“Yes, Honey.” replied the long suffering husband.
Rhea placed a fist to her lips and giggled into her knuckles. Scott shook his head.
Scott looked at her flatly then asked her in a playful manner, “Remind you of anyone?”
“Whatever do you mean? I am a sweet and delicate flower.” replied Rhea.
Scott looked as though he might say something to the contrary. Rhea placed her hand atop her sword pommel then quirked one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows. “Right?”
He tossed her a wry smile then looked her squarely in the eye before speaking in a flat monotone voice. “Oh Rhea, you are the most delicate and beautiful flower in the garden of life. The sun obviously rises in the morning only to see your smiling face.”
She made a little gasping noise then slapped him on the shoulder before turning away. He had been joking, and she knew it, but to hear him say such a thing was quite embarrassing. Her face heated up greatly and turned bright red.
Scott stared at the strange special effect. Her face had literally turned bright red! How was that possible?
“Aww, Jacob... Look at them. Isn’t that sweet?”
“Yes, Honey.” said the farmer. He did not say anything further and his wife looked at him with annoyance.
The wagon in front of them moved into town and it was there turn to speak to the guard. They answered a few brief questions about their purpose for visiting Meaden then were allowed inside. They waited for the farmer and his wife.
<<< You have entered the town of Meaden. >>>
The music of the road changed to a quirky tune with a rural theme. Scott nodded in time to the tune while he took in the sight of the second town that he had entered since coming to this world. It was a tidy looking little place. The people seemed happy, and there were children playing near a large water fountain up ahead.
After the older couple entered town, Scott and Rhea discussed when they should visit their house. The location of their farm was added to the dynamic duo’s map-screen and the quarter parted ways.
“What do you think?” asked Rhea.
“It seems nice. Though, I haven’t checked any prices yet so my opinion might change.” said Scott. He grinned at Rhea and she shook her head.
“I’m paying this time, remember?” She poked him in the shoulder then shook her delicate finger at him.
“That’s true. You tell me if your opinion of the place changes then, and I will take that into advisement.”
The blue haired elf sighed at the blue haired human. “I will.”
“Excellent, I win.” said Scott.
She rolled her eyes then pointed toward a sign that had a large pig on the front. “That’s the Tenderloin Tavern. It has the best food and rooms to rent in town. Of course, it is also the only place with rooms that also includes meals.”
Scott’s stomach grumbled suddenly as it realized what she had just said. “Please pardon my angry stomach; it knows not what it does.”
Rhea looked at him then slowly shook her head. “I’m not sure if feeding you is a good idea. You become a bit feisty after you have been fed.”
“Hey, don’t steal my lines.” said Scott. He had said the same thing to her the first time he had cooked dinner during their trip into town. He considered himself to be only a reasonably efficient cook. She had taken her plate of food and acted like it was the most precious thing that anyone had ever given to her. The silly girl had looked almost heartbroken that she had to eat it!
Rhea giggled at him then smiled shyly. She looked down at her hands and fidgeted a little.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“Uhm, our lodgings...” she replied.
“What about them?” Was she short of funds? He did not mind sleeping in the woods again if they needed to do so.
The elf girl took a deep breath then said, “We should share a room for the sake of keeping expenses low.”
“Sure.” He saw no problem with that. They frequently slept next to each other on the road. Well, actually Rhea always put her bedroll down next to whatever spot Scott had chosen for his own bedroll. They then took turns keeping watch.
Rhea nodded then spoke to him in a tone of voice that was strangely calm. “Good, let us share a room then Scott.”
A sudden flurry of motion nearby caught Scott’s attention. A little girl had pounced on a little boy and they were wrestling near the water fountain.
Rhea leaned back smiled triumphantly then and punched at the air above her in a double-fisted fist-pumping motion. She was on the verge of shouting with joy, but she managed to restrain herself. By the time Scott had turned back to Rhea she had regained her composure and nothing seemed out of place.
“Hmm?” asked Scott. Nothing seemed out of place to the man, but he had a sudden suspicion that he had missed something interesting.
“Hmm?” asked Rhea. She smiled brightly and gazed upon him with wide and innocent eyes.
He stared at her curiously for a moment, and then asked, “Nothing I guess. I just thought that you had asked me something.”
She shook her head back and forth. Her hair swayed captivatingly in the light, and it caught Scott’s attention like a shiny fishing lure catches the attention of a fish. “No, I already had an important question answered.”
“OK...”
Rhea took a deep breath then turned toward the Tenderloin Tavern. She strode forward purposefully with her chin up and her chest out.
Scott quirked his left eyebrow and tilted his head to the side. Had he missed something? He had definitely missed something! The sorcerer snorted then ran to catch up with the rapidly moving girl. She was suddenly in quite the hurry.
The Tenderloin Tavern was a brightly lit and cheery sort of place. Rhea purchased a single room with meals for two. They ate their lunch happily while discussing their plans. They would set out for the mine in the morning. Today would be a rest day. They also had that dinner date, as Rhea decided to call it, with the farmer and his wife later.
“This ham and cheese sandwich is good.” said Scott. He did wonder where they got the ham, though. He had not seen anyone raising pigs on the way to town.
“Yes, isn’t it? Thunder boars are a good source of meat for people in this zone.”
“Thunder boar?”
Rhea nodded at him. “Yes, you can often find low-level ones in the forest and fields south of here.”
“I see.” That would be useful information once he acquired those survival skills that he lacked currently. It was his hope that he would be able to increase his level to the point that losing eighty thousand experience points to learn a skill-set would be worth the loss.
They finished dinner then headed toward their room. Once inside Rhea immediately started to fuss with the bed excitedly. She giggled and made weird little happy noises that unnerved Scott. She bounced around the room happily, her hair flying around due to her sudden movements.
The poor girl’s jaw dropped when she saw that Scott had moved to the far corner again and had laid out his bed roll. “You’re sleeping in the corner?”
“Well, yes. I can’t very well take the bed and have you sleep in the corner.” replied Scott.
Her expression changed from surprise to annoyance. “No way! You’ll sleep in this bed like a normal person!”
“Where will you sleep?” asked Scott with faux-innocence. He knew exactly where the girl planned to sleep.
Rhea pouted at him. “You don’t want to sleep next to me? What about the sacred bond of comrades?”
“That’s the first time that I ever heard of It.” said Scott.
“Right, well... The ... The sacred bond of comrades dictates that you must sleep in the same bed for the purposes of becoming better comrades!”
Scott smirked. “You didn’t just make that up did you?”
“No! If we had more comrades we would all have to sleep in the same bed together.” replied Rhea.
“I’m sure you’re making that up.” said Sc
ott.
She pouted at him again. Rhea began to sniffle a little. Tears began to well up at the corners of her wide and innocent eyes. “Don’t you want to sleep next to me?”
“No, not that face!” Scott pulled away from her in absolute horror. She was unleashing a devastating expression. She had unleashed it only once before, when he told her that he would not cook a second helping of dinner for her the other day.
She pouted a little, and her lower lip began to quiver. “Please Scott... Please sleep next to me in the big comfy bed.”
“You’re an evil woman. You know that right?”
Rhea’s cute expression grew even more powerful when she clutched her hands to her chest and began to fidget. “All I want... is to be closer to my comrade. Is that so wrong?”
Scott was losing the battle of the bed. He just knew it. He had to come up with some way to preserve his masculine dignity. He liked Rhea, cared a lot for her really. Yet, they were not intimate beyond being comrades and maybe friends. At least they had not discussed anything further. Accepting her request would set a bad precedent as far as he was concerned.
The elf girl gracefully glided toward him then looked up at him with her innocent and soulful expression. “I promise I won’t molest you in your sleep.”
“Well...” How could he turn down that offer?
Her eyes widened even further then began to sparkle in the light. How did she do that? He still had not figured it out, yet! Was there some sort of emote command that he did not know about?
Defeated utterly, he said, “Fine. I’ll take the side closest to the door.”
“Great! I win!” She threw her arms around him and giggled like an idiot.
Scott rolled his eyes then smiled down at the girl. She was so cute at times.
“You know I have been looking forward to this for a wh-” began Rhea. She began to fall to the floor, but Scott managed to catch her just in time.
The unconscious elf girl began to snore loudly, much to the amusement of her comrade. At least she would be relatively safe inside the inn. He placed her on the bed, gently.
A great distance away, in a city made of crystal and high-tech modern devices, Origin awoke with a start. She took off the tiara that she was wearing and sighed loudly. On the screen before her were bright red letters. ‘AFK.’
“What the heck?” she asked the empty air.
Origin looked around then frowned. She did not see anyone, but she had been automatically logged out of the system. That does not happen by accident.
She stood up and walked over to check her door. It was locked. She performed a deep scan of the room using her divine powers. She did not detect anyone hiding in the area.
“That sucks. I wonder why I was l disconnected.” Origin sighed loudly. Whatever had caused it had ruined a perfectly sweet moment with Scott.
She tapped on the return button on her view screen. Her current location was displayed on the screen briefly. Once it faded from view she was ready to return to the world below. She placed the tiara back on her head. She slipped off into dream land once more, and the elf girl Rhea awoke. Origin had returned to her avatar and could once again play with her Scott.
After Origin had fully initialized her login sequence, a soft laugh echoed through the room. A beautiful girl with bright red hair slid out of the shadows. “You’re good dear sister, but you’re no ninja master.”
Shara, Origin’s half-sister, smirked then made her way toward the door. On the way she noticed something then smiled a more normal smile. She walked over to her sister’s desk and snatched up a tissue.
“Seriously, what am I going to do with you?” Shara dabbed of the drool coming from her sister’s lips. It perfectly matched he slight drool that trickled down her avatar’s lips on screen.
“They are in Meaden, gotta remember that.” Shara slipped out of Origin’s room quietly then headed off to her own room. She had to figure out the fastest way to get to Meaden. There was no way that she would let her sister hog the human. She really wanted to play with Scott, too!
Once she reached her room she opened her door and stepped inside. She hummed merrily and walked past her closet filled with various cosplay outfits befitting famous pop-culture characters from Earth. She ignored her desk that held cute little anime inspired ninja figurines, and one strangely familiar figure. On the desk stood a one-sixth scale model of Scott in his US Army Uniform, complete with M-4 and kung-fu grip.
She stopped what she was doing then walked backwards until she returned to her desk. She reached down and picked up the Scott action figure.
“Hey. Do you think I’m pretty, Scott?” she said softly to the inanimate Scott. She moved his fully-articulated limbs and made him take on heroic poses.
Shara sighed then made the action figure take on an expressive stance and made its head bob up and down by shaking it in the air. “Yes, Shara, I do think you’re pretty. You’re the prettiest ninja goddess in the whole world! Please play with me every day!”
She placed the tips of the fingers on her left hand, against her chin and smiled radiantly. “Of course I will, Scott. I’ll play with you whenever you like.”
The goddess with a ninja girl fixation played with her figurine for a time then placed Army Action Scott back in his spot on her desk. She kissed two of her fingers then touched them to the doll’s cheek.
Shara turned away from her favorite fictional character and looked down to her desk drawer. A soft smile crossed her lips as she unlocked it. She retrieved a disk then shut her drawer before going to her system node.
The ninja goddess placed the disc into the computer tray and waited for it to boot up. After the loading screen passed she was greeted to a very familiar sight. Scott, in civilian dress, was alone at his barracks room making spaghetti.
She watched him put a few slices of jalapeno into his spaghetti sauce then giggled softly. Honestly, who puts jalapenos in spaghetti? What a Noob.
Shara watched Scott for several hours, as she often did. She was not certain what fascinated her about the man, but a few years ago she had taken it upon herself to watch him. Origin had developed a powerful fixation on the man, and it made her feel like her sister had abandoned her.
The red haired ninja goddess smiled gently. “We’ll finally get to play together soon. I just know it.”
Whether she meant Origin or Scott was anyone’s guess. A close-up image of Scott’s face appeared on screen. Shara placed a finger to her monitor and gently traced the curve of his chin. It was hard to judge human beauty. As a goddess she mostly saw the flow of his spiritual energy. Origin’s love interest had a warm and friendly soul tinged with a hint of violence.
Shara shivered gently, but not due to any form of cold or fear. She was not certain why, but whenever she looked at this man she felt something shiver deep inside. It was not an unpleasant sensation, but it was most unusual.
Eventually she sighed once more then looked down at her console. Her eyes began to shimmer softly in the glow of her monitor. She sniffled a little then turned her head to the side and wiped at her eyes with her fingers.
A sad little smile crossed her lips and she said, “I hope that you want to play with me, too.”
Shara hugged herself while she sat there in her room, alone. Recently she had spent most of her time alone. She had few real friends. In fact, she had no friends other than her family members and Gambol. None of them had as much time to spend with her as they did in the past. The lonely girl hoped that the man on the monitor, a man who she had watched daily for several years now, would want to spend time with her.
Despite her great beauty, Shara did not understand how to socialize properly with other people. She had always been an insular child. While she had played with her sister Origin a lot during their youth, Shara had been drawn mostly to watching Earth human television and playing games. She loved to cosplay as her favorite characters. Her tendency to fixate of characters that she adored had unintended consequences once she grew
older, however.
She was not sure why it was important, but she felt strongly about playing with Scott. She bit her lower lip and took a deep breath. Shara slowly released her pent up breath then sobbed out. “Please, play with me... Please don’t be like the others.”
Scott, the man on the monitor, was her last hope. Everyone else, even her dear sister, had seemed to abandon her. Even Gambol was only available on a highly irregular basis of late. He was fixated on Theta, Shara’s older sister, and spent most of his time trying to get her attention.
The ninja goddess hugged herself and let the tears fall. She barely understood human emotions, but like any deity she felt them keenly when they occurred. Emotions were hard, brutal, things. She could not understand how humans were able to deal with them. It was like a torturous wave of things she could not properly understand crashed down upon her at random points in time.
A lonely girl cried in her room that night. Her heartfelt self-prayers were sincere desires to spend time with both the one person who had been there for her every day even if he did not know it, and to once again be able to spend time with her dear sister. Playing with Scott would answer both of her earnest prayers.
The gods wanted to understand humanity to an almost desperate degree. Human cultures, emotions, thoughts, and actions were a mystery to the eternal beings of the divine city. As deities they had incredible powers and could conceivably live forever. Yet, it was only when they could be close to the short-lived mortals that they truly felt alive.
They did not understand human emotion, but they could feel it. Unfortunately, their comprehension and understanding of the concepts of emotion were far more limited than their ability to actively feel such things. In many ways, a human who met a deity and survived might think of them as incomplete beings. In other instances, the gods might seem to be suffering under several varieties of psychosis. Either way, they understood themselves and their feelings even less than they understood human actions and choices. In short, no matter how nice or sweet most divine beings might seem, they were all essentially bat-shit crazy.
Origin ARS (Origin A.R.S. Book 2) Page 2
