Sean rubbed his cheek over Mark's bare shoulder to snuggle close, taking comfort in Mark's warmth. Mark rubbed his back, then whispered to him in a soothing deep voice. "Let's take this slow." Sean eased back, asking a little hurt. "Isn't this what you wanted?" Nodding, Mark told him gently. "It is. Which is why I don't want to screw this up. I wanna do this right. I don't want to rush it." Rolling his eyes, Sean cupped Mark's face, telling him coolly. "Don't make me beg, Mark." Smirking, Mark brushed the knuckle of his index finger down Sean's cheek as he told him lovingly. "I won't do that to you. It's just been a long day." Sean's eyes narrowed on Mark's eyes. Mark was struggling to stay awake, but his health, stamina, and energy bars were full. Adjusting to rest on his knees, Sean asked Mark with concern. "Mark? Are you ok?" Mark nodded, easing up onto his feet when he told him coolly. "I'm fine." Getting to his feet, Mark backed up slowly to the bed, coaxing Sean to scramble up onto his feet to follow him.

Just as Mark sat down on his bed, Sean grabbed Mark's arms and asked him uneasily. "Mark? Are you ok?" Mark laid back across the bed, his hand trying to calm Sean as he strained out. "It will be ok, Sean. Stay... here." Sean leaned over him, gripping his hand tight as he stammered out. "What? Mark?! What's happening...?" Mark's eyes closed and his grip released in his hands. Panic filled Sean in that moment. Dropping Mark's hand, he cupped Mark's face and pleaded out desperately. "Mark? No... Mark, don't do this. Don't leave me here! Mark!" Tapping Mark's cheeks with his fingers, he waited for him to open his eyes, but he didn't. Slowly taking a seat on the edge of the bed, Sean's hands slide down from Mark's cheeks to rest on his chest. Swallowing, Sean uttered out anxiously aloud. "Please, I don't want to be alone..." Hanging his head, he sighed and glanced around the moonlit room. He could hear muffled music being played downstairs and the loud jumbled speak of players as they arrived.

Getting up to make sure the room was locked, Sean smirked to himself with slight reluctance. Had Mark felt himself slipping like he had on the road? Had he encouraged him to come back here to keep them both safe? If he had, he felt a little better. Moving to the window, Sean unlocked it and pushed it open to observe the town. There were a lot more players flocking into the town now. Most were traveling in large groups made up of scared players but there were a few fighters among them. The town was lit up with streetlamps and all the windows of the buildings were lit up with a welcoming golden glow. The N.P.C.s beckoned and gestured to players to try the food at their market stalls or buy things they may need. As scared as most looked, the cheery N.P.C.s appeared to calm them. It was strange to see the place thriving despite the distress they were all in. He heard the bard below strike up a lively tune that reminded Sean of an Irish folk dance. The muffled sounds of people dancing and laughing helping to calm him down.

Locking the window up, Sean browsed the shelves of the room. The books here were interesting. There were guidebooks on where to go to find things in town. There were books with lore related to the town. A few that spoke of Midgard's Realm and the Humans that lived here. He was curious about it all but started with the guidebooks. He started to head toward his bed but changed his mind. Instead, he made his way over to sit down at the desk and hunched over it to read. He'd managed to read all the basic info about the town and his own extensive racial biography menu, before a chill ran through him. The night was cold and without a heat source, the room was chilly. Unable to stop rubbing his bare legs and exposed arms to keep them warm, he collected the new book he was reading and walked over to his bed. Upon touching the blanket, Sean groaned. It was cold. Looking up at his Energy bar, Sean sighed heavily. His Energy was depleting steadily.

Elves weren't used to cold weather. They lived in a realm that was spring year round with mild rainy seasons. Alfheim had never seen snow, according to his biography menu. Which he realized was the reason to blame for his loincloth attire. Not wanting to wait to get warm, Sean snuck his way over to Mark's bed and crawled into the bed with him. Nestling himself against Mark's warm side, he rested his head on his chest and pulled the blanket over them. Mark was clearly resilient to the cold weather for him to be so much warmer than himself. He told himself that when his Energy recovered from the cold that he'd go back to his bed to warm it up himself. He didn't want Mark to wake up thinking he had been scared to be alone. Yet, as he propped his book up to continue to read, he realized that he was scared. What if Mark never woke back up? What would he do? A loud rumble of thunder boomed across the night sky, making Sean jump and drop his book on the other side of Mark.

Sean's glanced at the window, watching rain start to patter the glass. Below people cheered, but Sean's could barely breathe. Turning to snuggle against Mark's side, he half buried himself under the covers to hide his tears. He couldn't tell if he was shaking from the cold or from fear as he whispered against Mark's bare side. "Please, wake up... I need you, Mark. I can't do this alone..." Sean forced his eyes closed, listening to the muffled voices below and hoping against hope that Mark would be ok. To his surprise his body did fall asleep and plagued him with nightmares of Mark not waking. Leaving him alone in this video game of horrors. When something touched his ear, Sean jerked awake with a startled whine. He was too scared to move as he stared into the depths of the blanket he was half hidden under. He could see Mark breathing steadily still and swallowed. Would Mark's body vanish if he died? Was his real body being moved into a hospital or had someone tried to remove the headgear?

A small set of words formed over his tired eyes, reading. 'You suffer from a restless sleep. Energy bar is depleted to half.' Closing his eyes again, he tried not to think about anything. He just wanted to relax and collect his wits enough to figure out what he was going to do. Until something traced along his long ear again. Sean's eyes shot open, and he tensed but didn't move. His ear was just outside the blanket, but he'd felt nothing move in order to touch him. He tried to decide if he should move or not, when Mark's deep voice whispered to him. "Sean...? Is everything ok?" Sean jerked his head up to look at him with fragile eyes. Mark smiled at him, booping his nose with a finger as he asked him sweetly. "Did you miss me?" Nodding, Sean adjusted more onto his side to hug Mark. The relief that filled him was beyond what any words could express. Mark chuckled, hugging him back for a minute or two. Pulling from him, Sean cleared his throat and told him softly. "More players arrived last night. If we want new equipment, we better hurry before they wake up."

Mark nodded, easing to his feet and stretching. Sean watched him flew his fingers and roll his shoulders, then turned away with a light blush on his face. He was embarrassed that he hadn't left Mark's bed but waking up to him had been worth it. Collecting their stuff, Mark headed for the door but stopped briefly to run a thumb over the sparkling freckles that reflected the morning light. Sean thought he'd say something smug or playful about finding him in his bed, but he didn't. He just smiled at him and told him warmly. "Let's check out the market." Heading out into the early morning, Sean watched some players bustling about as they explored the town. While others spoke to N.P.C.s hoping for work or quests. While walking, Sean asked Mark cautiously. "So... Are we going to talk about what happened to you?" Mark stepped around players in his way, honestly telling him. "I think I was moved to a hospital. It was strange... I could hear Amy's voice and a doctor or nurse's voice. Then I just... waited."

Mark flashed him a grin, then added lightly. "I think in that moment I was offline. I think that little dark room I was in... was my mind being suspended in limbo inside the headgear. I recall someone saying they were plugging me back in before I fell and... woke up back in the game. Does that make sense?" Sean slowed his pace as he descended some stone steps into the long market and shop quarter, uttering out distantly. "Ya... That... That sounds right." Mark pulled him closer as N.P.C.s and players bustled around them to look at different stalls of supplies and goods. The entire place smelled of fresh bakery pastries, rich herbal teas, coffee beans, and oiled leathers. The N.P.C.s sold everything from pets, to food, to clothes, to weapons and armor. Some even sold household goods to decorate homes or build things. Sean stopped to pet a random dog that sat by a market stall. The dog wagged its tail and licked his hand, causing him to kneel to pet him longer. By the time he stopped and stood up, Mark handed him a cup of coffee.

Accepting it, Sean sipped the strong coffee and followed Mark to a little tailor shop. Slipping inside, Mark browsed shelves with backpacks. Letting Sean explore the clothing shelves. Taking a set of black cloth pants and a loose tan tunic, Sean made his way behind a curtain to try them on. He couldn't wait to get out of his loincloth. The clothes fit perfectly on him, but he stepped out and asked Mark nervously. "What do you think?" Mark set two bags on the counter, then looked him over before answering nicely. "Looks good. Should keep you warm and... less likely to flash anyone." Mark gave him a wicked grin, causing Sean to look away and mumble out. "The tunic is a slight problem though..." Turning reluctantly, he showed him how his wings were trapped inside it. The young male N.P.C. quickly walked over, touching Sean's back as he regaled aloud. "Yes. I see... Our stock is designed for human wear, I'm afraid... but I can make slight changes that can tide you over if you'd like?"

Without hesitation, Sean told him to do it. The N.P.C. removed scissors from his leather tailor belt, running his hand over Sean's back and cutting the fabric to allow Sean's dragonfly wings to stretch out through the narrow but comfortable holes. Moving his wings around to test the holes, Sean thanked the tailor. Paying the man for his clothes and a leather backpack, Sean waited for Mark to find some clothes. Finding a black short sleeved tunic and a matching pair of pants to wear, they finished paying and headed to the armorer. The old blacksmith happily bought their starter gear, and they browsed his shop for something better. Sean found a light black dragon skin armor that was a type of sleeveless overshirt with leather strap buckles across the back. Loosening the buckles, he pulled the light armor over his head and carefully slipped his wings out around the straps of the open back. As much as he didn't like having his back unprotected, it was the only light armor that he knew he could wear without issue.

He loved how smooth and light the dragon skin felt on him but loved that it could protect him from fire and half the damage of melee attacks. The old blacksmith even fitted him with a matching set of gauntlets and shin guards. Mark slipped on a short-sleeved shirt of chainmail and then a heavy looking set of shoulder armor. The shoulder armor was mostly thick leather with decorated steel attached to the scale like plating that ran from his shoulder to his elbows. The thick leather straps crossing over his chainmail chest to a metal ring in a way that made his pecks look bigger and broader. Mark accepted his own set of gauntlets and shin guards that matched his reddish brown and steel armor look. The old blacksmith then gestured to a case by his counter, telling Mark coolly. "Since you are an Aesir, you can pick a sigil to bare your name." Mark kneeled to look among the case of circular metal buckles with different animals engraved on it. Sean liked the way the dragons looked, but to his fascination, Mark chose the smallest wolf sigil.

The old blacksmith pulled it out, asking softly. "Are you sure you want the wolf-dog to be your crest? I can't imagine a little hybrid sigil like this making much of a name for itself." Nodding, Mark told him confidently. "Ya. It's what I want. I don't need a powerful looking sigil. I'll turn it into one." The blacksmith shrugged then crafted attached the crest to the ring at the center of Mark's chest. Shining it up, the blacksmith chuckled out. "Alright. There you go. You'll be known as the little Wolf-Dog Aesir." Mark grinned, telling the blacksmith curtly. "I can live with that." They collected a set of new weapons and then gathered up the supplies for the boss fight. When they were confident that they had everything they needed, they stopped at a stall to grab a quick bite to eat to get their energy bars up. Sean took the moment to stash magic into his magic slots to store them ahead of time. Allowing him to keep eating to recover his magic faster.

Just as they were getting ready to leave, another guild strolled by them heading toward the location of the first big boss. They called themselves 'The Knights of the Blue Phoenix." Each of them wore white robes with steel armor that had a blue Phoenix with its wings raised high in victorious flight. Under their guild name, their motto read 'We rise, and we fall, only to rise again.' Mark watched them pass, then told Sean softly. "Looks like we might not be going into this fight alone." To Be Continued...