I stare back at an old friend, its snarling mouth easily big enough to fit my head and shoulders inside and turn them into an eviscerated lump were I still a mortal. Would probably still hurt like a bitch though, even if I've got stats out the wazoo and defensive buffs. Or would it? Either way, I'm not keen to find out as I spin the [rcurial Weapon] scythe in a round arc around my body, leveling it off point to the ground as I use [Inspect] for the first ti in a while, just for old tis' sake~.
[Pack Leader Cerulean Brown Bear, Male (Peak Earth Rank Beast)]
Health: 15,000
Stamina: 50,000
STR: 1,200
DEX: 600
CON: 1,500
INT: 100
WIS: 50
CHA: 10
LCK: 0
Huh, so I guess not exactly quite like old tis then. Either way, my red hair waves in front of as I jump backwards from a lunge of the supped-up bear, its angered roar still enough to nearly move the wind around us as I land in a slide, whipping the bladed end of the scythe safely off to my side as a feral grin crosses my face. With footfalls shaking the ground beneath my feet, the enraged ursine charges towards , its towering form easily reaching over 20ft as a paw bigger than a small car streaks down to flatten my smirking face to the ground.
Sadly for Smokey, I'm more than a few tis its speed and strength now, and I easily whip and dance underneath, between, and through any angered swipe or gnash of teeth that cos my way~. Dirt and rubble flies from another failed attack that shakes the simulated earth as I laugh in delight at getting so - apparently - much desired vengeance on the poor shmuck, my eyes flaming with near sadistic glee at righting the wrongs of my first fight here on Mara. Unfortunately though, like all good things, this cos to an end as I hear Samantha give a short command in a slightly disapproving tone. "Alia. Stop treating this as a ga and act seriously. It is unbecoming of yourself and disrespectful to your opponent."
I frown slightly, mostly at the disappointed tone and at being reprimanded in general, as I reach up and stop the bear's swiping paw with one hand, the impact of our limbs eting sending a shockwave of air whistling through the plains while my feet stay perfectly rooted. The bear begins to roar out again - no doubt in angered defiance - before the whip and flash of tal slices through its massive neck, its eyes going wide before its head begins to slump forward and slough to the ground, the entirety of its body turning back into purple mist before its decapitated face ever touches a single blade of grass.
Damage dealt 101,836!
With a small exhale of breath, I return to Samantha's side in a chastised aura, eyes staring at the ground and the scythe returning to the arm bracelet as I crest the small hill she's decided to use as an observation post. She doesn't say anything until I'm right next to her again, both of us now facing out into the wide-open space of the flowering prairie field.
"I know," She begins in a more neutral tone as she turns to look at directly, pausing slightly until I raise my face to hers and take in her calm and concerned eyes, "that you likely have so animosity toward ursines after your trek in the forest, and that we both know these enemies to be fictitious and lacking any comparison to true sapience or sentience. But you are not at the level of strength to so cavalierly disregard respect, either in custom or in combat. Breaking that habit now will save you danger and heartache later, I assure you. While wanton violence is always a present and real option for those who can both stomach and produce it, treating life that is beneath your level of power with cruel or sadistic eyes is not an answer that will lead to your growth, or the respect of those around you."
She lays a hand on my shoulder as I turn to look away, trying to keep the budding tears from slipping out. I was always shit at getting told I did sothing wrong, even if I ended up taking those lessons to heart in the most extre way possible looking back at things. I'd try so hard not to get in trouble that I'd end up worrying myself to death, filling myself with anxiety. Which is likely one of the pri reasons I was so borked back then...
I sigh both in my head and audibly as I rub my eyes - dry, thankfully - and turn back to Sam. "I'm sorry. It was like you said, I got a little caught up in the shoe being on the other foot when I saw how weak and slow the bear was. It's hard to control these feelings still, it just feels so good when I really get into a fight..."
Sam nods as she pulls in for a small hug which I return, breaking it off to say, "I understand. You have not demonstrated that level of discourtesy for any of the previous four foes you have felled since we returned. Still, I must call out such behavior when I see it in order to stop that particularly nasty flower from ever blooming. It is fine to seek proper retribution and vengeance when you have been deeply wronged, but reveling in the cruelness that oft cos with violence is a dangerous path to walk, especially when you consider your Berserker nature."
She gives a small kiss on the forehead before looking back to with that sa concern dancing behind her erald eyes, "I will not lie to you, Alia. You will have to tread a very fine line until these lessons beco ingrained in you, dancing the edge between using your strength for the correct reasons or letting your thirst for battle drink heavily from the cup of your sanity. To fight in a way that lets you rest at night, in a way that ensures you do not lose yourself to the thrill of blood spilt and body torn asunder beneath your blade." I shiver slightly, mostly at her serious voice but also unfortunately at the little spike of arousal that flitters through with that ending statent. Unfortunately, her words also remind of the gluttonous ferocity I perford against the doppelganger which sends yet another shiver through , although this one is markedly chillier and unsettling.
I can only hum in the affirmative after I calm down, resting my head on her shoulder and relishing the feeling of her hand coming up to stoke my hair softly a few tis. The sweet, scented wind continues its ever present and rry dance through the waving grass as we stand there holding each other in the midst of its playful kisses and touches. Eventually, Samantha gives another gentle squeeze signaling that its ti to break the embrace once more. I groan internally, and then almost hurt myself in confusion at just how deeply the bond between Sam and I seems to have grown today. It's certainly nowhere near Akiko and , to say nothing of the connection I have with Sandra, but I do find it odd that I already don't like separating from her when we're having sweet monts...
I'll have to ruminate on that later as the woman in question takes my hand and begins leading us back towards the heavy, inscribed door. "The Mistress and the others should be back soon. You should have ti for a shower or to rest for a spell before their arrival and dinner, if you wish. Either way, we do not have enough ti for you to begin ditating and learning your hand-to-hand techniques and forms today." She offers as a reason for leaving, unlocking the door with precision as I stand next to her and wait.
We both move past the block of thick wood, Ios' drone accompanying us as the door's miniscule creaking rings out before it sits flush to its moorings once more. Sam takes my hand again and begins leading us up the stairwell, turning to once we crest it and the near moonlight tint of the crystals above reveal her honest smile, her restrained hair flopping slightly from the movent of facing . "You did well today, little pup~. I am sure that all will be laden with surprise at your developnts, to say nothing of the gawking spectacle that is sure to unfold when you share news of what happened when you grasped the scythe for the first ti~. Would you like to return to your room until we co to fetch you? You can stay by my side, if you wish, however I shall rely be preparing the kitchen for Gerra's arrival."
Honestly, I'm torn. I do want to keep spending ti with her, my previous thoughts about the rapid pace of developnt between us still swirling in my mind... but I haven't had a proper shower in weeks. Sure, the cleaning talismans work perfectly fine, and I haven't felt dirty or gross at all since I was handed a bunch of them, but that tiled floor and lava hot water is calling to ~. I lean up to give her a longer pressed kiss on the lips, my arms wrapping underneath hers as we both romantically idle at the top of the stairs for a few monts. With pressed hips, I lean back and give her a sheepish smile as my voice cos out low and soft, "Thanks, for today. It was really fun for the most part, and I really liked spending ti with you like this~. If it's all the sa though, I am dying to hop in a real shower right now. It's been too long since I could just stand under the water and empty my mind for a while."
Sam just gives a little smile in response as we break off, seemingly fine with that arrangent before we give each other a wave and start heading to our respective destinations. I'll have to help out doubly next ti to make up for shirking today, but the call of the shower is a siren's song that has wrapped around it's finger and I am eager to oblige it~! With skipping steps of rrint, I wind and weave my way through the labyrinthian halls of the estate until finally reaching the oh so familiar sliding door to my room.
Without a care in the world, I sing out a cheerful, "Hey Ios~." as I wave to her comms box, stripping increasingly naked with each step taken towards the island of modern paradise. Ios just gives a chuckle as a response, probably knowing that any attempt to pull from my quest is sure to make grumpy, and before long steam clouds begin to waft out of the still open door to the bathroom. I hum pleasantly as I step under the scorching hot liquid scouring my body, glad that even though my resistances and things have increased, the shower has yet to fail in the slightest~.
I go through the bathing ritual, soaping up and properly cleaning myself and washing my long, crimson hair, before I lay my back against the still cool tiled wall in delight as the water rushes and trickles down my front and between my breasts. I enjoy it like a cat in sunlight for a ti, humming out a soft lody of a foreign to this world song as I let my mind clear and still from the craziness of the past couple of weeks. The chaotic tribulation, the recovery and discoveries afterwards, the stress and tension. All of it winding up and leaving my body with every splash of water, every soothed exhale of breath, until finally my mind is as still as a mirror.
I open my eyes and blink a few tis in confusion, looking around to see the flow model below . Damn, I guess I was so relaxed I just kind of... involuntarily ditated. Didn't know that was a thing. Well, might as well do sothing at least a little productive while I'm here. I instantly move next to Sandra's recovering form, inspecting it from all sides just out of caution before I check the main quest's progress.
[... current amount healed: 7.97]
Whoa!! I nearly shock myself out of my ditative state, rubbing my soul avatar's eyes in a futile attempt to ensure I'm seeing things correctly. Sohow, Sandra's jumped up twowhole percentage points?! Was it the dream we shared? Or has she been doing like she ntioned and been trying to heal on her own? Shit... I need to refocus and get back to her. It's not fair to her that I've been so absent lately, even if it's not entirely my fault that it took so long to recover from... what I did to myself. Fuck.
I pull up the system skill shop, wanting to see if there's any kind of dreaming skill before deciding to just peruse around, but the absolute flood of information quickly puts a halt to that idea. As soon as the page ca up, endless skills and abilities whipped in front of my eyes like the matrix and nearly gave a migraine. I groan as I rub my temples, apparently still suffering a slight headache as punishnt before I could shut the feed down. What gives?? I was able to pull up and buy [Combat Recovery] just fine, why is the system suddenly being so difficult to use now?
"Because you were looking at all the options, sweetheart~." I hear from behind as my soul avatar vaults into the 'air', landing back at my spot as I whip around to see the giggling face of Ios. I huff as I playfully bop her on the head and say, "Jerk! Don't scare like that!"
She just smirks and shoots a wink before getting on with her jump scare of an explanation, "You were able to nab [Combat Recovery] because you intrinsically knew what you wanted, at least in a general sense, so the system pulled up the closest match. This ti, while you were initially thinking about so kind of dreaming skill, you ended up just going with a generalized 'prompt', if you will, so the system just threw the whole catalogue at you. It's nowhere near a sapient creation, by design, so you have to be specific with your intentions or have the latent brainpower to sift through its nearly infinite lists."
Well, that does make sense I guess... Ah fuck it. As much as I want to start doing things on my own, I don't have the ti to get this wrapped up with learning every in and out of the system right now. I sigh before responding to Ios, "Do you think you could help out and find sothing that'll work then? Either a skill or a pill or sothing. I need to have a reliable way to get back to Sandra and help her recover, however I can."
Ios gives a little prim nod as her head whips out to the void, pausing for a second. I look where she's looking curiously, but don't find anything interesting out there so I assu sothing is happening in the real world. Also, I wish she wouldn't be so horror movie about doing that! Shit is freaky when she just snaps her face over to look at nothing...
"I heard that~." I hear in a sing song voice as she turns back to look at , a cheeky grin creasing across her face. "Looks like Akiko and the girls are back, Sam just stopped by to let us know. Dinner should be ready in about half an hour, give or take, so you have plenty of ti to relax so while I look through the store and see what I can find for you."
I pause as I look back to Sandra's floating spheroid form, hesitant to leave now that I'm back again and can feel the pull on my soul. Ios cos up to rub my soul avatar's back, her touch firm and friendly enough to offset the little sparks of pink lighting that arc off my skin under her touch as she says, "Go. Your life's going to keep being crazy and get crazier as you get busier. Take the small monts to enjoy yourself and relax where you can, honey. I promise I'll have the perfect solution ready and raring to go as soon as you co in for the night, okay?"
I can't help but give a smile back to her, leaning over to plant a kiss on her cheek as she chuckles happily. I look back one more ti to Sandra, sending out a pulse of love and care through our bond before saying, "I'll see you tonight, Sandy. Love you." and then heading back to the flow model, and then back into reality. The first thing I notice is that I'm the perfect mix of freezing cold and burning hot as I seem to have fallen into the trance still standing with my back to the wall and water hitting my chest. Well, I guess it's good to know that they have an infinite water heater tank essentially~!
I fight off shivers as I do a few slow turns underneath the liquid rivers of fire, trying to warm the protesting parts of my body back up before enjoying another few minutes of peace and quiet. With the tragic heartache of leaving a lover, necessity eventually brings my blissful ti under the misting sprays to an end as I step over the small, tiled lip that marks the boundary of the shower. I set out my toothbrush, hairbrush, and other small effects that having a growingly reduced purpose as I advance in cultivation, using them to complete the restoration experience before stepping out into the room proper.
It's then that I rember that I have more clothes to wear than just a robe, and I eagerly dash over to my storage bag and pull out the white shirt blouse and worked pants. I quickly dive back into the bathroom to use the mirror, though I do have to move so Qi inside the room to get all of the steam out and wipe said glass down before I can see anything. The price of a luxurious ti in the shower~. I put on so fresh panties and a bra, then donning the shirt before slipping my curvy thighs into the seams of the pants, tucking in the shirt as I cinch an inlaid belt on the pants tight around my waist. Looking at the getup, it seems like I wouldn't be too far off from staring in so western back in the 60's, so rapscallion hot-blooded woman riding out on horseback without a care in the world for the judgey eyes of the townsfolk~.
I giggle at my own little ntal play, completing the ensemble by fishing out a hair tie from the bathroom kit and putting my hair up into a high ponytail and do a little twirl. Shockingly, my hair still cos down to just above my butt, but I do feel more in character from it~. If only I had a brown, wide brim cowboy hat and a little fake badge or sothing... Oh! And a gun holster strapped to my chest! Yeah, that'd be kick ass! I make little finger guns in the mirror as I keep playing along with the idea, so lost in my musings that I fail to sense a presence entering the room or of being stared at until I let loose a little laugh and then turn to leave.
I yelp in the most un-lady like fashion, my head actually hitting the ceiling from my vaulted surprise as Akiko is standing in the doorway, watching everything I was just doing with equally the most adoring and smarmy smile she's ever produced.
Damage taken 12! Luck Activates! Damage taken reduced to 1!
Fuck you, system...
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