Discontinued Private ✪ Finweald City Gazing

[Luthien]

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Click clack went her boots against the cobblestoned road that Lúthien walked on, the blonde elven girl gazing at anything and everything with an awestruck look in her eyes. She had played a wide variety of games in her short life, after all her livelihood depended on it mostly, but nothing had ever come close to the realism that The World of TerraSphere presented Valeria.

"Absolutamente increíble...!"

A delighted chuckle left the elf as she continued to visually admire everything in sight, the simple bow that Lúthien managed to receive from an old crafter back in Honeyhome free of charge slung across her back. He'd even thrown in an old quiver and some arrows for the girl, having been delighted to have the elf's company for the long travel to Finweald in his wagon. The roads nowadays were mostly safe once more thanks to the large influx of travelers, and while Lúthien had technically been meant to be security detail the man had quickly picked up on the fact she was very much new to the world the Lander called home.

"I'll have to get him something nice next time I visit that cute lil' village..." She twirled, her gaze caught by the items on display on a shopfront, now walking backwards as an index finger tapped her lower lip as Lúthien mused on her thoughts for a bit. "... once I get some funding, of course—oomph!"

It was then her back collided against something, or someone, the elven girl bouncing on her feet for a moment as she regained her balance. "Ay, perdón!" She twirled back around, an apology already slipping from her lips as Lúthien turned to see what possible mess she might've caused.

@Vashti

 

[Vashti]

The journey from Falderen was one of the more eventful experiences Vash had experienced so far. The large number of Travelers along the forest road through Western Brisshal made the threat of danger much less intense than it could have been, but the sheer number of interactions between those Players had been insanity. Between the whispers about death and the prospect of being trapped inside of a video game forever (which, admittedly, was one of the more unnerving rumors circulating the mill) and how real everything was- right down to the touch- she was utterly overwhelmed.

So, when she reached Finweald at last, it was time for a break; though between all the steps she had to climb and the sheer magnitude of the city compared to the smaller outposts and villages she had experienced thus far, she could hardly call it "relaxing." When she finally managed to find herself at the highest point in the town (that wasn't the roof of a building or one of the many monuments that littered the landscape), she inhaled deeply, held that breath, and turned to gaze out at Astorea around her.

She quickly exhaled when the sheer massive sight of it reminded her of the valleys and mountains of northern New York state. It would have been even more beautiful in the Fall, she wagered; but she was more than happy with it as it was. Whatever the Vulpine woman had expected, this definitely met or exceeded those expectations. Satisfied, she started to descend toward the markets for the ultimate catharsis: retail therapy.

"Woah," she whispered beneath her breath when she saw just how much volume the market brought in. It was like a Bazaar in the middle ages, packed with people, filled with beautiful things. The way she saw them depicted in textbooks, back when she was a high school student- that looked about right.

"It's so-- woah!"

Vash felt herself jarred, her feet shuffling to balance her as she turned to she the pretty blonde Elf, who quickly apologized. "Oh, Queen, you're fine," Vash said quickly, flicking a wrist dismissively so that the other girl would see her painted nails and know her to be another creature of high fashion. "These things happen, and I know you didn't mean anything by it~"

The foxgirl smiled brightly.

"Crazy, isn't it?" she asked. "It all looks so..."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

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She barely resisted the urge to squeal in delight upon seeing the vixen Lúthien had managed to smack against in the street, the girl's aesthetics and absolute visual treat of themselves... but oh gods, those foxy ears were just absolutely adorable!

"Crazy, isn't it? It all looks so..."
"... real? Yeah, it's absolutely insane—not to mention breathtaking."

Thankfully it seemed the fellow female player was a cool one at least, waving away the elf's apology as she ensured that Lúthien was aware that no harm or foul had been committed. She smiled brightly in response, a hand with equally well manicured nails extended over to the beastfolk as the elf spoke.

"I'm Lúthien, pleasure to meet you... and I absolutely looove the look you have going on you right now~"

Compared to Vashti her own starter clothes felt pretty common and basic, and once more Lúthien was reminded that she would need to find a way to make gold soon so she could upgrade her equipment... not to mention be able to afford all the cute trinkets she'd already spotted here and there as she had walked down the street.

Nothing like good fashion and a high level of realism to have young players completely forget about the slight possibility of permanently dying from playing this very amazing and also very illegal VRMMORPG...

@Vashti

 

[Vashti]

She snapped her fingers and pointed to the other woman. "That's it, those are exactly the words I was looking for."

Real was the precise adjective she intended, but breathtaking came in a very close second. She had no idea what to expect when she heard about the virtual world, but this went above and beyond everything she had ever heard about what the technology could do. She imagined those mall kiosks with the headsets and the gloves, not closing her eyes and reopening them in another world entirely.

When the woman presented her own nails, Vashti's ears perked up and stood at attention. "Oh, babygirl, go off!" she praised enthusiastically, reaching out to brush the tips of the elven woman's fingers with the palm of her own, gently pulling them toward her for closer inspection. "Oh yaaaaaaas," she hissed in a hushed voice, "I had no idea you could go this deep into the settings and specifically customize them down to the cuticles. Goodness gracious, mine look a hot mess compared to this." Inwardly, she hoped that those were settings that could be played with and that she would have more customization options later on.

On the surface, however, she simply smiled; despite the words she spoke, she was filled to the brim with confidence. "I am digging the Elf vibe, queen," she told the other woman. "It was a toss up between that and Beastfolk for me, but I saw some things that made this shine a little more for what I wanted to do. You are working it, though!"

Without letting up her smile at all, and as she released the woman's hand, she continued. "I'm Vashti," she said, "But you can call me Vash, if you want~ It's so nice to meet you, Luthien!"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

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Oh gosh her ears were so fuzzy and adorable...! It honestly took every fiber of self control in Lúthien's body to not reach out and touch them—mainly because she didn't want to creep out a possible new friend, but also because it was a huge no-no to go around touching other people without proper consent.

"Oh girl, trust me, the amount of time I had to spend deep diving the settings to figure out how to pull this shit off—and then actually do it—is almost too embarrassing, really."

It was hours, a buttload of them too.

"However I'd love to share it with you, once you understand how it works it's surprisingly fast and easy to get them looking like a million bucks all the time~"

After all Vash looked like the type that would not only appreciate, but also take full advantage of, such setting knowledge in the game... Lúthien almost couldn't wait to see what the fox queen here would come up with once she had full mastery of that customization.

"Ah, you too then?!" She was delighted to hear the raven haired girl had as much of an issue deciding on a race as Valeria had, in the end finally deciding on elf for Lúthien mostly because of the range-like built the woman had envisioned in her mind for the avatar. "Honestly there were sooo many good beastfolk options, it was just too hard to pick one in the end... but also aren't elves just absolutely stunning?"

"Vashti? That's a super cute and cool name, fits you just perfectly!" Already the vixen was in top of the short list of players the elf had met that she instantly adored. "Sooo... have you been around Finweald long, Vash?"

Personally the elf had yet to do much sightseeing, having just recently exited the League's HQ after Lúthien had completed the paperwork to receive the golden whistle that now dangled from her neck.

@Vashti

 

[Vashti]

"No, I only just got here!" she told the other woman with a bright smile on her face. "It's certainly an experience. I expected something medieval but this is more than that- its like a synthesis of renaissance and enlightenment stuff with some steampunk flavoring." Generally, Vash wasn't the historically literate type, but she remembered some of the things she had learned in high school. It was hard to forget, especially with how badly she just wanted it to be over.

The end goal was a degree. And then it was a job. And then... well, it seemed like all she ever did was chase after a goal- something that she was forced to pursue out of necessity. She thought she'd broken free of that chain when she got into modeling. Then came another problem, and another, and another.

She blinked slowly and managed to maintain her smile. There was no need for her to keep fixating on those thoughts. She pushed them away and continued to be fabulous.

After all, Fabulous was the ultimate goal.

"The way you're carrying yourself, I assume you've been here longer than I have?" she asked, carrying the conversation forward naturally, without a hitch. "I'd love to pick your brain about how things work, and what kind of things I need to know to make it around here. Wanna be friends~?"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

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"No way, for real?!" She couldn't believe the words for a moment, with the way Vashti carried herself around Lúthien had been sure the girl had been around the city before. A soft chuckle escaped the elf then when the vixen revealed she seemed to have the same thought about the blonde, shaking her head as Lúthien responded. "Yo? Oh no, no, no! I only just got here about thirty minutes ago tops!"

She had spent about a week in Honeyhome getting better acquainted with the system and the world as a whole, and it was there that Lúthien had heard more about the different factions from Travelers and Landers alike... eventually making her way over to Finweald as she hoped to visit the League's headquarters and see f she could join their ranks.

"That said, I'd absolutely looove to be friends with you, Vash~!" With a simple palm gesture the elf brought up her handheld UI menu, flitting through the options before she would send Vashti a friend request notice. "Wanna go sightseeing together?"

@Vashti

 

[Vashti]

"Do I!" she exclaimed, knitting her fingers and pressing her palms together while tilting her head to one side. "That's the best idea anyone has offered since I logged in."

The reality was that the number of people she met had been limited, and some of them irritated her or came off as abrasive and difficult to get along with. She gave them the benefit of the doubt, but she felt no compulsion to invest in them or spend any length of time in their company. Her parents always told her that she was known by the company she kept, and she learned during her time in the social media and modeling industries that was deadly true.

Lúthien, however, seemed just like the type of person she did want around. Cute as a button, sensible, and just now Vash learned that her new friend had the best ideas.

"So, what're the sights to see around here?" she asked, looking out at the bazaar with baited breath. "No castles or white houses or liberty bells, but I'm sure it has a few set pieces worth mentioning." She glanced toward the elven woman with a wry smile. "Luckily I racked up a bit of a small fortune, so I'd be happy to part with a bit of it in the bazaar."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

She couldn't help the excited grin that crossed her face as Vashti agreed to go sightseeing together once their little shopping spree was completed, the blonde counting herself lucky for having stumbled into the girl so shortly after arriving to Finweald.

"Mmm... oh, the old man that made my bow said there was a pretty park not too far from the bazaar!" The name eluded her elven mind at the moment, but Lúthien was pretty sure he'd said it wasn't too far from Folkstreet Market. "There's also another one close to the center of the city I think, but if we take the public system I bet it won't be too far from here either."

The elf was sure there would probably be other places to see in the new capital of Astorea, not to mention delicious food to sample too, but first on the list was perusing through the bustling street filled with stalls and store fronts that continuously called out in the attempts of attracting new customers over to their wares.

"Saaame, managed to get a nice enough lump of gold coins on my way over... I'm really excited to see what level of craftsmanship this city holds on its wares."

@Vashti