Caldwell, the stone-wall city, the last bastion of humanity in a wilderness. An impenetrable fortress amongst the trees. The city was a bit exaggerated to say the least. It was impressive to be sure, but only being on Floor 5 it was hardly the epitome of a grand city. Compiled of old Victorian-era styled buildings and cobbled streets it stood in stark contrast to the traditional scheme of things, one of the few locations in Aincrad that took after London's history. Two and three storied houses lined the wide streets, and shops as well as taverns dotted the area to boot. Being one of the earlier cities its protected expanse was filled with players and NPCs alike, each hurrying about on their schedules for the day. No matter where you went in the city it seemed there was a flock of people gathered, either bartering, eating, or simply enjoying a pleasant day. Virtual or not, the city seemed very much alive, no one could deny that.

Amongst the throes of passerby and players sat a pair of friends on a bench, catching their breath after a training session. Miyamoto Hiro, better known by his handle as Suto, was leaning back on the seat, arms sprawled out across the back casually. He was staring up at the sky absentmindedly, watching the clouds drift by idly with a mindless smile plastered on his lips. "Hey... That one sort of looks like a rabbit..." he mused, reaching over and tapping his friend's shoulder before pointing to the sky. A breeze disrupted the cloud, tarnishing its shape into nothingness and making Suto sigh in response. Pushing himself into an upright sitting position he instead slouched over, resting his arms over his knees with a grin. "I really wish we got more Col from all of that work... Those dang wolves and foxes had nothing on them..." On a whimsical thought he gazed down at the floor, brow pulling together. Where in the heck did animals put the money anyways? He knew it was a game and it was all coded, but putting it in realistic terms...

"Wow! My mind just went places..." he laughed, shaking his head. Raising a hand he scratched at his forehead, glancing up at the red strap he had tied around his forehead to hold back his bangs. "When do you suppose we ought to go meet the others? It's been a few hours now, they've got to be awake."

Alexander Watanabe, better known as Fitch, had been slouched on the bench, appearing very drowsy. His eyes drooped and he could feel the mid-morning nap coming on. The sun and the environment of Caldwell made him sleepy... then again, there were countless things that had such an affect on him. He wore a crimson leather jacket with dark blue and black feathers at the shoulders with a black shirt beneath and dark blue jeans. He had removed his gloves, but left the combat boots he had worn to their outing. His shield was tucked away in his inventory, but he had a steel longsword at his left hip which he had obtained with relative ease at a shop owned by an NPC on this floor.

As his shoulder was tapped, the boy's eyes opened and he turned his head groggily, "Hm? Oh, uh..." His head finally tilted back as the cloud disappated. There was a small laugh as Hiro spoke once more and he shook his head, "If I remember right, money is really hard to rake in unless you get a rare mob... The odds are extremely slim. I heard there's some kid who's already been hunting them out... Heard about it from the one who made me this jacket, actually - said he had more feathers for sale than she'd bought since Floor Four opened up. I can't remember his name though... Hmph... Whatever... Actually, from as far as I got in the beta, I saw that money was harder to gather from combat early on."

"What are you two doing?" Rang a familiar voice from behind. It didn't take long for Mizuki Yukimura, or Yari as the other denizens of Aincrad knew her, to reveal herself and cross her arms. In Sword Art Online, she dressed quite a bit more liberally than she had before being trapped in the game. Not that she was wearing extremely revealing clothes, but her white top was cut low in the back, oddly revealing her shoulder blades. As the fabric came together behind her, it turned to a deep violet and wrapped around her waist, accompanied by an open-front skirt overtop of black tight pants.

"You know, I expected this of you, Fitch... But Hiro, how could you leave us behind just to get in more training?" She asked with a chastising tone. She was soon joined by the newest addition to their team, the only other girl currently, "What should we do with these two?"

"They look pretty tired, I dunno..." Luna replied, looking between the two boys. "I'd say if they want to slink off on us though then send them back out for something. That'll teach them to run around behind our backs." Lynn Carter, as her real name was, held the two friends in her blue gaze. Her long btown hair fell to just beneath her shoulderblades, tied back in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes. Unlike the others she still bore her typical combat clothing, a brown vest that was always buttoned up tight, covering everything to just below her navel. On her shoulders sat a green cowl, the hood hanging freely across her back, and a set of leather armguards on either arm for extra protection. Each hand had fingerless leather gloves for ease of use, matching the leather boots secured around her feet. A tanned cloth skirt hung around her hips, tied on tight by a thick cowhide belt. 

Suto looked up between Yari and Luna before smiling sheepishly, raising his hands in a defensive manner. "Now now ladies... Come on. We just got back, there's no reason to send us back out just yet!" he replied, chuckling nervously. When Luna slammed her hands down on the back of the bench he let out a soft yelp, edging away and biting his lip before looking over at Alex. "It was his idea! Don't blame me!" 

"Like I'm going to believe that Suto. You're the one who can't sit still for five minutes, I know you're the one who wanted to go out." Luna stood upright and rolled her eyes, laying her hands on her hips. "Seriously... We're supposed to be a team you guys, and that means not going on secret training sessions like this." she said, holding out a finger and giving each boy a testy stare. "What if one of you gets hurt? Or you bite off more than you can chew? We need to stick together, that's the whole reason we're a party, isn't it?"

"Well... Yeah, but I mean how bad can one little training session be?" Again a nasty glare shut Suto up right quick. Frowning to himself he pressed his index fingers together, lowering his gaze awkwardly for a silent moment. Man, Luna could seriously be a killjoy sometimes. He knew she meant well, or he liked to think so, but did she have to be so hard on them? "How about we split a bit of the Col we made and we call it even? Because I REALLY don't feel like getting up for at least another ten minutes..."
As Hiro and Luna quipped back and forth, Fitch was only smiling dazedly, his eyes resting on Yari's. The other two wouldn't notice as she blushed and looked away, stifling a giggle and shaking her head, "I swear... you two and your fighting... If I didn't know better, I'd say you had feelings for each other." She teased, taking a seat on the bench beside Fitch, her hands in her lap. "Oh, that will never do, Hiro... We share money anyway. Maybe not as a guild does, but you know as well as I do if any of us need cash, we all work together for it. So that's not going to work - we're both smarter than that," She pointed out.

The spear-user tapped her chin thoughtfully, "I suppose... We could let it go... I mean, after all, you're not the first to do this, I'm sure... Kenshin splits off fairly often and I know... Well, honestly, Fitch and I have gone before... and I know that you and I have, Luna, so it's only fair that these two get their 'guy time...' or whatever it is that boys do." Though she didn't dare say it, Yari had thought to herself about how very little training actually occured during her and Fitch's outings, as they always happened upon a nice safe zone in the forest or ended up clearing gout an area too quickly and just enjoyed one another's company.

"I suppose one time we can let it slide..." She said, looking to Luna with a smile, "We are a party after all."

"Hey, speaking of Kenshin... wasn't he going to meet us here today too?" Fitch spoke up finally, sitting up and placing his arms along the back of the bench, where it would rest behind Yari and Hiro both.