[PP - F2] Meow? <<DHA: 2>>

[Beatbox 0]

Time had ticked by, Beatbox had laid in his bed on the eleventh floor thinking of the events that had happened today... meeting the blacksmith that he had met before... getting to fight by her side and then eating dinner with her, eh... anything to get to know people he guessed... he sighed, he hadn't really spoke to anyone really about anything after leaving the celestial ascendants... even in knights of the blood oath he had felt like he was distant against the people he used to know, he shook his head... tomorrow was going to be a busy day... him and Teion were going to meet up and fight against the next dragon...

February 12th, 2023

9:15 AM

The next day had came and he had chilled next to the floor teleporter waiting for Teion to arrive... he knew that they had settled for 9:30 in the morning so they could take down the boss and then maybe take down another one later today, however he had arrived much much earlier... he guessed he just arrived there much much earlier than expected... well, that is what he gets for living next to the main settlement on floor 11.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

Teion leaned back against the hard wood interior of her shop. Her head tilted back until it gently met with the wall, resting there for several long moments while she stared up at the stone ceiling. It was early morning, and she'd just finished getting ready to leave for Armadillo. In stark contrast to her lifestyle just a year ago, Aincrad had turned her into an early-riser. She gave a small motion to open her menus, her finger hovering over the 'Friends List' option for a painfully long second before pressing down. Her eyes traveled to the sub-menu where two familiar names still appeared. She breathed a small sigh before shifting her gaze to the most recent addition. Beatbox's username hovered in front of her for a while before she decided to pull her drifting thoughts back in order and get going.

The blacksmith appeared just beside the teleport gate in Urbus, giving a quick look around before taking a couple of steps forward. She didn't get very far before spotting the blonde swordsman waiting for her. "Ah. Hey." She greeted him simply, tugging lightly at the yellow scarf resting on her shoulders to loosen the fabric.

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had leaned back in the bench that he had been sitting in crossing his arms and looking into the sky as he crossed his legs relaxing himself, he took a deep breath and had taken a moment to think about the people he used to talk... a year ago, he used to talk to members of an old guild he used to talk to... then a couple months back, he had been talking to some of the members of the celestial ascendants... it had been a good minute since he had an active person that he had used to talk to. It took a moment for Beatbox to register the teleport noise as a player had stepped out from it, Beatbox looked over and saw that it was Teion... he guessed it was 9:30 already, with a simple smile he had exclaimed outward to Teion saying "Good morning Teion, how are you this morning?" as he questioned being a friend he guessed, he figured that was something you typically would ask someone in the mornings or something? Jeez... he had gotten unaware of his social skills over the past few months... he had changed a bit.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

Teion offered a small smile in return. "Good, yourself?" She exchanged pleasantries before taking a moment to go over her short mental-checklist. She had all the equipment she would need, even if they did more than one branch of the quests today she didn't expect to be running short on anything. Curiously, the second step of the quest chain was taking them to the second floor, as the first dragon was similarly located on the first floor. If this was a pattern, Teion could think of at least one floor she wouldn't be looking forward to.

"Ready when you are." She pulled up a map of the city from her menus to help remind her where the closest town gate was from where they currently were. She quickly closed it out after a moment, realizing that Beatbox was the one who knew the location of the next dragon hatchling. With her leading they had the chance of ending up on the wrong side of the forest.

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had smiled to hear that she was doing at least good, and in return to her question he had said out to her "I am doing well. Thank you for asking." he gave her a warm smile before looking down making sure that all of his equipment was equipped, after seeing that all of his equipment was equipped he had looked up to Teion and placed a hand on his hip and said to her "Great! Now, this boss should still be rather easy, however I could be possible wrong... eh, I don't know, this is only the second part... I can only imagine how challenging the last part will be... I have a bad feeling that it might not end well." he shook his head and took a deep breath "Who am I kidding, we got this, we'll just have to go into it prepared is all... no need to rush if we can't beat it." he chuckled before nodding over towards the direction saying to follow onto a trail to find the next dragon hatchling... he wondered if the next dragon will already be hatched... or will hatch upon their arrival.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

Teion tilted her head slightly at his words. At first he seemed unsure, then he said they could handle it as long as they were prepared. 'He's odd.' She thought simply, but followed his direction to the outskirts of the city. She trailed just behind the blonde, allowing him to lead the way to their next objective. With how quickly the first dragon hatchling fell, she wondered how many sections of the quest chain they could get through before things truly felt difficult. She still didn't fully accept the thought of Beatbox carrying her through the quests, but after their conversation last night she forced her pride to the sidelines for now.

As they reached the edge of the city, just before crossing through the gate outside of the safe zone, a soft noise caught Teion's attention. "Hm?" She stopped a moment and turned to scan the area behind her. A small creature caught her attention, and the violet-haired girl wandered back over to a small orange cat sitting on the side of the main path. She tilted her head curiously before the cat gave another small 'mew', causing Teion to kneel down and reach her hand out. The cat eagerly brushed up against her hand, allowing her to scratch its head. Teion's heart fluttered lightly as a warm smile grew on her face.

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had looked back as they had walked outward and saw that she had tilted her head, he looked back forward and shook his head with a sigh "I knew I shouldn't have talked about my fear about it..." but he placed a faint smile upon his face, he would only imagine that she had at least understood what he was worried about at least. As they had grew to outside the walls of the main settlement, he had heard a meow as he looked over to see Teion kneel down to pet the cat, Beatbox had chuckled as he had slowly walked up behind Teion "this is about as happy I have ever seen you, you must really like animals huh?" he gave her a warm smile as he smiled wide with a chuckle, he wasn't judging her... he found it kind of cute that she had this sort of affection towards other animals... he remembered he had the same kind of love towards animals in the first place... kind of why he had chose a fox as his familiar.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

The girl only realized that she had wandered off from her guide when she heard the blonde's voice behind her. She froze up a second before turning and looking up at Beatbox. "Oh, sorry, I..." She mumbled out, wanting to apologize for getting distracted. Before she said any more, his mention of seeing her happy caused a light blush to her cheeks, and she quickly turned her face back to the cat as she continued to idly scratch around its ears and under its chin. "Oh, mm... Yeah, I do." She admitted shyly. She wasn't sure why she'd be embarrassed to say she liked cats. Perhaps it was because Beatbox saw her with that kind of expression?

Teion stood again after a few moments, pulling herself away from the orange cat as it turned and walked away from them. "Sorry about that, we can get going."

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had chuckled when she had then gained a faint blush as she had faintly agree'd that she had loved animals, it made him wonder why she didn't have a familiar at the moment... it was quite odd why she doesn't have one with the amount of like she has towards animals. He patted her back and said to her "There's no reason to be shy about it, I love animals too. It's the main reason why I have a fox right now." he chuckled before looking back onto the trail once she had said that they should get going, and he agreed, so it was back on the trail they go to find and fight the next dragon hatchling. Beatbox had smirked, on the thought of her having a familiar he looked over his shoulder behind him over to Teion and asked her with a smile "Have you ever thought about getting a familiar Teion? I know its a bit of work to get the damned thing, but at the end of the end its a great companion while giving you a boost in stats." he chuckled wondering about her next response.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

Teion held back a sigh at Beatbox's comment about her being shy. Was she trying too hard to hide her emotions? Probably. Aincrad had taken its toll on her mentally and emotionally, and by now she was just tired. It was easier to focus all of her time and energy on blacksmithing--it was her role in this game now, and they didn't have the luxury of time to enjoy this world for what it is.

As they exited town and followed down the path into the forest, they remained in silence for a few minutes before it was Beatbox that spoke up again. Drawn from her thoughts, Teion looked over curiously at his question before looking back down at the path in front of her feet. "Oh, well..." She hesitated a moment. "Not really. I wonder..." She mumbled, trailing off vaguely while her thoughts seemed to take over again.

[Beatbox 0]

They had stayed in silence for a bit, he knew why though... she has shy, he didn't know why... nor was he going to pressure her to say anything about it, however he knew how it felt to remain shy, he had looked past his own life... not just outside of this game, but inside... he had felt himself grow differently from this game... he had definitely changed... whether it was for the better? He didn't know, nor did he want to necessarily change himself now... he refuses to let this game beat him. Beatbox had stopped as the egg was presented in front them, he sighed and said out "Familiar's can help you out in the best ways possible, it can even give you company, when you just feel down.. I don't blame you for feeling shy Teion, I to find myself wanting to distance myself at times. But, I refuse to let this game beat me." he said with a determined look as his eyes sparked blue as he looked forward to the egg that had began to break and shatter revealing the next dragon that was inside of it. He moved his hand without hesitation towards the sheathed sword resting on the side of him.

@Teion

-----

Beatbox: 1035/1035 - 102/102

Teion: ???/??? - ??/??

Zylara: 175/175 - MIT: 35 - DMG: 65 - ACC: 1

[Teion 0]

Teion wasn't one for exploration, so she was sure there were thousands of different creatures she hadn't seen yet. She hadn't even imagined a dragon could be tamed until she saw the lightning-drake in her own blacksmith. Still, would she really want to obtain a familiar? 'Maybe...' She gave a small shake of her head to dismiss her thoughts before they wandered even further.

Beatbox's following words prompted a small tilt of her head as she looked over to him. She was being shy? 'I guess now that I think about it...' She had never considered herself shy, more just reserved. She kept to herself even before Sword Art Online, but perhaps she'd closed herself off so much at this point that it fit.

Her attention turned back in front of them when the blonde's hand reached for the hilt of his sword. As they inched closer to being in range of initiating combat, the dragon egg rattled and cracked, quickly revealing their target. The dragon hatchling cocked its head to the side when it noticed them, and Teion almost thought a playful smile rested on its elongated face. The girl increased the length of her stride while pulling her axe from behind her. The blacksmith's pace quickened further into a run as she advanced ahead of Beatbox without warning. Bringing her weapon over her head, she gave a powerful downward strike. In reaction, the dragonling let out a small screech and scampered to the side faster than she'd expected. Before she could readjust, the blade of Teion's axe sunk far into the bark of the collapsed tree that the egg had rested on. The violet-haired girl let out a scowl of frustration, quickly planting the sole of her boot onto the wood as she pulled back to wrench the axehead free.

@Beatbox

Combat Results

  Hide contents

• ID#: 77535
  • BD: 2 + (2 Equipment) = 4 - Miss!
     
• Teion:
  • HP: 380/380
  • Energy: 36/38
  • DMG: 10 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 3
• Beatbox:
  • HP: 1035/1035
  • Energy: 102/102
  • DMG: 14 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 66
• <<Zylara>>:
  • HP: 175/175
  • MIT: 35 | DMG: 65 | ACC: 1

[Beatbox 0]

Without a second to spare, Beatbox had looked over from the dragon to Teion to see a playful little smile upon her face, the smile alone was enough to bring one onto Beatbox's own face. She started to remind him back in his popstar days where his presence alone and his sense of style was enough to bring joy onto their faces, but who knows where he'll end up. Who knows were she'll end up in the near future... who knows where the two of them will end up at the end of this entire quest line... Teion had made her move to strike against the dragon however the dragon evasively moved out of the way of her strike. Now it was his turn to strike and he was not going to waste any more time with this battle. He activated his charge ability without the bullrush and lunged forward striking the boss, at the end of the combo expecting to be struck down it was left with a little sliver of health. His eye twitched a little at the sight of that.

@Teion

-----

ID: 79361 - BD: 8+4=12 - MD: 5+1-3=3

SAU: Meteor Break = 14+5=19*11=209-35= 174

Beatbox: 1035/1035 - 91/102

Teion: 380/380 - 36/38

Zylara: 1/175 - MIT: 35 - DMG: 65 - ACC: 1 [-174 HP]

OOC: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

[Teion 0]

Teion quickly regained her footing after freeing her weapon, gripping the axe tightly in front of her. Beatbox had followed-up without hesitation, landing a solid blow against the dragon that caused its health bar to quickly drop. The woman resisted another scowl as she was about to sheath her weapon behind her. Another glance back to their target caused her to hesitate. Zylara gave a shake of its head after being left with several bright red slashes across its body. Teion's eyes flickered up to its health bar as it dropped into the red, leaving just a single point of health remaining.

The axe-wielder frowned, stepping calmly towards the hatchling as it attempted to recover from the devastating blow. Before Zylara had the chance to counter the attack, Teion thrust the tip of her axe forward, piercing the dragon's chest and causing the creature to shatter. In its place, a small quartz gem was left on the forest floor. Teion put away her weapon before kneeling down to retrieve the quest item, giving it a quick inspection before turning toward Beatbox and tossing the gem to him. The blonde had collected the first stone, and since he had been taking the lead so far, she'd pass any of the quest items over to him during the chain.

The fight against Zylara was just as easy as Rhaegal, and she wondered for a moment when they would feel the difficulty increase with their difference in levels. The blacksmith shifted her weight, unsure if they would be heading back to Urbus or going for the next objective as soon as possible. "What now?" She voiced her curiosity.

Combat Results

  Hide contents

• ID#: 79488
  • BD: 4 + (2 Equipment) = 6 - Hit! Basic Attack:
    • (3 Base) + (4 Skill) + (3 Equipment) = (10 Damage) = (35 MIT) = 1 DMG (Minimum)
       
• Teion:
  • HP: 380/380
  • Energy: 36/38
  • DMG: 10 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 3
• Beatbox:
  • HP: 1035/1035
  • Energy: 91/102
  • DMG: 14 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 66
• <<Zylara>>:
  • HP: 0/175 - Dead
  • MIT: 35 | DMG: 65 | ACC: 1
    • Dropped: <Zylara's Quartz> (Traded to Beatbox)

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox's eye had twitched, it was fairly annoying that the boss was left with one simple HP left, Beatbox could have sworn that it would have been enough tot slay the dragon that was displayed in front of him. But there was no time to spare at this point, as he was ready to strike once more... Teion had advanced forward and finished off the boss for herself, tossing the gem backwards to Beatbox to keep into his inventory. Beatbox had easily caught it into his hand and stared into the gem as he gave a deep sigh on the failure that he was on not being able to deal 1 more damage in HP. "I dunno Teion." he said with a sigh as he had placed the gem into his inventory and straightened his posture a bit "Anythin' you are wanting to do buttercup?" he had said to her, he had froze for a moment to realize that he had just called her buttercup, it had been a long time in this world he had callen anyone that, he never really seizes to surprise his own self, he's just a little worried on how she would feel about it.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

Teion gave a light frown as the blonde sighed, and her gaze shifted to the surrounding forest, as if she was trying to find something of interest among the trees. Just as her mind threatened to wander, Beatbox's next words registered and the blacksmith felt herself freeze up. 'Huh?' Had she heard him right? What did he mean, calling her that? "O-oh, uh..." She forced words from her mouth before she had a chance to formulate an actual reply. She brought a hand up to her collarbone that absentmindedly occupied itself with a section of hair. Keeping her gaze averted, the woman rocked slightly on her heels. "Nothing really." She mumbled, feeling at a loss. "The only things I have to do lately are get materials and experience." If someone had asked her what she did for fun in Aincrad, she'd have a mind to ask if hunting in the middle of the desert counted. Although she saw it less as fun and more as something that occupied her time.

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had listened to Teion's words as she was stuck at a loss for words, he had tried to read her... but he couldn't really read her at all... this was quite the first to Beatbox as he had felt like she was being sincere about it, he had smiled and leaned up on a tree "Well then Teion. What do you like to do for fun? If you ask me, I love exploring and looking to find new and cool spots to appreciate the beauty behind this game. My favorite floor to find new things to look out upon now is easily floor 17, is so ancient and reminds me a lot of the actual medieval times... " he gave her a warm smile, he felt his heart get a little warmer as it stood at the moment as he had grown a little more attached towards Teion, heck maybe one of these days down the line he would ask her out or something... who knows, only time would tell and he needs to get to know the female figure a little bit better, but as it stands... starting off small.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

Had questions like that always been so difficult? What did she even do before shutting herself in her shop these past few months? 'I've just searched for materials...' She thought of the answer, recalling how absorbed she had been in her profession. Things were different now, though. She crafted weapons out of necessity; the need to provide aspiring frontliners with new equipment was what kept her going at this point. She couldn't remember the last time she crafted an item for the sake of creativity.

Teion absorbed his words with a thoughtful expression. "I guess that doesn't sound bad..." She mumbled her thoughts aloud. 'The seventeenth floor, though?' She hesitated a moment. She hadn't gone past the ninth floor herself, and hadn't entertained the idea of doing so. Still, she had no counter-suggestions of any sort, so the woman gave a small shrug. "Sure, do you want to do something like that?"

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had chuckled as she had asked if he would want to do something like that, and in his mind he had already known a place that they could go to right now on this floor to make it a little easier upon themselves to find a place, without hesitation he had grabbed onto her hand and said to her "Come on a know of a place on this floor I'd like to show ya. No time to waste!" he said with a chuckle as he had dashed forward taking her along with him.

7:30 PM

With a little bit of time, they had began to arrive in the place in which Beatbox remembers seeing at one point, at this point he had let go of her hand and let her follow up behind as he stepped out to the scenery that was in front of them as he pointed forward to the rushing water and the trees and the mountains in the background as the sun had began to set... it truly was a sight to see. He looked back to Teion with a smile and asked her "Well Teion, how do you like the scenery... aka the beauty of Aincrad. You see, Aincrad does have somethings to see or things that would be worth while to be in this game for." he looked back forward onto the scenery and smiled.

@Teion

[Teion 0]

As if in response to her question, Teion suddenly felt a hand grasping her own. The blacksmith tensed up for a moment, glancing down before looking back to Beatbox's face lit up with a smile. Her cheeks began to feel warm, but before she could register the tinge of pink surfacing on her skin the blonde was already pulling her along in a hurry.

Teion followed after him in patient silence, her nerves quickly calming themselves after just a few seconds of being led through the forest. The path back to Urbus was obvious, and when she soon realized that was not the direction they were headed Teion was both relieved he would not be taking her to a higher floor and also curious as to what he was so eager to show her on this level. After some more time passed, the violet-haired warrior felt her arm fall back to her side as Beatbox's grip around her hand vanished. The swordsman took another step forward and to the side before bringing his arm up to gesture at the landscape before them.

For a moment, Teion thought she felt Beatbox's eyes on her when she heard his voice cut through the silence. The woman was too fixated on the scene in front of her to tell, and she only managed to register his words after several long moments had passed. As if her movements had become subconscious, Teion slowly lowered herself to the ground as she sat down and pulled her knees close to her. She had seen sunsets before, of course--she even knew the best spots near Fortaleza to watch the sky shift through different shades of orange as the sun fell below the sand dunes of the fifth floor. Despite that, something about this place seemed to captivate her. "Mm... Yeah, it's really nice." The words left her quietly, as if she was distracted as a small smile of admiration rested on her features.