[OP-F1] The Town of Beginning: The Stripped Rabbit

[Kyoki 0]

Once realization kicked in about the announcement this Kayaba man had dropped on them like a bomb, she panicked. She had so much to do in the outside world, and she hoped to the gods, that her best friend didn’t attempt to unplug her Nervegear. That they at least heard the very news everyone in-game had gotten, outside. She didn’t wanna die in a place like this, it’s way too early for this.

She’d immediately ran out of the massive crowd in the square towards the NPC market districts. Once far enough, stumbling about, she collapsed against the nearest wall as it grew more difficult to breathe. She screwed her eyes shut and slid down the wall hands crossed over her head, a coping method she'd learned so long ago.

 

[Lee 0]

Lee had come from a small group of, for a lack of better words, like minded individuals but while helping people was nice and all. Each person was dealing with the news in their own different way. The last few he had approached had been shells of the their former selves or so he assumed and others lashed out in anger and frustration. Both of these things were not what he was looking to do and it wasn't a great idea to surround oneself with negative thoughts, especially now. Lee had made his way away from the larger crowd to a less populated area with seemingly not much but Non-Playable Characters.

Though this was short lived as he was walking along the wall he came full stop with a white clothed individual huddled up to themselves. He would look around as if to spot a parent or some such. The man would lean forward with a raised finger as if he was about to point something out "Ummmmm, you snappin there buddy?"

[Airi 0]

It was late in the day, maybe around 3 PM. Airi had just finished running an errand for a player and was now walking around town aimlessly, looking for an inn she could sleep in once the night approaches. Most of them were free and getting a room was quite easy...as long as the inn still had available rooms. No inn equals finding a bench to sleep on once night comes and the fatigue sets in. She may not have any money in this game yet, but that didn't mean that she was alright with sleeping without a bed like an unrefined beggar.

However, priorities set in. Airi passed by a man she had met earlier in the plaza. The man who made a joke about finally meeting people that weren't turning into scrambled eggs. She would never forget that. He had approached a player clothed in white who had curled up against the wall and had covered her eyes with her hands, an obvious coping mechanism (she couldn't tell if they were a girl or a boy though, the hood made it hard). Out of overflowing concern and love for others--not really--she approached the man whose name was Lee. Time to build up more good reputation among others. "Hey, what seems to be the matter?" Airi asked, a falsified concern skillfully flowing out of her voice. "Nice seeing you again, by the way."

Edited March 24, 2017 by Airi

[Kyoki 0]

She stiffened at the two voices and peeked up slowly at the two before her, "N-no...well- not really, I-I'm fine but the news was too much to take in, I had to break away I needed time to calm down, think" she dropped her arms from over her head "Dropping something like that...isn't all that good for me, at least I got away from the crowd before it got worse right?" She chuckled nervously, she would've most likely been caught by anyone who lashed out, she wouldn't survive thats for sure, seeing as some reacted much worse.

[Lee 0]

Lee would turn his attentions over to Airi to whom had joined them and he would wave lightly in acknowledgement "Ditto." He would then look back to the other huddled player whom at this point, was female in origin and spoke of being more or less rattled by the news. "Hey, you do what you do. Ain't nobody rushin' so take however many breaths you need." He would strighten his posture and place his hands onto his hips as he would glance over his shoulder in the direction of the central plaza where the news was broke. "Yeah, it is definitely a difficult time and some are taking it better than others....some are taking it in a not so well manner."

[Airi 0]

Airi noticed the hooded player stiffen and wondered if she and Lee made things worse by talking to them. However, the player spoke to the both of them with a voice that was identifiable as a female's. But then again, maybe they were a male with a feminine voice. She met some (unfortunate) people like that. Then Lee told them to do what they need to do to calm down and Airi added: "Hm, I agree." Then she squatted down so she was at eye-level with the player but kept her distance. "But in my honest opinion, you're taking it better than many others."

Lie. To Airi, everyone who was currently breaking down right now (in various ways, some did it worse than the others) and not heading out in the fields to start clearing the game immediately were not taking it well. That included her. Airi closed her eyes for a moment and let out a troubled sigh that was only heard by the player in front of her. Irrelevant. She banished the thought from her head and focused on her goals. "My name's Airi," the red-haired girl extended her hand to the white-clothed player. "What's yours?"

[Kyoki 0]

"Maybe so..." She answered the other female player before her "It wouldn't be the first time dealing with a life threatening situation..." she sighs, she would try to scoot away with how close the other was, but where can you really go with your back to the wall, literally. "I'm Yusaki" she extend her own hand to the girl now known to her as Airi. She couldn't tell if it was a shake or an offer to pull her up now that she's calm-ish.

[Lee 0]

Lee would raise a hand up in a wave down to the newly introduced Yusaki as she would take Airi's hand in a greeting "I'm Lee, a pleasure." He would then bring his attention to the clothes the girl, his eyes would seemingly lock onto the pair of long rabbit like ears. He had never seen anything like that prior in such a fashion, that fashion being one that actually covered up one's skin. It was a change but a seemingly welcomed one. He would point a finger at the ears "Nice. You hear a few miles with those?" It was always good to try to get a laugh or two out of people in less than happy times but he had been told there is a time and a place for everything and sometimes he wasn't as on the money as he would like.

[Airi 0]

Airi smiled sweetly as she shook Yusaki's hand. Now that she got a proper look at the player, she could now determine that the player wearing a hood with bunny ears was a female. The red-haired girl let go and stepped back. She wasn't really in the other girl's personal space, but she wanted to be sure that she didn't make Yusaki uncomfortable.

Lee, always the joking guy, lightly teased the player about her hood and asked if she could hear better than those. Pffft. It was sort of funny and cute how the rabbit ears moved in accordance to the wearer's mood. Before, Yusaki's ears were drooping while she attempted to calm herself and now, they were somewhat perked up, like the player was starting to pay attention to the conversation. The red-haired girl didn't show any visible reaction, in case the female player took the joke in a bad way. Now was not a nice time for Airi to be seen as an insensitive person.

[Kyoki 0]

"H-heh, nice to meet you both"  she can't help but chuckle over the joke "Maybe I can, but I'm not tellin" she prefers cover and comfort over exposure, so the more covered the better for her.

Nonetheless it seems she's recovering from the surprise pretty quickly.

[Lee 0]

Lee would bring his arms up to cross over his chest as she would state that was not about to tell even if she did have the hearing small furry animal "Well that ain't fair in the slightest." He would state in a jokingly tone but would continue onward "See? This ain't all that bad. Making acquaintances with newly found strangers can be fun! Added to the fact that it is someone like me who is obviously the best possible person you could be friends with so that should put all of your woes and negativism at bay." Lee would raise his chin whilst letting a large grin pass over his face.

[Airi 0]

Did the girl in front of her really have enhanced hearing? If so, where did Yusaki buy such unique equipment in the span of less than two hours? Either way, her interest was piqued. "Now that you both mentioned it," Airi began thoughtfully. "I wonder how the enhanced hearing thing works in-game, if it does exist. Is there like a hidden stat? And if there's enhanced hearing, would there be enhanced vision and enhanced smell too?" She felt the attention of the two players on her as she thought out loud and she smiled sheepishly. To the two people who just heard her, it would sound like she made a mistake by saying her thoughts out loud. But it wasn't a mistake. 

 "Was just thinking, ignore that." Airi said, clasping her hands behind her back. Then she turned her head to nod in agreement to Lee's words, she really was taking a somewhat passive role in the conversation. Needless to say, she was a bit disappointed in herself. But Lee was leading the conversation in the right way and she had already showed herself as someone who's not too assertive.

[Kyoki 0]

"You'll just have to find out, won't you" Although her hearing is perfect outside of this game, she doesn't really have enhanced hearing, but if she were to guess, maybe the tracking skill would provide something similar to what Air described? Nonetheless the ears were really just for show.

She finally decides to just get up from where she's been sitting, now just leaning back against the wall brushing away the wrickles from the long skirt she wore "Anyone who can lighten the mood is a good companion and friend, but there are also other great options as well"

[Lee 0]

Lee would turn his attention to Airi as she began to speak about enhanced senses, not just hearing which caused him to raise a hand to his chin. Yusaki would then make it a point to leave her powers hidden for them to find out in the future which was all good and well as Lee would nod "Secrets are the spice of life and I love spicy." Airi spoke of recalling her voiced thoughts he would waggle his finger "No, no, no. That would actually be pretty cool. Imagine it, being able to smell the enemy from miles away!" He would then tap the tip of his nose and as Yusaki spoke of friends, there were other options which would then give him the inclination "One moment actually." Lee would reach his hand out before him as a menu showed up before him. He would pull open a drop box and then another and then a small menu. A friend request would be sent to Yusaki and one to Airi shortly there after.

A Friend Request Has Been Sent To Yusaki
A Friend Request Has Been Sent To Airi

[Airi 0]

Without hesitation, Airi tapped the 'Accept' button. Lee was a nice guy, went out of his way to help others a lot, and would probably start going out there and getting stronger once things have calmed down a bit and the fields start getting less populated. She didn't plan on doing the same, but having a potential front-liner as her ally would be nice. For what, she still didn't know. Maybe if the gamemaker began thinking that the frontliners weren't enough to entertain him and decided to completely remove safe zones from the game. Either way, she had a hunch that she'd be "befriending" useful people without an actual goal in mind for a long long time. 

"Me too!" Airi exclaimed as she witnessed Lee sending a friend request to the third player in their small group.The red-haired girl then turned to Yusaki, opening her menu to send a friend request to the rabbit-eared player. The girl in front of her was a coward and was definitely not taking the news well even though she looked a bit calmer now, like most of the people occupying her friends list. But extra "friends" would be nice, and cowards were manipulated with sweet words easily.

[Kyoki 0]

She snorts, "Those poor dire wolves will be put out of commission with that kind of sense of smell" 

Careful now, cowardice can be mistaken for something else entirely. She accepts both request with slight hesitance, watching her nearly empty list grow just a little larger. "Thinking of dire wolves..." it would be best to collect quests while everyone else is busy, as to not run into trouble.

[Lee 0]

Lee was pleased as his friends list grew just a little bit larger as one and then the other would accept the friend request. It was always nice to have people in games that you could speak to from time to time, keeps one sane and given the situation, it would be more a necessity. Airi would follow suit and send an invite to Yusaki as well. Yusaki would then speak of wolves to which Lee would flick the tip of his nose with his thumb as if to take some sort of pride in it. Yusaki would then begin to say something else about the dire wolves but would let it trail off into her own mind at that point to which Lee would place his arms at his sides "What bout dire wolves? Wanna pets em? Fight em? Fight and then pet them? Pet them and then fight them?"

[Airi 0]

While her two newfound "friends" were talking, Airi checked the clock nearest the group. She really had to be going if she wanted to arrive at an inn that still had empty rooms, or she would be sleeping outside for the first night. That was not how she wanted to end her first day, no matter how bad it got around the middle. But she didn't want to leave the conversation right after adding the two to her friends list, that would be a bit rude. So she stayed and waited for a lull in the conversation, where she could make her escape.

"Fight them, maybe." Airi said, in response to Lee's barrage of questions. Then she directed her attention to Yusaki, slowly inching away from the two. It wasn't like she was leaving them alone, they had each other to continue the conversation. "If you ever need help on anything, just send me a PM. You too, Lee. I'm almost always available." She inched away a bit more, letting the two players realize that she needed to leave. "Well, it's getting late. I've got to find an inn to sleep at somewhere. You guys should too, after a while. They'll be full in a few. Bye, now!" Then after waving goodbye to the two players she had met, she turned around and walked away with her hands clasped behind her back.

- Airi leaves the thread -

[Kyoki 0]

"I was going for fighting yes, but more than that I was thinking of quests to pick up" Oh she was quick to pick up the message that she had to go "I'll keep that in mind, later then" she raises a hand to wave goodbye before returning her attention to Lee "Why don't we walk as we talk, to save the long trip for whenever we do have to part for the Inns?" Heck maybe while they're passing, they can go reserve their own rooms before hand.

[Lee 0]

Lee would catch Airi inching away, ever so slowly as she continued the conversation. She would add that if ever he wished to get up with her, they could simply shoot her a message and with high chances, she'd reply in kind. Lee would raise a hand in a light waving motion "Fare thee well and hope you can get some sleep." And with that, Lee would bring his hands to his hips and look to Yusaki as she spoke of walking and talking to which he would nod his head in agreement "Yeah, that sounds like a plan."

He would then take in a deep breath and exhale as he would move his hands to the back of his head and interlock them as he looked toward the sky and began to move forward, glancing over to Kyoki "So, you got any plans for how your going to specialize in? DPS? Tank? Healin?"