Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"Want to talk about it?"
I ask sympathetically.

 

Praecantatia starts typing on her computer, before Ihra blacks out.

Ihra wakes up in a strange white room, a blue menu screen in front of her with some text on it:
"AUTOMATIC CHARACTER DETECTION:
NAME DETECTED: Ihra
CLASS SELECTED: War Sorceress
RACE DETECTED: Forest Draconian
WEAPON DETECTED: Axestaff
IS THIS CORRECT?
[Yes - Keep Current Selection] [No - Change Current Selection]"

It seems the menu screen has Yes and No options for Ihra to choose.

"Sure, I guess I should..." Shadow Stephanie says, sighing.

 

She hits yes.
"Close enough. They don't have sages here anyway, I guess..."

 

Ihra finds the room changing around her, before feeling soft grass below her feet as a dense forested area appears in front of her. A crude looking battleaxe with a gem at it's top floats in front of Ihra, and a few goblin-like creatures appear to be walking about the forest. Oddly, they appear to have the words '[Forest Goblin - Level 1]' above their heads, as well as a red bar.

 

I drop my sword and hammer behind me and sit down cross-legged.
"Wherever you want to start."

 

Shadow Stephanie sits down opposite you.

"I don't know why I was acting so aggressive toward them. As much as Stephanie annoyed me with what she said, I think she might have been sort of right?" Shadow Stephanie explains, "She brought up how I was 'letting out my sexual frustrations' on Aj, since we used to date and were in that sort of relationship. I don't understand why that would be the case though, because I'm with Sivius now, and Aj and I both agreed we weren't exactly working when we broke up, but we stayed friends because we both liked each other still, just not as serious as a romantic relationship."

 

"That's all that angered you? And how do you think she was 'sort of right'?"

 

"Well...maybe it is what she said. Maybe a part of me is stuck behind with Aj, and the fact that I'm with Sivius and he's with Artemis sort of, well...frustrates that part, you know? Like, I know that I can't be with him, and for the most part I'm fine with that, but maybe there's a part that isn't, and makes me act mean to him because I can't have him." Shadow Stephanie explains.

 

She tries to grab the axe, curious.

 

Ihra can. The axe feels light at the handle, but heavy at the end. A small message appears in front of Ihra:
"Crude Battleaxe
1-10 Damage
-2 Speed

A very basic battleaxe. We all need to start somewhere."

 

Confused, she tries bashing a goblin with the axe.

 

The goblin is knocked back a bit, and the red bar below it's name depletes a bit. The goblin walks up to Ihra and punches her. In the lower right corner of Ihra's vision, she can see a red bar of her own, quite small, depleting a bit too. Below the bar appears to be a much smaller blue bar, and above both are the words 'Level 1' just above a black bar.

 

She looks for any other informative icons before bashing it again, bored.

 

"Oof."
I start, sympathetic.
"Sounds like you're in deep shit, deciding between what you feel and what you think you feel. And that's hard, honestly, because feelings are hard. I don't think that feelings side with you all the time, and I don't think that feelings tell you what's right or wrong. I also think that you're speaking with too many 'maybe's. You're lacking confidence, and that's scary. Not to me, not to others, but to yourself. 'Maybe it is what she said'. 'Maybe a part of me is stuck behind with Aj'. You know what? 'Maybe the sun's going to explode if you don't brush your hair tomorrow morning. Keep thinking like that and you're going to go insane.' Having confidence in what you believe is the first step to doing something, or to getting over something. Let's say you still have the hots for Aj. You're not going to just go up to him and say that, especially in front of Artemis. You don't even have to, but it's damn better than living with the thought that you 'maybe' like him, or that 'maybe' it's her fault, or 'maybe' I'm the bad guy, or 'maybe' my friends hate me, or 'maybe' I'm not good enough, or 'maybe' I just suck at everything! Choosing and living with that is so much better than letting it hang in the balance."

 

The words 'CRITICAL!' appear as Ihra bashes the goblin, and the red bar drains completely. Upon death, the goblin drops a few gold coins and a bit of hide. The black bar under 'Level 1' fills mostly green, only a small part at the end still black.

Ihra hears something dart through the trees above her.

Shadow Stephanie takes a moment to take in everything you said.

"So...you're saying I should tell Aj a part of me still loves him and wishes we could be back together again? And we should work it out together? Like, I'm thinking in maybes because I never got any certainty when we broke up?" Shadow Stephanie asks.

 

She looks up, suspicious.

 

Ihra looks up in time just to see me drop down in front of her, holding a rusty sword and wearing rather plain clothing.

"Oh, hey Ihra!" I say happily. The words 'Shadow Aj - Level 3' seem to be above my head, a green bar under them as opposed to red mostly full.

 

"Well, do you love him?"

 

"What is this and how do I staff?" She asks, annoyed.

 

"I guess...I guess I still sort of do. I love Sivius, too, but part of me misses being in a relationship with him. Him and Artemis just sort of...clicked, too. I hadn't really been in a relationship like the one we had until I met Sivius, and even then, I feel like I just forced myself onto him to fill a gap," Shadow Stephanie says, sounding a little depressed, "What should I do? I mean, Aj's a great friend, and I don't want to make things awkward between us, or Artemis, or even Sivius for that matter. But...I just can't seem to fully get over him. Part of me wants him back, and I don't want to have that part of me missing him all the time, I want to move on so I can be a better girlfriend to Sivius."

"I think it's sorta like Super Dragon RPG, but like, in real life. Or virtual life," I say happily, "Can't you cast spells yet? I figured every class got a starter spell and melee."