[PP-F01] Happy Reunion and Questing <<The First Few Lessons Are Free>>

[Winik 0]

Winik made his way to the notice board in the center of town, his shoulders slumped as he dragged his feet.  He had his armor unequipped, a hunter green long sleeved shirt and black pants composing his outfit.  He reached up with weary hands, pinning a single piece of paper against the board.

"NOTICE: In search of missing cousin.  We got the game together and decided not to tell each other our usernames.  I was holding a sign saying that I was saving a spot for my cousin so the other gamers didn't lynch us.  If you see this, I'll be waiting at the fountain everyday.  There's a quest I want us to do together, I just have to find you first."

With a heavy sigh, he trudged over to sit on the lip of the fountain.  He leaned back on his hands, watching the NPCs and players walk through the streets smiling and happy.  He was only hoping to find his lost 'cousin' and be happy himself.

@Raeze

[Raeze 0]

A short girl with long dark blue hair pulled up into a ponytail, walked up to the notice board in the Town of Beginnings. It had been a few weeks since she had checked it. She saw a few help request, which she skimmed over shortly before dismissing them. As much as she might want to help, she wasn't able to. The RGN hated her it seemed and she wasn't in a position where she could battle yet.

The next post was written in all red and it caught her attention. She read through it and felt her heart begin to pound. 'Could this be Tamaki? I haven't heard from him since the game started. I could get seriously hurt.' She worried to herself. 'How do I even know that I remember what he looked like IRL.' She looked from left to right, other players mulled about and NPCs talked at anyone who would listen. Her ponytail trailed behind her as her head flicked nervously searching around her.

She decided to find a spot out of sight where she could observe the fountain. She would wait a day or two and see if the person would actually show, then to see if it was a male or female. She found a nice flowered bush to perch behind while waiting.

@Winik

Edited July 14, 2017 by Raeze

[Winik 0]

Winik made his way into the center of the Town of Beginnings, cracking his neck from side to side as he went.  Yesterday, he had put up a notice trying to find her but he didn't help things when he went home and changed his appearance.  He had started to enjoy his time in this world and wanted to distance himself from his old life, to start anew.  He had his armor equipped, but as he sat on the ledge of the fountain it was stored in his inventory in a flurry of pixels.  He yawned loudly before cupping his hands around his mouth and calling out, "Sakura! I'm here again today!  It's really me!" 

He dropped his arms, folding his hands in his lap to wait.  He soon grew bored and pulled one of the pork skewers he had made out of his inventory.  Opening his mouth wide, he took a large bite out of the slightly charred kebab.  He grimaced at the burnt taste, but chewed it thoroughly before swallowing.  The time he took to eat was never spent unaware.  He kept an eye out for anyone that seemed familiar, in hopes she'd show.

[Raeze 0]

Raeze jumped at hearing her IRL name, wasn't that like a big no-no? She peeked around from the bush she was hiding behind (She had decided to return to the same flowered bush from the previous day) and watched the reactions of nearby players. A few turned to look at the character, he was extremely tall with long blue hair that spiked at the bangs. His height was about right for her friend from the real world, but she would never have taken him for a blue guy. She personally loved the color, hence her own hair but she kept the general style except, instead of keeping it in twin braids, she decided to keep it up in a ponytail most days. The blue this character had was a "look at me I'm here" type of blue, much different from her darker shade. His whole demeanor screamed "LOOK AT ME". 'I mean, Tamaki was kinda that way but it was only because of his height and how nice he was.' She mused to herself.

She watched as the few who turned to look at him shook their heads and turned away, returning to what they were previously doing. Most NPCs didn't react, however, one for some reason jumped comically into the air and looked at the boy with such ferocity. Raeze couldn't help but giggle from her hiding spot. It was such a funny thing to watch.

'I'm sure there are plenty of Sakuras, I mean its Japan that's one of the most common names.' She shook her head while remaining in her spot. @Winik

Edited July 15, 2017 by Raeze

[Winik 0]

The Next Day

Winik made his way to his spot, again.  He wasn't going to let this get him down, he'll keep coming back day after day if he had to.  She had to be around here.  Repeating his ritual, he unequipped his armor and settled onto the ledge, a tasty treat clutched in his off hand.  He took a bite from the NPC vendor bought creampuff and started talking to the air around him, loud enough that passerby's would be able to hear him.

"Hey Sakura, remember that time you snuck into my mom's general store trying to surprise your mom at work?  You managed to knock over all of our supply shelves in the back of the store.  Boy, was that a mess to clean up.  Your mom made you prostrate yourself in front of mine for a week," he laughed as he talked, the memories surfacing so readily in his mind. "I was ticked off because my mom made me clean everything up.  But still, you had that determined look in your eye.  You kept coming back everyday, always hiding behind the flour bags.  Until that day they collapsed around you.  You were white as a sheet, literally.  Covered in flour head to toe with tears in your eyes, I got a good laugh out of that one.  That is until my mom made me clean it up.  Seems I've always been cleaning up after you, flower petal.  How 'bout you let me do it again and come find me?  Is it a deal?" Winik's voice trailed off, heavy with melancholy.  His shoulders drooped forward and he took a forlorn bite from his creampuff.  He munched on it until it was gone, then laid back on the ledge to stare at the clouds as he waited. 

[Raeze 0]

The extremely short, young girl returned the next day. She didn't know why really, but then she did. She wanted a piece of home, which happened to be talking loudly while sitting on the fountain. Her breath caught in her throat as the figure started recalling memories from real life. She listened to him talk as she watched passersby stop every now and again to stare at the odd boy talking to himself in the middle of town. She laughed, not only at their reactions but to the memories he brought to life.

She felt her heart clench at the memories though, she didn't realize how much she missed her mom and dad, not to mention her little sister. As he laid back and stared at the sky she quietly made her way up to the opposite side of the fountain. Her small frame laid well on the large concrete blocks forming the perimeter of the fountain. "Remember that time that you made a fort out of all of the toilet paper for me? Then when it fell and made a mess once again, something we all know I'm good at. I got chastised by my mom, then yours, and then you." She ended her sentence with a short giggle. "Oh I was so mad. Then the look on your mom's face after I yelled at you for yelling at me when you were the one to set it up in the first place."  She erupted into laughter. Then she sat up and turned to look at the boy, he looked like the Tamaki she used to know, in the face at least. But his hair threw off everything she remembered.  @Winik

[Winik 0]

Tamaki's face broke into the largest grin he's had since he got here.  He shot up, his head turning to the side with enough force his new ponytail flew into his face. "Sakura?!" he called, jumping into the fountain and sprinting through the water.  Winik ignored all the protests he was getting from other players, snatching the petite player up and gathering her in a bone crushing hug.  "I can;t believe I've finally found you! You've had me so worried!" He plopped her feet onto the ground, ignoring the eyes of all the players on him.  Little did he know, many of the male players around him were glaring at him for what they assume is taking one of the cutest mascots in all of AIncrad. "I've been looking everywhere for you! What did you do to your hair?! Where'd you go?! Why didn't you come to me sooner?!" Question after question shot from his mouth as he fussed over his 'cousin'. He'd never tell her, but he's been enamored with her since they were young.  Why else would he take the abuse from his mom for her like he does?

[Raeze 0]

"Tama.." Her breath was squeezed out of her when he picked her up into a hug. She began smacking the top of his head to put her down, when he did she bent over in attempts to regain her stolen air.

She nervously looked around when he plopped her feet back to the ground. She noticed many pairs of eyes on them. "Tamaki, you're making a scene." Her voice came out in a whine. However, she soon got caught up in his excitement and a huge smile returned to her face. "My hair, you're asking about my hair when you.. look like this!" She exclaimed gesturing at his appearance. "I still look like me! You look like some kind of dark and gloomy rogue!" She fussed back at him. Not long after he had set her down she realized that she hadn't actually hugged him back and hugged him tightly hoping to shut him up. @Winik

[Winik 0]

Winik smirked, quickly dropping his shoulder to pick Sakura up and throw her over his shoulder.  He turned on his heel, sprinting out of the center of town.  "Not a rogue, just a confused player right now.  And the name's Winik now, by the way.  Thought it sounded cool," he called over his shoulder at her.  He sprinted his way down alley after alley, street after street.  Past shops and players alike, not stopping to talk to anyone.  He was on a mission and she would have to deal with the ride.  "You see, now that I've found you we're going to take on a quest with the two of us.  We both need to goods that are offered and it'll be good time to catch up.  And no, I won't put you down until we're there." You wouldn't believe how big the Town of Beginnings actually was.  Winik turned down an alley next to the Black Iron Palace, following his minimap to the quest objective.

[Raeze 0]

A gasp escaped her lips before she even truly knew what was happening. "Tamaki PUT ME DOWN!" She bumped into his back while his shoulder dug into her gut. She proceeded to beat on his back, which seemed to not eve phase him in the slightest. 'Winik? Where did he even begin to think of that?' She grumbled to herself as she crossed her arms and decided to pout until he put her down. She watched people look around confused as they passed in kind of a blue blur. Many players had to jump out of the way, but he was sure to never actually hit someone, even though he got pretty close a few times.

The scenery changed a bit as they neared the palace. She tried to watch her own minimap to see where they were going but nothing looked familiar out this way. So, instead of staring confused at the map, she decided to watch her actual surroundings. "Will you atleast tell me where were going please! I may be a level 3 but I don't have anything but starter gear!" She called to him. @Winik

[Winik 0]

Winik skidded to a stop, his boots sliding across the cobblestones.  They came to a stop in front of a storefront, an array of alchemical equipment visible through the windows.  "We're here to see a man about a potion," Winik chatted cheerily, pushing his way into the store with Sakura still thrown over his shoulder.  He entered into a space seen in fantasy novels.  Vials and beakers, mortars and pestles, jar of herb after herb, all laid in the open adding to the eye boggling view inside.  Winik made his way through the shop, turning his head to and fro in search of the shop keep. "Hello?  Is anybody here?," Winik called through his cupped hand.

"What can I do for ya?" came the reply.

Winik jumped, spinning around to see a figure behind him.  The sound of breaking glass told him that he might have smacked Sakura into something he shouldn't have.  He cringed at the noise, directing his attention to the new man. "We're here for the <<First Lesson is Free>> quest," answered Winik honestly.

[Raeze 0]

Raeze's head smacked into a higher shelf covered in empty jars, a groan emitting from her. "Winik, could you put me down now please?" She groaned once more, reaching for her head. It was spinning slightly so she couldn't hear much from the males. 'Great he's really gonna see how useless you are. He's gonna think that you never should've gotten the game in the first place.'

She assumed that he didn't hear her, because his shoulder was still firmly placed into her gut. However, without him moving, she took her chance to squirm out of his now loosened grip. She fell awkwardly to the ground, landing on her shoulder and elbow. When she scrambled up, she saw and older man smiling at the pair. He didn't seem phased in the slightest that Winik had damaged part of his shop, or that she had been hurt. "Hey! You're going to start a quest right after you about knock me out!" She put her hands on her cocked hips and glared at her childhood friend. @Winik

[Winik 0]

"Ah, my quest for helping the scared.  If you choose to accept, I'm going to need 5 materials from all in the party.  So, do you accept?"

As Sakura was busy trying to seem big and bad, pop up windows appeared in front of both players.  Winik pressed his finger gently against the blue circle, accepting the quest before turning to Sakura. "You can't get hurt in this game and you can't take damage in a safe zone.  If you deign to pass out from the blow, that is literally all on you.  Now, accept the quest so we can get going, flower petal." Winik cracked one of his roguish grins at her, walking away to explore the shop.  He was waiting on her to make her decision, so he decided to do some snooping.  He peered into jar after jar, each liquid and powder contained within them getting stranger by the minute.

[Raeze 0]

Raeze jumped a little as the window popped up in front of her, She read the Quest name and shakily tapped the accept circle. "Its an instant reaction you turd! And it hurt, I don't care what you say, getting your head knocked into a shelf hurts." She glared at him. Instead of retorting further, Raeze decided to swipe down to open her menu and went to her quest log to read the information of the quest. Along with the quest info being added a small marker popped up on her minimap for the pair to go to the fields just outside of the town.

With a huff, she hopped up to grab his collar and proceeded to drag him out of the shop. "Lets go get this quest dealt with Winik! I need some stuff so I can level up, and apparently so do you!" She laughed as he soon began to follow without her needing to drag him along. @Winik

[Winik 0]

Winik stumbled as he was forced to bend over so far at the waist as Sakura pulled at his collar. "Sakura! If you keep this up I'm going to end up...." his tirade was interrupted as he tripped over the threshold of the store, faceplanting directly onto the cobblestones outside.  He slid along the ground, scrambling to his feet when he stopped, and raced after his friend. "Please, don't ever do that again.  That sensation was terrible," he grumbled, rubbing his face with his palm.  He followed alongside her, lacing his fingers behind his head and walking with his knees comically raised too high.  "You know, you never gave me your IGN." When she gave him a blank look he sighed heavily. "Your in game name, flower petal.  You know, the name you chose for your avatar before this all started.  I can't keep calling you by your real name.  Do you want all the creepy weebs here to find your house?"

[Raeze 0]

She raised her eyebrows and with that her eyes widened. She wouldn't use the same terminology as him, but she knew the kind that he was talking about. "Its Raeze. Now stop calling me 'flower petal'." She glared in his direction as she continued walking while following her minimap. "Any way, the rewards for this quest are pretty lucrative, would you like to do the others that follow it once we are done? They all reward extra SP." She explained, never turning back to look at him.

She might have been a little peeved at him but she couldn't be happier that she had finally caught back up with him. She really had missed his irritatingly nice personality, not to mention his dorky disposition. He genuinely didn't care what others thought about him, he just cared that he kept up with his own personal values. One of the reasons that he took the 'abuse' so to speak from his mother when she caused havoc at Tamaki's mom's store. She honestly hoped that she would survive this to be able to return home and hug both of their moms. This just made her resolve even stronger. @Winik

[Winik 0]

Winik waggled his eyebrows at her, a grin splitting his face. "Flower petal isn't good enough for the little princess, eh?  Fine, whatever you say Raeze." Winik kept up his grin, enjoying the time he was spending with her.  He really had missed her. "I say we should just team up for the rest of the game, in my opinion.  I just found you again and I don't exactly feel like losing you.  Hell, we could even start up our own little guild if you want to." Winik stopped in his tracks, his face betraying the fact he just remembered something.  He quickly swiped his hand through the air, pulling up his menu.  A few taps later and two invites appeared in the air in front of Raeze. "I need to add you to my friends list, plus have you join my party.  This way I can definitely monitor you while we're out in the fields."

[Raeze 0]

Raeze stopped short when two windows popped up in quick succession in front of her. She remembered Stryder inviting her into a party during their quest. She knew he would eventually party up with her. He had always been that way. Another reason he took so much heat for her when she would make messes in the store. She decided to ignore the 'princess' comment and replied, "I don't think a two person guild is really conducive, or allowed." A small giggle escaped her. As she was talking she pressed the blue accept circle on both windows, clearing them from her vision. A guild would be nice though. It would give her better access to helping keep him alive. She refused to entertain those thoughts, he wasn't allowed to die. "I'd gladly have a guild with you, but I think we need a few more friends." She smiled before continuing out of the outer gates of the town, reaching the maker on her minimap. @Winik

[Winik 0]

Winik tapped a couple other windows in his menu, donning his armor once again.  The sunlight streamed down, catching on the golden trim and star points in his armor.  He ignored the little light display and continued onward out of the gate.  "I have a friend that seems like he'll be sticking around for a while.  He'll probably want to help me out to the best of his ability and I think he has the makings of a good tank myself.  Though I feel I started off with the wrong build, but I'm making strides to rectifying that." He shifted through bushes along the wall of the Town of Beginnings, starting his search for materials.

Spoiler

Results:

ID# 86721

LD: 2

nothing

Unfortunately he came up empty handed, what a great start to the quest. "GAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!" he screamed loudly, raking his hands through his hair roughly. "RNGesus really has it out for me! I swear, I never have any luck looking for mats even though I put in so much effort!"

Edited July 16, 2017 by Winik

[Raeze 0]

Raeze jumped at his frustrated yell, then began to laugh. "Lets hope I have better luck, even though I have commissioned a few items, I don't have any yet." She swiped her left hand down to bring up her menu and donned her plain leather gloves. She was glad to know that she wouldn't receive any odd looks for once. Winik knew all about her slight, germ problems.

She moved to a lone tree not far away from the outer wall and began to dig around its roots. After a few moments a delighted squeal was heard crossing the field. Then Raeze popped up, holding a root looking item. "WINIK!" She bounced around happily until her foot caught a small dip in the ground and she dropped to the ground.

She popped back up as quickly as possible, her face beet red and eyes downcast. She now held the root looking item at her side.

[ID: 86722 LD: 20 (+1MAT) Total: 1] @Winik

Edited July 16, 2017 by Raeze