Cygnus

Cygnus stopped walking when Baldur mentioned that they had arrived at their destination. With a nod, Cygnus unsheathed Gavel, waiting for their target to appear. He almost lowered his guard when it appeared the thing wasn't going to show up. Good thing he didn't for it was almost at that tiem when their target burst forh from a dune ahead and shot straight at them, Cygnus readied his blade, but Baldur was way ahead of him. The warrior watched in awe as Baldur cut one of the beast's two heads clean off. As the creature hit the ground, sand sprayed in Cygnus's face, but at the elder warrior's call, Cygnus attempted to repeat what Baldur had done. He leaped towards the snake's massive body, partially blinded from the sand. It wasn't enough to compromise his accuracy, however. With a roar, the warrior came down on the snake's head with his blade. He chained that strike with five others, but frowned when he noticed he was only doing the minimal amount of damage. He wasn't anywhere near as powerful as Baldur. That comforted him, but also made him want to grow even stronger.

Cygnus nodded when Kasier said that she didn't feel like they spoke enough when they met. "My thoughts exactly." He smiled at her, ordering his food once the waitress came back up. He noticed Kasier order the barbeque steak, and so he did the same, ordering some plain water to go with it when he noticed his drink was now gone. He looked back at his lunch guest when she asked him if he had a familiar. "Actually, no. I don't. But I plan on getting one soon! I've heard of the quest and everything, just haven't gotten a chance to go on it yet. I've been so busy trying to grandmaster my weapon skill." He opened his menu to look at his progress. He had come a long way from where he once was. There was now just a little less than half to go." He closed his menu and looked back up at Kasier. "What about you? Decided to take a familiar on yet?"

Cygnus kept his distance from the mobs as Rain took the liberty of taking them all out. He clearly didn't need any help. The warrior gave him party member a thumbs up. "Great job. They didn't stand a chance." Cygnus drew Gavel from its scabbard just in case he was needed to fight. He still had the potion Rain gave him, so he could help out for a fight or two and at least deal a little bit of damage. It wouldn't be much, especially when compared to the two higher level players, but it would be something. Cygnus got a better look at Rain and realized that one of his legs had been cut off by the monsters! Cygnus panicked, never seeing this happen before. "Oh [censored]! Rain, a-are you okay!? Lawfer we have got to do something!" Cygnus hadn't cursed like that since he got here, but this was a special circumstance. He would certainly be relieved when he found out Rain was going to be okay.

Cygnus continued to watch in awe as Opal cut down four more scorpions with her Sword Art. She had announced that she had just defeated half of the scorpions guarding their goal. The news excited the warrior. They were yet another step closer. As he gazed at the pyramid, he thought of the boss that awaited him. He wished he was strong enough to participate in the battle. He would have to come back here one day when he was of a higher level and try to take this thing down himself. He looked over at Opal when she mentioned that he was using "that word" again. He laughed and scratched his head in embarrassment. He wasn't entirely sure why he used it. Has father had used it in the past. Maybe he got it from him? "It's an old habit." He answered. "I guess it's true what they say about them." He looked around and counted the scorpions. They only had to defeat seven more. The finish line was now in sight. 

Can someone lock this for me please? ^^

Cygnus just looked at Kooh, confused as she grabbed onto his armor and pulled him near her. He went a little red. He didn't know what she planned on doing, but he wasn't sure he liked how close she was getting. His heart pounded as the distance between them got even slimmer. Just as the brunette was about to ask her what she was doing, his lips and Kooh's met and the next thing the man knew, they were kissing. The bit of red on his cheeks quickly spread to the rest of his face. It felt like his heart exploded as soon as their lips touched. He couldn't react at all. A maelstrom of emotions swirled within him. He wasn't entirely sure what to feel. He hadn't been kissed since that night since his fiance died and this seemed to come so completely out of nowhere to him...

He only heard Kooh say that she didn't believe him when he said he wasn't interested in her. The rest was drowned out by alarm bells going off in his head. He looked up. It appeared Kooh had left. He was so engrossed with his thoughts he didn't even notice. The warrior's entire face was still bright red as he stood up, letting out a breath he felt like he had been holding in forever. Not knowing what else to do, and being thoroughly confused, Cygnus headed back to town to hopefully get a cold shower and some sleep.

Thread Summary

Cygnus: + 1 SP, 200 Col

Kooh: + 1 SP, 200 Col

COMPLETED

Cygnus watched Kooh as she gave him a very vague answer. He just nodded along, however, deciding to take that for now. He didn't know what it was like to live in a small town or go to a community college. Her answer intrigued him. He wanted to know more. What resaurants she visited, how long she lived there, what her parents were like... everything. He finally managed to talk to her without feeling like he was going to burn up. He looked up at the sky to get an idea of what time it was, only to have his view blocked by the thick canopy. He looked back down at Kooh, deciding to ask her another question. "So..." he began, "what are your parents like? I've only ever been around my mother and father's style of parenting. I was wondering if it is any different elsewhere." He pulled one of his knees up and rested his chin on it, holding his leg in place with both of his arms, his fingers interlocked. 

Cygnus walked through the field of dandelions, thinking about getting a familiar, actually. He had seen a lot of people with familiars and he thought that it was finally time to get one of his own. He didn't want to take the quest alone though. The warrior mentally cycled through his list of friends to see if someone might want to go with him. He thought of Emblem, who he had gone in a couple of quests with and gone hunting with before. Then, as if the world was giving him a sign, he saw Emblem in the distance. Cygnus picked up the pace to catch up with the boy, giving him a friendly wave as he approached. "Hello, Emblem! Its been a bit. How have you been?" The brunette gave him a smile. He was honestly happy to see Emblem again. He was the first player he met in SAO, and so he kind of held a special place on his friends list. 

@Baldur@Rain

Cygnus didn't have to wait much longer. Soon, Kasier had come, thanking him for inviting her to lunch. "Not a problem." He smiled, taking a sip of his drink and waiting for the waitress to come back around so they could order their food after the exchanged pleasantries. "I feel like I kind of owe you. You invited me to lunch when last we met, but we never got to go.So I figured now would be the perfect time." He noticed Kasier ordered orange juice and he looked down at his own choice of drink. Cygnus had never been a drinker back in the real world, but he figured he'd start since he... got a new life and all that. For the time being, anyway. His inexperience in the whole drinking thing led him to believe there was nothing strange with having a drink at noon. This was actually the first alcoholic beverage he ever ordered. That should be interesting. He made a note not to drink too much. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Kasier by getting drunk. He just figured it would help relax him. 

@Kasier

[OOC;] Here you go! I look forward to your reply. ^^]]

Cygnus sat in a small restaurant in the Town of Beginnings. He had just sent a message to Kasier after wondering for awhile if he should. Eventually, he opened his meesenger and sent her the following.

"Hey Kasier! Remember me? I was wanting to take you up on your lunch invitation."

Cygnus sent the messsage after including his location. It might seem a little out of the blue, but he felt kind of bad at the way he reacted to her invitation a couple of days ago. He wasn't used to girls asking him to go to lunch with them, so he wasn't entirely sure how to react. He had girls ask him to coffee, dinner, and the like when he was in the real world, but he was so naive he didn't even know what they were really after. Now that his innocence was gone, a girl asking him to lunch made him uncomfortable. The warrior sighed and brushed his hair out of his face. He hoped she didn't take offense to it. As the waitress passed, Cygnus ordered a drink before Kasier decided to come by. 

Cygnus let out a breath that he had been holding in. This was getting easier. He actually looked at Kooh after she replied, his cheeks still pink from Kooh's answer to his question earlier. "Oh, you were going to college? So was I, before... everything. It didn't work out, so I lived with a friend until this." He frowned, but tried to smile as soon as he realized his expression. "Harvard School of Law. I wanted to be a prosecutor." He finally said, getting into a more relaxed position as he got back on the topic of schools. "Where did you attend?" Cygnus was almost certain she didn't go to a school like Harvard, and so regretted telling her the second the words left his mouth. He didn't want her to think of him as some snobby rich kid. 

@Kasier

Cygnus weaved through the boars, dodging their tusks. His Energy was fully restored. It was time for a Sword Art. He turned back around to face the boars. With a roar, the warrior lunged at the group of enemies and passed right through, quickly unleashing his sword Art, Lightning. Cygnus delivered four slashes distributerd amoing the mobs, causing them to explode in a rain of blue pixels. Cygnus turned to Kasier, shouldering his weapon and giving her a grin. "Phew there we go. That was a brisk battle." He frowned, realizing how long they had been there. "Oh, i'm sorry. It doesn't seem like we'll get to have lunch today." 

@Teayre

[There you are! Sorry it took so long. Had problems with my internet all night last night]

Cygnus sat on the steps leading up to the inn, He sat there, watching the comings and goings of the people. This was one of his lazy days, where he wouldn't be doing much of anything. He would probably just grab a bite to eat, something to drink, and then take a nap and sleep the day away. He stretched. Speaking of a nap, he would probably be doing that soon. He thought to go get something to eat first, and so he got up from his seated position and walked down the street until he found a little cafe. "Perfect." He mumbled to himself, stepping inside. He sat at a booth with some other people and waited for a waitress. One came to him eventually and he ordered a sandwich and some coffee before leaning back and relaxing in the booth. "Man, i'm glad I have nothing to do today." He said out loud to himself.

@Kasier

Cygnus parried and blocked the blows from the boars. His energy inched higher and higher until it was almost full again. He was getting ready to pull out his Sword Art and put an end to this battle. He kept a close eye on his health, noting that Kasier was unable to heal him this time.That was fine. His life wasn't in any real danger and as long as his Sword Art hit its mark, he and Kasier would be okay and they could get out of here. He had his Accuracy trinket, so he would probably be okay. Still, there was always the chance for a random screw up.

Cygnus went red, not even noticing Kooh didn't ask him about himself. He had only been trying to make conversation before he got into the real questions. But based on what she said after, about being off the market and all, she thought he meant that he was hinting at him liking her. Cygnus's face went bright red and his head hung lower if that was even possible. "I... I-I..." No matter how hard the brunette tried, he couldn't form any words. They kept getting stuck in his throat and he had to stop and start over. "That's... that's not what I..." He stopped, giving up trying to talk his way out of it. He almost thanked whatever gods might be for Kooh moving on to the next question. "So... um... did you live with your parents or someone else before SAO? Or did you live by yourself?" His face was still bright red. Clearly, he hadn't gotten over the embarassment of Kooh thinking he liked her. He still couldn't even look at her, his eyes as far away as possible. 

[[OOC]]

Cygnus held his ground, deftly parrying blow after blow from the boars. He was getting much better at this battle. That much was clear. He looked behind him at Kasier. She had apologized for not being able to heal him. He said nothing at first, only smiling and giving her a thumbs up. "You've helped a lot already. I'd be even closer to the yellow if not for your healing. You're doing great." He gave her a mini pep talk, then kept an eye on the boars. It was almost time to end this. And he knew just the way to do it. He thought about using his Sword Art, Eruption, but he wanted something flashier. Something to entertain Kasier, maybe. It did more damage too, so that would help for sure. He looked at his energy bar. He could use it soon...

"Oh" was all Cygnus could say for a moment. He half expected her to tear into him again. But instead, she gave him a free pass to ask what he wanted. It was at that point when Cygnus realized he hadn't thought of anything to ask. He never thought he would get this far. He scratched his chin, looking at the ground, then back up to Kooh. "Okay... I can tell you about me too if you want." He paused and quickly thought of a question. "Um... let's see... I guess we can start with... um..." His cheeks went pink as he asked his first question. It was the one he was the most nervous about. "Do you have anyone... I don't know... "special" back home?"

@Kasier

Cygnus calmly brought his blade up as the boars moved to charge him. Now that he had seen their attacks a few times, he was able to formulate more effective counters. He looked at his Energy bar after this, seeing that it was just barely off from him being able to use his Eruption Sword Art. He looked at Kasier. It appeared she was having a snack. He felt kind of bad for her, just kind of standing there while he was dealing with these mobs. He'd have to make it up to her sometime.

Cygnus nodded enthusiastically. He was especially excited about the prospect of hunting with his new friend. "Yes, capital!" He opened up his menu and sent Mai a friend request. He liked the girl and was indeed interested in keeping contact with her. They seemed to get along well and the brunette warrior figured that the two of them could be great friends. He hadn't spoken much about his life outside the game before-- it seemed like a distant memory before tonight. It was good to bring up those old memories, he thought. Cygnus stood from his seat and bowed respectfully. "It was a pleasure, miss Mayuri. I hope we can do this again some time soon. I had a lot of fun." He straightened his posture and waved to her, giving her a smile. "I'll talk to you later, I hope." He would wait for Mayuri to grant him leave to head back to the inn when she gave her own goodbye, then he would leave.

Thread Summary

Cygnus: + 1 SP, 200 Col

Mayuri: + 1 SP, 200 Col

COMPLETED

Cygnus gave Mai another smile as she spoke of her family. He was happy that her family life was better than his was. It made him sad at the same time though. It made him wonder why his family couldn't be like that. It was the money and status, probably. The strictness was a result of his parents feeling pressured to have their children succeed and to have them be perfect so they didn't stain the family's "precious" legacy. That was his theory anyway. He fantasized for a second about what it would look like if his family weren't rich. He imagined them having a nice meal cooked by his mother instead of their chef. His father would be reading the newspaper instead of taking dinner in his study. Him and his sister would be laughing about something funny the other said instead of being forced to eat in silence. Maybe, jsut maybe, Miki would have been there too. Sitting at his side and holding his hand, laughing along with them. He snapped back to reality as he yawned, the events of the day finally catching up to him. "Oh, excuse me." He blushed with embarassment. It was rather rude to yawn when having coffee with someone. "I'm having a great time, I promise. It's just late."

Cygnus's cheeks turned bright red when Mai suggested stripping. It took him a second to realize she was joking and he laughed along, still nervous and embarrassed. "I should start working out again when I get out. Call myself Officer Nasty or something like that." He laughed at his awful attempt at making up a stripper name and gulped down the rest of his coffee and set his cup down on the table. His laughter died down to a chuckle and he sighed happily. "Thank you. Believe it or not, I needed a good laugh." He wiped away a few tears that formed as a result of the laughter. He was happy that their conversation had taken a happier turn. He figured he'd let her know his family life wasn't all bad. "My family wasn't bad or anything, my older sister and I have always been close. Our parents were strict with us, her especially since she's going to inherit the family business and all, but we always had each other's backs." He left out that they hadn't spoken since he had that argument with their parents. Cygnus wasn't angry at her, though. He was almost certain that it was his father's doing. He always made it a point to control his kids.

Cygnus smiled when Mai spoke. Especially when she said "when we get out of here." He had felt his hope wavering lately, and someone speaking hopefully about their situation helped a lot. He grinned at her. "That would be an admirable profession." He thought about what he wanted to do when he got out. He wanted to raise his daughter, that much he knew. But he wouldn't bring her up right now. That might lead to him talking about Miki and that was something he definitely was not ready for. He took another gulp of his coffee, thinking some more on the subject. He knew he wanted to go back to law school if he had the money. Maybe he could find the bastard that hit his fiance and just left her on the road to die. Maybe he could find the guy and put them away for a long time. He realized he was quiet for awhile and looked back up at Mayuri. "Oh, I am sorry. I was just lost in my thoughts." He cleared his throat. "If I can get the money somehow, I would like to go back to law school. I've... always wanted to make sure people who hurt others are punished. I left, you see. My parents were paying for it and we had a... falling out. They stopped paying. I was going to Harvard in America, if you're curious. My parents wanted only the best for one of their family. I can't pay for that on my own, so if I can't make amends with my parents, i'll have to try something else." He frowned. "Maybe fast food." He cracked a smile as he joked.

Cygnus saw his HP bar inch back up when Kasier used her first aid skill on him. It might not be many hit points, but it added up. His Hit point may be much lower now. He heard her mumble about how her healing seemed ineffectual. He would have to give her some more encouragment after this. He tried to dodge and parry attack after attack from the boars, but each one landed solidly. He growled, looking at his Energy bar. "Almost there..." He said through clenched teeth. 

Cygnus looked down sadly when Baldur mentioned a player named Alkor that had died some time ago and that for awhile, he was the only one to provide the essential items people needed. He looked around when Baldur did, making doubly sure nothing snuck up on them. Cygnus grinned when he mentioned hopefully one day being able to provide someone with their first healing potion or teleport crystal. "Well, you gave me my first teleport crystal. So i'd say you're not far away from achieving that goal." He hoped his words helped comfort the older warrior. He didn't like feeling hopeless and there have been many times that he could have used someone to give him an encouraging word or two. As they walked along, Cygnus found himself scanning the surrounding area for their quest target. "So, you've never taken this quest before, huh?" The brunette said, remembering what Baldur told him earlier. "I don't suppose you've ever seen this thing before then?"

Cygnua grunted as the Boars struck him with another rush of critical blows. He stood his ground, however, keeping a close eye on his HP bar. He would use some of his healing potions if anything went amiss. He calculated the damage the boars were doing and tried to figure out if he could last until he could use his Eruption Sword Art. If his calculations were correct, he would take a net 6 damage from their blows before he recovered enough Energy to strike. He held up against the onslaught, waiting for Kasier to heal him again. He  would keep a close on her as she did, however, ready to strike out if need be if the boars came too close to her.