Arabelle

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The small purple-haired girl brought a gloved hand to her mouth and giggled. "So he gave us a Christmas vacation. How cute," she hummed with a wry smile. Arabelle... did mind, honestly. She saw the bunches of people who walked about the festival with smiles on their faces, their worries temporarily pushed to the back of their head, but their lack of progression didn't bode well with her. Christmas was important! Even moreso for someone of her religion. But Christmas parties could be held by just about anyone, game administrator or not, and the main draw of these events were the rewards rather than the experience.

Wow.

Arabelle couldn't believe she actually thought that.

"I was thinking checking out each individual stall to see if they're actually hiding something special. But that sounds more efficient!" Arabelle clapped her hands together enthusiastically and smiled. Now where, oh where, could this game's version of Santa Claus be? The girl put a finger to her lips. "He wasn't at the place where he made his speech though, I checked. So I guess we'll have to look."

Easier said than done -- she thought, looking at all the players milling about here.

"Let's walk around. First person to spot him gets to make a wish first?"

On the house?

"A lovely deal from a lovely person. Thank you!" And just like that, the small purple-haired girl's skepticism vanished, replaced by the charming smile many of her acquaintances knew so well. "Then--" Mirth danced in her ashen eyes as she pointed at the first three potions and readied a trade window. She knew it was obvious that she was starting to form plans, but with the nature of these items, the more important question would be: who wouldn't? "--two of each, please."

She glanced curiously at the lingerie, careful to hide her growing interest. No, she would keep that under wraps.

It wasn't long before she was called in for the fortune telling. The self-proclaimed sage made a motion of her hand, and with the crystal ball starting to glow, she spoke softly. Maybe it was her mystical voice. Or the way the first sentence struck her instantly. Either way, Arabelle hung onto every word; the processing would come later.

"I see... Interesting," she hummed when it was over. Purple bangs fell over one ashen eye as she tilted her head, lips curling into an intrigued smile. "I don't know what I might do with it yet, but I'll keep that in mind! Thank you."

She rose from her seat.

"By the way, what's your name, ma'am? I'm Arabelle."

Some time later, she walked down lines of stalls with two sets of the sage's curious potions in her inventory and a burning urge to see the effects herself. But who was she going to use it on, she wondered~? Definitely, she had someone lined up for the love potion, but that wouldn't come until later... when they were in Magnolia's third-floor room. Alone.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

That left the rest. Definitely, she wasn't going to use it on herself; experiments required the one doing the methodology to be in the right mind! With too many names and faces popping into her head, she continued on her meandering. 

And the answer to one of her questions presented itself in the form of a certain bespectacled girl who had an annoying tendency to stammer through literally every sentence she spoke. They had never clicked -- not on Arabelle's side, she didn't. No matter how much The Other Girl followed her around with that pathetic puppy-dog gaze of hers, Arabelle's opinion would never change.

She smiled to herself.

"Hello!" Arabelle drew closer with two cups of steaming hot chocolate, the friendliest approach she'd ever made. It was the festive mood, suggested the Christmas-colored ribbon hung on the collar of her parka. "Event drew you in, too? I guess it would be all the rage now. This definitely feels nicer than the previous one, don't you think? Here."

She handed over the drink on her left hand. Now holding the 'safe' hot chocolate with both mitten-covered hands, she blew softly on the steam that rose from it and took a sip.

"Bought two from a stall, and it turns out the person I was supposed to share it with is off with his wife," Arabelle explained casually. She took another sip with a satisfied smile. "Sucks, right?"

As soon as The Other Girl drank from her own, Arabelle quickly stepped to the side with a sweet smile. She disappeared from the other's vision as the one person she knew would be with The Other Girl right now approached.

She hid her Love Repellant inside a hidden pocket in her sleeve.

"So how did it taste?"

[ooc: @Ariel - The Crowned Lion didn't see a price on your first event post, so please inform me if i need to actually pay.

tag: @Jinx]

Arabelle smiled.

"Is that so?"

And that was all she offered to his interesting response to her question. "Monsters," he said. That was what they all said at first. That was what some of them still said until now. Now Arabelle wasn't the sort to go on long complicated internal debates over what makes the death penalty warranted for a certain person and neither was she too hinged on morals.

But if you found something so completely revolting -- if you hated it so much -- you would want to be rid of it, right?

"I hate the cold," the small purple-haired girl puffed. To further prove her point, she seemed to hide herself deeper within the folds of her red cloak. As Dustin started to talk (she already knew the information anyway), Arabelle made a mental note to ask that person to make her a cloak that still looked like his... but a lot fluffier. For the cold weather. "But I got this far already, all my efforts looking for you would have gone to waste if I just left~."

Before she drew her hood over her head, she caught sight of the Other Girl giving her a... look. Her pleading expression was just enough to convey the silent message she wanted to send, but Arabelle simply tugged at the edge of her hood.

What was this "better" action they were all losing their heads over? Did it taste good?

Arabelle was only interested in watching.

From the woman's enthusiasm, the katana user probably did not remember the exhausted and very angry Arabelle's unladylike taunts during the boss battle. Or she was keeping quiet about it.

...Arabelle was never going to do that again. 

"Well, the usual," she responded with a smile. "Quests, crafting,--" That one time she and her kind-of boyfriend and also The Other Girl, for some reason, hunted down his brother's killer. "--and the occasional gathering. Though I don't know if it's just me, or everything else just feels like a breeze after that event."

Definitely the usual.

She noticed that the blonde didn't introduce herself -- was that any indication of a lack of interest? Arabelle wondered, but she eventually dismissed the possibility -- but a friend of her approached and did all of that unintentionally. Cordelia? Surprisingly unfamiliar for a player who would probably have earned the 'best DPS' title in their event boss fight, if there was one. But they had been Tier 1 and, just like Arabelle, there were simply too many Tier 1s to keep track of other than the ones who had somehow established themselves already.

"Arabelle," she repeated her introduction for the newcomer as she shook his hand. The small purple-haired girl tilted her head and giggled at his remark. "Well, on one hand, we didn't get scammed into having to outlast a zombie invasion, but on the other hand, the rewards aren't as cool. Can't have everything, I guess~." She shrugged with a careless smile. "But hey, maybe we should look around this event and see if there's something more worthwhile than that disc throwing stall."

Arabelle was a good Catholic girl.

(Not really.)

But at the very least, most likely due to her traditional upbringing, she thought anything that had to do with tarot cards and fortune telling was bogus. A big fat sack of lies. They feed people pretty promises about the future for money and they keep their predictions general enough that mistakes were far and few. Or on the other side of the coin, they were also works of the devil. Acts motivated by malicious intent and black magic, acts that were meant to lull the gullible into a false sense of security -- thus, leading them to forget god...

"I believe you've suffered a severe change in the past."

A white world, just as devoid -- just as empty as the hole in her chest. Wandering, wandering, wandering. The walls were white, the ground and the sky were white, there were no shadows; her only guide was the memories of her past -- and Godshehatedthatf-ckingforsakenhellholeofahousewhywhywhywasitmakingherthinkofitagain. And she sat in her old room... anything and everything had been superficial, no matter how many things changed, she was still dead; too hollow to live, too afraid to die.

Because bad girls went to Hell, right...?

Then someone came to play.

"Hello there, Little Red Riding Hood." And a shrill, delighted laugh spilled from her lips. She leaned back, tilted her head, and looked down on them with a lopsided smile. "Came straight into the Wolf's den, have you?"

And hatred and contempt burned in their golden eyes. It was b e a u t i f u l.

[...]

"So let's make a little bet. This'll go the exact same way as those stories do. You've already taken the deep dive. Straight into a maiden's heart even, you pervert. So I'm going to open this door and we're going to sit and watch as it spills all my dirtiest secrets -- cause apparently, that's the only way out here. 

"And you'll reason everything out yourself.

"No, you'll forgive me. For everything.

"And you'll fall back in love with me. Slowly. Like the hopeless romantic you are."

"But since the change was so sudden and unexpected, you don't trust people."

Ah, just kidding. She was about to say -- when the world imploded in on itself in the end.

"I haven't forgiven you.

"But I didn't win my side of the bet either."

Her lips curled into a genuine smile.

"You would believe in someone like me?"

What.

An.

Idiot.

"I advise you start trusting people more, or search info about them so that you won't have a reason to doubt."

My, my. Was that so-called sage really that perceptive? Had she been that readable? Perhaps it was her mind instantly drawing from the small pool of memories she actually liked to think back to from time to time. Fortune telling did that to you -- drawing general enough conclusions about a person that could probably apply to the specifics of their life. And when it was all over, they held nothing but amazement at the teller's knowledge. Arabelle... still didn't buy it. But the part about wanting more people to notice her?

She was Tier 2 now.

She didn't have any special goals before, but now, she wanted to be... more. Than just a random player in a small guild. Than just one of many aspiring to reach the frontlines. But... it was a festive time! Arabelle wasn't too big on Christmas, but this didn't feel like the time to be thinking of too many serious things. So perhaps she could just start off by making a few friends outside of her little circle. She needed to branch out more, it seems; despite the fact that the players in here were forming their little groups, she had no one to approach with her guildmates not being present. And this festival was the perfect opportunity.

Wandering down the line of stalls with a newly-bought cup of hot chocolate, it wasn't long before she spotted a familiar face. Not too familiar, she had only seen the pretty blonde once, but she left a strong impression.

"Hello," she greeted with a friendly smile. Arabelle stopped in front of the woman and tilted her head. "I think I've seen you before. From the Halloween event, right? You did wonderfully. My name's Arabelle, I was there too -- the player in the other team with the scythe."

[tag: @Cordelia]

The forest was eerily q u i e t.

No birds singing, no insects humming, no leaves rustling as forest mobs crept through bushes in search of their prey. She looked behind her and found the town empty -- aside from a blur of brown and blue sneaking about which she failed to notice. She looked in front of her and saw no movement. Her heart didn't beat in fear;  it never did, but she wasn't dumb. 

Arabelle turned right around and headed back into town.

Deserted. Misty. The gate with its paved roads and cart tracks, the establishments with their old medieval architecture and moss creeping up against their stone walls, the plaza with its stone pillar, the old cathedral with its constant stream of mindless NPCs. 

All. Empty.

Her steps quickened. The glowing orb remained weightless on her hand. Arriving at the gypsy NPC's settlement, she walked in without knocking. A rather warm place. Fading varnish on its interior walls, potions on the shelves, a carpet of ethnic design just by the door -- and oh, there was the sack containing the treats it often gave away for quests. But no NPC.

Arabelle slammed the door closed behind her and held up the glowing orb.

"Hello!" the friendly greeting came from a small girl dressed in a burgundy-colored parka. A matching ribbon kept her purple hair pinned back in a braided bun, but she left most of her bangs loose. It wasn't functional, you say? No, she would admit that -- it was for style. Arabelle dismissed the [Lucky Hot Cocoa] she took from a nearby NPC-run stall and had been using to warm her gloved hands with. She drew closer, tucking her hands behind her back and looking at the discs on the table and then the small snowmen erected a small distance off. "Mind telling me what the rules of this game are?"

As the NPC ran through its scripted explanation, she hummed thoughtfully and took four discs from the table.

"Lovely. Let's give this a try, then."

The first disc fell extremely short. At her failure, the girl relaxed her stance and huffed. That was the best reward gone, slipped through her fingers, right there. Granted, she didn't need it, but she was well acquainted with a charity case who would have greatly appreciated the early Christmas gift. Arabelle prepped another disc and took her shot.

Hit. Hit. Critical hit.

Her proud smile was in complete contradiction to her modest gesture of waving off the stall NPC's applause.

"Thank you, thank you~. I'll be off, then."

She tossed the support crystal to the air then caught it. What a disappointment. Was this and the cocoa the only thing she was going to get for this event? The game was being surprisingly frivolous, if you would compare this event's potential awards to the likes of the previous one. "Guess that's what we get when they remove the zombie slaying..." she mused. 

From there on, she wandered the event and looked at the stalls. She found an interesting stall in particular.

"The one and only sage of the 24th floor." Who on earth could that be? Arabelle glanced up at the shop name before she ducked into the stall. "Hello! I want my fortunes read - how much for it?" she greeted, just as friendly as always. She looked up and down the shelves of goods and potions, before she talked again. "First time I've seen those types of potions. Do they really work?"

[tag: @Ariel - The Crowned Lion]

Scrolling idly through her inventory, Arabelle found two unidentified trinkets from that one quest she took some few months ago. They were both T1 and she was proud to say that she was at a higher tier now and didn't need them at all! So how about some charity? 

She had heard that a player named Andromeda opened a little general store down at Floor 1's trade district. Good choice, it was a part of the game many players visited frequently. No matter the level, someone would always need something from the NPCs or the player-ran shops that were already established down there from the early days of the game. 

"Hey," she greeted. "An..."

There was some familiarity in her tone. She remembered fighting alongside the girl for the most part of the Halloween event - and she spent more time in a team with her than she did her actual best friend. It was undeniable that some sort of friendship had formed.

At least... An ranked high enough on her chart that Arabelle gave her the benefit of the doubt with whatever the heck this mess of a shop was.

"I'm giving this to you." The small purple-haired girl tossed the trinkets onto the counter, along with enough Col to cover two identifications. "Merchants get more EXP when they identify stuff, right? So do just that, but don't bother sending it back unless it's a unique. No pressure or anything, I just thought I could help you along a little bit. Good luck with your shop!"

 With a small wiggle of her fingers, she turned and left.

"Thank you for coming by to talk. I wish you luck--"

"Yes, that's lovely. Now please step out of the doorway."

For a second, the NPC gypsy looked baffled. As baffled as a line of code could be. Earlier, the small purple-haired girl had been nothing but polite and courteous when she stopped by the old woman's house for advice on finding familiars -- Arabelle shoved right past the unmoving NPC with an impatient huff. She didn't look back to witness the old lady return to her coded routine as soon as she left the vicinity of her house, and she flicked open her menu.

Quote

Claude: Arabelle, there's literally hundreds of crows in this floor and they all look the same

Arabelle: So don't look.

Claude: ??? But you were just asking me to?

Arabelle: Get up here.

Claude: I'm busy 

Arabelle: Whatever.

Claude: Does yours have any distinguishing features?

[/seen]

Claude: Arabelle?

Her menus disappeared with a swish and she walked briskly towards the town exit.

Arabelle was in a rotten mood. She still kept her usual smile on her face as she walked towards the town exit, but inside, it felt like every minor nuisance supremely ticked her off. How could she not? Moondust vanished a week ago while it was out on one of its flights -- and she was confident, confident, that it always came back to her shop at sunset because she had ordered it to -- but up until now... it was missing. No, not missing. She had confirmed it for herself earlier when the game allowed her to accept the familiar quest.

Somehow, Moondust had just up and died.

And now she had to find a new one. Ugh. Thankfully, she hadn't sold off that Halloween familiar item yet so as soon as she reached the beginnings of Floor 11's forested area, Arabelle took it out of her inventory. It rested in her hand - white and round, giving off an odd flame-like aura - and it was as light as a feather.

She waited.

Ah. Now she remembered. How could she not? "Old Testament, the Book of Esther," Arabelle noted dutifully. Though the Mordecai he spoke of was more of a minor character, it was your typical feel-good story. Do good and you will be rewarded. Do evil and you will be punished. "No, it's actually pretty simple all things considered. A bit dark and gruesome, probably, but its message is straightforward."

But she digressed. This wasn't her Sunday Bible study class. 

"Can't go wrong with that." But what if I have you for dinner instead? As he was preoccupied with gathering a material, she ran up a tree and jumped up the rest of the way to stand on a sturdy branch. The small purple-haired girl sat down, swinging her legs playfully and tugging her short skirt down to avoid any accidental peeks from the boy still on the ground. "Let's start over here! Put that aside from now; it's too early to take this quest seriously, sugar!"

"That's fine."

The small purple-haired girl followed him to the doorway with a small smile. She didn't seem fazed at his admission at all. Renewed interest danced in her ashen eyes. So he can look confident after all? 

"Nothing wrong with maintaining a healthy amount of suspicion. No, I'd even say that's the smarter option. Taking everyone at face value is just plain naive, don't you think? Most people go around under some sort of pretense. The girl you like isn't exempt from that either, but that's something you'll have to learn yourself."

Arabelle thought it would be amusing, witnessing his awkward attempts to get closer to the girl he liked.

"'Good souls?' Glad to know this NPC isn't blind." She didn't address it directly, but she bent down and lifted her own crate of materials for the blacksmith. Arabelle hoped that was the last thing she'd have to do, she was just kind of done with this boring beginner quest she should have finished forever ago. She turned to look at Huginn and her lips curled into a charming smile. "It'll be my pleasure. We started this together, might as well finish it all the same."

They exited the shop with her walking a step behind him.

"Oh! How about we talk something else this time..."

If it was written out, it would have mostly been a one-sided conversation. They reached the blacksmith's forge without much fanfare. It was hardly a bonding experience, not by Arabelle standards, but maybe it was for him.

Ladies first.

"Thanks for today. It would've been boring without someone to talk to. I would have taken anyone but hey, I got to meet my friend's future boyfriend~." Okay, it was only probable. But she gave him a teasing smile either way. "I'll wish you luck on that front, soldier!"

Arabelle turned around, marched into the forge, and set down her crate of materials. 

"Delivery!"

~~~

Arabelle and Huginn

• 3 SP
• 200 Col
• [x5] T1 Health Potions of Uncommon Quality (+40 HP)
• [x1] T1 Damage Potion (+1 Damage)
• [x1] T1 Over-Health Potion (+50 Temp. HP)

--But really, she had absolutely no idea what she wanted him to do. All that mattered to her was that she wasn't doing this completely for free and she was at least getting something from having to slog through another hundred or so kills for a low-level she barely knew. Maybe his sincerity had just gotten to her earlier or maybe she just didn't want to go about this completely alone, even though she was going with unfamiliar company.

"Come on, come on, step up!" Arabelle hopped from one foot to the other excitedly as two more moved to fill in the ranks. She had apparently missed half of the first group and she didn't have much of an idea what she did wrong because she worded her attack so vaguely the last time, so she was hyper-focused on the two who had survived. No way in hell she was letting the results of her mistake live any longer. With the group completed, she burst forward once again, cleaving her way through the mobs like they were butter.

...there was one too far back that she didn't hit.

...whoops?

~~BINGO BOOK

She smiled faintly at the aspiring healer who'd chosen to follow after her eagerly. Already, she was bringing up the numbers in her head. With his level... going for the 'HP Regenerated' was out of the question. They needed to remove all MIT buffs for a more efficient run and doing that would just turn him into an instant one shot. So for now... all she was concerned with at the moment was the total kill count achievement. They needed a hundred. How many had she killed in their first runs? 

This was going to be a bit tedious.

And Arabelle was no altruist.

An received hers for free because she had already been there right from the start, and Arabelle needed the kills for her own achievements. Gambit though - she had absolutely no reason to push herself more than she would have if he weren't with her. 

"Ah, but you do know there's going to be a price for this, yes?" Arabelle spoke, nonchalantly. She tossed a glance over her shoulder. "Not something you would be paying now, but more of something you'll owe me. I don't do interest." Her lips curled into a small smile. "And I'm not interested in col and items either. I could easily grind those myself. Consider yourself fortunate in that sense, I suppose. But I'm leaving it to you to think of something."

She hadn't allowed them to stray too far from the concession stand, just in case. As their first group approached, she didn't pay him too much concern and rocketed forward with her scythe bursting into green flame.

~~BINGO BOOK

Oh, he didn't have the gross thing in his hand anymore. That was good. Arabelle felt more at ease with that thing out of her sight. She followed him as he drew a bit closer to the concession stand and hovered beside him as he looked over the items.

He couldn't get the freebies?

"So you were already outside..." Arabelle began, incredulous. "But you went inside where all the chaos was coming from." Noob antics. She remembered a certain silver-haired player at level 1 running right up to her and Mishiro earlier, convinced that she would be of significant help. 

As she moved to separate herself from the two-man team, he spoke up again.

"A healing..." Her ashen eyes strayed to the catalog, where said item was listed. Two slots of a unique enhancement and recovery, plus the Cursed enhancement that seemed to be common among the rewards in this event. She looked back at him. A healer? Well, if he was better at running than fighting, that was the next best thing he could be. "You remind me of someone," she murmured with a small smile. "Fine then. Tag along, but make sure to keep out of trouble."

She wasn't turning around. No, it was definitely not good for her. But Arabelle couldn't ignore the nagging curiosity at what got him so interested in it. She steeled herself and chanced a quick peek over her shoulder.

And she could only watch, horrified, as her teammate lifted what was practically a rotting internal organ to his mouth.

What a disappointment this turned out to be.

He was not cute. Not cute at all. 

Arabelle will remember that.

She turned right around, her face burning. They made the rest of the quick walk back to the concession stand. "Here we are. You should be pretty safe here. Just don't go running around again." Arabelle hovered over the option to leave the party, but then ultimately dismissed it. "Oh, if you were here early, they're giving away some freebies at the concession stands..."

Arabelle shifted her feet.

"I'm going back out there in a bit."

"It's always like that."

And she left it at that. Arabelle heard his rushed steps behind her as he (probably?) ran to catch up and she didn't really mind it that much until the sound of his steps stopped. "What is it?" Blinking in confusion, she looked over her shoulder as she addressed him--

"Eeeeeep!"

She flung off the wet... moldy... thing that made her voice rise to the pitch of a typical shoujo protagonist's and it landed with a soft squelch against Gambit's chest. Arabelle turned red. She quickly spun around so he couldn't see her expression and wiped off her shoulder and her gloves with a strip of black cloth from her inventory. "W-well, there you have it. I threw it right at you, so don't bother giving it back. Be grateful."

They walked for a little bit more.

"No, these things are just really weak compared to the mobs that would scale up to my level," Arabelle hummed with a dismissive wave of her hand. The hint of pride that crept into her voice implied that she was definitely soaking up the praise though. "It's just a matter of grinding levels."

"Whoop--" And of course, the last one was heading right for her. Arabelle's scythe flashed a bright green and she swiftly dispatched of it with an uppercut before it could get any closer. No concern about her HP or anything, she just didn't want the thing anywhere near her. That thing looked gross.

As the last data shard dissipated, the small purple-haired girl took a step closer to Gambit. She scanned their immediate surroundings and smiled cheerfully. "That should be all of them... and they ran out right when I used up my energy, too! Awfully convenient, huh?" 

But now that his pursuers were gone, that now meant he was supposed to go straight for the concession stand where the weaker players had taken refuge. Or she could teleport him out entirely.

"Come on, let's head back while the horde's still thin." 

Still, it would be lonely without a teammate.

...whatever.

Arabelle nodded to the safer area and took the lead.

~~BINGO BOOK

He really... didn't seem to have a weapon. When she left one behind, he walked right up to it and slapped it on the cheek - and somehow, somehow, that was just enough to reduce the undead's HP to zero. Arabelle was not going to think over the logic of that, other than that this guy had a crazy strong arm. Or that maybe she shouldn't nudge anyone too hard outside the safe zone.

"Lovely," she commented with a smile. This was, maybe, the first time they had wiped their enemies in one round since she left her other team and Arabelle relished in the small feeling of pride. "Let's keep this level of performance up, alright?"

Like, no pressure or anything.

She didn't mind. She definitely didn't mind it now because her latest series of attacks had left one alive and it was at full HP. Arabelle landed, skidding to a stop with her scythe still at the ready. Well, that was an embarrassment. 

~~BINGO BOOK

One left from the pack and the newbie seemed to be eyeing it. Arabelle stuck an arm out, like she was preventing a kid from crossing a road and shook her head. "Just go after the ones at 1 HP. It's safest that way." -- Because holy crap, this guy was level freaking one and while he had the MIT from the corndog (?), she didn't really want to take chances while she still wasn't aware of his current stats. -- "You know, the ones that basically look half-dead."

The undead at full HP stumbled around, groaning with its mouth half open. It was practically falling apart, so to speak. 

Arabelle promptly gave up on trying to simplify things for the newbie. He'll learn.

"Ah, whatever. Just always look at their HP!" The small purple-haired girl hopped from one foot to another as three more came to fill in their fallen comrades' ranks, and spun, leaving a glowing green trail with her scythe as she assaulted the new group of zombies with another barrage of attacks. 

~~BINGO BOOK

Arabelle blinked, innocently. She nudged one of the discarded bottles with her boot and they disintegrated into a cloud of blue data fragments in unison. "I'm fiiiine~," she hummed. The sudden surge of energy kind of made her want to hop all over the place and burn down her energy bar as fast as she had forced it to regenerate earlier, but overall she felt... fine. She felt as if she had to exert some effort to keep herself still though. "Energy drinks are just supposed to give you energy, right? Nothing more, nothing less~." 

She wouldn't know, she'd never tried one in real life. Not even once. 

"Besides, I can't replenish anything when we're in combat. Here goes!"

He'd pointed them out to her, but it took a moment to completely focus on the approaching group. Lifting up her large scythe, Arabelle paid less heed to her teammate as she threw herself forward and poured a third of her energy into her weapon. She sliced through the first, spun her scythe and slammed the head on the ground - where two zombies were hit by a shockwave and promptly disintegrated - and narrowly missed the last.

Was it just her or was she feeling a bit giddier than usual?

~~BINGO BOOK

None attacking them at the moment, offering them a temporary respite. She could sight a few zombies dragging themselves towards them in the distance though. Either they had been pursuing Gambit earlier or they were drawn in by the sounds of battle. They weren't quite in the clear yet.

"Oh, I wasn't here when they first appeared either." Arabelle uncapped an energy drink and paused between sips to talk. "I was just taking a peaceful walk around town when they started to burst from the ground. How rude. Only came here because this is where the most of them are coming from, apparently."

She tossed the empty bottle to the ground. Then she popped the cap off another and did the same. And another. And another. She could practically hear the environmental advocates screaming right now, but she kept drinking in front of her probably very confused teammate with an expression that was unnervingly, uncharacteristically

Dead.

It was taking all she had not to grimace at the horrid taste. 

"But I did hear from my friend that the ringmaster was behind it all. He drew players into the tent, appeared when they had settled down, and then summoned the zombies." Arabelle swirled the remaining liquid of the last energy drink around the empty bottle with a feigned nonchalance, and finished it with one gulp. "And here I thought Aincrad wasn't supposed to have magic. Isn't summoning the undead kind of black magic? Whatever. I do find some fun in killing them. Sometimes."

Uh oh. He made it angry. One of the zombies completely ignored her and was heading towards her teammate now. Arabelle whirled around, trying to close the distance so she could put herself between them - or better, finish it off. "I'll handle it! Just keep backing away--!"

--The zombie reached out for him and somehow, somehow, Gambit's 'fight' instincts suddenly kicked in and he snapped its neck with his bare hands.

Holyyy crap.

"Well," Arabelle rolled her eyes and smirked. He was a bit panicky, but maybe, just maybe, he could actually handle himself. Or maybe it was just dumb luck and she was reading too much into it. "I suppose that means I can worry about you less, then!"

One last! Holding up her scythe, she pressed forward and embedded the sharp end of her blade in its chest. The zombie burst into shards with a cry, leaving them... with no enemies for the time being.

There were three of them left, so it would have inevitably come to the point where she would have difficulty dodging their attacks.

It's not like she wasn't the best at moving evasively. Not at all. Baka!

Arabelle twirled her scythe in her hands and cut through the zombie that had hit her in retaliation. This time, it died for real. She hoped none of them would ever reach the level of Zombie 43. Two more remaining and - she tried to peer past the cloud of data shards to see if there were any more, but all she saw was her new teammate...

Rushing at one of the zombies and failing spectacularly.

Aaand now he was too far from her.

If Arabelle's gloves weren't dirty, she would have pressed a palm to her forehead. What a dummy. If she were asked who was the noobiest noob among the people she'd met so far, it was probably him. Taking her scythe, she jogged after him and took her position as he scrambled to a stand.

~~BINGO BOOK

"A couple minutes?" she repeated, incredulous. Arabelle looked at the tall boy behind her - oh, his name was Gambit, as the status bars showed - then back at the zombies who were still coming forward. Well, maybe if someone as inexperienced as An were to also run around aimlessly... yep, totally plausible! "Hmhm, I get it. Don't run off. It's not exactly safe out here."

Like she needed to say it, he was practically cowering behind her at this point.

She didn't want to get too far from him, so she planted her feet to the ground and let them come to her. "Oh. I don't know." -- She twirled her large scythe in her gloved hands, slicing through the zombies who were reckless enough to advance.-- "I guess I just felt like being nice today, that's all." 

Three left, at one HP. Arabelle felt a twinge of irritation. This was a new record that she ultimately did not want to earn.

~~BINGO BOOK