Astreya

Astreya grinned as she poked the slimy creature again, curious about what sort craziness would happen if it had a hole poked in it like a balloon.  The water would come bursting out like a fire hose, she guessed, and while that would be really cool to see, Frazz had done a really good job of absorbing all of this water like a sponge- blasting it all back over Koga's house would undo everything that had been done- that would be silly.  

Even if it would be hilarious.

All the same, Astreya's attention was taken away from Frazzberry, (but not before she gave a wink toward Astralin at her comment,) as she realized that her friend was going up to Koga directly.  She was about to ask if she wanted to come poke the slime too, when she heard the words coming from Nari's mouth.  "What!?  Nari!!" she spoke, scandalized.  She knew that the poor girl wasn't exactly socialized properly, but all the same, she hadn't really expected that kind of a reaction from her.

And the fact that Koga had immediately just wanted to be done with it meant too that it was something that he was somewhat... well, she didn't know if 'ashamed' was the right word, but Astreya hadn't yet heard about this story about him and Bismuth.  She didn't exactly put that past Bis, as fun of a time as she'd had with him hunting for materials, but all the same it was wild to think that Koga would do that.

That gave her a whole new light when it came to him, but she wouldn't ask that right now- she didn't want to cause the man further strife when gossip that she had been sharing with Nari in confidence had backfired so horribly in such a way.  "Nari!  Let's go this way!" the girl called loudly, pulling her friend away from Koga and just...anywhere else that she could think, trying to staunchly refuse to acknowledge the building fear that was starting to fill up her mind.

She had thought she was doing well to make friends here and have fun and now a single, thoughtless comment from her had potentially brought all of that crashing down.  She could feel the growing darkness within her.  Stupid and thoughtless.  So stupid.

On the surface, she would hope that it would look more like she was trying to save Koga the embarrassment from Nari's words, rather than trying to save her own mental state.  "So like, I was going to see if you wanted to, like, learn to play Blackjack- the game we were playing.  So like, next time, we can all play!" she cheered, the sunny smile belying the terror of the night within.

((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: 203847 | 8 EXP | 198 / 299
LD: 15! (Success! +3 Materials!)
CD: 8! (Critical Success! +2 Materials, +1500 Col!)

------
 

At the response to Bismuth, Nemo couldn't help but to smile slightly, a little happy despite himself.  Astreya didn't miss that- the fact that he was an NPC didn't mean he couldn't have complex emotions.  She'd seen it before with other characters too, and so the fact that Nemo just seemed to draw happiness there meant he was proud of the garden that he'd developed.  "It's nothing special, really.  I just keep everyone out that tries to do it harm.  That includes the monsters.  It just sort of flourishes on its own so long as I'm around," the man responded, clearly happy that someone was taking an interest in it.

"Oh hey!" Astreya spoke suddenly as she paused in her walk, looking over toward something that seemed to be glimmering.  "This like, making my Forager radar just go off the handle," she cheered as she reached over toward it, before glancing back at Nemo.  He had just said he'd kept people out that tried to do the garden harm and while this wasn't really anything major, she didn't know if it would be something negative in his eyes or not.  NPC or not, she didn't really like going around making people mad.  "Is it okay if like, anything is picked?  Or should we not?"

The man gave a small sound in response to her words, clearly not looking happy about it, but all the same, he wasn't one to actively speak out against the players, it seemed like.  "No, no.  As long as you don't go overboard, it would be fine.  Just try not to do too much, if that's okay," she continued, and Astreya nodded in response, giving him a wide grin as she put the materials into her bag.

Astreya was starting to feel a little bad, but she couldn't tell if the man was getting frustrated with her in her inability to be able to start where he'd like to, or if he was finding more interest and challenge in trying to find out just what her level was.  Astreya was one of the latter sorts of people.  If reading someone's reasons or intents was difficult for her initially, it just pushed her to find out more about them, and to learn more in how they ticked- it was one of the reasons she'd started college for criminal psychology... well, before all of this happened.

But as he noted that his schedule was free, at least, she felt less bad, although still bad.  At least she wasn't keeping him from doing anything that he needed to do.  Just what he wanted to do.  

Eventually he spoke, and he mentioned breaking it down more, which led the young woman to let out an embarrassed laugh in response.  "Sorry, like, I'm really just kind of new at this, y'know?" she spoke, giving him an apologetic smile.  "I really appreciate you trying to, like, teach me this stuff.  I'll try to like, make it up to you somehow too!" she offered, leaning forward a little.  She wanted to learn, she just had zero experience with this.

The singular note that followed his finger pressed had her somewhat confused at first, before he began to match the note with his own voice, resonating with it as it hung in the air for a moment longer before it faded away.  "Okay," she agreed, nodding at him.  "Like, let's see if we can like... make this work," she murmured under her breath, actually going so far as to close her eyes to let her listen a bit more to the notes.

'Do' and 'Re' posed a little difficulty at first, with her being a bit flat on both, but she listened to his tutelage, and after a few more repeat attempts she managed to find the note on the subsequent tries.  The middle of it she actually did without too much difficulty, but once they got back to the high end she started to get a bit too high, and forced her own sharp notes down, getting flat in the process.  

But after some effort and repeated attempts, the two of them went through the scale once with only minor corrections, and Astreya exhaled softly.  "Singing is way harder than I thought," she admitted with a laugh.  "You like, hear people singing on the radio or whatever and sing along with friends but there's like, a ton more that goes into it."

@Jomei

As the other woman came into the room with the party, Astreya's gaze was drawn to her.  Not necessarily because she was interested or somesuch, but simply the fact that she was a new arrival here.  Someone that she hadn't seen before, and so the dark-haired girl's gaze drew over her.  Drinking her in, just making assumptions based solely on how she carried herself and how she talked.  And from there, to Koga as well who was certainly acting differently around the woman.  

A cat-like grin spread over her features as she leaned into and against Nari a bit, glancing over toward the party's host.  "He's like, totally into her," she murmured, not wanting to be too loud and disrupt any of the conversation abound, but it was still quite amusing to watch to see how he reacted to the woman.  The water was still abound, of course, but Astreya was mostly just amused at watching all of these conversations all happening around her.

Hirru too, seemed to be talking with the one woman that the other woman who had been identified as NIGHT (by Koga) had been talking to a moment ago before it seemed she'd gone into full cleanup mode with all of this water.  The night was wearing on, and she could tell that some people were starting to be a little closer.  Jomei and that blonde girl were still talking quietly off to the side about something, but Astreya wasn't able to really tell what what they were saying so much as she was able to just read the comfort there.  

"Hey!" Astreya spoke up, pointing at Yona and Koga both as they had regarded Blueberry with words and looks that were partially blame and partially exasperation.  "She and Frazz are like, just trying to help!  Otherwise we'd be totally swimming right now!" she called, before she hopped up, moving over toward the slime, not at all intimidated by its size.  "Frazz are you okay?" she asked, looking up at the swollen slime, unable to resist poking it with her finger just to see if it jiggled.

Post Action: Foraging-
ID: 203844
LD: 8 (Failure! +3 Forager XP)

"Mine too! the girl responded with a wide grin back at Koga.  "Like, when I help people do some of their early quests when they wanna like, come out of the town, then like... I have to actually stand back or like, they never find any of the herbs for Zakariah," the girl continued with a grin.  "It also took me like over a day to get mine.  If you wanna, like, compare bad luck, then I'm totally gonna win that one!" she called, laughing slightly as she hopped off to the side as he started to find somewhere to fish.

She began to glance over the ground, humming to herself as she began to look for some of the materials, when his question came to her.  "Yeah!  Criminal Justice, specialization in Criminal Psychology," the girl cheered.  "At least that's the plan, so like, we'll see how well that goes," the girl responded, giving him a small grin.  "Not like I get a lot of practice here in the game," she continued, glancing back to where she was hunting.

Of course, before she had much chance, she realized Koga had been fighting with a fish while she'd been talking, and at his response, she blinked, looking over toward him.  "What the heck!?  No way!  Bad luck my ass," the girl said, laughing merrily along with it.  "You like, totally cheated!"

As the back-and-forth continued between the pair, Astreya couldn't help but to find herself somewhat enjoying the whole thing. Sure, she was two points down and a mistake would cost her the victory, but all the same, she still wanted to keep it going.  Even if she lost, which was looking likely, she was enjoying this conversation quite a bit with him.

Once he'd offered the movies however, her eyes widened slightly, and while they went back and forth in their strikes a moment longer, eventually he took a few steps back to recover.  They'd been evenly matched, now that she'd gotten her feet under her and was no longer reeling from the fact that she recognized him from somewhere she couldn't recall.  Now, of course, she did know, and as he parried her most recent attack, they had a few moments to talk again.

"It was 'Perfect'!" the girl spoke, now that she had a second to just breathe.  "A friend of mine was like, totally obsessed with that movie.  I only watched it, like, once, but that totally was you in it, wasn't it?" she spoke, before giving a wide grin.  "Linz is gonna be like, so wildly jealous," she spoke with a small grin, before taking a few breaths of her own.

Without the armored gauntlets she normally wore, the girl found it much easier to wipe the sweat away from her brow as well, before realizing another fight had finished.  "Jeez.  People are like, going really hard.  This is just like, for fun, y'know?" she murmured, glancing back over at her before she noted he was readying himself to fight again.  Bringing her weapon up, the woman stepped forward, turning hers parallel to the ground to block his own strike before she tried a chancy maneuver- stepping into his guard to strike at him with the pommel of the blade into the center of his chest!  "Hi-yah!" she called.

(ANOTHER TIE OMIGAWD)
@Morningstar: 2/3
Astreya: 0/3

At the man's reply, the woman blinked in response.  An actor?  "What the heck?" she asked aloud, blinking in response to the man's words.  She let her mind wander for the briefest of moments, focusing on the fact that she knew him from that.  That made...sense to her, at least, and it also explained why he held himself the way he did.  If he was someone that was used to taking on acting roles, then he was someone that also was used to being in front of many people- that explained the movement from him as he had come into the arena.  Not that he was necessarily confident about fighting, but he wasn't put off by all the crowd and attention.

"Well then like, what movies have you been in?" she asked, curious for a moment even as he moved forward toward her.  He was different, now, all of a sudden.  He seemed a lot more lax, and that actually was in her benefit as she knocked the weapon aside, stepping into the strike with her weapon, setting the attack free for her to respond to.  "You're cute- makes sense you're, like, an actor," she spoke, grinning and fixing him with a wink as she shifted forward, hoping to use those wiles to gain some advantage here- she was already down two!

This round: TIE!

@Morningstar: 2/3
Astreya: 0/3

Mentioning that if she tried to think too hard about the breathing that she'd end up probably spending more time focusing on that instead of her singing caused Astreya to blink, nodding in response.  She didn't speak, mostly just wanting to make sure they got some actual time to practice, although as he mentioned that this was something that he even did now all the time, just from all the practice that he'd done, she couldn't help but to give a slight laugh, unable to stop herself, thinking of all the times that she had just gone through some routines for cheerleading even when she didn't need to.

As she finished, Jomei gave his thoughts, and she couldn't help but to give an embarrassed smile at the 'natural talent' that she supposedly had.  "Like, if you think so," the girl commented, mostly just amused despite herself.  She was glad that he thought so, but she was still more than a little self-conscious about it.  She didn't so much mind singing in general, but she was mostly concerned about singing poorly in front of the musician.  "Really?  Like, I guess confidence makes sense.  It's like.  You can't sing if you're like, afraid of singing, right?" she asked, glancing toward the man.

"Sure!" she cheered at his words, the girl nodding to show that she was ready, clenching her fists on top of her armored skirt as she watched him, trying to listen for the notes.  As he began to steadily go up the scale, she tried her best to match the notes as they were given.  Each one was done to the best of her ability, and her lower ones were a touch flat, and the higher she got, the more sharp she got as she hit some falsetto-like tones.

But of course, as she tried to match, she knew she was missing it.  "Yeah.  Once more," she spoke.  If nothing else, she had determination, trying to master this art in which she had no experience.  She had nothing but time on her hands, really.  Why not?  

The second go was much the same as the first, although it was clear she was trying a bit too hard to try and keep the 'sharp' notes near the top from being too much so, which actually caused them to be borderline flat.  She frowned as she finished.  "This is so hardddd," she whined.  "Okay, okay, Astreya.  Like, just take it one step at a time," she talked to herself, directly in front of Jomei.

I don't wanna like, take up a lot of your time though if you're like...busy on working on something," the girl spoke, actually letting a frown crease her features for a moent.

As the man introduced himself, and Bismuth stepped in to actually take point, chatting with the man that had appeared out of nowhere.  She gave a small sound in response to the appearance of Nemo, and steadily began to get her breath back.  Not that she was actually tired per se, when it came to this world, but she could still feel her pulse accelerated (even if it was starting to slow down) and she exhaled slowly, trying to take low, steady breaths to calm herself.

At Bismuth's words, the young woman nodded in agreement. "Sure!  That would be great!" she cheered, excited at the idea of being led by an NPC to the garden.  Not that they couldn't find it without this person's help, but hopefully with having a guide, they could find it even quicker.  "Wait- your garden?  That's so cool!  I tried gardening once and like it just didn't work at all.  I'd love to see yours!" the woman cheered, excited at the idea of such.

Nemo smiled at the pair of them, making a small gesture.  "Follow me," he spoke, and turned, the figure moving to head deeper into the forest, but unlike the pair of them, it seemed that he knew where he was going.  Beyond that, it seemed the NPC was actually starting to head toward the edge of the area.  

Astreya glanced toward Bismuth and shrugged slightly.  "Let's like...follow him?" she asked, coming to move behind the man.  It didn't take too much longer before things felt different.  They passed through a steady line of thick trees which blocked out sight, which Astreya realized was the 'dungeon walls' and as they passed through, the girl couldn't help but to give a small sound back in her throat.  "This is awesome!" she cheered.

@Bismuth

The parry from Morningstar made her interested from the way that he managed it.  It was certainly not planned from him, and a desperate attempt to keep from being hit- she still couldn't deny that it had been effective as her blade was knocked back and away and she shifted slightly, holding her weapon back at bay, shifting a bit more before he asked a question back to her that caught her off-guard.  A movie person?

She paused, squinting slightly, trying to think of what that could possibly mean.  She was, of course.  She watched a lot of movies with her friends, but she'd also done a lot of reading magazines and such and there was something about his face and the way he did things that really just made her memory of the real world come front-and-center for her.

But that was really starting to get into her head now.  Unlike a lot of the people she'd met, she had a really good life before coming into this place- and so any connection back to it really just got to her.  She shifted herself somewhat, trying to defend herself, but it was too late as the strike landed, and her foe earned another point. 

"Yeah, like, I watched a lot of movies when I got to high school, y'know?  What's that, like, got to do with anything?" she asked, the woman adjusting her stance slightly.  She had to stop being on the defensive.  She had to aggress!  His first attack had been low, and then high... she had to figure he'd probably go middle or low again- so that left his head as a target!  

Either way, she wanted to talk with this guy afterward.  There were so many people she wanted to talk to! 

She shifted forward, throwing a feint toward the middle before moving higher, aiming a shot at his head.

@Morningstar: 2/3
Astreya: 0/3

"When we get out?  Maybe, yeah.  But like, there's a lot going on that I've gotta catch back up on that's all left behind," the girl spoke, seemingly oddly not despondent or sad about the concept.  She wasn't quite happy, but more as if she were looking forward to just being able to get back into everything.  "Like, I was still in college, y'know?  On the cheerleading team, the volleyball team, the chess team, on top of like, studying and having a social life and all of that.  Maybe could like, swap one of those out for singing, assuming I still like it by the time we get out of here," she mused, tilting her head from side to side.

Unlike Koga, there seemed to be absolutely no unsurety in her tone when it came to the potential for getting out of the game.  She was dead-set on the goal and right now, more than anything else, that was what she was striving for.  "But I totally don't remember, like, anything about what I was studying.  Cheers are okay and I'm sure I could pick volleyball back up eventually, y'know?" she continued.  "And like, chess is chess.  It's been around for like ever."

"Well yeah, except Frosty led me like, all over the entire floor, like twice, trying to hold her down.  The other Vultures kept attacking me and ...ugh.  Man, you were, like, a big pain, Frost," she spoke, looking back up at the bird, who merely cawed back at her, leaving Astreya to just roll her eyes as she scratched absently at Okami's ears and neck.

At his explanation of the reasons why he liked cards, her smile beamed a bit.  "Aww, that's cute.  The lowest common denominator so everyone can have fun together.  I like it!  Even if you've, like, got a competitive streak going, eh?" she asked.  "Maybe we can see just like, how much Foraging I can do while you're fishing and see who wins?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows a bit in a teasing manner.

Once he'd gone inside the shack, the girl exhaled slightly, the wide smile dropping for a moment as she looked out over the nearby area, rife for new players to learn how to fish.  Despite Koga not wanting to open up right away back at the party, he seemed a little easier to talk to, now.  He was probably the sort that was better in a more direct conversation rather than a party atmosphere.  But as she heard the NPC offering the last bits of dialogue, the girl pulled her sunny smile back on, greeting Koga as he came back outside.

"For sure!  Let's see who wins!" she called, even if she had setup absolutely no stakes for this little 'competition.'  As she said that, immediately her frost-feathered bird hopped up, taking to the skies.  The girl glanced up toward where the creature was going before she sighed and shook her head.  "And there she goes!"

As the man came down to the arena, Astreya could tell that he was someone who had a certain presence in their step.  Nothing overt or aggressive, of course, but just a certain sense of having a practiced sort of movement.  He was also, to her, somewhat familiar in an odd way.  As if she had seen him before in passing a number of times but never actually really committed to learning who he might be.  A neighbor or perhaps a schoolmate- someone that has enough instances of presence to be remembered, albeit not intimately.

Of course, none of that was on her features as she greeted him upon his arrival.  "Hey~!  Yeah!  Like, good luck to you too!" she called cheerfully, adopting her own usual stance of defense as she readied herself for the fight to start.  However, as he judged his own stance for a moment, Astreya had a sudden flash of memory through her mind.  Something about the way that she saw him move reminded her of something.  But before she could really commit to it, or fully remember what she'd seen, the boy was moving.  

Unlike Freyd, he wasn't really having fun with it.  Not to say there was unrelenting aggression or cruelty, but he was at least taking it serious.  Between that and her sudden flash of remembrance, she was ill-prepared for his strike, feeling his weapon clack against her leg even as she darted backward.  "Hey... do I know you from somewhere?" she asked, arching a slim brow as she altered her own stance, using the question as both an inquiry and feint, following it through with an arced strike toward his midline on the non-dominant side.

@Morningstar 1/3
Astreya: 0/3

Astreya blinked slightly as she came down, waiting for her 'teacher' to give her some advice on the subject and to correct whatever she'd done with that previous note.  She had thought she'd messed it up again, but he seemed to be more positive about it, the young woman brightening a little at the praise.  "Okay so like... I imagine that the more I do it, the more, like, natural it'll be.  Maybe I won't have to think too hard about it?" she asked, mostly just wanting to make sure she was on the right path with this.  Or maybe she'd always need to think about doing it to make sure that she was doing it.

However it seemed that Jomei was going to push her further on this, and she swallowed, her hands tightening into fists. "Okay," she agreed as he moved his fingers to the keys, explaining what it was he was going to do.  As he played, the girl couldn't help but to be suddenly aware of just how smoothly the keys moved under his touch.  It wasn't any sort of attraction, but genuine appreciation for a talent that she didn't have.  The man did so with a practiced ease that made her feel inadequate in comparison, but she had come to him for assistance for this reason- he knew what he was doing.

The second time he played through it, she heard him singing the small scale of notes, and she knew that one- that was one that she'd learned in school when she was younger- something that never left her.  The third was just a single word, but sticking to the keys being played.  She wasn't necessarily completely tone deaf, but learning what constituted each step of the scale was daunting.  Still, she would try.

"Okay.  Like, go ahead.  Let me try," she spoke, before taking in the deep breath that he'd taught her.

"♫♪♪La- La- La - La - La - La - La ♪♪♫"

She winced a little as she came down, feeling the last two were more than a little off.  "One more time," she spoke, the girl's sapphire eyes burning with an azure flame as she sought to repeat the motion, trying to perfect what was being taught.

"♫♪♪La- La- La - La - La - La - La ♪♪♫"

Better.  Not great, maybe not even good... but better.  "Who thought'd be so hard to like, make voice sounds," she murmured, frustrated, but not completely out.  

The girl gave him a small nod and a grin.  "Okay!" she cheered, moving along into the forest deeper within.  There weren't as many creatures here, and while she didn't have anywhere near the perception that her companion did, all the same she felt as if she could feel something nearby.  It was like a presence, of a kind.  Something that just suffused the entire air and just made things feel different, more alive.  It was like the morning after a rain, with all the air teeming with life.

"You, like, feel that?" she asked as they came closer, beginning to move around the edge just as Bismuth had suggested.  The edge of the floor wasn't too far away and she felt like there was definitely something else to all of this.  "It's like... I dunno.  I can like, smell even more vegetation and junk," she mused, taking another deep inhale.

Honestly, she liked having Bismuth here to have her back.  While she was great in social situations, when it came to adventuring in the wilds, the young woman often found herself lost and turned around... but she found that with Bismuth, she could rely on him to help guide her through this.  Beyond that, he was a good friend to her.

"You think that we're getting close?" she asked aloud, but before she could turn back to look, she gave a sudden startled yell, her hand going back to her weapon as she saw a silver-haired young man standing suddenly amidst the trees.  "Kyaaaahhhh!" the girl shrieked, stumbling backward, surprised by the sudden new entrant.

There was something about the look that the man gave her that cut through her, or felt like it did.  The absolute directness of the stare, the unwavering gaze and the surety in it was immediately interesting to the young woman.  She was starting to pick up now, what @Koga had been referring to when he was discussing Alkor.  He wasn't looking at the various people here as people, to see who or what they may be in the socialite aspect, not like Astreya did.  

The dark-haired girl had an eye for body language and could tell often just while in conversation with someone how they were really feeling and she adjusted herself accordingly.  If they enjoyed her normal strong, warm personality, she'd keep it.  But, like Koga and Nari, if they were a bit more reserved and quiet regarding things, she tended to dial herself back a little, not being quite so boisterous, and matched the unspoken conversation of those around her.

@Alkor fought with intensity and bloodlust, without holding back.  That was how Koga had described him, and now seeing him a bit more up close, she could understand that.  To her, and this was simply the first, barest impressions of him, even without a word spoken, was a wild animal.  One caged in a prison of social construct that he sought desperately to break his fangs against.  She felt as if his gaze saw others as different steps on the pecking order, and that hierarchy is what tried to find, seeking to stand atop it.

She could be wrong- and had been wildly wrong before- but just from the manner in which he carried himself, measured those around him and just seemed to exist, it felt right.  But until she could actually talk to him, to see how he moved, the tones used, and everything she wouldn't have the clear picture.  

But with all of that, the one thing she hadn't been prepared for in her teasing note to him was a singular word, accompanied with tone and that same unblinking, predatory look.  He was sizing her up, curious what she was made of, if he should fear her, or more likely, just how much she should fear him.  Before she had chance to respond, however, Nari's words reached him and the gaze moved in a steady, measured response, before giving his take on the matter.

However, Astreya merely watched as @Nari-Lanreth seemed to note that the brackets had changed, and she moved away from them, an expression the dark-haired girl not used to seeing on her friend's face present: anger.

All the same, she didn't let it dampen her mood, turning her gaze back to Alkor.  "So like, a better question- why not?  It's for getting to know people better, right?  There's only a couple people that, like, I don't know here, and you're one of them.  So if I manage to make it all the way, like, to the top, then that's the decision I made," she responded, beaming a sunny smile toward him.  "Unless you wanna chat now?  Let you off the hook~" she teased.

She didn't have the martial prowess, she was already sure of that, but maybe she could land herself higher on his own inner hierarchy through social maneuvering.  In these sorts of environments, such a skill was almost more dangerous than being able to fight well.  She kept the thoughts behind the teasing little grin on her face even as she sought to get his response and measure him back in return.

 

The girl had been happily chatting away when the call came to start the next round of fights.  Unable to help herself in her own excitement, she gave a little cheer despite herself, even as Baldur began to speak to the next round.  Of course, Astreya had been curious as she had seen the number of victors that had gone on that there would be nine total, and she had no idea what they'd planned to do in order to deal with that.

However, it seemed that Baldur had come up with an idea that seemed fair to her.  A mystery tenth fighter arrived, that being one of Baldur's students, and she recognized him as the boy that had ferried her across the water to the tournament itself.  "What?  Can he fight too?" she asked aloud, even as she moved a little closer to see as the new brackets were put up.

Her eyes opened a little wider as she realized then the fights weren't going to be the same as they were before.  "Nari, looks like it's not Alkor!" she called to her friend, before she looked back for her name- realizing it was right at the top against someone named Morningstar.  Like... the medieval weapon or the devil?  She glanced around, not quite sure who that was, but all the same, she was excited nonetheless.  This meant she didn't have to fight any of her friends!

"Good luck @Astralin, @Nari-Lanreth, @Bismuth!" she called to her three friends before she began to move toward the ring specified by Baldur, readying up for her opponent.  

@Morningstar

The fact that they were envious of the other's profession amused the girl. She didn't know if it was just the 'grass is greener' mentality or if they both had definite thoughts there.  She thought those that could do crafts and that sort of thing were quite impressive.  Even if in the game it was all tool assisted, she imagined that it was likely the same for those that used sewing machines or pottery wheels and stuff.  Sure, there was a lot more to it to do it by hand than that way, but a lot of people still depended on the tools to do it.  

"I mean I'm not really all that, like, good at singing or anything either.  My attempts to like, make items have been pretty bad," the girl admitted with a small shake of her head, smiling despite herself.  "I figure that like, I'll have to get it eventually, right?  Maybe I should try like, doing something else.  Like playing the triangle," she mused, mostly just kidding.  That sort of instrument was pretty basic and maybe she could manage something with it?

At the wolf's seeming interest in the belly rubs, she couldn't help but to move over toward Okami, setting a hand on the wolf's head and doing the pet-scratch combo on his head and around his ears, grinning down at the canine.  "Well he's just trying to get, like, his owner to spend more time with him.  Isn't that right, Oaky?" she cooed, already giving the wolf a nickname.  She glanced up as Koga asked about Frosty, and she beamed a smile.  "I think she's a rare spawn up on the like, Ninth Floor!" the girl cheered as she glanced back at him.

"She was with a bunch of the Pyre Vultures, but she's all blue and icy.  But like, if you put your hand right up to her, she's really warm.  It's like she's... I dunno, like absorbing heat so everything is all cold around her I guess?" she spoke, shrugging slightly (which caused the bird to squawk at her).

As Koga waved to Marv, Astreya had been too, and she blinked, looking at him.  Did everyone know Marv?  

She put on a wide grin at his words about the party, practically bouncing in her heavy armor as she did so.  "Yeah!  We should have more parties!  Maybe.  I dunno, I know like, a few other people enjoyed them but I wasn't sure if like, everyone did, y'know?  There were a few people that were, like, not really comfortable with all the people around," she mused.

"You seemed to really like playing cards though!  Gambling problem?" she asked, teasing him as she hopped a little ahead, fixing him with a sunny smile.

At the teasing words from Jomei about her not being a lost cause, equal parts indignation and relief spread through the girl's body.  She was glad that she wasn't going to completely be out of her element.  Of course, she still had no idea how to actually do any of this singing business.  She was just going by feel, and that didn't seem to be working, if her track record had anything to show for it.  "Well, like, at least it's not a total failure," she murmured, unable to help some of her own heat spreading across her cheeks now, finally on the receiving end of it all.

"Okay.  Breathing," she responded, and moved to follow suit with his hands on her own body, if only to see if she could mirror him and follow what he was trying to show her.  This wasn't actually all that different from her cheerleading- maybe she could bring some of that practice into it.  She followed his words and actions, bringing in a swath of air into her chest and then down into her lower abdomen, just letting her chest rise as she gathered the air.  "All right so like... out from my stomach..." she murmured.

The young girl took in a few of the deep breaths, but unlike before where she was trying to calm herself, instead she focused on how the breathing felt as it came in, and then left her body.  On the fourth breath, instead of just exhaling as she normally did, the young woman began to try to mimic the sounds that she'd done before with the melody from her sound crystal. This time, of course, instead of listening she was singing the same melody.  It was one that she knew from her childhood, although admittedly she couldn't place where.

As she finished, she couldn't help a small sound of thought.  "Like...that felt a little better, I guess.  Did it like, sound any better?" she asked, glancing toward him.  It wouldn't win any awards, she was sure, but it might not make ears bleed anymore.

Eventually, the old man gave a small breath, ceasing the coughing fit as he looked toward Astreya and Jossin with a small nod, drawing in a shaky little breath.  "I thank you.  I have some priceless items contained in a chest out in the desert.  The chest is buried at the base of some oddly-shaped rocks.  If you'd be willing to escort me I...well, I have little to offer in payment, but I would be eternally grateful."

"Of course!  Jossin, you're in too, right?" she asked, glancing back toward him.

The man nodded.  "Of course.  I'd be happy to help," he offered with a small smile and nod toward the pair.

"Awesome!  Okay so we just need to escort you out into the desert to find them, right?" the girl asked, looking to the old timer with a genuinely curious expression on her face.  "That can't be that far, right?"

"It was a trip I made back when I was a younger man, so unfortunately it is quite the hike.  Beyond that, I-" the old man began, coughing once more, putting his lips to the sleeve of the heavy wool cloak he wore.  "I am...frail, now.  And things are difficult for me that weren't before.  I will need some rest, now and then."

"That's no problem!  We can chat a long the way!  I'm sure you've got a lot of stories to share," Astreya beamed, glancing back at Jossun.  He was pretty quiet overall, but that didn't bother her.  Astreya talked enough for a couple of people, so she didn't at all mind.  "What's your name?  I'm Astreya, and this is Jossun."

"My name is Zamek, young lady.  Thank you.  I look forward to your assistance," he spoke, nodding at the pair of them before he pointed to the desert.  "If you are ready, then so am I."
 

"So are you, like, normally around here?  I don't come to this floor, like, very often, and I like to talk to people- I just haven't seen you around, y'know?" she asked, glancing toward him.  He certainly seemed equipped for the fifth floor, with his lighter armaments and such.  Astreya felt like she was going to have one heck of a time in the sand . "Like, is your house on this floor too?" she inquired, curious.  She didn't yet have a house... but she planned to get one eventually.  She just kept putting it off in lieu of crashing at the inn with its free food.

The man nodded.  "My home isn't too far from here.  I don't venture to the other floors very much, but I'm always on the lookout for things to do.  I just actually learned about the old man recently, though.  I guess that's what shows that there's a lot more happening that we're aware of."

She nodded at that, about to respond when the sounds of people started to come forth again, and it seemed whatever event had caused the people to vacate the town had ended, and the streets steadily began to once more fill up with other individuals.  "Excuse me... are you an adventurer?" a sudden, tinny  voice spoke, and the young woman blinked, turning to see the old man.  He shook with the very effort to stand it seemed, his body hidden beneath the brown cloak.  "I'm terribly sorry to have to bother you... but I need assistance.  I-" he began, before sudden wracking coughs seemed to take him.

Astreya, alarmed, moved forward to steady the fellow. She knew that it didn't actually do anything, but she still couldn't just let him cough nonstop without any sort of help.
 

The empty town felt a little weird around her, but she also really didn't know if that was normal, or if it was because of the sandstorm.  She supposed if it was like some sort of scripted event, that would mean that there was likely a normal occurrence for all the people in the town to be suddenly absent, even if it was a little weird.  

"Hey, you here for the old man too?"

She blinked, glancing over her shoulder as she heard a voice.  A rather unassuming young man with dark-brown hair and eyes that Astreya would probably call grey-green spoke, approaching her.  He was lightly armored, and she'd guess that he wasn't wearing the same type of armor as she, and he had a set of daggers at his waist.  A quick-moving fighter, it seemed like, if she had to guess.  "Like, totally," she responded, beaming him a grin.

He didn't seem to be too surprised at her response, and merely smiled.  "I'm Jossin.  I heard about things here, and thought I could see about helping the old fellow out.  What's your name?" he asked.

Astreya beamed a smile at him at the demeanor.  Friendly, but not overbearing.  Unlike her, she supposed, but that was neither here nor there.  "Astreya.  Or you can call me Iris, too.  Either one's fine, really," the girl responded, giving him a small nod.  "So like, the old man is around here for the quest, right?" she asked, glancing at him.  If he knew about this quest already that would make life so much easier on her.  That would keep her from looking like a fool if she couldn't figure it out.

"Yeah.  He should be here soon, from what I know," he spoke, and Astreya nodded in response, not necessarily shy, but trying to figure out a little about this guy.
 

Quest Details: 

The constant sand that blew around the town made Astreya wonder what she’d thought in coming up here.  There wasn’t much to see here on the Fifth Floor, in all honesty, and the young woman had felt that perhaps there was a better place to be.  Granted, part of that came from the fact that there was the active sandstorm right now blowing through the entire city, and that made it incredibly difficult for her to actually be able to see anything.  That and the fact that she was dressed in the heavy armor she was made it a little annoying to deal with all of the sand around her.

At least the game didn't have grit physics or anything that was going to cause it to chafe on her body.  She exhaled softly as she began to take a few steps forward through the streets, trying mostly to find out what she was looking for.  Supposedly, she had heard about an old man NPC here in this town that needed help with something, and while he didn't really offer much in the way of Col or EXP, there was a good skill that you could only get if you were able to assist him.  That was about on-brand for what the young woman had figured out about this game so far, anyway.

She nodded to herself, adjusting her armor slightly as she moved further into the town, her gaze flickering this way and that as she sought to see if she could find out where the old man was located at all.  Thankfully, after a few moments, the sandstorm began to steadily subside, leaving her alone in the middle of the town.  "Come on.  Where is everyone?" the woman asked, frowning slightly as she glanced around here and there.

Astreya Statblock: 
(Forthcoming)

Despite her outward demeanor, the young woman was perceptive when it came to watching people, and it showed as she noted that her would-be teacher nearly dropped the guitar that he'd been holding when she'd commented about the girl he'd been chatting up back at the Christmas party.  And as he turned around, she noted that he was still flushing red again- it must be an Irish thing, she decided, but despite how amused she was, she kept any sort of teasing look off of her features, just keeping to her usual smile.  "Whaaat, really?" she asked in response as Jomei denoted that he and the other woman were just friends.  "I totally thought you were like, into each other.  Well I think you look cute together," she offered off-handedly, but she didn't want to push this particular note too hard with him.  

While she did genuinely think there was some chemistry there, based on how Jomei and the woman acted around one another (not to mention the hug she'd given him, unless she was just a really huggy person) Astreya knew she shouldn't torment her potential teacher.  Instead as he changed the subject regarding the pub-playing and the people therein being a bit more focused on their drinks than the band that was playing, and that he hadn't sang as a performance, necessarily, the girl nodded along.  "No, like, I can get that.  It's not like being all in the limelight and junk.  Like you're singing, and there's people, like, there, but it's not the same thing really," she agreed, nodding.

"Sure!" she responded to his query about her own song that she'd recorded.  Pulling up her inventory, she removed the sound crystal, before moving to set it on the window sill next to the piano.  Activating it, what would emanate outward would almost be a sort of almost soothing melody, like the humming of a mother to their child to get them to sleep.  Unfortunately, Astreya's note was barely held, and was certainly more on the 'flat' side rather than a full note.

The melody ended after a moment and she gave a sheepish smile. "It's bad, right?" she asked, knowing full well it was- but that was okay.  That's why she was here.

@Jomei

2 minutes ago, Bismuth said:

Shop Post:  Salmon Onigiri

Transaction Date: 02/17/22

Cost of Transaction: 1 material

Crafter's Profession: Cook

Crafter's Rank: 1

Item Name: Salmon Onigiri

Item Tier: T1

Item Type: Snack

Item Rarity:  Perfect

Item Enhancements: LD [3 slots]

Craft/Appraisal/Obtainment IDs & Rolls: ID203779

Item Description: A small sticky rice ball held together by a sheet of seaweed, flavored to taste like salmon, this specific Onigiri is made by Bismuth and is his favorite                                snack, so he has developed it to increase ones perceptiveness.

All checks out.  Astreya-Approved!

7 minutes ago, Koga said:

Item Name: Beasts Claws
Profession: Blacksmith
Rank: 7
Roll ID: 203782
Roll Result: 11
Item Type: Claws
Tier: 2
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: Bleed I / Damage II
Description: A set of clawed gauntlets capable of inflicting dangerous status effects.
Post Link:

 

All good!  Astreya-Approved!