[PP-F4] [[COMPLETED]] Ice to See You Again (Vayrin)

[Koumori 0]

(Whenever I see I chance for a pun in a title I slide right in there)

Nothing hit the spot like hot chocolate on a cold day. No one really liked the cold so hot beverages did a great job to heat you up. Fortunately, you practically had to go out of your way to be significantly cold in Aincrad. Most of the floors had great climate settings so you could enjoy mid-summer days to your heart's content. However, sometimes you wanted something different. That's where floor four came in: The Winter Wonderland. All year round floor four was completely covered in snow. It's main settlement, Snowfrost Town, gave off that feel of a cozy Northern Village. I myself loved the fourth floor. Not only was it fun to play in the snow but I had some pretty happy memories there. Fun times that couldn't be repeated again. It's for those reasons that I came to Snowfrost often, and why I was there right now. I sat in a cafe, hot chocolate in hand, and stared out the window at the white streets and bundled up players walking by. I didn't have much in the way of clothing so all I had was my usual trench coat and hood with an added scarf. When I finished my drink I stood up and began to walk out the door. The cold air hit me like an icy blast as I stepped through the doorframe and back outside. My cheeks almost instantly turned red and tears formed in my eyes. Boy was it cold. It might've even been colder than usual. I reached up and pulled my scarf tighter around my face and made sure it covered my nose. I stuck my hands in my pockets and began walking. I'd have to find something to do or it would be a boring day. But what could I do? I was usually there with another person so we made our own fun. I had no idea what to do by myself. Well, I'd have to find something. 

 

Edited October 31, 2015 by Koumori

[Vayrin 0]

"Why is it so cold...." 

Vayrin had been speed walking through the streets of Snowfrost looking for an inn. She was wearing minor winter gear, mostly just a pair of boots with a jacket. Visiting Snowfrost today may have not been the best idea, but she wanted to familiarize herself with the town. So in hopes she could use it as a staging ground when she became strong enough to hunt mobs on this floor. She slowly lifted her hand in front of her to open her menu. Her hand shook and was bright red from the blistering cold of the evening's wind. She flipped it open and pressed multiple buttons to bring up her map. Ah, right. The Inn is over a couple streets. She gave a frustrated sigh and closed her menu again. She pulled over her hood which completely cover her head, only small strands of her violet hair were seen hanging from it.  She walked down the street, looking mostly at the ground to shield her face from the unforgiving wind. In turn she managed to bump into something. It felt like another player. Vayrin looked up to apologize.  "Oh sor-...Koumori?"

[Koumori 0]

I wandered around for a few minutes but found nothing. Snowfrost town really was just all shops and snow. It definitely took another person to make it fun. But then again maybe that was the point. SAO was a roleplaying game so socializing was definitely a major aspect. Each floor had its purpose, maybe to fourth floor was supposed to be a fun getaway. There was also that lake too. I continued to walk absorbed in my thoughts until I was stopped by a collision. I looked to see that a player had bumped into me. The girl looked up to apologize but I couldn't see her face because her good hung too low. I was surprised when she knew my name so it must've been someone I knew. I looked closely and saw strands of violet hair poking out. Maybe? I bent forward a little bit and looked up the hood and sure enough I saw Vayrin's face inside. "Vayrin? Hey what are you doing here? The violet girl looked utterly frozen and flustered. She was wearing a jacket and boots but a apparently that wasn't enough. "You look freezing. Come on let's go inside." I pointed to the cafe next to us. I spied a fireplace through the window so it would be a good spot for her to heat up. I myself was fine but I couldn't just leave her out there shivering. Courtesy wasn't dead yet. 

[Vayrin 0]

Yes, it was Koumori. A rather odd coincidence she thought. Last time she saw him was he and his friend Manta were helping her on the first floor. Definitely something she wouldn't have forgotten easily. Mostly though it was his purple eyes which brought her memory up to speed on who she was talking to. 

"I was j-"  Before she could finish Koumori had cut her off, explaining her current state. She was honestly surprised he had remembered her, although she couldn't really figure out why. She remembered he had sent her a friend request after all. Koumori was pointing to a cafe they had been standing beside. "Right." She responded to his action. The cold was irritating enough to justify his suggestion so she agreed with it. She began to follow him inside.

[Koumori 0]

Vayrin looked surprised to see me or maybe surprised I remembered her. Either way she was surprised. I had cut her off when she started speaking but she took it fine and agreed to me request. She followed me to the cafe and I held the door open for her to enter. The sweet relief was immediate when I stepped through the door. The inside was just as cozy as I expected. I pulled down my scarf from my face as I navigated to a table by the fireplace a tool my seat. The crackling of the embers and heat of the flames were all to real. When we were situated I looked back over at Vayrin. Her face was much less red so I guessed she appreciated the change in temperature. Well, might as well talk about something. I hadn't seen her since that first time and I was curious about how she was getting along. "So, what've you been up to? Getting used to things yet?"

[Vayrin 0]

She had followed Koumori inside the cafe. The air temperature was felt at an alarming rate. The rush of warm air blew on her face as they stepped inside. They had sat at a table beside the artificial fire, but she couldn't notice the difference. She slowly took her hood off, and her violet hair fell over her shoulders as she did so. She looked back at Koumori. "Fancy seeing you here." That was really the only thing she could come up with at the moment. She didn't really know what else to say. Should she thank him? She could, but that may feel awkward since she was perfectly capable of coming into the cafe herself.

"Town of beginnings is boring as always. Thought I'd take a vacation. Though I guess Snowfrost isn't the ideal vacation spot." She said chuckling a bit. She then continued to stare into the fire. 

[Koumori 0]

Vayrin seemed happy to be warming up and even cracked a sort of joke. "Small virtual death tower, huh?" I said with a smile. She slowly took off her hood and fully revealed her Violet hair. It was actually very beautiful in its exotic look. Not many people had hair like that. It made her stand out. Well maybe the fact that everything else about her was also purple helped with that. And I thought I was odd for having just purple eyes. When she fully settled she began to answer my question. So she justed wanted a change of scenery. Based on what she said it sounded like she hadn't seen much action. "I was just thinking the same thing but I disagree. This is a great vacation spot! I usually have tons of fun here. Well...maybe that one time got super awkward super quickly but beside that it's been all good."

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin continued to stare into the fire for another minute as Koumori spoke. Listening the entire time. According to Koumori, this place had more than what she was giving it credit for. He could have been right. The only thing she really knew about this floor was that it's really cold. No surprise there. The entire floor was covered in snow and ice. Even so, many liked to come here. So did she. It gave her a familiar feeling. Her home country had been covered in snow for half the year as well, and she had a cottage she used to go to with her family every winter. In a town just like Snowfrost. Only the streets were made of pavement. Other then that Snowfrost was pretty much the same. In a way, she was already familiar with this place, even though she rarely came here. 

Vayrin shook the thought of the outside world and looked back to Koumori. "So what brings you down here?"  Aside the fact he was probably looking for excitement she was still curious.

[Koumori 0]

Vayrin stared into the fireplace as I spoke. Evidently she found it as realistic as I had. Lots of stuff in Aincrad was like that. If you really paid attention, the stuff here was amazing. It really did look like real life. She brought her attention back to me when I finished speaking. I could tell she had been listening to every word I said but she changed the subject. I wondered what she had been thinking about that whole time. She had had a pretty reflective look on her face. Nevermind that though. "Nothing real specific this time. I just kinda missed this place and wanted to see if I could have anymore fun here." Hey come to think of it, Vayrin never said what she was doing there. Maybe she had the same thing in mind as me. I'd certainly be able to do something with her. Well at least that's what I thought. I didn't know her very well but she seemed pretty easy going. Not Shirosu easy going but still easy going nonetheless. I smiled at her as I asked my next question. "Hey something gives me the feeling you came her looking for some fun too. How about it?"

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin listened closely to his response. Just walking around, looking for fun times. That was funny she thought. She didn't see many people just wandering around looking for fun. Although this floor was a weird place to do it. Aside from the normal "chilling" out (whichever kind you prefer)  there was not much "Fun" to be had on this floor. Whatever he was talking about slightly intrigued her. "What could you possibly do for fun on this floor?" 

She didn't know what to expect for a response. Koumori seemingly was a mysterious character to her.

[Koumori 0]

She listened to me intently yet again and I could see the gears turning in her head. She was still probably trying to figure out what could possibly be considered fun on this floor. When she finally spoke up she asked exactly what I expected. A wicked smile formed on my face before I answered. Not an evil smile, but one that showed mischief. "Plenty. Snow angels, snowball fight, snow men, ice skating, sledding, you name it! There are tons of things to do here. Wasn't there snow where you came from?" I paused after I said that last part. You weren't really supposed to talk about the outside world. It was usually off limits. People didn't really want to have to remember. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that."

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin swiveled her eyebrow up when she saw his grin. He clearly knew something she obviously didn't. Koumori then went on to explain a list of the things he qualified as "fun." They all seemed to be your average child activities. He then went ask if there was snow where she had come from. A rather strange question, considering most people wouldn't ask. Vayrin looked back into the fire after that question, expecting an awkward silence to follow. Although Koumori piped up again, realizing what he said was unusual. She looked back at him.

"Lots of it."  She said. "All the time."  

 

[Koumori 0]

She didn't seem too excited at the list I offered. Actually, she seemed dissapointed. She definitely wasn't impressed with the lame activities I suggested. She seemed as surprised as I expected when I mentioned her home. She turned her head away from me and back to the fireplace and stared. After a few seconds she turned back and answered flatly. That explained why the snow didn't excite her: she saw it all the time. I knew that I shoul drop the real work dialogue then but I felt like it might be a good time for me to share some of mine. I mean, I did make her think and talk about hers. It was only fair. "I guess that's why all that stuff doesn't excite you then. Well where I come from we got snow sometimes but I never got the chance to play in it. Hard to do in a tight city." I let some silence drift in as I though about home. "But even kid stuff is fun when you do it with friends."

[Vayrin 0]

"It was never really exciting. It's cool to look at. But being in it was never fun." Vayrin said staring into the fire. "If you know what I mean. It adds a nice look the surroundings." She then looked back at Koumori. Seeing is intent stare she only guessed he was thinking of his home as well. Not uncommon. She would often think of her home, but it was not something she felt ashamed for doing. Why try and forget the reason you're fighting to get out of this game? She took it as motivation. In her mind at least. She still felt uncomfortable talking about it to others, though. 

"This is what I always preferred."  She gestured the cafe around them.  "It doesn't feel the same without a cold blizzard blowing right outside the window. Even though I'm not a fan of it, I still think life is better with the cold." 

[Koumori 0]

"Hmm. Well I think it's great. Let's you blow off some steam." She was staring into the fire again so I turned to look as well. It was relaxing, soothing even. I never was really around fireplaces that often so I had never just sat and stared at one before. "Yeah, I understand." I was never a sentimental person. Very rarely did I dwell on the past. That's why I didn't think about the real world too much. I didn't try and avoid it I just naturally didn't think about it. Of course I wanted to go back there but I wanted to focus on where I was then, what I was doing in SAO. Also maybe I felt that thinking about what I didn't have would only bring me pain. I finally broke my gaze when I heard Vayrin's voice. She was looking at me again. I chuckled at what she said. She definitely came from some place cold. "Hey I like the cold as much as the next guy, but sometimes it's too much. I'd rather not freeze in to an icicle if I had the choice." I began thinking again. I thought of a question that I asked many people and many people asked me. I felt like maybe Vayrin would have an interesting answer. So I just said it. "What do you think our purpose is here?"

Edited October 28, 2015 by Koumori

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin gave off a small smile as Koumori responded to her. As she had thought, his response was weird considering he just suggested they go outside and roll around in the snow. She stared at the window, watching the blizzard go by. She was indeed thankful there was still some luxuries in Aincrad. Then Koumori asked a question she was not prepared for. He had asked what she thought their purpose was. Her smile faded, and her normal serious look took its place when she saw Koumori's. She had not really thought about it before. If she had to give an answer on the spot, she'd probably just say he was crazy. Although, something about the look Koumori gave her told her he thought otherwise. He was in fact a mysterious person. She couldn't help but feel curious about what was going on in his head.

"Maybe nothing really..." She said. "Maybe he just wanted to make himself a god. And now he is. He can do anything he wants in this world, and we can't do anything about it."

[Koumori 0]

Vayrin smiled a bit at what I said before she turned to gaze out the window. A string blizzard had started and snow was practically flying everywhere. But my next question snapped her out of it. Her smile disappeared as she looked back at me. She thought for a second, straight faced, before giving an answer. It was more straight forward that I expected. I thought she'd say something different. Oh well. That didn't change what I would say. "I think it's more than that. None of us wanted to be here, but we are. So I believe we should make the best of it. Like, if we just blow ourselves out trying like madmen to escape this place well just be letting Kayaba win. We should try to live here, you know? We should continue our lives and try to better ourselves. Because, to me, we can only truly beat SAO if we come out as better people. And not only that, what if there was something in here we were meant to find? That's the one thing I'm unsure of." I stared into the distance as I finished. Sometimes I went deep. But I realized I might have went too far and made an effort to lighten the mood. "But Kayaba's definitely wack in the head. He was probably dropped as a baby."

[Vayrin 0]

Koumori wanted to live here is what it sounded like to her. Although, that was not as hard to believe as it sounds. Many people had rough lives, and SAO was like a second chance to them. A clean slate. That's why returning to the real world was not always what they were trying to do. Maybe Koumori had something in the real world he tried to forget. Vayrin didn't. She knew she needed to get back. To make sure Jack didn't blame himself for her putting on the Nervgear. Vayrin had clenched her hand into a fist as she thought about it.

"I doubt there is anything here meant for us..."   Kayaba was just a mad man who wanted power. And what better way to achieve it then create a world he had complete control over, with thousands of people to participate. Whether they like it or not. 

"He's just a mad man.." Vayrin said again, she sounded slightly angry now, and her eyes only confirmed her feelings.
 

 

[Koumori 0]

It seemed to me that Vayrin had got the wrong idea. It looked like thoughts were swimming around in her head and she didn't like any of them. Finally she spoke up again and this time I could hear the anger. She repeated what she had said before only with more conviction. Looks like I had some explaining to do. "I think you might have misunderstood. I'm not debating that. He's insane, no question about it. What I'm saying is that I'm not willing to throw away years of my life just to be a pawn in his stupid game. If I'm going to be stuck here, away from my family and home, I'm going to make the most of it. I'm not just gonna go out everyday and hack at boars and skeletons until I can't feel my virtual hands anymore. Do you follow? I'm saying if we can't live here and enjoy the little things then it really will be a waste of our time. I don't want that. You probably don't either...I get the feeling you thought I want to live here forever. No thanks."

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin leaned back in her chair. She stood corrected.

"Of course that's not what I thought..." She lied. 

"We just need to stay focused...All the 'little things' are just there to distract us." She looked angry as she stared at the table in front of them. Even if Koumori didn't want to live in this death game, he still took it a lot better then most. That's what bothered her. She didn't even know if it was a bad thing, but some people didn't really seem to take this as seriously as she thought they should. The last thing she wanted was to keep her family waiting so long because she was "Enjoying the little things" She was not here for entertainment.

She was here to get out.