[PP|F9] Taming the Flame <<Feeding your Enemy>>

[Prometheus 0]

Prometheus had come up to this floor a long time ago, with the same purpose in mind. “I need to get the familiar so I can defend myself a bit better.” He walks out into the town and into a tavern. The helmet coming off and being replaced by a half mask holding a cigarette in his mouth as he walks in and orders a drink. “Tennessee whiskey please, put it on my tab.” He waves to the bartender, thinking about who to bring on this quest. “Name please?” The man thinks for a moment, looking over at the sharp dressed man behind the counter. “Katsuki.” He replies shortly, sitting in a booth away from the door. The place was a hole in the wall, the people in here sketchy as hell. There were washed up idiots, fools hitting on women out of their league, and people drinking by themselves like pathetic losers populated the bar, the bartender out of place and obviously struggling to keep the place under control. Absolute anarchy, just like He liked it.

His menu opens up as his hand scrolls through the list of players he has met, selecting the name he had no recollection of. “Symphony? Huh, don’t really remember anyone with such a weird name.” The man reaching out for the drink the bartender was approaching with as he began to type out a message. Upon pressing send, he takes a sip of his drink, sitting back and watching the chaos unfold.

Spoiler

to: @Symphony

message:

Hey, saw your name and forgot where I met you, it’s Katsuki in case you don’t know. Wanna help me tame a bird?

 

[Symphony 0]

Symphony was busy reading in the tavern on floor one when she received a message. "Huh, wonder who this could be from," she quietly said as she opened it. She quickly read it over and she sighed, half annoyed, half bored. "Well, I didn't think I was that unmemorable," she said to herself again. Oh, what the hell, this may be fun, she thought to herself as she decided to go to floor 9 and find this man. She quickly stretched, stepped outside the tavern, and called Cloak to her. They both adventured to the teleporter to floor 9, and she followed the marker for where Katsuki was on the map. 

Quickly, she made it outside the rough tavern and readied herself. She whistled for Cloak to keep watch outside and went inside by herself, bracing herself. She put a cloak around herself so that no men would notice that she was a woman and stepped inside. She looked inside for a brief moment and spotted Katsuki. Immediately, she sat next to him at the bar and flicked his head lightly. "Don't remember me, huh?" she said to him. "Well, you're gonna remember me today. So it's the familiar quest you want to do then. Hm, may as well get headed out now while it's still early then so that we have enough time to find what you want. It takes a long while." She smiled to the barkeep and just asked for a water. She sat there sipping it, waiting for Katsuki to give the signal to head out. 

@Prometheus

Edited April 27, 2019 by Symphony

[Prometheus 0]

Prometheus sat and sipped his whiskey when suddenly a finger flicked him in the forehead and suddenly he remembered exactly who it was. The girl with that damned bird. He looked at her and scratched the back of his head. “Told you I’d show you how bad the bar food was here.” He slides out a club sandwich. “That’s the best thing they’ve got here.” His cigarette still burning in the ash tray next to him, he puts it out as a courtesy to the girl on the other side of him.

Her words grace his ears and he frowns. “So you want to get rid of me already? What a shame, I was having fun last time, maybe I want to have more fun this time.” His smug grin opens for a sip of whiskey, but he downs the perfectly aged beverage like it was water. The burn had disappeared from the drinks a long time ago. “You drink? I know it’s not gonna get you drunk, so most people don’t. I like the flavor though, you can taste the best parts of the whiskey and feel the warmth through an entire glass.” His eyes move to hers, “Maybe if you drank more than just water you’d have fun. I mean, I’m always having fun and I can’t remember the last time I drank water.” He smiles, this smile more genuine looking than all the others. Maybe I can get her a drink, at least then we’d be even. He looks down at the half burnt cigarette and thinks for a moment, his hand fiddling with a golden lighter with a skull and rose on it.

@Symphony

[Symphony 0]

Symphony looked down at the sandwich and poked it while she was listening to him speak. "It uh... doesn't look too bad?" she said. But even she knew that the sloppy mess in front of her probably was not the best. "You need to come down to my tavern sometime and eat. I'll pay then." 

When he asked if she drank, she replied, "I've never been one for hard liquors. And I usually only drink when I'm eating a good meal. Makes everything taste better. Like a nice wine with some pasta or a good beer with some wings." Her mouth began to water at the thought of delicious food, and she had to snap herself out of it. She looked over at the man and frowned. "I know things here aren't like they are in the real world, but you do need to take care of yourself. It's a good thing I brought another canteen of water for you for today." She normally brought one for herself out of habit, but she knew how men were. They never took care of themselves. Then she saw him holding a peculiar looking lighter, she moved closer to him to take a look, the hood of her cloak slipping back to reveal medium length, curly hair. 

As soon as she realized her face had been revealed, she quickly pulled the cloak back. "My apologies," she said while blushing. "I just know how guys can be, and in a rough place like this. I don't want one of them noticing me." She laughed nervously. 

@Prometheus

[Prometheus 0]

Prometheus smiles at the offer of free food. “I can’t pass that offer up.” He smiles and as she explains when she likes to drink alcohol. “Sounds like someone knows how to party.” He says, waving to the bartender, “A plate of wings and two beers. Draught for me and whatever the lady wants.” He says, holding his hand up to his mask. His hand with the lighter hides itself as she pulls her hood to cover her head. “Two things... one, nice hair, and two, I’m guessing you could take any one of these guys in here.” He says, pointing to the hood. His hand moves down and puts the cigarette into his inventory.

“Sorry, I forgot you don’t like those.” His mask comes off, the mask smelling of cigarettes and booze, revealing his ways so obviously as he looks at her. “Just trust me, the men around here won’t mess with you.” His eyes move towards the men standing around the bar, his hand on the massive katana coming up from under the table as he talks to the girl.

@Symphony

[Symphony 0]

Symphony put her hand gently on Katsuki's arm when she motioned for two beers. "Sorry, but I only drink after a hunt or quest has been finished. It tastes better that way." A mysterious look flashed across her eyes as she mentioned the word "hunt". Her face dropped as he hid the lighter. It seemed so intricate and pretty. Then she heard his comment and laughed. "Yes, I'm well aware that I could take any and mostly all of them, but..." her voice trailed off and a far away look came to her eyes. She snapped out of it the next moment. "But I try not to resort to violence in safe zones. Trust me, outside of them, I can get quite... intense. But I'd rather not stir up anything here." 

When he mentioned the cigarettes, she tilted her head. "I'm surprised you remembered. But I was actually interested in the lighter." She laughed. "It did seem very intricate and pretty. My apologies if I got too close. Just used to be an artist." She took another sip of water, a smile playing across her lips. Then she glanced down and saw his katana. She merely took note of it in her head. 

@Prometheus

[Prometheus 0]

The man turns to the girl and holds his lighter out towards the girl. “Exact replica of the one the man who raised me gave me for my 14th birthday.” He says, a soft smile on his face. “Maybe one day I’ll be able to buy him one that’s even nicer.” He looks at the lighter as memories start flooding into his head. I’m getting to open with this girl, I need to back off. He looks at her for a moment, thinking of what the guys in here might do to her if they figure it out and he puts his lighter away. “Then you wanna get out of here?” He asks, his head tilting and his smile genuine. He was actually having fun with someone while not beating someone up or participating in leas than classy activities. “I know a few hunting spots around here, maybe we can kill a monster or two.” His sentence continues. He switches out of his buly armor and opting for a more casual smokey black jacket and blue jeans. A red oni mask appears on his face as he sets a pouch of col for the tab down. “Or maybe we can just head somewhere classier.” He shrugs, his offer out of the blue.

@Symphony

 

[Symphony 0]

Symphony was fully absorbed by the quality and detail on the lighter once he pulled it out. She reached out to touch it for a slight second and then recoiled back when she realized what she was doing. “I hope you can buy him something like this,” she said while smiling. “I’m sure they’d appreciate it greatly.” When he mentioned leaving and hunting, she immediately perked up and jumped with excitement at the thought of hunting again. Though in her excitement, her hood fell off again. She heard the room go quiet and looked around to see the men staring at her like hungry dogs. What could she say, Symphont was a beautiful young woman with bright amber eyes, a light complexion, and curly, wavy hair. She had a curvy and thin body. 

But as she sensed the danger she was in, she grabbed Katsuki by the arm and pulled him with surprising urgency and strength outside of the tavern. Once they were outside she sighed. “Sorry for dragging you out, but I’m in no mood to be assaulted by several men at this time.” She changed into her hunting gear of black jeans, black combat boots, and a dark shirt with royal blue armor on top. Meanwhile, Cloak floated down to check on her when he realized she was in distress. She pet him and let him know she was okay, and then she whistled for him to take to the air again to guard them. 

@Prometheus

[Prometheus 0]

Katsuki feels the woman grab his arm and instinctively reaches over and grabs his katana. Once outside of the bar, he equips his armor and begins to walk towards the edge of town, forgetting about what just happened. “I’m always ready for a good fight, but if you don’t wanna, I guess we can head out into the field and fight off some monsters.” He says to the girl, putting the Katana on his back. “Besides, nothing beats killing something in terms of getting to know someone.” He chuckles. The tower of a man clanked as he stepped through the volcano of a floor. His helmet being removed and replaced by sunglasses and a black hood, he pops a pinch of tobacco in his mouth grinding up the leaves as he walks and spitting a little every now and then. “Sorry, I need something on my mouth at all times, something carried over from the real world.” He laughs innocently, laying down the groundwork for some flirting. “Maybe...” He smiles at her, his lip sticking out with leaves. “Nah, you wouldn’t go for it.” He looks forwards once again, putting his helmet over his head.

@Symphony

[Symphony 0]

Symphony sighed and noticed how hot it was outside. She unequipped the heavy version of her armor for a lighter one that covered her torso like a tank top on top of the black one she was wearing. With the shape of her outfit, you could just make out the edges of the tattoos on her back. She laughed when he mentioned hunting as being a way to get to know someone better. “Though you may find me when hunting a bit um... intense.” She laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head with her hand. Katagawa had become concerned with Symphony’s enthusiasm to kill before, so she made note to be careful with her behavior today. She didn’t want to make a bad impression with the man. 

 

When he stuck out his lip with the leaves, she tilted her head and then realized the flirtatious suggestion. She blushed and looked up at him, then looked away. “U-unfortunately I do not chew dip. Though,” she paused as she pulled out some gum. “I feel the same with chewing things as well.” She put a piece of mint gum in her mouth and began to chew. “You can have a piece after you’ve finished your leaves if you like,” she offered. 

@Prometheus

[Prometheus 0]

The girl blushes at his comment and he spits out his leaves on the ground. Why wait? He looks over at her and smiles. “What about that gum?” His question timed carefully, gauging her reaction once again. His mind begins to try and think of ways to come up with reasons to have said that. That was a super risky move, I can only hope it works. His towering stature coming to a top on a face with a cautious look. “I’m gonna be straight with you, you’re a cute gal.” He slips his hands into his pockets, walking out into the fiery hell pit of the ninth floor, still wearing his full armor and not even feeling the heat. The countless hours of playing with fire in his house and his school and his favorite bar.

”So, what kind of hobbies did you have in the real world, if you don’t mind my asking.” He holds his attention on the girl, the man’s hands fiddling with the lighter again, spinning it in between his fingers as he walks.

@Symphony

[Symphony 0]

She blushed even more at his question and her eyes widened. Is he implying what I think he is?, she asked herself. It seemed like he was. And it was strange. Out of all the men that constantly hit on her, he was the only one who could actually make her feel... nervous. Like a young school girl. She laughed in her mind at the thought. Then he made the comment about her being cute. She managed to blush even more and managed to say, “Well you’re not too bad looking yourself.” She smiled up at him. She decided to take him up on that flirtatious hint. But before she is able to, he asks another question. She replies happily, “Well I always read and collected books, sang, played piano, trained birds, and,” she paused as a devilish look came to her eyes. “Threw knives.” She took out her dagger, kissed it quickly, and threw it straight into the middle of a tree trunk a good 15 feet away. She smiled and went over to grab it. When she approached the man once more she said, “Hold still.”

Still blushing she held out the gum between her lips for him to grab, her light brown eyes looking up into his, her cheeks still a light pink from her blushing. She waited for him to grab it, her eyes not wavering. 

@Prometheus

[Prometheus 0]

Her knife leaves her hand and he watches it rotate through the air and land in a tree a short distance away. “Pretty good, but I prefer my knives in my opponents.” He chuckles to himself as she goes to grab the dagger. Well, her reaction was good, but It could’ve been... her words cut his thought in half as she pushes the gum out to her lips. What is she doing? Oh... he leans in and takes the gum from her lips with his own, pulling back and starting to chew. “Thanks.” He smiles at her, it wasn’t the first time he had traded gum, but it was the first time he had seen it done that way, hell, sometimes he was surprised with a piece of gum.

The exchange being over, Prometheus turned and kept walking into the ashen wasteland, passing rivers of lava and lakes of magma as he goes. “You have a favorite floor? I’ve known a few people that like the fourth floor.” He continues, trying to make conversation like he hadn’t just stolen that girl’s gum along with a kiss.

@Symphony

[Symphony 0]

Symphony blushed and smiled after the man took the gum from her lips. She happily walked beside him as he spoke. "Well," she answered. "I haven't explored many of the floors so far, but I enjoy the second floor. It makes me think of the mountains back home. And I was always one for hiking." Cloak cawed overhead. "Oh, right! And it's also where I found this handsome boy." She laughed when Cloak flew down to nuzzle her face with his beak, then he took back up into the air. "What about you?" she asked. "I'm assuming this one is your favorite floor since the heat doesn't seem to bother you and since you seemed so... at home in that bar." In fact, the heat didn't seem to bother him at all, while for her, she was already sweating under her armor. For the time being, to make things cooler, she decided to take off her armor and just leave her tank top on, revealing the tattoos across her back even more. 

She continued to ask another question. "And what did you like to do in the real world? Besides smoking and drinking." She laughed lightly. "That was meant only as a joke, by the way," she added, not meaning to offend the man in any way. While they walked, she twirled her dagger in her right hand, throwing it up and catching it nimbly and easily. 

@Prometheus

[Prometheus 0]

Her guess was spot on, so Katsuki decided not to say anything. What was he gonna do? Explain how much he liked fire? He began to think about the floors, trying to come up with a different answer that wouldn’t make him sound weird like a pyromaniac. That was when he turned and noticed she was now in a tank top and his mind went blank. What was I gonna say? Oh shoot, now I look weird, uhh... Katsuki, think of something. He is trying to think as she asks her question of what he liked to do in the real world. “To be entirely honest I didn’t live the most honorable of lives. Lots of fights, booze and smoke. A little bit of arson in there too.” He laughs awkwardly for a moment and turns to keep walking, having been distracted enough by her, and walks directly into a gypsy NPC. What the hell? Outta my way lady.

Despite his blood boiling, the man remained composed as he looked down at he lady, his hand extends out to help her up. “You must be the one that offers the familiar quest.” He smiles at her, his face still partially covered by the sunglasses and hood he was wearing. “So can I have the animal food?”’he asks, her arm extends and drops a pouch in his hand and he thanks her. “Sorry about that Symph, if you don’t mind me calling you that, shall we?” His hand waves in such a way to imply the intention of moving forward.

@Symphony

[Symphony 0]

Symphony smiled as she noticed him being absorbed by the image of her body. She laughed lightly to herself. When he said what he liked to do in the real world, her eyes widened and she was a little impressed. “Wow. Quite a life you had there. Though,” she said while gazing up at him, “I wouldn’t imagine most would want to mess with you with how tall and handsome you are. Er-“ she blushed and paused when she realized what she said. However, right after she spoke she saw the man crash into the nice gypsy. She winced as she saw the poor woman fall. 

 

Once he had taken the food, he asked her the question, and she replied, “Of course! And is there anything you’d like me to call you?” She smiled and then an idea popped into her head. “Oh! I also have something for you for this quest!” She pulled out a <<T1 Perfect Royal Blue>> silk shirt and gave it to the man. It had silk sleeves of medium length with gold embroidery around the loose neck and bottoms of the shirt. It was made to be light and breatheable for warmer climates. “It has 3 enchantments, all Loot Die. I hope I got the measurements right.” 

@Prometheus

[Prometheus 0]

A shirt is handed out to him by the girl, so he opens his inventory and removes his heavy armor, and for a moment his crying angel tattoo on his back is visible, but the shirt slides over it quickly and is covered by a black jacket. His attire completely natural looking, except for the sunglasses. “Thanks, it fits just right.” He says, despite his shirt showing exactly how muscular he is. His words climb through the chewing mouth as he looks back at her, thinking about the nicknames he had received over the years. “I’ve been called many things, some people call me Kat, some call me Katsuki. If you want, you can call me Kat.” He explains.

Now that she was in a tank top, and He was in his casual attire, he didn’t have to hide his face, so he took his sunglasses and hood off, sweeping his hair over to the side revealing a small burn on his forehead. “Well I’m not the only good looking person here, and you seem to have been in a tight spot before.” He says to her, his mind stuck on her body as he speaks.

Spoiler

ID: 115522

LD: 9 + 3 = 12

(fail)

@Symphony

Edited April 28, 2019 by Prometheus

[Symphony 0]

Symphony smiles and blushes as she sees the tight shirt on him. "I'm glad it fits well." She couldn't help but take a glance at him, looking up and down. He is quite tall and handsome, she thought to herself. When it came to his nicknames, she replied, "I think I'll go with Kat." She giggled. "It's like you're a cute little kitty kat." She tried to hide her laughter, but she couldn't help it. It was cute nickname. Quite different compared to his tough exterior. 

She also had managed to notice his tattoo. "And that's a nice tattoo you have there. It's rare I find people in this game with body art like myself. Nice to know someone else with the tattoo craze." She smiled again. Her own upper back had two tattoos. One was of feathers falling, in memory of training birds she had lost naturally. On her left shoulder was a paw marking and the name of an older cat she had lost. She rubbed her left shoulder comfortingly. 

Then his comment threw her off. "What do you mean I seem like I've been in a tight spot before?" she asked with a curious head tilt. She didn't know what he had meant, and it was an innocent question. She noticed he was also staring at her, so she pushed her chest up with her arms in front of her to tease him. She giggled lightly again. 

@Prometheus

[Prometheus 0]

The man’s eyes examine her body one final time, before he has to explain his thinking. “The way you grabbed me and ran the moment your hood fell off. The way you handle a throwing knife.” He looks at her again, and towards the tree. “You don’t do that without ever either ending up or having been in a tight spot.” He says, noticing her peculiar pose and turning away. “Are you trying to make me blush? Cause it’s impossible.” He says, flicking her in the forehead.

Her mention of his tattoo catches him off guard. The ink was for his “gang” back in the real world. Except all they did was beat people senseless and take their wallets. “My ink gave me a name. It was used to tell people not to mess with me. I’ll explain it all to you someday, but I don’t want to bore you with the details.” He explains, trying to be vague about his tattoo. “I have more than just the angel, but the angel is the only one I brought into the game with me.” He explains his face down as if he were talking about someone he lost.

@Symphony

[Symphony 0]

Symphony looks into the distance and winces as he mentions her previous actions. "Yeah, I..." she drifted off and couldn't go on. "I'm sorry, but I can't share why I act this way. Not for now. It's... it's too dark of a thing for me to tell you after just meeting you." She tried not to flash back to the moments she hated most, and she had to take a deep breath and focus to get back to reality. Her expression serious, she said, "All you need to know is that people hurt me once. And no one will ever hurt me again." Her grip tightened around her dagger and her jaw clenched. She sighed and relaxed herself once more. Then he mentioned her trying to make him blush. She blushed in turn but still responded with, "Oh, is that a challenge I hear?" She got up very close to him and put her hand under his chin. "Hm, maybe some other time," she teased while pulling away suddenly. 

She listened to his explanation about his ink and her expression grew sad as she sensed his mood change. She then moved over closer to him and gave him a nice hug. While in the embrace she said, "All of our tattoos have stories behind them. Good and bad." She looked up at him and cradled his cheek with her hand. "I know your feeling." 

@Prometheus