[PP-F1] Mondays. (Itzal & Esper) {COMPLETE}

[Esper 0]

Esper's expression was faltering at this point, as her pokes towards her attempt to expose them was miserably failing. This woman was as solid as concrete. She could say less so about her friend. But she nodded in acception to her statement, and thus stepped out of the way, her eyes shut, a frown forcing her eyebrows to slant. But she refused to look at the lady again, instead raising her arm in a gesture to give leave to the two, her hand spread wide as if to show her the path. "You're right, I apologize for keeping you. As do I apologize for being so intrusive. I hope you'll forgive me, ladies." Hah. He may as well be a woman with the way he carries himself. Such a baby. I wonder if he's scared of me. That, or he's troubled with the fact that he can't see Itzal. That must be horrible, to know some hooded man is lurking about, and there's nothing you can do to see him. I can sympathize for the lug. However, Esper wasn't done here, not by a longshot. She still suspected them of something. She'd share her concerns after she heard what Itzal thought about it. She might even consider following them on their, 'trek'.

Edited August 19, 2016 by Esper

[Itzal 0]

That did it.  Right before the woman could reply the man drew his ax without a moment's hesitation and placed it under Esper's throat.

"Listen kid, and listen well!" he growled.  "Better stop making insults to people you know nothing abou-"  He never got a second word in as he screamed in pain.  If Esper looked down now that the ax was away from her, she could see Retributor coming through his left shoulder.  Not a fatal wound, but a very VERY painful one.  The man was tossed knocked to the side and kicked in the head by Itzal, sword in hand.

"Don't you ever threaten someone like that again."  He turned to the woman quickly and saw that she was already five paces away, the false weapons lying where she was and a one handed longsword in her hand.  The blade must have been half as thick as Retributor so it was probably meant for jabs.  What threw him off was how the woman's stance looked like a combination of a fencers' stance and Itzal's own, where her body was in the shape and grace of a standing fencer while her arm and hand showed power and held the sword with the hilt by her hip and the blade away from her towards the other end.

"Well well well, aren't we something?  I do apologize for his behavior, he doesn't have many manners.  Well, he used to have none until I taught him otherwise.  And might I say sir, quite a good thrust up the shoulder, I like your style.  Unfortunately I need to take that big idiot somewhere and I wasn't joking about the long trip.  Floor eleven is quite a high way to travel after all, so how about we forget this ever happened and move on with our lives?"  Her hood was still up but there was a bit of light now and they could see her purple lips curved in a gentle smile.

[Esper 0]

Esper's reaction towards the axe rested on her neck was cold. She hardly flinched, only lifting her chin slightly when the man lifted, meeting his gaze with her own, bitter and offensive. Her eyes seemed to display a profound disliking towards the gesture, and none of anything else. Fear was absent, shock was nowhere in sight, and reasoning didn't seem to penetrate her stare either. However, she did snap to attention when Itzal swooped past, knocking the man in the shoulder with his sword. Part of her wanted to protest, but she allowed it without a word. Instead, she found herself searching for the woman, and as she expected, the lady was in a defensive position. She held the sword rather odd, she had to credit, since she would have been better suited with a rapier in that stance, but she dismissed the irrelevant thoughts, and spoke up. "I can forget it. But just hope that our paths don't cross again. I'll break your little girl's arm before she can swing that overrated axe in my direction. You should watch out for her. Those anger issues are bound to get someone killed. Herself, if she's fortunate enough."  She was angered herself, only she had the ability to hold her emotions back. This guy didn't have that luxury. And he would likely die because of it. Such a short fuse doesn't make a lot of friends. But it'll bring you to your death quicker than a viper's bite.

Esper walked over to Itzal, who wasn't terribly far from the man cowering over his arm. A glare was still adamant in her eyes, and her hostility was as present as her existence was at the current point. She did not like being threatened. Not one bit.

[Itzal 0]

The woman glanced at the man sprawled on the ground.

"Killed?  I could care less after he pays me.  He's my employer you see.  I don't care if you know or not.  Anyways," she said as she grabbed the man's ankle and began dragging him away, sheathing her sword.  "You couldn't lay a scratch on me kiddie!  Even if you reached your friend's level and skill."  She giggled, sending a chill up Itzal's spine.  This was no ordinary npc.  She was intelligent and the way she talked about npcs and floors sounded bad.  Like she knew what they knew.  He didn't like it one bit.  As the woman passed Esper she kissed her on the cheek with lighting speed, making it impossible to expect nor evade it and smiled to her.  "I love kids when they get angry.  Bye bye now!" she called as she walked away, dragging the idiot behind her.  This woman was dangerous he realized.  Probably much more stronger than he himself was if she could spot him easily like that.  He wondered just how level a player needed to be to defeat her.  And her stance.  Obviously she has the grace of a fencer, but the strength of a tank.  She was someone to respect as dangerous.

"Employer?" Itzal muttered to himself.  He looked at Esper, wanting her opinion on what he feared above all else.  "Did you hear her talk about npcs and floors?  What do you make of that?"

Edited August 20, 2016 by Itzal

[Esper 0]

After the kiss on the cheek, Esper may as well have had fires burning in her eyes. She was fuming on the inside. Not only that, but her little, pouty frown was plastered to her face, accompanied by crimson red cheeks. Anger derived of embarrassment. "Floors and NPCs? I could care less what that perverted witch said! S-She kissed me! How dare such an arrogant hag touch me in such a way....I could die." The girl's legs gave out from under her, as she let herself drop to her knees. She used her hands to hide her burning cheeks, and made a short, pitiful whine.

Eventually, she came to her senses, lifting her head, and then standing again. She looked perfectly fine, as if she totally hadn't just had a meltdown. "Yeah, I heard what she said, I think. Floor 11, right? That's a ways from here, so I'd consider her level to be around the thirties. All of that hot air, it's no wonder she's so confident! Ghh....."

[Itzal 0]

Itzal was a bit surprised but understood her response to have been kissed on the cheek.  Still, he thought the outburst was a little over the top.  As she talked about the woman's level Itzal shook his head slowly.

"First off that woman was definitely an npc.  There wasn't a cursor over her at all.  Second, how would an npc know that she's an npc?  And how would she know about the floors?  Think about it Esper.  I think this woman knows that she's in a game.  I don't know how exactly, but I think she knows the difference between npcs and players.  And that pose she had?  No normal npc could use a custom form like that.  I've seen some intelligent npcs in my time but NEVER something like this.  I just hope she's not on the monsters or pkers side.  I have no doubt one of us will see her again, but whatever happens, we need to keep an eye out for her.  Whether she's a friend or foe she's dangerous."  Kind of like Teayre he thought.  Teayre was an extremely powerful player, possibly the strongest in SAO right now, and although she fought in the front lines, she was a pker and wouldn't hesitate to cut down someone who got in her way.

[Esper 0]

"Yeah, I don't know either." Esper would reply, sounding almost defeated. Not understanding things was difficult to accept, at least, so it was for her. "If that lady knew she was an NPC, then that means....She's sentient. She's capable of her own thoughts, and she has knowledge that defies the limits set for NPCs. Think about it. Uses a stance I've never seen an NPC use, she's going about her own business, rather than being set to do a certain thing, and....she kissed me! I've never seen an NPC do anything like that!" Getting the mere thought of the gesture made her gag on the inside. Crumby old lady. Eugh. But unlike earlier, she didn't allow it to get out of hand. Instead, she placed her right hand on her cheek, covering the spot that was affected. But if she's capable of all that, then what does that mean? We can't go into whose side she's on until we know more about her. We didn't even get her name, did we?"

[Itzal 0]

Itzal stared into the distance where the woman had left and shook his head sadly.  "No we know nothing about her.  And although there are many npc's I've found who are designed to have their own goals and react differently to each and every scenario, she's on a different level altogether.  Almost as if she were a fully developed AI.  Still there's nothing we can do about it now.  All we can do is keep our eyes and ears open from now on.  If she's heading to floor eleven she could be anywhere between the floors at any given time.  Who knows?  Perhaps she visits floors farther than eleven.  She might actually come from a floor we haven't reached yet.  Either way we should gather intel before confronting her."  He turned back to the town.  Esper had wanted to go back to the town and do something and it would be good to get the whole event out of their minds for the time being.  A nagging thought could consume you over time and make you obsessed.  That was something he'd rather avoid for the both of them.  "You still want to do something tonight or do you want to hit the hay?"

[Esper 0]

"Nah." Esper said, walking over to a bench with a little yawn. She beckoned him to join her, patting the open space by her side with a little urgency. Once he sat, she began to relax, leaning into the backrest, slumping just slightly, head inclined. The day had ben full of adventure. She learned so much more than she could have expected with the help of Itzal. Hours were grueling, but with the time she spent so far, they were bound to become memories to think on. To reminisce. "I think I've had enough for one day. This entire day has been nothing but walking, I feel like my legs could fall off. But, you helped me through the hours, with no other intention than my wellbeing. So....You have my thanks. And our friendship, yeah? And if by some miracle, we do get out of here, maybe we could be friends in the real world......Yeah. I'd like that."

[Itzal 0]

Itzal nodded as she decided to stop for the night and rest.  "Alright then.  And no problem Esper.  It was fun hanging out today.  We should definitely do it again sometime.  And don't worry.  We'll get out of here.  I dont think Kayaba would buld this entire world just to kill everyone.  He would make it possible to escape.  And, yeah.  I'd like to have a friend in the real world.  Thank you for that."  well they had discusses their beliefs, their own real lives, and Itzal had something to investigate.  Esper hat fought a mob and gained experience, and Itzal did too.  All in all they both gained something.  But the best gain of all was friendship, not the sp.  You could get sp anywhere, but true friendship was rare and valuable.  Itzal wondered if Kasier understood that.

Summary:

Esper:  +4 mat +3 sp + 200 col

Itzal:  +6 mat +3 sp + 200 col