63: Back at it

Mum and I spent three days in our new house, decorating the interior to match the vaguely cottagecore parts of the exterior. We also saw that we had a small amount of miscellaneous processing tokens called Processing Time Tokens. A quick search told me that they were tokens you could get through various means that when turned in to the government, allowed you to acquire something that took significant ongoing computing time to simulate. The colloquial term for them was ‘pats’ because most people used theirs to get simulated pets for their homes.

Mum and I used ours to buy significantly more furniture and decorations points to play with in our home. Soon, it began to look a little cluttered, and for some reason the oil painting of mum, dad, me, and Riku—from when we were too small for gender traits to show—refused to be on the wall next to a claymore that mum hung. The two were just repelled by one another.

I joked that it was dad’s spirit being repulsed by the concept of a sword that wasn't curved, but then mum began to laugh, then cry, and I had to hug her a lot. My poor mum had been so lonely after dad died. I think that was actually a big part of why she'd blown up at Riku so forcefully when he suddenly decided to go into UN Intelligence. She didn't want him to leave her alone with just one ruined child in a tank. Goddess, I felt so guilty.

By the fourth day, after mum and I had explored the neighbourhood a little, I began to get antsy. I wanted to go back to Rell. I was sure that this new house would one day feel like home, but currently… my home was that stupid tree, where my goofy friends lived. It was where Paisley was, and… I was already missing her desperately. My heart felt like it couldn’t decide between vibrating anxiously and burrowing out of my body through my stomach. She’d still be gone in Rell, but… maybe there’d be a message for me or something? Oh, crap… she might’ve messaged my old account.

So, after four days, mum agreed to come with me back into Rell. It was funny, but we actually noticed that our login authentication actually took like half the time. I guess it paid to be on this side of the wall, huh?

I logged back into my character inside my bedroom in the Galloping Willow, and I was happy to feel the gentle swaying of our large living foundation as it walked. Hopping up off my bed, I bounced eagerly down the stairs and out onto the woven-root terrace that connected the tower to the inn.

People were everywhere among the branches now. Some had made huge makeshift hammocks, while others were just camped out on the porch. The lift, which had been installed last minute by one of the Carnival Historica folks, was accompanied by two more identical ones. People were using them right now, to go down into the surrounding countryside.

I recognised the area we were in now, too. It was a wide, dew-soaked valley with a small town huddled around the small river that ran down its centre. Visibility was limited across the valley due to how rugged the terrain was out here. The valley could only really be considered one instead of hundreds because it was encompassed on two sides by high ridges, and on the third by the towering Faerie Mountains. The forest and woodland here was mostly hidden in the dips, ravines, and troughs—out of the howling winds that could pull you off your feet on some of the ridge lines.

It was a fairly popular valley for players though, because it housed two raids and seven dungeons. Five of the latter were considered ‘hidden’ dungeons, because you had to make the journey out to their location manually—no dungeon hub shortcuts allowed.

“Keiko!” A tiny voice said, followed by the whirring of small wings.

I was being dive-bombed. Acting quickly, I transformed into mini-mode and leapt upwards to catch Noah in a hug as he came for me. “Noah!”

Laughing, he let go and fixed his light blonde hair, asking, “How was your mysterious digital person vacation?”

“So cool,” I said eagerly. “Gah, I wish I could tell you about it.”

“Why can't you?” He asked curiously.

“It's a matter of national security,” I said with a sly smile. He'd take it as a joke, but it was kinda true.

Rolling his eyes, he fluttered down to the terrace and returned to normal size. I followed suit.

“How’s things been with the tree?” I asked, patting the huge branch that the terrace was attached to and ran alongside.

“Oh… chaotic,” he grinned. “We had to start giving out player-created quests so we can get enough food and drink to satisfy everyone. We drain every town we go past of booze and bread—it's hectic.”

“Are we thinking about making a brewery and a bakery? Small rooms? We could tack them onto the ground floor as a little mini-tower.” I suggested.

He nodded and gestured for me to follow him towards the haim building. “Yeah, but we all wanted to wait until you and your mum got back.”

“And Paisley,” I said, wondering again how she was doing. I hope her move wasn't too stressful.

“Hmmm,” he mused, then shrugged. “I think so long as you okay the general idea, we'll be fine. It's you and your mum who have the vision for this place.”

“I have a vision for my forge,” I laughed wryly, although I quickly dampened my mood when we passed some strangers. Don't ask me why, but laughter like that felt… private. I don't know.

Noah, without any such inhibitions, laughed normally. “Yeah, I guess that's true. Come on, let's get you some food and we'll chat with Ethan.”

I nodded, but then I felt a tickle of memory and I glanced around. “Where’s Elena?”

“She was off fucking her gecko girl for a little while, but I think the last day she's been hunting things for food,” he said. “She's been a little grumpy because she's been stuck at level 25 waiting for the new zone and the faerie classes there.”

“Huh,” I said with a nod of sympathy. Being unable to progress to level 26 until you had a new class was one of the more asinine parts of Rell.

Inside the taproom of the inn, people were sitting around, chatting, playing various board games, and generally having a good time. It was sometime around early afternoon, so lunch was still being served and I took the opportunity to grab a plate from one of the Historica folks. The way they'd just settled in to help run the place was the key reason any of this was working, so we were giving them a chunk of the profits.

Ethan joined Noah and me when we sat down, and we chatted away happily. As we were finishing our meal, Elena stepped into the room, and I waved her over.

“Keiko!” She said, giving me a smile that felt slightly… off. “You're back.”

“I am,” I said, nodding hopefully for her to join us.

She held her hands up, “Oh, nah. I'm going to lay down for a bit. I'm tired after hunting all day. Plus, I need a bath…”

I winced. Our bathing facilities here were… kinda shit. It basically amounted to a section of the veranda that we'd divided into cubicles with tent canvas. The cubicles had buckets of water, soap, and sponges. Maybe I should figure out how to change that.

“Right… I hope the water isn't too cold…” I said, knowing full well that it would be.

She left, and not long after, Vesuvia came around to ask for building rights to make the brewery and a couple of baking ovens. I said yes, but that she should speak to mum whenever she turned up, and that I also might look into building some baths.

Before I looked into a place to build the baths, I went back to the tower and sat down on the landing outside Elena's room. She wasn't too long in coming, and as soon as she saw me, she paused. “Hey?”

“You were acting weird so I came to check on you,” I said simply.

Her neutral expression shifted into one of anxiety, but she covered it quickly. I nodded to her room in question, and she sighed, then approached and pushed the door open.

It was a bit of a mess inside, to be honest, and so I immediately began to pick clothes up and put them in the wicker washing hamper. She gave me a look, so I asked, “What?”

Rather than reply, she just huffed and walked over. All the clothes returned to her inventory. I followed after her, bemused. Putting clothes in your inventory actually removed dirt and grime, so it made sense… which had me wondering why she hadn't done that already.

Looking back at the wicker hamper, I asked, “What's that for?”

“It's my bin.”

I flushed and looked away. “Oops. Sorry.”

“It's okay,” she said, then laughed half heartedly. “I forgot that inventory washing was a thing, and you apparently did, too.”

“It was… habit from before?” I offered. “Plus, I've spent the last few days in a VRE that had realism like that.”

That'd been something new and a little unwelcome in Exodus City. Less so because every house had a magical chute that took in dirty clothes and spat out clean ones, but still it was less convenient than inventory washing.

“Ah,” she said, then blew out a long breath. “So… what did you want?”

“What I want is to know why my friend is acting like I shit in her shoes,” I said gently while sitting down on the corner of her bed. The sheets felt clean at least.

Elena sat down heavily on the bed, then glanced sideways at me. “Um.”

I waited a couple of seconds, then shuffled over and put an arm around her. “What's up, El?”

She leaned into me and turned her gaze out the open window. “I… Xethu went off with her friends to do one of the dungeons in the valley, so I've been on my own for a day and a half. That was kinda too much time alone with my thoughts.”

“What did you think about?” I asked, rubbing her shoulder. In an attempt to comfort her.

Hesitating, she turned and looked at me—grey eyes full of confused emotion. “Um… You. You and Paisley… and what happens to me if you get together…”

I felt my cheeks heat at the casual mention of my crush on Paisley—an emotion that felt too private to be spoken about with anyone other than Pay. I pushed the feeling aside, though, and said, “Well… she knows there's something with us… but not what it really is, since we haven't really defined the relationship you and I have.”

“That was also making me a little anxious,” she agreed cautiously.

It was a nerve wracking topic, but I was far less terrified of the outcome than if it'd been with Paisley. Elena was just easier to understand and there wasn't years of history between us. Plus, not having a crush meant that the stakes felt less dire.

“We're what… friends with benefits?” I asked. “I know I'm not romantically into you, because if I were, I'd be way more terrified. I also like affection, and I really like girls, which you are… Plus sex, sex with girls is amazing.”

A grin lit up my friend’s features. “Sex with girls is pretty great.”

“So…” I said slowly, trying to nudge her along.

“I mean,” she said with a sigh. “I feel like… we shifted into acting like girlfriends at some point, and… it's weird to me because it's not that, but we're acting like it, and…”

I waited, watching as she struggled to define her thoughts.

“I tried again, to see if I would like Xethu… but nope,” she said dejectedly.

My brows pinched together. “Elena…”

“I know, I know, I'm an idiot—” She said, but I squeezed her.

“You're trying to force it, and that's not how romantic love works,” I said as gently as I could. Inspiration struck, and I continued, “Tell me this—what do you actually need to feel happy? Like, romantically, platonically, and sexually?”

She searched my gaze for a second, then turned to look back out the window again. “Romantically? I don't know if I do need anything there. It does feel nice to get hugs and kisses, though. I like knowing someone gives a shit about me.”

Pursing her lips, she picked distractedly at the sheets and said, “Platonically? I guess just cool people to hang with and maybe… maybe one person to be like, someone I know will listen when shit is bad? A BFF, I guess? Sexually… I need a lot, oh my god. When I'm having a bad self doubt day, it feels like I'm too horny and a bit of a creep. I look at you and I'm like, damn she's hot. I um… Paisley? I definitely would. Even, uh… your mum, if that wouldn't make things extremely weird.”

“My mother is off limits,” I said with a gasp of mock outrage.

“I know, I know,” she laughed. “I can actually control myself. Paisley, too. Although I doubt she’d be up for it, I know I’m not just automatically going to get with anyone I want to. All I’m saying is that I see lots of pretty people around and I get a little horny, you know?”

I snorted and nodded, then fell silent as I thought things through a little. Elena was great, and really smart about things other than this, plus she’d been there to help me when nobody else was. I think the thing that really sold me on her was how much I could trust her. Never once had I felt like she’d hurt me or accidentally blab my secrets to a rando, or anything like that. She was nice, caring, and trustworthy, and because I appreciated her, I wanted her to be happy and feel included in our little guild we were making.

“Look…” I said after a few moments, “I think that as it stands right now, Paisley knows that our friendship is a bit more intimate than most, and she hasn’t given any indication that she cares. Plus, things with her are complicated and I feel awkward even assuming anything will happen with her. So, I don’t think how we work together should change. I think maybe we should cool down a little, especially with public displays of affection like kissing, because to be honest, even if I were with someone I was dating I’d still feel weird about it. In private, though? If you’re horny…”

She stared at me as I trailed off, waiting, and I squirmed a little because ugh, I really didn’t like saying some things definitely out loud. It felt wrong. Still, I guess if I said it properly now, I wouldn’t have to later…

“If you’re horny, and I’m up for it, well… you know, I can… it’ll be…” I said, tripping over my own tongue.

With a laugh, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me sideways against her chest. “You’re so cute. Yeah, if I’m horny and you’re in the mood to become horny, you’ll be down to fuck?”

“Yes,” I pouted, frustrated at my brain even as I felt relieved that she understood. “If you want cuddles, or kisses, that’s fine too. Hugs are okay in public.”

“My, my, so many rules,” she teased.

Her neck was right there, so I bit it. That, of course, led to further biting… and licking, and fingers in fun places.