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[indent][indent][indent][color=gray][sub][right][color=#87c735][b]Location:[/b][/color] The Laughing Worg -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria[/right][/sub][/color]
[hr][color=#87c735]"Wait, armor?"[/color] 

Alja vanished from the bar, leaving him with a set of armor that probably weighed as much as he did. He plopped back on the tavern's seat and let out a sigh, not even trying to save face near Siegfried or Kalie. [color=#87c735]"Aw, man,"[/color] he said. His vision throbbed for a bit.

Left to guard duty. He was bummed about it at first, until the fresh sting of Kazuki's departure flashed across his mind. Alex had already known he was awful when it came to making friends, even just talking to people in general, but that interaction had solidified it. He didn't know why, but a part of him had been expecting that flaw to be less apparent within Pariah. Even in a completely different world with an appearance custom-tailored to make every physical insecurity vanish, he still made the same mistakes. It was an interesting observation. A disappointing one, too. It was for the best if he stayed.

He supposed he could've intruded on whatever conversation Siegfried and Kalie were having, but even he had an idea as to the atmosphere going on over there was like. Some gesticulations coming from Siegfried, gentle movements from Kalie. He could already imagine the other man's reaction to having his mission thwarted by captain oblivious. The snark from his sister Sif would be hilarous, though. Or was that what the alcohol was whispering in his ear?

Alex's reverie stretched for a blurry amount of time until a certain pair of people returned. Alja had been successful, and brought Benkei with her. He started talking, and it took him a moment to realize he was supposed to listen. An introduction. A warped one, the one you could only have on the internet, yet different from that as well. The one you could only have on the internet after circumstances had made it a matter of life or death. He wanted to interrupt him to point out how amusingly odd the whole situation was, but kept his mouth shut. Until Benkei did too.

Well, he failed at saying the right words to strangers the first time around before the dungeon, and he certainly made that mistake again. If the others weren't going to follow up, then he'd do it. Third time's the charm. 

[color=#87c735]"'This group' huh... so it's official, more or less."[/color] He stopped for a moment, performing the agonizing process of thinking before speaking. [color=#87c735]"Don't worry too much about emotions. We're going through a total mess no one in the history of the world has ever gone through. Even older people probably wouldn't get it if you tried explaining what the hell was happening here to them. Nothing about this is normal, so you shouldn't try to act normally."[/color] From the corner of his eye, he saw a faint stain caused by the tankard he had been drinking out of. Acting differently could be bad in excess, fine, whatever. 

[color=#87c735]"My name is Alex, in real life too pretty much. I'm twenty years old, a freelance artist that juggles projects a lot. I get bored of just doing one thing, really."[/color] It was hard to think of anything else, given that he hadn't made much of an impact both within the game in general and throughout their conflicts. He did have one thing he wanted to clear up. 

[color=#87c735]"I... hope your brother comes back though."[/color] He cleared his throat, leaving an awkward pause in the room. 



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