[PP - F9] Guardian of Fire and a Flirt (Azazel)

[Tristan Delaney 0]

http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/6424-guardian-of-fire-quest/

 

Tristan sat in Vulcan town at a coffee shop waiting for the fellow questor who had taken his open request for the quest. He may be able to solo it, but the risk was not one he would take. Besides, the role he filled functioned far better in a scenario where there was a user who did the damage dealing while he focused on the defence, the shield to the sword. Well, he had his spear, but that was irrelevant to that metaphor.

 

Tristan sipped on his tea, relaxing into the chair. He must seemed to be filling his role as a british citizen rather well, aside from the tall height and flowing red hair. He thought on how the fight may go and noted in his head to ensure they pack enough supplies for the trip in terms of food and the like. The trip would take two days or more, depending on their pace and how often they stop. Hard to predict, as he didn't know Azazel as a person at all.

 

Deciding to reserve judgement for a later date, he resumed to drinking on his piping hot tea and waited on his soon to be comrade.

[Azrael 0]

Anna had no idea why she’d replied to the open request that popped up on her screen. She’d been sitting in her favorite place, doing her favorite thing when the screen popped up. Before she could even read all the details or even see who it was from, she’d accepted the offer. Zaz had all but forgotten about it until a quest reminder popped up on her display that she was supposed to meet the quest originator, Tristan, on the 9^th floor by a specific time in order to begin the quest.

 

“The ninth floor? Seriously?†Anna gasped and pouted. She had not even gotten her battle bikini yet for such sweltering conditions; she was going to sweat to death in her sexy leather gear that Ariel had prepared for her. It was too late to back out. She headed for the teleportation devices and sent herself off to the ninth floor.

 

This was the first time Anna had been to the ninth floor and even from the safety of town in Vulcan; she could tell she was already going to hate this place. The heat was overwhelming. Every breath she took filled her lungs with overheated air which was incredibly stifling. She spotted the coffee shop she was to meet her travel companion and hurried over to the building he sat in. Zaz opened the door and found the cooling system on full blast. She sighed in relief and quickly shut the door behind her as she scanned the place for who might be the one she was to meet. There was but one lone gentleman sitting in a booth sipping something. “Must be him,†she said as she walked over and took a seat across from him. “You must be Tristan,†she said as she fanned her face with her gloved hands. Anna’s pretty face was on fire and her cheeks were scorched tomato red. It happened every time the lady was overheated. “I’m Azazel, I’ll be accompanying you on this quest,†she said as she began to remove her gloves and set them aside. The waitress brought Azazel a tall glass of ice water and the woman sucked it down immediately.

 

 â€œUgh better,†she said and sighed.

 

The woman looked up at the face of her companion finally and gave him a soft smile. The man was a beanpole, but he had a fair face and long red hair. He was not at all unpleasant to look at. She smiled even more widely thinking she was smart for accepting a quest where her companion was so handsome.  Her eyes fell to his hands and the cup of warm tea he held. “Interesting choice of beverage…†she said and gave a small laugh. 

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan noticed the companion who had entered, Azazel. He noticed she had a more...open choice of attire than some. In fact, all his past friends who were women dressed very moderately. Hell, Lessa was almost always in battle gear, ready to help someone in need, mostly due to her selfless heart. Celes would have had interest here, did she not have someone waiting for her back home. These empty musings were just to distract him from the topic at hand though.

 

"You are Azazel I take it then?" he spoke in a low british accent, though smooth rather than hoarse. It was a Luton accent that he got from his mother. It was deep and was not unnecessarily loud. In fact, it was as though he only spoke as loud enough as necessary to just about hear them, as though conserving vocal energy.

He chuckled lowly with a closed mouth and a small sincere smile from the comment about his choice of beverage.

"It's very common in hot climates such as India to drink hot chai tea." He gestured by lightly tapping his cheek with his free right hand "Our heat receptor that also tells if something is spicy will make us sweat more when it finds a hot drink in your mouth. So by drinking a hot drink, your body will sweat more and keep you cool."

 

He thought on the possible coming danger of the quest. "Oh, I have prepared for contingency and have some items for you." he tapped on his item screen and sent a request to send 3 health potions and a basic teleportation crystal. "I should be taking most of the damage by drawing aggro with my Hate generation skills, however it can't hurt to have some extra health potions and a teleportation crystal, in case it gets too bad. Can't have anyone dying on me after all. Seen it once, never want to see again." He recalled the death of Rue from the Floor 10 boss fight, who fell in battle by entering despite caution to refrain so from low level.

 

"The journey is going to be roughly two to three days of travel from here to Inferno Cavern though, so we should get ready for our journey. So we should get supplies for the journey on the way. I mean, I know we can't die of hunger in Sword Art Online, but the placebo is strong." he said chuckling. There were just some habits that were too hard to break. He also thought about getting himself a simple choice of lighter clothes for the journey.

[Azrael 0]

The attractive man became even more attractive the second he opened his mouth. He had a lovely British accent and a silky voice that sent an instant chill down her spine. She did her best to keep a wide smile from erupting across her face at the delicious tone of his speech.  He explained why he was drinking the tea, but to Azazel that logic seemed counterproductive. She wanted to stay cool and avoid sweating, not increase sweating to cool off. However, being that this level was volcanic, it was unlikely that even being eighty percent naked in a leather bikini was going to keep her cool. It just wasn’t possible.  “Fair enough,†she responded thoughtfully and left the matter as it was.

 

The conversation turned to the trip at hand, and it seemed that Tristan was a considerate fellow. He had taken the liberty of purchasing supplies on her behalf.  A request screen popped up and she clicked the button. Tristan has given her three health potions and a teleport crystal, just in case. Anna smiled softly and clicked “acceptâ€. He further explained that she ought to be safe with him as he would be taking the brunt of the damage as he wouldn’t want to see anyone else perish as he had before. This was exactly why Anna absolutely loved Tank players; they were typically kind and always worried about the well being of others. It’s why they would put themselves in the path of danger in place of another.

 

 

 â€œI am sorry you’ve had to see that,†she said, “However, I feel quite safe in your capable hands already.†

 

 

The journey would take a number of days and her new traveling companion suggested they collect supplies before heading into the wilderness. “That might be best. We should probably get to it then.†Azazel grabbed up her gloves and put them away in her inventory and then stood.

 

“Ready?â€

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan smiled and nodded, happy at her acknowledgement of his protection. "It is good to know that I have your trust and eases my heart." Having companions that trusted you would be far more beneficial than those that would abandon or not follow through with potentially life saving advice.

 

Tristan got up and dusted himself off and stood up, taking his empty cup of tea to the counter of the cafe. He then walked with Azazel out the cafe saying "Yeah, we should get some things. I know I need some thinner clothing for this heat, along with plenty of water and food."

He decided to walk to an npc merchant and got the vanity items he wanted, which was a quick purchase him of simply plentiful bread and meat to cook portably (the wonders of video games) and a white thin t-shirt to wear while travelling.

He waited on Azazel to make her purchases before moving on.

[Azrael 0]

Anna followed the man out of the shop and out to one of the street vendors. She’d already had plenty of food for the journey; she never ate much on the field anyway. Nothing could replace the takoyaki they served in the Elven Song in Delilah; it was really the only place she enjoyed eating. The rest of the time it was just a function of the game and a rather annoying one at that. Anna missed real food, and real alcohol. God how she missed real alcohol!

 

While Tristan sorted out his food situation, Zaz walked over to one of the clothing merchants. She purchased a gauze camisole jumper in blue and a pair of taupe calf high boots. As much as she would have preferred to stay in her armor, she would die of heat stroke before they even reached the caves. Anna opened her inventory and quickly changed before joining Tristan.

 

“Do we need to stop anywhere else or are we good to go?’ she asked. This was his circus so he called the shots. 

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan checked everything he needed was in his inventory before changing into the thin white t-shirt. His equipment not equipped to hand at current since he wouldn't need it. Deciding he was now just being paranoid about what he packed and if he had everything he needed. Tristan closed his inventory and looked at Azazel, who decided to also dress lightly for the heat.

"Yeah I think we got everything."

 

Tristan started walking with her out the town and gate to the heat that the floor was. The mountainside were volcanoes and rivers were that of lava, so swimming in them was not recommended. There wasn't much of an ecosystem to describe either, with only the hardiest of plant life and the occasional wandering beast across the rocky plains. Not really sightseeing material or one for dates one may say, even if good for punny pickup lines. Not that he could imagine any, as he was terrible with that sort of thing.

The heat so far was not reaching him too badly, so was coping. How Azazel fared on the other hand was still up for debate.

[Azrael 0]

Anna and Tristan walked along for some time in the barren wasteland that was the ninth floor. Nothing grew upon the ground. Everywhere was just volcanic mountain; streams of lava and obsidian rock every direction she looked. It was overwhelming really, if they didn’t have their maps, there would be no earthly way of knowing which way they were going and where they had come from. Her mind was foggy from the heat; Tristan seemed to be faring better than she which she was amazed to see. She supposed it was because he might have had some skill that allowed him to do so.

 

Sweat clung to every inch of Anna’s smooth skin and her gauze jumper was soaked. She was glad she didn’t go with a lighter material, the thing was already sheer enough, and in a lighter color every bit of her would be exposed for the man next to her to see. Not that he would notice however; he walked a head of her a few steps and made very little conversation. She supposed that was fine as she enjoyed silence as well and so she let him travel beside her as quietly as he willed.

 

The pair walked along until they were faced with a river of lava that crossed their path. There was large obsidian stones dotting the surface that they would make the crossing easy. She followed along behind Tristan making a game of the crossing. She hop scotched the stones, bouncing here and there feeling rather graceful about her movements of until she wasn’t. Anna was having too much fun entertaining herself that she hadn’t noticed that Tristan had stopped moving in front of her. She hopped onto the stone he was on and bumped directly into him. The collision caused Anna to lose her footing and she slipped off to the side falling toward the lava that flowed beneath their feet.

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan's mind wandered to nowhere as he walked, almost a sort of daze. The heat wasn't too bad due to his Survival skill, which made treacherous conditions far easier. Even if the monster he fought with Life to get it was a pain... Regardless, the blistering heat was only mildly discomforting, which made the journey much easier. It would be basically a endless journey into barren wastes if this place wasn't previously mapped by players too, so it was a good thing that was available. Plus he was useless with physical paper maps, being the kind who would accidentally hold them upside down.

 

At one point there was a river of lava, a feature of this area, which they had to cross. Impassable, were it not for the feet sized rocks rather strategically placed for them to step on, clearly a move by the games part to use it for travel across. He took some care stepping on each one, making sure to step lightly and ensure they wouldn't stick, so as to have his foot submerged in lava. Azazel followed closely behind him, but his focus was on stepping correctly. He stopped at one point to test the last rock, but turned out to have stopped without warning too since Azazel smacked straight into his back and was falling into the lava.

Tristan acted quickly upon reflex. He grabbed her arm at the elbow, then yanked her towards the other side of the river so that she fell perpendicular from where she was going, however this time her fall was stopped as she faced the sky, Tristan bent down and holding her with one arm behind her upper back and another on the side of her head, holding her upright.

He panted slightly, though his shoulders relaxed that his companion was in fact not going to drown in lava. With a slightly broken voice from effort due to his movement and haste he said chuckling "You seem to have fallen for me.", then lifted her to her feet, now on the other side of the river having crossed it.

Well that was more exhilarating of a river crossing than he had intended.

[Azrael 0]

Anna was rather sure she was a goner, and she wondered if the lava would actually hurt, and if it did, she wondered how long it would hurt before she died.  It was a rather complicated and drawn out thought but it only took a microsecond to pass through her mind. There was a tug at her arm and the woman was spun about. She found that she was now turned about and facing the empty sky above. Anna lifted her head to find Tristan’s handsome face was mere inches from her own and that he had her cradled safely in his arms, her heart fluttered with him being so close. She was able to get a good look at his lovely visage; he had strong features including his amazingly blue eyes. Upon one side of his face there were scars, however, they just added to the rugged appeal of his good looks. His grip upon her had been firmed but it loosened once he realized she was safe thanks to his fast hands and quick instincts.

 

"You seem to have fallen for me." His voice cracked as the words tumbled from his lips.

 

A smile spread across her lips as Tristan gently place Anna back onto her feet, safely on the other side of the lava river. If her face weren’t already red, she would be blushing this very moment. “Thank you,†she replied. 

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan breathed out a bit, letting himself calm down. That was a dangerous one liner, especially as he knew people who would deck him in the face for saying that. With her smile and her reply though, it seemed to pass well with her. Well, that is already a one up for him. Tristan didn't want to let himself get too distracted on the matter at hand though, so thought about getting them moving again.

 

"Anything for you. Now, shall we keep moving?" He waited for Aza to get herself adjusted and walk alongside her, after all, she nearly went swimming with the fishies as a skeleton. He thought on what to talk about, feeling some discussion was warranted.

"So if you don't mind me asking, what kind of life did you have....err...had outside of SAO?" he kept tripping himself on that. It had been so long since the death game started and their lives were irrevocably changed. Hell, if they achieve something here, would the world outside give a damn? Would all their efforts have been for naught?

[Azrael 0]

"Anything for you…â€

 

Those words made Anna’s insides squeeze in delight. She rather enjoyed being paid pretty compliments by a very pretty man. “Now, shall we keep moving?" he asked her.

 

“Yes, of course,†she replied and began to walk alongside Tristan again.

 

 

Things were quiet again as they walked on. It was fine by her, Tristan had saved her after all, and there was no reason to force a conversation where there just wasn’t one. After about twenty yards, the man did decide to speak to her. He was curious about her life in the real world; a place she’d not thought of in a very long time. “Oh… well.†She said finding the question a rather odd one. What sort of life did she have outside of SAO? Anna thought on it a moment. Her life until then had been a rather censored up one, but she eventually grew up, went to college, left California and never looked back at her old life.

 

“Oh… it was a rather normal one I guess,†she said not wanting to depress her handsome companion. Such things were not discussed in polite conversation anyway.

 

“What about you? What did you do in the other world?†Zaz asked. Since he was in a talking mood, Anna figured out she might as well keep the conversation going to pass the time. 

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan nodded in response as she spoke, not making much of the dismissive tone. Were he more on point he may have realised that. Sadly usually the only thing on point was the spear he held. Either way, he heard the continuation and thought on his response.

Compared to the many sob stories he heard from players of orphans, gratuitous trust funds and disabilities, his was very...normal.

 

"I manage a video game store in my town, part of a larger company, a bit like GameStop in America or such. There is for sure a certain irony with having a game manage my lifestyle now though...", he chuckled darkly. For sure, he wondered how the co now probably replacement manager was holding up with the store. "I for one do wonder on the job security of everyone, including I, in this game. Since some may have changed little in role, but some industries move at a breakneck pace. Well, I suppose time will tell."

 

He worked on the assumption that they would clear the game, which he was confident they were. Tristan noted the sun setting and decided it might be high time to set up camp. "I have a small tent with me, handy as they are and easy to take around in a videogame; we should have a pit stop and recuperate, as we won't cover the entire journey in one trip."

[Azrael 0]

Azazel giggled at Tristan’s quip about how games were managing his life where as it had been the opposite for him in the real world. It was a rather silly thing for him to say, but it was also cute in a charming way.  She felt relieved hearing Tristan’s story. Normally, players lives were sad and tragic, and yet here he was, handsome and with a rather ordinary life.  It only made him all the more attractive to her.  â€œI couldn’t tell you, though I feel secure in my position. I was an educator before coming here. Now, I’m an alchemist by profession.†She cracked a smile of the absurdity of the notion.

 

The sun was going down; and Anna had just realized how late it’d become. “I guess we have been traveling a long while,†she said to herself aloud. Tristan too noticed that the day was getting on and that perhaps they ought to stop for the time being and rest. “I think that’d be wise.†She agreed. “Were you a boy scout in the real world as well? You seem well prepared for anything,†Anna teased.

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan wondered what they educated, but left that for another time. For now the focus was on shelter. Once the tent was put into place and setup, fixed into place with the magical concept that was "video game logic", he stood up to stretch his spine slightly.

"Not particularly, but I did medieval combat reenactment for some time. So sometimes there were shows where people got together and lived as though in the time, so we set up tents and the like. In a sense you could say I am usually prepared for certain situations."

 

Tristan opened up the tent to find one large mattress bed, not two separate ones, his face went crimson just ever so slightly. These were the certain situations he was not prepared for. He scratched the back of his head with slight nervousness, being quite coy on matters like these. "I uh..it looks like we're sharing a resting place.". He was not really sure what to say and waited on her reaction to see how they would proceed. "If its too much for you, I can sleep next to the bed so you can have it for yourself."

[Azrael 0]

It seemed that the man had some prior experience in combat, or at least some version of it. It was more than she had so she wasn’t about to question things. Tristan set up the tent rather quickly and then went bright red. “Something wrong?†She asked as she moved toward the man to see what the problem was. The tent it seemed, only had one bed and this seemed to have the handsome man a bit perplexed.

 

"I uh..it looks like we're sharing a resting place….†He began, “If its too much for you, I can sleep next to the bed so you can have it for yourself."

 

“Don’t be silly,†Azazel said as she sat down upon the bed, “I’m not going to make you sleep on the floor. I’ll need you well rested if the Cerberus is anything like I’ve heard it to be.†She patted the spot beside her and then began to take off her little boots and set them beside the bed. It wasn’t terribly comfortable, but it was far nicer than laying on the floor. “Come on,†she said and wriggled her finger at him teasingly.

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan saw Azazel confidently rest herself on the bed and already take off some of the outdoor clothes when on the bed. This topped off with the suggestive finger movement was just plain teasing and even he could see that. His face was very red, much like his hair and he awkwardly sat himself on the bed and took his shoes off. He still only had his shirt on, since the heat meant they weren't in heavy clothing to begin with.

 

After cracking his neck and stretching himself slightly, he rested on the bed. Then went red again when he realised he wasn't alone in the bed. His voice was slightly broken in unease and wanted to check that this wasn't too weird for her, seeing as they were sharing a bed and yet they barely knew each other.

"Just so you ah-know, I won't try and do anything during the night to you or anything. I mean its not that I don't find you pretty, I just want to respect you as a person and ah-", he realised he was going on and on without direction, so decided to shut up and just lay on the bed embarrassed.

[Azrael 0]

Anna laughed the instant Tristan’s face went red as red as his lovely hair. He sat down on the bed and readied himself, and she laid back making herself comfortable. She rolled onto her side and curled up making herself comfortable, Tristan lay back eventually as well. He began to speak which prompted Azazel to roll onto her side and look at the man as he spoke. Tristan rather nervously told her he had no intention of doing anything to her which prompted Anna to laugh. “That’s rather a shame,†she said with a bit of a smile,†And I find you rather cute too.†The pretty woman laughed and smiled quite obviously having a giggle at the man's expense.

 

“Goodnight Tristan,†she said as she rolled back over and went to sleep.

 

***

 

Morning.

 

The sunlight began to stream into the tent, but the woman was not interested in waking up. She was warm and rather comfortable. She nuzzled her cheek against something soft. It seemed that sometime during the night Anna had rolled herself against the man she lay next to and rested in the crook of his arm, her head upon his chest. Her leg was draped over and between his and her hand had found it way under his shirt, and now caressed at his stomach. She gave a soft moan as she buried her face into his shoulder to hide from the light trying to wake her. Her leg brushed against his as she tried to settle fully back to sleep, not at all aware of what she was doing. Anna found a comfortable spot and gave another soft sigh as she fell back asleep cuddled around Tristan. 

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan didn't take long to fall asleep, a heavy sleeper who could do so at a moments notice. For him the night was peaceful, the dream being one of when he was with his ex-partner relaxing at home after work. He felt warm and pleasant, hugging his partner beside him. They were good times and he enjoyed the sensation of bodies close together.

 

When he slowly woke up though he realised he wasn't hugging the person he thought it was. It was in a tent on Floor 9 and with Azazel, who had somehow enveloped around him, legs over, arms wrapped his perimeter and a hand stroking his stomach. Not sure there would be much to stroke, since while there was abdominal muscles, the main reason they were prominent was due to him being slim. He looked around him, seeing it was turning light again. He wriggled ever so slightly, so as to wake him and to assess the situation.

He stammered a bit, concerned what to do in the situation where Azazel was still around his body. "Err...morning. I take it you slept well?"

[Azrael 0]

Azazel moaned. She didn’t want to wake up; she was quite content to stay as she was at least a bit longer. The travels through the ninth floor and wiped her out and she could’ve slept for another eight or nine hours at least. Her fingers traced small circles over the man’s abs as she slowly began to stir. “Hmmm?†Anna purred as she lifted her head and gave Tristan a sleepy smile. She yawned and stretched causing the spaghetti straps of her jumper to hang loosely about her shoulders and dropped the neckline fell further exposing Zaz’s cleavage in full view of Tristan. Anna yawned again and flopped back onto the man, this time flat out onto his chest as she sprawled out and then curled around him once more.

 

“Five more minutes,†she mewled sleepily and nuzzled against Tristan.