Complete Private Vintergard There's No Way

[Yugam]

"I'm sure it's fiiineee..." Valeria droned, waving off the very real danger that they were voluntarily jumping into everyday. "Just gotta play smart and not rush into dangerous shit without a proper plan."

Ari gave the elf a deadpan look, his displeasure clearly written on his face as he recited an age-old adage. "The best laid plans of mice and men go awry," he reminded the woman. If anything, expecting things to all go to plan was just asking the universe to throw a big ol' monkey wrench into the works.

Pausing as she almost said his real name, the dark-haired man interjected for just a moment. "Yu," he stated. "I go by 'Yugam' in game."

"Did you not check what kind of game this was before login in to play?"

The man didn't answer right away. The muscles in his jaw and neck became more pronounced, the tension increasing. "I had other priorities at the time, okay?" he finally said sharply, making it clear that he had no desire to continue down that line of questioning.

Her eyebrow twitched ever so subtly as she started to tear into him for being a dumbass before her words suddenly stopped short. "Wait... you died?!"

"Yeah. I did." The words were curt. Short. "And in quite the spectacular fashion, might I add."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"The best laid plans of mice and men go awry." His deadpan look was met by an unamused one of her own, a sigh escaping her lips before she shot a retort of her own. "Duuuh, that's why you adapt when circumstances change—it's called strategizing..."

"Yu, I go by 'Yugam' in game."
"Well at least you didn't use your Twitch handle too... I go by Lúthien."

No need to tell him how close she'd actually been to using her own Twitch handle when signing up for the game, only deciding to change it at the very last second. "I had other priorities at the time, okay?" Her eyes narrowed slightly in response at this words, hands now resting on her hips as the elf shifted her weight onto her left leg, though she allowed that point to drop off the table... but only because his next words had her snorting in disbelief.

A hand was held up in the air, her palm currently closed as she spoke. "So let me get this straight, you jumped into this game with zero knowledge of how it worked..." Her thumb was the first raised by the blonde as she continued. "... got into a fight with an undead dryder and a demonic bug, one that actually got you killed mind you..." Her index finger now joined the count, Lúthien making sure each was visible to the man. "... then actively chose to continue playing this game despite of that. Finally her middle finger joined the other two.

"Did I get that right, Yugam?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Her eyes narrowed at him, her hands resting on her hips. She might as well have started tapping her foot too. The girl's annoyance with him was plain as day. And yet, she didn't press him any further about what exactly his other 'priorities' had been. That was an entirely different conversation, one that would need it's own time and place. And a whole lot of booze.

The girl then lifted a hand and began to count off, one by one, all the major decisions Ari had made thus far, and how, for some godforsaken reason, he was still playing the game. The man made a show of thinking it over, eyes averting to the sky in a pseudo-thoughtful manner. "Oh, forgot, fought a giant nightmare sheep and a creepy ass doll that stole my face, but yeah, that about sums it up," he replied.

Of course, there was that whole bit about following mysterious red threads in search of answers about other, severed mysterious red threads, which had taken him into all kinds of other dangers, but at this point, he'd only be giving Valeria more evidence of his apparent insanity. Or insane stupidity. Or both.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

He was trolling her at this point, she was sure of it.

"Oh, of course, because those are things anyone would simply forget... "

Lúthien wasn't even sure she wanted to dig deeper into the whole 'a doll stole my face' claim, that sounded like a can of worms that the elf was better off not knowing about. Again her hand reached towards her face, pinching the bridge of her nose before a long and drawn out sigh escaped her elven lips.

"Point is that you're still playing, so why are you so surprised that I'm playing it too?"

It made no sense he seemed so surprised about her choice, especially considering all the things he'd faced after dying on day one. Besides, even though they had been playing for almost the same amount or time, when it came to the death counts she was still at a neat zero compared to the man's counter... clearly she was doing something right.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Oh, of course, because those are things anyone would simply forget..."

Yu clicked his tongue as the girl pinched the bridge of her nose, before reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out his pack of cigarette. The man put one to his mouth before offering one to Luthien, who shook her head.

"I thought you smoked on occasion?" the man would ask as he put away the cigarettes and pulled out his matches, striking one.

"Point is that you're still playing it, so why are you so surprised that I'm playing it too?"

The man lit his the cigarette and shook out the match as he moved to lean his back against the wagon beside Valeria. He blew the smoke into, and took the cigarette from his mouth before he sighed. "I know, I know. I'm either the dumbest motherfucker on the planet, or the most stubborn." His head lulled lazily to the sized as he looked over at her. "But hey, you love me," he said with a cheeky grin.

The man took another drag of his cigarette as his eyes decided to affix themselves to the space directly before him. "So what about you? You catch a death yet? Should I be worried?"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"I like vaping on occasion," She added a correction, watching as Yugam placed one of the cigarettes between his lips and lit it up. "... they're relaxing, but mostly because they taste pretty nice."

A sigh escaped her lips before the elf leaned back against the wagon, this time willingly, as her eyes watched Yugam—the man striking a match to light up his cigarette. Unfortunately this game didn't have something akin to vapes or their flavor variations, something that had bummed Lúthien out lightly, and considering her stress levels weren't currently sky rocketing puffing on a cigarette currently wasn't an appealing option for the elf.

"I know, I know. I'm either the dumbest motherfucker on the planet, or the most stubborn." His comment earned a soft chuckle from the blonde, the thumbs of her hands currently hooked to the pockets of her shorts, before she turned to look at Yugam with the intent of giving him a playful remark. "But hey, you love me."

She wasn't sure which part had surprised her more, his words or the cheeky grin that he currently sported, and whatever clever quip Lúthien had been thinking was soon forgotten. "Y-Yeah well... you're lucky I do." A rosy tint soon began to spread across her cheeks, the elf leaning slightly closer to the man until their shoulders touched, before her gaze shifted to look at an unassuming patch of grass on the ground.

"Nuh-uh, no deaths for me so far," She had been doing well in that department and, with some luck, that would continue—after all she was enjoying the experienced TerraSphere had to offer them. "So don't go catching anymore deaths out there... okay, Yu?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"I like vaping on occasion," the elf corrected him. "They're relaxing, but mostly because they taste pretty nice."

The man's eyebrow quickly rose and fell in response, accompanied by a small shrug of his shoulders. "Can't argue with you there," he commented as he struck the match. Her reasons for enjoying a vape on occasion were exactly the same reasons he had started. He'd needed something to help him relax, and a vape tasted better than cigarettes. It was kind of a shame that there was no equivalent in Terrasphere.

He was almost surprised when he'd turned to see Luthien looking at him already. Her cheeks were quick to flush red as she stuttered out a reply that attempted to carry her characteristic sass, undercut by the rosy tint of her cheeks.

His smile softened as he looked as she leaned against him, shoulder to shoulder, and they both averted their gazes from each other.

"Nuh-uh, no deaths for me so far," she reported, and Yu found himself letting out a quiet sigh of relief. "So don't go catching anymore deaths out there..." The man's lips drew themselves into a thin line as the smile faded from his face. "Okay, Yu?"

The man's jaw clenched again for a moment. What an impossible request...

"No promises," he said, putting the cigarette to his lips again and taking another drag. "But I'll do my best," he promised as another cloud of smoke billowed out. "You too though," he turned to look at her again, this time donning a much more serious face. "You start catching deaths in here, I'm gonna fly over and kick your ass, ya hear?" Though on the surface the words were light-hearted and humorous, his tone was anything but. He wanted her to be safe, as hard as that might be in this world. After all, it wasn't like either of them would stop playing. They were both to stubborn for that.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

He was quiet for a moment, and the silence caused the elf to look back at him once more. The smile had faded from his lips now, the edges of his jaw tensed as he clenched the muscles. "No promises," She new her request was an impossible one, especially if he enjoyed the game in the same degree as she did. "but I'll do my best. A soft nod was given in return, the faintest of smiles lightly tugging at the corners of her lips.

"You too though."
"Mhmm, I wouldn't ask something of you that I wouldn't do myself, Yu..."

A cloud of smoke billowed out from his lungs, before the man turned to look at her once more, this time with a serious look that caused a light shiver to run down her spine... though she wasn't entirely sure as to why. "You start catching deaths in here, I'm gonna fly over and kick your ass, ya hear?" His words elicited a soft chuckle from the elven girl, a mischievous grin now tugging at the corners lips as she gave Yugam a sideways glance.

"You don't say... mmm, maybe just one of them couldn't hurt too much then~"

Of course she had no plans on biting a death just for shits and giggles, but the elf jsut couldn't help herself from teasing Yugam slightly... not when he presented the chance on a silver platter.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

She chuckled at his words. Though Yu doubted that the gravity of his words were lost on Luthien, she chuckled anyways, glancing over at him from the corner of her eye. Her lips pulled back into a mischievous little grin that he instantly recognized. How many times had she cast that same smile at him in New York? Enough that he knew what it meant.

"You don't say... mmm, maybe just one of them couldn't hurt too much then~" she purred, a teasing lilt to her voice.

The man pushed himself up from the wagon and stepped in front of the girl, an arm placed by her head as he leaned in closer towards her, his face mere inches away from hers. He gazed into her crimson eyes, not unlike her eyes in real life, the same mischievous glint in them.

His other hand, trailed up her arm, over her shoulder, briefly closing around her neck before it traveled up just a little higher. His thumb brushed across her lips, her cheek, until he cupped the side of her head. He pulled her closer, their lips meeting as his fingers curled in her hair.

It lasted only a moment. Yu separated himself the elf, his dark eyes meeting hers once more. "Stop making it so hard for me to be serious with you."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

She could see the look of recognition in those dark brown eyes, causing her grin to widen more as the tip of her canine teeth peeked from under her lips just slightly. A soft giggle escaped her throat when Yugam pushed away from the wagon, hands loosely reaching for the edges of his jacket as Yugam stood in front of her.

One arm was pressed against the frame of the wagon by her head, the hand holding the cigarette at an angle to avoid any mishaps, before his face leaned in dangerously close to her own. She could feel the warmth of his breath as it tickled her cheeks, a taunting gleam present in her eyes before the elf shifted just a little bit closer—enough for the tips of their noses to touch tenderly.

The fingers that closed around her neck caused the elf to tremble in response, a soft exhale of a breath she had been holding escaping as his thumb brushed across her lips. The grip on the edge of his jacket tightened in response before she tugged at them to pull him closer, her eyes closing as his hand guided her towards himself, and she could feel the corners of her mouth pull into a smile as their lips finally met.

It was a sweet feeling, one that she had sorely missed, but far too brief as far as the elf was concerned. As Yu pulled backwards slightly he'd be met with a pout as those crimson eyes stared right into his own when he spoke. Hands reached upwards to rest against the fabric of the shirt that covered his chest, the elf shifting as she leaned closer to Yugam, before her lips stopped just a hairbreadth away from his ear as Lúthien whispered in return.

"Stop making it easy for me to tease you then~"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

She'd leaned forward, just a little bit. Just enough for the tips of their noses to brush across each other's. A strangely intimate moment for two people who hadn't seen each other in person in months. Or perhaps it felt intimate precisely because they hadn't seen each other in so long.

The hands that gripped jacket pulled him closer as they'd kissed, their bodies almost touching, pleading with them to release months of pent up tension. And when he'd broke their kiss, she'd leaned forward, whispering into his ear, taunting, teasing. Encouraging him. He could feel the warmth of her breath tickling his ear as she whispered to him, drawing out a low sound from his throat.

Drawing back slightly, the man gave her one more fleeting kiss, lasting no more than a moment. With closed eyes he gently pressed his forehead to hers. "I missed this," he whispered to her. It took every ounce of his will to not succumb to his desires. Their desires. To just give in and waste time hidden away from the rest of the camp like high schoolers tucked away behind the bleachers.

But he had a job to do. And little time to waste. The MIT lecture would start soon, and he couldn't afford to miss it if he had any desire to come back to the camp alive. To her. Not that he would admit as much. Not to her, not to himself.

The man pushed himself away from the wagon again, eyes wandering over her face as if trying to memorize this new appearance of hers. Before long he put the cigarette to his mouth again, averting his eyes, and looking down the aisle of wagons. "Let's party up sometime," the man said, before opening his palm menu, cigarette hanging out of his mouth as navigated the UI. Before long, a message box would appear before the elf.

Notice

<Yugam> has sent you a friend request.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

Their noses carefully brushed against one another, the contact causing a tingling feeling to tickle the tip of her nose, and the blonde couldn't help the soft smile that settled on her lips. It was a simple moment, two people able to reconnect once more after the distance had pulled them apart for months, and she couldn't help but find it all to be so very sweet... she truly had missed him.

The low sound that reverberated in his throat was music to her ears, a mischievous smirk pulling the corners of her lips before she blowed softly into his ear. He pulled back then, delivering another soft touch to her lips with his own, before gently pressing their foreheads together. She closed her eyes, a soft hum of contentment echoing from the girl, as everything else around them seemed to melt away.

"I missed this," His breath tickled the surface of her cheeks, its warmth causing them to redden, and for a moment Valeria felt like they were transported to that little hotel room back in New York. "I missed you too."

She allowed herself a moment to enjoy the beating of his heart against her palms, still softly resting against his chest, before a long exhale escaped her lips as she struggled to keep herself from teasing the man further. He shifted once more, causing her to tilt her head upwards to press her lips against his for one last taste, before a bittersweet smile rested on her lips as she gazed back into his eyes.

"Let's party up sometime."

She gave a soft nod in return, before the friend request popped up in her UI. A hand lifted to click the accept button before her eyes flickered back to his face, the nearby sounds of people about camp reminding the elf of the missions they had both accepted to undertake.

"It's a promise then~"

Notice

< Lúthien > has accepted your friend request.

@Yugam