[SP-F6] <<Calming the Soul>> Enduring Reflections

[Teion 0]

He shook his head. “Nothing, nothing.” A minute passed in more silence, something that Teion seemed to have grown used to during her time in Aincrad. Standing beside the katana-wielder, however, she felt strangely at ease. Perhaps it was the calming sounds of the sea, or the refreshing mist that dusted her cheeks and exposed upper arms when the breeze carried their way. Teion lowered herself to the sandy floor, taking a seat and planting the bottoms of her boots into the ground that gave a bit of way as it shifted slightly. Her knees bent, and she wrapped her arms loosely around them as she relaxed, watching the sun dip lower towards the edge of the endless waves. Ryo followed suit, legs extended in front of him while he leaned back and supported his weight with hands planted into the sands. “So, is this somewhere special?” He asked softly.

[Teion 0]

“I don’t think so.” She replied a few seconds later, keeping her gaze forward and wearing a thoughtful frown. “I love the beach, but I wouldn’t say I have a great memory of any of the ones I’ve ever visited.” She explained, giving a short look around to mentally note how very plain their surroundings were. The ebbing waves stretched several feet short of reaching them, and Teion leaned a bit farther forward for her chest to press up against her knees. Ryo wore a calm smile, his face decorated by the tinted sunlight that shone upon them. “Well. We can relax here a little while. You’ve been through a lot today, yeah?” The corner of his mouth hooked into a tiny, sympathetic smirk, and the woman took in a deep breath through her nose. “It’s been a lot to try and take in all at once.” She admitted, letting out a long and steady exhale past her lips after it had held a second.

[Teion 0]

She kept an impassive expression, resting her cheek against her right knee while her eyes flickered up to continue watching the setting sun. “Believe it or not, it’s not so easy for me to just ‘let things go’, I guess. I’ll probably get over it eventually, but I still feel guilty. But, I also know that it’s been eating me up inside for so long, my head is this desperate to tell me to snap out of it.”

“Hey, we all have baggage. Things we’re not proud of, and regret. Trust me.” Ryo commented with a wry smile. Teion’s expression twisted slightly as a pang of guilt hit her at the weight of his words, but he let out a short laugh at her reaction. “Teion. You’re really not as selfish as you think you are. Not by a long shot. And, you have a right to follow your heart, do what makes you happy, and all that."

[Teion 0]

“If you always worry about stepping on someone’s toes, the rest of the world is gonna keep walking all over you, you know.” Ryo tilted his head to look at her face, studying her while her eyes watched the water that curled and crashed into itself. She was mulling something over, and as her lips lightly pursed it became apparent that there was something she wanted to say. Rather than blurting out her thoughts, it almost seemed as though she was embarrassed again; like she was working up the courage to put the words out into the air between them. “Call me by my name again.” She finally forced out the request, her words firm despite her clear shyness. Her cheeks were once again tinted crimson, and her cobalt eyes avoided any space around the purple-haired man beside her, instead continuing to stare holes into the vast ocean ahead. Ryo blinked, taken aback by her choice of response.

[Teion 0]

His lips curled into a smile, and a chuckle bubbled up from Ryo’s chest. That chuckle soon turned into a laugh, and the man leaned farther back to place his weight onto his arms as he let out his amusement. Beside him, Teion’s brows narrowed over her eyes, and her lips pursed as her cheeks flushed with the color of embarrassment. She glared out over the ocean as the man’s laughter slowly subsided, and she felt her jaw clenching beside her arm. “Oh, that was just, too adorable.” Ryo managed after his breathing had returned to a normal rate. The man was still grinning in the direction of the sunlight, and one more tiny chuckle escaped his lips before words followed. “Sorry,” The short apology served as a declination of her request. “but I bet if you tell him your real name, he would say it for you. Maybe even get all flustered, and stammer it out the first time or two, if you asked him like that.”

[Teion 0]

His smile persisted, and the colors hanging in the sky above them grew a shade darker as the projection of the blazing sun began to steadily dip past the horizon. Allowing herself a few more seconds to pout in stubborn silence, Teion then let out a small sigh. Her cheek pressed up against her arm, and she took a bit longer to make an attempt at relaxing again. The lower the sun inched in the sky, the heavier her eyelids felt. It was only a minute or two later that a blanket of darkness took over the landscape, and the warm colors drained away from their virtual canvas to make way for the coolness of evening. Teion’s eyes had closed, and she was taking in the peaceful serenity as she skirted the line between wakefulness and a land of calm sleep. The violette wasn’t sure whether or not she had fully lost consciousness—and if so, for how long—when she stirred.

[Teion 0]

Familiar music reached her ears: an adventurous and upbeat tune that played in front of her, evoking a strong sense of nostalgia within the woman. She didn’t even have to think for more than a second to recognize the melody, or from which of her favorite games she used to play as a kid that it originated from. She hadn’t yet lifted her lids when she realized that the soft, uneven sands were no longer what supported her weight beneath her. She still sat in a curled position, but the surface in which her heels dug into was more plush and warm than the cool earth of the beach. Pairing with that warmth, she felt a soft, fluffy fabric brush against her skin with the blanket that was draped over her frame. Just then, a gentle pressure planted itself upon her temple for a long second and caused her chest to flutter for a brief moment.

[Teion 0]

Finally, Teion’s eyes fluttered open, and she was almost surprised by the haze of drowsiness that clung to her mind. Her brows narrowed, and she snaked a hand back towards her face to try and rub the sleepiness away as she worked to register her surroundings. She sat in a room that was just lit enough to prevent her eyes from straining themselves when they landed on the television screen standing across from her. ‘My…apartment?’ She easily recognized the red fabric of the couch she sat upon, the arrangement of the other furniture and décor that inhabited the living space, and the monochrome pattern of the fuzzy blanket that rested across her knees. Her mind was still a bit cloudy when she spotted the pair of arms that slipped past her shoulders. A figure leaned itself over the back of her seat and wrapped its arms around her to hold her in a comforting embrace, and despite the lingering confusion that latched onto her mind, Teion felt an overwhelming sense of contentment.

[Teion 0]

Why did this scene just feel so…perfect? She turned her head a few inches to look towards the profile of the person who held onto her and brought her such a feeling of safety, and was once again met with the purple-tinted fringe of Ryo’s calm, smiling face. A heat that she couldn’t distinguish touched her cheeks almost immediately, but the man simply faced her with a soft and caring expression. “Would you like some tea? Hot chocolate?” He offered her, a slight tone slipping into the latter that made the sweet drink sound all the more tempting. He waited patiently for a response, but when magenta eyes flickered towards her, Ryo suddenly took on a look of concern. He leaned farther, but loosened his hold on the woman in order to take a better look at her. “Tei? What’s wrong?” He prompted, and it took an impressive few seconds for the violette to register his worried tone and features.

[Teion 0]

“H-huh?” Her voice cracked when she forced out the syllable, and her fingers rose to brush against the damp skin. She turned her hand and quickly moved to wipe away the mysterious tears, leaning herself to one side once her face was dry in order to put a few more inches between herself and the man that still held her in a loose embrace. “Ryo? Where—“ She stopped herself. She knew where they were, or at least she thought she knew. She started over. “How did we get here?” Her chest was beginning to feel tighter with a flurry of emotion that she couldn’t keep up with, relying on the person beside her to fill in the gaps for her busy mind. He seemed to hesitate for a second, and then his look of concern shifted into a small, crooked, and sympathetic smile. He pulled a little further away, and brought a hand up to the side of her head, where his palm gently ran over her violet-dyed locks.

[Teion 0]

A finger hooked and pulled a section of hair behind her left ear. “You wanted us to be here.” He answered simply with a soft voice. Again, the words took a while to process. The gears in Teion’s mind worked to try and click into the proper places, and her cobalt eyes scanned over the room. It was plainer than she remembered. Lacking in detail, and the pieces that were in their places were just too meticulous, too sculpted. It was as if she was sitting in a replica of her living room, rather than the area itself. Her eyes widened slightly in a realization that she didn’t want to accept, and her hand shot into the air in front of her before pulling downwards. A tiny chiming sound reached her ears with a dreaded familiarity, and a floating semi-transparent menu was brought up in front of her torso. Her heart sank into her stomach.

[Teion 0]

Then again, why would she actually be back at home? How could that even be possible? It was all fake—just pictures painted in her head with programming to fool her senses. Her hand fell, skin hitting the soft blanket with a light ‘thud’. She still wasn’t sure what it was that had caused tears to escape her just minutes ago. Whatever emotions were behind that silent outburst eluded her. But the lump that she felt in her throat when she tried to swallow, the tickle in the back of her nose and throat, and the overwhelming tightness in her chest that nearly had her wincing made it all too clear what feelings where behind the fresh tears that were now rapidly pooling at the corners of her eyes. "I don't want to be here anymore." She choked out while she held back tiny sobs. Her arms wrapped more tightly around her legs beneath the blanket that covered them, and her face fell to meet the soft fabric.

[Teion 0]

It quickly absorbed the moisture that spilled from the corners of her eyes, and her frame began to lightly shudder with her emotional outburst. Again, she felt the gentle, rhythmic motions of Ryo's palm as it ran over her hair, and his comfort did surprisingly well to quell much of the woman's distress. Her tears lasted only couple of short minutes, and once that time had passed she was forcing more words out between small gasps and sniffles. "Th-thank you. But, I... I want to find him now." Teion's head picked up from the knees that had served as a pillow, and she pulled her hands free again from the confines of the blanket in order to lazily wipe the stains from her face. The man beside her took on another sympathetic smile, and his hand trailed from the side of her head, over her ear, and down to her jaw where his palm rested gently against her cheek.

[Teion 0]

He directed her face slowly, turning her reddened, tired eyes to meet his. As his thumb lifted and brushed across her skin to push away a lingering tear, another shy heat burned on her cheeks. "Got it." He replied simply, giving her a small nod. His fingers parted from her face, and his hand lifted in order to ruffle the purple hair atop her head while he straightened back up. "Right, then. Now," Ryo's hands placed themselves upon his hips, and he wore his usual smile as his eyes traveled across the room. "That means we're going to have to get back to beating the hell out of each other. And, I'd hate to mess up your apartment in the process." He let out a chuckle before his glance turned back down to her. Teion's lips pursed in a small pout, and she drew in a breath in order to let it out again in a sigh.

[Teion 0]

Her shoulders fell, and she used one hand to pull the blanket off to the side while she stood up. A quick look down at herself cause her to make a face. Of course her head would have gone so far as to put her in the comfortable clothing she would often wear as she lazed around the house on a Saturday night. Closing her eyes and shaking her head, the violette pulled her arms up above her. She pushed up onto the balls of her feet as she stretched her limbs, letting out a small sound akin to a satisfied squeak at the feeling, followed by another large exhale. Her arms fell back to her sides, and she turned to face the vision of Ryo again with a roll of her shoulders and a small smirk decorating her features. "Fair enough. Now, let's see..." She shifted her weight, crossing an arm across her body while the index finger of her opposite hand picked up to give a few rhythmic taps upon her chin.

[Teion 0]

Lids fell over her cobalt eyes, and she took on an expression that matched the depth of her thought. In seconds, the world around them began to warp again. The light smile resting on Teion's lips, paired with the smoothness of the transition, showed just how the woman seemed to have gotten the hang of controlling the little corner of her mind. With a shift of color and light, the grey sweatpants and turquoise camisole that decorated her avatar was replaced with her amethyst combat attire. Requiem reappeared at her back, the tri-colored axe hooked onto its familiar holster behind her shoulders. The air around them began to shift with a gentle, cool breeze. Lights dimmed, replaced by the silver glow of a moon that hung high overhead. Tempting smells and sounds of merriment reached them from from afar. And then, Teion opened her eyes just when the loud 'boom' of a firework exploding in the distance reached her ears.

[Teion 0]

While Ryo's eyes were fixated on the colors that danced in the night sky, Teion's blade grazed cleanly across his chest to create a single gash in his frame. Both taken aback and injured from the attack, the man stumbled backward while his hands reactively reached for the hilt of his katana. Across from him, the violette wore a sly smirk. "Sorry, I'm impatient now. Got places to be, people to see, y'know?" She half-joked, taking half a step back to retrieve the heavy weight of her weapon. Unsheathing his own blade, Ryo let out another chuckle. "That's dirty. Taking me to a place like this, then getting the jump on me." He returned the banter, holding his curved blade steady and centered. The two stood among the fields just outside of the Town of Beginnings--or at least, in its exact replica. It was the night of the Midsummer Fireworks Festival, and the sky was decorated with the jumping lights that they had watched together on the night of their first meeting.

ID#: 100843 | BD: 1 - Critical Miss! | MD: 10 - Critical Hit!

• Teion: 617/740 HP | 72/74 EN | 15 DMG | 3 ACC | 36 MIT
• <<Fourth Inner Demon>>: 555/555 HP | 157 DMG | 11 MIT

[Teion 0]

Wasting little time, Teion advanced again, closing the distance between them with her axe raised high over her shoulder. Their blades clashed, and their duel began proper. As each of them worked to gain ground and break through the other's defenses, Teion's lips curled into another small smirk. "I got stood up here, you know. When we first met. I was, waiting for someone." She explained through clashes, her eyes darting to follow the movement of Ryo's katana in order to avoid garnering another wound. "But you found me instead." She chuckled, giving another small shake of her head. A long silence passed, the air filled only with the sounds of their metal, their boots that dug against the earth, and the occasional grunts of effort or discomfort that resulted from their exchanged strikes. "Gods, I'll never understand you." She muttered under heavy breaths, staring back at the man across from her.

ID#: 100844 | BD: 10 - Critical Hit! | MD: 3 - Miss!
(15 base) + (2 critical) = (17 DMG) x (13 sword art) = (221 DMG) - (11 MIT) = (210 DMG)

• Teion: 617/740 HP | 60/74 EN | 15 DMG | 3 ACC | 36 MIT
• <<Fourth Inner Demon>>: 345/555 HP | 157 DMG | 11 MIT

[Teion 0]

His battle-ready expression softened just slightly, and he let out a tiny scoff. "Don't waste your time telling me all this." The words were little more than a whisper. He paused, then spoke up again. "Hey, maybe you don't have to." His shoulders picked up into a shrug. Ryo's frame was littered with bright red gashes, more heavily damaged than the axe-wielder at this point. "If you spend all your time and energy thinking too much, you'll miss out on all the fun." Another series of loud bangs marked the fireworks' finale, and his head jerked to one side as if to goad her on. "C'mon now, you've spent enough time in here."

"You think so?" Teion shot back through more labored breaths. "Y'know," The ball of her foot dug into the grassy plains as she pushed herself forward and broke into a run. The curved blade of her axe crashed into the flat of Ryo's blade, and the ear-splitting sound of steel rang through the night air.

ID#: 100845 | BD: 2(+3)=5 - Miss! | MD: 6 - Hit!

• Teion: 496/740 HP | 59/74 EN | 15 DMG | 3 ACC | 36 MIT
• <<Fourth Inner Demon>>: 345/555 HP | 157 DMG | 11 MIT

[Teion 0]

"As messed up as it is, I'm gonna miss this place a bit." Her words were strained as she fought against their power struggle. The corner of her mouth curled into a wry smirk while she shoved against his defense in an attempt to break through. "Now that I finally got the hang of it. It's like, a realistic dream inside of this stupid death game. But, I actually get to control what happens this time." Her chuckle was dry before she grit her teeth. The soles of her boots scraped across the ground while she fought, and a few seconds later she was finally able to let out a heavy exhale as they broke away from one another. Ryo paused again, snickering for a moment at her comments. "Sure, but you'd be missing out. Don't tell me you really wanna spend more of your time holed up with no one but yourself?"

ID#: 100846 | BD: 4(+3)=7 - Hit! | MD: 2 - Miss!
(15 base) x (13 sword art) = (195 DMG) - (11 MIT) = (184 DMG)

• Teion: 496/740 HP | 47/74 EN | 15 DMG | 3 ACC | 36 MIT
• <<Fourth Inner Demon>>: 161/555 HP | 157 DMG | 11 MIT