004 {DELTA} dog dancing bird grammar night grass

[hazardgear]

Xion's first thought is, I don't know how to play a Heavy Blade... What if I get killed just looking for Targetlock?

Her second thought: Did he just pick keywords to make this thing stupidly long?

Third: Does it have to be so... so creepy?

The field seems to be grass, judging by the sound Axel's character makes when he walks and the random patches of green here and there, but for the most part, it was dark, as if it was blood-soaked. Xion blanches. Why would Axel be friends with someone who has a meeting place like this?

She doesn't know where she's supposed to be looking, or what Targetlock's character looks like. Xion swallows her fear and grips her controller tighter. Come on, Xion... Calm down. It's just a game. There isn't anything this guy can do to hurt you. You just need to find him and then he'll tell you what you want to know. Simple as that.

... Right?

Comments

[ceilingwave]

Braig triggers a shrugging response in his character, the brightly-dressed mage spreading his arms wide. She's going straight to the point... his remarks have hit home.

"That's not something that'll come cheap, poppet. What do you have to offer for that particular information?"

[daegesege]

"Offer? I don't have anything. I'm not giving you Lea's things."

The words come rapidfire. If she had been speaking them, she would be biting them out.

[ceilingwave]

Well, that was rich, and he lets his laugh ring out loud. Did she really think... oh, wow. She may have Axel's password, but she had no idea just who he ran with when he wasn't playing around with her.

"I don't want his things. If I wanted something, it would be a rare item that you'd have to quest for. Normally, I trade information for information. So what will it be? Are you going to go on a quest for me, or are you going to give me something I didn't know?"

[daegesege]

Xion's anger and hurt flare when he laughs at her. Her jaw clenches. When he speaks again, though, it takes her aback, and she realizes why he laughed at her. Her cheeks flush hot with something more than shame. This isn't going in a way she likes at all. A quest... There's no guarantee she'd be able to do it. She's still new, and just because she's on a high-level character, that doesn't mean anything when she isn't good at the game itself. Thoughts of Another flit through her head, but she shakes them away. No. No, she's not going to confess to someone else that she's using another person's character. The more people she tells, the more likely it is that it's going to get reported.

But information? Something he doesn't know? She likes that idea even less than the one of going on a quest. She could always learn, right? She can only hope that he's not going to lay down a deadline.

"Would I have to get the item in a certain amount of time?" Or would she have time to practice? To go through trial and error? "What kind of 'information' would you even be interested in?" Is it even something she can provide?

[ceilingwave]

If she's as new as Xehanort had said, it's likely she'd rather go the information route... so when she asks about the quests he's slightly surprised.

"No time limit, unless you take a quest that has one. That's up to you. The quests might be a bit out of your league, though... unless you can use that character properly." He snorts at the thought... it's obvious that she can't if she couldn't even figure out the keyword history.

"Now, information..." The mage before her taps his chin thoughtfully. "Needs to be something I don't already know. Needs to be something that I can use."

[daegesege]

"Just spit it out already."

Now that the shock has worn off, all that's left is wariness and frustration and pain. She wants to know her choices. Her real choices. She isn't going to settle for the nonsense he's trying to wrap her up in. She came here for a reason, and so far, all he's done is make her hurt. She doesn't know if it's on purpose or not, but she's already tired of it. She's not playing this game. She's not.

[ceilingwave]

"Spit what out?" His character spreads its hands. "I don't have anything specific, poppet. It needs to be something I don't know, and something I can use. Whatever that happens to be is up to you."

It's obvious that she's trying to play hardball, but she's pitting herself against the major leagues when she really shouldn't. It's unlikely that she has any information that he'd even want to know... it's almost cute in a way.

[daegesege]

"And how am I supposed to know what you could use?!" Xion attempts to reign her temper back in when the sound of the keys come back to her ears. She's typing too hard. She needs to calm down. She needs to... "It's just stupid to assume something like that!"

[ceilingwave]

That double punctuation shows that she's getting riled up, and he can't help but grin a little bit. It didn't really take long... much faster than what he was used to working with, at least.

"Think about it this way. Is it something I could sell to someone else? If so, then it's probably worth my time."

[daegesege]

Xion physically recoils from the monitor. Sell to someone else -- ? Just what does he do here in the World? Why would anyone want something like that? He wants her to open herself up more. He wants her to compromise herself for his own success. She can't describe the revulsion she feels at the thought.

"I just want to know how to fix my brother's character!" She hits send just before more follows it: So is it worth it?

Her shoulders hunch and she drops her head. Axel's character doesn't move for a long moment.

The words that appear next: "There isn't anything I could tell you, anyway. I don't know anything interesting. I'm nobody important. No one cares. So I guess that answers it, doesn't it? Information isn't even an option."

[ceilingwave]

It's almost startling how fast she's changed direction... going from full-blown to wilted at the drop of a hat. Is it a defense mechanism, or is she playing to get him off-guard?

"I don't think Axel would share his character's password with someone who's a nobody. That's like handing a baby a loaded gun. Even with the safety on, bad stuff can still happen."

[daegesege]

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. We're friends. Best friends." She realizes she used present tense. She feels sick, but thinking about correcting it just makes it worse. "But I don't see how anything about me or anything I'd know would be useful to anyone else. So just tell me what item you want me to get already."

[ceilingwave]

"Temper, temper..." Braig triggers his character to wave its finger in a tsk-tsk fashion. "Getting angry won't get anything done..." He doesn't comment on her use of present tense... though he's mildly amused that she hasn't seemed to have gotten over her friend's passing.

Item... hm. He could have a bit of fun with this... and see just how clever she is. "I'm feeling a bit hungry, so get me a box lunch. Then maybe we'll talk."

[daegesege]

What.

"What?"

[ceilingwave]

There was another laugh.

"A box lunch. You know what that is, don't you?"

[daegesege]

Xion's cheeks flush again.

"Of course I do!" Any kid knows what a box lunch is. "But how am I supposed to know where to deliver it to?" And how am I supposed to get there, is her next thought, but she won't say it, won't tell him, won't tell anyone, not ever.

[ceilingwave]

"That's part of the game, isn't it?" For extra cheek he gets his character to do the biggest grin it can.

[daegesege]

At this point, she can't help it. She flips off the image of his character on the monitor, even though he won't be able to see it. It made her feel better. Shut up.

"Fine. Have it your way."

She gates out before he can respond, because she really doesn't want to deal with him being smug after all that.