[F1 | PP | PT] A Chance Meeting...

[Katoka 0]

In an attempt to spice up her morning, Katoka decided that she would venture down to the first floor. It had been a while since she had changed up her morning routine. It usually consisted of drinking tea on her porch while reading or watching her familiar Hanami sun bathe. Today however, she had to drag herself out of bed and made the executive decision to find a cafe in or around the Town of Beginnings to enjoy. She was still rather sleepy as she wandered the streets, despite the time she had taken to shower and at try to look decent she still remained heavy lidded and drowsy.

Feeling herself become irritated at the early morning crowds, Kat groaned as yet another person bumped into her. Was it always this busy down here? It was fairly early, and most people were probably searching for breakfast. Not to mention a lot of lower level players had probably fled as low as they could to avoid combat with the Knights that had cropped up. She rolled her eyes, maybe breakfast at home would have been a better idea today after all.

After the third cafe had a similarly long line the blonde decided today would be better spent grabbing something from a food cart and sitting in the grass. She bobbed and weaved her way through the crowds and eventually slipped down a back alley and popped out into a side street that people didn't frequent as much. Most of the vendors here sold starting gear and items that were considered useless for the most part. Kat had liked it because there was a little coffee cart that had decent pastries.

There were a couple players that had similar ideas leaving with there prizes, they nodded to her knowingly as she passed. A few minutes later she had nice hot cup of green tea and two croissants in her hand and had slipped her way outside the town walls to the fields just nearby. The area was devoid of any monsters anymore, they had been hunted to the point where they no longer spawned in these parts. Kat was looking forward to plopping down in a field to enjoy the breeze and her breakfast in peace.

Instead she caught sight of a lone player instead.

Not wanting to sneak up in them she called out as she approached, "Wanted to get away from the morning rush as well?"

----

[Assist System Active]

Katoka | HP: 290/290 | EN: 51/51 | DMG: 14 | MIT:42 | ACC:5 | EVA:1 | BH:16 | REC: 2 | FLN: 4 | HLY: 4 [Assisting]

Spoiler

Name: Katoka, The Cerulean Storm True Tier: 7
Level: 1
Paragon Level: 67
HP: 290/290
EN: 51/51

Stats:
Damage: 14
Mitigation: 42
Accuracy: 5
Evasion: 1
Battle Healing: 16
Stealth Rating: -2
REC: 2
FLN: 4
HLY: 4
Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket:
- Muramasa's Legacy | T4/Demonic/Katana | Holy II, Fallen II
Armor/Trinket:
- Oni Haori | T4/Demonic/Light Armor | MIT 2, REC 2
Shield/Armor/Trinket:
- Aquamarine | T4 Demonic Trinket | ACC III, EVA I

Combat Mastery:
- Combat Mastery: Damage R3

Combat Shift:
- ST Shift

Familiar Skill:
- Rending Familiar

Custom Skill:
-

Skills:
- Battle Healing R5
- Charge
- Energist
- Extended Weight Limit
- Katana R5
- Light Armor R5

Extra Skills:
- Survival
- Concentration
- Forgotten King's Authority
- Photosynthesize

Inactive Extra Skills:
- Frozen Hide

Addons:
- Ferocity
- Precision
- Resolve
- Stamina

Mods:
- Meticulous

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
- Crystal of the Blood Dragon Horde | Mass HP recovery 10% x4
- Rhino's Horn | 235487c x5
- Teleportation Crystal x1
- Tincture of Recovery | HP Recovery 15% x5
- Trolls Blood | 235486c x1

Housing Buffs:
- Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
- Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
- Basic Kitchen: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.
- Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
- Attic (Storage): +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
- Slime Farm: +5% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post.

Guild Hall Buffs:
- Trading Hall: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters and Rank 4 merchants/performers receive +1 crafting/identification attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters and Rank 5 merchants/performers receive +2 crafting/identification attempts per day.
- Treasury: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:

Gathering Profession:

 

Edited July 21 by Katoka

[Khione 0]

Crimson eyes shifted up from her small black leather bound notebook, then the woman shifted her gaze back down to the notebook and turned to a blank page; scribbling a few notes in neat handwriting.
 

Quote

Fl.01
blonde. Friendly. Blue eyes. Brings food.

Khione closed her book shut with a loud snap. Right. She was on the first floor. People were always a little too friendly. Too complacent. Khione stood and dusted the blades of grass from her backside. The woman was a whole head taller than the friendly little blond girl. She wore the garb of a samurai, and had a katana slung across her back. A terrible place to have it if she wanted to draw and fight. But the way she held two croissants wrapped in wax paper in her hand and the take-away cup of hot beverage in the other indicated she wanted nothing more than to sit and eat. Alright. Khione had nothing better to do today. Vex was off doing - god knows what. Frankly, he was too loud for her liking anyway. The way he kept creeping up to attach himself to her was frustrating. But he delivered results.

Khiones lips parted into a practiced soft smile, a small tilt of her head and lavender hair spilled over her shoulders. "Hello, Little Miss." Her eyes shifted to the two pastries in the others hands. Two pastries, one cup. She was planning to eat alone. Khione took several steps, straight into the blondes personal space. Khione smelt like lavender, and sandalwood. An odd mix - but a pleasant one. Meanwhile the other girl, "You smell like honey, so to what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked as she plucked a pastry from the girls hand. Khione sniffed it. Seemed fine but just to be safe...

Khione's thumb pressed against the other womans lip, prying it open and placing a torn off piece of the buttery pastry in her mouth. "Just making sure you're not trying to poison me, to whisk me away." She said with a soft laugh. When she watched the blonde swallow Khione lifted the stolen snack to her own mouth and took a small bite. chewed, then swallowed.

"I'm Emilia. And your name? Little miss?"

 

ASSIST SYSTEM ENGAGED - +5%
NON COMBAT THREAD: TRUE TIER 1
 

Spoiler

Name: Khione
True Tier: 1
Level: 1
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 20/20
EN: 20/20

 

 

Edited July 21 by Khione

[Katoka 0]

She was tall. She was pretty. Not to mention she smelled quite nice.

She hadn't expected the woman to step up and stag one of the pastries, let alone feed it to her. Her brain felt like it was stuck buffering, however her body remembered what to do when food was present. Quickly chewing and swallowing she felt her brain catch up as her face flushed bright red. At her mention of how she smelled she attempted to smell herself, did she really smell like honey?

"I-I-I wouldn't p-poison someone I just met. But I can respect your c-caution." she managed to studder.

"My name is Katoka, well not my like real name. That's Katsumi. I guess I'm not used to going by my actual name here anymore." she had began to ramble, getting flustered as she went. "Most people call me Kat though. Do you mind if I sit down Emilia?"

She had been surprised she didn't know many players that used their real names that often. It almost felt taboo to do so. Katoka sat down on the grass and began to eat her remaining croissant, occasionally sipping at her drink. It was a nice morning, not too hot, not too cold. She could feel her previous tension beginning to melt away as the food and drink she consumed filled her. "So, what brings you around these parts?"

[Khione 0]

Oh.

The small blonde woman practically melted with such a simple action. Khione didn't mean anything by it. She was quite honest. All the woman wanted to do was ensure she wasn't about to be poisoned, but this was gracious happenstance. When people were flustered they were much, much easier to deal with. It helped that the other was easy on the eyes. "You'd be surprised." Khione said as she placed the tip of her index finger on Katoka's nose. "There are many pretty women who use their wiles to encroach on others." Khione included herself in that, but would not admit it. "You have a very disarming smile, Katoka."

"Kasumi..." Khione repeated, softly, patiently. Letting the woman react with a blush and shaken actions. "I feel its more human to use my real name." A half truth, using her real name kept her hiding from prying eyes. It humanized her. Allowed others to let their own walls down, and oh how easily Katoka let hers down. Already revealing her own name, offering a nickname, wanting to sit with Khione. She couldn't help but smile and gesture to the place she had been seated before - a patch of flattened grass.

"Is the least I can do, considering I stole part of your breakfast."

Khione waited, watched as Katoka awkwardly shifted toward the tree and sat down. Khione followed suit, and sat right next to the other woman, she casually took a bite from the croissant, chewing thoughtfully. Still warm, still fresh. A simple joy taken for granted by most.

 "So, what brings you around these parts?"

most "People watching." Khione said with honesty. She lifted a neatly manicured and painted fingernail as she pointed toward the Town of Beginnings. "Watching who comes and who goes. How often. I prefer to see people from afar, than up close." She turned to Katoka with the sweetest of smiles. "Although you, you can stay close."

[Katoka 0]

This woman made Katoka's brain scrambled.

It was like watching a cooking video, she would say something that caused her brain to whisk around in her skull before letting it rest for a moment, then mixing it up again. She attempted to hide her frazzled state by taking bites of her food and sips of her tea. It allowed her brain to catch up and process the information at hand.

"I can see what you mean, about the name thing." she took a another bite of croissant and chewed thoughtfully. "Using my username, it's like a mask for me. I can hide behind it. Become a different person than who I was out there." she gestured up in reference to the real world.

"I like it here for the most part. Despite being trapped here, I've worked hard to become a different person. To change and grow." she shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I want out as much as the next person." she glanced at Emilia before taking another sip of tea. "Being stuck here has its perks."

Kat looked over to the Town of Beginnings and watched the flow of people. NPCs, players, they all moved in and out of the town at their own pace. "I never really stopped to watch people come and go before. I was always too focused on getting to and from somewhere." she smiled, "This is nice too."

[Khione 0]

The blonde seemed to squirm so easily. Khione wondered if she should press the poor little thing further, or let things lie as they were. The woman felt that if she so much as breathed on the others ear she'd melt completely. It was amusing to see. Not often did Khione find someone that could entertain her with such simple unaware gestures. "You're...easily riled up, aren't you, Kasumi?" A hint of amusement in her tone.

. "Using my username, it's like a mask for me. I can hide behind it. Become a different person than who I was out there." s

"I find it the opposite." Khione said as she turned her gaze to the town gates. Watching a particular youth. Ahh... that was the one Vex had been sniffing around. Apparently his name was...Andrew. A tall man with greasy black hair and a handlebar mustache that he spent far too much time shaping up into neat little twirls. Khione checked the time. 10:30am. Same as yesterday. The man thought himself some kind of Knight, was he patrolling the area? 

"I use my real name. So those I do not trust will not use my username against me. Simple, really. You try to look up Emilia and unless some unfortunate soul chose that as their username - you will come up with nothing."

Khione was, in not so many words saying she didn't trust Katoka - but if the other woman took that as a negative, that was on her. The two just met. Even so, Katoka, at least, was opening up quite easily to Khione. Odd. Khione wasn't used to that sort of behavior. 

"You get too focused on that stuff, you go mad."

 

[Katoka 0]

Her face was beat red. She could absolutely be easily riled up.

"I... can't dispute that." she managed to get out.

She cleared her throat and looked own at her cup. Emilia was an interesting person for sure. She had already opened Katoka's eyes to a few new things to really think about. She had a beauty that was enthralling to her, an older woman aura that did things to the samurai's mind that she had not felt before. It made her want to talk to her more, get to know her, among other things. Stroking the rim of the cup she glanced at the woman next to her, as she spoke.

"I suppose I had never thought of things that way. If you wanted to remain anonymous in some way then using a different name would be the perfect way." she reached up with her hand and held her own chin as she thought out loud. "Remaining anonymous when gathering intel or attempting to travel without anyone picking up your trail is of course the ideal course of action in any information gathering situations..."

She had began to ramble. Talking mostly to her self out loud without realizing it. Setting down her drink between them, she swiped open her menu and opened a blank text document. She made a few notes for herself later that she wanted to go over while mumbling under her breath. After a moment she stiffened and looked to Emilia, an apologetic look on her face.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry. I just wanted to write that down before I forgot and get completely off track."

[Khione 0]

"I... can't dispute that."

A laugh, forced but so practiced and soft that Katoka would never have known, especially since the following words were spoken with truth. "I find it endearing." Khione said simply. Continue to shower the other in compliments, see where it goes, why not? She had nothing better to do. Katoka seemed to have a level head on her shoulders, her attire clean kept - someone who didn't quite suit the lower floors.

Khione leaned over Katoka's shoulder. "Cute." She said simply, eyes traveling down the notes. Typed, not handwritten. "Shame though. I'd have liked to see how you write." A tilt of her head, lilac hair spilling over her shoulder. Khione wouldn't correct the woman, that tracking existed - people like Vex existed, who would follow someone to the ends of the earth if he had to. She'd allow the blonde to live in her blissful simplistic ideals. "Do you do that often?" Khione picked up a blonde strand of hair. "Do you forget things easily?" A pause. How much should Khione push this one? Seeing the reactions amused her greatly, but too much and things could spiral. Khione didn't want that.

"Would you forget me so easily?" A sly grin through half lidded lashes as she allowed the strands of hair fall between her fingers.

 

 

[Katoka 0]

Her hand covered her mouth in a failed attempt to hide her embarrassment. The woman was pushing all the right buttons, and Katoka she knew she was doing it for her own amusement. After the quest with Mari and Acanthus she had decided she would be more honest with herself, that she would admit that she was lonely and wanted someone to pay attention to her. Emilia was doing just that currently. Kat enjoyed being told she was cute, she liked the teasing, the pushing. As long as she didn't let her self get hurt, it would be fine for now.

"My writing? It's nothing fancy. If I take my time it's nice and neat, but I'm almost always speed writing to get things done. I've always preferred to type. It's faster and I can go back later to adjust my notes as I see fit."

Kat picked a blade of grass and played with it, folding it, tying it in knots, all before it eventually shattered into fractured light like all broken things in Aincrad. She let Emilia play with her hair as her cheeks flushed. "I forget things here and there." she admitted, "But writing helps, that and repetition. Things that are important to me or that I enjoy are always easy to remember though."

Why was she doing this? Why was it easy for her to just talk about herself with this woman? There was something about her.

"Forget you?" she turned to Emilia with a confused look on her face, "I'm only just getting to know you but..." Katoka turned her body to face her, reaching out with a hand to cup her cheek and looking into her eyes, inspecting them before looking her over fully. She smiled warmly before finishing her sentence, "Nope, I don't think there could be much I could forget about you."