hex eyed both the man with the white hair and the woman who crashed into her. with the utility's heals, both seemed to be doing better than they were before, though they still looked shaken up from all the deaths that were happening around them. they'd be fine though. with the remnants of cinders and ashes hanging in the air, hex moved from the two, looking to see if her help was needed else where.

a familiar face was found in inari. the foxfire made her way over to the man a grin on her face. "inari you're here!" despite being in the middle of a graveyard, hex's voice dripped with excitement. the woman had felt trapped in a sea of players she didn't know; it was nice to see a face she recognized, especially one belonging to a member in her guild. "i'm glad to see that you weren't one of those bursts of pixels." she glanced around looking for his other half, but he was no where to be found. instead her eyes landed on the beast he had summoned and a scowl rose up on her face. "where's toki? i don't see him, but i do see that mangy mutt of yours. i've always hated that thing."

summary: hardmode- off. checks to make sure gauntlet and June are fine before spotting inari and coming to stand by him. talks shit about his dog and wonders where kintoki is.

It was hard to ignore the things that were going on around them. There was too much happening for him to focus on only one thing. After seeing the death of the unfortunate player, Noel took in the sight of ater getting eaten by the dragon only to use a skill to escape. It still didn’t stop him from getting hit by the lightning striking on the ground sending the player flying. Everyone was trying to get attacks in as much as they could while the boss was weakened. But she wasn’t slowing down her assault. No matter how fast her life bar was dwindling her attacks were still coming.

Everyone was trying their best while he stood there frozen and shaking. He didn’t want to go out there. He didn’t want to stay here. There were people dying. If his health hit zero then he would be gone. And if Theo’s health hit zero…

It was that familiar voice that broke him out of his daze, bringing him back to reality. His tone was reassuring and comforting, the words making him feel a lot safer than he actually felt. But that’s what he needed right now. For someone to tell him it was okay and that they would be fine. That they wouldn’t end up like the other players here. That he wouldn’t be separated from-

“I can’t…” He couldn’t lose Theo here. He wasn’t strong enough to keep Theo safe. “I can’t lose you t-” The touch on his cheek brought his gaze up to Theo, staring him straight in the eyes for a second. “I’ll keep you safe too.” There was no turning back now. He didn’t want to make Theo worry about him any longer. He wouldn’t let Theo worry about him. “Let’s go.” With a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, Noel buffed himself and Theo before turning to the fight.

They were a duo; their classes made to work together and compliment in battle. If there was one thing he knew, it was that Theo had his back in this. Activating his skill, he disappeared from sight, appearing just before the boss and stabbing the leviathan in its side. His hands were shaking and he had to steel his nerves in order to keep up his attack. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to be here. But if doing this meant finally killing the boss or getting them closer to getting out of this game, he would suck it up and fight. And getting them both out of this terrible game was the only thing he wanted to do.

He almost didn’t see the lightning coming down around the boss, only noticing the way the sky lighted up above them before bolts began to strike down. “Shit!” He quickly backed away from Otohime, trying to get away from the electricity sparking the ground around them. With his skill activated, Noel moved back towards Theo, hoping to get some distance from the boss. And it was right before he got there that lightning struck down between them.

aWC4p1yj

Notes: Caritas watches the battle progress and notices ater almost getting eaten. He resolves himself to fight with the help of avarice . He decides to run into battle with him and fight.. He attacks the boss but has to back away from Otohime because of the lightning striking near her. As he is running back to Avarice, lightning strikes them. time to see if the gay would have died.

theo heard the hesitation in noel’s voice as he began to talk, unable to voice his full concerns, and if his tone hadn’t been clear theo could see it in the way noel looked. it reminded him too well of the first day stuck within this game and, as he stood trying to find the right words to reassure them both of their well being, theo hoped that today he wouldn’t see noel so close to crying. maybe this raid would be easy despite all the dangers around them; maybe they’d be lucky. it was a desperate thought that theo so quickly tried to cling to, but it was better than nothing in times like these.

he notices the smile before the words, and with them understands that this is their own attempt at trying to stay positive. while he doesn’t know the full extent his reassurance had on noel watching the other turn to leave seemed, to him, that it did enough. he let his hand rest on the others cheek, letting his movement be the cause of his touch leaving his; and it’s only when noels back is turned that theo lets all his doubts and worries show in his eyes. that small, pathetic excuse for a thought had slipped through his fingers; but at least noel didn’t need to see it.

the beads around theo’s neck began to levitate and with as much ease as they floated he lifted his hand, pointing in the direction of otohime. under an unspoken command the objects flew like bullets, a single one embedding itself under the creature's flesh while the others hit the body, dissipation upon impact to be reformed back around theo’s neck. his damage wouldn’t do much of anything, but it was the debuff that quickly ran through otohime that would matter most.

theo noticed the lightning before it hit, eyes catching the sparks and increase in light from the sky. it takes a second too long for his brain to register what was about to happen, but the moment it does theos panic increases, forcing out a rush of words. “noel!” he shouts, trying (hoping) that his voice is loud enough to be heard. “noel, watch out!” he isn’t sure if noel had heard his warning or instinct had made the other retreat back to him; but when theo watched him return he can’t help but feel relieved.

it lasts only a second. the words that were about to leave his lips to the feeling of relief that had washed over him all vanished in a flood of light -- electricity coursing through his body. he isn’t sure if it’s the lighting that had struck between them that sent him falling back or something else; but whatever it was theo hit the ground hard. it knocked whatever breath he had held in upon impact, leaving him gasping out to take in air while his body shake from fear or pain. or both. one thought entered his mind through the flood of confusion and panic: he needed to find noel and see if he was okay.

2/3
hardmode enabled

enHlbnUb

summary ;; activates [mark of greed] and debuffs otohime, granting lifesteal to all party members. hits otohime with a few basic attacks from afar. notices the lighting about to strike and warns noel to watch out before getting hit by it. gets sent back a ways on the ground.

notes ;; pastel is good egg for posting so i could get my second post in ... let that be known ....
time to see if he would have died brb

the voices around him come out strange, dulled by all the thoughts going through his mind. in the periphery of his vision theo is able to make out the bar of his health slowly fall, however it’s not his own safety that causes his stomach to sink. silently theo watches the once green bar under caritas ’s name quickly go down, falling far past the fade of colors and into the red where it kept its steady pace. it wasn’t the call of inari shouting for a healer nor the harsh words from MEATPIE that forced theo to push himself up from the ground. every inch of his body screamed at him to wait and rest for a second longer; but there was no time. not here -- and especially not with the sudden threat of noel dying coming to reality. his eyes caught inari as he lifted his head, his expression pleading for him to do as he had said; noel would need someone to heal him if he didn’t die before any help could get to him.

there hadn’t been many times when theo hated the class they had chosen to take on in this game. while it was strange to take a more passive position in battle theo had loved how in sync noel was with him. it made him feel apart of something important and, most importantly, it gave theo the mindset that he could keep noel safe. but, as theo pushed himself off the ground, he couldn’t feel more useless. in his current state theo wasn’t much of a support compared to others in the game. his healing came from feeding off of noel's damage, but what good would that be if noel was this hurt and unable to fight back.

three things are known in this moment.

one. this is his fault. he had been the one tempting noel to the battlefield using his own arrogance and exaggerated confidence.

two. he couldn’t help noel. he didn’t want to admit that he’d been wrong the entire time but it was hard to ignore the truth when it was right in front of his eyes.

three. noel was in danger; and he was too slow -- too disconnected from the world around him -- to find the boy as fast as he’d like.

it’s not under theos ability to seek out the whereabouts of his friend that ultimately causes his attention to shift to where noel lay on the ground but the familiar voice calling out his name that does it. his feet can’t move fast enough to cover the short distance once he knows where noel is amongst the crowd and, as though to force his body to move faster, his breathing seems to stop -- stubborn and caught somewhere in his throat, waiting until he finally reaches noel to stop the burning in his chest. despite having heard noel's voice just a moment before theos mind assumes the worst as he runs towards him. it imagines the health bar depletes to zero, noels body disappearing in a rush of pixels like the boy he’d seen die under the claws of the dragon; and, even when he reaches noel, stumbling to his knees next to him, theo still wonders if he made it in time.

he doesn’t give noel a chance to say anything nor protest as his arms wrap around him, dragging noel against him until there’s no distance between the two. his grip is maybe too tight -- their position on the field too vulnerable -- but theo doesn’t care, nor would he pay the boss or the dangers around them any attention with noel as he was. his hand keeps noel near, his head against his chest in a selfish act to avoid noel seeing his expression. he can’t hide what he feels from him right now; not the fear and anxiety of almost losing him, nor the guilt and self-doubt that surfaced along with it. he had lied before; he couldn’t keep noel safe.

3/3
hardmode enabled

summary ;; hears inari and MEATPIE talk. doesn't say anything but gives him a look basically asking for inari to find a healer for caritas . self doubt x10 ... finds noel, self doubt + guilt x10, and basically forces this man into a hug cause he's having feelings because he almost lost him. again. nbd.

notes ;; everything is just joke... just game ....