Lessa

"Maybe," Lessa replied, flashing him a grin as she plunged the tip of her massive blade into the ground. She leaned on it casually as she regarded the red-haired swordsman. "I was honestly a complete noob when I joined SAO. Now first person shooters, I was awesome at. Having to keep up with older brothers definitely improved my own skills, and more often than not, I beat them. I was decent at sporting games, too, and driving games. But all this stuff?" With one hand, the woman motioned to their surroundings. "Swords, and magic, and quests, and all that fancy stuff?" She blew out a hard breath

I didn't think you had it in you. Regret pricked at the back of her mind. Trash talk had been her second language before Aincrad, and she'd thrown insults around with the best of them. In fact, Alyssa had told many a young man to do wildly inappropriate things with their mothers in the heat of battle. So it seemed so foreign a concept that some people may not know that side of her. That they hadn't known her before this black cloud firmly affixed itself to the space above her head. But that's a lie. A small sigh of relief. If Jomei could see through that mask she couldn't s

“I’m…” Her voice trailed as Lessa lifted both hands, then let them drop again. How did she feel? Was she unhappy? “I’m nervous,” she finally decided. “The last time he and I dueled, it had a very big impact on us. And not in a good way.” Absently, she wiped her damp palms across her kimono’s pretty fabric. “It messed us up pretty bad, and I’m not sure we ever really talked it over.” No, that battle topped the list of times she and Alkor never came to an understanding. When he had run her through with the weapon she’d forged him, Lessa had seen him as a monster. His complete disregard for

Even as Alkor corrected himself, and encouraged her not to answer his question, Lessa lifted a hand to quiet him. “No,” she interjected, “I’ll answer it, because I do think you’ll understand.” That same hand found his, and as he drew her to her feet in a swirl of blue fabric and blonde hair, she offered him a smile as warm as the sun-streaked sky. And even if the expression was a bit sad along the edges, it was still a smile. “It’s just instinct. It’s that voice, telling me that if people love me, I must be doing something right. And if they’ve left me, then I must have wronged them somehow.”

Lessa tilted her face to the sun, focusing on the way it warmed her skin throughout Alkor’s dialogue. So many times, she wanted to interject. Every time, she caught herself before she could do so. He asked for quiet, even begged for it, when all she knew how to do was speak. He might as well have asked a bird to stay grounded, or a fish to cease its swimming. It was no wonder he drained her. He fell silent, and for the longest time, she said nothing. A splatter of applause from the nearby dojo marked the end of another fight, and the twinkle of windchimes and gargle of a water feature pai

"Hardy har har," she drawled, though she couldn't keep the smile from creeping onto her own lips. While the miss had been embarrassing, she recognized that she was not the first to ever whiff it, nor would she be the last. It was a game, after all, and sometimes she simply came up short. Jomei's good natured teasing also worked to lessen the blow. "I got the first one," she eventually replied. "I suppose I just wanted to see what kind of man you were, and if you could manage two of them." With a wink, she stepped between her companion and the three newcomers. As it always did, the need f

Cosmic lottery. Lessa couldn't help but grin at the man's use of the term. It had been a while since another Player had seemed genuinely pleased to bump into her, and the thought of it warmed her. "I'm always up for some exploring," she answered him, reaching down to scratch behind Okami's ear. Riker, apparently jealous of the attention, shoved his way between her leg and the other familiar. She snorted a small laugh, then gave her wolf a soft swat on the butt. "You need to learn to share," she informed him. Straightening, Lessa adjusted the belts that had gone askew as she'd bent over. H

For a moment, all Lessa could do was stare at him. She had just confessed to treating him like a trophy, not a human being, and he hadn't batted an eye. In fact, he seemed to ignore her words entirely, simply latching on to what she considered a less important part of her speech. Even his closing statement, my conflict might never end, felt like the echo of a long-ago declaration. How many times had she heard him speak those words, or similar ones? How many times had she attempted to change his mind, to provide comfort, to offer guidance. Her lips parted to do so again, but only a slow exhaled

At his reference to Lessa's new friend, she couldn't help but grin. "Yeah, I'd hate to let her down," she stated. "I'm entirely certain that woman could crush my skull with her thighs if I displeased her. Not saying it would be a bad way to go, but I'd rather not." Perhaps sensing that his prey's mind was elsewhere, the third and final hellhound gave a hellish growl, his maw twisted into a gruesome snarl. Had she not just seen his two companions go down so easily, Lessa might have found the visual for more frightening. When the creature hunkered down and prepared to strike, she did the sa

꧁༺Lessa༻꧂ Lessa, Guardian of Aincrad Level: 31 Paragon Level: 47 HP: 800/800 EN: 118/118 Stats: Damage: 28 Mitigation: 142 Accuracy: 4 Battle Healing: 44 H.M.: 8 HLY: 8 REC: 8 THRNS: 72 Equipped Gear: Weapon: Arcael's Might (T4 THSS - DMG DMG DMG HLY) Armor: Empress Armor (T4 HA - HM HM THNS THNS) Misc: Neutron Star Necklace (T4 TRINKET - ACC ACC REC REC)

꧁༺Lessa༻꧂ Lessa, Guardian of Aincrad Level: 31 Paragon Level: 47 HP: 800/800 EN: 118/118 Stats: Damage: 28 Mitigation: 142 Accuracy: 4 Battle Healing: 44 H.M.: 8 HLY: 8 REC: 8 THRNS: 72 Equipped Gear: Weapon: Arcael's Might (T4 THSS - DMG DMG DMG HLY) Armor: Empress Armor (T4 HA - HM HM THNS THNS) Misc: Neutron Star Necklace (T4 TRINKET - ACC ACC REC REC)

It appeared that the sense of foreboding settled on both Freyd and Lessa at the same time. Even as the dark-haired man cautioned Levi, Lessa drew away from Baldur and along-side the NPC. Her hand came to rest on Arcael's Might's ornate hilt, and for the moment, all thought of the punishing cold left her. Even as the biting wind tugged at her loose hair, and sent snowflakes spinning like throwing stars, she remained on high alert. "I've got him," she reassured Freyd, her voice a mere murmur. Her intention wasn't to baby Levi, but rather put Freyd's mind at ease, so he might be more willing to c

Lessa wasn't sure that she believed in fate. But when Alkor's pivot took a second too long, and he exposed his back to her, she knew what she was meant to do. A sick sense of humor, she mused, even as she slid up behind him. Her body brushed along his, a featherlight touch that ended with her sword pressed to his spine. The pressure lasted only a heartbeat, before it, and she, disappeared. Withdrawing to her side of the mat, Lessa lapsed into silence. In a perhaps poetic parallel, their second fight had ended in much the same way as the first - quiet contemplation rather than whoops of joy. On

A lifetime ago, before duels, before Aincrad, before Alkor, Alyssa had spent a Tuesday morning in her childhood development class. The topic had been student anxiety, and the discussion had centered on something called ironic process theory. In essence, a person is more likely to think about something if expressly told not to. For example, telling a class not to worry about an upcoming test might, instead, trigger the opposite effect. "It's always better to get things out in the open," Professor Schab had explained. "Just talk through them. Address them. Don't lock them away, or convince yours

The instant Alkor lashed out at her, the smile fell from Lessa's face. "Jesus," she breathed, concern carving trenches across her forehead. Gone was the cocky playfulness, and the taunts she had prepped to throw him off his game. Either her first slap had worked better than intended, or Alkor had never been on his game to begin with. The latter worried her immensely. For a man who had prided himself on perfection, he swung with all the precision of a drunk frat boy. She had thought she would feel jubilation landing the first hit, but none came. Instead, horror slammed into her as Alkor plowed

"No moral qualms to be hashed," she replied simply, lifting a gauntleted hand as if to flick away even the notion. Her expression, as cold as the ice in her eyes, didn't even register Oscar's little sunglasses trick. "I'm just here to get the kids. If you two didn't take them, then we can work together to get them back. Their safety is my number one priority, and ranks way above whatever bad blood exists between Oscar and my ex-boyfriend." She moved past them in a swirl of blue fabric, her cape skimming her heels as she strode toward the door. She had nearly made it to the teleportation p

꧁༺Lessa༻꧂ Lessa, Guardian of Aincrad Level: 31 Paragon Level: 47 HP: 800/800 EN: 118/118 Stats: Damage: 28 Mitigation: 142 Accuracy: 4 Battle Healing: 44 H.M.: 8 HLY: 8 REC: 8 THRNS: 72 Equipped Gear: Weapon: Arcael's Might (T4 THSS - DMG DMG DMG HLY) Armor: Empress Armor (T4 HA - HM HM THNS THNS) Misc: Neutron Star Necklace (T4 TRINKET - ACC ACC REC REC)

Lessa shook her head, blew out a hard breath, then rolled her shoulders. "Nope," she answered him. "I can do this. I'm ready. Focused. In the zone." With both hands, she mimicked the tunnel vision gesture she had made in his apartment. This time, however, it had a completely different meaning. Her gaze shifted away from her companion, and she gazed up at the volcano that loomed overhead. "Looking up," she murmured, the sound barely audible over the clash of steel and roar of a distant enemy. He had promised her that things would look up, if only she let them. Let them? Had she been sabota

"And, honestly, if no guy can give that to you.. then I don't think any guy deserves you." Excuses and explanations leapt to Lessa's lips, the need to defend him coming as a knee-jerk reaction. "Yeah, but I-" "If I may speak freely?" Her mouth snapped shut, and a bit numbly, she nodded her confirmation. Of course, it didn't seem Jomei needed the go-ahead. He plunged into a rousing speech, those expressive emerald eyes alive with passion as they caught and held hers. Even as he lit a fire within her, she felt herself shiver beneath the intensity in his gaze. Even as he filled he

꧁༺Lessa༻꧂ Lessa, The Violet Guardian Level: 31 Paragon Level: 47 HP: 800/800 EN: 118/118 Stats: Damage: 28 Mitigation: 142 Accuracy: 4 Battle Healing: 44 H.M.: 8 HLY: 8 REC: 8 THRNS: 72 Equipped Gear: Weapon: Arcael's Might (T4 THSS - DMG DMG DMG HLY) Armor: Empress Armor (T4 HA - HM HM THNS THNS) Misc: Neutron Star Necklace (T4 TRINKET - ACC ACC REC REC)

A small bolt of electricity shot through Lessa as Jomei spoke Bahr's name. She wondered when that sensation would go away. She worried that it never would. "It's fine," she answered him, though her tone suggested that was far from the truth. Even her body language betrayed the discomfort she felt as her shoulders hunched, and all trace of light left her eyes. The woman seemed to draw inward, collapsing in on herself. A long moment passed before she blew out a breath, then sucked in another. "Honestly, Jomei?" she began, in a voice that sounded a bit robotic even to her own ears, "I couldn

"Alkor, hey." Her voice seemed to boom in the relative quiet of the city. Though NPCs milled about, and the steady rumble of dozens of waterfalls filled the air, Lessa felt she'd called out in the middle of a movie theatre. A few women slanted her quick glances, confusion or even annoyance plastered across their faces. A sudden need to apologize slammed into her, but Lessa resisted as she walked toward her friend. Falling into step beside him, the pair crossed one of the many wooden bridges leading out of Krycim. Slowly, gazes boring into their backs lessened, until she felt nothing at al

The attacks came in a flurry, each pulled only a split second before they struck her. Fake outs, Lessa mused, impressed with the woman's ingenuity. Recognizing that speed alone couldn't save her, Yona already changed tactics. She's a quick study. And when the fourth strike plowed into Lessa's unprotected midsection, the blonde gave a small, approving nod. "Good hit," she said again, shifting her own stance before settling into the ready position. Yona was a dangerous one, a bit like a snake in the grass, unpredictable and explosive. Lessa knew her way around unpredictability. She could fi

A wicked grin sliced across Lessa's face, and a long-buried part of her began to stir. "Trash talk," she observed. "Feels a little out of place in a dojo like this, but I can still appreciate it." As the brunette lunged, Lessa shifted onto the balls of her feet. While it was true that the heavily-armored Lessa didn't spend much time flitting about, she knew enough to recognize her weakness. Surely, the other woman would attempt to use speed against the brick wall that was Lessa. But if Lessa knew it was coming, it would be far less effective. Sure enough, as Yona attempted to drill h

Even as the woman's sword slapped against Lessa's shoulder, a small smile crept across her lips. It had been a very long time since Lessa had considered herself "competitive." Before Aincrad, everything had been been a competition between Alyssa and her three brothers: cleaning rooms, eating meals, scores on tests. And, of course, video games had always been at the center of their sibling rivalry. But the years in the floating castle hadn't been kind to Lessa. Failed relationships, lost friends, and the seemingly endless monotony of it all had dulled that once sharp edge, and considerably less