[PP-F12] Red White and Blue (Calrex)

[Azide 0]

The thick musk of the stilted settlement was the first thing to greet him as he stepped forward, rushing into his lungs as if it were air; in a place like this, that sort of comparison wasn't exactly far off, and he found himself wishing for a cup of water to purge the swampy taste from his mouth. His eyes creaked open, more out of formality than anything- it was dark, and there had been no doubt as to where he'd landed from the very moment he'd touched down. Wisps of smoke scattered briefly in the face of a half-hearted breeze, before regrouping to continue their journeys to the cloudy skies above. At the heart of the smoke, faint flames flickered in the open air, but did not burn as brightly as one might expect- as if their true colors remained smothered by the stubborn humidity of the foggy bayou. Where there should've been the smolder and crackle of withered wood set aflame, he heard instead the hushed hoo's and whispering wings of owls unseen. 

The damp wooden slats creaked underfoot as he shifted himself to lean against a ratty hut which seemed devoid of any occupants. Azide held his arms folded across his chest as he gazed out over the open moonlit waters, which rippled on occasion as small specks of debris disturbed an otherwise unbroken surface. Lazaro was far from his first choice of locale- and yet, he figured that he might as well acclimate himself the muddy environment, lest a lack of preparedness catch up to him during their showdown with a certain winged croc.

Calrex was a name he was beginning to see with increasing frequency as of late- and in fact, the blue-haired man had been the very first to cross his path upon his tumultuous return. Friend to Oikawa and Xanatos, and witness to the disappearance of Noctis, the bluenette served as a common link between between them all. It seemed as if the swordsman lay at the very heart of Aincrad- a friendly face to all, and subsequently positioned to perpetually be in the know.

He wondered if the young man might find it odd, to be meeting here like this in the dead of night. In fact, he couldn't even be sure that Calrex had been awake when he'd received his message- this little rendezvous would not be nearly as deliberate as his usual encounters, having risen more from impatient curiosity than anything. In any case, all there was to do was wait; with both Reveal and Night Vision under his belt, it was Calrex who would be be coming to him, rather than the other way around.

[Calrex 0]

"Huh, well I wasn't expecting to get a message at this time of night."

A faint light appeared in the settlement's teleportation plaza as the Ultramarine Knight emerged. However, unlike the past, where he wore the iconic Grand Chariot armor which seemed to match his name, he was clad in the Grand Dragoon that fit over his casual combat clothing. As usual, his armament seemed to consist of the Grand Blade, Amethyst Charm, and Tide Pendant. All were made from his close friends Teayre and Oikawa, who were also members of the unofficial group he founded with them, the Spectrum Coalition.

"It's pretty dark out tonight. Guess I should probably should activate Reveal, although it doesn't seem dark enough to trigger Night Vision."

Looking across the area his eyes flashed for a second as his <<Reveal>> skill kicked in, turning the landscape transparent as he managed to navigate his way around. Seeing the brunette nearby he gave a wave as he walked over, "Hey Azide, good to see you. How're you holding up?"

"Only a short time left before the next floor raid. We're certainly moving a lot faster now. Back when I as starting out in adventuring we hadn't progressed a single floor until right after Teayre and I left Absolute Pin. Now we're already working our way to the thirteenth floor."

Edited October 23, 2015 by Calrex

[Azide 0]

From under the cloak of darkness, a lone figure approached in the distance; from the way the man waved at him, Azide guessed this to be Calrex even before a voice called out to remove all doubt. Without missing a beat, Azide lifted his hands to the level of his eye. "I'm not holding up anything," he said, shaking each cuff in quick succession. The red-and-white sleeves slipped down just far enough to expose the ends of his arms, his modesty being saved thanks to a timely return to crossed arms.

The thin line which had been his lips took a slight upward curl as he nodded once to acknowledge the other player's presence. "But it's good to see you as well." He squinted, struggling to make out very much in the way of detail- he wondered if the blue-haired man in front of him was even aware of just how dark it was to those who did not possess the passive ability of Night Vision. But technicalities aside, he had not summoned Calrex here to gawk at him, so much as he had to speak with him.

Not for even a moment would he pretend that a certain extended hiatus had not thrown him off of his game; during the span of lost time time, familiar faces had come and gone, while newer ones awaited him on every corner. Square One had dissolved, and both the Squire of Minos nor Seijuro were anywhere to be found. Even X and Crozeph were among those that he had not seen in quite some time. But here was Calrex, the now-famous Ultramarine Knight- the man rumored to be the strongest in all of Aincrad. Times had changed, and the pace of its flow only seemed to grow more relentless and impatient by the hour.

"Calrex," he began, as he drummed his fingers lightly against his arm. "Can you find them?" he asked, peering into eyes that he could not find. Azide found his fingers slowing their steady taps, until coming to show more interest in affirming their grip than in lending to a consistent rhythm. "You have the eyes, don't you?"

[Calrex 0]

"Find...them? Who or what do you mean?"

"I know Azide can talk in riddles at times, but this seems...rather cryptic."

It had gotten to the point of night that it forced his <<Night Vision>> to activate, his blue eyes turning a lighter shade as he gave calming breath, looking around, "Well, I can see the area just fine. What was it you wanted me to find?"

The night seemed to have turned darker than usual, although it was possible that it was simply just some random change in the programmed weather. Something to provide a sense of realism to the game, that nothing in the real world was a constant. Things were always changing, and while to some level people could make predictions, they were not always on the dot.

Taking his hands out of his pockets he listened attentively for Azide's response, "I guess he is still pretty bummed about Oikawa and Xanatos' disappearances. Oikawa decided to leave all of a sudden to become a hermit for some time, and Xanatos left without saying a word to anyone. I hope both of them are alright."

[Azide 0]

"Anyone," said Azide, looking Calrex in the eye- a pair of crystal blues which seemed to luminesce in the darkness like the slitted orbs of a feline on the prowl. He glanced over his shoulder, looking past the crumbling hut in an effort to pierce the veil of night, but found little recourse. "Anything," he said, as curled fingers tightened around the arm of his sleeve. There were too many names to count, and too many which counted. while it was true that the majority consisted of names unfamiliar to himself, there was much to be learned from the sheer amount of players whom had gone missing without a trace. But of the ones which he had recognized without hesitation, he found in those phantom mantles a menagerie of both men and women- all of them good, and all of them gone.

It was not an unfamiliar feeling, to say the least. At least several times before, he had considered the phenomena which seemed to be the status quo in this world; everything here seemed to come in go, often with little warning or notice. And yet it wasn't just their bodies and minds which tended to disappear in tandem with their absence, but also the countless hours of progress which they represented. It was exhausting and disheartening to see those in whom he'd confided, or those in which he'd invested- seeing them vanish, making a mockery of all they had worked for.

Again, he stared into the glowing gaze of his company, his own muddled by the thoughts flew in and out of his conscious at a rate left unchecked. "It was you who found me back then," he continued, with a weary sigh. Azide almost seemed to shrink back at his own mention of the events which had transpired on the tenth floor, but he bit his tongue and carried on. "You found me, even in the depths and darkness of the underground cavern. You and those eyes of yours." He paused for a moment, coughing into his sleeve as the wind brought with it remnants of hazy smoke. "If it came down to it, could you do it all again?"

[Calrex 0]

"Well, I can't say that the skills would allow me to find everything that exists within SAO. I would usually rely on the player tracker from the friend's list if that were the case. Plus the Reveal skill does have a limit to its range. I can only see so far before I get out of its range of effect."

Giving a small sigh Calrex put his hands back into his jacket pockets. He had an idea of what Azide was inquiring about. If things turned out the way they did when they first met up again, would the events that transpired only have occurred by coincidence, or by his own doing, "I wouldn't go as far as saying that things didn't happen all of a sudden..."

He looked up at the moon for a brief period of time, gathering his thoughts before looking back and responding, "If it came down to it, of course I could do it again. Should any of my friends become lost, you can be sure I'm going to do whatever I can to help them. These eyes of mine are more than just tools to use in battle. They're my way of making sure I keep those I care about safe, moreso than any level of weapon skill can provide."

[Azide 0]

Catching the gist of the man's words, Azide unfurled a single hand in order to access the in-game menu. After a swift series of swipes and taps, a translucent screen hovered just in front of his face, lighting the weary eyes that stared with an artificial glow. Grayed out were the names of those he'd hoped to trace; this in itself was no surprise, being the obvious approach to tracking down those who'd gone missing- naturally, it'd been the first thing he'd consulted along the way.

"It's a shame that this thing tends to fail in the most inconvenient situations," observed Azide, as he tapped repeatedly at the greyed out options, bringing about little to no change by the end of it. He exited from the pop up which had branched out from the main interface, before swatting the entire panel away with a sharp flick of his wrist. The ghostly screen flew back a handful of meters, speeding somewhere to the right of the blue-haired man for a short while before fading altogether. 

His fingers felt inclined to curl inward even as he drew back the hasty hand, and he left the arm to hang limply at his side as he lifted himself away from the straw-lined wall of the wooden hut. "Nobody even makes an effort," he said, pacing forward, eliciting muffled groans and murmurs from the aging floorboards underneath. "When these people go- people like Oikawa and Xanatos, am I not wrong in saying that not even a single finger is lifted to find them?" he asked. Somewhere underneath the red and white jacket, he could feel his heart beating faster as the blood rushed through him. 

"Even if there are limits- these floors are far from endless, and we both know that. They're still out there, and even if they may not want to be found, I doubt that that they could run forever. And I'm sure you must be hurting, Calrex; I know that more than a few of them were your friends just as well. They're already lost, as far as the rest of us are concerned. But I'm sure we could find them." He marveled at the way the man's eyes caught the light, and how it seemed to permeate them as a whole. In the night, they were stars against a backdrop of black.

[Calrex 0]

"Yeah, it seems like when you need it, the system tend to fail us. I guess in some ways I shouldn't be surprised."

Calrex took note of Azide's hand, seeming to clench in some form of frustration before slowly releasing, as if the pent up energy was quietly released. His eyes shot over for a second as the man's menu appeared, then promptly vanished in a flash of light. In the dead of night the menu interfaces seemed to light up like a cellphone screen, only the ambient brightness didn't harm one's eyes. 

Listening attentively Calrex heard the former Square One guild leader's words, expressing his worry that the people who have gone missing were simply cast aside, with nothing to be done for them. "To be honest, while I feel like something should be done, we also don't know why they decided to leave in the first place. Xanatos I cannot explain, but I know that Oikawa took an absence some time back because of the various pressures he was going through, needing the time alone to think."

Crossing his arms he continued to speak, "The other factor is if they want to be found. When I was a part of Absolute Pin, a guild that Ariel created during the short period of time that the Azure Brigade was disbanded, one of the members, Azrael, decided to leave, removing everyone she knew from her contact list. That prevents anyone from using the tracker to locate them."

Giving a small sigh he returned back to putting his hands in his jacket pockets, "I would be lying if I said I wasn't concerned for the friends that have vanished, Oikawa and Xanatos included, but I think that finding them could also be taken as a way of going against their wishes."

"Like the way Teayre suddenly disappeared after fighting Avalanche...I trusted that she would be safe, and it seems that trust held up for now. But I wonder if there will come a time that itmight be broken. It's hard to forget the negative things that happen, and it requires even more good events to outweigh them, a remnant of instincts from ages long past as a means of survival. I wonder how badly I'd fall, how much harder it would be for me to put my trust in others should that be broken..."

Shaking his head out of his thoughts he gave a nod, "However, if you ever want to give it a try, I would be glad to lend my assistance."

Edited October 23, 2015 by Calrex

[Azide 0]

"It certainly wouldn't be the first time the system's failed us, considering how we ended up in this mess in the first place," he quipped, reminded of a certain day when a cloaked and hooded man appeared before a mass of ten-thousand players and sent the entire crowd in hysterics with nothing more than a handful of sentences. To be fair, he'd later found out that the lack of a log out option had been a feature, rather than some unintended glitch. Still, he wondered what Kayaba gained from this sort of petty trickery- the mechanics which stopped him from tracking either Oikawa or Xanatos at this very moment. Had it not been enough that he had caged them all within this over-glorified ant farm of a world?

He halted his steps as Calrex brought his own insights to the table, expressing the possibility that perhaps their companions did not wish to be discovered. Although he could see the need to retreat to one's room after a heated discussion, or perhaps even taking a day off in order to cool one's head, the idea of hiding away for months on end in isolation seemed completely and utterly insane. On the surface, an opinion like that might have sounded absurd, considering the unannounced leave of absence which hung over his own head. But there was an important distinction there to be made- namely, Azide in his current state would have never wanted all of that time alone. It'd been nothing less than complete and utter insanity which had goaded him on. 

A downward glance brought his eyes to linger upon the ground as he weighed in on the man's musings. Calrex had come here in the dark of night on nothing more than a vague message- solely because it'd been asked of him. With that in mind, Azide dragged his attention back to the piercing gaze of the man in blue. "I'll give them another month- maybe two. But after that, the gloves will have to come off. And when that time comes, you can bet on another message from me." Silently, he wondered to himself if the swordsman had it in him to drag those delinquents back to town kicking and screaming, if that was what it would take.

 

[Calrex 0]

"One to two months huh? I wonder if that's enough for them. In any case, should you need assistance in doing so I'll be expecting that message."

Calrex gave a small smirk as he nodded in combination with his words. If was true, people did need time to take creaks from the trials that this world was weighing on them, but Teayre taught him back when they were lower in level that shutting everyone out was no way to do so. It only made the burdens that much harder to bear. One didn't need to simply be stronger. If you had people around you, friends and allies, then it makes whatever weight you bear that might lighter.

"I know they must have a lot of things on their minds, but a good friend would not simply stand by and watch them suffer. They find ways to help share whatever grief they were going through, rather than watch them tear themselves apart."

Gving a small sigh to himself Calrex brought his hands closer, still within their pockets, "I guess I might have forgotten that to some level. I've been concerned, almost obsessed, with aiming to become stronger. To try and become the strongest possible and work through the floors without having to put anyone at risk. But that's a fool's errand. No matter how strong I become, this game will always throw something at me which could destroy full-on raid teams in a single blow. Leviathan was a good example of that. A single tidal wave nearly depleted all of my health."

"So Azide, you still haven't told me what it was you were during the whole time you were missing. You certainly seemed out of sorts, and for the tenth level there is an area which could cause that. Did you somehow stumble into the void?"

[Azide 0]

"You could say that it's going to have to be. Because if they don't sort out whatever it is that they're going through by then, then I'll be happy to sort out for them myself, and they'll be free to complain as loud and as much as they'd like on the trip back to town."

There'd been a certain level of tongue-in-cheekiness to his words, but that was not to say that they had been nothing more than friendly banter. Lucifer alone had been missing for long enough; the young, yet business-like girl, had rounded out the founding members of Square One in days past. Alongside Oikawa, X and himself, he could still remember the day they'd all gathered in the Starlight Cafe. But the girl had gone missing, like so many others, and all that existed of her now was her namesake- a green keelback snake which rested in his pockets at that very moment. 

He slid his his hands into the warm folds, feeling the scales of his familiar brush against his skin, and he looked upward. Hanging high above, a yellow light lit a small corner of the sky, blurring through thick clouds which obscured the fullness of its gentle radiance. 

"It's impossible, I realize, because of how this place is designed," he began, without shifting his eyes. "But in the other world, it was a comforting thought- that there was only one moon in the entire sky." He blinked as the haze blew by, revealing the shining crescent for just an instant before it was swallowed back up by a passing cloud. "No matter where you stood, whether it was Amsterdam, Tokyo or Paris, the same sight awaited you every time the sun fell away. You, and everyone else that you'd ever met, provided they were still around. No streaming, no social media, no flippant calls- but you knew that you all shared the same view all the same."

A tap of his boot sent a displaced stone into the swamp with a soft plink, rippling the murky waters once more. He lowered his gaze, but did not not turn to face Calrex just yet. Nor did he pursue that train of thought any further as the man raised the issue of the missing five months. A grimace came to his lips, dressed as a thin and crooked smile. "I might've," he said, lifting the hair from his eyes. "Not planning on testing your theory, are you?"

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, not even on my mind at all. I've heard what entering that area can do, and I'd rather avoid having some extra voices talking to me when I'm trying to keep my head straight."

Calrex took his right hand out of his jacket pocket as he gave a dismissing wave to pair with his statement. The Void, an area on the tenth floor that could only be entered once. However, from various rumors it was said that doing so would result in ever present voices existing in one's mind, "Yeah, I only need my own. Anything else would just throw me out of equilibrium."

"Sounds good though. If they have any problems still needed sorting out, we can always help them out. Rarely is there a case where only the person with the problem can provide the solution."

"Although it is true that we all of us try and handle situations on our own to try and avoid involving others, but it takes time to develop the ability to realize when something is on a bigger scale than yourself, and that it's safe to ask others for help. I'm still working on that. When I first started adventuring in this game, my goal was to become strong enough that I could perform the floor boss raids on my own, to avoid putting Teayre and the others at risk. Now I know that's nigh impossible."

"Hey Azide, I've got a question for you. Do you ever feel like you're strong enough, that there's a point where you can say 'I've earned myself a break?' I thought I did in the past, but now that I've made it to the frontlines...fighting alongside all of the commandants in the Azure Brigade, even alongside Teayre..it feels like I'll never catch up. No matter how hard I push myself, I'll always be lacking in comparison. It just feels like I'll never be strong enough."

[Azide 0]

"It's not as bad as it used to be," offered Azide, pausing as he closed his eyes for a few moments. The gesture was of little practical significance, owing to just how dark it really was in their little corner of the town. In those seconds of deeper night, his ears twitched as they picked up the crackle of a far off torch, the faint beating of his heart, and the occasional splash of water from a site unseen. But not even a single unwelcome voice crossed his mind. A flash of brown flickered in the darkness, and once again, he saw Calrex standing before him. "After we left Yomi and the tenth floor, they seemed content to leave me in peace- for the most part, anyway." Though he had never gone back to confirm this bit of conjecture, he'd concluded some time ago that their influence seemed to begin and end on the aforementioned floor.

As far as problems went, it was apparent that the young man had his fair share, albeit the one which had been expressed was not unheard of. "If my stamina allowed for it, I'd be off training training 24/7," he remarked, his eyes lacking the sort of twinkle one might expect to accompany such a statement. "I'd be lying if I said it hadn't been my goal to be the best in this world. If it weren't for the insane tediousness of grinding away at skill point thresholds, then that would probably still be the plan to this very day."

It'd been one thing to climb an academic ladder, but to rise through the level ranks in this game was another thing entirely. At least assignments often required creative input, critical thinking, and could even lead to tangible progress; all he could ever gain from this place was the illusion of progress. All they were was a bunch of numbers that held little significance outside the vacuum of this engine.

"But to answer your question more directly- no. Although I doubt I have to drive to play the catch-up game with players such as yourself, I'll always be looking to improve my numbers, one way or another. After all, guys like us have invested too much time to back out now. It's almost an obligation to keep pressing forward, if for no other reason than to pick up the slack for those who've fallen off by the wayside."

[Calrex 0]

"Yeah...that seems to be the case."

Calrex gave a small sigh as he gave a nod, "Zeri, Noctis, Lindow...yeah, Azide's right. Even if I wanted to just screw it all and spend the rest of my days in one of the inns on the first floor, but that wouldn't do them justice. For the people that have died, and for those still alive...I have to keep pushing forward."

"I could say the same. I wish I could apply any of the skills I've learned in the real world, but unfortunately there is no logical way of doing so, heh. In any case it looks like we've got a lot of work to do. I can barely remember how long it's been that we were stuck on the tenth floor. Only recently did we start clearing the floors again, with the twelfth floor boss raid coming soon."

Letting his <<Reveal>> skill deactivate he gave a small sigh. Since he knew where Azide was, there was no need to keep the skill activated. However, the moonlit night still required his <<Night Vision>> skill to be active. "I wonder how much longer we'll all be trapped here before we finally reach the 100th floor. We've barely scratched the surface of the challenges that this death game has hidden. It's only going to get more dangerous from here..."

Edited October 27, 2015 by Calrex

[Azide 0]

"With the system serving as such a heavy crutch, it's not too surprising that the skills most transferable to the real world are the ones where statistics are involved the least. Leadership, organization and diplomacy have inherently higher prospects of being useful once this is all over when compared to, say, alchemy or swordsmanship."

Again, Azide stepped forward, but shot a glance at the man behind him. With a sweep of his hand, he motioned for Calrex to follow his lead along the boardwalk. He was getting tired of standing around in one place; a bit of walking would keep the blood flowing to his head, if nothing else- at least, if the system were sufficiently advanced enough.

As he transversed the wooden walkway, it became apparent that the structure as a whole was a precarious one. Wood was not the best material from which to build a water-bound construct of any sort, and the occasional suspect patch of sickly green only seemed to confirm his suspicions. If it hadn't been for Aincrad's artificial nature, the entire network of piers likely would have rotted away at its critical points years ago at the very latest. Combined with the constant slickness of the surface, it was a wonder that nobody had been reported to slipped and fallen into the surrounding waters. 

His eyes darted once left and once right, before locking on the dimly lit path ahead of them. It was almost paranoid, he realized, to be checking for unwelcome company at this particular time and occasion. Lazaro, being a town, was a safe zone- and both Calrex and himself stood among the elite in terms of combat, even if shenanigans were to somehow ensue. Keeping that in mind, Azide allowed his shoulders to slacken before speaking again. "Even if we were to clear one floor per month, we'd all still be stuck in this place for at least another seven years, and that in itself would be a tall order. I feel as though the further we march on, the more we'll be fighting off weariness, rather than mobs."

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, those are most things I tend to not concern myself with outside of this game."

Following behind Azide Calrex gave a small exhale as he kept his hands in his jacket pockets, following behind the brunette as the boardwalk creaked occasionally. It was as if the developers wanted to show the amount of detail they had put into the game's realism, and it showed. Every step along the old rotted planks seemed to give the feeling of an old pier.

"Yeah, I think we've spent way too long on the first few floors. Even with the amount of strength we have in the frontlines, it seems that we're still moving fairly slow at this rate. Unfortunately it looks like if we're going to have any chance of making it out of here we just need to keep pushing forward."

"Unfortunately eventually we'll hit the limit that we can push upwards with the strength we have. Then we'll have to spend time gaining skill points and levels, which adds even more time..."

The daunting endeavor made him give a small sigh as the two continued on, "It just might be a battle to stave off weariness."

[Azide 0]

With Calrex following suit, Azide slowed his pace, putting them side-by-side on the ailing avenue. Admittedly, the previous arrangement had been closer to the ideal- the path was not exactly narrow, but a single file march certainly left each person with much appreciated clearance, considering the watery plunge which awaited anyone caught slipping. Still, at least this way, there would be a pair of eyes in the front actually capable of seeing a significant distance ahead.

"The more time we spend in this world, the slower our progress will become," said Azide, catching a quick glimpse of the swordsman before returning his attention to the rickety pathway. "The clearing group doesn't exactly have the best retention rate. Our best and brightest are either retiring or on the decline; even if they were to someday change their minds, the time that it'd take for them to catch up and readjust would not be insignificant. It'd be mad to think that we could maintain the kind of pace we accomplished on floor eleven."

At most times and in most places, the flame which flickered off to the side would be written off as slight or faint; it was a different word entirely here and now, and Azide scrunched shut the eye closest to it as they passed by. "But as I was saying," he began, rubbing at his eyes as they refocused in the low light. "That's why I believe our objective should be geared towards retaining our numbers in anyway possible, as well as taking those who hold promise under our wings. Finding those we thought to be lost would only make all of this easier."

Edited October 27, 2015 by Azide

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a small smirk as he listened to Azide speak about retaining player number, as well as nurturing those who showed potential to become strong frontliners, "Funny enough, that sounds exactly like how Oikawa described Square One when the two of us first met. Of course, that's the mission statement for a lot of guilds now."

"I think the only one that doesn't match that description is the Azure Brigade, but of course they're exclusive on exclusive. Only the strongest seem to get invited there. The last time I was a part of them was when Ariel extended an invitation to both me and Teayre when we were first starting out."

"I would like to find all of those that have decided to go into hiding, although pulling that off would be an ordeal in itself. However, nurturing those that are following in our footsteps certainly seems doable. For the most part it seems to be just keeping them alive and making sure they've got a smart head on their shoulders, seeking to survive rather than gaining fame or glory."

Giving a small sigh the bluenette gave a nod as he took his hands out of his jacket pockets, "It we manage to bring more players up to our level we might be able to prolong the speedy pace we have started since floor eleven, so that maybe we can make up for all of the lost time on the lower floors."

[Azide 0]

"I can't exactly say that surprises me," Azide said, catching sight of something in the water ahead of them. Keeping in mind that no mobs had ever spawned within the confines of a safe zone, he neglected to mention the observation to the player beside him. Besides, if it'd been anything of concern, then Calrex likely would've alerted him to it long before it'd even had the chance to come into his view. For the time being, he pictured Oikawa- the young man who had once been at his right hand; not only had Seijuro been loyal as a guildmate- he'd proven to be every bit as loyal as a friend. The former councilman of Square One had in fact been one of the few people in Aincrad that he had not hesitated in labeling with that designation.

In the next instant, he swore he'd tasted blood, with inattention lying at the center of what had almost been a nasty fall. There were a few things which were shed in a world like this, but blood was not among them. As he regained his footing atop the slick terrain, Azide noticed a thin orange line towards the end of his tongue, which quickly began to fade just as soon as it'd appeared. Just like so many other things in a world like this.

He adjusted his jacket, flicking blinding at the sleeves with a vague feeling of accomplishment. "Anyway," he started, squinting his eyes at the silhouette in the distance. It seemed to bob gently at the far end of the pier, but he carried on regardless, moving forward in both the conversation and the more literal sense. "That's just the plan I had in mind myself. Though she's hardly a slouch when it comes to swordsmanship, I've put it on my own shoulders to see to it that a certain guild member of mine grows into a fine front-liner. And although I'm aware that you yourself are in no particular guild, I think you might find it worthwhile to mentor anyone you come across that might hold staying power. It's true that we haven't had the chance to familiarize ourselves with each other until more recently, but I think such an apprentice would have a lot to learn from you, Calrex."

Finally, the shadow on the horizon was no longer a shadow, nor on the horizon. Instead, in its place, he spied an old canoe which had almost certainly seen better days. But despite the nicks, scratches and general state of disrepair, it seemed to have no issues with floating. Azide turned to the man beside him with a slight smile, and gestured to the vessel. "I don't suppose you're in the mood to venture out on the water?"

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, Azide I'm pretty much always up for an adventure. But yes, you're right. I like to think that whatever has gotten me this far could be useful knowledge that could be passed down to those coming after us. I hope your guildmate learns much from your mentorship. There's always more to know than simply how to swing a sword. It's what makes a rounded out individual."

Calrex gave a friendly smile and nod as he stepped into the canoe, sitting down on one of the few seats that extended across, almost as if it was carved out of the piece of wood, rather than attached at the last moment. It certainly was of steady construction, even if it was of old age. "There is in fact one I can think of at the moment who I can think of. I originally saw the potential in him when I was a Rook in Ariel's guild Absolute Pin. He seemed to have a lot of traits that I see in myself, that including a strong desire to protect those he cares about. Whether or not he decides to accept my instruction is, of course, up to him. However, should he do so I can see him becoming one powerful defensive player."

"Well...I haven't heard from Tak in quite some time. Hopefully he's going alright."

Calrex took note, only now, of Azide's guild affiliation, seeing an old name he had not heard mention of since his time starting to adventure in Aincrad, "The Knights of the Blood...certainly not one I've heard passed among the public in quite some time. I guess they still have been active, unlike some of the other guild that have taken a peaked interest in the player population."

"Oikawa put a lot of trust and faith in you Azide. As one of his good friends, and from what things we have encountered in the past, I like to think that I can give the same. Even though Square One no longer exists, I think it's goal is carried on in its former guildmaster."

Edited October 28, 2015 by Calrex