Children were remarkably loud when they weren't even trying to be. Mei Mei covered her ears as she waded through her family's living area. All five of her younger sisters were chatting around the table, some of them with their school work strewn about the wooden top. 

She rolled her eyes at Artic's dramatic doodles of a rampaging bunny across the margins of her maths book. Then she ducked to the side to avoid a flying pencil aimed at Knives, the youngest of the lot. In her defense, she probably hadn't deserved a pencil to the face. Probably. 

Mei Mei managed to make it into her own room before the crying and yelling started. She sighed with relief when she shut her door. Her room was small, only eight feet wide and seven feet deep, but it had everything she needed in it: a small bed with far too many pillows on it took up most of the space, and small rocks littered the floor and shelves all around the room. 

Along the back wall, farthest from the door, there was a small, round window. Through the special screen, Mei Mei could watch the beauty of her home planet erupt around them. Venus was the newest colony, of the six currently established, but it was growing quickly. 

Her receiver beeped at her, and she grinned. With a light tap to her ear, she accepted the call from Alex. "Hello, handsome. Am I late?"

He chuckled. "Always. You have a serious problem, M."

"It's only a problem when it causes me inconvenience, obvs."

"Oh? Like that time you were two hours late for your exam and had to come back on a Saturday to retake it?"

Mei grimaced. "You know too much, Alex. I'm gonna have to kill you one of these days."

"Pfft. Try all you like, you brute. I'm too awesome to get taken down by the likes of you."

"Rude."

"But not wrong."

Mei laughed. She couldn't help herself. "I'm logging on here in a minute. Is she on, do you think?" She settled into her bed and shifted some pillows for more back support. 

"I haven't checked yet, but it seems like our newest recruit definitely has a proper job. She hasn't been on all day, so she probably works. That, or you scared her off."

"I hope not. She seems like she could be a great addition to the guild." Mei reached for her helm and attached it firmly around her head. The display lit up as she relaxed. 

"You hardly know her. What makes you so sure?"

"I just have a feeling. That's all."

Alex huffed, but he didn't say anything. He knew that her instincts rarely led her wrong. 

Mei's screen finished loading the newest update, and her vision went white. When her sight cleared, she was standing in her room of the guild house. Mei flexed her virtual muscles, letting the system calibrate and test for a few seconds, and then she took off running. She relished the length of her giantess stride as she took the stairs three at a time.

In the guild common area, at the base of their tower, she saw Alex sitting primly on a barrel. His skirts were deep blue, with a delicate pattern of shining stars woven through the fabric. Mei whistled. "Nice dye, my queen."

Alex grinned and nodded his head. "Well worth the tussle with the ice wyverns. You off to the city, M?"

"Yup. Gonna see if I can get some decent money from my loot haul. Wanna come with?"

Alex shook his head. "I'm meeting Cinder today. Important guild leader stuffs. You go on ahead, and if you're still on when we're done, I'll message you."

Mei saluted him and headed out the door into the blinding city of Rok. The streets were full of players traveling and bartering with the NPC merchants. She joined the flow of foot traffic and admired the graphics as she went. 

When her inventory was emptied, and her purse full of new gold, Mei got a notice that Fallina had logged on. She lowered her head and whispered to her. 'Hey, welcome back! Would you like to meet up for some adventuring?'

It didn't take long for Fallina to message back. 'Yes, please! I'm still in the Town of Beginnings. Should I come to you?'

'Just hang tight. I'll be there soon. Just keep an eye out for me.' Mei lifted her head and sent a party invite to Fallina. If they were going to be out in combat, they should be able to track each other. Just in case.

She turned on her heel and raced off to the closest transporter with a smile on her face. There was nothing quite like teaching the game to someone new. 

Glossary:

NPC - non-player character. Basically anyone that is computer generated and not played by a real person. Most merchants and quest givers in RPGs are NPCs.