[PP - F7] Flying Lead Changes

[Lessa 1]

Closed to Baldur

"I really appreciate your letting me do this." Lessa glanced around the horse's rear end to beam a grin at the old woman. The pure, unadulterated joy on her flushed face might have been more at home on a lottery winner, rather than a girl with her hands on a horse's dirty tail. Expertly, she tangled her fingers in the wiry strands, dragging them downward to work out the tangles. "Seriously, I know it was a weird request. It means so much to me that you were willing."

The NPC gave a soft chuckle, shaking her head. "It was," she agreed, reaching down to plunge her hands in the pockets of her worn jean overalls. "Nobody has ever asked after the horses, especially a warrior like yourself."

Surprise flashed in the Player's lake-blue eyes, and she tilted her head as she regarded the stablemaster. Lessa wore no armor, only a pair of jeans over scuffed leather boots and a gray hooded sweatshirt. "Warrior?" she echoed. "What makes you think I'm a warrior?"

The other woman's gaze met hers, and the skin at the corners of her medicine bottle-green eyes fractured with laughter lines. "I'm no fool," came her matter-of-fact answer. "I can spot a soldier from across the valley." She leaned against the stall door, her short, sturdy frame dwarfed by the barn's tall ceiling. Compact was the word Lessa would use to describe her; a surprisingly strong woman who could likely heft a haybale - or an enemy - clear across the barn. Lessa found she liked her tremendously.

"Well you caught me," Lessa finally admitted. "I just-" As her voice trailed, and she picked at a particularly nasty tangle, the NPC waited patiently. "I had horses once, a while ago. And I miss them in a way that's impossible to describe."

Her companion gave a soft snort. "You don't need to describe it," she replied. "I understand. All horse people do. And just like I can tell you're a fighter, I can also tell you're a horse person. It's in everything you do. In you blood."

Suddenly swamped with emotion, Lessa's throat tightened. She cleared it on a hard cough, then licked her lips, and nodded. "Mhm, yeah," she managed. "I think so, too. About the blood, I mean." As if to demonstrate, she had absently begun working the tail into the tightly braided polo pony knot. No loose spaces to catch a mallet, her coach had told her, and so tight you could dangle from it. The words swept in from the depths of her memory, as they had a way of doing theses days. After nearly a decade away from home, the images were harder to conjure on cue. They came and went like a summer breeze on a hot day, providing both comfort and a dull pang for what was lost to her.

The lump in her throat tightened, and with a couple quick movements, she freed the tail from the braid.

"Well she's always available to you," Greta told Lessa. "As are all of the horses here. Just get them back in one piece, though of course I know you will. Is your friend as much of a horse lover as you are?"

Her laughter, sweet and true, rang like a bell in the dusty barn air. "I don't think that would be possible."

 

	l e s s a .
	Notes: fuck yes, finally getting someone on a horse. .
	Spoiler Lessa, The Guardian of Aincrad Level: 31 Paragon Level: 39 HP: 820/820 EN: 114/114 Stats: Damage: 23 Mitigation: 122 Accuracy: 2 Battle Healing: 41 H.M.: 8 HLY: 8 REC: 8 THRNS: 72 Equipped Gear: Weapon: Arcael's Might (T4 THSS - DMG DMG DMG HLY) Armor: Empress Armor (T4 HA - HM HM THNS THNS) Misc: Neutron Star Necklace (T4 TRINKET - ACC ACC REC REC) Skills: Straight Sword R5 Heavy Armor R5 Battle Healing R5 Energist Fighting Spirit Charge Active Mods: Impetus Emergency Recovery Addons: Iron Skin Ferocity Stamina Active Extra Skills: Parry Housing Buffs: Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down) Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1] Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll Guild Hall Buffs: Helping Hand: Lowest-leveled guild member receives +10 bonus Exp at the end of the thread. At least half of the thread's participants must be guild members. Limit one use per month, per character. [1/1]

 

[Baldur 0]

It had been a while since Baldur had been to a stables. The wide flat expanse around them, the fields, and the smell of the horses brought back memories of riding lessons from when he was a kid. It had been, outside of SAO, years since he had ridden, even though he had used a horse inside the game a few times, it was a very different experience. But he also knew how important horses were to Lessa. So when he arrived early for their meet-up, it only made sense that he would find her here, already looking like she had spent most of the day on the farm.

"Something something cliche can take the girl out of the world, but can't take the horses out of the girl." He gave her one of his lopsided smiles, his ocean blue eyes settling on her as she spoke with the NPC as well as the horses. She was in her element here, even if she sometimes didn't feel in her element anywhere in this castle.

How long had it been? Years? It was impossible to know. Longer than should have been medically viable in Baldur's opinion, so he had started counting time by floors. It had been years and many, many floors since they had met. Probably just about 20 floors now.

Twenty floors.

There was a comfort to their friendship. No one had long relationships in SAO, unless you came in with someone, they all started at the same time, and most people Baldur knew that came in with someone, had lost them or left them behind.

Lessa had been with him since his first quest. They had a bond that he doubted anyone else in the entire tower could match.

"Howdy there." He said as he moved up and greeted one of the horses with a rub on the nose. His shoulder pressed against Lessa's as he leaned in.

"So, what's the plan? Can you get saddle sore in SAO? I don't think I've spent enough time on a horse in a single ride to really know the answer to that."

Spoiler

» Baldur, The Gaijin Samurai 

» Base Stats

• Base HP: 900
• Base EN: 124 (includes 20 for Energist)
• Base MIT: 78
• Base ACC: 5 (includes AA and does not automatically miss on 1s)
• Base DMG: 23 
• Base EVA: 2
• Battle Heal: 45 HP
• Keen: +1
• Recovery: +4 EN

» Items Equipped:

• Warden's Fury - Absolute Accuracy/2 Paralyze
• Muramasa - Absolute Accuracy/Fallen/Blight/Burn
• Ethereal Tether - Zanshin - Absolute Accuracy/Keen/Freeze/Burn
• Montsuki haori - 48 DMG MIT/+1 EVASION/+4 EN RECOVERY
• Emerald Teardrop - +2 ACC/+1 EVASION
• Hammerspace Backpack (HB) +1 BR item (allows stacks up to 7)

» Battle-Ready Inventory:

• Medium Damage Potion ^x7 | Rare T2 Item | +2 Damage
• Basic Teleportation Crystal ^x1 | Good Item | Teleports player to the Town of Beginnings
• Max Mass HP Recovery Crystal ^x7 | Perfect T2 Item | +30*Target Tier (30/60/90)
• Max T2 HP Recovery Crystal II ^x4 | Perfect T2 Item | +180 HP
• Safeguard Potion ^x3 | Perfect Tier 1 | Safeguard
• HB: Max Vitality Snack ^x2 | Rare Tier 2 | Grants +12 Energy
• EWL: Medium Antidote Potion ^x1 | Rare Tier 2 | Immune to negative status effects for 2 turns
• EWL: Muramasa or Warden's Fury
• EWL: Emerald Matagama | Perfect | +3 Accuracy
• SC: 
  
   

» Skills:

• One Hand Curved Sword | Rank 1/5 | 
• Katana | Rank 5/5 | 
• Battle Healing | Rank 5/5 | 
• Light Armor | Rank 5/5 | 
• Charge | Purchased | 
• Quick Change | Purchased
• Extended Weight Limit | Purchased
• Energist | Purchased
• Combat Shift | ST Specialist

» Extra Skills:

• Concentration | Equipped
• Survival | Un-equipped
• Meditation | Equipped
• Parry | Equipped
• Forgotten King's Authority | Equipped
• Shatter | Not Yet Unlocked

» Mods:

• Meticulous: Equipped
• Emergency Recovery: Equipped
• [Mod Slot Empty
• [Mod Slot Empty]
• [Mod Slot Empty]
• ADD-ON Ferocity: Equipped
• ADD-ON Stamina: Equipped
• ADD-ON: Precision: Equipped
• ADD-ON: Resolve: Equipped

» Housing Bonuses:

• Rested: -1 EN on first 2 uses
• Tasty: Turns 2 food into feast for 4
• Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread 1/month
• Filling: Add 1 extra tier 1 slot to food
• Item Stash: +1 BR item slot
• Relaxed: OOC regen 5*tier, recover EN out of combat after 2 turns in lieu of 3
• Angler: +1 Mat when fishing

 

Edited February 23, 2022 by Baldur

[Lessa 1]

At the sound of Baldur's voice, Lessa rocked onto the toes of her boots to peer over the horse's back. "Howdy yourself," she called back, grin somehow managing to grow with the man's arrival.

Greta, on the other hand, gave him an appraising stare. Then she gave a non-committal hmph. "Definitely a warrior," she decided after a few seconds. "Definitely not a horse person."

The Player laughed again, shaking her head as she watched Baldur circle the mare and come to rest beside her. "We won't hold that against him," Lessa replied, responding with an obligatory shoulder bump of her own. "Greta, this is my dear friend, Baldur. Baldur, this is the amazing Greta."

Apparently reassured by the ease between Baldur and Lessa, Greta gave a small shrug. "Speak for yourself." But those brilliant emerald eyes shone as she gave the horse's neck a sturdy pat. Then, as she walked back toward the barn's office, she glanced over her shoulder. "Nice to meet you, Lessa's dear friend, Baldur. Look after her."

Only when the NPC had disappeared did Lessa aim a look up at her human companion. "I'm sure she meant look after Cloud here, and not me." Lessa reached over to scratch the mare's rear end, and Cloud shifted her weight back and forth in a very dog-like manner. "I definitely do not need looking after. I figure between the two of us..." At Cloud's low nicker, Lessa amended, "Three of us, you're the one who needs looking after. But again, won't hold it against you."

Moving away from him, Lessa strode purposefully from the stall to the tack room. "Plan's to go riding, of course," she called from the small, densely-packed space. When she emerged again, she had a saddle and pad propped against one hip, and a bridle draped over her other shoulder. She wore the latter with the same ease and style that another woman might wield a purse. "I was getting Cloud here ready for you, because she's really mild mannered, but not too boring. No push button horses for Baldur. I figured you needed at least a little bit of a challenge."

She hefted the saddle up and over, letting it rest on the swinging stall door. Without missing a beat, she hung the bridle from the horn. "I remember you saying you've ridden before, but do you know how to tack up? Trapped in a video game or not, my dad would kill me if he knew I tacked your horse up for you. 'It's all part of the experience and responsibility,' he always says. And yes," she concluded, "saddle sore is definitely a thing."