Private Eastern Brisshal Gunnin for Gold

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"I mean, some of these came from character creation. I wanted to make myself look rugged, didn't know that it would just end up happening from experience." He chuckled. "Goblins sure can be a pain in the ass if you don't handle them right. Luckily everything I do is basically one big AoE, so I can handle big groups pretty easily as long as I have the space to move."

He would crack his neck, growing more comfortable with the situation as the time progressed. He would watch with mild interest as she gently scrubbed at his skin. "But yeah, I've dealt with all sorts of creatures and had all sorts of fights."

Her eyes seemed distant, like her mind wasn't all here at the moment, causing the giant to frown. "My favorite color? Red or Blue maybe?" He hadn't really thought about it. "Red is like...passionate, fiery, badass. Blue is calm, serene, and has a sense of nobility to it." He would then turn the question back on her. "And you? What's your favorite color, and what's up with you? You seem...like your mind is elsewhere. Everything ok?"

@Ilya

 

[Ilya]

☀𓆱𓃬

​

lion's pride...

Ilya nodded her head at Brutus, they definitely had different fighting styles. Ilya had yet to get a scar in the game, she had been pretty lucky so far... But she had seen quite a few in her lifetime on Terrasphere. He would speak of all kinds of critters, Ilya now chipping in.

"Back on Terrasphere before it disappeared for four years, me and my friend Zelrius actually fought this massive crab boss, it was pretty sick. It feels so long ago to be honest, god I had some pretty wild adventures back in the day..." She took a second to stretch before she got back into the rhythmic motion of scrubbing away at his body. That was until he ask what was up and how her mind seemed to be elsewhere.

Her body froze up, her face flaring up as she realized just exactly what she had been doing. She scurried to her feet, slipping on the water that had pooled up on the floor...

Her body slipping and falling towards Brutus, almost too close for him to react and stop her from landing on him. Her eyes wide as her face continued to grow brighter and brighter with flush.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"You fought a giant enemy crab?" He raised an eyebrow. The idea sounded absurd, comical even, but the way she made it sound was very serious. "That sounds rad." He would chew his lip and watch her work, "You're a veteran player? That's cool as fuck, you probably have way more stories than me, and nary a scar? That takes some fucking skill."

Then it would seem the proverbial penny dropped for her, as she began to come back to earth on this conversation, all of the flustered energy he had just suppressed seemed to transfer from him to her. She bolted to her feet, and Brutus, eyes wide, watched the next series of event in almost slow motion. Her hand tugged on his towel, exposing his other canon. Then her towel came loose.

Jesus is this some sort of Harem anime or something? He found himself thinking as all hell was about to break loose.

She began to slip, falling forward, and the giant lunged forward, grabbing her to prevent her from smashing her body or heaven forbid that pretty face of hers into something that would hurt her. Unfortunately, he failed to account for several factors, leading to him pulling her forward, and her face smacking into his, their lips pressed together in what could only be described as the ultimate romcom moment. Her body pressed against his, his hands wrapped gently around her waist for support.

At least she didn't literally fall onto my dick. The giant mused nonplussed. He would pull back, shocked but not flustered and look her in the eyes, her face growing fifty different shades of red at once.

"Are you ok?" There was no point in him getting flustered or shocked about any of anything, more attention would only lead to her getting more and more embarrassed.

@Ilya

 

[Ilya]

☀𓆱𓃬

​

lion's pride...

It all happened in a flash, Ilya being pulled closer, her body trying not to touch Brutus in any way only to get pressed against him. Her arms instinctually landing above his shoulders, the momentum causing them to dramatically wrap around his back. Their lips accidentally touching, Ilya was too shocked to move her face becoming the literal depiction of E. L. James' Fifty Shades of Red.

She thankfully managed to work with Brutus to pull back, her arms still keeping her somewhat close, by pure accident. Theeennn the giant asked if she was okay, Ilya seeing how calm Brutus was, the first thing coming to her mind being... "I'm not attractive enough for him..." Realizing she blurted her thoughts out loud she sprung backwards again, banging her head accidentally against Brutus' before she fell back against his arms, this time her hands wrapping to cover her private parts rather than having them around Brutus' neck area.

Why did you have to think that, why would that matter? He's your friend and you literally just met. So what ONE guy doesn't blush when something that only happens in a ROM-COM. That doesn't instantly mean you aren't attractive. Ilya glanced to the left of Brutus' eyes, "L- Let's just pretend this never happened."

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"First of all." Brutus would reply, his face growing red. "You're super pretty so don't go getting a complex over this..." He would adjust in his seat, pivoting her so she could sit idly on his leg, reaching down and draping a towel over her with one quick motion to quickly restore her decency. "But I know in my head and heart that if I freaked the fuck out it's only going to make this chaotic and frantic. I've thrown down with monsters and impossible situations, whats the point of letting a gorgeous woman such as yourself fluster me."

He would grab his towel and loosely drape it over his bits to restore a sense of decency to this very...lewd situation before continuing. "If you want to forget it ever happened, I can delete it right now. But it sounds like you have something you would like to talk about." He raised an eyebrow. "And if you want to get it off your chest I am more than happy to listen."

@Ilya

 

[Ilya]

☀𓆱𓃬

​

lion's pride...

The giant draped a towel over her, which Ilya clung to so that Brutus couldn't see anything, he also covered himself with a towel. Now that their decency had temporarily been restored Ilya could process all of his words. That was when the fact that he had called her super pretty and gorgeous flooded her conscience causing her face to turn brighter. "T- Thanks for the compliment, Bru."

Ilya let out a sigh of relief as he said that he could delete everything from his mind, but then bringing up what had been bothering her. Ilya felt her shoulders gently rise and fall as she took a few deep breaths, "Don't worry about me, I'm fine." Ilya stood to her feet, turning to leave his stall, "Thank you though..." She left her loofa, forgetting it in the back corner of his shower stall before she returned to hers. Scrubbing her body with her fingers in silence.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus would raise and eyebrow as she left, not quite sure if that bomb had been defused or not, but unable to do anything further about it. He would grab the loofa, finishing off the last of what the woman had missed (which was very little given the borderline obsessive attention to detail she'd paid his body) before extending an arm back over the two stalls, waggling it in front of her face until she took it.

"I can and will worry about my new friend...but if you say you're fine I'll believe you for now."

With that said, and his body clean, he would wrap himself up in the towel and back out of his stall. "I'll catch you by the waters edge ok?"

He would leave her alone for some privacy, giving her some to time to let her process that whole...clusterfuck. It seemed that he was going to have to put in a great deal of effort to mend whatever awkwardness that situation had caused. He could only imagine the strain that would put on a normal relationship, let alone someone he'd just met.

Either way, he found himself out in the pools once again. He would lumber over past the corpse of Planterra and find himself sitting at the springs side of the pool, where slightly greenish water flowed up from some sort of volcanic spring and flowed over into the mud pit. He would dip his toes in, relishing the warmth, and then kick his legs idly while he waited for Ilya.

@Ilya

 

[Ilya]

☀𓆱𓃬

​

lion's pride...

It was like he was toying with her, waggling her property in front of her face like she was a cat. She would reach for it, only for it to be flicked the other way, repeatedly. Finally after what felt like forever, she managed to get it between her hands, pulling it from the giant's grasp.

Things felt serious, which was vastly different than when she had tripped, plus flashed him, plus... Ilya gulped, her face turning bright red as her memory replaced it all. She had seen his bits. Get it together.

She tapped her cheeks with her hands as she finished up her own shower. She had put the loofa back in her inventory before she wrapped her body with the towel.

Ilya made her way out to where Brutus was, meandering past the mud pools. Having arrived she slid her way to the floor using Brutus' shoulder as support till she was to his left. "Hey there big guy..." His y'know-- It's also a big guy. Ilya pushed the inappropriate thoughts away as she slid further into the pool. Her towel floating up, pushing it down with her arms. Reaching one hand up to fiddle with her hair, she realized just how tangled it was. "Hey Bru, can you help me untangle my hair?" She looked at him with clear, innocent eyes, with no underlying goal.

@Brutus Dahlgren

"Talking!"
Thoughts....

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

As the blonde slipped into the pool, the giant followed suit, gently lowering himself in and sighing softly as he submerged himself in the murky water. The water felt blissful on his bruises and sore muscles, and he would find himself letting out a satisfied sigh as he found his final resting position. He would raise an eyebrow at her choice of words, he was a big guy, but he couldn't help but get this notion there was a double entendre in the works, intended or not.

"Yo!" He's give her a nod, cracking his neck casually. There would be a long silence before she would speak, turning to him and giving him what he could only describe as well practiced puppydog eyes. He would chuckle, giving her a gentle smile.

"You're in luck, I happen to have a brush." He would reach into his UI and pull out a brush, flourishing it with a twirl. "Lemme get behind you and I'll brush ya out."

@Ilya

 

[Ilya]

☀𓆱𓃬

​

lion's pride...

Surprise was the only emotion Ilya knew how to feel when Brutus presented her with a brush. Turning around she would make sure all of her hair was pooling over her shoulders for him.

Her back turned, completely vulnerable to the giant. "I have a pretty tough head, so you can be as hard as you want..." She closed her eyes, trying to get the image of Brutus shirtless out of her head, why was she feeling like this towards the guy she just met? She couldn't stop imagining what she had seen, or thinking of his voice. It was a pretty big dilemma if you asked her.

She would get comfortable, her shoulders relaxing as he began to brush her hair. Save for when he would have to tug out a knot, it felt good. "Have you ever brushed somebody else's hair before? It feels like you're doing pretty well." She fiddled with the edge of her towel as she kept using her hands to keep it down, that way she didn't flash Brutus again.

@Brutus Dahlgren

"Talking!"
Thoughts....

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"I grew up with two younger sisters and a very busy mom and dad." Brutus replied, tugging the brush very carefully through her hair. Every time he'd hit a knot, he wouldn't tug at it roughly, but would gently rock it through the knock working it loose. Occasionally he would reach up and brace her head so he wouldn't yank it backwards.

"So raising them fell on me a lot when I was home alone with them. I would wake up and get them ready for school, get them to the Bus Stop, and then haul ass to my stop. I'm the king of brushing hair, doing ponytails, braids, updos, fucking make-up." He paused chuckling. "Made me popular for all the wrong reasons in Highschool, the theatre club head hunted me faster than you can say Macbeth. The only problem is that everyone thought I was gay." He frowned. "Kinda hard to date when every girl in the school wants you to be their gay best friend."

@Ilya

 

[Ilya]

☀𓆱𓃬

​

lion's pride...

She began laughing, although Bru had opened up with her, she couldn't imagine Brutus being considered gay in any means. He was a womanizer... "You gay? Gods, in a world like that, hedgehogs would fly. You definitely do not give off gay vibes." The brushing of the hair continued, Ilya growing more and more comfortable as time passed.

"Siiince you know how, you should braid my hair when you finish. I never do my hair unless I have an assistant dressing me up for tour. I can't do hairstyling for shit, anything more complicated than a ponytail or messy bun, count me out." Ilya had a question she wanted to present to Bru, but didn't know how to bring it up without being overly blunt.

It wasn't very customary to ask others about their real life. In fact, it was an unwritten taboo in her eyes. Yet Ilya couldn't help but feel curious. "What were you like in Highschool then? What are you like in the real world now, versus then? Do you have a ton of friends? Girlfriends?"

@Brutus Dahlgren

"Talking!"
Thoughts....

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

He would pause and raise an eyebrow, not that could see it and chuckle slightly. "You're asking a lot of questions about me without offering anything else in return." He would shake his head as he resumed brushing her hair. "Why don't we start with some basics eh? You mentioned a tour, what sort of tours are you talking about? Music? Art?" He would pause on a particularly difficult know and gently work it loose from her hair. "And how can you have such long hair without knowing how to style it? I would imagine learning how to handle long hair would come with the territory."

One he was satisfied with her hair and how it was being brushed, he would gently begin to braid it in a simple but elegant braid. He would pass on answering any of her questions until he'd gotten her to open up a bit about her, something something equivalent exchange.

@Ilya

 

[Ilya]

☀𓆱𓃬

​

lion's pride...

A pout was toying on her lips as Bru refused to answer her question, asking her to open up before he did. "I never really put much thought into my own appearance unless I'm going out... Which usually doesn't happen unless I have tour or interviews. I try not to go out, because I just tend to get bombarded and it gets really annoying." She wasn't meaning to sound like she was bragging, which was one reason she never opened up to people in Terrasphere. Lots of people here had it rough, and used Terrasphere to escape their living hell. Although she did use Terrasphere to escape reality, it didn't mean she wasn't in a bad place... It was just really tiresome. What she used to love to do as a hobby had transformed her life, taking over. Her life, was her career.

"I uhmmmmm.." Ilya got really quiet, not really wanting to answer his question... But with wanting her own question answered she had to give a little, "I sing... But that doesn't matter... Now will you answer my question?" She turned to face Bru after he had finished her braid, practically begging him to answer so she could stop talking about her career.

@Brutus Dahlgren

"Talking!"
Thoughts....

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"You sing? What type of music do you do?" He would ask raising an eyebrow. "As for me in Highschool? I was a theatre kid, I worked on stageplays and vibed with all the drama nerds. We uh, got up to some antics, but for the most part I just kept a low profile and had a pretty good time. As for now? I got tired of what I was studying in college and dropped out, now I do renaissance faire work with an acting troop. We wander the nation looking for an excuse to dress up like knights n shit and goon around." He would pause for a bit as he finished off a braid and then started another.

"For friends, me and most of my troop are pretty close. You have to be when you live in a big fuck off RV together. Right now I'm zonked out strapped down in my bunk. there had been a few incidents of me rolling out while they were driving so they installed a lil seatbelt for me. As for girlfriends?"

He would frown.

"Who's askin?"

@Ilya

 

[Ilya]

☀𓆱𓃬

​

lion's pride...

She sapped up everything that Bru said, engraving it into her memories should she come to forget in some way or another. He had been a theatre kid, she had her own fair share in theatre... Only hers had always been musicals before she left the acting scene. Focusing on releasing her own music, which had taken off rather quickly when one of her songs blew up on TikTok. "What did you study in college before you dropped out?"

Ilya herself had never done anything in regards to University, graduating Highschool and focusing entirely on her musical career. She found herself wishing more times than not that she had gone to university, just for the experience and friendships. The cliché romcom moments, the parties and the seemingly never ending good times. Puking in the dorm toilet, hiding alcohol and boys from the residential people.

If she had gone to college, Ilya couldn't help but wonder how different her life might have been. Brutus sounded like he had a good life outside of this fake virtual reality, so Ilya wasn't sure if he came here as an escape or more to just live out the fantasy life of his dreams. Ilya made a mental note of the latter, thinking that, that reason was the one that was most likely true.

Ilya rolled her eyes as Bru frowned and asked who was asking. First of all, taking note on his frown, he seemed not the happiest to answer. Mental note to self, don't ask about his love life. Ignoring his 'Who's askin?' entirely as she didn't want him to keep frowning or get more upset with her she instead opted to give up a bit more about herself.

She was definitely stressing on talking about her career, but she didn't let that stop her from opening up to Bru. "I sing J-Pop. Lately a lot of my stuff has been pretty sad... But I have a few songs that are super up-beat and fun." Not to mention, her music also had some super sappy romantic aspect, the moods of her songs were all over the place. Yet neat and orderly according to whether it was an album or a single. Each one telling a story, not just words on a page... But words with meaning. "I never intended for something I love to turn into a career like it did... I'm happy about it... but...." Ilya trailed off, not being able to finish her sentence.

She didn't want Bru's pity, nor anyone's pity in general. She just wanted to make authentic connections with people, people she could call her friends. Maybe a romantic fling here or there, but she was scared of commitment. Even making long-lasting friends was hard, despite how friendly she was on the surface. When it truly came down to it, she found a hard time connecting with people on a deep level. Her friendship with Zelrius had taken years to get the two as close as they were, and even then... After knowing him for as many years as she had, she still wasn't entirely open with the man.

Ilya was blunt by nature, she spoke her mind... But when it came to commitment or deep stuff relating to her RL.... She could become the most shy person in the book of "Shyest People Around the World".

@Brutus Dahlgren

"Talking!"
Thoughts....

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"I was studying Comp Sci." Brutus replied, cracking his neck. "Shit was incredibly complicated, difficult and the classes were hard. I'd been dating during college, but it didn't work out and I realized I didn't want to be there anymore. Kicking and screaming to get grades so what? I could get a degree and get a job doing something I'd deluded myself into thinking I wanted to do?" He shook his head and continued braiding her hair.

"I mean, if you're doing something you're passionate about you're not working a day in your life right?" He would finish another braid, slowly picking up speed in his work as these large fingers figured out how to work with the same speed his normal ones did. "Although, you make it sound like it's not all its cracked up to be eh?" The giant cocked his head to the side and chuckled, "If you made some decent money from the music, perhaps you can pivot into something else? If you're not happy why would you do it?"

It seemed like naïve statement, but one he'd been living by for the past year or so.

"I mean like, IRL I probably don't have much cash, but I have basically no bills and I split groceries with like twenty other people. It's not much, but it's a decent life and that's all I need right now."

@Ilya

 

[Ilya]

☀𓆱𓃬

​

lion's pride...

Comp sci was definitely difficult, and something that Ilya knew she didn't have the brains for. Her own talents lay in the creative side of things, not the technical nor technological side. She honestly had to get help to set up the game the first few times, as she had a hard time finding the on and off button of her headset. (Nor had she been aware that it had needed to be plugged in to work.... Stupid Ilya!) "I didn't go to college, so I never experienced parties or drinking. I like to think it would be nice to have done it, just to say I could give it a go... But when your music takes off, you kinda end up saying fuck school. I'm glad you're happy with the way your life has turned out though. You deserve it." She bit her lip as she was asked about her passion.

Things would get deep, realllly fast. "It's kind of hard to keep your passion when it consumes your entire life... Things that used to make you happy, turning sour due to your career. Everything is difficult to do, I find it hard to even leave my house." She frowned, her eyes watering up as she fought the tears that threatened to rain down on her face. The only other person she had opened up to about this had been Zelrius. Which even then, she hadn't said much... Just told him she was miserable with her work. She hadn't even cried that time.

She breathed in deeply, her shoulders shaking slightly as she breathed out. She was still calm, at least for now... Though one look at her face and you'd notice her watering eyes. If you asked her if she was okay, she would break apart. Her eyes would become waterfalls.

Cash... She had forgotten how it felt to fight for day to day necessities. Her own career was successful, she had everything she could ever want... Well, except privacy and freedom. Constantly being watched took a toll on her. She would give up her money and music talent in an instant if she could feel that freedom and privacy.

@Brutus Dahlgren

"Talking!"
Thoughts....

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus would notice the woman's shaking shoulders and sigh. There wasn't a...great way to do this, so he simply grab her by the shoulders, give her a light ninety degree turn and give her a good ole Christian side hug. "I mean, look." He would take a deep breath.

"You deserve to be happy, and to make decisions that lead you down that path too. If your passion is strangling you and your ability to be happy, you need to ease off it." He couldn't imagine the sort of prison she had managed to lock herself into with her own dream.

What a fucked reality.

"Well then, I don't know everything you're going through, but if you want to talk about it." He would give her a warm grin. "My ears are open for you. If it's any consolation, drinking and parties is overrated unless you're popular, and even then most people are just tryna get drunk and fuck." He shrugged.

@Ilya

 

[Ilya]

☀𓆱𓃬

​

lion's pride...

Another hug, Ilya didn't know when this man would stop. She normally hated them, but realized she didn't downright despise the ones that Brutus gave her. She couldn't see herself doing it that much, but she might learn to enjoy it here and there. She gave him a light squeeze back before drawing a bit back so she could look at his face.

She offered a small smile to the giant at his words, "I think for now I'll opt to talking about lighter things. Focus on having fun and making memories." She looked away from Brutus so she wouldn't start to cry, unintentionally a tear dripping from the pool of her eyeball rain. She pretended it didn't exist as it tickled her cheek, running down slowly. She figured she could blame it on the heat rising up from the pool, say it was sweat or something.

Taking another deep breath, Ilya thanked Bru for braiding her hair. "I wish they had mirrors in this world..." She let go of Brutus, sinking a bit deeper into the pool. After this went on for a bit longer she abandoned her towel by letting it do whatever it wanted. (If it floated up, it floated up. If it stayed put, it stayed put). Then she ducked her head under the surface, it all being a tactful ploy to get control of her thoughts and feelings. By the time she resurfaced she would have a more genuine smile on her lips. Ready to have fun and forget their conversation ever happened. At least now she had forgotten about what happened in the showers....

@Brutus Dahlgren

"Talking!"
Thoughts....