Arabelle

"Someone I met... I'll never forget what he told me. 'This game is an opportunity to be someone you aren't in the real world...'
"And if I had leveled up earlier, I would be able to keep that promise I made a little easier.

"But I'll manage.

"Sorry about that Belle, let's eat!"

But wasn't that practically a given at this point? Well, perhaps it held much more meaning depending on when that person said it.

Arabelle... was definitely not foreshadowing. Honestly, what sort of dumb narrative callback would it be if the person her beloved guild leader mentioned would just up and appear now? It was predictable. It wasn't to her taste. But seated on one of the rooftops overlooking the Town of Beginnings' main plaza, with her scythe at her lap and swinging her legs like a little child, the small purple-haired girl couldn't help but think back to the day she met him by chance.

He had been an interesting person. He succumbed easily to her flirting and took her on a date... where it ended up being more of a casual conversation that resulted in her being recruited to his guild. And that was the extent of it. From there on, they were nothing more than guild leader and guild member. But now... with his heartbroken girlfriend witnessing that entire fiasco with Dustin and that person they both hunted down -- she was likely in some mad trouble. What a disaster. How would he react, she had been wondering? Arabelle didn't want to get kicked out of the guild -- not with the new vague goal she started to aspire towards ever since she reached Tier 2 -- but as much as she wanted to march into his shop and defend herself (and probably Dustin?), she figured everyone would need to cool off first. Approach the situation with reason, not emotions about to spill over the brim. That had definitely been Dustin's mistake.

It was radio silence on her end. All PMs from guild members muted. And Magnolia was closed. Claude had tried to kick her out of his house, but just as easily relented when she told him it was that or some random inn. And for the moment, she was enjoying some respite in Floor 1, her features obscured by an over-sized hood. It was cute, the things people discussed when they thought there was no one listening.

Ah, but even this was horrendously boring. You can only listen to so many stories before you start to notice trends in it, and now everything's loopy and repetitive. Perhaps a change of setting would do her some good. Now that she thought about it, hadn't it been a few days since she left the safe zones? That wasn't any good for someone like her at all. Her cloak fluttered softly in the wind as Arabelle dismissed her scythe and rose from her perch. She made her way to the other side of the roof, dropping down to the ground from there.

There was a curious-looking person in gaudy clothes at the end of the side street she emerged from.

Name: Reverie L.68
Your Profession: Performer
Your Rank: 2
Roll ID: 134116
Roll Result: 10
Item Type: Debuff Song
Tier: 1
Quality: Uncommon
Enhancements: [x1] Lullaby
Description: [reference] A soft, soothing composition that slows opponent's movements. Recorded on a rectangular blue crystal with a small black phoenix etched into one of its sides.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/16480-f11-r2-performer-magnolia/?do=findComment&comment=594181

more and more debuff song attempts. she likes debuff songs. they didn't need to be masterpieces to be useful to her.

Left behind with Jinx, Arabelle let out her breath in a soft white puff. She was rather used to those looks of sheer disbelief, but my -- she might have strayed too far from simply watching. "I might know what your intentions are," she said, almost gently. "But you can't handle this, can you? Leave if you cannot bear the sight."

She went forward, deciding not to voice something that might have changed the conversation entirely.

'I was just asking for an explanation.'

He was beyond listening.

Tugging at the edge of her cloak, she silently trailed after her guildmate before he could disappear into the snow. Was he crying? Oh, now that she thought about it, that other person cried a lot too. But she kept her hands on her unsheathed scythe as they approached the coordinates. It was a short walk, punctuated by nothing but the occasional whistling of the winter winds and the crunching of their boots against the snow. 

And it wasn't long before they realized those footfalls weren't just their own.

"Two of them," Arabelle said, almost nonchalantly, before Dustin jumped behind them to clock one in the face. 

Underneath her cloak, Shikama Douji flared a bright green. Whirling around, she placed one within her estimated range and whipped out her scythe in a flash of sickly green flames. She swung it in a wild arc -- only to find that the tip had buried itself into the first orange cursor's shield. Blocked. Well, she supposed players were smarter than mob AIs. 

"No one on our side will die!"

Arabelle launched herself forward, tugging her scythe out of Orange Cursor No. 1's shield, and closed the rest of the distance between her and the second orange player with a burst of speed -- going farther than Dustin had earlier. No one else was hiding in the snow... right? "Hello! I guess the other guy told you about us, huh? It was nice of you to greet us with an ambush--" An amicable tone. And a charming smile. Arabelle would have looked completely out-of-place amidst the snowy field, if it weren't for the still-glowing scythe in her gloved hands. She slashed viciously at her opponent before spinning her weapon in her hands and knocking them back with a heavy swing. "--so it's only a given that we respond in turn, yes?"

Objective: Close Portal
ID: 133728
BD: 3
Group Members: Arabelle, Ariel - The Crowned Lion, Dracul, Ronnel
Cumulative BD: 19 + 3 = 22 (success)
[personal portal count: 3/3]

...it worked and the totally out-of-place portal closed, leaving her glaring down at rubble. Arabelle rubbed her eyes and blinked, but she also realized she was the only one who had been doing so. Okay, wow. Was that because of what she did or something else?

"Seems pretty close," she commented. Both play with liquids to make varying effects, so... Arabelle tilted her head at his next question. Her? Advice? She smiled at the thought of another cute little kouhai following her around. "I don't mind," she said, and the fortune teller's exclamation earned a giggle from her. "I think you'd be pretty fun to talk with, too! My name's Arabelle." A friend request window appeared in front of him as she introduced herself. "Send me a PManytime."

They went to the last portal and holding their hands, Arabelle breathed in deeply and glared down at the portal.

Hey, if it worked the first time, it was only a given that she was going to do it again!

Objective: Close Portal
ID: 133628
BD: 5
Group Members: Arabelle, Ariel - The Crowned Lion, Dracul, Ronnel
Cumulative BD: 9 + 5
[personal portal count: 1/3]

"I'm really gonna say it, you know~?" She let that dangle in the air before broke into a giggle, indicating that she wasn't entirely serious. If the idea of linking hands to close an evil demon portal without really doing... much else was already uncharacteristically cheesy enough, it didn't help that all she could remember was her Catholic school's prayer circles. Just minus the right arm over left arm thing. And with a portal to hell in their center. "But seriously, what did we do differently last time?"

--The informant said something about a strong will, but Arabelle had literally just cracked a joke and stared at the ground.

"That sucks. Having your expectations shattered is one of the worst, though I'm sure you're not the only one disappointed. This game let everyone down in many ways," she remarked with a shrug, but her nonchalant smile kept the conversation light despite the last thing she said. "I know someone who's also into magic. They went the DoT and Healer hybrid route. It's the closest you can get. Planning to do that as well?"

They formed up the circle again and she held onto the fortune teller and the wannabe mage's hands.

A strong will.

Alright, prayers and ritual chanting were likely off. Now for her next best idea to surely closing the portal...

...

Stare at the ground intensely.

Santa Claus!

No, really. Just as soon as she mentioned him, the event NPC literally appeared out of nowhere. No sleigh bells jingling or any of "Santa Claus"'s usual sneaking about, but Arabelle still lit up like a little kid who'd just received the toy they had been nagging their parents about. The smiling man in front of them bore a striking resemblance to the jolly red-caped bearded figure of Christmas (it was the long white beard. definitely the beard), and he was there to grant their wishes!

Anything?

Oscar's holiday-themed games had been a simple request, so all of a sudden, asking for anything more than a vanity item felt like overkill. Arabelle knew what she wanted the most though. Like many mid-leveled players, she wanted to become strong enough to reach the frontlines and if Father Wonton something had a gift that could help, she would definitely try to sn-tch that up. However, she wasn't completely sure what the NPC was willing to give away. 

She looked to Cordelia for some inspiration and wasn't disappointed.

"I want to be a better DPS for Christmas!" the small girl declared cheerfully. "So an item like the one Cordelia asked for would be really helpful. Ah, but if that won't do, I'm fine with receiving something like an SP scroll."

Well, that was fast. When the crafter informed her that it would take a bit longer, Arabelle figured... around a week or so. Or if she was unlucky again, five months. But only a day after her visit, she woke up from her nap to the pleasant chime of a received message. 

Not wasting any time, she paid the shop another visit.

"It looks beautiful," Arabelle commented, unwrapping the item and turning it over in her gloved hands. Though it wasn't really needed, the packaging was a nice cute touch. Pinning it onto her light armor, the small purple-haired girl turned to the artisan with a smile. "Thanks for this. I'll come back here if I need anything more. See you around!"

With one of the two equipment pieces she needed for her new build, Arabelle exited the shop.

Name: Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2
Your Profession: Performer
Your Rank: 2
Roll ID: 133586
Roll Result: 11
Item Type: Debuff Song
Tier: 1 
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: [x2] Lullaby
Description: [reference] A piano composition by Chopin, inspired by the night. When played, an opponent's movements will grow sluggish and will thus be easier to hit. Recorded on a rectangular blue crystal with a small black phoenix etched into one of its sides.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/16480-f11-r2-performer-magnolia/?do=findComment&comment=593576

just piling up all these rares as she goes.

Objective: Close Portal
ID: 133583
BD: 1
Group Members: Arabelle, Ariel - The Crowned Lion, Dracul, Ronnel
Cumulative BD: 6 + 6 + 1 + 1 = 14 (fail)
[personal portal count: 1/3]

It closed.

Arabelle had no idea how it happened, but it just did. She hadn't even been thinking of anything special. Had she? Laughing softly at the incredulity of it, the small purple-haired girl followed her group to the next portal. "I don't know what just happened either. Maybe Kayaba finally got tired of his no-magic-only-swords shtick?" This and the previous event really did delve a bit close into magic -- where before, it was generally believed Aincrad was a fantasy world where whatever had been supplying its magic had just dried up. "Imagine having magic classes though. Spell casters, people who infuse their weapons with runes... It would have been amazing!"

Standing in front of the next portal, the four took the same positions.

But braindead damage dealing is kind of fun.

"What? Like the holding hands to close the portals part? I don't mind though," she teased, her lips quirked into a smile. 

However, it was that exact moment when they took each others' hands and... nothing happened. They waited, for some sort of change, but the ominous portal in their midst remained open. Arabelle dropped their hands and glanced at her portal-mates, a bit confused.

"So should I start off with that line again?"

Alice in her empty wonderland. 

Gone, gone was her sight. Eyes wide open but what could she do if there was nothing to see? No color, no depth, no shadow. Gone, gone were her ears. She stomped hard on the ground but only heard what was the equivalent of a light step. Since when had she started talking to herself? But she knew this place all too well. She remembers everything too easily. She remembers the rough texture of its white walls.

How about we play again and take all of that away?

--Arabelle wrenched herself back and stumbled backwards until she hit the door and crumpled to the floor with a thud. It was hard to breathe. No. No, God, no, not again. She thought that place was behind her. She cleared that quest ages ago.

She didn't want to do it again. She didn't want to do it again.

butwasitsomethingshedid?shehadn'tgonetochurchsincethegamestarted,but it'snotlikethatwasanythingnew.shelied.shecursed.shewasshorttempered.shewasagossip.shetookthelord'snameinvain.sheloathedherparents.ah,shewouldneverbeforgivenforkillinghalfofhisguild.sheneverevenaskedforforgiveness.shehatedthatonegirl.sheneverlovedthatonepersonenough.shemisleadtoomany.shenevereventolddustinaboutthatperson.butno,god,no,sheregrettedonlyafewofitbutifallsheneededtoneverseethatplaceagainwastoaskforforgivenessthenmaybe-̢̤̘̪̬̟̿̄̈́͒̀͑-̲͕̜̲͍̦͈͚̱̊̉̑̃͛͒̂͟͞-̢̢̛̤͇̫̓̑̅̃͛͂͝-̴̨̛̤̟̬͓̲̄͗̽͐͋̅̇̚͠-̵͖̠̩͓̗͉̪̈́̔̎͒̾͌̋̅̒̕-̵̞̝͙͓͎̥̣̲̠͌̎͐̀̉̑̓͟-̲̮͍̬̯̤̠͖̈́͒̽̽̀-̨̱̜̲̀̑͊̔̈͆͢͝-̧̛͈̫̘̳̯͗̋̏̆͊̕ͅ-̣͔͙̥͉͓̜͚͕̾͊́͆̇͊̆͜͠-̸͎̳͔̟̠͉̤̼̔͒͑͂͠-̫̩̩̩͓̳̱̥̐́͋͋͜͝-̢̤̘̪̬̟̿̄̈́͒̀͑-̲͕̜̲͍̦͈͚̱̊̉̑̃͛͒̂͟͞-̢̢̛̤͇̫̓̑̅̃͛͂͝-̴̨̛̤̟̬͓̲̄͗̽͐͋̅̇̚͠-̵͖̠̩͓̗͉̪̈́̔̎͒̾͌̋̅̒̕-̵̞̝͙͓͎̥̣̲̠͌̎͐̀̉̑̓͟-̲̮͍̬̯̤̠͖̈́͒̽̽̀-̨̱̜̲̀̑͊̔̈͆͢͝-̧̛͈̫̘̳̯͗̋̏̆͊̕ͅ-̣͔͙̥͉͓̜͚͕̾͊́͆̇͊̆͜͠-̸͎̳͔̟̠͉̤̼̔͒͑͂͠-̫̩̩̩͓̳̱̥̐́͋͋͜͝-̢̤̘̪̬̟̿̄̈́͒̀͑-̲͕̜̲͍̦͈͚̱̊̉̑̃͛͒̂͟͞-̢̢̛̤͇̫̓̑̅̃͛͂͝-̴̨̛̤̟̬͓̲̄͗̽͐͋̅̇̚͠-̵͖̠̩͓̗͉̪̈́̔̎͒̾͌̋̅̒̕-̵̞̝͙͓͎̥̣̲̠͌̎͐̀̉̑̓͟-̲̮͍̬̯̤̠͖̈́͒̽̽̀-̨̱̜̲̀̑͊̔̈͆͢͝-̧̛͈̫̘̳̯͗̋̏̆͊̕ͅ-̣͔͙̥͉͓̜͚͕̾͊́͆̇͊̆͜͠-̸͎̳͔̟̠͉̤̼̔͒͑͂͠-̫̩̩̩͓̳̱̥̐́͋͋͜͝

"[][][][][][]..."

Arabelle couldn't steady her trembling hands. She hadn't done anything, but she was shivering and covered in a cold sweat. One swipe down a list. 

'That. White. Place. Please. Help.' Send.

Player out of bounds.

But the door.

Arabelle walked back and tried the door. It opened. She closed it. Pacing around the room, she took a sudden turn and swung her hand at the books balanced on a shelf. Her hand harmlessly passed through. Figures. But she felt something against her foot and she nudged it again. Solid. Ashen eyes dropped down to the sack of familiar feed.

Why that of all things? She drew out her scythe to slash through it but as soon as Shikama Douji's blade struck it, the tremor -- the vibrations from hitting something as hard as steel at full force reverberated from her arms up to her teeth. Arabelle dropped her weapon and ran a hand along the length of her numbing arm.

That answered absolutely nothing.

Trying to glean a pattern, she walked around the room in a circle with her hand held out. All she felt was a slight chill as her hand phased through all of the objects. No actual solid item that was hard as rock either. Then she walked straight into the wall dividing the main area from the back room and stopped herself just before she could fall forward.

But now she was peering out at something familiar.

That neverending expanse of white.

She waited. Nothing changed. She was alone.

God, it was empty. It was s i c k e n i n g.

But she stayed inside the house. This was the only thing she did differently. Had that NPC been some sort of witch? Arabelle could have sworn that was the exact same one she had approached many months ago. Perhaps it was how her first familiar died, neglected. Perhaps it was her rude exit earlier. Witches were said to be petty. So the game that literally murdered hundreds was trying to teach her a lesson on courtesy? How f-cking cute.

There had to be a clue in here. She strode towards the most suspicious fixture: a center table with a huge mess of parchment, and bits and bobbles, and uncorked potions that were just about to spill. Arabelle knelt down on the carpeted floor and reached for the top of the pile.

There was only a cold sensation as her hand completely passed through.

It was nice how these shops were all built so close together; upon exiting the Crusty Bahrnacle, Arabelle didn't need to walk too far to find the new artisan shop down the alley. Pretty, pleasant place. Its interior was friendlier than what she had been expecting with its location. "Hello," she greeted. The shop owner looked familiar (she had spotted her during the Halloween event boss), but she couldn't place a name to her. Straight to business, then. She already had her order written on a slip of paper. 

"I need an item custom made," she explained as she slid the paper over to the artisan. Arabelle... did not have the best experience with artisans. The first didn't craft her item and never refunded her. The second did finish her requested item... but they only did so after months. As a show of goodwill though -- and hoping to god this artisan was different -- she traded over the Col in advance. "Stuck an image of the old one in there, too. I can't use it anymore, but I guess I got too attached. Nothing too far from it, please."

How long has it been since she needed to go to a shop to order custom made equipment? Doing this almost brought her back to her "newbie" days where she was just another confused player trying to wrap her head around the mechanics of their virtual prison. It was a pity the person she ordered light armor from back then had closed their shop, but a few more had popped up to replace it.

"Good day, Bahr!" she greeted, familiar with the shop owner's name from being partied with him during the Star Crossed Lovers Event. Despite his low level, he'd stuck with them until the end -- where even one of her guild members had given up -- so she thought it was fine to slide over her payment along with the order in advance. "Never knew you were a tailor. This is a nice shop. Anyhow, I just hit Tier 2 a couple weeks ago, so I'm needing an upgrade. I stuck an image of the old one along with it, so nothing too far, please."

A change in style wasn't always necessary, not when she'd gotten attached to it.

Halloween Weapon Evaluations

Name: Amaterasu
Item Type: Two-Handed Battle Axe
Tier: 2
Quality: Demonic
Enhancements: Cursed | Fallen | [x2] Accuracy
Description: [reference] "Burn everything you pretended to love, then burn the ashes." A massive pitch-black war scythe manifested from one girl's wish for destruction. Malignance flows from it in waves and when its power is called forth, both weapon and wielder are temporarily engulfed in black flames.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/18213-event-f1halloween-event-19-something-wicked-this-way-comes/?do=findComment&comment=584719

~~~

Name: Jack's Demonsteel Reaver
Item Type: Two-Handed Battle Axe
Tier: 2
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: Cursed | Blight | Burn
Description: A smaller war scythe with visual similarities to Amaterasu, but more unstable and forged with lighter steel. When in battle, it has the chance to sporadically burst into red and black flames -- searing the user's enemies with an unholy flame.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/18213-event-f1halloween-event-19-something-wicked-this-way-comes/?do=findComment&comment=584719

Name: Song for Sienna
Your Profession: Performer
Your Rank: 2
Roll ID: 133461
Roll Result: 11 (LD: 18)
Item Type:  Debuff Crystal
Tier: 1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: [x2] Lullaby -- Masterpiece: Mass Effect
Description: [reference] A cover of a more modern piece. It looks horribly out of place in her classical song collection, but music should never be judged on its age. When played, its melody is powerful enough to lull an entire group of enemies into a slower state.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/16480-f11-r2-performer-magnolia/?do=findComment&comment=593419

"is it just me or does everything feel a bit easier now...?"

What about Arabelle? What about her?

"I'd rather you don't speak in my stead when I'm right here beside you. It's a bit rude, you know?" Arabelle sighed. Because it mattered little to her. The personal life choices of her guild member who carried her through a few quests and kissed her a few times wasn't going to change the course of her life in the slightest. "And stop, with that last part. You're only guilt-tripping him. It'll be terrible either way. Besides, it's Dustin's choice and neither you nor I get to force someone's life based on our own moral preferences. Especially when they can already think for themselves. That's the worst of the worst, you know? No matter the intention. Because you're not the one in their head, and you didn't go through exactly what they went through. It's plain pretentious." -- And it's disgusting. Maybe she now knew why Jinx kept rubbing her the wrong way even after she figured Stryder wasn't worth the trouble. -- "So whatever Dustin chooses, I can get behind it."

Maybe...

This was fun enough on its own.

He's human! No one deserves to die. [] He's a monster. They all died to that piece of garbage. But taking a life is a big deal and it should never be glossed over like a bug on the windshield.

"Why?"

What was so important about the life of a killer?

Objective: Close Portal
ID: 133439
BD: 2
Group Members: @Ariel - The Crowned Lion @Dracul +1
Cumulative BD: 7 + 2
[personal portal count: 0/3]

As the wall fortifications finished, Arabelle cheered from atop the crumbling house she had taken a seat on maybe a few minutes after she arrived. "Everyone! Thank you for your hard work~!" And all done in less than a day! Her beloved scout didn't even need to worry. Arabelle didn't do any of the heavy lifting herself, but when they needed it, she was there -- directing NPC workers to where they were needed, with her bird's-eye view of their section of the wall. Why did he even expect she would be personally participating in the labor? How insolent of him. She was a lady!

"Something's coming!" came the yell of a panicked townsguard. Swinging her legs, Arabelle looked up at the wall and saw one of the patrolling soldiers pointing at the outside with its face white as a sheet. "They look like archers! Arrows incoming!"

Not just archers. As confused players rushed to deal with the new threat, the earth bubbled up and a black hole(?) opened near her -- beginning to consume everything that had been unfortunate enough to stand above it at the time of its forming. 

"Well, well..." The small purple-haired girl hopped off her perch before she too could be caught by surprise. "Sending notice of an invasion is dumb, anyway. What sort of contrived villain tells everyone their plans?" Clearly, they had this ambush planned and scripted right from the start... but as the game goes, it was all rigged in the players' favor and it happened exactly when the wall was newly repaired and fortified. Poor them, she supposed.

First, the things that appeared within the town walls. She gleaned from a passing informant that they could be closed with a group of four players. Holding hands. Cheesy. Since when did SAO ever employ the Power of Friendship? 

Arabelle approached the group that was starting to form around the nearest portal.

"Need a hand?" she greeted with a bright smile. When the group was complete, she grasped the handsome blond's hand and blinked in recognition before holding her hand out to the lady who had told her fortune. ...okay, now what? "Now let's all close our eyes and feel the presence of the lord. ...just kidding~!"

Objective: Fortify the Walls
ID: 133283
Final LD: 9 + 4(bonus) = 13 

Someone had better picked up the phone, because Arabelle f-cking called it.

Not long after she spoke to Cordelia and Oscar about the Christmas fair event lacking the usual SAO invasion flair, she received a notification from none other than her beloved scout about Floor 17's sub-settlement being in shambles after a preliminary attack with more coming their way in three days' time. Speak of the devil--and it happened just as she arrived at Magnolia with the thought of eating some Christmas pie already in mind. Arabelle arrived as soon as she could, silently choosing the mini 'Save the Royal Family' quest she had heard of from her other informan--

"I heard that another group just bailed them out earlier."

"But then, where's the fun at now?" the small purple-haired girl pouted and made a show of turning back. "I'm coming back in three days!"

"Okay, wait, wait--" Arabelle flashed him an unimpressed look, but she didn't move any further. "I'm getting word that many portions of the wall are still in disrepair. Considering how well they lasted against the first wave, it needs to be back in its old state and with extra fortifications to boot." In three days' time, they thought silently. "We need as much help as we can get and really, I don't want to see what happens if that invasion actually wipes an entire city."

"I do," she said innocently.

Claude shot her a withering look. "Arabelle--"

"--Kidding," she responded with a smile. "Can you come along? We haven't ever done an event together! Come on, come on, I'll make sure we do something fun~."

"Sorry, but Leah already stuck me with a job." He gestured to the semi-transparent menu screens that floated between them with a guilty smile. Were those maps? Arabelle thought the players directing people to places that were in need of repairs were familiar. "I'll point you there though! Go get them, you little mimic."

He said that in reference to the oversized red cloak she had on her person. Okay, there was no way Arabelle was saying 'no' now. The small purple-haired girl tugged the hood over her head with a small smile. From there, it wasn't long before she reached the part of the wall in need of repairs. And lo and behold, her wonderful scout had pointed her right to the section where an all-too-familiar girl was helping out as well.

The Other Girl.

Arabelle wasn't ever going to get a break from this, was she?

"Hello!" she approached with a friendly wave of greeting. On her way, she looked down the wall and silently pinpointed the sections that were most in need of repair. Arabelle would use that knowledge to help one of the builder NPCs later. "I'm helping out here as well. Let's get this going, shall we?"

Gosh darn, Arabelle is at it again

LENDING to @Mishiro FOR THE DURATION OF THE OBSIDIAN EVENT

[T1 - Perfect] Shikama Dōji, Remastered -- Enhancements: Damage, Damage, Damage

For the past few weeks -- months? -- Arabelle had mostly been leaving her shop unattended. She loved playing the piano and she often still did when she had someone idling around the second floor, but as with most things, it got old when she had to do it consistently as a job. Failures for days and every missed note brought war flashbacks to her real world self who had to practice for hours and hours on end to perfect a piece for a competition. It was definitely what made her as good as she was now, but it was still an experience she would rather not repeat all over again.

So her new customer was lucky that he came by when she was doing one of her occasional craft attempts on the second floor. With her crow gone, there would have been no one else to handle the transaction. 

An orange cursor?

"Welcome to my shop! How may I help you, mister?" the small purple-haired girl greeted as soon as she stepped down onto the ground floor. She handled the transaction with practiced ease and handed the sold items back to him...which made up of all the Perfects in her small stock. "Really? Thanks, I appreciate it! You're one of the first to say something other than... 'dark' or 'unsettling.' Come by soon and maybe I'll have more in stock!"

"Didn't you just call him a monster earlier?" Arabelle pointed out. She didn't say anything more as he launched into another tirade, much to the visible horror of their third companion. The Other Girl was clearly not the type to agree quietly and her efforts to stop him were obviously just wearing him out further, so why was she even invited when Arabelle wasn't? She couldn't scrounge up any idea aside from their very point of conflict.

The Other Girl was the most likely person to persuade him to do otherwise -- silly and bumbling her efforts may look -- and she was harmless. She couldn't use physical force even if she wanted to. 

A subconscious desire to be stopped. To be convinced that there was another way. Probably he wasn't completely the sort of person to readily jump to murder, even if it was his brother's killer.

How... curious.

But he was acting on pure emotion now. Words and reason seemed a second priority. When Dustin marched towards them with an unmistakable fury in his voice, Arabelle wasn't really surprised. 

"That's not a nice thing to do, Dustin~. Don't yell at her." Her disconnected, dreamlike voice seemed to float over to him as The Other Girl clapped her hands over her ears. She knew how sensitive the tank was with loud noises and the least she wanted was another panic attack postponing and otherwise amusing show. "We're all still on the same side here. Right? Don't forget that.

"And you," she tilted her head at The Other Girl and gave a small smile. "Probably. But we can't spend all our time losing our heads over the 'what if's. There's too much. In the end, we'd just keep thinking and thinking and thinking--" she signified that with a small twirling motion of her finger. "--and the world will keep moving around us and we'll get nothing done at all. But what's the difference between killing person and slaying a monster? They both have their own stories and their own families and hey -- maybe one just happens to think better than the other and looks too close to us in appearance -- but they're both rotten inside and a danger if left unchecked. An unpleasant stain. It's not that big of a deal, in my opinion."

Where were they now? As she turned back, hopefully following the rest down the same path they had been following earlier, she recalled once again the only time her guildmate had spoken with that furious voice. Didn't Dustin say previously that he was going to kill that guy, no issue?

He was already starting to contradict himself.

What a lovely mess he had turned into.