[PP-F1] New Faces (Ebony)

[Takneil 0]

resting on a bench Takneil let out a yawn, the past few days have been stressful on him but he had successfully gotten stronger and obtained new equipment...other than <<Stinger Edge>> of course. Feeling something brush against his leg he looked down. A wolf with piercing red eyes and bright white fur sat wagging his tail happily, Vain. Smiling at his furry friend he pat the wolf. "Hey bud" he greeted the familiar. 'I can't believe you show more respect to that mangy mutt than you do me' A voice echoed from the back of his mind, one that wasn't welcome. Rolling his eyes the boy leaned back onto the bench. "Maybe he's better company than you?, have you thought about that?" he spoke softly as not to grab the attention of those around him. 'I saved your life!' "Really?, until I decide whether or not you did as far as I'm concerned you're still nothing but a tumor on my Conscious."

Growing tired of the bickering the boy stood, maybe he would grab some Materials?. Something to help him ignore the annoyance, turning towards the gate that led out of the city he whistled sharply. His ears perking up at his master's call Vain quickly caught up to Takneil and walked by his side. 

[Ebony 0]

Ebony couldnt take her eyes off of the cute little wolf. It reminded her so much of her own little wolf cub who just so happened to be lying there next to her. When she glanced up the other wolf was walking away, following another player. She couldnt help it, and she rushed over to the other wolf, Snow yipping behind her as he tried to keep up. She crouched next to the wolf and started to pet him. "He's so cute!" She exclaimed, hoping that she wasnt about to get pked for touching someone else familiar.

[Takneil 0]

It would be nice for him to find some Material gathering spots on this floor, even though he could easily go to his usual spot on the second floor the lower he went the more comfortable he would be just grabbing the items with the risk of enemies attacking him. Hearing a girl's voice he turned to see Vain happily sitting by a girl who was petting him, giving a compassionate smile his eye widened in surprise as he noticed similar Wolf pup by the girl. A pleasant coincidence.

Chuckling he kneeled next to the Albino Wolf. "Come on bud, you can't just stop whenever someone pets you. At least give me a warning." He lightly scolded. Deciding to give the young one a few pats of his own the boy set his eye on the stranger. "indeed he is." rubbing the wolfs head he smirked, standing from the ground he brushed off his knee. "I'm Takneil, and that's Vain" offering a smile to the girl he extended his hand. "Nice to meet you"

[Ebony 0]

Ebony smiled, continuing to pet the young man's wolf. Meanwhile, her own wolf cub, Snow, was getting upset from the lack of attention being lavished on him. She tumbled his way over to Takneil before yipping at him, wanting to be petted as well. Ebony looked up at the young man. "I'm Ebony, and this little guy is Snow. It's nice to meet you too." She said with a friendly smile, grasping his hand in hers.

[Takneil 0]

Shaking the girl's hand Takneil looked down to the small pup at his ankles, it was cute. Another year or so he could see it being an exact mirror of Vain, kneeling down to the ground he gave Snow a few pats. "So what brings you two down here?" he asked a bit curious. He often came to the first or second floors to relax from the dangers of those above it and of course help out any players that ask for it, a nice opportunity to casually collect materials. 

[Ebony 0]

Ebony smiled at the player, shaking his hand, just before her own little wolf pup headbutted her in the leg. She let go of his hand to bend down and pick up snow, snuggling the little wolf to her chest. "We just popped down here to maybe search for some materials, or just make some friends. We just got off of the front lines a little while ago and wanted to relax." She paused, smiling. "Well, I did. Snow doesnt go to boss battles."

[Takneil 0]

Setting his orange eye on the girl Takneil frowned, front lines again huh?. Letting out a sigh he stood from petting the small pup, it seemed everyone he knew or met was either already on the high floors or just getting to them. yet here he was twiddling his thumbs in a pitiful attempt to get stronger, watching ebony pick up her own wolf pup he nodded as his own albino returned to his side. "I can understand that, I usually have Vain steer clear of battle. Though he's come out to save me a few times." he stated as he gave a gentle pat on the familiar's head. "So...what are the front lines like?" he asked wanting to know what his future held in store for him.

[Ebony 0]

Ebony frowned as he asked what the frontlines were like. "It's hard, really just for tanks, but especially healers. It might not look that way, but healers keep it all together. Everyone in the entire group is their responsibility. Damage dealers just have to focus on dealing damage, while tanks just have to keep the enemies attention and take the damage. But when things start going south and the boss starts spitting out AOE's... Thats all on the healers. When someone dies it's the healers fault, even if no one actually blames them." She explained, thinking on Azide and the other young woman who had died a few days back.

[Takneil 0]

"hmmm? I'm not really sure where I would qualify under those categories, I just sort of go with what seems best for me at the time." he shrugged. Giving out a sigh Takneil shook his head, he had many problems with the mobs on the lower floors. hell the other day he had almost fallen to a mass hoard of forty mobs, he couldn't imagine how a floor boss would be. "I don't think it should be the healer's fault though, I mean those players knew the risks and chose to participate anyway. If anything by blaming other people those players are dishonoring our fallen comrades memory ..." the boy spoke his opinion. "I remember the days when being a healer meant nothing because everyone wanted to be a tank or a bruiser, I actually think it's brave for players to chose to go the healer route. They risk their own protection and strength by aiding others." realizing he had rambled on the monochrome hair player blushed slightly. "Sorry..."

[Ebony 0]

Ebony blushed herself as the other player complimented her choice of the healing route. Lately she had been working on her build and becoming a paladin instead of just a healer. After all, there was only one healing skill, and she had devoted her time in this game to helping others. It was only logical for her to choose a mix of tank and healer to best do that. "Well, things are getting more difficult. I wanted people to need healers, but now that they do I dont want that anymore. Its just very stressful." She absentmindedly ran her hand up and down the single, glowing white glove on her hand. This glove made her the premier healer in the game, which came with it's own set of responsibilities. "Anyways.... Would you like to party with me, just for a bit?" She asked quietly.

[Takneil 0]

"hmm, have you thought about taking a break from the higher floors?" Takneil asked the girl. "I mean I'm sure you can handle it but if you're feeling overwhelmed why not recharge?" He may not have been remotely close enough to a high tier ranking player but he understood sometimes it was just nice to relax, especially when everyone's life is put into the balance every other day. "Not just that, but if people are pointing the blame at the healers let them see what happens when a healer isn't there to help." He stated coldly about the subject. Nodding the boy ran a hand through his monochrome hair and chuckled sheepishly."Sorry about that...again, I just don't like people who shift the blame onto others. And yeah, I would like that."

[Ebony 0]

"Hm." She replied, thinking. "I think that most of the frontliners are just idiots with good work ethic. No one is blaming the healers, at least not out loud. At the moment their blaming a certain damage dealer who had no control over the situation." She explained. The other player was a bit harsher than she liked in his statement, but she had often thought the same thing. "I dont want people to die, and if I can save them i'm going to. If I dont help whenever I can it's on me if someone dies, at least, someone who I could have saved."

[Takneil 0]

Frowning Takneil crossed his arms and sighed, "That hardly seems fair, unless they deliberately did something to make the fight more difficult it should be no one's fault".  Shaking his head he looked at the girl in front of him. "My intentions weren't that I wanted people to die, but it isn't your responsibility to be there to lick their wounds every time. So unless you give yourself some time take a breather you're just gonna end up like the others." he stated. 

[Ebony 0]

Ebony looked up at the player. "You dont understand. When you have the skills to save those lives, it becomes your responsibility to do that whenever you can." It wasn't her responsibility to lick their wounds, but it was her responsibility to make sure that they were alive to lick those wounds themselves.  She shouldnt have expected someone who wasnt a healer to understand. It wasnt his fault. "Sorry, but i dont really want to have this conversation anymore." She said, visibly upset.

[Takneil 0]

Sighing the boy shook his head. "You're right...I don't understand." He admitted. He hadn't tried to sound cold, it was unlike him to speak his mind so bluntly without cushioning the impact with a few light hearted words but he had wanted to get his point across. Waiting in silence Takneil let the previous conversation fade away as the girl requested, many things went by in his mind, the two had only just met and he wouldn't mind being friends with her but he had a feeling he had severely compromised his impression. 

Forming a sly grin as an idea came to mind the boy reached out into the air, sliding his hand down causing a window to open. He had never really thought of investing in the skill because of his armors regeneration and he normally played the role of a Tank or Berserker. Swiping through the various screens he allocated his hard earned skill points into a skill. "Hey..." He spoke suddenly. Flipping around the window so the girl could see his stats and skills he offered a kind smile. "Maybe now I can start understanding what you meant?." 

[Ebony 0]

"Sorry, but no. You arent a healer even if you invest some points. And that's fine." Ebony replied, wondering why he would waste his skill points on a skill that he would probably never use. Skill points were hard enough to get without wasting them. "I appreciate you trying to understand how hard it can be for healers, thats really nice, but you should just stick with your build." She smiled at him, taking a step forward and giving him gentle hug.

[Takneil 0]

Letting out a soft chuckle the boy shook his head. "I know by investing some points in a skill it doesn't automatically allow me to see what you've been through, and I know I can't be a healer. This change most likely just threw me into the Paladin class, which I never have done but hey new things are nice." he said with a shrug. He knew as of now it was an empty gesture but to him it was one he planned on fulfilling. What the girl did next put him at a loss, arms suddenly wrapping around him his mind froze. Why did she do that?, while he was still trying to comprehend the situation Takneil's body moved on it's own. Answering with a hug of his own, he was stunned that his heart didn't beat fast, he wasn't blushing, it didn't feel awkward like it should have...it was...warm. 

"Well I guess this makes us friends?" He asked the question with a light hearted laugh looking down at Ebony.

[Ebony 0]

She smiled as he hugged her back, asking if this make them friends. She released him from the hug and took a step back. "Of course. I wouldn't hug you if I didn't think of you as a friend." She said as though that was incredibly obvious. "Thank you for trying to help, it made me feel a bit better." She stated glad to have met someone who wasnt part of the front lines and seemed to be a lot more lighthearted than everyone else. She thought about his comment on becoming a paladin. That was an interesting choice, something that Ebony was planning to do herself eventually.

[Takneil 0]

Laughing softly as Ebony ended the brief embrace Takneil nervously scratched at the back of his head. "Sorry, Considering we basically just met I wanted to clarify." looking sheepishly to the side he shook his head as he recalled being flying tackled hugged by a complete stranger calling him 'Big bro', shivering at the memory he quickly recalled his menu and sent a friend request to the girl. "Well I was hoping to make you feel a lot better, I'm a bit empathetic so I feel obligated to try and make others feel better." He admitted failing to see the irony in the words he just spoke, but they rang true.

[Ebony 0]

Ebony smiled at him. It was nice to just talk with someone for a while without fighting any creatures or planning builds. "That really nice of you." She stated, reaching up to tap the accept button on the friend request. She reached down to pick up her wolf cub, snow, and nuzzle him gently. He let out a long yawn in a very cute way. "Well, Snow is gettting tired, I need to drop him off at my shop so he can sleep." She paused. "Would you like to come with me?"