Morningstar

The mountains of the seventh floor were cruel and unforgiving. The higher you traveled, the more ice and snow you were met with. They'd followed a path up the mountain as far as they could until they were forced to climb instead. Their goal was to find the entrance to a cave system that lead deep within the mountain. It was unexplored, to their knowledge, which meant more of a risk. High risk often came with a higher reward. "Catch me if I fall?" Stephen joked, placing his foot steadily on a rock. "No promises," Lexa laughed. He lifted himself up, securing his other foot on a di

The house that piqued their interest was modest, yet comfortable. It was in a quiet section of the Town of Beginnings; or at least, it was quieter than the markets were. You could still hear the liveliness coming from across town, even from inside. Stephen stood in the living room, admiring the space. It was a step up from the inn they'd been living in. "How much will this cost?" He asked Lexa. Even when she looked sad, she was beautiful. She stepped down the stairs, frowning. "A bit under 135,000 col." He sighed, smiling softly. Stephen reached out, pulling her into a hug. They

"I really like exotic crystals, don't judge me." "I'm not judging you, you can like whatever you want." "You're looking at me like you're judging me." Stephen leaned back, his arms crossed. "Maybe I'm just a little skeptical." The blonde woman lightly kicked Stephen's leg from across the table. "I don't think they're like, magical or anything. I think they're pretty!" Stephen smirked playfully. "Good, I thought I was going to have to break up with you for a second there." Her mouth hung open in disbelief. "Honestly, you're the worst." Stephen stood up, adjust

With a hand on the basket's handle, he dropped down from the rock wall and landed gracefully in front of the cave. The entrance of the cave was small, but not so much that he couldn't fit through. Morningstar peeked down, making sure Peaches was okay. She still sat idly without a single care. Morningstar didn't bother equipping a weapon or any armor. During his week on the islands, he'd yet to see a single monster. He wasn't worried about what hid in the dark; it was unlikely that there was anything at all. Still, he kept the rabbit close to him as he entered. Both the width and height of

"You don't think a bear cub would be cute? They're small and furry," Morningstar said. He thought it'd be cute. He smiled when Rebekah agreed with his bird idea. "I liked birds a lot growing up, so I spent a lot of time reading about them. Even if I don't manage to find a hummingbird, I wouldn't mind some other species." The wind began to pick up a bit. His hands left his pockets, holding the furred part of his hood to keep it from falling down. The fourth floor could go from beautiful to unbearably cold in a heartbeat—another reason he avoided the floor. There was a love-hate relati

Rebekah had taken his sarcasm seriously. He shook his hands in front of him. "No, no. I was just joking," he chuckled awkwardly, "I don't think Santa's real, even in here." Although, he could have been wrong. It was a video game, after all. Were there any rules, really? Magical reindeer and a round man in a red suit wasn't the weirdest thing he'd discovered in Sword Art Online. He thought back to the five-headed frogs he'd fought a few days earlier, shuttering at the idea of them. Rebekah took his seal recommendation seriously as well. This time, he was pleased. He loved seals but agreed

Nimbus - Floor 7 "This is it then? You're heading for the mountains? It was hard to tell what Joaquin was thinking. His eyes were so analytical, so cautious. Unreadable. "Yeah," Morningstar spun the ice cubes in his glass, "I'll wait a bit longer, see if anyone bites." Joaquin sighed, pushing back his sandy brown hair. "Are you sure you don't want me to come?" "You can't miss another guild meeting. They'll start to wonder why they even promoted you," Morningstar chuckled, sipping his drink. Joaquin tapped his fingers on the table nervously. He was always worrying

Rare, huh? Maybe he'd look into the artisan profession some more. It fit under his hobbies, after all. He'd never sculpted before but he was sure the system had something in place for incompetence. His drawing skills were, at the very least, up to par. Anything that wasn't acting sounded good to him. Rebekah's reindeer question was an odd one. "Yeah, Santa's real too," he said sarcastically, a smirk finding its way onto his face. "Sorry. Reindeers can't fly," he admitted. His next thought was a seal, but that seemed even more restricting than a reindeer. Seals couldn't do much outsid

"It's okay," Morningstar laughed. "Believe it or not, her reaction wasn't the worst I've seen. Don't be too hard on yourself." One of the first people he'd met in Aincrad had been a huge fan. Not of him, of course, but of his dad. She'd stalked Star for three days hoping for the chance to meet the great Keith Star but to her dismay, Morningstar entered the game alone. When he told her, she looked like she was about to cry. Astralin wasn't the worst reaction he'd seen. At most, she was in the top ten. "Besides, a few people were bound to know. You two seem alright. Maybe not trustwort

Rebekah spoke proudly of her line of work. As she should, Star thought. He respected cooks; they were essentially artists. After her failed attempt at taming a penguin, the man couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't think they liked you," he teased. He thought a bit about choosing a profession for himself, but it felt impossible to settle. There were so many choices and not enough chances to give them all a shot. Up until now, he'd only given alchemy a shot and he hadn't been very successful at it. "Artisan maybe? I like to draw and paint. Blacksmith also sounds like it could be fu

The sun had peaked now. Morningstar accidentally nudged the rabbit, waking it. "Sorry." He lifted himself up wearily. After all the time he'd spent basking in the sun, his body had grown tired. He stretched his back, satisfied by the subtle cracks he heard. The rabbit stared up at him curiously. Star felt bad. He'd intended on leaving this spot for the time being. There were still some parts of the island he wanted to visit before departing the next day. He tapped his index finger against his leg a few times, thinking. Then, he knelt down again. "Want to come with me?" The rabbi

"Are you listening to me?" His dad shouted. Stephen shut his book, his mom entering his peripheral vision. "Yeah, I'm listening. I screwed up my audition, okay? I've screwed up the last three. I'm not cut out for this bullshit anymore," he leaned forwards in his seat, placing the sketchbook on the side table next to him. "Stephen!" his mother gasped. "Do you know how hard I had to work to open these doors for you?" His father's face was red, as it often was when he got angry. "I didn't ask you to—I didn't even want you to." For a moment, nobody said anything. He looked

Astralin's view on sunsets was similar to Morningstar's. She couldn't quite illustrate her ideas with words, but Star understood. The girl's scream took him by surprise. It wasn't embarrassment that he felt, but he did slightly regret bringing up his history. The cat was out of the bag now. The girls reminisced about the time they met joyfully. Stars began popping up as the sun dipped lower. The colours of the sunset were starting to fade. Short but sweet. A temporary beauty. "To answer your question," Morningstar cleared his throat, "I was an actor. It was a long time ago." It

"You own a café? So you're a cook then?" Morningstar wasn't much of a chef himself. He cooked when he had to, but he didn't love it. He could count the number of dishes he was comfortable making on his fingers. Taking another sip from his drink, he looked to the spot that Rebekah pointed at. Owls, foxes, and penguins all entered their sight. The polar bear in the distance didn't worry Morningstar; they were far enough away for him to feel safe. Star expected more of a hunt. Honestly, he was a bit disappointed that they'd found their options so soon. "What'll you choose?" He aske

Memories of the audition were foggy now. It'd been what—nine years? Seven, maybe? He couldn't remember. His time in the game had come together in a big blend of combat and exploration. He hadn't even celebrated his birthday this year. Assuming nine years was correct, he was twenty-eight now. The thought of that made him feel old. It couldn't be right. A few details stuck out from the day of the audition. He remembered the scent of oak vividly. Someone's perfume, he thought. He also remembered that he'd fought with his father in the evening. "It's not a big deal," Stephen told his dad

Morningstar wasn't sure of what other creatures inhabited the snowy floor. He'd seen foxes and rabbits but without more exploration, it was impossible to say what else existed there. He sipped his hot chocolate, which had come to the perfect temperature. Despite the cold trek they'd started, he felt comfortable. He'd finished his ice cream by now and was left with just his drink. Star had spent a fair amount of time on the fourth floor, but mostly near the safezones. He didn't mind the cold but he spent most of his time around people who hated it, so it made more sense to stay away.

"Why, are you interested?" Morningstar teased back. "Honestly though, I just think sunsets are pretty." Dating was scary; he was absolutely not trying to get a head start on it. Baldur greeted the trio as they approached. The host's food looked delectable. Introducing himself, he plated their food. "Thanks for the meal. It's nice to officially meet you," he smiled at Baldur. Star took the lead, bringing the girls to the garden. The sunset was just beginning. He gazed up at the blend of pink and blue. The glowing sun dipped below orange clouds, bringing warmth to the scene. The c

Morningstar tried to imagine the small girl with a massive pet bear. It was a funny yet terrifying thought. Maybe it suited her. "What're you looking for in a familiar? Maybe figuring that out could help you pick an animal," he said. Personally, Star wanted a companion more than a useful pet. He didn't care about abilities and skills as much as he cared about having a friend to join him on his journeys. He loved birds. Millions of memories involving a variety of bird species cluttered his mind. There was also the rabbit who had found him during his time away from the world on the twe

"I do actually," he said to her snowshoe offer. Star accepted her gift, snapping on the shoes. He'd gone snowshoeing once in the past, on this floor specifically. It'd be on his bucket list to try it again if he had one. He took a sip of his hot chocolate. It was delicious—one of the best hot chocolates he'd ever had. Rebekah wasn't lying when she said the café was good. "I'm the worst skater," he replied to her next question, "but that's never stopped me from trying." When he was a kid, Star's parents put him in skating lessons with the other rich kids in their neighborhood. T

Morningstar returned a chuckle at Astralin's comment about his name. It wasn't what he meant, but he wasn't going to embarrass the girl. Besides, he didn't feel like explaining it. "My fight was interesting. I had a good time," he said. He'd spoken more with Astreya during their fight than he had with anyone else throughout the tournament. He found it funny. She'd been a formidable opponent, even if it was a clean win for Morningstar. He hoped there were no hard feelings despite the fact that he stole the remainder of the tournament from her. Their interactions had been short, but sh

Morningstar was hesitant to order the ice cream, as much as he did love it. Rebekah's description of it didn't help the internal war he was experiencing either. Ice cream in the snow seemed like a bad combination, but quality vanilla ice cream was something that Star treasured. "I'll get the same as her," he told the cashier. In one hand he held his hot chocolate and in the other his ice cream. Coming from a wealthy background, he hated it when people paid for him. That being said, he was by no means the richest in Aincrad and it was a nice gesture from Rebekah. "Thanks for cove

Morningstar tried to remember what Takumi's opponent's name was. Bismuth, he thought, but he wasn't sure. Either way, he was putting up quite the fight against the paddle boy. Takumi was in the lead, but it was close. Morningstar, who'd been fighting moments before, didn't have the opportunity to catch the other matches before they'd ended. He had no idea how they'd ended but he recalled Astreya mentioning how serious each person had been fighting. That would explain the slight tension in the atmosphere around the dojo. His thoughts came to a halt as a voice perked up beside him. He recog

Morningstar chuckled. "I recently spent some time on twenty-four and I almost didn't come back down. I see what you mean." Rebekah seemed to have their day planned out extensively, which Star respected. He usually went into things with half the knowledge he should; he was prone to winging it. This was a nice change. He listened to her proposal, thoughts of animals roaming his mind. He wondered what hid in the Winter Woods for them to find and what she would end up taming. The thought of familiars had crossed his mind a million times, but Morningstar had still not tried to find one. H

The Town of Beginnings was quiet today. A rare occurrence, Morningstar thought. As usual, he was dressed in his shabby light armor (consisting of a brown jacket and black bottoms) with a green cloak draped overtop. The cloak's hood covered the swordsman's bored expression as he wandered through the city. Everyone was busy. Elwood had a guild meeting, Joaquin was up on the twenty-sixth floor doing some tough quest, and Julius was off doing who knows what. Morningstar was rarely this bored. Aincrad had a million possibilities but today none of them seemed exciting to him. He wanted someone

Morningstar's fight was over. He left the mat, turning away from the remaining fights. He was the third of the participants to win and, honestly, he never thought he’d make it that far. He took a seat in the stands, distant from other observants. The number of people watching had been reduced slightly. It wasn’t any of his business, but he was still curious as to why so many had disappeared. He looked back to the matches. As fun as the tournament had been so far, he couldn’t help but feel anxious about the coming fights. Not because he thought he’d lose, but because there was a chance he