NIGHT

it hadn't even occurred to night the reason behind that time imposed was for dinner. she mulled over that revelation, then, considering the thought of a home-cooked meal. what was more likely to bother nari, she figured, was the awkwardness between them and onora, given that they were strangers known only through a single channel. and she was already cast as the improper outsider who had to be carried home after some reason or another. night closed her eyes, sighing. at least she wasn't obligated in the same way she figured she had been held to, by her partner's explanation. “Should

"huh." night would never have thought about it that way. it was true that the medicine hut may have been targeted for that purpose. though, were there not also other better locations to have set fires to instead? the thought sat in her mind as she pushed away the dish, finally complete with her meal, chewing what was left of the food in her mouth. she rose from her seat as she did. "well, time to get going!" day was the one to leave, first, given that the players still needed to drop col on the table. they shuffled out one after another, with the rationale on the pause in conversatio

a simple stroll. it almost felt as though after taking out that serpent from earlier, the rest of the flock that followed it had up and vanished. and night wasn't upset -- most definitely not -- but a part of her wished that the lesser creatures had stayed just so she could get that extra bit of loot in. she leaned back against nari, even when the bouncing had stopped. stilled only at the mention of-- “But if they have room service, we are definitely coming back one night. Got that?” her feet were still moving. night was efficient like that. but keeping her desires in and away f

perhaps, if night hadn't been so keen on resorts in video games as points of interest for content less so than enjoyment, she would've jumped to the same idea that nari had to begin with. at her question, she tilted her head, unremarkably, yet curious. "yeah? ...why not? it's not away from people, i guess." and before she had time to explain further about how it worked, the woman noticed the light that appeared on her companion's face, and it was blinding. almost. but the player was still thankful that she could still see. "uh-- i mean-- maybe?!" terrible. night flustered e

"we're going now," she breathed, almost dizzy from the thought of people. and her hand pressed closer into nari's, for a quick second, before they started off in earnest. “Did I…upset you?” in her quiet, she hadn't even realized the perception of her demeanor. clamming up on instinct, and the expression filled with tension. night only felt it when she heard the query fearful, loosening her jaw just slightly upon notice. and she wondered how to respond to that -- how to confess the lack of wrong doing on her companion's part -- because the matter was something else entirely. (the

so it had been on purpose. calculated, even. she shouldn't have had a reaction, like a serpent charged by its own venom; and yet to the contrary night did. no amount of realization would've gotten that red to leave. unfortunate. and when nari grabbed at her waist and kept her close, night let her, searing. "No. Absolutely. Not. No. Private showing only.” private showing. it echoed in her mind. like it was solely for entertainment. night couldn't stomach the thought. “And that goes two ways, miss.” she was quiet, like a dormouse. burning up so much she couldn't tell i

night raised a brow to her retort. "never said you said it." but the moment she caught that grin, she recoiled in surprise. “And who said anything about needing clothing for swimming, anyways?” "w-wait--" it must've been more common in other cultures, she rationalized. there must've also been a poor reason to have opted for that train of thought to begin with, because there wouldn't be a need for it had they brought the appropriate wear along. and night flustered, scowling, covering her mouth with one hand and grabbing nari's with her other, once she'd caught up from the woman'

had the serpent not knocked the wind out of her, then at least the hug from nari did. and her breath had been shaky on the exhale. night let the woman stay, a hand pressed to her head, gently running through her locks. how her tank hadn't looked worse from wear from the battle, she wouldn't know. “I swear if you die, I’ll kill you. Do not scare me like that.” night couldn't help but find herself sheepish. didn't she get mad, too, in the heat of battle. as though the spectrum of her emotions were on display -- "if it makes you feel any better," she reassured, wispy, "i don't have any

she hadn't watched nari fall in direct line with her opponent. rather, she'd seen it and registered the movement at the corners of her vision. instead, night's focus was straight at the boss. she knew it was coming. that singular strike, that moment of truth. like a flame lit inside her, agitated and upset at the tribulations the serpent put them through, she preened with fury, blade swung to one side. a running distance away from the target. she would make that leap across the beach towards it. it was only when night started to move that she felt that fire intensity, glowing. l

Thread Summary [total] Raidou + 30420 xp | 2340 * 13 + 4763 col | (xp * 0.15) + 200 NIGHT + 28080 xp | 2340 * 12 + 4414 col | (xp * 0.15) + 200

another swing, with all of the heft she could manage from it. close-ranged -- her blade's edge near the guard had finally seen use, perhaps the first time since the sword's debut in her hands. and night growled, in the way that ferocity should've been perfect for the woman, but instead what she got in return was the serpent lunging backwards, as though retreating -- -- and deciding to attack her, instead. a snap in her direction. night wasn't quick enough to shift -- and she knew, she knew it was going to be risky placing herself without distance from the enemy -- damn her for playin

night wouldn't remember the entire story afterwards. because, in here, she'd snapped. it started with a simple retaliation. one of many. perspective pitched against perspective. a simple narrative between two players. "The key word is allies. We simply do not have the luxury of catering to enemies hoping they will decide to be allies eventually." "that's wrong. hirru had afforded that luxury for himself at floor 23. he afforded it and that decision was turned against him afterwards." "Putting them down humanely is all we can do, and that is not limited to just the ca

"okay enough." the faux field boss was really giving her a run for her money. so much for being a damage dealer when she spent half of her efforts barely even capable of making her blade connect with the wriggling thing. and night came crashing hard against the serpent's scales, that thrust with the weight of her entire figure into the blow, frustration seething through her teeth as her cut forced it to stop where it stood. the only way she wanted to withdraw her blade now was in the manner where it would hurt the creature more, just so its health would sink lower, lower into the orange.

night wished she had that ability to do so. in the midst of giving her all, so too did nari's query catch her by surprise. and she slipped, tumbling over the one spot she swore was going to remain stable -- at least, until she managed to land a strike in. and the taste of sand, night falling in face-first was less than amicable. the groan, shaky out of frustration was muted in that padding, before the player pulled herself away from the coast. she fumed. "blinded by your love, maybe." anger made way to a jest. how else was the woman supposed to cope? and she hadn't meant it literall

now she couldn't tell if the serpent was a worse striker than she was. this time, her retaliation had been faster than the snake's movements, night sweeping in for a cut at its tail as she rounded the foe slithering, writhing. a small combustion, and their enemy caught fire -- though how a water-aligned target wasn't resistant to such effects wasn't a thought she'd wanted to fancy in the moment. as the player scurried away, she set her blade to her shoulder, feet hitting gold as she rounded the boss. would it strike true against the tank? the party certainly thought so. the serpent, howev

oh, the serpent was definitely dancing, alright. and contrary to popular belief, night wasn't as dexterous with her footwork as the game made her out to be. the moment the enemy struck out towards nari, night made her move, both falling just short of landing upon their actual target -- the player reliant on overestimation while cardinal's pawn found the the inverse of its own movements. nothing but air. and the woman bounced backwards, trying to keep her cool. in the same vein she'd told her companion about consumables, night was perhaps considering if her own was starting to run out. at

and night realized koga had actually brought up a good point. she hummed, thoughtful, at the idea of international fire fighting, but at the same time she wasn't liken to compare the floor to an entire continent. an island was more likely. what was even the cause of the division between the different factions and regions, anyway? no, wait. that was the whole point of the questline, wasn't it? it was called mysterious divide for a reason, right? the player stewed in that horrible other realization, too, as she continued eating the rest of her meal. which left day to speak on the topic

and it was almost like they'd adjusted to their foe's difficulty in sync. for once, night drew her attention to the sound of which she thought most important in combat -- for once, she bid herself listen to that order above all else. bouncing back upon her feet, she charged back into the fray in haste. and as she swung, her executioner had decided it, too, would awaken from its slumber to rend the enemy apart through blackest bile, as though covering for its owner as she paid the fight less attention. because-- "Be careful, okay?” -- when asked like that, of course, she had to b

and she thought about it a little more. which was the better approach; to keep people away so you would stay sane? or to keep them close, and risk feeling pain when the inevitable comes for them, when life breaks that bridge that the parties had worked so hard to build between each other? night stewed in it, the only sign of her agitation shown with the lashing of a slash of light. she cut off an incoming group of red cloaks from rushing towards her companion's location, and watched as they broke, fell apart. she knew that could be them, no matter how hard they tried. and that just m

the moment she spotted nari missing, night thought something off about their target. and she dove in, crystal and all, yet the enemy didn't seem at all bothered by its effects. a great serpent, it could've almost been mistaken for a wvyern, given any other fantasy game -- for a creature so big, she should've been able to strike it with only little problems. unfortunately, that also wasn't the case. night thought she'd struck true, white upon scaled belly, close enough to have scented the sea brine it collected in between its ridges. but the effects of light momentum kicked into her s

"yeah, it is. i... huh?" wait, what was that thing? some sort of miniscule field boss, or a dungeon one, that scrambled out of wherever it was hiding to begin with? night blinked empty upon noticing it, before making a quick change of her equipment. this wasn't just grinding any more, given their target. more like a challenge. "... give me a sec." on any given day, the player couldn't be bothered with challenges such as these. and yet... “It looks so tempting…” she examined the single crystal in her hand. the last of her incarcerations. half considered if she'd need to

koga's story wasn't moving. wasn't as though it was trying to be, but even without that motive, it should've elicited some response from most others. pity, sorrow -- a sense of connection with the man's lost friends. nearly everyone had lost someone within the first few days of aincrad. night simply winced. "i'm... sorry to hear that." and that was all she was willing to give. because it was this aspect of living in the game that she couldn't relate to, try as she might. she didn't come in with anybody, and never got to know people for long enough to bond so deeply and then subsequen

"--tired already?" a tilt of her head. perhaps it was moving in such heavy armor that was causing the exhaustion. or perhaps nari hadn't rested as well as they'd figured before. night watched the tank drop to the ground, almost abruptly, that concern glazing over her expression. as she knelt, her hand reached out to grab that weapon, sinking its end into the sand. "are you doing okay over there?" “Should we hit something harder?” and after such a fall? part of night wanted to stick out her tongue at that question. instead, she rolled her eyes, half-smiling, giving the woman

now to talk business -- that was something night could do. though after the events of the past day (why transport wasn't offered towards yvlon at the end of the last quest, the player wasn't sure), even her own memory had been foggy on the details. and it wasn't as though she'd taken notes down on the basis that she'd remember what they were supposed to do. be it that the folly of human strike the players again. night cracked her eyes open in earnest, emotions falling to neutrality. so too had day's, she realized, gaze towards her entity. for a moment, she wondered if their forgetfu

reliability lead to leniency. and, as night observed, she would be able to afford it for herself, the art used as non-transitory the way the woman cut through the crowd of swarming mermaids. from one end to the other, sliding around the trio in an arc, that white flash of light took out each opponent one at a time. when they shattered, only a reverberated and filtered echo could've been heard, and the player pulled herself back together, flourishing her weapon with a swing. though it wasn't in her nature to take on enemies with more stats, they could afford to now with less hesitancy if t