[PP-F2] Not Dead Yet (Jomei)

[Persephone 0]

Persephone had taken it upon herself to traverse floor two daily looking for new players to help on their questing. She choose floor two because it was her home. Her adorable little house was tucked away in a nearby forest glen that was situated beside a small stream. It was picturesque and magical and it was because of this that Seph loved the level so much.

It was the second time today that Persephone had wandered down this particular road. Not that she minded much. The dirt paths through the forest were cheery and every so often a cute little thing would scurry across her path making for some interesting companions along her journey. It was quiet today on floor two. She supposed it was because they were getting ready for the big Halloween event that had taken place yearly since they were all trapped at the beginning. The sun was just beginning to dip below the treeline when Lisa thought it may be time to call it a day. Most new players knew better than to be wandering outside the safety of town at night, and she herself wasn’t very safe on her own either. Still, there was enough daylight to take the long way home, and tht path was prettiest when bathed under the light of the setting sun. Hanging a right down the fork before her, she began to make her way back to Urbus.

The soft mossy ground beneath her feet was painted in hues of pink and orange from the bit of sunlight streaming through the branches of the tall pines that surrounded her. It was pretty and always reminded her of the cathedral windows of the Catholic Church she lived near in the real world. A twig snapped and Seph jumped and looked about. It seemed she was not alone on her choosen road. A man was walking down the same way but yards ahead of her. She placed her hand on the hilt of her Light Reaver, just in case. The man ahead of her was tall. Very tall. He wore a green cloak with hood drawn up.

“Green cloak,” She said to herself, remembering something that she had long forgotten. She once knew a player who wore a green cloak. The only person she had ever met that did so. He also happened to be very tall. “There’s no way though…” she said. The man she would’ve been thinking of would have been on higher floors right now with all the frontliners. What could he possibly want in Urbus? Still, it wouldn’t hurt to try and see if it was really him.

Darting off into the trees, Persephone ran through the woods trying to get ahead of the man. He was ambling along at a leisurely pace, so it wasn’t too hard for her to do. Coming back up on the roadside, she hid herself behind a thick trunked spruce and peeked around the corner trying to get a glimpse of the gentleman’s face. From this angle she couldn’t quite get a good look, but for one second she though she saw him clearly enough to be sure.

“JOMEI!” She squeaked and popped out from behind the tree she’d been hiding behind.

“You are Jomei… aren’t you?” She second-guessed herself. Lisa was going to die of embarrassment if he was not who she thought the man was.

[Jomei 0]

The ginger had been through a lot lately, both good and bad. He met new friends and began to see the growth of a guild, one he hoped would turn out greater than Velvet Room. He found a new love in Telrenya, one that was still early on, but made him happier than he had been in awhile. However he also saw his own possible death, where him and his guild fell to their lowest. The dark image of the blades of Michael and Lucifer, slicing through his chest like warm butter. He heard the sound of each sword cutting open his chest in his ears, wincing each time he heard it. He stopped in his tracks and let out a sigh, shaking his head and trying to forget the images that poured into his mind. As he continued back on the path, he thought long and hard about what he should do now. Part of him wanted revenge, for what he did to his friends.. for the torture he put Tel through, and avenge her brother. To do so, he would need to get stronger.. and possibly join back on the front lines. On the other hand, however, he did not want to die.. not when his life was heading in a positive direction with his new found friends. 

Jomei needed to be alone to ponder all of these thoughts, which was why he chose his once favored floor, where he once resided outside of Urbus. His thinking had led the hooded man astray from the town, walking along the peaceful path where not many players seemed to be traveling. He walked slowly, his eyes watching the ground before his boots, thinking about his current situation. Jomei heart the sound of rustling leaves and branches around him, yet he attributed it to some wildlife or the wind. It wasn't like anything on this floor could truly do any harm to him. As he walked past a thick oak tree, a brunette woman shot out from around it, shouting his name. Jomei, being taken completely off guard, stumbled backwards and tripped over his own boot, falling onto his ass. He looked up at the woman, who was questioning if it was, in fact, him. "Y-yeah I'm Jomei.." he said, looking closely at the woman. He stared at the woman for a moment, squinting his eyes before speaking again, "... Persephone?" He placed his palms on the ground and rose to his feet. "Wow, its been forever!" The man said with a chuckle, lowering his hood. 

[Persephone 0]

It seemed that when she called out to the gentleman, she caught him way off guard. He stumbled and fell right on his keester.  He looked up at her and she was able to get a good look at the stranger’s face. A bright smile passed over her lips as he began to speak and she launched herself straight for him, crashing into him as he stood. “YOU REMEBERED!” She squealed as she wrapped her arms around him tightly, “ I can’t believe I’m finally running into you, you crazy son of a bitch!”She withdrew from her embrace and just beamed, the corner of her eyes crinkling as she smiled just as widely as she could.

“Hi! How are you? What are you doing here? Where are you going? Have you been on the front all this time? “ She began to ramble off a series of questions that would make anyone’s head spin. Before she could get any answers however, she grabbed Jomei again and hugged him tightly, squealing with delight. Once, her friend’s list contained at least a dozen of so names, most of which disappeared after a time. Jomei was one of the few still left and she was happy to find him again. “It’d been nearly two years since last she’d seen him.

“Are you busy?” She asked as she stepped away again to look up at the handsome ginger man’s face, “Want to grab a drink? I would LOVE to catch up with you.” She said hoping he had at least a little while to spare for her.  

[Jomei 0]

After Jomei remembered her name, the woman lit up like a lightbulb, exploding forward with her arms stretched out to her sides. She grabbed Jomei in a tight embrace around his arms, keeping him from returning the hug. The tall ginger stumbled back a step before regaining his balance, laughing all the while. Persephone had been excited to run into Jomei after all this time, which he could tell from the barrage of questions she threw at him all at once. "U-Uhh." Jomei stammered, rubbing the back of his neck and slightly ruffling his hair. 

"Well-" Jomei started, wondering where to start with any of the answers to her questions, but before he could get any more out, she stepped forward and slipped her arms around Jomei once again, this time allowing the man to be able to place a gently hand on her back with a laugh. He had only met the woman once before, when he helped her out with the Sand Shark on Floor Five. From what he could guess, that one quest must have made the world of a difference to her. Jomei brought his other arm up and placed his hand on her back, hugging the woman back. "Its good to see you're doing alright." he said softly. 

After their embrace had separated, the brunette asked Jomei if he was busy, and if he would care to get a drink with her. Jomei smiled, "I was actually just on my way back to town.. I was only going to head back up to my house. But I have time for a pint or two" Jomei said with a grin. The Irishman may not have been the man he was when this game first started.. finding himself in a pub almost every other day. However, his ancestors would frown down on him if he refused a drink from a pretty girl. "Lead the way." Jomei said with a smile, gesturing for Persephone to lead him back to town.

[Persephone 0]

Lisa’s face lit up like a lightbulb as Jomei said he’d join her for a pint or two and bid her lead the way. “Thank you good sir,” she teased in jest as she turned on her heel and began to travel long the road they were walking up. It was a nice thing, after all this time, to see a familiar face. She had met Jomei at Zelruis’s costume party because of Lowenthal. Jomei had even been kind enough to help her quest the Sand Shark and he made a valiant and dashing display of swordsmanship and bravery that day. It had a lasting impression on the woman. She walked along half bouncing, still smiling so glad to be in good company. He was a very nice man to be sure.

They walked along making small talk about how lovely the floor was at this time of day and how much Persephone loved being in the area, and eventually made their way to one of Persephone’s watering holes. She asked Jomei to grab them a table and went off to fetch a few drinks. She found Jomei sitting in a corner by a window and came over to him carrying a large pitcher or ale and two pint glasses. She sat down and began to pour them both a drink.

“So…” she began, “Tell me what’s been going on. I’m afraid after we last met, I… well… I ran away, and I supposed I’ve been hiding ever since. I… uh… I can’t hide anymore though. So I’m back out here and trying again.”

 It was such a weird thing to admit to an acquaintance, but there were so few people she knew around and he was such a good soul that he wouldn’t judge her too harshly for it. At least she hoped he wouldn’t. Sliding the pint on the table between her hands as she spoke, she eventually raised it to her lips and took a long swig of the amber liquid it contained. It was too bad alcohol had no effect upon them. She would have enjoyed a bit of a head change.

[Jomei 0]

After a short walk back to Urbus, the two arrived at a fine looking tavern that Jomei had recognized during his stay just outside of the town. Persephone had asked for Jomei to find a table for the two to sit at, while she walked across the floor to the bar to get the two their drinks. With a smile and a nod, Jomei passed by the occupied tables, finding a vacant seat in the corner of the tavern next to a window. Jomei lowered himself into the chair, looking around at the different players as he waited for Persephone to return. After a moment, he spotted the brunette walking towards him, a large pitcher of ale with two tall glasses. A smirk formed on Jomei's lips as she sat down, and began to pour some of the dark liquid into a glass for him. 

After handing him the glass, Jomei brought the pint to his lips, gently pouring some of the liquid into his mouth. It had been some time since he had tasted the cold, refreshing taste of Urbus' Ale. Persephone asked him of his whereabouts since they last met, before telling him about why she had not been around since their quest to fight the Sand Shark. She had ran away, from all of the horrors and troubles that Aincrad would throw at its inhabitants on a daily. The Irishman could not blame her, for there were some times where he did the same, feeling overwhelmed from everything he had been through.

The floor was opened up for Persephone's question about what Jomei had been up to. He hesitated, not wanting to tell her everything that he had been through.. He didn't want her to worry, or worse yet, become scared and run away and hide yet again. He took another sip of his ale, "I've been.. around.. You know." he said with a nervous chuckle, "Took a short break from the front lines, so I've just been taking on some of these new quests, making new friends.."  He tried to be as vague as possible with his answer, trying to avoid letting on that he had much more of a history since their last meeting. 

[Persephone 0]

Jomei hesitated.

He hesitated and he chuckled nervously. That along with the fact that he left things vague lead her to believe things also had not gone well for the fellow traveler. “I’m sorry…” she spoke as she reached for his hand and gently patted the back of it. She didn’t know what he had gone through but she understood and that was enough. “Still… you’re trying too right? I guess that’s all of us can do.” She offered as consolation and drew her hand back, picking up her ale once more.

“It’s always nice to have new friends. It’s good to see old ones too.” She sighed softly.  Supposing she’d never get the chance again and opened her HUD.

“ Jomei… there’s a lot of names missing from my list. People I know you knew too. They’re …” she paused. “They’re dead aren’t they. I mean people don’t just remove friends… not like a lot of them at once do they?”  Nervously, she reached for her hair and began to twirl a lock of it around her finger. “Lowenthal… Ssendom… Zelrius… they’re gone aren’t they?”

[Jomei 0]

His eyes had wandered from Persephone's as she asked about where he had been, becoming magnetized to the view of Urbus outside of the window. Not looking at the girl made it much easier to hide his feelings inside. Moments after speaking, the brunette across from him apologized in a soft, concerned voice, her hand gently tapping  at the back of his own hand that rested flat on the table. The Irishman's gaze returned to the woman for a second, before looking down at the table in front of him, a small smirk on his lips. "Its okay. Its all in the past. I'm learning to grow past it." he looked back up to her. "One day I'll tell you more.. I'd prefer we kept this a bit of a happy reunion." he said with a chuckle. 

Keeping up with cheery conversation did not seem possible with the weight that was on the girl's mind, as she asked about the various friends that had been vanishing from her friends list. With long silences drawn out in between, Persephone sadly asked about the lives of Zelrius, Ssendom, and Lowenthal. Jomei's mouth slowly opened, an soft, audible breath traveling up from his lungs and out his mouth. His olive eyes then returned once more to the amber liquid in the glass in front of him. "....yeah... They're dead."

[Persephone 0]

Jomei couldn’t look at her. His gaze cast everywhere but into her soft brown eyes and pretty face. That alone was sign enough that things were bad all over. But when he finally did meet her gaze he seemed hopeful, until she made mention of their friends. His lovely eyes gazed down into the ale before him and was he spoke she knew they were dead.

She pressed her elbows against the table and placed her face in her hands taking a long breath in and holding it for as long as she could. Lisa held her breath and she cried. She sobbed into her hands silently letting out the things she’d been holding in for so long. Tear fell for several minutes before she felt ready to compose herself again. With a long exhale she pulled her hands from her face and began wiping away her tears. These men were warriors. They would not want anyone to cry for them.

Looking over at Jomei, Seph smiled and rubbed at her eyes. “Those bad asses wouldn’t want anyone feeling sorry for them would they? So let’s not… let’s drink to them instead.” Raising her pint she knocked it back, chugging the amber liquid down in one fell swoop. Tonight she was going to pretend like this as the real world. She was going to drink heartily in remembrance of some really awesome guys and enjoy the company of the one still standing.  Setting down her empty mug, she looked over at Jomei and smiled brightly.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei could only watch as the tears that formed at the corners of his eyes made her brown orbs glisten, before the tears slowly drifted down her cheeks. She then tensed up, placing her face in the palm of her hands and sobbing quietly to herself. The Irishman looked across the table at Persephone, sadness in his own eyes, and guilt that she needed to find out of all of their deaths at once. He hopes that she did not know any of the many other players Jomei knew were dead... he could not live with the thought of breaking the sweet girl's heart anymore than he just had. 

Slowly, his hand reached across the table, his gloved right hand finding a place right above Persephone's elbow, holding his hand there for a moment as if to comfort her as she cried for their lost friends. The man's gaze scanned the rest of the pub, noticing a couple of players looking in their direction, some concerned, others giving Jomei a dirty look as if it were his fault. The man closed his eyes, taking in a deep inhale through is nostrils, and out through his mouth. Not long after, Persephone's shuddering had ceased, and she revealed her face from her now moist hands. Jomei forced a small smile as she wiped the tears from her eyes, telling Jomei that they should celebrate the men they were with a drink, rather than cry that they are no longer with them. His fake smile turning real, the man grabbed a hold of his own glass. "Aye, to Lowe, Zel, and Dom... and everyone else." Jomei said as he rose the cup to his lips, drinking the entire ale with ease. He placed the cup back down with a relieved sigh, smiling across the table at Persephone, as he poured another drink for the two.