Piers

Piers was shocked at the incident but accepted it nonetheless. He shook his head and after Clarence kissed him, a small smile of pleasure growing on his face, kissed his forehead. The butler took Clarence's arms that were wrapped around him, and put them down to the sides of the boy. Piers stood up, leaving Clarence on the ground. It was obvious now Piers wanted only to tease Clarence. To provoke him simply because it was enjoyable to see.

"That's for another time. Hopefully soon, but another time." 

Piers held out his hand to help Clarence up, if the boy would accept it, a smirk replacing his genuine smile. 

"As much as I enjoyed that position with you I think I'd prefer to spend more time with you. Not loving on each other all the time, I mean."

"Nothing's happening to you today that I don't enjoy."

Piers was pleased that his kiss made Clarence smile. It made his heart race even faster, much to his displeasure, for now known reasons. At first it wasn't clear to the butler that he had fallen for Clarence but now it was.

"Oh? So you assume my past is bad? Clarence how you hurt me~"

The butler put a hand on his forehead and exclaimed the sentences in an over-dramatic fashion. Afterwards he laughed and shook his head, poking one of Clarence's cheeks with a sharp, black fingernail.

"I'm only kidding. Thank you for being so accepting of me, it really makes a difference believe it or not."

Piers quickly grabbed a hold of Clarence's face, as soon as the boy began pulling away from his second kiss, and touched his forehead against Clarence's.

"Do you want something more? Don't be so shy..."

The butler took a piece of Clarence's hair and twirled it idly, the other hand wrapped around the boy. He smirked before leaning in closer for a kiss. It was only a quick peck and Piers pulled away very slowly.

"Just being a good friend, since I know what you want, that's all."

"I'm glad you feel the same way, Clarence. My apologies for doubting you."

Piers enjoyed the way Clarence interacted with him far more than he let off. His expression remained the same, nonchalant, cold front he always had on though his emerald eyes seemed to always change when around the boy. Change in a good way, of course.

"I could tell, definitely. And I assumed those were your intentions from the very start. It is possible, Clarence, but there are some things you just aren't ready to know about me and I want you to know that... On another note, you shouldn't feel nervous about a thing when with me. I want to make you as comfortable as possible when in my presence."

The butler frowned when Clarence began tearing up. He wasn't too good with feelings or anything of the sort and disliked when someone he cared about, especially Clarence, cried. Piers pulled Clarence close to him and, if he wanted to, would let the boy cry into his shirt. As long as Clarence would feel better then Piers didn't mind jumping from his comfort zone. Piers rubbed Clarence's back gently and kissed the top of his head.

Reacting quickly, Piers rubbed Clarence's tear away. He hadn't meant everything he'd said but was glad to know it made Clarence feel better, or at least affected him. Piers still didn't fully understand why he even loved Clarence so much in the first place. considering he was like most others, but Piers wasn't going to deny that he was indeed attracted to the boy in his lap. And he didn't care if his mood and personality changed around Clarence either because it was enlightening.

"Don't go crying on me. I don't like seeing any kind of tears on you. It doesn't seem right, since you're always so happy. Even if they aren't tears of sadness."

The butler leaned forward as Clarence brushed his hair to the side, enjoying the gesture. Piers held Clarence around his waist, almost like a child, but it certainly didn't feel that way. It was much more affectionate and serious.

"Yes, yes I knew. Its feels good to hear that coming from you than others though. Especially since you're quite the cuddle-er yourself. You like to get close to people like this, don't you?"

He squeezed Clarence but no too tightly before loosening his grip, not wanting to stop hugging the boy that way, but not wanting to hurt him either.

"...Say Clarence... I just wanted to let you know I never act this way around anyone else. If I were to be with you, and others, would you still tolerate my behavior? I'm not the affectionate person I am around you all the time. It just so happens you cause me to act that way."

Piers frowned at Clarence's comments but accepted them. More happy? He wondered if he always appeared sad or just plain to the eyes of others. That was something Piers began to think away but swiped away for now to instead ponder on it later.

"Never think you're not allowed to talk to other men, but, I do enjoy the fact that I can keep your attention even when we're apart. I'll be sure to smile more when I'm around you, though the action is involuntary when I'm around you. You're just that kind of person."

The butler blinked as his bangs fell into his eyes again, something he was trying to prevent, but ignored the strands of hair for now. He gazed into Clarence's eyes and lifted a hand to squish one of the boy's cheeks. One hand still remained on Clarence's chest, and when Piers was done entertaining himself, he began messing with Clarence's own hair, still leaning forward a bit.

"You sound just like my young master. Similar stories, similar fates, though he does differ from you quite a bit. Why couldn't I have saved you instead? That'd be much more... interesting considering how I feel about you. All of those people were fools not to keep you. I'd make sure you felt at home all the time, even now I'll try, now I know that you need a proper place to call home."

Piers' voice was hardly a whisper. He wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying, letting words roll of his tongue, without thinking them clearly through at first. The butler made sure not to hurt Clarence while playing with the younger male's hair, because his nails had become sharper than usual with all the time he'd spent in the game, and gently caressed Clarence's scalp. It was an addicting action to Piers.

Piers appreciated Clarence's obvious attempt to make him feel better. Even though it didn't work Piers acted like it did, just because the butler felt like it was the right thing to do. Although having someone there for him, at any time, now that wasn't so bad.

"I never share my feelings with anybody. Consider yourself special."

The butler let Clarence move onto his lap, and put the arm that had been wrapped around the younger male, on Clarence's chest. He smiled slightly at the action, finding Clarence could easily get what he wanted, without trying too hard.

"You're quite the manipulator, valentine. I see now why I felt so attracted to you when we met. I bet you could make anybody do anything you want."

Piers chuckled and smirked, shaking his head, before losing the smile. He tilted his head and decided to ask his companion a question.

"If you don't mind me asking; What did you mean about not having much of a home?"

Piers hummed when Clarence winked at him. Of course, just friendly gestures. Though Piers knew they were much more than that. He liked Clarence, and Clarence liked him. But why get in a relationship now? No, no that'd be boring. Leading each other on and getting to know one another, now that was great in Piers' opinion.

"I feel the same way, all the time."

The butler had to admit Clarence was on his mind a lot, which was true, and wanted the younger male to know that with the more than obvious hints he gave. Piers kept a plain expression on his face but was smiling happily on the inside. Being around Clarence gave him a weird feelings that Piers was at war with, but also loved. Strange and foreign to him.

"I-I..."

Piers stuttered and looked away, embarrassed at his pathetic behavior, but couldn't help it.

"miss my boss, my master. I miss everyone I work with back at home. I guess to make it simple I could just say I'm homesick but it feels much worse than that. Like someone is constantly clawing away at my heart. It hurts to be honest, to feel this way. I'm not one to be weak or seek empathy, or even miss other people since usually they're rather annoying, but now I want my "family" more than ever."

"Hmm... Never mind. I'd prefer Joyce to just take this with me for now. Farewell."

Piers waved the young female off and nudged Joyce away, leaning to whisper.

"I've changed my mind. How about we take this quest on together instead? Like I said, seems easy enough."

The butler explained why he excused the two of them from the female player, and patted Joyce on the shoulder, to further encourage him for the battle ahead. Piers walked up to the board and accepted the quest, sending a party request to his companion/princess.

"It says we need to go meet up with a nurse. Ready to head off?"

(OOC: Anima it's been a while, you can join back in anytime by bumping into us or something like that, but for now we're continuing.)

"Of course I had to fix your shirt, it was a mess."

Piers joked and raised an eyebrow at Clarence's comment about what friends did.

"Yes, well, you're not wrong. With the very few friends I've had we've never done anything like this but it surely is pleasant. Wouldn't you agree? Perhaps we're just close friends. Close enough to come into contact without caring."

The butler put an arm around Clarence, letting his "friend" rest his head on his shoulder. Piers didn't mind, and actually enjoyed the gesture. He lifted his head to look at the horizon. Not much was going on outside of him and Clarence.

"Your face... I've never seen it so red. Or anybody's. I like the blush on you. I'll make sure to perform more actions that cause it. Just being friendly, of course, nothing more."

Following Clarence, Piers nodded when the other male encouraged him to cheer up. This lifted Piers' spirits a little, and even made the butler forget about everything left behind, what he had been sulking about in the first place. He nodded towards Clarence, grateful the boy cared about his feelings. When Clarence hugged him, Piers wrapped his arms around the other, and even closed his eyes contently while it lasted. 

"I suppose you're right."

The butler noticed Clarence's struggle and smirked, thinking of a plan that hopefully would make Clarence blush more. He simply loved when people reacted to his own behavior. Piers got on his knees, shaking his head, a smirk still on his face. Piers scooted in front of the younger male and pulled his shirt out, smoothing the wrinkled cloth.

"I've done this many times before. Let me handle it."

Taking the hem of Clarence's pants, Piers barely pulled on the bottoms, and took his time with tucking in the shirt neatly all the way around. After the shirt was tucked in, Piers stood up, and pulled out the shirt just a few inches so it was still tucked in but comfortable to walk around in. He even went a few extra steps and fixed Clarence's wrinkles, and straightened out his shirt, so it almost appeared to be brand new.

"Feel better? You surely look better. Even though a little skin wasn't so bad...'

Piers muttered the last sentence under his breath after looking Clarence up and down.

"Try and keep it that way."

The butler then took a seat under the tree and patted the spot next to him, feeling rather weak, or just lazy, wanting his companion to rest with him.

Piers chuckled when Clarence used a word like "nostalgia". It just didn't seem to suit the male, but Piers stared at Clarence with emerald eyes and sharp-toothed smile. The butler reached out to pat Clarence on his right shoulder, then pulled away, to shove both hands in the pockets of his pants. 

"I'd love to walk with you. Lead the way."

He motioned for Clarence to begin walking. As the younger male moved, Piers would stay close to his side the whole time, footsteps in sync. Piers flipped his raven hair to the side, bangs falling to the left and out of his eyes. It wouldn't take much for the strands to move back, but for the time being, they remained on the side of Piers' forehead. 

"So what about you, what have you been up to? I want to apologize again for not being there as a friend when I should have. Things, though they don't seem like it, have been hectic. I hope you've been as happy as you seem."

Upon apologizing and speaking about his time, the butler was tempted to frown, but kept a straight face. His eyes clearly expressed a feeling of sorrow. Piers wasn't up to making Clarence feel down so he pretended to be neutral. 

"Elise, I'm almost sure a young lady like you wouldn't want to carry the burden of taking another's life. On the same note: If you stay positive, the ups will be more frequent than the downs."

Piers raised an eyebrow when Elise had mentioned the word "murder". The butler wasn't completely listening to either's stories as much as they had to his, but caught a few words here and there. Running a hand through his raven hair, Piers sighed contently.

"I must say this trip is taking longer than I'd thought it would. I'm no entertainer. Any more topics we could venture into? I'd like to know more about each of you. Our histories are all so distinct."

(OOC: Uber-late replyyy~)

Piers was on a bed in an inn, laying with his head hanging off the side of the bed. He crossed his eyes and when the butler got bored of doing that, then he'd count the squares on the ceiling. When Piers got a message he jumped and sat upwards quickly to check what it was for. The corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily as he read it, pleased with the overall message and sender. 

 

I'll be there. Anything for you, Valentine.

Forgetting all formal letter formatting, Piers wrote quickly and flipped out of bed. He flipped his bangs from his eyes and raised an eyebrow upon reading the message from Clarence once more. Casual attire? It'd been a while since he'd worn that. Piers walked back and forth before deciding on something that would make him feel normal yet work. Possibly. The butler took off his jacket, tie, belt, and glasses but kept everything else. They were usually a bother anyways. He glanced down to his gloved hand, opening and closing it, before closing his inventory and keeping the item equipped. Not even his sword or holster could be found now and around other players Piers appeared to had never played the game before. He traveled to a teleporter and made his way to Floor 3.

Reaching the coordinates was a simple job, and Piers arrived there in no time. Grass crunched under his dress shoes, that is, until the butler froze and peered down at his friend. 

"Long time, no see Clarence. How has my valentine been? I feel awful for not making contact with you for such a long time. I'm glad you decided to remember me today, not that I've forgotten someone like you, I've just been..."

Piers paused and sighed.

"wallowing in my nostalgia."

Piers chuckled and shook his head at Reu.

"I'm a butler with no time for silly games like this, but the person I work for, thought this would be an interesting experience and told me to join him as a "bodyguard". Our bodies went unconscious not longer after the creator made his announcement so I assume that we were being moved elsewhere in real life. When I awoke my master had disappeared, now here I am, trying to become stronger so that when I do find him I can protect him. He's an idiot, but also my lord, and one of my dearest friends believe it or not."

Piers was sure if Nyle were here right now the boy would laugh at him. The butler thought his comment was a bit pathetic but waved it off.

"So how about you, Reu? What's your story?"

Piers = 12 HP (1 HP for being out of combat)

 

Item: Scarf of Randomness

Item type : Light Armor: Scarf

Quality: Rare

Enhancement: +2 EVA 

Shop: The Lion's Den  Gift from Ariel

Description : A scarf that makes its user unconsciously do random things, making him impredictible thus lowering his chances to get hurt.

New Enhancement Request

 

Item: Scarf of Mitigation

Item type : Clothes; Scarf

Quality: Rare

Enhancement: +2 Damage Mitigation 

Shop: The Lion's Den  Gift from Ariel

Description : A scarf that reduces the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of any incoming attack. It's a light grey and has fringe on the ends worn only by the most daring and fashionable of people (or butlers).

Piers grinned slightly at Elise when she'd given him a thumbs up. He listened to the options Reu offered, and then listened to Elise as well when she spoke.

"I say we go for the path with the boar. I like a good challenge, and we've had fun so far I believe. Why not?"

His eyes flickered back to an emerald green, facial expression slumping back into a casual one. Piers was unaffected by the scratches or reduced pain from the wolf, in fact, during the fight he hadn't even felt much at all. The butler was used to getting hurt in real life very often, along with using weapons and being in combat. Luckily it was that way before.

"We could get to know one another along the way, too. You both are rather interesting and far more mature than most people I've met so far."

Piers almost grimaced at the thought of his first few encounters, which weren't very pleasant. The butler got annoyed, had his feelings hurt, and most of all felt like killing. Though he was strong enough to hold back the feeling completely, knowing it would be something stupid to do. His eyes gazed from Elise to Reu

Piers = 11 HP (1 HP for being out of combat)

Elise and Reu slowly gained their health back, so Piers calmed down a bit, not having to be the only one left. It felt quite reassuring to the butler that he still had back-up, and good back-up at that. Reu and Elise were excellent and maybe even skilled fighters as they'd shown already. It didn't need to be proved anymore. Piers waited for the wolf to come at him and held his sword out straight. It pierced through the chest of the animal, it seemed as if the wolf had frozen in place. Only seconds after it exploded, much like everything did in this game upon dying. He received a message stating what the animal dropped after dying, and short after accepted the loot.

The butler fixed his suit and ran a hand through his raven hair before turning to his two partners. "What was that you were saying?" 

He'd heard them speaking about something but couldn't quite make it out. Piers shoved his sword back into the holster, then shoved both hands back in the pockets of his pants idly. 

Wolf 1 = 0 HP

Wolf 2 = 0 HP

Piers = 10 HP

Battle/Loot Info

• Rolled a 7 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 2 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 10 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 20 on the d20 (loot) dice.

Equipment/Skills in effect: -2 EVA = 2 - 2 = 0 on MD

-Recieved 1 MAT- (Party Loot)

-Received 35 COL- (Party Loot)

The butler had barely noticed the two players injured so much during the battle, almost forgetting he was a little bit higher in level and HP. Piers nodded,

"You two should just sit out and I'll try to finish the fight, we wouldn't want you getting anymore hurt than you already are."

Piers ran his fingers along the blade before stepping back a few paces, only when the wolf began running towards him. The butler jumped on the wolf's back and before the animal could realize what was happening, Piers managed a front-flip off of it. During the flip he swiped his sword in the air and across the back of the wolf. Piers landed on his dress shoes gracefully, back to the wolf, the monster still running forwards. Both turned at the exact same time to face each other.

He smirked and the wolf flashed its pointy teeth at Piers, the butler showing equally sharp sets of teeth with a devilish smirk. The wolf did end up getting a decent hit on him in the long run but in the end Piers was still standing strong, tall (and sexy hehe) as usual.

Wolf 1 = 0 HP

Wolf 2 = 2 HP (Piers deals 3 DMG)

Piers = 10 HP (Wolf 2 deals 1 DMG)

Battle Info

• Rolled a 9 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 9 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 5 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 2 on the d20 (loot) dice.

Equipment/Skills in effect: -2 EVA = 9 - 2 = 7 on MD

Piers swung and again missed. His luck was really plummeting, especially since the day before. The wolf successfully cut him but failed to do any serious damage like before. That'd been a complete failure, and at leas this one wasn't, since the butler had come rather close to getting his hit.

"Annoying."

He muttered under his breath and decided to let Reu get a chance to make a move.

Wolf 1 = 0 HP

Wolf 2 (Target) = 6 HP

Piers = 11 HP

Battle Info

Dice Roll #11700 BD #5 MD #10

Equipment/Skills in effect: -2 EVA = 10 - 2 = 8 on MD

(OOC: Just making sure ;3 Thanks.)

Piers had waited awhile before attacking, though he clapped when Elise got the first kill.

"Nice job."

He complimented her as Reu went for his own move on the wolf, and the animal did like-wise. Piers assumed it was his turn this time around and as the wolf ran near him he rolled to the side. The wolf turned on its heel and lunged again, giving barely any time for the butler to avoid it. He got it by the wolf on top of his chest. The mob bit at his neck and clawed Piers' stomach. Small red flashes shone but only for seconds. Piers shoved the monster off of him and flipped onto his feet. The butler stepped back and fixed his tie. It was impossible for him to get a chance to attack. Perhaps next time he'd be luckier.

Wolf 1 = 0 HP

Wolf 2 (Target) = 7 HP

Piers = 11 HP (Wolf 2 deals 1 DMG)

Battle Info

Dice Roll #11608 BD #4 MD #9

Equipment/Skills in effect: -2 EVA = 9 - 2 = 7 on MD

(OOC: Don't forget Elise you get 1 MAT for getting the kill on the animal and you should have rolled the loot dice since it meets requirements. You could choose to split it with us in the end or keep it for yourself depending on the value of the LD. Unless you were waiting until the end to roll, then that's fine too.)

Piers attempted to attack again with another basic attack but it seemed the wolves were a tad bit stronger and more aware of their surrounding. The one wolf he sloppily swung at jumped back but decided not to attack, instead it sneered at him. His eyes flashed crimson and while waiting for one of his teammates to go for yet another hit he swung his sword around, preparing for the next encounter. He planned on killing, and killing soon.

Wolf 1 (Target) = 5/8

Wolf 2 = 7/7

Piers = 12/13

Battle Info

Dice Roll #11585 BD #4 MD #1

Equipment/Skills in effect: -2 EVA = 1 - 2 = -1 on MD

Piers entered the shop planning to spend his newly earned COL. All of it. For a good reason of course.

"2 healing potions, please."

804 - 800 = 4 COL

He pushed his glasses up before leaning against a nearby wall after hearing the merchant's answer to await his order.

Sounds good to me. I gotta buy some health potions anyways just in case.

I'll take you up on that offer.

Piers barely listened as Reu and Elise spoke. He did note, however, how confident and excited Reu was and chuckled a bit to himself. He'd probably be a good ally in the long run. He followed orders and scanned the fields before returning to report the failed search. Well, a fail to Piers. 

Of course the three found a pair of wolves in no time and brought out their weapons. Piers fully unequipped his glasses and pulled his arming sword from the holster prepared for a fight. The butler waited for Elise and Reu before attacking himself. He brought the weapon over his shoulder while holding it with one arm before swinging it down forcefully. Just a basic attack. A red mark flashed along the wolf's stomach and it yelped before clawing at Piers. Before Piers could avoid the attack, the wolf had gotten a good swing across his leg. 

Wolf 1 (Target) = 8 HP (Piers deals 3 DMG)

Wolf 2 = 7 HP

Piers = 12 HP (Wolf 1 deals 1 DMG)

Battle Info

Dice Roll #11444 BD #9 MD #9

Equipment/Skills in effect: -2 EVA = 9 - 2 = 7 on MD

-Unequipped Glasses-