[PP:F1] <EaL> With Winik

[Anemone 0]

On floor one, which Anemone had appeared quite often to help any player's who are finding their feet, she noticed a player nailing something to the bulletin board in the main plaza. With the wind whipping around her body, the lithe woman shielded her eyes from the wind and hair as she read over the contents of what the player had nailed up. She bit down on her lower lip and started to beat across the plaza to get his attention, "Excuse me! Excuse me!" Despite the small voice coming from her body, the woman slid to a stop and tapped the player on the shoulder a few times to address him. With a small huff and puff, the woman finally gathered her breath and smiled as she stood up to her feminine height of five foot, four inches and smiled broadly with her lavender coated lips.

"I noticed the Wanted Poster you had nailed up on the bulletin board. I suppose you are looking for some help? I believe I can help you with this. I might not be much to look at, but don't let that fool you. I am in one of the most prestige guilds in Aincrad right now." There was evident pride in her voice, although meek mannered as it was, the petite woman cherished her new role as one of the Knights and as a duty to them and herself as well as all of Aincrad to do anything she could do to help anyone and everyone with anything. Which was a lot to swallow now that she thought about it.

Giving a mild smile, the woman bowed her head. "Where are my manners? I didn't even introduce myself. My name is Anemone. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir..." The woman had even stuck out her hand in attempt to seal the gesture with a handshake. If she had attempted to do this some months ago, she would probably be passed out from the anxiety of talking with another person, but it seemed like she was finally starting to 'grow up' and blossom into a more mature and relaxed woman. Not that mild and meek mannered woman she once was.

@Winik

Edited May 18, 2017 by Anemone

[Winik 0]

Winik straightened his slumped shoulders when he felt the tell-tale tapping.  He turned around, looking for the one who did it before his attention was drawn downwards towards the petite female.  He blinked slowly, her words taking a minute to process.  Finally, they sank in and his face split into a wide grin.

"Yes, I'm definitely need the help," he said, cheerily.  With his right hand, he gestured to himself and spoke, "I'm still only level one and have nothing to my name really.  I'm a budding tank, but even then I lack the necessary equipment to be any good."  Once he was done gesturing to himself, he took her hand and gave it a single, solid shake.  "I'm Winik, you don't have to call me sir if you wouldn't like, Miss Anemone."

He took a moment to look her over, not sexually, but instead a look over to check her equipment.  His bad habit kept getting the better of him, but he couldn't help it.  He really liked the gear that was available in games.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Winik

[Anemone 0]

First name basis! That was a start for the woman, and when he smiled broad so had she. It was always a great feeling to help out those in need. The woman shook his hand, his warmth tracing over her fingers and hand until they had dissipated and returned at her side. With a small blush on her face she nodded happily, "Oh, you can just call me Anemone then. I grew up in a household where it was proper to call people sir and ma'am." The woman attempted to explain herself, but she did catch his lingering eyes on her. She gave a small smile and tucked the long tendrils of hair behind her right ear and looked away momentarily at him. She cleared her throat and raised her chin, "A budding tank, huh? That's a very dangerous job. Do you plan on coming to the Front Lines? Some people just want to be strong enough to survive the game, others feel they are dutiable into coming to the Front Lines but that is not necessarily true. Everyone plays their part. But I suppose if you need help, the first thing we might need you to do is get a Profession. It'll be your main source of income, presumably, in this world."

The woman had placed her hands behind her and locked her wrist with one hand as she stood next to him and glared at the different direction around town. Standing on her tippy toes, she squinted towards the North and pointed, "We'll have to go in that direction for the shop districts. Do you have an idea what sort of profession you would be willing to take on? As a Tank, you might consider Blacksmithing, you could create your own armor and weapons. There is also Cook, which I am," she smiled broadly at this fact, "Alchemist, Tailor, Merchant, Fisher, Artisan and Performer."

There was a variety to chose from, although some were better than others depending on the time and energy and motivation for doing certain things. The woman stood by him once more going back to her full height, minus the tippy toes, and smiled with that small lavender lip smile. @Winik

[Winik 0]

Winik smiled at her, dropping his hand to his side. He tilted his head to the side, grabbing his left bicep with his right arm before talking.  "I want to get to the frontlines, but not out of a sense of responsibility," he spoke softly, dropping his head back to look up into the sky.  "I just want to be at the forefront, be one of the first to see the new mobs and get the new items.  As a tank, equipment is important and in all my past games I've played, I had great equipment just because I was able to stay at the front of the pack."

He dropped his head back to a normal level, locking eyes with the young woman.  "Back home my mom owns a grocery store, so she never had time to make us meals."  He smiled sadly, looking down at his boots.  "Do you know how tired you can get of instant ramen and microwave meals?"  He chuckled softly, bringing his eyes back up to meet the woman's.  "I taught myself how to cook just so we could get a good meal in our stomachs.  The only hard part was learning between school and working at the store with mom.  And ever since I started, I wanted to own my own restaurant, maybe even a nice noodle shop would have been good enough."

He thought momentarily, his eyes lighting up as he remembered what she said about the available professions.  "Wait! You said you were a cook?! They have those here?!  I want to do that, I read in the forums from the beta testers that you could own buildings.  That means I can own my own restaurant!," he cried out excitedly.  He grabbed both of her hands in his, holding them in front of him.  His face was split by a wide grin, his eyes sparkling with child like excitement.

[Anemone 0]

Anemone smiled as she was told his story, it was quite endearing and he seemed like a really nice person as well. Anyone that helped their family stand on solid ground would be perfectly suitable as a friend for her. She felt his hands on hers again when they were lifted up to his midsection catching her by utter surprise once more. There was a wide grin on his face, like an innocent child would have when discovering something really special. The woman laughed nervously and shook her head in prompt to his questions, "Well then..." she had to fight for her hands back but she laughed at his enthusiasm all the same, "...follow me. We shall go and talk to the Cook NPC and get your quest and profession started." With a small wind blowing her hair once more, she had to reestablish dominance over her hair as she curled the tips with her fingers and pressed them over the side of her ear once more. "Winik, if you would follow me." The woman started to gait towards the shopping district, mainly where those who have set up shop for Cooks and where she once stood and talked to the NPC to get her quest.

There was a moment of silence, she had been thoughtful the last handful of moments as they weaved through the crowded people in the streets. Her shoulder was bumped lightly from another player, this sort of thing happened all too often due to her size. She was easily missed when in large bodies of people, "My shop is on floor Seventeen. Its Greek themed, although I haven't been there much recently because I am constantly running around to different places. If you plan on getting to the frontlines, then you'll need some crafting materials which I will help you find. I got a good eye for these sort of things." She said with a small gleam in her radiant ruby eyes. They continued to travel through the people as they soon came to a world of aroma of food and treats. There was a bunch of people handing out samples of their foods on the corner, others advertising their store right there in front of their shop.

"You can easily get lost in this city because it is so massive. I'll do what I can to help you, but I am not very good on the details of being a Tank other than it is a dangerous job. I know one player though who has become a great tank though, and his name is ironically Shield. He's a bit...gruff, but I think he is authentic as it comes to people like him. If you ever need advice, I can set up a communication for you with him. I am sure he'll be happy to advise a budding tank such as yourself. Ahh!" the woman stopped in front of where they needed to be. She shot a finger across the wave of people and looked at Winik. Talk to that NPC there, she'll tell you what you need to do. Mostly, what we'll be doing is going out of the safe zone and looking for some crafting materials. But it's important to pick up the Quest line Earning a Living. I'll wait here once you get that out of the way, then we can go out and search for some materials." @Winik

[Winik 0]

Winik released her hands, blushing slightly at his social gaff.  He lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly with his eyes closed.  He tried to stay as close behind her as possible, trying to keep his bulk between her and the crowd.  Every now and then a person slipped past his guard and bumped into her, and in these moments he would raise his hand and try to steady her.  The smell of all the different foods lingered in the air, causing his stomach to growl loudly.  He began to drool slightly, his mind wandering as she was talking.  'Wait,' he thought. 'Greek food?  Does that mean her restaurant is Greek?  Isn't that the one with all the yogurt and mint? Oh, and roast meats.  That sounds great right now, I could go for some grub.'  Lost in his own little world, he absentmindedly began grabbing all the different samples.  As he stuffed his face, he heard her mention the name of a tank on the frontlines.  'Shield? Obvious, but maybe he owns it,' he thought.  "If you can get some tips from him, I'd be thankful," he mumbled through a half full mouth.  He had the decency to blush when she turned around, he probably had food stuck to his face.  He swallowed noisily and ran the back of his arm across his mouth.  "I'll do just that, thank you," he mumbled as he strode quickly over to the NPC.  A few moments later, he returned with an updated Quest Log.

[Anemone 0]

Anemone didn't have to wait long it seemed as Winik was back within a short amount of time. Probably eager to start his quest no doubt. The woman had her hands tucked behind her as she looked into the crowds of people, her mind had been wandering off to a few people she had kept close to heart in her mind as she allowed those thoughts to play out. She sighed deeply, mostly to herself as she found focus on the new player as he came by towards her once more.

"That didn't take too long, huh? Alright then. I guess our next stop is just on the outskirts of the safe zone." The woman nodded and gestured in the direction they needed to go. "Now, floor one isn't too dangerous but it should be a known fact that some people have died to boars on the first floor. People seem so eager to want to drive into combat, but they forget at times this world is as real as it can be. A wrong move and that is Life Over. But I am a dedicated Healer and Support player, you won't need to worry about getting hurt. But we won't be focusing on combat today, instead we'll be searching for materials outside of combat. It might be a little boring." She said with a small giggle, "But we'll be safe while doing it. This way." She said once more with a pointed finger.

The outskirts were not too far away from their given position. And her eyes had wandered around towards the player who seemed to have got his fill of the food samples from other Cooks. Unfortunately she did not have anything for him to try out at the time, but being a Cook, he'll be sampling a lot of his own food in no time. With her small stride at his side, the two started to cross into the world of the Boars. Small little hog like creatures raced around charging one another for sport as the field blossomed into a unique combat setting.

"Here we are. If we stick close around the safe zone, the boars won't bother us. Now then all we do is search for some materials and hope we can get lucky with them. I have a special skill that let's me find more materials in one go, and I have a few other skills to help me find them better. Well then, why don't you try and find some materials? Just do as I do."

Anemone had shifted towards the ground and sat on her knees. In the tall grass the woman combed over the blades of grass until there was a decadent variety of strawberry like fruit sitting in a small bundle. She smiled and pointed, "Just like that." She lifted the items up and placed them in @Winik's hand with a smile. "Now don't eat those, you need them for your crafting materials down the line. Once they go into your inventory, their become common materials that can be used for anything."

ID: 84591
LD: 8+ 8 = 16 [+4 T1 Materials]

OOC: If you need help using the perma roller, let me know. :)

Edited May 18, 2017 by Anemone

[Winik 0]

ID#: 84592

LD: 9

Winik tried to copy Anemone as closely as he could.  He felt like a buffoon, with his head turning from side to side as he looked. He watched her closely, trying his best to make sure he wasn't making a complete fool out of himself.  "I don't know if I'm doing this right, Anemone.  I don't have any searching or detection skills equipped.  Never thought I'd have much use for them," he called over to her.  With his eyes scanning all around him, he failed to see the branch of the tree he was headed straight for.  He collided with the branch at full force, knocking himself off his feet and onto his rear.

He rubbed his head, groaning as he felt the wave of embarrassment roll over him.  Looking around, he found nothing near him.  He sighed, but looked up curiously when he felt Anemone push the strawberries into his hand.  "Thank you so much, I would be lost without you hear," he said honestly.  "I just want to get better at this, but I can't do that without a good teacher beside me," he stated, looking at her with a wide smile.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Winik

[Anemone 0]

OOC: make sure you are hitting at least 150 words. Mods will void the thread if you are not hitting the requirement and all that hard work will be for naught.

Anemone placed her hands over her mouth when she noticed the player disappear into the tall grass after his collision, "Oh dear." She rushed over towards him and found him in the grass and shook her head, "Well, you can leave the searching to me for a little bit. I'll try to find you as many as I can." She said dropping to her knee to make sure he was alright.

The woman shifted her hips and combed the grassy area once more with her delicate fingers. The blades of grass seemed to tickle the tips of her fingers as she roamed them over the emerald blades. Her ruby red eyes were steadfast on searching this area for a suitable collection of more materials. Anemone had begun with a good sort of luck already nabbing four in the other area. As she shifted her hands and searched, she looked over her shoulder and smiled, "It's useful to have these types of skills as a Support character. But if you are planing the tank role, you will most likely not need these skills. But having someone like me in your party to find materials never hurts." She said with a scrunch of her nose and a smile on her face as she continued her search.

The woman had been slightly distracted by her chat with Winik and was unable to find anything in this area. She gave a shallow sigh, "Well, maybe we can look in a different area. I must be out of practice. Teehee, I am normally very good at finding materials. Normally," she said with small emphasis.

ID: 84593
LD: 2 + 8 = None here

Edited May 18, 2017 by Anemone

[Winik 0]

ID: 84594

LD: 3

Winik watched as she searched through the grass on her hands and knees.  He turned away quickly and searched through the grass the same way.  He ran his hands over the blades of grass, finding rocks and sticks but nothing that he could even conceive as a culinary ingredient.  He groaned heavily, putting a hand to his forehead.  "I really need to commission someone for some items to add buffs, or pick up a new skill.  This is a lot harder than I would have thought."

He stood from the grass, dusting his pants off.  He inclined his head from side to side, letting loose a few satisfying cracks.  He stretched his arms high over his head, his shirt riding up slightly.  Winik knew his stomach was showing, but he wasn't embarrassed.  He took care of himself and he knew that there was nothing to be ashamed of.  He eyed the tree, an idea popping into his head.  "I'm going to climb up and see if I can see anything," he called over to her, before crouching and springing up into the branches.  

Winik heaved himself up, before shimmying down a thicker branch so he could look out over the grassy fields.

[Anemone 0]

ID: 84595
LD: 6+ 8 = ;( None

From the corner of her eye, Anemone watched the male player stretch. She smiled lightly and took no notice of anything odd, "It can be relaxing though. Just to look for things you would never suspect finding. It can be quite calming if anything else. Although I have heard the complaint that this can be boring. Normally Damage Players like to hunt for their materials, and there is nothing wrong with that. It is more dangerous but I suppose the thrill is much more satisfying for them. For those of us who have no damage traits though, we can only pick up skills that lead us to a more passive route." The woman had said standing up, she had pressed her hands to her waist and looked beyond the horizon. Her head shifted and her eyes followed Winik as he spoke and moved towards the tree, "Yes, do be careful though. Make sure you are not attracting any attention on those boars."

The woman would keep an eye on him for a moment before taking them off his presence. She was as much attuned and focused on finding materials her natural way, but of course he was a player just getting his bearings. Everything would seem fun and exciting for him, she wished she had been more enthusiastic during her trials and tribulations, but that was just not happening for her. Speaking of not happening. Even if deciding to look in a new area, the woman had found none of those valuable materials. She once more scrunched her nose and brows into a scowl as she started to talk to herself, "Come on, Materials. You are making me look bad over here." @Winik

 

Edited May 18, 2017 by Anemone

[Winik 0]

ID: 84606

LD: 10

Winik held his hand over his eyes, shading them so he could see better. The other was wrapped around the branch, trying to anchor him as solidly as possible. "Anemone? You see anything? Because I'm coming up with a lot of bupkis," he called from his perch.

Winik sighed heavily, rolling off to the side and off the branch. The arm that anchored him was now gripping the branch and swinging him. He let go, sailing through the air until he crashed into the dirt below. He straightened, dusting himself off and turning to her. "I'm sorry, but I'm fuzzy on the requirements for the quest. How many mats do we have to find?"

[Anemone 0]

Anemone took a step back and looked away from the ground as she patted her hands clean of and dirt when Winik had once again found his way to her. The woman smiled brightly, "There is no mandatory amount, at least I don't think. But a good collection would be wise since materials are the main currency with a lot of shops. You can't do much else without them if you are looking to get some decent armor. I have collected four so far, if we can make around twenty, then I think that should be enough for you to get a set of perfects depending on who you go to."

She had shifted her body allowing both arms to lock behind her back as she explained the details of the economic world, she had been helped by so many others so out of the goodness of her heart and of course duty she wanted to pay it forward with some help to others as well. Sweeping the hair from her eyes, the woman had suggested for Winik to follow her once more to a different location. Usually she would be finding a whole bunch of materials one after another, perhaps she was just having an unlucky sort of day. Those tend to happen.

ID: 84609
LD: 10+ 8 = [+4 T1 Mats (8 Total)]

After a few paces deeper out and away from the safe zone, the Knight Supporter had leaned over into a bush and grabbed a handful of berries that were all collected into a small vine. "Yay! I found a few more over here." she said with a small wave. She would save these for Winik as well before they would venture back to the safe zone.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Anemone

[Winik 0]

ID: 84610

LD: 18= [+1 Tier 1 Mats]

Winik deadpanned, his jaw dropping at what she said. "20 mats? I haven't found a single one since we started," he cried our incredulously. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to calm himself down. With a heavy sigh, he dropped his arms to his side. "Well, I guess you're right. Especially if what you said about them being currency is true." He straightened up, a look of determination blossoming in his eyes. "I'm going to look over here," he said, pointed to a close of trees. 

He set off at a small jog, sweeping his eyes around the ground. He really wanted to prove he wasn't useless, he didn't want her to have to do all the work. He dropped to his knees, rooting through the fallen foliage slowly. After several minutes of this, his hand brushed against something new. Gently, he moved leaves away and found a small patch of mushrooms. His eyes brightened and a smile split his face as he carefully picked it up. He held his prize over his head and called out to Anemone, "I found something! Finally!"

[Anemone 0]

The woman gave a nod and a smile of encouragement towards the person who was just starting to get his bearings. Wild and vibrant red eyes scanned the area until she heard his voice some feet away. Curious, she noticed Winik was holding something above his head. She clapped and smiled, "Good for you! Seems like you are getting the hang of it now." Her voice was sweet and held such a purity of innocence that had yet been shattered in this world. She moved closer to him not only to keep a closer eye, but just in case those pesky boars wanted to find a way to come in between him and his searching, she would be there to help ease them away from a dangerous situation. She sat on her knees once more in the grass, delicate fingers curled her hair as she separated a few strands from her face and pulled the long hair from her eyes and around her ear where she tucked the hair in. She hummed lightly as she bent over and began to search in another spot. If she could get away with finding a few more groups like the ones she found earlier, they wouldn't have to spend all day sitting here in the grass or in the trees looking for these materials.

ID: 84628
LD: 6+8 = None

Dark brows furrowed from their space above her eyes as they scrunched in place. Why was she having such a terrible time looking for these materials on the lower floor? Maybe because it was the first floor and most of these places are picked clean from other people. She sighed to herself and placed her hands on her lap looking back over at Winik, "I claim to be an expert at finding materials and yet I am having the most horrible time finding any here. Kind of ironic, huh?" She said with a small giggle before looking back and searching again. @Winik

Edited May 19, 2017 by Anemone

[Winik 0]

"You're doing a world better than I am, " Winik called to her.  "This is my first time even finding something and it was all luck on my part." He didn't want her to feel discouraged, she was doing him a favor by helping him and he was grateful for the help.  He was excited for of the prospect of opening his own place and he couldn't wait to get to work.  Suddenly a thought struck him, however. "Excuse me, Anemone?  Do we need cooking utensils in this world?  Is it like the real world?," he called to her as he continued to shift through the foliage. 

ID: 84631

LD: 8

His hands came across thorns and sticks, rocks and bugs, but no mats.  He swore under his breath, cursing the random number generator for his luck.  "I just want to look good in front of people. Why is this happening to me?," he muttered under his breath.  He just wanted to get some materials so he can show the world his skills.  Slowly, he stole a glance over his shoulder at Anemone.  Maybe she was having better luck than he was.  It sure seemed like it.

Edited May 19, 2017 by Winik

[Anemone 0]

ID: 84632
LD:10 + 8 = +4 T1 Materials (12 Total)

Just as Winik had looked over to her, she had her hands busy down on the grass and clearing a small space of some green looking vegetables, the question he had asked though had found itself somewhere in the limbo of her mind, "Oh? Well, yes we have utensils here. I think it would be kind of silly that we didn't. Also when you get your shop, you will have a variety of important appliances to help cook all your recipes." The woman got up off her knees and dusted the red pants off with the palms of her hands.

She swept a hand over her long hair and produced a smile, "Don't worry. It can be a grueling game of luck when it comes down to finding materials. Even when I have a maxed skill and an item specific to finding them, I still don't get lucky sometimes. But I am an optimist. I always try and go that extra mile. But I have collected twelve materials so far. Would you like to search for more, or would you like to turn your quest in?" @Winik

Edited May 19, 2017 by Anemone

[Winik 0]

ID: 84633

LD: 9

Winik settled back on his haunches, draping his arms over his legs.  He sighed heavily before falling onto his back and lying there spread eagle.  He looked up through the branches of the trees he was under, watching the dappled light dance through the air.  "I'm having no luck over here.  Do you think we have enough?," he called out to Anemone, rolling onto his stomach and propping his chin on one of his hands.  He stared across the field at her, watching her work. He witnessed her running her hands through the grass, seeming to pull all these ingredients out of thin air.  She was really good at this, probably been at it for a long time.  For the first time, he wondered what the colors and emblems on her gear meant.  He was sure he saw something similar on another player that was wandering through the Town of Beginnings. "I don't want to rush you if you feel like we don't have enough."

Edited May 19, 2017 by Winik

[Anemone 0]

ID: 84634
LD:14 + 8 = +4 T1 materials (16 Total)

She smiled and giggled shaking her head, allowing the full bounce of her hair to take effect. "That is up to you. I just found another patch of materials, so that makes sixteen. I am sure you could get at least two pieces of gear with this amount and maybe keep some on the side to do your own crafting once you own your shop. We can go ahead and go back into town if you'd like and turn in your quest." The woman had stood up and placed both of her hands behind her back and she smiled brightly at the budding Tank. Unfortunately, Mack the Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath was on a small hiatus once again, she could have sent Winik to him to get some decent gear for free. But that didn't seem like the best scenario now.

With her hands around her back, the woman shifted her red eyes towards the horizon and the gentle glow of the sun in the sky. "It's such a beautiful day today. And I think it's even more special because I got to meet a new person as well. I hope you take these materials and craft something really special. And I hope they will help you get on your feet with equipment." @Winik

Edited May 19, 2017 by Anemone

[Winik 0]

Winik stood, brushing leaves and other dirt off of his clothes. He beamed a smile at Anemone as he strode over to her. "I'm fine with going ahead and turning it in. But I'm not sure how some food mats will get me armor or weapons. What do you mean?" Confusion clouded his eyes, she was throwing things at him too quickly and he wasn't able to comprehend a lot of it. 

"All we have to do is go back to that old lady I talked to, right?," he called back to her as he headed for The Town of Beginnings. His long legs carried him quickly and he forgot to check if she was keeping up.