Elora

"I think you'll find it's shit for a lot more reasons than that", Elora quipped in an attempt to maintain the light-heartedness, "But also...there's a lot here that's not so bad." Adopting a distant look, she recalled her many adventures with Freyd and Katoka, the festivals she'd gone to, and the battles she'd won. "I guess", she started again, "I try and think of it this way -- We never knew when we were gonna die in real life. Any day out there could have been our last." Flicking her wrist, she cast the stone to skim over the surface of the creek. After a few sporadic hops, it plummeted into the rushing current below. "Here, that reality almost feels -- well -- more real. We can't kid ourselves anymore. Each fight, each attempt to flee -- it could be the end."

Salem seemed to shift in response to that observation.

"Can't say I feel the same.", he replied as his hand lowered and began to search for a stone in turn, "Maybe for you it was easy. I didn't really have that outlook."

"So, basically, we're trapped here --", she admitted with palms opening outward, "Uhh -- and if we die here, we die in real life --" Reading Salem's face, Elora couldn't tell if he had even registered the gravity of their situation. "So yeah", she started to add, "It's not great -- lots of people have died, lots of people are trying to escape -- It's a whole thing."

"Huh", came a underwhelming reply as Salem found his way to a seat on the bank.

Elora stood for a moment longer, than quickly scrambled to assume a comforting crouch beside him. "But don't worry!", she raced to reassure him. "The dude who made this game -- I think it was Kaiba -- he said that if we beat our way through all a hundred floors, then we can go back."

With eyes fixed on the stream before them, Salem appeared even more reclusive than before.

"I know it's a lot to process.", she sighed as a gloved hand made its way to offer two awkward pats on the back of his shoulder.

Elora shifted uncomfortably as she began to imagine all of the ways that an orange could have 'fun' with their killings. Her mind recalled a rather grotesque scene, one of a manic pixie-type carnie carving through carnage with the blade of her axe. Even the products of this world deserved more than such cruelty.

"They're like cats -- ", she finally remarked with firmer features, "Playing with their food -- mangling people and discarding carcasses as if they were nothing. They rarely do it for survival." Nearby, Salem seemed to have halted his forage to regard her comments.

"What?"

"You're taking it too seriously.", he said with a half-hearted laugh.

"I'm not --", Elora snapped back with more frustration than she would have liked. She could have gone off, if not for the confused expression that overcame Salem's face.

He doesn't know.

"You...ok?", he slowly asked, clearly taking note of her growing concern.

"Yeah...Umm -- So did you not, like, get a notification, or something?", she tried her best to inquire as a finger quickly became twirled in a lock of hair.

"Sure, I'll let it slide.", she cracked with a complimentary grin. "Don't know about that though --", she remarked before spitting into her glove. Lifting her hand, she moved to suds away the remaining soil that had splattered across his face.

"Ack -- Gross!", Salem protested, swatting away her hand, "I'll get it myself!" Unequipping the claws from his sullied hand, he attempted to wipe the grime from his skin. Elora watched in amusement as the concentrated droplets were smudged from one side to another, then combed through his hair. Only a matter of seconds would pass before the sludge solidified into crusty, shit-colored steaks.

"Yeah, you got it", she reassured convincingly. "Now!", she said, clapping her hands together, "We just gotta harvest some materials from down here. And by 'we', I mean you, because I can't actually help for this quest -- aside from offering my emotional support." With hands on her hips, Elora offered a reassuring wink.

***

ID#: 215528 Failed to find a Treasure Chest

Elora's heels sunk into the mud as she slid down the hill. Such a sudden displacement of momentum almost caused her to slip and close the remaining distance along her back. Slowing to safety at the brink of the brook, she lifted her boots one at a time to shake off any residual muck. "There's tons of herbs down here!", she belatedly explained. She looked back to see a hesitant Salem still sticking to the path. "Well? They're not gonna pick themselves!", she goaded in a sing-songy voice. 

Finally, he seemed to follow in her footsteps. Taking his time, he'd managed to make it most of the way before an especially precarious patch of moss tore out from under his weight. The stoic player's legs swept out from under him like he'd just been struck by a bowling ball. Elora was captivated by the spectacle of it all, her silence only being broken by the buzz of a poorly-contained laugh. "OH MY GOSH!", she shouted, extending the hand that covered her mouth to offer him a way up, "A-are y-you ok?"

Elora felt her stomach drop as soon as she sensed she had something wrong. With breath caught in her throat, she fervently listened to his unfortunate response. "You were...paralyzed?", she pieced together from what little detail he disposed. A slight nod reaffirmed that she had understood correctly. Waves of guilt rippled through her as Salem moved to walk away. "I'm really sorry...", she croaked with slumped shoulders, "I didn't mean to bring up anything like that."

"You didn't know.", he consoled from ahead. 

With a stifled sigh, Elora tried her best to dispel any lingering dread from the social misstep. "Well, if it's any help.", she started to perk up, "You carry yourself like a total natural." She swore she could catch the slightest smile in response to that remark. For a number of minutes, all that passed between them were the sounds of wind and distant wildlife. Despite their straightforward objective, Elora caught her mind beginning to play through countless possibilities of the upcoming raid.

"Whoa!", Elora exclaimed with raised fists, "That's so cool! I've actually never seen a claw-user before!" Stepping closer to where he'd dropped, she raised a curious finger to begin inspecting the weapons. "Seems kind of inconvenient though. How're you supposed to do anything else if they're coming out of both your hands?" 

Salem gave pause before flexing his fingers in a particular way which sheathed the blades back and into a housing further up his forearms. "Like that, it seems.", he remarked with little surprise.

"Just like Wolverine!", she squealed in excitement. "I'd be scared with fighting so close to a monster though -- you'll probably need cat-like reflexes to avoid getting cut or stomped on.", after musing at the logistics, she added, "So, are you good at landing on your feet?" The playful question seemed to elicit something painful from Salem's face, which twitched and turned away in response.

The scraggly projectile suddenly bounced off of Elora's nose, causing her to startle. Shaking her head, she blinked to stare at him with a stupefied expression. "Y --", she stuttered before snapping, "WHERT THE HEEL! Yew jerst threw that at my face!" Her standoffish reaction was quickly dismissed as she pawed at her face to banish a residual itch. 

Salem cracked into an irksome chuckle before replying, "Just wanted to see how you'd react. Got you out of your head for half a second."

With arms crossed, Elora huffed in return. If he tries that again, I'll put him down before he can even react --

"See", he started soon after, "You can handle yourself."

Elora's annoyed stance relaxed into one of contentment at the recognition of an compliment extended. Unsure of how to rekindle the previous topic, she opted to change their conversation. "So -- what weapon did you choose?" A gloved hand gestured randomly through the air, summoning a verdigris spear into her grasp. "I went with the spear -- though, I guess it's called a polearm now."

A slight suppression of her supportive enthusiasm proceeded a hesitant sigh, "Yeah, I guess you could say I've done a lot of grinding, but it's mostly been with the help of other people."

"So? How will that be any different than fighting with all the experienced players?", Salem questioned as he scanned the surrounding scenery for more materials.

"Because they're -- I guess they're not much higher ranked than me", Elora realized just as the retort had spilled from her lips, "I think it's really just because...it's such a new setting for me to be in. I'm not used to being at the top of -- well, anything." It was a difficult insecurity for her to identify, let alone accept. In a lot of ways, she'd grown used to putting the blame on the strangers around her. What was she supposed to do now that she would be regarded as an equal, or even stranger, a superior to some of them? "I don't know how to handle it all."

"Takashi. That's a cool name.", he could hear her muffle from beside his shoulder. "But you're not doing me any favors being from Osaka.", she added with a chuckle, "I suppose it's not nearly as crowded as Tokyo, so I'll take those odds." She followed his gesture to spare a glance at his real-world representation. "I forgot how well the glasses suit you.", remarked Elora as she gave the doppelganger an analytical pass, "And I could get used to a few fewer layers around your head." A joking tug at his cowl followed that candid observation.

"You know that I would find you too, if I knew who to look for.", Freyd prompted her with a gentle caress.

It was a reasonable request, but one that she could immediately sense her psyche start to shy away from. Why are you like this?, a frustrated voice demanded to know. Another wave of worry began to rattle her from within. She could feel her heart begin to throb as a dull pain spread throughout her chest. I'm afraid. I'm ashamed., came a knowing response, What if he doesn't like you? The criticisms of an familiar source punctured like daggers, saturating her mind with a stream of doubts. You're not pretty. You're not smart. You're better as Elora. You're better here. Don't let him know. Elora could feel herself become small as she retreated from --

Before she could close him out, a determined embrace. Caring arms wrapped around, enveloping her body in a warmth that felt so unfamiliar, yet so deserved. Caution failed her as a deeply-held fear seem to dissipate at his touch; not for how it felt, but for what it communicated. Acceptance, she could feel herself admit. How long she had wanted to be seen and to be loved for what she was, whatever that truly looked like. With Freyd's understanding, Elora willed herself to deafen the onslaught of self-destruction. I'm enough. I'm good enough for someone. Turbulent nerves slowly drifted away to the steady beat of his breaths. It doesn't matter what you think -- I won't listen to them.

"I mean what I said: I would stay in here forever if it meant that we could stay together.  And I would fight my way through flame and every hellish landscape if all you ever wanted was to be held outside this world." 

Searing eyes regarded him with a gratitude she could never put into words. It would have been so easy to belittle herself, to feel pathetic for allowing all of her insecurities to come to manifest in such a dramatic way. But she was well aware that this hadn't been the first time Freyd had regarded her in such a vulnerable state, god knows it wouldn't be the last. A frantic hand raised to wipe away the teary aftermath of a still-healing heart. 

"I love you, Elora."

"Róisín--", she corrected him between the sound of choked sobs, "It's Róisín!" The elven player reached out, entangling her fingers between the folds of his cowl and yanking him forward. Her ferocity found to be excessive as she unintentionally tore through the seams of his cowl and sent his head on a crash-course toward her own.

"Thank you!", chimed Elora as she accepted the request. "Then the town gate should be right...this waaay!", she announced as she sprang ahead to guide Salem toward their intended destination. 

"I don't know how you can have this much energy", he remarked with a hint of exhaustion on his face, "I only just started playing and I already feel like I've lost some stamina just by looking at you. It's like you move around at a higher FPS than the rest of the world."

"WHAT?", she blurted with a snort, "No I don't. I just walk with purpose -- I've got shit to do!" Elora wouldn't consider herself a go-getter, but as of late, she couldn't deny a greater sense of urgency in her day-to-day activities. When she entered SAO, it was easy to waste most of her days meandering around town and bantering with NPCs. Now, it felt like she had a responsibility to improve, not just for herself, but for the sake of others. "I gotta grind and level up as much as I can so that I can help The Frontliners.", she reaffirmed herself.

"Frontliners?"

"They're the players that fight the floor bosses, the ones at the top of the ranks!", she explained as she made a show of flexing one of her arms, "And I just became one of them!" Elora flashed him a hawty smirk before adding, "And I'm honestly so terrified!"

"Food food food~", sang Elora as she romped between patches of players and NPCs. It wasn't long before she reached her favorite shop, a humble shack that resembled a traditional ramen shop. "Goodmorning Bruce, I'm here to pick up some sustenance!", she proclaimed as her right arm rapidly parted the curtain that separated the counter from the street.

"What'll it be today?", the chef groaned in a tired tone which steeply contrasted her own.

"Miso and tea!", she started, "Except -- could you also add some noodles to the soup? Otherwise, it doesn't fill me up enou--" Before she could finish her order, a steaming hot bowl of soup had already slid to her side of the establishment. "Damn, you're too good at what you do", she chuckled and transferred over a portion of col.

With a crack of her chopsticks, she began to slurp down her meal, occasionally taking breaks to alternate between it and her serving of English breakfast tea. Now, to down this and track down Salem.

"Huh, well --", she started, cupping her chin with a gloved hand, "My first guess would be because this place serves as a venue for debuting cyberpunk bands, if you haven't heard it before, you don't want to --" He had barely made out the warning she cast beneath her breath. "But the real answer is probably because this place is exposition material. The Town of Beginnings tends to be a busy hub for players, but most people don't stick around to live inside of these buildings." Contradictory to her claim, Elora was shoving bodies out of the way from left to right as the pair made their way down a creaky staircase.

"What's all this then?", he asked dryly.

"Oh. NPCs", she quickly responded, "Yeah, that's another less-than-glamorous part about The Hummingbard -- it seems to be some sort of spawn point for the worst kinds of NPCs" Elora heaved one final form out of the way before opening a door that lead into a surprisingly spacious, but oppressively dusty bar.

Elora raised the flyer up and squinted her eyes. First floor, huh? That shouldn't be too far. She'd already taken the heroic initiative to topple out of bed and get dressed for the occasion. A few carefully-planted footsteps later, and she had made it through the maze of passed-out NPCs that so often seemed to grace the floors of the ramshackled Hummingbard Inn. Challenge complete! Now, time to find this building. Elora wasn't entirely sure whether or not the invitation was broad enough to include her; however, it had been leftover from an ever-accruing pile of junk mail that seemed to manifest at the steps of Firm Anima each month. She figured the event would be fun to spectate, even if she was forcibly removed from the premises. Her pace stopped at the threshold of a bustling building. With vision scanning, she observed ornate craftmanship containing precious metals and fine silks. This can't be right, she thought with a whistle, On Floor ONE?  This degree of luxury was far outside of her lived experience. Frontliners and their money!, she chalked it up to be with a scoff. 

She was pleasantly surprised to find that the front door coasted open with little resistance. A PUSH DOOR!, she marveled internally. Antics aside, she slid into the restaurant to find it packed full of people, though maybe not as large of a crowd as she was expecting. By the looks of it, most of the attendants had already condensed into obvious cliques. Conversation was abuzz. Shuffling beside the wall, she grabbed whatever resources were being offered: a piece of paper, a marker, another piece of paper with a bunch of pictures on it, and a handsome plateful of various appetizers. At least she could get a free meal out of this uncertain interaction. It was difficult to shake the feeling that she was a fish out of water. That was at least, until she saw her. Another sardine!

 "KATOKA!", Elora called out, perhaps a bit too brazenly. Within a few heartbeats, she had made her way from the snack table to seat beside her best friend. "Think I got here a little late. What'd I miss?" Before the blonde could answer, she had taken the due diligence to pop a pastry into her mouth and begin inspecting the itinerary.

***

Elora | HP: 700/700 | EN: 104/104 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 66 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 4 | BH: 35 | LD: 3 | AA | BLGT: 32 | FLN: 8 | REC: 3 | STK: 40

  ♪  Two Lost Souls  ♪  

After some coaxing, Borris had reluctantly reformed into a sequence of stones that wrapped around her wrist. After a year of their meeting, she still hadn't concluded whether or not having a shape-shifting companion was really more convenient or troublesome.

"Fun?  Yes.  But part of the amusement in is in testing theories and peeling back layers to reveal what lays beneath."

"Freyd!", she exclaimed with an embarrassed squeak as her features flushed even further. A gentle slap to his shoulder was her best attempt to banish the implication. Elora shook her head and smiled as she rose to her feet and covered her face. At least having her familiar pressed to her cheeks offered some cool respite from the heat.

"I'm glad you've found that, though I can't help wonder why you needed it so much in the first place."

"I was desperate for validation, probably still am. The real world doesn't reward you for failing, and it got even harder to want to try the more that I did." Elora could so easily return to her post-grad headspace. It was a time of turbulent change and terrifying uncertainty. How was she supposed to get accepted into university without passing grades? Who would want to hire her as a listless adult with a complete lack of self-sufficiency? Her mind started to churn at the prospect of confronting it all.

"I resigned myself to staying here a long, long time ago.  There was nothing for me out there when I left.  Only one thing I've since found could ever convince me otherwise, and she's in here." 

Elora could feel her initial discomfort begin to fade as her chest rose in response to a deep inhalation. "You don't want to leave either?", she needed to say just to hear it aloud. So it's not just me then..., she sighed with the release of a held tension. Elora looked away, mirroring his gaze to distract herself with some invisible vanishing point. Speaking proved difficult for awhile; each attempt to transcribe her surprise silenced by the biting of a lip. She raised a gloved hand to comb her fingers through the sections of hair that trickled between them. "I...", she managed to articulate from a crack in her voice, "I don't know how long we'll have -- we'll beat this game one day, and we'll be free. I don't know...what's gonna happen..." Her stomach sank at the thought of being torn from the game, of returning to her waking life, and of never being able to see him again. "We might not be able to return --", her words broke off as she willed herself to face him. "If that happens, I want you to know--", she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him toward her, "I'll do whatever I can to find you." 

Cradling his head with the back of her hand, she drew him closer and into a kiss. Her worry was palpable, carried clearly between waves of subdued whimpers and staggering breaths. For as much as she protested against returning to waking reality, it became obvious that losing everything she had experienced here was a far more visceral fear. I don't know what I'd do without him, without Katoka, without Firm Anima, all of it --. 

"Damn this game", she swore with a sniff, "We were never supposed to deal with this. I just wanted to live -- I don't want to think about when it's gonna end..." Nails dug into his neck and back as Elora collapsed into his chest. The shell of feigned contentment was forced to crack as unresolved desperation flooded to its surface. She chided herself to force it down, to conceal how much it was capable of devouring her. Until this point, it had been easy to play along with everyone else's objective -- to scale Aincrad and defeat Cardinal. It was what she thought she was supposed to want, for herself and especially for others. If there were players like Freyd who didn't really want to leave, then what was it all for? Her eyes widened as realization dawned. He isn't fighting to escape. He's fighting for everyone else. It seemed so obvious to reconsider, but so wrong to fully accept. If he...if we both give everything we can to leave, then we're only charging faster toward the thing we want the least. Elora's hands withdrew as she pulled away, lifting her eyes to search for an answer inside of his own. Unless...that is what he really wants. He doesn't make any sense...what's the point of helping everyone else at the expense of his own happiness? As much as she tried, Elora couldn't understand it.

***
Vanity tag: @Katoka

"That's one weird ass cosmetic", she scoffed, "But I guess it's in line with the rest of your style." It was difficult to imagine him wearing anything but 5 layers of black, no matter the attire. "I think one of your best disarming tactics would be to charge into combat wearing nothing but neons", she couldn't help but laugh and shudder slightly at the thought. 

"I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that - for you."

"Oh, come on...", she started, "It's not like I would have survived without you either. Do you REMEMBER how much those baby bores wanted to kill me? I could barely stand to confront them without your coaching" Elora's smile broadened as an especially-enthusiastic leg-swig nearly made contact with one of Freyd's shins. 

"And I can't help but notice that I still know so little about you...", he continued, "How is it that I know so little about the person that means so much to me?" After a moment's pause, he added, "As to running into traps, it seems that I've already stumbled into one."

A potent blush stretched from cheek to ear as Elora fumbled to mouth a witty response. "Guess you'll need to do some more prying", she joked nervously, "But I promise I'm not that interesting. Besides, doesn't the mystery make it fun?" After stacking their scattered dishes, she began to stand from the table. "Coming here made me feel like I'd been given a fresh start. Sure, I didn't do anything with it at first...", she admitted, thinking back to her earlier days of holing up in the Inn and refusing to socialize, "But it's been nice to branch out and try new things without consequence." Her legs bent as she crouched down to collect the remains of her rambunctious familiar. "SAO rewards you so obviously for everything that you do, whether that's slaying a mob or turning over a rock." Borris's headstone clattered over to her location, as if on cue. "I feel like that's something I really needed, and if I'm being honest", she hesitated, "I don't know that I'd want to go back."

"A few minutes, I think", the player responded.

A FEW MINUTES?!, she suddenly found herself thrust into terror, DOES THAT MEAN HE JUST WOKE UP? Elora had heard rumors of late-raisers, but not many as of recent. No one knew exactly why some people had loaded into the game so long after its release. Was it because of a glitch in the system, or of a poor internet connection? She couldn't say. "Oh wow, that's real recent!", was all she could manage to respond. I suppose it does make sense for him to wake up here though., Elora started to realize, This is the first place that I was able to see after entering the game. Maybe there's still space for new players to spawn in this Inn --

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to look around a little", he coyly interrupted her thoughts. With a step to one side, he was already slinking around her.

"Actually --", she piped up, turning tale to follow closely behind him, "I've gotta find somewhere to get some breakfast. If you want, I can show you around a little. Maybe help you get familiar with some of the mechanics?"

"You've never heard about Maeve, have you?" 

Elora's ears perked up as her head began to shake in disagreement. Freyd continued to reveal that the duo had included a third, another sister?  "...and Quip.  She was the eldest and stepped up to serve as pseudo-mom for her siblings." It was a difficult responsibility, though one that Elora had seen an elder sibling undertake before. She could recall times when her brother Liam looked after her while their parents negligently shrugged off various responsibilities. In a lot of ways, it seemed like blaming her for their absence was easier than ensuring they acknowledged her needs. She couldn't decide whether or not it would have felt worse to lose her parents' support in the real world, or through the circumstances of being trapped in SAO.

"Aincrad did what Aincrad does: Maeve fell prey to a trap while childishly racing against her brother for a prize.  Quip was helpless to prevent it and watched her sister disappear into dust in an instant."

Eyes widened and muscles tensed as Elora set her jaw in dismay. "That's...so sudden...and so unfair...", she couldn't help but mutter. Her gaze first sunk to indiscriminately rest on the table of crumb-filled plates and tarnished cutlery before sharpening to take notice of Freyd's blighted hand. She quickly found it hard to focus as suspicions of its infliction began to fill her brain. Is that...some sort of status ailment? Where did he get that from? I hope it doesn't hurt...How come he hasn't told me about it? Maybe it isn't a big deal -- The sound of Borris rolling to investigate a sudden disturbance was enough to return her attention to the tale. 

"They fleeced Quip of what little she had with their lies and set her on a suicide mission...", her companion continued until the story concluded with a "...The rest is history." 

"What the fuck is wrong with people?", she snapped beneath her breath, "Why does anyone think that's alright to do to someone who just lost someone they loved? I can't believe how low some people can sink, it's despicable" Elora crossed her arms, "Quip and Dingo should've never had to go through that. I honestly don't know how she isn't peeved all the time." If someone did that to me, I'd hunt down the bastard and show him the meaning of loss, she thought bitterly. Ceasing her complaints, she allowed Freyd to finish his thoughts.

"That's some very fine tea, Elora.  Thank you for sharing it with me."

"Glad you liked it...", she said with a hint of sadness. Reaching out, she carefully cusped a hand over his. "That's one of the things I admire most about you...", she admitted with a weary smile, "How much you take care of those who need it. I think Quip sees it too, and maybe that's why it's been hard for her to walk away until now." Elora had started to turn his wrist as she spoke, in search of any lingering wounds. "I just want to make sure you're also looking out for yourself." A brief squeeze of his hand followed her relief of the retreated condition. "I don't need you charging head-first into any traps, whatever the case."

Another lapse in consciousness had plunged Elora into the obsidian expanse. The hollow sounds of machinery were among the few perceptions she could distinguish. In a daze, she slipped forward, fatalistically toed by the force of a figure unseen. Her hands clawed their way into a surface that smudged like wet clay. Digging into the mailable surface proved futile, however, as its sludgy consistency seemed to melt like wax between her fingertips. A series of stinging punctures slowly dappled their way across her body. Once again seized by a sinister paralysis, Elora could feel her skin become cold and clammy. Haggard gasps became caught in her throat as her eyes --

Flew open! She was staggering forward and falling toward the floor. With delayed reaction, she threw her hands before her. An ocean of sheets gnarled themselves around her legs, slowing the momentum of the fall. Her head rapped atop the floorboards with a dull thud. "Fuuuuck...", she groaned from the pain. By the time she'd lifted a hand to massage her forehead, it had subsided into a mere discomfort. Sure would be nice if it did anything to repair the emotional damage, she thought somewhat dramatically. Peeling herself up off the floor, she began to unfurl the cocoon of fabrics. Borris offered a reassuring squeeze from around her wrist. "F*ck these nightmares", she sighed in frustration, "This is getting exausting -- but I don't know what I'm supposed to do about it." Momentary pause gave way to a temporary solution, Tea would be nice. Hobbling over to her kitchenette, she pried open the cupboards to grab --

"Nooooo!", she whined with a hang of her head, "I forgot to get more -- I went through the last of my stash last night!"

Like a storming child, Elora equipped her gear and ripped off the plank of wood kick-standed against her door to hold it shut. With another swift push, the "door" was free from its hinges and barreling into the hallway.

***

Elora | HP: 700/700 | EN: 104/104 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 66 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 4 | BH: 35 | LD: 3 | AA | BLGT: 32 | FLN: 8 | REC: 3 | STK: 40

"The only way to convince her to do anything is to get her pissed off about the opposite." 

Elora couldn't help but nod in agreement. Quip had a remarkable way of directing, or, misdirecting her rage to accomplish surmountable feats. "I guess it's not just her that I'm worried about", she remarked between a bite of food, "Are you really alright with how things left off -- if this doesn't resolve itself?" Elora accepted a secondary plate of protein and the desired pastry from the bear of a man who brought it. "You seem like you're fine...", she added with a tone that suggested he shouldn't be. 

"Actually, that's pretty good.  Did you two come up with this?" 

She seemed to brighten and slide into a straighter posture, "Yeah! I've been looking all over for as many ingredients as possible! There's a lot of nasty stuff, but also a lot of really good stuff. The trouble isn't in finding organisms that are safe to consume, but one's that are actually enjoyable to eat." She paused for a moment to think about how the cooks of Aincrad must face a similar challenge. "Well, I guess as Alchemists, it's not really our job to make our potions taste good", she admitted with swinging legs, "But I feel like we can make medicines that taste good and offer stat boosts to players. Honestly, the last thing I'd wanna drink if my guts were spilling out is a bucket of cough syrup.", she seemed surprisingly serious about that last remark. With the realization that she had begun to ramble, Elora swiftly stuffed her mouth with the recently-served scone.

Enthusiastic hands began to shift through items and submenus as soon as Miri had ushered them into a seated position. Without wasting any time, Elora summoned the ingredients to begin preparing her newest tea. Despite her efforts to remain concentrated on the task at hand, she soon became distracted with the subject of their conversation.

"Let's just say that it was time to kick the angriest of angry birds out of the nest."

Her elven ears twitched with a telltale curiosity.  "That's not what I heard--", she blunty sputtered. Cerulean eyes quickly returned to their work as soon as her companion's gaze fixated on her's. "I -- ran into Quip outside of town.", she started with some hesitation, Didn't seem like it was really a mutual decision--" Her final words were narrowly clipped by the cacophonous sound of Borris rolling atop the various herbs and spices. An unintended glace at Miri may have suggested her discomfort with digging in any deeper in the company of their hosts. 

The warm welcome from Queastor followed with an offer to further stock their stomachs. "I'll have...", she tried to grasp, "A chocolate chip scone -- along with bacon and eggs, that is!" Not like I can exactly overeat, anyway. "Thank you!", she remembered to follow-up with before returning to her work. Let's see...equip the honeylily, berrybark, and zengaleaf...grind them together...serve the mixture with a cup... Elora reached for a cup with such spontaneity that it toppled onto it's side and began to roll across the table. A few desperate pats later placed the object within her grasp. She quickly righted in and cleared her throat. "So, this is sort of like, well -- just let me know what you think!" An eager gesture slid the mauve-colored beverage before Freyd. Elora had already begun to rest her cheeks atop both her fists before she remembered that there food was to consume. With eyes widened, she snagged a piece of bacon to begin munching on.
 

Freyd seemed to be unnervingly calm about it all, or at least, if everything that Quip had told her really transpired. She stared at him blankly for a moment, then blinked. "Oh? Ummm", she lifted a lock of hair to twirl it between her fingers, "I don't think so. It's a lot longer than before, but I've been growing it out for awhile now." Elora was surprised to find that she enjoyed the change. Sure, her hair still got tangled within this simulation, but it's not like she couldn't just unfurl it with the push of a button. It was hardly an inconvenience compared to brushing out real-world wind and debris. Maybe he's just trying to come up with something to talk about to keep his mind off of what happened, she assumed after further consideration. "Sure", followed a quick agreement to breakfast, "I've actually never been to their place. Haven't eaten today either." Elora's azure eyes flickered over to re-assess his demeanor. 

"Didn't you also say you had something to show me?"

A giddy grin couldn't help but creep across her face. "Well yeah", she started, almost sarcastically, "But you're gonna have to wait now because it'll go great with breakfast!" Elora extended a hand and grabbed his before he could protest. She tenderly, but enthusiastically, began to tow him across the street. From the balcony above, their prospective hosts hurriedly gathered their things and made their way down to the costumer-facing floor of their building.

As the two of them slogged through the entrance, they were greeted by Miri. "Table for how many?", she promptly asked. Elora's eyes narrowed, as if she had begun to decipher a trick question. "For two then!", Miri inferred, "ight this way!"

Sparse rays of light trickled between patches of puffy clouds above as Elora moseyed her way through Floor 13's main settlement. She'd learned to take extra caution whilst traversing across Angel's Point's slippery cobblestone streets. It never ceased to entertain her just how exaggeratedly dreary this environment was compared to others, especially Floor 1. The entry-level stage felt much more welcoming to her, albeit more bland. Come to think of it, she still had yet to discover a place that was truely more suitable to her tastes. Her thoughts were curtailed by the sight of an easily-distinguishable silhouette. "QUIP!", she called out to the woman who was walking toward her. For a second, it seemed like she hadn't heard her. Hands raised to cup her cheeks as Elora prepared to release a second, and much more amplified greeting. "Whoa, what happened to you?", was all that came out in the wake of inspecting her hardened features.

"Irt's that blasted boi o' yer's", Quip snapped, then continued with a huff, "I cun't stand it anymhoore!"

"Jesus, ok!", interjected Elora as eager hands waved to quell her companion's nerves. 

"He joost takes his sheight un' threuws it 'everywheere! How 'um I 'suppost to get an'ithing dune when I cun't even find me dumn legs!"

"That -- yeah, that sounds like a lot. I can understand why 'yer --"

"And then e's gut the goots to act leik 'um being the unreasoonable one! Leik 'um newt the one act 'n leik his mum, pickin' up 'is rewm! 'N whut dew I git fur it--?"

"Christ wewman, weud 'ye jist culm down 'fer 'alf a secund! 'Aim trying to git a werd in!" Quip's face seemed to suddenly set, its stoic expression only shifting with the hint of a furrowed brow. Elora made a stifled sigh, "Okay, sew 'ye dew still have 'yer wits about 'ye. Wert's all this 'yer talking about? Freyd's made you upset, that much I can gather. He's made a mess of the shop?"

"Nut joost the shop", she spat, her voice still shaking, "I cun't be around 'im right now. Yew try 'n tulk some sense innta 'im" With that, she brushed off Elora and continued on her way.

Damn, well that could have gone better..she clearly needs to blow off some steam.

I need to see how Freyd's doing, she thought after a moment's stalling.

Swift feet carried her quickly to the threshold of the shop, where everything seemed to be in disarray. A familiar mop of charcoal-colored hair could be found among its fallen wares. "Hi -- uh -- do you need any help?", she hurriedly offered at the end of her greeting.

Translations:

Awareness seeped into the spaces surrounding her, clotting them with a darkness that seemed to stretch on forever. Like a stale sponge that had been cast into a kitchen sink, her skin became saturated with a familiar sensation. Hairs standing on end alerted her to frigid air as her nostrils began to fill with the scent of...plastic? For as much as her mind mulled over each observation, her mouth couldn't seem to muster the speech to decipher it. An undetermined orientation made gaining her bearings all the more challenging. With a pointed will, she recruited her muscles to move. Seconds passed as she laid frozen, unable to flex a single limb. Why can't I move?, hissed a panicked whisper. Before long, her blurred eyes found themselves fixated on an ever-growing entity near the edge of her --

She lurched forward, shocked into vitality by a silenced scream.

All around her were particles of dust, phasing in and out of their short-lived procedural existences. A nearby rattling sound quickly claimed her attention. Banishing a whirlwind of blended stimuli revealed the silhouette of a small misshapen creature. Bor..."Borris?", she finally managed to mutter. The poor familiar seemed to have disassembled itself into a heap of shivering stones. "Ugh, god", she groaned with the wipe of an eye, "I'm sorry, did I scare you again?" Extending a hand, she attempted to comfort him. "I -- man, that was rough." The lithic little golem cautiously coiled into a comforting chain around her wrist. Arms criss-crossed behind her back, Elora released any residual tension with a groggy stretch. "Think I could use some tea after that one", she suggested in a more light-hearted manner. In the many months that had passed since the Storm of Shadows, Elora had taken to tasting different combinations of wild fruits and herbs. Frequent forays had become a new favorite hobby of her's, though her aspiration of opening a shop remained neglected. It was difficult to commit to such an intimidating prospect. Crafting concoctions for herself was one thing, but making them for others, well, I'll get around to it eventually, she reassured herself. A series of shuffles across dilapidated floorboards planted her beside a humble kitchenette. Without hesitation, she snatched a jar from the countertop and emptied its contents. As if on cue, Borris decoupled from her hand and dropped into a pestle below, crushing the mixture into a fine powder. "You don't have to do that, you know. The system will take care of it on its own", she reminded him. Still, the endearing sequence brought a smile to her face. "Well, let's give it a shot". With the press of a button and the cheering of a ceramic, Elora lifted the beverage to her lips to take a sip. "Hmmm..."

"Oh, this one's good!", she exclaimed after a moment of savoring its flavor, "I wonder what Freyd would think of it" Come to think of it, it'd been awhile since she'd seen him. Admittedly, exploring the world's other floors had kept her more preoccupied than she was used to. It was a welcome change of pace that left her craving more than what she'd previously settled for. "Speaking of which...", she mused, "What do you say we get out of this stuffy inn for a day?" A nod from her dusty companion was all the affirmation she needed.
 

 "Yeah, that should work!", she said with an enthusiastic step into the town's teleportation portal.

***

Elora | HP: 700/700 | EN: 104/104 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 66 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 4 | BH: 35 | LD: 3 | AA | BLGT: 32 | FLN: 8 | REC: 3 | STK: 40

"AHHHHHHHH! -- AHAHAH - HA! ORH, HEI! It's jerst another pleyher!", Elora's voice cracked and stammered as it abruptly shifted from screaming to broken Irish greeting.

"Put that thing away. Save it for the things that want you dead."

"S-serry, I was jerst --!", she turned to examine the wall behind her, but no excuse readily came to mind. An uncomfortable awareness wormed its way through her throat, then colored her cheeks a dark crimson. Oh no -- he's gonna realize that I'm lost!

"If you're looking for a way out, you need only follow the line. It will lead you to the entrance. Do you require an escort?"

Dammit! With a squeeze of her eyelids and a pointed exhale, she gave her best effort to ward off the shame -- and her flustered expression. "A way out?", she chimed with forced amusement, "Nah, you've got it all wrong!" Finally releasing her double-handed death grip on the of hilt of her weapon, Elora spun around to contend with the stranger. "I'm not looking for a way out, just for my friends. Yeah -- my party and I got separated somehow -- Think there was a beast that scared a few of them off and got us separated. I wouldn't be stupid enough to wander through here alone!" Her excuse curtailed as she not-so-subtly calibrated her sights to sizing him up. He's very red -- and tall. Extremely decorated -- Why's he got so many straps all around him? Not the most chipper looking of fellows... The moment of silence between them began to stretch to concerning seconds until Elora's shimmering eyes snapped back into contact with his. 

"You can help me finish the maze!", she enthusiastically declared, "I mean -- I can help you defeat the monster!" Her sage-tinted spear bobbed happily in her hand as she suggested this. Closer inspection revealed it to be an intricately-crafted item, what with its twisted silver staff and delicate serrations that spanned the length of its arrow-headed saber. It was certainly in stark contrast with the woman's simple attire and nonchalant appearance. Still, she seemed to carry herself in an awkward balance between, well, awkwardness and unbridled determination.

"I know what you're thinking, maybe you don't need me -- but I can assure you, I can handle a fight if I need to!" That sounded more convincing in my head... Nonetheless, she picked up the soles of her leather boots and began bounding to where he was heading. "I'm Elora, by the way --"