#aoaff

[hegrade]

6o Φεστιβάλ Θερινού Κινηματογράφου της Αθήνας, αφίσα από τον Βασίλη Μέξη

Για την έκτη διοργάνωσή του, την αφίσα του 6ου Athens Open Air Film Festival επιμελήθηκε ο graphic designer - illustrator (γραφίστας-εικονογράφος) Βασίλης Μέξης.

Γεννημένος το 1991 στο Μαρούσι, άρχισε να απολαμβάνει τις πρώτες διακρίσεις σε ηλικία 7 ετών σε διαγωνισμούς ζωγραφικής. Αριστούχος της σχολής ΑΚΤΟ σε σπουδές πάνω στο Graphic Design (BA - Bachelor of Arts, with 1st Class Honours), δουλεύει στον κλάδο της διαφήμισης από το 2012, και από το καλοκαίρι του 2014 είναι μέλος του ομίλου Bold Ogilvy & Mather ως Art Director. Η συνεργασία του με την ομάδα που εργάζεται έχει αποφέρει διακρίσεις με βραβεία Ερμής και Young Lions. Οι δουλειές του έχουν δημοσιευτεί σε περιοδικά και sites. Έξι εικαστικά πορτραίτα του ντύνουν τον κινηματογράφο ΝΙΡΒΑΝΑ, ενώ έχει επιμεληθεί και τα εξώφυλλα περιοδικών μεγάλης κυκλοφορίας.

Η αφίσα του 6th Athens Open Air Film Festival με τα λόγια του Βασίλη Μέξη:

«Αν τρεις λέξεις μπορούσαν να περιγράψουν το Athens Open Air Film Festival, αυτές θα ήταν Αθήνα, κινηματογράφος, καλοκαίρι. Με άξονα αυτές τις τρεις έννοιες γεννήθηκε η ιδέα του εικαστικού.

Οι δύο πρώτες λέξεις έγιναν ένα, μέσα από την ένωση ενός συμβόλου της Αθήνας και ενός συμβόλου του κινηματογράφου. Η θεά Αθηνά και η «θεά» του κινηματογράφου Marilyn Monroe συναντώνται σε μια ελκυστική, αλλά αντιφατική φιγούρα που ενώνει αρμονικά το κλασσικό με το μοντέρνο.

Το καλοκαίρι βρίσκεται διάχυτο μέσα στο εικαστικό με την βοήθεια της ελεύθερης street style τυπογραφίας και των χρωμάτων. Οι χρυσές αποχρώσεις του καλοκαιρινού δειλινού χαρίζουν στην Αθήνα μια μαγευτική ατμόσφαιρα, κάνοντας την έναρξη κάθε προβολής του AOAFF μοναδική.

Η φιγούρα, με πλάτη στο φως του δειλινού, αφήνει πίσω της τη μέρα και υποδέχεται τη νύχτα, φωτισμένη από ένα ψυχρό γαλάζιο φως που υπονοεί την έναρξη της ταινίας του AOAFF. Καλές προβολές!»

[voilecafearchives-blog]

Here was the scenario.

Recently, a giant shellshock bomb swept the very nation of players that joined Age of Aincrad - our very lives were at stake, because we were stuck in the game.

It made me wonder why I even decided to join the game early; simply because I could snag a name?

These three letters that made up name, three letters that would mark the end of me; three letters to symbolise who I was, what I did, and how I died.

<< SEN >>

What a name.

notes; >i seem to like starting with that opening passage. hm. >location: subterranean library >non-triggering, promise

                        - Location : Subterranean Library -

Months had passed since the incident happened. Though it still was a sensitive subject, most of us managed to adapt to our new environment, me included.

Still, three floors within that time seemed to be a slow pace. On the other hand, we've gained an affinity for regarding and analyzing our opponents; the computer-controlled beasts.

Feather in hand, I dipped its tip in the bottle of blood. We had not discovered ink yet, so we had to make do with what we could find. Upon the yellow pages of the green leather-bound book was a detailed sketch, an illustration of a tiny dinosaur-like creature. Its claws were out, feathers blazing and brimming with fury, its buggy eyes popped out of its head ; this was the stance it pulled when it was about to strike.

The Subterranean Library was where bestiary entries were stored, located in the starting town. It used to be an empty room, but after finishing a quest, it was furnished into a player-supported collection of books by an NPC. It was one of my more favorite places to be in.

A hand grazed my cheek, and I turned up to see who it was, lifting my pen from the page. A pair of blue eyes stared back into mine, and I inevitably let out a gasp.

The short girl who stared back at me puffed her reddening cheeks out and furrowed her brows. As she leaned back, her short pigtails bounced along with her, and she folded her arms against the beginner's equipment she still wore.

This loli was none other than a friend's little sister I happened to bump into. Blue hair, blue eyes; pretty much everything about her was baby blue. The rumors about players' appearances synchronising with their real-life identities were false after all, and she was living proof of it.

Not to reject the idea of there ever being an item that changed your appearance, but it never happened to either of us, so..

"SE-N!!"

Of course, I was called out for spacing out again. Blinking rapidly, I turned my focus to her.

"S-Sorry, my vision drifted off again, huh? Eheheh.."

The Subterranean Library had high grade polished orange wood, that reminded me of home. It had a warm atmosphere, given its dim candlelit lighting. Sometimes, I fall asleep here, which isn't much of a problem, given that it was a Safe Zone, after all. But my companion, Tenshi, worries about me all the same.

My steel-toed boots kicked the soft, velvet red carpet as I turned towards her, and the feather I once held, I laid it down.

"So what brings you here?"

"It's a new day! We should go out and train already!" Her hands waved as if she was brimming with anger, and she puffed up her cheeks again. I frowned. "Keep doing that and your face’ll stay the same."

"That's not the point!"

Chuckling, I gestured to the desk, full with stacks of hard-covered books piled high. "I'm busy, alright? I've.." Covering my mouth, I let out a huge yawn, which Tenshi raised an eyebrow to. "Have you been up all night sketching again?"

I nodded, turning to the book and picking up the bloodied feather again. "I'm just about done, but I'd really like to take a rest afterwards." She nodded, eyes closed, flipping a hand up so that it hit the back of my head. Thankfully, the page was unharmed from any mismarks.

Dropping the pen, I rubbed the back of my head, groaning. “Hey, what was that for?” I started, before yawning yet again. Tenshi was heading out the door already, and stopping by the indoor hedges, she turned back and waved. “Get some rest okay?! We’ll hunt together tomorrow,” she called, before continuing on her way out. I watched her back as she exited through the door, and let out a sigh afterwards.

Geez, that girl..

[voilecafearchives-blog]

Here was the scenario.

A giant shellshock bomb had swept the very nation of players that joined Age of Aincrad - our very lives were at stake, because we were stuck in the game, forced to fight and play for our survival.

It made me wonder why I even decided to join the game as soon as I could; simply because I could snag a name?

These three letters that made up my name, three letters that would mark the end of me; three letters to symbolise who I was, what I did, and how I died.

<< SEN >>

What a name.

notes: >listed as 'untitled document' when found >day 1:pulled under

- Day 1 : Pulled under -

It was a Tuesday. I ended school late these days.

I barged into my room after dumping my school bags on the floor. I had the Oculus Rift powered up and promptly took a shower, changing out of my uniform in the process. Throwing on some plain clothing, I rushed out of the bathroom and leaped to the bed, putting on my headgear first.

"Link; start."

The darkness that I once looked into faded away to white, and grey circles appeared, checking that they could tap into all five senses I had. As the numbers scrolled and the circles shot to the side, a confirmation message appeared. I registered the phrase 'Connected to server' into my mind, and the popups closed on me, leaving me drifting in a vast, white empty space.

My feet soon found ground, and as I tried to regain my balance from floating, a character model showed up in front of me. With touch controls, I swiped at the options until I got a preferred character; female, with long black hair and sharp red eyes. Able-bodied enough to be swift, agile, yet sturdy enough to take hits. The gear was barely customizable; a metal chestplate stitched to cloth, but I knew it was only temporary - there would soon be appropriate armour to make up for it.

'Please enter a desired name.'

That was easy; SEN. It was a name bestowed to me by the friends that surrounded me daily.

That, and I kind of asked everyone I knew to call me that, aside from family..

As I tapped the letters into the on-screen keyboard, I felt a sharp pain rushing through my head, and rubbed my temples. There was a feeling of.. something, around my neck gripping it tightly, choking me. The sensation was familiar to me; it usually came along with wearing large, complicated clothing. Shrugging the feeling of being strangled off, I lifted a finger, confirming my in-game title. The box closed, and the rest of the interfaces faded back in darkness.

The pain in my head subsided as quickly as it came. There was an intense flash of light. Instantly my eyes shut, and I welcomed the brightening darkness instead. A rush of wind surrounded me, and determined, I held my ground, waiting till the storm died down before opening my eyes to take a peek.

Blocking my view was a grey pop-up, on it, a bold 'Welcome to Aincrad!' was there, in a large size. Regaining control over my movement, I closed the box, to be greeted with yet another box.

'Dear SEN!

As the creators of Age of Aincrad, the staff team would like to welcome you, as a player, to the game. During your extended stay, we hope you make full use of the provided facilities.

We hope you enjoy the game.

- Age of Aincrad Development Team.'

Must be a default message or something. I closed the box and focused back to the game.

I assumed this was the tutorial site. It was a huge plaza, laid out with red bricks and bright, green vegetation. Above me, the large over-arching branches of the trees carried thick bunches of leaves that framed the great blue sky, with a gradient of orange hiding behind the leaves. The clouds were formed in a swirl, as if trapped in a whirlpool, dancing around the edge of a corner.

Ignoring the off-colouring of the sky, I honestly could’ve mistaken this place for a rich high-school garden.

I set off to where my instincts led me to, down the brick path, hoping I would reach the orange tint eventually. Meeting a couple of cheerful NPCs along the way, I learned the basics of the game; touch controls for the menu, how combat worked, occupational skills and the like. An hour passed in game, as dictated by a small, white-texted clock in the corner of my vision, and I reached the first town with a basic rapier in my hand, the sky darkening.

The large front gate was an eerie jet-black, its tips spiky, threatening. Guards stood at each side of the gate, and I passed through it, alert. Though the sky had showed signs of turning to evening, this was where the clouds were heading towards, and that marked the town as a location of interest.

There were tons of players, all in beginner gear, lounging around, hollering. Chaotic; some of them sat on the ground, a dead look in their eyes, a few others wailing, weeping, shouting at another. The whole scene had a sense of dread in it, so I stopped by someone, a male, to ask what was happening

He stared me blankly in the face, wide-eyed and sweating nervously, slouching against a wall. His lips trembled, and he muttered something, but all I caught were the words 'Log out'. Raising a brow, I brought up the menu, and my finger darted over to system.

There was no log out button.

..

Eh?

- Day 8 : Resolve -

Watching the feet of multiple people tread ground, I huddled in a corner of a narrow back alley. The place was dark but dry, and a couple of strangers were hidden in the shadows along with me. They spoke to each other in whispers, but it seemed that they did not mind my prescence.

There was a reason to why I was hiding here - chaos.

Soon after talking to the man on the first day, a server-wide letter was sent; 'The missing log out button is not a glitch nor a bug. Once you die, you are killed off in real life. You have 30 days to reach the city that harbours the castle of Aincrad. Failure to do so will end in execution. Good luck.'

Apparently, most of us soon found out that the town was not a Safe Zone. People were suiciding, some even turned to Player Killing after getting an early headstart by training in the fields out of town. They wouldn't gain experience from it, but I supposed it was for their equipment, or col.

The average level of players who were killing was 5. I was 3; just barely able to handle the monsters that roamed out behind the walls of town, and at the average level for an easy target for predators on the hunt.

I never really liked player-versus-player modes anyway.

As I was staring off into the distance deciding on my next course of action,

[voilecafearchives-blog]

route i

- Day 11: Tribal affairs -

She could've sworn she hadn't seen this before.

One moment she was passing through the lone archway, from the advice of Edd. There had been nothing around said archway from the very beginning; just eerie flora and fauna peeking from wave after waves of bushes. The next, she could spy a circular piece of land fenced off by wooden walls in the middle of the dense forest.

"What the.."

The girl stepped back, through the archway yet again. Then forth. Back. Nudged out of the way by Prodox. "What's wrong? Let me see."

Rolling her eyes, Sen strode through the structure again, and waited for her team member to move. He did so, arms folded, pausing after passing through, before halting, breathless, then withdrawing from his new position.

"Wow."

"Yes. There's something over there," the warrior mentioned, pointing over to the little village-like area in the distance. The rest of the party followed her fingers, but only turned back to her with a somewhat confused face. Both fighters who stepped through the arch only stared back at them with a deadpan look, before gesturing to the structure simultaneously. Chuckling, the leader nodded, passing through the gate, the rest of the team following his lead.

"Woah," Phoenix breathed, almost stumbling onto Prodox after stepping through. "Talk about mysterious. Hey, this might be a new map or something." The off-handed comment caused Edd to murmur something, before opening his book, searching through the pages. His eyebrows furrowed, and the man fidgeted with his hair for a moment, before closing the manual, keeping it on hand. "That's supposedly the dungeon of this area," he replied to the curious looks of the party. "Goblin village. It'll be suitable for the six of us." Stretching out his index finger, he pointed towards the village in a haughty manner. "Onwards!"

The group trudged down a slope that wasn't there before. As they did, Prodox wondered aloud, a thought thrown to the wind, "I wonder if that kid's still following us."

"Probably not."

"No."

The tallest warriors echoed at the same time, watching their step. The greatsword user continued, hands stuffed in his pockets, "If he is, he's probably dead by now. Probably." There were a few mutters of agreement from the rest of the team, though most of the members didn't really spare much thought on it; what was there to think about? Sen was more focused on being careful, and sighed when her feet finally reached even ground - she didn't want to have to lose health due to a careless fall. Placing a hand on the hilt of her sword, she turned to Edd, who had been researching about the dungeon during the trek downhill. "Find anything useful yet?"

"Not really," he replied, slamming the book shut as he approached the dungeon's gateway. "There'll be three paths to take after a room clear though. It has a minimum requirement of three members, so that explains a lot." The rest of the party soon gathered around their leader, listening intently. "After that split, there's the boss. Shouldn't be too hard to take it down, although.." The male's voice trailed off, as he turned towards his team. "It's not stated in here about what the boss is." As the book returned back to data, he prompted, "You guys ready?"

There was a chorus of howls, and Edd nodded, turning around to summon a white and grey menu. Hitting the blue button, the wooden gates creaked as the box closed with a tinkle; large, heavy stakes, tied together with some rope, and the leader tried to push one open, groaning and putting in all his weight into it. Rayne and Prodox rushed over to help, nudging the rest of the team to assist him.

[voilecafearchives-blog]

route i

- Day 11: One-way Trek -

"And you're the last again, Sen." Edd commented, shifting his glasses precautiously as the warrior climbed up the steep slope. "Funny how life works; you signed up last, and now you're the last to catch up." The leader snickered to himself, sending an eerie aura throughout the area, and only the two taller males looked unfazed. Rolling her eyes, tolerant, Sen turned to the silent capped swordsman, whom she hadn't yet heard a word from. "So, Renji, did you encounter any enemies along the way?"

"Ambush," he mentioned, a green eye glinting from the darkness that hid his face. "Goblins. Phoenix and Prodox helped." Sen nodded back at him - that explained why the path was mostly clear for the rest of the way. But the amount of time they had cleared the way in was shorter than she had expected, maybe they were making great progress after all. The trap of the team then declared, as she was pondering off, "Let us head over to the next msp then!" The team shuffled over to unanimously to the stretch of trees ahead of them, the forest seemingly dense. As the members crossed over the unmarked edge of the map, they faded away, she observed.

As she passed over the spot where grass ended and dirt began, she caught a small glimpse of a small kid in black treading the path that she had used just moments before - Mamotsu. Soon after, the image of the past map blended over to a new scenery; one without the kid behind her as she saw her team members yet again. A warning came from Edd, "Stay on your guard. There'll be more skirmishes with the goblins soon." Sen didn't need it, rather, it felt like her leader was reiterating information they had already knew - the dense forest they were in was the base of the foul creatures. The metal clunked as it shifted under her grip, her hand ready to draw her weapon whenever necessary. Renji lowered the katana on his shoulders too, sheathing it in a green leather instead of leaving it bare. "Charge," he whispered to himself, before trudging onwards, the rest of his allies following.

Rayne tugged at Edd as they travelled, her volume low as she prompted, "Have you ever been here before?" The blond raised his head from his book, looking ahead. "Not really," he muttered back, storing away the item into his inventory, a pause in their conversation. "The.. the book's a manual. I found it after scavenging through an abandoned house on the fields while training." Sen raised a brow upon hearing this, but said nothing in response, while Phoenix whistled. "Some nice luck you got there."

"So how far away is this 'Aincrad'?" Prodox asked, his hands behind his head. Rayne quickly shushed him, fearing that his one volume may have blown their cover as a rustling of leaves in the bushes that lined the path they walked could be heard. Edd placed a hand on the handle of his sword, another pushing up his glasses, while Prodox dropped his arms. Nothing happened after a brief moment, so the blond signalled to the dagger-user to get in a first strike. Nodding, the brunette drew a knife, and in one swift motion, shot it into the shrubbery.

Suddenly a large white translucent semi-sphere formed from it. As it spread, the walls faded, leaving a bold yellow outline where they were, before stopping. Several team members drew their weapons - a battle had started, and a yellow indicator meant they had a pretty high chance of winning. Small little creatures, with pointy ears, ugly green stretched skin, a tiny snout, and large, overbearing sharp teeth. Their beady eyes shone with ferocity as they snarled, armed with makeshift weapons of stones and branches. Resourceful little creatures, these goblins.

"Weapons don't mean much lest you know how to use them well," Sen advised aloud as the creatures continued to drop down from the tree tops. Edd nodded, and took the battle over from Rayne's initiation. Counting, there were seven foes in total, but that barely fazed the bespectacled warrior. Unleashing his falchion from its sheath, as it hit the dirt ground with two fingers the man taunted his opponents. 'Come and get me.'

Seven on one; the odds were looking pretty slim for Edd. The game didn't allow multiple party members to fight in a regular encounter, and one could dub this system unfair - to Sen's left, Prodox looked like he was itching for a fight, or a chance to put his brandished blade to some use. She put a hand on his shoulder, a sign of comfort, but the boy shook his head. "Edd's gonna finish this battle alone. I know this."

In sync, the goblins seemingly assigned to a melee role lunged out, their items in front of them. With a graceful sway, he side-stepped, cloak and all floating behind him as he did. His falchion was still in one hand, being dragged along in the soil, as if he hadn't properly equipped the heavy blade yet. But just as the first goblin was about to land, he brought the sword up, and raised it overhead, gripping it with both hands.

In the impact as it smashed down, two of them were eradicated, while the rest were sent flying back behind the ranged opponents. An area-of-effect strike, it lowered the health of his enemies down to a medium orange. Shifting his glasses villainously, he lumbered over towards the fallen in a seemingly insane manner, sending chills down the spines of some of his team members. He was pelted with some pebbles while he walked, sure, but it had no effect on his deathly demeanour, even as his health bar was slowly being drained.. Edd caught a pebble in two fingers all of a sudden - ammo from a goblin who was defending his injured brethren, and flicked it at the wounded foe, causing it to vanish in a flurry of pixels.

"He can do that too?" Someone muttered, in a harsh, fierce tone, though Sen couldn't tell. Catching projectiles was a feat that she had yet to try and perform, although she believed it to be near impossible or just difficult to do. Watching closely, she saw him swing the blade yet again, sending another foe to erasure. His health was slowly declining, yet it was only hanging at a yellow. There were only three left, but if he continued the battle slowly..

But just as she figured he was about to switch out as he walked towards his party, the man pulled a stance, as if he was about to draw a katana from its sheath in the middle of the battlefield. He stayed there, eyes closed behind highlighted glasses, and the team watched his health drop to a low orange. In impatience and disbelief, Rayne cried out to him to 'snap out of it' --

He did. In a blink of an eye the wizard-appearanced warrior twirled and lashed out, brandishing his sword, which was coated with a bright green light, and as if on cue his foes were thrown back, vanishing in a matter of sparkles, bringing down the barrier of the match. Renji seemed slightly unnerved by the end of it; his hand was still on his katana's handle, but it rattled, as if in panic or fear. Prodox sighed and kept his sword back, an expression filled with an infinite 'I told you so's that Sen avoiding staring at for too long. The rest of the team members kept their weapons, somewhat skeptical of their leader's strength.

Sen felt that she could identify with the skill used though - green, and finished off the match. It was similar to one of her own, a finishing move meant to deal the last blow, and packed a punch when used. Despite his low mobility in battle though, the boy had reflexes that could catch projectiles, though multiple uncertainties had to be cleared up around that particular mystery. There was a matter of his health as well - for someone being locked in a battle with a seemingly consistent damage taken per second, it sure went down fairly slowly, reminding her of her own slayings back in town. Biting her lip, she felt like she should be imparting advice to him, but in multiple short gestures the rest of the party moved on together, and she decided to drop the subject, maybe at least for now.

Catching up to them, Rayne was busy hassling the leader with objections, and the two taller males were discussing something of utmost importance, though it was hard to tell what its contents were as they spoke softly. That left Prodox to with time to ponder alone by himself. As they trekked on the path, Sen could have sworn she saw an entrance of some kind, made of wood and rope, in the clutter of tree barks. She didn't bring it up though, dismissing it as her imagination.

After walking for a while, the team began to get skeptical. No enemies so far, only the occasional game that Rayne would swoop off to track down. Whenever she came back, she would always seem more exhausted, nevertheless, she would continue to greet the team with a smile on her face.

This time she returned with deer meat, grinning and explaining how much she was looking forward to roasting the food over a fire. "Like we would have to camp out here," Phoenix argued, unpleasant at how casually the topic of food was being brought up all of a sudden. Looking up from his book, the navigator grumbled, "We might just have to soon. I hope none of you mind." Sen was the first to groan from it, rolling her eyes tiredly as she slumped, glancing over at the clock afterwards. Only an hour or so since they had left town, and that fact had to be considered already?

"We are nearing the next area though, so that's something for us to look forward to," Edd brought up, earning a surprised comment from Prodox. The rapier-user glanced back on the path behind her; perhaps that had something to do with the short travelling time in this one specific area. She had a feeling they would face problems entering the next area this soon, too, and bringing up her opinion to backtrack to the team, it earned her a few confused looks, maybe a mutter or two of discontentment as well.

The blonde brought out his book with a few taps, and rapidly flipped through its pages with expertise, as if he had memorized its index inside out. Halting somewhere around the center of the manual, he squinted his eyes, tracing the information with a finger. Then, with a sigh, he closed the book and returned it back to his stash of items, before declaring, "We're heading back. Recommended level for the next area's about 10."

"What?! So we're just gonna grind here or turn back to town?" The outburst came from Prodox, and Edd shook his head in return. Turning over to Sen, he questioned, "What made you bring that decision up?"

"A wooden structure in the forest. I didn't spy anything else, and it was pretty deep in too."

"Thought so."

"Must be the source of the goblins," Phoenix offered, turning around. Renji did the same, following his lead. "Well, what're we waiting for? It's a good way to kill time, and there might be some decent loot over there."

The rest of the party agreed, and trailed behind the greatsword-user in unison.

[voilecafearchives-blog]

route i

- Day 11: Highway Hussle -

"Some squirt's been following us," The black-haired girl announced, squinting behind her. The pebbles shifted beneath her as she turned back on her heels. "Male too, think it was that kid from earlier."

The blond adjusted his glasses again, pushing them up the bridge of his nose. He was still reading the book, standing still as he waited for his companion to finish whatever she wanted to accomplish. Jokingly, one of the tall males by him commented casually, his blue eyes gleaming. "Someone's interested in her stalker, huh?" It earned him a glare and a kick to the foot from the alert female in black. Whilst he chuckled and withdrew his foot, the girl folded her arms, wrapped in basic and light black armor. "I'm a guy, Phoenix, and no, it can't be mine."

"Prodox." The androgynous-looking male turned to the other taller man, his eyes cast in shadows from his black mesh hat and his unsheathed new katana resting on his shoulder. Looking away, he watched his leader, who urged his party to continue trekking in a soft voice, walk past him. He was still attached to his book, and the man began to follow along, finishing on his remark as he did. "Tsun."

"I'm not a tsun," he uttered heavily under his breath as he watched his party member leave, a black coat fluttering in the strong breeze. Renji, he figured the man's name was. From behind, Phoenix tapped him on the shoulder as he moonwalked past him, his white cotton shirt baggy and light blue trousers sagging, almost reaching the gravel. "C'mon, we're gonna leave you behind in the dust if you're not keeping up!" Prodox clutched the handle of his sword, strapped to his side, and began to run towards his companion, who smirked and dashed even further up ahead to mock him.

Slowly strolling behind them were the two females of the group. Sen was busy stretching her arms, carefree, as the brunette, wearing a baggy white set of light thieves armor, attempted to make conversation with her. "So, who was that kid?"

"Do you ever stop asking questions?" Sen answered, in a curious manner. It wasn't as if she disliked Rayne's company, or her prompts to speak up, rather she was sort of stiff from waking up early, and she wasn't much of a morning person. Dropping her arms, she sighed, and then replied. "He was just someone I've met, is all. Nothing else.." Best not to reveal everything, she reckoned. Focusing on the party members ahead of her, she wondered if it was best to catch up with them now, or wait till later.

The warrior soon heard the cutting of air, snapping her out of a daze from enjoying the wind breeze and the luscious fields. Her partner had stopped, striking a pose, two small blades in-between her fingers. Rayne then rushed across the field, off the path they were travelling on. When Sen called her out for it, she yelled back for her to carry on ahead, returning the daggers to her inventory as she did.

"I'll catch up with you guys! Just gonna retrieve what I’d hunted is all!" She sighed, before heading down the path again. How far up ahead was Edd? The party list gave nothing away in regards to each member's location, and she figured she was slacking behind, considering that she couldn't really see her teammates clearly anymore; they were merely shadowy figures on the horizon. Sighing yet again, the girl picked up her pace, sprinting towards them.

As she advanced further, she realized that they were nearing the border of the map, which meant that there would be more skirmishes and ambushes, at least until they got out at the next area. Phoenix had drawn a large standard greatsword, its sheath strapped to his back, while Prodox was dancing upfront, trying to catch multiple sheep-like creatures off guard, a basic blue metal sword in hand - a fight. That probably meant that Edd and Renji were in front. Did they know about the battle keeping two of their teammates behind? Sen pulled out her rapier, and lowered her head. If she wanted to enter the fight with a charge attack, she had better prepare for it.

Phoenix glanced back behind him and yelled over to Prodox. "Switch out in a few seconds; backup coming in to engage!" Both their health bars showed a healthy green, though for Prodox, it had gone down a little, halfway to yellow. A <<Ram>> pushed the male from the side, and he stumbled back, before turning his wrist and driving his sword straight forward where it had been. It stabbed one of the monsters, lowering its health to an orange, and before the rams could exact revenge the warrior leapt back, his loose white shirt bloating for a moment.

"Leave it to me," Sen breathed, before accelerating from a slow jog to a sprint. As she crossed over into the battle zone, she brought her weapon up, and it grazed a foe, that burst into pixels in a matter of seconds. Skidding to a halt, she prepared herself to launch out again, rebounding towards the group. Her blade smacked the ram’s forehead, emptying its health bar, shattering it to pieces. The animals started to form a circle where she stood, prancing around the fighter, when she ended her one-hit rampage. One of the three’s eyes began to flare up, and it broke formation, attempting to tackle its enemy. It was quick, but she was quicker, and she brought down her rapier, ending the sheep’s existence. With a weak cry, it vanished. Two were left.

The warrior had tried to avoid using her Sword Skills when she did battle with others; the last time she did that, it caused quite a stir back in town. Looking back at her readied team members, she leaped out of the formation and returned to their side, passing the baton over to Phoenix, who had been agitatedly watching the fight since its beginning. Brandishing his greatsword, he swung it at one of his foes, bringing its health down to nothing. As it fell, the male brought it up to defend against a charge, and as his opponent’s horns clashed against his weapon, he pushed back. This time, the ram hit gravel, and it rolled momentarily, before stopping. This time, the monster's body remained.

The fighters returned their weapons as the loot system rolled the drops. The trio headed over to where the menu was, and stared at it for a moment.

"Just some crafting material? Man.." Sen didn't quite understand Prodox's bemoaning; crafting material was extremely useful. A small popup box appeared in the corner of her vision, signifying a change in her inventory, though she let it fade on its own, rather than closing it. "Well, we could always harvest its meat, if you wanna try out how that works," she heard the greatsword user reply, as he folded his arms. Might as well, she thought to herself, and brought out a carving knife from a small leather pouch after summoning it from her inventory. She attached the bag to her belt, before crouching down, ready to extort a meal's worth of food from the sole carcass left behind.

"Or Sen could do it," Prodox mentioned, a grim look on his face as he observed the gory scene. "Yeah, I can't watch. I'll just be heading off first. Phoenix, you coming along?" The latter scoffed, albeit sickly, and together they took off, leaving a flurry of dust behind and calling the warrior to catch up as soon as possible. Shifting her gaze towards them, more items had been added to her own inventory, and the girl dropped the sharp rock of a tool back into her pouch, her hands stained with blood. She knew it would leave with time, but for now she would have to bear with it. Shaking most of the liquid off, she began to head down the path yet again.

A little further on, she could have sworn someone was calling her, just as her mind was drifting off to dreamland. A small figure was running towards her from the side, a hand carrying something limp. Must be Rayne, and Sen wondered if she should continue walking ahead. She did it anyway, they could meet up further up the path.

It was her hunter of a companion, just as she suspected. The victim in her hands glimmered with a rabbit of golden fur - a rare creature, with minor stains of blood on it. Rayne also looked rather worn out and her clothes were dirtied, Sen observed as she got closer, but her team member was cheerful nonetheless. "Look, look!" she cried out as she ran, and the warrior smiled back, pleased for her. "That's a nice catch you got there," Sen complimented, as her she caught up. Panting, she raised it up again for her to see, and the warrior nodded back at her, signalling that they should carry on travelling instead. "We're almost at the map's boundary," she reminded the hunter, as she kept the game in her inventory. "They're all probably waiting for us by now."

"Right," the girl agreed, the rabbit disappearing in a cloud of pixels. Her tone perked up as they began walking. "So, did any battles occur as I was away?"

"Yeah, but there wasn't much for spoils though." The warrior gave her a rundown of what had happened whilst she was away, and as they travelled down the path, the sun began to set in the distance. Rayne brought it up once, and the girl replied that it was only a natural part of the game; some parts of the map were scripted to display a certain setting in the background. "You know, it'd be nice if we could enjoy this sunset together."

"We?"

"The rest of the team, maybe players of the game," Rayne listed, gazing off. "It'd be nice for us to just take a break every now and then." Sen nodded silently, turning her head in her companion's direction. As she appreciated the scene's beauty, she let a thought slip by her, "Yeah, I guess you're right. It is pretty."

As the duo walked in silence, shadows began to form ahead of them. Nudging her companion, Sen pointed ahead to the rest of their team, with Phoenix waving over to them and Edd still focused on his book. Rayne sprinted ahead, chuckling, but the warrior couldn't feel bothered enough to catch up. Even still, she was keeping people waiting, something she hated to do, and as she came to this conclusion, she quickened her walking pace, sighing to herself.

Smiling.

[voilecafearchives-blog]

route ii

- Day 10: On the road -

Out in the open, the fields and hills were green, with a few patches of flowers littered around the place. A few trees stood upright, their leaves swaying in the breeze. Under the cloudless blue sky, seven adventurers were huddling in a caravan, a yellow fabric over their heads. The sound of a bunch of potions rattling in their crates near the back of the vehicle acted as background noise. A non-playable character lead the way, guiding two brown horses on the path, their stomping hooves filling a dull silence. Not everyone was engaged in conversation, in fact, half the team was being pretty quiet, which wasn't what the kid was expecting.

"Hey, so what've you been doing up till now?" Rayne nudged the boy perkily, seemingly to have surpassed his personal space. She clung onto the kid's arm, grinning sweetly. Mamotsu struggled a little to get into a proper and comfortable position on the wooden flooring, as he leaned into the side of the vehicle. "Ah, uhm, nothing much, I suppose.."

"Well, you've the same equipment as most of us," Phoenix started, tossing a few golden coins in the air - col pieces. Catching them, he repeated this process as he went on. "So that means you were there at the town plaza, right? That free-for-all equipment was up for grabs, and you took a set."

"Or, he could've just been incredibly lucky, and stayed out of the bandits' sights," mentioned Prodox, who was lying down, arms crossed behind her head as she faced the kid directly from the opposite side. Her stance, feet outstretched, allowed her own coat to fall to the side, revealing a set of red beginners armor -  a rarity considering most of the reds had been discarded. Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Because that obviously happened to someone else other than you."

"No, I wasn't that fortunate, b-but what about it?" It was a touchy subject for him, for the person behind it all was glaring at him from time to time, when she was flipping a page in her journal, coupled with a disturbing aura as he sat beside her. Prodox huffed agitatedly and turned her head to the side, as Phoenix leered at her, smirking. "Well, you might've known what had happened," he continued, still toying with the coins. "Most people just assumed it was some kind of massacre from a ghost demon or something. As if."

Mamotsu hesitated to answer, and scanned the rest of the caravan for help. Renji, his eyes eternally trapped in shadows, stared out the open side of the caravan as he sat by it, watching the scenery as it went by. His head also seemed to be nodding every once in awhile, and the kid figured he was about to fall asleep. To his side was Eddiho, whom the kid resolved to call Edd. He was sitting peacefully, reading his book with a bright smile yet again. It made him wonder what the teen was reading, but he pushed aside that thought. Not now, he told himself

Eventually he thought to avoid telling them what had happened. "I.. really don't know. I was one of those people who were late there, I suppose.." Rayne clicked her tongue and pouted. "Aww man, I was really hoping someone would know, too!" Sighing, Phoenix caught the col in his hands and paused his game. "Oh well. Didn't expect you to know anyway."

The kid fell silent once more as Prodox was preyed on by Rayne's attention, which entertained Phoenix as well, with the banter that was going on between the two. Staring outside, the boy let his thoughts wander. His eyes slowly drifted towards the pages of Sen's book, which were inked with blood red, using markings he was not familiar with, and that sent the boy chills down his spine.

Tugging at the girl's sleeve, the boy prompted, "What's up with the red symbols?" She stared at him boredly, mouth agape, not knowing what to say. She muttered out a few words, "It's just a book," she said, and the kid nodded. "Yeah, but what makes them so red?"

"Monsters' blood," she continued, flipping a page. "It's handwritten. The pages were bound by boarskin. The paper.." Her voice trailed off as she tried to recall. "Paper's.. I'm.. not too sure myself." Murmuring, she looked off towards the walls of the vehicle. "I suppose I just found them lying around somewhere.." Mamotsu nodded, and turned his gaze back to the paper. A finger tracing the words, he found the pages to be smooth, dusty, but stained, and outlined the red marks the blood left. "And these markings? You can read them..?"

"You can't?" Surprise showed on the soldier's face, and the boy looked back curiously. "No," he responded, removing his hand from the page. "I only read English."

"Brace yourselves."

There was a loud thunderclap that interrupted and shook them. Both their heads turned towards the scenery outside. In a matter of moments, the sky was starting to fill up with dark clouds, and as Renji stuck his hand out, he felt the first few droplets of rain on his fingertips. "Too bad," Edd mentioned in a gentle tone, bookmarking the page with a red ribbon. "I was just starting to enjoy the weather outside."

"You can't be serious," Prodox chimed in, agitated. "It was just bright out a few minutes ago!" The caravan soon filled up with murmurs, and the NPC out front started slowing down, equipping a straw hat as he did. "You guys gonna weather the rain out, or are we breaking off from the trail for awhile?"

"The latter," Edd calmly replied, the blue shards appearing to take away his book. "I hope the rest of you are okay with that." Rayne sighed, and nodded along with the rest of the team. "You're kind of the leader here, I would guess so." He acknowledged her remark, and turning over to the rider, started giving orders in a calm and clear fashion. Within seconds their speed picked up, and they started treading onto soil, from the dirt path.

[voilecafearchives-blog]

route ii

- Day 10 : Travel -

The kid was running again.

The clutter of metal from him only signified that he had picked up some equipment left behind by the fallen soldiers the other day. Other players had done the same, and now the town was beginning to bustle with life again, despite the uniformed look they had.

Players walked the streets of brick in groups of three, smiling, laughing, with the blades of their choice by their sides. A kid sprinted them by, wearing large, baggy clothing, his arms undoubtedly full of brown paper bags. A man in a leather cap stopped to ask where he was going in such a hurry, and he chuckled back, pulling out an orange and tossing it over. It was juggled, then caught, but before the man could object, the kid took off without saying a word.

Speeding through the marketplace, he finally slowed down when he saw the warrior again, this time sitting atop the red and white stripped roof of someone's stall, cross-legged. He reveled in the clatter of his new metal boots as he approached her, appreciative. The girl shot back a look at him, but it didn't do much good; he had started getting used to the tiger gaze she had. With a growl, she folded her arms and lowered her head to look back at him, sternly opening up with, "You're late."

"Right," Mamotsu grinned, responding cheekily, enjoying the breeze that messed up his hair. Reaching into a paper bag, he pulled out a fruit. "Here!" He tossed a lemon at her, and she caught it, taking a huge bite out of it near instantly. Returning the fruits to his inventory, they dissipated into numerous bright blue digital squares. Taking his time, the kid scurried up the side of the stall, with the help of the wooden boxes stacked up beside it.. His armor got in the way a few times, but he didn't mind - at least he had some now.

Taking a seat next to her, the kid picked up an orange and peeled it, a large smile plastered across his face. The duo watched the mass of players walk on by in peace, silently finishing their snacks. Life seemed cheery enough; sure, there had been accidents that sparked a little more conflict after that first incident two days ago, but they had decreased in number, the boy observed, and he was thankful for that. Finishing a slice, he turned to the warrior, her face completely devoid of wounds today, and asked, mouth still full of food, "So, when are you leaving?"

She raised a hand to him, taking her time to ingest her own share of food -- back in the real world, she had been taught that it was polite -- before speaking, her voice strained. "This afternoon. The trip's been delayed long enough."

"Do you think I can still accompany you?" She glared back at him, taking another bite from her lemon. "Please?"

Sighing, she swallowed, before leaning back on the tarpaulin that they had been sitting on.

"Huh? Wait, really?" Mamotsu was taken aback. His companion countered, ready to finish her own lemon. "If you keep talking I'll pass on laundry duty to you too." The kid straightened his back and nodded, pulling out another slice of his citrus to snack on. "R-Right, I understand! Thank you."

A grey box soon appeared in front of him with a tinkle, and he jabbed at the green circle. A white list showed up in front of him, showing various names; Sen was not their leader. He could instinctively hear some of their voices faintly through telepathy too, and tuning into their chatter, he realized they were discussing about travel supplies.

"That's our party. We'll be meeting them at the entrance of town," the soldier commented, before devouring the rest of her fruit. The kid nodded back at her, and attempted to converse with the other team members. Concentrating, he closed his eyes and willed himself to think as if he were speaking directly towards the other party members.

'Hello.'

'Oh hey, you're the new kid, right?' A cheerful female spoke up, her tone seemingly overexcited. ‘I’m Rayne. It’s nice to meet you!’

'Hey, don't get distracted by that guy,' an androgynous voice spoke up, interrupting whatever Rayne was about to mention. 'You're supposed to be on duty. Priorities, remember?' Soon afterwards came a groan, and a muffled reluctant protest.

'Don't mind that guy,' a soft-spoken male advised, in a polite manner. ‘His name is Prodox. I’m Eddiho. Eddiho2.’

'What? Excuse me?'

There was a low rumble that interrupted the conversation. Then someone spoke - Sen, 'Eddiho2. Yeah, there’s a number in his name, but I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.'

'Where's Phoenix? Hey, has anybody seen Phoenix? Renji?' Prodox called, but received no response. Mamotsu was curious. 'Renji?'

'Haven’t seen him,' a deep, calm voice shot back. An older male, the kid figured. 'I can go look for him if you want.’

‘Yeah, ‘cause I’m obviously in danger,’ a higher-pitched male commented, and Mamotsu could imagine a rolling of eyes from this guy. ‘I’ll be back in a bit. We’ve still got a few minutes to spare, anyway. Hey, Sen, you need anything from the general store?’

‘No, I’m fine. Mamotsu?’

‘Ah, no, it’s okay. You guys don’t have to.’

‘We’re going to be on a trip that spans for a long time,’ Prodox reminded, with a voice somewhat strained. ‘If anything, it helps that you think up of any necessary provisions we might be needing on our trip.’ The kid sighed and racked his brain. ‘Augh.. Potions? Do we have money for potions?’

‘No, we don’t. Of course we do, I’ll grab some more for the kid, anybody need more?’

At this point, the boy opened his eyes to the sound of something heavy landing on the ground. With the bags of fruit in hand, his fellow party member had dropped down, and looked back up to him, waiting. She had started on another fresh lemon, visible in the other hand, and as she swallowed, the boy scurried down, taking his own unfinished orange with him. He struggled to keep up with her brisk pace, and cried for her to slow down.

“W-Where are you even going?!”

“Over to the meeting point. We can’t afford to be late.” Sen disappeared behind a corner, and the boy followed, keeping the orange in a pocket, which turned it to disappear into a bunch of blue pixelated squares, signifying that it had been returned to his inventory. The marketplace whizzed past him, a blur of red, blue and orange as he sprinted forth, trying to catch up with his companion, who was taking long strides. Eventually he returned to her side, out of breath.

“So.. Where’s.. the-”

“It’s at the town’s entrance. Luckily for you, we’re almost there.”

On the horizon, the duo could spot a large wooden caravan, resting beside an orange bricked weapons shop, with a few other figures surrounding it. There was a teen with short, black hair and similarly colored eyes, wearing a red and white stylish coat - one of the game’s backer cosmetic items. To her side there was a long, black scabbard, and her arms were crossed as she concentrated on conversing with another female, who was shorter than her. Dark brown hair, and metallic blue eyes, wearing loose white beginner gear, similar to Mamotsu’s own. To both her sides were small blades, both kept in leather.

As the arrived, the aforementioned two raised a hand to greet their teammates, and from their short greetings, the kid could figure out that the former was Prodox, while the latter was Rayne. Following the soldier, he raised a palm up to greet them as he strolled over, before dropping it, looking around the site.

Standing near the front of the caravan was an athletic-looking teen, his hair swept to a side, looking like he was part of a korean boy band, who was reading a book bound in brown leather. On it were golden markings, similar to the stranger’s own hair colour. His green eyes darted left and right, and every interval or so the male would turn a page. His garments were similar to that of Prodox, except that he had a pair of thick, steel gauntlets on his hands, and to his back was a large rectangular sheathed blade. He raised his head after a moment, realizing he was being watched, and nodded kindly to Mamotsu, before returning to his reading.

Soon after, a tall young adult jogged his way over to the caravan, greeting everyone else with a short 'Hey'. He wore a black coat with yellow lining over a set of blue beginner equipment; a craftable beginner item. Behind him was a large sword with a rounded edge, and the hilt that stuck out above his head was thick as well. With long, dark brown hair, and similar blue eyes, the boy figured he was Rayne's older brother, and brought that up.

"Huh? Oh. No kid, not related whatsoever," Phoenix rejected bluntly, handing over a yellow sack. "Here. You wanted some potions, right?"

He was quickly patted on the shoulder by another man, with a shaggy haircut that covered his eyes in shadows. Instinctively, Phoenix retorted to his new team member, "No, we're not related either," and without turning his head, he greeted Renji. The male glowered over his shoulder, seemingly glaring at the kid with a seen yellow eye, chewing on a straw of wheat, turning the unsheathed katana on his shoulders slightly. The kid was intimidated, but just as he began to feel uneasy, he brushed his hand off his comrade, and turned towards the front of the caravan.

Slowly taking the sack of potions with both hands, Phoenix commented, a little agitated. "Sheesh, what's with him? That guy always seems to be in a bad mood." He turned to Mamotsu, who shrugged, and added, "Whatever, don't let it get to you, kid." He then followed behind Renji, whose own black coat was flapping in the wind and a matching leather trucker hat slanting towards his right ear, over to the vehicle.

As the kid watched the other members gathered to hop on board, Sen pushed him along harshly, which earned her a muffled groan, an objection, and a reluctance to move. "C'mon, Mamotsu, we gotta go. Aincrad awaits."