PP-F3: Worn out Welcome

[Esther 0]

Another day, another new - and exciting floor. Floor 3. Esther hadn't been here yet either. The village, Delilah Village was a quaint place, peaceful, relaxing. It reminded her of the small towns you'd see along the country side. A type of town where everyone knew everyone, where the air always smelt fragrant and fresh. Esther stepped off the teleportation pad and arched her back, stretching till she felt that satisfying 'crack' in the mid of her spine. It had been a number of days since the incident with Mari and Domarus, and with the aid of Arc - even if he was too stubborn to admit, and too steadfast to see he had done anything, along with a wonderful chat and adventure with new players - it left Esther feeling light and refreshed. 

She was slowly, slowly begining to explore more and more. She was gaining more of this SP stuff, and she felt confident - seeing her level at a sound 5. To her, 5 seemed like a lot, it was halfway to ten, and just how many levels could there be anyway? 20? 30? 

Esther had a joyous bob to her step, she knew exactly where she was going - there was apparently a field of dandelions just outside the town, not small patches - but an entire field. Esther wanted to see it, and see it she did. As she stepped out of the town she was greeted by a blanket of bright yellow under a bright, cloudless blue sky. "Ahhh!" She clasped her hands together, it was even better than she had imagined. It was so hard  to believe that this was a game sometimes. Everything was just so real....

"Yaaaaa!" Esther ran, jumped and landed - tumbling into the golden field of flowers. She sent a flurry of flowers and petals up into the air where she landed. Esther rolled till she was on her back, head leaning on her arms which were being used as a makeshift pillow. "This is wonderful...." Esther whispered, closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth of the sun on her skin. "Maybe I should ask Mari or Lycan to join me here..."

 

@Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Floor 3, the main setlement of Delilah Village was the place a certain blonde and co. selected as the destination for a light shopping session. Most of the things she went for were miscellaneous things for the shop like a set of silver needles, clothing colorants in different blue shades. The medieval setup of the town made her profession feel more authentic?  at least it made her profession feel more relevant to the game, despite having fewer and fewer orders lately. "I guess people just want the heavy armor stuff." muttered the blonde as a conclusion to her thoughts as she also finished shopping for all the items that were on her mental list, only one item category was missing. Carefully placing each item in its proper spot in the HUD Inventory she then looks at the self appointed 'guide' in front of her. The usually lazy white furball was now taking point and clearing the way for the two to walk unhindered through he busy streets of the market area.

"Wanna get out of here?" asked the blonde while checking her map for the nearest exit. Usually she would've go right back home but she needed to go collect some flowers for a rather unusual dress order she'd received. After asking around she found out that a field of dandelions was right outside this town; that was to be their next destination.

The lioness looked back at Ariel and nodded with a low growl as Ariel pointed towards the exit. Despite being a cub Kimba would still made people unconsciously move out of her way once they saw he... and the blonde would take advantage of that, it didn't make her a bad person for doing that, right?

As they exited the village, only a fool would not notice the whole field of dandelions that spread in all direction. With a joyous roar, the lioness sprinted right into the flowers and made herself almost invisible, only the moving flowers and the random times she would pop her head up to get a bearing, made her location visible. The blonde let out a sigh and went into the field as well, her new attire rusting along the flowers while her main weapon was safely stashed in her inventory due to its sheer size and the fact that it would draw too much attention on her, quite frankly making it too annoying to carry around out of battle. She settled with a vanity silver rapier at her waist, not being able to truly give up on the weapon class that she was so accustomed with.

As she bagan picking up viable specimens, in the distance she would hear tumbling noises so she shouted without bothering to look, thinking that it was most likely her familiar: "Kimba! Make sure you don't wreck all the field! We want others to keep enjoying this place's beauty, even after we leave!"

[Esther 0]

Esther heard a female voice call out to her, warding her against destroying the field with her movements. Esther sat up, calling out in the direction of the voice. "Thanks! But I'm Esther, not Kiba!" She laughed softly at her horrendous attempt at a joke. Obviously, it was meant for someone else, but Esther interjected - she was in a relatively good mood, how could she not be? Esther blinked, as she saw a glimpse of blue armor - she assumed it was the girl, but her vision was quickly blocked with a big, white tuft of fur.

Kiba had evidently jumped onto her, "UOmph!" Esther fell back into the grass with a thud, attempting to re-adjust herself she rolled out from underneath the lion. "Well hello there." Esther said with a smile, seeing a fluffy lion. "You must be one of those familiars people are always talking about." She said as she reached out to pat its head. "Kimba right? What a gorgeous name, and such wonderful white fur."

 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Something didn't feel quite right when the blonde received a reply other than a animalic sound, for a full couple of seconds that detail didn't register as Ariel picked another dandelion then in the middle of the act of placing it into her inventory, the coin finally dropped.

"Eh!?" Came a gutural , almost animalic response from the ex-rapier grandmaster. She then spend another half a second trying to figure out if that voice belonged to someone she knew and after drawing blanks, she finally turned her head towards the direction from which the voice came from. And them after a full second and some, after being hailed by the misterious voice she saw who it belonged to.

At first it was kind of hard to see the person as she was being 'attacked' by a lioness. But after a few sniffs around her neck and a pleased growl, the lioness went beside her and started jumping in hopes that the new persob will play with her some more. Now Ariel could see the full figure of the one standing with them in the dandelion field.

"Oh! The pet fetish girl!" Shamelesly claimed the blonde in front of the girl. "What brings you alone around these parts?" She asked with a smile. She then points towards Kimba. And continues: "Don't worry about her, she likes to play and get attwntion but she won't hurt you" a small grin crossed her expression: "As long as you don't give her reasons to."

Taking a second to remember her name the blonde then extended her arm for a handshake. "Nice to meet you.. um.. E-su-te-ru? (jap. accent) I'm Ariel and yes; Kimba here is my companion."

[Esther 0]

A blonde woman adorned in brilliant sapphire armor approached Esther, she seemed to be the owner of the voice she heard earlier, and the owner of the rambunctious lion. She stated, plain as day, with unabashed simplicity, that Esther was the pet fetish girl. So this woman was in the field that day? Esther didn't recall seeing her, then again, there were a lot of people around. "P-Pet fetish girl!?" Esther exclaimed, cheeks red with embarrassment, how did this woman just so brazenly say that? "Well...I-I ah suppose that's true but I uh...." Esther coughed, and was thankful that the subject shifted. "I was just ah..." Esther glanced around, "I heard there were massive flower fields here, so I just wanted to see them." Esther gave a soft laugh. "I'm normally alone, it doesn't bother me."

Esther stood and dusted the flowers off of her. "Familiar right? I plan to get one soon too, I love the idea of something cute and fluffy there for you to hug."  The woman introduced herself as Ariel, and Esther returned the handshake, lightly gripping Ariel's hand. She didn't attempt to correct the woman on the pronunciation of her name, "Y-yeh. Pleasure to meet you Ariel. You look pretty strong, your armor is beautiful. Did you come here to see the flowers too?"

 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"Yeah .. I mean you were in a leash.... being walked around by Mari." She said with a complicated smile while scratching behind her neck, below where her braid started. "And you were being pretty submissive, even when some of the top front liners were worried for you, people like Oikawa, the guy in the golden armor, and Takao.. I think he wore a green themed attire, maybe a vest???" she tried to dig through her memory and pinpoint Takao's exact wear, one of the professional defects she gained ever since becoming a Tailor. Finding no answer to her own curiosity she continued: "In any case, even when those guys went to help ya, thinking you were being force to do that... you didn't seem willing to be set free.. so I asume you liked it?" she said as a conclusion of sorts with a awkward look; despite knowing people were into those kind of things.

She nervously coughed finally realizing the road she was heading to with this discussion. Luckily Esther changed the subject and complemented her attire. "Thank you, made it myself a while back. You see, I took the tailor profession... not that I have much business these days.." she muttered at the end. Then the pink? haired girl posed a interesting question, to which the blonde nervously scratched her cheek while replying: "Um... something like that... actually I'm here to do a little flower gathering for a dress order I received." 

Her trained eye looked the girl from top to bottom as Ariel next asked a question of her own: "You, you're wearing un-enchanted armor?... I guess you must really have confidence in your skills to stride around in that attire." said the with a mildly critical tone, pointing at her dress.

 

 

[Esther 0]

Esther bit her lip. So this girl knew Mari too? 

"I could walk free whenever I wanted to." Esther commented. "I mean, the collar is on my person, if I really felt endangered, I could just unequip it right? Besides. I really like Mari. I enjoy her company, I enjoy following her around and seeing how she acts. She doesn't say it, but I think she likes having someone around too. Someone who isn't going to judge her - or try to kill her like Lowe did." Esther said innocently. It was all in earnest truth. She had no reason to hide anything.

Ariel coughed, and Esther tilted her head. Wondering if the other woman was alright. Then, she said she made her armor, Esther practically leapt forward. Forgetting that personal space was a thing, and that she should really respect it when other people were around. "REALLY?" Esther reached out, running a finger along Ariels blue gauntlet hand. It's so shiny - the stitching on all your fabric is so well made. I - huh?" Ariel seemed to add something on the end of her sentence. Esther took a step back. "I'm sorry, I missed what you -" 

Ariel quickly intervened. It was a good thing Esther sometimes had a short attention span, "Confidence in my...skills? You mean that Esh Peh thing?" Esther asked. "I don't have any skills...in anything right now. I didn't know enchanted armor was a thing. What does it do?"

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"Lowe did what?" came a small whisper with a surprise look on the blonde's expression. She never took him as one to go hunting Pkers, or anyone for that matter; after a small smirk while rubbing her temple Ariel's attention focused back on Esther, if that was her thing she had no business in further pressing on the subject. Moments later she was surprised to see the girl almost jump on her, the blonde reacting by tensing up and making a step backward, cursing herself for still being edgy after sharpening her senses on the 10th floor when it was the current front line at the time. Having no other companion than her white furred familiar made her doubt people by default, treat them as if one of those undead mobs would make move on her. Luckily those times in isolation ended before she became permanently scarred by the darkness but still the reflexes persisted as her free hand rushed towards the ornamental rapier at her waist stopping midair at the sight of the girl just admiring her wear. The blonde let out a small laugh, more towards her reaction than the girl's reply and inquiry; then raising her hand to fiddle with her HUD inventory.

In a flash, her battle armor got replaced with a cute and casual wear that looked like a light maroon school uniform with a short skirt that even added a blue ribbon at the end of her ponytail. After that a folded blue item appeared in Ariel's hand and she gestured it towards Esther. "Its kind of bothersome to explain in detail, put it on!" A exchange window should've popped in front of the girl, showing that Ariel already pressed "Accept" from her side. At first she wanted to give the girl the armor she was wearing, thus the change of attire; but then it hit her that maybe Esther hasn't reached level 25 yet, so she picked up another similar battle outfit, one she made a while back.

"Its easier to show you while explaining." she said with a smile, as she removed the silver rapier from her waist with a slow gesture in order to not freak her out. Then she pointed the tip towards the ground and impaled it there, resting her left hand on top of it while continuing. "If you're asking me what a enchanted item does... basically its making you better at things. This item, when enchanted usually helps the player deal more damage." she tapped on the hilt for emphasis, then pointed with her right index at the armor in the exchange window. "And that one will improve your defense against damage, so you will receive less than you would do if you're not wearing the armor. Try it on!" she said with a smile. She thought for a second how bizarre would it look for a schoolgirl to wield her main weapon, that massive banner; then was glad she instinctly went with the slim rapier at her waist.

---

Trading Item with Esther.

Item:

Spoiler

Name: Action Agent
Profession: Tailor
Rank: (8) Provisional Master
ID:  51761
Roll: 12 (nat.)
Item Type: Light Armour
Tier: 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: +1 Evasion, +1 Savvy, +9 Damage Mitigation
Description: A suit of armor that's light and comfortable to move in, offering great advantage in battle while providing style to the user. A while crowned lion logo is located in a discreet but visible place on it.

Picture 1:

Spoiler

 

[Esther 0]

Esther  blinked. "Oh? you know Lowe too?" Esther asked, Ariel didn't seem too happy to hear about what he did, and Esther felt a pang of guilt. Perhaps she shouldn't have spoken so freely of the matter. It was a private one, the lilac haired woman quickly backtracked, shaking her head. "Oh, no, no, no It's ok now... I mean...he wants to apologise! He said he wasn't in the right frame of mind. We all have our bad days, right?" Esther laughed awkwardly, trying to diffuse the situation she had caused.

With a flash, the girl had changed her attire. Esther's eyes widened. "oh wow..." She breathed, tilting her head and walking around Ariel in a circle, inspecting the outfit. "It's like...a school outfit, but it looks much more mature on you." Esther grinned, offering Ariel a smile. "I think you look really cu-eh!?" Esthers compliment didn't quite make it out, as she was distracted by a trade option. 

"You want to give me...something....?" Esther hesitated, "It's such a kind offer, I don't really have much to give you." She went to push the accept button, but a warning rang out through her memory.

"Oh..."

Esther lowered her hands, a look of regret on her features. "I...really appreciate the offer, Ariel." She muttered, pressing decline. "But, for whatever reason - Mari doesn't want me to wear anything made by you." Esther paused, biting her lip. "D-don't take it the wrong way I love what you've made, and what you've offered - and I don't...I don't understand Mari's dislike of you, I mean..." Esther began talking quickly, trying to defend Mari. "I mean...she doesn't like anyone really...but like...there were certain people she told me to not shop from or to avoid, and I mean, its not like I'm letting her control me, I'm just...trying to get her to open up more yanno...and if part of that is listening to her crazy requests, just for a short while then ah....yanno...." 

Esther trailed off, fidgeting with her hands. "In due time...I'd love to purchase something from you. In the meantime, I guess I'll have to go without armor." Esther forced a laugh, "Aha...unless there's a quest or something for it. haha."

 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"Kind of.. I mean I saw him here and there during a event or a boss fight.. but we never interacted more than simple greeting and battle plans discussion. How should I put it... we have a strictly professional relation?" Said the blonde with a awkward smile. A light blush tinged her cheeck as the girl complimented her new attire.

The fact that the girl refused her offering didn't surprised the blonde as much, considering that tjere were people that wanted to succeed through their own power and the girl.could respect that. However the fact that Mari put a virtual stigmata on the items she made made her lightly sigh.

"I guess she still holds a grudge even after all this time; don't worry about it me and her have a bit of history together." Said the blonde with short giggle, remembering the time she played the 'knight in shinning armor' role.

The blonde then put her hand on Esther's shoulder and bdgan lightly massaging it. "You're right on that, she apparently hates anyone." She then let out a small giggle before looking into the girl's eyes and smiling as she continued, changing the current topic. "If you want a enhanced armor that's a bit better better than the starting gear you get.. there is actually a quest one this floor to get one. Its aimed towards low level players so I did it some time ago for the experience" the blonde closed her eyes trying to remember where the quest NPC was located.

"If I'm remember right, theres a cute npc cuple that helps players make thier first armor piece, it you want we can take ot together."