NIGHT

<<tmd: ordsea>> only night would stop in her tracks at having been caught by someone she knew. this point was of relevant note, because day was the one who stepped forward falling behind koga, grin on her face, as though completely unaware of the revelation that had just transpired. "good morning to you too, koga!" and the player cursed herself inwardly for not having imposed the early leave when she knew it to be for the better-- so she shambled behind them, hollow and indifferent (read: debased by frustration and ire), as the trio made their way snaking towards the

she'd snorted at the way her companion acted the part. the slightest hint of delight was apparent from her visage against the shadow of a backlit lantern. "smartass." and at nari's offer for time afterwards, night considered it carefully -- "i was going to show you around some place when it was daylight," she confessed. "but tonight's equally as fine too. sure." her knife went back to work on her pancakes, as she contemplated on where to begin. between the sixth floor and the cafe, there was so much that the player had wanted to say, she realized, that she hadn't been able to. why was tha

"anywhere you want to go. any time." night's comment was made in distraction, her knife working into the dessert as she ensured them divvied into equal portions. two pancakes, one stacked atop another, and the syrup added from the top only spilled in between her cuts as the stack started to dismantle itself. a bite out from the dish's top half, and she knew it was delectable. memories came flooding back to her and she grew solemn, quiet. a gathering of ice cream upon the second slice. and she bit into it, considering, before offering a third to nari from the tip of her fork. the

a system gone rogue? if she'd been living in a sci-fi fantasy, she wouldn't have known enough to live and tell the tale, let alone explain its inner machinations better to the other clueless souls trapped in the digital hell with her. and yet here she was, and so night was determined to believe the concept otherwise. in the same way she thought raidou needed his own psychoanalyst, she thought it better he pick up a better spiritual belief, too. "what i'm saying here is that every aspect of the game has been created to mankind's design." night blinked, comprehending raidou's stance on

"..." and was she really someone who had another after her own schedule now? night hadn't choked, having downed the liquid savoured, but she did simmer to docility when the two fingers were held up. rude. her hand wrapped around her neck, knowing her own cheeks were betraying her cool. similarly, the pen spun in her hand hadn't stopped moving. the player stared at nari's index held up before glancing to her writing instrument. the conversation hadn't escaped her any, despite her thoughts having fled somewhere else. with a reach of her hand, she connected the tip of her frie

she shrugged. "something like that." night wasn't invested in knowing how that worked, and likewise wasn't interested in how it would adapt for her, either. if anything, she was mostly concerned with how nari had reacted -- as though all the jokes they'd made had been lost. the player wondered if she should sober up. then came the offer to go dungeon-running again, and night tilted her head, still toying with the pen in her hands. "why those in particular?" though they gave a decent amount of experience, the effort necessary to run through them was more than the player was want to b

"that sounds like a good move." night spun the pen in her hand, twirling it between two fingers. "with your mitigation, it's likely enough for now to keep you safe without needing parry." and she let the tank ramble on about her thoughts on the build. it made sense enough that nari would be concerned over her duty, after all. "You mentioned howl…tell me more about it?” night opened her mouth to speak. "well--" “And how do I make you howl?” and then closed it immediately afterwards, the shock of her comment striking her too closely to work for comfort. the player paused for

so that explained the interest in the weapon before. likewise the teetered focus towards tanking opposed the investment in damage-related skills. night couldn't help but wonder if it was nari trying to be as efficient as possible as a solo player, or if yuki had been the part of the fool attempting to rank her mitigation alone. she went with the latter and apologized to her friend in her head. "you should be asking that to people outside of asia," night countered, though her comment had been unintentional at best. her scribbles only placed the priorities of the build to come for her

she shot a smile somber back nari's way the moment she heard about the term being an off-the-grid lesson. the dropbears. "singapore," night returned, as the drinks they'd ordered finally arrived. a curt nod to their server before she was back to the conversation. "somewhere in the heart of asia, at the equator. some people might think we're settled in the middle of china. we're not." and the player hadn't meant to return to the notion of keeping anyone company in their late hours, but she did wonder when her friend would finally stop the teasing, afterwards. "the build," she restated, for

"then all the better to work towards our exit," night retorted, taking her anguish out on the set of incoming zombies koga had failed to execute completely. she hadn't bothered enough on observing their prowess, and only did so once her friend's strength lacked in comparison to her own. a different build, it seemed, or one without an equivalent of buffs. "they can't sustain us forever, both the nerve gear, the servers this game runs on, nor the medical equipment they must've hooked up to us by now." the player scoffed in light of that statement. "if we were in states so dire, what's to sa

night blinked as she tried to register where nari's origins were from. the shy grin afterwards almost looked as though it'd masked pain behind it. "miss," she decided. "i don't see how it would be a disadvantage at all. though i hadn't taken geography in a while, by now -- if you'd be so kind to jog my memory -- where's kanata at again?" she wasn't even sure such a place with said name ever existed. and if this was anything like the australians and their dropbears, night would surely find herself unsurprised. “Wait, you mean like…a vanilla sauce? Or straight vanilla?” "like vani

and the revelation had only managed to fluster the man. with more familiar company, she would've laughed -- instead, night's expression was merely one of amusement. was it so strange for one to wrap their head around it? -- no. a rhetorical question. night knew for a matter of fact that it was. the player had nodded at his mention of crozeph. "unfortunately, i've got my tastes, too. sorry, but there's nothing further between me and yuki." she'd wanted to joke about the lack of a 'sweet scandal', and yet knowing raidou's temperament, she knew better now to withhold the joke of a comme

she'd winced at the thought of bastardized sushi. at least where she was from, they came in small boxes, cheap, and hence the selling point of them were the prices rather than the taste. yet she was certain in a place where they were a rarity, even poor quality goods were sold at a marked up rate. night nodded at this revelation, turning back to the menu at the woman's acceptance of her offer, and chuckled at the mispronunciation of the names. "Oh, hush.” well, she joyfully decided not to. "it's tamago. you got the ikura one right." the player pulled her hand away from her

"wow. classy." night rolled her eyes, amused as she waited, exchanging weights upon her feet. "experience? look at miss harem protagonist over here. treating the women she meets like they're an rpg character." she shook her head with a smile, then turned to the waitress who would see them inside. some guidance, before they were properly seated at their table; intricate brown metal with plush cushions of red. almost divine. "it's almost like you've never tried it before," the player observed, just as nari appeared to spark to life at the mention of japanese cuisine. she turned to the

if she'd sank back, almost shriveling under raidou's immediate scrutiny, it was with his immediate bluntness. direct. jumping to psychoanalysis from the get go was a quality she'd keep only within her mind, and yet the man's grasp on managing his expectations for the other seemed to be spilling. had she the drink she ordered, she might've choked on it too. all that to say night contemplated on nari's perception of her grievances once upon a time, and she wondered if her guess had any truth to the matter at all. or if it had been a misperception, and the truth was that players like raidou

night had nearly spilled her laughter once she realized nari's sprinting after her -- because she'd been taking her movements slowly, for one. for another, the fluster was incredibly fun. and night realized she hadn't felt this comfortable, nor fun in a long while. "pay me back for what? the benefits?" she snorted, looking over the buildings they were passing by. it had to be one of the outlets nearby -- after all, it couldn't have gone out of business if it had been established on the first. when the familiar outdoor seats finally came into view, night heaved a sigh of relief,

oh, come now. surely, after all the talk of experience, nari couldn't have been sappho-and-my-friendsing her companions that bad. “Fuck me.” nevermind. "i didn't know you wanted it that bad," she quipped in return, humor dry as they continued walking along. nari had been serious, then-- though the question of how she hadn't caught on was beyond the woman. night knew of the jokes they made of 'useless lesbians' but this nearly took the cake. (and frankly, the devil may have wanted to bash her head in with it.) when a grin was shot back her way, it was all the player co

to order something? night picked up the menu set to one side of the table. her gaze reviewed what drinks the inn had to offer, though most of her attention was paid towards the leader ahead of her. his eyes were set upon the others nearby. "Also, I am extremely uncomfortable." likewise. and it wasn't due to eavesdroppers listening within earshot, either. "I've seen you work, and I know how hard it is to learn anything about you. NIGHT?" she tilted her head at the commentary. the message then came to mind, along with the cryptic quest names. fair observations to his credit,

"oh. so she spends a lot of her time at your house." and she folded her arms, barely able to help herself to a smirk. "i see how it is. and historians will write on about how you two are good friends and nothing more than that." “It is my doing. Damn it.” "mhm." “Well. Still. She’s just a… roommate. Who lives for free. Shit.” her brows were raised just then, intrigue dawning on night's face. "oh, a roommate, you said. a roommate, so you clarified." she rolled her head around, eyes towards the horizon, barely making out the teleport plaza at the corner of her vision. "well o