NIGHT

admittedly, her attendance was delayed. but nyanko's memory (see, she knew he was the most efficient of their unit) meant that pending orders would not go unforgotten, and with a nip of her sleeve as she passed by the counter, night knew she had to get to work as soon as possible. the name was unfamiliar, and the presence of a shard implied a player who knew what they were doing, or at least had gotten used to the newer system. a quick modification of one of her older pin templates, and it was ready for a paper wrapping and collection notice. @Rencesvals Lark & Nightin

thread closing. [total] + 15120 xp | (840 * 15 * 1) * 1.2 + 78368 col | (xp * 0.15) + 76100 + 18 materials + combat loot.

r10 artisan | x14 daily crafting attempts | cd tool Lark & Nightingale Pin | [#208036] | TIER 1 TRINKET | ACC III, EVA [desc.]: Twin birds circling one another in a Yin and Yang pattern, one in platinum and the other black tungsten, each in profile and set with a tiny amber eye. Both figures clearly hold special meaning to the individual who commissioned the work. costs: x1 shards | [paid.]

a slight itch more, and she would have the other elemental. so this time, night made sure to pay attention, lest she waste the absorbed gold sliver of energy she'd gotten from her companion earlier. in the rush past hirru, night made sure to lead the elemental's club swing away from her party member; it was the least she could do in trying to play tank. a quick round about the field and getting close enough to the wood's range meant night had to dive right in after the bait to take advantage of the spirit standing still, and the player launched an old-fashioned straight to bounce herself

night's gaze remained on hirru, head turning from over her shoulder as he walked past her, until she could no longer keep her sights on his figure. she stayed quiet the entire time. then, loosening her fold, she followed after him, along the same path with steps just as silent; if her friend was thinking, she wasn't planning to interrupt it. "another tale about the twenty-third"; she knew enough from their conversation last, when they were travelling through the isles on the twenty-second to reach the outskirts of that floor's labyrinth. and night considered again, how her

day eventually picked up her player with an extended palm towards her, and a tight, forceful pull of the downed fighter upwards. and night got an earful, a sensual whisper; “see? i told you i would do it,” enough to make the player recoil. then, and only then, did night find enough in herself to stick her tongue out with an unintentional grin. day but laughed, and the two slowly made their way across the room, if only to pick up nyanko from the chest, which was very well, and very certainly empty. the familiar would know. he was the most efficient member of the trio, after all. night

hence, she was dropped upon by the guardian from the ceiling, the bite a single target strike that was not meant for her, but the weight of a statue pushed her onto the ground. it made sure that she wasn’t able to retaliate, nor prevent the next attack from her other from landing. not that she could have done much anyway, night realized, as she observed the construct round the player’s position and jump up into the air, angling her spear downwards, tip pointed towards the dog. with a rush and a spark of energy similar to that of an art, day finished off the threat with a final dive as her blow

so night made the playing field even just the same, piercing the corner of its jaw with adjudicator, enough to spike its health bar into an unfortunate looking orange, and invite its strategy from ankle-biter to getting the zoomies with enough energy to physically bounce around the room – a feat for a dog as big as its size. night kept an eye out, trying to track its form, and despite her well-meaning intentions to ensure she didn’t just get out of the boss fight scott free, it was her mirror image that was the bait of the canine, and the one it dove towards just as night inched closer to her

“‘cause i’ve decided. you’re not getting this one from me, this time.” day retreated before night could push the entity off of herself, and the player pulled her sword back up from the ground, too, as she surveyed the field once again. the box nyanko was peeking out of was now shoved into a corner of the room, just as the dog brushed through the room’s center with a hurried war path. the player’s challenger was already starting to wind up another attack against the hound that now stood no chance, and night dove back into the fray, uncertain if she should feel comfortable or threatened tha

“well, you seem to be doing quite well for yourself, aren’t you?” and as day struggled to regain her vision, night was prepared to intercept the oncoming beast, watching it bounce from wall to wall, front feet planted on the space above the room’s entrance, before hind feet switched to it. then the guardian extended itself, pouncing upon the mess of two labyrinth adventurers – only one of which had their steel out for an attack in his launch. night opened with a cleave, enough to shred out another inch of the boss’ massive health bar, and surely she would’ve lead that strike into a

she growled as she held on, sticking a rumbling adjudicator into the guardian in the hopes that she could draw its attention. she couldn’t. “that’s just what we get,” night yelled back, the wind from her ride’s violent leaps starting to pick up in volume, as its speed in the chase increased. “a player and their entity companion – hah! even showing up here alone is a difficult story for anyone in aincrad to believe. those are the rules we set for ourselves in stepping in here, a pair, alone!” all the player had to do was hang on and bide her time. the guardian was fast, but it would never

“i figured you’d protest if i went off hunting on my own,” day returned, eyes upon the guardian, just as night darted in to try and capture the opportunity of her opening. the brief thought of the entity, cheating, crossed her mind. night grew sour just a little, as the hound turned to snap back at the gemini, in time for her strike to connect against stone, and the damage from her own attack to apply just the same, though not of a scale to her secondary’s wondrous show. “but you must understand; we’d be fighting two of them in the same room right now if i hadn’t done so.” night grunted,

the whip of a flash of light illuminated her face again, just in time for the imperial guardian to dive towards night, and the player to leap out of the way, in a similar vein to the entity’s own launch from their position without a wind-up. cheating, night could imagine herself saying, but in her fluster from evasion (it didn’t matter anyway, she got nicked before she realized) all she could find herself barking back is, “what are you doing?!” and day barely had time to shoot her a grin, in landing her attack. “getting one back from you, obviously.” her spear landed into the side of

then, and only then, did she turn around with her sword brandished in hand. the ground ahead of her was growing with shadow, and so too did her vision start to be filled with the form of a giant, jade dog. up close, she could feel how despite the hunter looking rather inanimate, it heaved and huffed like a realistic beast. its form towering over her own was intimidating, despite her past experiences with creatures of similar sizes, and the player felt herself taking a few steps back as it struggled to even look downwards, gaze unable to meet her own due to an oversized snout. so, to

so she kneeled before the chest, and nyanko squirmed to be let out. night let him down gently, watching him reach out towards the chest’s lid and chuckling, before reaching for the cover lid herself. it was tough, and heavy, but it opened with two hands on its surface and a forceful push. it was big enough for the kitten to need to take two steps back before jumping in. a good thing that he did, too. because the moment night peered in, realizing there was nothing inside it, so too did she realize that the air around them had started to grow warm. and her instincts came alive once again, b

they had made it far without day, and they could continue onwards without her presence, if it ever came to that. so night tucked him into a cloak pocket, and he stuck his head out, just like old days. even the finger-rub upon his head was supposed to be an indication that she remembered, and so too did nyanko purr in return, only stopping and batting outwards on her clothing if only to gesture for her to move on. and night took the signal, keeping an eye out down the other corridors, just as they found the biggest hall of all. it was built completely from marble tiles, with streaks o

what was the last card drawn, again? night realized she hadn’t exactly been manually fishing out cards herself, but when she checked the box of her consumable, stuffed away in her pockets, half of the deck was already missing. the last draw she’d gotten was a hanged man, and that did nothing to put her nerves at rest. amidst an empty-looking dungeon layout, how else was she supposed to feel safe and comforted, especially without her traveling companion’s presence? it was at this moment that nyanko mewed, brushing up against her legs as she stopped for a brief moment. they were in a corrid

another few minutes and the chest was unlocked – though nyanko was the goods’ first inspector, rather than night, with the way he bound up his owner’s clothes and stuck his head into the box himself. “hey! don’t do that, what if it closes on you…?” the kitten’s tail waved back and forth, as night held the lid open for him with one hand. his visage reappeared with a small kibble in his maw, and the familiar hopped downwards, allowing night to scoop up the last remaining item: a suspicious looking piece of cake. she wasn’t even sure she was going to identify it. night was certain

the whole plan seemed to be ludicrous, but it took the span of night turning to an unamused nyanko, the player attempting to protest her secondary’s vanishment, for the gemini to actually vanish from the spot where night knew she once stood. her argument died down, then, knowing that her familiar wasn’t so much a conversationalist of good banter, and with a sigh, she turned back to the chest, starting to thumb the combination lock on its front. and there were three numbers, each etched with a certain jewel above their corresponding digit… … but night wasn’t exactly the sharpest person, an

no, it seemed as though cardinal believed that night could figure this puzzle out herself. and the player rolled her eyes, upon acknowledgement of day’s intention to busy her, so she approached the podium the very moment that her doppel pulled away from it. and that made night pause, too, instead. “what? …where are you going.” “oh, nothing!” day lied, and night tried her best not to wince at her failed intentions. “i just simply figured it would be best to give you as much space as you needed to figure out how to solve this puzzle, that’s all.” “oh,” night returne

day leaned against the central object in the room: a rounded podium, almost like an item stand, holding up a small white chest, gilded with gold and a combination lock. with two fingers, she knocked upon its surface, giving her original a toying look. “i bet you can’t figure this puzzle out,” she purred. which night took great offense to, because it was true at first glance, and furthermore was she more concerned about the threat that had been tailing them ever since the end of their first fight in the dungeon. hell, it was difficult for night to even say if it was the same one witho

it was in the next room that there was just a hint more to look at, from the growing crystals emerging out of heated walls, to the way that the thin streams of water formed layers of circles under foot had they ventured in proper. but night paid more attention towards their past, the threat they had just escaped from. and she could have sworn day whispered a, “not to worry,” to her, just as they ventured into the room. the player didn’t need to keep an eye nor her ears out for its presence. the guardian they’d seen earlier was sniffing about, and she could feel its weight impacting t

nothing but loot. and night recovered quickly from the surprise at the reward, looking over to the room’s entrance to make sure day was still in her vision. she was. except the way day was standing still, almost surprised with her head over her shoulder made night wary – not only about the fear of the entity (when did she ever get so scared?) but also about the way she lifted a finger towards her lips. nyanko, claws into night’s cloak, finally decided to pounce off the player, allowing her to rise after retrieving the spoils of their find. two signals: the kitten’s glance b

“ah, geez…!” night let go of day’s wrist at some point, after the construct had managed to unhood herself, two hands needed for them to tidy up their hairstyle. and the player, dedicated, was trying her best not to let nyanko go astray, keeping him in her sights just as he beckoned them round a corner at a crossroads, his skittering steps stopping once night had caught up to where he’d been. in the corner of a small room was a treasure chest, so the player got to working on that quickly. there was a brief moment, then, that the crossroads were clear, except with t

“what’re you showing me up for, night? wanting a rematch on monster clearance speeds already?” the player huffed instead, pulling the pointer at her neck away. night was trying to suppress being cheeky – she’d almost decided to stick her tongue out. rather, she instead reached out behind day, getting close for a second, right after she’d spotted nyanko’s green eyes glinting in the dark. “...it’s not that–” as day leaned in, turning her head, night grabbed hold of the hood of her other’s cloak – “– i just figured it was more efficient this way.”