Elora

"Guess so", she said casually and with a courteous smile. These interactions never get less awkward. Thankfully, this individual seemed the capable type, despite his age. He showed impressive dexterity in maneuvering his tea, at the very least. Wonder what kind he's drinking., she couldn't help but speculate. Soon after, Elora followed the old man as he began to reminisce about his days as a skier. "Winter Olympics, 1972.", Kingsley recited, "I injured myself the next year and took to other endeavors," Why...is he telling me all of this...? "That's the type of memory I expect t

Dawn drenched the walls of her room in bright amber light as the shrills of territorial squirrels could be heard on the distant horizon. Elora stirred momentarily before stretching her arms high above her head. For the first time in a long while, she felt rested, refreshed even. When was the last time she'd slept through the night's slew of concerts or procedural brawls? That's right., she resolved after inspecting her surroundings, At the new house. Promptly climbing out of bed, she made her way to the heart of the house. Freyd's already gone -- Off to Firm Anima I bet. She glanced briefly in

"Even a sweet little rabbit can be terrifying if it comes in a horde, and it suddenly has a set of sharp little teeth... and a taste for a players flesh." The example evoked imagery of a certain white-haired rabbit devouring regiments of soldiers near the maw of a cave. So the legends are true., she considered with an especially cautious slurp of soup. Mina and Freyd continued their deliberation on Montjoy. "...Have you ever wished you could understand how other people can feel, how they tick? I know you're aware of how Montjoy behaves... but have you put any thought into what he cou

The two gradually made their way through the dew-covered fields and back to the Town of Beginnings. Fireflies and the low-hanging moon lit their path, making the arduous trek seem much shorter than their hike outward. The village's chatter had subsided into a dull murmur as many of the occupants retired for the night or stuffed their faces with a well-earned meal. "There's something I want you to have.", she interrupted their quiet walk with an offer, "You should have the opportunity to stay where you want, to really begin to form your life here." Her fingers raced to initiate a protocol

Even with Katoka's assistance, towing Freyd out of the water felt like shouldering a sack of cement. It took both the women's effort to bring the deceptively muscular boy back onto their ramshackled vessel. Seeing that he appeared unconscious, Elora spared no second in splashing his face with a fistful of water. "Oh, wait --", she remarked disappointedly. Her go-to method of rehabilitation proved useless in this environment. "Maybe you can wake prince charming with a kiss eh?" "Hah ha, very funny!", she retorted sarcastically. A nudge of her spear still failed to rouse the delir

Moonlight swirled in a nauseating display as their vessel spun across the water's surface. Staggered steps swiftly threw Elora off-balance just as the sail's wooden beam whooshed to clock a fossil fish right in the spleen. Wrapping her spear around the base of the half-assed mast was enough to prevent her from slipping off of the raft. The injured angler swished after them, lantern bobbing above the inky expanse like some sort of drunken firefly. "Screw this stupid fish for ruining our vacation!", barked Elora as she scrambled to her feet, "I don't care if we're on Floor 12, I'm gonna hav

Worry was palpable as the still environment shifted to one of suspense. Before she'd had the opportunity to decipher the note, the sun had swiftly plunged beneath the horizon. An obsidian sea swirled around them, glassy surface broken by the rising form of something sinister. Katoka responded with the agility of a skittering gecko. Her blade's lightning resounded with its signature crackle mere moments before a successive disturbance came from Elora's side. Panicked and surprised, the woman dove forward with her spear, its shaft igniting with static electricity as it plunged into the gut of so

Before Elora could talk to Freyd about the skittering stranger, another sleuth of snow came rushing down directly beside her head. A swift side-step averted the miniature avalanche and sent it sloshing into her glass instead. With an accepting shrug, she arced the vessel around her to be topped off by the eager barmaid. The resulting beverage seemed a surprisingly appetizing combination of mulled cherries and mystery slush. Raising the rim to her lips eclipsed the arrival of another player, one far taller than most she'd seen. "Been a while, buddy,", he casually greeted. A second sip dism

Elora accepted her delegated oar with a death grip as Katoka dished out orders. "Aye aye , captain", she answered with hawkish eyes affixed to the floorboards. None of these boards are coming loose. Not on my watch. For once in a long while, Elora found herself appointed to a more passive task. It was a nice change of pace, though admittedly a bit distressing in the wake of being surrounded by one of her greatest fears. Feeling a lack of control, she gradually inched herself closer to the center mast in search of some more stability. "So...what exactly are we planning to do once we get to thes

Her partner promptly sifted through his inventory in search of something specific. What she'd initially assumed would only take a matter of seconds quickly spiraled into a lengthly sequence of swipes, scrolls, and filtered inquiries. Geez, he must have...a lot of stuff. I guess when you've fought as many mobs, traversed as many dungeons as he has, you're sure to collect plenty of loot., rationalized Elora. The awkward stretch of silence warranted a cough, then a thorough inspection of their surroundings. Cradled like a nest between branches, the alpine grassland rested within a long stretch of

She explored the products of her own imagination as it fabricated scenes of different parlors, kitchens, and bedrooms. How would I want a house to look?, she considered. "What if I wanted it to have something really weird?", proposed Elora, "Like an exclusively neon interior or a sanctuary for wild turtles?" Those hardly seem the same. A turtle sanctuary is way more practical. "Would you demolish the house the second we moved in?" The rhetorical jest caused a smirk to curl from her lips. "I feel like it's one thing to have a house be everything you wanted and another to share it with someone w

There was barely enough time to rally their familiars as the duo set off on an expedition to Floor 2. With Freyd's hand in her own, Elora felt as if she was being towed, no, guided into the next chapter of their lives. "Most of the second floor is fairly rustic." , he began to explain, "There's plenty of timber and stone to work with, which could easily be adapted..." "Does that mean we'll be building it ourselves?", she asked. Perhaps the question sounded naive, but Elora was completely unacquainted with how the home-ownership process in Aincrad worked. "I just thought we'd be movin

♪ The Festivities Begin ♪ Large globs of melting snow slopped onto the muddy ground from evergreens above. Elora swayed with the grace of their crooked bows as she set to keep her brimmed tankard from sloshing over. Unfortunately, she had long since replaced her means for elbowing and shoving spatially-unaware celebrants from her path. While her right hand guarded her golden grog, her left pinched the hem of a gathered woolen skirt. Anyone paying mind would be able to recognize the garment's utility for toting around an assortment of delicious samples. An even more astute bysta

"Freyd,", he promptly decided, "Though you say it with great tenderness, 'Takeshi' rings in my ear as if the name belongs to someone else." "I understand", she calmly agreed. Part of her felt relieved to know the feeling was mutual. For as much as she'd heard Mina speak his given name, Elora still hadn't grown accustomed to addressing him with it. She had only ever know 'Freyd' as 'Freyd'. And I guess that makes sense. "There is a place I know, on the Eastern edge of floor six...", he soon suggested, "It's... serene. The woods teem with life and might be well-suited to that alchemy

"It's something that became a trend after the shenanigans with the shadow.", began Mina. Of course it was., she huffed knowingly. Elora could feel her spine slide down in her seat as the pink-haired player went on to describe reports from her intel. How was it that this game always managed to invent more fucked up and even creepier things to torment them with on a day-to-day basis? What was next? A personal manifestation of her worst fears programmed to pop into her vicinity at the start of every morning? "...Some of them seem to have... glitched for a lack of a better word.", Akam

As the trio began their meal, Elora attempted to mimic Mina's "itadakimasu". "... you butchered that so badly that the auto-translator couldn't pick it up." "Donkey... what?" "Eat a donkey mass? Is that not how you say it? Eek i docki MASS --", she tried again, pronouncing each syllable as if she was chewing on glass. After several seconds of making strange faces and guttural demon noises, she eventually muttered, "How do you say your vowels so softly?" With a wave of her hand, she ushered the conversation forward. Elora was partial to their hostess's logic. As angst

"We can skip over those concerns and just assume that it's going to be just fine. I will cover the costs. Instead, we should probably start by thinking about where want this home to be, and what we want it to look like." She felt an initial relief, then a wash of uncertainty. "Oh yeah -- location...appearance...what we want to be...huh..." A gloved hand came to rest pensively beneath her chin. "Well, no offense to Mina, but I couldn't stand living on that volcano of a floor -- or Floor 5 for that matter -- that's the desert one, right?" A nod confirmed that to be correct. "And as much

Elora backpedaled away from Freyd the closer he came. "AIN'T NO WAY! Get it off!!", she shrieked, her eyes adamantly avoiding contact with the emerald-colored danger noodle. She swore she'd got a glimpse both of her friends' mischievous grins before Freyd nonchalantly tugged on the serpent and tossed it back toward the jungle. With a sigh of relief, she accepted the pole and set to assembling their vessel. First a tsunami, then the snake, how else will the universe torment me today? Elora shuddered at the thought of encountering a ravenous herd of ocean-side stallions. At least those don't act

"How did she hurt you?", he asked curiously. "Eh", she began with downplayed attachment, "We weren't exactly friends by the time that happened. Honestly, we'd grown apart over the past couple of years, if you could even say that. We went to secondary and our relationship just sort of...dissolved. She wanted to hang out with the kids who were going places. I was just sort of...baggage at that point." And no one else liked me. It was easier that way. With a heavy sigh, she added, "She would call me names, spread rumors behind my back, nasty things to distance herself from me as much as poss

"I'm glad you did it...", began Freyd. Fiery tension bled from Rose's features as her eyebrows raised in surprise. It was as if the other player had just reached out and snapped his fingers in front of her face. "...Otherwise, we would never have met. And I am terrified to think of who or what I might have become without you." Her cheeks continued burning as her eyes now stung with...What is this feeling? Frustration? Relief? Happiness? Love? Why did she feel so many conflicting emotions at once? She tried to still her racing heart as it struggled to settle on a single response. Freyd in

Elora narrowed her eyes at Freyd, before reexamining the edges of the sea. By now, the sun had leaped ahead in its setting sequence, casting a blinding glare across the surface of the water. It would be impossible to confirm what she had seen. "I guess if you insist there aren't any boats, then a raft would be the only feasible option." Elora took a moment to inspect their surroundings as Freyd focused on getting Katoka's attention. She began by sending the picnicking snacks into her own inventory. If fortune would have it, Freyd would believe that her and Katoka had finished off the delectabl

I should have dropped it., Elora thought as she witnessed him revert to something cold, whether it was shock, apathy, or simply retreating to familiarity, she couldn't discern. Most likely, it was a combination of even more emotions and experiences she didn't understand. Reaching out, she chose to fill his cup in turn. It was an unspoken prompt and indication that she wanted to listen to whatever he had to say. "I can hardly claim to have been the most conscientious on health care myself, though a certain degree of relentless parental badgering impressed some useful habits..." There'

"Has this only been since the raid, or did you have these dreams before?" "Before.", she answered succinctly, her hand finally releasing its grip under his. "I don't want to dredge up more bad memories, but that sounds a lot like what I would have imagined Shadow's flood to have felt like. We never really talked too much in detail about that." "Yeah...", she started slowly, allowing her mind to drift back to that dark day, "A lot of the sensations are similar. Except, instead of drowning, I don't know -- I feel more like I'm just...deteriorating." Is that the proper word?, sh

A call of encouragement warranted another step forward as Elora pretended to be taking her sweet time with swimming out to sea. "I'm just -- adjusting to the temperature." It was a pretty flimsy excuse, given that this world had a way of moderating one's exposure to any uncomfortable element. Luckily, you could always rely on the mind to reinforce years-long aversions to anything it deemed 'uncomfortable'. "Are you alright in the water?", Freyd seemed to be catching on, "I should have asked first." "Best to just dive in and get over it all in one go...", he offered as a suggestion.

Elora's brows rose in curiosity, then furrowed with concern. "Well...", she began with fidgeting fingers, the mug-full of tea now planted firmly beside them, "It's been all sorts of things...A lot of times, I can't see or hear, I just feel...paralyzed." Her blue eyes grew colder for a moment as they recounted something distant. "There's always a sense of dread, some sort of wrongness that I can't shake." A steady breeze caused ashy willow branches to billow and sway overhead. "Once and a while, I hear voices, or see a shadow. It's like someone is there, but I can never make out who." Fre