Them

Once the three arrived at the graveyard, Nari was first to separate from the group, Koga following suit. Cleo watched the man survey the area similarly to how a critic would scour the page of a novel, with eagle eyes to pick out even the slightest discrepency. She wanted to know how the other two could remain so calm. Her nerves were getting the better of her, rotten thoughts spiralling around in her mind; what if this were an ambush, a setup? She knew Nari was a tough nut to crack and Koga carried himself with a confidence which screamed 'front-liner', but she had neither raw power nor experience to survive an encounter with a seasoned player-killer. To her credit, she was fast, but fast enough to get to safety in the blink of an eye? Probably not.

Far too pre-occupied with her inhibitions to carry out any true detective work, one thing caught her eye mid-downward spiral; the hardwood graves nearby. The Elven glyphs etched into the graves were as good as gibberish to the non-Elven speaker, but the names were written in a human tongue; Lúthien, Mithrandir, Aeverie... the list went on. Nothing jumped out about them, no obvious connection the withering flowers, and when Koga addressed herself and Nari, she left them alone to hear the man better.

"So this must be intentional then?" The revelation relieved some of her worries; Cardinal was unlikely to be breaking down and they'd no reason to suspect an ambush, hence there was only a slight threat of mortal danger. "I didn't find anything by the graves, no disturbed grass or signs of tampering. If this is a quest, Cardinal isn't making it easy."

"You're right to be cautious."

"@$%*!"

She darted away from wherever the McFuck the disembodied voice had come from. A human-like figure revealed themselves next to Koga, bearing more resemblance to machine than man, a point accentuated by their modulated voice. The player's lack of action indicated they were neutral, if not friendly, but the bold manner in which they'd conducted introductions led her to err on the extreme side of caution.

Silently sliding a hand over dagger's handle, she tried to be inconspicuous in looking to both Koga and Nari, gauging their reactions to inform her own. The knitting pins piqued her curiousity but nothing he said ruled out malicious intent; he'd had to have known about the Graveyard somehow, and Cleo was under the impression that, besides the three of them, only Nari's broker knew about it. "Did you invite this guy?" she whispered to the purple-haired woman, hoping to evade notice of the masked man.

"How sweet of you." Koga's reason for coming along didn't wholly convince Cleo, a sentiment reflected in her folded arms and furrowed brow. As far as she knew, Nari wasn't somebody that needed chaperoning. The woman had—obviously—done something to piss him off in the past, and there seemed to be a lot to unpack with his animosity. What struck her as even more interesting was that a certain somebody actively kept their lives intertwined. Did love play into it somehow? As much as she yearned to be nosy and find out more, matters of grave importance were still afoot.

Nari seemed to know a good deal about the Graveyard's backstory, and, having dropped knowledge that the flowers housed the souls of departed Elves, Cleo started to realize why the woman's distress was warranted. Meanwhile, her eyebrows scrunched together at Koga's manner of speech. Perhaps he was just an angry man in general? In any case, he wasn't wrong. Death and decay seemed to elude the floor, save for whatever was going on wherever they were going. "Hm... I think you're right," she said, gesturing to Nari. "This is much too elaborate to be a set-up. The amount of effort they've gone through to kill somebody off seems unlikely. Plus, if Cardinal actually is shitting the bed..."

What if Cardinal was breaking down? How could anybody pretend to know what the consequences of that would be?

She moved to walk by Nari's side, casting a sober look back at Koga. "I don't know what bad blood you have but try not to let it cloud your judgment. This might be bigger than us three." Her features reflected the panic slowly setting in over the last few minutes.

As Koga started to lay down some hard truths, Cleo echoed his concerns to a lesser degree, her eyes tense with uncertainty. "It's a little sketchy, Nari. You sure about this?" For all they knew, the source could be leading them straight into a trap. Of course, any attempt to try and reason with the purple-haired woman would fall on deaf ears, and Cleo hurried along quickly to catch up with the others—stifling her amusement of Koga's frustration. Though it wasn't the time nor place to smirk, she couldn't prevent the tiniest one from breaking through. "Stupid? Possibly." She glanced at the woman in question before looking back to Koga. "Regardless, you still followed her. Doesn't that mean you trust her?"

When they would catch up to Nari, the question remained as to what they were truly expecting to find once they arrived, and Cleo raised an elementary question. "If the place is called <<Graveyard of the Willowed>>, why should we be worried about dead flowers, of all things?" A straightforward question, but a good one. Nothing indicated that the source could be trusted besides the woman's blind faith in them. As they pressed on, the graveyard drew into existence a few hundred yards away, the sepulcher visible through glimpses of light in the treeline.

She sought respite at a nearby bench, the metal backrest shaped to resemble a row of flowers befit for such a picturesque garden. This detail became lost on Cleo as she sat on the center seat, one leg folded beneath her and both arms sprawled outward. The fight had been thrilling, if not outright terrifying. None of her previous combat encounters had been so intense, and none had drained quite so much of her energy. Thankfully, none of the Snapdragons made any unexpected movements and all had succumbed to her last attack, but if she'd missed instead and things had gone differently...

Cleo physically shook to shake the thoughts away. She'd survived it, that's all that mattered.

Now some way into the Gardens and finding time to sit down and truly appreciate it, she began to understand what the rumours meant when they spoke of its allure. The scene reminded her of the parkland surrounding Smålungeren, a lake in her home city, with flowers purporsefully arranged to draw attention to the beauty of the artificial lake. Of course, there was something to be said about the Garden's natural beauty, but it was strikingly obvious where Nemo had left traces of his infleunce on the otherwise untouched Little Eden.

Cleo | Level 18 | HP 310/360 (+10) | EN 9/64 (+2 | 1/3 EN Regen) | DMG 17 | ACC 4 | MIT 12 | PROSP 3 | BLD 24 (8-10) | PRLZ (9-10)

She nodded kindly to the bartender-turned-cook when he set down the plate in front of her, marveling at the delicious spread and only half-registering what Dustin had said about somebody's Grandmother. As he explained Roger's intriguing business model, she chowed down on the meal like a dog who'd been starved of food for days, caring little about appearances nor anything other than the simple-yet-satisfying combination of food groups.

"Floor three, huh?" Using her sleeve to wipe away a piece of mash on her cheek, Cleo pushed the plate forward to signal she'd finished. "I'll check it out—must be a reason why it's so popular." Her travels would probably take her down to the third floor anyway; plus, she'd be remiss to pass on another plate of meat and veg. Having eaten little other than pastries, coffee, and bread throughout her time in Aincrad, it'd be an excellent way to cultivate her uncultured taste buds.

"What?" The conversation had gone swimmingly until that point, though she'd be lying if she said that the proposition of a duel wasn't unsettling. A slight shift came to her demeanor, and the easiness she carried diminished. "As in... fight? What happens if one of us runs out of health? Wouldn't we die?" Sorely misinformed about the mechanics of a duel, having not yet bothered to participate or witness one, her uneasiness stemmed from a lack of understanding of how they worked. "I don't think I'd be comfortable with death. Sorry, man."

"He's totally into you!" exclaimed Cruscius, a clean-shaven man with flowing brown hair wearing a grey sweater-blue jean combo.

Cleo stifled her snort and pat the taller friend's shoulder. "Then why couldn't he keep his eyes away from you? Face it; you're a total smoke show."

The pair of friends laughed together, shuffling through the busy streets of the Town of Beginnings as they went about their day after one of their typical lunch meetups. A casual affair turned daily ritual as of late, Cleo cherished the one thing that remained an every-day constant in an ever-changing life. With plans to hunker down in a newly opened fourth-floor café and shoot the shit for a while longer, Cleo was midway through equipping a coat when she received a concerning call to arms, the first she'd ever had. "Crap. Sorry Cruscius, just got a message through from a friend. I think she needs help with something."

Though disheartened by the news, Cruscius quickly grew curious, a suggestive smirk warping his lips. "Oh, Cleo."

"Not like that!" After a swift slap on Cruscius' arm—which only made him burst into laughter—Cleo sent a quick reply to let Nari know she'd be there. "It looks serious. We'll catch up tomorrow?"

"Oh, we definitely will." Still missing the lack of humor on Cleo's face, Cruscius waved his friend a dramatic goodbye. Cleo didn't watch as he disappeared on the teleporter pad, and she went about swapping her casual gear for more combat-focused armaments, ready for whatever was about to go down.

---

Materializing in Ellesmera alongside Éli, who immediately took point on Cleo's shoulder, she spent a second adjusting to the change in environment. As luck would have it, she was already facing the right direction to see Nari and a man beside her; more backup? Not wasting any time, she moved closer to find out.

"Hey," Cleo called from afar, jogging up to the pair of players. "I came as fast as I could. What's going on?" A quick look at the man confirmed she and he were unacquainted. "Not sure we've met before? I'm Cleo." Having introduced herself, she sent the red-eyed man a hastened nod to keep things short, hoping to get to the bottom of just what was going on.

I haven't been able to write this past week (which will continue until late Friday) so throw me into the casual poster hat.

Cleo sensed that the boy had tensed up and realised thereafter she'd pushed too far. Thankfully, he didn't seem to detest her question having given an honest answer, one that surely tore him up inside whenever it came to haunt his thoughts. However, she vowed then and there to drill no further on the matter.

To Dustin's offer of help, she would gladly accept. Some of her strongest friendships within the game had been forged in the flames of hardships. She'd a feeling Dustin would make a useful quest companion, and, if nothing more, a quality friend. As she spoke, Cleo pulled up her friends list and—taking a wild guess at the boy's in-game name—attempted to add a 'Dustin'. "If I'm ever in need of a friend, I'll shoot you a message."

Finishing her coffee, she calmly whispered to Roger, asking if she could have another with a grateful smile.

Then, asked about why she was there in the tavern, Cleo had no issue returning an answer. "Hey, I'm sure the food's not that bad. You know what? Roger, I'll also take... whatever your special is tonight." Why not? She felt brave. "To answer your question," Cleo centered her attention on Dustin. "I came up here to scope out the place, get a feel for what it's like. It's a little too late for an adventure right now so I thought to check out the nearest inn and, well... here we are." Raising her arms for dramatic effect, she glimsed around at the rest of the room. "Hm. It is a little bit vacant, I guess. How come he's set up shop here, anyway? This floor's a little... gloomy, isn't it?"

"One, two, three!"

 A crash, claws scraping against metal, and a boom echoed through the halls of the estate and out into the courtyard. Once Eli had finished, landing a little way past his trail of destruction, he flopped onto his side, tongue sticking out from his mouth, breathing fast and heavy. His silhouette became enveloped in white before a notification appeared above him; 'Familiar Mastery Unlocked!'

 The dummy's metal chestpiece now more closely resembled a distressed sweatshirt that had more holes than it did fabric, laying flat on the ground alongside the rest of the armour pieces. A series of small dents blotted the floor where the armour stand struck the flooring, a fact which escaped Cleo as she craned her neck backwards and cast her eyes to the ceiling, releasing a resolute, relieved sigh. She whispered just three words, ones which she thought she'd never be able to utter that day.

 "We're finally done."

 | ID: 208106 | CD: 8 | Training Success!

 | Progress: 3/3
 | Training Completed! Unlocked Skill <<Familiar Mastery: Rending>>

 ---

Thread Summary:

 Word Count: 7,683
Base EXP: 1,280

Cleo:
1,280 * 2 = 2,560 EXP (Thread) + 300 EXP (Quest) = 2,860 EXP
200 400 Col (Thread) Giving all the col to Them. :)
Unlocked <<Familiar Master: Rending>>

Nari:
1,280 * 5 = 7,680 6,400 EXP
 

To see Nari beam a smile at her brought instant gratification to the cat owner. Cleo and Eli had done something worthy of an applause, and the blue-haired woman, basking in the praise for a change, didn't endeavor to dampen her smile. She needed the win. Good god, did she need the win.

"Nicest pieces?" Cleo stiffled a laugh. "Okay, they're not terrible. But if they're actually your best? I may need to start looking for a new Blacksmith," she replied in jest, patting her friend on the shoulder. "For real, though. Thank you. I'll be surprised if the boy makes it through one more, to be honest with you." She set her eyes on the cat who'd since recovered from his fatique, looking ready to go again. "How about it, one more for good luck?" Eli lashed his tail sideways. Cat-speak for yes, Cleo assumed. "Alright." Sparing a quick glance at Nari, she sent the woman a nod. "Wish us luck."

The Snapdragon retreated into the forest where reinforcements lay in wait for the approaching danger. Having failed to keep track of her energy levels, Cleo realized too late that she could only get away with another couple of hits before she'd need to think about retreating. It was the first time she'd have ever been in such a situation; would the mobs rush her as she tried to run away? Did the game simply disallow escaping from a combat encounter? She desperately hoped to avoid stepping into such uncharted territory.

Making a last-ditch effort to take out every Snapdragon at once with a flurry of slashes, her attempts proved fruitful as the four remaining mobs exploded into shards before her eyes. The battle concluded. Finding time to catch her breath, she cycled through a wheel of emotions, relief chief among them.

The loot summary screen appeared shortly afterwards, leading Cleo to almost choke when she learned how much Col the encounter had been worth. "Holy shit!"

Just as quickly as the three Snapdragons had fallen, three more rushed in from the surrounding forests. Things had gone from zero to one hundred in such a short space of time and Cleo—having never fought more than a couple of mobs at once—started to panic as she realized the predicament she'd so carelessly placed herself in. All that she could think to do in the moment was lash out at the grouped-up mobs once again, hoping for the best that her blade might connect with some of them to thin out their numbers.

Executing a plan she'd spent seconds drawing up, the results were far better than she could ever have hoped for as a further three mobs fell to her dagger's edge. Grieving its slain brethren, the last remaining Snapdragon let out a battlecry to alert others of the invader, stopping only when Cleo tried to sneak in a fatal blow.

Despite his calm demeanor, she could tell that the man had grown displeased with her. Perhaps he'd second guessed her motives having realised that her fondness for the plant life in the Gardens was but an elaborate ruse. Though she felt bad, she knew little would come from hesitating now. Cleo parted Nemo with a wave to which he made a forced smile back, and she made way for the inner sanctum of the Gardens.

Walking along a winding path that would put her out of Nemo's line of sight and outside of his sphere of guilty influence, she hadn't watched where she was going when she misplaced her foot upon the tail of an angry, family-oriented mob; a Snapdragon, a floral drake of pink and purple colour. It's cursor flashed orange, as did its comrades in the immediate vicinity. In a panic, she drew her dagger and lashed out at the nearest target, and then the next. Three of the targets fell leaving but one behind.

They remained silent for most of the remaining journey, exchanging a few words in between when the need arose, yet the small talk died when Cleo realized Nemo may have started to question her ambitions. His once infectious grin had become a distant smile, yet he'd not asked for her to leave him alone, which she took was a positive sign. He hadn't decided to take back his word of bringing her into the Gardens, at least.

Quite rapidly, the scenery shifted from unassuming forestry to a plentiful, sprawling garden. Bushes of flowers encapsulated the utopia, where a dozen species of animals grazed on the grasses and frolicked in the trees, which spread into a dense forest as far as the eye could see. Cleo had only began to bathe in its natural beauty when she realised that Nemo, standing by the path they'd used to enter, didn't follow her inside.

"Please enjoy Little Eden. I'll await your return."

"Well, it's an honour to be among the ranks of those travelers. I do love me some plants!" A lie. She cared little for plants. Well, not entirely so, but in the context of the situation, her interests lay more in the Col and the materials the Gardens would have to offer than whatever flora had been planted there by Nemo.

"And I can't wait to show you around! Tell me, which member of the flowering plant group is your favourite?" Eager to share his enthusiasm with another person, Nemo shared a look with Cleo; his excited, hers caught off guard.

Cleo, fixing as convincing a smile as she could, panicked. "The... flowering plants? Right! Of course. I like... the red ones."

Nemo remained silent after she replied, wondering if there might be any more to it. When the silence hung in the air long enough, he nodded, his smile unwavering yet his eyes portraying disappointment. "Oh. Yes, I find the red ones to be quite striking, indeed."

Despite distancing themselves considerably from Tolbana, Cleo could still see the town from afar when she looked back. Flat fields and thin forests meant there was little to obscure an entire settlement, much less the second largest one on the floor. She cast her eyes back to the path ahead, lingering on Nemo for a fleeting moment. His sunny disposition proved infectious as Cleo found herself feeling cheery, simply happy to be out and about with present company.

"Do you bring a lot of people to Little Eden, then?" She initiated conversation; they still had a good distance to cover, and it wouldn't do to finish in silence.

"A few," the man answered, his voice as smooth and sprightly as a glass of lemonade on a warm, sunny day. "I make this trip most days to tend the Gardens, so I don't mind it when a curious traveler wants to accompany me on the way."

No doubt wanting a taste of its treasures, she thought. Cleo could hardly talk. That's exactly why she wanted to go there, too.

"It's quite the walk; we'll be nearing the edge of the world, in fact. Are you ready to leave now?"

As the last word slipped from Nemo's tongue, a quest window appeared, the characteristic blue and red buttons catching Cleo's eyes. She accepted without a second thought. "I've everything we'd need for a long journey, been on a few of those recently." Indeed, the Player's travels led her across a great deal of the early floors. Never as far 'the edge', though. She had imagined what it might be like: a monolithic wall encapsulating the floor, a railing one might topple over if they were careless enough to lose their footing, or, perhaps, nothing. A path leading into an open sky upon which there was only one destination, Death. Sufficed to say, she was equal parts eager and hesitant to find out.

Nemo, as an NPC would, set off along the path with haste. "Then we leave at once! I have no doubts we'll be safe, an experienced adventurer like you around to protect us."

Cleo hesitated, knowing herself not to be experienced nor truly an adventurer. Her strength surpassed that of anything they might encounter on their way to the Garden, however, so she spared him any correction and joined the man at his side.

Rumours spread of a garden teeming with riches, practically begging to be pilfered by those bold enough to seek it out. Cleo, a player who'd found themselves in need of Col yet having no easy way to get it, naturally gravitated toward these rumours and the riches they spoke of. She imagined herself curled up in a chair by a fireplace, a cup of coffee in one hand and a book in the other, minding nobody's business but her own within the confines of her own home. A comfortable thought—a dream—and nothing more.

To make that dream a reality, she scoped out the NPC that, if her sources were correct, would lead her out to the fabled gardens. A kind-looking man by the name of Nemo, his face muddied face and fingernails logged with dirt, he certainly looked the part.

"Excuse me; are you Nemo?" she engaged with him directly.

"Hm? Yes," responded the Gardener, his tone befitting a gentle soul. Portraying neither shock nor surprise, he seemed to already know why she sought him out. "Are you in search of Little Eden?"

"I think so," Cleo answered. In truth, she sought out the treasures within the garden moreso than the garden itself. "It's said to house rich- I mean, rare... flowers? Is that correct?"

Nemo's demeanor shifted to one of joy. "A fellow Botanist. Indeed, Little Eden is a utopia for all life, flora and fauna - though, the flowers are one of my favourite things about it, too. Would you like me to take you there?"

Cleo perked up. "Please." For now, she'd conceal her true motivations, lest Nemo air his reservations about them.

Once more gracing The Evening Star with her presence, Cleo wandered into the Artisan's shop. This time, she required an item which could supplement her desires to earn Col—a lot of it—to keep her off of the streets and food in her stomach, and, perhaps, to aid her in purchasing a home of her own. Having seen Nari's abode, she couldn't help but feel envious of the woman and her gargantuan estate, which had enough rooms to be legally labelled a maze. That said, she cared little about any grand hall or fancy courtyard; a simple apartment with a bedroom and a living space suited her needs just fine.

Thankfully, one such item was in stock, and she hurried to the counter to purchase it. "Just this, please."

***

Purchases (500 col):

Chromium Shard | TIER 1 PERFECT TRINKET | PROSPERITY III | #195881
A shard of metal with its edges rounded. Keep it in your pocket for good luck.

'Ah, fuck,' she cursed in thought, learning more than she ought to know about a total stranger's backstory. The sadness in his eyes brought pity to hers, and as he laid the object down on the table, she struggled to ascertain what it could have been. A weapon of sorts, if the handle were any indication. Perhaps it was the murder weapon or the brother's blade? Her curiosity would have to take a backseat as the conversation's narrative would soon begin to spiral, and, quite suddenly, she found herself unsure what to say. As a pundit of small talk and idle chitchat, heavy topics strayed from her social comfort zone—mentions of death included—and she waded through uncharted waters.

"That's a lot. I'm... sorry. That you've lost so many and had to suffer so much, I couldn't even imagine." Grief is the price we pay for love. A rhetoric she'd yet to experience in the game, but one inevitably experienced by those who opened up their hearts to others. To lose a wife and a brother, she couldn't bear to imagine the pain.

She came to an impasse, uncertain of what to say next; whether she should pry deeper into his past or try steer to the conversation onto a brighter, happier course? Some people found the former therapeutic to help them move on from past traumas, but did she truly have the right to try with Dustin? Cleo chose, perhaps incorrectly.

"Your wife, Daria, seems like she was pretty brave, too. Did she... did she make it back, from her adventure?" 

“That is, of course, unless you’re thinking that you’re entirely incapable of training the kitten?”

The words hit her like a slap in the face, igniting a need to speak in defense for herself. "I'm not incapable." Reluctant to make commitments? Yes. Barely able to look after herself, let alone another soul? Possibly. But she couldn't bare to be branded incapable, not even in jest, and knew when to stand her ground on the matter. In the silence that followed, she allowed her thoughts to run amok and dwell on the situation; how silly she'd been to get so worked up, how Nari had been encouraging her the whole way, and how the task—when broken down and made as granular as possible—might not be as insurmountable as she first thought.

"We were bound to run into a resistance or two, it’s the nature of cats, isn’t it?"

She fought with her face muscles to hide a smile, losing the battle when a snort erupted from her nose. Hating that she'd cracked so easily, her eyes traced a circle around the room, landing on Nari as they came to rest. "It is, indeed." The cat owner felt obligated to give it another go, if not to achieve victory, then to at least say that she'd tried her very best. "You're right. Without any faults, how can we be sure we've put in enough work to overcome them?"

---

The set-up remained largely the same, Éli stood in front of the target with Cleo behind him, though, she lowered herself into a crouch, running her fingers through the fur on his back. A calming presence instead of a commanding one, as if she were training alongside the cat. Calmer than before, she spoke with a softer touch, one which Éli would feel more compelled to listen to.

"Okay, go get 'em on three. One, two... three!"

Launching at the training dummy as a cannon ball would to a boat, Éli left no inch of the target unscathed, the flat chestpiece barbed with scratch marks and the top of the armour stand scorched where his tail would have whipped an assailant's face. He landed without the same grace as before, chest heaving as evidence he was beginning to tire.

| ID: 207980 | CD: 8 | Training Success!

| Progress: 2/3
| CD Requirement: 3+

Try as she did to hide it, her eyes blew wide-open when Nari rated the performance a '...two?' It wasn't the number Cleo had hoped to hear, yet knew it to be the one that she deserved. Frustration beginning to build from her own inadequancies, she lashed out in a moment of weakness. "Practice, practice, practice. I get it." Cleo's voice carried a burning sense of sarcasm, her patience tested for the first time in the game and gripping her quite unlike anything else had thus far. Almost immediately, she looked to Nari, regret written in her eyes. "Fuck. Sorry. I didn't mean to..." To what? she asked, unsure herself as to why the situation was getting to her. "I don't know. I'm just sorry."

Every instinct told her to back-out. To insist to Nari that she had enough to go on and run back home to the first-floor. To try again later on. To become stuck in an infinite loop of trying and failing to make headway with Éli. It felt far too easy and far too natural to resist. She eyed the door, ashamed that she would even consider such an exit strategy, yet unable to not at least play with the thought. "If you want me and Éli out of your hair, I'd understand..."

Éli, either heeding Nari's warning about Yuki or simply reacting to the mention of his name, turned around cluelessly. "Better watch it, bud. Don't want you catching Yuki's claws." Cleo teased, playfully ruffling his ears.

"Right. Repetition." She flashed a nod at Nari and then a smile toward Éli. "We'll get there, little man. Ready to give this another shot?" As if she even needed to ask, the cat already poised before the remaining training dummies. "Let's do it just like before; let 'em have it when I say go, okay?"

Attempt number two was swiftly underway. This time, she eyed the dummy on the left; it's armour looked heavier than the first but a lack of helmet meant Éli had a smaller target to hit. Better to make it progressively harder for him, she thought. After clearing her throat, she built up suspense and watched as Éli stood still as a tree, waiting for her next words to pounce. "... Éli, attack the left one!" she commanded, pointing to his target.

...

He turned, pupils dilated as wide as physically possible, staring at her as if she'd asked him to fish out a whale from a small pond. She stared back. "... the bad guy on the left!"

He remained unmoving.

"Left, that one!"

Despite pointing it out, Éli's eyes didn't follow, and Cleo sighed heavily. "Or we can just take a little break, if you want..." Her voice reduced to a dejected whimper, Éli's ears perked up as he bounced away to play with the helmet of the dummy he felled earlier.

"On a scale of one to ten," she started, a look of defeat setting upon her face as she turned to Nari. "How bad was that?"

| ID: 207956 | CD: 3 | Training Fail! Lower CD requirement by 2

| Progress: 1/3
| CD Requirement: 3+

"Cleo is fine, thank you." Using pronouns in place of a proper noun was atypical, Cleo knew. She thought it nice Dustin had been willing to use it instead of her real name but as so many knew her by her legal name already, it'd be more trouble than it was worth to navigate Aincrad under two different aliases.

Names aside, after learning of how Dustin acrued so much junk, and how he made it a point to help weaker players who were just starting their adventure, she found herself impressed with his answers. To go through the trouble of using a merhcant as a proxy to distribute the items—especially one with a rare sense of morality such as Roger—meant he didn't do it for the glory or to spread word of his name, but out of a genuine passion for helping others. Perhaps she had misconstrued things entirely but she'd no reason to think otherwise.

"Oh. No, not at all," she replied. "About the rambling, that is. I'll take the cookie." Cleo accepted the snack with frighteningly little hesitation. "If I were just starting out, I'd have found stuff like this useful, so I'm sure your effort isn't going unappreciated by others; especially first-floor folks. It sounds like your brother was quite a noble guy, if he's even anything like you." With a reassuring smile, she snapped the biscuit in half and, after drowning it in coffee, ate it up. She noted the vaguely familiar flavour, quite unlike the real thing, but a satisfying enough imitation.

"If you don't mind me asking... your brother was here with you, in Aincrad? Pardon me for being so forthright, but, how did he pass?" 'Pass' sounded a lot better than 'die', but the question remained the same. For an unspoken reason, she wanted to know more—perhaps more than she ought to know.

Beet red in the face after Nari began to laugh, Cleo feared that something she said came across as wildly different from what she intended. Learning that it was just the compliment—a misinformed one, in Nari's words—which had set the woman off, she relaxed, even briefly joining in with the hysterics. "Alright, maybe we're both a bit disastrous behind the curtain. BUT, don't you dare sell yourself short, Nari. You wouldn't have traipsed through a desert for an hour with this idiot if you weren't at least a decent person." Laughing through her bout of self-deprecation, she set about getting up onto her feet and extended an arm to Nari, offering to help her up. "You're a great friend, either way. I'm sure Onóra would say the same thing." Knowing only one of Nari's friends, she assumed the Blonde would hold the same opinion of the Violette. 

Hearing the humans struggle to their feet, Éli began to whip his tail around in excitement, an unsettling reaction given the nature of his training; to absolutely demolish whatever stood before him. If she were to control his emotions, they would have to tire him out, Cleo concluded. 

"Somebody's eager to get back into the action," she deduced with a giggle. "You may want to keep Yuki out of the way; I still don't know how well he has the whole 'only attack this target' thing down. Better safe than sorry, right?" 

| ID: 207774 | CD: 3 | Training Fail! Lower CD requirement by 2

| Progress: 1/3
| CD Requirement: 5+