A/N: First Neopets story, Neoquest II based. Random Talinia x Velm thingy. Why?
Because I can. And because we need more Neoquest themed stories.
Nonsense
The arrow flew swiftly and silently as it pierced into the side of a Cloudbeast. The creature shrieked loudly as it dissolved into thin air, leaving only the arrow behind to fall harmlessly onto the cloud below it. An armor clad Blumaroo walked over to the fallen object and picked it up.
The Eyrie who had fired the arrow swooped down from the sky, landing gracefully before the White Blumaroo and took it from him, placing it back into her quiver for later use.
"Good work." The Blumaroo said, not only to the archer, but to the rest of his party as well. "I can see the watchtower up ahead. Let's move out."
His three companions gave him a salute and they were on their way, slaying anything that dared to impede them. After a few fights, less and less monsters were willing to approach them, for fear of slaughter.
"Captain Rohane," a blue Acara, Mipsy, addressed after a few moments peace. "what do you think we'll find at the end of this simulation?"
Rohane stopped and thought for a minute, but could not possibly come up with any ideas. Everything that has happened to them so far has been completely out of the ordinary. Trapped inside the simulation booths, the ship's various functions personifying themselves to speak with them, computer viruses manifesting as monsters…the list goes on and on.
"I don't know." He answered truthfully. "But I do know that standing here and dwelling upon it is no good. Time is important – the ship is headed directly for a star. If we don't get out soon, we'll all be dead within a few hours, in our time, that is."
If that was supposed to inspire the party, then it didn't work. If anything, they felt more discouraged. Rohane was never one for speeches, anyways. While his short and to the point talks weren't anything to be used to lighten a mood, his crew knew that he did have faith in them and believed they could get out of this potentially fatal situation.
Another thing about the simulation system was that it created its own time mechanism, while days could pass while inside the simulation, it would only be equivalent to a couple hours outside of the virtual reality it created. And the current day was drawing to a close, the party would have to find a place to stop and rest.
Up ahead, they could see the Northern Watchtower, a checkpoint where they could stop, stock up on supplies, and most importantly, get a good night's sleep, without having to take shifts to stand watch for any dangers that might try to sneak up on them.
Upon arrival, weary travelers told the guards at the door who they were and they were immediately taken to Guard Captain Okara, who had informed them about the Dark Faerie rebellion and giving them instructions to travel to Faerie City to find out exactly what was happening to Faerieland.
The group was offered lodgings on the second floor, and with this, they all went their separate ways. Rohane started inquiring on some of the fine looking weapons he had seen on the way in, and Mipsy went to talk to the tower's chef about potions.
The archer, Commander Talinia, promptly made her way to the room the party had been given for the night. She was always a straightforward, serious Eyrie, and usually spent her free time with a cup of coffee and a good book. The simulation booths had been left untouched for quite a while – the ship's crew didn't have the time to try them out. Only after all the required work on the ship was finished was it suggested that they went a round in the booths – the ship's computers and autopilot would do the rest of the work. Talinia was not fond of the idea – she would rather read than play a game – she agreed to give it a try, after being heckled about it for half an hour.
Of course, she had ended up in the wrong simulation. While Meridell had been the chosen scenario, Talinia awoke inside an inn on Terror Mountain, equipped with a bow and a quiver of arrows with some of the generated characters staring down at her, saying that they had found her in the snow and brought her in before she froze to death. When Talinia realized she was alone, she went outside, only to be attacked by vicious monsters. She was able to defeat a few of them by sniping at them from a distance; the Eyrie knew that she couldn't travel far by herself. Her only choice was to wait at the inn until somebody found her. She was there for a while, biding her time by sipping hot chocolate and going out to slay a monster or two. When the other inhabitants of the inn realized she ignored them, they left her alone.
She was more than overjoyed when the captain and Lieutenant Mipsy walked in. The inn's residents were a bit shocked to see something other than the stoic face she almost always wore. Finally, freedom from this imprisonment! Together, they battled their way up Terror Mountain.
When Talinia awoke from her trance-like state, she was a little more than upset to discover that she was trapped yet again, this time inside of the simulation booth. It seemed like no matter where she was, she was stuck. It was completely frustrating – had she not been in the booth, she could be out on the ship's bridge, stopping the vessel from plunging right into a star.
The archer heard the door to the room open and close quietly and the rustling of chain mail told her the identity of the new person – Lieutenant Velm, the Techo cleric. Unlike Talinia, Velm seemed entirely immersed in the game. He struck up casual conversation with the local computer-generated entities and spoke as if the simulation was a reality. He even started addressing the others by their names only, omitting their ranks, while inside the simulation. It was strange at first, the party had found in Waset Village inside the Lost Desert simulation, apparently suffering from a bout of amnesia. Velm had later explained that he really didn't lose his memory – it was all an act to play along with the game.
Even after being told the seriousness of the situation, Velm had kept up the game attitude. Both Mipsy and Rohane had dropped it as soon as they realized something was wrong, and Talinia never had it in the first place. It bothered them for a while, but they learned to accept it when Velm had made it clear that he wasn't going to drop his avatar identity.
"I was just talking to Guardsman Kosec – you know, the Kougra hiding in the storeroom?" Velm began rambling. He always did that, he'd go talk to somebody and come back to tell the first party member he could find about it. "He said that there's some sort of Fallen Angel around. He's scared stiff, I think. He saw her in a dream and she told him –"
"That's enough, Lieutenant Velm." Talinia growled, rubbing her temples with her hands.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Talinia? Just call me Velm." The red Techo said, placing his staff on the floor next to his bed.
Talinia whipped around to stare at him angrily. "And how many times do I have to tell you?" She snapped. "You are to call me Commander Talinia. I am your superior."
"Not in here, you aren't." Velm replied, removing the chain mail armor. "In this world, we're equals."
"Oh, will you stop with that?" Talinia snarled. "This isn't another world; it's just a computer generated scenario. This is a game, and it will be our deathbeds if we don't get out of it soon."
"We won't die." Velm stated, pulling out his spell book and opening it to a bookmarked page. Keeping his eyes on the page, he lifted one hand and a soft, bluish glowing light formed right above his palm. It rose in the air to hover above his fingertips as he snapped them quickly. The light promptly exploded into two smaller auras and they spiraled down both Velm and Talinia's bodies. "Finally, I've gotten that Protection of Infinity spell right."
"It is not a "spell". It is an information transfer request." Talinia corrected, a bit calmer now. "LFRA explained it, remember? And you will take caution to not use me as a practice target from now on."
"Yes, I remember." Velm nodded. "But it's fun to pretend, don't you think?"
Talinia's rage rose once again. "Pretend…pretend? Lieutenant, how many times must I tell you that we are in a life threatening situation, here? While the rest of us are trying to figure out how to get out of here as soon as possible, you're off talking to people who aren't even real. While we worry, you go to have fun! This is no time for fun, Lieutenant Velm, this is serious! Stop fooling around in this nonsense."
It was quiet for a minute, and Talinia did not want to look at the crimson Techo any longer, so she turned back around and stared out the window.
"Nonsense, you say? What makes you think that I'm not taking this seriously? What makes all this nonsense?" Velm finally asked, daring to move closer to her. "All you do is stress and worry, Talinia. Even Rohane and Mipsy allow themselves to get caught up in the simulation."
"I just don't see how you can play when we are in danger." Talinia softly mumbled.
"It brings me peace of mind." Velm answered. "I can't be like you, Talinia. I can't think about our problems all the time. I need a break to take my mind off things and refresh myself every so often."
"Oh? It seems like you're always on break." Talinia snorted half-heartedly.
"I know I don't look like it, but I'm just as worried about our situation as you are," The cleric explained, daring to sit by her side. "By playing the game, I can clear my head and think better. By talking with the characters, I gain valuable information on what lies ahead of us so we can prepare in advance. Just as you wonder about me, Talinia, I wonder about you. How can you stand to bear such a heavy burden all the time? I wish I could be strong, like you."
Talinia finally managed the willpower to look at Velm. A thousand thoughts entered her head at all the same time. So Velm wasn't ignoring the crisis at hand and just childishly play the game? He thought highly of her? For the first time in a long while, Talinia was at a loss of words.
"Velm, I…" She trailed off, not know what to say. Oh, great. Now she must have looked weak to him, just after he told her that he thought she was strong. The stress finally had taken its toll, as if it was long overdue, and Talinia looked disheveled and tired.
But Velm just smiled. "You called me by my name." He observed, rather happily. "Isn't it nice to speak as –?"
"Equals, yes, I know." Talinia interjected. "I'm exhausted, Velm. I think I'll be going to bed now."
Velm stifled a yawn. "Sounds like a good idea." He agreed, and paused for a second. "Talinia?"
The Eyrie was just about to answer him when she found herself taken completely by surprise as Velm drew her into a kiss. She went stiff, stunned, her eyes wide, as she could only think of one thing.
Kiss him back. Whispered a voice in her mind.
And she threw all her worries out of her head and responded, leaning into the kiss. Strangely, and yet at the same time, not surprising in the least bit, Velm tasted of hot chocolate and magic. Not information transfer requests, pure, actual magic.
Talinia pulled away first, not knowing what to make of the situation. Was Velm in love with her? If so, for how long? Why is it that she never noticed? Perhaps it was what he had said, stress and worry. She looked too much into work and not enough into life.
"When we get out of this," Velm said quietly. "I'm taking you to the finest restaurant in Kreludor."
"Are you asking me out on a date, Lieutenant Velm?" Talinia inquired with a hint of playfulness in her usually serious tone.
"Maybe I am." Velm answered cautiously.
Talinia stretched out, her emerald feathers shining in the light as her wings spread out behind her majestically. Retracting them, she lay down on her bed and kicked Velm off it onto the floor.
"You better be, Lieutenant." She replied. "It will give me something to think about take my mind off this wretched, virtual misery."
"Then yes, I am." Velm said, picking himself up in the most dignified way he could think of.
"I don't believe you finished telling me about Guardsman Kosec." Talinia mused as Velm made his way to his own bed. "Please continue."
"Well, as I said, he saw her in a dream and she told him…"
Nonsense– End