Minako

Minako nodded her head. "Well, a lot of them were just volunteers really. I asked about it on stream one time and a few people claiming to have dev kits just popped up. A few of them I've worked with before on other VR kits, but never for something as complex as the Nerve Gear." She said, thinking. "I bet some of them now are trying to help us get out of here." She said to herself with a touch of melancholy to her words.

Minako shrunk into herself slightly as Mari's gaze cut into her when she mentioned the throwing of drinks. "I guess it was a unladylike thing to do. Especially at a gala like that." She tapped a finger to her shin. "I guess such fancy affairs just aren't my thing." She admitted. She had never gone to a party, let alone a formal gala like that one. Regardless, Mari was right.  She should've behaved better than what she had. Mari had stopped walking suddenly and gestured to the woods. Minako swallowed her nervousness away. "Yeah, I think you're right." She said, grabbing the spear from her back.

Three wolves leapt from the underbrush and quickly surrounded the two women, a larger much more colorful beast stepped out slowly from the shadowed woods. Minako pointed her spear at the beasts, readying herself up for a fight. "Alright Mari." She said her voice full of hesitation and nervousness. "On your lead yeah?" She asked. @Mari

[0] Minako: 120/120 HP | 12/12 EN | 6 DMG | 18 MIT | 0 ACC | 0 EVA | Recovery: 2| Burn: 1| Blight: 1 | Heavy Momentum: 2
[0] Mari: 1140/1140 HP | 110/110 EN | 11 DMG | 43 MIT | 4 ACC | 3 EVA | 

Wolf[1] 40/40 HP | DMG: 25
Wolf[2] 40/40 HP | DMG: 25
Wolf[3] 40/40 HP | DMG: 25
Venom Snapper 150/150 HP | DMG: 35(50 on crit) | EVA: 1
- Venomous Bite: Natural MD of 9-10 poisons the target, dealing 10 unmitigatable damage at the start of their turn for 3 turns.
- Feral Strike: Every time a <<Wolf>> is slain, <<Venom Snapper>>’s next attack becomes AoE. This ability can stack (if 2 wolves die at the same time, <<Venom Snapper>>’s next 2 attacks become AoE). “Venomous Bite” can still trigger on AoE attacks.

Minako rubbed the back of her head as she avoided giving the reason as to why she was out here. But now that the danger had subsided she peaked over at the group in the darkness. The moon gave off some lighting, but not enough to break through the canopy of the forest they were in, at least this patch in particularly. "I agree. I think a quick step back into town would be a good idea." Truth be told this was the first time that Minako had been out this late at night. All of her other excursions had been nearly at the crack of dawn and ended well before the sun set. "I'm unsure." Minako said in response to Calcifer's query about nighttime being more dangerous.

A wolf's howl cut across the still air, the sound carrying through the trees and surrounding them. The hair on Minako's neck stood on end as a sudden chill filled the air. She grabbed her weapon and pointed it at the direction where leaves from the underbrush suddenly moved and made noise. She spun around as a loud crackle of a snapping twig got her attention. "I think we may be being stalked here." Minako said, putting up a brave front.

After Minako gave her full intro a whirl and introduced herself, the raven haired woman still hadn't introduced herself. Minako furrowed her brow as her plan was already falling apart. No matter, it was just like a hiccup in her livestreaming setup. She could overcome this, it was easy. She very quickly picked up on the woman's tones and pattern of speech. Classic tsundere. Only thing that was missing what the red faced stuttering of the infamous words of 'Baka'. Her many, many hours reading romance books and manga and her hundreds of hours viewing trashy romance anime have prepared her for befriending this black haired tsundere woman.

Minako pursed over the words in her mind for a bit before answering. "I'd very much like that if you would." Minako said, giving a polite head nod. "I would feel much safer with another person then by myself. And erm," She faltered a moment. "What should i call you?" Minako asked as she began to walk to her quest objective. Hopefully the woman would be at least willing to communicate a bit before getting there. 

Minako had taken to sitting upside down on a rock out of boredom. Perhaps one sign wasn't enough. Perhaps she needed to spend the extra three hours making an additional sign and placing it in a separate location? Or maybe in the same location, but a few inches away from the other poster? She didn't want to come off as needy in any way, so the two signs were possibly a no go. From her perch she did notice a black haired woman approaching. Was this is, was this finally Minakos savior come from on high? It surely must have been, why else would anyone wander this far out into floor twos wilderness.

"Hey! Over here!" Minako called out, rolling over her head to her feet. She turned around to face the player again. "Are you looking for adventure?" Minako said, striking a pose. "Are you looking for a bonefide heroine in the making?" A second pose was struck. "Then look no further as Minako!" A third pose. "The cute!" Yet, another pose. "The adorable!" She said, striking another pose.

After a few long seconds of awkward seconds of string and pose holding, Minako spoke again. "Did, did you see the ad I did or?" She asked, trailing off her question mid sentence.

<Link to Quest>

Minako smiled to herself as she stepped back from the bounty board within the town. her hands planted firmly on her hips as her very crudely drawn help wanted poster was hastily glued to the wall. The corners weren't attached properly and curled inwards, and the only clean spot was just out of Minako's reach and this suffered from severe wrinkles and creasing. The woman dusted off her hands after what she perceived as a job well done and proceeded to go wait at her designated meeting space, which she had included in the poster. She needed to do quests, but in order to become a great warrior in her own right, she also needed proper contacts. And where else better to gain contacts then the wanted board of floor two? The second floor of Aincrad wasn't as populated with quests or players as much as floor four was, but the fourth floor was a frozen hell scape and floor two was much much more comfortable and so, the second floor will have to do.

The quest she had in mind was something called 'Long Live The Queen'. From context clues and where the indicator was pointing her she could only surmise that it was insect related. Possibly ants, or bees? Something with a queen, either way it did not matter. She had, very intuitively, picked up several decent pieces of armor and even a special weapon so the boss shouldn't be that big of a deal. The plan was to grab someone close to her level, or even lower, and then impress them by slaying the boss in little to no time at all. Such a feat at low levels would be sure to garner the attention of a few higher ups, or even begin to gather a small following here in Aincrad.

A few minutes passed and Minako very impatiently waited, her foot tapping. After half an hour, the tapping turned into pacing. And as even more time passed, her restlessness began to consume her as she threw herself into a sitting position, awaiting for any person to arrive.
@Shay

Level: 6
[0] Minako: 120/120 HP | 12/12 EN | 5 DMG | 18 MIT | 0 ACC | 0 EVA | Recovery: 2| Burn: 1| Blight: 1. | Heavy Momentum: 2

Minako saw two more appear after the boar had swiftly been dealt with. She recognized the sword art that was used via her travels with Jevi as a martial arts form. The blonde boy introduced himself as Aquarian, and then began to ramble. The pink haired woman threw an arm to her chest, bowed, and introduced herself as well, giving a rather apt title as well. She apologized to her and Aquarian as well. Minako smiled at the girl, threw her lance onto her back, and repeated the salute. "Minako. No title." She said, holding back a giggle.

She turned to get a better look at the other two. She recognized one of them from the circus a few months back. What was his name again? It began with a 'V' that much she knew. Vance, maybe? She shook her head clear didn't matter. "I think we're all fine, thank you." She said, watching her HP nearly restore itself to full in a short moment. A moment of awkward silence fell upon Minako's lips. She dared not to utter why she was out here in the wilderness this late at night, but that three other players were out here this late rose suspicion. "So, what brings you all out here so late?" Minako asked the group.

Minako's voice trailed away from expletive's to a more concentrated form of breathing. She never was one to go out and run, nor was she one to be known for an incredibly high endurance and as she has been chasing this boar for some time now, she was feeling the adverse effect of sprinting for so long. Exhaustion had begun to hit her, and she could feel it. There was no pain as the game was kind enough to not simulate that, but the other effects were there. Her muscles began to slow and become tense, her breathing was begging to waiver, and she could feel sweat starting to bead its way down her brow.

Minako quelled her frustration. When would this damn chase come to its head. Her silent frustrations finally answered as the pink haired woman spun around to meet the Boar. Minako firmly planted her feet and dug her blade into the ground. Bits of dirt covered the boar creature but her blade came up short and missed it by quite the large margin. The boar, surprised by the attack from the rear spun around wildly and her tusks managed to nick Minako's semi exposed shin. The blow itself leaving a rather embarrassing red mark showing the damage.

ID: 177500 BD: 3 (Miss) CD: 7 (+2 Energy) MD: 9 (+1 Crit to Minako)
+2 DMG from Heavy Momentum
! Combat Stats !
Level: 6
[0] Minako: 116/120 HP | 12/12 EN | 5 DMG | 18 MIT | 0 ACC | 0 EVA | Recovery: 2| Burn: 1| Blight: 1. | Heavy Momentum: 2

Mother Boar
HP: 10
Dmg: 3

Minako wipes the sweat from her brow. She had spent the better part of the day collecting a various amount of sticks, leaves, and other earthly made things. She brushed them into a small corner, stowing them away like a squirrel would nuts in the winter. She patted her hands free of dirt, proud of her small accomplishment. Now, if any other mundane quest appeared that requires her to gather a mundane amount of sticks, berries, or leaves. She was ready. That was until, a woman clad in starting clothing and gear fumbled through the underbrush knocking everything aside in a mad dash to get to someplace.

Minako puffed her cheeks. The girl conceded, then begged for an apology from her. She would receive none. Minako hasn't realized that the girl was running away from something, that is until it connected with her. The mother boar in its rage slammed into the back of Minako's shins sending the brunette to the ground.

Landing squarely on her rear Minako finally was able to receive the full picture of things. She stood up, and instead of brushing her clothes clean of debris she instead opted to swap into her armor. Her pile would be avenged.

She chased after the boar also screaming into the night, possibly frightening the poor adventurer even further with screams that echoed within the dark confines of the woods.

Minako looked at the stinger and it's gland and thought nothing of it as she retrieved the spear from her back. Rubbing the gland to her weapon she could see the temporary status effect being added in the form of more damage. Nice. It would help a lot since the quest was already a challenge to do, she needed all the help she could get.

Minako nodded. "Yeah. It's a pain sometimes." She said before explaining more. "In order for it to work with my capture software I had to jury rig a couple of HDMI splices and with enough zip ties to get it to work. I couldn't see the chat while I was in game though, but I had people who had dev kits who were working a system mod that let me do that. Sword Art was supposed to be just the tip of the iceberg. But it ended up like this." She said, a bit melancholy.

Minako shook her head. "No, I wasn't slapped a friend of mine was. I told her about the dragon attack and she confronted the guy. Apparently, he had a girlfriend who was just a stupid as he was, and she slapped him." Minako said, throwing her hands into the air dramatically. "I did throw some punch on her though and was ready to throw hands. I have never hated someone that much in my life." She admitted before trying to cool down.

+1 damage (base increased to 6 from 5)

@Mari

Minako quickly fumbled back through the menu as she retrieved the antidote again, quickly uncorked it, and downed it. She tossed the bottle aside and as it shattered into blue crystals she shrugged. "I mean, I can't blame you. I don't think I could call someone friend and be a teacher at the same time. What if I said something that hurt our friendship? What would I focus on bettering them or friendship? It's too much." Minako said, thinking about the situation.

"I used to be a streamer. But, maybe I still am?" Minako said turning and walking backwards to face Mari as they spoke. "I turned on my equipment before I dove in, so maybe I've been streaming this whole time?" Minako said, chuckling. "But, I really doubt it. They'd have us in hospitals or something, and remove us from the internet." Minako said, spinning back around and walking normally. "Wait. You can speak english? That's amazing!" She exclaimed. "I always wanted to learn, expand my language horizons a bit, but it's all just so hard." She said, almost defeated.

Minako's tone changed. "Yeah the Gala was a lot of fun. Especially if some dingy broad and her idiot lover think that they can walk all over everyone just because they have some dingy dragons." Minako said through almost clenched teeth. "God, I hate people like that." She said, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "Like, who just slaps someone because they didn't like what they said? You just leave! Ugh!" Minako said, not realizing that she had begun ranting.

@Mari

Minako nodded as Mari explained everything, placing a hand on her chin. "I personally think that teaching is a very respectable profession and I'm glad that you're making a bunch of new friends." Minako said nodding her head once. "Fortunately, I don't think I want a teacher. Just, someone to hang out with and kill bad things with. Then go out for," She paused and thought for a moment. "I dunno, whatever it is that friends go out and do." She said waving a hand around.

Her mind snapped back to attention as Mari mentioned the actual quest itself. "Oh right!" She said, fumbling through the drop down menus and retrieving the antidote. She showed the small vial of herbal medicine to Mari before adding it back to her inventory. "Yep, got it. I've also got a few potions that I've managed to scrounge up." She said, double checking her inventory. Minako tugged on her armor a bit and adjusted her spear before heading off into the direction of the quest marker. "A teacher huh? Were you that before the game, or something else?" Minako asked.

@Mari

Minako made her way out to meet up with Mari. She had met the woman once before at the gala, and the pair had quickly hit it off. She had posted saying that she needed help for a quest as she was quite underleveled for it, and who else but Mari decided to help her. Stepping out of the safe zone, Minako changed out into her armor. She kept the school girl uniform on when she didn't need to be in combat as she was still trying to get used to how it weighed against her body.

Marching across a bit of tall grass, Minako could see a familiar face out in the distance. At first she didn't recognize her, not without the fancy clothes at least. "Hey! Mari!" Minako said calling out her name before breaking into a light jog to close the distance. The armor was heavy, but every day it seemed to be getting lighter and lighter. After reaching Mari, Minako gave a small wave. Minako had already taken a look at the quest beforehand and gotten the specifics from a few other people who had completed it. The monsters could possibly chunk Minako down, but she had a small stash of potions still along with the antidote she received from the quest giver. And with Mari by her side, nothing could possibly go wrong.

Minako wrapped her hands behind her head as she crossed her legs in a standing fashion. "How you been?" She asked curious as to what her friend had been up to. Jevi had gone dark, possibly dealing with guild stuff and Quinn, another person she had met at the gala, had disappeared entirely without even so much as saying a word to her.

@Mari

STATS

Minako chuckled. "It's Minako. But you were close. You're Quinn, yeah?" Minako said, trying to recall the name. Minako was actually pretty good at memorizing names, she knew most of her staff by their usernames and their real names back when she streamed. Minako nodded in agreement and understanding to Quinn's answer. The view over the valley was very nice.

Minako flinched in her spot as Quinn flinched as well. The NPC was a human female offering a quest. Minako opened the quest details and poured over its contents. It seemed to be a search and rescue sort of mission. Find the lost child, and bring him home. Minako rubbed the back of her neck before standing from her seat and swapping gear. Now in her Wyrm's Calling armor, she was ready to accept the quest. She looked over at Quinn who looked mostly hesitant. "I'm going." Minako said. "I can't leave that child to whatever fate he's been given. Even if he is just an NPC." Minako said, determined to make a change. "If you wanna come too, I'll protect you." She said, offering to be the role of protector. 

@Quinn

Stats
Level: 6
[0] Minako: 120/120 HP | 12/12 EN | 5 DMG | 18 MIT | 0 ACC | 0 EVA | Recovery: 2| Burn: 1| Blight: 1. | Heavy Momentum: 2
Battle Inventory:
(5) Healing Potions [Post Action to use; Heals 50HP on use]

Minako noded. "I come out here every so often to train a bit with my spear." She said, propping the weapon on the bench beside her. "I need to get stronger so I can help save the people who are trapped in here." She said, sounding determined. Again her gaze drifted over the sea of rolling grass and endless sky. She wondered how one could get there, if everything was explorable in this game, which it was, how was one supposed to get down below without the proper rock climbing equipment or skills needed to scale the small cliff. And on another note, was fall damage even a thing? Could they just, jump down there and explore. But then even if they survived, how would they get back up? Minako scratched at her temple. "Yeah, wish I could get there too without a hassle." She smiled. "But hey, what brings you out here?" Minako asked curiously.

@Quinn

"Yes." Minako chuckled in her mind as Jevi walked over to Vigilon. Jevi was strong, commanding, and powerful. Even a brat such as that buffoon would see that much. She manhandled the guy, gave him a stern talking too, and marched back over to the group.

Minako tilted her head in response to the butlers answer. It was a bit confusing as to why she wanted to blend in, let alone blend in as an NPC. But those thoughts went away when she asked if they single. Minako's face flushed with a hint of red. "Yes. But we're taking turns matching us up to cute boys our age as they come in. I'm next in line." She said, again adding on the last bit a bit too fast.

Then another woman approached Vigilon before making her way to the group. She then turned Jevi around surprising both Jevi and Minako, and slapped her across the face before spouting some nonsense and turning around. Did that just happen. Her boyfriends dragon attacks her, Mari, and several other people. Causes a scene at a fancy party. And when called out on his idiocy, she defends that and hits her friend? Oh, hell no. Jevi followed, and retorted but Minako was already red in the face from anger. She took in a deep breath through her nostrils. "Excuse me a moment, will you?" She said to the two women beside her.

She marched her way over to the woman, grabbing a cup of punch from off a table as she stepped by. "Hi excuse me. A moment of your time?" Minako said, forcing herself to be in front of the red haired woman, Jevi and the assaulter. She quickly tossed the cup of strawberry punch at the woman. "Now listen here, [censored]!" Minako screamed out. "I have no idea, who the hell you think you are but let me give you a life lesson, right now." She said, jabbing a small finger into the chest of the woman. "From what I can see, that idiot has two pets. You and that dragon. And from what I can tell, the dragon is far more trained than the dog." Miako spat, ready to throw down in the middle of this party. No one [censored] with her friends.

@Jevi @Krysta @Zajcica @NIGHT @Azhoda

Minako crossed her arms. "I didn't kidnap her. She looked lonely." She said, defending herself. "If anything I liberated her from boredom." Minako said, teasing her much taller friend. YUki then introduced herself to the pair. "Yuki is such a cute name!" Minako said exclaimed. "I love the snow!" Minako said as in her mind she thought of the future winter events. "The fourth floor is completely covered in it, and it's a lot of fun. If you ignore the yeti thing that's there." Minako said, placing a finger on her chin in thought.

But much like her evening and mission to eat as many fake digital chocolates she could, Vigilon had gone and ruined her concentration as well. With a loud cry, and an impressive display of maneuverability, or just dumb luck, managed to avoid falling into the large puddle that he had slipped in. Minako covered her mouth and looked away and let out a loud chuckling noise, as she leaned in to whisper to Jevi. "He had his dragon familiar attack me, and my new friends over there." Minako said pointing towards Mari, Quinn, and the other blonde woman. "It was very graphic and traumatic. It made poor Quinn have a panic attack." Minako said, flashing Jevi a pair of sad eyes.

But soon after the display of extreme ineptitude of being able to stand upright by Vigilon in the middle of the event room, a waiter appeared and offered a tray of treats. From the green crystal hovering above the player, Minako could clearly see that it wasn't an NPC butler at the least. Minako took a small piece of fruit from the plate. "This will do for me. And a question perchance." Minako said, looking at the slightly smaller player. "What's a player doing butlering at an event, that already has butlers?" She inquired, noting the butler from earlier that had served herself and Mari.

@Jevi @Zajcica @NIGHT

Minako practiced in the open fields of the second floor. Her new lance was a bit heftier than her starting weapon, but she was getting the hang of its weight and its movement. She still swung it clumsily, but at it was leagues better than what she had previously. After a brief workout, Minako wiped the sweat from her brow as she swapped from her armor back into her normal attire. She attached the lance to her back, and using video game logic it stayed there. And with that workout out of the way she made her way back towards the main settlement.

To her right she did notice a group of children playing in a open yard, most likely a school of some kind. And just outside the gate there seemed to be a view spot, a kind of destination spot for good screenshots or date spots. If she recalled correctly, it showed the majority of a great valley covered in tall grass that moved along with the wind to give the valley the illusion of a green ocean with a matter of who knows what that laid in secret beneath its waves. Minako approached, wanting to take in the scenery for a small while.

"This is an amazing few, don't you think..."

A voice asked the air, or was it directed at Minako? As she got closer she could see a familiar bundle of hair. Minako leaned against the bench gently, trying not to disturb the woman. Minako too looked out into the distance. "Yeah, it is kind of nice isn't it?" Minako asked back to the girl. She recognized the woman from the event not too long ago. She had a small forae with herself and Mari. Minako chuckled lightly. "I didn't scare to badly I hope?" Minako asked as she moved to the front of the bench, taking a seat.

@Quinn

Minako let out another defeated sigh as her body folded in half in defeat. Her health was already full, as was her energy. But her morale was pretty low, and she as sure it wouldn't recover in time. Minako thought about it. They could go back, Jevi making sure the boars wouldn't overwhelm her and Minako would try her best to get a hang of the combat again. And then pray for the drops to happen quickly. Or They could convince in a few days and Minako could have some better gear, and maybe a few luck boosting items. And then they could blast through the quest like it was nothing. Minako had already gained a few experience points from the boars she had killed, and was only needing to rest to cash in the level. She sighed again as she straightened herself out. "We'll reconvene in a few days. I know I have to do all the work, but I wanna grab a few items beforehand and try this again." Minako said, looking determined, and tired.

~~Thread Rewards~~
Minako:
+1SP page compilation
200 Col

@Jevi 
+1SP page compilation
200Col

Minako watched as yet another cute girl had walked into the gala, followed by another silver haired man. This entire event was a bust. This wasn't the kind of place a single man would go to in the hopes of mingling. Minako had fully given up. There were no cute boys coming to this event, and the last few people trickling in were the last straw. Minako huffed again before excusing herself for a moment from Jevi. "I'll be right back I swear." She said before scooting away a few inches. "I'm just going to go introduce myself to some people." She said, now darting away.

She ran up to the woman in pink, ignoring the elderly gentlemen entirely. "Hi!" Minako said, giving a polite bow. "I'm Minako. Welcome to the gala, event, thing." She said, not quite sure what it was to begin with. Minako rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "I notice that you don't have a man attached to your arm, so I take it that you're single. That's perfect actually." Minako exclaimed. "Over here is where all the single ladies are hanging out at, making sure that any cute boy is immediately matched up with a girl. I'm next in line." Minako said, quickly blurting out the last bit before leading the woman over to Jevi. "Jevi, this is-" Minako thought for a moment. "Oh jeez, I didn't catch your name. You're?" She asked the girl.

@Jevi @Zajcica

Minako nodded as Jevi's words rang as loudly as her plate armor did. Somehow, Jevi inspired Minako to do better, and to stop blaming herself for everyone's problems. She was right after all. This game was marketed as a dream come true. How was she supposed to know that it would end up like this. And if Jevi was able to understand, perhaps other people were able to understand too. There would always be the odd man out, someone who blamed her for her problems. But then again, there were always people who blamed other people for their problems.

Walking into the blacksmiths shop a multitude of errors appeared on her hud. Looking over the quest details again Minako pulled at her hair. She stormed outside of the shop. "Jevi. This quest, for a lack of a better term. Is bull[censored]." Minako said. She opened her inventory. "So all the time that we spent today, means that only you get to turn in the quest because you go the items. I haven't got a single one." Minako said, pouting.

Minako perked up as she heard a familiar voice. She spun around to see Jevi standing tall above her as always. "Jevi!" Minako squealed as she threw her arms around the woman. "It's been so long!" Minako said before giving one last squeeze and removing herself from the woman. She looked wonderful in her blue dress, and she even went all out on her makeup too. Minako huffed playfully as Jevi teased her about not having a man. "There's no single men at this event. Or at least all the single men have already been marked, or are much to old." Minako said waving a hand dismissivlely. "But just you wait. I'll score one of these days." Minako said playfully.

Minako tapped a heel on the ground. "So, what have you been up to? Any cool adventures or anything like that?" She asked her friend. She didn't divolve that she was thinking of leaving, especially after Jevi just showed up here at the gala. "Honestly, I haven't been doing much. I've been kinda lazy. Thinking about doing a lot of things against doing a lot of things." Minako admitted.

@Jevi

Minako couldn't much of anything except watch as Mari consoled Quinn on her panic attack. Minako tapped her fingers against her lap, not wanting to leave Mari alone with a crying girl while she went to leave and have fun mingling with other guests. The crying girl introduced herself as Quinn, and through her crying Minako couldn't place the odd accent. Perhaps she was italian, or french? Something a bit more north-western then what she was used to.

Mari introduced herself to Quinn, and left to fetch a drink for the girl. As she returned with what seemed like a jug of juice. She gave Quinn the juice and then offered some to Minako. She shook her head. "No thank you. I'm good." Minako said, not thirsty but feeling out of place. What was a normal conversation had turned into a spectacle then immediately into a trip to the nurses office. And frankly, it was getting really awkward when Minako didn't know how to handle anything.

And then yet another blonde appeared. Was this entire event just women? Where were are the cute boys her mind promised? This entire game was just a farce. Quinn at least seemed to had calmed down, which was good. Quinn then also said that she shouldn't had come, which Minako held no stance on. All Minako had to go on Quinn was that she wasn't good in crowds and had eagerly jumped into the deep end. Points to her for trying at least. But at least now she seemed to have a handle on it.

Mari the friendly introduced herself to the new woman, but another random woman was the last straw for Minako. Too many chicks here getting in the way of her time to shine. Minako stood up, and gave a polite bow to the group. "Mari, I do hope we see eachother again soon. We can get better, together." She turned to face Quinn. "And you're welcome to hang out with me anytime Quinn. I'd love to get to know you better." Minako said. "I hope you have a pleasant evening." Minako said to the last woman, before making her leave to go mingle with other members of the party.

Minako looked around the party, and couldn't spy a single person that wasn't already talking to someone else. Perhaps she just missed her chance already. All the good men were either taken, or stayed at home for the evening. Perhaps the event was just a bit too formal for a single man to show up. Minako pondered just leaving the event entirely, another valentine's day event that was a wash up.

@Mari @Quinn @Astralin

Minako turned to see Mari cursing as she was giving the other person about their familiar. The dragon continued to blast it's cold breath everywhere striking Mari in her face. Minako rose to her feet, ready to throw down if needed. Minako glared at the boy. "Seriously. Who even brings an animal to an event like this?" Minako asked one sidedly before moving to Mari's side. After making sure Mari was okay, and seeing that she was Mari asked if everyone else was okay. Minako nodded. "Only my dress was hit a bit." Minako said looking at the end of her dress that now carried a darker pink than the rest of dress as the ice had already melted.

Mari introduced herself, and Minako to another woman. Minako politely bowed her head. "It's nice to meet you." Minako said, greeting Kairi. The meeting was cut short as Minako had only just noticed that Macradon had plunged his fists into the punch bowl. Minako stared at Mac a bit perplexed as to why he was digging for more strawberries, when everyone already had their fill of them.

Minako followed Mari to another table,  a bit further away from the now bustling crowd of people and the idiots that dwelled within them. Mari had also picked up another girl and lead her here to the table as well. As Mari took note of the sweets on the table, Minako already had a small handful of chocolates and creams in her mouth.

The girl next to her was crying. Most likely from being blasted in the face by the dragon familiar. Again, who would bring such an untrained animal to a gala like this? Minako looked back and glared at the man. Looking back though the girl looked like she was undergoing a panic attack of sorts. Her mom would normally so things like this after fighting with her dad. It happened a lot. But to see that a girl that looked as young as she was, hell maybe even younger. It was kind of tragic. Fortunately Mari knew how to take care of things, or at least she seemed to know how to.

@Mari @Quinn

Minako stared at the pair of people making idle conversation. She wanted to be included in her new friends conversation, but couldn't decide on when to chime in with her own bits. Hearing that Mari played an instrument was rather surprising, and yet it wasn't. Mari carried that sort of, educated feel to herself. She carried it in her stride, the way she spoke and acted. Frankly, Mari was actually really cool of an adult. Minako always assumed that adults who played this game were really childish, kind of like Macradon. Memeing about and making jokes trying to wear a brave face, or save face, or just cheer someone up. Mari was different, and that was good.

Minako chuckled as Mari complained about her pockets, or lack thereof and had reached over and had gone to grab a piece of white chocolate to mindlessly snack on. Minako let out a loud 'eek' as a dragon had found itself perched around the platter of sweets. Minako pulled her hand back, and Mari had already sprung into action scolding the dragon, its owner, and quickly removed the dragon from the table and onto the floor. Minako was about to grab the dragon herself in a rage to protect her and Mari's sweets, but Mari had fortunately intervene saving Minako the trouble.

Macardon had apologized as well for not remembering her, which was completely understandable. She could only imagine what business was for arms and armor in this day and age. Then a curious thought poured into Minako's mind. "If it's so busy, maybe you could teach me a thing or to about a George, or whatever it's called. Could help you with all those orders you get." Minako said, stuffing a white chocolate piece into her mouth. In reference to her understanding the joke that Mac had made it was somewhat creepy and easy for her. In her most recent stream logs he analytics showed a great increased in older, elderly gentlemen. Which was good because they donated a lot of money, but also bad because they were kind of pervy at times. But she had a good staff team to ban people who took it to far.

Minako's cheeks turned a shade of pink that would match her attire as Mari blurted out that Minako was looking for love. But the blush quickly faded to normalcy as Mari began to explain her feelings towards Baldur. She didn't know the two that well, but they both seemed to be good at getting Minako out of an awkward spot. Maybe they had more in common. "Aw Mari don't change!" Minako protested and mar made mention of changing. "You're the prettiest woman at this gala." Minako said, before watching Macradon grab a fistful of strawberries and adding them to his inventory.

"Wait.." Minako said, trying to reach out to them only to be cut off by Mari who joined in with the festivities of shoving the red seeded berries into her own inventory before shoving a few her way. Minako stared blankly for a moment before she happily took the strawberries and added them to her own inventory. "This is the silliest thing I've done. But I love it!" Minako cried out. Minako even seemed to ignore the small dragon blowing ice everywhere like a tantrum from how much fun she was having.

@Mari @Macradon @Vigilon

Minako shrunk a bit in her chair as Mari almost scolded her for wanting her problems to be solved by some handsome man coming in to sweep her off her feet. But, She meant well, calling her beautiful and what not. But, finding a cute boyfriend was all she really wanted. At least, that's what she thought. But if that was the case, why was she also fighting and trying to be better? Her lips curled into a thoughtful position as she bit her lower lip. And as she was about to ask a question to Mari they were interrupted.

An older gentleman approached, and Minako almost physically back backed away as he grabbed a chair and took it without asking. He immediately started talking and Minako already disliked the man. He ended up spouting some old world self help bull, along with trying to force his ideals about cursing upon the two women. Before Minako could gather her words, Mari had gotten up from her seat and for a split second Minako thought that Mari would leave. But instead she handed her the platter of food asking her to hold it. "Oh, sure." Minako said, curious as to what Mari was doing next. Minako's fasce entered a blank expression as the chair scooted, awfully loudly, across the floor.

Mari hadn't taken the platter back, so Minako held onto it. She nearly dropped it as Macradon made his entrance. That was what he was like outside of his shop? Minako had met the man in a business sense a little while ago to get armor and a weapon made. But this behavior. It was kind of funny, even the old meme. Minako snickered a bit as she brought attention back to the table. Minako cleared her throat before she spoke. "I'm sorry Mister Commando." Minako held back a snicker from the man's name, thinking that he wasn't wearing any underwear. "But respectively, I would like to say whatever the [censored] I want." She said giving a nod.

And with that she turned her attention to Mari and Macradon. Minako panicede slightly as she quickly tossed the tray onto the table, spilling some of the food as well, as she took Macradon's hand. "I'm Minako. We've met before in your shop once. But I would be surprised if you remembered me." Minako said. "I got the Dinkster reference. Very funny." Minako said, smiling.

@Mari @Macradon @Commando