✪ Finweald Cozy Night

[Asher]

He was glad that the Starcalled had returned.

If they hadn't, The Raspberry Bar and Inn wouldn't be having such festive merriment as they were tonight. Granted, there seemed to be merriment in every tavern and inn across the world tonight. And while Asher wasn't one to complain or go against the generally established vibes, the bigger places had been much too noisy.

It seemed venturing to a smaller place would not save his eardrums tonight...

Nevertheless, Asher grins as he watches the group at the bar chugging back spiked drinks, their uproariously loud laughter, and the clinking of mugs tugging at the corners of his lips. A fanged smile wrestles its way from his control and the spoonful of soup that had been on its way to his mouth is deposited back into his bowl. There were other patrons also in the festive spirit, mostly playing cards or dice while munching on treats.

It was a warm, cozy place to spend the night—

A hand on his shoulder startles him and he turns in his seat, ruby eyes lifting to the soft features of a young woman that he's never met before. His mouth parts to say something, but she quickly points above his head to the rafter and the single sprig of mistletoe hanging there.

Asher glances from it to her and back again as a wine-red blush kisses his otherwise pale cheek.

"Heh...uh...D-Do you want this table?"

[ @Rael ]

 

[Rael]

.

The evening crashed around her, celebration and drink poured one after the other, joy and merriment a novelty to one who had not witnessed it in its full splendor since her late arrival to the game. A blur of faces bumped against her every now and then, some bolder than others managed to strike up a conversation, and one such instance had driven her to the side of someone who almost seemed to remain stationary amidst the chaos.

"Mmh? But I was told you requested to speak to me about that?"

The storyteller half-turned, hand cutting across the air to point the stranger towards the group of merry men responsible for the set-up, but of course, and much to the elf's dismay, they were nowhere to be seen. Content to have left the pair to their awkward situation, they had happily drifted into the crowd's safety.

Bereft of an excuse, or a culprit to blame her circumstances on, Rael's attention returned to the beastfolk, the self-same color that framed her face and fell down her back now blossoming, unrestrained, on her face.

"I... I think I will. All seats on the house seem to be taken by people who have been drinking since sunrise, and while you don't seem particularly wanting for company..." She cut herself off just as someone from within the crowd started booing at them, or rather, her and the lack of entertainment she had provided. The color on her cheeks deepened, and her lips parted to speak again only for her to be promptly cut off again by the same interloper.

---

@Asher ​

 

[Asher]

A tug of confusion makes him frown up at the woman before his cerise eyes turn in the direction she indicated. Whoever she meant to show off was no longer standing there and Asher's gaze flicks back to her, even more confused about what was going on. The soft blush that stole across her cheeks didn't make things any better.

His lips parted, mouth opening to offer up the table, to chuckle and defuse this awkward situation into something bite-sized that they could handle, but she beats him to the punch. He finds himself nodding, smiling, and his feet steady on the ground in order to push himself back only for his entire body to pause as he hears the booing.

And the laughter.

This time, his frown is not confused, but more so teetering on anger. His body leans forward, fingers curling around the back of the spare chair next to him. He drags it out, making sure the legs squeak loudly against the floorboards, but it's likely that the sound is drowned out by the laughing and cheering and singing around them. When he looks up at her this time, it's with a tender smile covering his features.

How about we have dinner together? he says with a jovial bounce of his shoulders. I've got a big spread of food on the way and there's no way I'll be able to finish it alone. Eyes are sometimes bigger than my stomach. It's a lie, but she didn't need to know that.

And when he hears another boo ring out from the crowd, his reaction is swift. He leaps up from his chair, places one foot on the table, and vaults up toward the rafter wherein he grabs the sprig of mistletoe and rips it down. Landing with a grunt, he tosses it onto the table, glares toward the idiots, and sits down with a relieved sigh.

There. That should be better, he tells her, seemingly unfazed. Blinking, he turns back to her.

So, whatcha think? I don't bite. Even if I do got sharp teeth.

[ @Rael ]​

 

[Rael]

.

Oh, gods, why do you have to look at me like that...

The absence of a tome on her hands with which to hide behind felt heavier on her hands, yet lighter still than the man's lingering gaze on her person.

Rael's fingers grazed the back of an empty chair across from him, having decided to wait on his confirmation before so rudely invading his personal space, no matter how the booing of curious, meddling onlookers urged her closer to her "designated" partner. No sooner had she tried pulling it from the table, did the shriek of a chair scraping against the wooden floor retrain her attention on the beastfolk.

One thing that immediately occurred to her was that the two were quite different.

Where Rael approached most situations as a researcher would, with apprehension and good-natured curiosity, the stranger tackled it head-on with little regard for what it said about him.

"Well, since you are insisting..." He hadn't, but that was for the two of them to know and chuckle about as she slipped into the chair he had pulled for her, the sudden shift in her demeanor brought about by the comfort he so easily invoked.

Though her face remained mostly expressionless, it wasn't difficult to tell the evident amusement laced throughout the words as she leaned closer yet, cupping the side of her mouth as if sharing the most precious of secrets. "See, I heard they usually offer all sorts of dishes for the holidays, twice as big, too. Many hungry adventurers feasting together and sharing is quite good for business."

As quickly as he had welcomed her into the fold did he spring up from his seat and hoisted himself onto the table to enact one final act of defiance, with the wide-eyed elf following his movements. The corner of her lip twitched, and talking was the only thing that kept her from bursting into laughter.

"You kidding? Sharp teeth were all the rage last decade. Every VTuber's model practically had them, they are quite, ah, aesthetically pleasing?"

---

@Asher ​

 

[Asher]

• A wide smile stretches across Asher's face as the pink-haired elf finally takes a seat across from him. He glances toward the corner where the booing and hissing had come from earlier and gives those there a solid glare. Most turn away, chuckling and laughing while sinking back into their drinks and meals, but there's a singular individual that makes a point to whoop in what could be considered congratulations.
  
  Asher thinks otherwise and only refocuses his attention once they too have tucked into their meal and conversation.
  
  "I haven't been near any of the towns or villages since the Fever," he tells her, cerise eyes pinned on her expression. "It was…a crazy time—but now, well, it's too difficult to stay away." He chuckles. "The lights, the music; it's all too tempting and distracting."
  
  Christmas was never his favorite time of year. There were too many of them for his mother to get gifts for everyone, but the food had always been good (when they had enough of it) and there was always someone around to do something with.
  
  The waitress comes by and picks up the soup that is now cold and hovers for a moment, waiting for Rael's order. Asher interrupts her before his dinner date can reply.
  
  "We're sharing…unless, you wanna add something to the pile…Miss…?"

[ @Rael ]​

 

[Rael]

.

"You were there?" The way she asked the question, with the slight hint of disbelief in her tone, made it apparent the topic was one she had been heavily invested in. "I have been interviewing others that also happened to be there. Quite the coincidence then. Something funny happen on your end?"

Emboldened by his good nature, or perhaps by a secretive awakened spirit of mischief towards those who had put her in this situation in the first place, she looked up to the waitress and inquired about the desserts that would come after their dinner.

"Anything that you have for the both of us to share, besides what he has already ordered? As in a single platter, a big one, of your best available, but make it clearly for two people."

When interacting with the waitress, Rael's demeanor had reversed back to normalcy, the emotions she wore on her face a distant cry from the smiling visage that she regaled the beastfolk with whenever he so much as addressed her or jumped to her rescue. To worsen the situation, she had trouble explaining her idea to a waitress who wasn't paid enough to hide the plain confusion that spread across her features.

---

@Asher​

 

[Asher]

• "…How about a chocolate cream pie," the waitress says, cutting off Rael's explanation with a wave of her hand. "Ya'll can share that."
  
  And without further ado, she turns and wanders away from the table. Asher watches her go with a small frown framing his mouth, the space between his eyebrow furrowing considerably. He didn't understand the attitude from the waitress, especially since he was willing to pay for everything and give her a good tip.
  
  Maybe not so much anymore.
  
  "I can't recall anything funny happening," he tells her slowly, his memories churning, the burn from the attack of the massive bug swiping across his back making him wince. His tongue peeks out, sweeps over his lips, and then retreats. "There were a few of us that were really close. We got hit the hardest, but, everyone else—well, everyone did their job, you know?"
  
  The frown returns, the blinding light from the explosion toward the end of the event making his head hurt even now. Just remembering it makes his stomach turn uncomfortably and he shifts in his seat. "Someone…did die, I heard later. I didn't know them, but it's still, you know, a person gone…"
  
  He clears his throat. "You…weren't there? Did you only recently start playing?"

[ @Rael ]​

 

[Rael]

.

How every single person recalled the events surrounding the Red Fever still marveled the storyteller. Some thought of it as a stomach-churning experience, while others regarded it as a stepping stone on the path to more fantastic adventurers. It was difficult to find someone who did not fall into either of those categories, and by the looks of it, it would seem her date for the evening fell on the former.

When she pressed for details, it was subtle, aware of the potential consequences of triggering one she did not know of... Come to think of it, what was even his name? Had she given hers? Bah, such minuscule details could wait until she had heard the story.

"Terrible news, really. I did hear something about a comet that showed up on the battlefield being named after such a person, but I never found anything conclusive... I'm sorry that you had to be there to witness it."

No matter her thirst for the grittier details, there was no helping the furrow of her brows and the averted glance she cast at an object away from the person across from her, already aware of the game's hidden nature.

"I, ah... Yes. Brand new. I wasn't here for it, but everyone keeps talking about it."

---

@Asher ​

 

[Asher]

A new player.​

​

Asher is saved from immediately replying by way of two new servers appearing by the side of his table. They begin to set down dishes; half of a turkey already carved up, long ropes of spicy sausages, mashed potatoes, gravy, kale with butter and garlic, bread stuffing with oyster sauce, macaroni with cheese sauce, warm bread rolls with butter, and two large tankards of spiced ale.​

​

Only after the dishes were set down did he look up from the spread and blush. "Told you it was a lot," he whispers with a shy shrug. "Please, dig in. Take some of everything, if you want. And, uh, you can have this if you like ale?" He gently shoves one of the mugs forward, making sure that it's within easy-reaching distance for her.​

​

"I'm...not going to tell you not to play," he says after a moment which involves some quiet introspection as well as passing her a plate. "It's...amazing. The world is amazing. But it's dangerous. You can get seriously hurt and...well, you've—have you heard about the deaths?"​

[ @Rael ]​

 

[Rael]

.

The appropriate response here would be to wait for the one who actually ordered the food to indulge in it first, having presumably paid with their hard-earned coin for a meal she had stumbled her way into. The sheer size and quantity of the assorted plates between him and her did not surprise her in the least, or evoke any sort of reaction other than the not-so-subtle licking of her lips.

"No, no, it's just... Enough," and wouldn't you know it - despite her prim and proper appearance, the elf reached her hand out and tore one of the turkey's wings, and dug in without the slightest hint of remorse. She reached for the mug of Ale and took a swig of its contents, deciding halfway through that its taste did not suit her as she lowered and passed it back to him, foam clinging to her upper lip.

"Oh, I know about the deaths. That is the reason that I first started playing."

She wiped her thumb over her mouth as if to clean herself, not quite catching everything, but then decided to expand on what she had just said, knowing how tasteless it must've sounded when they had just been talking about a dead person.

"I wanted to know more about the deaths. Why did you start playing?"

---

@Asher​

 

[Asher]

• Admittedly, he hadn't been expecting that. But seeing the smaller woman immediately dig into the dinner before them, even chancing a swig of ale, brings a grin to his lips and a chuckle to his belly. He too swipes up his tankard and drains half of it with two long, strong pulls, a content sigh worked from him after he swallows and sets it back down.
  
  Rael goes for the meat and Asher loads his plate up with kale, a dinner roll, and a sausage. He cuts the sausage into fours, cuts the roll open, stuffs it with two pieces of sausage, closes it, and then takes a mighty bite. It's good and the first bite is sliding down his throat mere seconds before he takes the second.
  
  This is good because Rael's admission nearly causes him to choke.
  
  "You..."
  
  But the sentence dies before it has properly taken its first breath and Asher is forced to swallow, clear his throat, sip from his drink, and try again.
  
  "Did...you know them? The one who died?"
  
  What joyous conversation they might have been having mere moments before also dies in the light of this new information. His stomach sinks.
  
  "I...well, it was my first big check and I spent it on a VR headset. The...the email? I thought it was junk, a scam, right? So I trashed it, but it came back up. Three times. And by the final time, well, I thought it might've been one of my brother's friends playing a joke on me." His smile is rueful.
  
  "Some joke, right?"
  
  There's a beat of silence.
  
  "It was just something to pass the time, to be someone else, to enjoy a camaraderie that I didn't...have...in the real world. But now, well, I'm...stuck...here. Have been since—Do you know anything about the game from four years ago? When it first came out?"

[ @Rael ]​

 

[Rael]

.

The first symptoms of Asher's choking emitted their sound, and within the second was Rael reaching around the table with her arm outstretched toward him, a handkerchief pressed to her palm.

"No, I have no idea who they might have been..." Vague notions stored within the pages of her grimoire, secondhand recollections taken from those who didn't know that person, were all she had acquired during her travels.

Asher fell quiet, uncharacteristic for someone of his type, which only made Rael realize all too late that she had walked a path from which there would be no return, already the beginnings of an unexpected confession tumbling from his lips and darkening the thoughts that would follow.

Her input is eventually asked for, cementing the last piece of the puzzle that makes his identity more than a collection of data on software, put on her way to amuse her. More than a stranger connected at this very same time, fully capable to stand from his chair and state that he would disconnect.

He no longer had that chance.

This was a person that had loved, lost, and chanced their all for a life of... What, exactly?

Her lips pursed into a straight line, food momentarily forgotten.

"The news spread like wildfire back then, when enough cases got reported. After a while... Everything was deleted. For a reason like that is that I started playing. I simply... Don't understand, or maybe it is that I cannot understand. "

---

@Asher ​

 

[Asher]

• Asher was very confused.
  
  Someone joining the game to find out what happened to a brother or sister, a mother or father, a spouse, or a longtime friend; that made sense. Seeing that person every day and then hearing that they had mysteriously died would leave a hole in anyone's life. And on the slim chance that they were here, and maybe you could spend time with them again if you found them? Heartbreaking, yes, but extremes were meant for those you loved.
  
  And yet, the woman across from him held no such relationship close to her heart. She had heard about the death and that was what made her want to play. She wasn't here looking for anyone. She was...experiencing the world.
  
  There's a tiny mote of anger that wants to bubble in his chest. This game was not a joke, it wasn't a hee-hee, haw-haw good time where you could get killed by wolves over and over again while you figured out how to hold a sword. The consequences for dying were dire, a fact that he figured out too late. But who was he to tell her what to do, to try and warn her away?
  
  The most he could do was watch out for her, attempt to protect her, to keep it so that she could continue to log out whenever she wanted to.
  
  He finishes his dinner roll stuffed with sausage and digs into the kale with garlic butter, enjoying the leafy greens as they roll over his tongue and down his gullet.
  
  "Have you...died yet?" he asks, his voice a whisper, those deep ruby-red eyes staring at her from beneath his lashes. His chin tucked against his chest, one hand clutching his fork, the other resting upon his thigh, his leg bouncing beneath the table.

[ @Rael ]​

 

[Rael]

.

It occurred to her, albeit too late, that to announce her intentions within the game without so much as a drop of concern weighing upon her voice, might be a little insensitive to present company.

Here she was, admitting to the fact that she didn't know why someone would die over this game... To someone who had really, truly, undeniably died over this game.

Though she made an act of keeping composed in the light of revelations shared, underneath the tablecloth she too had her ways of battling the anxiety that crept up her spine. Thoughts raced, her fingernails dug deep into the skin of her palms, fistfuls of the skirts of her dress pulled into her grasp.

"No," she muttered, allowing for a little exhale to pass in between the word and the rest of her sentence, tranquility restored to her nerves. "Save for a few exceptions, I don't quite take to the battlefield often. I prefer talking to people, and finding out about their experiences that way."

Her tight grip relaxed, too, and when color had returned to her knuckles did she return to the meal that certainly wasn't hers, even if she had been invited to feast on it all. However, she couldn't bring herself to take another bite, caught between indecision over what to say next.

What even could you say to someone who had died? "Sorry for your loss"?

Her fork clattered against the plate, a cut of the spicy sausage still held intact as she leaned back into her seat, her head tilted back to stare at the ceiling for but a long moment.

"I'm sorry... Asher, was it? No matter the reason, no one should have met their fate in such a way."

She touched a hand to her lips, then lowered it to her lap, fumbling again with whatever was at reach.

"That's not the way things should be, and... Pff, I haven't even given you my own name. It's Rael."

A pause, as she held out a hand she doubted he'd take.

"We don't have to talk about it anymore, don't let me interrupt your celebrations. In fact, finish up eating, and we'll do something."

---

@Asher​

 

[Asher]

With his chin tucked against his chest and his only way to look at her being up through the white lashes that rimmed his eyes, the wince that overtook his features might have been missed. It was a sudden thing, an expression of either pain or regret that made the muscles of his face contract. But as quickly as it had come, it too had disappeared, and Asher found himself clearing his throat and attempting to divert his attention to something else.​

​

TerraSphere was, first and foremost, a game. It was supposed to be used for relaxation, for the ability to do something with friends who didn't live one hour or one street over, maybe even an avenue for a relationship to blossom or gain traction again. People played for a variety of reasons and they were welcome to do so! He couldn't—shouldn't—be angry that this woman's motivation to play was something as simple as wanting to experience a VR game.​

​

And he shouldn't be jealous that she hadn't felt the sharp sting of death, the feeling of bubbles popping inside a person's stomach while they drifted between their last heartbeat and respawning. She herself had said that she didn't take to the battlefield often. Honestly, considering how dangerous the game really was, this was an intelligent avenue to take.​

​

She reaches across the table to extend her hand and Asher gives a nod and a polite smile, but his thoughts are far away from the moment. He meets her hand with his larger one and gives it a firm shake before gesturing to the rest of the spread before them.​

​

"I don't mind talking about it," he murmurs while stuffing another forkful of food in his mouth. He chews quickly, swallows, reaches for his tankard of drink, and swallows a gulping breath of that as well. The gaping maw in his stomach only feels slightly filled.​

​

"It's...not gruesome or anything, just a mistake I made trying to, heh, show off. And I paid for it—as you do in games like this. It's the...well, the inability to log out that I wasn't expecting..."​

​

[ @Rael ]​

 

[Rael]

.

"Well, in that case..."

Even after she has made him uncomfortable, prodded into his thoughts, and had them clash with her own, he would still share his meal with her. He would still offer glimpses of the story that turned a person from their world - a once real, living, breathing person - into Asher, and Rael greedily leaned forward.

Her thirst for knowledge wouldn't be quenched upon the pair's first meeting, much to the chagrin of her innermost, egotistical desires.

The otherwise stoic woman knew to keep a better grip on her ambitions, knew when to stop pushing for curiosity's sake, and knew when not to allow another to indulge her passions. The elf released the pressure from that unseen button on the conversation, and made an act of looking around themselves, joy spreading across her face like wildfire at the drunken singing and dancing of the patrons.

"Asher," she spoke his name again, testing the way it rolled off her tongue and deciding that the sound was as pleasing as the man himself. For the next line, she took a cue from her companion and partook of the drink served to her, arming herself with courage that she didn't quite truly possess. "I will be... Rather cross, as a lady, if the night finishes before you have asked me to dance."

Deflection was a risky maneuver to try, especially when the other had already caught onto her motives. To complete the ruse without so much as allowing him to interject and return them to darker topics, her foot tapped against the floorboards in a rhythmic manner, following the beat of the song currently playing as if she hadn't just learned the tune on the fly.

"Or are you the sort that would rather be asked?"

---

@Asher ​

 

[Asher]

Hands retreating to their respective sides, Asher once more tucks into the food that he ordered, layering his plate with meat and vegetables and beckoning the waitress to him when she makes an appearance. He orders another round for them both even though he has no knowledge of how much or how little Rael has drank. If they were going to be talking about his death and the events that led up to it, he'd rather be properly on his way to get shit-faced.

When Rael opens her mouth to speak, Asher assumes it's going to be questions about his past, his history with the game, and the moment he died. He can feel the clench of his stomach, the dread that sits heavy and spoiled beneath the food and the drink that he's been consuming. But he had already said it was okay. It was too late to take it back now.

However, Rael doesn't ask the questions he's assuming that she will. Instead, she mentions...dancing. Surprise marches across his features in the form of arched eyebrows and a slightly open mouth...clear of food thankfully. And, as if remembering that they are sitting across from one another, sharing a meal, his teeth click together and his mouth closes and a blush stains his cheeks. Dancing? Here? Now?

He couldn't remember the last time he had even thought about dancing. Hell, this feast had been the first time in a long time that he had even felt festive or...light-hearted. Life had been sort of, well, sucky since he got trapped.

Clearing his throat, he swipes up his napkin, wipes his mouth and his fingers, and then stands up from his chair. "Asking or being asked is fine with me," he tells her, a low chuckle rumbling from his chest. "But, considering I don't want to make my newfound friend cross, I'd probably better ask if I can have the first dance of the night with her."

And he extends his hand toward her, palm up.

---

[ @Rael ]​

 

[Rael]

.

He took the suggestion in stride, her ruse gone undetected as he swiftly abandoned the food he had looked forward to, adopting a place at her side.

For her part, she did a remarkably exaggerated gesture of folding both arms over her chest and tilting her chin upwards, away from him.

"Well... I suppose, given the festive spirit of the evening, I might be inclined to turn a blind eye to such an insult."

And with that, the second ruse fell as she cracked one eye open, the smile writ upon her features plain as day to see.

It was... Freeing, in a sense, to be able to let themselves go for but a time, surrender themselves to the cadence of the beat and be weightless in worry and burden alike.

Two souls in a mesh of colors. Two strangers that, given time, would arrive at the answers they so desperately sought. Two individuals who, for now, may choose to forge something from nothingness itself by calling each other a friend.

Her hand fell upon his, not all at once, however. The gesture was performed in hesitant strokes of movement, exemplified first by her fingertips meeting his, testing their warmth in a way she hadn't been able to during their introductions. Then continuing down its path, her hand would find his palm, unconsciously tracing over his lifeline there.

Plenty of opportunity to retreat was what she thought to give him. Turn back, you don't need to humor me.

He didn't, and neither could she.

Her hand upon his, she rose to her feet and twirled in place, forgetting about everything but the now as she all but dragged him to the dancefloor.

Wild, upbeat, demanding passion and a reckless abandon to the rhythm rather than a carefully composed choreography, the crowd dancing around them was but a blur of passing faces, laughter filling the air, a modest celebration but one just as easily able to carry the distinctive air of: "We are here. We are here and we are alive."

---

@Asher​

 

[Asher]

you are a weapon and weapons. don't. weep

She made him smile.​

And, admittedly, it had been a long time since Asher felt he had anything to smile about. He had been lost in a sea of thoughts, of anger and a bit of self-loathing ever since he got trapped in this damned game. Maybe it was honestly just good old fashion depression that hung around his shoulders like a winter cloak. Either way, here with her, the music playing and people cheering and drinking around them, he didn't feel it.

She steps back and away from him, twirling and grinning as she moves along with the music. Asher likewise finds himself giving her space, trying not to crowd her as he claps along, a fanged smile stretching his mouth. Her cheers along with the crowd while keeping time with his booted foot, his body swaying slightly back and forth to give the illusion of dancing. He wasn't a dancer, not really, and he didn't want to embarrass himself here in front of her.

---

[ @Rael ]​

 

[Rael]

.

Was it the alcohol in her drink that made her feel this... Light and bubbly?

Or was it a side effect of finding oneself in good company?

Outlanders to this world, their steps clumsy in comparison to the patrons', but neither of them could afford to care, if the brilliant smile on both their faces was anything to go by. He swayed back and forth, and she bounced on the tips of her toes in a mimicry of steps performed by others, circling around him as she did so.

Her hand drew a straight line from his forearm, to his shoulder, then across his back to the other in so doing, always maintaining some semblance of contact with her companion. Let him know that the embarrassment he most likely felt wasn't his burden alone.

She would, on occasion, and just as the songs changed, interlace her arm with his and drag him further into the sea of unfamiliar faces, so that the two could struggle against rhythm set by music those in their world would never think to dance to. Little did she care if he was a bad dancer, so was she.

Time passed, unknown to the pair, too absorbed in the moment to even care until a notification rang with the startling bell chime in her UI.

"Oh, that's my cue to leave... " Breathless, the smile lingering at the edges of her disappointment, she looked up at her new friend. "My feet hurt less than I thought they would, so I will take that as a good sign and say we should probably try and meet again. It will be your turn to find me, however. Deal?"

---

@Asher​