[PP-F4] Ice doesn't touch a warm heart <Itzal and Kasier>

[Itzal 0]

Itzal hated the cold.  He hated it so badly.  Not only did he hate the cold for reasons everyone else did:  it being uncomfortable for him, but he also hated what it represented.  The colder something became the less active it was.  It would become more and more sluggish, lazy, frozen.  Unable to do anything.  Itzal hated the idea of being able to do nothing about anything and thus it only helped to amplify his hatred towards the cold even more.  He typically avoided this floor altogether if he could help it.  However....  He had put on his Twilight cloak, shoved his hood over his head as far as it could go, and sucked it up.  Why did he do this?  Because the first girl to truly care about him had asked if he could meet her on this floor.  And that was more than enough reason for him to put aside any petty thoughts on his discomforts.  Itzal walked down the snow covered ground, thankful for both the cloak and survival skill, which made the entire situation more bearable.  The meeting area was nearby the town somewhere and Itzal wasn't afraid of the nearby monsters at all.  With his level and skills they were pathetic.  He looked around for his girlfriend and....  Even as he thought the word he realized that he still had no clue how he was suppose to interact with girls on any level.  Thus far he managed fairly well simply by training them such as Alisa and talking strategy, or going on quests.  However, he would either have to improvise, which he wasn't skilled in when it came to social skills, or ask Kasier how he should proceed, which would show just how stupid he was when it came to this sort of stuff.  He spotted Kasier and, for the sake of the fact that they were now gf and bf, pulled back his hood and did his all not to shiver and instead allowed a warm smile.

"Hey Kaiser!  How's it going?"  How he was able to avoid stuttering with the cold he had no idea.

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Kasier’s amber red eyes saw nothing but whiteness in the background as she teleported to the center of the fourth floor. Snowfrost Town was colder than usual and snow was pouring upon the floor harder than before. The last time that Kasier had been here was with Jonathan, when he tried to “heal” her venom. Although the attempt was a pathetic one, Jonathan’s own foolishness seemed to have helped her with her discovery of past kindness. Although Kasier will never return to who she used to be and will never desire to be so, she will be the best Kasier that she can be, the best individual in her own eyes. Of course, despite the recent events, she still found herself bored often times and considering what the meaning of life is in the darkness known as her shop. She had realized that cooking had become difficult for her to maintain and as a result, she had stopped crafting altogether until a later date when she has more of a motivation to do so. With a sigh, she carried on walking, hoping that being with Itzal would help to cure her of this disease called boredom. There was no doubt really, that Itzal would entertain her; he always did. Through his music, his desire to help others, and through his determination, Kasier had fallen in love with him, and she will not die, but work hard in order to join him on the front lines. Itzal had worked hard and had gone up the ranks quickly while she was still down below, seeking for ways to level herself up without going through risks and troubles. Still being clouded by her thoughts, she soon heard the voice of a man that she recognized. With a smile, she opened her mouth and waved, “Hey, Itzal. Been really bored recently.” She began after the man had come closer. “It’s really cold on this floor… So, what do you have planned for us?”

Edited October 1, 2016 by Kasier

[Itzal 0]

Itzal nodded to her statement about the cold.  However if Kasier liked the snow then the snow was where he would go.  He smiled weakly before she asked him what they had planned and he was silent for a moment, a little bit of red rising to his cheeks.  "Well I.  Um that is to say...  I, honestly have no idea.  I know that sounds terrible, being your..  Boyfriend.  But, in the real world, I never had time to socialize, let alone spend time with, girls.  I have no idea how to talk to girls on any level.  I think I made it this far simply because we needed to talk strategy so much, but...  I have no idea what I'm suppose to do as a boyfriend, or what not to do, or what not to say or what to say, I'm not sure how to talk to you, and the more I think about it the more nervous I get and I-I"  His mind was racing extremely fast and his cheeks continued to redden.  He loved Kasier, of that he knew.  However he didn't want to screw up this relationship and all his life he could figure out exactly what he needed to do.  He could come up with a plan, improvise, find his way through things.  However talking with girls?  Having an actual girlfriend?  This was the most unpredictable area of all in his mind.  And that made him nervous.

OOC- If you want to have Kasier stop him with her words or actions mid sentence I'm cool with that ^^

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Kasier sighed as the man unnaturally began to speak. It was obvious that the man was feeling nervous talking to the woman and naturally she can’t be accepting that. A relationship would not work if one side were uncomfortable with speaking to the other party. Indeed, a relationship can only work if both sides were involved actively. Hence, Itzal must not feel uncomfortable while engaging her in a conversation or the relationship will break down in the end. However, it appeared that in order to get the man to becomes less socially awkward, she would need to put in more work for him to feel more comfortable.

As Itzal spoke midsentence, Kasier cut him off. “Look, you talked to be easily before we became boyfriends and girlfriends. If you were able to talk to be normally back then, you should be able to talk to be now without getting all embarrassed and stuff. It’s good to know that you like me as much as you do. And I like you as well but the relationship will simply fail if we can’t even talk to each other without being awkward.” Kasier shifted her foot and played with her thumb before speaking once again. “I know that you are a really intelligent tactician… But there’s always more in life than tactics in a video game. Spend your time sparingly with me. For all we know, we might die tomorrow. So, let’s enjoy the moment we have together. Come on, I guess we can go do something in the morning… And then at night, we can go stargazing together on the cold ground."

With a smile, she grabbed onto Itzal’s hand and turned around towards the main town of the fourth floor. “Let’s go see what the shops on the fourth floor has in store for us. We’re going shopping, come on!”

[Itzal 0]

Itzal felt embarrassed and foolish when Kasier had to cut him off to cease his talking.  As she spoke he felt more foolish and a little depressed.  He hung his head slightly.  She was right.  He wasn't sure how he did it, but he was able to have a normal conversation with her before all of this.  Why was it so hard now?  When she paused and looked up again, listening as she continued.  She talked about spending his time sparingly and just enjoying the moment with her.  He thought about it for a minute.  Indeed he had been spending a lot of time powerleveling to catch up with the front liners, but he had been spending, a little time enjoying himself right?  He then heard her suggest something for day and night and before he could respond she grabbed his hand and began to pull him along.  “Let’s go see what the shops on the fourth floor has in store for us. We’re going shopping, come on!”  Itzal was a little dazed but she was smiling and that was all that mattered.  Her hands were warm and that warded off some of the cold in this stupid floor.  When she mentioned shopping Itzal was confused.  He was planning to save up for a unique skill, and he doubted anything in the town would be worth purchasing.  He was about to say something about that but then recalled what she said about enjoying yourself, and saw her smile, and decided to close his mouth.  Perhaps this was what a couple was suppose to do?  His ignorance was annoying, but he trusted Kasier.

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Soon, the sky cleared up completely. Just a few minutes ago, the sky was filled with whiteness from drizzles of snow that poured down upon the world of Aincrad. However, now, it appeared that the snow had finally disappeared from the fourth floor.  The weather was only temporarily though because this floor was destined to face constant coldness and unlimited snow. It was sad really, that so many players hate this floor for the temperature and inconvenience because other than the physical features, the rest is absolutely brilliant. Upon looking into the distance from inside the safe zone, one would see the horizon and the absolutely amazing sheet of paper-white coloring underneath the line in which the bright sun rests on.

One day, when Kasier would move from the first floor, she would definitely be considering this floor as one of the possible choices for her to choose and move to. For now, it was too soon to consider the future. She needed to consider her time with Itzal… She needed to focus on the present and not consider what her future will be like. There’s a rare chance that she’ll even make it out of this game alive. But even if she dies, she’ll make every single second of that time worth it.

Kasier smiled after reaching the marketplace of the fourth floor. Immediately, her attention was brought to a hat shop. She had never really gone shopping before, the last time that she had planned to go shopping was with Mossino… But we all know how that went. Kasier dragged Itzal into the shop before pulling the nearby panda hand-knit hat and putting it on. “So, how do I look?” Kasier asked.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal noticed that the snow was beginning to stop.  He knew it wouldn't last long and he also knew that he desperately needed to get over this.  It seemed Kasier was fond of this floor so he concentrated hard for a moment before activating the survival skill.  With the skill activated most of the cold vanished from his body and he sighed.  Normally he didn't need it, but this was ridiculous.  He followed Kasier into a.  Hat shop?  He had no idea she loved hats, but he supposed this was what he was supposed to do in order to learn more about her.  He was still a little dizzy when the entered the shop and the shop owner seemed to giggle at the sight of them.  When he finally composed himself and got his bearings he saw Kasier approach him with an.  Interesting hat.  As he observed her he suddenly blushed a little bit as the only word that came to mind was cute.  When she asked him he knew the truth was all he had to offer.  He smiled.  "You look really cute Kasier!  It looks good on you!"  Now...  What was he supposed to do?  Was she supposed to keep trying them on and showing him?  Or was he supposed to try one on too?  He glanced around but he honestly had no interest in hats.  He also didn't know what woman saw as fashionable.  He loved his hooded trench coat and he honestly couldn't think of anything else he'd be wearing.  However he would make an effort to at least find something for himself.  After all, Kasier did want to shop with him.  Finally he caught sight of something that might have worked.  He reached over and although he didn't know the name of the hat, picked it up and put it on.  It felt really itchy unlike his hood but it was worth trying for Kasier he thought.  He turned to her.  "Uh.  How do I look?"

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Kasier blushed as the man complimented her on her matching with the hat. The man had called her cute, perhaps one of the few times that she had heard someone call her that in this game so far… especially since the death of Helios. Kasier sighed, the death of that man had ultimately been what changed her but the change wasn’t necessarily a bad transformation. “Geez, you would be the only person to call me cute at this point.” Kasier said, taking off the hat and putting it back on the shelf. “It’s not exactly what I’m going for at this point. The only person I would want to look cute to is you. Everyone else probably thinks I’m a super werid creep.” She finished, glancing around the walls of the shop wall, noticing that the walls were entirely covered by different hats such as animal hats, gentlemen hats, and etc. Most of them didn’t exactly suit her tastes though.

Kasier smiled as Itzal grabbed onto a nearby hat and tried it on as well. The hat that he had chosen was a black sphere-shaped hat. The hat resembled a fedora and it made Itzal seem like he was 10 years older. Kasier chuckled before sarcastically complimenting the man and his choice of hats. “Wow, what great taste, Itzal. You should really buy it for yourself. It reeeaallly suits you.” She finished.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal saw her blush which of course made him blush, and when he heard her sigh and heard her comment he was worried that he had said something horribly wrong.  When she mentioned how she only wanted him to see her as cute he calmed down a bit.  So keep comments like that in private.  He mentally wrote that down to prevent a catastrophe.  He took notes often, especially when it involved social interaction.  He smiled gently to Kasier at her last comment.  "Anyone who would think that would be dead wrong Kasier.  If they don't take the time to get to know you then they're missing out."  After he had put on the hat and saw Kasier smile and compliment him on the hat, he thought for a second.  "You.  Really think so?"  He checked himself in the mirror.  He seemed to have jumped up a few years, no longer looking as young as he typically did.  The more he observed the more he realized that it did seem to work with the cloak.  And if Kasier thought it worked for him.  Well he certainly had the col, and although he was saving up for a unique skill he could technically buy this.  It shouldn't be too expensive.  He wondered what the col price would be...  He turned to Kasier.  "If you really think it looks that good on me, then I could buy it.  I've never actually worn a hat before, not even in the real world.  Never went outside often you see..."

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Kasier nodded in acknowledgement to Itzal’s words. However, Kasier really could care less about whether other people thought she was cute or not. She had her own personality and the world was definitely not something that could influence her as a person. Despite this, sometimes, Kasier doesn’t even know who herself is. She might ask herself whether she is cute and nice, and sometimes she may wander if she has been too cruel to people. She had tried to reach the middle point and let’s just be honest… The middle is never the right option… Some people may consider you to be too cold while others consider you too cute. Being who you really are is extremely hard. Kasier sighed at the thought of this as she watched Itzal admire himself. It appeared that the man did not sense the extreme sarcasm that she had put into those words. Fair enough, though… Itzal did state that he really didn’t have a social life so it was acceptable that Kasier’s sarcasm wasn’t going to be detected very easily. “Well. I’m sure everything would look great on you, Itzal. My presence near you makes me look good.” She finally decided to say before looking around.

With her eyes wandering around, she took her eyes off of Itzal and onto a nearby NPC. The man stood outside the shop with an ice cream stand… Not sure how that worked but this is a videogame where everything was possible. At the sight of this, Kasier decided that she wouldn’t mind a bit of ice cream considering the high amount of time that she had gone through without a taste of a single one. Kasier kept her eye on the ice cream stand and tugged on Itzal’s shirt. “Hey, Itzal. Feeling up to some ice cream?” She asked simply.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal listened to Kaiser mention how everything would look good on him with her around and he blushed slightly with a gentle smile.  He realized that she probably had more experience with conversations than he did so he might as well try analyzing her reactions to his own reactions, to see if he made a mistake or not.  Itzal took off the hat and placed it back on the shelf.  If Kasier thought that it looked good on him then he would get it.  However not today he thought.  He might get it later on at a player's shop.  Rin did a fantastic job with his armor so she was the first one to come to his mind.  He was about to ask Kasier if she wanted to keep looking around when she tugged on his jacket and pointed across the road.  He heard her ask about ice cream and he focused on the building.  Oh.  Ice cream.  Cold to add onto cold.  He would be a frozen block of ice by the end of the day...  But once again, Kasier would be worth it.  He smiled and nodded.  "Sure I don't see why not!"  He walked beside her as they made their way to the opposite end of the road and Itzal opened the door for Kasier.  He followed her in and sat down beside her.  The waitress walked over and gave them the menu's awaiting their orders.

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Kasier frowned. It seemed that the man was willing to do everything to keep her happy. It wasn’t a bad thing that the man wanted to keep her happy but there is no point in doing that if Itzal can’t be himself while he’s doing that. She would talk to him later about that and maybe set some relationship goals in the meantime. It was just a pre-caution though, Kasier wasn’t exactly positive, it was just a feeling, which often is wrong. Kasier had never been the brightest person that she knew, but when it comes to other people, she was a genius, especially if they were close to her. At the moment, Itzal was probably the closest person to her, and she appreciated the man’s presence in her life.

Kasier and Itzal walked in silence. It appeared that they were already losing topics to talk about, though Kasier really didn’t mind. She was aware that Itzal had been kind of a shut-in in real life so it was naturally that he really didn’t know how to talk to girls like her. Slowly though, Kasier would make sure to have Itzal truly warm up to her while being himself. Kasier liked him for who he is, not whether he truly made her happy or not. Itzal’s action to open the door for her caused a smile in her pale face. “Alright, let’s order. What would you like?” Kasier asked as the two players sat down and was soon handed a menu. “Um, I would like a frenzy chocolate flavor coned ice cream.” She finally decided and soon directed her attention to Itzal, wandering what the man would order from the long list of ice cream choices available at the shop.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal watched as Kasier smiled, warming his heart a little bit more.  He followed her in and took a seat and he raised an eyebrow at her with a smile on his lips.  "Like chocolate do you?"  He chuckled before looking at the menu.  He was astonished to see how many flavors they had.  Even flavors he had never heard of before.  Some of these flavors had such ridiculous titles that he was almost certain the Americans invented them......  He thought for a moment about how he had just addressed his birth country.  He never really studied it, nor visited it.  The only thing he'd had from America was pizza and that was it.  He knew nothing of their culture.  And yet he had found it hard to really care in the real world.  So wrapped up in the digital worlds that he couldn't really care.  Should he care about his homeland?  Should he at any level?  Then he spotted an ice cream that he had tasted before but had not had for quite some time.  He looked up at the waitress.  "I'll have the German Chocolate Ice Cream Cone please."  The waitress smiled and nodded to them both before moving away to fetch their order.  Itzal turned to Kasier with an embarrassed smile.  "Ok ok, yes I like chocolate too, but usually only German Chocolate.  The coconut kick to the flavor really pulls out the chocolate taste without being too powerful.  It's an incredible combination, and possibly my favorite."

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Kasier nodded, taking note in her mind that Itzal enjoyed chocolate. However, Kasier really didn’t like chocolate. It was just a coincidence that she had chosen that flavored ice cream because there were so many different flavors that looked so nice on the menu. Food in this game was good; there was no doubt about it, so good that Kasier had sworn that she would definitely try as many food items as she can possibly eat during her time in this game. Kasier looked at the menu once more, wandering what else there were on the menu which is available to the customers of this shop.

“So, where do you think we should go after the ice cream?” She asked, getting bored already of sitting here. Hopefully, her boredom can be rid of by either Itzal, or if necessary, the taste of the ice cream that she had ordered. Almost instantly, the waitress came out, holding two chocolate flavored ice creams and handed them to the players accordingly. Without a moment of hesitation, Kasier began to lick the top of the ice cream while holding the cone tightly. Honestly, the ice cream looked just as good as it did on the menu, and it tasted just as good. However, she hadn’t expected the ice cream to be this big… There was a possibility that she won’t be able to finish it, hopefully, Itzal has a big stomach. “Hm, this is pretty good. I guess it’s right that a cold floor has good cold food. How do you like your ice cream?” She asked.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal finished his order and the menu was removed.  Shorty after Kasier asked him where they should go afterwards.  He blinked for a moment and thought about it.  He hadn't explored this floor much and he didn't know what she would enjoy.  He was fascinated from exploring every crevice in the floors as there was nothing common about anything.  There were secrets everywhere, just waiting to emerge.  He loved scouting but he wasn't sure Kasier did.  They could go fight monsters but he was pretty sure Kasier wanted to get away from all of that......  He did hear a rumor about a frozen lake that players typically skated on.  Kasier seemed to like this floor too.  Perhaps she would like skating as well?  The only problem was that Itzal had never tried skating.  He pushed this thought away quickly as he reminded himself that after mastering parkour, learning how to balance on a pair of skates shouldn't be a problem.  Before he could give his answer however the ice cream was delivered and Itzal's eyes widened as he saw the size of it.  He had no clue so much ice cream could sit on a cone before.  Not worried that it would melt any time soon he began to lick the ice cream.  Yep, that was definitely German Chocolate.  The coconut really added to chocolate.  He nodded to Kasier at her question.  "Oh I love it!  They got the German Chocolate spot on.  The right amount of chocolate and coconut flavoring perfectly.  It's an excellent combination.  As for what we could do.....  I heard there was a lake players could skate on...  I'm not sure if you like that sort of thing but if you do I'm fairly certain I could learn quickly."

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Kasier smiled; she was glad that Itzal enjoyed the ice cream. It would have been pathetic if Kasier dragged him in here only for the man to not appreciate the ice cream that Kasier had ordered and suggested. It was the first time that she is here, and she is sure that she will be here a lot more often in the future as well. “One of the few reasons I still love this game is because of the food. Literally, every time you walk into a shop in these floors, there will always be something new for you to test out, new for you to taste and enjoy. This is why food is so great. Food is kind of like people if you think about it. No food is the same; no people are the same. Everyone has his or her own personal personality and goals. I guess that’s why people are so interesting.”

Kasier flinched as Itzal mentioned the frostbite lake. She had been there once before with Jonathan when he asked her to spend a day with him. However, the end of that day was not a pleasant one. The skating session was cut short when Jonathan jumped up and tried to show off with a sword art. The result was, as one would have guessed, a big hole in the middle of the pond and a bunch of angry NPCs. Luckily, Kasier managed to escape without getting noticed. Jonathan, on the other hand…. Let’s not talk about that. Kasier sighed, “Yeah, sure. I have been there once before but skating is really fun in this game. Let’s go as soon as we finish our ice cream. I have actually skated in real life before, can’t say that I’m a pro, but I did a lot of things with a lot of friends back then."

[Itzal 0]

Itzal listened as she talked about how she loved the food in the game and how there were so many different varieties.  Itzal nodded.  "I know what you mean.  Besides the fact that they have multiple hundreds of combinations for individual, and even every day foods, but they also have the same amount for each foods of every culture.  Sometimes it makes me want to try foods from America...  But something always holds me back.  Not sure what thought."  Itzal saw Kasier flinch when he mentioned the lake and he looked at her worriedly.  "Wait, I'm sorry did I say something wrong?  We don't have to even mention it if you-"  He stopped talking as she sighed and talked about how skating was pretty fun and how she had some experience skating.  With a lot of friends.  Itzal hesitated before continuing to work on his ice cream.  It seemed she had positive memories from the real world, which meant that the only explanation was something had happened to her in the game at that particular lake.  Whether she chose to tell him or not however would be her own decision and he didn't press her for it.  He smiled.  "Ok then!  I'll try not to be a total klutz when we do."  He chuckled at his poor joke, hoping that it would lift her spirits a little bit.  He just hoped her memory wasn't too depressing was all.  He didn't want to ruin her day.

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

Kasier was glad that Itzal understood the situation. She knew that her flinched had been very obvious and it was pretty evident that Itzal had recognized that she had flinched. Kasier sighed with relief, as Itzal didn’t bother to enquire for the cause of that exact flinch. It was then that Kasier thought of another question that had suddenly popped into her mind. Sure, she and Itzal had been enjoying their moments together but Jonathan had been there on the night that they became together. From that night, it seemed that there was some sort of tension between Itzal and Jonathan. Such a tension should not exist between two guild members. “By the way, do the rest of our guild members know about… Well, us? I think it’s important that we tell them that we aren’t having any troubles because prior to that, we did have conflicts between us. I am going to tell them if you haven’t done so already. It’s important.” She said, finishing off the rest of her ice cream as she stood up and walked to the door of the ice cream shop.

“Well? Let’s go then.” She stated simply, pushing open the door and walking out of the ice cream shop, knowing that Itzal’s ice cream would be finished soon. Brilliant. She thought, her eyes blinded by the snowflakes that were pouring down upon the world of Aincrad. Well, I guess it’s not so bad, it’ll be pretty romantic to ice skate in such a condition, maybe I can even teach him the basics of ice skating… Hopefully, the pond is back to normal again. She thought, deciding to walk as soon as Itzal walked out of the shop.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal listened to her question and blinked a moment before reddening a bit from embarrassment.  "Well, I uh...  Not, really.  Beatbox knows but I didn't really talk about it to anyone else.  You're right though, I'll help with spreading the news across the guild.  I'm sorry about not telling them."  He worked on the last of his ice cream as Kasier stood up and nodded eagerly at her comment.  He finished up his ice cream and stood up.  He followed behind her, a few feet away due to her deciding to wait outside the door.  When he opened the door and stepped out he nearly flinched from the sudden drop in temperature and noticed the snow.  His very first mental reaction was discomfort as that meant it would be too cold, but afterward he realized something.  He looked around and noticed a certain beauty about it that Kasier must see all the time.  Not to mention he doubted he'd notice the cold when he was skating with her.  He nodded to Kasier and began walking beside her as they headed to the lake.  He glanced at his map for half a second and immediately knew where to go and which path had the least amount of mobs.  "This way should be the fastest and safest way to the lake."  He grinned to Kasier.  "I guess it pays to be a scout after all?"

@Kasier

[Kasier 0]

“I guess there are benefits to being a scout. But that role isn’t exactly what I would go for. I think being a healer has its benefits as well.” Kasier said, her red amber eyes looking straight ahead. “Yeah, I think it’s intelligent to go tell them straight away, the last time they saw us together… We weren’t exactly the most friendly of the bunch.” She stated, a bit of humor incorporated within those words. Sure, the day had been pretty fun so far but she really did not appreciate the way that Itzal was acting. It was awkward for him to talk because he wasn’t being himself. Kasier sighed, if this was going to be a healthy relationship, Itzal would need to become who he was and interact with her the way he did before the two engaged in a relationship. Only time would tell whether Itzal would return though, whether he is who he truly is.

Kasier loved him for who he truly is. And he would never want Itzal to change for her. A smile rose to Kasier’s hands as she felt a snowflake land on her forehead. The scenery was brilliant, a perfect dating spot without a shadow of doubt. She was glad that she came with Itzal today, the peace here and Itzal’s presence had brought warmth and love to her heart. Plus, the fact that Itzal was about 13 levels higher than her was not very fitting for her. This only inspired her to work harder than she usually did to level up. There is no way that Kasier would let Itzal go into the frontlines by himself without her healing. “It’s cold on this floor.” Kasier exclaimed, cuddling close to Itzal and grabbing onto his hands.