Arabelle

Unlike his personality, Stryder's shop was terribly boring. It was a building with two floors, painted in a very bland color, and lacking in the necessary decorations. Or...anything for the matter. In comparison, the small wooden houses the NPCs had built or even player shops with no sense of color blending were much better. From under the shadow of her military cap, Arabelle's eyes narrowed. There was one additional thing she could contribute to her guild and that could be improving her leader's shop's sales by making the outside look prettier. With that task filed away in her mind for later, she pushed the door open and entered the building.

Her form shimmered as she unequipped her black cloak and military cap. Then she looked around. As expected, the inside was equally boring. Boring, boring, boring. He could have at least hung a painting. Or was he simply new to the crafting business? The small purple-haired girl surveyed the room in front of her and found a brown-haired boy laying on his side, back against the wall. He was sleeping peacefully. But where was Stryder? Nothing inside the shop's main room offered an answer aside from a door leading to an inner room, perhaps where he had his sleeping quarters. He wouldn't be asleep, especially after he sent that mass PM. And by entering, she wouldn't be disturbing anything. He was a guild leader and thus, a professional person.

...right?

Arabelle moved forward with a purpose, strolling toward her favorite guild leader's room. As was customary to her, she pushed the door open without knocking. "Stryder!" she called out cheerfully as the door opened. "I'm here! Who else are we--" 

She cut her sentence short. There were two people in the room. Her beloved guild leader. And a girl she didn't recognize. From how closely they were standing to each other, they obviously weren't having a strategy meeting. And the fact that they were alone in the room and that one guy was waiting outside-- "Waiting for? Is that our new member?" Arabelle recovered from the surprise like a pro. She smiled sweetly, though suspicion flashed briefly over her face as her gaze met his. "Hello! Welcome to the guild~! Guess I'm no longer the guild noob, huh? Well, not that I spent much time in that position. Ahahahahaha..." She backed away from the door, still smiling at both of them. Then her gaze sharpened. "I hope we can get along."

She turned and shut the door firmly behind her, smile dropping from her face. Silently, she marched over to the sleeping guy and sat down next to where his head lied. She pulled her knees close to her chest and shut her eyes.

[ooc notes: unless that hug was supposed to take ages, they would probably have broken off by the time she entered. stats will be posted before the actual gathering begins.]

Italian dishes? Like...pizza and pasta? Honestly, Arabelle didn't know much about Italian cuisine but she figured her date would just order something for the two of them. "Mhm. Sounds good," she agreed cheerfully. Stryder had grabbed her hand (he finally did it first!) so the purple-haired girl moved closer so their elbows were touching. To the people passing by, they would probably look like a cute couple. Her cheeks reddened at the thought of that, and even more so when he ended his last sentence with a flirt. It sounded a bit like a lame pickup line, but she was willing to overlook it. "Hmm~? That goes to you too, Stry." Saying that, she bumped the side of her head to his shoulder lightly (he was tall enough and she was short enough to do that).

Alright. That was enough. Flirting endlessly with someone was nice, but for their date to have balance, she needed to learn more about him too. She allowed for a few moments of silence to pass before asking a question. "Say, how long did it take for you to reach that level?"

Arabelle let go of his hand and waited for him to catch up. She matched his pace and walked alongside him, her hands taking their usual place behind her back. Her scythe dematerialized as she stored it in her inventory, a bit of a reckless act, but she didn't like carrying that heavy weapon around even outside the safe zone. If something happened, Hazado would protect her until could she re-equip it. "Huhhh?" she leaned forward, showing a bit of a dissatisfied expression.  "Haz, Haz. You really forgot it? Isn't that being a bit unfair now? I was looking forward to it, you know?" Then she giggled and kept walking. She was done teasing him for now.

"So where do you want to go?" she asked. Of course. They couldn't go on a date without having a place in mind. "Oh! Wait, I have a suggestion. How about we visit your favorite place in the game, Haz? I really do want to learn more about you."

Arabelle's time with the Guardians of the New Dawn had quite the grim start. Just a few days ago, she was recruited by the guild leader himself. He was strong, kind, and had his heart in the right place. He entertained her when she asked him out on a date and when he offered for her to join the guild, she accepted immediately. Not because she fell in love, but because she was simply curious. She wanted to see how he became strong and inspiring enough to unite different people under the flag of the same guild. She dealt with people a lot, and she knew how difficult that was. She wanted to meet the people he surrounded himself with.

Just yesterday, she received a message from an unknown person. Arabelle finished off the mob she was dealing with and retreated to a safer area to read the message. "For those of you that joined and I do not know. My name was Eatos, and I held the title of Guardian and Co-founder to the New Dawn."  Her eyes widened. Was? She gestured for her quest companion to keep fighting. And she read through the message. She had to pause at certain parts to take it all in. But at the end, once she had finished reading and once her partner had finished clearing the mobs, she dismissed the PM. She clapped her hands together and closed her eyes in a quick prayer. But she didn't cry. 

She raised her head and ran to her quest partner, apologizing. Wearing a smile as if nothing happened.

***

Arabelle was expecting Stryder's message. She dismissed the PM and equipped a coat over her armor. Then, she teleported up to Floor 4 and after asking a few players for directions, she found the deceased founder's shop.

What she witnessed was a saddening sight.

Her guild leader, on his knees in front of a woman's picture. He had his arms wrapped around his familiar, bringing it closer to him as if it was the only solace in the world, and his sobs muffled by the white wolf's fur. Beside him, talking to him, was a man she didn't know. That must be a picture of Eatos. Arabelle gazed at it for a while, then took her place at Stryder's other side. She rested her gloved hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." And there was nothing else to be said. The man helped him up and she also stood. She felt something tugging at her heart at the sight. But still, she couldn't bring herself to cry for someone she never knew.

Arabelle took a step back from where the mob had been. Now, it was just a peaceful, empty space. Hazado approached her (and he finally took that funny-looking helmet off), congratulating her on her kill with his hand extended to her. What was she supposed to do with it? Shake hands? She wasn't that formal. Her hands went behind her back and she smiled at his praise. "Well. Ahahaha. Guess I can match up to you now, huh?" She took a step closer, still ignoring his extended hand. "So when you're looking for a DPS in the future, you'll know who to call for."

When he finally asked what they should do next, she stepped forward and took the hand he had held out to her. And she started walking, gently pulling him along. She looked over her shoulder, her smile as innocent as ever. "Let's get out of here first. I don't like being outside," she spoke. "But that aside, you promised me something from last time, didn't you?"

For a tank, Hazado surely dealt a lot of damage. After one Sword Art and one Thorns effect, the Wasp Queen's HP was already below its halfway point. It was there that Arabelle realized that she had never actually asked about his level, and that this was their first time fighting together. Well, that was more than okay! She had only leveled up recently, and at a lower level, she wouldn't have been able to show off as she was planning to do now.

At her quest partner's cue, Arabelle swept in with the scythe's head behind her, the blade facing down. She closed the distance between herself and the Wasp Queen, forgetting just for a few seconds how scary the mob looked - no, actually, it motivated her to kill it faster - and swung her now glowing-green weapon up, aimed directly for the mob's head. One hit - the mob's head snapped up and she planted her foot in the ground in front of her to prevent herself from losing balance - and she twisted her scythe, bringing it up to land an underhanded blow against the wasp's upper body. 

The Wasp Queen was sent flying, and Arabelle chased after it. Her scythe was still glowing, Sword Art sequence hasn't been completed yet. She stood over the wasp with a victorious grin. "Time for you to buzz off once again." 

And she brought the blunt end of the scythe to its head.

The Wasp Queen fully materialized and the two players were immediately in its sights. As was agreed upon earlier, Arabelle didn't move from her spot. She watched with a disinterested expression as Hazado did. He charged forward, moving to thrust his spear in the quest mobs direction. Oh, right. On top of tanking, he also knew how to wield a spear. She wasn't sure if he had the weapon skill for it though.

As if to remind everyone that the quest mob could fly, the wasp beat its wings and flew up, avoiding Hazado's attack. If this were real life, it would've stayed up in the air, providing the players with no means to attack it. But this was a game. The mob was made to be killed.

The big wasp returned to the ground. It was now positioned between her and Hazado, and had its back to her. It was so close. And it was bigger and scarier than expected. So when she heard the tank warning her against attacking, Arabelle happily obliged. She obediently stayed in her spot with her scythe's blade raised before her.

They reached the area where the quest mob frequently spawns, only to find it empty. None of the signature buzzing of the wasp mobs. Nothing but bushes and plants and nonhostile creatures that contributed to the game's immersive environment. "Aw," Arabelle commented. Whoever was here before must've been really strong. Or mad. The area was wiped clear of mobs that she probably couldn't kill in two hits. 

Hazado said it could spawn any minute, so Arabelle kept a tight grip on her scythe as she moved to lean on a tree behind him. She planted the butt of her scythe on the ground and looked up at him. Unlike her who was relaxing on the tree, he was already on full alert with his muscles tensed as he watched the area in front of him. Figures, he'd have to be quick in grabbing the Queen's attention before it could take notice of her. "Any second now,"  he repeated. His really was focused on protecting her. "Yeah, yeah. I'm ready." Though he couldn't see it, Arabelle rolled her eyes playfully. Still, his tall frame in front of her, protecting her from any danger, with her vision being framed by the green of plants and foliage and above, the pretty sky and the rays of the sun shining through the leaves, painted a pretty picture.

Then--

He equipped some weird helmet. It had a spike protruding for it, and while in any other culture, it would've been used to intimidate soldiers from the opposing army (and maybe run them through with the spike, like wild bulls), to Arabelle, it just looked ridiculous. "Pfffft. Ahahahaha!" she couldn't fully restrain her laughter. "Haz, you look like a buff unicorn!"

Her laughter quickly died down as the buzzing that had previously been missing from the forest resumed, and red pixels from the clearing in front of Haz came together, forming the image of a large wasp. Arabelle straightened and pulled her scythe up. "Go, go, Haz!" she cheered.

"Axe type?" Arabelle repeated, tilting her head to the side in confusion. Her weapon was obviously a scythe. "I don't think--" she paused as she suddenly remembered. Right. The weapon she was wielding was a scythe and would have a different moveset in any other game (given that axes typically have blades on both sides and scythes only have one), but SAO's skill system had it classified as an axe-type weapon. Same Sword Arts with heavy emphasis on AoE, but it was wielded differently for non-SA attacks. "Yeah, my weapon skill is that of a two-handed axe."  she confirmed.

Arabelle let out a little snort as Hazado warned her against hitting him. "Hehe~ Do I look that clumsy to you? Don't worry, Haz. Axes can bring damage to a wide area, but I know where my targets are." There were still some things she thought they could talk about. Potential dangers, maybe. Whether they should clear the area of other mobs before attacking the Wasp Queen. Her AoE attacks had the risk of upsetting other mobs. Maybe even Hate management? She knew how to keep track, but what if she landed a crit and her Hate goes up higher than Hazado's?

But. 

That was boring.

She'd rather kill the Wasp Queen and get back to town quick so they can hang out. There was nothing fun in being outside the safe zone. No matter how strong your companions, danger always lurked in every corner, whether it be mobs or other players. To put it simply, they could try to have as much fun as they want outside the safe zone, but they would still have to constantly watch their surroundings. Their focus wouldn't solely be on having fun. Which defeats the purpose itself. "Come on, let's go. Don't want anyone else to get to the Queen before we do. Then we'd be stuck with waiting out the respawn timers."  Arabelle took hold of Hazado's hand and tugged him forward. Then she stopped. "You lead. I actually don't know where to look."

Arabelle let out a huff and briefly looked away, her cheeks reddening slightly from the prolonged physical contact. Her intention was to come off as a bit cross with Stryder giving the material to her instead of giving it to the quest NPC himself, but she wanted to look cute too. He didn't call her a cutie for nothing. "Stop delaying me, Stry. I'm excited for the date, too," she goaded. Nevertheless, she accepted the <<Venom Vial>> with the hand that was not holding his and approached the NPC. Then, she realized she was dragging him forward so she loosened her grip on his hand until it slipped out of hers.

"Hey," she greeted the NPC. "I finished off the Snapper. Here's the proof." She held up the small vial in front of her, showing it to the merchant. Arabelle didn't hear what the NPC said in response, she had immediately shifted her focus to the quest completion tab that had appeared in front of her, then upon dismissing it, her focus was now solely on the cute boy who had promised her a date. She flashed him her signature, charming smile. "We're done. You had a restaurant in mind, right?" She skipped forward, one gloved hand behind her back and the other held out to @Stryder, waiting for him to take it.  "Come on, let's go!"

Not wanting to get caught in the middle while the old man and the bushman exchanged blows, Arabelle backed up. It seemed to her that he had taken advantage of the bushman blocking her attack and momentarily having all of its attention on her. Smart move.  She would have done that, if only she had the axe-wielding skills and the ACC stat to back her up. Seeing the man shove the mob away from him, Arabelle readied her weapon for another attack. She swung her weapon upwards--

--and missed. 

Quickly forcing herself to recover from that embarrassing failure, she stepped away from the bushman. God, I know I'm a low-level, but I didn't expect myself to be this useless in a fight. She tried not to let her frustration show as she turned to the man. "How's your HP? I have a few spare potions I can share," Arabelle offered. 

Quote

ID: 103815 | BD: 3 + 1 = 4 [fail D:]

[H:1] @Kioshi: HP 66/80 -- DMG 7 -- MIT 35 -- Energy 4/8
[H:0] Arabelle: HP 140/140 -- DMG 5 -- ACC 1 -- MIT 9 -- EVA 2 -- PARA 2 -- Energy 10/14

Bushman: HP 22/36 -- DMG 27 -- MIT 0 -- +1 Blight

 

 

The old man advanced into the garden with a purpose and eventually disappeared from her view. That was fine with her. Arabelle was glad he wasn't the type of person who would just randomly go up to a stranger and start up a conversation. She did not feel like talking today. She probably won't talk for the rest of her stay in this game. Arabelle continued minding her own business until her ears picked up the sound of stomping. Angry stomping. She straightened and looked up. It was coming from where the man had disappeared off to earlier. A mob?

Arabelle didn't want to get involved. But she wasn't heartless. Not completely anyway. If that old guy was in danger, despite how scary he looked, she didn't really want to turn a blind eye. Besides, she was too young to have some old dude's death hanging on her shoulders. And maybe the mob would drop some nice stuff that she could sell for Col. So she stood up and retrieved her weapon from where it leaned against the garden's wall and carefully made her way towards the sound. 

The noise had developed from just stomping to the sound of metal hitting metal. Then, scuffling. She peeked around a corner and almost shrunk back. The hell was that? It had the form of a human, but it was like that human had jumped into a pile of leaves or bush covered in superglue and also randomly grabbed a large wooden axe. And it was scary. Like something that would chase people around in a horror movie. (She was not very familiar with the term, 'Ghillie Suit,' thus her surprise at the mob's appearance).

Now, they were circling each other: the player and the mob. It was a deadly dance. One where you kept an eye on every one of your partner's actions and struck once you found an opening. Arabelle waited from behind the corner and gathered her resolve -- you wanted to help, dammit --  before hefting her beginner axe up and charging the enemy. But Arabelle wasn't familiar with openings. Or any of the technical combat stuff. So her measly attempt at landing a hit on the bushman was met by a block. She leaped backward, watching both the man and the mob.

Quote

ID: 103773 | BD: 4 + 1 = 5 [fail]

[H:0] @Kioshi: HP 79/80 -- DMG 7 -- MIT 35 -- Energy 6/8
[H:0] Arabelle: HP 140/140 -- DMG 5 -- ACC 1 -- MIT 9 -- EVA 2 -- PARA 2 -- Energy 12/14

Bushman: HP 36/36 -- DMG 27 -- MIT 0 -- +1 Blight

 

Arabelle was usually a busy person. Between managing a shop and friendships/relationship(s), and also going out to the fields to level up and train her subpar scythe-wielding skills, she did not normally have the time (and the nice, helpful personality) to stop by a player request board and find someone who needs help. But lately, her usual day-to-day activities and habits have been growing inconsistent. Her shop was left neglected and she would mostly just play the piano for fun rather than make a profit now, she still went out to level but only when her friends would come with her, and she had spent the past few days inside her nice, cozy lodge. Which was not good. This was how many players stopped leveling entirely, and Arabelle did not want that. She wasn't diligent enough to maintain a schedule, but she needed to do something. Something that would get her started on doing productive things again.

Which led her...here. In front of the player request board, where literally everything was overleveled for her. Seriously. The lower-leveled quests, players could solo (if they weren't cowards, anyway). But the higher-leveled quests...players couldn't do by themselves. So here went all the requests. And Arabelle wasn't at a very high-level herself. She hadn't even reached the double digits! She skimmed through the posted requests again. If she couldn't find any, then she would just have to ask one of her friends to do a quest with her. Then, by a stroke of luck, found one she could probably take on. It was for a quest she'd already done...with someone tanking for her. However, she'd gotten a good amount of experience from that quest, so she figured her level should be high enough. Arabelle took note of the player's name, checked her equipment, and headed for the gate.

Quote

To: Pick

Willing to assist. I'm already by the town's exit. Which one are you?

 

Whoever it was hadn't given away a physical description of themselves. And the town's exit just happened to have a good amount of players waiting for their teammates or stopping to check their gear. Well, that was fine. Arabelle looked around as she sent off the PM. She approached the first person she had seen opening their menu, figuring that she might as well guess. "Hey," Arabelle called out. She looked at them and offered them a friendly smile. "Are you the person who posted the request for the Wasp Queen boss?"

With his hand placed on top of hers and the warm smile on his face, Arabelle almost found herself scrambling for words. Almost. (Hah!) Not to say that her reply was particularly verbose. Arabelle was definitely the type to ramble, especially when she was nervous (*cough* her most awkward meeting with a boy who named himself after an arcade game *cough*), but she was trying to get rid of that annoying, embarrassing habit lately. "Hmm~," she simply hummed. Arabelle's right hand dropped to her side and her left hand she turned upwards, loosely holding the hand he had offered to her. Arabelle cleared her throat and held herself back from talking more and ruining the moment, then half-turned towards their destination, lightly tugging Stryder forward. "Well, let's go." 

One surprisingly uneventful walk later, the two stood in front of the NPC quest giver. Arabelle nudged Stryder. "The item? It dropped for you, right?"

Leaning back on her large weapon, which was propped up against one of the garden's tall walls, Arabelle breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. For a few moments, it was as if she was transported back to St. Mary's sweet-smelling gardens, surrounded by nothing but rose bushes and cherubim statues pouring water onto a small manmade canal. This was...a very pretty place. It reminded her of home. She opened her eyes, almost expecting to see herself sitting on her usual bench with one of her textbooks in hand and her school bag placed carelessly on the ground in front of her. 

But there was nothing of the sort. She was still in the game. It had been two weeks since 10,000 players had been trapped within the virtual world of Aincrad. Her weapon was behind her, the garden was filled with various colorful flora instead of the white roses she would often see, and she was staring straight up at the virtual world's artificial sun without it causing as much pain to her eyes. Arabelle instinctively dropped her gaze, blinking in an attempt to get rid of the game's UI which was ever present in her vision. This was her new reality.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a flutter of white that didn't seem to belong in the garden. Arabelle turned her head to the left, her senses now sharpened. It was an old man in heavy armor, standing at the garden's entrance and staring off in the distance. The white she had sighted was his long hair, and while he was dressed up in an intimidating manner and wore a scowl on his face, Arabelle didn't particularly care about him being around. She turned her head to face forward once again, quietly gazing at the garden that reminded her of home. Perhaps if she ignored him, he would ignore her too.

[ooc:
   arabelle actually levels up to seven two years after the game starts, but her timeline is a mess anyway, so whatever.
   the difference in personality is also because of the thread's timeline, and her plot. why did i have to make such a complicated one? :c
   st. mary's is the school she attended before coming to sao.]

Arabelle pouted. "No girl?" she asked, attempting to translate the flustered boy's words which were ever accompanied by stammers whenever she teased him about his (nonexistent) love life and all that. She sat down on the fountain's side and tilted her head upwards, lifting her gaze to the pretty, blue sky. She had only one word in reaction: "Aw." Then he told her what he was wishing for earlier, that he wanted the both of them to survive the game and meet in the real world. It was a pure-hearted wish. Selfless. Maybe even a bit naive, considering how dangerous things were out there. And it was a bit presumptuous. When had she ever said that they were close enough to meet in real life once this was all over? Sure, they played together a few times and he was about to tank her sorry low-leveled ass out there and there was that genuine feeling of friendship back at their boat trip, but still. 

Genuine feelings didn't matter to someone who pushed them away and kept people at arm's length. Right now, she was maybe only spending time with him because he was fun and he seemed to like her a lot. But Arabelle didn't tell him what she was feeling. With her playful smile ever present on her face, she looked up at him innocently. "Yeah. I'd wish for that, too. Double the wishes means double the chance of having them granted!" she sang, tossing her Col over her shoulder and into the water. She stood and reached up to tap his shoulder. He. Was. So. Tall. And so was everyone else. If she ever woke up with the same height as she had now, she would never forgive herself. "I wish I would grow taller in real life, too. Hm. Do you think that would happen even if I'm stuck in a game?"

Heart-touching conversation (lol no), check. Now it was time to get to business. "A Wasp thing? God, I hate bugs," Arabelle commented as she brought out her scythe from her inventory. She didn't look as scared as she should and that was because all her attention was on her lovely weapon. It was a beautiful craft, all black with a green blade, and it was much larger than the person wielding it. Surprisingly, it wasn't as heavy as it looks. "Hm, hm, hmm." She absentmindedly swung it around as Hazado explained his strategy. "So, you tank. And I damage. Simple enough. I'm ready!" 

The lad rose to his feet, claiming that he was fine. He stood maybe a foot taller than her and wore dark apparel that suspiciously looked like the armor stealth-DPS players often wore (ninjas, they liked to call themselves). He was a man, that Arabelle was sure of after hearing his voice, but his slender build and long, flowy hair gave her the impression of a graceful person. But that was just her guessing. 

"I'm Arabelle." She accepted the hand he had offered to her and shook it. Her hand dropped to her side and she managed a friendly smile at his question. She couldn't tell whether he was being suspicious or teasing. So she answered as she normally would. "Ah, not really. I was just passing by and thought you had passed out," she explained. Then, with a sheepish expression, she asked: "Can people even pass out in this game?" 

Why was he here anyway? This wasn't a safe zone. And he hadn't been unresponsive, so he wasn't taking the quest. It was only after recalling the man's momentary hesitation(?) before introducing himself and the general awkwardness of the situation that Arabelle began to think, maybe she had disturbed him. The Waterfall of the Sage was not a very safe place but some players came here to meditate. Just because of the general nature of the place. "Uh, sorry. Were you doing something before this?"

The blonde girl (@Vigilon) who had splashed the two boys earlier came to her and suggested a little stunt. One that Arabelle had already done before and was more than willing to do again. A mischievous smile adorned her lips as she gave the cute, blonde girl another once-over. "You. I like how you think." Looking at @Grimm, who was flailing around like he was half-blind (water had gotten into his eyes?), she decided to mark him as the easier target and sunk underneath the water.

A flash of yellow and green. And she saw Hazado get dragged underneath. Arabelle's laughter came out in bubbles as she took hold of Grimm's legs and dragged him deeper into the water. At some point, their gazes seemed to meet, so she threw up a peace sign and rejoined the blonde. The mischievous girl introduced herself as Kanari. Then, she provided her real name. Oh. Right. Some people did that. "Arabelle," she introduced. "The guy I dragged, over there, is Grimm."

Just a few moments after Arabelle introduced herself, @Hazado said something about payback before going underwater. Arabelle couldn't help but laugh as Kanari was pulled underneath, but her laughter was quickly turned into muffled cursing as she found herself underwater as well. She resurfaced quickly, coughing, and noticed the rampaging Hazado pull Grimm under...for the second time this day. "Hey! I didn't do anything to you!"

@Sunova answered her question calmly, not seeming to realize Arabelle's intent behind asking it. How cute. She was just as innocent as her best friend was. "Hmm, I see." Arabelle nodded her head in reaction to conceal her dismay, Learning a few things about how the unlikely pair became friends was nice, but that wasn't really it. She needed the juicy details! Were they 'just friends'? Or were there mutual feelings brewing underneath? But, whatever. The momentum was gone now, and the white-haired girl had turned her attention to Aspect.

A quick glance at the players now populating the beach party and maybe a long searching gaze for a blonde who always showed up to big parties. No one interesting enough to speak with at the moment. Arabelle turned her gaze to the ocean. Perhaps it was time to join the two guys in the water. She pulled off her hood and unzipped her jacket, carelessly letting it fall onto the sand where it shimmered and disappeared as it was automatically recalled into her inventory. Before anyone could stare, she plunged into the water and paddled over to where @Hazadoand @Grimm were chilling. The water was up to her neck, but she still couldn't contain the embarrassed blush from wearing her swimsuit without the hoodie. "Heyyy!" she called with a grin. Arabelle had seen a blonde girl wearing a green swimsuit dive into the water earlier, splashing water onto the two boys' faces, and wouldn't miss the chance to tease them. "Already getting bullied by a girl, I see. Weaksauce."

Arabelle laughed when @Grimm mentioned a water bucket standoff. "Depends," she replied mysteriously. "We're missing one though." Saying that brought the hyperactive and bright blonde to her mind once again, but she banished that thought as quickly as it came. There was no need to think too much. She and Spangie had simply fallen out of friendship. Like what normal people did when they stopped communicating. Then he brought up her odd outfit. Yes, it felt like it was ninety degrees outside. But if you were a bit embarrassed to show off your unimpressive "assets," temperature hardly mattered. "Oh, I'm used to the heat. And I'm gonna take a dip later, anyway. Better watch your legs when I do," Arabelle said, recalling that one time she pulled him under the water.

One of the unfamiliar girls introduced herself as @Sunova. She was a cute, white-haired girl wearing a blue bikini top and black swimming shorts. She looked a bit young. Fourteen, maybe? That meant that the other girl, the tall one wearing a pink bikini and an eyepatch, was Zandra. For a host of a big beach party, she seemed a bit quiet. Sunova asked how Arabelle knew @Hazado, further strengthening Arabelle's assumption that she was the female friend Hazado was talking about. They seemed close, and she matched his description of a small, white-haired girl. "I met him at another beach party. Then I went on a quest with him. He's very fun to be around," Arabelle replied with an innocent smile. She purposefully refrained from telling the girl about their little boat trip. Then, Sunova asked, "Who of the two is your GF?" Hazado had also described his friend as a shipper. Arabelle let out a laugh at his flustered reaction. That was definitely her. As the guy being teased ran away from the situation, she stayed behind, smiling at Sunova with her hands clasped in front of her. "What about you, Sunova? You two seem very close."

Arabelle was about to join the two guys in the water and maybe ask Sunova to come along with her, when another guy approached them. Wait, why them? Weren't Zandra and Tsu alone over there? Oh, she probably stood out with her hoodie. Arabelle looked the new guy up and down, then did the same with the companion he pointed out earlier. Good thing she stood out. "Is he silent, as his name says?" she asked, a smile playing on her lips.  "I'm Arabelle. Nice to meet you, @Aspect. The host is over...there," she gestured in Zandra's direction. "The eyepatch girl wearing pink. Have fun~."

[ooc: Too many things happening, omg.]

Arabelle hummed a happy little tune to herself as she opened a message from a good friend named Hazado. She skimmed through the message once. Help. Field boss. EXP and item reward. Chill out after. Frankly, she didn't need any more convincing. She quickly typed out a message saying she would come and pressed 'Send'. Only to revisit Hazado's PM and read through it carefully before dismissing it once again. He didn't mention anyone else coming along. And what he said after they hung out just the other day. "Not broke...just making sure I have money for (stammer, stammer)...our next date."

She leaned back on her seat, reopened the PM. Surely he wasn't that gutsy, was he? Arabelle dismissed the PM tab. Well, what use was overthinking? If that happened, she would just roll with it like she did with every other date. Nothing special. She stood up and took her scythe from where it was leaning on the wall and equipped her new armor. With the soldier-like way she was dressing, she looked stronger and deadlier than she actually was. Spotted herself in a mirror and sending her reflection a cute wink, she walked out of her shop door and went on her way.

Arabelle spotted Hazado standing in front of a fountain, throwing a coin. It was a pretty fountain. Players sometimes passed by and made wishes, like they normally did with fountains in real life. Arabelle thought it was simply a nice, pointless gesture. Wishes didn't always come true. She skipped up next to Hazado and leaned into the fountain with a grin. "Whoa. If a player comes by and picks them all up, they're gonna be rich. Or maybe just enough to buy a cake from one of those NPC bakeries," Arabelle spoke with her hands tucked behind her back. She smiled at Hazado and manifested one of her Col as a small penny. She held it over the fountain's water, still looking at him. "So what are you wishing for, Hazado? Is it a girl? Come on now, tell me, and I'll wish you luck with that girl too. Twice the wishes means better luck at having them granted, right?"

Somewhere near the sixteenth floor's beach, Arabelle examined her appearance in front of a mirror, cheeks already red with embarrassment. The bikini was pretty. It was white (sadly, they didn't have the color green) and had frills and a cute ribbon. But with the two-piece swimsuit equipped, she only became even more conscious of her lack in...certain areas. Geez. This would always be her problem. Arabelle brought up her inventory and equipped an oversized white hoodie and her usual white gloves. Pulling the hood up and flashing a charming smile at her reflection, she turned and made for the beach. 

She arrived early again. Or maybe no one was just coming. Arabelle quickly spotted Tsu, in another revealing swimsuit. At this point, she wasn't even surprised she ran into the frog-like girl here. Lately, they've met each other so many times coincidentally that she even invited the other girl to hang out and do a quest so they could become proper friends. Then there was Grimm. Hot as ever. Vigilon. Had his Messenger open and was probably sending a message to his pretty blonde girlfriend. Arabelle hoped she would come. She didn't have the chance to hold a proper conversation with Krysta back in Novafire's party. Then there was Hazado, speaking with an unfamiliar white-haired girl. There was only one word she could use to describe his outfit and it was: Abs. 

All attendees were somehow all conveniently standing in a small group so Arabelle didn't have to decide which one to approach first. She tugged on her hood and approached the small group. "Hey," she spoke, staring in the general direction of the two unfamiliar girls. Good thing they were also conveniently standing next to each other. One of them had to be 'Zandra,' cause when had someone ever posted an invite and not showed at the actual party itself? "My name's Arabelle. Nice beach party you have here." Speaking of, she had to try that grill over there. And the cool drinks. Definitely not the beach volleyball Zandra probably had planned, though. Tsu and Embers had humiliated her enough last time.

With that said, she turned to the first person of interest. Grimm. Reason: he was pretty. "Seb. Nice to see you here," Arabelle greeted with a friendly smile. "Do you only ever show up in parties? I don't think I've ever run into you at any other place."

[Arabelle's Swimsuit (right now, she's wearing a jacket and gloves on top of it)]

"Oh," Arabelle said in response. She looked at Tsu from out of the corner of her eye. She knew she said she would behave, but what did behaving entail? What did she have to avoid? Arabelle had spoken to a fair amount of people in SAO and some of them seemed to be set off by the weirdest things. This was getting boring. Tsu had been pretty quiet, so should she also avoid making comments? Arabelle decided to try. "Oh, I remember that quest. The mob's pretty weak and I was able to solo it, so you should be able to solo it, too." Arabelle said with an innocent smile. Hopefully, this was good enough. Then, in response to what Embers said about Rowan, "Yeah, I get that. Mine acts up from time to time too and worse still, he's afraid of other people's familiars. I don't know why," she sighed. "Familiars are weird."

Arabelle found herself laughing as well. "Okay, okay. I'll ask permission next time," she said, raising her hands up into the air in surrender. She disappeared under the water only to resurface a few meters away from Tsu. Maybe now it was time to drop the boob joke, it was getting a bit old. "I can't remember being in the water this long ever since I was seven," Arabelle sighed, letting herself float on her back. "Even though the ocean was, like, right outside my house. What a boring life I was leading." The purple-haired girl turned her head to look at her friend, or where she assumed Tsu was floating at right now. "Have you ever lived next to the ocean, Tsu? I used to, and it was pretty relaxing. I could open my window every night and fall asleep to the sound of the waves. If any floors have beachside houses here, I'd definitely buy one just to experience that again."

~~~

Thread Summary

Arabelle
- 2 SP [1 page + 1 quest reward]
- 400 Col
- T1 Uncommon Light Armor

@Froppy
- 2 SP [1 page + 1 quest reward]

After all that Hazado said, all that Arabelle could muster up was a simple, "Yeah." She still felt annoyed over having to explain herself, but the guy seemed genuinely sorry and poking and prodding a little bit more would just make her feel bad. Like kicking a puppy. He called her one of his best friends. Charming. Arabelle even felt her heart do a little jump. She had been many things to other (now, faceless) people in this game before: a summer fling, a battle partner, a friend to gossip with, but this one seemed a little more genuine than the rest. Was it because he still wanted to be her friend even after that little outburst they had earlier? The friends she had before definitely wouldn't have stayed. She turned her head to the side, hoping her long hair was enough to cover the slight blush on her cheeks. He was too nice and earnest, even though he lost his temper sometimes. Probably would fare horribly against the meaner people in the game. But if that happens, she would protect him. Just because. Innocent cinnamon roll. She snorted at his last statement. "Sure. You going broke, too?"