Nalani had spent the whole day practicing. Practicing what? Well, she had actually switched over her Magic Tools mastery for One Handed Slash, and was getting used to using a sword in her hand. She figured that since she used Arcanamacy, it would be more useful for her to use it to enhance her weapon instead of just casting spells. Thankfully, now she could do both. It would be a bit harder for her to cast her magic without the tools, but she rather be able to be a target and get up close hits in while doing some damage far away. And honestly? Standing back got a little boring after a while.

Waving her sword around in her hand and doing random poses in a small forest clearing, a quest alert suddenly popped up, catching the Felis's attention as she paused, gaze skimming over the details of the quest. Apparently some treants and Oakhearts were gathering by the edge of the forest and were on the move. The king seemed to want to eradicate them, and that was fine with Nalani. She just couldn't do it alone. Opening up her friends list quickly as she snapped her fingers on her other hand, getting the attention of Asti, her lynx, who had been rolling playfully in the grass nearby.

The lynx jumped quickly to her feet, padding over to Nalani's side and rubbing her head against Nalani's hand as the Felis gently petted her furry companion subconsciously, "Alright Asti, we're going to go beat some monsters, okay? Plus your favourite person will be coming along as well... Hopefully." she murmured under her breath, finishing up her message and going to press the send button. She hesitated for a second, closed her eyes shut for a moment more, than opened them and jabbed at the end button, closing the interface as quickly as possible.​

Nalani Rosa

I trust you saw the quest alert, right? Oakhearts or treants?

​

Whatever he wanted to do, it was time for Jack to make the next move. Pursing her lips nervously, she gave her lynx one last pet before heading towards the direction the quest was taking her, Asti following in tow. Whether the man would want to join her and answer or not was unknown to her, but she hoped he would decide she was a good enough partner to fight with.

@Jack Anders​

 

Jack had originally seen the notification window appear as the king’s edict to purge the forest invaders had flickered across his screen. Given his own skill assets however, he’d find it hard to complete alone and had thus begun to type out a message in the world channel in order to properly assemble a group. His fingers had grinded to a halt however as midway through his advertisement; he’d receive a small blip indicating that he had been contacted instead. His eyes had risen curiously with surprise as he’d let out an uncontrolled smile upon seeing the name of the sender.

“Looks like she beat me to it huh?”

Jack Anders

Wow, someone called dibs real fast… Not that I’m complaining. How’s Asti doing by the way? She’s eating well right?

Uhhh… Why don’t we start with Oakhearts? They like to travel alone. It’ll be a good chance to work on some pack tactics.

He’d flip through the interface in order to respond while attaching his own coordinates as well. A second ping would quickly sound for the woman as yet another follow up notification appeared. This time however, a familiar window would materialize with the lad’s name on it, prompting her to form a party with the healer.

Invite

Jack Anders has invited you to their party. Accept?

Jack Anders

I’m headed over to you now. Here’s my coordinates.

Given enough time, the man would eventually make it over towards her location. An oh so familiar figure would appear off in the distance as he'd warmly wave at the pair he had decided to rendezvous with. Though seemingly normal, upon closer inspection the man was slightly out of breath. Perhaps he had rushed over faster than necessary? "There's my favorite kitten!" It was hard to tell which feline he was talking about.

@Nalani Rosa

 

Nalani paused as she received a couple of her own pinging sounds, lips splitting into a smile at the reply from the man. Thankfully he had agreed to team up with her, and she little out a small giggle of a delight, earning a curious look from Asti sitting next to her. The curious lynx pawed at her gently, causing Nalani to turn her attention onto her and kneel so the lynx could try to peer at whatever she was doing, even if she couldn't see it or not.

"Patience, Asti." she cooed quietly, turning her attention back to her interface when another ping sounded, showing the party invite and a message that he was heading over at that second. Nalani pursed her lips carefully in excitement, gently pressing the accept button before quickly typing a message back, ignoring the Lynx that nuzzled up against her face in delight at her owners heightened mood, a purring sound emulating from her chest.
​

Nalani Rosa

Well, Asti is fine, but she sometimes misses you. It's almost like she likes you more than me x3

Oh, and Oakhearts it is. I'll see you when you get here~

It wasn't a lie, well... Half a lie. Jack was fun to be around, and while Nalani wasn't sure if Asti missed him, she found herself thinking about the black haired healer every now and then. The true part? When she did see him, Asti didn't want to be pulled away. It was strange, the bond the lynx seemed to hold with the man, but it honestly didn't bother Nalani at all. Kind of justified her own feelings of attraction towards the man.

It wasn't long before he came into view, and Nalani eyes lit up in delight, lips turning upwards into a cheery smile as he moved closer to the pair. Asti seemed to stop cuddling against Nalani as she realized her attention was elsewhere, turning her gaze towards the moving figure. As soon as she realized who it was, however, she took off as fast as her furry paws could carry her, rubbing herself against Jack's legs in pure delight before attempting to climb up and get her attention. Nalani just laughed at her animal companion, waving at Jack slightly with her hand that wasn't holding her sword. He was talking about Asti, right?... Of course he was.

"Nice to see you, Jack~" she said carefully, finding herself suddenly nervous with him in front of her. She waved her sword carefully in front of herself as if to show him her new toy, cocking her head to the side with a little flick of her cat ears, "Are you ready to do a little fighting?~ Or, at least... Healing and buffing." She laughed, grinning playfully at him while glancing down at her attention grabby lynx. She wasn't 100% used to using her sword yet, but she had no doubt that she'd get used to it pretty fast. Terra did things like that to you, in some strange, magical way.

@Jack Anders​

 

Jack Anders

Haha, no way. Mastery or not, she would've stayed with me if that was the case. Maybe you should feed her more salmon.

The dark haired man quickly pipped back a response while continuing on his path. It wasn’t long before he’d arrive however, only to find his legs assaulted by a fluffy ball of fur that tickled his sensations. Smilingly warmly with a sense of fondness, he’d stare quietly for a second before meekly waving over to the kitten’s owner. A hand would then reach down to ruffle through some fur at the lynx’s back before easing out into smooth strokes. “I told you she’s a sellout.” He’d reach into his inventory briefly to pull out some dried salmon and tore a small bit off, feeding it directly to the feline. A small and stifled laugh was had as the kitten quietly licked away any final traces of the treat directly from the man's fingers.

“You’re looking swell today, Nalani. On second thought, are you alright? You seem anxious...” A brief pause was had as he’d squint curiously at the woman while gauging her demeanor. For whatever reason she seemed a bit nervous despite the numerous encounters they had had previously. Was she suffering from some mental disorder? Perhaps it was due to a breakdown of sorts due to a lurking anxiety? It was then the light bulb upstairs had finally flickered on. Noticing her new sword, he’d quickly realize that the woman had perhaps changed her masteries and was still adjusting. Was she perhaps worried that her performance wouldn’t live up to expectations due to her lack of familiarity with the weapon? There was only one way to tell really…

Snapping back to reality by her subtle jab, he’d rub the back of his head while laughing awkwardly. “Ha… you know me… I’ll see what I can do. No promises, mmmkay?” He’d stick his tongue out playfully in a strange manner before reverting his eyes back to the lynx. Yeah, that was enough staring at the Felis for now. Any more and perhaps his own outer shell would crumble to betray his inner thoughts. Internally the man’s heart was palpitating a bit faster than it ought to. He felt a bit silly to be honest considering his actions just now.

Given a couple moments to let conversation subside he'd eventually point over to the east towards a large shambling figure that blended with the forest. "Looks like luck's on our side today. I guess this saves us the trouble of finding one... Ready?" He'd glance over to the woman and her kitten while nimbly dancing through the palm interface to cast a spell. It wasn't as if he was in a rush to do anything as of yet, so why not take his time preparing?

@Nalani Rosa

 

Anxious!?! She was not... Okay, yah, she was kinda anxious. She pursed her lips nervously as Jack squinted at her, forcing a reassuring smile onto her face and shaking her head, giving a small but cute thumbs up, "Nope, I'm 100% a-okay, just hoping all goes well with my sword." she explained, flashing her sword at him again... Even if that wasn't entirely the whole truth. It was like a girl thing maybe? But she felt like she was back in highschool again just by being around Jack, yet it was more... Calming and reassuring. Maybe because she was an adult? Who knows... She hadn't dated nor been interested in a guy in a while. Experiencing these feelings again were all kinda weird for her.

But then he was joking around and sticking his tongue out at her, and Nalani felt her heart skip a beat as she couldn't help but let out a cheerful giggle, cheeks lighting up slightly. Jack was a little strange in the way he acted, but to be honest... That was one of the reasons why she was so charmed by him. She looked away right at the same time he did, turning her gaze to Asti as she hoped he couldn't totally read what she was thinking. It was pretty embarrassing, honestly... Being so giddy around a grown man. She smiled gently at her lynx, trying to distract her thoughts as she the feline looked at her curiously, almost as if to say, What's going on?

There was a couple moments of silence, and then Jack spoke up, gesturing over at something to the east of them. Nalani turned to look at the giant Oakheart headed her way, and nodded as she changed her gear into focused mode, gripping her sword in her hand, "As ready as I'll ever be." She said, looking at him with a half smile and cocking her head to the side playfully. She then raised her fingers to her lips, letting out a low whistle that seemed to spring Asti into action, almost as if that was her signal to fight. The lynx moved to stand beside her owner, and then Nalani pressed forward, heading towards the gigantic tree creature.

"So, got any plans Mr. Leader?~ Known weaknesses, or?..." She teased, glancing back for a moment at him before turning her gaze forward again, studying the Oakheart for herself as if trying to deduct the best way to take the monster down. Her comment had been referring to the past raid, and how most of the group had practically praised the ground her walked on. It was true, he had known what to do the best out of all of them, but she always found it a little funny and something to poke fun at him sometimes. Regardless of that, he was really smart... And an awesome leader.

@Jack Anders​

 

A vague sense of disappointment formed upon Jack’s face as he watched the adorable little feline scurry away on command. Perhaps Asti really did like her more than him? It made sense considering she was the true owner and also the tamer recognized by the system. He’d internally kick himself at even feeling a bit disappointed at the notion before waving it away with a hand. It was unreasonable for the support to think otherwise. The fact that he had expected anything else was an even greater concern for him.

That said, there was work to be done. With the oakheart breaching line of sight off in the distance, he’d shake his head while finishing his incantation. Upon doing so a warm, comforting light would bath both woman and lynx in a radiant aura of the divine. A holy fire had swathed their weapons (and paws), as white flames flickered from each’s respective weapon.

Though not entirely fond of the new nickname he had received, it was hard to object considering who it had come from. Instead, he’d simply joke back at the girl while offering some constructive thoughts. “Yeah… they’re trees. You brought a sword to an axe fight. I can’t exactly fix that, Kitten… but there’s always good old fashion fire, right?”

After properly imbuing their merry little band’s weapons, Jack quickly reached into his inventory to procure a torch. It was one that had been left over from the raid the two had delved into, something he’d rather forget considering the hellish nightmare it had ended up being. Without hesitation he’d light the stick while holding it at the ready.

@Nalani Rosa

 

"I mean... Holy fire works, right?" Nalani asked, glancing down at her weapon in her hand as she approached the large tree creature, Asti bouncing in anticipation beside her. She looked up at the large lumbering creature as she took a deep breath, not making any move until it turned its big head towards her, eyes landing on her with almost a look of curiousity before lumbering around slowly to blocking her path. And, with that, Nalani jumped forward, rushing towards the creatures legs.​

It had little to no time to react before she brought her sword slicing through it's first leg as she run past, Asti latching onto it's other front leg as she frantically scratched with her new found power, hissing in either anger or absolute delight. Nalani ran to the other side, before moving back towards the back legs, planning on taking the big creature down to the ground first before she made and effort to climb up onto it's back to do some damage from above. She glanced over at Jack, spotting the torch he was carrying, and she grinned slightly, He still has some torches left?... What a nerd~

"Light it up and toss it at him, Jack! Don't worry about me or Asti, we can handle ourselves." she called over to him, before rushing at the back legs and digging her sword through both of them, once again curving around to do even more damage to both of them. Then, once she was done that, she hoped onto the leg that Asti was working on, planning to use her companion and her own new found strength to her advantage. She'd always been one for climbing the jungle gyms at school, at the park- Anywhere when she was younger. But now? This was the ultimate test.

@Jack Anders​

 

An awkward laugh followed as the woman questioned the validity of his assistance. In all honesty, Jack wasn’t entirely sure as to whether or not holy fire would suffice in putting these creatures down. It was hard to tell and there wasn’t really a good way of finding out save for good old trial and error. Shrugging once, he’d let out a weak vote of confidence while encouraging the woman and her lynx. “Uhhh… Yeah, sure? No promises.”

Though wanting to help out, the man found himself at a loss due to the close quarters. Considering how friendly fire was always a potential issue, he’d simply watch while inspecting the Oakheart’s health bar. As he’d watch large chunks shave away, the support nodded approvingly. Though the holy fire didn’t appear to physically set the creature on fire, the damage intake on its end was far larger than he had expected. Clearly the spell was working to some degree. “Keep up the good work! I think the spell is working!”

Rather than chucking his torch at the Oakheart currently engaged, the man would instead peer about for another target. Having spotted a second one off in the distance, he’d chuck the stick recklessly, smashing it directly against the foliage of the creature and visibly setting it afire. Though perhaps not resulting an immediate effect like the holy fire, the damage over time seemed rather impressive and was working as intended.

And then? He’d run like hell. The beast was charging directly at him after letting out a spine chilling howl. There was absolutely no way Jack intended on remaining idle to get trampled upon. “YOU GOT THIS RIGHT KITTEN? I’M A BIT UHHH… OCCUPIED RIGHT NOW?”

Hopefully she had things under control because he sure as hell didn't.

@Nalani Rosa

 

As Nalani hoisted herself upwards, using the Oakhearts strange tree like body to help her climb and the boost from her feline companion, she pulled herself up onto to the top, only able to let herself breathe for a minute, looking back and grinning at Jack with a thumbs up, before she had to grab on with her every last bit of strength. As it's health bar began to drop and the Oakheart began to panic, it bucked in a desperate attempt to get the girl off. Thank goodness she had acted fast, or it would have thrown her off for sure. As it did so, Asti held with her claws before she found a moment to jump to the ground to safety, stepping back and meowing at her owner worriedly.

"Don't worry A-Asti, I'll only be... A second!" Nalani yelled down as she held on, moving carefully towards the head of the oakheart as it continued to buck in it's effort. She paused for only a second at the sound of Jack's yelling voice, eyes opening wide as she spotted the man being chased by a burning Oakheart, eyebrows furrowing in worry as she desperately began to grasp at straws, searching for a way to take control of the situation. She glanced back at the oakheart she was on, then at his oakheart again, the gears beginning to spin in her mind as she searched and searched for an idea... Ah, there it is.

"I have an idea. It's dangerous... But it's worth a shot!" she yelled back at him before biting down on the handle of her sword, continuing to climb toward the head of the oakheart, body flailing about with the bucks. She had to admit, it did hurt and was doing a little bit of damage to her health bar, but it was just a game- She needed to keep pushing. As she arrived to the head, she moved to grab onto one of the spiky parts of its 'mane', hooking her feet and body onto it. Then, she grabbed her sword and swung to the side, cutting into the spike beside it.

As she did so, the Oakheart stopped bucking and let out a cry if pain, and in one last attempt to get away from her, got ready to charge. When it did so, she gulped and closed her eyes shut tight, before grabbing onto the mane and swinging her body so her weight could swerve it to the side and into the direction of Jacks' Oakheart. Thankfully, it turned, and shot off towards the creature following him with a howl. Nalani on the other hand used her body weight to swing the creature, thus flying off the side and watching the ground approach her as she braced for impact. She hit the ground with a loud thud, resulting in the loss of a chunk of health and a dull throbbing throughout her body, but she forced herself to sit up, hoping the actions she had set into motion would work to let the Oakhearts collide and do enough damage to destroy them both in one fell swoop.

@Jack Anders​

 

With the two treants crashing into one another, the fire would quickly spread from one to the next, creating two giant creatures doused in the pain of immolation. Though hard to tell whether the bodies had stopped moving due to being burned alive or from the collision damage, it was the last thing on Jack’s mind currently. His eyes were instead fixated upon a single spot on the ground. Given a moment to let reality sink in, he’d quickly rush over to the woman in order to inspect her wounds. From the looks of it, the fall was rather harsh.

“Nalani! Are you ok?”

Sliding over to the woman’s side, he’d quickly begin inspect her for any due injuries. Taking her wrist in his hand, he’d press gingerly along her arm while testing for anything cracked or misplaced. Should the woman not object, similar testing would be done along her lower legs as well as palpation against her midsection for signs of broken ribs.

Only after having thoroughly inspected the woman would the support let out a relieved sigh. His comfort however would immediately shatter upon realizing his actions and the world that they were in. Shuffling back while seated on his rear, he’d let out a horrified look while stuttering out what little of an apology he could muster. “U-u-u-uhh… SORRY!?! I wasn’t trying to be creepy, I swear!” Yup. He was definitely being creepy considering he could’ve just checked the health bar. Unfortunately in a brief moment of worry, Jack had forgotten such convenient things existed.

@Nalani Rosa

 

As the two oak hearts went up in flames, Nalani let out a satisfied sigh, running a hand through her hair. Thankfully her plan had seemed to turn out quite well, and she was equally proud of herself. When she had first joined the game she would never have done something like that, and though it had been a bit hard and her body hurt from the thrashing tree creature and her contact with the ground, she was happy. Maybe Jack even thought it was pretty cool too?...

She looked up just in time to see the man rushing over, asking her if she was okay, "I'm fine, Jack~ The fall wasn't too hard, thank goodness for the pain system-" she was cut off by the main physically grabbing her wrist and feeling up her arms, her expression shifting to one of confusion before he moved to her leg, heat rising up into her cheeks the more his hands moved across her body. She turned tomato red when he touched at her waist, even though it felt like he was doing some kind of check for injuries. The game wouldn't allow her to get hurt so much... But why, on the other hand, did she have new found goosebumps on her skin and didn't object to his 'feeling her up'?

She watched as the man jumped away as if he just realized what he had done, and she shook her pink face at him, pursing her lips nervously, "N-No, it's okay- I m-mean, it's not o-okay but you- W-Well..." She stammered out over her nerves, finding it hard to explain without sounding extremely strange herself. She covered her face with her hands in attempt to hide her embarrassment from him, the spots where he had touched her still tingling slightly, So embarrassing...

Thankfully, Asti padded over, looking between both of them with an expression that looked confused, before walking between and rubbing her face against each of them, a purring sound eminating from her throat. Nalani couldn't help but peek out from between her fingers, before removing her hands from her face, petting her companion. She didn't look over at Jack but she spoke up quietly, smiling nervously, "I-It's fine, Jack. I think it's sweet that you care." There, she said it. Hopefully he didn't think she was too strange for being okay with that.
​

@Jack Anders

 

A wave of confusion washed over Jack upon seeing Nalani’s reaction. Not only was she not upset or distraught but rather… she hadn’t really objected?!? Though her words had indicated that things weren’t particularly ok, she had also immediately contradicted herself, leaving the dark haired man incredibly confused. It’s not ok but it's ok?... What?...

The woman’s words continued to ring within his mind as a flush of red slowly began to overtake the man’s visage. His head turning to the side out of embarrassment, he’d continue staring off into some distant direction in order to avoid any immediate eye contact with the Felis sitting before him. Given a moment or two, he’d shut his eyes briefly to regain his calm. Oh god, this is awkward, this is awkward, this is awkward… this is SO awkward!

It was only after he had felt something warm and fuzzy pressing against him that he’d slowly snap back to reality. Wait, is that her?!?... or Asti? It’s gotta be Asti, right? No way in hell… but… she said it was okay, right? A look of confusion continued to overwhelm the man’s senses as the vibrant red surged with even more strength. Taking a deep breath, the man would force his eyes open, only to find the lynx happily coddling against him.

Letting out a weak laugh, he’d mock himself for even thinking such strange thoughts before reaching out to hug the kitten with a fond expression plastered upon his face. Having finally calmed down with the assistance of the woman’s animal companion, he’d look up from snuggling into the lynx’s back in order to make eye contact with its master.

“So uhhh... we’re good?”

Still a bit concerned about his previous actions, he’d continue to probe curiously to clarify and further gauge the woman’s reaction. In all honesty, physician mode had taken over in a mental lapse of consciousness. It still baffled him however as to why she was entirely okay with such things.

@Nalani Rosa

 

Wow... Jack had been really red. She pursed her lips carefully as she pushed her hair out of her face, shooing off his question with a gentle hand wave, smiling weakly at him, "Of course we're good, silly. What do you think I'm gonna do, crucify you for making sure I was okay?" She joked, trying to lighten the mood as she gently petted her animal companion. She may be assuming he was making sure she was okay, but why would he be feeling her up randomly? Now that... Would be weird. Asti looked at her with a happy expression before purring and nuzzling against her face. Thank goodness for Asti. She didn't know what would happen if she wasn't here.

She took a couple more seconds to gather herself together, as her body was rather sore from the fall, before getting carefully to her feet, brushing herself off. All in all, the fight had been successful and if she did say so herself... "Y'know, we do make a pretty good team." She said with a warm grin in his direction, holding out her hand for him to take so that he could stand and get off the ground. She really enjoyed spending time with Jack, no matter how strange it could be sometimes. She was the only person he called 'kitten' anyways, it made her feel... Well, kinda special.

But seeing as they were done, now, they could either part ways or they could maybe go grab something to eat? Her needs meter did go down a bit from all that climbing and crawling... But it all depended on what he was doing after this, "So... What now?"

@Jack Anders​