Breaking Out

[Elise]

Elise's eyes darted around for a moment at her surroundings. Nothing out of the ordinary caught her attention. No other targets or monsters spawning on her flank. Her hand gripped her beginning rapier tightly as her sight returned to the remaining lone boar in front of her. The young pittered boar snorted loudly as it reared and spun around to face her. Despite its anger, the young animal did not seem to be holding up well. Two red holes dotted its side where the player's rapier had pierced it and its health bar was extremely low. After a moment, the injured beast gave a loud squeal and charged forward for a second time. It was a weak and predictable attack and unfortunately for it, the female player had no trouble thrusting her thin blade into its skull mid charge, right between its eyes. With a weak whimper, the weak creature fell limp on her blade. As its HP hit zero, the boar's body burst into a handful of small gold coins that each hit the soft earth with a dull 'thump'. Elise's gaze flickered downward as the loot she had gained from slaying the low level creature was transferred to her inventory. With quickly poke with her two fingers opened Elder Tale's UI and allowed her to see her winnings. It wasn't much, but along with loot from the two other boars that she had previously slain would be more than enough to pay for a room at a cheap inn. A quick brushing of her finger over the conformation button caused the window of view and her vision to return to normal. A small sigh escaped Elise and as she slid her drawn rapier into its sheath. ”Seems like my practice paid off.” she murmured to herself under her breath. For a moment, memories of recent times living in Londinium and lessons on swordplay from a friendly player who seemed to know the art flashed through her mind. She hadn't done much since being dragged into the MMO game. For a while, it had seemed like she had nothing to do, nothing to live for. The timing for the disaster hadn't been the greatest either, leaving the young woman distraught that she hadn't been able to see her family reunite. Only recently had she lifted herself from that slump and decided to be a bit more proactive with her new life; to move forward and be successful. It was easy to tell that getting out and actually doing something with herself was putting her in a better mood than she had been in since the Apocalypse. As her eyes scanned the forest environment around her, a small smile formed across her lips. No other monsters or players were in her immediate sight, leaving the peaceful and almost artistic scenery undisturbed. It was a pleasant change from the ruined city she had been living in until now. The disconcerting feel about how real it all looked and felt had mostly faded away a while ago, but battling creatures and monsters was beginning to bring that feeling back a bit. Her eyes flickered down towards the two rapiers hanging from her waste for a moment as her wrist brushed against them. She still wasn't used to having the weapons or her armor equipped often. ”Still seems like I need a bit of practice though...” she said. She knew there were already players much higher level than her; players who had gone out and had been active since the beginning. They wouldn't have needed to strike such a weak enemy more than once to end it. They wouldn't have been carrying such weak weapons and equipment. She didn't want to stay far behind them and be a liability forever. She let such thoughts float around her head for a bit before mentally shrugging them to the back of her mind. She had a long way to go and focusing on how far behind she was wouldn't accomplish anything. A short chuckle carried a short distance through the woods before a the rustling of leaves drowned it out. Her mind was more active now that she was out and about. It felt good. It made her feel more alive despite the surreal feeling of fighting monsters and using almost inhuman abilities. Taking in a deep breath of the forest air, the young woman resumed her search for more basic enemies to practice on. She wanted to test the waters and gain some real combat experience before she made any serious attempts to venture far. After all, while sparring had honed her swordplay a considerable deal from where she first started, she wasn't going to progress well without venturing out and gaining some real combat experience first.

◀ MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS . . Kuroya Words. 793 Notes. Rusty as hell Tags. Someone Music. Tales of Xillia - Overflowing Nature

[Pen Ddraig]

The sun broken through the foliage over head, bathing the ground below with spears of warm sunlight. Wind rolled lazily through the trees birthing the occasional creak of tree branches and rustling of leaves. In the distance Pen heard an unknown number of birds communicating. Their chirps, along with the gentle sound of rustling washed over the wolf hair as she laid on the side of a hill that descended farther down into the Windsor Forest. Pen laid her head on the front of her shield, using it as if it were a pillow. Her light red hair swayed gently in the breeze. Her emerald green eyes were covered by her forearm, shielding them from the piercing light. Her chest rose and fell softly, her mouth hung open slightly which allowed some drool to run down her chin.

It was obvious to anyone that saw her that she had fallen asleep. Her last few days had been full of grinding in low level zones, getting better control over her abilities and the way this taller body moved. The immediate time after the Catastrophe wasn't particularly difficult for her; however, she still had trouble accepting that she had been somehow pulled into the MMO Elder Tale. Every sight and sound resounded the undeniable truth that she wasn't in the UK anymore. Or actually she was just not the one she had known most of her life. After she finally shook off the initial shock and surprise she began honing her skills.

The sounds of battle sounded somewhere in the distance and just barely reached the guardian's ears. Normally she would have been able to shrug it off, but lately the sound of battle made her pulse speed up. After a moment Pen's eyes fluttered open and her hand instinctively reached for the hilt of her blade, her mind taking a second to register where she was and what was going on. After a moment or two she realized that there was in no immediate danger and let her body relax. A soft exhale followed as she looked around at the forest. "Sounds like another person is here." She yawned

After a moment stretching Pen climbed to her feet, scooping up her shield and sliding it in place on her left arm. "Well I guess I better start otherwise whoever it is will take all the goods." She muttered as she rotated her right arm, lubricating the joint in her shoulder.

_____________________
Word count: 409
Tags: Elise 

[Elise]

It did not take Elise long to find more monsters to slay. Only a few minutes after she had slain the trio of boars, a pair of blobs of dull green slime emerged from a bush a few meters ahead of her. Her pace slowed as the amorphous monsters entered her sight. For a moment, the two monsters remained still, only gel exterior quivering once or twice with the wind or what she assumed to be a shiver. As she grew near though, the slimes began to slowly approach her. Their movements did not display any particularly hostile intentions towards her. However, her hand still moved to hover over one of the rapiers hanging from her side. The young woman had seen a handful of different creatures since she had set out in the morning. Most of the fauna had been very docile. The boars were mostly milling about in search of grazing areas or sleeping in the shade of the forest's leafy canopy. The rabbits were similarly looking for food or simply hopping around, though they had been much more mobile. In both cases, neither had even given the elf a glance until she approached them. The slimes seemed a bit more forthcoming, but she knew better than to trust them. In the games she had played before, most monsters who approached in such a way turned hostile when they got close enough. Whether it was her feelings of wariness or her hand moving towards her weapon, the two creatures suddenly stopped their advance and quivered. In a sudden but somewhat expected movement, the small blobs suddenly made a flying leap at the Swashbuckler. ”Hah!” was the only sound to escape her as she stepped to the side to avoid the linear attack and drew her weapon. Both of the monsters landed harmlessly next to her, allowing for a quick counter attack from the swordswoman. A swift thrust with her rapier pierced through the gelatin creature with a surprising ease. Had her strike even damaged the half liquid monster? Her eyes nervously flickered upward to check and was relieved to see that a good chunk of its health had vanished. Another smile flickered onto her face as she withdrew her blade and thrust it forward again into the same gel, depleting the rest of its health before it could respond. As the boars and rabbits had done before, the slime glowed for a split second before shattering into a handful of golden coins. As the player was withdrawing their blade for the second time, an attack from the second slime came. Rather than a leaping attack, a part of its flexible body reached out and attempted to strike her. She leaned back to avoid the stabbing strike, taking a step back and planting her foot for balance. The fast attacking tendril swept past where her should had been only a moment ago, leaving its intended target unharmed. ”Have to do better.” Elise muttered. Had she been only a hair slower, she would have at least been glanced by the attack. Keeping with her momentum, the female swordsman took a backward step to the side and thrust her sword into the slime. Its body quivered violently as her rapier entered it as it health depleted entirely. Its quivering quickly stopped and the slimy creature burst into another collection of coins. A quick flick of her thin blade tossed the gel still clinging to it aside. She did not sheath her blade, however. Several more meters away, in a small clearing, she could see a small group of four or so boars. Her first thought was to charge in and eliminate the low level creatures. After all, even though she was still low leveled herself, she still held the advantage. A high enough attack power to KO one in two attacks, dual wielding if needed, and high enough defense to survive several hits was more than enough for a small handful like that. As she began to move forward however, the sight of another player caught her eye. The other woman donned heavier armor that herself and her left arm held a rather large shield, giving away that she was a Guardian. The rest of her equipment also appeared to be made up of the basic beginner equipment, just like her. Her grasp on her rapier tightened a bit as a few nervous thoughts fluttered through her mind. She quickly brushed such thoughts out of her mind though. The idea that she would turn out to be hostile was probably ludicrous and paranoid. She sent a small wave and a wary smile towards the other player, though she still found herself hesitant to approach her. Perhaps there was a reason she was alone? She knew that she would sometimes go out of her way to be alone to relax and recharge. A moment of thought later and the elf decided to leave the other player be and focus on the boars. As Elise turned her gaze back to the clearing and her eyes fell back on the boars, she quickly realized that their numbers had decreased by one in the short amount of time she had taken to examine and greet the other player. She shrugged a bit before she began walking towards the creatures. One of the boars wandering away wasn't a big deal to her. At the very least, it would make the battle easier to win with minimal damage, which would allow her to continue her hunt for longer with less breaks to restore her HP in the long run.

◀ MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS . . Kuroya Words. 932 Notes. Wasn't entirely sure where to stop the post. lol Tags. Pen Ddraig Music. Tales of Xillia - My Sword Shall Open the Way

[Pen Ddraig]

It hadn't taken Pen long to find some enemies to fight. She moved deeper into the forest, ever aware of the scarce sound of battle. As he navigated through the forest she came to a slightly more dense section of trees. Within this area she noticed a small group of boars, two of the three had a dull grey hide while the third had a black and silver coat with flecks of white littering it like snow. The two grey swine didn't seem to notice the guardian as she approached, it wasn't until the black and silver boar made a grunt that they noticed. The black and silver boar glared daggers at Pen, refusing to move from his position. Pen glanced around taking in her surroundings, making sure there were no other boars than those three.

"Little pig, little pig..." she breathed as she wrapped the fingers of her right hand around the hilt of her sword. Feeling the seal of the scabbard give way to her pull Pen slid the basic blade from its home. "Let me in." The guardian moved her shield in front of her torso, allowing her head eyes to have plenty of clearance to see over. With her shield in place she leveled her blade perpendicular to her shield, the flat of the blade facing heaven and earth. She lowered her self into her battle stance and prepared for the rush boars were known for.

It didn't take long for the boars do do as she knew they would. Having plenty of battle experience with boars from the Elder Tale servers in Japan helped. However, no matter how much experience you had before, when you aren't the entirely used to a new height your movement wont be a fluid. She learned this the hard way as the two grey boards rushed in; one strafed left as one charged toward her. She was prepared for the forward attack, with the integration of the strafing swine Pen side stepped behind one of the trees to her right. Pen readied her attack, expecting the boar to either rush past or stop short. Instead the boar rolled past her and just out of her striking range. She would have taken the attack of opportunity had the strafing boar not rushed in.

"Bastard." She swore with a smile smirk on her face. The strafing boar's trotters tore into the softer spots of the earth as it charged toward her. With the immediate area being more tense with trees she found her back against a thick tree. If she was another class she'd have been able to deftly maneuver around them. However, being a guardian cut that down a peg or two due to the weight of her armor. Although the same reason she couldn't slip and fade through the trees was the same reason she had chosen this class. With a half step back, Pen lowered herself till her back leg touched the ground. It was then that the boar's thick, meaty body cannon balled into her shield. The blow drove her back a few inches till her foot pressed against the base of the tree at his six o'clock position.

Once she stopped moving she struck true, her arm lashed out and over her shield, the tip of her blade found the soft tissue of the boar's neck and sank in deep. No number aired in her sight to show the damage she did. This was not like the Elder Tale of old after all. In a swift and relentless motion the guardian pulled her blade back and drove her blade into another spot along the boar's neck line, feeling the resonating blow of metal against bone. The wet smell of iron permeated the air as the swine's thick body tremored and fell over dead. "One house of straw." She quipped as the remaining grey boar stood and turned as if it were about to flee.


"Not so fast, sticks!" Pen roared as she rose to her full height. "ANCHOR HOWL!" Bright light shot forth from the guardian, bathing the area in a brilliant emerald hue. The boar had taken two steps in retreat as the effect of Anchor Howl began, triggering its counter attack. Pen rushed in and pierced its underbelly, scoring a critical hit in the process. The boar stumped to the grassy floor before it burst into coins. With a look over her shoulder she noticed the earlier boar had done the same. "One house of sticks. Finally, one house of..." She stopped as she turned to face the final boar, but it was gone. "son of a..." Pen cursed, using her eyes to scan the area for any signs of the black and silver boar. "Bloody fantastic." The guardian gave one more hopeful look around, the boar was indeed gone. However, there was someone else near now. 

An elf female, although she had seen from very convincing drag queens before. She was obviously a swashbuckler, the two blades gave that away easily enough. What surprised Pen was the wave and smile she extended. While she wasn't close enough to make out much of her expression her shoulders seemed tight, as if she were anticipating an attack. I don't look that intimidating. Pen thought as a slight sting in her chest made her look down at her armor; dark red ichor ran down sections of her plate armor. Touching two fingers to her cheek, she pulled them back to see the dark liquid against her light brown gloved fingers. "Well perhaps I might look a tad menacing." She chuckled to herself, her eyes rose to find the elf no longer looking in her direction. The swashbuckler was facing ahead of her, as Pen followed her gaze she noticed some movement beyond the trees. "Oooo, target acquired." She joked, and moved along the outside of the group's threat range.


Pulling her shield from her left arm she sat down to watch the elf perform, using the time to wipe the blood from her face and weapon.

____________________________
Word count: 1010
Tags: Elise
Notes: By the gods, I think I got a bit into the post. Hope you don't get bored reading it.

[Elise]

Elise's approach towards the three boars started slowly. She was unsure of what the other player would do, whether it be waving her down to join parties with her or try to beat her to the boars. Gamers could be a competitive lot sometimes. Fortunately, the other woman didn't seem likely to approach her or to race her towards the boars. When this much became clear, Elise turned her attention back to her targets. She readjusted her grip on her rapier for a moment as she summed up the odds. If she wanted as clean of a battle as possible, she would want to get a preemptive strike and possibly slay one of them before the others could react. As a Swashbuckler, she was fast. That would be her advantage in beginning the skirmish. The elven swordswoman adjusted the grip on her rapier upon entering the clearing. The boars remained docile even as she came nearer, but she had an inkling that they would run or attack if she got too close without making her move. As she came within a meter or so of the grazing creatures, she began a sudden dash forward. With her naturally high speed stat, she was able to close the small amount of remaining distance between herself and her mark quickly and begin her attack. The boars had raised their heads to look at the incoming player when her rapier pierced the side of the one on her far right, depleting much of its health. A high pitched cry to her left caused her eyes to flicker towards the noise. Both of the other boars were already aggro'd and preparing their charge. The uninjured boar nearest to her pawed the ground once before beginning a mad dash at the player attacking its brethren. It was a linear attack though and there was more than enough distance to react. She quickly withdrew her weapon from the first boar's side and gave it a swift kick where her blade had pierced it, pushing it off balance. Her kick had done almost no damage, but it had the intended of effect of preventing an immediate counter attack from the injured creature. As the second boar came close enough to attack, the player took a few steps backward to avoid it. Her maneuver saw the charging beast rush harmlessly past her. However, she did not have the time to counter its attack. The third and final boar had begun its charge almost immediately after the second and had altered its course to match its target's new position. ”Tch!” was the only sound to escape the female as she did one of the only two things she could have done. Rather than perform her Discard skill, Elise thrust her rapier forward and skewered the final boar on is blade. Unfortunately, this also meant that the boar's attack, while lessened, still managed to catch her in the arm. ”You...!” she began, but other words she would have uttered were withheld when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. The guardian from before was watching her. She didn't have time to pay attention to the other woman though. Before the boar she had impaled could attack again, the swashbuckler drew her second rapier backhanded and thrust it downward into the boar, right behind its left ear. Its remaining HP depleted with the second attack and its limp body burst into the now familiar spoils of combat. With one down, the scale of the battle had decreased dramatically. The two remaining boars had regained their balance and prepared to resume their offensive. The first to attack was the still uninjured boar. Rather than following through with its normal reckless charge, the animal took a surprisingly controlled approach to its combat. As it came near, it veered from its course a bit and swung its head at the player. A quick side step caused the strike to miss, but it did not leave the boar as helpless as its normal charge would have. Following her with a quick step forward, it attempted to keep its offensive going with another head swing. At the same time, the injured boar began its normal charging attack. Another back step avoided the second blow from the closer boar and Elise took the opportunity to quickly swipe the boar's eyes with one of her rapiers. The blade struck the creature above the eyes, causing a stream of red to fall into its eyes. It squealed loudly as it shook its head and stumbled to the side, apparently pained by the blood in its eyes. The third boar made its approach only a moment later, but found itself skewer on the elf's off-hand rapier, similar to its late companion. The rest of its HP drained from the blow, the young pittered boar fell limp and exploded into orbs of light and coins. With only one target left, the female swashbuckler leapt forward and thrust her main weapon at the still struggling boar. Her blade pierced the side of its neck. Even stacked with the damage she had done with her previous slash, her stabbing attack had not been enough. It seemed the damage difference between fencer style and her dual wielding was more noticeable that she had previously thought. With only a sliver of health left and a thin blade embedded in its neck, the boar could do little more than gurgle before its assailant dispatched it with a second thrust from her secondary weapon. With all three boars defeated, the small clearing was now empty aside from the two players. With a heavy sigh, Elise sheathed both of her blades. A dull pain throbbed from her right arm from taking the boar's attack head on. As a swashbuckler, she did not want to take a direct hit like that. She examined her arm and clenched her fist a few times. Nothing seemed terribly damaged. She saw no visible wounds, though her HP showed otherwise. No other wounds were visible on her person as she glanced over herself. Her gaze rose back up towards the other woman as she lowered her arm. She hadn't assisted in the battle, but closer inspection showed stains of red on her armor. She hadn't seen that before. Was she injured? Should she approach her and ask if she could help? She examined the other player thoughtfully for a moment before coming to a decision. Allowing a small smile to cross her lips, she made her way through the small clearing to approach the guardian. She got within a few feet of the other player before stopping and greeting her with a small wave. Up close, she could see a small amount of health missing off of the woman's health bar. ”Salve! Are you hurt?” she asked. As an apothecary, she would be able to use her Concoction to heal the little bit of damage the guardian had sustained in whatever fight she had been in before. Unfortunately, due to her low level, it would be much and she wouldn't be able to use the skill on her again until much later.

◀ MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS . . Kuroya Words. 1191 Notes. Apologies if you wanted to tackle that together. If you want, we can find a new group and slay those or simply talk? Tags. Pen Ddraig Music. Tales of Xillia - My Sword Shall Open the Way (During Battle) Tales of Xillia - Overflowing Nature (After battle)

[Pen Ddraig]

Pen observed the swashbuckler dispatch the boars with a graceful lethality. The way she she seemed to glide across the field made Pen's eyes brows rise in pleasant surprise. It took the guardian a moment to realize the elven woman was only using one of her two blades. She used a fencer stance that Pen smirked at. It isn't everyday you see a swashbuckler using only one blade. She thought as she ran her cleaning cloth over the blade of her long sword,removing the boar's blood. Pen continued to watch the swashbuckler work.

At one point in the fight Pen's whistled in appreciation as the adventurer ran one of the boars through at the expense of a blow to her arm. Pen watched the fighter dispatch the remaining boar with relative ease. She drew her bookend weapon and laid the beast to rest. If the earlier boar's attack had hindered the elf any, she didn't let it show. Once finished she returned her blades to her sides and released a sigh and inspected her arm. The guardian assumed she was alright since she lowered her arm back to her side and turned to face her. A small smile traverse her lips she made her way toward Pen; whom had laid her blade across her lap and her shield on the ground at her side. Once the swashbuckler was a couple meters away Pen nodded to the wave she recieved, noticing her facial expression change a fraction. "Salve! Are you hurt?" She asked, some concern in her voice.

Pen stared at her, momentarily confused as she glanced over her armor and placed her gloved fingers to her face. "I thought I got all the blood off of me." She groaned, pulling back her hand to see her glove without blood on them. With a cooked eyebrow the guardian shrugged, "I'm fine, thanks. But how did..." She stopped and placed her hand over her face. "Health bar, duh. Yeah, sorry about the initial confusion. I'm a little air headed sometimes." She laughed, her English accent was rather relaxed but still noticeable. "I have Resilience so I've a high HP regen rate." She explained as she looked the swashbuckler over. "What about you? That blow earlier did a bit of damage to you. Also, nicely done. Sorry if you expected me to join. I was curious to see what you could do." Pen smiled and returned her blade to the sheath in the space behind her shield.

She climbed to her feet, patting the dirt from her pants as she stood. "I'm Pen Ddraig. You can call me Pen." She said happily as she extended her hand to the eleven woman.

___________________________________
Wordcount: 450
Note: Sorry if the quality is shotty. I have people over trying to distract me. But no worries, Pen wanted to see what Elise could do.
Tags: Elise

[Elise]

It seemed that the swashbuckler's inquiry regarding the guardian's health had caused a bit of confusion in her. The other player glanced over herself for wounds with a confused look, commenting that she had already gotten the blood off. Elise watched with some amusement as the other player placed her hand over her face and realized that it was her health bar that had given her away, for the most part. At least she was fine. The blonde haired woman nodded as the other player told her of her Resilience skill and the high HP regeneration that it granted her. She had forgotten about that skill despite some players talking about how great it was on the other server she had played on. ”Oh, I'm alright. A bit of pain in the arm but nothing that my Apothecary class can't fix up.” Elise explained. It was only a partial truth. The Concoction skill only healed a small amount of health and couldn't be used in quick succession. It would heal about ten percent of her health, which was about half of what she had sustained from the battle. At the very least, it would be enough to patch her up if she or someone else needed it later. ”There's no need to apologize though. I wasn't even sure if you'd stick around the area when I went in.” she finished. The swashbuckler watched as the guardian sheathed her blade and rise to her feet as she finished speaking. She was a few inches taller than the swashbuckler and it was easier to see that her hair was a lighter shade of red than she had originally thought. It was funny how the lighting around them could play with colors like that. After patting the dust and dirt of the ground from herself, the other woman introduced herself as Pen Ddraig, or Pen for short. Was it short for Penny? Elise mentally shoved the thought from her mind as quickly as it had appeared. It was rare for people to use shortened versions of their names as their avatar names, like she had. ”My name is Elise. It's a pleasure.” she responded, extending her hand and shaking the guardian's as she spoke. They were well rehearsed words for Elise. It was common for her to greet people in her coffee shop in the real world, so she had quickly settled into the introduction that most people seemed to take to the best. ”What brings you into the forest all alone, Pen? Hunting for experience and gold?” she asked. It wasn't strange to see people alone in the beginner areas. After all, most of the monsters were so weak that almost any class could solo it without much trouble. It wasn't uncommon to see spellcaster players flock around the Guardians and their Anchor Howl ability in Elder Tale though. It was a nice ability to have and did wonders for grinding against higher level creatures. At least, it was as long as there was a healer nearby to keep said guardian alive.

◀ MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS . . Kuroya Words. 510 Notes. Last paragraph is just fluff to hit 500 words. No worries about the quality of your post though. It was fine. Tags. Pen Ddraig Music. Tales of Xillia - My Sword Shall Open the Way (During Battle) Tales of Xillia - Overflowing Nature (After battle)

[Pen Ddraig]

"Nice to meet you, Elise." Pen replied as the swashbuckler clasped hands with her's. Now that she was closer Pen noticed how the fractured light beams washed over her golden hair. It's like staring into a mini sun. She thought, as her eyes ran over her acquaintance's face; she was quite the looker. Her eyes reminded her of blue ponds, iced over from the kiss of winter. The woman was only a few inches shorter than her but moved with grace, as she saw from her battle. For a moment the female guardian's mouth lowered maybe half of an inch before she recovered it and cocked an eyebrow, "You have the Apothecary subclass?" She asked, a bit more surprise in her voice than she initially meant.

"Wow, it isn't very often that you find a melee class with an subclass like that. Though I guess it's pretty good to have if you know what you're doing." Pen cradled her chin in thought for a moment before snapping back to the conversation. "Gomen- uhh...sorry. I tend to get wrapped up in thought quite suddenly. Something I picked up from a friend of mine." She gave a single shoulder shrug. "I'm actually here for those reasons. Well that and to be deemed a serial swine slaughterer." She winked as she finished. Turning on her heel Pen scooped up her shield and slid it into place on her back. "What about you? Did here to be hit on by pigs?" She asked, a slight chuckle escaped her throat at the thought of how humorous her joke was.

Pen Ddraig stretched as she a breeze rolled through the surrounding trees. "I don't suppose you'd be interested in kicking some ass together. Would you?" She asked, her emerald green eyes seemed to shine with an inner fire. A passion for fighting that never seemed to die. "I figure, this was we can both get stuff without stepping on the other's toes." Her lips parted into a friendly, yet hopeful smile. She enjoyed a good solo every now and again, but Elder Tale never was a one-player game. The co-op aspect is what drew her in too. The difficulties she faced during her time on the Yamato server in Japan showed her what true teamwork could accomplish. Since then she has a much deeper love for co-op than solo. "So what do ya say? Hmm?"

______________________
Word count: 400
Tags: Elise
Notes: There we are. I'm getting the hang of her, slowly but surely. Let me know if you feel I'm lacking something important.

[Elise]

The reveal of her apothecary subclass seemed to surprise Elise's new acquaintance. While she nodded her head to the imposed question that followed, she couldn't help but allow a quizzical look to cross her face. The red haired woman had fallen into thought about it so quickly. Was it really so strange and interesting for a melee class to have a supporting subclass? She knew plenty of people on the American server that had offensive based classes subclasses that were more suited for support or simply unrelated altogether. It was true that she had thought about taking berserker for the increased damage or the merchant class to supplement any gold income from her work as a pharmacist, but had decided against it on a list minute whim. Medicine was in her family legacy, after all. There was a pause in the conversation until Pen seemed to snap out of her own thoughts and apologized for zoning out. Elise smiled, shook her head and waved her hand dismissively. ”It's alright.” she said. She had picked up quite a few tendencies from her own friends as well. Apology and explanation spoken, the guardian continued on to confirm Elise's assumption that she was there for training. Elise shifted a bit in place to a more comfortable standing position as the same question was returned to her. A small chuckle at the other's joke cut off her words before she could speak. ”If I wanted that, I'd just go back to Londinium.” she joked, ”But yes, I'm here to train and collect some gold for the night.” The blonde swordswoman rested her right hand upon the pommel of one of her two rapiers as she spoke and, in turn, listened to Pen's offer to party up with her. The taller woman cited that they could both get what they wanted without getting in each other's way. As the offer was spoken, Elise could see a change in the guardian. Her expression had lit up even more and an enthusiasm seemed to brighten her emerald eyes. It was hard to not admire her. A confident smile colored the swashbuckler's features at the offer. Whatever small part of her wanted to refuse was quickly smothered and silenced by both reason and her own enthusiasm for partnering up with the guardian. ”Sure. I'm alright with that.” she said. Not the most eloquent or exciting of answers, but it got her point across. She wasn't normally one to allow her hype to override her normal demeanor anyways. Regardless, while she was certain that she could continue on alone just fine, the prospect of fighting alongside other was an exciting thought. A group, even if it was only two people, could accomplish much more than a single player could and a well formed party could do almost anything. That was a large point of MMOs in the first place and part of what made them so fun to play for her. A quick poke of her fingers prompted Elise's user interface to appear in the air in front of her, though she did not do anything after that. She would allow Pen to form the party, since she had been the one to ask. It was the way that her old friends in Elder Tale had done it before the Apocalypse and the way she was most accustomed to.

◀ MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS . . Kuroya Words. 560 Notes. I figured I would let you set up the next encounter, if that's alright. Tags. Pen Ddraig Music. Tales of Xillia - Overflowing Nature (After battle)

[Pen Ddraig]

Elise shot back with her own quip which Pen couldn't help but snicker. "Yeah, I've had a few use a 'log in' pick up line on me. It was embarrassing for everyone involved. More so for them when I told them "I was a man"." She said with air quotes as she let out a short bark of laughter at the memory. "The looks on their faces was priceless." Pen shook her head and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "So you stay at an inn every night? How much do you need?" She was aware that her inquiry might come off a bit strange but unlike most of the other adventurers she didn't stay in the inns. She wouldn't say it's really preference as much as the want to save more and more money but her choice of places to lay her head are more along the lines of free of charge. The thought of laying out among the stars or squatting in a building didn't bother her. The view of the stars at night was comforting to her.

When Elise place her hand on the pommel of her rapier Pen took conscious notice of the woman as the sun's beams pierced through the veil of leaves above them. Her blond hair once again seemed to shine like gold as it was bathed in the bright light. The guardian thought she looked like a Elven princess for a moment before her shoulders shook with muted laughter. All the while Elise smiled and agreed to Pen's offer to team up. "H-hell yeah!" Pen stuttered through her laughter, making a gesture in the air she summoned the large emblem for the guardian class. Her fingers danced through the screens till she found the option to invite Elise to a party. With a quick look over her screen she watched the swordswoman poke the air, probably calling her own status screen up. Letting her eyes drop back to the screen Pen pressed the invite option and let the system do the rest. "We're gonna kick so much ass." The guardian stated as a matter-of-fact, as a fierce smile spread her lips revealing her teeth.

Slamming her right fist into her left palm she turned to face her right. "So, shall we get goi- Oh well hello there." Pen's voice dropped from her casual tone to one of hostile intent. Her emerald eyes landed on a group of five pittered boar. "Four young and one old." She stated as she shrugged her large shield from the shield rig on her back and slid it into place on her left arm. The digits of her right hand wrapped around the long sword's hilt and pulled it free from its scabbard. "Looks like my loud mouth gave away out position." Pen said without a trace of an apologetic tone as she shifted her weight, sliding her left foot forward and placing her shield in front of her leg. The flat of her blade rested on the top right of her shield in anticipation of the boars' charge. Her flash flickered from one boar to the other till they finally landed on the large pittered boar.

"Oh! Bricks, you're back for more?!" Pen shouted to the old boar, its black and silver coat triggered her memory of the battle she had just a bit ago. "Don't go running away this time, Bricks. Your ass is ours!" As Pen spoke her features seemed to change; her red hair appeared to grew a few inches and become thicker, while two pointed canine-like ears sprouted from her mass of hair. Her emerald eyes took on a golden color with a more feral and ferocious look to them. A spectral tail came into view just below her waist. "You ready?" She asked Elise as two young boars dug into the earth with their trotters before initiating their charge. "Well, looks like they are." She muttered as she planted her back foot for a more secure brace. "Once they collide with me feel free to do your thing." The two young boars continued on their spear-like trajectory till one veered toward Elise as the other tucked its head down lower and increased its speed. The other two young boars began their charge at this time.

The movement of the two other boars drew Pen's eyes to them giving her charging boar an opportunity. By the time Pen realized the subtle change in its body it was too late and the boar moved just enough to hit the edge of the shield with its shoulder causing it to throw the guardian's balance off. The minor change in her position made her lose her footing and drop the knee of her back leg. The two other young boars increased their speed, small patches of grass were cast into the air behind them as their trotters dug in. This time both boars stayed their course toward Pen. "Shit." She swore, she had two options; either swing at the one close by or brace for the impact of the two barreling down upon her. She didn't have enough time to do both. Till a third option rang in her mind. JUMP![/i] Her mind screamed, sending the order to her limbs. Pen righted her back leg and crouched for a second before leaping forward narrowly avoiding the double barreled impact of the boars. She came down hard on her right shoulder. Letting out a grunt of pain she spun around and readied her shield once again. "[/font]Sneaky bastards." She spat, lifting her sword and checking her shoulder. A dull pain rolled through her but nothing she couldn't handle. The two boars didn't appear to be stopping, rather they just changed course and started heading straight for Elise. "Elise, on your six!" She managed to get out before she felt something slam into her back, throwing her forward to the ground.

_________________________
Word count: 988
Tags: Elise
Notes: Hope that works. I feel the combat was the better written part of this post. Enjoy the onslaught.

[Elise]

A quizzical look came over the swashbuckler's features as Pen celebrated her positive response to partying up. Had she done something funny or was the other player still laughing about their earlier quips about the men back in town? Regardless, she couldn't help but smile at her new found party member's bright attitude. When it came down to it, she preferred this over someone trying to mimic those dark and gloomy heroes that always seemed to be popular back in their original world. Her eyes lowered to her own interface when a new window appeared amongst the others. A quick poke with her finger over the window's green button prompted the party window to appear with both her and Pen's current status. Before she could respond to her ally's confident gestures though, a dull thumping noise caught Elise's attention. Her gaze flickered to her left and fell upon an approaching group of pittered boar. Four of the creatures looked much like those she had fought before. One, however, was larger than the others. It was clearly the main thread of the approaching group. As the guardian gave her short summary of their sudden situation, the blonde swordsman followed her partner and unsheathed one of her rapiers. A confident smile came across her face as she dismissively shrugged at the other's apologetic comment. ”No worries. This is what we wanted, after all.” said Elise. She took a step back as her partner threw some taunts at the boars. She would allow the guardian to draw their aggro first. Once they were busy with her, she would take the opportunity to strike freely and deeply. Killing the smaller monsters would be easy when she didn't have to worry about being swarmed or counter attacked. ”Yeah.” was her short response to her party's inquiry into her status, followed by a silent nod to the presented plan. Unfortunately, the battle seemed to veer from perfect almost immediately. One of the boars targeted the further swordsman immediately, distracting the closer woman enough as it passed by her for the others to throw her off balance. Elise's eyes narrowed at the boar coming towards her. Only a single boar would be no problem to slay. As it came near enough to begin its attack, the Swashbuckler quickly stepped to the side with a twirl. The boar must have been expecting to hit. When it collided with nothing, the young monster stumbled only a bit. It was enough. A quick swipe of her rapier left a deep gash in the upper region of the creature's front leg, draining a small chunk of its health and ensured that it could not regain its balance in time. Her slash was followed up by a swift and powerful thrust that pierced the side of the boar's head, draining its remaining health and ending its life. ”Easy.” was her only comment on her defeated opponent. With the damage boost given to her strikes by the Fencer Style skill, dispatching the boars in only a few blows was much easier. The first defeated, Elise turned back towards her ally just in time to see her land not-so-gracefully on her right shoulder. The impact looked like it would have hurt, but the red haired woman resiliently and quickly rose back to her feet and prepared to resume battle. Only problem was that the two boar that her ally had dove to avoid were now headed directly towards her. Her ally was only able to get her warning out before another of the boars tackled her from behind. ”Don't let your guard down!” Elise called to her ally, though her eyes did not leave the next two approaching targets. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the warning, but she couldn't have her ally taking too much damage because she had gotten careless or because she was too worried about her. Though she was a guardian, too many direct hits would probably leave her in bad shape. She glanced at her ally's missing HP for only a moment before allowing her gaze to fall back on the incoming monsters. She had to finish these two quickly. The swashbuckler altered her grip on her weapon as the two boars bore down on her. The two animals were forming a small wall that would make side stepping less effective. Were they learning from its brethren's death? The swashbuckler's legs bent as the pair came near. She still had a handful of outs to avoid getting hit entirely. The two creatures reached her at the same time, both swinging their heads outward to avoid hitting each other as they launched their joint offensive. A quiet ”Hah!” escaped her as she launched herself into the air, performing a spinning flip over the two boars. A quick swipe from her rapier was performed as she landed gracefully on her feet, slapping the boar on her right with the blunt end of the weapon. The damage was lower than her normal blows, but the boar spun on its feet before falling on its side, dazed. The smile on Elise's lips broadened. Despite being a simple battle against low level creatures, her heart was suddenly pounding. Using Discard in a real battle had been exhilarating. She had used it a few times in practice against her trainer, but it felt better to use it against a real target. It seemed that the thrill of battle was beginning to settle in now that she was getting the hang of it. As the fallen boar attempted to regain its senses, the swordswoman used the opening to slash at the second boar's exposed rear. Her blade cut into the back of its leg, causing it to stumble and fall as well. Both of her current enemies momentarily incapacitated, the woman took the opportunity to steal a glance towards her ally to evaluate how she was holding up against the remaining boars and to see if she needed to break away from her current foes to assist.

◀ MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS . . Kuroya Words. 1001 Notes. Forced myself to stop there. Hahah. Tags. Pen Ddraig Music. Tales of Xillia 2 - Keep Pushing, Until the Sword is Exhausted

[Pen Ddraig]

HP 93% | MP 100%

Guardian - Bodyguard - Artisan

____________________________________________________

Pen toppled to the ground, dirt and bits of grass scraped against her cheek as she met with the earth. Her right arm which was equipped with the heavy shield, was sprawled under her heavy armored body. She knew regaining her footing would not come easy with her position the way it was. With a curse the Guardian released the grasp her left hand had on the grip of the shield and slid her arm from the carrier. As she pulled her arm free she rolled, hearing the sound of heavy trotters coming in contact with her metal shield. Pen wasted little time in getting to her feet. Planting her now unencumbered left hand on the ground, she pushed against the earth and with the effort she sent through her legs, leaped to her feet. Unwanting to be caught off guard as she was already, she stayed in a crouched position as she surveyed the area.

The watched as the swashbuckler executed a jump and following it up by landing two attacks on the boars. They locked eye for a moment before Pen's attention snapped back onto Bricks as he had slowed to a stop. The black and grey coated swine stood with its body sidelong to Pen's, its beady eyes glaring daggers toward her. The sight was particularly foreign to her as she'd never seen what a real boar looked like when angry. However, if Bricks was anything like a real boar, then she hoped she never saw that look in an animal's eyes again. The fury that beast held toward Pen was unlike the anger she'd felt from a human. It was primal, far more primal and feral than any she'd seen or felt before. The guardian and the beast stood in locked optical contact for a subjective eternity till the swine's eye twitched to look over to Pen's right. The hairs on the back of her neck sudden were on end and she quickly turned her head to see the first of the [Young Pettied Boar] barreling toward her once again. 

With her shield out of reach for the moment she relied on her footwork; rotating on the ball of her left foot she moved to the young boar's side just as he would have collided with her. As she spun the swordswoman raised her [starter long sword] over her head and, with the use of both hands, brought the blade down on the charging foe. The metal blade bit into the flesh and tough muscle of the boar but the damage was low and the wound was superficial. Desperation and alarm flashed in the eyes of the [Young Pettied Boar] as the wolf tail avoided its attack. Rather than continuing forward the boar dug its front trotters into the earth and shifted its body side ways; using its weight and barrel-like body, the swine rolled away from the guardian but not before the blade pierced its back left flank. Pen witnessed the young boar roll away, blood already trickling from its wound.

"Heh, looks like you got moves like Jagger." Pen quipped, her eyes flashing from Jagger to Bricks, whom stood in the same position as he was a moment ago. With her attention back on Jagger she advanced on it before it got to its feet and, with a single-handed grip, dragged the blade's edge deep into the body of the boar. A bloodcurdling squeal erupted from the swine's throat as the steel claimed more of the beasts health until it dropped to zero. Dark red ichor coursed along the edge of the blade as the boar's body burst into bubbles of anima. "Just like Jagger." Pen grinned as her golden eyes leveled on Bricks. "Little pig. Little pig..." She said as her grin spread into a wolf-like smile. 

INVENTORY

EQUIPMENT: Starter Platemail, Starter Great Shield, Starter Longsword

ABILITIES USED: N/A

Words: 634

Notes: Sorry it isn't much. I'm having a tough time with imagery and stuff. Hopefully this works for you.

Post Theme Song:









TAGS: Elise

template by caesar