Lost. Why was Nalani always getting lost? She, once again, found herself wandering the plains of Dunnstads while looking for something to do. She hadn't been feeling quite up to fighting monsters that day, and had kind of leaned towards practicing a bit with her Magecraft, but once her feet started moving and her brain started churning with ideas, she realized that she didn't know what she was doing. However, that wasn't really a problem. The last two times she had been in Dunnstands was with Alpha, and her time here had been short as the they had moved onto the next area or their 'next adventure', as Alpha tended to get bored quickly when she was in one area. It got a little overwhelming at times, but Nalani had come to appreciate the smaller girl quite a lot. Soon enough, she could smell the coast nearby, and exited the trees to come to a little pleasant spot by the water. It was quite calming, she must admit, watching as the waves snuck up onto the sand and disappeared as fast as they had arrived. Terra Sphere moved quite fast for her sometimes, and between adventuring, chasing wild hogs, and hacking at grass, Nalani liked to relax. She moved closer to the water to sit on the sand and maybe dip her feet into the cold water, but upon looking to the right of her, she spotted a figure. She hadn't exactly expected anybody else to be out here at this time, so seeing another player enjoying the water, if that was what he was doing, kind of shocked her. Usually she'd smile and wave, maybe ask how he was enjoying Terra, but instead she just turned her blue gaze back to the ocean as nerves bubbled up inside of her. He was, well... Quite the handsome fella, and she wasn't that great with initiating conversation with cute guys. Carefully, she pulled off her shoes and placed them to the side, moving to sit down on the sand as she pulled out her little Mystery Egg simultaneously, holding it in her lap as she inched her toes towards the water, letting a wave come up and tickle her feet. It made her giggle a little, as she found it both equally comforting and weird- It wasn't real, yet it felt so real. Let's just say she'd probably never be able to experience things like this in real life, ever. @Jack Anders
After finding his new trinket from the depths of that cursed grass gnoll field, Jack had taken a detour in order to reset his state of mind. Though he had eventually come out as the victor, the reality was that he felt as if he had lost to some degree. His mind remained in a state of disarray, confused and unable to focus due to the endless hours he had squandered while scouring those damnable plots of grass. Still staring blankly off into the distant waters, he’d let out a yawn while stretching casually with both arms into the air. He’d take a moment to gaze down at the shiny object before shrugging once and whisking it away into his player inventory as if by magic. Fortunately the game had a rather convenient storage system, allowing him to not worry about carrying cumbersome items that he otherwise wouldn’t keep around. Completely oblivious to his surroundings, he’d let out a frustrated howl into the vast expanse of ocean. “RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGGGGHHHH!” The voice continued to echo into the void until muffled by the undulating sound of waves crashing against the shoreline. After that? He’d let out a sigh of relief before flopping back and onto the sand beneath him, his face resting against the ground and turned away from the sun. What he saw however would surprise him as he found himself staring directly into the eyes of another figure off into the distance. Had he been spotted? Surely he had… A bit of embarrassment was already welling in the dark haired figure as he began wishing for a hole to crawl into. @Nalani Rosa
His scream jump scared the crap out of Nalani, causing her gaze to snap in the direction of his whereabouts, ears and tail perking up in curiousity and eyes wide with shock. Awkwardly, she found herself staring right back into his, which looked almost equally surprised as she did. Had he just realized that she was there? She honestly wondered why he had yelled so loud, unless something had either hurt him or frustrated him... And he was lying down on the sand, What a strange guy. Thankfully, Nalani liked strange people, and couldn't help herself as she carefully got to her feet, pulling her shoes back on over her feet. Nalani was a sweet person, but she usually didn't like to step into a strangers space too much in fear of overwhelming them, because that would be really bad. But here this guy had just screamed, and she wanted to know if he was indeed okay. Carefully she put her egg away in her bag and took a deep breath, before then heading in the direction that the man was. She didn't make eye contact with him as she walked over, but actually watched the water, trying to make things less awkward then they already were. She walked until she was directly in front of him, and then turned her blue eyes down towards his face, studying his features carefully while raising an eyebrow, "Are you okay?" This... Probably seemed pretty strange to him, that she even cared to why he seemed to be stressed or overwhelmed, but it wasn't like she had anything better to do and she definitely couldn't avoid him the whole entire time as she sat on the sand. It was either get up, leave, and probably have a few awkward encounters with this guy if they ever were to meet up again, or it was talk to him and get to know him. Nalani was always up for making friends as well, so it didn't bother her at all to talk to him. Maybe she could help out in some sort of way?... Yes, that seemed like a fine idea. @Jack Anders
“Fuck, she’s coming over.” The dark hair man cursed softly under his breath, hoping that the stranger would simply walk away and pretend nothing had happened. That was the best course of action. Sure, it didn’t deal with any of the awkwardness and postponed it for later, but that was the whole point. Perhaps in another month or two she’d simply forget his face vs her current approach which would permanently engrave him into her memory as a weirdo. A soft sigh sounded as he’d lazily get up from the sand. He’d pause a moment to brush lingering specks of dirt off him while shaking himself once to free up any remaining debris. Upon hearing the woman’s voice however, he’d stare back with a “deer in the headlights” gaze. His voice sounded unsure of what to say and faltered momentarily. “Uhhh…” Pausing a second to look about, he’d search desperately for an excuse or something. Perhaps a giant crab would appear and engulf him to spare him the misery of explaining his previous outburst. Unfortunately that didn’t seem very likely. “Yeah? I think so… I mean, yeah! I’m peachy.” The man was internally smacking himself after reflecting on the dialog that had just passed. Peachy? Who the hell ever said that anymore? Sheesh, it was as if he was trying to intentionally place an expiration date on himself. Still a bit perturbed internally, he’d resort to an easy deflection. Perhaps by firing back with his own question, she’d lose pace of the conversation and forget why it had originally started. “What are you doing out here? Doesn’t seem to be much right now. You lost?” @Nalani Rosa
Raising her perfectly plucked white eyebrow into an arch as the man stood up to speak to her, the corners of Nalani's lips pulled up into an amused smile as she folded her hands behind her back, almost laughing at the look on his face of someone who obviously hadn't expected anyone to see that, but she kept it cool, pushing a strand of hair out of her face as if to distract herself. It wasn't until the man spoke up that she had to giggle a little at his silliness. 'I'm peachy'. What kind of old slang was that? It wasn't like she hadn't heard of it before, of course, but to hear someone using that kind of term in a virtual reality video game sounded kinda, well, stupid. But unfortunately for him, that just raised her intrigued level even more. But then he was asking her questions, which she honestly hadn't been ready to answer. What was she doing out here again? Wasn't she, well, lost? At the thought, her cheeks lit up with a soft pink colour, but her lips pursed as if she was thinking, zoning out as she turned her gaze over his shoulder, trying to dispel the embarrassed feeling raising in her chest. It wasn't until he actually asked if she was lost that she snapped right back to him, studying his expression for a moment before smiling awkwardly, "Uh, actually, yah. I just kinda started walking, and next thing I knew I was here. Kinda pathetic... In a sense." She admitted, glancing away rather bashfully, raising one finger up to her chin to scratch it absentmindedly, before opening her mouth to speak again. 'It's not like it's a bad kind of lost though, I mean, the view is gorgeous." Nalani sighed, focusing on the horizon once more as if entranced by the beauty of this world, before looking back at him, her eyebrows furrowing together for a split second in panic before relaxing again, How to not make this awkward, how to not make this awkward... Ah, fuck it. "I'm Nalani Rosa, and I tend to get lost a lot... Haven't been able to play a video game this much in forever, and the vr can be a little intimidating." She said, as if giving him a reason as to why she got lost and not letting his brain wander with some bizarre ideas. It only took a little more studying of his face and a quick glance at his clothes to come to a conclusion herself, "You were one of the people going absolutely insane with the patches of grass earlier, weren't you?" She had seen him for a couple of seconds, absolutely tearing into a patch she had a couple moments before debated on going before turning to the next. She was glad she did, as maybe it could strike up some kind of conversation. @Jack Anders
Despite the continual escalation of awkwardness, Jack somehow remained still and resisted the urge to simply flee and scurry away. His internal thoughts continued to go haywire however as he was constantly reminded that things had only worsened rather than improved the more the stranger opened her mouth. Rather than focusing on these aspects however, he’d begin pondering different side tangents. Upon closer inspection, the woman was actually quite beautiful, more so than even a majority of the players here. Just from a casual glance, it was hard to spot any physical flaws or imperfections. Was she perhaps an AI of the system? If so things had just become a bit less awkward for the magician. His hopes were soon dashed however as he’d flush an embarrassed shade of red upon hearing her mention video games. There was no way she was an NPC, the game simply hadn’t had any self-conscious ones yet as far as he was aware of. Seeing how the opposing party had already introduced herself, he’d scratch the back of his head awkwardly before opening his mouth to speak as well. “Yeah, I know what you mean. This game can be pretty confusing. That’s how I ended up out here in the first place. I’m Ja—“ His words were abruptly cut off by the woman’s next words. Apparently she had recognized him from before… causing an even more violent flush of red to overtake his face. Internally he had already begun kicking himself for standing out so much while at the fields of grass. “Wait, you were there too?!?” The man’s eyes had widened with disbelief as he asked her to repeat. Hopefully his ears had deceived him. A shudder ran down the man’s spine as he recalled that turn of events. After he had found the shiny object… an angry mob had formed. @Nalani Rosa
Was he... Blushing? Yes, he was. The man had turned a shade of red while she had been speaking, which made her equally curious and even more amused than she had been before, her smile turning into a smirk as she watched him almost squirm under her gaze. Well, not physically, but it was obvious to tell that the man in front of her was uncomfortable. For what reason wasn't 100% clear to her, and she hadn't really done anything wrong, so she wasn't entirely ready to move away and leave him alone yet. Her thoughts were quickly cut off by his sudden outburst however, and she blinked in surprise at how embarrassed he seemed to be at the fact she had seen him at the prism event. She nodded tentatively, giving a small smile and cocking her head to the side as she spoke, "I was, but only for a couple moments... A Grass Knoll kinda popped out of my patch, so I took off running in the opposite direction." she admitted bashfully, sighing at her own patheticness. She couldn't help it if she wasn't geared well or didn't have a beast to properly work with her... Speaking of beasts, she should probably go and tame own. She recently updated her mastery points, and it probably would be a good idea to nab one up for herself. "Actually, completely random, but do you happen to know where they have like any medium sized animals roaming around? I'm a Beast Tamer, but I have yet to come across an animal that I've really been interested in taming yet." she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and shifting her weight onto her hip, totally veering the subject off for his own comfortableness as she gave him an inquisitive look. She would've asked him more about what happened back at the grass patches, even who had found the shard, but she didn't want to scare the poor man off as his reaction didn't seem that great. Besides, Alpha had been busy with some kind of quest, and wasn't available to look around with her for a beast to tame, and she wasn't exactly comfortable heading out by herself. If this man wasn't busy, she would appreciate if he pointed her in the right direction, or even showed her where to go. She wouldn't mind that, "Also, what was your name? I didn't quite catch it..." @Jack Anders
A curious stare was given as Jack quietly nodded while listening to Nalani’s story. With each passing phrase, a weight was taken off his shoulders as a sigh of relief sounded internally in his mind. Phew, from the looks of it, she didn’t really seem to notice me that much. Seems like she came across a bit of bad luck herself… If that’s the case maybe she doesn’t know I have the shard? The last thing I really need is another angry mob reforming to hunt me down for it… If the girl were to perhaps gain a glimpse into his thoughts, would she think him silly for it? They were valid fears for the most part, albeit perhaps a bit exaggerated due to the exhaustion and paranoia he had felt from the event. Though his discomfort with the situation had slightly faded, it appeared as though the girl was kind enough to take a hint and change the topic of discussion at hand. He’d nod once slowly as if thanking her before listening more carefully to her words. It probably helped that he wasn’t as on alert as a few moments prior. “Hmm… a pet… for taming? That sounds kind of fun actually. Haven’t actually met one of you folks yet but I am a bit envious. Rumor has it on the z/board that you can eventually ride them as mounts with enough skill!” He’d pause for a moment to contemplate her question while wracking his brain for recollections of various monsters he had encountered in the game thus far. “So it’s gotta be a medium creature, right? Any preference? Two legs, four legs, furry, fat, fuzzy? Maybe you want a pet that can swim or fly? There’s literally a whole world out there to tame, right? Were you looking for something more offensive? Or defensive? I remember seeing that they have different abilities and stats too, right? Might’ve just been a fib though, it’s hard to tell on the web.” It seemed as though what little anxiety Jack had was now completely washed away. Simply talking about the game got him excited, causing any other concerns to vanish for the time being. @Nalani Rosa
Nalani nodded and smiled- She'd heard about that too. For now, she could tame a large, medium, and small sized animal, but have either a large out or the medium and small sized at the same time. Large could be cool and all, but Nalani liked the idea of two companions, one small just to cuddle and be helpful with small places and things while the medium one could pack at least some damage while being able to maneuver well at the same time. She'd probably end up getting a larger one somewhere down the line, but for a larger beast she wanted it to be somewhat special so that she could ride around and look equally cool. "Four legs. Furry. Mmm... Maybe enough fat so that's it's not skinny but not overly fat like a hog. Offensive, but maybe with a big defense. You don't want your pet to just run in there and not be able to defend itself if something goes wrong." she answered all his questions as easily as he asked them, furrowing her eyebrows together in thought. She wasn't even sure if they had different abilities and stats, which they probably did, but either way she was excited to find out. She just needed to locate and tame one in the first place. "Hmmmm... Well, I do like anything to do with cats, obviously." she pondered, her ears giving a small flick of agreement as if showing him proof, and then she snapped her fingers as if coming up with a thought, grinning up at Jack, "How about something like a lynx? They're not that big, my friend has a dingo and it should be about that size... Even smaller." she explained, nodding. Unless he had a better idea, then that was that was what she was going with. @Jack Anders
Before he knew it, a dumb grin was plastered over the man’s face as he’d listen carefully to the woman’s explanation for an ideal pet. A soft laugh was had as the coastal winds blew across his face, shuffling his hair a smidgeon. “So let me get this straight… You want a pet that deals tons of damage, can take a solid hit, and has a perfect BMI? Sheesh.” He’d have a hand dismissively while laughing yet again, this time more so at something else. “I hope your standards for finding a boyfriend aren’t that high.” He hadn’t meant anything implicative behind his words. How they were interpreted however was out of his hands. “A cat would be pretty nice though since you’ve got that thematic going on.” He’d waggle a finger at her tail playfully while stating the obvious. “I think I remember hearing about some lynxes a ways off from here to the North?” A hand raised to scratch his head as he’d try to scrape at what bits of memory that he could. “Yeah! I remember now. One of the merchants I came across said he saw some on the way to a nearby town.” Assuming the woman would agree to follow, he’d motion with a hand to indicate their path. While leading the way, he’d pause along their journey, remembering back to what the Felis had said earlier. “You mentioned that your friend has a dingo right?... That wouldn’t happen to be Alphabet by any chance, would it? I remember some random person raving in the world channel about how their dog changed species or something from taking a swim.” As the pair discussed this, they'd begin to stray away from the coast and towards the treeline of a nearby forest. @Nalani Rosa
Whoa. This guy had a really nice laugh and really nice... Well, everything. She couldn't help but continue to smile at him as they chatted, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so. "Yup, I guess you can say that's exactly what I want." she laughed gently, raising an eyebrow in confusion at his next statement. Standards for finding a boyfriend? That was... A weird thing to say. She fought off the blush that threatened to rise to her cheeks as she busied herself with what to say next, moving on with the rest of the conversation. The two of them began to walk as Jack spoke about a merchant who told him about some lynxes more up North from where they were standing. If she wasn't around someone so cool and attractive, she'd probably skip behind him a little and maybe even get super excited, but she kept her calm as she followed along. The only symptoms of her being happy about their small adventure was the way her tail flicked back and forth and how her ears twitched with excitement. Plus the cheery smile on her face. That too. She cocked her head to the side at him as he brought up her friend Alphabet, eyes widening in surprise. Well, not really surprise, actually. Alpha was so hyper and outgoing that everyone probably knew her by now, "Yup!~ That was her. She was really shocked, sent me a pm to meet her asap and then went on and on about how Terry- That's her pets name, was suddenly a dingo. She even posted about it in the world chat, but there was this jerk that kept scaring her. I don't quite remember his name, but it's not nice to pick on children." she said, not really sounding nasty or disappointed as she spoke, but just as if sharing a fact with someone who she doubted would be as rude. What was his name again?... John Averliss? That can't be it... @Jack Anders
As Jack continued to lead them further along their path, he’d nod while intently listening to the woman’s explanation. Though her signs of excitement weren’t exactly visible since he was leading the way, his ears did perk slightly at the occasional breeze caught by his leg from her tail swaying back and forth. “You sure it wasn’t just a dingo from the start?...” The dark haired mage quickly found himself mischievously grinning however as the vixen continued to explain about her troubles in the world channel. A small chuckle was had as he’d attempt to stifle his laughter with little to no success. “Pffft…” This small raspberry sound escaped from his lips as he’d shake his head to quickly clear his thoughts. It probably wouldn’t go over well if she had connected the dots and realized it was him. That said, he’d come clean anyway. There was no point in playing this game of cat and mouse, especially since she was the cat… “Yeaaah… that was me. Whoooopsie~…” He’d turn to rub the back of his head repentantly while still grinning to a degree. It was pretty evident that the man wasn’t genuinely sorry but had simply offered up these words as a peace treaty to bury the hatchet. Upon turning to apologize, his eyes had strayed momentarily. It was ever the briefest of flickers but his gaze had strayed for a second as if entranced by that swaying tail. Fluffy… Her ears look so lively too. Does the game program them to be part of the body? Curiosity had taken a greater hold over the man’s attention as he internally pondered over these things. It was then that some gentle rustling could be heard off in the distance near some tall grass. His mind now on alert, the laughter from Jack’s face quickly subsided as he’d stare off at a nearby patch. “Did you hear that?...” Considering his last run in with the gnolls of Portmont, the man was a bit weary of anything concealed within the terrain as a whole. As for what was over yonder, only time could tell.
Oh. Nalani blushed a little at the fact she had practically called him a jerk to his face, laughing awkwardly a little herself as she raised an eyebrow at him. It had been uncool, what he did, but he didn't seem to be that bad of a guy and Nalani was all one for forgiving. So, after a couple moments of getting over what happened, she then focused on the fact that he was just staring at her, seemingly studying something. She cocked her head to the side a little at his curious expression and tried to ignore the nerves that climbed at this development, only coming up with a scrunching up her nose at him like a piggie, accompanied by a swish of her tail and a the flattening of her ears. This, unknowingly to her, would probably just add mre to his curiousness. However, they were cut off by the rustle of some grass nearby, Nalani stopped too, turning her gaze onto it with wide eyes. She nodded in reply to him, not making noise. It could be a small woodland creature, like in the movies or those stupid tv shoes, or it could be worse... An enemy. The rustling grew louder, and louder, and louder... And then it stopped. Silence. But then suddenly, a big fuzzy ball of furr came rolling out of the tall stacks, a look of alarm on its face as it came to an abrupt spot on its bottom, shaking its hairy head and jumping immediately to it's feet. A lynx, what a coincidence! Nalani's seemed to perk up for a second and was about to speak, but something bothered her. The lynx looked terrified. She immediately dropped to her knees, getting down low to the animals level and reaching out a hand, as if giving up dominance and bringing herself down to its level, "Jack... Keep an eye on the grass." she said quietly, not removing her gaze from the terrified one of the lynx, who was desperately looking for an escape. She managed a sweet smile and rubbed her fingers together in a beckoning way, something she used to do with her cats back at home, "Come here, little one, we're not going to hurt you." she cooed gently. However, as this went on, the tall grass continued to rustle. Something had been chasing the poor lynx, and obviously was going to come rushing out of the brush just like the fluffy creature did. @Jack Anders
