Jevi

Name: Silence
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank:  6
Roll ID:  222866     
Roll Result: 11(+1)
Item Type: Sabre
Tier: 3
Quality: Perfect     
Enhancements: Bleed I | Keen II
Post Link:
Description: A basic amateur's sabre, similar in design to a thin hand and a half sword. Contains a pink wrap along the handle.

Name: Suppression
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank: 6
Roll ID: 222868    
Roll Result: 12(+1)
Item Type: Light Armour
Tier: 3
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: Mitigation I | Recovery II
Post Link:
Description: A basic amateur's chestplate. The metal of this particular piece contains a soft pink hue along the steel's edges.

Maybe a good night's rest was all she needed. She carried herself from her bedroom that overlooked the mountainside from a large window carved out of the stone surface. Crossing the distance to her workshop on the bottom most part of her home, she would remove the black, longsleeved sweater she had slept in, leaving her in her baggy, gray pants and a wrap around her chest. 

It took awhile.. most of her crafting attempts for the day. Still pumping out creations, just not of the quality she needed. Why did they even have Rare and Uncommon items anyway? There was nothing stopping players from jumping right to a Perfect weapon.. many veterans were practically giving them out for free. Either way, Nymoria's weapon and armor were complete. She composed a simple message to the girl, letting her know she could pick them up soon.
@Nymoria

T3 Weapon Attempt: 

ID 222862 | CD 7 (+1) 8 Uncommon
ID 222863 | CD 8 (+1) 9 Uncommon
ID 222864 | CD 9 (+1)  10 Rare
ID 222865 | CD 8 (+1) 9 Uncommon
ID 222866 | CD 12 (+1)  12 Perfect 

Name: Silence
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank:  6
Roll ID:  222866     
Roll Result: 11(+1)
Item Type: Sabre
Tier: 3
Quality: Perfect     
Enhancements: Bleed I | Keen II
Post Link:
Description: A basic amateur's sabre, similar in design to a thin hand and a half sword. Contains a pink wrap along the handle.

T3 Armor Attempt: 

ID 222867 | CD 1 (+1) 2 Fail
ID 222868 | CD 11 (+1) 12 Perfect

Name: Suppression
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank: 6
Roll ID: 222868    
Roll Result: 12(+1)
Item Type: Light Armour
Tier: 3
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: Mitigation I | Recovery II
Post Link:
Description: A basic amateur's chestplate. The metal of this particular piece contains a soft pink hue along the steel's edges.
__________
+ 45 Exp
-7 Materials

Jevi would let out a long sigh as she let her head drop. Of course nothing she had crafted had met the requirements of Nymoria's equipment. "Why does this always happen.." she groaned, before tossing the crafted items into her reject box and summoning another handful of materials. "Maybe if I just focus on either the armor or the weapon, then maybe.. just maybe." 

Well, that didn't really work either. If only she was actually responsible about her crafts. "Maybe I should go get some potions and shit to help me out with this.. since I'm going to have to get out and get more materials at this rate." 

T3 Weapon Attempt: 

ID 222803 | CD 9 (+1) 10 Rare
ID 222804 | CD 2 (+1) 3 Salvage LD 16 Keep Materials
ID 222805 | CD 3 (+1)  4 Salvage LD 14 Keep Materials
ID 222806 | CD 3 (+1) 4 Salvage LD 1
ID 222807 | CD 6 (+1)  7 Uncommon
ID 222808 | CD 8 (+1) 8 Uncommon
ID 222809 | CD 6 (+1) 7 Uncommon
___________
-5 Mats
+ 34 EXP

Jevi sat atop her workbench, legs dangling with small, alternating kicks. Her focus on the semi opaque menu in front of her. She was in the process of transferring any materials she had in her own inventory a storage crate beside her work station. She could only imagine how tiring it would be to have to physically carry and transfer all of these pieces of ore and metals. 

It was not until she had finished her sorting that she finally looked up, spotting the timid looking girl standing there ever so patiently. "Oh, my bad, didn't see you. You were so quiet." 

In almost an instant, the girl -without words- began to create letters and symbols with her hands that she could only assume was sign language. Jevi placed her palms up in front of her, almost apologetically. "I-I'm sorry I don't understand -" Before she could finish that thought, she heard the voice in her head clear as day, as if she had just spoken them. "..The hell?.. Never mind, I guess I can understand you. Neat trick."  Sliding herself off of the table, she would approach Nymoria to take her order. 

"Alright, I think I can do that.. I'm not too confident in how timely I can get it out, but I'll get to working on them right away." 

ID 222785 | CD 9 (+1) 10 Rare T3 Weapon
ID 222786 | CD 8 (+1) 9 Uncommon T3 Weapon
ID 222787 | CD 8 (+1) 9 Uncommon T3 Weapon
ID 222788 | CD 10 (+1) 11 Rare T3 Weapon
ID 222789 | CD 10 (+1) 11 Rare T3 Light Armor
ID 222790 | CD 6 (+1) 7 Uncommon T3 Light Armor
ID 222791 | CD 9 (+1) 10 Rare T3 Weapon
____________________
+ 43 EXP
- 7 Mats

Nari had to step in to help her out, pointing out a hiding space that could suit her size and stature. She could not help but feel embarrassed, grumbling something to herself under her breath. A piece of the cavern floor that was upturned, creating somewhat of a shelf just off the side of the beaten path. Beside it, a stalagmite that assisted in providing even more cover. She could only hope that the Dragon Knights weren't carrying any torches, or at least didn't look too hard in her direction. It was a bit of a tight spot, definitely not going to be comfortable. But with the imposing sound of armored boots pounding against the ground with each step looming ever closer, desperate times called for desperate measures. 

One last look around, Jevi would grab onto the rock formation and use it to lower herself into position. Finding a handhold for her fingers to securely grip, she hopes that it was strong enough to hold her weight...

..She was sadly mistaken..

As the majority of her weight pulled on the rocks under her fingertips, she felt an all to sudden snap and crumple as the weak outer layer of the stalagmite cracked. Her shoulder hit the ground - hard - and the rocks she had pulled loose fell to the ground around her. Definitely not inconspicuous or quiet. Everything had gone silent in that moment that felt as thought it had lasted a lifetime, even the steps of the platoon of knights had slowed to a dead halt.. before picking up again at an even faster pace. 

Her golden eyes glanced in the direction she believed Nari was hiding, an expression that painted utter disappointment in herself. "I'm sorry." she mouthed.. though she probably couldn't see it. 

She had failed them, and Charko.

ID 22702  | LD 1 | Failed
Whiff out torches {4/4}
Topple Cairns {1/1}
Plant Rusted Equipment {1/1}
Plant Fool's Gold {1/1}
EXTRA Plant Mushrooms {3}
Dragon Knight Arrival: 5/5 turns

Nari was pretty quick to come back, and was obviously worlds more efficient with digging up the mushrooms and replanting them. Either way, the scene was set - or so they could hope, with what little they could see - and all that was left was to hide and make sure that the Dragon Knights took the bait. This was the first time Jevi had taken a quest like this.. where they weren't simply fighting monsters or fetching something to bring back to the quest giver. This took actual skill and cunning, and put the livelihood of Charko on the line. Feeling nervous was an understatement. She rubbed her palms together, wiping away the sweat that had begun to gather. With a breathy "Okay." ,she began to look around.

There were not many places to hide, at least so they could keep the Knights and the entrance to Charko in sight. They could simply retreat back to the settlement and just hope the patrol didn't see through their plan, but they needed to be sure it worked. And in the case it did not, they needed to be the first line of defense in case things got ugly. "Uh.. any ideas? I can't really find anywhere to hide." 

A few stalagmites jutted up from the ground, but not large enough for her to properly keep hidden behind. She tried to squeeze herself into a small alcove, but the fear of not being able to get herself back out stopped her from trying any farther. 

ID 222483  | LD 7  | Total 86 | Failed to go into hiding
Whiff out torches {4/4}
Topple Cairns {1/1}
Plant Rusted Equipment {1/1}
Plant Fool's Gold {1/1}
EXTRA Plant Mushrooms {3}
Dragon Knight Arrival: 4/5 turns

"Got it" Jevi responded with a confident nod. Carefully stepping over the fallen arms and equipment, and being careful not to slip on any of the fallen stones, she followed the path back towards the waterfall once again. The trip was much more difficult, given the lack of light from behind her. Luckily, there was a couple of torches set up at the upcoming fork - and even more close to the perimeter of the crystal pool. Despite the crashing of water masking each of her steps, she still took caution with moving, lowering her body to become a smaller, less easily seen target. For all she knew, the Dragon Knights could have already passed the falls.. and she would be walking right into them.

Lucky enough for her, that was not the case. However, she did not know how long she would have to work.. and a green thumb was a skill she did not have. A small cluster of the fungi clung to the cavern wall just off to the side of the waterfall. "How the hell do you pick mushrooms.. with the thought of replanting them?"  She thought to herself, stressing over the idea for a moment before reality hit her, and made her a fool in her own mind.

Gently tapping the head of the mushroom, she would place the item into her inventory. Of course, without the proper skills equipped, she was not able to claim all of the fungi, and only a small handful. "This should be enough", she said to herself. Heading back once more, she regrouped with Nari, and knelt down right at the tunnel entrance leading to Charko. "Alright, I've got a couple of mushrooms.. not sure this alone will sell it, but lets hope it does the trick." Back into her inventory, she would easily replace the mushrooms into the ground, trying to make it look as natural as she could. 

ID 222305 | LD 16  | Group Total 74
Whiff out torches {4/4}
Topple Cairns {1/1}
Plant Rusted Equipment {1/1}
Plant Fool's Gold {1/1}
EXTRA Plant Mushrooms {1}
Dragon Knight Arrival: 3/5 turns

A short jog back towards the waterfall, and just where the tunnel forked off into another direction, pointed, wooden slats of wood pointed in the direction of Charko and Tomoika. A couple of attempts to push and pull to dislodge the sign post, the marker eventually came undone. Discarding to post into a small, dark crevice in the tunnel wall, she hurridly made her way back to where Nari was hiding the trace of Charko. Suddenly, with the light of the last torch being snuffed out, almost complete darkness overtook them. 

"Woah. Alright, I'll be careful." Golden eyes blinked a couple of times to see if she could adjust to the crippling darkness. Eventually, she was able to focus enough to see shapes and outlines.. but no real details. Maybe they should have taken out the torches after doing everything that required beingabletosee. 

"Shit" she cursed under her breath, nearly stumbling as her toe caught onto an upturned piece of the cavern. "... Not my fault, I'm being careful... Trying"  Eventually, after dirtying her hands feeling for the pile of rusted shovels, dulled swords, and chipped pickaxes, she was able to get to work scattering them about. A pick or two by the "cave in" , maybe a shovel. Another pickaxed lodged into the cavern wall at the fork, and some well placed swords lining the path away from Charko. "They're knights.. maybe they'll ignore what they think is an old mining cave in and follow what looks like a warpath. Running towards danger-sorta vibe, y'know?" 

"That's a good idea, thought I saw some mushrooms around here.. some back towards the waterfall too. Think we can pull that off"

ID222060  | LD 8 | Individual Total 17 | Group Total 41
Whiff out torches {4/4}
Topple Cairns {1/1}
Plant Rusted Equipment {1/1}
Plant Fool's Gold {0/1}
Dragon Knight Arrival: 1/5 turns

"So the plan...essentially...is to redirect them?"

The woman looked ahead them, eyes tracing the path that would lead them to Charko. She then followed suit, turning a chin over her shoulder and looking back the way they had came. It was a narrow tunnel that they really would not have found, if not for torches and rock formations revealing the path to them. Ureka gave them a couple of suggestions to hide their path. "There's some old broken pickaxes that we can place near the entrance to the tunnel.. Add in some of the rocks from the cairn, and they might think its just an old mining tunnel that caved in. Pair that with some of the fake gold going the opposite way, and I think we could really pull this off." 

Nari went for the torches, extinguishing the engulfed wood and rags to not even a smoldering ember, and then removing the spoke from the rocky earth to hide its presence. Jevi, while they still had light to work, decided to start setting the scene. A well crafted tower make of perfectly balanced, smooth stones to some may not seem like much to some, but to those familiar with this land could possibly read the messages intended. Sad that she would be the one to destroy it. With a swift, precise kick to the bottom of the stack, the cairn came tumbling down and scattering like a bag of dropped marbles. 

"Oh, I forgot, there's a signpost back the way we came. I'll go see what I can do about that." 

ID221820  | LD: 9 | Total: 18
Result: Whiff out torches {2/4}
Topple Cairns {1/1}
Plant Rusted Equipment {0/1}
Plant Fool's Gold {0/1}
Dragon Knight Arrival: 0/5 turns

The brunette smiled in return to @Morningstar's warm greeting, "Maybe, I would like to hear that story. Mostly to find out where to sign up for those kind of contests. But yeah, maybe later."  Sensing the nonexistent line of players - save for one @Koga and his interesting choice in date - lining up to greet Morningstar, Jevi would step out of the way and walk towards the party proper. "If I knew we could bring a plus one, I would have found a date." the woman snarkily said to Koga as she passed, gesturing her head towards the squirming mass of wet tentacle with sand clinging to its body. 

She was much earlier to this party than she had anticipated. Not many people were here, and the women were definitely outnumbered. The only other girl at the party, whom she vaguely recognized, was a long-haired brunette who also seemed to have just arrived shortly before her. With a polite wave, Jevi stepped up to her as their paths crossed. "Hey, you were on that skyship party, weren't you?" she asked as she turned, talking a couple of backwards steps in the direction of her destination, "I'm Jevi, I'm going to grab a drink, but we can chat in a bit, yeah?"  @Yona

First on her agenda, a drink. Morningstar gave her choices, but decided against the walk out to the NPC manned bar. If she was trying get better at socializing with actual people, she figured it would be better to get a drink from an actual person. Making her way over to the 'guy in the red shirt', she would lazily point a finger towards the cooler at his feet. "I'm told you're the one to talk to for a drink." Leaning over, she would open the top to the cooler and pull a bottle out by the neck, small cubes of ice dripping back into the bath of water in the container. "Thanks."  Popping the seal off of the bottle, she would take a sip. Never realized how refreshing a cold drink on a hot, Christmas day would feel. "I probably should have brought something too.. but, I don't really know Morningstar.. and I really didn't think of it. I'm Jevi, by the way, I don't think we've met."  ( @Freyd )

---

A short while later, probably after another drink and some conversation, Jevi found laying on a reclined chair that faced out towards the water. It was amazing how, aside from the few islands in the distance that made up other areas of the floor, you really could not tell where the floor ended. It gave off the illusion of the vast, seemingly endless, ocean. It was.. peaceful, in the moment at least. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she adjusted her legs to sit upright, staring outwards. 

From behind her, she heard the general summons of their host, requesting an opponent for a tennis match. Jevi had never played tennis, never even had the thought of it. Was one of the sports she honestly forgot about at times. However, something in the moment.. maybe it was this elevated sense of peace and camaraderie she was feeling, or the drinks that only had an effect in her imagination, put her on her feet.

"Alright, I'm game!"

She would step onto the court, stepping out of the sandals that she wore as she picked up a racket. Turning the thing in her hands, she got a feel for the handle.. though by the angle she held it, one could tell she was clueless. But she couldn't let Morningstar know that, she needed to put on her poker face. 

"So, who serves first?" 

"People like me.. hm?"

Jevi questioned the vague statement - if she could even call Nari's stammering that - with a cautious glance and a sharp, cocked brow. Following a stranger into the dark on a quest that even they weren't entirely sure of the details on should have been enough to turn her away, let alone the awkward exchanges the two were having. The much shorter woman having a young, cute face was no excuse for that either. But this was a world of swords and skills she once only dreamed of having, so she knew she could defend herself - if the need arose. Not only that, but she knew if she took every awkward encounter as a bad sign, she would never make any new friends. 

And the prospect of even one friend, after all this time, outweighed the negative.

With eyes glancing down at the lightly armored bracers encompassing her forearms, she would pull at the straps to make sure they fit snugly. Finding that perfect balance between range of motion, and the ability to throw a good punch. Her head nodded along with Nari's voice as she went over additional details about what they should expect, who to meet with, and how Nari would protect Jevi if the need arose.. Though the additional reasoning caused her to slow in her step. "Is that what the awkwardness is abo-" 

Her addressing of Nari's slip-of-the-tongue compliment was cut short by a figure standing just off the side of the road. Another woman, dark hair, this one not a player however. In fact, they were, coincidentally, just who they needed to meet. Falling into the usual, quest-giver programming, Ureka went on about the village being threatened by dragon knights, and how they were a peaceful people and blah blah. 

Seemed straight forward enough.

Glancing over at her companion for the day, the two players exchanged a glance, the so-far awkwardness from Nari's blue eyes fading for the moment. "Of course." Jevi would respond with a nod of her head, before turning back to Ureka. "Just tell us exactly what you need from us."

This one was a strange one, no denying that. Nari seemed in utter shock that Jevi had agreed to tag along on this quest of hers.. Whether it was because of the quest's details or a possible reoccurring lack of companionship, she wasn't sure. 

"Y-Yeah I said so, didn't I?" she replied, a bit taken aback by the sudden outburst, "Unless you're trying to convince me to change my mind?" The smile she wore on her face faded for a moment, before closing her eyes and recomposing herself. "Anyway, so like I said, what do you know about what we are getting into?" 

Jevi couldn't exactly complain about Nari's botched understanding of the quest and the info she was given, since it was already more than she knew regarding it. Perhaps she just wasn't good at conveying information. But for someone trying to plead their case to get a fellow player - practically a stranger - to tag along with them into the unknown.. she wasn't doing the best job. Though despite it all, it gave Jevi a good chuckle.

"I'll greatly appreciate your support then." she would add with a slight nod, "I'm not exactly frontline fighter material.. probably wouldn't dare try to take this without any help. So I think we'll make a good team." 

As the two began their walk away from the pool beneath the waterfall, Nari suddenly spun on her heels to introduce herself.. as if she had not done so already. "I know... we've met before." she said with a scoff, though friendly in nature rather than condescending. "Not for long, but I still got your name.. And its Jevi, just in case you had forgotten that too. What's got you so nervous?"

A tiny smirk crept across the brunette's lips. Some flattering words spewed from the babbling Nari as she tried to defend her actions as if they had offended Jevi in some sort of way. It felt nice to be called beautiful, she had to admit, even if it was a slip of the tongue. She felt it better to not press the woman and embarrass her any further - her lack of direction had already done enough damage in that aspect. 

"No worries, really" she said with a dismissing hand. "Honestly, if it wasn't for you, I probably would have found some corner to sit quietly in until I died, or someone else tried talking to me."  Before any further conversation would be shared, Nari was double checking the directions Jevi had given her. "Oh, yeah that way." she confirmed. Pursing her lips, she turned her back to the road, summoning her menus without any real purpose. Perhaps she did it to just make herself seem busier than she really was. 

That was, until, Nari spoke up again. She invited Jevi along on whatever quest she was about to partake in, going off on a tangent about 'not being weird' and rightfully failing at that job. "Story of my life." the woman said through a sad scoff. Loneliness was probably one of the oldest acquaintances she could always count on, and she continuously kicked herself in the ass for giving the cold shoulder and not keeping up with any friends she had made. Swiping a clawed hand through the translucent menus before her would distort them for a brief moment before erasing them from her field of view. She would turn back once again to face the shorter girl, "Yeah sure, I'm just about done here anyway. It's been a minute since I've gone on a quest." 

Stepping away from the pool, cautious with each step on the slick, wet ground, she would join Nari on the road towards Charko. "So, any idea what we're in for? I'm not too quest savvy, so I don't have that insider info some others have."

Before her body could become whole again, while the pixels and data that made up her avatar were still transferring over from the mountainous fifteenth floor, she could smell the salt of the ocean. A warm, summers breeze greeted her the  tingling feeling starting at her feet and traveling up to her head, gently brushing her loosely tied up hair in the process. Her smile curled as the corners of her lips pulled into her cheeks. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon in December. The perfect way to celebrate the holiday season. 

Trip to the shore were a semi-normal thing for Jevi and her family when she was younger. As it was for everyone else who lived in her area. Cheap, day vacations spent swimming in the ocean and playing in the sand. Of course, those days vanished when she grew older. It wasn't the same traveling to the beach all alone. And while she may have spoken ill of soaking up the sun and feeling the hot sand underneath the soles of her feet, it was something she missed dearly. So when a server wide invitation to celebrate the Christmas season at Morningstar's beach house - whoever that was - she knew she could not pass up the opportunity. 

With a top that covered most of her torso - save for her midriff - a typical pair of bikini bottoms with a around her hips, and a loose fitting kimono-like robe that she wore off of the shoulders, Jevi walked along the shores of Raitoboru Bay until she arrived at her destination. A three story cottage, painted in coral and teal blue to give it a tropical aesthetic, sat nestled between the gentle blue wave s and tall palm trees decorated in a lively manner for the occasion. There weren't many in attendance, none that she was familiar with.. of course. Show up early, and you're stuck making small talk with strangers. She would sigh to herself, guess there's really no other way to make friends.

A younger man with long, blonde hair greeted others as they arrived.. must be the host of the party- Morningstar. Waiting for a free moment, she would introduce herself. "Hey, Happy Holidays. I'm Jevi. I don't think we've met before" she would politely extend a hand in greeting, a newly found calm smile on her face. "Beautiful place, prime real estate for sure." 

Jevi | HP: 680/680 | EN: 82/82 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 2 | BH: 30 | KEEN: 2 | PARA | REC: 4
 

Honestly, she knew it was too good to be true to have complete isolation. Golden eyes peeled from the warbled visage of herself in the pool of water at her feet to the source of the voice. A shorter figure, long purple hair, armored from head to toe. They both kind of stood there in silence for a moment, catching each other's gaze before Jevi slowly lifted a hand to offer a small wave-less gesture. "Hey."

The individual spoke up, mostly asking for directions to the nearest settlement. As she spoke, Jevi's head tilted slightly. The voice was familiar.. a recent meeting perhaps. As the woman took a few tires to get the right name of the city of Charko, Jevi took it upon herself to dress herself a bit more appropriately - rather than standing there in a pair of wet shorts and wraps for a bra. The stale air of the cave was getting a bit cold anyway. So with a few swipes of her hand, she summoned her menus, and instantly dressed herself in a gray, sleeveless martial arts top, some black pants, and a blue, yukata-like robe that hung off of her shoulders. 

"Oh yeah, you're pretty close." Jevi said with a few small steps, moving in the stranger's(?) direction. She pointed off to her right, a trail that moved around the shore of the waterfall and up the side of a cavern wall. "If you just follow that path, you should come to a fork. There's a sign post there that'll send you the right way."

Before they parted ways, Jevi lowered herself slightly to get a better look at the lavender haired woman. "We've met before, haven't we? That gala turned pirate rain on the airship? Nari right?" Jevi would let out a small chuckle as she righted herself, crossing her arms with a smirk. "If I remember correctly, you ambushed me as soon as I got there and pulled me into a group to socialize.. called me 'another victim.'

Against her better judgement, she went searching after him. That damned, white haired menace that had stolen her heart, vanished from her life, reappeared without a word, and disappeared again. She had half a mind to just wipe his name from her friends list, and from her life completely. Yet, she found herself climbing the hidden steps, carved into the mountainside outside of Floor Two's settlement, where she knew - or had strategically found out - he had spent some time training. 

Of course, he wasn't there. Which sent a menagerie of emotions running through her mind; disappointment, frustration, and fear for her friend. The only person she had managed to find was an NPC, a familiar one at that. The same old geezer who passed out the Martial Arts quest. Only this time, he wasn't hunting down Jevi to pass on this skill. No, instead, he simply meditated atop a just as familiar large boulder. The peace, the quiet. A perfect place to train and meditate. She could see why Grave chose this spot to hide away and better himself - center himself. Jevi had been doing the same, though physically for the most part. She hadn't given her mind or body the rest it needed in God knows how long.. she owed that to herself. 

---

After some asking around, she found one of the best places to try and mediate were on the Twenty-First floor, and following the usual cliché, it was under one of the waterfalls. She had visited a few, in search of the perfect one, though most of them had other players canoodling or just taking in the views. She didn't want any distractions.. so following a path close to the settlement of Charko, she found the perfect falls just off the beaten path of the city. She stared at the water for a moment, illuminated by a series of lavender crystals just behind the falls, and took a deep breath. Unequipping most of her equipment, she waded forth in the water wearing a pair of shorts and a top that looked more like bandages wrapping around her chest. There was no perfectly placed, flat rock, or anything for her to rest on, but she did manage to find a bit of shallow water that she could kneel under. That should do the trick. 

It took her awhile to get used to the pressure of the falls on her back and shoulders, but as she found her center of balance, it didn't phase her. She kneeled in the calf deep water for maybe ten, fifteen minutes before coming from her trance. "Hm..I can see why people do that now." she said to herself, her voice calm and quiet. Returning to the smooth path around the edge of the pool below the falls, she slowly walked the path, keeping her gaze on her silhouetted reflection in the water. 

"Yeah you better run." Jevi called out after the two pirates she had knocked over, who decided saving their skin was a better option than trying to fight her. The corner of her lips turned upwards into a cocky smirk, no denying that NPCs deciding she was a threat was a huge confidence boost. That left a single pirate on the opposite room, Lessa, and Hirru defending the innocents. 

"You've got this, right?" Jevi said over her shoulder to the blonde, who was facing off with the scallywag trapped in the room with them, "I'm gonna go see what the hells going on up there?" she pointed with her chin upwards at the splintered mess of a crack in the ships deck. Taking to the stairs with a quick stride, she halted about half way up and looked over the railing at where Hirru stood, the lives of the NPC crew at his back. Her features softened a bit as she smiled with a nod, "Thank you." she simply said, before heading back to the upper deck.

All hell had broken loose. The others weren't standing around, trying to formulate plans. They had gone on the offensive, taking Loughran's crew head on. Unlike when they tried taking on the pirate captain directly, they were actually holding their ground. Maybe this was how they were supposed to go about saving the ship, definitely more exciting than talking it out.

Looking over to the side, she saw the source of the axe crashing through the ceiling - now the floor - a shaggy head of blonde hair wearing vibrant, ostentatious robes. "Really?" she said under her breath, "Hey, man, if you're done fighting the ship.. there's some pirates over there that could use your attention." 

@Lessa @Hirru @Corvo

So not just a chef, but a Grandmaster chef. His experience and the time he put into perfecting his craft was definitely reflected in the taste of this sandwich. Just knowing that made her want to savor every bite even more. "Spider council?" she would comment, her voice a bit muffled by the food still lingering in her mouth, which she would swallow down shortly after. "That definitely sounds more like a story to be told, than an experience to be had. I am curious, though, what a bunch of spiders have to do with you becoming a top tier cook."  she would say with a small laugh before placing the cheesesteak, within the wrapper, on her lap for a moment. Best not to rush through it, she was enjoying the taste too much.. and probably wasn't the most attractive thing to watch. "I can only imagine how much you had to go through to level up your profession like that. I've taken on being a blacksmith here almost since the beginning.. and I think I've barely made it past the second rank.. Even though I'd spend most of my time in my shop. Grinding levels is just a bit tough for me" Jevi would admit with a shrug of her shoulders. "Though, maybe I'll get back into it.. but there's a lot of competition, not like I'll make much Col off of it in the end." 

Locks of brown hair cascaded over her shoulder as she turned her head to look at Oscar suddenly, once he revealed that he was not only from the same country, but possibly within a reasonable distance. "Get out, for real?" she'd say with a shocked chuckle. "Both being from the states is one thing, but both East Coasters? Pretty big coincidence." she would sit back with her back against the rear of the bench, crossing one leg over the other. "Who knows, maybe they 'randomized' these matches based on location.. Would probably hold more merit if, you know, we were actually close to getting back to our real bodies." Running a finger through her hair to tuck it behind an ear, she would let out a slight sigh while sharing a gaze at the water before them. "But.. on the other hand.. its comforting knowing that, if - when, we make it out, I'll at least have someone close by who shared my experience."

Maybe this whole 'blind date' thing wasn't so bad after all.

The wooden planks of the stairs leading down to the lower decks creaked with each heavy footfall, as what sounded like another figure - or two - descended the stairs. Jevi felt her shoulders tense up as she hesitated to look over her shoulder, a foreboding feeling that it wasn't one of their comrades coming to help them secure the innocent crewmates. Finally, she found it in herself to peek behind her, making extra sure to not let her guard down at her front - though, she knew Lessa had her covered in case the first pirate decided to strike.

As she expected, it wasn't another player, it was two more of those dirty pirates. Though, from the looks on their faces, their wits didn't seem nearly as sharp as the weapons they wore on their hips.. and one of them had a blunt club. A real tweedle-dum and tweedle-dumber. Though, she was sure that the pirate captain didn't hire members of his crew based on looks or smarts.. just pure brawn. 

This time, thankfully, a familiar voice spoke up, calling for the two women to take care of the pirates while he made sure the hostages stayed safe. Turning most of her body to look in his direction, she was relieved to see Hirru had popped up from seemingly nowhere - very in character for the green haired gent. With a genuine smile, she nodded at him, "We've got this. You keep them safe." She knew that with Hirru's barrier protecting the crew, she and Lessa could let a bit loose and take down these three without needing to worry about the innocents being caught in the crossfire. 

Stepping forward and hopping into the air, Jevi pivoted her hips like a piston, delivering a superman punch straight into the chest of the first pirate, knocking them onto their ass. The one that stood at their side growled and drew their club, taking three strikes at Jevi. The first two, she was able to bob and weave out of the way. The third, she needed to block with her forearms brought up into an x formation in front of her face. Without her armor, though, she didn't have much in terms of defense, so it was now her that was knocked onto her back. 

She was stronger than she used to be, but still nothing compared to some of the other frontliners who were here at this party. Their presence made her feel a bit overconfident.. which was quickly fading as the two strode up to her. Suddenly, because the surprises just kept coming, the thick head of an axe crashed through the planks just above them, catching all of their attention. "What the fuck is going on up there.." Jevi said, before taking the opportunity kick out, sweeping the legs of both of the pirates and knocking them into each other as they crashed into the ground.

@Hirru @Lessa

Finally the Captain stepped in... took them long enough. Did they need to pretty their hair and makeup first before checking on the status of their ship, crew, and guests? Everything seemed to hit a stand still as the two captains confronted each other, spilling their checkered past onto the wooden deck planks for all to hear. Past lovers? So maybe this was part of the event after all.. rather than just some random occurrence that interrupted their night.

In the end, Daemon ended up tied down to the mast of the ship, leaving Jevi and the others to quickly come up with a plan to get themselves out of this mess. Suddenly, without warning, the ship lurched to the side, as if someone was trying to free the vessel from the pirates' grasp. The brunette barely kept herself from tumbling down the stairs to the lower deck. Lessa quickly made her way down the stairs, maybe to check on the situation? Jevi was unsure, since she was not standing in the group of players coming up with a plan. As she watched the blonde descend the stairs, Jevi began to take off her heels.. hoping to avoid almost breaking her ankles if the ship decided to --

Almost as if on que, the ship tugged in the opposite direction. This time, she was definitely not ready for it, and she was sent tumbling down the stairs. There may not have been any pain as an overturned cocktail table stopped her from tumbling into the group of hostages, but the shock and numbness she felt all over wasn't any better. Before she could process what had just truly happened to her, Lessa had grabbed a chair by the back, and swung it at the first pirate she saw. Aside from the sound of the ringing iron, and Lessa's murmuring to herself, there was a short silence that fell over all of them; the servants, Jevi, and even the other two pirates that stood guard seemed baffled that this pretty, blonde woman just knocked out their crewmate with a chair. 

One of the other pirates seemed to snap out of their gaze, their wide eyed expression hardening as they reached for a dagger at their hip and took a step towards Lessa. Jevi quickly popped to her feet dove through the group to meet the pirate head on before they were able to attack the other player. With the back of her left hand, she would slam it into the knife wrist of the pirate to disorient-hopefully disarm- them. With the same hand, she threw a punch straight forward into his face to knock him back, finally following up with a roundhouse kick from her right leg to the side of his head. Thankfully, she didn't have to worry about opening her menu to sneak out a weapon when she was a marital artist. 

Looking over at Lessa, and finally at the final pirate standing below deck, she would raise her fists. "Think you can take us?" she said with a smirk.

All at once, almost too fast for anyone to really comprehend, the peace and serenity that came with this gala in the sky fell into utter chaos as unknown attackers began to close in on the Duchess from all sides. As one of the anchoring shots of a harpoon pierced through the wooden deck of the ship just mere meters from where she stood, the shock and scattering of tiny pieces of wood sent her crashing into the ground.

Shooting a glance up into the cloudy sky, through strands of hair that had come loose and fallen in front of her face, Jevi watched the four, ray shaped airships settle into place at the corners of their vessel. As the pirates began to board the vessel, she felt a twisting in her stomach.. a little mix of fear, and excitement. While she always enjoyed down time.. a bit of action would definitely spice up the night. 

As the first of the pirates slid down the ropes right behind her, she popped up to her feet and turned to face them, balling her fists at her sides. Before she could even act, or take a step in their direction, the pirate, a burly woman a few inches taller than her, dismissively reached a hand out and shoved her out of the way. Her heels did not do her any justice in helping her keep balance after that, yet she prevailed and managed to not fall flat once again. If they were going to be doing any fighting, these deathtraps would have to go.

"Bitch." she muttered under her breath as the pirate walked away.
"Say that to my face ya lil wench, I feckin dare ye."  the pirate said as she turned around to face Jevi, still walking backwards towards the bar.

In the same moment, Jomei and others made a quick move to take down the captain of the brigade, the ginger quickly being taken down without even landing a hit. Turning her eyes back to the female pirate, she saw only the shit-eating grin she wore as she popped the cork off of a bottle of wine. 

Okay.. so this may be a bit more difficult than she had thought.

Closing her piercing, golden eyes, Jevi stepped up onto the deck of the ship. before proceeding any further, she needed to stand still for a moment as the ship, now in the open air rather then within the confides of the dock, gently swayed in the wind. To her, walking in heels was difficult enough as is. When other players, or the forces of nature, decided to try and change her path by pushing, pulling, or swinging.. that created a whole new obstacle she needed to be careful of. She wouldn't be shocked if she chucked the shoes over the edge of the ship before the night was done. With a sharp sigh, she began to step towards the back of the ship, where the bar was located.

As she made her way towards the stern, she passed by a player whom she was unfamiliar with, standing by himself with a tall mug of some sort of drink. He seemed lost in his own thoughts, yet speaking out loud regarding the 'apparent' absence of musical accompaniment. Jevi slowed her pace and turned an ear upwards, it may not have been loud, but there definitely were some tunes being provided from somewhere. "Uh, do you not hear it?" Jevi asked the man, lazily pointing upwards, her finger adjacent to her ear. "I don't see any speakers or anything, but there's music coming from somewhere." Her shoulders would rise and fall with a shrug, "Maybe some hidden song crystals, or just background music. This is a video game after all."   @Crozeph

With that simple comment made, the lavender clad woman continued her stride towards the bar, no other players occupying the immediate area. She walked up to one of the bartenders, a tall male, slicked blonde hair and blue eyes, who smiled politely at her arrival. "A whiskey sour." she commented, before her shoulders slumped. Right, alcohol did nothing here.. "More sour.. less whiskey.. I guess." she added with a defeated sigh. 

The brunette offered a small, yet genuine smile to the two blonde women as they introduced themselves, shaking the one's hand who had offered it in greeting. Another battle between her old self and new self began within the confides of her mind. The past Jevi wanted to stay quiet, interact as little as possible, and slip away when she had the chance. The new Jevi wanted to just try and make some friends, and not come off as the cold bitch she used to be. "You both look great." she finally added in, after a beat of silence that didn't really need to be there. Before she could offer the same compliment the other three, Nari rose the question herself, asking the group as a whole.. though directing it mostly towards herself. 

"Uh?" she was caught off guard, "I mean, you look great. That color, uh, suits you." Sure, drawing attention to a dress one picked out for a rare formal occasion made some sort of sense, if you desired all eyes being on you at least. But what she was not expecting, however, was the suggestive, flirtatious comment to shortly follow up. "What else there i-" she repeated to herself, before her eyes went a bit wider. What the hell was going on? Was Nari flirting with them in some strange, open way? She pursed her lips as she tried to think of something to say, if there were any way to comment on that. Last time she called out someone drawing unnecessary attention to themselves, she got smacked for it. Rather not relive that. 

"I think I need a drink. Not that it'll do me much good here, but-" Following footsteps of the two who departed from the group shortly before her, Jevi began to make her way up the stairs. "Perhaps we can chat later." she added as a general statement to the three women. As she began to make her way up the stairs, she spotted the familiar green hair of Hirru wearing a rather handsome looking jacket. She slowed her step and met his eyes, offering a small smile and wave before continuing her way back up the stairs to the main deck of the ship.

@Nari-Lanreth @NIGHT @Astralin @Lessa @Hirru

Motioning towards the wooden staircase that lead to the upper deck, she looked upwards towards the sky.. though all she was able to see was the large, oval shaped balloon inflating, and nothing but wooden planks and scaffolding past that. Guess the views the message promised would come once the ship took flight. Still, might feel a bit less stuffy than standing down in the dimly lit bowels of the ship. Loosely grasping at the front of her dress, she only managed to take a single step up the stairs before the sound of quick, clacking footsteps moved towards her and a feminine voice called out. The shorter, purple haired individual said that Jevi looked familiar, just as such Jevi had felt she had seen this woman before as well. Nari.. the only place she thinks they may have met, or at least passed by each other, was during the Holidays. 

"Oh yeah, hey.. I'm pretty sure we met a Koga's party.." She looked upwards towards the deck above her again, then towards the grouping of players in question. ".. N-No, I'm not here to meet with- H-Hey!" before she could finish, Nari had clamped a hand around Jevi's and pulled her in the direction of the others. The sudden tug and the somewhat lack of coordination in high heels almost caused her to take a spill as she stumbled off of the first step. Probably looked like a fool as she righted herself, but she managed to walk the rest of the way without any issues. 

Now here she was, another 'victim' as Nari had called it. Forced to mingle. At least she didn't really need to introduce herself to everyone in the group. "Hey, I'm Jevi."  She said with a small smile and a barely raised hand. She looked to NIGHT, whom she had also met at Koga's party, and Jomei, her formal guild leader. "NIGHT, Jomei, its good to see you both again." she added with a simple nod. Looking at Astralin and Lessa individually, she tiled her head slightly. "Not sure if we've met before.. if not, nice to meet you both." 

@Nari-Lanreth @NIGHT @Lessa @Astralin

A Valentine's Day themed dance.. what were they, in elementary school? She half expected hearts cut out of paper, haphazardly taped to the sides of the ship with red and pink balloons tied down to the handrails. Of course, she could not hide the fact that she had been to the last two social events thrown up for the holiday.. but the first she actually had a date to spend time with, the second a friend who asked her to tag along. After she was slapped across the face at the latter, she swore off attending any of these lovey-dovey events. If she could crumple up the message as if it were a paper letter and toss it off of the side of the mountain, she would. 

... If that was how she felt, why was she now searching her inventory for an appropriate dress for the night? Perhaps it was the old, walled in Jevi peaking through, expressing her inner disdain, while her current self shone through, hoping it would be a chance to have fun, maybe make new friends. Or even the lingering hope that a certain someone would show up out of the blue again. The first seemed more believable. So with a small sigh to herself, she snatched a dress from her inventory, letting Cardinal do the honors of virtually placing it onto her body.

The brunette had chosen to wear lavender, sleeveless qipao style dress. The tall collar sat tightly against her neck, the small opening in the front closing off and diagonally running across her upper chest. The detailed pattern on the dress contained swirling, floral images, that ran all the way down to the end of the dress - about ankle height - with two slits in the dress that open at either thigh. "Welp, no turning back now.." she said to herself as she looked over how she looked in the mirror.

-----

The message they had received did not express how grand this flying boat would really be. Having never taken part in any sort of event or quest on this floor, she had never seen an airship until now. For the most part, it just looked like a fancy boat.. but the propellers on the bottom and the giant balloon that slowly inflated just above the deck.. it was extraordinary. "Alright.. no cheesy decorations, not shoving this Valentine's Day crap down our throats... Maybe this won't be so bad." Stepping her way across the short bridge leading to the lower deck of the ship, Jevi immediately made her way up the stairs, back into the open air atop the main deck, to see who else was here, and what this gala was all about. 

Jevi's Appearance:

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