Open - Under Expectation

The sound of waves was the first thing Caiden noted. He didn't bother noting his surroundings just yet. He had other things to take care of, such as slapping himself as hard as he could. You know, as a test. It hurt. Valuable data in the name of science and discovery. He then touched his left hand to his left shoulder and flapped his arm twice. The ridiculous little maneuver was tied to a macro in his dive helmet. It should trigger a developer console, along with a game context panel. In most cases it would open a cease-and-desist warning from more secure applications,. In less protected cases he might even gain limited access. Then there were the really lucky times when he might have some decent privileges to work with, but this was not one. No window appeared. No response whatsoever. Caiden was not expecting this from some unknown dive out of nowhere. He was a little taken aback at the security. He stopped his avian mating dance and finally looked around. No one saw his dignity-less display. Unless some trees were sentient or the likes, because there sure were a lot of trees. Caiden didn't know if that was a possibility as he only glazed through the introduction stuff. He randomly picked most of the choices throughout creating his character, and tried to make his avatar as un-like himself as possible. Shortened it, made a less flashy hair color, just your average joe-shmo mmo avatar. He still wasn't sure where the waves were from, or where he actually was. He also had no clue on how to open any other menu other than his macro-ed one, which was a no-go. He tried various motion controls from other popular dives, such as tapping the air or tapping his finger tips. None worked. Maybe paying some detailed attention would have been smart.

Caiden didn't panic, per se, but calm wouldn't fit the situation. For all of five minutes Caiden tried every possible combination he could think of. Fruitless and exhausted, Caiden kicked a tree root. He vaguely remembered something about kicking stuff in the creation process. Expletives and vicious thumps carried through the air of the canopy. This wasn't experimenting, this was cathartic venting. Finally worn and rational, Caiden plopped himself between two thick tree roots, back to the trunk of some old haggard tree.
'Getting crushed to death by a sentient tree might be a plausible exit,' he mused. The trunks bark and the grass under foot. It felt realistic, as a dive should. Of course it wasn't perfect. It never was. But the little details were so there, so present. It felt like he knew this tree for a long time, for some odd reason. 'Noo. It couldn't be, She wouldn't have... Would she?' Caiden thought. He brushed the trunk with his palm. Maybe he wouldn't give up hope on this place after all. Revitalized, he wandered off through the limbs and boughs to find that water.

@Ilya

 

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@Caiden Ghiles

OOC: Sorry for the short post :(

The ocean waves were once more back, sounding as if a tidal wave. Oddly enough, Ilya preferred the more gentle waves of Duunstads where the hustle and bustle was much less. Due to Brisshal being where the new players spawned, it obviously had more "coming and going". The towns were more of a hustle a jostle than farther towns such as those she had crossed after leaving Duustads. Yet despite having travelling quite a long ways, Ilya had yet to find a full Felis village much to her disappointment. She now had found herself back to the start, where she could buy pretty much anything she wanted along with meeting various players as most stayed near here. Hearing a snap of the twigs, Ilya leaped to the treeline. She used her natural talent that came about from years and years of practice in her own real life, along with the fact that she was a member of the cat peoples. It took her quite less time than any normal person would to climb the tree. She hid among the branches as her eyes scanned the area. The snaps had been far too loud for any small animal. Might have been a bear, a wolf... or maybe--- Ilya's own thoughts got interrupted as pixels appeared on the patch of clear space a little ways away from her tree. Once the pixels had moved away, there stood a tall, younger man with dubious black locks. His eyes were of blue origin as they shone in the sun. His own expression was one of disbelief as he stood silently for a few moments. The first movement he made was of larger size. He smacked himself across the face. It took all of Ilya's self control not to burst out laughing.

Ilya's tail twitched with amusement as the man started to dance around like a chicken. It did not take long for him to stop, as he started to poke the air in front of him and wiggle his fingers like those circus musicians would. Ilya's eyes sparkled with humor as the man started to kick and punch the trees nearby. Feeling a bit nervous that he might attack her own tree, she steadied her breathing and attempted to stay silent. Once the man stopped kicking and punching he collapsed near Ilya's tree. She froze as she kept watching. He seemed to caress the tree, before he got up and started to go deeper into the forest. What the hell...? Ilya carefully started moving as he moved. Staying a little ways back. She let out more curse words under her breath when tree bark started to fly towards the ground. I have GOT to work on my stealth... Ilya hoped that the man who was walking further into the forest would not have noticed as he was in fact a little ways off. Ilya decided to play it safe and shifted her position to be hidden by the leaves if he were to look up. She stopped moving, and slowed her breathing once again to the minimal. Her tail stopped twitching and moving as it curled around her leg.

 

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@Ilya Oh my you won't like me if that's only a short post

Caiden was absolutely not lost. No sir. He was merely locationally challenged at the moment. That's why he couldn't find the crashing waves. Or a settlement. Or anyone for that matter. The solution would solve itself if he traveled in a straight line, so Caiden did just that, whistling and strolling through the trees. Every so often he stopped and stooped over to examine some leaf, or branch, or flower. The animal tracks didn't bother Caiden. Not a lot at least. The thought pulled at the back of Caiden's head. So many prints, so little he's seen. Was their something watching him? He peered into the bushes and foliage. Nothing present, to his knowledge. Caiden shrugged and resumed pace. 'Ignore the snapping twigs. They're just the wind or a squirrel. A big, fluffy, friendly squirrel.' He reassured himself.

The sound of waves, at this point, had subsided to stillness. A wrong turn was probably made at some point, but a mistake like that was best left in the past. The sun was hanging lower and lower and Caiden felt a familiar pang in his stomach. He sat, back at the base of a tree and counted his options. Caiden could test his luck and eat a random plant. Outcomes include death by poison, paralysis and subsequent exposure over night, or a nice meal. Bad odds. He could try and snag an animal and eat that. If he could find something. Or lastly Caiden could call out and hope for a response. Outcomes include attracting a big fluffy squirrel. Ultimately that could mean either attracting salvation, killing said squirrel, or dying by squirrel. 'Could be worse', he thought, before bellowing into his cupped hands.
"HERE SQUIRRELY. I HAVE SOME NICE UH... ACORNS? YEAH ACORNS HERE FOR YOU."

 

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@Caiden Ghiles

Ilya had been hiding in her tree when she saw the boy stop and lean against another tree. She stayed frozen her beady red eyes staring down at him. Her ears had stretched forward to see if he was making any noise. When out of his lips came a shout they instantly flattened against her head. Talk about.. loud. Ilya groaned silently to herself, Might as well show myself. He seems.. Lost? Hungry? Ilya herself had been measuring her hunger gauge up to this point and acting accordingly. In the real world, she rarely ever was hungry and it seemed that it had traveled over into this world. She had also been practicing for some time on lessening the impact hunger had on her, one might call her a pro at this point. However since the man before her seemed to be new to this world, it meant he might not know how to help prevent hunger. Some foods much like the real world left you feeling more hungry and did not last as long. Ilya herself stuck to pure protein fiber with seafood. Deciding it was high time to exit her tree she started to climb down one branch at a time. Upon making it past the numerous branches she had a clear jump down to the forest floor. With a single step she had leaped down and landed on the balls of her feet. I gotta hand it to the game. The Felis race really does have traits that are much cat-like. Now I know how Choji feels.. Cats always land on their feet. Ilya called out to the boy so that she would not frighten him as she had landed rather silently. "Hello! I know you were calling for a squirrel, and I am not one." As Ilya was talking, her cat tail had been waving slightly, "I was here to offer you my assistance." As if she was only confirming her thoughts she had closed her right hand and reopened it to reveal her palm menu. She opened her inventory and brought out a glass vial of water and a small fish sandwich. She held her hands out with the items, offering it to the boy. "Let us start with names. What shall I call you?"

 

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@Ilya

There was no doubt to Caiden. Hunger had taken his senses. It was not a squirrel now before him. A cat person had fallen in front of him on request. Or maybe it was simply coincidence. Had they been there the entire time? The realization this person, or thing, could have been trailing behind him sent a little shiver up his spine. Caiden must watch his surroundings much closer. He hesitantly held out his hands to accept the offered gifts.
"M- Caiden. My name is Caiden," He answered, nearly slipping his own name. That was something best not shared with strangers.

Caiden held the sandwich loftily in one hand, weighing it. Was it safe to eat? Is this a trick? Caiden couldn't be sure. Thoughts and reasoning washed over his head while he stood there awkwardly in silence. Then it suddenly clicked in his head. He jammed the sandwich in his mouth, freeing his right hand. With it, he mimicked the strangers hand motion. A panel appeared in his palm, to his joy. Caiden rose the other fist up and hooted, muffled by the sandwich clamped in his mouth. He was such an idiot, not to think of such a simple command. He violently threw himself into a sitting position on the ground, fiddling with the panels controls. At this point Caiden had forgotten about the benefactor beside him, while he distractedly munched the meal and scrolled through the menu. Only when he finish eating did he look up again. Seeing the other, he darted his eyes away, taking great interest in the dirt and pebbles to his side.
"Oh," He said, avoiding eye contact. "yes I do suppose I owe you now, although I don't quite believe I'd be much use so I should go on my ways. Pleasant meeting you." Caiden held out a hand, possibly to offer as a handshake.

 

Ilya let a hearty laugh escape her slightly parted lips. "Oh well, if you really do want to owe me, the I suppose I can put it into the back of my mind..But, if you do not want to owe me, then I can just consider this as repayment for my own idiocy back when I was a new comer." In fact, Ilya would never really make anyone 'owe' her. But she knew in fact that some had the type of personality to where they would never go without a debt paid in full. Ilya's thoughtful gaze watched the hand that was held out towards her. She cheerily took it and shook his hand, "If you really do wish to part ways, then I assume I could leave.. Although, if you want help looking for anything? Or if you want some sort of help to understand the basics and what not, then I can be the woman of the hour and show you many things. Plus, I owe it to someone to help out as many people as I can." Ilya gave the boy a grin, "Unless it would inconvenience you, I would not mind staying around for a while? How about it. Want to go on an adventure with me?"

 

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@Ilya I am so sorry for the wait. Needed a few days to get my life into pieces after getting back home and blowing my laptop battery out.

"An adventure? Like, with adventuring and travelling and killing stuff?"
It wasn't easy for Caiden to hide his thoughts from his face. In order of appearance, his face read as 'Can't I get a break here,' then a dash of 'Maybe I could just walk away?,' before finally resting on 'Screw it what's the worst that can happen'. His over active brain couldn't help but think of every little thing that could indeed go wrong. Was it bad that he felt excited though? Oh the joys of learning. Either way he just stared at... who? She never said her name. It didn't matter that much to Caiden. It took him a minute to make a decision, awkwardly sitting in silence.
Caiden didn't honestly want to pair up, but he needed a guide for the time being. 'Just think of her as like a tutorial ai,' He thought to himself, rationalizing his own stubborness. She taught him the menu, so he might as well stick around until he has the basics.
"I'm game. Where to first?" He asked, already turned and walking away. Better to walk talk and make use of their time. Caiden wasn't really one to listen to tutorials the whole way through.

 

Ilya chuckled lightly to herself, taking note that Caiden did not at all seem inclined to join her, Just pay attention to nonverbal social cues, last time this happened was with Zelrius.. And we had to retreat and part ways on not too good notes.. If I try to hard, I will just end up disliking this kid.. Despite her thoughts, a small grin was playing across her lips. "We can go anywhere." He had already started to walk away from her, but it was next to no effort for her to stride up to be beside him, while replying to his question. "Further north are rolling grassy hills, it is a nice place to look at, and plenty of wildlife live near the border as there is also a water pond nearby, producing an attraction spot for water nymphs, deer and wolves. To the south is the ocean and to the north-east is Stokbon, one of the largest cities in the game. Take your pick." This time, Ilya held a wide smile We are heading north anyways, might as well mention that aspect Ilya's own thoughts were interrupted by her own voice. "I am sure at this time of day if we were to go to the water hole, it would produce some easy fighting, providing the ability to get used to the system." Ilya herself enjoyed going to the water hole, it provided plenty of meat and game, which she could sell to various merchants everywhere. Easy gold, and easy prey.. Ilya's eyes changed with her thoughts, they gained a small "devilish" aura around them, revealing a small part of Ilya, yet due to Caiden's hurried steps to step forward, he would not have been able to notice, unless he had eyes in the back of his head. About half a second of them gaining the glow and aura, they returned to normal. "Oh! I forgot to mention my name, it is Ilya. If you do not mind my asking, why did you choose Caiden?"

 

Pebbles darted back and forth between the tips of shoes as he meandered through the field. To an onlooker, it may seem like he was playing something along the lines of football, or soccer if you're from the Americas, but for him it was just to keep his mind at ease as he traversed towards what he hoped was Norforva.

His pace steadied, his eyes slowly lingering from pebble to path and back to the pebble again. Nothing changed, at least visually. Audibly, voices carried over from ahead and caused the brunette to become disenchanted with round stone he had carried with him since exiting Stokbon.

Picking up the pace, he made his way over the mini-hill and peered ahead. What appeared to be polar opposites stood chatting among one another. Judging from the expressions he could make out, the boy didn't seem all to enthused on whatever the girl was telling him. I wonder if they're a bickering couple? Or perhaps estranged lovers? Actually I don't care that much, however, maybe they can point me in the direction of where I want to go.

Approaching them, Oikawa opted to speak to the lady first. Catching only the tail end of her last sentence, he chimed in. "Nice to meet you Mrs Ilya." Turning to the fellow, Oikawa offered him a greeting as well. "And I presume you to be Caiden?" he asked. "My name is Oikawa and I was wondering if I could bother you to know the location of Norforva? I have business to attend to there."

 

Watching the new man step forth and introduce himself, Ilya smiled lightly. "You do have a map just so you know.." Wondering whether or not the man knew that, Ilya herself opened up her map to show Oikawa. "and you can just call me Ilya. What is your business in Norforva?" Ilya zoomed in on the pathways in the map before selecting one. As she waited for his reply, Ilya tapped a button to share the location she had chosen. Scrolling through the list, she pointed her finger at Oikawa and tapped a button, bringing up his name. After sending him a friend request she waited for him to accept. "In order to send you the location and the best path to get there, you need to accept the friend request."

Staring at Oikawa now and taking him in, he definitely screamed "evil aura". She decided then that she most likely had to limit herself with her interactions with this man. He would produce bad interactions and experiences if she were to hang around him.

 

Oikawa noticed as the male, Caiden he had presumed, remained silent for this exchange. A flare in his crimson gaze flickered at the notion. However, the flames in his eyes quelled as Ilya made mention of the fact the noirette had access to a rather large and expansive map. She then projected the layout for him to see while simultaneously selecting a route for him to take. Nodding, he opened the alert on his own HUD and accepted her request. The information quickly loaded from the action and allowed him to view what she had sent.

Glossing over the path, Oikawa tapped the tip of his index finger along the edge of his temple. His thoughts, to Ilya and Caiden, seemingly spent on observing the map information. This idea; however, wouldn't be the case. Instead his mind focused on the look the red head gave him. Her eyes screaming caution as she looked him over. Her question of what his business in Norforva consisted of, was none of her concern, but he instead offered her a small view into his vision.

"You aren't wrong in your thoughts of me," he mentioned. "I intend to hold the charm of the Gods. Take their power as my own and lay siege to what isn't necessary. If a player can become the king of a nation, I can become a vessel of the Gods. Temples in Norforva offer that and as such concludes my business there." Closing the map terminal, Oikawa glanced to Caiden once more. The look of distaste swelling, before he turned towards the direction of Norforva. Tossing over his shoulder, he called out to Ilya, "I appreciate your help, though I imagine next time we meet, it won't be on as friendly terms. I will remember this however."

With that, he set off.