Sakura

A sound caught Aoi’s attention as she shifted in place. Scratching, skittering noises that sounded similar to claws running over hard rock, or something similar. Her head snapped around, the adrenaline coursing through her once more as she brought the crossbow up and into a prepared position again. She half expected to find another of the boars standing before her, waiting to charge her once she turned to face it – as if it would want to see her expression as it rushed towards her and brought about her end. There was no boar, however. What Aoi’s eyes caught left her baffled for a few mom

The bolt crossed the small distance between herself and the boar, putting the creature to rest as it slammed into the thing’s forehead and caused it to explode into a collection of shards. A small goodbye, that did anything but confirm the danger she’d been in mere seconds beforehand. Aoi let the crossbow drop, her arm suddenly extremely tired. The weapon remained unloaded for the time being, and although Aoi considered the fact that she should reload it to ensure her safety in case something else attacked her, she couldn’t bring herself to complete the movement. I should sit down for a

The boar turned to follow her, and Aoi found herself falling into a collaborate dance as the two of them attempting to align, and un-align, the boar’s line of attack. Aoi raised and lowered the crossbow numerous times over, finding and almost instantly losing the shot she wanted to take as the boar continue to push her further and further into a large wide circle as she danced and wove to avoid its gaze and tusks. Gotta just take a risk. She knew there wouldn’t be any resolution if she just continued to move around and around with the thing, and decided to simply place all of her luck int

The ground shifted beneath her feet slightly, and Aoi caught her thumb before it released the bolt into the air again, looking down to confirm she wasn’t falling into a hole of some sort. The distraction was everything that the boar needed, and she felt as it slammed into her head on at full speed, the tusks thankfully missing her form as she was launched into the air and away from the creature’s form. Slamming into the ground, she rolled twice before coming to a stop and pushing herself slowly to her feet. Though the system refrained from implementing any sort of pain into the attack, so

The boar leapt forwards suddenly, seeing the crossbow brought up and preparing to fire. Aoi was forced to lean backwards, losing her balance and releasing the bolt into the open air as she avoided the sudden charge that had come her way. She could hear, after a few seconds, the sound of the bolt embedding into something solid not too far away – though it clearly wasn’t the form of the boar, as it rushed past her and continued onwards to safety. Missed me as well, so at least that… She circled further away, reloading once more as she went – and noticing that the ammunition loops on her vam

Another twang echoed into the air as Aoi released another shot into the side of the boar, slamming into it hard enough to knock it off the path it had begun charging in towards her. She side stepped further, ensuring that the faltering movement of the boar went well wide and far from her, and began reloading the crossbow again as she placed more distance between herself and the creature. She could already see that it was almost defeated, the creature dragging on the air as it tried to fill lungs that were simulating intensive pain and damage – though Aoi doubted that it actually felt anyt

The bolt struck true even as Aoi rolled out of the way of the creature’s sudden charge. Momentum carried it onwards a few steps, before it came to a sudden, rigid stop mere steps away from where Aoi had been standing before she’d rolled. The entire form of the creature had locked up as the paralysis from her bolt’s impact rippled across it, leaving it entirely defenceless – but more importantly, giving Aoi the time she needed to carefully reload her crossbow with a new bolt from the vambrace’s ammunition compartment. The boar shook itself after a few seconds, the paralysis washed out of i

Grunting caught her attention, and Aoi turned as she recognised the sound of a hoof slamming into the ground repeatedly. Her eyes widened as she spotted the form of a boar slamming its right front hoof into the ground in warning, the creature’s tusks shifting back and forth as it prepared itself to charge towards the player that had accidentally walked across its current feeding ground. Aoi moved almost instantly, her mind still processing the sudden appearance of the creature as she lifted her arm, sprinted away from the spot she had been standing, and prepared to fire the crossbow into

Musings as complete as they were going to be, Aoi pushed herself to a standing position. She had a lot to do, and sitting around considering their fate – and the aspects of the various responses to the aforementioned fate – wouldn’t help her any more than sleeping all day would. Let’s do something useful, then. She checked her equipment quickly, confirming that the crossbow was loaded and ready to go, and that she hadn’t forgot any pieces of equipment that were important. As content as she was going to be, she turned to face the wide open horizon. ’That way?’ Aoi spoke aloud, surprising

If she wasn’t more aware, she may have labelled it as a stress reaction. In a way, it was. A continuous stress reaction to a dangerous situation – and yet, somehow it was different in a way that Aoi couldn’t explain. She didn’t want to die, but somehow she’d come to terms with the possibility that she could be facing eventual death. She hoped, in some small part of her heart and mind, that she would escape the world that they were trapped in and make it back to the reality that they had all first sought to escape by coming here. Another irony. How many came to Aincrad to escape reality,

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The fields around her were chillingly empty. Aoi could see the movement far into the distance that signified the various creatures that roamed and existed within the environment. Aoi could see the oddly shaped outlines, but knew that none of them were anywhere close enough to be approached before they moved away, let alone a danger to herself. Moreover, she found the area immediately around her void of any life – digital or otherwise. The grasses swished in the wind, whispering softly in a way that mimicked almost perfectly the sound of fields in the real world, drawing her into a realm of pea

Aoi wasn’t entirely happy with the conclusion. She’d achieved nothing as she’d sat and contemplated, aside from wasting time. She’d come no closer to finding a companion, and certainly hadn’t come any closer to making a decision about what she was looking for in her quest for a permanent friend. Well, that’s not entirely true. You crossed off some obvious ones from the list of possibilities that never existed. That’s…something. She rolled her eyes at her own thoughts, wanting to laugh and yet feeling the dryness of the humour remaining too harsh to provide anything more than a groan of annoyan

So, what is it I want in a companion? Aoi considered the various options she’d already seen, her mind passing over animals that had ranged from the smallest of shoulder-sitting cuteness, to larger beasts that could walk alongside her and act as much as a deterrent as a friend. She quickly crossed off a number of simpler creatures that she knew she wouldn’t be comfortable having around – snakes, and other reptiles for certain. Even if I happen to come across them, I’m pretty sure I’d just move on rather than attempt to befriend a lizard…or a snake. A shiver passed down her spine at the thought,

Once she was beyond the camp, Aoi came to a stop. She hadn’t considered yet what she was going to do to find the actual familiar prior to heading on the quest. The lack of direction received left her to believe that there was something she was missing, and she found herself wondering at her next steps. Well, for starters, wandering around the grass fields without a plan probably won’t help. Sit, think, then move. Unable to argue with the logic in the thought, she plopped herself down on a nearby patch of comfortable ground, settling back into a leaned position and staring into the horiz

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Aoi opened her mouth to say something else, closing it only when it became apparent that there wouldn’t be any differing answers from the NPC before her. The system had acknowledged her right to take the quest, and although the figure before her appeared humanoid in physicality, Aoi knew that it was little more than a pre-programmed entity designed to provide human like behaviours, in order to quell her into believing that she was holding a real conversation. And it almost worked a little too well. Picking herself up from the temporary seating she’d settled into during their conversation

The words were far from the comfort or confirmation that Aoi knew she’d been looking for from the woman. It was, however, convincing enough to cause her to reach out for the small pouch, waiting to receive it from the other if they were still willing to provide it to her. She considered what had been said, and realised that a small part of her may have expected to use the familiar as nothing more than a tool, and the realisation caused her to wince slightly, just enough to be noticeable, and she saw the gypsy woman pause in her own retrieval of the pouch. ’I…believe you may have been ri

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'My apologies for the wait, however your item is ready. I had to call in a favour from an...acquaintance, but I completed the finishing touches on it. I do hope it is up to your expectations, and if you have any concerns please let me know immediately!' Aoi gave a low bow as she handed over the item, smiling at the customer as the item was handed over and inspected. @Freyd Order ready for pickup; Item Name: Infernal Shadow - Redemption Item Type: Cloth Armor Tier: T4 Quality: Demonic Enhancements: EVA III | MIT I Description: Dark brown leather harness covering most of the

She was surprised by her own answer, the words sounding closer to the truth than Aoi had originally intended. She’d left out the portion of her answer that declared the desperate need for someone, something that she could feel close to – and yet she had a feeling that the gypsy woman was able to see that thought within her features. Seconds passed as silence reigned, before the gypsy woman suddenly leaned to the side and produced a small pouch. She held it out for Aoi to take, speaking as she did so. ’I have this bag of treats, which has proven to be useful in calling and taming the various cr

The woman waved towards a seat across from her, and Aoi moved towards it with the same tension in her body that had appeared the moment her presence had been pointed out. She was poised, as much to run as she was to fight, should the moment of its necessity arrive. Whether the woman before her noticed it or not, Aoi couldn’t tell, but the gypsy woman continued speaking and acting as though everything was normal and fine. ’I can help you. With finding a companion, that is. But first…you must convince me that you deserve one. Why is it that you need a companion? What is their purpose in your lif

Half the day had passed before Aoi had located the gypsy woman’s encampment. A single trailer, sitting beside a low-burning fire and a collection of seats, became visible as she approached the area with a caution that was born of having traversed the fields of the floor many times over. Aoi had long since learnt not to trust anything out of the norm, and this area was of no exception – newly arriving creatures, obstacles or other items within the game could more oft than not be a danger to the player coming upon them, even if they were expected to magically appear where nothing had been times