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[OP-F1] I think... I'm back


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Atzo sat on top of one of the many mountains. He had been there for some time, meditating. Never once did he check what was going on around him, more absorbed in his mental turmoil than reality. The cold mountain air swept across his face, the frost nipping at his nose. Atzo was unfazed. He sat through snow storms and heavy winds before, sitting and looking inward as he attempted to concour his demons. It wasn’t the first time he had tried but maybe this time he could come out of it with a sound mind and better open up. He was fighting with himself. The fear instilled in him from his life on the other side had finally erupted out of him. Once he had come down from his emotional rage he finally had time to realize what he had become. He decided it was time he figured out who he wanted to be. It was time he waged war with himself.

 He remembered back to when he decided to go on, as he had called it, his little hike. He left it vegue so that no one would be able to come looking for him. As he left the safe zone he opened up his friends list and deleted every last player listed. He didn’t want anyone to come looking for him. Thus he left for the mountains. He avoided all the monsters he found on his trip. This wasn’t about leveling up, no he was on a mission. As he reached the base of the first mountain he thought to himself. ‘Am I sure I want to go through with this?’ Without hesitation he began moving. He knew this needed to happen. And so he climbed, his goal was not to reach the highest point, it would be too easy to find him if he had. His goal was a spot overlooking a valley. He climbed through blizzards and mudslides alike. He lost track of time at some point, not thinking to check his HUD. Atzo was too determined to understand himself.

 

It had been a long time now, though Atzo did not know how long exactly. Taking a deep breath he moved from his spot, the frosted clothing crinkling as he began to move. It was time he came back. Slowly he came down the mountain. He wasn’t really sure that he was going the right way, but it didn’t matter. He would either reach a city or reach the edge of the map. A day passed before he found his way to the city, his clothing no longer frozen. The Kings Cloth rustled in the breeze as he teleported from floor 7 to floor 1. Atzo took a deep breath. ‘Lets see just how okay you really are, kid’

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image.pngCeres was out in the fields of the first floor. She just finished up in her shop - and there was nothing left to identify, nothing left to junk...nothing left to...well...do so she decided to go for a walk. The Rose-red haired woman wasn't planning on venturing too far out, she just wanted a breath of fresh air. So step by step, she wandered through the grassy fields, enjoying the delicate caress of the blades of grass against her ankles. Her shoes were off, and in her inventory. Ceres didn't feel the need to wear them right now.

Often, people were far too busy to enjoy these small moments. To feel the sun warming their back, the gentle grass - the buzzing of dragonflies as they waltzed through the air to the soundless samba of an enternal summer.

A delicate hand reached up to brush rose-red hair away from her face, tucking it neatly behind her ear as Ceres came to a small lake. She knelt down, fingers dipping just beneath the mirrored surface of the water. They dipped lower and pulled out a few glittery rocks.

Ceres leaned back to sit, and began to dry the rocks with the loose material of her shirt. "I promised myself I wouldn't get so focused on farming...yet here I am..." She said softly to herself with a laugh, followed by a snort.

@Atzo



#ID: 143111  LD:15+=Success
CD: 8 = 2 Bonus Materials
---
3 T1 Materials Total

 

Edited by Ceres
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"Someone I met... I'll never forget what he told me. 'This game is an opportunity to be someone you aren't in the real world...'
"And if I had leveled up earlier, I would be able to keep that promise I made a little easier.

"But I'll manage.

"Sorry about that Belle, let's eat!"

But wasn't that practically a given at this point? Well, perhaps it held much more meaning depending on when that person said it.

Arabelle... was definitely not foreshadowing. Honestly, what sort of dumb narrative callback would it be if the person her beloved guild leader mentioned would just up and appear now? It was predictable. It wasn't to her taste. But seated on one of the rooftops overlooking the Town of Beginnings' main plaza, with her scythe at her lap and swinging her legs like a little child, the small purple-haired girl couldn't help but think back to the day she met him by chance.

He had been an interesting person. He succumbed easily to her flirting and took her on a date... where it ended up being more of a casual conversation that resulted in her being recruited to his guild. And that was the extent of it. From there on, they were nothing more than guild leader and guild member. But now... with his heartbroken girlfriend witnessing that entire fiasco with Dustin and that person they both hunted down -- she was likely in some mad trouble. What a disaster. How would he react, she had been wondering? Arabelle didn't want to get kicked out of the guild -- not with the new vague goal she started to aspire towards ever since she reached Tier 2 -- but as much as she wanted to march into his shop and defend herself (and probably Dustin?), she figured everyone would need to cool off first. Approach the situation with reason, not emotions about to spill over the brim. That had definitely been Dustin's mistake.

It was radio silence on her end. All PMs from guild members muted. And Magnolia was closed. Claude had tried to kick her out of his house, but just as easily relented when she told him it was that or some random inn. And for the moment, she was enjoying some respite in Floor 1, her features obscured by an over-sized hood. It was cute, the things people discussed when they thought there was no one listening.

Ah, but even this was horrendously boring. You can only listen to so many stories before you start to notice trends in it, and now everything's loopy and repetitive. Perhaps a change of setting would do her some good. Now that she thought about it, hadn't it been a few days since she left the safe zones? That wasn't any good for someone like her at all. Her cloak fluttered softly in the wind as Arabelle dismissed her scythe and rose from her perch. She made her way to the other side of the roof, dropping down to the ground from there.

There was a curious-looking person in gaudy clothes at the end of the side street she emerged from.

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Ronnel ambled through the city streets, running the fingers of one hand through his hair as he walked. Things were going a bit well at this point, smoothing out as he got more familiar with actually doing things instead of cowering in the Town of Beginning. Right now he was trying to memorize where some of the supply stores and crafter workshops were - while he wasn't in the mood to purchase things yet, he knew that eventually he would be stopping by all of them as he strove onwards.

But his next, though minor, concern, was expanding his circle of contacts and acquaintances. As kind as she was he couldn't always be buying from the little Firecracker - nor could he always message his one 'Friend' contact when he needed help on something. Right now though - he was at a loss for what to do. A problem he found himself with frequently if he was honest, Ronnel struggled to find a real drive. Which lead to these aimless wanderings as he looked for inspiration. 

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The bright and exuberant girl finished drying off the materials, and they were now safely stored away in her inventory. She had picked a few wildflowers by the lakeside, a soft blue, the color reminded her of water upon a frozen lake. It was a stark contrast the the warm hues that was often associated with her. Ceres brushed herself off, it was time to head back into town - maybe she'd stop by Oscars store and get a nice hotdog... or maybe she'd visit NIGHT, she hadn't seen her dearest friend for quite some time. Ceres hummed happily to herself as she walked the path back into the bustling Town of Beginnings.

'Oofff' Ceres was knocked back a few feet as she collided head first into someone else. "Omygosh..." She quickly said as she looked up at the stranger. "I'm so so sorry! Are you ok?" Her Lilac eyes traveled up and down his form. From his scruffy red hair to his bright coloured eyes then to the emerald-green set of light robes he wore. Her eyes widened and she, in her ever naive and oblivious way - blurted out the words. "Wow, you're so regal looking!"  Ceres never realized if she said something inappropriate or forward, so she continued her conversation with the stranger, without skipping a beat. "I'm Ceres! I'd say its nice to meet you but uh..." Lilac eyes glanced away. "I guess it'd be more like, it was nice bumping into you? Oh!"

Ceres reached out and grabbed his hand, placing one of the blue flowers into it. "Here, a present. I'm sorry for earlier."

@Atzo

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Taking a deliberate and precise step forward off the platform, and observing his surroundings, Atzo began to fall into his old habit. That was what he was good at, watching and waiting. It was clear to him that he needed to be vigilant now more than ever. It was interesting how many people were still about on the first floor… or were they npc's. He had been in his mind so long that he wasn’t as good at picking out the differences as he used to be. Still he was beginning to remember the subtle differences. A repeated like here, an overly expressive look there. It was odd. Then he began to notice other things. People who didn’t act like npc’s. Memories of friends flooded him but he shut them down quickly not wanting to start this off with him immediately jumping back to who he used to be. It took some time for him to move, taking in the architecture of the local buildings, admiring their craftsmanship. He chuckled to himself, ‘throughout all the paranoia I never did stop to smell the flowers, eh?’ he gave a soft sad smile the old sly smirk he used to wear could no longer be found. ‘I really need to upgrade my gear soon' the thought suddenly jump into the front of his mind. He opened his menu, inspecting his gear and level. He was closer to tier two than he originally thought. The a different though popped into his mind ‘when was the last time I had something to eat other then bread?’ he tried to remember the way to a restaurant but it had simply been too long. Looking around slowly, Atzo noticed a girl with purple hair and a cloak. She hadn’t looked like and npc so maybe he was in luck. Slowly he began to walk over to her. Standing up strait as if to look confident but with deliberate steps as if to look cautious. Suddenly at as if out of nowhere, Atzo was thrown to the ground. Another woman had a run into him. It took him a second to realize what is going on. Atzo coughed “Its fine, I should have been paying closer attention" he cleared his throat before standing. The woman who introduced herself as Ceres suddenly placed a flower in his hand. Atzo looked at it for a moment before giving a small smile and looking at the girl. “Thank you,” his voice no longer raspy, though he spoke a little louder than he expected. “My name is Atzo, do you think you could point me to somewhere I can grab a quick bite to eat?”

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He seemed a little...off? Was it? Ceres couldn't quite put her finger on it. It was then that he asked her if there was a place to eat nearby. She blinked, then Gave Atzo a warm smile. He was just hungry! That must have been it, she'd be all raspy too if she hadn't eaten. Ceres recalled just over a month ago - where she was so used to eating nothing but bread. Now everything was a delight. This situation reminded her of that. His loud volume caught her off guard but Ceres brushed it off with a soft laugh as she reached out and grabbed one of his hands. If he allowed her, Ceres would lead him to a nearby cafe.

"Oooh yes! Uhm let's see.. the place I'm thinking of has these really nice ham and cheese croissants and coffee." She began, dragging him with one hand and twirling the last blue flower she had with the other, "Oh and shoe string french fries! I miss them so much. When I eat them I'm reminded of home." She would continue to pull him along, still talking without catching a breath. "They also do this avocado chicken with this cream based sauce and-" 

Ceres abruptly stopped. If Atzo had been following he may have bumped into her. "Oh I'm sorry. I forgot to ask what you even want to eat." Ceres turned to him, giving his hand an excitable shake. "Ah! I know to make up for it how about I pay? My shops been doing pretty well lately!" Ceres gave him a wink as she finally let go of his hand. "So Regal Atzo, what tickles your fancy?"

 

@Atzo

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The first floor offered a quiet place for reflection. After several days of trying intensely to catch up on all the things he'd fallen behind in, Alkor decided he would head to Tolbana Town and relax alone, where there would be fewer people to interact with. He stepped from the teleporter and headed to the edge of town at top speed.

He almost came colliding into Ceres, who dragged someone along behind her. Almost, because he managed to stop himself by lowering his level and skidding to a halt. 

Alkor slowly recovered and stood, jarred by the sudden change in momentum. As he did so, he looked at the two Players who almost ran into him. Did he know them?

Maybe?

"Sorry," he mumbled as he made to pass them by and get back to traveling toward Tolbana. Whether or not he remembered their faces after a few moments, he had come to the first floor in order to get away from the constant barrage of people trying to make their way in Aincrad.

He wasn't exactly interested in a good conversation.

@Ceres @Atzo

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Atzo looked back to the girl that he had originally intended to walk towards, taking a quick inventory of what she looked like. Suddenly he was being dragged by Ceres. She talked so fast that Atzo had a hard time keeping up. It was a little overwhelming being transferred from the quiet mountain, into whatever this is. Still it was good to be able to look around. Atzo reminisced slightly on the old times. Remembering back to when he was recruiting for the Emerald Harbingers, though he knew the guild was long dead. 

Suddenly Ceres stopped, it took Atzo off guard. Lightly bumping into the girl as he stopped, he thought for a moment about her question. “I guess just something quick. It's been awhile since I was on this floor and would like to explore  a b-” suddenly someone had bumped into him though his stance kept him from falling this time. The man had gotten up mumbled a quick sorry and kept walking. It seemed like there might be something wrong so Atzo turned to him. “Are you alright?” he said a little loud to make sure the man heard him. 

He turned back to Ceres. “Anyways, something quick would be wonderful.” He gave a slight smile, shrugging his shoulders. ‘I cant even think of something to eat. Nothing particularly stands out right now. Strange’ 
 

@Ceres @Arabelle @Alkor

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"Oh!" Ceres turned to glance at Alkor. "That's Alkor, I think..." Ceres pursed her lips...remembering everything both NIGHT and Mari had told her about him. "I think he struggles...with talking to people. We met a few times."  Ceres gave Alkor a small wave, that is - if he had noticed them. "He's a good guy, mostly, maybe he just needs more friends?...anyway..."

Ceres turned her Lilac eyes to Atzo. "You want something quick to eat? Do you like Calzones? We could get mini calzones! In a big paper bag." Ceres gestured the size of the bag with her hands. "Then we can walk around and eat them if you like." Ceres lightly tugged on Atzo's hand again, her soft fingers wrapping around his for a brief moment before letting him go - this time giving him the option of following her or not. "It's only a few stores down this way. As I said, I'm paying!" Her eyes shifted to Alkor. Her voice raised an octave. "And Alkor can join us for food too, if he wants~"  Ceres may have had an initally bad opinion of him, but it changed with how he treated her both at the New Life Festival and with NIGHT and Mari's opinions on him. Although Ceres couldn't entirely agree with his actions - she didn't want to treat him badly. He seemed like the guy who would stand in the background and protect others. Like a guardian of some sort.

Today was going to be a pretty good day, Ceres decided. She had been feeling a little off lately, maybe because she was too busy collecting materials, or maybe because she was beginning to get too used to being alone again. It felt nice being around people. People who wouldn't spur her or give her strange looks. So far Atzo hadn't done anything of the sort. And she was appreciative of that. "You know Atzo...I think I like you. You're like a Calzone. You have red, and you seem like you're all bundled up with secret goodness inside~"

@Atzo  @Alkor @Arabelle

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  • 2 weeks later...

Atzo watched the man for a moment as he walked away. “Perhaps he is just more content being alone.” He shrugged. Atzo turned back to Ceres. It was interesting to see someone so care-free in this game. Atzo found it somewhat refreshing. All of the negativity could really build up over time. It was, nice to see that there were still people that could be happy. At least she appeared to be so, and for once Atzo figured he would give in to the benefit of the doubt to believe that she wasn’t just putting on a front.

 

Atzo thought for a moment, about when the last time he had a Calzone was. It was an infrequent treat that he never really thought about before he was in the game. He was about to respond, then Ceres said something that made him chuckle. “I like you too Ceres, you're pleasant and playful like a young fawn. It is nice to see someone so cheerful. Also, I would guess you are pretty hungry too. Calzones would be wonderful.” The words ‘secret goodness’ echoed in his head for a moment as he thought to all of the horrible things he had done, though he pushed those out. Now was not the time to get down. “I admire you; you seem to know a little bit about everything and everyone here.” Atzo said with a warm smile. “Its not every day you meet someone so knowledgeable.” Atzo did his best to make sure he could keep up with Ceres, her eager walk was faster than he was used to, and he didn’t want to fall behind. It was almost easier for him when she was dragging him along, it made it less likely for him to fall behind

 

Something nagged at him, as if he was forgetting something. Something in the back of his mind that he couldn’t seem to figure out. Something important, or rather someone important that he had forgotten about. Though he wasn’t even sure who anymore. Perhaps he would stumble across it at some point but for now he chose to keep focus on what was going on.

@Ceres

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Ceres gave a small nod. "Yeh.  I think he seems like the type of person who prefers to be alone. But I don't think there is anything wrong with that." Ceres said. "We all have our quirks, we all have a different way of looking at life - I think that's what makes us all kinda amazing."  Somewhere along the line...Ceres forgot that. Her first few years she spent in Aincrad were mostly solitary, she was content in people watching and doing her own thing - and only now was she realizing just how much she had missed.

It was then Atzo mentioned something about a fawn. "A-a what!?" Ceres asked, a little embarased at the comparison. "N-nawww." She laughed it off with a wave of her hand. "They're so much cuter I think all we have in common is how much we stumble around. I'm more clumsy than I like to admit!"

They continued to walk till she showed him a small restaurant - it had both indoor and outdoor seating; Ceres opted for the outdoor, as it was a lovely day and they could people watch. Atzo also seemed a little lost and overwhelmed so she thought an open space may help that. "I try to learn as much as I can." Ceres said as she pulled out his chair then her own. "I wanna be an information broker after all! So I just soak up all the knowledge I can. I study movesets of monsters too!" She said with a grin. "So if you ever need help you just come find me, okay?" Ceres gave him a wink. "I'll look after you."

An NPC waiter had come and asked them what they wanted, Ceres had ordered a two cheese Calzone filled with ricotta, mozerella and cheddar cheese. She snorted at the name. "They call it two cheese, but it lists like three different cheeses here - plus the tomato sauce!" She handed the menu back to the waiter, ordering a creaming soda to go with it.  The NPC; a simple and plain man wearing a white shirt and black pants turned to Atzo, waiting for his order.

"So Atzo, what have you been up to?" Ceres asked innocently enough - that's the sort of question people asked others, right?

 

@Atzo

 

Edited by Ceres
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Atzo followed Ceres to the outside table. It was a good day for it, the subtle breeze through town and the sun overhead. “You know, about a year ago if you had told me that I would probably have been your number one customer.” He laughed slightly staring off into the distance before snapping back to reality. “Back when I ran the Emerald Harbingers at least. Now I just hope I don’t fall into the same state that I was back then” It wasn’t long after they started talking that the waiter came over. He was about as much of an NPC as you could find. Just an average looking guy that had no real emotions behind the way he talked. Atzo waited for Ceres to finish her order, “I will have a grilled chicken and cheese calzone and a sasparilla” He then handed his menu over to the waiter and turned back to Ceres. The question she posed almost made him laugh. “Well after wiping my friends list and disbanding the Emerald Harbinders guild, I sat on a mountain on floor seven for a year an meditated. My mind isn't where it should have been and I was concerned for the safety of myself and my friends. This is my first time being back in town sense then.” He thought for a moment remembering his time in the peaceful air of the mountains, nothing in the world to bother him. Sitting there just himself in tranquility as he did his best to look inward and conquer his inner demons for a second time. “What about you, what have you been up to recently?”

@Ceres

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Ceres swung her legs under her chair, enjoying the gentle breeze. "A year ago huh?" Ceres said with a small grin. "Why change that, you can always come by and be a customer! You'll always be welcomed in my store." She said, possibly misunderstanding his words. To her, he was just jesting about how he'd have visited her often if it were a year ago. 

Atzo talked about how he ran a guild called the Emerald Harbingers...hmm good to know. That sounded important, right? "Running a guild sounds stressful." Ceres admitted. "I don't think I could really do that. I think it's amazing you did. Was it a big one? What kind of guild was it?"

Wait...what state? Ceres's brows furrowed in concern. "Are you ok?" She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, debating on if she should admit it or not; she had been warned by Ronnel not to mention Mari so easily to others. "Whatever it was...you're here now. That's what matters most, I think. No matter what happened in the past. This..." She glanced up at the sky. "This place can be a prison. It is a wonderful beautiful place, but it's also suffocating and scary to others. I don't think anyone could fault you for breaking down. I'm sure if you meet your friends again and explain the situation they'll understand." 

Ceres lowered her gaze back to his and gave him a warm smile. ""And if not at least you have a new friend." She said as she pointed at herself. "As for waht I have been up to...ahh..I've only just recently started to do  things. I was always so content with just wandering around on my own, people watching and stuff. I'm just trying to do all the quests from each floor as I go...and build up my merchant business. I really don't like fighting so want to avoid that too."

@Atzo

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