NIGHT

"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

oh, it had definitely been a joke. and watching nari stumble only brightened her expression. perhaps she was having too much fun with the teasing. well, it had always been bad form to throw rocks whilst living in a glass house. night rounded the woman, walking backwards this time as she took the lead. a smile was still painted on her face. "of course i do. an estate on the first. it's a little ways from my shop, but i'm sure its address is of no importance to you." she only fell back into step with her friend once she was certain nari had regained her pacing. "with that amount of spa

right. it wouldn't be apparent to someone who'd carried opposing views that she'd share the same likeness as hirru's, the same way approximately half those gathered at the raid had gone unquestioned. so to pick her out from the crowd was... specific. then again, for someone having to manage a large conglomeration, she guessed that raidou had every right to be specific. just strange, the method he went about doing so. it almost felt like a trap -- to question her amongst others for what she'd done in the conflict. was she a figure-head, or something? night did move first after hirru, she w

her favorite places. a phrase so foreign, for a moment, night had forgotten what she was troubled with. her eyes went from nari down to their hands. the familiar sensation, that desire of reaching out. “Even if it is just to go over my stats, I’d love to spend a bit more time together." likewise, she'd wanted to say, the word in limbo between her lips. it vanished, just as night's demeanor seemed to lighten for a spell, a soft scoff, making its way out her system instead. a tiny smile. "well, as long as your audience isn't complaining. and if you'd asked me, i've got no poor rev

"i-i mean..." night winced. it felt as though she was making it seem like a bigger deal than initially thought. "we were talking about accuracy. and skills. and..." gritted teeth and a far-off look, as the player fought to find some semblance of the right words to say. the registration that it was supposed to be a big deal only struck her then, the weight of guilt and regret stuck in her throat. welling. if she'd reacted to nari's words of concern, it was with a sheepish falter. with a shake of her head after some time to clear her thoughts, night finally returned a reply. "yeah. sur

it wasn't as though night knew who raidou was trying to reach otherwise, either, though the query sent her way seemed off for the man who had the appearance of knowing so much. someone his standing sending out a blind missive seemed out of touch for firm anima; wouldn't the army send a proxy, some feelers and pin down a target first out of duty before reaching out for direct contact? it just seemed efficient, that way. or in this case, personal, considering the message sent was in privacy. the contents of the outreach certainly seemed that way. something about three quest occasions writte

"w... who...?" she just blinked owlishly at nari, as she tried to wrap her head around the situation. was that the reason why her friend had been busy with other players? night wasn't the social type, so she wasn't certain how the others she'd met would spend their time meeting new faces -- and she was certain most of them would shrug off outings with others as an exception to the traditional rule of solitude. koga was an example, and she'd hold it against him for that. now she wondered if she should've been justifying it with nari, too. (though the irony of concern over having a ten

she examined the woman closely. even further still on the stats she'd brought up close when walking beside night. after stealing a glance, she noticed an apparent lack of highlighted numbers. so it clicked right there and then. unless they'd worn off earlier... but the misses had been occurring through the entire dungeon. when it closed shut, night wondered when to explain it to her. they could spend the evening pouring over numbers -- that would be fine. but she didn't want to push nari through exhaustion further. and also, dinner with someone else? "don't let me get in your way,"

"...you do remember that the goal of being a tank is to get hit instead, right?" sure, by that metric, nari hadn't gotten that down right, either. gaining hate by attacking seemed to have its downfalls. she could only watch as the woman poured over her information, trying to find some flaw in the numbers. night only narrowed her eyes, partially out of pity. and the part that perplexed her more was in trying to figure a distraction for her associate -- because it seemed like the easiest way for a better outcome. to calm down, return with a clear head, and review when perspectives were

all that energy gone-- and who could blame her? night followed nari as she lead the duo out of the dungeon, watching her companion's back slumped over with all the burdens of being a front-line tank. at least she knew how far the woman could bend. not that it was the most important detail to be taking note of at the moment. “Sorry.” and her hum back was light-hearted; more understanding than amusement. if there was a conflict within her about closing physical distance between people, this was one time she squashed it, a hand to nari's back in an attempt to comfort her companion.

no. wasn't worth it. she released the will on her blade before taking her own sweet pace towards the enemy. sure, for all of its fight, the elemental seemed hellbent on surviving, with as must gusto as it could muster avoiding the tip of nari's spear just as it dove towards its core once again. but night was done with those games. not even a snap of her fingers. it wasn't worth the energy. the player half-heartedly looked around the room, hoping that there might be something else the dungeon would leave them that would be of interest. nothing in the vicinity seemed to catch her eye.

perhaps, after all of this, she would've remarked herself as careless. it wasn't as though the elemental seemed to be reacting, after all, so going in for the strike when it was at its most vulnerable -- that, and jack's persistence to want to drain it dead of life. so came her swings. powerful, encompassing, each cardinal-imposed art was only a shiny distraction from when the construct forced the players backwards, unleashing its fury outwards in a terrifying roaring blow. like the whirlwind from before; and night tumbled over various rocks. the only reason she wasn't as safe as she coul

likewise. her executioner didn't like the thought of its wielder getting struck, either. though the wind had made it likely for night to have been thrown off balance in her flow, something in the air seemed to have faltered -- was it an effect of her bile keeping the elemental frustrated as it was volatile? that mistake was all she needed to sink her edge deeper into its core, ooze seeping out once again, before diving backwards once she felt that she'd gambled with its downtime enough. and though night was concerned, she wasn't as much so about her own safety as she was with how her comp