[color=turquoise]Cinera
[u]Day 16 - Sunset - Lvl 13[/u]

Cinera was a bit concerned as Delcastle seemed to space out, but then he gave a bright smile and essentially agreed with her. Even so, it bothered her how nonchalant he was being about her concerns. Yes, it would be wrong to just ignore people, but at the same time there were people out there who would eventually want to take advantage of their kindness. She didn't press the matter any further, though; Delcastle was a business man above all else, and she knew by now that he wouldn't be easily tricked. However, something inside her stomach still churned uncomfortably. [i]I guess there's nothing wrong with worrying if he really thinks it's a good thing... but this world really is full of danger... I wonder if you can get ulcers in this game?[/i] The thought of something that real being in this world almost made her laugh out loud.

For the rest of the picnic Cinera simply enjoyed herself, joking and laughing with the person who had become her most dear friend in this game. He seemed calm, they were all safe, and at least until their next excursion everyone could rest easy. Or so she thought.

Day 16 - Night

Things were quiet as they walked back into town, but it was a sort of comfortable silence between them. The delicious meal that Cinera had learned Bulwar made for them was now swirling around contentedly in their stomachs, and the chirps and breeze of the night made peaceful noises in the dark around them. The lights of the city in the evening were an even more comforting sight, though the town seemed to be rather empty tonight. Cinera was completely and utterly exhausted though, so a part of her was very happy that Delcastle wouldn't be able to stay longer to do business. It wasn't like she had to stay with him, but... well... it had been awhile since they got this much time alone. If anything, she would sleep easier knowing he was actually resting safely in an inn during the night, for once.

As they walked deeper into the square, Cinera covered her mouth lightly with her hand as she yawned. [i]I didn't know your muscles could ache this much in a game...[/i] Suddenly, something caught the corner of her eye and she found herself stopping to look. Only a couple people were walking around at this time of night, but a very familiar silhouette caught her eye underneath the glow of a dim street lamp. [i]Is that...![/i] It was! They hadn't seen each other since she had left that note behind at the inn - since the day she decided to join the World Walkers. How was she doing? Had she made lots of money like she wanted?

Cinera had so many questions for her friend, and she immediately took a step toward her, ready to call out her name. However, she was stopped short when she saw the tiny figure suddenly drop to the ground. She was so tired, it had seemed like an illusion, at first. [b]"... Sapphira...?"[/b] It took a minute to register before Cinera gave a huge gasp of terror. [b]"Oh my god! DELCASTLE!"[/b] Her legs seemed to move on their own as she raced to her friend's aid, practically throwing herself on the ground beside her to see what was wrong. Delcastle was at her side in an instant, and it was when he turned Sapphira over that she saw it.

The cuts. The bruises. The tattered clothes. The dried up blood. The cut up fur. It was a horrific sight to behold, and Cinera felt her heart sink with fear. Was she... Was she dying...? [i]No... No way...[/i] Once she realized they were still added as friends, she glanced up at Sapphira's health bar. [i]Her HP is in the red... but it's not gone... Thank god.[/i] She relaxed a bit, knowing this. They needed to move quickly though or that was going to change. Delcastle's words rang in her brain like a military order, and she practically flew to the inn with how fast she was running.[/color]

[b]"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we've only got one room left and that one has two beds. Take it or leave it."[/b]

[color=turquoise]Not left with much of a choice, and with no time to argue, Cinera took the room and waited for her companions next to the front desk so that there was no wait to find a place to lay her down. Within minutes they were safe within a private room, Sapphira resting unconscious on one of the beds. Cinera finally began to panic. [i]How could this happen? Things were going so well... Everybody loved her, I'm sure she must've had some help fighting whatever monster she took on...[/i] Tears welled up in her eyes. [i]I'm just so happy she's still alive, by some miracle...[/i] The thought never crossed her mind that players did this to her. She saw everybody in this world as innocent, as she hadn't really known people that well outside of her family in reality. Cinera had no idea how cruel people could be, even though she was seeing it right before her eyes.

She barely heard Delcastle's words as he ran off to get food to help. All she could do was give a brief nod and continue to kneel here by Sapphira's side. [i]I guess all we can do is wait for her to wake up...[/i] The shock from injuries that severe must have knocked her out pretty well. Cinera imagined that it could be awhile before she awoke. Delcastle returned soon with food, and by then she had calmed down a bit from the initial shock. Sapphira was stable for now, and she could once again feel the ache of her muscles, now worse from running to the inn. Her eyelids would barely stay open as she glanced toward their noble guild leader, who now made himself comfortable on the floor. It looked like he was pretty wiped out, too...

Not really caring if she slept on a bed or not, Cinera actually made her way over to Delcastle, sitting beside him and weakly leaning her head on his shoulder. [b]"Thank you..."[/b] She murmured, closing her eyes to rest with him. [i]I know he's worried... This time it's my turn to comfort him...[/i] Her arm linked with his as she sent him silent comforts, simply being near him to try and be a consoling presence. They were both worried... Neither of them had really seen anything this bad in the game, so far, even though it happened every day. But there was no sense in freaking out over it. She would be fine. Cinera wanted to believe that. [i]She will be fine...[/i] [b]"... We just have to wait for her to wake up. She'll be... okay..."[/b] As she said this, she started to nod off a little, unable to keep herself awake through the exhaustion any longer.

[i]Please wake up... Sapphira, please...[/i][/color]