Filling in for a Friend [Ruemia/Closed]

[Hirosame]

Hiro found it a little strange that Renai would call in for a favor, especially now. It wasn't a problem to cover for him for a single quest, not at all. But, he did think it was a little different that the Woodcrafter would have done normally. He stroke Hiro as a bit of a "I may not like it, but I'll do it" kind of guy. However, he did say that he had some previous engagement. So, if his assumption was correct, Renai had another thing to do. Still, he didn't explain what it was he wanted out of Hiro. All he said was that he needed Hiro to fill in for him and someone who needed help receiving materials from a bunch of monsters. He didn't really question it, and just went with it. The less questions, the better, probably.

Hiro was given the quest by Renai, and was approaching the point to which he needed to meet up with the other player. Sadly enough, the quest information didn't say who it was that he would be partnering with, and the party information wasn't made until both players had visual contact on one another. It was a bit of a stupid system, probably, but he couldn't really complain. He didn't really feel like complaining, either. It meant more AP in the long run, and he got to help someone out. Perhaps this would be a good chance to meet someone new, and perhaps make a new friend? There's always the chance, anyways. He figured he would just let the person show up as they did.

He looked around as the quest marker, having arrived there himself. Not much was around him, except for a few boars, for which the materials were going to be obtained from. He still wished to know who, or what, it was that he had to help out here today. But, his impatience was probably going to get the best of him, hopefully he should stop that from happening. He decided to relax a bit in the fields, observing the flowers around him. He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He imagined the flower field surrounding him, and the scent of the petals flooded into his mind. He let his body relax, and before he knew it, he had found himself lying on his back in the middle of the field.

He really hoped that no boars would immediately aggro him. That would suck, since he was just enjoying the time for right now. He loved the smell of the field, the soft caresses of the wind as it blew gently across his face and hair, and all the other things nature had to offer. Of course, his family would probably prefer the inside, where the environment is controlled by the people in it. This is another thing that he and his family differentiated. He enjoyed nature, whereas they preferred status and such, blah blah blah, you know the story by now. Hiro's different from his family, and he's complained about it enough already. It almost got him killed in that last quest. So, instead, he just enjoyed the day, with the sun beating down on him lightly.

[Ruemia]

Heading into the Savill Flower Grove, a brief, yet genuine smile curved against Ruemia’s mouth as a light breeze wisped through her hair. The grove was a lovely sight. Flowers of different species – some of which didn’t exist in the real world, but were nonetheless beautiful. The sweet scent of buds wafted throughout the air, creating a sense of serenity. Reminding her of the countless times she escaped to the family manor garden to paint. Her hobby was a bit of a secret, not that her parents would completely be appalled if they found out. They would be disappointed if they found out she used painting to keep herself sane from all the tutoring and countless etiquette lectures she sat through twenty-four hours of the day. With her hands held behind her back, she quietly hummed a melody, following the garden’s path. As much as she would have loved to stroll through the grove the entire day, she was here for business. Materials were needed to be collected if she wanted to craft better weapons and attire. Ruemia couldn’t walk around without a proper outfit. She would need a full dress, heels, possibly a parasol if the weather continued to be as pleasantly sunny as it was presently… The silver-haired woman ceased her stroll. What was she thinking? She wasn’t attending a garden party anytime soon. She had no reason to dress so formally. It was an odd feeling. But as much as she contemplated going so far to wearing trousers, she wasn’t quite that daring yet. Maybe a skirt with some more masculine touches would be more suiting. No pun intended. At the unintentional joke, Ruemia’s shoulders bounced once as she let out a partial giggle, making sure her fingers were hiding the light smile on her face. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a mess of brown lying in the field. Aware of the monsters which resided in these parts of the maps, Ruemia unsheathed one of her starter rapiers. Of course, being a starter weapon, it wasn’t a very well-constructed sword, but it was better than having nothing to defend herself with. Enabling her Tracker skill, the swordswoman crouched down slightly as she silently approached the immobile figure. It was strange that the unknown target hadn’t budged yet, but she supposed it was just her skill doing its job. Creeping up from behind the lying figure, she quickly extended her arm out to point the tip of her rapier at its throat, only to realize it was not one of the game’s creatures. It was her brother. “Hiro?” She asked him, standing in an upright position, deactivating her skill. Ruemia still had her weapon unintentionally pointed at his neck. “My apologies,” she added, lifting her weapon away from his throat. “I mistook you as one of the boars that graze in the fields here.” Sheathing her rapier back into its casing that hung from her hips, she gave him a slight curtsey to greet him in a proper manner. “If it is not too rude, may I ask what you are doing here?”

words: 522 tags: Hirosame notes: --

MADE BY HABBUE OF GS

[Hirosame]

Hiro had found himself sleeping once the female had appeared. He didn't hear her at all, except for when she said his name in a questioning manner. He was shocked awake, rolled forward, and performed a handspring to get some distance from her, without even realizing who or what it was. He felt a little stupid that he had fallen asleep like that, but the fact that he had woken up so quickly, and reacted so fast probably meant that it was at the back of his mind the entire time. He landed on his feet, and very quickly exited his fighting stance, upon realizing who it was. He gave a small sigh, before putting a hand on his side. He gave her a small smile, and nodded a little to her greeting. She was as formal as she was, the day that they had made those miniature golems. While it may have felt so long ago, it happened just a day or two ago. This world certainly gives the impression that time goes by slowly. He really felt it sometimes.

He shrugged the thought off, as she finished her question. "Well, I was actually asked by..." He stopped for a moment, looking out the corner of his eye at the new symbol that appeared on his interface. It was a picture of the Swashbuckler class, and a name afterwards, with small bars displaying full health and MP. The name afterwards read "Ruemia." He was shocked a bit, and looked back at her slowly. "Actually... I'm here to help you out, I guess." He said, in the same slow pace. He figured that Renai would've told him who it was, especially if it were someone like Ruemia. But, it didn't matter in the long run. At least he was helping someone he knew out. Despite this, he was still a bit shocked. Not that big of a deal, though. He had a weird feeling from when he and Ruemia first met that she didn't really like him that much. But, this was probably his imagination, since she didn't show any hostility in her voice when she spoke to him.

Hiro scratched the back of his head, and looked towards the ground a little to his right. "I guess Renai meant that I'd be helping you out with this quest." Hiro gave a playful smile. "Hell, if I had known it was helping you out, I'd've offered to come out here myself!" He chuckled a bit, before looking around. Since they needed to get some sort of materials for whatever it was Ruemia was doing, he had to know what to look for. The quest information didn't say a thing, so he figured that he'd need to ask her. While looking about them for boars, he asked Ruemia. "So, what exactly is it that you need from this quest, huh? If I knew, since it doesn't say anything there, it'd probably make things easier to do." He only looked over at her a few times, for a moment at a time. He needed to keep looking while she spoke, but he hoped that she understood that he was still listening. Even if he was turning his back a few times to look.

[Ruemia]

The woman blinked rather incredulously at the other player. “You…you are?” she asked in response to finding out that the player Renai was substituting for himself on this quest for materials was her half-brother. What luck she had so far in Log Horizon. “Well, I suppose that’ll be quite alright,” Ruemia turned to the side to conceal her face that had twisted perplexed. She wasn’t going to turn down the offer, since she needed the materials, but it was safe to say that she wasn’t entirely comfortable being around her half-brother. There was only a slim chance of Hiro realizing her true identity, though that small sliver was just enough to keep her on edge. One would assume that finding someone you knew in the real world while trapped in a virtual one would bring them relief and a sense of safety or security. However, if one assumed that of Ruemia, they’d be sorely mistaken, and possibly find themselves back at Westminster Abbey shortly after a blade of a rapier had cut through their throat. “Evangeline Avery, as our daughter, you must succumb to your responsibilities as a Blackbourne. Our name has…” Glazed tawny eyes averted to the yarns of the Persian rug that lay on the floor in her father’s study. A young lady of about twelve years of age, sat in front of a large mahogany desk with her hands folded against her lap, her back partially curved into a slouch as she tuned in and out of reality. “…and it is of much importance that you start learning about how to be a proper young woman.” A silent, yet heavy sigh escaped from the girl’s mouth, her eyes trailing to the bookshelf as she began to count every one. This was boring. Why did she need to know all of this, anyway? She wasn’t even an adult yet. Didn’t only adults deal with this responsibility stuff? Why weren’t they setting aside Hiro for this “talk”? With a graceful nod, the silver-haired duelist explained her intention. “My goal for this quest is to find materials so I can change out of this gaudy starter ensemble. Gaining some experience points in addition.” Unsheathing one of her rapiers, she pulled her free arm behind her back before pulling her wielding arm out in front of her, inspecting the blade of her weapon. “Perhaps try and get materials to reforge these shoddy things,” Ruemia continued, mumbling to herself. She glanced over at her half-brother, catching him looking back at her as if he had a secret to tell. Her brow briefly rose at the strange mannerism before she went back to studying the worn stick of metal that the game classified as a sword. “So, what are you searching for in this quest…Hiro…same?” Lowering her weapon, Ruemia looked towards the other player as the hand that she held behind her back gripped into a tight fist. As tense as he made her, she knew that she had to keep herself leveled if she wanted to continue to hide who she was, from the reason why she was miserable. Steadying her quiet breathing, Ruemia put on a polite smile and awaited his response. Conceal. Don’t feel. Don’t let them know.

words: 538 tags: Hirosame notes: --

MADE BY HABBUE OF GS

[Hirosame]

Hiro squinted slightly, noticing something somewhat off about the whole situation. Ruemia, the girl before him, was off a bit. She was as bit different from when they were creating those golems. As if she didn't really wanna be in the same general vicinity of him. It threw him off slightly, but he thought about it for another moment, before realizing that he, himself, didn't make that good of a first impression. So, that might've been his own fault. Then again, he wasn't 100% sure as to what he did, or might have done. Or if he even did anything to begin with. He thought about it a bit more, and figured that she'd probably have something more against Renai in the end, since he almost openly showed his dislike for the woman. Maybe some of that sentiment pooled over to Hiro on accident. He shrugged it off, though.

He looked around for another moment, before thinking that Ruemia didn't specify what they were going to be fighting after all. But, he knew the enemies that were to be nearby at about this time, which meant that there would only be one possible way to get the materials she needed: Young Pittered Boars. While Hiro himself hadn't fought them before, having been able to pretty much skip over them, he still knew almost everything there was to know about them. They were weak. Super, super weak. He was almost certain that Ruemia could take on a group of at least 6 with little to no trouble at all. But, since Hiro was here in Renai's stead, he'd still try to do his best and help this girl along a bit further in this world.

He figured that he'd go ahead and assume the number of monsters that they need. Since she said she only needed a few, probably just about 6, making it a solid three for each. He nodded silently to himself, before turning to her, giving her a soft smile. "Well, I figure that we can probably get away with only fighting six Young Pittered Boars in order to get the materials you needed. Either that, or this quest would warrant enough gold to get you to that point at least. Sound good?" He asked casually, tilting his head to the side. He turned back around, looking for trouble, while mulling over what he had just said, and how he said it. Perhaps he was being too friendly with the woman and maybe she didn't like that. Or, it could just be him in general that she disliked. Whatever, it's not that big of a deal. It would pass eventually. Probably.

[443 words]