Lost Paradise

Jason

He glared at Fayne's back as he left. Whether or not he intended to hurt the Drow, Jason had taken an immediate dislike to him, as had a few of the others, evidently. He turned his attention back to the guy who looked like a girl...or the girl with a guy's name, "Uh...I see. An interesting group we are then." He nodded to the doorway, "What's his problem, anyway? He doesn't seem to like any of you, and he sure as hell doesn't like me. Why are you putting up with him?"

*Thanks FinalFreedom...at least you told me about this..unlike...*cough* SYLVERDAWN!*

Real name- Cassandra Carousel (cassie for short)
Character name- LethalStare
age- 16
gender- Female
race- Half elf, half vampire
type- Swordsman, Fist combat
appearance- Long dark red hair, pale skin, dark brown eyes that are mistaken for black, slim and athletic proportional body, has vampire teeth, wears a long black coat, a blood red corset with ties up the front and tight leather pants with knee high high-heel boots, has elf ears, wears a cross necklace.
personality- Can be sweet, usually cold though.
weapons/abilities- Carries daggers along her belt, a long sword on her back and carries some more blades secretly. She can create a blade barrage. Also, when taking blood from someone it heals her.
other- She is up for love.

*I'll post as soon as I...if I get approved*

Tom

"Maybe we like him..." Tom answered quietly as he slipped off the bed and exited the room, closing the door softly behind him. He walked down the hallway swiftly and looked around as he exited the hotel before sitting on the floor, beside Fayne.

"What do you want?" Fayne snarled, straightening up when just a moment ago, he had been leaning against the wall.

"To help," Tom replied. "Look, I understand pride pretty well and I understand independence. I get that. But those are traits for the real world. In here we've got to work together, right?" They sat in silence for a while, under the growing darkness but slowly, Fayne eased himself back against the wall and held a hand against his stomach.

"You need the practise," Fayne grunted, "No use to us if you can't tap into your character's memory."

"I think I'm starting to get that," Tom replied with a smile. "In fact, if I remember correctly, I don't have to move to heal you, or know where your injury is. I can feel your life line and, if I concentrate..." Tom concentrated, still leaning casually against the wall as if they were just two people talking, two people discussing everyday things. "Better?" Tom stood and opened the door of the hotel.

"Not bad for a newbie, Babe..." Fayne seemed to relax a little more and looked more comfortable. Tom turned his head and swept a lock of black hair from his face as he smiled.

"Sleep well, Fayne," Tom said quietly, returning to the hotel room. Sleep well, Fayne? Sleep well? Where the hell did that come from? Tom wondered with a scowl. Helping was one thing but if he couldn't get control over these female emotions and thoughts, that could be... tricky. I wish I wasn't so hot.

*Go ahead Cass.*

Azrayel-

Ray sat on the floor thinking. He hadn't found anything in the last month, linking Ceria to the game, but there were those rumours. There had to be something but where, he closed his eyes, setting his character to standby so Ray could update his journal.

Freezing, Ray's eyes flew up and he jolted up. "Guys? Guys!!!"

Everyone came running when they heard him shouting. Fayne, who had just gotten to sleep scowled. "What now Shorty."

Ray ignored Fayne's insult, too shocked to even notice it. "I can't log out."

((Ayric))

She stood calmly. So he was another person caught by the virus. Ayric looked down, almost guiltily, in thought. Silence covered the room like a thick veil, everyone in his or her own part. Grunting Ayric stretched her foreclaws, and yawned. Ray cocked his head to the side slightly. "Why are you acting so calm?! I. Can't. Get. Out!"

Ray paced frantically back and forth across the room. His stats appeared above his head. Strenuously he flipped through his profile, avatar, real life location and time. Everything fit. A box appeared above his head stating "Exit Game?" with two choices. Yes was clicked and Ray shut off. Seconds later his eyes flew open again.

"Shit!" Ray furiously pounded his fist against the wall.

An intake of fresh air flooded Ayric's lungs, calming her further. "You can't log out of the game. A virus is attacking."

That surprised her. She looked around the room at their little ragtag group. Ray, Kelsey, Jason, Tom, Fayne, who was outside. They all must have been infected by the virus.

"Perfect!" Ayric exclaimed, an edge of hawk cry in her tone.

Jason blinked at her. "Are you insane? Tell me. I'd like to know now if I'm traveling with nutjobs."

The comment was ignored as Ayric started pacing back and forth, her body taking up a good portion of the room. "If we all know about this we can talk freely with each other. Strategy, location, people! We can defeat the virus!" She ended her sentence with a shriek of joy.

Half of the group winced at the high pitched noise. Tom raised his eyebrow. "Wow, someone's excited. Can you elaborate?"

Ayric caught his eye, her own eyes dancing with excitement. "Are you aware that we cannot talk about the virus to people who aren't infected?"

Tom crossed his arms uncomfortably over his larger than a normal male is supposed to have chest. "I am."

"We are some of the only ones who can talk about it. Talk leads to action and we can piece together the puzzle! If we find out how to defeat the virus other people will be spared."

Once again Ayric eyed the group. "We'll need more people, however." Her wings drooped, realizing how hard it will be to find the people infected by the virus.

Kelsey put a hand on Ayric's wing. "Let's get some sleep first. Tomorrow we'll search."

Ayric nodded in agreement. "We'll sleep on it. The room to the left is where you'll be sleeping. I'm staying out here because this is the only place I'll fit."

Ayric clicked over to the corner, turned, and slid down to the floor, her tail wrapped comfortably around her. "Good night."

She put her head on her claws, thinking.

Kelsey

Her head hurt, she had a swollen rib, she was tired and now they all couldn't log out!!! Kelsey sat on the floor. She ran her fingers softly over her ribs. She then laid on the floor and curled up like a cat, the others could take the beds. She used her arms as a pillow. She smiled at everyone and then shivered at the feeling of being cold...

Tom

Tom lay on the bed with his back to the room and wondered if he should tell them everything he knew. It wasn't like it was much, just a few more dribbles of information but... could he drag these people into it? By the way they all acted, they may look the same age but at least half of them were teenagers... children sat at home, their bodies held in a coma. Parents crying, siblings unable to understand.

They probably don't even understand the concept of death, Tom thought bitterly. He listened, carefully. He couldn't tell how many of the room were asleep but their breathing sounded soft so he presumed that everyone was at least snoozing. Tom climbed out of the bed, checked his weapons and stealthily crossed the room to the window. He inched it open, wincing as it creaked and pausing to listen, wondering how many of his comrades he'd awoken.

Eventually the window was open enough for Tom to clamber over the edge and drop to the ground. He cringed and bit his tongue. Ouch! That flaming well hurt, Tom thought as he crawled to his feet. He turned to face away from the buildings and stare into the distance where a field lay before him.

"Let's see what you can do," Tom mumbled, taking the bow from his shoulder. It took a moment to recover the memories and discover how to string it and then he started shooting. After an hour, he gave up and sat down on the floor, feeling sore and sleepy.

"I'm hopeless," Tom sighed. "How will I ever get anywhere if I can't fight?"

((Ayric))

Sleep never really came to Ayric. Rolling onto her back didn't help, stretching, yawning, curling, drifting in and out of thought. Sighing she pulled herself upright and peered into the darkness. No one seemed to be awake much less in the mood for talking. Keeping the clicking of her claws to a minimum Ayric shuffled out of the room. Her tail whipped behind her irritatedly as she made it down the steps and out the front door.

A good inhale of fresh air started to wake her up. Ayric circled around the building to survey her current landscape. Nothing new, houses, taverns, shops closed for the day. For the first time Ayric noticed Tolleto sat in the middle of a large field. Ayric spread her wings deftly and gave a few strokes. She bounded down the road and leaped into the fresh night air.

The dying thermals kept her up for a while but only bigger thermals kept a full grown gryphon up. Ayric decided to land on the west side field. The ground looked invitingly soft as she drew closer to her picked spot to land. Updrafts clipped Ayric's wing, making her wobble slightly before touching down.

Ayric stretched and started to morph into a human, her bones compacting and shifting in the usual, mildly painful way. When she was finished her clothing and belongings popped into existence.

"I've seen you do that...twice now? I don't think I'll ever get used to it."

Tom's alluring voices melted out from the darkness. Ayric whipped around, her newly formed cloak billowing after her. Tom sat on the ground near an ancient tree, a bow and quiver at his side.

Ayric grinned, "Good evening. Couldn't sleep?"

"More or less." He shrugged indifferently.

She nodded knowingly and walked over to him. Ayric's back hit the tree as she slunk down beside him.

"I was thinking about how to call the others to us, like you said, while I was shooting. I found two things. One, we need to experiment and two, I need shooting practice."

"Oh?" Ayric inquired, her eyebrow raised.

A gust of wind blew from the south, kicking up bits of grass and throwing the fireflies around. Tom watched the flies thoughtfully, reaching his hand out to catch one. He held it broodingly in his hand before letting it go. "How do we know what will happen if we talk about the virus with people who aren't trapped? Will they not hear us? Will we speak a different language? And how 'bout the people who are trapped? We need to see what will happen before we go shouting about the virus."

He's more perceptive than I gave him credit. Ayric thought.

"That's a well thought out idea. Do you know how we tell who's who?"

He shook his head and pushed a fallen lock of hair behind his ear. "Haven't the foggiest idea."

Ayric sighed, enjoying the fresh wind. It smelled of water, she was pretty sure there was a lake around somewhere. Ayric reached into her right pocket, rummaging through her few possessions and trinkets she kept with her. She found what she was looking for and pulled it out, a small transverse ocarina made of wood.

Tom blinked curiously. "What's that?"

"An ocarina." She replied. "I like to play it when I'm thinking. That's why I came out here in the first place. I didn't want to wake the others."

"Ah." He responded as she put the instrument to her mouth.

A sugary melody floated along with the breeze. It reminded Ayric of the Golems that inhabited the Glory Tunnel system, one of the few species who were intelligent and weren't players. Tom surprisingly hummed along an improvisation. Ayric stopped. "You know this song?"

Tom nodded. "Yup, The Canticle of Silver. It's a mining song the Golems play."

Ayric smiled. "They're my favorite race. Very peaceful, all they ever want to do is create things of beauty. I spent most of my time with them."

The silence was cut open by the returning sound of crickets. "How come you've been playing for so long? Do you even have a life?"

Ayric laughed. "Actually I don't. I'm a game tester. I was asked to play this game and try to beat it. I was actually the first sucked in here. People thought it was some sort of heat coma. I heard the players talking about it when they logged in."

That brought a confused look. "You're Lucy Darigun?"

"In the flesh." Once again Ayric was surprised by Tom. "How'd you know?"

Tom crossed his arms, looking uncomfortable. "I'll tell you sometime."

Ayric nodded, satisfied. "Mind if I quiz you on the songs of the realm?"

Tom grinned for the first time in a while. "Sure, mind you, I haven't been everywhere yet."

"I'll teach you the one's you don't know then."

Tom

Tom was laughing after having guessed another song correctly, though he'd had a fair few wrong and not even attempted guessing others. He fell silent as Ayric began the next. It was a haunting melody: sad but irresistible at the same time. A song that caught your breath, that seemed to utter quiet murmurs of loneliness and solitude but it erupted into a longing, enchanting tune that seemed to ask you to follow where it led. Ayric finished without interruption and lowered the instrument.

"Don't you know it?" she asked softly.

"I didn't want to interrupt. That's the first time I've heard it played," Tom replied honestly.

"But you know it?" Ayric asked. Tom shrugged, thinking of the computerised map he had so often studied and the tape of sound effects that even now was tucked away in his desk drawer back in the real world. He smiled as he recalled how they'd play the songs of the realms in the background while they worked.

"Sort of," he said. "It's sung by a group of Dryads living to the West but I forget the name..."

"I don't think it has one. Or at least, they never told me what it's called," Ayric replied. "How about this one...?" She raised the instrument to her lips again and launched into a jovial, unfamiliar song. At the end, when Tom shook his head, she set about teaching him the tune, alternating between playing and humming and even singing the chorus for him.

As the sun began to rise, Tom practised his archery some more while Ayric sat not far away, still playing her ocarina and pausing occasionally for Tom to guess the song.

[Fayne]

Fayne stood leaning against a wall, facing away from Ayric and Tom, but still in earshot. Each time Ayric stopped to let Tom guess Fayne said the name of the tune in his mind. He didn't want them to know how long he'd been here, or how he got here in the first place, so he stayed in the solitude of the shade. "Morning you two." He said as he turned the corner and slowly glided over to them. They both stopped what they were doing and looked up at him.

"You're up early." Ayric said, returning to her ocarina. Tom nodded in agreement and strung his bow once more.

"I don't sleep." Fayne said with a laugh. "Wasn't it obvious?" He sat down close to Ayric.

"You're affected with the virus too?" She asked. Fayne had expected her to ask that, just not so bluntly. He pretended to be surprised and lowered his head. "Thats a yes."

"So, how old are you?" Tom asked as he shot arrows at a tree. Fayne looked up, keeping his hood over his face and glared.

"Is it really of importance?" He asked, standing up and taking out his blades and setting them on the ground. These need to be sharpened. I also need a sparring partner... He got up and searched around for a rock.

Cassandra lay in a tree, trying to sleep...her health was dangerously low and she needed to ragain some of it, but the voices from below were really starting to bother her. Deciding to take action she jumped down from the tree, examining the people who were talking, glaring she crossed her arms, "Can't anyone get some quiet around here? Or do you have to kill everyone to do so..."

'I've been playing from the beginning...and never have I found a quiet place in this damned game...' the thought crossed her mind. Yawning, she bared her fangs slightly, "So...what do we have going on here?" she asked, her eyes skimming over the group.

[Fayne]

"Oh great, more queers." He said aloud, picking up a rock and walking back over to his blades. Ayric glared at him. He shrugged and picked up one of his blades, putting the rock against the edge. "This might hurt your ears."

"Who are you calling a queer?! Look at you, dressed in completely black wearing a hood that covers your face!" The girl said, scowling.

"You. And for your information, Drows aren't welcome in these parts, or so I found out." He looked up and removed his hood. "I have a reason to dress like this." Fayne looked at Ayric, she was glaring at him but there was a hint of entertainment hidden in her gaze. He put his hood back up, looking up at the young vampire. Don't tell me I got myself another fight...I don't think I'm going to have many friends here...

"Well aren't we a little cocky? Call me a queer all you'd like...at least I'm not a misfit," she calmly said, looking at Fayne from the corner of her eye.

Smirking she turned to face him, "But, that means me and you could quite well get along..." stepping forward she bit Fayne's neck, drawing blood and healing, "But I guess...if you'd like to test my skills...I'm up for it," She said as she licked her lips.

*Paradise is still in the testing phase, lets just say its a Beta version of the game. They released it to get feedback on the system. It's only been available to the public for half a year.*

Azrayel-

Ray woke from a restless sleep to find the room half empty. Kelsey and Jason were still sleeping but Ayric, Tom, and the scrawny drow were gone. Quietly he got up pulled on his cloak and went to check out the town. Tolleto was a merchant town built on a cross roads, as far as he knew the closest gate was a couple weeks walk from here. The town was small but busy because it was well situated.

Pacing along the low wall surrounding the town he spotted Tom, Ayric, and Fayne, talking, or aguing with another player. This one was a vamp-elf with an attitude. It seemed Ray would have to get used to people showing up randomly.

Tom

As soon as the red haired girl stepped back, Tom pulled the string taut.

"What are you doing?" Her dark eyes flashed angrily but there was a cautiousness to her. There was no way she could know how good he was with a bow. Tom glanced to his side. Fayne looked a little sick and he was touching the two pin pricks with anger and disgust. The playful glint was gone from Ayric's eye and she looked ready to transform into a gryphon, just to trample the girl.

"I could ask you the same thing," Tom snarled. "Feeding off of players is bad etiquette. This game wasn't created for the likes of you to abuse your characters. And besides, I need the practice." Swiftly, Tom released the arrow and it came close to hitting her. Apparently a moving target made it easier because as she dodged to the left, she dodged into the true path of the arrow that would have otherwise been way of course. It grazed the flesh of her neck, drawing a thin line of red across it before landing in the street.

"You cut me!" The woman snarled, no longer playfully teasing.

"I told you I needed the practise," Tom replied with a grin that was more challenging and sexy than the triumphant smirk he had intended.

"I hope you understand the seriousness of your actions now," Ayric said. "And you've clearly been affected by the virus because you was within hearing range but we could still speak of it. That means you're welcome to join us if you're willing to behave."

"Oh sure, invite everyone who attacks me into the group," Fayne mumbled sarcastically. Tom lowered his bow and then fastened it across his back before retrieving the arrow from the road and as he did, the two pin-pricks upon Fayne's neck faded.

"Sorry," Tom mumbled, "That seems to be the best I can do." The girl looked confused as if she had never seen a cleric heal a person before. Did she not understand the concept of companions? How many weeks had she played alone?

"It's time we started forming a plan," Ayric said. "This search won't be too easy..."

"Oh I don't know, we seem to have had some pretty good luck at finding people lately and I'd just as well have not found some of them," Fayne cut in.

"Well the choice is up to her. Come on, what's it going to be...Lethal Stare? That's almost as bad as Tom's name!" Ayric giggled and Tom raised a fist in mock anger.

"At least I didn't choose mine, what's her excuse?" He asked gleefully.