Complete Eastern Brisshal Reconnect

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby's cloak billowed with the Eastern Brisshal's wind, one that guided the clouds in the sky, while the cat girl tried to tug her hood down, hoping to keep her face covered and protected from the wind. Unlike the first day they met, the beautiful blue sky was replaced by a more solemn mix of white and soft grey. It didn't call for rain yet, but it did make the sunshine much less bright, making the world look paler.

Closing her fists and opened them, making the UI Menu pop up in front of her eyes.

Reading the message over and over, Ruby took a deep breath. At any moment Fina would be there... After all, the Friend List revealed she was in Eastern Brisshal, just like Ruby was.

With a brief sigh, Ruby's hand rested on the quilt of her sheathed Jian, having her tail swaying gently and patiently.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

It has been a month now, and, quite naturally, Fina had been growing increasingly concerned with each day. She didn't *think* that something terrible had happened to Ruby since she was still firmly present on the girl's friends list, but she was not coming online and reading any messages either. Eventually, the feline simply had to get on with her game life and do her best not to think about the whole situation too much, or else she would worry herself sick.

It was quite a surprise then, that one log-in would be accompanied by a notification of a pending mail from the other girl. There was absolutely no question whether the two should meet up, Fina would start preparing for it right away! She would not delay and put everything else aside for this without any regrets.

The weather ensured that the large cloak was comfortably rested on top of the girl's body as she sprinted through the forest to reach the designated spot, its lower half flapping behind her as she scrambled over fallen branches and roots. She had to actively try to stop herself the moment she got into the clearing, leaving behind a bit of a trail digging into the dirt. Her eyes fixated on the present figure immediately. "Ruby?!"

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

When the familiar voice called her, Ruby's ears twitched under her hood, making her shift her body toward the voice.

"Fina." Ruby turned to look at Fina, waving her tail and pulling her hood down, revealing her crimson ears and hair. She stood still for a moment, watching the other girl with a bittersweet feeling crawling inside of her. It was warming to see how quick and eager she was to see her. To get in contact. To meet again.

But that also brought a sense of guilt. Ruby didn't even say goodbye when she decided to take a break, or perhaps nearly leave this game for good, just leaving the girl behind without any news or explanation.

Did she really deserve having someone like her around?

Without wasting any more seconds, Ruby stepped closer to Fina, wrapping her arms around the silver-haired and holding her in a tight hug.

"Sorry." She slipped an apology in a quiet and regretful whisper.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

Fina's feline ears twitched as wind carried the quiet apology to them. "Hm? It's okay, I'm just glad that you seem to be okay!" The girl could hardly blame Ruby for being offline for so long. The main thing was that the other feline was confirmed alive!

As the hands wrapped around Fina's body, the girl would smile and return it all in kind, embracing Ruby as tightly as she could while still keeping it comfortable. "I guess you were really busy? Life can be unpredictable like that, so don't worry about it."

She obviously didn't know the real reason why Ruby was gone for so long, but she couldn't possibly assume anything bad. Similarly, she could not be mad at the other girl right now. She didn't know Ruby's circumstances, so displaying any kind of anger or disappointment would be simply unfair. Not to mention that she just didn't feel that way at all!

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

The return of the embrace was comforting, and Ruby, being a bit selfish, couldn't help but lean more into it as Fina's words returned to her ears. The misunderstanding of her friend regarding the 'why' she was offline stung Ruby's heart another time, it only emphasized how little she left her friends to know about her whereabouts and why she decided to be gone.

"No... No, I wasn't busy..." She shook her head, squeezing Fina one last time before leaning her face away to look at her eyes, though still holding her.

Her eyes averted for a moment, knowing she had promised herself that if she had to come back to this game, she would have to be more honest. "I... Just didn't want to ever come back to this game. Not after all that." Her lips pursed. "... Not after failing to save my friends... And after being stuck in that thing." Ruby scowled.

"I was just being a coward... But..." Her eyes returned to Fina's. "... Like the coward I am, I was too scared to lose you and my friends. So here I am."

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

Fina was able to tell that the other girl wanted and needed to comfort that was being provided. Having no reason to pull away, the feline happily obliged and kept the embrace tight and comforting, even as the other partly pulled away so she could look up. What she said, well… it was not as surprising as both of them might have expected before this moment. Fina simply remained silent for a little while, letting Ruby get it all out. And even after, she didn't exactly say much. Instead, she moved one hand to rest behind Ruby's head, pulling her back into the full embrace.

"I see." She finally spoke. There was… not much emotion to her words. To be perfectly honest, she didn't quite know how she should feel. But she knew that the two girls were not friends for very long and that she simply had no right to demand anything of Ruby, especially when it came down to important life decisions. It was only a shame that the events that they both went through had an almost opposite effect on each other. "I could definitely understand a desire like that, even if I lived through nothing like that."

She could only try to imagine how it must have felt to be so close to death. Even if said death would not be the last, it must have still been a horrifying experience. Hell, Fina… or rather, Bianca, was someone who was deeply afraid of death and the oblivion that she presumed to follow after. So much, so that deeper thoughts about the subject often sent her into a panic attack. Fina's fingers dug into Ruby's body a tiny bit in reaction to that idea.

"While I don't think you're a coward… I also don't think that it's bad to be one. If you really are one, then…" She paused suddenly, contemplating how to formulate her words. It took a moment, but she would continue. "I'm sorry, this will sound really selfish… but if that cowardice brought you back here so we could meet again, then I'm glad you were a coward." Leaning in, she rested her head on top of Ruby's own, hopefully providing some much-needed warmth to the other feline while also hoping that she wasn't making things worse with her silly words.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Fina's words were soothing. Just the fact she wasn't mad at Ruby for disappearing was already enough to make Ruby feel relaxed. But listening that she was glad to have Ruby back, even if the way it was worded was rather bold, was what made any remain of doubt fade from Ruby's chest.

"That was... A very sweet way to insult me." Ruby said, looking at Fina and mustering a faint smile. "Honestly. Now that I am here, I'm glad too, that I was a coward..." She agreed with the silver cat, breathing a sigh, and closing her eyes when their heads touched, feeling Fina's face and warmth so close to her own.

"I don't plan to be a coward forever though. If I am to be a coward, I want to be a coward that fight my fear so it won't happen, rather than just run away from it." Ruby admitted, feeling the days she had to deal with in the past month. With the scenes of her failure running over and over in her mind, piercing her heart with regret and guilt.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

As things stood, Fina was hardly a good conversationalist. She was getting better, thanks to the help of other players… but she was still prone to just saying what was on her mind, even if it ended up insulting someone. Her lack of proper social interaction outside of the game really did come through in an ugly way there, sometimes. So she was glad when the other feline took it all with a smile. After all, she had not intended to insult her friend in any way.

It was also good to hear that Ruby would fight any potential cowardice in her heart. "I'm happy to hear that. We have a world to explore, after all… right? Can't do that if we're too scared of what might be around the next corner!" She tried to remain as positive as she could be. Yes, there were horrors out there, much like the ones they encountered during the event. But they would not let anything horrible happen to them again!

"Haah… I'm just glad you're here and okay. When you were offline for so long, I got worried that something terrible had happened to you… I didn't want to entertain the possibility, but… it was hard." The possibility of Ruby being dead. It sent shudders down Fina's body. Thank goodness she could feel the other girl's body in her embrace right now; else, panic would probably set in. This was no mirage but the real deal.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

The mention of a world to explore made Ruby's faint smile widen for a second, just to go back to its more neutral shape. "Yes, we have a whole world to explore. I promised, right? And I do want to see the world with you." Ruby said, opening her eyes when feeling the shudders from the girl's body, and listening to her heart going erratic for a moment.

Unwrapping one of her arms from Fina, she reached for the girl's cheek and caressed it gently. "It won't happen again, I promise," Ruby said, pausing for a moment and leaving a second of silence before she continued.

"If I ever do. For whatever reason." She leaned in to whisper Fina her phone number.

"... It is a US one." Ruby added, pausing for a moment and swaying her tail. "My name is Yuhan, too." She said, then reassuring quickly:

"You don't need to tell me anything of you either. I'm telling this to you because I want you to know. And so you can always reach out if I ever do something... Dumb. Which I will do my best to not do it."

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

As the promise was re-affirmed, Fina felt happy. She wanted to see the world of TerraSphere very much, and it would be a vehicle for her desire to simply get the most out of her legs. But she didn't want to explore it alone, something like that would be… simply far too lonely. Yes, she had some other friends as well, but they had their own worries as well. Not to mention that none of them were all that adventurous.

But when the hand caressed her cheek, the feline became quite bashful. It was an intimate gesture she didn't quite expect. She had no idea what to say, so she simply listened to everything Ruby said. Then, something even more unexpected happened. The redhead shared her number so the two could get in contact in the physical world. It frankly stunned Fina. No one else she had met in this game was willing to do something like this. "Yuhan…"

Did that mean they were more than just friends in the game, but real, genuine friends? Or that they maybe could even meet in the physical world one day? It seemed like such a strange thing. "Okay… I hope for that as well." It took her a moment to regain herself, but she wanted to share a bit more of herself as well. It was only fair. Though she just had to look away, cheeks rosy and all. "Bianca… that's my name. Nice to meet you."

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

"Bianca..." Ruby repeated, both because she wanted to frame that memory in her mind and because she wanted to listen to it again. She leaned in, resting her head on Fina's, with her nose touching and brushing the girl's cheek for a moment.

"That's a nice name... It is nice to meet you, Bianca." She said, closing her eyes again. "... Granted, we already met, don't you think? Even if we didn't know our real names." Ruby said, giving one last caress on her cheek before lowering her hand to the girl's shoulder, not wanting to be too weird. Why she was acting so intimate to the other girl was beyond any rational explanation she could offer.

All she knew was that she was oddly relieved and happy to have Fina there.

Slowly letting the hug part, but not really letting go of Fina, her ears twitched.

"Maybe we should... Sit or lay somewhere to relax. With a month gone... I'm sure we have plenty to talk about... And to decide on what to do next." Ruby said, swaying her tail.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

It felt surprisingly embarrassing, having someone recite her name like that. It has actually been quite a while since someone other than her own parents called her by her first name, now that she had thought about it. It wasn't… bad. Definitely not bad, as long as Ruby was the one saying it. Still, it sure managed to make Fina's cheeks far more rosy than before. "T-thanks. But yeah… of course we already met. Names are just names. Ruby or Yuhan, you're still the same person that I really… really like…" Okay, now that was properly embarrassing.

That said, the other girl was correct. As their hug loosened, Fina would nod and started looking around. "Yeah. Let's get comfortable, so I can fill you in on things that happened in the last month?" Parting from the feline for a moment, she wound find a comfy-looking spot of grass. Grabbing Ruby's hand, she would lead the other girl to it gently before sitting down and patting the spot next to herself. "Here we go~! This is good, right?"

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby's own cheeks turned rosy at Fina's words, twitching her ears at the way Fina spoke of her as someone she really liked. After a heart skip, Ruby nodded slightly, soon having her hand connected to Fina's. The grip of Ruby was a bit tighter, almost as if it somehow would make Fina not disappear just like Ruby had done to everyone that was worried about her.

Perhaps it was a bit hypocritical on Ruby's part, but she didn't mind.

Soon, they approached a comfortable spot, and with Fina being quick to claim it, Ruby followed the fashion and found herself sitting next to Fina. "... Yeah... This is very nice." Ruby admitted, twitching her left ear.

"I'd love to be filled about everything you went through so far, Fina." She said, adjusting her ears before gently laying her head on Fina's shoulder, closing her eyes, and humming in rhythm with the wind that was brushing the two of them. "What sort of places you've met? And dangers you have fought?"

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

Now this started to feel familiar. Once Ruby seated herself and leaned against Fina, the feline was immediately reminded of their encounter, where they promised to travel the world together. It wasn't even all that long ago, but somehow, it felt rather nostalgic right now. But unlike last time, it would be Fina who took the charge and kept things going with Ruby still clearly feeling a bit shaken up.

"Mmm, let's see… I briefly went to Zalra! It's a really pretty place, but it sucks to explore because of the crystal disease. Had to bundle myself up like it was winter, it got so hot…" And so she would recall her time in one of the forsaken lands and how she ran into an edgy boy there only to defeat some cultists together. Ruby didn't have to feel bad, though. "Mm, I guess I didn't really explore much of the area in the end. Maybe we could go there together instead!"

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby looked at Fina with a concerned expression at the reveal, making her pause and frown for a moment. "... I see... Zalra is dangerous though." She said, looking at Fina, now analyzing every inch of her body. It seemed like she was fine, very fine even.

"Exploring it is tough, but it isn't impossible." She said, nodding quietly and squeezing Fina's hand.

"If you want to, we can explore that place. But we will need to prepare ourselves well. It wouldn't be the first time I went there, but no matter how many times you go there, it is always a dangerous task." Ruby said, trying to not let a sigh escape from her lips. It would be dangerous, yes, but she also had promised Fina to bring her to explore the world.

And all the world included the dangerous places nobody really wanted to go.

"I have to admit I had one or another reason to go there. So maybe it would be interesting, in a way... Well, you will be there too, so..."

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

The revelation of where Fina was raised some concerns. She probably should have expected that, now that she thought about it for more than a few seconds. That said, her usual outfit left a rather immodest amount of skin shown and thus the physical display of her well-being was hopefully enough to quell any of Ruby's immediate concerns. "Yeah, it is a dangerous place. But don't worry, I've basically stay at the edge of the crystal zone for most of the journey. I might have become more adventurous, but I'm not gonna put myself in any obvious danger unless I absolutely have to!"

If any prior gestures did not ease the worry, then hopefully Fina's words did. "It's not like I really want to go there specifically though. As long as it's the two of us, I'm sure we could go just about anywhere and have plenty of fun!" Having a friend by one's side was really the most important thing when adventuring like this. That said, something the other feline said did catch Fina's attention. "Reasons? You don't sound like they're very happy reasons."

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby listened attentively to Fina's explanations. For most of part, staying on the edge of Zalra wasn't necessarily dangerous. The levels of the infection there was low, and many camps existed to give immediate assistance to that deadly illness. Still... Ruby wasn't fond of the idea of having Fina alone in such a place.

"It can be anywhere you want. If we want to explore the world, at some point we would need to go there anyway." She said, looking up at Fina's eyes.

"I wanted... to try something." Ruby said.

"It is silly, but I wanted to try and feel someone that was completely frozen by the zalrisis. If they are alive in there, if they are dead, and if the later, are their bodies completely conserved? There are a lot of questions." Ruby said, almost like a muttering for a moment before averting her eyes from Fina.

"Then, I could try and see something similar in the area of the Red Fever. And perhaps compare the difference of spirit reactions between these two." Ruby elaborated.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

Fina listened attentively as Ruby spoke. The feline had a few ideas swirling around in her head, but she sure did not imagine that the other girl wanted to feel a living being consumed by the crystals to the point of becoming one with them. She'd have expected something like that from a healer, or even more likely, a member of the MIT. Hearing such a goal from the other feline, it honestly took her aback a bit. "I-I see. Gonna be honest, really didn't think of something like that."

She scratched the back of her head. The crystal was fascinating, she had to admit that much. But if the disease it brought truly was so dangerous, then doing what Ruby wanted to sounded nothing short of really dangerous as well. Anything to do with Red Fever was exactly the same. This world seemed to be plagued by quite a few horrible things. "Wait, what's this about spirit reactions? Did you have a mastery like that..?"

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

"There are a lot of applications on doing that. We could try to figure out a cure, or a safer way to venture on Zalra." Ruby explained, understanding the fear her friend held. Her hand then caressed Fina's, with her ears focused on the cat girl and her eyes trailing somewhere else.

"I have spirit magic... and blood magic as well." Ruby explained, reaching her sword with her free hand and drawing it from its sheath before showing it. "... As you can see on the blade. I am a bit of a spiritmancer? I don't know the proper word for it." She said, twitching her ears and letting Fina see the sword's blade as much as she wished. After all, it has been trusted to her before.

"I think this is something I should probably do alone though. I don't want to get you mixed in this." Her eyes finally set on Fina's again. "There are plenty of beautiful spots in Zalra. And I know how to keep us safe enough at those spots in particular." Ruby suggested.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

The idea of finding a cure was certainly a nice one, but Fina got the feeling it would not be that easy. Many people before surely already tried. Many people who were far brighter than the silver-maned feline. But perhaps Ruby could do it? The girl had no idea if her blade-dancing friend had any kind of expertise in that area, after all. In the end, all she could really do was support Ruby, anyway. The first step was to squeeze the other girl's hand back in a gesture of reassurance.

"Spiritmancer, huh? I just keep running into people with builds infinitely more interesting than my own, it seems~" She jested a bit before she observed the blade some more. Last time, she got to use it. This time, she was actually able to examine it closer. Fina also knew that blood magic was considered a taboo in this world, but she hardly cared about that. She wasn't native to this land, so why should she adopt the same view that Landers had? As far as she saw things, that mastery was just another tool to be used.

She also smiled, almost chuckled, at Ruby's last few words. "Well, sorry to say, but you already made a horrible mistake - telling me about all of this. Now I will want to get involved to make sure you make it out safely! That's just how friendships are sometimes, can't expect me not to care after telling me about it. Oh, but you can't NOT tell me, either!" Trapping the other feline with her own enthusiasm about keeping others safe, Fina smiled and leaned more into the other girl. She better remember those words.

@Crimson Ruby