[PP-F4] The Quiet Cafe (Piera)

[Kotori 0]

Boredom. Numbing boredom filled the mind of Kotori as she sat quietly in the booth she was sitting at. It was going to be another one of those days she realized as her eyes gazed the downfall of snow. She couldn't but feel that nagging feeling to get up and go outside despite the storm that might be appearing, but it was too much work to do so. The place she was in was so warm and it just felt so nice. It was around this moment that she realized she was becoming more and more sleepy although she kept a bit more alert so that she didn't become vulnerable to any sleep PKers. Still, it wouldn't hurt to take a small nap anytime soon, she was a bit tired after the long day. Maybe a quick snooze would be alright.

[Piera 0]

Soft snug soundless snow. It was falling outside at a quick rate and made her worry, but she was sure that it would die down soon. She would have gone to even play in it, but a lot of her playfulness was diminished. Being trapped inside a virtual world under threat of death would do that to a person. Piera shifted in her chair as she scrolled down through her menu, re-reading her journal. Writing in it had kept her sane through this time and there honestly wasn't really anything else she could do currently. Though having a nice warm cup of...anything really, sounded nice about now... She sighed as she looked at the pathetic amount of money she had. One needed to go out and actually play to earn money. Defeating monsters, going through floors and completing quests. That was what games were all about. And she hadn't done any of it. Her left hand gripped her right arm tightly, her lips pursed in frustration; at herself, the Kayaba Akihiko, life, everything.

 

A small shudder passed through her before she let out another rather large sigh and glanced around the warm cafe. It wasn't empty and it wasn't packed. A cozy compromise. Though at passing glance she couldn't determine how many were just NPCs. But it was the PCs that she was really worried about. She took the time now to look at them all with her peripherals, trying not to look too paranoid. With any luck, the really scary high level players or even...*gulp* player killers would be at higher floors looking for better scores. And then her mind took a darker turn, worrying about Lee. He would be by any minute she was sure... She nodded to convince herself and tried to relax. Looking around again, she even saw a girl so relaxed she was practically falling asleep and couldn't help but chuckle a little. Maybe she was worrying for nothing.

[Kotori 0]

Strangeness. Oddballs. That was something that could be spotted out. They were everywhere, sometimes blending in, but they were there. A person just needed to keep an eye out of it. Instead of letting herself succumb to the exhaustion that filled the very bones of her body, Kotori was looking around the infested cafe. That was one. It had been very quiet minutes ago and not many people had occupied the place although now it was packed to the brim with people talking and doing others things with each other. Not much of a big deal and it wasn't even that bad.

 

She kept saw.gazing and looking at all the people, that was when her irises found themselves laying upon the weird one out. A girl, maybe a couple of years older than herself was sitting by herself with a peculiar look of worry on her face, almost to the point of anxiety. That was weird. There was no reason to be afraid of anything, save for sleep PKers. Even those were rare and would never attempt to do that in the proximity of other players. It was a safe zone and there was no way of killing a person unless two people agreed on a duel. This player look low-leveled to, she probably still had her starter gear. It reminded the raven-haired girl of herself only a few months. She had stayed to herself and hadn't even gotten past level one, although that had been her choice. Then she had met a choice select of people that had helped her out a bit and made her open up more than she had done in years. She could do the same for this person. So instead of staying seated, Kotori went over and asked a simple question. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

[Piera 0]

Piera was considering sending out a message, but worried that it would distract him in someway. She just needed to be patient. So wrapped up in her own thoughts and anxieties, she didn't notice someone approaching her and so jumped a little when she heard a voice close to her. "Ah! Oh. Um. Y-Yes. I mean yes you can sit there! Not yes that I mind...sorry..." She inwardly cursed herself for her reaction and awkward speech. You'd think being trapped in with thousands of other people would give her an excuse to actually interact. But it felt just like real life sometimes... Which wasn't always a good thing. 

 

Now taking the time to actually look at who she just spoken with, she felt a bit more at ease. It was the sleepy girl. She looked a few years younger than her and most importantly, not like she was ultra high level. Smiling shyly, the brunette tried pathetically, "Some weather, huh?" And immediately wanted to bash her face into the table they were sitting at. Great, she was reduced to chatting about virtual weather. The epitome of social awkwardness.

[Kotori 0]

"Ah! Oh. Um. Y-Yes. I mean yes you can sit there! Not yes that I mind...sorry..."

 

This new person seemed to be a bit more on the awkward side of the scale of personalities, something that Kotori could say she could relate to. What an odd thought that was. Unless she was forgetting a moment, she couldn't help but feel this was the first time she actually approached another person in the hopes of talking to someone. Nonetheless, she couldn't think about that in the moment. Looking around the cafe, she focused her attention the lady in front of her. She seemed to be trying to make a conversation point by bringing up the weather. It was looking bad, although there was always  snowfall on this particular floor. "Its a bit bad, but manageable.. I was going to try to make to the teleportation gate, but decided to stay in here." she replied while looking out the window. "By the way, my name's Kotori, your's?" the girl introduced herself before requesting the lady's name. It was the very best she could do to make this entire conversation less awkward and a bit more easier to talk on both sides.

[Piera 0]

Piera nodded as the girl explained some of the reason for her presence in the cafe. "You ever wonder if it's cold wherever our bodies are? It could be sweltering but we just feel however it is in the game." The brunette shrugged, glancing out the window and noting that the snow never really piled up past a certain height, game physics and all that. She wasn't entirely sure where their bodies are but she was pretty sure that they were in hospitals or something since they had been in here for so long. Something was keeping them alive and hydrated and such.

 

Piera looked back at the raven haired girl as she introduced herself and asked for her own name. Smiling a bit more easily, she replied, "Piera." Pointing up at her status bar that indicated her health, player status and of course name. "Nice to meet you Kotori. Hey, um, what's that thing, that little icon next to your name?" She asked with curiosity, meaning the little blue shield with a white pattern on it and a golden bird that had its wings spread.

[Kotori 0]

It seemed that the girl in front of her was warming up a bit instead of acting more awkward just like before although it was still a bit noticeable. Ignoring the otherwise useless thoughts about assumptions and whatnot, Kotori found herself answering to a question about how it was back at home.  Odd. She used to worry the heck out of herself just thinking about how the world was going on without her in real life and what her father was doing. There wasn't anything else to do and she didn't want to leave the comforts of safe zones at all so that was usually on her mind all the time. Now it was something altogether different. It made her afraid of losing herself to the Aincrad, she couldn't just let the world get to her. No, she wouldn't let it at all. "Honestly.. I don't know. I don't know how he managed to rig the helmets, but he's an evil genius. I have to admit that."

 

Piera seemed to be the name of the player, a somewhat fitting name for a girl of her stature. Her thoughts were interrupted by the question to her about the circumstances relating the emblem appearing the right of her name. "Oh.. Hehe, that's um.. the guild that I am in. Its called the Azure Brigade, I just recently got accepted into it so I left my original guild for this one." she answered with a bit of a smirk on her face.

[Piera 0]

Piera gave a rather unlady like snort as Kotori admitted that Kayaba Akihiko was an evil genius. "Yeah... It's so twisted. Like we're all just some big controlled science experiment. He's gotta be watching us somehow. Still doesn't explain the why." She shrugged, already having thought too much about this subject before. Who was she to try and figure out the mind of a Japanese evil genius dude? "I'm sure our bodies are fine though. Ten thousand people going into comas or whatever is bound to get some attention. We're all in hospitals most likely." Except for the people that didn't have any friends or family close by. She shuddered, remembering witnessing a player just drop dead. There was quite a panic after that, people dying left and right for seemingly no reason. It was a horrifying thought, which didn't get easier even after they had guessed the reason behind it. The brunette was just glad that she and Lee didn't live alone.

 

Studying the little symbol, Piera murmured, "Azure Brigade..." She had heard the name before she was sure, but knew nothing about it. Then she tilted her head in thought. "I didn't know you could leave a guild. Why did you leave your last one? Oh um, you don't have to answer that! If it's personal. Sorry..." She finished in a small voice, embarrassed at her own nosiness. She really didn't want to give a bad impression, the girl seemed nice.