Oasis - Nintendo World - Open Play Meadow (May 2069)

[Hollywood Heidi]

Open Play Meadow

Located on the virtual planet called Nintendo World, there are several areas of open fields such as this meadow. These are open play places where players would go for farming and kills to collect some points and gold. Due to the wide range of these locations, players wouldn't meet there very often. There also isn't much else to do.

[Hollywood Heidi]

---

---

May 2069

---

---

[DarkSideCookie]

Here she was.

Where exactly was here, though? Well, it didn't matter as long as it was far away from home. Not from this warm place of the home she found in the presence of her dad or her private room where she would go on story adventures all on her own, but from everything else. Usually, though, those had been enough to remind her that she still had a lot, if not all she needed in her life.

But it hadn't felt like that tonight. An evening where she had allowed herself to step out of her comfort zone, yet only to find herself wanting to go back just there and stay forever in her little bubble because of the unpleasant feelings she had to experience outside of it. After that, she had needed another place to go. A place far off from anything around, as much as she blamed herself for the mere thought of this. Jewel knew how worried her dad was, with no words from him needed. The last thing she wanted was to disappoint him or to make him feel like he'd be alone. Loneliness was the last feeling she would want for anyone to experience.

However, back to here she was.

The farthest off place she could have thought of was the one where she and her dad had been gone to back at the time when she was still a child. Jewel remembered their little sessions inside the OASIS as times she held dear even today. She had never dared to ask her dad to take her to that place again though, for she knew he had decided to never come back to it, on this day six years ago. Sure, she could have gone on her own, but then again, she never really had been into gaming that much, except for those sessions with her dad or the rare times she would watch him playing retro games like the one she'd chosen her new avatar and name from, same as his own when he'd been still active. Well, however, kids tended to like the things their parents did, especially when they were young. But doing it alone would have meant loneliness yet again. A feeling she usually didn't like to seek but rather beat.

And once more, here she was.

As Jewel stood almost unmoving on this beautiful meadow with flowers in the most beautiful colors she'd ever seen, she tried to let go of any negative thoughts. Just like her dad, she had once found her own way of dealing with this range of emotions without talking or even feeling them. Maybe not the best of her dad's attributes that she seemed to have gotten inherited. But while he was used to just push them away to somewhere deep inside of himself, Jewel tried to focus on the positive to overlay them, although probably as forcefully as her dad did with the pushing.

With her eyes closed, Jewel started to reach out one of her hands with the other and to slowly tap the tip of her fingers one after another. Rainbows. Flowers. Pizza. The smell of freshly-brewed coffee. The smell of her dad's aftershave. Cinnamon. Peach-flavored ice tea. Strawberries. The anticipation before reading the first page of a new book. Kittens... She repeated thinking of a few of her favorite things on her mind whilst going on with the tapping on her fingertips. She would do that for the amount of time it took her to have nothing on her mind but her favorite even if small things in life. Jewel had started this already long ago, originally as a way to calm herself from her fears of thunderstorms, learned from an old movie her parents and she had been watching together back in the days where there had been nothing but love and happiness in their lives. One of those movies nobody else at her age, probably not even parents of others at her age, would know about, or enjoy watching, at that.

After a while, Jewel opened her eyes again. With her mind a lot clearer, she finally could fully enjoy her surroundings. She glanced over at the flowers, softly swaying from the fresh wind that was tickling her skin. This all felt so real, thanks to the many add-ons and equipment her dad was owning and she had borrowed, well, without asking. How did she never come here to be elsewhere? It was just perfect. Solitude, but different from the one she would feel in the quiet and used to surroundings of her room. This place also was freedom.

A dreamy smile appeared on Jewel's face as she raised her gaze towards the sky. In the distance, she saw a rainbow breaking through the light blue as if, right this moment, painted by the invisible artist who was behind all this. Granted, she had no idea what it was that people would be doing here, or at least not of all of the possibilities of it, other than just enjoying the sight, which she could do for hours probably.

[Ariel]

Brown, tattered boots flew through the blades of animated grass that danced to the tune of nature for miles upon end. Nothing but the gushing of wind through the open meadow could be heard for ages as the short statured elf avatar dressed in a leather belted green tunic glided swiftly through the plane. The pointed end of his green cap bobbed up and down lightly as he traveled, until he began to slow his steps down and eventually halted at the very peak of the valley.

And there it was.

Through his pointed, elvish features that gave him his in-game face, Emmett gazed in wonder over the meadow that seemed to stretch as far as forever would take it. All different kinds of colours and wildflowers complimented the land like sprinkles on a sundae. Emmett lifted his eyes to the glowing sky of blue, speckled with white clouds as the magnificent backdrop that cascaded over the land served as the cherry on top. He basked in it's magnificence and wondered what it would be like to be swallowed whole by this reality and simply live in this place forever. He wondered what it would be like to play life by his own rules, for once.

Just as his thoughts shifted to ponder about his location, a blue screen suddenly popped up and stretched across the space in front of him. Emmett allowed a single finger to guide himself through the map in front of him as he stretched outward to point at the blinking yellow You Are Here indicator dot, to the rest of the meadow on the map. No village names could be seen for miles, however, a few red dots began to pop up and scatter through the map as they served as helpful indicators for Emmett's current quest. He needed to spear a wild boar for the Towns feast of Hyrule so that he could gain a magic flute. One of the many he set out to find. Taking mental note of the red indicator closest to him, he closed the map and looked forward. He wasn't about to go about the task alone, of course, as he pressed a button on one of his play gloves in real life, in game it brought up a wheel of different items and weapons and scanned through the wheel until he found his pride and joy. Emmett's eyes lit up vibrantly as his avatar's hands reached for the bow. Just as his hands wrapped themselves around the bow, the wheel disappeared and a quiver of arrows appeared on his back. Displaying his game face for the entire open world, Emmett then pressed forward as he was armed and ready for anything.

Emmett glided down the hill until he reached the very bottom, and found a boulder large enough to hide behind. Bow fully loaded in his hands, Emmett pressed his back up against the side of the rock as he peered around it. Sure enough, a lowly boar was spotted in the far distance minding it's own business. Close enough for a perfect shot, excitement rose within Emmett as gaining his first magic flute seemed more of a reality now than ever. Brining his bow up and over to the side of the boulder, his fingers gripped the end of the arrow as he used every muscle in his arm to pull it back into the string. He had the arrow pulled back by his ear as he set his sight perfectly onto the boar.

Aimed...ready...Emmett exhaled before letting go. The arrow made a zipping noise in the air as it sailed towards the boar. To Emmett's surprise, it missed the boar. But it appeared to cause a disturbance in the meadow as he heard a scream echo through the valley. Oh shoot...

[DarkSideCookie]

One moment she had been just standing in profound peace, and the next moment the scene was changing into a frigging nightmare when suddenly an arrow neared her from out of nowhere. Jewel let out a high-pitched scream as the weapon came only within an inch of hitting her. Although it seemed that she had been able to get out of the firing line sufficiently early, she got stressed some more just another second after.

There were sort of blinking dots that suddenly popped up right before her eyes. With jittery movements, Jewel tried anything to get somehow rid of those by randomly tapping her fingers on the helmet around her real life's head. The problem with that was just that she had no idea what she was doing. How should she have known that this was not just a helmet but instead some kind of complicated super machine? This whole scenario probably looked like she was performing some sort of sketch, so she was just glad that nobody seemed to be around to watch her. Oh shoot...

"Okay... back off, you... enemy," Jewel called out into the direction the arrow had been coming from. One might think she would be better at intimidation or any kind of cursing by looking at her dad, but she was, in fact, quite bad at that. The blinking dots still dancing before her eyes, Jewel tried to focus on the potential battlefield behind. But there stood just a boy who reminded her of Peter Pan. Aimed with a bow...!

Once again, she took on a defensive stance. And once again, she looked like she had no idea what she was doing. Because she hadn't. Would she actually be able to fight, even though she had no skills like that in real life? The last time Jewel had been inside this place was not only more than six years ago but also in the company of her dad, who had been taking care of anything that would come into their way all by himself. Up to this point, she never would have believed that meant quite a task, especially with these unnerving dots before your eyes.

"Please don't kill me...?" Okay, that was probably the most stupid thing she could have said. She blamed herself for the ridiculous figure she made while still standing there like an idiot. Actually, Jewel didn't even know if the boy was a real person just like herself or even something she once had heard her dad calling a NP..G.. kinda thing.

[Ariel]

"Okay... back off, you... enemy,"

Trapped behind the large rock, Emmett's eyes widened with panic at the sound of the defensive voice caught among the wind that nearly blew him over as he hid. Lifting his arm up to his forehead to shield the dust away from his face that traveled through the grassy meadow, Emmett stretched his body stealthily around the rock to take a peek at who or what he had startled.  Whoever his arrow had triggered sounded angry. He wasn't particularly looking for a fight, yet from the sound of his newfound opponent they had shuffled into a confrontational stance. As he reached over his shoulder to draw a new arrow, Emmett knew he had to get this problem taken care of as it now posed as an interruption to completing his quest. Loading the arrow into his bowstring, his lips formed into the shape of an O as he let go a few rapid exhales to push out the nerves. His body bounced energetically in his crouched position to amp himself up for the fight before springing out from behind the rock and into the open meadow to face his opponent.

...A girl?

There were only few times in Emmett's life where he was rendered completely speechless. To be honest, he wasn't quite sure what to expect as he had bolted from behind his hiding place. What he wasn't expecting was the girl avatar that stood right before him. Her long, dark hair fluttered around her pixie-like features as she stood in her defensive stance. Fingerless gloves formed fists in front of her white and black crop top, decked out with overalls that attached to her black shorts. Emmett was digging her overall look, and to be quite frank he was almost starstruck to be in front of an avatar that looked like she could practically fit in with the Streetfighter crew. Her eyes narrowed a scowl onto Emmett, yet her voice didn't sound as tough as she looked.

"Please don't kill me...?"

Confusion swept over Emmett for a moment before looking down at the loaded bow that had been frozen in his hands, along with the rest of him. "Kill you?" Emmett's gaze narrowed the same as hers as they both had been holding themselves defensively. He figured he had tortured her long enough before softening his gaze and addressing the girl again with a halfhearted smile, "If anything, I think I should be the one whose scared. You look like you can kick my ass." Chuckling lightly, Emmett unloaded the arrow from the bowstring, dropping his weapon down to his hip in surrender.

[DarkSideCookie]

The boy kept staring at her. Why was he just staring? Wasn't he going to fight her? But if he wasn't, then why had he shot an arrow at her? Many questions were flooding Jewel's brain as she tried to keep a firm expression yet rather like after a fashion. And then, finally, the boy spoke up.

"Kill you?"

Jewel wouldn't let her guard down until, suddenly, a hesitant smile appeared on the boy's features. What shall she do now? Smiling back? Jewel's gaze softened almost automatically when that Peter Pan avatar kept smiling at her, lightly chuckling even. And then, after all, he unloaded the arrow from his bowstring. Oh, thank goodness. She was so not able to fight... she guessed.

"If anything, I think I should be the one who's scared. You look like you can kick my ass."

A short giggle escaped her as she wasn't used to be seen that way, like... never ever? People were probably seeing a lot in her, yet nothing of that would ever be close to the description of looking like she could kick anybody's ass. Then Jewel suddenly reminded herself that she was still facing this person, unsure how to deal with that, especially now where he had lowered his weapon. She was, of course, glad that he did but, at the same time, overwhelmed with a potential conversation to follow because, to her, conversing was even more of a problem than the fighting thing. Or so she guessed? Besides, she was still seeing these dots before her eyes. What was interesting though, was that, now where Jewel was looking directly at the boy in front of her, some kind of data also popped up. "Huh! - I think I just figured..." Jewel said more to herself as she got distracted again - focus, Jewel, focus! Maybe though, the boy was able to help?

"Are - uh---," Jewel started, feeling awkward at first, but then just gave herself a yank anyway. "You a real boy? Eh - I mean, another player?"

Even though, she blamed herself for saying more stupid lines, they kind of came out almost naturally. Actually, usually, no words would come out just naturally with her unless she was talking to her dad, but, for some reason, it was different here. Maybe that was because she, indeed, looked like somebody who could kick asses? Either way, it felt refreshing to just come out with words without overthinking them too much for once. Jewel had to smile over that fact.

[Ariel]

"Are - uh---," "You a real boy? Eh - I mean, another player?"

The bashful voice that emerged from the dark haired girl's character allowed Emmett to lower his guard even more than before. In fact, it was kind of cute. Putting the arrow back into it's quiver, he fastened the bow behind him on his back. He could have stored it away in his item bank, but they were playing in an open meadow and he needed to be ready to strike any enemies or creatures that would bring them harm. Softening his stance, he shifted his body weight from one hip to another as he grinned in amusement at the girl's question. "I think so...," Emmett chimed in almost a questioning tone himself before peering down at his forearm and pinching the fabric on his arm as to double check, before wincing and nodding "Yep! Definitely real. You come across a lot of NPC's around here? I only ever encounter them in the village. The ones in the taverns are the literal worst...," Emmett snickered to himself before realizing that he was ranting onward while the girl was just staring.  

Emmett lifted a loose fist to his mouth as to clear his throat momentarily before pressing onward into conversation, "So what are you doing out here all by yourself?" He questioned the girl with curiosity, "It can be dangerous to go alone. Not that you can't take care of yourself, you seem cool. But I definitely could have been someone dangerous, or worse - one of those frightfully annoying tavern NPC's." Emmett liked to joke, yet his sincerity still peaked through his personality as he casually leaned against the boulder he had once hid behind.

[DarkSideCookie]

Jewel found herself much more at ease once the boy had tucked his arrow and bow onto his back. Now there would be left only her natural nervosity about having a conversation with a stranger. A stranger inside a videogame. As weird as that might sound to others, it did not so much to her. Or it started to not. In fact, Jewel felt not only more at ease as for their truce, but also as for facing somebody who wouldn't see something in her that she wasn't. Wait, wasn't it exactly how things were here? To see people who were somebody different in the real world? Okay, and now she got confused from her own thoughts again. The point was, for some reason, here Jewel felt more like herself than ever before, except for the times she was spending at home, of course; Which were a lot of times, granted, but the stress once being among people who didn't see her true self had, at some point, started to overlay the ease she felt around her dad.

Once Jewel saw a grin on the boy's face, she got a little nervous again. Had she said something stupid? Oh well, she had. But like... stupid stupid?

"I think so...,"

She watched him with slight confusion as he started to check his arm and clothes. Oh, this was supposed to be a hoax, right? She guessed.

"Yep! Definitely real.

Jewel smiled in amusement. He had a sense of humor. She liked that. Anyways, when he started to get their conversation going, Jewel wasn't sure if she was ready for that yet. She would try. She had come up with words already before.

"You come across a lot of NPC's around here? I only ever encounter them in the village. The ones in the taverns are the literal worst...,"

Just try to follow the thread. Oh yah, NPC's. That was the word for those videogame characters without real people behind. "I - uh..," she was going to start, probably too quiet to be heard, though, since the boy would just go on without leaving her time to finish whatever sentence she had been going to utter in the first place. Maybe it was better this way.

"So what are you doing out here all by yourself?""It can be dangerous to go alone. Not that you can't take care of yourself, you seem cool. But I definitely could have been someone dangerous, or worse - one of those frightfully annoying tavern NPC's."

Jewel stared at him for another second before finally regaining her voice. Just like her conversational partner, she tried to take on a more casual posture, which, at first, was more looking like she had some issues with her body. "I... I just needed a place... like.. any place?" When she felt her voice close to breaking again, Jewel slightly turned her face away from the boy, yet only so far that she wouldn't appear like she was ignoring him. She took one deep breath of the air around her, fascinated by the smell of the flowers, which - thanks to her dad's gaming add-ons - seemed so real. Suddenly she chuckled, almost forgetting that the boy was still there, although continuing talking as if it had never been a difficulty to her. "Isn't this the most beautiful place you've ever seen? Waves of clouds and flowers, meeting in one big picture, as if every tiny dot was painted by a god."

Eventually, the smile on Jewel's face faded, changing into panic again. Her head moved into the boy's direction again, the sight of him staring at her immediately sending her back into the all too familiar uncomfortableness around others. "I - I'm sorry. I tend.. to.. say stupid things. Wh- what was your question again?" She just wanted to sink into the ground. At least, nobody here could see when her head turned red. It surely did, though, since she felt warmth surrounding her face.

[Ariel]

"I... I just needed a place... like.. any place?"

Emmett's demeanor was quick to fall rather sober. Remaining silent, he nodded affirmingly as he felt the emotion in her voice shift to something that yearned for what this open meadow had been offering her. Giving her some space, Emmett allowed the girl's mind to wander back to the security of the beautiful scenery that wrapped itself around her like a security blanket. More than anyone, Emmett was able to understand the necessity of an escape that many needed from the messy realities of the real world in order to keep sane and to live on outside of the Oasis.

"Isn't this the most beautiful place you've ever seen? Waves of clouds and flowers, meeting in one big picture, as if every tiny dot was painted by a god."

Something pure began to emulate from the dark haired pixie girl, almost as if her glorious, wholesome presence was the life force to all of the beautiful flowers, lakes and mountains that painted across the valley. Accepting the invitation into the same magical escape, Emmett took in the stunning view. It sure was glorious, yet no matter where his gaze traveled, it always landed back onto her. A half grin warmed back up on Emmett's face as he took in her radiance while she gazed into the valley with eyes of wonder. Out of all the elements in the valley, she was the most breathtaking.


"I - I'm sorry. I tend.. to.. say stupid things. Wh- what was your question again?" 

Taken back in slight panic, Emmett had grown just as startled as the girl did before him. Feeling as if he needed someone to restart his heart, Emmett felt his cheeks grow pale as he grew embarrassed to have been caught staring at her. Before he could apologize, she was already doing that for her part. Emmett grew rather confused, unsure why she was saying sorry, yet only half listening as he was still mildly flustered and only hoped that she didn't think he was a creepy loser. "My question?" Colour came back into Emmett's cheeks. He gulped slightly as his mind had become so captured by the moment that he even forgot that he had asked her anything in the first place. He stuttered, trying to think of something - anything. "Wanna see something cool?" Emmett's mind finally came up with an idea. He wasn't sure if he was simply trying to impress the pretty pixie girl or if he could empathize with her need for this space, but he wanted to add something special to this space for her and hoped she would like it. "Close your eyes," Emmett spoke like a little giddy boy who couldn't wait to show something shiny to his friends. He watched the girl sweetly shut her eyes tight, "Picture those words you used to describe this meadow, those feelings you felt. Now listen to the soft wind moving through the trees and flowers around us," Emmett's voice trailed off as he watched the girl mentally transport herself within the meadow. Quietly, he reached into his item bag and pulled out an instrument.  Emmett held the round, dark blue clay instrument in his hands and lifted the mouth piece up to his avatar's lips. He placed his gloved fingers gently over the correct holes of the Ocarina and began to play the girl a lullaby.


-----------------------------

Tinkerbell's Lullaby: 

[DarkSideCookie]

"My question?"

The Peter Pan boy seemed somewhat nervous as well. This was not the reaction Jewel was used to, so she wasn't even sure how to deal with that or how to think of it, in the first place. But honestly, everything was better than these judging looks like they would know you and the reasons for your silence and awkwardness. So, to show her gratitude for that different reaction, Jewel gave him a slight smile, at first forcefully, but then she started to actually feel at ease.

"Wanna see something cool?"

What? Once again, the boy managed to baffle her. Along with her other issues, Jewel had difficulty with unexpected questions, probably because they forced her to react without any time of preparing herself. Well, his question wasn't exactly demanding an ingenious answer, but before she could have said anything at all, though, he went on with something even more baffling.

"Close your eyes,"

Usually, Jewel would have been very hesitant to comply with such a call when she didn't know someone, but, for some reason, she was trusting this boy, regardless of the fact that she probably couldn't get harmed in this world anyway. Actually, at this very moment, she didn't even think of this to be another world. She was here, just as he was. And so she slowly shut her eyes, the last thing she saw being a giddy smile that brought one to her face as well, making her cheeks warm and her heart jump.

"Picture those words you used to describe this meadow, those feelings you felt. Now listen to the soft wind moving through the trees and flowers around us,"

She would realize that only later, but, as soon as her eyes were closed and only the boy's words telling her that she wasn't alone, Jewel's nervosity suddenly was gone, as if the wind he was talking of was carrying it away, making her feel like she got shifted off of a burden that had been smothering her for so long. The smile grew wider as she allowed the picture to get painted before her inner eyes, feeling freedom like never before. When she realized that the boy went silent, at first, a bit of her anxiety was coming back, although she still stood with her eyes closed. Had he left her? Had he just wanted to make fun of her?

Then, the sound of an instrument, playing a beautiful melody, mixed in these heavy thoughts, carrying them away just like the wind had before. She felt tears forming in her eyes. Not of sadness or despair, but mere emotions, free of any negativity. Quietly, Jewel listened to the melody, allowing her mind to wander deeper into the imagined landscape as if she would become part of the picture herself, in a way like just belonging. Eventually, the melody stopped, not abruptly, but rather like fading into the distance until there was left only a sweet echo of it on her mind.

"That was..." Jewel started, hesitantly yet, for the first time, not embarrassed at all, "... dreamlike. Is... this a dream?" She knew that if she opened her eyes again, there would not only be a chance of actually awakening from a dream but also that the embarrassment would come back, letting her, once again, mull each word she said. Jewel hated this feeling, so she rather kept her eyes closed for another moment, lasting in this feeling of freedom. "If so, I want to stay, and never wake up."

[Ariel]

Emmett was no Mozart, but he knew that the cherry on top that this meadow needed was a melody that had the power to fully immerse any player into a place and make them feel as if they truly are a part of this world. As the soothing tune poured from the Ocarina and filled the space around them, Emmett's fixed attention on the instrument flickered upwards to bring the girl's reaction into view. He feared he seemed like a total weirdo, but the girl's face spoke a different story. Her eyes remained shut as she appeared to fall deeply into a peaceful state. Emmett didn't care if she had even possibly forgotten that he was there, watching her become one with the meadow was a remarkable sight. 

Eventually, the song began to end and Emmett allowed the whistle of the instrument to grow quieter as the girl was softly lulled out of her tranquil state of mind. Slowly lowering the instrument from his lips down to his lap, Emmett watched the girl. He expected her eyelashes to flutter open and reveal her doll-like eyes filled with wonder. Yet to his surprise, the pixie girl kept her eyes closed as her lips parted to speak into the space once more.

"That was..." "... dreamlike. Is... this a dream?" "If so, I want to stay, and never wake up."

Emmett felt her words, almost as if they were emotions of his own. Reality sucked hard sometimes and Emmett often thought that his problems and worries could easily be solved if he could just merge with his avatar and never leave the Oasis. Yet, he knew hardships existed in many lifetimes on many planes. It was a part of the human experience. The fact that the Oasis provided an outlet to just be himself was a gift. And so was finding this meadow with the pixie girl.

"It doesn't have to end, you know," Emmett finally spoke. The last thing he wanted to do was to wake this girl from the moment she was having. Yet, he also did not want to offer her a false reality. Simply a place where she could find peace and serenity amidst life's chaos, "My DM's are always on. We could come back and do this again sometime. You know, if you wanted. No commitments or obligations, just a guy and a girl looking for an escape." Emmett offered, shrugging his shoulders. Something inside him told him he sounded like a dummy and that he should feel nervous about putting himself out there like that. Yet, Emmett was tired of feeling nervous. The worst thing she could say was no, and he would be okay with that.

[DarkSideCookie]

"It doesn't have to end, you know,""My DM's are always on. We could come back and do this again sometime. You know, if you wanted. No commitments or obligations, just a guy and a girl looking for an escape."

Jewel had no idea what she had expected him to say or even had been wanting to hear in the first place, yet what he said was even better than anything she could have thought of. It was all she wanted. All she needed. Just a place to escape to, and that, for once, not alone. How was it possible that she felt so peaceful around him, though? Around him, who was just a guy she knew nothing about. Or was just that the key? No commitments or obligations, he'd said. That would mean no expectations either. No details about who they were in the real world.

Eventually, a smile appeared on Jewel's lips, growing even wider once she finally opened her eyes again, looking back into his. An unfamiliar yet pleasant feeling was spreading in her chest, warm and tingling.

There was a little moment in which Jewel wasn't sure if there would come words out of her mouth as soon as she opened it, yet it turned out there did, and, for once, it felt like the most natural thing to her. The relief and joy about that made her smile grow even wider, meeting with the boy's look of nervosity, although it seemed like he could ease some more as well now.

"I would love to."

[Ariel]

"I would love to."


"Really?!" Emmett was surprised. Thrilled she agreed to their casual arrangement, but very surprised. They had only just met, and if he was completely honest with himself, he wasn't the smoothest cat around. Jocks and jokesters usually got the girls while he just wanted to survive another math class. So stepping outside of the box and doing something that he usually wouldn't do gave him a revelation of confidence he never knew he had, "I mean, nice...," Emmett immediately toned his explosively excited expression as soon as he felt his initial reaction, simmering down to a collected smile and casual nod, "So uh, if we're going to be messaging one another, what exactly should I put you into my contact list as?" Emmett asked, on his real life end of things he hit a button on his glove that brought up a contact library on the side of the screen in his headset, "Wait wait, don't tell me...Tinkerbell," Emmett spoke as if he had just cracked the Da Vinci code in a proud voice as he began to type Tinkerbell into the contact name bar. With her avatar's pixie like features, it was the first name that came to mind. And somehow, it made complete and total sense, "Aaaaaand added! You cool with that, Tink?" Emmett chuckled playfully, just dying to know what kind of name she was going to give him. Thinking about his proposition to keep things casual and cool, he felt this nickname game was a great way to take the pressure off and to fully immerse themselves into an enjoyable escape from reality.

[DarkSideCookie]

"Really?!"

For a little moment, his follow-up question was bringing back a bit of her insecurity about her answer before. Had that been too much? Should she have reacted more casually and less like this meant the world to her? Did it even? Was it stupid if that was the case? Was...

"I mean, nice...," the boy suddenly spoke up again, this time more casually.

Jewel was, yet again, taken aback, unsure what the change in his tone was supposed to mean. Was she overthinking even? Oh well, sure she was. She always was. Jewel tried to appear more casually herself, yet probably not very authentic because she was horrible at acting manners that she didn't feel. She'd probably make the worst actress ever if she even considered stepping up a stage in the first place, that was. Oh God, she would never!

"So uh, if we're going to be messaging one another, what exactly should I put you into my contact list as?"

"Uh...," she started nervously, unsure what to say, especially since he had jolted her out of her absentmindedness once again. Her brain just wasn't working very well when being nervous. But then he prompted her with something Jewel hadn't expected yet liked a lot.

"Wait wait, don't tell me...Tinkerbell,""Aaaaaand added! You cool with that, Tink?"

Of all names he could have come up with for her, he had chosen one of Disney origin; A fact that left her speechless for another minute since she probably was the biggest Disney fan of all people in the world. At least, she'd never met someone being as obsessed with it as her. When the Peter boy looked back up at her, obviously expecting something in return, Jewel forced herself to focus. Oh yeah, right! A name!

"Uh...," she started again hesitantly but then gave herself a mental jolt. She had already come up with the perfect name for him, at the very moment, she'd seen him. "I think Peter suits you... like... uh, Peter Pan, you know," Jewel added shyly, unsure if he'd be familiar with the origin but then reminded herself that he had just given her a name of the same movie even, so this addition had been the most stupid thing... again. She chuckled lightly before adding a little less awkward: "Of course you know. It's, uh, the look." Jewel felt like she had to explain so that she wouldn't appear like she chose that name just because he had named her Tink. "You fine with that?"

[Ariel]

"I think Peter suits you... like... uh, Peter Pan, you know," "Of course you know. It's, uh, the look." "You fine with that?"

"Peter...huh! I like it!" Emmett announced his approval as he mulled over his brand new nickname. He chuckled inwardly, as it had never dawned on his before that his avatar sort of resembled the beloved fictional boy that never wanted to grow up. In some ways, he resonated with Peter Pan, as he hoped to never grow up and out of his most favourite place to escape to. As Emmett brought himself to his feet, he reached a hand down to his new friend Tink, "So, shall we see what else this meadow has in store for us?" Emmett smiled down at Tink, hoping she would accept his offer to continue adventuring. Whatever quest he had been on was now on the backburner. Tink had surely caught his attention, and all he wanted was more of her.

[DarkSideCookie]

Jewel was very relieved when her new friend instantly announced his approval about the given nickname. She truly thought it fit him well; Not only because of the look even. Well, she wasn't able to put it into words or sense in the first place, but there was something that kind of really had a Peter Pan feeling about him. A boy that didn't want to grow up; Not to be part of that so adult world outside. Just like herself.

"So, shall we see what else this meadow has in store for us?"

When suddenly a hand got reached out to her, Jewel fell back into her shy being for a short moment. But then one look into his eyes, and onto the sweet smile of his, made her take the hand, after all. The touch was merely a handshake, but rather her hand gently being placed in his. Due to the gloves she was wearing in the real world, Jewel felt it as intense as an actual touch, almost more intense even.

"I would love to," she then answered in the same way as before, this time a lot more smiling, though.

[Ariel]

"I would love to,"

Emmett didn't know this girl, yet there was something about her acceptance of his invitation that made him feel a warm sense of bliss. Grabbing her hand gently, he pulled her avatar to her feet. And just like that, an instant spark was felt. He couldn't explain it or why he was elated that this girl was becoming his new friend. He just felt like she understood him, and he understood her. The connection that was discovered felt almost like a rekindling. Emmett didn't register it quite yet, but subconsciously he had been smiling from cheek to cheek ever since he had laid eyes on Tink. Even now, his smile never broke. Out of the entire encounter, one thing was entirely clear - being in her presence stirred something new within Emmett, and he adored being with her every minute he possibly could.

***

[DarkSideCookie]

*** One week later ***

Chuckling and laughing, Jewel let herself fall onto the ground carpeted in flowers while pulling her friend down with her. They just had another past round of hunting and running up the hills, like they often did. Although they knew each other for only one week, Jewel had never felt such a connection and so much at ease with anyone before. Especially with one who actually knew nothing about her, yet, at the same time, as much as barely anyone except for her dad. In this world, fictional or not, Jewel could be herself, much more than at any day in the real one. And she somehow felt that it was the same with Peter.

"Have you ever felt like you're living someone else's life?" she suddenly asked out of nowhere. Up until now, they had never talked about anything that could lead to how they were living their real lives. It was still a vague question, though. Before Peter could answer this first question, she added some more thoughts, her gaze directed ahead, watching the hills in the background. "Like you're controlled by a person looking like yourself while it isn't? You don't say or do anything about it, though, because you actually don't know yourself or what you're capable of yet. I'm sorry," Jewel then quickly said with a wave of her hand, and her gaze turned towards Peter next to her. "This is just purely hypothetically spoken, of course. We wouldn't talk about our real lives here," she chuckled, for self-protecting reasons. "But could you imagine that feeling? Like a character's story in a fictional world, I mean. Er, I say odd things, don't I?" Jewel chuckled again, even more for self-protecting reasons this time. Yes, people had told her that she was saying odd things before, so, at some point, Jewel had stopped saying things at all, allowing people to assume that she was just shy instead of having nothing to share that would be of interest to anyone around her. And yes, she had pretty much talked about herself when she asked this former question.

[Ariel]

Every moment with her was like a dream.
Tink's infectious laugh filled his heart whole. Even outside of the Oasis, her soft giggle still chimed through his ears, taking him away from the downfall of his own stress for a single moment of bliss. Yet, to be here with her in this moment was like a slice of heaven. Holding her hand was the most wholesome feeling in the world. The most gentle touch, and yet a magnetic force so strong that Emmett felt as if he could never let go. He didn't want to. Not even in a fit of laughter as Tink tumbled down into a soft bed of flowers, brining Emmett down with her. He didn't care if none of this was real, and that at the end of every goodbye he would tear off his Oasis gear, being transported back into the real world. For the first time in a long time, Emmett felt like he could be himself around someone who finally understood him completely.

"Have you ever felt like you're living someone else's life?" "Like you're controlled by a person looking like yourself while it isn't? You don't say or do anything about it, though, because you actually don't know yourself or what you're capable of yet. I'm sorry,"

Emmett still lay in the spot he had crash landed in, shuffling into a comfortable position as he placed both of his hands to rest on the back of his neck. Gazing upwards at the white, fluffy clouds that danced slowly across the stretched blue sky of the meadow, Emmett fell deep into thought as Tink's words resonated with him more than she knew they probably had been in that moment. There were things he wanted to do in his own life, dreams that would unfortunately be spared to what he had thought was 'for the best'. According to who, though? Tink's apology suddenly broke his train of thought. A look of concern flinched over Emmett's features as he propped the top half of his body upwards, giving Tink his full attention as she continued to elaborate.

"This is just purely hypothetically spoken, of course. We wouldn't talk about our real lives here," "But could you imagine that feeling? Like a character's story in a fictional world, I mean. Er, I say odd things, don't I?"

"Stop it," Emmett chuckled, moving in a position where he was fully sitting upright, he placed his hands on each side of Tink's adorable cheeks and gave them a gentle, playful squish, "You're amazing. Don't say anything less about yourself," Holding her head softly in his hands, Emmett caught himself suddenly locking his gaze with hers again. A half grin melted onto his face before he realized he had been staring for too long into her beautiful, doll shaped eyes. Snapping his gaze away, Emmett removed his hands from Tink's cheeks and stretched an arm around her shoulders in comfort, drawing her in close, "It's something that has crossed my own mind once or twice. I guess at the end of it all, we must ask ourselves 'who am I doing this for?' If the answer isn't you...well, then you need to remember who you are and what makes you happy," Emmett peered down at the colony of bright, beautiful flowers that surrounded them. Reaching his free hand forward, he plucked a bright green daisy with a glittering gold center, "You make me happy, Tink." He twirled the stem between his fingertips for a moment before gesturing the flower in Tink's direction, "Life maybe tough for now, but things always work out the way they're supposed to. Until you've figured out what that's supposed to look like, I'll always be here for you."

[DarkSideCookie]

"Stop it,"

Jewel immediately did as told, yet not for reasons he had meant but the ones she was used to, from the real world where people would not want to hear her probably stupid philosophic thoughts. Deep down, she knew that Peter was different, but still, there was this fear she might be wrong. However, as soon as he went on talking, her features were easing at once, even more, when, suddenly, Jewel felt both his hands on her cheeks. If this was real, although, to her, it felt more real than anything before, her cheeks would have turned red within one second. The playful squish made her chuckle lightly, after all.

"You're amazing. Don't say anything less about yourself,"

His words, the way he looked into her eyes. It took Jewel as much time to tell herself that this wasn't real, that they could never be together in the real world, as it took him to realize that they were staring into each other's eyes for too long. And yet, was all of this really not real? She'd asked herself this question ever since they had met, had changed her answers to that on and on, even only seconds before.

When, suddenly, Peter snapped his gaze away and also removed his hands from her cheeks, even though stretching an arm around her shoulders instead, Jewel was leaning, once again, towards a 'not real'. He surely saw a friend in her as well, but certainly not with the same intensity that Jewel started to feel toward him. Instead of these feelings, she tried to concentrate on his words again, on their conversation; A conversation between two characters in a fictional world who were acting like real friends. Jewel wanted to believe that they were, but would it be only her seeing it this way?

"It's something that has crossed my own mind once or twice. I guess at the end of it all, we must ask ourselves 'who am I doing this for?' If the answer isn't you...well, then you need to remember who you are and what makes you happy,"

Just when she was going to reply to this, remembering words she once was told by her father, Peter went on as he picked one of the flowers from the ground, handing it over to her. A shy smile appeared on her lips.

"You make me happy, Tink.""Life maybe tough for now, but things always work out the way they're supposed to. Until you've figured out what that's supposed to look like, I'll always be here for you."

If this was her real self, standing in front of him, Peter would have seen tears forming in her eyes, but those tears would only fall in the silence of her room, somewhere in a world where they didn't know each other. That realization alone brought more tears to her real self's face, yet of sadness. Once again, she had to remind herself that this wasn't real; That he was only there for her in THIS place. And yet, she was still very thankful for that. With another smile, this time, less romantic looking, Jewel received the flower. She took one deep breath of its smell before turning her full attention back to Peter. "So do I," Jewel answered with an affirmative nod. "Thank you, Peter. Really. For... everything."

[Ariel]

"Thank you, Peter. Really. For... everything."

Emmett could feel his cheeks prickling with a warm sensation as Tink rendered him speechless in his bashful state. He made an attempt to say thank you, yet all that came out was a nervous chuckle. Peering down at his feet, he rubbed his head as he pulled himself together. Though he could only tear his gaze away for a mere moment before it gravitated back into Tink's large doll-like eyes. All he could do was stare at her, and yet the silence that filled the meadow between them spoke louder than the breeze that gently passed through the flowers that surrounded them. Tink made Emmett feel a million things in that moment, but one thing was for certain. Emmett felt important and special, being held with so much adoration in this girl's eyes. For once, he felt in control of his own life. His destiny...

Suddenly, a physical tap on Emmett's shoulder was felt from the real world. His avatar let out an audible gasp, turning his head with a cautious expression. Out of all of the times to be interrupted, this was the literal worst. Frowning, his heart sank as he knew that he would have to remove himself from such a perfect moment with this amazing girl. 

"Sorry Tink. I gotta bounce. See you again soon, I promise!" Emmett rushed his speech in a flustered panic. There was so much more he wanted to say, but the last thing he wanted to do was to keep either one of his parents waiting. This was just an utterly cruel joke. With a poof, Emmett's avatar disappeared from the meadow.

*** Emmett exits to The Rodger's Residence ***

[DarkSideCookie]

There was a long moment, or maybe it felt like an eternity for Jewel only, that they were staring into each other's eyes, both saying nothing at all. With them, it anyway was like they didn't need words. Jewel had never felt this way before, with anyone, not even her dad.

Then, suddenly, Peter let out a quiet gasp. At first, she was afraid that something might be bothering him, something about them. Maybe her gazing had made him feel uncomfortable? Was it too obvious that she was coming up with feelings toward him; Feelings that she shouldn't have because they were ridiculous? It felt like another eternity until Peter broke the silence. Maybe though, it felt like that only to her again. Because of the anxiety that she had thought would have been gone with him for good.

"Sorry Tink. I gotta bounce. See you again soon, I promise!"

"Uh - sure," she quickly uttered with a smile. "See you, Peter." Casual, nonchalant. Just like friends, Jewel said to herself. In addition to her general nervosity about the moment before and how it so abruptly had ended, there was also concern on her mind. Peter appeared to be slightly afraid, panicked even. But they had this unspoken rule of not talking details about their real lives to each other, so she wouldn't have asked even if there had been enough time for that. But instead, it took only a second until he was gone, his avatar disappearing and leaving nothing back than another memory. One more memory that Jewel was holding dear.


***