F03/SP <<Worn out Welcome>>

[Oscar 0]

Spoiler

Oscar
Level 28 | 560 HP | 56 EN | 15 DMG | 56 MIT | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 1 RECOVERY

[EQUIPPED GEAR]
<<Yukianesa>> 3x DMG
<<Librarium Overcoat>> x3 EVA
<<Plated Azure Tights>> +36 MIT, +1 RECOVERY

[SKILLS & MODS]
Curved Sword r1
Katana r5 [+7 DMG]
Katana Mod: Ferocity [+1 DMG WHEN USING KATANA SWORD ARTS]
Familiar Mastery: Accurate r2. [+2 ACC]

Oscar stared down at the Hoya resting on the countertop inside of his shop. He hadn't been able to work up the nerve to give it to Cordelia yet. It weighed in his inventory like lead. Every time he glanced at the name in his item list, his chest swelled with emotion. He couldn't keep doing this. He had to make a move or else he'd be doomed to pine over her like a schoolboy. Rejection would be preferential. So he started typing the message, something that would get her attention and give him a moment alone with her. It would be awful if he was forced to lay his feelings bare where there were prying eyes and ears. The message was simple:

Hey, @Cordelia. Have you done <<Worn out Welcome>> yet? I was just about to go start it. Come by my shop if you want to come along?

He pressed "send" and off the message flew. He took a shaky breath and placed the Hoya of Minos back in his pack. One way or another, this would change hands today.

Edited September 20, 2019 by Oscar

[Cordelia 0]

Spoiler

To: @Oscar

No, I haven't actually. I'll be there in a few minutes.

Cordelia peered through the crack in the door she made. His shop looked exactly the same since the last time she's been here, but not like that was a bad thing or anything. Opening the door more wider, she stepped into the restaurant and spotted Oscar. 

"Hey there, stranger," she pipped, bounding over to him with a smile. "This quest should be fairly easy, I don't know why you wanted me to tag along," she laughed out loud, shoving her hands into her pockets with a questionable look. "You could've probably just poked the mob and then left without a worry." 

The same could've been said to her as well, which made it just as weird. Maybe they were going to hunt after this? That didn't sound like such a bad idea. She could really use some unidentified items! She was okay with her rapier at the moment... but having a few unique enhancements wouldn't be too bad, even if she would be doing less damage.

Spoiler

LVL: 22 | HP: 440/440 | EN: 44/44 | 9 DMG | 3 EVA | 1 SAVVY | 2 KEEN

Inventory:

☆ T1 Rapier | Star Saber: 3 DMG

☆ T1 Light Armor | Coat of a Husk: 2 EVA, 1 SAVVY

☆ T1 Jewelry | Aura Sensors: +1 EVA, +2 KEEN

Battle Ready: 

[5] Standard Healing Potions [Heals 50 HP]

Consumed:

☆ R5 Rapier Skill: [+5 DMG/+1 BASE]

☆ Disguise: [Gain +1 EVA until the start of your next turn]

☆ Survival: [Increases out of combat health regeneration to (15 * Tier) per post. Grants immunity to most damage dealing environmental attacks/effects.]

Consumed:

 

[Oscar 0]

The moment Cordelia walked into his shop, Oscar almost lost his nerve. He wished he was in the real world right now. This wasn't anything a shot of liquid courage couldn't fix. But, chances were that if he had been in the real world, the two of them never would have met. Perhaps he wouldn't be fawning like a schoolboy over a woman he'd never met then. But he was in it now. No backing down. He opened his menu and hastily opened the trade window. He placed the <<Hoya of Minos>> up for offer and hit accept. When the trade went through, he waited on bated breath for Cordelia's reaction. Either she loved it or she hated it. Regardless of her reaction, Oscar would be done with this god-forsaken pining today, once and for all. Although, if he were being completely honest, he hoped she liked it. "You'll have to forgive me but the real reason I called you here was to give you that. Sorry for not being upfront about it."

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia stood confused as he traded her an item. Was there something she wasn't quite getting?

She chuckled, hitting the accept button without sparing the window a glance. "If it's food for a battle," she paused, taking a moment to open up her inventory to see the buffs, "I think I'm good on buffs, but I'll take it-" She paused again, blinking with a dumbfound expression as an item name she didn't expect showed up in her inventory. 

"O-oh," she said shakily as she selected the item. "What is this? It it some sort of potion or salve? I've never heard of it before. Maybe I should've done some more research on some... quests..." She trailed off as the item formed in her hand. It was a piece of jewelry?

"Oh."

"It's very pretty," she commented, examining the snowflake like piece of jewelry. Why did he give this to her exactly..?

"I don't understand," she mumbled, furrowing her brows as she looked back up at Oscar.

[Oscar 0]

Oscar took a deep breath. It took all of his willpower not to start gushing right now. He merely flipped the pendant over and pointed to the inscription on the back. "It says: 'Beautiful and unique like a snowflake, strong like diamond. With love, Oscar.'" He let his words hang in the air for a moment, allowing them to sink in. After a moment, he explained himself. "The Hoya of Minos can be shaped into whatever your heart desires. My heart desired something to show you what I feel." He chuckled, his nervous laughter rippling through the quiet room. "I know it's sudden, but I think I've fallen for you during our adventures together." It was all on the line now. No safety net. Just how he liked it. He could soar or he could crash and burn. Cordelia was steering this plane now. "I couldn't keep going without at least telling you how I feel. But I couldn't quite work up the courage to form the words. So, I went and got you this..." He clasped her hand gently, covering the Hoya with his palm. "Would you give me a chance?"

[Cordelia 0]

"Oh."

Was that a good answer? She wasn't sure. 

"I-" She paused, her mind going blank for a few seconds. Wasn't love pointless? Wasn't that what her parents had? She didn't want that.

"I can't," she breathed, retracting her hand from quickly. "I-I apologize," she muttered numbly as she clutched the pendant tightly with her head. "I'm not... interested in a relationship at the moment."

She grabbed his hand, opening his palm and place the pendant on it. "You deserve someone better," she chuckled, closing his hands around the piece of jewelry before taking back her hand away from his as she smiled softly at him.

Someone not broken-- is that she wanted to add, but she really just couldn't say it. She felt like she physically couldn't say it.

"I apologize for making our friendship awkward," she bit out, bowing to him slightly before averting her eyes to the ground.

[Oscar 0]

"Oh," Oscar echoed. She wasn't interested in a relationship. How disappointing. Well, it was a touch more than disappointing, but it was the only thing Oscar could really ascribe to the sensation he was feeling. Numbness? No. Numbness would be an absence of feeling. This was more like static. His heart was beating rapidly, his mouth became dry. His thoughts were racing, not focusing on anything in particular. When her hand parted from his, leaving the Hoya behind, everything seemed to stop. And like that, his mind shattered.

Only for a moment.

He had more self-control than to let a simple rejection send him spiraling. At his age, rejection was just par for the course. Rejected from his first choice of college. The first time. The second time around was a whole different ballgame. And this was no exception. He still had a special place in his heart for her, but he no longer pined for her so. Perhaps that was a good thing. Puppy love never lasted anyway. He merely smiled and returned the Hoya to his inventory. "That's quite alright Cordelia. Like I said, I just wanted you to know. If you felt the same great. But you don't and that's just fine." It stung for now, but time had a way of healing even the worst of feelings. "We still have a quest to do anyway. Apologies if I made this awkward."

[Cordelia 0]

She wasn't sure how she could explain the look on Oscar's face. She wasn't even sure if there was a word that could explain it. 

"N-no!" She said abruptly, holding her hands in front of her with her lips pursed into a thin line.

"It's not you at all, I promise! It's just..." she mumbled, toying with her fingers together as she looked down at the ground. "My thoughts are conflicted about romantic relationships," she explained, fumbling with her words a bit. 

This was going great. That wasn't sarcasm! She honestly expected it to be a whole lot worse! Well, she really didn't expect this at all, but she was? It was hard to explain, okay? All she was saying as this was okay. Well, it really wasn't good at all, but it could be worse. A lot, lot, lot worse. 

"Anyway," she exclaimed abruptly, nodding her head to the town exit. "Let's get going."

 

[Oscar 0]

And so up to Floor 3 they went to accept the quest from Griswold. Oscar didn't say much as they walked to the Teleportation Platform. It was difficult to be much of a conversationalist when you just got shot down. Honestly, it was almost unbearable going on this quest together. But, he had promised her a quest so he would give her that quest. Despite everything, he was definitely a man of his word. Together, the two of them teleported up to Floor 3. Oscar made a beeline for the shop and accepted the quest. Apparently there would be some low-level mob that would attack them at some point while they gathered the necessary materials for Griswold. It couldn't possibly be that strong considering this was such a low level quest. He could probably poke it and it would fall over. With the quest accepted, Oscar headed for the town gate, still not speaking. He just wanted to get this over with.

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia sighed under her breath as she followed after Oscar. 

"Awkward my butt," she muttered inaudibly, "this is worse than awkward."

Zero talking throughout the whole trip. Zero. None. It was . . . weird. 

Well, what do you expect? The person she probably trusted the most so far is just straight up not talking to her! Well so-rry that she doesn't reciprocate some feelings of love. It indeed is a weird stage in her life at the moment. Why couldn't she go back to the simpler days-- or were all of her days this complicated. 

She rolled her eyes at that-- which makes sense, right? Right? Right?

Yeah, it makes sense. Pft, why wouldn't it make sense? She always makes sense! When has she ever not make sense? 

Cordelia mumbled small 'curses' under her breath as they neared the spawn point. Well, it was kind of bad that he chose specifically this quest with her. Both of them can literally one-shot the mob, which will probably make things even more awkward. 

Well, if you could call whatever this is awkward. 

ID: 124659

BD: 7, Hit

dark elf thing: 0/12 its frkein ded THATS ALL THAT MATTERS

[Oscar 0]

Well that ended that. Cordelia was more than capable of handling the Dark Elf with naught more than a basic attack. Wonderful. It truly expedited the process of getting out of this awkward situation. All that remained was for Oscar to gather the necessary materials and then head home. He could probably do with a few days apart from Cordelia, just long enough to get his head on straight. Oscar wordlessly gathered up the materials and then showed them to Cordelia with a deadpan expression. Happily with that done, Oscar the headed back to the Blacksmith to collect his oh-so-amazing loot. Like his current gear wasn't leaps and bounds superior to anything this low-level quest could possibly offer. But EXP was EXP and Oscar found he would endure most anything to get that bar to fill a bit faster. Even awkwardly accompanying the woman who had just rejected him. It wasn't the end of the world, however. They were good friends before this and they would be good friends after. Oscar just needed to get his head on straight.

@Cordelia

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia averted her eyes to her feet as she followed after Oscar. It wasn't like the silence was necessarily bad, but it wasn't really good, either.

She tapped her feet awkwardly against the floor as the blacksmith handed him the armor. The silence was killing her. Like, she felt like she was going to literally rip her own damn brains out if she didn't address what was going on. He hadn't talked to her at all since she. . . well, y'know, flat out rejected him.

She opened her mouth to say something, but really couldn't find herself speaking anything. Come on, brain! What the hell was wrong with you? 

"Uhm," she hummed uncomfortably. "I'm thinking of changing my hair soon," Cordelia mentioned, toying with her fingers. "So just don't think I'm a whole other person when you see me, okay?" She asked, giving him a dry smile as she looked up at him, trying to catch his eye. Now that they were barely talking, she had just realized just how tall he actually was.

 

[Oscar 0]

"Interesting," came Oscar's simple reply.

In hindsight, perhaps the confession would have worked better after the quest. At least then, only one of them would have felt weird. But Oscar could honestly say that he didn't give a damn about Cordelia's hair right now. That being said, she was at least trying to have a conversation with him. The least he could do was try and reciprocate. He took a deep breath, trying to dig deep and grab onto something that would let him pretend he wasn't reeling right now. It took some doing, but he finally found it. All it took was reminding himself that she was still his friend. Enamored as he was, Oscar definitely wasn't the type of guy whose opinion of a woman did a complete 180 just because of a rejection.

"I've been thinking about changing my whole get-up honestly. Katana, blue outfit, everything. Just seems like it's all a little over the top to me."

[Cordelia 0]

"Yeah," she muttered, averting her eyes to the ground and she continued to fumble with her fingers. He didn't seem interested in anything she had to say. Gah, people made her so freaking confused! 

"Huh?" She asked, furrowing her brows as she looked up at him. "Really? It seems fine to me but if you want to change, then that's great," she beamed, giving him a wide smile. "Wait," she mumbled, tapping her chin with a confused expression. ". . . So are you not going to use a katana anymore?" She asked, her brows furrowing. "What are you going to use then?"

She wasn't really sure if she liked this sudden change or not. Sure, she was happy for Oscar and he had the ability to do whatever the hell he wanted, but she was just fine the way he was right now. She mentally shrugged. Whatever. Though, she was concerned about the whole 'everything' part. What if his personality changes, too?

[Oscar 0]

"I don't know," Oscar began. "I just know I'm bored with the whole motif I have going on here."

Oscar shrugged and kept going. It seemed like the walk back was taking even more time than the trek here. Which was weird considering that they were actually talking now. You would think that it would be the opposite. But no. The universe wanted to keep them trapped in this din of awkwardness for as long as possible.

Although, he couldn't complain too much. At least they were on speaking terms now. It was an improvement at least. A small glimmer of hope in an otherwise dismal day. A small sign that they could get their friendship back on track after Oscar's massive overstep. That was really what Oscar was most irritated at, if he were being completely honest. She was firmly within her rights to reject him and he didn't fault her for it. More than anything, he was mad at himself for risking what he had with her.

"So what are you thinking of changing to?" His tone was more interested now, as if he were shaking himself out of the funk he was in.

[Cordelia 0]

"I see," she murmured, smiling softly at him. "Well, whatever you do, I'll be there to support you, okay?"

She looked over at him and beamed happily inside. Maybe he was finally going to open up to her again? She could hear it in his voice!

Cordelia held up a strand of her blonde hair and sighed. "Well first off, I'm going to cut it. Long hair is such a pain, especially when I'm in battle. Perhaps I'll start to tie it up somehow? I'm not sure," she sighed, letting it go. "As for color. . ." she paused, considering her options. 

"I'm honestly not too sure about that, either. I've seen some really unique hair colors in SAO, but I'm afraid that I'll stand out too much if I choose something too out of this world," she huffed, crossing her arms over another. "Maybe white? I feel like that's something that doesn't stand out as much as like, a pink or blue shade," she suggested, her voice unsure. 

"I don't know. This seems like a bad idea now that I say it out loud," she fretted, nibbling on her fingernails nervously.

[Oscar 0]

Oscar mulled things over thoughtfully for a second. He liked her hair as it was, but she made a great case for changing it. He could only imagine how much it got in the way of things. But white hair? He wasn't too sure about that. If the goal was to stand out less, wouldn't a more common color be the way to go? That being said, she could probably pull it off. But not with that outfit.

 

"You know white hair won't work too well with that black outfit you're always wearing, right? Might need to change your whole ensemble too." Oscar scowled. He was glad he was walking ahead of Cordelia and she couldn't see his face. Ensemble. When the hell did Oscar start saying crap like ensemble? He suddenly felt the urge to pound down an entire 12-pack and rebuild an entire car engine just to get his man card back.

[Cordelia 0]

"My ensemble?" She echoed, looking down at her outfit with a sigh. "You're probably right," she replied. She looked up at the back of his head and chuckled. "That's some pretty good fashion sense!" She exclaimed, tapping the tips of her fingers together gleefully. "Oh, but that means I probably have to go order more clothes," she clicked her tongue in annoyance. She was broke as hell, how was she going to afford another piece of armor? Well, she could always go hunting. . . that's such a bother. "I'll find a way. I always find a way!" She exclaimed under her breath, smiling to herself.

Her cheerful grin fell a little bit as she averted her eyes to her moving feet. "Hey Oscar?" She mumbled almost inaudibly, fiddling with her hands in front of her. "We're still friends, right?" She asked, bracing herself for an answer that could possibly end it all.

[Oscar 0]

"Hey Oscar. We're still friends right?"

The question hit him like a ton of bricks. The smithy was in view, and thus their goal. But Oscar stopped dead in his tracks. It was a question that bore answering. But it wasn't one he had an answer for right now. In his mind, he liked to think that, yes, they would maintain a close friendship despite what happened today. But he was having trouble saying it.

Putting it in words gave it finality. It was about as binding as a promise. Oscar struggled to give his word on something he wasn't absolutely certain of. What's more, he couldn't lie. Not to her. Especially not her.

But.

There was something about being pushed for an answer that forced you to do a lot of thinking in a short amount of time. A lot of heavy questions would be answered purely on instinct. Oscar trusted his gut. So when he, almost on instinct, turned around and patted Cordelia on the head with a smile, Oscar had his answer. If he couldn't trust anyone else, he knew he could trust his gut.

"Yeah, Cordelia. We're still friends."

[Cordelia 0]

Her tense shoulders relaxed as she gave him a smile. "Thank you," she murmured, pausing for a second before opening her arms and giving him a hug. "I'm sorry if I made things awkward today," she mumbled, sniffing before she let go of him. 

"I hope we get to see each other soon," she beamed, reaching up to pat him on the head before stepping back. "I'll go give the blacksmiths the materials so don't worry about it," she said, giving him a thumbs up before she waved goodbye to him. "Let's meet up and do another quest again soon!" She said, nodding to him before she turned around and headed for the blacksmith's sharp.

Once she had arrived, she dumped the materials on the counter and grinned at them.

"I'll just get the light armor," she said, giving them a small smile. "You can put whatever you want on it. I won't be using it much anyway. . ."