NIGHT

too much bluster all in one location. and it definitely wasn't from the two women in the room. what gives? night wasn't sure what striking air would feel like, but she felt her blade connect with something that recognized as tangible. for a moment, that chaos stopped, and the dying of that wind felt welcome for the player stepping back into reality. so too did her weapon's ichor find something gratifying to hold onto -- a core, like a marble, at the center of the airy monstrosity's form. a second crystal clattered to the floor at her re-entrance. not that the boss was giving either o

an air elemental. how befitting. night's eyes were to her companion before they even had a chance to communicate their concerns to one another. her attention had been stolen by the organization of her inventory. a crystal summoned in her hand, she hadn't noticed the boss' appearance once she'd started searching for the right consumable to use. and from the rage of the storm, she could barely get a word out to her friend after she'd realized it too late. the player's eyes burned. the wind stung. and though she was certain they were going to make it out just fine, she needed to ma

“The fact that you had to clarify makes me wonder…” she bristled with the folding of her arms. her gaze followed nari's to the fading lights upon the ground. it made sense, given her companion had reportedly been working in solitude. mostly so, anyway. solitude in the scenario where she had been with others, but night wasn't invited to. and it almost made her wonder what sort of players nari was hanging out with, given her lack of catering to party play. a strange setup for a tank. her gaze met the other woman's for a moment, and night regretted it soon after. she lowered her h

enough to stop the golem in its place. and night hesitated, knowing the blow connected with the elemental as she'd seen it. yet the health bar wasn't flinching. on instinct, she threw another strike at it, weaker still, as though to test its mettle. it broke apart on contact, just as what could've been a fist modelled from stone was raised in a wind up. night just made sure it was less than the punch it could've been. "sheesh..." and the other construct had broken under her executioner's sentencing, too. "so, as i said." night turned to her friend once her blade had left he

so her guesses were right. it was easier to tell now moreso than before, but even at the height of her potency she wasn't destroying them as she was so used to doing before. night only wondered how much mitigation these constructs had on either of them. it was with a whisper that her blade's venom had all but been wasted upon the weakened golem, whom with a swing tried to strike her, only to hit the cavern walls instead. likewise, it didn't seem as though nari was managing well, either. not on the front of defending, but on the offensive-- "have you looked into howl yet?" breaki

--and she swore she'd heard a number of strange things in her life, but never one like that. shock struck her quicker than embarrassment. night looked over her shoulder, half perplexed yet intrigued. "do... do you have a back fetish or something?" she found the shadow of the opponents she was half expecting to see, backlit from the light in the previous room down their tunnel. in an enclosed space, any player would've called the sight unfair. instead, nari just lashed towards them. night let herself follow through, blade sinking into darkness with only the trace of an orange bleeding

and she'd almost let out a sigh knowing that tension was defused. for a moment, night wondered if she was going to be judged critically for making an off-handed joke. watching nari have fun, she couldn't help but smile. “Alright, point one to NIGHT. You win that round…but I’ll get you back for this!” "what're we even competing for?" a query to no one, but night asked it just the same. laced with mischief, almost like a challenge to her companion. she wasn't so sure what 'get you back for this' would entail, however. “Alright Miss Benefits, which direction should we tak

her guard... had been down completely, hadn't it? that was what night realized when she saw nari jump out of shock. and for what good the woman could dish -- if she couldn't take it back -- -- that was funny. night couldn't help but hide her surprise behind a smirk. "oh no," she droned, arms folded and watching the tank pick herself off the ground. night might've helped if it didn't seem as though nari's spear was doing more work that she could've offered. "an ambush from completely behind you. as though you hadn't called it just seconds before." a half-hearted chuckle, almost

"it's fine." though she couldn't remember when yuki had done the same. most tanks preferred to make use of a skill called howl, and her paladin had been of the same manner. night couldn't expect the same reliability when it came to weapon skills. part of the reason her evasion came as contingency, after all. a towel draped over her hair, night rubbing the cloth across her scalp in a haphazard manner. her demeanor came to alert once nari had barked that innuendo, and night felt a creeping blaze at the tip of her ears. barely. "really." though the player should've known her friend

thread summary [total] koga + 13320xp | 1665 * 8 + 3198col | xp * 0.15 + 1200 night + 19980xp | 1665 * 12 + 4147col | xp * 0.15 + 1200

if night was agitated, she blamed the hair plastered against her face, clothes fully soaked. and hence it was little wonder that her strikes afterwards were to pierce the elementals through and through -- what additional flooding of water against her form was more a nuisance of force rather than a show of strength from cardinal's objects. she lowered her weapon only once she was certain they were gone. and the player only groaned, pushing back her hair as she turned to nari. "fun," she spat, irritated, before looking through her inventory in hopes for something more comfortable to ch

"decide?" night seemed more perplexed by the statement than otherwise. what was there to decide between? failing to see the choice, she turned to day with a nod. "sounds good. yvlon...? i'm assuming that's like a major city in the region." "akin to that," the construct returned. the details weren't incredibly important in the moment. night preferred getting to see it for herself. once the players started to walk, the party was set for their destination. a half-hour journey wasn't incredibly amazing, however, only exacerbated by the wilderness factor srona was well noted for. lik

regular tank and dps tactics. for a moment, night almost felt as though she was back a year earlier, braving the unknown with the pink paladin. the blade in her hand morphed into one of light from halloween steel once she'd summoned it, and she skittered after nari, sights on her back. how times had changed. the first wave of threats were no figures she happened to be familiar with. enemies on this floor had been modelled after the elements, and they took on strange forms as cardinal chose to generate them as art. how light reflected upon the water construct's surfaces and bounced al

she took the topic of their day one step at a time. first, the build up. between koga's wait at the teleporter and the enemies slowly targeting the players' tiny party, what differed between those two moments were the seconds leading up to the next occasion. next, the tension. the zombies rushed after them in accumulating droves, though only one at a time. had they not been higher-level players, perhaps they would've seemed more a threat. and night knew she was keeping her friend in the same state, too, because she was trying to consider how to start speaking about the subject.

(remember? ... what was there to remember?) night tucked a lock of hair back behind her ear, quiet. even as nari's gaze had left her, it still felt like she was being watched, the memory of her sights on the player fresh in night's mind. and she watched her friend spin around, almost like a hyper active child. well, at least nari was happier. and the least night could manage was a small smile, her joy infectious as the woman followed steps with a turn of her head. "already on the gear hunt yourself? it almost feels like yesterday that you were trying to clear the first few lessons ba

the promise; she had given nari her word, that night wasn't going to let her fall-- -- and in the same breath, she'd forgotten to promise the same to nari for herself. so the palm on her skin, the strength in her friend's stalwart self, that unfaltering grin. the light in those eyes. a short gasp drawn, night almost choosing to lean into nari's hand. a terrible addiction. she chided herself, internally. beyond them, the world was spinning. “I have a reason to return, every day. So my purpose now, is to do so. No matter what.” if there was hope shown through the windows

something to look forward to? the last she could remember... nari's outlook on the future was bleak. to live for others. to discard one's life away for the many. life was more complicated than a trolley problem, and hence it was a query worth posing. "... what is it, if you don't mind me asking?" when she looked to the woman, night too was distracted by the faltering in nari's demeanor. and she considered if her words had struck fear into her friend, as they fact once did for her. “Don’t worry. If you’re scared…I’ll protect you.” "---..." as though time stopped for her

a philosophical take on calming the soul. that much made sense, as much as night hated reflecting on the insecurities it'd shown her in the past. her jaw was locked even as she remembered that day's final moments, shifting her sights as a distraction from her contemplation. night thought about speaking about it, the more nari looked to her. and stowed it away, only at the compliment, pushing the woman's image out of her vision. she hummed, appreciative, and slunk into her tracksuit all the same. the skipping was different, though. (not that night didn't like it.) she glanced watching

so it was just her. part of her felt relieved to know of it; a suspicion loosened, night torn from its hold. yet she felt a tinge of offense from the tale -- night knew she wasn't the best at getting to know people, but she hadn't expected to be this bad at it, after being alive for so long. -- and no, she didn't know any of the names dropped by nari. "Oh! Did I mention I did the waterfall quest? I think that one was…well, it definitely changed me. I don’t know about others who take it, but…” "..." calming the soul. night said nothing, only nodded to that revelat

"fine, i guess." what kind of a game was this? first the out-of-place waving -- though night had passed it off as nari getting accommodated to the city she was in. it wasn't so strange for players to do so, she believed, and it wasn't as though she knew the woman enough to gauge her daily routine. but then the grins turned her way, her companion's back turned down the route they were taking -- -- the attention, the staring-- (-- she didn't like any of it. the glow of her cheeks was only offset by the warm lighting gifted by ronbaru's city lamps.) yuki peeped, and the player

she set aside all expectations, save the time they had agreed to meet up at. night kept an interface open, as the minutes went past the time she'd had expected her companion to show at. she composed a query while waiting. just as she was about to hit send, her attention was stolen by footsteps on the pavement. without missing a beat, the player dismissed the window with a wave. and-- “hey – sorry about the wait, but thank you for waiting." -- she couldn't get a word in. even when she was the one prompted for an answer. nari was almost grating, night might've admitted in the mome

daemien wouldn't have minded if she took the whole lot. so she did. payment fulfilled and everything. the food was prepared even before she got there. and the woman grinned, watching the man's sullen face. he had no need to cater to others as such, and for a man who was set on a goal without caring what happened with his products, he was still bent on delivering a good service. not that night could disagree on the same. "what's the point of you go gallivanting around like that?" he asked, once she'd approached closer to pick up the order. "when you're here, i mean." the wom

she contemplated on the message before her, a cup of coffee into the morning and a little too groggy for straightforward answers. she'd barely had wonderful experiences with dungeons -- there was no reason to want to go, particularly, with someone she was convinced wanted to be away from the world. still, night was asked, despite herself, and her fingers did most of the reckless work before she could consider the proposal thoroughly. they'd changed since she last saw them -- the dungeons, so she was informed -- but by how much, the player wasn't sure. the moment she saw something too cree