ESE

[Lady Alainn]

The winged one opened her eyes in surprise as Bantay's voice drew near. Somewhere between quoting Jane Austen and assessing her guild mates she must have dozed off. Kimi sat up and looped her arms around her legs, hugging them to her chest. She tilted her head up to meet his eyes with a mischievous look on her face, appearing very much like a pixie.

"I'm extremely flattered to be your last alternative," the corner of her mouth twitched, "but whatever will you do if we start up a fight of our own?"

She managed to hold her grin in a little longer before it spilled onto her lips. "Of course you're welcome to join me, Bantay. What shall we do? Sit and mope, pick on some trees, or go exploring?"

 

[Nay'ar]

'Well done, Ren, you made him blush' her inner voice excuded sarcasm. Tiwala watched him walk toward the trees as Bantay did too. "You're a strange one," said he after some steps "Am I?" she asked rhetorically with a smile. She was called a lot of names: monster, freak, boyfriend-stealer (even if she turned down every single one of their confessions), traitor, suicidal and some others she didn't really remember due to their lack in fantasy, but never was she called strange. "So sure of yourself. And yet so...unorthodox." oooh so he was referring to her apparent contradictions... well he wasn't really that wrong, even if from Ren/Tiwala's point of view, it was a pretty normal behavior... "I'm not sure if I like that or not." there he was being pushy again: he wanted her to know that he didn't know if he was ok with her or no but, nonetheless, he was forcing himself to put up with her. Tiwala smiled sadly again "You won't" she said sure.

"There. Sit your butt down and let's not have any more trouble." Tiwala wathed him securing the chair in a good position before speaking to her with an imperative tone: "Aye aye, sir Kidlat, sir." she said letting herself drop on the chair. At last she was sitting. She leaned back on the backrest and looked at Kidlat as he practiced with his dagger, for a bit: he was stiff but knew how to move, of course it was the Skill power, but that made her think about her bow Skill... Ren was able to use a bow, very well even, but what if Tiwala hadn't that Skill... wouldn't she be able to use a bow? 'I don't really think it's important now. I have my skills as everyone else.' she thought shoving that thought from her mind.

She looked around her: Bantay was talking with Kimi, some trees further from her, Kidlat was practicing, and the breeze stroking her hair was kind and refreshing, Tiwala looked up and closed her eyes massaging them. The air was clean, there were a lot of noises coming from nature, nothing like her life in Tokyo. Then why was she so nostalgic? 'You know it, you moron' she thought to herself "No, i don't" she said in a hard voice without noticing. She then started to play absentmindedly with a lace of her outfit, more revealing than she wanted it to, but still likeable. As she rested she could feel her strength coming back; she wouldn't be able to fight, of course, but she knew at least she wouldn't stagger any more. She felt a gust of wind on her cheeks and silently thanked it for its aid during the skirmish, opened again her gray eyes, put her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands and stared at Kidlat evading some imaginary assault.

 

[FiliaFlammae]

"No, I don't."

The quiet mutter had come from behind him. "Mm?" Kidlat grunted as he spun around, a question on his face. "You say something?" It was an automatic response, and he realized a moment after he said it that Tiwala would most likely answer in the negative, because that was what people generally did to that question, but oh well. Deciding not to worry about her answer, he sheathed his dagger and pulled his journal from his neck. He was still curious about his apparent ability to teleport around and avoid hits, something he was pretty sure he had not selected in his first five skills, and a flip to his profile page soon told him why: he had a sixth skill at the very top of the list that he had somehow missed, and from the looks of it, it was custom. "Escape Artist." Huh. He closed the book and looked up into the branches of the nearest tree a yard or two away from him. If this was another of his skills, it seemed prudent to practice it as well. He focused on the junction of a thick limb with the tree's trunk, aiming to appear in the gap and perch there. He set his jaw, summoned his energy, and pulled.

There was that bizarre wrenching sensation again, a whirl of color and movement, and then the world snapped back into place around him. He had only a split second to perceive that he was now up in the tree before he then realized that he was falling, and the next thing he knew, his shins hit something rough and very hard. He yelped out an "Ow!" and slammed his hands in a panic against the tree trunk and limb on either side of him, and though the bark dug into his palms, he seemed steady now. To the best of his understanding, he had missed his destination slightly and just barely fallen onto the limb on his knees. He winced as he crawled into a better position and eventually perched on the balls of his feet once he was stable. That had been too close. The ground looked to be a good seven or eight feet below him if not more, and he didn't want to think how much worse he might have gotten hurt if he'd missed entirely and taken such a fall unprepared. He carefully shuffled himself around in place until he'd rotated 180 degrees and could see Tiwala again. Some part of him was aware that he was starting to feel tired and just a little woozy, but he dismissed it. "Do you have one of those Zero-Skills too?" he called down to her. "Is that how you did that invisible thing earlier?"

 

[Nay'ar]

When Kidlat turned around to face Tiwala she was gazing at him "Yep, I have one too... even if I don't really become invisible... 'Chameleon' is its name" she said to him, she was about to explain how it worked but she stopped, she couldn't trust him with that info, at least not yet ''Yet', little Ren?' she ignored her arrogant inner self and looked at the black haired boy with a smile: "What... are you trying to cover your fail by making conversation?" she chuckled as she got up from the chair and went toward his tree leaning on it, back on the trunk, Tiwala looked up to make eye contact with him and added "Come on, super hero, come down, you're tired and it's dangerous up there" she looked at him with a playful smile. She had more or less guessed it but judging from his heavy breath and not really stable stance she couldn't have guessed wrong.

She put her hands behind her head and stared into his green eyes, she liked that shade of green it almost reminded her of... Mamoru. Her playful smile turned gloomy again as she remembered Tokyo... she really hated being nostalgic. 'You're smiling an awful lot, little Ren' again her inner voice, this time she silenced her 'I may be a sociopath but I have to be human once in a while... and I always smile an awful lot...it helps keeping the distances, no matter what those smiles are like.'

 

[upscalerat]

Grinning, Bantay did what apparently he did best, and argued. "Oh, come on, I chose you over finding Ako- that's gotta mean something." Her next comment made him more nervous, but then she grinned, and Bantay smiled. There was some relief in there, that she was still okay with him.

"Why, I don't think I could find something to disagree about so much with you, at least not before day's end, I hope," he confessed. And it was indeed true- Kimi seemed to sweet to fight with. While Bantay, or rather, Neil, was close to ambivalent about conflicts in most scenarios, he actively did not want to fight with Kimi.

He shaped his earnest smile into an equally playful grin at the winged girl. "I don't know, they all sound good- maybe we could mope while we explore and pick on trees, 'less there's one you're particularly against," he offered, and took the oppertunity to lean his right shoulder on a nearby tree, crossed his arms, and wrapped his right foot around the left, still grinning at the girl.

 

[Ray C]

"I mean.. that's just what I think, but I don't know much about making friends"

That much was evident just by the girl's words. "We should all be working together" was one of those unrealistic statements made by idealists. People take sides; that's what people do. Everyone wants to be "in the group," which means someone has to be "not in the group." A person was more comfortable when he could make someone else the heretic. That's just how people were: conceited, sententious, and self-serving. Nimfa kicked another pair of rocks against a new tree, then looked sidelong at Koero.

Maybe not all people.

"May I speak plainly?" Nimfa asked cautiously. She spent a few moments composing her thoughts. "I think, if you don't have many friends, it's because you believe people are good. You're willing to accept everyone here as teammates. Most people aren't like that--anyone who isn't like them is a leper, an enemy, or an obstacle. You're too open-minded to fit a clique, so you aren't welcomed to any of them. I'm not insulting you!" Nimfa added quickly. "I... Well, I guess I'm praising you. I don't want to trust six strangers so implicitly, let alone Aria who brought me here. There are going to be sides, but... whatever they are, I'd like to be on yours."

 

[Lady Alainn]

"I don't know, they all sound good- maybe we could mope while we explore and pick on trees, 'less there's one you're particularly against."

"Moping," Kimi promptly replied, flashing another teasing smile. "It interferes terribly with enjoying sunny skies and bantering with people you've just met."

She eyed him curiously while he lounged against the nearby tree. Bantay, like Tiwala, was an interesting one. Not that they weren't all interesting in their own way, but those two in particular were even more so. Tiwala was out-of-the-box and Bantay... well ...Bantay was a dichotomy. Or just a nice guy with a short fuse. A really, really short fuse. Attached to a big stick of dynamite. On top of a railway bridge. Kimi put the brakes on before her metaphor crashed her train of thought.

"Well, if we're going to get any exploring done, we'd better get started," she said at last, holding out her hand to him expectantly.

 

[FiliaFlammae]

Kidlat nodded in understanding. If Tiwala's special skill was called "Chameleon," that would imply that she could cloak herself rather than becoming truly invisible, which would explain what his eyes had perceived minutes ago. Her next comment just caused him to shrug. "Nothing wrong with an idle question, is there?" But he soon found himself chuckling along with her as she teased him. The superhero line in particular caused him to smile. "Hey now, I've got some juice left in me yet. But I do agree it may be wise not to overdo the whole blinking around. It's disorienting." He shifted his posture in preparation to dismount from his vantage point in the tree, but his thoughts were elsewhere. When Tiwala wasn't pulling some kind of whacked-out scheme, she didn't seem too bad. Oh, he didn't really trust her to continue to act normal after the dramatic first impression she had made, but for the time being, he could ignore the mystery of whatever crazy plans churned beneath her skull and just have a bit of fun with the more personable shell she was putting up front. She did look troubled now that he looked at her face a moment longer, and though he had no idea what it was about, it was enough to tell him that this flirty side of hers was an act of some kind. Not that he was about to complain.

He shifted his weight and then leapt down from the limb; though it was a long drop, he was prepared to catch himself on bent legs, and after landing heavily but as cautiously as possible, he straightened up and ran his fingers through his hair. "Well," he announced, "all else I can really practice right now is picking locks. If you're on your feet, sweetie, what do you say to checking out the interior? See if we can find me a few doors to practice on."

 

[Nay'ar]

"If you're on your feet, sweetie, what do you say to checking out the interior? See if we can find me a few doors to practice on." sweety...? He called her... sweety? 'Calm down Ren... it's just figure speaking, it's alright.' she breathed deeply and answered him "I don't really think the Guild has locks to be picked on, but as we have to explore it... how do you say it...?" she put a finger on her lips in an overstressed thinking stance "Oh, yes: we could get two birds with one stone" she finished looking at him and smiling again, "Come on, sir Kidlat, sir! We have a mission and we won't let some locks get us to a GAME OVER!" she declared jokingly solemn as she raised a hand toward the sky and nodded to Kidlat. 'Keep it friendly, Ren... friendly with whoever, friend with none. Keep it frienly, Ren'

She walked to the chair and took it from the backrest putting it on her back and keeping it with a hand as a schoolbag. She felt the breeze again and held her now long black hair behind her ear. She liked this world, no one knew her, ESE was free from pollution, she had yet to see if animals were the same but, she was sure, they didn't die from contaminated habitats and the sun was kind on the skin. There wasn't their technology, that's for sure, but who needed it? There were so many things to do in a seemingly medieval world! She reached the big doors humming again SAO's opening theme. She really felt a bit like Kirito, one of the first episodes, when he settled down and lay under a tree dragging Asuna in his foolish vision of that world. 'Is my vision foolish too?' she asked herself. After all there were monsters and enemies 'Aren't they in every world?'.

Tiwala decided to get the conversation running, if nothing else just to avoid Kidlat from feel embarassed 'I'm keeping it friendly' she convinced herself. Once at the doors she turned toward him and asked with a smirk: "So... a roughy build uh? Sweety..." she stressed the last word to make sure he got she didn't like it and waited for his answer or for him to enter the hall, better if both.

 

[Adira]

Koero smiled slightly as she listened to Nimfa's short little speech. She nodded. "No no I understand, the world is a cruel place, however I believe there is always some good in people, even if it takes some time to see it. I don't have many friends because I'm not very outspoken, I don't like conflicts but I'm too scared to speak up for what I believe in. But I want to fit in so much.. Life is lonely with out having anyone to speak too.. But I take what you say as a compliment, trust me. Being open minded allows me to adapt and not question as much, like this world. When Aria brought me here, I didn't complain. The only thing I'm thinking about is saving this world so I can go home." She smiled softly as she thought back to her little brothers.

Koero looked at Nimfa as she walked next to the girl. Her kind words rang though her head again and again.

"There are going to be sides, but... whatever they are, I'd like to be on yours."

Her smile spread into a bigger one and she couldn't find any words to speak for several moments. "I'd like to be on yours as well, the way you handle things and stick up for what you believe in is admirable to me, your a tough cookie, It's a compliment I promise." She added quickly as she kicked a rock away from her path. "I don't know what this world has in store but so far.. it's looking like our "team" is already choosing sides." She noted as they kept walking. "What do you think of the others?" She asked cautiously, she wanted to know what Nimfa thought of the others as well. Though she proceeded with caution incase Nimfa chose not to speak on that subject.

 

[FiliaFlammae]

Kidlat was somewhat surprised to hear Tiwala struggle to remember the classic "two birds with one stone" adage and phrase it so awkwardly. Huh. Maybe English really isn't her first language. In any case, she sounded ready to comply with his suggestion, and she phrased it a joking way that reminded him a lot of something he might say himself. He found it impossible not to laugh a little. "Sounds like a plan," he said. She seemed to have an easier time with the chair now that she'd rested a while, so he let her carry it. He hooked his thumbs on his belt loops as he walked. This felt so leisurely, being far away from the city and all associated with it. He did not know when he'd wake up in his bed in Aruta again, if he ever would, but right now, he was in a good mood. Tiwala seemed to be, too, if the fact that she was humming again meant anything.

After a minute his companion spoke up again, asking him about his class choice...and following it up with a clearly awkward reprise of the way he'd teased her. He chuckled and made a waving motion with his hand that was supposed to be dismissive and apologetic. "Ah, sorry, don't worry about that. Just teasing a bit. It's kind of a bad habit of mine." He relaxed and put his hand back to his hip, but he still smiled. "But yeah, I've always liked playing rogues. Thieves, assassins, that kind of thing. I don't know why, they just feel fun. Everyone's got that one role they like best, y'know? The one you fall back on." He paused for breath. Some part of his brain was aware that he was rambling a little. Odd...he normally didn't open up about himself so readily. Why he felt comfortable enough to drop his guard around Tiwala so soon after she'd displayed her...peculiarities was a mystery to him. He cleared his throat and tried to shift the subject away from him. "I take it yours is archer or ranger. Or did you pick that bow on a whim?"

 

[Nay'ar]

Tiwala listened to all his reasons while making her way into the hall 'Ahah... humans: you're a bit friendly and they'll tell you almost aaaaaall their life' she thought smiling "Everyone's got that one role they like best, y'know? The one you fall back on." she somewhat agreed with him on that "I guess so..." she said and put down the chair with a single swift move, careful not to hit the floor too hard. She looked around: it seemed a normal hall, rather small, two doors on the right side of the big table and a fire pit at the end of the room, but she would have to examine it far more closely to judge; then she looked up: the ceiling was very high 'It makes sense, the building it's pretty tall from the outside' and wondered on how many floors it could contain 'Mmmh considering this one I'd say, at least 2 more... but it seems that there are no stairs so... we have just one floor to roam in...'.

"I take it yours is archer or ranger. Or did you pick that bow on a whim?" she looked at him, sitting on the table, leaning on her arms pinning behind her "Who knows... maybe I'm a hopeless gamer who wants to try out other things" she said swinging her legs "Or maybe I'm the aforementioned gamer who likes to use the same old weapons and... what if I'm a male... what if my love for female characters brought Aria to give me a female body?" she looked at him with narrow eyes awaiting his reation and then started to laugh "Just joking... I'm female" she dried a tear from her left eye and looked at him again... "Oh... wait wait... I got a better one" she cleared her throat and spoke: "I'm a former circus star... you know those really cool ones... what about it?" she returned in her former position, smiling and crossing her legs 'Don't you think you overdid it?' she thought to herself, her eyes shined anticipating his answer: "Come on, Kidlat... which am I? I'm curious to know what you think" she let her legs swing again 'We'll soon see if I overdid it...'

 

[upscalerat]

Chuckling, Bantay shrugged. "That's fair, I suppose- but I may still have to pick on the trees, I'm afraid," he warned, and used his shoulder to bounce himself off of the tree into a standing position. Much calmer now, the swordsman reached out for Kmi's hand, and raised it gently when he grasped her finger tips, in some sort of sign of- well, he wasn't really sure. Respect? Acknowledgement? Something like that, most likely, and he let go just as easily when he dropped her hand.

"Well, then, pick a direction, and let's walk," he told the girl. Strangely kind, he decided: that was how he'd describe Kmi. She hadn't seemed to take a particular grudge against anyone yet, despite the trouble that had been stirred- Bantay was particularly thankful that her invitation to allow him to explore with her was still standing, even though he'd started yelling again after everything else had been resolved. But it was still strange- most people wouldn't have done that, he was certain.

'Why?' he wondered. And then, 'Does it matter?' Probably not. But ignoring it didn't satisfy his curiosity. 'We'll have time to talk,' he finally settled on. After all, they were just strangers- what would it matter if he knew what made her so nice?

 

[Lady Alainn]

Kimi practically floated to her feet as Bantay grasped her hand. It surprised her how non-encumbering her skirts were, considering how much material there was. She supposed it was similar to how protective Tiwala's non-protective armor was. Once on her feet, Kimi brushed her hands along the back of her skirts to dislodge any leaves or dirt clods that might have decided to hitchhike. Satisfied that there was nothing embarrassing attached, she folded her wings against her back and unclasped her journal from her necklace. As before, it enlarged and appeared in her upturned hands.

"Let's see, if the mages went up the mountain, let's go this way," she pointed southwest. "Maybe we'll run into a river." Kimi flipped to her inventory page and deposited her flute. It disappeared into the journal and showed up again as a multi-instrument icon. Then she snapped the book closed. "Let's go find a tree in need of reprimanding," she grinned as she started walking southwards from the Hall.

 

[Ray C]

"Ah, careful with the rocks. I'm using the ones about the size of my fist to mark our trail," Nimfa explained, kicking another pair to the base of a tree to demonstrate. "I can't say anything beyond the obvious. Bantay is a loose cannon with a short fuse; Tiwala is Schrodinger's derringer--there's no way to know if she will kill us or not until it actually happens; Kidlat wants to be the chivalrous rogue; and Kimi is similar to you, I think, though more outspoken. The last one--Akio?--vanished, so he's probably a loner and possibly a shut-in."

Nimfa spoke easily. That should have been surprising, but she felt so relaxed with Koero that Nimfa was simply content. The forest surrounding them helped, too. There was nowhere Nimfa could feel more at ease than in nature. Hiking up the mountain, even with the path becoming steeper, calmed Nimfa's scattered mind. Out here, all the chaos and uncertainty drained away. It was enough to make Nimfa feel philosophical.

"You're really determined to save this world? Even though you know nothing about it?" That much was strange, but the longer Nimfa thought about it the more she came to realize she didn't see any reason not to save this world called ESE. "I guess, if it's our job then that's what we'll do."

The pair crested the top of a ridge and found the trees thinning out ahead. Between brown trunks could be seen the sparkling surface of a large body of water. Not fifty meters later the trees stopped entirely, giving way to a sandy beach and a small lake. Nimfa paused for a moment of stunned silence, then smiled from ear to ear. She stripped off the small boots she wore and the socks underneath, letting her bare feet sink into the warm sand. "Look at how clear the water is! I bet I could see the bottom if I put my head in!" Nimfa felt like a little girl saying it, but this wasn't something to be found at home: unspoilt nature as far as the eye could see.

 

[FiliaFlammae]

They'd made it back to the main table now. Kidlat watched as Tiwala deposited the borrowed chair and then hefted herself up to sit on the edge of the table. So far she seemed not to shy away from talking, though she did still have a strangely distant feeling about her. It wasn't until she got to "What if I'm a male... what if my love for female characters brought Aria to give me a female body?" that his face faltered. The way she'd waited until now to phrase that made him lean towards the answer being no, but it was still an uncomfortable thought. "I highly doubt that," he said, but there was a nervous laugh in his voice. Fortunately his hunch proved correct: she was just joking around. But eventually she asked him a somewhat serious question, catching him off guard. "What, whether you normally pick archer or decided to switch things up?" he asked to confirm. He rested his chin in his hand as he began to think aloud. "Hmm. I wouldn't call those the only options. You might not be a gamer, rather just a person interested in archery. You did look very comfortable with your bow, but that might be my imagination." He pouted as he thought a moment longer and eventually dropped his hand, seeming to come to a decision. "Okay. I can't say if you're a gamer or not, but I want to say you're a fan of archery either way. That's my answer."

 

[Nay'ar]

The girl patiently listened to him thinking aloud and coming to the right conlusion before resizing it to a more generic one. 'Uuuuh... his head is pretty good, you don't find someone with so much attentive eyes every so often... so he noticed I was comfortable with the bow. I think I'll tease him a little more... after all he's so funny to tease...' "Bingo! We have a winner" she said clapping slowly and gently her hands "...and I even have a prize for you!" Tiwala added jumping down from the table. She walked slowly in his direction and started circling around him. After a lap and a half she tapped his shoulder "Come with me...?" she asked in a kind voice. She hadn't really said it but her tone suggested a 'please' at the end.

"Two doors on a single floor, a fireplace to cook our meals..." she listed pointing at the places as she walked past them "I'm guessing one has our beds in it while the other is a mistery... I'm afraid you won't have anything to practice on..." she sounded almost disappointed... of course this was the beginning of their adventure but she was expecting a bit more... a second floor for example... "I got an idea! Let's make a guess game, Kidlat!" she almost seemed eager. 'You're risking again... the prize for guessing right the first time should be enough... shouldn't it?' asked a scared voice inside of her 'Come on... he won't guess right, and I don't think he'll make the most out of his prize anyway'. The girl trotted near a door and leaned her back on the wall, her arms behind her back.

"That reminds me of your prize" she said with a naughty smile, after clearing her throat politely Tiwala annonced: "You won a most rare prize! The possibility to ask a question to me with a 100% chances of receiving a honest answer!! Congratulations!! I'll answer any question, I promise, be it Have you ever killed someone? to the more trivial What's your favourite color?" her smile turned a kind one while she explained her game "Aaaaaand, as for the game: we know one of these rooms has our beds... what kind is the other one?" she closed her eyes and raised a finger making an opinionated face "So here's the game: I make a single guess, you make a single guess. We open the doors and see who's the winner; if you win, you get another question answered. And if I win... well you decide" she said pointing at him with a grin. "Well then... I guess... the other room is a sort of storage room for supplies, you know food and stuff" 'Well, well... we'll see if I understimated you... Mr. little-thief...'

 

[Adira]

Koero nodded in response to the rock kicking. She found it quite smart that Nimfa had thought to make a trail so they could get back to the guild house easier. She nodded in response, surprisingly agreed with what Nimfa thought about the other guild-mates. It seemed she wasn't so alone in her thoughts and feelings after all. "I must agree Tiwala does seem to be.. how do I say this.. mysterious? No that's not the word I'm looking for.." She said searching her brain for the right word. "She doesn't seem like a person you would want on your bad side after all.." She finally settled on that choice of words. "Kidlat and Kimi seem nice enough, I'm going to make it a point to try to get on there good sides, I'm planning on not making any enemies.. but it's always good to make some.. alliances in a sense." She said as she nodded her head. "Bantay seems.. brave I guess you could say, though very wild and unpredictable. I guess.. what was his name? Akio? Well I guess he must just be shy or something. I can't say I didn't think about running as well. Though not sure where he thinks he's going" She finished up her thoughts on the others as they walked.

Koero was breathing deeply and was content with just walking with Nimfa, she had a certain aura about her that Koreo found calming. Koero was happy to escape the yelling and chaos that was happening at the guild house. She wondered if Aria had seen it, what she had expected to happen when she put 6 strangers into a weird world and forced them to get along. She wondered what time it was back in her world, if her brothers were safe. They were probably sleeping, dreaming about candy or video games.. Ivy seemed to be living one.

"I'm determined to do, what I think is, the right thing. I just.. doesn't everyone deserve a safe life? I'm sure there are families here.. with children and dreams.. They deserve to be protected just as much as we do back on earth. I don't see a reason not to help them, you know?" She answered the blue haired girl simply.

As they made their way to the ridge and the trees began to become less and less dense. The trees opened up to a beautiful sandy beach with a gorgeous and extremely clear lake. The water that flowed with the breeze with almost white it was so clear. She watched Nimfa take off her shoes and socks and run into the lake, creating splashes as she went. She reminded Koero of her little brothers and it put a smile on her face as she stripped off her own shoes and socks and joined Nimfa in the lake. The cool water hit her feet and washed over her ankles in small waves. "I bet you could!" She agreed with a slight girly giggle.

 

[FiliaFlammae]

Kidlat had answered correctly, it seemed, but Tiwala ran with it further than he expected, claiming to reward him with some sort of prize. All for just guessing she liked archery? Of course I guessed you like archery! You picked a friggin' bow! But whatever, if that brought her amusement...

...What was she doing? She'd slipped off the table, and now she walked towards him eerily slowly and began to circle him in silence. His breath quieted. This was strange. Strange and awkward. Was she sizing him up? Trying to determine what this "prize" would be...or summoning the will to give it to him? For some reason the image of her kissing him as the prize got stuck in his mind, bringing a blush back to his cheeks. Surely she couldn't seriously be considering that...? Her face and voice as she spoke again caused his insides to quiver once more. You have some straaaaange ways of flirting with a guy, sweet, he thought.

He followed her when asked, still in a bit of a daze. But she seemed to have dropped the premise of being flirty with him. Now she just sounded interested in learning the layout of the hall. As she pointed out, there were a measly two doors in one wall and a fire pit outside. That didn't allow for much. He shrugged when she pointed out that neither of these doors were locked. "Well, maybe they're not locked now but you can lock them from the other side. We'll have to check."

She suddenly remembered something: the promised prize. She steeled herself, took a breath, and...spewed out something from a game show. And the prize wasn't even anything like a kiss. It was an answer to a question. His expression darkened once again. He'd been picking up on it more and more in these past few minutes, and by now it was impossible not to notice. Tiwala was hiding behind a character. She made such efforts, depressingly obvious efforts, to be quirky and outgoing and strange. Her prize was telling: it implied that she treasured her inner self, kept the truth about her secret, and considered a revelation of that truth something precious. All this that she put forth was an act, and it wasn't even a very consistent one, either because she considered its loose-cannon nature a part of the act itself or because something else bothered her and distracted her from consistency.

He felt a twisting sensation in his heart that he could only imagine was pity. This was a sad act. She put forth a playful front, a front that he had truthfully enjoyed bantering with, but now he was troubled by it. He wanted to know what had caused her to be so distant. If only he could encourage her to be a little more comfortable...

What are you talking about, Chris? a voice in his head scolded. You're no different. You get all cheery like that when you need to, just like she does. You force yourself to forget the emptiness. Who are you to judge her acting against your own?

He reacted a little belatedly to the last thing Tiwala said. "Well, darn," he muttered, hopefully in a playful manner. It did no good to look as glum as he was sure he just looked. "I was going to guess storage too. Hmm." His eyes flickered towards the front door again, remembering the fire pit outside, and then back to the two interior doors. Kitchen, bedroom, storage...what else? "Uh, bathroom, I guess," he said. "I'd expect a rig like this to have an outhouse or something instead, haha, but you can never be too sure." He paused to think. "And if you win...sure, you can ask me a question, same conditions. I think that's fair."

 

[Nay'ar]

'So he's more than I thought... I DID understimate him... it seems the story of my life...' Tiwala sighed as she saw his eyes darken, he did guess something, maybe he guessed the importance of her concession... 'Never mind Ren, he won't make the right questions... and it's not like you'll ever meet him on the other side... or so I hope...' she was hesitant for a bit; maybe he was pitying her, thinking that she was acting to hide her weak self, that she even suffered from it. If so, he couldn't be more wrong: Ren wasn't 'drowning' in a facade, she 'swam' in it, on her own accord; she didn't want to forget her weak self, she merely wanted to remember the fear. She didn't try to escape emptyness she wanted to hug it. 'If I don't feel, I can't get hurt'. She crossed her arms before her listening to his reasoning.

Tiwala chuckled, covering her mouth with a couple of fingers, politely ignoring his attempt to divert the attention from his gloomy sound: "Really? A bathroom? I would have guessed so too but... it seems this is medieval-style period...there's no technology and inner bathrooms came up much later, didn't they?" she was sure to win. Bathrooms weren't something to expect in a Guild hall in a medieval period... well no one really expected to be able to use magic in a medieval setting either... she suddenly wondered if they would be burned for that 'What if our ESE bodies die?' an irritated voice came up from deep within 'Come on Ren... fo-cus' she shook her thoughts away and went on: "Eeeeh? I win a question too? What question could I ask, I wonder?" she said smiling cunningly, then turned dead serious to him, her clear, gray eyes in his bright green ones "Well, well... first thing first... prizes aren't combined so you have to ask before opening the door" she was almost eager to know what he would ask, she said 100% honest, not 100% accurate 'You're so cunning'.

"After we're done with the first prize, you'll open the door... I'm pretty sure I'm right though... so prepare to answer a very nasty question" again, she put her arms behind her back waiting with a smile that didn't reach her eyes on her lips, and those cold irises glued into his.