Tala

Silence and a half-ass smile on her face. In her mind, she was just wondering if she just messed up everything that she had going for her. A brother who loved her, a guy who she could have fallen for, and possibly a good sister-in-law. But no, Tala's jealousy had to get in the way. It always did. Nothing ever went right when she was around, but she never wanted to see it that way. Nope, she was just going to continue her plan at this point, mainly because it can't be stopped.

The next thing was set into motion and should happen any day. That was going to be entertaining to see, right? "So. Um..." Her thoughts were stopped as she looked at Yukiro, trying to be her old self with a smile, but more than likely failing horribly. "Oh! How's your shop been doing, Tala? I noticed you opened one! A performer, right? I remembered you liked to sing and play... uh... saxophone?" A small head nod came from the short woman then, "Yeah, the saxophone seems to be the only real thing that the crystals like too."

Huh, maybe that was a sign. Something that she should have been listening to since day one. Oh well, too late to change it all now. Instead, she looked back to the lake that seemed to be coming upon them, no matter how slow it might feel to her.

@Yukiro

He didn't say anything at first, and she started to wonder if he was going to ask on it still. She wouldn't blame him or anyone else who would have wanted to ask. Complicated made for fun right? "Alright, I won't as then. But if you want to talk, about anything at all, I'll listen." He was speaking softly, and that probably wasn't a good thing. "I'll come running to you Yukiro." She probably could have said more, but he was pulling a her. She didn't know if it was because he was bothered or not, though, to be honest, it was more than likely all her fault.

"Now then. This time it's the fourth lesson, right? I haven't done this one before, so let me know what I'm in for on the way, alright?" She looked at him and nodded, only to see a smile that wasn't like the ones that she had gotten yesterday. Yeah, there's that rift she feared was going to happen. Whelp, nothing that she could do about it right now, right? "Though I have a few ideas based on the fishing pole. Are we getting to go fishing?"  She looked to the fishing poll then and shrugged.

"Honestly, I have no clue. I just know that this needs to be delivered to Ol' Pete." Her voice was soft as she pushed herself from the wall and turned to start heading to the lake where the NPC was supposed to be. See, she would have asked her brother, but yesterday happened.

@Yukiro

Maybe he wasn't about to show up. Well, that was going to put a damper on what she had to do next in the quest line. But that was also going to make things a little more difficult for the rest of her plot. She closed her eyes as she thought on things. Perhaps she should have kept her mouth shut yesterday. That might have been a good thing, but that damned owl just seemed to bring out the worse in Tala. Yukiro didn't message her back, she might have actually pushed him away.

"Hey. Are you doing alright? After yesterday?" Her eyes snapped open when she heard that familiar voice. A small smile played on her lips, half real half fake. Of course, it would take a really good eye to be able to determine that. "Truthfully, no. But it's probably best to just not talk on it, I think. I don't know anymore. It's complicated." She glanced up at him for a moment before that glance was soon gone. Well, just looking at him was hard, this was going to be fun today wasn't it.

@Yukiro

She was still holding onto the fishing pole. Drama had been started the day before, and she honestly didn't know how Yukiro felt about it. Things seemed to be a giant mess now, oops. Eh, put that behind you Tala. Things will end up how they needed to end up. But there was still the one minor problem of Yukiro. She opened her messages and quickly typed one out to Yukiro.

Quote

Hey Yukiro, I don't know if you want to join me, but I am going to do the final beginner quest. I'll wait for you at the town's entrance if you want to join.

She quickly hit send and started to walk to the town's entrance. She might have royally messed things up. She didn't know what her brother was thinking anymore, and that might be because of the things that she blurted out when fighting him and his owl. Of course, she dragged Yukiro into that fight, so he was probably going to be mad at her for that. She leaned against the wall and she waited. If he didn't show up her entire giant master plan might have been ruined yesterday.

@Yukiro

Tala grabbed her alto saxophone and went right to the back. She wasn't feeling like a classical mood, in fact, she was feeling more of a daring and angry kind of mood. Before you ask, yes an alto saxophone can have that kind of mood, it just depends on how you play the instrument. She grabbed the rest of her supplies and the two crystals that she was going to need today. Time to get started. Her first attempt at the song involved a quick failure. Yeah, she had a feeling that was going to happen. The second craft, she failed and tried to salvage the crystal, only for that to shatter as well. Huh, guess she just needs a bit more practice.

"Hey sis, whats up? Not just dropping by to say 'hi' to your loving brother are you?" She looked at him a bit confused, "Hey, are you trying to say that I don't come and say 'hi' enough? Because if that's the case, I'll start dropping by every hour if I have to." She was teasing him at this point as she retorted her response.

"A, wasn't gonna say 'no', I'm not about to miss you suffering through that godforsaken quest, B, Floor Four...hope you packed a heavy jacket." She groaned then, she remembered floor four, and she made sure that she had clothes in there. She was not going in a damn skirt again. "Yeah, learned that lesson once. Skirts and floor four don't mix, at all." At least Yukiro had a giant cloak that he had let her borrow.

"So! Other than the floor being a frozen wasteland that needs a bunch of torches and fires on it to melt it, got any pointers brother dearest?" She was waiting for him at this point, wondering if he had anything that was going to be of some kind of use to her. She hoped so, but she highly doubted it at the same time.

@Koga

"Ya know, flattery isn't gonna keep you from getting you're ass whooped." He was in a big teasing mood today wasn't he. "And teasing me isn't going to help make it any easier," she grinned for a moment as she tried to think of some kind of game plan.

But that already wasn't going over well for her at all. Her attack was easily blocked by her brother, and yes, this warranted a frown from her. She tried to move away, only to fail at that too, but there was a little surprise that her brother didn't know, at least, until now. Her health barely went down, and the next thing that she heard was like a canary's song to her ears. "Mitigation? Really? Never pegged you for a tank. Where'd you get that?"

She laughed as he backed off of her. "Got to love quest rewards brother. Never know when they might come in handy." She watched though has his health went back to full and she grumbled. "See, I have mitigation, and you have regeneration, who is cheating now?" She tried this once more, moving forward, aiming to hit his left leg. Hopefully that was going to help her a little bit.

@Koga

"Wha-- Why are we--?" She looked up at him, a look in her eye that he would have never seen yet. A look of pure hatred with a hint of jealousy. This look didn't disappear as she looked at the owl once more. "If we have to I guess we can... Isn't that kind of rude though?" She sighed, "No, rude is using my brother to get whatever she wants. Rude is making sure that my brother can't see what is actually good for him. Rude is taking my brother away from me!" The last of her words started to get louder as she just glared at the owl. Without a thought then, she released Yukiro's hand, probably much to his pleasure, and she walked right up to Koga and his owl.

"So, owl, how much longer you gonna be using my brother? Or do you plan on just using him until the end to break his heart hm?" Pure bitterness in her voice as she just stared down, well stared up at, the other woman. The only disadvantage of being shorter than nearly everyone, it's hard to stare them down. She was fully prepared for a fight now, and she was hoping that her brother was getting that hint. Of course, that was going to be bad for her at the same time, but she also trained with him, so he knew that she was going to be able to handle this still.

@Koga

"As much as I'd like to see you prove it, I don't think you'd be in much of a position to do so. Not when you're shaking cold." She grumbled something about not wanting to be useless, before they were off once more. She walked past the snowman and didn't even really take a second glance at it. Yukiro wasn't holding her hand, but instead was walking close enough to her for her to attempt to be warmed by the body heart. Then the party invite came, she stared at it for a moment before she quickly moved her had from the cloak to press accept and then her hand was gone once more in the cloak.

"This shouldn't take long." Two things went through her mind as she watched NIGHT attack the Avalanche. First, awesome less damage for her to have to do. Second, time to steel her mind and body to be able to do damage. "When did you get strong enough to do that, NIGHT? I'm impressed. One moment. Focus on staying warm." She looked up at Yukiro, only to see him off and...finishing off the field boss. She sighed then and mumbled, "So glad I came along." This was mumbled under her breath while the other two were up ahead of her.

Hopefully neither of them just head what she mumbled, that might be bad for the frozen child. She should just let it go right? Sorry, it was there.

@NIGHT

Okay, now, she expected to lose this, not actually land a hit against her brother, and a hard one at that. She noticed why though, and it was because of one simple little thing, her brother got too confident and ended up stepping on a rock. Talk about sweet, sweet karma. Her bow had landed right into his chest, and she had moved back just to be safe. She didn't know what kind of nasty tricks her brother might have learned in this game.

"Okay...I admit, that was a good hit." She laughed for a moment, "Well, I was taught by the best." Yes, she was complimenting her brother even though they were fighting. What kind of sister would she be if she didn't commend her brother for his expert skills of teaching her this in the real world. But still, she was getting ready to attack again. Boy did she miss sword arts already. She moved forward to go and hit him, swinging her sword a little wide this time.

@Koga

"Y'know, if I wasn't so busy, I would've been ahead long ago." Frozen confusion. Not worth wondering about. "If you're here about the ice golem, then I'm still on the hunch that we're talking to the same info broker, Yukiro." "The possibility is there. But somehow I doubt it." Something happened between the two, Tala could already tell. Though, she did wonder if perhaps their tension might be able to warm up the area around her. Was that possible? "On the other hand, what're you doing here? You weren't brought here against your will, were you?" Well, now questions were directed at Tala.

She simply shook her head, "N-not forced. J-just cold." You're doing perfectly Tala. Just keep that frozen stutter going, someone might believe that you are perfectly sane for coming to the fourth floor in a skirt and light jacket. Insert slow clapping here please. "Who's idea is this? I really hope you were intending to keep her safe." Okay, um, that was a new one to her. Tala knew that NIGHT knew that Tala could fight. But was this really about to be that bad? "Do you really think I was not intending to protect her? I will personally make certain that she will leave this floor completely unharmed." And he was closer to her, she didn't need to hear the snow crunch to know that, she felt the body warmth.

But she also noticed that his eye colored darkened for a moment before it seemed to lighten back up. Frozen confusion part two. "My apologies, I should have told you it would be cold here. Is the cloak helping?" A silent nod. There was one thing she wanted to make known, buckle up boys and girls, it's going to be a stutter fest. "H-he didn't f-force me. C-came along w-willingly. N-no fighting pl-please. W-won't help an-anything. I-i can f-fight, j-just slightly fr-frozen." There, she spoke, and it was full of stuttered words. Have fun, just no more fighting or she might warm up from anger. Wait...go ahead and fight, Tala will get warm from her anger.

@NIGHT

Yukiro sure was smiling a lot more, was that because of herself? She didn't know, but it was a big difference from when she first met him, that was for sure. The sight that she saw it as, progress toward her plotting goal. Oh, those feelings from the cave? Yeah, they were being severely suppressed to never be seen again. Gotta love it when a girl can do that right.

But something made Yukiro stop and she looked at him. She turned to look when he did and she saw the sight that she never really wanted to see. Sure, it was her brother, but he was holding hands with that owl... Tala's eyes narrowed as she laid eyes on the other woman, her hand starting to grip Yukiro's tighter from the anger. The squeezing of his hand? Well that was to keep from walking up to the owl and slapping her right across the face. It would be possibly, she wasn't much taller than Tala.

"Looks like your brother is also out on a... on a date." She opened her mouth to say something, only to hear the next thing. "Oi! Koga! Noctua!" That was when she groaned from frustration, her grip not releasing from Yukiro's hand. Great, he called them over, this was going to be interesting. No, no it wasn't, Tala wasn't dealing with this. "Yukiro, we are going to duel them. No If's, And's, or But's." Well now Yukiro, what have you gotten yourself into?

@Koga

"Absolutely. It's just a luxury for me, but you need it." She nodded, not really wanting to chance talking and stuttering more. It wasn't fun, this was now the second time that he has heard her stutter, at least it wasn't because she was in a damn cave this time. "Mm, it's a player. Her name's NIGHT. Do you know her?" "Tala?" The tow had spoke basically at the same time and she nodded lightly. She attempted a wave to NIGHT then before she followed Yukiro down to her.

"Y-yeah." When they reached NIGHT, Tala attempted a non-frozen smile. "H-hi NIGHT." Was it too much to ask for a portable fire? Tala grumbled something about cursing out a developer when this was done and over with. It was going to be needed with how much she really hated this floor currently. Still, she attempted to stay happy, no matter how hard the cold was making that.

@NIGHT

She was trying to figure out what she wanted to do today. She knew that it was going to be a support song, but she was curious as to what she was going to end up making it. Eh, work out those details after they are made. Simple thought, simple plan. Here was to hoping that it worked. She figured that she could do some singing today though, that never hurt right? So, starting off with a cover of one of her favorite songs, she watched as the crystal started to take it, before failing. At least it didn't break right? So she tried again, only with an original and well, that one didn't take either, but didn't break. All in all, at least she didn't lost any materials today.

"Tala, huh? That means stalking wolf in some random Native American language right? I like it." She smiled and nodded, "Yeah! I thought that it was fitting since you know, our whole wolf thing that we've always had." She chuckled lightly.

"Alright then, lets get going. I'll lock up on our way out." She jumped to her feet and clapped happily, "Yay!" She watched as her brother started to close the shop up and she followed him out the door. She couldn't wait to just sit down, eat ramen, and catch up with her big brother really. It was going to be a good day. No more sad talk, that was done and over with. No plotting, that could be saved for another day. Just good, old fashioned, brother and sister bonding. Something that she has been missing for a few years. Something that was going to help her remain sane in this death game.

@Koga

Thread Summary:

"Okay showoff..." She watched him flourish his katana and instantly knew that this was going to be painful. She wasnt fully ready for it, but there was no stopping it at this point. "Alright then. I'll give you the first move for free. Don't miss." Right, dont miss. That wasnt pressure or anything brother dearest. She sighed as she thought back to their childhood. All of their old duels. She managed to keep up back then, she could do it now, even if he was a higher level.

Right, it was now or never. Since he was going defensive it seemed, she had to watch herself. No sword arts, so this was going to be difficult. She closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself and center herself, Koga would be able to remember this. She had always done it for their duels at home afterall. The moment her eyes opened, she went for him. Mid-guard stance so she was going to go low first, to if anything, throw him off balance a bit.

Hopefully. She was hoping that this was about to work, that much was for sure.

@Koga

She looked between the two men as they talked about how they met. She was getting the feeling that one or both of them wasn't telling her everything that she wanted to know. Of course, her brother was just pissed off, so there was still that too. She held back a chuckle as she observed that about Koga. Instead, she merely sighed and shook her head. "So, what is it that the both of you are trying not to tell me about your meeting?" Maybe she was a little too observant at times. Oh well, it was only going to suck to be the both of them.

She kept her eye out for any kind of materials that she might find. Of course, monsters that needed to be killed was also something that she was watching out for. She kind of doubted that any kind of creature was going to be dumb enough to attack this party though. She looked back to the guys again, wondering which one of them was going to be the one to tell her the information that she seemed to be prying for.

@Koga

You know, snow sucks. She was already hating this more than she probably should, and she was freezing. At least, until she felt a cloak wrap around her, complete with a makeshift hood. She looked at Yukiro and was about to say something, when she was promptly stopped. What is with people and talking before her lately? "Don't worry, I don't actually need it. You, however, do. So if you plan on telling me to take it back, no. Besides, I have a good jacket." She still shivered a little under the cloak, but she just stared at him.

"Th-thank you. B-but are you s-sure?" She hated the cold so much right now. She noticed that he was starting to walk and she quickly, yet carefully, caught up to him. She walked as close to him as she could to try and stay warm. But she saw something, or was that someone, up ahead. "Y-yuki. Wh-whose th-that?" Yup, being this cold really sucked.

@NIGHT

Well, she needed to put on that brave and happy face. She was on a date with Yukiro. Awesome. Plan is starting to roll at this point. She was hungry though, so she was happy to be able to have some ramen. Though, she kind of hoped that she was going to be eating soon, apparently she had been working too much in that cave. Okay, can you call being scared out of your mind working? Probably not. Stupid claustrophobia. Eh, that's in the past at this point though. So now, she was walking beside Yukiro. "U-um..." There were moments she didn't now if this flustered side of him was adorable or annoying. Boy, this plan might be a little tougher than she thought.

Happy smile, happy face, you're supposed to like the guy. Supposed to. Ha that's funny Tala, how much longer are you going to continue burying those true feelings? "S-so, the place I know. It's just down this street here." She looked up at Yukiro and nodded, "Okay, just lead the way." She could tell that he was still flustered while holding her hand, something that she just didn't understand really. They just spent the entire day, in a cave, where she was basically being carried through there. Right, Tala, you got to be happy in your thoughts too child. Pushing all of the negative to the side, she smiled as she lightly squeezed Yukiro's hand.

@Koga

Name: Golden Heart
Your Profession: N/A
Your Rank: N/A
Roll ID: N/A
Roll Result: N/A
Item Type: Amulet
Tier: 1
Quality: Uncommon
Enhancements: Evasion
Description: A golden chain that has a gold heart connected to it.
Post Link: 

He hadn't said anything about what she said about their parents, but she did get a head shake out of him. She sighed then, unsure of how to make him believe what she had said. But thankfully, that part of the conversation was done and over with and he was grinning. There he was. She nearly clapped out of excitement and happiness when she saw that grin creep through. "There's my brother!" She did manage to exclaim that though, in the pure happiness of seeing that grin. That meant that all of the sad talk was done and over with. She would deal with the owl on another day.

"Yeah, I know a good place. But we can't keep using our real names here, Aki. I go by Koga here. What'd you pick as your user anyways?" Koga. Usernames. Right, she was going to have to do her hardest to remember that. She looked at him and grinned herself then. "Tala." She had hope that he would know why she chose that name, but she was prepared to explain it anyways. But she was still hungry and well, they weren't going to be fed by sitting on the floor of his shop. "So, about this good place for food. I am kind of hungry and I haven't had a meal with my big brother in a long time."

The look she gave was practically one that a last dog would give to a human for food. It was the puppy dog eyes, only on Tala, she added the effect of a fake tear in the corner of her right eye. This used to always work on him, hopefully it would still work now.

@Koga

"Hm? Oh. Um, maybe? I can't see them, but they do that sometimes." Another laugh came from the girl before she smiled. "O-oh. Ah, thank you." Ah, there was that redness that she was coming to know to be permanently on his face while she was around. Either way, she didn't get to say anything on it before they were back at the artisan. "Hey, we got those jewels for you." Tala handed over the green one as Hannah started to talk once more.

"Oh thank you! Now I just need you to do me one more tiny favor." Of course.. "Can you deliver this to Ol' Pete for me." Tala took the package and she nodded. "Yeah, I'll be sure that he gets the thing." The NPC seemed t smile not realizing that Tala was just kind of done with this whole beginner quest thing. She looked at Yuki though and smiled. "Though that can wait until after our ramen. Come, I say we start heading to town now." She knew that her quest was done for now, it could wait, just like she waited for Yukiro's answer.

@Yukiro

"Huh? What is... Um, alright." At this point, she even forgot what she had been about to say. Must not have mattered then. The walk was quiet though as they moved from the cave to the grove. She looked at him at one point, and noticed that he was a bright crimson red at this point. But there was something else, "Yuki, have your eyes changed color?" She noticed the small things, it was what she did. But this was something that seemed to just take and hold onto her interest. It was unique and kind of cool.

"So, not only do your cheeks turn different shades of red, but your eyes can change color too? That's actually kind of neat. I envy that." Her eyes were just the same shade of red, like her brother's. Again, if it weren't for the fact that Tala was a year younger and, of course, a female, she and her brother could be identical twins. Well, they could still be considered identical twins, right? That can still work with a twin of the opposite sex? Eh she didn't know and it really didn't matter since they weren't technically twins at all.

The grove was fast approaching now, just within distance of being able to run and turn in a quest, but here she was, walking with Yuki not caring. That was kind of cute, she didn't like it, but she didn't show that at all.

@Yukiro

"Wh-- Huh-- Date?" She giggled lightly as he turned a beet red. It was fun teasing him sometimes, but it was something that she was going to have to work on to get him used to. Either way, she listened to the flustered Yukiro and she chuckled. "R-right! Let's go on our d-date!" She looked up at him for a moment, "You know... nah never mind." Oh, now she was just being mean to the poor boy.

She continued to walk though and the tree grove where the artisan was started to come into better view. Well, maybe for Yukiro because he was taller, but she possibly saw something. Yeah, possibly. Man, it sucked being short and there was nothing that she could entirely do about it at this point. They only made heels so tall before someone couldn't walk on them anymore. Hrm, she was going to have to find some kind of way to even our the height differences here.

@Yukiro

"Alright, I'll pay." Does he not realize what this is starting to sound more and more like? She did, and she oddly didn't mind it at all.

"Uhm, yeah, I'm fine! Sorry, I didn't mean to seem upset. I'm alright!" She smiled then and nodded a bit. "Good, because I don't need you sad when we go to eat." She chuckled lightly but that smile from before came back when he crouched down for her. She leaned over and kissed his cheek lightly then. "Just wanted to say thank you. For making sure I stayed alive in there and for the ramen date that is up next." She righted herself and smiled again before she took his hand.

"Come on! I don't know about you but I'm hungry." She giggled lightly as she waited for him to move with her back to the tree grove to turn in the quest or horrors.

@Yukiro