algagrass | We're making this happen.

Entry tags:

We're making this happen.

CHARACTERS: Rose Lalonde (

knitwit) and Dirk Strider (

splinterself)
DATE: May 23rd
RATING: PG13 for possible foul language!
SUMMARY: Rose is planning on improving her skills by grinding in a remote area. Of course, she naturally wants to stock up on goods at the weapon shops and item stores and it is here she runs into Dirk Strider.

There had been no true reasons why Rose Lalonde could find comfort in her surroundings. Not only was the eternal calling that pecked and pierced her brain giving her a headache, but it was urging her onward in her quest for knowledge on their situation. Her datalogs had been finished for the day and all she had to do was step back into reality -- or virtual reality -- and make her plans active.

The weapon store had been dealt with, a small upgrade was her prize after selling some useless items she encountered. The heavy book still traced against her hip from it's sling, but she was not weighed down too much. It swayed to and fro as she continued towards the dimly lit merchant booth that housed her current needs and wants: items.

Rose's vivid irises scanned the stock, attempting to navigate her needs and wants with the utmost calculations. Darn those calculations.

"If only there was some sort of walk-through I could read on this stupid item guide," Rose whispered under her breath.

It was tedious to navigate their little communicator, but she made due using the apps she needed. Perhaps when she wasn't aimlessly tired and the eternal sunset wasn't plaguing her vision she'd learn the electronic. Highly unlikely, but she still continued her search through the silly item bar.

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And a dic- Dirk walked into the bar.

...what?

Anyway, he had gone through a dungeon with Jake, fought some monsters. He had gained some experience, maybe even a level or two, but whatever the case may be he was still frustratingly short from what he had been as far as the game was concerned. Back home he had clawed his way up the echeladder and could slice through drones with little trouble. Here, a level one goblin was a problem.

It was frustrating. The simplest solution would've been for Dirk to run through dungeons with Jake until the two of them were somewhere close to a reasonable level, but he couldn't just rely on his friend for everything. He figured it wouldn't kill him to try a dungeon alone. Probably.

So he walked into the item bar.

Dirk wasn't sure exactly what he should pick up, had vague thoughts of a healing item or two. He was in the process of buying a health drink when he saw someone who looked familiar, almost, to his left, familiar enough that his eyes widened ever so slightly. It wasn't her, he could tell that almost in the same moment he had thought: Roxy?

But damn if she wasn't look similar. Uncannily so. And Dave, or at least someone close, was here...

...he moved almost before he realized it, hurrying to catch up to the doppleganger lest she vanish into the crowd again, asking, "Hey, got a moment?"

The basic attire she received after arriving was frivolous at best. It was almost a slap to the face to someone who prided herself on maintaining an image suitable to her own and not influenced by others. She'd live, even if she felt like a damned fool.

Her fingertips danced across the corked bottles and vials holding mixtures of health boosting potions, magic enriching amplifiers, and status ailment curing elixirs. She was attempting to carefully mark down what she, and she alone, needed.

There would be no party to support the lone ranged magic caster, so she was sure to take that into consideration until a voice cut the tuned out sound: as if it was directed towards her.

"Hm?" Rose would murmur as she tilted her head to the side, focusing her gaze on the male that seemed a bit more equipped than the typical NPC.

"If you're asking to PvP, you'll have to wait until I'm in an ample position to fight on fair terms," Rose spoke with bitterness, noting her leveling was not up to par to her ideal wish.

In fact, she hadn't a chance to truly grind besides her small stunts on deliver quests that boosted her EXP up just enough for a few levels. Needless to say, she was truly itching to unleash the magic that flowered from her Grimoire to her very core.

"If not, can I help you?"

"I'm not looking for PvP," Dirk started: he had better things to do than to fight other people just for shits and giggles. He was down with crazy stunts when they served a purpose - as of yet, fighting her wouldn't. Besides, he was hardly leveled to his satisfaction, and it didn't sound like she was too happy about it either.

Up close, she...it wasn't a perfect match, obviously: her eyes were the wrong color, her hair didn't curl in the same way, and it was then that he realized that he was staring as even though it wasn't perfect it was similar enough to be uncanny. Dirk shook his head once, ruefully, and wished that whoever the hell that gave them their clothes had at least given him a hat which would fit over his hair. Ah well. Some things were still beyond his reach.

He shrugged, loose, unconcerned. So she wasn't Roxy. Big deal. Ain't nothing to get worked up over.

"Sorry, I thought you were a friend of mine. Her name's Roxy." He tossed the drink still in his hands once, and idly added, "Roxy Lalonde. The resemblance is fucking uncanny."

His confirmation was enough to leave her wandering fingers from her oversized book back to her hips. She couldn't help but play it safe when it came to interactions with other players. Rose was only social to a select few and "social" was a word on it's own plane of definition for the girl.

She'd note the way his eyes looked at her, as if examining something: seeking for an answer. She didn't act on such an impulse to question him, as it was truly not the time. Her arms would simply cross over her clothed chest with a soft huff pushing past the darkened tiers that kept her tone to herself.

"I see. It's not the first or last time someone will get their hopes up here," Rose spoke with a blunt spurt of her vocals.

She was ready to turn her attention back upon the items until the name "Roxy" slipped out into the conversation. "Lalonde" was a confirmation that sent her nearly shivering.

So, they had a connection with Jake and his slight grasp on his situation in the Alpha-verse, but this was not his expertise. His information proved helpful, however, as Rose knew somewhat of Roxy besides what she saw in her own dreams. Roxy was a tender subject without any real reason to be. Mother and daughter, of course.

A twist overwhelmed her heart as if Dirk physically squeezed at the bulging vessels and tender meat that rested inside of her chest. Right in the kokoro.

Rose uncrosses her arms and simply drapes her hands against her sides, "I won't make this seem any more weird for you, since you look as if you've seen a ghost, but I'm not the Lalonde you are looking for."

Her short frame noticed the confident -- almost arrogant -- body language he was giving off. But, she was just as clueless on the situation as he was.

"Rose. Rose Lalonde. I'd give a proper title but I've cast aside being a Seer for a Shadow Warlock it seems."

Rightfully so, but she just wanted to clarify. It was all best to be straight forward in such a strange situation, is it not?

"And you are...?"

Goddamn.

"That's good, because I ended up with Prince of Heart. I've seen pictures of what I'd probably look like if I went Godtier." His slight smirk which punctuated that sentence said I know, and if you don't know you'd probably don't want to know.

(It fucking figured that after all of their work he'd meet Roxy's ancestor and she was nowhere around. Probably was too busy floating off into space, completely oblivious to anything, and without him to haul her back from the void. Shit. Keep it together, Strider.)

He tossed the drink again, catching it, though the perceptive would see how his fist tightened ever so slightly around the bottle. Deep breaths. "I'm Dirk Strider. Dave's bro, but you probably know that, seeing as it is you come from the same universe. I ran into him earlier,"

And it was here that Dirk wanted to ask if it was really him.

"But I lost track of him. I guess I ain't too surprised, it's kind of how our relationship is."

Understatement that, and also a terrible ending to that sentence. Fuck. Dirk glanced behind him, because he was going to go at it alone, and part of him still wanted to go at it alone, but he had to know, and he didn't want Jake or anybody else he knew (which was a problem he never thought he was gonna have, really) showing up to interrupt. This he owed Roxy.

"So...I was thinking about hitting up a dungeon, if you're interested."

"Seer of Light. Orange isn't my color, but it's a fairly decent wardrobe. Well, was."

She stiffens her stance a bit, feeling as if she was speaking with someone who was an ally, right off the bat. It was a bit unsettling how easily kindred companions fell around without even knowing each other. All because of some horrid game.

"Pleasure, but..." Rose began, shifting her gaze past the boy through the crowd behind them leaving the area, then back towards him, "perhaps you two should invest on a child leash. Whichever one of you is older can fight for dibs."

She couldn't help but let a confident smirk roll onto her features, knowing that it was the same way with her mother and she was sure it would be the same way with Roxy.

"But it is nice to know Dave is here somewhere."

With no sight of Dave, Jade, or the trolls here, she was left with inklings of worry and curiosity in regards to their whereabouts. It was rather comforting to know that her fellow Derse Dreamer was safe and sound. But, she'd never express that, ever.

Her glazed over eyes snapped back to focus, a bit oddly intrigued as to why he'd so quickly offer an alliance to their meeting.

"Dungeon," Rose repeated, a soft 'hmmm' slipping past her lips, "I suppose a dungeon does sound fun... As long as I can gain a level or so, I'm game."

Rose stated bluntly, paying off for a few health potions idly, as she was doing before Dirk's arrival.

"That's the idea, because I don't know about you but I'm damned tired of being low leveled again." More irritation than he normally liked to show seeped out at the last, and yet in a way he didn't mind - they were essentially strangers, technically related but only in a convoluted fashion that no one who hadn't played Sburb probably would understand, and yet allies if only because of the game. It was strange. Not unpleasant, though.

Dirk had a lot of questions he wanted to ask: what the others were like, what their Earth was like, and (most importantly) what exactly had happened in their session. Those could wait. If a splintered existence on Derse had taught him nothing else, it was the value of patience.

"Alright. Let me know when you want to head over to the Chaos Gate." He went searching for his Relic...formalities that needed to be taken care of. Meh.

"I believe that's the general consensus for anyone whom takes this game with a smidgen of seriousness," Rose spoke with a nod. There were people who seemed to be enjoying it, but from someone who... had bad experiences risking on spare lives and boss fights, she was a bit hesitant to remain green around the horn. Even her role as a Shadow Warlock worried her, a bit afraid to delve back into any areas that the word "shadow" could foreshadow. Literally. Going Grimdark was not on her to-do list.

"I'm prepared now, if you'd like. Just note: I'm stuck with a ranged class. Not mostly my liking, but just thought I would bring this up so we could plan something without running in gun-ho."

Rose shrugs a bit, reaching into her keepsack to find her own relic. blahblah, adding Dirk as a friend, inviting to a party, or whatever else was needed to begin an official dungeon crawl was her focus at the moment.

"You seem as eager as Dave. I'm not sure if that's comforting or not," she spoke with a soft breathy sigh, almost in disbelief. She couldn't help but wonder what Roxy was like, if she could see a bit of Dave's actions in Dirk, even if they were obviously opposites.

"Just thought I should let you know that."

"...thanks."

Because it was comforting to know that he had something, at least, in common with his ancestor beyond shades and a surname. He went through the formalities as they spoke: blah blah blah adding her back, dealing with the party invite, you know the drill and it will pierce the heavens.

Anyway, priorities. He smirked at her assent, and if she were someone he knew better he'd be offering Rose a fist to bro. However, first meetings. She would have to settle for a smirk and a nod.

"Shit, glad to hear it. Now's a fantastic time to get this party started. I ended up being assigned a melee class, if you can't tell by the sword. I should be able to keep any enemies off of a...caster?" he asked the last with a slightly uplifted eyebrow, vaguely querying: he knew he was probably right given the lack of obvious ranged weapons. "While you do your thing. I kind of wish we had a healer." It seemed a natural assumption that Rose wasn't one on numerous levels: Dirk could see her becoming the sort of woman who'd kill the High Chaplain by gouging out his eyes with knitting needles and riding his body down Niagara Falls. "But hell, I've managed without one before. You're probably the same, Rose."

It felt so weird calling Roxy's ancestor 'Rose'. Disconcerting, just as how his Bro had become Dave: they were abstract forces turned sharply personal, and not only personal but around the same age as him.

Unless the lady has any objections, shall they have started heading towards the Chaos Gate?

There was an awkward silence beaming between them. Dirk's tsuness towards his brother-alt-wise or whatever and Rose's inability to fully commend and comfort someone. Whatever, they both didn't need to be gay about it.

"Caster, correct. Not too far off base, but I'm universally vulnerable to melee and other ranged attacks. My defense, quite frankly, sucks."

Rose narrowed her eyes, she had her cake and ate it too with her deadly needles. She could range and melee but no, too overpowered, it seemed. She was simply toting around the large books full of spells and boosts.

Hey. All in due time Rose will have her sweet deserts, but now she had to start baking, right? And by baking, she meant leveling.

She didn't really mind her name being spoken, but she'd know all too well if Roxy showed up. Consider her blissful in her state. "Same. It was a struggle, but I have a few status spells like poison and sleep-cast to help."

Sigh, it wasn't much but...

"Onward, Dirk." Rose would spit back, already off towards the Chaos Gate, book in arm and settled with her inventory. Timeskips if needed blahblah, but whatever the good stuff was coming.

And suddenly he was chasing after a Lalonde again, though this time it was to a portal opposed to across the void. Consistent and constant. Fortunately Mac Anu was far more scenic than Sburb.

"Right behind you," Dirk drawled as he followed, but was otherwise content to do so in silence, thinking. He mentally prodded the part of him that was his dreamself and felt...nothing, which was nothing new at this point. Since he had arrived in Mac Anu, it had been him and him alone that he had to contend with. A fragmented existence was an intense one, and a pain in the ass, but what the hell was he supposed to do when all the fragments vanished? He hated not knowing.

Fortunately, there was something else to preoccupy him and keep him from brooding.

They walked to the Chaos Gate, which went pretty much as expected. If he got to the door first he held it open long enough to keep it from slamming shut in Rose's face: if she did, he just followed. However they arrived, when they did he pulled out his Relic and asked, "Got any requests for the dungeon?"

Rose wasn't as much anxious or excited as she was determined to be better than she was. The prospective leveling was tempting, as if it was the forbidden fruit many mortals gave into at one point in their lives. Regardless of the stranger, this Dirk Strider, with a name familiar or not, she was foolish to start onward.

Well, theoretically, Dirk would be a sweetie if he held the door open. Either way, she was out checking her stats and inventory one last time.

"No, I don't believe so. I'd suspect there should be NPCs in the beginning of the dungeon giving quests -- unless you have those already, you can share it with me via our party."

She pauses a moment, "If you want to, that is."

"I would if I had any."

He flipped through some word combinations on his Relic before finding a likely looking dungeon: Submissive Aster's Belladonna, fire-element and low leveled enough they wouldn't immediately die upon entry. (Also with a boss at the end.) He didn't want to chance anything higher until he had taken the measure of Rose.

Dirk held the Relic so that she could see the dungeon in question.

"Look good?"

"Tch."

Rose sucked her teeth a bit, as if she had tasted poison on her tongue. More-so, it was the disappointing news to know there might have been missed opportunities on extra experience from the dungeon. Sigh, no bother, really.

A few short steps were taken and she was right next to Dirk, standing upon her tip toes to look over the device. "Hm. Sounds like a pornographical comic that ...."
...

Dave's...brother...would make. Oh well. She bit down on her bottom lip, shaking her head. "Nothing, nothing. That's fine."

Rose shifted the grimoire's weight on her, finally lifting the book up and causing it to somewhat float above her hands. It would glow, the pages flipping as she was glancing over the countless locked spells she had yet to obtain.

"We should be fine and if not, I have a few health potions to spare."

She pauses momentarily, letting a confident smirk flash upon her black-stained lips.

"But, I somehow doubt you'd take kindly to healing unless it was a dire situation."

An eyebrow raised imperceptibly upwards at the space between 'pornographical comic' and 'nothing,' but he let it pass without comment.

"You got me there. I like to think I can take care of myself." He echoed her smirk with one of his own. "As for the field, I'm cognizant of the fact we probably won't get that much experience, but I'd rather not get shanked my second time out."

He used his Relic. The scene changed.

Suddenly, it was sunny, high noon, fucking hot, and an endless field stretched about them. And really fucking hot. That bore repeating.

"Good. You're not as ballsy as Dave. Well, in the impulsive way."

She took a step away, wiping a bit of stray hair from her face. It was weird, but Rose wouldn't expose that fact too much. She was the one who was suppose to be prepared and know everything. She did write some of the gameFAQ, after all. That task alone was not easy.

As the sudden shift occurred, her eyes narrowed and a hand came up to shield her vision from the onslaught of harmful UV rays. It was bright, and for someone who was akin to light, that was a bad sign.

Good thing her outfit was more revealing, to her displeasure, so she wasn't too heavy with her armor to suffer a heatstroke.

She wiped away a bit of sweat that began to form against her clammy skin while she overlooked the field.

"Hm. I'm assuming there will be some tasks to do before any large groups of enemies or boss arrive?"

Like, truthfully so, Rose just didn't explore the dungeons as much as Dirk. Once, and then she quit prematurely to continue searching for others -- because she just did not want them to end up like her mother did. She actively hunted, this time.

Her book was hoisted higher, levitating between her fingertips. "No matter, it won't be hard with us to take care of." Derse dreamers for the mo'fo win.

"Honestly? I'm not entirely fucking sure." He frowned. No shame in admitting he didn't know something, sure, but it annoyed him anyway. He'd spent his entire life trying to learn what he (and the others) had been thrust into, and it was for nothing.

"This is the second time I tried a dungeon, and the first one was rather straightforward. Go to a room, beat up monsters - usually goblins - and then proceed to the next room. And I didn't exactly have games like this when I grew up. Just Sburb."

Goddamn, it was hot. He half-wished that he had picked a different field, maybe one with an oce- yeah, no.

"But yeah, it shouldn't be tough." Dirk hoisted his own sword. "Got a preference in direction, Lalonde?"

Well, between Rose glancing around curiously, it was obvious she had no clue in any slight way of how to advance their dungeon.

"Hm. Sburb dragged on more than this in my time playing it. Although, it was more battle oriented later on, the beginning did revolve around cryptic puzzles and conundrums. Shouldn't too hard," she would finally repeat, having faith in both her and Dirk.

"Away from the sun," Rose would say with a soft hum, teasing the boy as the whole damned field was near the Sun. She shook her head and simply started walking.

"We'll get hit with a barrier if we can't proceed, so might as well just test the --" And smack, Rose would walk right into an invisible barrier that kept her from going onward. She stumbles a bit, rubbing her face as she attempted to keep her cool.

"Other way, Dirk. Let's proceed that way," She groans out a bit, but once her eyes focused, she'd notice a few small stumps with unlit torches -- barely poking out of the dried out grass.

"Wait. Those, right there, could be our beacons for enemies."

He gave the barrier one rap of the knuckles (seemed solid enough) before turning towards what Rose had indicated. Looked suspicious enough.

"Could be." With a nod of his head - intended to mean 'I'm melee, you're ranged, I'll check first in case it's a trap' but could be interpreted as 'Aight' or 'Cool' or something really bizarre for all he knows - he ventured towards the torches.

Nothing exploded or did anything nefarious or diabolical. A good sign.

He prodded one of the stumps with his foot, and then idly tapped the hilt of his sword, thinking, before turning back towards Rose. "Have any fire spells?" Like it would be that easy.

Well, Rose had a bit of impulsiveness -- no, actually more so confidence, that lead her to take lead even if she was a caster. A smack to the face via an invisible barrier put her back in her place. She'd tag behind, eyeing the torches.

His question was obvious, but fell upon helpless ears. A soft shrug and her hands lifted the grimoire higher, flipping through the pages.

"Aha, one more level and I'll earn a fire spell," of course, it was never that simple, "Well, if you get hurt, at least I have a decent HP restoring incantation..."

Healing was nice, but sadly, that didn't cut it.

She pauses, looking over the torches intently, "There has to be a way around simply casting a spell. It would be a broken pass if one could not advance without a spell."

Rose hums a bit, glancing over the area. The field itself was barren and all there was were the stumps, torches and the glass decoration at the torch's base. This was a doozie and with a sigh, she'd wipe away a bit of sweat.

Wait.

"Dirk, allow me to be ballsy for a moment," Rose stated bluntly, inspecting the glass decoration.

"Break this," she pauses, "please. If my theories are anything short of plausible, have you ever had the demented tendency to kill ants as a child? Specifically through burning them via a magnifying glass and hot sun?"

She'd pause, yet again.

"Not that I have, I mean, it's a common thing for children to do..."

"Gotcha. I didn't exactly have ants, but I know what you mean." Scenes like that featured in more than one movie Dirk had watched.

As for the last thing she said, he ever so slightly...smirked. Aw shit. Ain't that adorable.

What Rose was implying see-...was feasible. He could see her chain of logic and it was a solid chain like th-...right. Skipping the metaphor in favor of taking his sword and just breaking the glass decoration in question. There. That's how shit gets done.

He could've kicked it but it seemed more effective.

Sea slugs, ants, all the same thing. Either way, she was glad he connected the dots with her theory. Rose watched as he sliced the poor decorations, as beautiful as their translucent shapes were, they needed to surrender their forms for the shards of glass needed.

She would quickly snatch one up, kneeling down carefully, allowing her spellbook to hover her.

"If you'd be so kind, could you take care of the other torch? It would save us time, I'd imagine," Rose hummed sweetly before angling the shard towards the torch which easily smelt of gasoline.

The light ray was defined and focused towards the torch. It was a minute or two of silence as Rose chewed the tip of her tongue. It wasn't until one sizzle and a rise of a thin smoke trail garnered a heavy sigh.

"Okay, it takes a while, but -- "

And whoosh! The torch lit up like a firecracker, causing Rose to basically youth roll away. The flame reached towards the sky in an exaggerated way.

"Hm, yes be careful."

Details.

"Ok."

He followed suit: knelt down, grabbed shard, shard angled towards torch, light ray angled - and you know what was nice? This team up. For some haphazard group formed from a chance meeting and a shared last name, it was surprisingly enjoyable. For one thing, Rose had yet to give him hell for being too serious. He liked Roxy, but goddamn that got old.

Als- whoosh! And Dirk nearly lost an eyebrow as he - nearly belatedly - awkwardly youth rolled away in what was far from one of his finest dodges. It was like half youth roll, half pratfall.

He checked, one hand raised to his forehead. His eyebrow was...

...

...

Yeah, still there. Fucking figures. Even without the responder he was still distracted.

Rose was not like Roxy in the slightest besides a few common interests. The way she treated Dirk was how he presented himself: respectable, so she would respect him.

With the shard in hand and only one last torch to light. She, admittedly, couldn't help but let a snicker out under her breath at the Strider's not-so-elegant moves.

"I won't ask. I know you're alright," her voice chimed in before digging her soles into the soil.

Rose kneeled down and began the last bit. The strong sun beam began to focus and sizzle at the flameable broken straw and sticks in the torch. Once she heard that first crack of a burning cherry, she was stepping back. Still, she barely missed as the final torch lit itself into the sky.

As the three torches reached to the heavens, much like a drill of fire, there was a slight rumble. The skies above were almost ominous with their darkened clouds, that somehow never blocked out that damn harsh sun.

Figures.

"And here we are to face the inevitable battle ahead of us. Nothing much left to do until the creatures expose themselves after their dramatic world-changing entrance. That's rather cliche..."

"You gotta give them credit for respecting the classics," Dirk drawled, sardonic...and in other breaking news, it was kind of hot here. He got to his feet and hefted his sword in something resembling more of a battle ready stance. (Opposed to an idle sort of 'I'm smashing glass objects, hey' stance.) "Ain't a real entrance without dramatic..."

Dirk gestured, indicating the torches, the weather, the general mood. "...you know." He made a noise. It sounded amused. Meanwhile, the surroundings continued to purple prose it up, reaching a precipice of power which would cause those who were about to swoon from the sheer darkness below them and other such dramatic things. They were on the cusp of the big entrance, the liminal zone before the enemies would arrive. "So what the hell do you think is going to show up, Lalonde? Goblins? Ghosts?"

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