[PP - F02] «Feeding the Enemy»

[Tyonis 0]

Tyonis flourished his spear as he came to a stand then set it on his back with a single hand and a few finger movements. He marveled at how easy it was. In real life, there was no way he'd be able to spin a weapon this heavy that fast and that accurately - not without years of practice. It was both invigorating and jarring at the same time. His brain told him what he was doing was impossible. Years of harsh physical training had subconsciously drilled his personal limits into his mind. He was always acutely aware of when he was about to push himself too far or if he wasn't even putting that much effort into an exercise. To be able to just... ignore that ingrained sense of kinesthetic awareness was...

Liberating? Frightening? He wasn't sure yet.

Neo's beckon shattered his reverie though and he joined her over by a half-buried treasure chest. "Eh? Oh, good eye, Neo. For awhile there, I was worried you had nothing but ice-cream on your mind," he chided and was vaguely aware he'd reminded himself of his own desire for better tasting food. "Ugh, nevermind. So, all we gotta do is kick this open and..."

Word Count: 205
ID: 102316
LD: 8  (F02x75) = 150 Col, (3) materials, (2) rare consumables

EN: 6+1=7

Edited July 6, 2018 by Tyonis

[Neopolitan 0]

Tyonis came over, and Neo rolled her eyes at his slightly snide remark. She peered into the now open chest, and an inventory screen popped up. The chest contained some money, consumables, and materials. Knowing that she couldn't convey this well with just hand gestures, Neo composed a quick message.

Tyonis,

I can take a hold of this while we look for a bird for you. We can split it up once we get back to town. :)?

Your silent guide,

Neo

Neo sent it off and waited for Tyonis to respond. She eyed the materials, knowing that her shop was running very low at the moment.

He's the newcomer though, I'll defer to him however he wishes to distribute the loot. That and he technically opened it so it's technically his to give away. I'm not going to be chap and try and steal any from him. If I start doing that, I'll just fall down the slippery slope of inhumanity and I don't want to become that kind of person.

[Tyonis 0]

"Huh, that was probably the most eloquent conversation we've had since we met," Tyonis remarked as he closed the window. He narrowed his eyes at Neo somewhat mischievously and rather than reply immediately, he typed out a message and sent it back to her. He watched her with bated breath, wondering how he'd respond to his little joke.

Spoiler

 

FW: No Title
Dear Ice-Cream Girl,

              How about I let you take what you want in exchange for one thing:
              A Friend Request.
              Finally Getting to You,
              Ty-Ty

              PS: We're totally splitting the Col, though.

 

 

 

              PSS: Oreo Cookie is way better.

 

Tyonis' brow waggled suggestively as he folded his arms and loomed over her, a [censored]-eating grin plastered over his face. "So, what'd you say, Neo?" He held out one hand. "I know I forgot to do this, but I think it's better if we did, anyway: name's Tyonis. You can call me Ty. I'll even buy you a necktie you can wave around to get my attention."

Word Count: 168

[Neopolitan 0]

Tyonis responded back in kind, and Neo couldn't help but smile at his little jest. As Ty extended his hand, Neo couldn't help but roll her eyes at the necktie comment but shook on it. She grabbed the materials and half the Col from the chest, leaving the consumables and the remaining Col for him. Than she reopened her menu and typed out a message along with the friend request. The message simply said, "Chocolate malted crunch is even better."

I like this guy, he's honest but has a bit of a funny side to him. I guess I lucked out again in picking who to communicate with. I just hope that this will last further than just this quest. Even though it would seem hard to do, I know it's possible to get ghosted in this game like it were any other. You'd think people would be willing to make more lasting relationships after 2 years.

[Tyonis 0]

Tyonis chuckled lightly after he read Neo's brief reply and accepted the friend request. "By the way, I retract everything I just said. We can't be friends. Oreo Cookie is the only ice-cream flavor worth eating." Tyonis declared, shaking his head sadly. The constant jokes with food references only made him feel hungrier and he opened his inventory to pull out a strip of jerky. It tasted bland and had the texture of wet cardboard, but it put an end to the constant ache. 'That's how I know this hunger pang isn't real. I guess I can subsist on flavored paper until the 100th Floor, so long as it stops annoying me,' he resigned himself with a sigh.

"So, I killed a giant bird, found some loot, and got a pretty girl's contact info! It's been a very productive day! All's well that ends-WHERE  THE HELL ARE THESE DAMN HAWKS?!" Tyonis exclaimed, loud enough to frighten the nearby wildlife into quiet submission. "Kayaba must be trolling me again." He shot a mock-glare at Neo, as if daring her to disagree. "He nerfed my hidden luck stat at character creation. I'm sure of it."

Word Count: 195

[Neopolitan 0]

Ty disagreed with Neo, and she could only shrug. She didn't mind oreo cookie, but there was no sense in being stuck to a single flavor. One needs to be adventurous. Ty let out another yell, this time a little less blood-curling than the one against the bird but still quite unsettling. Neo did her laugh motion once again as Ty proclaimed of his terrible luck.

It's only been one bird, there's no reason to be so glum.

Neo started moving again, looking not only for birds, but also more ingredients to use in her shop. She searched, but couldn't seem to find any. Seemed this environment wasn't the best place to find much in the way of edible vegetation.

Well, I guess that means that there aren't as many birds here either. No plants means no herbivores, no herbivores means no carnivores. We should probably move on to another area, but I'll let Ty take the lead. It's going to be his bird anyways.

Spoiler

Roll ID: #120321

LD: 1 - Yeah, nope failure to get a mat

 

[Tyonis 0]

"Looks like I'm not the only one with shitty RNG," Tyonis observed as Neo began to search for something to harvest. He didn't think her to be a gatherer or crafter, but then again, she did just jump 20 feet into the air and help kill a giant bird nearly twice her size so what the hell did he know? "Didn't find what you were looking for?" Tyonis half-asked half-teased as he led her through the brush and toward the sound of rushing water. He was looking for a hawk's prime hunting ground. What he'd seen earlier had proven his hypothesis. SAO was trying to recreate a working ecosystem on this Floor. Which meant the predators were bout to go hunting. The most obvious place they would be would be at an herbivore's watering hole or feeding ground. If he could catch them during their hunts, he could trace their flight paths back to their nests. 

He continued to bushwhack through the brushes. Now that he'd taken the lead, he didn't need to step around Neo so much and could make the path easier for both of them to trek.

Word Count: 162

[Neopolitan 0]

Neo once again shrugged at Ty's comment. She didn't have so much of bad luck as she did just have mediocre luck. And in this game, mediocre luck did not cut it for gathering materials. She let Ty take the lead as he looked for his hawk. In the meantime, Neo kept working on trying to spot ingredients for her to use. She spotted a cluster of cattails by the river.

An interesting ingredient, but that should do nicely. I'll need to be careful cooking with it, but it should make for an interesting meal. Now, I should probably focus on helping Ty find his hawk. Though he does seem reoccupied with finding it himself. I'll just stick close by and keep my eyes peeled. He needs to be the one to get it anyways, I have no use for a hawk at the moment and he does need one.

Spoiler

Roll ID: #102328

LD: 19 - Successfully found 1x T1 mat

 

[Tyonis 0]

Tyonis kept Neo in the corner of his peripheral vision while he continued to cleave his way through the bush. He honestly hadn't thought his spear would be this useful out of combat, but it was making a great utility tool. This was probably why so many primitive civilizations relied on it so much, he mused. He saw Neo pause to harvest a few strange looking plants by the riverside. He eyed her and the cattail suspiciously. Was she going to try and make some food out of that? Tyonis sighed at the thought and comforted himself with memories of steak and lobster. Fresh Caesar salad. A steaming baked potato loaded with every topping he could possibly imagine.

He was so deep in his daydream that he didn't break out of it until he was ankle deep in what appeared to be a lake. They'd stumbled across the local watering hole. All that was left to do now was to wait and see what would come. 

WC: 166

Edited July 6, 2018 by Tyonis

[Neopolitan 0]

After harvesting the cattail, Neo quickly caught up with Ty. Though she knew she could make something out of the cattail, what she really wanted was some meat. However, that meant she would need to go to a higher floor where she could actually loot the monsters.

My shop has been seemingly changing the ingredients I harvest into other things though. It's honestly quite strange the way it does it. Maybe I'll see just how far I can push the system. It'll be interesting to see if I can turn something like ore into a usable material. That would mean that I'm able to trade materials with any profession, which would be quite useful for everyone involved.

As the two came across the watering hole, Neo looked around. There was certainly more fauna here. She hoped that they would be able to find the hawk and leave quickly. It was nice to help, but Neo had her own growth to go do.

[Tyonis 0]

Tyonis made his way back out of the water, thankful that his clothes and body were actually still dry. SAO's realism was often offset by how unreal it could get. He was constantly being taken into its illusion, only to be painfully pulled out of it. He didn't even feel cold after emerging out of the water. He took a page out of Neo's book and took a better look around. He spotted a few tamable animals of the four-legged variety but no blood hawks. He did manage to catch a normal hawk swoop down at the lake and catch a fish, so they were in the right place. All that was left was to wait and see if a Blood Hawk would spawn. This was the part that could take awhile, he mused with a heavy sigh and popped another strip of jerky into his mouth out of sheer habit.

He turned to Neo and approached her while typing up a message.

Spoiler

 

No Title
           Ice-Cream Girl,

           Nothing left to do but wait and see if a Blood Hawk comes across this area. In the meantime, tell me more about yourself. Color me (that was a joke. Ha. Because of your character theme) curious            about how you ended up here.

           Getting to Know you Better,
           Ty

           PS: Are you going to eat that leaf?

 

WC: 220

ID: 102351
LD: 15 (Found Tamable Creatures but chose not to approach).

Edited July 7, 2018 by Tyonis

[Neopolitan 0]

After Neo couldn't find any more ingredients, she noticed she had received a message from Ty. She quickly read it and chose to write back in kind.

Spoiler

Soldier Boy,

    Though you may feel like you need to, you don't need to write me a message. Talking works just fine. So long as the questions you ask aren't that complicated, I can easily respond with hand gestures. Trust me, I'm used to miscommunication and know how to correct your interpretation if needed. It also makes me really good at charades, to the point no one wants to play against me. As for how I got here, it was so I could talk. I came in and was amazed at how I was able to speak, just like I had wanted to since I was a little girl. And then we became trapped, and I didn't want the gift my prison had given me. I chose to continue to be silent, and thankfully the game adjusted enough for me to do so. Talking would mean accepting my fate that I am stuck in this game. And though at the present that is true, I know it won't be forever. I will make it out.

    As for the cattail, I probably won't eat that exactly. The game seems to shift any materials you gather into what you want. It's honestly quite strange. Anyways, what's your story? I'm guessing your a soldier what with the way you act, that's just an educated guess.

Your New Silent Friend,

    Neo

 

[Tyonis 0]

Tyonis read along Neo's reply with a raised brow. He'd abide by her request for the most part, but he thought it in his best interest to use text messages to get a fuller reply from her. When it came to small things, he wouldn't mind having a more one-sided conversation, but if he wanted to pick Neo's brain more, he'd need an appropriate medium. With that in mind, he continued to the second half of her letter and chuckled at her claim as an undefeated champion of charades. He'd have to challenge her at that. But he blinked then gaped at Neo's revelation. 

She could speak in SAO? How the hell was that even possible?! Tyonis stared at her in a new light. If their roles were reversed, he would have milked SAO for all it was worth. He wondered if she'd ever tried to sing? How long had she been able to speak before she decided not to? SAO was only released for a few hours prior to the GM announcement, so it couldn't have been for that long. Was she mute again? Or could she speak if she really wanted to? Would SAO allow it?

He pushed aside his burning questions to answer hers, though.

"Good guess, I'm a combat medic for the US Army," Tyonis affirmed as he tore his eyes away from the message. He still shot Neo a obvious expression of incredulity every-so-often. But he kept the message window open in case she'd want to give him a text instead of pantomiming her sentences. He remembered to always keep their Private Messages open and in the far bottom left hand of his UI, a lot like a makeshift chat window, just in case. "I'm stationed in Camp Zama now. About 30 minutes to an hour south of Tokyo. I transferred to Japan just to get a shot at buying a copy of SAO. Careful what you wish for, right?" He shook his head ruefully. "How about you? I met a kid from Britain some while back." He paused, another thought donning on him. "WAIT. YOU CAN COOK?!"

Word Count: 327

[Neopolitan 0]

As Ty was reading her message, Neo looked around for more ingredients. She spotted another thing of cattails nearby and decided to grab them as well. She really hoped that her theory would hold out that they would change. She honestly had no idea how to cook cattails or what they would go in. She had just heard of a few things that were named after them. At Ty's exclamation, Neo gave her silent laugh motion once again and nodded her head. She really didn't think it was that much of a surprise to him. He had probably heard of player cooks by now, and she certainly wasn't the type to be much of a maker. If she had wanted to be useful to other players in a crafting sense, cooking seemed the obvious choice to her. To answer his other question, Neo just sent over a one word message, "Tokyo"

Spoiler

Roll ID: #102438

LD: 15 - FOund 1 T1 Mat

 

[Tyonis 0]

It was slowly beginning to dawn on him that this quest may take awhile. If this didn't bode well within the next hour or so, he'd have to reconsider coming back another time. Most likely with a better idea on how to approach the quest. It didn't look like the quest had an expiration time, so theoretically he could leave it be indefinitely. A small chime indicating an unread message popped up and Tyonis looked toward the bottom left hand corner of his screen to see Neo's one word answer. At this point, he was just following her around, watching her gather while waiting for a Blood Hawk to spawn. With a raised brow, he shot Neo another appraising look. 

"Tokyo? Are you Japanese, then? Your English is spot on," he remarked in a grateful tone. "That or SAO has an auto-translator I'm not aware of." He loomed over her as she picked another plant. "Soo.... If what you are saying is true.. you can make food out of the materials I have..." He paused and licked his lips. "You know... I haven't had eggs and bacon in a long, LONG while," he hedged hopefully.

Word Count: 197

[Neopolitan 0]

Neo noticed that Ty was just following her around as she gathered materials. It was a little strange, though not unreasonable.

Probably just waiting for a blood hawk to spawn.

She gave responses as best as she could while looking for more food she could grab. She nodded to her nationality, she was Japanese. Though her skin had always been rather pale for it, she certainly had the height to prove it. When Ty wondered about the translator out loud, Neo could only shrug. She had never heard of a system put in place, and she just thought that Ty had been speaking Japanese this entire time. She figured that he would know Japanese if he was stationed here, though perhaps it wasn't actually a requirement. Regardless, it was entirely possible. As Ty talked about the food he had missed, Neo couldn't help but smile. And as her search for the moment came back fruitless, she quickly sent over another message. She didn't like sending so many messages, but some people that wanted to get to know her better just needed the direct communication.

Ty,

    All you need to do is come over to my restaurant on floor 7, I take custom orders. Of course, if I get a regular customer asking for the same items, I may add them to my regular list.

Spoiler

Roll ID: #102472

LD: 13 - No Mats found

 

[Tyonis 0]

Tyonis audibly smacked his lips and swallowed at the invitation. A Player-run restaurant? Hopefully, the rumors of Player-cooked meals were true. Stat boosting and delicious. He eyed his NPC-bought jerky with a mild expression of disdain and disgust before shoving it in his mouth just to stem another hunger pang. He chewed restlessly, thinking about better meals he could be having at the moment. Even an MRE would be preferable at this point - he'd even welcome the horrific constipation if he could just get a better sensation of taste and texture.

"Well, there is an old saying: Army folk spend most of their money on women, booze, and food. Mainly in that order." He paused. "Or men, if that's what they're into," he added, recalling a conversation he just had. "I need an excuse to spend all this Col. Might as well become a glutton. It's not like eating or exercise effects my real life body in this place," he motioned to the world around them.

Just for good measure, he took a shot at finding an edible looking plant to help Neo build her stock. He went up to a cattail and tried to yank it out, but his lack of finesse just ruined the plant. He sighed at the waste.

Word Count: 185
ID: 102475
LD: 3 (Fail)

Edited July 9, 2018 by Tyonis

[Neopolitan 0]

Neo once again shrugged at Ty's statement. Though she had yet to get any customers, she didn't want to appear desperate to get any. Watching Ty mess up a cattail, Neo turned around and showed him how to properly harvest one. Thankfully he hadn't ruined the whole bunch and there was still some able to harvest. She grabbed at the base of the plant firmly, and yanked up. After pulling the stem out, she gently twisted the top until just the top part and a little bit of stem was left. Adding the successfully harvested cattail to her inventory, Neo turned back to Ty with a smile. She didn't want to come off as demeaning, but it was hard to really show the intent behind an action without words. As much as they say that actions speak louder than words, there was certainly something to say about the ability to talk.

Spoiler

Roll ID: #102477

LD: 17 - 1x T1 Mat Found

 

[Tyonis 0]

If Tyonis was offended by Neo showing him up, there was no show of it across his expression. His Drill Sergeants had called him a worthless shitbag with no redeeming qualities and would get himself and his friends killed. He'd proved them wrong - granted that was all just a game to see how easily you broke down. If a recruit couldn't take few people screaming at him, there was no way he'd maintain his composure while getting shot at AND with people screaming orders at him. Instead, Tyonis nodded along while Neo slowly demonstrated how to harvest the cattails.

"So... grab it by the base, pull up, and twist slowly, am I right?" Tyonis asked as he walked toward another batch of cattails. "So," he began as he squatted down to grip a cattail with both hands. He just couldn't keep his curiosity at bay. "If I asked nicely, would you try and talk? Or is that opportunity gone forever, now?" He scowled when he pulled too hard and ruined the cattail.

Word Count: 158
ID: 102481
LD: 14 (Fail)

Edited July 9, 2018 by Tyonis

[Neopolitan 0]

As Ty continued to try and harvest some cattail, Neo went and grabbed some more of her own. She was careful not to mess up, as she knew that would look pretty bad, and got another bunch. Ty didn't seem to be too frustrated, though it was certainly getting to him. She nodded in confirmation to the instructions he should be following, hoping that meant he was being aware of the situation. He was unable to actually get something useful out of it, but it was progress. As he asked about the chance to get her to talk, Neo blushed a little and shook her head. Though perhaps she may talk once again before they left the place forever, she didn't want to talk while she wasn't free to leave. It felt wrong to take the gift that lured her into this trap. As useful as it is, she has no need of it. She survived without speech for eighteen years, she could keep doing so now.

Spoiler

Roll ID: #102482

LD: 16 - FOund 1x T1 Mat