[PP-F1] city lights. Starrine

[Glory 0]

Glory was very content at this moment which was fairly unusual because right about now on normal days she would be freaking out because the sun had nearly disappeared at this hour. However the orange sun sinking into a sky full of beautiful, matching color tones followed by complete natural darkness lit up by the lights of the starting city was a pleasant display and something Glory clearly couldn't ignore. She sat with her legs pulled up to her chest against a statue not noticing the people that passed her by and stared idly at the sky until the moon was now the only source of light for all of Aincrad. She stood up but Glory continued to watch the sky as her light brown eyes glimmered with awe and admiration. _{"Aren't the lights just great?"} Glory exclaimed to nobody in particular as a few players nearby gave her odd look which she didn't notice due to being so starstruck.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Glory

[Starrine 0]

"Aren't they?" A feminine voice replied, a black haired girl staring up at the bright moon with a smile. Turning her head to the girl who'd spoken before, she blinked, eyes adjusting to the darker form pressed against a statue. Tilting her head, and stepping forward to get a better look at the girl, she wiggled down into a spot beside her. Wahh... She's really cute, Starrine thought to herself, holding a hand to her mouth as she glanced at the small girl; well, she said small, but she was about the same height as her. "H-hi, I'm Starrine," she said softly, trying not to stare; she was the type of cute that made her want to be gentle with everything she did; including speaking.

Clearing her throat, she gestured to the sky, "A-ah, um, the sky.. It's pretty, right?" She laughed gently, neatly tucking her hands into her lap after arranging her dress into a more comfortable position. Only then did she realize how strange she was, approaching a random lone girl at night. Normally, that'd be pretty creepy; if she wasn't also a girl, with good intentions.

[Glory 0]

Glory jumped when she heard a girl next to her speak and blushed heavily as she turned her head away from the stranger. How embarrassing that they heard her speaking to herself but at least the girl agreed with her comment which made Glory feel a bit more at ease than before. _{"...Eh... I-I'm Glory..."} She seriously thought about just running away and avoiding socializing at such a time during the night which would be easy since the person would have trouble catching up, but instead Glory just remained there frozen out of surprise. _{"W-Well... t-that's what I-I was thinking. S-Seems real."} Her stuttering went on overload and Glory was speaking so low it was almost inaudible though Starrine would be able to hear her being next to her. Glory bowed her head and tugged idly on short brown hair not sure what to do or say next which was always the problem with her.

[Starrine 0]

Starrine continued to peer at the sky as she shifted uncomfortably, occasionally glancing at the shy-looking girl next to her. "Glory.. that's a pretty name," she said after a moment, giggling a bit to perhaps try and make her more comfortable. She looked like she was itching to run off; however, Starrine wasn't the greatest at socializing with strangers, either. To be honest, she wasn't even sure why she'd approached Glory in the first place. "Does it..?" She murmured to herself, examining the moon a bit closer. "I guess it does, doesn't it?" She laughed a bit; it'd been awhile since they'd gotten trapped in the death game, so she wasn't really surprised she hadn't come to that conclusion quicker.

Of course, she'd noticed the girls overloaded stuttering as soon as she spoke, and wondered how to calm her down a bit. The girl twirled a piece of hair in her hand, trying to think of something to say. "Oh, u-um.. There's a hill on the edge of town, I bet you could see it even better from there.. W-want to go?" She asked, trying to hide her own stutters through a cheerful smile. It was clear that she was quite nervous as well, but didn't really want to give up on talking to this strange girl.

[Glory 0]

_{"M-My f-favorite English word."} Glory replied now used to telling people why she picked her name or what it meant or just answering to a comment much like Starrine's. She nodded and took another peek at the night sky shaking a little bit because of her fear of being out at night. The dark was terrifying as far as Glory was concerned especially in the midst of SAO which was otherwise known as a death game. _"...Um." Glory didn't know what to say and took what seemed like a long time to answer when really it was only a minute or two of silence between them. _"O-Okay." This girl seemed relatively harmless and super sweet so Glory took a leap of faith and agreed. _{"L-Lead the way S-Starrine."} She would walk awkwardly next to the stranger while following her to the certain spot she mention and Glory excitedly moved forward not being able to wait and see this place.

[Starrine 0]

"Ahh, it is a really nice english word, isn't it? Hmm.. My favorite is probably the word serene." Starrine laughed, feeling a bit more welcome as she replied quickly. However, after that, she seemed to take her time responding to her question. Taking advantage of the darkness to hide her embarrassed face, she scolded herself for asking so weirdly; Gahh, I'm probably creeping her out now! She thought uselessly, exhaling a soft sigh. But then.. she agreed? Starrine couldn't help but light up a bit. "A-alright! Follow me!" She said with a sheepish giggle, pushing herself off of the ground and walking ahead, making sure that Glory kept up, as to not leave her behind.

After a few minutes of quiet walking, they broke through a patch of small trees, which opened up to a moonlit clearing; the clearing sloped upwards like a hill, and then tapered off slightly at the edge, ending in a little steep cliff that broke off to a small valley below; even if you fell, you would only suffer some minor fall damage. Starrine inhaled a soft breath of surprise; it was even better than she'd remembered it during the day. With the moon lighting up the tip of the cliff, and a soft breeze blowing through the undergrowth, it seemed oddly peaceful; much different from the wandering streets. Plus, considering it was hidden behind such a thick patch of trees, she was sure not many had found it, and even if they had, they'd probably moved on to a higher level, considering that even during the day, no one had been on the lone hill.

"Well.. Here we are!"

[Glory 0]

_{"I-It almost sounds like your name..."} Glory commented as the two decided to move on from their spots and to this other place that Starrine had mentioned though she wondered why the other girl kept giggling and it made her feel a bit self conscience since she wondered if Starrine were at all laughing at her, silly Glory of course she would think that. She didn't dare talk to this stranger on the way there not to be mean but because everytime she attempted to do so Glory simply shut her mouth again and turned her head away while blushing in embarrassment. However when the two found the spot Glory's jaw dropped and she held her arms up while clenching her fists, light brown eyes glowing in amusement and wonder. _"Beautiful." She refrained from stuttering and smiled softy in Starrine's direction finally catching a view of the girl she was talking to who was extremely pretty it seemed. _{"Thank you for showing me this."} Glory bowed her head awkwardly after speaking. _{"U-Um... I-I really like y-your hair..."} She spoke in an almost whisper and returned her gaze to the sky instantly after saying this.

[Starrine 0]

"Ahh, it kind of does, doesn't it? I hadn't thought of that!" Starrine laughed, hoping that her over-happy sort of nature wasn't scaring the girl off. At one point she'd glanced back during the walk and seen her looking very uncomfortable. "You don't need to force yourself to talk, Glory!" Starrine said with a sweet smile, "I'm okay with the quiet; plus I can do the talking for both of us if I need to," she giggled a bit at this statement, and tucked her hands behind her back, watching as they emerged to see Glory's reaction.

As she glanced over, she caught sight of Glory's slack jaw and sparkling eyes, and couldn't help but smiling at the girl's face; it seemed that her smile was contagious. "Isn't it?" She agreed, glad that she remembered the spot on a mere whim, hoping that they'd be able to see the sky at night. "O-oh, it's my pleasure! I wanted to see it, too," she said with a slight chuckle, sheepishly kicking a lone pebble on the ground. As she complimented her hair, Starrine blushed. Uwaaa.. How can something this cute exist? The black-haired girl thought, staring at Glory with shiny eyes. Realizing she'd been quiet for a moment, she stuttered out a reply: "T-thank you! I really like your hair too. You're really cute, did you know?" She said with a reassuring laugh, hoping that the girl didn't catch the stutter in her voice.

[Glory 0]

_{"I-If you say so..."} Glory responded feeling a huge weight lifted off her shoulders and found it easier to breath when Starrine promised that the silence was alright with her. She made Glory giggle quietly though and she was already thinking fond of Starrine hoping they'd turn out to be friends soon enough since like almost everyone in the game Starrine was super sweet... but obviously special since Glory had gone off with her just like that. _{"I-I like it much better here. T-Thank you Starrine!"} Glory clapped her hands and exclaimed hardly noticed that Starrine was blushing from her comment. In the silence Glory decided to take a piece of Starrine's raven hair and played with it though she froze in place when the girl called her cute. Why did people keep calling her that when it wasn't true at all? _{"P-People say that but... I-I'm too big."} She stated plainly as if it were a cold hard fact and continued to stare at the soft locks in between her fingers without even noticing what she was doing.

[Starrine 0]

Starrine nodded all officially as she responded, smiling gently as she stared up at the bright sky. At least on the hill it wasn't dark; well, it kind of was, but you could still easily see all of your surroundings with ease. She didn't like being in the dark more than the next girl. Turning her attention to Glory, who thanked her quickly and clapped her hands together happily. "I'm glad! Ahh, m-my pleasure!" Starrine exclaimed, shifting happily on her feet. She was really glad that Glory had seemed to calm down a bit, actually beginning to enjoy herself. Blinking in surprise as the girl grabbed a piece of her long hair, and began playing with it. Not wanting to embarrass her or make her seem like she wasn't normal, Starrine decided to allow her to do it, not really minding, either way.

"W-whaaa? Who said that? I think you're a perfect size! I don't think body size matters, anyways. As long as you're a good person, which you are, I think everything is set! If anyone calls you big, don't be afraid to come to me for help, okay? That's not cool for people to do," she huffed, going off on her own little tangent to try and reassure the girl that she was, in fact, cute, but ended up rambling on about something else, anyways.

[Glory 0]

Glory dropped the piece of hair and moved her arms to grip the hem of her pink tunic tightly. _"S-Sorry..." She felt ashamed since Starrine seemed angry and instantly Glory felt she needed to take the blame for causing what she thought was a reaction for her being so dumb to say such a thing about herself. _{"I-I'll t-try that then..."} Glory turned her head away and frowned since she didn't know what to think of the situation, not that she'd ever think anything else other than what she already did about herself. _{"Y-You're r-really sweet Starrine... You're n-not angry at me are you?"} Glory crossed her hands together gently though kept her gaze far from Starrine if she could help it.

[Starrine 0]

Starrine glanced up as she apologized, looking rather confused. "Hah..? No need to apologize," she said, laughing a bit as she sat down in the grass, smoothing out the wrinkles on her dress. The black-haired girl tucked her legs neatly underneath the fabric, setting her hands on her lap. She wondered if Glory was always really self conscious, and felt kind of bad for her. Sweet? Starrine? She blinked in surprise, looking up at Glory. "T-thank you! Of course not, why would I be angry at you? You're really kind," she said with a small smile, making sure not to say anything bad in the future. Though, she wasn't sure what Glory considered bad because it seemed that she got a bit scared when she went off on her tangent about stuff.

[Glory 0]

Glory didn't truly understand why she didn't need to apologize which was something she should probably work on but she took a hint and nodded thankful that Starrine told her so. A huge weight lifted from her shoulders when Starrine explained that she wasn't angry not even one bit which made her smile again since it'd disappeared due to slight fear in her stomach. _{"Heh... I don't know... b-but thank you very m-much."} She couldn't actually tell why she felt that way in words since it was more of a gut feeling for Glory but she assumed her answer would be enough. _"U-Um..." She knew that Starrine said silence was alright but Glory felt the need to talk to this girl, she really wanted to be good company and make a new friend. Remembering how late it was Glory moved closer to Starrine without noticing it being afraid of the darkness surrounding the two. _{"H-Have you had a-a good time so far in SAO? E-Except the part where we go trapped... heh..."}

[Starrine 0]

Starrine glanced upwards at the girl standing beside her, wondering what had happened to make her have so little confidence in herself. With raised brows, she smiled, shrugging her shoulders and exhaling a content sigh. "I see," she said in a breathy voice, still not quite understanding, but believing there was a good reason behind it. As silence settled in on the two once more, Glory seemed to be searching for something to say. Curious, Starrine propped her head upwards, blinking a pair of amber orbs expectantly.

Ehh? What a random question. "Hmm.. I wonder," she mumbled. Had she had a good time so far in SAO? Starrine had always wanted some kind of escape from reality, and this was basically that. But now that she didn't have a choice, it felt like something she had to escape. But, so far the people she had met were kind. And she enjoyed exploring the floors and meeting new friends. However, there was the overhanging, constant threat of death. Dying was Starrine's biggest fear, and it took quite a bit in the beginning to make herself continue on to battle creatures and leave the town of beginnings. "I think so. Even though I want to escape.. I think that I've enjoyed it here." She admitted after a moment. The fact that she might never get out of the game, however, scared her. If the game was never completed.. Or if she'd died in game.. Her strong gaze faltered at the thought, and she pushed it away quickly, not wanting to think of the bad things anymore.

[Glory 0]

_{"W-Was that too p-personal?"} Glory quickly asked before shutting her eyes close tightly. _{"I-I've had a little bit of fun... a-and you seem to be friendly and kind... s-so I thought it'd be the s-same for you."} She pulled on her tunic nervously and took a deep breath hoping that Starrine didn't dislike her just yet though that seemed impossible since the girl was so very nice to her. Glory seemed to be more shy at night or maybe just around people she'd really like to make a friendship with.

(been with friends all week. sorry for a late reply <3)