[PRIVATE] A Long Days Work

[Kyo]

☒ ✐ -- ✉ Kyo Lv.4

[Open to Janeiro only. If anyone else is looking to join, send me a PM and we will discuss how you could fit in! ] Kyo had entered the town of beginnings after a long day of grinding out easy mobs. He had only just a little while ago helped save Janeiro, an acquaintance of his. They had been on various other small adventures together but never really alone like they are now, generally they'd even barely speak- usually having combat be the subject of their meetings. Nevertheless he did enjoy her company while she was with him- and due to Kyle wanting to continue his training perhaps he would actually get to know his ally of the floor raid boss.  There was many choices, he really didn't know what kind of setting she enjoyed and didn't want to give any wrong impressions by taking her to certain establishments. With most of his friends it was easily always a pub trip, but she didn't really seem like the type for that. Maybe it'd be just easier to ask- He stopped in his stride for a moment and turned over to Janeiro "So-uhh where would you like to go? I don't really know ya all that well- dunno what kind of food you like here." It was clear he was digging for words he didn't quite have, trying to keep it from being awkward in one manner by making it awkward in a different. 'Anything but fine dinning' he thought through his head, though if she suggested it, he would of course not provide any qualms despite hating to have to eat like a fancy person. He wanted to treat her to the meal anyway and didn't really want to drop too much money on it, without actually letting her know that. Whatever it may be- at the very least he hoped the served alcohol.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Janeiro]

The sun could barely be made out behind the roofs of the town's houses. A lamplighter NPC walked through the streets, carrying a long pole with a glowing wick at the end to reach the streetlights properly, illuminating them one by one calmly. It was just the right time to stop by a tavern to enjoy the evening. After training with Kyle and almost dying to creatures way below her own level Janeiro had agreed to go back to town with Kyo whom she had also met in the plains. Like him the way back she did not have much to talk about, but did not feel the need to either.
"That's true." She replied when he said he did not know her well. "I know more about how you fight than you as a person. Hmm... there is no food I would crave right now. How about we see what they serve over there?" Janeiro nodded towards a tavern which seemed to be in the cellar of a house. The floor was only about four feet below street level so that one could peek inside the open door behind a few stairs downwards, discovering a busy pub with genial atmosphere. It was exciting to seek out new locations spontaneously.

[Kyo]

☒ ✐ -- ✉ Kyo Lv.4

Kyo had smiled, glad she had offered the suggestion. At the very least he was glad that she didn't make him pick. "Sounds good to me" he said as he made his advances towards the rather crowded pub. It was a bit unusual to be underground, it was almost like a New York City style building having the passed underneath on the outside to allow super-close spaced rooms and businesses even. It was a strange though, a selective design seeing as if they actually run out of room like New York had, they could simply make the town larger- it was all pixels that were freely able to be pushed with the stroke of a mouse. Kyo stepped down the stairs entering the establishment, holding the door for his companion "After you" he said with a smile, looking in to possibly disappointment. 'This is going to really suck if they tell us its going to be a long wait- if thats the case I guess we'll have a chance to talk at least...' he thought as he looked at all of the bar stools being completely encombered in people, and then some, crowding around the seated. 'Maybe there is an open booth or something though-'

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Janeiro]

Wondering if Kyo was always this polite Janeiro entered the crowded pub. There were even a bunch of people standing, slurring 'Happy Birthday' for one of them, making it seemingly full over capacity, the waitresses hurrying to tend to every single guest.
There was no receptionist so Janeiro tried to navigate through the masses if there was a table still available, and indeed they were in luck. Three people had just finished and squeezed past Janeiro back to the front, one of the waitresses cleaning the table so that others could use it. The black-haired girl waved Kyo to her and sat down in the booth with a U-shaped bench around the wooden table, framed with masonry and a small window near the ceiling. As it was already fairly dark outside oil lamps shed their dim light on the alcove. Janeiro examined the architecture, a style she had rarely seen in Japan but very tasteful.

[Starlight]

When the NPC waiter was sick and was on leave, Starlight seized this opportunity to apply for temporary part time job opening, for all the free food and extra bit of col. It was around the dusk time when the Pub was really started to get busy, as customers swamp in like group of bees, they were almost out-staffed. It was usually not this busy before, but luckily, the people seems to be concentrated around the bar area, leaving the seated area to be still somewhat quiet and somewhat well lit.

"Please wait! I will be check with the chief to see if we still have any!" Starlight says in reply to one particularly demanding customer, she is seriously not sure how this is all going to go down. If we are out of stock, we are out of stock, there is no need to yell at me...

Sighing a bit, being a waiter is tiring. Then she spotted two new customers, already seated themselves in the U-boots away from the bar and closer to the center stage, that part is still part of Starlight's area, so she made her way over to the two new customers. The singer tonight, Lilia, is one of Starlight's all time favorite, her voice can only be described as angelica. But Lilia is not here yet, Starlight thinks she saw her on the back stage getting ready.

Walking to the U-boots, Starlight finally have a good look at the two new customers, one with long silky black hair and soft features, she has the look of traditional beauty and grace about her, but the way she was carrying herself spelled out combatant in big block capital letter words. Her companion this evening is....ah....kind of scaring me right now, for a bit, to be honest. He was a brunette with some seriously sharp eyes and a solemn expression, wrapped in brown traveler's cape, she briefly considered offering to take the cape to the hanger but decided not to, travelers sometimes get attached to their equipment and did not like to let strangers handle them.

Thinking of which....he had looked kind of familiar...actually, they both kind of look familiar...but if I have seen them somewhere before, I'm sure that I will surely remember...So why...?

She looks back to the center of the table, it has a single red flower in a vast as decoration, it will have to do for now.

"Alright milady and gentleman, you are in luck, welcome to the best bar and grill in town (not true), the one and only...the "Millennium Gaden"! We are in operation since the beginning of the game and is still here, let that be the testament to the food and drink and our master chief's skill." She takes out two black leather menu from her apron and put them on the table in front of the two new guesses. Starlight takes out her little writing pad and a feather pen.

"We have a whole bunch of selection of drinks here, and we also have drinks that looks like alcohol but they are are non-alcoholic, please see the Manuel for detail~ As a pub and grill, we have food here too if you guys want some. Our specialty tonight is the Dire Wolf stew special top with fresh berries and small side dish salad, but secretly...I will go for the boar steak or the chicken, we are unfortunately out of chicken at the moment, but anything fish is super fresh and tasty. But that's my personal point of view. Please let me know once you made a selection." Starlight was about to take down the order when she finally noticed something...She had seen them before, more accurately, she had seen the images of them before. In the first floor dungeon boss raid report in the Town's library.

Janeiro and Kyo were their name, respectively. Janeiro had one of the best utilized uses of her skill in the fight and Kyo was the one who did the most damage output. Starlight must have read the report a few times already, can't believe that she only recognized them after talking for so long...

Starlight pulls her writing pad up to covers the bottom half of her face as she stared at the two with wide eyes. ....oh my god...here?! uhmm....."Well~ Since it is your first time here? I think? You guys can have some cake in the house, I will also bring some juice to you, let me know once you have decided on an order~" She can't help but giggling for a little bit, as she bowed deeply to the two and take her leave, she will return sometimes after with the cake and juice, giving them the space to catch up with one another in privacy and to look over the manual in quiet and peace by themselves. 

[Kyo]

☒ ✐ -- ✉ Kyo Lv.4

Kyo had made his way over and sat down in the U-Shaped booth, also looking around in the environment of the establishment. "Well- I guess it can't be too bad if its this busy." he said, trying to differentiate body count between players and npcs. He smiled to Janeiro before trying keep conversation going and not keep the evening too boring.  "So-- Hows your day been?" the question was rather generic but came with a followup "I mean- after how I bumped into you today being chased by an arm of boars--- I assume its been one hell of a day?"  The waitress approached and handed them menus. She had offered them a question but hadn't given a chance to reply before stating she would bring them cake and juice. He had blinked a few times before looking over to Janeiro with a questioned look on his face. "That was a bit strange eh?"

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Janeiro]

"It was... embarrassing. Humbling, maybe. Showing me that even level 1 enemies are no joke and people can die to them. Although even if SAO let people respawn after death I would have died permanently of shame." It was a joke, but Janeiro kept a straight face. "I'm mostly glad it is over and will roam around the higher level areas in the near future, I seem to have a better chance or survival there."

A very pretty waitress approached them. After seeing that she was a player she felt a little bad for the girl having to work on such a stressful day. After saying her usual text about the pub - which in Janeiro's opinion she had conveyed very well - her behavior suddenly changed and she ran off to bring cake and juice.
"Well... Yes, that was strange. Did she really say that it will be free?" Janeiro looked through the menu. "After that I think I will have the Dire Wolf... I heard in real life the day's specialty is often leftover ingredients that would expire soon but that should not be an issue in Sword Art Online."
Janeiro's eyes wandered to the side, watching the crowd of people, trying to find their waitress again.

[Starlight]

Starlight keeps glancing back to the table with the two high level players. She tries very hard to keeps her giggles quietly to herself and quickly nodded a thanks to her NPC co-worker, who after handing her two big writing pad and a black marker, gives her a big thumbs up and a whisper of soft good luck. Starlight nodded serious like a solider who was about to venture onto a dangerous mission. 

"There there, are ya happy now! Now go be a rascal and bother somebody else, I ain't got time for this...I got orders coming up and those meats are not gonna cook themselves you hear!" The grumpy old man from the kitchen grumbles unhappily as he puts two very delicate fancy looking chocolate and vanilla cake decorated with fresh berries and cookies very gentle on the counter, and complaint some more about youngster these days and their inconsiderate random requests and not nearly enough time for preparation and she should have at least give him two days notice in advance and returns to the the kitchen.

"Thanks gramps, don't worry I'm sure they are fine." Starlight happily grabbed the two plates and put them on her tray along with two glasses of mixed fruit juice. Writing pads in her apron. She pat her chest and silently counted to ten, she opens her eyes, which now filed with determination, keeping her nervousness in check she nodded once again to her co-worker who was looking at her with slight amusement. "I am going in."

"Good luck and all." Pfttttttttt the NPC tries to hide her chuckles behind her tray which she held up like a shield in front of her lower face.

Humpt!! A non-combatant NPC will never understand the importance of this mission, and I don't need her to understand anyway! Thinking about that, Starlight turns around and walked with a renewed purpose towards the U-shape seat.

"Alright, thanks for waiting." She set the tray down and place the cakes and juice onto the table. "Are we ready to order now?" She tries to act causally, hiding her pumping heartbeat and a slight flush, I am not going to let this opportunity going to waste! Sometimes today I will get their autograph! With the heading of to dear Starlight, and ending with Love Janeiro and Love Kyo!

...........

..."The Dire Wolf special? That is a great choice! We just have some boxes of fresh ingredients delivered to us by the traveling merchants. Alright." Starlight quickly scrabbles down the order on her little note pad. "And you good sir? What would you like to have today?" Now that she knows that he was Kyo, and instantly remembered that this guy had once risked his own life trying to safe his younger teammate from the boss, his scariness has somehow managed to decrease by about 50%, instantly changing his item description from kind of scary to slightly scary. That is either an improvement or a downgrade depending on your point of view. 

[Kyo]

☒ ✐ -- ✉ Kyo Lv.4

"Oh no need to be embarrassed" Kyo had chuckled a bit. "I'm just glad your safe." Kyo had been quite persistent with the smiles during their encounter. Most of the people who knew him, knew him to be quite gloomy and it was time for a better Kyo. Especially after having cleared the first floor. It might have had a toll to it but progress was certainly made. Kyo hadn't really eaten out much in the real world so it came as a shock that the daily special would be something that was nearly expired. It was certainly logical but still, not something he had ever thought about. He had browsed the menu himself but was actually not feel all too hungry. He hadn't really liked the cuisine on the first floor as much as the second, seeing as he loved his fish, and the second floor was much better with that than the first. "hmm, that's quite interesting. I think i'm actually going to just get tea though. Please by all means, help yourself" he had again dropped his encouraging smile as the waitress returned with their cake and juice.  Janeiro had placed her order of the daily special but Kyo would be satisfied with the cake. Since the game had begun, since eating no real necessity, he had often saved his pennies to buy armor rather than a meal. He enjoyed treating others though, making sure they had the money they needed to progress through the game as well. "I'll just take a hot tea please- no sugar." he had thought about his statement after he said it. He really doesn't think sugar had been discovered yet in sword art online, but perhaps the berries served as its own kind of sweetener. Either way he preferred his tea untainted by any additives.

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

[Janeiro]

Kyo did seem more cheerful than usual, well, at least the few times Janeiro had seen him. Maybe he really had a teacher mentality or some other good things had happened to him earlier that had bettered his mood.
That he did not order food for himself made her slightly uncomfortable, not wanting to waste his time. Janeiro looked at Kyo in thought, judging that he was probably a man meaning what he said though. Whenever she ate with others, which prior to SAO had not been the case very often, she hated being the last to finish and making others wait, but Kyo seemed quite relaxed, making her feel a little better about it. Not wanting the conversation to come to a halt, she decided to open up a little about it. "If you are fine with just sitting there and drinking tea okay, I did not want to drag you anywhere either if you'd rather have a drink and then leave... watching people eat must be boring."
When the cakes came Janeiro was surprised about their size, and instinctively worried about her figure for a moment since she wanted to eat both the cake and the dire wolf steak. Thankfully she had not heard of anyone's physique changing during the game. If they were going to spend years in the game, would they age? She thought about Lucia, the youngest player she knew. At her age it could be apparent already with all the time they were here...
Getting back from her thoughts to (virtual) reality Janeiro gave their waitress a soft smile. The apron was really cute, she noticed. "Does everyone get a free cake the first time they are in the Millennium Gaden? A strange policy, but the cake looks really good."

[Starlight]

"A cup of tea with no sugar? Got'cha, it is a good balance for the cake." Starlight wrote it down in scrabbles on her little note pad, nodding to herself.

In the distance, Lilia has got onto the stage and beginning with a few well placed warm welcome, she begins to sing in her usual soft and lovely voice, it was song about an adventurer finally returning to homeland after all of these years, and the melody itself was slow and soothing, the lyrics were a mixture of hope and sorrow. 

Turning over this way, Starlight was about to make her way to the kitchen to place in the order when she heard Janeiro's question. 

"Does everyone get a free cake the first time they are in the Millennium Gaden? A strange policy, but the cake looks really good."

WHATTTA?!!! WHAT?! She finds out?! So soon? How did she even find out, that is impossible! That's company secret! She's is on to me!!!

Face suddenly flushed up into a bright red all the way to her ears, Starlight stuttered her words. "Well....yeah....eh...well...hem...It...it depends...?" Was that a question? "Hm...well, we kind of have this policy, that each waiter can give a table something for free once per day, but it is not mandatory, so...it is all kind of random...? I just...'cause I...well...I...AH!" 

Starlight brings up both hands to lightly tap on her own face from both sides, she squeeze her eyes shut for a moment, and then take a big breath and counted to ten (no, she didn't count to ten.)

Calm down Starlight right NOW! She might be a hero, but she is just another player like everybody else, if you started to act like this, you are going to ruin this big time! So get a hold of yourself and acted like a normal human being!

Breathing coming to slow down into her normal pace, she opens her eyes once again, this time, her eyes are dark and calm, gaze filled with a strange sense of determination and purpose. She reaches slowly reaches into her apron (no one thought that she was reaching for her weapon and attack her here right?) and pulls out her two big writing pad and the black marker that she borrowed from her NPC co-worker. She held the items with both of her hands and accidentally dropped them onto the table in front of the two guests. (you fight like that...?)

"My...my name is Starlight! And I am a new player here of the Town of the Beginning. I read about you guys on the first floor boss raid report and thought that I should give you my thanks for opening up the second floor, and being one step closer to return to the reality." She paused. (Whatever happens to acting like a normal human being?) "...yeah, I know I am kind of low level right now, but eventually....I want to fight the boss too." She closed her eyes and open them up again. "...but anyway, can I have your autograph pretty please~! I promise you that I shall cherish them forever~" She brings both hands up and smile brightly at the two.

(OOC: I should really place in those orders and leave you two alone, alright, once you guys start eating, skip me until time for the bill.)

[Starlight]

Starlight waited for a bit, but neither player provided any answers. Feeling slightly discouraged by event, Starlight ask a NPC friend to take care of that table for her. She continues her work for that day, taking care of other customers.

[Stella Exit]

[[GM] Julie]

Thread closed with spring cleaning. One participants active, One rewards distributed.

[[GM] John]

Thread closed due to spring cleaning. This is a flat reward, no bonuses will be added. I apologize in advance for the cut taken to your hard work of the past, however full credit cannot be issued due to the nature the thread ended in. You will be rewarded similarly to how solo threads do just without the cap, enjoy the xp from dead threads

The following players were credited for their posting: Kyo

Kyo word count: 952
Flat XP rate: 95