Stragglers in the Plains

As of late, the traveling party has been spending their time just north of the city of Dun Loireag. It was cheaper to camp, and with their combined skills, it wasn't all that difficult to live off the land. However, after the Wave of Calamity, it felt a little strange doing so for Mikage. She always seems to take watch during the darkest periods of night. Which means that the girl is usually asleep during the early hours of morning.

However, on this particular morning, she is no longer within the camp. Rama, however, remains, though he seems anxious. It doesn't take long for the lynx to start leading Cyrus away, out into the fields. It's here that it becomes obvious that some kind of fighting has been taking place. Grasses are trampled down in places by large footprints.

After a few moments, the source of this becomes clear. Mikage seems to be fighting against trio of smaller orcish creatures. By the look of the area, it seems that there may have been a larger party of monsters here before, but now there are only three. Even if they are weaker than some others, the fact that there are three of them makes it a challenge. The girl keeps moving backwards, making sure that they can't flank her.

For now, her health seems to be holding, though there is an obvious dip visible on the party window. Not quite to yellow yet, but it is getting there. She blocks a blow from one of the orcs, then kicks them backwards, immediately bracing for another attack from the other side.

Cyrus has been watching Mikage for a while now. The strange nervous energy that's come over her. No doubt he's commented at least once that the clouds are normal. But no doubt that did not assuage her feelings on the matter. Cyrus himself had not been on the backlines during that battle. He'd been at the front as a healer, keeping Landers alive. After all, unlike Adventurers, they did not get a second chance.

When Miakge is fully missing in the morning, and Rama's 'subtle' ministrations try to lead him along, Cyrus isn't long behind the feline. That cat is smarter than most people give it credit for, and he follows right on along with the lynx. It isn't long before he hears the sounds of battle. The clashing of blades having him go from a walk to a sprint, preparing some of his potions and the moment the girl has moved back enough, a potion shatters against her back, immediately lifting her health up.

"I've got your back." Cyrus calls out to her, not interfering with the actual fight yet. "Do you need me to run crowd control on them?"

The clouds may be normal, but that hadn't eased the feeling that the world was changing, yet again. They had yet to actually travel into the city to see the hourglass, to confirm that it now lay dormant. This seems to be some sort of confirmation to what she'd been feeling for days, that the orc threat may seem to be over, but there were some stragglers that remained.

The feeling of the potion striking her back nearly has the girl flinching, expecting an enemy from behind, but she only spares a glance backwards to make sure she isn't being flanked. The sight of Cyrus actually brings a sense of relief and a more determined feeling of purpose. "This one seems to be the group leader." She motions at the one who seemed to be using more clever attack patterns. He would wait until one of the others struck and then move with them.

The other two seemed to be using more standard enemy AI, not attacking together, giving her enough time to adapt to their movements. "See if you can pull the other two off. They have dumber AI." The orcish leader, who looks little different from his comrads, only identified by a blue splash of paint across his twisted features, grunts at her. It's almost as if he were offended by her comments, but it's just a dumb mob, right?

"There were five of them when I got here. They were moving towards the farmstead just north of here." She pants, catching her breath as she swings her sword, causing the leader to dart just out of range. "Figured I could use some practice and xp."

"I guess a bunch of them got away during the big battle outside of the valley." Cyrus remarks as he moves just a bit closer to her. Two potions come off of his longcoat, cut by the rings on his fingers, and he throws them one-after-another in order to try and freeze the other two right after they manage a swing at Mikage; making sure that they back off just that little bit to wind up their new attack, and ensuring Mikage has time to clear it. "Throwing Freeze!" He announces, so she knows what is coming. Not a moment later, the flasks shatter to the ground, and two pillars of ice burst up right underneath the Orcs' feet, gripping their toes and working its way up to try and fully encase them.

"The Ninetails Dominion Landers will probably be appreciatory. We can check them after to see if they've got a reward for this." He proposes to her. "I guess even the Mercenary Blades and Hunters Guild are stretched thin at this time." He adds to that.

"Wouldn't surprise me." Mikage grunts as she ducks underneath a blow from the orc leader. He seems to be wielding some sort of bo-staff, which is a bit more unique than the short swords that the other two seem to be attacking with. "There were enough of them. I'm sure these aren't the only ones that escaped."

Sweeping her sword forward, Mikage raises it skyward. "Heed my call. Tempest Wind!" When she slashes, a series of circular vortexes seem to form from the end of the sword, creating wind-blades. They move in erratic arcs towards the lead orc, who is hit once, twice, but manages to avoid the third blow. Even so, he is clearly staggered.

"I'd be glad just to get some fresh vegetables or something out of it." They'd been living largely on whatever the two of them could scavenge and Sassaral could cook up, but there were still a large number of domesticated foods that weren't as easy to get a hold of without paying some coin.

The leader tries to rally the other two, but they are already glued to the ground. Orcish grunts follow. The leader looks between the two of them, his two companions, and then... he makes a break for it. "Coward! Get back here!"

Cyrus whistles, impressed as Mikage brings her blade up and casts that Tempest Wind that slice at the lead Orc. "Continueing to support." He calls out, bringing another potion bottle out. He can't use Fire as easily here, as he might risk setting crops on fire or the grass. Instead, he ends up wielding another potion that he throws to Mikage's back. Knowing that it'd take time for her to be aware what status icon jumps onto her readout, he pairs this by declaring; "Airstep! You can catch up to him!" As he begins to move forward with her, and then begins to prepare another potion to throw. The effects of the Airstep begin to affect her immediately, her steps becoming lighter and almost feeling like someone is gently pushing her forward into her first step. Like a sprinter getting a perfect first step at the start of a race.

"Let's get those fresh vegetables!" He declares excitedly. "I want to taste Sassy's cooking!"

While the orc leader seems relatively quick on his feet, he is wearing heavier armor than either of the two Adventurers. It clanks as he moves, weighing him down and causing him to struggle to stay ahead of those giving chase.

The buff is met with an almost feral sort of grin from Mikage. Despite the damage she had taken earlier, the girl is /enjoying/ this. The thrill of battle, the excitement of the hunt, there is almost a laugh on her lips as she nips at the orc's heels with the help of Cyrus' magic. She leaps once in range, slightly miscalculating, but she still manages to clip the Orc in the legs, sending him sprawling.

The next instant, she stabs her sword down into his calf, eliminating the last few fractions of the monster's HP bar before it explodes into pixels. "Hah!" She rolls over, not bothered at all by her lack of grace in the hunt. "You got those two?" She pushes herself up, checking on Cyrus.

Cyrus nods his head. "They're still frozen. I think I've got this." He remarks, as he takes out a potion that looks like it has some kind of glowing yellow substance in it, and he throws it right for the head of one of the Orcs. It immediately detonates into a shattering of ice and lightning intermixing. A strange combination that seems to cause the Orc to take extra damage, until it finally falls over and detonates into ice. The second follows suit much in the same way.

"I no longer have my higher level techniques. But the elemental weakness combinations still work quite nicely." Cyrus expresses as he walks forward and claps his hands together, dusting them off.

"You were enjoying yourself." He then adds bemusedly. "Get some of the nervous energy you've been stocking up on out of your system?"

Leaving the two remaining Orcs to Cyrus, Mikage sits there for a moment, surrounded by the long grass and its strange ever-blooming flowers. A few strands of hair cling to her forehead from sweat. "It's only a matter of time before we manage to level enough to get back to where we were."

When he points out just how much she had been enjoying herself, though, Miki hesitates. The girl reaches up, brushing hair from her forehead. "I guess?" The smile falters, "I don't know. I guess it's cathartic, when you feel like you're in control, if only for a moment." Especially as the world they are in, often feels far outside of their control these days.

Then, the smile seems to return as she shrugs her shoulders. "Guess I've been worried. We know that the monster AI is getting more advanced in some cases, and that number of Orcs wouldn't just be dangerous to the Ninetails Landers, but to people like us, as well." She motions a hand out. "Obviously, some were smart enough not to run straight into death."

Cyrus moves up to where Mikage is sitting, and settles onto the grass next to her. One arm over his knee, the other leg outstretched. He lets out a long sight and then just throws his hands in the air, places them behind his head, and moves to just fully lay down rather than sitting halfway up. "Things seem slower now." He remarks. "The monsters seem smarter. It's going to be rougher to get there, but we'll get to that level again." He answers her.

He glances aside at her as she brushes her hair from her forehead, one of his ears twitching as it focuses in on her speaking. "Hmmm - I suppose it does. It's certainly better than just sitting around in Alne doing nothing." He glances away from her and up at the twin-mooned sky. "Though I guess it's different for you." He rolls his shoulders a bit.

"If the monsters are getting smarter, then we'll have to out-smarter them." Cyrus declares. Not out-smart. Out-smarter.

"Thanks for the back-up." The Were Fang's voice is soft as he joins her amongst the grasses. She watches as he sprawls himself out, seeming amused by his antics. "You need to master the art of the cat-dougnut. You know, when they curl up in that perfect little circle. Oh, or the loaf." Mikage teases, knowing full well that some of those mysterious ways that real world cats sleep, probably wouldn't work for a Cait Sith.

"I just hope that enough people realize that they need to be careful." This is likely a viewpoint she picked up from talking to Xander, as he has some particular views about how much people take their situation seriously. The girl nods in agreement, "There were too many people in Alne." She has never been one for crowds. "But... what do you mean, different for me?"

Glancing at him, Mikage's head tilts in a way that is similar to Rama. At the same moment, the lynx walks up, nudging her beneath the arm until she wraps her arm around him, pulling the little animal into a hug. "Out-smarter, huh?"

"No problem." The fluff-tailed Cait Sith answers. "And if you figure out the art of the cat doughnut, let me know. Because I sure haven't." The man is laying like a proper person would, hands behind his head, staring at the sky. Luckily it's cold enough and the sunlight isn't bright enough, that he's not at risk of getting blinded.

"I don't think they do, to be honest. I think there's plenty who approach this as the world it was. And they're not picking up on the small changes." He remarks to her. "Hmm - yeah, Alne reminded me of Tokyo. A lot of people. It's why I stayed at that Lander place. Less Adventurers there." He explains.

Glancing at her, "I mean... you know." He's good at putting his foot in his mouth. "Everything is relative." For someone who could not easily get around, getting around a lot and actively take things into her own hands is a lot bigger of a change for someone like her, than for someone able like him.

"And yep - out-smarter. Gotta get smarter faster than the monsters."

"Even if I did figure it out, I wouldn't tell you." Mikage teases, lightheartedly. "Because then you'd assume that I must be some kind of feline Were Fang." She chuckles to herself, lightly tapping her fingertips against her chin, "That could be cheating. Or would it?" It seems unlikely that the strange marking on her neck could be a cat, not unless it was some kind of demon cat or something.

However, her playful manner seems to ebb away when he seems to grow elusive about exactly what he means. "No, I don't know." Her brows furrow, followed by a sigh. "You know, I wish you wouldn't do that." Miki pulls her knees up to her chest, wrapping one arm around them and laying the other atop, resting her chin on over it.

"You're assuming again." She explains. Though he had hints enough from their various conversations to suggest that the girl has some sort of issues in the real world, nothing had ever really been confirmed. "Thinking you know or understand who I am, what I've been through, what it's like here for me?" She glances at him, and there is sadness in her eyes. It is a far cry from the anger she'd felt before.

Still, she leans her head forward against her arm, "If you can't see me for me, we're going to have trouble in the long run." They've been through this before. So she just shakes her head, "Exploring, seeing new places, having new experiences, it's part of what makes me feel alive." Rama bumps up against her and she smiles at him softly. "It's something I certainly hope I can bring back into the real world. There's so much I want to do, here or there, it doesn't really matter much to me."

"Hmmm, no, I don't think you're a cat. But it would tell me you likely come from a race with some kind of tail of sorts." Cyrus answers Mikage, wagging his finger a little, before quieting down as she chides him.

"Sorry..." Cyrus's ears fold down just a little, and his tail actually poofs. "I admit, I don't know. I don't know what that is like. So I'm just trying to imagine." He explains to her. "Imagine the difference between here and there. I only know the one here, and that's honestly the only part that I care about right now. But who we are here is still informed by who we were back there... I think."

He runs his hand through his fuzzy hair, and lays his head back again. "I envy that though. The thing you want to do. I used to have big dreams back there, when I was younger. But it's strange. Now that I am here with all of these choices, instead of a day-job... it's all different now."

The Were Fang doesn't confirm or deny the presence of a tail. It's hard to tell from the scope of the tattoo, as a bit of it vanishes beneath the neckline of her clothing. It doesn't help that the scope of monster selection is pretty extensive for Were Fangs.

Mikage looks over towards the Cait Sith, though her expression seems more sad than upset. "This is the reason I don't want to give you the full truth of the person behind this avatar." She explains as gently as she can. "You're already trying to judge my joy, my sadness, my reasons for things, based on some idea in your head about who I am." Reaching out, Miki lightly taps him on the forehead.

"This /is/ me, Cyrus. Every sigh, every laugh. I'm not hiding behind this avatar trying to forget reality. I'm not running away from my real world." She can, perhaps, understand why some might see it that way, especially those amongst Scale Emblem who might see her alliance choice as standing in defiance of reality. "For me, it's about freedom. Here, I'm free to live my life without boundaries."

"If I go back, I'll still be me up here. In here." She touches her head, then her heart. "I just can't ever be me in anyone else's eyes. They never... look past the surface." She shrugs then, shaking her head.

Her blue eyes watch him, then, she asks, "What is stopping you from chasing those dreams? Right now, and for as long as we have it, this world /is/ our reality. Seize it. Take hold of whatever it is you want to do. Chase it with all your heart." Her lip quirks then, a slight hint of that gentle smile of hers returning, "Then, maybe when you go back, you'll have the courage enough to chase what you want there, too."

The youth makes a little sound at the poke to his forehead. "I get it." He remarks. "I'm not trying to judge. I just..." He motions his hand. "When I look at a person and try to understand them, I try to understand all of them. And learn." The youth quiets and closes his eyes.

"I know this is you." He then remarks. "I am not thinking of you running away from the real world. I'm just looking at you run." He explains with a motion of one hand. "As free as you can possibly be." His hand comes back down and he touches it to his belly.

"Nothing's stopping me right now, I suppose. It's a new world. New beginnings and all that." He admits. "So I'll chase it until I feel comfortable enough to take hold of it with all I've got. Right now, I'm still feeling... unsure. Unsure if we will get pulled out of all of this. It's been, what, a month?" He asks.

Something in his response has Mikage sitting there, silent and thoughtful for a long moment. She gets like that sometimes, as if she were trying to mull over exactly what she should say. It's one of those subtle signs of her past social isolation. "I wasn't impacted by Flash of Death." She admits, voice soft. He had mentioned that assumption before, but she hadn't confirmed or denied it. "It's degenerative, and I've had it since I was little."

If they were going to travel together, it seemed only right to be honest about it. "My brain and nervous system don't communicate right with my muscles. So a lot of things that people take for granted are hard for me." She doesn't look at him as she admits this, though. "It's why every morning I stretch my legs and arms and just enjoy having the full sensation that comes with it. Whole and healthy, the way I should have been if fate hadn't decided to go a different way."

She laughs, though it has little humor, "It's hard, being trapped in a body that doesn't feel like it belongs to you anymore. Where this..." She flexes her fingers. "I started with the old version of Elder Tale offline. Then later Angelic Layer. Seems my brain has tried to compensate for my nervous system by sending stronger messages. Makes me a good test subject for the kind of work Piffle Corp was doing."

When her eyes look over towards him again, her brows draw slightly down. "Though, even with all that, it feels like you're the one carrying more weight into the game than I am. Guess we all have our traumas." Her lip quirks. "I just don't plan on sitting and waiting for a way out. I plan on taking full advantage of this world for as long as I have it."

The youth falls silent as she explains what her life was like in the Other world. He had assumed she had some kind of disability based on her behavior - he'd told her that much before. Something physical. But what she explains, he doesn't recognize. "I've never heard of that." He expresses his lack of knowing - because it's far less foolish than pretending he knows what she talks about. "But it sounds like it sucks." He mumbles. Yet, something at the back of his mind itches, as if he /should/ know about what she is talking about.

"The brain is kinda weird like that. I guess it's like people who are blind, and have their other senses expanded, right?" He tries to converse on the topic, even if he's not sure what best to say. "Ah - wait, you played Angelic Layer? Neat. Were you any good at it?" He asks her. "I never ended up trying." He admits, raising one hand as if he were swearing on this.

As she looks to him, he opens his eyes and looks back at her. "More weight? No... no I don't think I am, compared to that." He doesn't go too deep into it, because it's not in their culture to speak of things like depression. 'Laziness' as others would call it. "Well, whatever you want to explore, I'll explore it with you. That was my plan then, and is still my plan now."

"Hmm." The girl makes soft, thoughtful sound. "The human body is frail. Still, I would take my condition again any day, over some of the worse things out there. I'd rather have a failing body than a failing mind." She'd seen people with developmental issues first hand, and wouldn't wish that kind of life on anyone.

She nods, brushing a few strands of white hair back behind one ear, "I did. I do." It isn't as if Angelic Layer had lost popularity. There were still plenty of players and televised competitions. "I got into it near the end of high school. My aunt thought it would be a good way to help me work on socializing." She smirks, "Guess I won't be able to compete this year, though."

She continues to lean her head against her arm, watching him as he tries to dismiss her statement. "Right." The girl reaches down, plucks up a bit of grass and just tosses it at him. "Thought we were being honest with each other. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you're another person where that only goes one way." It was the same with Xander. Though she knew bits and pieces about him, there was so much more that he just didn't talk about.

Cyrus doesn't really know what to say. It is hard to say if he'd rather have a failing mind, or a failing body. Both disable the person from living their lives to their fullest. It's part of why he'd gotten into medicine when he did. He could at least alleviate both. But he isn't a doctor. He's a more advance pharmacist. A pill maker lacking the skill to research new things himself in the real world.

So he lets that statement fly by, with a nod of his head. To let he know he'd heard her. What /do/ you say to that? Really. Instead, he grabs onto the easier topic of Angelic Layer. "Yeah, Angelic Layer was always neat to watch when it got televised, or down in the Piffle Princess shops." He remarks, not managing to connect the idea that competing would be the same as actually being in the tournaments. After all, the whole idea around Angelic Layer was competition.

Of course, then he gets grassed. The youth sputters of puffs to get the grass out of his face. "Meh - fine. Yes. That's fair. But you'll think it's lame." He mutters. "Just relationship troubles. My girlfriend dumped me after multiple years of a happy relationship, over this." And he motions at 'this'. Elder Tale Online. "Part of me wonders if I should have listened to her. But honestly... nobody could have seen this coming." He's not that self-loathing and insecure to get stuck on a thought like that.

"Dragged me down for a long time though."

Without any insight into his real world persona, Mikage doesn't have any idea of the thoughts that might flitter through his head at her statement. She only knows the reality of her own situation, knowing the fact that she was still able to contribute despite everything else going on in her life, because she still had a capable and keen mind.

"I used to watch the regional qualifiers a lot. Gives you a lot of insight into other competators." Mikage explains, "You get to see the new moves they've been working on before they have a chance to use them against you." She chuckles. "It's harder than it looks on the surface. I got the chance to meet Shuu once, not in competition but through work." Shaking her head, Miki seems almost in awe of the woman. "What she can do is nothing short of amazing."

Her gushing over Angelic Layer tapers off though, when he actually decides to share his own troubles. Despite his insistance that she would find it 'lame', her expression doesn't show anything of the sort. She seems to think, as if trying to make sure she isn't the one to put their foot in their mouth this time. "I'm no expert on love. I haven't even been on a date." She admits, which likely means that there are a lot of things she hasn't done. "But... it seems to me that it probably wasn't just the game. Maybe the game was the catalyst at the end, the excuse, but I doubt that was the core of it."

She pauses, then adds, "No, I don't think it's lame. You loved someone, trusted them, and they ended up not being the person you thought they were, in the end." She hesitates, "Why do you think I'm so careful about letting people in? Telling people about myself? Letting them get close... People hurt each other, and that's one of the hardest things." Miki sighs, "It would be easy if we were wired to be alone. But we aren't. We all want that connection."

"Shuu-shuu... Athena's Deus, right?" Cyrus asks. "I remember seeing her during the tournaments, it was quite amazing to see." At her remark on getting to meet her through work, he whistles. "Sounds like an interesting company to work for. I hear through the grapevine they used Divegear stuff as well, right?" he asks. "New moves hmm..."

The youth quiets for a bit, though it's clear he's interested to let he continue talking about that. Still, when she mentions the love situation, he shrugs. "Maybe. I dunno, things seemed pretty okay. I just think she was more in love with who she wanted me to be, than the one who was standing in front of her. City folk are strange." He mumbles.

He quiets down.

"Yeah... people hurt eachother a lot. But we can't run away from all the pain. At least, so my buddies kept telling me. See, I knew how to deal with bullies." He lifts his hand. "Back when I was young that is. But how do you deal with emotional pain? You can't punch its lights out."

"Exactly." Mikage confirms with a nod of her head, "Fascinating woman. Though she keeps most of her life outside the layer pretty private." She had been largely the same way, making sure her layer persona wasn't directly connected to her real-world self, even then. It was easier that way. "They do use DiveGear, though. The department I work for was looking for ways of using DiveGear to help as a theraphy to rebuild brain body connections for the disabled. Pretty important stuff." Especially for someone like her.

"I... don't know." She admits, lifting her shoulders slightly in a shrug. "Like I said, I'm not really any expert on love." Cyrus had been dumped by the woman he loved, Xander was abandoned by the woman he loved, Sassaral lost someone she loved. It seemed like loving someone like that is asking for your heart to be broken.

"I know this will probably sound stupid but... at least you had love for a little while." She lets herself relax a little, uncurling from the tight ball she'd made around her legs. Instead, she leans back into the grass, lying next to him. "I don't think it's something I'm ever going to have. Finding someone that sees me for who I am, and is willing to accept the reality that comes with it? Yeah, I don't see that happening." Many people simply can't deal with having a disabled partner.

"Still, if you ask me, you can totally deal with emotional pain by punching things." She laughs. "When I used to get upset, I would log in here, go for a run. Go smash some ogre in the face. Feel like my blood was pumping in my veins. Usually, by the end of it, I felt a little better." She laughs, soft and quiet, "But the only real cure is time. Find a way to let her go. Focus on you. Be you, instead of being the man she wanted." She looks up at the sky, watching the clouds floating by. "Then, if you do meet someone and they like you, at least you'll know it was because they like the real you, right?"

"I hadn't considered that they would be able to use Divegear like that. I only ever looked at it as this awesome toy..." Cyrus admits. "I guess that makes sense though. It takes in brain signals, right? So... I guess that should be possible?" He doesn't seem too sure. But then, that kind of technology had not been his area of focus in the past.

The youth then quiets again and closes his eyes, listening to her. He nods his head and then eventually sighs. "Yeah, I suppose I am lucky to have loved. And I'm not so foolish as to think that I can't find it again. Maybe even here. Who knows." He motions his hand. "But when that first happened, I thought it was all over. That I was a failure. You know how things are There." He comments. Shame is a big deal. "I guess it takes a certain fortitude to take care of someone as well as loving them." Cyrus admits. "Though knowing what love is like when you share it... I don't see why that would not be worth it."

The youth then laughs. "Well, yeah. I suppose I can transmit my emotional pain through fist into enemy. But I'm not sure thats's... what I should do to deal with it." He explains to her. He has his reasons. And notably, he remarks on it not being the way /he/ should deal with it. "But time - yep. That's why I am here. Time. And I don't plan to not be me. Not being me is... way too hard work."

"It's all theoretical, but if we can develop medicine at even a fraction the pace we've developed technology in the world, or lean on technology to make up for what we can't fix with medicine, we could make real change in people's lives." At least, that is what Mikage believes. She doesn't really know that he has a foot in the medical field as well, even if it is in an entirely different part of it. "That is, assuming I still have a job when I get back."

The pale girl falls quiet then, her fingers lightly moving against the cold grass beneath her. Even the chill in the air feels good. She'd grown up with books, video games, stories, movies, all that told about love. Yet it always seemed something elusive, something that just wasn't meant for someone like her. "I know how things are." She agrees, voice soft. "But I also know that a lot of the old ways of dealing with things are wrong. I don't plan on letting anyone dictate if I'm a failure or not, other than me."

Her blue eyes flick in his direction, but only briefly. The fact that he would even consider what it would be like... She doesn't really know what to think about that. "Well, we all face things differently." She knew that Sasssaral was also running from her own pain, but that isn't her story to tell. "The important thing is that you are facing it. Because that's the only way to move forward."

"Depends on how long we get stuck here. It depends on if we ever get out." Cyrus admits to Mikage. "I'm sure there will be pressure from the Government in order to integrate people back into their jobs though, what with the changes after Flash." Cyrus comments. "The social structure of Japan changed quite a bit, especially in the city. But there will always be the invisible people, you know? And it was harder on the people outside in the villages."

The youth slowly sits up at this point, wrapping one arm around his raised knee. He looks like he's getting a bit stircrazy. Especially since really - he'd only just woken up and immediately gotten into combat. There's a weak smile at her mention of his facing his own pain. For the longest time, he really hadn't dealt with it. It'd only been recently that he'd pulled out of that slump.

"The old ways are the old ways for a reason. Some of them are good, some of them are outmoded. Anyhow... want to get up and check what Sassy is up to? I bet she's making breakfast.

The thought of what governments would have to do in regards to this crisis is something that Mikage has thought about, but never really discussed with anyone. Some countries are certainly likely to be better off than others in that regard. "My boss is a bit eccentric, but he's a good man. I'm sure he'll take good care of us." There were a handful of Piffle Princess employees trapped in the game, including herself and Oogata. "But I can't say the same for everyone. Not something to dwell on, since there isn't anything we can do about it from here."

That is likely how Mikage gets through her days here. She focuses on what is reality, for now, knowing that everything will change if they do get out. There were likely plenty of people, frozen in fear and uncertainty, but she has no intention of remaining idle.

Still laying back, Mikage looks over at him as he sits up. Feline body language is easy enough to read, so she can tell that he wants to get moving. Still, she takes a moment to just appreciate the morning sky, the feeling of the grass, the clean air in her lungs. "The old ways can kiss my ass." Yep, that is her feelings on the matter. "I've had enough of them to last a lifetime." Then, she pushes herself up, shifting forward before rolling to her feet with an easy grace.

It's hard to imagine someone with her physical issues in the real world, being so comfortable with their body within the game. Yet, there she is. "Sure. Food sounds like a good idea." Just at that moment, her stomach rumbles audibly, causing Miki to laugh, raising a hand to the back of her neck, shyly. "My stomach seconds the suggestion."

"It's nice to have a boss like that. My manager is one of those people obsessed with drinking and parties. And his manager is from 'the old generation'." Cyrus explains to Mikage. "No clue what they will do. But I imagine with a large situation like this, we can rely on the government somewhat."

He gets up properly, his tail flicking just a little. Turning, he offers his hand out to her. "Yeah, most of the old ways can kiss my ass too." He grumbles, Helping her up if she indeed takes that hand. At the time of her stomach rumbling, his does the same, causing him to go into a bit of a laughing fit.

"It seems my stomach concurs and thirds that suggestion."

"Some people would like a boss like that." Mikage smirks. "Especially if you're a young man." She is, of course, guessing at his age. There are a few hints to guess, but she is likely assuming him to be at least somewhat close in age to herself. "You don't strike me as the stodgy old salaryman type."

The fact is, her father has largely taken care of her much of her life, at least until she was offered the job with Piffle Princess. "My father will probably take care of things for me, so I'm less worried about the government. They'll help, or they won't." In her experience, sometimes the government isn't the nicest to people who are not actively contributing to society.

She does accept his hand on her way to her feet, her fingers warm on his hand. Once standing, she gives him a light nudge to the arm. "Come on, let's go."

"My friends were supposed to join me, but they ended up not getting online. So I figure they'll know to grab me. Same with my folk." Cyrus expresses. "Only half right though. I don't like the drinking parties at all. Call it a Western mentality, but I rather go home and have some free time, rather than sharing in the olden day suffering." The youth motions his hand as he talks, moving with her. "But you are right, I'm not a stodgy old salaryman."

"Good thing to have family to rely on though - but yes, let's get going. Think she finished the jerky?"