Rin

The lass now stopped sipping her hot chocolate as she heard the advise of Esther and how the world was filled with people even now, that were still willing to talk to, the only issue being was those who wanted to act as a counselor of sorts for her own problems.  As she thought about it she transitioned through a few ranges of emotion at first agreement as a smile waxed over her face and then despair as she seemingly fell back into her own self-loathing rut. Rin sighed and shivered shaking her head back and forth realizing that was probably not going to work for her although she did prefer communicating with others via text base chats she didn't have much to talk about which made those awkward.

"I don't think I could do that to someone else, not after losing him in the way he went."

Rin softly spoke not really going into depth of how she lost a beloved friend, a boy friend no less who was attempting to fight upon the front lines to help protect those who were to weak to fight for the cause. Esther still seemed quite upbeat though as she jumped up excitedly agreeing with her previous comment about Mari whom she honestly didn't know that well. The alchemist merely was quite generous in her offering of a potion to attempt and create young Esther's collar. A blush now spread over Rin's face as she sunk into her seat merely nodding her head in agreement to Esther's exclamations.

"I don't think she really cared to much about me entering, she probably ... wouldn't even recognize me."

As she mentioned that she then began to realize that she had gotten to comfortable with her conversation with Esther and was already blabbing about information that only the girl in the costume would know. She quickly took a swig of the hot cocoa now attempting to fill her mouth so she wouldn't keep making the same mistake.

@Esther

Rin's watched as more people joined the gathering, many of them were already dressed in their swimwear she herself was in one of the many two piece bathing suits. Although it was discomforting to be seen herself in one of these it was worse seeing others that seemed to be far more confident with their appearances then she was. As she looked around to the group she blushed and merely began to wander off from the location eyes fixated upon the ground even with the variety of familiar faces. It wasn't every day she got to go swimming, but unfortunately the crowd building was just going to make the outfits being worn awkward. As she waved hello to the crowd she then wandered over to the lake side and dipped her toes into it sighing rather disheartened.  As the man above acting as a scout of sorts hopped down from his position on the rock he began to speak to the others that were all around.

"I think it would be great to go swimming now, after all if you already took care of the rest of the mobs for us we might as well enjoy this crystal clear lake. It rather marvelous to be back into the water don't you all agree?"

Rin smiled toward the rest of the group realizing that Mossi was wearing the bathing suit that she had made. It was nice seeing Mina, Mossi, Esther and Itzal once more all seemed to have come to explore the water.

Rin smiled seeing another familiar face, this one asking for equipment that was a bit higher quality then the rest of her gear she had made thus far. As she made out the designs she quickly took the mostly finished outfit that she had already had partially made putting on the finishing touches as she bounced up to her feet. The strange cat girl now mewing as she waddled over to the customer his new armor in hand with a fitted enhancements that he had requested that was superior if not matching her own katz suit. She  now laid it on the counter and held out a sleeve as she asked for her payment.

"Three materials please for the quick work."

She nearly sung out her request of payment as she sat across form him on the bench stretching the entire back section of her small shop.

The second floor was always a rather serene location for Rin to explore, their were lakes, forest and even a few mountains from time to time that one could hike through. The sun already was over the sky perched in all it's splendor as it heated the lands. The girl now sitting on the side of the lake by herself she smiled as she began to gently kick her feet back and forth upon the edge of some rocks. A few days ago she attended a rather interesting social outing at the lake side that was quite soothing. She was dressed in the same bikini as that day, far more comfortable to do so in the solitude of her own companionship. She was at peace, a gentle hum ringing through the nearby air bouncing off the lake thanks to it's acoustics. As she sat there she began to realize that it was probably time she started returning to a more normal routine. Slipping further into the water she began to smile, her body shivering ever so slightly as the temperature of the water always seemed a bit less than the air no matter what one did. As she sunk down she finally was fully submerged her eyes clamped shut as she bubbled out the air in her lunges till she finally resurface groaning happily as she  now floated on her back.

"Lakes are always so serene, I don't feel like I will ever want to leave."

@tricolor_mina

Name: Niger Natio

Profession: Tailor

Rank: 3

ID: 67541

Roll: 12

Item Type: Light armor
Tier: 2

Quality: Perfect

Enhancements: +3 Evasion

Description:  http://i.imgur.com/soq5Xp2.jpg

Post: Gear

Rin blinked hearing him now inquire about her build, in all honesty it was a rather simple question which she figured couldn't really hurt to answer. She looked down to the mug of hot cocoa before taking another long sip as she placed upon the counter again.

"I'm rather odd in my own build to be perfectly frank. I'm not much of a fighter at the moment as I don't really use a weapon even though I do own one. My build is more of an exploration based one as well as necessary for my crafting needs. Just a few days I ran out of supplies to keep up my craft but I plan to get a few more skill points into my search and detect tree as well as the gatherer perk. I guess the best way I can describe myself is a scout and gatherer all in one."

She smiled now looking back to her companion as she wondered what he would think of a weakling like herself. A few people she had met probably would have loathed such a useless girl not attempting to help the front-lines and merely thinking of their own selfish business.

Rin smiled as she was propped up now wandering forward through the first floor on his own to the table. As she sat down she began to yawn, both hands now moving up to her eyes as she rubbed them awake. After the rather long drawn out  groan she stopped staring back toward both of her companions with a smile nodding happily. Pizza sounded delicious although she imagined that the type they would get probably would be something normal like cheese. It didn't matter to much to her as she was fine with basically any toppings that  were normal on pizza. She then raised a hand as if still an elementary school student for the waitress.

"Could you get me some coffee or tea as well in addition to the pizza, I'm afraid I need a little something to help me wake up this morning."

The ebony mane now drooped back over her eyes only to be blown out of her face once again as she now focused upon the group in front of her. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you both, I must admit I didn't realize I would see you so soon? Also thanks for paying for lunch I'm still a bit tight for money."

Rin had recently managed her own shop and crafted herself a gorgeous two piece bathing suit, unfortunately due to a lack of material it wasn't capable of being a one piece which would have proved, less embarrassing for herself. As she glanced up toward the public notification she began to gently nibble her bottom lip, uncertain if she really wanted to partake in this social interaction. She had enjoyed visiting the beach in the real world as she didn't usually like going to public ones. The rather disheartened girl now drooping her head as she waited in the forest a bit farther away.  The female equipped her bathing suit underneath her regular clothing before she peeked out from behind a tree rather nervously. As she began to wobble back and forth behind the tree she would sigh acting like a pendulum for an musician as she continued to think. 

"Oh why does life always have to have these social get together in the most gorgeous locations, I guess I am lucky that few people are here for now. Maybe if I'm lucky only these two guys. What on earth are those two doing?"

One of them seemed to be messing with his own hud as possibly contacting someone about the public message that was sent out. The second on the other hand seemed to be waiting upon a rock taking a rather strategic position to view those who were undoubtedly going to attend. Rin stepped out form her position into the clearing as she now made her way to the lake side. It wasn't the beach, but it was a start maybe she could get in a few laps while she was here. Her approach was slow as she didn't recognize any of them as she greeted them both.

"Hello there?"

"You're rather lucky that you aren't like me, it's rather lonely to be constantly hiding out watching over your shoulder as you see how much fun the rest of them are having. Grant it dying in a video game that is out to test the bonds of society isn't the biggest idea of fun in my mind."

Rin now looked over to the table that the would pick, as she railed over she began to think to herself where she would be if she had been more courageous like her companion here. If she had said or done anything like that would she have someone to have an apprenticeship with, sadly she knew that the two were alchemists so she doubted any help could come of that. As a waiter came by with the two mugs of hot cocoa she then blinked rather startled by the last concept the girl had stated. Owner what did she mean by that? Her eyes locked on Esther a certain amount of jealous swelling in her heart as she wished she still had someone to cling onto at least she had this Mari character however odd the case may be.

"Thank you for not just leaving me alone I guess your apprenticeship is in Alchemy then since when I was going to make the collar I left to your companions shop to get a potion. She seemed rather nice."

The girl now returned to sipping her coffee as her eyes looked down into the dark brown cocoa. 

@Esther

"It's ok really I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

Rin frowned realizing that she always managed to make people feel bad or uncomfortable about her she thought of it as a horrible curse sometimes thanks to her own socially awkward ways.  She sighed rather drearily as she realized that she really was an off-putting person now her own company feeling bad for not being able to read her emotions. The situation only growing more awkward as she sensed that the girl before her probably had no issue with the predicament of socializing. Perhaps she should  ask her for an apprenticeship in public speaking or the like.

As Esther's lips managed to form a smile, Rin's nerves began to release their tension that was building up within them, at least she managed to salvage some part of this conversation although was it really her salvaging it. A  sigh of relief now passed through her lips as she listened to her companion. She preferred it that way, the other person talking and she listening intently from a rather safe distance as she didn't want to open up to much to strangers.  As she heard the possibility of hot chocolate Rin smiled nodding her head yes as the gesture would be an interesting one at least. The second thought about the collar however seemed to leave them in awkward territory again as she seemed to not want to say the exact reason for it.

"Yes please I would like that very much. Umm sorry if the reason is to personal you don't have to tell me honest."

As the reached the Inn Rin began to realize that she hadn't properly introduced herself.

"Oh right my name is Rin pleasure to meet you."

@Esther

Rin's head tilted the black mask partially rolled up to her nose as she simply shrugged her shoulders a bit flustered. Was it really all that shocking to another person that she would find herself own her own shop and people would be willing to by from the mysterious stranger. A simple nod yes would answer his question as she glanced back over frowning as she saw the ice cream man was now turning his back to her partially in disgust or just fear. Hearing the remark on losing material made her realize she still needed to invest her skill into a few different perks that would help her gather the materials that she had lost so far in her crafting. 

"Mew, yeah I must admit I find it hard to keep my shop in business through all this thanks to the constant depletion of my own materials. As of late I actually have used up the rest of my materials and don't have a means of fixing that issue myself."

As she heard Macradon was going to be using his skill once again to determine where the little dog went she smiled now bobbing along behind him her sleeves gently sway back and forth as she was having the time of her life. It wasn't every day that you got to go on a magical journey to strange new lands least of all in a quest of this sorts since she never had taken that many. She was merely riding along to here this story out as each quest the Cardinal system had created was unique in it's own way as she had read a few of the different quest plans and this sounded like the most interesting one yet. As the bark sounded out Rin's head tilted into the same direction which Zandra had pointed out the noise. She merely nodded her head in agreement as she had heard the dog. After walking  few meters in the direction she began to make out the small figure beside Macradon who was kneeling down to accept the mission from it. Seeing the same message pop up on her own hud she smiled an gently reached a paw up to tap the accept button.

Rin laid there in the sand feeling her hands  practically pinned down in the sand as Zandra was enjoying the softness of the sleeves her her eyes drooping ever so gently from exhaustion. As she gazed over to Macradon she listened to both of the two talking about going through a dungeon on the way back which she didn't imagine would be an issue so long as she stuck behind the two. A gentle nod would agree with their decision of questing out before she heard the man speak up again. The girl's own gaze now cast downward toward the sandy floor among the three stone walls that were creating their protective barrier. She herself was planning to becoming a relatively high ranked searcher for her own personal reason, unfortunately she was also quite weak which made the skill allocation in the tree she needed a slow climb. Along with that she refused to fight any monster herself due to her own strange beliefs on how the cardinal system might be recycling old players abilities into the mobs.

"Ok, well if you two are going to handle the fighting I suppose I will start searching for materials as I'm certain that their will be a lot of useful items laying about down there."

Rin watched as Esther became rather confused on the whole subject, it seemed that she now had some uncertain notions to whether her first instinct about the matter were in fact correct. A silent sigh of relief would pass over Rin as she now smiled back to the girl waving her hands nonchalantly as she wanted to make it appear she didn't really mind being called out as herself on accident. It was a pleasure to see her so happy about the cat costume that she ultimately designed for her own explorations of this game and personality of other players. A hand now rested against the back of her before she approached even closer to Esther, her eyes still a bit fixed upon the collar as she wanted to understand why they were a fashion accessory as she assumed that was the only reason she wore one. Rin's hand now pointed up toward the collar about her neck rather curious as she queried the girl. As Esther asked her about whether or not she liked talking to people Rin blushed.

"I don't mind talking to people I just am not really good at it right now, I was sorta hoping to find some people who could help me fix that little problem with myself. W-wait you are already going?"

Rin now glanced about and saw as her new companion began to wander off, she wasn't really ready to just back away from a possible friendship in the making. She needed something to talk about and make that stat. Perhaps she could ask her to accompany her on a material gathering quest, or possibly just ask her out for some lunch she had made some money, grant it not much. She stood there silently nibbling her bottom lip till she had been left standing there alone.

"Um hey wait up! Where were you going and do you mind if I tag along, I sorta had a question to ask you about the collar? I have to ask I saw another girl wearing one of these collars before and after seeing the Katz owner selling them I only imagined they must be all in the rage now so I was wondering if you knew how they caught on or have a reason you personally wear it?"

As Hakai began to rub her head once again she mewled softly embarrassed of how she was allowing herself to basically be walked over by the strong woman. It wasn't a bad feeling, it just simply felt awkward being the one who so clearly lost control of the situation. The day was no longer her own as she realized she wasn't getting out of any of these outfits no matter what they  appeared like. She mewed and merely reached for the clothes taking them back into the changing room. The door closed but no locked as she didn't think it would take all that long. As her fingers danced into the menu she saw the temporary gear in their, her hands hesitantly tapping them both her body now being adorned by the blue skirt and blouse top as she crawled out head low bangs now cast over her eyes as she was feeling a bit odd in these colors.  Shaking her head she then sighed.

"I don't really think this color works on me. Besides I don't really feel sexy."

Urbus was quite the beautiful town, of course higher level cities were far more luxurious and resort like but this was a rather plain and simple town that allowed people to just live and watch as life passes oneself. The days were filled with mystery and marvel that she wouldn't even know, every passing minute was a wonderful new sign to how she could grow up in the world. Perhaps I should have worn my Katz Costume out again, but I think it was about time for me to actually be myself besides they won't even realize it's me ... I think so long as I don't do anything that would give myself away that is. In that moment her world came crashing down from a familiar voice, one that only was heard at her shop thus far in her adventure in the game as she bought her collar from the Katz Kneadz. She blinked and turned around as she was addressed further giving Esther the reckoning that she somehow managed to understand that underneath all that cloth and material she was indeed the girl who owned the store where she built both their collars. Her heart pounded frantically as she contemplated how to fix this. How observant was she, what gave her away was it the collar she could have bought it as well from her store though how?

"I'm sorry you have me mistaken for someone else, I merely bought this collar from the crazy cat costume girl. I'm not actually her I mean she would never walk about outside without her little uniform I imagine."

After her little talk attempting to fix the subject of Esther thinking she was somehow the provider of the Katz Kneadz shop. She winced and bit her lip as she attempted to remain calm as her own body was beginning to quiver from the lack of nerves she had in dire predicaments. Rin's eyes looking about the town as she wondered if it was best to just run away at this point, but that would only confirm suspicions of the pinkette girl. She instead wandered over both hands holding tightly to one another to prevent her trembling body from further exposing her.

@Esther

Rin's tongue kept sliding up the ice cream her eyes still gazing through the red glassy eyes as she now tilted her head a bit confused what the man could be considering as he seemed particularly interested in her. To be honest it was sorta discomforting as she now sunk down upon her stool. She began to fidget uncomfortably as she was still attempting to figure out what to do. She held the ice cream out as she then cringed feeling a brain freeze come on causing her to groan, head resting against the counter. The two long sleeves now resting over her own head as she held the ice cream precariously over her head.

"I'm so sorry that I am a freak I just I get nervous out in the open with other players when they know what I look like I can't explain it but I'm just. I'm not good with crowds perhaps that is why I prefer to sleep and stay in my own shop."

A few tears streaming down the inside of her mask as she remembered how she had lost the man she loved and finding it hard to open back up to anyone least of all another man while she was attempting to cope. 
 

Rin blushed behind the black mask now shaking her head from side to side as she didn't really mind if she used the plushie sleeves as they were soft and didn't hurt since they were simply an extension of the sleeve. She snuggled down into the sand a bit as she continued to peer out from behind the crowd that was between her and them. Rin's head was drooping down as she began to nibble at the mask in front of her mouth before shrugging her shoulders as she felt rather cozy with the two who were attempting to make sure that she didn't get herself injured in this desert.

"It's really not a problem if you want to continued to snuggle them or even use a sleeve as pillow you can, as I do owe you both a lot for adventuring with me. I probably would have been caught up in that storm by myself and lost out here till the heat took me."

The girl spoke rather seldom as she was sitting cross legged now with her arms down to her side as she took a deep breath. A dungeon was the next proposition they had after this storm passed, this was rather troublign as she didn't even really have her own weapon. Itzal and Mina once showed concern to this and bought her a weak ranking dagger but she hadn't even equipped it to see how it looked sheathed on her hip.

"If we do go into a dungeon I probably won't be of much use, although I could simply search for materials?"

Rin's heart hadn't been fully with her today, since her shop started up she really didn't have all that much business be it with the NPC's or normal player character since she was at a crossroad in her crafting days. She had been spending all her time creating as many items as she possibly could, most of them sadly for herself as she was still a weak and lacked the fighting experience to move to new horizons.Hard work and training weren't the only things that paid off while one grew up within the limits of Aincrad. Rin's eyes now bounced around through the mountaintops of Urbus a great settlement seemingly founded within the center of a crater. As she furrowed her brow she began to question how this game decided on these types of environment, but then Kayaba did create it so he probably based it off of the real world and left only the ruling of this strange land to the cardinal system which put players through the most dangerous peril or the most loving unions between oneself and another player. It was lonely to say the least when you no longer had someone, or devastating as the case may be if you had and lost that special person while traversing these lands. Nothing could prevent that the tragedy of lost, except them. Rin sat there upon the edge of the city giving a rather saddened sigh as she was feeling the burden of being a player who wasn't attempting to get them out of here.

"You really ought to attempt to fight some of the monsters some day Rin, you know it's not possible to solely survive just being here among the people watching as others give their lives. Even if it means I just need to craft better gear I should attempt."

The dark ebony hair now shining as the sun was directly over head, she honestly couldn't tell if the time zone in this game followed with that of the real world or if each and every city was structured around it's own internal clock that would dictate when lunch or dinner was. As she sat their in silence she then groaned and planted her own head into her thighs where she sat still attempting to figure out how any of this worked. People being trapped in a game this all frankly sounded like a science fiction novel that she would have picked up and start reading, but she knew this was life.

"Ugh I should head back to the shop."

She sighed a finger now hooking into the pink collar she made for herself, she thought all the cool kids were wearing them now a days as she saw one person wearing one and the other ordered it form her.

@Esther

Rin accepted her own ice cream now as she looked down to it, her hand rolling up the lower portion of her face to reveal red glossy lips that clearly would match any other girl's as she now began to lap at it much like a cat. She didn't have a good reason to lick it like this other than her abnormal fascination with cats and the way they show affection. An adoration for the for-legged feline that she never was able to hold as she was now stuck in this virtual world with a variety of odd creatures. It was something she intended to explore as well as opening up to others, but not when she was dressed like this least of all revealing who she was to anyone while dressed in this fashion. Shaking her head nervously back and forth as she now saw the strange stare from the ice cream owner she winced shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't just take it off now then he will forever scorn me for even equipping such apparel. I remain anonymous through this and I don't want that identity to be known for now. I'm sorry ... mew."

Rin groaned now rubbing her eyes as she was staring over toward Mossino a bit curious as he said that he was training her for some reason, but to what end was their apprenticeship. After a brief contemplation she pushed those thoughts aside and began to look back holding her hand also out to Itzal's not romantic companion. She supposed that what she had said was a bit discomforting for at least Itzal as he seemed to be frantically attempting to change the subject, it sounded like a tactic only someone madly in love would use. Rin giggled and held a hand to her face as she tried to hide her amusement in this matter. As her own amusement ended she tripped now leaning against Mossino as she was preparing to shake her hand.

"Sorry, not quite awake yet it's a nice to meet you too."

A rather vibrant smile, if not a tad sleepy now washing over her face as she leaned against the other girl. the question Itzal asked she attempted to avoid for as long as possible but she sorta owed him an explanation.

"I just don't like to intrude, besides I will soon be working on crafts and the like so hopefully I will be making a living - hopefully."

Another boring day where she was acting upon her own orders to fix the issues that were arising in her own shop and the lack of merchandise She nibbled her lip as she began to contemplate what designs she would be constructing today as she had the easy designs of building the normal cat collars and the like as well as a plushie design to help people craft more inventions. Rin laid down upon the bench with a needle and thread stuck into her sleeve as she nibbled her bottom lip. She really couldn't decide what the plan was exactly as she was still rather lost from all the emotional roller coasters.  As she lied there on the ground she groaned weakly not certain of what was her plan. The longer time passed she realized that her own plan was quite lame

ID: 67637 CD: 3+1 LD: 7 Bad

Exp: 1

ID: 67638 C Good

EXP: 2

ID: 67639 CD: 7+1 LD: 19 Good

Exp: 2

ID: 67640 CD: 10+1 LD: 6 Rare

Exp: 5

Rin wandered hand and hand with Hakai a rather comforting sensation of friendship as she didn't have that many people she truly called a friend any more. She closed her eyes as she was feeling less awkward in a social environment with someone who was willing to save her life even in the middle of a blizzard. As they made their way through the big city she began to hum happily swinging her hand a bit back and forth with Hakai till they entered into one of the clothing stores. As she eyed them her eyes lit up with amazement that so many different outfits could be before her now. Gently releasing her companions hand she now began to stroll about the store smiling as she was quite interested in some of the Sunday dresses that were hanging from a rack, however before she even could think of which one Hakai had already pulled out a blue skirt and top her eyes widening in shock that she was already wanting her to try on the different clothes.

"A-are you sure that I should try this, I think the skirts just a bit short isn't it? And does blue even look good on me?" 

She blushed now growing flustered and uncertain of herself as she normally would be when she thought people would start making fun of her for her thoughts.

Rin began to look about now as her companion told her that a sandstorm was apparently on it's way, her red glistening eye holes now catching site as she began to panic from the harsh storm that was barreling in toward them. As they told her about the covering in the rocks Rin quickly started to sprint through the sand toward the three stones. She was still rather worn from the entire adventure, luckily Mac was pulling her along as well. On her arrival Rin huddled up in the corner of the rock sheltering them. She didn't like the idea of being stuck outside in the elements again, the last time that happened she nearly froze to death on the fourth floor, that was part of the reasoning she decided to go on this mission. She mewled and nestled in as she awaited for the rest to now start piling in around her as if they were all huddling for warmth despite the heat that was already upon the. The cat-girl's breathing becoming rather erratic as she felt partially claustrophobic from the storm locking them into a tight enclosed area.

Rin's head drooped down the ears on her hood also managing to pad down a bit as she mewled ever so pathetically. Zandra was of course right, it wasn't very inconspicuous particularly in the day time, but she wasn't quite prepared to have to sets of tier one perfect gear yet as she glanced back over toward the other explorers. Her head perking back up a bit confused as she heard that Zandra said that we were looking for a teddie to apparently start this quest. She was quite certain that they were looking for a puppy probably named Toto if the old story of Oz was any correlation to this quest that they were about to embark on. It really did seem like they were taking on the spirit of this quest though. She looked at the four man party, Zandra was of course Dorthy as she seemed to be our fearless leader. Macradon was the Tin Man who with his recent remark despite his joking attitude afterwards was the heartless one. The new-coming male she guessed was the scarecrow although he didn't really seem to display any of the traits except being clueless of why Macradon thought he was a traitor. That made her the cowardly lion, her head hanging as she felt like the roll nailed her spot on.

"Well I guess we should go find ourselves Toto to help discover this magical land that isn't Aincrad that is."