Morning Dew Girl: Clouds Will Rage In

    Asuna is rarely known to eat alone. She also has this thing about stormy nights. She... isn't a big fan of them. Sure, in the real world they were amazing. But in this world? They are kind of stressful. She hasn't seen Goldenblade for a while, but she figured she'd give a quick message a try. She seems to recall that GB tended to be in the area from time to time, thanks to the Alliance HQ being in Eas.

    She promises she won't be grilling in an onsen this time. She's cooking a proper meal in her kitchen! And hoping that GB doesn't get soaked on the way.

Goldenblade doesn't get soaked on the way because she has a magical umbrella, which gives +2 to avoiding rain if you open it up over your head when it's raining. Alas, there is no bonus to Song, and it turns out to be a completely mundane umbrella. But she -is- in Eas, she's trying to coordinate a couple things that remain hung up to the point that she's beginning to lose hope, and there are good crafting facilities here, and she's made a number of trial pieces, swords mostly, in a few different styles. Mainly just seeing what may be done with the materials at hand.

But when chimmed, she will join Asuna, happy she's not grilling in the onsen, and call out, "Good evening," as she folds the umbrella and leaves it by the door to drip dry.

    The thing about Asuna's place is, well, it's a widely known oasis for free food. Good food. Pizza food. Sushi. All sorts of stuff. And when she's there and the kitchen is open, news travels fast. Heck, some people have been known to just skulk around Mac Anu, waiting for the call to come. Tonight, the menu is pizza. With some sashimi. Plenty of fresh rice. And yes, natto. She loves the stuff.

    "Hey Goldenblade I'm glad you could make it."

    There's a sudden, loud crash of thunder. Asuna does NOT flinch. Honest. She just hates that sound when one isn't in a richly appointed home in the real world. For one reason or another, she never feels all that safe from weather in ETO.

Food! Food! Food! Plus Asuna! (Asuna! Asuna!) Once Soujiro finishes training exercise number thirty five, he is well on his way to getting a bite to eat. "Wow, that smelled good from way back here," the samurai says. Its not even an exaggeration as the waft of a good pizza carries far. The blue haired warrior could practically float on one of those scent waves like a cartoon to be led in for a slice. "This would be great weather for horror stories," he says as he smiles to Asuna, then to GB.

Since her pity party turned redoubling of enthusiasm and determination, Thalia has struck out again to walk and wander. Thusly, she's ended up here in Mac Anu, meandering through the streets.

Unlike Goldenblade, she does not have an umbrella. She has a long, black oilcloth cloak. With the hood up, she'd look ominous if she wasn't so short. The low heels on her boots don't really help.

Though it is probably creepy to see a hooded figure peeping in a window, only visable when the lightning flashes.

Goldenblade flinches at the thunder, but not much, she's used to being outside and near large bare-metal structures in lightning storms. And full-body mail armor doesn't insulate well. "Hey, Asuna, wouldn't miss it for the world. Let me get a slice of pizza?" she requests as she finds a place to sit down, smirking to Seta about horror stories. "Shall I tell you about the supervisor who made us climb a skyscraper in the rain? Walking on a wet girder ten stories up was pretty scary." Somehow that doesn't seem like just a story.

    "Soujiro!"

    He gets a Samurai bow. She rises smoothly and considers the suggestion. "Scary stories, huh? I might know a few." She will have to ponder that for a bit, though. It's one thing to know of scary things you have experienced, quite another to make that sound more interesting than a book report.

    She busies herself in the kitchen. The food is getting along well. In fact, the pizza is is resting on her counter. Asuna makes a few careful cuts, getting generous slices for both Goldenblade and Soujiro. She is just dropping these off at the table when she looks out the window and sees Thalia. Okay, that's not entirely accurate. She sees what looks like a Nazgul hunting for Frodo and the One Ring.

    Her weapon is in her hands in a moment, and she races towards the window.

    "Who is it?! Show yourself!"

    Her voice isn't wavering! Probably because she realized long ago that the key to covering your fear is to go on the offensive before she gives that flight reaction a chance to figure itself out.

Goldenblade smiles to Asuna, bites into pizza, savors. That's one of the things that she likes about kids, they made pizza super popular. As she bites in, Asuna goes leaping past her to the window, which she had been facing away from, and she turns, still with a mouthful of pizza and now a puzzled expression. But she's got to finish chewing her bite of pizza before she can say anything, and the dark and stormy night makes it hard to see outside when the interior is lit and there's no lightning flash outside.

Soujiro Seta returns the bow to Asuna when it is given, but is sure to give Asuna a high five on his way over to the pizza. "I dunno if we can top Golden's!" he grins as the young man makes his way over to get a slice. "I'd want to hear the rest of that one," he confirms, stuffing his mouth with the first bite. So good. His entire face lights up. Or is that the lightning. Thunder? Jumpscare!

No jumpscare. Souji is chewing on his pizza as he looks between Asuna and the person at the window. Chew chew chew. He walks over, opening the window up to the person looking in. Chew chew. "You want some pizza?" he asks, offering some of his pizza over to the person he just met. Because that is aproximately Souji.

Also the half-eatten pizza just became a relic to the harem. Coveted for the ages (or until consumed).

Thalia did not mean to scare anyone, honest! She was just attracted by the smells, strong enough to waft even through the driving rain, and had to investigate. It's not her fault that her only rain gear makes her look like a minion of the Witch King!

Asuna comes racing towards the window, and a very un-Nazgul-like yelp emerges from the black-clad shape. Thalia, promptly, falls on her behind, splashing down in a puddle, her hood immediately flopping off her head.

"Oh god don't stab me! I'll go, I swear! It just smelled REALLY GOOD so I had to investigate!"

Poor thing is getting soaked. She probably has it coming.

Of the things that Souji expected upon opening the window and asking if Thalia wanted pizza, he didn't expect that. He chews cryptically. "Asuna, I think this one is for you," as he slides his head back inside. "Oh! Want me to put some tea on?" he asks as he menu produces a towel to dry off his hair that got flecked by the rain.

Miho is soaked from the rain but she does not care, she heard there was Pizza. She has not had suich in ages. Oh it's been forever and she'll enter shake herself off then hit the menu button to dry off. "So I heard there was Pizza here?!" At last someone has /pizzaed for real!

"Asuna! Soujiro!" The tiny busty Salamander is bouncing at this point and in very good spirits.

    Soujiro solves the problem so much more calmly than Asuna. The Flash puts her weapon away with a soft sigh. Inwardly she reflects that could have been done so much better on her part. It's a Root City, it's not like she was in danger.

    "Er, yeah, sorry about that."

    She ducks out to help Thalia up to her feet. On the way, she answers Soujiro, "Please do! I never pass up a chance for some tea."

    She laughs as she has to almost jump out of the way of an excited Miho. The bouncing is, honestly, a little bit hypnotic. It's not envy that Asuna feels, though, that someone clearly won the chest lottery, it's just admiration of the results. Not like /that/. Jeez. Anyway...

    "I'm Asuna, by the way. And you are loitering outside the best eating in town. So hop on in here," she says to Thalia. "So let's get you inside, dried up, and fed."

Goldenblade recognizes that voice, they just had a conversation not that long ago in Shibuya. "Thalia?" she calls out after finishing her bite hurriedly. "Come in out of the rain!" To Asuna, she says, "It's not a bandit. It's a friend of mine. Asuna, meet Thalia. Thalia, Asuna. She makes /actual/ pizza." This seems to carry some significance for her. "Without eel," she clarifies. Because the Japanese often put eel on pizza, and while Goldenblade is ok with it, it's not /really/ pizza to her with eel on it.

She smirks to Miho as she arrives, calls out, "Good evening!" as Asuna brings Thalia inside.

"Miho!" Soujiro replies back to Miho's greeting with an equal amount of bounce. Synchronized bouncing. A form of training. Wait! Add difficulty while eatting while bouncing.

The spriggan lets herself be helped up and led inside out of the rain. Beyond the cloak, she is absolutely not dressed for the weather. Halter tops and tiny shorts do not keep one dry, but they at least dry off fast enough. She clearly has been spending more time doing the fighty than the living thing.

She at least has manners enough to hang the dripping cloak on a hook near where Goldenblade's umbrella is. It's not going to stop the rest of her from being wet, but she won't track as much water all over. Though a glance at the ... bouncing Miho says that it's not that big of a deal.

When Goldenblade introduces her, she bows politely to Asuna. "Thank you for your hospitality," she says politely, straightening and staring at the pizza. "R-real pizza? It's been ... Oh wow!"

Miho she looks over to Thalia and grins.

"Hello, I don't know you. The name's Miho Mithrilscale!"

She grins even more and looks back to Asuna. "I'll ttake some if your sharing! I'd like to have a full belly!" She also grins at Soujiro, she's not eating yet and she says "Yes, though Japanses style or Western?" She's had both after all.

"Shhhh, the real pizza is a secret," Asuna says to Thalia. She is dreadfully serious for a good two seconds, then laughs. "Sorry, tons of people know and I don't mind. I kinda hate eating alone, frankly. If you ever see the light on and there's no bamboo practice sword resting against the frame, I want company. I also tend to chim. I accept friend requests as a matter of habit."

    She will make sure everyone has a spot at the table, then gets back to cutting slices. She does not cut the whole pizza. This is a slice-by-slice affair, meant to ensure that everything is kept as fresh as possible.

    "Western style," Asuna calls out to Miho. She has nothing at all against eel. It's just that western seems so much more popular among adventurers. She has a mind to making an even better pizza, but hasn't yet delved into the wonders of such an advancement yet.

    Regardless, she gets a plate and a generous slice to all of her guests. She made a big pizza. Those who are paying attention to the kitchen will notice that another is baking.

    "Soujiro, I take it the lovely ladies are staying somewhere nearby? If so, maybe they'd like me to send a care pack." She has to take care of Soujiro's fanclub. They are honorary Samurai, as far as she's concerned.

Soujiro Seta finishes up the pizza slice he is working on. "That'd be great, Asuna. They would appreciate it," he tells Asuna. Even the ones that don't directly engage with him would devour a pizza pie if placed back where they all hang out. "Mm, and tea before I go," he says, swiping the space in front of him for the meny and getting out a pot-of-tea item that is only missing a bit of heat. Easily fixed with the kitchen in the area until it is steaming.

Goldenblade chuckles as Thalia enters, and says, "Come in, sit down, warm up." She grins at Thalia boggling at real pizza while working on her own slice, and smirks as she wondered the same thing as Miho. Then she looks over to Soujiro Seta again, not remembering the harem until Asuna mentions feeding his minions. "Gave them the slip, eh?" she asks with a grin.

Miho sill find a spot to sit and her tail is wagging a bit. "Oh great! That's what I had more of, I was raised in the west due to my father's job for most of my childhood." She seem eager to get some. "Not going to stay a while wait oh tea!? I'd love some too!"

Thalia shivers a little, cold from the rain, until the pizza shows up. This is the second time she's been fed by other people in the last two days. Life is pretty good, honestly. Goldenblade at least can see that she is feeling much better than yesterday.

Especially when hot, fresh pizza is set in front of her. Violet eyes widen slightly as she just smells it for a second. Her wings vibrate just a little. "That smells amazing, thank you so much!"

Something seems to hit her, then. She looks at Soujiro. "Did I hear you get called Soujiro? The Duelest League guy?"

    Asuna, as usual, does not grab food right away. She has a secret, though. She always eats something ahead of time so she can enjoy being the hostess, first. And she always makes a lot of food. In this case, she busies herself with the pizza that is baking. She wants to get it ready when it's still at full heat.

    Asuna's delivery pizza does not use cardboard boxes. She uses a clay pan to protect the pizza from the elements. And to keep the heat from escaping. It is wrapped in a large cloth with an elegant knot at the top. The Flash looks over her work slowly. It meets her expectations. She also prepares sashimi for them. There is plenty for those eating here, but also plenty for her friends. Perhaps the strangest part is the little set of tins she uses last. Each contains choice seeds, the kinds that a duck or cluck-cluck might find particularly tasty. One more careful wrapping of the lot makes it easy to take as a single pack.

    "There we go. The whole family has something now."

    Asuna smiles, turning her attention first to the table. Everyone seems okay there. And then to Soujiro.

    "Oh, I am going on a patrol tomorrow. I heard a rumor of some beastman causing issues out east. I'll chim you more. If you are free, I would like to have you and Klein both along. The Three Scale Samurai are needed."

    She divers her attention back to the table. "Eat as much as you like, Miho! This is a big pizza. And I can make more. Oh, and there is sashimi and sushi to come. Oh, and thank you, Thalia. I hope you like it!"

Goldenblade grins as Thalia enthuses at the pizza. It's amazing how much some really good food will lift the spirits. She looks surprised as Miho claims to be leaving soon, or maybe not? It's hard for her to read cues. Asuna looks happy to be busy cooking, and she smiles wistfully, herself. Her wife was like that - happy to feed people and fill them up. Not so much on the patrolling, but that wasn't a thing to do in Japan. Well, this game was supposed to help her get over being alone, and it's certainly done that. She hasn't walked this much since she was forty. She still won't ride a peko, of course, though she's bought one of the rare horses and rides that, around Eas where it's stabled. She's not a good enough rider/caretaker to keep one with her.

"Asuna has good company for the night so all is well," Soujiro says to Miho. He will likely patrol and check in on five or eight more people before turning in, which is the opposite of giving his fanclub the slip. GB gets a thumbs up all the same.

It does not take a long time for him to add heat to his blend of Souji tea. Something about it tastes like happiness in liquid form. Combined with the meal for the ladies, his cluck clucks, and the mighty mallard, they will all have a warm and cozy evening tonight! "You can expect a night full of chims saying thank you," the sword saint smiles. It is like one massive text chain at this point. "Of course, let me know when you are going out!" and although he doesn't outright say he will be there, he is the kind of person that will show up when needed.

He gathers up the meal-to-go, almost missing the girl who ignored him at the window earlier. Soujiro looks over to her. Soujiro Seta, Blood Knight of the Aincrad Liberation Front. One of the Three Scale Samurai. Legendary Tower Climber of the Debauchery Tea Party even before the expansion. And... Duelist League Guy! "I am Soujiro Seta, and I'm glad you have an interest in the League. Stop by a training some time. The last one was exciting." Smile. Sparkles.

Miho says "That he is the hottest samurai in Yamato though I hear that Klien guy's fairly good too." She grins. She will get her pizza the moment she does have some she pauses for a moment. "Souji we do need to get to my training when we have time do we not?" She is beaming here at this.

She did kind of ignore Soujiro in the window. In her defense, Asuna was coming at her with a weapon, so it was an issue of priorities. "I'll be sure to. Shenmi said I should find you to ask about it, and I guess dumb luck is a thing." She smiles and ducks her head to the samurai in gratitude. The sparkles make her blush a little, so she turns and starts eating her pizza.

She doesn't have the inclination to be part of a fan club for an attractive guy right now. She's working on SELF IMPROVEMENT and getting stronger so she doesn't let others down.

She swallows, and looks at Asuna, eyes wide. "This is. So good. Everything I make tastes like cardboard."

Goldenblade gets a thumbs-up from Seta, she's likely earned the jealousy of his harem with that thumbs-up. Well, maybe. The reason Goldenblade has no idea how women think is that she's cross-playing, a chargen accident with farther-reaching repurcussions than she expected. She doesn't much think about it now, two years later, but it's still a bit weird. But she smiles to Thalia as she connects up with Seta about the League. "I should do something with that," she admits. "It's just that I'm so infuriatingly bad at it. I guess you really can't teach an old dog new tricks." Thalia's cooking comment draws a sigh. "Even stuff I /could/ cook in real life tastes awful," she complains.

    Asuna loves the thank you chims! Plus it gives her a chance to chat. Girl talk with friends is nice. She never got to hang on the phone all night talking to her friends in the real world. She's able to experience it now, though.

    "I will look forward to the chims and I will let you know. Probably early-ish tomorrow." Not at the crack of dawn, though. Dawn is for TRAINING! One can only wonder where she got that thought from.

    And all is right in the world. Nothing at all to...

    "Sorry, what about Klein?"

    Asuna pauses, sushi knife midway through cutting gracefully through a roll. She is so very still. Her voice sounds so very calm, too. Honestly, it sounds like someone trying really hard to sound calm but who very much is not. "Klein is not 'fairly good'. He's amazing. He's handsome, brave, noble, caring, and a model of everything a b-... samurai should be!"

    There's a silence for a moment. Then thankfully Thalia changes the subject. "Ah, I'm so happy to hear that! If you ever want to learn, please let me know. Or just drop by for regular meals whenever I'm around. Hm. I should really consider renting some more space in the future so I can have a big party and invite everyone!" Especially the mallard.

Soujiro Seta gives Goldenblade that 'you can do it' sparkly smile. All it takes is practice! Training! TRAINING!

The sort of praise that Miho ives Soujiro doesn't go to his head, Soujiro smiles to it. "Klein is a great guy," he gives a solid set of nods. However in Souji brain it is probably on the idea of martial prowess. Not on the hotness scale. One of the three Scale Samurai. With plenty of TRAINING. "We do! We can invite Thalia to it as well. Make a day of it." No, one does not 'make a day of it' with Souji. Every day is training. Monday? Training Day. Tuesday? Training Day. Wednesday? Thier child is full of woe, so we give that day a pass. Thor's Day?! Thor demands thy training! The aura of TRAINING radiates off of him to the point the rain wont be able to hit him when he steps outside.

"Talk to you soon, Asuna, Thalia, Goldie, Miho. Don't want this getting cold!" Souji says, putting the item in his inventory so he can wave.

"I ...never really had to cook in real life," Thalia says a bit quietly. She's still pretty shy about sharing real facts about the person piloting the Spriggan. Luckily, she can just take another bite of pizza to not have to talk about it anymore. Going back to basic food is going to be heartbreaking.

"I think I just might, Asuna. That sounds like fun. And useful!"

She then nods rapidly to Soujiro. "Yes, please! I'm not afraid of hard work. Anything I can do will help me!" Help her not get bodied by giant ants again.

Goldenblade smiles to Asuna, says, "If you want to expand your place, be sure to give me a call." She chuckles as Seta gives her an encouraging look. Practice? It'd take a /lot/. Her rhythym is awful in PVP. She's got a technique that works on monsters that doesn't work on players, but she can't cross the gap. "Don't let your pizza get cold," she calls. To Thalia, she says, "You really should come by my training school. It's called the Crescent Academy, it's in Carmina Gadelica Marina. I can teach you a few techniques that might really help you out."

    "Be safe, Soujiro! I'll keep in touch! And.. again, thank you. Always." A deep bow as he is leaving. It's a more serious tone, for a serious feeling. The Samurai don't just train together. To Asuna, they are family.

    Then she can turn her attention back to the group. "And definitely feel free, Thalia. Oh, and don't be shocked if I invite you to beach parties. We tend to do those from time to time. Not to worry, there will be training. And crab hunting. And diving for rare fish that I can craft into new and exciting foods!"

    She gets a bit carried away, sometimes. Speaking of carried away. more space! "Oh, I will have to keep that in mind, Goldenblade! I am pretty much useless with building things, but I can definitely keep people fed as a thank you. And of course pay and such."

    She diverts her attention to serving more food. Some crispy fried eel with sauce nestled wrapped in nori (dried sea weed) and then tucked into a roll of sushi, also wrapped in nori. This is then elegantly covered with bright orange roe, delivering a wonderful pop of flavor and a lovely appearance to boot.

    "Oh, and if you have any space left over, I have a special delicacy. I didn't make it! I brought it from Shibuya. Pela's melonpan. She's... the best baker in all of Yamato." She lefts out a wistful sigh. Her maid hero. And if others didn't save enough room, well, just more melonpan for her!

"You're on too, Goldenblade. I need all the help I can get. I feel like I've fallen behind. So far behind, and now I have to try and sprint to catch up," Thalis says brightly, sounding determined rather than defeated. It's a big step up from the other day, and it seems like the Spriggan has bounced back fully.

She looks at Goldenblade, tilting her head slightly. "We kinda fight similarly, don't we?" Then her attention zips back to Asuna, eyes sparkling. "Beach parties!? We have those!? I'll be there, just chim me!"

As food keeps being presented, Thalia keeps eating it. Where does it go? She's tiny!

Goldenblade chuckles as Asuna gets carried away with her plans. "I'd be happy to take payment in food," she says. "Worth more than cash, here." She mmmms as Asuna mentions the melonpan, though the eel sauce holds a special place in her heart. She nods to Thalia, "Great, glad to hear it." Do they fight similarly? Maybe a little? I'm a Blade Dancer," she mentions the class on the 12x12 table that lists all 132 classes in the game. "Though I'm a bit heavier and more defensive than most, I think. I'm a pretty strong off-tank." An Inspect on Thalia and she hrms. "Assassin, so you're balanced a bit more on offense than I am, I think, for PVP? But in duties, you'd be more versatile in defense..." She has to think about this. "But I can teach you a lot of techniques, yes."

    Asuna listens to GB and Thalia dig into training. She takes the time to look over the table. Is it perfect? Hm. She sees a problem. She will take the tea that Soujiro left and refill cups. There. Now the world is right.

    She does just linger in the kitchen for a while, watching her guests enjoy themselves. It's... peaceful. Calming. She breathes in. The thunder rolls in the background. She breathes out.

    Tomorrow has her attention for a moment. But only a moment. She has made sure she won't be going alone this time. Training has taught her to be ready for the future, but to not allow it to distract her from what is happening right now.

    She leaves the kitchen and settles in at the table. She's quiet. Picking up a pair of chopsticks, she plucks up a piece of pickled ginger, sets it on a piece sushi and then eats it. No soy sauce is used, oddly enough.

Goldenblade is a planner, which should come as no surprise, as building requires planning and forethought. If you want a certain result, you need to lay the right foundation. She's finished her pizza by now, but doesn't really want to head out into the rain, but she's got the yawns. "Asuna, do you have rooms upstairs for rent?" she asks. It's a loooong way back to Eas.

Miho has been eating her pizza happilyh for the last little bit and she looks over at Thalia. "I did from times to time, but here i can't boil water without setting it on fire." She makes a face to Thalia and then takes another bite of pizza. "See you Souji." She looks over to ASuna and ponders "So Asuna you need any weapons forged?"

    "I have a couch!"

    That's a no. The upstairs, as it were, is not her's. Sadly. She just has the ground level in this building.

    "Plus I have a bunch of futons. A lot of people, oddly enough, find themselves quite drowsy after coming to the table for a while."

    Frankly, as long as the guests are Scale Samurai or girls, they are welcome to crash on her floor. "I do kinda like slumber parties, though I must admit I'm going to be off in the morning. Scale Samurai business and all that. Patrol work! Training! And maybe some experience and awful overworld mob drops."

    Seriously, orc teeth? What is she supposed to do with all that junk, make the world's tackiest necklace?

    Miho hits on something secret! Well, something that is a surprise. "I am finally working on a weapon. A beautiful one." She accesses her inventory to pull out an unfinished blade. "I'm a bit of a weaponcrafter, but not an expert. So I'm getting a lot of help to shape it and get it ready. I call it the Lambent Light."

     She considers her work for a time. While she's not the best weaponcrafter (she knows Miho is better) she did her very best and took her time. The blade is offered to Miho for inspection.

    "I'm focusing on something low weight but sturdy. My style is to strike fast and I rely on a lot of reposting. As an off-tank, I regularly find myself in situations where I need to keep attention and force the enemy off balance."

Goldenblade smiles, and tells Asuna, "I will take you up on that couch. Won't be my first time sleeping on a couch." And maybee she's lucky in this case to be in a female avatar. Well, there's tradeoffs. "Thank you so much," she says, and will drift over to the couch and fade out with a full belly.

    It is late, and after re-collecting her weapon, Asuna makes sure all her guests have comfortable places to rest for the night. She pulls out clean futons for Miho and for Thalia. Sheets and blankets and pillows are produced and set out. Goldenblade, who has already drifted off, gets a blanket covering as well.

    When everyone is comfortable, Asuna extinguishes the lanterns. "If you need anything, please come get me," she whispers to Miho. "I will be gone at first light, most likely, but I'll leave plenty of food out. The door will lock behind you as you go, so if you can just make sure everyone knows to close it behind them, that would be great!"

    With that, Asuna gets to her bed for sleep. It will be an early morning and a lot of travel.