Nari-Lanreth

Crazed. It was the only way to explain the man's actions. He rushed forwards, undeterred by the damage that Nari had already done to him. Uncaring about the danger he was putting himself in, just to reach her. Uncaring that his life would be ended if he kept going. Nari couldn't help but wonder at the madness. Not that she could do anything about it, the man was determined to pummel her into the ground, and given the chance he might just be able to do so. Not that I'm going to give him the chance to do that...I won't go down that easily, ever. Her scythe whipped outwards from behind her,

The flames seemed to cause him more pain, more distress, than the actual attacks that Nari had made earlier. As he rushed forwards, Nari barely managed to parry his attacks. Her scythe seemed to shake in response, the weapon becoming heavy in her hand as she tried to keep it between him and herself. She could hear the screams echoing still, as if a daemon that sped him along his path towards his target. The face was pulled back into a snarl, reminding Nari of a snapping animal trying to get to its quarry behind bars, desperately pushing against them. She pushed against him with the scythe, for

His fury unleashed the moment the stun effect wore off, his body twisting to meet her and rushing forwards. Nari was there to greet him, her scythe repelling his first onslaught, before putting him on the defensive - the whirlwind of blade and haft forcing the man backwards into the wall, giving him no where further to retreat. She watched as the anger grew within him, the expressions on his face taking on something akin to madness as he tried without success to get through her onslaught. She focused on only one thing, keeping him at bay, wearing down his energy, tiring him out. She watched fo

Laughter met her words, and as Nari waited for the man to rush forwards, she couldn't help but noticed the overconfidence in his face, in his body, in his very movements. His arms were wide, leaving openings that were perfect for her strikes - so long as she could match his speed. I don't need to match his speed...I just need to predict his movements. Know where he's going to go, react and overcome. Surprise him with planning, with learning him. She waited for him to come close enough before unleashing her fury, the scythe dancing in a pattern that forced him back, to the left, to the right, t

As the second blow landed into her stomach, Nari began to worry. The man was on top of her, smashing aside her defences like they were absolutely nothing, giving her no time to recover and rebound on her assault. She was helpless beneath his flurry, helpless to do anything but accept it. She felt the worry, the fear, beginning to gnaw at her spine - the tingling feeling rushing to her fingertips and loosening the grip on her scythe, making her arms heavy and her breathing shallow. She could feel the panic taking over, the concern for her safety - her very survival - becoming paramount. A

Whoever the man was, he was fast. Nari's scythe caught nothing but open air as the man moved, putting distance between the two of them as he sought to escape the purple-haired woman's weapon. Nari shifted her stance as she went, hoping to chase the man with a backhanded strike - only to find him on the opposite side of her, his arms pulled back as he prepared to strike out at her in return. Not ready to give him such an opening, she pushed off with her one planted food, forcing herself towards him - and in turn forcing the man to readjust, and miss his initial strike. The two parried bac

She stopped to check her mini-map again, confirming that there was still a final small bend before she was out. Which meant that the light wouldn't be filtering in this far beneath the ground. Nari felt her stomach flip slightly as she considered the possibilities. It could be another player, coming to do the quest she'd just completed. None of the NPCs have reset yet though...which they should have done, if that were the case. Her mind drifted towards darker possibilities - groups of players hunting other players, for whatever purpose they felt they needed to do such a thing. Uncertain

The tunnels somehow seemed longer on the way out. As Nari turned yet another corner, she found herself questioning if it had taken this long to get where she was going on the way in. She knew that the return trip always felt different - for some people, it was faster. For others, it would feel as if eternity itself was stretching outwards - trapping them longer and longer in the same spot. Nari had never taken the time to consider it either way, but as she stopped at the T-section and glanced around she couldn't help but wonder; Did I take a wrong turn...? She checked her mini-map again,

The tunnels sounded eerily quiet to Nari's ears as she made her way back along paths that she had taken on the way in. It made sense, considering that she'd torn apart any bandits that she'd come across on her way in. Still, the lack of life that seemed to surround her - or even the lack of non-living - felt unsettling. The place had a deserted feel to it, as if there hadn't been life here for a long, long time, and no matter how she tried to shake the feeling it just wouldn't go away. "Chilly. That's the best way to describe it. A chill that seems to hover over the very soul, rather than

The fighting had driven the soldiers back around Nari, blocking her view of Jomei as they tried to encircle her again. She could hear the echoing screams of the fighting beyond her little circle, the rising smoke of burning buildings visible just above the heads of her combatants. Everything beyond that, was lost as they rushed forward, trying to overwhelm her. She blocked the first few strikes, before the soldier to her left managed to overcome her and slash across her side. Her scythe whipped around, attempting to slash the man through his centre, but missing entirely. Instead, it foun

The flow of the enemy force overwhelmed Nari, her scythe flashing against the bodies that surrounded her. She'd lost sight of Jomei the moment the rush came in, soldiers surrounding her and attempting to slash at her with their smaller weapons. Her scythe, thankfully, kept most of them at length - well beyond their ability to reach her. That luck didn't last long, however, as she felt something pierce into her back. Reactionary, she spun and slashed at the man, her scythe tearing through him and giving her a view of her ginger companion. The man was surrounded, just like Nari, his Rapie

"Confident." The remark was short, and void of emotion as Nari watched the last of the townsfolk disappear from sight. She couldn't help but appreciate the collected appearance Jomei was maintaining, her own far less so. She fidgeted with her scythe, the anxiety within her visible even through the cold passiveness she was trying to maintain. Her eyes carried that worry as they glanced back up towards the soldiers waiting on the hill, still crying out to the skies above them, as if they hadn't tired at all of doing so for longer than Nari cared to check. "Ready? To face down an entire army, wit

Nari couldn't help it - she burst out of her cover laughing her ass off as Jomei's bravado got the better of him and he was pelted not once, but twice by a combination of Lessa and FaeFae. She took her opportunity to toss a could of shots towards Fae, before rushing back for cover as she felt something coming towards her. She didn't bother checking, just diving behind a tree in hopes that whomever had tossed something towards her ended up missing. "Hey Jomei, just keep doing what you're doing! Distract, distract dis-" Her words were cut short as she heard rustling nearby, forcing her to m

The message had caught Nari by surprise, midway through her preparations to head out on a venture of her own. She glanced up from tying her boots - not that it was required in this world, but it somehow felt more comfortable to do so - in order to stare at the flashing icon in surprise. Moments based, before Yuki let out a questioning yip. Shaking herself from her daze, Nari palmed the message, waving her other hand at the fox and mumbling in response to the verbal confusion. "Yeah, yeah...I'm checking it...huh, message from Hirru..." Her eyes scanned the message twice, piecing together

Nari's scythe flowed through the air, creating a soft breeze as she twirled it around herself, bringing about her movements to a crescendo. Her movements weren't meant to be flashy, or to show off, but rather to create a storm of directions to confuse the target before her, hoping to create openings in his defence that wold allow her to land her hit without fault or effort. Designed to create a moment of hesitation, that would provide the landing point she needed to end it all. She wasn't left disappointed, as the individual's blade raised high into the air to block what they thought was

The final two had come rushing from her side, either hoping to flank her or to catch her off guard entirely. Either way, their plan was disrupted by the small bundle of white that shot outwards and towards them, blocking their forward movement and allowing Nari to deal with the original one who had remained. Turning to the two newcomers, Nari had allowed her scythe to flow through a circling movement, stopping it behind her for a brief moment to allow herself to centralise her balance. Either sensing her movements, or simply understanding what was coming next, Yuki had retreated to provi

One had managed to avoid her strike, the individual nearly falling over its feet as it rushed backwards in an attempt to escape. Nari was on them all before any had a chance to draw their weapons, lashing out left and right with her scythe in a display of death and destruction that would likely have been considered concerning by many of those she had once walked the paths of Aincrad alongside. She gave no mercy, falling upon her victims in a way that bespoke her rage, her anger at everything that had occurred and continued to occur. Her desire to escape, to live, to strike back, all released a

Nari waited for the small shift in the fox's body that acknowledged it was ready to rush out. It didn't take long, Yuki accepting, or agreeing with her desired course of action - something that she knew she wouldn't be able to figure out right now. Perhaps one day, she would better understand her companion, or maybe she would always be lost about what it truly desired - if it had any desires, that was. For the time being, Nari turned her attention to getting them out of here. It was the only thing that mattered, right now. Their escape from the cavern, breaking free of the mess she had g

Her thoughts were interrupted at the sound of voices, coming from nearby. Beside her, Yuki stood at attention, the fur on the back of her neck standing up as she silently watched the area beyond. Nari placed a hand on the fox's back, before pulling herself to her feet. She glanced outwards, trying to find a source for the voices before realising that they were likely around the corner, just out of their sight. Whispering lowly so that only Yuki would hear her, Nari carefully moved forwards towards the opening in their hiding spot. "Alright, I'm feeling better, so why don't we see what's waitin

Nari wasn't sure if she'd accidentally fallen asleep or not, but she found herself startled back to consciousness and awareness as the fox beside her shifted in place. Yuki still stood with her back to Nari, staring out into the cavern beyond their hiding place, keeping guard. For a moment, Nari found herself overly touched by the fox's behaviour - it was always there for her, no matter what. Rewards will be in order, once we get out of this place...and not just some silly little treats. Yuki deserves some recognition for what she's done for me...what she's always done... Nari wondered, f

Nari felt herself tense up at the sound of footsteps rushing by, the sound seeming to echo off the rock walls that made up the area surrounding her. For a brief second, she felt the sound getting closer, almost certain that it was right beyond the outcropping she hid within. Almost as quickly as it had approached, it faltered off, leaving her alone with the sounds receding into the distance. She let out a breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding in, relaxing her head back against the wall behind her. For the moment, she was safe - left alone with her thoughts. That was more tha

She barely made it up the steps before another knocked at the door. Jomei had already returned to the door by the time Nari had turned around, curious to see whom would arrive next. The ginger stepped back, letting in a familiar face that Nari hadn't seen in a while. It took her a few seconds to recognise the face, calling out with excitement as soon as she did. "FaeFae! I'm so glad you could make it! How've you been? More importantly - where have you been hiding?! Or, well, I guess maybe I'm the one...anyways! Glad to see you're here! I'm hoping that @NIGHT might join us later, but who k

Nari nodded in response to Hirru's call, a large smile on her face. Although there was competition, it was clear that those who'd arrived thus far were in this for one reason - the need to get together, and have some fun once again. Something that broke away from the darker aspects of Aincrad, something happy. Something wonderful...and a bit cold. Her hand slid through the snow as she palmed another ball into existence, before turning her attention towards her target. The blonde had appeared as if out of nowhere, calling out to Jomei - a sign that she was likely a long-time friend of the