PP | F01 - Beginners Luck? [ Pick ]

[Asakku 0]

Scrolling through her inventory on a small bench, the skinny player let out a small groan of frustration. “Unbelievable, I didn’t get anything from that hunt!” (that never happened) Stupid NPC, he told me that was a a good area, they weren’t even that strong. She leaned back, forcing a sigh, fiddling with her familiars skull next to her. ”What a load of bull, I wasted half of the day on that..” wiping off a stray hair in her face, she closed her inventory and rubbed her eyes. It’s been such a long day, this game is a pain the butt. Not to mention Mr. Hermit here didn’t do jack crap! She glared at her shadow, a small frown on her face. I know you’re thinking this is funny you dumb wolf. But on my name, when you get out of that blasted shadow I’ll have your head! Once she stopped sending daggers at her shadow, she fell back into the bench with a soft thud. Today was supposed to be productive.

@Pick

[Pick 0]

Pick grinned. He could surely get used to this. The streets weren't filled with hungry kids, seeking for parents, but rather with players depressed, and sad due to the lack of materials that they currently face. As he continued to stroll through the streets of the beginner's floor, he came across a park bench with a lonely black-haired female on the park bench. She seemed frustrated at something, judging from the exclamation she made regarding a recent hunt that she was involved in. Curiously, Pick cautiously walked over from behind the bench and jumped over the wooden bench before landing on his butt on the other side, right next to the black-haired female, who seemed like she was in need of encouragement in a time of darkness.

"Hola, mis amiga, how is a fine lady like you doing on a fine day like this?" He slowly exclaimed, "Oh wait," he quickly interfered himself, "never mind, I overheard you talking to your self. Do not worry, dear, for this is no problemo, I am a pro at cheering a girl up during times when she needs it most. But first, let me introduce yourself. My name is Pick, the luckiest man in this game. What is yours?"

Pick smirked, sneaking a glance at the dark-haired girl really fast. Pick suddenly caught sight of the familiar next to the girl, and excitedly gave the familiar a series of waves. "Hola."

@Asakku

[Asakku 0]

Nearly jumping as another player sat next to her, she slowly narrowed her eyes at him, The fuuu..? “What a fine day it is..” she mumbled sarcastically resting her elbow on the arm rest. Dear? The frick. What in the pits of hell is happening. She gave him a printed look before reverting her gaze at the floor. “Ah, a flirt. I’ve seen tons of those before,” she mumbled to herself, rolling her eyes. “Interesting name. Asakku”

And of course the lovely Orias would stare blankly at the stranger before disappearing into the midst of her shadow. “Typical..” she muttered, scoffing to herself. This is awkward. Yeah I’ve seen flirts before but not in SAO, this is kinda weird. Eugh, what kind of soul lets you become a flirt? I mean all you do is.. flirt. They don’t have two craps about your personality. I’m not too hot mentally or physically, she sighed, slouching back against the bench. “Life’s just great,” she mumbled, tugging her scarf closer to her face.

@Pick

[Pick 0]

Pick scratched his hair... it wasn't a great first reaction. This one was a hard to get. This was a battle field, and when flirting, if it's obvious that the player doesn't like the flirt, then it is time to approach in a different manner, or just drop the flirting in general. The girl seemed to hate life, and her body figure delivered a pessimistic view of the world. He grinned, thinking about what to say next, as he too slouched into the bench chair.

"Interesting name to you as well. Muy interesante, so what is it that has you slouched back like this in the middle of the day like this?" Pick asked, crossing his legs and resting his head on in between his fingers in a thinking figure. Pick sighed, "If it's just a failed hunt with fruitless loot, then it's not like there's nothing that can be done about it. It's just some bad luck and part of the game."

@Asakku

[Asakku 0]

“Wouldn’t you love to know..” Asakku mumbled, taking a large wad of air in. Sparing him a small glance, she sighed, “so frustrating.” Fiddling with the gems of her scarf, she kicked her feet aimlessly, her heels just barely skimming the cobbled pathways. Why do I always feel short compared to people? I mean, come on. There has to be people shorter than me out there! Grumbling a few curses, she rolled her eyes, “wow, good job. You just sumed up my fantastic day,” she emphasized.

What a fantastic day it is. I am so lucky this game doesn’t see what I look like in the real world right now, I would have gray hairs everywhere! Rubbing her arm, she closed her eyes and sighed. This day is going well. Rubbing her temples, she turned to him, “what do you want from me? Im sure as hell that I’m not giving you anything,” she seethed, running a hand though her hair.

@Pick

[Pick 0]

"You don't have to give me much of anything really. Just a bit of your time. Now, knowing how you are, you'll probably refuse. How about we place a bet on something... if I win it, you spend some time with me at the bar. If not, I'll leave you alone for the time being. To me, it's a true test of luck... how about it? Maybe your luck have changed since the hunt you went on last time. Of course, no gentleman would force anything on a lady, so it's up to you. Plus, it's entertainment for your boredom." Pick offered. He smiled, leaning back against the chair once again before sitting up, scratching his head and looking around to see if there's anything nearby that would be luck-based. In a game like this, luck is everywhere, and the opportunity to win a bet could be around any corner. Pick had been searching on the first floor for these opportunities to bet his luck against himself. Now, he could finally bet his luck against someone else. But he didn't know what there is to bet on.

"Oh, how about this. Let's bet on the weather... sometimes it's really just like the flip of a coin. Let's bet on whether it will rain or not today. The first floor is known for it's beautiful weather, but occasionally, it rains. Something in my guts tells me that it will do just that today. How about it? I hope you shall accompany me on this bet."

@Asakku

[Asakku 0]

The ebony haired player narrowed her eyes at him and broke into a frown, “is this a cover up for you asking me on a date?” She asked, tsking him. “All right then, deal. We’ll see if this great weather will turn into rain.” There is no way. I swear if the universe goes [beep!] you on me, I’ll be ranting in it’s stupid universe face. She crossed her arms and sighed, “you’re going to lose this bet,” she told him with a pointed look. There’s no way in hell am I going on a date with a random stranger on the street. Never been on one. Never will. Don’t you go [beep!]-ing me up universe!

Looking at him skeptically, she scratched her chin, “you sure look a little bit cocky about this, I swear if there’s some kind of cheat you have up your sleeve, then I’ll have your head.”

@Pick

[Pick 0]

Pick grinned. The bet was to see if rain would come today. In order to follow through with the bet, the girl would have to spend the rest of the day with him anyways, just at a park bench. With the smooth twist of his mind, he was able to pull such a quick manuever, and give himself a chance to flirt even more.

"Cover up? It would be a date if I win the bet, right? It's not cover up at all... And I'm just a confident guy. How can I possibly cheat in a game as secure as this one?" Pick said, slyly. In this battle of wits, he was sure that he had won, and even if it doesn't rain, it would still be a win for him, because the goal was to spend time with her, and with or without the rain, he would be achieving this goal.

Pick sighed, "What a terrible world this is. How can this game give a pretty girl like you a fruitless hunting session? Let me tell ya, once I get my skills up, there will be no more poverty in this game, and no more necessity to go on those troublesome hunting sessions."

@Asakku

[Asakku 0]

"Confident my butt," she mumbled, covering her face with her hands, "you could have some sources, theres a lot of unknown things in Aincrad my good sir." Peeking through her fingers, she sighed, leaning back into the bench. "Don't you have some things to do other than bugging me? C'mon, there has to be something else worth your time." The player stared at him coldly before removing her hands from her face. This is not going well. Meeting another dimwit who tried to be friends with her was making her more and more weirded out, seriously, why does everyone in this world nice? I'm sure there are people like me in here.. She mentally groaned, raking a hand through her hair.

"Pretty?" She echoed, a frown appearing on her face. "Are you sure you aren't blind?" She questioned, her brow raising. "Whatever, but hunting was fun either way. Stabbing things is my stress reliever," she sighed, looking up at the sky for any sign of rain.

@Pick

[Pick 0]

"Something worth my time? Hardly. I'm a professional material gatherer... well, soon I will be at least, and there's not that much things that I can do other than material gather. It get's kind of repetitive at times, even if I have even gone on that many material gathering sessions yet." Pick explained, "Boredom gives you a lot of free time to negotiate... no, wrong word, to participate in conversations with other players." He finished, looking at the sky for any evidence that rain might come soon. Normally, the sky would become blackened a bit, and although the the light blue has changed to a slightly dimmer hue, it doesn't seem like any rain would come any time soon. "Stabbing things is your stress reliever? Not bad, that's how you succeed in this game, isn't it? It's rare to find someone who enjoys stabbing things again and again. Actually, you remind me of someone that I know... just a lot less menacing." Pick continued, blabbering on since talking was such a hobby of his. "Also, how can I be blind, when I can spot a jewel amongst the grass of the first floor with one simple look?" He finished, smiling as he looked at Asakku.

(OOC: You can decide if it rains or not, lol. I've got something quite romantic... or annoying for Asakku to handle if it does though :D)

@Asakku

[Asakku 0]

“Profession, uh.. you don’t hear that every day I suppose. But gathering materials is way more boring than say, hunting? Hunting might not be the best way but it’s certainly more fun,” she breathed, “boredom makes me want to kill something,” she rolled her eyes and sighed. Following his gaze to the sky, she gave a sigh of relief. Praise Kayaba he didn’t make this floor rain continuously. Turning back to him with a creepy but genuine grin. “Yup, yup, I love doing it,” she emphasized. “Well, I guess people are lucky I haven’t started doing it to people yet,” she chuckled. “A lot less menacing?” She squinted st him, “You haven’t seen me fight, how are you supposed to know?” She huffed.

”You better go find that gem then, I don’t see it anywhere here,” she mumbled, tugging her scarf closer to her face. “And just so you know, I’m not be-“ she cut herself off when she felt something wet touch her forehead. Oh crud.

@Pick

[Pick 0]

"She's an interesting one, someone that I doubt anyone can come even close to in terms of viciousness." Pick thought, thinking about her before he realized that it was not fit for him to talk about another girl in front of the girl that he was already talking to. "If I talked like this to her, I would already be dead." He said, smiling as he looked down for a second. 

Soon enough, he felt a drip of water land on his face at around the same time that Asakku stopped talking. he looked up, and one by one, drips of precipitation started falling from the sky, wetting the place surrounding the two players at the same time that its wetting the two players. Pick sighed, covering his forehead as if it would do something at all. The rain grew more intense by the second, and before you know it, it was turning into a storm. "Looks like I won the bet, although it's not something important right now. For now, I think we should get out of the rain." Pick exclaimed, "I know a place where we can hide from this rain." Pick exclaimed, offering his hand, but he knew that the girl probably won't take it, "Follow me," He said, just in case the girl refuses to take his hand.

@Asakku

[Asakku 0]

“You’re lucky I was in a better mood than I usually am, or you’d be dead too,” she huffed, crossing her arms. “What is she anyways, your ex or something?” She tilted frown, but shrugged it off. “Whatever. I don’t want to end up in your giant flashback.”

She gave the sky a harsh glare, imagining it falling into a million pieces. “I was having a good day Kayaba. A good day! Then you had to unleash hell upon me with this crap!” Her hands tugged on her hair as she rambled to herself, not caring about the rain that’s soaking her body. “Now I have to go on a date with a random guy I just met. Thank you Kayaba! Just. Thank. You!” Pulling on he two ends of her scarf, she imagined choking herself. What if you do stop breathing in here. Would you die too? The ravenette thought randomly, forgetting about the stress of the moment for a heartbeat. Looking up at her new introduced ‘buddy’, she frowned, “sure,” she slapped his hand away and sighed. How did I end up in this mess..?

@Pick

[Pick 0]

Pick smiled when the girl simply slapped his hand away before turning around and beginning to jog in a quick fashion. He soon reached one of the restaurants in a secluded place where he had made a mental note to come grab lunch on one of these days. Pick looked over at Asakku, "As you can see, we have arrived at our destination," Pick exclaimed, heading over to the front door and turning the knob, only for it to not turn. Locked? He thought, huh, looks like my luck has turned, he realized, looking around for what has happened when he suddenly saw a small sign hanging near the wall that said,

Quote

Currently in the process of restocking, please come back in about half an hour or one hour. Thank you very much, and sorry for the inconvenience. 

Pick sighed, "Looks like I'm out of luck here, there doesn't appear to be anywhere else we can go for now. There seems to be a small ceiling right outside the door that we can stand under and avoid the rain for now." Pick said, pressing himself against the wall so that the small ceiling ledge can block out the rain. As long as no strong wind came, the two of them should be perfectly fine camping out under the ceiling for the time being. "So, why are you so pessimistic? You enjoy this game right, since you enjoy stabbing things? So why aren't you happier since you stab a bunch of things?"

@Asakku

[Asakku 0]

She looked at the sign blankly and sighed, “it’s okay, I don’t expect much anyways.” Banging her head against the wall, she groaned, “I’m not going to be able to wait half an hour. Are you sure there’s nowhere else to go?” She glanced at him and frowned. “There has to be other shops here anyways,” she pointed out. Or better, I can just leave right now. He’s lucky I’m a woman of my word. 

She scowled at him, “I’m not a pessimist, I’m a realist. Some people can’t understand that we’re in a death game,” she mumbled. “They’re acting as if this is some stupid vacation that they all deserve.” She turned to him, “stabbing things doesn’t make my completely happy, it’s more like a stress reliever. There’s a bunch of things that makes me happy,” the player shook her head and sighed, “I don’t think I can get them in this world anyways.”

@Pick

[Pick 0]

Pick was listening, and right when Asakku began to speak, he suddenly heard a lot scream of wind that was coming their way. With his quick thinking, he realized that soon, both he and Asakku would be drenched from the rain water that flew at them after they had been redirected by rain. One person wet is probably better than two people wet. I doubt Asakku would do anything to keep me dry. Pick thought, suddenly jumping right in front of Asakku, shielding her from the rain with his back while he brushed up slightly against her. "Seems like the rain had taken quite a turn." He chuckled, "Luckily, this casual suit is enough to keep my back quite dry." He said, chuckling afterwards.

"If you know any other shops around here, we can certainly run over. Otherwise, we're gonna just have to stay like this for a while. Anyways, I think we all know that this is a death game, but if we all lived like we're depressed, then no one would have any sort of motivation to actually work to beat this game. There's always happiness in the worst of situations, I think, so... what makes you happy?" Pick asked.

@Asakku

[Asakku 0]

She was toying with her scarf, about to start ranting again, “seriously, how long does it take to rest-“ she was cut off when Pick jumped right in front of her. Flinching for a couple seconds, she finally regained her stature before flicking him in the forehead. “Jesus Christ! You scared the hell out of me. The heck?!” She huffed, looking up at him. “It doesn’t look dry,” she commented, peering over his shoulder. It’s pouring out. “You didn’t have to do that. I can handle a bit of wind and rain.”

She gave a nervous cough and fiddled with her hair. “N-no actually. I honestly don’t think I’ve been around here before. I just go to this town to shop or for quests..” she trailed off and sighed. “What makes me happy?” She but her lip, thinking to herself, “I used to read a lot. That was okay I guess, I.. didn’t have much growing up.” Idiot, you could’ve had a lot of things if he didn’t spend it on booze, her conscious told her. Shaking it off, she peered up at him. “What made you happy?”

@Pick

[Pick 0]

"Sorry, jumping in front of someone to shield them from the rain is kind of just instincts," Pick said, rubbing his forehead at the spot that Asakku flicked her finger at. "Ouch, I can imagine that hurting if this was in real life." He remarked comically.

"Tell me about it, I didn't have a very good life as a child, until I met someone really special to me. He changed my life forever, and I miss him." Pick started, telling his own story of his path to happiness, but the memory of his master's passing was still quite something to deal with, causing a faint little drop of tear to appear in the corner of his right eye. Luckily, he was able to stop it from falling down his face before he gets teased about it. "Sometimes, you need that one person who can give you happiness. After I met him, I obtained wealth, and wealth brought me happiness, but that wasn't the happiness that I have right now. I soon started to give my wealth to those who needed it more than me, and that was when I realized true happiness. I found out that I became happy from giving happiness to others... I guess people like you who don't have hope." Pick finished, smiling and looking away into his past memories.

@Asakku

[Asakku 0]

“Instinct? I’m not so sure about that. You sure you haven’t done this before? You seem like a professional rain blocker,” she rolled her eyes, “Yup, it would’ve left a mark,” she lied, knowing that it would’ve barely tickled if she did it in real life. 

“Someone special, that’s lucky,” she puffed out her cheeks and sighed. “I didn’t have the best childhood either I guess,” the player shrugged, “my ‘family’ wasn’t the very best.” The girl shuddered, thinking about the horrible times. “Bleh, I don’t think I miss anyone in the real world.” She gave him a pointed frown, “was he rich? I don’t think wealth is what made you necessarily happy either, wealth is another name for Satan himself,” she coughed bitterly into her arm. “But you sound like a Robin Hood, except he was rich from the start, but it’s still Robin Hood,” she blurted out.

@Pick

 

[Pick 0]

Soon, the rain came down slower and slower, and the rhythm of the weather became uncoordinated. The song of the wind became quieter during the time that Pick conversed with the black-haired lady, and soon enough, the birds began to sing their songs again, and a rainbow with the full spectrum of colors that was supposed to be there appeared out of the storm, above the imagery of the first floor. Pick fixed his wet hair, backing away from Asakku and found himself leaning against the wall that he had started before he started blocking the rain for her.  Pick sighed, glancing at Asakku.

"Wealth is only a name for Satan when it's used incorrectly," Pick explained, "I haven't heard of Robin Hood before, but he seems like a good guy. Anyways, looks like the rain is clearing up. That was a good enough of a date for me, so I won't waste anymore of your time with me by forcing you to come to the bar. Unless you want to, of course. Otherwise, I'm gonna go dry up real fast." Pick smiled, "Oh wait, let me add you to my friend's list." He concluded, pulling up his menu and sending her a friend's request.

@Asakku