Itzal

Hey everyone! I've got a request for anyone who's interested

I've been working on writing my own language (for personal, fun, and career use), and so far it's going well. I've got a font (still working on numbers though), most of the grammar and rules are fairly cemented, and while there isn't even 1% of the words in the english dictionary translated, I do have a good amount set up. What I'm needing help with, and this is where the request/favor comes in, is one to two additional people who are willing to learn this language alongside me. The reason I'm asking this is because I learn best when I'm actively doing it. And while I may be writing the words, I'm not using them in everyday conversation, which makes it hard for me to memorize. Having other people to speak my language to, and hear back from them in the same language, would make the learning process far, far more easy for me.

So, if anyone is willing to help me out with this project, please contact me to let me know!

There were many things people often tended to regret. Actions, rejections, turning down offers. Most people would be haunted by their decisions, and some even eaten up by said regret as the years went on. Itzal however, didn't really linger on regret. Most of the time he chose to nip it in the bud before it could fester, as he was planning to do now. Other times he would just acknowledge that what was done, was done, and move on to either correct a mistake, or do better. In this instance, he was acknowledging that, while he had been attempting to help during the boss meeting, he may have stirred some unwanted aggression between himself and a few others. He wasn't going to take his words back. Not only could he not take his words back as they had already been released, but he couldn't take back words he believed in. He was upset with Hidden and Cordelia in particular for egging on the girl to go ahead and take such a life threatening role like it was a game. Pride before life kind of thing. They needed to treat this world like the kind of world it was: A world of life or death.

Them aside, he did acknowledge that his words might have made Zajcica feel worse. He doubted she'd want to listen to him, given how shy she appeared to be during the meeting and his... Appearance and attitude. And the player who almost exploded as he pointed dagger eyes at him he doubted would listen either. He seemed pretty pissed with Itzal's choice of words, save for his closing statement of "move on already". The host of the meeting however. Baldur. His good friend as Itzal, and hopefully his friend as Are as well, would be willing to talk with him. Of course, Itzal couldn't exactly ask him via messages if he would be willing to talk as that would give up his identity. So he did the next best thing.

He used the tracking skill.

Baldur was in the forest on one of the islands of the sixteenth floor. It was a beautiful scenery and very peaceful too if you were high enough level, as the monsters tended to avoid you at that point. Was he here to relax? Let off some steam and cool down? Or just having a day off? Either way, Itzal was closing in on him. He eventually spotted the samuai and smiled before whispering to Aldion to go on ahead. He'd rather the man be signaled that someone was approaching than be surprised by a sudden presence. So Aldion, his black raven, glided from Itzal over to Baldur. If the man lifted a hand for Aldion to land on, he would gladly sit on his hand. Otherwise Aldion would land on his shoulder. Once he did so, Itzal would quietly step out from the shadows of the forest. "A fine spot to visit." He commented. Letting the Samurai speak, hoping to gauge what the man's impression was on 'are' now that they were alone.

@Baldur

"Now then... What to do today..." Itzal said aloud to Aldion as they made their way through town towards the gates. "We could go look at some scenery. Or maybe just take a walk through nature. Or both. Or perhaps you want to spend some time at some popular sites?" There were plenty of places they could go to in order to relax. Many varieties of beautiful scenery such as waterfalls and lakes, clifftops overlooking vast rich green forests. Those brought back some pleasant memories too. Including time he spent with his friends. Hestia and Kasier, Morgenstern and Mossino, Birdie and Mina, and many others. He smiled sadly as he remembered his time with his friends who were now dead, lost, or simply distant nowadays. Aldien caught onto his nostalgia and longing and nuzzled against him. This of course lightened his mood a little bit and chuckled. "Thank you Aldion... That is much appreciated." He stroked Aldion's head, neck and between his shoulders which he enjoyed. However the little raven bird's own mood had fallen considerably fast. Itzal frowned in concern as the bird began to get all fidgety, beginning to pace back and forth on his shoulder while looking in multiple directions. He even cawed a few times, concern in it's cry. Aldion hadn't done that before, but he was guessing that the bird had noticed something he felt he should check out. "...Alright buddy, I trust you. Go scout whatever it is out. I'll wait for you when you get back."

Aldion had greater hearing than Itzal did, and farther sight. The black raven nodded it's head at the black rogue and cawed it's thanks before hopping off his shoulder, opening it's wings and taking to the air. It flew through the alleyways, darting left and right as it looked for it's target. It wasn't mean, it didn't seem to be mean anyways. But it didn't go away like Aldion had hoped. Aldion couldn't get it to leave, so maybe his master could get it to leave. Eventually the creature managed to find the plaza in which the event was being hosted. Everyone was gone by now. Figures, it seemed to have quiet down. It looked in the surrounding alleyways next, flying around until it spotted two suspicious figures. It was there, along with another. Aldion landed on a lamp hanging off of the building as he listened quietly. He wasn't listening to their words, he hadn't learned their language all that well. No, he was listening to their tones. The new thing was creepy, and gave off a sinister vibe with it's sound. It however seemed to be carefree and calm. Aldion considered whether he should lead them to his master so he could send them away, or if he shou- nah he'd lead them to his master. Master could handle this. So he cawed several times to get their attention before gliding down the alleyway and taking a turn.

@Nightingale

Itzal stopped moving as he stood in front of the arch where Able took his position in the middle. Itzal looked at @Morgenstern and was confused at first, when he realized his friend didn't know what he was supposed to do. Acting quickly, he opened his menu and sent him a quick message. Technically there were more duties of a best man, but given the fact that there wasn't too much to really set up for the wedding, it wasn't too important.

As he waited for his friend to read the message he continued to look at the newcomers. He was.. A little surprised to see Shield there. Not because he didn't like the man or anything like that, but because he was unaware that he and Zandra were good friends. However despite this surprise, he would give a genuine smile and a small wave to him. The two may not have been entirely close, agree on everything, and not really seen much of each other, but he was still a Celestial Ascendant survivor, and thus still family. She didn't tell him who she'd be inviting after all. @Macradon however, he kind of saw coming. He smiled as he watched the man walk towards his seat, wearing a garment from his days as a knight of the blood oath. Warm memories returned to him as he thought of that guild. Not of the guild itself, or most of it's members, but of his first meeting with Macradon. Itzal already had a bad impression of the guild, but Macradon had given him hope for that group. He was unlike the others. Honorable, humble, compassionate, empathetic. He was someone you could befriend right on the spot, and trust just as easily. Itzal was happy that Macradon was here today. When their eyes met, Itzal would give the man an acknowledging nod with a smile on his face.

After Morgenstern reached Itzal he smiled brightly. They didn't have much time to talk however, as before long music began to start playing. Specifically the music he picked out himself for when the bride... His bride. @Zandra. Would be walking down the aisle.

Itzal stood a bit more straight and took in a deep breath.

As Felix finished discussing things with Able, he heard footsteps approaching. Turning to see who it was, his face lit up when his eyes made contact with Mina. "Mina! Hey!" He didn't simply wave to her. Far from it. He ran over to close the distance and gave her a big hug. "It's been a long time! How've you been! Oh wait, you changed your hair?" He backed up out of the hug and looked at her with refreshed eyes. "Ah, not just the hair, you changed your image too. Looks good Mina. Oh hey Akame! How've you been?" He asked with a smile, petting the creature. He wished her and Aldion could meet, but.. Well that would be a dead givaway that he was actually Are. Instead Aldion remained completely hidden from view. Present, but not detectable. He looked back up to Mina and his smile began to falter slightly. There was something off about her. Was it... What was it? Fear? Anxiety? Doubt? The thought of talking to her flashed across his mind, but he knew this wasn't the time. He'd need to catch up later, when the atmosphere was different. So instead, he smiled. "It's good to see you again Mina."

The next person to arrive was Baldur, and the young man grinned again. He approached his friend and reached out to give a firm handshake. "Thanks for coming Baldur. It's good to see you here again." It had been a long trip for Itzal. Starting out as a naive scout wanting the perfect world. Trying desperately to grind and get stronger, strong enough to fight beside each and every frontliner. Only to reach that strength and find out it wasn't as it appeared to be. To start by admiring and being inspired by Baldur, to fighting beside him as comrades, to now seeing him as a good friend.

Morgenstern was the third to arrive, and Itzal gleamed when he saw his friend greet Mina. He walked up behind him and patted his shoulder. "Long time no see Jonathan. How've you been man?" Three of the four remaining members of the Celestial Ascendants. Hikoru had seemingly vanished without a trace, which left them and Shield. He felt a comforting warmth, standing next to the people who stood with him for so very long. He could only hope, that he wouldn't lose them too. "You've been one of my closest friends since forever Jonathan. Almost since my big start. There's no competition for best man in my book. No one else fits the bill." He turned to see Calrex approaching before chuckling. "Alright, I'm going to go greet Calrex real quick. I'll see you up by the altar man!"

He approached Calrex. This man, had been an idol for Itzal for so very very long. He didn't really seem to appear too much, save for every floor battle. But his strength, determination, compassion, and leadership had inspired Itzal. Everything he did was to grow to be like the strength Calrex had become. "Hey Calrex! Glad you could make it! How's Teayre?" He hadn't seen her much, but he didn't see her name on the monument lately, so he knew she was still alive. Before they could talk for very long however, Able waved over to him. "Ah, sorry, we'll catch up later. Ceremony's gonna start soon. Hey Jonathan, follow me real quick. I forgot to explain what you'll be doing. It's not much so don't worry too much ha ha!"

Taking a silent breath of relief before smiling, he nodded in acknowledgement to Oscar and graciously took the food buff from the man. He began to consume his food, taking a bit more time than the other player, whose name to him was still a mystery. As well as the other blue haired girl. Noticing the harsh look the man was giving his girlfriend however, his smile turned to a frown. "There's no need for ill feelings. Lots of players hide their true strength when attempting to blend in, befriend, or train others. Of course, there are also those who use it as a front to lower another's guard before moving in for the kill, but if you're a good judge of character that becomes less effective." As he finished eating the meal Oscar had provided them, watching the remaining particles that formed the dish shatter upon being finished, he turned to the others. Lessa... Where did he know that name? He didn't just see it or hear about it somewhere, he somehow knew that name. But how? With his consumables taken care of, Itzal stood up. "For those who haven't exactly met me yet, my name is Are. I'd like to know your names before the dungeon begins." He would wait patiently as he hears their names and burns them in his memory. Once they shared, Itzal will give another nod. "Alright. My initial movements in the coming fights will be to activate the surprise attack mod as well as charge. On my second round I'll have decided which debuff I should use and activate it before going on the offensive again." He looked at Oscar. "Since you were the one who organized this party, I'll take your lead." And with that Itzal activated his hide skill as he walked into the shadows.

ID# 171832  LD: 11+5  =  Stealth Roll of 16

With the last of the decorations on the arch taken care of, now that Able was being quiet and merely observing calmly, Itzal backed up and brushed the dust off his suit. "Alright, it's all done. Now we just wait for the guests to arrive." Zandra had done most of the invites, since... Well... Most of Itzal's friends had either vanished off the face of the earth, were somewhat distant with him now, or died. The only people he was friends with who were still around were Morgenstern and Mina. There were a few people he knew who weren't bad, but he wasn't good friends with them either. The prime examples of these were Fearx and Domarus. Both were enemies of his at one point (Domarus more so Hestia's enemy than Fearx) but they both buried their past and were trying to be better. Still, they weren't close enough to be invited to the wedding. He did mention it to them still, and both had declined. Domarus said he wouldn't because he needed to stay with Keres, and Fearx felt it would be best if he didn't appear in public before Morgenstern or Mina just yet. He had a feeling they wouldn't take too kindly to him... "Oh lord I'm anxious... Where's Jonathan though? The best man should be here before the wedding starts you'd think.."

The menu on Itzal's account beeped, notifying him of someone in the vicinity thanks to his search skill, which he typically had active whenever he wasn't doing anything that required his concentration. Only he heard the sound of course, as it was his skill and menu, so it was an extremely useful feature. He looked in the direction of the newcomer ( @ChaseR ) and spotted a blue haired player with equally blue eyes. The first thing he said was a mutter, so he couldn't hear what he said, but what he said next was clearly directed to Zandra. His comment also caused Itzal to raise his right eyebrow, though only Zandra would be capable of seeing it. All the newcomer would see was a blanket of black mist that covered his face under the cowl. "It's unwise to judge another's skills without any prior knowledge or evidence of what they are like, or what they are capable of. Always assume they are stronger until you know otherwise." Bias words of course, but everyone was bias in their own right. Itzal was bias in the sense that he faced player killers on a daily basis, so he practiced that kind of thinking, focusing on recon until he knew who his target was and how strong/intelligent they were. After addressing him, Itzal took the potion @Zandra offered and smiled to her before consuming it, increasing his damage by three. Aldion only glanced at the newcomer, but then looked in another direction and cawed.

Itzal turned to see yet another player walk into the area. While Aldion's detection was far less significant than Itzal's search skill, it was an incredibly useful resource. Aldion was always on red alert, even if Itzal was having a conversation, so he would always alert him to someone approaching or charging. Even in a fight, knowing an attack was incoming even a second or two before it struck could help him avoid a disaster. This newcomer ( @Haine )... Also had blue hair and eyes. What the? He knew they weren't twins, he just couldn't believe the coincidence. To her question he gave a nod. "These are the coordinates the announcement gave." After her he watched yet another woman approach, again as Aldion gave yet another cry. The blonde woman who walked towards them however caused Itzal's eyes to narrow in deep thought... Did he know this woman from somewhere? Maybe... But maybe not. She didn't address him though, which made sense, and thus he did not address her either.

Second day of crafting. Itzal was working hard and almost tirelessly to get this task done. He had a large quota to fill with very minimal time. He couldn't deal much damage at all to any monster, let alone a floor boss, so DoTs and debuffs were his strongest area... Well just debuffs, seeing as how the last time he fought a floor boss with DoTs his luck was non existent... Quite literally. However, this time, with Zandra at his side. Maybe things would be different this time around. However mulling over potential futures wasn't getting him anywhere, and wouldn't give the front lines any progression either. At any rate he got to work, Aldion watching with interest as he played the songs and crafted the items. He got three perfects and three rares today, which was awesome... But no masterpieces this time around. Well he had perfects in case plan a failed at least.

Crafted:

x3 Rare
x3 Perfect

MAT lost: -6 T1 MAT
EXP Gained: 57

Itzal had NO time to waste. The raid was happening in a few days, and he needed to craft as many usable debuff songs as he possibly could in that allotted time. From what they told him, the actual boss would likely use the bodies of living or dead as it's own puppets. They had no idea how many 'puppets' this thing could possess in the boss fight, but Itzal knew that his debuffs wouldn't affect them all. If it was a masterpiece, it would affect either one instantly, or everyone within the vicinity. If the boss only possessed one at a time, then mass masterpiece would be useless. In that case, only the instant masterpiece would likely do anything at all. With that in mind, he got to work. Today, he managed to successfully craft a perfect, two rares and a rare masterpiece. But no perfect masterpiece yet. That was fine, he'd get there soon. Putting away all of the consumables he'd managed to craft, he pressed on to the next task for the day.

Results:

x1 Perfect
x1 Rare Masterpiece
x2 Rare
x1 Uncommon Masterpiece
x3 Uncommon
-8 T1 materials
+69 EXP

Itzal's Stats

Most people who were 'normal' spent their mornings sleeping in, heading to work (or crafting in Aincrad terms), out questing, adventuring, hitting the marketplace, and other ordinary, almost natural tasks. Felix, was not one of those people. His sense of normal was waking up, taking a shower, and gearing up to spar with the slime monsters that he generated in the backyard of his house. Able to design them in almost every detail, the humanoid slimes were set to the highest difficulty, or highest AI level, with their hands shaped like weapons such as spears, swords, axes and the like. Each round he spawned another monster and would always retry the round at least three times before he either gave up for the day, or beat the round and moved on to the next one. Itzal had just finished his third round with the slimes, watching the last one shatter into crystals when he heard the ping of his menu which popped up before him. He really wished he could set it so that it only pinged him and didn't just materialize before him all the time. He didn't want people looking over his shoulder to see what he'd received. At least he was quick at closing the menu before anyone could get a good look. That was something.

Quote

To: Itzal
From: @Zandra

" Hi, Im with Oscar and gonna try this new dungeon. Wanna check it out?"

Oscar huh? He had to think about who that could have been, but when he remembered the name, he immediately became worried. He was the player who nearly tossed him out the window during the boss meeting with his glare alone. No doubt because he added to the pile of the discussion that was focused on Zajcica. If he was the kind of person to hold a grudge, he most certainly would make things rather interesting for Itzal. Of course, he knew he was going to have to face people who hated him at some point, so better do it now rather than later when that bitterness had time to grow. He wanted to nip the bud as soon as humanly possible. "Aldion. Come over here. We're taking an expedition." To this comment, the black raven tilted it's head in confusion. Itzal hadn't used the word Expedition with him yet, so the clever familiar knew that he was about to learn. Itzal would call dungeons, labyrinths and events expeditions, while the floor boss fights he would call raids. At any rate Itzal held his arm up and Aldion flew onto it, crawling closer to the shoulder until he was able to drop the arm. With that, Itzal made his way to the teleporter pad.

Upon arriving at the tenth floor, surrounded by the glowing fungi and giant glowing crystals which tended to make up his song materials, Itzal made his way towards the Stygian river. He never liked the fact that they had Greek themed mythology on a floor that... Really wasn't Greek. In fact, there was an ENTIRE FLOOR dedicated to the Greek culture, and Kayaba chose to put the river Styx on this random floor. From what he heard from rumors and stories, the floor boss was a Hydra? And one of the quests had you fight Cerebus, which was stupid. Too random in his opinion. With his stealth skill active and keeping to the shadows, this plus his incredibly high level warded off any and all monsters that might have tried to fight him. It was always funny for Itzal to walk to a lower floor and find every monster with pink cursors over their heads. Always brought a chuckle to him.

Soon enough he'd reached the river, which always grew and shrank over time. Well not as much shrink, more like 'reset', but still. Waiting there he saw both Oscar and Zandra. His armor was set so that only those whitelisted would see his face, while others only saw black smoke. Thus he smiled to Zandra, very happy to see her, and since he was concerned about Oscar, he only looked at him with mild concern. He turned off stealth and emerged from the shadows. "Here. I brought several debuffs and healing songs as well."

@Oscar@Zandra

Weaving the last of the flower vines on the wedding arc, Itzal took a second to double check his work. Making sure all the knots were in place, that nothing would slip and fall off at the wrong time, and especially made sure that-
     "You're doing a fantastic job with that." "D-what?!" Itzal stumbled backwards, but out of instinct twisted his body so that he'd land on his feet. Turning what would have been a backwards fall onto his back into a backflip with a somewhat steady/unsteady landing on the soft sand. He turned to see who spoke and saw the NPC priest, who had introduced himself as Able, smiling with amusement. "...Damnit Able, don't DO that. This is the one time I swore I WOULDN'T use my searching skill, so I don't know who's sneaking up behind me." Able gave a light laugh. "I apologize, that wasn't my intention I assure you. So then, to recap: You wish for the ceremony itself to be as brief as possible?" Itzal nodded. "Yeah. Zandra doesn't share my religion, so I'm content enough to stick with the basics. After that we'll move on to celebration. You'll play my song crystal at the right time correct?" The priest gave a slight bow. "Of course. I have it with me and ready to start when she steps onto the aisle." Itzal sighed and nodded. "Good... Man, I'm going over every worst case scenario trying to prepare in case something goes wrong. I really need to put a stop to this bad habit of mine.."

@Zandra

Post Order 1:

Post Order 2:

Post Order 3:

Today was unlike the others. Today he was crafting specifically for a dungeon expedition. He hadn't done anything like this in a very, very, VERY long time. Not only because dungeons didn't give him the experience points he needed anymore due to outleveling them, but because... Well... He had no one to do them with really. At any rate, Itzal needed to craft as much as he could. He already had a few debuffs left over, so he'd focus on healing songs as much as possible. He didn't want anyone to die. Especially Zandra... Working quickly to make his songs, he ended up working a bit too hastily, resulting in only two perfects. There were several rares that came out of it however, so it wasn't a total loss. They could still heal some, though he bet Zandra would have more healing potions. He'd really wanted to make mass healing songs, but he had to work with what he had. Grabbing his stuff quickly and pulling up his cowl, he ran to the teleporter to catch up with the others.

Total:

+1 HP Recovery, Rare
+2 HP Recovery, Rare, Masterpiece (Mass)
+1 HP Recovery, Perfect
+1 HP Recovery, Perfect, Masterpiece (Mass)
+1 Monster's Fortune, Uncommon, Masterpiece (Mass)
+1 Monster's Fortune, Rare

-9 T3 MAT
+74 EXP

Excitement, nervousness, joy, anxiety, relief, fear. All of these emotions pulsed and surged throughout Felix's entire body. And of course he was having the biggest sense of deja vu. This wasn't the first time he had gotten married in the world of Aincrad. Not the first time he had fallen in love and moved to marriage. However his last love ended up dying while the two were separate. Now he would be marrying again and that both excited and scared him. Thoughts like 'will I be able to protect her' and 'what if this happens, or that?' But these thoughts were always short lived. Zandra helped him learn how to move on and not let stress get to him when there was so much to be happy about. And that indeed applied to this situation far more than any other. Currently he was helping set up the rest of the wedding. Beauty about a video game was it was hard to get your clothes filthy, even in combat due to no blood. And even if you got them dirty you could just throw them into your inventory, pull it out and it was good as new. Preparations were almost finished, especially since there wasn't too much to set up. After all, they were having a beach wedding, and you couldn't really decorate a beachside much.

The plan was simple: They'd have a quick and straightforward service, which he was grateful for Zandra allowing him that, where they'd share their vows, hear a few words from the priest, say their I dos and it would be over. After that they'd have the 'reception' which was basically mostly celebrations, which was what Zandra really wanted and he understood why. He was looking forward to seeing Mina and Jonathan again too. It had been far, far too long since he'd seen them (mainly after becoming Are and keeping himself hidden from their sight) and he looked forward to just talking and hanging out with them once again. Having finished the wedding arc, Itzal stepped back and smiled. "All done... Ah, it's getting close to the time. Everyone should be arriving soon."

@Zandra

He could see the gears turning in her head as she thought carefully about which of the rings she should choose. He understood her struggle to be honest. Itzal didn't have much to worry about because... Well he'd been trying to be an all out damage dealing dps player for quite some time, but. Honestly he was having a hard time with it right now. What with his sword skills doing zilch, and not getting his hands on any damage amplifying gear, he needed all the boosts he could get. Zandra on the other hand, was going for a supporter role. Even still though, if she really wanted to be a supporter, driven was the one to go with. She could help Itzal easier yeah, but unlike affectionate it would help every player around her. In the end she chose to go with driven and gave him a hug in excitement. Even declared her excitement. Chuckling, Itzal hugged her back. One of the benefits of being around the same height was he didn't have to worry about bending over or leaning back when hugging her. They were complete equals~

"Yeah I know what you mean. I'm close to getting everything I need for the stealth skill and it's mods. Together there's no one who could hope to beat us." He smiled and took her hand as they returned their attention to the Priest to fill out all the details for the wedding.

Thread End!

@Zandra receives +2 SP & 200 col
Itzal receives +1 SP & 200 col

<<Saying Vows>> Unlocked!!

Selected Options:

Wedding Size: Large
PK Access?: Yes
Food?: Banquet Table
Zandra's Ring: Driven
Itzal's Ring: Strong Will

Remaining silent at Hidden's remark towards him before turning away and leaving, as he really had no need to respond to that, he waited until she was out of earshot before speaking to Mari. "I'm glad she has you. From what I've heard of her, she's had quite the hard time. She could use a good person as a friend. One she doesn't have to be concerned around." Aldion ruffled his feathers before hopping onto Itzal's shoulders, and he stroked the familiar's head and spine, scratching between the shoulders with each stroke. The black raven familiar really enjoyed the feeling too, closing his eyes in contentment. "Hopefully, she'll be able to open up to others. It is a pleasant surprise to discover she wishes to be better. Thank you for helping her. I'll see what I can do about her bounty, but it may take some time." He paused and looked back at Mari. "If you need to contact me, just contact Zandra. She's my intermediate at the present moment. If there's anything either of you need, just let me know."

@Mari

Everyone continued to discuss what might happen, what would happen, what should happen, what would be brought, and so forth. He had chosen to remain silent throughout most of this, given that he didn't have too much to add, and he was already unpopular with some of the people here already. He hadn't missed the glares and daggers thrown his way, even if he chose not to respond to them. However he was a little bit irritated when he saw the list they handed out, the second list to be precise, only to find that he wasn't on said list, even when he wrote himself on the previous list as a DPS and off tank should things go south. Did they just forget him? Or did they genuinely dislike him that greatly? He honestly had no idea, but he wasn't going to make a big deal out of it. So long as he could fight alongside Zandra he was fine. So when the list came his way he spoke plainly. "As I've said before, I can play as a DPS and can play as an evasive off tank if players need cover while escaping. I think I have a taunt item in my inventory somewhere." As he inserted his name into the list, he made sure to be put in Zandra's party. If anyone argued he'd simply tell them the truth: He wouldn't participate if he couldn't be in the same party as her. It may be selfish, but he wanted to make sure he would always be there for her, and vice versa. Nothing would get in his way of that.

Listening to the two talk about someone named Esther wasn't familiar to him. He had not heard any mention of that name during his and Hestia's interrogation of Domarus. Her mentioning how it was the very first mission she and Aereth went on however, might be related to the organization Domarus had mentioned. According to him there was an organization made up of small groups who handled different areas. Some in drugs via alchemy, some in murder and burglary, and others in kidnapping. What was so interesting was when he gave the date and Itzal went over his notes for that year, not long after the incident the system pumped out another update which rendered any potion that manipulated, altered, or controlled the minds, actions, thoughts or intentions of players null and void. It made him wonder if what those players were doing was a red flag and not even Kayaba would let it stand in his game.

At Hidden's little batman pun, Itzal couldn't help but silently pray to God in thanks that he'd done at least some research into American culture to know what she was talking about and referencing. "Criminal activity has been slowing down as of late, at least in regards to quantity. I'm still waiting on some of my leads to yield results, so you could say I have a short time period before I need to return to my normal activities." After Hidden finished Itzal would wrap his end up as well. "It makes no difference to me whether Mari comes along as well or not. Tell me what day and time you wish to meet with Domarus and I'll send you his coordinates at the appropriate time. Is there anything else to be discussed?"

@Mari

Hearing a low cry from Aldion, one mixed with confusion and concern, he turned over to the open area again only to see... His eyes opened wider and his eyebrows went up under the shadowy mist. An individual came out wearing a white cloak with a red and gold emblem, festive mask and hat (kind of like a tophat) and jumped from a roof before landing, inviting people to a 'show' and threw cards around. It drew a lot of attention from the crowd, and suddenly several players ran up to the area. Some of them, actually most of them had orange cursors which made him narrow his eyes a moment. He quickly pulled a pocket notebook from his inventory and turned the pages to guild information. He scanned it, looking at each name and emblem but didn't see anything. So either they were a seriously tiny and low key killing group, or they were normal players who probably stole too many times... Actually looking at them again it was probably the latter... All the same. He closed the notebook, which kept all of his notes on rumors, secrets, facts and observations by him, allies, or the info brokers. He then grabbed the shoulder of a player who was moving over to watch the spectacle. He looked like the more competent of his party. Lucky him he thought.

"Hey what the hell man?" He fell silent when he saw Itzal's appearance, but he just pulled the player closer so he could whisper. "Keep an eye on the crowd for me. Make sure no one's taken." With that he turned and walked away. If they were player killers this would be the WORST time to take them down. This would likely have been planned out, so they'd have contingencies. And besides, he wanted to make sure. If they did take someone away, it would be noticeable to anyone watching the crowd, even if they weren't a pro. They, other players, and even the guards could prevent a kidnapping after it's been spotted with relative ease, and no one could die here. So if they attempted something like that, he'd hear about it and add them to his target list. At any rate, he walked away, wanting some peace and quiet with Aldion for once. After all that's happened they deserved a day off.

@Nightingale

Noticing her leaning towards him, he leaned towards her in kind. At this point they were no longer at arms length, only connected by the touch of each other's hands, but side by side. As they would always be from this point onward. Itzal smiled as the thought reminded him of a song. Perhaps he should play it and record it into a crystal for Zandra. Not as a wedding present, no. He'd have to choose a truly special song for that. As she asked him for advice, he had to resist the urge to bring his hand to his chin in thought. Given that most of his time in this game was spent processing information, pondering thoughts and suggestions, strategizing, etc., this was becoming a bit of a bad habit for him. Spending more time thinking rather than doing. Except when he was out on the field taking down pkers that is. "...I would suggest going with driven if you're thinking of those two. If you aren't careful, you could end up sacrificing yourself for me, which would just create the same scenario only in reverse. Besides we have teleport crystals so as long as we aren't reckless we can always jump out of a boss fight, or a fight against player killers in my case, before the final blow is made." Itzal already kept healing potions stocked up in his home, right beside where he teleported. Just in case he was hit with a DoT before teleporting out, so that he could ensure his survival. "And seeing as how you wish to become a support build, energy will be vital for you to possess. So I would go for driven."

@Zandra

Aldion's tail twitched in annoyance when she asked the question. When she started to complain out loud he turned to her again, opened his wings and cawed at her once before folding them up and snapping his head back to focus on the crowd once again. He really didn't like being interrupted when he was on a mission. It was times like this Aldion disliked interruptions, whether they were unwanted or pleasant. Eventually however, after a few minutes had passed, he confirmed there wasn't any real threat... Well maybe the woman beside him. He'd glanced at her when she opened her menu, but not seeing any ill intent on her face he confirmed she wasn't really a threat. Eventually he decided it would be best to catch up with Itzal. Bobbing his head once as his form of a nod he politely cawed 'good day' to her and took flight for the doorway. He expertly curved mid flight into the general direction Itzal went. He hovered mid air for a moment or two as he scanned the crowds for his master, until he found the cloaked player down the corner that lead to another street. Gliding over and landing on his right shoulder, Aldion shook his head. "Oh sweet. In that case, let's get going shall we? If we don't hurry we'll miss it."

@Nightingale

Evidently his familiar's occasional glances had been taken notice of by the woman. And she didn't seem to feel all too comfortable with it, pulling a hood and bandana over her face to conceal it. Too late he thought, we'd already seen your face. Doing that just burns it into my mind all the more. Smart move would have been to realize that if she was being watched they'd have seen her face, and not draw much attention to herself. Oh well. He saw her talking to Aldion, but since he was across the tavern from them he couldn't understand what they were saying. It wasn't like he could read lips or anything... What? Sure he knew parkour and mastered tracking, hiding, combat, strategizing, and talking with people but that didn't mean he could do anything.

Meanwhile Aldion heard her talk to him and shifted his gaze from the crowd to her again. He ruffled his feathers and gave a simple 'caw' in response before looking once again at the crowd in the tavern. Aldion noticed that Itzal had moved on from the tavern, but chose to stay behind a little bit longer. Another thing Itzal taught him was that people tended to follow him, mostly for ill means. So it was useful to have another set of eyes stay behind a minute or two to make sure no one tried following him or anything. As before, it occasionally cast glances at the strange woman.

@Nightingale

Today was a very rare day for Itzal. It was his day off. There were no reports, rumors, or trails of player killers for a few days actually. Not even the info brokers had anything for him. Either they'd found ways to kill without it being noticed, which was unlikely due to the monument, or they had finally died down a bit to where he could actually take a breather. It was surprising how many players shifted to such a lifestyle on hearing that their lives were in danger. Instead of taking a safer route they jump straight into the thick of danger. Unlike other days however he didn't allow his thoughts to linger on this subject for long. He was currently leaning against the corner wall of a tavern a player had made to earn some col without risking their life out in the field. All he purchased for himself was some jerky as this was only a pit stop on his way to another destination. Once there he'd have a proper meal. The owner of this establishment of course, had cast lots of glances at him when he had picked up his meal, and even glared at where he'd went once he activated his stealth skill. Becoming invisible to all in the tavern, which was mingling with both players and npcs.

While he ate some of his jerky, his face obscured by a shadowy mist, he watched as Aldion sat on one of the shelves next to a table where a single player sat. The raven was watching the entire tavern for the most part, as Itzal trained him to be aware of everything in his surroundings, so neither of them were paying attention to the woman. Though, that would change in a moment or two.

@Nightingale

"That's what being a Vigilante is Hidden. Once you're in the system those in control can change the rules. I however, act on morals, not fixed rules. Gives me room to handle 'gray area' situations where the law isn't as forgiving or understanding." It was true. Many times he felt like famous comic book characters like batman. Working with the authorities to locate, capture and imprison criminals and murderers. Although, he'd been doing most of the work as of late. "I never said it made sense," he responded to Hidden's comment on Adrian talking someone into suicide. "Besides we don't have enough details. It could be that he threatened, blackmailed, or simply scared him into the act. All we know is that he was the cause of his act of suicide, or at least the chances of it were very likely." He tapped his finger in thought however. Something was out of place that he hadn't revealed to them, but only because it was a baseless hunch. He had a quick and sharp tongue, but he was still wild and uncontrollable. He didn't seem like the mastermind type. Was he learning? If so did he find someone to teach him? "At any rate, if you give me a week I may be able to... Persuade, the APD into dropping your bounty. A few of them hate me, some of them fear me, and Hestia never cared for me, but she at least can be reasoned with.... When she wants to at least. Regarding the front lines, I'm afraid I can't put a good word in for you. No one there cares for me you see." He didn't help it any when he acted in the shadows half the time, and spoke his mind rather bluntly. In some cases however, he knew it was absolutely needed...

"...If you truly wish to only talk, then I'll set up a meeting between you two. However just as a precaution I'll be monitoring the meeting. People make mistakes when stressed, afraid or angry."

@Mari