[OP-F4] Pre-Raid Relaxation

[Mack 0]

OOC: This event is being hosted by the Crimson Blades. There is NO SET POSTING ORDER and, in terms of chronological timeline, it's meant to take place prior to the Boss Raid on the 11th Floor by a few days.

With every intention of, eventually, constructing the guild hall for the Crimson Blades on the fourth floor of the Aincrad Tower, Mack had wandered far and wide over the entirety of the floor. The behemoth of a man strongly suspected that it was possible that no player in the game knew the fourth floor as well as he did and, if such players did exist then there wouldn't be very many of them. That was how he had come to discover the place that he had, tentatively, christened as Shattered Ice Springs. The main pool in the mineral hot springs was, perhaps, forty meters across and round in the general sense that a pond, lake, or hot spring can be round. Coming off of the main spring in various places were a number of other smaller pools, some of which were more private and only suitable for three to five people while others were a bit more sizable and likely capable of holding groups of fifteen to twenty. The main pool itself, along with the side pools, was lit in some areas by torches while it was darker in others so that the guests would be able to lean back and enjoy the brilliant display put on by Aincrad's night sky. A series of buffet tables were anchored in the center of the main pool, floating on the surface of the water and laden with a number of things to eat and to drink, beverages of both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety. In the middle of the tables, and arrayed around the sides of the pools, preset and synched recording crystals would play a selection of classical music recorded by various composers. After all, the evening was meant to be more of a rest and relaxation type of event as opposed to a loud and raucous party.

For his part, the bear of a man that led the Crimson Blades relaxed along the side of the main pool, having seated himself for the time being beneath one of the torches ringing the hot spring so that everyone could see him. As the event host, more or less, it was his duty to at least be available for people to greet if they so desired. With his fingers laced together and his hands placed behind his head, the red-headed man allowed himself to stretch out as the heat of the pool and the mineral filled air surrounding it worked wonders to relax the aches and pains that came with being a member, however newly fledged, of the Assault Team that would be fighting on the front lines and soon taking on the Fallen Crusader in the upcoming boss raid. But, those were all concerns to be addressed later. Tonight, it was time to simply relax and to ready himself for the coming combat on the eleventh floor. What would happen would happen, but if he was overtired and stressed from having pushed himself too hard in the preceding days he knew that he would be more likely to make mistakes when under the stress of life and death combat and he imagined he wasn't the only one that would be that way.

For the time being, Mack was alone in the pool, but he knew that was likely to change in the near future. After all, any event with free booze and free food in a hot spring complex on the wintry fourth floor of Aincrad was sure to draw a crowd and there was one bespectacled alchemist in particular that he was rather hoping would put in an appearance. Still, given the message that he had sent out a few days prior to the night of the event, Mack would have been shocked if there wasn't a crowd of players. He still remembered the exact wording of the invitation that he had sent to every currently active player in the world of Sword Art Online.

To: All Players
From: Mack, Grandmaster of the Crimson Blades

Those of you who know me know that I am not one to beat around the proverbial bush. We all know that, soon, the Assault Teams will be launching their raid on the Fallen Crusader on the Eleventh Floor. As a combat veteran, I can tell you that soldiers always perform better when they're well rested and well prepared. With that in mind, the Crimson Blades will be hosting an event at Shattered Ice Springs on the fourth floor, a heretofore unmapped series of hot springs located in the mountains that are south-southwest from Snowfrost Town. Food, drinks, and music will be provided. Bring your swimwear and a towel, leave your weapons and armor in your inventories where they belong, and come enjoy a relaxing evening under the stars in three days time. The location of the springs is contained with this message, I and the rest of the Blades will see you there.

-Mack, Grandmaster of the Crimson Blades

[Shirosu 0]

Shirosu climbed up the frozen steps towards the place on the message that Mack had sent out, her arms firmly wrapped around her self in a personal bear hug in an attempt to avoid freezing to death. Around her shoulders her fox, Gin, did his best to huddle in under her piled of hair and under the collar of her scarf in order to keep warm. She was coming for a few reasons, one, she liked hot tubs, two, she liked free food, third, she knew it would be good for her to get out and socialize a little. finally reaching the point she saw Mack and called in greeting"Hullo!" she had already equipped her bathing suit, a blue bikini under all of her coats and warm garments, so she quickly got rid of them and hoped into the steaming spring."Ahhhh!" she sighed, letting the heat soak into her cold bones,Gin, who had never experienced water before squeaked loudly in protest and yipped at her in distress,"Shsss your fine" she said petting the white head. After the fox calmed down and decided he like water she let him go to paddle away, using his tails like a rudder so that he could find his only little pool, settling in she said,"Good evening, Mack" she wandered over in her guild masters direction and said,"What a nice treat for you to put this on, now, im going to go stalk that floating buffet before i return ok?" with that she wandered away to load a plate with food. 

[Jomei 0]

It was a late night of thinking for the irishman. He sat on the first floor of his music hall on the three-seater couch pushed up against on of the walls, strumming on the strings of his lute. He wore his clothes for sleeping, which consisted of only dark gray pants that cut off mid way down his calves, and a brown t shirt. His green eyes were looking down at the instrument as he slowly plucked at the strings. A ping inciting he had received a message took him away from his music as he looked up. Tapping on the small button to open the message, he saw it was addressed to all players still trapped in the game. At first, he thought it was some message from Kayaba.. But then as he moved his eyes down to the sender, he noticed it was from the Grandmaster of the Crimson Blades, Mack. He wondered why he would be sending such a large message out to everyone.. Reading the contents, he smiled, thinking Mack's idea was great. In a little over a week from now, the assault teams would be taking on the Floor Eleven boss in the hopes to open up Floor Twelve. He chuckled at the thought of how soon this would be happening.. getting out of this game alive seemed a little bit more possible day by day. With a nod, Jomei saved the message.. for the plans were not set for another few days. Placing his lute back into his inventory, Jomei decided it was time to get some sleep.

. . .

A couple of days later, the reminder Jomei had set for Mack's event rung. Shutting off the alarm, the ginger haired man figured he might as well head to the location now, since he had nothing better to do. Making his way to the warp pad in the city of Urbus and stepping onto the platform once he arrived, he called out "Snowfrost Village." and he was gone in a flash. His avatar materialized onto the snowy Fourth Floor, and the cold immediately hit him. He realized his casual clothes consisted of a sleeveless shirt, with only one of the arms being covered by a cloth sleeve. Grabbing at the sides of his cloak, he pulled them shut slightly, feeling somewhat better. Using his sleeved hand, Jomei opened up his menu to look at the map, where he had the location of the springs saved. Closing the map once again, he hurried out of the village so he could find the hot springs. 

After a small trek through the snow, Jomei came into a clearing where there were various pools of water, steam covering each of them. He looked around with a smile on his face at the sight.. he had no idea such a place existed.. In fact, he did not know natural hot springs  existed in Aincrad, for he was aware of the hot springs resort on Floor Five. Walking through the thick fog, Jomei noticed the hulking red haired man sitting in the pool by himself. He gave the man a wave, "Hey there Mack! Great place you found here." He only hoped that his best friends got the message as well so that he could spend time with them also. He then noticed the floating buffet table in the middle of the biggest pool where Mack was. Hearing his stomach growl, he took a closer look to see what was on the table.. only to notice another girl was already here, taking in her fill. "Oh Shirosu. Didn't see you there." he gave the girl a friendly wave. Finally, he noticed the small white fox swimming around.. must have been one of their familiars. Letting out a sharp whistle, a small brown owl came to Jomei's side. He then opened up his menu and unequipped his casual clothes, replacing them with his green and black swim trunks. He then slipped into the water with a relaxed sigh. Adere, his owl companion, found a small puddle of the water to the side that was not too deep. She hopped into the water and began to flap her wings, soaking her body in the water, as if in a bird bath.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Jomei

[Xion 0]

Xion sighed as he walked, his breath condensing into little clouds in front of him. He had received a message from Mack, surprising addressed to all players, telling them of a little pre-raid relaxation that he had planned for everyone. It had put a smile on the tank's face, but also made hi  question  his decision to leave the raid party. He didn't want to die, and at his level that was likely but he still felt like he was abandoning his comrades by doing so. After a while he had arrived at the little corner of paradise that Mack had managed to find, he was wearing a long black trench coat, his swimming gear in his inventory. 

 

"Hi Mack, Shirosu, Jomei. Nice meeting you all here" he said with a smile as he sat down by one of the pools, debating whether he should go in or not, and after a minute's thinking took off his trench coat, a pair of grey swimming trunks appearing, before tying his hair up so that it didn't get in the way.  "Hope you don't mind if I take some of the alcohol, I intend on having a good time tonight" he said with a chuckle before grabbing a glass of cider, sitting at the side of the pool and taking a swig.

 

"So, how are people on this fine evening?" he asked with a smile. 

[Zelrius 0]

The message that appeared in his inbox was from one such person Zelrius had never expected to talk to him. Ever. He had read the message and much to his surprise, it wasn't someone bashing the blonde boy or challenging him, as he often expected these messages to look like. The location was the surprising part. Though the name had been dropped a few times by shady information brokers, Most people (Zelrius included) Disregarded the existance of hot springs, especially on Floor Four o fall places. The boy was growing less and less social as the days went on, and decided that this was a nice change for once. Standing from the room in Floor 11, he walked outside and for a moment stopped to peer up at the towering Cathedral. A simple nod to it, as he knew that the boss room for the Forsaken crusader would much like it. The stained Glass and incense in both might be identical, though one harmful and the other not so much.

That led the blonde boy's thoughts astray for a moment as he thought about it. The Stained Glass was the only thing not discussed in the strategy. That is mainly due to the fact Tristan, Oikawa and I were at a major loss for what it could be. I am positive it is mostly harmless, however, I will be sure to be on my toes for anything to do with that... It was following that thought that Zelrius shook his head to get out of his trance and now he began to wander off to the Teleportation Gate. He warped out of Floor Eleven and down to the Fourth Floor's very own Snowfrost Town. Within an instant, the boy equipped his Hydra Skull Helmet and Azure and Gold-trimmed Cloak, throwing the hood of the cloak over the skull. This such cloak was buttoned at the left should, wrapped around the neck and hung down around the right side of his body, rather than the back, covering his right arm and most of his leg. I know he said no weapons and armor, but I cannot take that risk. That was another evolving thing within the blonde boy: Caution.

He arrived at the Springs and was partially thankful there wasn't a lot of people there, and at the same time, partially disappointed. Regardless, he shuffled his way over to Mack and spoke in a muffled voice from other his Hydra Skull. "I ask for your permission to keep my Weapons and Armor. I'd much rather not be caught unarmed and defenseless at a public event like this, I hope you understand."

[Mack 0]

"What is it with you and blue," Mack asked Shirosu as she made her appearance in what, to Mack's way of thinking, as just a bit too showy of a swimsuit for her. Still, to each there own, he thought to himself as he mentally shrugged his broad shoulders. The moment Gin appeared and splashed into the water Chewie roared his challenge to the fox, the fox that refused to learn its place. There was a mighty splash as the grizzly cub hit the water and set off as fast as he could after the fox, which was much faster in the water than Chewie was. "People are going to think you're in the Azure Brigade rather than the Crimson Blades," he said with a chuckle, calling after the silver-haired woman as she set off for the buffet table. It was hardly a surprise that it was her first stop.

No sooner had Shirosu waded off in the direction of the buffet tables that were laden with food and purposely placed on stilts that would leave them high enough out of the water to be out of the reach of hungry bears and foxes then Mack was hailed by another newcomer to the party. "Jomei," the ginger Guild Master called, lazily, waving in the direction of the Velvet Room member. "Slip on into the water, help yourself to something to eat and drink," the Grandmaster said in the same easy lazy tone, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the buffet tables. "Eat, drink, be merry for tomorrow we die. Or, you know, in a week or so we raid the Boss Room on the Eleventh floor."

Just as Jomei was slipping into the pool the group was joined by Xion. "Help yourself, what I don't see won't hurt me. Just don't get hammered, I don't want to have to babysit you tonight," Mack called to the blonde second in command of the Crimson Blades, speaking in a light and relaxed tone to make it clear that he was not chastising Xion in the least. Before that conversation could continue, however, another voice reached his ears. "Suit yourself," Mack said in an easy tone. "Your birthday party was enjoyable, by the way, though I noticed you allowed Tristan to remain armed and armored. While I'd prefer you not, I'll not go so far as to forbid it, provided you give me your word to keep the peace this evening and deal with trouble makers as needed. If you'd like something from the table let me know and I imagine Shirosu can be talked into bringing it over for you."

[Zelrius 0]

The man gave a slight bow to Mack, the man seemingly running the whole show as of now, and spoke once again, his voice not it's usual hint of arrogance, just somber and flat. "Much apperciated. I agree to be bouncer for this event. I find having nice little shindigs like this are good for the general populace. I personally enjoy them being able to kick back for a change. I cannot personally imagine anyone who would purposefully cause trouble, add the fact that I have my Twinfire on me, I doubt we will have any issues." The last sentence was said a bit louder, just so that the blonde boy could make sure that everyone heard he was equipped. Upon speaking those words he grabbed the golden sheath on his left hip and raised it a little. The curved blade lightly smacking the side of his body as he tightened the belt that held the sheath to him. 

Kneeling down to a comfortable position, Zelrius continued on speaking to the large man. "I am rather glad you enjoyed my birthday party. I too enjoyed it personally. I am glad everyone had fun and forgot about responsibility for a change. On that note, I'd like to point out the irony in a "relaxation" period such as this. Simply because while they are here the populace will be rather fond and happy. However, I imagine that after the event, they will feel the weight of the impending boss battle is even closer than it was. Nonetheless, it is in good faith and I hope this serves that cause."

He took a second to stop. Simply staring off into the springs, deep in thought to himself over various things. He continued on speaking once more, "Shirosu? Which one is that?" Zelrius spoke looking about, not entirely sure who Mack was indicating "Ah, No, I'd rather not bother this "Shirosu". Afterall, this is an event to have their own time, isn't it? I don't want to hinder their enjoyment."

[Azide 0]

After much deliberation, Azide sighed as he relinquished Chemikaze from the pouch he'd kept concealed on his person. A brilliant light cloaked the humble dagger, bathing it in a white glow; in the moment that followed, the knife had vanished. In all honesty, he would have felt more at ease with the knowledge that his weapon was only an arm's reach away- with the volatility brought about by the Sword Arts system, every second was more significant than ever. And not only that, but even the mobs had grown more formidable than they'd been in the past.

"But if I were to be caught with this..." he thought, not needing to finish the thought. After taking a few minutes to memorize the exact position of the dagger within his inventory, he rolled his shoulders before stepping into the teleportation gate.

Edited October 1, 2015 by Azide

[Shirosu 0]

Shirosu snorted,"I'll tell you about my obsession over blue when you explain yours for red" as she browsed the tasty delectable's at the table she saw the other red head of Jomei plot into the pool and wander in her direction" Evening Jomei" she offered him a smile before toping of her plate and Turing around. She was about to go find a place to sit and eat  when zelrius appeared and began talking to Mack, she a little nosley listened in and when he said about not bugging her to get food she called," if your hungry just let me know and I'll get you something, no big deal, I'm not even at the raid anyways and this is an event hosted by the blades so if you need anything just ask and I'll help"  mean while Gin who was swimming made a foxy snickering sound as he led the bear cub on a wild goose chase through the water, knowing that it couldn't catch him.

[Lee 0]

Lee had heard from Piera that Mack was to be hosting some sort of event to help the players of the up and coming boss battle relax. It would also seem that this would take place in a spring of sorts that was above average in temperature, hot even. Lee would show up quietly and without much of a fuss with no real intent of trying to ruin what good evening the people were trying to have. While he didn't want to beat the game, he had no will nor right to try and stop others from doing so, it was their right and theirs alone. He did want to come and mingle with those that he knew as friends or acquaintances and possibly make some new ones as well.

He wanted to get here ahead of Piera as she was getting things ready for the very individuals who were fighting in the raid. He found himself a nice little pond of a pool and was told that he armor and weapons were not needed. One did not have to tell him twice as he would open his menu and his sword and shield would be the first to be put away and then after, the heavy armor would disappear, leaving only a single white towel around his waist to be what he would deem clothing. He would sit himself down on a stony ridge and let a foot enter the water. It was actually extremely pleasing. 

[Toothpick 0]

To: All Players
From: Mack, Grandmaster of the Crimson Blades

Those of you who know me know that I am not one to beat around the proverbial bush. We all know that, soon, the Assault Teams will be launching their raid on the Fallen Crusader on the Eleventh Floor. As a combat veteran, I can tell you that soldiers always perform better when they're well rested and well prepared. With that in mind, the Crimson Blades will be hosting an event at Shattered Ice Springs on the fourth floor, a heretofore unmapped series of hot springs located in the mountains that are south-southwest from Snowfrost Town. Food, drinks, and music will be provided. Bring your swimwear and a towel, leave your weapons and armor in your inventories where they belong, and come enjoy a relaxing evening under the stars in three days time. The location of the springs is contained with this message, I and the rest of the Blades will see you there.

-Mack, Grandmaster of the Crimson Blade

 

“Grandmaster of the Crimson Blades, hmm?” With his recently acquired fishing rod toted over his back, Toothpick mulled over the message, Pop-eye’s whistles fading into the background. Toothpick knew who the Crimson Blades were, an upstart guild which barreled into the frontlines, their success spearheaded by a rather boisterous leader, according to what he heard. It explained why this “Mack” was so willing to invite both green and orange players which were uninvolved with the raid to an event catered towards those involved. Regardless, Toothpick was interested, a normal player rarely got the chance to come face to face with some of the frontliner’s, the event could give Toothpick an interesting perspective on things as they were. Not only that, but the prospect of a hearty meal was tempting to say in the least, Toothpick rarely got the chance eat well considering his status as a “noob”. Ignoring the first plus, Toothpick easily would’ve gone simply for a good meal, he never left leftovers in his wake, regardless of quantity. “I’ll have to take you up on that offer, ‘Crimson Blades’, see ya’ in a few. ” Toothpick dismissed the pop-up message, picking up his trot down the none-existent path, fishing-rod bobbing in rhythm with his gait.

~~~

After leaving the port, Toothpick met-up with a merry crew whose cheer dulled the sharp chill, and eye’s were set upon destinations in about the same area. Covered in a spare cloak borrowed from one of the 3, Toothpick found an otherwise unbearable trip to be perfectly comfortable, rife with chatter and laughter. Returning the cloak to his newly found and shortly “adeiued” friends once time came for the 4 to split, dim torchlight guided him the rest of the way. Upon arriving , he had to admit, as someone new to such splendor, he was impressed; the torchlit springs gave off a welcoming aura to the scene. Shedding his shoddy clothes for verdant trunks with a swift tap of the menu, he slinked into the main spring, wading his way over to the buffet table. After short wait, and some time spent piling up the food, he left the butt-end of the line with a plate chock-full of food and a mug which concealed spring water.
 

Not wanting to eat in or near the main spring out of fear of someone bumping into him and his meal the wrong way, Toothpick opted to move to one of the more dimly lit springs, farther away from the center of attention, the clutter. Choosing a spring practically unoccupied save for one man with only a “scandalous” towel to his name, Toothpick approached Lee, the man, with a smirk, taking a seat across from him,“Hello, be careful with the wind, I hear it’s foul….don’t mind if we share the spring, do you?”

 

[Lee 0]

Lee would actual begin to enjoy the heat coming from the spring waters but this was mainly due to his actual lack of clothing. He would usually hate any other heat source that wasn't himself. He was naturally hot so adding any other heat would usually cause him o sweat buckets and die. Well, figuratively that is. Lee would soon bring his attentions to a warning that come from someone that was approaching his general vicinity about the wind to which he could only assume that it was due to his lower half to which he would laugh lightly "By all means." He would hold his hand out as if to gesture to the opposing side of the small area "It's free and open and the water's great." He would glance around as if to check just who he could see and aiming to find a specific person.

Edited October 2, 2015 by Lee

[Piera 0]

Piera had spent the entire day crafting, as much as she could at last minute with the mats that she had. She was more than a little shocked when she realized that finishing up the last of the items for Zelrius took up the last of the materials she had. It hadn't even been a week or two since Takao had given her that huge donation and it was already gone like that. She was seriously going to need to get more after the boss raid if she was ever going to rebuild her stock. It would be nice to sell her normal items to any customer that walked in again. The guilt ate at her a little every time she had to turn someone away looking for combat potions or crystals. But she buried herself in her work, labeling her new creations and spending the rest of the time attempting to organize and get them ready for pick up. The brunette was looking forward to the get together Mack was holding at some hot springs on floor four. She didn't exactly love the frigid floor, but hot springs were definitely worth braving the chill. The alchemist was also hoping to see everyone gathered. She hadn't actually seen or met many of the players taking part in the raid and she was curious to see what kind of people they were. Though in retrospect she supposed she might have already seen some of them at Zelrius' birthday party and hadn't even known it. There had been other matters that occupied her attention then.

Piera was also particularly glad that Lee was going as well, always happy to see him out and about and making friends of his own. She wasn't exactly sure how but their roles seemed to have switched in Aincrad. Usually it was he that had all the friends and work. Not that she was complaining. Though to be honest, she had half thought that he'd refuse to go due to who the host was. Regardless, she had told him to go on ahead of her while she finished up at the shop and she'd meet him there. Once she had cleaned up and had everything ready, the brunette locked up Piera's Potent Potions and set out for floor four. The cape of her new armor kept her above popsicle temperature until she followed the messages directions haphazardly and finally ended up at the Shattered Ice Springs. Sighing in relief, the brunette walked forward before remembering the no weapons or armor rule and flicked her menu open to equip her swimsuit and unequip her Bleeding Lance.

Glancing around, her eyes immediately found Lee, though she did a double take when she saw what he had equipped. Her bare feet padded lightly on the ground as she walked up behind him and knelt, pressing his head against her chest as she murmured, "That towel better not come up or off for anyone but me or I'll be forced to break the 'no weapons' rule." Then peeking her head to his left she smooched his fuzzy cheek and stood. "Be right back." The brunette waved in passing friendly greeting to the other player Lee had been sitting with. She wanted to greet their host and a few others before she settled in at her boyfriend's side. As well as maybe grab some food. The lineup looked pretty spectacular and not just because it was afloat, which was cool all on its own.

Piera made a beeline for the redheaded guild leader who sat in the torchlight speaking to... The brunette's eyebrows raised above the frames of her glasses in surprise. Stepping somewhat close to the two frontliners but not too close to invade their privacy should they wish it, she patiently waited for a break in conversation before she stepped forward and greeted politely, "Mack, Zelrius. Good to see you both again. Thanks for doing all this Mack, it's a great set up." Then turning to the blonde she stated, "I have your order ready by the way. As much as I can get done at least. I uh, sorta ran out of mats, I mean materials again. But only just today. The only thing I worry about is...that I wasn't able to craft enough Teleport Crystals for the entire party. I'm very sorry. The recipe is trickier than I thought and I only just recently learned it." Her gaze lowered slightly in shame, knowing that the Teleport Crystals were one of the most important items in the Azure Brigade leader's order. She only hoped that perhaps he was able to get more from other alchemists or merchants.

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh had gotten the invitation from the familiar crimson player like everybody else had. He figured that he would go, just to ensure he got another look at the front liners just in case and enjoy the hotsprings. He wasn't suicidal, he knew he was too weak to attend the boss himself unfortunately, and was only going to be weaker if he really set himself on the path of using a katana. That would be a nightmare all its own. He shook his head to shake such thoughts from his mind as he arrived on the chilly floor. Following the directions from the message he stepped through the snow-covered floor until he heard the voices of other people and a warming sensation. He was shivering a little bit as he stepped into the vicinity of the party. He knew there was a no weapon rule, but he waited until he was actually at the party to remove his weapon.

Now fully surrounded by warm air he happily starts removing his jacket and clothes until he was only equipped in a pair of black swim shorts with red lines on either side from hip to mid-thigh. He took a deep breath and stretched himself out to enjoy the hot air and scent of hotsprings. He wanted to just jump into the water before he got warm enough it didn't feel scalding, but he had to make priorities. He moved to Mack and said to the taller player "Hey, thanks for the invitation. Good idea if you ask me, having a pre-party." He smiled up at the player who had the only rare item he had ever obtained by himself. He personally doubted it would be an insane help, but every bit was something in his mind. He noticed Piera and Lee as well as Shirosu and xion! He gave them a wave and a smile if he noticed they had spotted him.

Edited October 2, 2015 by Kalesh

[Mythic 0]

      Mythic followed the instructions to reach the get together closely. He didn't really understand why he came, he didn't know a single player who would be here, he didn't really know anyone for that matter and that made his stomach churn just thinking about it. I might as well get this over with. Reluctantly, the man unequipped his scimitar, but kept his black clothing with a dark blue trimming on. Mythic reached the top of the steps and immediately regretted his decision. He quickly counted ten players in the area and it made him uneasy. Mythic stuck to the outskirts and watched from afar.

      The cold bit at Mythic's neck, or perhaps something was biting him? It all felt the same at this point as he thought back to a mission in the real world. Siberia. Mythic shivered just at the name, but this ice covered land is so much more beautiful and he couldn't remember ever stumbling across a hot spring in that barren landscape. As inviting as those springs were, he would not budge. You can't swim, moron. Of all the ways you could die here, drowning is not the way to go. Can you even drown here? Either way, I'm not going to find out. Mythic continued his watch over the festivities before him.

[Toothpick 0]

“Yeah, I can feel it, been a while since I’ve been near water like this, feels even better thanks to the cold,” Toothpick smiled, memories of warm winter showers rushing back as he slowly dipped in, taking the time to savor the feel more than he did earlier. Once he could feel the bottom of the spring, he reached to the meal he left on the edge, pulling out one of many ribs that he’d haphazardly piled on top of his already towering meal; fortunately, the plate was large, so it was able to hold the mass without too much trouble. Taking a chomp out of one of the more sizable chunks of meat on his ribs, it’s sauce threatening to drip into the spring, Toothpick caught some movement in his peripheral. Blinking at Piera, he was certain that she would be the first of many beautiful women he saw that day, eyes trailing her steps with a blank stare, chewing in meticulously slow motions. Returning her gesture with a two fingered salute that waved the tightly cluched rib aimlessly, Toothpick glanced back to Lee, “Girlfriend, hmm? It’s always nice to see a reminder of the real world.”

[Xion 0]

Xion sighed as he watched the gathering slowly grow, even Zelrius, one of the top players in Aincrad turning up, and a few nobody's, well they weren't nobody's just not the strongest in the game. He also noted, with more than slight annoyance that he was blanked by nearly all of them, bar Mack who simply stated that Xion shouldn't get too drunk. "Welp... I gave up my real life for this..." he said with a sigh before downing his cider and getting another glass. Mack was going to have to face the fact that he may be dragging a very drunk Xion back to the guild HQ later that night. 

 

He then noticed that Kalesh had arrived, and, for once tonight someone had acknowledged his existence. With a forced smile he waved back, before going back to drowning his sorrows, something that he hadn't expected to do that night. 

[Lee 0]

Lee did not take note of Piera as she arrived behind his person and was more interested in Toothpick's blank stare as she would soon press her chest against his back, he would glance ever so slightly to his side as she would talk to him. She would speak to him alone about his current attire to which if it was removed, she would hold him responsible and while any other time, he wouldn't mind the threat in the least, without his armor and shield, he would be quite the target, swaying his own spear around whilst fleeing. "You know I'd never do such a thing my dearest~" He said this with a joking overtone and would give a kiss in her general direction as she would move off to meet someone but spoke of returning.

Lee would then see Kalesh and raise a hand up in a wave to the player with a smile before turning his attention back to Toothpick as he spoke of the cold weather complementing the warm water nicely to which Lee would agree to the comment about his girlfriend "Yeah, it's one of the only things from the real world that seemingly was able to make it into Aincrad but in a small way, I'm happy that I didn't go into this alone."

[Toothpick 0]

Toothpick casually glanced back in hopes of catching out whomever Lee was waving to, taking the final chomp out of his rib as he did. The main spring, both Lee’s friend and his girlfriend seemed to be in a group of five or six, and judging from the the crimson man and the armored figure, their company was important. Satisfied with what he saw, he turned back to his plate, discarding the rib for a steamed potato as he listened to Lee. “We are social creatures,” he idly noted, taking a sip of his drink before munching at his potato. Letting the din fill in the silence for a moment, he continued, “I envy you, you know, you had someone you care about with you from the start.” He took another munch, “Though, it can’t be good knowing that without warning, you two can be separated…...risk and reward, I suppose.” He took another munch, finally swallowing, “But we should be optimistic, so forget I said that…….I’m Toothpick, just so you know.” He glanced up to Lee from the potato which was already half-way finished, “I went by Peter in real life….how about you?”

[Kalesh 0]

Sensing no immediate reaction from the no-doubt busy host, Kalesh directs himself to the nearest hotspring and leaps in without a care intthe world. He spent a moment enveloped in the scalding hot water compared to the icy outside before he finally came up for air, groaning happily as he said "Ahhh that's nice! Been soooo long since I felt hot water like this~!" He wasn't speaking to anyone in particular, soon swimming over to the edge of the water and resting his chin against the edge, trying to keep as much of him dipped in the water as possible. He always was a fan of turning the hot water on almost as hot as it could go and soaking in it or taking his shower. It just did wonders for his muscles and nerves. He didn't even care that he was soaked in the middle of a tundra!

Edited October 4, 2015 by Kalesh