Telrenya

(OOC: For sure! Let's do more after this :3)

Telrenya blinked at the man's reactions, watching him grow flustered before he made the effort to compose himself. The blonde gave a small giggle, lacing her fingers behind her and rocking once from her toes back to her heels. "I'm glad it wasn't any trouble, then! If you want to, there's a lot of quests I still need to do..." Her voice became a bit smaller with her confessions. "It makes me really nervous going by myself, so I'd appreciate the company. Just in case." She wasn't able to maintain eye contact with the man while she spoke, but looked back to the ginger's face when he alluded to teaching her how to properly use her weapon. She was silent for a moment, but her eyes practically began to sparkle as she realized his offer. "Really?!" She asked hopefully. Telrenya seemed to catch herself, embarrassed with how childishly she had responded. She cleared her throat, averting her gaze as she went on to explain herself. "I mean, moving normally and stuff is fine, but when you're fighting it feels so weird. Like when you want to attack or dodge, the game will put you in the right place and it's so disorienting..." She looked to the side and towards the ground as her voice carried a slight pout. She gave a small shake of her head. Why was she being so awkward about everything? "S-sorry. I'd love it if you'd be able to help teach me." She tried to salvage her half of the conversation with a small smile.

Telrenya gave a small chuckle when Hei asked about shortening her name. It wasn't the first time someone had called her 'Tel' for short, and she was started to think she should have realized something like that when she first decided her username. "Of course, I don't mind." She answered with a smile. He had mentioned her equipment--or lack thereof--and the woman felt a tinge of embarrassment. "Oh, um..." She mumbled, trying to recall how much col she had from the last time she checked. If she remembered correctly, she had just a bit less from when she purchased her rare-quality rapier. That should be enough for one more item then, right? The blonde gave a small, almost shy nod. "Sure, I guess I'm overdue for looking for upgrades." She admitted.

Prepared to follow the player should he lead the way to whatever destination he had in mind, Telrenya referred back to his earlier question about the Forest of Wavering Mists. "Hmm... I've only heard pieces from NPCs and players here in town, but it got its name from the fog in that part of the forest. It sounds like its always there, so there's not much sunlight. But the creepiest part is that people said they've heard screaming... I don't know if it's real or just made up by the game, but you can almost always hear screams coming from there." Telrenya felt a little uncomfortable describing and summarizing the pieces of information she'd heard before. She had always hated horror games and movies, and it sounded like that place had been designed with those concepts in mind.

"Hmmm..." Hunched over an unimpressive pile of gemstones, Telrenya was in the middle of sorting them. By color? By size? She would get halfway through picking out one rough material from another and placing it into an even smaller pile before shaking her head, changing her mind, and following some different sorting convention she'd picked out in her head on the spot. "No, it would definitely be better like this..." She mumbled to herself, shifting her weight in the wooden stool she sat upon. Every few minutes she would frown in thought, wonder something silently to herself, open up her menus to pull her crafting display forward, stare at it for a minute or so, then go back to her work.

87885 - 3 (Fail)
87886 - 10 (Uncommon)

Telrenya brought a hand up to the back of her neck. Out of the handful of people she had approached so far, each of them had their own way of saying no. She was just about to let out a sigh and commit herself to continue when a nearby voice reached her ears. The blonde woman looked to her side to spot a man approaching her with a friendly smile. Her expression instantly brightened when she realized Hei's proposal. "Oh, wonderful!" She responded initially, then paused a moment to consider his question. She had spent some time since opening her shop here in Delilah to learn the city's layout and familiarize herself with anything important. Outside of the safe zone, however, she was less knowledgeable. Still, the location that the brunette mentioned rang a bell. "Hmm, I think I know that place..." She mused with a thoughtful tap of her chin. "I've never been there, but if I remember right it's to the north. It sounded rather creepy when I heard about it, though..." She thought aloud. Still, this was the first time in a while someone had agreed to accompany her on a quest. She could only hope that this person's intentions were as kind as his expression. The woman brought her right hand over her heart and offered the man a small bow in greeting. "My name is Telrenya. I'd be grateful to join you!"

Delilah was just about as lively as ever; as one of the more peaceful and 'pretty' lower floors, a lot of players seemed to set up their shops in the main settlement. While deciding her plan of action for the day, Telrenya felt a small knot forming in her stomach. Of course she wanted to do something that would get her experience--she'd spend the whole day just training if that's what it took. But she was still apprehensive about trying to go out into the wilderness alone. As much as she aimed to progress, she was less than confident in her ability to protect herself if things should go poorly.

And so, as much as she didn't want to face the rejection should would surely be met with until some kind soul might agree, Telrenya set out to look for other players who might be willing to help her. "Excuse me, do you know of any quests on this floor?" She would ask a pink-haired girl with a polite smile. As expected, the girl simply gave a shake of her head with a curt apology. Moving on to another, and another after that, Telrenya would find a new face in hopes that she might find someone to party with.

Telrenya's arms stretched towards the ceiling of her humble Artisan shop. The woman let out a yawn, her mind feeling hazy from the lingering sleepy feeling. Now that she had a shop, she always had a roof over her head, but she was quickly considering going to the inn a few blocks down to sleep at night. Despite having her own space, it wasn't designed to be a house, and as such there was no real way to get a comfortable night's sleep in the little boutique.

Stepping out of her shop and into the streets of Delilah, Telrenya place her hands on her hips and gave a quick look around. 'What to do, what to do...' She really needed to pick up some more gear--her rare-quality rapier alone wasn't going to do much for her once she started increasing her level, and the only thing she could make for herself was accessories. Not to mention how low her Artisan level still was, it would be a miracle if she could successfully craft even the lowest level of enhanced items.

@Hei

(OOC: Sorry, I wasn't very inspired for this intro, lol. Feel free to do whatever you like and we can have them run into each other.)

(OOC: Would you like to keep going, or end it here? I'm fine either way, this is a fun thread :3)

The blonde let out a heavy sigh, one of both relief and exhaustion, when the wasp finally shattered into thosands of pixels. 'Thank goodness that's over...' She thought, placing her rapier back in its sheathe at her hip. Just that one scuffle felt like it had worn her out, but Jomei grabbed her attention again when he turned to her and offered her some col and a single material. "Huh? Oh, I couldn't! I mean," The blonde tried to decline, but her shoulders soon dropped slightly as she hadn't the energy to even argue. She let out a tiny sigh and gave the man a small smile as she pressed the confirmation on the small window that had appeared before her. "Well... Thank you." She settled on saying instead.

She then felt a hand resting on her shoulder again, a bit surprised at the gesture before she absorbed Jomei's words. "N-no, you don't have anything to apologize for!" She urged, bringing her hands up to give a small wave of denial in front of her chest. "If it wasn't for you..." She averted her gaze as a tinge of embarrassment touched her cheeks again. "I wouldn't have been able to do this after all." She admitted in a shy voice. Trying to lighten the mood, Telrenya grew a smile as she looked back up at the Irishman. "Besides, if I keep trying I can take on stuff like this on my own in no time, right?" Despite the nervousness lingering in the back of her mind, the woman's smile widened with her words of confidence.

Telrenya's heated battle with the wasp was drawn out and getting nowhere. She was managing to dodge and deflect every attack the creature would throw at her, but the few strikes she tried to get in herself were just as quickly denied. The woman slashed her blade through the air as frustration festered inside of her. Pointing the tip of the rapier back at her target, she stared the wasp down as if trying to find some kind of hidden weak spot that might allow her attacks to land. Pushing forward, Telrenya simply initiated another round of clashing and disengaging, causing the blonde to growl lightly under her breath.

Jomei's voice pulled her back to reality, and the woman looked over to see him approaching. She blinked and looked back at him for a moment before her cheeks went pink and she averted her gaze. "Y-yeah, I'm fine." She replied, embarrassment setting in. Something in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and it was then that Telrenya realized her energy bar was completely empty. "Ehh?!" She groaned slightly as the discovery quickly had her feeling discouraged. "Mmn, we'll be here all day at this rate." The woman mumbled with a defeated sigh. "I guess I couldn't take it on my own." She admitted in a voice that was almost as quiet.

@Jomei

Quote

• ID#: 87867
  • BD: 5 - Miss!
  • MD: 4 - Miss!

Telrenya - HP: 76/140 | EN: 0/14 | 5 DMG

<Lesser Wasp> - HP: 42/70 | 21 DMG

Telrenya let out a steady breath. 'Alright, you got this...' She tried to reassure herself. The woman was sitting at just over half her HP bar remaining, while the wasp was a bit healthier. Had she misjudged the strength of the monsters around here? Or perhaps her bad luck was simply flaring up again. She was starting to wonder what might have happened if she had followed through with taking the field boss on solo. Would she have just gotten herself killed if Jomei hadn't run into her and offered his help?

Now wasn't the time to ponder the hypothetical and feel discouraged by the paths she hadn't taken. She had to take down this creature. She wanted to survive, which meant she had to be able to kill these monsters on her own. The wasp flew freely again as if its wing was back in commission. It lunged at the woman, who quickly reacted with another dodge. Slicing her weapon through the air, her counterattack was just as unsuccessful, watching as the wasp had moved just out of reach of her blade as it cut through the air it had left behind.

@Jomei

Quote

• ID#: 87865
  • BD: 4 - Miss!
  • MD: 3 - Miss!

Telrenya - HP: 76/140 | EN: 3/14 | 5 DMG

<Lesser Wasp> - HP: 42/70 | 21 DMG

The wasp had left a glowing red mark on Telrenya's back to indicate where it had struck. The woman's health bar had dropped as a result of the attack, but she tried her best not to get worked up when she was still well in the green. Taking in a deep breath, Jomei's voice then called out to her. She looked over to the man who had just demolished one of the monsters he had been engaged with. Despite the nerves that came with inexperienced combat, Telrenya put on a determined smile and nodded to Jomei. "Right!" She called back to him. Getting to her feet, the woman turned back to her opponent and raised her blade once more. "I'm still getting the hang of it." Her volume lowered, partially speaking to herself with her last comment.

Rushing towards her opponent once more, Telrenya's blade glowed an identical soft white. Her rapier danced through the air as she landed four solid strikes against the wasp, dealing slightly more damage than when she had attacked the Queen. A surge of satisfaction filled Telrenya's chest as the wasp's health bar dropped, but the smile on her face was quickly wiped away when the creature collided with her. Its thin wings faltered, as if the creature was falling. The weight of the massive insect threw Telrenya off balance as it crashed into her, and she let out a small grunt of discomfort when she fell back to the forest floor. "Get...off!" She grumbled under her breath, bringing her hands up to shove the the creature away from her. It fell to the ground again before its wings seemed to come back to life, batting rapidly to pick itself up from the forest floor again. Quickly getting back to her feet once again, Telrenya picked up her weapon and ran her free hand through her hair, feeling exasperated by what she initially thought would be a quick and straight-forward fight. 'Can I please stay on my feet now?' She thought.

@Jomei

Quote

• ID#: 87858
  • BD: 10 - Critical Hit! Quadruple Pain Activated:
    • (1 Base) + (2 Critical) + (2 Skill) + (2 Equipment) = (7 Damage) x (4 Sword Art) = 28 DMG
  • MD: 8 - Hit!

Telrenya - HP: 76/140 | EN: 4/14 | 5 DMG

<Lesser Wasp> - HP: 42/70 | 21 DMG

The sounds caused by the scuffle between Jomei and a few other wasps reached Telrenya's ears, but she didn't have the freedom to look over to see how the musician was doing. The enemy in front of her was asking for her full attention. Slowly circling around the creature, it didn't look to have much patience for her stalling while her mind was busy working out a way to turn her situation around. The wasp buzzed and chittered erratically before it finally charged towards the woman once again. Rather than trying to use her weapon against it, Telrenya simply tried to move out of the way by dashing to the side. The wasp gave a sharp turn as it angrily came back at the woman. Telrenya went for another dodge, hesitating for a moment as she felt unsure that her body would move in the way she wanted. Without the time to worry, Telrenya leaned forward and tucked her head and shoulder to roll beneath the creature. Back upright in an instant, Telrenya was left in a kneeling position, more disoriented than she had ever found herself. Her movements in combat felt almost indescribable--as if she was in control of her actions, but then sometimes she would lose that control completely. She still ended up where she wanted to, like coming out of a perfect forward roll, but the motions in between the start and finish felt strange and automatic. It was clear that Telrenya wasn't at all used to how Cardinal was assisting her in regulating certain movements. In fact, this might have been the first time she experienced such a thing. While her head was left spinning after her body had finished, the wasp found its opportunity to strike. The creature rushed for her, plunging its stinger just beside her shoulderblade.

@Jomei

Quote

• ID#: 87854
  • BD: 2 - Miss!
  • MD: 9 - Critical Hit!

Telrenya - HP: 97/140 | EN: 7/14 | 5 DMG

<Lesser Wasp> - HP: 70/70 | 21 DMG

'Okay, maybe not the best start...' Telrenya had picked herself back up to her feet, grasping her rapier in her right hand. She was lucky not to have taken any damage from either the wasp or the fall, but the feeling of meeting the forest floor had been rather unpleasant. The woman took a moment to steady herself, but the wasp before her buzzed angrily, not planning to give her any time to think. Its large abdomen curled slightly as the wasp lunged forward with a weapon of its own. The thin, sharp stinger protruding from its body rushed toward the blonde, leaving Telrenya with barely enough time to raise her blade against it. She managed to deflect the attack, sidestepping to fully clear herself from the wasps path as it passed her by. The creature wasted no time in turning back around for a second try, coming back at the player in its programmed pattern. Telrenya would try for a counter-attack this time around, only to come up short. The wasp moved quickly--moreso than she expected its wings to be able carry itself forward--and the woman was only able to bring her blade straight up against the stinger. She tried to push the sharp appendage away from her as before, but the wasp overpowered her this time. It glided past the woman's defense, leaving a red gash along the side of her left cheek before it broke away. Telrenya winced in reaction, bringing her free hand to her face as Cardinal sent a tingling sensation to wash over the wounded area. Reminding herself to stay alert, she raised her blade again while taking a couple of slow, sideways steps before she would attempt another attack.

@Jomei

Quote

• ID#: 87849
  • BD: 2 - Miss!
  • MD: 6 - Hit!

Telrenya - HP: 119/140 | EN: 8/14 | 5 DMG

<Lesser Wasp> - HP: 70/70 | 21 DMG

(OOC: Oh, duh. Should be all fixed now, sorry. I'm putting these monsters at loot minimum for me, but feel free to either split up and fight separately or come in and help. Whatever Jomei would do :3)

Telrenya's smile widened in satisfaction when the Wasp Queen fell. A system window appeared briefly in front of her, awarding her with bonus experience for the creature's defeat. 'That wasn't so bad.' The blonde thought, pressing a button to dismiss the dialogue box. Although the attacks had happened so quickly, Telrenya was intrigued by the glimpse she had caught of the man's weapon, which held a similar structure to her own. She was about to open her mouth to ask if he also used a rapier, but Jomei's shift back to a serious demeanor pulled her back to reality. Her gaze shifted between each of the small wasps that surrounded them, the creatures eying them with vague interest as they hovered above the ground. The ginger had asked her what she wanted to do, but their recent and swift victory had swelled her confidence. The woman smiled, holding her blade at the ready. "Well that was much easier than I thought it would be. These ones should be easy, too." Her logic wasn't exactly wrong. Taking the lead just as before, Telrenya started off to their left flank in an attempt to begin clearing out the swarm of wasps. Her blade easily met her first two targets, slicing through a pair of the smallest variation of wasp. The weakest monsters burst into pixels almost immediately before Telrenya came up on a creature that was bigger in size. Taking a fraction of a second to steel herself, the woman attempted to deliver the same attack that she had unleashed against the Queen. As she moved forward to stab the buzzing creature in the abdomen, the wasp quickly flew to the side to dodge her attack. The blonde hadn't anticipated anything of the sort, leaving her off balance as she fell forward with the momentum and tumbled to the ground.

Quote

• ID#: 87845
  • BD: 1 - Critical Miss!
  • MD: 5 - Miss!

Telrenya - HP: 140/140 | EN: 9/14 | 5 DMG
@Jomei - HP: 995/995 | EN: 93/98 | 13 DMG | 4 ACC | 4 EVA | 30 MIT | 2 LM

<Lesser Wasp> - HP: 70/70 | 21 DMG

The sight and sounds of nearby creatures that resembled massive, mutated wasps left Telrenya feeling a bit uneasy. Monsters in video game usually weren't so scary, at least when they weren't so lifelike. With only a taste of the opponents she would see on the lower floors, the blonde could only imagine what kind of disturbing and unsettling creatures laid in wait on the higher levels.

Trying to shake the thoughts from her mind, the woman focused instead on Jomei's words of instruction. 'Just ignore the others?' Telrenya thought with a bit of skepticism. The idea that the buzzing creatures could begin to chase after her at any moment had her uneasy once again, and it became a battle of will to keep the courage she had built up from dwindling.

Her rapier found its way out of its sheathe and into her dominant hand, holding steady as Telrenya stared down her target. "Alright... Here goes," She said in a quiet voice. Pushing herself forward, the blonde dashed between the smaller monsters to get close to her target. The thin blade of her sword began to glow a soft white while she closed the gap. Pushing her weapon forward, Telrenya delivered a set of four thrusts at the Wasp Queen, considerably dropping the health bar that hovered beside her.

Quote

• ID#: 87827
  • BD: 9 - Critical Hit!
  • (1 Base) + (1 Crit) + (2 Skill) + (2 Equipment) = (6 Damage) x (4 Sword Art) = 24 DMG
  • MD: 1 - Critical Miss!

Telrenya - HP: 140/140 | EN: 14/14 | 5 DMG
@Jomei - HP: 995/995 | EN: 98/98 | 13 DMG | 4 ACC | 4 EVA | 30 MIT | 2 LM

<The Wasp Queen> - HP: 26/50 | DMG: 20

ID# 87784  CD: 4 - No damage

Telrenya was nearly panting again by the time she closed the gap between herself and the pair of players. She leaned over, placing her palms to her knees to try and catch her breath once she had come to a stop. Upon taking in their questions about finding a piece of cargo, Telrenya's expression took on one of deep thought. "Uhh... I think I picked up a few things while I was out, but I don't fully remember..." She admitted a bit sheepishly. Straightening up a bit, the woman brought a hand to the back of her neck. "I can probably check..." She mumbled under her breath. Swiping a hand through the air to open up her menus, the woman scrolled around in her inventory and tapped on a handful of different items. Some were just regular materials, while others were complete junk. Among the items that spawned at her feet, however, was a small wooden chest that would appear to the other players as <<The Cargo>> quest objective.

ID# 87777  CD: 7 - No damage

Telrenya let out steady breaths as she walked. She mostly stared at the sand in front of her feet as she pressed on, occasionally looking up to see if she could spot any sign of a town or other players along her invisible path. The woman dragged an arm across her forehead, Cardinal unmercifully putting her under the effects of the desert's heat. Suddenly, she thought she might have heard something over the winds that whipped around her ears.

Telrenya stopped in her tracks, continuing to squint slightly against the dusty air as she gave a quick look around her. Surely enough, a figure stood in the distance. For half a second, she wondered if it was even a real person before deciding it didn't matter one way or another. Even if her mind was playing tricks on her, it seemed worth a shot to investigate. Changing her direction slightly, the blonde began walking towards the person in the distance, wondering if they might be able to hear her if she were to call back out. "Heeeeyy!" She yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth as she did so. "Excuse me!" Even in this kind of situation, she couldn't help from trying to be polite. "I'm trying to get back to town! Can you help?!" She called out while trying to reach the boy on foot.

ID# 87774  CD: 9 - No damage

Telrenya brought up a hand in a feeble attempt to shield her eyes from the desert sands that whipped back and forth across the fifth floor. The area outside of the safe zone was less forgiving than she could have imagined, and the woman found herself tripping and stumbling often as she carried herself forward. "So much... for some basic exploration..." The blonde practically panted out the words as she mumbled to herself. The rapier-wielder had initially set out from Armadillo with a simple goal in mind: get an idea of the area outside of the safe zone and try to collect a bit of map data. Just some simple scouting before she would head back home to Delilah. The desert seemed to have other plans for her, however. Hopelessly lost, Telrenya trudged along, only hoping that she might be heading in the right direction to get herself back to civilization. "I really hope... I can make it somewhere safe before sunset..."

Telrenya listened intently to the man's brief explanation of his profession. Her eyes widened slightly when he summoned an instrument from his inventory. It wasn't that she hadn't seen items materialize out of thin air in this game before--it was actually a very common occurence. It was when the sound of the strings reached her ears, when the concept of music didn't feel so far away, that Telrenya felt a pang of mixed emotions hit her. Memories of the real world that had begun to feel far away started trickling back to her. She felt a bit homesick while she recalled the nights she would spend practicing the violing. The best times were when her elder brother was around to listen. Suddenly, Telrenya began to feel as though she might have chosen the wrong profession.

Even so, a weak smile made its way to her features. "That's really amazing." She stated after realizing that she hadn't yet offered a response. The blonde continued to enjoy the sound of the lute until Jomei had dismissed the item. Placing a palm on the hilt of her rapier, the woman tried to shift her focus back to the task at hand. As they continued through the woods, having passed several neutral and other low-level monsters during their walk, the pair soon reached a small clearing that contained a noticably higher number of wasp-like monsters scatted about. In the distance among them, a single insect larger and more intimidating than all the rest hovered above the ground. The woman stopped, surveying the monster for a moment before speaking up. "It looks like that's it?"

"Oh," She breathed out, listening to his explanation. 'Music Hall... Performer?' The terms echoed in her mind. The Earning a Living quest was still fresh in her mind--she had just established a shop of her own not long ago, but 'Performer' was something she wasn't familiar with. The allure of music, however, tugged further at her curiosity. "Hmm... So, you can play an instrument?" She asked thoughtfully. The woman couldn't help a tiny frown from forming when his tone began to falter. He seemed uncomfortable for a moment, and Telrenya made the quick decision not to press him on the matter any further. When the explanation of his plans to find a new location for his shop reach her ears, the blonde perked up again. "Ah! I'm sorry that you had to change your plans like this." She felt the impulsive need to apologize despite the man's friendly smile that accompanied his words.

Between small glances, Telrenya was able to catch the look of surprise on Jomei's face before she felt his hand resting on her shoulder. The girl froze up for a split second, wondering if she was rude to assume that he expected anything in return before she pushed the thoughts from her mind. 'Dwelling on every word won't get me anywhere,' She reminded herself. 'Maybe thinking about all this 'solo'ing stuff is giving me more stress than I thought.' She took a brief moment to relax before digesting the ginger's instruction.

"Oh, uhh," The blonde perked up when she realized she had been given the role of leader. She gave a quick clearing of her throat, straightening up a bit as she tried to take on the knightly role her clothing would suggest. "Right, let's head out then!" She gave a nod and turned towards the direction of the town's gate once she had her bearings.

As the unlikely pair made their way towards the edge of the safe zone, a question had been pulling at Telrenya's mind that she just couldn't seem to dismiss. She thought about it, coming up with ideas as to what the answer might be, before finally giving in and turning her head towards the man beside her. "Um... I was just wondering, what exactly did you mean when you said you used to live here before?"

The man with striking orange hair didn't even seem to hesitate before offering to leave the city with her and offer his protection. Telrenya was surprised by his helpful demeanor, but quickly recovered as her own smile widened. "Telrenya," The woman forwent her typical introduction of a bow to instead take Jomei's outstretched hand in a small handshake. Once she had pulled back, her hand found its way to the back of her neck again, a look of slight uncertainty appearing while she wore her emotions on her sleeve. "Oh, well... I heard about a 'field boss' that lives in the woods. A um, queen bee or something." She described vaguely, feeling the need to answer his question before voicing her concerns. Her voice dropped in volume as she averted her gaze. "I don't really have anything to give you for helping me, though..." Telrenya wasn't sure if she felt bad for not being able to compensate the man, or for assuming that he expected some sort of payment. Some people made a living like that, working as mercenaries or bodyguards for lower-leveled players, right?

Telrenya had gathered a few materials and placed them on a workbench. Excitement bubbling inside of her, the woman sat down and surveyed the workspace. She only hoped her first crafting attempt wouldn't turn out so badly.

"Okay, let's start with something simple." She talked to herself while looking over the materials she had available. She had some dyes, a couple of minerals, and some other strange objects that somehow classified themselves as Artisan materials. Without spending too much time dwelling on how each item would be used, she scooted forward in her chair and set to work. She took a couple of dyes in her hands and inspected each of them a moment. Taking a blank canvas from her supplies, she placed it flat in front of her and poured a small amount of the dye out onto it. Cardinal took over how the objects interacted, displaying the colors placed on the canvas in an artistic swirling pattern.

87736 - 9 (Good)
87737 - 6 (Bad - Salvaged)

"Do I have any potions left?" Telrenya had begun muttering to herself as she paced. "If I get some of those, it should be easy, right? ...Do I even have any money for that?" Her train of thought continued to change tracks as it sped along. As she continued to stall her departure under the guise of planning and preparation, an outsider's voice tugged at her attention, snapping the woman from her thoughts and back to reality.

"Huh?" Telrenya stopped short, straightening her spine as she looked like a lost fawn searching for the source of the noise. She didn't have to look around her for more than a second when her brown eyes drifted up to land on a male figure. Much taller than herself, Jomei wore a look of slight concern that left Telrenya puzzled. Finally, realizing that the ginger staring back at her had asked her a question, the blonde woman perked up in reaction. "Oh! Oh yes, I'm okay, um," She felt a tinge of embarrassment make its way to her cheeks. Had she been acting strangely? Someone she didn't know felt compelled to approach her like this. Feeling the need to explain herself--or at the very least try to quell the awkward atmosphere that hung over her--Telrenya brought up a hand to rest at the back of her neck. "I'm just, um... I was thinking about leaving the town on my own." Hearing her own shy words caused Telrenya to frown. What did she have to be so nervous about? Putting on a small, friendly smile, the woman continued in a more confident voice. "Sorry if I worried you!"

Telrenya's white boots tapped lightly against the stone pavement of Urbus. A few steps forward and then she would turn on her heel and continue a few steps back to her original position. The blonde woman had been pacing in front of the teleport gate for several minutes now, oblivious to the strange looks she would get from other players, looking to be too deep in thought to notice anything else around her. Several days had passed since she completed her first couple of quests, and now she found herself venturing to the second floor. A rare-quality rapier rested at her left hip, her newest prized possession that had caused her to wonder if she might be able to handle a quest or two on her own. What had her lost in her thoughts with a troubled look on her face was the information she had just gathered from some of the more generous players she had encountered some minutes ago.

'A field boss... Field boss...' She repeated the term in her mind. What was a field boss like? Was it something she could fight on her own? All of her previous motivation had begun to crumble as she questioned whether she was really capable of holding her own outside of the safe zones. Her fear was both frustrating and embarrassing, but it was fear that kept her safe. Stuck in her internal battle, Telrenya continued her pacing with her torso bent slightly forward, arms folded over her chest.

@Jomei

Telrenya's face was still flushed when she shyly took the hand Aoda offered. Her mind swirled with the thoughts of her embarrassment and the shameful situation she had found herself in. 'A lot like the real world...' Telrenya nearly let out a sigh when the thought entered her mind. She was always rather spineless when it came to being bullied. She thought it would be different now that she was in Aincrad, far away from the people that went out of their way to give her a hard time.

The blonde cleared her throat--perhaps a bit more forcefully than needed--in an attempt to compose herself once she was standing. Her spine straightened, and the redness in her cheeks slowly began to fade as she placed her right hand over her heart and offered the raven-haired player a her usual bow in greeting. "I'm sorry for the trouble. My name is Telrenya." She tried to be extra polite to the man that had gone out of his way to help her. It was then that he had offered for her to join him in exploring the town, which took the woman aback for a moment. As with all of her emotions, the surprise was clearly displayed in her features. "O-oh! Um..." She seemed to think about her answer for a brief moment. After finding no harm in accompanying the player, Telrenya offered him a friendly smile. "Sure! It's my first time here, so I needed to explore the town."