Private ✪ Finweald Is it wrong to blow off steam after a long fight against gnolls and pick up girls in a VRMMORPG Nightclub?

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Tipsy

Brutus would take Toko by the hand and lead her away from the dancefloor. Her hand tucked between his fingers as he would plow through through the crowd. Swinging by the bar he would get them each a drink and guide her over to a quiet corner of the club. He would cradle the drink in one hand and then wrap an arm around her with another. He would take a simple sip of his drink and turn the the Lepus.

"I'm honestly glad I ran into you tonight" He would lay his back against the wall and slide down to a sitting position. He would motion for her join him on the ground and take another sip of his drink.

"I learned a lot about you tonight, you know." He would peer down into her ruby eyes. "Like you'd never even been kissed? Really?" He would raise an eyebrow and a throaty chuckle. There would be a long pause between the two, before he would smirk.

"I can change that if you want."

@Toko @Kyoko

 

[Yuliya the Unstoppable]

✧☾ˑ༄ؘ

​

One with the spirits...

She had returned to the dance floor, only for Toko and Brutus to sly away towards the bar. Her ears perked, observing. She handed the girl the drink, and cheers'd, slamming it down. Listening more and more to the duo's conversation, Kyoko began to feel ashamed. It had started to get rather personal, and she felt bad for listening in as long as she had.

I'm pretty fucked up to be honest... I came here mainly to dance and have fun, I met some people... I don't have to decide to leave just because they went off to do cute things. But alas, I'm pretty tired and I wanna log out... Not wanting to ruin their moment, Kyoko spent a few more moments with the girl she had been talking up before heading for the exit to the building.

Her goal in mind, get to an inn and log out for the night.

- exit thread bam! -

@Toko @Brutus Dahlgren

"Talking!"
Thoughts....

 

[Toko]

.

.

There was no need to weave or dance around people when exiting the dance floor, not when Brutus was leading the charge so to speak, and so the hare kept pace right behind him as the Felis lead her out while holding onto her hand. He'd taken them to the bar and ordered a pair of drinks, before guiding them both to a more secluded corner of the club.

"I'm honestly glad I ran into you tonight."
"Y-Yeah, it's been fun."

His arm would remain around her, causing the nervous Lepus to shift as she took another sip of her drink, before the Felis was then slinking down to sit on the ground. He'd do a hand motion for Toko to join him and, after some initial hesitation, the Lepus would lower herself in an Asian squat besides the Felis.

"I learned a lot about you tonight, you know. Like you'd never even been kissed? Really?"
"U-Urusai nah...!"

She had been about to agree with his first statement, it had certainly been quite the night to learn new things about Brutus and the vixen who had joined them for a good portion of the time, before he decided to touch upon her kissless status once more. A pout crossed her face as she snorted, her quip back short as the Lepus took another sip of her drink.

"I can change that if you want."

"N-Naniyo...?!" Toko almost choked on her drink right there, her face immediately going beet red as she stared back at the Felis like he'd grown a second head. "Moooh...! You don't have to keep teasing me about that, you know. Hmph."

Her eyes turned instead to scan the crowd, for the first time noticing that the familiar pink vixen was now nowhere to be found... perhaps she had decided to call it a night?

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Mostly Sober

"And if I'm not?"

Brutus would raise an eyebrow, lean forward and get closer to her face, looking into her eyes as he got so close to her that his nose would touch with hers. He could hear the thump thump thumping of her heart in time with his for a moment. He would watch her ruby eyes widen, and her skin would rosey up to the same tone as his hair. A smirk would cross his face as he cupped her chin, and then it would waver for a moment.

Gods he wanted to, so fucking badly.

The notion ran through his head like a flash of lightning. He hadn't realized it until he'd taken to teasing her this night, till someone else had made a move on her. The threat of another had crystalized exactly what he wanted into one clear, cogent, mostly sober thought.

"Just tell me to stop and I will."

Equal parts threat and promise, the Lion would stare down at the Hare he'd been towering over, leaving the ball in her court.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

.

.

Very Sobered Up

"And if I'm not?"
"N-Nanda—?!"

She hadn't expected that answer, a confused look crossing before it was quickly replaced by surprise. He was suddenly close, way too close actually for Nao's own comfort, to the point that the tip of their noses lightly brushed against one another. It caused her eyes to widen even as her cheeks flushed in response, and whatever lingering buzz she had felt before in her mind quickly evaporated as the rabbit sobered up in record time.

"Just tell me to stop and I will."

His hand had raised to cup her chin softly, holding Toko in place, as his next words washed over the hare and caused her to tense up in response. This wasn't the Brutus she was used to interacting, and in a way she supposed that could be attributed to the alcohol they had been imbibing through the night, but try as she might Toko found the words got caught in her throat.

< Yamero! >

So her body resorted to the next best thing, instinctually releasing a wave of the Lepus aura that was equal parts discomfort and distress, before Toko finally managed to pull her face away from his fingers as she quickly looked the opposite way from the Felis.

"J-Just... stop. It's not funny, B-Brutus..."

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Guilty

YAMERO

The burst of emotion and fear rocked through him like she'd just set off a flashbang in his face. His own mental receptacle for that sort of message was ringing as he watched the Lepus break free of his grasp. The ringing gave way to another sound he was expecting.

FUCKING DUMBASS

Ah, Olivier was awake.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKING FUCK
Evenin
EVENING MY BALLS YOU ASSHOLE WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?
I was flirting with Toko
FLIRTING? FROM WHERE I WAS LOOKING IT SEEMED A LOT LIKE SEXUAL HARRASSMENT YOU FUCK
I mean, in a certain aspect flirting is just sexual harassments with consent
FUCK YOU.
I BET YOU COULD DO BETTER
IM TAKING CONTROL YOU FUCK
TRY M-

Olivier banished the alter ego to the shadow realm and looked down to the trembling Lepus, his eyes filled with sorrow. "G-Gomen." He would break his gaze away from her. "I...got carried away." He would scooch away from her giving her some space. "Too much booze."

THUMP THUMP THUMP

"Do you..." he would shake his head. "Do you want me to walk you home? I think we should like, get the fuck out of here before things get any spicier?"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

.

.

Upset

She had huddled up against the wall, the Lepus' back now facing Brutus as the rabbit attempted to occupy as little space as possible. Her ears were pinned backwards and, although currently unviewable for the Felis, her face currently held a frown and a pout.

"G-Gomen."

There was a soft twitch of her ears, the only telltale sign that his attempted apology had actually reached them, though the hare remained in the same position as before.

"I...got carried away." She visibly tensed the moment Toko felt him move, before the muscles visibly relaxed as her ears picked up the sound that Brutus was scooching away from her instead of closer. "Too much booze."

"... that's not a valid excuse."

The words were spoken softly, more of an outloud comment to herself than an actual response meant for the Felis.

"Do you want me to walk you home?"

... nothing.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Guilty

"It's not a valid excuse." Brutus would reply after a long moment of silence. "There aren't any fucking excuses for my action other than me being an ass and enjoying riling you up. I was drunk and took things too far, and for that I am sorry. Nothing can excuse that, nothing can make up for that, nothing can undo that."

He would sit there, in silence for a moment. "If you want me to fuck off I'll fuck off, but I don't want to leave you here unless I know you're safe. If you never want to speak another word to me in your life I would entirely understand."

The music continued to pulse rhythmically in the background as perhaps a hundred, if not more, people made merry losing their inhibitions. Countless people were having the time of their lives, not a care and the world, and here he was fucking things up, again. Not just with a random stranger, but with a close friend no less. Like a dog and his reflection, he'd let himself get riled up and now he had nothing.

Less than nothing, the woman who he'd spent the last two weeks texting and talking to, who he'd spent untold time adventuring with, was furious with him and likely never to talk to him again.

Fucking
Perfect

@Toko

 

[Toko]

.

.

It was a gradual and slow shift, but little by little the tension in her shoulders began to ebb, the occasional twitch of the hare's ears showing that she was listening to Brutus even if the Lepus was still refusing to look in his direction. Words were important, and he was certainly picking the proper ones at least, but what Toko focused on more was the tone used on their delivery.

The drumming beat of the music threatened to drown out his words, had she been human Toko would have missed the subtle change of the intonation in his words. To his luck her hearing was sharp, and the hare was able to faintly pick up the small cues in his voice that truly denoted his sincere remorsefulness... and also concern.

"Fine... let's just go."

A long and drawn out sigh finally escaped the Lepus, her shoulders deflating slightly with the action, before Toko turned just enough to face the Felis once more. There was a harshness that wasn't usual to those red eyes, the gaze sharp and guarded, but her brows were no longer furrowed intensely... and the pout on her lips had also lessened. She stood then, her hands dusting away at any real or imaginary dust that might have decided to clung to her clothing, before walking to the bar and placing the mostly full drink down on the counter.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Olivier would rise from his seated position and dust himself off as well. Brutus had been banished for now, all of that cocksure confidence but also all of that agression and weird taunting. This had been an eye opening experience, one he was not keen on repeatung

He would follow after the pissed lepus, setting his drink next to hers and following her out the door into the crisp evening air. He would let a moment pass as they excited before speaking.

"This was supposed to be a celebratory night. Im sorry I ruined it. Congrats on your promotion." They would take a few more steps onto the patio, but he was too busy looking for some sort of magic words to undo what he'd done. Facing the consequences of Bru- no, his actions left a bitter taste in his mouth. Something he wanted to drown away with liqour or food. Yet he couldn't help but dwell on why things had been this way.

Why had he been so hellbent on teasing her like that? She was his friend, why would he push her like that? What could have possibly posessed him to...

Oh

An unpleasent revelation crossed his mind as his eyes darted back to Toko. Ah, that checked out. This would be problematic indeed.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

.

.

The hare quickly weaved through the bodies standing between herself and the door, a sigh of relief escaping Toko as the cool night air finally buffeted her face as the rabbit stepped out onto the street. There was a pause, just long enough to allow the Felis to catch up to her, before the Lepus wrapped her arms around herself.

"This was supposed to be a celebratory night. I'm sorry I ruined it."

A light shrug of her shoulders was the hare's response, before her hands rubbed against the skin of her arms to chase away some of the night cold that begun to clung to her frame.

"Congrats on your promotion."
"Arigatooh... congrats on your quest too."

The words were there, though they certainly lacked the usual warmth and mirth the Lion had no doubt come to expect of the hare. However the hare hadn't seemingly decided to just fuck off and log out yet... a small comfort that the giant could hold onto, perhaps.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

He would watch as she rubbed her arms to warm herself up in the cold night and tutted slightly. Shrugging off his jacket, he would drape it over the Lepus' shoulders carefully as they stood in the dim din of the evening. "Thanks. Next time I do something involving Gnolls I'll call you up. Adventuring alone isn't nearly as fun."

She hadn't left him alone in the darkness, so he wouldn't abandon her either. Despite how tense the air was, despite acting like a jackass all night, he wasn't about to leave her standing alone in the darkness. As the cold would creep in on his frame, he would simple do some meditative breathing and warming his body with pyromancy.

"Where do you want to go? Are you just gonna log here or do you have a place to stay in the city?" He would ask, raising an eyebrow despite not turning to her.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

.

.

She had stiffened up slightly as the lion approached, before feeling the familiar weight of the jacket Brutus often wore on her shoulders... along with the warmth it radiated. "Arigatooh..." A soft nod was given in return, Toko's hands reaching for the edges of the jacket and wrapping it up further against her.

"Next time I do something involving Gnolls I'll call you up. Adventuring alone isn't nearly as fun."
"U-Uun... adventuring is always better with friends."

There was a palpable awkwardness that lingered in the air, one that had never been present before between them, before the Felis attempted to cut through it as he asked where Toko was planning on staying inside the city.

"Ah, iie, I rented a room over at The Spirited Inn... it's not too far from the main garden in the city, close to Folkstreet Market."

She'd never been fond of randomly logging out in places after all... moreso after she'd experienced the awkward login that Ilya had with the duo back in the mud springs a while back.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"The Spirited Inn?" He would ask, raising an eyebrow. "Lead the way then." He would walk alongside her through the quiet evening, the further they got away from the club the quieter and more peaceful the night became. Most of the city had gone to bed by now, and those who were awake were either contemplating bed or up to no good.

As they got close, the Lion man would find himself wishing he had more time to talk to her, to make sure things between then would be alright, but it wasn't something he could just wave a magic wand and fix. He just had to let time and some good vibes change the tone of the night hopefully.

"Speaking of adventuring with friends, you got any big plans coming up?"

The words would hang in the air unanswered for a moment as the inn began to creep into view. Soon the two of them would find themselves standing outside the door, silently.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

.

.

The walk through the quiet streets of Finweald was mostly silent, the cool night air and sound of insects being their only company as they slowly made their way towards the inn. As a soft breeze passed by the hare was thankful for the jacket Brutus had provided her, a side glance given to look at the Felis that walked a respectable distance besides her as they went. She knew he had pyromancy, so technically the night air should be no issue for him, but a part of Toko still felt guilty at the fact she was hogging his jacket.

"Speaking of adventuring with friends, you got any big plans coming up?"
"A-Ah, i-iie... have to go back to the Guild tomorrow for some final paperwork—as if I haven't done enough of it already—but other than that no."

There was a pause as they both stood in front of the inn outside, before the rabbit tilted her head just slightly as a thought crossed her mind.

"... are you staying at an inn too, Brutus-nii?"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Ah, paperwork. Honestly one of the only reasons I haven't joined a guild." He kept his arms crossed over his muscular torso, taking a relaxed resting posture. The chill was nothing for him, the trained eye could see his skin glow softly as he kept his breathing in check.

"I wasn't planning on staying in town very long so I hadn't squirrelled away a place to kick my boots off at, no. I might go look for a place, I might just log out in a quiet spot and work on taking a wagon back to Honeyhome here sometime tomorrow."

The giants shoulders would rise and fall slowly in a very lazy shrug. "I might go see if I can rustle up something to eat though...going to bed on an empty stomach means I'm likely to log back in with a wicked hangover." Sapphire eyes would dance to the Lepus, narrowing into slits. "Same thing goes to you, drink some water and see if you can score a snack before you hit the sack."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

.

.

"I s-see..."

There was an awkwardness still present between them as they entered in small conversation, albeit perhaps not as strongly present as when they had first stepped out of the club. There was the faintest of chuckles when he'd mentioned that paperwork was currently one of the few reasons the lion hadn't decided to join a faction yet, a sentiment that Toko could now share after having advanced three ranks in one fell swoop inside the Guild.

"Word of advice, don't try and skip multiple ranks in one promotion... not unless you're ready for hours of paperwork after that."

Still worth it though... the excited feeling the Lepus had felt as she exchanged her rookie copper tags for the gold ones that now hung from her neck had definitely been worth it.

"Y-Yeah, that's probably a good idea—"

In fact she hadn't even thought about water and food until the Felis brought it up, but before Toko could say that she'd try and see if the inn had anything available—unlikely given the time and the darkened interior of the building—the hare's stomach had decided to interject with a long and very audible growl, one that succeeded in coloring Toko's cheeks bright red as a result.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"I'll keep that in mind, if I join the Adventurer's guild I will make sure to go up the ranks one at a time."

Spoiler alert, no he won't.

Brutus blinked slightly as the Lepus' stomach growled. It was some straight anime shit, like something straight out of a synopsis of an episode of some sort of romantic comedy. Her cheeks would burn red and the Lion would let out a small chuckle as he would reach out and pat her head.

"Sounds like you're hungry." His eyes would shoot to the Inn and he would reach the same conclusion she would appear to have made. "Lucky for you I happen to know a spot, if you want I can treat you?" An eyebrow would raise as he spoke, a verbal white flag presented.

"The chicken and waffles are to die for." He would waggle an eyebrow down at the hungry hare. "And don't even get me started on the hashbrowns." His own stomach was beginning to growl as he spoke, working up his own appetite. He couldn't count the number of times he'd spent in a waffle house with Tony and Carson in the middle of the night after a long night of drinking, or some other shenanigans.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

.

.

"Sounds like you're hungry."
"Ch-Chotto dakeh—"

She had tried to play it cool, but unfortunately her stomach would have none of it as another gurgle of protest went out. It caused her cheeks to brighten further, the blush now spreading to the base of her ears, before Toko wrapped the jacket tighter around her in response, hoping to hide part of her face with the collar.

It was then the Felis would go on to describe a nearby food spot he knew of, the mention of chicken and waffles already making the hare's mouth water in response... and they had hashbrowns, too?! "M-Mah, ii kedo..." Toko didn't miss the part where this was a peace offering of sorts for the previous blunder at the club, finally giving a faint shrug of her shoulders as the hare assented to the proposal.

"Alright, where is this place then?"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Follow me." He would motion for the Lepus to follow as he led the way for the lagomorph. Taking several exaggeratedly long strides, he would strut down the road. "It's just a couple streets over as I recall." The walk was brisk, but he would occasionally turn to make sure he hadn't left the rabbit in his dust, his tail occasionally swooshing out and tapping her on the shoulder.

"Now that I think about it, no wonder we both got so drunk. I can't remember the last time I ate..." The giant would rub his chin as he glanced down to the woman at his side who was practically swimming in his jacket. She was adorable, the way she was trying to hide her face, the way the sleeves were impossibly long for her, coattails almost dragging on the pavement below.

"Can you? Did you eat before going to the club?"

After a decent amount of time passing, the two would find themselves entering a small corner diner on the intersection. He would open the door for the Lepus before ducking in behind her. The air was filled with warmth and the unmistakable smell of breakfast. A large portly pig man would look up from a grill and motion for them to take a seat at a pair of high backed chair alongside a bar right behind him.

"Menu's on the table, let me know whatcha want."

@Toko