NIGHT

Of course she'd noticed. And the taste of it was... sour. She was wordless when she fell into step with Koga. Her tracksuit was zipped up tight, but what was more unusual for her time on the first were the gloves she kept on. Though, hardly noticeable, once her hands were stuffed full in her pockets. NIGHT looked over to her friend, almost despondent. Searched for words to say, appraising a confession, before looking out towards the fields instead. 'Babysitting'. The sound of steel cracking bone rang in her ear. "Hey," the player started, once they were far enough in

"Oh, you'll make quick work of them. I'm sure." If the player had the gall to say it, perhaps she might've. Instead, silence followed as NIGHT rose from her spot. All she acknowledged was the acceptance of the quest -- from one voice or another -- and shuffled off towards one of the closer entrances of town. Was a "What're you waiting for?" also too much? Her eyes faded over Nari's figure as she turned to the party. Simple, straightforward. Get one quest out before parting ways. There was probably a third one, but they didn't have to clear the lessons in succession. "Hey,"

Thread Summary [Total] NARI-LANRETH 8,070xp | (2690 * 3) 1,200col NIGHT 29,590xp | (2690 * 11)

"NIGHT?" like an echo in horror. the voice only seemed to grow louder. she'd always thought about jumping through the window to escape. she'd lived on the [ ]th floor, and thought herself invincible. at least, in that case, the wounds wouldn't be aggregious. not like the ones from [ ]. but she lived on the [ ]th floor, and such connections had to be made eventually. if she ever fell from that height, she would've [died]. a locked door, a locked gate, and never any keys. keys keys keys. she'd been so good at finding them in video games. why couldn't she find

The cup that fell shattered into shards, sparkles on the floor. And NIGHT didn't turn her head to watch Nari and Yuki both leave. No, NIGHT was certain, blood still boiling, that she had made a mistake. A mistake which didn't feel like one. A mistake she didn't regret making. Yet. She watched as the pieces trailed and flickered out of existence. She sat in silence, listening to the hound-like yell and hammering of something dull into heavy, and her gut instinctively kicked her awake. NIGHT buckled, a wrap around her stomach. She knew her orders; adrenaline from anger or not

But there’s also honour in knowing that by not stepping back, you allow so many others to carry on that fight. That was the entire issue, wasn't it? "Are you listening to yourself?" Like knives, each edge cut deep. "You're talking like you're glorifying being a martyr." A thought that NIGHT couldn't stand for. Agitated. Was that how the guild master thought of himself? Annoying. Sat atop the throne, basking in the coalition he'd built up, only to leave it empty once he'd vanished from the world. If he'd vanished from the world. I know my Path, and walk it gratefully. Just a

"So the ends justify the means, then?" Seething. Burning. NIGHT couldn't tell if her skin was hotter than the tea. "So it's okay for you to throw away your life just because you think it pitiful enough that one cause, any cause would serve it justice?" In fact, the woman had every mind to get up and leave the accursed place by now. No, Nari had no position to be under scrutiny by the game's biggest army recruiter, nor did NIGHT have any right to sway that decision out of her companion's hands. Even so. Moving forward on a broken, shaky motivation, no matter how formidable

The mention of the red cloak dropped. Instantly, NIGHT set aside her cup. "That was Raidou," she breathed, and her annoyance almost reached a climax. Just barely. It was as though she couldn't go a second into affairs that didn't seem normal without hearing about Firm Anima being involved in everything, Nari included. Somewhere, NIGHT could've sworn, the two of them hadn't only just failed a Bechdel test, they'd fallen into something deeper. Darker. Awful. She could still remember ChaseR's frustration with the man, the scene playing at the back of her head. One of the last warn

It sounded like a tidbit of information, the kind that brokers would drop col just to keep. And yet, the mention of a 'paradise', a 'garden'... Hold on. Wasn't this... "Nari," NIGHT looked at the woman solemnly, the cup of water held warm in her hands. "Are you speaking about the quest 'Nature's Treasure?'" But then the mention that they were a player crept in, but -- there wasn't a player she was sure of that would keep the plants of the world in tact. After all, Cardinal was a self-sustaining system, and had this been a player-served garden, surely it would have some indicato

Haha the fox was drinking tea-- In truth, ever since she heard the click of the lock, it struck NIGHT that her escape route, if she ever needed to use one, wouldn't be so simple as to make an exit through the front door. She didn't have a plan of the home's layout, and-- it unusually looked a lot like Oscar's home. Was it some sort of preset? Either way, if she could just remember where the other hallways were... But she couldn't deny that she'd been feeling anxious. No, she hadn't much of a plan to give herself up after a simple dinner, and especially since she wasn't the kind of pe

'The... Gardener'? "I came across him on one of the lower floors, and we…well, he led me to his garden, where we spent some time just…talking.” She wasn't exactly sure if this happened to be a title for a player, or some strange name of a Cardinal construct. NIGHT listened, if only intrigued, still half-upset at the information, though clearly more perturbed than annoyed. "What'd he tell you?" So she followed, still, when Nari pointed out the path to her home. She thought of the possibility of context, information that had to be reliant on its circumstances, more so than just si

Worse. Even worse. Perhaps she shouldn't have said anything, but then Nari wouldn't have returned from her 'slumber'. She wasn't quite sure what exactly it was that made the woman as such, what pushed her to some sort of haze, distant. Neither was she certain what her perspective was, as downtrodden as it seemed. In fact, knowing this was a trend with these tanks almost made her annoyed. Frustrated. What is it with throwing one's lives away? She stopped and listened. An exercise that looked to be for naught. And NIGHT stepped up to her side, placing a hand on her upper arm. Some

What's with the spaced out attitude? Just a few moments ago... NIGHT had wanted to sigh, looking over her companion. At least she did get an answer. Her attention turned to the sleepy fox still on Nari's shoulders. Yuki, right? "So the same as one of my friends," she said aloud, turning to the path straight ahead. "She used to be a tank, just like you, Nari." Her name emphasized, NIGHT hoping it would catch the woman's attention. "And she was unconfident in herself, ready to set herself on the front lines at the fore, as a tank." Similar, but not quite. "While we were adventurin

The walk back to town was uneventful otherwise. So let's skip that. The party re-entered the office at Town Hall. Most of the rioting seemed to have paused, the villagers distracted by the return of their beloved family members, and though they'd expected to see Tiberius once again, the man was surprisingly missing. It was strange, but not unexpected, and the person they were seeking wasn't gone for long. Tiberius walked in, almost rushed, a voice hollering to him a vague reminder about instructions. With a knowing sweep of the room, he closed the door at his entrance. "The

NIGHT hummed in response, once she noticed her companion step out of the diner. Her pace seemed to parallel her own demeanor, an upbeat, steady shuffling paired with an unmoving, neutral expression. She didn't pay Nari's words too much attention to begin with, until the walk to the estate seemed to leave her attention wanting for more. Sure, the city was beautiful, but it wasn't as though the first hadn't provided for it before. With the number of 'uhms' her leader gave her, it seemed like a reasonable guess that she might've been... hesitant? And after making an offer like that? NIG

What. The closest incident of this occurring that NIGHT could remember was when she was sending funds to ChaseR. And a little before that, Oscar had foot the bill on her own home. Speaking of those transactions, she'd known all parties involved in the trade -- -- So what was with that reckless behaviour of spending someone else's money without knowing where it came from? NIGHT watched as the woman rose from her seat, just as her familiar whimpered. And she nodded, taking the time away from the woman to consider exactly what she was getting into. Nari was a pain -- the same type

“I… think you’ll like the place. I hope you will.” In truth, NIGHT had imagined she rightfully would, with the caveat that it was designed by a complete novice at the game, and hence, some features of the home would be found missing. She didn't say it, however, still stirring with regret as her eyes turned back to Nari. “It’s not super fancy or stocked or anything, but… it has a wonderful greenhouse, a couple of nice bedrooms and some relaxation areas." A couple of bedrooms? Some relaxation areas -- NIGHT's mind was faster to pin down the numbers and room types for such a purcha

Though the quest hadn't seemed to tire her out enough for a crash, NIGHT did realize how much time had passed since she'd been in the dark. And not to discount her friend's efforts, either; with Koga responsible for all the heavy lifting, it made sense that he'd find himself exhausted more so than the women did. She nodded with a hum. "We're getting separate rooms, though," came the unexpected response from the entity. Knowing her other wasn't want for sleep, it didn't make sense for her opinion to matter to the ones who needed it -- not in this situation, at least. The player shot her a

"Mm?" Queried. NIGHT thought about the proposal for a moment. It was a miracle how the player managed to afford the estate in the first place, after all, and though she wasn't familiar with gauging housing prices, she didn't think her estimate would be too far off from the actual numbers, since she too had bought one herself. A chew, before swallowing. General neutrality read as disappointment once the woman closed her eyes. "Sure." After all, what could go wrong with a house visi- -wait. Suddenly, the implications of Nari's unfettered grin and purr kicked in, a

NIGHT considered her words for a moment, because sure, play was certainly a concept they had to grapple with time and time again -- they were players in Aincrad, after all. But all the thought and leniency involved for it at the dinner table left her questioning what its definition was. "I don't suppose it's normal for you to do the same around friends, is it?" And even if their eve was supposed to push those boundaries, she couldn't find a scenario where it'd be fun to fight for one's food. A brief exhale. She could see the look of disappointment on Nari's face, though she wasn't quite s

Her offer had been made in good faith. She didn't know where the idea came from, giving an inch, but perhaps Nari was more than ready to take the whole mile and run off with it. So as NIGHT held onto the spoon's handle, still perplexed as to who exactly she was dealing with, her other hand reached out to the utensils basket and pulled out another spoon. It wasn't as though Nari had been using hers. She let her grip go on the one her companion had latched onto, more weary than entertained. And she let the tip of her unused spoon sink into the broth of her bowl before pulling a couple