[CLOSED] The Yellow Bleeding Heart!

[Kyo]

☒ ✐ -- ✉ Kyo Lv.4

[OPEN TO ANYONE, LOCATION IS TOLBANA HOWEVER MOVING OFF INTO THE PLAINS DURING THIS FIRST POST, JUST OUTSIDE OF TOWN THOUGH] It was dark... already. Kyo thought about his long day struggling with a more difficult quest of the first floor. He felt rather tired of the scenery of the first floor and was glad it was already nearly time to confront the first boss in their long list of bosses.  He got had walked into Tolbana to take a bit of a rest, headed towards town square where there he always did while he was here. There was a particular bench that had rested at many times before. Not having a house of any kind was a bit of a struggle, especially because inns also required pay to stay and some days Kyo's pocket didn't weigh too much. At least it was a nice night. The game had wonderful ways of simulating realistic sky boxes with stars and all. They of course didn't correspond to the real stars in our universe, but it still was interesting to see never-the-less. As Kyo approached the town square commotion could be heard. A bit of yelling audible from most of town, it was a males voice, and it sounded angry. Kyo hustled to see what was going on. As he neared the location the yelled got louder, and a faint whimpering could be heard. Kyo came to the nearest building and peeked around the corner to investigate. "Im going to give you one last chance to give me all of your money before I killed you" A tall man, probably at least 6'5 had yelled. He was a bit bulky in appearance with very short brunette hair. He drew his blade and pointed it down at another player. This one was on the ground, tears to the face. A much smaller, younger looking boy, probably no older than 15 years old. He had long black hair and looked of Asian descent. 'Whats going on here?' Kyo though, he continued to watch in before making too hasty of a move. 'Players cant hurt each other in town... why is he so afraid?' Kyo continued to watch bewildered at the scenario. The man held his blade at his victims throat. "I'll give you 10 seconds to run before I come after you" he said as the boy got up and ran.  The man smirked as the boy charged out of town into the plains. Kyo blinked, still astounded by the whole event. 'He must not be aware you cant fight in town...' he watched as the man chased after.  Kyo began following after as well, but keeping a safe distance to not blow his cover. As he approached the edge of town and start of the plains as he saw the man holding down the boy on the ground with a sword overhead. "Last chance, give me your items or I'll have to kill you." the man yelled, though he still had a green cursor overhead. Kyo charged as the two came into vision. Quickly he pulled his blade from its holstered position on his side, he released it all in one momentous swing through the arm of the man who had pinned the boy. The swing was clean, cutting the mans hand entirely off as it cut straight through the flesh and bone of his hand and causing him to release his weapon his the ground. The red cut was very visible at the end of the arm. The man rolled over to the side in anguish as he held his arm. Perhaps his mind actually made it feel like it was in pain despite no real pain sensory. The boy also looked up in fear as Kyo finished his swing. A few guards came running from town in the commotion. All weak level one guards that defended the town from boars who wandered too close. Kyo sheathed his blade feeling the justice being served without having to actually kill someone. He waited as the guards all neared closer but suddenly realized they were surrounding him, rather than the aggressor. Kyo looked as his icon shimmered yellow above. He looked back to the green players on the ground both quivering from the actions that just taken place.  "I swear I was just defending him!" he said as he released his grip from his now sheathed sword, placing both hands up, perhaps being the bleed heart got the better of him this time, trying to defend the man before any harm had come to him.  "Lay down your weapons!" the guards yelled, but Kyo didn't budge from his position with his hands up, he was not willing to hand over his belongings and accept being labelled as a criminal for this, he was trying to do the right thing after all. 'How does Relsialle get out of this stuff...' the thought to himself as he looked for an escape route, there wasn't really anywhere to hide in the open plains, but the city itself was bound to have more guards.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[aveushka]

"You know, I had to ask someone what a shadow was, once. Now I don't have to." ☒ @tagged ✐ 935 ✉ First post. So excited.  Hope it's okay that I jump in! Aveushka Level1

Aveushka walked into Tolbana's streets with a sense of trepidation, her blonde hair neatly tied into a braided crown that curled around her head and fell into a shorter braid. The white, simple cotton dress she was wearing kept her warm enough, but the darkness of the night permeated her every sense. Why am I here again? She asked pointlessly, looking around her and shutting her eyes nervously. Aveushka hated the dark, always had. It reminded her too much of when she had been blind. You know why, her mind helpfully reminded her. Her eyes flickered from one wall to another. Laurelenne. Your sister. People had said they noticed a tall, blonde girl with hair like your own, and so it could be her. She's your sister, Injenalaene. Act like it. The tiny girl shivered slightly in the cold, her simple clothing covering her arms, torso, and came up to her mid-foreleg, leaving part of her limbs bare and exposed to the cold air. She blinked, letting out an exhale that came out as a puff of white air. She glanced around her, the blonde letting out a sigh with muffled Russian. Perhaps she would be better off somewhere...less player populated. She didn't trust many people here, having stayed in the Town of Beginnings most of the time. However, she was sure they were really friendly. Making up her mind, she made her way to the very border of the town, but was stopped by a commotion, her blood running cold. The blonde quickly equipped her Beginner's Axe, listening intently to what was happening as she hurried quietly to where she heard the noise. Suddenly, just as she was about to intervene, there was a new voice defending the victim. Sneaking a glimpse, she saw a dark-haired man moving in, and deduced quickly that he was the one who was protecting the other player. Her eyes widened in alarm and shock when the man cut off the other player's arm, but something about his ruthlessness and strength called to her. That power. Very impressive...and a little too cruel to be on the completely right side of the law. Lost in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice when the man was cornered by the local guards, and fought with herself. On one hand, he could probably handle himself, and on the other, he was most likely going to hurt one of the guards if they didn't back off, from what she saw. She sighed, and stepped from the shadows, hair let loose and eyes big and innocent. "Excuse me," She called as politely as she could, blinking up at the guards. Even though they were average height, they still towered over her, something that she disliked, but tolerated. "Is there a problem?" Aveushka watched the guards pause at seeing such a young girl at a bloody scene, clearly at a loss, and brought out her most winning smile, inclining her head cutely. "The mister here did nothing wrong-he was only trying to protect the boy from a big, bad man, like the way my mommy tells me heroes protect princesses from dragons." The guards seemed placated for a moment before an older, more stern man knelt down, and said. "Be as that may, you see, he hurt this man very much. So now he's a...dragon-man, too." The other guards were surrounding the man, and nodded a little, leaving her a little skeptical. Sure, he didn't have the right methods, but at least he did something. "This is no place for a young girl. Please go and find your family." Well, at least she tried. Aveushka was completely unsure of how effective that tactic was, now, and whether she was safe, so she just took out her axe, placed two hands on it, and swung it forward, almost scraping the guard closest to her's armor. Skidding back, axe shifted into one hand as the guards backed up, hefting their weapons, she muttered words in Russian, counting to keep herself calm. Hitting one guard with the hilt of her axe as hard as she could, him thankfully collapsing and groaning, she ignored the warning ache in her limbs, grabbing the other man while pushing the other guards aside, who hesitated before attempting to resolve this without any violence. Was it her gender, her age, or both that made them act this way? Well, it didn't matter. The much taller man was now being dragged behind her and into a dark, abandoned storefront, which was doubtless an empty shop for players who wanted to become merchants or anything. Sending a worried glance behind them, and letting out a quiet sigh as guards passed, Aveushka sent a shy glance to the older player, fiddling with her dress. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have butted in like that, but..." She trailed off and shivered a little, still cold. Whatever idiot had decided to make SAO's temperatures like real life would die, she decided petulantly, before flattening herself onto the wall, looking interestedly at the other. "But I couldn't take the risk that you would hurt them, or them you. Even if you are strong. Very strong." She beamed a little, though it wasn't exactly directed towards him, gazing off into the distance. "Like a real hero-mister. They'll send more guards after you, right? You should be careful and get out of town, mister." Her small hands flew up to her mouth, utterly surprised. "Oh! I forgot, almost. My name is Aveushka." She giggled lightly, unsure of why, but she felt a little comforted, having company on this dark night.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GSsssss

[Elpharae]

Elpharae swore vehemently in French when a troupe of guards pushed him over, pulling his rapier to his side protectively. Honestly, could they get any ruder? The guards in this town, honestly-they were no better than corrupted ones in the Town of Beginnings, except more cowardly. A man did call out an apology, however, and Elpharae cooled off a bit, catching a bit of conversation as he got off his side, murmuring profanities before standing.

"What if...little girl got hurt by...killer. Criminal...with a little girl like that?"

A little girl? With a criminal? Heading in the opposite direction of the guards, Elpharae encountered a series of dark alleys. Most likely, the girl had ducked in there...possibly? He tried to focus, senses sharpening at the use of his skill Detection. Nothing, except for...was that a voice? Nearby? He glanced toward the alley on his right. Well, there was no telling. Changing into his armor and gripping his rapier, the brunette walked in, dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. Unsheathing his sword, the blade caught the dimming light, showing him the tiniest bit of the dark area. Was that...a storefront? Seriously? In the darkest, shadiest part of town?

Sighing, he brushed some dust and cobwebs off the door, wincing, and nudged it open. A small, childish voice with honeyed tones spoke, "...My name is Aveushka." So, someone was in with the girl. She seemed quite young, from her voice, and Elpharae bit his lip. She didn't sound as if she were in some great and terrible plain, so Elpharae gritted his teeth and put back on his social clothes, ignoring the sense of slight unease. Opening the door fully, Elpharae ducked in, murmuring.

"Excuse me. I had heard...something, and came to check it out..." He began, eyes scanning the left side of the room before finally settling on a pair of pretty red eyes and blonde hair that seemed to go everywhere. His eyes shifted to a taller man, around 5'10, perhaps? At any rate, his cursor was yellow, and that was...not a good thing. A criminal, then. Elpharae didn't seem to show any visible reaction, but merely brought his hand up to push back his hair, bangs settling on either side of his face. "If there's no issue, I'll just leave, then. But, if I may be so bold...why did people seem to be searching for you? Before I heard a noise, there were guards talking about you two."

"Or maybe it was someone else, and I'm sorry if I offended you somehow. But-"

He was unceremoniously cut off by a thundering pounding near them, the sound of moving armor clanking against each piece. The guards, again? He blinked and excused himself hurriedly, wondering why the brunette even bothered to do so, before rushing out, swiping on the menu with one hand before opening up his armor, striding to one guard who seemed to be particularly interested at the beginning of the alley. As his frame emerged, the guard looked at him, clearly taken aback. What was it, his feminine qualities?

"Excusez-moi," He addressed in clean, crisp French, an air of sophisticated refinement surrounding him as well as he could make it. His eyes were cold, or as cold as he could make them (which, since the let's-push-this-guy-to-the-ground-as-we-run incident, was positively glacial). Professionally unsheathing his sword, he kept it by his side, raising an uninterested eyebrow. "I'm sorry, was I supposed to do something? I'm remodeling my shop, which I just bought, and now you make such a ruckus. Are you kidding me? You're supposed to help the people, so do your job and leave this alley alone. I'm trying to work here."

"Excuse me, ma'am, we're trying to catch a criminal-"

"And obviously they're going to be in my storefront while you loiter in front of this area. Of course. Great job you're doing there." Elpharae, making sure that the player was properly humiliated, rubbed his temples. What a droll script this was. He should win a prize for acting, actually. It would make this much less boring. He waved the guard away. "Just...go away."

Spinning on his heel, he made sure no guard made a move towards the alley before turning away and heaving a quiet sigh. He ducked back into the shop, sighing as he slumped down, composure lost, raising a shy eyebrow. "Is there anything you might want to tell me?"Notwithstanding that I'm not actually buying this storefront, of course. He added mentally. "Elpharae. Level three." He added as an afterthought.

[Kyo]

☒ ✐ -- ✉ Kyo Lv.4

Kyo looked over in question to his new found 'ally?' as she quickly dispatched a guard herself. He then blinked at her efforts to save him as she dragged him away into an abandoned shop. As he was dragged inside he listened to the wall in vain due to his lack of perceptive talents. "Uh... Thank you?" Kyo said questioningly as he turned to the small girl. He stilled looked confused about the whole scenario but was thankful someone intervened. He had no intentions of harming anyone but it was pretty clear out that could have looked.  He smiled when the girl gave her name, he began to reply, "My name-" but he was cut off from finishing as the door began to open. Quickly Kyos hand moved to the draw, ready to attack, despite being unable in their current location, still he felt more comfortable with his hand on his blade.  As the boy entered Kyo looked even more confused. Had they just broken into someones shop? The boys attire gave an even more questionable look on his face. 'Cant go stabbing anyone without the whole town knowing...' he thought to himself as a note for the future.  The boy didn't hesitate from asking questions as he began spewing them out however cut off quickly from the guards approach.  Kyo released his hand from the blade as Elpherae got the guards to go elsewhere. A sigh of relief came from him as well. "Well... to be honest, I just cut a guys hand off..." he said looking down, still disappointed in the actions he had taken. "It was in efforts to help another guy though... He was trying to steal from him, using aggression as a means to make the guy think he was a PK." Kyo looked above himself to the yellow cursor. He looked back down to the two who had helped him without him really giving them a reason to. "Thanks for the help back there guys..." he lowered his guard further dropping down to the ground for a seat. "My name is Kyo." he started scratching his head wondering how he got in this position. He thought about what he had done and if his actions were really justified by the scenario.  He then thought back to his friends, thinking of Inugami giving him a thumbs up, and Relsialle laughing her ass off at the sight of Kyo cutting a mans hand off and then running from the law in efforts to actually be the hero. "Your gunna get yourself killed" is all he could hear in the back of his mind.  "Perhaps I should leave... hang out in the dungeon for a bit and train some more... Wouldn't be good to hang around here where I'll have a chance to go to orange for defending myself..." Kyo said, thinking about the flaws to the system that clearly couldn't judge reasonings for actions but just the actions themselves. Seeing as the player who was pretending to be a PK was green, there was really no way of helping the guy, and no way to know if the player would have actually committed to his role and killed the man. And what timing on those guards. Kyo scratched his head again still a bit confused on how he went from the 'do-good' hero that people claimed him to be to a yellow player so quickly. Perhaps some of these people he looked down on were just misjudged after all. It made him think back to that red player at the tavern Inugami had taken Kyo to. 'Maybe he wasnt so bad after all...' Kyo gave a little nod before getting back up and dusting off his knees, giving off an impression of getting ready to leave.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[[GM] John]

Aveushka is on a temporary leave of absence. Your turn Elpharae, try to play her out if you can. If not I will!

[Elpharae]

(OOC: I'm a little hesitant about touching Aveushka's character, so you can take a stab at it. Note: Edited. Sorry~)

“Wait, you just cut someone’s hand off?” Elpharae asked in utter horror and shock, eyes widening. Granted, it was to protect another player, but honestly! Going so far as to cut someone’s hand off...what type of person was this man? His eyes narrowed slightly, focusing on him. There were such things as extremes, even in Sword Art Online, and that was one of them. His hand rested on his rapier’s hilt, unsure of how he should react. But his reaction...that confusion, that conflicted exterior....was that proof of his morals and ethics, or was it the opposite? “Just to protect them?” He asked, glancing up at the yellow cursor.

He startled when the man thanked them and began to brush off his knees, musing about going to the dungeons or something. Was he that dense? Honestly. There was a whole town of guards thirsting for his blood, and he was just going to waltz out there? Elpharae sighed, massaging his temple. “Wait,” The brunette boy said tiredly. “Are you really going to walk out there? You do realize that you’re the number one wanted criminal out in the town today, right? The whole point of getting the guards to go away was not so that you could walk after them.”

It was official, anyways. Elpharae had decided, for whatever reason, not to let this player kill themselves by sheer stupidity. He glanced above their head, where a handy health bar was located, with their name above it. Kyo. He refused to let himself be phased, reminding himself that he was a level three player now, and he wasn't entirely hopeless now, even against someone who sliced hands off. Kyo was a certainly interesting player, anyways, and by the way he looked and acted, was less of a talker than himself. He was grasping at straws, really, but what for? This was certainly strange. He didn’t even know what he was thinking anymore. Leaving it at that, Elpharae glanced at Kyo absently, thinking.

In any case, he wasn’t going to let some innocent guard get hurt. Ish. Even if they were all complete idiots and didn’t know any way to treat other players. His fingers tapped on his rapier’s sheath while he leaned on the dusty wall, ignoring the dust bunnies, which seemed to be everywhere. In any case, his dark irises watched the other male calculatingly. There was no really good way to get out of this situation. When the duo had gone in such a place like this alley, there was only one way out...was there? His eyes flickered to the ceiling of the building, and he straightened up, thinking. Most people tended to look in front of them instead of above them, so...he searched around the building, finally finding a rickety flight of stairs that lead to the roof.

“That should be your way out,” Elpharae said lightly, still utterly bewildered and shocked, as well as horrified. Why was he helping someone who had cut someone else’s hand off? An actual part of them? Was he insane? “That is, if you’re really determined to leave. Just...don’t cut off any more limbs. But I wouldn’t leave just yet. They’re still in a frenzy over your...hand cutting. Your best bet is to wait it out.”

[Kyo]

☒ ✐ -- ✉ Kyo Lv.4

[[Just going to cut her out and pretend she was never there- Kyo decided to run into the building himself hiding from the guards. ALSO You cant see a players level unless they are in a party with you. You cant see random players levels!]] Kyo looked at the shocked boy. "I-" he hesitated for a second. He had started to feel a little doubt in his own actions at the boys reaction. "It was to help the man, it was too close of a judgement call to make..." he started to plead his case as the boy offered a suggestion of fleeing up the stairs when the coast was clear.  He blinked at the statement of staying here with him despite until the guards past. The boy had clearly questioned his moral character. Hell, he himself did now. Going yellow... Relsialle would have a field day with this one. He looked up the stairwell.  "I suppose I can hang out here for a little while." he sighed sitting back down. "So- I know i've probably gotta' look like a monster right now- but" he stopped himself and sighed again. "It was with best interests of the man-" he stopped again and sat back down on the ground dropping his arms onto his knees and his head down on his hands.  "Ugh... Today sucks..." he said, thinking about how all he wanted to do was come here to take a rest. Perhaps a hard day of work doesn't pay off after all. His mind began to wonder as to who this boy was. Perhaps he would turn him into the guards. No. He had defended Kyo from them and had offered strategy for escape. Did he have some kind of motive? Theres no way he could have done it simply because he believed he was good. "So uhh--- Elpharae" He looked up to the hud to see the boy's name. "Why exactly are you helping me?" he looked rather curious at the boy, not in a concerned nature, but rather just intrigue. "Anyone else would have called for the guards or tried to catch me..." he genuinely was curious as to the motives behind the boys action.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Elpharae]

(OOC: Edited, my bad. )

"Yes, you kind of do," Elpharae said bluntly, still stunned enough to drop his earlier politeness when the man stated that he looked like a monster. "What type of best interest is it to cut someone's hand off? You seriously need to learn how to diffuse a situation without mentally scarring the victim, in any case. Not that I should be saying anything, since it's not my business, but still." When the brunette male started talking to him again, the crossdresser tapped a finger to his cheek, lost in thought.

"Well, I'm not anyone else, for one," Elpharae said lightly, his eyes blinking at the wall, not sending a single glance at the yellow player. "If I was, you wouldn't be here, right? And besides, I'm not sure everyone else is a crossdresser...but that's not the point. I could say you interest me, which would sound rather creepy, but I'm not sure myself. Maybe it's because I don't want you to hurt anyone else...but then I should have turned you in to the guards. There's no use on dwelling on things I don't know myself...or that's how I see it."

He pushed himself off the wall, instead taking a seat, legs neatly crossed and hands folded as his back hit the wall quietly, the brown-eyed youth lost in thought before he sighed and closed his eyes. His rapier was placed next to him, but he made no move to unsheathe it, opening one eye lazily. He was tired, emotionally so and physically so, and the shock had worn off, leaving him tired, and when he was tired, he was blunt. "I'm going to trust that you're not going to murder me as soon as my eyes close. And no, I'm not sleeping."

His eyelids closed, and he cleared his head, ignoring the fact that there was someone who thought it was in someone's best interest to cut off a hand, hello right next to him, and instead focused on the emotions inside of him. Nothing, actually, popped out at him. Shock, though it was ebbing away, was still there, and definitely confusion. But other than that, there was this odd sense of calm, and he rather liked it. Was it this random, sort-of twisted player that made him feel this way? Maybe. He opened his eyes again, surveying the other player with newfound interest.

[Kyo]

☒ ✐ -- ✉ Kyo Lv.4

Kyo nodded for a minute. He was never big on trying to change how others viewed him. The boy could have died if he didn't act, and no real world or even long-term game damage was done, but no one really seemed to see it that way. Sometimes people think there's always a way out of situations, but from experience he's already seen what players are capable of when the game takes it toll on you. "Well... think of me as you may, but if I didn't react when i did the boy would be dead. That blood would be on my hands knowing I could have done something to prevent it." He let out a sigh, falling back into a lazy stance as the boy too began resting "Ya know... I've already killed two players... they were reds of course... one tried to kill me, one tried to kill a friend. You need to understand some of these people aren't sane anymore... I know i dont even know you, but I'd hate to see anyone else die being so nieve to think there's a way to talk out of the scenario." His fist clenched a bit as he though of the small boy and the man he has slain. He though of how he nearly died trying to convince both to put down their weapons and end the madness they presented themselves in even after he had been struck multiple times. He more than likely would have died the first time if the man had not nearly killed a friend of his. "Its not as easy as life before... we live in a lawless world now and its going to chew anyone up who isn't able to adjust. I dont mean we should all go rouge and murder each other, but humanities true colors show in a world like this, and I dont plan to be stomped on by the first guy who breaks under the pressure and starts flailing his blade."

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Elpharae]

The coldest, iciest fury that Elpharae had felt since Amaya's death roared up in him.

Why are you telling me this? He wanted to scream, eyes shutting more firmly, mouth drawn into a firm, straight line. Let the man think of what he would from his expression. He didn't have any base to go off of. That man...would he have really killed the boy, anyways? He's lived in the town, a safe zone, and so far, is still green. If he's so much of a coward, then would he really kill? It seems...you're too based on observation. You are exactly as much of a hazard as that man is to me.

Opening his eyes and turning his face to the wall, he tried to compose himself. His face was glossed over smoothly, a mask of calm flooding into his features. Think of him as I may, should I? Then why are you calling me naive? I am not as naive as you believe. There are killers and psychos and such, but there's also good. I believe in that good. I believe, however little, what you did was right, and that's why I didn't turn you in, you utter imbecile.

But at the same time, his words held a ring of truth, and Elpharae sighed, the anger inside of him twisting into a knot and dropping into the pit of his stomach firmly. "Your words are true enough," He stated coolly, brushing his hair over one shoulder. "I apologize, then. Perhaps my views were wrong...even if I do believe that there was a better way, even through violence, that the situation should have been handled." After that, he merely turned away again, his dark hair falling over his face as to shield his expression.

"At any rate," The brunette stated, eyes flickering to the ceiling and walls, wincing when footsteps seemed too close, "You should be leaving soon. Perhaps in an hour or so? But not too long. The town isn't as big as the Town of Beginnings. They'll root you out." His eyes turned to him, warming in something that seemed like reserved amusement. "Any other words of advice I should perhaps take note of?"

[Kyo]

☒ ✐ -- ✉ Kyo Lv.4

Kyo nodded as the boy made a remark on the time.  "I actually don't think guards will go as far as to check normal shops. A lot of their AI seems to be wired to let things go and have them return to post after a set amount of time." he didn't really know from experience but he had seen his fair share of guards letting go of pickpockets and other yellow player mischief. He wasn't really sure how he would be classified or if there were different measurements of yellow. It kind of seemed odd that a man who assaults another man is the same judgement as a person who runs off with a single Col. "All the same- its probably best I don't stay in town anyway, just in case someone else were to come by or a guard happen to patrol into here for any reason..." he gave a little nod before receiving the question regarding any more advice. Kyo pondered the question for a moment, looking up at the ceiling for a moment and scratching his chin as if doing some actually helped his thought process. "I dunno really... Honestly I only just recently hit level 4, as far as questions regarding the game I really feel theres much better out there to ask for advice... regarding PK's I guess i'm not really that great either... I tend to-- be a bit overly opinionated about them?" he finished off in a questioning note.  He thought for a moment thinking of how he was probably putting the boy to sleep himself with all of his ranting about his player killer experience. It was probably something that he didn't really concern himself too much. "Sorry- I didn't mean to rant like that. Ya know' blood still rushing from the chase and all I s'pose." he gave a slight pause. "So, yourself? Have you encountered anything interesting or worth talking about here yet on Aincrad?" he thought about the end of his statement. It's been months since this all began and at first it was common to hear people refer to things in terms that were very computer-game fashioned, generally people would refer to the game by its name- 'Sword Art Online', to refer to their game world by its name came off a little strange, but it was somehow becoming their home.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Rue]

"Never Falter Never Look Back!" ☒ @tagged ✐ 000 ✉ Time to hunt Rue Lv4

Rue was returning from another long marathon in the dungeon. Her body ached and she wanted to wash the dust and dirt off of herself. Even though the game takes care of hygiene it still never matched the feeling of coming out of a good shower. As much as she did not want to go back to the hot spring, it was the only showers that she had available. The town was empty and devoid of players and npcs. As she walk down the stone roads he footsteps echoed off of the stone and filling the silent town with tapping. The shops and stalls were closed for the day making the small girl pled to anything that would listen to (please let the spring be open). "Of course". Rue started irritated at the closed sign on the entrance of the spring. Part of her was glad that she did not have to step into that wretched place again. Looking at the spring made her past anger bubble over again. Luckily she was mostly covered when the pervert peeked, but she still did not believe he was punished enough. Staring at the closed spring, the sounds of clanging metal grew closer to the small girl two guards ran up to the small girl. " You there have you seen a man and a small girl around here recently". The guards were blunt and were not in the least bit courteous. Directing her irritability at the guards she glared at them, her amber eyes pierced the guards making her look like a demon in the night. " No i have not and why are the guards looking for a man and a girl anyway"? Her tone was curt as she verbally attacked the guards, her eyes focused on them showing a killing intent. The guards slightly coward at the small girl's glare, it felt as if one wrong move would be the end of them. Sweat rolled down one of the guards heads as he cleared his throat and spoke in a more respectable tone. " A Man with brown hair and a black dragon tattoo attacked a citizen's. Cut off his hand"! Rue eyebrow raised as the other guard chimed in, " Also a little girl with blond hair and red eyes knocked out the guards trying to apprehend the man". Rue looked down, (A man attacking another player in town, and he only cut off his hand. Don't think he wanted to kill do to the fact that he went of the hand an attacked him in town, there's more to the store then the guards know). She as no one was in actual danger, Rue turned away from the guards and waved as she walked away. "Wait". One of the guards spoke up at the small light blue haired girl. " A small girl with light blue almost white hair, with the eyes of a demon. Are you Knight Errant Rue"? Continuing to walk away her tone was disinterested as she said one word,"no". She never accepted the title or the responsibility that came with it, so she technically was not lying completely. The guards however would not quit and moved in front of her with looks of conviction and spoke with respect to Rue who was trying to not be Rue. " No even though you refused the title all of the men and women of the law know you and respect you. You do what needs to be done, please for the lives of the people, please help us bring down this villain". Rue sighed at the two men who have read too many stories." Fine i'll help tell me where you have searched so far". The men's eyes light up as the stand at attention and explain they have explored. " Are fellow guards and us have combed the town completely and have yet find the criminals". Rue looks at the blankly and speaks with a calm voice, " you have searched the entire town and they were not anywhere. You either did not search everywhere or they are no longer in town". (By now they are most likely out of town moving away from civilisation and towards the dungeon to let the charges drop). Speaking in a commanding tone Rue relaying commands to the guards to pass on to the others. " By now they are on the move fleeing the town have the guards surround the east,west and south exits while i'll guard the north. The remaining guards will search and root out the criminals if they are hiding in town still. When any of us finds them be sure to alert all parties and surround the criminals". The two men would salute and move out, Rue would move out as well hopefully she was right about the players going to the north towards the dungeon. (This whole event makes no sense, i want to get their side of the story before i do anything).

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Elpharae]

"Not quite." Elpharae leaned against the wall, much more relaxed, somehow. It seemed that helping a supposed criminal from being captured or helping the guards not get hurt by said criminal was able to alleviate his stress more efficiently than a trip to the Tolbana hot springs. "Nothing of interest has quite happened...unless you count watching people have emotional breakdowns quite often. I only wish it weren't so common...but considering the terms of our capture, it's not surprising, really..." How depressing, he added mentally, wincing.

He blinked awkwardly at the other player, and continued on lightly, unsure. "But I did meet a few players. There was this one girl, Keiko, who I met on that day that Kayaba...well, and Athena, for one, a very pretty blonde player, and Kaito. Oh, and this white-haired girl called Rue. I wonder, did I miss anyone?" With a fluid, sheepish shrug, he carded his fingers through his hair, biting his lip as he thought. The others he had met had only talked to him in snippets, small, useless conversations, so that was that. They simply did not remind him of anything important enough to take note of.

His fingers tightened around his rapier as he leaned back on the wall as he thought, squeezing his weapon in a search for reassurance. When he had met Rue and Kaito...well, to be blunt, the outcome was less than favorable. And the thoughts that came from that unexpected encounter...those were less than favorable, as well. Tilting his head back and exposing the hollow of his throat to the ceiling, the tired teen had the biggest urge to just lean back, unsheathe his rapier, and throw it like a dart onto the ceiling just to see if it would work.

He snorted lightly, and Elpharae kept back from saying a biting retort out loud to himself. There was no need to seem insane, after all. But...what will happen after we win the game and return to reality?, he wondered. I wonder if...I'll walk down the street and see a face of someone I know from SAO. What will we do then? Will we ignore each other? Reconcile? There's...so much I want to know... The brunet paused and forced his thoughts away. There was no need to get that deep into theorizing.

[Kyo]

☒ ✐ -- ✉ Kyo Lv.4

Kyo offered a smile at Elpharaes stories of his friends he had made already in SAO. He thought to his own friends. Quite shady people, but both had a good head on their shoulders and should be alright from the afforementioned 'breakdown' most players go through. He gave a little nod. Perhaps one day he would bump into one of Elpharaes friends, though he wasn't the most fond of younger people this one at least seemed to be quite intelligent for his age- most of the teenagers he seemed to cross in the game were not in even close to as good shape mentally and had trouble copping with the game, or in even believing Kayabas speech in the first place. "It was nice meeting you sir, I think im going to try heading out of town now though" he said with a reassuring smile and nod that he was confident in his escape from the hunt of the guards and his retreat into the lesser populated portions of town.  "Don't want to wait around too long- after all if we want to win this we've gotta keep working hard to level up." he thought to the raid party he had known was preparing to delve into the depths of the dungeon soon, and having already been acquainted with its leader gave him the desire to rejoin his comrades in arms for another trip, one that hopefully put them one step closer to the end.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Rue]

Rue Stood at the north end of the town with multiple windows open around her, with constant info flowing in and out. The others seemed to be set up at their respected posts as well as Rue got the status for all the groups. east was clear as well as the others. The search party had the biggest number of five as the went through the town once again. The search party would continue it's search as Rue asked about the pervious search.

The pervious search went almost the same as the current one, excluding a rather odd store owner that was setting up their store. Rue eyes narrowed at the store and it's owner and told the search team to start their first and if the owner still refuses ask for a deed and tell them that they have no right to refuse the guard.

The sounds of metal rustled outside of the store as Rue ordered two to stay in front and two in the back while one go's in to investigate. The female guard opens the door and with a loud voice announces themselves. " This is the town guard we have reason to believe that the building is housing a criminal we are currently on the lookout for please show yourself an give yourself up, it's for your own good we do not wish to use force, but we will if you do not comply"!