[PP - F3] Black Words from a Silver Tongue

[Takao 0]

Floor 3
October 2023
1:21 AM

Nights on the third floor were always so pleasant. It was often overlooked, nowhere near as densely populated as the floors below it and not as frequented as the floors above. It was somewhere in the middle, and Takao could certainly feel at home with that sentiment. The early autumn breeze was cool but not frigid, and the absence of light from the settlement allowed for a sky full of stars. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold, but there was one factor that was so much more important to him: it was quiet. For this moment he had nobody competing with him for arbitrary titles or thoughts of somebody besting whatever achievements they sought to best, no express desire to scout the floors above and exhaust himself with quests or grinding. For this moment, he could actually enjoy his time in Aincrad.

Takao had left his shop-house sometime around midnight and set about wandering the empty streets of «Delilah» with his familiar in tow, who rested peacefully on his shoulders. The disproportionate and wingless impish dragon stared lazily ahead with shimmering golden eyes, while Takao's own dull green orbs found themselves shifting from one dark corner to the next. It was a guarded area and he couldn't have been more safe, yet the shivers between his shoulder blades were ceaseless. He wanted to be cheerful and return to his old self, whom he thought to be considerably more carefree and pleasant to be around, but the wear of Sword Art Online had taken its toll. Murder and betrayal had left etchings in his soul that he wasn't soon to forget, whether he wanted to or not.

The brunet came to rest at the westernmost outskirts of the town, where a waist-high stone wall laid in ruin and the road turned from cobble to dirt. The moonlight illuminated the forest in the distance and the fog that seeped out from its darkened depths, slowly creeping over the fields of dandelions that shifted slightly in the breeze. He shrugged the jacket from his shoulders and left his torso in the vaguely form-fitting undershirt as he seated himself upon a stable portion of the broken wall, jade eyes cast heavenward toward the starry night sky.

"Nights like these almost make me wonder if I'm gonna miss'ye when it's all over," Takao said, earning a smack across his face by the tail of his familiar. He didn't flinch at the contact, much too used to it by now, and even found himself bemused at the reaction. Otoko leapt from his shoulders and instead seated himself nearby, curling back up on the cool stone wall. "Yeah, nah. I'm definitely 'prolly gonna miss'ye." He muttered with a snicker.

[Lessa 1]

"Chilly night, isn't it?" The brown wolf cocked his head in her direction, his ear swiveling at the sound of her voice. Of course, the familiar offered her no reply, as if even he understood the comment was meant to merely break the silence. Lessa's survival skill kept the cold from biting, and the black wool coat she had switched to upon entering the safe zone provided her with plenty of warmth. But somehow, the words had seemed appropriate in the moment. An abundance of stars flickered haphazardly overhead, paled only by the enormous full moon. The wind whipped about her feet, sending dead leaves skittering across her path. The leaves that still clung to their respective branches whispered on the wind, a hushed sound that worked to both comfort and unnerve the woman. There was comfort, as it was a familiar sound that she had heard often at home in Michigan. There was unease, as the noise had unsettled her even then. Even within the town limits, where she was protected from any true harm, she could not stifle the chill than ran up her spine, or the goosebumps that prickled beneath the warmth of her jacket.

The pair plodded onward. Riker, Lessa's companion, seemed to sense her discomfort. Gently, and without breaking stride, he nuzzled his damp nose into her bare palm. Her pent-up breath expelled in a startled whoosh before she realized what the feeling was. "Sorry," she muttered, shifting to scratch the wolf between the ears. "I'm a bit jumpy." Autumn had a way of doing that to her, for as long as she could remember. And this was an October night straight from a movie. Despite the impossibility, the blonde found her mind shifting to thoughts of werewolves and vampires.

Consumed by such fantasies, Lessa was caught completely off-guard once more by her familiar. This time, the mutt lunged forward, a sharp bark of warning cracking across the still silence like a rawhide whip. "Wait, stop!" she cried after him, moving into a panicked run herself. Riker had never abandoned her that way, and she was not entirely certain if he was running to or from something. Her refusal to find out mingled with her concern for her dog, and she was nearly on top of him when he finally slowed. "Hey, stop," she commanded again, dropping gracelessly to her knees by his shoulder. Both arms flung wide, snaking around his furry neck, before closing in a sort of make-shift headlock. She held him there, tight against her torso, murmuring words of reassurance despite his throaty growls of protest. After half a moment, he had calmed enough for her to gently pull away. His amber eyes were still wide, and a low rumble still stemmed from deep in his gut, but he had eased up considerably. It was only then that Lessa glanced upward, and toward the source of Riker's anger.

Her gaze came to rest on the familiar first. He was not her first dragon, but the lack of wings and seemingly annoyed expression both surprised her. "Oh," she breathed, blinking up at the imp from her place on the ground. "Hello." Slowly, her attention shifted to Takao, and the confusion in her eyes melted into warm recognition. "Takao?" She had not meant the words to be a question, as she was quite certain it was him. But as she spoke them, and the doubt creeped in, she began to second guess herself. This looked nothing like the boy she had chased through the desert years before.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Lessa

[Takao 0]

Very few things could keep Takao's attention for prolonged periods of time, and staring at the sky certainly wasn't one of them. As pleasant and quiet of a night as it was, and as beautiful as the night sky appeared to be, it simply didn't fit the requirements of allurement to maintain his deliberation. It also didn't help that his skill-augmented hearing and his familiar's attention were both simultaneously grabbed by a distant, muffled cry. Both of their heads turned and tilted in unison at the sight of an approaching girl, whose bright blonde hair shone against the moonlight whilst being hastily pulled along by a canid familiar with a particular interest for small, pathetically flightless dragons. The girl herself appeared familiar, but even his augmented senses were significantly dampened in the dim light.

He shifted his position on the wall and turned a full hundred eighty degrees, pulling his legs up to fold over one another and placing his arms between them to balance himself. Despite the seemingly uncomfortable position atop the wall, Takao felt little to nothing; Sword Art Online was good about keeping the player comfortable, if only physically. Otoko's head tilted from one shoulder to the next as he inspected the fellow monster of another species, glowing yellow orbs trailing over its figure cautiously and thoroughly. The small dragon's face rarely displayed an emotion other than what seemed to be a mixture of anger, annoyance, and disinterest, but for this occasion a look of curiousity had overtaken his usual demeanor. Much like Otoko's eyes wandered over the familiar, so too did Takao's over the player. She was dressed a bit more appropriately for the weather setting with a black wool jacket, whereas he sat in start contrast wearing thin cotton cloth. Her hair, as previously mentioned, had caught and maintained his attention the longest, up until the mention of his name.

The brunet's head, which had straightened following his examination of the player, had found itself tilted again in curiousity. In many ways he and his familiar were alike, especially when it came to physical displays of interest. "How do you-..." His voice had began, only to trail off as realization washed over him. "...Lessa?" Having finally put a name to the face, the overly expressive pair of eyebrows sitting above his eyes lifted. "Oh, wow. It's been so long!"  A warm, wide smile stretched his cheeks and his eyes closed, displaying a clear and genuine fondness of the familiar face. An almost ominous gust of wind swept up and blew loose fabric and hair wildly, in addition to drawing the fog from the forests closer toward the town. Takao hardly seemed concerned with it, which only proved to settle his expression slightly. "How've you been? It feels like it's been years since we talked last."

[Lessa 1]

The boy was excited to see her, the eagerness in his tone and eyes mirroring the joy that surged up from within her too. That was a relief, both that he remembered her fondly, and that he remembered her at all. Upon further reflection, she could not be certain that either would be the case. Had Riker not forced the pair together on the cool autumn evening, she might have approached with more hesitation. But she was there, kneeling awkwardly before the grinning young man, and there was not much else to do but grin back. Keeping a hand on her familiar's head, a gesture of both comfort and warning for the mutt, Lessa straightened. Usually, Takao stood a few inches taller than the blonde. However, due to his perch atop the crumbling wall, her gaze was level with his. She had to squint slightly through the darkness that cloaked them both, but when her eyes of blue found his of green, they were dancing with true happiness. 

"You know," she began warmly, "I think it may have actually been that long." Her free hand shoved back the long hair that whipped madly in the sudden wind, but she herself did not shiver; much of the cold that had seeped into her had been entirely psychological, and in the moment, she had more important matters to focus her attention on. "Which is a real shame, since I always enjoyed your company." Immediate introductions exchanged, the girl finally had some time to look Takao over. He rested easy on the wall, his body fairly relaxed. Even in a safe zone such as this, less experienced players often remained rigid, and startled easily. The brunette before her, on the other hand, seemed calm, despite the eerie evening that had even her skin crawling. It appeared, from only a preliminary glance, that the man had grown considerably in level and ability. Why else would he appear so at ease?

Deciding to tell him as much, the girl spoke again. "You look really great, Takao. Seriously, have you been training non-stop since I last saw you or something?" She shook her head, and added, "I mean, you've definitely been training harder than I have." As if to demonstrate, a sharp call of a night bird rang out from the trees overhead, and Lessa's body shuddered once with surprise. "Yeah," she answered, willing, for the moment, to make a joke at her own expense. "I'm a bit off my game." When his other question returned to her, she gave a half-shrug. "Not too much, really. Spent some time just traveling the floors, doing some exploring. There are a lot of neat things in Aincrad, and I forget that sometimes. While I'm here, I might as well appreciate it. What about you?"

Edited October 25, 2016 by Lessa

[Takao 0]

"Yeah," Takao replied wistfully amidst an exhale, green eyes steadfast in their gaze. "Very well could'a been. I lose track'a time a lil' too easy." He said, chuckling lightly. He stretched his legs out and lowered them onto the dirt road, steadying his balance atop the stone wall. With his attention still focused on Lessa, he hadn't noticed that the chilly winds continued to slowly draw the mist closer to Delilah. The scenery was certainly befitting of a late October night. A warm smile tugged at his cheeks and he dipped his head slightly, allowing for his legs to come to rest on the ground. "I enjoyed your company too. Sure did make that walk'n the desert a lot less miserable, and that labyrinth crawl a bit less spooky." The idle comments brought back fond memories of events that felt as though they'd happened years prior, when it must've only been months.

His head tilted at her examination of him, who rested so easily on the wall. Even as a player young to the dangers of Aincrad he'd been fairly relaxed, especially in the face of danger. For all too long he had thought of the game as... well, just that. A game. The concept of mortality and pain were largely lost on him, just to his chagrin as he looked back on it. He had lost good friends-- no, great friends-- and had acted recklessly as a result, perhaps because he couldn't bring himself to care. Certain aspects of his personality certainly didn't help rein this feelings in, but having focused his attention on completing the game and escaping with his life did. While it didn't stop the noise in his head, it was a step in the right direction. Her comments on his being brightened the warm smile and he shook his head, exhaling a chuckle amidst his breath.

"Nah, just been puttin' in'a bit'a work here 'n there. I don't... actually seem t'talk to a lot of people nowadays, so it's a nice way t'kill time, y'know?" He said, nearly laughing at the stark contrast of his own presence. Having once been easily described as naively social, that bit of enjoyment seemed to have been put on the backburner. His arms remained at his side as he talked, showing the open body language that he was subconsciously apt to display. "I've been alright, doin' a lotta' scouting on the upper floors... Or, well, not so much with this last one. A few others seemed eager to get to it before I could, so I let 'em take that chore." Another chuckle and wistful exhale left his lungs. "Other than that, just... huntin' a lot. Nothin' all that interesting, I don't think." He said, lifting one hand to scratch at his cheek. Her comment about the beauty of Aincrad followed and he bobbed his head in response. "There is a lot to see, it's kinda mind boggling how much work went into this place. Almost feels like it's actually real life, I can get how people feel when they say they can't remember the outside world very well."  He shook his head of the thoughts that threatened to derail the feel-good conversation they had going. "Say, eh... y'ever been up to the northeast corner of floor six? There's this awesome massive waterfall with a gigantic cave behind it, it's really cool."