[F01 - PP] What Can Happen In A Dark Cave? <<The Third Lesson, Is Just As Free>>

[Tala 0]

Spoiler

Tala: HP: 140 || EN: 14 || DMG: 3 || ACC: 2 (3-1) || MIT: 9

"R... Right, let's do that." Did...did he just get flustered again? She didn't know if she wanted to smack him, laugh at him, or kiss his cheek. At the moment it was a mixture of adorable and frustrated because, dark cave. But, she stayed by his side, super close to it in fact. The walk was at least semi-peaceful. You know, except for the fact that there was everlasting dark all around her to where she couldn't see her hand in front of her face and it felt like the walls were getting closer to her. Just thinking that made her shudder and stop for a moment to catch her breath.

Tala, no hyperventilating, that is bad. That induces your panic attacks and panic attacks means that you will be turning and running out of the cave but ultimately getting yourself lost because you can't see a damned thing! "Calm...breathe..." Of course, she saw the gems in front of her, cool, they glowed. But that wasn't completely helping the panic attack that wanted to rise from the depths of her core at the moment. "Only take one, okay? One each." He had moved so that her was a little closer and she nodded, not wanting to trust her voice at the moment. Her breathing was probably already shallow enough as it was.

But she reached down, ready to grab one of the green gems. If Yukiro was able to see her hand through the glowing gems, he would see it shaking like a leaf. Hell, he could probably feel her shaking like a leaf.

@Yukiro

[Yukiro 0]

When Yukiro noticed Tala's hand in the green light of the gems he noticed on thing in particular. It was shaking really bad. Now that he noticed, her whole body was shaking. Was she really that scared? 
Yukiro didn't take the time to think it over. 
Dropping to his knees as slowly as he could he stopped Tala's hand from taking a gemstone. Instead he pulled her into himself, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. He didn't know why he reacted like that. But he hugged her as tightly as he thought he could without breaking her. 
"..."
He didn't know what to say. So he just held her until he did. 
"I'm sorry. You're scared and I don't know how to help. I don't know what to do," he said with a slight sadness in his voice, "So if there is anything I can do, anything at all, please tell me." 
Yukiro let his head rest against Tala. 

@Tala

[Tala 0]

Spoiler

Tala: HP: 140 || EN: 14 || DMG: 3 || ACC: 2 (3-1) || MIT: 9

He hadn't said or done anything for a bit, at least, until she was about to grab one of the gems. That was when he stopped her hand then pulled her to him. Wait...what? He was holding her? That was a new thing really. But it was currently welcomed. She leaned into him and closed her eyes to focus on steadying out her breathing. He was hugging her tightly and it oddly made her feel safe. She shouldn't be thinking like this, nope, not at all.

"I'm sorry. You're scared and I don't know how to help. I don't know what to do." She heard the sadness in his voice and she found a way to wiggle closer to him. "So if there is anything I can do, anything at all, please tell me." She took a moment to breath before she spoke. "J-just a minor p-panic a-attack." Stupid stutter. She rested her head against him fully then, her body starting to slowly stop shaking. "Th-thank you."

@Yukiro

[Yukiro 0]

Tala leaned against Yukiro and found a way to wiggle even closer. Yukiro listened to her breathing. It was slow, unsteady.
"J-just a minor p-panic a-attack," she said, resting her head against Yukiro, her body slowly started to stop shaking. "Th-thank you." 
Yukiro kept holding her. "You're welcome," he said simply. He kept hugging her until he felt her stop shivering. 
"Tala... I..." 
He never found out what he was going to say. Without thinking he just leaned forward and kissed her cheek, giving her one last squeeze before getting up. Hopefully the light was dim enough that she couldn't see how red he had gotten. But he also hoped she could see his smile. "Are you feeling more ready to finish this quest?" 
Yukiro's mind was in a whirl. He'd just kissed her all of a sudden! He just kissed her all of the sudden! He was starting to feel giddy, was that normal? Was he having a panic attack too? Is this what it was like? He couldn't break down in front of Tala!

@Tala

[Tala 0]

Spoiler

Tala: HP: 140 || EN: 14 || DMG: 3 || ACC: 2 (3-1) || MIT: 9

"You're welcome." He was still hugging her and it was helping her calm down more still. She took in a deep breath and held onto it for a few moments. At least until, "Tala... I..." What was he about to say? She was about to ask when he kissed her cheek. That was sudden and that made her breath stop for a moment before she felt him move. Aww, well, there went that comfort. Wait, was he smiling? Yes, yes he was. That made her smile a little bit, before she nodded.

"Y-yeah I think I am." She didn't stand up just yet, instead she grabbed that green gem that she had been eyeing before. She was trying to ignore the feelings that wanted to come up. There was no reason she should be feeling them, right? This wasn't apart of the plan, so suppressing those as best as she could without seeming suspicious, she picked up the gem. She soon stood up and looked around. "So, what does this guardian thing usually show up?"

That might have been a bad choice of words as she heard something from behind. "What was that..."

@Yukiro

[Yukiro 0]

Spoiler

Yukiro: 400 HP | 40 EN | 11 DMG | 3 ACC | 18 MIT | 3 EVA | 1 REG
Cave Guardian: 20 HP | 50 DMG on first hit/5
ID# 130417 | BD: 1
Yukiro: HP 400/400 | EN 38/40 (-2)
Cave Guardian 1: 20/20
Cave Guardian 2: 20/20

"Y-yeah I think I am." Yukiro didn't have time to warn Tala before she grabbed one of the gems that were glowing in the cave. She soon stood up. "So, what does this guardian thing usually show up?"
Yukiro drew his sword as one of the giant bats immediately swooped behind her. "What was that..." 
"That would be the 'just bats' I mentioned earlier. Keep in mind I did say they would be very big bats." 
The things that started flapping around fit the description of 'giant bats' well. If you didn't include that they also looked like the devil had created these particular giant bats himself. Yukiro got between the cave guardians and the probably shaking Tala. He didn't really check this time. It was just habit to protect people reinforced by the fact that the person was Tala. 
"Let me absorb as much of the damage as I can. Focus on finding one and hitting it. That's going to be the hard part."

@Tala

Edited November 26, 2019 by Yukiro

[Tala 0]

Spoiler

Tala: HP: 140/140 || EN: 12(14-2)/14 || DMG: 3 || ACC: 2 (3-1) || MIT: 9

Cave Guardian 1: 14(20-6)/20 HP | DMG: 50 First Hit // 5 || Hate vs Tala: 1 // vs Yukiro: 0

ID: 130419
BD: 6 (4+2) >>HIT<<
Sword Art: Rage Blow
DMG: 3x2=6

MD: 7 >>HIT<<
DMG vs Tala: 50 - 50 = 0 (Safeguard potion effect disappears)

Cave Guardian 2: 20/20 HP | DMG: 50 First Hit // 5 || Hate vs Tala: 0 // vs Yukiro: 0

ID: 130420
MD: 4 >>FAIL<<
DMG vs Yukiro: >>MISS<<

"That would be the 'just bats' I mentioned earlier. Keep in mind I did say they would be very big bats." Oh right, she actually forgot about those things. She sighed as she put her hand on Okami's hilt and she looked around. She didn't see much of anything, and that bugged the crud out of her at the moment. She noticed Yukiro move in front of her though and she wondered why. At least, until she felt something hit her. No damage was done to her, but the safeguard potion effect was now gone. She quickly took Okami from it's sheath and she looked around.

"Let me absorb as much of the damage as I can. Focus on finding one and hitting it. That's going to be the hard part." She scoffed a bit, "Yeah, the one that just tried to hit me is going to die." She was feeling better, the adrenaline from the fight kicking in. She was looking and looking and she heard something behind her. Quickly channeling Rage Blow, she let the attack go and hit the cave guardian. She watched a sliver of it's health leave, but she smiled at this little factor.

@Yukiro

Edited November 26, 2019 by Tala

[Yukiro 0]

Spoiler

Yukiro: 400 HP | 40 EN | 11 DMG | 3 ACC | 18 MIT | 3 EVA | 1 REG
Cave Guardian: 20 HP | 50 DMG on first hit/5
ID# 130432 | BD: 11 (9-1+3)
Yukiro: HP 400/400 | EN 37/40 (+1-2)
Cave Guardian 1: 14/20 (Hate: Tala 1 // Yukiro 0) (Already landed first attack)
Cave Guardian 2: 0/20 (-22) (Hate: Tala 0 // Yukiro 1) (Has not landed first attack)

"Yeah, the one that just tried to hit me is going to die," Tala scoffed.
Yukiro's head whipped around for a moment. "One hit you already?" He turned forward again, muttering, "Good thing you took that potion. Really good thing." 
After that Yukiro got quiet and listened closely for some kind of noise. A small flutter of wings. An unusual gust of air, a slight squeak. And he heard all of these coming from his left. 
Whirling around his sword glowed and passed through the bat's... something. He didn't actually see what he'd cut. But did see it's HP drop to zero and the slight light at it shattered. 
"One of them's gone now. We only need to worry about the last one," Yukiro informed Tala, grabbing a red jewel. They were a party of two, so there should only be two guardians even if he takes a gem for himself. "Do you want me to stand down or lend a hand? I'm less willing to stand down but I will if you ask me to."

@Tala

Edited November 26, 2019 by Yukiro

[Tala 0]

Spoiler

Tala: HP: 135(140-5)/140 || EN: 11(12+1-2)/14 || DMG: 3 || ACC: 2 (3-1) || MIT: 9

Cave Guardian 1: 8(14-6)/20 HP | DMG: 50 First Hit // 5 || Hate vs Tala: 2 // vs Yukiro: 0

ID: 130433
BD: 7 (5+2) >>HIT<<
Sword Art: Rage Blow
DMG: 3x2=6

MD: 10 >>CRITICAL +2<<
DMG vs Tala: 5

Cave Guardian 2: 20/20 HP | DMG: 50 First Hit // 5 || Hate vs Tala: 0 // vs Yukiro: 1 >>DEAD<<

"One hit you already? Good thing you took that potion. Really good thing." She wasn't going to lie, hearing that made her wonder why he using the safeguard potion was such a good thing. But she didn't have the moment to really say anything on it. She was more focused on trying to find this winged creature than anything else. "One of them's gone now. We only need to worry about the last one." Well, that was good. "Do you want me to stand down or lend a hand? I'm less willing to stand down but I will if you ask me to." She managed to take a glance behind her to try and look at Yukiro.

"I'll take care of it if you don't mind. We have a score to settl- Oof!" Her words were cut off as she felt something crash right into her side causing her to stagger a bit. She turned and channeled Rage Blow once more, feeling the blade connect with the bat more than seeing it. She was not enjoying this cave what so ever. But at least it didn't do major damage. That was a blessing in it's own right there. "Stupid bat messing with the wrong person...." She grumbled this under her breath.

@Yukiro

Edited November 26, 2019 by Tala

[Yukiro 0]

Spoiler

Yukiro: 400 HP | 40 EN | 11 DMG | 3 ACC | 18 MIT | 3 EVA | 1 REG
Cave Guardian: 20 HP | 50 DMG on first hit/5
ID# 130436 | BD: 9 (7-1+3)
Yukiro: HP 400/400 | EN 37/40 (-1+1)
Cave Guardian 1: 8/20 (-11) (Hate: Tala 2 // Yukiro 1) (Already landed first attack)

"I'll take care of it if you don't mind. We have a score to settl- Oof!"
Yukiro heard a loud thump as what he assumed was a cave guardian rammed into her. Alright, that changed things. Yukiro turned and watched Tala activate a sword art and slash at the darkness.
"Stupid bat messing with the wrong person...." 
Yukiro watched carefully where her sword had hit, how much resistance it faced, which direction it went, every small detail to pin down the exact location of the giant bat. And once he determined that he simply stepped forward and swiped his blade up, causing a loud squeal and the sound of a shattering bat. Letting out a breath Yukiro resheathed his sword and stepped next to Tala.
"Are you alright? That blow looked like it might've hurt," he commented, offering his arm for support, "Though now that that's done we can leave. Unless you want to stay here." 
He expected Tala was more eager than he was to leave the dark tunnels. 

@Tala

Edited November 26, 2019 by Yukiro

[Tala 0]

Spoiler

Tala: HP: 140(135+10)/140 || EN: 12(11+1)/14 || DMG: 3 || ACC: 2 (3-1) || MIT: 9

He didn't wait to kill the bat, and sh was kind of surprised. She probably could have killed the thing within another two hits at least. But at the same time, the thing hit her. She sheathed Okami though and looked at Yukiro as he stepped next to her. Okay, she didn't exactly see him, more she felt him get closer, and she might have closed that distance just to be sure that he was actually there. The adrenaline wearing off and the claustrophobia kicking back in.

"Are you alright? That blow looked like it might've hurt." She shook her head, noticing that her health bar was already full again. "Not too b-bad." Ah there it was, that stutter from the dark cave. It's time to go. "Though now that that's done we can leave. Unless you want to stay here." She sharply turned her head to look up in the general direction of where he was going to be. There might have been a minor glare on her face along with it. "Get me out of this hell."

@Yukiro

[Yukiro 0]

Spoiler

Yukiro: HP 400/400 | EN 38/40 (+1)

"Not too b-bad." 
Tala stuttered. That was the sign that told Yukiro it was time to go. Her response when he asked if she was ready only confirmed it further. 
"Get me out of this hell." She sounded upset. Not that he could blame her. 
Yukiro kneeled down and felt around for her hand. He didn't find her hand first. He wasn't sure what it was he did find, short of the fact that it was Tala. He traced his hand along her arm until he found her hand and took it, helping her to her feet. 
"Of course. Let's go." 
Yukiro pulled her closer than ever and started to lead her out of the cave. It was dark, yes, but he remembered the way just well enough to get them back out. Or so he hoped, at least. But he did know that he would get her out no matter what. If she was scared then it was his job to rescue her. 
"If you think you're starting to panic again, just say so and I'll help. If you'll let me, that is," he offered. Maybe they should link arms? No, she probably wouldn't want to do that. 

@Tala

[Tala 0]

Spoiler

Tala: HP: 140/140 || EN: 13(12+1)/14 || DMG: 3 || ACC: 2 (3-1) || MIT: 9

She felt Yukiro move, though why she wasn't sure. She felt his hand on the top of her shoulder though, and she was about to ask him what he was doing, at least, until she felt his hand trace down her arm before grabbing her hand and helping her back up. But while his hand had gone down her arm, there was an involuntary shudder from the feeling, something that she was going to suppress and imagine that never happened. Yeah, that didn't happen, no, not at all.

"Of course. Let's go." She nodded lightly as she felt Yukiro pull her closer to him than she had even been on their way through here to find the gems. She stepped so that she was as close to Yukiro as she could get at this point, not really wanting to get lost or feel like she was about to get sucked into the darkness of this cave. "If you think you're starting to panic again, just say so and I'll help. If you'll let me, that is." She nodded lightly, her head brushing against his side. "I-i'll l-let you know." Right now, she was perfectly content with walking right beside him.

Wait, she wasn't walking anymore. Nope, she tripped on something and was falling to the ground...at least it was a short fall.

@Yukiro

Edited November 26, 2019 by Tala

[Yukiro 0]

Tala's head brushed against Yukiro's side. "I-i'll l-let you know." 
His heart did a little skip when her head touched him. That couldn't mean anything good for him. But it was a happy feeling. Weird. 
That's when he felt Tala trip. He only knew she had because she had been so close. Yukiro twisted, wrapping his arms around her to stop her fall. 
He did not completely stop her fall. 
He was suddenly falling too! He twisted further, getting his body under hers just before they hit the ground. 
WHACK!
"Ah--!" 
He'd laid still for a second. He hit his head on a rock. That really hurt, even through the system. 
"Gah... Are you alright, Tala?" he asked, trying to smile at her to ease off any extra stress the fall might have given her. He was still holding onto her, but he didn't even notice. 
"Sorry, I should've caught you sooner than that." 
He wasn't getting up yet. He was just laying there for the time being. 

@Tala

[Tala 0]

Spoiler

Tala: HP: 140/140 || EN: 13(13+1)/14 || DMG: 3 || ACC: 2 (3-1) || MIT: 9

This cave, was super evil. She didn't like it. She wanted out of the cave, and she wanted to cause the cave's mouth to close to never be able to be entered again. But, that wasn't possible nor was it ever going to happen. Now, the fall, that did happen. She had that sensation of falling, then she was caught, but still falling? She landed, but not on the ground, no, she was on top of Yukiro. Wait... "Yukiro!"

She couldn't move for two reasons; one, she didn't want to be lost to the cave and two, he was still holding her. "Gah... Are you alright, Tala?" She nodded lightly and looked at him, he was smiling, that was good right? "I-i y-yeah. How about you?" She wanted to make sure that he was okay, he did just save her from hitting the ground. But there was the complications of, what did he hit?

"Sorry, I should've caught you sooner than that." She shook her head, "D-don't be sorry. I-it's dark in here." She wondered for a moment though on why he wasn't getting up. She started to wiggle to get free of his grasp in case holding her was the reason.

@Yukiro

[Yukiro 0]

Tala nodded, looking down at him. "I-i y-yeah. How about you?" 
"I'm fine," Yukiro told her. Yeah, he was probably fine. Just stunned, he hoped. "Nothing to worry about, really." 

Tala shook her head, "D-don't be sorry. I-it's dark in here." She started to wiggle around, so Yukiro released her and sat up, rubbing the back of his head. He didn't feel any damage, so he assumed it was fine. "Yeah. Do you wanna rest for a bit or just keep going? We're almost there, I think," he asked. Figuring she might just want to sit and recover for a bit, but also that she might just want to get out of the cave, he voiced the options he could think of. Then he remembered something and took her hand. 
"I'll stay with you either way." He grinned at her. 
That was all he could really do to keep Tala's mind at ease. But if it was all he could do then he was gonna do it.

@Tala

[Tala 0]

Spoiler

Tala: HP: 140/140 || EN: 14/14 || DMG: 3 || ACC: 2 (3-1) || MIT: 9

"I'm fine. Nothing to worry about, really." She felt him let her go then and she got off of him and sat beside him instead. She looked at him and sighed. "Okay. I-i'm sorry." That trip was her fault after all. She wanted to smack herself for being such a idiot though. How could she fall like that? Ugh. "Yeah. Do you wanna rest for a bit or just keep going? We're almost there, I think." She looked back at him then when he grabbed her hand and she relaxed a little. "If you're able to. I think you hit your head..."

Talk about feeling bad. "I'll stay with you either way." Even when he said that, she couldn't think of a reply and instead just squeezed his hand lightly. She wanted out of the cave, but she also needed Yukiro able to walk without getting them lost in the cave on accident. She would wait, even if she had to put her head in her knees to ignore the cave around them. Wouldn't be the first time she's done that. There is a reason the child doesn't do elevators in the real world.

"When you feel like you're able to go, we go." She tried to sound firm, even took the time to say her words without having a stutter in them. Your doing wonderfully Tala, just keep it up. He might even believe you.

@Yukiro

[Yukiro 0]

Tala squeezed Yukiro's hand lightly. Yukiro looked at her in the darkness. Even if he couldn't see her, he could tell something was bothering her. He didn't know how. He just did. 
"When you feel like you're able to go, we go," she said firmly, but a little slowly. Yukiro stared hard into the darkness, trying to read her invisible face. 
"Alright. I'm going to lay down for a moment. Tala," he said, just before laying down, "Please don't suffer alone. I'm right here. Just because I'm laying down doesn't mean I can't at least hold you." 
Oh gosh what am I saying!? I want to but-- No! Stop! She doesn't want that right!? She won't do that, right!? What if she does? That would be... Nice... 
Yukiro made sure not to voice this internal struggle as he eased himself down, laying his head on the hard ground. Wow, this was very uncomfortable. What a surprise. 
"...Do you want to..?" The word he was looking for slipped his mind for some reason. 

@Tala

[Tala 0]

Spoiler

Tala: HP: 140/140 || EN: 14/14 || DMG: 3 || ACC: 2 (3-1) || MIT: 9

"Alright. I'm going to lay down for a moment. Tala." Wait, hold on. Didn't he just hit his head? No, no, no, no. She shook her head frantically then. "Please don't suffer alone. I'm right here. Just because I'm laying down doesn't mean I can't at least hold you." She was still shaking her head, "No, no, no. You need to sit up Yuki. You hit your head. Come on, get back up." She was at this point trying to pull him back to sitting up using the hand that she was holding onto. She was not about to have him pass out in this cave because of a concussion. No, this was not good.

"...Do you want to..?" She stopped trying to pull him up and looked at him. "Do I want to what?" She was confused now, and that probably wasn't a good thing. She still tugged at his hand though, trying to get his to sit back up. "Please Yuki, get up. I don't want you to pass out because you hit your head...."

@Yukiro

[Yukiro 0]

"No, no, no. You need to sit up Yuki. You hit your head. Come on, get back up," Tala told him, tugging on his arm. Yukiro didn't really understand what she was talking about. 

"Do I want to what? Please Yuki, get up. I don't want you to pass out because you hit your head...." she pleaded, still tugging at his arm. 
Well at least her mind was off the cave. 
Yukiro groaned and heaved himself back up. "I won't pass out, I won't." He let out a heavy sigh and gave Tala's hand a tiny squeeze. "But if you don't want me to lay down then I won't lay down." 
So he just sat there with Tala in the dark. 
"What are you gonna do once we finish the quest?" he asked, trying to pass some time and keep Tala's mind off of the wall of nothingness that seemed to press down on them. But he was also asking if she was free for... reasons. 

@Tala