{PP-F1} The Chances of Getting Drunk -Aereth and Myself-

[Domarus 0]

When Aereth asked what city Domarus lived in he nearly cocked an eyebrow but didn't.  The questions were switching to something more personal eh?  Well Domarus had a way of answering and yet not giving out specifics.  The player might be able to guess but never know for sure, which was how he wanted to keep it.

"Ah, well let's just say that it's a big crowded city, too much chaos going on at one time.  Living in a place like that drives you mad without a break."  While this wasn't where he grew up, it most certainly was where he was staying in the real world for now.

"How did you grow up?  My life was crazy busy with my father, school, and several other things.  Was you're life quiet growing up?  Or is the country just as busy, just in different ways?"  When Aereth told them that he did have a girlfriend Keres jumped right to another question.

"What's her name?  What did you like to do together?"  Domarus could tell she was attempting, and succeeding, in bringing the subject to something much more light toned than their previous discussion.  However Aereth's next question made both pairs of eyes look at him.  Keres looked at him with confusion and Domarus simply shook his head.

"It's a long story my friend, one that I only let Keres share.  What I can tell you is that beyond her being my servant, she is nothing more than a good friend.  That is as far as the bond goes."  Keres nodded to his statement without hesitation.  She loved working for Domarus and hoped she'd do so forever.  She even told herself that if Domarus decided to marry, she'd get a child of her own to continue serving Domarus' family.  She'd teach the child everything he or she needed and they would serve.

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

Even if Domarus didn't gave away personal information, he was still trying to gather said personal information through his servant maid. 

Domarus told him that he was living in a big crowded city, and that he didn't really enjoyed it living there. Then he asked Aereth how he grew up and if his live was a little bit quieter than his. "To be honest, I had a really quiet childhood out of the big cities. But after some time when I got 18 or 19 I had to move into a city because my university was there." He also did not intend on telling Domarus the city he was living in. 

"Haha, more personal questions, but at least she brightens up the mood in here." he thought while chuckling. "Her name is Alice. And we met each other while we were learning to dance. After we got together, we even started to do the dancing competitively." Which also was the reason that Aereth had no problem with training so much or with his daily workout. Aereth only gave them her nickname but at this point it didn't matter. After all, he was calling her with this name for years.

After Aereth's question about their relationship the two of them seemed to be a little bit taken by surprise. "Their looks are golden." he thought while still chuckling. "If you both enjoy what you're doing then it's fine. To feel good about what you do is the most important. Doesn't even matter what it is." 

@Domarus

[Domarus 0]

Domarus was mildly proud of the player for also refusing to give too much information, but enough where it would be rude to continue asking.  Either the player was a fast learner, or he played the same game Domarus mastered.  Either way he considered the information the player had given him, how he lived a quiet life until he moved into the city due to his university being there.  He nodded.

"That makes sense.  Live as peacefully as you can until you don't have any other choice but to head into the city.  I wish my life could be the same."  While he did wish he had more quiet in his life, he would never trade his experience for anything else.  The combination of his father and the events around him caused Domarus to see the world as it truly was:  Dark, corrupt, and merciless.  However Esther had shown Domarus that while the world was indeed dark it had specs of light, and that if there were enough specs they might make a difference.  Perhaps he should consider that during his conquest.  The thought of Esther darkened his mood but only slightly and it didn't show.  When Aereth talked about his girlfriend Domarus listened and had a thought.  So he knew dancing eh?  Domarus also knew dancing but Keres never bothered.  However perhaps if she took lessons from Aereth then she could get information out easier that way.  When Aereth talked about relationships and how if they enjoyed it that was all that mattered Domarus chuckled and shook his head.

"You remind me of two young women when you say that.  However they dove far deeper into that aspect than you could imagine.  They were good company."

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

"Yeah I mean, living in the city isn't that bad, but I enjoy the peaceful boring live outside of cities over all the noise and rush. Maybe your live will get quieter in the future. You always have the option to move out of the city." It was true. If he really wanted to get away from the loud and busy city, he could always move out to the country. 

Then Domarus talked about how he reminded him of two young women. Also chuckling Aereth asked him. "Now that is something you have to explain to me. And thanks for the compliment, but what did you mean they dove far deeper into that aspect." He was really curious on how he would answer now, since Aereth really had no idea how this statement was meant.

Then he refilled his glass and slowly emptied it. He thanked Kayaba for putting alcohol inside this game. And he really did a great job in implementing the taste, smell and burning feeling when you drink it into this f*cking game.

@Domarus

[Domarus 0]

Aereth talked about how there wasn't anything holding Domarus back from leaving the city and heading out to the country.  Domarus chuckled and shook his head.

"Ah my friend, there is too much holding me back at the moment.  I have goals I need to see succeed before I can consider that, and maybe not even that.  But as a getaway?  I could definitely do that."  Then the player asked Domarus about the two women.  To this he stayed silent for a moment.  He had more experience with Esther than Ivory but that information contained secrets he didn't want to share.  Much of it related to her capture, Mari and her devious, dark potions, and most dangerously, the event that occurred in Domarus' shop.  Esther had been beaten up by Lycan and Domarus had found her and brought her to his house to treat her injuries.  Afterwards they talked and drank until she fell asleep.  The next morning ended up with Domarus taking the starry eyed potion...  Revealing to Domarus his one and only true weakness.  Which he would guard jealously from all, even Keres until he deemed her worthy enough for the knowledge.  He chose his next words carefully.

"Their only goals in life were to make others happy.  And they seemed to be willing to do nearly anything to do so.  One of them was more trusting than the other...  Which is what led to her capture.  I will not speak of her further.  The other however was interesting in a different sense.  She asked me what made me happy and when I answered she could tell I wasn't being honest.  She told me it was because she mastered the ability to know when someone was happy or not.  It intrigued me.  Your comment on how if we feel good about what we do that's all that's important.  As well as the part about not mattering what it is.  The two of them seemed to accept some dark concepts, trust me I've asked."  

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

"Yeah, a place to escape the trouble of the city for some off time, so to say. That's a nice idea. Since you can't just run away from your responsibilities." This was one of the many advantages of coming from the country. You could always take some time off to visit your home. To relax and to refill your energy.

Then Domarus told him about the two women he met, and that they did almost everything to make others happy. But one of them got captured because of this trait. And the other one could find out if you were happy or not. Aereth chuckled. "I think you might be right in this regard. But only for the people that I hold really dear." then a short pause to take another sip from his whiskey. "But this story about mastering the ability of finding out if somebody is happy or not, is really interesting. She must be very attentive in order to read somebody's emotions.." he guessed.

@Domarus

[Domarus 0]

Domarus nodded when Aereth talked about how it was a good idea to have a getaway from time to time since he couldn't just leave the city.  Too much set in stone for him to just vanish.  No no.  His plans were massive and the first phase had been successful, the second phase about to be so when he was trapped in the virtual world.  But when he escaped this dungeon, this trap, he could use what had happened to further his goals ever faster.  When Aereth talked about Ivory's trait he nodded.

"That stuff tends to happen when you're one and only goal is other's happiness.  You find a way to see if everyone's happy or not."  He refilled his glass and took another drink as Keres did the same with her own chocolate milk, becoming silent once more.

"So Aereth...  What makes you happy?  Genuinely?"  Domarus knew that the player would ask the exact same question to him, but he wasn't Ivory.  Domarus could give him the somewhat true answer and he'd think it was honest.  Unless of course he was as suspicious as ever.  However Domarus still wasn't worried about that.  He was beginning to wonder if either player would reach their alcohol limit.  Both were resistant, both were stubborn.  It was only a matter of time before they grew tired of drinking he supposed.

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

Aereth had to chuckle at Domarus' explanation of Ivorys ability. "Don't you think too, that this girl seems to be a little bit too naive? I mean, when her only goal happiness is, then I'm sure Sword Art Online will break her sooner or later." With that said he also refilled his glas with whiskey. It also seemed that the alcohol was showing some minor effects. But Aereth didn't care. He was used to other amounts of alcohol so he simply shrugged the filling off.

Then he asked Aereth a rather hard question. What made him happy? Aereth started to think for some time before he gave his answer. "That's a really hard question my friend. But I think knowing that the people I hold dear are in safety makes me genuinely happy." It was no lie, but that also meant for him that he wasn't happy most of the time, since you are never in complete safety when you are inside of Sword Art Online. May be also another reason, why he didn't like to make too many friends inside here... "How about you? What makes you genuinely happy?"

@Domarus

[Domarus 0]

Domarus chuckled and nearly laughed at Aereth's comment about how the two would be broken by this game in due time.

"My friend, if anyone could last through this game and come out still desiring the same thing, I promise you it's Ivory.  Esther...  I'm not quite sure."  After that he fell silent again.  He wasn't angry this time, in fact he was somewhat worried.  The way she spoke to Domarus, what she showed him.  Would that be lost after he freed her from the mental torment she endured?  He had no idea.  He noticed Aereth seemed to react to something and he knew it was the effects of alcohol.  The player obviously shrugged it off as if it were nothing but the point remained that the effects had started.  Something he had learned the hard way was that if you had a good resistance to alcohol, but then finally reached your limit, the effects were massive.  Perhaps Aereth was nearing this point.  When Aereth answered he gave pretty much the generic answer Domarus had heard in his time in Aincrad.  He nodded.

"That seems to be most people's glee.  Mine?  I find pleasure in action, adventure, the thrill of the moment almost as equally as helping others out and protecting others."  This sentence may have appeared natural and honest on the outside, but it was mainly lies with a kernel of truth.  He enjoyed destroying his opponent's in this game with his huge weapon yes, but he didn't care about action or adventure, and on a personal level could care less about other people.  However he needed to help them in order for his plans to succeed.  And not just help then walk away, no, he needed to help everyone consistently was his issue.

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

Aereth joined Domarus in his chuckling as he continued to talk about Ivory. As he got to Esther again he stopped however. This time Aereth was able to read something in Domarus' expression. It was pure worry. And by the looks of it, it seemed like he was worrying about her for a long time now. But Aereth didn't push the matter. He knew that he would get the information about this girl sooner or later.

After giving his answer to Domarus' question about happiness, it was his turn to tell Aereth what made him happy. Somehow he felt that this wasn't the whole truth about his sources of happiness. He was sure that there were some things lingering in the dark, regarding this matter. And he would also get behind this when the time had come but again, he wouldn't push right now. It would do him no good. "So what are you doing when you don't go out for training or when you don't help other players?"

@Domarus

[Domarus 0]

Keres was both pleased and disappointed that Aereth didn't ask her what made her happy.  She could say serving Domarus of course, but she equally enjoyed pain as well.  Domarus listened to Aereth before taking another drink, taking it slowly this time and after a few seconds he placed it down and chuckled.

"Honestly, just this.  That's been my life so far:  Train, keep an eye out for players in need, and check in on them in the towns after training.  Then go hit the hay.  Without a steady income of materials I can't run the shop, and that's always a problem.  If one of the two girls I mentioned have some time, they tend to get me to put time aside for them somehow.  Keres here too has been beating me up about taking breaks from time to time, so there's that."  Keres smiled as she was particularly proud of having convinced Domarus from time to time.  She thought for a little bit about convincing the player Aereth to get his own servant but she didn't know enough about him yet.  Perhaps in the future.  In the meantime she'd just focus on the chocolate milk in front of her.  Domarus looked at Aereth.

"So how about you?  What do you tend to do when you aren't questing or training?"

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

Aereth listened to Domarus as he explained to him that he really wasn't doing anything else than training, helping others and sleeping, and that he would spend more time in his shop if he had enough materials to run it properly. "Hmmm. About the problem with the materials: Keres, how did you spend your first free skill points? Because if you didn't use them up until now, you could grab yourself the Search and Detect skill to get your hands on materials more easily." 

Then he answered Domarus' question about his routine when he wasn't out training or questing. "Right now there isn't much time for something else outside of these two things. But when I find the time to relax a little bit, I usually go out into the city, find myself a bar or something like that and spend the time drinking and relaxing. Other than that, I just enjoy walking and traveling around Aincrad. And while doing this I'm also able to get some nice amounts of materials. I even want to pick up the <<Survival>> skill in the near future. But I don't know if this does count for training or not." he chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. Even if he did like traveling around very much, the search for the Survival skill was only to get closer to his final goal.

@Domarus

[Domarus 0]

OOC- for the staff reading, no I don't use any mechanics when using Keres and no I don't have rank 1 S&D, this is mainly for rp purposes

Keres giggled in response and rubbed the back of her head in a cute fashion, on purpose of course, with a shine on her eyes and a smile.  

"Well yeah, I have rank one search and detect but due to the fact that I don't do anything in regards to combat or quests means I don't get any more experience.  Well, actually I do, but I don't get skill points as rewards and therefore I'm sort of stuck.  It's ok though, I'm here for Domarus and no one else."  When Aereth mentioned how his schedule was just as busy as Domarus' Keres wondered what would happen if he did get a maid and servant.  Either way she knew the player would kill himself if he didn't take it easy and take a break from time to time.  Before she could do or say anything however Domarus put a comforting hand against her back, letting her know that he knew this too.  He wouldn't let a potential follower die and she knew this.  He nodded to Aereth.

"Keep training then.  Just remember to pace yourself and to take breaks from time to time like Keres forces me to do.  You know I never realized how useful it would be to have a maid.  I make her happy by letting her stay with me, and while I protect her she keeps me from going over the edge.  It's a great bond we have."

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

Keres answered Aereth that she indeed had spend her initial points into the Search and Detect skill, but also that she wouldn't be getting any more experience, because she just wanted to be there for Domarus. Another thing that Aereth didn't understand. Why was she staying on level one, if she could be a much greater help for Domarus if she would level up a bit. But really? He did not care. People make their own decisions, have to live with the consequences, and if they are fine with it there would be no problems.

 After Aereth finished talking about his training plan Keres seemed eager to say something but was held back by Domarus, as he put his hand on her back and told him not to push too hard, in order to stay alive. "Have no fear, I know exactly how much I'm able to do without harming myself. That's the reason why we have worked on a training plan in the first place. So if I stick to the plan nothing will happen to me." Right now he wasn't even referring to the plan he worked out with Itzal and Birdie, no, he was referring to the tweaked version of the schedule. Aereth had put some extra workouts into the plan, in order to catch up with Birdie and to get overall stronger. But he was far away from his personal limit. He had been through harder times. And he also didn't want to kill himself, a fact that the two of them seemingly failed to notice. A dead man cannot archive his goals after all....

@Domarus

[Domarus 0]

When Aereth assured the two of them that he would be perfectly fine Domarus nodded.  

"I believe you.  It was the mental strain I was worried about but now it is clear that concern holds no weight.  I trust you to keep yourself safe."  And with that he took another drink of whiskey, and Keres her chocolate milk.  As he set his glass down he gave a sigh.  If this player could take a lot, then he most certainly was a worthy follower.  If Domarus was successful in taking him...  His thoughts vanished as Keres suddenly giggled.  Domarus turned to her with a raised eyebrow and she gave a dismissive hand.

"I'll tell you about it later master."  In truth she was wondering how Aereth would act or react if a girl begged him to be her maid, and he ended up getting a harem.  She thought the whole affair to be hilarious and she certainly would do everything in her power to keep it going as well as embarrass him to no end.  Ah, if only she could pull off something like that.  As it was she kept it to herself until Domarus and her were alone.  Domarus looked at her curiously, wondering what could possibly be going on in that strange mind of hers.  He then turned to Aereth again as he poured a little more whiskey.  He was pouring less than before not because he was feeling the effects, he'd need more for the beginning effects, but so that his friend could catch up to him.

"So, any ideas for what you want to do for col?  Profession?  And quite possibly you could very give dance lessons."

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

"Thanks my friend." With that all three of them took another drink. Suddenly Keres giggled. "This most certainly will mean nothing good..." he thought as he also refilled his glass, and also rose an eyebrow. She then said to Domarus that she would tell him later about it, which confirmed that it for sure was something about Aereth. 

Then Domarus asked him, how he was intending to get Col. There were three possibilities to earn money inside of Aincrad. First: mob grinding, second: with a shop and third: doing both. And Aereth was about to do both. He wanted to slay mobs, and get a well payed profession. "To be honest, I intend to open a tailor shop in the future. Although, I want to wait until the 3.0 update will be rolled out until I chose a profession." At the last part of Domarus' question Aereth had to chuckle. "Maybe I could do that as a kind of additional income. Do you intend to learn to dance my friend?"

@Domarus

[Domarus 0]

Domarus gave off a hearty chuckle before responding to Aereth's question.  

"I can dance.  She can't.  I figured it was time to teach her at some point, but I'm not exactly the best at teaching."  A lie, plain and simple.  She just wanted someone else to dance with so she could embarrass them.  If she was going to dance she wanted it to make her look sexy.  Keres gave an 'innocent' smile in response and Domarus noticed the bottle was empty.  He ordered a second one and while the bartender went to fetch another bottle Keres went ahead and refilled her own while the bartender wasn't looking.  She snickered and took a sip or two, winking to Aereth.

"So then, what dances do you know?  I know pretty much everything done at proms since that's where I learned them."  He also knew ballroom dances as he was using 'romantic occasions' to get information.  While alcohol was a very effective interrogation device on men, women's weakness was dances and their own fragile hearts.  In fact, sometimes information was easier with women.  They didn't seem to understand how to keep their mouths shut.  Then the bartender returned with their second bottle and as he set it down, hesitated a moment, as if he felt like something was missing, then shook off the feeling and returned to his work.  Domarus opened the bottle and grinned to Aereth before pouring into his glass.  When he lifted it up to his lips he stopped and set it down, keeping his grin intact.  His eyes caught Aereth's and gave off a hidden message.  'don't drink.'  Keres noticed first but she knew for sure her own drink was safe.  She continued sipping and Domarus leaned back a little, acting like the first effects of alcohol were just beginning to take effect.

"Whoa, maybe I should slow down here, get a breather."  Domarus knew that if he hadn't warned Aereth, the player would be completely and totally deceived by his physical reaction.  With his hint however the player would be able to tell that he wasn't actually drunk.

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

As Domarus told Aereth that he could dance. He also knew pretty much everything which was danced at proms, since he learned it there. But even though Aereth had drunken quite a lot tonight, he was still able to notice that the last part of Domarus sentence was a lie. He didn't understand why he was still lying to him, but decided to ignore it. "That's quite something if you know pretty much all the stuff that is danced at proms." It really was nowadays. Almost none of the younger people wanted to learn how to dance nowadays. They just wanted to get drunk really fat. Pathetic... 

Then he ordered a new bottle of whiskey and asked Aereth what dances he was able to do. As the bartender left to get the new bottle Keres refilled her chocolate milk herself and gave Aereth a wink. Which brought a grin on Aereth's face. Chuckling he answered. "So far I'm able to do all ballroom dances and all latin dances. But competitive-wise my girlfriend and I only did the latin ones. So if you want, I could show you some things, Keres."  The bartender returned and put the new bottle in front of the two men. But Aereth also noticed the hesitation in the bartenders actions. He looked in Domarus eyes as he refilled the glasses and opted to take another drink, and as he was just about to take a sip, his eyes told him 'don't drink' this sh*t. Aereth returned the grin, and was eager to know how Domarus would handle this situation, because Aereth didn't even touch his new drink yet, since he was talking to Domarus while all this happened.

Aereth chuckled again as Domarus played that he was feeling the first effect of the alcohol. "This does not surprise me, my friend. You were drinking the whiskey like water. And we have plenty of time left."

@Domarus

Edited November 9, 2016 by Aereth

[Domarus 0]

Domarus watched through seemingly uncaring eyes as the bartender watched the two suspiciously but slowly walked to the other end of the counter.  Domarus chuckled to Aereth.  

"Well you make a good point there friend, but I honestly thought I could hold my own liquor!  It don't seem to bother you though...  Maybe you are better."  Keres enjoyed watching Domarus make his performances and was good at acting like this was normal.  She giggled.

"Maybe you should take a break master.  Aereth, how much more do you think you can handle?"  She sipped on her chocolate milk as she said this when Domarus let out another chuckle.

"I bet he could handle a lot Keres.  Ain't that right country man?"  He grinned at Aereth but watched the scenery with the corner of his eyes.  The bartender was cleaning a glass extremely slowly with a shaky hand and he spotted his eyes moving.  When Domarus had looked at the player, the bartender had finished looking at the other two men.  Domarus turned to the bartender and waved.

"My good sir, would you mind refilling the young lady's glass?"  Keres shook her head and insisted that she was satisfied but Domarus hadn't asked because of that and she knew.  It gave him a reason to look at the bartender without being suspicious, and therefore noted that the two players in the corner seemed to be making their way ever so slowly to the doors.  Oh no they didn't.  He chuckled and turned back to Aereth, his eyes saying one thing:  Shall you or shall I?

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

Domarus chuckled at Aereth as he told him that he thought that he could hold his own. As Keres giggled and asked Aereth how much more he could handle, he joined Domarus in his chuckling and answered. "Oh don't overestimate my drinking capabilities. The first effects of the drinks were starting to take effect on me some time ago, so I don't have a problem with taking a 'break'."

Aereth also noticed the shaky hands of the bartender as well as that the two players in the corner seemed to finally want to make a move. Again locking eyes with Domarus, he started to grin. His eyes and grin said clearly 'Leave it to me buddy' 

With that, Aereth slowly stood up and staggered into the direction of the two players. He could swear that he saw grins flashing out of their hoods as they saw him staggering into their direction. The seemed to be pleased, that they seemingly found three easy, and drunken victims for their scheming. That was a mistake. Like Aereth told Domarus beforehand, he had already scanned all possible escape routes for a situation like this, but Aereth thought that they wouldn't need them tonight. As he finally reached the two hooded figures, he cracked a smile and said. "Goooood evening, gentleman.... or woman? Oh f*ck it. It doesn't matter. How, can I help you two beauties?" He asked them, acting like a drunken guy. Then one of the two tried to grab Aereth at his collar. Aereth however, immediately countered this action by pushing his hand away, delivering a blow to the face of the guy who wanted to grab him. "Thank god the A.R.E.A. protection still lets you punch people." Both players seemed very surprised by this action from Aereth. Using the oppertunity, Aereth kicked the second guy in the gut and sent him in Domarus' direction, so that he could restrict his movements.
In the meantime the first hooded player, the one that Aereth punched in the face, got up again and lunged at Aereth. Thankfully, Aereth was able to dodge the incoming hit. Aereth elbowed the player, turned his upper body to face him again, with his other hand grabbed him by his throat and pushed him on the ground, so that he couldn't move any more. Looking at the player under him he said to Domarus. "You wanna do some interrogation talk with them or should we let them go for now?"

@Domarus