[F12-PP-PT] Where Nightmares Tread [Slimin 2, the talkening]

[Reytac 0]

"Note to self. Leather does not like swampy conditions. 'Course, I think metal armor would do even worse." Reytac crinkled his nose up as he waded through the marshy surroundings. He had come here after he realized he needed to upgrade his gear, and he was ranging further to try picking up materials to use in reinforcing or replacing his equipment. He knew that for the most part rafters could use whatever was brought to them, as long as it was at least somewhat close to appropriate, but he still had it in his head that what materials were used would influence what they were used to make. He was currently heading towards one of the stilt-towns, trying to get a track on any interesting quests or potential rare materials that he could go out hunting for. 

And currently, from the high level of humidity in the air, along with the fact that the brackish water seemed to get everywhere no matter what he tried, Rey felt like every bit of cloth and armor was chafing to high heaven. At this point he was honestly looking forward to getting to some kind of dryish area so he could swap to a clean set of gear. "Though I guess, small blessing that this isn't a poison swamp." He knew far, far too many games that had just absolutely loved the idea of filling swamps with poisons. And while he had seen several ridiculously oversized insects that made him wish he had a flamethrower filled with Raid, at least just walking through the swamp and marsh had only made him uncomfortable, not afflicted him with a DoT that would take forever to clear. 

And then the destination was in sight. It wasn't the main town, since he had traveled out and away, but at least it was more than one house all on its lonesome. There were several structures loosely arranged together, looking as ramshackle as anything else he had seen since coming to this floor, but crucially to him, they were well set on legs, rising well above the marsh line. Rey climbed up one of the rickety staircases leading to the structures, and almost immediately swapped out of his sodden gear to a tunic and trousers, dropping the sopping equipment back into his inventory to wait out the drying time. He grabbed a rough cloth out of his bag and started rubbing it against his face and neck, trying to dry away some of the humidity that clung to his skin as he leaned against a wall. His eyes swept the area around him, checking to see if any of the Npcs or another player were nearby as he rejoiced in not feeling his feet squelch with every step. 

Still wiping himself down, he stepped into the rundown structure he had been leaning against, getting away from the persistent drizzle that had been hampering his efforts at getting somewhat passably dry. Not long after he walked in, a brunette man walked in carrying a polearm, which he promptly used to cut apart one of the rickety chairs - or was that thing a half-rotted table? - to use it to start a fire. Rey gave the other man a pleasant nod in response.

"Nice ta meetcha, Gaius, you can call me Reytac." Now mostly dried off, he swapped out the damp towel he'd been using for a dry one and offered it to the brunette.

 

@Gaius

 

 

<<Assist System Engaged: Jibae>>
Level: 25
Paragon: 0
Tier: 3
True Tier: 2

Final EXP reward: +200%

 

Combat Statblock

Reytac | HP: 280/280 | EN: 46/46 | DMG: 8 | MIT:12 | ACC:2 | EVA:2 | REC: 2 | LD:2

 

  

Edited September 17 by Reytac

[Mari 1]

PH

Accidentally posted as me instead of Ceres but will just leave this here for when I need to reply

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Edited September 17 by Mari

[Ceres 0]

Big doe eyes stared at the strange man how did he talk with his face like that? Ceres reached out. she was never one for personal space. Always encroaching on others, not realizing that it was a social faux paux to constantly touch someone. "This." Ceres said in an airy tone as she pressed an index finger to his mask. "Why?" she asked. It was strange to have someone cover their entire face. She traced the smile on it. "Always smiling...I like that." She tilted her head to the side, half lidded eyes slowly blinking. "Are you ugly beneath it?" She drew her hand away only to go "Boop." Tracing one of his crescent moon eyes, then the other "Boop." He was an odd man. "I don't think anyones ugly."  Ceres said as she leaned back, she pressed her index finger to her lips. "Mmm...Maybe inside them. Like souls. Or guts. I bet the spleen is probably ugly...." 

Being ever the woman to get easily distracted Ceres would close her eyes. Thinking aloud as she imagined the human body. "Stomach would be ugly...I think the kidney would be cute though. They're twins and twins are usually cute, but evil? So...maybe kidneys are bad. Huh." She opened her eyes again. She never thought of it that way, if body parts were personified. Kidneys would definitively be evil. They were always bursting too, that made sense. Perhaps they...."In cahoots with the Appendix..." Ceres whispered beneath her breath.

Oh..That's right...There was that man. Actually...maybe he could help her. "I dont know where I am." She looked around her. "I don't really remember how I got here even." Thin brows furrowed in confusion. She had a habit of getting distracted and wandering off...last she remembered she came to the 12th floor, to go find giant lilly pads - then there was a particularly interesting looking frog with a big purple streak down his back so she started following that...then...somehow...she ended up here in the forest with this very strange man wearing a suit. Come to think of it.... he reminded her of someone else.

What was his name again?

"Uhmmm...." She would stare at the man. "You remind me of a man named Vex". She pointed to his suit. Then to his top hat. She was about to ask him if they knew each other but The man brushed her off, throwing another pile of confetti into her face. He welcomed her to his show. Her eyes wandered the scenery, it didn't really look like much. Maybe he was a traveling performer? 

"You want....me to be your audience?" Ceres asked as she pointed to herself then to him. He nodded enthusiastically with a clap of his hands, practically bouncing on the floor. It was to die for?

"Hmmm.....okay. But - will there be frogs? I'm looking for one with a purple streak. Maybe his name is Urple. Or Violet. Then there would be two in the audience." She said, offering him a smile. A show seemed like a fun way to pass the time.

 

@Tybalt

---

<<Assist System Engaged: Jibae>>
Level: 25
Paragon: 0
Tier: 3
True Tier: 2

Final EXP reward: +205%

Ceres | HP: 120/120 | EN: 30/30 | DMG: 1 | LD:3     

Edited September 20 by Ceres

[Alinta 0]

Alinta was very slowly making her way through each floor, doing little but wandering around the main settlement, before moving up a floor. After all...Oscar told her she should explore the other floors, maybe she'd find something nicer higher up - find a reason to venture out of the safe zone and actually work on fighting. The woman doubted it. Any levels or experience she had gained were purely radial. The woman had barely lifted a finger. Her one foray into battle did not end well and Alinta wasn't looking at throwing herself into deaths throws anytime soon. She had made herself somewhat useful, relegating herself to babysitting every so often some of the younger kids - but if she were being honest. It didn't feel all too fulfilling, and there were too many of them at times it overwhelmed the woman. She didn't like them tugging on her hair, or dirtying her nails. 

This floor was disgusting. Her nose wrinkled. She was not dressed for it. Wearing strips of denim that barely constituted as shorts, and strapped heels that sunk a little too deep into the soft and loamy earth for her liking. To top it off? A backless white shirt. Her hair strung high up in a ponytail to keep it off the ground.  This floor had nothing...maybe it was about time she headed to the next floor.

As Alinta turned to return to the teleport plaza she was almost knocked over by a group of guards.

"Huh...." She tilted her head to the side, pursing her glossy lips. "Wonder what that's all about..." it was unusual to see the guards running around like that. Maybe a beast got too close to the town, or a wanted player? Either way...it didn't concern Alinta. She was safe here. Behind these walls nothing could hurt her. 

BANG

The woman tumbled forward several steps. "Hey! Who the fuck do you think you-you......" Her breath hitched. "You..." 

An orange player? HERE? In the Safe Zone?? Alinta's world shattered in those scarce seconds. She thought she would be safe if she kept to the cities, their tall walls and patrolling guards keeping the mobs at bay - keeping the monstrous players away. Thieves and murderers. Those who willingly stained their crystals in colours of sin. It's the only reason she had managed to make it so high...so why? Why was that man here? Alinta opened her mouth to scream. She had to alert the guards, another player, anyone... she wasn't safe here. Did that mean she wasn't safe anywhere?

Her eyes widened as she felt him wrap one hand around her mouth, the other pressing a blade to her neck. Alinta took a deep breath, trying to find the strength to do anything - say anything but all the woman could do was reach up with trembling hands. Slender fingers gripping the strangers arms tight. So tight that her perfectly manicured and painted nails dug deep. Alinta was terrified. Her heart thrummed hard against her chest. Oh how the pumping sound boomed and reverberated in her ears. The woman shaking like a leaf amidst a storm. Please don't hurt me... Every action screamed. The woman almost lost her footing, heeled boots scraping against muddied floor as she tried desperately to straighten herself, pressing her back further into her would be attacker.

Eyes burned as tears stung the corner of her eyes. Her brows furrowed and Alinta blinked away tears. They fell quickly, dripping over her cheeks and down over the mans fingers, between them - and falling into chattering teeth- she could taste the salt on her lips. The tang of her snot as that too flowed freely. Making a mess of her face, and his hand. She could feel the blade press closer to her skin. The taint of metal biting against her - it felt so very well. Why did it feel so real? If she felt that would she feel pain?

I don't want to die...
   I don't want to die...
      I don't want to die...
                  I don't want to die....

Alinta didn't scream, but she couldn't help but whimper. She just wanted to home, crawl under the covers with a bag of doritos - and her favourite K-Dramas on her laptop. This place...this place was horrible. So horrible.

Who could this player be? Why was he here? Why was he hiding? Why did he hold so fast to her and not just kill her? Why could she feel his own heart beating so hard against her bare back, and his ragged breath, hot and heavy against her neck? Alinta hated it. She hated how human it made him. When people like him were the ones who didn't deserve to live.

She shut her eyes shut, trying to make herself smaller in that moment. IF she listened to him maybe she'd let him go.
 

---

<<Assist System Engaged: Jibae>>
Level: 25
Paragon: 0
Tier: 3
True Tier: 2

Final EXP reward: +210%

Alinta | HP: 120/120 | EN: 30/30 | DMG: 1 |   

Edited September 27 by Alinta

[ERROR 1]

The hooded figure rolled across the morose and empty fields of floor 12 in its endless vitriol and filth, beaten still by insistent downpours that erased an endless sea of smells. The decay riddled waters still bubbled with carcass as gases escaped trapped flesh that sunk low to the darker depths of sediment and scum. The thing moves without a sound as it travels, and the NPC's refuse to pay it even the smallest comment. Its footfalls did not convey much movement, instead it was as almost as if it glided without motion. Perhaps some trick of a skill, or the encase of the void like cloth on its back squelched all of its steps. Empty of concern, care or feeling as the hood turns to peer across the trees. A nigh senseless direction, a motive unannounced and unknown that set upon that figure. Without effort it moves through the spires of wooden bones, as faint recollections of past encounters played back in fond memory.

All the while, it passes seamlessly and without pause past numerous players who seem to not even catch its existence. Like a mirage or a ghost. Even the creatures of the floor itself paid it no mind, as if some repellant had been applied that left them to leave well enough alone. Or perhaps it was due to some semblance of fear or respect, as if its level had discouraged them from engaging. Deeper within the manifested constructs of code, line by line creating faux facsimile of the real object they wished to mimic that did not fool the blacked robe figure. Nameless, shapeless and without sound its destination its only real goal. All manner of ghost story could easily be told as a record for what it appeared to be, and the irony is within this case it would nearly mirror the truth. The grass folding underfoot leaves not even a single footprint, further personifying the enigma.

The stagnant pool of reddish tones, motionless and still. The sleeves held together by the exits, like crossed arms and the creases showing a body might just be present under all that fabric. It stares blankly, in silence at the liquid and ceases to move. Statuesque and still like pond it oversaw. It stands in its vigil for the better portion of a day, hours rolling past while frozen, unending until the rustle of grass sees the hood turn. A plague doctor stares back at it, the glint of a blade in its hand pegged immediately. Caution, fear, excitement? The stench of emotions muddied by curiosity and panic lingered dense enough to become pungent over the stink of the floor. Its payment would be given as its hands unfurl, casting direction in a black finger outstretched just beyond in the confines of the deeper woods. Where the unknown would be made real and mysteries would find themselves an answer, and within that direction by the time the players gaze would return ERROR was no where to be seen.

@Vitreous

---

<<Assist System Engaged: Jibae>>
Level: 25
Paragon: 0
Tier: 3
True Tier: 1

Final EXP reward: +215%

---

ERROR | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 1 | MIT:12

Spoiler

Name: ERROR, ???
True Tier: 1
Level: 25
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 20/20
EN: 20/20

Stats:
Damage: 1
Mitigation: 12

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket: 
  - 
Armor/Trinket: 
  - Unnamed Armor | T1/Heavy Armor/Rare
Shield/Armor/Trinket: 
  - 

Combat Mastery:
  - 

Combat Shift:
  - 

Familiar Skill:
  - 

Custom Skill:
  - 

Skills:

Extra Skills:
  - 
Survival
Inactive Extra Skills:

Addons:

Mods:

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:

Gathering Profession:                                                                          

 

[Miki 0]

Walking around in the swamp filled lands, she was trying to walk different environments to see is she could get her spark back. Back in the other world she was a prodigy, god took her mother from her and Miki's heart followed. She knew that her mother was sick and was trying to be strong for Miki. She would always regret not being there at the hospital that last day, but mama never wanted Miki to see her that way. So despite everything, she respected her wishes. Holding the locket around her neck with one hand and the note tightly gripped in the other. The one thing that her mother taught her is that there was music everywhere, even in places that you would least expect there to be. She just had to find that spark and light it again. Miki had not touched a Violin since her mother passed but that was because her mother was her everything. Teacher, best friend, mother, everything she knew from music was because of her. She knew that if she picked a Violin back up she would be able to get right back into it because she had been playing since she was 6 years old and that knowledge doesn't just go away. If she was being honest, her heart wasn't in it.

Wearing a pair of blue overall shorts with a orange shirt underneath, a small purse that was the shape of a little brown bear head. A pair of brown boots to finish that wardrobe. Her hair tied up into pony tails, he mother had told her that is was her favorite hairstyle when doing Miki's hair so after her mother passed she had continued putting it up that way.

Closing her eyes, she would start to listen to her surroundings in hopes to find some inspiration. Frogs croaking and splashing to her right. Winds slowly howling in the dim lit sky. Humming birds buzzing around her, lightly pecking at the dead wood. She could hear it all but nothing that gave her the spark. Continuing to travel through the unknown lands hoping that nothing would pop out and try eating her. 

This is when she heart it, that raw talent echoing off the walls of something. Possibly a cavern, but she had yet to see anything that would resemble an entrance to anything. She would start to run to the music, this was it, it had to be. Something that sounded so raw but magical, she would wondering who it was coming from. Eventually the doorway to a cave showed itself and the music seemed to be getting louder from beyond this point. Holding the rocky walls, not moving just listening, debating if she should go any further. 

Deciding on not, at least for now she would lean against the walls and close her eyes. She would just listen, it was pure and raw, something that you couldn't get from a cereal box or a happy meal. That is when she heard a voice that was not the singers, some else and they knew her name. How? Then suddenly she just started walking deeper into the depths. The only thing that she could really hope is that these people weren't some axe murderers setting a trap.

A silvered blue haired girls sits on the ground swaying and clapping to the beat of the music. Miki would glance up at the source and it would reveal a pink haired woman who was playing her heart and soul out on the guitar, it was just simply amazing to see someone as passionate as she was about her music back in the day. She would sit on a rock next to the small girl. "There is two people here and you are the only one not singing. How do you know my name?" This would be ask to the girl that looked about her age, as she sat on the rock holding that note from her mother, both palms balled into light fists sitting on her knees looking down but listening up. @Shiina@CC

---

<<Assist System Engaged: Jibae>>
Level: 25
Paragon: 0
Tier: 3
True Tier: 1

Final EXP reward: +220%

---

Miki | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 1

Spoiler

Miki, Harmonious
True Tier: 1
Level: 25
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 20/20
EN: 20/20

Stats:
Damage: 1

[Jibae 0]

New Round of narrative {2/3}

The woman twists to lock eyes with the girl that had slipped in, pegging her the whole way as she'd round the pool of water. "Mean me no harm?" The waved locks of brown are flicked behind her right shoulder, the curls instilled in them from the tight bun it was usually trapped in. The woman tosses up one of the many thin gold needles, debating her options and even comparing her schedule. If she took too long, then she'd end up burning away her own free time after she collected what she'd come here for. Sam couldn't get into the way of that, her time was held in the highest regard. Time was money, and meandering or useless chit chat would only squander it. A harsh sigh mixed with a bit of reluctance, she rubs her hand across her forehead scrunching up her eyebrows. "Fine, I need Sahagun scales for a proprietor. A contract." she puts plainly, folding her legs and starting to carve off a piece of wet blue flesh from her kill.

That gold needle works well as a thin hunting knife, and within a couple difficult moments she'd have her claim. "One, of ten. You want to help? Hunt. Walk and talk, walk and talk." Jibae exclaims abruptly as she unfurls her legs and shoves the creature into the water with her heel. With that she starts to walk, choosing not to leave too much of her valuable time twiddling away at constant friendly banter. Across the cobbled gangplanks, moving for another small isle and tossing a chunk of chum out. Fish begin to pool around the slab, the taste drawing them and with such a gathering. *Psh* the water breaks as another Sahagun flies out in a vault, like a dolphin with its spear held against its body in a compressed sliver. Jibae twists and sends a fan of needles sending it into a spiral, catching it off guard and tumbling through the air. Her precision would seem almost unnatural, as if she had a habit of executing many a dust bunny that tried to slip past her radar.

@Sam

[Sam 0]

This lady seemed like the busy body type, she could except that. The mornings at Firm Anima was nothing but hectic so she could understand the sentiment. "The Sahagun scales seem to be a hit these days. My friend uses them for some of the clothing that she makes." A statement give and a truth. What she didn't understand is why and how. These creatures were not the best looking but somehow whatever was made with them turned into something beautiful. "I can hunt and you carve. I don't want to brutalize the flay." She was not much of a carver or chef in that matter. She would think that it was much like flaying a fish but again not a chef. 

The creatures that she killed just moment ago where not what the woman was looking for. She could say for sure that they are literally everywhere though. She would follow the woman into the depths, nothing would pop out of the water at least for now. Maybe if she disturbed the pools they would pop. Sam would pick up a rock and toss it into a pond away from the woman so that she didn't splash her. Hearing a few different tones of screeches and hisses, four would spring out one after another. "Bingo" saying with a smile as she raised the bow up. Releasing the arrow into the sky, it just looked like a piercing light racing in high amounts of speeds. It rises up and then back down hitting one, after a few seconds it would spit outward from the group, shift, twist and aim themselves toward each creature in the small group. They all fall limp but don't vanish, maybe it was because of the intent that they had to carve them. Who knew, they were not vanishing and that was all that mattered. 

Sam would lean down next to the dead creatures with the intent of wanting to watch how this woman carved the corpse. "Possible six down and four to go" a statement given to add to the woman count of scales. @Jibae

[Kasumi 0]

A simple passing greeting had quickly transitioned into a full blown conversation, topped with a 'let me help you out' cherry. Kasumi wasn't used to a player so eager to help out a stranger, at least so far removed from a quest board or the like. Normally people looking for groups would gather around the board and use that as a way to find others like minded in their goals. Stirring her thoughts on the reasoning behind it, picking her words carefully. Obviously the girl was bored or something to so haphazardly offer Kasumi aid. A glance across what the girl was wearing read back that maybe the girl was a low level and was elegantly turned around. This was probably way too high of a floor for her to be on, and the utter lack of any real weapon sheathed or otherwise brought her to the conclusion that she was an airhead.

Huh? Help me?

Her smile twists into a tinge of pity thats hard to read "Most of my deliveries are done for the day, this one was my last, I appreciate the offer though. But you can walk me back to the plaza?" The feint of aid but in reality it was so Kasumi could puppy guard this kitten and keep it from drowning in one of the many ponds of the floor, or worse. Getting the player who appeared so excellently green they had probably zero clue where they were. Another thought crosses Kasumi's mind. Maybe she is utterly lost and is hoping to save face? A raise of the door handle reveals the exterior and the swamp that led to it. "After you." but it actually translates mentally into After You, because I don't want you behind me, otherwise you'll end up disappearing and end up in somethings teeth.

@Lanna

[Lanna 0]

"OH uh okay" Lanna says as the woman offers Lanna the opportunity to walk the female back to the plaza. "Not sure what the plaza is or where it's located but sure I'll come with you. Maybe Freya will be there." They would start walking through the cold muddy lands. This was like an adventure that she never wanted. To be honest she was looking for Freya and a tailor. One or the other had to know about the shop thing right? For some reason the woman was walking behind her, trust issues maybe? That wasn't exactly new for Lanna. Freya had told her several of times that she was a dumb blonde and right after told her that is was a joke but was it really. 

"I'm also looking for a tailor. I lost my shop key after doing the quest Freya made me to. To be honest I think it is more trouble than its worth. Could just set up camp somewhere and sell stuff there." She wasn't shy or nervous she just liked talking. This woman was guiding her to the place that was called the plaza. She was pretty sure that she had already been there or passed through but the name was not something that Lanna had payed attention to. It was just what they looked like and how the NP's had dressed. She wasn't sure if that was what they were called but Freya had described them as very dumb players that stayed only in that spot that they stood.

Sloshing threw the mud in her short black leather boots, she would most certainly have to clean them when she got back to where ever they were heading. "I never got your name" maybe that was for a reason. She didn't blame the woman for not sharing.

[Nisahime 0]

The woman turns to stare down the rather plain looking kid, as one of her many pets come raging off his arm and slithering up her pant leg. "Isn't that interesting. Sam still digging into things that are none of her business, bet there's more then a few that have a bone to pick with her." An aloof statement with underlying meaning unspoken, given the repeating outrage that rung through her head. "I assume Lium that she wanted you to see me to have a heart to heart." Holding out her hand and allowing the gecko to nestle itself in her palm, an old master had came to roost and now it had returned to its hearth. A tap of her index into its belly, a smooth stroke of the scales as she'd stare down at it. "But we both know you're not the talking type. That you don't want to hear it. How could anyone understand?" She remarks in a sarcastic and condescending tone, leaning down to place the lizard in the mud. It springs up, then darts off into the woods as if it had escaped. But really it was returning home.

"Right?" The woman quips deliberately trying to get a rise out of the lad. "So instead, why don't I kick your teeth in and remind you what you got away from?" Her hands raise and in a flash of silver light she transitions into gold plate armor and seems to grow 8 inches. What was once a girl was now a full bodied woman, topped with a blue marker and a snide grin. "Better keep your guard up, Genma doesn't hold back. I won't either. Time to beat you so silly until you remember why you left in the first place you damn idiot." Her hands flicker into an odd looking metallic gauntlet on her left, and a brass knuckle on the right fitted with what appears like sapphires littered throughout. She surges at speeds unnatural to such a degree that even Raidou would be caught off guard. Two moving jabs are caught by Lium's forearm, but an extended right leg catches the side of his jaw in a forced oppression with enough force to level a house. Like a missile the kid skips twice and slams into a tree, causing it to break and collapse.

@Lium

[Lium 1]

Sitting against the broken tree, he would wipe his lip with his sleeve. Taking off his jacket and tossing it to the side. He wasn't surprised that this woman knew what seemed like everything he was confused. Did Sam say something more than she could of, she promised that she wouldn't. "Yea and she almost got herself killed because of it" he would rush toward her, if it was sparing that she wanted then fine. Throwing a punch her way, she would block it. That speed of hers what amazing. Next thing he knew there was a kick to his chest, to his stomach and a roundhouse to his head causing him to tumble like a rag doll, finally sliding on his ass across the ground. Giving out a harsh cough, it had been a bit since he had a decent sparing partner that could hold their ground. More over unlike Genma the woman used both her hands and feet. He could block the hands all day but there was no training of defense against the legs.

Taking his shirt off leaving him with a blank tank top on. All that rage started building up again like it did with Sam. The difference this time was it was being brought out with nothing but brute force. No -poor Lium- or -omg I'm so sorry that happened-. He didn't need sympathy and reassurance that everything was going to be fine. What he needed was something that little could give. This, this anger was different and he didn't understand why. 

Popping his neck he would go back at it. He manages to block a few kicks but the moment one made a connection he was back on the ground. Over and over he would continue to get back up. Those words that she spoke repeating in his head, what was the reason why he escaped. He could of stayed, deep deep down he wanted to. So why did he leave...

[Shiina 0]

As the music continues to play from CC, having welcomed her now party of two to enjoy the concert in the middle of nowhere, Shiina continues to clap between songs. The comment from Miki has her cackle like a loon. "If I told you I heard it in a song, would you believe me?" A wide grin with her eyes close, oozing enthusiasm and honesty. "Or was it more like a dream? Don't really know, and I don't get hung up on the specifics." Shiina extrudes as she rocks back and forth to the tune of the music. "Is hard to explain, but I could actually hear you crying you dork. But its tempo kept in time with the notes. From that moment, I knew about you. I was told about you. So my question would have to be? Why are you crying?" The question was spoken plain and with every ounce of integrity that confirmed it as genuine. "Your mom wouldn't want you to be all sour puss."

The girl turns to face Miki more directly, and without even a shadow of a doubt she takes the note from Miki's hands. "Ahem..." Clearing her throat as she unfolds it. Once its unwrapped she starts to straighten the wrinkles on her leg, and then reads the bottom most portion out loud:

"I know our time together might be shorter then we hoped."
"I know our time together might be shorter then we hoped."
     "But I want you to keep hope, stay happy Miki. Don't give up your dreams, and know that no matter what..."
     "But I want you to keep hope, stay happy Miki. Don't give up your dreams, and know that no matter what..."
          "When you play, I'll be there listening. Forever"
          "When you play, I'll be there listening. Forever"

On every phrase, an underlying voice seems to resonate with Shiina's in chorus as her eyes flash in gold. One recognizable to Miki as one of kinship, of loss. But one of happiness and pride, the very same voice that had spoken time and time again to Shiina through the cry of the ancients. A plead in a whisper that only she could hear, that she inherited the moment Miki's mother passed. Neatly folding the letter, Shiina was all smiles ear to ear as she passes the note back. "By the way, your mom says hi. That she doesn't want you crying anymore. She wants you to play, so she can listen. Ok?"

@Miki @CC

[Miki 0]

Miki was speechless, without saying anything about her past she knew it all. Another thing that made no sense is that this kid could hear her cry, but she had never seen this girl around before. This was the first time. Her mother believed in a higher power, not god but something else. It was too hard to explain but her mother would always tell her that the circle of life would keep them together forever. Miki had to believe that this was fate, how else would this girl know what she did. "I only have one question then, is the pain she felt gone." Miki knew that her mother hid that pain from her, was always happy no matter what happened. They had fun together and nothing would brake that connection that she had with her mother. 

This was good, this feeling, hearing this girl read the words in her mothers voice. Her heart sunk but a smile finally found its way back to her lips. For the first time in years of being in the game it finally happened, closure. Miki rushed into a hug with the girl as the note slightly crumbles between there chests. "Thank you, thank you" saying in a small voice with tear but not of sadness but of joy. Something that had not been felt in a long time. Pulling away, sitting as the girl hands to note back. "I still can't play music though, I don't have my special made Violin." Looking to the woman on stage, she was really amazing, "You know my name, if we are to be friends then surely it would be fair to know yours too" saying to girl next to her while eyes watched the girl on stage.

It was then that she realized something had shifted inside of her. She could hear droplet lightly echoing on the ground against the cavern walls. The guitar that the pink haired woman was playing was reverberating with the screeching further in the cave. Everything around her was music again and she couldn't take that smile off her face even if she tried.

[CC 0]

The girls seemed to be holding some sort of conversation yet listening to the music still. It was encouraging to actually have a real audience other then her own isolation to play to. The vibrations of the strings, the hum that came from the body of her guitar against her stomach. It was welcoming, it was home. Who this pair was would remain a mystery, and once her concert would end it may remain that way. Even still an unspoken appreciation for the company as the track ends. Beads of sweat had her skin gleam against the color bleeding from the prisms now absent of melody. To her pockets she produces a few more, and they are thrust to the spaces that the needed to be. Clicks of her heels as they tap across the makeshift stage, out in the middle of nowhere to an audience of two. A cavern where multiple musicians shared a passion for song.

Those stones are propped up on the instruments that reside around the place, turned like lightbulbs in stands like a socket. Taps of her finger get them conjoined with their brothers, and within moments the song plays again. A thick and inflexible pick is raked across the strings of her guitar, overflowing the cave with a rich and voluminous sound. Those feet carry her back to the microphone, and an inhale steels her nerves. A glance out into the darker space, she catches the reflective gloss of a pair of eyes staring back at her encouraging her to continue. Exhale, into the microphone and with a recount of the title Candice begins to play again. Her hands drive up and down the frets, pinching the strings in precise drags and locks to create different chords. The beats meld as the performance crystals start to play along, on queue waiting for the pin to fall.

@Miki @Shiina

[Lynn 0]

PH

@Eruda

[Eruda 0]

PH