Jevi

The creature that stood guard was unlike one she had ever seen. At first glance, they appeared human, slightly taller than her, short brown, scraggly hair that grew down into a chin strap beard. They were shirtless, with a tuft of hair on their chest and unusually hairy arms. It was below the belt, however, that made this guardian unique. Brown hair covered their lower body, wearing a simple loin cloth that covered their nether regions, bending in curious directions.. almost similar to the hind legs of a deer, or a goat in this case, with hooves rather than feet. A spear stood upright, resting on its shoulder with an arm hooped around to hold it in place. She almost didn't catch the two protrusions that grew out from the top of their forehead, lining the top of their head. Jevi was so intrigued by the creature, that she did not even realize that it was looking in her direction with its orange, creepy, goat-like eyes.

Jevi groaned as she stepped up to her workbench, "I'm so tired."  It wasn't the best of nights... her mind had wandered too far into the territory of bad memories, even dragging into her dreams. She fought hard to not fall back into that pit of despair, and ended up with hardly a good night's rest. Her work for the day was a reflection of that.. as she nearly failed everything she attempted to create. 

ID 207530 | CD 5 | LD 4
+2 EXP
-- Rank Up--

ID 207531  | CD 4 LD 10
+2 EXP

ID 207532  | CD 1
+1 EXP

ID 207533  | CD 5 | LD 16
+2 EXP | Keep Material

ID 207534  | CD 6 | LD 5
+2 EXP

ID 2075305 | CD 4 | LD 19
+2 EXP | Keep Material
_____________________________
- 4 Materials
+ 11 EXP
169/319 EXP

Finally within view, Jevi could see the base of the mountain clearly. Before a small clearing with a set of stairs carved into the rock stood a stone archway, though broken, with a figure standing guard underneath. The brunette gently tugged on the reins of the horse, beckoning it to slow its trot for a more quiet approach. Finally coming to a halt beside a tree, Jevi would slide herself off of the horse's back, attempting to hit the ground quietly. "Stay here, I'll be back." she would tell the horse as she pat the animal on its muzzle.  With a well tied knot, she would secure the horse to the bark, as to make sure she could return it later on after completing the challenge. As to not alert the possible hostile entity beneath the broken archway, she would keep herself low to the ground and peek around the tree.

ID 27502 | LD 12

The horse's hooves pounded against the dirt road, not at a racing pace, but just a fast enough trot that would get her to the base of the mountain within the hour. Given, of course, that she didn't run into any issues along the way. The floor was apparently experiencing a war, between Athenaia and Spartaia, so she could only hope that she wouldn't accidentally run into any ongoing battles between the two. More likely, however, she might run into one of the wandering monsters on this floor. Even though she felt a bit more comfortable with her level, she wasn't entirely sure if she could hold her own against any monsters on this floor on her own. Without someone to have her back, it was probably best that she avoided any alterations at all costs. Gripping tightly on the rope that steered the horse, her golden eyes kept watch on the horizon for anything that could spell danger for her.

Pushing through the bustling city, following the main road out into the fields that surround Athenaia, Jevi eventually found herself heading towards the edge of the settlement. Merchant stalls lined the final road, calling out their wears, while patrols of military stationed nearby requested the held of all adventurers in their fight against Spartaia.. Did they really only add -aia to the ends of Athens and Sparta? As she was mulling over the interesting choice in name for the opposing cities, her eyes caught glimpse of a nearby stable that rented out horses. That was definitely a quick and easy way to get to the base of Mt. Olympus without it taking her the entire day. 

Renting the horse wasn't expensive, especially with promise of bringing it back once her quest was completed. She was never much of a horseback rider, but she managed to pick up the skill pretty quickly during that strange, dark rain event. The beautiful Andravida, with its brown coat and black mane, lowered its head to allow Jevi to rub its muzzle, nuzzling the woman with appreciation. Once the ranch hands had affixed a saddle to the steed, Jevi pulled herself up atop the horse. It took a moment for her to ready herself, but once her feet were secured within the stirrups, and the reigns in hand, she was off towards the opposite end of the floor. 

Changing out of the casual, sweat filled clothes she wore as she worked into her typical armor, she made her way out of her shop and up the side of the mountain into Lharis proper. There, she would make her way into the center of town where the stone platform used to teleport between floors awaited her. As she approached, she watched as a small group of players vanished into a white light.. moments later, another two appeared walking in the other direction. Jevi, alone, followed suit.. stepping upon the platform and calling out her destination. "Warp Athenaia" Everything around her went white as her digital form disappeared.

It took a moment for Jevi's golden eyes to adjust to the floor, as the white light faded around her, setting her down in an entirely new location within just seconds. Athenaia was very much a recreation of ancient Greece.. just with a little more of that Aincrad twist to it. Even from where she stood in the center of the settlement, she was able to spot her destination off in the distance. All the way to the North, she could see the tall mountain that rose up, thinner than most, before becoming lost in the clouds. "Shit.. of course its on the other side of the floor." she said with a sigh. "Guess I should start walking." 

As the woman stood there, shoulder leaning against one of the pillars, a hand rose up to summon her menus. Maybe she should reach out to someone.. set up plans to do something, just so she could get out and socialize. As she began to pile through her inbox, however, she noticed a message sitting there from a long time ago. She had initially swiped away the message, most likely in the middle of a mental breakdown. How many friends had she ignored by doing this? This, however, wasn't from a friend.. at least, she didn't think so. The sender of the message was named 'Zeus' .. so it was either a player with a thing for Greek mythology.. or something to do with the game. 

Curiosity got the better of her, and she tapped the message. It was, in fact, the latter, Zeus being an apparent NPC. The message detailed a challenge for players of their respective craft in hopes to win the trophy bestowed upon them from the gods. Jevi blew a raspberry, thinking it to be a bunch of bullshit, until she read the details of this 'trophy.' Whatever it was, it would help her out with her crafting.. give her a bit of an upper hand. Maybe this Challenge of Olympus was worth checking out after all. 

Already, she had started getting back into the swing of things.. quite literally. Her hammer fell upon the raw materials, forming into usable weapons and armor once more. It was a tedious routine that she had fallen into at her old shop, but with an improved mindset, and a new location, it was much more bearable.. maybe even enjoyable. Still, her crafts fell short every once in awhile.. more than once in awhile, if she was being honest. Through the short time she was able to call this place her home, she had not been able to craft more than one perfect quality item, which she had given to Grave. She herself even needed some new equipment that she just could not create for the life of her. "Ugh.." she sighed as she looked down at the workbench, beads of sweat falling onto the surface from her forehead. "I just need a break." 

Opening the closet to reveal the small, natural waterfall that trickled down into a well below, Jevi cupped her hands and retrieved a handful of water, which she splashed upon her face. Gently, she would rub the cold water in, immediately cooling herself off. She continued to wash off the sweat from her body until a cool chill ran down her spine. Taking a towel from her inventory, she would dry herself off before tossing an open tunic over her shoulders and walking over to the windows looking out over the floor.

The view was usually enough to calm her emotions, whenever they started to bubble up. She could almost understand why Grave retreated to the solace of the mountains to find himself... it was calming.

The shop definitely gave a new meaning to 'mountainside property' .. as it was, quite literally, built into the side of the mountain. What almost looked like half of a home sticking out of the side of the mountain proved to be much larger inside than she had anticipated, being that the rest of the house, aside from her wonderful shop, was actually built inside the mountain. A couple of windows, that she could see from her current vantage point, didn't make it a completely enclosed house.. but she looked forward to one day getting to see it and maybe, just maybe, even calling it her own. 

For now, however, the new and improved Amorous Armors and Armaments was plenty for her. Much more ground space so that she wasn't tripping over completed projects and tools, a larger variety of tools and workstations, a natural water source that she could use for the forge, and a beautiful view down the mountain through tall pillars that served as open windows. At first, she thought the open air forge might be a bit troublesome, but once the fires were roaring, and she was hard at work, she would welcome the brisk, mountain air with open arms. Most importantly, however, the shop came with a small room off to the side. Very reminiscent of the rented rooms at an inn, it simply contained a full sized bed, a small round table, a wooden chair, a tall mirror and a wardrobe. But it was enough... more than enough.

Every new day she felt like she was progressing. Maybe she hadn't gone out and made new friends, but she reunited with an old one. One who mattered and who had helped change her for the better the first time. That alone, she felt, was enough to keep her going on this path to bettering herself and not crawling away into her ditch of an old shop and shut down. The easiest way to assure she couldn't do this, quite literally, was to close up that sandy dome on the fifth floor and find a new place that she could call home. As she had finally felt comfortable enough to travel to floors once thought to be too dangerous, she found a love for the fifteenth floor.. something about it just made her feel at peace. Jevi was never much of an outdoorsy person, but the nomadic lifestyle of Lharsi's people could help serve as a reminder to keep on moving and not lock herself up in one place. 

So with the documents required to set up a shop once again in her hand, she managed to snag a cozy place just outside of Lharsi, close enough that she could easily get to town without putting herself in danger, while just outside enough so she could allow all players to visit her shop. The spot was much larger than she had originally needed, but the old man in town she had acquired it from told her that it was a home owned by another adventurer like her -- a typical name NPCs used for players -- that seemed to not come back after some time. Right now, he'd give it to get as a shop.. but if she kept up the hard work and threw some Col his way, maybe he'd be able to part with the location.

That would definitely beat finding an inn to crash at, or sleeping on the cold floor. 

((OOC: Not the same day Grave is in the shop))

Flurries of white speckles slowly fell from the sky. The winter up in the mountain was cold, especially with so many open spaces that looked out over the mountain. However, out of all places to be, she was happy she was at least in a place where she needed it to be hot. And at least on this floor she could see all different weather patterns, rather than hot sand, cold sand, and sandstorm.

Maybe this new environment was getting to her a bit, at least whenever a frigid breeze cut through the open air storefront. By the end of the day, Jevi had wasted most of her materials, and made it out with only one weapon that probably would never find a home. One day she would get better at this. 

ID 207492 | CD 1
+1 EXP

ID 207493 | CD 5 | LD 8
+2 EXP

ID 207494 | CD 11
+5 EXP
Rare T4 Weapon

Name: Fish Hook Saber
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank: 4
ID: 207494
Roll: 12
Tier: 4
Quality: Rare
Item Type: Saber
Enhancements: Bleed |  Accuracy

A thin blade with a hook near the tip. Usually induces some extra rip an tear damage

ID 207495 | CD 5 | LD 12 (Keep Material)
+2 EXP

ID 207496 | CD 1
+1 EXP

-4 Mats
+ 11 EXP
158/159 EXP

Name:  Black Rose Breastplate
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank: 4
ID: 207143
Roll: 12
Tier: 4
Quality: Perfect
Item Type: Light Armor
Enhancements: MIT | MIT | REC
Post Link: Here

A dark iron breast plate with gold trimming. Pauldrons hang loosely over the shoulders as to not hinder the wearer's mobility, and bands around the arm provide extra protection. The center of the chest denotes the engraving of a rose. 

The brunette turned to look at Grave as he entered through the open doorway to her shop, winded from the journey up the mountainside. "You know.. You could have just teleported to Lharsi and traveled down the mountain rather than up." Her shoulders rose and fell with a shrug, "But hey, guess you just wanted to live that mountain man life again." she added with a wink. Pulling herself from the workbench, she walked over to Grave. "But I hope you like it.. its a lot more peaceful than the old floor five spot. It even has a small bedroom, so I don't have to sleep on the floor anymore. The old man who rented out the space also told me that if I can turn a profit, he might open up the rest of the building for me to have as my own house." 

On to business, Jevi looked at Grave's jacket for a moment before heading over to a table that housed a few of her more recent creations. "I might have just the thing already made."  Grabbing an iron breastplate, she would bring it over to Grave. Before handing it to him, she would notice the rose on his jacket, "Wait."  Taking the armor back to her workbench, some quick work with a hammer would result in a similar emblem in the center of the armor. "There, how about this?" 

Name:  Black Rose Breastplate
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank: 4
ID: 207143
Roll: 12
Tier: 4
Quality: Perfect
Item Type: Light Armor
Enhancements: MIT | MIT | REC

A dark iron breast plate with gold trimming. Pauldrons hang loosely over the shoulders as to not hinder the wearer's mobility, and bands around the arms provide extra protection. The center of the chest denotes the engraving of a rose. 

A new outlook on life meant a change of scenery, and that meant getting out of that literal hell hole in the middle of the desert. She only chose that spot because it was secluded, and she enjoyed being alone. At least, thats what she told her self. But she was trying to be a better person, so that meant picking herself up out of the hole she put herself in... again, quite literally. 

Never having the balls to journey up to the higher floors before now, Jevi found solace on the fifteenth floor, something about it still provided that quiet solitude she liked, while also not leaving her completely alone. The new shop was less of a cluttered death trap, and even had a small bedroom so she didn't have to sleep on the floor.

Stepping into the space, she felt confident as she took up her tools once more after so long. That determination to actually produce something of work proved fruitful; not a single failed craft for the day. 

ID 207140
CD 8 Uncommon T4 Light Armor
+3 EXP

ID 207141
CD 10 Rare T4 Light Armor
+5 EXP

ID 207142
CD 8 Uncommon T4 Light Armor
+3 EXP

ID 207143
CD 12 Perfect T4 Light Armor
+8 EXP

ID 207144
CD 11 Rare T4 Light Armor
+5 EXP

___________________
-5 Mats
+ 24 EXP
147/159 EXP

Jevi couldn't help but smirk as Grave joked about having a few screws loose after that trip of his put his mind and soul back together again. "Eh, I don't know if workshopping is going to do much. You've always had a few loose screws up there." half standing up, she reached an arm across the table and ruffled his already messy, white hair. "But I'm starting to think that all the best people do."  Retracting her arm, she sat back on the stool and took another sip of her milkshake, enjoying the taste as she watched Grave stand up and adjust himself. 

Seemed he was just about ready to get out of his diner, and out of his own little world. Once again, he brought up commissioning some new gear from Jevi so he could, hopefully, get back into it and maybe even back onto the frontlines. Jevi swallowed the mouthful of soft ice cream she had in her mouth before grabbing the cup and standing up herself. "I could always take it to go, whats the owner gonna do.. stop me?"  Without waiting for Grave, she turned on her heels and began walking towards the front door. "Come on, lets go see if we can't get you fitted for some better shit."

Thread Complete

Total Words: 13796 / 30 * 5 = 2295
Pages: 2

Jevi T3
2295 * 3 = 6885 EXP
400 Col

Grave T4
2295 * 4 = 9180 EXP
400 Col

"You're stuck with me now. I'm always here to help whether you like it or not,"

Maybe now, but he wasn't there when she needed him most. When she felt lost and afraid. When she felt the world turn its back on her. When she found out Opal died, when she found out Ruby killed herself. Grave was here for her now, and that had to count for something. But the promises he had made her before leaving to go off on his journey sounded just as promising. 

So much of her wanted to believe him, that he would be here to stay, that she could rely on him for whatever she needed. Whether it be a friend to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, or just someone to play this game with. The realist within her, however, reminded her that if he didn't like this 'new Grave' he could just disappear to the mountains again, a hard reset to try and find a new version of himself that he was happy with. This tug of war between her old feelings for him resurfacing and being so angry at him for just abandoning her.. she could not find that happy medium to perch herself upon. 

Suddenly the strawberry milkshake didn't taste as sweet. 

As she rose her gaze to look up at him once more, she thought to herself that maybe this time he means it. Why shouldn't she allow herself this happiness, even if it does end up slipping from her grasp in due time. Better than not being happy in the slightest. "Why don't we find out together? Lets see if this new you holds a candle to the old Grave." she added with a smirk. 

The heavy thud of a full glass hit the table, and brooding eyes wandered to look at Grave's creation. A professional looking milkshake, streaks of strawberry syrup traveled up and down the inside of the glass, blending nicely with the ice cream. Even whipped cream and sprinkles, because who could be sad while staring at a fluffy white hill coated with a rainbow snowfall. Her lips twitched into a small smirk as her eyes shifted from the milkshake to Grave. 

 Picking herself up, he gently placed her fingers around the bell shaped glass and pulled it towards her, the bottom of the cup dragging on the surface of the table. Taking the straw in her mouth, she took a sip.. a bit tougher to pull since most of the ice cream was still a hard custard. Eventually though, she managed to drink some of the shake, and her slowly closing eyes were all that was needed to reveal how delicious it was. "Mmhm." she simply said, nodding her head as she swallowed the bit of ice cream, "You certainly can do drinks too." 

"Thanks" her smile lingering longer than she had intended, much longer. She decided to switch from the straw to the spoon, taking out a small scoop of the ice cream, coated with the softer cream and sprinkles and placing it into her mouth. "I know we'll both make new friends.. Especially you, being so likeable and friendly and.." she cut herself short, her gaze pulling from his "I'm still working this out.. me being more open about my emotions, trying to pick myself up out of this constant state of depression. So some of that sad shit is still gonna come out of me." 

"Just.. bear with me, okay?"  her yellow eyes looking up into his.

A drink sounded nice, at least it would give Grave the opportunity to put his skills to the test.. even if it was something so minimal. How about a drink. Surprise me."  With her elbows propped up on the counter top, her fingers interlaced, she would gently rest her chin atop her knuckles. "I'm sure there will be more opportunities for you to wow me with your cooking."  she added with a curled smirk. Her eyes followed Grave as he moved about the back of the diner, swinging open cabinets and pantries to take stock of any ingredients that may have remained. She hoped that cooking materials didn't have a shelf life like they did outside of SAO, though if they had gone rotten, the interior of the diner would probably smell putrid. 

"Relax, I'm only teasing you. You just used to be a big flirt first time I met you."

She thought on the names that Grave had listed.. it wasn't many, but she actually knew of half of them. "I saw Hirru not too long ago.. some Christmas party on the Eleventh floor." She laughed, "I didn't know too much about him to begin with, but from what I can tell he's still the same old Hirru. I actually met him an Xion at the same time.. but I don't know whatever happened to them. Macradon's one of the frontliners right? I've never met the guy, but I've heard talk about him before. He's another one of the frontliners, right?"

"At least you have a few names you can reach out to though, I'm sure they'll be glad to hear from you."  The tone in her voice lowered, as her expression faded into a frown, "After the guild split, I kinda got dropped back to square one." She looked back up to Grave, "Not that I don't appreciate your company again.. its just.. they were my friends." 

“Hmm” she purred as she looked into the weasel’s eyes, the corner of her mouth slowly curling into an impish smirk. “Yeah, thats a shame.. I don’t think I have many juicy secrets on you.. but I’m sure Hikari’s got plenty hidden in there.” Straightening her back once more, she would extend her arms in an overexaggerated shrug, “I guess we’ll never know.”

It seemed as though Jevi’s vote was all that was needed to sway Grave’s decision to change the name of his diner. A few simple changes within his virtual menu and the name Grave Gourmet became real in a flash. “If we had any idea we’d be stopping by this place, we could have skipped the cafe. I actually don’t recall if I’ve ever had your cooking before.”

Her eyes wandered about the interior of the diner, recalling the few memories she held of coming here during a better time. She missed when things were easier, but she could only hope that things would start to look up for her. Turning back to Grave, her golden gaze lingered on him for a moment, “Have you made contact with anyone else yet? Or has it just been me?.. Actually, I don’t even know who else you were even close with aside from me and Opal.” A small snicker snuck through her small smile, “Should I just expect you make friends with all the pretty girls?”

"I'm such an idiot."

"I know" she was quick to answer, offering a smirk as her eyebrows rose and fell. She watched as Grave brought himself back up to his feet, taking a small step back to give him space. "She probably just ended up staying here the whole time. Urbus isn't the friendliest of cities, so who knows what would have happened to her if she went out on her own." she said as Grave addressed the weasel, asking if it remembered his old female companion. Jevi leaned down slightly, putting herself on the same level as Hikari and offering a small smile. "Yeah, I'm gonna take that as a yes.. Ah, if I knew you were here, I would have come and scooped you up myself. We could've gossiped about how much of a jerk your master is."  Maybe she was laying on the teasing a little hard.. eh he could take it. 

As Grave started to tend to his once abandoned shop, Jevi found a place to keep out of the way. Pulling a stool out where Grave had found Hikari, she sat down, letting one foot hang while the other rested on the foot rest. She kept her attention off of the man, simply looking past the counter to whatever items lay beyond. A hand rose from the table top to push the hair that fell over her ear back and out of the way, allowing her hand to linger on her neck for a moment longer.

She turned her attention towards the snowy-haired man once he started to speak again, claiming his life was gaining some semblance of what it once was before he up and left. "Grave Gourmet's got a ring to it.. kind of slips off the tongue."

The brunette tugged on Grave's wrist and pulled him about half way down the city block before Grave finally took the lead in the direction he believed his shop was located. She had a vague memory of where the eatery was located, originally thinking it was on a floor other than the one they were currently on. But as Grave diverted their path away from the platform players used to move quickly between floors, she realized she was mistaken and much closer than anticipated. 

It took a few moments of walking alongside him for her to realize her fingers were still wrapped around his wrist, looser than before, but still present. With a jerk of her arm, she let go of the man and pulled her arm back to her own side. The thumb of her other hand gently caressed her knuckles for a moment before letting both hands sway at her sides with each step they took. 

The familiar visage of Grave's diner came into view, and Grave's steps seemed to quicken as he made his way towards the door. Jevi followed after at her own pace, slipping through the now open doorway to the abandoned, yet still clean and immaculate, restaurant. As her counterpart went to check the counter area for his lost familiar, Jevi began to walk around the perimeter of the eatery, pulling out chairs and bending over to check under tables. 

A loud crash of something hitting the floor caused her to spin around quickly, nearly knocking a chair over in the process. There, she saw the white haired Grave sitting on the floor with a shivering, orange weasel curled up on top of him. The poor thing was either terrified from being left for so long, or overly excited and easy forgiving. Jevi's entire demeanor seemed to loosen as she let out a heavy sigh, her head and shoulders drooping forward as the tension released from her body. Slow steps took her towards the two, where she bent over at her waist, placing her hands on her knees and looking down at Hikari and Grave. "You lucked out this time." she said to the man with a hardened expression that softened into a smirk.

Jevi remembered Hikari, Grave's little weasel companion. Though Jevi had her fair share of unwanted rodents back in the real world, she found Hikari to be pretty cute and a sweet companion. So she felt her reaction to Grave not knowing of his own familiar's whereabouts rather..  appropriate.

Hands balled into fists as the soles of her boots planted themselves into the cobblestone street. She shot blazing hot daggers upwards at Grave, before her hands extended outwards to either side. "You cut yourself off from your own fucking familiar too?!" Jabbing a finger forward into his chest, she stood directly in front of him, chin turned up to face him. "You better hope that familiars don't just die if they aren't cared for." Her hand dropped, fingers wrapping around Grave's wrist in a vice grip. She stepped past Grave, back in the direction of the warp gate at the center of town. "Come on. We're going to your diner. Leaving me and cutting off contact is one thing.. but not bringing Hikari with you?" she grunted in frustration. 

Jevi never had the softest spot for animals.. or children.. or other people. But she was still feeling a bit salty about Grave's decision to cut off their friendship and relationship they had worked so hard for as if it were nothing. Hearing he did the same to Hikari as well just caused her blood to boil all over again. 

"Actually, despite the fact that I stay cooped up in my shop most of the time.. I actually wasn't making anything. I don't even remember the last time I made a weapon or some armor. I was getting pretty good at it for a bit and then.. well.. I just stopped." Her gaze turned towards the ground before her as she continued to walk beside Grave. A bit embarrassed that she'd just let herself sit away and do nothing to better herself. "But.. if you want, I could give it a try. You'll just have to tell me exactly what you want, okay?" 

A soft smile made its way onto her face at the thought of joining Grave for some accessory hunting, "I'd like that. Maybe actually having all the shit I need will push me to go out and get a few levels. Maybe even catch up to you." she said with a chuckle, driving an elbow into his arm. "Do you have any ideas for what type of item I should get? Enhancement wise, I mean.. I'm sure I could figure out the look of the item." 

"Oh God.. on top of that, I still don't even have a familiar." Her palms slammed into the top of her forehead before raking her fingers down her face, pulling at her skin. "Why did I let myself fall so far behind." she said through a groan.

Starting over. It was a nice thought, and it was something they both needed. Locking themselves away in their separate corners was doing them each no good. Allowing themselves back into each other's worlds would help to bring out the better in both of them. The more she thought about it though, she more she didn't want to start over.. She hated to say it, but a sliver of her wanted things to go back to how they were right before he left. 

That thought wisped away as an exhale slowly made its way from her nostrils. 

Yellow eyes followed Grave as he rose to his full height. "Sure" she responded to his invitation, following suit and lifting herself out of her chair. "Surprisingly enough.. I still have an empty equipment slot that I've never filled. So I should probably find something to put there." she scoffed at her own inability to equip herself properly. Her face scrunched, "Not sure if you noticed, but I'm not too great at playing games.. even though we're technically living one."  

She followed Grave out of the cafe, making sure to pay their bill before fully departing. As they made their way back out into the streets of Urbus, she turned her attention to the silver maned man. "What're you in the market for in terms of gear? I assume its nothing I can forge for you?"

"Thanks for the advice.. and keeping me company." The knot in her stomach rose all the way up to her throat, as if she felt like she wanted to throw up. Memories from her real life flooding back, and not ones that she wanted to remember. A time she wanted to wipe from her memory and hopefully leave in the past with her new life here. But what had happened to her, what was done to her, is not something so easily forgotten. 

The brunette had already turned towards the door, clutching at her leather sleeves, before she heard a voice call out to her. Familiar enough to have caught her attention. Shifting her gaze to look over her shoulder first, before turning her body to face back towards the kitchen. A bit of surprise, her eyebrows jolted upwards, her defensive, crossed arms loosened and fell slowly to her hips. The shock in her face hardened as her brows furrowed curiously, "..Hirru?" the name finally came to her, the green hair and.. strangely dripping wet again. He was not easily forgotten. "I haven't seen you in so long." she said with a scoff. For the time being, the reunion with one of the very first players she met took her mind off of the other player who reminded her too much of her past. "Why are you always so.. wet whenever I see you?" 

@NIGHT
@Hirru