Gamer Bros! -105-

                                    

                                          

Turns out, Riddle isn't much of a gamer. Who would have guessed. "Riddle, you have to collect the blue and yellow flames!" Ortho shouted as he pointed at the pixelated flames on the large screen before the group. 
The redhead gritted his teeth as he did his best to catch them only to dive headfirst into a rock. Idia, with a hand on the back of his chair, groaned. "You lose life when you hit the rocks! Use the Up button to avoid them!" He ordered the housewarden loudly. 
The male only looked at the controller in his hand with a confused look. "What?! But none of these buttons say "up!" He cried. With his chin laid atop his folded hands, Azul smirked in amusement. "I've not been on land for long, and even I figured that one out, Riddle." He commented slyly.
Vil raised an eyebrow as a new character came onto the screen. "There's a big black dog coming up on the right. Is that an enemy?" The blonde asked curiosity. A large grin broke across Idia's face, his teeth now on full display. "LET'S GOOO! That's the guard dog of the Underworld! It kills on sight! Quick, down to the bottom lane!" He shouted enthusiastically at the freaked out redhead.
A look of pure shock went over Riddle's face as he hyper-focused on the screen in front of him. "Now you want me to go DOWN?!" He screamed in confusion.
Moments after his exclamation, Riddle's character ran straight into the dog which brutally slashed at it. The boat then sunk to the bottom of the haunted river. The words "Game Over" flashed across the screen causing Riddle to shout in frustration. 
Ortho let out a little, saddened whine. "Aww, you lost all your health. Game over." He said sorrowfully. Riddle looked at the controller in his shaking hands with a look of disbelief. "Rgh... I barely did anything at all..." He mumbled to himself.
Clasping his hands together, Idia took a deep breath before pointing his joined hands at Riddle. "BOY, I gotta tell you... I've never met ANYONE who didn't know what the Up button was!" He suddenly deadpanned, "Then again, seeing as I have no friends, this is the first time I've gamed IRL with anyone other than Ortho." The fire haired boy admitted with a nonchalant shrug.
A sparkle of smug joy glimmered in Azul's eyes as he looked at the grieving redhead. "Heh heh heh... So there IS something you're bad at, Riddle." He teased happily. 
"You're using the wrong word," Riddle snapped back quickly, "I'm not "bad" at games. I'm inexperienced! How about you try, since you're so smug about it?" The male defended hastily while waving the controller around, the other housewardens (plus Jamil) looking on in amusement.
With a shrug, Azul held out his hand. "Very well. Hand over the controller." He requested as Riddle smacked it into his palm. Resetting the game, Ortho prepared for the next round. "Same difficulty, right? Okay, here goes!" He cheered as the character began moving through the river.
This time, however, the character drifted smoothly through the water of souls, dodging every rock and picking up almost every flame. Azul was smug and calm, the housewardens (plus Jamil) entertained, and Riddle in absolute disbelief. Vil glanced over at the Heartslabyul housewarden with a smirk. "My. The ferryman is actually moving to avoid the rocks this time." He drew out tauntingly.
Riddle's face lit up, but Idia spoke up before he could. "Hey, you're pretty good for a first-timer." He complimented the silver haired boy as his eyes stayed trained on the screen. "It's my first time playing this, but Floyd owns several terrestrial game consoles," Azul explained, "So I've dabbled a bit. Plus, Riddle was kind enough to go first and provide an EXCELLENT tutorial." He finished with a proud smirk. Riddle's eye twitched. "Grk! Rrrgh..."
A few minutes later, the screen flashed in bright letters 'Game Complete.' Ortho congratulated him with a series of joyful claps. "Azul Ashengrotto, you've cleared stage one without taking any damage! Congratulations!" He exclaimed with a closed eye smile.