Private ✪ Finweald Catching Up

[Hanno Futaba]

The Faerie Wind, Early Afternoon

The invitation for a meal was unexpected, and Hanno, being a glutton, would never reject the invitation to have a meal with a good company.

Elizabeth was always someone that Hanno ended up pairing up with to face the dangers of the world, but the only time they actually had stopped to talk was in an unexpected travel to nowhere in particular, where he no longer even remembered what happened in it.

If anything, he took this as an opportunity to learn more about her, and for that, he knew the perfect place to bring her to: The Faerie Wind cafe. It was open, breezy, and with the start of the spring, it was flowerly and pleasant. The faerin and elf owner of the place were also very receptive to any soul, be it Lander or Starcalled, so it made the perfect choice in a time where people's prejudices were flourishing.

Resting his shield aside, Hanno allowed Ghast to rest for now, sealed into the shield that currently looked rather mundane... Though Elizabeth knew its true nature.

He didn't take long to order at least a small drink, waiting for her to appear.

@Elizabeth Lixshine

 

[Elizabeth Lixshine]

Faerie Wind... Faerie Wind... Elizabeth can't help but remember some of her grandmother's tales about the fae creatures. Sneaky little things that would cause mischief ranging from helpful to horrible. Creatures of their kind weren't the small popular cute things everyone knew them, the tales ranged from being as big as horses to being as small a mice.

To think one of the many friends she would make playing this game on the side would be the game's version of the fae. The individual, @Hanno Futaba, was waiting for her somewhere at this cafe she was approaching. Elizabeth brushed her hair with her fingers to tidy herself up. She didn't exactly want to visit Hanno in armor that she usually wore. It felt inappropriate. So, she dressed down to something more akin to the medieval fantasy setting.

She walks in, and it wasn't hard to spot Hanno out of all the customers. The bright green hair stood out like traffic lights. Making her way, she greets.

"Guten Tag Hanno," Elizabeth waves as she takes the seat opposite of him.

 

[Hanno Futaba]

The feeling of not wearing armor to do something so casual was mutual, and Hanno reserved himself to only keep his teal scarf and his soft gray shirt, along with black pants that helped him to get some warmth in the still 'breezy' weather that they had, even if Winter was already bidding its farewell.

It was a pleasing surprise to see the beastfolk woman approaching, and her greeting was met with a grin and a lax salute. "Heya there, Liza." He greeted. "That's a nice dress, it looks great on you." A small compliment, mostly to start the conversation as he held the menu out for her.

"It is good to see you again too, especially not when the town is going to hell and shambles..." He almost rolled his eyes, but the small joke was a way to cope against the bitter feeling he had regarding that exact same topic he joked about.

They couldn't save everyone, and that was something that was clear for him after so long trying to act like a hero. "... This aside, did you need me for anything, buddy?" He asked with a warm smile. opening the menu to start making his order.

@Elizabeth Lixshine

 

[Elizabeth Lixshine]

"L-Liza?" Elizabeth was taken aback by the nickname. It was a surprise for her. Getting her composure back, she clears her throat and nods. "But um, thank you. It was rather hard finding on that I felt, comfortable in." Elizabeth would have got for pants. But she felt that perhaps maybe she shouldn't dress so liberally. The long skirt at least made her feel like she was dressed like her grandmother back in the old days.

Taking the menu, she takes a skim through as she listens to Hanno. "It's definitely good to see that you are well in much better circumstances yes. I rather the peaceful air of this cafe over some burning building." Elizabeth finally spots something she would like to order.

"Need you for anything? That's an odd thing to ask, I just thought it would have been nice to treat the one who saved me a couple of times from eminent death," Elizabeth smiles as she makes her order. Putting down the menu after she got her order taken, she brushes her bangs aside.
"I have to ask, what have you been up to after the events at Vintergard?" The horse woman asks, leaning back into her chair to rest her back.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno chuckled at Elizabeth's reaction, tilting his head with a soft smile. "Sorry, should I stick with Elizabeth?" He asked, just to make sure she didn't feel bad about it, just while he flipped across the menu and turning to look at the waiter when they approached to take the orders.

He ordered an amount of meal enough to make his small size be questioned. Did that much food he asked for would fit in his stomach? Those that knew him enough, were sure that it would.

"Change of seasons always make it tough to find something comfortable." Hanno admitted with a shrug. "I like to keep myself simple though." Perhaps too simple, but his hair was already fancy enough, so he didn't need anything else to make him highlight even more. "Hell... Hard agree on that. I'm glad this place wasn't struck down, it is my favorite spot." He sighed, tapping his fingers on the table before blinking.

"W-Wait, treat?" He asked, reminding himself of the amount of food he had just ordered. "No no, wait buddy, you don't need to-" Hanno chuckled nervously. "You save my ass all the time too... Besides, I can't thank you enough for saving so many people all the time. Besides, just having you around make me at ease, even in the hard moments." He nodded.

At least, having someone so firm on saving others being along with him made it much easier to face the challenges thrown at them.

"After that..." Hanno muttered, with a rush of severely complicated things running in his mind. From the predicament someone dear to him was in, to all the conflict that was about to unleash. "... Honestly, busy as hell. It seems like problems keep appearing and when you solve one, two comes to attack you from behind." He shrugged with a sigh.

"How about ya?"

@Elizabeth Lixshine

 

[Elizabeth Lixshine]

Elizabeth can't help but agree with that sentiment. Ever since the destruction of things here and there, nothing seems to be brought to rest permanently. Like a wound, everyone is an antibody trying to fight against the hordes of bacteria seeking to infect the body. It was must up to them, the players, to start being the medicine, the cure. But being the cure takes a toll. Playtime racks up and fatigue and burn out begin to set in.

"Me? Well, it's been hard juggling things. Life moves on even if the world wants to pause and recuperate, but admittedly," Elizabeth sighs as she looks around the cafe. The serenity. It calms her greatly. She didn't feel like the land wasn't about to be challenged by a mechanical demon of some kind. It was like the first day she played this game. The horse woman then smiles slightly. "Perhaps we can find pause somewhere after all."

Elizabeth then looks at the shield. Did Hanno ever finish the story of how that shield came to be the last time they met? She definitely didn't remember him talking about how it transforms. "Care to humor me? I've always been wondering but where did you get that shield? Unique weapons seem easy to come by, though I lack one myself."

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno smiled to Elizabeth. "You are right. We are pausing right now, yeah? I think we will need it... a lot, really." He sighed, scratching the back of his head and glancing aside until she mentioned the shield, peeking back at her and raising his eyebrows.

"Oh... You did ask me that before... But our conversation was kinda interrupted." Hanno chuckled, reminding himself of Schilva, that had suddenly appeared when the two had met for the first time. His gaze turned to his shield, that was mostly in its mundane shape for now, but with Elizabeth's questioning, he decided to give it a knock, making it rumble.

"No groaning, Ghast. There is a dear friend of mine wanting to know more about you." He smirked. "Come on, don't be a joykiller. Besides, if you do, you can eat with us." Hanno tried to bargain, and it seemed to be enough, as tentacles grew from the sides of the aegis, along with big central eye, that blinked twice before glancing between Hanno and Elizabeth.

"Tell me, Liza... I think you've heard about Titanus before, right? A giant... Dissonant abomination that attacked this world." Hanno said, both to try to give a brief introduction to what he was about to explain.

@Elizabeth Lixshine

 

[Elizabeth Lixshine]

Elizabeth chuckles. That conversation was indeed interrupted. She wonders what happened to that Schilva individual. It was very likely that he was there during the fight with Szofrit, but Elizabeth can't exactly recall if she saw him.

"Still can't used to all the tentacles," Elizabeth watches as the shield morphs and shifts to the request of Hanno. Is the shield sentient or was it just capable of understanding simple commands from the wielder? It's like that debate with animals all over again. At least it seemed interested in food if that was what it took to bargain with the item.

"Fraid not, I only joined the game recently," Elizabeth shakes her head. "Though I'm surprised that the game is older than I thought. It just seemed like one of those hip new games." Elizabeth laughs awkwardly. Maybe she is too out of touch with video games. Ask her about horses and cows, she can go on for hours about any topic regarding them. Games? Like a deer in headlights.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno chuckled at her words, shrugging for a moment. "If you don't like tentacles, I can arrange some fix for it..." He looked at Ghast, giving her a pat. "Hey, want to join us?" Hanno asked.

The shield perked up, and with sounds of flesh gurgling, and an eerie glow wrapping her before suddenly she took the form of a faerin girl, that looked incredibly familiar to Hanno, and with the only trait distinguishing her from the other faerins being the tentacle tail that wiggled behind her. "Say hi, Ghast."

"H̴̭͇̓̌͘̕Ī̸̟͒͒͆̑-̶̬̺̍̌̓͋͛̋̌̄!̵͍͔͍̮̻̱͜͠ ̸̲̎̆̇ahem- Hi there~!" She greeted, swaying her tail and looking at the food on other tables, with eyes brimming in hunger.

"Heh... Well, yeah, the game is older than many others think..." With a small smile, Hanno then turned to Elizabeth, to continue the story-

"Essentially, Titanus was a giant aberration, ancient like the Lovecraftian mythos you see out there..." He explained at first. "We fought it, tough and with a lot of sacrifice. It was ready to bring destruction across all Arcia, if needed... A true danger, one akin to Szofrit." Hanno said, raising his hands just in time for the waiter to appear with their orders, carefully placing them on their table.

"Thank you, buddy-" He smiled to the man.

@Elizabeth Lixshine

 

[Elizabeth Lixshine]

Elizabeth nearly jumped her seat as she watched the shield turn into a girl with a large tentacle sprouting from behind. The size was pretty much in line with faerins however, but that did not alleviate the small anxiety Elizabeth had inside her.

"Hi... Ghast," Elizabeth greeted.

"So the game has been out for that long?" Elizabeth thinks about the mass destruction of Szofrit. Hanno compared to her, was basically the veteran who experienced two world wars while she only saw one battlefield. Elizabeth however perked up once she said the orders on their table.

"Wow they look wonderful," Elizabeth stared at the food, it looked way better than the menu gave her. The smell could make her drool at the table across. Elizabeth then looked at Ghast's hungry eyes and felt an understanding. The food she ordered was salad, more or less a starter for her before she ordered something heftier to it, but it was delicious to the eyes.

"So what exactly about Titanus links with Ghast here?" Elizabeth took a sip of her drink, a soft drink with purple and pink colors.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno chuckled slighty at Elizabeth's overall reaction to Ghast, but he handwaved reassuringly to the woman, hoping she would understand that Ghast was fairly docile compared to your everyday dissonant abomination.

"For quite a while actually. It disappeared for about four years, is sticking around for one year, and before these four years it disappeared, it was around for three years, I think?" Hanno rubbed his chin, pondering about it. "It is a long time, enough for a lot of things to happen."

"Titanus is like... Family! But yuck family." She shuddered a bit.

Hanno looked at the fake faerin with a small smile. "I guess she did the answer job pretty well." He shrugged, then focusing on the food.

"Hell it is, time to dig in-" Hanno huffed, forking some of his gigantic order, while tossing a pastry to his loyal shield. "There you go, buddy-"

The girl eagerly took the pastry, nomming it almost instantly and licking her lips, while Hanno hummed and looked at Elizabeth. "How about you, Liza? Do you have any good stories? Why did you decide to stick with this game despite everything?" He wondered, curious.

@Elizabeth Lixshine