[PP-F4] Zandra and Jomei (Part 7)

[Zandra 0]

Why did this happened now of all times, Zandra thinked to herself. She thougth it was just a one time bug or something. She couldnt face her boyfriend. But she knew he cared about her, and just wanted her well. So she didnt hesitated to tell him the truth.''I dont know if you have met him but there is this guy, Macradon is his name, but called just Mac.''she rubbed her eyes with the backside of her hand before contiuing.''One day we met and decided to go for a boss on floor three I think it was. A elven style elder.''she took a breath and turned to look into Jomeis eyes. She sniffled.''Well, everything went on good, we killed some elves and after some time engaged that elder. Thou it took us a few turns to take it down, and during the last turn, everything turned red and I couldnt control my body. I started to stab it again and again, even when its health was already zero. Then when it was dead and I herd Macs voice.'' here she paused and looked down, this was the worst thing in the whole story.''Then... Then I charged him.''her eyes got wet.''But before I reached him I snapped out of it and got back the control.''she turned her eyes back to him.''I almost attacked another player Jomei! Im a freak! And I got the exact same feeling a minute ago, it was like someone else took control of me.'' she raised and turned around, shivering.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei moved from a kneeling position to sit down in front of Zandra, his legs crossed and hands on his knees. He looked at the girl, waiting for her to explain just what had happened. She started off by mentioning Macradon, or Mac as he goes by. Jomei nodded, "Yeah.. I know him." Never a good way to start off a story to your boyfriend... She then continued, saying they decided to take on a boss fight one day on Floor Three, some type of elf. Oh, a quest, that makes more sense..  She explained how the quest went with the two of them, defeating the leader's band of elves before taking out the boss, who gave them a bit of a problem. But what the concern Zandra had was that she had snapped and lost control during the fight, becoming relentless. She even went on to say she almost attacked Macradon as well. Jomei's green eyes opened wide at Zandra's story, not sure what to say about it.  He placed a hand on her cheek to try and comfort her. "... Do you know what causes it..?"

[Zandra 0]

When she saw Jomei react by looking at her with his eyes wide open she mumble.''I know, oyu think Im a freak too.'' She looked down but then he placed his hand on her cheek. Could be because of the love they had at each other, since that little thing made her feel safer in some way. The ters that only was a few moments away didnt came, instead she got calmer.''Ehm... actually we went to try to find out what it was, and we found a church-ish building in town of the beginnings, a woman opened the door and told us she could help if we said what the matter was. I told her everything that happened. First she looked serious, then she broke out in a laughter and told me what was wrong was that we should try some other weed, and she said it was a great story, then she slamed the gate in our faces.'' she rembered the feeling when she and Mac was standing infront of the closed gate.''After that we decided to guess it was some kind of bug and went for dinner. Since then I havent mentioned it to anyone. You think Im a freak?''

[Jomei 0]

Jomei continued to gently rub his thumb against Zandra's cheekbone, his other four fingers gently pressing against her cheek. It always seemed to calm her down whenever he did it. She answered his question, stating that they attempted to find out just what it was that caused it. However, the only lead they had was a woman from a church down on Floor One. Even than woman ended up making a joke of Zandra's situation, and not offering any help at all. Jomei's face took a much different look now, an angered look in fact. How could this person just shove Zandra away like that without even listening to her story. She asked again if Jomei thought she was a freak. "No. Of course not." he looked the girl in the eyes, "Do you think that the woman in the church actually knows how to help you?" Jomei was set on finding a cure for this thing that haunted Zandra, one way or another.

[Zandra 0]

When she looked at Jomei and he answered negative when she asked if he thinks she is a freak. It also looked like he was honest. Then he wondered if that woman knew a way to help her."No, I dont think so. We went there since we had not a single clue of what it was, so was gonna try the church since in other games priests usualy healers. I hers somewhere actually that master and grandmasters alchemists cqn brew an antidote. Ive been visiting every single NPC of that rank but none had something like that for sale." She paused. Then her face looked paniced."No, dont you try to find a cure. Please dont tell anyone about it. Please."

[Jomei 0]

Jomei closed his eyes and sighed when Zandra told Jomei she did not believe the woman in the church actually knew how to cure her, and they just went there on a hunch. "Damn." If Zandra truly believed this woman could have helped her, but denied it thinking Zandra was just crazy, then Jomei would have stormed into that church and made sure Zandra's condition was taken seriously. "I won't tell anyone. But I will not give up on trying to help you." he said, looking into her eyes with a very serious look. "If it is that much of a danger to your own life.. Then I will do everything in my power to help you. I will keep you safe.. I promise." Jomei stood up and grabbed his cloak from the bench, placing it once again over Zandra's shoulders. He then helped the girl up onto her feet and stood in front of her, a smile on his face and hands on her shoulders.

[Zandra 0]

Zandra got touched by Jomeis determination to find a cure to her sickness, or what it was. He placed his hands on her shoulders. Zandra answered his smile with another smile. That she had someone that cared this much about her,  it was something completly new to her. She took a step forward so Jomeis hands slided of her shoulders and down at her back. She then grabbed her own arms around him, leaning the side if her head towards his chest. She could hear his heart beats.''Jomei, this thing, it isnt a danger to my life. Its more a danger to your life as long as your with me. But I have been playing this death game for quite awhile, and this is the second time ever this happens. So lets just ignore this okay? And let our lifes continue happy.'' she looked up nto his green eyes.''Im not completly sure what I did to you, but youre not even a little disapointed it wasnt true?'' she said and gave him a cute smile.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei looked into Zandra's eyes for a moment, still with that look of determination, as she told him not to worry about it. He closed his eyes and exhaled out through his nostrils, nodding his head. "Alright. I'll take your word for it." He took his hands off of her shoulders and smirked. "But.. If we find out anything else about it, I will try to find a way to stop it." He gave the girl another stern look to let her know he was serious. Little did she realize, that this thing was, in fact, a danger to her life. What if she were to lash out at some monster that was much higher leveled than her, or even a player... She might not be so lucky to charge at someone so forgiving next time. He walked over to the armchair and plopped down in it, taking up most of the space, and letting out a sigh of relief.  He had slept in a sitting up position on the bench for a few hours, so his body was stiff. The comfort of this chair made it all feel better. 

[Zandra 0]

It seemed Jomei wouldnt dig into this, thou if they found out something about it, whatever it was, they would try to find a way to stop it."We say so then." She said and nodded. Then he let go of her and sat down in the armchair. He had been sleeping on a hard wooden bench so he definitly deserved it. She smiled at the back of the ginger head that belonged to her boyfriennd. She then turned around and wrnt inside the staff only room. A few minutes later she came back with two plates "I made some breakfast." She gave Jomei one of the plates and on the plate it was... three slices of dry bread."Im sorry, it was the only thing I had home." She placed her own plate on a table and walked to a shelf on the wall. There she took two potions and walked back to Jomei."Here, gonna be easier to swallow it down with this." She pulled forth another armchair she had in the shadows of a corner and placed it beside his. Then she sat down and started chewing on a piece of bread. She took a sip of the potion. This potion was tricking your brain to think that whatever you ate, it would taste like what you like the most in the whole world. She let out a sigh like when eating something realy tasty."Thou I cant guarantee that you gonna have all your body parts left after drinking it."she said and winked at him.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nostrils. He took in the lingering smell of the hot chocolate, which was mostly overpowered by the scent the burning logs in the fire gave off. In this moment, he truly felt at peace. A couple of minutes later, still with his eyes closed, he heard Zandra's soft voice, telling him she had made the two breakfast. Opening his eyes, he saw the girl standing there, the image of the fire in the background, holding a plate with a couple of pieces of bread on it. Jomei's green eyes focused on the bread for a moment before moving back up to Zandra with a smile, "Thank you love." He took the plate in his hand and placed it on his lap. The bread was not much.. just bread, a bit dry in fact. But that did not stop Jomei from picking up a piece of the bread and biting into it. Reminded him of the bread each player was given at the beginning of the game. "Oh, thanks." he said, taking the potion from Zandra. He took a sip and then another bite of the bread, this time it tasted much better.. and strangely like some sort of meat. "Hah, I think one less arm is worth it for this." he said, looking back at her. 

[Zandra 0]

Zandra let out a giggle when Jomei said that losing an arm would be worth it to have her special potion.''Haha, but how are you then gonna be able to play at your lute? I thougth you needed two arms for that.'' she said, giving him a hint. Then she took up one of the bread pieces and took another chew, she thougth it was weird, yes it was the same as the starting food, but couldnt they have added a few lines of progrmming to at least make it taste something. Now it just felt like eating cardboard or paper, well, that was what Zandra thougth. She quickly took another sip of the potion and suddenly it felt like she was eating pancakes with blueberry-jam on. She groaned, it was so delicious.''Well, its not the same like ordering something from a cook, but I just couldnt stand to eat that tasteless bread day after day. Nor do I have economy to buy good food every day, I have the Col but saving them for something more important then good food. What are you usualy eating for lunch, breakfast and such?'' she asked and looked curiously on her boyfriend.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei popped the last bite of the first piece of bread into his mouth. The man still had a lot of the potion left over, mainly because he had gotten used to the bread the game offered. Living the way he had been for the past couple of months was definitely not the life of luxury, including when it came to food. He usually only got something 'nicer' to eat whenever our with a friend. "Hm. Thats a good point." he said with a smile and a wink to Zandra. "I guess I'll just have to give up playing the lute then." he chuckled playfully, starting on the next piece of bread, this time using a bit of the potion. He looked at the girl as she ate, he could not help but drop the thought of what causes her to lash out like that. At that moment, he remembered another time where something very similar happened, back in the cave on Floor Five. At the end of the fight with that monster that stopped them from leaving the cave.. she ruthlessly killed the mob and then came onto Jomei. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind for another time.. he would probably have to look into this on his own. "O-Oh Hm.." her words brought him back from his thoughts, "Well.. uh.. usually I just get whatever is near me.. I also don't always eat every meal, especially if I'm out in the fields. I might just drink a bottle of water to hold me over." 

[Zandra 0]

Zandra looked Jomei with raised eyebrows. It seemed he didnt got her hint, or maybe he just wasnt in the mood of playing right now."Well, we can fix that you know. I still have my dagger in my inventory. It would take about 2,73 seconds to cut thru an arm with it."she said winking at him.

It seemed he just took whatever was near him, sometimes thou he skiped a meal or two."What? You know that you should eat three meals every da..." she stopped right in a sentence. She realised she was sounding like she was his mother, but she wasnt. And after all, there was many peoples that skip several meals. And it seemed that Jomei was feeling good so she let it go."So, what do you wanna do today darling?"

[Jomei 0]

Jomei blinked and his eyes widened. He felt some sweat accumulate on the side of his jaw, "T-Thats a very specific number Zan.." he did not want to know why she knew exactly how long it would take to cut through his arm.. even though it would just regenerate back in time. "I think I'll keep both of my arms for now." he said with a nervous chuckle. 

Jomei popped another piece of the bread in his mouth, looking up at Zandra who had stopped mid sentence when telling Jomei that he needed to eat three meals a day. "Yeah.. I know I should.. Just sometimes I find myself too busy.. Or really not hungry." he laughed, "I guess living the life of an adventurer.. you learn to let go of some luxuries." He smiled at her, "But maybe I'll start. Probably would be better for me anyway." He finished off another piece of the bread, placing the plate and unfinished potion down on a side table next to the chair. "Hm.. Not really sure. Maybe something a little less adventurous today? After two days of almost dying that is." he said with a wink

[Zandra 0]

It seemed that Jomei wanted to keep both his arms in place. So Zandra, that was scrolling thru her menus to take out the dagger, swiped a few times and the screen disapeared.

She took another chew of the bread when Jomei was saying that he wanted to do something less adventurus. She could agree with that."Yeah, I have got enough of near death sotuations for at least a week now." She still had her mouth full of bread so it was hard to tell any words. Then she swallowed."What you say about looking after one of those dungeons? Ive herd rumprs that on floor five and up you can find small dungeons. Maybe find that stalagmite cave again."she remembered their last time."We are pretty much stronger now and I wont head deeper without armour this time." She said and smiled at him.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei watched as Zandra closed her menu. Sometimes, he was not sure if the girl was serious or not.. He let out a sigh of relief. After mentioning that they should do something that required a little less 'almost-dying' situations, Zandra agreed. Although Jomei thought she agreed at first, being her mouth was full of bread. After swallowing, she suggested the two go check out one of the small dungeons she had heard so much about. It was not exactly what Jomei had in mind as less dangerous... he was thinking something more casual the two could do. But it might be smart to not get all comfy-cozy off of the battlefield, for come next boss fight they would be right back at it. "Sure, why not. Sounds good to me." 

[Zandra 0]

Zandra thougth that Jomei would say no to her suggestion about searching for a dungeon, but it seemed he would like to do it. She broke eye-contact and turned around to pick up her unfinished bread. Then she walked thru the room and into the 'staff-only room'. There she placed the plate on a bench she had in there. She also placed both her hands on it and took some deep breaths. So they was gonna go do a dungeon. She havent done any sub-dungeons yet, and this was a little nervous, it have just went out of her mouth, without thinking. But if he wanted to do it, then she had to be strong and master her fear, after all, she didnt had to be in any fear, she was with Jomei. She moved her hands form the bench and straightened her back. Then she walked out of the room. When she spotted her boyfriend again she gave him a heartful smile.''So, ready to get going?''

[Jomei 0]

Zandra went into the other room to bring the plates from their breakfast back. As the girl was gone, Jomei sat back in the chair, staring at his hands. He fiddled with his fingers that were intertwined, thinking about what Zandra had offered. Searching for a sub-dungeon? That seems just as dangerous as the other things we did.... maybe I should talk her out of it... The girl came back from the other room, no longer holding the plates, and asking if Jomei was ready to head out. "Actually.." Jomei said suddenly, speaking his mind. "Maybe we can save searching for a dungeon for another day... From what I've heard, they can end up being very dangerous, and I'd feel much better with a slightly larger party. Theres only so much healing you can do, and so much damage I can do... Let alone how much we can take." Jomei stood up from the armchair and walked over to Zandra, wrapping his arms gently around her and speaking in a soft tone. "Maybe we just.. call it a lazy day today. Spend it inside here, by the fire, just the two of us. It looks like the normal snowy weather outside picked up a bit anyway, so it will probably be cold and hard to move around. Maybe tomorrow we can check out another quest, or something like that. " 

[Zandra 0]

It seemed that her boyfriend actually didnt wanted to go on a dungeon search today. A little to quick she answered."Yesletssaveitforanothertim..." she stopped."Ehm... I mean, if you dont want to I guess we can skip it." She said snd scratched her neck while looking at a spiderweb in the roof that suddenly had became very interesting.

She felt two warm arms grab around her. She answered by hugging him and lean her head on his chest. He then, in that tone that always seemed to make her relax, said that maybe they would call it a lazy day, just those two spending some time together. She looked up with a cute smile."Yes, lets do that." She said in a calm voice."But actually." She broke eyecontact and leaned her cheek on his chest."My lazy days have been sitting on the couch alone and watch TV and eat pizza. Otherwise my days was filled with work or MMO-related stuffs. How do you have a lazy day?"

[Jomei 0]

Jomei raised an eyebrow at Zandra when she blurted out quickly that she thought it was a good idea to not look for a dungeon anyway. He laughed when she tried to cover herself up to make it seem like he was the only one who did not want to go. With a soft smile, that was when he stood up and walked over to the girl, wrapping his arms around her. He heard the girl's voice speak up, saying she agreed with his idea for a lazy day. Jomei looked down at her when she continued with her sentence, mentioning her lazy days in the real world included just watching tv and eating. "Thats a good point.. Well I used to do the same thing pretty much... But obviously we don't have those same things here in Aincrad." Jomei looked around and then shrugged, "Well, I'm sure we can figure out something."