The Floating Isles of Everleigh (DigitalSiren x Staine)

[Bunny]

Makayla had spent all morning reading the instructions for the VR equipment a little nervous about how it all worked. She didn't understand most of it, truth be told. From what she could gather, it was meant to be completely immersive; from pain to pleasure and everything in between. Makayla blushed, recalling what she'd read on at least the pleasure aspect of it and as a virgin, it was at the very least... interesting. She could feel it as her cheeks heated again, blush eating across her pale skin till undoubtedly they flamed like her hair. Shaking her head, Makayla took a deep breath. Slipping the headset over her hair she blinked as the light flickered on, a bright and cheery pale blue. Welcome User. The voice that spoke was feminine and pleasant as upbeat music began to play. My name is Maria and I am your virtual host. I see you also purchased The Floating Isles of Everleigh. The game is fully installed, would you like to play? "Yes, please" Makayla's voice was soft and borderline unsure as she answered the AI. The screen blanked for a moment before starting the game. Lights faded in slowly and once more upbeat music played. It was adventuring music, it was the best way Makayla could describe it, designed to put a bounce in your step.

The character select screen came up and she reached forward, clicking on create a new character. A list of races appeared; Brownie, Fauns, Humans, Phoukas, Red Caps, Sidhe and Slaugh. They could all be male or female Makayla noted and after a moment she picked Sidhe. It had been a toss up between that or a Brownie, but the wings had sold her. "The races are pretty cool" She whispered to herself as she began to design her character. The process took her near an hour and a half before she had settled on her appearance. A deep blue hair which was almost purple as she turned in the lights. The locks were wavy, but just a touch as they fell down her upper thighs. She'd decided to go with angel wings rather than fairy ones, she likes the look of the slender feathery appendages better and for now at least they were cosmetic, she'd need to learn to fly. Her eyes were the palest of golds that shimmered in the light. Her skin tone she hadn't messed with as it had matched her own pretty closely. Her body she had after much debating, decided to not stray far from her own natural appearance. The character had started tall and had been rather busty and for a long while she had debated leaving the options as they were. No way she couldn't reach the top shelf in the game with that avatar! In the end though, she found she liked the tiny version she'd come up with. Five feet exactly, small, perky breasts and a heart shaped rear. Slender legs and arms rounded out the look for her character. She still needed to pick a voice and finally settled on option nine, a sweet lilting voice; it seemed properly fairy like.

"Okay, now.. class" This would be the hardest part, in any MMO she'd ever played, Makayla had been a healer, but Everleigh didn't have healers in the sense of pure healers, the kind that only healed. They had hybrid classes. Knight, Seraphs, Bards, Primalist, Berserkers, Mystics and Slayers. Knights and Slayers were the tank-like classes with Knights being able to use all weapons and relying on strong shields for their party and themselves. Slayers it seemed used magic to tank, flashing between conjured weapons and highly defensive spells and combat buffs. Seraphs and Primalist were the healers of a sort. Seraphs dealt damage with either dual blades, chakram or dual whips and blessed their weapons with spells to heal, buff and debuff. Primalist seemed to use more magic, much like Slayers, pulling in beasts to control. While it sounded neat, the pet management seemed like it might be hard and if the pet died during a battle her utility would as well. Bards did ranged physical damage but also spent a lot of time singing to bolster allies. "This game is putting a big emphasis on support, that's really nice" Berserkers used their hands to deal most of their damage, their specialty seemed to be debuffing, to weaken foes. Mystics' were the mages though, even they played a dual job like all the others. They flexed between casting spells, providing succor to the other magic users by creating bonds and sharing their much larger pools of mara with others. They needed to link with at least someone else to be most effective, their tool kit came from blending other classes actions together while refilling resource gauges. "I think I want to be a Seraph. Out of the two healing capable classes they seem the best to solo with..."

She didn't have anyone else to play with, having been given the game and the rig as a present from her mother and father. None of her friends had one yet, the whole deal was not cheap. She could make friends in game though! "Okay.. Name'' She'd always gone by Seraphine in games but decided it was time for a change. "Echo" The name filled into the blinking space and then vanished. The opening movie began to play and she couldn't help but be amazed at how detailed and beautiful it was. The theme of floating isles seemed to be in every landscape there was, which meant flying would likely be key to all of exploration at some point. She had wings, how she flew would be obvious... She wondered how the other races flew.

​

As the cut scene ended she found herself in Cavale, the capital city for Eokilion. Gasping she turned around in a circle. "This place is beautiful!" Echo spent the rest of the morning exploring and getting the lay of the city as she did simple fetch quests. This was the official launch and beta reviews had been pretty spot on from what she could see. She had decided on dual blades to start. While the other two had the advantage of some range, once things were in closer it seemed like things might get hairy where the dual blades allowed her to close gaps and back flip away to safety. It was late afternoon and the server was packed with other players. She hadn't seen a player base like this in a game for a long time. However, it did come with some challenges. The first questing zone right out of the city was The Fields of Elysium, but she found it was hard to tag mobs and while she teamed up for some quests, she left shortly after. They had all been nice, but she wasn't looking for a party quite yet. This was how she found herself on the Quinx, a series of floating isles a few levels higher than she was.

​

Emperic Fenix were found on the first island Echo had found and were level ten, while she herself was only level seven. She had also discovered if she was careful, she could aggro them one at a time and with clever rotation of buffs and heals do enough damage to take them down in a reasonable amount of time. There was no shared tagging, so even in a group on the Fields of Elysium, there had been too few mobs for the sheer numbers of players needing to kill them. Panting she scanned the rippling grass, she needed to kill fifteen and she had been able to kill eight so far. A cool breeze brushed along her sun warmed skin and she gave a soft moan, eyes closing. A soft chittering caught her attention and her eyes opened. Before her was a Measleas, the name flashed for a moment with a shimmering text. "It's a rare!" It could drop some amazing loot! Between her and it was another Emperic Fenix. Looking around she didn't see anyone else and she did need several more of them still.

Wiping the sweat from her brow as another gust of wind blew across the isle, her dress rippling in the breeze. Her outfit was something else about the game she liked. It might have looked better if Echo had been taller but, even on her slight form it was amazing. Her dress was a fern fern green that fell to the floor, a high slight up her left thigh. Along that thigh was a thigh high stocking that was a warm brown shade like tree bark, with accents of red and pink like leaves at her foot and ankle. Her feet were bare for the most part with only her heel covered on both legs. Around her right calf was a similar stocking though it only came half way up her calf, with more red and pink and even gold at the top. Her arms were covered with fingerless gloves in the same shade of rich brown, near each shoulder was stained glass butterfly wing patterns in the same gold, red and pink accents. The dress rippled and flowed around her legs and seemed loose around her torso all the way up to her breasts where it tightened. Beneath the dress was a body suit of the same green, protecting her modesty. At first she had wondered how she would fight in it; it however had proved to be light weight and moved well with her agile movements.

Raising her dual blades, Echo gripped the hilt tighter as she pushed off from the grass with her bare feet. With the aid of her wings she glided across the sea of rippling grass and flipped mid air to hit the Emperic Fenix. As she battled, dancing to and fro, evading the claws of the mob and spinning to land her own blows she staggered at one point as another figure appeared on the other side of the Measleas. The distraction cost her and a cry of pain left her as the Emperic Fenix landed a bite to her exposed upper thigh. Silently cursing the new figure and her own foolishness she cast spirit transfer on her blades and began her attack anew. She could feel the pain as she moved, it wasn't as bad as if she'd really been bitten, but the pain was still there. She could also feel as each blow to the mob sapped it's spirit and transferred it to her wound, tingling along her skin with a pleasant cool sensation.

It took her a few more minutes before the beast was dead. She would have liked to take a moment, eat a honey cake to restore her mara, but she knew if she waited the prick on the other side would get the tag on the rare. In The end, it didn't matter. She watched as the shimmer attached itself to him, the mob locked. Swearing, Echo couldn't help but hope he died and the mob reset... if it didn't just fade. She wasn't sure how the mechanics worked here. Whoever he was, he was a dick. As she watched him fight, she couldn't help but become more and more upset at the progress he was making. Echo could admit begrudgingly that he was fighting well. He seemed to be a tankier class so a Knight or Slayer, he seemed to be a Knight though. She watched a shield appear around him as the Measleas case a spell at him. The more she watched though, the more her eyes misted with tears. He was going to kill it damnit.

Echo was like this in all games, she knew it wasn't an attractive quality, but she had been here first. She had been clearly clearing to it... Had he been here first, she would have respected that unspoken dibs and not even tried. She watched as the mob died. She knew she should walk away... not say anything, but like her indignation that he had dared to tag what had been hers, she couldn't not tell him what a dick he was. "I was clearing to that, you knew I was.. Why did you have to be so mean?" Her words trembled, as her pale golden eyes shimmered. She couldn't hide her feelings and her cheeks flushed. "Never-mind.." The word was almost whispered. "Grats on your kill... You.." She sighed, she could be the bigger person. Wiping at her eyes she tried for a small smile. "You fought well. Hope you got something good." Turning she surveyed the Emperic Fenix, picking her next target as she lowered to the ground, pulling a honey cake from her inventory. The small cake was topped with fresh fruit and cream. Lifting it to her mouth she took a bite, chewing carefully. She could taste the sweet honey in the cake, the bitter sweetness of the berries and the rich cream. "Mmmm" Her toes curled into the grass and Echo closed her eyes. She might not have gotten the rare, but she was still enjoying the game so far.

 

[Staine]

Nicholas closed the velcro strap around his wrist, checking the glove was on tight. It wasn't strictly necessary, the headset was the main component of the whole setup anyway, the only part that truly mattered, but the gloves...they helped. There were little buttons along the sides to operate the game while you weren't actually inside it, buttons that would become useless once you were under the effects of the headset; Nicholas had been at one point fascinated by how this new state of the art system would work and had studied the details as best as he could for a layman. The headset would stimulate all sections of the brain for different purposes with waves that were functionally identical to actual brainwaves, designed to induce all kinds of different stimuli in response to what was going on inside the game, meaning even the goggle part of the headset wasn't actually needed, the entire game would take place inside the mind. The frontal lobe would be controlled to first paralyse users, important so that they wouldn't be running around their rooms while playing the game; all movement would be only in the world of Everleigh. The parietal lobe would take care of pain and pleasure, two aspects of the game which had been the most hyped upon and a function that wasn't available even during the beta he had played the previous year. Thinking back, it had felt a little strange, playing the game with no real sense of touch it had felt more like a weird dream but all of the latest reviews had stated that this was no longer an issue, the world was exactly like it was meant to be and with the newest version of the headset it would stimulate parts of the brain required to feel the pain of being hit, the sense of touch and smell as you walked through the towns and even pleasure...there was a rumour that not only other players but certain NPC's could be interacted with in a way that wasn't exactly PG-13...it was part of the reason for the rating the game had ended up being given with a child's version having to be sold separately. Smirking to himself, he pulled the visor down on the headset and laid back in bed, closing his eyes. It was time to begin, to visit Everleigh again and explore all the newest features, maybe even travel in deeper than the second dungeon that had been as far as they had been allowed to progress in the beta.

Character creation was a simple affair for him, most of his settings had been saved from the beta. A human knight with the name of Khaine was what he had gone with, a name used in games ever since he had started playing them more seriously upon moving out, recognisable among several MMO games and even a few FPS games. Appearance was mostly loaded up too, though there had been a few changes that amused him somewhat. "Penis size huh? I guess the game can't actually tell..." Figuring he didn't need to embellish what he already had he put in his actual size, grinning as he clicked on the special customisation options to see what shape the game had decided was appropriate, something that almost certainly wasn't available in the PG-13 version of the game. Happy with it, though slightly bemused by the whole process, he ended his exploration of the menus and entered the game properly, spawning in the section of the main town of Cavale dedicated to his race. The first thing he did was obvious, to him at least, and looking around he could see others doing the same thing...patting down their own bodies, feeling themselves, marvelling at the realistic sense of touch. He'd expected it, he had heard about it but being here, being able to touch himself, feel the steel plate he was wearing, the fur lining of his armour, even the weight of it, clearly made lighter to compensate so that he could move while wearing armour it still felt so real, he felt safe inside it. He smacked a gauntleted fist against the wall, grinning as he felt the impact, watched a little dust get kicked up and the slight flex of his wrist upon hitting a solid object. The next thing he did was go to the food stand he remembered, a place he had eaten flavourless, texture-less food from once upon a time, ordering the turkey sandwich he remembered from the beta and closing his eyes as he took a bite, groaning as the flavour busted in him mouth, the heat and salt settling on his tastebuds as he chewed and swallowed. It wasn't enough to actually satiate him which was why the game came with certain warnings and was designed to kick the user out after 18 hours of solid play, a safety mechanism to remind players that they had to eat actual food but the processes were very real; if he got hungry in game, and he would, eating in game would trigger the correct parts of the brain to make the hunger go away...it just wouldn't actually fuel the body. Eating his sandwich as he explored the town, the next port of call was the in-game bank to find out what he still had left from the beta.

As it turned out...not much, but what he did have was a few of the lesser potions he had gathered, a decent amount of Crescents, the currency of the world, and his old set of armour and weapons, both level 15 but available to be equipped right from the start as a thank-you to the beta testers. Equipping the 2-handed sword he had fallen in love with during the beta along with his armour, Khaine felt ready to take on the floating isles, starting with the very first open area just outside of town. The first few hours were spent levelling up by killing the starting mobs and doing a few quests, soon finding himself up to level 5 and his first real combat skill, much sooner than he had expected thanks to his more advanced equipment making it easier, among other things. Part of the reason he had chosen to play as a Knight was because of how easy he knew it would be; playing as a tank gave him natural resistance to damage and he could play more recklessly, aggroing several mobs at a time to tag them all before dispatching them at his leisure to get all the loot and experience for himself. That, and the ability to choose any kind of weapon had pretty much sealed the deal for him. At 32 years old, Nicholas had been playing this kind of game for so long now that he knew exactly how to game the system and even if it wasn't easier, tanking was what he had settled into in most games. He liked being the leader of the groups, the one with all eyes on him as he controlled the pace of the encounters, protected the healers and squishier players of the group and took charge; it spoke to the more dominant side of his personality and his ego. A few more quests and players were starting to really filter in, and as there was only one huge server for the game's release, it was starting to get rather packed in the starting areas, players were beginning to fight more and more to tag the mobs as they realised that without that first hit, they wouldn't get credit for their quests and even as an experienced player it was becoming more and more difficult to ensure he would get the credit. Finally finishing the last quest of the starting area and looking at his map, Khaine knew where he wanted to go next...the quinx. There were several small islands there that he could get to by wind hopping - jumping onto the thermal currents and letting them carry him from island to island, the homes of some higher level mobs but also the spawn points of a few rares. Remembering that feeling of watching another player in the beta kill a rare, take the loot and having it explained to him that even by normal MMO standards a rare mob would spawn only once per month minimum, Khaine figured that spending time where they were likely to spawn was his best chance at getting his hands on some of that loot. It was greedy, but since it was a month of real time and only one server the loot was incredibly rare, and tradable...meaning he could sell it on the market for millions and it would be 30 whole days before anybody had another of the same item to compete with him. Being better geared than most other players, he would be a fool not to, so at level 9 he found himself on one of the islands, killing the small, fox-like Emperic Fenix's that were just a couple level's too low for him.

That was when he saw it.

The Measleas stood out even among the other splendid looking fantasy creatures, appearing much like a turquoise otter with dragonfly wings and already level 13, a challenge for any player so early on and he had just managed to hit level 10 on his last kill...but his equipment was much better than the starting equipment he had been given, and with any luck he could tag this before anybody else! A quick look around confirmed there was only one other player in sight, a girl who seemed to have several mobs between her and the rare, and she was a lower level too; if she tried to power her way through she wouldn't make it, and he had a much clearer path to the Measleas. Grinning, he cut down one more Fenix on his way to it and just in case, he threw one of his consumable throwing axes at it to tag it, watching the colourful name turn red and the small line jump to him to show it had been successfully claimed. "Jackpot!" Raising his bastard sword, Khaine charged into the first real challenge of the game, raising it in time to block a fierce swipe from the creature, the weight of the impact almost knocking the blade into his own armour before he stabilised. "Huh...stronger than you look...I should have expected this from a rare..." So excited that he was talking to himself, the fight lasted a whole 7 minutes and he was aware of the girl watching him during the latter half of it, no doubt wishing he would fail as he slowly chipped away at the creature's health, dodging the heavier looking swings, using potions to heal himself and casting his defensive shields almost on cooldown to save himself that little extra damage he soon found himself in a kind of rhythm. Dodge, swing, block, swing, shield, swing...heal, swing...when it got low on health it started to move faster, casting a strange spell which fired a colourful bolt of magic at him, barely missing his head as he ducked one last time, his ear tingling as it passed by him and he thrust out with his latest skill, focused impalement, catching it clear in the chest and watching as it started to fizzle and fade away, rainbow coloured dust and sparkles floating up into the air as it's body disintegrated before his very eyes leaving behind a small, turquoise flower that only he would be able to see as the killer of the mob. It was an anti-theft system; only the one who had earned the loot could see the loot, and besides a little currency a player couldn't really steal anything from another player. Loot had to be traded willingly, even in the thieves guild you could only steal from the NPC's, not rare loot like he had just earned from other players. It was rumoured that there were better thieves skills available but even those would only allow the theft of basic gear and Crescents, and only up to a certain limit per player since it had been decided that allowing a high level thief to take whatever they wanted from low level players would be a bad way to retain new players in the game. Picking up the flower, he was about to read the small floating text which described what it did when he heard the voice behind him, turning and looking down at the short, rather upset looking girl.

At first glance...she was cute. The blue hair, the small stature, even the high pitched voice, so unlike the deeper, more masculine tones he had chosen to match his own...but damn she was being whiny. "Hah...are you serious? I know you were clearing to it, but do you even know how much rare loot is worth in this game? I'd have been crazy to just let you have it...next time you want something maybe you should clear you way to it a little faster, take a risk once in a while you know?" It was a harsh thing to say, perhaps, but it was the truth too even if he did feel a little bad for her. The girl was cute, small and reminded him a lot of his little sister if anything; especially the way she was pouting at him like he was meant to let her just have the rare mob. Even the tears in her eyes...she was overly emotional much like Makayla was, something which he had always felt hard to deal with. Growing up, she had been able to get him to go easy on her and spoil her almost every single time she wanted something with that look, the same look this girl was giving him now and he sighed, shaking his head and sheathing his sword as he inspected her. A Sidhe Seraph, level 8, so not that far below him but there would have been no way... "Hey, you wouldn't have even been able to kill it! Do you have any idea how close that thing came to finishing me off there? And I have better equipment...well, thanks..." He nodded as she congratulated him anyway, watching her as she started to walk away. Another trait the girl seemed to share with his little sister, even if she was unhappy she had managed to congratulate him on his victory, albeit with a pout. Looking at the item in his hand, he read the description as she seemed to be busy eating a cake.

Eolande Lily - A rare flower created from the soul of a corrupted Measleas, this flower, when worn in the hair, will allow the wearer to befriend one pure Measleas fawn.

Beneath is was more text, in-game instructions that all seemed pretty clear. Once worn, it would allow the user to have a miniature Measleas replica as a pet. Worth millions, he could absolutely put this on the market today and...nobody would be able to afford it for at least a couple of weeks, not at the price he would want for it anyway. It simply wasn't possible to earn money that fast and the game had only allowed even players who had been reasonably wealthy like himself to keep a hundred thousand Crescents over from the beta. He could use the item, but once equipped it would become untradeable, and unsellable. Hearing a moan ahead of him, he looked up to see the girl, Echo had been her name when he had looked, right? She was eating her cake, seeming to enjoy the game despite losing the loot to him and he looked back down at the flower, sighing as he stepped up to her. He could remember the misty way her eyes had watered as she looked at him and called him mean, the same way Makayla would have done...why the hell did he have to run into somebody that reminded him of her so much? It wasn't fair...playing on his weakness like that but on the other hand, the flower was useless for him to sell and he didn't want to be adventuring around here with a flower in his hair, which seemed to be the requirement to use it. "Hey you, wait up. crybaby!" He grinned, using the name he had used on his sister so often. Stepping in front of her he chuckled, shaking his head and reaching down to brush some cream from the corner of her lips with his thumb. "Messy eater too huh?" The game allowed smaller, innocent touches like that on other players, it even allowed more not-so innocent ones in certain areas, rumours being that it varied area to area. Out in the open world like this in a levelling area he would be able to touch her as he pleased unless he was on her blacklist, though he wouldn't be able to strike her unless he was on her friend's list and he doubted he could touch her inappropriately either unless he was on the 'good friends' list. It was a system in place to stop sexual assault, to prevent perverts from using the game to rape other players, though obviously there were flaws...on the message boards he had already seen that some players intended to hang around in PVP areas with their settings turned up to allow any kinds of touches, clearly after a more dangerous experience than the average player would want and surprisingly, there had been no moderation or word from the developers to stop this; it seemed the game had been given the greenlight since it wasn't considered actual sex even if the game made it feel like it. Regardless, Nicholas didn't intend to visit those areas, he was here to play the game properly. Taking the flower, he reached for the girl's hair, sliding it into the left side and watching as the loot locked to her, binding so that he wouldn't be able to take it back. "Next time, be faster or miss out. It's a tough game, you're not the only one that wants the loot you know...and don't go calling people mean just because they beat you." A small noise from near his feet made him look down and he saw the small version of the Measleas bounding up to them, rubbing against his ankles as it looked up at the girl, a small rainbow appearing between it's antennae as it's wings started to flutter. Smiling down at it, Khaine crouched to pet it, frowning as it pulled away from him towards Echo. "Charming...guess it's yours now. Well, see you some other time maybe, Crybaby. Best do some levelling to make up for that loss eh?" Grinning, he raised his hand in salute to her before taking off to find more mobs to kill.

 

[Bunny]

She had been quite serious, though, after a moment's thought... she considered he might have been right. Perhaps she couldn't take it on, but she would have liked the chance to find out at the very least. Echo's feelings were always very volatile; it was almost always a bad thing too. Those feelings meant that she loved and cared more, but also meant she got upset, cried more easier too. Like a flip of a switch, her mood could drop with very little warning. Those around her had learned to deal with it, but in the end, it mattered little as she wore her heart on her sleeve, unable or unwilling to hide from who she was. Likely a mix of the both. It wasn't always the most pleasant of things to deal with. Her brother, Nicholas always told her it was a good thing; Makayla was far less sure. It always did make her feel a little better though, to be told that to feel such raw emotions was a plus. It made her special, he said. Even if sometimes she felt like he was just saying it, she always appreciated it.

Bright golden eyes rose to meet his and she gave a small shake of her head. "It's... more, I should have had the chance. I would have likely failed." She shrugged and offered a tiny smile. "But I wanted the chance to try." He was likely right, she thought. She wouldn't have been able to kill it. Reaching out she tapped on her interface, the menu opening. She liked the interface, it was mostly transparent, but it seemed she could change the opacity in settings. Echo saw little point in doing so. Clicking on his name, Khaine, that was his name. It was kinda cute... Clicking on his name a window popped up, letting her scroll through his equipped gear, inspecting him. She'd been right, he was a Knight, which meant he was obviously tanky. Had she been hit it might have taken at least half of her life if not more. His gear was a lot better too. He must have been a beta player, it was the only way he had the gear he did. Closing the menu she munched on her cake.

Her eyes narrowed as he came to stand before him. "I am not a crybaby!" There was indignation in her sweet voice. So she was a crybaby, he didn't need to point it out. As far as Echo was concerned, he really was just a big meanie! At least when Nickolas called her a crybaby, she knew it was from a place of love. He was a stranger. Pouting she pulled back, but a moment too late as he brushed the cream from her face. Slapping at his hand she frowned up at him, lips parting to say something as he leaned toward her again. Closing her mouth, Echo eyed him warily. He couldn't hurt her, unless she agreed. Couldn't touch her much in any way over all unless she agreed. There were a lot of safety precautions built into the game. There had to be with the features the game touted. Most particularly the sexual ones; he wasn't the only one who knew of the 'pvp' areas that allowed a safe way to experience non-con. She planned to stay well away from those designated areas. Even once in you, you needed to accept the rules each visit. So there was no pushing someone into the zone and raping them. Those areas in particular had even further safeguards, to prevent hacking. It seemed Drealm was taking the security of the feature very seriously.

Khaine reached down and tucked a pale blue lily into her hair, the flower appearing in his palm a second before it was tucked into her hair. The center of the lily glowed gently as a small little Measleas Fawn. Gasping as she heard the soft chime of loot binding she looked up at him. Shaking her head she opened her inventory, fully planning to give it back, but.. it was bound. She'd figured as much with the chime. "I.." She bit her lower lip and reached down to pet the sweet little pet. Under her fingers she could feel the softness of slick fur. Smiling down at the little pet for a moment. Looking up as he turned to leave she stood. "Hey wait!" Brushing the crumbs that had settled on her lap she blushed. "Thank you.." Shifting in place she debated trying to be friendly, even if he was a little mean. "I'm Echo" She held her hand out to him, a shy smile on her lips. "And it was a little mean, but you did tag it first" She admitted begrudgingly, even if she didn't like the fact. Her cheeks flushed softly and she smiled a little more. "Just like binding the pet to me was mean" There was a teasing tone to her voice. She'd have given it back... The idea of selling it not even crossing her mind. It was too much.

"Would you like to quest together for a bit? If you have a healer.. We could tag bigger mobs. You can keep most of the loot, I just want the xp really" He was handsome, it was as if Echo was just noticing. He also towered over her, she noticed with a tiny mental pout. Should she have made her character taller? He was almost as tall, if not as tall as Nicholas. She missed her brother, he'd moved out a long time ago... They kept in touch but it wasn't the same as when she'd be younger. Letting the thought pass she linked her hands behind her back and leaned forward some, smiling. "What do you say?" It wasn't a bad deal and she knew it. He'd keep most of the loot, they'd both get xp and they could always part ways later. Besides, the faster they leveled, the quicker they could get to the endgame, which Echo was really excited for.

 

[Staine]

"Yeah? And you expected me to give up my chance? You know those things only spawn once every thirty days right?" In a rather happy mood after killing the rare mob, Khaine was happy to indulge the Seraph without really giving in to her. To him it seemed a little unreasonable, to expect him to have just let her have a shot, not even a guaranteed kill, on the creature that spawned so rarely. "If you had failed it might not have even reset here, I've heard rumours they might even relocate if once they defeat a player and then where would we be? And even if you had killed it...a bit unfair to expect me to wait a month for a chance just for good manners when I don't even know you!" To him, he was being fair, and even if he didn't want the loot he wanted to be the first to kill the creature, his name would be on a list of players that had hunted down that particular rare now, and the flower he had spawned was the only one in the entire game! A unique treasure for the next thirty days! While she brought up her interface, clearly inspecting him, he was looking at the item, already deciding he wasn't going to wear it and that selling it would be pointless this early in the game. Holding it or giving it away was his only option...though he could have tried trading it for sexual favours. Smirking, he had considered even asking her if she was up for it; most players of this game were aware of the potential of the equipment and he doubted he was the only one who wouldn't mind testing the limits of it...and the girl was cute...but in the end he decided that she reminded him a lot of his little sister and as much as he thought she too was cute, just his type really...he couldn't go through with bribing her like that even if the loot was definitely worth it. Catching up to her, he'd also made sure to lock the loot to her before she could refuse, if she really was anything like Makayla she would try to hand it back and if he was doing something nice like this he didn't want it undone so easily. Seeing her smile would be worth it.

She'd seemed a little defensive anyway when all he had done was wiped the cream away from the corner of her lips, eyeing him like he was gonna try to rape her or something! After giving her the flower he had walked away, already tagging a nearby Fenix before she managed to catch up with him, finishing it off easily before he turned to her, sheathing his sword again. "Hah, mean? I'm not gonna admit that...if you think that's mean just wait till you see what some players will do...this is a video game little girl, people are in it for themselves, you have to know that right?" He laughed as she even called him mean for binding it to her, reaching out for the flower only to find his hand was stopped by an invisible forcefield just an inch or so from touching it. "Oh yeah, I'm a real monster for giving you that rare piece of loot for free...maybe I should have offered to trade it anyway huh? I did think about it, you are cute...we could have seen if that mouth is good for anything other than complaining huh?" Smirking, he knew he was teasing her a lot but it was the kind of joke he couldn't make to Makayla, not without feeling like it was wrong...hell, it was wrong but this game was for eighteen plus only because of the features, right? This girl, Echo, had to be an adult unlike his sister who he knew for a fact was only eighteen and so he felt at least a little less weird about it even if she did remind him of her. Stretching, he considered her offer and looked over her again. If nothing else she wasn't wrong, having a healer around wouldn't be so bad and to be honest, neither would having somebody to talk to. His first few hours of the game had been interesting enough that he didn't need the company, but it definitely wouldn't hurt and she really wasn't that bad.

"Hmmm...so you wanna party up with me huh? Not unexpected, who wouldn't wanna travel with somebody as strong as me already?" Grinning he reached down and ruffled her hair, nodding to her. "Alright, deal, but you have to be on my friend list first, so I can keep an eye on you. I'll let you tag along, if you promise to stop pouting at me just cos I got to the rare first and forced you to have that expensive pet..." He laughed again, sticking his tongue out at her. "And we can share the loot, I don't want to keep all of it. Looks like you'll need some Crescents anyway to improve your gear, and I'm not that unreasonable as to take it all. Who knows, maybe you'll let me pull that stick out of your cute little butt too!" Khaine was already opening his interface and sending Echo the friend request...not just a normal one but a good friend request at that, wondering if she was new enough to the game that it would slip by her. It wasn't like he planned on actually being too bad with her, but if she accepted it he'd be able to get away with touching her anywhere he liked without the game's interface blocking him, she'd have to stop him physically and it was more curiosity than anything. As soon as the request was sent, along with a party invite, he turned away, grinning. "Come on then healer, if you think you can keep me up lets see how many of these we can handle. You still need a few too, right? Accept my request and join the party and you'll get credit too!" Pulling out his sword and sprinting away, he began running through all the mobs, tagging each one before moving to the next and before he knew it he had at least seven of them following him. Stopping in place, he cast a shield on himself to defend against some of the damage that was going to be coming in fast as he started using his one and only aoe skill, spinning slash, to hit them all at the same time. Almost immediately they struck as they all caught up to him, his hit points going down at an alarming rate once the shield had dissipated and all of the mobs assaulted him at once, his armour managing to protect him but it was clear that without help he would be overwhelmed soon, he didn't even have any really good defensive skills. He cast another shield and 'drank' a potion, the item vanishing from his hand and starting to heal him over time but the blows kept coming in as he raised his sword to block another before spinning slash was executed again. If Echo didn't do something quick, he was going to need raising and if she joined his party...she was next on their list. At this level, he was pretty sure she couldn't raise him either..."Echo! Come on, help me! What are you waiting for???"

 

[Bunny]

Had she expected him to? Yes, However, that was because she would have. Echo played by a set of rules that while it would be nice if others abided by, it was a pipe dream. Not many people offered others the same consideration; hell even she slipped sometimes. It wasn't common, but she had a tendency to have an almost infinite pool of patience, but once used up, she had none. Finally she'd shaken her head. "No, I suppose not. I wouldn't have done what you did; had I been late to the scene and you were clearing to it, I would have waited." She didn't know how the mechanics here worked. "I also didn't know that. At the very least, I would have maybe asked to party." Echo did understand his point, she didn't agree, but she was able to have her own code of honor about such things. "Not everyone is the same" She said simply after a moment. Perhaps her childish side had shown too. It was perhaps bad to admit, she was used to being babied. Not even just in game... in real life too. Echo was big enough to admit she was likely being highly unreasonable, at least to herself; there was no way she was telling Khaine that!

She didn't know about the leader boards and had she, she likely wouldn't have cared much. That sort of fame was fleeting and purely luck based. It had been lucky he'd locked it to her, she'd not have accepted otherwise. The game should have a decline feature... The fact that people could force gifts was freaking odd. It made sense on one hand, she couldn't turn around and just sell it, some people were that much of a cunt. She'd known other girls who had done that; been given a gift and turned around and sold it on the nearest market board. She also didn't like being touched by strangers. Were most people not like that? So she'd pulled back when he'd wiped the cream from the corner of her mouth. It was also just embarrassing... She however had chased after Khaine and offered to team up. Snorting softly she made a clearly feminine sound of annoyance. "You don't have to admit to it, it's obvious." There was both a serious note to her voice and a slightly playful one. Frowning she crossed her arms. "That somehow makes it better?" Once again, Echo understood, she just didn't agree. "Being a dick just because others will be a dick is self-serving and likely the same reason others do it. It's a cycle you and others perpetuate." She shook her head, long azure locks catching on the breeze. "It doesn't make it better" She wouldn't have gone so far as to say it was wrong. He wouldn't be the only who thought that way, but to Echo, it was like eye for an eye. If you thought someone else would do it, it made it easier for you to do it. It's how a lot of people in games and hell, even the real world made themselves feel better about being... mean. Yeah she was super grown up..

Speaking of her maturity, when he made the joke about seeing if her mouth was good for more she blushed, violently. "Khaine!" His name sharp. Echo closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I wouldn't have done that..." Her voice was as blush as her cheeks. "I did appreciate it" Frowning she looked at the critter at her feet. Picking it up, she cuddled it to her breasts and looked up at him. "I do love him" She kissed the silken fur and let him go, giggling as it's wings shimmered, flying about her before landing at her feet once more. "But.. I don't like being given gifts. Not even by my family.." As much as she was used to being babied, she wasn't a fan of people giving her things. It made her uncomfortable when she knew the person giving her the gift and he was a stranger. "I did say thank you" Looking up at him once more she shifted in place, still uneasy with his joke and the gift. "I really did mean it, it was nice. You could have likely gotten a lot of... ya know for it" It was clear she didn't mean crescents, by how her voice shifted, becoming shy and how she looked away. "Giving it to me..." She'd been a bit of a crybaby, he wasn't wrong. "It was nice" She didn't know what else to say.

Snorting she let him ruffle her hair. "Uh-huh.." Her sweet voice was almost deadpan as Khaine tooted his own horn. Shaking her head, Echo smiled. "I promise nothing" Her tone was playful and she stuck her tongue back, pulling down the skin under one eye. It was a very anime girl thing to do as she made the neyh noise. His offer had been sweet, at least until the end... "I do not have a stick in my butt!" Already true to her word, she pouted at him. Her interface chimed and she looked at the request. Rolling her eyes she declined his offer for a good friend, offering him a friend request in return. She knew what that would allow. "Pervert!!!" She accused him of being such by hoping she didn't know. She wasn't even meant to be in the game, truth be told, it was eighteen plus and she was only eighteen. She was both serious and playing. Accepting the party, she saw his name appear below hers, his health pool and mara showing. She was pulling her dual swords out when he ran off. She'd been about to answer him as he tagged seven mobs. Swearing she cast a delayed heal on him, it would heal him as he hit zero to about three fourths of his health. Would serve him right. "How low can you go?" Her tone was playful and she launched herself at the group. As she sailed through the air, her wings spread she cast buffett, stunning the mobs just as his health dipped below the trigger point. She watched with satisfaction as his health refilled. Blessing her weapons, she applied another spirit buff, but this one was spirit transfer. It would feed him the heals as she shouldn't be hit.

Behind the group of mobs, she attacked with quick small motions, blade flurry her only real AOE other than buffet at the moment, which she cast periodically as they fought to stun the mobs. While she attacked she cast buffs to his damage, the first of them being bloodied kisses. It allowed her to let spirit transfer to drop off, as he'd do more damage with his gear. His self heals getting stronger. Most of her buffs were healing, HP or defensive, but she could get some offensive spells later, to increase DPS. It wouldn't be like a bard could provide, but it would be better than nothing. Recasting bloodied kisses, she switched to a single target. It took them four minutes to kill all seven. Panting softly, cheeks flushed from exertion, Echo smiled at him shyly. "Letting you drop was most effective" Her voice was apologetic. "Because you'd dropped so much." She looked worried, like he might be mad at her. "Sorry" It seemed like she was even prepared for it as she apologized.

 

[Staine]

"I guess no, not everybody is the same, but most of us are gonna be out for ourselves when it comes to exclusive loot like that." Khaine pointed towards the little creature that was running around her feet, smiling at it. It really was cute, he could have maybe kept it if it wasn't for the flower completely ruining the aesthetic he was going for. There was no system to hide such things in the game yet, that he knew of, and it would be a long time before he could transmogrify it, if ever at all. He had a suspicion it was one of those items that refused to be hidden, and besides, it seemed to make the girl happy. He laughed as she continued to lecture him, nodding along without ever losing his grin. "Okay, okay, I get it...you think I was a dick, I disagree, I just did what most people would have done in that situation. We can drop it now, okay? Besides, didn't you say something about partying up?" The way she had blushed at him and exclaimed his name was adorable, again reminding him of his little sister and he had managed to keep himself from saying more for now as she recovered, instead sending her the friend request before running off. He sighed as it was rejected, knowing his little trick had been caught but seeing the new one pop up he accepted it immediately, shouting back to her as he gathered all the mobs. "Prude! I wasn't gonna do anything anyway, I just wanted to see if you'd accept!" He couldn't even say it with a straight face as he cast his first shield on himself. "Besides, what makes you think I'm even interested? You're cute, but you're making a lot of assumptions!"

Holding threat on the mobs was easy enough with the aggro modifiers in place on his current class, too easy in fact...his health dropped quickly as each one lunged and swiped at him, guarding as best he could with frequent shields and casting bloodthirst on his sword. It wasn't a super strong spell, but it would give him 20% of the damage dealt back as hp and with this many enemies that would prove significant enough as he repeatedly used his aoe attack, alternating it with the off-global cooldown shield so that he didn't waste any of his time. Echo joined the fight shortly after, right when he thought he was about to die his hp shot back up to almost full and he breathed a sigh of relief, spinning with his blade again as he tried to keep track of all the enemies. "Hey, you did that on purpose! And you call me mean...I didn't let you almost die!" More support spells and damage came in from her, increasing his own dps and self-healing while they both chipped away at the mobs little by little in a long, drawn out battle that finally brought them down to one mob. As he finished it off, he stuck the point of his blade into the ground, leaning on it for support, panting and speaking between breaths. "Whew...not bad for a crybaby, you did good...nah, it's okay, I know how that skill works...you didn't let me die and that's what matters." She was apologising even though she had done nothing wrong, and he couldn't help himself. Leaving his sword where it was, he reached out and took her hand. "Oh you should be sorry though...if you're gonna party with me I expect one thing, Echo..." Smirking, he fell backwards, pulling her down after him while being careful to make sure she didn't hurt herself, guiding her not to land on top of him but next to him, on her back, the same as he did. Still laughing, he turned his head to look at her. "Less saying you're sorry when you've done nothing wrong, and more smiling. Aren't you excited? Just look at the sky." Pointing up, it was already starting to turn a little dark as the sun dipped below the horizon but the sky was still clear and beautiful, perfectly white clouds and birds flying above them, not black or grey but a bright green, yellow and blue. Near them was a tree with the same green leaves shaped like stars, huge and towering above the island they were on it blocked out a little of the sky but you could see the small animals running along it's boughs, a squirrel-like creature with an acorn stopping on one of them to look down at the pair laying on their backs. "Isn't this place amazing? Try enjoying it a little more, I'm here to have fun and I demand the same from you."

Closing his eyes, it was another few minutes of resting while he caught his breath, occasionally opening them to check out the sky while he recovered before he opened his interface to see the loot messages on the screen. A few crafting items and a decent amount of Crescents had been won, and he split them between the two before submitting it to her for approval. Part of the party system in the game meant everybody in the party had to approve who got the loot unless it was a special item that dropped straight into one lucky player's inventory. Seeing the quest message, he rose to a sitting position, then to his feet, offering a hand down to her. "Well that's all for now, I'm done with those and I think you are too right? We have two options now." He held up two fingers on his other hand. "We can go turn the quest in, back in town, or we can go explore. I'm all for either option, but personally I wouldn't mind going back to town. You could use some better equipment if you're gonna do crazy pulls like that and I'm starting to run out of potions. Maybe I should take alchemy as my profession, huh?" He lifted her to her feet as she took his hand, grabbing and sheathing his sword, and was already walking back in the direction of the main city like he had made up his mind for the both of them. "Come on, Cavale has tons of good stores, I can't believe you haven't bought any upgrades already, running low on funds?" It would make sense to be fair, if she wasn't a beta tester like he was then she wouldn't h ave the 100k that he had been allowed to start with, and even after hours of questing he barely had an extra few thousand on top of that. "Ugh, I guess I'll have to buy you some as well? I only just met you and you're already gonna cost me a fortune...first the rare pet and now this!" He was joking, grinning even as he said it, turning to stick his tongue out at her. "You better be worth it, I'm gonna work you hard as my own personal healer to pay it off." It wasn't long before they were approaching the huge gates of the city, after riding the air currents safely back down to the floating island it was on, and he reached out to pull her closer to him as the massive throng of players and NPC's alike threatened to separate them by sheer volume, finding themselves jostled left and right as more and more people passed them in every single direction; the city itself was huge, big enough to provide a large section for each of the started races, each section with it's own markets and more than that, it was rumoured that every building in it was available to buy apart from those used to govern the city. It was another of the bigger, more hyped up features of the game that if you wanted to make your fortune adventuring and then buy one of the taverns in the city and spend your game time running it, you could do just that, it would feel authentic, you would make plenty of money and get to listen to tales of adventure from those doing more difficult content. You could learn to craft weapons and buy a store, convert it into a workshop and become a blacksmith, you could buy one of the inns if you made enough and then charge players to use it for a good night's rest, even turn a low level inn into an elite establishment.

 

[Bunny]

She had thought he was mean, the word dick had never crossed her mind, so she let the subject drop as he asked about partying up. Echo gave a single nod "Mmhm!" Though, when he sent her the request and countered her joking pervert he'd called her a prude. "How am I a prude, if you didn't want to do anything?" A brow lifted and she gave a small sound that was very feminine and vaguely amused. She wasn't a prude... was she? She'd never had sex, so she supposed one could call her a prude, but in the same breath, she was only sixteen. Wasn't it good she hadn't had sex? She let the tease pass, even if his other words stung a little even if in the grand scheme of things, she didn't care. So what if he didn't like her like that? She wasn't here for that. Echo might have said he wasn't cute like that, but he was, so why lie about it?

"Almost, is not death, you gigantic baby" was her prim reply as she continued to do damage. Her buffs on him along with his own scroll kept him almost topped up between minor heals and shields, allowing them to mostly focus on the one aspect, dispatching all of the monsters as fast as they could. Panting, she could feel the glisten of sweat on her skin and then shivered as a cool breeze rippled along the plateau. The game was intricately designed, even small touches like that not left out. It was that, the feel of the grass beneath her feet, the scent that she smelled, crisp, clean air. "I am not a crybaby!" Though, she was pouting at him again. A gaps left her as he pulled the two of them backwards, her back hitting the ground, laying on the soft grass beside him. Whimpering softly she pushed him. "Okay" It was all she said, knowing she couldn't actually do it. She'd say sorry over nothing, if she thought he might be mad. It was obnoxious, she knew, but she'd never figured out how to stop it.

Looking upwards she watched as fluffy clouds passed overhead, lazily drifting on the breeze. He wasn't wrong, the world that Drealm had made was beautiful. They'd paid attention to not just big details, but small ones too. It's what was really standing out to her, the amount of effort they'd put in to make the world perfect. Shaking her head she sighed. "Who said I wasn't having fun. Now who is making assumptions?" Beyond her slight pouting fit, she'd been having a great time. She'd made a few 'friends', Khaine was actually her fourth. She'd killed a bunch of higher level mobs on her own and she'd proven that she was a good healer, keeping Khaine alive. She was in a good mood. The pair lapsed into silence and she closed her eyes, letting the slowly sinking sun warm her through.

Her eyes opened as she felt him shift beside her. Echo took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. Flexing her wings she stretched, sighing softly. Even this small motion felt as good as it did in real life, making her body feel more limber. "Yeah I only needed a few more." She was listening as she checked her credits. Echo had looked at the gear before she had left, but it hadn't come cheap, even now the thought of spending her crescents on it, knowing even that it was needed, hurt her a little. She was frowning when he mentioned needed to be an alchemist. She pushed him playfully. "How are you not mean again?" Echo followed him as he decided, she hadn't had a preference anyway. "Well, I just started. I didn't play beta." She motioned at his armour. "It's not cheap. I can maybe buy a new weapon.." If this was like other games, that was the most important to stay on top of. "Hmm? Oh" Seeing the flashing light out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the loot he was splitting with her. She opened it and accepted it without question. It was pretty standard fare, some crafting stuff, mostly money. Echo looked up and shook her head, vehemently. "No, you certainly do not!" The entire way she bickered with him, the gist of all her words coming down to under no certain terms was she accepting any gear from him.

Jostled about at some point she'd grabbed on to his cape, to keep from being separated. Khaine was a lot bigger than she was, and he was able to make a small path in his wake, all she needed to do was stay close enough. She felt a little silly holding onto his cape, like a little sister. Echo wondered for a moment if Nicholas was playing. She knew he'd kinda liked games before... She pointed to the vendor she wanted to go to was they took a moment to decide where they'd go. "Weapons will be the best thing, I can last on my other gear for a bit yet I think" She was indeed being stubborn on her stance about him buying her anything else. Echo started to walk towards the stall when a man stepped into her path. He was tall, gaunt and rather unfriendly looking. "Hey pipsqueak, where did you get the pet?" Even his voice was unfriendly and she flinched. "Um.." The man sneared at her looking away from Echo to Khaine. Pushing past her, Echo stumbled and fought to keep herself from falling "No way pedo bait is Khaine" He glanced back to Echo, his eyes traveling over her small body, the look making her shiver. "Not in that gear either"

It dawned on her that he was one, like Khaine who enjoyed that thrill of getting the first of something. The first rare? Pulling up her interface she saw only one name listed. Khaine had been the only one to take down one. And she was a giant beacon to him... She didn't think it would matter much, not like the vile unseelie could do anything to either of them. Echo had to wonder why he looked like a villain. Khaine and she had passed by others who looked lovely, pale, mysterious.. He'd made his avatar look mean. Looking past his back she hugged herself, feeling uncomfortable, her eyes meeting Khaine's. "Do you want me to go on alone?" The look from Khaine was enough and she nodded. She was kind of happy he didn't want her leaving. For some unknown reason she was feeling unsafe, thought not unsafe enough to not be a brat. She stuck her tongue out at the man's back. He was a buttface.

 

[Staine]

Khaine had opened his mouth to rebuff her, then paused as he realised what she said did make sense, grinning instead and shrugging even as he fought off the mobs attacking him. "Well you're a prude for being so careful as to not take a chance!" Even as he'd said it he knew it didn't make any sense at all but he didn't care, he was actually enjoying talking with the girl, Echo for all her complaining at him for killing the rare mob first was actually kind of fun, fun to tease at least. She really did remind him of Makayla, and that wasn't a bad thing in his eyes. His little sister had always managed to hold his attention and make him smile despite their rather large age gap, it was why he often had doted on her between teasing her, had considered it his job above all others to look after her, be there when she needed him and help her when she was in trouble, even from their parents, though in all honesty he was far more likely to be the one causing trouble than she was. After they had all gone down he had laughed at her rebuttal, shaking his head as he had wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his forearm. "Hey, don't go calling me a baby, these things hurt you know! I'm wearing armour but I can still feel the attacks, all of them! I really didn't think it through, becoming a tank in a game where you actually feel the damage you take..." It was true, he ached in spots where they had managed to land solid blows and his limbs felt heavy from exhaustion; it had struck him as odd the game didn't have a resource for a lot of the physical attacks one could do other than cooldowns but it was starting to make sense now, the resource was your own stamina, if you were out of shape it would be harder to do physical jobs in general as you'd be too worn out to even lift your blade. He was sure there was a system in place to help with that since in the real world his body wasn't actually moving but the technology Drealm had used was tapped into his brain, affecting the chemistry...he sure as hell felt like he had fought all those creatures.

Laying on the ground he had chuckled as she pushed him, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "You really don't mean that, do you? I have a feeling you're gonna keep saying sorry no matter what I tell you. I know somebody else like that, she's a pain in my ass too." He didn't mind, truth be told, it was cute and endearing but he wasn't about to tell her that when he could tease her about it more. "Don't worry, I won't hold it against you, you're too cute for that. Funny that you didn't say sorry for not wanting to be my good friend though...that hurt, Echo." As he had lifted her up from the ground he had put a little extra effort into it, pulling her close to him so she had bumped into him, smiling down at her. "So you are having fun then? Good! This game is pretty fucking cool, right? I know I'm enjoying it, and it's always great to meet fun players like you, you're what makes an MMO worth playing." He laughed as they walked to the city. "You're not even a bad healer, kept me up I guess even if you did try to freak me out. Pretty good I'd say, if only you could heal with cuteness you'd be the best in the game!" He was having a genuinely good time bantering with her on the walk back, exaggerating his stumble as she pushed him and pretending to almost fall even though it was barely enough to move him on it's own, laughing as he looked down at her. "That wasn't mean, it was true! You know it hurts more if you let me get that low on health right? You say I'm mean but you did that on purpose too!" Full of smiles, he was shaking his head as they approached the city, refusing to accept no for an answer. "Say no all you like, I'm not hearing it cutie, I'm buying you some gear and that's that." The way she was holding onto his cloak to keep track of him in the crowd made him chuckle a little but he also slowed down for her so she wouldn't get left behind if somebody managed to jostle her in the throng. "You earned it anyway, saved me some time on that pack, I couldn't have done it without you. Think of it as an investment, and if you really wanna pay me back..." He grinned, reaching out to pull her close to him. "Accept the good friend request and I can think of a few ways. Oooor...just be quiet and let me treat you. No charge." Following the direction she pointed in, he looked as she started to make her way towards the vendor, frowning as the Unseelie stepped in front of her. A little behind, he wasn't far enough away that he didn't hear the comments, growling softly, his hackles rising immediately. Sure, Khaine was forward, he made lewdish jokes and comments but he didn't cross the line, he didn't ogle her the way the man had and he didn't treat new players like trash like this guy did. Inspecting him he couldn't see a name, meaning he had hidden it from inspection unless you were friends, but he could see the gear, another beta player and just a couple levels below Khaine, probably because he was here in the city while they were killing the mobs.

When Echo looked to him he shook his head a little, indicating she shouldn't go without him; while she was perfectly safe in the town there were already reports of players shoving others around, it wasn't harmful but could lead to them falling and was pretty cruel and disheartening. The thought of it happening to her made him want to punch this guy, there was no need to treat others like that and it bullied people out of the game. Stepping in front of the man as he started walking away from her he stopped him, a hand on his chest shoving him backwards and smiling even though the smile never quite reached his eyes. "Hey, maybe next time you wanna be an asshole, pick on somebody your own size?" Still smiling, managing to keep it up despite the confrontation, he waited as the Unseelie clearly was inspecting him, "White knight huh? And you let her have a pet like that? I sure hope that piece of ass is worth it, won't see another one of those in a long time." The man was leering back at her and Khaine did the only thing he really could, stepping to stand between them so he couldn't look at her. "I mean, we can take it to PVP if you want to see how tough you really are, or you can just stop bothering people with your creepy serial killer avatar and fuck off, maybe stop blaming others for your tiny little dick." The man was inspecting him again, likely realising it wasn't a fight he was going to win against a tank that was geared as well as possible for the time and two levels higher than him. Shaking his head, he turned to leave the city through the doors they had just come in through. "Whatever, loser, go give your girlfriend one from me eh? Fucking cheaters, I bet she got the loot cos you had to group to kill the thing..." Letting him walk off, Khaine turned to Echo and shook his head, growling under his breath and placing his hand on her back as he led her towards the vendor. "Don't let assholes like that bother you if you can help it, okay? My theory is they act like that because nobody ever wanted to touch their micropenises so they take it out on anybody they think they can get away with it to." Chuckling as they got closer to the vendor he gave her a small shove towards the weapons. "Stay close to me and if they give you trouble I'll chase em off, not that they can hurt you anyway unless you go into the free contact areas..." Just the thought of her in one of those 'rape zones' as they had been dubbed annoyed him, but he tried to smile through it. "And if you do I better be the first you invite to join you!"

While she looked over the weapons, he was already buying gear, not really going for appearance but for the highest stats for her role, dexterity, spirit and charisma from what he could tell. The actual defence on it was pretty bad compared to his own armour or even the armour he would buy from the vendor at her level, and it cost a decent chunk of money, more crescents than he had actually made in game so far, making him dip below the 100k he had started with but he came away with a full set of the best she could wear, paying for it before anybody could stop him. A few of the potions he could now use since he had passed level 10 and a couple of healing scrolls made up the rest of his purchases. Grinning, he was waiting for her to finish her own shopping, meeting her with the gear when she was done. "Here you go! See, told you that I was gonna get it, probably should just take it huh? It's kinda useless to me, wrong stats and all so if you don't it's just gonna be a waste of aaaaalll those crescents." Smirking, he had a feeling she would be a bit unhappy with him but he didn't care, he wanted her to be well geared if she was gonna party with him and he liked her, so why not? "You can change in an inn, it's getting late so we should probably log out soon...I mean I will anyway, you don't have to if you dont' wanna...hmm, we could eat first though if you like. My treat, they have amazing food here!" He was already looking towards the inn, waiting for her to join him so they wouldn't bump into another asshole like that.

 

[Bunny]

He seemed to know she wouldn't just stop saying sorry because he'd requested it, which helped; she wouldn't have been able to. In truth, she hadn't been petty either as Khaine's health, he'd pulled too many for her to heal him up and rather than waste her most powerful spell, she'd taken advantage of it. She'd played it smart. However, she did feel bad that he might be hurting, even if it had been his foolishness. "You know that still makes no sense" She'd said idly as they lay in the grass. "Being a prude because I didn't want to take a chance. I think it says more about your intentions than anything else" her voice was soft, but there was warmth to it, as if she was teasing him. As Khaine called her cute she snorted softly and rolled her eyes. A smile curled along her lips. "I am sure you're bleeding internally" She knew he was teasing her and so Echo wasn't bothered by it.

A gasp left Echo as he pulled her up, with a bit too much force, her smaller body colliding with his. Giggling softly she nodded "It is" She smiled and looked around. "I think it's the small details that they clearly put effort into. It makes it feel like we are really here." Echo shrugged some. "I know it's just a game, but they worked had to make it immersive." She blushed and looked down when he said it was players like her that made MMO's worthwhile playing. "I do like the people you meet. Players form all over the world or even next door." She bumped into him as they walked and he teased her. "I didn't try and freak you out. Gods, tanks are such babies!" Laughing she shook her head. "You pulled before I was ready and when I did the smart thing, you complain. It was all your fault you know"

It seemed her arguments fell on deaf ears and finally she just hushed, but not before a sulky "Fine." She'd make him sell it back if he did! It made her feel a little uneasy, even if he was being pretty nice and not creepy, the way some guys could be. Being a girl on a game, being cute... good or bad, men would flock to you. Being sexy too, mostly it was having a feminine voice. They wanted to buy you things, spoil you. She remembered someone buying her a rare mount in a game, it had been obvious why.. She'd accepted but only because he'd become very sad when she'd declined at first. She knew Khaine would buy her the gear, but he didn't give her those vibes. If they stayed teamed up, it would pay off. As his healer of choice being well geared would make their lives easier. Their conversation interrupted, she curled behind Khaine while he defended her. Thankful he'd put himself between her and the creepy Unseelie, the way he kept looking at her making her far more uncomfortable than Khaine had. With Khaine it'd been quite clear he was teasing, the way the other man looked at her made her skin crawl.

She stopped Khaine as he tried to lead her away, hugging him quickly. "I would have been okay, but thank you" She would have been, even if he did freak her out. "I don't get people like that" Pulling away she let him lead her to the vendor "I don't plan to visit those areas" Echo's voice taking on a slightly defensive tone, though it was nice to know he'd stand up for her, it was something she was pretty horrible at doing for herself. The woman was a Fawn named Esme, with short brown hair and scars along her bare arms. "Hey there sugar" Her voice was rich and melodic and she flashed Echo a smile. "What are you lookin' for Darlin' I have all sorts of weapons." Echo knew that Esme was a NPC, but she seemed very human. "I need some dual swords" Emse beckoned Echo into her shop. "This way sweet Fae" It took Echo a little while to decide on what weapon she wanted. She knew her stats were Spirit and Dexterity... Though eventually she'd need a bit of Charisma too.

Coming out of the shop she sighed as he opened trade. Echo shook her head even as she accepted it. "Pushy" She equipped it all and sighed as she looked at her avatar. It made her look her age.. The base of the dress was orange and faded into peach and then into yellow, the bottom of the dress barely covering her modesty. On top of the main dress what a white layer that fell behind her almost like wings. Across her breasts were two deeper orange/red plates with a golden symbol in the middle of the third plate. A collar around her neck with a black lace around the middle, a pair of black thigh high stockings and a pair of boots that matched the dress to a t. Deeper orange/read fading into peach, then to yellow and finally into white. "I look like pedo bait now!" She was trying for annoyance, but honestly she liked it. Laughing she shook her head and drew one of her new swords. "Looks like they match, don't you think?" The blade was peachy orange, deeper reds to almost burgundy, with golden diamonds down the length of the blade. The edge of the sword and guard were gold and around the ornate guard were feathers. The hilt was wrapped in soft leather and the pommel was a small triangle of gold with strips of burgundy and a small white gem.

"Absolutely not!" She bit her lower lip and shifted in place before making her counter offer, blush in her cheeks. "You said you were aching, cause of the battle, right?" Echo looked up at him. "What if I treat you to an Onsen and a hot meal?" She waited for the joke that would be coming, Echo was pretty sure he'd make one. "I know it's not real, but it should help anyway and afterwards, we can eat before logging for the night" She'd always wanted to go to an Onsen, and while it wasn't real, it would be likely as close as she'd get. A hot spring with minerals, segregated by sex as seen in a lot of anime. She knew they hadn't always been separated by sex, and you could get rooms with private baths and then it wouldn't matter... but she'd just met him. Stripping down wasn't what she had in mind. "It's the least I can do seeing as you're forcing gear on me. Let me pay for both?"

 

[Staine]

Khaine had only grinned as she had questioned his intentions back in the field, not answering or looking her in the eyes. Yeah...she was cute, sexy even, and his intentions were far from pure...kind of. Maybe that was the wrong word...his intentions were to have fun, enjoy questing with her and to tease her while they did so, nothing more than that was in his plans. If he got to maybe grope her a little and enjoy looking at her, well what was the harm in that? They were both adults, she was pretty and he liked her, so what? He'd enjoyed their conversation about how immersive and pretty the game was too, he had totally agreed with, laughing as she accused him of being the one to pull all the mobs...which was true but hardly the point, she had almost let him die! He'd noticed how she looked down and blushed at his compliment too, ruffling her hair as they walked, just generally enjoying her company, the very thing he had mentioned he loved about MMO games. "Yeah yeah, my fault for trusting you to be able to keep up then huh?" He'd grinned, but patted her on the back anyway. "I'm just messing with you, you did great, really. I knew you weren't just a pretty face and a cute butt." The drama in the city had been far more intense than their playful conversations, he was half expecting the creep to accept his offer of PVP too, fully ready to defend her in a challenge but of course he had turned out to be a coward. Men like that often were, only accepting a challenge when they had an advantage, which in Khaine's opinion was no way to improve. How would they be able to get better if they only fought players weaker than them? Where was the fun in an easy win instead of a hard fought victory that took effort, skill and intelligence to succeed in? It made little sense to him but whatever, the Unlseelie had walked away, leaving them to approach the vendor.

"I know you would have been okay, that's not the point." Looking towards the man walking away, he pulled Echo close, one hand on her shoulder as he held her to his side. "People like that just piss me off, alright? They act like being strong in the game is the only thing that matters, and that new players aren't worth anything. You're new, but look at how well you healed, and I'd rather spend a minute with you than join an asshole like that even if he was the best player in the game." Squeezing her shoulder gently, he released her as they approached the vendor. "Hah, well he's gone now anyway, so it doesn't even matter, just don't expect me to stay quiet around dickholes that act all high and mighty...I could have taken him anyway." Grinning, he raised an eyebrow at her comment. "Oh you don't? Well that's a shame, though it's fair enough, just make me a good friend instead!" He was pretty sure the comment went mostly unheard as she was already speaking to the vendor, looking at new weapons while he picked out the gear for her and the other items he wanted. Soon enough he was grinning as he handed it to her, trying to hide his smirk as she equipped it all. He hadn't been paying attention to the appearance of the gear, buying only what was best for her job and knowing it was all the same set anyway, it would match so what would the big deal be, right? The more she equipped the more obvious it became that the gear was designed as a little bit of fan service, understandable since there were far more male players than female and a huge portion of the guys would play girls in a game like this too. He'd never quite understood that, he had heard the reasoning before, that if they are going to stare at an avatar it might as well have a cute ass, be something they want to look at instead of a beefy guy where he was of the mindset that he would rather something that represented him in the world. He was a man, he was happy with that so why would he want to play anything else? A thought crossed his mind and he tried to laugh it off. "Yeah...you kinda do, but it doesn't matter, the game is 18+ anyway right? So you chose a cute avatar, so what?" He patted her on the back again, a little harder, sending her stumbling forwards.

"Yup, they certainly do match! They look strong too, I'll bet we will be able to take on even bigger packs now that you have better gear! I can't wait to see how low you decide to let my hp fall next time!" Laughing again, he considered what she asked him and nodded, stretching and running a hand down his right arm. It really was aching, not just from the attacks of the enemies but from swinging the heavy sword too, realistic he supposed but it did make it hard. "Yeah...yeah, alright, if you're that hung up on a few crescents between friends then I guess I could let you treat me..." Smirking, he let her lead him towards the inn with the Onsen, briefly letting his eyes rove over her outfit before focusing on navigating through the town. "So you gonna pay for a private spring for us or is this just a ticket kind of deal...I do appreciate it, but being separated for it kind of sucks, I don't really fancy just sitting there by myself even if I'm sure it will feel amazing." As they got closer to the inn and they walked inside, he looked down at her with a look of curiosity. "So...are you really a girl? I mean it doesn't matter, I was just thinking how a lot of guys play girl avatars in games like this...I won't be upset if you are you know, we are just friends after all and I am having a lot of fun...I won't even stop teasing you or calling you cute, just curious." Walking up to the guest counter, he turned to rest his back against it, smiling down at Echo. He really didn't mind if she was a guy too, didn't much change the idea of them partying but he couldn't get the thought out of his head and as far as Khaine was concerned, if you had something on your mind it was better to speak it than to spend all your time stuck on it. Laughing it off, he patted the top of her head while he waited for her to arrange a bath for them, either segregated or in a private room. "Forget it, I'm not sure I even really wanna know, I'll just assume you're as cute in real life as you are in here, probably better that way. Makes it easier to tease you when you blush at me if I don't think you're some guy named Barry." Chuckling, he patted a gauntleted fist against his own chest. "For the record though, I'm every bit as beautiful and graceful in real life as I am in here, what you see is what you get. Well, I look a little different but that's just artistic licence, I'm still manly, charming and handsome as hell."

 

[Bunny]

Pulled close, Echo had fought the blush that crept into her cheeks and failed miserably. Nodding, she smiled softly. "No, I get it. He was a jerk." Her blush deepened "I am knew to this game, but I have healed in other games. It's really the same as long as you read the skills." Smiling Echo shook her head and made a zipping the lips motion. "Wouldn't dream of it. I am not really into PVP much, so I will happily leave that to you" Snorting she shook her head as she entered the shop, ignoring his comment. He was such a weirdo, but Echo couldn't help but like him. It took her some time, but once they met up again and he had pushed a bunch of new gear on her against her direct wishes and she'd changed she looked up at him. "Yeah" What else did one say to that? Hey, bee tee dubs Khaine, you're flirting with a sixteen year old girl. That's not creepy right? Echo knew she should tell him before anything went further.. But honestly she was enjoying herself. What Khaine didn't know, wouldn't hurt him... right...

He pulled her from her rather sulky thought and she laughed. "Yeah!" Her face had been closed for a moment, but brightened as he spoke. "I am not hung up, but you remember what I said? Besides, think of it more like a thank you. You did something nice, I want the chance to do the same. Is that wrong?" She gave him a playful pout and followed him to the Onsen. Looking up at him she wrinkled her nose. "You are such a perv, you do know that right?" If she had a choice she would do separate baths. She could wear a towel if they were not separate, though they surely would be, right? Blink she looked up at him. "You mean in real life?" She giggled and bit her lower lip. She could tell him she was a guy and that would at least solve her predicament, but she was proud of being as good as she was at games as a girl. Girls still got a lot of flack. His hand patted her head as they waited for the NPC and she stuck her tongue out. "I am a girl, both in real life and in game." She nudged him and rolled her eyes. "You wish!" Laughing again she turned towards the NPC as they approached the counter.

"Welcome to the Twin Moon Onsen!" The man smiled and bowed. "How may I help you?" Echo smiled back, even knowing it was an NPC, part of the fun was believing in the fact that even the NPC's were real. She'd heard that the game had even put in a feature if you were mean to the NPCs. They could be mean back, hostile, refuse to serve you etc and they sort of talked, so bad behavior to one could cause a chain of effect that caused issues with other vendors. "Hi, we'd like to visit the Onsen and then a meal after." The man nodded and smiled. "Of course." Bending he picked up two baskets. Within were towels and Yukata one a deep burgundy and the other a rich jade green. "At the moment, the main Onsen is full, but I could offer you a private room at the same price. A lot of adventures decided to come have a luxurious soak in our springs after a hard day!" Blushing Echo shifted uneasy and nodded after a moment. "..Okay I guess" Paying, she accepted the burgundy and the jade one was handed to Khaine.

Following the NPC down a hallway he lead them into a private room. "Shoes off, please" This was said after just entering the room, the NPC pointed to a pair of house shoes. Echo removed her boots and set them in the little rack. It was a lovely room, done in a simple elegance. Hard wood floors mingled with tatami mats, pale cream colored walls and bright green accents. "There are two beds, and we will serve you meal in here. Just pull on the cord by the doors when you're ready for your meal" He motioned to a pair of sliding doors "The hot spring is just on the other side. Please enjoy!" Leaving them alone, she shifted in place. "I guess.. I will undress first. Khaine, don't look, please?" Echo would have to trust him, her cheeks bright pink. Heading to the bedroom she quickly undressed and wrapped one of the fluffy white towels around her waist. She took time to coil her long blue hair into a bun, little tendrils falling around her face and neck, before quickly exiting the room towards the hot spring. The water was an almost creamy green, and she was revealed he wouldn't be able to see much. Quickly she laid her towel on a hot rock within reach and slipped into the water with a sigh. Small little lanterns lit up the area, in a dreamy haze of golden light, which would be helpful when darkness claimed the world.

Steam rose around her and in the distance she could see a snow covered mountain. It was truly picturesque. The water came up over her shoulders as she moved deeper into the spring, "Okay you can come out" Her voice trailed over the small distance as she looked out over the landscape. The Onsen was on a hill, overlooking the Elysian Field, robust shades of orange, purple and pink settling on the world as the sun sank beneath the horizon. They could log out here and come back in the morning, but that was still a few hours away. Echo heard the door slide open and she smiled. "Look at the fields, they are so pretty... painted in twilight's colors"

 

[Staine]

Every time he threw her a compliment, Echo seemed to blush, and to be quite honest it was very appealing, he loved shy girls, probably a symptom of dealing with his little sister. Even now when he saw her she was kind of shy, though she at least opened up a little around him and he always found it endearing to him, forever finding himself doting on her and eager to see how she was doing. To see the similar traits in Echo was kind of strange but he couldn't deny he was attracted to it, and it spoke volumes about the development of the game, that it captured physical responses as complex as blushing in game? It was incredible. "Damn right he was a jerk, not super nice and friendly like me. I'm clearly the perfect man!" Laughing it off, he followed her into the Onsen, grinning and holding his hands up in the air like it was a stick up, a defensive motion that included him trying to make himself look as innocent as possible. "Me? A pervert? What an outrageous accusation! I merely wanted the company of the fine healer I met out in the field today while I relaxed, I absolutely was not implying I wanted to see you naked! How dare you even suggest such a thing!" He tried to hide the grin that was creeping back into his smile, struggling to keep the shocked, innocent expression up. "I am absolutely shocked that your mind even went there...I would think long and hard about how you look at noble men such as myself, young lady!" Laughing as he put his hands back down and they approached the counter, he nodded, raising an eyebrow. "Hmm, I see. I suppose I will have to take your word for it, Barry." Listening to the NPC, his laughter became a soft snicker as they were told there was no room left in the public baths, but they could have a private room, glancing down to see Echo shifting uncomfortably. He wasn't trying to be mean, he was just really enjoying how shy she was, and he didn't mind sharing the Onsen with her, he wasn't even going to perv on her. Much.

Following the NPC into the room after taking his Yukata, he was impressed by how spacious and authentic is seemed. He'd never really been one for Japanese culture, or at least all of it...he liked his own fair share of anime and of course video games, he liked all the modern stuff he supposed but ancient Japanese culture wasn't his thing at all, Samurai were okay, but Yukata's, hot springs, the food, the aesthetic in general he supposed...it just didn't click with him, but even he had to admit this was really nice, impressive. It felt luxurious and yet humble at the same time. Once the NPC left he looked down towards Echo, seeing her shuffling nervously and chuckling at her request and the bright shade of pink in her cheeks. "Don't worry, if a noble knight of Everleigh such as myself was to besmirch his honour and invade the privacy of a beautiful, perverted young adventurer such as yourself just for a peek at her cute little butt then what is the world coming to, eh?" He placed his hand on top of her head, ruffling her hair a little before letting her leave the room, sitting in one of the chairs with his back to the door and waiting. As tempting as it was to peek, he knew he wasn't going to do that to her, it would make him no better than that asshole Unseelie and worse, it would make her feel unsafe around him. He imagined if some dickhead did that to Makayla, he would be furious, want to tear their heads off. Hearing the bedroom doors open, he closed his eyes for good measure and made a point of turning his head in the opposite direction until he heard the next set of doors closing. "Echo?" His voice was low, if she wasn't still in the room she wouldn't hear it at all, and he waited a few moments before tentatively opening his eyes. Once he knew the coast was clear, he made his own way into the bedrooms, changing while listening to the bustle in the streets. Most of it was quiet, but he could hear raised voices in the background, like somebody was yelling, the voices faint at this distance but he could still make out the words. . "Dude, you're just not fucking listening, I can't log out! I just...can't!" Chuckling to himself as he wrapped a towel around his waist after painstakingly stripping off his armour, he shook his head, leaving the bedroom while they were still yelling. "Don't be such a loser, I wanna stay here too but the game will be here tomorrow and you have work in the morning, log out right now and I'll log out in an hour!" Clearly they were a married couple or something and the guy was enjoying Everleigh a little too much.

Hearing Echo through the next set of doors, he opened them and walked inside, whistling loudly at the sight before him. "Absolutely stunning, best thing I've seen in here yet!" She really was beautiful, he could see maybe a blurry outline of her body through the murky water, fuzzy and impossible to really see anything but her hair was in a bun now and she was looking over the side at the view, which of course he pretended he was talking about. "Amazing view, right? Feel free to peek by the way, I'm not shy!" Wasn't like it wasn't true either, he had always been confident enough about his body and he knew he was blessed, he knew he was big down there too, hadn't had to embellish it in game though that had been an option as well. Laughing confidently he pulled his towel away, throwing it somewhere by the door rather than in an easy to retrieve location and stretching before walking down into the spring itself, sighing as the heat from the water immediately soothed the aches he was feeling from the day's activities. Walking over to her, slowed by the water around them, he smiled, looking out over the fields and sighing again as he reached her. "Damn this feels good...okay, you were right, this is an amazing treat. I mean damn...the aches are just falling away and the company ain't half bad either." Laughing playfully, he splashed her with some of the water before leaning against one of the large rocks that was in the pool, one with a ledge high enough built into it to sit on while keeping his lower half beneath the surface. "And you see? Told you I wouldn't peek, dummy. I'm not a complete asshole, yet." Grinning he placed his hands behind his head, using them to cushion himself as he leaned back against the rock. "Probably getting late out there in the real world huh? For me it is at least, you might be from Japan itself for all I know, though you speak great English if you are. Do they have shared servers on this game?" Thinking about it, it could be region locked? "Huh, no clue. Anyway, I'm really glad I stole your rare, you're pretty cool Echo. Wanna party up tomorrow too? I don't have work, just gotta run a few chores...should probably eat, do human things. Weird huh, thinking of our bodies out there like that? Vulnerable and defenceless? Freaked me out a little in the beta and you gotta get used to logging out to eat and sleep." He laughed softly. "Well, eat at least, you can sleep in game too. Found that out after an exhausting dungeon once, fell asleep on the ferry ride back to the city and made 5 round trips before I knew it." Mostly he was just making small talk while he relaxed, though he did want to throw out a few tips on how to handle the virtual world too, it wasn't the same as other games. For some reason, probably because she reminded him so much of Makayla, he felt he wanted to protect her, look after her, including making sure she looked after herself. "Oh, and don't forget to stay hydrated! Drink something with plenty of electrolytes."

 

[Bunny]

Perfect man might have been taking it a touch far, but there would be little Echo could say to prove him wrong. While not perfect, he had for the most part been kind to her, if not a bit lewd. He seemed to think he was fooling her or perhaps this was just a large facet of his personality. It reminded her a bit of her brother, though never once had her brother made any sort of sexual joke at her. Khaine was, no matter what he claimed a pervert; it wasn't the worst thing. He wasn't overly perverted, he seemed to just push at the boundaries to see what, if anything he could get away with. Sighing, she rolled her eyes. "My name isn't Barry" Though, she couldn't help her smile. The joke was amusing, trying to picture herself as a man her brother's age, but perhaps a bit more portly. She didn't know why Barry would be more portly, he just would! A thought came to her mind and she blushed. "Wait, if you're a guy, pretending to be a girl and you had sex in game, how would that work?" It was a legitimate question she felt, though she was likely over thinking things.

Inside their shared room Echo asked him not to peek and his answer brought a giggle from her. "Oh, no, of course not" Rolling her eyes as headed to the bedroom "Not the gallant knight who sent a good friend request without knowing me, asked for trade in sexual favors or just commented on my cute butt" Her laughed lingered in the room. He wasn't fooling her, but Echo did trust him not to peek. She may have thought he was a bit of a pervert, but she oddly enough didn't think he'd violate her privacy. Undressed and outside she hadn't heard him call her name. Sinking into the steaming water felt like heaven. She hadn't been hurting too bad and she could feel her body relaxing. Happy at this find, she knew this would really help Khaine. Perhaps she could permanently book a room here? It might be really nice to always have access to a room like this. It was something to look into even if they didn't stay partied.

"The gallant knight offering a peek?" She gasped in mock horror and steadfastly didn't turn to look at him. He might have been brave, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to know she'd flush crimson. She'd never seen a naked man, with maybe the exception of her brother when they had both been younger. Once she heard him enter the water, Echo waited a moment or two more before looking over her shoulder at him. Her face was slightly dewy from the team, giving her a pixie-like quality, her cheeks and tip of her nose rosy. "I am glad! Maybe it could be an end of the day thing?" Her question was shy, though she was, that he liked her little treat. She had felt she knew what she had been talking about. Laughing she held her hands up to shield herself from the spray of water. Wrinkling her nose at him playfully she nodded. "I did trust you, ya know?" She stuck her tongue out at him. "And don't call me dummy, pervert" Her tone was warm, a clear sign she hadn't taken offense.

She thought about what he said and nodded again. "You're right" Shaking her head no she smiled. "I am not in Japan, but I don't think the servers are region locked. I saw a thing about the game, you can buy a universal translator. It was meant to be a really big feature." Drealm had seemed pretty hyped about the feature, though it had likely gotten over shadowed by the sex. Snorting softly, Echo rolled her eyes. "I guess I am too. You're a bit of a perv and can be a little mean, but you're also really nice" Her smile was shy. "You didn't have to be nice to me after I pouted at you and you didn't have to stand up for me" Blinking, Echo tilted her head, some of the loose blue tendrils floating on the steam from the water around her face, giving her an almost ethereal look, with her little white wings folded behind her back "Sure, I would like that" She had expected him to ask, had he not, she would have. After all he had bought her a full set of gear. "I hadn't really thought about it actually" She felt safe at home and therefore wasn't worried. Her parents would make sure she was safe. "Can you? I didn't know that" Chuckling she made a playful mock salute, water dripping down her hand and arm as it rose from the water, the very tops of her breasts surfacing, but just barely. "Yes Sir, Dad Sir!" She was teasing him, feeling he'd take the joke well.

Giggling she looked back out over the now dark landscape. Above them, despite the town the sky was filled with stars. The glittered in the night sky like diamonds, twinkling within the darkness, clouds passing above, deep grey and blue. "Was beta different?" Echo shifted in the water, causing little ripples as she moved closer. She wasn't worried about him touching her, even if she had been a good friend. She got the feeling he would tease her and hell he might have sneaked a grope, but for the most part, Khaine would have been the gentleman he claimed to be. "Oh, any idea what you might want to eat?" She wasn't sure if he knew much about Japanese food, the was hoping personally that they would have karaage don. leaning back against the rock beside him she closed her eyes. She was feeling tired.. After they ate she'd log out and find food in the real world before sleeping.

 

[Staine]

"Hah, so you say, but I have no way of knowing! Maybe it's George? Or Tyler?" Smiling playfully, Khaine chuckled at her question, giving it some thought, probably more than Echo expected for her impromptu question but it did give him the chance to ask her questions he thought might make her blush, she was already doing it so why not see how far he could push it? "Hmm, well on the one hand the game works via brainwaves right? If it's all in our mind you'd expect it to be based on how the guy thinks it might be but on the other I'm sure they did a lot of testing for some sensations. Do you think they had some girl test it and mapped her brain while she came a few times?" Grinning, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Now that you mention it though...how different do you think it is? You know, when a guy has an orgasm compared to a girl?" He could have gone deeper, asked her about her own climaxes but honestly Khaine felt that would be a little creepy, instead deciding to enjoy her little giggle and defend himself once more. "Hey! You keep implying I'm a perv but I said I wouldn't look, I'm a knight of honour! Not my fault if your butt is cute, you can't expect me not to notice when you wear such things!" Watching her leave the room, he had to agree with his conclusion, though he didn't spend much time looking, he didn't want to be that guy. When he followed her into the hot spring, again she was making more comments, it was like she was asking for it! Laughing, he shook his head with a smirk as he entered the water, noticing she was very pointedly not peeking at him. "My my, showing an awful lot of restraint! I'm impressed...if you told me I could peek, I may not have been so gallant."

When she turned to face him, it was clear just how beautiful she was; Khaine had to remind himself it was just her avatar, though if she was anything like him and kept it at least similar in proportions to her real self then in real life he would be just as stuck by her beauty, especially in the heat of the hot spring. For him, most of his character was rather similar in statue and even appearance, though in real life his hair was longer, usually tied back with a hair tie where in game it was much shorter. He didn't know why he had gone with that option, was considering growing it out. Another feature of the game...you could let your hair grow, or buy a potion to make it grow much quicker! "An end of day thing? Like, regular? I mean, I wouldn't mind a hot bath with a cutie like you every day, why the hell not?" After splashing her he grinned while she stuck her tongue out at him, laughing. "There you go again calling me a pervert. I wonder...if I'm a pervert, what does that make you for inviting a pervert to a private hot spring with you, hmm?" Smiling over at her as she saluted him, his eyes flicked downwards, slightly disappointed the water was so high, before rising to meet her eyes again. "Wow, thank you so much, Echo. Is every compliment you give me gonna include 'but you're a perv' in it? Maybe I should stop holding back huh?" He grinned, approaching her and lifting his hands forwards towards her like a zombie. "Mmmmm, boobies....must....grab..." stopping a safe few feet from her he lowered them and laughed. "And it's not Dad, it's Daddy."

Looking out over the landscape as she moved closer to him, he glanced down at her, smiling warmly. "Beta? Beta was pretty cutthroat dude. Nobody knew much about the game, some things were pretty badly tuned and there were so many bugs. Plus, you couldn't really touch things or taste things, you know?" He reached out and brushed her damp hair to the side of her face, tucking it behind her ear. "So like this, but I wouldn't be able to feel it, neither would you. It was pretty surreal...hard to describe if you weren't there what it was like to be able to touch but not feel. Even if I were to kiss you for example..." His eyes flicked down towards her lips. "We wouldn't feel it, I wouldn't taste your lips. Same goes for food...you could eat in game like usual, it would even make you feel full even if your real body still needed food...but it was completely tasteless, and you couldn't feel it in your mouth. Fucking weird..." He laughed again. "No pain while fighting though, no getting tired. Hmm, what to eat...I'm not really sure. I don't know many Japanese dishes...I'm gonna say that's your thing, am I right?" He wasn't entirely sure but she had explained the servers were indeed merged, and she had known about the Onsen, she seemed pretty up on Japanese culture so he wouldn't be surprised to find out that was where she was from. "I usually just get what looks tasty, sandwiches and maybe ramen, ramen is okay." He started to wade towards the door, the water going lower on his chest as he ascended the slope that would lead out of the hot spring, his goal to grab his towel. "Besides it's your treat, shouldn't you decide? We can order in our room, so how about you surprise me and I'll try whatever you order. I trust ya." He was almost completely out of the water now, his bare rear facing towards her while he found his towel, crouching to pick it up rather than bending and turning casually towards her while he wrapped it round his waist, covering himself only after he had turned. "Thanks for the spring though...that felt amazing, my limbs don't even ache anymore. Think it's magical?" Shrugging, he turned and left the room, giving her the privacy to exit herself, should she want to.

Heading to the bedroom, he grabbed his Yukata and after a little bit of fidgeting he figured out how to wear it, covering himself enough to be considered decent and abandoning the towel as he made his way back into the main room. Sitting at the table, he once again, looked away from the bedroom door and the hot spring door, waiting for Echo to get done herself and join him. He hadn't been quite so sure if she should be naked beneath the Yukata, but throwing caution to the wind he had treated it exactly like a dressing gown and was most certainly going commando.

 

[Bunny]

A brow slowly lifted as he answered her random question. "So, your answer was normal, normal, pervy" She giggled, the sound bright as she teased him; there had likely been a less perverted way to ask and she had no idea he'd tamed his answer for her. "Oh, no, of course not." True he couldn't see her, but he'd definitely heard her giggle. Both outside in the water Echo shook her head and sighed softly. She could have peeked and she felt that he wouldn't have even been mad. Though, had this been real life and they'd been on a date she wouldn't have looked. This their first 'date' and all. Which it wasn't... A frown tugged at her lips, pulling corners which seemed to naturally curl up a little at the edges, down. Snorting softly she smiled, the frown chased away by his teasing. "I just thought it would be nice. I am not sure if we can reserve rooms long term, but maybe we could both chip in after tonight?" It would only be fair, he wasn't gonna buy her a bunch of stuff on the norm... Her eyes narrowed for a moment. "Because the gear was a one time thing, right?"

"Naive?" She shrugged and smiled. "You are a bit perverted. Just like I am a bit of a crybaby" She splashed him playfully. "Nothing wrong with this level" She wasn't honestly all that bothered, but he was likely gonna call her crybaby at some point again. She needed to get the pervert comments in when she could! He wasn't helping his case as his eyes dipped, the joke however was clearly playful and she wasn't worried. He couldn't touch her breasts even if he really wanted to. "I am so not going to call you Daddy" Laughing she closed her eyes as he began to explain about Beta. Her eyes opened as he brushed her hair behind her ear, the tinge in her cheeks deepening. The touch had been nice actually, but no one had ever done that; perhaps Nicholas had, but she couldn't remember. Her eyes remained open and she watched as his eyes lowered to her mouth. Her lashes lowered and she looked to the side, clearly shy. "One would argue you can't now either though, beyond feeling it" She was deflecting hard as a new thought formed in her mind. What would it be like to kiss Khaine? They'd just met, but she did like him. "I bet the no pain will be missed."

Echo was still feeling shy, but she was trying to pull herself out of it. It was too early to tell if this was just Khaine, or if the attention he was giving her was special. Echo blinked and looked back to him. "My thing? I have always wanted to visit and I like the food, so I guess?" She smiled and shook her head. "You could get Ramen if you wanted, but there is a lot of yummy for to be had." As Khaine began to move she looked back to the dark landscape, the moon illuminating it with dreamy soft light. "Maybe, but I doubt it. It's likely whatever minerals it's meant to have and the hot water. It soothes the body."

She waited till she was sure he was out before turning around. Slipping from the water, she wrapped her towel around her body. An odd noise could be heard from somewhere down below; it sounded like shouting. Frowning she shook her head and headed inside. When she peeked inside she smiled and hurried to the bedroom. She too dawned her Yukata, though she added panties. Letting her hair down, the blue locks curled in a charming fashion from the steam of the water. It swayed around her hips as she moved to sit across from him. "So what kind of food do you normally eat?" It would help her to pick what to order him. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud shout. "NO. I AM NOT MESSING WITH YOU DUDE. I CAN'T LOG OUT" Blinking she frowned and looked to Khaine. Another voice joined the first. "He is right, I can't either." It's feminine owner sounding scared. Another strange voice joined the first two, sounding out of breath. "Can you guys log out? I can't and there has been a whole bunch of people who have been trying for hours it seems..."

Echo frowned and opened her menu. They could all be joking, but she could hear distant shouts and while she couldn't make them out, they didn't sound happy. "Khaine.. I am going to try and log out, okay?" When he nodded she lifted her hand clicking the logout button. She waited and nothing happened. Frowning she clicked it again. Nothing. "I.. I can't log out. Can you?" She didn't enjoy the thought of being stuck and him being able to log out. "Maybe it's just a glitch?" There was no hiding the tremor in her voice though. "It has to be, right? Did you have this issue in Beta?" It had to be... Right? This sort of thing should have been tested. Above them and what sounded like in their room and outside, a chime rung and then a voice that sounded fake rang out in a clear bell like tone, almost feminine. "Users, please check your mail"

 

[Staine]

"Are you sure? If they wanted a realistic example, they'd kind of have to have somebody giving a sample orgasm or three right? I wonder if they were shy about it?" He was mostly joking, laughing as she giggled and called him a perv yet again. Seeing her frown a little, his brow furrowed, slightly confused and worrying if he had said something wrong. "Hey...are you okay?" It had gone as quickly as it had come, the frown turning into another smile as he teased her but he wondered if the teasing might have been responsible in the first place? He was very aware that he tended to tease those he liked a lot, it wasn't from a place of meanness and he didn't mean them any discomfort he just liked how they reacted to it and was more than happy to receive the same in return. "If I get to be too much, just let me know okay? I can tone down the teasing, you know? Haha..." He laughed and shook his head at her, a sly smile on his lips. "Suuuure...sure, let's say it was a one time thing, though I really don't know what's wrong with me treating a friend to some gear to help her out, or a party member to make our little duo stronger. And you do look good in it...unexpected benefit!" Her comments in response to his teasing honestly made him smile a lot, he didn't mind being called a perv, he pretty much was exactly that in some regards and he wasn't going to hide himself from her when he was having such a good time flirting with her. At least...that's what he thought he was doing? It was pretty tame flirting but he was sure the message was being heard; he liked her, and he didn't mind her knowing that in the slightest.

He recoiled playfully as she splashed him in the face, laughing and lowering his hands. "Oh, you're so gonna call me Daddy, I can see how much you want to already." His eyes sparkled as he splashed her back with the water. "Oh please Daddy, will you buy me some more armour? Can I have another pet? Come have a bath with me Daddy!" His mimicry of her voice was...bad, to put it bluntly, but it was obvious enough what he was going for and that was all that mattered. "Well don't you worry princess, cos I'm fine with it. Call me anything you like!" Echo was clearly quite shy as he had touched her cheek, Smiling, he nodded. "True...but I would be able to if you let me kiss you." His voice was a little softer as he said it, and he was thinking of how she would taste, what it would be like to press his lips to hers in that moment...but then it passed as the subject shifted and he let his hand fall. His hand came up to his hair, running through it as though it were actually long, his hand coming down past where it ended in game while he turned away to leave the spring. "Well it felt magical, so thank you again. Yeah, I think I'll get ramen, thanks." When she came to join him in the main room he looked up from his seat, smiling as she sat opposite him. "Wow...maybe Japanese culture isn't that bad after all..." He was clearly talking about how she looked in her Yukata, "My kind of food? Hah...crap." He offered her a sheepish grin. "Just food, really, nothing special. Burgers, sausages, fries, sandwiches, all the things that are bad for you, you know?" He was looking forward to eating with her before logging out, though the interruptions happened almost as soon as he had opened a menu. The shouting, the same as earlier only more alarming as it seemed like less of a disagreement and more like there was a bug in the system. "I heard somebody yelling something like this earlier too. Yeah, yeah, log out cutie, I'll talk to you tomorrow..." He was already opening his own menu, though he didn't press the log out button until Echo had tried a few times, pressing his finger to the outlay. Nothing. A few more tries and nothing at all again. He looked over at Echo and frowned, hearing the tremble in her voice. "Yeah, hey, I'm sure it's alright, just a bug you know? There was nothing like this in beta but this is different, they'll have it ironed out in no time." The voice interrupted him and he opened his menu again, thankful that all mail when directly to the recipient here and not to an outside mailbox when they were in an inn. Outside, they would have to find a place to read it. Clicking on the envelope symbol, the message appeared to him, being read out so that only he could hear by the same feminine voice as well as visually appearing before him.

Welcome adventurer of Everleigh! I'm sure you're enjoying the game right now, wishing you could live in this world forever and didn't have to go back to your boring, mundane lives. Well, we at Emergence wish to give you just that. You may have noticed by now that your log out feature has been disabled, as has instant gear swapping and a number of other more unrealistic features of the game. Don't worry about your bodies, they are safe but unfortunately you won't be waking up and removal of your headset will send you into a coma until it is replaced. All major media outlets have already been appraised of this situation so you are no doubt being taken care of, and your locations have all been divulged to emergency services as we don't wish to harm you. From now on, try to enjoy your lives in Everleigh, as they are all you have left unless you complete your specific quest in order to reactivate your log out feature. We have no demands, it will not reactivate on it's own, our worm is unbeatable and will ensure you won't simply be rescued so if you wish to leave and see your friend and family again, prove that you are the adventurer you wish to be or stay here forever. The choice...is yours.

Khaine, if you wish to leave Everleigh you will need to travel to the dunes of The Mirrored Desert. Somewhere among the sparkling oases and majestic pyramids you'll have to locate the Sphinx and earn her greatest treasure. Once it's in your hands, your hack will be removed. Good luck.

He read it again, just to be sure he was actually understanding it. Could this be real? He had heard of Emergence, the hacking collective that seemed to enjoy messing with people more than actually causing harm or standing for any particular political cause, but would they really do this? He looked back up at Echo...she already seemed so panicked and was reading her own mail. Standing, he moved across to where she was and placed a hand on her shoulder as he stood beside her. "Hey...it's gonna be alright, you know?" Inwardly he was in a panic of his own, he lived alone, would he really be okay? What if they didn't get to him before he starved to death? No doubt they would need to be put on IV's to be fed, monitored...the game thankfully was pretty expensive so it was unlikely that the hospitals would be overwhelmed but damn it he felt powerless, was he going to die here? His own worried had to be pushed aside though, he was at least managing to remain calm, Echo had already looked like she was going to lose it.

 

[Bunny]

The talk of people and their orgasms being used for what amounted science and her reaction to it combined with her sudden unease about making more of what was between the two of them passed in a flash. As did him seeming to worry that he was too much. When they'd heard the people outside saying they couldn't log out, it made her answer at the time and hell, the whole conversation vanished from her mind. She had shaken her head and smiled at him shyly. She really didn't mind, it sort of reminded her of Nicholas; it wasn't the first time she'd thought that either. Though Khaine teased her in a way her brother never would, it would be improper. When he'd teased her about the gear, she'd sighed and rolled her eyes. Much like the Daddy talk had been forgotten in her rising panic. In a cold day in hell, she had said, though she'd laughed as she said it. Echo did find it unlikely... Even the request to kiss her, was forgotten, or the way her heart had seemed to pitter-patter at the thought of it and her wondering if he wasn't like this with everyone, if he.. really did like her?

It had all been forgotten, at least for the moment as her heart raced for a different reason. Her eyes wide she'd looked to Khaine with obvious worry. Nodding, she took some comfort in his answer, however even that faded as the voice came through the room, realm? Opening her own interface a trembling hand landed on the mail button and she read over an almost identical message that Khaine had. Was... was this a joke?

Welcome adventurer of Everleigh! I'm sure you're enjoying the game right now, wishing you could live in this world forever and didn't have to go back to your boring, mundane lives. Well, we at Emergence wish to give you just that. You may have noticed by now that your log out feature has been disabled, as has instant gear swapping and a number of other more unrealistic features of the game. Don't worry about your bodies, they are safe but unfortunately you won't be waking up and removal of your headset will send you into a coma until it is replaced. All major media outlets have already been appraised of this situation so you are no doubt being taken care of, and your locations have all been divulged to emergency services as we don't wish to harm you. From now on, try to enjoy your lives in Everleigh, as they are all you have left unless you complete your specific quest in order to reactivate your log out feature. We have no demands, it will not reactivate on its own, our worm is unbeatable and will ensure you won't simply be rescued so if you wish to leave and see your friend and family again, prove that you are the adventurer you wish to be or stay here forever. The choice...is yours.

Echo, if you wish to leave Everleigh you will need to travel to The Kaleidoscope Sea. Somewhere either above, below or somewhere in-between you'll have to locate the Siren and earn her greatest treasure. Once it's in your hands, your hack will be removed. Good luck.

She had been enjoying the game and while sure, when you played any MMO, let alone one as immersive as Everleigh, you wished it was... real. That didn't mean she wanted to be trapped in it! Echo had never heard of Emergence. Who were they? There was no way to explain how scared she was, they'd been what amounted to kidnapping. They claimed that their bodies would be looked after, but what exactly did that mean? Trembling Echo tried to imagine how hospitals and governments would handle this. There would need to be around the clock care and while the game was expensive, as was the gear, some people had likely saved for a long time to get it... The game and gear had been announced with enough time that people had saved, excitedly. Would they be expected to pay for that care? This didn't even affect her, in her childhood bedroom, in her parents house.

Her thoughts were interrupted and to a point her panic when she felt his hand on her shoulder. Looking up at him, Khaine could likely feel the soft trembles that ran through her small form. He seemed so calm and she bit her lower lip, trying to take strength from him. She wasn't alone, that was a bright side. They.. they could do this. Nodding once, Echo laid her head to his arm for a moment. "They didn't tell us all of the changes, but.. I have some ideas of what they might be." If the game was going to be more realistic, she could see things like hygiene being implemented. It was a guess of course... It also meant they needed to get a room, a real room for an extended period of time. Rooms would be limited and once people came out of the stupor.. "We need to get a permanent room Khaine, meow" Rising to her feet she pulled her Yukata tighter around her slender form. "Quickly.. Others are panicking, but when they come to their senses it will be a mad dash to get a room." Her hand found his, fingers lacing between his own. Gently she pulled him from the room.

It would seem like a silly worry she knew, but they were stuck now. They needed to lock in their room or get another one ASAP. The hallway was filled with bodies, but this time, Echo didn't waste time as she pushed through the groups of people. The humm of activity hurt her ears but she ignored it all. "I will take care of the room for now... Will you go see how bad it is outside?" She was still scared, she couldn't hide that, even if she wanted to. When he nodded and gave her hand a squeeze before moving out to look. She'd be safe inside. Approaching the NPC she spoke quietly, not wanting to give hers and the few in front of her plans away. It took a few moments but when it came to be her turn. "I would like to upgrade to a permanent room" The NPC smile, almost unaware of the panic around him. "Of course miss, those who had a room already are given priority. We have several suites available. However, you had a double bed and the rooms we have left are single king size beds. Would that be acceptable?" Echo had actually considered asking for a single bed... Her reasoning highly selfish. Nodding she answered. "Yes, I would also still like a hot spring" "Of course, we have a few left. If you'd follow me. Your belongings will be in the new room."

She followed the NPC while opening her mail and writing a quick note to Khaine so he knew where she was. "Do you have a store in the Onsen?" It might not have been a feature of a real Onsen, but she could only hope... "We do, I will show you to it after your room." The room was on the top floor and was huge. It seemed to be the whole top floor with breathtaking views from every side. Could they afford this? "How.. much is this?" The NPC turned and smiled. "Because of the events happening" So he knew... Interesting "I will charge the same amount, because you had the intuition and forethought to get a room early Echo" The NPC knew her name? Had the NPC's been messed with as well? Was.. was he a member of Emergence? The look that had come over his face vanished and he smiled cheerily at her. "Now, shall I show you the store?" Nodding she followed him once more.

It took her sometime to pick out pajamas for herself, longer to try and decide what to get Khaine... She also got some of what she expected they'd need. The store had sundry items, which made her feel correct in her other assumption about hygiene. For Khaine she had gotten a nice pair of black sleep pants and a matching black silk top. For herself she got a pair of sorts and a tank top, the ruffles appealing to her along the bottom of the top and shorts. Other small things Echo purchased were toothbrushes, tooth paste, shampoo, conditioner and soap. Once she felt she had everything they'd need for now, she headed back to their room.

The room was honestly breathtaking. Lacquered black walks, mingled with natural wood and accents of gold. The bedroom was the same. Along one of the balconies was a a hot spring, filled with the same opaque green tinted water, the water seeming to rumble off the edge in an almost infinity pool style as it ran half the length of one of their balconies, water seeming to vanish at two sides. It was pretty at least... Heading back inside, she couldn't help but wonder where Khaine was. It was getting late. Her in-game clock read ten pm.. Had it really been that long? Echo placed a call for a Karaage Don bowl and Hambak Steak for Khaine. The food would arrive moments before he did. He'd find her sitting on one of the low chairs before the table in her PJs, her hair loose around her tiny body. Looking up, relief spreading across her face. She was happy he was back, that he hadn't left her, that he was okay... That.. she wasn't alone. "How.. How are things out there?"

 

[Staine]

Hand on her shoulder, Khaine could feel the tension in Echo's body as she read her message, probably more than once just like he had, trying to make sense of it all, maybe worrying about what would happen to her body just like he had. Not had...was. She was trembling, the poor thing, at least he managed to keep his grasp on her steady and firm, trying to stay calm for her. Khaine loved this game, he would spend as much time here as possible if he could but at the expense of his real life? That was going too far...he'd not miss his co-workers so much or his friends, there was a reason he spent so much time in online games and it was because his real life friends, while good enough, just didn't manage to hold his interest much but his family? Those he would miss, in particular his younger sister. Echo reminded him of her a lot, so much so that he had been planning to give Makayla a call when he logged out, catch up with her and tease her a little like always. To have that robbed from him...sure, Echo was a lot like her and in some ways more fun to tease since he didn't have to hold back his more sexual nature but she wasn't Makayla. The thought of his sister finding him like this, crying over his bedside in hospital as he laid there, comatose. He could feel himself tearing up and tried to fight it for Echo's sake, stupid realism of the game working against him now. His grip on her shoulder tightened and he tried not to look at her directly as she rested her head against his arm. "Yeah...they didn't tell us much...woah..." He was too lost in his thoughts to realise much before she started to drag him out of the room, and he followed without any resistance. She seemed to be managing to cope a little, that was good especially with how she had been trembling.

Helping her fight her way through the crowd he smiled and looked down at her approvingly. She wasn't wrong..if they were making the game even more realistic then of course they would need a permanent room, at least she had managed to calm herself enough to realise that. No...it wasn't that, she had been thinking of things in order to calm herself, where he had been lost in thought she had tried to focus and it was paying off, he could already see the panic starting and it made so much sense, in a realistic world rooms would be limited, and it would be on a first come first served basis so reserving a permanent room just made sense. When they got to the front of the queue and she turned to him, he nodded again. "Sure, but you stay safe alright? I know you're not in any real danger here in the town, I doubt they would change that much but don't go wandering off, message me when you have a room for us. I'll go see what's happening out there..." He didn't relish the thought of leaving her but she seemed to know what she wanted to do. Squeezing her hand one last time, he let go and pushed his way through the crowd towards the huge double doors which led to the outside world, open right now as others were starting to stream in to the Onsen to try and get a room in one of the best inns in the city. Again, he shoved his way through the crowd, apologising every time he bumped somebody out of the way. Finally, he made it outside to witness the chaos first hand. All over the city players of all races were scrambling, some were arguing with each other, clearly in parties and disagreeing on where to go first, he heard snippets of conversations. "I need to get to the land of bones, the zombie nation has the item I need!" "No, we should get mine first, I have a family! The whistling woods, we have to find the fairies!" "Are you serious? That's the opposite of the way we need to go, mine is in the molten isles of the salamanders! I have exams coming up!"

Walking through them all, occasionally jostled as he looked around he could see others already leaving, getting a head start on their quests. Would that matter, truly? He knew the game world was huge, with so many dungeons not just for instancing but random places all over the world, would getting there before somebody who needed the same item prevent you from getting it? Immediately he figured that wouldn't be the case, while there might be competition for certain items there were hundreds of secret bosses and hidden locations in a game this big and polished and he doubted the items were limited; they hadn't been in beta, enemies had respawned and it just wouldn't be fair. If Emergence had intended to play unfairly like that they wouldn't have offered the chance to escape at all, and if it turned out that was the case it wouldn't matter. Rushing wasn't going to help, Echo was right, they needed to get a good place to stay or they could be screwed. Walking through the streets he could see others who were all but collapsing with the news, some were crying already on the shoulders of friends and lovers, people were running around, more arguing...he was sure that if this were real life there would be riots and looting but the rules of the game seemed to still be in place to prevent that. He watched a large man try to attack an NPC who was running one of the stalls only to be repelled and frozen in place by the in-game system which punished attempted murder with a time out, forced to watch others go by without being able to move a muscle. The madness of it all...there were challenges in the streets too, people were challenging their own friends to pvp to see who got to go for their item first! Coming up to one of the stalls that sold various items he stocked up on a few instant tents, small capsules that when thrown to the ground would pop out into a large, weather proof tent that would last for 18 hours, expensive but definitely worth it if you planned on travelling a long distance. He bought a dozen, figuring he could split them with Echo and she would have a few in case they got separated, but he planned on staying close to her through this. He wasn't going to be one of those assholes he had seen arguing in the streets, and it came to simple math really. He was in his thirties, she seemed pretty young to him, probably not even twenty yet by the way she acted. She probably had more of a family waiting for her than he did and even if she didn't, he had lived longer, had more of a life. They could go for her item first, he would help her escape the game and then he could figure out where to go on his own.

Buying a few more survival items, his eyes came to rest on something else, more of a novelty than anything, it was one of the stuffed toys, there was one sold in every major city in the world, all of them quite expensive at ten thousand crescents, collectables, and once you had them all you got the final ones, the plushie king. Smiling, he bought the toy, storing it unopened in his inventory. Just in time, he received a message from Echo, checking his in-game PDA and returning to the Onsen. Once more he had to push his way through the crowds to get to the rooms, following the instructions she had sent him until he came to the one that was meant to be theirs and let himself in, knowing it had to be their room since it wouldn't have opened otherwise. Looking around he could already see it was a huge improvement, his eyes wide at the sight of it before coming down to rest on Echo, sitting at the dining table with food already in front of her. "Wow...how much did this cost? You know I can't let you pay for this alone, right? Not happening, not at all..." Running his hands over the black pyjama's that were on the table by what seemed to be his meal, he picked up the silken garments and started to slip the pants on. "These are for me yeah? It's chaos out there...people are arguing about where to go first, challenging each other to fights about it. Some are already leaving without thinking about it, others are trying to loot as though that would ever work in this game..." He didn't need to remove his Yukata to slip the pants on since he was bare beneath it, pulling them up and then untying the Yukata and pulling it off, leaving the shirt on the table. "Mind if I leave the shirt off? I can put it on if you like, but...I kind of sleep naked. I'll wear these of course, for you, but topless isn't so bad, right?" He sat down at the table and started to eat, taking a bite and smiling over at her. "So anyway, I decided...we go for your item first, where is it?" He half expected her to argue but he wasn't going to let her get away with that, he wanted to make sure she got out safely and he wasn't going to leave her alone in here. Sure, he could come back in once his button was working, presumably, but what if they didn't let him? He wouldn't be able to bear that, he'd be okay on his own. Probably. Either way, he wanted to change the subject. "You look as beautiful as always, I like the pyjamas. Was it hard, getting a room? Oh..." He pulled open his inventory, taking out the boxed toy and throwing it to her. "I got that for you, and some other things we can divide up tomorrow." Taking another bite of his food he offered her a warm smile. "It will be okay you know. We will be okay. I thought about it out there...there can't be that many players in the countries, right? I'm sure we won't be charged to be looked after, the governments have funds for this kind of thing, it's a crisis so we would get free care. I bet they are finding out bodies and looking after us already, making sure we live, all we have to do is get out of the game and then we will be perfectly fine. Back to our families and stuff." He was reassuring himself as much as he was trying to reassure her. "Even if the government doesn't have the money for it there will be fundraisers. I know I'd donate, if I were out there, so don't worry alright? Plus, I'm here with you, so you know you're gonna be safe."

 

[Bunny]

The room was quiet for the most part, while she waited for him to join her. Echo smiled softly as she thought of how protective he'd seemed and how strong he was being for her; she didn't know either to be an absolute fact, but she felt it was true. He had to have family, friends... a girlfriend worried about him outside of the game. Little did she know that even now, their parents had split the duty, her mother sitting by her bedside while their father went to his house. Alone, in that silence, Echo was struggling to not panic herself, while considering the odd tone the NPC had taken. She would need to tell Khaine her suspicions, that the NPC had been a member of that group. It had said her name... Sure the NPC's might know if you told them, but she'd never said it. It almost freaked her out more to know that they were watching the events unfold. Echo didn't know he was in the room till he said something, jumping a little. The first thing from his mouth was about the room and she nodded some, not quite ready to tackle that issue. "Uh, yeah.. I figured we'd need some basic sundries too. I am not sure if they will actually be needed..."

Trailing off she looked away as he changed. "That's fine, I don't mind" She smiled some though, blushing when he said he liked to sleep naked. Echo had listened as he spoke about what people were doing and she knew then that the group was watching. They'd know who was doing what, what people were planning, it was like a social experiment. She looked up as he sat and began to eat. "The Kaleidoscope Sea" She didn't argue yet, rather watched him eat, not feeling very hungry herself. "Where is yours?" She'd looked at her world map, you couldn't see the details of the map, but you could see level ranges. The Kaleidoscope Sea was fifty five to sixty... Was his area going to be the same? If not it wouldn't make as much sense. Blushing she looked to him, a shy smile on her lips. "Always, like the past what eight hours?" Her tone was playful as she could manage. Echo shook her head and pulled her knees to her chest, cuddling them into herself as she laid her head on top of them. "Mmm, no... I needed to wait a little. But.. there is only one bed." Her eyes lingered on him, watching for his response. She'd answered while he pulled something from his inventory.

Blinking she smiled and pulled the box towards her, carefully extracting the stuffed animal. It was a little grey bunny with an eye-patch. Her first real smile since the letters shining on her face as she held him close to her chest, shifting so she could snuggle him properly. "Khaine, I love him!!" Echo's eyes rose to meet his and she tilted her head. "You didn't have to, the other stuff... But the bunny is perfect and you can't have the bunny back!" Though unlike the pet or the gear, the stuffed animal seemed to be accepted without question or complaint. Echo slept with a stuffed animal each night in the real world, she hadn't considered trying to find one to soothe her raw nerves. "I think his name shall be.. Ciel" It wasn't likely all that imaginative, but he felt like a Ciel to her. Listening to him, Echo decided to not point out some of the issues with their bodies in the real world. One of the bigger concerns was atrophy... Shaking her head some she offered him a small smile. "No, you're right, everything will be okay" She kissed Ciel's nose and shifted in her seat. "Something odd happened while you were out.." She didn't want to hide it from him. "When.. I got the room and was shown this" Echo motioned around them. "He hadn't told me a price beforehand. When I asked his.. voice sort of changed and he called me by my name. Because I had forethought..." She shivered some and poked at her food.

The interaction the more she had thought about it, the more it bothered Echo. "I think for a moment, one of the group sort of stepped into the skin of the NPC. It was really.. creepy. I didn't really notice at first, but the more I think about it... " Frowning, she pushed her food away. She knew she should try and eat, but she couldn't. She looked to Khaine, toying with a lock of her hair while cuddling the stuffed animal to her breasts. Something else other than the creepy interaction lingered on her mind. She wanted to be held tonight, the idea of being cuddled like Nicholas had done when she was younger, keeping her safe from the storms or the boogeyman. Just comfort. Opening her menu she blushed and cleared her throat. "Khaine...? I have a question..." Her cheeks flushed brightly. "It sorta feels a bit forward, but in light of everything and the whole.. one bed.. Could.. I mean.. Maybe... if it's okay.. Would you hold me when we sleep?" Echo's cheeks were flame red, and she couldn't quite meet his eyes. Along with her request came a good friend request.

 

[Staine]

"It's a good idea, you think fast Echo. I like that...I was kind of lost, thinking about family, you know?" Smiling as he changed, Khaine had sat down with her and frowned as he heard of the location her item was in. "The mirrored desert is where mine is..." The problem with the locations of their items was that hers was in a near endgame area while his was in one which was ideal for levels 30-40, able to be challenged much easier in the levelling process. He felt she might have realised it too, and he scowled as he looked at her. "I still kind of want to do yours first...do you know how bad I'd feel if I left you alone in here? That doesn't seem fair to me..." Her other comments had at least made him chuckle as he had eaten, first about how she looked and then about the bed, his eyebrow raising at that last one. He'd pushed on, handing her the gift he had gotten for her, beaming as she had opened him and told him in no uncertain terms that she was keeping the bunny. "Uh huh...that was the idea, he's yours to keep, dummy. One bed, you say?" Grinning, he had taken another bite of food. "Yes, in the last eight hours you've been beautiful throughout. Got a problem with that?" More listening to her fill him in as they had talked, and a thoughtful look as he considered what she had told him about the NPC. "That is spooky...but it makes sense they would be watching, right? If I were doing something on this scale I'd keep my eyes on it too. Not much we can do about it anyway except maybe stay wary. They hold all the power right now, you know?" From what he knew of the group, they were all about 'the people' and were unlikely to breach privacy or anything like that, they hadn't killed anybody after all. In the streets he had seen somebody respawning too, which happened at the last town safety zone you visited if you died out in the field which meant death wasn't permanent even if the game was more realistic. He pointed that out to her as she asked her last question.

Listening to her, the good friend request came up at the same time and she was clearly shy about what she was asking, her blush bright and almost lighting up the room with the glow. Laughing, he shook his head while accepting the good friend request at the same time. "I can do that, I'm pretty good at cuddles from what I'm told, but don't get any ideas of taking advantage of my just because I accepted your friend request." He couldn't help himself from teasing her even though she had clearly been nervous about it, knowing the good friend request was so they could cuddle without him or her being repelled by the game system and not so he could molest her. "See this?" He gestured to his body, rather toned in game as it was in real life and still topless, the silly grin on his face. "This is on lock, so keep your hands to yourself, perv." He'd almost finished his meal, smiling to himself as he did, then at her. "Don't worry about it, seriously. I could use the comfort myself right now, and I'll be good. For now, cutie." Once he had finished he started to divide up the rest of his items, handing and explaining the tents first, and then the crystals he had bought, giving her six of them and keeping the other six for himself. "These are pretty neat, they are teleport beacons. It means you can set one in the field and return to town, then teleport right back as long as it's in the next 4 hours. They are one time use so be careful with them, make sure you know what you want before you use them." The rest of the items were revival potions, healing potions and some outdoor cooking gear.

Rising, he stretched and smiled at her, walking to her side of the table and leaning down over her, his head near her shoulder. "You haven't been eating. Eat." His tone was quiet, soft, but firm as he directed her to finish her meal. "You did pay for the meal, and I know you're worried, I am too, but you have to look after yourself in here. Tomorrow we can plan our journey, tonight we aren't going to get much else done so I'm going to get into bed. I know your nervous but I promise, my hands will be kept to myself, I joke a lot, I like to tease...but I'm not an asshole. Come join me when you have finished your meal, and don't be scared." He ruffled her hair before he left, heading for the bedroom. She wasn't wrong, it was definitely a king sized bed with plenty of room in it, and he wasted no time in climbing beneath the covers and stretching out. It wasn't just Echo that was nervous about this either; he really did like her, they had only known each other for a few hours but had already faced a few challenges and now this, he really didn't want to scare her away and he was sure he wouldn't, but he couldn't help but feel his heart race at the idea of holding her.

 

[Bunny]

And that is why she hadn't argued, even learning hers was closer to endgame, Khaine wanted to do hers first. "That's a bit silly Khaine. I doubt they will not lock you out, if their goal was to give a gift, however misunderstood their efforts may be..." She paused and shook her head "Also assuming that it was meant as a gift and not some sort of weird social experiment" Echo's eyes met his. "They wouldn't keep you out of the game. So you will be able to log in and keep helping me." That was also not a known factor, but there would likely be people who got out first and would come back to help their friends before they got to that point, surely? Echo sighed and looked to her bunny, cuddling him closer as Khaine teased her and her proclamation. "Well, you force me to keep all your gifts" She stuck her tongue out at him and while he voice sounded disgruntled, her face told him otherwise. Blushing she shook her head, his compliment robbing her of a retort. Instead, she told him about the NPC and frowned; Khaine was right and Echo offered a nod. "Yeah"

It had taken courage to work up to asking him if he'd be her good friend and why. Had they not met and she'd been all alone... Echo would have been so scared. Khaine tried to put her at ease by teasing her, which helped draw her from that fear of being alone. Snorting softly she shook her head. "No worries there" She said dryly as he said to keep her hands to herself after motioning at his toned chest. A smile flirted at the corners of her mouth and she shifted some. Echo was finding she really liked Khaine, he was kind and he could have left her, when they found out about the news... or even back on the Quinx. He hadn't though, even with her pouting and calling him a butthead. Giggling she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You know you can't really call me a pervert when you follow it up with" She tried to mimic his voice, badly "I'll be good... for now" Laughing Echo sat back in her chair some, watching as he pushed things into her inventory, waiting for her to accept. He'd spent a lot so they'd have a good starting point. "And you want to help pay for the room?" A brow lifted playfully.

Watching him rise, Echo might have followed him had Khaine not come around, leaning over his face near hers. Blushing she looked at the food. "It's not real though" Sighing softly she pulled the food closer and began to eat. It did taste good, even cold. His fingers ruffled her hair and she nodded. Echo wasn't worried he'd try anything, had she been, she wouldn't have offered the request. She ate slowly, mostly because she was forcing each bite, she still wasn't hungry. Half the bowl eater and almost twenty minutes passed Echo rose and headed to the bed, holding Ciel to her chest. She could see Khaine under the sheets and she bit her lower lip. She had slept with her brother before, for comfort, but Khaine wasn't Nicholas and she also liked Khaine. Standing in the doorway for a long moment she moved to the other side of the bed. Crawling on top she moved closer to him before slipping under the sheets.

"Khaine?" Echo's voice was soft and she gazed at him in the dimmed lights. "Thank you, for not just turning me away on the Quinx" She shifted a bit closer and hide her face behind Ciel, still speaking. "I didn't know anyone else and I would have been all alone without you being here." She also would have been a lot poorer... He had split the earnings with her, bought her gear.. Without Khaine, Echo would have been in a rough spot. Alone, without gear, without a plan. Shifting some, Echo leaned into him, her lips brushing the corner of his lips, chaste, the brush of her velvet lips gone before it could really register. "Thank you for sticking with me now too" Blushing she turned on her side, away from him, leaving him to close the small distance between them. Her heart raced at the thought of being held by him, cuddled close while their world was set on fire. She was scared, she knew he must be too, but constantly he put on a brave face for her, keeping his fears locked down to support her. He was a good man.

She really didn't know what she would have done had she not met him. She wouldn't have likely been in an inn room, she would have been on the streets. She might have met a group she could have hooked up with, maybe... But with the events of the night, Echo could see people logging out and not coming back. With her item near the end of leveling, she might have been left all alone. Shivering she pulled the blankets further up. She would have been okay, maybe... She could have gotten a tent, focused on leveling some professions while grinding her way to her goal, but it would have been rough going. There was no doubt about that. At least in their room they couldn't hear the others, too far above the city to hear the clamor of voices they had heard in their other room. There wouldn't be many rooms in the city, with maybe a handful of inns across it.. There would be people sleeping on the streets, or in tents.

 

[Staine]

"It's not the hackers I'm worried about..." Khaine didn't want to scare Echo, he didn't want her to have to think about this kind of thing at all but he also wanted her prepared that people might not come back once they managed to get out of the game even if they had promised they would. "I don't think I'd be locked out, but I assume we are gonna be in hospital, right? If we wake up, do you think they are gonna let us go back in? The doctors, or our parents or whatever?" To him, he knew that he would find that difficult. If Makayla had played this game and just gotten out, was there any chance he would let his little sister go back in? From inside where he was then yeah, maybe because right now he was worried that if he got out first, that Echo would be alone...he couldn't stand that idea, but the thought of letting a loved one go willingly back into a game they had been trapped in also didn't sound reasonable. "I'd fight to get back in here for you, I'd argue with the doctors and my family, I'd never want to leave you alone in all this but...what if they don't let me? I don't know if I could live with myself, leaving you alone in this world, having to find your own way out." His voice was strained, it was a genuine problem he was having, trying to think of a way to do that. "Maybe I just don't log out...not until we both have our things, but I wanna let my family know I'm okay too, they must be so damn worried about me..." Trying to shake it off and smiling at her, he nodded. "Yeah, I do, because I bought them for you. Not to be funny, but I do have more money, they let me keep 100k from beta and that's a huge amount in this world, so don't worry about it. We will get more, it's more useful to spend it right now and treat my friend." He offered her a grin. "I mean if you reeeeaaaally wanted to pay me back..." He let it hang in the air for just a moment. "...then keep me healed up, okay?" He knew damn well that she would have thought he was implying something else, that was the whole point.

Laughing off her comment about him still being a pervert while he finished his meal, he had been standing behind her, again nodding at her question. "Yep, I want to help pay for this too. Seriously, I have over 80k left and that's with Ciel costing 10k of it on his own. Crescents go a long way here." Her comment about the food not being real had made him make a soft growling noise by her ear, pointing again at the food. "I don't care, eat it. Real or not, your hunger sure as hell feels real." He punctuated his sentence by flicking her earlobe. "Did that feel real too? The way the game works, your brain thinks you're hungry right now, everything around you might as well be real, so treat it like that and eat up or else...as your good friend, I may have to punish you for misbehaving." He didn't really mean punish of course, but he definitely wanted her to eat up. Leaving her to finish, trusting her with that, he had moved on to bed and by the time she joined him, shyly positioned a couple of feet from him in the huge bed as she spoke, he was on his side facing her and smiling. "Echo..." He reached one arm over to her, brushing his fingertips over her cheek. "Stop being silly. I know you're just saying thank you but seriously, I wasn't going to leave you alone. Your company has been great, you're fun, smart, cute and a good healer, why would I ever have left you on Quinx? And you're a good person, I need somebody like you around especially right now to stop me from going crazy, so why would I leave you now?" The kiss had surprised him, it wasn't exactly on his lips but it was close, and he was stunned for a moment as she turned away from him to sleep, again in the distance on the bed. Shaking his head, he laughed softly once he had recovered and reached for her, one arm going around her waist but instead of moving closer to her, he pulled her back towards him, dragging her across the bed and into him. Molding himself to her, spooning as close as he could with one arm still around her on her waist he chuckled softly. His bare chest at some parts was pressed against her own bare flesh, though her top did get in the way a little there. "No need to be shy, cutie. You wanted to be held, well I want to hold you. It will make me feel better too." His voice was low, remembering holding his little sister like this when she had been afraid of something or just needed to cuddle, and it had always made him feel good too. "Sleep sweet, Echo. I'll keep you safe."

Closing his eyes, he didn't take long in falling asleep even with the madness going on around them; the bed was comfortable, he had the warmth of the sheets and of Echo pressed against him and he had that nice, full feeling from his meal. Within moments he was fast asleep, dreamless until he woke the next morning. It took him just a few moments to remember everything as he squirmed in bed, waking much the same as he did every day, horny and groggy. His hand had moved some time in the night, it was now cupping one of her breasts and he knew he was erect, he could feel it trapped between them, pressed against her rear. A few moments passed as he slowly remembered everything that had happened, where he was and who the girl in front of him was then another few moments before he realised he had to move before she woke! Carefully he edged backwards in bed, quickly whispering "sorry," as he removed his hand from her and backed away as quietly as possible, leaving her the sheets as he climbed out of bed and stretched. "Echo?" He said it quietly, a test to ensure she really was still asleep before he started to change. His armour was on a chair nearby the bed where he had left it, and he was about to reach for it when he remembered it would probably be a good idea to shower first, and this room had one, didn't it? Slipping out the door, he made his way to the bathroom to wash, grabbing a few of the items Echo had bought for him and taking his armour along with him but leaving the door to the bathroom open just a little bit so she would hear the sound and know she wasn't alone. Brushing his teeth, undressing, even using the electric shower, stepping under the piping hot water...all of it felt like it would have in real life right down to the powerful peppermint aftertaste of the toothpaste, and it only took him around twenty minutes before he was pulling on his armour, ready to start their second day in the world of Everleigh.

 

[Bunny]

In truth, Echo hadn't thought about that much. Their families trying to stop them from coming back in. She knew her parents alone would stop her, but Nicholas? He'd fight her tooth and nail from coming back in, no matter the promises she had made to Khaine. He had always been very protective of her and she could picture him by her bedside, holding her hand, head bowed. The image brought tears to her eyes and she nodded. Her eyes averted and Echo took a slow deep breath before putting a brave face on. "I think in the end, we both wouldn't leave one another. So if you get out first and they don't let you back in, it will be okay" She was trying to be brave, but nothing could stop her eyes from misting over slightly as she smiled at him. Echo knew he'd try his best to keep his word, but she wouldn't blame him if he couldn't because of his family. She rubbed at her eyes, brushing the tears away. "I would be okay. I am pretty strong!" Her boast was playful as she tried to lighten the very somber topic. "Khaine, if I leave first, I am not sure I could come back in..." She knew her family, Nicholas... They just wouldn't allow her. More than that, she was a minor... She would have little chance of convincing them. She wouldn't feel any better about him being alone to get his item, even if at the time he over-geared it.

Shaking her head Echo fell silent as he traded her the goods and rolled her eyes. "You know, I think this is still some ploy to get me to call you Daddy. Not even if you're my sugar Daddy am I going to call you Daddy!" They both seemed to be trying to ad levity to the situation and she rolled her eyes once more as he paused, clearly trying to imply dirty things and then saying something innocuous after. "Mmmhm" Her tone was a bit dry, but she smiled, wrinkling her nose at him. "I can do that" Laughing she shook her head. She had no idea he'd been given so much money to keep from beta. Her head tilted, curious if he had been allowed to keep one hundred thousand, how much Khaine had made during the testing. She could ask him questions about it tomorrow, as he growled beside her ear and told her once more to eat her food. She really wasn't hungry, but she didn't want to upset him. Her stomach felt rolly, which is why it took her so long to eat. It was annoying when after she'd finished she had felt a bit better. It would be something she'd refuse to share with him, the buttface.

Once in bed, she had thanked him... The thought of being alone later or now just as terrifying. When his fingers brushed over her cheek, her lashes lowered as she savored the touch. "I was kind of a brat and was definitely a cry-baby." Her words soft and she smiled as he heaped compliments on her until her cheeks burned. "Still.. I'm serious, thank you" She'd kissed him then, a soft brush of lips against the corner of his mouth. She'd curled onto her side then, when she'd stunned him into silence. She giggled, softly as he pulled her back into him, rather than moving to share the middle of the bed. Cuddled close, her eyes still closed, Echo was unsure of who to picture holding her. Khaine or Nicholas. In the end, she pictured exactly who was holding her. Nicholas wasn't here, Khaine was and he wasn't going to leave her. He... Made her feel safe. Her arm slipped over his, her smaller hand resting on top of his. Behind her, she could feel the strength of his body, warm as he cuddled her close. The inhale and exhale of his breath ruffling her hair, the rise and fall of his chest with the movement. "Night Khaine. Sleep sweet" her voice whisper soft. It was the little sensations that lulled her into oblivion. Safe, warm and oddly happy as sleep claimed her.

It was early when Echo woke. She felt confused and disoriented as she came to. Where was she? The next question that came almost as quick, who was behind her? At first she thought it was Nicholas... It was about then that she realized two things about the person cuddling her into them. One large hand cupped her smaller breast, the grip firm and the second thing was whoever was behind her had an erection. Blushing she looked about the room, seeing a theme of Japanese decor. Everleigh, she was in Everleigh... Khaine. She looked down some., it was indeed his hand curled around her breast. Cheeks flaming she felt him shift some. Trying to calm herself, she decided the best bet would be to pretend to be asleep. She might not have known Khaine for long, but he had promised to not push his boundaries and Echo trusted him. This was just male morning things and the way he likely would have slept with a lover. Not intentional and he'd be embarrassed enough as it was.

Pretending to be asleep she felt him slowly wake. There was a moment when the arm draped over her stiffened, as he took notice of both things. His hand released her breast and he scooted backwards with a sorry. When she said her name, she didn't respond, saving him that embarrassment and guilt about something he hadn't done on purpose. She waited until he left and she heard the shower start before sitting up. Her cheeks blushed once more and her own hand moved to the breast he'd been cupping. It had.. been nice. While he showered, she busied herself in the room. Making the bed, taking stock of their supplies once more, checking mail (nothing new), the map and anything she could to keep herself occupied. Slipping from the bedroom, Echo decided to order them breakfast.

After some careful consideration, Echo placed an order for an eggy in the basket sandwich for Khaine. It sounded nice; bread with a hole cut out, a sunny side up egg within the hole, another egg and crisp bacon and cheese sandwiched between another slice of bread. Unsure if it was enough food for him, she also ordered him a side of home fries, potatoes cooked to a glorious crunch, with fluffy potatoes within and caramelized onion. For herself, Echo had decided on a small pot of chia pudding, with blackberry jam on the bottom and fresh berries on top. Much like with her initial order for him, she decided to order a traditional Japanese breakfast. A piece of lovely salmon, fluffy white rice, tamago, pickles, miso soup and a small bowl of natto. She was unsure if she would eat all of it, but she had always wanted to try something like it. She also ordered them both a coffee and a water. When he exited the bathroom, the food was just being delivered. "Good morning Khaine" Echo smiled at him, and nodded to the table. "I ordered us breakfast. After we eat, I will shower and we can be off. I... wasn't sure what you like so I guessed"

 

[Staine]

Khaine had nodded, but he hadn't been completely convinced. Sure, what she said made sense, despite not knowing each other very long he really had no designs to leave his only friend in here alone to fend for herself but he knew that once he was out, muscle atrophy and other factors might make it hard to get back in without help. That being said, he didn't want to keep his parents and Makayla worrying, and if nothing else maybe he could get Makayla to help him; his little sister would be worried and afraid for him for sure but she was a good person, she wouldn't want him to leave a friend behind and if he told her how important it was to him, then...surely she would help him get back into the world, right? Get his visor back for him, hook him up to it, keep it charged even if his parents and doctors disagreed he could exercise his rights as an adult, he was over thirty! Echo might have a much harder time getting back in, and in all honesty he didn't know if he would want her to come back in and risk being trapped again. As much as he didn't think Emergence would re-trap somebody who had escaped he definitely had no way of knowing for sure and that in itself was scary. Her last comment sealed it, she seemed to be pretty determined that they get him out first. "I don't like this Echo...but I think I'd be able to get back in. I think I'd have help if it was really important to me..." He had a feeling Makayla would actually like Echo too, if they met they would surely get along, being similar in so many ways. Even her reaction to receiving the bunny as a gift had been what he would have expected from her. Grinning, he had been about to go to bed when she had made her last comment. "Oh Am I your sugar Daddy now then? You know that a sugar daddy expects a little something in return from his sugar baby, right?" Smirking he had been playing with her hair a little. "We can negotiate tomorrow I'm sure. Goodnight Echo."

Everything else had happened in bed, her little giggle as he had pulled her back into him the highlight, not that waking up with her breast in the palm of his hand had been bad...just unexpected and had made him feel he was taking advantage of her even though he knew he wasn't. The same for his erection, pressed up against her so firmly, His apology delivered and thankful she hadn't woken up when he had called her name, he had slipped away to shower and soon was joining her in the main room, wearing his full armour set. Seeing the food, he offered her a smile as he sat down in front of the plates that were clearly his, deciding the best course of action was to not bring the fact that he had felt her up to her attention. "Morning Echo, did you sleep well?" Stretching as he sat, feeling rather refreshed from the virtual shower, he pulled the toast towards him, eyebrows raising as he took in the strange sight of the egg cooked into it. In all honesty it looked absolutely delicious, and he eagerly picked the whole thing up, groaning as he took a bite and nodding. "Shower...shower is good, I just had one myself...like everything else in here it feels pretty real." He had done more than a little thinking while he had been in the shower too, thinking about how to go about levelling as they made there way to the mirrored desert, what they might expect to face there as he was sure it had been changed a lot since beta, and what kind of other things they might need. Well, that, and he had somehow managed to resist 'taking care' of himself. That last part had been difficult with the way he had woken up. As a guy, he was used to waking up horny, it happened all the time but with Echo beneath his palm, with his large erection pressed against her tempting rear...he had a lot on his mind as he had showered indeed. Trying one of the fries, he looked towards her again while he chewed and reached for his drink.

"Delicious...this stuff is really good! I wonder if they tried all the food and mapped the brain to see how it tastes and get it just right...makes you think, huh?" Smiling, he decided to press forward. "Soooo...first of all, we should probably get my item first. The area is more level appropriate, we will be there much sooner and I could check in on you in the outside world, or if you still don't want to tell me your real name at that point, which would be reasonable, then I can at least find out what's going on out there, how many people have made it out safely and get us some news of what's being done about Emergence. I'm sure their interference won't be in any future editions of the game, this will be a learning experience for the devs but us...I really think we are screwed until we get out." Eating more of his toasted...whatever the hell this amazing thing was, he kept up the smile, trying to keep the mood a little light. "We can level on the way, there are a few villages and once we hit level 30 we will start to be able to fly a little, that will be cool. I can't wait to get back into that again...and maybe we can hit a couple of dungeons on the way to practice our teamwork and stuff. We can use our beacons to come back here at night if we like though we do have the tents, and I don't think it would be a bad idea to keep this room for when we do return. Each town and village will have it's own teleport point so we can get back here, it's pretty much one of the main hubs of the world so it will always be handy to have this room. Really quick thinking there, Echo." He grinned at her. "Not just a cute butt, you have brains too! Lucky me I guess." Eating up more of his food, he offered her a softer smile. "And...how was it? Being cuddled by me, I mean? I told you I wouldn't try anything funny, and I have to admit...it was nice to have somebody to hold. It helped...with the stress, the worry. So...thank you." Looking down, he suddenly found his sandwich to be absolutely fascinating, not wanting to give away how he had woken up, though it wasn't long before his usual nature returned.

"Anyway, finish up your food and then go shower...in honour of being the noble, trustworthy knight that I am I promise not to peek, no matter how tempted I get. Oh, and you should probably be nice to me from now on, never know when I'm going to take offence to something and decide you need a good spanking now that we are good friends." He was entirely joking, figuring more of the same from him would drive home the point that he wasn't concerned when in actual fact nothing could be further from the truth. He had a dozen worries, but passing them onto Echo wasn't going to help anything...no, he planned to put on the bravest face he possibly could and enjoy their interactions for what they were.

 

[Bunny]

Echo didn't like it any more than he did. There was no question that her family would stop her and he'd be alone. She knew Khaine would try, but she honestly thought that he'd not be able to sway his family either. In truth, she wouldn't blame either side. They were looking at being stuck in the game for at least a month, though likely longer. She had read the reviews on beta, once a player hit twenty, there had been a noticeable slow down in levels and with each level up, you'd need even more experience. This was true of all games, she recalled. Normally around level ten or slow there was a decrease in speed and with each new level the experience needed got larger. However, the beta testers had implied that it was a drastic change; manageable to be sure, but from what Echo had read, you got levels much slower. The idea was to draw out the player experience. The reviews had also said, the higher you leveled, the more engaging the zones and quests became. She'd not commented on the sugar Daddy or baby, a loud sigh following him from the room. He had knowingly took that in the wrong way and she wouldn't be convinced otherwise.

She had fallen asleep feeling safe and despite everything, happy. Even waking with his hand curled around her breast, she'd been happy. Embarrassed as hell, shy... but if Echo was truthful with just herself, it hadn't been a bad way to wake up. She liked Khaine, a lot; it didn't matter that they hadn't known each other long. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to make a big deal of it. She doubted he would either. He teased her and poked at her, making her think he liked her too. If he didn't though, they would be friends and that would be okay too. Drawn from her thoughts, from where she sat at the table, steaming plates of food before her, Echo looked up and nodded. "Mmmhm." Blush graced her cheeks as did a shy smile. "I did, I felt really safe falling asleep" She offered only the truth only before laying out her plans after, she began to eat. "Or it could simply be based on what you think it should taste like. They have fruits here that don't actually exist." Starting with the salmon she ate small bites while listening to him lay out their plans.

It was good to know he'd taken her suggestion seriously. It would only make sense to go for his item first. When he mentioned checking on her family for her she nodded. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but there was a fair bit of time between then and now. So she didn't comment much "That seems like a good idea" She seemed sure that the group responsible for trapping them in the game wouldn't mess with them further in expansions. "I hope so but this is going to hurt Drealm and other companies like it. People are going to be angry and looking to blame them for not anticipating this... Though how do you anticipate something like this?" She wasn't sure how the outside world would react to the attack. Not favorably and there would be a lot of finger pointing at the company. Echo ate in silence while Khaine explained to her about the towns on the way and how they could teleport between towns and cities. "That's good at least" Her cheeks flushed as he praised her and she gave him a shy smile. "I was just trying to think ahead. With what happened people would likely overlook the basic needs.." Shaking her head some she smiled. "That and it helped me from breaking down into hysterics, focusing on something practical."

Rolling her eyes she smiled. "Uh huh. Lucky you. Lucky for me you should be on the front-lines and too busy to stare at my butt all that much" His question made her blush all over and she nodded. "It was nice. Like I said, it made me feel safe" She didn't tell him she knew how they had been curled together.. where his hand had been or what she had felt behind her. "Thank you for leaving the door a little ajar, so I knew you were still here. Waking alone would have been a bit scary otherwise" She had known where he had gone, but had she not been awake and asleep like she had pretended, it would have been scary. Perhaps she wouldn't have thought he left her, Echo thought more of Khaine than that. Nodding she cleared her throat. "No, it was really comforting." She said finally before tucking back into her food. Real or not, it was amazing.

Shaking her head she looked to him while chewing. "Uh..... huh." Her cheeks heated as her mind drifted back to how they had woken up. When he threatened her she snorted. "I can just remove the good friend and we can just go back to normal friends ya'know" She didn't think he'd actually lay hands on her like that, this just a part of his teasing. "Speaking of, you are not my sugar Daddy... For the record." Eating the last of her meal she stood, almost the same height as him sitting. "I will put in equal effort and be able to afford things on my own" Sticking her tongue out at him she headed to the bathroom, making a stop for her gear.

Khaine wasn't wrong, the shower felt amazing. The water was hot and refreshing, the scent of the soap and shampoo invigorating. In and out within fifteen minutes she brushed her teeth before starting the process of brushing her hair. Once she'd managed to get all the tangles free, Echo sectioned her hair into two parts. Braiding her hair from the bottom rather than the top on either side of her head and then piling the loose hair into two buns at the top of her head. It gave her a sweet look, her blue locks pinned into place like that. It would also help keep her hair from her face while they fought and keep her cool. Dressed in her gear she came out, tugging at parts of it. "Ready?" Looking up at him she smiled. "We should probably stop at the NPC and make sure we can hold the room... and then head out. Do you know where you want to start?"