taking back the skies [c]

What was he supposed to expect? Of course Domino never thought that anyone would already be upon the tree. How was that ever a common thought that came to one's mind when he had decided on this course of action for a purpose other than recreation? He was aiming for the kite, nothing more. And so, it came to no one's surprise that when Granxgran made her presence known, it had shocked the virtualized soul out of the red-head. His golden eyes shot wide open, the young man unable to pull up his defenses fast enough. The limb came in, and with his grip already loosened from the sheer shock, it was an easy feat to knock Domino off of the tree.

And down the man fell, landing on his back. His face winced in pain upon impact, the man having had the misfortune of falling onto a root with his lower back. He rolled over to the side, right hand reaching back to press against his lower back, while his left propped itself up onto his elbow to pull him off the ground. What the hell?

His chin reached upwards, golden eyes fixating themselves upon the silver-haired female that sat upon the tree, her skin a lighter hue of the tree bark. She donned an eye-patch, that covered a wrinkled eye. Her initial appearance was shocking, though getting a closer look at her, Domino found something else even more noteworthy. She was a player. He knew that all kinds of people had logged into the game upon its release, and that everyone's appearance had been reverted to match their appearance in the real world, but he never ever expected to see a player that was so... Seasoned.

"Wh-" he mouthed, her words repeating itself in his head, before he blinked blankly at her. Nap? He finally got back up on his feet, as he turned himself to face her, hands sliding back down to his side. "Who the hell are you, even?" he cocked his eyebrows, tilting his head as he stared curiously up at her.

For that moment, having come across a rather unique individual, Domino had completely forgotten the reason he had climbed the tree in the first place.

"You're still alive, right? I'm sorry for kicking you out of my tree. Waking up from naps always gets me a little cranky, if I'm being honest."

Domino twitched at the clear disregard for his question on identity, as he lowered his gaze for a moment. Teeth gritted behind closed lips, as he clenched his fist. What the hell was this? His mood was already sour enough having been disappointed at the quests that he had to force himself through just to get higher in the game, and now, he was getting kicked off trees and landing on roots. He took a deep breathe to quickly calm himself, before releasing an exasperated sigh. What was he doing, really? He brought his right hand, ruffling his own red hair. "Yeah, yeah," he grumbled back as he reraised his chin, looking back up at Gran. Well, she certainly looked rather guilty about it, wasn't she? He smacked his lips, before redirecting his gaze towards the kite that continued its mocking dance, held in place by its own string.

The seasoned female then threw an offer out at him, asking if he needed help with a quest. He blinked, before turning to look up at her. Really? He cocked his eyebrows in suspicion for a moment, but could not think of any other reason for her to actually aid him, other than it being a set up for another prank, of course. With that said, Domino would comply to her request, and bring his hand up. He then pointed at the kite.

"Gotta collect those for them pixel brats."

Oh, it seemed that she had done this quest before. That was good. At least her offer of helping him out in this quest had considerable value to it. It meant that she would already know the locations of the kites, and this mission would be done without needing the hassle of a search. Before she made any attempt to retrieve the kite, though, he was greeted then with the pop-up for a party request. He gave it one glance, before accepting. He knew that for her actions to contribute towards the completion of the quest, they would have to be in a party. That was just how the game worked. Not that it was any trouble, really. At least, then, no introductions would really be needed, as Domino focused in on the new smaller health bar that popped up before his own. Granxgran, huh? Domino decided to just settle with Gran. Amusing nickname, considering her appearing age. That had been on purpose, wasn't it?

With grace that betrayed her age, she moved onto the roof and collected the first kite, to which Domino gave a light smile towards. That was one down. Four more to go, if he remembered right. "Thank you," Domino called out, though whether it was in sarcasm or not would be left to debate, his tone not giving much in terms of clear interpretation. After all, she was just compensating him for kicking him off a tree, wasn't she? What happened next, though, was something that Domino had not expected at all. She fell off the roof, landing hard on her back. His eyes widened, as his first instinct was to rush forward to her aid. Midway to her, however, he remembered that this was a game, and this was a safe zone. That would have hurt, but no permanent damage would have been done. If anything, it was just karma kicking in.

He sighed in relief as the realization hit him, slowing to a stop. He had been scared for nothing. He really wasn't entirely used to this game just yet. She got back up, then, seemingly unhurt, other than her pride. He then gave her the due respect of his attention as she spoke once more. "Yeah, that'd be much appreciated," Domino replied, giving a few nods of his head. Despite their rather rocky start, Domino really saw no reason to hold any ill feelings towards her. She seemed... Nice enough.

What... Was that?

Domino eyed her weapon curiously. It was a mace, that was for sure, but it didn't look like any normal mace. This one looked thinner, yet still as dangerous. Was that her weapon, or her -- as evident as how she was presently using it -- walking stick? Or perhaps both? Interesting concept. It drove Domino to wonder what kind of theme he should set for himself here in a world where custom items were as common as those sold in shops. Lives were at stake, yes, but this was game's setting nonetheless. Besides, nothing wrong with wanting to exploit the features while you're fighting for your lives a bit, right? Simply giving a nod of his head, he would begin to lead the way. It was a partnership born of rather shaky circumstances, but it was one that Domino was appreciating at that moment. It certainly saved him the trouble of having to search for the kites.

As they proceeded towards the next kite, then, she spoke up, questioning his rather low level and appearance despite this incident having gone on for a period of time already. He blinked, turning his head to look at her for a moment, before rediverting his eyes back to the front. "I'm not, but I ain't the type to jump into the fray without analyzing the situation first. The entire dynamic of the 'Aincrad experience' changed with Kayaba's announcement. I'm not gonna risk my life being reckless and impatient, but I'm not gonna sit around depending on others either. I simply took my time in the beginning, learning what the game could offer first," he replied, his face rather solemn, yet it displayed a hint of confidence. He knew that it was going to be a difficult and painful path, but he was sure that they'd eventually find their way out of here.

One way or another.

"Is that it?" Domino blinked as he spotted a kite in the short distance, stuck in the center of a bush, its strings tangled in the leaves.

---

granxgran