[PP-F1] A Grave Situation (Jevi)

[Grave 0]

"It's not good to tell secrets," I told her with a joking wink, "For now we'll just do some hunting on the way... Once we heal up, of course," I added at the end. I continued walking, looking back occasionally at Jevi. She kept limping, and I tried to refrain from offering to help her, but...

I stopped walking and let Jevi catch up. Once she had, I looked to her, "Would you like some help there?"

[Jevi 0]

Jevi shrugged her shoulders when Grave decided to keep his intentions a secret. ~"Alright then, if you say so." she said with a slight sigh. I hope he has good intentions for this 'surprise'.. or else I may end up with that orange cursor She gave the man a glare behind his back, trying to pick out what ideas he had.. He kept her alive thus forth.. so he must be alright to trust. 

She looked down at her feet as she walked. Jevi began to find walking on her bad leg slightly easier, but still not perfect. Must have been feeling better as her HP went back to normal.. so hopefully she would be fine when she hit max again. As she picked her head up to look forward, she noticed Grave had stopped walking and was looking back at Jevi. When she got to his position, she stopped as well ~Whats up?" The man offered to help Jevi, seeing she was obviously struggling with walking. ~"N-No way. I can walk on my own." she said at first, before realizing she was slowing their pace down greatly with her movements.. She looked away from him for a moment, ~"At least until it feels better.. I guess." She stepped forward and placed her arm around Grave's neck for support,

[Grave 0]

I must say, I was actually surprised when Jevi (although reluctantly) agreed to have me support her. Once I felt her arm around my neck, I made sure to carefully place my arm around her waist, attempting not to seem like 'that guy'. I slowed my pace to help her along, keeping a slow rhythm to dampen her limp.

We were soon approaching my set location, and I could feel Jevi supporting herself better. I stopped and looked at her, "You all good now?" I asked, "Or do you need to lean on me for a little longer?"

[Jevi 0]

Jevi honestly appreciated Grave's help, despite not wanting to show it. She found it much easier to walk now with his support. The pain, or at least the thought of pain, was much less now. The two continued their walk to wherever Grave was taking her, which still worried her that she had no idea.. especially just meeting this man. After awhile of walking, Grave asked if she would want to walk on her own now. Was she a bother to him? Or was she too heavy? She thought to herself at first, before realizing she was able to stand on both legs without feeling any pain at all. She quickly took her arm away from Grave's neck and looked the other way, rubbing the back of her neck ~"O-Oh yeah, I'm fine now. Thanks." she felt a little embarrassed about it, which caused a slight blush on her face. ~"So are we almost there?" 

[Grave 0]

I'd learned to respect this girl.  She wasn't the kind to take kindly to shameless - and somewhat meaningless - flirting, and that I respected.  She had a strong will, and those kinds of people make it far in life.  I decided from then on to not shamelessly flirt with her, except in horseplay... Well, I was going to try for that approach to my companion anyway.

"Couple hundred meters and we're there," I replied.  I was starting to question myself.  Had I done my study? Did I have my facts right?  Usually I trusted my gut on those things but... My gut was kinda empty, and this was not trustworthy.  As if reading my mind, my stomach growled at me.  I stopped like a stunned mullet and blushed heavily, looking nervously to Jevi, "Maybe we could eat a little before we get there?" I asked, scratching my chin.

Man, I made the worst impressions on people, females included.

[Jevi 0]

Jevi slipped her thumbs into her waistband and walked with Grave towards their destination. She took a deep breath through her nostrils, thankful for these moments they weren't being attack by the forest's mobs. She nodded at Grave as he mentioned their position in regards to where he was taking her. ~"Lets hope we don't run into any more trouble along the way." she scratched the back of her neck. She then heard a low grumbling noise, which took her by surprise. Jevi reached her hand behind her back and quickly spun around, scanning the area. ~"That think sounded close, we shou-" She turned to look at Grave, who's hand was on his stomach and his cheeks were bright red. It then hit her that it was his stomach that made the noise. At first she sighed, but then brought her hand to her mouth and giggled at Grave. ~"Well, I don't have any food on me aside from that bread.. So I guess were just have to eat that huh.. Or do you want to head back into town and go somewhere?"

[Grave 0]

"Well, you see, we're almost there, and I don't want to have to come all this way again, so... We may as well eat bread, as crap as it is," I told her, trying not to sound like I was whimpering, "You know what?  What do you say I take us both out for dinner afterwards?  The meal's on me," I told her with a playful wink.

I opened my inventory and extracted two buns of cooked dough.  I'd only eaten one the whole time I was there, it was going to be better to share them out.  I turned to Jevi and called to her, "Catch," as I threw the bun in my right hand to her.  I sat my behind on the soft grass as I began to dig into my bread.

It was nice.  Eating (a rather crappy) afternoon tea under the setting sun with a girl... To be honest, it was the closest damn thing I'd ever had to a date.  As for Jevi, I had yet to know.

[Jevi 0]

Jevi nodded, crossing her arms ~"Yeah.. I was thinking the same thing. I'd hate to go all the way back to town and miss out on this special surprise" speaking sarcastically with a smirk and giving Grave a wink. She then lifted up her hand and tapped the air in front of her, opening up her menu. As she opened up her inventory screen, Grave caught her off guard by offering to take her out to eat after this was all over. She lifted her head and her eyes shifted to his, raising one of her eyebrows as she thought about his offer. Her usually cold look slowly warmed up as she smiled lightly at him, ~"Alright. Sounds good to me Grave." 

As she turned back to find the bread that was stashed away in her inventory, she heard Grave call to hear again. As she looked up this time, there was a piece of bread flying right towards her face. Her eyes widened a bit before she threw her hands up and caught the roll. ~"Oh. Thanks." Jevi saw Grave sit down on the grass and she decided to do the same where she stood, which was a couple of feet away from Grave's spot of choice. She sat cross-legged, eating her bread. She honestly did not mind the taste of it.. Had to get used to worse things in the real world anyway.. so this was not too bad. She looked up at the canopy of foliage covering the two of them before leaning back and flopping into the grass behind her, now laying on her back.

[Grave 0]

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, I've heard," I retorted before giving her a playful smirk, "If that is true, then I must be right at the bottom of the ladder," I gave a small chuckle at my own joke.  If only Xion could have heard me crack that one, he'd be rolling around on his beloved grass with his sides splitting.

I watched as my companion laid down on her back under the trees.  I wasn't sure if I should have gone over to her, so I played it safe, at least for the moment, and stayed where I was sat, munching on the tasteless dough.  I wish I had something better to eat; I even considered, rather seriously I will add, training to get the Chef Profession.  That would probably have been of the most use to me.  I looked over to Jevi, and she was still laying there, by herself.  I gave a sigh and gave myself a little slap to wake myself up, and I shimmied over to my companion, laying down beside her.  I damn hoped she wouldn't mind.

"You know, I realised something ironic when that bastard Kayaba told us our heads'd explode if we died," I told her, looking up at the same lush foliage as her.  I turned my face to her, "Strangely enough, when I did my research on the game, I had actually thought, 'man, I bet this game is going to blow minds'," I told her and chuckled deeply, before looking up to the trees again.  A frown crossed my face, "But... It wasn't just me who entered the game.  I entered with a group of friends from Japan.  I moved there from London because of my passion for gaming, you see.  The five of us dived together... but I got ahead of myself and accidentally left them all behind... and I'm not even sure where they are.  Are they in town?  Have they shot up past me?  I don't even want to consider the other possibility," I told her, opening up without a prompt.  I wasn't expecting anything back from her, but if she wanted, it was her choice.  I turned my head and smiled at Jevi, "I guess time will tell, eh?"

[Jevi 0]

Jevi slowly closed her eyes as she took a deep breath of the fresh forest air. She brought the piece of bread to her lips and took another small bite. The grass here was comfortable, especially in the shadow of the trees towering over them. It took away the heat of the sun, so Jevi was able to appreciate the gently cool breeze on her skin as it tousled the purple bangs laying on her forehead. A relaxed sigh fell from her lips as she swallowed the bite of food she had taken.

After a moment, she heard the sound of shifting grass getting closer to her, and then a louder shuffle of grass right beside her. One of Jevi's eye's opened half way to see what it was that approached her, only to see it was Grave joining her on the ground. She closed her eye again and continued to lay there, not minding the company. 

She listened to Grave talk about their fates upon losing all of one's HP in this game and how it would 'blow minds.' She opened her eyes with a concerned look on her face, ~"Jeez, you sure do know how to change the mood."  she turned her head to Grave and smirked to let him know she was joking. She then noticed the frown on his face as he continued his story to speak about his friends who entered the game with him. Her own smirk turned into a frown as the story went on, eventually sitting up, propping herself up on her hands. ~"..I'm.. sure they're fine Grave. You'll probably see them again." her voice was low and had a bit of sadness too it. 

[Grave 0]

"Yeah, I sure hope so... I feel like such a... Prat for leaving them behind,"  told her and raised a hand to cover my eyes.  I could have sworn tears began to pool under my silver eyes.  I shook my head and sat up.  It wasn't a good idea to break down in front of her; it would make a real bad impression.

"Well, shall we continue?" I asked her, pushing myself upwards onto my feet before turning around and standing in front of her, my hand extended down to her with a soft grin.

[Jevi 0]

Jevi looked forward with a sad, blank stare. She was not as lucky to have entered the game with any friends.. let alone have any on the outside. She had been alone for as long as she could remember. The only people who would ever confront her would just be trying to hurt her.. which is what caused her bitter attitude and lack of trust. She had not even heard Grave continue to talk, or even realized he had stood up and was waiting on her. Her mind came back into focus as Grave's hand entered her line of sight. Jevi looked at his hand, and then up to him. She then gently grabbed his hand, and he pulled her up to her feet. ~"Yeah."

[Grave 0]

(I must say, at the rate this is going, I wouldn't be surprised if something happened between these two XD Maybe not romantically, but you never know where things may lead)

I turned from Jevi and continued my stroll towards the destination.  Now that my stomach was full, I could trust my gut about the research I had done.  One hundred meters... Seventy five meters... Fifty... I counted down the distance, my heart beating faster as we approached it.  Twenty five... Ten... Was I going to get it right? 

Finally I stopped, my feet centre stage of the triangulated trees.  I spun on my heel to look at Jevi, and her eyes were literally saying 'This is the surprise?'. I have her a brash smirk and folded my bottom lip under my top and placed my two little fingers either side of my mouth.  I blew outwards, my breath speeding over my lip and through the tiny gap form by my fingers like a bullet from a rifle.

A high pitched whistle could be heard resounding across the skies, possibly waking up more than a few birds.  I kept the high note for a good few seconds before lowering my fingers and placing my hands to my hips, waiting.

[Jevi 0]

Jevi followed behind Grave with her thumbs slipped into her waistband. She looked down at the ground mostly as they walked, being careful of her step. It was nice to have taken the moment beforehand to relax and eat something, but her mind was other places now.. places where she rather would not be. She noticed Grave heightened his pace slightly, so she figured they must have been getting close to his destination. Grave stopped in the middle of three trees that formed the points of a triangle, Jevi slowed her pace as she looked at the trees, then at Grave puzzled. ..what the hell are you up to..? She crossed her arms across her chest and shifted her weight, waiting for this 'big surprise.' Then Grave let out a long, sharp whistle, as if calling for something. Jevi's eye twitched briefly at the high-pitched noise, for the sound seemed to go right through her. She continued to glare at Grave, not sure of what was going on. As he brought his whistle to a stop, he stood there confidently.. as if he had just did something amazing. Jevi was silent as she looked left and right before looking back at Grave.. not looking too happy. ~"... I'm leaving.." She was not amused by his idea for a surprise.. so she turned around, about to leave this place.

[Grave 0]

Jevi turning away only made me smile all the more.  I stretched my fingers out by my side, counting down.  Five... Four... Three... Two... One...

I could hear a loud rumbling rapidly approaching from behind and shone and even wider grin.  I turned around to see what looked like the offspring of a ram and a moose; an Aldram, to be exact.  The giant animal put its brakes on, coming to a stop like a loaded freight train in front of me.  Thank goodness that worked.

I spun back around to look at Jevi, a cocky grin on my face.  The Aldram plodded around to my side, almost the same hight as me, and that's only on all fours.  I reached to my side and placed a hand to its furry back, giving it a light scratch.

"Meet the Aldram, Jevi.  Don't worry, they're completely harmless until attacked," I assured her, still scratching the grand beast.

[Jevi 0]

Jevi stopped in her step as she heard the sound of something large coming towards them. Her eyes widened in both fear and excitement at what this thing could be. She quickly turned around to look back at Grave, for the sound seemed to be coming from behind him. She could see a large, almost horse-like creature charging at Grave from behind. But he was smiling... is this his surprise?! Some tough-hidden field boss that would get us killed?! She gasped as the creature came to a sudden halt at Grave's side, kicking up a hell of a lot of dirt in the process. Jevi shielded her face slightly to avoid dust and dirt from going into her eyes or mouth. As the cloud of dust settled, she saw the majestic creature standing at his side. Grave called it an Aldram, she never heard of it.. probably something unique to Aincrad. He went on to mention that they were harmless unless attacked. She took her hand out from behind her back, which was there clenching her sword in case it was hostile. Jevi then slowly leaned forward, bringing her legs with her, and walking forward cautiously to the Aldram. She slowly raised her hand up to the animal's head, gently petting it. ~"Its.. amazing." 

[Grave 0]

"I know, right?" I replied to her comment, "These guys are only found on the lower floors, sadly, but I've heard of very similar creatures on each level," I explained, "They're not really that hard to find if you know where to look, and they usually come in packs of three or four.  I'm thinking that I might like to tame one at some point," I gave Jevi a wide grin.

I watched as she continued to pet the grand beast.  This side of her... I had not seen it before, and it was a side of her that fascinated me, that made me like her.  She seemed to have sparkles in her eyes, and her tone when saying 'It's amazing' was softer than ever.  I was expecting her to like the encounter, but I wasn't expecting her to show a softer (and admittedly cuter) side of her.

I moved around to where Jevi was and stood beside her.  I brought my hand up to hers, slowly enough to give adequate warning, and lightly took hold of her wrist, my other hand on her shoulder, but I made sure to keep the rest of my body as far away as possible.  I guided her around the side of the Aldram and gently placed her hand on the creature's rump.

I moved my hand further up to the back of her hand and tenderly moved it back and forth, scratching the Aldram and causing it to produce a low, guttural 'moan', to say the least.  Oblivious, my hand stayed put over her hand.

[Jevi 0]

The beast's fur was soft as she gently stroked it, looking at it in wonder. This had turned out to be a pleasant surprise after all. She felt Grave softly place his hand on Jevi's shoulder.. which she did not mind. Then he placed his other hand on her wrist, as if to guide her, which took Jevi off guard.. despite seeing his hand slowly move towards hers. He then guided her to the behind of the beast, not entirely sure why. He placed her hand on its fur there and began to caress the beast.. now actually guiding Jevi's hand with his own, holding it softly. Jevi quickly looked over her shoulder at Grave, and then back to her hand. After a moment, Jevi cleared her throat loudly.. addressing Grave's hand on her own. She then pulled her hand out from under his and placed it on her hip. 

[Grave 0]

"Oh, crap, sorry!" I apologized after Jevi cleared her throat and moved her hand away.  I blushed heavily as I continued, "I guess I just... Got a little carried away... Sorry," I hung my head low and scratched the back of my neck.

I had never held a girl's hand, even if only just the back of it.  It was... Different, that's for sure.  To tell the truth, I had never really done much with girls, period.  I never had many female friends when I was in school, so SAO has been a whole new experience.

I realised I was zoning out, and I looked up into my companion's eyes, giving her a still embarrassed grin, waiting to see what she had to say.

[Jevi 0]

Jevi returned the look the man was giving her, her yellow eyes looking into his. She raised one of her eyebrows as he began to blush and added a sheepish grin. She inhaled through her nostrils and closed her eyes, letting a sigh out from her lips, ~".. Its alright Grave" her voice was calm, rather than before when the man tried to flirt with her. The guy was trying, she gave him that, she also did not mind being flirted with so much.. it made her fee good about herself honestly. In the real world, Jevi did not have luck when it came to men.. not so much her not being able to find a boyfriend or someone to care about her, which was also the case. No, Jevi's case was more... serious, and was one of the major causes of distrust, especially among men. She opened her eyes and looked back into his, ~"Trust me, I'm not the type of girl you would want to be flirting with... I have.. a bad history with pigs who called themselves men..." she had a pain in her eyes as she spoke briefly about her past... She smirked lightly and let out a chuckle, trying to make light of the situation ~"Besides, I don't think it would make Shaya very happy either." she gave him a wink. 

Her eyes went back to the Aldram that was still calmly grazing in front of them, and she went back to looking slightly happy as she continued to pet the animal. ~"I definitely want to try and see those beasts you were talking about on higher floors as well.. As beautiful as the Aldram is.. I'm sure there's something even greater out there.." As she looked up at the sky again in wonder, a loud growl came from her stomach. She looked down with a slight blush on her cheeks and placed her hand on her stomach.