United by the Game: Chapter 2

       Serge had been right about going into the mountains to level up, Midori had gone from level 1 to level 30 in a matter of minutes. Midori never thought someone would be kind enough to help her gain levels so quickly. "So where do I go from here?" Midori asked him as they were walking their characters out of the mountain area and back to the town.
       "Well, no I suppose you go off on your own. Oh wait, I should show you the actions you can do with other people and NPC's." Serge said and walked up to her character.
       She saw little round bubble like options that she could choose from. They had different icons to represent different actions that you could do with that player: High five, hug, dance, slap, tease, joke, and battle. Midori picked the high five one and her and Serge’s avatars high fived each other. She smiled, "Wow! I didn't know you could do that!"
       "Now you do." Serge said and it sounded like he was smiling too. "I'll see you around then!"
       His character started to leave when Midori thought of something. "Oh wait!" She said and ran up to him.
       "Hmm?" He asked and turned his character to hers.
       Midori picked an icon and the two players hugged. "That's to show my thanks for helping me today. I would have done that in real life too, so thank you Serge."
       "Uh..." Serge said quietly into his microphone and chuckled nervously. "You're welcome Midori. I have to get going...there's a quest I have to do. See you around." He said and his character took off.
       In the real world, Midori frowned. She had hoped to go on an awesome adventure with him, but she was sure that she would see him in game again. After all, he was her first friend on this game and console. While they were in the cave they had exchanged friend requests on their consoles so that they would know when each other was online so they could chat or play together.
       After an hour of playing, Midori sighed and switched off her Armadon and stretched. While yes, she was excited about playing her brand spanking new game, she had work as well. A summer job to keep her and her little brother on their feet. She was sixteen, and three months away from turning seventeen. Her little brother looked almost exactly like her with white fur and a blond streak going down his back. The only difference was that the stripe stopped at his tail and he had a little spot over his right eye. His ears were all white as well, unlike his sister's which had blond at the tips. His eyes were the same midnight green as his older sister's.
       While Midori was shutting down her game, he came into her room and poked her head. "Sissy, what's for lunch?" He asked in his adorable six year old voice.
       "Whatever you want, Gadge. We could go out or I can cook."
       "Can you cook? I love your food!"
       Midori giggled. "Alright, shall I make us some tacos?"
       "Make the special meat with it!" He said excitedly.
       "Of course!" She said and patted his head.

       Serge had been playing his game for a few hours now and decided he should take a break and get something to eat. He couldn't stop thinking about Midori. She was the first person he had talked to so honestly online. Normally he was shy around other people, even his own kind. Although, there weren't many like him.
       Serge looked close to his avatar, only, he had dragon wings and spines growing out of his back, horns growing out of his head, and a snake like tongue. He was a mutt, as the other anthro animals called it; a cross breed; half blood, more like tri-blood. He had wolf, tiger and dragon all mixed into him.  Serge had been discriminated against his whole life for being a tri-blood.  As a child, kids teased him for his wings and horns.  
       The problem lied in the fact that pure-blood dragons were a rare find nowadays. They were left behind as other species evolved and many believed dragons were extinct. Because of his partial dragon's blood, Serge was teased for being somehow a lower life-form. This led Serge to be a recluse in life, keeping to himself and spending his free time playing video games or watching anime.  
       Serge was a runt due to the way his genetics mixed. While dragons and tigers were normally quite large creatures, the wolf genes in him kept him from growing as large as other mixed bloods, as wolves were smaller than the other two by nature. This led to Serge being quite angry with his parents, who mixed their bloods and failed to see the consequences. His father was a half-blood tiger dragon, while his mother was a pure-blood wolf.  
       Due to the other children teasing Serge about how he would never be a great creature simply of how he was born, Serge often lashed out at the kids in a violent manner, leaving them bloodied up and in a mess after he was done with them. After all, Serge had the blood of three vicious creatures within him, mauling was pure instinct. What set Serge apart from others however was that he would never let his actions go to the extreme. Serge would never kill another living person, no matter what.  
Serge went into the small kitchen of his apartment and began to cook some ramen for himself. His apartment was quite small altogether, having only a small bedroom that Serge had turned into his gaming area, a living room that also housed the kitchen where his roommate lived, and a bathroom. His life was simple and quiet, but Serge was empty on the inside. He lacked very many friends as all the ones he had managed to make in school had all gone off to college or to professional careers.
       Meanwhile, Serge was stuck in a job that worked him like a dog and paid him almost nothing. He worked in a grocery store in the dairy department for a mere $12 an hour. While it was enough to pay his half of the rent, keep him fed, and pay for whatever Serge felt like buying at the time, it was hardly worth it. Considering he had no other way of paying rent though, Serge was stuck with what he had.
       Serge's roommate was named Zorah. Zorah was a pure-blood Wolf who had strength that rivaled even the biggest and strongest of creatures. Zorah came from a family of Alphas that prided themselves on their unnatural strength. While most pure-bloods would shudder at the thought of being near a tri-blood, Zorah was a very easy going wolf who accepted everyone for who they were and was glad to help Serge out by giving him a place to crash for a decent price.  
       Zorah worked in construction as it was a great way for him to use his strength.  Zorah made more than enough money to support himself and could probably pay for all of Serge's expenses if he really wanted to. Serge would never hear of that though, as it would feel to him as if he were somehow less of a person.  Zorah wasn't much of a gamer at all and spent most of his free time working out, but he would occasionally sit down with Serge and play a few rounds just to keep the friendship strong.
       Zorah and Serge met when Serge was a freshman in high school and Zorah was a junior. They met on the first day of the year when a group of five upperclassmen were picking on Serge for being a tri-blood. While most of the people at the school knew Zorah could turn pretty much anyone into a pretzel, this particular group didn't. Serge was about to throw the first punch but Zorah stepped.
       "Hey, I don't really appreciate jerks like you picking on someone for something they can't control," Zorah said. "Now you can either get lost now or I'll make you get lost."
       The group of bullies didn't understand what they had gotten themselves into though, and they fought back. Zorah sent five people to the hospital that day and had made a lifelong friend out of Serge. From that day on, Zorah taught Serge new ways to fight and how to avoid getting in trouble for throwing the first punch in a fight. Which of course was an important skill when you are worried about getting expelled for fighting.  
       Zorah wasn't home at the moment so Serge was left to his thoughts as his food cooked. I wonder what Midori really thinks of me. I mean, she hugged me and said she would've done it in real life, but what do I know about girls? Nothing, that's what!
       Being a tri-blood, Serge didn't have many friends to begin with, so the thought of him securing a girlfriend in reality was about as likely as an alien invasion. He had sort of dated a few girls in high school because Zorah had been friends with them prior, but Serge had never been great with girls on his own.
       I bet if I told her about what I am, Midori would never want to talk to me again. I realize not every pure-blood on the planet is biased, but most certainly are. So what's to think she wouldn't be? I mean sure, my character avatar looked just like me, but she probably wasn't paying that close attention to it. Maybe I'll just tell her. She was pretty direct with me about wondering if I was a typical internet loser looking for nude pics. Well I guess I AM an internet loser, but at least I'm not playing online for the sake of trolling and looking for girls to harass. Okay, next time I play with her, I'll tell her that I'm a tri-blood. I just hope she won't hate me for it.
       Serge's ramen had finished cooking, so he took it back into his room and turned on the tv. He continued to think of Midori as he ate.  

       The rest of the day, Midori spent time with Gadge, playing with him, telling him stories she would make up on the spot. Gage loved how she told stories and would always ask her to tell them to him. Now they sat on the couch together, watching a movie. "Hey, Sissy...?" Gadge suddenly asked.
       "What is it, Gadge?" She asked and looked at her little brother.
       "Why are our tails so big? Momma didn't have a big tail. No one else has tails like us. Why do we have them?"
       Midori was silent for a moment and then sighed. "Do you remember the story I told you, awhile back. The one you said was your favorite?"
       Gadge nodded. "Well, remember how in that story, the cat could make anything appear out of thin air? And how his tail was as big as him?"
       Gadge nodded again and listened to his sister eagerly awaiting her answer. Suddenly her hand started to glow, and a little rock appeared in her hand. "That's exactly the power we have. We can turn air into anything we want! The magic makes our tails as big as us for some reason. Momma didn't have a big tail because the magic skips a generation. Our grandfather had a long tail like us."
       "Papu was a cat! Was he the cat in the story you told me?"
       Midori nodded. "You're smart for figuring that out." She said and patted his head.
       "Can you teach me how to use my magic?"
       "I will tomorrow, Gadge. Right now, it's bed time."
       "But I'm not tired!" Gadge whined.
       "Ah ah ah, no buts! Or I won't tell you a bedtime story! I have something planned for us tomorrow, so you'll need your rest." Midori said and he took off to get ready for bed.
       When he was finally asleep after three stories, Midori booted up the Armadon and started playing Heroica again. She went on a few quests and started to wander around the map and explore. The game had great graphics, and she enjoyed every minute of the game time she had. After about an hour of playing she shut down the console, feeling tired. She changed her clothes and crawled into her bed. Serge popped into her mind and she sighed softly. I will meet him again in the game...I'm sure of it....maybe it's finally safe enough that I could meet him in person...but...no. I don't think he would be one of them... She sighed again and hugged her pillow. I'll have to tell Gadge eventually of all the dangers we face...I just hope he won't ask about my scars...
       Midori's face was littered with scars. The most noticeable one was one that ran down from her right eyebrow, across her muzzle, and down to her left cheek bone. There were other smaller, fainter scars where her white fur refused to grow back. A big hole was in her right ear where a bullet had been shot through and said bullet has now embedded itself into her right palm. When ever she goes out into public, she always wears a mask that covers her hideous features; at least what she thinks is hideous. She always has a gauze wrap on her hand to hide the bullet that was clear as day under the skin of her palm. The mask was the only thing she took off when she was at home. That precious mask was laying on her bedside table, ready for her to put on for tomorrow's events.