Salty mist. Drying seaweed. A cold sea breeze, like the ones that blew inland just after sunrise. Forum posts and video comments had prepared Aisling for the concept of a game with better sensory input than most, but she'd honestly expected a lot of it to be exaggeration. There was only so much technology could do, and even if the game was somehow able to simulate a whole other reality, her equipment shouldn't have been able to handle more than the basics, right? Yet here, even before she'd opened her eyes, she was carefully taking all those assumptions and shoving them into the garbage. She knew what a beach was like, what one smelled like, and this was... startlingly accurate. It made her wonder just how long it'd been since she'd gone to a proper beach, not for any reason but just to enjoy the atmosphere... Hm... ...well, she couldn't just stand here smelling the air forever. Aisling opened her eyes to a sea that was... pretty dam realistic. Waves crashed and receded, foam and mist spraying with each cycle. The sun shimmered across the surface of the water, which rippled with the wind. She stared a moment longer, taking in the sights, before she turned her attention to the avatar she'd spent entirely too much time on creating. Ash Vargold had been her character back on her old game, and she'd replicated him here as best as she could. She'd been halfway through the process before the barest thought of maybe I should start with a female character had crossed her mind. A good thought, worth the attention, but... well, she'd already put enough time into making this character, both in the grey room and over years and years of carving out a reputation under his face and name. Going into a new game as anyone else just felt... wrong, somehow. Besides, Aisling thought, staring down at a pair of unfamiliar hands, if it gets too weird, I can just start over from scratch. She tapped her fingers together (or would they be "his" now, at least in the game?), thumb tips to finger tips in a staccato cascade that felt as responsive as it would've been in real life. It all felt real, all the way down to the friction of fingerprint against fingerprint. "Holy shit," Ash muttered, just before raising a hand to his throat. Okay, voice was different. That was going to take some getting used to. Assuming he stuck with this long enough to need to in the first place. But, well, there was no denying that the rumors, no matter how wild they seemed, were true. This place felt as real as reality did. A place promising endless possibilities, where Ash could be an adventurer once more. It was very nearly overwhelming. "...alright, what now?"
Nyancy had, had a pretty good luck fishing today. She had spent all morning by the river, relaxing. After catching a good haul she was heading back to town to make lunch with her catch when she stumbled up a confused, yet princely looking Canis. Feeling generous and a little playful, she decided to stop for a moment and make some small talk. "Well, now ain't you quite the dappa' lookin' type? You ride hea on ya carriage Prince Gorgeous? Whatsa matta? World got ya head spinnin' I've been there before lemme tell ya!" Nyancy reached into her dress and pulled out a fish. She took a bit from the side of it. "Ahh.. that's tha stuff. Best tastin' fish I've eva hayd, lemme tell ya. So what's ya story ya highness? Lookin' to the save woyld? Start a kingdom? Whatever it is, ya got ya job cut out for ya, Mr. Handsome Man. Oh, and don't get the wrong idea ah nuthin', you're a looka, but ya ain't my type. The names Nyancy by the way. I'm new hea too. Only just got started a few days ago, fresh as a flowa ain't I? Pretty fun game though I'll say, lotsa fish, lotsa fun, and between the two of us, lotsa weirdo types as well, if ya catch my drift." Nyancy let out a wink then continued with her fish.
Ash startled, tail bristling as his contemplation was interrupted by... what was that accent? Was that even a real accent? He turned around and saw what, at first glance, looked like some kind of goblin? Wait, no, that wasn't even a playable race. Then... cat person. Felis, wasn't it? It had to be. Those eyes... he didn't know you could push the character creator that far. Like they were staring into his soul... ...and she was calling his avatar attractive. That... okay, that was a little awkward. Was he blushing? Oh god, he probably was. This wasn't helping him feel any less overwhelmed by things, even if it wasn't actual flirting. Shit, I really did spend way too much time in the character creator... "Oh, um. Hello." Yeah, great first words to another player of the game there. He folded his ears back, and... geez, that was another weird sensation to get used to. Did he even have human ears...? "I'm just. Trying things out, I guess. I've heard a lot about this game." Mostly bad things, he added mentally, but she probably knew that. Besides, she was obviously trying to be friendly, even if he was having some trouble understanding. "I'm Ash. Uh... consider that drift officially out to sea."
"Out tah sea? This heas a forest, hayndsome. Tha seas ah ways over. I ain't been out that way yet. I hea once you leave tha forest things geta lot harder, what with ya enemies and demons ah whateva." Nyancy scratched her head in confusion then got bored and changed the subject. "So, what kinda things can ya do? Shoot magic? Use ya sword to slash up ya boars and bandits and what have ya? If ya haven't, you should give ya abilities a try. Quiet the sensation the first time ya fire off a death beam at a tree or whateva. Me, I went the bear-knuckle route. Ain't nothin' bettah in my mind then beatin' some wiseguy to ah pulp and watchin' his face as ya do it! I also took some fiyah magic because hey, why not right? Seemed useful. Oh, whereah my maynnahs. I didn't even offah ya a fish ah nuthin'." Nyancy reached into her pocket and pulled out a fish. Looking it over to make sure there was no lint on it, she held it to to Ash (@Ash Vargold ) "Well, hea ya go chaymp. Ya first in game meal. Don't worry, I won't charge ya nuthin' this time. We'll call it, Nyancy's catch a tha day!"
"Well, I just meant that I didn't understand... nevermind." It probably wasn't worth spending the time to clear that up. Even if it'd bother him for the rest of the day or week or century- "Oh, thank you." ...he had a fish now. He'd taken it automatically, but now that he had it, what was he supposed to do with it? Eat it? ...fight with it...? He brought it to his nose and sniffed. It smelled like fish, alright. Would it taste like fish? Was this fish looking at him? With a rather undignified yelp, Ash fumbled the fish as a wisp of something came swimming out of it. That was. That was a ghost. That was a fish ghost, swimming around in the air like it was water. "A-ah. Well. That's... that's one skill figured out," he stammered, eyes following the wispy fish. He waved a hand at it in an attempt to shoo it away, but it simply darted out of the way and continued to circle around him like a fly. It didn't seem malevolent, but it didn't really seem to have any intention of leaving. "I'm being haunted by a fish. I didn't think fish even had ghosts." Shouldn't it be haunting the person who actually killed it? Well, at least it was a quiet ghost. Fish still in hand, he took a moment to get his thoughts straight. He probably looked ridiculous, especially if Nyancy couldn't see what he was staring at. "Um. Anyway. I guess hitting things with a sword is my best bet for now. Do you know of any good hunting areas zones around here?"
"Yea, fish ghosts. That ain't weahd at all ah nuthin'... " Nyancy looked behind herself to make sure she had an easy exit in case things got any weirder. She didn't see any ghosts... "Right, well, Huntin' zones? Heh, yah in one pal! This farests got everything! Its got ya boars, ya bandits, all kindsa what have ya. I'll toss in ah warnin' about tha bandits tho. Don't insult anya their wives, girlfriends, ah mothers. They don't take kindly to it, lemme tell ya. When I first dropped inta the game, and when I say dropped, I mean that literally, I was smack dab in ah bandit camp! So, there I was tryin' tah play all nice-like when they start unsheathin' theyah swords and what have ya! Tha noyva those guys! As I was sayin', I had just dropped in! Same pahsition yah in now, and I gotta whole caymp ah bandits wantin' to run me, poah, sweet, adorable little Nyancy through! Well, I told 'em, 'if that's the way it's gotta be, then that's the way it's gotta be!' And they chahged at me! Can you believe it? So what did I do? Well, I chaghed right back at them. 'Course when they was about tah swing I ducked right undah theyah legs, tha idiots. Hauled ayse outta thea until I found some help. Quite tha hectic day if I do say so myself." Nyancy liked to talk, as if that wasn't obvious by now, though she also had enough sense to realize when she had begun rambling and was probably wasting someone's time. Now having realized that she had gone off on a tangent and told a stranger she barely know her whole story, she decided to finish up things. Quickly finishing her fish, she began gathering her things. Standing up, she stretched and while throwing her fishing pole over her shoulder.. "Well, if yah into beatin' up boahs or whateva, I don't mind comin' with ya. I could probably use tha practice as most of what I've been doing lately includes my little fishin' rod hea. 'Course if yah want to go it alone, ah test out yah digital ding-a-ling thea, that's no skin offa my back. I'll just head back intah town. But whateva, just offerin' and thought maybe yah'd like tha company. Nyancy decided that if the new guy wanted, she could follow him around they could do some training together. If he didn't want any help, she would just go back to town to peddle some fish then call it a day. @Ash Vargold
"I picked up Spirit magic. I guess ghosts are part of the package." He tried to ignore the fish ghost for now - maybe it would find a river to swim off into, or move on into the next life. Assuming that there was such a thing as an afterlife for fish. ...oh, @Nyancy was talking. Something about getting on the bad side of a whole bunch of bandits? It was an impressive story, if not a bit tough to parse through the accent. Ash got the gist of it, though. "That kind of stuff can happen in the starter zone? Guess some things never change." Ash looked at the fish, and then at his free hand. After a few attempts he managed to get the menu open, squinted at it, and finally stashed the fish in his inventory. I'll figure out what to do with it later. In its place, he pulled out a knife - starter equipment, probably junk, but until he could get something better it would have to do. He gave it a few experimental swings, and then looked to Nyancy. "Well, if you don't mind watching a newbie flail at forest creatures for..." He looked at the menu clock, "Thirty minutes, then I'd appreciate the company. I won't blame you if you want to go sell your fish instead, though. Money's important."
"Well, ghosts ah spirits layst I heard, and yea all kindsa stuff cayn happen in the stahata zone apparently. Lemme tell ya, I've heard some stories. Anyway, Like I said, weah both new hea so any flailing' yah plannin' on doin' is gonna be at about tha same level as anythin' little old Nyancy can dish out. Not to mention yah got ya sword or whateva, more range than these bad boys I'll say. Nyancy dug into her little sack and pulled out her weapons... a pair of brass knuckles. Holding them up, she showed them to Ash. The brass had been worn off in a few spots showing the hard silvery metal underneath the coating. Apparently, Nyancy had put them to use. "Like I said, not very much range on 'em, but I will admit, they do pack ah wallop. Well, I guess we should get goin' then." Nyancy took her fishing pole and tied her bag around it so she could carry them together. Throwing the pole and attached bag over her shoulder, she put on her brass knuckles. Honestly, Nyancy looked strangely ferocious wearing he knuckles. To be fair, the cute little cat looked like she would be more at home wielding a magical girl wand, or some kind of pixie charm that sparkled. The brass knuckles definitely added some gravity to her image, like, was she actually some sort of fantasy version of a New York mafioso? The gleam of the brass knuckles under the sunlight was enough make a person wonder. Leading the way, Nyancy happily marched through the woods without a care in the world. After a few minutes of travel, Nyancy held out her hand (paw?) to Ash motioning to stop. She turned to him and put a finger over her lips signaling to move quietly. She then pointed towards a clearing. In the clearing in front of them. A group of wolves tore at a freshly killed boar carcass. The wolves ate hungrily. Nyancy pulled Ash down close to her level so she could whisper to him. "Looka thea, ah whole packa wolves. I bet we could take em' whaddaya say, chaymp? You one ah them tactician types or ah we just doing it Nyancy style and runnin' in guns ah blazing'?" @Ash Vargold
"A-ah," Ash choked out as he was pulled down to Nyancy's level, but he wasn't going to start protesting, not with a small pack of wolves in front of them. Stealth was important, especially with... well, a bunch of very realistic realistic goddamn wolves. He could smell the coppery tang of fresh blood from over here, which made him wrinkle his nose. "Normally I'd go for a strategy, but..." He looked down at the junky-looking knife in his hand. "...you know what? First fight. Let's Leeroy Jenkins it." What's the worst that could happen, anyway? A video game death wasn't serious. He straightened up, knife in hand, and entered the clearing. The reaction of the wolves was immediate. They turned to him, hackles raised, bloodied teeth bared in predatory snarls, and for a moment Ash hesitated. Seeing... and smelling, a growling, ravenous beast up close like this was very different from seeing a model on a screen. It was actually kind of frightening. Right. Leeroy Jenkins. Ash charged the closest wolf with... well, it started as a battle cry, but it sounded a lot more like a fearful scream by the time he'd missed and the wolf got its counterattack. Teeth scraped across cloth and skin as he pulled back. Now he had three on him, and none looked pleased to have their meal interrupted. "Okay, maybe should've pulled smaller-" He caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye and spun sideways, body automatically bringing the knife up to catch on the wolf's teeth. He stared at it for a moment before countering with a kick that send it reeling backwards. "-but I think I'm getting the hang of it! @Nyancy, your time to shine!"
"You got it chyamp! Nyancy's goin' hahd in tha paint!" Nyancy actually had something she wanted to try. I mean, this was a game right? So things that normally wouldn't be possible due to real world physics were possible, right? Well, even if they weren't it would be good to try it out. Going down to one knee, Nyancy casted her spell. Rend, Rip, An' Maim! Backfiyah Mine! Backfire Mine As Nyancy finished casting, a glowing, fiery rune appeared on the floor. Looking at the rune, Nyancy began to sweat a bit. She was nervous, this could go very very badly... "Nuthin' ventyad, nuthin' gained." Taking a large steps backwards, the tiny Felis began sprinting, arms dangling behind her like a blond ninja. When she reached the run, she hopped landing with both feet on the mine. The magical mine detonated sending Nyancy sky high. "Well, waddaya know! It woyked! Hah! Now, I just gotta laynd on top ah oneah them wolf baystahds and baym! Thayt's one down." Like the first time she entered the game, Nyancy tried to maneuver herself in the air, unfortunately, as she wasn't as high as before it wasn't very effective. "Ah crayp. I'm gonna ova shoot 'em." And overshoot the wolves she did. Sailing through the air, Nyancy landed hard five feet away from the closest wolf. Hitting the ground with a roll, thanks to her acrobatic skills, the cat go up quickly and dusted herself. "I'll hayf to woyk on that one. Allright, Plan B it is!" Charging forward toward a confusing wolf, Nyancy swung hard landing a direct blow on the wolves side. The force of the blow knocked the wolf down as it whimpered. It didn't get back up. "Hah! Which oneahya's next!" One of the wolves that had been circling @Ash Vargold switched targets decided to switch targets and began charging Nyancy. "You want sum? Fine by me! Come an get it, ya scrub!" As the wolf neared Nyancy, she began charging her magic into her palms. When the wolf got close enough, she unleashed her magic causing an explosion in front of her. Not only was the wolf blown back, but Nyancy herself was once again launched several feet backwards. Once again picking up, she brushed some of the black soot from the explosion off of her shirt. "I guess that's the price ya pay for bein' all tiny, cute, ayn' adorable-like. Explosionsah'll really send ya flyin'."
"So that's fire magic, huh? Pretty impressive!" There was no attempt to hide the awe in Ash's voice - after all, he'd just watched someone rocket jump halfway through the clearing and survive. He was a little... okay, he was a lot jealous. Swords and spirits just seemed... plain, in comparison. "Seems like you stuck the landing just fine!" That one wolf was looking pretty singed now. Nyancy could probably handle finishing it off, it if wasn't already down. Ash focused instead on the few remaining that weren't so easily distracted by flying felines. Parry was supposed to make him good at seeing... movement? Tension? If it was anything like waiting for a cat to jump. "Come at me, you jerks..." ...there! A wolf broke the stalemate, charging forward for a strike. Ash stood his ground as it approached, only to step aside at the last second, lashing his knife out at the wolf's side as it passed. It turned to him, now with a bleeding gash in its side. "Hey, @Nyancy! Is there a way to see the HP on these things, or do we just beat them until they stop moving?"
As Ash called out to Nyancy, she responded while still occupied with a wolf. "I ain't never seen oneah them health bahs on nuthin'. Far as I can tell, yah just keep hittin' it till it ain't moving." While talking, Nyancy through out flash jabs at the wolf looking for an opening. "Coyse', theyah might be ah way to see 'em, a skill ah somthin', but if it exists, I ain't heard of it." The wolf, thinking it had an opening, lunged at Nyancy's throat. Ducking under the attack, Nyancy found herself face to face with the wolf's soft belly. "Bayd move yah made thea, yah big dumb animal." Crouching down, Nyancy used all her power to come up in a vicious uppercut launching the wolf a few feet into the air. When the wolf landed, it quickly tried to pick itself up, but fell again. "Youah ah tough one ain't ya?" Forcing itself up it steaded itself and flashed it's teeth. "You want ahnotha one? Well, come ahn, I ain't got all day." Nyancy held out one of her hands, and gave the famous kung fu "come on" gesture with her fingers. The wolf growled deeply, then turned and limped into the forest. Having respect for the wolf's fighting spirit, Nyancy let it go. She turned back to @Ash Vargold to see how he was fairing. "I let that otha one go. Seemed like he ad enough and I ain't tryin' tah genocide all tha wolves in Brisshal ah nuthin'. How's it goin ova thea? Need help or yah got it?" @Ash Vargold
"Just... a little more...!" Fighting the wolf was a tiring dance - it would lunge, Ash would block, and maybe he'd get in a riposte in. Sometimes it was the wolf landing claw or a bite, leaving wounds that didn't really hurt, but stung enough to bug him. He just needed one kill and he could log off happy- The wolf, by now bearing at least a dozen bleeding gashes, attempted a final lunge. It was slow, and Ash didn't even had to worry about trying to slide aside. He ducked down and held his knife forward, just in the right place to yank it upwards into its neck. It gnashed futilely at his face, but the light was already leaving its eyes. Ash stared back, and then quietly freed the knife from the now dead wolf. "...good fight," he muttered, taking a moment to wipe his knife on the grass before stepping back. He was sore, he was tired, and feeling something that would probably be rather severe pain if he wasn't running on simulated... but there was also the rush of adrenaline, the ember of pride that yes, he'd killed something for the first time... "That was... whew. That's a lot different from clicking on some pixels." Ash stowed the knife in his inventory and took a moment to breath. Everything seemed to be catching up with him now that the adrenaline was fading. He walked over to Nyancy, eyeing the marks the fire had left in the clearing, before he turned his attention to browsing the menu. If he had it right, then... ah, there were the healing spells. Or. Well, healing spell. "You look like you could use a heal, too... let's try this out. Spirits, heed my call! Cleanse this air of sickness!" A pale mist formed around Ash's hand, filling the air with a sweet herbal scent. It was strong enough to cover up the scent of blood in the clearing, and... surprisingly soothing. Ash still felt tired as the scent began to fade, but the pain of his wounds was fading as well. He rolled his shoulders, and then looked down to @Nyancy. He hadn't been sure about her at first, but despite the... uh, unique avatar, she was pretty reliable in a fight. "Right. Uh... I think I might be done for the day, after that. Do you need any help getting back to town...?"
Nyancy wiped some sweat from her forehead. "Well, thayt sure got tha blood pumping'... and hea I was just plannin' on spendin' tha day doing a little fishin', well, all's well that ends well ah whatever." Taking off her brass knuckles, Nyancy walked back to Ash. She stretched her little arms, legs, and back as she did. It seemed that up until now, she hadn't actually hadn't had much in the way of combat experience. As she approached, a nice soothing mist enveloped her. "Wouldjah look at thayt. Like an ocean mist ova hea. Yah ghosts got some talent in that aroma therapy, or whateva they call it. Not bayd." Nyancy took a deep breath taking in the mist. Her wounds and little bruises began to heal. Feeling refreshed, Nyancy turned back to Ash. "Nah, I'm good. I know my little way around tha area. Actually, this is the only area I really know my way around. Well, whateva. This place suits me fine. All the fish yah can eat. Half-decent weatha, my own little slice of heaven ah what have yah. Anyway, good workin' with yah, ya highness. If yah eva in the area, be sure to give me ah shout. Maybe we can go bust up some beahs next time ah something. Alright, be seein' ya, Charmin'. And with that, Nyancy went back to the tree where she had propped her her bag and fishing pole and left back to town. [Exit Thread] @Ash Vargold
"Of course. Thanks for the party." He waved a bit awkwardly as Nyancy left, and it wasn't until she had gone out of sight that he finally let himself relax, slumping against a tree as the tension went from physical to mental. It hadn't even been that big a fight, and he was utterly exhausted, he was covered in a fair bit of blood, and he was pretty certain he'd nearly been wolf chow more than a few times... ...but holy shit, the MMOs of his childhood didn't hold a candle to this. Real, immersive gaming, without bulky headsets or bizarre peripherals, like he'd dreamed of growing up. A whole new world to be in. A whole new person he could be... not Aisling the dull and unoffensive secretary. He could be someone who could actually be worth remembering. ...alas, rent didn't pay itself, and if he stayed under any longer there would have to be some difficult explanations to make at work. Ash took one last breath of clear forest air, and one last look at the wolves lying in the clearing. There were... things clustering around the bodies, translucent creatures that reminded him of plankton, or floaters. Spirits, investigating a newcomer to their fold...? Well, he didn't need to be around for a pack of angry ghost wolves to happen. Ash opened his menu, and logged out. [Thread complete!]
