PP -F10: Floor 11 Boss Raid Meeting: INVITE ONLY

[Mari 1]

NB: This is invite only, Guild leaders have automatic admittance. Those who found the Floor 11 Boss have automatic admittance.

Guild leaders please bring 1 representative from your guild with you (PM if you want 2) to the meeting. Solo players, you must PM me before participating in this thread.
 

 

Floor 10

It was not the most ideal location for a meeting, especially one of such importance – but Mari was not usually one to take the comfort of others into consideration. She had mused on the location of the meeting. Floor 9 crossed her mind, but she didn’t want to go there again. Especially since Azazel still had possession of the Phoenix cape.

The other floors? There was little to no reason to go there; the other floors were too low to discuss the raid on the floor 11 boss. Floor 11? It was a bunch of forests filled with infested ant nests. So Mari, finally, decided on Floor 10, shrouded in the eternal darkness of the underground. Mari’s shop was here; and Mari had scoured the floor countless times. During one of these escapades she had found a rather ‘convenient’ (perhaps too convenient) room;

A 10 minute stroll East of the main settlement on the 10^th floor. Inconspicuous at first, although Mari had managed to mark the entrance with a pair of torches – of course their light would only last a few hours at most, and any late comers would struggle to find the cave without their light. Especially on a floor that gave no light.

Sucks if people don’t have Night Vision eh?

Regardless…

Mari had marked the entrance to this cave with a few torches. Inside the cave, was a convenient, large, rectangular slab; which would serve as Mari’s table. Around it, sat various flat topped rocks of various sizes. Placed neatly, and evenly spaced from each other. Not the most comfortable of settings for a meeting, but again, Mari did not usually take comfort into consideration. They were here to discuss an important matter, not lounge around in comfort.

At the head of the table sat a large rock, against a larger rock which stood vertically; giving the illusion of a large chair. It was at the head of the table, in this large Make-Shift chair that Mari sat. This would be the second raid meeting she would host, and she was not planning on playing any games.

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom noticed a random message pop up upon his menu HUD while he was laying down in Meokka's shop upon the 4th floor. "Hmm, me and Oikawa already finished all our ordeals for the near future. I am laying next to Meokka right now, who could this be from?" He whispered to himself so he wouldn't awake her. He dropped he moved his hand over to the message and selected it. What opened was a note where the boss meeting thread would be held. This message made his eyes open wide, "At this time of night the meeting is taking place? Heh, I like the way this person works." He told himself. He quickly then hopped up and adorned his signature armor and blade upon his back then rushed out the door after placing a kiss upon the head of Meokka.

 

He enjoyed the tenth floor quite a bit as he thought to himself while walking to the Teleportation gate of the fourth floor. He enjoyed warmer floors and couldn't fathom why she decided to open her shop on this bonechilling floor, Ssendom much despised the coldness of the fourth floor and couldn't wait to get out of there as quickly as possible. Upon reaching the Teleportation gate he looked up, "Teleport: Yomi!" He shouted causing the building to glow a bright light blue then flashed as he disappeared with the light.

 

After a brief second everything got much darker for a second before brightening back up due to his Night Vision, "God I love the fact I have this. This floor would be quite the nuisance, much like that wolf I fought those months ago in that dark cave. Alright to get to this location." He talked to himself as he strolled in a powerful strut out of the city of Yomi.

 

He walked for a good 10 minutes as was described in the message from the east of town, he looked around to note the amount of undead actually inhabited the floor. He knew he had to come back here, it would be quite fun cleaving through bone and scattering them about. As he was having his thoughts he noticed a brighter light a short distance from him. It was two torches, "That's the meeting area." He murmured under his voice. He walked up and entered the cave to see a massive rectangular slab and the pink haired girl he saw while traversing through the 11th floor dungeons to find the boss room.

 

He walked over and sat in the seat next to her, "Nice to meet you. You're the one that beat me and Oikawa to finding the boss room." He reached his hand out to be polite to the woman wondering if she would accept his greeting as well before turning to the table and awaiting the other arrivals, his eyes glowing green as he looked at her indicating his Night Vision was active.

[Zelrius 0]

(I have permission from Tristan to Bunny him along)

Zelrius had a different plan in mind then he did last time around. The Azure Brigade had omitted to stay out of the last boss fight,  a Horrible mistake on their part. The Golden haired boy thought that to be the beginning of the end for Azure. It was that choice and a few others following it that eventually lead to the Brigade's glory dwindling, and the Commandants of it to disappear. There were two of those original seven Commandants left around to speak. Zelrius was one of them, And Velvet room's Clarence was the other. There's rumors of people seeing Daeron again as well. His intuition reminded him silently in his head. Nonetheless, The new team of commandants brought way more good tidings and less selfishness, or so Zelrius felt. Speaking of which, the Ex-Blood Buccaneer had brought along the Red-haired commandant this time around. A Renowned tank and seemingly wizz with the Ladies, he thought it would be necessary to bring someone who most of the other Leaders there would be familiar with. 

 

He thought it a bit queer, the fact that Mari had chosen the place of meeting to be in a Dark cave. Normally, the golden haired boy would have complained on and on about it, but he had recently acquired night vision, and was more than fine with walking a bit of a ways to get to something as important as a boss meeting. Entering the Area, the boy spoke "It appears we're early this time, Mr Delaney." The self centered voice being heard back in his head as it slightly bounced off the walls. "Don't worry Mari," His grin widening as he lifts his open palms to face her "No signed documents this time."

[Oikawa 1]

A few flames marked the entrance. The darkness enveloped and engulfed any and everything that surrounded the blonde. His steps echoed against the rocks as he carved through the rocky path to the cave.  Despite his lack of <Night Vision>, the blonde had little trouble adjusting to the darkness. After all he had spent quite a few trips around the tenth floor. Getting more familiar with the floor each and every time. The flames flickered as he stepped to the entrance. Their glow giving the vibe that they may go out at any given moment.

 

Stepping inside, his eyes once again had to re-adjust to the lack of light. Rubbing his eyes, his vision finally settled onto a few things. The first being the massive slab of a table just inside the cave. The second being the "chairs" spaced evenly about around the table. His gaze shifted to the third thing he had noticed. The people inside. Heading the table was the ever relevant Mari. The pink haired renowned player of SAO. He nodded to her. Formalities unneeded seeing as how they both knew of each other which was enough given the circumstances. Patting the shoulders of his comrades, Oikawa took a seat opposite of Mari and waited for the rest of the meeting to arrive. This was gonna be a doozy to say the least.

[Mari 1]

(last post then sleep will reply in morning)

The first one to arrive, sat at the right hand side of the table, in a seat close to her. He was vagually familiar, what was his name? Sassydom? Something like that. "Oh? That was you?" Mari asked, twirling a strand of cotton candied hair around her finger as he made a comment about her reaching the room before he did.  Mari did hear the signs of battle behind her during that time, the shouts of what she assumed was a team of 2-3 people, it drove her to move faster, to push herself. It was tiring, but well worth the right to be able to once again, chair the meeting and lead the way into the next boss fight. The corner of her lip tweaked up into a small, amused smirk. "Better luck next time, sunshine." She said, extending her free hand to firmly grasp his. Despite the ravishes of fighting, her hands were still soft as the day she entered the game. "Good to see another with Night Vision." She mused, as she gestured first to his eyes, then to her own.

 

 

The next to arrive, was Zelrius; as egocentric as ever. With Tristan in tow. Mari made a small sound of distaste at the sight of the two, it was only loud enough for Ssesdom to hear. She had no real issue with Zelrius, other than his constant self righteous attitude, and death threats to other players, he had no follow through. Admittedly Mari was glad Zelrius wasn't actually killing people. Still, it frustrated her. Why bother saying such things? Still, Zelrius seemed to have calmed down. Not only that, but his marker was green once again.

"I wouldn't worry, even if you did have another hastily scrawled note, Zelrius." Mari replied. Offering both Zelrius and Tristan a nod, gesturing for them to sit down. "Still, your presence will be welcomed. Unlike you, I have yet to take Redemption - and cannot offer more hospitable accommodations-Ah, Hello Oikawa."

Mari said, blue eyes, lit with the green of Night Vision turning to look at the newest person to join them. It seemed this group would be a lot larger than the last. It also seemed that Mari was more....how should anyone put this...approachable as of late, the woman was slowly coming to terms with her own demons and past misdemeanour's, and it showed. 

[Lowenthal 0]

(( I'm bringing Jomei along, as my plus 1. I believe he'll post when he's ready. ))

 

 

Lowenthal stepped into the darkness of the tenth floor. He rubbed his eyes, trying to get used to his new <Night Vision> ability. He was still getting used to it, nothing looked the same. Everything had a tint of green, and he could see creature's eyes shining in the dark. He shuddered at that, now seeing how many creatures were in between him and his destination. He finally made it to what was a lone stone table, that had several familiar faces crowded around it. Lowenthal sat down, and leaned on the 'table' awaiting for everyone else to arrive. Unless this was all that was going to show up. In which case, this battle would end grimly. He scratched the back of his head, not knowing how to act at a meeting of this scale before.

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan walked with Zelrius to the boss meeting. He had sadly missed the fight which was not his intention, however he was on a break from frontlining so it was merely his own complacency that had caused that. He wasn't quite sure why there going to an abode more akin to where rats dwell than formal meetings were held, but then Mari didn't always seem the most sensible of folk, her killing record aside. Upon entering the room, he noticed the other players present who also introduced themselves.

 

He sat beside Zelrius for the discussion, noticing also fellow Commandant Oikawa who had been part of the scouting for the boss fight. He spoke to Mari and said "So, what are the plans in terms of numbers for this fight? I know the last one had a small team, but I don't think we should let that get the better of and have us recklessly dive into this fight.". He knew the last party for the boss was small to say the least, but these were also some of the highest of levels in Sword Art Online and not to be underestimated, his recent win against Rebekahm who was one of them, in the season aside. He also turned slightly to Zelrius and quirked an eyebrow, saying "Documents?" quietly to him.

[Jomei 0]

(( Lowenthal invited me as his plus 1 from The Velvet Room))

"Lowe, I hope you know where you're going.." 

Jomei followed closely behind his friend through the darkness that was the Tenth Floor. He strained his eyes, which darted from left to right scanning the area, trying to adjust to the lack of light. His friend seemed to know where he was going, so Jomei put his trust in him. After a short walk through the area, the two came across the entrance to a cavern, the opening lit up by two torches. A soft sigh of relief passed Jomei's lips as he saw the light. Looks like they had made it.

 

As they stepped through the entrance, through a small tunnel of darkness once again, they came into another dimly lit room set up like a meeting hall.. but with rocks. Jomei scanned the faces of the other players who occupied the room. He knew, or at least recognized, everyone who was present at the table. He had met mostly everyone, and believed he had met the long crimson haired player before.. but did not catch his name. The only one Jomei was unfamiliar with was the pink haired girl sitting at the head of the table, to whom Jomei gave a slight, but respectful, bow of his head to. He then accompanied Lowenthal to adjacent seats at the stone table and waited for others to arrive.

[Mari 1]

(waited long enough for others to reply, as no one has I am now responding again; skipping Dom, Zelrius and Oikawa. Lost 80% of this post so its really 0 effort. )

 

Mari gave an annoyed sigh, when she got no response from the people she had spoken to. "F***ing rude.." she mumbled under her breath. This was why she wanted to skip the formality of a meeting, and just get down to the nitty gritty of the boss. If she could; she'd go it alone, but Mari wasn't that stubborn. She knew she wouldn't be able to do it alone, at least not with her current supplies of healing items.

 

Lowenthal walked into the meeting next, his eyes also held the faint green tinge of Night Vision. Where were all these people during the last fight? Mari noticed that Lowenthal seemed a tad...strained, an unsure expression sprawled across his face, which usually bore a carefree smile. "You are a guild leader, get used to this." Mari said toward Lowenthal, her tone curt. Although her intention was to put him at ease, it was no doubt lost with the execution of her words. Her eyes briefly landed on the other who had followed meekly behind him. Sitting close to him. Must have been the representative that the kid chose. "Mmm.." It was the only thing she had offered the stranger

 

 

Tristan spoke, Mari shrugged, her eyes glancing toward the door. "Others have yet to arrive, I give them 10 more minutes before pushing foward with boss information, and room information. Although; with the information I have, I do not see the need for any more than 12-15 people at the absolute most. Frankly, I'd prefer it if we had it at a nice number, say 10. Sh*t, If I had more crystals I'd have taken it on, by myself. Still, I am getting ahead. I'll quickly recap the last battle."

Mari leaned back in her chair, her finger impatiently tapping the stone surface of the table. "Rebekah and myself were the most useful in battle. I had dealt the most damage, but she closely followed behind. She was also the only person who actually listened when I suggested to bring healing items. Both Crozeph and Shark failed to do so, and if it weren't for us, Shark would be dead. Frankly, his behaivour during the battle was appalling. He had zoned out for a good 60% of the battle, and at one stage even got into a self depreciating stupour, leaning against the wall with his face in his hands - muttering sh*t about how he felt he was not good enough to be a leader." Mari paused, shaking her head. "That behaviour in a boss battle is just stupid. There ain't no sugar coating it. Admittedly, he picked up his game for the last haul - and we all came out unscathed. "

 

 

[Ssendom 0]

(Sorry, many responsibilities... Not enough time. Trying to prevent from Stretching myself too thin. My apologies for the wait people.)

 

Ssendom was rather intrigued with this Pink haired lass whom took his handshake and gave a firm one at that. As he looked at her eyes that were lit green with Night Vision he felt he could sense a sort of troubled past, even though her soft hands to the touch spoke other wise. He gave her the benefit of the doubt when calling him sunshine since she had bested him in discovering the boss room floor, she then turned about and complimented him in her own mannerism about his Night Vision, "Indeed it is good to see more Night Vision users." He complimented her in the same way.

 

Ssendom very discreetly looked Mari up and down, not only to look at the figure but to get a sort of idea of what she is like based upon her gear. As he was surveying her that's when familiar people were brought into the Boss Meeting room. Oikawa, Zelrius, Tristan, Lowenthal, and Jomei. Ssendom looked around the room thinking it was strange that only a short amount of people had appeared at the boss meeting location. He was sure there were suppose to be more people than there were here.

 

He turned to look at Mari and bowed his head slightly, "We'll chat sometime after this meeting is over if you've got time, and that is if you don't mind." He mentioned to her, regardless of if she decided to take him up upon this offer or not didn't bother him. It was close to show time and he knew she nor he needed any other thoughts besides the topic at hand. He then did a simple one motion salute with two fingers pressed together toward each person that entered the room.

 

He listened to what Mari had to say about the previous boss fight. He made a mental note of everything she mentioned in the fight, a lack of healing potions, a lack of attention, and many other things. He knew if he was coming to this fight he was going to give it his complete and undivided attention. He had a few things left of his agenda before running with the Front Lines, he knew he also possessed the time to do so. He kept his words to himself knowing as a first time participant in the Front Lines he would need to be the good little soldier and listen to the more experienced fighters.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

*gasp.... gasp* 'Where is that place?' though a certain blonde figure as she was nearing the specified location in her map. She was told that it will be a walk in the park for several minuted, from Yomi to her destination. "One of these days I'll get that night vision skill" she muttered, not specifically addressing  her companion that was a bit behind her. He was probably looking for the same entrance she now was searching for. It was already a bit past the time she was told to be there, so the two had to find that meeting room entrance before arriving too late and missing out the entire meeting.

 

"Do you see anything?" she asked with a partial hope of a reply from her companion. The blonde raised bottle in her left hand, letting it shine a little light in front of her. The crafting item that she found at this floor, a bottle that contained a fluorescent powder labeled 'Firefly Essence', was what she thought to be the equivalent of a glow stick in SAO. It shone a faint light but not enough to cancel the gruesome negative effects this floor had on players.

 

In any case as the two drew closer to a dead end that was represented by a wall, the blonde could notice a pair of faint lights that were made by a couple of dying torches. "Takao, over here, I found it!!!" she said in a rather excited voice, noticing the faint light that came from the inside of what appeared to be a cave. Once the dark haired companion would arrive, Ariel would draw a quick breath of air and then sigh, before signaling him to follow her as she entered the meeting place for the 11th floor boss fight.

 

Inside she would find a rather crude meeting area with a bunch of people around something that appeared to be a table. The blonde put away her illumination source and scanned the faces of all those present. She knew some of then, others she'd only meet once and the rest were unfamiliar to her. She would nod towards the ones she knew, or at least meet before...stopping her gaze at a certain pink head. With yet another sigh she would summon her HUD and un-equip her vambraces and shoulder pads. Remaining just in her 'civilian' attire but with her black weapon strapped at her waist.

 

"First of all, sorry for being late, since neither I or my guild mate have the Night Vision skill, us finding this place was a bit...troublesome. For those who don't know us, my name is Ariel and this is Takao." She said with a straight face while motioning her guild mate to come forward. After that she would continue:

"We are here at this meeting to attend as representatives of 'The Guardians of Aincrad' guild. Our apologies but our guild leader is.....unavailable at the moment. She is making preparations for the incoming battle so we were dispatched in her stead. I only hope we didn't arrive too late and apologize once again for it."

 

At first she was hesitant but showed a steel resolve as she took a seat on one of the remaining seats. There was indeed some bad blood between her and certain members of this meetings but she had to put those things aside as this was something important for all the players stuck in SAO.

 

(Got permission from Lessa to attend and from Takao to bunny-hop him)

[Takao 0]

"Ow." His monotone voice echoed lightly as he walked straight into the wall of the cave. It had become very apparent to him that his skills in navigation, which were usually mediocre at best, very quickly became deplorable without the guiding presence of light. He rubbed his nose as he took a step backward and righted his heading using his traveling companion's unfocused voice. His faint grumbling after continuously stumbling over small, unseen obstacles would go mostly unnoticed as he attempted to catch up to Ariel. He huffed out a breath and chuckled lightly as she questioned whether or not he saw anything, and shook his head despite her inability to see the gesture.

 

"I can't even see my hand in front of my fa- oof." He was cut off as he veered off course from where he'd heard her voice and walked into a stomach-height stalagmite. His gloved hands pushed off the column as he took a few steps backward. "This seems like a terribly difficult place to find for such an important meeting." He wasn't usually one to complain, nor did he often find himself growing frustrated, but even he had his limits. It was especially difficult with his clumsiness being amplified by the rough terrain. His green eyes caught sight of the slight glow and used it as a point of reference.

 

He managed to catch up considerably with the glowing powder, and happened to be standing beside her when she excitedly exclaimed that she'd found the door. He flinched and rubbed his ear, then sluggishly threw his hands up into the air to exhale a comically forced "Woo!"

 

Takao followed her inside, though he stayed a few steps behind her on her left. He'd opted not to wear his cumbersome equipment on their escapade through the darkness, as he needed all the poise he could muster even if it didn't end up helping much. He was left wearing the black sleeved shirt that he typically wore beneath his armour, as well as the brown trousers and boots that accompanied his usual equipment. His sword was slung over his right shoulder as it was usually carried. As Ariel spoke, Takao cast an idle glance over the room and examined the occupants. Only two of them looked familiar to him, and upon glancing over Mari, he felt his mouth purse and eyebrows raise slightly. Having not spoken to her since his very brief stint in her guild meant that he found the situation to be quite awkward, though he made no mention of it besides his facial expressions. He moved with her when she went to sit down and mirrored her actions, remaining uncharacteristically quiet.

[Mari 1]

Mari gave a small nod toward Dom, who had made a mention that there weren't enough Night Vision users. "That may be, but it means that those of us who do have it are more...useful, no?" He asked to chat, after the meeting and Mari gave a small shrug, "I suppose I can't say no to someone as dapper as yourself eh?" She mused with a wry grin.

Mari's faint smile disappeared completely when Ariel, then Takao entered. Mari once did not mind Takao, but after he had left her guild suddenly to join the Guardians she looked upon both of them with very...little favour. So Ariel was here to represent the Guardians. "That's a laugh." Mari said callously, not hiding her distaste for Ariel. Not giving a damn what the other woman and the rest of the room thought. "Boy you're a bit of a joke, If I didn't know better I'd say you have been a part of almost every guild in Aincrad. And look, you bought a lil' mouse with you." She mused, eyes glancing over at Takao, offering him nothing more than a look of disappointment, she had opened up to him, had managed to actually enjoy his company. Only for him to silently leave without a word, just goes to show that Mari couldn't exactly trust anyone...She wasn't going to offer him any hostile words, only disappointed silence. "Still, if you're here to represent your guild you have your right to sit. Don't expect any pleasantries." 


"I suppose I should start, if there are no more objections?" Mari asked, glancing over at Zelrius, who had been uncharacteristically quiet. 

[Azrael 0]

Mari was going to kill her for being late. Az has quite late due to the fact that she had to traverse her way through the darkness as she had no night vision. She made a mental note that she was going to need this at some point.Eventually, she made her way to the meeting location and was quite unnerved to find herself not only late, but in the company of many whom were far ahead of her in level and capability. The woman keeping her eyes on Mari and sat down by the woman’s side as she suggested that they all get started. She would have to make her apologizes to her leader and return Kannagi later. There was a meeting to attend.

 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal leaned forward placing his elbows on table that Mari had set up. He looked over, noticing a few more people walking in. First was Ariel, leader of Absolute Pin. Or so he thought. She identified herself as a representative of a different guild. He looked down, feeling somewhat bad that Ariel had to dissolve her guild because people had left. And he was one of them. Lowenthal recognized the next person as well. Takao, stumbled in not able to see well, if at all, in the darkness of the tenth floor. He looked up at Mari and could see the look on her face. He sighed, as he could obviously see the disapproval on her face. Mari spoke, and gave her two cents. As the two sat down, Lowenthal stood up. "No objections here." He said, now noticing Azazel dashing into the room. He smiled at her, liking the woman a great deal. Almost as much as Clarence.

Lowenthal looked at the rocks laid down on the table before him. Most likely being used as placeholders for various things in the boss room. "So, what is it I'm looking at here?" Lowenthal asked, pointing to some of the rocks. What Mari said earlier was true. Lowenthal was a guild leader now, and he had to act like it. He was going to take this seriously. "I take that this big rock in the middle here is the boss itself?" Lowenthal inquired.

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius's elbows on the table and his hands interlaced, the boy simply listened and watched as the people conversed before the actual meeting started, much as they had always done for some strange reason. Nonetheless one by one the guilds showed up and, much to Zelrius's disappointment (Or relief, who knows) Takao and Ariel were at the meeting instead of Lessa for representing the Guardians of Aincrad. Most of the guilds had arrived with the exception that there would appear no representation was coming from Silver Moon. The golden haired boy grinned to himself No annoying low levels in attendance, all is well in the world of Aincrad. He responded to Tristan's comment, going into a bit of detail about the last boss fight. "Aye, documents" His voice lowered as to not interrupt the others in the room whilst speaking, very un-Zelrius. "The last Commandant's council all signed and handed in a document during the last Boss meeting that basically stated we weren't helping or participating in any way, shape or Form."

Then he went silent again, only getting lost in thought and memory about the previous boss fights and beyond. It wasn't until Mari glaced toward him that the boy even looked up from his gaze at the 'table' under his elbows. Realizing he was being rather silent  compared to how often he spoke, Zelrius laughed and then rolled his wrist. "We could get started if you wish, Mari. That is, Unless you want to wait for the Solo players to come up with some form of Representation."

[Jomei 0]

Jomei sat in his stone chair, arms crossed across his chest. He listened intently to the pink haired girl tell her tale of the last boss fight.. how it went down and what could have gone better. {Even top guild leaders broke down during the fight..?} He rubbed the side of his neck as he felt sweat beginning to accumulate there.. Must have been his nerves. This was something Jomei usually would never have attended. He usually refused to fight on the front lines, thinking he was not strong enough and did not want to die. He trusted his friend who asked him though.. And figured if he did not ask him, he would have asked someone else from the guild.. someone who possibly could have died in his place. He took a deep breath and shook off the thought, he was here now.. 

His eyes shifted from the girl to the door as more attendees came in from the darkness. Ariel came in first, she was the tailor who made Jomei's armor for him. Following her was another man, one who he was not familiar with.. Takao was his name, as Ariel said. He continued to listen to whomever was speaking at the time, which happened to be the one at the head of the table addressing the representatives from The Guardians of Aincrad. After her statement to them, she pushed that they begin the meeting, asking if there were any objections. Lowenthal being the first, Jomei watched as he stood up and let her know there were no objections from their party. Jomei nodded in agreement, his eyes moving back to the door as another familiar figure faded in through the darkness. It was Azrael, the women Jomei fought in the first round of the season. Jomei gave her a slight nod, returning his attention to the table. Jomei made a mental note of the powerful players all sitting around the table with much more experience than himself. He should keep his mouth shut unless the situation arises where something must be said. 

[Takao 0]

A frown grew on Takao's face as he listened to Mari, and his eyebrows furrowed slightly. He didn't think of himself as little, and he knew for a fact he was much too loud to be considered a mouse, so he had half a mind to correct her. A moderately sized hyena was surely a better description of him! He liked to laugh after all, and hyenas seemed to laugh a lot, so it seemed perfect! He glanced aside to Ariel, who he hadn't heard speak up yet, and turned back to Mari. His mouth had opened to speak yet no words came out before he stopped himself. The brunet knew what the look of disappointment was for, and despite how badly he wanted to explain himself, he also knew that this was neither the time nor the place to bring up personal matters. Maybe if there was time after the meeting he'd try to speak with her, but for now, after scanning the room once more to take in the group that had gathered, his attention set on the discussion at hand and the table before him.