Elora

"Uhhhh", responded Elora, uncertain of how to communicate with the strange fog. How the hell does it know about Freyd?! Well, whatever, it's only aware of his identity and not mine, so I'm sure that it's fine. "Yeaaah", she continued as she awkwardly scratched the back of her head in attempt to negate the feeling of a chill running down her spine, "I mean, at least I think that's what he'd consider me" Hopefully... Was this all some sort of a trap? Perhaps even a boss fight that she hadn't realize would be incited by her visiting this place? Well, whatever it was, this thing seemed to be offering to help her, so she continued to try her best at negotiating the proposition, regardless of how disarming the building's atmosphere was.

"Anyways...It would mean a lot if you were able to help me. I'm worried that if I return it to him like this, that he'll think that I don't care -- and -- I don't want to just not return it at all" Although Elora wasn't much more than uncomfortable, she appeared to become finicky from standing still for so long. Her feet shuffled from side to side and she could hardly manage to keep her fingers from tapping at her thigh as she waited for the entity to respond. 

Elora encroached on, then crouched beside the small patch of carrots. They looked awfully adorable compared to some of the other strange produce that sprung from the ground in this area. Putting all of her concentration into collecting the item still proved to be fruitless as she once again failed to do so correctly. Her hand had wrapped around the vegetable's stem and, somehow, plucked it free from the soil with such slowness that the game didn't understand how to accurately compute the action. Before the carrot could be added to her inventory, it had already dissolved into oblivion. "Why am I so fucking bad at this...?", she sulked, I can't just keep coming up empty handed or Jackpot is going to think I'm a complete loser. I'll just have to keep trying until I manage to gather something...At least then I could make the excuse that I was looking for the best carrot to use...or...something...

I think this must've been the place that I saw when we were looking for that stupid dragon, thought Elora as she approached the ramshackle cabin, Wonder if anyone actually lives here or if it's actually just up for grabs. The young woman had set her sights on exploring and potentially claiming the lot as her own as a means to finally move out of her room at The Hummingbard Inn. Considering the state of the dwelling and the climate of this floor, she wasn't very optimistic that the exchange would work out. 

Finding no success in her attempts to yank the door free from its frozen clutches, she resorted to kicking it in with the heel of her boot. The entrance immediately swung open and slammed against its opposing wall with enough force to completely ricochet back and relatch to its frame.

Oh...maybe it was just a push door...

She delicately reopened the door and entered the threshold as its hinges creaked to add an ominous effect. "Oh shi--", she gasped at the sight of several faceless...wait, were those mannequins? "Oh thank god" Her hand clutched her chest as she sighed in relief. "I thought those were fucking ghosts", she admitted to Borris, her Aincradian companion that was wrapped rather inconspicuously around her wrist. After taking a few moments to collect herself, Elora scanned the room and noticed a hodgepodge of miscellaneous fabrics and other sewing materials strewn across its floorboards. Could a tailor live here...? Hell, I've gotta announce myself in case anyone is actually around!

"Heyyy", she began awkwardly as her hand moved to open her menu and summon a dark gray cloak into the other, "So, I don't know if anyone is home -- but if you are -- is there any chance you could fix something for me?" Elora didn't know whether or not it was better to anticipate for the place being vacant or to expect the chance that she might have to finally take care of an errand she'd been meaning to do. "I've got this garment -- It's from a friend of mine...It got really torn up when I was borrowing it and I'd really like to fix it before I give it back to him...", to her surprise, her voice seemed to adopt a remorseful tone as she tried to explain herself to...to what...? Thin air?

Jesus, what am I even doing?, she criticized before turning to leave.

Vanity tag: @Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows (Through post #130)

"No kidding", Elora agreed with Katoka's observation, "As for last words -- I don't know" She turned her attention to address each of them with a respective and rather improvised farewell. "Congratulations on your wedding and sacrifice all of your independence to please someone else, learn to express your emotions through song or sculpting or -- something, and find a way to channel your anxiety into thermal energy so that you don't freeze in these kinds of conditions" 

Keeping with the spirit of what she thought to be an elegant departure, she ran a few meters forward, then slid across the ice, tipping the ends of her spear to keep balance as she maneuvered toward the dragon's lair. Elora's spear sliced the little wyvern as it scampered out of its cave. The momentum behind her swing carried the rest of her body into a twirl until she planted her staff into the ground and spun around it, causing her gliding to eventually come to a stop.

Wow, that went a lot more smoothly than I was expecting.

"Oh good, it is you. Open the gate would you so I don't have to climb over the wall", her voiced was muffled and difficult to interpret from the other side of the bamboo barrier. Thankfully, Katoka opened the door, preventing her from having to embark on the escapade. Elora raised her free-hand up to rub her forehead, "Well, I wasn't sure if this was your place. You know how many people have Japanese houses around here? And who knows, maybe any other women could call out to me and sound just enough like you to get me to forfeit my donuts" On that cue, she opened the box to reveal four galaxial water snake-filled long johns with rainbow sprinkles on top: a true delicacy. "No, no -- I'll be fine. I tried my best to make them appetizing, but they came out looking a bit...deflated...Actually, having something to chase these down with probably isn't a bad idea"

As Katoka picked one up to eat, Elora did the same and used the opportunity to meander around and eye her foyer. "Anyway, nice place you got here. Seems like a lot of space for someone so...small..." Although the observation was blunt, she hadn't intended for it to be an insult.

Long Live the Queen

F*ck..., she thought as she rubbed the knuckles of her index fingers over each of her sleepy eyelids, What time is it...? The sun is still glaring through the window...Does that mean...it's before noon...? Elora seemed to be forcing herself to get out of bed more and more every day since her joining of Firm Anima. She wasn't sure whether or not that was because she was actually driven to accomplish more or simply because she felt like she was expected to contribute a greater amount of collateral to the guild. Either way, she wasn't entirely opposed to having a fuller schedule, aside from the fact that it tended to drain her of energy. 

Elora stretched her arms above her head as Borris unraveled himself from her arm and trickled down her wrist, eventually reforming into his usually bipedal shape once he reached the surface of her mattress. "Ahh -- that's tickles! You need to get better at sleeping on your own, you know", she scolded him only half-seriously. "Well, anyway, I'm not entirely sure what we'll be doing today, but I think taking on a quest with another member of the guild might be fun" Borris nodded in curious affirmation of the idea. "Let's see...", she began by lethargically opening up a player-list from her 'recent encounters' menu, "Already done a few with Freyd and Katoka, done one with Haine and Asmura, Vie -- oh...? Come to think of it, it's been awhile since I've seen Kill. I wonder how he's doing with the engagement" Elora chuckled mischievously at the thought before sending him an invitation to accompany her for the day.

Elora | HP:560/560 | EN:56/56 | DMG:9 | MIT:8 | ACC:2 | L.M.:2 | KEEN:1

Elora became petrified with concern as she watched Katoka's eyes turn into sprinklers for tears. Oh no -- shit, I've made it worse. How do -- Then, she hugged her. The gesture almost stunned Elora more than her friend's excessively-expressive emotions. What should she do? Wrap her arms around her and hug her back? Offer some sort of additional collateral to make it up to her? As quickly as she had leapt into the embrace, Katoka began to withdraw from her. Is this just how women resolve their arguments?  "T-thanks, I'll try not to let it get to me too much -- the worrying about not doing enough in a fight, I mean" She found it necessary to clarify that the female player's intimacy wasn't an issue, at least, I don't think that it is...is it...? Such a strong display of empathy was confusing and foreign to her, leaving her feeling unprepared to appropriately respond to Katoka's affirmation. Elora didn't feel like she deserved to be understood, or to be forgiven. However, she wasn't about to sacrifice the kindness that Katoka had shown to her, not after everything that she had put her and Chase through.

On that note, their male companion barely seemed phased by either of their apologies. It was just as she'd feared, Just saying that I was sorry wasn't enough to make it up to him. I'll have to find some other way to... It didn't come as a surprise, but she couldn't deny that she was hopeful in thinking that they could reach a resolution so easily. "See you around then", she nodded to bid him farewell, If I ever even see him again...

Elora lethargically took the lead as the three of them trudged forward, slowly making their way back toward the settlement. Not long after they began their returning journey, she heard Katoka begin to speak: "E-Elora--" She glanced over her shoulder only to be greeted by her companion's overtly saddened expression "If I did or said anything to upset you I apologize."

"Wha -- no, you didn't --", she frantically tried to console the samurai. Why does she look so hurt? I didn't mean for... "Y-you didn't say anything to upset me", reassured Elora as she raised her hands in a gesture that feigned trying to calm Katoka's nerves. "I just got...", she began before catching a glimpse of Chase's equally-disheartened complexion, which only worsened her sense of regret in how she'd acted. Slowly coming to a stop, she reluctantly turned to address them both after emitting a stifled sigh, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that, either of you..." Elora's eyes turned downward to find escape from their gazes in her pair of scuffed leather boots that rose to her thighs. "I just -- I wasn't happy with how I handled myself in our battle. I got desperate to try and pull my weight, so I started attacking recklessly and ended up wasting all of my energy." She bit her lip at the admission, the shortcomings of her own abilities being a hard truth to except, let alone divulge to others. "But, that's not either of your faults -- it's mine -- and I shouldn't have taken out my frustration on you" For the time being, Elora hoped that the superficial confession would suffice as an apology, or at the very least, repair their spirits enough for them to return to town before they went their separate ways. 

She probably should have just asked for directions, but she wanted the visit to be a surprise. Floor 22 couldn't have that many players living on it after all...right? Well, a few hours of searching for Katoka's residence proved otherwise. After hearing from Freyd that she too had successfully tamed a familiar, Elora found it fitting to invite the young samurai to train her companion while she further befriended Borris. Now, if I could just figure out where the hell she lives...I hope she doesn't think it's creepy that I've been out looking for her like this... 

Elora's fingers tightened their grip around the ceramic ledge of a small container of confectionaries. It was her hope that if this was the case, Katoka would still accept her offer so long as she bribed her with some sort of dessert. Although, Elora wasn't so certain that these ones would meet her standards. Stumbling upon a sizable edo-period inspired estate, Elora could only hope that it was the home of her fellow guild-mate. She approached its front gates with caution before offering a boisterous knock against one of their many wooden planks. "Hey, Katoka -- If you live here, then let me in!", she announced with as much confidence as she could muster, "I made you food to help us train our familiars! Err -- but if you're not Katoka, you can't actually have any!", she felt it necessary to clarify that she wasn't offering handouts to just anyone she encountered.

Elora | HP:560/560 | EN:56/56 | DMG:9 | MIT:8 | ACC:2 | L.M.:2 | KEEN:1

"I'm fine--", she responded with such immediacy so as to nearly cut off Katoka as she was posing the question. There was a slight snap to her voice that indicated a discordance between what she was saying and what she was expressing. Much to her discomfort, Chase made no effort to bolster the conversation, leaving a tense and prolonged silence to sink into the already-awkward atmosphere. 

"You ran out of energy."

"Yeah, I realized--", she retorted snidely with a half-hearted glare, "It's kind of hard to have the stamina to finish a battle when only two of us are really fighting" It was quite the back-handed comment, especially considering that Chase had absorbed many of the hits that would have otherwise fallen on her or her guild-mate. Still, she couldn't help but feel like he hadn't carried his weight or done enough to oversee that things went smoothly, as Freyd often seemed to do. After all, Elora had never crippled herself in combat like this before. It had to have been the fault of those who she'd chosen to campaign with. "Well, whatever. It's over now.", she added abruptly, crossing her arms as she looked back over to Katoka, "Should we head back to town?"

Kill, huh? Yeah, she could see that. The white-haired player was pretty charismatic, so she wasn't surprised to find out that he had charmed someone, especially if he'd combined his personality with his culinary skills in order to win her over. As they headed out to locate the dragon, her mind continued to wander and consider the concept of marriage within the game. Do people who get married here intend to stay together in the real world, or is it actually just a way of making due with the cards they've been dealt? Even worse...it could be that they've accepted the fact they won't be able to return to or even begin pursuing romantic relationships in the real world ever again...

The feeling of something brushing against her arm threw Elora out of her thinking. She looked down to see Katoka clutching it as the samurai shivered and struggled to retreat from the cold. "I-It's fine--", stammered Elora through her jaw which had been tensed from a brisk breeze. She can't be -- no, that wouldn't make sense. Quickly turning away to avoid engaging in a prolonged stare, Elora hoped that Katoka hadn't caught sight the sudden blush that consumed her face. "Just don't slip or you're going to pull me down with you--" Thankfully, her skin had already turned a rosy pink from being exposed to the cold, leaving the reaction to make little visible difference to her features.

She kept her knees stiff and her sights forward, determined to remain upright as their party crossed a lengthy sheet of ice occupying a narrow ravine that carved between the slopes of two snow-covered mountains. The glacier was so transparent that, with the occasional glance downwards, Elora could make out the forms of various hydrophytes, crustaceans, and the occasional carcass of a drowned character beneath its surface. Suspended like statues that served as eternal monuments to their unfortunate demise, each contained a haunting expression of what was felt seconds before their passing. Whether or not they were an exercise in world-building or the remains of fellow players was something that she preferred not to think about. "I don't know if the dragon's attack is all we have to worry about...", the woman muttered beneath her breath.

1. Elora

2. Female

3. She would prefer to go on a date with a male

4. 

Elora's face flushed from a mixture of anger and embarrassment. She silently nodded to Katoka in agreement but evaded making contact with her eyes as she scrambled back from the scene. This is so stupid. It shouldn't be like this. I should have been able to do much more in this battle than just pick off a few soldiers only to cower when it came to facing the boss. She set her jaw as her face adopted a stern expression, her mind churning into an emotional whirlwind. Katoka shouldn't be any stronger than me when we're both just as experienced in combat. It doesn't make sense that it's so much easier for her to handle herself. Moving back to stand beside Chase, she couldn't help but feel herself getting frustrated at his behavior as well. I thought that he was supposed to be so much better than both of us, but he's hardly even doing anything. That last hit should have been enough to kill the king. He must be drawing this out just to make us feel even sh*ttier about how this is playing out. 

@Katoka

Familiar Name: Borris
Description: A rock golem whose body is composed of several small magnetic rocks that can dissemble and reassemble themselves into various shapes. He is most often seen in his upright form (pictured above) or worn as a bracelet around Elora's wrist.

 
Familiar Mastery Skill: Scouting Familiar
Cost: 10 SP
Passive
Effect: +2 LD to searches for dungeons or Labyrinths, and when opening treasure chests.
Description: Your familiar is an expert tracker, aiding in your efforts to search.

Thread Link:

Familiar trained on roll: ID#: 179439

Thread Link:

Familiar found on roll ID# 169253
Familiar tamed on roll ID# 169784

A teleportation crystal? Elora hadn't heard of an item like that before. Then again, she rarely ventured out far enough to ever need one. I'll need to buy some of those from his shop in the future. I'm sure they'd come in handy again. "Alright", she agreed with a smile and a nod before accepting the crystal so that the two of them could be on their way.

-------------------------------------------------------------

   ♪  Refrain: The Treasures of a Dragon  ♪  

Elora lackadaisically kicked open the door to her room at The Humming Bard Inn before shuffling over to, then collapsing on, the edge her bed. "Ugh, what a day", she mumbled with her face pressed against the sheets. After sharing a meal over some drinks, Elora had said her goodbyes to Freyd and retreated upstairs for some much needed rest. It wasn't much later before the pub's resident cyberfolk, or whatever it was they called it, band began their rowdy evening rehearsal. Freyd should count himself lucky that he left when he did. Deconstructing himself from his bracelet shape, Borris reformed into his usual golem-like appearance.

"Wellll", began Elora as she rolled onto her side, "This is my humble abode. Home to aspiring indie artists, drunkards who squat in the hallways, and now you -- our very own rock golem. Feel free to get comfortable, there's some water in that pot over there and uhhh, sleep if you want to -- I guess -- I don't know if that's really your thing or not though" Borris had already taken to scuttling around the premise to inspect different decor as she tried to acquaint him with his new surroundings.

With a sigh, she pried herself from the mattress so that she could sit up and change out of her dirty clothes. It was then that she realized she'd completely forgotten to return her skirt, or rather, Freyd's cloak to him. Sh*t. Now I'm gonna have to figure out when to see him next so I can give it back... She took a few moments to inspect it for any blemishes from yesterday's excursions. Only a few fragments of foliage and other small holes stood out from among its dark surface. Still, it was enough to warrant her making some repairs before she handed it over to him. After all, Freyd seemed like the kind of person who would make an active effort to ensure that his clothing was never winkled or tattered when he made an appearance. I'll have to find some way to clean it. Maybe I could take it to a tailor? Well, whatever, I'll worry about it tomorrow. 

As she opened her menu to stow it away, a familiar item caught her eye -- the copper rose Freyd had given her after their first quest together. Oh,  I guess that I must have it set to sort everything from oldest to newest...? I'll have to figure out how to change that later... Her finger hovered over the icon in a moment of hesitation before selecting to summon the item into her hand. She was surprised to see that the patina on its surface had spread to paint more of the flower's copper petals, though she hadn't even interacted with it since that very day. I can't believe that it's been changing this whole time, without me ever really noticing. Removing her gloves, Elora raised her fingers to touch the object while she slowly sunk back to laying in her bed. Borris clambered up her metal vambraces and came to a rest beside the rose, seemingly inspecting its material to assess whether or not it had metallic properties. "Haha, sorry bud. I don't think you'll be able to stick to this one", she consoled before picking him up and placing him on her pillow as she readjusted to rest her head against it. 

"I really hope that we can start to feel at home here...", wished Elora with a hushed voice. "It's probably going to take awhile longer, but...I feel like some of the pieces are finally starting to come together..." At this, Borris appeared to turn to himself and regard all of the chipped and misshapen pebbles that made up his tiny body. Although Elora had a hard time interpreting his expressions, something about the behavior made her feel that he understood exactly what she meant, and possibly, that he was able to comprehend the concept of wholeness better than she was able to. "Anyways...Goodnight", she said with a gentle pat on his headstone. Still clutching the rose, Elora drifted off into sleep with the comfort of knowing that she was now, at least, just a little bit less alone. 

Seizing the opening that Chase had provided, Elora bolted toward the Elvish King and attacked him before he was prepared to make a defense. She intercepted his blades as they attempted to shield his figure, forcing the shaft of her spear to bear down on one of his swords until it dug the dirt. The tip of her spear then swung forward, only barely gashing his cheek before he used the hilt of his second sword to club her in the side. With the wind being knocked out of her, she withdrew her weapon and folded forward, all but collapsing onto the ground to clutch her stomach. "S-shit, that f*cking hurts" The reckless move had drained her of all her remaining energy, leaving her vulnerable to the the King's retaliation. In a desperate attempt to save the day as a means to redeem her image, Elora had forfeited her safety at the cost of her pride and to the detriment of their party. What was I thinking?! I should have just listened to Katoka and sat on the sidelines for a bit. This probably isn't going to play out well.

Surprised to see Katoka miss her attacks, Elora quickly readied herself for the chance to strike down the remaining enemies. She wasn't confident in her ability to take down three at once, especially since she was feeling winded from her previous set of strikes. Thankfully, Chaser stepped in and removed two of them before she could even step in their direction. That left one solider, who was only seconds away from hurting Katoka as she sat in her vulnerable position.

"Don't worry, I've got you --!", shouted Elora as she rushed in and stabbed the enemy, hefting his body up into the air and over her head before slamming it into the ground. The green-haired woman then used her heel to scrape off the corpse from her spear like it was a burnt marshmallow stuck to a roasting stick. "Nice work!", she shouted to Chase before offering a hand to help Katoka onto her feet "That was a pretty dramatic fall", she remarked with a sympathetic chuckle, "You sure you're alright?"

Elora wasn't sure when would be an appropriate time to contribute to the discussion, so she took after Freyd in silent observation. Engagement?, thought Elora as the topic arose, Oh yeah, people can get married in this game, can't they? Frilly aspirational stuff like weddings weren't normally things that she took to discussing, but seeing as how this may have been her only chance to chime into the conversation, she decided to give it a shot. "You're getting married, huh? Well, that's exciting. Who's the lucky man?", she could hardly get the sentence out without grimacing at the phrasing of her own words. "I guess the nice thing about having an online wedding is that cost probably isn't as big of a concern" Elora didn't know whether or not that was true, she just needed something to follow-up with so that she didn't sound uninterested in Haine's happenings. Still, she resorted to taking another sip of her tea, lest she dig herself into an even deeper grave by continuing the ice-breaker conversation. 

"Haha, very funny", retorted Elora to Freyd with a smirk, "I'll have you know that I winterized my cloak in preparation for this mission, although, not anything else..." Her eyes darted off to the side, regarding Haine as she took another sip of tea. "Hey, nice to see you again. Don't know if you remember me from the Tanabata Festival" I sure hope not "I'm Elora", she added just in case. To be honest, she wouldn't have been able to recall the woman's name if Katoka hadn't brought it up. That wouldn't stop her from pretending she'd remembered it all these weeks. For some reason, she was able to remember Vie --

Wait. Vie. Is that THAT Vie? I'm pretty sure that's the name of the girl the blue-haired guy was asking Katoka about. Elora seemed to zone out as she cupped her tea, eyebrows furrowing and lids narrowing as she underwent a series of mental gymnastics to come to the realization. I mean...I guess I could maybe see that working. They're around the same height and both have...short hair...? 

@Haine

Elora always found herself impressed by how gracefully Katoka seemed to carry herself in battle. Her approach to combat seemed calculated and the swings of her katana intentional. Disappointment at her own inability to perform a successful attack was only made worse in the shadow of her victories. She tried to her best to brush off the feeling by recalling the previous phase of their quest. I've just gotta slow down a little, she tried to reassure herself.

Shifting her focus to the weakest enemies, Elora rushed forward and knocked one off of his feet. He stumbled backwards, impairing the other and giving Elora just enough time to slash them before they had the chance to lift their swords in defense. "Come on, I'm going to be broke if you keep making deals like that!", she teased with a light-hearted tone to try and ease the mood. Just then, more soldiers leapt out from behind the bodies, nearly stabbing her from either side in her distraction. Elora only had a fraction of time to duck beneath their blades as they passed over her, quickly carrying another set of swings at Katoka, who was still standing nearby.

A Val-halla of a Time. [Halloween Special Dungeon]

"You know, for some reason I thought that finding the place by 'just following the river' meant that it was going to be a lot easier than this", remarked Elora with a sigh, "Just how long is this thing?" Katoka and her had gotten word from other members of Firm Anima that a dungeon had appeared on this floor. She couldn't recall many of the details that had provided, other than that the two of them would need to locate a ghost ship to sail them to some place to fight some enemies. Of course, there was also an obligatory warning that they needed to be careful and that they needed to invite others along to aid them in the battles. Elora wasn't sure if Katoka had taken the liberty of tracing the identities of those present at the Battle of Tanabata, but she was too lazy to do the same, so she simply posted an open invitation for anyone who was interested to join if they wanted to. We'll see if anyone turned up. Not long after, they happened upon an inlet that appeared to house several bioluminescent vessels that were tethered to a twisted driftwood dock. "Think this might be the place we're looking for", speculated Elora as she dropped her heavier equipment in anticipation for the rest. "And it doesn't look like anyone else has showed up yet. Are you sure that we really needed to leave two hours earlier than Freyd recommended? Well, whatever. It'll give us some time to have our last meal -- like Vikings before they rowed off to war!"

Elora | HP:530/530 | EN:48/48 | DMG:16 | EVA:5 | ACC:4 | LD 3 | L.M.:2 | KEEN:1

A set of firm knocks resounded on the shop's misshapen wooden door, growing fainter as Elora lost interest in propriety and proceeded to open it without receiving a welcome or the invitation to enter. She waited for it to finish squealing at its hinges before announcing herself, "Hey guys, anyone here? I need to buy some stuff" She figured Freyd's minions, henchmen, interns, friends -- whoever they were -- were probably lounging up in their loft. "Oh yeah, and a friend of mine is coming over too. Have you guys met Katoka yet?", she called up into the shack's drafty rafters before rubbing her cold nose and stuffing her hands back into her pockets. Elora wasn't all that optimistic that they would see Freyd today. He was a busy man nowadays, what with all of his leaderly responsibilities. Still, she couldn't help but feel that he would be proud to see her and Katoka in this moment, preparing to enter their first dungeon together. Oh well, at least that means he won't be obligated to threat us to dinner if it goes well, she chuckled to herself. Elora looked over her shoulder and back toward the entrance to anticipate the arrival of her friend.  I probably should have waited at the gate to walk with her here. 

Vanity Tag: @Katoka

"I don't know, he probably dries it in some obscure artisanal way", replied Elora with a playful scoff, "I bet that instead of using a lint roller he even prefers to pick out any debris in his clothing with a pair of tweezers. To each their own I guess" She took a sip out of her still warm cup of Irish Breakfast tea. At least, that's what she imagined it was. SAO didn't offer much in the way of variety for drinks, as most beverages centered around Japanese culture. So instead, she was only able to purchase a plain black tea during their brief visit to The Cafe de Plateau on their way to the current establishment. There was however, a discernible difference between this tea leaf juice and the glorious breakfast teas she had come to love. It was a distinction that only the most discernible highlanders could detect in their semi-conscious morning states. 

Elora blinked and returned her focus to the present moment. How had her mind gone on such a tangent while they were waiting for their company to arrive? She shifted her gaze away from the steep and back to Katoka, "I agree. This place feels way too freezing compared to the climates of the other floors. I hope this quest doesn't take too long. I hardly feel prepared to handle the cold exposure" 

Elora | HP:480/480 | EN:48/48 | DMG:9 | MIT:8 | EVA:1 | ACC:1 | L.M.:2 | KEEN:1

Now that amends had - sort of - been made, Elora took the initiative to begin their battle in a clearing nearby the Treant civilization, if you could even call it that. Without waiting for the other two to collaborate on a strategy with her, the player rushed into attacking the first few Elven soldiers that she noticed were patrolling the grounds. The first thrust of her spear passed over the shoulder of one as he crouched to inspect a sapling that he suspected was a spy sent to perform recognizance for the Treants. Her failure to eliminate him swiftly gave the guard an opportunity to alert the rest of his battalion, "I need help! There's a traitor trying to kill me!" Normally, Elora would have found it cute that the game pretended the NPCs couldn't distinguish her as a player, but right now, the gimmick just frustrated her more. "Stop trying to make me sympathize with you and just let me kill you already!" 

She took sloppily-coordinated swings at each new enemy that responded to the call, somehow failing to hit all of them in her distraction. "Goddammit, how are these ones so evasive?", she hissed in anger.

"Man, that was a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be." Elora nodded and returned the smile. While this battle was more physically-demanding than those previous, she had, much to her surprise, enjoyed dancing beside Katoka as they fought. There was something about the music that helped Elora hone her focus and become truly immersed in the expression of her actions and the intention behind each attack. In the future, I should probably try to be as mindful of my movements as I was today. 

"Yeah, a hot spring sounds amazing", she confirmed to Katoka with a sigh of contentment. 

"Those peasants killed Ghidorah and The Galavants before they could debut at the Humming Bard Inn and get their big break!", proclaimed a lanky elf with an accusatory gesture.

"KILL THEM!!", ordered his equally feisty but far stouter companion.

"Well, uhhhh, it sounds like the Elves are getting pretty angry let's get out of here before they --trytochaseus -- Sh*t, RUN!!", screamed Elora as the three of them began to run away from the hoard of super-fans. 

Thread Summary:

Each player receives:

3 SP (1 page + 1 event + 1 quest)

Katoka gets additional + 1 SP for using Slime Farm

350 col

<Ghidorah’s Opal> [Vanity Quest Item] : 1 of 9