Azide

"Damn it, Calrex," he muttered, drawing his dagger. A peculiar and sprawling display stretched far and wide in the sky above. In essence, the sight was a showcase of assorted shapes and symbols, most of them foreign and all of them cryptic. "If I had known that you were trying to summon Satan, I would've just stayed home." The ground beneath their feet trembled as a foreboding warning flashed across his field of view. It was then that he realized the strange bunch of NPC's in the distance had vanished, leaving them alone with whatever it was that would soon be greeting them.

Calrex made a remark advising them to ready their best equipment, although it was strange to think that any player would walk around with anything other than the best of their arsenal. When a moment's notice was all that it took to be caught off guard, every second was precious- besides, his armor was stylish to double as casual wear anyway. On the other hand, Rebekah continued to stay silent; he could have sworn that the girl had not spoken even once since he'd arrived. Hopefully, she would at least let her rapier speak for itself when the time came to strike.

From otherwise placid waters, the Lord of the Seas erupted to the surface in a flashy show of intimidation. By the time Azide turned his head, Takao had already run off to perform a round of acrobatic theatrics which resulted in one paralyzed field boss. Following this, Ariel cut the distance between herself and the aquatic beast to nothing in a matter of moments, before going medieval on the fish out of water. It would appear that the girl had grown considerably more proficient with her weapon since the last time they'd engaged in combat- hers was an Art that he had never seen before today. A mental note was made of the approximate damage done by the technique, for future reference.

With the end of the battle already in sight, Azide drew Chemikaze from his hip and gripped the handle tightly between his fingers as he sprang into a full-speed charge. In an instant, there he was- face to face with the stunned and dripping monarch. Memories of a certain Wasp Queen came to mind; was it time for another bout of regicide already? It seemed like just the other day that the creature's anthropodic counterpart had fallen. Regardless, it was just about time to put an end to this thing's alleged wrath.

Time slowed to a crawl through the toffee-colored eyes of the man dressed in green, and his gaze snapped to four distinct locations across the front of the beast. Like clockwork, the system guided the glowing dagger into, through and across all four points over the span of an equivalent number of rotations. When the Sword Art came to an end, he trailed his sights up to the virtual timer, confirming that less than a single had passed since the initial blow.

Azide swiveled around to face his peers as the massive creature flopped over onto the marshy ground. From behind him came a choked and gravelly cry, and the sound of breaking glass overpowered the muffled patter of his footsteps, alerting him that wyvern was no more. The revelation brought to mind a somber phrase. Le roi est mort, vive le roi.

« Battle Sequence »

Takao » Ariel » Azide » Sea Wyvern

» ID : [[  34887 ]]
» BD : [[ HIT (7(4+3) ]]

« Ariel»
[[ 129/129 HP ]]
[[ 15/31 Energy ]] «Eternal Cyclone» used. (-16 Energy)

« Sea Wyvern »
[[ -160/300 HP ]] [[ 10(DMG) + 2(Charge) * (16*1) = -160HP ]]

"Ancient, pretty much," said Azide, still leaning against a closed hand, his head tilting to one side as he spoke. The truth of the matter was that he was somewhat on the younger side- at least, compared to many of his peers on the other side. Less than two semester had stood between himself and his four year degree- meaning he'd often been the runt of the class, discounting the occasional prodigy. But he felt content with humoring her; she seemed to smile when he did, and who was he to keep a smile from finding its way to anyone's lips?

She clarified that her own age was eighteen, which seemed about right from the look of things. "If that's true, then I can leave today with my conscience intact," he said, with a chuckle. "Where I come from, the minimum age for alcohol is eighteen- one of many reasons why we're a happier place than the States." While the fact was true, he couldn't say that he held particularly strong reservations about seventeen year olds sipping on glasses of white wine. Even if she'd revealed herself to be a few months younger, the only tangible change in the situation would be the loss of two somewhat snappy lines.

An eyebrow arched upward as Adelyn pressed forward with another, more personal question. "If you're hoping to find somebody to capture and ransom, I'm sorry to say that I'm not very wealthy in this game, nor do I have anybody like that in my life," he answered, wearing a wry smile.

With their server off and out of sight, it was back to just the two of them. It was nice, admittedly, but he hoped for Adelyn's sake that the server would be paying them another visit sometime soon. For a short while, the girl stared at him wordlessly, and he wondered if he should perhaps say something. Fortunately, he was saved from having to pull a rabbit out of the old hat, as she beat him to the punch.

It was another question- and something of a trend, as he'd begun to notice. "Have I asked even a single question in return?" he wondered, racking his brain for the events and conversations of the day. In the end, he couldn't recall making even a single inquiry, which was probably a bad sign on his part. But for now, he could at least handle her most recent question- age as a topic was usually simple and clean, at least to those who weren't in denial. 

"Still a long way from retiring, I would hope," quipped Azide. He weaved his fingers together and stretched them outward, so that his palms faced away from him during the entirety of the motion. "Not too old though, hopefully. Twenty for now, but you can add another year to that come winter."

Too slow. The words flashed across his mind like a bolt of lightning, casting long shadows over every nook and cranny in the turbulent chambers of his inner sanctum. More scream than a shout, they were too loud, to striking for him to identify the speaker. Had the voice been his own, or had it been one of the others? As Oikawa tore forward, he thought he had seen the young man's lips move, but he hadn't been sure. 

Instinctively, Azide reached for Quantum Slicer, only be left grasping at empty air in the heat of the moment. Even the heat soon drained away as a sharp pain gripped his abdomen, and even before his eyes lowered to confirm his suspicions, the feeling of cold steel had been a dead giveaway on its own. His eyes were grey, like the blade which had been embedded in his side, but lacking in all of its luster. With an empty stare, his gaze met the still eyes of his assailant. Whatever this was attacking him, it was intent on taking his life; whether or not he was armed seemed beside the point, and the point had been driven into him without mercy.

Azide moved a hand to clutch the blade while it lay immobile within him, only to receive a nasty gash across his fingers and palm as a result. He staggered back, realizing that he did not have the energy to grip the rapier adequately- it had been a grave miscalculation on his part. Deadened eyes drifted upward to behold a yellow health bar- a sight he hadn't seen since his earliest days outside of the Town of Beginnings. Azide pressed his good hand feebly against the entry wound, his breathing heavy and grave. If he were to meet his end today, would it wash his hands clean of his travesties? 

ID: 34776 | MD: 10 (Crit +2) 

50 (Base) + 2 (MD 10) = 52 DMG

Azide | 49/101 HP (-52) | 3/24 EN (+1 regen)
Calrex | 165/165 HP | 36/40 EN
Rebekah | 122/122 HP | 27/28 EN

Oikawa(?) | 187/200 HP

His eyes opened wide as Adelyn specifically requested two glasses with the bottle, and he raised an arm to stifle the laughter which came bursting from his chest. By the time the fit ended, he gave the server an apologetic look before turning his attention back to the girl seated opposite of him. "Of course," he said simply, still smiling. 

He could guess that most people probably hadn't been dragged into fine dining experiences on a regular basis as kids, but he himself could claim to be among the minority in this instance. At most places, ordering a bottle usually didn't signify only said bottle, but rather that one was requesting an entire bottle as opposed to only a glass or two. Glasses would naturally be provided for the host to refill as needed- but it would probably be on the more condescending side to explain all of this.

The thin man scribbled away something fierce, and as he nodded continuously, Azide figured that their server held promising potential as a bobblehead. He looked up from his notepad, and while running his finger across the filled lines, read, "One Cajun seafood pasta, lobster, extra shrimp, hold the onions, and two wine glasses." With no objections from either party, he tucked the pages into the front pocket of his shirt before retrieving each of the menus. "We'll have your meals ready to go in just a moment," he said, bowing as he turned and made his way back to the staircase. Just before he descended the steps, he shot a quick glance at the snake, which lay curled up at the green-clad player's feet. His head shook gently left and right as the stairway swallowed him up, disappearing him from view.

Without missing a beat, Azide answered the blonde with a terse, "I do." This was the time for work- not a quaint little tea party where everybody would make small talk, gossip, and discuss their feelings. The sooner they got on things, they sooner they would get on with them; it was a truism, but that didn't make it any less true. And upon further consideration, neither was it the time for tautology.

Takao kept suggesting that they 'nuke' the so-called Lord of the Seas, which he had to assume must be gamer jargon for a high-power assault. The days of complete ineptitude in the world of Aincrad were nothing more than an unpleasant memory, but every once in awhile, some stray remark or terminology would remind him of his lacking experience in the field of gaming. "I can only assume that The Lord of the Seas would feel most comfortable in the water," he said, narrowing his eyes on a far off log which floated down stream. "So let's send the bastard sky high."

It was like looking into a mirror, or rather, listening to his own echo. That Adelyn had requested nothing more than water was something he had done here several times before, although it had been less about indecisiveness and more about being cheap. Or as he preferred to call it, frugal. "I mean, what's wrong with a perfectly good glass of ice water?" The answer to that rhetorical question was nothing- there was nothing wrong with that. Still, he'd been brought up with enough etiquette lessons to know the responsibilities of a proper host; even if he'd often been half-dazed during the sessions, enough repetition could drive the Nazi out of Hitler. 

Azide cleared his throat, noticing that Adelyn had peeked at him from over the top of her menu for the briefest moment. Apparently, it would be up to him to order first, meaning that his choice would likely set the tone of their meal. Holding the menu with one hand, he tapped the backs of two fingers lightly against one of its pages. "I'd like to order the Halibut Provençal, braised, along with an ice cold bottle of Chardonnay. Not those dainty little glasses- specifically a bottle."

The server's left eyebrow raised just the slightest bit, but he scribbled down the order nonetheless, nodding throughout. "Very well sir, one braised halibut, and a bottle of Chardonnay." Turning to the young lady, he asked, "And you, madame?" He was aware that the girl had been unsure as of less than a minute ago, but he really didn't want to stand around awkwardly for god knows long.

Yet again, Azide rubbed at the back of his neck. "Sorry for the information dump back there- I probably sounded just like those quest information windows." As he shook his head, he heard the distinct rumble of a hungry stomach; with only the two of them present, it did not take a genius to add two and two and get four. His brow furrowed, and he made a note to remedy the problem as soon as he answered her question. What was taking that snake so long? "Sure, the guy has no legs, but still..." 

In the meantime, her question was definitely a valid one, all things considered. Both in Aincrad and the real world, people seemed predisposed to disliking the legless lizards. Maybe it was the fact that they had no eyelids, and thus never blinked- or perhaps it was the long and forked tongues. Even the side-to-side slither was a likely contributing factor to the stigma. But his own reasons had always been quite clear to him. "I've never actually had a pet before," he confessed, doing his best to appear at ease, even as a frown lurked just beneath his smile. The fact that his guest was waiting and hungry clearly meant that he was failing as a host, but he shook the thought, knowing that it would only take longer if he sat there moping.

"Back on the other side, I used to work as-"

A low hiss made him stop and look over his shoulder, and he was greeted by the sight of Lucifer, peeking out from over the top step. Trailing right behind him, a toothpick of a man dressed in sharp black approached them with a look of bewilderment. For a man who worked at a restaurant, he was surprisingly skinny- as if a harsh gust of wind might snap in half at the drop of a hat.

The slender man bowed, carrying two menus tucked away beneath his arms. "Sir, madame, you have my sincerest apologies for the wait," he said, as he placed the menus atop the table. "I would have been here sooner, but it took me a while to figure out why a snake kept circling around me repeatedly. Actually, a few of our customers had quite the scare around the same time, although I can't imagine why..." He looked down at Lucifer long and hard, before turning back to the pair of customers, grinning so wide that his face looked as if it were about to break. "But that aside, what can I get for you?"

A shimmering window blinked into existence before his eyes, and he skimmed over its contents as precaution; after all, finding himself on the receiving end of some elaborate scam was not something he really wanted to add to his resume. After finding everything to be in order, he gave the dialogue his blessing and watched as two health bars appeared underneath his own at the corner of his vision. "Fair enough," he remarked, meeting Takao's gaze as the hovering screen faded from view. "For such an acclaimed title, the quality of this game is rather hit or miss. For instance, you ever read the Sword Art descriptions before the latest patch?" Azide shook his head, a frown making the corners of his lips droop like a limp reed of grass. He wouldn't be surprised if they were to come across some game breaking glitch at some point that would doom them all.

His eyes drifted to map which had appeared at his side, listening absently as the other two continued the conversation. "As great of a boost that would be for my ego, I wouldn't get my hopes up for a one-shotter from any of us," he said, scanning the map for any details which might have otherwise gone unnoticed. He sighed, finding nothing of the sort, before glancing back at Ariel.

For a moment, he looked at her- his head turning slightly, but his eyes remaining trained. The moment came to an end as Azide exited from the last remaining window without so much as a glance at it. "Nothing important," he said, before setting off in the general direction of the sprawling spawn point.

"If the designers of this game have any sense at all, they would realize how counter intuitive it would be to artificially slow our progress," said Azide, turning his attention momentarily to the swordsman. It would be nice to actually be moving onto new floors for a change, rather than crawling along at a snail's pace and hoping that their bodies wouldn't give out by the time they cleared all one hundred floors.

Not long after that, he watched as Takao darted over to some grey-faced fellow nearby. From the looks of the window that had popped up moments later, it appeared as if the green-eyed brunet had made short work of their self-imposed scouting assignment. Not that he minded in the least, as he personally preferred the cleaner and more elegant atmosphere of the preceding floor.

Azide shook his head at Ariel's question. "That's fine with me, naturally." At the end of the day, he was a simple man. A few extra skill points when all was said and done would make him a happy camper, regardless of whomever received those trinkets upon the quest's conclusion.

Midnight might be alright with a player like Calrex, who possessed Reveal, and by proxy, Night Vision- but that was certainly a scenario that he himself would like to avoid. Sure, he could hit like a truck with his set of skills and equipment, but it wasn't easy being made out of paper. Without a single point of mitigation to his name, he was more or less held together by the equivalent of staples and chewing gum. All it would take was a missed attack, or even a stiff breeze, for him to find himself in for a world of hurt. With Calrex taking the lead, they set off in search of... something. Exactly what that something was escaped him, and he could guess that the man had forgotten that he himself had not been briefed. "I'm sure we'll run into whatever it is we're searching for sooner or later."

--- 

As it turned out, it had been sooner. Much sooner, in fact; it seemed as if they had just set out when Calrex had come to a stop, staring at something in the distance. When he'd trailed his eyes over in the same general direction, he spotted a pair of robed men, who resembled what the average person might picture a druid to look like. On the flanks of the incanting duo, two men stood alert and armed. "Cal, I think this would be a good time to admit that I have no idea what we're actually doing," he whispered. "Are you trying to convert us for one of those satanic cults or something?" 

ID: 34717 | CD: 10 Ritual Stage 3/3 [Complete]

"Hmm... let me see..." Azide bent his elbow inward and propped his cheek against a clenched fist. His eyes drifted towards the upper corner of their sockets as the fingers of his opposite hand began to tap softly against the table in quick succession. It had been a good long while since he'd actually undertaken the quest- in fact, it'd been one of the many things on his checklist regarding preparations for the tenth floor boss battle. In hindsight, it'd been nothing short of a minor miracle just how much progress he'd made during that period of time, even compared to his more recent efforts. 

The memories soon found their way into his mind's eye, and he snapped his tapping hand before flashing yet another grin. "That's right..." he mumbled, more to himself than anything. "Basically, it all began when I'd heard rumors of the existence of a special NPC- a shrouded gypsy woman who would allow you the opportunity to take a quest which would allow you to tame certain monsters and mobs." He looked at Adelyn curiously, and he could tell that this subject seemed to resonate with her, even if she didn't seem too thrilled about snake familiars in particular.

"Her reported location was always changing, but thanks to the cooperation of a few information brokers, I was able to cross her path on the sixth floor. In theory, you could possibly tame any sort of creature you happen to run across- and each one is capable of having its own special abilities. Lucifer, for example, attacks alongside me whenever I strike any given target," he explained. The reptilian would spring out from the end of his sleeve and latch its fangs in conjunction with his own slashes, making the two a formidable pair. "But if you're looking for something less violent, I hear some familiars are even able to heal you."

"Amazing what a couple of all-nighters can do for your weapon proficiency, isn't it?" asked Azide, with a glance over the shoulder. Slowly, his body once again became his own as the influence of CARDINAL faded away with the dying glow of his blade. He sheathed the knife before turning to face the rest of the party. All in all, the Iron Guardian and its metalhead groupies had been rather underwhelming with the firepower they'd had at their disposal. Their prospects seemed bright in the approaching showdown on the eleventh floor.

He nodded slowly as he made his way back to the group, noting that his energy had taken a massive hit after that little exhibition of Eternal Cyclone. A powerful skill, if there ever was one, but certainly something that could not be thrown around carelessly.

Azide nodded at Takao's reference to the Sando Satsu. He could've sworn that he'd once attempted the quest relating to that particular beast, but for some reason he could not bring himself to recall much of anything from that day. "I say we make our way to the Butcher, and strike while the iron is still hot."

There was that shrug again, rolling across Takao's shoulders as reliably as the rising and setting sun. He wondered if perhaps the young man had originally been one half of a pair of twins; after all, one of the siblings would occasionally absorb the other within the womb, but display no obvious resulting characteristics. But could it be possible that Takao's expressive shoulders were controlled by a twin-that-never-was? The answer was a resounding maybe.

Raising a brow at Takao's sentiments, he glanced over at the swordsman. "I guess we've been stuck on these floors for so long that our pace seems almost inconsequential at this rate," he answered, shrugging. Even if they managed to maintain an unprecedented streak of one floor per month, it would be over seven long years before they cleared the hundredth floor. And even then, what was say that the madman Kayaba would even release them at that point?

Azide took a long look at the marsh around them before inhaling deeply. The swamp was so prevalent that he could almost taste it in the air- this was not the sort of floor he'd care to be stuck on for any longer than necessary. He listened as Takao brought up the idea of some light reconnaissance, with Ariel seeming very much on board with the idea. It did not escape him that the girl seemed to share some of his own misgivings, but it was not something he wished to dwell too deeply on for the time being. "I have no problem with having a look around," he said, narrowing his eyes as his gaze followed the winding stilted bridges which strayed into misty horizons. "Can't hurt to get a head start on the others, seeing as we're already here." 

There was no denying that progress had been quick in recent times. To already be preparing for a second raid upon completion of the first- that sort of relentless pace was nearly unheard of. Was this to be taken as a sign of things to come, or would the fire fade extinguish just as quickly as it had caught? It was hard to say, but the quick and timely discovery of the twelfth boss had certainly been a point of merit for the meeting's host. It didn't hurt that the young man had also managed to land a monstrous hit against the Forsaken Crusader- even under the limitations of the One-Handed Straight Sword. That sort of ingenuity and vigor was the future; there was no time to fall back on sluggish relics of the past.

As the doors to the Himawari Cafe swung open, the first thing he noticed was how most of the expected guests had already arrived. And not only that, but the air was not quite as uplifting as he imagined, considering their triumph just the other day. The mood seemed almost casual, as if their previous win had been nothing more than the literal act of taking out the trash.

With many of the seats already taken, Azide chose one of the remaining spots at near random, and folded his hands against the table. He nodded at the handful of players that had crossed his path in times past, but otherwise remained silent.

Forsaken. Perhaps a tad too melodramatic of a term to describe his predicament, but it held a poetry to it. Would it selfish to say that today had been a disappointment? All things considered, he should have been overjoyed- the boss had been slain without even a single casualty among the clearing party. Not even the lower-leveled healer had been harmed- an impressive feat, he had to admit. All things considered, their efforts had gone off without a hitch, and the Crusader had been dispatched with only minor difficulty. He should have been elated, to have been blessed with the sight of that ethereal stairway as each of its steps appeared before them one by one. And yet, as the man called Ssendom had felled the armored titan, his elation had been tinged with a touch of something more disconcerting. 

Azide ascended the foreboding staircase, and as he took the last step, a blinding white light rendered him effectively blinded for a fleeting moment. But his vision came back, and he blinked away the disorientation. In front of him stood Takao and Ariel, two players with whom he was conveniently familiar. Around them stood all the markings of a boggy swamp- not exactly the tropical paradise he had been hoping for. "Looks like our good friends from the Azure Brigade have taken the glory once again," remarked the man, as he approached the two. Azide gave his knife an experimental twirl, before slipping it away.

Speaking of tension, Adelyn seemed more than a little discomforted by the events which had transpired. Azide flicked away a leaf which had touched down atop their table, then met her bewildered eyes with the placid ones of his own. "Sort of," he started, scratching his head. Surprisingly, nobody had ever been taken aback by his scaly companion until today, and so he had almost forgotten that its species was not often a favored one among most people. "The snake is actually my familiar- I tamed him in the jungles of the sixth floor ages ago, and we've been traveling together ever since." 

Surprisingly, the process had been a rather quick and painless one. He could still recall the shock he'd experienced upon encountering the snake shortly after he'd entered the forest, and befriending it with almost minimal effort. It'd been a far cry from the countless horror stories which floated around regarding the Feeding the Enemy quest.

Azide scrunched his face and twiddled his thumbs for a moment before continuing. "I swear, the little guy is harmless- I mean, his name is Lucifer, sure... but he doesn't bite. Well, I guess he does, but only if I tell him to." At this point, he laid his hands flat against the table. "I hope this won't be a problem- I can make arrangements if it's an issue."

It was a testament to the young man's priorities that the first thing he wondered was whether or not Adelyn had understood his joke. After all, he thought it'd been a rather clever play on words, and he probably would have jotted it down had he been left to his own devices. Second on that list, however, was the question of how he could have possibly forgotten a somewhat important detail relating to the average dining experience.

"Speaking of servers, I have to take care of something real quick," said Azide, rubbing at the back of his neck before rising from his seat. He took a few steps to the side before kneeling down and extending his arm at a downward angle. A few seconds later, the mottled head of a green keelback poked out from the end of his sleeve, followed by the rest of its long and slender frame. Slowly, the serpent slithered from side to side, until it had finished its transition from sleeve to cement. From there, Azide whispered a few phrases to the snake, making sure to sprinkle in a few elaborate motions between the series of hushed statements. To an outsider, it would probably seem like he was cheating at charades with a reptile. But as the final words were uttered and the last of the gestures gestured, the creature stared at him with its wide eyes before finally slinking away. 

Azide watched the verdant serpent disappear down the stairway before returning to the table. By now, Adelyn seemed to be cheering up- outwardly, at least. A melancholy still clung to her words like spilt honey, and he could tell that it would take effort to separate the two. He laid his hands against the table and scooted his seat forward. "So as it turns out, I did have something up my sleeve after all. But sadly, that'll probably be the last surprise of the night- although it might actually be good news if you happen to have a case of ophidiophobia." He cleared his throat, realizing that perhaps he should have checked the girl's opinion on snakes before suddenly revealing one out of the blue. "Anyway, a server should be with us shortly," he added, crossing his fingers that said server would not be ophidiophobic. 

At the mention of her not being relaxed, he swept the tip of his finger across barren air, before using it to navigate through the resulting menu. Before long, both the rapier at his side and the dagger at his hip faded in a flash of white. "Sorry, sometimes I forget that these things might make people feel a little tense," said Azide, scratching his cheek.

In.

I, Azide, hereby refuse to get angry or "salty" toward anyone (other than myself) at any point in this tournament.

How long had it been since he'd last seen somebody cry? It seemed like a simple question, and it was; on paper, the answer could really only be some sort of time span, whether it was matter of weeks or centuries. It was, of course, not centuries- after all, he didn't look that old. Or so he'd been told. But his appearance aside, in practice, the self-directed inquiry was a real head-scratcher. It was strange to say that he had never seen any tears shed in the world of Sword Art Online, in spite of the title's (admittedly deserving) reputation as a 'death game'.

It was a disheartening sight, which made his insides feel as if they had just clipped an unseen curb. And although he was aware that the harsh reality of this world had numbed the hearts of many a colleague, he was relieved that the same indifference had never fully managed to claim his own. It was a delicate line which every clearer straddled day by day- balancing their sanity with their humanity. At the same time, however, it was a revealing gesture. Even if the girl had not intended it as such.

Adelyn spoke up, offering his pick of either seat. His hazel eyes darted between the two chairs, but could find little to no difference between them. He realized that on any other given day, a sarcastic retort of some sort would have probably been his answer to the girl's gesture. But instead, Azide covered his eyes with a single hand and spun around multiple times, keeping himself blinded even as his came to a stop. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe..." he recited, moving an outstretched finger from left to right until the rhyme was completed. Upon opening his eyes, he sighed as he found his finger dead-center between the two choices, and resigned himself to the chair on the right. As he leaned back in his seat, his lips twitched until they became a wide grin. "I guess that means you'll have to take the seat that's left," he said, pointing to the seat on the left.

Azide gave a tilt of his head, despite the fact that the gesture would go unseen by the girl beside him. Had he been imagining the mistiness in her eyes as she'd turned away? It would be a little unorthodox to check because of how they were positioned- both leaning against the railing, and Adelyn facing away. So naturally, he took it upon himself to take a step back before crossing over to the opposite side of his company. With only the two of them up on that rooftop, the gentle patter of his footsteps could be heard with ease- at least until they came to a stop entirely.

His suspicions confirmed, he held Adelyn's gaze for a while, reflecting quite literally on her crystal blue eyes. Blue, like the thinnest sheet of ice, and looking about as delicate. Their more modest hue seemed a natural match which easily befitted the girl's lighter hair and soft spoken manner. As a whole, the girl reminded him of glass- lacking in neither grace or elegance, yet fragile. And with that fragility came a certain preciousness- an appreciation for something that might otherwise be so fleeting, like a snowflake suspended midair. It didn't escape him that it was belittling, in a way, to think of her in this way.

But that little bit of guilt did not stop him from lifting a hand to the girl's face, nor did it keep him from wiping away the tear which ran down her cheek. "I know what you mean," he offered, drawing his hand away and letting it rest at his side. "It's different, the music here in Aincrad, isn't it? For starters, there's not very much of it- nobody really plays any instruments, other than the handful of performers that pop up every once in awhile," he continued, picturing X with his guitar alongside Xanatos and his violin. It'd been a long time since he'd last heard them perform; as excruciating as the former could be, the guy could certainly hold his own as a musician. 

He opened his mouth, planning at first to carry on, but ultimately relented. A smile returned to his lips as he tugged at the girl's arm. "Come on, let's go take a seat before somebody swipes it out from under our noses," he said, gesturing to the table nearby. Considering what she'd asked when they'd first met, he imagined that she was probably starving by now. 

There it was again- that feeling he'd felt before; it was as if he'd just finished a tall mug of hot cider, or perhaps even a glass of red wine. Warm, was the word, if he really thought about it. And not just because of the balmy breeze, which admittedly did have its own merit in making their current locale as comfortable and pleasant as it was. His eyes traced the path of the falling leaves, trailing the brushed debris as it floated off into the distance. A few were lost to the ground below, destined to be ground underfoot without so much as a second thought by the bunches of boisterous players who roamed the square. The rest escaped this fate, and he watched as they instead were carried off in the invisible arms of the wind, until their faint forms could no longer be kept in sight. With the scene coming to a close, he glanced back at Adelyn, wondering if his face had yet returned to its usual complexion. Things like wine had a tendency to bring out in it colors which had not been there before.

As for her question, it gave him a certain amount of pause. Azide kept his weight against the railing, and lifted his eyes toward the sky as he took a moment to consider his answer. This was a question which tended to imply all sorts of obvious answers- things like his friends or family were more than likely a common denominator amongst most of Aincrad's residents. He had never been the type to show his cards before they were ready to be played- it was strange that he felt compelled to try for a more revealing answer.

"I know I probably come across as a real science-oriented person- and don't get me wrong, in no way am I saying I'm not. I love chemistry just as much as the next guy, and probably as much as the next dozen  guys, actually." he began, punctuating the words with an insistent nod. "But would it surprise you to hear that my answer would have to be music?" he asked, chuckling softly.

"Hey guys." Azide waved at his would-be party in the way one might receive a particularly naggy aunt as she pulled into the driveway for a family reunion. Half-hearted as his greeting had been, he could at least take solace in the unlikelihood of either Calrex or Rebekah pinching his cheeks, or asking why he didn't have a girlfriend yet. He was also fairly glad that he did not have to pick out all of the glass shards which had embedded themselves in his hair- it turned out that the vibrations from his fall had triggered a nasty alchemical explosion, although the shrapnel at least had possessed the courtesy to dissolve away a short while later. It was sort of funny, in a way, that glass had a tendency to shatter twice in Aincrad. But it was considerably funnier when one was not on the receiving end of those lacerating edges.

As he sulked up to gathered pair, he noticed that Calrex was saying something, and Rebekah was not. It was pretty much business as usual, it seemed. With no surprises there, Azide leaned against the inner archway of the gate, his arms folded and his eyes slightly twitching. "When you guys are ready to head out, I'll be ready as well," he said, peering out through the gateway. By now, dusk was nipping at their heels- he hoped that they could tackle whatever this was before visibility became an issue. Like most players, he had not thought it worthwhile to invest in the Night Vision skill.

The Faint Edge grazed his skin as the sleek blade was jolted away from his face, leaving behind a thin red line. Azide trailed his eyes to Calrex and his glowing hand- presumably a sign that the man had just made use of an unarmed Sword Art. The next few moments were a dizzy blur, but at the very least he could recall stumbling backward as Calrex gripped his shoulder. To say that today had been unlike any other would be an understatement; he felt as if this were all a crazy dream which he would soon be relaying to his guildmates. Maybe it would even make for a good story, preferably told fireside during some wild camping trip.

By the time he had steadied himself, Oikawa was standing motionless perhaps half a meter away from where he'd been before. A set of parallel trails in the dirt suggested that the young man had been sent sliding by the player's timely strike. And yet the man did not greet them with a hardened glare, nor did his hands cling desperately to his side. Instead, Seijuro remained upright and firmly rooted, looking quite unfazed by recent developments.

Had he not seen Oikawa standing in front of him, no more than half an hour ago? Even in his current stupor, he could faintly recall locking eyes with his former guildmate, and even trading a few words with him. True, he had not been able to discern very much in the way of the figure's visual appearance, but he had recognized the voice at once. At the time, he'd written the encounter off as either a hallucination, or a cruel trick of the void. By now, he was beginning to get an idea of where the true answer really lay.

Azide shook his head slowly and glanced down at his own fallen rapier, before shifting his gaze to meet Oikawa's icy eyes. "I was wrong before," he began, in reference to the initial hostility with which he had earlier treated the pair. His eyes narrowed, making the white-clad man lift his head just the slightest bit. "But I'm fairly sure this time around- that the man over there is not our friend."

Azide | 101/101 HP | 2/24 EN (+1 regen)

Calrex | 165/165 HP | 36/40 EN
Rebekah | 122/122 HP | 28/28 EN

Oikawa(?) | 197/200 HP [Stunned]