[PP-F6] Constant Companion <<Feeding the Enemy>>

[Piera 0]

Piera grinned at Jomei's response, nodding in encouragement. "That's the spirit! We could totally get Lowe. I wana see how he looks with long luxurious hair, haha." She couldn't imagine him getting too mad at his best friends just for giving him a glorious new hairdo. Or maybe even something else. She hadn't ever had much of a chance to pranks on really anyone in the real world so this was exciting for her. "I'll expect you soon then."

When the brunette felt a hand on her armored shoulder, she blinked and looked down somewhat bashfully at her friend's words. "Heh, it wasn't that much. It...wasn't enough honestly." Her somewhat happily embarrassed expression fell into a somewhat pinched one before she shook her head. "I got paid for what I made though, so there's that. With any luck, Lee and I will have a house by the time you guys reach floor twenty." It seemed so far right now, but with how quickly the frontlines were being pushed lately, she had confidence that it wouldn't be all that long.

Her attention was taken by the silent fluttering of Adere's wings as she was shooed off of her master's head back to his shoulder, causing her to chuckle a little at the ginger's glare, which his familiar returned rather haughtily. Piera's head tilted as she considered Jomei's words. "Yeah, I'm sure you're right." She had so many questions, worries, all useless since they were stuck here. Glancing back at her friend, the brunette wondered if he had anybody waiting for him in the real world...but it seemed rude to ask, or bring up unpleasant memories. So she went with a different approach instead. "So can you sing Jomei? Or play any instruments in the real world? Or this one. I'm not really sure what being a performer entails."

[Jomei 0]

Jomei laughed at the thought of pranking their friend and guild leader. "Haha. Maybe long hair will suit him. Who knows." Jomei grinned, ".. or maybe one of those hair dyes. I'm sure purple hair would look glorious.. maybe even green." Jomei ran his fingers along his chin, stroking the hairs in thought about Lowenthal with different colored hair. "Oh yeah, I will be sure to show up now.. We will find a way to get him good." Jomei's eyes widened and he chuckled, "Or maybe we could even get Mack.. or the glorious leader of Azure himself." he raised his eyebrows and smiled maliciously at Piera. 

Jomei shrugged his shoulders at the girl's remark about her payment. He was sure she got payed enough at least. Hell, she probably would be keeping most of that party alive with the potions she created. "Either way, I'm sure its enough that you made some sort of profit." He placed his hands into his pockets, pulling the insides out to show that he had nothing in them. He spoke through a sigh, "I'm sure you have more mats or col than I have, so thats enough. I'm sure an actual house for the two of you would be nice." He smiled at the girl, happy that she had the thought of buying a house in her mind. "I don't even know if I would go that far... let alone could.. I'll probably be living out of that music hall on Floor Two until we get out of this mess." he rubbed the back of his neck.

Jomei chuckled at Piera's wondering of Jomei's musical talent in the real world. "Well, I do know how to play the guitar in the real world. Have not done so much lately.. er.. much before getting stuck here that is, but it was a hobby from time to time. Got me a couple gigs at a small bar every once in awhile, nothing to get excited over. As for singing, I've had my fair share of it. Its not really needed to be a performer here.. in SAO it comes a lot easier. But knowing how to do so prior to makes it more fun. What about you? Are you a musical one? Or any other cool talents?" 

[Piera 0]

Piera's expression became contemplative as she ducked under a stray vine, her eyes somewhat unfocused behind her glasses as she tried to imagine Lowenthal with different hair. "I think pink would suit him better." She genuinely thought that he could pull it off. He was charismatic enough to wear it proudly. But when Jomei suggested getting leaders of different guilds such as Mack and Zelrius, the brunette's jaw dropped before she grinned evilly. "Yes! Oh my god that's brilliant! You're a frigging genius Jomei! One of us could totally spike the drinks of all the important people at one of those official meetings they go to and hahaha oh hell yes!" She couldn't keep from cackling as she envisioned the beautiful effects and reactions.

As the ginger showed his empty pockets, the alchemist smiled sympathetically, feeling awkward. She was used to the situation being reversed quite honestly. "Maybe we could look for materials for you and a familiar for me?" The brunette suggested, wanting to help her friend out. When he spoke of living out of his shop until they got out of this mess, she couldn't help but sigh and reply, "I kind of hope so. That it'll be sooner rather than later. Who knows, maybe international hackers are working with the government to rescue us all?" Her shoulders shrugged with a faint smile of amusement before squinting past a tree where she thought she saw movement, but it could have just been her eyes playing tricks on her. The heat was starting to become really uncomfortable with all of her heavy armor.

Hefting the bag of fruit over her shoulder and using her free hand to fan her face, Piera's eyebrows raised over her glasses, impressed at her friend's talent and success in the real world. "Whoa that's so cool! Like something you see in a movie, heh. I'd love to go to a bar and hear you play one day. Or sing." Maybe she should just hang out at his shop one day and listen to him work. That sounded like a cool idea to her, though on second thought it might not be very comfortable for her friend. Blinking at the question of if she was musical or had any other talents, the brunette shrugged. "I was in my high school's all female choir. Took a bit of piano in college. I'm a really fast reader and an even faster typist. I think that's about it, heh."

[Jomei 0]

Jomei laughed with Piera at the thought of pranking the different people in SAO. He knew it probably would be a bad idea, for all they knew the higher ups of the different guilds may not have had the sense of humor they would be looking for and it could all end out badly. Maybe it would be best for them to stick with friends for now, if they were even to follow up on this plan. 

The irishman  scratched his chin when the girl mentioned he could look for materials in the mean time. "Hm... that does not sound like a terrible idea." It had been awhile since he had gone out in search of crafting materials, last time being for another person in payment for a weapon. He had not searched for things for his own use in a long time. He searched the area for something he could use for a song, something that would inspire him and give him ideas. Looking around at the various foliage and plant life, Jomei noticed a brightly purple colored flower growing off of a tree. It reminded him of the beach life up on Floor Eleven, and figured he could use those thoughts to write a song, so he placed it into his inventory.

 Jomei shrugged his shoulders at the thought of people trying to release them all from the game, "I would not be surprised if the world was trying to free us.. then again, Kayaba made it pretty certain we were not leaving until we clear the game, and messing with the nerve gear would cause death." 

Jomei cheeks flushed very lightly when Piera reacted towards Jomei's past life in the real world. "R-Really. Its not that amazing." he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I was not some superstar that brought in a packed pub, I was more of the background music every once in awhile.." He chuckled, "It seems like you really want to hear me sing, huh." Jomei smiled when Piera revealed her talents, "Hah. So I guess I'm not the only one who can sing and play an instrument then. And a fast reader? Thats definitely something you have over me." he laughed 

ID: 35738
LD: 15

+1 Tropical Flower (Material)

 

Edited October 21, 2015 by Jomei

[Piera 0]

[ID: 35818] [LD: 4+1=5] [Total Mats: 0]

Piera smiled as Jomei took a liking to her suggestion of looking for materials and familiars. She was momentarily distracted as he found a very beautiful and exotic purple flower before scanning their surroundings in search of something she could use for crafting, but not seeing anything suitable sadly. Glancing back at the ginger as he stated that it was unlikely that they'd be able to get out of the game like that as Kayaba Akihiko made it clear that the only way to return was to clear the game and that messing with the nerve gear would kill the person. Nodding in acknowledgement she replied, "That's an individual's nervegear. I wouldn't be surprised if they forfeited the lives of a very select few people to see if they could do it. Or what's more likely is they're trying to find the mainframe or whatever. Where Kayaba himself is probably holed up monitoring us all. Goodness knows how long it'll be before anyone finds him though... It'd probably be faster if we just worked to clear the game, heh."

The alchemist's eyes lit up behind her glasses at her friend's adorable shyness. "Is too!" The brunette insisted before pausing to listen to his reasoning. "Hey, in my mind that's even cooler than just being some rockstar. You may not sell out whole stadiums, but you create atmospheres and important moments for a few people. Atmosphere is key, even if it's just to relax. I've always admired those cafe performers that can just go out and start playing or singing in front of a group of random strangers, sometimes without even getting paid or tipped. Takes courage." Nodding affirmatively at his rhetorical question, Piera stated, "I'm not afraid to admit it. I'm really curious as to what your singing voice is like." Part of it was due to his accent but she was also simply curious since he was her friend.

It wasn't like she was going to force him or anything if he didn't want to though. It was then her turn to be a bit embarrassed, scratching her nose before shaking her head. "Eh, technically. You're leagues better than me though, in both probably." It had been years since she had really sung or played rather than just sing in the shower or something. Chuckling along with Jomei as he stated that she had him beat in the fast reading category, she then shrugged. "Had to read while I could. I became a pro at reading and walking too." Her smile became somewhat of a grimace before she shook her head and continued to look around before randomly asking, "What's your favorite color Jomei?"

Edited October 22, 2015 by Piera

[Jomei 0]

ID 35870
LD 11

"True. Its probably a very careful search.. being a little under 10,000 lives are at risk worldwide. So I would not expect to be out of here any time soon, yeah." he let out a heavy sigh at the thought. "Makes you wonder how Kayaba is keeping tabs on us all... if maybe he is the only one who could log in and out at will.. or if he just has some huge database." 

It seemed Jomei's time playing in pubs truly interested Piera, more so than if he were famous. "I guess you have a point, yeah. Haha paid.. I would be lucky if I left there with anything.. well.. that was because they usually.. *ahem* paid me in alcohol." Piera admitted she wanted to hear Jomei sing. It was not the first time he had friends asking him to sing, or wanting him to at least. Especially those who had not seen him perform at the pubs before. "...After this." he said with a chuckle. "We already have a song going, and more important things to focus on right now. But some time after this I will sing for you." he sighed with a smile.

Jomei laughed when Piera asked what color was his favorite. Looking down at his green attire, grabbing onto his green cloak, he looked back up with green eyes. "Piera that should be obvious." he chuckled, "What about you? Unless its purple."

Edited October 22, 2015 by Jomei

[Piera 0]

Piera shared in Jomei's sigh before smiling wryly. "We'll get out. ....Eventually. But we'll get out." Frowning slightly in thought at her friend's speculation about the game's creator watching the players she  hummed in consideration. "I'd almost say that he'd be popping in amongst us, maybe as an NPC, or even just looking through one's eyes to keep tabs. I dunno how the system works. But I doubt he can be fully immersed like we are. ...Unless he has some backup to make sure he's okay or moved or safe or whatever. Gah, too much to take into consideration." The brunette shook her head and ran a heavily gloved hand over her hair as she let out another sigh, her bangs flying upwards momentarily.

Her spirits were quickly raised as she laughed upon hearing how he was usually paid when he played in a pub. "Hey, payment's payment whether in money or trade!" Smiling brightly with twinkling eyes, Piera nodded. "Whenever's good for you. No pressure~" She half teased, bumping into the shoulder that Adere wasn't on. But after his mention that they had something to focus on, she sheepishly realized that he was right. She kept getting distracted in conversation, but she needed to be paying attention to their surroundings more to keep an eye out for any passing monsters that could hopefully be her familiar.

But that didn't mean they could multi task. Scanning the shrubbery, Piera looked back to Jomei as he looked at his attire and then at her before answering, causing her to bark out a sharp loud laugh before she clapped a hand over her mouth and chortling against it to quiet the noise. Lowering her hand, the brunette replied with a smile. "Yup. Though green's my second favorite. Hmm....whaat abooouuut, food?"

 

[Jomei 0]

His green eyes closed and a light sigh escaped from his lips, "Guess we won't know until we do know. Nothing to dwell on now though." The man placed his hands into his pockets and opened his eyes again, looking up at the green canopy of leaves above them. "Once we get out.." Jomei said softly, still looking up at the light that was leaking through the trees. "The three of us, you, Lowenthal, and I.. we should all arrange to meet up. Take a holiday.. or do something together." his lips curved into a soft smile, "Of course, Lee and anyone else we get close with beforehand are invited too.. Its just a nice thought." He brought his attention back down to the ground.

Jomei chuckled when Piera confirmed his suspicions of her favorite color being purple. He smiled even more when she stated that her second favorite color was green, just like him. She then decided to continue on with the twenty questions and ask what his favorite food was. "Hm.. now that is a tough one." he said with a laugh. The man was not a very picky eater, so picking a food that was his absolute favorite was a tough choice for him. "Id probably have to say some kind of noodles, or pasta." he smirked, "Or anything spicy. How about you?" 

[Piera 0]

Bespectacled eyes eyes flicked up to glance at what the ginger was gazing at, lingering for a moment as she pondered his words. "That's not the first time I've heard that suggestion. Pretty sure there's gonna be a convention for everyone that's in SAO. Or therapy, heh." She joked lightly of the situation. "But you're right, we should do something just as a small group." They had spent too much time and grown too close together as a guild and as friends to not be friends in the real world. Craning her neck left and right, Piera kept her eyes peeled for any movement and her ears perked for possible animal sounds.

At Jomei's reply about her question being tough, she smirked back at him before tilting her head in curiosity as he finally answered, causing her to nod in interest before grimacing and sticking her tongue out at the mention of spiciness. "Blegh. I can't stand anything very spicy. I can only eat like....three hot cheetos before I have to stop, haha. Ramen and creamy pasta are good though." The brunette shrugged at the oddness of that statement before continuing, "Yet oddly enough I really love Mexican food. And sushi. Preferably cheese enchiladas or ikura. Hmmmm..."

She let out a long sigh, thinking of the two vastly different but equally delicious foods. "Maybe I'll come across a chef that can make something like those. I'd spend at least half my col for some quality food." Piera then considered what to ask next. "Okay now a harder one...umm... Whaaaat's....your....nn.... No! What'd you wana be when you were little?" Her face was bright with a curious smile as she glanced sidelong at her friend.

[Jomei 0]

The irishman smirked at Piera's mention of a convention for SAO survivors, "Hah, an SAO convention? Yeah that sounds more like a giant support group to me." he laughed. "Nonetheless, would probably be a good idea honestly. I'd love to meet some of these people in the real world."  He brought his arms up, placing his hands behind his head, thinking about what everyone would be like outside of the game.. Then again, they are stuck here.. So most likely what he sees here will be what he sees in the real world, especially since they will probably be stuck here for a long time. His eyes shifted over to Piera and he smiled, thinking about what it would be like to meet her and Lowenthal outside of this game. 

Jomei turned his head to look at Piera as she talked about her dislike in spicy foods and the type of food she liked. "Hah wait, you like Mexican..but dislike spicy foods? I didn't think there were many dishes like that that were not spicy." he grinned with a small laugh. He heard a light growl, causing him to abruptly stop and look around, only to realize it was his own stomach. He sighed, " I thought it was another animal for you to tame." he blushed, rubbing the back of his head. He cleared his throat, "Well I heard Ssendom is a pretty good chef, Takao too.. you could always ask one of them to make something for you."

".. what did I want to be when I was little...?" Jomei struggled at the thought. "Hm.... Well, I guess I wanted to be a -" Jomei's words were cut off by the sound of shifting leaves in the trees above them.. or in the grass. He could not tell. But there was something in the area. "Piera, get ready. I hear something.." 

[Piera 0]

Piera smiled wryly at Jomei's opinion that an SAO convention would be more of a support group than a festive gathering. "Well, you're not wrong. I think that we'll all be getting some quality psychiatric care when we get out of here. But the convention will still happen! Just...after recovery." The brunette nodded happily, sharing his sentiment for wanting to meet some of the people they'd first met in Aincrad. "I wonder if we'll have trouble recognizing some people? I mean I know we look mostly like how we do in reality, but I've heard some people say that the system kept the coloration of their original avatars the same. Not to mention it'll be weird not to see everyone in armor anymore." There would likely be many things that would take time to get used to when they returned. The healer's expression was contemplative as she spaced out for a moment.

Her head turning to look back at her ginger friend, Piera pouted and argued in defense of her love of Mexican food, "They take pity on us non-Hispanics and make mild versions of the normal spicy dishes. It tastes exactly the same and won't burn your taste bu-" The spearwoman's sentence was cut off as a loud rumbling growl sounded nearby, causing her eyebrows to raise above the frames of her glasses in surprise before her mouth opened in an awed grin. "W-Was that...?" Laughing at his reaction to his own stomach, the brunette bit her lip, trying not to laugh too much at her guildmate's expense. "A stomach would indeed be a fierce familiar, hehehe."

Tilting her head in interest at his suggestions of where to get quality food, Piera nodded. "Thanks. I've seen Takao's shop, though I haven't been in yet. I've had Ssendom as a customer, but I didn't know he was a cook." She perked as he began to answer her earlier question before his pace slowed to a halt and he warned her to get ready. Jomei's song played in the background as she slowly reached to grab a handful of the fruit she had brought as her green eyes darted around the even brighter green foliage, trying to see where the subtle rustling was coming from. Then she caught a slight movement in her peripheral vision and looked up to see a light brown and white form perched atop a thick tree branch. "A...cat?" She whispered aloud in question. She could see the ears and the long tail that was flicking slightly, usually a sign of irritation in most felines but she noticed that it was flicking in time with Jomei's song.

Cautiously stepping forward, Piera held out the hand that held the fruit. The healer was a little worried that it might not be interested in the snack that she had brought, wondering if this would work for all familiars or only the omnivores or herbivores. Did Aincrad even work like that? Why hadn't she researched the matter more before now?! Swallowing her nerves, she called out softly in a soothing voice that one might reserve for sleeping babies or puppies, "Hey there pretty. It's okay, we don't wana hurt you. You want a lil snack? Hmm?" It was then that the creature's head turned in a way that was exactly like how an owl would...right before leaping down, spreading wide its white and tawny wings to glide down straight for Piera. And of course she flinched with a shocked gasp.

She couldn't help it, seeing what she thought was a cat, fly right at her face?! A single berry had fallen from her hand and rolled forward towards where the odd creature stood, measuring her carefully. It seemed to be an odd cross between a barn owl and a house cat and about the same size as either as well. The bespectacled woman blinked with wide eyes before ever so slowly lowering down to her knees, still keeping her hand outstretched. "You are just gorgeous." She breathed in awe as she watched it step towards the fallen berry before reaching down and plucking it up with its beak and biting down before swallowing.

A feline like tongue licked the juices remaining on its beak before tilting its head again, peering at her with expressively intelligent dark brown eyes. "Here's some more for you." Piera stated in the same light soothing tone. It seemed to think on the offer for a moment before beginning to pad forward. She could tell that it wasn't completely trusting of her yet as its wings were still a little loose, it was ready to take flight at any moment. She just hoped that it didn't. The griffin like animal stared at her hand before snapping away one berry, retreating a step to gobble it down before stepping forward again, this time not leaping back as it ate right out of her hand. The pure amount of joy and amazement showed on the female player's face as she took in what was happening.

"There you go sweety. Pretty birdy. Pretty kitty..." The griffin seemed to be considering something as it watched her before stepping even closer before sitting on its hind legs, a mere two feet from her face. Barely breathing at this point, the healer blinked as it seemed to extend it's neck to peer closer at her, it's head tilting slowly until the brunette finally realized that it was looking at it's reflection in her glasses. Slowing making the movement to open her menu with her right hand, she unequipped the vanity item, her face now spectacle free. This seemed to take the griffin aback, it's neck jerking inwards quickly before it sat up, glaring at her reproachfully before she crooned soothingly. "It's okay, just glasses. Nothing bad. I'm Piera. It's very nice to meet you, oh."

The creature had once more gotten into her face and she felt breath chuff lightly on her nose before it slowly and seemingly deliberately, closed its eyes and slowly opened them again. Thinking that this must mean something, the healer copied the motion. This was apparently the right call, as the griffin began purring. Grinning in success, she risked tentatively offering her hand, and the creature bumped it with its head. Chuckling lightly, she obliged in scratching its ears before gasping as a window popped up, congratulating her on her success at having tamed a familiar.

A surge of intense joy and accomplishment passed through her, but she restrained herself from jumping up and exclaiming in exaltation, not wanting to frighten off her new familiar. Even though she wasn't sure if she even could really. "Ohhhh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh." The words quietly flooded from her mouth as she carefully stood, still scratching her pet's ears as she turned to her ginger friend. "Jomei Jomei Jomei, I did it, I did it!" Her excitement was evident, though she still made sure to keep her volume down.

[ID: 50816] [LD: 19+1(Song)+1(Trinket)= 21] [Success! You have tamed a familiar.]

{OOC: BLACKJACK BABY!}

Edited March 10, 2016 by Piera

[Jomei 0]

Jomei eyes slowly scanned the grass around them, looking for any sign of movement. The slight breeze that gently swerved around the trees made it quite difficult to pick out anything unusual however. That was when he heard Piera speaking softly, noticing a cat like creature up in a tree. Jomei picked his head up and looked at her for a moment before following her eyes to where she was looking. Up in the branches ahead of them sat a white and brown feline, while it faced the opposite direction, its tail moved back and forth like a metronome to Jomei's music. 

The Irishman turned his head back towards Piera with a smirk, giving her a gentle tap on the back with his index finger, gesturing her to greet the creature. He took a step back from the girl, just as slowly as she moved forward. He heard a very low cooing noise come from the owl on his own shoulder, and once he noticed that Adere was making noises at this new animal, he reached up and took the owl in his arms to avoid her from scaring it away. "Its not that I don't trust you Adere, I just don't want it to get scared if you try to say hi." he said, lowering his head so he whispered to the owl. 

Jomei was taken by surprise when he saw Piera gasp and flinch. His hand quickly went to his sword, but he released his grip when he saw that the familiar was harmless.. though it was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was some sort of hybrid animal.. a feline and an owl, but gorgeous nonetheless. Jomei stood with a soft smile on his face, watching the brunette interact with the animal. Eventually, the animal warmed up to her, and she had succeeded in taming her own familiar. Jomei slowly stepped up behind Piera and put a hand on her back, "Congratulations. What are you going to name it?" 

[Piera 0]

Piera was practically glowing with happiness and excitement and blinked rapidly at Jomei's question before deflating just slightly. "I....hadn't thought that far honestly. Mmm..." The brunette turned to look down at the creature at her feet. "What's your name?" She asked it, not expecting a reply back. "Hm?" She now noticed that since she had tamed it, more information was accessible and she tapped the window. "You're an...owl griffin. Huh. You kinda look like a barn owl. Like in Labyrinth..." Chewing on the inside of her cheek she leaned down and to the side, trying to determine if monsters or familiars had genders that one could easily distinguish. Straightening she posed, "What do you think of....Jareth?" The owl griffin tilted his head along with her before purring. "Well, he doesn't hate it, that's good enough for me, heh. Jareth it is." Grinning at her friend, Piera stated, "Well I guess I better turn in the quest to make it official. Least we can get out of this heat. Hope you'll like the weather on the third floor buddy." She spoke the last sentence with a glance down at her new partner. 

[Jomei 0]

Jomei smirked and crossed his arms when Piera mentioned that she had not even thought about a name when she first tamed the animal. He did not blame her, the excitement in taming her first familiar over came her. "Guess I'm not the only one with an owl for a companion anymore." he said softly. He watched as the girl began to look over more information about the animal, turned out it was not a regular owl, but an owl griffin. Leaning slightly to the side to get a better look, he did notice that this owl had four legs like a cat and a tail. He brought his hand up to his chin and looked at the animal, quite curious. Adere, by now, was sitting on Jomei's shoulder, waiting for approval for her to greet her new feathered friend. "Jareth. Sounds good to me." Jomei said with a smile. He shrugged his one shoulder, letting the bird know she could now go to say hi. The brown owl hopped off of Jomei's shoulder and waddled over to the white owl griffin, hooting a couple of times in greeting. Jomei laughed, "Looks like Adere approves too." 

[Piera 0]

Piera nodded happily before correcting, "Owl griffin. Gah, I'm a Griffin Tamer! That's so cool..." She felt cheesy saying that, but griffins were one of her favorite mythical creatures. "Looks like Adere will have someone new to play with, huh Jareth?" The brunette cooed at her familiar who was tilting his head in curiosity as the brown owl hopped down to meet him. Holding her breath, the alchemist watched them interact and Jareth extended his neck while letting out an odd chittering noise that sounded vaguely friendly to Adere's greeting hoots. Smiling at her ginger friend, Piera said, "I'm glad. Thanks for your help Jomei. And company. Pretty sure I would've been wandering around a lot longer without your song. And be bored at that if you hadn't tagged along, heh."  Once their familiars flew back up to their respective shoulder perches, the spearwoman and her guildmate set off back to the gypsy that gave her the quest and officially completed it.

QUEST COMPLETE!

Rewards:

Piera-

The title <<Griffin Tamer>>

A familiar with the Healer Familiar Enchantment (Instantly heals you for 15 HP, and can only be used every 10 turns. This takes a turn to use.)

2 Skill Points

200 Col

Jomei-

1 Skill Point

200 Col