Haru has been thinking about a single subject ever since he arrived to this place. "Aaah. Why is it so cold?" Seriously. It isn't always like this here, has it? Maybe it just has to do with the winter season. Either way, he was dealing with snow going past his ankles in the city of various ruin and repairs. It's not like he was really complaining about it, though. In the first place, he kept his mode set to Manual on all times just for reasons like this. It's really been forever since he's felt cold like this. It could even be said that Haru was happy to complain about things like this.

Currently he resided on the porch of an inn. He had meant to arrive at the Lion's Pride, but had gotten hopelessly lost along the way, finding a different place to rest his feet on. This place was rather modest, and had a warm atmosphere that could be felt even on the porch outside of it. Oh, well- he was early anyway, so all the better to enjoy this cold with. He'd walked a long way, after all. "Speaking of long distances..." Haru mutters under his breath, reopening the review of the message he'd sent over to a friend of his just over a day ago back in time.

Mail

To Vincent Cain:
Yo! It's me. Do call me Haru when you find me, though. It's a role-playing game, after all. That code you found worked wonders. I do apologize, though: If you're looking for me in the Tutorial Area... I, uh, took a bit of a hike.
You see, I got a little bit hooked on the feeling of being able to walk again when I started this game up. It feels real. Not like the other games. You were totally right about it. Anyway, I heard some things on the rumor mill, one step led to another, aaaand I'm approaching Vintergard in Astorea now, looking for some expedition led by one 'Zeus'. I got really into this walk.
So, see you whenever you catch up!
-Tomomi

To be honest, Haru didn't actually know the man's in-game name. The two of them weren't exactly the closest people. He did, however, know him well enough- if @Vincent Cain 's name wasn't the exact same in-game as out, he'd eat his own shoes. That's a risky bet, considering all of the snow he'd have to be stepping on if he ate it. Heck, and if he was wrong, Haru would just ask him by text the next morning, anyway. No big deal. Regardless, he sits on this porch with a cup of tea and a regal posture, waiting for anyone to come. He has all day, after all, and has come to enjoy conversation in the recent years.

 

Vincent stared at the map looking mortified. "How the actual..." he paused and let that thought die in his throat. He ran a hand through his hair and quickly typed out a response.

Mail

Alright Haru! You covered some crazy ground so I need to run to catch up to you, it shouldn't take to terribly long, so don't go running off.

With that he was off. The cold didn't bother him too much, he just set himself on an autopath and semi checked out of the game, letting his mind wander until he'd reached his destination. It was sorta like flying somewhere, but you didn't have to have that TSA guy pat your junk, and you didn't have to pretend you were super interested in everything that four year old wanted to tell you.

I'm digressing.

When Vince finally arrived Vintergaurd, he found his eyes naturally shifting to the detect mode, where he could see nameplates and all sorts of other neat information. It let him know who was an NPC, and who was some random player. In particular he was looking for Haru, and his nameplate, which he found sitting on a porch. He...

Vince sucked in his breath.

He looked good, not that Vince swung that way, but more like he looked less like he was about to die and more like he was in the prime of his life. Tomomi in real life was a dead man walking Vince had chanced upon through helping his dad with legal work, a man who more than anyone needed a place to escape reality from, and Vince had managed to sneak it his way.

"Hey Haru!" Vince called out waving as he approached. "Sorry it took so long! You hauled some serious ass"

 

"Oh!" Haru takes a look over to the man calling. "So very sorry, sir. Have we met before..?" Perhaps it's simply the dignified, serene air around him, but the man, the snow his background as well as his attire, seems quite taller than expected as he stands, smiling politely to Vincent besides him. Of course, the illusion of his ignorance is broken the moment his eyes open, clearly amused. He just couldn't help it, after all. Every day he spent in this world was a happy one, to him. "Ha, ha, ha. I'm just kidding. You still wear your heart on your sleeve, Vincent. Your face looks the same, after all."

He looks around for a short moment. "Though, I'm not sure how you recognized me. Have you perhaps found something in the 'game' that I've missed? I admit, I missed quite a bit. I do believe I skipped the entire tutorial. Ha." Haru looks generally amused at the prospect, enjoying the challenge he believes to be rather unique among, at the very least, players. Even now, Haru was still attempting figure out exactly how to make use of his 'magic'. Heck, this was a good opportunity, wasn't it? "To be honest, I'm regretting it just a little bit. My, I should take things slower. I do have an entire year to enjoy myself. Could you give me a quick primer?"

The man, painted like a fairy against the snow, chuckles softly. It was light, and reminded one of the jingling of bells. His laughter was interrupted by the blowing of frigid wind, causing him to stop, shiver, and take a rather large gulp of the hot tea. His positively shocked face was raw and genuine, as was the annoyed look that came afterwards for but a moment. It seemed that he was really into role-playing the demeanor of a graceful fellow, as he quickly made himself prim and calm.

 

Vincent chuckled. It did his heart good to see the dying man looking so...not like a dying man. "There isn't much of a tutorial, mostly just the stuff I managed to look up on seedy back alley wiki pages and practical experience." He shot the man a smile and took a seat next to him. "But I can show you a few ropes. For starters, you know about the HUD right?" He clenched his palm and let it go, bringing up a display that only he could see. "You can track all your inventory and stuff through this, all you have to do is ball your hand up into a fist real quick and let go."

He let the man practice if he cared to, but after a bit of time, Vincent moved on to his next lesson. "If you close your eyes, and then try to like..open your eyes without opening your eyes, you go into detective mode, where you can see nameplates and hp bars and the like." He chuckles. "That's how I was able to find you even though you looked so different"

After a bit of shivering in the cold, Vince looked the man over. "Did you have any plans for how you were going to spend this year?" The words tasted sour in his mouth, but he did his best to not let it show. "It's like you've got a whole new lease on life"

 

"Interesting. I never thought that I could have done something like this." Haru takes a moment to take a look around in Investigation Mode. Nameplates bobbed and danced around many figures, such as the rather amusing Vincent's name.

Haru has known Vincent for a while, mostly meeting through an old friend of his. The two could loosely be called friends. Still, while he may see the people at the hospital more often, Vincent is rare one to talk to save for over the phone. In a sense, it was good to see him in person again. He may look different, but it's not like he doesn't feel like the same person to Haru.

Looking to his rather average friend, he decides to at least explain what he plans to do for his year. He postures himself, taking a deep breath,
-and then flops back down on the porch. "So sorry to say, though, but I just don't have any plans for the year. I just plan on taking things slow and enjoying myself." Haru takes a few long, obnoxious sips of his tea, completely plowing through the cupful before carelessly letting it down to the floor by his side. He takes the time to simply breathe there for a moment, serene. Dainty clouds float from his lungs to the sky, seemingly enrapturing the man breathing them. In this position, Haru makes a request of his friend, "Care to sit around with me for a while? I have all day to wait until this expedition goes off... I have quite a while to talk. It would be good to catch up, you know? We haven't really had a good talk in quite a while." He allows himself a lazy smile, drunk on life.

 

"Prognosis still hasn't changed then?" Vince asked with a raised eyebrow. By this time he's settled down next to the happy man and made himself comfortable. He didn't have tea to warm him, but he simply tampered with his settings to turn the cold down instead, absentmindedly cheating the experience ever so slightly. He lazily exhaled a cloud of steam from his mouth and chuckled as he watched the particle effect dance in the wind. It looked real.

"But as for me, I got a job with mom and dad at their firm, not as a lawyer like they'd have liked, but I do tech shit for them. They even set up a fancy as fuck office next to theirs and gave me some BS title that warranted a big salary. Now I just spend most of my days doing minor tech fixes and shitposting online." He paused and chuckled. "You know, living the dream"

 

"The prognosis will never change, outside of forgery." Haru chuckles about a rather dark proclamation, shaking his head ever-so slightly. He was enjoying himself, today. The full force of this cold was simply something he bared, something apparent as the snowy man shivers in the wind. His teeth chattered with a newfound, exasperated grin spreading on his face. Of course he'd talk about that kind of stuff...

No, that simply wouldn't cut it. Haru's hand reaches over to his right in a fist, nudging the shoulder of his friend. Laughing, he admonishes Vincent without any heat in his voice, "That's rather big news for something far, far away from me. No, no. I don't care about the world back there, where I used to be. I thought it was obvious, but it seems you've fogged up your head with all of this cold breath." Leaning forward, he playfully puffs out a cloud of air to get his message across, before continuing, "I reside in this world now, Vincent. We're in a roleplaying game, you know? I'd like to hear what Vincent has done, Vincent." Haru folds his arms, sure that his friend will get it now-
Ah, that didn't help at all. Haru sighs, mildly exasperated. "You really had to use the same name, didn't you? Let me correct myself. What brave deeds have you accomplished as of recent, mister Adventurer?" Looking at his fellow white haired man, Haru waits for an answer. He folds his arms and taps a foot in the fluffy snow expectantly.

 

Vince blinked for a minute. Talk about unhealthy escapism Vincent caught himself musing. I suppose it doesn't mean a damn to him... He pondered for a moment, showily rubbing his chin and furrowing his eyebrows.

What have I done? Vincent mused to himself. Images of tens of rats staggering to the ground and dropping meager loot flashed before his eyes as he hopelessly ground for MP and GP. "Well, I've found my true calling in pest control." He chuckled. "Did some rat stomping with another friend I spawned with, then some drunken rat stomping in a tavern." He nodded sagely. "Other than that? Jack and or Shit."

 

"Pfft." Haru did always like this friend of his, if only because he could count on Vincent to hold that attitude of his. And in a place like this, with only words in his mouth and out of drink to wash their taste down, it was always good to have someone with flavor to talk to, so that he'd never regret talking. Haru, deciding that he'd been slouching too much and feeling too lax, decides to sit up straight and put on an air of grace about him. It was so very much easier to get away with when he held this beautiful white hair, rather than the shaggy black mane he was used to having. Feeling that just a simple snort would be rude, he gives a further response, to keep the talk flowing, "Lax as ever, I see. That's fine and well. It gives me motivation for this, really."

Haru nods to himself, presenting to Vincent a proposition he had held ever since he had started up this game. "I have a quest for you, dear Vincent. You're really the only one I know well enough to ask for this, you know? It's why I hoped we'd meet up today." He takes the time to took at the other man in a rather meaningful way, before breaking out in a great grin. "Listen to me. Starting today, you're going to watch as I live a year so cool that you won't be able to compare to it without your entire life. And by the time the year is up, I'll be able to say I've had an entire lifetime's worth for it. Of course, I'm not asking you to stalk me around- just keep an ear out. You're going to hear about me by the time I'm done. Do you get me?" Reaching over to the guy, he gives him a solid pat on the back. "From now on, I'm Haru. So stop looking at me like you did when you walked over to me. Today, I'm alive, and I'm buying the two of us tea. Wait here, would you? And don't bother trying to talk about this either, after I come back." Blunt as ever, the ending almost sounded like an order, though he could never truly do more than request from his friend.

With this he stands, taking the cup from the ground, and walking inside to order another drink while listening to his response as he goes in. He might as well make that two drinks, actually. He didn't know if Vincent liked tea, but if he didn't then he'd just have two cups to himself. It was a win-win for him. Doing this, he leaves his friend outside for a moment to stew for a moment and think.

 

I see. You're already dead in that world I suppose. Vincent mused as the man walked away. He shifted slightly as he nervously ran a hand through his hair. His breath streamed out his mouth in soft clouds of steam, a steady rhythm of in and out. He wasn't sure how to feel about this. It seemed like a man on the run from reality, and while he was all about encouraging escapism, to just abandon the real world seemed...absurd.

As much as he wanted to abandon it all behind, he couldn't. You had to take off the headset eventually, to eat real food, drink real water, or even just to poop. Eventually in his case, he'd get unplugged one way or the other. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. He knew Haru, this was a man who'd spent his whole life devoted to one thing, even when he was in the midst of dying from a disease. He simply shook his head and rose to his feet, stretching slightly.

It was fucking cold.

When Haru returned with two teas in hand, Vincent simply shot him a grin.

"Challenge accepted then! I'll witness you and this year of awesomeness you're about to embark on, but I'm gonna raise your challenge with a counter challenge. I'm gonna live a better year!" Vince struck a dramatic pose. "I Vincent Cain will be your rival in this journey!"

 

Never quite looking different from the snow, Haru once again silently takes a seat outside of the inn, the two differences being the friend of his sitting nearby and the second cup brought just for him. He never really was in the shape to be the one bringing food for Vincent, and so he didn't really have a clue as to what the other enjoyed, so he just brought the same cup of tea as he himself had. This one has his favorite so far. It was hot, steaming in the chilly air, and looked a shining gray, like some sort of mercury. Naturally, it didn't taste awful, nor did it give the drinker a horrid poison by drinking it.
Looking to Vincent as he made his challenge, Haru did not speak in reply. He had told his friend he would not, after all, and Haru followed through on what he said. It was simply cool to do so. That being said, a grin and a nod in response were quite very still on the table to use, and so Vincent was acknowledged. When Haru speaks, it is then about a different topic. "I've been quite busy, myself. I came here on word of an expedition which I will follow to the letter tomorrow. Something to do with the Lion's Pride, I believe. I've found a few things on the way here, though. Tea?"
Haru offers his friend the cup, taking the time to enjoy his own with a long sip. The liquid burning down his throat repelled the cold assaulting his skin from the inside. He smiles, enjoying the drink for a moment.

 

Vince takes the tea absentmindedly, sipping it. It was scalding hot, and his throat was slowly becoming a line of fire that was trailing down to his stomach, slowly filling his entire body with warmth. He didn't let his face react, even though his deepest reaction was to yelp and roll around with pain. Holy FUUUUCK this hurts, but I will not be outdone. He simply chuckles as he listens to Haru explain his reason for being out here.

"I was wondering why you came all the way out here. The walk was miserable, but that sounds like an awesome quest! I've already earned some fame in using my magic on vermin and the like, I'm getting really good at giving them the ole' razzle dazzle. Just look at this!" Vince closed his eyes, and imagined getting up and flipping over the porch railing, vaulting himself upwards to do a triple front-flip before sticking the landing elegantly. He let his brain imagine every single moment, every twist and turn of the muscle, every breath, every step. When he opened his eyes again he let the illusion fly. The result was a shadow of a phantom that could only be loosely described as the vaguest silhouette of Vincent raising to his feet and doing just that, a really fancy front-flip.

"It's still a work in progress, but I've found that in the heat of battle the dumber enemies seem to fall for it, just for a moment, allowing me to get a good shot in. I've been practicing though, slowly but surely it gets better every day though. Just Imagine what I can do if you give me enough time!"