"Oh, everything's great; I just had some things I wanted to hear your take on," Titus said innocently.  The two of them found their own area and the man offered Yato a seat first before taking his own, resting his ankle on his knee leisurely.  "So, I've seen how you and your friends interact...  They might be a bit eccentric, but they're strong and you guys have the right outlook on this place.  I can respect that.  It's something more people need to know, need to see, and they need to be a part of it.  We'll never get out of here without that kind of attitude, so I was trying to think of ways to get the attitude you guys have out into the world beyond just parties.  It'd be good for everybody to see that you don't have to be a clearer to help and furthermore one can make a life here without losing sight of the life they knew before we were all locked in.  I don't have to tell you that Aincrad has more dangers than monsters and trap dungeons..."  Titus grew a little somber, watching his fingers drum with concentration on the table, "We have some problematic players too...  Ones that don't think this is even real, ones that seek to either prevent the progress of the floors or to simply satiate their own psychopathic desires.  Men and women of vice.  Now, I'm no saint, and I'll never claim to be perfect or even religious...  But...  These are kids.  They're going to live with the decisions made here for the rest of their lives.  I don't want them to have to shoulder the deaths of their friends or have to fight for their own lives against real people."

There was another pause as Titus chose his words.  "Sorry if I'm moving quickly here...  I really don't know what to do about all of this, but it's something that needs to be addressed.  The KoB is a large guild of extremely talented warriors.  But they're...  They're not [i]great[/i] people.  They're okay, but they're not idealists, they stand only to clear the floors.  The players need somebody who stands as a beacon of strength for moving on like that, but they need somebody to look to for protection, and they can't find that with the Knights or the other major Clearing Guilds.  I know I'm throwing a lot on you here, but I was curious to hear what you've seen out there for yourself too."

-----

Yari's face scrunched up a bit as she tasted the drink.  "Ew, ew, take it back..."  She muttered, shaking her head and letting Cress have his drink back.  She nursed her own slowly, having already noticed that she was reacting kind of slowly.  In honesty, the girl was even beginning to notice that the things she noticed were stupid, like how her eyes moved a second after she told them to.  Suddenly, there were hands on her wrist and she blinked in surprise.  "Eh?  I guess I could eat," She observed, gripping her drink more tightly.  "But nuh-uh!  I can hold a plate with one hand; don't take my drink awaaaayyyy!!  Please, Nero?"  She asked, looking pleadingly to Suto, clearly getting his name wrong.  Whether it was because she simply got the names all mixed up or if it was because she had been drinking nobody could know for sure.  "Don't be so uptight, gosh!"

Nero covered his mouth, turning away as he laughed and tried not to let Suto see it.  The poor guy was trying so hard, but Nero had to give him points for determination.  Clearing his throat, he turned back to them, "C'mon, I'll help, where do you guys wanna go eat?"