[OP-F4] A Night to Remember [Limit: Reached] (Closed)

[Azide 0]

Powdery snow swirled around at his feet, dancing yet again with its close friend, known to most as the wind. But to Azide, the winter breeze had another name as he stood here in the glade. True- the fourth floor was far and away the coldest floor to date, that much was obvious. But only with the wind was it finally cold enough to subdue the heat of his thoughts. Thus, he knew it not as a force of oppression, but as one of liberation. To him, the wind was freedom, and he welcomed its company.

Not a single creature to be spotted for miles- though he'd stopped checking ages ago. Here in this glade, he would be safe. Here, could escape from the noise of life which had threatened war against the noise of his thoughts. He kept his hands tucked away in the folds of his coat, as the the biting cold still nipped away at his physicality, despite the relief it offered to his mind.

A sky full of stars hung above him, unobscured by the whiteness that had completely encompassed the ground. But it was better that way. The smooth blankness below only served to draw more attention to the real attraction. The air was cool, the night was clear, and all seemed right in the glade.

But Azide stood silent and still as he peered out of the cliffside. His gaze remained set and unmoving as he stared blankly at the stars. As the somber scene carried on unchanged for some time, he finally closed his eyes for just a moment. "I'm sorry..." thought Azide.

[Rebekah 0]

Rebekah had always wanted to visit the glaze, especially on a beautiful night like this. As she walked on the path in this powdery snow, she saw some footprints, but just one set. She wondered about that for a minute, as she knew that usually a pair of players would make the trip together rather than a single person. Thus she looked up at the cliff to confirm, and she could barely see the outline of a single player.

 

She thought for a second about whether to continue or head back to her room in the inn, but since she was already at the glaze, she might as well continue. She decided not to think about it, as she too was alone, as she made the trip up the cliff. She continued on the trail, knowing she would reach the top in a matter of minutes.

 

When she got the top, the view was stunning, as she looked out around her, the view of the stars, the wind, everything was just perfect. She walked forward, hoping to not startle the player who she had not seen move at all since she had arrived.

[Azide 0]

Out here in the glade, it was dark. And yet it came with regularity, and allowed a sense of certainty that was often taken for granted. It was a simple fact of life that the sun would rise again at the same time everyday, bringing with it the light. This precious assurance was what allowed humanity its comfort with the darkness, and often even made them treasure its existence. But it was different for him. This darkness in his mind- it came with no such assurances. In a way, he couldn't be entirely sure when the sun would rise again. What had initially begun as a grain of doubt had slowly ingrained itself into his soul. It took root in the depths of his consciousness, and festered in his heart until he felt the need to run away from in all. But here in the glade, standing underneath the stars, he felt a little bit more at peace. Here, the wind and the snow numbed him, and he could at least begin to organize his thoughts. 

But he heard the faint sound of footsteps coming from behind him, which lifted him from his daze, but caused him no alarm. He cleared his mind for a moment, aware that a monster of some sort would be highly unlikely, and an orange player would likely be considerably quieter. "Sure, there's always the chance it could just be a sloppy one, but sloppiness in this context actually isn't very scary." Slowly, he turned around without a word, arriving to the sight of a girl with chestnut-colored hair. He shifted his eyes somewhere to the side and kept his hands tucked away, but after a moment, broke the silence. "Cold tonight, isn't it?" He breathed out, watching as his breath condensed into a visible vapor before scattering into the breeze. He turned back to look at her. "You know, people don't usually come here alone."

[Rebekah 0]

As she approached the guy who was there by himself, his words caught her by surprise. She was not expecting the player to say something out of the blue, as she thought she was rather quiet while hiking up this snowy trail. While it was a cold night comparatively to ever other floor, she was used to this weather, as she spends most of her time on this floor, where her shop is located. However, she did realize that it was a bit colder than usual, perhaps that had something to do with the seasons, where the sun would barely be around long enough during the day, which was both a good and bad thing, but she could not decide which one she liked more.

 

Rebekah had heard him speak the second line, and was slightly taken back by the comment. She started getting a bit defensive before taking a deep breath, trying to let it slide, but spoke with a slight annoyed tone, "I guess I could say the same about you." It was not blatantly obvious that she was ticked off but one could have an idea by the way she spoke that line. She knew that there was no reason to take out her sassy attitude on the player sitting alone, but the mention of that fact did draw her attention. She decided to change the topic slightly, hoping he did not hear anything from the tone of her voice, "It's beautiful and quiet, isn't it?"

[Azide 0]

A slight sense of amusement flashed across Azide's eyes as she fired back a remark of her own. Where there was ice, there would be fire. But aside from that observation, he showed little indication of sensing the underlying overtones in her words, and answered in a manner baring no hostility. "You're welcome to point it out, but I think you'll find both of us are already aware of that little curiosity." He showed no signs of moving, choosing simply speak over the gentle voice of the wind from where he stood.

The girl spoke again, appearing to have softened her voice somewhat. "It's beautiful and quiet, isn't it?" she asked. Her words carried no edge this time around, and came off as genuine enough.

"Quiet?" he thought. "It's definitely quiet here, I agree..." he answered, his voice trailing off. Azide looked up at the clear skies above, at the white snow beneath their feet, and finally at all of the trees that surrounded this little clearing by the cliffside. He turned his gaze back to the girl with the chestnut-colored hair, having taken a moment to ponder her question, then nodded slowly. "I suppose it actually is rather beautiful here, now that you mention it. It's not everyday you find a place like this, here in Aincrad." He paused for a moment, seemingly looking somewhere far off in the distance, then turned his attention back to the girl once again. "I don't suppose you'd agree to the tradition of first-come first-served?" he added, with a hint of jest finding its way into his level tone.

[Rebekah 0]

Rebekah had been to many beautiful places around Aincrad, that she could remember, the cliff on Floor 2 overlooking the waterfall, and the big tree town of Floor 8, but nothing was quite like this. There was something else about this glade that made it a lot more special, perhaps it was the snow, or the stars. Whatever it was, she just could not put her mind to it, it was something that different, in a good way. She took a few steps forward, towards the guy, after he said something along the lines of "first come first serve". She took a second, choosing her words carefully, "Well, you wouldn't hog all the views to yourself, would you?" she replied.

 

She knew that she had no counter argument to his question, but did not hesitate to defend herself without a logical answer. She was actually taken back by the amount of attitude spoken with these words. She did not remember the last time she was speaking to someone in such a tone since the game started, it was something that she actually enjoyed.

[Azide 0]

Again, amusement sparked somewhere in his eyes. This girl refused to step down, and in fact, stepped closer. Azide drew a hand from out of his coat pocket, then motioned it in a wide arc above him, as if to encompass all the trees in the glade along with the stars above them. "This all belongs to you just as much as it belongs to me- which is to say, not at all. I couldn't hog them for myself even if I wanted to." He raised a brow for a brief moment, as if to let her in on the joke, then took a few steps forward of his own. "I'm not looking to make you angry or anything- promise," he said, raising his hands in front of him. He stopped, but continued to speak. "But I have to say, I'm a little curious. What brings a girl like you all the way up here? And not to mention, by herself." Around them, the snow continued to fall.

[Rebekah 0]

As he took a step closer, the distance between them where they initially spoke had become a lot smaller. She was not a fan of shouting across the top of the cliff, especially since this place is very quiet. Even the slightest of sounds can be very noticeable to anyone near the surroundings. Rebekah knew that he meant well by asking that question, but she did not feel like opening up what was on her mind. But she was taking it literally the wrong way that question, however she had not really thought about why she came here up here in the first place.

 

Perhaps it was because tonight was one of the most beautiful nights this past winter that they been living on this floating castle, and she did not want to miss the opportunity, as she did not know when another opportunity would arise. That said, she knew it was not the only explanation she had, as she does have others that she rather not say. "Would you pass up a chance to visit the glades on a night like this?" she replied.

[Azide 0]

"Considering where we are, I think it's safe to say you already know the answer to that," he remarked. "But to be fair, that's not entirely honest. After all, I hadn't had the chance to realize how beautiful it was until just a moment ago. Details, details..." Sometimes the senses simply fell victim to the limits of the mind. Still, maybe he wasn't the only one not being entirely honest. "So you came up here because it was beautiful. I don't see any particular reason to doubt that," he said, pausing. "But for some odd reason, I do." He turned back toward the cliff and slowly began to trudge forward in the snow. He turned his head to look back at the girl. "If you really came here for the view, you're not doing yourself any favors staying over there." He continued slowly all the way to the end of the snowy cliff and sat down at the edge, letting his legs dangle freely over the cliffside. From here, it was as if one could see the entire floor from here. It looked like the spitting image of those post cards he used to get during the winter months. And above, it was as if he could see all the stars in the sky.

[Rebekah 0]

Rebekah knew that he was probably right, that her answer was not sufficient enough to answer the question, but she was not going to say anymore. She was wondering about that last line that he just spoke. You're not doing yourself any favors staying over there, she was wondering what that had meant. As she continued thinking over it, she followed him to the edge of the cliff and sat down as well. The snow was still lightly falling around her, but at such a slow pace that it did not bother her at all. She had wished that there was something such as a camera to save the view, but she remembered that the view is artificial, something that was not real but it sure did seem quite realistic.

 

She was always surprised at how realistic everything is in this game, down to the fine detail. Rebekah had just realized that she did not even know who he is, just some stranger she met on top of this beautiful cliff overlooking the floor. However, she was not overly concern with that, maybe in real life but not in this game, as she could tell by his equipment that she was stronger in this game, even if he was a bit older and taller.

[Azide 0]

"It'd almost be criminal to come all the way up to the glade and not see the view from here," said Azide.

The little meadow on the cliff was itself, beautiful. The way the trees seemed to part around this clearing, how the snow frosted over the leaves and bristles of the trees, and even the glimmer of the ice-coated branches- they all added to the appeal. The place was, of course, quiet and private as well. But here from the cliff, the view seemed to put everything in perspective. Between the vast white expanse of the floor below and the shining night sky, he couldn't help but feel enchanted by the vastness of it all. How large the world seemed in comparison to himself almost made him forget his own worries, if only for a moment. "How will we ever make it through a hundred floors of this place?" he briefly found himself wondering.

Shaking the thought away, he turned to the girl. "Since it doesn't look like you're leaving just yet, maybe we should introduce ourselves."

[Rebekah 0]

Oh right, Introduce myself. Rebekah took a deep breath and paused for what it seemed like forever, but in reality it was only a second. "Hello, I'm Rebekah, from the guild Guardians." she spoke softly. She did not what else to add to this self-introduction, as she had been through a lot of these in Aincrad, but each time, it felt quite awkward to her, as she felt she either spoke a lot or not enough. Looking back out at the view in front of her, she was surprise to realize that this is such a quiet place, where no monsters dared to come near. That was a good thing, for once she wanted a small break, maybe a few days from getting away from her training before she continued growing to become stronger.

 

The 4th floor was an escape to reality, or even the realities of living in this game. It's quiet enough for anyone who wants to take a few days away from the game itself, and the perfect place to hide. She turned to the player sitting beside her, "How about you?" she asked.

[Azide 0]

The girl's mention of the Guardians caught Azide's attention. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about the Guardians of Aincrad, would you?" he asked, turning to face her. "If you are, I happen to have encountered your leader before. Lessa, was her name, if I'm remembering correctly." He chuckled softly, then peered out over the cliff once again. "But when I say encountered, I'm using it a bit loosely. She appeared out of nowhere one night and broke up a fight. I didn't exactly have the chance to speak with her, or her other two guild mates. Still, from what I've heard of the Guardians, that's pretty much the sort of first impression I'd expect them to make."

Realizing he'd probably said more with that one off-handed remark than everything else he'd said tonight, he decided to end that little ramble right there. "I still haven't answered her question," he thought. He turned back to the girl he now knew as Rebekah. "You can call me Azide, of a newer guild called Square One." He smiled faintly with what amounted to little more than a slight curl of the lips. "You know, I thought I was quiet, but you're really giving me a run for my money here."

[Rebekah 0]

Square One, that sounds familiar. Where have I heard that name before? Even though it was a newer guild, she must have heard the name somewhere before, but did not remember where. However, it was not something she was going to pursue that much deeper. Although her brain was still thinking about Guardians at the moment, it was the second guild she had ever joined. She had been a member since the very beginning, and it was a small but semi-active guild in terms of activities. Of course, it used to be consisted of medium-high level players until recently, when a few lower level players joined. However, it was a solid fit for her, as she was not the extremely social type, besides she enjoyed boss raids so far.

 

"So, Azide, you don't seem like the quiet type at all?" she spoke. The word quiet and him did not feel like it belonged in the same sentence, or that was her read on him so far. That was compared to herself, but Rebekah knew that she could get quite sassy when she wanted to, but that did not happen a lot. Perhaps she toned it down from her own personality, when she first played the game in the first few levels, to not insult anyone, but since she was stronger now, she started to revert back to her old personality.

[Azide 0]

"Well if it counts for anything, I hadn't said anything in hours until you showed up," he remarked. "But I suppose you could consider me somewhat talkative, normally. Not exactly the life of the party, but I'm no church mouse either." He paused, taking a moment to restrain the thoughts that still lingered in the back of his mind. "I guess I've just been quieter, lately. I know there are basically two types of people in the world." He kicked his legs softly, letting them swing away, and then back into the cliffside. "Some people get quieter when something's on their mind, and others end up talking more. It sounds weird, but I get that. I imagine it probably keeps their mind busy." There it was again- his rambling. She'd probably gotten the gist of his words, and so he'd decided that to be a good stopping point. He looked at her and tilted his head slightly, giving an inquisitive look. "So Rebekah, are you the first, or are you just quiet?"

[Rebekah 0]

Well, of course, unless you would count talking to yourself. How could you "talk" to anyone else if you are alone, was the first few words inside her head, but of course she was not going to say that. Thus going by that answer alone, Rebekah felt more aligned to the first type of person Azide had described out to her a few seconds ago. She knew of course, that did not sound weird, but she definitely was not going to stop anyone calling what they said weird. "I suppose I am more like the first type," she replied, "and how about you?"

 

That was a dumb question, and she knew it right away, just as she spoke it, but there was no retracting that statement back now. That would be even worst, as she could get the idea that he seemed more talkative among people when he has an idea inside his head. Or at least that was the side of him he is showing at this moment, unless Rebekah herself was an extremely bad reader of body language. But maybe that was the type of person, one would have to be to lead a guild, she thought, as the leader must have some sort of presence among the others, or else people may not listen. Being the first type would not help with that.

[Azide 0]

"I had no idea the jury was still out on this one," said Azide. He reached down into the snow and scooped a decent amount of the loose powder into his gloved hands, glancing down to see how it shimmered gently in the moonlight. "Really, your guess is as good as mine here," he added. He rolled the collection of icy flakes around in his fingers, with delicate movements comparable to those of a fine pianist. The male player slowly closed his fingers around the handful of snow, looking out over the cliff as he did so. "But just to remove any doubt, I'm going to have to say that I'm the second."

He opened his hand, then rolled the lump around until it began to resemble a sphere, then took it gently between the tips of his fingers, turning to the girl beside him. "Would you believe it? I've never actually made one before. A snowball, I mean." He brought the little ball up to his face, then took a small bite out of his creation. "So, Rebekah? Type one and currently quiet. What's on your mind?"

[Rebekah 0]

Rebekah looked at the tiny snowball in his hand, it was such a round and perfect shape for someone who had never made one before. What was on her mind? Many things, but she knew that it does take herself sometime to warm up to others. Once she knows someone, then it would be a lot easier for her to open up whatever is on her mind. Well, at this moment, she grabbed a patch of soft snow beside her, and rolled it into a snowball. She knew that it was a bad idea to be completely defenseless (without a snowball) when the other person has one. Even if she was not planning on throwing it, it was better to have than not.

 

She looked back at Azide, he was not planning on throwing it, so she decided to drop the snowball on the other side, hoping he would not notice any sudden movements. Well, even if he was just quiet, he was just so good with words, it just rolled off perfectly, while she sounded somewhat stupid when replying to his questions. "Do you suppose that we will ever go back to the real world? and if so, do you prefer life here or back home?" she asked. Looking out at the view, it was hard to imagine somewhere that could top this, but perhaps she could be wrong.

[Azide 0]

Azide smiled. "That's the most revealing thing you've said all night," said the young man. He scooped up another small handful of snow and used it to patch up the one he'd just taken a bite out of, then rolled it around until it was smooth again. Satisfied with the shape, he held the little sphere in his palm and looked back to Rebekah. "So is it safe to assume that you've gotten over any fears of me being a player killer or something of that sort?" He chuckled quietly, then held the snowball out to her. "You dropped your snowball, by the way."

He took a deep breath, then breathed out slowly. "But to be honest, I'm not sure, Rebekah. Growing up, I'd always taken success for granted. Academics, extracurriculars, and internships? I took them all on without a even blinking. When your victories come to you so easily, it becomes a little hard to imagine yourself losing, you know?" He paused, looking up at the stars. "I want to go back so badly. More than anything in the whole world, actually. So of course I'd like to believe that I will, someday. But in the end, I'm not sure..." he answered, trailing off at the end. He turned back to look at her. "But it's not all bad here, right? There are some amazing views here, and so many people to meet. It's not bad at all, really. I just want even more than that, is all."

[Rebekah 0]

Just as he spoke, she thought about her life in the real world, how rather dull it was. The problem that persisted with her, was her family, especially her brothers. Rebekah was always too protected by her older brothers, and she resented that treatment. They would control everything, screen all of her friends, and scare off any guys that even attempted to get close to her. She knew that they had good intentions, but the execution just made it unbearable. She was lucky that she was trapped inside this game herself, at least such that she could finally live the way she had always imagined without any interference.

 

She laughed at his comment and spoke, "Azide, even if you are stronger and taller than me, the chance of you successfully killing me is quite low, if you were a player killer." She knew just by looking at him, their equipment was about equal, but was able to judge that she was a few levels higher than him. "Firstly, your icon is green, and secondly, you would have made a move a long time ago, if you wanted to." she added. She took a moment for her laughter to die down before getting serious again, "One day, we will eventually return to real life. But that will take a while, way longer than the foreseeable future." As for now, Rebekah knew to cherish the moment here today, as she would never have a chance like this ever in the real world.