Mari

Mari was ready to leave then and there; things got too heated. There was that sort of dangerous electricity in the air, one you could not blame on one too many drinks. It scared her. The rejection. It was easier to just not try. “Too tarnished?” A long silence followed as he practically scoffed at her words. Then, with a single action their roles were reversed. Her hair flung out around her like a halo of fire. She would wince when he mentioned damaged goods - a term her ex had often thrown around. He loomed closer, legs either side of her- but no part of him was quite touching, sa

“I’m not exactly taken in the traditional sense,” He wasn’t? Mari was still leaning over the man, his head tilted back to look up at her. One arm still leaning back against the grassy ground, the other seemed to linger where he had brushed tendrils of her fiery hair behind her ear. She must have given him quite the confused look, because he continued, explaining. Ah they were in one of those relationships. What was it? Polyamory? Polygamy. Something Mari was familiar with, but never exactly had much luck with. “Yanno…” Mari began, trying to choose her words carefully.

“Maybe that’s what makes it all so complicated…" “Complicated?” Mari was confused at his sudden reflection, and catching the confusion in his eyes when she acknowledged it, Mari could tell that those words weren’t meant to be said. “Hmm….” Was it though? What part about it made things complicated? Her? Them? Mari guessed that made sense… she wasn’t exactly easy to deal with in the past. Mari wasn’t sure she was even easy to deal with now. “I think…both you and I have a habit of making things more complicated than they need to be.” Mari picked up a second honey bun, and to her credit, this

Mari closed her eyes. Wherever they were…she wasn’t entirely sure. A forest. A thicket. Their exact location? Hell…even what floor they were on? Mari hadn’t a clue, frankly… she didn’t care. She was enjoying this - for the most part. The feeling of the sun against her face. The tickle of her hair as the wind blew it gently across her skin. Freyd had been quiet for a long time - and in turn - Mari too was quiet. Accepting his silence as he worked through her responses. Mari wouldn’t rush him. She was simply enjoying the moment. Every so often she’d open her eyes to glance at him, almost as

Raidou. Even fucking Raidou had someone. Mari supposed it was not that surprising. It just still stung. "Invading your personal space..." Mari mused as she reached out for the bottle, she clasped it and ran a thumb over the top of it. "Yeh. I see that working." Mari snorted, a small smile - imagining some poor woman all up on Raidou as he tried to read or collect herbs. "Im sure you drive her nuts too." Mari said as she took another swig. "But, that doesn't sound too bad." Another swig. Mari could feel the heat radiating from her stomach now, a pleasant feeling that came with th

"A...A Grandma?" Mari asked incredulously - he wasn't....serious was he? No. He couldn't be, Jomei and Mari had run ins, in the past - he knew her, he knew her history. It was just a joke. Almost as ill concveived as her own, so Mari rolled with it. "Yeah." She said with a big grin. "I got real hungry, and stole all her cookies! So they threw me in jail, threw away the key - or - maybe the key was a big ol' cookie and I accidentally ate that too." Pure gibberish, Mari was spouting pure gibberish but it was the only thing keeping her going at this point. They were all absolutely soaked, we

Arcanthus took a seat next to Mari, something that shocked the woman. Who just blatantly sat right up all cozy like next to a Pker, and take their drink? Mari blinked.Then when Arcanthus remarked about it being a wonderful green all Mari could do was slowly nod, then slowly bring her own cup to her mouth. Finishing off its contents. What an odd woman. Mari allowed her to talk, about how tired she was. Mari could relate to that, on a deep, emotional, borderline traumatic level. “Mmm…” Mari said quietly, her eyes lowering to the small cup in her hands. “That’s…how a lot of people tend to l

Wait… so you know about the floor’s effects and chose to setup a ‘store’ there anyway? “To be fair…” Mari began, leaning forward to set her cup down. “The effects were never that bad when I first set up shop. It wasn’t till months…years later that they became apparent.” She tapped her lip. That…would actually explain a lot. In regards to her sanity back then, but Mari wouldn’t…couldn’t blame it entirely on the floor. “But yes. You gotta remember Freyd, back then I was hunted relentlessly. I didn’t want to be easily found.” “What was Beat’s role in your past?” Mari’s fa

Mari shivered as she rubbed her arms - Freyd mode of...transportation always felt like she had taken a dip in an ice bath. "Not many people realize..." Mari began, her head already feeling clearer - "But Flooor 10 has an adverse affect on cognitive ability. It's normally not too bad, because most people spend a day or two there - but the longer you're there its like..." Mari pursed her lips as she continued to run her hands over her arms. "It feels like you hear voices - it feels suffocating." Now the two were away from all that, sitting on a checkered blanket. Mari couldn't help but sn

Mari snorted, then laughed aloud at the mention of Aincrad Pompous Dicks. He had a point, practically everyone she had ever met who had associated themselves with the APD had their head so far up their ass they could taste their own shit. Mari turned and sat with her back against the wall. It meant she couldn't people watch anymore, but she didn't mind. The overly bright glare from some of the brass was getting to her. Looking up at the sky was much nicer. Gods how she missed the sky. She missed being able to just sit...and listen, listen to life. The players arguing below, to the sounds

"- I feel like an asshole." "You are." Mari commented, her eyes shifting from the bartender to Raidou then back to the bartender. "But I'd prefer an honest asshole over fake niceties." As the bartender shifted away Mari slowly...slowly...slowly reached over the bar - as though the slower she moved the less noticeable her actions. She held a finger up to her mouth to signal Raidou to be quiet. Then... Yoink She got a warning in the top corner of her HUD - stating she had stolen something, but Mari had taken far more than that from here in the past. "How about we get the he

Mari shrugged when Raidou told her he was sober. "Coulda fooled me." She mused, nursing her drink. "Then again..." She glanced at him. "You have quite a few ticks up your sleeve, huh?" It was an observation. Mari had always seen Raidou as someone to not be feared - a simple man with simple desires that usually revolved around picking up various herbs. But - it seemed he had made a name for himself, enough for Baldur to have shown concern when his name was mentioned. Then, Raidou told her he needed to pull the stick out of his butt and relax - And Mari couldn't help but honestly laugh at

"Excuse fucking me?" Mari asked. Giving....the bartender what now? Oh hell no. Mari had standards, and they were absolutely fucking cosmic compared to the bartender. Mari picked up her sake - nice and warm, and shifted two sets over to sit right next to Raidou. "There's only one of me. Lord knows Aincrad only needs the one." Mari muttered as she took a small sip from her serving of alcohol. She made sure to do so slowly, enjoying it. Warm Sake was rare for her after all. Mari signaled the bartender, and tapped in front of Raidou. "His is cold. Be a dear and fetch him a warm serving." T

Rai?? Mari blinked at him. The man barely gave her a second glance - did he not...recognize her? Maybe it was because he seemed to be without his glasses. Mari snorted. This could be fun. Th woman opened up her inventory, and pulled out a pair of his glasses- one of the broken sets she had managed to pilfer over the years of constantly breaking them. She slipped them on - they were without their lenses. But still, it would get her point across. Mari's hair had grown, and she quickly pulled it up into a high ponytail. Finally, Mari re-positioned herself to be a little more comfortable

Why was she back here again? The last time Mari had come here was with Atan - and it wasn't exactly a happy experience. But...it had definitely been one. As the woman entered the tavern - the NPC - a bearded man who looked to be in his late 30's greeted her with a warm smile. He gestured toward the empty seats in front of him at the bar. "Care for a drink miss?" It was almost jarring. If Mari were to close her eyes she could clearly envision him toppled over that very same bar - but it looked like nothing had happened. The woman shrugged her shoulders and approached the bar, her fing

"RIGHT?" Mari called back to Jomei. "This floor is absolutely miserable. I'd almost say I preferred jail. At least I was dry!" It was a poor attempt at a joke, but a joke nontheless. She turned her attention back to the Spectral Knight, that was Spectral. It was a Spectral Knight. Mari furrowed her brows as she thought of a way to increase intangible concepts - but no…maybe that was a little too esoteric. Instead, Mari flipped her weapon and charged - As she swiped at the Spectral Knight its form shimmered. “W-What?” It looked like her weapon phased right through it. Despite that though

It was taking a little bit for Mari to get her bearings again - but that was to be expected. With the Knight still stunned Mari bought her weapon back up and across its torso in a large sweep. A red gash appeared in the knight. Thus far...it didn't seem too complicated. Were these the things Freyd warned her against? Mari knew they had the ability to duplicate themselves, but so far it seemed that the fight was going on without a hitch. Mari exhaled and took three large steps back - forming back in line by Jomei's side. She glanced over at him - they'd met a handful of times before ... Mari o

Atan So that was his name. He didn't look happy. His brow was furrowed and his gaze cold. He practically snatched the mask out of her hand, calling it pointless. "Atan..." Mari repeated thoughtfully. She followed him around the cavern. Making note of everything he had shown her. How the valve controlled the workshop itself, and as he had shown her - Mari immediately understood why he hadn't been fully dressed. The damn thing nearly exploded. Even as he had moved away Mari kept an eye on the pressure. It'd hold, but it would do her a wealth of good to turn the entire place off at night, or

Mari paused, waiting for anything - then she heard it - a distinct pling, pling, pling almost rhythmatic . That was what Mari had asked him to do, when he was ready for her to come through, right? "Aight." Mari said as she continued forward. He did ask for five hours, and he did bang that pipe. So in Mari's eyes, everything seemed to be fine. Mari ducked as she came into the cavern. The first thing she noticed was the lighting was brighter - gas lanterns hung up evenly across the walls. There were various contraptions affixed to the wall itself. Various pipes, wires, and gears churned slo

He made his preference known. He wanted to work alone. Mari sighed. She didn't like feeling useless. Still. She stood. "I'll stay by the entrance. C-" She paused. He couldn't exactly call out to her, now could he? "Mmm...." She pointed to two metal pipes. "I guess just bang them loudly together, or come get me when you're done. In the meantime. I'm going to eat, rest, and work on some notes." And with that Mari had left him alone - she was barely out of site before she could hear the heavy thud of material against the floor. And it took every ounce of willpower to not steal a glance at the str

"Here." Mari approached him - her hands reaching out to adjust his mask. She caught him still, the sound of the blade as he poised himself to attack. But Mari ignored it, simply finishing what she set out to do. "Your mask was coming off." She explained. "I saw bits of silver poking through. I don't even know your name. The last thing You'd want is to expose what you look like. I assume." And with that she stepped back away from him. She wouldn't like, she was curious - but Mari was more curious about the tasks that he had given her. She was more wanting to dive straight into the work.

“Mmm….” Mari thought for a moment, her finger tapping the wooden casque of alcohol. Somewhere she could go that was close to home. “My home is on the outskirts of Frostbite Lake - a 10 minute walk from there is an abandoned cave system. It’d be a tight squeeze for you - but steam passes through one of the two larger rooms. That’d work.” She mused. Thinking about it - she had planned to move her shop there at some point but chose against it purely because half the players in Aincrad wouldn’t be able to get there easily. Mari shifted the weight of her Casque - til she was able to navigate

The man seemed to slip something away in his coat - Mari couldn’t exactly tell what - nor what he had been doing. She silently made her way down the stairs. The less noise, the less talking, the better. They didn’t need anyone above to wake. They didn’t need to roustle the curious eyes and ears of passerby. Mari placed the keys back on the bar as she sidestepped the dead barkeeper. Hi proof alcohol. Mari knew he wanted it for antibacterial purposes, but be damned - she could really really use a drink. The woman was tempted to take a swig for the road. She licked her lips, but decided agai

Four days? Mari froze. No…No it hadn’t, it’d been a day…right? Her gaze met Freyds - his hands gripping her arms tightly, almost so tight that they shook. Was he…scared? No…worried. “Four…days…?” Mari asked quietly. Now that the man seemed to have more of her attention he let go. Mari slowly sat back down. Her brows furrowing. “How…” She rose a hand to her forehead. “It didn’t….feel like that…” If it had been that long…no wonder Freyd was so panicked. Mari would have been the same if her friend just up and disappeared after a series of messages like that. “Freyd…I had no idea…”

Mari locked the door behind her with a near silent click. It had been difficult to navigate the area- but for the most part it was uneventful. This town didn’t care if you had an orange, or green cursor - and her companion made good distractions, a hand on the shoulder here - a giggle there. It was…almost comical to see such a stoic and emotionless person play the part of a sweet woman. The barkeep, a old miser of an NPC asked them what they wanted and Mari kept her back to the scene. She knew what the man was about to do. The barkeep being an NPC didn’t make the act any less…gruesome. Ma