THE MOMENT
"This is seriously useful...," Sandy commented as she walked through the crowded market next to Honey. She surprised herself with her own admission. When she first met Honey, she considered the younger girl to be a nuisance. Sandy was 14 and she felt like she was forced to babysit a younger sister even if Honey was only two years younger. They were instructed to 'spend time together' and had essentially been joined at the hip for an extended period. But, despite Sandy's initial resentment, Honey had proven herself to be friendly. And, she kept to herself enough that Sandy never felt crowded.
"Yeah, sometimes I'm just trying to get somewhere and I don't want to stop and chat with anyone." Strangers moved out of Sandy's way as she continued forward to illustrate Honey's explanation. It was a sunny, active day and the street was lined on both sides by merchants and patrons. Between the crowded stalls, window shoppers and pedestrians, there wasn't much room left on the street to walk through. But, the crowd parted as Honey and Sandy walked down the center of the lane. "It's a small perk that we get access to," Honey said.
Honey seemed to be the younger of the pair; but, she had far more AlterNet experience than Sandy. The older girl found herself learning quite a bit. But, she still had questions about their upcoming match.
"I got the basics of roller derby already; but, I heard Ozone say it was going to be a 'special game mode', what's that about?" she asked.
"Standard AlterNet Derby can get kind of boring sometimes. When it comes to important matches, the competitors like to choose special modes to make it more exciting. Dungeon matches are pretty popular. But, for our match, the captains are planning something different," Honey answered.
"Oh, what?" Sandy asked. "How is it special?"
"Not sure yet," Honey shrugged with a smile. "Ozone said 'special' because he's still undecided on what it's going to be," she answered. "He just doesn't want to do a dungeon match; he said they're 'too cliche."
"Oh, okay..," Sandy nodded, then came to a stop. They arrived in front of a dwarven blacksmith pounding on a glowing orange metal rod. She waved at the blacksmith. "Hello, master Smith. I've heard rumors you're searching for a brave knight to fetch some materials from deep inside a dragon's cave," she said.
The dwarf sneered at her as a trivial acknowledgment; but, he continued to hammer away on the black anvil. Sandy glanced at the red arrow above the dwarf's head pointing directly at him. Then, she looked around the crowded market in case there was a different blacksmith nearby.
"He's the right guy... what's the problem?" she voiced the question out loud without directly addressing Honey. But, she was the only one around able to answer.
"Maybe you need to role-play it more," Honey commented with an amused smirk. Her golden, translucent eyes sparkled with mischief; but, Sandy was too annoyed to notice. "Did you use the right keywords?"
"uggghh, I hate those..." Sandy growled to herself. Then, she stared at the Dwarf and gave him a formal curtsy. Her dust-red chainmail armor jangled with the motion.
"Excuse me, kind Master Smith, I have heard-tell rumors of a fearsome dragon residing in a nearby cave. Word has it that the dragon has hoarded an impressive stockpile of magical ore. You're offering a reward to any brave knight that brings you some of that ore, are you not?"
The dwarf moved the glowing rod off the anvil and into a bucket of water. It was a movement that any Smith has done thousands of times; but, the timing of his motion also served as a response to Sandy. He deliberately turned his back to soak the metal; and, he waited for the large cloud of steam to dissipate before turning back and resuming work. All without directly recognizing Sandy's presence or what she said.
"I'm going to kill you after I turn your quest in you worthless pile of -," Sandy threatened the dwarf; but, Honey's giggle distracted her from her anger. She turned to face the younger girl. "What?" she asked.
"You're still in 'monster mode'," Honey said. "All he sees is a Slime trying to make conversation. He thinks you're as much an NPC as he actually is," she grinned.
"You could've said something sooner...," Sandy shook her head. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she was mildly amused by the situation; but, she was careful not to smile. She tapped and swiped at the transparent node in her hand until she turned off the appropriate option. The Dwarf's focus changed the moment she did; as if he recognized her as a true knight. He stared at her eagerly and smiled.
"Dragon. Ore. Knight." Sandy spat out the three words and the Dwarf nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes, yes! Are you interested in a deal? Bring back enough for both of us and I'll be happy to make you a powerful weapon!" the dwarf giggled.
"Yeah, sure, I'm going...," Sandy accepted the quest as she turned to walk away. Honey followed with a smile.