[F01-PP] The Best Time to Begin is Now | <<The First Lessons>>

[Plum 0]

˗ˏˋ ✧ ˎˊ˗

<<Quest>>>

PLUM

Lv. 1

HP 20/20

EN 20/20

||

It was a beautiful day to be abandoned on Floor One.

"Sorry. It's just not worth keeping you in the party."

Plum rubbed her temples, frustration pressing down on her brow. The words wouldn't stop echoing through her head, and worse yet - they called forth every memory of the exact scenario playing out, every time her chosen group of the month decided she was more trouble than they could manage. Who were they to decide that, anyway, when she was the one paying them to get her through dungeons? She could make sense of not wanting to carry dead weight when it was literally a matter of life or death, but she'd made her position very clear before they took on the job, that she was not system-literate by any means. When the game first started, and the players began to understand the gravity of their situation, Umeko joined those who stayed within the safe confines of the Town of Beginnings. SAO was meant to be a fun way to unwind after work, and her first experience with full-dive gaming. Whenever she played video games before, her preference had always been cozy little farming sims or visual novels. In-depth system mechanics were well outside of her forte, and she was not about to risk her life trying to learn them.

"Haven't you done Dorian's quest?"

Of course she hadn't. When eventually she did begin to push out from that initial safe zone, it was only with a capable entourage. There were folks who only knew how to play to kill or farm EXP, and those either a little uneducated or too stressed to see the patterns in puzzle-solving : enter Plum. She operated as the brains on a team, identifying objectives and making sure they were following the right clues, without lifting much of a finger herself. It had worked so far - as she warmed up to the world she was trapped in, she did want to see more of it, to fulfill her original goal of uncovering hidden treasure. But she had never invested the time into actually boosting her stats, until finally it had become a complete hindrance, rather than a simple player quirk.
And so, here she was, alone in Tolbana and trying to get her act together.

{ WC : 380 }

[Adelyte 0]

  

  

   ♦Lv4 Adelyte

Spoiler Adelyte | HP 80/80 | EN 26/26 | DMG 7 Lv. 4 | T. 1 equipped 2H Warhmmer DMG|DMG -- -- battle-ready inventory 3x Potion (+50 Hp) skills HAMMER | Rank 2 buffs Pretty buff

The sharpened charcoal scratched against the empty, white page. Careful strokes took shape as more attention was given to the detail of the sketch. Facial features came alive, simple shading added dimension to the clothes. It was clear that she spent much of her time doing this.

Almost too much time. 

The open Tolbana square was quaint, and not overly busy at this time of the day. Making it the perfect spot to people watch and pick out her next subject to - shall we say - capture their true essence and beauty on paper. Embracing the shade of a large, lonely tree, the girl laid out in the grass on her stomach. Her curly, blue locks rolled off of her shoulders like a waterfall, gently swaying as her head bobbed along to the tune in her head. With a smile tugging at her closed lips, she would hum along softly to herself. 

What song was it even? Something from back home, or did she just write the song of the summer autumn? She was no musician, who was she kidding. 

She was getting distracted again.

Taking a sip from the steaming drink that rested in the grass beside her - a very light coffee that smelt more of milk, sugar, and pumpkin than java - she returned to her drawing. Adding a couple more strokes to add depth to the hair, she would peek up at the stranger once more for reference. She found herself staring for a bit of a longer moment, propping her chin atop her wrist and just watching. She had been sitting here drawing this stranger and never once asked herself if it was appropriate. Obviously, the woman she chose to draw had been going through it. With pursed lips, she looked down at the page once more, very well done, very detailed, and very not accurate to the source material. How would she feel if someone decided to watch her have a crash out and draw the whole thing out? 

She would get a kick out of it and snap her out of her funk. So obviously showing her was the best medicine. 

The least she could do was pop up and see if she was alright. That would surely wash away the guilt she felt turning her frustration into a joke for her to laugh at later. Tucking the drawing pad under her arm and swiping her latte from the ground, she would push herself up to her feet and immediately walk over to where the other girl had been lingering.

Ladies, gentlemen, and all outside the binary; here's Adelyte.

"Heyyy." Adelyte would speak in a soft, sweet voice as she approached. "So, like, I saw you from over there and you looked like you were having a rough day." She began to fumble to open the sketch book to the page she had been working on, nearly spilling her drink in the process. Okay, set it down first, then open the book. "Sooo I drew this for you!" The cheesiest grin spread from cheek to cheek, as if she just told the most moan-worthy of jokes and was waiting for a reaction. "What do you think? Pretty great right?" 

// Insert quick, yet very well done, sketch of Plum. Fingers to temples, but recreating  this meme.

Edited 18 hours ago by Adelyte