NIGHT

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

so, here was the scenario: night had forgotten about the existence of locks on doors. no, it wasn't normal. given the opportunity to have seen it, surely night was the type of person to have remembered and done so. but neither did she feel the need to at her own home, given that she was always in communication with her housemate. in truth, being comfortable in announcing of her time in the shower had been enough. it would also be her downfall, the moment she heard the strange crack from beyond her vision. “Hey – I’m just going to pop out for a second, did you need anything while

night's eyes only widened awake once she'd heard the acceptance. what? immediately she'd thought about finding the words to withdraw her offer. but it was cute how nari's assistance was offered. refreshingly adorable. she didn't notice the finger being lifted, though, once her game had been caught onto. she scrunched up at the impact, almost frowning, though the negativity was non-committal. the way she shot back her glare was similar to an offended feline. (not that night was a cat person or anything.) she relaxed while waiting. rose with her companion's notice when it was made

night followed the rollover, eyes kept on nari as she thought. she was curious at the fallen expression, but didn't have to wait for long. “Uhm…yeah….so about that shower…uhm…I only have one…” that wasn't a problem. they'd take turns, right? it didn't seem that way to nari. night felt a part of her want to let mischief take hold. “Shit! Onóra!” better the housemate than a stranger. the player held her companion's arm to her chest as she looked over the message drafted. and so much for the forewarning -- for the recipient's obliviousness had undone it so -- night place

she'd slept well. waking, not so much. for one, stirring in someone else's bed had been a strange occurrence. because it had been cozy. because it had been comfortable and safe. and night had slept in places other than her bed -- she had many make-shift beds over her course in aincrad -- so it shouldn't have felt strange, moreso better than most other awakenings when opposed. it was because of who she'd ended up laying with. it was because she had someone -- someone else to have woken up beside. and so that gave way to a warmth in her system. for another, while she'd been

"I wouldn't treat these NPC's any different from I would another player, I wouldn't choose for them." a farce of an answer. night brewed rekindled anger. "you made your objective clear, i think, when you decided to object against gabrandr. that the life of another player, risked in his hands, was more valuable than his own." how the man couldn't have seen it while making the contradiction, the player wasn't sure. "you realize the irony of your statement, right?" she didn't budge from it given raidou's rationale later. in fact, it only emphasized her point. and she knew not the intri

there was this understanding that while the people who wore black weren't necessarily edgelords, the inverse was usually true -- that most edgelords usually wore the darkest colours, and if there were one that was darker than black, they'd switch to it within a heartbeat. in watching koga clam up, spit in her vicinity and turn to the mountains thereafter, night realized that koga was one of those people. it was a start, but it begged her consider what other titles she could've assigned to the man in question. a poor 'gamerbro' should've been one of them. what dolt played through vid