ChaseR

Chase knew that much already, and he was more than prepared- at least in his mind, that was all he'd need. Not even that low in energy and they'd already chipped a nice thousand points of health out of the boss. Approximately at least- not that Chase knew, all he could see was that it was almost a fourth, and that was good enough to him. It meant it was much more than just doable.

"No sweat at all.", he tried to calm Itzal, or rather Are, down, moving towards the boss once more and slamming the flat of his blade upwards into the boss' head. It sent the boss back and caused it to flinch, leading to it attacking blindly where Chase would be, had he stopped moving. Thankfully, he was more than agile enough to have gotten out of the way, waiting for Itzal's attack before he could launch his next one. Hopefully, this time around his sword would do its flashy white magic and help take the King down that much faster. The boy never thought about the numbers, but the damage he dealt must be getting almost doubled with the Holy buff activating as well, right? It was more than a hefty handful of help.

The whole scene that unraveled still felt off to Chase. Another person came in the form of Starla, looking over his shoulder at her with a confused expression and then back at Alkor to see a HUD having emerged before him, with a yes or no option. He walked over and read it, his eyes narrowing as he turned to NIGHT. "Get near the white haired one. This might be a trap.", he advised his companion and took his own sword out carefully, keeping a battle-ready stance as if to deflect any attack that came.

"Kayaba never forced danger upon us. He's gone that low already either way, so what's stopping this from being a trap?", he finished his trail of thoughts in the back of his mind, looking at Alkor and trying his best to stay as unfazed by the scene as possible. "It's a high floor. If this is a trap, some will need to teleport out. I'll do my best to protect you all though.", the bluehead quickly declared his intent, knowing that whatever the blonde did, he'd stick by his side. Kind of ironic, considering they just watched a knighting ceremony. "It can't have been something that happened in the past if Aincrad didn't exist before the game was made. This feels like an event quest that could go horribly wrong.". No matter how much he tried to squeeze some explanation for this scene, nothing came out. No NPC had told him about anything similar to this, and he didn't remember any players mentioning events similar to what was playing out before them either. 

Nothing to do but to relax. A sigh. The boy's fingers slid down across the air, letting his menu appear and looking through it before he ended up on the friends list. He thought to check how everyone was doing. Mari was all over Aincrad, as per usual, Shay too, and... There were two actually very close together- to him and probably themselves. Chase got up and dusted himself, looking at the tower again and taking his blade out.

"... So they must have killed everything already.", he assumed and began to head right on over. He didn't have a clue what the two of them were doing there- were they farming monsters together for SP and items, or was it something else they were up to? He'd find out soon enough. Not that he'd follow them around and try to be sneaky, but instead he'd show up. As soon as he would reach the tower of course. It was a few good minutes of a hike down, but with a stance cautious as ever, he eventually ended up before the tall structure and let out a deep exhale before he began to climb up its interior. He climbed and climbed, seeing rubble all over the place yet no monsters guarding it. Odd as that was, what met his eyes once he was at the top was even more out of the ordinary. "... The hell's going on?", he (probably) interrupted, looking at NIGHT and then over at Alkor as he sheathed his sword once more. 

As long as he felt useful? She sure had a way with words that even he managed not to. It was odd, accepting someone's help under the condition they're 'not wasting their time'. "Even if I didn't, I'm enjoying this. I'm four levels away from the maximum. There's nothing left to do.", he told her with a small grin, trying to make her feel less like she was wasting his time and more like she was just good company.

"Let's go on to the next floor then. The boss has two heads and looks like a snake. Its health is very low though.", he tried to prepare her for what was to come, walking over to the teleportation plaza and waiting until she got on before they were sent straight to the seventh. It was another quest to just check off the list, and one that this time would be more fun to do- without him around, and with even better company. It just felt nice and like a good change of pace to be going through the same things he had three weeks ago, but from the lens of a higher level player. Someone more knowledgeable and experienced enough to stop accidents from just happening whatsoever.

It wouldn't make much sense to feel useless when he's helping out a newbie make her life much easier, clearing any threat in her path with the safety net that Chase was right now, right? "I'm here to make sure you don't die, and that you're not alone. I'm not feeling useless, since I'm helping.", he responded, and then he saw the smile. It really meant that much to her, huh? Once again, it felt like he'd already been in this place. But from her point of view.

"Don't mention it.", he casually told her back and stuffed his hands in his pockets, stopping once the NPC was in sight and letting Nep continue going on ahead to get her rewards. In the meantime, Chase had to open up his menu and start sifting through the quest log to make sure that it was the same mission they were thinking about- it had been much too long since he saw the Case of Wurms quest, after all. "Yeah, the one with the two headed serpent. I remember it well enough. We shouldn't have any trouble, hell, she should be able to do it all by herself even if I don't help. So I should keep holding back and let her do her part.", he finished his thoughts and by the time he had, Nep was already back from the NPC. Assuming all had gone well, they would be wasting little time sitting by idly before they move on to the seventh. "You got everything, right?"

"Yeah. The last thing we need is trouble.", he agreed and stuffed both his hands in his pockets, feeling Blizz climbing up onto his body again by clawing up his pants, reaching his shoulder and watching the two quietly, letting out a small croak before he curled up as best as he could while staying fixed on Chase. Trouble... Keeping others out of trouble, maybe he should- nah. Not his affairs. She seemed smart, there was no way even a guild could get to her. She didn't seem like the type of person to go to a guild either, after all.

"If you want me to amp it up, I can. I just don't want to leave you in the dust.". Humble, but at least the intent was good- and obvious, thank god for it. "It sucks to feel useless.", stating the obvious as he was, but he had some experience when it came to being the odd one out. Starting out the game was a good start. At least he was past that point now, and doing much, much better at that too. "You want to keep leveling, right? I can come along with your next quest right now if you have one in mind.", he stretched out an offer for his new company, giving a small grin as the town up ahead began to come into the two's line of sight. The NPC would be somewhere up there, but first, they'd have to walk up the wooden stairs. The world still looked as good as ever, even if he had gotten used to it. That was something at the very, very least. 

Before long had passed by any stretch of the imagination, the beast was felled and the fire around them stopped. A task way easier than what he remembered it being like, honestly. "Impre- Oh no, that's not it. It's the first time I've seen a low level spear. I like it, it's new to me.", he awkwardly tried to make up for any lack of enthusiasm he might have been showing up to now. It wasn't on the forefront of his mind after all, especially seeing as his level was much, much, much higher.

"I just... remember struggling with this. A lot. I was with Shay and we were both around your level but it took us three times the tries. You're strong.", he tried to reassure her and gave a few nods, smiling slightly. But it wasn't long before the smile faded and he moved a hand behind his head, scratching it as he lifted his sword in front of him and looked at its stone figure. "... Did I push myself too much? I don't feel tired but I did way too much way too quickly. There's so much to be done and I've done it all. Did I do wrong..?", his muttering continued as he lowered his sword again, sheathing it and looking where Byakko stood before breaking apart into tons of tiny crystals, sighing and turning back to Nep. "... Sorry. We should go back to get your rewards.", he tried to keep the group moving with as little awkwardness as possible, although he'd definitely failed on that part so far. "You did good though. Nice job."

Two days before, he was confronting a group with the attitude of a brick wall. Refusing to listen, holding its ground and being dumb as a stump. A day ago, he was helping someone out. Now, he was wandering about one of his least favorite floors. A dull one, with dark skies and a murky atmosphere. Since there was still time before the boss fight, he might as well explore Aincrad and make sure he's been familiarized with as much of it as possible. Right?

"Anything to break out of that stupid cycle of vitriol and whatever else it's supposed to be.". Even if he didn't like being here, he could even use this change of pace as an excuse to bring back new information to type in his small library database or whatever it is. No matter how far in he went, how much he moved around, how he looked for anything, there wasn't much of note- muck left and right, a dull floor with nothing but plain fields and monsters all over. There was some place near him that seemed interesting, but he truthfully cared little for it. Some tower, destroyed and abandoned. If monsters had flooded it, he wouldn't be surprised. He wasn't looking for a fight though, so it was best to just let it be. The bluehead was here to observe, nothing else. And that he did. He found himself a nice spot near a very small ledge, sitting down and letting his legs swing. "I wish I could talk to Lily somehow.". Times like these were rough when you were mostly alone. Tired. Bored. But the only reason he was confining himself to these thoughts was because he needed to address them. Nothing more. Nothing less. "As ugly as this place is, it makes me feel... nostalgic."

There was no reason to stick to such a rotten bad memory, after all. Chase fully agreed with Nep. As long as she was safe now, all was good. She was no Mari, but the last thing the bluehead needed right now was people dying. "Got it. If anything ever comes up, tell me. I don't want anyone dying.", he replied with genuine interest, although his words might seem a bit less caring than intended.

And then came Byakko. A jab from the spear wielder, and its health dropped almost to half. What could he do now to not mortally wound the tiger? He raised his sword in the air, and although his body instinctively went for a deadly downwards slash, he instead stopped himself and used Back Rush by slamming the flat of his stone weapon into Byakko's side. He definitely got a whimper out of the beast who retaliated with a nasty bite, except a step back and the tiger fell off balance, missing and growling at the duo. To stop the two from being surrounded by any fire, Blizz jumped off the blueberry and began to breathe out small shards of ice, extinguishing anything that would get them trapped. "... It's really been a while since I was your level huh. Three weeks and already...", his voice was faint and his tone low, but he gave himself a small smile. Time flies, yet it's barely passing, huh?

With two horrors before Mac, if they all began to attack him time and time again it would chip away at his health until he had none left. Checking his energy and seeing how low it was, Chase decided to bite the bullet and go all out- no more Shadow Horrors to worry about would be best, for sure.

He began his sprint right towards Macradon, lifting his sword and slashing at the both of them, hitting one right in the back and dropping its health to zero, causing it to disappear back into the shadows. And now for the bigger 'shadow' in the room, he turned back around and assaulted the titan once more with a barrage of sweeps and swipes. Was it going to be enough? It felt like even though he attacked more and harder than the last time, his damage was dropping. That was the cost for hitting so many mobs at once though, wasn't it? "Mac, I've got you. Keep at it, we're almost done."

Lethia? Was that the reason that Nep was now all alone? It sounds like she was backstabbed, and there was admittedly little room for interpretation. "Lethia tried to... So an orange player?", this wasn't like Mari. If someone made a genuine, honest attempt to kill someone, there was no room for 'good' in them. Tsk... not that it was his problem though. After butting in the orange's life enough, maybe it was time he let others take care of their own troubles. For his sake and theirs. This would all be just an afterthought if he were ever asked, of course. The duality of man, right?

"I wish I was out there still. But at least we're not all alone in here. Familiars feel like they're here for us. Makes me lose myself sometimes.", he responded, looking behind him at Bast silently and reaching a hand on to his shoulder to slowly glide over Blizz' scaly back. Maybe he should take Blizz out more and stop being worried about him all the time. That train of thought was cut short when he heard something in the distance. Something that was a bit more urgent than when to and when to not take his familiar for a trip. "Up ahead.", he notified Nep and looked forward again, seeing a small wave of fire start to spread towards them, every tree catching on quicker than the ones before. Byakko was well on his way towards them, it seemed. "Attack him first and I'll try to stun.", he gave her the pass and gestured forwards with his head, stepping aside so she had all the room she needed- unlike last time.

Chase noticed the tiny chip of damage that Itzal dealt, feeling better in his choice to pick the heavy straightsword rather than the light one. Then again, his own wasn't that heavy, being broken and whatnot. Regardless, all they needed was to bring down the roof onto this monster. The same way that Freyd and Jomei had alongside him, he had to do it alongside Itzal, but with much more effort. No trouble.

"I'm not planning on taking any damage.", he looked to the side at Itzal and gave a small nod, gesturing with his head towards the hulk before starting to charge at him again. The King tried to slip a jab in with his sharp nails, missing Chase who retaliated with another slash and landed behind him once more, leaving the boss open to another attack from Itzal. "Any moment now, it'll happen.", he murmured lowly with an ever so faint grin on his face, feeling adrenaline start to rush through him. It had been a while since he'd had an actually tough fight- not an unfair one, not an easy one. There was a chance they'd have to run, but not that they'd die. Just what he needed to get into the groove of things again.

@Itzal

In Chase's eyes, it still was on her brother for not deciding to tag along with his sister. It only makes sense that family sticks together when they do well, right? Then again, the same way he couldn't comment any on familiars being good company, it wasn't like he'd stuck to his own family outside of SAO all the same. Were things really all that different after all?

"I see... Do you just get along better with Bast and yourself? I kinda understand that.", he asked before being taken aback by the question that came out of nowhere. His rest? The one that had lasted for two or so weeks now? "N-No, nothing like that. I've been struggling to get moving because of my own troubles and I'm just getting back into the habit. It feels like I've done anything I could on my own here. All I can do is kill stuff now.", he tried to explain and looked to the side, trying to find some form of distraction. "If anything, thanks for asking me to come over. I needed this.". And then came the little bit of smoke that Nep noticed. Turning to look back at her and then wherever she was looking at, he could see what she meant at the far, far distance. They had to travel a bit more to make their way over, but it would spread towards them and with a bit of luck (at least now), Byakko would start heading right their way. "You're right. Let's pick up the pace.", he gestured her to follow and began to head right over, taking his sword out and keeping it in one hand, gripped tightly. "Blizz just kinda... croaks. That's all the noises he makes. Not sure how to understand his mood and all..."

Just as anything that didn't have the joke label slapped on top of it, Chase tried to reassure Nep, having taken her joke as an actual concern. "It thankfully looks the same. We'll find it, no worries.". The other part she mentioned about her brother being in game but the two having separated from one another, and willingly on top, he didn't understand too well. Why stay apart when you're both trapped in a death game together?

"Is there a reason he just ditched you?", the bluehead asked with genuine concern, crossing his arms as they continued to walk, looking for any trace of the berserk beast running rampant in the forest. Nothing yet though. Talk could fill in the gaps and wandering around. He accepted the party request as well, letting out another yawn and scratching the back of his head. "Familiars make everything much less lonely. Right? Although I usually worry about Blizz and leave him at home. I'm not one to talk.", he replied to himself and looked down at the ground, moving a hand to scratch the back of his head while Blizz croaked. Was it in agreement? Was it in some form of attempt to make him forget it? He couldn't tell. There was no way the little critter didn't mind being parked at home all day.

Chase quietly looked down from the plaza and into the forest, shaking his head. "No, I don't think it frequents anywhere. Uh. Just look for a fire and start from there. It stops spreading when Blokko dies.", he nodded to himself and hearing another croak from Blizz in agreement, he raised a hand to grab the pangolin from atop his head, holding it in his palm. A round little guy with tiny arms, looking at him before turning over to Nep.

"This guy's Blizz. He's a bit lazy but he helps out a fair bit. He might be cold to touch, but he's friendly. Helps me take down monsters.", he gave a brief explanation of his familiar, letting her pet it if she wished before putting it back on his shoulder, watching it use its claws to grip tightly as it always did. "Let's get moving. We can track down smoke first, then run over.", he tried to lay out a small plan and began to head towards the 'edge', if one could even call it that, of the village, heading down the stairs and closer to the ground so they could get looking. "You're pretty low in level, but got Bust this early on anyways?", he tried to start up a conversation, knowing he didn't get his familiar until a bit into the second tier. He couldn't even remember what level he was, just that he went in a small adventure around the fourth to get Blizz out of the snow.

Chase had just gotten a fair good bit of rest in, and it definitely paid off. After a long stretch, he checked his inbox to see that Nep wanted to go questing again. Maybe this was the best way to get into the groove of things after all. He stretched his fingers and got to typing, sending her a message and beginning to head for the teleport plaza not too far away from his estate by the 21st.

His message was, at the very least, true. It wasn't even ten minutes before he showed up, letting out a yawn and waving at Nep while he approached her. His little blue pinecone was with him, sitting atop his head and croaking at the sight of the lady and her panther. "You're hunting Byokko, right?", he asked to make sure he hadn't confused the quests and that they were all on board. As far as he could remember, no special preparations were to be made for a quest this early on. They were gonna be fine to go, and in the worst case scenario, Blizz would be able to shield the group from a hit or two using his frost breath. "Note to self, don't kill the monster, and don't just tap it either. Do some damage this time but let Nep do a thing or two too.", he remarked to himself and kept a rather blank and not forced at all smirk on his face, the edge of his lips twitching somewhat. 

Both of them accepting and not turning him down was one of the most pleasant experiences he had had in a fair while, the other one being his outing with NIGHT just before getting here, literal minutes ago. "If you two work together, you can get to my level faster.", Chase commented quietly and kept on going towards the teleport plaza, checking in with everyone to move over to the first floor and get headed to his shop.

Once they were in front of the Iron Palace, came a quite interesting question. How the two had met, huh? It was... probably the same that it had been for Koga, right? Unless Chase didn't ask Koga to cut a deal- blegh. Either way... "... How we met. Uh. I needed some research on Sword Arts and skills. Alkor seemed to have many but I misjudged. I agreed to help him in exchange for a look at each of his skills per quest. He ran out faster than I expected, but I'm sure he'll make up for it.", he replied, the last sentence coming out much, much quieter than the rest of his explanation. At least that's how he remembered it having gone down, but it had been a fair while. He wasn't going to stop Alkor from sharing his side of the story too- and he'd probably have a thing or two to say, seeing how Chase's speech was as graceful and honoring as ever.

If Neph accepting his offer wasn't anything to go by, then Bast's chirping certainly was. "I don't care what you need help with. I think it's going to do me some good too. Get my mind off of things.", the swordsman replied and now with the duo- trio(?) out of the woods, they were headed right back to the Town of Beginnings. Once they were there after a fair bit of silence, Chase led Nephthys to one of the main streets that come from the town's exit. 

Stopping right outside a small wooden shop, Chase turned and asked "Just a minute.", before entering and closing the door behind him. It didn't take more than a minute or two before he was back out with Blizz following behind him. A small, blue pangolin, as round as a pinecone. The critter used its claws to grab onto blueberry's overcoat, climbing all the way until he was plopped down on the boy's shoulder. "Let's go to the teleporter.", he gestured with his head towards the Iron Palace, starting to walk over again with one hand in his pocket, the other petting the odd companion that was now joining the party. "Don't try to clear all quests based on what floor they're in or you'll have trouble. Try to do them in order of recommended levels- they should be on your quest tab. I did them that way and it helped a lot.", he tried to explain and began to fiddle through menus, giving himself a nod suddenly perking up. "By the way, lowbie? What's that?"

She wasn't wrong- if anything at the very least it was as amazing as it appeared to be bothersome. He wished he could have amassed more weapons that functioned somehow similarly to this, but even hours and days of grinding away at the monsters didn't do him any good in that regard. A shame, but if that's how the world around them was, then so be it. Nothing much he could really do about it, was there?

"Yeah, it is. It's rare by the looks of it too. And there is a counterpart to it.", he nodded and stuffed both of his hands in his pockets, turning towards where they came from and beginning to head on over ever so casually. "It's Holy. The enhancement I use. Fallen is the other.", that was the extent of his knowledge. There was no other way to tell if he could use one or the other more frequently, but he knew they were both just as efficient at taking opponents out if anything. "If you want more help running quests, I can come. I haven't quested in a while and I can use some polishing before the floor boss that's coming up.", the boy tried to offer some help, knowing that the two would probably be parting ways somewhere around now. Unless she took him up on it of course, then they might be sticking around one another a little longer. Maybe he could craft her some trinket, if she seemed to need one, of course. "I can bring my familiar too, if you'd like. Blizz would love company."

Chase's eyes were more intent on the kitty if anything, he remembered some form of a panther around, not a tiny... cat. S-Speaking of cat, he quietly moved a hand up to reach for the cat ears and upon feeling them, he opened his inventory and decided to put them away. Maybe this much was enough 'action' for today. No need to fall any further into the ranks of a royal jester, right?

"It's the first time I actually made it in time...", he commented lowly upon being thanked for covering her, letting out a sigh and shaking his head. "Er... No, I'm not sure when it just... started. It took me four or five adventures before even noticing it could do that. It's... random? I think. Usually at the best or worst of times.", he tried to explain it, and explain he did, albeit poorly. For now, maybe it would be a better idea to get back out of the cave. He walked to the same hole they got inside from, preparing himself before with a leap, he reached out to the surface of the rocks keeping the entrance rather narrow. Managing to pull himself up, he groaned and waited for Neph, holding a hand out. "Jump and I'll help you out if you can't do it.", the bluehead offered, ready to pull her up. Always ready for the 'worst' case, right? Not like anything was at stake, this time. "I haven't seen any other sword do that though. I think it's an enhancement. Just works differently for everyone."

Chase gave a nod, still feeling his ears ring from the screech in this close space. He coughed dryly and tried to help her out, having studied every single weapon and kept track of their sword arts for this reason. He got back up in a crouched position and held his sword in his hands, looking at her and gesturing towards where he was facing with his head. "Here, try a stabbing motion. Something like th-"

All that sounded after his awkward stop was his dry gulping. Two reasons. One, that wasn't Straight he just used. Two, the fucking light was coming back and starting to form the rest of his sword's figure, except this time it wasn't dispersing or stopping. By the time he let go of the sword with both hands and raised one to cover Neph's eyes, it was already too late and the entire cave had been filled with an eyeblinding glow. Before the flashbanging was over even, the noise of something dying was heard and after the few seconds that felt like an eternity to Chase at least, there was no more dragon, just the amulet it was wearing up to its last moments. "... S-Sorry.". That... sounded about right. There were no other words that he could muster after this. So it seemed there were more than just one trigger for his sword arts after all. "Didn't want to blind you and Bus.", he gave a final nod and sat back down the exact same way that Rhaegal's tackle before had sat him down, sheathing his sword and taking a deep breath as he rested his head on the back of his hands. 

"I told you doing everything alone is doable. But things get rough further down the line.", he nodded to himself and got up into a crouching position, unsheathing his broken sword. He'd probably have to stick to playing it easy and not annihilating Rhaegal a second time. He tried to fix his stance so he wouldn't move into his partner at all, because sure, he was agile. But there was only so much he could do in this closed space and crouching.

"Yeah, two handed assault spears are one of the strongest weapons but they'll drain all your energy. Mine are just good all around- two handed straight swords.". It was funny that he called it a two handed sword in the first place, granted how it was barely any bigger than a knife and broken, but that question might have been answered before it could even be asked. As soon as his sword began to charge its sword art up, part of the light almost started to wrap around his weapon, causing him to panic momentarily and turn his back to both the dragon and Nep. What seemed like the rest of what would have been of the sword began to form out of the light, but it quickly dispersed back into thin air and with a turn, the boy finished the attack he was starting. A slash with almost no effort, and it showed in the damage. Maybe he was being too easy on the monster. "... I-I didn't want to kill it in one hit again. Sorry.", he turned to apologise to her, only to duck slightly more at hearing the screech from Rhaegal, who was bothered more than anything else. And to follow it right up, a tackle right to the stomach. Did it hurt? ... No. But it was enough to make Chase sit down on his butt, quietly looking at the dragon. "... H-He's yours I guess.", he gave a small thumbs up to Nephthys and sighed, scratching the back of his head.

Funny, Nephthys had been affected the exact opposite way Chase had been. Thinking about it, he was okay at holding up some form of a conversation right now, while back out of the game if it weren't for Lily, he would barely even open his mouth and say a word or two. "... I'm the same here and out but I've gotten better at talking now lately. Sometimes at least.", he nodded to her statement, spotting the hole in the ground he was looking for. A small cave-in, surrounded by big rocks. Like a mini-sinkhole.

"It's here. There's light coming in since it's still day so we'll see.", he tried to reassure her before quietly jumping inside, landing barely seven feet or so lower. He was having trouble staying crouched due to his height to fit in the den of the hatchling, but he could manage. It sat there before him, curled up and sleeping peacefully. If only there was a way to get that weird necklace from around its neck that didn't involve killing it and receiving it as loot, then they wouldn't have to fight. What was a game all about swords without fights though? "It's still asleep.", he called out to her, practically inviting her down into the hole with him. And so, he lowered himself until he sat onto the ground cross-legged, waiting for her silently. He'd completely forgotten about the cat ears still perfectly placed atop his head, resting his left hand on the hilt of his sword. "... This isn't my quest, so I should hold back. Maybe only use the weakest sword arts I have to give her a fighting chance."

Although Chase hadn't been stabbed in the back by anyone, he understood what she meant. He did feel somewhat betrayed when Shay started to interact with the world she taught him to survive in less and less, but that was her choice. The same couldn't be said about people who actually betrayed others- let alone their friends, from what he picked up. It wasn't his matter to just barge in though. He wouldn't keep pushing it.

"Don't worry. I've been lost in my own troubles for so long that it feels nice to hear about something serious and worth listening to. If it makes you feel better.". The next thing he was planning on saying was the classic remark that he sucked at speaking, but... he wasn't feeling it all that much. Not right now at least. "I'm normally bad with words. So I know that feeling. Weird but relaxing.", he gave a nod and kept on going, starting to notice the trees around them. They were getting closer to the hatchling's nest by the minute. Any time now, they'd jump down and it'd be up to them- mostly Nep to face it. "Er... It should have some skills. I'm not sure though, last I fought it, it died before it could even attack. I'll take its attention to keep you safe.", that was the boon with being this high a level and still having a clean-up list. Until recently at least, Grimm made sure to help Chase punch out the last few Dragon quests, and that marked them, the only quests left undone, off the list. "It's a baby so it's not dangerous. You don't have to be tense."

The exact opposite than he, then. There wasn't much that he could say honestly. He didn't want to pry into her personal matters, and he knew that being alone wasn't always the best option. "... Right. I'd start out alone too but it's my first game. I didn't know what anything meant. DPS, Tank, NPCs. So I looked for someone in the Town. She helped me until she just stopped trying.", he began a small monologue and cut himself short as soon as he noticed, laughing awkwardly.

"... Sorry about that.", he apologised, but with his back turned what she couldn't see was a small smile on his face. He honestly enjoyed being a newbie, not knowing what anything meant, having all of Aincrad (up to now) to explore. It was a fresh memory, a new adventure. And it was nothing like what he would have imagined. That alone was enough to make him smile. "... You can make it alone here. With a strong familiar too.", he continued and looked over his shoulder at the duo, letting his gaze fall down to Bast and then turning back in front of them to continue leading the way. They were now entering a small forest, and Chase felt his hands somewhat cold- probably from the anxiety of being this open to anyone. "But I don't recommend it. It can get rough and lonely.". It felt nice though, to be heard. That was one way to go from looking like a complete goofball to honestly conveying his emotions with words better than he had at any given point in time up to now. "It's always better when you're with others."