As the light signifying his transition into Terrasphere faded away, Christopher Hawkins found himself within a clearing in the forests of Brisshal. Definition soon came, the feeling of wind and air on his skin alerting him to the fact that he now had a “body” in this digital world, one that was rather different from his real life one. The most immediate difference was height: being a full foot shorter than his real body, his entire sense of proportion was somewhat thrown off. The trees looked bigger, the ground closer. All in all he felt, well, smaller. The rest of the changes, well, they were what he expected when he chose to play a woman. Smaller, daintier frame, but underneath it the muscle and power of a swordswoman. Sure, he wasn’t going to be wielding greataxes and smashing heads in, but that wasn’t what he wanted anyway. He, or “she” now that he thought about it, was to be a graceful combatant, flittering about the field and killing with beauty and grace. Though she did have to admit, with such a lithe frame leaving little in the way of curves, with the right set of clothing, she could pass off as a rather beautiful man if she wanted to. In a weird way, then, it meant that the height difference was probably a bigger change than the gender. ”Man or woman though…huh, I guess that is my voice now,” she said out loud, testing out the delicate and higher pitched voice she was now in possession of, at least in the game. She gave a slight grin as she spun around, getting a good sense of her new body in her clothing. As she finally took a good look at her clothes, however, she frowned a little. Her clothes were of her general style, but they looked duller, dingier, and of lesser quality than she had thought they would. ”Hmm, I had hoped my outfit to look a little more exquisite. I guess it was asking too much for starter outfits to be of the best quality,” she said, giving a slight sigh as she adjusted her hat a little. Once she was done, she ran her fingers through her hair, just to get a sense of it. ”At least it seems my hair is soft as silk. I’m sure I can get my outfit to feel the same soon enough,” she said, chuckling. Taking a deep breath, she placed a free hand on her hip and took a look around. Yep, it was the woods alright. Temperate forest, standard medieval fantasy forests starting area. Nothing particularly challenging. It was her hope, however, that since this was a starting area, she could find some other newbies around to team up with. She always enjoyed working in a group in these games, and considering the weirdness regarding Terrasphere itself, she figured it best to make some friends, juuuuust in case.
Benjamin grinned as he finished adding the final details to his grand masterpiece - Ben Dover. It was, by all means, an immature name. But it cracked him up, and gods did he need a reason to smile lately. With a flourish of his hand, he watched as the game transported him from its character creator into the actual game world. He strained against the game's restrictions, trying to sneak peeks at his still-generating body. He hadn't changed much from his usual appearance - added an inch (and maybe a few more winkwonk) and shaved a few pounds. Dull pain registered in his feet, and that's when Ben realized he could actually see his feet. His bare, pretty feet. "Huh." He looked at his hands next, admiring the smooth flesh he could see. And he could see a lot of it. Even the skimpy outfit he'd jokingly chosen in the creation (wow these creators were lewd) had loaded in with his character's model - albeit in a... lesser quality. Oh well. Maybe he'd pilfer some better loot later. Or commission something even skimpier. The next thing he registered was the faint sound of somebody talking in the distance. It was mostly muffled by the sounds of the nature surrounding him, but if he squinted real hard and pretended that's how you improve your hearing, Ben could've sworn that was a girl. He wondered if that girl would find his avatar hot. And that thought was enough to propel him forward, pushing his way through low hanging branches and irritating leaves until he was in another clearing, admiring his fellow blonde. Ben almost felt betrayed by his senses. He could've sworn that a girl was talking, but the shortie in front of him... Was that a girl? Or a boy? Or an underdeveloped kid? Please don't be a kid. That'd be a bit too weird. Not weird enough to deter him from leering at them, but still pretty weird. "So," he started, leaning against the trunk of a tree with one arm, "you come here often to talk to yourself?" Smooth. Like a baby's bottom kind of smooth. @Aceline De La Fontaine
Well, that had been quick. Not even a minute after she had declared a desire to find a friend, in her mind at least, someone showed up. Now, the question was if he was in the right game: his outfit seemed more appropriate for an Arabian erotic novel than a medieval fantasy. Surely he had to be a mage or something to risk battling in such little armor. Either that or he was a masochist who wanted to get stabbed in the gut. Or maybe he was roleplaying a prostitute? Regardless, as a heroine she was to approach everyone with the same glamour and politeness, even the half-naked men trying to hit on her in the woods. ”No, I do not make it a habit to wander out into the woods to talk to myself,” she said, a slight laugh punctuating her statement. Now that @Ben Dover – and yes, Aceline was internally cringing a little at the lewdness of the joke – was closer, he’d notice the rather feminine sound to her voice. ”I take it you don’t make it a habit to stalk lone maidens through the woods?”
Oh, so she WAS a girl. Huh. The more you know. His grin widened, trying to pin her with his gaze. "No," he said clearly, "only the pretty ones." And the ones with money to spare. Though if her outfit was any indication, she wouldn't have gold to splurge on him. A shame. "Name's Ben!" he winked, "Ben Dover." Yup. Still hilarious. He choked down a laugh. Pushing himself off the tree, he sauntered closer to the smaller girl. "Say, do you know the way to the nearest town?" It would suck if he was stuck in a lame forest like this, forever, with this... girl. He'd expected some sort of tutorial that would thrust him straight into combat, but there didn't seem to be that function in this game. Unless she was the tutorial NPC. Huh. She didn't look like she'd be one, but it was hard to tell with a game that boasted to have AI so advanced. Plucking a dagger from wherever he'd store those things, Ben fiddled with the weapon, tossing it between his hands. "I need some gold to spend first, though," he mused, eyes narrowing as he juggled the weapon. He pulled his attention away from the sharp, pointy thing being tossed deftly. "Want to hunt something with me?" His grin sharpened into something far more predatory, snatching the hilt of the dagger out of the air and holding it easily. "Don't worry, I'll protect you." Probably. Maybe. @Aceline De La Fontaine
Ah, yes, this was the type of player who felt that with the ability to alter their appearance they could be, as they say, a “player.” The lewdness of his choice of name simply confirmed that fact. He’d be easy enough to keep at bay for now, and he was the first person she had met in this world. She could at least humor him for a while, see if he was at least enjoyable enough for the occasional party. ”Well, Ben,” she said, being quite clear she wasn’t going to use the rest of the name, ”My full name is Aceline de la Fontaine, but you may simply call me Aceline,” she said, giving a slight bow out of courtesy. At the mention of the town, she could only offer a shrug. ”Honestly, I have not yet had the chance to look at a map since arriving here. In fact, I had only just situated myself here when you arrived.” She casually pulled up the menu, beginning to look around to see where they were in comparison to the nearest towns. It didn’t appear that far, though now that they were physically in the game distances on a map could be deceiving. Still, it would make sense that in a beginner area the towns would not be far from where players spawned. He did, however, have a point that they would need some gold first. The comment about protection, however, did give her a little grin. Her free hand, having been on her hip this whole time, quickly grabbed a hold of her rapier, quickly bring it up to just in front of Ben’s face. Her stance and how she held it suggested she wasn’t unfamiliar with the weapon. ”I can assure you that it is likely I will be the one protecting you. I built this character to be a heroine, after all, not a damsel in distress.” She pulled the sword back, sliding it into the scabbard. ”With that said, a hunt before going to town does sound rather delightful. Switching out of these dingy starter clothes won’t be cheap, after all.” @Ben Dover
Wow, what stick had she shoved up her butt? It seemed like, at least to Ben, that he'd have to work it out of her with some good ol' fashioned charm. Before he could add any helpful comments to the conversation, Aceline's eyes glazed over, probably looking at her own UI. Taking the hint, Ben also brought up his UI. It was an odd sensation and there seemed to be a lot of information available, which he'd have to go through thoroughly and see if there was anythin—"WHOA!" He jerked his head away from the sharp tip that had been mere inches away from his face. She could've hurt him! His beautiful character's face! Sure, they said that women loved a good battle scar, but he didn't want to mess up his hard work this early on in the game. It had taken him hours to perfect every little detail of this avatar. As she pulled her sword away to sheathe it and brushed off his offers of protection (wow, rude much?), Ben wiped off the imaginary dust that had settled on him, trying to bite back his smirk. "Y'know," he started in a matter-of-fact tone, brows raising, "most people ask before shoving their tips at me." Despite his nonchalant posture, Ben was much more ready for random blades in his face. Wouldn't do to be stabbed this early on! Keeping his hand firmly wrapped around his dagger, Ben took a few steps through the clearing, giving it a contemplative look. Tutorial areas always had beasts to fight. He inhaled, filling his lungs with as much air as possible. "COME AND GET US, YA NASTY BEASTS!" His shout rang through the forest, bouncing off trees and into the surroundings. At least now, everything in the area was aware of their presence. He turned, ready to walk back to Aceline, when he saw it. Motion in the corner of his eye. Head snapping to the side, Ben ducked down and rolled away from the leaping wolf, backing up to his current partner-in-crime. Adrenaline flooded his system. "You ready?" he asked, voice low and words rolling off his tongue like a purr. @Aceline De La Fontaine
Her point seemed to have been made, though the man did simply reply with a crude joke. She didn’t have any qualm with some flirtatious banter, but the crudeness of the man’s style was had repulsed him. More flowery, poetic languages was more her style, the hint of subtleness allowing for the imagination and pleasantries to do the work. Not wanting to give it the dignity of a response, she simply gave a sly smile before putting her sword away. Moving on then, it seemed that at least for now they would join together in hunting some boars. Of course, it came to no surprise to her that his choice of method was as blunt as his flirtations. At least it was a good test of the sound effects of the game. She simply gave a sigh, however, and hoped that his lack of armor was just an aesthetic thing. Because if that was how he was going to play the game, she would gladly let him take on the tank role for which such obvious methods of attracting attention were well suited for. ”You’re not exactly the type of subtlety, are you?” she said, pulling out her own sword and joining him in a back-to-back pose, though not quite enough to be touching him. She kept her eye on the surrounding area. With that kind of a yell, it was likely that they could be attacked from any side.
He snorted, gesturing vaguely with his dagger to his surroundings. "You say that like that's a bad thing, darling!" he chirped, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Leaning his weight forward, he kept a lookout for that wolf again and any of its other... friends. Thrown dice: 45 91 Wolf Mob: 55HP Left Ben: 9HP Left Spotting the rustle of a bush, Ben charged forward without regard for his... lack of armor, and swiped at the shrubbery with his dagger. He crowed with delight as his stab was met with a pained howl. "Take tha-aAH!" Tackled from the side by the wolf's companion, Ben took a heavy hit to his ribs, feeling claws scratch at the exposed flesh there. In retaliation, he stabbed at the beast as many times as he could before it ran out of his reach, leaving him to collapse on to the ground holding his side. "Damn, that hurts!" He fussed over the wound, hoping @Aceline De La Fontaine was the kind of sucker that helped injured fools instead of leaving them to their doom.
[[OOC: Sorry for lateness. Been busy with the first week back at university.]] ”In some situations, no, but I generally prefer both my fighting and flirtations with a little more sophistication and subtlety to them,” she said, rapier at the ready for whatever happened. They were soon met with a mob of wolves. Before she had a chance to react, however, her companion ran forth without care, and for a moment it seemed his rush had worked at a surprise attack. When the wolves retailed and brutally assaulted him, leaving him alone on the ground in severe pain, that seemed a much more appropriate response for such a foolhardy endeavor. Still, she could not leave her companion to the wolves – literally in this case – even if he was a crude and crass one. Thrown dice: 68 63 Wolf Mob: 0HP Left Aceline: 37HP Left As one of the wolves rushed to finish off Ben, she charged forward, thrusting forward with her rapier, stabbing at it right before it pounced at him. It seemed that her strike was critical, and with the damage Ben had done earlier, it was enough to finish the monster off. The delay as it’s death animation played, however, kept her sword unavailable for the other wolf to attack, biting at her leg. She yelped in pain – yeah, Ben was right that even with the reduced pain settings that really hurt. Her HP bar began to drain, the hunter now turned avenger persistently gnawing at her leg. She tried to shake it loose, but her efforts only led her to fall over onto the ground herself. It was a stroke of luck, then, that her sword finally freed itself from being embedded in the other wolf’s death animation. One advantage of having the wolf so forcefully thrashing at her leg was it left her in a clear position to stab at its head with her rapier. The damage was sufficient enough to not only free her leg but to finish off the wolf as well, leaving her to finally just collapse on the ground in exhaustion as adrenaline began to wore off. ”Okay, wolves kind of suck,” she said, panting a little bit as she worked to catch her breath. ”You alright over their? That looked like a nasty hit.”
He snorted. "Massive understatement of the century, much?" he said, wincing as the laugh rattled his battered ribs. Now that @Aceline De La Fontaine had pointed it out, he didn't feel quite alright. "Ah…" The adrenalin pumping through his veins crawled to a stop. Every movement was like a sharp needle stabbing at his torso. That would have to be fixed. Drawing on his vague memories of the information that had been displayed when he'd chosen his masteries (which he really should've read a bit more thoroughly), Ben decided to try his luck with that Bard mastery. He grit his teeth and, with a hiss, started to hum. With every passing note, the gash in his side stitched itself together; his voice grew clearer, confident, carrying the melody easily. For such a crude man, his voice was rather... beautiful. By the time the wound had closed, no longer fiercely bleeding, he was low on Energy. Panting, Ben fell back into the grass, his hair fanning around him like a golden halo. "That really worked?" Every agonizing moment had felt real, and if it weren't for the blinking bar of energy in the corner of his UI, he almost would have believed he was really casting magic. "That worked. Holy crap!" Without the pain in his sides, Ben laughed freely. And loudly.
After he finally stopped laughing, Ben managed to get himself to his feet. The delight had given him the energy needed to carry on to the city with his new companion, where he quickly manages to ditch her. The city! So much to explore! He had so much to do... [FIN]
