things that go bump in the liquid || private

[ORCHID]

AND THE BATTLE WAGES ON..
don't lose sight of your resolve.

Things seemed to be leaning in the way of the adventurers. Orchid managed to slay her opponent with two, well-placed jabs towards its core. The SHINING EYES was ultimately defeated thanks to the combined efforts of Ara and Gabriel. However, Gabriel's attack on MUMMY RIPPER B was just short of fatal. This monster's movements grew very sluggish at this point, but it still retained enough within itself to bare claws at Gabriel one final time.

At this point, the WATER LEVEL had reached everyone's hips (depending on height, but generally it was the torso area). Apparently, the water was increasing much faster than they thought. They didn't have much time, and the stairs were still a fair distance away.


SHINING EYES | level one | ani element
STATUS: DECEASED


MUMMY RIPPER (A) | level one | ani element
STATUS: DECEASED



MUMMY RIPPER (B) | level one | ani element
STATUS: CRITICAL

WATER LEVEL: MEDIUM

[ORCHID]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width, 500px][atrb=style,border-top: 10px solid #eae200;background-color: #111111;][STYLE=font-size: 50px;font-family: times new roman; color: #eaeaea;text-align: center;letter-spacing: -5px;]{   cause i'm a homewrecker[/style][STYLE=background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/YSVOw.png);-webkit-border-radius: 100px;-moz-border-radius: 100px;border-radius: 100px;height: 100px; width: 100px;float: right;margin: -20px 35px 0px 20px;] [/style][STYLE=float: left; margin: -80px 140px 0px 95px; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 9px; color: #707070;text-align: justify;text-transform: lowercase;line-height: 8px;]I'M ONLY HAPPY WHEN I'M ON THE RUN I BREAK A MILLION HEARTS JUST FOR FUN I DON'T BELONG TO ANYONE I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THAT MY LIFE'S A MESS BUT I'M STILL LOOKING PRETTY IN THIS DRESS I'M THE IMAGE OF DECEPTION WHEN EVERYTHING IS LIFE AND DEATH YOU MAY FEEL LIKE THERE'S NOTHING LEFT INSTEAD OF LOVE AND TRUST AND LAUGHTER WHAT YOU GET IS HAPPY NEVER AFTER BUT DEEP DOWN, ALL YOU WANT IS LOVE THE PURE KIND WE ALL DREAM OF BUT WE CANNOT ESCAPE THE PAST SO YOU AND I WILL NEVER LAST... cause i'm a homewrecker[/style] [STYLE=margin: 70px 30px 30px 30px; text-align: justify; color: #c4c4c4;font-size: 10px;] "god damn it," orchid hissed, as the water in the room got much higher than what it previously was. she was getting more and more anxious by the second. luckily, two of the three enemies had been felled; but who was to say that more wouldn't show up after this fight was over? she didn't know about the two wave masters that accompanied her, but orchid had no clue how to swim. in water, she sank. so she needed to get moving. hopefully they had the mana left to cast one final spell to finish off that mummy ripper, because orchid wasn't going to waste her time wading over to it and attacking it. "that monster's almost dead. i'm going to get moving now." she offered that fair share of information to the two as she calmly, yet determinedly waded through the water towards the stairs. at the rate that she was going and the rate the water was going, she anticipated that she would make it to the stairs just soon enough, before the water would actually envelop her completely. awkwardly shifting through the liquid, she made an educated guess that there weren't any more monsters that would show up here, despite her fears -- but, she wasn't going to feel solace in that thought just yet. she needed to focus on her current destination. [/style]

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[GABRIEL]

Two down, one to go, and minimal damage had been taken by the players. Ara's comment, though - that hurt - was bothersome. Had she felt it in the real world? Oh, that wasn't good at all. The concept mulled over in his mind for a moment, but not for too long; when he (again) remembered where he was and what was happening, Gabriel snapped out of his reverie and faced the creature that had charged straight for him and --

"AH!" he shouted, taking a hit from Mummy Ripper B and spending a moment to recover. Hey, that did hurt a little. How . . . odd. This virtual reality game was pretty good. Or bad, depending on how you looked at it. He didn't want to consider the second option, or the idea that there were malfunctions occurring, or anything equally negative and discomforting. "Vak Kruz!" he shouted, instinctively beating the monster in the head. Simultaneously, orbs of fire shot out toward the monster. Close-range; surely they had to hit!

The water was rising rather rapidly, and Gabriel noticed his wet his clothes began to feel. This was getting a little too realistic for him. Swinging his staff out, just in case the monster had not died, he waded through the water as quickly as he could, heading for the stairs -- and what would hopefully be safety. Orchid had the right idea, though he didn't exactly approve of her selfishness. She was certainly self-concerned. He didn't look back as he advanced, eyes glued to the stairs ahead.

[ARA]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] [STYLE=width: 400px; height: 900px; background-image: url(http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/093/9/8/Blue_Bokeh_by_lemasney.png); padding: 15px; margin-bottom: -910px;][/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 15px;]I wonder...[/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 42px; margin-top: -15px;]just what is the world?[/style] [STYLE=width: 120px; height: 120px; border: 10px solid #4688BA; margin-left: 10px;][/style][STYLE=width: 120px; height: 120px; border: 10px solid #4688BA; margin-left: 140px; margin-top: -120px;][/style][STYLE=width: 120px; height: 120px; border: 10px solid #4688BA; margin-left: 270px; margin-top: -120px;][/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;]It seems to be a game...[/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 42px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;]but it feels like more[/style] [STYLE=width: 350px; background-color: #4688BA; overflow: auto; height: 350px; margin-left: 25px; padding: 10px;]Well, it hadn't really hurt in the real world, per say. It had still hurt a little bit, of course, but it was more akin to the age-old vibration feature in controllers. It was there to remind her that yes, she had indeed gotten hit by an attack. Thankfully, it seemed that both her efforts and the efforts of the other Wave Master were enough to vanquish the creature that had been assaulting her; unfortunately, he still had his enemy to deal with. She wondered, briefly, if she should aid him. He was, after all, her ally, but after a little bit, she thought better of it. If he couldn't handle himself against one measly monster, how was he going to progress further in The World? Sure, it might be a bit traitorous to leave her teammate to deal with her fight alone, but she had noticed the water level was alarmingly high, so high in fact that she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to reach the stairs before it completely engulfed her. And then a brilliant idea came to her; she still had enough mana left to cast more spells, and so she pointed her staff ahead of herself once more. "Vak Rom!" and a moment later a giant, fiery tornado shot out of her staff. But oh no, it wasn't pointed at an enemy; it was pointed at the water. As soon as the fire met the water, the water seemed to instantly evaporate, since the heat was so intense, that caused the water to dissolve almost immediately. Hopefully, it would lower the water level around her long enough for her to reach the stairs. After her little action was complete, the girl began to run for the stairs.[/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 15px;]How very curious[/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 42px; margin-top: -15px;][/style] [STYLE=margin-left: 20px; margin-top: -15px; color: #000000; font-size: 11px;] LEVEL/GUILD: 01/None TAGS: Orchid, Gabriel NOTES: Fire meets water! WORD COUNT: 297 CREDITS: Made by daydreamer95 of BTN [/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;][/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 42px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;][/style]

[ORCHID]

YOU ARE VICTORIOUS !
treasure this victory.

That last spell did the job; Gabriel managed to fell the last of the ghosts. Ara's idea was a fairly intelligent one as well; her spell of fire did it's job well and evaporated a majority of the water. However, this also cast a dense FOG around the area. It was so dense that it was now much more difficult to spot the group's destination. So, at this point, they had two overlying choices:

A ) Take their chances with the water, and wait out the fog.
B ) Blindly explore the area, risking stumbling into more enemies, heading back towards the entrance, or walking into an environmental hazard.


WATER LEVEL: LOW
FOG DENSITY: HIGH

[ORCHID]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width, 500px][atrb=style,border-top: 10px solid #eae200;background-color: #111111;][STYLE=font-size: 50px;font-family: times new roman; color: #eaeaea;text-align: center;letter-spacing: -5px;]{   cause i'm a homewrecker[/style][STYLE=background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/YSVOw.png);-webkit-border-radius: 100px;-moz-border-radius: 100px;border-radius: 100px;height: 100px; width: 100px;float: right;margin: -20px 35px 0px 20px;] [/style][STYLE=float: left; margin: -80px 140px 0px 95px; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 9px; color: #707070;text-align: justify;text-transform: lowercase;line-height: 8px;]I'M ONLY HAPPY WHEN I'M ON THE RUN I BREAK A MILLION HEARTS JUST FOR FUN I DON'T BELONG TO ANYONE I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THAT MY LIFE'S A MESS BUT I'M STILL LOOKING PRETTY IN THIS DRESS I'M THE IMAGE OF DECEPTION WHEN EVERYTHING IS LIFE AND DEATH YOU MAY FEEL LIKE THERE'S NOTHING LEFT INSTEAD OF LOVE AND TRUST AND LAUGHTER WHAT YOU GET IS HAPPY NEVER AFTER BUT DEEP DOWN, ALL YOU WANT IS LOVE THE PURE KIND WE ALL DREAM OF BUT WE CANNOT ESCAPE THE PAST SO YOU AND I WILL NEVER LAST... cause i'm a homewrecker[/style] [STYLE=margin: 70px 30px 30px 30px; text-align: justify; color: #c4c4c4;font-size: 10px;] orchid honestly didn't know what was happening after she stated that she was headed for the stairs. she didn't know if gabriel was still alive, and she didn't much care. as she passed ara by, she didn't know if the wavemaster was too wounded to continue on, and she could care less. she didn't know that the water level was going to suddenly get lowered -- that was something she'd never considered. and she didn't know why there was fucking smoke filling the area and clouding her vision. but she didn't like this one bit. orchid violently about-faced, watching ara's flames twist rapidly and burn the water into smoke -- she didn't bother to command her to halt, because she knew that it was too late. within seconds, she couldn't see anything any more. "that's.. a fine way to screw us all over. what an opportunistic mind you have." orchid's condescending tone rung throughout the area; at this point, she didn't know where anyone was. the water level was still low, but.. this fog probably wasn't going anywhere any time soon. and even if it was, it wouldn't have been before the water itself had covered orchid's head -- she couldn't afford to wait that long. taking one deep breath, she slowly shifted around. she wanted to make sure that she was turning completely around -- she didn't want to stop short, and she didn't want to stop too late. ..hopefully this little strategy worked. if it did, then she would have been in luck, as she didn't have much further to go to reach the stairs. she had already made it so far. [/style]

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[GABRIEL]

Her intent and resourcefulness were rather excellent, Noah decided, at least immediately after Ara had acted the way she did. Clearing the water with her spells? He waded through the water and considered the option, but he didn't want to waste any of his mana or risk taking too long to cast a spell. The only thing on his mind was reaching the stairs -- but as he did, he realised something. He couldn't see very well.

"That's . . . a fine way to screw us all over."

Orchid was clearly talking about the other wavemaster (or she was unnaturally crazy and was addressing him, which was hopefully not the case; he didn't want to deal with a schizophrenic person on the Internet), but he didn't feel that the words were exactly fair. At least she was trying to be resourceful. Unfortunately, her resourcefulness had caused a delay in their advancement, and the question was whether to wait a moment or keep going. The water was still rising, apparently. Experimentally, Gabriel waved his hands in front of him. The fog didn't clear. Damn, he thought, sighing through clenched teeth and gripping his staff more tightly. It was better to go through the fog than wait, he decided. Waiting would have occurred for an unspecified length of time.

Certain that he had stopped at the stairs, the wavemaster used his staff as a guide, lightly tapping it on the area in front of him as he carefully ascended the stairs. "Let's go," he said quietly, not really talking to anyone in particular. The others wouldn't follow his guidance anyway, so there was no sense trying to persuade them. The only way to go, with or without the others, was up.

[ARA]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] [STYLE=width: 400px; height: 900px; background-image: url(http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/093/9/8/Blue_Bokeh_by_lemasney.png); padding: 15px; margin-bottom: -910px;][/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 15px;]I wonder...[/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 42px; margin-top: -15px;]just what is the world?[/style] [STYLE=width: 120px; height: 120px; border: 10px solid #4688BA; margin-left: 10px;][/style][STYLE=width: 120px; height: 120px; border: 10px solid #4688BA; margin-left: 140px; margin-top: -120px;][/style][STYLE=width: 120px; height: 120px; border: 10px solid #4688BA; margin-left: 270px; margin-top: -120px;][/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;]It seems to be a game...[/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 42px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;]but it feels like more[/style] [STYLE=width: 350px; background-color: #4688BA; overflow: auto; height: 350px; margin-left: 25px; padding: 10px;]It seemed that she had indeed screwed the party over, for now they had one of two choices. They could just sit and wait the fog out, or risk moving ahead and bumping into monsters. Then again, there was the third option. Couldn't they just, y'know, keep going forward, keeping the location of the stairs in mind? Considering they all could see it before the fog appeared, it likely would not be all that difficult to remember just where they were at, especially if the Wave Masters prodded where they were going with their staffs. Yes, and that was exactly what Ara was thinking as well. "Oh, calm down. All of us remember where the stairs are. I hope. If not, well, sucks to be the one who doesn't remember," Ara was showing her rare, prudent side. It definitely was not present often, which was an understatement really, but when it was, she got like this. Besides that, an online game needed like, a leader during a dungeon, and who better than her? There was none better suited to the task! Except for, say, Orchid, who happened to run a PKing guild, but Ara had no way of knowing that! Then was not the time to make the suggestion on who should be leader, however; they still had to progress to the next floor, before the water level rose. It also seemed that Ara thinking to herself had wasted enough time for the fog to abate slightly, even if she didn't need it, and soon enough she was heading to the stairs as well, having remembered where they were at. "Hurry up!" she called out to any other members of her party, because she couldn't see them in the fog, before she hurried up the stairs too.[/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 15px;]How very curious[/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 42px; margin-top: -15px;][/style] [STYLE=margin-left: 20px; margin-top: -15px; color: #000000; font-size: 11px;] LEVEL/GUILD: 01/None TAGS: Orchid, Gabriel NOTES: Stop being mean Ara. D: WORD COUNT: 301 CREDITS: Made by daydreamer95 of BTN [/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;][/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 42px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;][/style]

[ORCHID]

INFO.
and we're marching oon

It seemed that the group had been completely unhindered by their sudden state of blindness. And made it to the stairs without much trouble. The fog had lessened at this point -- and the water increased to where it was previously, meaning that the group would need to hurry up their stairs. Once Gabriel tapped his stave against the first step, it seemed to have triggered something somewhere else because that 'tap' was immediately followed by a loud crashing noise. Large boulders collapsed to the ground as what could only be registered as an explosion occurred -- right at the central location of where the water was pouring in at. The water was now gushing into the cave in waves.

The travelers had better hurry.

Had they made it out of the water and up to the next platform, the group would have noticed that the moans were getting louder.

WATER LEVEL: MEDIUM
FOG DENSITY: MEDIUM

[ORCHID]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width, 500px][atrb=style,border-top: 10px solid #eae200;background-color: #111111;][STYLE=font-size: 50px;font-family: times new roman; color: #eaeaea;text-align: center;letter-spacing: -5px;]{   cause i'm a homewrecker[/style][STYLE=background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/YSVOw.png);-webkit-border-radius: 100px;-moz-border-radius: 100px;border-radius: 100px;height: 100px; width: 100px;float: right;margin: -20px 35px 0px 20px;] [/style][STYLE=float: left; margin: -80px 140px 0px 95px; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 9px; color: #707070;text-align: justify;text-transform: lowercase;line-height: 8px;]I'M ONLY HAPPY WHEN I'M ON THE RUN I BREAK A MILLION HEARTS JUST FOR FUN I DON'T BELONG TO ANYONE I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THAT MY LIFE'S A MESS BUT I'M STILL LOOKING PRETTY IN THIS DRESS I'M THE IMAGE OF DECEPTION WHEN EVERYTHING IS LIFE AND DEATH YOU MAY FEEL LIKE THERE'S NOTHING LEFT INSTEAD OF LOVE AND TRUST AND LAUGHTER WHAT YOU GET IS HAPPY NEVER AFTER BUT DEEP DOWN, ALL YOU WANT IS LOVE THE PURE KIND WE ALL DREAM OF BUT WE CANNOT ESCAPE THE PAST SO YOU AND I WILL NEVER LAST... cause i'm a homewrecker[/style] [STYLE=margin: 70px 30px 30px 30px; text-align: justify; color: #c4c4c4;font-size: 10px;] this little fungus-haired wave master bitch was really starting to work on orchid's nerves. she must not have known who she was speaking to. orchid was not one to be played with; she wasn't one to be sassed. but, whatever. perhaps it needed to be water left under the bridge, since she was currently occupied with the water covering half of her body at this point. gabriel seemed to be the one to reach the stairs first, with orchid and ara just behind him -- all the long arm really registered was a 'tap'. and then a huge, earsplitting resonance of sound which followed immediately after. "..did you step on a trap, or something? ugh, whatever -- it doesn't matter! move. i don't know what just happened, but we can't afford to stay down here any longer." with that, the hot-headed player killer scurried forward, shoving gabriel out of her way if she needed to. yes, she was being pretty damn rude to both of these new players; but, she could care less. they didn't matter in the grander scheme of things. she was just annoyed that she was still at the entrance to the dungeon after what had seemed like so much passed time. so she bounded up the stairs, hopping and skipping between every other platform. she was agile; far more so than two wave masters. she didn't worry about them keeping up with her. she worried about moving from point A and reaching point B. everything else was an obstacle. once she reached the top of the stairs, orchid kept her guard up -- and she never let it down -- but relaxed just a slight bit when she came to the confirmation that there were no monsters in the immediate area. maybe the ghosts didn't much care for the books. however, it wasn't hard to notice that the moaning and wailing of the creatures in the area had only gotten louder; this was.. well, just a little unsettling. orchid took another glance around. just in case she missed something. [/style]

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[GABRIEL]

Ara was clearly as irritated by Orchid as he was becoming, so that much was at least a little comforting. Still, he didn't want to be here if everyone was going to be irritated with one another. Hopefully, that would change . . . and soon. Gabriel didn't want to leave before he reaped the benefits of a dungeon run, especially when it was his first one. How lame would that have been, leaving during his very first dungeon experience?

Orchid was complaining about something else, but before Gabriel could really register what she had said (while trying to ensure that his staff didn't miss the stairs and threaten to fall into some sort of deep, deathly chasm), something pushed past him, causing him to stumble on the edge of a step. He fell backward, his staff fell out of his hand and slid down the stairs, and in being taken off guard, he wasn't sure exactly how to react. Ow? More likely, were this the real world; fortunately, Noah wasn't on his back on a flight of steps while impending death in the form of water was slowly rising to take him to the Underworld. After he recovered from the mishap and realised exactly what was happening, his eyes widened and his hand desperately searched for the staff that would otherwise be occupying his virtual hands. The loud bang would have been a little troublesome, had it registered with him.

It took him a moment to find it, and as he grabbed it, he realised that the back of his head was . . . different. With the free hand, he reached back to feel it. It was wet. The water level was rising, and he was lying on his back because some idiot had shoved him down. He pushed himself to his feet (a rather strenuous and noisy process, between the angry sighs and the scraping of the staff and the brushing of his boots against the stairs) and, after reassuring himself that he was stable where he stood, shouted through the dungeon. "HEY! WATCH IT!"

She wouldn't care. Orchid didn't strike him as the type of person who took a moment to smell the roses, never mind to consider others. Noah wasn't the friendliest person around, but he wasn't that bad. At least he didn't think the world revolved around him. Gabriel quickened his pace up the stairs, careful to check ahead with his staff, hoping to catch up to the others and avoid getting washed out or tripping again, though the first time had not been his fault. Playing the blame game wouldn't get them anywhere though.

Now wasn't a good time to mention that they needed to work together. Not that the others would have listened.

[ARA]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] [STYLE=width: 400px; height: 900px; background-image: url(http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/093/9/8/Blue_Bokeh_by_lemasney.png); padding: 15px; margin-bottom: -910px;][/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 15px;]I wonder...[/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 42px; margin-top: -15px;]just what is the world?[/style] [STYLE=width: 120px; height: 120px; border: 10px solid #4688BA; margin-left: 10px;][/style][STYLE=width: 120px; height: 120px; border: 10px solid #4688BA; margin-left: 140px; margin-top: -120px;][/style][STYLE=width: 120px; height: 120px; border: 10px solid #4688BA; margin-left: 270px; margin-top: -120px;][/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;]It seems to be a game...[/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 42px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;]but it feels like more[/style] [STYLE=width: 350px; background-color: #4688BA; overflow: auto; height: 350px; margin-left: 25px; padding: 10px;]Well if Ara could hear Orchid's thoughts and feelings, or her thoughts really since the latter would be weird, she might have some choice words for Orchid. The girl rarely ever used swear words, but then again, she was rarely called a bitch herself. Still, Ara managed to keep her composure around Orchid; it was obvious the girl was frustrated, with the both of them, which made Ara wonder why she had decided to go with the two Wave Masters in the first place, if she felt they were just going to be a waste of space. Besides, she was acting like she was all that, yet she was just level one like they all were. All these things passed through Ara's mind as she headed up the stairs...and then, mere moments later, Orchid came bounding up, and Ara frowned as she thought she heard something splash into the water below. Ara pressed herself against the wall and let Orchid move on before glancing back down the stairs. She thought about it, and thought some more, before she came to a decision. "Why me?" she asked herself before descending, and oh what did she see? Gabriel just managing to get himself out of the water and back up onto the stares. D-Did Orchid not realize what she had almost done!? They had no idea what might happen if they drowned in The World, yet by her actions, this male could have just hit his head on something and drowned, somehow. She wasn't sure how, but it could've happened! And then what? Ara did not like this Orchid, mostly because she herself was afraid of water and yet she had practically shoved Gabriel into it. "She's kinda...mean, isn't she?" Ara said as she allowed herself to be in the back now, keeping a close eye on Gabriel. She was a kind soul, really, but some people wore her nerves thin. And one of those people was a female who called herself Orchid; good god was she irritating. But of course Ara would not say that; she was too nice to do such a mean thing to someone, even if they were mean themselves.[/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 15px;]How very curious[/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 42px; margin-top: -15px;][/style] [STYLE=margin-left: 20px; margin-top: -15px; color: #000000; font-size: 11px;] LEVEL/GUILD: 01/None TAGS: Orchid, Gabriel NOTES: She's being nice now, somewhat. WORD COUNT: Dunno CREDITS: Made by daydreamer95 of BTN [/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;][/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 42px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;][/style]

[ORCHID]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width, 500px][atrb=style,border-top: 10px solid #eae200;background-color: #111111;][STYLE=font-size: 50px;font-family: times new roman; color: #eaeaea;text-align: center;letter-spacing: -5px;]{   cause i'm a homewrecker[/style][STYLE=background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/YSVOw.png);-webkit-border-radius: 100px;-moz-border-radius: 100px;border-radius: 100px;height: 100px; width: 100px;float: right;margin: -20px 35px 0px 20px;] [/style][STYLE=float: left; margin: -80px 140px 0px 95px; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 9px; color: #707070;text-align: justify;text-transform: lowercase;line-height: 8px;]I'M ONLY HAPPY WHEN I'M ON THE RUN I BREAK A MILLION HEARTS JUST FOR FUN I DON'T BELONG TO ANYONE I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THAT MY LIFE'S A MESS BUT I'M STILL LOOKING PRETTY IN THIS DRESS I'M THE IMAGE OF DECEPTION WHEN EVERYTHING IS LIFE AND DEATH YOU MAY FEEL LIKE THERE'S NOTHING LEFT INSTEAD OF LOVE AND TRUST AND LAUGHTER WHAT YOU GET IS HAPPY NEVER AFTER BUT DEEP DOWN, ALL YOU WANT IS LOVE THE PURE KIND WE ALL DREAM OF BUT WE CANNOT ESCAPE THE PAST SO YOU AND I WILL NEVER LAST... cause i'm a homewrecker[/style] [STYLE=margin: 70px 30px 30px 30px; text-align: justify; color: #c4c4c4;font-size: 10px;] it seemed that orchid was really starting to rub her party members the wrong way. this was just fine by her since she had clearly demonstrated just how irritated she was with them at this point; mainly because she had now officially deemed the two of them incompetent. perhaps it was her fault for tagging along with two level one players (she would have resented being called level one by the way since she was actually level three ahem), but she honestly expected them to be a bit more.. obedient. being that they were new, they should have been more receptive to her words. they should have followed her command without question, as she clearly had the most experience in the game. they shouldn't have been trying to take the leadership role; she had put the party together, for god's sake. "HEY! WATCH IT!" "maybe next time you won't move so slowly," she hissed, ensuring that her voice projected down to the location of the two wave masters. she wasn't really sure what had happened but she didn't care at all. if they had anymore of a problem with her they could voice it once they reached her position. until then, she felt that they both needed to shut up. they needed to stop complaining, gather some resolve and make an effort to keep up with orchid. instead of almost crying their eyes out over a shove or a mean word. how did they survive in the real world? orchid realized that her problem with them wasn't their level, or their experience; it was their maturity level. because honestly, she felt they were acting like babies. they needed to just suck it up and get moving, in her opinion. stepping ahead, she noted that the gate was locked, but there was a movable handle attached to the wall. with a nod, she figured she would target the bookshelves first -- at least until the rest of her party could finally make their way to her location. "goodness they're slow," she exhaled beneath her breath, mainly thinking aloud. [/style]

template by pianissimo of btn and ote

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[GABRIEL]

Gabriel hadn't expected Ara to react the way that she had, but he was a little grateful for it. Mutual civility never hurt anyone -- that was, as a matter of fact, a primary aim with civility. Orchid was not an example of this, but the boy wouldn't judge her. That wasn't his place, and this was a video game; he wouldn't have to deal with her after they reaped the benefits of the dungeon. "Yeah," he replied a little sheepishly, pressing forward without looking back at the other wavemaster. "She probably has nothing better to do, though. Let's just ignore her and work together until we get to the end."

It wasn't the best strategy for victory, considering there were three of them int he party; but if the self-proclaimed leader wanted to act so ridiculously, then maybe the wavemasters could team up. All of them would get experience no matter what, and this way, he had someone to rely on -- and she had someone to rely on too, if she so desired. He was still quite new to the game, so he probably wasn't too reliable . . . but something was more often than not better than nothing. That would be his philosophy, at least.

The next area . . . was it a puzzle? Gabriel unwittingly stopped in the middle of the entrance as he reached the end of the stairs and pushed his staff against the ground, leaning on it for support. His eyes moved around, surveying the scene and trying to take in every possible detail. It was a tough feat, especially for one as unobservant as himself, but he would try his best. The details in this game were so wonderful! It almost made him smile, but he stopped himself. He didn't want to pretend that he was happy, despite his present company. He took a few steps forward and looked around, trying to determine what to do next. The gate was certainly a good start, and as he didn't trust Orchid's utility (he was having some pretty bad issues at this point, but oh well), he walked over to it and held out his hand to feel it. Cold to the touch.

"This keyword doesn't get visited very often," he decided aloud, biting on his lower lip in concentration. There was a suspiciously eerie feeling about this place, and he was almost certain that the keywords weren't the only determining factor in this instinct.

[ARA]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] [STYLE=width: 400px; height: 900px; background-image: url(http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/093/9/8/Blue_Bokeh_by_lemasney.png); padding: 15px; margin-bottom: -910px;][/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 15px;]I wonder...[/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 42px; margin-top: -15px;]just what is the world?[/style] [STYLE=width: 120px; height: 120px; border: 10px solid #4688BA; margin-left: 10px;][/style][STYLE=width: 120px; height: 120px; border: 10px solid #4688BA; margin-left: 140px; margin-top: -120px;][/style][STYLE=width: 120px; height: 120px; border: 10px solid #4688BA; margin-left: 270px; margin-top: -120px;][/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;]It seems to be a game...[/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 42px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;]but it feels like more[/style] [STYLE=width: 350px; background-color: #4688BA; overflow: auto; height: 350px; margin-left: 25px; padding: 10px;]Why, exactly, had they just let this woman be the leader of their little party? Just because she was higher-leveled didn't automatically mean she had to be the leader; Ara was reflecting on this as she followed her hopefully-new-friend up the stairs to the next level. Ara didn't think that just because you were the best at something didn't automatically mean you could treat everyone else like garbage and act like you were the best thing ever; that was just sheer arrogance. "That sounds good to me...from what I can tell, she'd probably just insult us again somehow anyway," Ara said with a frown on her face as they moved on. She wanted to make friends of most anyone, but...Orchid made it really, really difficult to do so. Ooh, why couldn't everyone in The World just be nice to one another? Of course, that was far too much for her to expect, since that was not the reality in the real world either; but she was still young, she still had a lot to learn, both about the real world and MMOs, so...yeah. It was right around at that point that they arrived on the same level as Orchid, and Ara examined it curiously. Bookshelves, the Gate, a wall, and...a handle? She stared at it, wondering what it might be used for, before she noticed Orchid. Just as she was about to speak to their "leader", she recalled what Gabriel had said, and thought better of it. If she wanted to be a jerk, what was the point in even talking to her? There was none. And although it might end up with them all drowning, Ara did not realize the dangers of not working together with Orchid too instead of just Gabriel. "Why not just pull the handle?" Ara questioned, not thinking it might be trapped. And, as one might expect of a curious child, she went over and did what she just said. SHE PULLED THE HANDLE.[/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 15px;]How very curious[/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-left: 42px; margin-top: -15px;][/style] [STYLE=margin-left: 20px; margin-top: -15px; color: #000000; font-size: 11px;] LEVEL/GUILD: 02/None TAGS: Orchid, Gabriel NOTES: Ara is bright sometimes...and sometimes she isn't. WORD COUNT: Dunno CREDITS: Made by daydreamer95 of BTN [/style] [STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 36px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;][/style][STYLE=font-family: AR DECODE; font-size: 32px; color: #131A67; margin-right: 42px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: right;][/style]