[PP-F11] Away from the Festival

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius pulled Manta away and then looked back to the Festival frowning. Why Zel? He questioned himself, hating every inch of his being for leaving Kiru like that. For the past few years, Zelrius wanted nothing more than to just be with Kiru, and given the opportunity, he ran off with another girl. Not because he actually liked her, but because he had a point to prove. And now, the point was proven and he still came out a loser in it all. To ice the cake; Zelrius had invited Snow out, Ditched her, Pulled Manta away who probably already had a date, and abandoned Kiru again. It really was not a good deal, all around. Here was now, standing in front of the great Cathedral, his hand still linked with Manta's, and with a glance from the Festival behind them to her he sighed and tried to give a weak smile. "It's one of the most quiet places in Aincrad. There's a Balcony that we can rent by the hour, hopefully no one is up there already." He said now looking back at the Festival, giving another sigh and opened the Cathedral doors, heading inside.

[Amira 0]

Manta thought that all of this was a bit strange. Zelrius had never shown any interest in her until now, and even though they had grown a bit closer on their scouting mission she didn't think that he felt that way. Truthfully, she didn't share the sentiment. She wasn't opposed to dating Zelrius, but she wasn't completely for it either. She couldn't help but think that if this date worked out and they continued seeing each other, that he would feel as though she was just there for his unique. That would always hang over his and her heads. She glanced over at Zelrius, noting his sigh. He really didn't seem all that happy. Maybe he was already having his doubts? "Hey Zel, before we go any further, are you sure that you want this date?" Something just felt off about this whole thing. Maybe it was just her own reservations, doubts, and current neutrality, but she didn't want to somehow make him feel obligated to continue.

[Zelrius 0]

It was odd, Zelrius was now on a 'date' with a girl he didn't even like, and though he didn't know, the girl didn't even like him back. A position that was strange for anyone, both outside and inside the pair. He felt like now that he was dating Manta now, or working on it, just for status quo. Zelrius hadn't dated Since his incident with Erin, and that absolutely crushed his will to live for a few days. Here they were months later, and he was running around with Manta, which in itself he never expected. The Golden haired boy tried his hardest not to get any real attraction to her, and he still didn't have any, but until today, Zelrius was sure Kiru didn't even like him. He internally sighed again "Yea, I already ruined my Friendship with Kiru right there, might as well go on this little date and atleast hope I get a tiny bit of happiness out of it." He walked up the stairs, still holding her hand, to the balcony, click the 'accept' button when it prompted him to pay the rent for using said Balcony.

[Amira 0]

Manta raised an eyebrow. She wasn't just going to let him get away with that. She gently wormed her hand out of his grip. "Zelrius. Im not just going to be a little fling of yours to make you temporarily happy." She said, looking him straight in the eye, being absolutely serious. She paused, trying to think of what else to say. "If we date, it isn't going to be 'little'. Walk away or continue on, I don't particularly care, but if I'm going to take this date seriously I expect you to do the same." She finally said, voicing her opinion about the situation. She didn't particularly  want this date, but if it was going to happen, she was going to treat it seriously, not as some sort of fling.

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius turned with a quirked eyebrow as Manta ripped her hand away and spoke. His expression sagged more into sadness realizing that over time he had become exactly what he hated. Zelrius grew up hating the Popular kids in the real world, who often used their Parent's businesses and influence in the small town to get what they wanted. The same kids who never took any relationships seriously, and dated merely because society told them they had to. And here he was, Using his rank and power to bully people into submission, and using the girls he dated as a sort of drug to take his mind off Kiru for lengths of time. Here he was, treating Manta like a plaything for the moment only because he felt bad about himself. Maybe Lowenthal was right, Maybe Zelrius was just a selfish child with more power than he deserves. "Manta, forgive me. Today at the festival, it was not my intention to go there and treat you like some easy-to-get short-term girl. That whole thing with Kiru has really shut down my mood and spirits for the day. If you feel like I am just going to treat you like a toy used for temporary happiness, You're free to leave. Otherwise, I ask for you to give me a chance."

[Amira 0]

Manta gave Zelrius a smile. "You don't need to ask for a chance. I was always going to give you a chance, I just felt like you weren't going to for me." She said. She wasn't about to leave unless he asked her to, especially after he had asked her to give him a chance. Despite his words she still felt like neither of their hearts were truly into it. Who knew, maybe that would change during the date itself. She reached out and grasped his hand again. "Lets get moving then."

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius looked to Manta, her smile contagious and he smiled back. He stood up, taking both her hands now and no longer avoiding eye contact. "That's all I can ask for; a Chance. Thank you Lady Manta. You're right, we should get moving, come on up." He rushed up the stairs to the balcony, looking down at the grand Cathedral hall below them, the NPCs and players whispering very quietly, saying their prayers. The Golden haired boy was never into Religion, but this was one of the few places they could go where it was regularly quiet and no one would bother them. He never got over the siight of the Stained Glass, right now the main window being a giant Azure Brigade Symbol into the Stained Glass, This probably being because of Ssendom's purchases. "Not that exciting I know, but I thought maybe you'd like the peace and quiet."

[Amira 0]

A light blush tinted Manta's cheeks as he grasped her other hand and led her up the stairs quickly, into the balcony overlooking the hall beneath them. It really was a beautiful sight, and the peaceful atmosphere was a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of everyday life as a front liner. No people begging for materials or items, or asking her for help. She could only imagine how bad it must be for Zelrius, being the best DPS and the Hero of Aincrad. That was a lot of stress and responsibility for one person. Her eyes glanced around the place, drawn especially to the stained glass. The main window had the Azure Brigade symbol, which she thought was a bit out of place, but it was still incredibly beautiful. "It can get a bit too exciting sometimes in this game." She replied.

[Zelrius 0]

(Kek, Dom buys expensive things) 

Zelrius admired the Azure Brigade symbol a bit longer, but looked away after a while, remembering that he had probably just torn Kiru from the guild as a whole. He sighed again, and tried his best not to look so sullen and down at the moment. Manta had given him the chance, one that he for one, never thought he'd have, and two, he never thought he'd ever ask for. He was just being selfish when asking her out on this date, though even he was unsure why, and now he was completely ruining it by being so off put by the Kiru thing. "The game is an endless loop of excitement, almost to the point where something so mind-numblingly simple like this is more fun that anything else the game has to offer." He remembered Miaki and Shanok, who had offered him sanctuary in their runaway spot far on the edge of the 8th Floor.  He refused, insisting that he must do his part and help, and just like that they closed the door on him. Looking on it now, Zelrius envied their current lifestyle. Probably grinded every now and again, and used their respective professions to keep their gear repaired and food coming. How care-free I wish I could be

[Amira 0]

Manta glanced over at Zelrius as he sighed again. He didn't look as upset as before, but there was still a bit of sadness on his face. Odds were that he was just trying to hide how he felt for her sake. "I cant imagine what i'll do when I get out of this game. All the constant excitement, real world things must feel pretty boring after all this. It'll be a relief to escape, but for me that'll bring a whole 'nother set of problems." She stated quietly, looking around the hall again. She was confident that they would get out of this game, maybe because she always spoke like it was something definite. That was something that she had been doing the entire time she had been in the game, hoping that it would inspire a confidence and keep the hopelessness away, and over time it had developed into a firm belief.

[Zelrius 0]

"I personally can't imagine what I will do outside the game either. Aincrad has given me more opportunities to live life the way I've always thought I wanted to. And now here I am, with more downs than ups." He stopped there, thinking that the conversation was getting a little too serious. Zelrius gave another attempt at a smile and tried to advert it to a happier and less serious topic. "So, since I suppose you've forced me to take this date less lightly, I guess I'd like to know a little about you. Out in the real world, Where are you from?" It was odd that this had to be asked in game, Given the game was only supposed to be distributed in a certain area in Japan, but there were exceptions, like Zelrius, whom ordered it from far outside of it and connected to the server one way or another.

[Amira 0]

Manta frowned as he asked her about real life. She didn't like thinking about how she would have to confront her parents once this was over. For all she knew, they hadn't even noticed she was stuck in this game, and the maid had been taking care of her. She didn't truly believe that, but she also couldn't understand why they hadn't pulled the plug yet. They hadn't cared about her before, why would they care now? "I was born in Norway, but when I was still a baby my parents moved to Japan because they got a job offer. Their lawyers, and incredibly rich. They never seemed to notice me though. I don't have much to say about myself, I was locked in the house, so VRMMOs were my escape. Simple story for a simple person." She said a bit bitterly.

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius hadn't asked for her whole life story, or even part of it, just where she was from. He felt even more inconsiderate than he was being already on that day, and her tone of voice bit at him a little. "Ah, so an international person you are. Wish my story was half that interesting." Zelrius took another glance at the Cathedral and then turned back to Manta, still holding both her hands, though he didn't know why. "Aye, this place has gotten a bit on the boring side of things. What do you say we head out to one of the Lower Floors? Seven is relatively secluded and the Mountains provide a nice cooler environment with a bit of everything on it."

[Amira 0]

Manta waited for Zelrius to tell her a bit about himself back, but she was disappointed. She thought that she had summarized it pretty well. It certainly wasn't twenty words or less, but it wasn't like she had gone on for longer than a minute. Probably not. She glanced back at Zelrius, paying more attention to what he was saying now. The mountains were certainly nice, and hiking always made it easier to talk. "That sounds like a good idea." She said, gently pulling him towards the stairs, leading the way to the teleporter herself this time.

[Zelrius 0]

As they headed down to the teleporter, Zelrius began to try and force himself to feel some emotion for this date. Anything, hate, sadness, love, trust, Anything at this point. Alas, none came at that moment, however desperately he wanted it to. When they neared the gate, Zelrius spoke quietly to her, simply because of the people bustling around the Plaza, teleporting to and from Taft for the Festival. "The place we want to go is Nimbus." Unsure of whether or not she had ever been to the Seventh floor, but quickly felt like an idiot because they had gone grinding there together not that long ago. With that, Zelrius activated his Search & Detect skill, along with the Tracking Mod, glancing around and at his map to make sure no one was following, a sort of caution he developed a long time ago.

[Amira 0]

Manta raised an eyebrow. She had thought that she would get some sort of reaction from her leading him there, something. Annoyance that she had sort of taken the lead? Happiness that he didn't have to lead her everywhere? Nothing. This date was going nowhere, and it was becoming quite apparent that he had no interest in her. He didn't seem to feel anything whatsoever for her, and he didn't want to know about her past either, at least she assumed from his reaction. "Nimbus." She called out, wondering if she should address the issue.

[Zelrius 0]

As they teleported, he spoke again "Personally I love travelling, of course, so does everyone but," He began unsure of where else to go for this conversation. "I rarely left my home country of the United States. When I did, it was up to British Columbia on the West coast of Canada to visit my mother. The place was nice, she, not so much." He cut off there not interested in sharing his parent's statuses out beyond in the real world. "That being said, I can only Imagine the Hero of Aincrad will be invited all over the place, If he survives the game that is." It was always an if. Zelrius wasn't so much afraid of the Bosses, but of the other players. Zelrius couldn't help but be afraid of the jealous and hateful glares and the constant fear and paranoia that someone would sneak up on him one day and get the jump. He stopped moving pulling Manta back and a bit closer. She used to be one of those people he was afraid of, and here he was now on a 'date' with her, if you could call it that. "This date has been a roller coaster of emotions, and for that I apologize. But, maybe I can make it up to you for sticking through it this long." He lifted an eyebrow, questioning her now without speaking.

[Amira 0]

Manta listened at Zelrius actually told her a bit about his past. "There's no if about that Zelrius." She said, confident that he would survive unless he killed himself. She raised an eyebrow as he stated that he might be able to make it up to her, how she had stuck through this. He stated it as though he was certain that she wasn't enjoying herself or enjoying hanging out with him. She smirked, but in a more kind than rude manner. "Zel, this hasn't been painful for me, and im not forcing myself to be here with you. I enjoy hanging out with you, so there is nothing to make up for. Even if you don't feel the same way about me. If you don't enjoy being with me, the feeling is not mutual." She replied, giving his hand a squeeze.

[Zelrius 0]

Her hand words ended by the hand squeeze was what kicked the emotions on Zelrius. He tightened his hands around hers too, inching just a bit closer, nearly wanting to hug her, despite that being reserved for Kiru only so far. "I am glad you're not forcing yourself to be here. It's hard to explain; I wanted to be here with you, and the actual experience is not what is driving me away. I just can't take my mind off Kiru, and just how pained she looked greeting you and as we pulled away. I am extremely sorry for that, and would like to invite you to a dinner date in a few days when I don't have so many things weighing on my mind." He had hoped she'd accept, that they he'd get a second shot to for form some kind of actual feeling for her, without the headaches caused by other social relations.

[Amira 0]

Manta smiled as she felt his hands tighten on hers in reply to her squeeze. Finally she got some sort of response. It certainly sounded like it was a good response as well. She was a bit upset that he wanted to end the date because of another girl, but she couldn't fault him. She didn't know anything about there relationship. In fact, she hadn't even known that the girl was a commandant until Zel has stated that. If Manta was annoyed at Oink for believing him to be too weak for his position, she was more annoyed at the woman. She looked like she was at least ten levels lower than her. "All right. I guess I'll see you then. Now go save your friendship!" She said the last part jokingly, as she let go of his hand. It was meant as a joke, but the truth was that was probably exactly what he would have to do.