Elora

It'd been a handful of days since Elora and Freyd had seen each other, though her mind would rest easy knowing he'd been alive enough to respond to a few of her messages. She was used to seeing him like this. Something about preparing for combat wound him up so tightly that conking out became his only excuse for a break. Admittedly, it was a little concerning. Part of her still speculated that he found some sort of perverse enjoyment through all of it. Scraping a few unruly hairs from the top of his forehead, she planted a gentle kiss in its place. You need some rest. Thank you for preparing a

"Eh, yeah.", she agreed, "It is in some ways and not in others. Honestly, I worry a lot more about new players' emotional states than I do about their physical wellbeing." With arms crossed, she leaned back to rest against the mossy walls of the slanted construction. "Hearing the news...a lot of people take it pretty hard. Some grow distant, some completely snap." She spared a second to consider him, reassessing his complexion for warning signs. "You never know what someone's gonna do, who they're gonna hurt --" A shrill series of creaks encouraged her to create some distance between

"Something like that", the athletic player remarked with a semi-crazed grin. Elora hadn't expected him to stay hot on her heels, let alone completely bludgeon the competition. Where she'd previously mired in the sting of shame, she now experienced the pangs of admiration. "Can't believe you left me in the dust like that --", she stammered to catch her breath, "Practice, my ass -- don't think I've ever seen another player run as fast as you." The statement elicited an earnest chuckle from Salem who had already begun to dabble a procedural sweat from the arch of his brows. K

Silence soon blanketed the air in a way that Elora was unused to. It had been awhile since she spent time questing with someone so...reserved. Reminiscing, she supposed Salem wasn't to dissimilar to her early encounters with Freyd in that way. However, unlike him, he seemed to lack a certain levity towards life. Like some sort of sopping wet cat., she silently identified. Elora did her best to match his stoic demeanor until a sequence of fidgeting prompted her to propose: "Why don't we race for it?" "Race for -- the town?", his voice cracked in confusion. "Yeah -- you gotta prac

A brief stretch of silence eventually prompted her to ask, "Well? What do you want?" "I'd like to escape.", he answered succinctly. Although, confident-sounding in his decision, Elora suspected there were further details that went unspoken. Just like everyone else., she mused to herself. "And if all of that starts with this stupid little quest --", he began as knees swung aside, then carried him into a stand, "Then I think we'd best continue." She issued a reserved nod as legs positioned themselves to do the same. "Can't say I've seen jack shit since we've sat beside this stream

Elora opened her UI, scrolling diligently until she spotted a lingering item. Summoning it to her grasp, she reached out and slid the faux-cigarette between Salem's fingers. "I've long since given up on them. It's the same with the alcohol -- a lot more of a habit than an actual feeling." Her quest mate nodded in thanks, raising the already-ignited tube to rest between his lips. "Still, once in awhile...", she added with fingers tapping nervously across her knee. In another gesture, a second stick had swiftly materialized into her hand. "It can be nice to do something familiar." The

"I don't know. I try not to think about it.", she admitted, "But at the same time, a part of me almost doesn't care." The glimpse of a raised eyebrow prompted further explanation. "I...didn't have a lot of friends, honestly. And my parents were, well, kind of shit --" She stewed on that remark for a moment. Was it really them, or just you? "I feel the worst for my brother --", her voice cracked as quickly as it had raised, "If he's actually worried about me -- I don't want to get in the way. He has actual potential, going to university and shit -- He got a grant, you know. Did well enough to b

"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

"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 h

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?"

"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 s

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 wa

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

"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

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 eve

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 o

"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

"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 her

"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 fin

"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

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 manifes

♪ 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 shoo

"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 barel

"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

"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 e