[Hiro/Closed] Return to the Midnight Bell

[Deleted]

1010 words HP 100%		Pet: Foreman Mukade IX MP 100%
So many minutes, hours and days had passed since Caerbannog set foot in Grain Village. And that was fortunate for the locals, who had seen their pub destroyed by the samurai's Zantetsuken one time when she threw a tantrum; and they had seen her terrorize bakeries and shops merely by summoning her nightmarish creature pet. Speaking of the nightmarish creature pet, Caerbannog once again called for Foreman Mukade IX. The pair, on a sunny but cool day, took a walk down a road in Windsor and eventually, they found themselves standing in front of a land bridge. That land bridge, as the centipede recalled, led to the Isle of Grain. Along the Thames Coastline, there were many treasure seekers but Caerbannog was in that area not for gold or old things but for a different kind of treasure altogether. As she remembered from her last outing to a pub in Grain Village, few people knew her there and the landers did not bother her much. They did not give her some ridiculous quests that had little reward, and they did not tell her to run off after their missing pets or children. Because of that, Caerbannog quite liked Grain Village. Unfortunately, the feeling was not mutual. As mentioned before, Caer had partially destroyed the local pub due to a tantrum; admittedly, it was not just her fault... some drunks had annoyed her and so she snapped at them. Still, from a lander's point of view, she had resorted to an excessive use of force. The villagers were basically afraid of the samurai, and it did not help her image when she showed up with a massive centipede in tow. They had visited many shops on one occasion and had left the shopkeepers in a panic. Gigantic centipedes did not normally roam the streets of Grain Village after all. At first they thought that they were being invaded by centipedes, because the Isle had been invaded by too many seagulls and sahaugins before; to their slight comfort, Foreman Mukade IX was just Caerbannog's pet. But Caer did not Caer about all of the murmurs that greeted them when, once again, she and her centipede set foot in Grain Village after they had traversed the land bridge. She quickly headed down the local pub, Midnight Bell, where she remembered having a drink or two with the monk Elkeid. The Dwarf was a monk and Elkeid was a monk, so by Caerbannog's logic, it made sense to her that she should invite the monk Hirosame on a drinking spree. That's exactly what she did, and the wolf-hair took care to scream telepathically, as loudly as she could, in case the receiver of the call could not hear her. "I NEED A HIRO! GRAIN VILLAGE MIDNIGHT BELL NOOOW!" the wolf-hair demanded, and then she followed it with a softer voice and a kinder request, "Let's get drunk, please?" With her giant centipede in tow, Caerbannog entered the Midnight Bell pub. It looked pretty much the same, except for a note on one wall that stated that it had just been completed. What was that about? Who makes pubs that had one missing wall? Weird. Caer stopped a few steps from the entrance. Even though it was just a little past midday, the pub already had a few patrons present. They all eyed her warily. Weird! The barkeeper, however, was all smiles as he clutched a seemingly-expensive statue in one arm. The other hand gestured over to the list of usual drinks. Though a lander, he now had a decent level in brewing which he owed to adventurers who helped him study the craft. "Rum for me and a beer for my friend!" Caerbannog said as she hopped onto a bar stool and slapped some gold down on the counter. "Your friend?" the barkeeper looked past the centipede and waited for someone else to sit beside the samurai. "My friend," Caer simply pointed at Foreman Mukade IX. The lander raised an eyebrow, but the customer is always right in his book. The wolf-hair seemed pretty much the same as he last saw her, what with her schoolgirl look and no weapon in display; the barkeeper figured that as long as no one provoked the samurai, himself included, then she would leave the pub in one piece. Well, that was a rather difficult to grant wish, what with Caer making little to no sense whenever she got drunk. Honestly, the wolf-hair needed the guidance of an adult! But she herself was one, so who would guide her? Kumori sure wouldn't. He preferred his balls to be normal and not squished after all. Maybe Hirosame could be a good surrogate father? Or mother? Whichever he preferred to be. Mothers make bacon and egg sandwiches. Mmm. A glass of rum and a mug of beer soon landed in front of Caerbannog and Foreman Mukade IX respectively. The barkeeper then turned to some other customers, landers who preferred to stay on the other end of the bar. Caer and her centipede were left in peace as the samurai waited for a reply from Hirosame; it would be much better if he actually arrived right there and then. But wishes did not always come true even during what they called the Christmas season, and so all the wolf-hair could do was wait. While she sipped on her rum, Caer looked around the pub for any familiar faces. She immediately found one: a tall, green werecat who name eluded her. He was still in his usual suit with a cane in his hand, and on the table in front of him there were some knickknacks. She recalled that this werecat liked to collect old things and had asked her to partially restore an antique armor. "Neko-chwan!" Caerbannog raised her glass to greet the werecat. The tall, green, fluffy adventurer did notice the samurai, but he merely raised a hand and faked a smile to greet her. He still probably had vivid memories about that time when Caer Zantetsuken'd a wall into forty-seven pieces.

[Hirosame]

A hand slowly made its way up Hiro's torso, causing him to wake up. It wasn't a jolt, but more of a relaxed awakening, the kind you'd find in love stories or something of the sort. Hiro turned to his left, to see Saeko laying there, her eyes opened fully, and smiling. Hiro returned the smile, and stretched a bit, to which she settled herself right up next to him. Keep in mind, both were fully clothes, just happened to have slept in kinda late. Hiro looked back up, as Saeko rested her head against his shoulder. Thinking about how things were going for the guild, and himself, he lost himself in thought for a moment. That moment soon passed, when he heard an electronic ringing from somewhere, and instinctively put a hand up to his right ear. Just as he was about to say hello, the ecstatic cry from a loud Banshee caused him to make the jolt that everybody was hoping for, sending Saeko almost teetering off the bed. After the banshee's howl, a soft invitation was extended to him, to which he brought his hand down from his ear, and looked over at Saeko.

"It was Caer, wasn't it?" She asked, to which he nodded. Saeko began to giggle a bit, then into a full on laugh. "Go ahead, Hiro. I'm sure she just wants someone to hang out with a bit." Hiro then began to put on some different clothes, more specifically, his blue dress shirt, black dress pants, and his hat, and began to head out for the place to which they were to meet. He'd never been to Grain Village before, but he had been to the island once or twice now. He decided that he'd take the train over, just for fun, since he invented them after all. It wouldn't serve well if an Idol didn't promote his own stuff. Then again, he wasn't even barely known as being an Idol to the people yet, which didn't bother him much. All he was probably known for were the trains, Apocrypha, and maybe the skateboards/roller blades he made. Not for being a musical person, in the slightest. But, maybe that would change after today? Whatever happens will happen, likely. But, to go out drinking with @dindeen seemed like something that might give him more of a negative image. He didn't really care, though.

Aside from all the things going on right now, after having completed the trains, Hiro hadn't done much. He put his hand to his cheek, leaning against the window sill of the train car, watching the world go by at about 35 km/h. He recognized the engine immediately as a Caerbannog Engine, which was meant to travel longer distances at constant speed. It was the perfect kind of engine for travelling around. And it was kind of fun, being inside the train cars, instead of being in the engine itself. The island wasn't too far from the mainland, so the bridge that was built didn't span too far, and it wasn't too much of a problem to make. Then again, he only oversaw how things were going, and didn't do much of the work himself. He only brought the trains over it, as stuff got completed. All that aside, though, the station was just a little ways ahead, and he made his way off, and onto the platform, and eventually out of the station itself. Hiro began to walk to the streets, when he realized that he hadn't said anything in response to Caer. He opened up his interface and sent her a message back, finally replying to her.

"Yeah, I'll be there shortly." Was his only response. He figured that it wouldn't need a long winded introduction, since he'd be there shortly. He began to make his way through the streets, looking around at the people who all had their eyes turned towards the street down from where he was walking, and ironically enough, towards where he headed. A cold sweat began to form at the base of his neck, as he slowly figured out what was going on. Perhaps Caer had brought a... friend of her's out to play as well. Hiro sighed, and figured it'd be nice of him to say hello to the Foreman once again, even if it was something that he somewhat dreaded. Despite this, though, he made his way through the village, and towards the place where he was to meet Caer, the Midnight Bell. He wondered why exactly the Bite-Sized Bushido invited him out for a drink at this exact place, seeing as there was a few other bars back in London that were probably more easily accessible, but there was probably a method to her madness. He wouldn't complain about things, and just decided it was for the best. He entered the bar, and much to his surprise...

The Foreman was there, nearby his lord and Master, Caerbannog, at the bar. Hiro smiled over at the two, before slowly making his way over to the bar. "Hey, Caer." He began, walking up to the stool beside her. "How's it goin'?" Hiro took a seat there, and motioned to the barkeep. He hadn't drank much before, having only had a drink while at Tobin's bar with the dwarf and Nisha, but it wouldn't be that big a deal if he had another drink here. The less Saeko knew about, the better, probably. In any case, he ordered a beer to drink, and looked back over at his friend. "So, whatcha call me out here for?" Hiro asked as casually as he could. "Just bored, and looking for things to do, or did ya miss me?" Hiro made a playful smile to the Samurai, and held his hand out on the bar, as the beer slid perfectly into his hand. He picked the mug up, and raised it to the Foreman. "A pleasure to see you, as always, Foreman." Hiro took a swig, wondering if the Foreman was aware that Hiro could possibly understand him now, thanks to the Tongue of Nature skill he had been given by Elder Yamamoto. It'd be a bit of a surprise, for sure, and it would probably call for a bit of extra fun to be had. Maybe things would be more interesting while drunk? He took another swig, turning to Caer once again, waiting for her response.

[1072 Words]

[Deleted]

1015 words HP 100%		Pet: Foreman Mukade IX MP 100%
While tucked away in the emptiness of Caerbannog's tamed creature slot, Foreman Mukade IX had plenty of time to think about the things that happen to him after each and every adventure. They were mostly menial things that got him more acquainted with the life outside of those dark caverns where he used to live. The "Outside" was not damp, dark or cool; the massive ball of fire which meat babies called the "sun" was very warm. His tamer Caerbannog had been careful enough though and she never left the centipede out under the bright sunlight for too long. The samurai had told him that she read about creatures like him in her world, and that centipedes were supposed to be kept cool and damp. Unlike his smaller cousins, Foreman Mukade IX could tolerate the warmth of the sun and he at times enjoyed walks along the beach or through some vast plains. Caerbannog was still careful and she would unsummon him if the day was too hot. At night, the sun was replaced by the moon which lit the sky but did not emit any warmth. Caerbannog had explained, and this she had to sit down with the centipede for a long talk, that the air was warm only because of the sun and at night, that warmth would slowly disappear. It could linger for a while but just long enough to wait for the sun to rise again. In his caverns, Mukade IX had never noticed that difference. "Oh! It's wonderful to be alive!" the centipede exclaimed when he had been summoned. He looked down at little Caerbannog who was not in any of her pajamas. Mukade quite liked those colorful things; even though he could not see them, he noticed that it was his tamer's personality and demeanor which became more colorful as if her clothing affected how she saw the world. At her level, she had little to worry about and could even make most of her own equipment. She had even crafted something called a pet armor that she could use on the centipede, and as she had explained, it was meant to add some protection to his body and most especially to his slightly vulnerable parts. The creature had never worn armor before and never thought that he would need any, since centipedes were not as squishy as meat babies. But he trusted the wolf-hair enough to go along with what she wanted. Also, she usually had cake. Ah, the most wondrous of food stuffs; pie was a close second but the centipede never had the same pacifying feeling when he ate pie. Cake, on the other hand, made him feel as if he had butterflies in his stomach. And that was not a metaphor; Mukade IX had eaten butterflies before. They were rather difficult to catch but it was well worth it. "Drink up, Muu-chan!" Caerbannog pointed at the mug of beer in front of the centipede. The samurai looked towards the doorway of the Midnight Bell. A while ago, she had received a confirmation from Hirosame that he would 'be there shortly'. Did he just make fun of her height? Caerbannog frowned at that thought but the bitterness of her drink washed that annoyance away. The wolf-hair put down the glass of rum as she thought back on what she actually knew about the monk. So far, she only had second-hand information, mostly from her own husband Kumori. Apparently, Hirosame was the guild leader of Apocrypha, that one guild that she was interested in when she was just a fledgling adventurer. They had exploration and research branches, something that showed how organized they were. That aside, the guild Aeryn became allied with Apocrypha recently. Not quite involved with guild politics, Caerbannog had only nodded at everything that Kumori said about the alliance. He sure liked to talk a lot, something that the samurai would never get tired of; notably, the assassin seemed very excited about the partnership between the two guilds so Caer decided to support their joint efforts too. If anything, it would bridge the gap between adventurers who were, in a word, "ahead" of others and adventurers who had fallen behind for whatever reason. "I'm here to get drunk," the wolf-hair replied to the monk once he had arrived and stated his greetings, "Monks seem to be good drinking buddies." Caerbannog took another sip of her rum. She then leaned closer to Hirosame and looked around as if checking to see if anyone listened in. "-and Ryuu-nii doesn't know about this place," the samurai whispered, "So no baka to tell me off for drinking." The wolf-hair finished the rest of her rum and she waved for the barkeeper to come over and fill her glass again. All that time, Foreman Mukade IX had not touched his drink. The mug seemed like such a cumbersome contraption to him, so the centipede merely stared at the liquid in the glass container. Every now and then, his appendages wiggled right above the mug of beer but not much else. His attention was so easily grabbed by the monk who arrived and greeted him. "Hello there, meat baby!" Mukade waved three of his appendages at Hiro, "I wish one of you meat babies would tell me how I should deal with this small, fragile containment of some sort of foul-smelling liquid." The massive centipede then turned back to his mug of regular beer over which his antennae dangled. He could not actually smell the thing but the chemicals that his antennae and his maxillipeds picked up became a jumble of signals that he could not understand. Foreman Mukade IX concluded that it was some noxious liquid that Caerbannog wanted him to examine. The centipede did his best to make heads or tails of the glass container, but his appendages were not made for grasping such slippery objects. Much to the worry of the barkeeper, Mukade had tried to pick up the mug but he failed every time and had almost sent the glass container crashing down to the floor.

[Hirosame]

Something was reminded in the inner chasm that Hiro called his brain, something rather important to the situation. It had something to do with Saeko, whom enjoyed getting drunk as can be. Something about her finding a new place to drink, since the last place they went to, she caused a commotion that caused the town's Guardian system to crash down onto the bar, and crushed the place. Saeko didn't seem to think this, but them being banned from the establishment was a good thing. She bitched and moaned about it for the rest of the night, and it caused Hiro a good deal of stress, which doesn't usually happen to the carefree Monk. So, while thinking about this, he sipped his drink a few times. Without having realized it, he was listening to @dindeen and the Foreman as well as finding a reason to actually be kind of mad at Saeko. Which he didn't exactly deserve to have the right to be right now, as he's in a bar, potentially getting drunk with another female Samurai, and a giant-ass centipede at least 3x Hiro's size. Probably not the best place to be thinking about stuff like that.

His attention snapped back to reality when he realized that Caer had spoken her reason for being there. Something as simple and probably couldn't be considered pure, as just straight up getting drunk. The next comment about hearing that Monks are good drinking buddies kind of gave him the impression that she knows from experience on this kind of a topic. Perhaps she had had a drink or six with either Tobin or Elkeid, as those were the only two other monks he knew about, save for one of the newbies in Apocrypha. Speaking of which, said newbie, as well as 2 others were only in the guild until they hit a certain point, to which they would leave and make their own guild. Hiro had also promised that he would allow them into the Guild Alliance after all was said and done. A good way to promote the existence of more guilds, he figured, was to harbor them until they hit the right level(s) and then let them go off into the world of their own guild. Of course, he'd give them a bit of cash once they left, in case they didn't have much to begin with. Hiro knew just how hard it was to maintain a guild without proper amounts of money.

"That a fact?" He asked Caer, taking another sip of his quickly-depleting beer mug. He turned to her while saying this, only to see her face super close to his, to which he flinched backwards a little bit. It wasn't often that a girl would shove her face directly next to yours to whisper something. Despite this, she was whispering something about a "Ryuu-nii" whom he probably never heard of before. A confused look made its way onto his face, as he thought about it for a minute. He took another swig of the drink, but then fully realized that she was talking about Kumori, more than likely. "Ohh, I gotcha." He said, after a few moments of silence. "He opposed to you drinking? Really?" This seemed a bit out of character, in a sense, since Kumori seemed to be pretty lax about a lot of stuff. Especially considering that he and Hiro had been talking about guild stuff a lot lately. They had a pretty solid friendship, he figured, but he hadn't talked a whole lot with Caer as of late. Probably the last time would have been Stonehenge or something along those lines. Not really anything where they could relax and just shoot the shit. He shrugged it off, though, and took another drink.

He had a bit more to say, but the Foreman's efforts to drink out of the mug seemed to be more than futile. To be honest, he felt kinda bad. Beer wasn't good, but it wasn't too bad, either. Hiro looked over with amazement, to say the least, and wondered if he could help the Foreman out in any way. Well, he did, but the Foreman might not like it. He turned to Caer for just a moment, and gave a wry smile. "Sorry, but could you give me just a moment?" He stood up, and walked over to the other side of the centipede, and outstretched his hand towards its head. He closed his eyes for a moment, and upon reopening them, he activated Magnet Grip. Hiro jumped up to latch his hand onto the centipede's head (probably its head?) and dragged it down to the level of the mug. He vaulted himself over the centipede, and placed his arm right on top of its head, so it wouldn't be able to move for a moment. "Just lemme know when you're done drinking, boss-man." He said, jokingly. Hiro leaned himself on the centipede, turning back to Caer, ready to continue his discussion. Probably a very stupid move on his part, but he dealt no damage to the centipede, or the bar. Just helping.

"So, Saeko was kicked out of another bar a few nights back." Hiro began, continuing the conversation. "She caused a ruckus so much so that the Guardian system implemented itself into the bar, and crushed the establishment." Hiro couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the thought, before getting right back to it. "So, she asked me to look around for a new bar for her, or I should say us, to go to frequently." Hiro looked around at the presumably surprised expressions he would be getting from the other bar patrons, but instead looked over the bar's interior itself. "This place is pretty nice, but I'd definitely not want to show Saeko, or let her know about it. Sometimes, it's kinda nice to go to a bar without her around." Hiro figured that the Foreman probably had had enough to drink for now, so he lifted his arm off the centipede's head, and jumped over Caer to the other side, sitting back down in his seat, and took another drink. "So, I might not tell her about this place." Hiro finished off the mug, and place it on the table. "Barkeep! Another glass, if you'd be so kind!" Hiro put a few coins on the table, figuring that this was the right amount of money for the first beer, and potentially the second. His attention turned back to the Foreman. "How was it?" He asked, an innocent smile on his face. He probably screwed up. But, when didn't he? This was par for the course.

[1108 Words]

((OOC: Gomen, Foreman-Senpai~ Hope you allow this, though XD))

[Deleted]

1055 words HP 100%		Pet: Foreman Mukade IX MP 100%
The barkeeper was busily tending to patrons on the other end of the bar, so Caerbannog's glass remained empty for two whole minutes. Can you believe that? Her glass, empty for not one but TWO whole minutes?! What was wrong with this man? "WHY?!" the samurai suddenly yelled even in the presence of the monk Hirosame, "WHY IS THE RUM GONE?!" Her wailing began just as Hiro 'helped' Mukade with his drink, so the centipede quickly put his maw around the whole beer mug. He then straightened up once the monk allowed that, and Mukade tilted his head back so that the contents of the mug would trickle down through his food cavity. The liquid gave off a weird chemical 'smell' as it rushed through the centipede's foodways, but at the same time it gave him a warm feeling. Unlike the sun's rays that warmed the centipede from outside, this 'beer' liquid warmed Mukade from the inside. "ANOTHER!" Foreman Mukade IX yelled as he spat the mug onto the counter and stabbed his appendages on the wooden top, "I want more of that noxious but warm water!" On one side, there was the wailing wolf-hair who cried out for her rum, while a little closer to the barkeeper there was a massive centipede that hissed something that the lander could not understand. Hirosame did well to distract Caerbannog with questions as the flustered barkeeper tended to the centipede first, having deduced that it wanted more beer. Caer's rum could come after the lander had tended to the menacing elite beast. "Saeko-chwan got in trouble?" the samurai stopped her wailing and her eyes widened, "Is she okay?" By the sound of it, Saeko seemed to still be in one piece so the wolf-hair had nothing to worry about. There was one question that she'd been meaning to ask the monk though, ever since that time that they went out drinking together. Hirosame seemed to have been very close to the other samurai, and so a very specific question formed in Caerbannog's mind. The monk was right there; he might be able to change the topic easily with some kind of bribe, but at that moment Caer wanted to ask THAT question and so that's just what she did. "What's Saeko-chwan's bust size?" the wolf-hair asked as she stared straight at Hirosame. A lander or two spat out their drinks in the background, and the barkeeper stopped pouring Mukade IX's beer until the centipede tapped his shoulder. As if it was not weird enough that Caerbannog looked like a child; she was drinking rum just a while ago and now she asked about someone's bust size. "Are they soft?" and the questions just kept coming, "Are they bouncy?" She probably should stop. The barkeeper arrived just in time to distract Caer somewhat as he poured her drink, but once the glass was full of rum, the samurai merely took a sip and then she turned to Hirosame once again. She looked at him, wide-eyed but not surprised; now she seemed like a child who expected answers from her teacher or parent. Where was Kumori when he was needed? The assassin had creative ways to redirect his wife's attention and so many a time, he had been able to avoid awkward situations. But it took years of experience to reach his level of skill with regards to dealing with Caerbannog, while Hirosame was a newcomer to the whole experience. "Well? Well?" Caer asked the monk and she would ask him repeatedly if he did not reply. Meanwhile, Foreman Mukade IX drank up yet another mug of beer. His smaller cousins would have shriveled up and died due to the alcohol content of the drink, but the centipede was not as weak or vulnerable. Instead, he only focused on the warmth of the drink in his belly. Because his nervous system was different from that of vertebrates, Mukade was not as easily affected by the intoxicating debuff of the drink. However, Elder Tale was still in part a game and so the drink, which was intoxicating by definition, still had a minor effect on the elite centipede. "Let me tell you about a time when I single-handedly defeated fifty cavern spiders," the centipede began. "I-I'm sorry. If you're trying to talk to me, I can't understand a wo-" the barkeeper shook his head but Mukade put up an appendage to the lander's face. "Hush little meat baby, let me tell my story," Mukade IX said. The barkeeper, having felt threatened by the centipede's appearance and seriousness, pulled a barstool and sat down on it. There were a few customers that time of the day so he could afford to slack off for a while. That, and Foreman Mukade IX was close to scaring the shit out of him. "So there I was," the centipede began; he chugged down another mug of beer and then he continued his story, "Just hunting as usual. Cavern spiders were my natural prey, you see." By then, Caerbannog was half-listening to Mukade IX and half-waiting for Hirosame to answer her questions. The barkeeper took the centipede's mug and filled it up once more. That probably was not a good idea but who can blame a man who just wanted to keep his bar while also keeping his head? "I found myself in an empty area, which was odd because spiders usually scurried about," Mukade did not chug his beer down just yet, "When suddenly- WHOOSH!" The centipede's appendages shot out to many directions as if he was trying to convey some sort of explosion. "Spiders! Baby spiders everywhere!" the massive centipede waved his appendages around, "And let me tell you, they were nothing like your own meat babies. Spiders eat their brothers and sisters while they are still in the egg sack, so when those things dropped down on me they were about half the size of the cavern spiders that I usually hunted." The mug of beer called for the centipede's attention though and so he put his maw around the container, put his head up and tilted it back so that the liquid would run down his food cavity again. It was an odd way to drink beer, or to just drink in general, but keep in mind that centipedes do not have any fingers.

[Hirosame]

Hiro chuckled just a little bit, as the Foreman had so excitedly demanded for another drink. Taking his glass in hand, Hiro went to take another drink, but very soon realized that he hadn't yet gotten a refill. So, instead of becoming a nuisance for the barkeep, Hiro just put the glass back down, and let it sit there with the money right next to it. If the barkeep came back to him, he'd ask, but for now, he just decided to let things go as they went. Instead of demanding attention from the barkeep, though, @dindeen decided to ask about Saeko. After having heard about the incident, Hiro figured that Caer would be curious enough to ask, just to make sure her friend was okay. However, she seemed to calm down as he had explained that things were fine. This was accompanied by the fact that she hadn't wailed for the barkeep to give her more of her drink, and remained silent for a moment. Meanwhile, the Foreman was guzzling down yet another drink. This peace was very quickly shattered, as Caer just had to ask that next question.

"U-Uhh..." Hiro stammered for a moment, as she asked her question. Saeko's... Bust size? Did the size of elephants count? No, no, she probably wanted a legitimate answer. Nothing funny, non nonsensical answers that Hiro figured that Caer would find funnier than hell. After all, he did know her bust size. Saeko had told Hiro with a very embarrassed look on her face. But, before Hiro could answer Caer with the answer she wanted to hear, the questions just kept coming. It was safe to say he was kind of blown away by the rapidly-fired questions, but he didn't know the exact way they felt, or if they bou- Okay, he knew that they bounced. All tits that sized had to bounce, at least a little. Actually, this might be a good chance to tell Caer a fun and entertaining story, at Saeko's expense. Hiro felt a sudden dull-throbbing pain at the back of his head, realizing that Saeko knew absolutely everything and anything he did. She had a kind of a sixth sense in that regard, but that didn't matter all that much right now. Sorry, Saeko, but it's time to kill your image.

"Want to hear a story about Saeko's bust size?" Hiro asked Caer, in a calm and relaxed tone. He chuckled, to hopefully entice her into wanting to hear it more. "It's a funny story, but also kinda endearing." Hiro figured it was time to cut it out with the introduction, and decided to get right down into it. "Well, this one time, a while back, I was taking care of some laundry over in Buckingham Palace, when Saeko walked in, and started to take off her clothing. Just the top part, mind you, but she was still basically stripping. She had no idea I was in there, until I said 'Hi, Saeko.' She froze, slowly turned her head, and then screamed as loud as she could!" Hiro made a motion with his arms out wide, trying to exemplify his surprise. "She started asking me question after question, kinda like you were for a minute, about why I was in the laundry room. I told her I was taking care of some laundry, then the fatal question: 'Saeko, what are you doing stripping in the laundry room?' I asked." Hiro brought his arms back to the table, and laughed a bit. "Boy, did I get a whirlwind of an answer."

"Saeko told me that she was looking for a different shirt to wear, to which I told her that she wouldn't need to have taken her bra off for that. Flustered, she stammered again, shouting if I knew where her other skirt was. I looked at her and said that she wouldn't need to take off even her shirt to take care of her skirt." Hiro leaned back a bit. "Finally, I got the real answer. Saeko, defeated as could be, turned to me with her arms covering her boobs. She finally said 'I'm looking for my other bra' in the most flustered and anxious way I'd ever seen." He couldn't help but laugh. "You woulda died seeing it! Her face was bright red, her eyes were looking at me, then darting off in a different direction, then back to me. Eventually, I pulled her other bra out of the laundry hamper, and held it up. 'You mean this?' I asked, and she just about jumped at me. She was about to reach her arms out, but she was quick enough to realize that that would fully expose her tits, so she just glared at me for a little while." Hiro reminisced about the encounter for a few moments, falling into silence. It was kind of cute, and fairly out of character for the female samurai to act in that matter.

He looked back to Caer, looking to finish up the story, with an evil glint. "I held the bra up a bit, and looked for the tag. To answer your question, Saeko's a D-cup. But, I joked with her, by saying 'C-cup??? Saeko, are you shrinking there?' She flipped out at me, and grabbed the bra, before telling me to turn around so she could put it on. While turned around, Saeko said only one more thing to me. 'They're D-cups, and you know this.' After that, she put her shirt on, and stormed out of the laundry room." Having completed the little story, he leaned in towards Caer. "She wasn't mad, because I saw a little smile on her cherry red face as she left." He sat back correctly on the bar stool, and finally made the motion for the barkeep to come take his drink. But, it looked like the Foreman had the barkeep enraptured in his tale. Or, maybe terrified into listening was the better way to put it. He sighed a bit, leaning his head to one direction slightly, but readjusted himself to face the bar correctly. "As for if they're soft and bouncy, I figure that having D-cups would mean yes to both." Finishing his story, and the after explanation like that, he turned back to Caer, and wondered. "So, what made you ask? Just wanted to know?" He figured that that might be the most likely case. However, it was also somewhat possible that she was kind of jealous of Saeko. He shrugged the idea off, figuring that it would probably just be the former. Caer seemed to be the inquisitive kind. Nothing bad. Probably.

[1106 Words]

((OOC: I'll be sure to ask Caer some questions in the next round. Sorry I didn't give you much to go off of here.))

[Deleted]

1005 words HP 100%		Pet: Foreman Mukade IX MP 100%
The gentleman werecat in the background, his fur green and his suit red, sighed as he looked on at the scene before him. Sir Charles, as the adventurer had named himself, had the (mis)fortune of having been acquainted with Caerbannog before. At that time, he had put up a quest in Londinium, one that asked for a fairly experienced blacksmith to restore a supposedly-ancient armor that he had acquired. Back then, the samurai did a stellar job with regards to the restoration, however, the werecat made the mistake of offering a drink to the wolf-hair. Had he known that she was quite the drunkard, and a terrible one at that, then he would have given her some soda or milk. Now, if only Sir Charles did not have a meeting set for the current hour, he would run out of the Bell as quickly as he could; unfortunately for the werecat, his comrade had specifically asked for them to meet in this very pub for a drink or two. Sir Charles, therefore, sat there waiting for his friend while he watched the curious scene at the bar. If high-leveled adventurers were not frightening enough, there was a massive centipede too. And that massive centipede drank beer. The green werecat took a shot of burning whiskey that he had ordered earlier; he kept one eye on the centipede, should it turn to him and decide that it wanted to have a cat for dinner. The other eye was kept on the centipede's tamer, Caerbannog, who could at any moment cause an incident that would only be described as an "Act of God". A small earthquake, maybe some hellfire, that sort of thing. Oh, how the werecat wanted to leave, but his companion was running late and was for some reason unreachable via Telepathic Call. He could only hope that his friend would actually arrive within the hour. Foreman Mukade IX did not know of the dilemma that his presence brought to the establishment. His tamer had summoned him and he would not be rude to her; she had invited him for a drink, and that was exactly what he would do. Beer was such a funny liquid and he liked it enough to order another, and another, and another. Money was not a problem for Caerbannog could just pay off the centipede's tab, but Mukade IX became increasingly chatty as he drank more beer. His appendages began to swing around aimlessly as the creature broke down on a monologue or two, mostly about his life in the caverns. Occasionally, he spoke about cake and its wondrous effect on his everyday life. If only the people around him could understand, they would probably think him daft, or drunk... or both. But fortunately for the centipede, all the patrons thought was that the massive creature had gotten intoxicated. They were not surprised for his tamer herself was a terrible drunk, and so most of the patrons just stayed away from the centipede without bothering him. The barkeeper was an exception for he could not leave his post, and the man remained behind the counter, rather nervous and wary of the swinging appendages. As for Caerbannog, eventually her pestering got through to Hirosame and he answered her questions. Even better, he told a story! Oh, how the samurai loved stories! She just sat there and listened to the monk, but as the story went on, her expression became less of interest and more of disappointment. By the end of the Laundry Day recounting, the samurai's arms were crossed and she even ignore the glass of rum before her. She sighed and shook her head at Hirosame, and so the answer to his own question would come later. First, the wolf-hair would correct this misdeed! "Have you neeeeever played eroge?" Caer asked that loudly as if it was the most natural thing in the world, "You missed a lot of flags there, Mister!" The samurai even wagged a finger at the monk while she told him about his 'mistake', but eventually she turned back to her glass of rum and drank it up in a few gulps. Though perhaps Caerbannog was not the ideal person for such a telling-off, as she herself had missed so many 'flags' whenever she was with the assassin Kumori. They were married, but her husband so often lamented about the lack of a 'home run'... whatever that meant. Was that why he asked her to make a baseball bat? Was that why he researched making a baseball, to play the game? Maybe she should ask him as soon as she returned to Londinium, but in the mean time, she enjoyed her freedom to drink as much as she wanted. The wolf-hair then thought back to Hirosame's question, and in response to that she put her hands on her own chest. "Hmm... always wonder if those things were not too heavy," was her reply, a pronoun missing, "They sure are nice to look at and touch though!" Now, if a man had said this, he would have gotten a slap right across the face from one of the landers in the background. But seeing as Caerbannog was a vertically-challenged, almost-flat, high-level adventurer in a schoolgirl outfit, the most that she ever got were confused stares and comments about how she needed the guidance of an adult. To Caer, this was a rather normal conversation, and one can only blame Kumori for what the samurai now considered as 'normal'; the difference between the assassin and the monk was that, Kumori was skilled in dodging or redirecting Caerbannog's questions, while Hirosame answered the queries honestly. What would happen if Kumori or Saeko walked in just now? With Caerbannog's hands still on her chest, the monk Hirosame right across her, and a drunk centipede in the background. It was probably a recipe for disaster. Or just a screwed up, awkward conversation. "Do you like Saeko-chwan?" the wolf-hair just had to ask, and then the follow-up, "Do you like Saeko-chwan's boobs?"

[Hirosame]

Hiro did not foresee the reaction that he'd have received out of @dindeen, not in the slightest. At first, she just looked like she was getting bored of the story, or disappointed in it or something. Then, just a few moments later, here she was, asking Hiro if he'd ever played an eroge before, and wagging her finger in his face. Of course, leaning back in his seat while this is all happening was only natural of him to do so. Either way, though, the scolding seemed to happen for just an instant, and the next instant was in devouring an entire glass of rum. Hiro fixed himself in the seat, and looked over at the Samurai for a moment, completely and utterly confused. Sure, Hiro had played eroges before, but he wasn't about to let Caer know about that. Also, he didn't really think that there were any red flags to be seen, aside from that last one, when Saeko was leaving the room. Saeko was kind of masochistic like that, in that she enjoys being teased like that sometimes. While he was aware of this, he did realize that it was kind of mean of him to do such a thing.

He sighed about it, though, and decided to leave it be for now. Eventually, though, Caer got to his question. Something about wondering if Saeko's boobs were heavy. Hiro wasn't a girl, and he couldn't really just outright ask Saeko for the information, lest one of two things happen. One, Saeko would freak out at him for being at a bar with Caer, not inviting her, and then demand to know where he is. Two, Saeko would answer, then get the idea that Hiro was totally trying to hit on her so he could have sex with her later on or something. That's how Saeko worked, at least. Hiro had lived with her long enough to be able to tell what she was going to do, when, how, and why. Saeko was basically an open book to Hiro now, even if he wouldn't let on about it. But, he wouldn't say anything like that towards Caer, because that might just warrant a mug to the head. Last thing he wanted to do was piss her off. Especially after she so kindly asked him here for a drink. But, all in all, it was up to him to do things his own way. He shrugged it off, though, until the real question came out.

"Well, Saeko does have some nice boobs, I'll give her that." Hiro began. "But, as for Saeko, as rude as it is of me to say, I don't think I could see myself in a romantic relationship with her." He couldn't really speak dishonestly about it. "I know that Saeko's been looking for a chance for us to be together, but I don't really see it working out, in the end." Hiro wished that the mug in front of him was full, so he could take a drink, and give a moment to stop and think before speaking, but sadly, the Foreman was occupying all the barkeep's time. He didn't make a big deal of it, and just continued talking, either way. "I know Saeko's a good person, and honestly, she deserves a lot in life. She's told me basically everything there is about herself, and I told her about me in return. After that, though, I haven't thought of her as anything except an older sister to me." He looked out the window in the front of the establishment. "She's honestly the closest person I have in this world, and I wouldn't want something like dating and then finding out that it wouldn't work to separate us." He paused for a few moments, deep in thought.

He finally turned back around, and looked back at Caer. "Sorry for getting like that. I just don't feel like Saeko would appreciate something like that happening." He finally got tired of the situation of not having a drink, since he really needed one right now, and just hopped over the bar, heading directly towards the faucet where the barkeep had the beer. He looked over to the man, and asked. "Hey, I'm just gonna fill it up. Money's right on the table." Hopefully, the barkeep wouldn't mind. And if he did, he had a giant centipede in front of him, so if he did mind, then he wouldn't be able to do much about it. Besides, it wasn't like he was wreaking havoc upon the bar in any way, so it shouldn't be that big a problem. Probably saved the barkeep a bit of a hassle by letting him stay there and pretend to listen to the Foreman. Hiro figured that Landers couldn't understand monsters like Adventurers could, so he might as well try to save the guy as much trouble as possible. Hiro then leaped over the bar counter again, using his right arm to provide the extra bit of lift he needed, then sat back down onto the stool, thinking about things for another moment.

His mind snapped to a different question on his mind. Caer had mentioned something about baka and Ryuu-nii. He couldn't help but wonder about Caer's nationality. He looked over at her, a questioning look on his face. "So, you mind if I ask a question about you, outside of the game?" Whether she minded or not, Hiro was probably going to ask about it, either way. "You said some Japanese words there, in the middle of what you were saying, a few minutes ago. Are you Japanese?" An innocent enough question, but something that she could just as easily reject to answering. Just in case, though, he decided to let her in. "I'm originally Japanese, but when I was just two-or-so years old, my parents abandoned me, and my foster parents adopted me, bringing me back to England with them. My mom and foster mom had been close friends back in the day, and my parents moved back to Japan. But, they couldn't handle having a child, or something like that, so they just left me." Hiro shrugged. "Not to be a downer, but that's my story on the matter." He chuckled. "Next thing you're probably gonna laugh about. My character name, Hirosame? That's my actual name." He had no problem letting Caer know about this, since he felt that she was a close enough friend to tell. It's not anything he kept secret, anyways. But, maybe he'd learn something new about this friend of his, in exchange.

[1099 Words]

[Deleted]

1015 words HP 100%		Pet: Foreman Mukade IX MP 100%
"AND THEN!" Foreman Mukade IX exclaimed as he recounted the tales of his life in the cavern, "Three cavern spiders jumped down from the ceiling!" The exclamation was followed by a quick stab to the counter over which the centipede leaned, and the creature let out a wheezing sound that apparently was his laughter. Even Caerbannog could not make heads or tails of what Mukade was saying, though that was mostly because she had been focused on her conversation with Hirosame. The barkeeper simply nodded and smiled at Mukade IX. He understood nothing but the nodding and smiling seemed to please the centipede, and so the lander was inclined to do anything that would allow him to keep his head. Mukade had no intentions of harming anyone but because of the language barrier, that fact was left unconfirmed. Much like his tamer Caerbannog, the centipede now enjoyed being intoxicated and it only worsened as he continued to drink. Perhaps it was the worst combination ever, or best combination depending on the point of view; come the next morning, neither the samurai nor the centipede would probably remember the incident. So it was possibly in Hirosame's best interest that he decided to throw some questions at Caerbannog as well. The samurai had listened attentively to the monk's explanation regarding his relationship with Saeko and she nodded every once in a while. The glass of rum remained empty for so long that the wolf-hair almost became sober, until she noticed the lack of alcoholic beverage within her grasp and soon demanded more. As for what Hiro stated, most people would have thought him daft or odd for thinking of a beautiful lady as nothing but an older sister. Not Caerbannog. The wolf-hair herself still referred to her own husband as "Ryuu-nii" despite the obvious and publicly-announced change in the relationship status. It was ironic that she lectured him about flags but if anything, she could relate to the whole brother-sister thing. "So different from Ryuu-nii..." Caer muttered as she took a sip from the recently-refilled glass of rum. The monk then moved on to something less about him and more about the wolf-hair. That was fair seeing as she'd been the one to pepper him with questions up to that point. Unsurprisingly, Hirosame was observant enough to pick up on the different words that she used. Perhaps other people noticed it too but either did not bother to ask her about it, or did not recognize the words as being Japanese. "German," she replied concisely. Hirosame then recounted the story of his life. The samurai looked at Foreman Mukade IX, who up to that point had been telling his own stories to the terrified barkeeper. Unlike the centipede though, Hiro did not have any stabby appendages so his story-telling was not frightening at all. Caerbannog nodded and listened attentively to the monk as he told his story. Even in her mildly drunk state, she wanted to be respectful to the other person. It was not easy to share such things, that much she knew. Unlike in a certain other MMORPG, Elder Tale did not change their player appearance so there was not certainty about the true identity of others. But having come across a few people who were willing to share their personal information, such as a certain pie-loving druid and a tall Dwarf, Caer knew not to take such revelations lightly. The story set a rather gloomy atmosphere around the wolf-hair, up until Hirosame revealed that he used his own name for his Elder Tale character. "Eh?" the samurai tilted her head slightly at that, "No wonder you get along with Ryuu-nii. You are also a baka." Having been to Tokyo and its surrounding areas instead of Osaka, Caerbannog used the word 'baka' lightly and with a friendly meaning to it. She had picked it up from her cousins back then, and although many years had passed, she remembered their mannerisms and customs. It was nice to reminisce about the nicer parts of her life, even if for a moment. But now it was time for her to tell the monk something about herself... perhaps not the most painful bits though for that was a story reserved for some other time. "My dad was a 外人 who traveled to many places because of his work and so he met a lady in Japan and they got married and they had a kid," Caerbannog told the straightforward love story of her parents with the most uninterested tone, "They lived in Germany but one summer, the lady brought her kid to her hometown for a visit." Caerbannog then dipped the tip of her index finger into her rum, and then she used it to write on the counter. Such an unlady-like display, but who cares, right? She was already getting drunk so early in the day therefore keeping up appearances was the least of her problems. The samurai wrote the Kanji 柩 on the counter and she pointed at it. "Kyuu-desu," she said. Now, this was a joke that she also played on the Dwarf. Her name was actually written using the more common Kanji 九, what with her being the ninth grandchild and her mother having been unimaginative, possibly uncaring. But that was for her and Ryuu to know, and for Hirosame to figure out some other way. Perhaps the two monks, Hiro and the Dwarf, could talk about it some time and clear up the misunderstanding, but for the moment Caer decided to keep the ominous writing of her name. "Does Hiro-kun have friends from real world? Here in Elder Tale?" the wolf-hair decided it was her turn to ask but to keep it fair because the monk had told her so much already, she answered her own question first, "Ryuu-nii was my gopher while we were studying!" A half-truth. The young man was prone to going along with whatever she wished, but that was only to keep her from crying her eyes out. "Okay fine," Caerbannog crossed her arms and huffed, "He was my only friend back then..."

[Hirosame]

Hiro couldn't help but laugh a bit at @dindeen's reaction to Hiro giving his name. She was right: Hiro was an idiot in that regard. Sure, he's uncreative, but he figured that that was part of his character. That's just how he rolls, for sure. Having been a part of this world for some time now, though, he felt that his name brought about a good meaning, or at least a good sentiment. That's all he wanted, from the people he met, and the people he knew. However, getting back on topic, Hiro wouldn't have been able to tell that Caer was German, to an extent. Something interesting to note, though. Perhaps this was also just another part of her character, keeping things like that safe from people who don't need to know. But, probably since he mentioned something about his own nationality and his own back story, she felt that it was indeed the proper motion to do the same in return. Cool, Hiro was learning things about friends! Yeah! Extrovertedness had its plus sides, for sure. Especially when it brings you just a little bit closer with a good friend.

Something that he hadn't fully registered up until now was something that Caer muttered into her drink, just before taking a sip, a few moments before her comment about Hiro also being a baka. He figured it wouldn't do any good to bring it up, since it was probably something that she didn't want to talk much about. Letting the conversation go on as it was, he learned Caer's real name. Kyuu, huh? Not a bad name, at least, not the way that it was written. Rather regal, to be completely fair. At least, in the way that it is written. Not how Caer wrote it, with rum on the tip of her finger, on the counter. When she pointed at it, though, Hiro had had a different mental image of her introduction. Instead of just pointing to it and showing it to him, he imagined Caer bringing her fingers up in the peace sign, sideways across her eye, and winking with the other. After she said the name, she stuck her tongue out, as if she were a cheeky anime girl. Hiro chuckled a bit at this thought, but wouldn't bring anything up out of it. It seemed far too out of place to just say randomly, so he stayed his hand, in this regard.

A few moments later, Caer had asked Hiro about having any friends here in this world, from the real one. He didn't need to think at all about this, but Caer went right on ahead and started to talk about her own. Hiro laughed when Caer about calling Kumori a gopher when they had studied. He was going to ask about the studying thing, like if she went to a college or university or something, but it didn't take much long for Caer to reveal that her only friend from that world was Kumori. She puffed her cheeks out and crossed her arms, as if she were a child being scolded. Another little laugh later, and Hiro finally spoke. "Well, I came here with a bunch of friends from the other world. Never really met them in real life, save for maybe one, but we were still friends, nonetheless." Hiro looked over at Caer with a smile on his face. "You remember Midori, right? Her and I played this one really old game, Mabinogi, together. And that's actually where I got the concept idea for this avatar you see here." He recalled having invented his character a long, long time ago, and how different things were back then, in those days.

Reminiscing time was over. "Well, aside from Midori, there was at least 4 or 5 others, but I haven't heard much from any of them for quite a while. They are still in the guild, except for a few who made their own, but they haven't been doing a whole lot as of late." Hiro wasn't upset about this at all, and just figured that they were doing their own things, as they went along. "A majority of us used to love playing League of Legends together, whereas Midori didn't much care for it. She was kind of the one who kept us all in check, and made sure that we'd all play games other than just that the entire time." Hiro took a sip from the glass before him. "It was fun, for sure, but I think I'm the only one who managed to keep at the whole questing thing for as long as I had. I know Midori's still stuck down in the lower level ranges, whereas I'm, well, you see here." Hiro pointed up to his fresh level 74 status. "I know it's not your level quite yet, but I'm getting there, for sure." He let out a little chuckle, before thinking for a moment again. Caer had said something about only having one friend upon entering this world. He knew that things were probably different now, but still...

"I know this is probably a dumb question, but you've got a lot more friends now, right?" This brought about an actually decent question. "What do you think of the friends you've made here, in this world?" He looked around a little bit, just for the sake of looking. Hiro decided that he'd go ahead and answer his own question first, like Caer had so graciously done beforehand. "I don't think I've had more friends that I can honestly consider friends ever before. I mean, I used to be quite the extrovert back in the other world, so people liked talking to me, but this..." He paused for a second, and leaned back, looking up. "This is something different." A wide smile found its way onto his face. "I won't get depressing or upsetting on you like I did just a few moments ago, so I'll skip the life-story portion. I just think that the people who we're all stuck with here are so kind and considerate." For a moment, Scoria flash into his mind. He laughed. "Okay, maybe not everybody's kind and considerate, but everybody has good intentions." Hiro's smile stayed there for a few more moments, and he turned his head back to Caer. "If it counts for anything, though, Caer. I'm super glad to be a friend of your's." Hiro held out his fist for her to bump. "You're funny, charming, and you're one hell of a good person. Kumori's a lucky guy." Hiro wasn't trying to hit on Caer, or anything like that. He just liked to show his friends he's grateful for being their friend. And, in this case, it was absolutely true. She's one of a kind, and a hell of a cool person.

[1141 Words]

[Deleted]

1030 words HP 100%		Pet: Foreman Mukade IX MP 100%
This monk Hirosame was, without a doubt, an extrovert. The wolf-hair knew some introverted people who just became chatty in certain situations, such as the guardian Oxford and the druid Scoria, but Hirosame was not like them at all. He actually seemed to enjoy chatting with other people and even when they were killing bosses, he made sure to get his commands and his point across to the other party members. As Caerbannog listened to the monk speak about his friends and their activities, the samurai understood why he was the leader of Apocrypha. In more ways than one, he had qualities which made him similar to Kumori; the eagerness to bring people together and to speak to them, the willingness to lead, being optimistic to a fault. That was also probably why they got along well enough to agree to a guild alliance. Not that Caer knew how that came to be though... one day she just heard that it was a thing, and being unconcerned with guild matters, she went along with the guild leader's decision. Talking to Hiro made things clearer; now, if only the samurai could speak to people even when she was not drunk, perhaps that would be the ideal scenario. Even with rum in her head, she was still reluctant to give away information or to tell stories aside from her daily adventures. Her chats with fellow adventurers usually consisted of Elder Tale mechanics and on-goings, or something about her pets. Mayhaps to some, she was akin to a crazy cat lady but instead of cats, she had a centipede and a wyvern. Speaking of the aforementioned centipede, he was by now complete drunk. Foreman Mukade IX chugged down a tab that would probably leave regular adventurers in the red, but because Caerbannog had saved up a lot, she did not scold Mukade even after his nth mug of beer. Hey, at least no one's invented absinthe just yet. Being a centipede, he did not even to worry about liver damage so the samurai just let her elite pet drink as much as he wanted. Eventually, Hirosame got to the part where he wanted to know more about what Caer thought of her current status in Elder Tale. He threw some compliments her way too, but as usual they flew over the wolf-hair's head. She mostly had a deadpan reaction to such things and thought nothing of it, but Caer did occasionally acknowledge compliments with a word of thanks. Not in this case though. She did not have any time to mull over the monk's thoughts, for the drunk Mukade IX had decided to turn his attention to Hirosame. Relieved, the barkeeper excused himself to tend to the other patrons just as the centipede put two appendages on Hiro's shoulders. "Do you like cake?" the Foreman asked as he looked down at the golem-punching meat baby; the centipede gulped down another mug of beer and his breath smelled just like the bitter drink, "How about pie?" Up to that point, Caerbannog had been paying little attention to the centipede's words but now that his attention was on her chat buddy, then she might as well join in the conversation. Cake and pie huh? It seemed that Scoria's offer of pie had a profound effect on Mukade IX. When he had just gone out to see the wide world, the centipede only sung praises of cake but after the druid let the creature have a slice of pie, Mukade thought of it as almost-equal to cake. "Either one is good," the samurai answered her pet's question, "As long as it has fresh cream!" Ah, fluffy white tufts of deliciousness. They go well with almost anything sweet, and the samurai particularly liked them on layers of chiffon and custard. But enough about that! Hirosame asked a question earlier and had already given his piece about it. It would have been rude if the wolf-hair kept talking about the heavenly taste of pastries and desserts, so she asked the barkeeper for another glass of rum while she thought of a proper answered to the monk's question. She remembered those friends that she had not seen in what felt like ages and even her attempts to call them up for some of her random adventures had gone unanswered. Perhaps they were too busy or already found a permanent party to explore the world with. "I met some very nice people here," Caerbannog finally said, her voice not as shrieky or giddy as before, "I miss some of them... like Capsule and Mab. I don't know where they are now." Did they go through some fairy gate and disappear into another world? She once thought that Oxford and Stryke were gone forever too, but the guardian reappeared one day and the swashbuckler soon followed. Maybe the same black hole ate them up and spat them out again. But what did she miss the most? That time which she spent in the Australian Kiss flashed back to the samurai's mind. She took a sip of her rum and then she sigh deeply. "I miss crying on Elkeid's cleavage," the wolf-hair sighed again and then she drank the rest of her rum. A lander or two spat their drinks onto the table. Did they just hear that? Did the little adventurer in a schoolgirl costume actually say that? And Caerbannog spoke so defeatedly too, as if it was one of the most depressing things in the whole wide world. She needs an adult! "And I miss my dad," Caer sighed even more, but then her tone changed and it seemed as if she had sparkles in her eyes, "But it's okay! Ryuu-nii is here with me!" The girl waved her empty drinking glass over her head. "Mister! Another drink! For the monk and the centipede!" she yelled at the barkeeper who almost jumped from behind the counter. Foreman Mukade IX had no idea as to what was going on, but his antennae drooped whenever Caerbannog's voice sounded sad and they would twitch happily when she sounded not so sad. His appendages remained on the monk's shoulders, but should the young man pull away, Mukade would make sure to put even more appendages on Hiro's body. Is this what they call skinship?

[Hirosame]

Just as Hiro brought his fist back to his drink, he suddenly felt the growing despair that could only be described as a walking nightmare's walking nightmare. As the two... things that stuck out of the centipede's body reached out and latch onto the Monk, he couldn't help but very quickly realize how horrendously scary this thing was. Which only made it funnier to think of it actually being drunk. As the drunken centipede spurted something about cake and pie, to which @dindeen immediately agreed to, he couldn't help but find himself laughing a bit. Foreman Mukade wasn't as big a monster as he originally thought it was, and that this particular specimen seemed to take after its owner quite well. He found the similarities between the two were unparalleled, save for the point with which both of them were on the same train of thought. Hiro smiled at all the things that were happening between the two. But, he figured that he might as well answer the centipede soon enough. Leaning back and looking up at it, Hiro replied to the Foreman.

Or, well, he was about to, until Caer mentioned something that slightly pulled on his heartstrings. Caer very dearly seemed like she was missing a few people. Something about how her voice shifted to a slightly more somber one, and even to the point of actually looking depressed. Hiro couldn't help but feel a bit sorry about it all, even if it wasn't anything that had to do with him. Hiro looked forward, and took a good long drink from the glass before him. Even at the part where Caer mentioned something about crying into Elkeid's cleavage, which was to be expected of the Samurai by now, he just let it all take its course. One of the worst things that Hiro could do right now was interrupt her and tell her that she's wrong for thinking that. In all actuality, she isn't wrong. There have been a few people who have since been lost to time, without any trace of reemergence. One of which being Capsule, whom Hiro and Caer had both fought Stonehenge with a while back, when she just disappeared all of a sudden, due to something like dying or just not caring about things anymore.

A few moments after the depressed-sounding Caerbannog, though, the happy very quickly returned, and she immediately called in for another round of the drinks. Seeing that she had so quickly transitioned back to the way she normally was, Hiro couldn't help but feel a bit relieved. He smiled at her, before turning back to his own mug to finish it off. As he drank it down, his mind was a flurry of thoughts. Hiro thought that it might be good of him to say something like "Caer, you don't just have Kumori anymore. You have all your current friends, and both guilds, too! You're not alone, by any means!" although, he also thought that it would be best if he kept his mouth shut for the remainder of the moment. She was strong enough to bring herself out of a dark spot, and Hiro very deeply respected that. In fact, he admired it. That's what probably happens, when you get older. However, Hiro was still stuck here at 18, at least, as far as he knew. Maybe he had aged already? He wasn't sure at all. As he finished off the mug of alcohol, he slammed it back onto the table, stood up, and wrapped an arm around Caer's neck.

Striking a thumbs up and winking one eye, he looked to the barkeep. "Make that two drinks for the monk!" He said in a chipper way. He then extended the index finger of the hand that was giving the thumbs up towards the Samurai. "She's paying, after all." He joked. Letting go of the schoolgirl, he sat back down, and leaned onto the bar again. He figured that it would do him some good just to let the good times roll. As such, he made no comments about the sad and depressed Caerbannog that he had just seen. Everybody gets sad sometimes, so it's nothing to treat her any differently for. Instead, he figured now would be the time to answer the question of cakes and pies. "I'm a real fan of cakes. However, pies, I'm not too keen on." He knew he'd catch some flak for that. "I dunno, I'm not a big 'filling' kinda guy. Especially when it's those fake fruit mixtures in the middle." Hiro raised his arms into the air. "Gimme some real fruits, dammit! None of this fake bullshit!" Putting his hands back down onto the table, he took a drink from the recently refilled mug, as he figured the centipede would be bombarding Hiro with insults and questions, in his drunken stupor.

Now that he thought about it, he didn't know much about Caer's young self. Was she always as spry and rambunctious as she is now? Or was she a lot more mild than she is? Then again, probably not something that Hiro should ask, after having just found out her name and all that. He was content knowing what he knew already about her. And, even if she was completely different from how she is now, Hiro was absolutely happy about the way Caer is presently. Saeko seemed to agree on that fact, though Hiro didn't need to think about that one too hard. So, he turned it around instead. "So, anything you wanna know? Anything you wanna do?" Hiro lifted the mug with his hand, pointing it around the building. "I don't mind sitting here for a bit longer, drinking the day away, but if you wanna go outside, I won't argue." Taking a drink from the mug, he figured it might be a good time to let her call the shots. He was here as her and the Foreman's guest. If they wanted to go off and do something else, he had no right to complain. Besides, it makes things a bit more fun to do stuff as spur of the moment. Although, if it were something like spilling some deep, dark secrets, he might have to protest against it. Depending on the secrets she would want to know, of course. While Hiro himself doesn't have much to hide, the things he does hide are a bit important to him. Nothing dark or depressing, mind you, but definitely... Embarrassing.

[1081 Words]

[Deleted]

1020 words HP 100%		Pet: Foreman Mukade IX MP 100%
-Gods, what are they talking about now?- Sir Charles wondered as he kept an eye on the three, the adventures and their centipede companion, as he waited to his acquaintance, -And what is that awful sound that they are making? Are they actually talking to that THING?!- The green werecat wondered to himself as he watched the three on the bar. He cringed when the centipede approached the monk, and the werecat almost fell out of his seat when the creature actually touched Hirosame. He could only imagine how that felt and it already made Sir Charles feel cold and clammy all over. The green-furred one shuddered just as he received a call via telepathy; it was his acquaintance who had just arrived at the Grain Village. Sir Charles was so relieved that he sighed loudly and leaned back against his seat. In just a few moments, he could leave the pub- but that’s only what he thought; a tall, slender, pale man in a black suit walked into the Midnight Bell and he walked over to the green werecat’s table. “Pardon me for being so late,” the adventurer in a black suit, almost seven feet in height, greeted Sir Charles, “Shall we have a drink before we get down to business?” “Of course, Sir Philippe,” the green werecat nodded. However, Sir Charles was hesitant to hop over to the bar due to the presence of Foreman Mukade IX. His friend, however, did not seem to be fazed by the centipede. Sir Philippe stood up and casually walked over to the bar; he stopped in front of the barkeep who was at the end of the bar opposite to Caerbannog and company. With his completely bald head and pasty color, the adventurer was just like- “Slender Man!” the wolf-hair samurai rudely pointed past Mukade and past Hiro; her right index finger pointed straight at Sir Philippe in his black suit, “Where are your tentacles?!” At this point, Caerbannog had been so thoroughly distracted by the appearance of this ‘Slender Man’ that she only heard bits and pieces of what Hirosame said. It was probably for the best too, for who knows what she’d do about people who said they did not like pie? Well, personally she would not care but the clueless samurai would probably tattle to the pie-loving druid Scoria. And then all hell would probably break loose... or only Hiro’s face would be broken by direct contact with a golem’s fist. Who knows? “Oh dear. Is it not impolite to point at meat babies?” Mukade suddenly waved some appendages at his tamer, “I do beg your pardon but- IS THAT A SPIDER?!” The centipede’s antennae caught a ‘glimpse’ of a small spider, totally not the cavern kind, which ran across the wall behind the barkeeper. Mukade jumped on the counter and stabbed his appendages on the wall in hopes of catching his ‘prey’. But even if he tried, in his drunk state he would probably not be able to hit the broad side of a barn; moreover, the spider was so small that it just wove between the stabs. As for Sir Philippe, he ignored all that ruckus and just accepted the drinks that the barkeeper made for him and his werecat friend. The pale adventurer then walked to his table. “It seems someone’s pet is out of control,” Sir Philippe observed as he sipped his liquor, “Shall we finish this and move somewhere else?” Wide-eyed, Sir Charles just nodded wordlessly to his acquaintance. He hurriedly chugged down his own drink while his eyes remained on the strange scene before him. The barkeeper at first tried to wave at the centipede but as Mukade continued to pursue the spider, the lander fainted out of fear and exhaustion. Meanwhile, Caerbannog cheered her pet on as it chased after the minuscule spider on the wall. Many of the patrons already left the Bell for fear of being caught in the crossfire and just in time too for the spider jumped down to the floor with the massive centipede in pursuit. “FIGHT! FIGHT!” the wolf-hair waved an empty mug over her head, “YOU CAN DO IT!” Caerbannog’s wolf ears popped up from beneath her thick black hair as she took Hiro by one hand. The spider headed outside and Mukade followed it, so the samurai hopped out of her seat. “Let’s go! Let’s go!” she tugged at the monk’s hand and would hold onto it if he ran with her. Either way, the wolf-hair followed the elite centipede as it upturned most of the tables and chairs in the Bell, and then eventually it crashed through a window instead of using the door. That’s probably going on Caerbannog’s tab. “N-now I think we should stay in here,” Sir Charles said to his friend. They had narrowly avoided the path of the centipede by pulling their table to one side. Drinks were almost spilled, but unlike the werecat, Sir Philippe remained prim and proper. He merely took another sip from his drink. “Good idea,” the Slender Man look-alike agreed, “Shall we get down to business then?” Outside, Foreman Mukade IX ran down the narrow streets as the spider made its way through the crowd. There were only a few people out anyway so they were able to avoid the drunk centipede, but being landers, they were terribly afraid of the chase. One stab from those appendages could kill them forever after all. “Wait for us, Muu-chan!” yelled the schoolgirl samurai, her wolf ears perked straight up as she waved the empty mug over her head again, “Isn’t this fun?” Caer momentarily turned back to check if Hiro was still there, and then she looked over to Mukade again. Overhead, the coastal seagulls made their presence known and some of them divebombed towards the centipede. A delicious meal, they thought; that was until they got close to Mukade and realized that he was massive and could probably split the seagulls in two. The angry birds then turned their attention to the little wolf-hair and they began to pelt her with their nasty white “attacks”.

[Hirosame]

Hiro took quick note of the people showing up into the bar, as @dindeen had made note of them within a short amount of time of them walking into the bar. Having paid no mind to the appendages that were placed on his shoulders a few moments before, Hiro just figured that the Foreman was only wasted, and he wasn't going to do anything drastic. Which, in a few moments, he would find out that he is wrong. However, since Hiro isn't able to read the things that are about to happen beforehand like his writer is, that sense of ESP will be hidden for now. Instead, Hiro would take another long drag from the glass that he had been given, finally being able to feel the effects of the alcohol as it was passing through his system. For having only drank once before, he was surprised with how well he could hold his liquor. Though, since it was starting to effect him now, he felt his head getting a little lighter. While still in control of his body and mind, for the most part, he felt like he needed to relax himself somehow, without letting the effects of the drink take over.

Hiro took a moment to stand up, and use one of his skills for just a moment. Activating the monk skill Release Chakra, Hiro hit multiple points on his body, and the flow of the alcohol seemed to lessen immediately, increasing his Mind stat for a bit. He figured that the alcohol would effect the stat, and cause him to have a drop in the stat itself. So, he felt that, maybe by enhancing that one stat a little bit so he could think more clearly, the effect wouldn't be quite as prevalent. And, he was right. His mind didn't feel completely clear, but he could focus a bit. But what he focused on was the green-pelted man's table, where a being akin to Slender Man had walked up. The adventurer, being just about as tall as Hiro could imagine in this world, didn't have that intimidating of a voice, and actually seemed quite calm, as he walked over to the bar and grabbed a few drinks for himself and his partner. Hiro watched the man for a moment, then turned back to the bar, looking at the now empty glass of beer that had been sitting there. He was thinking about grabbing another, though, since it didn't taste all that bad.

Although, his semi-peaceful day at the bar with Caer was soon to be cut short, as a more exciting segment would be coming up shortly. As the tall slender adventurer went back to the table where the green werecat sat, Hiro overheard a loud screeching coming from the Foreman, whose attention was stuck on something beyond the bar itself. Hiro turned his attention to where the centipede was looking, only to notice a small spider on the wall. But, before he even realized it, the Foreman was already on the counter top, stabbing away at the wall where the spider was. It seemed in his drunken state that his aim was much less than perfect, to the point of just looking like he was stabbing the wall sporadically. Soon enough, Caer seemed to be egging Hiro on to follow the centipede was it chased after the spider out the door. She seemed more than happy to pursue the fight as it went on, and wanted him to come along. Leaving the drink on the counter, and the barkeep fainted on the ground, Hiro followed the Samurai, his hand in her's as she basically dragged him along. Hiro found himself to be smiling, though, as they chased after the insects.

Hiro and Caer had raced right outside of the bar, leaving the people inside on their own to fend off any attacks that may come their way. Hiro's stride had hastened to a jog, as he and Caer followed the battling bugs. Caer called out to Mukade, telling him to wait up for the two semi-slower humans, before immediately turning back around and looking at Hiro, asking if Hiro was having fun. A wide smile formed in his face, as he returned the gaze to his friend. "Hell yeah!" He shouted, his voice full of adrenaline. It was about at this time Hiro saw the seagulls flying down and looking like they were going to attack the centipede, which they viewed as dinner for them. Hiro knew that Caer wasn't going to be happy about the idea of them attacking her, so Hiro decided to do something that was possibly even more fun for the both of them. Hiro pulled on Caer's arm with great force, and flipped her up and onto his back, locking his arms underneath her legs, to keep her from flying off in any way. Hiro looked back up and at her, a childish grin on his face. "Wanna have some fun?" He asked her, his voice bright and chipper. He figured that she might like to hit the buggers back.

Hiro looked up and at the seagulls, pointing with his head. "Why don't you cut them up while on my back. I'll keep us up with the Foreman, while also jumping up into the air, so you can show those bastards what's up!" Hiro turned back to her. "It's that other piggyback ride I promised, but with some extra fun attached to it!" Activating Eye of the Tiger to help propel himself forward and match the pace of the centipede and spider, and also give him a bit more lift. Lowering himself just a little bit, Hiro sprung both he and Caer high into the sky. "COUNTERATTACK, BITCHES!" Hiro shouted, kicking one leg out into one of the seagulls, causing it to disappear immediately into data. A few more seconds of airtime, and they were back on the ground. He didn't notice if Caer had attacked them at all, but he thought that she might like the idea. Besides, he did promise her another piggyback ride a long time ago, when they were searching for the props back with Capsule. He felt that now might be the best time to cash that in, especially since the alcohol was still in their systems. The only thing that he had to worry about was Caer's drunken state with a sword, but even then, he didn't feel like she would cut his head off. Probably.

[1081 Words]

((OOC: Wow, same word count as last one. Anyways, sorry for posting so late on this one. Holiday season is finally over, so I can focus more on posting. Also, feel free to have Hiro jump whenever you want for this. I give you permission to take control of him for the duration, just don't do anything that will make me regret letting you do this. XD <3))

[Deleted]

1000 words HP 100%		Pet: Foreman Mukade IX MP 100%
"Stop, I say, STOP!" the gentleman centipede yelled at the escaping spider, "Let me bite into your flesh, you tiny morsel!" Mukade IX exclaimed with such seriousness that one would wonder if he truly expected for his prey to stop and agree to be devoured by him. Then again, the centipede was drunk; anything was possible. Past the frightened landers, the spider scurried right in the middle of the street. Every time it thought of going to the sides of the path or when it tried to hop onto a passing lander, Mukade was quick to spit a venomous wad of something disgusting at the spider's target. The wad of what seemed to be mucous was the centipede's digestive juices and it was laced with a bit of his paralyzing venom, but it was almost useless against two-legged meat babies. The most that it would cause is a nasty spot of bright red rashes, what with the venom being easily corroded by air and sunlight. So in the wake of the spider and centipede chase, landers were itching all over their legs and arms but those limbs remained attached to their bodies. They'd probably need to take a bath though. "Curse you, insufferable morsel of food!" Mukade cried out as the spider, unhindered by traffic and crowds, was able to put quite a distance between itself and its pursuer, "Why are you so tiny?! This would be much easier if you were about as big as a crag cow!" Eventually, the elite centipede had to stop his pursuit altogether when the spider turned to a narrow alley- NOT! Foreman Mukade IX, determined as ever, burrowed through the paved and followed his prey from beneath the ground. It was not difficult to follow the centipede for all his burrowing upturned the ground and destroy whatever part of the road it passed under. Did the spider really think it could get away from Mukade IX who had hunted large spiders all his cavern life? He had a reputation to keep up and no puny arachnid could ever tarnish it! Fortunately for the villagers, the spider's new route took the carnage away from the main road and into a quieter part of Grain Village. Unfortunately for the spider, he had reached the end of the road... and literally too. The little arachnid had made a wrong turn and ended up at the edge of a cliff upon which the waves crashed, so jumping down that side was a no go. Mukade's antennae sense the lack of solid ground up ahead so he broke through the pavement and once again faced his prey. "I have you now, you fiend!" the drunk centipede waved his appendages at the spider which could only react with what seemed to be fear. Whether regular arachnids and insects had emotions, that may be debatable; one thing was for sure though: Mukade was more than ten times larger than the spider and wanted to eat the smaller creature, and the spider did not like that idea. As it sat there and waited for its untimely demise, an attack from above beat the centipede to the punch. A seagull flew by and dropped a heavy, stinky 'bomb' right on the spider. The weight of the white drop crushed the arachnid and left it unpalatable too. "WHY?" Mukade IX cried as he shook his appendages at the seagull, "WHYYYYYYYYYYYY?" As for the centipede's tamer, she had accepted the piggyback ride from the monk Hirosame. Who wouldn't want piggyback rides anyway? They were awesome! It also made it easier for her to aim at and shoot down the offending seagulls. Seriously, why are gulls such dicks? Does eating crab all the time do that to your brain? With her targets way above her heads, Caerbannog did what any samurai would not do. See, a samurai could use a bow and arrows but not this samurai! She toggled on her Wind Bullet skill and formed a gun-like sign with her two hands, and as the dickgulls flew down to divebomb her and the monk, Caer shot out wind bullets as quickly as the skill's cooldown allowed. Her aim was decent and the wolf-hair made sure to shoot at where the gull would be as it moved, not at the exact place where it was as she shot out a wind bullet. The birds which were grazed by her skill had their feathers ruffled at least, and those which were hit directly by it dropped to the ground. "THE SKY IS FALLING!" someone in the crowd yelled so just as Mukade dove to the pavement, the landers began to panic and so Caerbannog lost sight of her centipede momentarily. By then the seagulls had stopped their divebombs and the samurai-monk duo could focus on chasing after the elite centipede and his minuscule prey. "Where are they?" Caerbannog toggled off her Wind Bullet and looked around instead, "Did we get lost?" The crowd of landers began to scream and run in different directions because the sky was apparently falling. "I know what to do!" the wolf-hair had the brightest idea just then. Caer tapped Hiro's shoulder and asked to be let down. Once on solid ground, she quickly tugged the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up over the monk's head. The landers were distracted so they paid no attention to the exposed monk, but Caerbannog was also distracted and she could not reach high enough to pull the shirt above Hiro's head so most of the clothing just stayed on his face while his front was exposed. "Tracks!" the wolf-hair suddenly pointed to the destruction on the ground, "It worked! We're not lost anymore!" The samurai then ran ahead and followed Mukade's 'tracks' through the narrow alley and left the monk in the middle of the confused crowd. A little way beyond the alley, Caerbannog found the distraught centipede as it stood in front of some seagull poop and waved its appendages at a circling douchebird.

[Hirosame]

As Hiro was jumping up and down, attacking the monsters in their flight paths, he noticed that @dindeen had begun to shoot at them from his back, using some kind of skill that he had no idea what it was at all. Hiro wondered what exactly it was, but he would have a better chance trying to figure out whether or not Saeko was on her way over about to kick his ass for drinking without her, without her even knowing that he and Caer were drinking, as well as coming this way to tell Hiro that she was going to take over Apocrypha for the crap he pulled. Yeah, it was that unrealistic. But, all in all, Caer seemed like she was having as much fun as she possibly could have. Despite the fact that he had intended for her to cut them to pieces with her sword instead of go all Yu Yu Hakusho, it still was a good deal of fun for both of them, he figured. Hiro looked over his shoulder for a moment, as she took aim at the flying bastards, blasting them to smithereens, and saw what legitimate joy she was having. This, of course, made it all worth it to him in the end.

As he was thinking this, and planting his foot back onto the ground, he very quickly realized that he had lost sight of the giant centipede. Which he found to be rather impeccable, losing sight of one of the biggest insects he had ever seen, up to this point. Hiro stopped, looking around and trying to see what he could see, but the dive bombing birds were still continuing their assault, so he couldn't really just stand there and let the girl on his back get hurt from these things. Besides, it would serve them both well to keep up and in the air, to look more easily. So, Hiro jumped up again, only to notice that the birds were beginning to disperse, as the centipede and spider couldn't be seen from so high up. Planting his feet on the ground once more, Hiro overheard someone from the crowd shouting that the sky was falling, but he had no idea what this person could mean. Looking around himself and the Samurai on his back, he saw nothing that would indicate such a feat happening. He felt a tap on his shoulder, realizing that Caer probably wanted to be put down. Letting go of her, he adjusted himself so it'd be easier for her to get down.

As her smaller feet hit the ground, Hiro began to look around a bit more actively for the giant centipede that he knew as the Foreman. But, before much else could happen, he suddenly felt a tug on the bottom of his shirt, as well as the shirt being risen up, and into his face. "Wha- Hey!" He shouted, as the cloth went up and into his face. Hiro didn't have a body that he would be ashamed of, especially because of the fact that he's a monk. Although he didn't have a chiseled body or anything of the sort, nor much in the way of muscles to speak of, his body was slender and long. There wasn't much of anything for him to hide, though there wasn't necessarily much to show off, either. He was comfortable with his body style, as it helped him be so much more agile than one normally would be. But, that's enough about his body. Hiro realized that his hat had fallen onto the ground, as a result of his clothing having been forced upwards, causing it to fall. Hiro leaned down and onto the ground behind him, fixing his shirt and hat simultaneously, and adjusting it back onto his head in the most comfortable manner that he knew of when wearing his hat.

Buttoning his shirt back into place again, he looked over at Caer, with a strange expression. His eyebrow was raised, and had a very questioning look, wondering why she had done what she had done. But, he didn't ask about it, since she probably had her reason, or reasons why. What made him want to ask about it was the fact that she had found tracks that belonged to the humongous centipede and the small spider, right after she had done what she did with his shirt over his eyes. In the end, he decided not to question it, and just went with it for now. If the centipede was going to be found at this rate, then it was better that things go along smoothly. Letting out a disgruntled sigh, feeling the effects of the alcohol start to leave his system now, he shoved his hands into his pockets and started to follow where Caer was pointing and moving towards. He looked a bit ahead down the road, but couldn't see anything. Though, this was due to the large amount of people in a crowd that were right in front of him, so he couldn't see as well as he had hoped. He also lost sight of Caer, which only added to his ever increasing list of problems that shouldn't be happening.

A few steps through the crowd, and he saw both the flailing centipede, as well as the Samurai whom the centipede belongs to, down an alleyway nearby. Raising his eyebrow again at the sight, he looked from the centipede to Caer, then back to the centipede, whose limbs were flying upward and into the sky repeatedly. It had looked like the centipede's dinner had been taken away, as he was probably stuttering in unintelligible centipede babble. He found himself chuckling a bit at the whole spectacle, realizing just how "hurt" the centipede was over such a small specimen. It wouldn't even likely feed the monster for all of 5 seconds, and then he would be just as hungry as he was before. Perhaps it was the alcohol that was running through its system that caused it to think that it was something much bigger, or had much more juices or something in it. Hiro waltzed right up next to Caer, observing the Foreman as it swung aimlessly into the air. "Think he's gonna be okay, boss?" Hiro spoke, looking over at his friend. A smile was on his face, although it was at the expense of the Foreman's so called dinner. In a sense, Hiro understood that it lost something... Precious to it. Though, what he didn't really understand was the fact that it was a simple, tiny spider that was running around on the wall of a bar. Not much food in that, probably. Then again, Hiro never tried it. So he shouldn't be judging. He wasn't going to try it any time soon, but still.

[1137 Words]

[Deleted]

505 words HP 100%		Pet: Foreman Mukade IX MP 100%
The seagull circled overhead and its presence clearly distressed the centipede, which in turn kept flailing its appendages at the creature in flight. Caerbannog patted Mukade's side as Hirosame observed the odd scene as well. Was the centipede going to be just fine? Caer shook her head at the monk. Probably not. Even if the samurai unsummoned him now, Mukade would not forget about the whole ordeal. No, the tamer had to settle this here and now. She looked up at the seagull; it was difficult to aim for with Wind Bullet because of the brightness of the sky and the strong winds from the open waters. Taking out her bow and aiming at it would be obvious, and it might cause the distressing seagull to fly away. While the evil bird creature remained to mock the centipede's sadness, Caerbannog had to avenge her pet. "I'll switch you out for now, okay?" the wolf-hair said to her centipede who nodded and let out a creepy whimper. Caerbannog unsummoned Foreman Mukade IX and, against better judgement, summoned the wyvern Beech. With a scowl on his ugly face, the profanity-breathing two-legged dwagon turned to the short biped who summoned him. Beech then looked towards the monk who seemed to be involved with whatever was happening. "What do you want now, scaleless rabbit-loving half-ling?" the wyvern growled right at Caer's face, "And why is there another scaleless lump of meat here? Just one of you is enough! Seeing your disgusting scalelessness makes me sick!" The samurai ignored the wyvern's pointless trash talk. She simply pointed at the seagull that remained overhead; Caer could swear that it was laughing at them. "Grab that birdy and bring it down here," the wolf-hair simply said and then she put her hand down. Beech looked up. If he so wished, grabbing such a slow flyer would have been easy for him. But the wyvern did not want to help the two-legged scaleless ones. He turned to the samurai and scoffed to her face. "HAH! You're not the boss of-" Caerbannog kicked the wyvern off the cliff. "-MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" But there was no crash or thud, as she had expected. Beech took flight and zoomed up towards the seagull which could not fly away fast enough. The wyvern caught the annoying bird and he threw it at the monk. Beech had not really aimed at Hirosame but he didn't care. That seagull was just a distraction. While Caerbannog was busy with that, the wyvern thought that he could fly away fast enough to get away from her but- "SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" the wyvern roared as his body began to disappear. He was being unsummoned. The foul-mouthed Beech vanished from the sky in the middle of his attempt to escape. But the important thing now was that the seagull was in their possession... it was, right? Anyway, Caerbannog summoned Foreman Mukade IX again and she patted the centipede once more. "It's okay. Beech caught the seagull for you," Caer said to her pet as they both turned to the monk.

[Hirosame]

Hiro couldn't help but feel a bit bad for the monstrous centipede, as @dindeen turned back around and shook her head to him. Foreman Mukade IX was definitely in a rut right now, and he wasn't feeling very happy or chipper at all, at the moment. But, it was justified, because his lunch had very quickly skittered away from them, and then got eaten by a seagull while he and Caer weren't looking. Maybe the big ol' guy was hungry and wanted a lovely snack or something. His tummy was probably going all grumbly, because he had drank too much, and needed to offset the liquid in his stomach. The one thing Hiro didn't want to see, though, was when that liquid came back up, and started to spill out across the ground. Hiro could only imagine that the kind of puke that would come out of that centipede would be something like acid, and eat through almost everything in its way. Not the centipede, but more the acidic stomach fluids. Hiro cringed at the thought for a few seconds, but managed to shake the thought from his head. The last thing the monk needed to think about was destructive puke from a giant centipede.

But, as soon as this thought left his mind, a flash of light unsummoned the centipede, and in its place formed the figure of a giant winged beast, causing Hiro's once calm demeanor to turn into some kind of legitimate fear and worry. A Wyvern had taken the place of the centipede, which made his body jolt backwards a few feet, eventually landing on his ass. When the neep did Caer capture and control a giant wyvern!? When did this happen? Hiro was more than confused about the fact that there was now a GIANT WYVERN standing a few meters away from him now, just next to Caer, and when it spoke, Hiro's Tongue of Nature skill helped him hear what it was the Wyvern was saying. Its voice was deep, rumbling, and trembled the ground with power. Having no idea how to even respond to the situation, Hiro just remained on the ground for a few more seconds, his body unable to move and control the gentle shaking that had begun. His eyes widened again when it mentioned that there was another "scaleless lump of meat" and motioned towards him. While he remained fearful for another few seconds, Caer's relaxed, and forceful response to its deep rage caused him some more trouble.

Hiro started to stand back up when Caer kicked the giant monster into the air, listening to the bitch-cry of the wyvern as it was kicked off the side of the cliff. An eyebrow was raised at the spectacle, returning his attention to the now soaring wyvern, which headed right for the seagull, and then very quickly launched it Hiro's way. Catching the seagull perfectly in his hand, he watched as the wyvern began to make a run for it, but only to be unsummoned by his owner, and to be replaced by the centipede that Hiro had shared a few drinks with now. As their attention swapped slowly back to him, Hiro felt a bead of sweat drip down his back. The thought of the centipede coming over and snatching the bird out of his hand, all the acid that was involved with it, was enough to cause him to place the bird down on the ground. But, just to make sure that the bird wouldn't begin to fly away, Hiro very quickly broke one of its wings, so it couldn't fly away. He then took a few steps back, making a motion towards the bird. "Eat up, big guy." He said, trying to remain calm and casual, only to fail at the attempt. His voice quaked a bit. "It's all yours." After he was a safe enough distance from the bird, Hiro put his hands behind his back, and gave Caer a look as if to convey the fact that he had no idea what the hell just happened. The wyvern was enough. A vengeful centipede would be more than enough for him to handle. Today was such a weird day, but he was more than glad that he came, all the same.

[713 Words]

[Deleted]

500 words HP 100%		Pet: Foreman Mukade IX MP 100%
The wyvern Beech had played his part well although hesitantly and the day was saved thanks to his wings, which were probably the only useful thing about him. Mukade wiped the tears from his face… or was that drool? Anyway, his spirit seemed to have been lifted as soon as he saw the offending seagull in the hands of the tall meat baby Hirosame. “Are you going to eat that?” the centipede calmly asked the monk but the answer was obvious even without words, “Will you allow it to fill my belly?” Hirosame cast the seagull down on the ground and made sure to give it a handicap. The now-flightless bird was too shocked to do anything. After having been snatched in mid-flight and thrown violently to the earth, the seagull just stared at everyone, wide-eyed. Between the grabby monk and the giant centipede, which the bird admitted was much less funny-looking up close, the unfortunate seagull did not know what to do. Its only advantage, flight, had been taken away. Was this revenge? Karma? Pay back for all those times that it pooped on some poor lander’s head? It did not have any time to think; its life did not even flash before its eyes- Mukade beheaded the seagull with much prejudice and munched on the bloody feathers and bones before it could be taken away by the database. “What was that saying about revenge and dishes?” Caerbannog wondered out loud as she watched her centipede feast on the annoying morsel. Save for the death of a seagull and a spider, the upturned roads, the sky that fell, the Midnight Bell which was once again plunged into chaos, and the barkeeper who almost had a heart attack, the day went mostly without incident. Even with a drunken samurai, a wasted giant centipede and a slightly inebriated monk in town, Grain Village was not up in flames so it wasn’t that bad of a day, right? Mukade began to laugh to himself as he rubbed his belly, and the centipede occasionally whispered things like ‘serves you right!’ and ‘stupid feathered squishy meat’. Worried that her centipede would get hungry again due to all his running and burrowing, the samurai tapped Hirosame on the shoulder and pointed towards the nearby coastline of the Thames. “Let’s call it a day?” Caer asked the monk, “Muu-chan needs to have a crag cow or two to recover.” The wolf-hair then patted her centipede on the back and unsummoned him, and then she turned back down the ruined roads. The landers had calmed down and realized that seagulls were only dive-bombing… the sky was not falling just yet. They simply went about their business, as usual, and even the Midnight Bell was almost normal again. Caerbannog waited for the monk to get ready to leave the isle or if he wanted to hang around at the pub again, she’d just grab another drink. Some cake would be nice too; maybe she could drop by a bakery along the way.

[Hirosame]

After watching the giant centipede chomp down on the seagull that had been cast his own way, Hiro found himself finally relaxing a bit for the first time since they had been inside the bar. Which, in retrospect, wasn't all that long ago at all. Maybe five minutes have passed since then? He wasn't entirely sure about how long it had been, but it had certainly been a fun and entertaining day. As he thought this, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and looked over to @dindeen, who seemed to be calling it quits for the day. She pointed over to the river nearby, which he didn't understand why she did, but went along with it. Hiro nodded to her, and turned to the river. It had been one hell of a day, drinking with the crazy Samurai whom Hiro considered one of his best friends in this world. Sure, it may have started off as just a conversation about things that hadn't really been important at the start of the adventure here in this world, but it was something nice to know about a friend as close as Caer was to him. He wouldn't start calling her by her real name, though, even though she had told him.

Hiro chuckled a bit, thinking about it. He really was kind of unoriginal when it came to this kind of stuff. Using his own name as the name he used in this game, instead of something completely new and interesting. Although, he didn't feel like he needed to hide anything about himself. Especially around new people. What they see is what they get! And if they don't like it, tough titties! A smile found its way to Hiro's face for a moment, turning back to the Samurai nearby, who had begun to pat the centipede which she called her own. In an ironic way, though, Hiro felt a bit closer to the Foreman, as well. Maybe sharing a drink with someone else is just what was needed, to get to know them better. While Hiro wasn't exactly a drunkard now because of this, he didn't mind having another drinking spell with friends. Maybe more than just one or two this time, even though Caer is a hell of a drinking buddy. Always made things interesting, this girl. So, he nodded to her, and was about to respond, saying that it had been enough for today as well. But, his voice was very quickly cut off by the sound of a very angry person from behind them.

"THERE YOU ARE, YOU LAZY SACK OF SHIT."

Hiro cringed, and turned around slowly, seeing the purple hair of the woman whom Hiro had shared a room with the night before. Saeko stood there, her arms cross in front of her chest, and her eyes burning into his very being with angst and anger. Hiro only offered a little smile at her, although his confusion and fear very clearly shown through at the end. As she made her way over to the monk, her eyes only got more and more fierce, judging him every step of the way. As she got close enough to him, her hand reached out immediately, and grabbed hold of his cheek, pinching it tightly. A sound of shock and fear erupted from Hiro's mouth while she pulled tighter on his cheek, and smelled his breath. Saeko's eyes widened, and her grip on his face tightened. "You went drinking, and you didn't even tell me!?" She said in a very angry tone. Her teeth were clenched, and her entire face was red with anger. Hiro, unable to say anything for a moment, just kept making pained noises while her grip on his cheek tightened. She let go to allow him to talk for a moment, and she walked over towards Caer, bending down a bit to give her friend a hug, smiling.

"Hey, Caer. I hope this numbskull wasn't too much of a problem for you." Saeko said, her demeanor soft and calm. Once she backed off from the embracing the other Samurai, she turned back to Hiro. "C'mon, stupid. Your girlfriend stopped by and was wondering where you were."

Hiro looked at her in confusion. "Artemisia came to the Palace?" Although he was still rubbing his cheek, a smile and a blush formed on his face.

"Yes, she's still waiting." Walking back over to the Monk, Saeko glared at him. "Don't you dare make a woman wait." She closed the gap between their faces a bit more, and glared only more intensely. "And don't wait for me to have to come find you for her sake. You're wasting my time." The hand went back to his collar, and she started to drag Hiro along forcefully. She stopped, and offered another smile at her friend. "If you ever need someone else to drink with, Caer, feel free to invite me along. I'd love to hang out with you some more!" Saeko turned back around, looking at the monk. "Let's go, moron." Her grip tightened, and she pulled him along towards the station.

Hiro, unable to argue with the forceful older woman, only looked back to Caer. "Thanks for inviting me along, Caer! Foreman, it's been a pleasure to drink with you! I hope we can do this again sometime!!" By now, though, Hiro had to shout just to get the words across. Saeko had been tugging a bit too hard for Hiro to stop and properly thank Kyuu for inviting him along, so he'd probably send her a message later on in the day. For now, though, Saeko had basically thrown Hiro into a train car seat, sat down next to him, and angrily snapped at him the entire way back home. She was less than happy that she wasn't invited to the drinking event. But, Saeko hadn't been invited by Caer this time, so it occurred to Hiro that she was getting mad at the wrong person. If anything, she should be freaking out at Caer for not inviting her along, too. Though, Hiro wouldn't throw Caer under the bus for this. All he did was just smile a bit at the thought, chuckle, and let the whole thing play out. Hiro listened while Saeko spoke, but instead only thought about the fun that he and Caer had shared in today. Hiro wouldn't mind doing it again sometime, really. Even if Saeko was there, too, he'd still like to talk with her some more. But, not right now. Hiro was starting to feel a bit tipsy, finally, since the skill he used earlier was wearing off. Saeko wouldn't forget today, as it would be the first day Hiro ever puked into her cleavage.

[1124 Words]

((OOC: Sorry that this post is so late. Computer's back, so I should be back into the posting routine more often now. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this post. Might as well try to make it fun for you, too, huh? XD If you ever need another posting buddy, feel free to call on either Hiro or Saeko. It's fun posting with you, Neun~))