Astreya

Thread Closure!

EXP-
10744 Words / 30 = 358 * 5 = 1790 'Base EXP'

Monarch: 1790 + 500 = 2290
Astreya: 5370

Col-
Bonus: LD 14 * 25 = 350 Col
1 Page: 400 Col

Monarch: 750 Col
Astreya: 350 Col

Other:
Monarch: 1 Glowstone
 

"Right?  She's, like, such a fussy little butthead sometimes," the girl spoke in response, shaking her head slightly, the creature on her shoulder happily just nibbling on the food that Astreya had provided.  She hadn't let herself get too beat up over nearly slipping over her words to Koga- mostly just trying to focus on being her usual upbeat, peppy self rather than chastising herself for what she'd done.  That was better for her anyway- if she got too down on herself about things, there was a good chance that it would start to just all tumble downward and she'd need to find a way to beat a hasty retreat in order to somehow get herself together... and that could cause other issues.

"I still, like, can't believe you're already done with this," the girl spoke, shaking her head slightly as she moved along with him as they headed back toward the town area.  "Like, I mean, yeah, sure you got some luck buffs, but still," she continued.  "Maybe I should, like, get some of those too.  It'd be lucky to not-die when I'm out in the field and junk."  The fear of death was omni-present for her, but she was getting (a little bit) better at keeping things light when it came to that sort of talk.

At the promise of food though, the girl's eyes widened a little bit.  "Whaaaat, like seriously?  I'm in!  There's a couple sweet shops that, like, have the best fudge.  C'mon!  I'll show you!" she spoke, not at all against beginning to try to pull the man along toward the shops that she frequented when it came to food.  He was likely talking about actual food... but Astreya didn't bother with that.  All food just filled you up to avoid hunger- so she went right for all of the sweets.

She went along with him, grinning widely as she began to chat about nothings, just keeping the conversation flowing to avoid any awkward silence as they went to grab some food...

-------

6071 Words / 30 = 202 * 5 = 1010 Base XP
Koga XP: 8080
Streya XP: 4040

1 Page = 400 Col
Koga Col: 200 + (.15 * 8080 = 1212 Col) = 1412
Streya Col: 200 + (.15 * 4040 = 606 Col) = 806

Profession XP
Streya: +3 (1 Failure)

Other:
Koga: +1 Gleaming Scale

"Well I'd, like, hope I wasn't completely wrong," Astreya responded with a slight grin as she listened to him speak, and she gave a small nod in response to him as he continued, before she began to give a small sound of thought to herself.  Made sense then that he was taking fishing as his Gathering profession.  That would allow him to just sort of sit and relax now and then if he needed to do something without needing to worry about moving around.  Dang- she was sure she'd had him right on with the go-go attitude.  Granted, this was really only the second time they'd met, so maybe she'd have some more time to learn to get to know him a little better.  "But yeah, I guess I should've, liked, figured that out with the fishing thing," she spoke, laughing at herself a little.

As he caught the sigh tof the fisherman and began head toward him, Astreya turned away from the cabin, letting her back be to it as she exhaled slowly.  She'd need to be careful.  She'd very nearly let the mask slip not once but twice around Koga.  He had a relaxing way about him- something that just allowed her to not mind chatting.  But that just meant she'd need to be that much more vigilant around him.  It wasn't intentional on his end, but admittedly she hadn't had much time with people like him.  

She drew in another long, slow breath before she exhaled it back out, even as Frosty came fluttering out of nowhere to sit on her shoulder.  "Where's my stuff?" the girl, asked, looking back at the bird.

Frosty opened its beak, cawing at her in response.

"Ugh, fine.  You're, like, so bossy," she spoke, pulling some snacks out of her inventory to share with the bird as she glanced up, seeing Koga returning back toward her.

Craft Roll [1/2] - 204310
CD: 3 (Failure | +1 XP)
LD: 12

Craft Roll [2/2] - 204311 
CD: 5 (Failure | +1 XP)
LD: 4

The young woman saw Bismuth stepping backward as she called for him to do so- good.  She didn't reallyw ant him to get hurt.  As he'd said before, he wasn't really all that keen on fighting.  She wasn't either, which is exactly why she had built her armaments to be just as it was.  She wanted to have as much Mitigation as possible so that there was almost no harm that could ever come to her.  That had been her plan from the start, and yet now that she'd reached her leveling cap, that had started to fall off a little bit.  She frowned slightly as she looked back at the wolves, noting that they were all encircling her.

She felt her heart up in her throat, fear pounding in her ears, even as she watched her health refill faster than these things were dealing damage to her.  She exhaled slowly, trying to get her pulse to settle down as she focused, and she shifted her stance slightly... before darting forward, and one of the creatures dodged out of the way as she whirled the frosty blade all around, cutting through three of the others, and she used the momentum to tuck into a roll, avoiding all but one of their attacks, giving a small sound as she came back up to her feet, holding her weapon at the ready.  They were now all facing her, and none of them were looking at Bismuth.  Good.  

"I've, like, almost got them I think!" she called out to him, not wanting him to worry about having to engage in combat if he didn't want to.  If he was too terrified then that was fine.  She was strong enough to handle them without needing to worry, even as the misplaced fear pounded in her ears... having someone to defend actually made it easier for her to manage.

-----------

Post Action: AoE-1 vs 4 Moss Wolves | 19 EN

ALLIES-
Astreya | HP: 714/720 | EN: 70/104 | DMG: 17 | MIT: 122 | EVA: 0 | ACC: 3 | Taunt: 2 | BH: 35
Bismuth | HP: 280/280 | EN: 46/46 | DMG: 8 | MIT: 20 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 1 | LD: 6 | BLD: 24

ENEMIES-
Moss Wolf 1 | HP: 17/384 | Damage: 128 | (Restore 10% of damage dealt on MD 9-10) | A6 B0
Moss Wolf 2 | HP: 201/384 | Damage: 128 | (Restore 10% of damage dealt on MD 9-10) | A4 B0
Moss Wolf 3 | HP: 17/384 | Damage: 128 | (Restore 10% of damage dealt on MD 9-10) | A6 B0
Moss Wolf 4 | HP: 16/384 | Damage: 128 | (Restore 10% of damage dealt on MD 9-10) | A6 B0

Astreya nodded toward the two that she was ready to go off with, about to take their first steps into the desert beyond, when there was suddenly a new figure that approached from the side.  Astreya felt her hand instinctively move up to her weapon's hilt, not at all comfortable with random individuals showing up... but as he began to speak, Astreya tilted her head to the side slightly in a questioning manner, trying to figure out just what had happened.  

The blonde-haired fellow didn't address her at all, or Jossun.  Instead he spoke directly to the old man, as if he were looking to just... get in on the quest without actually asking for permission as part of the escort quest.  "Uh, hey!  Hi!" Astreya called, waving her hand at the newcomer.  "If you're like, looking to come along too, that's like, totally fine with me," she spoke, beaming a smile his way.

She wasn't overly familiar with who this was, but she could see Jossun starting to look a little less interested all of a sudden at the arrivaal of the new individual.  It seemed like the man was about to speak to her, but it was then that Bismuth called out Astreya's name and the girl blinked, turning to grin and wave toward her friend.  "Bis!" she called, waving both hands overhead.  "Yeah!  I heard that, like, helping out this old guy had a good reward for tanking so like, I figured I could help out," she spoke, giving him a small grin.  "This guy wants to help too," she spoke, gesturing toward Corvo.  

"I'm Astreya," she chimed in as Bismuth introduced himself.  She glanced over to see Jossun retreating and she blinked, frowning as she saw the man darting around the corner of a building and she frowned, confused again.  What..?  Maybe he knew the blonde guy?  He didnt' even say anything as he'd left.  What a weird guy.

"Well, like, anyway.  Let's totally go out into the desert.  It'll be fun probably!" she called, beginning to head out.  As the 'tank' of their group, she wanted to be first in line, to keep things away.

20 minutes ago, Rebekah said:

Claiming Paragon Level 5 - Laurel Wreath (Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread)

Astreya Approved!

What's past is prologue.

That was something that Astreya had never heard before...but with that said, she really liked the way that it rolled off the tongue, and the way that it sounded.  That indicated that whatever had happened was just the beginning of something more.  "What's past is prologue..." she spoke in response to his words before she smiled, nodding.  "Yeah.  I like that," she agreed, beaming a smile at him.  "Then we can like, totally try again on another song in the future, y'know?  Like," she began, seeming to get a little excited about the prospect, her hands moving in an animated way, "Like if you make a song you really like, or maybe if I can get one that I don't hate," she murmured, before shaking her head, "we can share it and then like... do a duet or something, right?" she responded, excited at the idea.

As Jomei stood then, returning the guitar, Astreya could tell that she was about to be shoo'd out, but she didn't really mind.  After their discussion regarding their...everything, in their history, and what it had come to... she figured that Jomei would want some time alone to just sort of... recover.  

At his praise, she couldn't help but to give a small smile. "If you say so.  I definitely feel like I did, like, get better.  I still have, like, a long way to go," the girl spoke, smiling.  "If your door is, like, always open-" she began, when the friend request came through and the girl couldn't help but to smile again, agreeing to the Friend Request.  

"Yeah...wouldn't want you to have that blonde over if I like, totally stopped in," she responded, winking at him as she began to move past him, heading toward the door.  "Like, offer's still open!  If you need help," she offered, before she paused, looking back at him, dropping the teasing bit as she looked to him.  "But like...sincerely.  Thank you, Jomei.  Really," she murmured quietly.

The woman could tell that Bismuth was incredibly excited about all of the random items and materials that were here in this little sub dungeon, and the fact that he was showing this much excitement was amusing and endearing both.  She smiled at him, nodding softly in response to the man's words, before she blinked slightly as he mentioned that he had a bistro.  "Waaaait!  What do you mean you, like have a bistro?  Do you have sweets?" the girl spoke, moving progressively closer with each and every word as she wanted to know if he did, indeed have such things.

However, as she came closer toward him, the conversation had of course changed to how he had dealt with the first quest, and as he mentioned that he had kissed a straight man, the girl paused, flashbacks of the Christmas Party flashing through her head.  "Wait!  Wait.  Was it...Koga?" she asked, her eyes widening slightly as she began to feel some pieces starting to fall into place in her head.

Of course, Bismuth didn't need to worry about the answer to the question as suddenly a set of growls came from the distance, and Astreya turned, gripping her blade, even as she saw Nemo frowned.  "Oh dear.  Some of the locals believe you might be...invading their home."

"What!?" Astreya responded as the creatures began to approach.  She cursed, seeing a set of four wolves approaching and the girl gripped her blade, narrowing her eyes.

"Back up Bis!  I'll, like, get 'em!" she called, even as she shifted, the fog on her blade starting to grow stronger as she sprinted forward toward the nearest wolf and as she did, she kicked it off to the side before slamming her blade into it and as she did, a burst of ice erupted from it, traveling across the other three as well.  "I got this!" she called back.

Post Action: AoE-1 vs 4 Moss Wolves | 19 EN

ALLIES-
Astreya | HP: 707/720 | EN: 85/104 | DMG: 17 | MIT: 122 | EVA: 0 | ACC: 3 | Taunt: 2 | BH: 35
Bismuth | HP: 280/280 | EN: 46/46 | DMG: 8 | MIT: 20 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 1 | LD: 6 | BLD: 24

ENEMIES-
Moss Wolf 1 | HP: 201/384 | Damage: 128 | (Restore 10% of damage dealt on MD 9-10) | A3 B0
Moss Wolf 2 | HP: 200/384 | Damage: 128 | (Restore 10% of damage dealt on MD 9-10) | A3 B0
Moss Wolf 3 | HP: 200/384 | Damage: 128 | (Restore 10% of damage dealt on MD 9-10) | A3 B0
Moss Wolf 4 | HP: 200/384 | Damage: 128 | (Restore 10% of damage dealt on MD 9-10) | A3 B0

Astreya could feel her mother's presence with her as she sang, able to see the woman as she sang softly to her.  It had been a long time since she'd really taken the time to think about her mother.  Not since she'd, on a whim helped Yasu with the quest to help Koko, the girl in the cave.  She'd made a friend that day, she was sure.  She'd committed to being the wall for him to fall back on for her to help get him out of this game.  To get him back to his mother.

The young woman's eyes were closed as she sang.  It wasn't always perfectly in-tune, and there was more than once that she fell a little flat or went a little too sharp.  But as Jomei had been explaining throughout- the confidence was there.  She knew this song- she knew this song better than perhaps any other and as she moved further into the song, with each repeat chorus her own voice grew stronger and more confident throughout.

The man playing the guitar there with her met her singing, harmonizing with her, supplementing her own voice and removing much of the rougher parts with his own voice.  The young woman sat in the chair by the window as she sang, taken back to a time before Sword Art Online, before Aincrad, where she had spent time with her mother and her family, able to nearly feel herself taken back to that time as the two of them sang together.

It was too quick that it was over, really, and as she and the Irish bard across from her reached the somber, quiet conclusion of the song... and then each sat.  Silences were not something Astreya did well, but right now she was lost in her own memories of her mother and father, able to nearly feel them, and there was a growing lump in her throat, one that she hadn't felt in years, now.  

But she didn't dwell too long on her own memories that were both happy and sad as she hear a sudden intake of breath from her teacher, and she looked up toward him, even as his own head lifted...beginning to offer an explanation to her.  She blinked, her eyes wet with her own tears, but she blinked them back as quickly as she could.  She had expected Jomei to have a small bit of laughter at her own emotional break at the song... but she could tell that while her memories were bittersweet, they were but memories.

For Jomei, this was something more.

"You don't need to apologize," the girl responded, her smile gentle as she moved to lean forward a little.  She wasn't overly familiar with him, but she still was someone who communicated with physical contact.  Setting a hand on his arm, she gave a small squeeze.  "I didn't know...and I'm very sorry to hear that," the girl spoke, watching him.  "Connection over a passion is important," she spoke quietly.  "And if..." she began, before giving a steady exhale, the smile turning up a little, something a bit more sunny, as was befitting for her.  "If like, you ever want to play together again, like, I'm gonna keep practicing.  So we can keep playing together, yeah?" she offered.

((OOC: For my Reference for the rest of this thread-
Forager 3:  LD12+ (1 Material) | CD 4-7 (+1 Material) | CD 8-12 (+2 Materials + 1500 Col)
NT: LD11-14 (1 Material) | LD15+ (2 Materials)))

Post Action: Foraging!
ID: 204810 | 8 EXP | 206 / 299
LD: 17! (Success! +3 Materials!)
CD: 4+1! (Critical Success! +1 Materials)

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

Astreya nodded in response to the caretaker's words to not go overboard, even though she found herself having a small difficulty in not doing so.  It felt like there was a ton of options here, and no matter which way she turned, there was something else to see.  Much like Bismuth, she felt like she was just overwhelmed with everything that there was to see, here.  "Oh man...some of these would like... be really good for some instruments," she murmured under her breath as she eyed some of the fallen wood that was clearly food for some of the insects that were abound, given how they moved over it.

She hesitated only for a moment before she reached down, picking up the long material and beginning to look it over.  "Huh?" the girl responded, glancing back over her shoulder at Bismuth, before she realized what he'd said, leading the woman to grin.  "I know, right?  There's so many cool things here.  I've never, like, seen wood like this before.  I'm kinda trying to figure out the flute so like..." she spoke, her head moving this way and that, almost swaying as if she were deciding, looking over at Nemo as if to ask permission.

"So like, you've never seen this sorta stuff before, Bis?  That's gotta be really cool!  Whatever Nemo says it's okay for us to use we can like... keep in our inventory?  Then afterward you can sketch them all?" she asked, clearly excited about these items they were finding.  "Man, maybe like, the first steps quest should just like, be here instead?" she asked, giving a small grin toward Bismuth.  "How'd yours go, anyway?  With like the potions and Zakariah and all that?" she continued, curious to see what experience he had.

Craft Roll [1/2] - 2041786 | 2 EXP
CD: 6 (Salvage??)
LD: 2 (No)

Craft Roll [2/2] - 203472 | 2 EXP
CD: 8 (Salvage??)
LD: 12 (Yes!)

"Whaaaat?  I guess maybe I just grew up hearing it so for me it's really neat.  Like some sorta... sentimental value, y'know?" she spoke, glancing back over at him in a look of mock surprise.  It wasn't all that unusual to find someone who didn't share the same taste in music.  Just like Jomei'd just said, he'd had to find an even balance for his music given all the different people that were in the game, and all the different sorts of music they'd like.  Herself included, she supposed.

As he stood, moving to get the guitar, his words caused a genuine grin to spread across her face, like a cheshire cat.  "What the heck?  You, like, think a fun-loving, easy-going valley girl can't appreciate some totally chill folk music?" she asked with a small wink.  "Nah, it's like, totally cool.  I get that a lot with things.  Like when I drop the fact that I was a regional chess champion in high school," she added with a small laugh.  "Some things, like, just make sense to me," she continued, before she watched him start to warm himself up to play the song.  

She listened to him keep trying a few different chords, each one drawing close to what he remembered, and she gave a small nod as he got it closer.  "It's, like, not too bad on the music or the lyric end.  Like I said, my mom totally loves this song, so like, I've heard it a million times," she agreed. "So yeah, I can totally take the lead in it.  Let's see if I can, like do my mom proud," she spoke with a small grin, before the nerves began to settle in and she drew in a breath, before pushing it back out again, and then glancing to Jomei with a nod, drawing in a low breath, holding it again.

The guitar began to play at Jomei's request, and she closed her eyes in response, remembering the times her mother would sing this song to her.  She never really knew, nor asked, why it was important to her, just that it was.  She'd never heard the music with her mother- it was only vocals.  Not until she had looked it up online and heard a few different renditions of it.  It was a folk song- it didn't have a solid, definite beginning.  All the versions were slightly different, and so Astreya felt like there was no way to sing it wrong.  Just your own version.

"Little girl, little girl, don't lie to me..."

With the walk back, Astreya had noted that Yasu had gotten considerably more quiet.  She didn't mind, not really.  Normally silence was indicative of a problem.  Of two people who didn't see eye-to-eye on something and couldn't quite reconcile their differences enough to try and talk through it.  It was something that she had encountered with people before, back before Aincrad, and she had always found that silence uncomfortable.  It felt hostile.  Like at any moment there could be something that would go horribly wrong and the two people would be cut off from one another for the rest of time.

It had never happened, of course, but the young woman hadn't been able to ever really reconcile with it.  

This, however, was a different kind of quiet.  This was something where Yasu had showed his hand in some matters, and so had she.  They had found a welcome, comfortable middle between the pair of them where they had (she presumed) similar thoughts and such toward the unspoken situation they were in.  The elephant in the room.  The 'succeed or die' which was Sword Art Online.  They both missed their families, that much was clear, and so she didn't push him to speak.  Doing so would not only be disrespectful, but it might shatter this soothing silence that was between them.

He was interesting to her, to be sure.  Picking him apart wasn't intentional, but it was just what her mind did.  But she didn't voice any of her thoughts, merely walking in pleasant silence before they turned the quest in, watching the small grin on his features as the mother and daughter began to move off toward wherever they would live, or despawn, or whatever it was they did.  All the same, as she watched them go alongside Yasu, she could feel his presence departing, and was able to tell that he was headed off, away from her.  She turned, glancing after him as he went, the sunny smile on her features a bit more somber as she saw him leave.

He didn't like goodbyes.

She also felt that it would be... presumptuous of her, to stop him.  If he needed time alone to recharge, she'd respect that.  But in the event that he wanted to know that he was still wanted and welcome- and for as sad as he'd gotten at the situation with Koko...

Quote

From: Astreya
To: Monarch
Message: Heyyyy!  I saw you headed off but I figured you'd wanna rest!  If you wanna hang out again, just let me know when you feel up to it!  No pressure, promise!

Your friend,
Iris

In all honesty, Astreya loved to hear people talk about something they were passionate about.  She loved people, persons and everything in between.  She'd discovered it at a younger age and it had just become part of who she was.  "Oh well yeah, that's like, totally true.  You'd have like, the people who like rock or pop, and then like the people who totally dig classical.  Yeah, I can get behind that," she agreed as he went on to note that he had to determine not only that type of music for people that might want to listen, but also those who were also looking for specific types of music as well.  Either battle bonuses or taming their pet.

"Man, I should've like, thought about getting one of those to like... totally help me out when I was looking for Frosty," the girl spoke, shaking her head slightly.  "Until I started, like, attempting crafting on my own, I didn't even realize that like, performers could help with that.  I'm so like, behind on a lot of this stuff," she admitted, giving a small breath.

But as he noted that he'd also written a song for more 'intimate moments,' Astreya couldn't help a big, cat-like grin in response, about to ask what the results were, but Jomei politely defused that question before she could even ask it, leading to a silent laugh from Astreya, not wanting to interrupt him as he continued despite her own humor in it.

Her eyes lit up, however, as he mentioned folk music and she nodded.  "That's awesome!  That's like, what most of what my mom listened to.  Folk music, that is.  I was, like, starting to get into pop music a bit before all of this, but I think Folk is definitely like, my favorite," she agreed with a small nod.  "Do you, like, know 'In the Pines'?  Sometimes it gets, like, covered as 'Where did you sleep last night'?  Mom can't, like, sing.  At all.  But she sang this one enough that it was, like, almost good," she admitted with a small smile, just letting her memory take her a bit as she began to hum it despite herself.  

Astreya couldn't help but to give an almost exasperated sigh toward Nari as the girl seemed to realize what it was that she'd done.  Astreya was the sort to always self-analyze and second-guess most things before taking an action, so to do something like she had without even considering the potential rammifications was basically something completely outside of her realm of understanding.  Still, she seemed to finally get it, and Astreya smiled to her friend, glad to see that she was finally getting it.  "Okay, so-" Astreya began when the girl turned, beginning to shout toward Koga.

Shouting in bringing it up again.  In public.  To everyone.

Then as Nari looked back, a self-satsfied smile at having corrected things, Astreya felt her insides twisting into knots.  She didn't even have the chance to try to correct what the girl had done before realization hit her, and the violet-haired girl came closer to her, trying to get closer to hide away from the entirety of the party.  The dark-haired girl looked down at her new friend, a smile that was somewhere between absolute confusion and bemusement both on her face.  "Just, like, take a few. Come here," she spoke, pulling the girl into a hug, even as Astreya's gaze flickered over those still gathered around.  "Remember how, like, I was saying that social stuff is like combat?  You just like, totally dropped your weapon, sweetie," the girl spoke, patting her gently on the head.

Astreya glanced toward Yona, giving her a small nod to show that she was okay (and so was Nari, if she had been curious) before glancing back over to see how Koga was dealing with Nari's sudden shout across all of creation.

However, despite hearing Koga's words, her gaze was drawn toward Kasumi.  That placid, empty smile that she wore on her features was one that Astreya herself felt familiar with.  It asn't quite the same.  The smile was one that the young woman herself wore to placate others, to defer any potential discomforts about her not being a pleasant person.  For Kasumi it felt new.  Like she was wearing it for the first time but it was in lieu of either not knowing how to respond, or intentionally (or unintentionally) hiding what was going on in her head.  

But much like Astreya's, it was nonetheless a mirror in its lack of sincerity.

The dark-haired woman suddenly felt tired.  As if donning the mask she'd worn all night was leaving her exhausted and without any chance to just...breathe, with all of the chaos, she was starting to wonder if perhaps she should vacate.  

But of course- she couldn't.  She'd presented herself as the party girl, the one who enjoyed all of this and all the fun she was having here.  Absolutely, she couldn't be the first to leave or they would know something was wrong.  Could she use Nari as a scapegoat?  Offer to take her home?  Possibly, but that would depend on how the girl recovered after her duology of embarrassing Koga in front of a girl that he liked and- now that Astreya had seen Kasumi's expression- who liked him in return.  Hirru was still talking with the woman so she couldn't chat with him, and keeping up her mask while playing cards felt like more effort than it was worth.  

Instead she just...held onto Nari as she looked over the room, the friendly, cheerful smile still present as if she were simply just happy with how things were progressing.

Astreya grinned in response to Jomei as he admitted that the song wasn't perfect, knowing full well that wasn't the case either.  She'd never had any formal training when it came to singing, which was also like a lot of things that she had dealt with in life.  She had just taken time to practice over and over again, to learn how things worked until she could do it without really thinking about it.  She didn't know that she was particularly talented... but it was more that she was keen enough to self-analyze and adjust accordingly.  That and practiced.  Practiced a lot.

But it seemed like her question got his thinking juices going, and the woman turned back to him in full as he began to speak, and she leaned in a little, her hands on her knees as she looked at him, her sapphire gaze unblinking as he began to offer his thoughts on the matter.  She didn't know much about singing or making music, but she had listened to enough music to know that even when the songs started on a really powerful vocal note, usually they had some other instrumentation lead-in.  So she had just...guessed based on that.  Coming from Jomei, who was leagues beyond her in experience to agree with her made her feel a little satisfied in her guess.

She watched him as he spoke, able to see the passion that he had for this.  Music was something that he really, truly cared about and she could tell that just from how much it possessed his tone and words.  This was more than she'd heard him say in one breath since she'd come to meet him... and part of that, she was sure, just came from being more comfortable with her, but the girl's eyes took in those movements, the way he turned to face her, the relaxed pose with his hands.  This was his comfort zone.

But then as it broke, his hand moved from that comfortable position as he came out of that zone, and she brightened immediately, not wanting him to feel like he was putting himself out or confusing her.  "No, no, it totally makes perfect sense!  Like, music teacher or not, I totally get what you're saying," she agreed, beaming a smile at him. "It's just making me kind of like, wonder what sort of music I should, like, do.  I know you were saying earlier to do something that's like... comfortable," she spoke, giving a small smile. "I'm just not...totally sure what that, like, might be, y'know?"

"What sort of music do you do?" she asked, trying to keep things off of her.

The young woman had realized, after she'd began to get deep into things, that she had been showing a bit too much of her hand.  Not that she intended to, but the large words she'd been using and the way she'd been dropping the terms like they were no big deal had a stark contrast with the ditzy persona that she put out most of the time.  That was why she'd finished as lamely as she had, to try and detract from the high-level she'd been speaking under for a few seconds there- hoping against hope that Koga didn't really notice.

If he did, he didn't let on at all.  Instead he turned it back around on her, complimenting her for the fact that she'd found whatever she'd liked to do... and to turn that into something that helped people.  The way his tone changed, he found a genuine appreciation for her in that moment, and Astreya could feel the man warming to her presence on that alone, and that made her feel a little better.  Maybe she had been too hasty in expecting that everything-

He spoke again, and the question started to reach her ears, her brain steadily grinding to a halt at the words, like a car's tires spinning rapidly with no road beneath.. and then they hit, her mind going into overdrive as she arched a brow back at him, beaming a smile at him.  "Whaaat?  No way.  Well, like, not on purpose," the girl spoke, shaking her head and lying through her teeth even as she returned his look.  "It's kinda built into what I was studying for a long time so like, it happens sometime without me meaning to.  But it's not like I'm totally picking people apart all the time," the girl spoke, shaking her head. 

The cheerful smile was the mask hiding that part of her away, keeping it as far from the light as she could.  Astreya was someone who had been all-but trained to read body language and facial expression from a very young age by her father.  You could control a conversation with it if you knew how.  Pleasant smiles, showing (sometimes feigned) genuine interest, cheerful chatter along with open body language could get you close with people quite quickly.  Playing the fool as Astreya did also let people open up to you quicker as they trusted you- you weren't someone who would use their words or actions against them- you were just that quirky, bubbly girl who was a delight to talk to.

"All I've like, got on my read on you is that you're like, totally not a 'many people' person.  You like hanging out with like, one or two other people, probably something low-key.  Probably...doing something physical- you don't seem the type to wanna, like, sit still long," she added, gesturing toward him.  "You went right from the forge to like, doing this quest.  And I'd guess you're gonna totally go and do something else when we're done here," she spoke, giving him a teasing grin.  "Am I right?"

"Yeah, I guess that's like, fair.  I'd totally run circles around you in Volleyball," the girl admitted with a small grin as she looked back at him.  She had no idea if he was athletic at all outside of the game- it was hard to tell with people sometimes.  There were some that had no real indication that they had that sort of talent, and yet they were quite skilled when it came down to it.  There were then others that simply didn't have an ounce of that talent at all, no matter how they might look.  "If you wanna go a few rounds of that after we're done, just let me know," the girl offered with a grin, (mostly) teasing as she beamed a smile at him.  

As the song ended, however, she couldn't help but to feel a flushing in her features due to his praise.  "Like, c'mon.  It wasn't that good.  I totally like, screwed up the entire beginning of all of that," she continued, the girl shaking her head slightly as she leaned back a little.  "Dad always said that was the way that he learned best too- just doing things, like, hands-on.  Getting in and learning as he went."  

She turned, looking away from the man at the piano for a moment, not sure if this was the end of the lesson.  There was more to learn, certainly.  She wasn't anywhere near a good singer yet- as she'd said, she stumbled over things at the start.  No doubt he'd heard it too.  "So like, how do you start strong, then?  Like you can't come on too strong at first, right?  You've gotta totally gradually build up into it, right?  Lure in the audience with like, some opening music or softer lyrics before getting heavier in?  You don't wanna, like, scare them away," she spoke.

Her sapphire gaze flickered back to Jomei, a searching look on her face.  Whether she was talking about music or something else now, it was hard to tell, but she did still seem genuinely curious about improving- like it was insulting to herself to not be the best she could be at her craft.

After she'd spoken, Astreya hadn't missed the tightness in Yasu's voice... not that she was much better.  Her thoughts moved briefly to her own parents, who she knew where probably terrified at the moment about what had happened to their daughter.  Her father was not affectionate, but he was kind, and he never did too much to let his emotions show.  But all of the people-reading that he'd made her do growing up, she had realized at some point while trapped in this game, was to help sift through his emotions as well, so she could know how he was feeling, even if he lacked the strength to say it.

Her mother would be a sobbing mess, she knew, and that thought just brought a sad smile to her lips.  She was thankful for the darkness in hiding her from being seen by Yasu or anyone else.  She couldn't be weak, or sad, or scared.  There were too many people that were depending on her to stand at the front and to help protect them- her new friend included.  So she couldn't... let that  fear or that sadness grip her for too long, or too hard.  She had to stay strong.  For everyone.

-

As they approached the mouth of the cavern, she couldn't help but to grip her weapon tightly.  She didn't know if there would be a new set of PKers here... but as they came close to the entrance, she didn't see any.  Good.  She didn't know if she could bring herself to kill someone.  The thought...terrified her.  More than facing down the monsters that could mean her own death, the act of her taking another's life was abhorrent, to her, even in self-defense.

She understood @Freyd's reasons...but she still didn't know if she could ever fully forgive him for it.  She had been in a state of shock when it had happened, that she hadn't, at the time, been able to process it.  But over time, she'd been able to understand her own thoughts better, unfortunate though they were.  She'd never voice this lack of forgiveness, not to him, not to anyone.  She couldn't.  Yet it even now ate away at her.

"Heyyyy, wait for me!" she called, moving after Yasu, the dark thoughts hidden neatly away behind that cheerful smile as she hopped along after the man.

"Oh yeah, just play along with it but like, not actually singing with me.  I see how it is," she spoke, sticking out her tongue at him even if it was all just in good humor.  She didn't expect him to, honestly.  Because they both knew she'd just let him lead and she'd support what he was singing.  To have her on point and being the only voice was something that she'd have to do in order to get better- even if she was singing in front of someone else.  At least he was letting her use her own song, rather than trying something completely new.  She didn't quite know the origin of it, but it was a song that she'd probably heard when she was younger that had just sort of...stuck with her.  

As Jomei began to focus on learning the notes from the song, Astreya instead focused on her breathing, recalling the first few steps of what they'd been talking about.  Of course, she had been using those methods during the entire time they were practicing, but she needed to make sure she reminded herself of the process before she actually tried singing her own music- she didn't want to fall into any of her own bad habits that were apparently not helping her.

"Totally jealous of like, how little time it took you to get that," she responded as he'd finished, the girl not wanting to talk while he was concentrating, but she figured that it was just like a muscle of any other kind.  She needed to use it and to practice it before she had the same level of talent as Jomei.  "Yeah.  Just like, give me a sec," the girl spoke, taking another slow inhale and exhale again, both to practice her breathing as well as steady her nerves.

Rather than humming this time, she tried to sing it instead.  Of course, being a memory, it wasn't something perfect in the back of her mind, but she did her best to push through it, keeping all of the breath in her abdomen to push up as she'd learned, each note stronger than the last as he grew more comfortable, and while she still wasn't at a perfect level... it was definitely an increase over what had been prior.

"Hey...that wasn't like, too bad," she spoke as the piano accompaniment faded.  "Still totally like, tripped over myself there near the beginning though," the girl admitted with a small sound.  "But still... that's like, way better than what it was sounding like before!" she cheered.

"Um, yeah, that's totally cheating," the girl responded with a small smile in return.  She didn't get much chance to look for anything, but that was fine- she was having more fun just talking to Koga anyway.  Actually hunting and finding materials was kind of a drag, anyway.  There wasn't much to do there beyond just wander around til something caught your eye that might be a material, or it might just be some other random thing glinting in the simulated sunlight.

He began to move back toward the NPC and Astreya followed, expecting the question that came.  She didn't really seem fit for the type, she knew, as many of her teachers had told her.  Of course, she was good at what she did.

"I like people, y'know?  Talking to them, like, getting to know them, that sorta thing.  So I thought about just like, psychology and psychiatry and all that junk for awhile, but eventually I realized that if I was able to like, really help figure out why people act like they do, when they like, y'know, hurt people, that I could help more people at once."

"Okay, so like, someone needs a psychologist and you talk them through junk and like, and you help them, and maybe their family too, right?  But if you go to the other side, you get the same thing... plus you end up maybe helping all the people that person might've hurt.  Or like, if you can find patterns in their lines of thought, no matter how like, diversified, you can draw parallels to other potential individuals who might generate the same sorts of actions so like..." she began, gesturing with her hand as if she were talking about the weather.  "That's just like really cool to me, I guess?"

Kind wasn't a word that Astreya attributed to people very often.  Most people were nice out of a perceived need to be, or because it was something that won them favors.  Even Astreya found herself in that latter category now and then, as much as she tried to be genuine about it.  But so far, she had only really a handful of interactions with Jomei, and yet every time he had seemed in the same way.  His words now, indicating that she needn't do anything to pay him back because he was learning from the sharing of this knowledge just added to that singular definition that she had given him- kind.

The compliments were nice, although she wasn't entirely sure that she could hear them as easily when she'd be on her own once again.  It was easier here with a guide, and who knew the scale easily enough to walk her through it.  She didn't balk at all at his words regarding how things could be with friends, because she supposed that was true.  Besides, the radio in the car was often loud enough that it won out against anything that they were singing anyway.  It was really only karaoke that one really got to hear them singing, and even then they never did it alone- it was always with friends.

"Uh, sure, I'm like, down to try something," Astreya agreed, nodding at him.  She didn't really know if that was going to be a good idea or not, but 'jumping right in' mostly sounded like just... going at it and singing without practice.  "Yeah, totally!  Here," she spoke, retrieving the item once more from her inventory to hand over to him, allowing him to do with it as he willed.

"So like, are you gonna make me sing a song like, totally on the spot?" she asked, giving a slightly nervous laugh.  She'd do her best, based on what she now understood about the music- but she couldn't help but to feel a touch nervous, like she might disappoint this guy who went out of his way to teach her.

The young woman noted the flush on the boy's features and beamed a smile his way, even if she didn't comment on it.  He didn't seem to be the type to really want that sort of thing brought to the surface at all, or if it was, for it to be talked about and discussed.  She didn't really mind- just getting to see him react to the praise was enough for her.  She was happy that he was happy, and that was all she really cared about, now that she'd gotten to know him a little better.  He'd asked her to be a friend in-game, and to Astreya, that was as much of an actual friendship as anything.

But while she had expected a quiet trip out of the cave, especially given the fact that Yasu looked like he was pretty tired and needed a break... he began to talk.  He was talking to Koko, but the girl wouldn't really respond- as an NPC, she was scripted for this one event.  When Freyd had helped Astreya with it before, the man had mentioned that he'd done this quest many times to save the girl, and it was then that the young woman realized how he viewed the NPCs here- as real, living entities, even when they clearly weren't, such as with Marv.

Yasu's words however... didn't feel like they were for Koko- it felt like they were for himself.  Telling a story out loud, reminding himself what things were like from the real world, perhaps?  That they weren't all just trapped in here and had no history?  It was hard to remember that, sometimes.  That there was a world outside of this one that they all came from, and that people outside were still living their lives, even as the people within just...were forced to stay.

"I'll do everything in my power to get you back to your mother," Astreya spoke, smiling at the pair.  Much like Yasu, it would almost appear that she was talking to Koko, but the dark-haired woman could tell how important that family was to the boy... and she'd already resolved herself to get there.  But now that resolve strengthened.  She wouldn't let him down.

As they had gotten away from the rest of everyone else, Astreya prompted Nari with the idea of learning how to play Blackjack.  Of course, there was absolutely no reason to get her to learn to play.  It was merely a ruse to get the dark-haired girl some time to try and figure things out, and it was a transient excuse at best.  She didn't want Nari to feel like she'd done something wrong, and all the same... it was hard to put that into a way that didn't upset her... and possibly make her made at Astreya too.

Eventually, Nari spoke, and the other woman blinked, fixing her friend with a smile.  "Well..." Astreya began at the response to the first question, but she let Nari continue, giving her full spiel.  Of course, that just left the brunette even more mystified from the explanation given.  "Okay, okay, so like, you didn't see all this going down?  Like, don't get me wrong, but I know Bis, and while...okay, that's, like, pretty on-brand, it might just be like... a joke, y'know?  Or like, a dare?  Or like, a bet?" she spoke, listing off a few things.

"But like, pretend you're Koga, and there's a girl you like, and then like, someone comes up and says they totally saw you kissing someone else, y'know?  That's gonna make someone upset," the girl continued, putting on a slightly embarrassed smile.  "Especially like... if there's not any proof, y'know?"