Floor 14 (Dar then ask)

Phoenix opened her inventory and got out her other red cloak. It was a bit big on her so it's be an okay fit for Leejay. Phoenix smiled and handed it to Leejay as they walked into the tavern. Phoenix accepted her hot coco with a thanks and took sips here and there.
She thought for a moment about what they were getting themselves into. She watched Leejay go to ask the NPC something, then made a list in her head. "The storm out there isnt going to stop any time soon. So we should probably get a tent and some firewood. Food and hot coco wouldn't hurt." Phoenix explained as she finished her hot coco. "We won't be able to get much armor either, if we want to stay fast." She added with a smile.

Lefay considered Phoenix's suggestions. The snowfall wasn't so much a storm as a constant weather effect on this part of the floor. A tent, some firewood, food, and cocoa were certainly things they would want to bring. Lefray smiled. He wouldn't have thought of that, and he was glad that Phoenix had decided to come with him.

Phoenix also said that they would have to hold off on purchasing any armor in order to get across the frozen plain quickly. Armor would only slow them down.

Lefray purchased all the supplies Phoenix had mentioned. He looked at the price, surprised. Back in the Town of Beginnings, he wouldn't have imagined spending such an amount on mere supplies. It was amazing that he had amassed this much money, although he was simply glad to be alive.

"The hard part is going to be getting to the boss. I've bought all the supplies we'll need, so we should be okay. Once we get to him, the bunny should be a push-over." Lefray took a final big drink from his hot cocoa. "Let's go."

The snow was deep and the winds were strong, but the heating effect of the hot cocoa kept Lefray warm as they travelled across the plain of ice. Memories of the real world invaded his mind. He remembered sledding down a snow covered hill with friends, shoveling the driveway with his father, and even going hunting with his grandfather and uncle. Even though the snow had been cold, Lefray had enjoyed himself because of the company he had with him.

He put an arm around Phoenix, resting it on her shoulder. Hopefully, she wouldn't mind and they would be able to walk together through the cold wind. "Phoenix, I want to know...why do you want to clear this game? What drives you?"

Phoenix smiled and jumped up. Leejay mentioned something about a bunny, causing Phoenix to smile. She was about to say something really cute, but decided she needed to be serious. She hadn't thought about how immature she's been sounding and wanted to be taken more seriously. Maybe this was a way too, saying mature things.

As Phoenix was in thought, Leejay said lets go. Pheonix skipped over to him and waved good bye to the NPC bartender. "Stay toasty!" She called out to him with a smile. She knew he was a NPC, but being nice to everyone/every thing was a Phoenix thing.

When they entered into the cold winter floor, Phoenix just smiled. The coco kept her warm along with her cloak. She usually wasn't affected by the cold, from living in Russia, but the game made her senses think they were cold. It was a weird way of thinking, and it kind of made her brain hurt, but she kept treading on.
Phoenix was interrupted on her thoughts when Leejay put his arm around her. She blushed slightly, but took in his warmth. Then, he asked her a question no one had before. "Well, at first It didn't even faze me to clear the game. I accepted my fate here and lived a normal life, but, I met so many amazing people." Phoenix began, thinking of Jak. "Certain levels reminded me of Russia and that made me want to go home, but then what? I realized that if I didn't help, I wouldn't get all of my friends home to where they belong. That's when I began to fight.." She told him with a slight smile.
"Good or Bad.. We all deserve to go home." Phoenix said lightly, thinking of her brother.

We all deserve to go home. Lefray thought about Phoenix's words. Before he had bought Sword Art Online, he had fooled himself into thinking that the real world had nothing to offer him. He had seen it as a place filled with deceitful, selfish, evil people. However, just as Phoenix had good memories of Russia, Lefray had good memories of America. It wasn't perfect, but it was home. Even a world as amazing as Sword Art Online couldn't replace that.

Going home would also mean saying goodbye to any friends he made here, including Phoenix. Lefray realized it wouldn't be that bad. After all, technology these days made it easy to communicate, even with people across the world.

That left one question, though. If the two of them weren't in these dire circumstances, would Phoenix still want to be around Lefray? She had said that she was from Russia. Would she still want to be friends with him after she had gotten all her old friends back? An attractive girl like her was sure to have lots of friends.

Lefray decided he was being selfish. Phoenix was his ally and friend. If she wanted to go home, then he should help her get there. It was the right thing to do.

"Then I finally have a reason to fight. I'll try my best to get you home."

Two snowmen guards popped up out of the snow. Their snowball attacks looked deceptively weak. While they were levels below Phoenix and Lefray, they should still be taken seriously. After all, one mistake could mean death.

Phoenix smiled. Somebody was actually going to help her get home. Jak made this promise, but he's gone off to do his own thing, he probably doesn't even remember Phoenix. This made her cringe, being forgotten made her completely depressed.
She snapped out of that thought and looked at Leejay. He was from America and she was from Russia, she wondered if she could convince her parents to let her take a trip to the states. Everyone wants to go on a trip to America, maybe she could go on a summer. She wouldn't be surprised if her parents said no, they'd probably wouldn't let her out of her site.
"Hey, I was thinking that maybe-." Phoenix began awkwardly but was cut off by a sudden monster. Snowmen? They didn't look too intimidating.

Phoenix removed her heavy coat, going back to her regular clothing, and took out her sword. She didn't want anything slowing her down, they needed to get to their treasure. Phoenix held out the sword and charged after the snowman, dodging the snowballs with ease. An orange glow would be seen, then Phoenix was on the other side of the snowman. It would crumble in front of the two, allowing Phoenix to turn around just in time to get hit with a snowball.

It didn't take much HP, but it still was her health.

Lefray raised an eyebrow as Phoenix used one of her Sword Art attacks on the snowman. The attack killed the monster, but it seemed like overkill. The two of them had brought a tent, but Lefray wondered if they really wanted to try to rest long enough to regain the use of their special attacks. He was unfamiliar with this floor, and didn't want anything unexpected to happen.

But this wasn't the time to think about such things. The second snowman threw a snowball at Phoenix, managing to hurt her just a little bit. Lefray ran over and punched the snowman three times in quick succession. The snowman tried to swat at him, but Lefray dodged to the side.

Frustrated, the snowman grabbed its own head and threw it at Lefray. Lefray's eyes opened wide. He hadn't been expecting that. The head hit him in the chest and took out a third of his health. Lefray realized that Phoenix's response had been more appropriate. Even weak monsters like this could be a threat.

The snowman regrew a head and formed another snowball in its hand. Lefray kicked the snowman in half. It reformed only to receive another kick in the face. The snowman shattered into pixels.

Lefray's HP was already going up thanks to his battle healing. He looked at Phoenix, wondering what she had been trying to tell him before.

"Sorry about that interruption. What were you thinking about?"

Phoenix turned and watched as Leejay got a third of his health taken out. She didn't scream, but she was worried. Phoenix knew that he could take the snowman, so she decided to wait it out until he finished it off or truly needed her.
Soon Leejay defeated the monster and turned to Phoenix. he was really good, Phoenix admired him for that and wished to be as strong as him. He had battle healing too! Something she should invest in.

Leejay asked her a question which snapped her out of her thoughts. "Um well.." She stammered awkwardly. "How about we set up the tent first, then I'll ask you my question.. If that was alright with you." Phoenix suggested with a innocent tone of voice. She smiled lightly and walked over to her heavy coat, throwing it over her shoulder and regaining a lot of heat.

Set up the tent first? Neither of them were all that seriously injured. They would be all healed up in a matter of minutes. But if Phoenix wanted to take a break, then Lefray had no problem with that. They weren't in a rush.

"Sure."

The two of them set up the tent. It was a strange process. The tent appeared in a series of stages, needing user interface to set itself up. Lefray remembered camping in the real world. Setting up a tent hadn't been this easy. It hadn't fully protected him against mosquitoes, either. The ease of certain tasks in Sword Art Online was enjoyable, even when their lives were at risk.

When the tent was all set up, Lefray sat inside it. On a whim, he looked through his inventory. Aside from the supplies Phoenix had suggested, Lefray had nothing. He had sold everything for money. It was silly, he knew, but when he had started playing the game, he wanted to be an unarmed monk type character. Even now when death lurked around every corner, he still kept to that character archetype. After all, this was still a game. Lefray had decided that he still needed to enjoy himself.

He looked at Phoenix. "So, what was it you wanted to ask me?"

Phoenix watched him set up the tent with a curious look on her face. Like cooking, you had to do everything in step by step format. It was efficient, compared to real life camping, but it still took some time to get used too.
After Leejay finished the tent, he got in side and sat down. Phoenix followed him in and sat down on the opposite side. "I'm probably holding you up, say the word if you want to leave, but I'd like to talk for a bit." She explained with a slight smiling.

She wondered if he'd leave as soon as she asked some questions, but she had to take her chance. Phoenix knew that people usually don't get too close before battle because if one dies, it's a lot harder. But if one of them die, she rather die knowing more about him then not knowing him at all.

She looked up at him with a smile. "I know a lot of people don't want to get to know each other before battle, but I'd like to get to know the real you." Phoenix began slowly, making sure he was okay with this. "Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you if, after this game, we could meet up! I could get a plane ticket and head over to the states!" She told him, smiling.

Phoenix said that she wanted to get to know the real Lefray. Even though they would soon be fighting the scorpion boss, and their lives were not guaranteed, Phoenix wanted them to know each other. That would make things hard if one of them died. Still, what was life if you couldn't make friends.

Phoenix also asked if they could meet up in the real world after they cleared the game. Lefray imagined meeting her in real life. What were the chances they would both survive that long?

"My real name is Richard Clay. I would be glad to meet you after we clear the game. I have to ask...why? Why do you want to know anything about me? When we first met, I had an orange crystal. I killed someone, but you didn't hesitate to befriend me. Don't get me wrong, I have found your attention to be fulfilling, but what kind of person wants to be friends with a murderer?"

It had been bugging Lefray since the first time they met. Phoenix had never asked about the orange crystal. Although his crystal had returned to green now, she would always know that he had killed. Why had she decided to be friends with him?

Phoenix thought about this. "Well, you can't always judge a person on their past. Sometimes you just have to move forward, that's how I learn to forgive and forget." She began with a smile. "Your orange crystal didn't bother me because at first, i wanted to get to know you because you reminded me of my brother. I haven't seen him since the game truly started, sometimes i wonder if he's still alive.." She explained, trailing off towards the end. She waved her hands spastically. "Ignore my sob story!" She asked him, blushing. She didn't want people worrying about her, she didn't like much attention like that.
"I'd become friends with anyone who was willing to be friends with me." Phoenix told him with a smile.

Forgive and forget? Lefray thought back to the man he had killed. A player killer. Had it been wrong of him to kill the murderer? Should he just have forgiven him and forgotten the crime? No. The guilty had to pay the price.

How could Lefray describe himself? What better than to describe the people who had shaped his life?

"I don't remember his username," Lefray said. "And I'll never know what his real name was. I saw him kill a girl. They were arguing over something meaningless, an item. The fool hit her, and her HP went under. She died. And for what? The fool wanted a sword. He killed her to get a sword."

Lefray looked at Phoenix. His face was dead serious. It showed sorrow but not remorse. "I chased him, but he was scared. He got away. When I finally found him, he begged forgiveness. I didn't forgive him. I killed him. He deserved it, and I would do it again."

Lefray laid down and looked at the ceiling of the tent. "Do I still remind you of your brother?"

Phoenix thought about this. It wasn't necessarily bad. In the real world, If one killed someone for no legit reason, they would get the death penalty. She began to have mixed feelings about the situation. On one side, she hated the idea of someone dying in the video game. On the other side, she felt like the death penalty was needed. He could run off and kill more innocent lives, so was this one death for the better?

As Phoenix was about to say something comforting, Leejay asked if he still reminded her of her brother. "Yes, but your better then him." She told him with a soft smile. "My brothers a PKKer and a Beta tester. We both were together when they announced why the log out button wasn't their. I turned around and he was already gone, I'm assuming to level up faster then the rest." Phoenix told Leejay. "You haven't left me here to die, that's why your better then him." She finished with a smile.

Her brother had left her? That was awful. Lefray had overheard a lot of hatred for the Beta testers. Personally, he had nothing against them. They were trying to survive this crazy world just like everyone else. They were just a little more prepared.

But abandoning one's sibling? That was low.

Lefray wasn't used to taking compliments, and being called better than someone who had abandoned Phoenix wasn't the best compliment to receive. He kept this to himself, though. Judging by her smile, Phoenix had meant it in a positive light.

"I told you my real name. What's yours?" Lefray was curious to hear Phoenix's story.

Phoenix smiled awkwardly. He didn't looked too pleased with her story. Some people had some pretty sad stories, so hers might seem childish to him. "I'm sorry.." She mumbled with her head down. But, to snap her out of her slump,Leejay asked Phoenix her real name.
She stuck out her hand with a smile. "Phebe Moskar of Moldova, Russia!" She told him with a bright smile. "It's nice to meet you Richard Clay!" Phoenix chimed brightly.
Being a woman, mood swings were expected, but she had big mood swings to the point where she might be Bi-polar...