[ti]private[/ti]001: Bedtime Stories

The first order of business was to get some goddamn shoes. Walking everywhere immediately proved itself to be a chore, and he couldn't quite fathom how the game was able to restrict him from running any faster from...whatever this pace was. It didn't even feel like he could jog! Kallisto was certainly not having it after having to trudge his way to the starting settlement, but he resolved he was going to complete these tutorials as fast as possible so he could finally start exploring more properly.

He made sure to follow the mini map, and thankfully he didn't get lost. He supposed one silver lining to this whole speed limitation was that the penguin he was given could follow him with ease. He had been prompted to give him a name, but he hadn't thought of one yet. Maybe one would come soon, or maybe he should just think of the first thing that comes to mind. At least the little one seemed very happy with himself...with walking?

❝Having fun?❞

<Oh, yes! I like walking!> the penguin replied while waving his flippers. <Better than being cooped up in the Poke Ball, I think. I also like battling. Are we going to battle soon?>

❝We'll finish some things the system wants us to do before that.❞

The penguin pouted. <But battling's the best part...>

Ignoring the whining, Kallisto breathed a sigh of relief when he finally saw the house marked on the mini map come into view. What he didn't expect, however, was that there would be someone else waiting there. A player? Yes, by the look of the username floating above his head. ❝Here for the shoes as well?❞

Kallisto's annoyance had made him momentarily forget that he was supposed to be roleplaying, but he hadn't picked up needing to adjust until Mom came in the picture with a smell that reminded him of a bakery. So, it looked like any two players that would be paired up for this tutorial would be treated as 'family friends'. He supposed that made sense, since if he recalled correctly, a backstory would be concocted based on how they interacted with the NPC. It was a moment to test how ingenuous the AI was of the game, and so he decided he needed to put his best foot forward. For the QA part of his role, of course.

Based on how she was speaking, it seemed like this was to be Kallisto's Mom, with Fairytale 's parent somewhere else, nonexistent.

Second order of business, deny what Mom was saying to see how the AI would react. The trainer would walk into the house but not take a seat on the dining table. Instead, he remained standing and crossed his arms before shaking his head, ❝Mother, you know as well as I do that I do not indulge in sweets.❞ he had no intention of wanting to eat things in virtual reality, anyway, though he supposed he would need to cross that threshold to test how things tasted. ❝And how did you know of my arrival? It took me many years to be rid of my prison, one of which that you...❞ he let his voice trail off, wondering if the game would use this information and fill in the gaps.

<Know what? I wanna know!>

He forgot the penguin's existence momentarily and covered his face with his hand, exasperated. ❝Patience, Aegis.❞

<Aww, wait, is that my name? You named me, wow! I'm Aegis! Hello!> he was about to clamber to the table to greet the other player before Kallisto returned him to his Poke Ball. He would talk to him later. For now, Mom was still silent, with a terse expression on her face. It seemed like the game was still calculating.

❝Oh my...you have such a cute Pokemon!❞ she managed to say, ❝Won't you let it out to play for a while longer? I have sweets for Pokemon too!❞

❝You haven't answered the question.❞

❝O-oh...❞

Kallisto narrowed his eyes. Was that a stutter or the faintest sound of an audio distortion? Was he imagining things?

And then Mom smiled again. ❝It was my mistake, I made the sweets, thinking you were Fairytale 's elder brother. Oh, you two were so close back when you were kids, especially when their brother started to get busier and busier with their work...❞

Kallisto found it interesting that the other player quickly knew what he was doing and was also joining along. His appearance did not mean that he was naive, at least, but a person could easily change their appearance in his game; he needed to remind himself of that constantly. He hadn't expected though to refer to the NPC as Mom either, unless it was really meant to act as a mother figure even with two players. It would've been easier for it to just assume that they were related, but since the backstory already established that they weren't, well, it seemed it was generating some conflict.

He observed as the NPC thought. Kallisto thought he heard a crackle. This was...too easy, and not in a way that made him excited. In fact, it concerned him that what appeared to be a bug can be so easily generated, on the first tutorial quest as well, of all things. Or was this one of those 'features' that he was informed about?

While he didn't physically recoil, the man couldn't help but twitch his mouth when he saw the distortion. He glanced at the other player, only for them to look rather smug. Was it his turn to push its buttons? Was this like a turn-based battle to see who could glitch out the NPC first?

He kind of wanted the shoes, but...hm...he supposed that fostering connections with other players had greater value.

Alright, I did start this game.

He glanced at the cream on top of a cake that sat on the table. Without warning, he scooped up some in his gloved hand (gross, washing it later), and faced Mom.

❝Father would like you to have this.❞

And then he chucked the large dollop of cream at her face.

It was because he couldn't think of anything else to say. And the distorted face bugged him. Better a face full of frosting than a mouth or eye misaligned. He hadn't intended it to be funny, but the other player beside him snorted anyway. Well, it was an incredulous situation, and sometimes he forgot he was wearing Alexander's skin. Was this the action of Remmiel or of Kallisto? Hmmm. He still needed to better calibrate himself to what he imagined he would be like.

Oh but, weirdly enough, the action seemed to cause a graphic bug with one of the decorative trees. He had no idea how that was related, but maybe it was Mom's wrath being inflicted on the poor thing. No matter, the bonsai soon corrected itself and it was back to being a regular old tree, no inner radiation present. ❝I did think hard about what to do next.❞ he replied, even if he knew the question to be rhetorical (and also that he didn't really think hard at all).

With his free hand he pulled off the glove inside out so that the cream was kept isolated. He wondered if he could use the sink in the house to wash it, though it seemed odd to overstay his welcome. Looked like Mom had fixed herself too. The backstory seemed to end up as: my children are fucking gremlins.

Good enough. The bugs receded as quickly as they came, and they were still able to complete the tutorial. Mission accomplished? At least someone was having fun here, Kallisto thought, though he couldn't deny that hurling a dollop of cream like a child felt exhilarating in its own way. And the action spurred camaraderie, which was the other goal he had in mind for today. ❝New, and we seem to be...siblings turned estranged. I suppose that makes you my step-sibling.❞ he couldn't figure out their gender at first glance, so gender neutral it was.

He had no idea what Fairytale was referring to though. He hadn't looked that far into the game. ❝A raid sounds interesting, I hope to be able to participate once I am better equipped.❞ he glanced at his shoeless feet. ❝Truth be told, I was expecting something along the lines of NPCs clipping rather than distorted audio. Feels too intentional.❞ maybe Pokemon was finally taking its first steps into horror, which would be pretty novel.

Kallisto heard the heavy footsteps of Mom returning, but what he didn't expect were a pair of boots to be flung at his face. The boots he customized at the start of the game! He thought, before slumping a little from the pain of having literal shoes thrown at him. Right, realistic pain setting. In the UI, it looked like he sustained no damage since this wasn't a battle, but ouch. Fairytale's, on the other hand, were thrown at their feet.

❝Get out before I make you.❞

So much for kind and thoughtful Mom.