NIGHT

RULER | Approved. Total EXP: 13400 Total SP: 90 Current Level: 18 Notes: n/a

"You...are aware that Cardinal is also ninety percent of the reason I've lost all the things in my life I've appreciated, right?" "--sorry?" "...Sorry..." "... no, i didn't," night realized. and the thought about not having known about koga enough despite having known him for quite the while sank in. again. for it had happened once when they were in srona, looking for herbs. now it stuck to her memory faster. the player's eyes were cast downwards, expression agitated, as she brought up her blade to swing it again. (strange. she should've just kept her blade out of the g

"whatever the standard meal is." night hadn't been attentive, but she swore she could've seen the display of a breakfast spread when walking in. no taste, but the player could afford some semblance of normalcy for the time being. as night caught her friend failing to stir, she thought it best to be quiet whilst waiting for their order to arrive. it was a well needed pause for everyone involved. so picture this: three party members, sat almost in a line at a round table, each with their own level of duress marked in their expression. and if night and day had been two extremes --

"easier is nice. easiest is best for grinding." she hauled herself up from the sand, grabbing onto nari's hand as she rose. a scout towards the horizon, and night called for her blade, pacing after her lead without complaint. mermaids? she wasn't too certain of the enemies from her distance, having not closed the gap, but they did seem fairly humanoid. upon hesitation, allowing her companion to charge into battle, the player did observe the increase in aim. so it'd worked -- and here she was worried a tank's accuracy couldn't be helped. the sigh of relief that passed through her lip

the woman only burned slightly at the talk of getting out of aincrad. to visit? to already be considering it? either nari was an optimist or had a one track mind. and as though she'd forgotten who she was spending time with, night gaped, coming up empty, before leaning back at the incoming touch. it didn't matter which option from above it was going to be. though night wondered if she was ever going to get used to thinking about the future, considering their escape as real -- even if she knew it was inevitable. it still seemed so far away. the player hummed, lazily taking a spoonful

the woman raised a brow when her companion settled into the sand. "oh? and i thought you wanted to be taken somewhere public to be shown off." but that could wait. night paced over and took a seat by nari. her gaze was cast towards the ocean similarly, before the player sorted through her inventory whilst taking the pause. “This is nice…a very…beautiful view.” her eyes left the interface, glancing towards the other's smirk. almost zoned out -- night's attention darted over to her partner's long hair. still resting her weight upon that hand in her position, her fingers reached ou

a smidge of her health lost wasn't such a big deal. given time, her battle healing would rectify that, and she'd ensured it be set in a good position for the time being, too. if only her protector had deemed so. but no mercy for crabs seem to have come. if anything, striking the crab true only afforded night enough time to have gotten to her feet. even more sound was the after effects that had followed -- skimming the ground beneath, her charge towards her assailant from earlier was in nothing short but quick death. the friend that followed it was only courtesy, out of respect for the blo

much better this time. was nari learning on the fly? it was possible. plus, the fact that they were against larger creatures meant that it should've likelier for the women to strike them. and if night had faltered, she would've liked to blame her gear, but couldn't. sometimes, it really was just getting caught in the wrong situation at the wrong time. night took out the one struck by her tank earlier, before darting over to another that seemed low on health. with two crustaceans taken out, life extinguished leaving behind sparkle trails, the player readied the remainder of her attack

"ah-- hey!!" she balked at the compliment. rude. tips of her ears burning, night whirled around to catch up to nari, feet kicking up sand, the player tasting sea brine as she breathed through gritted teeth. (summer. it reminded her of summer. those long gone days she'd once remembered for being unattainable, the heat of their equator sun overbearing upon their skin, the backdrop of her home, that once fall.) it wasn't until she got close that night realized something off with the enemies she thought she'd just slain. her footsteps slowed, blade forming first before she could pin

"hmm." the more their reputations were emphasized, the more night actually considered their destination point. and to believe immediately that her companion would've preferred being touted around on her arm -- night had her reservations about being a comparator, but she could make concessions with that on nari's behalf. “What about you…? On the frontlines, you keep a low profile, don’t you?” "i do." had the crabs been actual threats, perhaps night wouldn't have spoken at all. but with each going out like a light in the dark in the blink of an eye, it felt more like a work o

so much movement, and night had only so little patience. the moment she understood how their was taking on a cyclic manner, she decided not to waste her time. a hand raised. a quiet motion to sit and bide her time, connecting her thoughts. the player allowed herself to sit in silence, contemplating raidou's perspective. multiple holes for such blanket, black-and-white statements, and little to show for it. it was almost like what he was saying and doing paralleled each other. a farce. her eyes drifted from the ceiling, to the other customers' tables, to the table. her index tapped on

desperation. "no, of course not." in times of one's despair, that was the point they could get to. the sinking into somewhere deep, a dark abyss, and still it was human will to struggle and fight on. the reason why she picked up that blade in the first place. the reason why the players continued against a tower, that unfair fight, in a world that was cold and cruel to them. inside, and out. desperation. it did night right to lock in that word in her mind, for her friend's sake, if not her own. and she wondered how long koga had been thinking about it. wondered how long she'd lea

she picked up her blade just because there were more lowlifes clustering around their position. as though attracted to bad blood and vitriol. her gaze was chilling, void of fondness, dead set on her friend despite, in that moment, how much she'd wanted to look away. to get away from here. "i don't know, koga. why don't you tell me?" night raised her jaw. "because if i had anything to say about it, you sure look proud of the fact that you feel guilty -- and nothing i've been putting out for you has been able to get through that thick skull of yours." the player drew up three fingers.

"better to have hit you, and now, than anyone else i'd have this talk with." and if night glowered at him, it was after decimating another few undead, sinking the tip of her blade into the soil. for as someone who knew the same pain of loss-- the same origin, she'd expected him to have taken the subject matter better. and obviously koga hadn't, nor didn't. her chin rested on the back of her hands, head tilted, eyes narrowed. it was as though they'd never had that talk in his house. never shared dinner together. never mulled over the past over the field of beginnings while other play

"sure." eyes on the distance. night could hardly believe it, and she'd will herself on externalities lest the gravitas of what she'd done for herself finally sunk in. nari switched gears just as she had begun scouting -- and the player bumped back into that armor once it had been donned. heavy metal in lieu of the water -- it reminded her of how much better she had to get at swimming, when she had the chance to practice. “So…where are we going, anyways? I know you said beaches…but is there a specific beach?" "there's so many around here," she elaborated. "usually, i just pick the clo

"oh, poor you, with your heavy heart of gold." what kind of appeal was that? it sounded like koga was playing the victim, sat in the center of everyone's reality while he wanted to play pretend. "it must be so hard to enjoy yourself while children out there are starving in africa. come on. the world isn't getting any better from your misery. and it wasn't as though you weren't already the type of person to do that; escapism." blade drawn, exiles slain. and koga continued speaking about their reality, of aincrad. night understood herself taking the game as seriously as anyone else -- hell,

words like a threat, that doubled as a blessing still. and was it found in the reasons that it was scary to be apart from another? perhaps. night didn't know. as she walked, a hand pressed to the back of her neck, she considered nari's bluntness, and thought about her schedule. she knew she had the time. (but it took something else to say yes. took something else to say okay.) still, she followed. still, she leaned in. because words were a distraction from the intention, the soul; they'd always been. and the offer presented, to allow her to pull away had she needed to were more than

so she followed, in haste. it was only after she was introduced as to why. “Well, I hope that was as awkward for you as it was for me.” and night wryly shot back that same grin. it sort of was. though so too was she wondering if nari was avoiding her 'roommate' on purpose. was it from the implications she'd drawn out of teasing from before? "i-it's fine," came her reply, and that was the other half of the story. for having garnered some amount of experience before, she had the advantage of catering her experience accordingly, unsteady as it may have been. "i didn't get on her ba

now this was embarrassing. night knew she'd personally extended the offer -- but still. a reply with no hesitation? especially in front of a housemate? despite knowing of her by name, onora was still clearly a stranger to night. just the same that despite how quickly she'd tried to warm up in a casual manner, so too did the rules of her past follow her here. hence explained why she couldn't help but burn anyway, a fact that compounded when nari had decided to be close. in the moment, despite how she'd tried, night just couldn't help but feel shy. "--got it." “You know, she was

because it didn't feel right without a blessing. it must've been tradition, then. and what she received was sort of like that. night was satiated at the welcome response; it showed in earnest, that gratitude on her face. "of-- of course." she'd only remembered her usual disposition once nari had caught her attention instead. how could the player forget her attendee? she began to split her waffle into pieces, humming in acknowledgement, eyes turned towards the woman. "i mean," night continued, beginning to relax, "if you're willing to keep at it for a bit, i wouldn't mind popping by t

Paragon Level 5 - Laurel Wreath (Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread) Paragon Level 10 - (1) Gleaming Scale, (1) Demonic Shard, +1 LD to Looting* Paragon Level 25 - (1) Gleaming Scale, (1) Demonic Shard, Free Skill Respec Paragon Level 50 - (1) Gleaming Scale, (1) Demonic Shard, x3 Paragon Tier Up Tickets** Paragon Level 75 - (1) Gleaming Scale, (1) Demonic Shard, Custom SA Paragon Level 100 - (2) Gleaming Scales, (2) Demonic Shards, Access to ‘Champion’s Hall’***

ah-- no. she was exactly right about her guess. this definitely seemed as though she was the outsider to the situation. though the moment she realized it, the more she considered how to play it adequate. likewise, she hadn't expected a lack of resistance to her query, either. “No no no! Don’t you dare!” and night leaned into nari, a cool grin across her face. if she collided gently, glided her thumb on skin upon locked hands, it was in reassuring her companion about her story. the tale was a decent one. humans being humans. she chuckled at the thought of her friend playing

she let herself be stolen away by her companion. night followed out like a puppy, dogging their master's steps. at the announcement of the dress -- night had been thinking about it in part -- she spoke up almost deadpanned, almost righteous: "no, you should definitely tell me about the dresses thing. i know you have some. i saw you in one the other day." and the players were quiet the rest of the way down. it was difficult to imagine the meeting between one and the friend of their friend for the first time. night considered it akin to introducing her gemini to koga and yukiro for the

out in ten. and night still thought she'd been quick about it. the towel wrapped around her neck was her own. expression drawn exhausted, the player had on a fresh set of clothes similar to the wear she had after waking -- cardinal decided the equipment in her inventory would dry, and she appreciated that. though, it felt wrong to don her tracksuit for the time being. "hey. i'm done." and she worked at her hair, spotting what was left of the apple set by the window. a knife? she didn't need one. but the snack would've been appreciated. breakfast was sound. she hoped she wa