Reborn or are you just pleased to see me?
[Group][Orcarella]: lol
He dismounted and stood precariously on the edge of the ruin. Solace was wearing an off-the-shoulder white dress that Drew was pretty sure came from the Valentine’s event, and a battered brown hat. She was fishing with a huge, jewel-plated fishing rod.
Drew /pointed in its general direction.
[Group][Orcarella]: nice rod
[Group][Solace]: It’s what you do with it that counts
[Group][Orcarella]: lol
Drew /sat next to Solace, and, for some reason, found himself spinning the camera round so he could see what they looked like.
Which turned out to be kind of ridiculous.
Solace was curled demurely on the floor with her knees together, and Ella was hulked next to her in full Tier 14 raiding kit. The skull helmet was especially atmospheric. He opened his inventory and cleared his headslot. It didn’t really help matters. She was now sitting there with tusks and a gigantic mohawk. He was beginning to feel like the gawky one in a chick flick.
And he’d run out of rod jokes.
And he needed something to say.
And this was like the worst date ever, except it wasn’t really, it was just two strangers on computers, looking at an elf and an orc sitting on a rock.
[Group][Orcarella]: so here I am
Shit, was that crap.
[Group][Orcarella]: it was a bit of a trip
[Group][Solace]: I kind of miss the travelling
[Group][Solace]: It made the world feel worldy
[Group][Orcarella]: but it used to take like 7m from the city of ash to the stone forest
[Group][Solace]: Yeah but you felt like you’d gone somewhere
[Group][Orcarella]: when I started playing I could normally only play for an hour or so a night with homework and clubs and shit
[Group][Orcarella]: so those 7 minutes came out of my playing time
[Group][Solace]: I didn’t think of it like that
[Group][Solace]: I didn’t really do any clubs so I had plenty of time
[Group][Solace]: And, tbh, sometimes I read a book on the longer flights
[Group][Orcarella]: you know if you’re looking for ways to entertain yourself when playing a game
[Group][Orcarella]: I think the game’s gone wrong
[Group][Solace]: Hee hee
[Group][Solace]: I used to have this really crap computer, so I got used to reading on loading screens
[Group][Solace]: I spent so much time waiting for The Witcher to load, I managed to read the whole book it was based on
[Group][Orcarella]: lol
Solace reeled in her line and cast again, right where the moon reflected on the sea.
[Group][Orcarella]: let me know if you catch it
[Group][Solace]: Hee hee
[Group][Orcarella]: So what else are you into apart from HoL
[Group][Solace]: I’m pretty boring really
[Group][Solace]: I read, I study, I run, I sometimes play other games
[Group][Solace]: Mainly I play HoL. All my friends are here.
[Group][Orcarella]: what about your mates at uni
[Group][Solace]: I’m friendly with my coursemates
[Group][Solace]: I just don’t really like to do the things they like to do
[Group][Solace]: It was the same at school
[Group][Orcarella]: dont you get lonely
[Group][Solace]: I used to before I met Morag and Ialdir
Drew wasn’t sure what to say. He’d always known lots of people and had plenty going on, so it was hard to imagine having no real-life friends. He wished he wasn’t trapped behind his keyboard, because he felt this rush of protectiveness towards this shy little elf in her pretty dress and silly hat. He typed various things and they all sounded wrong or stupid or patronising, so in the end he fell back on the old standard.
[Group][Orcarella]: :(
It didn’t really say what he wanted it to. But at least it wouldn’t say anything he didn’t.
[Group][Solace]: No :(
[Group][Solace]: It wasn’t a big deal, and I’m a lot happier now
[Group][Solace]: Nobody was nasty or anything, just nobody really got me
[Group][Solace]: I sometimes think I’m maybe hard to get
[Group][Orcarella]: you don’t seem hard to get to me
[Group][Orcarella]: omg that came out wrong
[Group][Solace]: hee hee
[Group][Solace]: How about you?
[Group][Orcarella]: I’m pretty boring
[Group][Orcarella]: I’m on a UF team
[Group][Solace]: A what team?
[Group][Orcarella]: Ultimate Frisbee
[Group][Solace]: How’s that different to regular Frisbee
[Group][Orcarella]: its a bit like American football and a bit like netball but
[Group][Orcarella]: with a Frisbee
[Group][Solace]: lol
[Group][Orcarella]: mainly I’m just kind of a nerd. I read fantasy novels and play games
[Group][Orcarella]: i used to play the guitar
[Group][Orcarella]: it was supposed to be my cool thing
[Group][Solace]: What happened?
[Group][Orcarella]: I just kind of stopped
[Group][Orcarella]: I guess I’ve given up trying to have a cool thing
[Group][Solace]: I’ve never had a cool thing
[Group][Solace]: I’ve always done things I liked
[Group][Orcarella]: Thats pretty cool
[Group][Solace]: Oh I see what you did there
[Group][Solace]: Thank you
Shit. He’d run out of steam, but he didn’t want to stop talking. He had to remind himself he’d only met Solace twelve hours ago, but