[OP:F1] Making New Friends

[Teayre 0]

Looking around Starting City Teayre let her mind wonder back to when she had first joined SAO. The announcement that Kayaba Akihiko put informing them that this was a death game made her clench her hand around her katana as she remembered. Chuckling she sits down by a fountain watching several players wander back and forth in front of her. A small ledge and set of stairs was nearby, she blushed looking over at them remembering when she had run up them and fallen over barging into a group of players. One of them had helped her up, his blue mop had seemed annoying back then now it was lovely.

As she relaxed her eyes slowly falling shut her breathing slowing. The sun shone down onto her slowly warming Teayre up. “This makes a nice change from floor four… It’s not too hot down here or too cold.” Opening her eyes Teayre rapped her knuckles on the wall every so often. “I wonder what the new floor is going to be like.” The red head continued to sit there day dreaming as she simply watched players pass her by. Most of them too scared to set foot outside the safe zone.

[Toothpick 0]

Toothpick had visited most of the easily accessible safe zones of Aincrad, each more exotic than it’s predecessor. But even then, none matched up to the charm that the Starting City possessed. Perhaps it was the familiarity it held. The safety it once provided. The reminder of home. In hindsight, Toothpick would argue all of the above, but at the moment, he couldn’t care less; besides, it was a cheap place to live. He had plans to move a mattress into the shop once it was fully built, but that hadn’t happened yet; not that he cared, the City had enough to satisfy a whole year of in-depth exploration, a new sight every corner. Looking at the various cafe’s and restaurants that were based on F1, Toothpick couldn’t help but wonder why there wasn’t more who elected to follow the path he took, that of the fisherman; even despite adversity, there was a demand.
 

Alas, the thoughts of fish and the horrid stench they brought with them wasn’t one that was proper for a simple stroll, so he waved them off as quickly as they came, only the wish to eat at one of said establishments lingering. The fountain from which he spent his last innocent moments in Sao came into view, the bench which he sat on during the respite appearing soon after, nostalgia following in it’s wake. Along with the familiar, there was the new, a flash of red, one of the younger players enjoying the spot just as he did on that fateful day, the two even sharing about the same view of the fountain, as she wasn’t too far away from the bench.  

Nodding a hello as he approached, Toothpick settled into the wooden warmth, the sun readying the seat for him in advance. The patter of water comforted him as he sank back and closed his eyes, hands resting in his lap and blade nor sheath anywhere to be found. He spoke to the gentle wind, “Peaceful, isn’t it?”

Edited October 4, 2015 by Toothpick

[Mythic 0]

      Mythic walked past the many shops and stalls and their owners trying to offload their wares. Understandably, the new equipment had a certain allure to them. More damage, better defense, and healing potential all rang in Mythic's mind. He wouldn't be able to play a role in the frontlines without better gear, despite the fact that he had no means to purchase any of it. So, reluctantly, Mythic continued to walk. It's a shame, but it's the currency that makes the world turn.

      "It's kind of like the real world," Mythic said to no one in particular. "You need good equipment to fight mobs, you need Col to get the equipment, but you need to fight mobs to get the Col. Quite the cycle." It was a frustrating truth that Mythic had a hard time accepting, but that was a worry for another time. 

      Mythic spotted a familiar fountain. Starting City was absolutely massive, but he was slowly picking up on landmarks to find his way around the city without having to ask for directions. His usual alley he liked to camp out in wasn't far away now. As he was beginning to head toward the eastern boulevard, Mythic noticed two players sitting at the fountain and remembered back to his first adventure outside of the city walls fighting boars. Allies would definitely make my time in Aincrad easier. 

      The soldier approached the two, not knowing what to say, as this was literally the first time in his life approaching people by his own choice. "Hi, uh, I'm Mythic." Smooth, dude. 

Edited October 4, 2015 by Mythic

[Lee 0]

The gate to the root town in the town of beginnings activated to let forth a player into its walls. The player would appear in large plate armor with a large shield laid across his back as it was not in use. He made it a point to come back and forth from the towns when possible to see if there were any new people to meet or possible items that wouldn't be on other floors. He wasn't sure as these were usually fruitless endeavors but it never hurt to try as his time was usually spent doing simple things, if any at all. He would begin his usual walk with no real destination in mind besides the shops here and there though, as he did he took a note of a few people but he would stop in front of a small stall a few meters from the fountain. Pretending to look through the wares with his attention only a fraction on said items.

[Teayre 0]

OC: Sorry for taking so god damn long to reply. Curse the real world!

 

Turning her head as a voice carries over to her Teayre smiles at the gentlemen who had approached her. “It is.” Leaning her head back against the wall little red lets out a sigh. Stretching her arms upwards the girls mouth opens wide as she takes a proper look at the man who had come over to her. “How’s it going, how’re you finding this cruel but fun world?” As the girl waited for his answer she looked up at the other person who had come over to disturb her little reverie. “Hi. Uh, I’m Mythic.” Placing a hand over her mouth Teayre stifles a giggle.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh... It’s just a good sense of irony really.” Removing her hand she smiles at the boy in blue. “I’m Teayre, and this is… Actually I don’t even know who this is he’s just come over here as well.” Her eyes darted to behind Mythic as a third person turned up in heavy plate armour. Raising a hand the red headed girl waves at him before sitting up cross legged. “You know, you can stop pretending to not be paying attention to us and come over and talk Sir Shiny.” Sticking her tongue out at the man in tin armour before laughing as she gently strokes the katana that was placed carefully on her lap.

[Mythic 0]

OOC: The real world is overrated.

 

      Mythic grinned. "You do make a great point, the name is kind of ironic." The soldier did his best to hide his embarrassment, but he couldn't help but think how red his face might be at this particular moment. "In the real world, I'm pretty antisocial. It's easier to be someone completely different online, but that kind of blew up in my face when I saw my own face in that stupid little mirror. Although, it's nice to meet you Teayre," Mythic looked back at the player in the plate armor and couldn't help but notice the churning sensation in his stomach. It's hard enough for him to talk with two whole people.

[Teayre 0]

Laughing as she saw his face Teayre smiled, “It’s more I used the term ‘Mythic’ as a prefix for a lot of characters in previous games I played.” Nodding in agreement Teayre looks over and sees a brunette hovering just on the edge of the conversation. “You know you’re not the only one who struggles with talking to people I think.” Waving over at the girl Teayre calls over to her. “Hello there are you alright? I don’t bite I promise.” With a small smile Teayre shifts slightly trying to make herself more comfortable, her legs swinging down as she caught the gaze of the girl looking at the wall. “Come and sit down if you like, it’s nice and cool here.” 

[Lee 0]

OOC: I thought there was a posting order or I would have replied sooner. 

Lee would continue to fake pro-rouse the wares of the merchant when he happened to see one of the players calling out to him, calling him out on his falsehoods, waving him over and calling him sir shiney. He would laugh hesitantly and rub the backside of his head in a slight bit of embarrassment and the tongue sticking out. He took note that another individual had come to join the players to which he would make his way now finally to them with a single hand raised lightly in a greeting "Greetin's  one and all." He would nod his head toward the two women and the two men respectfully.

[Mythic 0]

OOC: It's quite alright. We would still be waiting if I didn't PM Teayre for a go ahead lol.

Mythic felt much more at ease, the red headed woman was right, he wasn't the only one who had some social ineptness. He glanced over to the brunette and gave her a curt smile. It was going to take awhile, maybe even years for Mythic to get over this fear, but this was a step in the right direction. Pushing himself into group situations is the only way. "You're absolutely right, Teayre. Someday I'll overcome these fears." The man decked out in plate armor approached and gave his greetings, he was kind of jealous of the gear, but pushed the thought away as quickly as it came. "Hello, sir, I'm Mythic. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Mythic thought to himself for just a moment, then turned back to Teayre. "So tell me this, Teayre. How is it that you find it so easy to talk to new people?"

[Greg Baxen 0]

OOC: Mind if i join in?

Before Greg starts doing <Breaking the Unbreakable>

Greg had been wandering for a while. There was something he'd put off for a long time that he needed to get sorted now. Socializing with people. This, of course, was a problem for Greg, as he was rather shy and not good at making small talk. He was going to try and change that (and probably fail, but still!) So here he was, back in the Starting City. Looking around, he noticed a group of people, and approached rather cautiously. "Uh, hey..." Greg said nervously, making his presence known, albeit reluctantly.

[Teayre 0]

OOC: Anyone's welcome, so long as two people have posted after your previous post you're good to go with an reply (that'll help keep things moving and stop spamming :D)

“Well Sir Shiney what’s your name then since the rest of us have introduced ourselves… More or less.” Her eyes running up and down the armour the boy was clad in. “Don’t you think that’s a bit much for a safe zone? It’s not like you can get killed in one.” Teayre watched the group’s reaction at her casual mentioning of death in her sentence. “Let’s see if there are any here who-“

Her thoughts were cut short as a blonde boy came running up to them. His steps slowed almost to a halt as she approached the group waving him in close the red head smiled at him. “Hey there, don’t be so shy we’re all here together.”

Looking back over at Mythic Teayre smiles at him letting out a small chuckle as he asks her how she finds it easy to talk to new people. “The truth is Mythic,” the red head leans closer to him and whispers in his ear however not really making any attempts to hide what she is saying, “I’ve just given up caring what people think of me after I met one person.” Leaning back Teayre rests her head against the wall, whilst letting her fingertips skirt the surface of the pond.

[Toothpick 0]

He smiled, the content in her voice proving to be a warmth in of it’s own; Toothpick had seen far too many entrenched a self-spun grief for a life they hadn’t even lost yet, it was what prompted him to take the walk in the first place, lest he allow himself to be affected by their negativity. Blinking an eye open and looking towards his company, he spoke

 

“ ‘Cruel but fun’-hmm? The shoe fits...though I don’t find Aincrad very fun, not to say it’s completely horrible. I guess I don’t look for fun, or maybe it doesn’t find me, either way, I tend to stray from excitement, it’s not that hard if you know what you’re doing. I suppose, for me, it’d be ‘Cruel but calming’?.....meh, probably a better way to say it, tell me if you think one up.”

 

Despite the casual guise he wore, discomfort washed over him. While things had been relatively peaceful for most of his career, he knew that change was inevitable, and with his quitting the Mat farming industry, irreversible. The notion of combat was a worrying one, and as most practical minds did, he shoved the problem clear out of his mind till it’s appointed day and hour should come; no point in over-thinking things, as he saw it.

 

“ ‘This is’ Toothpick, better known as ‘Peter’ in another life. Nice to meet you two,  Teayre, Mythic. Kind of embarrassed now, your names sound much more artistic than my own,” A weak chuckle broke out on his part, barely audible over the fountain’s splish and splash.

 

While he was unsure of were the irony of Mythic’s name could be found, he didn’t bother to ask, leaving the two to chatter in peace. Refocusing his abstract gaze on the fountain, the stillness of thought was soon interrupted by the gaze of girl which he caught in his peripheral. Lazily and instinctively meeting her stare with one of his own, he observed her awkwardness without a care, or thought, of her own discomfort. Once satisfied, he turned back to the “group”, nodding a hello to the new-comers. The mention of death didn’t garner much of a reaction from Toothpick, who didn’t even care to make note of it.

 

“Well, no reason for bulky armor not to be just as fashionable as anything in Aincrad, if you don’t mind me adding. And personally, if I wore something like that, I’d grow attached to the set, with it saving my ass so often…...though that’s just my view on things,” shrugging, Toothpick drooped an arm over the bench's backrest, "On an off note, we've all gathered here with a surprising promptness, if that means anything to anyone."

~~~~~~

OOC: I return :o 
.  

Edited October 17, 2015 by Toothpick
OOC=/=OC

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom was walking about the first floor already, after having done a massive farming fest down in the depths of of Tartarus. He couldn't figure out the exact reason as to why he was walking about the first floor though, there was nothing for him to accomplish here. At least until he needed to eliminate Redemption, he shuddered slightly at the thought. Currently he was down in his standard all brown clothing, skin tight tank top to accentuate his physique since he was a work out warrior in the real world. His overly baggie looking pants that were frayed at the ends held up by two belts with gold trimming. His scarf was insanely large it covered the bottom half of his face and went over the shoulders and some of his chest. His gloves went over his elbows, but even though their design was to be loose fitting, they happened to be very tight due to his forearm, biceps, and triceps.

He noticed a familiar red head in the distance, realizing it was Teayre he decided to walk up to her and greet her. She was surround by a bunch of faces he had never seen before, and he wasn't exactly the best with first impressions since he was normally in a reckless warrior in the battle fields. And he naturally stood taller than most people in this world excluding a select few people. One of his fellow Commandants was one to name for being shorter than. As he closed the distance he waved two fingers once from his forehead in an outward motion to simulate a relaxed way of waving. "Good to see you Teayre, new people I see." He said in his powerfully deep tone of voice.

[Greg Baxen 0]

Greg sighs in relief as one of the people, a red-haired girl, ushers him to come closer, saying not to be shy. Greg scratches his head. "That's kinda been a problem of mine since childhood. Shyness, I mean. I've never been good at talking to people." he says.  Approaching a bit less cautiously now, he wonders what's going on, and promptly makes his confusion known. "What's with the gathering of people, anyway?" 

Edited October 18, 2015 by Greg Baxen

[Koumori 0]

(I'm just gonna crash this party. I haven't RPed in awhile and I've never had a thread with any of you)

It was almost like the Town of Beginnings was a magnet. By all rights there wasn't really a reason for everyone to stay here yet most people did. Maybe they felt some sense of security within its stone walls but to me it seemed like it was hindering our progress. In my opinion, it would be best to move on. But who am I to talk, I'm one of those people that are still here. Even today I'm running around the town of beginnings...well running might be a bit of an understatement, I've actually been hopping between rooftops. I was in a hurry and I figured that would probably be faster than weaving through the crowd. I was right of course and was able to finish what I needed way quicker than necessary. Seeing as I had nothing else to do, I decided to do the same thing on my way home. As I was making my way back, I came up on a fountain that had a large gathering of players. Seeing that sight brought me back to the old days. The days when I'd unwittingly be caught in a group of 6 people and we'd all end up doing some crazy stuff. It had been awhile since that had happened and normally I wouldn't care, but SAO had changed me. I was still perfectly okay with being on my own, which I had been for about the past month, but now I saw the value in a little fun like that. So I stopped running on the rooftop right above their bench and walked to the edge. I looked down to see them just in time to hear one of them ask what the gathering was about. I decided that would be a good time to speak up. "A couple months ago I would've said you guys were harassing those girls, but I've learned my lesson" With that I leaped of the ledge and into the air. After two front flips I landed in a crouch on the ground right behind the standing players, my cloak slowly draping around me. I stood up and turned around, "So, what's up?"

Edited October 18, 2015 by Koumori

[Teayre 0]

“Art is only a concept of one’s mind Toothpick, I’d also advise you against mentioning your name in another world here. Unless it’s to someone you completely trust.” The red haired girl’s face tinged the same colour for a moment, before shaking her head. Nodding along to Toothpick’s comment about the armour, “I guess you’re right I just see too many people in armour these days, speaking of which…” Teayre looked behind the group of boys talking to her as a familiar face appeared. “Promptness however it means very little really, just coincidence I think.”

Grinning at Ssendom Teayre chuckles, “No scaring the lower levels Dom by putting on your armour.” Looking around at the group around her Teayre waves a hand in the direction of Ssendom, “This is Ssendom, despite having a gruff exterior he is actually an okay person. Someone I would happily put my life in the hands of, even on the higher floors.” Her eyes flashed as she met the eyes of the person she was talking about. Before breaking the contact she gave a weak smile to Ssendom.

“People always seem to view things as ‘problems’ why not view them as perks or challenges. That being said there’s nothing wrong with being alone and not talking to people I do it quite often myself.” Looking at the group, barring Ssendom they all seemed to be fair low level. “Hmmm nothing much, although there is a cave on the second floor we could go to if people wanted to? The damage isn’t that high and it’s teeming with monsters to kill.”

As yet another person turned up Teayre’s eyes flicked over to him, listening to him Teayre let out a laugh at his opening words. “If anyone was harassing anyone I’m sure it’d be torturing these poor souls with stories that would twist their minds and make them run away from me.” Raising an eyebrow the red head watched as the brunette off the ledge above her and land on the ground just past the group. “Fancy trick, however I wouldn’t rely on it too much. It won’t save you from a well placed Sword Art.”

[Greg Baxen 0]

Upon hearing the red-haired girl mention a cave, Greg's interest becomes piqued. "A cave, huh? I don't see why not. I could use some training." he quips. This was also a good chance to see what other players' preferences for weaponry were. Hammers? Katanas? Spears? Maces? What could it be? And what armor do they use? Light or Heavy, or do they have a shield?

Edited October 19, 2015 by Greg Baxen

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom bowed his head politely when Teayre was picking on him a slight bit with the intimidating armor he usually adorned. "Now that I think of it Teayre, you've never seen me outside of my Battle Attire, have you?" He asked her with a slight chuckle, then she began to praise him some with mentioning that he was one of the few people she trusted with her life, "Well I wouldn't praise me that much, I'm more likely to get you in a death situation due to rushing in head long without figuring out the issues that might transpire." His chuckle turning into a hearty laugh.

A man landed in a crouching position a slight distance behind Ssendom, but it really didn't grab his attention all that much until Teayre paid attention to the man. Ssendom turned around to look then turned back to Teayre, "If you need someone to watch over these players aiming to try and work their way to the front lines, I'll assist in watching over them." He mentioned to her while he was still around the large forming group of players.

[Koumori 0]

"Heh" I light chuck escaped my lips at the red haired girl's comment. I guess it was only natural for people in this game to always be thinking about combat and survival but it seemed kind of odd that that was the immediate reaction. I stood up and turned to examine the group. A number of players had gathered, like I had saw from above, but none of them looked familiar to me. Most of them seemed to be around the same level as me, except for two which seemed way out of our leagues. The red haired girl on the bench was one of those. The other was the guy who, after ignoring me, began to talk about watching over the rest of us. I comment like that might have bothered me if I actually cared but of course I didn't. Instead I thought I'd rib them. I walked forward and put my hand on the shoulder of the blonde haired player and leaned into the circle that had formed. With I grin I said, "Wow, tough crowd. I guess I'll have to spend more time thinking up my entrances. Mark down "jump off building" as a fail." Before I took my hand off his shoulder I surveyed the crowd one more time. Somehow it felt nostalgic. I had been in situations like this many times before and it was nice to be back. My thoughts where disrupted when I heard mention of fighting mobs in caves. Ugh. Well that is the name of the game. "It's a nice day, why spend it in a dank cave?" I had almost forgotten I was still using that guy as an armrest and quickly removed myself. Didn't want it to become too uncomfortable. 

Edited October 20, 2015 by Koumori

[Lee 0]

Lee would first be greeted by a man that named himself as Mythic to which Lee would nod his head in his direction and raise his hand lightly in a wave to greet him. He would then look toward the female that he had heard to be Teayre and she spoke of what it was his name was as they had all came forth with their names and thanks to his closeness prior, he was able to hear such things but still felt it would be rude to bring that up. "My name that isn't sir shiny would be Lee." He would then take note of her looking him up and down and then proceed to talk about how the armor is unnecessary in a town as one could not die in one. Toothpick threw in his own two cents about the armor to which Lee would hold a hand out in his direction as if to take the option

"More or less, that. I feel like it's just as good as clothes and feel a bit uncomfortable without it, like wearing someone else's clothes for the first time. That is other clothes." It was then that a blonde haired male would approach the group to which Teayre would accept into the group with seemingly open arms. He seemed and even spoke that he was shy and then asked just what the group was together for. A player that spoke to Teayre specifically that she would name as Ssendom and who would be dubbed a higher leveled player that was nice enough to her that she would claim to be quite the individual.

Lee would listen as someone would speak out to the group about them grouping up on the female player to which he would watch as the player would land from seemingly the skies in a crouched position. Lee would give his head just the slightest of tilts as he must have been the one to talk and as he asked what was up, he was sure it was him. Teayre had spoken that there was a cave not to far out that they could try going to and with such a group, it should prove to much of a problem to which Lee would nod

"I'm in, I haven't gotten into a fight on this floor yet so it'll be fun." Ssendom spoke out that he too would come to ensure the safety of the group which Lee didn't have a single problem with. So long as he could get some experience and possibly items, he didn't care about being babysat. "Everyone else seems pretty for the idea too."