NIGHT

the lantern room here was nothing like the one she’d visited in the zero. there was a proper lens, for one, and a catwalk where there was a door to exit from one of the sides of the building. the glass provided an explicit view of the void that laid before them; the ever hungry sea, maw of the deep, tide after tide lapping hungrily at the surfaces, efforts futile. she checked the distance for shadows. demian, who stood beside her as she spent her time gawking but turned his head upwards, before taking a couple of steps backwards. night only turned to look when he started to read the sente

they were still missing the last number. “we haven’t gone up the stairs at the entrance hall,” night piped up, once they’d verified nothing else could be reaped from the rooms they had ventured into. for each the other had explored separately, so too did their counterpart thereafter — they found a number of knickknacks, tchotchkes and toys. but no puzzles, and certainly less answers. “the last place we look,” he calmly agreed with a nod, before taking the lead on their expedition upwards, just as prior. it was here, then, in that familiarity of their setting that night found it in h

she toiled away at the puzzle, shading in the cells lightly where she thought the shapes were supposed to go. first, she expected an animal. then, a symbol of some kind, one undecipherable. when she was finally done, she showed it to demian to the backdrop of a distant rumble. the man hummed. “that’s what i thought i’d end up with, too.” “how?” said night, withdrawing the sketchbook to look over the puzzle herself. “you hadn’t even marked anything in here.” demian’s dismissive silence was all it took for her to examine the numbers involved. three empty boxes lined the sides

she followed the haunting song tentatively, jumping at the loud thud that ended it, and was only relieved after she found demian sitting on the couch, fixated on a sketchbook. a second pencil was in his hand, tapping at his cheek as he mulled over the puzzle. “i found another one,” night offered, handing him the bundle of newspapers. he glanced up from the past time, passing out the sketchbook towards her. “oh, good.” night tilted her head reflexively. “i was getting stuck on this one. here, you try it.” he took the newspaper, right as night took the seat beside him, t

somewhere in the tower was a study, wall to wall with shelves full of books, in that square room carved out of its circumference. unlike the room demian had temporarily inhabited, this one seemed discerningly tidied, clean; favourable to conditions facilitating focus. that left the upset cup on the table in the center of the room further emphasized in its oddity. night picked it up, setting it upright. then her eyes were led, following the spill stained on the desk towards the newspaper left wrinkled to soak it, a puzzle left unfinished. she ruffled through the papers. found nothing of no

night burst into the room. “hey,” she said, to demian’s apparent chagrin, “can you make anything of this?” she showed him the book. he was only halfway through the hurricane. “all i can tell at a glance is the picture of a camel, and the word ‘cyclops’ misspelled.” demian hummed, shaking his head. he took a glance at her, before his eyes fell to the puzzle. the words he muttered under his breath were nigh inaudible, the roar of the thunder outdoors masking his voice. in swift strokes, he added his findings to the side of the page he was working on — then, he took the book’s

she took the hat in turn. the duo wandered about — they had split up, in search of warmth. night took to the kitchen first, because that’s where she felt the safest, most familiar, despite the ancient memories that haunted her in times prior. her fingers drifted along the surface of its countertops; dust accumulated upon them, staining her skin white, and as the drifting particles were beheld in her gaze, the light from outside poured from the window down onto the pages of a book long lost of a time before their own. cardinal played the dramatic. once she picked up the book, the fire

she stumbled into the lighthouse. her back hit the wall once the interface pulled itself open — a set of instructions. her hand shifted, palm pressing down against an eye, and she shuddered against her heavy clothes, teeth gritted. the thunder outside mirrored the one in her head, and she tossed caution to the wind in accepting that cardinal request — because that was what was expected of her upon her return, either way. better it was out of her sight so she could pull up her inventory and lose the tracksuit. she buried herself in towels — night sunk to the floor, her face down in them, g

quest. | (2/2) WARNING: Within this thread contains spoiler details regarding the Quest 'To Shine A Light'. Viewer Discretion is advised. | NIGHT | Lv. 154 >> P. 120, Lv. 34 | Status: // Notes: // she tried scooping some of the residue into a vial that demian had carried. nothing worked to contain it. they had to carry on. … following bistro’s instructions, they returned to the docks. demian, ever skilled, figured he could sail o

"without any further instruction," night began, looking out towards the city, "i'd just perform my due diligence to a minimum and write down… everything. let her sort through the paperwork.” though she shifted, a little uncomfortable in admitting part of her own sloth, her eyes were set on the buildings they rounded, the boat guiding them through the waters. “i don’t get paid enough to do her work for her, to be honest. if anything, i’m hemorrhaging col. but whatever it takes to get us out of here, i suppose." she glanced over to an, head dipped slightly. "if there's anything you'd like

Skill(s) Being Dropped: Howl Mod(s)/Addon(s)/Shift(s) Being Dropped: Focused Howl SP Incurred Towards Limit: 15 SP Refunded: 15 Cost: 15,000

'just a feeling you get'? was that how it worked? and even all that explanation from andromeda, she still couldn't get it. fine; fuck it. she didn't need to figure it out in that moment. night would've rather stewed on the clarification kat gave instead. because kat could've just left without an apology. what was her motive? it wasn't worth it to go hunting down someone after a fight — a valid strategic move — just so you could apologize to them. that didn't seem to make any sense to night. if catching her off-guard had been katoka's goal, it'd been achieved, with collateral or otherwise.