[@Zelosse]

Day 2, Morning.

[Color=Turquoise]Cinera countered him with a sort of breathless grin, relieved that he seemed to be satisfied. Apparently, he had learned all that he needed to know from that fight so she felt like she could relax, a bit. Now out of danger, she allowed herself to plop down on the ground in relief. However, Delcastle just seemed all the more excited as he immediately began to explain combat swap to her. This was something she was very unfamiliar with, as it would be a difficult tactic to carry out with nothing more than a controller. [i]So we just switch in the middle of a fight...? I thought we were all fighting as a team?[/i]

Without any hesitation, Delcastle had engaged the small wolf, making Cinera immediately jump to her feet. Looks like this wouldn't be a time to rest and discuss, after all. Her hand carefully rested on the hilt of her sword as she watched him demonstrate with the wolf. She proceeded to draw her sword as soon as the wolf landed at her feet, but he had stopped her. Why? The wolf had been engaged - as part of the same party, she assumed anyone near the wolf would be in danger. Much to her surprise though, the wolf paid no mind to the girl who was only two feet away and leapt for the man who was a good couple yards back. [b]"Whoa..."[/b] She sort of admired the way Delcastle held off the wolf, as if it were nothing to him and this creature was just a plaything.

[b]"I think I understand... But does that apply to all monsters? Or just wolves?"[/b] Cinera thought back to the many games she had played and recognized aggro as something common among the creatures who fought in packs. Other solo-fighting monsters, such as large bosses, would always give their attention to the entire group, seeing them as a whole rather than as individual people. Was it the same with this game, or would this technique he was explaining be a huge advantage for their party during the entire game?

At his instructions, she nodded and stood at the ready. Their first switch was a bit shaky on the timing, as she hesitated for a fraction of a second in her insecurity. As they practiced, though, she began to really get the hang of it. With Delcastle serving as a distraction and dealing some light damage, these beasts moved slowly and were much easier to strike down. In this moment, she felt like they were invincible... and these new wolves were level 3! On the way here, she had struggled with level 3 monsters. Did teamwork really make this much of a difference? She played most of her games solo, so this was a new adventure, for her. It was exciting! The way they moved together to take out the enemies became, in itself, a well-oiled machine. Perhaps that wasn't just how the brothers worked... Maybe, just maybe, that was what she had always been missing with these games. Of course, none of her friends would ever play video games, but it would have been neat to try those games with a partner or two. She felt a sort of thrill inside her that she only felt when she was playing her favorite games - a sensation very similar to opening a present on Christmas morning. This game, even if it was trying to kill them, was pretty kick-ass.

However, that confidence didn't last very long. As they approached a much larger wolf, Cinera felt a strange sort of queasiness in her stomach that made her very uneasy. These opponents were obviously much stronger than the level 3s, but they felt a bit cocky with how well their fights had been going; even Cinera wasn't level-headed enough, at the moment, to speak up about her nervousness. The thrill of killing these strong monsters would be that confidence she needed to get through this game - and maybe survive. Delcastle took the first hit, as usual, but the alphas attacked much quicker than Cinera was expecting. Her eyes grew wide when she saw his shoulder get hit, so she quickly pushed herself forward to defend him. They went down fairly easily as she fought her hardest, now feeling that fear from before build up in the pit of her stomach. Delcastle hadn't been hit during any of their battles, so far... Were they in danger, now? Suddenly, she wasn't having fun anymore.

Her hunches were right as the largest wolf began to eat at Delcastle's HP. He was growing weaker by the moment, and she found herself trapped as she blocked a leap from the remaining alpha wolf, digging her heels into the ground just like before as she tried to hold him off. Her teammate was in trouble and she couldn't do anything about it. Cinera grunted as she managed to shove the wolf off of her, only to turn and try to get to him. By the time she did, though, he had flipped the Den Mother off of him and moved out of the way - a switch. Her good instincts kicked into gear as she rushed forward to slice the large wolf as hard as she could. A battle cry escaped her lips as she struggled to pull her katana through the wolf's flesh; she wanted to make sure her attack was as powerful as possible, so that its HP would drop into zero.

She must have still felt cocky, though, because she let down her guard as soon as she had pulled her blade through. That was when the attack happened. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The growl behind her came as a surprise, to which she turned to see the face of death right in front of her, teeth bared in a mid-air strike. The Den Mother had recoiled from the attack, almost instantly turning around to kill Cinera, who had fallen into the trap. Fear encased her small frame as she gaped, practically seeing her life flash before her eyes. This had been stupid. They should have never come to fight, at all, especially not monsters this huge. It was only in this moment that she noticed the beast was a level 6 - not even a four or five - and way out of their current range. Her eyes closed as she waited for the sharp teeth to sink into her flesh and turn her into pixels.

Instead, she felt something hard slam into her side, shoving her to the ground and making her slide across the dirt to safety. She winced at the motion, but in surprise immediately opened her eyes to see the horror before her - Delcastle had taken her place. His HP bar sunk into the red as this large wolf clamped onto him, shaking him from side to side as it attempted to rip him apart. He had saved her...? In this moment, Cinera's heart stopped and she just gaped, staring at the scene with wide eyes. He was dying... because of her. Not just in the game, but in reality. Fear kept her frozen as tears welled up in her eyes. Her friend was going to die. [i]He's going to die... He's going to die![/i]

[b]"D.. Delcastle! NO!"[/b] She shrieked at the top of her lungs as her body moved on its own, lunging forward to stab the Den Mother in the throat. Her hands shook as she screamed, pushing with all her might to obliterate the damn beast. As it dissolved into pixels, she stumbled back, gripping her katana tightly with both hands. Every ounce of Cinera's body shook as she gaped at Delcastle. He was alive, but her eyes couldn't quite see that through the fear. That had been too close for comfort. What if something had happened to him? It would be all her fault. [i]I got reckless... I was careless...[/i]

Her companion stood and seemed thrilled by it all, but she could hardly hear him. The looming thought of how real death was in this game hung over her like a dark cloud, and she barely felt his tight hug. His embrace did bring her out of her fear-filled trance, but tears immediately fell down her cheeks as she broke into sobs. This would be the second time she broke down in front of him, but she couldn't help it. Death was something she had always feared, and being so young she was even more afraid of losing those around her to it. Though he probably wasn't too aware of it, Delcastle had grown on her as a friend and someone she felt like she could thrive with in this game. More than anything, he was a good person, and the thought of him dying because of her own cockiness was too much to handle. It was one thing to get herself killed, but it was another thing to endanger another person. She might feel more confident, but Cinera had not yet come to terms with what death would mean, even as she nearly saw it happen right in front of her. She was not prepared to see someone die for the first time.

The sobs shook her body as she found herself collapsing to the ground. Her breathing was quick and ragged as she buried her hands in her face. [b]"I-I'm s-sorry... I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry... I-I'm s-sorry..."[/b] She choked out over and over through the sobs. Another panic attack. This one was worse than the first, as it happened almost immediately and suddenly from the high emotions she had felt during the battle, rather than building up from a small feeling. It also was a lot more difficult to control, as she bent over and cried much louder than before. Her body shook with the ever-lingering fear, and it became the worst experience she had ever had. Her ears hadn't even heard his comment about how "well" the fight had gone. All she could hear was the sound of death. Immediately, she clamped her hands over her ears, unable to control the violent tremors throughout her body. [i]Reckless... That was a reckless way to fight... Damn it...[/i] She stared at the ground with wide eyes. [i]I knew it... I can't do this...[/i][/color]