noir: ...i can explain

radish: uh huh

radish: no explanation required

radish: peace! :)

player radish has unfriended player noir

noir: uhh wdym?

radish: don't fuck me around come on

radish: did you sleep with me to hurt her

noir: what's up?

radish: won't take long

radish: hey

radish’s arrival was one which was unexpected but also expected. the two of them were usually joint at the hip but as of late, both of them had been preoccupied with other things that their time together had been cut rather short. ares was more than stubborn, he hated to ask for help even when he was in dire need. he had done what he could to keep to himself but that meant avoiding radish (which he hated). if he was honest, he was mostly hiding from the five members because he knew that one or two of them, if not all of them, would be on his back sooner or later now that news had spread that he was continuing their antics from before but solo. “nothing, i’m… fine, psh.” he tried his luck but knew radish wasn’t about to let him get away with this one. “how’re you, good looking?” he grinned, tugging a shirt on but with great discomfort. 

“I need to change something,” Rae commented, moreso to herself than anyone else despite being surrounded by other players. She pulled back the string of a bow to test the draw weight. Every few months, she became fixated on training. There was always one reason or another. Her aim was nearly impeccable, and yet she continued to obsess. In the process, the things that really mattered often fell to the wayside. “I feel stuck, you know? In a rut, or whatever.” A low level monster poked its head out from behind a shrub, and Rae let the air fly. It found its home in the monster’s neck with a noise that used to turn her stomach, now she hardly even noticed it.

Her eyes stung with tears as he spat the word Circus at her. Perfect. 

“You don’t get it, do you?” she asked, her voice loud and cracking. “I can’t join your little clique, I’m not a great team player. Blood Oath and Unity look down on people like me, people with red cursors. You ever have to introduce yourself to people with this over your head? Because I have. For the past few years.”

She sniffed as a tear fell down her face; Conejita wiped away the tear and shook her head. “No. You wouldn’t get it. Because you had people when that happened,” she said, now gesturing toward his red cursor. “You had me. You had your Blood Oath friends. You had your whole guild who loves you regardless. I had no one. I was sixteen, Benji. I was sixteen and I didn’t mean to get this cursor! I am punished every day for defending myself because when people look at me they don’t see me.”

Time to turn it back onto him. She lifted her head back up and blinked quickly, trying to get the tears welling up to hurry. “Not everyone is like you, Benji,” she said, her voice softening. “Not everyone can look past this.”

he wasn’t in the best headspace. that was clear. and it was probably just about the worst place to be having this conversation, for him at least. it was hard to be rational or level-headed for radish in a regular situation, and this? this was asking a lot. he shook his head, scratched at it like he was trying to set something loose. “that—that doesn’t make any sense, dude.” 

Radish’s not-so-little bag of loot made loud clangs on the table set up outside of Jal and Rae’s cabin. Their hands moved swiftly through the bag, picking up little trinkets and putting them back down. His fast words seemed a bit more frantic today, and his spirits were clearly down as he slumped his way into an attempt of comfort. They pulled a joint out from behind their ear, swirling it between their fingers and clicking their tongue to get his attention.

“I think you need to relax,” Jal said, sliding the wrap to the other mage.

Fucking fuck. He really hated Circus enough to end a panic attack over calling out the black ink stretching from the corners back together on her arm. Its lines intertwined and connected, tying themselves together like hair tangling in the wind. Conejita stepped forward, closing the gap he created between the two of them. “That’s what I was going to tell you today.”

With a deep breath, she tried to meet his eyes. “I finally decided on a guild. Circus would have me, they train together, they’re loyal to death,  so… I joined.”

Achilles sat back on the couch in his office half asleep. Trying to keep his eyes focused on Radish, though he had to admit that his word  sound like garble to his ears. That sleep he had promised countless people, had last all of four hours. Before he was up and about again. Checking in with Kali, Zoner and Willow. Checking on his people in general; afraid that he would wake up to an empty guild hall, the catalyst guild wiped out. With Radish now looking at him expectedly; Achilles cleared his throat, and wiped the sleep out of his eyes.

 “Ummm…see if Kali has anything that needs doing. Or you could start working on those buff things you we’re talking about.” Running a hand over his face, he stood. A little wobbly before catching himself and straightening. He had been going none stop, only getting a few hours a sleep after staying up damn near the whole night after the battle. Refusing to leave the hospital until the second day ( when he had no other choice.) When he did sleep it was there. In a chair in Luna, Padme, Hades or Zeus room….just in case. Achilles gave the younger man a sad smile, as he placed a hand on his shoulder. “ Thank you for all your help Radish. I’m going to head back to 52 for a couple of hours and get those updates.” 

“yeah...” radish wasn’t blind to how hard achilles had been working. it was probably 70% of the reason why he’d gotten his own ass in gear. a sense of duty only took him so far, but watching someone he cared about struggle would push him most of the way. “i’ll ask her. buffs are already in the works. used my own recipe because it’s better—padme has me beat on healing but i know my way around a fuckin’ buff, you know?” he teased, mostly because he couldn’t handle being this serious for this long, no matter how stressed he was or how tense everyone around him felt. “but uh...”

players: radish & @playerares

players: radish & @hadeswrxtes

players: radish & @usernameachilles

Location: clinic ( somewhere lool)

players: open @veliastart

Venus released the breath she held; stepping outside behind the clinic. With the battle complete and the next level open. She was even busier; glad she was able to get those extra baskets of supplies out to as many guilds and players as she could — now the real world began. If you were fortunate enough to belong to one of the five guilds. Once injured in the battle you had the option of returning to your guilds infirmary to get patched up.

not everyone was so lucky. Smaller guilds were forced to rely on the limited healing available by their healer( if they even had one in their party)

Solos were left to fend for themselves. Either counting on the graces of a mystic willing to help them, or seeking that medical attention on fifty- two at the hospital. Venus struck an agreement with a local clinic. One, that she and volunteers could bring the wounded after a battle if they didn’t want to go to the hospital. Pooling their resources in a time of need to help as many people as they could.

Now, five hours after the battle. She was exhausted, every muscle in her body tight; screaming for some kind of relief. Leaning against the wall, a slight frown on her face as she pressed her body against the cool bricks. Her limbs thanking her for the special treatment as she clutched her crystal.

“ I really hate this place sometimes.”