OP-F1: A Nice Conversation

[Narshe 0]

Narshe had always wondered what a beer had tasted like. His father never let him get close, and he was never eager to try anyways, but the curiousity was always there. Was it certainly the worst taste as his family had said? Or was it like coffee? He walked into one of the pubs the starting city had to offer and sat down at the bar stool. He needed something to keep him going. Those powerlevelers and frontliners were something else. He'd get there eventually, but seeing as it's summer and season and it's hot, it was time for a drink.

As he opened the door, a small blast of cool air caressed his face. This is really what he needed. Sighing, he activated the inventory menu with a quick finger swipe and stored his sword away. With a flash of light, the weight on his hip vanished. Feeling ten times lighter, he walked to the bar and grabbed a nearby barstool, spinning it around and sitting down. In a very crass manner, he plopped his elbows down on the bar and held his chin with both hands. His father called this method of relaxation, 'making a kickstand', in reference to a bicycle, but he didn't care.

Obviously by some coding, the NPC barkeep walked over and asked, "What'll you have today?", while continuing to polish the same glass over and over. He thought long and hard about it, and could manage to order the beer. "I'll have a tea," he said with a smile. The barkeep gave a small nod and walked away presumably to bring him the ordered beverage of choice. Narshe marveled again at the detail of Aincrad, trying to enjoy what little of it he could. Every single chair, or brick in the wall, was meticulously crafted to appear perfectly in the grand scheme of things, but it was made for something so dreadful it almost didn't even matter. The tea was clattered down in front of him as he sighed again, shaking the thoughts from his mind. Damn, did he need someone to talk to. He took a sip. It was a tad bitter for his personal standards, but it didn't matter. It was what he needed.

[Koumori 0]

I don't think I've ever been as exhausted in Aincrad as I was right now. I'd spent all morning and a good portion of the afternoon leveling. Although the nice weather is a welcome treat on most days, the heat became detestable on extremely active days. I didn't have anyone with me to object to my decision to call it quits for the day so I sheathed my sword and took the stroll back to town. On my way back I observed a few other players doing what I had previously been doing, but most of them were in parties. They should know you can do it quicker by yourself I thought. But hey, given the circumstances of this death game, I could understand some poeples need for companionship. Of course I wasn't like that. By the time I got back to the town I was still exhausted, and thirsty beyond belief. I decided I'd get something to drink before I did anything else. Without long I came up on a little pub or cafe. It seemed to be as good as anything else so I walked in, the cool air of the place a welcome change. The place had some people in it, but only one player was sitting at the front. I didn't want to sit next to him, so I left a seat as a buffer between us and spoke to the NPC behind the counter, "Tea"

[Narshe 0]

Narshe continued to sip. He knew it was hot, but it didn't matter. Something about the beverage was just refreshing. Maybe it was a mechanical thing in the game? Regardless, he savored it. He knew that his daily grind would most likely be back on in a moment, and that he might as well make the most of it. Shortly after he ordered his drink, another man came up to the bar looking... honestly, pretty ragged. He had sheathed his sword and slumped down into his seat, and with a single word, ordered a tea. I wonder if i looked like that just a minute ago... He thought. "The tea is always nice here. It's becoming my favorite," Narshe spoke with a friendly attitude. Maybe he could get a companion to go level with?

[Koumori 0]

The NPC quickly materialized a tea for me. I brought it to my lips, still steaming hot, and gulped it down. The heat didn't bother me much, but the beverage was helping my thirst. The player next to me, who I was honestly trying to ignore, spoke to me much to my dismay. I glanced over at him after he spoke to inspect him. He seemed to be almost as worn out as I know I looked, but he had a much friendlier expression. I don't like getting into conversations that I don't have to, but I'm not so rude as to ignore people. I was only siting down to drink, there'd be no harm. I went back to sipping my tea then turned my head to respond to the guy, "I've never been here, saw it on my way through." I said it kindly enough, removing my usual sarcasm. 

[Astraeus 0]

"A pub? Hrm, Yes! A gathering of the commoners, surely this place will have a good deal of people. I wonder if they have a ...." Flashing a smile with curved lips, the jovial looking character sporting a feather in his hair strolled to the door and made his entrance. As soon as he entered there was a refreshing cool breeze gifted to him from the otherwise sunny exposure of the outside world. He looked to his left, then to his right studying meticulously with his bright blue eyes. A low squint when he saw a performer's stage directly in front, his lips curled, "Perfect..."

 

With stride and confidence, he flipped long tendrils of his platinum colored hair from off his shoulder and sallied forth towards the quaint little stage. An 'open mic' it seemed and Astraeus would razzle dazzle these people with one of his tunes.  As he walked through the crowd, people were catching a glimpse of this Pretty Boy as he was walking to the front where in fluid movement, he hopped onto the stage so that everyone may look upon him. He stood there with a smile, his looks were confusing to the eye, male or female? Clearly it was a male avatar, the lack of a specific female roundness clearly showed that, and in fact a quite impressive figure. But it was his face that caught the interest of some people with a splash of some make up, it was still recognizable fact that he was male despite the flirtatious or otherworldly appearance of his dressed up avatar.

 

He tapped on the mic to see if it was in working order. Using hand gestures, he activated the device from the mic's menu and his breathing had become more visible over the talking and robust conversations being held. With a twinkle in his eyes, the music started to play from a list of background songs he could implement into his ditty. First came the sounds of an electric guitar, then a hot bass line rolled in followed with a mellow drum beat.

 

Astra began to sway to the beat of the song, his hips bouncing left and right slowly, hypnotically as he placed a dainty hand on the shaft of the mic and brought his lips to the mic. He blinked once and started to sing showing those pure blue irises. 

 

"In the violent silence
Of a dream within a dream
You fill my soul with beauty
You're my shiny man machine
I'm sinking in the roses
Falling down to fade away
The velvet blade of apathy
Makes the crush so bittersweet!"

....

"And I!!, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god~~
And I!!, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god~~"

 

 

Edited August 5, 2015 by Astraeus
typo of eye color

[Koumori 0]

Before the player next to me was able to respond we were...interrupted. Before I knew it my ears were being peltedload singing. I didn't even know they had a mic here. Slightly annoyed I slowly spun in my chair to took a look and sure enough the was a man standing up on stage singing with a mic. Well at least I think it was a man. The player in question had uncontrollably long hair and was clearly wearing makeup. On inspection I could tell by his facial structure and body shape that the person before me was male, at least one who paid a lot of attention to his appearance. Did he have a feather in his hair? What was I looking at? My confusion at the man's appearance and the aggravation of having the quite interrupted kind of ticked me off. "What is this?" I muttered to myself. At least the singing wasn't bad though. 

[Narshe 0]

He smiled was about to open his mouth, but was not so gently interrupted. Narshe brought his own tea to his lips and turned to the stage after some mic tapping got his attention. This was his first experience with the performance system in the game, but it wasn't that bad. From what he understood, you had to have real life skills in order to make the system work best. Not a lot of people chose the profession, and coincidentally, the ones that did were usually pretty good. That said, his full attention was on the stage. He thought to enjoy it while he was here. He'd have to go back in a bit... but at least this was soothing. Hearing Koumori mutter, he turned slowly in his stool not wanting to disrupt the performance. "It's not too bad of a place. First time i've seen this happen, but I'm not upset." He said softly. Another sip of the tea did him well.

[Astraeus 0]

"Your presence is the morning
Your absence is the night
I'm searching your dark hallways
Trying to find the light
Swimming your sad ocean
I'm drowning in your sea
This will all be over soon
And we'll learn to live again~"

 

The song was filled with a robust nature, decorated in the chimes of perfect harmonies and vocals displayed by the performer. Now, had Astra had this Profession under his belt he could have really made something worth while. Until then, he had to act on his pure ability and while the vocal range was within reason, he swore to himself on a few parts he felt were dry...or not so tight with the rhythm. Once more his body followed

 

"And I!!, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god
And I!!, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god~~
 

In the evening stars I see your eyes
I hear you speak to me
I miss you now so much it aches
So broken so af-RAID!!"

 

The delicate softness of his voice broke out showing the range of his vocal capabilities, an astounding and pleasing sound when he went to that next plateau in his performance as his hand gestures swung around and touches his chest lightly. He wanted the people to feel the music as it touched him, he wanted them to experience the beauty as he gave it wings and flight. They seemed to be enjoying it, a few feet tapping on the ground...Some digits drumming along the tables.

 

"And I!!!, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god
And I!!!, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god~~~~~"

 

The song faded out towards the end as Astra was left on stage, he waved to the audience that he stole the hearts of and made a sweeping bow. His small frame bowed deeply and he walked off the stage as people resumed their normal conversations. Taking a seat by the bar, he held up a finger, the nails perfectly manicured as a glass of red wine was produced to him. The performance took it out of him, and he smiled as he talked amongst the common folk, holding that glass of red wine delicately between two fingers.

 

[Narshe 0]

He listened to the lyrics intently. Very, very intently. This tune wasn't exactly Narshe's style, but art was art so he intended to listen. As he listened, he swirled the tea cup in his hand to the rhythm. He tapped his foot to the floor as best he could (rhythm was not one of his fortes), and tried to enjoy the melody. Honestly, the lyrics freaked him out a little bit. I could have died? No thank you, he was fighting every day for his life. Narshe didn't need a reminder. Still, the guy had a nice voice, so after the first chorus he blocked out the lyrics and just paid attention to the melodic line. He took another sip of tea and turned back around to the bar counter.