Gooblefly

Brave New World [Gooble 'n' MidnightRose]

West smirked, drawing his sword with a quick flourish and turned around, sprinting towards the nearest of the pack of boars. His mind was solely on the game, he had already forgotten about his life outside of this world. West didn't exist anymore, he was Lutwin, the knight that was going to clear this game single handedly. He flipped himself over the first boar he came to, slashing with his sword as he did so. West could never do things like this, Lutwin was superior in every way. He was faster, stronger and smarter. His sword glowed as he dodged the boars attack, stepping to one side and smashing the blade into the pigs side, obliterating it into a shroud of dust. A sudden wave of warmth filled Lutwin as the number next to his name ticked over to two. His first level up and it felt wonderful.

He spun around and dug his sword into the next boar. The boar struck back, goring West in the side. It hurt, a real physical pain that shot through West, more intense than anything that he had ever felt before, but he didn't stop. His HP bar was still in the green, so he swung his sword again and again, embracing the pain in his side and cleaving through the boar. He didn't need to think here, he just needed to play the game and it was an amazing game. He felt the weight of every strike of the sword, the throb of every hit the pig made. This was what games were supposed to be, an escape from the real world. If the whole game was going to be like this, he wasn't sure he wanted to return to the 'real' world.

This was where Lutwin belonged, away from people in a field of boars watching numbers fly across his screen. He was already learning so much about his new home. Using his abilities were just as familiar to him as breathing was, his motions were fluid and graceful, something he could never be outside. This was what living was supposed to feel like. It wasn't about sitting in a chair looking at a screen, wondering about what people thought and felt about you, it was about leaping around killing boars inside the game. It was about the adventure.
"This... This is the greatest I've ever felt." West whispered between boars, more to himself than to anyone else, but still loudly enough for others to hear him.

Pokemon Ranch [AlterEgo 'n' Gooblefly]

His Pokemon. That was something West had never really thought he would hear in his life. He smiled slightly, scooping Cupcakes up in his arms and standing up, brushing some of the dust off of the pair of them.
"I guess if she wants me that badly..." He smirked, Cupckaes yipped in confirmation "Then who am I to say no?" He gently scratched the fox pokemon behind her ears. Her fur was definitely in need of a good clean, the only issue with this was that West had seen the bathroom in this place and it was in need of a good clean first. And, to top it off, West still had no idea what he was doing. He didn't know the first thing about raising a Pokemon, which meant that he was going to have to actually rely on Leanna for advice, which meant he was actually going to have to talk to her.

Still, if West was going to be trapped here with someone else, Leanna seemed like a decent choice. Despite his attitude before, she was still here smiling at the sight of West and his new Pokemon. Providing she gave him space when he needed it, he was starting to feel like he could co-exist with the girl.

"You're right" He mumbled, blushing very slightly but noticeably "She does need a wash. Have you got cleaning crap in your bag for the bath? It could use a rinse out before I even consider putting Cupcakes in there." He was slightly embarrassed to be asking for her help after being such a jerk to her previously, but he was going to have to drop the grumpy child act sooner or later. The concept of dealing with people always frightened West, but if he could figure out how to work with Leanna, this whole situation would be a lot easier for both of them.

"Listen, uh, until we get everything sorted out with whole... Farm thing, I can sleep on the chair..." West mumbled awkwardly. This situation wasn't easy on either of them, he had known it from the start and unless he started to make an effort things were just going to get worse. Plus, if he wasn't in Leanne's good books, there was no way she would help him raise Cupcakes, and right now that's what he wanted most. He felt so bad for the small creature. All his life he had gone around pushing people out and now he had discovered something which had been forced to be alone for who knows how long. He wanted to be there for her, to help Cupcakes to the best of his abilities.

The Road to graduation [Gooblefly 'n' Kathia]

West managed around fifty pages of the book before he surrendured, tossing the book to the floor and rolling onto his back. Everything about it was so... Sad, boring and dry. Why couldn't they study something full of rainbows and kittens, something that didn't make West want to jump out of a nearby window?
"It's easy to suffer." West mumbled to himself "Harder to actually enjoy yourself."

West lay still for a good half an hour, keeping his mind active by counting roof tiles, or milling over way in which this year would be different for him. He probably would have spent another hour doing similar things if there hadn't been a knock on his door. He didn't get a chance to answer before the door swung open and a girl, maybe just a little younger than he was pranced into his room.
"Yoo-hoo!" She cooed, like the two of them had been friends for years and this was a normal occurrence for the pair of them "Pleased to meet'cha neighbor, I'm Emily Dick, kinda like Emily Dickinson but I mean, there can only really be one right?" She laughed at her own 'joke', a shrill noise that made West recall old cartoon witches he had seen on television as a child. "I'm the door to your right with my roommate Alice, she's sooo nice the two of you will get on like a house on fire! So anyway, apparently there's this big party tonight for all of the freshers and I just know I'll see you there! It's not a party without you!" And, with a little bounce, Miss Emily Dick bounced out of West's room, leaving West sitting there with his jaw slightly agape.

West's first thought was of that girl's roommate and how sorry he was for her. The second thought was that he was going to have to remember to lock his door regularly, otherwise risk intrusion on a day by day basis. As he walked over to the door, turning the lock and double checking the door was secure, his mind drifted towards the party Emily had spoke about and for a brief moment, he considered it. He was no stranger to those sorts of events, but more often than not they left him feeling more hollow than anything else. Whether this was from the party itself or from the combination of alcohol and other drugs he would pump into his system remained to be seen to, but West decided there and then that unless he had good reason to, he would not attend. He was here, at this University, to find something different and if he fell into the same routines, he would never manage it.

The second this though crossed his mind, his stomach growled violently. Honestly, he couldn't remember the last time he had eaten anything other than tic-tacs. WWOWD? He thought What would old West Do? The answer was pretty simple, food normally tasted like nothing and served as no more than a way of preventing oblivion in West's eyes. So, he stood up and made his way to the door and it wasn't until his hand was on the handle he realized something. He had no idea where to get food around here. Still, he opened the door and stepped out into the corridor, planning to merely meander until he found something. No sooner had his foot met the carpet, he heard a familiar voice calling out
"Yoo-hoo!" Emily cawed from a couple of feet away, apparently still on her mission to deafen everyone on the floor "Where do you think you're going?" She asked, bounding over to West like a puppy. West knew what the correct thing to do in this particular circumstance was, but he also knew he would regret it instantly.
"You wouldn't happen to know where the cafeteria is, would you?" He asked.
"Of course silly! Come ooon, I'll show you." She grabbed West by the arm and began to drag him down the corridor, to West's surprise she was a lot stronger than he had expected. The wobbled through corridors, Emily talking constantly about the people she had met already and the reasons she came to the university. The wandered through corridors for a good few minutes before West sighed and mumbled
"West."
"No silly, we're going east." Emily beamed, dragging him further into the labyrinth of a building
"That's my name." He practically sighed "I never mentioned it before." Emily looked confused for a second, looking upwards like she was trying to remember something important, then simply shrugged and continued bouncing through the halls.
"Pleased to meet you West!" She rounded one last corner and all of a sudden they were standing in the mouth of a large room, bustling with awkward looking people "Ta-da! Welcome to the cafeteria!"

Brave New World [Gooble 'n' MidnightRose]

Damn. She was talking to him. West had truly hoped that the girl would be quiet, understand that he didn't really do people, but instead he simply rolled his eyes and put on his best, fake smile.
"I've been told that. I don't know really, my brain has always been able to understand these sorts of things." He explained with a slight shrug, following the path in his mind carefully, wandering off road so they didn't meet anyone travelling in the opposite direction and to make sure they weren't followed themselves. West was confident that no-one would have considered this particular area for leveling in yet, so he wanted to be careful not to alert other people to the possibilities. This plan would only work if it was just the two of them.

A support styled mage, that was original and it certainly piqued West's interest. It had never been a class that interested him much, given the lack of defenses they often struggled clearing harder bosses by themselves, and most people don't consider taking support options, preferring to use spells for high damage and killing creatures. The fact that this girl noticed the supportive potential of a normally offensive class forced West to have a little more respect for her than he previously did.
"It's not normally you meet a support mage," West mumbled to himself as he took long steps, striding up a small mound "That's a pretty ingenious idea. Oh, we're here." He grinned, offering Brielle a hand to the top.

Before them stretched a large plains, littered with wild boars and other basic enemies. But, most importantly, there were no other players to be seen, meaning that every piece of loot or experience they could harvest in this area was theirs for the taking. A smile spread across Wests face as a little exclamation mark suddenly hovered in front of him, he tapped it with his finger and a small box of text appeared in front of him
"As you see the boars of the Fields of Green, your mouth starts to water. You wonder how much the meat inside the beasts would sell for back in town." He read aloud, mostly to himself. Then, he looked up at Brielle "Seems like a pretty simple quest, kill boars and take meat to the next town over. If we're reasonably quick about it we can be the first players there. What do you say?"

Pokemon Ranch [AlterEgo 'n' Gooblefly]

West hopped up onto the counter, taking a seat and placing Cupcakes down next to the bowl. The scared Pokemon spared no time, from the second her paws hit the table she dashed over to the bowl of berries, almost sliding of the table and knocking the bowl over in the process.
"Easy there Cupcakes." West chuckled, catching the Vulpix just before she fell of the counter. He set her down next to the bowl again and this time she managed to successfully begin ravenously devouring its contents. As she ate, West watched with the first real smile since he had left home. His mind was whirring, clicking things into place. He looked up to Leanna and nodded his head towards the bedroom
"I got as far as there with the sweeping," He explained "Found her underneath the bed. I think she belonged to whoever lived here last, been here alone for a while." He hesitated, he wanted to say something along the lines of 'and now I'm going to take care of her'. Thruthfully, West had always wanted a Pokemon of his own, but given that his Father left his Mother to become a Pokemon trainer, his Mother had always chalked up Wests desire to have a Pokemon to some sort of 'Daddy issues'. Truthfully, West simply thought they were fantastic creatures and he wanted to know about them.

He gently stroked the tangled fur at the back of Cupcakes neck. He knew nothing about raising a Pokemon other than what he had read in a book a long time ago. The Pokemon before him had already been so much, he was starting to think that it would just be best to leave it in Leanna's care. With a slight, yet audible sigh, the smile from West's face vanished as he hopped off the counter and turned to Leanna.
"Take care of her." He mumbled, before sauntering back through to the bedroom and picking up the broom inside, returning to the job at hand. As he swept, he kept peering over his shoulder to check on Cupcakes. Every time he did, he was met by the same sight of Cupcakes happily eating away from the bowl, her tails wagging in the air. Every time he saw it, he smiled slightly and then convinced himself to return to sweeping, head down.

He was half way through the bedroom, telling himself that Leanna was certainly a better owner for Cupcakes, when he felt something barrel into the back of his legs, sending him sprawling into the still dusty floor. He managed to turn, to find a still filthy Cupcakes, looking slightly disappointed in him for walking away. She yipped in a manner that West could only construe as threateningly, and pawed at his chest, a look of worry in her eyes.
"Hey! Hey!" West giggled "Don't worry, I 'aint going anywhere." Cupcakes looked relieved at this and calmed down, gently licking Wests cheek. After everything that had happened, now he had his own Pokemon and all of a sudden things were looking somewhat brighter.

The Road to graduation [Gooblefly 'n' Kathia]

Don't worry about it, there's no rush! I'll await your post eagerly! (although, not so eagerly that you should feel rushed! Whenever you're able!)

Brave New World [Gooble 'n' MidnightRose]

West nodded without so much as a second glance, he swiped the air in front of him and loaded up the interface. It took him a second or two to find the invite button, having never looked for it in the past. He found it and soon enough there was a floating blue envelope in front of Brielle, waiting for her to accept it. West wanted to move on, but he was running through every social protocol he could think of right now and he understood that the polite thing to do in this circumstance was to wait patiently for her. He hopped anxiously from foot to foot as he did so, calming himself by running through numbers in his mind.

His previous route hadn't accounted for not being able to revive his character, but hadn't accounted for a partner. He didn't know much about the mage class, so his first step was to watch her battle and learn whatever he could, memorize as many statistics as possible. He had already seen a couple of her attacks, and they were both certainly useful tools now at his disposal. If the pair of them could take out the wasp from before, then the field that he planned on clearing up should be no real challenge. West didn't know much about this girl, but given the fight they had just won, at least he was pretty sure she was good at the game.

West gave up being patient and started slowly walking away, looking over his shoulder to make sure Brielle was following him. This situation was as alien as they came to West, but strategically it was the only thing that made sense. He needed to make sure he got a boost on the competition, and the detour into the forest had already cost him precious leveling time. He was now counting on the panic of the town being enough to grant him and Brielle the lead he needed to be able to survive. The world was dangerous enough as it was, but people in a panic were unpredictable, even for someone as socially awkward as West was. It was easy to learn the patterns of enemies, but People were harder to predict and it was the other players West truly feared.

Brave New World [Gooble 'n' MidnightRose]

West felt his sword clash against the stunned wasp, just as it was starting to regain control of its movements. He felt the creature give as his sword pierced through the creature as the blow cleaved the creature in two. The wriggling mess of insect parts landed on the ground, smoldering from Brielle's magma blast. West stood, sword still drawn in the clearing, the slight spatter of insect blood staining his armour. This was his first fight, the first time he had put his life on the line. His heart was racing and his hands had begun to tremble again. The body of the beast began to crack and shattered in the same way the boy had before. West watched in a strange state of awe. This had been the singular most dangerous moment of West's life and he had enjoyed it. It was still the games that he had always loved, but now there was a new rush gained from killing monsters, like never before.

"You okay?" He panted, looking over to Brielle. He scanned her health bar, nodded and sheathed his sword "good. Come on, there are more where that comes from." He started moving before she had a chance to answer, moving swiftly towards the exit of the forest. As he walked, he scanned some of his stats. The wasp had given some experience, but not much. It was going to take more than that, a lot more. And, to top things off, this game was vicious. The zone had been marked as difficult, but not so dangerous that West would have expected a one shot kill on a new player. He was going to have to more cautious than he had first believed.

It didn't take long for the two of them to make it out of the forest without so much as a scratch on them when they did West turned to the girl.
"I'm going east from here." He loaded up his map and pointed out the plains he intended to level in to her. He turned to walk away but paused for a second, sighing and turning back. "If you wanted to, we could party up. It's be safer for a while." The words left his mouth before he really knew what he was saying, this was most uncharacteristic of him. He chalked it up to the fear of death, the lingering thought that the next creature he fought could be the last thing he ever did. However, the only thing he really knew was that he would feel safer with the Brielle joining him. It was going to be a long journey to the final boss and it would be easier with someone else helping him.

Pokemon Ranch [AlterEgo 'n' Gooblefly]

West sat for a second with the broom in his hand, before taking a deep breath and standing up. He wasn't too keen on doing what the girl said, just because he wanted to be difficult. But, he was able to recognize when he was just being grumpy. Despite everything, he was well aware of the fact that this Leanna was correct. They needed to move into action and get this place livable if they wanted to survive. Income had to be made and the only way to do that was to make the farm farm-able. He stood and started sweeping the floor, starting in the area around his chair and taking extra care to make sure the area around his new favorite spot was perfectly clean before progressing onto the rest of the room. What little sleep he had managed between arriving and now wasn't much, but it as enough to let him clean with some level of 'enthusiasm'. Of course, he was still incredibly tired and it was obvious from the look of him, but he was still capable of doing a passable job of the floors.

As he cleaned, he did everything he possibly could to ignore Leanna as she cleaned. He made sure he wasn't working in a room that she was, keeping his distance an enjoying the silence. He tried to focus on the sounds of the farmyard, the wind and the pokemon cries that filled the area. It was peaceful and made him smile slightly, but as he swept he couldn't help but feel that he was hearing something out of place, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He shrugged it off, the house was old and unused to people being in it, so it was probably just the sounds of creaky floorboards or something similar. Right now, he wanted to clean this place enough to mean that Leanna would let him fall asleep.

Eventually, having made pretty decent work of the living room and bathroom, West progressed onto cleaning the bedroom and instantly the feeling that something was off returned, stronger than before. Every couple of seconds he would hear a whining noise that seemed somewhat out of place. After a couple of seconds, he put down the broom and started following his ears, trying his best to find the source of the noise. He managed to narrow it down, believing the source to be coming from beneath the bed. He dropped to all fours, peering into the darkness under the bed, using a torch on his phone to illuminate the shadows.

Huddled in the corner was a ball of tangled, filth orange fur, trembling slightly. West was not an expert on Pokemon but he was able to recognize certain species. The Vulpix was smaller than most, and the thing looked terrified. Instantly, every ounce of spite drained away from West, as he stuck out his hand under the bed.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you." He spoke softly and calmly. It took a little coaxing, but eventually West was holding a dirty lump of matted fur in his arms. The Vulpix licked his cheek gently as West inspected the poor creature. She had a collar around her neck that read 'Cupcakes' and West assumed that she had belonged to whoever owned the farm previously, meaning that she had been alone in the area for years. It was a wonder that she was alive.

West carried the pokemon back through to the kitchen, the resentment he had felt towards Leanna had been forgotten in the urgency of the situation.
"Hey, I found her in the bedroom." He said, getting Leanna's attention "She looks like she's been here for a while. You're a trainer, have you got anything that might help?"

Brave New World [Gooble 'n' MidnightRose]

"Three seconds..." West began to work through the numbers in his head. The world began to slow down and he forgot everything else as his mind processed the situation. This was a low leveled enemy, the chances that it would have many difficult abilities were low, meaning the only real danger was the poison of the stinger. Providing West could avoid that, there wasn't any real risk. However, at the level they were, the poison damage of the stinger appeared to be enough to KO the player, meaning that under no circumstance could he let the Wasp sting him. West took a deep breath as he churned the last couple of numbers over in his head. No, three seconds wouldn't be enough, there would have to be at least one attack before or after the stun began. That meant the two of them would need to co-ordinate their attacks carefully if both of them wanted to survive. A smile smile crept onto Lutwin's face as the final number dropped into place, every possibility having being properly considered. At least, this way, even if he died Brelle would be able to get out.

"I'm going to run past him, when he turns to hit me you've got to hit him with your stun, then throw whatever else you've got at him. That should be enough to take him out. If I'm wrong, I can keep him on me long enough for you to finish it off. If that's the case, sprint to the edge of the forest and head east, it'll be the safest place to level up." He shot her a smile, before twirling the sword over in his hand and running forwards towards the wasp.

No sooner had he started running than the wasp charged him, just as he had expected. The beast readied it's stinger to attack, but Lutwin was ready for him. This was a game, which meant West could exploit the enemies programmed tactics. He raised his armoured shoulder to the stinger, letting the attack clang harmlessly off of the metal armour, thanks to an ability. As he dashed past, he swiped at the beast with the sword, merely grazing the beast but aggravating it enough to force it to turn and face him. Lutwin quickly turned around, facing the creature again. He couldn't block another attack, not right away, now was the time for Brielle's stun to hit. He couldn't wait to see if the spell would be successful, he simply had to trust in the stranger. He readied his sword and charged again, this time readying a heavy blow that would deal massive damage if it landed. His sword began to glow as he charged, building up energy as he sprinted at the wasp. He didn't know if it would be enough, but he had to hope it would be.