[PP-F2] <<Long Live the Queen>> (Lessa)

[Azide 0]

Azide craned his neck around, desperately searching the woods for even a single player. Finding absolutely nobody around who fit that description (the description was, namely, existing), he groaned and allowed himself to fall onto his back. He grabbed a fistful of the pine needles, which seemed to litter the forest floor in its entirety, and flung them in whichever direction his hand arm happened to travel. He watched as they scattered before slowing drifting back towards the ground, having no breeze travel upon today. He blew away a particularly ambitious needle before it could dare land on his face, then grudgingly picked himself back up and brushed as much plant material out of his hair as he could manage. Azide swore under his breath, before muttering to himself.

"Geeze, was it really that much of a stretch to think I'd find at least one other person for this quest on the way here?" He scanned the area yet again, rolling his eyes at the occasional wind wasps that zipped by in the distance. "I should really start making a habit of doing this sort of thing *before* setting off," he thought. Suddenly, a brilliant plan came to mind, and he brought his hands up to his face and cupped them together. "If anybody's out there, come over here immediately!" he shouted. But all kidding aside, it was more of a shot in the dark for the agitated youth. Appealing to odds in this world never seemed to work for him anyways.

[Lessa 1]

The morning had been fairly uneventful, all things considered. The woman had managed to dodge most of the mobs that spawned near her, and her few attempts to harvest materials had been somewhat successful. Overall, Lessa had very little to complain about, and the small smile on her pale salmon lips spoke to that. She walked slowly, blue eyes drinking in the beauty of the first floor as she roamed across it. Of course, the Guardian had visited the first floor many, many times, but it still had a way of captivating her. Memories of the first time she left the city, and first witnessed the vast sky, returned to her. Despite all of the hardships that had followed that moment, her smile did not falter at the thought. A gentle breeze moved alongside her, toying with a few stray blonde tendrils. It smelled faintly of roses, and as the scent met her, Lessa slowed to savor it. Breathing deeply, she filled her lungs with the sweet air.

 

It was at that moment that she heard the distant call. Immediately, the woman whipped toward the source of the sound, a hand instinctively flying to the handle of her Claymore. It was a knee-jerk reaction, a habit she had picked up during her months of living alone. But then, as the immediate shock faded, she began to really think about what she had witnessed. I'm on the first floor, reasoned the voice in the back of her mind. Someone is calling for help. It really isn't all that unusual.

 

With that thought, the girl took off toward the voice. Her gait was a fast walk; just enough to close the distance quickly without her heavy armor making too much noise. It took only a few minutes for the stranger to come into range, and when her gaze fell upon him, her eyes lit with recognition. Though she hardly knew the man, she had met him before during a skirmish on the forth floor. He had never struck her as threatening, so she refrained from freeing Hell Rose from its sheath.

 

"Hello there," she greeted warmly. When he turned to her, she threw him a good-natured smile, and teased, "you look lost."

[Azide 0]

Azide stared blankly for a while at the girl who'd suddenly appeared before him. He simply blinked wordlessly for a few moments and stood completely dumbfounded. "My God, I almost can't believe that worked. I just might be onto something here," he thought. The novelty soon wore off, however, and he now vaguely recognized her as the girl who'd intervened that night on the fourth floor. They hadn't interacted too much, but then again, how many female players had he seen with heavy pink armor?

She seemed young, or rather, that's how he'd describe her had they not been in Aincrad. This was, after all, a world designed for a somewhat younger audience. So perhaps it would be more helpful to say that she appeared to be around his age. It was a safe bet that she was well within two years of his own age at most, although it was likely considerably less. Her choice of armor was interesting, in that it suggested a sense of practicality and strength. "That's something to be admired, although I enjoy looking stylish as much as the next guy."

He took a few steps forward, unsure if they'd formally introduced themselves last time, but decided it wouldn't hurt to hedge his bets. "It just warms my heart to see I'm not the only one out here," he remarked. He chuckled, then shook his head as he made his way towards her. "Sorry about that- I think people generally greet each other first before making off-handed comments." He came to a stop in front of her and offered his hand. "Hey there. In case I forgot to introduce myself before, you can call me Azide." He looked off to the side for a moment, diverting his gaze toward the surrounding scenery, then shifted his attention back to her and cleared his throat. "It very well might appear that way, but I'll have you know I was just on my way to fight The Wasp Queen before you ran into me." This was not quite the truth, but it did happen to fall somewhat near there on the continuum. "You're more than welcome to join me, but as a matter of course, I'd just like to check that you're actually prepared to fight her. Now don't start freaking out just yet- these are very basic things that any player worth their salt should be able to answer." This, on the other hand, was fiction than fact, if not blatantly so. "Ready? Awesome. So I'm going to just need you to identify the Queen's known damage and health points, as well as the conditions needed for her to appear." He glanced up and tapped gently at his temple. "I think that should cover it, but feel free to add anything I might've missed."

[Lessa 1]

The man, whose name she learned was Azide, extended a hand. The young blonde glanced down at it before breaking into a wide grin. "You don't find many people who shake hands these days," she commented, lifting her own hand. She pressed her palm to his, remembering the first player she had met upon entering Aincrad. From what she could recall, he had been the last person to formally introduce himself, handshake and all. That was a long time ago. "I'm Lessa," the girl finally replied, shoving the distant memories back into the depths of her mind.

 

For the most part, the young woman found herself at ease with the stranger. Interacting with others had always been her greatest strength, and though she did not known Azide, she treated him as an old friend. Every move that she made was relaxed, and the smile that she gave him was equally so. Though she stood in full armor, her hands rest lazily on her hips. In a word, Lessa was calm. True, she had witnessed some terrible things, and she would never risk letting her guard down entirely; even the low-level player could paralyze her, or bait her into a trap set by someone more dangerous. But the ever-trusting Lessa saw no need to draw her weapon at that moment. A bit of conversation may be nice.

 

Despite her ease, blue eyes widened with surprise at the dark-haired man's question. "Uh huh," she drawled for a moment, gaze finding his and holding it; she had to know if the man was serious. When she determined that he was, she gave him a mischievous smile. "Well, if you will allow me to refer to my cheat sheet." In a few quick, practiced motions, the Guardian had her menu open to the particular quest. "HP of thirty," she read him in a matter-of-fact tone. "Two damage per hit. Looks like we may need to cut through a few guards first." She tossed him a sly glance, then added, "these resources are very basic things that any player worth their salt should be able to use."

[Azide 0]

"Is that so?" asked Azide, who returned a grin of his own. Although his smile was somewhat thinner than hers, it was nonetheless a disarming one. "But of course it is," he thought. "I've rehearsed it about a billion times before, after all." Calculative to the bone, Azide certainly wasn't the type to leave such a significant portion of his image to the risky business of chance. Although his life no longer involved nearly as many interviews as it used to, he recognized and accepted the fact that a good smile still had much value in this world. "You never know who might end up becoming your valued ally, after all." He turned his attention back to the girl, wondering if she'd noticed his temporary absence just now. "Call me old fashioned, but I'm not about to do any sort of 'fist bumping'," he added with a chuckle and sly look. "I might sound like I'm joking here, but I'm definitely not."

 

He noticed the look in her eyes after he'd questioned her, and accordingly made sure his eyes were a picture of sincerity. "Granted, I actually am being sincere. As in, I'd sincerely like the answers to these questions, but that's not exactly something I'm willing to admit at the moment." He watched as she casually pulled up a few menus and simply read off the details he'd requested. "That's definitely something to remember for future reference." He nodded his approval while making sure not to look overly impressed. "In any case, I think you've proven that you're worth a fair amount of salt. Between the two of us, I'm sure we could melt away all the snow on the fourth floor. But that's enough wordplay for the moment." He pulled up the menu for himself this time, then tapped around until a party request appeared in front of Lessa. "I figure since I'm relatively sure you won't be dying on me, it wouldn't hurt to have someone else around to help speed things up. So, what do you say, Lessa? Ready for a bit of regicide?"

[Lessa 1]

The female player laughed softly, a sound that bubbled deep from within her stomach. Blue eyes danced along, reflecting the joy that rolled off her coral lips. "I only fist bump people I know really well," she teased, dropping his hand and offering him a quick wink. "But we hardly know each other." She studied his face for a few seconds, gaze tracing every line of the seemingly laid-back, confident young man. Months spent within Sword Art Online had driven Lessa to grow paranoid, and she found herself constantly checking other players for clues. Her talent had always been reading people, but never before had she used it to determine if someone planned to kill her.

The party invite materialized before her eyes, jarring her out of her examination. She accepted it without thinking. "I'll do my best not to die on you," came her eventual answer. "I mean, that's the plan anyway." There was humor in her voice, but it was strained. Lessa clearly did her best to make light of a bad situation, as death was a very real possibility that each player faced every day. "You shouldn't go dying on me either, alright?" There was a moment of silence, uncomfortable after the comment that she had just made. So she added, "lead the way."

[Azide 0]

"I assure you I won't," answered Azide. He drew an X over his chest with the back of his thumb. "Cross my heart and hope to—" He threw his hands out in front of him defensively and chuckled, cutting himself off before he could finish. "You know know, let's just go." He gestured for her to follow, sightly subtly out of relief. "At my current state, I can't say I'd be able defeat the queen by myself. Having another player along for the ride is always welcome."

He couldn't help but notice the undertones laced throughout her words. "From the looks of her equipment, I'd say she's a reasonably high-level player. Between that and her guild leader status, I wouldn't be surprised if she were a front-liner. Maybe the dark humor hits a little too close to home..." As they walked, Azide turned to the girl beside him. "Hey Lessa, I'd like to hear more about your guild." He paused, then added, "I mean, if you don't mind me asking. So far I've really been drifting around from place to place, so I'm interested in hearing from someone used to working alongside other players in this world."

He thought back to the lab he'd worked at, then even further back to his uni classes. "Sure, I have plenty of experience working in teams. But my life never depended on them. At at the end of the day, I could always go back home. Not like here."