Open Lake Horatio Innocent Exploring

[Caelynn Thia]

Looking over the fish it was truly beautiful in its own ways. Very unique. The scales that shimmered from the sun were so pretty. Caelynn didn't want to keep the fish but at the same time she didn't wish to let it go either. 'It's a game after all right? This fish will surely respawn within a few minutes.' She had to remind herself that it was only a game after all. It was best to keep telling herself that even if she wanted it all to be real, that it was in fact all virtual.

"We can keep it. He'll make a good feast for our first celebration of catching the fish. Besides there will be others like him in due time." Caelynn shrugged her shoulders and looked over at Fiora after given the comment that all fish were smelly. She smiled and simply shook her head. "Catching a fish with bare hands or with a javelin sounds rather tricky. I doubt even I have the coordination to pull of such tricks." It would be really cool to show off to the new players like Fiora was doing with her.

The pinkette wasn't too keen on touching the fish either never mind capturing it. It could be a sensory issue from real life that travelled with her into the gaming world. Although she wouldn't show or exactly express it. "If I have your permission to teach me these skills then I wouldn't mind learning from you." She said with a smile. "I'm telling you now that I might actually not be good at it. Hard to believe I know but that's just what I'm thinking."

"Where should we put our capture until we're ready for him later on?"

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

Fiora nodded, pleased that Caelynn didn't have to think too hard about her choice, which spoke a lot for the pinkette. "Don't underestimate yourself. You have ranged weapons, coordination's a natural thing for you." She pointed out, giving her a few pats on her back before offering a hand over to help her back up on her feet. "Hunting fish with a pointy stick is how they used to before fishing rods and nets. Sometimes they mixed nets with sticks. It's all about where are you fishing." Obviously they couldn't dip into the lake with a javelin and hope for the best. Shallow waters were far better suited for it.

She smiled so hard in an attempt to keep herself from laughter just as 'permission' was asked for, staring back at Caelynn, almost puzzled. "Permission to learn... That's a new one to me- It doesn't matter how good or bad you are at this. I did say I would teach you, didn't I?" Her eyes went over to the tree above of them and it's branches, an idea coming to mind soon enough as. "Alright, for starters, put it on top of the basket. You need to give it a hard hit on the head to knock the fish cold. I want you to use magic to hang it over from a branch. Create roots to use as a rope, for example." She instructed, picking up the borrowed knife and placing it on it's sheath once again.

"A fish has to be bled out, but we first have to make sure it's unconcious. I'll take care of bleeding it out and I'll start a fire and show you how to cook it. In the meantime, you can gather some branches and stones. We don't want embers spreading out and causing a wildfire."

@Caelynn Thia

 

[Caelynn Thia]

Caelynn listened to Fiora and nodded slowly. This was more of a tutorial than what she had went through in the very beginning of starting up Terrasphere. It was one thing to know how to move and open up the menu and all those basic things one should be taught early on. It's another thing alone to learn some other basic yet a tiny bit more intricate things in the game. Atleast when it came to being with Fiora, she was with a friendly person who was taking the time to explain it to her and go over things step by step.

"Should using magic come naturally too?" Caelynn looked over at the other Elf and then looked up. A thin line on her lips before she looked down at her hands. "Magic..." Caelynn could only sigh feeling small. "Actually even back in the original Terrasphere, I've never used magic. I didn't have much experience before it got banned." She spent a moment feeling bad but then she sighed and shook her head slightly. "However I'm willing to learn now and give things a try."

Taking the fish and laying it on the basket, she picked it up and slammed its body down on to the basket. "I'm sorry!" She murmured not particularly liking the action she just performed. 'It's just a game and it can't feel pain. It's numbers and coding. Not to mention it'll respawn.' She thought to herself trying to reassure herself that she shouldn't overreact and feel bad for the fish.

Taking her hands she stretched them out in front of her letting out a heavy sigh. "Okay! I got this!" She cleared her throat and focused her eyes on the ground putting her hand out and focused picturing what she wanted to happen. Slowly something began to grow out of the ground twisting and turning forming knots into a rope. The vines made its way climbing up the tree and wrapping around the branch. Then she turned and looked over at the fish on the basket and focused her attention on it.

The vines came down and wrapped around the fish pulling it off the basket and slowly moving upward as the fish was slowly going into its position of hanging from the branch and tied around with a vine. The pinkette smiled a bit admiring her work as she turned and looked over at the other girl. "So did I do this right?"

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

The hesitation caught her curiosity as Cay looked down to her hands and admitted her own inexperience. "Magic is a difficult topic. The game has an auto-assist function that helps you cast spells, dodge and attack, but it's very limiting and not worth it after a while. Everyone casts magic differently, so you have to find what works for you and what doesn't. Gestures, chanting, focusing your magic in a catalyst like a staff..." She worded out a few examples, her right hand reaching out for the pinkette's shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze and a nod. "Think less. Just do what feels natural to you." Fiora said, taking a step back towards the edge of the lake, making sure to collect a few stones surrounding it.

Her attention returned over to a loud thud, her heart stopping for a second before sighing off a chuckle once Caey begun to apologize to the poor fish she just bashed like a pillow, casting the stones aside for a moment to watch carefully as vines turned to knots and begun their ascent across one of the trees, like a sentient tendril of sorts, grasping on the fish to leave it hanging from it's tail, nodding to herself a few times.

"You are a natural born killer for sure, I said hit it on the head not swing it like a club and bash it on the basket." Fiora laughed, giving Caelynn a few pats on her head on her way towards the fish, pulling out her knife. "That said, you did pretty good. Magic consumes energy, and it's generally taxing to do so repeatedly, but the more you practice the better you will get at conserving mana. That, and you need to start practicing your spells, so this works." She added, before pushing the knife in to gut the fish free from everything inside that they wouldn't make use of for their meal, only stopping halfway to glance over to the elf, since she clearly owed an explanation now.

"The 'bleeding out' part is optional, by the way. Call it the most 'humane' way to kill fish, but gutting after knocking it out works. if you don't like the sight though you can start foraging some branches. A few straight ones would work great right now." And after disposing of everything inside, Fiora yanked out the fish and dropped it over the basket. Once they had collected enough branches and stones, arranged for a little bonfire, aswell as filleting and drying the fish, Fiora begun to skewer the meat through a straight stick, keeping them slightly apart from one another.

"You cook on fresh embers or a low flame. Fish ain't just something you can cook on naked fire." Repeating the same process on a second branch, this one handed over to Caelynn as she picked up the flints to create a spark and set the dry leaves ablaze. "It's also important to let the fire go for a little. Think of it like marshmallows, only you need to be careful to keep 'em at a good distance and rotate evenly." Fiora explained, showing it off with her own skewered meat pieces for the pinkette to mimic.

"So you tell me you didn't do magic in Terrasphere despite having it, but you played four years ago before it got shut down- What did you do or saw back then?"

@Caelynn Thia

 

[Caelynn Thia]

Caelynn carefully watched Fiora's movements taking notes on how she did things and performed certain actions. She truly felt proud of herself having caught a fish and used magic. It was considered baby steps but she had a feeling that in no time, she would be doing great on her own. Perhaps even teaching new players like Fiora was so kindly teaching her.

When asked about what she did in the old Terrasphere, she simply shrugged her shoulders. "I really didn't get a chance to do anything. When I had joined, I probably had the game for a week or possibly two before it got banned and shut down." It felt so much longer ago than just four years. "I had met a guild and we were going to do some camping and exploring. I had met one male elf who was oh so handsome. The guild members were nice all except one. Sad to say he did come into the new Terrasphere as I did and he hasn't changed much."

It was sad that only two people of that old guild from so long ago actually returned. Perhaps gaming wasn't their thing or their real lifes were so much better than a make believe world. "Anyway, I didn't have a lot of time to do much. I didn't get to explore much or use magic. I just kind of laid low and kept to the back. I played the game but I might as well had been invisible."

"Things will be different though this time around in fact it already is. I'm meeting other players and seeing different places. I even want to get my name out there. Princess Caelynn Thia or something like that." She laughed and shrugged her shoulders. Pulling out the skewer, she checked over the meat which seemed crispy. She put it back into the flames for a few more seconds. "Can we get sick in the game? I don't want any food poisoning. That's why I'm gonna make sure the fish is cooked through and through."

"What about you? Do you prefer your life here in this version of Terrasphere or the old one? What did you do in the old world?"

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"You shouldn't think too much about one person you met in Terrasphere. The world is massive, so the odds you cross paths with them are low." She gave her two cents on the matter, but fate is infamously known for having a cruel sense of humour. "Nothing wrong about being invisible though. At least not now that there is a stigma in regards to players." Fiora mused, giving a glance at Caelynn as she attached a noble title to herself, then over to the bonfire. "Can always claim a forest and call yourself an elven princess."

Pulling her wooden skewer closer, the greenette gave it a sniff and a good look, given Cae's comment about her own. "Yeah, still ain't done." She concluded, and back to the flames it went, keeping it at a fair distance. "You can get sick, catch a disease, suffer insomnia and anything else you can think of. But even if you didn't, why would you want to eat raw fish?" A smirk rested on her lips. That's one way to make your taste buds suffer for sure.

"I never got to play Terrasphere before, but based on hearsay from people who did, it's not so different. Except for the fact Vintergard exploded and that magia are a thing and players can pick that race now if it's their first time." She tried to think of anything else, but ended up shrugging when nothing came to mind in that regard. "I wouldn't be able to explain Terrasphere and my experiences with it even if I wanted to, though. It's a world of opportunity as much as it is a death trap. Just don't let it consume your mind. There are more than one ways to end up trapped here."

@Caelynn Thia

 

[Caelynn Thia]

"Shut up I can do something like that?" Caelynn perked up at Fiora's suggestion of purchasing her own patch of land and turning it into something out of a fairy tail book. Now she knew she was in a game because in no way would that ever happen in real life. The closest something like that could ever happen was buying a lego set and building a castle and adding on other lego attachments. She made a mental note to herself that it would be something for her to look into.

Nodding to Fiora as she stared into the flames watching her pieces of fish slowly turn and cook in the yellowish orange flames. In real life she had never gone camping nor did she have alot of friends who would have invited her. This was all new to her be it in a virtual game or not. "But if I learn how to heal people's injuries then I can heal sickness too right? I mean I can only imagine that would be another perk of choosing Nature Magic." Not that she was wishing sickness on herself or anyone else for that matter but it was a curious thought she was thinking about.

'Is it really all that bad?' She asked herself. If the real world was unkind and unfriendly then perhaps thinking about being trapped in Terrasphere wasn't such a bad thing. If the life in this game was too enticing to not want to give it up, she could understand. Because ultimately it would be that's player's decision. Surely they would understand the consequences to never be able to log out again. To be stuck in a virtual world forever. She pulled out her skewer and turned it around before placing it back in near the flames.

"Let me ask you something Fiora. If your real life was nothing but misery day in and day out. And you knew you could potentially escape into a game forever knowing you've somehow created a much better life than you could have imagined, would you of not taken the opportunity to stay in the game forever?" She wanted the other Elf to really think about it. "Before you answer though, give it some thought. It's common sense and pure instinct to keep yourself out of danger. But if this game really enticed you and gave you really good reasons to stay here always....Would you consider it?"

As of right now Caelynn was happy with logging out even if it meant to returning her crappy life. But she wondered would she ever find herself thinking about living in the Terrasphere world and replacing it as the real world. "I say I would keep myself from being trapped here but to tell you the truth, I really don't know. In fact I have no idea how I would do if I was in that situation."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

Fiora shrugged, smug little look on her features at such a naive question, but the smirk wiped clean once she felt an answer was owed, or rather, elaboration. "You can own a forest and be a little princess so long as the landlord doesn't notice some random pink girl living in their property and claiming it her own." Straight to the point this time, impassive in it's delivery just to get the point across, yet her eye didn't focus on the 'princess' for long once she pulled the fish closer once again, giving it a twirl until she felt satisfied with it's state and simply biting off one of the fillets.

"You can heal sickness with most masteries that have the capacity to. Not every illness is the same though, so it's not a do-all-end-all. Take Zalrisis for instance, a very common disease from Zalra: It has no cure whatsoever, only short term means to prevent it. If you have Zalrisis, you are dead, simple as that." The elf let her frown and bluntness speak for itself on this frustating fact.

A frown that vanished no sooner as Caelynn brought a question to kill most people's appetite with, but not the mood behind it. A dilemma that many people encountered sooner or later. Fiora couldn't blame her for what she thought or felt, less so now, too early into the revelations of life and death within a game.

"No. I would have made sure I lived for as long as possible before getting locked in. You can only die three times in Terrasphere. After that, unless someone revives you in ten minutes, it's game over." The adamant expression she held turned softer with each word.

"In this game, I met a girl who changed my mind about the real world at the same time I changed hers. All thanks to Terrasphere." Fiora explained, her hand reaching out to toy with one of the fish fillets with two fingers. "This life or my real one, even with how harsh and unfair it can be, are both fine to me so long as I get to share either with her. But even if I get to meet her more in-game, I would never drop my life for this one. The real magic is out there waiting for me." Her serenity turned into monotony once her frown returned. Much of that was sentimental- Personal. Beyond the question to a certain extent.

"I don't let myself focus only on the bad, but don't think for a second Terrasphere is any better than your life out there. You just haven't seen the horrors Arcia's got to offer, specially the man-made ones." She sighed off, knowing full well none of this would make sense, if only to add another layer of uncertainty in Cay's mind.

"Give it time. See Terrasphere for what it is before judging it. That's what I did."

@Caelynn Thia

 

[Caelynn Thia]

"Sickness hm? That could be something I could do. Improve myself to be a healer and help others that need to be helped. Like a doctor of the sort." She would have to do her research on everything the game had to offer. She could heal the wounded and cure diseases but it seemed not all diseases could be healed. "Zalrisis? A common disease that kills you right off the bat? It sounds like the common cold with the strength of cancer. Especially if there's no cure for it." She wondered just how many people had gotten sick in the game and died from disease. If they hadn't died before then it wouldn't be anything to worry out. Not a lot of people are that lucky though.

Her focus became a bit more focused as she listened to the experienced player talk about what she would do. Mentioning it only took three deaths before being stuck in the game forever. "Three is the magic number then..." Then she went on to say that there would only be ten minutes for a player to revive another player. "Only ten minutes? I will I guess that's better than nothing. Although it would really suck if there was nobody around to help that player revive on their third death. Gosh no matter how much we talk about it, I just can't imagine it. Honestly it sounds...Unsettling."

Caelynn smiled as she bit into a piece of her fish. "From the way you're talking, it sounds like from someone in love. Romantically or platonically I should say. You don't have to have a romance with a really good friend. Especially if they make your life worth wild." Fiora had a point though. Things can be changed if put in the effort to change it over time. Sure her real life world may suck big time at the moment, but all she had to do was change it. Change is hard and never easy but then again it could be easy to those who really wanted it.

"I must admit Fiora that you sound wise beyond your years. I think I should just pay you to give me a complete guided tour of Terrasphere. And then give you an allowance for always staying in touch with me to keep me out of really bad situations." She laughed biting off one piece and chewing it before swallowing it.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"Healers are always welcomed around here. Keep an eye out for anyone suspicious though, and don't go anywhere unarmed, unless that's how you fight." Fiora added, taking another chunk off with one bite alone, fangs digging into the fish. As she chewed, the elf nodded at the crude but accurate description of Zalrisis. "Worse than a cold. You can catch it from it's inhabitants if they so much scratch you, so you need to keep yourself well protected. Zalrisis aside, Zalra is very dangerous thanks to it's inhabitants, so best keep clear of it for the time being." She chastized the pinkette with voice alone, as the last she wanted is to watch her risk death this early in Terrasphere. Not even the nerds from MIT could step in and begin researching the Zalrisis. Chances are, nowhere near soon would a cure show up.

The way Cay spoke of a scenario that happened all too often got a frown onto her features, targetted to self, given this wasn't the girl's fault, but her own. "Reviving doesn't stop this at all, Cay. If you die three times, you will die out of the game regardless if you got revived or not. Revive will keep you from permanently dying once that happens, but it won't stop this 'countdown' of sorts." The fact it was unavoidable is what made this game so lethal, and her own voice so serious. "I'm sorry I forgot to elaborate on that earlier. But this is why you can't by any means let your health reach zero." It would be a tragedy if that happened thanks to misinformation, one she would carry the guilt of if it were to fall on the pink elf.

The grim on her face faded soon after, her shoulders loosening up at the mention of love being involved, something easy to assume given how she spoke of her partner. "You are not wrong at all, it's romantic. I had a crush on her for a long time ever since we met, but I didn't confess to her until we almost died inside the game and I visited her in real life." A warm smile rested on her lips once a little quiet settled in between them, glancing back at Caelynn once her golden eye softened up. "She's even more beautiful out of the game." In every sense of the word. "Thank her for me being any wise at all. I used to be the opposite." She smirked, her lips falling onto a thin line and her free hand rised to wave dismissively so at the pinkette.

"I can give you a tour up to a certain point for sure. The entirety of Arcia though is a bit too much, but you could also tag along when I'm out gathering, or better yet, do some of it yourself." She explained, as there was only so much terrain she could cover on foot by herself. "I'll even pay you in gold for whatever you find. Gems, ores, herbs, magitechnology, magia parts... Reagants, basically. Magical objects are also of value to me. My girlfriend and I use a lot of these for our workshop. Bring it over and I can appraise it's value. My eye has a knack for it." She winked, leaning to the side as she aimed for a bite on the last fillet.

@Caelynn Thia

 

[Caelynn Thia]

She didn't want to think about the negatives that lured over behind the game. It was a scary thought that kept creeping in to her mind. Pushing it aside only invited for it to return back on its own. Now she could somewhat see it now. Terrasphere wasn't as perfect as Neverland or better than the real world. It had its own dangers to stay clear from. Diseases, deadly missions, players all about player deaths and so on. All she wanted was to escape the real world and find a place that had no misery or struggles. A place that would help her escape all the troubles and lonesome thoughts that often haunted her in their own versions of torture. Caelynn sighed softly and nodded as she had been staring off into her meal Shaking her head, she noticed that Fiora had changed the subject to a better topic and she was grateful for it.

Caelynn was a sucker for happy endings. She was all about the fairytale life. Everyone deserved a happy ending of some kind rather it was meeting a romantic partner or just living life to the fullest with good friends and family by their side. Perhaps that was a perk of being raised on all the stories and movies where love and friendship were stronger than anything evil. Her eyes perked up as she listened to the other elf talk. "So there is someone in the picture I see. Even you found a life worth living from this game. Without Terrasphere, you and her may have never met and you would have never known what you'd be missing." It was a true compliment.

"She must have turned you into a better person than what you were before." The minute she said that sentence, she realized that it could sound offensive. "I mean you improved for the better with her help and she probably went through some of those changes too. Hopefully it means you two are a good pair who will stay together forever." Caelynn smiled at her as she herself bit into her last piece of fish meat and chewed it up before swallowing. Her tongue appearing as she licked her lips slightly. Reaching for a napkin, she felt that her action may had not been the cleanest thing to do but she laughed into the napkin helping to wipe at her mouth anyway.

It would be a way for her to own some money a bit faster if she sold things to Fiora. "Perhaps that is in my future of what I can do. If you want to give me a guided tour, I wouldn't mind. You probably can provide more information than any guidebook I could get my hands on." Of course playing Terrasphere for the most part was a learn as you go game. She could explore by herself and discover things on her own. "I think it's better to play games when you have friends who are willing to play with you. Solo playing can be boring after a while."

"Oh! But please don't let me intrude on any of your plans. If you have anything to do than I am more than capable of doing things myself!"

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

Fiora hummed to herself as Cay pieced the events together ,all tied up neatly thanks to Terrasphere existing in the first place, nodding along. "If you know the do's and dont's of Terrasphere, it's not so different to the real world. It has it's good and bad." The elf added, an answer she knew was incomplete, but going over details would take so long, they would practically fall asleep before it's done.

She rested a hand over her stomach just as Caelynn begun to elaborate over her 'harsh' wording, shutting her eye and pulling up a fake, pained expression on her face. "Low blow, Caelynn. Is this how you treat your senpais?" Fiora said, faint smirk resting on her lips once she dropped the act. "We both changed for the better, and I'm sure she would look at me funny if I said otherwise." She smiled, dropping down the stick she used to skewer back on the flames.

"Wouldn't mind showing you around. I'm mostly keeping around Astorea as of late given the circumstances, but I'll travel out a bit further if we can make profit out of it." She folded her arms against her chest, rising a brow for a moment at her own wording. "I may know a lot but there's also a lot of places I haven't visited on Astorea. That said, you can ask me stuff through the UI too, just keep in mind messages ain't instant." Fiora added, standing up to her feet and stretching a hand over for Caelynn to hold onto to help the pinkette back on her feet.

"I planned to come over, do some fishing and have a meal, so I'll say you didn't intrude at all, only made the evening more pleasant for me." Her hand returned back into her jacket's pockets, gaze turning over to the clouds. "It's gonna get dark soon enough. There's a town not far from here if you want a place to rest. I have to go there right now eitherway."

@Caelynn Thia

 

[Caelynn Thia]

"I think I've learned the Dos and Don'ts rather quickly thanks to you Fiora." She laughed softly. "It's a lot better than trying to figure things out on my own and having rude awakenings." Caelynn was very much grateful for meeting the other female and taking in all the information she provided to her. It was always tough starting a new game. You had to make friends and figure things out. She could only guess that a game such as Terrasphere didn't have any game tutorials that could be found online.

She would love to be shown around the game especially Astorea. The pinkette laughed as the other pretended to have hurt feelings over what she had said. She nodded agreeing with her. It most likely was they changed each other for the better. Watching as the other put down her skewer, Caelynn did the same copying the movement. "Gotta say this was such a good meal despite it being virtual. It may or may not be linked to the fact that I caught the fish for us. With your help of course." She added quickly and laughed. She got up and stretched out her body and fixed her outfit from sitting down on the ground and quickly brushed out her long hair with her fingers.

"If you'll have me, I would love to travel around Astorea with you. I'd be more than willing to make a profit with you as well." There was so much to do and see and all the time in the world. Well at least until the real world came calling and either one of them or both had to log off to go deal with said real life. "You're my first friend and I think we should celebrate!" She twirled around happily as her long hair flowed and fanned out before swaying to the side and settled short after she stopped moving.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"That's still a possibility in the future though. I taught you a few of the essentials, but there's always room for misunderstandings. At least now you can think twice before doing something bold." She replied, with her lips turning into a quaint little smile. "Nothing wrong with chasing a little thrill every now and then, just gotta be prepared for it." That's just how she learned in the first place.

Fiora shrugged a little, though she could get behind the pinkette's sentiment in regards to the fish, feeling glad that the other could experience it, since that's what she aimed for in the first place. "I just gave you a few instructions. Besides, doing something with your own hands is fulfilling, isn't it? Specially when it comes to food." Her eye followed Caelynn as the girl stood back up, pushing a bit of dirt with her foot over to the fires as to let them finally die off, barely touching the scorched sticks to dismantle them from their little pyramid shape.

It proved hard for her to refuse the elf when she begun to twirl all happily, despite having just said she's her first friend. It just couldn't be true, could it..? Fiora pondered for a second, glancing over to her friend list before closing it once again.

"Alright, how about we visit Finweald then? There isn't many places left intact, but I heard of a festival happening very soon there. Might be a good time for you to learn about the Lander culture around this world." She waved lightly towards her, gesturing for Cay to follow. "We'll make a short stop at a town, can celebrate with a few drinks if you are into that." They had plenty of time until Finweald, so a stop to log off safely wasn't a bad idea either.

"Whenever you are ready, Cay."

@Caelynn Thia