OP-NK-F1 Social Gathering

[MintMidori 0]

Midori had been hanging around Floor 1 simply out of fear, but she needed to get some friends. There were probably other players who were scared maybe, but none the less Midori would try to make some friends regardless of who they were. Midori walked to the main fountain in the center of town and sat down on the bench. Most players passed through or by the fountain, so Midori would have the best chance of meeting someone there. She sat looking around for people that weren't NPCs, since they will probably forget you almost instantly unless they were some sort of quest NPC. The fountain was pretty to look at and made the time pass by with much less boredom. Midori rested her head on her hands and continued to stare out at the fountain with the occasional glance in both directions to find someone. 

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had explored backwards to floor 1 after a long day of grinding out gaining some EXP, and he figured... why not? It had been a long time since he had cooked anything in a while... it was nice to switch things up a bit instead of constantly doing the same things over... and over... and over again, he wore his KoB red and white uniform that resembled his old blue Blastia's Core outfit and roamed the floor of floor 1 trying to remember where his store had used to be. These streets had been getting quieter and quieter recently... players had finally been getting out their gaining EXP instead of locking themselves away from progressing in the game. He had eventually made it to the fountain and looked down into the water that lied below it seeing himself in the reflection... he could tell that he wasn't himself anymore... he had definitely changed over the past year, he took a deep breath at that realization.

@MintMidori

[Dominion 0]

Dominion had just returned to the starting city on the first floor just the previous day, after adventuring past the forest line with a couple others. He had slept in his usual place, a small outlet in an alleyway. He woke up, looked at the shadow from the building cast by the sun, and decided that it was going to be a great day. Dominion might even go to the tavern, possible check if the bartender had any tea brewed. He looked down at his dirty white shirt and shook his head. Dominion swiped open his inventory and equipped his Monkey King Armor, so to at least cover his dirty white shirt. He then stood up and, placing his hands in his jean pockets, walked casually to the main road. Technically, the fastest route to the tavern is not the main road, but many people will be exiting the city from there... I guess I should cut to the middle, and then make my way directly to the tavern... Alright, I guess its settled. Dominion grinned and closed his eyes when the sun finally crossed over the buildings. He had memorized the paths in this town, waving at new players as he always did, and for the most part he didn't know any of them personally.  

[Seul 1]

The first floor's Starting City never ceased to amaze Seul whenever he had the time to wander its streets. Just being there served as a good reminder for just how large the player population was since every visit showed off new faces that he hadn't previously encountered during his travels. Why so many people chose to wait around on the lower floors was beyond him. Aincrad wasn't an entirely awful place outside the walls of the settlement, despite the rumors that might say otherwise. It wasn't his place to judge people who lived in such a way, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be proud of having the ability to go and do as he pleased within the floating castle either.

***

He must have walked these streets a thousand times by now. When he first left on that fateful day it was hard to imagine he'd be standing here now as a fairly component player. Life just worked in strange ways like that. Sitting on the edge of a nearby fountain, he continued to think about everything up to this point without paying much mind to the surrounding area.

[MintMidori 0]

Midori's long wait for someone to show up ended when she saw a cyan haired individual walking in her direction. A smile immediately came to Midori's face as she got up off of the bench and walked over to the player. He was staring into the water, much like Midori had been, but he was simply looking at his reflection. It did look a little neat staring into it. Deciding not to interrupt whatever the player was looking at, Midori simply walked up to his side and began to stare at the water and look at her reflection herself. She did look a little older, having been sitting in the city for so long, but she was still barely a teen, so she just smiled at her reflection and then turned to the player next to her. "The water is pretty relaxing isn't it?" Midori asked, trying to start some small talk.

@Beatbox

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had stared into the water deeply, he had thought about his time here like he always did, he had sat down onto the fountain... thinking about his past, for a moment, he saw the star that he used to be and with a shake of his head, he looked back and saw his current self, he grinned... then looked over as a young girl had appeared before him asking him if the water was relaxing, Beatbox placed a smile on his face as he looked back down into the water "Yeah, you could say something like that." he had stretched his arms upward and let out a yawn, "Just came here to ponder is all. I've had a long week you could say. Being in a guild is rough, specially if you have leveling quotas or training to do." he said as he shook his head with a wider smile "But its nothing I can't handle, I assume that you are still rather lower leveled?" he asked her with a hunch in the back of his mind screaming that she was.

@MintMidori

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru took a walk around the first floor. It had been a long time since he had done something like this. He decided to take the day off of leveling and relax for a few hours and let both his mind and body heal. He was still trying to get over Ariel, and the whole ordeal. He tried to stay mad, but he couldn't. But while he couldn't be mad, he was never able to forgive. He gave a low sigh and shook his head. He wasn't going to let that bother him, not today. Today he was going to be trying to just relax and re-live old memories he had on this floor. He looked over to a nearby fountain, and saw a certain Blue-Headed player he had come to know. He decided to play a little prank on him. He pulled his hood up and walked close, and as he neared his cloak soon made him start to become Opaque, making it difficult to see him. As soon as he was in-between the two players, he pulled down his hood with a worried look

"Um, Beat... I uh, can't find my body..." He said, with a small chuckle, "Maybe you can run a-HEAD and see if it's anywhere nearby?" He said, following into a fit of laughter as he pulled back the cloak. He turned to the young player, and gave her a small smile "Oh, im sorry Miss, did I interrupt? Apologies if I did." he said with a slightly embarrassed look, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly

@Beatbox @MintMidori

[MintMidori 0]

Midori nodded her head in response to Beatbox before speaking, "I completely get what you mean. I've had long days and weeks like that in other games. I'm only level 1, I never left the city at all yet. I just am too nervous to do so, I just don't want to die. I'll go out there soon enough once I feel like I'm strong enough, just not now." Midori said as she smiled up at Beatbox. Her attention on Beatbox did not last long though a voice came from between them. "Um, Beat... I uh, can't find my body..." it said chuckling "Maybe you can run a-HEAD and see if it's anywhere nearby?" He finished, causing Midori to laugh for a few seconds. He then asked if he was interrupting anything and Midori shook her head. "No sir. You didn't interrupt us, we were just talking about the water." Midori said quickly as she scooted over a little bit to make room for Hikoru.

@Beatbox @Hikoru

[Dominion 0]

Dominion was reaching the center of the city, where the fountain and a quest board were set up, some benches nearby. Some players Dominion vaguely recognized from recent boss events were congregating near the fountain. Dominion would have left them in peace, but quickly took notice to someone. Beatbox? What is he doing in this city? Dominion did not intend to be rude, exspecially since a younger player was walking over to talk to them. Dominion didn't know what would be the politically correct course of action, so he walked up to the hooded man. As he came to stand beside the guy, Hikoru pulled back his cloak. "Hey... Do I know you?", Dominion asked Hikoru, someone who Dominion had seen lose his composure before the event battle against Nerius. Dominion had wanted to meet the guy at a more appropriate time, possible help him if he could use assistance.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Dominion

[Beatbox 0]

"I knew the feeling one day, I remember like it was yesterday young one. I was level 12, and I had gotten so worried about the enemies around me. I had gotten simple equipment from mob drops that I had used... yet everything seemed so challenging... and one day, I just locked myself away for a while... for more than a year trying to figure out how I was going to live... I had lost myself... but..." he looked up into the sky, "If there was one thing a front liner had tought me back when I was level 1... that is to never give up, not for anything. We are going to make it out of here alive. I already know it." he had looked over to another player that had shown up... it was Dominion, he had remembered him from a while ago, Beatbox had smiled and said out to him "Ah. Dominion, I see you are alive and well, how have you been?" then Hikoru had shown up and had made a fool of himself once again, Beatbox shook his head with a groan and said "Hikoru, you are a fool sometimes you know that?" he looked back to the water.

@Hikoru @Dominion @MintMidori

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru just gave a small laugh as the girl said he wasn't interrupting, and gave a small and childish grin to Beatbox as he said he was a fool. He had come to enjoy being it, since it was all he really did in the real world when he was with his brother, which is something he had found Beat to be. He gave a small sigh and looked back as a young man asked if he was Hikoru, and he gave a small smile as it was a lower-level he recognized

"Ah, yes. Hikoru, Master of Shadows at your service." He said with a small and polite bow. He remembered him as one of the many faces that was at the recent Nerius fight. He shuddered as he remembered it, and decided not to reminice on that fight. He turned to the girl and gave a small smile "Well im glad I didn't interrupt anything important." He said politely. He turned to Beat and nodded, becoming serious "Your guild have any info about the Labyrinth? I know it's a weird place to ask, but I thought I might as well get this overwith." He said, hoping for a straightforward answer as Beatbox usually was

[Dominion 0]

Dominion didn't wish to leave out his own introduction and quickly placed one hand inside the grasp of the other. Then, Dominion extended his arms and bowed to the man, saying, "Hikoru, Master of Shadows, it is surely a pleasure to meet you. My name is Dominion the monk." Dominion then bowed to the girl who was sitting beside Beatbox, someone who was in the starting city less often, then raised his torso to greet Beatbox. "Hello Beatbox, I am doing great. I haven't gotten to use my new instrument yet, because I don't know how to set up a shop, especially one that can move from place to place." Dominion shrugged with his last comment. He also didn't mention that he had no idea how to play the Lute, but that wouldn't be a problem if he practiced enough. "But life is good, even with some minor setbacks here and there" Dominion took notice to another guy that was looking into the fountain, seemingly focused on something. Dominion turned his attention to the girl, someone he should have remembered as he was in the starting city almost all the time. "Hey, are you Beatbox's friend?" Dominion couldn't hold back a smile, as he placed his hands back in his pockets. "Any friend of Beatbox is a friend of mine".

Edited January 29, 2017 by Dominion

[MintMidori 0]

Midori was a bit lost in the conversation that was going between the three guys. She tilted her head to one side and tried to figure out what they were talking about. She figured it was probably something that had taken place outside of floor 1. Midori kept giving herself more and more reasons to leave the city such as actually being able to know what was going on in the community. Dominion had turned to Midori and asked if she was Beatbox's friend or not once they finished talking with each other. Midori gulped suddenly and took a few steps back from the three but tried to keep a smile on her face. What would happen if she wasn't a friend of Beatbox? "No... we aren't really friends. We just met, so I'm not sure what you would call that. My name is Midori, I don't really specialize in anything." Midori responded calmly. She was hoping that things would be fine then.

[Dominion 0]

Dominion just shrugged, "I have no idea what you would call that either...". Dominion pulled his right hand from his pocket and placed it on his head and began to scratch his golden/blonde hair as he thought. "I guess you could call that an encounter, or... I don't know." Dominion held a puzzled expression. "Beatbox, what do you call someone you just met? I never did much learning until I arrived in the Americas, so I have never learned very much vocabulary." When Dominion heard her give her name, "Midori?", Dominion couldn't help but ask the following question. "Did you choose that name when you joined SAO for a reason or is Midori just a regular name from where you come from... or something else?" He asked as he tried to recall anyone he knew from his past with the name. Dominion was slightly surprised that she didn't specialize in anything. "You don't specialize in anything? How can you be human and not specialize in anything?" Dominion had to sit down and think about this. So, Dominion sat down right where he was and scratched his head with his right hand. How can you not specialize in anything and live in the real world? I never even thought about that until now, but I guess it might make a little sense...

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had been just a tad bit overwhelmed by the amount of people talking at the same time, matter of fact he didn't really know how to reply to anything, he cut to Dominion's recent question and said out to him "Idk... conversation partners?" he said as he rubbed the back of his head, he didn't really know WHAT to honestly call them in all honesty. He had looked down to see his reflection one more time seeing the man that he had become... it had been a long time since the day he decided to come back to the game when he was just level 12... now look at him... level 48, and is beginning to fight in the front lines with those he had never thought that he would in the first place... it was... unimaginable, he smiled, and looked back up to Midori and offered her his hand to shake "Midori? That's a nice name, mine's Beatbox, however mostly everyone calls me Beat. Its a pleasure to meet you on a day like this." he said with a smile.

@MintMidori

[MintMidori 0]

Midori shrugged her shoulders, "What I mean that I don't specialize in anything is that when you said you were a monk, I thought I had to state something like that. I just don't really have anything like that. I'm talented at certain things, but I don't really have a title. Sorry for the misunderstanding." Midori explained as she scratched her head with her left hand. She felt a little silly for messing up a simple sentence, but it was fine now, she fixed her mistake. Dominion then asked her about her name, and she already had an answer to that, so she answered without hesitation. "Midori is just my name in real life. I use my real name often since it is just a color and there is no real risk of doing so." Midori explained before turning to Beatbox, who had just introduced himself. Midori shook his hand briefly and smiled, "It's nice to meet you too Beat. I hope we get along well." Midori said before pushed her breastplate back up a little bit as it began to slip down. Midori bowed politely and smiled once more.

[Takeshi 0]

Takeshi walks around the first floor with a rather moody face, a lit cigarette hanging between his lips as he tries to think of a way to gather his materials quickly before his business would collapse, even though he never receives any customers. His sheathed sword is hanging at his sword belt, and the shield in his left hand. As he hears voices nearby, he opens his eyes to see around two male players conversing with a girl simply standing in the middle.

There is a tree nearby which Takeshi can lean against, and he does so while puffing out a smoke. He carefully observes the players and wonders if they are going to a dungeon or something, though it is unlikely as the girl seems to be a low level fighter. He inhales deeply and puffs out another smoke, staring at the blue sky as he doesn't know what to do.

[Dominion 0]

Dominion was sitting, pondering why anyone could be human and not specialize in anything. Midori then told him that it wasn't what she meant, but Dominion was now deep in thought. His eyes wandered the area, taking notice to an individual smoking and watching. "Well folks, it seems we are getting some attention from other players. I think I will head on over there and talk to that guy, see if he has got any cool stories. I will probably be back soon." Dominion stood up and passed Hikoru, Midori, Seul, and Beatbox. Dominion wanted to ask the dude, who seemed focused on the water of the fountain, some questions. I guess it will have to be a later time. Dominion walked with his hands in his jean pockets, his Monkey King Armor gleamed a gold hue from the sun. As he approached, Dominion bowed to the smoker and placed both hands together with both arms extended, "Hello stranger, a pleasure to meet you. My name is Dominion the monk. Do you know of any good stories? Also, do you happen to sell foods, potions, or fish at moderate prices?". Dominion shrugged his shoulders. "I cant seem to find any on this floor that are reasonable".

 @Takeshi

Edited January 29, 2017 by Dominion

[Takeshi 0]

Takeshi pays full attention to Dominion, looking at his armor and noting his supposed status as a monk. As he was asked of any tales worthy of being mentioned, he could only think about nothing but the tree houses he encountered. Before he can spin his yarn though, he decides to tell you about his store.

"Homunculus, my own store, sells potions and ipsums at a reasonable price...if that is what you want to call it," Takeshi speaks in a soft, but audible voice. "But it is temporarily closed, for I lack ingredients. I only have one healing potion for sale, the rest either were either unstable or produced crappy quality."

He blows out another smoke and keeps the cigarette between his lips as he continues speaking. He isn't sure if you wish to hear his past as a gang leader or his travels in Aincrad.

"I only have one unique story based on one of my travels. Somewhere in the forest at Level 3, I saw around four tree houses, all connected to each other with rope bridges. Their designs were Victorian based, and the monsters inhabit there were a minotaur, an ananconda and a lizardman...

At the biggest of the four tree houses, I discovered that the place was an organization base for a cult called the Cthulhu cult. The members that were here worshipped some false, holy god that has the head of an octopus and a pair of bat wings...

The strange thing about the houses was no player ever seemed to discuss about it or even made their way here...the place was very well secluded."

(OOC Edit: I forgot that I was supposed to wait for someone else to reply before me. Sorry :( )

Edited January 29, 2017 by Takeshi