Calypso

"Hmm?" Callie leaned over to observe the transaction while the shopkeeper explained her cooking-related wares. "Oh, that's interesting." She commented. "I haven't even touched the crafting system. It's nice to know that it's so customizable." She'd indulged in some of the culinary creations that Aincrad had to offer during her time here, but she never knew if there was much difference between the dishes offered at a tavern or ones hand-made by players with the Cooking skill. Save for the potential stat bonuses, of course.

"Oh, aahhh..." She tapped on her chin again, wracking her brain for potential gifts and their recipients. "Just a couple." She confirmed with a nod. "But now I wish I knew if either of them had a profession or not, a gift for crafting sounds like a great idea." She chuckled before sucking her teeth. Looking around at the stalls nearest them, she perked up and took a few paces towards a booth vaguely labeled "Accessories" with a lanky old man standing expectantly on the other side. His pruned face broke out into a wide smile as they approached, and he greeted them with a faint whistle in his words. "Welcome! Ya lookin' for somethin' specific?" He nodded his head and Callie gave a friendly smile in return while her eyes traveled over the many trinkets on display.

Nearly everything at this stall was in the shape of some animal or another. Jewelry, pendants, and baubles were all sculpted after the likeness of boars, dragons, cats, and so many more. With an idea in her head, she immediately drifted towards a display of pins. Surprisingly, despite the sheer number of little items, it didn't take long to find the three animals she was after, though she grabbed a certain one only when she was sure that Shield's eyes weren't on her. "How much for these?" She noticeably held a pair of them in the palm of one hand: a white-and-blue penguin and a gold-and-bronze lion. She kept her transaction with the old jeweler brief, wearing a satisfied smile while she transferred the col for all three trinkets over. "Oh! Do you have little boxes for them or anything?" She was lucky enough that the shopkeeper tacked on a minuscule fee to let her take them away in three little colored gift boxes, about the size of a ring box. Turning back towards Shield, she dismissed two of them to her inventory and proudly held up the remaining one in a soft pastel blue. "Well I know at least one of them is here already." She grinned, already planning to deliver her gift to Spencer should they run into him along their way.

Callie realized, as Shield mumbled to himself and mulled over who all he knew well enough to get a present and what in the world such a present might be, that she had a very similar conundrum. "Good question..." She tapped a knuckle against her chin. She tried to think, if she'd ever gone out of her way to get one of her online friends a gift inside of the game. There was usually something like rare equipment, maybe limited-time items that one might like. Or even cosmetics from an in-game shop that required a bit of real-life spending. But anything impressive would probably take a while to even obtain. Living in a game made the whole thing a bit trickier.

She shook her head when Shield asked about the exclusive items on display. "Nope, I pretty much just got here." A smile played on her lips after she wondered if there was even anything for sale there that she would make good use of. "But I did see that sign about 'only one item per person'." She waved a finger through the air as one would when limiting a child to a certain number of sweets, and chuckled. "If you want, I can grab something extra for you, assuming they're not untradeable." She offered.

"Huh?" She almost followed her instinct to pull away when Shield's hands suddenly reached closer to her, unable to process what exactly he was holding out. She saw the puff of white yarn, then glanced down to see the comical moustache and beard combo dangling below her chin. "Pfft! Shield!" She broke out in a laugh, playfully swatting his hand away. "Ohh man... That's a fun thought," She began to recover. "What's the most ridiculous outfit you've seen someone fighting in?"

@Shield

"Pfft!" Though poor Lilith did not deserve to be laughed at, Callie had to hold her hand to her mouth while her shoulders bounced in a muffled giggle. It was enough to wake her up from her own exhaustion, at least until she could hit a much-needed bed of her own. Crouched down, she gave the bristling viper a little pet with one finger while the two sassed each other.

She kept quiet while Shield pulled himself back to the present, offering no objections when he hurried, back-to-business and urged that they get moving. Still, his pause to correct himself brought a tired smile to her lips. "Hey, you're justified." She shrugged lightly, picking her legs up to bring herself back to her full height and begin the trek from the open field back to Coral. She stopped to bend over and offer a hand to Lilith as a transferring point which would allow Shield to take her back from a wrist rather than a boot. "I'm probably just going to the inn here and crashing for the rest of the night." She admitted as they walked, sticking her chin out in the direction of town. She didn't like to think about the higher prices she'd likely pay at the main settlement, considering what a 'vacation spot' this part of the floor seemed to offer them, but the instant gratification of a bed being available to her sooner rather than later tempted her frugality to take a backseat tonight.

Perfect. This was still salvageable. She had held onto a few nerves while he fell back to vague explanations of the items he had been surveying and the strategy behind picking up one versus the other, but she endured any unease with the excuse that this was just him taking a minute to ground himself. 'Note: surprises in public are a no-go.'

She grew a smile when he shifted the conversation. The way he talked about it now felt more like going shopping on Christmas Eve. The only thing she might regret this time of year was not having more people she held close enough to pick out some kind of gift for. Her smile grew wider and warmer still when he tacked on the thought just relaxing over a drink. People-watching was always a fun past-time, and what better place to get all warm and fuzzy over the interactions of total strangers than a Christmas festival. "That all sounds like a great time," She agreed, eyes wandering in the direction of some nearby booths that were set up. While the 'rare', 'specialty', and 'limited' item vendors were going to have the most attention for the rest of the night, she could spot at least a few other NPCs milling about to offer trinkets, vanity pieces, and warm food and drink. Callie had just opened her mouth to speak again when the sound of tiny 'Noot's reached her ears. "Hm?" She looked down to see a little baby penguin climbing up onto one of her boots, stretching and reaching to tug at one of the bell-tipped ends of her skirt. "Oh, you're Spencer's familiar, right?" She chuckled and followed the direction that his other little wing was pointing until she spotted the tall, sandy-blonde man amongst the crowd.

Once he had seen that he had her attention, Callie caught the movement of his hands followed by the a sly wink and the smug look on his face. She tensed up, embarrassment filling her until she spotted the man on Spencer's arm. She signed back, an alternative to shouting across the square despite how much she wanted to in the moment. "You're one to talk! Watch it, or I'll steal this cute little guy when you're not looking." She chuckled again, but little Noot had already excitedly waddled off and she let both him and his owner be. "Sorry," She turned back to Shield, tucking a loose lock of hair back behind her ear. "Looks like a friend showed up, and I guess he just wanted to tease me." She admitted, feeling a hint of refreshment in choosing the word 'friend' to describe Spencer.

@Shield @Spencer

The aftermath of her little girlish gesture immediately filled Callie with dread. She retracted her hand just the second after she watched her pointer finger make contact with exactly the wrong part of Shield's face, and she held her hands up in front of her chest while a sheet of concern covered her face. "Oh God, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" She asked hurriedly, her own cheeks dusting a light pink after his lowered head drew a bit close to the hem of her skirt. She was practically holding her breath, lips pursed until he had recovered, until she finally released the air in a half-nervous chuckle at his fumbled greeting. She smiled softly, and was about to muster out a response to his compliment when Shield suddenly announced his exit from the small crowd immediately around them. She had hardly caught a glance at anyone he had been talking with, and before she took much of a chance to start she was tugged rather urgently by the arm.

Another chuckle let some of her nerves spill out as she and Shield retreated from the suffocating group and he took a chance to explain himself. "I know." She smiled, a half-automatic response. It grew a little bit wider as she recalled the exact area she had found him hovering around in the first place. "I know you wouldn't pass up any freebies, though." She referred to whatever might have been up for grabs under the area designated for a raffle of some sort. Danesh gave a little shake against Callie's shoulders when the sudden weight of his scaley companion was placed atop him. The half-dragon hated crowds about as much as Shield, and the cold equally so. Callie had done her best to find a little cloak of sorts for his long body, but she went a bit overboard with a tiny headband sporting antlers in front of his actual horns and a red lighted nose over his pointed snout. Despite the lift in mood at Lilith's presence, Danesh was glued to his perch for now.

"So, what else is on the agenda?" She inquired, hoping to smooth things out as they leisurely walked, packed snow crunching a little further under their boots.

@Shield

Callie gave a little spin in front of a mirror, inspecting and admiring festive attire she had acquired with such little effort in the days leading up to this 'Christmas Extravaganza'. A green, long-sleeved leotard clung to her skin underneath a snug red top: a touch of frill instead of sleeves, cutting into a deep V with a thick elastic band hugging her torso just below her chest. Just below her waist, a wavy red skirt was cut into several points that reached to her knees, decorative bells stitched onto each end. Below that, her legs were bare down to the red ankle-boots that zipped up at the sides. Her long seafoam hair hung loose at her back, and nestled behind her fringe a simple green hat was pinned into place and fell just over the strands.

The message she received was unexpected, but brought a wider smile to her face. Saved her the trouble of sending one off herself. With a quick blink, she put two and two together and realized just how behind her own schedule she was running, and hurried out of her inn room and made the short trek to Snowfrost.

Today was the day. Callie was filled with as much Christmas spirit as she was determination, and no matter how forced either of them really were, she wasn't going to admit it. She hardly took the time to stop and admire the shining lights and decor that were strung throughout the town, she was so fixated on her goal. Before long, she managed to find just the man in a santa hat she was looking for. Callie stepped up behind Shield, giving him a tap on the shoulder. Immediately after she held out her index finger, waiting for his head to turn so that she would end up giving his cheek a quick poke. That was cute, right? Endearing, maybe? Just silly enough not to make him cringe, at least?

@Shield

"Hm?" She hummed lightly when her name was called, gaze drifting over to Shield while he sleepily spoke. His exhaustion came as a bit of a surprise, though she couldn't say she didn't share in the feeling. As she watched him finish his thought and was left to wonder whether he'd really fallen asleep so quickly, a small smile grew on her lips the longer he lay still. She looked at him fondly even after Lilith had made her way back over and settled herself on his avatar, letting out a sigh and carefully repositioning herself on the grassy field. She scooted just a bit closer, leaning back onto her hands and looking back up to the starry sky now that the orange glow of sunset had given way to the deep blue of night.

"What a day..." She muttered to herself. "What do you think we should do now, Dani?" She spoke quietly, dipping her chin back down to glance to her own familiar as she felt him crawling up onto her lap. His head raised, and beady black eyes looked back up at her for a second before his mouth opened into a wide yawn. "Okay, but after that." She chuckled softly with a shake of her head. "I guess... We get back to it, huh? I'm not exactly frontliner material, though." The more she dwelled on the thought of big monsters and boss fights, the tighter the knot growing in her stomach became.

Five minutes turned to ten, then twenty. When Callie finally felt her head lull forward with the heaviness of her own eyelids, she conceded the fight and turned to Shield beside her. She hesitated at first, but went on to gently prod his arm. "Shield? Hey, wake up, we should really get back to town or something." She said, fighting back a yawn.

Callie nodded along, following and agreeing with his understanding. As he continued and she kept her eyes focused on the shifts in color on the horizon as the sun disappeared from view altogether, her expression changed first into a frown. Assuming they made it out of here alive, Shield's battle would be far from over. Each and every survivor would likely need months of physical therapy, if not more than that. Minors will have lost what could be years of coming into the world, set back on their studies and unable to enter most job markets. The world itself will have changed, and they'll struggle to catch up and secure a grip back on the normalcies of life. It was depressing, and demoralizing. Callie pursed her lips, trying to put together the right words to say when he started again and she felt his eyes on her. She looked over and briefly met them, catching the look on his face.

It was unfair to say that Shield never smiled, but it was not wrong to say that it was rare to find him in a position of exchanging heartfelt sentiments. She found herself smiling back, unaware at first and quickly facing back forward and lowering her gaze while the upturned corners of her mouth held their position. She felt almost bashful for a moment with the short exchange, but found her senses quickly enough and shifted herself slightly, pressing her open palms into the grass behind her and leaning her weight back. It took a second, but she found the courage more quickly than she would have thought. "Yeah... I can't say there's anyone else I've met here that, well, I wouldn't mind seeing again when it's all over with."

She embraced the quiet during their short journey back to the open fields, for there was not nearly as much tension looming in the air as there had been before. As Shield bent his legs and took a seat in the grass, Callie followed suit. She left an arm's length between them and pulled her knees loosely inward while she brought her hands to rest over bare shins. With all the movement Danesh finally abandoned his post at the top of her head and climbed down her shoulder to hop to the earth below. He circled in place a couple of times, curling up for a short nap at Callie's side while the two recovered from the day's ordeals.

Her lips pursed slightly, a tightness that meant that she wanted to say something meaningful, but couldn't. It was such an unproductive feeling; the extension of another person's sadness, and the small ripple of helplessness at not being able to ease the pain. "Me too. I mean, I'm glad you were there to talk some sense into me." She at least acknowledged her own gratitude out loud. A minute or two of quiet passed them by, a soft breeze rolling through the little hills and ruffling the grass as well as their hair. The sunlight was starting to disappear, and the colors in the sky very gradually shifted from hues of orange and pink to muted grays before the darkness of night would take over. "It was about eight years before this game, I think. So I've had a while to get used to it, but... Relationships were never easy. I got into games and online communities because I could connect with people without that barrier." Talking felt nice. It was a needless explanation, throwing bits of her life beyond Aincrad out into the air, but that didn't matter. If he would listen, opening up on her own terms was comforting. "I haven't wanted to leave the game for a while. It wasn't until I was threatened that I felt any sense of urgency to level up--pad my numbers so I could survive--and that's about when we met. But I always figured, if and when we got out of here, it's all going to be shut down. VR games might still be a thing, but any this full-dive stuff probably lost any hope of funding the day after we all got stuck in here. That's all I was thinking about, anyway.

"It was selfish, and I'm both sorry and not sorry." A short pause, and she wasn't sure how to continue. It felt as though there was nothing else for her to say, and yet she didn't want to fall silent just there. She gave another quick clear of her throat to clear away the hint of awkwardness, though it only really served to point it out. "But thank you, for listening. It's making the whole, internal conflict thing a little bit easier."

Callie jumped, almost as surprised by Shield's sudden exclamation as the man himself, and turned to catch him shifting uncomfortably while his familiar made herself comfortable. In a short moment of comic relief she chuckled, welcoming the viper's distraction from the heavy hearts that the memory chambers had left them with. "Aww, cute. Speaking of--" She had just turned her head to survey the area for her own animal companion when Danesh reached her. Having snaked through the air at her waist, the half-dragon's paws landed on her clothing and tiny claws dug into her to serve as his holds while he scurried around, up her back, across her shoulders, and even up her seafoam hair to perch most of his long body atop her head. The sensation of the squirrelly creature scampering over her and the little pricks of his nails caused Callie to squirm, turning a full circle in place while she tried to catch Danesh with her eyes. "Hey--Dani! Gah, what's gotten into you?" Once still, he held his head high at alert while his beady onyx eyes stared intently at Shield's avatar. It wasn't until he must have spotted the flick of Lilith's tongue whipping through the air between the cuff of his sleeve that Danesh relaxed, laying his head down and nestling into the crook of his own half-curled body.

Callie let out a huff of air, shoulders dropping in slight relaxation. She gave half a smirk in Shield's direction. "Okay, I deserved that." A hand reached up to lazily stroke the tail that spilled down along the back of her head. As glad as she was that both Danesh and Lilith were fine and back in their possession, she took a moment to realize that she was equally glad they hadn't been accompanied to whatever rooms and hallways covered in strange mirrors down there. A melancholy hung over her, and she wasn't sure if she should embrace the reflection of the whole ordeal or push it away. A quick, almost nervous glance in Shield's direction and she was hit with a pang of guilt that told her she had already been doing the latter for long enough. Callie gave a quick clear of her throat, in part to commit to getting words out after. "Well, should we head back to town? We might even catch the sunset on the way back. Maybe take a minute to unwind." She suggested in half-sentences, attention focused on the spaces between the trees to their side rather than Shield himself.

Her eyes glanced to the side once when she felt the sudden contact, but paid it no mind. Hers was elsewhere, reflecting on his response. "I understand. A little bit, at least." She smiled wryly after his sentence hung in the air. There were only two years between her brother and herself, but she had often puffed out her chest as she took on the role of 'big sister'. More often than not her protective habits, nagging, and advice were surely more of an annoyance to the pre-teen boy that was just trying to grow up on his own, but there were fonder memories scattered forward and back that brought a smile to her face: smearing disinfectant on a scraped knee, and even his bright-red cheeks when she grilled him about his first date. They had grown up together, but nothing was stranger than realizing she couldn't lift him up on her back anymore and she'd never have to drive him to school again.

They came to a stop and when Shield presented his photograph to the soft glow of the double-doors Callie's eyes widened slightly. Her hand moved to a pouch at her belt where she had tucked the item away and retrieved her own memento. For a minute she didn't want to hold it forward. She stared back at her brother's stupid, grinning face and feared that the mechanism would [censored] the image away from her, and so she studied it, etching his features back into her immediate memory. Still, knowing that their progress was halted, she urged herself to extend her arm and held the photo up to her respective 'keyhole' of sorts.

The mostly-obscured lights pulsed once and the stone slabs in front of the shuddered. The color dimmed and the earth slowly dragged itself to either side, audibly scraping against the rest of what held it in place as the stairway was revealed to them once again. Much to her relief, Cardinal seemed to want nothing else from their pictures other than proof that they'd been obtained. The lighted squares disappeared before the rest of the stone doors slid into the tunnel beside them, and the pair was left alone with their prizes. Callie released a breath and started to climb back to the floor's surface.

The distant sky, which had shone bright blue with traces of pluming white clouds, was colored a beautiful muted orange that signaled the approach of sunset. The trees of the forest that surrounded them were still thick enough to prevent much of a view, but the thick, eerie fog that had hugged their trunks had thinned considerably since their descent. "Guess we were gone for a while." She thought out loud, absentmindedly fidgeting with the corner of her photograph before carefully tucking it away again.

Callie's brows were still turned up when she came to a stop beside Shield. She peered over his shoulder with half-interest at first while he automatically pulled the spoils from the lone chest. Of course the slip of cardstock still sitting at the bottom caught both of their eyes, and she stood in apprehensive silence until Shield came forward with small, strained words. Callie fixated on the photograph for a short time, and though her expression still bore plenty of concern after the whole emotional ordeal, the corners of her mouth pulled up into a soft smile at the sight of Shield happily posing with the two girls. Her eyes were of course drawn to what was left of the fourth person standing in frame, but after his short explanation she settled back onto the smaller girl's grinning face. "Yeah," She started in understanding. "I never really, resented my parents," She had paused for half a second in order to pick out a suitable word, "But my brother was always like my best friend, especially after we were all grown up." She had to resist the urge to pull up her inventory and retrieve the image of her own family. There would be plenty of time to reminisce later, she told herself.

"They're adorable, by the way." She shifted the topic, still studying the smiling faces in the picture while her own grew a bit more genuine. She turned and shot a glance up to Shield and then gave a small nod of her head in the other direction to start herself walking again. She led the way this time but kept a relaxed pace now that the memory chambers no longer tortured them. The silence was still stiff, their reflections bouncing back and forth off of the mirrors standing the length of each wall beside them as they worked down the long tunnel that Callie hoped would lead them back to the staircase to the misty forest. "What's the hardest part, do you think? Of being a parent." She wondered aloud to keep the quiet from overtaking them. 

Her slight smile was forced, but Shield wasn't looking at it either way. Callie's brows were still turned up, her face displaying her desire to help--that strange but genuine want to ease a pain that she could hardly comprehend--but also her own misdirection. They had separated, and she was content to kneel in silence while Shield took the time he needed to compose himself before they thought about moving again. Somehow managing to slip from her mind, the yelling rang out again and spurred her partner to action. She flinched, though she couldn't tell if it was from the echoing memory jumping back to its beginning or Shield's sudden movement to put himself elsewhere. He moved past her, quite possibly on autopilot back down the long hallway of mirrors, and Callie hurried to rise back to her feet and take wide strides to keep up.

She opened her mouth to call out for him, perhaps ask him to wait or slow down, but she stopped herself before any sound escaped. Luckily it didn't take long for the sounds from the large chamber to fade away, but the stifling silence that they were left in was hardly any more desirable. Their footsteps were loud, that and their breathing the only thing to fill the eerie void. A glance to her left and Callie could see several copies of them hurrying down the long passageway. The dream-like visions of their past selves no longer populated the walls, and so the mirrors simply bounced their reflections back and forth. Her mouth tightened as she tried to catch sight of even half of his expression, watching the back of his head nervously when the attempt failed. Finally, after picking up into a jog for just a couple of paces, she spoke up. "I'm sorry." She hated those words, but she struggled to force anything else out at first. For a tortuously long moment all she felt was frustration. She always thought she was garbage at empathizing or emotionally connecting with others. She had preferred staying aloof. Knowing everyone on the surface was always good enough. But now that she had delved deeper, words failed. "I, uhm," She tried anyway. "I understand if it's, something you didn't want to share. But, well, what you said earlier..." She felt the tightness of her throat as she swallowed, and her eyes dropped to focus on the smooth stone floor between them as she had to actively fight back the tells that the emotional stability she had forced back together earlier was growing shaky. "I feel the same way. I mean, it doesn't change anything."

"Hmm, alright." Callie had just swapped out her clothing when Hestia's reply arrived, storing away her beach-friendly attire for the basic combat gear that she had available. Fitted earthy-brown pants were cinched with a leather belt, from which two small bags were fastened. While other players might have supplies like potions or crystals stowed away for quick use, Callie's pockets only contained a haphazard combination of semi-useful quest rewards and a couple of wrapped food items to snack on. Behind the basic leather chestguard, her claymore in its sheathe was strapped to her back, and she was working to tie her long cerulean hair over her shoulder with the bare fingers that poked out from their gloves as she walked.

She kept a brisk pace, nearly leaving Danesh behind as she hurried back to the main city and teleport plaza therein on the sixteenth floor. The detour was relaxing enough, but had grown a bit lonely. Hestia's invitation couldn't have been more welcome of a distraction. Having estimated the walk would take her about fifteen minutes, her avatar arrived in a flash of light and a little out of breath in just under ten. "Okay now, Hestia..." Callie mumbled the name to herself, golden eyes running over the throng of players in front of her while she tried to recall the woman's appearance and watch for her in the crowd.

Having lost track of time long ago, Callie's breaths were heavy and steady. Her cheek pressed up against an arm that was crossed over her knees, and her shoulders bobbed lightly up and down like the waves that rolled in on the beach. It was the sound of a new message, the familiar notification that chimed in her ears, that roused her from sleep. Callie's eyes fluttered open and she let out a soft mumble, only now realizing that she must have dozed off on the warm sands of the beach. "Mm? What's up?" She muttered, still coming to consciousness before she realized there was nobody else in sight. She looked around, blinking past the sunlight, and rubbed at one eye with the back of her hand while her other stumbled through her menus to pull up the message that Cardinal had notified her of.

It took her a moment, but she realized the sender's name was familiar and from exactly where. Both glad to have gotten a response and surprised that it was from an acquaintance of hers, Callie typed up a brief reply while a yawn worked its way up from her chest.

Quote

Hi again! That's great, I'd really appreciate it. I'll need just a minute, should I meet you back on Floor 1 then?

As the message was sent off, Callie reluctantly picked herself up from the ocean's edge, raising her arms above her head in a long stretch.

Callie blinked in surprise. She shouldn't have, but the reaction escaped her. She kept her hold on Shield's hand, almost instinctively, as his frame fell closer to the floor. A silly, ineffective attempt to keep him steady on his feet. The full weight of everything only now began to press down on her shoulders while it threatened to crush Shield across from her, and the only thing she could think to do was to press the palm of her hand against the back of the gauntlet that covered his. She bit on the inside of her bottom lip, eyebrows knit together and turned upwards while her eyes rested on him. He had always been stoic. Not cold, but usually closed off. Not detached, but sometimes distant. Keeping all of this baggage to himself for so long, it was a wonder that he was still sane. That is, until these memory mirrors worked to dredge up all the unwanted scenes of his past. Maybe subconsciously, she had wanted to forget about her old life, and maybe Shield had tried to block out some of his. But the pictures of those two little girls were left running through her mind--the brief scenes of his younger face filled with joy and love when he was with them that she had never seen before. He'd lost them twice now.

She could always tell that physical expressions of comfort or support were not something that Shield was very comfortable with. Even his initiative to take her by the hand and guide her away from her own set of haunting mirrors came as a bit of a surprise. But as the words she had mustered out had little to no impact, she felt lost for options. Now wasn't the time to worry about crossing boundaries, she thought. Callie dropped herself to a knee. She slipped her hands away from his, severing their connection for just a second while she moved her arms past his shoulders. Leaning forward, she carefully pulled him a bit closer to meet halfway. She stopped herself from gnawing on the skin of her lip while her chin rested on his armored shoulder. She stayed there, hands pressing lightly against his back, content to ride out the waves of emotion.

The waves rolled in, coating the sand in seafoam that quickly fizzled away with each repetition. "You're probably not much of a swimming person either, huh?" She cast a sideways glance at Danesh over the edges of her knuckles, eyebrows raised as she watched the napping dragon for a few seconds. Her earlier frown persisted, and golden eyes turned back forward. "Yeah, same." She said with a huff of air.

She was bored, but what else was there to do? Quests were always an option to kill time, and most of the hooks that NPCs offered promised an entertaining story or fantastic scenery that she would normally take in a heartbeat. But since she refused to go solo, and her most regular adventuring partner was being stubbornly held at arm's reach as of late, she had little choice but waiting around. Hopefully something actually came of her posted request, and she wouldn't have to take further measures to find a decent party.

"Oh God, I hope he doesn't find it." The thought struck her, and her fingers uncurled from her cheek to press against the corner of her eye and the bridge of her nose. Of course she wouldn't expect Shield to confront her about something so trivial, but there was always the chance that he might take her choice of looking elsewhere personally, right? Would she be put-off, if their roles were reversed in that scenario? Her lips pursed, cheeks filling with air before it spilled out of her in a stream to tousle her bangs.

Callie hadn't even realized she was holding her breath until she felt the puff of air hitting her fingers again. Her hand had traveled back up to her mouth, trying to hide how it hung slightly agape at the scenes that played out before them. All kinds of regret and guilt and empathy twisted around to form a knot in her stomach that held her attention up until Shield's grip on her hand tightened. Not so much a gesture to her, or a request for support as a reaction to keep himself from crumbling. Callie's expression was first troubled, her brows turned up as she caught a glimpse of Shield's head hanging down beside her. Her head turned. Just like the first chamber, this labyrinth didn't show them any obvious means to exit, so trying to pull off the band-aid in a hurry wasn't likely. And really, she'd had enough of running away and avoiding things by now.

Thinking back to their passage from the first memory chamber to this second, Callie did the only thing she could think of by mirroring Shield's earlier action. She kept a firm grip on his hand as she turned back towards the more narrow tunnel of mirrors they had emerged from, pulling him along to the mouth of the room. Of course the sounds of the scenes that played on repeat behind them weren't entirely gone, but the distance helped them to fade into something more like background noise as Callie turned to face him again. She wanted to say something, but for a second decided against it. Instead she paused, gathering her thoughts until she forced them outwards, her eyes pointed at the blank space on the edge of a mirror beside them. "I'm sorry for being so hard on you. I never said it out loud, but I always wanted to groan or complain when I'd see how focused on the game you were. Everything was about stats and numbers. The only reason I haven't been so worried about you being on the frontlines is because I've never seen more than a scratch on you." The corner of her mouth picked up into something like a fond, reminiscent smile as her eyes briefly turned his way before she continued. 

"I was trying to forget about the real world, but you," Without thinking, her other hand reached forward to take his as well, and she found the courage to continue facing him. "You have something that you're fighting for, and that's incredible."

Across Callie's other shoulder, Danesh flicked his tail, almost defiantly. "What, really? We haven't even been." She pouted at the familiar as she drew closer to the plaza that held the teleport gate. "Come on, at least try it before you start complaining. I bet you don't even know what a beach is."

About an hour later, and long after their one-sided bickering died down, Callie was sitting upon the warm sands of a Greecian coast, eyes closed as the cool, salty breeze brushed against her cheeks. A short distance to her side, Danesh lay half-buried, his head laying comfortably against a small hill of sand while he slept. Callie flashed a half-smile his way before turning her attention back to the sparkling waters. "I suppose it might have been better with company, though..." She mumbled to herself. Her memories took her to the edge of a pier, when she had mentioned a trip to Shield. Not only had she not gotten an agreement out of him, but there was a clear tension between them as of late, the remembrance of which caused her to frown. "Ugh, what is it with him?" She scowled, pressing the heel of her palm into her cheek.

"There, what do you think of that?" Callie titled her head to one side as she stepped backwards to look at the bulletin board standing in front of her. The hub of requests, advertisements, and recruitment was busier than most on the first floor, but since it was the most befitting for her purposes, Callie shrugged it off and simply hoped that her posting wouldn't be lost too quickly. "Worst case, I don't hear anything back and we find a different way to get help." Her lips pursed and pushed to the side, clearly dissatisfied with that hypothetical turn of events.

Turning her back and moving on to stroll through the massive, sprawling city, Callie's hand pulled up to gently scratch at Danesh's head. The dragon hybrid was as docile and reclusive as ever in the middle of such a big cityscape, and for a moment she contemplated heading outside somewhere to calm his nerves. "I guess we could always go somewhere else to wait around. How does...sixteen sound?" She asked with a faint smile, the thought of sun and sand creeping into her mind.

The piercing sound caused Callie to flinch, and her hand thoughtlessly squeezed his back. Her eyes, a bit tired but now dry, widened in fear that slowly turned into realization, and her brows turned up in the concern that followed. The knot in her stomach told her that she knew what was going to happen. She knew that down that hall their roles were going to be reversed.

She felt like an intruder, walking in on someone's life. Was Shield leading her down this way because he was giving her permission? Or had he already surmised that there would be no other way out of this place, and so the choice wasn't his after all? She gnawed gently at the skin of her bottom lip, stealing glances at the memories that they passed by. For her, it was hard not to look. But when they'd gone back far enough, she felt even more unsure about whether or not she should have. Shield was a dad. Everyone had a life that they'd left behind, but his included two little girls...and a wife? The woman only appeared briefly so far, but this certainly wasn't the time nor place to wonder any such things aloud. Callie felt a small lump in her throat as she swallowed when she heard him speak. It all made sense now. The reason why she always thought he was too focused on the game, too much of a stickler for buffs and builds and mechanics, too determined to push the frontlines and get out of this place. It was because he hadn't lost sight of what was important to him back home. She'd felt selfish for not wanting to clear the game before, but the pang in her chest now was stronger than ever.

"Shield, I..." She never was good with words when it came to sensitive topics. It seemed that, up until now, Shield was always the one who was comforting her, on the few occasions that she needed it. And while she knew that he wasn't the type to take to physical reassurance, she took advantage of their hands still holding on to one another to give his a small squeeze. "I'm sorry. I never even thought--" She stopped herself, unsure of where the words were going to end up. She exhaled, and spoke again softly. "Of course I wouldn't tell anyone." She assured, addressing the matter of secrecy as the only thing he had made comment on himself.

She hadn't expected Shield's guidance away from the mirrors in the form of his hand taking hold of hers, but it was not unwelcome. He gave her an anchor, something to hold onto that kept her from losing herself down this quite literal memory lane, and the words he next offered her pushed the notion that she cared far more about keeping anything a secret than he did. Her free hand rubbed at her cheeks while she recovered, the flow of tears rather short-lived. "Isn't this better, though? That's why I don't want to go back. I'm one of those people who doesn't want to clear the game." She admitted. "I would rather stay here. I would rather have my voice back!" A moment of silence, and she couldn't bring herself to maintain eye contact. "Or, I did... I don't know anymore." She said weakly as her head fell. There, on the smooth marble floor in between their feet, sat a single photograph. It certainly hadn't been there before, but with how much this game liked to spring things on them, she wasn't phased by its sudden discovery. She bent down, using her free hand to retrieve the stiff piece of paper.

The photo featured none other than Cameron, grinning triumphantly at the camera as if he'd just won something. He was older, his hair a bit longer than the memory of him that played in the hospital and the aftermath thereof, and staring at the image made a sad smile appear on Callie's face. "I can't believe I forgot about him..." She said, half to herself in a small voice. She spoke up a bit after sniffling one last time, "Cameron, my little brother. He did so much for me after the surgery, I don't think I would've moved past it all without his help."

She wanted to provide some kind of explanation, an excuse, or anything to give a reason as to why she wanted to keep her disability a secret from him. But try as she might with her scrambled thoughts, even she couldn't come up with a rational response. She hadn't expected him to look down on her for it--he wasn't so superficial. The only relevant word she could pull to describe her secrecy was that, in her mind, it made her real-world self less desirable. A flaw that was just so prominent, most did not want to bother with all the nuances that surrounded it. She suddenly remembered why she gave up on dating for a while. But what did that matter? 'It's not like I think of him as anything more than a friend... Right?' Her eyes flickered from the photograph she held in between them back up to his. She was suddenly aware of their hands still holding onto one another all over again. On cue, her heartbeat quickened, and once again she averted her gaze. A realization was finally beginning to seep through past her denial, and at the worst possible time.

The farther they moved down the stretching pathway, the further into Callie's past they dived. She almost wanted to stop to get a better look--as she moved, she caught glimpses of her younger self. Her mortified expression when she shorted out her gaming keyboard with spilt coffee. A look of boredom when she would stay late at her first job, flipping through a large stack of paperwork. Her teenage self, failing to fight back tears as she bitterly worked to remove all traces of her first heartbreak from her bedroom. Even younger, clasping tightly onto the hands of her mother on one side and a smaller boy on the other as the trio walked together down a bustling city street.

"Sorry! But this is something I'm not taking a chance on." She called over her shoulder. She was aware that she was being reckless, but the pull of her brother's voice was too strong to stop her. The odds were slim, but it wasn't impossible. She slowed and came to a stop where her path finally ended. The corridor opened up into a massive circular room, lined with the same seamless mirrors. These ones already had a scene playing out--one that caused Callie to tense up as she reached the middle of the chamber.

"Callie!" The same voice echoed her name. A young man with untidy platinum-blonde hair, perhaps a college student by his looks, rushed to the side of a hospital bed. In it, Callie sat curled up and sniffling, hugging her knees and only picking her head up to face her brother once his hand gingerly made contact with her shoulder. The hair that she messily pushed behind her ear fell past her shoulders at this point in her life, but rested noticeably shorter than the length of her avatar's. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but after a moment the only sound to escape her was a choked breath, and she bit down on her lip as her sobs continued. Cameron was quick to place an arm around her and pull her into his chest, doing his best to comfort her with gentle strokes against the side of her head. "They told me what happened. Oh God, I'm so sorry."

"It'll be okay. You'll be okay." With the memory drawing to a close in Cameron's soft words, Callie stood staring with her palm pressed against her mouth. She was clearing holding back tears, but her efforts didn't hold up for long. As she began to cry, the large room played out a handful of other memories, all more recent and more brief than the last, and each one featuring her and her younger brother. She had forgotten just how much their roles had reversed since then. Through her blurry vision, she watched him grin and lead her into a bright cafe that contrasted with her gloomy expression. He raised an eyebrow in exaggerated confusion as he signed something to her, and she smiled softly and corrected his mistake.

It took her a while to realize again that she wasn't alone. With a sniffle, she hurriedly tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "What--" She choked out. "What kind of place is this? That's, a pretty dirty trick." She put whatever words came to mind out into the air. Her jaw clenched, and frustration bled in. It wasn't just a painful memory. For the most part, she had moved past it. She wouldn't have been ashamed to admit she'd lost her voice in the real world, to most people. But to Shield, there had been something inside of her that wanted to keep it a secret from him. "If--if you were going to find out, I didn't want it to be like this." She said, her voice small and defeated.

It was creepy, but not quite threatening. "A dungeon or something?" She wondered aloud, not expecting an answer as she stared at the same doorway that must have sprung up from the floor they'd just walked over. She had been hoping for something a little more peaceful. Sightseeing that didn't involved dungeon delving or spelunking. The serenity of the lakes and meadows visible outside of Coral were promising, but it seemed the game always had at least one way to pull the rug out from under them. She nodded. "Might as well check it out." Callie wasn't afraid of much lately. Rather, she hadn't gotten herself into any situations she considered dangerous since their last encounter with that pack of goblins on the fourth floor. And that was primarily due to her own bad reaction to a simple trap mechanic. They drew closer, and her palm pressed hesitantly against the stone surface when she didn't find any sort of handle to grab onto.

Giving a firm push, the door flew open to reveal a clean-cut staircase that descended into the ground beneath. Callie cocked a brow, exchanged another glance with Shield, and took cautious steps forward. They reached the bottom of where the floor evened out into a smooth marble. A wide corridor didn't quite allow them enough room to walk comfortably beside each other, and neatly-placed lights hung from the stone ceiling, the soft white color bouncing off of the thin layer of fog that still coated the ground and licked at their ankles. On either side of them, seamless mirrors stood to serve as the corridor's walls. They stretched far, and through a squint Callie couldn't make out what might lay at the other end. She felt herself swallow, pushing her legs to carry her farther forward in the name of exploration.

She kept glancing to the side. Looking at the reflection of herself that matched her pace in the mirror. It wasn't long before a realization made her stop, and she turned to face the wall properly. What was she wearing? A look of confusion took over her as she looked down at the white-and-lilac top and solid black shorts decorating her avatar. Her chin picked back up to 'other' her, dressed more professionally in an outfit that she vaguely recognized as one she would wear to work years ago. At her side, someone else approached her, causing Callie to whip her head to the side where she expected to see an owner to the reflection. Yet only Shield stood beside her in the corridor, and so she turned her attention back to the mirror. It was a woman she recognized--a younger girl with a blonde bob. An old coworker she only ever knew on a surface level. The girl smiled at her mirror-self, and was met with a wave. She brought her hands up in front of her, moving them without confidence as she signed a greeting. Caroline's smile grew a bit wider, and she turned, now engaged in a conversation that quickly fell apart. The girl look flustered, and her mouth moved in an apology. Caroline simply waved it off, leaning over a nearby table to write something down.

All the while, Callie watched in an eerie silence. She was just about to ask Shield if he was seeing the same thing as she, but a different voice had her head quickly turn the other way. "Callie!?" This time, she could place the voice without a doubt. "Cameron?!" She called back, her eyes straining against the distance. Acting on instinct, she moved forward again, her pace quickly picking up into a run.

"Whoops." Callie's voice was quiet, but carried clearly with her response, as if she really had implanted the odd feeling by accident. She knew for a fact that she'd never been on this floor before today, but for one reason or another she couldn't wave off Aincrad's forest areas as all looking the same. Yet, she had never walked through such terrain in the real world, so wasn't that the only explanation left? Her head was going to start hurting at this rate.

Another flicker of motion that caused her head to turn, but where she could have sworn she caught a glimpse of a figure, there was nothing. Callie frowned, but perked up a moment later as an idea sprung to mind. "Oh, have you ever seen anything like, a ghost-type monster? Maybe it's some kind of, spirited forest." She took a blind guess, using the conversation partly as a means to keep herself from getting too jumpy in the silence.

"Caroline?"

The feminine voice was small, scarcely louder than a whisper. She stopped, turning around fully this time to look behind her and run her eyes across the foliage that they had passed by. No rustling bushes, nobody peeking out behind a tree trunk. But still, her brows narrowed in confusion. A quick glance over her shoulder back to Shield and his expression told her that he must not have heard what she was convinced she had. Her lips pressed together and she went back to walking beside him. It was a voice she knew, but couldn't bring herself to place. And with her traveling companion at her side being the only one who knew and called her by her befitting, real-world nickname, she started to wonder if the game was just trying to play tricks on them now. Somehow. "Speaking of... Do you believe in them? Ghosts, the supernatural?"