IC: Aaron saw a familiar face and jumped down from the statue, the impact sending shudders through his feet and into his lower legs.

Ordinarily, he'd be praising the game for its realism, but given the circumstances... He shook his head, smiling slightly as he and Izzy met again. "Sorry about the noise, and the theatrics, I just... I had to do something. Glad I didn't scare you completely away."

He looked down for a few seconds, clearly lost in thought, before speaking again. "We need to get stronger, if we want to make it out of this alive. The way I see it, small parties have the best of both worlds... They level nearly as quickly as solo players but they have someone watching their back."

His left hand moved to scratch the back of his head, eyes flicking up to look at Izzy. "What I'm trying to ask is... Do you want to be my partner for clearing the game?"