Discontinued ✪ Finweald Checking In

[Toko]

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It had been a few days since the expedition had managed to return back to Finweald, Toko having arrived a few days prior thanks to an unexpected—but very welcomed—underworld carriage ride provided by one (1) Madison Freebird to the Lepus and some additional friends.

"I wonder if they're at the League today..."

Paperwork had recently been completed regarding her most recent ranking up in the Guild, the shiny new platinum tags now adorning the rabbit's neck as she exited the headquarters of her faction before making a beeline for the one belonging to the Explorers. A part of it all still felt surreal, as if the Kurungaar had been nothing but a nightmare that they had all collectively woken up from, but the fact that Azykia hadn't been online for a while now confirmed that everything had been very much real.

"I hope she's alright."

Steps soon carried her to the entrance of the League, the hare's red eyes curiously peering at the surroundings in the hope of finding the familiar blue and red shapes of her friends...

@Frey Elzeiros @Sol

 

[Frey Elzeiros]

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Logging into Terrasphere had become somewhat of a luxury over the days that had followed the event, with Ava preoccupied to make up for her missed shifts after the event, buttering up her boss with overtime and whatnot.

When she does log in, an occurrence that had become increasingly unpredictable, it is merely to socialize rather than to go out seeking the next grand quest. Frey lounges around the League's premises more often than usual when he finds himself with the excess of time at his disposal, waving recruits as they pass him by in spite of the awkward or weird glances he might receive in return.

He is mid-conversation with a Lander when the lepus strides right in, gaze bouncing off of every corner as if looking for something. Someone? The faerin graciously exits the conversation with a bow before he throws his hands up in the air, his characteristic smile plastered over his face.

"My, my, I would say 'Look what the cat dragged in' if I didn't know you'd never allow yourself to be handled like that. But look at her, she arrives!" Frey draws himself into her personal bubble, hands clapping as he announces her arrival, only to stop at the sight of the accessories dangling from her neck. "Did you get shinier somehow since I last saw you?"

A laugh, and then: "It's been a while, Toko. How are you?"

 

[Sol]

☀˚̣⋅ .

The following days after the big Red Fever event were... Well, they were something. Reviving at the church and the subsequently making her way back at word of her comrades success didn't really feel like a victory for her, in fact in a way, it felt like Sol had lost. A heavy cloud hung over her head as she found herself sitting quietly in a wagon, alone, unlike the liveliness that had followed her about over the past couple days while sitting amongst others. A liveliness that wasn't for her, one that she seemingly didn't deserve.

And what about those she cared for? How could she disappoint them? How could she be so weak?

Thankfully, those thoughts seemed to lessen as time went on, however her memories didn't. It would happen every now and then, but the minutes leading up to her death would flash through her brain. A bright light. Her last words. Blue and pink eyes looking back into hers as she faded away into nothing. She'd close her eyes tight. Blink. Reset. And then open them back up, hoping that that would will the thoughts away. However, it didn't, and it was near impossible to will away when her own prize stared at her in the face whenever she looked to her left side: Her upper arm, starting from her shoulder and all the way to above her elbow, turned black as deep as her sword, hard to the touch as if she was made of metal. A spot on her body, as if to act as a reminder to herself of what had happened, never to let her go.

She herself spent less time in the game than usual but it was more to give herself space to recover, clocking in to do a couple things and maybe staying a little more to complete a quest if she felt like it, but otherwise keeping to herself. She barely reached out to anyone and the reason for that was unclear: Was it due to general introvert exhaustion and needing time to herself, or the fear of facing those who had watched her fall while trying to protect them? Either way, it was on this very day that she found herself entering the Explorer's Hall, tucking her newly upgraded red whistle into her pocket. She felt unsure if she was even deserving of the rank up in the first place, but was more than happy to accept an upgrade.

Casting her eyes upwards from where her gaze sat turned downward just a moment before, she spotted the Lepus first, biting the inside her cheek as she offered her a weak smile incase she had noticed her too. It was then that her eyes moved to the figure she had been speaking to and Sol hesitated in her steps, pausing as she turned her eyes away from Toko and onto anywhere else but the pair.

She would be lying if she didn't check her friend list every now and then when she logged in, only to be met with... Nothing. She'd never accepted Frey's friend request in the first place, giving them no reason except for coincidence to speak to each other. This was a fact that before the expedition gave her solace, and now one that made her frown whenever she closed the tab on her UI. Someone who she had tried so hard to mean nothing to her now being a person she looked for, trying to find a conclusion to what was unspoken, a conversation promised... But the conditions unfulfilled. Would he even want to speak to her anymore, given she had died right in front of him?

Her heart thumped anxiously in her chest as she tried to slow the quickening speed, thumb rubbing over her black shoulder for a moment as every voice in her brain yelled at her to turn and walk, run if she could, but with a quick inhale and a turn on her heels, she made her way over to the two, walking up from behind Frey's back as she looked at Toko, "Hi Toko... Glad to see you're okay." A small, awkward smile that was almost meek crossed her lips as she looked at her, before finally turning her gaze to look at Frey, "And Frey... Hi."

Flicking her eyes away from him again as her lips pursed together for a second, she glanced between the two, unsure of how to move on but pushing herself forward as she opened her mouth once more, "Sorry to interrupt, it's just- It's nice to see you guys." Truths spilled from her mouth as she stopped trying to hold them back.

She would not run again.

 

[Toko]

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"Frey-chan!!!" The Faerin was the first one Toko spotted, smiling brightly at the man as Toko approached him. He'd just finished a conversation with someone else, the figure walking away as the hare approached. "Guess you could say that, got promoted to platinum in the Guild now~"

Hands reached out to pull at the necklace holding the dog tag safely around her neck, winking playfully at the Faerin. "I've been alright, what about y—Sol!!!" A flash of red had caught her attention as the rabbit had remained attentive, still hoping to find another friend, before Toko's face lit up as she waved to call the fellow beastfolk over.

"I'm so glad you're okay!"

She had half a mind to rush over and pull the antelope into a hug, but seeing the unsure way Sol was carrying herself made Toko reconsider that approach. Last she wanted was to make the redhead nervous, especially after... the thought alon caused the rabbit to ball her fists tightly for a moment, upset that she had been unable to do anything to keep her friends safe.

"Wha—no, you're not interrupting at all! Right, Frey-chan?" A hand reached over to grasp Sol's hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "I'm happy to see the both of you, really."

@Frey Elzeiros @Sol

 

[Frey Elzeiros]

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"Finally you got that promotion! Honestly, it's kinda mean of you not to have invited me when you did... I would've paid to see their faces, considering they didn't let you in when you first tried to join 'em." Fingers come closer to the dog tags now, wrapping themselves around the cool metal detailing Toko's rank and importance within the Guild, practically beaming at his friend's achievement.

The faerin, already formulating an answer within his head to a question that never fully makes it out of the hare's mouth, turns his attention to the sight of another standing just behind him. He raises an eyebrow at her deliberately cautious approach, but before he can say anything about it, Toko is already offering warmth and excitement.

"Well, if we're all standing here, then that could've been hella worse, I suppose. Nice to see everyone is doing well!"

Oblivious to the internal battle unfolding inside of the red-haired beastfolk's mind, he throws a hand up in greeting, bouncing a step away to leave room for the newcomer, welcoming her into the little circle the three of them now made up. His arm comes down much slower, motions put into a momentary halt as something finally registers with a click, the presence of something he couldn't quite recall from his previous encounters with Sol.

"New... Shoulder pad?" Frey asks by way of greeting, scratching his cheek as he continues his perusal of the dark spot on her shoulder.

@Toko @Sol

 

[Sol]

☀˚̣⋅ .

Sol's eyes widened for a second at the two others friendly reactions to her presence, corners of her eyes softening slightly as a small smile pulled at the corner of her lips. Toko was just as cheery as she had remembered her being, her own hand squeezing hers back gently in a warm greeting before quickly releasing once more, looking at her with eyes that reflected gratefulness and relief at her being alive and well. On the other hand, Frey's attitude... Both unnerved her, and brought her comfort. His carefree disposition often made her feel that way.

It was then that the attention was brought to her shoulder and her expression drops once more, avoiding eye contact with the others as her gaze hovers over her shoulder. A cold feeling crawls it's way up into her chest as she reaches up to touch it, running a hand the smooth black texture as if trying to wipe it away, but finding it won't leave. She lets her hand stop, then gives it a small tap, a soft tink noise ringing out similar to when your nail hits plastic.

"It's... A Death Affliction," She manages out, finally bringing the subject of what happened to her during the battle to the surface, "It's been there since I woke up in Camp Forward. It seems to be fine... But you never know, with video games and all." Where that kind of comment would usually be an assurance of the truth, her voice sounds hollow, her hand trailing down the rest of her arm to stop on her wrist, holding her arms in front of her as her gaze flicks away from her shoulder and to somewhere else in room, brain searching for a way to change the subject. The last thing she wanted was to bring that up now, in front of them both, in the midst of the entire Explorer's League guild, and suddenly need to have a conversation. Questions of what happened. How she felt. What was death like?

She swallows hard and suddenly looks towards Toko, "So, what have you been up to since?" She leaves no space for any other questions, changing the conversation as quickly as it had begun, almost as if she was drawing a cold hard line in-between herself and them that they were not allowed to cross. And even if she allowed them... Not in a place like this.

 

[Toko]

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"Ah, gomen gomen!" The Lepus gave an apologetic smile to the Faerin, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. "It was right after returning from the expedition... honestly with all the work flooding right after that everything's been a blur."

She couldn't help but chuckle at his mention of the fighter's struggles when she had first entered the guild. "Nah, they let me in just fine—it was ranking up where I had the worst luck. My opponent dragged me through the grinder those first two times..." She had been quite frustrated then too, but now looking back on it the rabbit supposed the guild just wanted to be careful.

After all they too were aware about the UI Locking related to players' deaths, and like the Lion Arms and other factions Toko supposed they too didn't want to risk losing members due to incorrectly measuring their capabilities... though even that system wasn't foolproof, as they had witnessed not too long ago. When Sol finally joined them the pair quickly made space for the fellow player to join in, before the Faerin was the first to notice a rather unique addition to Sol's aesthetics.

"New... Shoulder pad?"

It was then that the hare noticed too, her hand having released Sol's after receiving a squeeze in return from the antelope. Pointing it out seemingly caused Sol to avoid eye contact with them, before the redhead's hand rose to show it was very much real and present. Perceptive eyes caught the small queues that showed Sol was uncomfortable with the topic, and so when the redhead turned her attention to Toko the Lepus was more than willing to help in turning the conversation somewhere else.

"I w-was just showing Frey here my new Guild tags~" There was a small moment where her voice faltered, before the rabbit pushed through it as she brought the usual cheerfulness of her tone back. "I'm a platinum rank now, baby!"

There was an attempt at impersonating Trevis right at the end as Toko held the tags up for Sol to inspect if she wished, the Lepus having quickly become rather fond of the fellow adventurer and his Felis partner.

@Frey Elzeiros | @Sol