WINE RPG

Call and Play

It was raining outside, not heavily, but enough to soak the girl with brown eyes to the bone.

"Damn it," the college student swore, rushing into her apartment. "If I ever trust that stupid weather forecast again!?" She threw her bag aside and started undressing.

Her black jacket, with fur on the sides of the hood, was hung on a hook.

A heavy sigh. The girl sat down next to the shoe rack, leaning her back against the wall. Her grocery bags lay limply on the floor, and the water, which had already formed a dark puddle, was slowly seeping down towards the girl.

"Groceries... I need to put them away, or they'll go bad in the bags," getting up with the disgruntled face of an opossum, the girl headed to the kitchen, sighing like a 70-year-old man who had drunk away his life and blamed everyone else for it.

While putting the groceries away, the girl was distracted by her phone vibrating and the sound of a delayed notification.

<1> Hey, where are you??

<2> You promised to play and you're not coming online((

<3> You made me download this game, now play with us.

Her mood soared to the highest level of happiness when her friends hadn't forgotten about the game and were actively waiting for her to join.

<4> I'll be there in a sec.

<3> A sec has passed, where are you?

After putting the milk in the refrigerator and throwing the wet, dirty bag in the trash, she sat down at her laptop and launched Discord, simultaneously sending a request for a group call.

When the cursor was near the Steam application icon, the brunette jumped at a sudden sound. It was her friend's sneeze, who had just joined the call.

:3:- Sorry if I scared you, — a muffled voice came from the laptop speakers — where's the rest of half of China? Why are only three people in the call, hello?

:4:- Who's the third one? I only hear you.

:5:- It's meeee, my microphone was just off.

:4:- Oooooh, hi.

:5:- Hiiiiiii.

Her heart fluttered, hearing such a familiar and pleasant voice, which sounded so joyful while talking to her.

A sixth person joined, a seventh, an eighth... and the ninth? The ninth... he's no longer with them, he was somewhat toxic to them, so the leader had to remove him from the group, understanding that she would miss him somewhere inside, but it had to be done to maintain comfortable communication.

:6:- Good afternoon, — a quiet voice pulled the girl out of her thoughts, making her heart flutter.

:4:- Hi, sunshine! I'm so glad you joined.

:7:- Wow, Mom's here? We can start the party.

[Mom — this endearing word was given to a dear person in whom everyone in the group sees a parental figure or a replacement for a real mother]

:6:- Hi, my silly ones.

:8:- So, how do I register, I'm dumb.

:4:- Not dumb, don't talk about yourself like that! — the student's voice was quite sad.

:8:- Okay, okay. So, how do I register?

:3:- Through any Google or Steam account. Then you need to choose a class, a name... and accept the request to the team, because this way you not only have a high chance of quickly passing the dungeons, but also such free bonuses.

:8:- Thank you, — the clicking of keys from the call mixed with the clicking from the girl's room.

For a couple of minutes, everyone fell silent, entering their data and carefully choosing their class. And someone decided not to bother and chose at random.

:2:- I'll register myself as Raspberry Tea....no questions asked.

:3:- Now you're 100% Raspberry Tea, — someone's laughter both amused and annoyed Tea.

:Tea:- And how did you register yourself?

:3:- Now, my name is Dreizegerco, like my character.

:1:- And I'm now... Goose, just Goose.

:Tea:- Milana is now... Jaspo. Oops.

:Goose:- JasPO, — the girl on the other side of the screen burst out laughing.

:Dreize:- Like the name of a medicine, Jaspo — cough syrup, haha.

:4:- Actually, the nickname is pronounced as Jasper...

:Tea, Goose, Dreize:-oh, — dead silence.

:Jasper: Well, Jasper is Jasper, what about the others?

:8:- I'm Rhino, I got the idea from K...- the girl stopped — Dreize, from Dreize.

:Dreize:- Couldn't you ask?

:Rhino:- I'm sorry.

:Dreize:- I'm just kidding, what's wrong?

:7:- Mom, I'm a Diver, — this nickname was said very proudly, although the laughter of its owner followed — how do I change it back?

:Goose:- I've already come to terms with it and haven't changed it.

:5:- Nothing came to mind, and I registered myself as Zijo.

:6:- Otrisha, or Risha, it's a prefix of one group.

:Jasper:- You guys have such cool nicknames.

:Tea:- Well, yeah, almost, someone has an animal, someone has a drink, someone has...

:Diver:- Diver, just Diver.

:Jasper:- It's okay, everything's fine, don't worry, although it's strange that you can't change your nickname.

:Zijo:- Are we entering the world?

:Dreize:- Yeeaah, everyone click the "Ready for Adventure" button.

Everyone almost simultaneously brought their cursors to this button, but it pressed itself.

:Rhino:- I didn't manage to click it, and it, you know, pressed itself.

:Goose:- You too? I thought only mine had glitched.

:Zijo:- Guuuys, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE SCREEN?!

On the friends' monitors, there was an unfamiliar creature that smirked, waving its long and fluffy tail. There was no lobby screen, only this strange something.

The call dropped. The players slowly disappeared into space, dissolving into game particles.

A roar. The sun. A field... and a huge inscription in the sky.

[Welcome to the Quiet Forest location!]