Mary meets Alys!

Since roleplaying covered the winter holiday season 2016, it's nice to our wood elf Alys here! Wildfall's in it, too.

 
Resplendent rays of of golden sun shone over the Kingdom's best known village, Seaside Town. The shadows started to grow deep with the sun in the distance, foreshadowing the night sky which would soon blanket the town for the night.

Two familiar figures watched the ship sailing into the distance from the Seaside Town port. Mary Katherine O’Toole gazed out over the placid waters that carried the ship bearing her parents to their new destination and hoped that the trip would go well and then turned back toward the town.

Jarlsboris Wildfall looked over the seas, letting out an old fashioned Ireacan sigh. "Really, Mary," he waxed poetically to himself. "The way the waves bounce, the sound of the wind blowing over the waters, it really does remind me - " he looked over to see her walking off. "Hey, wait for me!!"

Wildfall rushed to catch up with her.

Mary quickly wiped a tear from her eye and turned to Wildfall and said, “This will be a real test for me. This is the first time I have been away from my parents so I really have to do a good job and make them proud of me.”

"You'll do fine," Wildfall reassured her, at a loss for words.

“I know I can count on you for help and your guidance, but I still have so much to learn and it is a little daunting,” said Mary, her voice a little unsteady.

"I.." Wildfall paused. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything. Besides, you're as likely to give bad advice as good, yeah?" asked an elf, who approached with a quick step. With a head of purple hair and dressed in snug earth-tone travelling leathers and green cape, this elf wielded a bow and sword.

"That's true, Alys," Wildfall, eyes still on his old friend Mary. "I didn't expect such wis.. wait a second!" Wildfall looked over as Alys walked up to them quickly. "Didn't expect to see you here, either. Are ya hanging out by Lil Canadia now? Um.. did a giant mutant grape die on your head or something?"

Wildfall tilted his head, taking note of her new hair color.

"Just a little hair dye, don't worry about it. I met with Jen of the Morlencir. I told her my story, but she said she didn't have the equipment on her to check it out. She suggested I help you find Toot Oriole in the meantime. I guess you needed a refresher?" Alys suggested.

Wildfall made a face. "Please. I'm a mentor."

"That seems unlikely. Who is your friend?"

“I am just an old friend of Wildfall. My name is Mary Katherine O’Toole,” said Mary. “Nice to meet a friend of Wildfall's.”

Alys nodded. "Pleased to meet you. You may call me Alys."

Wildfall smiled. "She's an old friend of mine from back in Ireaca. She was just seein' off her family before we head to her place to get everything ready. Her father mentioned something about us needin' to find the Toot. How'd you hear about the missing Toot, elfie? Or just that Jen said you should go see it?"

"She was not specific," Alys said.

Mary chimed in. "Jarlsy, we should probably get back home before it gets too dark."

Wildfall nodded. "Good point."

Alys helpfully suggested, "You could always find a place in Lil' Canadia to stay."

“I understand that, Alys, but Wildfall and I have to keep an eye on my family’s home while my parents are away,” said Mary. ”But thank you for thinking of us and our safety.”

"Alright then," Alys replied. "I have to go look for a place to stay. Have a good evening."

"Sure," Wildfall said with a grin. "They got some nice places up there. Strong beer too. Are you gonna be lookin' for the Toot, too, elfie?"

"Hmm." Alys paused a minute. "Sure. I think I like that sounds of that. Let's see who can find it first! Toot'a-loo. Haha."

With that she turned and skipped off.

------

The walk home was fairly uneventful. I mean, they had to fight off a couple of drunken bums and avoid a bunch of spiders, but that's pretty normal for Seaside Town. They quickly reached the house of Mary's family, holding hands again as they walked up the front porch. Already deep night, the street was near dead quiet, with only the sounds of footfall and whispered conversation as Mary and Wildfall walked towards her family house.

"The big one?" Wildfall asked, unsure if he'd heard her right. "Wow, nice. That is a big house. Looks nice too. Color me impressed, MK."

“Yes this is our home. We wanted a house big enough that Mum and I could have the clinic right here and also have room to put patients that needed constant care till they got better. There are plenty of rooms here to serve all our needs and Mum was talking about offering a room to travelers who needed a place to stay overnight,” said Mary.

"Oh good," Wildfall teased with a sly grin on his face. "So we won't have to share a room."

“No, Jarlsy, you are safe. We each have our own rooms and I won’t attack you.” Mary winked, a big grin on her face.

Wildfall held her hand, looking her in the eyes without saying anything. For a moment, he leaned just a bit closer, and then turned back to the house. "We better get inside. Feels like it might rain any second now."

“Yes,” sighed Mary as she tried to hide her disappointment. “I guess we better go inside.”

She undid a couple of zippers on a hidden pocket, pulling the key out. Fumbling with it as she unlocked the rusty old door. Mary wondered if she was blushing and if it was dark enough to hide any blushing.

With her hands shaking, she turned the knob and opened the door to walk in and suddenly turned to Wildfall and wondered what it would be like to kiss him. She was suddenly aware of feelings she had never experienced before and wanted more than anything to feel his arms around her while the two of them were in a deep kissing embrace. When she found herself picturing him lifting her shirt up, she forced her attention back to the presence, just to be sure she wouldn't lose control and jump him on the spot. She saw him facing down the street, his eyes looking distant. He still had that dopey smile on his face.

Mary reached out for Wildfall and pulled him closer to her with her arms wrapped tightly around. When Wildfall turned his head back to look at Mary, she reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She could almost feel his heart jump when she did. They stood looking at each other never saying a word when suddenly Wildfall took her in his arms and gave her as tender lingering kiss. “Gotta admit, I've been wanting to do that bout since I first saw you again, Mary.” said Wildfall shyly.

After catching her breath, and realizing her fantasy had just come true, she looked up at Wildfall and said, “Me too. I have been dreaming of this moment since I first ran into you."

Wildfall smiled again, playfully asking, "So are ya gonna invite me in?"

Feeling her cheeks redden, she turned to the door and pushed the door open. “Please come in and make yourself at home.”

At that, Wildfall walked thru the door and straight to the couch to sit down. “Mary, will you come sit with me for a while?” he asked.

Mary closed the door and walked over to join Wildfall on the couch. As she sat down beside him, she felt him put his arm around her pulling her closer to him. Without saying a word, she snuggled up against him and let her thoughts wander back to thoughts of their days in Ireaca. She thought about the days when she and Wildfall ran around naked in the forest as did all the Ireacan children at that age. She smiled when she thought of her dream as a little girl of wanting Wildfall to notice her and how she would follow him around just to be near him.

He was definitely noticing her now. Wildfall leaned in to kiss her, then gently leaned down, kissing her neck instead. It was like electricity coursing through her body as she leaned her head back a little, encouraging his kiss. Wildfall continued for a while, happily showing her a few new things, whispering romantic promises to her before eventually realizing he had to slow down. He leaned up to kiss her one last time, firmly and confidently on the lips, unlike the earlier kisses which had been unsure and hesitant.

Even so, Wildfall hesitated after and blushed. "I.. that was.. I guess we should get to sleep so we can get going in the morning huh?"

“Yes, I think you are right, Wildfall, we need to be rested for whatever we have to face tomorrow,” said Mary.

"Where should we," Wildfall started. "Well, where should I crash? Anywhere's good. Couch. Floor."

“There are plenty of bedrooms upstairs and you can pick one for yourself and have your own room. There is everything in them that you need and you should find the bed a lot more comfortable than the floor or couch,” said Mary.

"Alright," Wildfall said with a smile. "Then I'll just grab my bags outta the diner, and make myself at home well.. somewhere."

He leaned in to give her a quick peck on the lips, awkwardly.

Mary touched her lips and stammered, “Um...yeah. What? Oh… yea, take the room next to my room.” Claiming to be sleepy, Mary rushed toward her room but turned to look back and blushed when she looked down and realized her shirt was a little more open than she thought. Thankful that nothing was showing to give Wildfall the wrong impression, she turned and entered her room and closed the door before leaning against it.

Awww, isn't that a sweet, tender moment between Wildfall and Mary at the end? It's also nice to see Mary slowly meeting more player characters from the Kingdom, in addition to NPC's, which we'll also get to see her do. Alys just met Wildfall in the last mission, sharing a few co-writes with him during mafia town, so having her meet Mary in this one seems fitting.

Alys is player Aleena's third player character while Wildfall is my third. Meanwhile, Mary is Bina's first player character in the game. Mary Kate has certainly made quite an impact in her first few missions together! It's really impressive to see.

I also like dropping little references to Seaside Town in the actual KOL game, which AIL is obviously based on, since this started as a game for my KOL clan, the KOKOL, way back when.

The voter said he wanted to see more Alys after this piece, and so do I. Luckily, we'll get more this very mission!