Alissa sat atop a barstool. Slowly, she picked up a spoon. In front of her sat a slice of apple pie, its steam rising into her nostrils like a cartoon. Her bandages had long since been taken off, she was a player after all.
With her spoon, she separated a bite-sized portion from the slice before scooping it up and placing it into her mouth. The sweetness hit her all at once. The sugary tartness of the apple, the buttery taste from the crust! It was delicious. Without wasting any more time, she dug in.
As she finished her last bite, Marie and Alkaline walked in through the front door.
"We're all done with cleaning up! I'm good to head to the carnival whenever you are!"
"Mhm!" She muttered, cheeks still stuffed with apple pie.
----------------------------------------------------------
About an hour ago, the green haired woman had just finished checking up on Alissa.
"This is my tavern, The Granny Smith! My name is Marie." She introduced herself before gesturing to the man who kneeled in the corner. "That's Alkaline, he's a regular here."
"N- Nice to meet you. I'm Alissa" she gulped. Slowly, she stood up from the bed.
"Well, its a pleasure! How's about I treat you to some pie, I was halfway through making a batch for my customers but due to a... certain incident I had to close early." She glared at the man in the corner, who whimpered pathetically.
Strangely enough, she reminded Alissa of her own mother. Though there were dissimilarities, her mother wasn't an elf with a southern accent of course, but she glowed like the sun just like her. Almost blindingly so.
"Y- Yes. I would like that." Unbeknownst to her, a smile grew.
A long while ago, when Full Dive technology was first being introduced, things such as in game hunger, thirst and waste weren't accounted for. After all, its a virtual world. Your digital body doesn't need nutrition. But because of this disconnect of senses, players begin experiencing vast mental disconnects.
People lost control over their bladders and guts, their minds stopped registering things like hunger, pain and thirst in the real world as well, leading to many deaths. After this it was required by international law to incorporate working bodily systems.
Not much later, Alissa sat at the bar. The clamoring of dishes could be heard in the back. Behind her, Alkaline swept up glass from the shattered window. Three wooden words nailed to the frame worked as a temporary solution.
A short while later, Marie walked out into the main foyer apple pie in oven-mitted hands. Placing it down and cutting a slice, she Slid it across the counter before warning "be careful, it just came out of the oven."
Reaching into a cabinet above the bar for some cutlery, she spoke. "So, what brings you to Postal Port?"
"Ah! Um... I'm an outsider, its my first day." Alice simply recited what she saw online. Players were called "Outsiders" by the NPC's of this world.
"Oh really? I've never seen an outsider before! Now that I think about it, today was the day they were supposed to start appearing on this continent, wasn't it?" She turned to Alkaline who gave a simple "Mhm" in response.
"You headed anywhere? Alkaline is from the southern continent, he told me that most outsiders usually start by hunting monsters. The lake nearby has been spewing out so many recently, so I'm assuming that's where you're going."
"I was actually... Going to visit the carnival..." Her eyes were glued to her feet, face bright pink. Alkaline chuckled, only to be met with a death glare.
"Are you talking about the Jile company Carnival? I haven't been there since I was wee high! Know what, hows about we finish cleaning here and we can all go for a short date! Doesn't that sound lovely, Alkaline dear?" She turned to Alkaline with another death glare. It was clear that he had no choice in the matter.
"Y- Yes mam."
----------------------------------------------------------
Having finished her slice of pie, Alissa followed the duo out the door. Leaving the cozy interior of The Granny Smith and stepping out into the streets of Postal Port. She shivered at the cold night wind. Earlier, she had turned up her synchronization level to better taste the pie. The coziness of the tavern making her forget to turn it back down. But now with chattering teeth she made sure it was the first thing she did.
She walked three steps behind the couple, it still felt awkward to walk next to them. An hour ago they were still strangers, after all. But the warmth that irradiated from Marie had melted that wall quickly. For Alissa, it was far too hastily.
As they walked, Marie gave Alice an impromptu tour- well at least a tour of everything along the way to the carnival. Alice couldn't help but wonder how the experience would have been getting toured by one of the sailor guys. The answer was obvious, there's no way she would be having as much fun!
With the duo, what should have been a simple walk from point A to B turned into a comedy performance. The big mean and scary Alkaline being put in his place by a little elf lady was hysterical. Alice even found herself chuckling at some of their antics.
Suddenly she stopped.
'when was the last time I felt like this'
the world around her seemed to blur. But unlike her panic attacks the were filled with sprawling shapes and sounds, she could see the warm glow of the street lights, the outline of others and she could hear their conversations. Every "See you tomorrow" and "Good night."
'Ah, that's why it's blurry'
she wiped the tears that were forming in her eyes.
"Hmm? Are you alright hon'?" Marie turned around, noticing the sound of Alice's footsteps had disappeared.
"It's nothing. I just got something in my eye" wiping away her last tear, she looked up with a smile "see? All fine."