[PP-F1] Reunions! <<Secret Medicine of the Forest>> (Adhaerere, Itzal, Kooh)

[Adhaerere 0]

 Oh boy, it had been a long time. Adhaerere squinted as she came out of her shop, looking up at the sky. The sun was so bright today. She brought her hand up to shield her eyes from the menacing ball of light. "Go away, sun. Leave us poor mortals alone," she complained as she trudged out into the busy street of the Town of Beginnings. 

 A few minutes later, she finally got out of the crowded main street. She took a deep breath and made her way into the tavern where she had agreed to meet Kooh and Itzal. It had been so long since she'd seen them. She brightened visibly as she pushed open the door to the bar, thinking about what it would be like to see the pair again. They'd probably levelled up an insane amount while she had boycotted doing anything at all. The gust of alcohol-stinking air hit her like a truck as she stepped inside the bar, interrupting her thoughts. She had to stop for a moment to regain her composure before taking a few tentative steps inside. Why had they asked to meet here? This was a really run-down place, with bar stools scattered everywhere, stains on the wooden floors, and every table having dirt or old beer mugs on it. It smelled like it hadn't been thoroughly cleaned in a long while, too. The few people in there looked up at the shiny and clean woman who walked through the door. She certainly felt out of place with her pressed white blouse and clean black skirt. She tried to keep her chin high as she looked around for the cleanest table she could find. Spotting one with only a few beer mugs on it, she made her way over and sat down, looking for anything on the bench that might stain her skirt. Finding a relatively clear spot, she sat and waited patiently for the others to arrive. She hoped there were no waiters that might approach her and ask for what she wanted. She didn't want to talk to anyone who might want to work in an establishment like this one. 

Edited August 24, 2016 by Adhaerere

[Itzal 0]

Itzal had been off grinding monsters with his new apprentice Alisa when the message popped up.  He knew that Alisa needed to keep training so he told her he would be out for a little bit.  She knew everything she was suppose to get done and the wolves knew her too.  Thanks to Itzal at least.  After he beat the living soul out of that warg the first time, and the even stronger warg the second time, along with half of the wolves revolting, he and Alisa had earned their respect and protection.  She wouldn't be harmed, let alone killed, as long as they could help it.  After he received the message he teleported to the floor and checked his map.  It had been a while since he visited this town.  When he spotted the destination he knew parkour was the only option as the crowd was too dense.  He ran up to a wall and climbed up to the roof.  He began to leap from roof to roof, the destination in his sites.  He was wearing Niger Natio as Adhae and Kooh would recognize it.  Well, Kooh would recognize his Twilight cloak but Adhae hadn't seen it yet.  And he did not intend to practice his sneak today.  Retributor was hanging on his back as always.  Ulises was quite anxious to meet Adhae, as well as Velnia, who glided silently and in pace with Itzal.  Soon they reached the area.  He noticed that Adhae hadn't noticed him and decided to wait for Kooh to arrive before showing himself.

[Kooh 0]

Kooh strolled through town at a lazy pace, hands sitting comfortably in her pockets with her hood drawn--her everyday appearance, pretty well static as her "equipment" never changed nowadays. With the addition of the ruby pendant hanging around her neck from what felt like months prior, the girl hadn't bothered spending what little col she had on new clothes. If she were to get anything, she planned on scouting for a blacksmith that would make her a pair of claws that weren't obscenely inconvenient to strap to her wrists.

As the girl approached one of the capital's not-so-busy taverns, Kooh pushed the door open with an indifferent expression, quickly scanning the room for either of the two players she'd agreed to meet up with. Her eyes fell upon the back of a woman's head, a grin breaking out on her face as she recognized the flowing amber hair that rested against her back. With a few paces, Kooh sat herself opposite Adhae, resting her elbows on the dirty table and placing her chin in her open hands. "Heyo, how's my favorite tanky lady doing?" She asked with a casual grin.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Kooh

[Adhaerere 0]

 Adhae stared down at her fingers as she waited for the two to arrive. She had some dirt under her fingernails, which she never liked. She picked at it, eventually getting the pesky black stuff out. She grinned, satisfied. Just then, she heard a voice from directly in front of her, and looked up in surprise to see Kooh. Adhae's eyes lit up immediately, and maybe a little louder than the situation called for, she cried, "Hello!" and stood halfway to lean across the table and envelop the girl in a hug. She squeezed pretty tight, but let go once she realized the position had put Kooh's face in an awkward place and had caused her own white shirt to drag along the table. She frowned and inspected it for stains, and spotted a long gray-ish streak running down her stomach. Nice. 

 She looked up at the friend she hadn't seen for a while, and grinned very widely. You could almost count all of her pearly whites, even back to her molars. "I'm fantastic, how are you? What's been going on recently? How's Itzal and why is he late? Where's the rest of your crew, who I assume you've gathered?" She sent all these questions in rapid fire at Kooh, only taking a breath after she'd asked the fourth one. Adhae was way too excited to see her young friends again. She had to control herself. Sitting backwards, because she noticed she'd been leaning forward eagerly, she tried to calm down and let Kooh respond to something, if anything. The smile remained plastered to her face.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Adhaerere

[Itzal 0]

OOC- I just realized.  Itzal's words are blue, Kooh's are red, and Adhae's is purple.  This team is perfect

Itzal sat on the wooden beam, unmoving and silent, until Kooh walked by.  He watched her as she made her way into the tavern.  As she did he noticed the pendent she wore and wondered when she got it.  Perhaps recently and perhaps a long time ago, just never needed it.  Either way it added to her ordinary outfit.  He wondered what she had planned to do.  Itzal knew she wanted to be a performer but you couldn't strive for just that in this world.  She was going to have to choose someway to assist players besides that.  Still it didn't really matter.  He leaped off of the beam and rolled silently onto the ground.  He made his way over to the door without a sound and entered the doorway.  The moment he located the two girls he felt Ulises' presence.  It was almost like that feeling you get when a passenger suddenly shoves their face between the two front seats.

What is it Ulises?  Felix you moron!  You never told me that your friends were girls, let alone pretty!  Itzal was thanking the Lord that he chose a hood and mouthpiece for this outfit as he felt his face ignite in red.  Ulises...  No seriously Felix  Ulises..  They are beautiful!  Ulises!  They're angels who fell from heaven!  ULISES!!!  Fine fine!  I'll shut up but I'm not leaving.  Not now that I know you'll be hanging out with two beautiful women.  Itzal prayed that this torment would end soon.  He needed to get Ulises under control.  He finally put a leash on his anger but it seemed he was loose in many more areas than one.  He kept his silent approach and kept his hood and mouthpiece up so that he had time for his face to calm down.

"Hey guys.  It's been a while.  What have you been up to?" he said as he sat down.  Since he rarely explored this town this tavern was utterly new to him and he wondered what kind of food they offered.  The last time he had food with friends was on floor four, the freaking cold floor.  And as fate would have it the restaurant served nothing but ice cream.  That was a terrible place to visit in Itzal's mind.  He hated the cold.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Itzal

[Kooh 0]

Kooh froze up a bit with the sudden physical contact. She hadn't expected the axe-wielder to be so...excited to see her. Once she'd been released, Kooh leaned back in her seat and wore a casual smirk, unphased by Adhae's flood of questions.The girl crossed her arms over her chest. "Hey, I wouldn't know that guy's schedule. And what are you talking about, a crew?" Kooh's head tilted a bit in confusion, but her attention was soon drawn to the heavily-cloaked man taking a seat next to her company. Kooh glanced the man up and down before his voice reached her and the blonde recognized the player that had joined them. "Hey, speak of the devil," Her smirk turned into a grin as Itzal rather absently announced himself.

"Well, unless you're expecting blondie, I guess the gang's all here." Kooh jokingly referred to Verus, the man she was actually a bit relieved she wouldn't have to encounter today. Her last meeting with him wasn't under the best circumstances, and she'd rather not deal with his suspicious attitude again.

[Adhaerere 0]

  Adhae was about to respond to Kooh's answers, but was distracted by the same cloaked man who sat down next to her. She frowned, puzzled about who he was, until he spoke. Then her face lit up. "Itzal!" She hugged him in the same manner that she had embraced Kooh, using her full body to squeeze him tight. She'd missed the pair. All they needed was Verus. 

 "No, I wasn't expecting him. I just wanted to say hi to you two." She grinned wide, looking between both of them. Itzal at least looked horrifyingly different. She leaned in close to his face and narrowed her eyes. She could barely see his. Without asking permission, she reached forward and tugged down his mouth covering. She reached to push back his hood as she spoke some more. "You certainly have an interesting getup. I haven't seen this before. Where'd you get it? What stats does it have? It looks fancy enough to be expensive." She looked him up and down as much as she could while sitting down. "Though, I'd imagine you have been pretty busy. What level are you at, speaking of? And where's Velnia..." She looked around him, trying to spot the little dragon that she'd gotten attached to. She in fact had a little snack ready for her, and was expecting to be able to give it to the creature. 

 She turned to Kooh, "Also, by 'crew' I meant friends you've made. Even you can't have been holed up all alone this while time!" She smiled as she poked fun at the girl. It had been much too long since she'd seen both of them, and wanted to catch up on everything. She was especially proud of the progress that Itzal seemed to have made. 

[Itzal 0]

OOC- Oh gosh this is not going to be an easy thread for Itzal at all XD

Itzal desperately fought the urge to blush fiercely as Adhae hugged him.  It was even harder when he could feel Ulises getting fired up when the 'beautiful woman' hugged them.  After she let go he managed to cool himself down.  Just in time too as Adhae snatched down his mouthpiece and hood, revealing his face.  His hands were slightly in the air from shock but he smiled.  He forgot what Adhae was like.  It had been way too long.  Then he focused on her as she released a string of questions.  He smiled as he began to address the first ones.

"Ariel made this armor for me.  It was a bit expensive but definitely worth it.  It's got two evasion and one regeneration."  He heard her mention his level and he realized that he might have surpassed them a bit.  Or maybe they surpassed him.  "Currently I'm level twenty three.  I hope to replace my gear with tier two equipment soon.  Of course I'm still way below the level I'd like to be before I join the front lines.  And Velnia's outside.  She was scouting the area before I came in here but I thought she would be in here by now."  He straightened a bit and looked at the bar owner.  "You wouldn't mind a small dragon accompanying us would you?"  The man growled.

"Only if it leaves my place alone."  Itzal nodded and leaned out of his booth, looking at the open door, and whistled loudly.  Quickly following this, Velnia swooped in with lightning speed and hovered over the table before licking both ladies and landing on Itzal's shoulder.

[Kooh 0]

Kooh crossed her legs under the table, leaning back in her seat as she watched the two players interact. She held a playful smirk, enjoying Adhae's unqiue way of interacting with them. The blonde listened quietly, keeping to herself as they discussed gear, levels, and so on, catching up on lost time as the pair seemed to have seen each other as little as Kooh herself.

Her arms rested, crossed over her chest, until she reactively brought them up to shield herself from Velnia's sudden attack of affection. "Gah!" The girl rubbed the saliva from her face, resisting a scowl at the gross feeling. "I swear, you really have no manners." Kooh sighed, smirking playfully at the dragon as she now rested on Itzal's shoulder. Letting the other players continue their conversation, Kooh opted for relaxing in her seat once she'd cleaned the last of Velnia's greeting from her cheek.

[Adhaerere 0]

 "Ooh, what a stud you are. Nice." She grinned at Itzal as he talked about his armour. Reaching out she gently tweaked his nose. Then as he called to his dragon, Adhae sat up straighter, excited to see the cute little creature again. The tank leaned forward to try to spot Velnia as she came streaking into the room, and jumped a little in shock as she got slobbered all over. Laughing good naturedly, she wiped the spittle from her face. "Yea, be a good girl in front of the person who's gonna give you treats." She quickly swiped up her menu and pulled out a small brown paper box, with white-spotted red tissue paper peeking out from the inside of it. The party could smell a little bit of remaining fresh doughnut scent emanating from the little box. Adhae set it on the table for all of them to see, and shot a sidelong glance at Velnia. "It's all yours, if you can do a trick for me and earn it." A mischievous smile replaced the kind one she'd had from the dragon's lick. 

 "And while she does that, I have Snacks for you two as well." Her menu came up again and two other brown boxes appeared, each one looking the same as the other one she'd brought out. She picked one up and peeked inside, and then handed it to Kooh. "Here's your Garlic Bread," she opened the other one to see inside, "and here's your Pretzels." She handed the second box to Itzal. After she did, she set her eyes on Velnia. "Now, those Pretzels are for your owner, not you," she cautioned, addressing the little dragon. "If you eat them before him you will get NO more treats from me." She raised her finger to waggle it at Velnia. "That's your first warning."

-Garlic Bread (vv)  -Pretzels (v)

Spoiler

Name: Pretzels
Profession: Cook
Rank: 1
ID: #66339
Roll: 8
Item Type: Snack
Quality: Good
Tier: 1
Enhancements: None
Description: A package of tiny, brown, lightly salted pretzels. They're baked to be soft, like the big pretzels you would get at a food stand. But tiny. Everyone loves tiny foods.

Spoiler

Name: Garlic Bread
Profession: Cook
Rank: 1
ID: #66339
Roll: 8
Item Type: Snack
Quality: Good
Tier: 1
Enhancements: None
Description: Two slices of thick, doughy bread, covered with butter, spices, and garlic. Both slices are baked to a nicely browned state.

 

[Itzal 0]

Velnia heard Adhae mention food and disappeared.  Itzal tried to follow her with his eyes but she was all over the place and gave up.  "I'm not too sure you should have offered her food.  She's obsessed with it."  Then she pulled out pretzels for Itzal and his eyes focused one hundred percent on the food.  He loved good food and was so thankful that his friend was a cook now.  His apprentice planned on being one too.  Which made life perfect.  Behold the work of a goddess.  Itzal did not reply to Ulises as his hand reached for the food being handed to him and gazed at it for the longest time.  "Thank you Adhae," he said.  He forced himself to tear his attention away from the food and refocus on his friends.

"How have you guys been?  You guys been leveling or getting any gear?  Making new friends?"  He was about to take a bite out of his pretzel when he heard the bartender yelling.

"Gha you dumb stupid dragon!  Let go of me!"  Itzal turned and his jaw dropped in horror as he saw Velnia lifting the bartender off of the floor with a mischievous smile beaming off of her.  She had the entire crowd's attention and Itzal tried to pull his eyes away but found that he couldn't.  ULISES DON'T MAKE ME ENDURE THIS!!!  No shut up I want to see what she does!  Velnia lifted the man onto the ceiling fan, ignoring his screams, and as he began to spin around and around, arms flailing she swooped down and picked up three random items and proceeded to juggle them as she ducked over and under his flailing arms and legs.  In the middle of her act she looked over at Adhae and grinned.

[Kooh 0]

"Ah." Kooh eyed the small box Adhae handed her curiously as the woman called it garlic bread. With a small frown, she opened the packaging to reveal the food item inside and her garnet eyes lit up. "Oh man, this looks awesome!" The girl grinned, eagerly taking a piece of bread and bringing it to her mouth for a small bite. "Mm~!" She enjoyed the artificial tastes, about to turn her attention back to the two players when the shouting and banging noises from behind her demanded she look over. Still chewing at her bite of bread, Kooh leaned out of the booth and turned her body to look over at the bar.

The blonde nearly choked on her bread, a hand quickly covering her mouth as she forced herself to swallow. As soon as she did so, Kooh erupted into a fit of laughter, watching as Velnia caused an absolute commotion in the small tavern. Clutching her stomach, the girl leaned back as she continued to laugh, getting some words out between breaths. "Oh man... That pet of yours is really something!"

[Adhaerere 0]

 "No problem dears." She smiled as she got a good reaction from her cooking, and was glad to share it with them. She giggled as Kooh tasted hers, happy that she liked it. She'd just opened her mouth to say something more when she too heard the bartender. Her eyebrows furrowed in surprise, and she looked up over the back of Kooh's booth to try to see what was going on. Once she did, she burst into laughter that came from her stomach; a deep, full guffaw. "What the hell Velnia..." She trailed off as she saw him start spinning, and the sight of him waiving his arms around so helplessly caused her to laugh even harder than she'd started to before. As the dragon began to circle around the bartender, taunting him with the three items she had, tears began to form in Adhae's eyes from her lack of breathing and her laughter. 

 "Oh god let that poor thing down," she choked out once her laughing had calmed a little. The poor guy had suffered enough, and if he stayed up there for long enough, Adhae doubted he'd just let them out of his establishment. He'd probably chase them with a broom. She wiped her eyes and dealt with the last of her laughing, each time it springing back up again as she looked at the poor bartender. "You've...Definitely earned your treat Velnia." 

[Itzal 0]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!  Itzal's head nearly split from the mere volume of the laughter bellowing from Ulises.  So much so that Itzal actually winced and placed a hand on his forehead.  VELNIA THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!  Velnia grinned at Itzal when he mentally called out to her.  ULISES SHUT UP YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US BOTH!!  Oh.  Sorry.  Itzal sighed and refocused in time to see their reactions and was shocked but humored that they were pleased by her performance.  Velnia heard Adhae and grinned wider, letting the items drop to the floor before picking the man off of the fan.  Itzal finally began hearing the booming laughter, cheering and clapping throughout the tavern.  Even a whistle or two.  When Velnia landed on Itzal's shoulder the npcs nodded and smiled towards him.  The bartender had half a mind to kick them all out, but not only would that hurt his business, regardless of if he didn't want to admit it, they were drawing in customers.  More npcs walked in to see what happened and upon receiving an explanation decided to hang around to see what happened next.

While Velnia began eating her donut holes Itzal began eating his own food.  He looked at Kooh.  "You have no idea."

[Kooh 0]

Still recovering with small chuckles, Kooh brought up a hand to wipe at the corners of her eyes. "Oh God... I was afraid I'd die of laughter." The girl gave another breathy laugh as the dragon eagerly ate her reward, crossing her legs beneath the table and leaning back against the worn cushions. Taking another bite of her own snack to finish off one piece of the bread, Kooh smirked at the trio.

"So," The word left her a bit muffled as she chewed, clapping her hands together to rid herself of the crumbs. "You two planned on doing anything interesting today?" She asked them curiously. The blonde had been growing bored hanging around the first floor, so she held a little hope that either of the players had something entertaining planned.

Edited September 16, 2016 by Kooh

[Adhaerere 0]

 Adhae's hand rested on her chest as she desperately sucked in breath, trying to regain what she'd lost from the period of explosive laughter. Once she was ready to speak, she addressed Kooh. "I wasn't planning on doing very much. I need to level up for sure, but I also want to spend time in my kitchen and grow my stats. I want to be the best Cook in the game," she said with a smile, her eyes on Kooh and Itzal. She wiped them one last time to make sure she was done laughing. "If I want to get lots of Col and Mats, I need to have products that people will pay for. And the only way to get reliably crafted items is to keep crafting and get my level up. I'm already level three, but I need to get higher. Just you wait." 

 She looked at Itzal, waiting for him to respond now. "What about you? I'm sure you're very busy with your levelling." She scrunched up her nose and smiled at him. 

[Itzal 0]

Itzal, now comfortable around them after Velnia pulled off her little distraction, smiled at them and turned to Adhae to answer her question.  "Well I'm still working my skill points towards becoming a scout above all else, however I've almost grandmastered my sword so there's that.  I've also opened up a shop of my own!  Can you believe it?  The Dragon's Soul.  I chose to be a performer so I can play music whenever I want.  If you guys need attraction, healing or debuff songs come visit the shop ok?  I could use the col most definitely.  Heh.  I am shooting for that but it's hard to..."  Itzal's thoughts drifted off and he quickly refocused on them, his face reddening only slightly with embarrassment.  "Well that doesn't matter.  And yeah I've been working hard so I can join the front lines.  I actually had a run in with the two most powerful players in Aincrad.  It was...  And eye opener as to just how far behind I am.  But I'm sure I'll make it there before long.  So that's my side.  Hey Adhae since you got to share your food how about I share a song sometime soon?"

[Kooh 0]

Kooh kept her back pressed up against the discolored cushion bolted to the wooden booth frame behind her. As the girl swallowed the last of her bread, her arms folded loosely against her chest while she made herself comfortable. She listened with an indifferent expression as the two spoke about leveling and gathering supplies. 'Best in the game, huh?' The blonde mused in her thoughts. The two players across from her certainly had what she considered to be lofty goals. Compared to them, Kooh must seem like an unmotivated hobo, spending her days loitering the city and her nights camping out in the forest.

The girl took in a breath of air through her nose, letting them continue their conversation. She wasn't much interested in discussing plans for the future; she didn't have any and she didn't want to make any. Still, her silence would only draw attention to herself with this crowd, so she piped up as Itzal offered a performance. "Hey, that doesn't sound like a bad idea." She gave a grin. "If Adhae'll make us some more treats it'll be even better." Kooh tacked on, offering the woman an innocent smile.

[Adhaerere 0]

 She smiled happily as the two talked, complimenting her food and talking about powerful players. It was like old times; the four-- three of them sitting together, talking about anything and everything. All they needed now was a few boars to come trying to hit them. Though Adhae was sure that anything that could try to hurt them would be easily dispatched by Itzal, with his gross amount of damage and other perks. She would need to ask him about other things he's collected during his time exploring; maybe he had some extra items that he could give her to play with. As she thought about it, it was almost time for her to get a good battleaxe. Something with a modifier that could allow her to hit monsters more reliably would be good. She didn't need much damage, as she didn't plan on killing mobs on her own, and only wanted to land hits for the purpose of focusing the agro on herself. 

 "Ooooh, you created a shop!? I need to see it. I'll head over there after this, okay? And I'd love a song to listen to, I haven't heard music since I got into the game. I've missed it," she said wistfully. "I'll trade any food you want for it. Anything Good that I make can come to you." She smiled brightly, looking between the two young'uns. 

[Itzal 0]

Itzal listened as they both told him to go ahead with his idea and play a song.  He nodded with a gentle smile and opened his inventory, pulling out his guitar and letting it settle in his lap.  He thought for a moment about what song to play.  Most of the time he listened to songs that he himself enjoyed or thought fit the situation.  However this time he decided to do one out of his comfort zone.  He began to recall all of the songs he knew and eventually snapped his fingers when he had one.  He personally didn't know the artist or many of his songs but he knew one or two.  He started playing the song on his guitar.

Spoiler

When you're on a holiday
You can't find the words to say
All the things that come to you
And I wanna feel it too

On an island in the sun
We'll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can't control my brain

Hip hip
Hip hip

When you're on a golden sea
You don't need no memory
Just a place to call your own
As we drift into the zone

On an island in the sun
We'll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can't control my brain

We'll run away together
We'll spend some time forever
We'll never feel bad anymore

Hip hip
Hip hip
Hip hip

On an island in the sun
We'll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can't control my brain

We'll run away together
We'll spend some time forever
We'll never feel bad anymore

Hip hip

We'll never feel bad anymore
No no
We'll never feel bad anymore
No no
No no
No no

It was the way the artist sung the songs he didn't care for.  However when he sung the song in a lighter tone he enjoyed it himself.  His fingers even tapped on the guitar according to the beat of their own accord.  He always tapped to the beat whether he realized it or not, which was more often not.  As he played the song the place once again fell quiet as everyone listened.  Velnia glided over and landed on Kooh's shoulder in a comfortable position for both of them, her head bobbing back and forth along with the tune, beat and pace.  When he finished his now enlarged audience began cheering for him as they had no idea this place could have such entertainment.  Itzal blushed slightly as he placed the guitar back into his inventory.  "Currently I sell unbuffed songs, attraction songs - Songs that draw monsters or familiars to you Kooh, not people - and healing songs.  I'm almost good enough for debuff songs though."