Complete Private Vintergard There's No Way

[Yugam]

Stepping out of the tent, Yu pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his coat pocket, putting one in his mouth before lighting it and stowing away the items again. "Go on ahead," Yu said the dark-haired woman beside him as he blew out a cloud of smoke. "I'll catch up with you."

The woman answered him with a cautious gaze, her eyes observing him for a moment. "Be careful," she warned the man before heading off towards the knowledge center as they'd originally planned.

Yu took one more drag of his cigarette before sighing, the smoke wafting around his face, a thin veil that concealed the slight frown he worn as his eyes scanned around him. There. Some people were moving crates, a shipment of supplies that had arrived with the caravan that had bore himself, the other scouts, and a handful of other Travelers. For a moment, Yu wondered if Kyra and those she'd been sitting with had been among those paltry few who had arrived with the scouts before he headed in the direction of the movers.

Without a word, the man put the cigarette to his mouth and lifted one of the large crates, moving it from one pile to another, helping organize them. At least, that's what appeared on the surface. The man never took his eyes off the mess tent's entrance, for more than a moment, always keeping it in his periphery, keeping track of who went in and out. Mostly out. There was one person in particular he was looking for. One in particular he needed to talk to...

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

She had lingered longer inside the mess tent, the original appetite the elf had suddenly diminished as she had struggled to finish the waffle portion ordered. Lúthien wasn't a believer of throwing food away after all, especially given how hard the kitchen staff was working to provide it, but her mind kept circling back to that unexpected familiar face that had appeared for the briefest of moments by their table.

Finally the last bite of her waffles disappeared into her mouth, the blonde quickly finishing the remainder of the black tea that had now gone cold, before she had beaten a hasty retreat from the table and her friends with a vague excuse of forgetting something somewhere else.

It could've been just a coincidence...

... and yet she wasn't one to believe in such things. Besides what were the odds that someone who looked exactly like him wouldn't be the Ari she had met back in NYC? Perhaps, if she was lucky, she could still find him among the sea of people transiting the camp—and if it truly wasn't him then Lúthien supposed she owed the player at least a small apology for intruding into his mind as she had.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

It was a solid ten or fifteen minutes of lifting and moving the heavy crates. His arms and back were beginning to ache, like a slow fire eating at his flesh. A frankly familiar pain, and one Yu easily ignored as he focused on the task at hand.

Inevitably though, the blonde haired elf from before stepped out of the tent. The man's eyes fell on her, watching her momentarily. His gaze lasted no longer than that of someone simply watching someone pass them by, short, quickly forgotten.

The man didn't recognize the elf. Not in the slightest. Warm skin, blonde hair tied up with a white stripe down the middle. Scarlet eyes. Not dissimilar to his when he cast magic, minus the glow. Overall, an attractive appearance, disarmingly so. Just what that meant remained to be seen.

Hefting another box, Yu turned away for just a moment, his periphery doing all the work for him in that brief instance. And then he glanced again as he moved to pick up another box, his eyes never lingering too long.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

She had lingered by the entrance of the mess tent, shuffling to the side just enough to avoid being in the way of any others seeking food or beverage. It was still quite early, the sun hadn't even crested over the tree tops enough to be visible, and her search was momentarily paused as a soft gust of wind fluttered through the area. It caused the long golden strands of hair in her ponytail to flutter around her face, the elf wincing as her eyes closed to avoid any mishaps, before something at the corner of her view caught Lúthien's attention as they opened once more.

"Aah...!"

There he was, the familiar raven colored hair catching Lúthien's gaze as the elf turned to face his direction. He was currently hefting another crate box, seemingly working in tandem with others to organize some of the supplies that had rode on the wagons with them to camp. For a moment she hesitated, unsure if to wave or simply walk over—though certain that she wouldn't be trying another mindsent message any time soon on the man.

Finally she chose the latter option, her steps carefully carrying her over to the side opposite of the tent and closer to the working crew, hesitantly lingering by a tree as she tried to catch his attention.

"E-Excuse me...?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

The woman paused by the tent for a moment or two. Was she searching for something? For him. Yu had no way of being certain. At least, not until she started moving towards him. Well, that answered that question. And that Unmei had been right. The elf had been the one to speak into his mind earlier. But why? That was the million dollar question, one Yugam aimed to get the answer to.

With no need to observe her any longer, Yu focused entirely on moving the boxes as the elf approached him, only pausing when she addressed him with a meek stutter. Looking up at the girl, she stood by a tree, her eyes on him, making it clear she was trying to get his attention.

"Oh, hey," Yu replied to the woman, wiping beads of sweat off his forehead. "You're that girl from the mess," he said as he stepped over a couple of crates, walking towards her. "Probably not the best first impression," he said with a chuckle as he neared.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

She was able to get a better look at him now as she approached, the elf unaware that the man had been cautiously paying attention to her—much less that he'd actually been waiting for her. The ranger could feel her chest tightening, a dull ache beginning to form as the blonde could feel the pulse in her throat quicken.

"Y-Yeah! That's me, alright..." Her arms had moved behind her back, left hand clutching her right wrist tightly. "Ah, don't worry about it! First impressions can be, uuuh, hard at times...?"

Crimson eyes quietly stared at the Traveler as he approached, the elven girl trying to push down the nervous feelings bubbling in her chest. Everything about the man was so familiar; the way he moved, the sound of his voice, even the light chuckle that escaped his lips. ... it has to be him. Her gaze finally shifted to focus on his own, and Lúthien felt her breath catch on her throat as she stared into his dark brown eyes—identical to the ones heavily burned into Valeria's memories.

There was just no way that this wasn't Ari... but it wasn't a conversation that Lúthien felt they could have right out in the open. The thought of mindsending him again had been quickly discarded, especially with the way Kyra had also reacted when Luthien had mindsent her too.

"I, uhm, c-could I bother you for a moment...?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

The elf's hands drifted behind her back as she nervously stuttered out a response. Or maybe she was just faking it. In any case, any amount of mistrust Yu harbored was carefully covered up beneath a kind smile. Though it might not have reached his eyes, it would do well enough for now.

"I, uhm, c-could I bother you for a moment...?" the elf asked, her voice quieter than it had been a moment ago.

"Uh, sure. I was meaning to ask you something anyways, actually," the man agreed. Cogs turned in his head, despite the easy way he'd responded. The question itself did little to dissuade any of the hemomancer's suspicions. However, he hoped it would still work in his favor. "Mind if we go somewhere a bit more private to talk?" he asked, gesturing over to where the wagons were parked. A quiet enough spot where they'd not be disturbed.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

He smiled, and the elf couldn't help but perk up slightly as she gave him a smile of her own in return... none the wiser as to the fact that his own never reached up to his eyes. When he mentioned having questions of his own Lúthien seemed relieved, optimistically believing that his questions and her owns would be aligned.

"Sure~!"

With that thought in mind the blonde readily agreed when the man turned to point at the wagons they had all rode in not too long ago. There was a pep to her step as Lúthien began to make her way over, glancing back to ensure that Ari—because that had to be him, there was no way that wasn't him—was following. Finding a secluded spot wasn't hard, especially with how close to one another the wagons had been stationed, the elf turning around to face Ari once they were out of prying eyes.

"So...!"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

The girl visibly perked up at Yu's mention of needing to speak to her. No hesitation. It had been a little too quick for Yu to drop his guard. Either she had had something planned, or she really was just that eager to speak to him. Though Yu couldn't imagine why, not when she'd been so hesitant to speak to him in the mess. And most certainty not when she'd invaded his mind, using his real name.

The elf led the way for them both, and Yu followed a pace or two behind her. She glanced back at him once or twice as they went, and the man gave her a small smile each time she did. Checking whether or not he was still there, he supposed. Or maybe she was getting nervous again. At this point, it didn't matter. They'd already found a secluded enough spot, near the back of the wagons. The girl turned around once they were out of sight, "So...!"

Her body slammed back into the wagon, the whole carriage rattling as Yu pinned the elf against the wagon. A hand covered her mouth, preventing her from crying out, and a moment later, she'd feel a sharp point pressed to her flesh where the neck met her jaw, a crimson dart of crystal held firmly in Yu's hand. "Who the fuck are you, why do you know my name, and what do you want?" the man said, his voice low and extraordinarily calm in contrast to the cold glint in his eyes, and the faint snarl pulling back the corner of one his lips. "Talk," he ordered, removing his hand from her mouth, moving it to the base of her throat, firmly keeping her back pressed to the hard wood of the carriage.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

Lúthien could feel the way her heart fluttered inside her chest, a faint blush covering her cheeks whenever she glanced back to see a smal smile on his lips. Valeria had never considered the possibility that Ari would also be a fan of TerraSphere, the elf might've never even known had his avatar looked entirely different to his real life self.

That's really reckless of him...

The thought caused Lúthien to chuckle ever so slightly, a hand raised to cover her lips, she'd have to ask him why he thought using his actual real life appearance was a good idea later—especially considering the game's illegal status was pretty well known among the gaming community.

She had twirled to face him, a bright and cheery smile on her lips, but any additional words the elf might have for the man were quickly lost and forgotten as she was suddenly pushed backwards with a force Lúthien hadn't expected. "... mhmm?!" There was a dull ache between her shoulders as the elf's back was pressed against the wooden frame of the wagon, any sound of protest instantly muffled out when Ari's hand covered her mouth without hesitation.

". . . !"

The sensation of a sharp and pointed object was felt against the elf's exposed skin, causing her to stop breathing for a moment in response as the pulse on her neck quickened. The look of shock and surprise on her face were almost palpable, her crimson eyes widening upon seeing the cold and unfamiliar glint coming from Ari's gaze. The whispered tone of his voice did little to soften the intimidating presence the man suddenly displayed, and the faint snarl that pulled the corner of one of his lips caused a shiver to run down the blonde's spine.

"Talk."

A frown finally formed as the single command seemed to snap the elf of her initial stupor, the domineering tone one that Valeria did not appreciate in the slightest as the elf narrowed her eyes back towards the man. His hand had finally removed itself from her mouth, only for the elf to feel his fingers firmly pressed at the base of her throat but a second or two later—effectively keeping her from moving.

"Ari, what the fuck...?!"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

The elf's eyes widened in...surprise? Fear? Perhaps it was a combination. At the end of the day, it didn't matter. What mattered was that the man got what he needed from her. And that she understood that he was not a man to be fucked with. Whether or not she was after him, that was irrelevant. What she wanted from him? Who might be affected due to that? That was what mattered. And he'd be damned if allowed anyone he cared about to be caught in. Kyra? Toko? Brutus? Askera even? If she knew his name, would she be able to pull up their real names too? Perhaps he'd made it easy for her. He looked the same in game as he did in real life. But that was just one more thing he needed to find out.

However, it appeared he had not successfully gotten his message across. Or maybe the elf was just dense. As soon as he'd taken his hand off her mouth, she whispered harshly, "Ari, what the fuck...?!"

The hand around her throat began to close as soon as the words came out, preventing any more from being uttered. Airways closed, carotid artery and jugular vein constricted. Too little oxygen would make it to her brain. Pain as he pressed his fingers into her flesh. Not hard enough to leave marks, mind you. But hard enough. And if that wasn't enough to get the point across, Yu pressed the dart a little more firmly into her neck. Just enough to pierce the skin and draw a small amount of blood.

"Careful," the man hissed. "I'm not going to ask you again." He released the pressure from around her throat, enough for her to breath again.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

She felt the hand around her neck tighten in response to Lúthien's words, a short gasp escaping through her lips as the elf could feel her ability to breath being restricted. It caused her heartbeats to increase, hands pressing against the man's chest in response as the elf tried to push him away—though the attempt was futile at best.

"Careful."

The blood dart was pressed further into her skin as a prickling sensation caused the elf to wince, her hands balling into two tiny fists that grasped the fabric of his shirt tightly. "I'm not going to ask you again." Finally she felt the pressure around her throat lessen slightly, just enough for the blonde to gasp in response as she took a fresh gulp of air to fill her lungs.

"... ¿en serio?" There was a look of annoyance in those crimson eyes as she stared back at Ari, a blush coloring the elf's cheeks as Lúthien struggled to keep her own temper in check... though that was easier said than done. "If you're gonna be this paranoid then perhaps you shouldn't have molded the avatar after yourself, Ookami."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Beneath his fingers, Yu could feel the girl's heartbeat spike. Pulsing beneath his grip, a visceral drumbeat that was quickly running out of control. The spike of crimson in his hand pricking her flesh, drawing blood. A small droplet gathered beneath the small wound as he removed the pressure from her neck. As he spoke, the drop of blood fell, splattering against his wrist.

The bitter taste of beer lingered in her mouth as she leaned his side, comfortable in the warm embrace of his arm, wrapped around her shoulder. The light of the TV illuminated the room as the movie played out on the screen. He chuckled at something the protagonist on screen said, drawing her gaze. She could feel a smile tug at her lips even before her eyes settled on his face. He must've felt her shift, because he turned to look back at her. Dark brown eyes met her, that soft smile he'd worn almost the whole week on his face.

And suddenly they were leaning towards each other.

She could feel his breath, warm on her skin before their lips touched. It started softly, their lip pressed to each other's as they closed their eyes. Heat slowly filled her body, and she turned her body into his a hand resting on his thigh as the other pressed against his firm chest. She felt the arm around her shoulders draw her in closer to him as their kiss slowly became more heated, their tongues entangling with the other's.

His hand cupped the back of her head, tangling with her silky hair before it trailed downwards. His rough fingers gently caressed the skin of her neck, sending a shiver up her spine. His hand stopped in the crook of her neck, pulling her into him before she felt his fingers shift again. Wrapping around her neck, firmly, but gently. As if he were nervous. Afraid of hurting her. But she felt like she were on fire. He pulled away from her, a strange look in his eye, possessive as she gasped out-

"...¿En serio?"

Yu's eyes went wide as the world came back into focus for him. His breathing had become heavier. His chest heaved as his heart raced. Just as it always did from a vision like. But this time it mixed with other emotions. Some he couldn't put a name to. But the brief flash of panic that arose from suddenly recognizing who's throat he had a dart pressed to, that he knew.

"If you're gonna be this paranoid then perhaps you shouldn't have molded the avatar after yourself, Ookami."

The dart dissolved back into blood, disappearing entirely as it was absorbed back into his body. The man backed up, the look of shock still plastered across his face as he released the woman entirely. "Valeria?!" he hissed, the surprise evident in his voice.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

Her hands were the first to feel the changes within his chest, the fingers that were grabbing onto his shirt close enough to pick up the way Ari's heart suddenly began to race. His chest heaved, the breathing heavier, before a brief flash of panic was reflected in those deep brown eyes of his.

"Valeria?!"
"Of course it's me, you dumbass!"

The words were hissed under her breath, eyes focused on the shocked look that overcame his face. It was an expression that the girl hadn't seen before on him, and she soon felt the hand around her neck release its pressure as Ari took a step back—his face no longer pressed so close to her own.

"Who did you think I was, the VRSA?"

A sigh escaped her lips shortly after, the sharpness in her eyes softening, before one hand released his shirt and reached for the spot on her neck where she'd been pricked. She rubbed the area slightly, the motion helping to relieve the itchy sensation she felt, though Lúthien could still feel the quickened pulse underneath her skin—spurred on by a mixture of adrenaline, surprise, and a few other emotions the elf wasn't sure she could properly name.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Who did you think I was, the VRSA?"

"Well yeah, kinda! I dunno!" the man replied, before stepping back and turning around, running both hands through his hair. "Fuck!" he swore as he paced back and forth for a moment. He needed to calm down.

Pausing a moment with back to Valeria, his hands on the back of his head, the man inhaled deeply, holding the breath for a moment as he listened to his heart slowly return to it's normal pace.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, turning back around to face the woman. "But what the hell Val, since when did you start playing Terrasphere?" he asked. Why she wouldn't have mentioned it was pretty cut and dry at least, but still, the man was still trying to wrap his brain around the fact. A fact not made any easier by the fact that he had been about three seconds away from killing her. And for all he knew, that would've been strike number three.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

The one hand that had still clung to Ari's shirt was quickly released, the exasperation behind the man's words hard to miss even as he stepped further away from Valeria. "Fuck!" She winced in response as the curse flew from his lips, watching him pace back and forth for a few moments.

A sense of guilt washed over the blonde as she gazed in Ari's direction, able to see the tension in his arms and back even when the man had finally stopped his pacing. It caused the elf to bite her lower lip in response, hand reaching for the ends of her ponytail as Lúthien fiddled with the strands nervously.

Somehow it felt like the elf couldn't stop fucking things up one after another today...

"I'm sorry too," The apology that tumbled from his lips caused Lúthien to look back at Ari at last, a remorseful look on her face as she spoke. "... I didn't mean to scare you back at the mess."

"But what the hell Val, since when did you start playing Terrasphere?"
"Early A-April, one of my Twitch followers sent me the link after a stream one night... since when have you been playing?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Valeria began to apologize and Ari began to wave a hand at her, his pacing resuming once more. "No, no, don't apologize," he interrupted her. "Not like you could just say my name out loud or something," he said as his arm fell back to his side. "It just surprised me it all."

As Valeria explained how she'd joined the game, the man stopped pacing and stared at her, mouth slightly agape and brows furrowed in disbelief. "Wait, wait, wait, so some random dude from your stream just sent you a mysterious link and you just download it and start playing? I mean, forget that this game is both illegal and a hazard to our health, but malware? Hello?"

"End of March, start of April or something like that," he answered her back. "First day in and I got thrown in that fight with that undead dryder and that fucking giant bug." The man shuddered as he recalled that harrowing fight. Eight deaths. One permanent. Those numbers were still seared into his mind. "Red Fever," he clarified, "if you heard about that."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

There was a pout to her lips as Ari interrupted her apology, his hand waving in her direction as the man began to pace once more. It caused the blonde to quietly chew the inside of her left cheek in response, and while a part of her had indeed wanted to avoid doxxing Ari out in the open Lúthien was also painfully aware that she'd also opted to mindsend him thinking it would've been a funny ha ha moment... probably best that she didn't mention that right now, though.

"... what?"

He'd suddenly stopped pacing once more, deep brown eyes gazing at the woman in disbelief as his brows furrowed. It was enough to make Lúthien go on the defensive, the elf crossing her arms across her chest unconsciously just as the raven-haired man began a tirade regarding the method of acquisition Valeria had used for this particular game.

"Oh yeah, because I'd totally download a random link into my VR headset and start playing it... of course I checked it beforehand, Ari. It's not like I want to get doxxed on the internet, or have random stalkers suddenly show up at my house."

She huffed, the pout on her lips pronounced further before her own eyebrows furrowed as she looked back at the man.

"Besides, I'm not the one that thought it'd be a smart idea to make their avatar look exactly like their IRL self while knowingly joining an illegal game."

Quietly the latina omitted the fact she hadn't been aware of the health hazard TerraSphere could also inflict on a person, information she had learned shortly after being yanked into joining the League and being sent off all the way to Isulus to help Camp Nisus—"Wait... you fought those things?!"

Red Fever was a well known event by most, if not all, Starcalled—an incredulous look taking over her features as it was Lúthien's turn to stare at Ari with her own mouth slightly ajar.

"Okay, espérate un momento... you're telling me that you logged into an illegal-slash-dangerous game and on the very first day decided to go fight a giant ass demon bug?!"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Oh yeah, because I'd totally download a random link into my VR headset and start playing it..." the girl fired back at him. "Of course I checked it beforehand hand, Ari. It's not like I want to get doxxed on the internet, or have random stalkers suddenly show up at my house," she said with same annoyed face she'd had when he'd first bumped into her in New York.

"Oh, great, so you knew what you were getting into, and still decided to hop in," the man sighed and pinched his temples, rubbing them in a small circular motion. "Well, at least we have suicidal, reckless tendencies in common."

She was pouting at him. Furrowed eyebrows, bottom lip jutting out slightly. He probably would've thought it was cute if he wasn't so irritated at the moment.

"Besides, I'm not the one that thought it'd be a smart idea to make their avatar look exactly like their IRL self while knowingly joining an illegal game."

"I didn't know about that when I hopped in!" the man countered, shooting her an annoyed look that rivaled her own. "My idiot friends neglected to mention that bit to me. Or the whole UI-locking bit. Woulda at least changed up the hair color or something if they had." Unsurprisingly, Ari's small group of IRL friends were all pretty much just as scatterbrained as him. Most hadn't given him more than a vague, 'dude, don't play it, it's not worth it. Help me debug this.'

It wasn't entirely surprising that Valeria reacted with the level of surprise that she did when Ari mentioned Red Fever. To be fair, he doubted anyone hadn't heard of it at this point. And yeah, her disbelief at his utter stupidity would be warranted if he actually had known half of what she did on day one, but sadly, that hadn't been the case.

"Okay, first of all, it wasn't really my decision," Ari explained, crossing his arms. "When we dropped in Brisshal, I got picked up by some Lion's Arm guys, given clothes, a sword, and told to go meet up with a big group of people. Expedition-slash-recruitment-slash-tutorial event. Got pulled in from there.

Second, I didn't know anything about the game when I dropped in the first time. I didn't learn anything about DAs and UI-locking until after I bit it the first time." And Jin had dropped that bomb on him about as unceremoniously as ten kilotons of TNT on a ghost town in the ass end of the nowhere.

"Believe me, I've been way more cautious since I found out about all that."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Oh, great, so you knew what you were getting into, and still decided to hop in. Well, at least we have suicidal, reckless tendencies in common." She huffed in response to his words, her eyes rolling slightly before the words tumbled from her lips. "I'm sure it's fiiineee... just gotta play smart and not rush into dangerous shit without a proper plan."

After all, wasn't that the premise of every game? This was no different from any of the RPGs that Valeria had enjoyed playing on her Twitch streams, the only difference being that this time she was fully immersed into her role instead of just experiencing through the monitor back in her game room.

"What do you mean by 'you didn't know about it'...? Ar—" She had to pause herself from pronouncing his real name, a hand raising to pinch the bridge of her nose as the blonde took a deep breath. "Did you not check what kind of game this was before login in to play?"

A deadpan stare met his gaze next as the man mentioned that none of his friends had mentioned the important details, her right eyebrow twitching just slightly at the audacity of the raven-haired hemomancer who had just questioned her own methods of obtaining access to TerraSphere.

"Well yeah, you didn't know about them because you didn't researched it well enough before jumping into it—!"

Her words stopped without warning as a bit of information was revealed, the blonde staring back at Ari with a dumbfounded look on her elven features as Lúthien replayed the words over and over just to make sure she'd heard him right.

"Wait... you died?!"

@Yugam