[PP-F2] Guess Who's Back? (Jevi)

[Grave 0]

Spoiler

<<Thread Stats>>

Grave | Lv. 32 | HP: 680/680 | EN: 86/86 | DMG: 1 | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 1 | LD: 5

Other Enhancements | +5 Stealth Detection | +7 LD when searching for Dungeons or Labyrinths | 22 HP Battle Healing + Survival at start of turn | -2 EN on MA attacks | +10% Healing from all sources

Equipped Items:

None

Battle-Ready Inventory:

Quest - Snowfrost (2) | Armour Enhancer | FIRE RESIST (Halves fire damage, 1 battle)
Quest - Bottled Banshee Scream | Weapon Enhancer | PARALYZE (Activates on critical, 1 battle)
Quest - Snake Venom (2) | Weapon Enhancer | POISON (Activates on critical, 4 damage for 10 turns, 1 thread)
Quest - Matriarch's Stinger | Weapon Enhancer | +1 DMG (1 battle)
Quest - Tiger Rage | Potion | +2 DMG (1 thread)

Consumed Items:

None

Skills:

Martial Arts | RANK 5/5 | +7 DMG with Martial Arts weapons
Addon: Stamina | -2 EN for MA attacks
Addon: Precision | +1 ACC with MA attacks

Light Armour | RANK 5/5 | +30 MIT, -2 Stealth Rating with Light Armour
Mod: Meticulous | +1 base DMG with Light Armour
Addon: Resolve | +1 ACC and +40 HP with Light Armour

Searching | RANK 5/5 | +5 LD, +5 to detect Stealth
Mod: Reveal | +2 LD to search for Dungeons and Labyrinths, Dungeon search limit reduced to 10 posts, Labyrinth personal search cooldown reduced to 3 posts.
Addon: Tracking | Post Action | Track a monster, NPC or player you have encountered or know the name of, negating their Stealth Rating and making the first attack against them a guaranteed hit OR Reduce the cooldown for spawning a field boss by 5 posts | Cannot be used in combat

Battle Healing | RANK 3/5 | Heal 20 HP at start of turn

Charge | Post Action | 8 EN | CD: 3 turns | +5 base DMG to a single attack/Sword Art, -1 ACC and ignores auto-hit

Extra Skills:

Disguise | Free Action | CD: 5 turns | +1 EVA, lesser criticals are not auto-hits | Lasts until next turn

Survival | Healing received increased by 10%, immunity to damage dealing environmental attacks/effects

Parry | Post Action | 9 EN on proc | CD: 3 turns | Reduce final damage of next attack against you by 50% and negate stun/paralysis | Lasts three turns
Mod: Justified Riposte | CD: 4 turns | Parry stuns the target for 1 turn

Brawler | Free Action | 5 EN | CD: 5 turns | Increase MIT by 40 until next turn

Combat Mastery:

Evasion | RANK 1/3 | +1 EVA

Mod Slots: 3/5
Extra Slots: 4/4

Grave breathed in, a long drag of the cool, mountain air. He took in the aroma of the pine forest, the damp moss covering the stone underfoot. The fading sunshine felt warm against his bare back, though it was quickly wicked away by the gentle breeze. He exhaled sharply, his eyes snapped open and he took a wide stance. His left foot inched forward and his left fist protected his face. With a sharp twist of his front foot and a snap of his knee, his right leg arced through the air towards the tree. His foot stopped as it touched the tree. A burst of air rushed around its trunk and it shook gently. He kept his leg up, waiting for the <<Immortal Object>> prompt to scream at him. Two seconds. Three seconds. After five seconds, it was clear the kick had been controlled enough to leave the tree unharmed.

He turned away, facing the cliff. He looked out across the vast mountain ranges of the second floor and took another deep breath, then released it in a slow stream through curled lips. He stretched his arms towards the sky and groaned. Something popped and his body shuddered, then relaxed and he said "Oh yeah, that was a good one." He flung his legs over the cliff and sat, fiddling with the moss at his sides absentmindedly. 

"Maybe I ought to re-enter society," he mused to himself, kicking his legs gently. "I don't think there's anything else for me here." He shut his eyes and let the wind play with his white hair. Even now, after all these years, any time he looked into the odd mirror he was shocked by his new appearance. He'd changed it just before heading into the mountains - a quick hair dye and some cosmetic eyedrops to turn them purple and he barely looked like himself anymore.

"What are they gonna say when they see me?" he pondered. "Mac's cool. He'll probably shake my hand. Hirru's bound to drag me along to punch the bloody boulder again." His head dropped as his thoughts wandered to someone else. "Jevi... Jevi's going to punch me." He laughed. "Wouldn't be the first time," he groaned as he stood on his perch above the land that had been his world for what felt like three years... or something like that. He swiped two fingers through the air and prodded at some buttons. His <<Grim Shroud>> flashed over his body. He looked over the tight-fitting, double breasted coat and sighed. "I need me some new threads," he scolded himself. He wrung his hands and shook his head. "And without some gauntlets, these are basically useless. I've been away too long."

Grave's heart skipped a beat. Why? "Hey now, you're too young to be doing that just yet," he complained. Like a rebellious child, it continued to thump irregularly. What could he feel? Was it the apprehension of seeing people again? Or was it something else?

Edited February 4, 2022 by Grave
1. Removed Paragon levels from total level. 2. Changed 'second floor' to 'third floor'. 3. Reverted previous change and corrected the Floor in title instead.

[Jevi 0]

With the coming and passing of the holidays, Jevi made a promise to herself that she would start working on her own self being. Even before the Holy Dragon Alliance folded, she was always just a wreck; locking herself away in solitude to just sit in her cold forge and cry. Even more so after the guild had folded, and all of her friends she had made went their separate ways. That needed to change and she knew it. Even NIGHT had managed to call her out on it from across the room.. before even speaking two words to the girl. Leave it to depression to do that to a girl. But there were no meds here to help keep her out of that state, so she would just need to work on it herself. All with a three step plan.

Step one was interacting with other players. Was easy enough to accomplish with Koga's holiday party. Despite being super hesitant about going, and even considered leaving on multiple occasions, she stuck it out and actually enjoyed herself. That was only one night though, she'd need to keep it up if she wanted to better herself. 

Step two was a bit easier; Don't sleep in your shop. A lot of players she had met had back rooms built into their shops with bedrooms, some even functioning as full houses. Jevi's of course, was just a packed forge, no bed, no 'home sweet home' feeling to it. Was perfect for the person she was, wanting to isolate herself from everyone and everything, but that needed to change. So that was where she was at now.

For starters, the second floor was a nice change of pace from the fifth floor's desert environment. A lot more of a stable climate, rather than blazing hot days and freezing nights. Most importantly, a place to sleep not surrounded by weapons and tools.. and in a bed, no doubt. Albeit temporary, staying in an inn had Jevi waking up much more refreshed than normal. Sliding her legs out from under the blanket, her feet touched the cold, wooden floors. Riding the sleep from her eye with a rub from her knuckle, she would stand from the bedside and stretch her neck. Jevi looked over the image of herself in the tall mirror mounted to the wall, calf length pants and a loose fitting tank top. A few movement with her finger to wander through her menus, and the sleepwear vanished off of her body in a quick flash of light and soon after replaced with her usual attire; a sleeveless, grey bodysuit reminiscent of a form fitted karate gi with hip windows, all of which disappear behind a leather waist cape and dark trousers, tucked into shin high boots. A leather breastplate protects her chest, as well as leather vambraces and guards on her boots. She adjusts the red neckerchief that sits around her neck and loosely on her shoulders.

Her hair much shorter than it used to be when she first started SAO, sitting above shoulder length, and dyed to match her original, brown hair color. Brushing a few tufts of hair from the side of her face to tuck them behind her ear reveals a much shorter, once closely shaved undercut. "Alright, lets see what the day brings us.." she said to herself in the mirror, giving herself a few pats on the cheek before shining a soft smile at herself. She had no idea what she was planning to do today, but whatever it was, she was going to make sure to step in the right direction. 

Spoiler

Jevi,
Level: 28
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 590/590
EN: 74/74

Stats:
Damage: 20
Mitigation: 66
Accuracy: 2
Battle Healing: 25
L.M.: 1

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Eagle's Talons DMG DMG DMG
Armor: Desert Hawk MIT MIT LM

Skills:
Martial Arts R5
Light Armor R5
Fighting Spirit
Lock Picking R3
Battle Healing R4

Active Mods:
Meticulous

Addons:
Stamina
Precision
Ferocity
Resolve
Dismantling

Active Extra Skills:
Survival

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Jevi

[Grave 0]

Grave stared up the staircase ascending to the mountain-top city of Urbus. Players passed him as they headed to and from the city, not one of them batting an eyelid as they went about their busy lives. His heart raced, kicking against his virtual ribcage. Why was this so hard? Every one and zero in his body screamed to run back to his safe place in the mountains. If he did that, though, what was the point of his retreat? Rejoining the players was always the plan but isolation had made him paranoid. What if they laugh? What if they hate me? What if no one even remembers me?

He shook his head. He refused to go back to the way he was. That kind of overthinking and self-analysis was what prompted him to hide in the first place. He thumped a fist against his roaring heart and it stilled, its beat steady. He climbed the steps passing new players and veterans alike. A party of newbies ran down the steps yelling "Let's go break a boulder!". Grave smiled. He almost instinctively turned and offered his services, but he held his tongue. It amused him that despite the progress the frontliners had made, there were still players only now crawling out and taking on the lower floors. He didn't fault them, SAO was a scary world. Everyone should tackle the castle at their own pace. That's what he had to teach himself.

Speaking of progress, how far had the frontliners pushed now? The twenty-fifth? Thirtieth? Even higher? He pondered. Before he left, the frontliners were working on the twenty-first floor labyrinth, if he remembered correctly. If it's been three years or so, maybe they'd be at the twenty-sixth? He'd have to ask Macradon or one of the others some time.

He reached the looming front gates of Urbus and swallowed hard. This was it. Once he stepped past that threshold, he was a part of Aincrad society once more. "Come on, Grave. It's not that hard," he grumbled. He took one step forward. Then another. Each felt heavier than the last. With a heave, he hauled his foot through the gates and walked forward. A weight was lifted off his shoulders. He sighed and wrapped his hands around the back of his head. He did it.

He faced forward and walked on, walking the streets with pride. He passed storefronts and restaurants, the bustle of the city surrounding and embracing him. He passed by an inn as a patron left, the bell ringing as the door opened and closed. He moved on for a few steps, then halted. Turned. And stared.

Was that who he thought it was?

[Jevi 0]

Leaving the room behind her, Jevi shut the door. The tavern below was already bustling with a morning rush. The smells of breakfast platters being served wafted up the stairs in her direction. If she was much of a breakfast eater, she would definitely partake. Usually in the real world, she would be the type to just start her day with a cup of coffee and deal with the consequences later. Which was what she caved in and decided to do as she rounded the corner past the bar. The smell of a fresh cup of coffee being set down for another patron drew her attention back. It was something she enjoyed right? So why not indulge. Pulling up a stool, Jevi waited for the barkeep to walk over to her before she got her hot beverage

--

The soft chime of the bells that hung above the door rang as Jevi pushed open the door into bustling city of Urbus. The cold, winter air that traveled down off of the mountains filled her lungs as she took in a deep breath through her nostrils, counteracting the hot coffee she had just consumed. The cold air always helped her feel refreshed, despite her choosing to set up show in the middle of a desert. Maybe that would be another step in the right direction closing up shop and moving somewhere more.. pleasant. Urbus wasn't bad, but she was of high enough level now where she could venture off to a higher floor without risk. A thought for another day, perhaps, despite not really having any sort of direction for the day. Before setting off, she stretched her arms across her chest, one after another, as passerby's walked in each direction. 

One character in particular wandered past, just to the ends of her peripheral vision, before stopping suddenly and quickly turning to look in her direction. She could feel the eyes of this man staring at her, and the relaxed smile she wore on her face slowly faded. With a growl of an exhale through her nostrils, her golden gaze turned in the direction of the staring individual. "Can I help yo-"

Her speech cut short as her angered eyes opened wider in shock. He looked a bit different from the last time they had seen each other, a few cosmetic changes here and there, but there was no mistaking who had just walked by her as if he had never up and vanished in the first place. Still, she stood their speechless, not sure what to say or feel. 

[Grave 0]

She stared at him. Silence spread over them like a veil. The world vanished from Grave's perception, and for a moment all that existed was him and woman standing before him. She looked different. She'd cut her hair and wore it loose, and it wasn't the same purple that it used to be.

But Jevi's golden eyes were unmistakeable.

He stood in stunned silence. Should he say something first? Or did he let her give him a piece of her mind first? Why did it have to be her? Why was she the first person he had to run into? Something pressed into his back, something imaginary and invisible. Go, it told him. Say something.

Grave coughed into his fist and put on the best smile he could muster, which was awkward at best. He stood up straight, his eyes flicked to their surroundings and he laughed. He looked at her again, breathed and said, "It's uh. Not purple anymore," he pointed to her, then twisted a lock of his own hair between his fingers. Nice one, Grave. First thing you mention is her hair.

[Jevi 0]

Its not purple anymore.

Those were the first words that Grave, the man who had broken through that thick shell of hers and got her to open up, before disappearing from her life--seemingly for good-- had spoken to her. After what seemed like years, without a single word as to why, after all they had been through. After how he made her feel. 

Her expression remained the same for a moment, not breaking after he said his first words to her, and then an eye twitched. Finally, slowly, he feet shuffled forward. One after another, she began taking steps towards the man, her arms falling to her side as she did so. Her eyes not leaving him. Was this truly the same man, or was she possibly mistaking him for someone else. No, she was certain that this was Grave. 

Her fingers flexed as she stepped forward, the shuffling of her boots against the cobblestone streets turning into steps as she began to pick up her feet, and pick up speed. Keeping a steady pace towards the white haired man, she pondered over her options. Does she say something back? Embrace him? Kiss him? Scream at him? For her mental well being, this was not a step in the right direction. Or was it? Was she glad to see him? Or was she furious? The emotions mixed and mingled in her mind, but not a single expression showed on her face. None except shock. 

Finally, she stood before the man at arms reach. Her feet carried her forward no more. She stared into the top of his chest for a moment before closing her eyes. If it could be heard, the snap of that nerve would have crackled like lightning striking a tree. 

Her arm cocked back, her fist and vambrace igniting in a red glow as the Cardinal system registered her as setting up for an attack. No weapons in her hands, as he may have once been used to seeing, just her fist. One more step towards the man and Jevi let her fist fly forward into Grave's gut. She knew he wouldn't take damage. She knew he wouldn't feel physical pain. But she hoped it would give him an idea of the mental pain she felt. 

Pulling back her fist, she would shake her hand out, "What the fuck? Now?! You decide to just randomly show up now?!"

[Grave 0]

She approached him and he dared not move. He couldn't read her, couldn't tell what she planned to do. Hell, did she even know? He dropped his hand and watched, biting his lip as he awaited her response. If she was happy, he would accept that graciously. If she was furious, he knew damn well he deserved what was coming to him. She stopped and he cocked his head.

Then before he could even register her movement, her arm cocked back like the hammer of a gun and shot towards his gut.

Now, Grave had been punched by her before, straight in the face, out in the field. That was nothing compared to rocket blow that threatened to make his digital insides implode.

The system caught her fist with that <<Immortal Object>> barrier, but Grave was still floored by the sheer force. He laid on his back and waited for the world to stop spinning. He groaned and sat up, clutching his abdomen, convinced that her anger had broken through the system. A quick peek at his health bar suggested he was wrong. "Called it. I knew you'd punch me," he grumbled and pulled his knees up to his chest. "You punch a lot harder than I remember." Then she spoke. If his eyes could have gone any wider, they would have. He looked away, inspecting a crack in the cobbles.

"I... I know," he said with little clarification. "I'm sorry I ran off like that. You deserved better than that." He looked at her, first at her feet, then straight into her eyes. "I don't plan to make excuses. I did what I thought would help my mental health, and maybe that was selfish. We all struggle." He sighed and ran a hand through his white hair. "I didn't tell you, I didn't tell anyone, because I knew someone would try to stop me. But I should have asked for help, I realise that now." He looked down again, thought, then met her eyes. "You've been through a lot while I've been gone... haven't you?"

[Jevi 0]

Arms retracted and crossed tightly at her chest. Blazing, golden eyes glared down at Grave as he struggled on the ground for a moment, processing what had just hit him. A surprise to be sure from someone with low weapon skills now master rank in martial arts. Her nostrils flared again with no words as she just thought about what she even could say to him. Part of her just wanted to kick him while he was down, but he began to actually explain himself. An explanation that may have been vague and without much detail.. explained a lot. Her composure remained the same until his eyes, even though purple in color still that same, lovable idiot, met with hers.. and it seemed like he was able to deduce that she had gone through a lot as well. Just like NIGHT had at Koga's party. Those walls she built up around herself must have been made of glass to be read so easily.

The furrowed brow and glaring eyes immediately softened, as well as the tension in her locked arms. Her hands untucked from the crooks of her arms as one fell to the side, the other rubbing her bicep. Maybe she had overreacted, just a tad. "I-I guess you can tell, huh." Grave's situation was all too similar to hers; locking herself away when she feels the world was getting the better of her, thinking it better for her own mental health when, in reality, it was only making it worse. She had it in her to ask for help, but she refused time and time again. Only now was she open to the idea, so maybe it was right to be a bit more forgiving of Grave. "I'm not saying you didn't deserve that, because you sure as hell did but.." silence fell as she looked for the right words to say, before she closed the distance between herself and Grave once more. This time, her arms snaked around her torso to pull him into an embrace, "I'm sorry."

[Grave 0]

Grave stood and patted himself off and nodded. "Your eyes tell it all. Those are the only way I've ever been able to figure you out," he said. "I should have said something. Then maybe we could have figured it out together. I'm sorry." He shoved his hands into his pockets and his shoulders slumped. She stepped forward and grabbed him - no, hugged him, and apologized into his chest. A moment of shock washed over him and he blinked. A smile caught ahold of his lips and he laid one arm gently around her shoulders and place his other hand on top of her head. Surely the passing players had been watching the ruckus they had made, but he didn't care. Reuniting with Jevi was probably the hardest thing he'd expected to do, and now he'd done it, so nothing else mattered.

He pulled away just enough to look down at her. "To be fair, I didn't expect an apology at all. Totally deserved that. So, thank you." And now he was at a loss for words. What now? He swiped two fingers through the air and called up his friends list. He sent Jevi a request and said, "Would you like to be my first friend?"

[Jevi 0]

"I can take it back and punch you again if you want."  she said with a single, raised brow and matching smirk before releasing Grave and taking a step back from their reunited embrace. Running a hand through the hair on the side of her head, her eyes broke from him for a moment. Since he had left and vanished without a trace, she had always thought about how she would react if and when Grave would randomly come back into her life. She tried to prepare herself so that she could, when it were to happen, handle the situation as adults. Of course that plan all went to shit when she rocked him with a gut punch.

Her gaze fell upon the small screen that appeared in front of her, asking if she would accept the friend request from Grave. She would be lying to herself if she said it didn't hurt. "Even removed me from your friends list? Wow, I guess you really wanted to disappear."  She stared at the choice in front of her for a long moment before tapping her choice; probably not the choice Grave would have wanted from her. Denying the request, the screen in front of her disappeared, and she looked back up to Grave in silence. 

"I was sorry for punching you. I'm not sorry for being mad at you. So how about we go somewhere, that's not the middle of the street, and you can tell me where you've been and why you really decided to up and leave without a word to me. You owe me that. Then you can try sending me the request again." 

[Grave 0]

"Nope, no thanks. One was enough," Grave grunted, waving his hands in front of him in a feeble move to protect himself in case Jevi really did follow through. It was weird, talking almost normally like this. He expected their reunion to be... quieter. Still expected her to punch him, but in his mind there was a lot less chit-chat and more 'the hell do I do now?'.

"Cleared it. Completely. So I guess what I'm saying is... don't take it personally?" he claimed uneasily with a wry shrug and a struggling smile. His face fell when the interface blinked out and warned him that the request had been denied. "Wh-" he started to demand an answer, before she looked at him. He silenced himself, swallowed and waited for Jevi to explain herself. He looked down and chewed on his lip. He sighed and met her eyes. "You know what, fair enough. You deserve that," he agreed. "I admit, that was a little rude of me," he chuckled and looked up the street.

"It's been a while since I've been in Urbus. Well, anywhere remotely populated really. I'm not even sure I remember where my shop is, to be fair," he complained and scratched his head. "Know anywhere nearby we could grab a bite to eat?" he asked, cocking his head. "I find these conversations are a little easier to have over food."

[Jevi 0]

"Rude? Yes. But can I blame you?.. Not really. I've considered doing it from time to time.. not like I really have many friends left on there anyway." She added with a nonchalant shrug. 

The conversation shifted with Grave taking the bait to actually talk this over. Though where, exactly, was a good question. Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, Jevi placed a hand on her waist and another on her chin, gently tapping the side of her jaw as she thought it over. "Honestly.. I haven't been to this floor in awhile either." Taking her hand from her chin, she pointed over her shoulder to the tavern behind her, "I stayed there last night. They've got food.. but I don't really want to go back in there." 

Eventually, with a decision on where to eat yet to be made, Jevi simply sighed and strode past Grave, playfully-but forcefully- bumping her shoulder into his upper bicep as she walked past. "Come on. Standing here and trying to think on it will get us nowhere." she called back without turning a head over her shoulder. 

A short walk, and the two eventually found themselves passing a café. Various food smells wandered out into the streets, tickling the noses of fans of all types of foods. Particularly, being the hours between breakfast and lunch, these smells mostly consisted of fresh baked pastries and savory meats. A sign post hammered into the ground between the cobblestone read 'Brew and Chew'. Reading over the sign, the brunette scoffed, "Heh. Cute. Come on, this place looks good." 

[Grave 0]

Grave glanced over Jevi's shoulder at the inn she had exited only moments before. "Yeah, better to not overstay your welcome," he noted and folded his arms. His brow scrunched in deep thought, he tapped on his arm in a steady tempo. His pondering was interrupted by a sharp nudged against his arm and he turned to watch Jevi walk past him. "Right. Yeah. Actually seeing what the city has to offer might be a good start," he agreed and followed behind, slipping his hands into the pockets of his coat.

The scent of something meaty and bready wafted by his nose and he turned his head up to breathe it in, like a wolf catching the whiff of its prey on the wind. "What... is that?" he sighed, on the verge of drooling, and his eyes caught the same sign Jevi had. "'Brew and Chew' , huh?" he mused. He cocked his head as his thoughts wandered to Chewie, the small bear cub who had helped him and Hirru break the boulder when he Grandmastered Martial Arts, then to his owner Mack. What was he doing? He'd done so much for the Knights of the Blood Oath - not just them, the players as a whole, and then he seemed to just fade. He made a note to look him up sometime.

Grave shook his head to clear his thoughts. He sidled into the café beside Jevi and looked around. It was pretty busy, just loud enough that they could have a private conversation but not so noisy they wouldn't be able to hear each other at all. He scanned the building and spotted an empty table off in the corner, the cups, plates and utensils left over from the last customers flashing away in a spray of pixels. He gave Jevi a gentle nudge in the back with his palm and pointed over to the corner without a word. He headed over, took a seat and dragged open the menu. "Something smelled like meat and pastry and I want it," he muttered as he scrolled through the list of items. Finally he spotted what he was looking for - a ham and cheese croissant! It had been far too long since he'd had one. He ordered that and a latté, and waited for the items to materialise on the table before him.

[Jevi 0]

Jevi cocked a brow as Grave combined two of the more prominent smells that wafted into the center of the street, drawing them here in the first place. "Its brunch hour.. you probably smelled two different- Oh." he found a meat and pastry dish, ".. Maybe it was the same thing."  she said with a chortle as she noticed the same thing on the menu as he did. It was still a bit early for lunch, so her appetite hadn't truly kicked in yet. It would have been weird to just not eat anything though. Maybe Grave was onto something with a sandwich-like meal -- easy to eat, and not super filling. Resting her chin in the heel of her hand, Jevi lackadaisically scrolled through the menu with her opposite hand, as if mindlessly peering at a social media feed. 

A golden gaze shot out across the table at Grave for a mere moment before returning to the translucent menu in front of her. How long had it truly been since they last done this? Since they last saw each other? A tiny smile crept along her cheek, she had to admit, it was nice. Finally, sitting up straight, the brunette tapped on her own selection; a simple breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese, and avocado and a lemonade. 

Now for the short, unnecessary wait for the food to appear in front of them. It wasn't long.. much shorter than going to player run restaurants, but it just added that bit of realism to the experience, she supposed. Before their brunch had become real before their eyes, Jevi's gaze turned to Grave once more. Her upper back found the top of her chair as she leaned into it, her fingers tapping on the table before her. "Alright. Let's hear it." 

[Grave 0]

Grave leaned forward, his elbows on the table and his clasped hands against his chin. His leg jumped up and down as he thought of where to start. Where exactly was he before he buggered off?

"I guess it started when I attended the KoB's raid meeting for the seventeenth floor," he started. "I just remember standing there and thinking 'do I really belong?'. Everyone else felt like they knew exactly what to do, exactly where they stood. They knew how strong they were. I just kind of listened." He dropped his forehead onto his hands, raising his voice to be heard over them. "And then I didn't even take part. I missed my chance because I was wallowing, and I think I was just in an endless spiral after that. A spiral of not thinking I'm good enough to be on the frontlines, then doing nothing to deny or change that." He looked back up and leaned back in his seat. "I didn't tell anyone how I was feeling. And I didn't want to. I thought I could handle it myself, that I'd eventually come out of it. If it wasn't obvious, 'eventually' never came. And after..." he caught Jevi's eye, then looked away, ashamed. "That night at the festival, my worries became bigger than the game. I started asking myself if I was enough for you, if I could protect you if I needed to. I eventually had enough and decided I needed to be on my own, away from everything, lest my negative thoughts and hesitation get me or someone else killed."

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, the items he ordered blinked into existence on the table in front of him. He picked up the latté and paused to take a big sip, letting the warmth spread through him and soothe him. He looked at Jevi over the lip of his mug. "Skip... a few years, I think? And here I am. I won't say I 'achieved nirvana' or something like that... but I feel better about my place in the world." He sat the mug down and picked up the croissant. Before taking a bite, he asked Jevi, "What about you?"

[Jevi 0]

The frontlines. That's what almost everything seemed to come to in the end, wasn't it. Being tough enough to fight with the best of the best, clearing floors so that one day they can see the light of day again. Real light of day. How long would that take though? How long had they been here, for real, to say that they've cleared just over a quarter of the floors of Aincrad. Progress, for sure, but was it enough. Was that vision enough to want to center your whole life in SAO around it? She wasn't sure, she never got the appeal of being a part of the raid team. 

Grave revealed that this issue stemmed from before he had disappeared, while they were still together. Their relationship simply complicated things more, made him see that even more was on the line.. so if he wasn't enough to fight with the front liners, was he enough to fight for Jevi. She almost wanted to roll her eyes at that comment, almost. But then she remembered that she was rather weak back then, despite acting like hot shit. She was still pretty weak, in terms of the top players, but definitely more than she once was. The Jevi back then would have needed protecting, not the one that grew after he pulled this stunt. 

"Well as long as you feel better about yourself. Then I guess you achieved something." she said before picking up her sandwich and taking a bite out of the corner. His answer was acceptable, and at least put some things into perspective. Not where he went, or what he went to do at least, but gave reason for it. 

"Me?" she asked him back, as if she hadn't heard him. 

After a sip of lemonade to wash down the bite she took, she began. "If I'm being honest, not a whole lot. I guess I kind of shut myself in too still from time to time..." it was more than time to time, she was kidding herself. "But I ended up making some friends, joined a small guild with them. It was fun, I guess. At least, while it lasted. It was pretty short lived after everyone kind of went their own way.. So then it was just back to me being lonely me." She snickered, "Changed up my skills and all that.. realized the whole heavy armored tank route really wasn't doing it for me."

[Grave 0]

Grave listened to Jevi's response in silence as he chowed down on his croissant, bites interspersed with sips of his coffee, until finally he cleared his plate. He smiled. "I'm glad that you joined a guild, even if it was only for a short time. I'm surprised, but at least you made some friends." She mentioned changing up her skills and he coughed into a laugh. "It certainly feels like you've changed up your style," he rubbed his stomach tenderly. "You haven't happened to pick up levels in <<Martial Arts>>, by any chance?" he asked her.

He picked at his coat and shrugged. "I may have gotten rid of all of my old gear. The <<Vanishing Dragon>> isn't really my style anymore, either. I'm basically useless out in the field 'til I pick myself up some new equipment." He took another big gulp of his coffee, set it down, and after a moment of silence spoke again. "Neither of us will ever be alone again, okay?" he demanded. "If no one else, we can talk about our struggles with each other. I should trust you more than I did, and you should be able to trust me. I'll make sure you don't shut yourself away, and you make sure I don't run away to the mountains, okay?"

[Jevi 0]

The brunette cracked a smirk once Grave asked her about the possibility of having some Martial Arts in her arsenal. "What gave that away?" she joked, "Yeah actually. Decided to change my focus entirely to Martial Arts... I guess when I surround myself with enough Martial Arts users, it kinda rubs off on me." she finished with a shrug. Jevi was never entirely sure what the true reasoning was behind switching to Martial Arts from Curved Sword, aside from that fact that both Grave and Ruby were both users of the skill. Had she done it because she felt safe around them? Or possibly picking up the skill in their memory? She really wasn't sure, she just.. did it on a whim.

She pondered a bit on the answer as he went on talking about his gear, only half listening. Not that she wasn't interested.. she was just putting everything into perspective. Her attention returned as silence fell upon the table, and Grave's voice picked up again. Her golden gaze focused on him once more, with fingers laced beneath her chin and the straw of her lemonade prodding at the space between her lips. 

"But how can I trust you won't just vanish without a trace again?" she finally said "I mean.. how much can I really do to stop you if you managed to do it without me realizing in the first place?" I want to be able to rely on someone, to rely on you again. Despite how much of a bitch I was to you, you were my best friend. We were more than that even. But you still just up and left.. and I get it, for your own mental being.. but I need to know that you won't do that again. Or at least fucking tell me next time so I don't-" she cut herself short.. realizing her voice was slowly raising in volume, as she slowly rose from her seat. Shaky palms were pressing into the table in front of her, only at half height before catching herself. Slowly, she lowered herself back into her seat and took a deep breath through her nostrils. 

[Grave 0]

"More people are still picking it up, huh?" Grave mused and smirked. He recalled Kranzer, the player he had intended to take under his wing and train to use <<Martial Arts>> at a higher level than most people tried to get it to. "I'm happy it still sees some use. And that you're using it too," he said the last bit with a nervous chuckle. "I think it suits you."

Grave watched as Jevi started to rise from her seat. He didn't back away, look down or try to protect himself. Her voice climbed and her arms shook against the table. He listened intently, keeping his violet eyes locked with hers as she lectured him... then she sat down. He waited one breath, three breaths, then spoke.

"I know I can't regain your trust just like that," he said with a snap of his fingers. His eyes flicked away for a moment. "Believe me. Someone lost my trust a long time ago, and they died before they could ever regain it. Not that I think they wanted to," he muttered. He then shook his head and pressed a fist into the table. "That's not important. I know it'll take work. There's... not really any physical proof I can give you that I won't run off without telling you. All I can give you is my word that I will be transparent with you," he proclaimed, looking straight at her. "I want to be your friend again."

[Jevi 0]

It would seem that Grave was rather serious about rekindling their friendship. She was not the best at reading people, terrible even, but looking into his eyes she could just feel that he was being truthful. "Its not that I don't trust you.. You've proven time and time again to follow through on your word. You never gave me a reason not to. You just have to understand, after being abandoned so many times, that I'm just.." she paused on the word, "..scared that it'll happen again.. But. Alright. I believe you. I think we can make this work again."  But make what work, exactly? A friendship? Or what they had before he left.. Shaking off the thought, she took another bite of her sandwich. The frown she wore broke with a small scoff, "At least now I know you're hiding place is in the mountains.. so id you do run off again, I know where to find you." 

She let her joke linger for a moment, her mind returning to the one who betrayed Grave's trust. Betrayed and then got killed, leaving loose ends."Was it Opal?" she asked curiously, staring into the glass of lemonade that sat before her. Grave being gone for so long, she wasn't sure if he knew about what happened with their friend turned killer. Jevi hardly knew the story herself, just second hand knowledge. But she knew that Opal once meant something to Grave as she did for Jevi. "Who betrayed your trust, I mean. Was it her?"