Starrine

Starrine peered nervously at him as he propped himself up, reassuring her that he was fine. Bu-bump. Bu-bump. She feverishly willed her heart to stop pounding so hard; holding one hand to her chest as she tried to look at him. But the second the image of his face so close to hers appeared in her head, she fell back down to step one again, her face reddening at the thought. As soon as she'd regained some of her consciousnesses, the girl looked up to find his hand reached out for her. She hesitated a second too long, before reaching up and grabbing it, awkwardly quiet as she gripped it, allowing him to pull her up.

And then, absorbed in her thoughts, she'd realized that she hadn't let go of it. Once more pulling her hand away, her eyes swirled and a bead of sweat trickled down her temple, a nervous laugh sounding from her vocal cords. "Oh, woops, h-ha-haha," she spluttered, rubbing the back of her head. "I must have knocked my head," she spouted uselessly, not even realizing that her excuse was invalid because knocking her head on the ground wouldn't do anything in game, besides maybe knock her down a few HP. Only then did Starrine realize that they'd somewhat made a scene, a few groups of players here and there staring at them and giggling.

[[ Oh my god-- that was hilarious. I had to, as well hahaha! ]]

Just as she asked, the lake came into view. Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped as she stared at the shimmering, glowing lake, lit up perfectly by the moonlight. Taking a moment to take it all in, she swallowed thickly, not even realizing Koumori had walked down the hill. Finally coming to reality, she dashed down the hill at a speed she probably shouldn't have gone at. She stumbled, and with one miss-step, sent herself tumbling into Koumori, and both of them into a pile of snow. After a moment of laying face first in the snow, she sat up, laughing to her heart's content. "I'm -- phhahaha -- I'm sorry," she laughed, wiping away a tear from her eye, still spluttering in laughter as she looked down at her friend.

Oh. Wait. Down, at Koumori? Her face flushed a bright red immediately, and she pulled herself off of him as fast as she could, practically falling over again as she attempted to scuttle away. As she turned around to face him again, her mouth hung open, unsure of what to say, her cheeks remaining a bright pink. "U-uh, ahh.. Sorry.. about that, heh.. Are you okay?" She asked in an extremely embarrassed voice, sheepishly scratching her cheek with her pointer finger, laughing nervously to try and cover up the fact that her heart was pulsating out of her chest.

[[ If you thought that was funny, how about this? Haha! x'D ]]

Starrine nodded as he agreed again, saying it looked really nice. Smiling as they both walked towards the door, she quietly thanked him for holding it open for her, and stepped back out into the cold air. Once again wishing she had prepared warm clothing, the girl stared up into the snowing sky. It was eerily serene, with the darkened sky and falling snowflakes, yet.. not as cold as she had expected. As Koumori spoke again, she nodded quickly and followed after him, gingerly touching the shoulder he'd just patted, a weird look on her face. Gotta stop thinking like this, she thought quietly to herself as they walked, reaching up to pat her own cheeks.

Walking in the silence was a little weird, but oddly comforting in a way; she took happiness in the fact that they didn't have to talk to be comfortable in each other's presence. Starrine simply followed behind the boy, listening to the snow crunch under her feet. "I wonder how big the lake is." She wondered aloud, glancing at Koumori as she spoke. Rubbing her hands together to keep them warm, she glanced ahead, trying to calculate how far they still had to walk.

Finally glancing up to meet his gaze, she found him paused with his fork mid-mouth. Seeming to think for a moment, he swallowed, and agreed. Starrine's eyes lit up quite a bit, and she did some kind of happy little wiggle in her seat, a smile forming once more on her face. "Well, I heard some other players talking about Frostbite Lake when we walked in, and they said it looked really pretty at night.. Maybe we could go? I don't think it's far from here!" She said, pulling up her inventory and pulling out the little guidebook you could get for free at NPC shops. After flipping through the pages for a moment, Starrine seemed to focus on one page, scanning it thoroughly before she looked up. She slid the book across the table to him, showing a page with information on the lake, as well as where it was. Not too far from where they were at now. Starrine looked up hopefully, some of the original sparkle back in her eyes.

[[ Awesome, haha! ]]

Sure, the guy was quite arrogant, but he was pretty funny and once you saw through his teasing, pretty nice, as well. She wouldn't mind sticking around him for a bit longer. He brought out a side of her that anyone rarely saw; she wasn't usually so playful or straightforward. It was fun, to say the least, being in the presence of this guy. "Treat me like royalty?" Starrine suggested in a joking voice, glad to be able to joke with someone in this death game. Plus, for once, her level didn't matter. She let out a nearly inaudible sigh of relief, a smile still forming on her lips.

Saying the first thing that popped into her head, "will do, prince," she paused, as if realizing what she'd just implied, and then glanced away in embarrassment, hoping that he wouldn't notice. Clearing her throat, she nodded, tugging on his arm a bit, trying to brush it off with a laugh. "Lead the way," she agreed, prepared for the long walk down the mountain. She quietly wondered where they'd be going, but didn't worry much about it.

"Ahh, it is a really nice english word, isn't it? Hmm.. My favorite is probably the word serene." Starrine laughed, feeling a bit more welcome as she replied quickly. However, after that, she seemed to take her time responding to her question. Taking advantage of the darkness to hide her embarrassed face, she scolded herself for asking so weirdly; Gahh, I'm probably creeping her out now! She thought uselessly, exhaling a soft sigh. But then.. she agreed? Starrine couldn't help but light up a bit. "A-alright! Follow me!" She said with a sheepish giggle, pushing herself off of the ground and walking ahead, making sure that Glory kept up, as to not leave her behind.

After a few minutes of quiet walking, they broke through a patch of small trees, which opened up to a moonlit clearing; the clearing sloped upwards like a hill, and then tapered off slightly at the edge, ending in a little steep cliff that broke off to a small valley below; even if you fell, you would only suffer some minor fall damage. Starrine inhaled a soft breath of surprise; it was even better than she'd remembered it during the day. With the moon lighting up the tip of the cliff, and a soft breeze blowing through the undergrowth, it seemed oddly peaceful; much different from the wandering streets. Plus, considering it was hidden behind such a thick patch of trees, she was sure not many had found it, and even if they had, they'd probably moved on to a higher level, considering that even during the day, no one had been on the lone hill.

"Well.. Here we are!"

Starrine took another bite of her food; she was nearly done with it, the way she was eating to intently, instead of doing something else. Her amber eyes scooted upwards slightly when he spoke again, and she made a little surprised noise. "Woah, really? What are the chances?" She laughed a bit, crossing her legs neatly under the table. Starrine ate a spoonful of rice to calm her burning tongue, Glancing upwards a bit awkwardly, she twiddled her thumbs again, a nervous habit. "Ah.. You know.. I don't really want to go home yet.. Do you think we could, uh, g-go somewhere else?" She stuttered cutely, staring at her now-empty plate. Every once in awhile, she glanced up to see if he would. She didn't want to force him, of course, and she was sure he was just as tired as she was; but, the truth was, she just.. didn't want to leave and be alone, just yet.

[[ Haha it's fine. c: Did'ja sleep well? ]]

Koumori seemed to be thinking about something, sitting just as quietly as she was for a few moments. Smiling a bit as he told her he'd hold her to it, she nodded. Finally succeeding in pushing away her own thoughts, she was finally able to look him in the eye again, slightly lifting her head to do so. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the boy sitting in front of her, and she wondered why it wouldn't stop. Practically groaning internally, she wrung her hands together, trying to think of what to say to break the silence. Starrine resisted the urge to open her mouth and say something stupid, and instead paused to hear him speak. "Ahh, really? I'm sixteen now," she said with a still slightly shy smile, getting over the awkwardness. Well, a little. Realizing she'd been staring at him for a bit too long, she glanced down at her plate of food. "If it's okay to ask, how old are you?" The long haired girl asked, lifting her hand to eat another spoonful of curry.

[[ Looking forward to it, haha! I'm pretty sleepy so I might go to bed soon, so if I disappear you know why. c: ]]

Starrine continued to peer at the sky as she shifted uncomfortably, occasionally glancing at the shy-looking girl next to her. "Glory.. that's a pretty name," she said after a moment, giggling a bit to perhaps try and make her more comfortable. She looked like she was itching to run off; however, Starrine wasn't the greatest at socializing with strangers, either. To be honest, she wasn't even sure why she'd approached Glory in the first place. "Does it..?" She murmured to herself, examining the moon a bit closer. "I guess it does, doesn't it?" She laughed a bit; it'd been awhile since they'd gotten trapped in the death game, so she wasn't really surprised she hadn't come to that conclusion quicker.

Of course, she'd noticed the girls overloaded stuttering as soon as she spoke, and wondered how to calm her down a bit. The girl twirled a piece of hair in her hand, trying to think of something to say. "Oh, u-um.. There's a hill on the edge of town, I bet you could see it even better from there.. W-want to go?" She asked, trying to hide her own stutters through a cheerful smile. It was clear that she was quite nervous as well, but didn't really want to give up on talking to this strange girl.

Starrine shifted uncomfortably in her seat, but showed no sign of saying anything about her thoughts. Finally calming down a bit as she took a bite of her curry, she glanced upwards, gaze fixated on him as he stared to the side, face still red. As soon as he turned back, she immediately averted her eyes, suddenly very focused on eating the curry she'd been served. As he spoke again, she shyly looked up, cheeks still hazed with pink from the earlier situation. "..I don't know, u-um.. If you come up with something, tell me, and I'll promise you." She suggested, her voice unsure as she took another bite of her food. Shuffling her feet underneath the table, she turned her gaze once more to the dark window, clearing her throat awkwardly. The more she looked at him the more she felt embarrassed at her pink cheeks, so for now she decided to look at something oh-so-interesting outside the window.

[[ Done! She's now 16, haha. Hmm. Probably totally aware but completely unsure of what to do, haha. I'd love to hear what he's thinking and stuff, pffhaha! xD ]]

Starrine nodded in agreement as the blacksmith spoke, watching as he shook Rainia's hand as well. "Dinner sounds great; let's go look for some place!" She said excitedly, nodding all official-like to herself, walking out of the little canvas tent and gesturing for the two to follow her. "What are you guys hungry for?" She asked as she glanced over her shoulder, amber eyes bright and friendly. She herself wasn't picky, and liked quite a variety of food.

The streets had calmed down quite a bit, now that evening had settled on the village. Looking around now, it was quite a bit more easy to find shops and restaurants. "There's a diner over there, and I think a curry place on the opposite side," Starrine said, pointing towards two buildings a little ways down the road.

Starrine watched him carefully, kind of holding her breath as she waited for him to speak again. When his face grew red, she had the same realization. Oh gosh; she'd totally been holding a guys' hand, Koumori's hand at that, for a long time.. Her face grew bright pink, and she began fiddling with her thumbs, blinking her wide, amber eyes. She was sure if she spoke, she would start stuttering. It was a weird thing to think about after her breakdown, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. She glanced up at him, slightly surprised when she also found his face a bright red. Had he been thinking the same thing?

As he finally spoke again, she willed the pink on her cheeks to go away; to no avail, however. "W-well, then what if I make you a promise, instead?" Starrine mumbled, glancing up at him, her voice a bit shy as she spoke. Just then, their food arrived, and she quietly thanked the waitress, poking quietly at the food on her plate.

[[ I can't wait to see all of his reactions, haha! x'D And of course, the ending will be worth it, though. No matter who he chooses, hehe. uvu Or if one of them backs off.. I'm thinking Glory and Starrine are going to be good friends as well, too, so this'll be.. different, ahaha! I'm also thinking about bumping Starrine down a year or two since everyone's younger than her. o: ]]

Starrine's brows lifted slightly as he spoke again. Wow, he actually does have some empathy, she thought humorously, glancing his way. "It makes me feel like a princess," she joked with a hearty laugh, "now, your highness, on the other hand.." Starrine giggled, sort of intrigued by his confidence; not many could keep their head held that high in this world. It was.. a nice change, however. It wasn't often that she found an over-confident person she actually liked being around, while in Aincrad.. Well, things were different here.

"I've got a good pair of legs, sir" she replied, still laughing a bit. Starrine paused as he held his arm out, kind of confused as what she were to do with it for a moment. Was this normal? She shrugged, and decided to roll with it, hooking her arm with his, a small grin making it's way to her face. "Off we go, then!" The black haired girl laughed, glancing upwards at him.

[[ Considering making her one year younger, since most of the people she's meeting is below her age. o; ]]

Starrine held her breath, obviously in mental pain. She quickly wiped away the tear that had managed to streak its way down her cheek, and gulped, embarrassed that she'd allowed herself to cry in front of him. And that she'd spouted out all of her thoughts at the time; how careless. He was probably uncomfortable now; she mentally scolded herself and closed her eyes, trying to regain her footing on her personality. But it hurt; coming to terms with all of those thoughts was difficult, and she knew she'd never be able to truly overcome them.

As he grabbed her hands, her eyes shot open, and she almost immediately broke again; forcing back a hiccup, she felt her eyes grow watery again. She let out a stifled sob as he spoke, and nodded, trying her best to calm herself down. Pink-cheeked and teary, she swallowed thickly, and slowly pulled her hands away from him. Rubbing her eyes, she smiled softly, brokenly, holding herself in a fragile manner. Exhaling a deep breath, she finally met his gaze again, making sure she was fully composed before she started speaking again. "I.. think you just proved.. my point, about you being nicer than you know.." She took another deep breath, trying to keep her composure as she continued speaking, "Thank you for being here.. and comforting me. I feel a lot better now.." Starrine said slowly, exhausted now, not only from her outbreak of emotions, but from earlier's events, as well. Being near this boy was.. strange; oddly comforting, but painful in a way. "Hey.. don't die, okay? If you're here, I think.. someday I can find the reason I'm looking for."

[[ Pffhaha, I see! >v< Don't worry, I don't mind setting up Starrine for some heartbreak. c:< ]]

"Aren't they?" A feminine voice replied, a black haired girl staring up at the bright moon with a smile. Turning her head to the girl who'd spoken before, she blinked, eyes adjusting to the darker form pressed against a statue. Tilting her head, and stepping forward to get a better look at the girl, she wiggled down into a spot beside her. Wahh... She's really cute, Starrine thought to herself, holding a hand to her mouth as she glanced at the small girl; well, she said small, but she was about the same height as her. "H-hi, I'm Starrine," she said softly, trying not to stare; she was the type of cute that made her want to be gentle with everything she did; including speaking.

Clearing her throat, she gestured to the sky, "A-ah, um, the sky.. It's pretty, right?" She laughed gently, neatly tucking her hands into her lap after arranging her dress into a more comfortable position. Only then did she realize how strange she was, approaching a random lone girl at night. Normally, that'd be pretty creepy; if she wasn't also a girl, with good intentions.

Starrine cocked her head, her hands still intertwined as she stared up at him, eyes fixated daringly on his own. The edges of her lips moved upwards into a pleased smile, somewhat satisfied with herself as he said that she was a tad pleasant to converse with. Allowing a small laugh to escape her mouth, she shrugged her shoulders, fluttering her eyelashes once more. "Well, sir Zelrius, you're fun to talk to, as well," she said with a giggle, putting emphasis on the word sir. She wasn't usually this straightforward with people, but it seemed like the right approach for this one in particular.

Lifting her brows as he continued speaking, stepping towards her again, Starrine followed his every movement. "Hmm.. Well, I have nothing better to do and you asked me nicely, so I'd be glad to oblige. Lead the way!" She said with a smile, nodding and gesturing for him to lead the way. Starrine wondered where they'd be going; but anywhere seemed entertaining enough with this guy. It was fun to speak to him; normally she'd be a stuttering mess, but he just seemed very.. familiar, in some kind of sense.

Though Starrine didn't look it, she actually kept deep thoughts locked away deep inside; she didn't often speak on them, however, making her seem like a childish, arrogant girl. Especially since she came to this world, she found herself thinking more and more about, well, just everything in general. The first few days in this game were just a lonely, cold place. During that time she'd decided to do her best to get out, but.. Once she got out, what would happen? Would these days all disappear? She didn't want that to happen, but.. She slowly reached out a hand, touching the window's cold glass. "I get scared when I'm alone.." she admitted in a quiet voice. "I think.. if I die alone, will anyone remember me? How long will it take for someone to notice that I'm not around anymore..?" Starrine whispered, gripping her hands together tightly.

She turned to Koumori, her eyes shiny. "I.. I really, really don't want to die, Koumori.." She whispered, her voice cracking a bit. "I bet our bodies are somewhere in a hospital, rotting away. What if we.." She couldn't bring herself to say it. She bit her bottom lip to force herself to stay calm, and focused too hard on the empty table. Taking a deep breath, she slowly looked back up, a single tear rolling down her right cheek. "I'm really happy I got to spend today with you."

[[ Take your time! uvu ]]

The dark haired girl laughed at his smart comment, allowing herself to relax a bit. "I suppose so. If you want, I can be quiet too!" She offered with a polite, just barely mocking smile. "Just ask and I'll oblige." Starrine crossed her arms neatly, and gently kicked away a small stone at her feet. Lifting her amber eyes once more to meet his, she listened with interest as he introduced himself. "Zelrius.." She repeated, trying to get a hold on its pronunciation. It was a strange name. Azure Brigade? She was sure it was probably some type of guild, but being a solo player, she didn't really keep track of guild names. Level fourty, however, did cause her eyes to widen a bit. So far, this was the highest leveled player she'd ever met.

"..Impressive," she said after a few moments, gaze fixated on his neat blade. Tightening the bow on her dress, she looked up the showoff, giggling a bit at the fact that if he'd just repeated that to someone in real life, they'd have thought he was a huge MMO nerd with pride issues. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Zelrius. I hope you won't mind talking to a low level like me," she said with a genuine smile, peering up at him as if daring him to make another comment.

Starrine watched patiently as he looked through the menu, and looked up to give his order, with only a bit of hesitance. Leaning back in her set as the waitress left, she set her hands on her lap. "No string beans, eh? I feel the same way," she said, making a grossed-out face, and then giggling. Twirling a piece of her hair in her hand, she tilted her head, listening intently as he spoke again. "Hmm.." She glanced out the window as it snowed, thinking for a moment. She looked a bit dull as he mentioned the second thing about cheating, and lifted her hand to her necklace, feeling the gem in the middle.

".. I want to make something of my time here. I feel like.. I'm searching for something.. no, anything real in this world. I just want to find that thing," She replied, a distant look on her face as she stared out of the window. As if realizing what she just said, she blushed in embarrassment, turning her head to look at him once more. "Ahh, um.." She blinked, rather lost for words at she stared at her hands, now resting in her lap again.

"This place is really cozy, huh?" She asked as she followed in, her amber eyes scanning the surrounding area with interest. Starrine followed him to the table, and sank onto the set across from him. Snuggling down into the cushioned seat, she rubbed her arms as they heated up. It wasn't stiflingly warm, but nice enough that when you walked in, you immediately began to loose the cold from the outside. Starrine glanced up at Koumori, and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

"Hello, what can I get you?" The NPC waitress asked, handing them two little booklets, which Starrine guessed were menus. She opened up her own, and after a few moments of scanning the pages, Starrine glanced up. "Uh.. I'll just have some spicy curry," she said with a smile, handing her menu back to the NPC. She enjoyed spicy food, and it was one of the cheapest things in there, as well. "Alright, and you, sir?" Both girls turned to look at Koumori.

She watched him smile and say he had fun; then proceeded to say that he wasn't that great. She shook her head, and laughed a bit, returning to her original self quickly. "That's what you think," she said with a little grin, and then spun around, her back to him. She'd spent the past few years alone at home with her brother on her birthday, so even if she was in this death game, it was.. better. Stretching her hands out behind her back, she nodded. "Oh, right! We passed a little restaurant on the way here; I saw it while I was looking for the snowman's arms," she laughed. "I'm not sure what they sell there, but it looked like it wasn't expensive. C'mon, I'll show you!" Starrine said, making a gesture for him to follow her. Starrine walked ahead, making sure that Koumori kept up with her. Finally pausing in front of a little quaint looking cabin, she peered at the sign on the wall. "This is the place," she said, pulling open the door for him, this time. Even standing on the other side of the door, she immediately felt the heat of the little building rush out into the cold, evening air.

Starrine didn't move as he stepped forward, and kept a cool face as he ran a hand through his hair, and began speaking. A bit confused as he went off on a tangent about.. complimenting name, she lifted her brows and adjusted her footing, flattening out the wrinkles on her dress. As he met her gaze evenly, he seemed to examine her, think something, and then push the thought away, resuming his bored stare again. Lifting her hand to push a strand of hair behind her ear, the girl placed one hand on her hip, staring up at him with a small smile.

"Well, I was fighting those bug monsters, but decided to take a break. Hence the tree," she said, gesturing towards the tree with a little laugh. "Plus it's nice and quiet up here." Her amber orbs softened for a moment. Forgetting it entirely, she paused. Leaning a bit forward, a tad too close in his personal space, she wrapped her fingers around eachother, tucking them behind her back. "You know.." she began, gaze lifting to meet his blue ones, "you usually give your own name after a lady tells you hers." She said with a teasing giggle, leaning back again as to not make him too uncomfortable.

[[ Ohh, I see! o: I only read a few chapters of the light novels, so I'm not sure, haha. ]]

Starrine fiddled around with her hands as she waited for him to pull the camera up, occasionally glancing at him to see if he'd gotten it. Once the little diamond appeared, he moved into his place, doing the traditional peace sign. She nodded as he gestured her over, and trotted over, leaving behind footprints in the newly fallen snow. As she smiled and held up a peace sign as well, she took a deep breath. "Alright.. Start timer!" The girl said with only a moment's hesitation. The picture snapped with an audible click after a few seconds, and she puffed a breath into the chilling air. "Done!" She said with a light grin, walking back over to see the picture.

As she looked at the picture, she giggled a bit. Looking up rather shyly at Koumori, she pulled on the brim of her dress. Glancing up to meet his gaze, and then quickly looking back down, she wrapped the fabric around one of her fingers, not covered by the fingerless gloves. "Ah.. um, thank you for spending today with me, Koumori. I'm really, really happy that you talked to me today." She said, smiling with an unusual amount of genuine sincerity. You could tell just by looking at her that she was honestly happy; tired, yes, but really happy. She coughed, and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "You're really nice, y'know?" Just then, she had an idea. With two fingers, she pulled up her menu, and opened up the friends tab and sent a request.

Alert

Become friends with Starrine?

O yes          X no

Starrine peered up, eyes following Koumori as he reached up to decorate the snowman's face. She stared up at their huge work of 'art' and sighed happily. It looked perfect; this was the best snowman she'd ever seen; well, not including the ones real artists made in the real world. She tucked her hands into the folds of her dress, attempting to warm them up somewhat in the fabric. Starrine glanced up at him as he spoke, and she tilted her head. "Really? I'd love to!" She said with a bright grin, straightening herself up and stepping over near the snowman. "How do you do it?" She asked, lifting her brows and lifting her arms in a confused shrug; she'd heard something about picture taking before, but never really looked into it. She assumed Koumori knew how, since he'd mentioned it.

I actually recently asked Tristan about that, and this is what he said! c: