NIGHT

(On the contrary. NIGHT was looking at crates. What a nerd.) It was the sound of battle explosions and steel crashing into tough skin that the player turned her head back from the meshes to note their opponent -- finally! Aboard the ship, she could feel the vessel starting to move. Into a whirlpool, no doubt. The player already had enough of travelling through those. She didn't even need to take action to note the drastic dip in health their opponent had within seconds. Was she even necessary to the plan? More importantly, did it matter how essential she was? One skip and a lunge over, the battle frenzy taking over her movements and she plunged Jack's Executioner straight into Hyrm's torso. It wasn't enough to bring it under, not by a long shot. But the chip at its health bar would soon be followed by another tick of venom should their foe appear to last for long. It shouldn't. But there was no telling with system entities and damage numbers these days.

She wondered how soon she would go through her crystals. The results would leave her shocked one morning, midway through preparations for a journey elsewhere, taking only but the best of consumables along for the ride. The slot where she kept her instant incarcerations was empty. NIGHT had been completely tapped out. It was with an earnest stride that she was back at Arabelle's then, with an order much larger and painful for the player to request. A handful of sheets in a clear folder presented on the counter, alongside a number of pouches that appeared with a shudder into reality. "I hope that's enough to cover the cost. I'll be patient once again." @Arabelle

So it was upon her to bring Hel to her knees, then. NIGHT could spend forever on the connotations, but in the moment only one spoke to her with a batter of her steel against the goddess' form. Within seconds the fiend succumbed to the thrall of the void, that final shriek the last of her remnants before Hel's form was shattered, data shards scattering to the wind. And yet-- Despite having slain their foe, a similar likeness of the woman suddenly appeared, resting upon her throne with a smile as serene as day. It was with that last sight that the world was overwhelmed with white. Teleportation? But she hadn't used a crystal. No, it was movement by the systems that had stolen the party away from their positions. In moments the world reclaimed its colour, light giving way to darkness, the chamber of void before them only but containing a snarling warg chained to a pitiable pillar. Wrapped up in velveteen red silk and showcased under what fragments of sunshine poured through the ceiling, it was almost as though Cardinal had decided to gift them a present. That thought brought NIGHT to furrow her brows. It wasn't Christmas yet. Was it?

Which one of them had taken the lead again, earlier on their journey? After the day of trekking, NIGHT would've imagined she still remembered. Yet, with Koga's determination to stay up, the woman merely shrugged and complied, making quick work of her meal before settling in for the evening. And she dreamed of things left unsaid. Come the morning hour, it was the player who'd awoken to the delight of an uninterrupted rest. Had it been any other day in her estate, it would've been welcome, but the lacking covers of her bag meant different circumstances to the drowsy woman. She lifted herself up slowly, upon arm and elbows alike, and a sweeping strained gaze towards the exit indicated the ever vigilant male watching the road outside. Had Okami been awake, NIGHT surely would've met his eyes first as she kept her things in silence, before pacing over to the statue of darkness. A low voice, grainy and perturbed. "You were up the whole time? What happened to second shift?" Fingers sifted through her locks once more as she angled her stance to catch a better look of her companion's state. "Are you gonna be alright when we head into Cerberus'...?"

Thread Summary

[17/11/20] Another day meant another order that was in. Another customer to be served. It was relaxing to take a moment's break away from the ongoings of Aincrad and solely focus on getting a craft done once in a while. The patience and effort that went into etching out the sculpture from a mold brought nothing short of flow for the woman; by the time she was done, only a few minutes had passed. Was it Cardinal's time dilation at work again? Perhaps. Or it was the enhancements it placed upon players during their crafting sessions to inherently speed up their work. With the item boxed and ready to go, the artisan sent word for the piece for pick up, before taking more time off her schedule to crafting more trinkets for the hell of it. If anything, she bet her display needed the stock.

"The former," she admitted, fingers running through the back of her hair. "Enough time out training would hone that for anyone. But even I'm surprised." A raised palm was but to emphasize her point. "I guess it's based off muscle memory, seeing how you haven't lost your instinct for this sort of thing. Or maybe it's your training from time passed...?" It was easy to forget how Yukiro was essentially an intermediate at the game; given the need for proper form, posture and instinct, NIGHT would probably have broken her wrist day one, whereas her friend would still be able to keep going. As she mulled over her memory, the player watched as her companion scooped up a gemstone in white, glittering colours of the rainbows when it was turned around in the man's hand. She but tilted her head at the quartz. "What kind of quest would need these jewels?" Had it not been marked so uniquely so, the artisan might've mistaken it for a material to be used in one of her crafts instead. But at the invitation to trek back, she nodded, pacing along behind Yukiro.

She only turned around to look at the onslaught once Yukiro had boosted off the ground. Between the pair, it was he who seemed to need the exercise more, and yet even after all the time holed away in isolation, the edge hadn't been taken away from his training's prowess. Perhaps this time, the hatchling would know they weren't exactly here to play with it. When NIGHT had a clear shot towards their target's location, all it took was one tug of Tobi from its sheathe to spur her into action. The dragon seemed to stumble -- a pitiable sight had she been moved by its cuteness and size -- but it was virtual and fake and the players had a job to do. So it was with a sunder that the creature shattered into pieces, fragments scattering like dust. The blade in her hand had a heft to it, as she stored her steel back into its hold. "All according to plan," NIGHT returned to her companion, giving Yukiro a smile and a nod.

At the pause in their journey, NIGHT could only stare blankly at Yukiro, just as taken as he had been at the sudden crackle -- that was only underfoot. The edges of her lips curled up into a smirk, as her arms folded once more, waiting for the swordsman to catch up. "I'll see who asks first and think about it later." An unlikely scenario for others to ask about a long-forgotten player. But it was entertaining nonetheless to the woman, had her taller friend started squirming under the pressure. "Were you about to finish your sentence with 'paying for the crazy amount of food you consume every day'?" No further than a few paces forward, and a dash of white crossed NIGHT's vision. Their mark? It looked small enough to be so from the player's estimate. "--You might want to do something about the little lurker nearby though," she commented, attempting to search for the drakeling with a scan across her surroundings. "If I don't tattle, he might."

"No. I'm out. Good bye." With the snap of her fingers, NIGHT's form dithered away from the ether -- but it should've been obvious that her presence was ever still there. As the Naglfar finally docked at the shores of the Stygian, a large boardwalk was extended to them, the bridge granting the players passage towards the dungeon's hold. They scuffled on, one after another; a bit of time would pass before the guardsmen would arrive to greet their newfound passengers. For now, all the party was to stand on was one (1) creepy metal boat. Downright ominous. But NIGHT never had the chance to explore the deck, especially with some fortuitous timing on the system's part, an over eager welcome to the challengers that would face the Naglfar's might. Perhaps it was after the continuous beat downs the mighty had brought that the Jotuns' wills were eaten away bit by bit. Her gaze swept across the dozens of crates stacked upon each other, the crates littered around every nook and cranny. It was surprisingly tidy. The player hummed, pleased with its design.

It was overwhelming, that noise. She'd never known true air space flooded with unnecessary information until the boss raid opened her eyes up to the world of absolute cacophony. In the darkness, she'd barely been able to take note of the poison's effect barely seeping into Orgoth's gash wound; then, all at once, that information was lost to the woman, mind searching the crowd's voices for any worthwhile instruction. She grit her teeth as she attempted to tear at the minotaur again. There had been nothing, and her gut instincts had told her there would be nothing either, NIGHT deciding to tear her ears away from the discord back to the fight. But the volume and the pressure was too much, too fast -- what should've been a connective blow by her practiced movements were now a swipe in misjudgement. The player had faltered, and all she could do was step back before Orgoth's attention was focused back onto her. SUMMARY i missed TT_TT)