cheery and upbeat, but Piera didn't quite feel that way at the moment as she trailed after her guild leader. The alliance meeting...hadn't been a complete failure, but it definitely did not go like she had hoped. She had honestly been worried that a fight would break out and she was not sure about the outcome. The brunette glanced down at her feet and suddenly realized that was a terrible idea as she caught a glance of the utterly extreme height they were at. Gulping, she caught Lowenthal's arm, looking up at him with a concerned and somewhat tense expression. "Hey, I'm sorry it turned out like that. Are you... Lowe....you know that if you ever wanted to talk. About anything. That I'm here. Jomei too." She would've thought that it should go without saying...and yet he hadn't come to them. They didn't even find out about his cursor until they attended his birthday party. The question of why he didn't turn to them for help or support burned inside of her but she couldn't bear to ask such an insensitive question. She didn't want to press her friend too far or make him uncomfortable.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal sighed as he kept walking, Piera close behind. It had been quite a quiet trip since they had left the the meeting. Which had of course, failed. Thanks to Lowenthal over overreacting, and lashing out to people who hadn't deserved it. He had snapped at Mack, and had actually thought about killing Mack. Lowenthal sighed, and ignored Piera's questioning. But he knew better. He knew she wouldn't just let it lie. He stopped walking and looked at her. Lowenthal wore a smile, and spoke. "Look. Let's talk about, something else." He said, trying to deflect the conversation. "Like as to why that Old Woman over there has been following me for the last couple weeks." Lowenthal said, jamming his thumb in a direction. He walked over to the crone of a NPC. "Oh hello again. How's that puppy treating you?" The NPC asked, as Lowenthal approached. The question almost threw Lowenthal off, as he was surprised to hear a NPC talk to a player as they had seen him before. "Ninken? He's at home. Holding the down the proverbial fort. Say, what are you doing out here?" Lowenthal asked. "I'm out looking for some ingredients. I run a shop on the first floor, selling spices and little do dads. But recently, a customer came in and ordered a rare herb that only grows on this floor." Lowenthal looked at Piera, and then back to the old woman. "Mind if I help?" Lowenthal asked, and as he did a quest notification screen appeared. Lowenthal accepted it, just wanting to avoid talking about past events. "We'll be back. Stay here ma'm." Lowenthal said, making sure Piera was following him before heading out to the woods.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Lowenthal

[Piera 0]

Piera's lips pursed and her brow furrowed as her friend tried to deflect her, not wanting to breach the subject and instead directing her attention to wizened NPC woman. However it did work, when he mentioned that the NPC had been following him for the last couple of weeks, the brunette's eyebrows raised slightly in curiosity and she followed him over to her. She waited patiently as Lowenthal spoke to the old woman with familiarity about his familiar Ninken and why she was out here, which prompted a quest menu to pop up for him. As he asked her permission to help, she shrugged. "It's your decision." She didn't mind either way, she just wanted to spend some time with her friend before she had to go back to her shop. They hadn't spoken much lately after all and especially not after his birthday party. "So we're looking for rare herbs." The alchemist stated as she followed the sandy haired man that lead the way, making sure to try not to look down as she walked a half a step behind him due to her shorter legs. Squinting at an unusual plant, the brunette crouched down and picked it, showing it to her companion. "Is this a rare herb?" Once he answered her, she would continue searching in silence for a while. However Piera wasn't able to keep quiet for long. "....You said before that you wanted to talk to me after the meeting. What did you want to talk about?" Perhaps she just wasn't asking the right questions. Instead of prying him about things he didn't want to talk about, she tried to get him talking about something he did want to discuss.

[ID: 31944] [LD: 17+1=18] [Total Mats: 1]

Edited September 18, 2015 by Piera

[Lowenthal 0]

ID:32103 LD: 11(No mat)

Lowenthal sighed, as he crouched near the base of a tree. Looking for anything that could be called a herb, or plant. Finding materials wasn't really Lowenthal's thing. He was much better at hiding then seeking, and it had been such a long time since he actively looked for materials. After finding nothing of use in the leaves and brush, he stood up and spoke to Piera. "Yeah. I wanted to change Velvet Room. Turn it away from a 'council', and instead appoint a singular leader." Lowenthal said. "I mean, on more then one occasion did you and Jomei both refer to me as a 'leader' of sorts. And a council only works if people actually take part in it." Lowenthal said, referring to the two council members who have recently gone quiet. "So, I'm going to make myself the Leader of Velvet Room. Where Jomei will be in the field, and you'll be helping with political things." Lowenthal said, letting out a sigh.

[Piera 0]

Piera shrugged as Lowenthal didn't answer her about the plant that she had found and simply deposited it into her inventory for later use. Listening with keen interest as he spoke of changing the Velvet Room, the brunette nodded slowly in understanding. When he tried to argue his point she shook her head, "No no, you're right. We haven't really been a true council in....a while I guess." The corners of her mouth tugged downwards for a second as she thought of their missing guild members. "I think both of us always thought of you as the unofficial leader anyways so this just makes it official. I don't mind dealing with politics either...as long as they don't involve assassinations." Her tone was joking but she winced slightly at the insensitive sentence. "But um, that sounds like a good idea though." The alchemist finished lamely, looking down at her shoes before something occurred to her. "Does that mean that you're going to be taking Jomei to the boss raid with you?"

[ID: 32126] [LD: 9+1=10] [Total Mats: 1]

Edited September 20, 2015 by Piera

[Lowenthal 0]

[ID: 32208][LD: 16][1:Mat]

Lowenthal turned on his heels. "What sounds like a good idea? The new guild, or the assassinations? Cause, I'll hold the knife you just tell me who to stabby-stab." Lowenthal teased as he made a stabbing motion in the air."And about that, Jomei's not going to come." Lowenthal said. "Because, if things go south in that boss room. And people start dying, i don't need to have one of those people Jomei. I mean, I can kick half his health away, what's a floor boss going to do to him. I love you both too much. Last thing I wanna do is lose either one of you." Lowenthal said, reaching down and picking up another basic material. "And I think I have a crush on you Piera." Lowenthal said. "Or was it Jomei I had the crush on?" He shrugged. "Maybe Jomei, he does have that sexy accent. But, i think I could do without the beard." Lowenthal said, joking around.

[Piera 0]

Piera rolled her eyes at Lowenthal's offer to assassinate people she told him to, inwardly glad that he could still joke. "The new guild idgit. I don't think anyone will wana be allies with us if we go assassinating people. Hmm...or they'll want our services." She had heard rumors of a PK guild and they definitely wouldn't want to be associated with that.

She was using her lance to hold up a bush's branches to see if there was anything good hiding around, but turned to look back at her sandy haired friend when he stated that Jomei wouldn't be accompanying him to the boss raid. Blinking in surprise, the brunette frowned at his wording, though his point was definitely on the mark. She felt a pang in her heart when he said that he loved them both too much to lose them and her frown deepened when he tried to continue joking, saying that he had a crush on one of them. Walking over to her friend, the alchemist slowly and gently grabbed his arm. "Hey I happen to like the facial hair." She gave him a tentative smile.

"Lowe...I..." Piera's expression looked pained for a moment before she closed her eyes and relaxed slightly before continuing, "We're worried about you too. I don't know what we'd do without you. Jomei told me about the boss raid meeting and I don't like it one bit. Just promise both of us that you'll do your damnedest to come back to us. I'm going to make sure that you have the crystals you need. Especially a teleport one."

[ID: 32222] [LD: 10+1=11] [Total Mats: 1]

Edited September 21, 2015 by Piera

[Lowenthal 0]

[ID: 32361][LD: 19][2:mat]
Lowenthal looked at Piera, almost forgetting to look for materials. "Piera, with me on the raid team. We're guaranteed victory!" Lowe said, giving her a thumbs up. A big smile beamed across Lowenthal's face. Inside he was scared, and nervous at the same time about the upcoming boss fight. "Of course I plan on coming back. I mean, like you said. 'What would you guys do without me?" Lowenthal said, shrugging his shoulders smugly. He tried to relax Piera, and himself. But he didn't know if it was working. "Let's just focus on finding this herb for now." Lowenthal said, changing the subject.

[Piera 0]

Piera couldn't help her standard reaction of eyeball rolling like she would usually do whenever Lee boasted about something ridiculously outrageous. "Yeah yeah, sure. Still won't hurt to be prepared and play it safe. I'm gonna make sure you have a teleport crystal and at least one healing crystal when you go out though. Maybe Jomei will even write you a pretty song~ We'll be there with you in spirit if not physically there." Her tone was nonchalant and slightly teasing but the sentiment was true. Shaking her head as he affirmed that he planned on coming back because they wouldn't know what to do without him, the alchemist didn't know what to say to that. She didn't particularly want to think about such a morbid situation. But when the orange guild leader insisted that they focus on their task, Piera replied with dripping sarcasm, "Oh yes, because finding herbs requires so much focus. Oh look...what do we have here." She had nearly walked past a few herbs growing on the side of the tree walkway they were on but paused to pick one and hold it out to her friend to see, staring at the plant with exaggerated concentration. "Careful Lowe. If you look away, they'll just POOF!"

[ID: 32510] [LD: 14+1=15] [Total Mats: 2]

Edited September 23, 2015 by Piera

[Lowenthal 0]

[ID:32720][LD:11][2:mat]

Lowenthal scowled playfully at Piera, and stuck his tongue out at her. "And I don't believe I need your sass, miss." Lowenthal said, crossing his arms at her. She was right, he did need to play it safe at the boss fight. And a teleportaion crystal would ensue just that. He could get his hands on a few health potions, and maybe a few status boosts. Lowenthal looked at the ground, unable to find any herbs. "Well, I'd have an easier time if someone wouldn't take all of the dang things." Lowenthal said, chuckling. "And maybe a song would be a good idea. Something to keep me motivated during the fight. If only I had some headphones, then I could be the only one hearing it." Lowenthal said.

[Piera 0]

Piera stuck out her tongue right back at Lowenthal, giggling as he sassed her back. Putting away the herb in her inventory, the brunette paused as her friend teased her about taking them all. "Finders keepers~" She sang, winking at him. Her smile becoming more sincere, the alchemist nodded at his idea. "That'd be pretty cool. I think that's one of the things I miss most in Aincrad. Music. No youtube. Though it wouldn't be very nice to hog all the buffs to yourself. Sharing is caring and all that." Piera glanced around the tree path, stepping carefully in the middle to avoid coming anywhere close to the edge, still very wary about the height.

[ID: 32722] [LD: 4+1=5] [Total Mats: 2]

Edited September 25, 2015 by Piera

[Lowenthal 0]

[ID:32737][ID:15][3:mat]

Lowenthal looked down, and noticed that there was a material there. He picked it up, and showed Piera. Finding materials was starting to get more and more easier. "Ha. Claimed." He said, placing it in his inventory. "Finding materials is so easy, but it's just so time consuming. Hey, is there a potion that gives a player a chance to find more materials? Like a multiplier? Find one, but when you pick it it's 2 or 3?" Lowenthal asked his alchemist friend. "And it's my song that reminds me of you guys. Why would I ever want to share that?" Lowenthal said, shrugging his shoulders. "Man, I miss youtube. How many guides on SAO do you think there are?" Lowenthal asked.

[Piera 0]

Piera pouted as Lowenthal spotted another material and 'claimed' it, causing her to walk ahead and squint at the brush before smiling in triumph as she snatched another up. "Make that double~"  Putting her new find in her inventory, the brunette scoffed when he said that finding mats was easy. "I don't know about you, but I always have trouble finding them. Maybe it's my poor eyesight." She said half jokingly.

"And no, there's no potion like that that I've seen. And I've experimented a fair bit too. I think stuff like that is only available to tailors and artisans. Or maybe that it just makes you luckier or something? I forget. Either way you get more mats." The alchemist shrugged before smiling softly at her leader's reply about sharing his song. "Awww, okay that was pretty sweet. I'd say you don't have to share but I'd prefer if you did if it could help somebody else out. It'd be really nice if there weren't any casualties this time." She'd heard that there somehow managed to be no deaths against one of the previous floor's bosses, though she couldn't remember the number and of course didn't know if it was completely true or just rumor. It was nice to hope though.

At her friend's random question, Piera was momentarily thrown. "Wha? Uhh... you mean like in game guides? Well there's the one that the beta testers wrote. And the one for the basic system. As well as the one about professions... And houses." She shrugged, unsure. "At least four? Why?"

[ID: 328182] [LD: 16+1=17] [Total Mats: 3]

Edited September 26, 2015 by Piera

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal rubbed the back of his head. He didn't care much about finding materials. He leaned against a tree, and was looking at the ground. "Not, exactly what I meant. I was, trying to be funny." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Clarence would've made a joke about it." Lowenthal said, glumly. Lowenthal looked up, and met with Piera's gaze. He sighed, before speaking again. "Sorry, just not feeling all that good still." Lowenthal began. He sighed, yet again. "I think that the reason that, I'm not happy. I mean, other then the whole boyfriend leaving me and me ruining the meeting. I mean, they're a part of it to, but a good chunk is." Lowenthal paused. "Have you ever liked someone, like to the point of asking them on a date. But you know for a fact that that person doesn't see you in the same light?" Lowenthal asked Piera.

[Piera 0]

Piera tilted her head in confusion at Lowenthal's explanation as she stooped to collect a rather large herb, quietly putting it into her inventory as she listened. But when he explained that it was an in joke between himself and Clarence, the brunette looked at him pityingly, though she tried to clear that to only sadness and understanding when his eyes raised to meet hers. Shaking her head at his apology she replied, "You don't have to apologize. You're allowed to feel not good." The alchemist then quieted as he spoke further about the reason behind his unhappiness. He certainly had good reason to be unhappy in her own personal opinion and she couldn't help but wonder if what was really bothering him was his new orange player status, or something else entirely. His question however, threw her. Blinking rapidly, Piera's expression became a tad sheepish before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I haven't." She waited then for him to explain since she didn't have first hand experience with the matter.

[ID: 33649] [LD: 18+1=19] [Total Mats: 4]

Edited October 1, 2015 by Piera

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal looked up at Piera. "So, just me then?" He chuckled. "Well, try not too. It's a crummy feeling. Like, you can see the end goal, and how great life would be. But it's only a dream, or a phase. And before you know it, he's off elsewhere doing Heaven knows what." Lowenthal said, using his arms to talk. "I mean, was it something I did? Is it because I became a player killer? Was it something I said? Was it something I did? I just, want to know why. Why he would just, run off." Lowenthal rubbed his eyes. "Believe it or not, I'm a big babbling idiot at times." Lowenthal said, smiling at Piera. Perhaps it was the setting, or his emotions being out of control, but Piera looked very, appealing. Lowenthal kept that to himself, sure that the feeling would pass. "I mean, has there never been a day where you looked at Lee, and questioned him?" lowenthal said, biting his tongue. "That's not, exactly what I mean." he sai, stammering. "I mean, there hasn't been a time where you thought 'wow, I could way better than this. I deserve better than this.'?" Lowenthal asked.

[Piera 0]

The corner of Piera's mouth twitched in a sympathetic smile at Lowenthal's attempt to joke about the matter. But it quickly morphed into a frown as he explained a bit more and she finally saw what was bothering him clearly. Letting out a silent sigh, the brunette stepped closer to her friend and rested a hand on his shoulder before rubbing his upper arm consolingly, not entirely sure how he felt about close contact. Her lips quirked into a smile as she joked, echoing what he had just said, " 'At times'?" But then her expression became more serious, "Hey, I'm happy to listen to you babble. And I don't know. It could have been any or all of those things. Or none of them. It might not have been anything to do wit you at all. People can be a bit self absorbed at times. He could be dealing with something on his own. But you'll never know unless you're finally able to talk with him and ask him yourself." She wished it was that simple, but with Clarence apparently avoiding him, it was a bit difficult. The alchemist couldn't help but be a little furious at her guildmate, even if he was dealing with problems of his won. He could at least message his own boyfriend back.

Lowenthal's sudden question however threw her a bit for a loop, not entirely sure what he was talking about until he clarified. Then her expression blanched, seeming a little panicked as she dropped her hand and looked away, clenching it in her other one as she was silent. Finally Piera answered, "....Yes. I don't honestly think that. But there were maybe a couple of times when I thought it might be easier." Then she looked back at Lowenthal, a small smile on her face now. "But I can't ever stop loving him. Even if I tried. We've fought for each other. We've earned each other. We deserve each other. And we're pretty happy with each other. It's...different when you've been for someone so long." Then she counted in her head and her eyes widened as she stated in surprise, "Nearly six years coming up soon. When you've been with someone for that long, you don't let that go lightly. Especially not for idle, errant, selfish thoughts."

[ID: 33652] [LD: 1+1=2] [Total Mats: 4]

Edited October 1, 2015 by Piera

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal clapped his hands together. "Damn, 6 years? Man, I can only dream about a relationship like that. Well, one that lasts longer than a month would be nice too." Lowenthal looked at Piera, and gave her a warm smile. "Not to sound weird, but you get around a lot. You wouldn't happen to know of any cute girls, looking for a nice man to take them out for romantic walks on the beach, would you?" Lowenthal said, rubbing the back of his head, letting out a chuckle. He raised an eyebrow at Piera's last sentence. "Idle, selfish thoughts?" Lowenthal repeated aloud, before smirking. "Sounds like someone knows too much about those kind of thoughts. Do you fantasize about men, other than Lee?" Lowenthal asked, giving out a sly chuckle. 

[Piera 0]

Piera smiled tenderly as her friend exclaimed his surprise about the length of her relationship with Lee. She chuckled a little weakly as he spoke of wanting a relationship like that, or at least one that lasted longer than a month. But when he said a rather double ended comment, she raised an eyebrow, her eyes narrowing. "I 'get around a lot', huh? Better watch your words mister or I'll mislabel a paralyze potion as a health potion and give it to you." Her expression and tone were utterly serious for a moment before the corner of her mouth twitched upwards.

"Oh speaking of which. Here." She opened up her menu and sent Lowenthal an already accepted trade request containing a Teleport Crystal. "For the boss fight. And don't worry, it's not defective, promise." Shaking her head she thought for a moment. "Ehh...honestly I don't know a lot of girls. The few that I do know are all in the Crimson Blades. There's Opal, Shirosu (who's a bit young for you) and Red Rose but I don't really know her that well." The brunette shrugged with sympathetic grimace at her friend. "Sorry."

As he teased her about having fantasies of men other than Lee, she rolled her eyes but her ears were hot even as she tried to play it off. "Everybody has had fantasies, regardless if they're in a relationship or not. Actions speak louder than words and all. Or fantasies in this case."

Name: Teleport Crystal
ID: 32852 CD: 12
Alchemist Rank: 5
Item Rank: Perfect
Effect: Teleports the player to a town or teleportation area.
Description:
A bright blue rectangular crystal that when held and stated correctly, "Teleport, <Insert Town Name>.", will instantly teleport the user to said place unless otherwise stated by the area that teleporting is disabled. One time use.

[ID: 33769] [LD: 5+1=6] [Total Mats: 4]

Edited October 2, 2015 by Piera

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal gave out a nervous chuckle as Piera threatened him. "Perhaps, those weren't the words I should've used. Heh." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. He let out a sigh. "Someone's already 'confessed' their love for Opal. Told me herself." Lowenthal said, looking down and relaxed. It was nice to talk about these kind of things, rather than things about the past. Piera held out a hand to him. Lowenthal looked, and saw that she had a teleport crystal in it. He reached out, and took it. "Thanks. And here's hoping I don't need to use it." Lowenthal said, adding it to his inventory. Lowenthal blushed slightly. "Yeah, fantasies. And actions speak louder than words, huh?" Lowenthal repeated to himself. "Then, perhaps, I mean, If you'd like. Get something to eat sometime? I mean, i that's alright with you." Lowenthal asked, his voice trailing off. He beat himself inside, for asking the question aloud like an idiot. "I mean, it would be guild business. Obviously." Lowenthal said, laughing.