Arabelle

They approached the cave's entrance. The small scythe-wielder skipped a few steps forward and squinted into the darkness. Nothing. But maybe her vision would adjust once they step in. "Hmm..." Arabelle took a cautious step forward and rested her hand against the beginning of the rock wall. A bright red layered itself over her normally colorless gaze as she stared intently at the inside of the cave. She could see the outlines of the cave wall, leading up to a fork in the path, and... nothing else. With her <<Detection>> skill being basically nonexistent, she wasn't even sure if there was a mob right in front of her that her vision wasn't picking up. Her eyes returned to their normal color and she spun around to face the party, and addressed their strongest member (aka probably the only one who mattered). "Pin, this is the location, right? You'd better not be making any mistakes, Mister Front-liner."

The party of four hadn't stepped in yet, but she was sure that darkness would work against them somehow. Who even makes a beginner quest that puts their players right into an unfamiliar zone with special mechanics? Low-level quests were there to help players get a feel for the basics of a game. That thing is supposed to be reserved for higher levels! "Well, whatever!" Arabelle suddenly spoke up with a bright smile. She opened her menu with a flick of her hand and a large black scythe manifested in front of her. The purple-haired girl reached out and grabbed its handle with both hands, and its blade became a black-green blur as she gave it a wide showy experimental swing. Satisfied with her performance, she smirked and turned around, finally stepping into the cave. "We have Pin here to protect us, so we should all be okay!... I think."

She reactivated her <<Detection>> and it was only then that she became aware of the <<Giant Bat>> looming over her.

She heard the sound of something slithering against the ground behind her. And a combination of weird screeches and clicks coming from the Nepent Variant's dripping mouth. Ew. SAO was well-known for its immersive experience in the beta testing, but they could have at least made the mobs a bit cuter. So, you know, the players wouldn't feel super grossed out during combat or something? In her opinion, it totally ruined the experience. Arabelle glanced behind her. The quest mob looked angry at her narrow escape. And it was following her. Of course it was. She hadn't <<Stunned>> it or anything. 

Well, disregarding how gross-looking it was, the Nepent was still a lot faster than her. It closed the distance between them in no time and Arabelle was forced to drop and roll, grabbing her scythe as she did. The pointed leaves that she supposed counted as the Nepent Variant's hands cut through the air above her head. The small girl paused, and let out a breath. She didn't bother standing up. Arabelle sat upright and her beloved weapon's blade glowed green as she thrust it forward like one would with a spear.

Quote

ID: 111398 | BD: 1 | MD: 3

Arabelle | HP: 40/40 | EN: 0/4 | 1 ACC | 4 DMG | 2 Para. | [-2 EN]

Nepent Variant | HP : 4/15 | 5 MIT | 10 DMG | 

Arabelle hoisted herself up and reached for her weapon. It wasn't there. She'd dropped it when that thing sent her flying earlier. Her hands dropped to her side. The world was literally turning red, as if it was mocking her for being stupid enough to land herself in the red zone. What an annoying game mechanic. The weird reddish tint that was layered over the usual color of her surroundings served as a constant reminder that she was that close to dying - a useful thing for players who never watched their HP - but useful as it was, she was definitely turning that thing off later. 

But maybe it was time to finally let go? It would be painless anyway. 

The Nepent turned around and slithered towards the lone player, drooling hungrily from what she supposed counted as its mouth. It looked gross. Totally gross. She wasn't dying to that thing. That would be the lamest death ever. She grabbed at both sides of her head and pulled hard, shaking herself from her daze. Then she glanced up - "4 HP."  Figures. The small girl reached down, flipping the small brown pouch at her waist open, and pulled out an HP potion. It restored more health than her current total, but now wasn't the time to be conservative with these things. Arabelle popped off the cork and downed the bitter liquid in one gulp. 

Its next movements were a bit clumsier. The Nepent was still far off but it sent its weird arms flying towards her once again, thrashing them around, desperate to get that one last hit. Sure, it covered a larger area, but it ended up being a bit predictable. "You and me both, I guess."  She waited for the right opportunity and dove to the side, evading the creature's attacks. The small purple-haired girl turned, and the more mischievous side of hers - the more Arabelle-like side - briefly showed itself once again as she stuck her tongue out playfully before spinning around and making a break for her scythe.

Quote

ID: 111397 | MD: 2

Using 1 Starter Healing Potion (+50 HP)

Arabelle | HP: 40/40 | EN: 1/4 | 1 ACC | 4 DMG | 2 Para. | [+50 HP] [+1 EN]

Nepent Variant | HP : 4/15 | 5 MIT | 10 DMG | 

 

[- 1 Starter Healing Potion]

Alone again?

Arabelle brandished her scythe and grinned, though it looked more like she was baring her teeth at the plantlike quest mob in front of her. Her HP was a few points away from entering the red zone, and her blonde "friend" had just... disappeared. Not dead. She caught a glimpse of Angie's HP just before she lost sight of her, and she could ascertain that it was still in the green. If her "friend" had died just that suddenly, then whatever came after her friend would've gotten her too.

It was simple logic. Spangie ran away.

How f*cking pathetic.

"Let's finish this by ourselves, Shi-chan." In response, a bright green glow surrounded her scythe's blade. Arabelle spun her weapon in her hands and ducked underneath the creature's thorn-covered arms. Aiming for the roots that she supposed counted as its feet, she tightened her grip and swung her scythe in a wide, sweeping arc. It was the best thing to do in this situation. Take away its mobility, and then land her strongest attacks as it attempted to regenerate. But as with many things in her worthless life, she failed. 

She thought she felt something wrap around one of her legs before she was flung across the clearing and the edges of her vision began pulsing red.

Quote

ID: 111335 | BD: 2 | MD: 7

Arabelle | HP: 4/40 | EN: 0/4 | 1 ACC | 4 DMG | 2 Para. | [-10 HP] [-2 EN]

Nepent Variant | HP : 4/15 | 5 MIT | 10 DMG | 

 

[ooc: continuing this solo as Spangie has left the site.]

So a whole bunch of things happened at once. Big Red and Guy in Edgelord Armor, or 'Tin Man' as their lovely substitute bartender had decided to nickname him, continued swinging their fists at each other. They knocked some chairs out of the way and Edgelord threw a table earlier, and it kind of pissed off Outsider dude and his masked assistant(?), so now the former was shouting and the latter was... cussing in some other language? Some random guy then stepped into the bar, took one look at the bar fight, and (unexpectedly) ignored everything and made his way to the fireplace without saying anything. Huh. He must have seen a lot of sh*t in his life.

Outsider's attempts to pacify the old married couple were unsuccessful. She hadn't really been paying attention to that part, but seeing that Edgelord was still throwing chairs around, it was pretty easy to tell. Setting her glass of orange juice to the side, Arabelle hoisted herself up to sit on the bar (not like anyone was using it) and rested her chin on her palms. The small girl glanced at the two bartenders and graced them with her opinion, "You guys are just as useless are bartender NPCs. Words won't reach them until they think you're worth listening to, so if you want to stop them from wrecking this place, better beat them up and make them listen." That was the impression she got from the two, anyway. She leaned forward with a smirk. "Or are you guys actually a bunch of chickens? How disappointing. First bunch of wannabe Laughing Coffins I encounter, and they can't even join a harmless bar fight."

So the fight had already begun. The Other Girl started it off with an unpleasing clanging noise, the result of her banging her rapier against her shield. Arabelle winced. She supposed that counted as a <<Howl>>. Effective, but a bit lame. Then again, The Other Girl always found a way to make things lame. Dustin went in, dealing an impressive amount of damage against the dragon with his sword and quickly disengaging after taking some damage. From his movements, she could tell that he was already pretty used to combat. "Better match up to him, Shi-chan," she hummed, drawing her large scythe from its sheath. 

The emerald dragon spread its wings and let out a loud, ear-piercing screech. Arabelle grit her teeth and momentarily let go of her scythe to bring one hand up to cover her ear. One Sword Art in and it was crying already. What a baby. She recovered upon hearing the Gryas's taunt and glanced up to see the mob momentarily <<Stunned>>. "Oooh, my turn!" She gripped the handle of her scythe with both hands and sprinted forward. As she neared, the weapon's blade began to glow a bright green and she jumped, unleashing the fully-charged Sword Art in the form of a strong uppercut to the stunned dragon's head. She neatly landed on the ground and moved away from its range. 

It was only then that she noticed how much damage her strongest and most awesome-looking Sword Art had actually dealt: 1 DMG.

"How much MIT does this thing have?!"

This was a terrible miscalculation.

[received Deus Tempus from Dustin in an earlier post. stats have been edited accordingly]

They were now heading for the first dragon's nest. "You mean, that watch? Yeah, sure! That'll be a big help." Arabelle replied to Dustin's offer with a bright smile. First, the food, and now the ACC trinket she desperately. He really was her most favorite guildmate ever! "Ugh. That reminds me. I need to get that order from that crafter with the maid or something. They haven't updated me yet. Would you believe me if I said that order was made last April?" she grumbled to herself, though it was loud enough for the people around her to hear. Then she realized she was acting out of character, and waved her hands dismissively in front of her. "Well, let crafters be crafters. They're probably dead." She turned to her favorite guildmate with a smirk. "Don't die either. I need someone to supply me cookies."

Later on, some other dude arrived. It took her a moment, but she quickly recognized Gryas from that col gathering trip. "Hey," Arabelle greeted simply. He was old. She didn't get along with adults very well. They were stiff. And boring. And they didn't like her humor. The Other Girl then revised their plan, apparently, they were splitting and now Arabelle was in a team with two tanks. That's fine. Two layers of protection. She could swing her scythe at that dragon to her heart's content! She whistled and nodded her agreement. "I'll focus on dealing damage, so defend me with your lives, okay?" She flashed a cute smile at both tanks and held out her hand. A large black scythe with a green blade shimmered into existence and she sheathed it at her back. "I'm ready."

@Dustin @Mace @Gryas @Jinx

Stryder was calling out The Other Girl's name. Needlessly dramatic. Like they were in the middle of a cliche anime battle, where one person was in danger and their respective love interest was doing nothing but calling out their name. The Other Girl still had the Merfolks' attention and would probably be keeping it for a while. Saphira was attacking the mob with higher HP but missing her hits. Dustin was attacking the same mob, but with a higher level of success. So was Gryas. He dealt a lame 3 DMG on the mob though. As expected from a tank build. "Geez, make it more dramatic, would you?" Arabelle shook her head as The Other Girl charged forward with something that was probably a battle cry and hit the mob with higher HP. For a total of one damage. "Heck."

Well, in the end, her favorite guild leader was still counting on her. Arabelle rolled her eyes. Dustin and the other tank were definitely planning something with the other mob back there, but she wanted this one down. "Hey, Dustin! I'm almost out of energy, so I need a little help here!" There was no way she was asking unlucky Saphira or either of the tanks for help. Let's see... what was his weapon? A one-handed sword. What were its Sword Arts? How much HP did she need to end it in one hit? What tactic would that cowardly healer propose....? "One regular Snake Bite attack should do it! Everyone else, stick to attacking the one with higher HP!"

"Hehhh?" Arabelle smiled innocently. "Yet." She wasn't sure if it was a joke. But if it wasn't, what was he doing releasing that information to someone whose alignment he didn't even know? Even after that busted recruitment thing? Her friends would love to hear about this. She carefully filed that bit of information away. Outlander... and a weirdo in a mask who seemed to be his personal assistant. She wasn't sure about Edgy McEdgeFace and the scary woman. "A crime guild. Honestly, if you're doing recruitment for that sort of thing, do it in private or something. Ever seen the Laughing Coffin put up posters?"  With the way she was speaking, it was difficult to tell whose side she was on. "If you're gonna imitate them, might as well do it right, Out. Si. Der."

When he went upstairs, the small girl turned to the scary-looking woman. "Hehe. Were you there to witness it, miss? I wish I was~. Really, why is it that I'm never around when something interesting happens?" She said with a pout. "I think I remember you from that beach event back then. The name's Arabelle. Remember me?"

Of course, that nice introduction was skipped over. Outsider went back down with a... chalkboard? and placed it down behind the bar. "Whoa. You heard that thing even while you were upstairs? That's cool. Your hearing's better than mine!" She padded closer to the bar and casually took one of the seats beside Outsider. Then she turned around, hearing a loud crashing sound. Edgelord in Armor threw a table at Scary Woman. This was a safe zone, though... so unless they started a duel or something, it wouldn't be as fun. She sighed. "Couple's having a fight. My money's on Red."

[ooc: nothing personal, kid.]

Quote

To: Claude

Don't worry about me. I won't be alone. Go spend your New Year's with Mishiro, or something.

See you. :P

 

Arabelle located a name on her friend list and tapped the 'Mute' option. Before she could hesitate and reverse it, she quickly closed her menus and turned her ashen gaze up at the night sky. It was snowing. The ground was covered in snow and so were the rooftops of the nearby buildings. When she took a step forward, her feet sunk in up to her ankles. She was glad she was wearing boots. The small girl took another step forward and briefly looked over her shoulder. Maybe he would turn the corner. She laughed to herself humorlessly and faced forward. This wasn't some dumb Wattpad romance. Arabelle skipped along the streets, looking into the buildings and taverns she passed curiously. Tonight, she was alone. And a bit pissed off.

"New Years Party... Special Deals on Drinks," Arabelle read out loud. Meh. Boring. Totally uncreative. She'd seen that in literally every tavern she'd passed. Geez, how was she supposed to decide if they were all equally boring?! "Hmm. Next, I guess."

"--I’M ALWAYS IN THE MOOD FOR A PARTY, AND IS THAT THE ALL POWERFUL IMMORTAL BEING I SEE?!”

Oh. Okay. This one was louder than the rest, so this was slightly better. Arabelle lingered outside, long enough to let a scary familiar-looking woman pass and enter the tavern, before she made her entrance as well. She counted one, two, three, four. There was Outsider, some dude in a creepy mask, a guy in full armor - what even, they were in the middle of a safezone! - and that woman who wrecked her in volleyball. And... in many other aspects. "For all the noise, I would've thought there were more people in here. Did I arrive early, or something?" The small purple-haired girl that looked almost completely out of place strode forward and took a table for herself. "Or maybe I walked into a gathering for 'edgy kids only.' Really looks that way. Oh hey, Outsider! Happy New Year! Remember me? I heard about that thing with the guild recruitment." - From her friends. That was totally retarded. She wasn't letting that go. Ever. - "But I never heard how it all ended. Hey, did the police arrest you then give you freedom as a Christmas present or something?"

The girl named Kirbs quickly denied what Dustin just said, coupled with some amusing language she'd never heard before, and apologized. Arabelle's cheeks turned a light shade of red as the friendly girl patted her shoulder with a sympathetic smile. Okay, maybe she didn't need to worry. "Ooooh, I see! Hehehe..." The small purple-haired girl straightened, giving an innocent smile like she hadn't been seething with jealousy righteous anger just a moment ago. Kirbs was alright. She threw a snowball at one of her guildmates awhile ago. That was fun. Dustin, though... She tried not to look at him too suspiciously. "It's all good. Yeah, Dustin's definitely weird!"

Oh, wait. She did not want to be saying that in front of her crepe and cookie supplier.

"Juust kidding~," Arabelle smirked and took a step back. [...] And then, she suddenly got bored. And a bit tired. Her jokes had all ran out and suddenly, she didn't have that much things to say anymore. "Well, I would love to stay and talk more, but I'm a bit tired, so I guess I'll go home now. Oh, wait!" She swiped downwards with a gloved hand and sent off a friend request to the girl named Kirbs. "Wanna friend? We can talk more sometime... or something... So, yeah. Leaving." Arabelle half-turned towards Claude and tugged on his sleeve. "Let's go?"

[ooc: arabelle leaves the thread and drags mishiro's npc character with her. tag @Kirbs]

"Yeah, Arabelle. I have a feeling we'll get along!" she confirmed with a bright smile. The red-haired girl, Kirbs, used some unusual slang. Bloody bloke? Was she British or something? Wow, so that meant she was making friends from all over the world! She laughed at the girl's question. "He's on the same guild as me and my first impression of Dustin was him falling asleep before a meeting." Of course, with Arabelle being Arabelle, she didn't provide any further context as to why he had even slept in the first place. "Then he gave me a cookie and the guild went on this gathering trip thing and we were on the same party. Bonds made through battle... is that how they say it? Well, either way, I think he's nice to have around, too."

Arabelle nodded happily upon hearing the words 'workable strategy.' That meant that Mishiro was taking her seriously! Aww. She was so touched, she almost forgot about all the dumb things Mishiro did in the name of love. Then, she listened closely to her friend's strategy and had quite a few objections to make. "Wait, wait, waaait! Why am I doing everything?! We went with that strategy on the first day, but now I'm also the one finishing it off! Don't you already have your weapon skill? And you'll get half after all the work I do? The Christmas cookie isn't enough for this! Shiro-chan, you slacker! Do winners always turn lazy after receiving their item? No wonder I keep hearing news about old lottery winners going bankrupt!" Then she came to a realization: this was Mishiro's twisted way of saying no. Mishiro was copying her. Arabelle sorely regretted the day she decided to help her friend attain a sense of humor.  She pouted cutely and crossed her arms. Then the serious girl mentioned boys. Oh. Oh, wait~ "You know, I only said we were going to have some girl time. You assumed that thing on your own. Shiro-chan, did you have someone on your mind when you said that?"

"Nuh-uh. Why are you talking so formally all of a sudden?" Arabelle clung to Claude's arm and looked at her friend suspiciously. "You know what, deal. But it has to be just the two of us, okay? Sorry, Claude. You're too high-leveled to join us. Hehe~! Are you feeling the regret at leaving us behind now?" She snuggled closer, burying her head in his thick coat. The next few words she said were muffled. "It's hard..." She lifted her head and sighed, the brightness in her eyes flickering briefly. The next words she said were only heard by him. "Bit tired... Don't know how to keep this up... But I want to stay, a bit longer."

"Why are you still pushing yourself, then?" She had her eyes shut, but she knew he was giving a concerned frown. "Even after all these years, I still don't get you..."

"Same." Arabelle shifted backward so she wasn't completely hugging him, but still clinging onto his arm. Someone approached and she recognized him immediately. He must have been drawn in because they were talking about him. Cookie guy! She let go of Claude's arm. "Hello~. It's fine, but how do you even fall asleep after being hit by a snowball?" Arabelle laughed and skipped forward, taking the crepe he offered to her. She held it with both hands and took a bite. Stars lit up her eyes. "Whaaa... Dustin, this is so good! Almost enough to make up for me not winning anything. I bet Shiro-chan's cookies aren't as good as this!" She took another bite, then within seconds, she'd scarfed the whole thing down.

Then, Mishiro up and left! She left before Arabelle could even introduce her! "Whaaaat..." said a disappointed, purple-haired girl. Did she really feel so out of place? She could only watch quietly as her friend approached someone. The boy who won the cute Wisp. Wait. Wait. Holy- The little Wisp danced around the girl and the boy spoke to her with a smile. Arabelle smirked. This was a perfect CG moment in a visual novel! "I see, I see. That's how it is. So it's not just that guy who holds her attention. Ehehehe~." She poked Claude. "Shiro-chan's popular with the boys~. What does her 'Aniki' think about this?"

"No comment," said the pink-haired scout. "Well, I'll leave you with your friends and walk around for a bit--"

"Stay," Arabelle insisted. She spun around and before he could protest, she spoke, "Dustin, this is Claude. He has this weird, support-scout-DPS build and he's my... uh," Friend? The small, purple-haired girl visibly sweatdropped. She grabbed his hand and smiled innocently as if the latter part of that last sentence did not happen. "Yeah. Claude, this is Dustin. He's a guildmate of mine, too."

[ooc: retconning out of Claude introducing himself to Dustin earlier, since that kinda got buried in posts. tag @Kirbs @Dustin]

Charging in blindly? Stupid, but fun. Arabelle wasn't sure where to place herself but was quickly won over by the crepe Dustin offered to her. Stars shone in her eyes as she accepted the crepe, holding it like it was a precious gift, and then she took a bite. Screw Stryder. Dustin was her best, best guildmate ever! She gave a bright smile, then ducked her head to take another bite. "This is really good! Say Dustin, where do you buy these things? Or do you have someone crafting them for you~?"  She raised an eyebrow and smiled playfully. Then she turned back to the other shield girl, who promptly introduced herself as Mace. Huh. Maybe she was planning to take the warhammer later on? Either way, her lack of emotion reminded Arabelle of a certain girl who owned a shop in Floor 3. If Mishiro and Mace meet, would they get along? Or would they end up as the worst enemies? That's the thing that happens to people with similar personalities, right? Hmm... Then, the Mace girl, as if flipping a switch, suddenly spoke to Dustin in a familiar way. Then switched back to her emotionless personality. 

Ooookay. The person she knew was less formal around her friends, but the change wasn't always this drastic. Was she bipolar or something? One more name to add to Arabelle's list of known weirdos. She turned back to The Other Girl. It was a decent plan... for someone like her. There was nothing else she wanted to add to it. Arabelle grudgingly nodded her affirmation. "Huh. Well, my Paralyze only sets in when I crit, but I'll try! Maybe this time I'll be lucky."

[ooc: @Jinx @Dustin @Mace]

Arabelle smirked at The Other Girl's comment. "Retaliate? Who even uses that word anymore? Hehe~! I don't think you know me well enough yet. I won't 'retaliate,'" she responded innocently, in a voice loud enough to be heard by the rest of the little group. Then she stepped in closer and whispered. "I won't 'retaliate' until their backs are turned. Isn't that the best? Seeing their surprised expressions when they thought they could let their guard down only to find out that they fell for the trick. Ahahahaha - Oh, hey Kirbs!" The small girl easily recognized the person who had thrown the snowball at Dustin earlier. "How did that thing with Dustin go down? I want to know, all the details! Hehe, I was the one who called him out after all."

Then, the buff Event NPC dude announced the start of the raffle drawing. Arabelle fell silent and inched a bit closer to the stage. Truth be told, she wasn't really expecting to win anything with her luck, but might as well pay attention. If anything, it was Mishiro who would be winning something today. She still recalled their first day in the game - a very distant memory - when Mishiro's DMG output was a continuous series of crits. No weapon skill. But if Shiro-chan wins more than one thing, and she's my best friend, and she hasn't given me a Christmas present... "Hmm," hummed Arabelle thoughtfully. If Mishiro also won the blade...

Someone else won the blade. Aw. Then someone got the shield. That was fine. Next up was the cloak. It was a light armor and had a unique enhancement. Arabelle crossed her fingers. Come on. If it's not me, let Shiro-chan win it. She'll give it to me if she does. She doesn't like armor without MIT. Please, please, please... Then The Other Girl, with her tank build, won it. Seriously? Some other guy won the trinket. Too bad, she could've given it to Claude. If she did that, she wouldn't have to buy him a Christmas present anymore. Then Mishiro won the Christmas cookies. Arabelle blinked, surprised, and then she grinned. "Ooooh, there's even three of them! That's so cool!" She stepped forward to admire the plate of cookies her friend brought back to them before it was dismissed to her inventory. "Sooo... Shiro-chan. You, me, those cookies, and the Nature's Treasure mission. We can also leave boring, old Claude behind and have some girl time. What do you say?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "I mean, if you ever do add onto those levels of yours. Otherwise, we wouldn't really end up gathering much."

The rest of the winners were announced and, as expected, Arabelle did not win anything. The Other Girl and The Loli, however, did. Seriously?! What was a kid going to do with that huge backpack?! "Ughhh," she groaned to herself. It seems that ever since The Other Girl came into her life, there's been nothing but misfortune. She saw The Other Girl approach Stryder and watched quietly as he picked her up and swung her around. What's with this lovey-dovey atmosphere? Is this some cheesy, white girl romance novel?! Arabelle mumbled something that went along the lines of "have fun with your stupid furry girlfriend." and then dragged herself over to her best source of comfort. "Clauuude, are you going home yet?"

[ooc: @Jinx @Mishiro @Kirbs]

Mishiro got her point. But with the way she was talking, Arabelle could almost hear the 'but' coming up. But... But what? "But he's actually a nice, friendly person, Arabelleee!! He's just misunderstood!" Ew. The small girl pulled away from the hug. What was this, a good girl meets bad boy Wattpad romance? She didn't want to hear any of it. Then The Other Girl came along - why was she following them around?! - and asked about stories. Arabelle watched the eyepatched girl carefully before concluding that she'd only heard that last bit. Well, not like it mattered. She smiled innocently at The Other Girl. "Roman? Who's Roman? I only know a Claude. You know, tall scout-healer-DPS-whatever guy. Long pink hair, and a sister complex."

Then her best friend went along with The Other Girl's idea and suggested telling stories. From real life, probably. Arabelle sighed. What a cliche and sappy thing to do. She didn't have any nice stories when it came to her life before SAO. "Fine. Not like I have anything better to do. You're so cheesy, Shiro-chan~!" she giggled and thought of her own story. Mishiro mentioned a tradition from her country. "So a Christmas party with snooty old relatives. Huh. Are you Spanish, Shiro-chan? I mean, you kinda already look the part." And then it was her turn to tell a story (probably). If it was The Other Girl, she'd just blather on about how depressing her real life was and the mood would totally be ruined. "Well... the only family tradition I had was going to mass on Christmas and eating dinner in some fancy restaurant after. It was boring. But there was this one fun event in my boarding school, maybe a day before everyone leaves for Christmas break. It's an annual snowball fight. There's no program or anything, it just kind of happens. You could just be minding your business outside and get randomly attacked by snowballs. Hehe. That was fun." Arabelle smiled slightly. "But the best part... is that you can throw a snowball at that one teacher you really dislike and make the excuse: 'It was just an accident!'"

That gave her a wonderful idea.

"Watch." Arabelle bent down and scooped up some snow, forming a snowball. Then she looked over at the group. Claude, Stryder with Fae, Vigilon and his pretty girlfriend, Ruby, some random woman, some random kid (who better not also be with Stryder!). Eenie meenie miny moe. She smirked, cocked her arm back, and threw the snowball with all of her strength.

...

Being ambushed by wolves...? Dragging random strangers along with her on quests? Then immediately accepting a guild invite? She usually wasn't that reckless. What the hell did Arabelle get into while he was gone? "Well, thanks for protecting her. We weren't talking at that time, so I'm glad she had someone to--Oof!" A snowball had landed right at the back of his head. Claude took a few disoriented steps forward before he regained his balance and whirled around. Jinx (unlikely), Mishiro (unlikely), and Arabelle (very likely) at the secluded corner between two booths stared back at him.

"My hand slipped!" And from where they were standing, they could hear that annoying laughter.

He turned red with embarrassment. That little...! Claude looked down at the ground, covered in piles of snow - unlimited ammunition - then back at Arabelle's smug smile, and then back at the ground. Come on, Claude. It's just one, annoying teenage (?) girl. You're a grown man. Don't take the bait. Don't take the bait. Don't take the...

The pink-haired scout scooped up some snow and threw one back at her.

...

Arabelle turned back to Mishiro and The Other Girl. "Ahahahahaha! Did you see that, did you see that? If people could kill with glares... ahahahaha-- ow, ow!!" Two snowballs, one after the other, landed on the back of her head. All she could think was: 'Oh god, my perfect hairstyle.' and 'Claude that flipping bastard.' as she tipped forward and fell against The Other Girl and her stupid cat onesie. She recovered quickly, her face a bright red, and she turned back to where she knew that stupid, pink-haired scout was. She cupped her hands and yelled, "One is enough, dummy!"

Then she saw Hazado walking toward her. It was obvious from his dumb smile that he was guilty, too. Karma had somehow allowed for those two to throw their snowballs at the same time and effectively knock her down. "I'll get back at you," Arabelle seethed, but calmed down slightly when he patted her head. So many headpats in one day. Mishiro with her headpat fetish would be jealous. She didn't say anything at his comment, only letting out a low, annoyed growl that sounded like, "Rrrrghhhh..."

[ooc: @Jinx @Mishiro @Stryder @Hazado]

"Oh. That. My friends told me sometime earlier... I think. Well, whatever. I still knew. But it wasn't really worth mentioning cause when I joined, he'd already left. So I didn't get to talk to him much as a guildmate, but like I told you earlier. He helped me with my profession quest," Arabelle explained. Yep. It wasn't valuable information. Not at all. What was Mishiro planning to do with all that, anyway? Somehow justify that guy's crimes? No. A murder was a murder. Motives, or anything else, didn't change that. Well, unless you were playing detective; and unless you were a certain person she chose to make exceptions for. The latter was definitely biased, but wasn't everything? She figured Mishiro wouldn't be so worried about that guy if they'd never mended their friendship.

And. That PM. She'd read it? That was meant for Claude. He was used to the more heartless side of her. Oh, now she was mad. F*ck.

"Hey, Shiro-chan. Honestly. Me or him?" Arabelle tucked her hands behind her back and smiled teasingly at her best friend. "No, just kidding. You can't answer that. Because~, on your 'friendship ranking,' he's on the same level as me and Claude. Or maybe even higher. So what's the big deal? You didn't say anything about me calling Claude an incompetent scout even if it would've clearly affected him in some way. But then you're here, getting all triggered over that 'join the party' remark without even knowing the context yet. What's the deal, Shiro-chan? Do you looove him, or something? That's bad, you know? I mean, it would totally be a forbidden love and those never end well!" 

Okay, she didn't want to end her friendship with Mishiro. Time to stop.

"No, don't answer that. There was a context." Arabelle giggled and took a step back. "Okay, so it was him. He was pushed off a roof by some other scout and got arrested. They were tying him up and stuff. And well, it caused a commotion. I mean, duh. But guess what made it really funny!" She held up two fingers. "The Laughing Coffin. Yes, right here! In this safe zone. In this event. Well, there was technically only one dude who was dressed in full-on edgy PK guild stuff. But I suspect the other dude is involved with that murder guild, too. I mean, they got along well, and he also covered his face with a helmet. Well, anyway. Guess what they did, Shiro-chan! Guess what they did!" She stepped forward and stood on her tiptoes, whispering close to the other girl's ear. "They demanded his release. The. Laughing. Coffin. Demanded. That. Murderer's. Release."

"Do you get what I'm saying, Shiro-chan?" She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her friend. "You said he told you his story. Disregarding the question of honesty, how much did he tell you? Information can easily be manipulated to deceive the receiver, you know? Do you get me? I don't trust him. So, don't worry about him anymore. He's in the police's hands now."

[ooc: @Mishiro @Jinx]

:As they were talking, some random girl walked up and called her a cutie. Arabelle blinked, confused, then looked at Jinx, Fae, and Mishiro. Nah, the blonde couldn't have been talking to them. Because it was true! Yes, Arabelle was the cutest! She gave her cutest smile and instantly appreciated the pretty blonde-haired stranger for having a good eye. Only few could appreciate true art! "Thank you, lady! I think you're pretty, too!" She had to know this nice lady's name. She quickly glanced back at the pink-haired scout with a smug smile. You're getting competition. Praise me too, Claude! Then she skipped forward and stuck her hand out. "I'm Arabelle. What's your name?"

Then, after having finished her introductions, she noticed Mishiro giving her a look. Arabelle tilted her head to the side. Her friend did swing both ways, so... was she jealous? She didn't understand until the girl gestured to a secluded area, between two event stalls. She understood fully. But she still wanted to tease her friend. Something along the lines of: "What, are we gonna make out? Shiro-chan, I had no idea you felt that way! Oh my~, why am I always so popular..." But she didn't get to. Because... because...

"Ever since you let me stay at yours, I haven't really needed it. Your bed is super warm after all so I haven't needed to wear it when I sleep."

"You're so lucky you got to sleep with mister Stryder! Fae wanted to do that too! Can Fae have a turn sometime?  It sounds like lots of fun! Laying in a warm bed, just the two of you, it all sounds like a blast!" 

This. This. Disgusting-- 

Arabelle whirled around and turned to Stryder. Her purple bangs cast a shadow over her dangerously glinting eyes and she smiled, though admittedly, it looked more like a grimace. She took a step forward. And another. And another. Until she was right in front of him and she leaned forward. The girls could wait until later. For now, there was one person at the center of it-- "Stryder..."  Her little, gloved hand clenched into a fist, exactly how Mishiro does when she was sparring, and she tilted her head up at him innocently. "You know, when you said your guild was close, I had no idea--"

"Yeah, close! Close is good!" And there was an arm between them separating the smol, angry girl and Stryder. Who Claude was keeping away from who was a mystery. Arabelle stepped back, surprised. Only to find that Claude and Stryder were standing side-by-side. She calmed down instantly and brought a hand to her cheek. Oh, my... Was this - was this what they called a love-  -! "I mean." The scout paused to collect his thoughts. Clearly, he hadn't thought this through. "It's better than my guild. They'd have an argument over every small decision. So it's nice that you guys agree with each other at least. Ahahaha..." 

Cricket noises.

God, this was awkward. Was Claude always this terribly awkward?! She was already feeling the secondhand embarrassment from here! Wordlessly, Arabelle turned tail and grabbed Mishiro's hand, leading the girl to the secluded spot she'd pointed out earlier. "Let's go. You want to talk, right?"

Meanwhile...

"Disaster averted," Claude sighed in relief and dropped his arm, stepping away from Stryder. "No, I don't talk like that. But she runs away when she finds a situation too awkward. I have no idea what she would've done if she stayed... she's one terrifying woman when she's mad. Well, if that was all a misunderstanding, I'm sure you can resolve it with her when she comes back later."

[ooc: tag @Stryder @Mishiro @Fae @Jinx @Ruby]

Surprisingly, the kid was the first to understand her joke. Arabelle laughed along with her. But it was troubling. She was smol enough to be carried on her favorite guild leader's shoulders, so she couldn't be any older than 10. And that context... that context was really concerning. Arabelle stopped laughing and gave Stryder a look. Like, the I'll-be-asking-you-about-this-later-you-dumb-lolicon look. She wasn't the type to care that much for people she hardly knew - no, that was Mishiro's job - but it was very out of place. Then there was The Other Girl, asking if she was okay. "Huhhh? I mean, considering that I just found out my favorite guild leader was actually a huge lolicon..." Arabelle brought a gloved hand to her mouth and skipped a step backward with a laugh. "Hehehe! Stryder, sugar, what's your ideal age gap in a relationship? C'mon, fess up! Mine's [redacted] years older, at most!"

"Merry Christmas, Arabelle." A soft, monotonous voice from behind her greeted. She spun around to see Mishiro approaching. She was dressed in some cute winter clothing - the coat was probably borrowed from Claude again, but Arabelle'll forgive her for it - but she was noticeably downcast. That's not good. Why was she sad? It's Christmas season! Everyone's supposed to be happy at Christmas! ... Well, Arabelle already knew part of the reason why. Gosh, what a troublesome friend she had.

"Merry Christmas, Shiro-chan!" she mimicked, taking on a much brighter tone. She stepped back, gesturing to the boy in the blue hood. "Oh, by the way. Mishiro. This is Stryder, my very respectable guild leader. Say hi! And hey, Stryder! This one's my best friend and she already likes someone, so she's off-limits! My best friend is off-limits, you hear me!"

"What's this I hear about Shiro liking someone? You two aren't hiding anything from me, are you?" Arabelle leaned to the side and spotted Claude walking up from behind Mishiro. He was out of his usual combat attire and he'd even changed his hair a little bit: it was now swept to the side and loosely tied, and he was. So. Cute. And. Fluffy. She looked up at him, starry-eyed, as he approached and gave her head a little pat. "Don't listen to her. She likes exaggerating things. Also, Arabelle, we were with them earlier. Do you already know Jinx?"

Of course, she did. The Other Girl was her--

Wait.

CLAUDE AND MISHIRO KNEW JINX?! They were with Jinx and everyone else earlier?!

"Claude, you dummy! Stupid, incompetent scout! You were here already!" the little purple-haired girl seethed, ducking so that his headpat wouldn't reach her. She took a step back, pulled her scarf up, and tried to look as cross as she possibly could. What was with The Other Girl and ruining relationships? She already had Stryder! No, wait, Arabelle wouldn't let her have Stryder either. "What were you doing? Why didn't you send me a PM? You and Shiro-chan were totally going on a date, weren't you! Stupid siscon!"  She took a step back, paused for dramatic effect, then smiled as sweetly and innocently as she could. "...I was waiting for you. Let's all have fun together, okay?"

[ooc: tag @Stryder @Fae @Jinx @Mishiro]

Someone fell from the roof and landed near her current position with a thud. No, two someones. Arabelle spun around and caught a glimpse of one of the player's orange cursors. Oooooh! This was interesting. Her friends would love to hear about this. She quickly backed away from the two - an orange player and a... edgy-looking guy that she would've also pegged an orange player had they not possessed a green cursor at the moment - but remained near the scuffle. Long enough to recognize the orange player that was being apprehended. Pinball. She still remembered that nice, awkward guy from her profession quest. But he has an orange cursor now and was on the wanted list for killing someone. And he made Mishiro cry. Serves him right. What the heck was he expecting, being in a large event like this, anyway? Did orange cursors also take away brain cells or something? She brought up her messenger and typed out a short PM.

Quote

To: Claude

Someone already beat you to it, you incompetent scout. :P

Join the party: x-coordinate:y-coordinate

And she watched the proceedings, stone-faced. There was a small circle that had formed around the commotion and she was right at the very front, though she doubted that he would recognize her. Two players showed up. Both looking edgy as f*ck. They practically announced to the entire world that they were from the Laughing Coffin guild (or aspiring pkers?), only to be driven away by a frontline-level tank. Arabelle let out a loud, drawn-out sigh. Really, what were they thinking? Did wanting to become a PKer take away brain cells too? Maybe. People who wanted to be killers could only be called dumb. 

Pinball and the PK hunter guy left. She thought she saw him crying. Arabelle rolled her eyes. They always cried when they were apprehended. Did they really think they could still garner pity at their current state? Good thing Mishiro the Pacifist wasn't around to witness anything. That lovestruck girl would've cried too, and then Claude would feel bad and go home with her, and then Arabelle would be alone in the festival! "Really. Shiro-chan should choose a better guy to like..." 

"A-Arabelle...!" 

And Arabelle should, too. Just as the commotion had died away, she saw another absolutely scandalous sight. There was The Other Girl, in her silly animal onesie. A small kid with pink hair and a Santa outfit. Her favorite guild leader. He was patting the former's head and the latter was on his shoulders, like they were having an adventure. Her gloved hand moved to the bridge of her nose.

What was this, a harem?! 

Arabelle approached her favorite guild leader with the sweetest smile she could muster.  "Stryder..." She paused, her hair falling over her ashen eyes. Her hands moved behind her back, and suddenly, her smile wasn't so nice anymore. The Other Girl and uh, The Loli would look at her curiously. Wait, now that she thought about it... both girls looked young. Very young. "The FBI wishes you a Merry Christmas!"

[ooc: tag @Mishiro @Jinx @Fae @Stryder]

And the small purple-haired girl rounded a corner and inelegantly skidded to a stop. Upon spotting that there were now three of them instead of the original one - ooh, Dustin was here too! Maybe she should think of Claude and Mishiro next time so they could pop up from out of nowhere and join her in a quest for once - she smoothed down her skirt and ran a hand through the braided hair secured at the back of her head with a ribbon, then walked towards them as if nothing totally out-of-character happened. "Heyo! Dustin, person I don't know, Other Girl." From the way she assigned nicknames to them, it was obvious who she favored the most at the moment. Now give me a cookie!

"Who are you, anyway?" She pointed at the girl with the large shield. They were getting two tanks?! Gosh, she hoped this one actually does her job right. Unlike a certain someone she knew. Wink, wink. "Level, build, skills? I'm Arabelle, currently level 9, and aiming for a pure DPS build. Nice to meet you!" She stuck her hand out to the blue-haired girl with a friendly smile. Then she turned to the other two. "Uh, so do we have a plan for this thing? We can't just charge in blindly."

[ooc: tag @Dustin @Mace]

Arabelle sold her guildmate out, but she gained a new friend in the process! She laughed as the redhead yelled what could only be insults and threw a snowball back at Dustin. Then she skipped forward and shook Kirbs's hand when it was offered to her. "I'm Arabelle! Nice to meet you, but I gotta run before Dustin decides to throw one at me, too! See ya!" She turned tail and ran. 

...and because of her haste, she completely missed her favorite guild leader and the two people she had been waiting for. What an unlucky person. 

She slowed her pace as she reached the central area of the festival, and walked quietly with her hands tucked behind her back. Arabelle was alone now. She didn't want to be alone for long. It was boring. Really boring. Maybe she should head back. But for a few moments, she kept walking, her eyes peeled for something - anything - that would seem out of place or mildly interesting. There was none. Boooring!

She almost walked past the large event NPC (seriously, what was the game thinking? if they were trying to make an NPC like Santa, this should be the last thing they'd have in their minds), then suddenly backtracked and looked through the limited goods. "The hell are these prices? These things are definitely limited," Arabelle complained to herself quietly. Well, not like she had much Col to spare anyways. Her gaze moved over to the raffle, and only then did she address the NPC. "Hey. Raffle's still open? I'm joining in. Here's to hoping my mediocre luck could win me something nice!"

[ooc: tag @Benny @Kirbs]

"Everyone goes out of their way to accommodate the person they care about. So it's nothing new, dummy," Arabelle said softly. Like a certain, idiotic, unreliable healer siscon who'd dyed his hair a stupid color of pink-- "I mean, even I do it. Sometimes. So only thing you gotta do is pay them back somehow. Dunno how. Go out of your way for them too, I guess. But you're definitely - definitely not going to achieve that by worrying about being a burden. Do you get me? If you keep thinking you're a burden to others, then you're really gonna turn into a burden! So suck it up and stop thinking about it."

...

What was she saying?

"...ah." Arabelle turned her head to the side, cheeks slightly flushed. Just because Jinx had reminded her of a certain idiotic healer's sister/friend/lover/whatever they were suppose to be now, she'd given that lecture out of pure instinct! She didn't even like the silver-haired tank in the first place! She stole Stryder's attention from her, was utterly useless in battle, and acted too cutesy for her own good. So it's not like Arabelle was getting closer to her! BAKA! "Don't apply too much pressure." she advised in response to Jinx's question about the snowball.

Dustin threw a snowball at some random girl she didn't know, and Arabelle had to suppress her laughter. Then she stood straight up, cupped her hands, and yelled at the snow-covered girl. This is my revenge for earlier...! "He did it! Dustin did it!" Then she stood. "Guess I have to run before an angry Dustin throws a snowball at me too. Bye-onara~!" And with that, she bolted away from the group.

[ooc: tag @Jinx @Dustin @Kirbs]

"Hehhh? That's kinda lame," Arabelle crouched down, gathering a pile of snow together. She was glad for her gloves. It was cold as heck. "What do you define as 'bothering people'? You know, if it's something as broad as 'talking to strangers' or 'approaching people already in a conversation,' then you're not gonna get anywhere. Being alone is a bit lame, don't you think?" She cupped her gloved hands together and started forming a snowball. Then, the girl asked a weird question. Is it Christmas already? Arabelle snorted. "It's Christmas season. I greeted you cause everyone else seems to be giving each other Christmas greetings in advance. Really, do you not look at your calendar or something?" She opened her hands, and in it was a completely-formed snowball.

Then, Dustin came along. "Have you two ladies seen a woman with beautiful purple hair?"

"Oh my, oh my~," Arabelle brought a cold, gloved hand to her cheek and smiled sweetly. "Dustin, I had no idea you--"

"--Not you."

Then he left. Arabelle sat down and huffed. "That's not how you treat your guild members, dummy!" She looked down at the snowball she'd accidentally dropped to the ground with a pout. When Dustin returned, he would see her forming another snowball while complaining, "Really, when are Mishiro and Claude gonna get here? They better not go on a date without me...!"

[ooc: tag @Jinx and @Dustin]

So it was that time of the year. Wrapped up in a warm fluffy coat and a scarf, Arabelle looked up at the grey sky from where the snowflakes were falling, with her lips slightly parted in awe. Then she dropped her gaze to look at the festival laid out around her. Snowfrost was always pretty when it was covered in Christmas decorations. Almost reminds her of Christmas parties back in her boarding school. The small purple-haired girl remained still, perhaps one of her very rare moments of silence, and then she grinned to herself and brought up her messenger. A festival was no fun if there were no people there to experience it!

Quote

To: Claude

Christmas festival fair thingy happening right now at Floor 4, Snowfrost. There's a bunch of food stalls and also a raffle. You better take a break from that tracking and come over or I'll drag you here myself! Busybody scout. :P

 

Quote

To: @Mishiro

Found a nice little Christmas event in Floor 4, Snowfrost. I'm alone, so wanna hang out? Convince Claude to come over while you're at it. He needs a break.

 

Quote

To: @Stryder , @Hei, @Saphira, @Dustin, @Gryas

Hello, fellow guildmates! If you haven't heard already, there's a Christmas-themed event in Floor 4, Snowfrost. They have a bunch of limited items for sale and a raffle, with a weapon as one of the prizes. Come over if you feel like it. :3

 

With all of her PMs done, Arabelle turned her head, searching for a familiar face in the crowd. There were none. Arabelle, you failure! I thought you were supposed to be a friendly, social person! she thought to herself, disappointed. She looked around again and found The Other Girl, wearing a ridiculous animal-themed outfit. She almost brought her palm to her face. Gosh, why was it always her?! Can't it be someone she actually liked? At this point, she would've settled for someone random like Vigilon. She met him once but hardly ever talked to him.

Arabelle resigned herself to waiting. She stood in the middle of the fair, watching the little groups of friends come together and exchange greetings. Suddenly, she felt a bit... lost. Ughh. She whirled around and begrudgingly approached The Other Girl. "Hey, you." She came to a stop in front of the silver-haired girl with her face slightly red. Her gaze drifted away to somewhere, steadily avoiding eye contact as she continued. "Merry Christmas. You alone, too?"

[ooc: tag @Jinx]