[Open] The Only Way to Go Is...

[Kogeki]

Once again, as with many other times, Marco Rivaille felt a deep stab of fear.

Only, it wasn't really Marco that felt it. It was Kogeki, a garishly dressed samurai standing in a darkened alley of Londinuim next to a full-house inn. In the mud. In the rain. Staring down into a bag that, at one point, had held at least enough coins to get him fed, and give him a room for a night. His routine of a month had been destroyed, because he didn't ration his bloody coin.

"Oh God..." Kogeki whispered to himself, shivering. He dropped the empty bag of gold--fat load of good that was--and hugged himself tightly, his plate armor digging painfully into his sides. His breath came in wheezing gasps. No money. No food. That meant death, right? It had to. What could he do, go outside?

"No!" He hissed fiercely. No way. There were monsters out there. They'd kill him. They'd kill him and God only knows what sort of things happen to people when they die. What if the Cathedral couldn't get him back!? What if--

Almost unbidden, an arm unwrapped itself from Kogeki's stomach and slapped him in the face. Feeling the stinging pain of cold metal and burning, probably bruised flesh, Kogeki suddenly was able to catch his breath. He leaned heavily on the side of the door, taking gasps of the rain-sweet air into his lungs as long as he could hold them. With this breath, came a grim clarity. Yes, Marco/Kogeki could die. Indeed, he had never actually raised his bloody level, so there were probably monsters out there that could kill him easily. Yet the only other option was to starve, here, in the mud, in the rain. And that was hardly a choice at all.

Sometimes, the only way to go is...

And so he left, letting the mask of Kogeki cover him comfortingly as he straightened his shoulders and forced breath into his lungs. He didn't even tremble. Thank God for acting class.

So when the door to the inn suddenly burst open, Kogeki stood there firmly, a fierce grin on his face as he loudly proclaimed!

"The only way to go is up! Who here shall join me on an adventure!?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Word Count: 378

[Nisha]

Nisha chuckled, it was interesting to see people like this and happened not as often as one would expect it to. After all it was a likely scenario in a normal situation, someone entering a bar in a fantasy world, proclaiming their heroship and their search for companions, willing or not, recruiting and swooping on people, scooping up damsels and adding berserker to their party. Only to go on a great heroic quest, fall in love with a princess or their party member, befriend everyone and defeat and then befriend the bad guys, the hundreds of slaughtered minions not counting. It was quite the curious prospect, but since this game had become too real for most people, none such thing really happened anymore. Everyone was too scared or caught up in routines to even play normally anymore or already in some party´s high leveled enough not to care about lower leveled players. Ah, the times had changed indeed. Paying for her drinks, she nodded to the person on her table and stood up, she did not know him, but she never minded company and he had been a good source of information.

Putting the money on the table, she wandered over to the guy and looked down on him, wondering once again why so many people chose small heroes, she had thought Nisha was small with five foot eight, but so far she was standing tall among the masses, her tails standing up against her back to save space adding an inch or two to her. Well, looking down only in the literal meaning, the smile on her face said something else as she spoke invitingly. "Wow, haven not heard that kind of thing in a while, you go a plan? I am up for about anything since I am quite bored and the drink in this joint tasted the same as everywhere, I am down for some serious adventuring, Nisha is my name." It was a roundabout collection of lines of game characters she liked, puzzled together to fit her since this seemed more like an introductory play than anything else. It did not really matter in the end, since she was just following up with his request and did not seem like someone who minded some theatrics. Moving her hand, she held it out for a handshake, wondering once more if it would go through, so far the score was even and this could be a new tiebreaker for this. As for the atmosphere or people around them who might be weirded out by this, Nisha did not really care about them at all, once she had a destination in mind such trifles just vanished from her mind and going on an adventure seemed to be the next thing she would do.

Words: 464
Tags: Kogeki Nursery Rhyme
Weapon: Nishan(Scar)
Armor: Nishanat (Daybreak)
Accessoires: Nishani (Keepsake)

[Arrasi]

UNKNOWN SONGS THAT TRAVELERS SING THEY SOUND FAMILIAR TO ME

Arrasi's chin rested on the tabletop, her eyes glaring at the mug in front of her. Whatever the barkeep had put in that mug, it was definitely not what she had been expecting. It had tasted like something between old, sugarless tea and pop at room temperature with the ice melted. Obviously someone had a low brewing level in this inn. Oh well. At least it had been cheap, and the food wasn't half bad. Plus, she was sheltered from the rain for the time being. The streets were slick and muddy, and she didn't have place to stay yet. This inn was decent, but her meager savings made this place just out of budget for her. She'd have to do something about that quickly before she lost all her funds. Making money was a difficult thing for her to imagine. Going on a Courier mission with all that rain outside sounded like a terrible idea, but she couldn't just run out into the combat zones all by herself. That was just crazy, considering her level and class. Running around alone was too difficult, but if she could just find - "The only way to go is up! Who here shall join me on an adventure!?" If there was a God in this game world, He was a damn frustrating one. Arrasi perked up at the intrusion just like many of the other patrons of the inn. It was silent now as all eyes were on the newcomer. An...adventure? Did he mean a mission? A mission outside the city? A quick scan of his profile told Arrasi that that was probably the case. The only way to go is up? Arrasi had to stifle a laugh. His level was even lower than hers, and he behaved like he was just stupid enough to try something like “adventuring” on a rainy night like this. So far nobody had taken him up on the offer, but this was an opportunity that rarely came along. When was the last time she had ever seen a Samurai bust open the doors of an inn and shout about adventuring? Never. Her class was built to support tanks like him, anyway. “An adventure?” Arrasi said as she stood up. “You're crazy to go out in this rain, but I've got nothing better to do.” And not enough gold to stay afloat in the first place. Arrasi held her tongue before she could spit that last part out. It wouldn't do her any good to let him think she had some kind of alternative motive besides “going up” or whatever.

Words: 433

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GANGNAM STYLE

[Nursery Rhyme]

Until this point, Nu’s head had been firmly planted downward unto the bar as she counted pink elephants flying about under her eyelids. Her current predicament was undoubtedly thanks to some mysterious benefactor who had provided her with an ample amount of funds recently. This, had lead to Nu coming to the tavern to plan her next move. While practicing her tailoring in a pensive mood somewhere warm, Nu had somehow gotten caught up in the atmosphere. Nu was extremely drunk.

Which is why…

Way too dour, what, *hicu* what happened to all the fun…?

“Krrk- Pfft- Pfffmhmhmhm, Chahahahahahahaa!”

The quiet, and the business-like discussion that had spawned of the earlier outburst struck some chord. Nu failed to stifle her laughter, the start and the finish just didn’t match at all !

“Okay!”

She yelled at no one in particular while getting up. Her approach was surprisingly graceful as she weaved through crowd and benches still seemingly stunned into silence. The murmur of renewed bits of conversations being retied into louder threads had already started its process however, people had begun to make up their minds one way or another about the situation.

Once more with feeling, I’ll show them how it’s supposed to go!

“Here! Here! PfhahHahaHa! Yesh, I like this guy!”

She was trying to poke Kogeki’s chest, but with her height it was a lot more like his belly button.

“Lesh go on your adventurererer!”

She grinned wide to everyone else who had answered the call. Placing her hand to her chest she introduced herself:

“I’m Nu, ifsh we’re going to be wearing faces like we’resh marching to a funeral, we may as shwell be.”

“Hwoop!” She finished her cast another second after. A 'Phantom Summon' knight arose behind her as it emoted a salute animation of planting its sword in the ground and placing its right hand across its shoulder.  Nu places her hands on her hips in response.

“Destroy a ring, save a town from bandits, slay a dragon, defeat a lichking, or cure a plague, I don’t care what we do but let’s do it with some feeling, feeling!” She rocked forward a bit on that last feeling as if to fire it from herself like a mouth-beam.

“Hmhmhm!” Nu dismissed the knight with a dramatic wave of her right arm outward.

“Summoner and support at your service, let’s make a legend!”

[Kogeki]

The response was sudden and overwhelming, and for a moment, Kogeki the pink-haired samurai had no idea what to do, or what to say. Already, his instincts were screaming at him to stop, think about this--or better yet, flee. What exactly was he going to tell these people, anyway? Did he even have a plan? What if he died out there, or lead all these poor suckers out into the killing field? What if he couldn't actually do what he was saying? After all, he was just a fearful kid pretending that he was braver and stronger then he actually was...

Yet the other three weren't allowed to see this turmoil. Instead, they saw Kogeki's grin get wider as more people stepped up to the plate. But what was the plan? His mind crawled desperately for an idea as the mouth began to speak.

"It is good to see some hold onto their sense of adventure and bravery," he laughed out loud, offering his right hand to each of the women in turn. "First I would introduce myself. I am Kogeki, itinerant Samurai, initiate Blacksmith, and beginner Cavalier! I greatly appreciate your interest, and your enthusiasm!" He grinned down at the girl poking his armor.

Finally, his brain seized upon an idea. His only idea. So he had to run with it.

"My plans, dear ladies, are twofold. Firstly! I explore the outlying wildlands, and create a mental map of the region. Secondly, any hero worth his salt should have his arms and armor crafted by his own hands, but I lack the necessary ingredients for such things. With your help, I would search out where to find these items in the wilderness, so I might stoke my forge and begin my work!"

*Word Count 307*

[Nisha]

Well, this was quite unexpected and yet somewhat nice to see, so many people suddenly reacted and stood up, all of them wandering up to the samurai who had so abruptedly stormed in. It seemed like Nisha was not the only one who was starving for an adventure of any sort, her time in the forest had been an interesting thing on it´s own, but it did not compare at all to the excitement to be had around other people and wandering together with them to do stuff. Any stuff, even such basic things as he said, starting a blacksmith career or collecting and leveling up. All in all it was something she had to expect, at least until they reached a level were they would think about other stuff, unique items and experiences. The kind of thing Nisha craved, well, not only from her level now, but since the start. She had always been looking for such things anyways, so levels did not really matter to her when it came to such. Nisha was about to overthink this though, she was quite a few levels beyond these people and going on an adventure with them could impair them a bit if she did not play her cards right, but then again, Kogeki alone seemed interesting enough to warrant at least a try at this.

Shaking his hand satisfied that she had found someone else who did not shun a handshake, her smile widened a little and she took a look at the other two girls around her, both of them looking as unique as they came, Nisha herself the grey fox, pun intended, out of them. Not that she minded, it was all good as long as she was judged by what she did and not for how she looked like, even though she may go too far herself. Leaning on one foot, she waited for his little speech to end and wondered what she coudl add, he really did seem to like hearing himself talk and weirdly enough seemed one of those rare people where no one minded when they ranted a little and emphasized things. "Well, if you all go so far, once again..." Nisha bowed slightly, her tails standing at attention, her right arm in front of her chest and her left behind her back, just as she had learned to do in formal meetings. A bow out of the books you could speak. "My name is Nisha. Samurai, scribe and exorcist, I hope we all can have a good adventure and that the roads may carry us well and the wind alays rushes into our backs to drive us on."

Satisfied with her own little pep talk, she stood normally again, a sly smirk on her face, wondering if the others would pull out some moves as well and add some interesting things to their own first impression. Though if Nisha was honest, the pink haired girl had already given quite the entrance, Nu, was it? Summoning a specter here and risking the wrath of the knights? That took some serious ballsiness. But yes, it did show off her skills quite nicely and reminded Nisha of her brother who had a slime for a first spell, not all due to his own fault, but more because Nisha had forced him to in the editor. And then the apocalypse, yadda yadda. Not that she knew where he was now or really wondered about it, he would be fine most likely and it would not really matter if she interfered with his business. "So, fearless leader, where to first? Slaying some stuff for money and fame, rescuing a village from certain doom to gain their trust and raid their storages afterward?"

Nisha chuckled a little, not really serious about what she had said, but finding that even acting as a semi bad girl could be interesting even if it was only in her mind. "Or rather a drink and talk to get to know each other better yet?" The bar was not exactly empty and she doubted they had gotten many new friends with their open talk here and the disturbance, but there were always spaces open. As they said, you can enter, but you can never really quit a bar once you found a semi good one. It reminded her of a song, but a hotel in california would most likely have better lighting and less rainy drops flowing from cracks in the roof.


Words: 748
Tags: Arrasi Kogeki Nursery Rhyme
Weapon: Nishan(Scar)
Armor: Nishanat (Daybreak)
Accessoires: Nishani (Keepsake)

[Arrasi]

UNKNOWN SONGS THAT TRAVELERS SING THEY SOUND FAMILIAR TO ME

It had gotten lively quite quickly. Arrasi looked at the other two volunteers in her usual habit of checking stats. One was a high-level Samura – why she deigned to go on a mission with the chump at the door was beyond Arrasi. She'd have to be careful on the field lest the Samurai girl drew aggro from monsters that were too much Arrasi's abilities. As for the other girl...Was it really so easy to become intoxicated in game now? The drinks hadn't been that good, but the girl had been at the inn before Arrasi had arrived, so maybe she had had much more to drink (and she was able to ignore the deplorable taste). Arrasi had to admit that the girl's antics were quite amusing, though. She was short, just like the Bard, but that didn't stop her from acting like the main event. Well, she had kind of become the main event, anyway. That was beside the point, though. Now that things were starting to settle down a bit, there left one not-so-small problem: what was the plan? They couldn't just run out into the wilderness in the rain, not like this. Sure, they were Adventurers and all that jazz, but part of being in an MMO was strategy. So far, all Arrasi could see was a new party of idiots standing around in an inn with the insane idea of fighting in the rain. That wasn't a plan. The Bard was about to speak up about her concerns when Kogeki began to let words spill from his mouth again. So this was a...supply mission? Arrasi wasn't a Blacksmith, so she didn't know the first thing about collecting items for that class. On the other hand, getting an idea of the lay of the land would help Arrasi's Scribe class later. She didn't have to attempt to make a map this time around, but knowing where she was going if she tried later would certainly be helpful. That made Kogeki's plan not entirely objectionable. It seemed like the only one who had introduced themselves was Arrasi. She stood a bit away from the other still, so she took a few steps forward and gave a small, courteous bow. Considering what Nisha had done, it seemed like the appropriate way to begin. “I'm Arrasi, Bard and Courier at your service,” she said. A simple introduction, but it seemed decent nonetheless. “As for what to do next, well, a bit of get-to-know-each-other would be alright with me as long as we don't linger for too long. At least let Nu – it's Nu, right? - sober up a bit before we head out.” Arrasi stood up as straight as she could and crossed her arms over her chest to make herself look like she knew what she was talking about. Play it cool, play it cool. This whole party thing was still a bit new to her. Without her older brother around to do all the talking, things were becoming far more difficult for her. This would be good practice, though, as long as she kept her cool and didn't do anything stupid.

Words: 522

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GANGNAM STYLE

[Nursery Rhyme]

Nu looked at Nisha and then at Arrasi nodding as they spoke in turn. It was noted that Nisha had a healthy level of sazz that Nu could respect, but seeing Arrasi show concern for her really touched Nu somewhere deep down in her tipsy sensibilities…

“Blessh your heart shweety. But Nu is okay dohn’t ya worry none! Kehehe~ ”

Nu spun herself around once and then balanced on one foot. If this was the benefit of any Tailoring skill, it was probably never meant to be employed in such a fashion.

“Shee? Allsh good, all good, Momma’s a buck forty-five. ”

Righting herself in a fashion she sighed contentedly before stretching her arms upward behind her head for about three to five seconds. Her eyes sharpened behind a yawn.

“Okay! So a patrol then? That's what you said right? Is thaht what we’re going to be up to? I could go for a walk.”

She cleared her throat, she was still slurring a bit. Nu could hear the rain outside patter patter on the roof and stone as if unsure whether to cease or flourish. She wondered how nice it'd feel to march out to meet it.

“Shounds fine to me, but if we’re gonna do something let’s up and do it, yeah? We’re friends already, or are we?”

Nu beamed a, hard, stern face at the other three that jokingly unraveled into a coy grin. She really was fond of these people, whoever they were.

[Kogeki]

Actually, cooling their heels and discussing strategy is an excellent idea. So is food. At the very least, Kogeki could learn what these people were capable of. He had a couple of assumptions for his fellow Samurai, but the other two were completely alien to him. So, logically, the best plan of action would be to sit the hell down and think about this rationally. Yet of course, Kogeki's gold had long since disappeared into the pockets of others, ignominiously spent in an effort to preserve Kogeki's cowardly hide away from the fields of battle and adventure. The same fields that he's now attempting to walk.

Of course, this irony doesn't escape him. Neither does the slight rumbling of his stomach and the trembling of his hand.

"Wise words, my lovely Arrasi. Yet I believe that tales are spun out of such nights--a stormy night with adventurers that sally forth to combat the minions of darkness! I agree with little Nu. We must go forth! We can speak of our skills and stories as we walk. That being said--" The pink-haired samurai chuckles and shakes his finger side to side to Nisha. "If we are to find a village to save, we will be as good heroes and move forward. Our stories shall be known across the land! This is my vow."

He moved again to the door and opened it, holding it open for the women in his party. Meanwhile, he opens up his menu and digs about for awhile, before he offered each a party invite, as well as a friendship invitation. "So we might keep in contact if we are separated," he says with a smile.

Sadly for the party involved, the rain has only increased in volume since they've been standing in the inn. For a moment, a look of annoyance crosses Kogeki's face. Then he forces another wide smile. "As I said! Legends are made from such beginnings, friends, this I know for sure!"

As he waits, he begins going off into explaining his skills. "Specifically, I hold three skills currently: the Iaido Draw, a free instant attack which I may use before a Chain 1 combo skill, and after a Chain 3 skill. Unfortunately, I do not have a Rank 3 currently to use. Aside from that, I have the Bushi Chousen, the Samurai's Challenge, a Chain 1 skill which forces enemies to direct their attacks against me for several seconds. I can set my Chain combo skills up another rank if it succeeds. Lastly, I have the Shunsen, a Chain 2 skill that creates a fan-shaped area before me that punishes melee attackers for striking at me for the duration of the skill. Do you perhaps have any skills that may augment these?"

*Word Count 480, total 1,165*

[Nisha]

Nisha´s smile nearly cracked for a second there as he said 'lovely', Nisha had no doubts that arrasi was just that, but coming out of someone who had just met her seemed... well, weird, not bad per sé. But then again, Kogeki seemed like the good kind of clueless person who liked to throw around stuff like that, even subconsciously. At least his personality was interesting enough that Nisha did not just straight away moved back an inch and so far he had been nothing bad. Slyly her eyes wandered over the other girls, taking them truely in for the first time and wondering how they would react, so far it seemed like a good party, two tanks, who could double as dps and two supporter. Nisha did not know what kind of summons Nu had or what kind of songs Arrasi... Alice could play, but it was no sure going to be fascinating, maybe they could even choose skills to fit the party instead. That was if this party was going to stay together, the time was drawing closer when Nisha had to tell them her level and see what they had to say about it.

Ah, the woes of being a bit higher leveled. Her tails were drooping a little now from her anxiety as she listened to what they all had to say, sitting down seeming like something arrasi wanted to do and Nisha could not really fault her for it. It was pouring outside and even if they went out to kill stuff, it would be no wonder if they would get drenched down to the bone. Good thing they could not get seriously ill and Nisha had her tails as an impromptu umbrella. Even though she did not really like the thought of getting wet, she would not mind to get out of this drowsy state, some fresh air and excitement would do her good. And it seemed to be happening too, their fearless leader had decided through a grumbling stomach no less that they would go and have their adventure now. Even opening the door for them, that and the handshake made the little slip before a bit less awkward and Nisha´s smile went back to normal. As for when he had told her that they would indeed save the village, Nisha´s face had shortly changed into a grin, she was sure now that even if they were to rob the village that it would be enjoyable and that at least kogeki would help carry the bags of treasure out as well. There was just something in his voice that sounded like it, but maybe it was just Nisha´s imagination. Whatever it was it made the whole situation that much more good for her and actually drove her to dive headfirst into the rain without waiting for the others. She usually disliked taking the initiative. Seeing if others failed in front of her and were too slow behind her was what she usually did, but once she was out, she knew that it had been a good idea.

The rain was nice and cold, running down in stream over her skin and hair, soasking her in the liquid that woke her from what seemed to be a mild stupor, drink and becoming too complacent some of the reason. It was also nice to breathe fresh air again and not to have to listen to all the discussions around her with her heightened senses. Sighing and sputtering a little from the rain she had inhaled, she turned back to the open door, backing off a few steps and moving her tails barely over her head. Not really keeping the pouring away, but it was good enough to radiate warmth and keep it to herself, even with these warm clothes Rien had created for her. "Well, as for skills, I guess talk is cheap, but as a samurai I guess it´s about the same as with you Ko-chan, though I have a side arm grimoire and healing as well, so I hope to be of use to everyone, nice to meet you Nu and Alice. I hope you don´t mind the nickname. Slashing and pulling mobs, some support from general skills and I have good ears." Nisha grinned into the lit room the others were still standing in and felt the water run into her boots. Nisha quickly went through a shortcut in the menu to her friends list and accepted without hesitation any outstand or incoming friends request, sending her own in between clicks to the two girls. "Time to adventure."

Words: 767
Tags: Arrasi Nursery Rhyme Kogeki
Weapon: Nishan(Scar)
Armor: Nishanat (Daybreak)
Accessoires: Nishani (Keepsake)

[Arrasi]

UNKNOWN SONGS THAT TRAVELERS SING THEY SOUND FAMILIAR TO ME

My lovely Arrasi? The Bard blinked. What? Just who did this guy think he was, throwing fancy comments around like that? Elder Tale was technically an RPG, so playing out whatever character you wanted was an a-okay thing to do, but that didn't make it any less weird when things like this happened. Still, she bit back a retort as Kogeki continued to talk. There was no use in causing dissent in the party this early on. Speaking of which...Arrasi accepted the requests that were sent her way from Nisha and Kogeki. She must have looked strange poking the air in order to complete the actions, but everybody else here did it, too. It was a sight she was going to have to grow accustomed to sooner or later. Was completed, she stepped through the door that Kogeki had held open (was he really so gracious in real life?), and stepped to the side so that she would remain close to the wall and underneath the overhang of the roof, sheltered from the pouring rain. It was a small amount of space, but she was a small elf girl. It would do for now. The rush to head out was a little disconcerting for Arrasi, especially since the rain was falling even harder now. At least they were still discussing strategy. Having two samurai in their party was going to make for an interesting bit of adventuring; they would certainly be doing most of the heavy lifting. Arrasi didn't mind that all too much – Bards were versatile classes that could move back and forth between front-line fighter and support. She was already under the impression that she would be running support mostly this time around. That meant less time around those creepy monsters, and less odds of being sent to the Cathedral. Arrasi was about to start listing off her own skills when she heard Nisha use the name “Alice”. Alice? Who was Alice? There wasn't anyone in this party na- oh. She was Alice. It was a nickname. How on earth did one go from Arrasi to Alice? It was an absolute conundrum for Arrasi, but it didn't seem like a good idea to argue with the Fox-Tail girl. Instead, Arrasi simply nodded to her question. “I have both fighting and support skills, so I can move between both. My support skills are just making enemies go to sleep and boosting your attack stats, though. I'm used to running around with just one other player, so I leaned towards combat skills in the beginning. I'll do what I can, though.” Arrasi explained herself just like the others had before. It seemed like the appropriate thing to say now that they were all in “get to know each other” mode. Arrasi sent out friend requests to each of the other members (maybe they would need a Courier later or whatever) and looked back out at the street. Too bad the street merchants weren't around at this hour. She could've stopped to purchase an umbrella on the way out.

Words: 508

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GANGNAM STYLE

[Nursery Rhyme]

“Hoho~ “

Nu said it in a tone of mock surprise, but in reality she was a little surprised to see things going so smoothly. Not that there was any reason to point it out and leave everyone else feeling awkward. Nope! Best thing here is to spurn them on like a responsible big sister. She accepted everything. Nu was wearing a wide grin, ‘Lovely’ –that- was lovely. Yes, so awesome. Perfect. Fun, fun fun. Everyone else’s reaction only enhanced the effect. Nu liked the word lovely, but she had never applied it directly unto the person of another. Nu could tell she was going to be in for a good time. Victory is sweet, and dying isn’t so bad if it’s at the butt of some funny joke. Nu was ready to get started.

“Ooh, gentlemen! Sahahaha!” Attempting to poke Kogeki’s chest plate armor a couple more times, she turned over her head to nod a little more serious of gesture at Nisha who she felt she might have been neglecting a bit up to this point. It felt to her, that such a gesture and mood might be more in line with Nisha’s style.  It wasn’t any surprise to have a door held open for her, Nu was by no means a high class individual, but rather, where she was from, it was something people simply just did for one another. A relatively common occurrence though still worthy of acknowledgement.

Following Arrasi’s lead, Nu exited the establishment. For Nu though she continued the action by nonchalantly walking into the rain. She sighed in contentment, like how a person might when sliiiiiiding into a warm bath. She turned to face her motley crew with hands on her hips and a coy grin. Talk is cheap, yeah?

“Lesse’ my skills…were….Ghost Knights, Gardening, Tailoring, and Healing. Basically anything that starts or ends with G. Just don’t take so much abuse that you end up more in need of necromancy than patchwork, hm?”

Nu winked and nodded, skillfully at the same time. Now she pointed at herself, more specifically, at her mouth that was still moving. “I’m the stop-gap, I plug up the holes before they leak into concerns.” When she finished, that same held point turned turned into a thumbs up. “That’s how I go.”

Finishing, she stretched her back again as she looked up at the sky, directly up, as if to challenge it. The rain really was coming down. There was something spectacular about the way one can look straight up into a storm to really catch the speed of the water coming down directly at one’s face. Nothing else in the world looks quite like it. And the sound, thought Nu, it was like the shushing sound of a finger placed over one’s lips. Shhhhhh, she heard it in her head. It was in the tiny lull of silence before anyone had begun to speak again. Lovely…

[Kogeki]

Ever watchful, the samurai saw the dubious looks Nisha and Arrasi gave him following his statement, and he winced inwardly. He hadn't tried to make them feel uncomfortable in any way--he was just trying to make banter. The kind of banter a self-confident hero would make, yes? God knows. In fact, Kogeki was honestly surprised that none of these women had called out his fake persona yet. It was clear that few people behaved like they'd just come out of a bad eighties samurai anime, yet for some odd reason these three believed him, and were following him. Was leadership so easy? Just pretend like you know what you're doing, act confident, have a plan, and everything will turn out well? Somehow he doubted life was so kind.

Yet he didn't say a word, and listened as they described their various skills to him. His grasp of mechanics other than for his class was limited, but from the sounds of things they were short one very important thing: a healer of some form. Wasn't much they could do there, though. Unless God stretched forth his hand a delivered a healer before their various eyes to a chorus of angels, Kogeki had already dug himself a grave far too deep to climb out of. All that was left was to soldier on and pray.

So what could he do? He lead them towards the gate, not speaking much as he stared out into the wet and muddy world around them. He had to appreciate just how different this world was from how his home used to be. The smell, the taste, the feeling, the sights... Everything was different.

"Have you ladies ever noticed," Kogeki said suddenly, "The differences between this world and our own? I have not noticed it before now. How the rainy air brings a scent of cleanliness instead of pollution merely swept away for a time. How the sun no longer dawns to the gray smog that smothers the morning. I have wondered many a time why we have been brought here. Perhaps it is because we all needed a new beginning."

He fell silent then, as he wondered why these thoughts were suddenly coming to his mind. Then, as he thought, the samurai understood why, and his eyes drooped to his now muddy boots. It was the same reason warriors did for thousands of years past.

Because you never understand the worth of something until you are well and truly capable of losing it.

*Word Count 425, Total 1,590*

[Nisha]

While still accepting people into her friends list, Nisha also got into the level down system, wondering where to put her level for now, she did not really know the average of them all, but level five seemed appropriate for now, so she scaled herself down a notch. Satisfied with it, Nisha smiled and looked up, seeing that Nu had walked right into the rain as well, nodding to Nisha. Wondering what was going on, but happy to elicit a reaction from what she already thought about as the good soul who held them all together or would make them with apparent necromancing ability, Nisha chuckled a bit at her saying so, wondering what they would all look like as zombies and if her tails would fall off first. Shivering a bit from that prospect as well as the cold of the rain, seeing that arrasi had done the sensible thing and not just rushed out into the rain. Seems like she would be the brains of the group and Ko the heart. Making Nisha wonder where she would fit in with this grand scheme. Well, she would find a place, if only being the muscle or whatever.

Well, no matter what she would end up as, she hoped she would not get booted out since they all seemed really nice, no one had called out Ko´s acting, Nu being slightly seemingly drunk or Nisha giving people weird nicknames. Ah, well, it was an impromptu thing after all, but if they worked together this group could be pretty interesting, even though they may need another person for healing, Nisha could only heal so much with her heal skill/spell and Nu too, so far they had two tanks and two supporter, so another person would fit in quite nicely. But for now they would have to see how good they did things together. Seeing that her tails were wildly inefficient and rain still dropped and ran on her head, Nisha lowered them and enjoyed the rain up close and personal now. Ah, well, nothing else to do but try it out now and so she waited for their fearless but kinda squirmish as it seemed leader to lead them on to glory and riches, or at least some trying for how compatible they were.

"Hmm... I noticed, or rather was forced to the second this all started, did you know that having ears over your head is pretty weird? Oh and also these tails, fluffy as all hell, but they are extra appendages that you can really move, feels like... well, not an arm or a leg, more like... I don´t know, something like a finger maybe? And yes, rain is something quite nice in this world and I can´t wait for the first snow of the season to arrive. I want to create some snow angels." Nisha laughed at her own childishness and wondered if the others had encountered something like this as well, after all, this game had changed quite a bit since back since when it was a normal game. Just remembering the second she had been transformed had been weird with how her body suddenly felt and all that. Not traumatizing at least for her and she had cried with joy afterwards seeing what it all meant, but none the less an experience and since then the world had changed ever so slightly as well.

Words: 568
Tags: Arrasi Nursery Rhyme Kogeki
Weapon: Nishan(Scar)
Armor: Nishanat (Daybreak)
Accessoires: Nishani (Keepsake)

[Arrasi]

UNKNOWN SONGS THAT TRAVELERS SING THEY SOUND FAMILIAR TO ME

It looked like Nu was more of a support class than Arrasi was. That was good to know. Although the party lacked a decent healer, Nu would do for the time being. It wasn't like this was a permanent, set-in-stone setup. Besides, there was always necromancy. Did that even work here? Whatever. Everybody was outside now, so it was time to get moving. Arrasi clenched her fists at her sides, bracing herself for the rain as she tok on step, then another out into the open. The drops felt just like rain back in the real world, a phenomenon that never ceased to amaze the Bard. After a moment, she let herself relax. This wasn't so bad. It was just a little water falling from the sky. Her clothes were getting wet, but it wasn't as cold as she had initially expected. Maybe this wouldn't be such a dreadful experience after all. It had grown quiet as they walked towards the gates. Arrasi wasn't much for talking in the first place, so she waited patiently for one of the others to strike up a conversation. She was willing to bet it would either be Kogeki or Nu. Her first guess was correct, but the sudden turn in his tone caught her off guard. He was being serious about something, not overly gallant or putting on that big hero act. Instead, he was giving voice to a concern that was undoubtedly nagging at the minds of nearly all the players currently trapped in the system. He was right, though: there was a massive difference between this world and the real world. Back in the real world, Arrasi had taken a few years to adjust to the pollution of the city air. In the game world, that pollution was practically nonexistent, a refreshing change of pace for Arrasi. She hadn't thought so much about it before, but the wilderness beyond the gates somewhat reminded her of her childhood home in Scotland that she had always missed. At least, the hills outside the gates did. The forests were still foreign to Arrasi, but that didn't put her off as much as the city had when she had first moved there in real life. As Arrasi's mind wandered, she could barely hear Nisha adding her own voice to the conversation. There was something about ears, right? And snow? Another pause was rising in the conversation, but it felt less like it was going to slip into something more awkward if Arrasi didn't at least try to take part. “Elf ears are kinda weird, too. It's just odd feeling pointy tips so far away from my head.” Arrasi flicked the edge of her ear to emphasize her point. The first time she had felt them with her own hands had been quite a shock. It was the first time she had fully understood that she wasn't in her real body anymore. “But how would snow angels look with a fox tail, Nisha?” Arrasi asked. It was an honest question, one that she was genuinely curious about. “Would the wings look fluffier, or would it look like it had tails, too?”

Words: 525

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GANGNAM STYLE

[Nursery Rhyme]

Nu’s eyebrows peaked a little when Arrasi made the effort to join into the conversation.



“Hm~Hm~” Nu hummed to herself. She considered it a nice development. There was still a thread of conversation somewhat left dangling though, so Nu snatched it with a nonchalant grace. She called out over Kogeki’s shoulder from a little further back in their party line:


“Pollution? Maybe not for me, or at least not any that I’ve noticed missing or gone. Though, the nights here are super interesting, yeah? Maybe light pollution’s what I’ve sensed gone the most; you can see the stars and little else by nightfall. Torch and lantern doesn’t do much against an ocean of dark, eh?”


Pausing for a bit, Nu let the underlying thesis of what Kogeki had said wash over her. She chose not to address it. She hated the concept of sudden change, the concept of a debt no longer mattering was less a relief than an insult. Overall, Nu felt that it had been nothing less than the equivalent of a missile that had wrecked her everyday life to the point that even going back to the before seemed equal parts a pain if she wasn’t going to gain any special benefit from it.

People should be rewarded for their trials. Climbing back from negatives to zero just makes the whole situation feel like a scam.


“I don’t know about new beginnings or snow-angels either, but it’s certainly pretty odd when your reach is less than half of what it used to be.” Nu extended her arm and made a grasping motion as if to illustrate. “Like living your life through reverse binoculars…twah ha. Of course you might not be able to see but I’m also more tatted’ up than a convict. Runes are super cool though, ya know? They only heighten my charm!”


Nu laughed against the bellowing thunder.


“Right Kogeki?”


Nu smiled. She was in the mood to tease someone a bit if only for the fun of it.


Call it a penalty for being too serious!

[Kogeki]

Like Arrasi, Kogeki listened to barely half of the conversation around him as he continued to walk, and the gates began to loom before them. Snow angels with fox tails or something. Ears that were no longer quite the way you remember them. Kogeki had chosen to be human, so really he hadn't noticed anything particularly strange after all of this transition. He'd never been particularly tall or short, so having gained an inch was hardly a concern. Of course, now he had pink hair, a giant bloody sword, and armor he'd never expected to have, so after a fashion, transition shock was always a thing. Of course, there was also the fact that quite suddenly, Marco's phobia had chased him down here, in a place that shouldn't have even be real...

Suddenly Nu said his name, and Kogeki was jerked away from his musings back to the conversation. "Your charm is indeed that of the beautiful night sky you mention, dear Nu." He grinned down to her teasingly himself. Never try to fake out an actor. "Amusingly enough, I actually used to hold quite an attraction to tattoos and piercings and the like. A pity it is not often seen here... Not yet. Perhaps that should be the next step--a tattooist sub-class, if there is anyone who controls this bloody realm." He laughed at the thought. There were far more important things than some tattoos, but it was always a wonder how far people would go to see their creature comforts returned to them.

Then his face turned solemn again. "Do you wish to know what truly is amusing? I have seen anime--old anime, from the early 2000s, based entirely on getting trapped in video games. You would think that sort of thing would have prepared me for this foolishness. Prepared most of us. Yet we were all still caught by surprise, because in the end, it truly was an impossible thing. A miracle? A curse. Pure, unfortunate bloody happenstance? God knows what was meant for us. Maybe, however... We have been given a second chance." Or maybe it's just him who wants one.

Then suddenly the gates were before them. The pink-haired samurai turned around, his face serious as he looked between each of the ladies. "This is the last stop, friends. Beyond here we find battle and riches. From this point on, the only way to go is forward. If you have anything that you would like to see done, any items you would like to purchase, now is the time. Otherwise, we shall go boldly forward."


*Word Count 446, Total 2,036*

[Nisha]

While walking and talking, she gave some thoughts to arrasi´s words, indeed it would be a good question how snow angels made by someone with tails looked like. Maybe it would look like she had grown some extra pairs of wings? "Good question, seems like we will know soon enough, winter is coming as they say and I heard from some adventurers that they already saw the first snow of the year fall a bit further in. Hrngh I don´t know about you guys, but I can´t wait for winter, I bet it´s the time when people with tails will really shine for how fluffy and warm their tails will be. And snow is better than rain by a hundredfold, less wet and drippy." Nisha laughed at her statement and looked over to ko who looked weirdly in thought and had not responded to anything so far, wondering if he was brooding and about what. Maybe he felt left out because he had nothing to add so far? But then again, everyone should feel at least a little weird about this, if not physically, about how they were jumping and fighting around with swords and weapons, magic and skills like they had never done anything else.

Well, Nisha now had some idea what she was doing at least after training for a while, but she was still weirded out by magic from time to time and wondered why they had not tried to create new spells. Should be easy enough with the system and how they worked, but maybe she was just getting ahead of herself there. Chuckling as Nu spoke up and addressed ko, she already half expected what ko was saying, well, not the tattoo part but that cheesy line straight out of a movie or novel. Ah, well, that was just how he was apparently, or at least for now, once they got used to each other and accustomed to one another they could maybe drop those kinds of polite speeches and talk normally with each other.

"Tattoo´s, huh? Never had any before, but I was wondering about it anyway if I can´t cram a grimoire or something on my body or something to cast spells. Would be interesting if it could mimic some skills, for example a magic light or something would be interesting to have." Nisha said and instead grabbed one of the many lanterns hanging from the roofs and lighting the street, once they were out of london and there was no moon they would be pretty much in the dark what was going on without some kind of light, so one or two lanterns would be pretty good to have. Nisha was used to fighting with one hand anyway, so holding a lantern and fighting would do her no harm, but would rather serve as some extra training. "Well, tonight we will have to make do with lanterns though since I don´t think the moon will come out any time soon. Maybe we can even light some kinda bonfire under a tree, did that before with a group, was fun watching the tree be embraced by the rain and watching the curtain run down the tree in front of us." Nisha wanted to add that they could make a tree their meeting point, but one step after the next. For now they would have to get out first and Nisha thought she saw the gate closing in, so she hoped everyone would be able to grab a lantern or a torch before they were out.

Words: 592
Tags: Arrasi Nursery Rhyme Kogeki
Weapon: Nishan(Scar)
Armor: Nishanat (Daybreak)
Accessoires: Nishani (Keepsake)

[Arrasi]

UNKNOWN SONGS THAT TRAVELERS SING THEY SOUND FAMILIAR TO ME

Tatoos? In real life, or in game? Even if Nu did have tattoos or runes or whatever in-game, there was no way to tell with all the fancy clothes she was wearing. Still, it would have made for an interesting sub-class in the beginning of the game (not that Arrasi would have chosen it over being a Courier). Who knew? Maybe Kogeki had the right idea with the whole sub-class thing. Now that Arrasi was thinking about it, there was the possibility for a lot of new classes to appear if they tried hard enough. They had barely even seen the tip of the iceberg of this world, so to say, and who knew what all they could do with the mechanics of it all? Everybody that played had some kind of knowledge that could contribute to taking Elder Tale far beyond what it originally was meant to be. Of course, Arrasi doubted anyone would discover a way out any time soon. That kind of thinking was getting too deep for this conversation, though. Arrasi listened as the other bantered on about classes and winter and snow and...lanterns? Did she have a skill for that? She pulled up her menu and quickly scanned the options, but there was nothing reminiscent of a light source. Maybe a Summoner would have something like that. “Nu, would you happen to have some kind of light spell? Or does your class only summon creatures?” Arrasi asked as she came to a halt with the others at the gate. It was much darker beyond the city, especially without a moon to light the way. That, and Arrasi was already pretty drenched from the rain. It wouldn't take her long to dry off if she went back inside a building, but that didn't seem possible now.

Words: 300

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GANGNAM STYLE

[Nursery Rhyme]

“Only my shining persona.”

Nu quipped with a wide shrug.

“Any caster-type class should have something of the sort available, but well choices are hard! Yeah? I picked other things.”

Grabbing one of her long braids, Nu spun it rhythmically like a propeller. She watched the water fan out like drops.

“Hm… well maybe I've got something? We could use a ‘Phantom’ as a scouting lure, enemy monsters don’t really need light, yes? Either it’ll find something first or it’ll get found first, either way, it’s a win. Well…so long as we can beat what we catch anyhow.”

Nu sighed at the thought of being so terribly serious, but Kogeki had some concerns, and Nu thought she would at least take the initiative to lighten his load.

“So I’ll just leave that as one option on the table dearies, if you would liiike~hmhm.”

Nu got bored with her braid so she flicked it back behind her once more with a plop. She addressed Kogeki in passing, never stopping from her march right through the gate.

“The problem with sudden things is that they can be sudden in two ways, maybe you die in a car accident, maybe it’s all a dream. Either way, you’re changed, and you can’t really account for it."

Nu held her arms out straight with her two pointer fingers side by side extending outwards. She slowwwwwwly sperated them as she continued speaking:

"We’re like points on a grid with lines extending in all kinds of directions. This is still a game, though it’s a stale one kind of like an unfunny joke. Give it time and you might find it comes around again.”

Nu laughed, it was almost rueful in a fashion more at herself than anyone else.

“I’m just saying, don’t try too hard, the past, the future they’re both just a sweet honey-trap illusion of the present.”

Nu held one hand open palm toward the sky.

“If you’re feeling lost… just remember….”

She cupped her other hand in the crevice of the one before so they were nearly overlapped, bringing them back in toward her she placed them over her heart.

“You are here.”

Nu’s face looked serious as if she was surprised with her own worlds but that ruse quickly gave way to a wiggly smile.

“*Smrk* Pfffthahahaha!”

She wiped a tear from her eye.

"Ahhhhhhh. I'm sorry. Sorry~! Waha~ So are we ready? What's the plan? Hmmm? We're not getting any dryer, eh?"


**sorry, that's like a strange Zebra post, oh well, i suppose.**