[Mentor/Saeko] A Baby for Bonnie - end

[Deleted]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 3MP every 5s	Caerbannog :: Level 89 :: Samurai :: Aeryn Armor: Charcoal Ooyoroi with Pitch-black Yukata masked with Zankapfel Main Weapon: Nóttúlfr (Night Wolf) with Mitsuho and Black Star Quick Slot: Nótthrafn (Night Raven) Pet: Hyzenthlay
WC: 473	Tags: Saeko	Skills: Skill name

As expected of the People of the Land, one of them put up another impossible quest on a quest board. It was posted in the city of Londinium, where budding adventurers in search of fame, fortune or just some experience points would pick it up. But Caerbannog knew better. The quest was not just a simple one, or at least not as simple as the quest description made it out to be. She would not have cared if not for the ridiculous requirement of the quest... that it be undertaken by only one adventurer below Level 20. Of course, a lot of fledgling adventurers undertook the quest thinking it to be something so easy. How exactly did the quest read?

A Baby for Bonnie

A farmer's wife recently had a miscarriage, and so she has taken to adopting fluffy creatures of Elder Tale to distract her from her depression. Help her catch them all! The only Windsor Forest creature that is missing from her list of must-have pets is a baby Briar Weasel.

- This quest may not be undertaken in a party, and requires that the adventurer be under Level 20.
- Upon completion, leave the baby briar weasel at the foot of this quest board.

A curious quest indeed, one with a description that cried out for sympathy. But behind it, Caerbannog sensed something sinister. It could have been a prank, but a very rude one at that. How so? Because, while baby weasels could possibly be at a level that is manageable by low-leveled adventurers... their parents were not of the same level of difficulty. Briar weasels go as high as levels beyond 40, and surely a weasel could not survive long enough to have children if its level was a mere Level 19 or lower. So, a low-leveled adventurer would either need incredible luck to find an unguarded nest of baby weasels- which was highly unlikely; or he was going out on a suicidal mission to try and take a baby weasel from a high-leveled parent.

The blue-eyed samurai, her race hidden away from her display info so that she simply looked like a normal human schoolgirl waiting for the bus, stood beside the quest board and waited for an adventurer who would undertake the quest. And though strange as it may sound, she would offer to accompany them without joining their party. Now, there was a danger to that and one that the other adventurer would consider: Caerbannog could probably lop their head off in one strike. But it was perhaps a good way to gauge the personality of adventurers, if they were unkind or kind, if they were trustworthy or not. She would simply offer her help, and would be thankful enough if any stranger trusted her to not player-kill them on the way to the woods.

[Saeko]

Saeko made her way through the area, strutting forward calmly. She moved with little movement of her upper body, save for her arms gently swinging. She held her weapon's sheath in her left hand with the weapon still inside of it, just in case somebody came too darn close to her. She still didn't trust most people. The only person she could actually somewhat trust was that stupid monk who liked to appear out of nowhere. He bothered her, alright, but he was tolerable enough. Besides, it really helped out to have a higher leveled person on your side, should things go awry. All in all though, Saeko doesn't like people. She liked having her space, living it up in the fields of flowers and such, since natural beauty was the best kind of beauty. While not beautiful herself in the real world, she learned to ignore it over time, and especially since she had gotten into this game. She ignored physical beings afterwards, and only noticed the things she found to be pleasant to the eye.

N-not that the monk was pleasant to see, though! Saeko still disliked him enough to where she wouldn't want to see him all the time! She shook her head of the thought, sighing angrily. Looking back up, she saw ahead the quest board, which was where all the quests would be if she needed one. She wasn't really looking for any kind of quest in particular, just one that needed only one person, so she wouldn't be forced to work with anybody else. Like she had mentally stated before, Saeko enjoyed her space. Either way, she walked up to the quest board, and saw someone standing there already, waiting as if they were waiting for some sort of transportation for school. Ignoring the girl, Saeko looked at the quest board, and found one of the quests that piqued her interest. Something about finding a baby Briar Weasel. Seemed easy enough, except for the fact that they usually aren't on their own. Their parents would have to be some sort of higher level in order for this all to make sense.

Saeko sighed, wondering if she may have to actually rely on that stupid monk's help with this after all, but the quest itself said that it had to be done alone. Looking around at the other quests, all the others were party-oriented, and they all required a party of two or more. That wouldn't do, at all. But, perhaps she could actually pick up one of the party quests, and talk to him about it... Saeko looked over at the girl again, and noticed that she wasn't moving at all. She was still standing there, as if she were an NPC. Looking above her to see the name, she could tell that this girl wasn't an NPC at all. Saeko took a step away from the quest board, and leaned forward towards the girl, putting her moderately uninterested face close to the girl's. "Hey, shorty." Saeko began, as cheerful as ever. "You lost or something?" Saeko stood back up, placed a hand on her hip, and leaned to that side, waiting for the girl to explain. Something to make her mind stop shouting to help this tiny little girl, who had to be extremely lost. Saeko squinted as her subconscious self sickened her with thoughts of acting like a big sister or something.

[570 Words]

Tag: @dindeen

[Deleted]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 3MP every 5s	Caerbannog :: Level 89 :: Samurai :: Aeryn Armor: Charcoal Ooyoroi with Pitch-black Yukata masked with Zankapfel Main Weapon: Nóttúlfr (Night Wolf) with Mitsuho and Black Star Quick Slot: Nótthrafn (Night Raven) Pet: Hyzenthlay
WC: 280	Tags: Saeko	Skills: Skill name

After a few minutes of waiting, an adventurer finally took notice of the Bonnie quest. Caerbannog righted herself, patted her skirt down and combed her hair with her hand, aiming to make at least a semi-formal appearance. Did she seem trustworthy enough? Well, it was worth a try. But as the wolf-hair opened her mouth to speak to the noticeably taller samurai, the other girl beat her to it. Caer would have had a polite reply even with the very cheerful tone, except for one thing: the other samurai called her shorty.

“Huuuh?” was the only thing that Caerbannog could say, and for a few moments, she just stood there while staring up at the taller person.

I’m not short! Everyone’s just so tall! -was what she wanted to say. But that would have been rude. She could say that she’s fun-sized or vertically-challenged, but the wolf-hair could not think of a way to say those things in a not-rude manner. And so she looked down at her feet, to its left, and then to its right, and then she looked up at the other samurai who apparently was named Saeko as the interface displayed.

“No but... can I tag along?” Caerbannog politely asked her fellow samurai as she nodded towards the Bonnie quest.

The wolf-hair’s expression was really something at that point, a face that she did not pull except for times when she was scared of taller people. And indeed, Saeko had that scary aura about her. So with her brow furrowed and her eyes all watery and blue, Caerbannog seemed to be close to tears. As if she was running late and had just missed her bus.

[Saeko]

Saeko's eyes widened slightly, and was fully taken aback by the response of the little girl. This girl had to be joking. Going out on a quest, meant for only one person? Not to mention, with another person? This girl must have had a screw loose or something! It clearly stated that only one person was required for it, or that there didn't have to be a party, or whatever it said. If this girl needed, or wanted, to do this quest, she could have easily picked up the quest itself and done it already. Did she want someone to hold her hand on the side to make sure she doesn't get lost or something? What was the point of waiting for someone to pick it up, prep themselves for that person, and attempt to go along with it? Saeko couldn't really understand what was going on, in the slightest, and she had half a mind to tell this kid to take a hike, or take the quest herself. But, that's when Saeko's stupid subconscious self kicked in.

Saeko took another look at the girl, seeing that she had actually just prepped herself a bit more, as if she were waiting for someone to come along and bring her with them on this quest. Saeko had no idea how old this girl actually was, but she had to imagine it wasn't older than she was. The mannerism that she could piece together was of a rather quiet and reserved young girl, who wasn't very comfortable with others. Saeko's widened eyes relaxed a bit more, into a calm, yet understanding, gaze. The eyes were the killer, though. Those little, childish eyes, as if someone had just taken away her favorite toy, and she was a moment away from bursting out into tears. That look was the same she had used to give to her mother when she went out for work late at night, and her father would leave early in the morning. Back when she was younger. Letting all those little emotions and feelings cloud her, Saeko cringed, shut her eyes, and turned around.

"Oh, fine!" She said in a slightly loud voice. Calming down in an instant, Saeko turned back around and knelt down to the girl's level, her expression still rather annoyed. "But if you go running off, I won't come looking for you, okay?" Standing back up, Saeko looked over the quest itself again, and tried to think of how this would all work. After a moment of looking over the quest notice, she looked down and to the side at the girl whom she had agreed to bring along. Above the bars was a name: @dindeen. Taking a moment to mentally memorize it just in case of emergencies, she looked back at the quest. "So, I guess what would work is you just follow me along with this quest, and we can see how it goes from there. I'm only level 1 as it stands, but I know my way around a fight." Saeko looked back at the girl, feeling a bit more expressive. She was just a little girl in this world, as far as she could tell. So, Saeko was probably going to be a bit more understanding and lenient with her. Also, if she did get lost, Saeko was pretty sure she'd still go look for her. And she had her stupid subconscious self to blame for that.

[575 Words]

((OOC: Saeko doesn't pay attention to other peoples' levels or classes. So you can use that at a later time if you want.))

[Deleted]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 3MP every 5s	Caerbannog :: Level 89 :: Samurai :: Aeryn Armor: Charcoal Ooyoroi with Pitch-black Yukata masked with Zankapfel Main Weapon: Nóttúlfr (Night Wolf) with Mitsuho and Black Star Quick Slot: Nótthrafn (Night Raven) Pet: Hyzenthlay
WC: 320	Tags: Saeko	Skills: Skill name

From a third person perspective, from the point of view of any bystanders or passers-by, the exchange would have seemed odd especially if they checked the two samurais’ classes and levels. Caerbannog was clearly way above Saeko’s level and it might speak of her experience in battle, but age and level were just numbers. The wolf-hair was exactly as Saeko treated her: a child. It was because of her childish thinking, that was the reason why the wolf-hair had pushed herself forward level after level, hoping for some sort of acknowledgement from those around her. But in the end, she was still the gullible adventurer who could be pushed by landers into almost any quest, and still the spoiled brat who would whine endlessly until she got what she wanted.

Saeko had a no-nonsense aura about her, and she was a giant too! Well, not really, but she was taller than Caerbannog so the wolf-hair’s insecurity kicked in again. And the way that she spoke was commanding, to Caer at least, but not exactly rude. It was exactly the way that a tank should carry herself and so Caer soon found herself admiring the taller samurai. But wait! That wasn’t why she wanted to tag along! Focus!

“O-okay, Saeko-san!” the wolf-hair stood up straight like a soldier who’d just stepped into the presence of her commander, “I’m Caerbannog. Some people call me Caer Bear! I don’t know why though...”

The quest required the opposite of most quests, which was to go out and fulfill the requirements -without- a party. Caer remembered her objective enough to not do something as silly as invite Saeko into a party. She was slightly afraid of crossing the much taller samurai, something that did not make sense given their level gap. And so, rather uncharacteristically, the samurai Caerbannog initiated a non-quest to assist her fellow samurai by following her around like a lost, hungry puppy.

[Saeko]

Perhaps Saeko was, for once, right about someone in this world. That stupid monk actually turned out to be a decent person after all, and actually helped out from time to time, whether Saeko needed it or not. And this girl, maybe she actually was a child. While still somewhat unsure, this girl stood to attention as if Saeko was some sort of commanding officer. For one of the few times that she could remember in this place, Saeko actually smiled a little. This girl was cute, and she had a young girlish charm about her, for sure. Taking a few seconds to wipe the slight smile off her face, she addressed the young girl. "How about just Caer?" She asked, in a more emotional way. She sounded sincere, and was for once. If she could somehow help somebody here for real, then maybe things wouldn't be quite so bad. Maybe Saeko could gather some kind of purpose from this quest alone. Maybe she should stop being a hopeless doof about this, and actually start the quest. It wasn't in her character to be this blindly optimistic.

Saeko took another look at the quest board to confirm the location, and she started moving in the direction of the quest location. It was going to be in the forest nearby, which would provide plenty of shade and such. It wouldn't be that bad of a mission after all, Saeko figured. Even without being in a party with someone else, she could still understand that the girl was still going to be there behind her, or even next to her. This girl... Hopefully Saeko could find some way to help her out somehow. But, that would be allowing Saeko's soft side to show, just a bit too much. If this girl got in trouble, Saeko would help out to an extent. If it was something that the girl could easily take care of, then to hell with it. However, Saeko had no idea if this girl was even formidable in a fight or not, since she didn't really pay much attention to other people. Perhaps she should pay more attention, but that would require looking at everybody on the same level. While Saeko herself didn't have a "level," she considered others to be of separate levels. Perhaps that made her a cold-hearted woman to others.

On the way there, though, these thoughts were shortly interrupted by a thought that had crossed her mind. Turning her head slightly to @dindeen, she had to ask one thing. "So, Caer, how come you had to wait for someone else to accept the mission, and then follow them as they accepted it?" This actually bothered Saeko a bit more than she really wanted it to, but it was a reasonable question nonetheless. What would a young girl be doing, waiting on the other side of a quest board, for someone to pick a certain quest, and then follow them through to completion? She would have thought more about this, but this is when they had come across a small area underneath the tree coverage that had flowers scattered all across it. Saeko's train of thought derailed, and her body stopped moving, as she gazed upon the field of flowers. Her eyes sparkled slightly, and her expression shifted to amazement. The dots of light that spread gently across the flowers was wondrous to her, and she couldn't help but look at the flowers, and the beauty of the place. Her gaze fixed on the plants, she slowly walked over to the patch, and knelt down. She proceeded to calmly sniff one of the purple flowers, and a delighted smile graced her face.

[615 Words]

[Deleted]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 3MP every 5s	Caerbannog :: Level 89 :: Samurai :: Aeryn Armor: Charcoal Ooyoroi with Pitch-black Yukata masked with Zankapfel Main Weapon: Nóttúlfr (Night Wolf) with Mitsuho and Black Star Quick Slot: Nótthrafn (Night Raven) Pet: Hyzenthlay
WC: 515	Tags: Saeko	Skills: Skill name

Caerbannog nodded enthusiastically when the other samurai opted to refer to her simply as Caer. As she encountered more adventurers, it became less weird for people to be unable to pronounce her complete name or just neglect using it altogether. Maybe it was not a wise choice for a name, but there was nothing she could do at that point and the original joke still made some people laugh anyway. Before she was completely lost in an analysis of her in-game name and its effects on the people whom she met, Caerbannog snapped back to her Elder Tale reality and tailed Saeko just as she intended from the beginning. Sure, she perhaps looked like a stalker, but the stalkee gave her permission so it was all good.

Before long, the pair stopped in a quiet part of the Greatwoods and it was then that Saeko asked a most practical question. Caer stopped right on her tracks, about two meters away from the other samurai. She had a surprised look on her face, but it was not because of the question; rather, it was because Saeko actually asked her about it instead of ignoring that curious behavior of Caer’s. Now, there was one thing about Caerbannog that few people knew- and by ‘few’, that number was only at ‘two’: her father, and Ryuu. While there were people who were compelled by their disorder to lie, Kyuu was compelled to not lie. It wasn’t a question of ethics, principles or how she was raised. Kyuu just naturally would not lie... though she had roundabout ways of hiding certain details that most people would not notice.

The wolf-hair was about to answer the question but she noticed that Saeko was having one of those moments. It’s like when time stops in an anime and only the protagonist could move, and then he or she would reminisce about something, or simply get lost in her own thoughts. Caerbannog was not the protagonist of this story, and so she stood to the side and let Saeko have her moment. That was, until a patch of purple flowers stood up and ran away. Strange... but not really. The patch stopped for a moment and turned around, revealing two small frenmic rabbits which had their fur entangled with flowers that had fallen off their stems. After they sniffed at the air and decided that they wanted nothing to do with the adventurers, and all the while spitting out expletives in their language that fortunately Caerbannog did not understand for her Tongue of Nature was toggled off, the rabbits hopped off into the darker part of the woods.

“Because things like that happen,” the samurai nodded at the frenmic rabbits which soon vanished from sight, “Even if quest says can’t party, doesn’t mean can’t do the same quest with other people.”

Afterwards, some rustling sounds on low, dry bushes to their left side caught Caerbannog’s attention. She had her hand on her saya and her eyes on the source of the sound, but there came no sudden attack from the rustling bushes just yet.

[Saeko]

Saeko lost herself in thought as she observed the beauty around her. Her mind went back to her childhood, playing among the flowers in the fields nearby her. Before Saeko had ever even gone to school, she loved flowers. Even now, Saeko's love for the flora of the world was just as strong as before. Losing herself in thinking, Saeko imagined the days when she would just run outside, and lay among the flowers for hours on end, playing in the fields. A ritual she would soon perform each and every day, rain or shine, Saeko would always go to the flowers. Every day after school, to the fields. Weekends, to the fields. She never did get much indoors time when she was younger, because it was the only thing she had to hold on to, since her father died. However, on the first day of high school, the flowers had stopped blooming. Saeko's eyes widened, as she dropped her school bag on the ground. She landed on her knees, and started crying for a long time, before finally heading back inside. It was about then that she started to form her computer life.

Saeko regained consciousness into this digital world, to find her smile turned into a frown.. The thought of her father, and the utter hatred towards her mother, began to fill her mind. This was all that she could really think about if she were to look into the past for a little while, whether it is a happy memory or not. Without so much as a warning, she suddenly saw the hoping and jumping Frenmic Rabbits leaving the area, going into a deeper part of the woods. Watching them leave into the darker section of the forest, Saeko only thought about how they were much like her, escaping into a darker, safer place. There were, of course, times where Saeko wanted to burst from this cold shell she had, but she never really found the courage to. At least, that's what she told herself. She was right about it, though. Never really striding too far from how she was now was kind of her thing in the end. Saeko stayed the same way quite often, refusing to change as often as she could. But, that was enough about that.

A soft rustling was heard nearby, and Saeko's eyes shifted swiftly towards the direction of their source, placing a hand on the hilt of her blade. After confirming that she saw nothing, she turned a bit more to see the girl who had asked to follow Saeko here. It was at that moment that Saeko noticed that this girl actually had a weapon: A Katana, like her own. Was this girl a Samurai as well? Lowering her guard a bit, she thought for another moment. This girl... Was a lot like Saeko in this regard. When something behind her moves, she goes right into a defensive stance, ready to strike at any moment. But, it was a little funny to see this girl do the same thing. It made her think as though it were a young Amanda Emile, playing with a stick in the fields, and a frog or something rustled the grass nearby her, causing her to spin around and flourish the stick in legitimate terror. The very thought caused Saeko to smile, and eventually begin to laugh quietly. Eventually, though, that childish laughter became loud enough for almost anybody nearby them to hear. She couldn't help it, and just continued laughing. However, amid the laughter, was a tear of remembrance to her younger days, that gently glistened on the perked cheeks of the laughing swordswoman.

[611 Words]

[Deleted]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 3MP every 5s	Caerbannog :: Level 89 :: Samurai :: Aeryn Armor: Charcoal Ooyoroi with Pitch-black Yukata masked with Zankapfel Main Weapon: Nóttúlfr (Night Wolf) with Mitsuho and Black Star Quick Slot: Nótthrafn (Night Raven) Pet: Hyzenthlay
WC: 410	Tags: Saeko	Skills: Skill name

Most other adventurers would have thought it odd for the tall samurai to just stop and smell the flowers literally, but Caerbannog was not like most other adventurers. She let people do as they please and as long as the objective was eventually completed, the wolf-hair would not say a word about the unorthodox methods or actions of her acquaintances. Saeko would not hear a peep from the blue-eyed samurai- nothing about how abrupt her flower sightseeing was, or how different her expression seemed when she took that one moment to be by herself.

The wolf-hair was only momentarily worried when a patch of flowers got up and walked by itself. And that was mostly because it could have been some type of mob that the girl did not know about. Having seen that it was just a bunch of rabbits though, Caerbannog sighed in relief. She then waited for Saeko to get ready but just when the other samurai got up, she began to laugh at first softly and then the volume increased tenfold. Caer was a first puzzled but then she realized that her fellow adventurer had glanced at her just before the fit of laughter. The wolf-hair suddenly became self-aware, worried that she might be having a bad hair day or worse, all the while she might have been speaking with remnants of her breakfast still stuck in between her teeth.

“Eee?” Caer took her hand off her saya.

She stared at Saeko for a good while, trying to determine what was funny based on the other samurai’s reactions. But when she found no good reason for the fit of laughter, Caerbannog began to check herself for something funny. First, she patted her hair, worried that it might seem poofy or disheveled; next, she poked her front teeth with her index finger- nope, nothing icky stuck there. Then she rubbed her hands all over her cheeks and her forehead as she wondered if the dwarf, who was known to be a mischievous wart because dwarf, had drawn on her face while she was asleep. No dark markings bled onto her hand, so that was a no-go too. Lastly, Caer checked her clothes for any tears... was her skirt folded up somewhere? Were her striped panties being shown to everyone around her? Oh no, she can’t get married anymore! Checking behind her behind was troublesome though, and so Caer ended up turning around and around and around...

...and around.

[Saeko]

Saeko began to calm down soon enough, and she wiped the tear from her face, just in time to see the other girl nearby, spinning in circles constantly. Raising an eyebrow, Saeko walked over calmly and put her hand on top of the girl's head to stop her from spinning. Looking down with a pleasantly calm face, she asked the girl. "What are you doing?" A small chuckle was heard at that point, followed by another segment of a sentence. "We should get going, so stop chasing your invisible tail." Hopefully this girl would be smart enough to know that Saeko was joking. She was now relaxed enough to focus again, after that light stir from the other side of them. Looking at the flowers once again, she moved towards where the rabbits headed off. The quest location was sure to be off in that direction. At least, that's what the quest's description said. Following the directions she was given, Saeko started to move forward once again.

Walking down the path, she thought about it once more, and she never got an answer from before. Saeko turned around for a moment, but turned back. Saeko would ask about it once they get to the location. The thing they had to do probably wouldn't be doable as soon as they got there, anyways, so they had a little time to kill before they got there. Saeko's mood had turned into a bit more of an upbeat and happy one, yet her expression shifted back to her expressionless face. She was happy, really. This is her happy face. At least, that's what she figured, anyways. She never really did smile often, and it was often considered a sign of the devil if Amanda Emile smiled. She was branded as an emotionless girl in high school, which carried over to where she was already. But, maybe she could change that now that she was in an entirely new world. If that happened, though, what would happen when they return to the normal world? Would her new personality pile over? Or would she revert to her normal, emotionless self?

The time would come for her to make a decision about that, but for now, Saeko had reached the location. It was a small, sun-sheltered area of the forest, maybe 10 minutes away from the entrance of the forest. The quest giver must have been incredibly lazy, in order to request that someone go out and find this little thing for her. Of course, like Saeko had imagined before, the place was relatively empty. Not a creature was stirring, which meant that they would probably have to give it a few minutes to calm down after they had arrived. So, now would be a good time to ask the girl. Saeko walked over to a stump, sat down, crossed one leg over the other, and looked over to @dindeen. "You never had a chance to respond to my question beforehand, for which I apologize." She began. "But, what were you doing waiting for someone to go ahead and pick up that quest, and then follow them?" This should be given utmost importance now, since there wasn't much else to do for now. Maybe she'd get an answer this time. There weren't any flowers here, so her train of thought should stay on the topic at hand. Probably.

[562 Words]

[Deleted]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 3MP every 5s	Caerbannog :: Level 89 :: Samurai :: Aeryn Armor: Charcoal Ooyoroi with Pitch-black Yukata masked with Zankapfel Main Weapon: Nóttúlfr (Night Wolf) with Mitsuho and Black Star Quick Slot: Nótthrafn (Night Raven) Pet: Hyzenthlay
WC: 425	Tags: Saeko	Skills: Skill name

A hand on her head brought Caerbannog’s attention back to the current situation. She was surprised that someone did that to her, since it was usually something that her cousins or Ryuu-nii did to her and no one else. Physical contact wasn’t one of her favorite things, but she did like warm hugs albeit momentarily. A pat to the head meant one of two things: she was being praised, or was being reprimanded. Apparently, the current situation lead to the latter and so Caer’s heart sank. She’d just been scolded, right? The wolf-hair immediately stopped moving and just followed Saeko’s movements with her eyes until the other samurai was about ten steps away, and only then did Caer walk behind the other adventurer.

Noticeably, Saeko had become expressionless. It was not surprising since to Caer, that was the usual tank demeanor and even she was no exception. Quest time was serious time, especially for tanks who had to manage the party. Despite their levels, Saeko had a more commanding presence and so the wolf-hair did not get in her way. It was interesting to be ordered around once in a while... maybe she was M?! Nah, not really. It was probably the inner-caster within the girl who was reacting to Saeko’s command, since usually, Caer played supporting caster roles in MMORPGs.

When they arrived at what was probably the quest area, Caerbannog stayed the usual ten steps away from the leader of the pair. There was no rustling or any kind of movement in the area just yet. They had some time to explore or prepare before anything happened. It was then that Saeko asked the same question, and Caer figured that the other samurai was probably too engrossed in her thoughts back then that she had missed the answer. Or the answer could have run away with the rabbits that they observed at that time.

“Quest said cannot party,” Caerbannog pointed out, “But it did not say cannot complete the objective with other people. Maybe there is more than one baby weasel.”

After she replied, a few small, cute grunts resounded from within a hollow tree. Upon first glance, the tree seemed to be whole but near the foot, a dark hole seemed to be the source of the sounds. Caerbannog put her hand on her saya and looked to the left and the right of the tree- no movement around it yet. The sounds seemed to be grunts from little baby creatures, but then again, she could be mistaken. Best to check before the parents arrived.

[Saeko]

Saeko sighed slightly. This girl wasn't answering her question at all. Rather, it seemed more like she was giving a reason as to why she should be able to do what she had done. While pretty roundabout, it explained nothing. Saeko had half a mind to grab this girl by the collar, hold her up against a nearby tree, and get the answers she wanted. But, that probably wouldn't work out too well, given that this girl was exactly that: A little girl. She had the mannerisms of one, and acted like one, so Saeko could only assume that this girl was actually quite young and ignorant. Having been a child herself, she couldn't blame @dindeen. Innocence and ignorance are bliss, in this case. Saeko wouldn't ruin it for this little girl, at least, without good reason. For now, this girl was safe. But, they did have a mission here, after all, and it was probably about to get started. Saeko heard the rustling nearby as well, and immediately placed her hand on the hilt of her weapon.

The swordwoman's attention was brought to a hollow tree within 5 meters of her. She could tell that there were babies inside, but she didn't know if they were the one they needed to collect. What Caer said was true: Maybe they needed more than one? It would make sense, but the quest was titled "Baby." As in the singular form. So, it would go with reason that they would only need one of the little babies, but still. Just to be safe, they would probably end up grabbing two of the little things, just to be safe. While she thought this, Saeko began to walk over towards the hollow stump of a tree, and she knelt down to take a look inside. Upon closer inspection, two little baby Briar Weasels were inside. It was strange to see them alone and by themselves, though. Which, brought about Saeko's next question, followed swiftly by another. Why were they unguarded, and what is that rustling noise behind her?

Saeko stood up quickly to find that the parents were just there. They were coming back, along with another younger Briar Weasel. The levels above the head of the parents read level 40, whereas the younger one had a level 6 in it. Saeko had no choice but to attempt to fight these little things. There was absolutely no way she could win this battle, but there was no time to try and run away. She would have to tote this girl along in order for it to work, and she only foresaw it going poorly in the Weasels' favors. Saeko had to think quickly, and shouted to the girl. "Caer, get running!" She hollered. "I'll hold them off, just run!" Why, of all times, did she decide to be the big sister to this little girl? This was too far away from her normal characteristics. But, the safety of the little girl mattered to Saeko. The least she could do was try to take on the younger opponent, while dodging the parents. This battle was going to end poorly, but there was no other option. Saeko struck a battle position, and readied herself for the oncoming assault. She only hoped that Caer would be okay...

[550 Words]

[Deleted]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 3MP every 5s	Caerbannog :: Level 89 :: Samurai :: Aeryn Armor: Charcoal Ooyoroi with Pitch-black Yukata masked with Zankapfel Main Weapon: Nóttúlfr (Night Wolf) with Mitsuho and Black Star Quick Slot: Nótthrafn (Night Raven) Pet: Hyzenthlay
WC: 545	Tags: Saeko	Skills: Zantetsuken

There was no harm in hoping for the best as long as one was prepared for the worst too. That was exactly what Caerbannog had in mind when she let Saeko check out the sounds in the hollowed out tree. Fortunately, no adult weasel came out to snap at the other samurai’s face, so that was one crisis averted. With her hand still on her saya, Caer peeked into the tree as well to check what it contained, and was pleased to know that not only one but two baby briar weasels were in it. But then the wolf-hair’s smile turned to a frown when she realized that she had only read the Bonnie quest... she had not taken it. All the while she’d just been following Saeko to wherever the taller samurai led. So, should she take a baby weasel or not? If she did, it would be pointless since she did not have the quest. Would it could if she had the baby weasel first, and then took the quest? But if she did not take it, Saeko would probably think her odd and poke more into why she was there and what her true objective was for accompanying the other adventurer.

The family members of the baby briar weasels arrived just in time for Caerbannog’s deadlocked thoughts to be broken. She immediately grabbed one baby briar weasel and stuffed the creature into her blouse, allowing the baby to peek out from her collar. It seemed too young to be scouted or domesticized, so the most that it could be was a cuddly thing that one could snuggle with in front of a fireplace. As for the parents and what seemed to be a sibling, Caerbannog knew better than to try to use Tongue of Nature to reason with agitated family members. Both samurais were caught red-handed with their heads stuck into the hollow of the tree. Saying “It’s not what it looks like!” would probably complicate matters more, and so Caer thought to use Samurai’s Challenge to draw the mobs’ attention and just let Saeko run off with her quest ‘item’.

But the other samurai had the same idea, so it seemed, and it was only natural for they were both tanks. Though Caerbannog had her tank pride, because of it she also understood why Saeko just told her to run. Being a teeny tiny person compared to the other adventurer probably did not help matters one bit, and Caer probably seemed like someone who had to be protected. But the wolf-hair wasn’t about to run off with the baby weasel and without Saeko- no. It would have gone against her reason for being there in the first place. And so without much thought into what she would do next, Caer ran towards the agitated adult weasels but stopped on her tracks right in front of them. She then drew her nagamaki and slashed the ground between her and the targets, using [Zantetsuken] in the process. A large gash broke up the ground, leaving an obstacle between the adventurers and the briar weasels.

“Let’s both run!” exclaimed Caerbannog as she turned tail and ran to the side, at a direction that was probably- and hopefully- parallel to the main road which would lead to Londinium.

[Saeko]

((OOC: Weird to see this at the top of the response, eh? Anyways, as I'm writing this, I realize that I'm doing something that is completely without your permission, for which I apologize. I hope it's all okay, because I'm trying to give Saeko a "good side" with this quest. ^-^;))

Saeko was steeling herself for battle with the rats that was about to ensue, when she heard @dindeen start moving towards her. With eyes filled with anger and amazement, Saeko was about to shout at the girl for her sudden action, but it was later justified by the expert use of Zantetsuken. Saeko only stared on in amazement, watching this little girl perform a skill that Saeko had herself. It was a bit spectacular, to say the least, but it also made Saeko have to rethink her opinion on this little girl. Maybe she was actually... stronger than Saeko was? She didn't have much time to deliberate between it, and used the time to reach into the hollow tree, and grabbed the second baby weasel. She was about to start running off with it, along with Caer, but she stopped for a brief moment, and put the baby back into the hollow log. She was about to tell Caer to do the same thing, but hopefully what Saeko does next would speak her actions louder.

Saeko quickly opened up her quest log, selected the quest they were on, and hit the "Abandon" button. "neep this quest!" Saeko screamed, as she grabbed Caer and started to dash away. Hopefully, the girl would understand what Saeko had done, and why she had done it. If not, Saeko would explain later. Saeko was going to make Caer return the baby weasel in her custody back to the family later, or Saeko would do it herself. For now, they just needed to get away. While parents, the three older Briar Weasels were still AI. They would have an active aggro range. If they could clear out of it quick enough, they'd be safe. Just to make sure of things, Saeko drew her blade, and moved as if she were dancing with the katana. Saeko activated Zantetsuken, and had cut down a few nearby trees to aid their escape. Afterwards, she grabbed Caer's hand once again, sheathed her weapon, and continued to sprint towards the flower grove they were at a few minutes before.

When she had reached the place with the flowers, Saeko slowed down to a halt, and leaned over to catch her breath. Panting heavily, Saeko had no regrets as to what she had done. Taking a few more moments to calm herself, Saeko stood up and looked over at Caer. "I know what I did was rash and stupid, but there's a reason. We'll go back later, and give that baby weasel back to its family." Looking away and squinting a bit, she continued. "It's not worth ruining a family, despite the fact that they're monsters, just to make a lonely, selfish woman happy." Clenching her fist, Saeko cringed a bit at the thought. She was reminded of her mother, who had began dating immediately after Saeko's father had died. It was like she planned for his death... Saeko would never allow such a thing to happen again. Not here, not there, not anywhere, as long as she could help it. Her mind having been made up, Saeko sat down on a nearby fallen log. Crossing her arms, Saeko looked at Caer once again. "Tell me your true intentions of coming along for this quest, Caer." With a stern, yet concerned look, Saeko waited for a reply.

[556 Words]

[Deleted]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 3MP every 5s	Caerbannog :: Level 89 :: Samurai :: Aeryn Armor: Charcoal Ooyoroi with Pitch-black Yukata masked with Zankapfel Main Weapon: Nóttúlfr (Night Wolf) with Mitsuho and Black Star Quick Slot: Nótthrafn (Night Raven) Pet: Hyzenthlay
WC: 580	Tags: Saeko	Skills: -none-

Because of what she’d seen from Saeko earlier, her commanding appearance and all, Caerbannog expected for the other samurai to fight the weasels or to do something that would agitate them some more. All for the sake of completing a quest, of course, for that’s what adventurers do, right? Adventurers take on quests and complete them to turn them in for... well, usually a meager amount of gold and experience. But instead of telling the weasels to screw themselves, Saeko instead left the other baby weasel for its family to find. Caer got the gist of it, and even more so since the taller lady screamed a verbal finger-flip to whomever put up the quest.

When Saeko grabbed her hand, Caer sheathed her weapon so as not to injure any one of them accidentally. The briar weasels ran close behind them though, and they were only slightly delayed by the execution of Zantetsukens. The baby weasel in Caer’s shirt soon whimpered and so with her free hand, Caerbannog took it out of her clothes and put it on a thick patch of grass that they passed by. Even as they ran, the wolf-hair was able to glance back to the family of weasels which stopped their pursuit of the adventurers so that they could take the baby back to the not-quite-safe confines of their home. Hopefully, they would move out of that area to avoid having to face... unkind adventurers.

The pair of samurai was able to catch their breath once they reached the familiar patch of flowers. Caerbannog inhaled deeply and exhaled soon after, and subsequently took shorter and shallower breaths to calm herself. When Saeko stated her reason for abandoning the quest, the wolf-hair initially wanted to say that she thought nothing of it; but the other samurai already acknowledged that what she did was rather rash, and so Caer would rather not downplay the gravity of the situation.

“I put other baby down so weasel family stopped chasing,” was her almost-concise reply to Saeko.

At first, Caer had a rather neutral look on her face. It was not really surprising for any adventurer to act so kindly even towards the creatures of Elder Tale. She was an animal trainer, and so she knew that even animals in what was supposed to be a virtual world had thoughts and feelings too. But her expression turned to a grim one and her face turned pale, almost death-like when Saeko asked her- no, commanded her to state why she had gone along with another adventurer for the quest. Caerbannog’s eyes darted from left to right... no escape! Well, there was a quick escape, Call of Home, but then she couldn’t leave Saeko in the woods. Not when there was a chance for the weasels to track her down or worse, there was a chance that some player-killers who could have been drawn to the site by the stupid quest could find Saeko and kill her without remorse.

“Because... because...” Caerbannog clasped her hands together in front of her chest. She twiddled her thumbs as she looked down at her shoes, unwilling to look at Saeko directly, “Because the quest was stupid. I think it was a prank made by a very mean person. Briar weasels go as high as Level 44... no one person below Level 20 could handle angry Level 44 parents. So I go along to help... maybe talk to weasels, I thought. Or fight if can’t talk.”

[Saeko]

Saeko's eyes widened a bit, but for more than one reason this time. She hadn't even noticed at all that @dindeen had put the baby down behind them somewhere. This sort of shook her, as she didn't expect such a thing to happen, or at least, not immediately. It made her rethink her opinion of this girl, but not as much as the other reason why Saeko's eyes had widened. The other reason her eyes widened was at Caer's mentioning of the level requirements for this quest. Caer had mentioned that it was probably a prank mission, put up by someone who just wanted a lower level player to go on, expecting good rewards, but only end up dead in the end. This meant that Caerbannog had to be at least as high a level as that stupid monk. Maybe even higher than him. She didn't know exactly, but she wasn't going to ask to find out, as it was probably none of her business. Leaning back on the log she was sitting on, Saeko let her thoughts collect. She closed her eyes, concentrating.

If this girl had some sort of edge on the world, like if she were to have one thing that she would be recognized for at this moment, perhaps it would be something having to do with helping weaker players. Judging by that, and the fact that that stupid monk told Saeko to pick up a quest from this place in particular probably meant that he knew that Caer would be here. Given that he's a higher level than Saeko was, much higher, then this girl must, too, be a high level. Though, he didn't mention anything about anybody being here alongside her, so there's the chance that they planned this. However, asking about it would probably just give way to another useless conversation. Maybe the monk just knew that Caer would be here. Maybe... It suddenly clicked in her mind. She knew why Saeko was sent out here, and why Caer hounded, waiting for someone to pick up that certain quest. She opened her eyes, and smirked.

"Caer." Saeko began. "Does the name Hirosame mean anything to you?" Hopefully Caer knew about him. That stupid monk probably set this all up to get Saeko to go onto a quest with someone, and potentially make a new friend. Which would work, under normal situations, given that both the female players were Samurai. It would give reason to assume that he probably had someone else in the guild gather the information for him, seeing as Midori was an expert with data collection. With all that conclusive evidence, she would only need to go back and verify for herself. Her eye twitched, as she thought about it a bit more. "Because if you do, I can guarantee that you will no longer be hearing that name." Saeko's body started to tremble a bit, hopefully unnoticed by Caer, and she stood up. Sighing a bit, she looked over to the other Samurai, and gave a rather warm smile. It was a warm one, in that she had no murderous intent in the gaze at all. "All in all, thank you for coming along, Caer. I appreciate it."

[538 Words]

((OOC: We can probably squeeze out one more post each here, if you'd like. Also, the Hiro and Saeko plot is that he's trying to get her more friends, like a younger brother would. As you can see, it bothers the heck out of Saeko.))

[Deleted]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 3MP every 5s	Caerbannog :: Level 89 :: Samurai :: Aeryn Armor: Charcoal Ooyoroi with Pitch-black Yukata masked with Zankapfel Main Weapon: Nóttúlfr (Night Wolf) with Mitsuho and Black Star Quick Slot: Nótthrafn (Night Raven) Pet: Hyzenthlay
WC: 305	Tags: Saeko	Skills: -none-

The wolf-hair samurai half-expected a yell from the taller adventurer, or at least a stern scolding for having told a half-truth. She usually got away with such things with other people, even with Ryuu-nii, but Saeko was a no-nonsense sort of person and did not seem to be the type to hold back whatever she wanted to say. And so when no scolding or shouting followed her revelation, Caer looked up at the other samurai and only saw her smirk. A curious question then followed...

“Hiro...sa...me?” the wolf-hair tilted her head a little to the side and stared at Saeko with her bright blue eyes.

The name did ring a bell, but it was not one that she always encountered. How many Hirosames were there in Elder Tale? Surely, not many; they were in an English server after all. Caerbannog thought back to her earlier quests with other people. Most of her adventures were undertaken either alone or only with close friends, but there were some that she undertook with total strangers. She remembered the mage that killed the elite boar and helped out in her first Sarum quest, along with a female assassin who eventually wandered off. The Windsor dungeon run was undertaken with people who were slightly familiar to her, and there was no Hirosame among- OH! HIRO! The monk with the cool combos!

“AH!” the wolf-hair straightened up when she remembered who that guy was, “The monk! We killed Maya-chwan together!”

She was slightly worried when Saeko said that she would not hear about Hiro again, but the not-murderous smile erased her worry. Before they parted ways, Caerbannog found the courage to send a friend request to her fellow samurai.

“I... I’d like to go adventuring again - with you!” Caer bowed as soon as she finished her sentence and waited for the samurai’s reply.

[Saeko]

Saeko's eyes didn't widen this time, but a soft smile spread across her lips, as she confirmed the friend request. Nodding slightly, Saeko actually felt legitimately happy afterwards. "Sure, sounds like a good time." She said, calmly. Standing up, she walked over to @dindeen, and patted her head. "You don't need to be so formal, Caer." Saeko said, chuckling slightly. Standing up straight once again, Saeko continued to look down and smile. She turned her head up slightly, and a pinging noise could be heard from Saeko's interface. It was still up after she had accepted Caer's friend request. There was a message from the monk there, and Saeko squinted a bit, her right eye twitching slightly. Looking back at Caer for a moment, she smiled again. "Ja matane." Saeko said, unconsciously, followed by a small wave. She turned, and stopped for a moment. That stupid monk said that to her a lot. Why would she be saying that right now? She grew slightly more aggravated, as she started to walk out of the forest.

The message on the display was a simple question. How's the quest going? It read. It was from him, after all. He was probably trying to keep his cover from being blown, but Saeko had figured it out. It was him who made the quest, after all. As far as she knew, there wasn't any NPC's named Bonnie, and the fact that taking a baby from its parents and giving it to some random lady was something that Hiro knew would grate on Saeko's nerves. She put her hand up to her ear, and the telepathy mechanic started to work, with Hiro as the other person in the call. "Hey, Saeko!" He started, his voice as chipper and casual as always. "How's the quest going? Make any new friends?" He paused, waiting for her to continue. She didn't say anything, but only kept her eyes closed, and her mouth tightly shut. She opened her eyes a moment later, and turned around to look at Caer once again. Seeing as she was probably out of earshot by now, Saeko began to speak.

"Hiro." She began. A questioning sound came from the other end of the call, as Saeko stopped in place, and gathered up an abundant amount of air in her lungs. A few seconds of gathering in air, Saeko exploded. "THE SECOND I GET BACK INTO TOWN, YOU'D BETTER BE OUT OF IT!" She shouted. Hiro let out a shriek of terror. "THAT WAS ALL YOUR IDEA, YOU MORON! I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LIKE! YOU TRIED TO GET ME TO MAKE A NEW FRIEND, DIDN'T YOU!?!" Saeko continued to yell. "IF I SEE YOU BACK IN TOWN, YOUR ASS IS GRASS!" Saeko was breathing heavily, but soon after, it stopped, and turned into a cry of embarrassment. Saeko's face was bright red, and she clenched her fist. As she continued to walk, her demeanor returned, and eventually she started to smile. Taking another moment to turn around again, she looked over where Caerbannog was. Smiling a bit more, Saeko spoke once more. "Yeah, I guess I did... I guess I did make a new friend." Her smile was cut short, and the redness appeared on her face again. "BAKA!" She shouted, taking her hand away from her ear. Saeko marched angrily back to town, clenching her teeth. Her face was practically a cherry, from how red it was.

[573 Words]

[Deleted]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 3MP every 5s	Caerbannog :: Level 89 :: Samurai :: Aeryn Armor: Charcoal Ooyoroi with Pitch-black Yukata masked with Zankapfel Main Weapon: Nóttúlfr (Night Wolf) with Mitsuho and Black Star Quick Slot: Nótthrafn (Night Raven) Pet: Hyzenthlay
WC: 285	Tags: Saeko	Skills: -none-

To say that Caerbannog was ecstatic would have been an understatement. She let out a high-pitched, happy ‘squee’ when Saeko accepted the friend request. Caer was one step away from hugging the taller samurai tightly while rubbing her face against Saeko’s cheek- but fortunately she managed to keep her composure. The wolf-hair cleared her throat at an attempt to dismiss the squee that she let out earlier, and then she waved bye-bye to her new friend.

Oh, what a story to tell to Kumori! The odd quest, the fluffy weasels and the nice onee-chan! Coincidentally, Saeko knew Hirosame for some reason, perhaps they were old friends, so they could catch up with the monk some time in the future. Caer made sure to check their surroundings to ascertain that the family of briar weasels did not follow them, and once she was sure that the coast was clear, the samurai used Call of Home to return to Londinium.

Maybe they could all go on a grand adventure together, like that one fight against Maledict Mayahuel! Caerbannog had not been quite as excited about something for a long time. It was a rare occasion and was probably brought about by the fact that most of her parties were sausage parties... save for when Capsule was around. Aside from the red-haired enchanter, she recently met Mab of the Sunshine... notably, all three ladies, including Saeko, were much taller than Caerbannog but she did not seem to mind that much. Especially with Mab who was rather freakishly tall for a girl, not once was Caer afraid of her. So perhaps some good changes were right around the bend, both for the wolf-hair and for the people around her.