“Nino, darling, me and your father will be absent tonight, make sure you eat. I’ll have Ara Make you dinner if you go hungry.” Nino’s mother embraced him tightly and gave him a peck on his forehead, which was mainly covered by soft brown hair. She smiled softly as she departed down the stairs, high heels clicking against hard wood to the rhythm of her bouncing head. Nino, himself, was standing in the doorway to his room, a malicious smile on his face. Every so often, the approval of his mother and father still gave him extreme happiness. He digressed from the cusp of the room, into the part of his computer and his deep dive set. Perhaps he’d play some more of the game, maybe he’d mine for tonight to increase his abilities. Regardless, he prayed for excitement and fun. He lay down gently on the soft mattress. Took a deep breath. Closed his eyes as he slid the visor over his face, and let go of the puff of air. And in he went: Pixel after pixel formulated around him, creating a quaint but lively town. Voices entered his ear, and after several seconds, he was fully immersed within the virtual world known as Terrasphere. ‘Good to be back.’ He briefly thought before a flicker of glowing, dark hair fluttered in the crowd. Could it be? Could it be the girl who had so harshly hurt him, but inspired him greatly, more so than others had? In shock and in disbelief that he would run into her so casually after the boss battle, Arwyn pushed passed people, even if they could be other players. His height greatly decreased as his foot fell into a hole in the cobble stone path, decreasing his good mood also. This better be her, or Nino wouldn’t be pleased at all. Sighing, he removed his leg from the pot hole, continuing in his chase, if it could be called that. “How stalkerish of me, this is truly below me.” He muttered to himself, his ego annoyed. At last, he caught sight of the dark haired beauty, her golden eyes shinning like drops of sunshine. All was as he remembered except one thing: her clothing. ‘It’s so... mundane. Almost saddening to the eye.’ He grimaced as he thought, his smile slipping from sight. The small boy, already come this far and all, took the opportunity to explore further in this brilliant world, as well as possibly conduct a conversation with the girl. Perhaps his efforts would be in vain and it would simply be an npc, although some part Him wanted this to not be: he was seeking a humans approval, after all. The girl descended down into the forest, a small boy following not too closely, and yet not far enough away to be seen as normal. Nino realised as he stalked her that he was in deed stalking, however, he was really, really interested in her. He wished to know what kind of person she was and how he would get her to be- ah, no, he barely knew the girl. He merely wanted approval, to dismiss the negative thoughts in his head, that the girl in front of him so harshly put in. Shortly after, they came to a large field, a stereotypical one that you might find in a video game. The pure air and the swift breeze, the flowing grass and the tall, independent trees all brought Arwyn to appreciate the detail the creators put into this masterpiece. Despite this, he then remembered that there was someone in front of him, and that someone most likely was not aware he was there. She may hit him or kick him if he alarm her, and Nino did not typically want to cut off chances of ‘friendship’ so suddenly. Ideas raked through his mind like fingers through hair until common sense hit him right in the face. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, smiled sweetly and shouted, “Hey!” @Portia Ahrens
Portia the villager, not the brawler, joyed in spending her time far away from scuffles that did not concern her, and even relished in the comfort of routine she had never allowed herself to have previous to the fight against the world boss. All the training, all the fights, and loss she had endured ultimately proved to be nothing, nothing at all. What was there to be had if she couldn't fight properly? What other choice was left? Of course, the answer was simple: enjoy her time inside Terrasphere as much as she could! With such intentions in mind, the woman came back to where her adventures had started, to the very same woods that saw to the creation of her virtual self and later the woods she came to destroy while she unleashed the instability coursing through her veins in the form and shape of her aether. Alone, unwilling to let anything hold her, this time she sought to create, not to harm. Unusual, some who knew her best than any would say, and they wouldn't be wrong. If anything, they would be surprised to find her sitting on the ground, her fingers forming a small shape in the air from which water was conjured, and then, crystals of ice. Her hands were slickened with cold-running sweat, fingertips bathed in ethereal light although that was a detail she didn't seem to mind at all, her eyes reflecting something else. Small crystals danced around her dominant hand, her right, as she waved it around without a care in the world. She simply sat there, content with her creation and how skilled she was becoming with the management of her magical essence. The aether flowed, running along her spine, coursing through her veins, begging for release. Portia was happy to oblige and that, for once, nothing bad would come out of it. Then a voice tore her concentration apart, the crystals she so easily toyed with turned to deadly spikes at her command, following the direction in which she outstretched her hand, towards the stranger. Fear did not set in, there was not a reason for it to do so, mere thoughts of being caught unprepared for a fight becoming her primary concerns. Her reasoning was concise, though her head was already turning with endless possibilities as to how to tackle any enemies she might encounter, only to find she didn't have to execute any plans. Portia drew herself up to the entirety of her height, regarding the familiar face with an expression that betrayed none of her feelings, if she even had some left. ''You... survived, it's been a while, hasn't it?'' There were a quite a few thoughts floating around in the hydromancer's head the moment she realized the ice spikes were still standing faithfully at her side, following each footstep she made in the little man's direction. Hurt, anger, confusion, spite... She wasn't sure what to think of the male standing in front of her, of his condition. How come he had survived the fight while her friends hadn't? How come she was allowed to remain? The effort to remain civil was made, and almost as if she had no control over what was happening with her own magic, the deadly spikes grew in size as she came closer to him, draining all the warmth in the environment until none of it remained. ''Are your wounds better?'' This boy, she reminded herself, she met during his struggle against a beast before the real fight had truly started, sustaining some wounds of his own until she came to his aid and knocked some sense into him. Metaphorically, not physically, even though she might have wanted to for putting himself at risk. ''We... We never knew each other's names, did we?'' If they had introduced one another, she simply forgot. The battle against Titanius raged for far longer than anyone had expected, and lots of faces she met on that fateful night had dissipated until they were no more than simple blurry portraits in her mind.
