{PP-F1} A new friend (Lessa, Me)

[Enjuru 0]

"Alright, I'll need another player as back up..." Enjuru muttered to himself as he walked through the Town of Beginnings. He sighed."I can't just go out trying to slay wolves again, at least not now. He had just barely escaped the pack of wolves he fought yesterday. He realized he was going to need a guild or at least a partner to survive this game. He wandered through town, silently looking over players to see if he knew them from anywhere, and then stopped after scanning the crowd for two minutes, his gaze frozen on a woman in the center of the crowd. She was simply walking through town like the rest. He wondered why his gaze had stuck on her. There was something familiar in that face, and he couldn't figure out what. Then it struck him. The leader of the Guardians of Aincrad, Lessa, was walking around in the Town of Beginnings. "What's she doing here?" He thought silently to himself as he sat himself down in a chair at the inn. She walked into the inn as well, and quickly realized that Enjuru was watching her. He realized he was staring, and turned his head quickly away, silently cursing himself for giving his position away, and made a mental note to discreetly look at an interesting player next time.

[Lessa 1]

It was a quiet afternoon, but Lessa did not mind at all. The need for potions had brought her to the Town of Beginnings, but upon her arrival, she found herself more intrigued by the people than any of the shops. She had wandered, with no destination in mind, among the sea of low-level players. A few asked her basic questions, and she was happy to answer them. But for the most part, the blonde found pleasure in just being around people. In a game such as Sword Art Online, where every person was out for his or herself, it was easy to forget the importance of human interaction. Here, in this place meant for starting players, there was no shortage of that.

 

It was not long, however, before she felt her stomach rumbling. She had spent the morning grinding on the forth floor, and Lessa realized suddenly that she had neglected to eat something. Wasting no time, she moved into the nearest inn, and secured herself a table. Shortly after, she felt a gaze on her back. Curiosity got the best if her, and she tossed a glance over her shoulder. What she found was the eyes of another player, and before she could offer him a smile, he had turned away. Poor thing, she found herself thinking. So she pushed back from the table, and approached the other player. There was nothing to fear, as they were both in a safe zone. Without the fear of death, Lessa was able to resort back to her friendly, trusting self. "Hi there," she greeted as she came to a halt by his table. She motioned to an empty seat. "Mind if I join you?"

[Enjuru 0]

"Not at all." Enjuru replied to the blonde's kind manner. Enjuru saw this as an opprotunity, but didnt know how to ask it. He made idle conversation as he thought of a good way to ask her to be his partner. He realized this woman was an important person in an important guild, so it wasn't as if he could just ask her and she'd say yes! If that worked he'd be out with a party of guild leaders!

And yet...

Lessa's kind demeanor intrigued him, wondering if she might actually consider taking him in. It wasn't unheard of for a powerful player to at the same time be nice. As he continued talking with her, he took in facts about her. He'd heard stories of what a great fighter she is, and sitting next to her, he knew it to be true, but he did not trust her kindness. He knew that being outwardly kind did not always mean a person was good, as he wears a similar mask of distance. He looked at her face and body language, trying to decipher some flaw that would expose her, but he could find none. She was just a stunningly beautiful fighter who just happened to be amazingly kind as well.

He sighed inwardly as he prepared to ask the question that could very well determine whether or not he lives or dies in his next fight.

"Would you like to make a party with me?"

[Lessa 1]

Once he gave her permission to join, the blonde dropped into the empty chair. She had unequipped her gear when she entered the inn, as it was much easier to navigate a busy room without a heavy sword and clunky armor. So now she sported only her basic, light-pink cloth clothing. Lessa leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other, clearly at ease with the young man. What reason was there not to be? He was no threat in this place. Besides, the small talk was pleasant. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but it was still wonderful to chat with someone who was completely new to her. There was no reason to select her words carefully, or proceed with caution. Instead, the words flowed from her freely, and without reservation. She got him up to speed on the events of the day, and talked with him about he had been spending his time.

 

When he suddenly asked her to join his party, her blue eyes widened. "Oh, sure," she replied, giving the player a gentle smile. She had planned to spend the afternoon in the safe zone, and the conversation with the young man had worked to relax her. But this was not the first low-level player to ask for her help, and Lessa figured it would not be the last. Besides, the Guardian had a difficult time saying no.

 

"Are you looking to get some basic training? I can help with that."

[Enjuru 0]

"Yeah. No quests or anything, just grinding out in the grasslands." Enjuru replied to the kind woman sitting across from him. He smiled inwardly as he realized that he'd made a friend in the game. Then his inward smile turned into a frown as he realized his wording. Friend. He had promised himself he wouldn't allow himself to make any emotional connections besides a simple ally. No friendships. He didn't like it but it was how he decided it was going to go. However, as he walked with her from the inn to the exit, he thought it through slowly and realized maybe he could let allow himself to make some connections. "An acquaintance would be fine, or maybe even one friendship." He thought to himself as they walked out to the grasslands. The thought that anyone in this game could die still led to a doubt in his mind about friendship. "It would be better to shut myself off from them." He thought, "To protect mine and their feelings." He knew that this kind of thinking would lead to him going solo. He didn't mind, he was used to going alone.

He eased his sword from it's scabbard as they approached the battlefield.

[Lessa 1]

"Sounds like a plan," Lessa replied, pushing back her chair as she stood. "I'm always up for a bit of grinding. And I'd be more than happy to help you learn the ropes."

The young man seemed deep in thought as the pair left the inn and moved through the busy streets. Whatever he was thinking seemed to occupy all of his attention, so she allowed a comfortable silence to hang between them. There was no use invading this new acquaintance's privacy, and she wondered if he was simply nervous about their trip to the grasslands. I was once in his shoes, the blonde thought to herself. And someone was kind enough to help me out. I'm only returning the favor.

Finally, the two players crested a small hill, and discovered a pair of wolves walking back and forth across the grass. "Take it slow," she cautioned the young man. "They're not especially powerful, but even the weakest opponents can be dangerous if you aren't ready for them. Maybe go for the one on the right - it is a bit smaller. You go first, and I'll fill in where you need me. Sound good?"

Enjuru: 11/11

Lessa: 38/38

Wolf: 10/10

Wolf: 10/10

[Enjuru 0]

Enjuru nodded as he ran forward, flinging his sword from it's scabbard. He ran forward, sword ready. He swung the blade to the side, hoping to hit the wolf in the head, but instead having his sword caught in the ground. He watched the wolf jump. "Switch out!" He yelled as he tried to move out of the way, getting cut across the face by the wolf's claw.

Enjuru: 10/11

Lessa: 38/38

Wolf: 10/10

Wolf: 10/10

ID: 3676

Mob: 8

Battle: 2

(Sorry for it being a little short, a little bit of writer's block.)

[Lessa 1]

As the young man leaped into the fray, Lessa frowned slightly. He had not listened to her warning about taking the first attack slowly. Instead, he had thrown himself recklessly at the wolf. The one health point that he lost was a dear price to pay for his eagerness. Hush, she reminded herself. You were in his shoes once too.

 

"Alright," came her reply as the girl eased herself past Enjuru. Both hands reached behind her, and she expertly drew her heavy claymore. Hell Rose had been with her for so long that equipping it felt unbelievably natural. "Stand back," she cautioned him gently, putting herself between the wolf and the lower-level player. She bent her knees slightly, and aligned her body with the wolf the other player had just attacked. Its lips were twisted in an ugly snarl, and its eyes were focused entirely on her. It would not be long.

 

When it lunged forward, she was ready. Just as it neared her, she side-stepped the beast, letting it fall harmlessly back to the ground. She threw a glance toward Enjuru, and gave him a reassuring nod. "Killing these wolves myself won't help you level up." Her voice was level, but contained traces of sympathy for the boy. It was difficult to start out, and she knew that. "I'm here if you need me, but until then, you're more than capable."

 

((No worries, it happens to the best of us.))

[Enjuru 0]

(Just realized I'm not doing a quest, so I can use the dice I actually have decent luck with.)

Rolled a 4 on the d4 dice.

Rolled a 4 on the d6 dice.

Rolled a 1 on the d8 dice.

Rolled a 9 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 1 on the d10 (mob) dice.

Rolled a 8 on the d12 (craft) dice.

Rolled a 19 on the d20 (loot) dice.

"Alright then!" Enjuru called as he managed to yank his white longsword out of the ground, watching the wolf move as he ran towards him again, better taking in his surroundings, losing 1 HP woke him up. He ran and moved to the right of the also charging wolf, turning on his heels and swinging the sword into the wolves legs, taking it off it's feet and dealing 4 damage (White Wolf Longsword gives 3 base damage, +1 crit damage). He stopped running after taking another step, watching as the wolf stumbled, and got up. "Now that's more like it."

Enjuru: 10/11

Lessa: 38/38

Wolf: 6/10

Wolf: 10/10

[Lessa 1]

"See, now you're getting the hang of it," Lessa called to him, flashing him the thumbs-up with one gauntlet-clad hand. "You're doing a great job. Just keep it up."

 

The wolf whipped around to face her, as she was now the closest player to it. It gave a low, guttural growl, before loping toward her. With Hell Rose already in hand, it would have been easy to shove the blade deep into the weak opponent's flesh. But a hit from her would surely end the wolf's life, and that was not her intention. She was there for Enjuru, and he would not learn if she butchered every monster they encountered. So once more, the woman threw herself out of the line of the wolf, and it moved past without incident.

 

Lessa kept an eye on the second wolf as she spoke to her companion. "You've dealt some damage, and these things have a way of growing less predictable as their health drops. They may be injured, but they're still dangerous. Just keep an eye out, and don't let their red health bars trick you."

 

((Due to my stats, I would end this battle pretty quickly. Hope you don't mind if I stay out of combat, and just help you out! If I participate, we won't get the rewards.))

[Enjuru 0]

Rolled a 2 on the d4 dice.

Rolled a 1 on the d6 dice.

Rolled a 8 on the d8 dice.

Rolled a 5 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 4 on the d10 (mob) dice.

Rolled a 5 on the d12 (craft) dice.

Rolled a 12 on the d20 (loot) dice.

"Yeah, I got it!" Enjuru ran over to where the wolf was again, drawing the wolf's aggro and preparing his sword again. He crossed the wolf as both the brown-haired blacksmith and the wolf charged at each other once again. "Shadow step." He began using odd foot work, moving his feet here and there, trying to confuse his opponent by making a feint to the right, and then finally, he jumped to the left, bringing his sword upwards into the wolf's leg once again. "Rising Dragon!"

He yelled as the wolf flew upwards, going way over their heads. Enjuru's feet hit the ground and he slid. "Phew. I don't even know how I thought of that one." He said, moving to dodge the other wolf and the wolf he'd hit came down.

Enjuru: 10/11

Lessa: 38/38

Wolf: 3/10

Wolf: 10/10

(Yeah I get it, I'm gonna go grab some breakfast.)

[Lessa 1]

(( Do you have increased accuracy on your sword? Just curious, since you rolled a 5! ))

[Enjuru 0]

(Actually I have been working on it a little.)