"How may I help you, sir?" the smooth-talking NPC asked as she set down a glass water on the table across from where Kenneth was sitting. She swung her hips around and leaned into one, looking down at him with raised brows.

He didn't look up at her face, just toyed with his hands. Sadly the time old trope of click-bait NPCs still existed. He kept his mouth shut until eventually her action timed out and she walked away. It wasn't her fault some horny computer nerd had decided to sprinkle in a little bit of eye-candy, but he couldn't say he approved either way. He just needed to wait a couple more minutes until the figure that had been sitting over in the left corner spawned again. While a rare few NPC's offered one-time quests--usually first come first serve and once they were done they vanished from the map--but most had a buffer of 30 seconds before respawning for the next set of players. Kenneth tapped his fingers against one another, counting off in his head as the various bartenders and servers made circles around his table. He kept his eyes on the table when he wasn't checking the corner.

Ten more seconds. Almost there, he thought. His eyes flickered to the clock in his upper bar. It had been an hour since he'd logged back in and his last check on Byrd revealed she was still out of the game. He lowered his eyes to the wood of the table as another server passed by him. Her cheery voice rang in the back of his mind, but he ignored it again. He scratched his nail in the wood, but it did no damage. Byrd will get back eventually, she's just got family stuff. His shoulders still slumped mildly at the thought but he shook that off too. He couldn't blame her for his life. She wasn't his mother.

Again, he raised his eyes to the corner. There. Returned to his original spot, the figure sat right where he'd been when Kenneth first spotted him. He cursed under his breath at the player who'd gotten there first and made him wait, but he rose and ambled over there quickly. Carefully, he slid into the seat across from the leather draped character. The NPC slowly raised his head, the dull glow of grey eyes peered out from underneath strands of greasy black hair.

"Whaddya want?" he rasped, leaning forward. "Yer no grafter..."

Kenneth nodded and folded his hands in his lap. "I'm not," he said but turned his shoulder just ever so slightly to flashed the sympathizer badge. "But I'm here to help." He hunched forward, hoping this NPC could pick up on signals like that. Some were simple, but this NPC seemed complex enough.

The NPC man's brow lifted an inch and he squinted as if trying to see it better. Then he nodded slowly, allowing his chin to sink into his chest. He slouched back, steepling his hands in front of himself. "You lookin' for work, then?" he questioned.

Kenneth nodded. "Just a little." His eyes cut back to the doorway where new players continued to flood into the establishment. Probably guys looking for a little break for their eyes. His lips curled and he looked back.

"Solo work?" the NPC questioned.

Eyes falling to his hands, Kenneth eventually nodded. Byrd, please don't hate me, but there's not much else to do here, and it's a single-player quest. His stomach clenched a little at the thought of potentially leaving her for the quest, though. He looked up at the NPC as the man stroked his chin and while the NPC continued to decide, Kenneth slipped up. He put his head down and walked out, sighing. "This was a bad idea," he thought. "If I go into a quest and then she comes back alone, she'll think I abandoned her. I can't do that." He frowned and started to briskly walk back towards where he'd left Byrd's outline standing.

A couple of streets down, he spotted a group of noisy players and slipped into the side alley to avoid them. Coming out the other side, he glanced around the corner to make sure they were gone. Something brushed his leg. Looking down, he spotted the generated figure of a little black kitten twining between his legs. He stepped back instinctively and knelt down on his knees. Putting out a hand, he let the kitten bump into his figure. It twirled around, dragging its lithe tail over his fingers. He smiled briefly. Cats used to have mini-quests attached to them that were near impossible to find or complete. Too many complaints and they'd removed them, but the cats remained. Kenneth let the cat make another round, catching one of its delicate ears in his fingers and rubbing the sweet spot right behind it. A low purr drowned out the light background music of the game as the cat flopped onto the pavement. He stifled a laugh and rubbed at its belly.

Then a footstep splashed down in the alleyway. The cat darted off, leaving Kenneth alone. He looked back and spotted one of the wandering NPC's of the settlement. He rose to his feet and turned back to the settlement gate, walking quickly until he heard the NPC's steps fade off. He ducked through the gate and back outside where they'd been dropped off, looking over to where he'd left Byrd. Her outline was gone. His eyes darted around as he stuck his hands in his pockets, swallowing. Had she left him? Gone off on her own even after they planned another quest? His eyes fell to the cobblestone, pangs of betrayal touching his chest. He shook his head. I left her first. This would all be my fault...

"Kenneth, hey, there you are." Byrd jogged up as his head shot up and he blinked. She slowed in front of him, her hair bouncing with each step. "I was about to go looking for you. I assume you went quest scouting?" Coming to a stop, she cocked her head with a glowing smile. "Find anything good?"

He blinked again, her words processing in his brain. He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. "Oh, I...yeah. I found one or two that looked interesting. Not sure if they're multiplayer." The words spilled from his lips before he really realized he was speaking. Then he lifted a hand and rubbed at his temple. "Yeah..."

"Cool!" She rose to her tiptoes and grinned, the sank back down and looked around. Before he noticed, she was taking off towards the gate, halfway there. Mid-step she glanced back. "By the way, sorry I was gone for so long. I had dinner and then my mom wanted to talk about some stuff for therapy next week. So I can't guarantee I'll be on as much next week. That okay?"

He looked back over his shoulder and just nodded as he turned to amble after her. "Yeah, I mean, assuming you're still wanting to quest next week?"

She shrugged. "Why not? I don't have anything else to do, and you're fun to hang around." Her eyes squinted up as she grinned wide and started back off with a bouncing gait. Her energy was that of a child, and almost hard to keep up with, but it was infectious. Kenneth smiled at her back and hurried his steps to keep up.

He eventually fell into a slow walk beside her, shortening his gait so he wouldn't get ahead. As he scanned the town ahead of them, he heard gentle humming from beside him. His eyes turned to Byrd as she walked, her head bobbing from one side to the other. Her lips were pressed tight together as she hummed under her breath. He didn't recognize the song, but he listened intently anyway. Unconsciously, he tapped his thumb against his hip to the smooth beat. Thoughts of everything else faded out of his mind and he just trailed beside her, a small smile working its way onto his lips.

Then she stopped, lifting her head some. "Oh, I forgot to ask. You said you were out scouting for quests and found some, which one are we going to?" She looked up at him, chuckling thinly as she picked at the wiring at the back of her neck.

Kenneth's head snapped forward as he hesitated. "Oh, yeah," he bit his lip. I forgot about that... He'd lost himself to the brief moment there and mentally slapped himself, trying not to curse out loud. Stupid. He shook his head a tiny bit and straightened up. "Um, well. There were some in the tavern near the center of town. I think I spotted one loitering outside and while I didn't explore alleys specifically, NPCs sometimes hang out there. Usually, those quests are a little harder, though. Have a preference?"

She rubbed at her lower lip, squinting down the street. "Why don't we try the tavern? Sounds easier, both to find and NPC and to complete the quest."

Nodding, he stuffed his hands deep in his pockets. "Got it. To the Tavern it is." He started off that way, keeping his steps slow until he heard her uneven steps catch up to his. He shot a sideways look, sinking back into a small slouch as he ambled along.

"I forgot to ask, were you okay?" Byrd piped up after a brief moment of silence. "You logged out and you weren't feeling well. Hopefully, it's all good now?"

His eyes fell to the ground. Absently, he kicked a rock and watched it skitter down the concrete path. As it flipped and twisted, his stomach did the same until he took a deep breath. He closed his eyes just for a second and opened them again. She's just worried. That's normal? I think that's normal when people care about you. She's not prying.

Swallowing back his fear, he nodded and looked up at her with a thin smile. "It's getting better," he answered. A bit of relief washed over him at the ability to tell the truth finally, and his shoulders sank a couple of inches. He nodded, affirming it to himself.

"Glad to hear it," she said with a grin. Skipping ahead, she put her arms out and spun around with a grin. "You know, it's a good day. It's raining outside."

Instinctively, his eyes flickered to the sky, but he shook his head and laughed at himself, looking down. "Really?" he asked, trying to mask his surprise. Rain was a feat of nature he hadn't seen outside the game in a long time. His eyes rose again to the blue sky, wishing it would turn grey right then and there just so he could remember the sensation of rain on his skin.

"Yup!" She twirled a little bit, then stopped, frowning and pressing a finger to her lips. "It might not be where you live, though. Wherever you live. Can I ask where that is? I live just outside Troy, that big city in Texas."

Kenneth's next step faltered and he frowned. His lips compressed tight, but he squeezed his hands into fists, took a deep breath, and exhaled as he relaxed his fingers. His eyes searched her soft brown eyes as they were set in her pink flushed deep brown skin. She grinned back up at him and he bit into his lower lip. I mean, I can't tell her I'm in the hospital, but if I just give a general location. She wouldn't hurt me anyway...no, what am I thinking? Seriously, though, she's a kid like me, not some serial killer. He parted his lips. "I live in the city," he said after a moment, keeping it vague.

"Oh, so you're not that far away! Cool!" Her eyes lit up briefly before she turned around and slipped back into a similar pace beside him again. He looked up and saw the tavern rising as they finished their little trek through town.

He worked a hand free and pointed out. "There, that's where I found the NPCs that were giving out quests." He walked up to the entrance, glancing around for any standing outside. He spotted a little group and turned that way. "Wanna try this one here?" he asked, looking back at Byrd.

She hesitated, then turned around and peeked around at them. Her eyes squinted before she shrugged and followed. "Sure, why not? Any idea the quest type?"

Kenneth pulled out his map and clicked the red 'Q' to see the details. I forgot I can do this, he thought to himself. Would've been helpful last time. His eyes skimmed the details. "Level 15 base, so we're good on that. Drops tech skills and some smaller ones you probably can't use, but I'll stick them in with the others for my JOAT skills. If that's okay with you? It's multiplayer." He glanced back at her, putting the map back in inventory and cocking his head.

Byrd lifted her hands and grinned. "Why not?"

Kenneth nodded curtly and walked up. He set his shoulders back and lifted his chin as he stopped beside the group. Four NPC heads turned his way, four sets of eyes glaring him down. He tried not to shrink back, barely aware of Byrd shifting beside him.

"Hey, what do you want?" one of the NPCs growled, his fingers curling into tight fists.

Kenneth's eyes skipped from one angry face to the next, swallowing. He inhaled deeply. "We're looking for a quest..." The words left his lips the same moment the little 'Accept or Deny' button appeared at the bottom. He glanced over and saw Byrd staring down, probably at her own prompt.

He jabbed the 'Accept' and watched her do the same. He lifted his head to ask what they were doing and a fist collided with his jaw.