Katoka

Receiving an invite from the infamous Macradon had pulled Katoka out of her stupor and sent her off in a flurry of stumbling and gathering of her things. She had always heard of the player known as Macradon, but had always seen him as a sort of urban legend or even cryptid of Aincrad. I mean surly there couldn't be a player that was as grandiose as he was. Right? Her mind raced as she gathered a few consumables and double checked her gear. If this was not just some joke she had to play it cool, she couldn't fan girl and embarrass herself. Managing to rush to the teleport gate, Kat now fou

Nodding along Katoka took the clothing she was handed and let her mind sift through what Freyd had said. She stepped behind the tree he had pointed at and equipped the clothing while her mind wandered. All they had to do was walk to the NPC and see if they could point them in the right direction. It seemed like a simple enough task, however there were probably several other factors that fed into that simple task that would alter the outcome in any way, shape, or form. Once she was finished changing Kat walked back over to Freyd and looked down at her clothes. "Well? Do I look disguised enough?

The creature before them looked as though it's health had barely moved when it managed to heal itself. Kat clicked her tongue in frustration and heard Mina and Nari's call for retreat. Checking her own health and energy she arched a brow, was it really necessary to leave? She checked the stats of her party and found that half did not have the energy reserves to fight for much longer. She leapt back, putting distance between herself and The Ancient before she pulled a teleport stone from her inventory. This would be the first time she had to use one, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Katoka came to a complete stop as she observed Freyd's new appearance. She looked down at herself and then back at him before violently pointing in his direction, "Wait do I need a disguise too?!" she panicked as she opened her inventory and scrolled through trying to find something, anything, that would change her appearance. After a few minutes she let out a sigh and closed the menu, "I was not prepared for this. I've never done a stake out before." Her eyes flashed with realization as she reached up and let her hair down. "There! How's this?" As the two walked the streets of Tolbana Ka

As Sam moved to pull her in to a hug Kat almost flinched away. She had thought she would be mad. She expected her to yell or plead or throw something, but when her arms wrapped around her she could feel her pain. Katoka's eyes once again filled with tears but she held them back, trying to stay stronger than she felt in that moment. "You will always be my first everything Sam. I don't want to forget the times we had together, so I won't." her voice was soft, her words bitter sweet on her lips. She looked down at the floor as Sam rose to go into the kitchen, her footsteps sounding as hollow

Thoughts of her alchemist quest replayed in her head as they entered the first floor. She cringed remembering the failed attempts at gathering materials for brewing. "I suppose it's not too far off for them to remember stuff I suppose. I tend to forget that some NPCs can retain info just as much as I forget they they aren't actually people." she scratched her head as her thoughts overflowed, "This game really is something else. I can only imagine how far off we are from Cardinal making a world indistinguishable from real life." As the two walked Kat felt her mind jumping from on thing to

The missing pieces of the puzzle felt like they were slowly falling into place now. Katoka listened as Sam spoke, grabbing onto one of the throw pillows on the couch to hold onto something. She could tell that she needed to tell her these things to try and get her to understand. Once she finished Kat looked down at the necklace between them. Her and reached out and she prodded it with a single finger, feeling the cool metal before withdrawing. "A lot of what you told me makes sense." she began, wrapping her arms tightly around the pillow once again. "It's not uncommon for people to sponta

In the same way that a dog turns it's head in confusion at an odd sound, Katoka too shifted her head to the side. "I... What?" she felt as though she needed to reboot her brain to comprehend what was happening. "Sam I, I know who you are." Her hand still reached up and grasped onto Sam's and gave it a polite squeeze. "Can we just, sit down on the couch?" The blonde led Sam over to the couch, still holding her hand with the lightest touch. It didn't feel like when they used to hold hands before. This was just to lead, not to show affection. Kat sat down on one end and turned to face Sam, s

It had been... far to long. Kat dreaded coming home at times. Anxiety gripped her stomach and twisted it into shapes that were far too complex. She had taken to going on long quests or staying away for as long as possible, only come home when she couldn't find an excuse to be away. She would cry in the shower as quiet as possible, making sure to show as little emotion as she could when they were around one another. It was easier to pretend than it was to confront. It always had been. She remembered doing something similar back in the real world. Putting on a mask and going through the mot

The sound of sizzling flesh began to rise from the horse Katoka rode upon. Hunks of meat began to slide off and drip to the ground as if they were made of candle wax. Wrinkling her nose, Kat looked over at her companions. She felt a sigh of relief escape her as she saw Freyd seemingly returning to normal, though she felt her skin prickle at the sound of his fear. She rarely knew him to be scared whatsoever, and this unsettled her greatly. The samurai realized that she was slowly sinking from her high position. Looking down in a panic she watched as the rest of her mount sank into the grou

"Other than the height and weight differences between the two, and their clothing choices, I don't really have much else on how the looked unfortunately." she shrugged as she stood up. "I guess we're headed to the first floor then." Katoka helped Freyd clean up the tea and tea cups from their talk before the two set out for the teleport gate on the second floor. It would take them a bit to get there, however she was certain they could make the time pass quickly. "What do you think they were up to? Do you think they're trying to kill people on purpose? Or maybe it was just a prank gone wro

Sweat was forming on Katoka's brow. The fight was not particularly strenuous in any way to her, it was Freyd that was causing her to worry. It was not surprising that with their borrowed power they were tearing through the mobs as quickly as they spawned in, but she still felt the hairs on the back her neck stand up each time a new one appeared. Her friend was ruthless, seemingly consumed by the thirst for battle. "We need to end this as soon as possible." she muttered to herself. Her attention was pulled to the final monstrosity. Kat had been waiting for another to appear after Freyd had

"An end to who now?" the samurai arched a brow at the name, wondering where she had heard it before. Her hands felt slightly clammy as Freyd spoke, her anxiety doing its best to grab hold of her and not let go. She wiped her hands on her legs and shook her head, "No, I didn't hear any names used unfortunately, only them arguing in a panic before leaving as quickly as possible." Her eyes drifted to the jar of crystals and rested there for a moment, "Whatever these things are, I really don't like the fact that players are going out of their way to try and hurt people. It's... wrong. Co

A long sigh escaped from Katoka's lips as she sat down opposite of Freyd. She rarely could keep her feelings hidden from him, which was ironic considering he rarely displayed his outwardly. Forcing a grin that didn't reach her eyes she shook her head, "That's a story for another time. For now I feel like this is a more pressing matter." Despite her being a captain for their guild she still saw herself as the Whisper's subordinate. He was much more active than she was and he was several steps ahead of her in strength. Her hand rested reflexively on the hilt of her katana in an attempt to c

The storm that raged around them all had kicked up enough snow that it was difficult to see, thankfully their opponent was large enough that it didn't matter much. Katoka did her best to find her footing on the next attack, though she still managed to slip here and there, as the all too familiar sound of her sword art charging was barely perceivable through the loud wind. She cursed under her breath as she planted her foot and swung her blade, feeling her stance was off as the attack barely managed to connect. "Remind me to not fight this damn monster ever again!" The creaking groan of ic

The urgency of Freyd's invitation to his and Elora's home was something that cause Katoka to think that maybe her trip through the Fire Forest just last week had been something a bit more pressing. While the message he had sent had simply invited her over to talk over tea, deep down she knew that the items she had left with him had spurred a much more visceral reaction than she had thought. The blonde had spent the morning tidying up around her home, mostly busy work to keep her anxiety in check. She kissed Sam goodbye, only exchanging a few words before she finally left. Her relationship

The samurai wished she could it was a pleasure to pick up any goods from her close friend, sadly that would be a lie. Freyd Edges was in desperate need of a makeover, and some tidying, and hell Freyd could probably burn it down and rebuild faster than the time it would take to fix the place up. However there was also something still welcoming about it. Katoka wasn't sure if it was because she was so close to the Whisper, or if she had just gotten used to the "organized chaos" that he referred to, but she still felt a smile touch her face when she managed to find the weapon he had left behind f

Now wrapped in her warm and fuzzy cloak, Katoka let out a content sigh of relief. "You're the best Mina. Someone needs to wife you already." The trek to the frozen monster's lair brought back many memories to the samurai as she walked. She munched on the pastries that Ciela had given them as they trudged through the snow. She recalled the conversations she had with Freyd when they traversed the same path. They had both changed considerably since then, despite the short amount of time that had passed. Upon reaching the designated 'boss' area, Absolute Zero's hulking form was a large a

It was not very often that Katoka slipped into the "shop" that Freyd ran. No matter how many times she saw it she wasn't used to the tents and tables that were cobbled together. Glancing around she didn't notice her friend around and nodded, sure that he was more than likely at home with Elora. "Good." she thought. With a soft sigh she stepped up to a semi empty area and open her inventory, scrolling through and selecting as many items as she could before spawning them all at once with a clang. She promptly summoned a sheet of paper and writing utensil and began to leave a note. "Fre

She didn't remain on the ground long. Katoka knew that if she waited too long there would have been more things that emerged from the darkness. She knew that she wasn't ready to face them on her own just yet. With trembling knees she rose and stumbled her way back to the path she had previously been on. Her eyes were red, puffy and hollow, her nose running and her arm left a trail of blood behind her. She was broken, but she was not dead. Her hand gripped the hilt of her weapon fiercely, her teeth clenched and she shut her eyes tight. A growl rumbled from her own throat not unlick the wol

The wolf wasted no time. It loped forward, its jaws wide and snarling, only to be met with the glowing edge of her blade. The sword connecting with its open mouth once again and coming to a stop. Katoka yelled, her voice loud and filled with hate and pain and fear, her weak left arm struggling to hold the large creature in the air. Sparks flew from the blade and with one final shove the edge cut through the crustal reinforced jaw of the mob and cut clean through once again from head to tail. Kat continued to scream, her frustration having reached its peak long ago. She slashed and cut and

With pixelated blood dripping from her right arm, the samurai stood with her sword in her non-dominant hand, it's tip wavering ever so slightly as she attempted to keep her composure. If it wasn't for her battle healing skill she was certain she would have been in real trouble. Though she did manage to keep a few better quality healing potions on her after her near death experience on the sky docks for floor 26, she wasn't sure if she would have been in the right from of mind to remember to knock them back. The final wolf in front of her began to circle around her cautiously, never taking

A sharp and excruciating pain jolted Kat from her stupor. She cried out and looked around wildly, her mind barely able to process anything that was going on. She had just finished destroying the last wolf's growths and now she was on the ground, her arm inside the jaws of another-- no, the third wolf, the one she had cut from jaw to ass previously. She must have blacked out from the pain, only just now coming to as she was being shaken around like a ragdoll. "Let me go you son of a bitch!" she shouted, her voice shrill and counted in panic. She managed to bawl up her fist and strike it o

Katoka didn't have to go far to find the next blight wolf, it's snarling and corrupted form emerging from the darkness of the woods emanating a feral aura as it stepped into view. The samurai swallowed her fear, pushing it down for her to process later. Now was not the time to loose focus. The wound on her forearm throbbed, the teeth marks from her previous opponent making her wince as she gripped her blade with what resolve she could muster. The creature in front of her scratched as it's neck, the music like sound of tinkling stone from it's mane of protrusions. This had been her second

Using the pommel of her weapon, Kat slammed a heavy hand down on the wolf's head, causing it to let go of her for just long enough for her to jump back. The half hearted attack had not been without its disadvantages, her arm throbbing even more from the strike. She watched at the mob shook it's head slightly from disorientation, but the blonde felt herself freeze up as she got a better look at her opponent. This wolf was not unlike the ones she had faced previously with their disgusting mineral like growths, however this one had several that ran from it's shoulder to it's hip. The same di