Jevi

"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

So he still had it in him to fire them back at her, that was a relief. Here she thought she was going to end up getting bored of teasing Grave. Brows rose as her lips hooked into a smirk again, parting to reveal a soft smile. "You asshole." she said with a small laugh as two fingers dipped into her lemonade, retrieving a small cube of ice that she proceeded flick in his direction. With her hand that tossed the cube at Grave still propped up in front of her, her gaze lingered on him for a moment longer. Turning her attention to her hand, she would summon the small menu screen in front of her with a wave of her finger. A few motions here and there, and a message - all too similar to the one he had sent to her earlier- spun around to face Grave this time. The contents, of course, a friend request. "You remove me again, you'll get your ass blocked.. if I could even figure out how to do that." she said with a small laugh, smiling with the tip of her straw placed between her teeth. 

"I think this will work out well for both of us.. Like you said, we can keep each other in check, make sure the other doesn't go off into hiding again. We can help each other get stronger too.. you'd think in the time you've been gone I'd have matched your level at least but.." a shrug of her shoulders, "I guess I just fell off of questing." 

"But.. we can start over. If, that's what you want." 

"No no.. a hippie wildman is exactly the type of person I think you turned into."  her lips hooked into a smirk as she teased the man. The one thing she had missed more than Grave himself was busting the man's balls. He was always so easy to poke fun at, and he knew how to take a joke and even throw it back at her sometimes. "Would you say it was worth it, cutting yourself off from everyone and everything for that long?"  With a small shake of her head, she continues, "I'm not trying to make you feel guilty this time.. promise. I'm just curious. You say you feel less volatile, a little better about yourself.. but before you weren't sure if you found the answers you were looking for."

"If this whole thing was, in some ways, a way to prepare yourself to fight on the frontlines.. do you feel like you're ready for that?" Expression hardened her golden eyes stared daggers into his purple colored orbs, "Because if you go fight a floor boss and don't come back, I won't forgive you. Even if we are just friends now, I still care."

"I wasn't sure if you knew...that she was killed, I mean."  Her shoulders rose and fell with a shrug, "I didn't know what she turned into or the fact she had been killed.. I don't think I saw her again after she became a player killer. So.. It was pretty heartbreaking to hear of it." A sigh almost heavy enough to be heard as a groan pushed out from her chest as she let her upper back fall against the back of the chair once more. "But you're right, the past is in the past. Even if she was around, she was stubborn.. I doubt we would have been able to pull her back form her darker self." 

Wrapping her fingers around her drinking glass, she brought it up to her mouth. The tip of the straw placed between her lips, she took a sip as her yellow eyes looked to the table between them. "So." she set her drink back down. "Tell me more about this.. mountain retreat that you ran away to. Did you just sleep on rocks and live off the land like some hermit? Were you out there with others, or were you on your own?"  

It would seem that Grave was rather serious about rekindling their friendship. She was not the best at reading people, terrible even, but looking into his eyes she could just feel that he was being truthful. "Its not that I don't trust you.. You've proven time and time again to follow through on your word. You never gave me a reason not to. You just have to understand, after being abandoned so many times, that I'm just.." she paused on the word, "..scared that it'll happen again.. But. Alright. I believe you. I think we can make this work again."  But make what work, exactly? A friendship? Or what they had before he left.. Shaking off the thought, she took another bite of her sandwich. The frown she wore broke with a small scoff, "At least now I know you're hiding place is in the mountains.. so id you do run off again, I know where to find you." 

She let her joke linger for a moment, her mind returning to the one who betrayed Grave's trust. Betrayed and then got killed, leaving loose ends."Was it Opal?" she asked curiously, staring into the glass of lemonade that sat before her. Grave being gone for so long, she wasn't sure if he knew about what happened with their friend turned killer. Jevi hardly knew the story herself, just second hand knowledge. But she knew that Opal once meant something to Grave as she did for Jevi. "Who betrayed your trust, I mean. Was it her?"

The brunette cracked a smirk once Grave asked her about the possibility of having some Martial Arts in her arsenal. "What gave that away?" she joked, "Yeah actually. Decided to change my focus entirely to Martial Arts... I guess when I surround myself with enough Martial Arts users, it kinda rubs off on me." she finished with a shrug. Jevi was never entirely sure what the true reasoning was behind switching to Martial Arts from Curved Sword, aside from that fact that both Grave and Ruby were both users of the skill. Had she done it because she felt safe around them? Or possibly picking up the skill in their memory? She really wasn't sure, she just.. did it on a whim.

She pondered a bit on the answer as he went on talking about his gear, only half listening. Not that she wasn't interested.. she was just putting everything into perspective. Her attention returned as silence fell upon the table, and Grave's voice picked up again. Her golden gaze focused on him once more, with fingers laced beneath her chin and the straw of her lemonade prodding at the space between her lips. 

"But how can I trust you won't just vanish without a trace again?" she finally said "I mean.. how much can I really do to stop you if you managed to do it without me realizing in the first place?" I want to be able to rely on someone, to rely on you again. Despite how much of a bitch I was to you, you were my best friend. We were more than that even. But you still just up and left.. and I get it, for your own mental being.. but I need to know that you won't do that again. Or at least fucking tell me next time so I don't-" she cut herself short.. realizing her voice was slowly raising in volume, as she slowly rose from her seat. Shaky palms were pressing into the table in front of her, only at half height before catching herself. Slowly, she lowered herself back into her seat and took a deep breath through her nostrils. 

When had it gotten so damn loud at this party? A single newcomer entered Koga's house and all of a sudden she couldn't even hear the music playing from the other side of the room. It was like the energy of half of the party just suddenly increased at the same time. It wasn't just that.. there was something about this new guy that made her uncomfortable. She had no idea who he was, but his boisterous personality reminder her of someone from her past she'd rather forget. 

Jevi seemed to almost close herself in, her arms folding into each other with a palm on each of her elbows, gaze turning to the ground. The closed off girl in the corner with the resting bitch face, suddenly appearing weak and afraid with just a single, traumatizing memory. "Thanks." she simply said to NIGHT, before her chin turned towards the door. "I-I'm not feeling so well all of a sudden.. maybe I should get out of here. I don't want to keep you from enjoying the rest of the party anyway."

@NIGHT

The frontlines. That's what almost everything seemed to come to in the end, wasn't it. Being tough enough to fight with the best of the best, clearing floors so that one day they can see the light of day again. Real light of day. How long would that take though? How long had they been here, for real, to say that they've cleared just over a quarter of the floors of Aincrad. Progress, for sure, but was it enough. Was that vision enough to want to center your whole life in SAO around it? She wasn't sure, she never got the appeal of being a part of the raid team. 

Grave revealed that this issue stemmed from before he had disappeared, while they were still together. Their relationship simply complicated things more, made him see that even more was on the line.. so if he wasn't enough to fight with the front liners, was he enough to fight for Jevi. She almost wanted to roll her eyes at that comment, almost. But then she remembered that she was rather weak back then, despite acting like hot shit. She was still pretty weak, in terms of the top players, but definitely more than she once was. The Jevi back then would have needed protecting, not the one that grew after he pulled this stunt. 

"Well as long as you feel better about yourself. Then I guess you achieved something." she said before picking up her sandwich and taking a bite out of the corner. His answer was acceptable, and at least put some things into perspective. Not where he went, or what he went to do at least, but gave reason for it. 

"Me?" she asked him back, as if she hadn't heard him. 

After a sip of lemonade to wash down the bite she took, she began. "If I'm being honest, not a whole lot. I guess I kind of shut myself in too still from time to time..." it was more than time to time, she was kidding herself. "But I ended up making some friends, joined a small guild with them. It was fun, I guess. At least, while it lasted. It was pretty short lived after everyone kind of went their own way.. So then it was just back to me being lonely me." She snickered, "Changed up my skills and all that.. realized the whole heavy armored tank route really wasn't doing it for me."

Jevi cocked a brow as Grave combined two of the more prominent smells that wafted into the center of the street, drawing them here in the first place. "Its brunch hour.. you probably smelled two different- Oh." he found a meat and pastry dish, ".. Maybe it was the same thing."  she said with a chortle as she noticed the same thing on the menu as he did. It was still a bit early for lunch, so her appetite hadn't truly kicked in yet. It would have been weird to just not eat anything though. Maybe Grave was onto something with a sandwich-like meal -- easy to eat, and not super filling. Resting her chin in the heel of her hand, Jevi lackadaisically scrolled through the menu with her opposite hand, as if mindlessly peering at a social media feed. 

A golden gaze shot out across the table at Grave for a mere moment before returning to the translucent menu in front of her. How long had it truly been since they last done this? Since they last saw each other? A tiny smile crept along her cheek, she had to admit, it was nice. Finally, sitting up straight, the brunette tapped on her own selection; a simple breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese, and avocado and a lemonade. 

Now for the short, unnecessary wait for the food to appear in front of them. It wasn't long.. much shorter than going to player run restaurants, but it just added that bit of realism to the experience, she supposed. Before their brunch had become real before their eyes, Jevi's gaze turned to Grave once more. Her upper back found the top of her chair as she leaned into it, her fingers tapping on the table before her. "Alright. Let's hear it." 

"Rude? Yes. But can I blame you?.. Not really. I've considered doing it from time to time.. not like I really have many friends left on there anyway." She added with a nonchalant shrug. 

The conversation shifted with Grave taking the bait to actually talk this over. Though where, exactly, was a good question. Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, Jevi placed a hand on her waist and another on her chin, gently tapping the side of her jaw as she thought it over. "Honestly.. I haven't been to this floor in awhile either." Taking her hand from her chin, she pointed over her shoulder to the tavern behind her, "I stayed there last night. They've got food.. but I don't really want to go back in there." 

Eventually, with a decision on where to eat yet to be made, Jevi simply sighed and strode past Grave, playfully-but forcefully- bumping her shoulder into his upper bicep as she walked past. "Come on. Standing here and trying to think on it will get us nowhere." she called back without turning a head over her shoulder. 

A short walk, and the two eventually found themselves passing a café. Various food smells wandered out into the streets, tickling the noses of fans of all types of foods. Particularly, being the hours between breakfast and lunch, these smells mostly consisted of fresh baked pastries and savory meats. A sign post hammered into the ground between the cobblestone read 'Brew and Chew'. Reading over the sign, the brunette scoffed, "Heh. Cute. Come on, this place looks good." 

The bubbly, carbonated beverage traveled down her throat as she took another sip of the soda bottle she held in her other hand. Her eyes were fixated on NiIGHT as she gave her own advice for Jevi from a personal standpoint. With just a few words, it helped put things into perspective, and helped Jevi realize that what she felt was nothing to pass off on, but that it wasn't uncommon. In fact, NIGHT's explanation of what she went through was all too familiar. 

"So it sounds like you and I aren't so different.. or the old you at least."  Whether a dingy room at an inn or the floor of her blacksmiths shop, the message was still the same. Staying put in that single place and allowing themselves to just shut out the world was unhealthy. Breaking out of that routine, changing their scenery, doing something different. Sounded like that was the first step she needed to take. 

"Well, when you put it that way.." she bit into the cookie again, tossing the last morsel into her mouth. "I suppose the only thing really stopping me, is myself. I lost friends, and I found new ones before. I would get out of my shop and see the world" With a soft thump, the back of her head hit the wall behind her as she turned her gaze towards the ceiling. "It just sounds like I won't get any better unless I let myself get there. This.. actually really helped. Thanks NIGHT" 

"I can take it back and punch you again if you want."  she said with a single, raised brow and matching smirk before releasing Grave and taking a step back from their reunited embrace. Running a hand through the hair on the side of her head, her eyes broke from him for a moment. Since he had left and vanished without a trace, she had always thought about how she would react if and when Grave would randomly come back into her life. She tried to prepare herself so that she could, when it were to happen, handle the situation as adults. Of course that plan all went to shit when she rocked him with a gut punch.

Her gaze fell upon the small screen that appeared in front of her, asking if she would accept the friend request from Grave. She would be lying to herself if she said it didn't hurt. "Even removed me from your friends list? Wow, I guess you really wanted to disappear."  She stared at the choice in front of her for a long moment before tapping her choice; probably not the choice Grave would have wanted from her. Denying the request, the screen in front of her disappeared, and she looked back up to Grave in silence. 

"I was sorry for punching you. I'm not sorry for being mad at you. So how about we go somewhere, that's not the middle of the street, and you can tell me where you've been and why you really decided to up and leave without a word to me. You owe me that. Then you can try sending me the request again." 

Arms retracted and crossed tightly at her chest. Blazing, golden eyes glared down at Grave as he struggled on the ground for a moment, processing what had just hit him. A surprise to be sure from someone with low weapon skills now master rank in martial arts. Her nostrils flared again with no words as she just thought about what she even could say to him. Part of her just wanted to kick him while he was down, but he began to actually explain himself. An explanation that may have been vague and without much detail.. explained a lot. Her composure remained the same until his eyes, even though purple in color still that same, lovable idiot, met with hers.. and it seemed like he was able to deduce that she had gone through a lot as well. Just like NIGHT had at Koga's party. Those walls she built up around herself must have been made of glass to be read so easily.

The furrowed brow and glaring eyes immediately softened, as well as the tension in her locked arms. Her hands untucked from the crooks of her arms as one fell to the side, the other rubbing her bicep. Maybe she had overreacted, just a tad. "I-I guess you can tell, huh." Grave's situation was all too similar to hers; locking herself away when she feels the world was getting the better of her, thinking it better for her own mental health when, in reality, it was only making it worse. She had it in her to ask for help, but she refused time and time again. Only now was she open to the idea, so maybe it was right to be a bit more forgiving of Grave. "I'm not saying you didn't deserve that, because you sure as hell did but.." silence fell as she looked for the right words to say, before she closed the distance between herself and Grave once more. This time, her arms snaked around her torso to pull him into an embrace, "I'm sorry."

Its not purple anymore.

Those were the first words that Grave, the man who had broken through that thick shell of hers and got her to open up, before disappearing from her life--seemingly for good-- had spoken to her. After what seemed like years, without a single word as to why, after all they had been through. After how he made her feel. 

Her expression remained the same for a moment, not breaking after he said his first words to her, and then an eye twitched. Finally, slowly, he feet shuffled forward. One after another, she began taking steps towards the man, her arms falling to her side as she did so. Her eyes not leaving him. Was this truly the same man, or was she possibly mistaking him for someone else. No, she was certain that this was Grave. 

Her fingers flexed as she stepped forward, the shuffling of her boots against the cobblestone streets turning into steps as she began to pick up her feet, and pick up speed. Keeping a steady pace towards the white haired man, she pondered over her options. Does she say something back? Embrace him? Kiss him? Scream at him? For her mental well being, this was not a step in the right direction. Or was it? Was she glad to see him? Or was she furious? The emotions mixed and mingled in her mind, but not a single expression showed on her face. None except shock. 

Finally, she stood before the man at arms reach. Her feet carried her forward no more. She stared into the top of his chest for a moment before closing her eyes. If it could be heard, the snap of that nerve would have crackled like lightning striking a tree. 

Her arm cocked back, her fist and vambrace igniting in a red glow as the Cardinal system registered her as setting up for an attack. No weapons in her hands, as he may have once been used to seeing, just her fist. One more step towards the man and Jevi let her fist fly forward into Grave's gut. She knew he wouldn't take damage. She knew he wouldn't feel physical pain. But she hoped it would give him an idea of the mental pain she felt. 

Pulling back her fist, she would shake her hand out, "What the fuck? Now?! You decide to just randomly show up now?!"

Leaving the room behind her, Jevi shut the door. The tavern below was already bustling with a morning rush. The smells of breakfast platters being served wafted up the stairs in her direction. If she was much of a breakfast eater, she would definitely partake. Usually in the real world, she would be the type to just start her day with a cup of coffee and deal with the consequences later. Which was what she caved in and decided to do as she rounded the corner past the bar. The smell of a fresh cup of coffee being set down for another patron drew her attention back. It was something she enjoyed right? So why not indulge. Pulling up a stool, Jevi waited for the barkeep to walk over to her before she got her hot beverage

--

The soft chime of the bells that hung above the door rang as Jevi pushed open the door into bustling city of Urbus. The cold, winter air that traveled down off of the mountains filled her lungs as she took in a deep breath through her nostrils, counteracting the hot coffee she had just consumed. The cold air always helped her feel refreshed, despite her choosing to set up show in the middle of a desert. Maybe that would be another step in the right direction closing up shop and moving somewhere more.. pleasant. Urbus wasn't bad, but she was of high enough level now where she could venture off to a higher floor without risk. A thought for another day, perhaps, despite not really having any sort of direction for the day. Before setting off, she stretched her arms across her chest, one after another, as passerby's walked in each direction. 

One character in particular wandered past, just to the ends of her peripheral vision, before stopping suddenly and quickly turning to look in her direction. She could feel the eyes of this man staring at her, and the relaxed smile she wore on her face slowly faded. With a growl of an exhale through her nostrils, her golden gaze turned in the direction of the staring individual. "Can I help yo-"

Her speech cut short as her angered eyes opened wider in shock. He looked a bit different from the last time they had seen each other, a few cosmetic changes here and there, but there was no mistaking who had just walked by her as if he had never up and vanished in the first place. Still, she stood their speechless, not sure what to say or feel. 

With pursed lips and a bit of hesitation, the brunette shook her head. It was pretty embarrassing to admit what little she did in her off time, if she could call it that. Her eyes broke eye contact from the shorter woman, trailing off to an opposite corner of the room. "Er.. Most of the times I just.. stay in my shop. I don't have really many people to turn to so.. I just kinda stay there." 

"Well, normally no." she said as she took another bite of the cookie, "The past few times I attended a party it was with a friend, or partner. Even the last party I went to I ended up just going to meet a friend there. This is really one of the first ones I've just wandered into on my own." Jevi found herself matching Night's stature, leaning up against the wall behind her with her chin turned in her direction. ".. If you don't mind me asking.. you said you used to be like me." sheepishly, she looks away again before looking back, speaking a bit more softly, "How did you break out of it?"

With the coming and passing of the holidays, Jevi made a promise to herself that she would start working on her own self being. Even before the Holy Dragon Alliance folded, she was always just a wreck; locking herself away in solitude to just sit in her cold forge and cry. Even more so after the guild had folded, and all of her friends she had made went their separate ways. That needed to change and she knew it. Even NIGHT had managed to call her out on it from across the room.. before even speaking two words to the girl. Leave it to depression to do that to a girl. But there were no meds here to help keep her out of that state, so she would just need to work on it herself. All with a three step plan.

Step one was interacting with other players. Was easy enough to accomplish with Koga's holiday party. Despite being super hesitant about going, and even considered leaving on multiple occasions, she stuck it out and actually enjoyed herself. That was only one night though, she'd need to keep it up if she wanted to better herself. 

Step two was a bit easier; Don't sleep in your shop. A lot of players she had met had back rooms built into their shops with bedrooms, some even functioning as full houses. Jevi's of course, was just a packed forge, no bed, no 'home sweet home' feeling to it. Was perfect for the person she was, wanting to isolate herself from everyone and everything, but that needed to change. So that was where she was at now.

For starters, the second floor was a nice change of pace from the fifth floor's desert environment. A lot more of a stable climate, rather than blazing hot days and freezing nights. Most importantly, a place to sleep not surrounded by weapons and tools.. and in a bed, no doubt. Albeit temporary, staying in an inn had Jevi waking up much more refreshed than normal. Sliding her legs out from under the blanket, her feet touched the cold, wooden floors. Riding the sleep from her eye with a rub from her knuckle, she would stand from the bedside and stretch her neck. Jevi looked over the image of herself in the tall mirror mounted to the wall, calf length pants and a loose fitting tank top. A few movement with her finger to wander through her menus, and the sleepwear vanished off of her body in a quick flash of light and soon after replaced with her usual attire; a sleeveless, grey bodysuit reminiscent of a form fitted karate gi with hip windows, all of which disappear behind a leather waist cape and dark trousers, tucked into shin high boots. A leather breastplate protects her chest, as well as leather vambraces and guards on her boots. She adjusts the red neckerchief that sits around her neck and loosely on her shoulders.

Her hair much shorter than it used to be when she first started SAO, sitting above shoulder length, and dyed to match her original, brown hair color. Brushing a few tufts of hair from the side of her face to tuck them behind her ear reveals a much shorter, once closely shaved undercut. "Alright, lets see what the day brings us.." she said to herself in the mirror, giving herself a few pats on the cheek before shining a soft smile at herself. She had no idea what she was planning to do today, but whatever it was, she was going to make sure to step in the right direction. 

A part of her regretted coming to this party; an introvert in a house full of strangers. Honestly, she wondered how some people could find this entertaining. Golden eyes closed for a moment as she thought her position here over, what was she really going to gain by coming up the the 11th Floor to the house of someone she had never met until just a few seconds ago. 

Jevi needed to remind herself, time and time again since taking her first step away from her forge on the 5th floor. Her mentality would only get worse if she just continued to stay in that covered hole she called a home in the desert. With no one around anymore to call a friend, no one to rely on, the only thing to keep her company as she sat in the silence of a cold blacksmith's workshop were her negative thoughts. 

She came here to break out of that shell again, to find some positivity in her life, to chat.. to maybe make new friends. As her eyes reopened, she scanned the room once more, as if hunting for the perfect partner for conversation. Finally, her gaze fell upon a shorter woman as they fetched a tray of cookies from the sweets table and made their way in Jevi's direction. Was this going to be easier than she thought? Or was her gloomy disposition making her stick out like a sore thumb?

With a simple greeting and an offering of a cookie, Jevi's eyes went from the girl to the refreshments in question. "Uh, sure. Thank you." the corner of her lips curled into a small smile as she grabbed one of the cookies with a thumb and forefinger, and bringing it to her mouth to take a bite. A bite that she nearly choked on when the girl called her out on her attitude. A small clearing of her throat and sip of her beverage, the brunette couldn't stifle a small laugh, "Heh, I must look pretty miserable then if you were able to catch it from the other side of the room." 

With a rise and fall of her shoulders, the woman shrugs and motions with a finger to the party around them. "I'm usually not one to do all of.. this. I keep to myself pretty often, which I've been finding is rather unhealthy. So I guess I'm just slowly trying to better myself." She looks at the cookie, "I'm also usually not open to talking about my shit, what the hell did you put in this cookie?" she jokes. "I'm Jevi, by the way...Have we met before?" 

"Jevi" She was caught a bit off guard by Koga's sudden appearance, not realizing he would have made himself known to the newcomer that quickly. She extended a hand out in greeting, taking the man's hand and shaking it. Offering a small smile with pursed lips, she continues. "Thanks for the invite.. even though you sent out a mass invite, I guess."  her golden eyes break eye contact a she traces a finger around her hear, pushing loose strands of hair into place and revealing her undercut that slowly seems to be growing back. 

Jevi wasn't too good at small talk, terrible for that matter. But she would try and not be her normal, bitchy self at least.. she owed that to Koga, the other party goers, and even herself. How else would she make new friends in a room full of strangers. After unpacking the various glass bottles of soda, consisting of cola, orange, and a citrus flavor, she would grab one of the orange flavored drinks for herself. Twisting off the cap, she would stand off to the side and wait and see what the night would bring.

@Koga

She scoffed as she looked at the small, floating box that contained a message from some unknown sender in front of her face, an array of artificial stars splattered across the ceiling of the fifth floor. "Tch.. sending a party invite to every player in Aincrad just seems like a desperate attempt to make friends.." Swiping her hand through the air in front of her, Jevi shooed away the message, letting her arm follow through and plop onto the rounded surface of her shop located out in the desert. Her shoulder length, brunette hair sprawled out around her head as she looked up at blank sky, the cold wind of the desert sending a chill through her body.

"Why not just invite your friends.. and do something more meaningful."  Her unheard words to the sender of that invite held more weight than it seemed. Jevi constantly cut herself off from those she knew, especially after her guild suddenly disbanded after the lot went their separate ways. So even if she wanted to have a get together with her friends.. she couldn't. There really weren't any left she could count on.

... After thinking for a moment in silence, Jevi sat up and let herself slide off the roof. Her boots hit the sand as she opened the message again with a sigh to figure out exactly where she was going. 

---

Dressed in her casual attire, but still fit to fight the cold, Jevi carried herself through the streets of Taft. Her fingers clenched and unclenched within her pockets as she eyes the town houses, looking for the correct address. Hanging from her wrists, two bags with various glass bottles that gently tapped against each other with each step. Finally, the woman found herself standing just outside the house of Koga, the mysterious sender who invited everyone to this party. It wasn't the biggest of houses... so how could he have expected to host every living player in Aincrad if they chose to show up. 

"This is stupid.. why did I come here." she said as she turned away from the door. "I doubt I even know anyone in there." The bottles all clinked together as she took a few steps back out into the center of the street. Looking down at the various sodas, she lets out a small groan. "I don't even drink this shit that much.. so it'll just go to waste."  She turns and looks to the door again, "Come on Alex you can do this.." she whispers to herself before proceeding to head to the door. She gently opens it, and sees that it is, in fact, quite a packed house.. just not 'every player' packed. Oh no.. she didn't recognize anyone here. As a few party goers shifted, she spotted the familiar tuft of ginger hair that was Jomei. So her old guild leader was here, at least she could fall back on that if she started to feel anxious or out of place. "I don't even know which one is Koga..." she says to herself, not sure who to greet as the host of this party. Eventually he'd probably make his way around, so Jevi would find the first table that was open and begin unpacking the two six packs of soda she had brought.

Jevi's Outfit: