[PP-F2]Meeting (Carmine)

[Emblem 0]

Emblem had finished his guild meeting and had decided to head to the crossing fields to admire the approaching stars. He slumped down on the ground and began picking flowers. He personally liked the pink roses because of the memories it held within the petals. They reminded him of his friend Cho. Emblem lay down and began watching the clouds roll by. Soon after Emblem felt his eyes droop he fought to stay awake because of the sleep Pk's but shook of the thought and fell asleep. His familiar Aisu curled up on his chest and began to sleep too.

[Carmine 0]

Things weren't really looking up for Carmine as of late. Though she'd been fairly excited to be trapped in a game in the beginning, now she wasn't and realized how bad things truly were. How awful this situation was, one she'd decided was vacation for so long. Well, it wasn't vacation at all and here she was now, changed all because of a silly game. Really, Carmine would rather had never gone through this so she could still be that oblivious woman like before. Oh well. One thing that got Carmine's mind off of things was the beautiful locations that Aincrad held; mainly the High Fields of Crossing. It may be more popular for dates, but could just as well be used as a relaxation zone. 

 

In hopes of letting off some steam, not really feeling up to contacting any of her friends for the time being not that she had anything against doing so, Carmine trekked through the fields idly loving some time to herself. Being extremely tall, Carmine found herself tripping over things all the time (and people, if you counted Thorrissia) so it wasn't surprising when she almost trampled a young boy. He seemed to be asleep, and Carmine was a footstep away from crushing him. Literally. Luckily, she paused mid-step and backed away in order not to hurt the stranger. Not being able to resist such adorableness, Carmine crawled down onto her knees and leaned over the boy, poking his cheek gently. Really, children were her absolute weakness and since not many pre-teens or those younger than that had encountered Carmine she definitely had to meet this one. "Hey, hey wake up." The twenty-six year old whispered, curling her lips up in eagerness to meet whomever this was. She might not be as fun as she used to, being mature now-a-days, Carmine still knew how to be entertaining especially around younger players.

[Emblem 0]

"Ren please help me." Those were the last words he heard when he was woken up. Huh! Emblem jolted up to see a women knelt down beside him smiling. He gave the lady a look of confusion then felt the small dragon stir. Umm. excuse me miss can I help you? Emblem talked to the woman with a dazed look on his face. He still felt asleep and wondered if this was a dream. Emblem felt his vision clear and he got a better look at the woman. He saw a woman with distinctive red hair and a large scar going over her left eye. He thought the lady was a PK but then dismissed the thought. 

[Carmine 0]

"Just checking on you is all. Did I startle you?" Carmine sat back and onto the grass, crossing her legs still next to the boy. He seeemd a bit afraid by her looming presence, not like she could blame him; she'd be scared waking up to herself as well. Forgetting that she might seem a little overbearing, Carmine sat back and put some space in between the two in case the child became frightened or felt the need to attack due to her being so close to him while he slept. "Sorry. I just wanted to know the name of such a cutie~" The woman cooed, shifting her green orbs to his familiar. Almost as adorable as the boy, she tilted her head curiously and played with a strand of crimson hair, pointing to the dragon with the other hand. "Can I know their name too? I really do love your familiar, much better looking than the ones I've seen. Not to mention how awesome dragons are." Though she was mature, Carmine knew how to bring out her inner-child to seem amusing in the presence of younger people. And well, she wasn't lying. Dragons were pretty dang cool in the movies.

[Emblem 0]

Emblem gave the woman a questioning look then decided that he trusted her. He blushed then told her his name. My names Emblem. Emblem looked down at his familiar.  And her names Aisu. Emblem looked back up at the woman and smiled. What's your name? Emblem was eager to find out who this woman was. He found it odd that he would be woken up by a strange woman. He began tugging on his scarf an odd habit he'd acquired when he was curious about a month ago. HE pulled his sword of and set it on the ground next to him giving the woman his full attention.

[Carmine 0]

As Emblem blushed, Carmine felt the need to hug him and hold the boy in her arms forever; but sadly that'd be really weird on her side and probably extremely awkward for the other. Seriously, there needed to be more children in Sword Art Online that walked around town so Carmine could say hello and coo over how cute they were. "Emblem and Aisu? That's different. You two seem like a good team, I bet you kick butts all the time." Carmine brushed a few bangs out of her face and took a good look at the person and familiar before her. Was he all alone? The thought hadn't crossed Carmine until now, but she wondered if he needed a friend, or someone close, or just anybody; she couldn't stand that a kid had to go through all of this, how sad. Yet, he seemed to be managing just fine all alone and seemed content with life. At least that was the case, though Carmine still frowned.

 

"My name's Carmine, nice to meet you sweetie~" She reached out to ruffle his hair gently, before returning her arm to her side. "Dang. Your gear is much better than mine. Isn't that funny? You must be tougher than I thought." Carmine pulled out her beginner's dagger and set the weapon next to Emblem's sword. "I didn't want to fight with a sword for some reason, daggers just seemed more my style." Chewing on her bottom lip, Carmine glanced elsewhere before speaking. "Are you... um... doing okay? I'm not underestimating you or anything because of age, I just felt like asking would be appropriate. Tell me how Aincrad has been so far for such an adorable boy."

[Emblem 0]

Emblems smiled immediately went to a frown. He looked down. The memories of all that had happened to him flooded his mind. From the day he lost his brother and to when he met his guild. He remembered his break down in front of his guild leader. "Ummm well I guess not well." "But at the same time some of these memories I've made here are the best I've ever had." Emblem sighed. Whenever someone asked about his past he got all touchy he never wanted to relive the moments but couldn't ever forget them. "To be honest I'm not doing well. Not even close." Emblem looked up and forced a grin at the lady. He didn't want anyone to worry about him. Not even someone he had just met. "But, I have my goals and people I need to protect to keep me going."

[Carmine 0]

Carmine hadn't expected to touch this boy with her words, and she regretted asking about his well-being. Surely she should've known asking about such a sensitive topic would bring back unpleasant memories stored in the back of the mind, wished to be forgotten; but no, she asked and it was too late to take anything back. Time to take responsibility for once in her life, she wasn't that immature woman from the beginning of the game anymore. "Hey, hey." She put a hand under Emblem's chin, mimicking the actions she performed with Scarlett_, and lifted his head so his eyes would meet her emerald orbs. "Never fake a smile, let me know how you're really feeling. I used to do that all the time, and it never did any good. I know things don't always look up but I can assure you people are always fighting for our safety, to get out of this death game. Now remember, like you just said, there will always be someone you want to protect and that's enough to keep anyone going. Even I, the laziest person you could ever meet, feel the need to work for once." Even at a time like this, Carmine still ended her speech with a lighthearted joke.

 

She held out her arms, heart swelling, and without letting him have a say in anything Carmine embraced Emblem in a loose, affectionate hug; while being careful not to bump into or squish Aisu. Well, she really couldn't help herself and also felt like this was the right time to do so. 

[Emblem 0]

Emblem felt on the verge of tears but promised himself that he wouldn't cry anymore. He looked up to see the woman put her hand under his chin and begin talking to him. The words that come out of her mouth seemed almost like a mother comforting her son. He was then embraced in a warm hearted hug. Th.Thank you Carmine. Emblem closed his eyes and imagined the faces of the people he'd lost. He felt the sadness begin to take over but decided he wouldn't be a sad little kid anymore. After all he had something to do in this world. Something he needed to finish. He asked the woman a question he asked about everyone. What do you think your purpose in this world is Carmine. What is your end goal. â€‹Emblem pulled away from the woman and felt his familiar fly up and rest on his head,

[Carmine 0]

"I'll be here anytime for you darling, even if we just met." Carmine promised, squeezing just a little bit tighter before Emblem scooted away. Gosh, Carmine just wanted to stay like that forever; holding Emblem was the best feeling she'd ever felt. The moment reminded her of when she used to take care of her younger siblings, and comfort them when they got hurt or began to cry for whatever reason. She always had a knack for being good with children, but that didn't come instinctively, the trait took years to develop though now it stuck with Carmine in whatever she did. "Purpose?" The twenty-six year old was a bit thrown off by this question, and leaned back using her arms for support in thought, her eyes glancing elsewhere for a few moments before returning to Emblem's. What a difficult question to answer, while at the same time Carmine knew what to say almost instantly.

 

"Well... I don't wanna die. But more importantly, I don't want my friends to die. I'll put them before myself if I need to." She paused and thought a bit longer before speaking again, tugging on a strand of crimson hair. "There's helping, too. Even though I hate working when it's not needed, if it meant helping people who were like me to realize that we need to get out of the game ASAP then I'd gladly grab a profession. Still thinking about which one I want, though." The corners of Carmine's lips twitched, and she didn't know whether or not to be happy or sad at the fact that she had a goal, but had to be stuck in a video game while her body wasted away. "Er... What about you?" She quickly said to get her minds off of confusing things. "We're almost the same, right? We want to protect. Anything else you had in mind?"

[Emblem 0]

​I guess somewhat were the same except for one major difference. There's something that I have to do, someone I need to kill. Don't get me wrong I'm no PK. There is someone specific. I'm sorry If I just scared you but. The one I need to kill is my brother. Emblem looked down. He recalled the entire moment in specific detail. My brother left me about 3 days after the announcement fro the man. I hid in an Inn where he couldn't wait to get out into the world. Emblem grit his teeth. He told me he had no brother anymore. He left me and now he's who know's where. I've devoted a lot of my time here looking for him to fight and kill him. Again I'm sorry If this scared you. Emblem looked up at the girl and smiled.

[Carmine 0]

What Emblem said next really surprised Carmine... emphasis on "really". How could someone who seemed so sweet a second ago change like that? No... he was still sweet, Carmine just got thrown off after hearing something like that. "Scared me? No. Surprised me? Yes." For someone who was extremely close to her family and had never thought of even harming a hair on the heads of her siblings', Carmine couldn't truly comprehend why exactly anybody would hurt a family member no matter the circumstances. "Emblem. Look at me." She frowned, brows furrowed, emerald orbs glaring in his direction. "He was probably scared, afraid. Your brother didn't know what to do, and I'm sure he didn't want to see you die or carry your weight on his shoulders so he left in a panic. Are you willing to kill anyone who hurts you? I'm going to tell you: your idea to kill a living, breathing soul is idiotic. Nobody deserves to die. Not anyone in this world because you can fix a broken heart but you can't bring back the dead..." She softened her glare and shifted green eyes to the ground. "H-how could you hurt a person so close to you? How..." Carmine blinked a few times to rid of any tears attempting to free themselves, running a tongue over dry lips. "How about we change the subject, huh? I don't wanna be the person to talk about this to you."

[Emblem 0]

Emblem nodded as she explained how idiotic of an idea it was and he had to agree. He had no idea how stupid he had been and decided rather than going to kill him he would find his brother. If he was dead he would find out or if he was alive he would also know then. Thank you Carmine. He got up from his seat in the patch of flowers and picked a violet. Here you go Carmine. He held out the flower to the lady as a gift for all the guidance she had given to him. You've helped me realize something now. I'm not going to kill him but rather do the opposite. I'm going to try and find him. Where ever he is in this world. Emblem looked up at the woman and grinned.