[PP-F1]Brunch on The Beginner Floor(Eulalia)

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh had been adventuring for a nice little while by this point, having gotten himself some basic gear, a profession, and even some money to spend on luxuries like food and drink! He remembered from his time on the first floor not being able to afford much more than bread a lot of the time, so he figured today he would break that curse and have something of actual substance and taste for a change. With this thought in mind he headed straight to the first floor and to the first tavern looking place from the teleport plaza. As he stepped inside he noticed the place wasn't empty but was by no definition full. This actually comforted him in a way, since it meant there were less people on the first floor as time went on. With a grin stuck to his face he moved to a nearby seat and plopped himself down, relaxing back and ordering a large stack of pancakes, boar bacon, and a glass of juice. He spent the next little while just staring up at the ceiling and humming a tune, waiting for his food to arrive. When an NPC returned with it he smiled and started to eat, sighing happily at having a nice meal with flavor, scent, and texture for a change of pace!

[Eulalia 0]

Food that tasted like actual food... That thought brought an insane amount of saliva to Eulalia's mouth.  For oh so long she desired the taste of a hamburger... Or sushi... Or something else she loved eating (which, to be honest, is basically every food you put on her plate but the crappy bread she was left with), and from the information the green-haired girl had received, the cooks around were miraculously good at what they did, and could craft even the most impossible tastes and sate even the most insatiable appetites... She longed to meet one of them, but the best she could do was allow the aroma of cafés and resaurants consume her, only imagining the flavour.  One day, she chose one particular tavern, one she had yet to visit, and to her delight she found it to contain just the right amount of players; not too little, not too many.  However... Her only dilemma was that almost every table was taken, apart from one in the far corner...

But she didn't wanna sit there!  Her eyes fervently scanned the area with the undying hope that there might be another... But alas, that was the only free seat around.  Defeated, the girl made her way to the empty table, took a seat with an anguished expression and flopped her face down onto the wood.  Life was not being nice to her in any way, shape or form.

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh noticed the woman take her seat on the table beside his, noticing her hair first and foremost, not that he was one to judge. He had dyed his hair red, after all! He saw the distraught look on her face he raised a brow and asked over to her curiously "Hey... Are you alright?" He went ahead and shoveled some pancake into his mouth, it was covered in syrup and looked so appetizing to any who actually liked pancakes, and it was clear from the look on his face he was enjoying it, especially when he put a strip of bacon into his mouth after. it didn't take him an insane amount of time to realize her level might have been a bit under his own, just from looks alone. A thought struck his mind and he started to tap his way through menu after menu in his inventory before grinning and waiting for her response. He had his inventory ready to withdraw enough col coins to get a meal that wasn't just bread.

By this point he was getting money about as fast as he was spending it, so paying for the odd meal was nothing terrible to him. Besides, a good meal is always a morale booster as far as he was concerned. It was only when you started getting the gourmet stuff that comes with buffs and so forth that you were going to start losing out in money when you got to his point where he had a custom blade and some armor being crafted.

[Eulalia 0]

Eulalia's attention was brought to a male's voice nearby, and her eyes set on a head of hair hosting the complimentary colour to her own; fiery red.  If you put the two side-by-side, you'd think they were on their way to a Christmas party.  She flushed lightly, realising she was drifting off again and shook her head. "S-sorry, yeah, I-I'm fine, thanks..." She stuttered, twirling her lime hair around her finger.  Why did she have to be such a ditz around guys?!  The boy began to munch down on his pancakes right in front of Eula, and she made a face halfway between disgust and pleading. Doesn't he know... It's rude to... Eat food... In front of... Oh, screw it! She thought and gulped suddenly, refraining from licking her lips.

Her interest was piqued when the man began to flick through his menus for some unknown reason... But it was obviously because he saw Eula.  Sadly, from where she was, she couldn't see what exactly was going on.  A friend request?  A trade request?  A duel request?!  The last notion was one Eulalia frowned at; she was only new...

"W-what are you doing?" She asked timidly, leaning out of her chair slightly.  She could only hope to god that the chair wouldn't tip with her...

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh shrugged his shoulders and said "Nothing much." to the lady's questioning on his actions. He couldn't help but smile at her stuttering and the slight flush that hit her face. He hit the accept button in his menus and a few col coins fell into his palm. Not a lot, but enough for a good meal at the very least rather than half-stale bread. "You just have a look I've seen a looooooot from the first floor. Especially in the start!" He grinned and places the coins onto the table before taking another bite of his food. "Things can get pretty sad when you start to forget what flavor is. A part of you thinks 'oh, I can survive on this stuff at least'... or was that just me?" He shrugged and watches as the green haired lady leaned back in her chair, raising a brow as she tempted the game's gravity systems. After letting that sink in he added "Anyways, I realize down here there isn't a lot of col to go around. So, enjoy I suppose?" He grabbed his cup of orange juice and takes a sip.

[Eulalia 0]

The man seemed so... Chilled out at the table, as if it was something he did as a daily routine... Granted, he possibly did, but Eulalia's attention was elsewhere; the fact that he seemed to almost be boasting about his findings.  To be honest, it kind of pissed Eula off when people got cock-sure of themselves... But something about the redhead was different... Like there was bite to his bark, like he wasn't faking his prowess.

Humbleness seemed to intermix with the boasting, as the redhead materialized a handful of coins and set them upon the table, leaving Eula's verdant gaze upon them.  It took a while for the ex-coach to realise that he was offering the coins to her. "W-wait, is that f-for me?!" She stuttered, blushing further as she sat dumbstruck.  He began speaking of flavour and surviving on the tasteless food, and Eulalia couldn't help but elicit a bashful chuckle. "Y-yeah, I know what you mean, haha!" To her own surprise,she was already loosening up around the redhead guy... He just had that charm about him, Eula supposed.

The Col gift was confirmed as the man told Eula to enjoy, and she somewhat greedily gathered up the coins.  Counting them up, there wasn't all that much there, but it was enough for a decent meal.  Eulalia was quick to call over an NPC to take her order and the two conversed promptly, before the waitress moved off to get the order to the chefs.  Relief flushed the tension from Eula's body and she relaxed in her chair, her gaze upon the generous player, her lips softly mouthing the words, 'Thank you.'

[Kalesh 0]

He smiled behind his cup at the surprised lady's reaction to the coins, straightening himself out to say "Mhm, don't be shy." He chuckled softly and turned his green eyes to the remnants of his meal, scraping up what was left to a corner of his plate before he shoveled it into his mouth, seemingly intent on not being wasteful even if he technically couldn't starve. With his food done he slumps back in his seat and scratches at his head somewhat nervously before saying "Glad I'm not alone on that one then. I'd be more than a bit upset if I bit into a steak and it tasted like cardboard." He shuddered at the thought.

He watched from the corner of his eye as the seemingly less battle experienced player ordered herself some food. He'd be lying if he said he had no motives here. If she found out that food tasted good, even in this virtual world, she would crave more. Stale bread would become less appetizing. Things would compact and she'd want money. Money was gained by progressing, which meant getting stronger. In the end it would shove her in the direction of 'up' rather than stagnating on the first floor, at least for a little, the rest would be on her and her own motivation he supposed. It's amazing what you can do when appealing to a base desire though! When she mouthed certain words to him he grinned and offered her a thumbs up. He figured he had a few moments before her food arrived so he said "Ah, I'm Kalesh by the way!" He tried not to think about how natural it was starting to feel, that being his 'name' despite it just being a foreign word he adopted since it was uncommon.

[Eulalia 0]

Eula burst into a fit of soft giggling at the redhead's mention of steak and cardboard.  Seriously, he was relaxing the girl and they hadn't even introduced themselves yet! "Y-yeah, thats right!  To tell the truth, the basic bread does kinda taste like cardboard..." She pondered, but her attempt at stopping giggling was in vain, and she continued on with her girly laughing fit.

When the man introduced himself as 'Kalesh', Eula politely halted her giggling.  She cleared her throat and turned her speech back towards Kalesh. "It's a pleasure to meet you Kalesh.  My name's Eulalia, but please call my Eula, or even Lia if that's easier for you~" She introduced herself, smiling as softly as her tone.  Damn, now that we've introduced ourselves, I can't help but get the feeling I'm gonna be even more at ease around him! She mused, refraining from 'melting' right there and then.  

Thankfully, the ex-coach was saved by the bell - the dinner bell, to be exact - as her meal was placed upon the table; a simple steak, but absolutely drowned in marinade.  Eula took a deep whiff of the steak and wouldn't have been surprised if a waterfall spouted from her mouth.  The scent was absolutely divine, and Eula dug into her meal without a second thought.

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh smiled as a sense of pride filled his chest for making her giggle like she was, just finding it a pleasant thing that he caused. It was definitely a good sign if you could laugh, given the rather desperate situation everybody was in. On some nights he'd just rapidly tap where the log out button used to be to see if the game would trigger a glitch or not. Obviously it never worked, but hey, maybe someday his persistence would pay off. That was a thought for another time, however, and he paid close attention as she introduced herself, and even gave him choices in what to call her! After a brief pause he said "I think I'll call you Lia. Just sounds cuter to me." He chuckled softly, it was subjective but that was how he felt on the matter. "And right? Eugh... Coincidentally my first proper meal here was a steak." He chuckled softly as he remembered that day. It was soooo good, and only made to taste better from the absence for so long.

When her steak arrived he grinned and allowed her a moment of silence to just enjoy the sensations she was about to feel. He tried to keep his eyes looking around so he wasn't awkwardly staring at her while she ate like a creep or something, waiting for her to come up for air before he said "It's good, right? It's pretty amazing how close they got meat if you ask me! Water too." He shrugged his shoulders, refraining from mentioning his curiosity of how it might feel to bite a boar or a player. The last thing he wanted was to spoil her appetite with his stupidity.

[Eulalia 0]

Eula blushed further when Kalesh mentioned that 'Lia' sounded cuter.  She pushed a few lime-green bangs in front of her face and bit her lip bashfully.  If this guy wanted Eula to like him, he was certainly on the right track.  In her flustered daze, Eulalia could barely even hear about Kalesh's first meal, but it registered in the end... She didn't respond though; she was still obsessing over Kalesh's comment on her nickname.

The meat... Ohh, the meat was divine.  Every bit sent marinade sloshing about in Eulalia's mouth.  She licked her lips briskly to make certain she gathered every drop of the sweet meat juice.  She barely finished a mouthful when Kalesh commented on the accuracy of the food's flavour. "I know!  It's absolutely amazing!  And this stuff isn't supposed to even be the best around!" She obsessed, before taking another few decently sized pieces.  If the meat was heaven, what on Earth would be the dishes made by the high leveled cooks?!

[Kalesh 0]

He watched as Lia reacted to her nickname, a smile stuck to his face as talking about cute caused more cute things! A blush, brushing aside her hair, it was all a self fulfilling prophecy! It did seem to Kalesh she didn't mind it though, so he happily said "Good to hear you're enjoying yourself, Lia! And that's what I've heard too, but I don't know how to get these rare meats myself!... Uhm... difficulty to get, not how long its been cooked." He shrugged with a grin, mildly amused at how the words were interchangeable. He did watch as her tongue ran along her lips but tried to keep his more base thoughts at bay so he just looked up at the ceiling and stretched out lazily in his seat.

The sheer joy she was expressing from having a good meal was worth far more than the col it costed to him, certainly brightening his day a little bit. He momentarily considered it was a little hypocritical, helping people for his own benefit, but then he reminded himself he was always a hypocrite to begin with and just grinned while the green haired lady enjoyed her cut of meat. "... The boar bacon is kinda different. Like, it tastes about right, but it's always thicker. Like, not as thin as you might be used to in the real world." He shrugged his shoulders and turned his eyes back to Lia "Just gives me more meat to enjoy though, if you ask me. I looooove meat." He would have probably considered himself a carnivore if he didn't also have a sweet tooth and loved the taste of cheese, breads, and potatoes.

[Eulalia 0]

Kalesh seemed to absolutely not want Eulalia to stop giggling, but she didn't mind that one bit; if it made the both of then happy people, she'd giggle for as long as the redhead wanted her to.  He kept on ripping out jokes one after the other and left no space for Eula to take a breath, but she continued to giggle silently, no matter how breathless she became.  Eula's interest was piqued when Kalesh told her about the boar bacon, and she attempted to imagine the taste... But was too busy melting away at the aftertaste from the steak.  She swallowed her petite mouthful before replying. "Aww... Now that you've got me hooked, you should take me out to get some at some point, hey?" She teased with a flirtatious grin.  It suddenly struck her.  Wait a sec... I'm flirting?!  Has Kalesh made me relax that much?!  Eula's heart began to race at the thought, but she forced it out of her mind.  That's crazy, I only just met the guy!  Pull yourself the hell together, Jaye!  She briskly patted her cheeks and her attention resumed focus on Kalesh, as he began to talk about his love for meat.

"I'm a... A pretty big meat lover myself, to be honest..." She admitted shyly, bringing her hands down upon her legs, which were bobbing up and down casually. "But I absolutely love mangoes, y'know?" She gave the redhead player a sweet smile.  She was really considering moving to his table, but wasn't sure how awkward the situation might get...

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh raised a brow with interest when the green haired lady suggested he invite her out for bacon, a grin crossing his lips as he flirted back to her "Oh, I wouldn't mind that. It's always nice to have a little company if you ask me." he leaned in a bit. "I'm not a chef though, so we would need to find a place that serves it." He had noticed she was warming up rather quickly, especially compared to how stuttery she had been in the beginning when they had only just met. He tried not to laugh when she touched her cheeks, memories of anime past going through his mind as the subject shifted to fruits and meats.

He nodded as she mentioned liking mangos, saying happily "Oh, those are nice, but I prefer peaches if we are talking similar fruit. I normally go for the sour stuff myself. Pineapple, plums, lemonade is great too if you don't drown it in sugar too much!" He chuckled happily as he sighed wistfully "I can't wait for the day players start figuring out BBQ sauce, or even seasonings for chicken and steaks... Mmmm. Ooh! Hot sauce too! I would loooooooove hot sauce!" He smiled, idly considering if it would do damage over time to him or not... and then he whimpered sadly. "... It wouldn't be the same... I wouldn't be able to feel the burn!" He sighed softly, clearly having some very choice opinions about the lack of pain in SAO.

[Eulalia 0]

"W-wait, do you really mean that you'll take me out to get some?!" Eulalia half-shouted, half-whispered... However that worked.  Her expression changed to that of a giddy girl, anticipating the event... Whenever it'd happen.  Her face turned as sour as the foods and beverages Kalesh mentioned. "Eugh, sour's not something I can do... My tongue's too sensitive..." She complained, already feeling the acid burning her taste buds... But she lit back up after the next subject; hot sauce. "Spicy foods, on the other hand, are somethin' I can do." She added, grinning widely, and she giggled jovially once more as Kalesh cracked another joke... Well, they weren't really jokes, but they were comments that humoured Eulalia nonetheless. "I'm sure that hot foods will be the same as they should be." She reassured the redhead player.  Suddenly realising she was leaning precariously far on her chair, she stood straight, the chair clunking back onto all four legs, and made her way to Kalesh's table, taking a seat opposite him.  That ought to have made conversation that much easier.

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh forced himself away from his 'depression' as he heard Lia question if he was serious in a fairly normal voice. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders "Sure, why not? Maybe we could even level you a bit." He grinned to himself "They say food tastes best when you gather it yourself... in the real world, that is. We could hunt some boars another time, and bring back the bacon and ham and such to get cooked by some random chef." He smiled curiously to Lia to see if she'd be up for that. Before continuing "And yeah, I get what you mean. I've hurt my tongue a few times, but spicy food burns more to start with so I don't mind." He grinned "Ever just eat an entire bag of salt and vinegar chips without a break? Your mouth will taste like blood even if you are not bleeding" He leans forward now that she was in front of him, his elbows resting on the table as his head rests on his hands. "I hope hot sauce works the same. I actually wish there was more of a pain system. Yeah, yeah, I am weird, but it's the small things. Like poking my wrists with my nails so I focus on the pain when I am nervous to calm down." He shrugged his shoulders, sure many people are happy that pain isn't present to make every blow a nightmare.

[Eulalia 0]

"Y-you're so nice, Kalesh~" Eulalia chastised the redhead after he confirmed that he'd take her out to get some meat themselves.  When Kslesh mentioned eating a bag of salt and vinegar chips, Eula shuddered. "Oh, please no, that brings back bad memories... Couldn't taste for a week, and even then everythin' tasted less... 'Tasty' for the following week..." She complained, leaning her head sideways upon her right hand as she gazed at Kalesh.  A smile followed her crooked expression; it was hard not for her to smile most of the time, but more so as she looked at Kalesh across the table. "I know what you mean... At least a little bit of pain would be nice... I'd appreciate it if I knew when I'd been cut without havin' to check my health bar..." She agreed, visualising it; it would be a bummer to have to always check your health to tell whether it not you've been cut or poisoned or some other similar despair-inducing effect.

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh chuckled softly at her compliment, scratching his head in shy embarrassment a little as he said "Nah~! I'm making you work for your dinner too you know! I'm just going to be helping." he shrugged his shoulders, not really considering it the same thing. When she described her experience with salt and vinegar chips he raised a brow in surprise "Really? Interesting. I'm usually fine in a few hours. I guess my body just has a better resistance to salt and acid!... I have had that experiance though. A wild patch of Rhubarb always grew in my backyard as a kid. I would grab a stick of the stuff when grown, snap off the bad parts and clean it with the hose, and then just munch on it." He chuckled softly as he says "One nice thing, you can't ever gain weight here, and acidic food won't actually hurt you or your teeth!" He smiled happily while explaining the positives for food. He was rather glad she understood where he was coming from with the pain, saying to her "Well, in my experience, what you feel instead of pain is... different. Like, imagine the feeling when your leg falls asleep, but only where you are cut. It's kinda tingly." He shrugs "I don't like it. I'd rather have a sore ankle." He hadn't lost a limb temporarily or been poisoned yet, which he was thankful for, but he didn't imagine them feeling all that pleasant in either scenario.

[Eulalia 0]

"Oh, please," Eulalia began, "working with you to get some pork would be a reward, not a cost~" She flirted, winking cutely.  Lia listened intently to the redhead's story about the rhubarb.  She pondered for a moment before speaking. "To tell the truth, I've never eaten rhubarb before... What's it like?" She questioned, curiosity broiling in her verdant eyes.  It was then that she realised; Kalesh had almost the exact same colour eyes as her own.  Lia blushed at the realisation, but she didn't exactly understand why...

"Oh, that really wouldn't feel great..." Eulalia agreed, imagining getting cut as Kalesh had placed it in her mind.  She always hated having her legs or hands fall asleep, and always pinched them in an attempt to wake them up... But that wouldn't work in SAO.  Lia's legs began to jitter at the thought, as if they were constantly fearing losing feeling.  She leaned forwards on the table, propping her elbows closer to the center and still supporting her chin upon her interlocked fingers.  Her legs stopped jittering as she hoped, and she acquired an added bonus; getting a closer look at the attractive redhead before her.

[Kalesh 0]

He smiled at what he perceived as a compliment, happily adding "Don't forget the ham and bacon!" He chuckled softly and smiled when she flirted with him. "Well, first and foremost, Rhubarb raw is pretty much one of the most sour things you can just find growing around wildly in your backyard." He hummed in recollection "When the stalk is red, that means it is ready. My family normally got a big bowl of sugar what we would dab the broken end of the stalk in and then just munch on it like that." He shrugged "But yeah, it's veeeery sour, but freaking amazing in a pie." He was too busy explaining to notice that she was staring at his eyes, fond memories of home going through his mind before he sighed. "Pity they don't grow in SAO like a lot of things. There are things that taste like things in the real world though, when the actual thing isn't around..."

Kalesh couldn't help but grin when Lia agreed, deciding to put his internal thoughts into words he leans in like he was telling a horror story to someone who didn't want to hear it. "Did you know you can actually lose a limb? Like, SLICE and POOF!" He says before adding "It grows back before long, but I can only imagine it feels soooo strange." He shuddered a bit to himself at the thought of it. He could temporarily understand how it would be like to live without an arm!

[Eulalia 0]

Eulalia shivered at Kalesh's initial description of rhubarb, but it became to sound somewhat more pleasant as he mentioned the bowl of sugar; that would certainly help to lessen the acidity. "I wonder if I could try the pie one day..." Lia mused at the thought, not really caring for how sour it might be.  If she couldn't handle it she could always forward it to the redhead in front of her.  However, Lia's face fell as Kalesh told her they don't grow in SAO.

Very much unlike the reaction that Kalesh possibly was expecting, Eulalia's expression stayed bright. "I know that.  Wouldn't be logical if you couldn't lose limbs." She elaborated. "Hmm... That would be strange... I can't think of anything to compare to what it might feel like..." She wondered, imagining the feeling.  She could tell how it must feel, but she had no way to describe it.