Nari-Lanreth

They never seemed to stop coming, and as Nari stared at the appearance of another head, she couldn't help but feel a single second of despair. It seemed like they would be never ending, appearing, broken down, reappearing. She wondered if they were even doing anything against the thing at all, and couldn't help but feel herself growling in response to the thought. Knowing that she couldn't let the others see her concern, she shook off the feeling and rushed forwards to strike the head. Her attack was reckless, wide and leaving herself open for retaliation - but it was showy, and showy wa

Nari felt herself blink as NIGHT's questioning continued. She had just begun to answer one question, when the next was presented. She felt herself falter in her movements, stopping to stare at the other girl who had become somewhat more lively than Nari had expected. "I-I'm honestly not sure if...I mean, she's fairly weakened, I can maybe...?" She stumbled over her words as she turned to face Lilith again. Raising the scythe, she readied herself and took a few short breaths, before launching into her movement. She let the blade dash around the vampiress, looking for weak points and open

The head still stood, and as Nari glanced up at it, she felt herself become frustrated. They had already brought down one of them, perhaps not overly easily, but they'd managed it. She felt her lips twitch as she stared at Overgrowth, wanting nothing more than to end the thing. "Alright...I got this!...I think" She took the few steps forwards towards the large beastly thing, stabbing upwards into it's underside as she tried to bring the giant dragon-like head to an end. Her spear point embedded into the form for a few seconds, before she pulled it back out and free. Stepping back,

Nari felt herself suck in a breath as Lilith went on the offensive against NIGHT. She kept her distance, knowing that she could wait for an opening at the sacrifice of the other drawing the attention, even though it felt wrong to her somehow. She had become used to being the target, being the one who stood at the forefront and took the brunt of the attacks. Even after all this time, it felt odd to allow someone else the position of taking on the assault, a fact that Nari tucked away to deal with later. "It would be far more helpful if you could remember how to defeat this thing. As much

The others had begun the assault against the newly formed head, a few giving curses as the wall that had just fallen rose once more before them. Nari could feel the frustration in them, but also the determination. "Shit...You got this guys! Keep up the hard work, and focus on bringing down the head! We can do this!" She tried to call out her encouragement even as she positioned herself beneath the head, waiting and watching. She wanted to be the last to strike, to draw the attention to herself. She knew that it was a dangerous gambit - just in case she somehow missed her strike, or if the

NIGHT had rushed forwards to engage the man who had appeared out of nowhere, and Nari had to restrain herself from trying to call out to the girl. Out of the two of them, NIGHT was by and far safer acting as she did, a note that Nari was trying to keep in mind nowadays. Still, as the shadow had rushed towards NIGHT, Nari couldn't help but feel herself tense up, a reaction born of the very concern that she'd always had. She's fine. You don't need to worry about her, though. Instead, Nari turned her attention to what needed to be done. There were two - now one - spawns that had appeared alongsid

The pathway had led to an entrance, continuing beneath the ground into the plethora of tunnels and caves that Nari was sure stretched a good portion - if not all - of the floor itself. She'd been through similar areas in the area for other quests, and had found them dark, unwelcoming, but a good relief from the warmth that seemed to burn and blight the upper lands of the nineth. Even Mio had shown a desire to escape into them the moment the pair had realised that their path would lead them underground. Nari, however, had hesitated. Something still didn't feel quite right with the entire situat

Nari moved in tandem with NIGHT as the girl continued onwards. She kept silent as the other explained their viewpoint on everything, their own selfish desire to escape from this world, to be back into the life where they weren't being controlled by those who had made the world - or, at least they weren't being controlled by the administrators of Aincrad. She couldn't argue with the logic, didn't want to argue in fact, and so she kept silent as they approached the keep itself. As they approached the keep itself Nari could smell a change in the air. A hint of blood and death. Something abo

The tree was putting up far better of a fight than Nari had expected. She knew that her own statistics being downed by the limitations of the system were causing things to progress far less smoothly than if she had her entire power behind her, although she was aware that it was just an excuse she was using. This thing is difficult, no matter what. Thankfully it's not proving to be overly dangerous, just an annoyance... "You're doing an awesome job as it is, Hirru. Just keep things going as you are, and I think we'll be good to go here!" She called out as she dodged another root, letting

She'd come to a stop alongside NIGHT as the girl gave her a response - one that she hadn't entirely expected. She had to admit, she'd expected to be brushed off, or told another joke, but there was an honesty in the response. The question was, in a sense, turned back towards her as NIGHT tried to figure out why she'd brought the subject up. "You've been doing this a lot longer than I have, and it seems...every once in a while I wonder why we bother. We've been here for...a time that I can't even really remember. I know it's easy to look at a calendar, but somehow that doesn't feel real.

They'd come so far, and Nari couldn't help but feel a touch of pride at the group's coordination and strength in the face of danger. She watched, closely, as the others rushed forwards and came to blows with the head that seemed determined to shock their very cores away. She held herself back, wanting to be up front with them and protecting them from the retaliation that would come if they didn't succeed in their movements, watching the field and trying to plan their next moves. Everything had moved so quickly; so much faster than Nari had expected. "Perfect strike Lessa! Ariel follow it

They'd left the village behind not long after having spoken with the Mysterious Broker. Something about the individual had left a bad feeling in Nari's stomach, and she found herself glancing back every so often as she continued down her path towards the marker that had appeared on her map. Nothing seemed to be following her, at least that she could see, but she couldn't shake the odd feeling of being watched. She'd stopped a number of times, glancing around, trying to spot anything that looked out of place in the volcanic area, before shaking her head again and carrying on. "I'm just ima

Whether it was trying to be ominous, or place some sort of exaggerated interest into the quest, the final statement of the NPC brought nothing more than a simple eyeroll from Nari. She'd long ago learnt not to be afraid, much less of the things that Aincrad had to offer. She'd faced dangers, and continued to do so, but she'd found herself without fear. It wasn't that she was fearless by any means, simply that she'd learnt that letting that fear take hold, letting it come to fruition, would leave her back where she had started. In a place that she promised she wouldn't return to again. "A

She hadn't been expecting the boost in energy that Hirru was able to provide her, but as the flash of green touched her, she felt a small amount of revitalisation. Nodding to the other, she smiled and glanced back at the tall tree-like structure that had been attempting to catch her. "It's not very fast, so it's easy enough to avoi-" As if it had been waiting to hear her gloat, the tree struck out with one of its branch-arms, catching Nari and slamming into her stomach. It was far from the most painful experience she'd had in Aincrad, but the fact that it had come when she was speaking a

Her minor flash of concern and memories of a fox disappearing into the wilderness were interrupted as a voice spoke out from beside her, causing Nari to jump in response and let out a minor screech. She turned to face a man that had pulled his hood well over his face, obscuring any chance of identifying the individual. Almost responsively, Nari had let out of confused "Huh?" "Are you the one that has accepted the quest to kill the Guardian?" It repeated the words, a tone of frustration in its voice that Nari wasn't entirely convinced was her fault. She glanced down at Mio, before looking

The floor was the exact same as Nari always remembered it; hot, humid, uncomfortable. Something about the excruciating way that the heat leaked into the crevices of, well, everything, had left her feeling more and more uncomfortable the longer she'd remained on the floor. She knew from experience that the city itself was far better off than the outer regions, where the lava flowed freely and there was nothing to cool against the otherwise painful atmosphere. "I know, I know. I hate this place as much as you do. But maybe it's good incentive to, you know, finish off the quest here and esc

The creature appeared while Nari had been looking away; a large, lumbering form that reminded her of a collection of Ents from a movie long ago. Something about its form had almost seemed peaceful when she first spotted it, and had it been roaming the fields in any other place, Nari may have assumed that it was little more than a quest giver, or a friendly NPC that could be communicated with. In this instance, however, she had Hirru to confirm that the target was in fact a danger. Something to faced and brought down at the first moment. She gave a nod of thanks as the man used his powers

The two others talked as though they were long time friends, which Nari realised they likely were. She felt a bit out of sorts, all things considered, when she realised how new to the group she truly was. It didn't feel as though they were purposefully ostracising her by any means, but she felt as though she were intruding on something that she shouldn't be a part of. She'd considered drifting away to the snack table again, before shaking off the idea. She was neither hungry, nor did she want to appear as though she was dismissing the two - aware of how rude that would be, especially to the ho

Nari had followed along behind Hirru as the green-haired warrior explained his own confusion at the situation. It surprised Nari, slightly, to learn that the issue had been a recurring one. Somehow that was both comforting and disturbing all at the same time, and she couldn't figure out whether that should be something to worry about, or simply let lay aside. She perked at his comment about himself, and his own faults, before realising that it was likely a historical story not worth bringing up. Everyone had their own dark secrets that they wished to leave behind. Nari knew that she had enough

The nineth floor had always been the bane of Nari's existence. She'd attended the boiling lands more than she cared to admit to, a frustrating fact which was only paired by the fact that there was some innate need to have housed a large number of the common quests on the same floor. As much as Nari hated it, she knew that Mio, just like his predecessor despised the floor as much, if not more, than Nari herself. "Sorry Mio...I promise I'll try and make this jaunt quick. Maybe we'll get lucky, and be in and out before you even notice what's melting and what's not..." It was the best apology

The mirror showed her a reflection that, somehow, didn't seem like her. She'd made the change with the expectation of becoming something, or someone, new. The shimmer of red that greeted her, however, made her question the decision. At first, the idea had been grand - new year, new her, after all - but as time went on she realised that changing her appearance wasn't changing who she was, not really. She heaved another sigh, before placing the dye into her menu, the shift in her hair colour coming almost instantly. The red disappeared, in its place the typical purple hue that she had com