Apollo

Lucia stepped into the room slowly, examining the extent of his injuries. She exhaled loudly. “Looks like the tables have turned. Typically when I come see you, it’s me who is in need of medical attention.” It was an odd sight, seeing an injured mystic. Even though it made no logical sense, she was always weirded out when the healer needed healing. “That boss really did a number on you, huh? Sorry I wasn’t there.” 

Despite what many probably thought, she did feel bad. If she would have known for sure that people she cared about were in danger the. She would have shown up to help. Apollo, Cricket… and who knows how many others. 

She knew the hospital was crowded with PCs, and she wasn’t sure how the NPCs were handling it and if they were speedy about their care or not. “How long has it been since they’ve changed your bandage?” She asked, gesturing to his midsection. She didn’t know how to change bandages, but she figured he could probably talk her through it if need be.

Apollo let out a dry chuckle and scratched the back of his neck, a wry smile forming on his lips as he nods. “Don’t be sorry though. No one really saw it coming. I don’t think anyone knew the thing was nocturnal. I’m kind of glad you weren’t there though. Otherwise you could have gotten hurt as well,” he says, rambling off a bit. He then looks at her, squinting his eyes in suspicion before widening with concern. “You are unharmed right? Or did you get hurt again? Do you like, need a healing potion or something? I still have some of those enchanted flower crowns if you need one?” he asks Lucia, dismissing his own injuries for her well-being.

Looking down at his midsection, Apollo tilted his head as he tried to remember how long ago the dressings were changed. “Um, like maybe an hour after I woke up today? So...just after sunrise? It’s about to soak through though I think,” he answered, raising an eyebrow afterward. “Why? Did you want to have a go at this whole roles reversed thing?”

players: @artemis-velia & apollo

Apollo sat on his couch, scowling at his leg that was propped up on the coffee table. The cast wrapped around it annoyed him as it was always getting in the way of things. 

Like this morning, when he was just trying to walk -or rather limp- around his kitchen so he could get a bowl of cereal for himself. He had bumped his leg against the wall on accident, which shot a sharp pain up his leg and caused him to fall to the ground. Fed up, he ate his food sat on the floor while glaring at his leg. When finished, he then took five minutes to crawl to the couch. Though, now that he thinks about it, he probably should have just stayed on the floor.

Just as he got comfy and got ready to just waste the day away watching movies, he heard a knock on his door. Apollo swore under his breath, internally groaning and screaming as he did. “I just sat down,” he whined. Looking around him, he realized his desk chair -that unfortunately sat at his desk, which was in the opposite side of the room- had wheels on them. Sighing, he resorted to calling his mount, a tiger (unoriginally) named Rajah, to take him to the door. How embarrassing, he thought as they made their way over.

users Warcaster + @mysticxapollo​ location Nova (Floor 52), Hospital

Lucia didn’t pay much attention to anything regarding the boss fights. She didn’t care, because they weren’t in her world. They were nothing but an effort to get back to the way things used to be, and personally, she thought that the world in here was better than the world of there. People fight, they get hurt, or they die. It was a sequence that happened over and over again with these types of fights. That was okay though, these people chose to fight. They knew what they were getting themselves into. They weighed the odds and went for it. Good for them. 

She’d gotten used to hearing about the horror stories from random people at bars, but she didn’t pay much attention until she heard a familiar name. That was why she walked into the hospital on Nova for the first time in the entirety of her being here. One of the NPCs directed her to a room on the South side when she gave them Apollo’s name. She knocked on the open door to alert him of her presence before walking in. “Hey,” she said softly, crossing her arms. “I heard through the grapevine that you got pretty jacked up. You okay?”

Apollo laid in his hospital bed, sleepy and bored out of his mind. All day, the male had been drifting in and out of sleep. Earlier he had been playing with the elements, making small rings of fire and water, until a nurse had come in to check on him and scolded him for it. He would have read some of the books he bought, but he found out that he never put them back into his inventory. So now those books just sat on his coffee table at home and hopes his dog wont destroy it.

“You clearly have not seen me try,” Thanatos replies, accepting his invitation by plopping down on the ground.

There were times they wished they’d considered using air magic, but once the whole… whirlpool thing happened? They were fine with other elements being their priorities. Plus, they’re a Taurus - would air magic have even worked? “Honestly water and earth do me well, I don’t stray much from them.”

homer looked over at the stranger as his eyes watched the healing orb, something to keep him focused so that he wouldn’t pass out due to so much blood loss already. it was shiny– pretty almost like it would entrance you if you looked at it too long. a horribly weak smile spread across his lips. “you look like shit just like how i look like shit right now….” he said trying to joke. obviously, homer had to joke, right? it was what he was known for. but right now wasn’t the time to joke when this complete stranger was trying to help him. “you ever wonder how many tiles they used to make the…..” his voice was trailing off. he was struggling on making a complete sentence mostly because he was gasping for air in the process. "make the… ceiling.” he finally got out as his hands dug into the side of the stretcher and he looked over at the other male, his dark gaze looking so tired. what he was saying didn’t matter but it was helping him to stay afloat for longer because he knew that he wouldn’t make it out alive if he did pass out right now. 

“one time…. i was in detention…. a- a- a- and i counted all the ceiling tiles…. there were so many.” he breathed out, blood dripping out of his mouth and it ran down his chin as he stared blankly up at the pixelated fluorescent lights.  “i guess there are really no ceiling tiles in this game…. but the lights are bright.” he said his gaze looking at the other male’s and he started to study the profile of the male’s body. it was better than looking up because if he did he knew that he was going to pass out. he knew that he’d just want to rest his eyes shut and sleep forever and hope that no one would wake him up. “what’s…. your name?” he asked realizing that he, in fact, didn’t know who he was but he had seen him around here and there. “i’m homer… from unity.” as if that wasn’t obvious with the torn yellow robe that was hanging off the stretcher and was starting to feel like it was suffocating him. 

Apollo let a short laugh escape his lips, nodding his head in agreement to the other’s words. He wasn’t really sure how to respond, but was thankful for the attempt at lifting the mood. Before Apollo was able to try and form some witty comeback, the other started to speak again. Ceiling tiles? Strange topic. It took him a moment, but the mystic quickly understood that he was talking to try and keep awake. “No, not really. Unless I’m bored. Is it fun?” he replies, looking the other in eyes and giving a small smile before going back to trying to stop the bleeding. His little makeshift  tourniquets seemed to have helped a little, but Apollo was still worried he wasn’t doing enough. He looked to the door, wondering where in the world the nurses were and called out for help once more. “I often lose count of the tiles if there are more than thirty,” he adds.

location: 54, hospital wing after the boss battle

status: open

the unity soldier that stood at the front of the beast had fallen finally. his health bar was terribly low and he was the idiot that went up to the front of the beast because he was a lancer and he felt like he should protect his people and well, he did but in the process he got horrible damaged himself. there were gashing marks in his stomach, his unity robe, the v i b r a n t yellow was torn to shreds and his sword fell from between his fingers as he was laid on the stretcher and all he could see where bright fluorescent lights from the hospital and when his sword fell down to the ground there was a loud C L A N K and blood dripped down from his fingers and it was hard to tell where it was coming and there was blood coming out from his mouth as well. is this was death felt like? he couldn’t tell. is this what frank felt like when he died? a part of him hoped that he died a lot more peaceful than how he was feeling right now. there was so much pain and he wanted to speak but a part of him felt like he couldn’t even move his jaw and tears stung his eyes as he looked over at the person that he saw standing right besides him and his bloody hand reached out to grab their arm. “help… me.” he breathed out, blood coming out of his mouth as he spoke and coughed harshly. there were so many thoughts going through his head right now. was this his time to die? he wanted to. so so so badly. but he heard frank’s voice telling him to keep going. “keep… going.” he told himself out loud not realizing that he did so and he felt his eyelids getting severely heavy. he just wanted to sleep. he wanted to sleep so badly. he was so tired and full of anger right now but he literally couldn’t do anything and for a moment there he thought that he was going to see the light, the same light that his brother had gone to and he knew that he was so close to being with frank again but it wasn’t his time to go. it couldn’t be his time to go yet

Even though he’s classified as a range fighter being a mystic and all, Apollo found himself almost near the center and front a majority of the battle. He kept moving around, dropping healing orbs and doing his best to keep distance from the beast so he’d be able to fight at his best. But with the ambush, he winged it and went on instinct. Heal first, fight later. This plan of his is what caused him to be as injured as he is now since he kept getting caught in the crossfire or range of many attacks from both sides. He was sure he had broken some bones. Maybe even a concussion. The only thing that probably kept him alive were the healing orbs, from himself and other mystics, and his adrenaline. In the end they had won. The beast had fallen and they were all teleported to the new floor. 

gone were the days of adrenaline and excitement post-boss battle. she was tired as fuck and honest to god actually felt hollow. elektra’s gotten too old for this shit, and she’s hardly twenty one. she could chalk it up to a number of things, but the numbness in her arms are certainly the biggest culprit. that damn catibis nearly cost her her arms, literally, but the keyword here is nearly. what didn’t change, at least, was the unrelenting relief and strength she gained with surviving another day. 

elektra, not having built up the energy yet to explore the new floor, teleported back to centria to do her rounds. from checking in on everyone at headquarters, to the blood oaths and allies at the hospital. it at least kept her busy and with each conversation, infused inspiration to keep pushing forward with whatever this velia mess has become.

she stopped, lingered next to where she knew @mysticxapollo was recovering. elektra sighed and carefully inched closer, as if a trap door would break underneath her feet. she’d never burden him with this knowledge, but all that she’s done and will do for blood oath is because of him. hana failed their other friends; she’d do anything within her power to ensure she doesn’t fail him, too (whether he even wants the help or not). but seeing him now, doing much worse than she is, scares her more than any monster they’ve ever faced thus far.

“hi.” she cringed, feeling odd and off balance and horrible and frustrated. “how bad is it?”

The sound of the hospital machines were starting to annoy Apollo. Actually, the hospital in general annoyed him. He was confined to the hospital bed, to this room, until someone deems him healthy enough to leave. But even then, he knew he’d probably have to go around place to place in a wheelchair or on a crutch. Probably wouldn’t be able to help others as much as he normally does. “Dumb catibis,” he muttered, scoffing afterwards and looking out the window. “Now I have to find a job...”

As much as he was annoyed, he was also terrified. He almost didn’t make it. His reckless plan to ‘heal others first, fight second, save myself later’ nearly cost him his life. At the time, he thought it was his best shot at helping keep everyone alive. It was just habit to tend to others first then himself. He’d been lectured many times by his friends to stop disregarding his own safety for the sake of others, in-game and irl. But he just couldn’t help it.

My friends. Sighing at the thought of them, he looked down to his lap and played with the hem of the blanket. He promised he’d live for them, do everything to get ou--  

           minnie quickly let go of the arrow, frowning quickly as it barely hit the edge of the target. she cursed under her breath, before dropping the bow by her side. “ it’s okay! i probably should be a lot better at this than i actually am to be practicing in such a busy area. “ she offered back, laughing a little bit. she knew she was kind of oblivious, which is not the best thing to be while practicing with a bow, but what can one do? “ i hope i didn’t scare you! “ 

Jal couldn’t help but watch from a tree branch as she saw another mage practicing magic. Air and fire were two elements they were particularly not great at, to put it generously. While earth came easily to the taurus, and water was a struggle but still manageable, there was no winning with the energy-sucking force of fire magic or the oddly complicated… whatever it required of air magic.

As Apollo finally sat down, Jal jumped down from the tree, striding over to the other player and leaning on their staff as they approached. “You’re doing a better job than I ever could,” they admitted.

Artemis had been relaxing in the field, not having anything to do at the moment. She gazed up at the sky that would’ve been gorgeous had this been the real world with a bitter smile on her face. She thought, again, about her life before Velia. Fancy, designer clothes and glittering mansions; the world was her oyster. And now…now she was naught but a coma patient, approaching her twenty-fourth birthday. With a quiet sigh she heard Apollo speak and turned to him with a teasing smile. “I don’t know, decent is a pretty good level for you,” she replied jokingly.

The male knew he wouldn’t be the only one out here and tried to pick a spot where he wouldn’t disturb anyone. When Apollo spotted Artemis about an hour into his practice, he kept some distance and trained facing the direction opposite of her. 

location: outside revenant headquarters.  player(s): hela + open.

it had been two weeks since tempus unlocked, two weeks since the revenants faced their first ‘mission’ and two weeks since hela’s arrow brought phantom to the ground. hela still wasn’t herself, her confidence hadn’t regained and she was pretty much a mess still but it had been awhile since she saw the outside of revenants’ headquarters. surely, she had waited long enough now before stepping out of the comfort of her room? only time would tell. stepping outside, she inhaled a deep breath before proceeding. it was risky but staying inside was making her more agitated, even irritated. she needed to let some steam off, a nice walk through the area was what she desired. her heart was racing but at the same time, she knew this was something she would have to face sooner or later. she continued to take a few steps into the surrounding area, her gaze flicking in all directions to make sure the coast was clear. a sigh of relief sounding as she realised she was alone, no one seemed to be in sight but that didn’t mean they weren’t hiding. 

this assumption made her freeze. 

suddenly regretting her decision, she retreated back to headquarters. as she turned around, someone was in front of her. without hesitation a small yelp sounded which made her cover her mouth to stop it from continuing into a scream. “oh… uh, this was nice? or rather that was nice, time to go back inside!” her pace was fast as she worked her way around the other with a small nod and brief smile, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand before halting in her path as the other called after her. 

Having just finished a job for another player, Apollo was on his way to collect his pay and planned to go home an crash. The request was to collect some items for the other in exchange for some money and potion ingredients, to which he happily took on. The request was made by an old acquaintance that he’s healed a couple times in the past who was now a member of the Revenants. Normally he would just take his pay through the mail, but Apollo wanted to make sure his old friend was okay in person.

location: floor 25 players: minnie & ???

          minnie wasn’t one for weapons, and she certainly wasn’t one for long distance weapons, but there was a need for some new weapons in the guild house, which had to be tested before they were bought, and she needed to get out of the building. she needed some sort of release, in a sense. the past few weeks had made the energy on the twenty-fifth floor almost unbearable, stuffy and tense and it’s reached the point where the young leader felt like she was back home. 

          shooting the arrow with one, definitely not swift motion, minnie very barely hit the target that was on the other end of the shooting range. lowering it back down, she let out a loud huff of frustration before grabbing another arrow and notching it to shoot again. it was when she looked back up and focused her aim on the target ahead of her, did she notice the person passing by right behind the wooden circle. “ hey! “ she called out, wiggling the bow side to side hoping to catch their attention. “ newby shooter here, i’d steer clear of the targets, unless you want a badly shot arrow in the arm! “

  ❂   it’s  not  hard  to  realise  why  they  all  flock  to  the  garden  .  the  rest  of  velia  was  accompanied  by  harsh  atmosphere  ,  but  here  ,  it  was  almost  enough  to  forget  where  you  were  until  your  mind  reminded  you  of  all the  responsibilities  you  were  ignoring  .  zero  watches  apollo  ,  her  ego  painting  a  smug  expression  in  attempt  to  avoid  showing  excess  emotion  ,  ❝  the  stress  end  of  the  spectrum  ,  though  that’s  putting  it  lightly  .  this  is  the  only  place  my  mind  is  clear  .  ❞  staring  back  at  him  ,  she  folds  her  arms  ,  shrugging  to  him  ,  ❝  and  you  ?  ❞

“This stupid room is where I sleep, watch your mouth,” Artemis fired back, though there was no fire to her tired voice. She ran a hand through her hair and slumped further. “We’ve already deduced it’s immune to explosives and sharp objects. Neither of us have a key. And…what’s the time?”

players: apollo + open

Apollo had been practicing out in the field, though he wasn’t sure for how long. Recently, he had just rewatched the whole series of Fairytail, an old anime, after stumbling upon a copy of the set in the library. Since he specialized in water, Apollo was trying to find a move that was similar to a character named Juvia’s ‘Water Dome’ and ‘Water Nebula’. He was sure he had used something similar to it in the past, but he forgot what it was.

“First of all, what makes you think I care about that little problem?”