Lessa

Helpless, Lessa watched the vines snag Jomei, then drag him up beside her. His body bumped against hers like some horrifying human windchime, but instead of the sweet twinkle of wind through steel, the only sound she made was a guttural "oof." He hung quite a bit lower than she did, and realizing where her face ended up, she did her best to twist away from him. All her attempt earned her was a slow, lazy spin on the end of her green rope. "Listen," she began as she came around to face him, moving at a glacial pace, "I don't mean to be offensive or anything. But we look really, really stupid right now."

And they did. Jomei was draped in yards of green fabric that hung around him like some man-sized chrysalis. Likewise, Lessa's arms dangled like a pair of limp noodles - it was nothing short of a miracle that she managed to maintain her hold on her sword. 

Her sword!

It shouldn't take too much effort to swing herself up, slashing at the rope with the blade, and freeing her ankles from the vine's hold. Right? If she could fight bosses, scale floating towers, and demonstrate fantastical feats physical strength, she could absolutely do a single situp. Giving herself only a second to muster her courage and strength, she then did her best to hinge at the waist, her blade arching through the air... and coming nowhere close to the vine. "Yeah no," Lessa admitted on a hard exhale. "I guess the game system can't work miracles." She swayed there for a second longer, doing her best impression of a deer on a buck pole. Finally, she concluded with, "Remind me to look into Crossfit when we get out of here."

Craning her neck to avoid staring at Jomei's groin, a new, slightly better idea came to her. "You're lower than I am," Captain Obvious stated. "Do you mind if I-? Er, sorry. Hold on, I'll just-" Wrapping one arm around Jomei's leg, Lessa (carefully) tugged herself upright just enough to get her sword pressed to his vine. "I'm going to cut you down first. It's probably going to be a rough landing." With a hollered "sorry!", she slashed at his binding, and felt him slide out of her grasp.

She was ready for this to be over.

Casting another stern glance at both Jomei and Riker, Lessa hefted her enormous sword, then arched it through the air, sprinkling the gathered party in tiny gems of light. They lit the dark night, shimmering among the raindrops, as they splashed across the players. Yet another damage buff. The harder they hit, the sooner this would be over. And that was all that mattered to her.

A cold breeze whipped across the beach, chilling the soaked Lessa through. If the sand weren't already sopping, the wind likely would have kicked the sand up into their eyes. She supposed she'd found the one silver lining to the incessant rain. She drew in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then slowly exhaled, focusing on the way the air felt as it passed her lips. 

A bit longer. Just a bit longer. And then everyone could go home.

His words soothed like aloe on a bad sunburn, and she felt her shoulders relax. It wasn't as if she lived in constant fear that Jomei might leave her - what a sorry existence that would be - but the reassurance that he was stuck on her was always nice to hear. "No returns," she echoed, nodding her agreement. "I'm good with that. More than good, actually."

At Jomei's mention of Oscar, Lessa's shoulders rose and fell in a quick shrug. "I gotta believe I'd have gotten there eventually. He just called me on my bullshit, and made me realize that I didn't really have anything to lose. The worst that could happen was you'd tell me you didn't feel the same way, and we'd move on with our lives. You're not the type to end a friendship over something like that." She winced, then added, "I mean, I'm assuming you're not. I'm still glad I didn't have to test that theory."

Remembering her fight with Oscar, her cheeks warmed. "Yeah, woooo, that fight." She huffed out a little laugh, then shook her head. There was probably more to be said about the way that Oscar and Lessa engaged in that ring, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to find the words. So she simply said, "I'm glad you didn't get the wrong idea. Or give up on me."

Her eyes snapped to his, and she softened when he asked her about the music box. "Of course I remember," she told him. The priceless gift had a place of honor on her nightstand, right beside her bed. Had Jomei not seen it?

Apparently, he hadn't spent enough time in her bedroom.

Her arms snaked around his waist and she tugged him closer. "I do pride myself on my top-tier hugs. And I remember that night really well, actually. I've thought about it a lot over the years. It meant a lot to me, and it still does. Just like you mean a lot to me."

Before she could melt into a mushy mess (again), the line moved forward, and she peeled herself off of him. "Fooood," she hummed, snatching up a plate and piling it high with one of everything. She followed Jomei back to the table, and was just preparing to dig in when he offered her another drink. "Cider, huh?" She cracked the top, drank deeply, and gave an appreciative sigh. "That's really good."

But her own forehead creased at the mention of the quest. "Uh, that's a good question. I don't really remember. I mean, I remember the ship, and hauling the barrels, and getting back to the tavern, and-" Her stomach did a funny flip-flop, but aside from the automatic response, she couldn't conjure up anything else. "-and yeah, I guess that's it."

She took another long drink, then tilted her head slightly. "Baldur's tournament," she said suddenly. "I haven't thought about that in a while. I wonder how that ended up." Though the fights themselves had been interesting, it was her interactions with Alkor that stood out with any real clarity. They'd come to an understanding that day - or, as close to an understanding as you could get without actually understanding the other person. Wasn't that what they'd agreed on? She wouldn't understand him, and that was okay? The details were a bit fuzzy, after all.

I wonder how he's doing, came a distant, disjointed thought. They hadn't spoken in a while, and she had a blank message pulled up only seconds later. "Hang on a sec," she asked Jomei, before composing a quick note.

Quote

 

To: @Alkor
There's a big cookout going on on Floor 24. You might hate it, but it's free food, so... pros and cons. Wanted to make sure you knew.
- Lessa

 

"Okay, sorry." She turned back to Jomei with a smile. "I realized I forgot something." A shadow flickered across her face as squinted at the bottle of cider, now nearly empty, sitting beside her table. "Man, that's becoming a pattern. Forgetting things, I mean. Maybe I should slow down a little."

She was moving before Belregor's attack finished. Heat, light, and energy washed over her, and though they were only a fraction of what Jomei and Riker experienced, every muscle in her body screamed. Her hair blasted back from her face, now flushed with pain and panic, but her steps didn't slow. By the time the effect faded, allowing darkness to spill back across the beach once more, she was running.

Jomei squared off against the boss, his shredded clothes hanging limply from his muscular body. Later, she'd look back on that moment, and decide that he looked just like Hercules after the Hydra fight. But there, on that beach, surrounded by death, her brain was empty. Her mouth was dry. Her vision was tinged with red as she stepped up in front of him.

Jomei squared off against the boss, and Lessa squared off against Jomei.

With one hand, she reached up to grab him by the back of the neck, dragging him down to her level. She slammed her lips to his, a hard kiss that spoke not of passion and promise, but sheer, unadulterated fear. There hadn't even been time for relief yet, and her blue eyes were still wide as they met his green ones. Pressing her sweat and rain-slicked forehead against his, she ground out, "We're going to talk about this later."

Her other hand snaked between their bodies, steel-covered palm pressing flush against Jomei's chest. It glowed fainting, illuminating their faces in a gentle green light, as <<First Aid>> activated.

Then she peeled away from him, turning to run the few feet to where Riker stood. He panted, and his furry body trembled, but he appeared otherwise unharmed. Finally, Lessa felt like she could draw a full breath. "I'm mad at you too," she told him, jabbing one finger in his direction, but that same hand then reached out to scratch him behind the ear. "My stupid idiots."

"No way," Lessa cut in, shaking her head. "I'm glad you didn't make your move sooner. I think it all worked out perfectly, exactly the way it was supposed to." She gave his hand a tight squeeze. "Not that I would have minded more time with you, like this, but I love how it happened. I wouldn't change a thing."

At Jomei's confused expression, Lessa loosed a quick laugh. "Glue, yeah," she echoed, giving Oscar few seconds to walk away before giving Jomei her full attention. "Before our Clash of Blades fight, I had a long talk with Oscar about... well, about you. And us. And just kind of where my head was at with everything. How much I liked you, but how nervous I was to say anything in case you didn't feel the same way. And then it might ruin our friendship." Her smile wobbled, going a bit sheepish as she reached up with her free hand to rub at the base of her neck. "I hope that's okay. I mean, that I talked to Oscar. And, I guess, that I worried at all? It seems a little immature now. In hindsight, this was worth the risk. But it was really scary at the time."

After a beat of silence, she forged ahead. "Anyway, yeah, I was telling him about how it might not work between us. He said if it didn't, he'd provide some group therapy, since he has a psychology background. He'd be the glue to hold us together. We don't need it now, but if anything were to happen in the future, I'd want us to work things out, y'know? Because this feels like it's worth fighting for." Heat climbed up her neck, blossoming across her cheeks as she concluded with, "And I'm rambling. Sorry. Yeah, food."

She let him tug her along, her flip flops slipping and sliding in the ever-shifting sand. "I'm glad you came, by the way," she quipped suddenly, apparently not entirely done talking. "I wanted to invite you, but I didn't want you to feel obligated to come. I know this isn't really you scene, with the heat and the sand and all that." She reached out and plucked a mushroom from a tray, popping it into her mouth without missing a step. "But hey, food. Food's good."

Glancing past Jom, Lessa stared out at the crystal-clear water, and the players already splashing in the spray. "Maybe we could go swimming after we're done eating?"

"Lighthouses are endlessly suggestive signifiers of both human isolation
and our ultimate connectedness to each other."
— Virginia Woolf

Thunder boomed. It coincided with the opening of the lighthouse's front door, giving the entrance a little extra pizazz. Not that it needed any extra theatrics, as the wind ripped the wooden door from Lessa's hands, and slammed it into the adjacent wall. "Holy shit," the woman muttered, shoving her body behind the heavy door, and bracing her foot against the wall. Once her companion had followed her inside, she pushed off, snarling against the wind, and manhandling the door back into place. Only when the latch snapped closed did she allow herself to relax. "That was insane."

Even more insane was the sudden and shocking shift between the storm and the solace provided by the lighthouse. In an instant, the pair had gone from the cacophony outside (relentless rain, howling winds, crashing waves, alien screams of hellish creatures) to near silence. Her hair wasn't whipping madly about her face, her cloak wasn't billowing like a ship's sails, and her cheeks didn't sting from the piercing of tiny raindrops. It was unsettling, and she found herself possessed to speak to fill the strange absence.

"I can't believe we made it," she stated, casting a quick smile in Jomei's direction. "It got a little dicey out there, but I definitely think it was worth the trip. I mean, look at this place." She motioned with one hand, encompassing the small entrance hall that they found themselves in. It was only large enough to house a bench and a coat rack, but Lessa couldn't help the eagerness from creeping into her voice. "I love lighthouses. Did you know that there's a word for people who love lighthouses? It's a pharologist. Pharology is the study of lighthouses, and it comes from pharos, which is Latin for lighthouse."

When she finally quieted, and the muffled storm sounds were her only answer, she barked out a quick laugh. "Huge lighthouse nerd," she said by way of explanation, pointing to her own chest. With anyone else, she might have apologized, or felt embarrassed for spouting off the way she did. But Jomei never made her feel bad about her spontaneous trivia. He didn't make her feel bad for anything, really. It was one of the things she loved about him.

"Speaking of random history facts," Lessa began, grinning in the dim light cast by the entranceway's single bulb, "Baldur should be here any minute. He's got the coordinates, and I know he was just as eager to check this place out as I was." She rocked up onto her toes, then fell back again, a nervous bounce as she stared deeper into the lighthouse. It was evident that she wanted nothing more than to scout ahead, but loyalty to her friend kept her in place. "He'd be so bummed if we discovered something without him," she muttered, as if reassuring herself more so than Jomei.

"All of the reports have said that there are no mobs here though. Soooo-" She turned her back to Jomei, then glanced over her shoulder, feigning a scowl that wobbled under the weight of a barely contained laugh. "No peeking, you perv." Of course there was no room for privacy in the closet-sized entryway, and the game allowed her to quickly shift between outfits anyway. When the ribbons of light cleared, Lessa's waterlogged cloak and heavy armor were gone. In their place, she wore her signature black leggings, sneakers, and a blue hoodie. Her heavy sword remained strapped to her back, just in case, and also because the casual Frontliner look kind of amused her. "Nice and dry."

She took a moment to battle her hair into a long braid. Without glancing up from her work, she stated, "the Lighthouse of Alexandria was actually built on an island called Pharos. Just in case you needed to know."

His voice came from behind her, and her food-induced excitement was fully eclipsed by her joy at his presence. The contented smile she wore split to bursting, and she tilted her head back to grin up at him. "Merciful and generous!" Parroting his earlier words back at him, she let her eyes drift closed as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. Seriously, was there anything better than forehead smooches?

Eyes still closed, she turned in her chair to face him. "So you're just-" Her eyes opened, and when they focused on Jomei's shirtless torso, they nearly fell out of her head. Her brain short-circuited. Her face flushed. Sweat beaded across her forehead. Her mouth opened and closed dumbly. 

Incidentally, there was something better than forehead smooches.

When Lessa was finally granted the power of speech, she could manage only a high-pitched little giggle.

Slowly, and with much regret, she peeled her gaze away to watch him drop the drink in front of her. She popped the tab, chugged, then pressed the cool can to her temple. I will not ogle this man. I will not shamelessly strip him (more) naked with my eyes. I will not publicly lust after my boyfriend. I will not degrade him that way. He's not a piece of meat. Just because he has - oh, he's talking to me, and I’d better say something quick.

"Abs." Lessa blurted, then immediately rushed to remedy the situation. "You have them," she explained, talking over a nervous cough that came out of nowhere. "I can tell, because your shirt isn't buttoned. So I can see them. It's a nice shirt. Is it new?" The words ran together, falling from her mouth like water from a sprung leak, and she could only plug it by finally downing the rest of her pop.

Over the rim of her can, she spotted Oscar crossing the sand toward them. Saved by the Beast, she thought, relieved, as she leapt to her feet. Oscar tucked her under one arm, and Jomei under the other, and all she could do was laugh. "Of course we still need the glue," she corrected, turning into him to give the massive man a hug. "You never really need the glue until something needs fixing, so you'd better hang around, just in case. Got it?"

When Oscar drew back to study Jomei, Lessa couldn't help the wave of pride that washed over her. Her two best friends in all of Aincrad, and she loved them both in ways she had trouble putting into words.

She'd taken Oscar's advice, even though it had terrified her.

And her reward?

Moving up alongside Jomei, she slipped her hand into his, their fingers intertwining.

Free license to do that whenever she damn well pleased.

                    Lessa: Oh my goddddddddddd, I love free food.
                    Lessa: Don't you dare start without me.
                    Lessa: Omnomnomnom.
                    Lessa: Get in mahhhh belllllllllllllllllly.

The urgency with which Lessa put her items back on the shelf, fled the shop, and sprinted down the road was... alarming, honestly. The shopkeeper, and one of the patrons inside, both poked their heads out the doorway. In silent awe, they watched the woman's retreating form, until she turned a distant corner and vanished from view.

"Did she steal something?" the customer finally asked, shifting her own selection of goods from one arm to the other.

The store's owner blinked owlishly, then slowly shook his head. "I, uh, don't think so. Looked like she was accessing her HUD though, so maybe she got some bad news and that's why she had to go?"

Little did the man know, it was bad news.

There was free food. There had been free food, for at least the time it took for Oscar to compose and send the message.

And Lessa wasn't there yet.

"Scalabis!" she shouted as she skidded into the teleport gate. She hopped from foot to foot, bouncing along with each word she chanted. "Go go go go go go go!"

When the city materialized around her, she launched herself forward like a sprinter from the blocks. It didn't take much effort to find the party - she simply followed the stream of swim-suit clad party-goers. Fortunately, she'd already been dressed in attire semi-appropriate for a beach party. It meant she didn't have to stop to change.

Her flipflops slapped her bare feet suggestively as she sprinted toward the beach, and though she almost biffed it when cement gave way to sand, momentum carried her right past where Oscar stood with NIGHT and Bistro. "Foooooood!" she howled, throwing both arms into the air, ever the inebriated frat boy when free food was involved.

In record time, she slapped a hotdog into a bun, drowned it dill relish, and took an obscenely large bite. It was gone after three more, and with a contented hum, Lessa let herself fall back into the nearest chair. Food tasted so much better when it was free.

<<Assist System Engaged: Assisting Warren>>
Level: 22
Paragon: 0
Tier: 3
True Tier: 11

Final EXP reward: +110% Final EXP reward

Lessa hadn't played too many RPGs prior to donning the headgear, but even she knew the one universal truth - when the boss floated up into the sky, you got the hell out of dodge. And when he starts glowing? When he starts absorbing power from his surroundings? When his literal clothes burst off? Unless it's one of those games, only an idiot would stick around to see what comes next. And Lessa didn't fancy herself an idiot. With a very ladylike, "Shit shit shit shit shit," she swung around in a clank of armor and a swirl of blue fabric. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her party-mates doing the same, diving for cover, or putting as much distance between themselves and Belregor as humanly possible. Good, she thought. No idiots there, either.

Well, except for one.

As Lessa sprinted away from the water, something streaked by her, going the other direction. She had only enough time to register the brown fur, but she'd spent enough time with her fingers buried in it to know exactly which idiot was currently charging the boss.

"No, Riker!" Lessa shrieked, her boots slipping in the sand as she spun to take chase. She went down hard in the dark dunes, and she struggled to find her feet again as her gaze remained glued to her familiar. "Riker, stop! Please stop! Come back!" The wolf ignored her pleas, which came as no surprise - he had always played by his own rules. He wasn't even supposed to be in this fight - she'd left him behind the help with managing the mobs. A part of her had loved him for his free spirit. Now she felt only horror, wet and heavy as oil, settling in the pit of her stomach as Riker launched himself into the air, jaws snapping shut around Belregor's ankle. She didn't think it could get any worse.

And then it did.

A second figure drew her attention. His tall frame was silhouetted by the boss' vibrant purple lights, but like Riker, she knew him well enough to recognize him anywhere.

Her blood froze.

When she howled, her voice sounded alien even to her own ears. "What are you doing?!"

He reached for her, his command softened by sleep and the goofy little smile he wore. Lessa's gaze flitted around the room for the briefest moment. The twin tubs of melted ice cream that really should be put away. The light that could stand to be turned off. The door that they'd come through, and the more comfortable bed that lay one floor down. At least, she assumed it was more comfortable - she'd never actually tried it out. The thought sent butterflies spiraling in her stomach, and her eyes finally returned to his. She'd never slept over at his place before, and he'd never stayed at hers, but now, it just felt natural. It felt right. The next step of many, many more, a new path finally unlocked as a result of the choices they'd finally made. The words they'd finally spoken.

So she let him pull her to him, settling against his chest as his arms slid securely around her. And then she simply lay there, relishing in the way he consumed every part of her. The fabric of his shirt against her cheek, and the way he lifted her slightly with each breath he drew. His faint scent, no longer a mixture of multiple sources, but now a smell she could only describe as him. The warmth of his breath, whispering across her hair, and his hand, resting loosely on her hip. The thrum of his heartbeat, racing when they first came together, but growing steadier as sleep came for him.

When he finally went under, she carefully moved her head to look up at his face. He looked so peaceful, a small, contented smile curving his lips even as he slept. And then, for no other reason than because she could, she reached out to stroke his jaw tenderly. "I'm not going anywhere," she whispered to the empty room. Then she buried her face in the crook of his neck, and with one hand still cupping his face, she followed him into the dark.

♫

Her response was to heave a world-weary sigh. "So true. If I were this gorgeous, this funny, and I was good at math?" She paused for a perfectly executed hair toss. "Damn, I'd be unstoppable. No one person should wield such power." Grinning, she listened to him talk of their many good times, and finally nodded her agreement. "You're right, we've been through a lot together over the years. It hasn't always been smooth sailing," a tough conversation in a haunted house's pantry returned to her, "but I think that's why it's so special. Because we stuck, even when things weren't sunshine and rainbows. You've always been my best friend, and you'll always be my best friend, and the kissing is a super nice addition that I think we should definitely keep."

The words weren't even out of her mouth before she barked out a laugh of her own. "God, I'm babbling too. I'm a mess." She watched him rub at his eyes, then added around the giggle bubbling up her throat, "And you're a mess. We're both a mess. It's so late." Now that she'd spoken her truth, she certainly felt as though a weight had been lifted. At the same time, the emotional wringing-out left her in a somewhat slap-happy state. The stress of the next day's boss battle, paired with the already-present exhaustion, did little to help. In fact, it likely attributed to the verbal diarrhea that had been her confession.

Not that she regretted it. She couldn't regret anything about him, except maybe that she hadn't told him how she'd felt sooner.

Actually no, not even that.

She really, really liked how this had played out.

"You know I always jump at the chance to eat some ice cream," she told him matter-of-factly. "Cheering you up was just an excuse, and an added bonus, honestly." Her goofy grin softened as she watched him blink back sleep, admiration slamming into her in a way that made her chest physically ache.

Then he finally said the word that had been dancing on her own lips all night, and surprisingly, it didn't cause the strike of shock she might have expected. Instead, warmth simply spread across her entire body, like standing before a fire after endless nights out in the cold. That's because Jomei wasn't a lightning bolt - he was a lighthouse. Always there to light her path. Always there to guide her home.

"You're exhausted," she whispered, her thumb gently tracing under one of his heavily-lidded eyes. "You need to sleep - tomorrow's a big day. Plus, the ice cream's melted, and the tea's cold, and-" her voice trailed as she took one more long look at his face. At his smile. At the way that, even despite the fatigue, she still saw love in his eyes. The love she knew he also saw in hers.

I hope I never forget this moment, for as long as I live.

"And I think we've said everything that we needed to say. Including that I'm in love with you, too. So, so in love with you."

With a small laugh, she turned into his touch, letting her lips skim over the fingers that had so gently traced her jawline. "I have to have a way with words," she replied, her voice matching his in volume, but her blue eyes dancing with amusement. "I have so much to compensate for. My abysmal math skills. My horrendous cooking." She blinked a couple of times, then added, "And honestly, my less than stellar performance in this support role." Her lips pulled into a smile, telling Jomei that she was only half serious, but... yeah, only half joking, too. Then she pursed those lips contemplatively. "I know we made it through the last boss battle, but I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting something for tomorrow."

When he shifted on the couch, so did she, her hands never leaving the warm planes of his flushed cheeks. She ended up perched on her knees, her ankles crossed beneath her, her foot somehow tangled in the edge of a blanket. If she were to lean over any further, she would likely lose her balance, and go tumbling against his broad chest. And if that wasn't the perfect metaphor for her mental state at that exact moment, she didn't know what was.

"That's what friends do for each other," she admitted once he'd fallen silent. "Even if none of this had happened, I still would have sat with you in the silence. And-" she faltered for a moment "-if this ends, I'll still be there for you. That's one thing I'll promise you. No matter what happens, I will not leave you. I'm going to stay." She let her eyes drift closed for a moment, simply appreciating his nearness. "But somewhere along the line, it wasn't just friendship anymore. I'm not sure when that happened, but I'm glad it did."

After a beat, her eyes popped open, and they held a devilish gleam. "Oh, I do remember!" she declared proudly, batting her eyelashes up at him. "It was on floor nine, when we fought the bandits, and you first called me lass." She adopted a comically horrible Irish accent for the last word, but couldn't keep up the ruse, and finished in a fit of giggles.

She sobered as Jomei drew her hand from his cheek, and with a sort of wonder, she watched him press delicate kisses to each of her fingertips. She drew long, measured breaths, but it did nothing to quell her racing heart, beating out of time yet again. Did the system allow for cardiac episodes? What in the world would her note on the monument say?

And I want to stay planted, right there. With you. Always.

Lessa heard herself speaking before she fully understood what it was she said. "A little while ago, Oscar asked me what it was that I needed. He guessed control, but that wasn't right." The hand that Jomei held began trembling again, and in an attempt to steady it, she reached out to lightly trace the curve of his lower lip. "I've had control. I've had popularity, and power, and solitude, and purpose, and a hundred other things that I thought I wanted. But I never had what I truly needed. I needed stability. I needed someone I could depend on, who could take over bearing the weight of the world for me when it got too heavy. Someone who would unquestionably, unflinchingly, unapologetically be there. I needed you.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to add all the pieces up." She lifted one shoulder in a shrug.  "Bad at math, remember?"

"Jesus," Lessa breathed, swinging around to face the player indicated by Acanthus. "They do look super similar." When the boss had assumed her form, she'd been too shocked to truly study the likeness. Now, however, it was easy to compare the two side-by-side. It was the most difficult game of "find the differences between these two pictures" she had ever played, and she had been raised on Highlights magazines. Without help, she would have really struggled to differentiate between the two. Since there was no time for Arabelle to tell the party something only the real Arabelle would know, Lessa had to trust her party-mate.

She shot off a quick salute in Acanthus' direction. "Thanks for the help," Lessa told the other woman, lifting her voice to be heard over the general chaos surrounding them. Between the shrieks of mobs, the screams of players, the roll of thunder, the crash of waves, and the undeniably catchy chorus of the kpop song, it was difficult to hear much of anything. For that reason, when she turned to address the rest of her party, she practically shouted. "Press the Attack's back up! Go kill that creepy thing!"

The real Arabelle, it seemed, didn't need to be told twice. Glowing faintly with the newly applied buff, the woman dealt a devastating blow against her doppelganger, and Lessa nearly smiled with appreciation for the destruction. A glance at Arabelle's health bar, however, had her expression sobering again. "Shit," she hissed between clenched teeth. Topping Arabelle off would be her next focus, but in the meantime...

Her gaze swept down the rest of her party's stats, ensuring that everyone remained at least in the green. Satisfied, she shifted to the next order of business - preventative measures. She had already passed out one antidote, and had plenty more to distribute. Now might be the best time for it.

Call it bias, or favoritism, or love, but her eyes immediately sought out a familiar slash of emerald amid the sword arts and the raindrops. "Jomei!" she called out, hoping to give him some advance notice of her arrival - the twenty ninth floor was not the place to be sneaking up on people. Once she had his attention, she reached out to snag his hand, then pressed an antidote to his palm. She folded his fingers around the item, before bringing his hand to her lips, and pressing a quick kiss against his rain-slicked knuckles. "You're doing great."

Lessa pursed her lips around a contemplative hum. "I am now picturing myself literally gluing you and Jomei together. Nooooot a bad visual." Then her expression relaxed, and she shook her head. "We've already been over this," she drawled. "I could never afford a therapy session with you. You know how you get col in this game?" Without giving him a beat to respond, because of course he knew, she forged ahead. "Well I'll tell you how you get col in this game. By grinding, and by crafting. I do neither of those things, and that makes me a broke-ass bitch."

Some of the humor leeched from her face as Oscar began speaking of his past, and by the time he'd finished, the good-natured light had left her eyes. "I'm sorry that you were forced to endure an upbringing like that," she stated after a moment of silent contemplation. "Because that's something no kid should have to go through. No one should, really, but especially someone during such an impressionable time in their life. Someone who probably doesn't know better, or even if they do, doesn't have any other options." She slanted him a thoughtful look, then added, "I had students like that. Of course they had to be held accountable for their own actions, but it was a huge injustice to judge them solely on their behavior when you knew what kind of reality they found themselves in." She chewed on her bottom lip for a second, casting her memory back to those difficult times in the classroom. "I'm glad you were able to find a way out of it."

With a soft squeeze of his arm, she spoke again, her voice faint enough for only the pair of them to hear. "But I think you learned a lot more from him than you realize. I mean, look at Cord. What you two have is special - you've said so yourself. I don't think a man like the criminals you're describing could form, let alone hold, a bond like that with someone like her. Not to mention, someone from the circles you used to run in might not understand this friendship that you and I have." Her gaze snagged on an open tavern door, where bright light and riotous laughter spilled out to splash across the cobblestone. Once the noise level returned to normal, she put voice to the thoughts that had been most nagging her. "This place really screws with you. Life does too, obviously, but there's something really demoralizing about SAO. We're trapped, by no fault of our own, and we're just spinning our wheels. I mean, shit, this was supposed to be fun. An escape from the monotony. Now monotony is literally the name of the game until we clear all the floors. But it's also sort of a lawless place, when you think about it. Our societal understanding of what is and isn't acceptable has warped. Want to murder a bunch of NPCs? Rob other players blind? Hell, kill other players? People do it all the time in games. Even here. People go off the deep end every day here. The stress gets to them. They lean into the chaos, and tell themselves its okay, because who's going to stop them? It's a game, after all." She paused to take a deep breath, then concluded with, "But not you. You have every opportunity to go back to that delinquent life - you even have something of a free pass - but you're too busy helping orphans, making hot dogs, and respecting women's' boundaries."

She hummed again, this time accompanied by a small shrug. "But those are just the observations of a humble middle school social studies teacher. You really should talk to a professional."

"I was?" she asked, her voice trembling, though not nearly as violently as the rest of her. Her fingers found the hem of his henley, holding onto it, holding onto him, in an attempt to steady herself. Still, she shook as completely as a woman left alone in a frozen wasteland. "I don't think I was. If I was, it wasn't important. I don't know what I was saying." When her teeth chattered, she gritted them together, and muttered a breathy, "God, sorry. I'm sorry. I just..."

Lessa twisted the fabric in her fists, her eyes wide and searching as they found his. She saw calm there, a sharp contrast to the storm of emotion in her own gaze. She was a tempest, and he was a mountain, and for once, for once, she could let someone else weather the storm. She could let herself go, let herself fall, and know he would withstand it. He wouldn't challenge her, or change her, or talk of missing the sun when she had only rain to offer. He would be there. He would hold her while she raged, and while she laughed, and while she cried. And while emotion racked her body so completely that she couldn't possibly control it.

Together, they shared a moment of silence, and traded warm breaths that tasted faintly of mint and cookie dough. "You," she managed finally, her voice a whisper against his lips. "You. You're my safety net, and my sounding board, and my light, and my rock. You're my haven. You're my home. And you're here, and you're kissing me, and-" The words, and the air, were sucked from her lungs as she reached up to place her own hands against his cheeks. With a sound that might have been a laugh, or might have been a sob, she skated her lips over his. Then again, and again, peppering his mouth with kisses until lack of oxygen forced her to draw away. "-I can kiss you back," she finally finished.

One hand moved to brush his brilliant red hair back, and for a while, all she could do was study his face. She had seen that face twisted in pain and frozen with fear, warmed with joy and lit with laughter. Every high, and every low, he had stood by her side. Now, in the small smile he wore and the way his eyes shone, she saw understanding. And acceptance. And god, was he beautiful.

"I'm a different person with you. I can open up, and show you the best and the worst of me. I want to, because I know you'll help me be stronger afterward. I put up these walls to hide my shortcomings, but you take them down, and you just see me in a way that no one else does. Then you build me back up, and I'm so much better for it. I'm freer, and I'm more confident, and I'm myself. I'm not just who everyone else needs me to be."

"You undo me, Liam. And I never want you to stop."

"Astreya," Lessa repeated. "Astreya, Astreya, Astreya." She let the name roll around in her mouth, wondering if it might jog her memory. When it didn't, she shook her head. "No, I don't think I knew her. We might get along though. My parents always gave me a hard time for all my 'like's." The wry smile that twisted her lips lasted only a second before dropping away again. Back then, she'd found the whole thing impossibly annoying. Now she'd give just about anything to hear her dad mock her, or listen to her mom correct her speech. She looked from her ice cream to Jomei's cocked eyebrow, and the new tension simply melted out of her again. How does he do that? "I do like accents though." Her small smile mirrored his. "A lot. Like, a lot a lot. And I would be honored to both shock and horrify you with my complete lack of musical prowess. Like an elementary schooler plugging away on a recorder. You will be the one running for the hills."

Even though she'd instigated the subject change, she felt a pang of disappointment when they veered away from the lighthearted banter. "Yeah," she ground out. "That makes me oh for four in guild leadership. At some point, you kind of start to wonder if you're the problem, you know?" She knew Jomei had had his fair share of stalled guilds, and a statement like hers might be taken personally. But he was her safe space, so she let the words rush past her, a raging river leaping its banks. "I'm not sure if I just couldn't inspire people, or if I wasn't active enough, or if I just couldn't form those relationships, or if I wasn't a good leader, or-" The words trailed, plunging the pair into silence for a second. Fortunately, Jomei took that opportunity to make his own suggestion, his hand on her knee a comforting and welcome tether.

"Join you guys?" she echoed, her brow furrowing as she turned the words over in her head. "I guess I'd never... I never actually considered joining someone else's guild before. I've heard amazing things about Jacob's Ladder, and if Baldur's running things, it's going to be great." Without moving her eyes from his hand on her leg, she placed her ice cream on the small table beside the couch. Then she placed her hand atop his, gently turning it over so she could twine their fingers together. "I think I want the commitment. At this point, I'm-" acutely aware of the fluttering in my stomach "-tired of flying solo."

She gave his hand a tight squeeze and huffed out a breathy laugh. "It was cheesy, but that's alright." For a moment, she simply smiled down at their joined hands. There was something timeless in the way they held onto each other, like two middle schoolers under their desk in fifth hour. It made no guarantees, but at the same time, promised the world. It meant nothing, but still held the possibility of meaning everything. 

So much possibility.

"Let's both be selfish," she said finally, her voice weighed down with emotion. "Probably for the first time in our lives. I'll ask Baldur about joining. I just- I want to be around you all the time."

It wasn't the first time that Lessa had wandered the Town of Beginnings after dark. In fact, it had been unavoidable while she lived on the floor the first few years in Aincrad. But of all those countless nights, none had felt quite like this one did. Faint stars tossed haphazardly against a gray-black sky, hazily lit by the lights of the city. The gentle roll of murmured voices, accented by the occasional laugh or cough. Music drifting from doorways and windows thrown open to the cool breeze. There was something significant about her surroundings, something cinematic in the way the evening rolled out for the two of them. Lessa found herself taking a mental snapshot, letting her eyes close for a few steps as she breathed deeply and stored the memory away. The mismatched scent of fried food and blooming flowers from the taverns and gardens they passed. The feel of the night on her skin. His sturdy presence at her side. 

"I watched a lot more TV than I should have growing up," she said suddenly. "And honestly, I never really stopped. I pretty much always have something on in the background, while I'm cleaning, or working out, or doing school stuff. One thing I was always really jealous of in shows was really solid friendships. The ones that aren't some stepping stone for a romantic or sexual relationship, but are just two people who get each other, and have each others backs. Especially when it was a friendship between a guy and a girl. Veronica and Wallace, Mal and Zoe, Haley and Lucas. I think it's because I was constantly surrounded by guys while I was in school, because of my brothers, but they only wanted to date me, or..." Her cheeks warmed, and the show of modesty seemed out of place, given the day the pair had had.

So she forged ahead. "So this feels good. I'm glad I can count on you, and you can count on me, and it can just be easy between us." She felt eyes on her, and Lessa cut a glance toward a trio of girls who stared at Oscar with unabashed lust. If this were an anime, they'd have drool dripping from their mouths. Lessa figured she probably stared at a good slice of pizza the same way. "However," she amended, "I'll get a small thrill out of giving people the wrong idea."

When Oscar brought up Jomei again, Lessa pursed her lips stubbornly. Then she blew out a hard breath. "Fiiiiine," she relented. "But if he turns me down, promise me you'll wait at least a week before you put the moves on him? Just for the sake of my fragile ego."

They were brought together like two pieces of a whole, fitting perfectly as they stood together in his kitchen. As his arms circled her waist, hers came around his neck, and she gave a soft sigh of relief as she simultaneously relaxed and held him tighter. A push and a pull. Give and take. A balance, the way things had always been between them. Her fingers found the back of his neck, her thumb stroking the soft skin there as she drew him even closer. “I’ve got you,” came her soft exhale, her breath feather-light against his hair. She pressed her lips to his head, then said again, “I’ve got you.”

When he pulled back, she felt his absence immediately. But the warmth of his smile went a long way to chase away the cold that his withdrawal caused. “Okay,” she replied, grabbing her own ice cream and falling into step behind him. She’d visited his house before, but they’d always stuck to the kitchen and the living room. Curiosity had her bouncing onto her tiptoes, attempting to peer over his shoulders as they approached a new door. “Okayyyy,” she repeated, this time drawing the word out to add extra appreciation. “Spiral staircase. Already so freaking cool.” She reached out a hand, skidding her fingertips along the circling banister as they climbed. “Oh yeah, I am definitely stealing this for my next house. Not even sorry about it. I think that- Oh.”

The word trembled out of her on a shaking breath as Jomei stepped aside, revealing the room beyond. Books climbed the wall, their multicolored bindings a mosaic in light cast by the floating orb. She felt herself drawn to them, à la Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and she reached out to caress the nearest title. Then she turned to take in the rest of the room: the comfortable couch, the writing desk, the instruments. And she was enchanted. Not because of the library itself, though it was beautiful in its own right. But because of how him it was. She saw him in every part of the study, from the colors he chose to the books he favored, and in the way that the blanket lay draped over the couch’s back, as if he’d just flung it off himself before standing and walking away. The room was filled with him. And she suddenly, desperately wanted to spend all of her time there.

“Yeah,” she managed around a lump in her throat, her gaze trained on him even as he motioned to the window. “Hell of a view.”

Lessa blinked back the prickling behind her eyes, then walked to his couch, curling her legs beneath her as she sat down. “It’s nice to see the instruments again,” she commented, motioning to them with her spoon before taking another bite of the now slightly mushy ice-cream. “Are you giving lessons, by any chance? I, uh, think I’m going to have a bit more free-time.” She'd meant to bring this up weeks ago, but the time had never felt right. And if she was looking for a subject change, this might be the best opportunity. She stabbed at a cookie dough, shoveled it into her mouth, then muttered, “Because it looks like Tarot is disbanding.”

Lessa swayed on her feet, gasping in a hard breath as she fought to regain her bearings. Whatever that was, it did not feel good, and a glance at her party’s health bars revealed that it was very much not good. Wincing, Lessa summoned her HUD. “There go all our antidotes,” she muttered, making two selections, and extending her hands so they could materialize there. In a swirl of rainbow ribbons, an antidote crystal and a mass healing crystal both appeared in her palms.

“Morningstar,” the blonde called out, tossing the man the former. “Slap that on. I have more, if anyone needs them.”

Next, she activated the healing crystal, watching nearly everyone climb back to full health. The sight lifted a weight from her chest, and she took a moment to wipe her wet eyes on her wet sleeve. A sliver of relief - just this second, they were all okay.

Finally, she pointed both palms toward the boss. Her hands glowed a vibrant blue, and then brilliant light spilled out from them a la Elsa in Frozen, creating a partial dome of sorts around the gathered Players. “Barrier,” she barked out. Hopefully it’ll buy us a little time.”

"I feel like, we've got this bond, you know?"

She leaned forward on her barstool, his words a rope that tugged her closer. He felt that he could be himself around her? And he had since they'd first met? She felt the same way. As he continued to speak, she continued to shift closer, her eyes on his lips that dropped words like bombs, shaking her all the way to her foundation. Had they both been sitting on these truths all this time? How different might their lives have been if they'd just shared how they felt, all those months ago? It would have saved her from a lot of heartbreak, and a lot of complicated feelings where Jomei was concerned. Not to mention, she would have avoided a lot of lonely nights if she'd known he could have kept her company. If she'd just told him how she felt, in his studio, or on the airship, or in the grove. If she'd told him she loved him.

So why wait a second longer?

She was nearly in his lap now, a hand on his leg to steady herself as her face hovered inches from his. It wouldn't take much for him to close the distance and find her lips with his. Maybe he would, once she told him how she felt.

"Jom, I-"

"I care about you."

The words died on her tongue, horror suddenly weighing her down more thoroughly than her wet clothes. Cares. He cares. About me. Not love. Not romance. Not a relationship, or a future, or a declaration. Just care.

The tears finally spilled over, streaking down her already damp cheeks as she turned away from him. They warmed beneath his stare, and the words she swore he left unsaid. I care about you... as a friend. Had she not used that same phrase to soften the blow when her brothers' friends had asked her out? It stung a whole lot worse while on the receiving end.

A small sob bubbled around the lump in her throat, but she covered it with a cough, and took swig of her whiskey. It burned on the way down, and she closed her eyes as cinnamon assaulted her senses. When she opened them again, they still glistened with tears, but they were hardened by a new kind of resolve. What the hell did she have to cry about? She had an amazing man willing to adventure with her, and give her a pep talk when she was feeling down. And she was disappointed by that? There were people who would kill for a friendship like the one she had with Jomei, and she was slipping into mourning. What was wrong with her?

She drained her cup, then bumped her shoulder against his. "Of course it makes you special," she murmured through a tight-lipped smile. "You're the best friend I have."

And after a day filled with miraculous things, the most miraculous was delivering the words without crying again.

"It is real!"

She bit the words out with far more intensity than she intended; the sheer force of the statement launched her out of the chair and onto her feet. As the sound of her shout died away, and she realized just how she'd filled his whole house with it, she felt a blush begin to climb her neck. But she wouldn't back down from it - she'd spent far too long backing down from it.

"It feels real because it is real," she insisted, though this time, her voice had dropped about thirty decibels. They stared at each other across the kitchen, the silence and the space still humming with her declaration, and... something else. As they stood opposite each other, squared off like rival gunslingers, she would have sworn she felt her body drawn to his. A link gapping the distance between them, nearly imperceptible, but there nonetheless. She'd felt it that day on the fourth floor, and so many times since. And if she were honest with herself, she'd felt it's presence before, too. In his studio in Taft. On the deck of the airship. In the grove on floor twenty-seven, dangling beside him as the guardian kicked their ass a second time.

The urge to go to him now, to brush that beautiful red hair back from his face, ached like a physical wound. But the weight of the world pressed down on him, and experience had taught her that while hugs and platitudes were often welcome, they weren't always the most efficient way of clearing the air. So she plunged her hands into her hoodie pocket and said, "I'm scared too, Jom. After watching Alkor die in a boss fight, I've never really been able to get out of my own head while I'm there. I mean, I can make jokes while I'm fighting, and try to keep it light-hearted, but there's always this sort of pressure on my chest. It makes it so I can't take a deep breath, because what if I lose someone else? Someone I love? It took me years to climb out of the pit Alkor's death King Leonidas-ed me into. I don't want to watch anyone else die, and I don't want to go back to being that person again."

Lessa withdrew her hands from her pocket and retrieved her pint from where she'd left it on the table. She traced a squiggly line into the top of the ice cream, watching the chunks of cookie dough surface, mostly to give her hands something to do. "I kind of compare the Frontlines to teaching," she finally stated. "You do it for the kids. For the other teachers, to take the stress off of them. For the whole world, if you look at it that way. You're changing the course of the future, and preparing the next generation for their turn at running things. That's a huge honor, and a tremendous responsibility." A crease formed across her forehead as Lessa scowled down into her ice cream. "But at what cost, you know? The burnout is so bad. Morale is at an all-time low. My coworkers were miserable, and I watched them neglect their families and themselves for 'the greater good'. Was it worth it?"

With a gusty sigh, she looked back to him, then loosed a small shrug. "I know that doesn't really help, but... I guess it's just the idea that this pressure isn't entirely foreign. Even if everyone's depending on us, we can't lose ourselves in our attempt to save them. If this were the classroom, wouldn't we walk away until our mind was in the right place? Or at the very least, cut ourselves some slack if we aren't able to reach everyone, or do everything, all at the same time? That's a huge ask, for anyone."

She took a bite of ice cream as she thought over her next words. "You're right, things are super up in the air right now. A lot of unknowns. But we shouldn't be too hard on ourselves for not knowing everything. Its not fair, and it's not healthy. Whatever tomorrow brings, we're going to figure it out."

Finally, she allowed herself to give in. Lessa closed the distance between him, set her ice cream on the counter, and took both of his hands in hers. "I have this mantra. It's 'tomorrow will be better.' I live by it, and I believe in it, because I need something to believe in. I don't know what this boss fight is going to look like, but I know we'll come out of it stronger, because tomorrow will be better."

Lessa barked out a laugh at the visual of Oscar plinking out Hot Cross Buns on Jomei's abs. Then she stopped to appreciate it. Then, with a soft hum, she let Oscar have his say. He was a good listener, and an equally skilled advice-giver. They were two traits that likely made him an exceptional psychologist, which she assumed he was, based on conversations they'd had. In Aincrad, they made him an invaluable confidant.

Before that moment, she hadn't realized just how important his opinion was. They'd always been on good terms, having even spent a short stint as guildmates. And their love of children, and their work with the orphanage, had formed a unique bond between them. But something had shifted between them that morning, when they'd come together like two clashing blades, sparking brilliantly upon impact. And it shifted once more as her eyes bore into his, genuine love and concern melting in the warm gold. It was as if he'd plunged his hand between her ribs, grasped her heart, and squeezed. And she found she didn't mind it too much.

Drawing in a long breath, she let his words wash over her. The truth in them. The reassurance in them. And she couldn't help the smile that unfurled slowly, a lazy flower spreading its petals to face the sun after a long, dark night. She laughed again, though the sound was gentler than the one she'd made a moment before. Rocking onto her tiptoes, she laid her lips against his jaw, pressing a quick kiss there. Then she dropped back on her heels, wove her arm through his, and squeezed fiercely. "I have no doubt that you would be the absolute best fuckbuddy in the entirety of Aincrad." She rested her head against his thick forearm. "But you know what I need right now? A friend. And I'm getting the impression you're the absolute best one of those around, too."

She breathed him in, let her eyes drift closed, and added, "And as payment for your friendship, I'll alert you next time I'm in a hot tub with another woman."

"Won't cost you a thing," she countered cheerfully. "And whatever ice cream we don't eat tonight will just go back in my freezer. To be consumed later. By me. Probably in one sitting." She was so busy chattering away, adjusting the pints of ice cream in the plastic bag, that she missed his approach. But she certainly did not miss the playful gleam in his eye when she finally turned to him, and let her gaze climb up. "Normally, I would fight you for it," she replied matter-of-factly. "Tooth and nail, to the death. It would be brutal." Lessa placed an unnecessary amount of emphasis on the word, drawing it out as if she were doing some sort of dramatic reading. "Buuuuuut, because I like you, I'd give you a bite." She expertly popped the top off the pint with one hand, the other going for the spoons. Offering one to Jomei, she plunged the other into her ice cream. "Good thing that's not what happened though, huh?"

She watched him appraisingly as he made his selection, then nodded her approval. "The man in green goes for the mint. It's so fitting." Her head tilted slightly as she studied him further. "Well, not in green right now," she amended. "The gray's nice. I'm just so used to seeing you in green, y'know?" Lessa paused to glance down at her own attire - black yoga pants and a royal blue hoodie. "I, on the other hand, remain predictable."

She turned her back to the counter, and nearly propped herself up onto it before she remembered where she was. No, she would not plop her ass onto someone else's kitchen counter, regardless of how well she knew him. Would she climb onto her own counter to eat her ice cream if she were at home? Absolutely - she did it last night. But not here. Scanning the kitchen for somewhere else to sit, her eyes landed on the two mugs, and his question finally registered.

"Ah, no thank you," she answered, expression growing sheepish. "Unless you've got like one of those apple cider mixes, or hot chocolate, maybe?" Her free hand went to her head, fingers raking through her hair as she looked from the steaming mugs to Jomei, then back again. "I'm sorry, I've just never been a tea drinker."

Guilt for making him needlessly dirty a mug nagged at her, but she escaped it by dropping into a chair at the kitchen table. She stared out the dark window for a moment, her reflection staring back, before she commented, "It's really late. Not that I mind coming over - I mean, I love coming over, no matter what time it is. But, yeah." She spooned some ice cream into her mouth, allowing the comment to hang between them for a few seconds before she asked, "Are you doing okay?"

Maybe if Lessa had branched out a bit more, and actually completed the Gemini quest, the sight might not have shocked her so much. But as it stood, she had never actually seen a mirror image of herself, and it was horrifying. "Is that what I look like?" she said aloud, wincing as the boss swaggered closer. "I do not swing my hips that much when I walk. And all those belts look ridiculous." She made a mental note to remove at least some of them after the fight was over. 

The humor, and the color, drained from her face as Not-Lessa plunged Not-Arcael's Might into Jomei's side. Raw instinct had her lifting her blade with one hand, and calling up her HUD with the other. He needed defending, and healing, and- 

But he didn't. Jomei expertly extracted himself from the boss' hold, even popping a quip that smoothed her ruffled feathers. When he cut her a glance, a small smile relaxed her face. She'd likely never get used to watching her loved ones take damage - what kind of monster would she be if she did? - but after so many years in Aincrad, Lessa was beginning to understand that it was a part of the job. A strange, new normal. 

"Not a fan of PDA?" she called out to him, dismissing her HUD and momentarily resting her sword on her shoulder. "I'll keep that in mind."

A quick glance at the party's stats had her shooting an EN boost in Ara's direction. Best to keep everyone topped off before things got really sticky.

Thunder murmured overhead, a low, ominous sound that seemed to drill straight into Lessa's bones. Rain tapped across her heavy armor, seeping through its cracks, and soaking her clothing beneath. It might have been a metaphor for the way this beach, this boss, this entire floor was finding every chink in her armor. Something about 29 really put her on edge, and she was starting to wonder if that was an actual feature of the Floor’s design. Low frequency sound was often used in movies to create a sense of dread or unease, and high electromagnetic field readings in small spaces could jack up a person’s anxiety. Was something like that at work? Or was the floor just genuinely creepy?

Regardless, Lessa couldn’t quite find her equilibrium as she gazed across the dark expanse of sand and sea. Everything felt different this time around. A boss just floating in the middle of the ocean? A battle out in the open, away from the labyrinth, and door to the next floor? No boss meeting, no real plan, no preparation beyond popping a couple of consumables on the walk over. This didn’t feel anything like their usual Frontline adventures.

Emerald fabric swirled in her peripheral vision, and she couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at her lips. Everything was different, that was for sure. But it wasn’t all bad.

“Alright gang,” she began, then wincing internally at the inadvertent Scooby Doo reference; she was one ascot away from turning into Fred Jones. “I’m going to hit you guys with a damage buff right from the get-go, then start working on some energy saving stuff. Just holler if you need anything - deep pockets means I have a little bit of everything on me.”

Hefting her heavy weapon, Lessa scattered little blue droplets across her gathered party members. “I’ll top you off again once it fades.”