[SP-F4] White Out <<Avalanche>> [Completed]

[Lessa 1]

Avalanche's Turn

One more strike. One more attack from that human's sword, and it would be done for. There were no longer any thoughts in Avalanche's head. There was no planning, no questioning, no timing. There was just pure, unbridled rage. Now on its hands and knees, Avalanche swatted madly at Lessa, doing its best to grab her and scoop her under its great, icy body. Then, it would smash her.

It succeed. Its arm made hard contact with the girl's small body, and raked her under it. Then, it threw itself down, trapping her beneath its mass. A few more moments like this, and the girl would be done for.

{[1146] Battle: 7. Loot: 4. Avalanche deals 3 damage.}

Lessa: 6/21

Avalanche: 3/50

[Lessa 1]

Lessa screamed as she was swept underneath Avalanche. Luckily, the beast's body did not flatten to the ground completely, and she had a bit of room left to breathe. But it was tight. Her entire body shuddered as she realized how bad the situation was. An enraged ice monster was perched over her, and the moment it shifted, it would crush her. Her own health was dangerously low, and she could not risk him rolling her over. The girl understood that she needed to act quickly.

She did her best to move her body enough to lift her claymore, but the space was too small. She did not have the room she required to make any sort of attack. And as Avalanche bellowed again, Lessa's heart rate quickened. Is this it?

{[1170] Battle: 1. Loot: 17. Lessa's attack misses.}

Lessa: 6/21

Avalanche: 3/50

[Lessa 1]

Avalanche's Turn

The ice monster could feel the puny human squirming around beneath it. It only worked to make it angrier. It flattened itself more closely to the ground, doing its best to smother the enemy. Avalanche had only three health left, so there was no time to waste. The girl needed to die. The enraged monster thrust its fists angrily against the snow-covered earth, causing the ground to shake. From a distance, it looked a bit like a toddler throwing a tantrum. But anyone who viewed the situation up close would realize just how bad things were for the girl pinned below the beast.

{[1171] Battle: 2. Loot: 2. Avalanche's attack misses.}

Lessa: 6/21

Avalanche: 3/50

[Lessa 1]

The ground shook beneath her boots. Lessa let out another startled cry, feeling the monster rock back and forth above her. She had no idea what it was doing, but that did not matter too much. The more immediate danger was what the motion did to her small safe spot. First, it grew smaller, giving her even less room to maneuver. But it also moved from side to side, tossing Lessa around like a rag doll. Her small frame was knocked back and forth, bouncing off of the monster's jagged blue body. It was disorienting, and she found her vision growing hazy. She could hardly keep track of her own weapon.

Suddenly, she noticed something. While she was being bounced around, her sword had shifted in her hand, moving through the small space, and making it possible for her to use it. Her body continued to be battered by the angry monster, but now she realized she had a slim chance to end it before it ended her.

Her tired body screamed, and her head throbbed, but she did her best to focus. She angled her heavy weapon to her left, and after she bounced off of her right side, she used her momentum to stab Avalanche. The pink blade buried itself in the blue ice. Lessa squeezed her eyes shut. This was it. All or nothing. She was unsure she had the strength to go on.

{[1172] Battle: 8. Loot: 1. Lessa deals 6 damage - base, +2 Hell Rose, +3 two-handed skill.}

Lessa: 6/21

Avalanche: 0/50 DEAD

[Lessa 1]

Her body went limp as the monster burst into data. It mingled with the snowflakes, and both fell silently upon her as Lessa lay in the snow. An alert materialized in front of her face, prompting her to accept the rewards that came with beating Avalanche. But she could only stare at it with tired, distant eyes. A small voice in the back of her mind encouraged her to get moving. Even though Avalanche was gone, there could be other beasts lurking. She would be wise to stand as soon as possible. But her body would not listen to her mind, and she continued to lay on her back, the snow packed tightly from her rumble with the snow beast.

Finally, she lifted her hand with a soft groan, and accepted the reward. Lessa just wanted the menu to be gone, as it restricted her view of the sky. The sun was setting, bathing the sky in vibrant pinks and purples. It was breathtaking.

[Lessa acquires one material, and <<Snowfrost>>.]

[Lessa 1]

The woman took a deep breath, then expelled it, watching the thin stream of smoke climb into the air. The storm had died away while she was fighting Avalanche. Now, a sense of peace hung over the area. Perhaps that had been a side-effect of the quest, and the fight had caused the storm. But Lessa did not spend too much time dwelling on the matter. Instead, she let herself enjoy the quiet. The only sound was her own breathing, and the shifting snow beneath her body. It was a rare moment inside SAO. There were no other players, or things that she needed to be fighting. The fight was over, even for a brief moment. She could simply exist. I have wanted this for so long.

[Lessa 1]

She let her mind wander. Lessa had accomplished so much since entering SAO. A woman who had always chosen to avoid conflict was now throwing herself into the front-lines, and cutting down beasts with the best of them. Avalanche had been a perfect example of just how far she had come. In so many ways, she had changed.

But in many ways, the woman had remained the same. Through everything, she had worked hard to stay positive, especially when dealing with others. If the most cheery girl in the game could not give people hope, who could? Did she feel that same hope, way down deep? Sometimes. Other times, she was terrified. She had been terrified while fighting Avalanche. But she had to do her best to keep her fear from showing, for everyone's sake.

[Lessa 1]

And then there were the people she had met. Another thing that had not changed was Lessa's tendency to draw strength from the people around her. As always, she had been quick to make friends. Alkor, of course, had been her first friend. Well, her first acquaintance. She was unsure if they were even friends yet, even after everything they had gone through. He was still a mystery to her, but she knew better than to tell him that. He had blown up at her last time she had pried. She would just have to go on enjoying his company from afar. That would be enough for her, considering how much she respected him. I think about him a lot, came a startling realization. I wonder if he knows that. Maybe I should tell him how much he means to me.

[Lessa 1]

But there were others too. Kiluia, who she had not seen in weeks. She missed him terribly. Then there was Ryuu, a character from a bad guild who she still found herself drawn to. Life was the same way. The woman simply could not figure out why people would be a part of such a controlling guild. It was their choice, sure. But she could not imagine being so powerless. This brought her back to her own guild, and the people within it. Rebekah, a cheerful young woman who reminded her a lot of herself. Tristan, an interesting character who was occasionally a tad too pushy. Seldentar, a mysterious newcomer with no real ties to her guild. And then Daeron. He had saved her in the jungle, and that had thrown them into a whirlwind friendship of sorts. She still had a difficult time trusting him, but she would be lying if she said she was not curious.

[Lessa 1]

There was a sudden growl behind her. Lessa immediately sprang into action, her claymore still in her hand. Her first thought was that Avalanche had respawned. If that was the case, she was surely dead. She had had a difficult enough time battling him without the exhaustion that still weighed her down.

Much to her relief, it was only a pair of white wolves, snarling from the nearby snowdrift. The wolves would still be difficult, considering how tired she was, but they would not give her the trouble Avalanche had. She could handle these, and then she could go home.

[Lessa 1]

She crouched into a ready position, wincing as her leg muscles called out in protest. Despite everything that it had gone through, her pink sword still shone brilliantly against the white backdrop. Lessa took a deep breath, in and out. Then, she lunged forward.

At the same time, the first wolf did the same. It snarled at her, and swiped at her with a single paw. The woman made an attempt to stab the wolf, but her arms gave out. She was just too tired. Luckily, she was able to side-step the beast's attack, so she took no damage either.

{[1190] Battle: 1. Mob: 5. Loot: 13. Lessa's attack misses. Wolf 1's attack misses.}

Lessa: 21/21

Wolf 1: 8/8

Wolf 2: 8/8

[Lessa 1]

"I just want to go home," Lessa whimpered, slowly turning back to face the wolves. She had to defeat them. She had to cut them down, and leave this place behind. She knew that. But it did not work to motivate her. Her health had recovered from her rest in the snow, but her body still felt heavy. Was it all in her head? Was that where the exhaustion came from.

The wolf circled, then came at her once more. This time, its jaws snapped angrily. Spittle flew madly from both sides.

Thankfully, she had the additional accuracy in her gauntlets. Her strike was destined to fail again, but her hands grew warm as the course was redirected. The blade sliced a good chunk of flesh from the beast, and health from its bar.

But not before the wolf had bit down hard on her gauntlets. With a disgusted grunt, Lessa threw it aside. She took no damage.

{[1191] Battle: 5 + 2 (accuracy from gauntlets) = 7. Mob: 7. Loot: 20. Lessa deals 6 damage - base, +2 Hell Rose, +3 two-handed skill. Wolf 1 deals 0 damage (2 damage mitigated by Lessa's +3 dmg mit breastplate).}

Lessa: 21/21

Wolf 1: 2/8

Wolf 2: 8/8

[Lessa 1]

The first wolf was angry now. Its health was nearly gone, and that drove it to make rash decisions. Without giving Lessa any time to recover, it was back on her, jaws snapping, claws out and ready to tear into her flesh.

But she was ready. She had not let her guard down between attacks, as she knew the wolf would grow angry in its poor state. Her blade was waiting for it when it leapt, and the moment it landed on Hell Rose's tip, it shattered into tiny octagons.

{[1192] Battle: 7. Mob: 3. Loot: 1. Lessa deals 6 damage. Wolf 1's attack misses.}

Lessa: 21/21

Wolf 1: DEAD

Wolf 2: 8/8

[Lessa acquires one material.]

[Lessa 1]

The remaining wolf gave a furious howl. It appeared distressed at the loss of its partner. Lessa knew that the attack would be coming any moment, so she chose to be pro-active. Staying on the offensive until the wolf was dead might make the battle end more quickly. And that was exactly what she wanted. She was tired of all of this.

She knew that her attack dealt critical damage the moment she sunk her blade into the animal's white pelt. The animal went limp, but did not burst into data, meaning it still had some health left. But in only one strike, Lessa had sucked most of the life from it. Without missing a beat, she pulled back her sword.

{[1202] Battle: 9. Mob: 2. Loot: 20. Lessa deals 7 damage - base, +1 critical, +2 Hell Rose, +3 two-handed skill.}

Lessa: 21/21

Wolf 1: DEAD

Wolf 2: 1/8

[Lessa 1]

The nearly-dead wolf let out a snarl, and loped toward Lessa on its wounded leg. The girl stared it down with dull, tired eyes. She wanted nothing more to do with this wolf, this quest, or this floor. All she wanted was to curl up in a bed and fall asleep. The sun was beginning to sink below the horizon now, and she knew she did not have much time left before nightfall. Once, she had roamed this floor with Alkor after dark. That had been an adventure, and a night that would stay with her forever. But she did not wish to relive it alone.

She watched the wolf approach.

{[1204] Battle: 3. Mob: 1. Loot: 17. Lessa's attack misses. Wolf 2's attack misses.}

Lessa: 21/21

Wolf 1: DEAD

Wolf 2: 1/8

[Lessa 1]

Finally, the wolf lunged. It was a weak attack, as the wolf was on its last leg of life. But its eyes still rolled wildly, and its mug was still twisted in an angry sneer. Lessa brought up her claymore, gripping the hilt with two hands, her arms shaking under the weight. She was ready to end this.

Had it not been for her incredible armor, she may have missed. But once again, her hands grew warm within her pink gauntlets. They led her hands to the perfect spot, and the wolf landed perfectly on the blade of her weapon. It burst into data.

{[1220] Battle: 4 + 2 (accuracy from gauntlets) = 6. Mob: 7. Loot: 14. Lessa deals 6 damage - base, +2 Hell Rose, +3 two-handed skill. Wolf 2 deals 0 damage (mitigated by breastplate).}

Lessa: 21/21

Wolf 1: DEAD

Wolf 2: DEAD

[Lessa acquires one material, 40 (5x8) col.]

[Lessa 1]

The girl stood, her legs shaking, her face flushed. The wolves had not been much of a threat, but they still put her through the ringer. This just demonstrated how tired she really was. Not to mention the fact darkness had consumed nearly all of the level. By the dying light of the departing sun, Lessa picked her way down the path that led away from Avalanche. She was thankful to be leaving him, but she was too tired to show too much emotion. Instead, her face was set, her lips drawn in a tight line. She trudged along silently.

[Lessa 1]

It was clear that she had been to hell and back. Lessa's armor was askew on her chest. Her long, blonde hair was matted and tangled, and frozen to her damp cheeks. Her blue eyes were dulled and lifeless, missing that usual gleam they used to hold. Her steps were short and jagged, as if she was having a difficult time trekking a straight line. Her health was still full, but her mentality was far from it. She needed to rest her mind, as it continued to race a hundred miles a minute.

[Lessa 1]

She had never been closer to death. And she had never imagined to be in that position with no one else around. There had been no one to save her. And there had been no one to tell her story had she died. Would anyone have missed her? Would anyone notice I was gone? The woman found herself asking. The guild might miss her, but they would elect a new leader. Daeron, perhaps, as he was a high-level player. She could not picture Alkor stepping up, though he was one of the original members. Would he be bothered by her death? This thought led her to bite the inside of her cheek. Tears of emotion and exhaustion pressed at the back of her eyes, and she did not even have the strength to fight them. The, warm, salty water criss-crossed her pink cheeks.

[Lessa 1]

That was how the other players found her as she made her way into the town. She was a wreck, a shell of the woman who had left to battle Avalanche earlier that day. No one knew who she was, but they regarded her with sympathetic expressions as she shuffled past. It took her no time at all to locate an inn, and she practically threw the innkeeper her col as she moved past him. Heavy boots thudded unforgivingly on the wooden steps. She located her room, unequipped her armor, and collapsed on the bed. She would not move until the afternoon hours of the following day.


 

Thread completed.
Lessa acquires:
- 3 material.
- <<SnowFrost>>
- 800 col.
- 3 skill points.

Edited November 17, 2014 by Raidou
Approved, Awarded, Assembled GM Raidou