Subject: forgetful nights, open 296 views

[löwe]

He wore a twisted, almost sadistic smile as he stared at the climb. There was only one rope bridge to the very top. The rest were were simply footholds, decorated with spines of sharp crystal. This was no beginner area even if there were no digimon to attack. The sheer cold, even without the howling wind, was enough to turn people away.

No one else around wanted to try it. The last had fallen hours ago, sent back to the inn before they could even feel the pain of landing. It perked his curiosity. The feel of falling without the consequences of hitting the ground.

He could already tell the look that program of his had. Disapproval. He wanted to laugh. Bakumon was too weak to stop him.

He tied the rope around his waist, tugging on it lightly once he was done. It was snug. The way he had set it up, it would sooner snap him in half than serve as a safety line. He noted this silently before moving on. A true harness would be something they could develop later, as with more rope. He was hardly the first person to try this stunt and certainly not the last.

"Löwe, I highly suggest that you don't -"

"Don't what?" Bakumon instantly fell quiet at their tamer's rare show of anger. "I'm doing my job. The features of this game include this."

The two were distant, talking in semi-hushed tones to avoid those who were staring and the others who had decided to climb without the rope. His digivice was still blue.

"There are others here," the programmer continued.

"But they are not you."

The twisted smile never left, only grew at their words, "so they aren't."

He began to climb.

[rook]

The cold was a little suffocating in the way it made Rook want to avoid breathing. Every breath she drew stung her lungs and her eyes had already begun to water- that was an entirely different and still extremely unpleasant experience. "You think the programmers would have toned down the chill a bit," the woman grumbled with a few blinks.

"I'm afraid I can't hear you over the wind, do speak up, Rook!" her partner shouted back, quite obviously in a bitter mood. It was rare the PawnChessmon was anything but polite to Rook, even when it was offering criticism or the like.

Eyeing the Digimon wryly, Rook smirked and said, "Excuse me, I didn't realize you Digivolved into Grumpmon when we hit bad weather. Suck it up buddy, cause I'm managing and my lungs feel ready to give out."

"I can understand why others would find you unpleasant," PawnChessmon bristled, jabbing it's little lance at a nearby rock.

"For your information, it's unapproachable that they find me and it's often because I'm so... Oh I'm not sure how to describe it. At any rate let's just keep going. Maybe we can find out way out of..." the woman trailed off a bit as her eye caught sight of someone. "Well son of a bitch, come on Pawn." Rook picked up her pace a little in an attempt to get somewhat close to the figure that had teased her eyes. As she drew nearer she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

This kid, she couldn't understand him for a second.

"You got a digi-death wish or something?" Rook asked once she was close enough for Löwe to hear. With a hand placed on her hip she continued, "How about you get the hell off that little death trap and we have a chat, I haven't seen you in a while! Or if you're in a stubborn type of mood maybe I can help you down, get my drift?"

[löwe]

He didn't even have to turn around to know who was speaking to him. Bakumon, that brave soul, was hovering nearby. The cloud carrying them offered levitation (simply not for their trainer). There was almost a triumphant look on their tapir like features as they looked down to the pawnchessmon and human pair. Löwe hissed to himself as he stumbled on a foothold, almost sliding down if it wasn't for his hand grips.

If I slip, it's your fault, he wanted to say. Instead, what he said was, "it's kind of hard to get down." He said shakily. His stomach felt choked by the tight rope. But, it was alright. He could make it. The programmer had already made it halfway. It was only a bit more.

Bakumon kept him focused on the wall, knowing that the bold attitude he carried was slowly deteriorating. Turning around would have only killed it entirely. "Perhaps we'll meet you at the top, Rook." The digimon offered, deciding to stick to their partner's side for once.

He continued to climb, scanning every hold to check if they were sturdy enough to step on and close enough to grab. The child sized avatar he was given made the search difficult. There were plenty of good ones that would have matched his real life form. "Yeah," he said almost breathlessly, "we'll see you at the top."