Grave

So it wasn't personal. He hadn't been the only reason Jevi's trust was broken. Though it hurt to hear, Grave felt a twinge less guilty. "I don't plan on running away again," he reassured her. "Ah, yes. In fact, always assume that if you can't find me, that's where I'll be. It's peaceful out there, I like it a lot. It's a place that's close to my heart." He smiled as he reminisced about the time he'd spent in the wilds of the second floor.

Grave choked up as Jevi spoke the name of the player he spoke of. There were no feelings there as there once had been - after the trauma of her betrayal, it was hard to keep any affection - but there was still a glass shard trapped in his heart from the time spent with her, both before and after her transformation. "Yeah," he said quietly and nodded. "God, I'd hoped my exile would make me forget about that, or at least forget the pain and confusion. Apparently not." He shook his head and puffed out his cheeks. "That's not important. That was years ago and there's nothing that can be done now." He threw Jevi a half-smile and leaned back in his chair again. "I know it wasn't just me though. Lots of players loved and respected her. She broke something I don't think we've ever been able to repair." 

"More people are still picking it up, huh?" Grave mused and smirked. He recalled Kranzer, the player he had intended to take under his wing and train to use <<Martial Arts>> at a higher level than most people tried to get it to. "I'm happy it still sees some use. And that you're using it too," he said the last bit with a nervous chuckle. "I think it suits you."

Grave watched as Jevi started to rise from her seat. He didn't back away, look down or try to protect himself. Her voice climbed and her arms shook against the table. He listened intently, keeping his violet eyes locked with hers as she lectured him... then she sat down. He waited one breath, three breaths, then spoke.

"I know I can't regain your trust just like that," he said with a snap of his fingers. His eyes flicked away for a moment. "Believe me. Someone lost my trust a long time ago, and they died before they could ever regain it. Not that I think they wanted to," he muttered. He then shook his head and pressed a fist into the table. "That's not important. I know it'll take work. There's... not really any physical proof I can give you that I won't run off without telling you. All I can give you is my word that I will be transparent with you," he proclaimed, looking straight at her. "I want to be your friend again."

Grave listened to Jevi's response in silence as he chowed down on his croissant, bites interspersed with sips of his coffee, until finally he cleared his plate. He smiled. "I'm glad that you joined a guild, even if it was only for a short time. I'm surprised, but at least you made some friends." She mentioned changing up her skills and he coughed into a laugh. "It certainly feels like you've changed up your style," he rubbed his stomach tenderly. "You haven't happened to pick up levels in <<Martial Arts>>, by any chance?" he asked her.

He picked at his coat and shrugged. "I may have gotten rid of all of my old gear. The <<Vanishing Dragon>> isn't really my style anymore, either. I'm basically useless out in the field 'til I pick myself up some new equipment." He took another big gulp of his coffee, set it down, and after a moment of silence spoke again. "Neither of us will ever be alone again, okay?" he demanded. "If no one else, we can talk about our struggles with each other. I should trust you more than I did, and you should be able to trust me. I'll make sure you don't shut yourself away, and you make sure I don't run away to the mountains, okay?"

Grave leaned forward, his elbows on the table and his clasped hands against his chin. His leg jumped up and down as he thought of where to start. Where exactly was he before he buggered off?

"I guess it started when I attended the KoB's raid meeting for the seventeenth floor," he started. "I just remember standing there and thinking 'do I really belong?'. Everyone else felt like they knew exactly what to do, exactly where they stood. They knew how strong they were. I just kind of listened." He dropped his forehead onto his hands, raising his voice to be heard over them. "And then I didn't even take part. I missed my chance because I was wallowing, and I think I was just in an endless spiral after that. A spiral of not thinking I'm good enough to be on the frontlines, then doing nothing to deny or change that." He looked back up and leaned back in his seat. "I didn't tell anyone how I was feeling. And I didn't want to. I thought I could handle it myself, that I'd eventually come out of it. If it wasn't obvious, 'eventually' never came. And after..." he caught Jevi's eye, then looked away, ashamed. "That night at the festival, my worries became bigger than the game. I started asking myself if I was enough for you, if I could protect you if I needed to. I eventually had enough and decided I needed to be on my own, away from everything, lest my negative thoughts and hesitation get me or someone else killed."

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, the items he ordered blinked into existence on the table in front of him. He picked up the latté and paused to take a big sip, letting the warmth spread through him and soothe him. He looked at Jevi over the lip of his mug. "Skip... a few years, I think? And here I am. I won't say I 'achieved nirvana' or something like that... but I feel better about my place in the world." He sat the mug down and picked up the croissant. Before taking a bite, he asked Jevi, "What about you?"

Grave glanced over Jevi's shoulder at the inn she had exited only moments before. "Yeah, better to not overstay your welcome," he noted and folded his arms. His brow scrunched in deep thought, he tapped on his arm in a steady tempo. His pondering was interrupted by a sharp nudged against his arm and he turned to watch Jevi walk past him. "Right. Yeah. Actually seeing what the city has to offer might be a good start," he agreed and followed behind, slipping his hands into the pockets of his coat.

The scent of something meaty and bready wafted by his nose and he turned his head up to breathe it in, like a wolf catching the whiff of its prey on the wind. "What... is that?" he sighed, on the verge of drooling, and his eyes caught the same sign Jevi had. "'Brew and Chew' , huh?" he mused. He cocked his head as his thoughts wandered to Chewie, the small bear cub who had helped him and Hirru break the boulder when he Grandmastered Martial Arts, then to his owner Mack. What was he doing? He'd done so much for the Knights of the Blood Oath - not just them, the players as a whole, and then he seemed to just fade. He made a note to look him up sometime.

Grave shook his head to clear his thoughts. He sidled into the café beside Jevi and looked around. It was pretty busy, just loud enough that they could have a private conversation but not so noisy they wouldn't be able to hear each other at all. He scanned the building and spotted an empty table off in the corner, the cups, plates and utensils left over from the last customers flashing away in a spray of pixels. He gave Jevi a gentle nudge in the back with his palm and pointed over to the corner without a word. He headed over, took a seat and dragged open the menu. "Something smelled like meat and pastry and I want it," he muttered as he scrolled through the list of items. Finally he spotted what he was looking for - a ham and cheese croissant! It had been far too long since he'd had one. He ordered that and a latté, and waited for the items to materialise on the table before him.

"Nope, no thanks. One was enough," Grave grunted, waving his hands in front of him in a feeble move to protect himself in case Jevi really did follow through. It was weird, talking almost normally like this. He expected their reunion to be... quieter. Still expected her to punch him, but in his mind there was a lot less chit-chat and more 'the hell do I do now?'.

"Cleared it. Completely. So I guess what I'm saying is... don't take it personally?" he claimed uneasily with a wry shrug and a struggling smile. His face fell when the interface blinked out and warned him that the request had been denied. "Wh-" he started to demand an answer, before she looked at him. He silenced himself, swallowed and waited for Jevi to explain herself. He looked down and chewed on his lip. He sighed and met her eyes. "You know what, fair enough. You deserve that," he agreed. "I admit, that was a little rude of me," he chuckled and looked up the street.

"It's been a while since I've been in Urbus. Well, anywhere remotely populated really. I'm not even sure I remember where my shop is, to be fair," he complained and scratched his head. "Know anywhere nearby we could grab a bite to eat?" he asked, cocking his head. "I find these conversations are a little easier to have over food."

Grave stood and patted himself off and nodded. "Your eyes tell it all. Those are the only way I've ever been able to figure you out," he said. "I should have said something. Then maybe we could have figured it out together. I'm sorry." He shoved his hands into his pockets and his shoulders slumped. She stepped forward and grabbed him - no, hugged him, and apologized into his chest. A moment of shock washed over him and he blinked. A smile caught ahold of his lips and he laid one arm gently around her shoulders and place his other hand on top of her head. Surely the passing players had been watching the ruckus they had made, but he didn't care. Reuniting with Jevi was probably the hardest thing he'd expected to do, and now he'd done it, so nothing else mattered.

He pulled away just enough to look down at her. "To be fair, I didn't expect an apology at all. Totally deserved that. So, thank you." And now he was at a loss for words. What now? He swiped two fingers through the air and called up his friends list. He sent Jevi a request and said, "Would you like to be my first friend?"

She approached him and he dared not move. He couldn't read her, couldn't tell what she planned to do. Hell, did she even know? He dropped his hand and watched, biting his lip as he awaited her response. If she was happy, he would accept that graciously. If she was furious, he knew damn well he deserved what was coming to him. She stopped and he cocked his head.

Then before he could even register her movement, her arm cocked back like the hammer of a gun and shot towards his gut.

Now, Grave had been punched by her before, straight in the face, out in the field. That was nothing compared to rocket blow that threatened to make his digital insides implode.

The system caught her fist with that <<Immortal Object>> barrier, but Grave was still floored by the sheer force. He laid on his back and waited for the world to stop spinning. He groaned and sat up, clutching his abdomen, convinced that her anger had broken through the system. A quick peek at his health bar suggested he was wrong. "Called it. I knew you'd punch me," he grumbled and pulled his knees up to his chest. "You punch a lot harder than I remember." Then she spoke. If his eyes could have gone any wider, they would have. He looked away, inspecting a crack in the cobbles.

"I... I know," he said with little clarification. "I'm sorry I ran off like that. You deserved better than that." He looked at her, first at her feet, then straight into her eyes. "I don't plan to make excuses. I did what I thought would help my mental health, and maybe that was selfish. We all struggle." He sighed and ran a hand through his white hair. "I didn't tell you, I didn't tell anyone, because I knew someone would try to stop me. But I should have asked for help, I realise that now." He looked down again, thought, then met her eyes. "You've been through a lot while I've been gone... haven't you?"

She stared at him. Silence spread over them like a veil. The world vanished from Grave's perception, and for a moment all that existed was him and woman standing before him. She looked different. She'd cut her hair and wore it loose, and it wasn't the same purple that it used to be.

But Jevi's golden eyes were unmistakeable.

He stood in stunned silence. Should he say something first? Or did he let her give him a piece of her mind first? Why did it have to be her? Why was she the first person he had to run into? Something pressed into his back, something imaginary and invisible. Go, it told him. Say something.

Grave coughed into his fist and put on the best smile he could muster, which was awkward at best. He stood up straight, his eyes flicked to their surroundings and he laughed. He looked at her again, breathed and said, "It's uh. Not purple anymore," he pointed to her, then twisted a lock of his own hair between his fingers. Nice one, Grave. First thing you mention is her hair.

Grave stared up the staircase ascending to the mountain-top city of Urbus. Players passed him as they headed to and from the city, not one of them batting an eyelid as they went about their busy lives. His heart raced, kicking against his virtual ribcage. Why was this so hard? Every one and zero in his body screamed to run back to his safe place in the mountains. If he did that, though, what was the point of his retreat? Rejoining the players was always the plan but isolation had made him paranoid. What if they laugh? What if they hate me? What if no one even remembers me?

He shook his head. He refused to go back to the way he was. That kind of overthinking and self-analysis was what prompted him to hide in the first place. He thumped a fist against his roaring heart and it stilled, its beat steady. He climbed the steps passing new players and veterans alike. A party of newbies ran down the steps yelling "Let's go break a boulder!". Grave smiled. He almost instinctively turned and offered his services, but he held his tongue. It amused him that despite the progress the frontliners had made, there were still players only now crawling out and taking on the lower floors. He didn't fault them, SAO was a scary world. Everyone should tackle the castle at their own pace. That's what he had to teach himself.

Speaking of progress, how far had the frontliners pushed now? The twenty-fifth? Thirtieth? Even higher? He pondered. Before he left, the frontliners were working on the twenty-first floor labyrinth, if he remembered correctly. If it's been three years or so, maybe they'd be at the twenty-sixth? He'd have to ask Macradon or one of the others some time.

He reached the looming front gates of Urbus and swallowed hard. This was it. Once he stepped past that threshold, he was a part of Aincrad society once more. "Come on, Grave. It's not that hard," he grumbled. He took one step forward. Then another. Each felt heavier than the last. With a heave, he hauled his foot through the gates and walked forward. A weight was lifted off his shoulders. He sighed and wrapped his hands around the back of his head. He did it.

He faced forward and walked on, walking the streets with pride. He passed storefronts and restaurants, the bustle of the city surrounding and embracing him. He passed by an inn as a patron left, the bell ringing as the door opened and closed. He moved on for a few steps, then halted. Turned. And stared.

Was that who he thought it was?

Grave breathed in, a long drag of the cool, mountain air. He took in the aroma of the pine forest, the damp moss covering the stone underfoot. The fading sunshine felt warm against his bare back, though it was quickly wicked away by the gentle breeze. He exhaled sharply, his eyes snapped open and he took a wide stance. His left foot inched forward and his left fist protected his face. With a sharp twist of his front foot and a snap of his knee, his right leg arced through the air towards the tree. His foot stopped as it touched the tree. A burst of air rushed around its trunk and it shook gently. He kept his leg up, waiting for the <<Immortal Object>> prompt to scream at him. Two seconds. Three seconds. After five seconds, it was clear the kick had been controlled enough to leave the tree unharmed.

He turned away, facing the cliff. He looked out across the vast mountain ranges of the second floor and took another deep breath, then released it in a slow stream through curled lips. He stretched his arms towards the sky and groaned. Something popped and his body shuddered, then relaxed and he said "Oh yeah, that was a good one." He flung his legs over the cliff and sat, fiddling with the moss at his sides absentmindedly. 

"Maybe I ought to re-enter society," he mused to himself, kicking his legs gently. "I don't think there's anything else for me here." He shut his eyes and let the wind play with his white hair. Even now, after all these years, any time he looked into the odd mirror he was shocked by his new appearance. He'd changed it just before heading into the mountains - a quick hair dye and some cosmetic eyedrops to turn them purple and he barely looked like himself anymore.

"What are they gonna say when they see me?" he pondered. "Mac's cool. He'll probably shake my hand. Hirru's bound to drag me along to punch the bloody boulder again." His head dropped as his thoughts wandered to someone else. "Jevi... Jevi's going to punch me." He laughed. "Wouldn't be the first time," he groaned as he stood on his perch above the land that had been his world for what felt like three years... or something like that. He swiped two fingers through the air and prodded at some buttons. His <<Grim Shroud>> flashed over his body. He looked over the tight-fitting, double breasted coat and sighed. "I need me some new threads," he scolded himself. He wrung his hands and shook his head. "And without some gauntlets, these are basically useless. I've been away too long."

Grave's heart skipped a beat. Why? "Hey now, you're too young to be doing that just yet," he complained. Like a rebellious child, it continued to thump irregularly. What could he feel? Was it the apprehension of seeing people again? Or was it something else?

Faceclaim: Add (Lunatic Psyker), Elsword

• Character Name: Grave
   
• Character Description: A fun-loving veteran player who has recently come out of 'self exile' with a more healthy outlook on life and his position in the world. SAO's first <<Martial Arts>> Grandmaster and once a member of the Knights of the Blood Oath, he now works to catch back up with his old friends on the frontlines.
   
• Character Journal: Grave's Journal

Current Level: 34
Current SP: 116 (Current amount recorded in Journal)
Link to SP Tracking: (Located in <<Transactions>>, first recorded amount broken down in <<Stories>>)

Notes:
Lots of my equipment is of a rarity that doesn't make sense, and I can't find the IDs for most of them, so I would like to effectively start from scratch and wipe my inventory, bar my Vanity Items and any quest items that are still valid.

Old:

New:
 

<<Thread Summary>>

GRAVE
400 Col
2 SP (1 Thread Completion, 1 Farewell Event)

<<Thread Summary>>

GRAVE
200 Col
2 SP (1 Thread Completion, 1 Farewell Event)

ZANDRA
200 Col
2 SP (1 Thread Completion, 1 Farewell Event)

<<Thread Summary>>

GRAVE
400 Col
2 SP (1 Thread Completion, 1 Farewell Event)

Re-Evaluating my Familiar because there wasn't an evaluation system when I first received her, I think.

Quote

Familiar Name: Hikari

Description:

Hikari is a small Whimsical Weasel, a furry orange weasel with some noticeable differences.  Hikari has a long, spiral horn on her head, with two smaller ones poking out from the side of it.  Her body reaches around a meter long, enough to wrap around Grave's waist like a belt.  Her tail unravels into two to reveal a glassy blue sphere that gives off a luminescent glow.  A metal ring floats around the tail further up.  The Japanese character for 'light' (光 'Hikari') is painted on her chest.

Thread Link:

 

I groaned and rolled my neck on my shoulders, eyeing off the Commander like fresh meat for a crocodile. "Yeah, yeah, I am on it." I grunted and took aim for the Commander, skirting around the side to try and keep him away from Jonathan, and opening a spot for him to attack once the bodyguard was down. The Commander himself was on guard too, however, and watched my every movement, ready to guard against anything, as if it had a mind of its own. I scoffed at myself; I had been in this damn castle long enough to know that they almost did have a mind of their own.

As I skirted around the Commander, he quickly lost interest and swept away from me, only to extend a claw out to Jonathan, swiping at his shield and scraping a very tiny portion of his health away; thank god he was as tanky as he was, or we would have been in trouble. To catch the Commander's attention, I swung at the King violently. Loyal as ever, the bodyguard stepped in and I grinned, planting my foot down to stop the punch short. "Got you," I grunted and folded my fingers together like spears, my gauntlets glowing a furious red, and I struck.

One, two, three strikes into his body, with surgical precision like an acupuncture professional, chipping away at a large chunk of his health, dragging him into the yellow, and I stepped back cautiously, aware of a possible counter attack. "There, got the bastard," I grunted and readjusted the draconic helmet atop my head, peering at the wooden duo through the golden lenses. "One more hit should do him."

Getting some things re-evaluated for the new patch

Originals:

Dragon Amulet (Perfect T2 Lucky Charm): A bright sapphire, circular amulet, with a curled dragon embossed in the material. It hangs on a beady alabaster chain. (2 Recovery, 1 Combat Craft)

Apple Cider - Perfect Beverage (Vitality (x3): +9 EN): A large glass of a golden, fizzy cider brewed from the juice of a Fool's Apple, a golden-green apple with exceptionally soft flesh and an almost strawberry-sweet flavour.

New:

Dragon Amulet (Perfect T2 Lucky Charm): A bright sapphire, circular amulet, with a curled dragon embossed in the material. It hangs on a beady alabaster chain. (2 Recovery, 1 Evasion)

Apple Cider - Perfect Beverage (Vitality (x2): +4 EN, Loot Die: +1 LD): A large glass of a golden, fizzy cider brewed from the juice of a Fool's Apple, a golden-green apple with exceptionally soft flesh and an almost strawberry-sweet flavour.

Okay, thank you very much :) As for my Regen item... guess I'm just gonna have to get it re-crafted =_=

I raised my eyebrows underneath my helmet when Anemone mentioned I was not ready. I had a narky response prepared, before she raised her hands in my direction, projecting some kind of crimson aura over me, embracing me like a sanguine blanket. I could feel my gauntlets pulsating with power, as if feasting off of this aura. "A damage boost, huh? Sounds fun," I responded almost greedily, enjoying the strength my gauntlets were exuding. I turned back to the bull-faced guardian and fell into a low combat stance, to which the minotaur responded with a mighty, defiant snort, swinging his axe down into a two-handed grip in front of his waist. "Well, here goes," I grumbled to myself and set off, my steel boots clicking loudly against the concrete courtyard floor with each bounding step.

With yet another angry huff of putrid air, the minotaur raised his axe and called it down like a bolt of lightning towards my comparatively diminutive form. Halting sharply, I raised my arm to the blade of the axe and caught the golden edge on the thick ivory plating of my Vanishing Dragon, the axe leaving little more than a scratch and my health bar dropping little more than a pixel, before my Battle Healing activated and topped me back up. Grinning almost maniacally underneath my helmet, I slammed the palm of my free right hand against the flat of the axe, shoving it aside and into the concrete floor, before falling back into a low stance, my feet and right hand glowing a sinister purple. I launched a trio of kicks into the bull-man's left leg and torso, the force causing him to keel over, before my right hand swung down and through the back of his neck, the tell-tale flash of a critical exploding outwards as the strike decapitated the beast and shattered him into flitting sapphire shards.

From just across the courtyard I waved to Anemone and called out to her. "Come on! Let us move on!" I told her and backed up to the wall beside the entrance to what I assumed was the center of the labyrinth.

Regarding the changes to the Regen enhancement, if the effects don't stack with BH, then what happens when Regen is triggered? Because I've had both from before the patch, and the change to regen then renders one of the two useless to me.

In addition to that, I would like to know what happens to items with enhancements that have been removed (Combat Craft) or had their cost changed (Vitality).

"I apologize greatly, I wanted to make sure I did not lose you," I apologized to Anemone in the shadows, sighing to myself for not being a little more careful or subtle. I looked ahead down the corridor of blue flames; there were multiple turns in the wall down the corridor, as well as one more at the end. "Haha, yes, night vision would be incredibly useful right now," I agreed with a chuckle as we pushed on into the azure light. Blue, black, blue, black, the cycle of light continued to repeat itself with each step we took into the labyrinth, exploring the maze with nothing but raw instinct.

I was stunned into silence by loud rumbling, like a giant exhalation. I pressed my back heavily against the wall and motioned Anemone back as well. The corridor beside us widened into a large, square courtyard, and at the very end, a giant minotaur stood guard, shouldering his axe like some stoic sentinel. "Well, guess this is him. Wonder how tough he is, the quest never mentioned it," I sighed and stepped out into the courtyard, checking behind me to make sure Anemone was close by. I swept two fingers downwards though the air in front of me, tapping a few tabs to access my equipment. I equipped my armour and gauntlets, my body shimmering brightly momentarily before I emerged, clad in white dragon-like armour that glowed like the moon, and the sapphire spheres scattered across it glinted in the blue glow of the torches.

I peered behind me at Anemone, my helmet's golden eyes glimmering as I did. "You ready?" I asked her, smirking underneath my helmet.

"There are still many haters who blame them for the deaths we have suffered," I responded with a pained sigh, "I am not sure they will reveal themselves, in fear of the masses who point fingers to them," I groaned, and rubbed the back of my neck hopelessly. "The players do not realize it is because of the beta testers we are not all dead." I concluded and looked up at the player. "Go for it, if you need some questing tips I can help you out." I informed the boy with a wide smile. "When you get to the eleventh floor and above you can buy a house if you need," I added in response to his mention about an inn. I nodded to the boy as he gave his speech of leave and I saluted him. "See you around, and stay safe." I encouraged the player and watched him leave my company, before I headed off on my own way also.

---

Thread Rewards

Grave: 200 Col, 1 SP
Sey: 200 Col, 1 SP