Nari-Lanreth

“Now what sort of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t spoil you once in a while?” Nari teased, watching as NIGHT reluctantly took the fry off the fork. She quickly twirled another, eating it herself, before offering a third to NIGHT. The smile on her face saying that there was nothing to argue about, and that she was rather enjoying herself – and her current actions. “Sweet. Definitely sweet. Although…” That devilish grin again as she let the pause hang. “You look sweet, maybe I’ll just eat you for dessert.” She pretended to bite NIGHT’s shoulder, accentuating the joke beyond just the words

She gladly took a bite of the proffered fork of lamb, taking a moment to savour the flavours…before realising there were very few to begin with. She could taste the meat, and what she assumed was meant to be a seasoning on the meat itself. But it paled in comparison to what she had expected. Her face took a downturn of disappointment – less so at the dish itself, and more so at the fact that NIGHT would not be getting to enjoy the meal like Nari had the opportunity to do. “It’s…well, a little dry. And definitely could use some more seasoning…and something to balance out the flavouring.” T

Nari watched as the blonde haired girl rushed forward, swinging her blade and cutting away a large portion of the Monkey King’s health. Nari barely even flinched as Sewallus let loose his scream, an obvious attempt to draw the Monkey King’s attention to himself. Sliding herself to the left of the creature, she saw as it began to twitch – her stun affect slowly wearing off. Bringing her shield up, she readied herself to strike the being, considering her options. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to repeat the stun, that it would be a while before the effects of it had coursed through the

She considered NIGHT’s joke about wanting to show her off. She was fairly sure it was a joke. Yet something about the way it was said had Nari second guessing that, something about the connotation making her wonder if there wasn’t some truth lying beneath the joke itself. The thought was pushed aside as NIGHT took a piece of the poutine, seeming to test it and try to determine the quality of the dish. Nari could see the hesitation, the confusion in her eyes. She knew the look – someone who had never before had the dish, and could only see it as it’s components. “Well, for starters it

She nodded as Jomei gave his explanation, listening to him speak and taking everything in, but at the same time watching as Koga sent messages back and forth. He seemed to become more and more agitated with whomever he was chatting with, and Nari watched as his eyes began to twitch in response to whatever he was reading. Deciding it was safer not to prod quite yet, she returned her full attention to Jomei. “Hmm, yeah. I’ve never really cared too much about dealing damage as an attack – even my choice of strikes are all about the effects they have; being able to stun, reduce accuracy, miti

She rolled her shoulders as the last of the wolves disappeared. Bringing up her menus, she let the armour and weapons disappear, leaving her once again in her casual clothing. She glanced around, making sure there were no threats in their immediate vicinity, before returning to the conversation. “Well, yeah…but that’s the weird thing about AI. No one really knows for sure what it can do. We speculate, guess, make assumptions…but we’re not entirely sure what level of humanity it can obtain.” She knelt in a collection of nearby bushes, beginning her task of pulling through them, looking for

Iris quickly dealt with one of the remaining hounds, leaving them to outnumbered the sole survivor. Nari took the respite to change her stance, and shift herself around behind the creature – which was focused on Iris more so than Nari. She paused at her companion’s counter arguments, taking time to consider the facts. It was true, that the NPCs were programmed, and likely had limited actual emotional substance – if any. Yet, Nari had come across so many in her time here that acted irrationally, even oddly, for coded and designed features. “Yes…they are definitely just coded beings. But…we

“Well, yeah…Koga. Bismuth. I’m sure there’s some others. The frontliners as well. I don’t care what they think, but well…” She left the question itself unspoken, hoping that her companion would pick up on it. She wasn’t sure if there would be a problem, but it was far better to bring it up before it became one. She felt herself yawn – realising just how much of the day had already passed. Their food hadn’t arrived yet, but in the embrace, Nari felt like she was ready to fall asleep. That same euphoric feeling still rushing through her, she fought the urge – not yet ready to be done with t

“That’s been a question on a lot of people’s minds…” Nari spoke the words as she slid to her left, bringing her shield up and eyeing up one of the wolves that appeared most injured. Astreya was definitely dealing more of the damage here than Nari herself was, but it was still good practice simply to be able to get her muscles moving again. “Do the NPCs get lonely? Hungry?...Angry?” A quick shift to avoid a failed leap, and she was back in place, focusing on the single target, watching for the opening she knew would eventually present itself. It seemed like Astreya had drawn most of their

“I…” There was a few seconds where Nari went silent, the feel of the lips still upon her forehead, a warmth that seemed to linger. Almost blissfully, her eyes had closed halfway, a euphoric look upon her face as she seemed to bask in the attention. The sound of clattering dishes pulled her back to reality, making her aware that she hadn’t answered the question – instead sitting and humming like a purring feline. “…guess. Yes. Yes you’d need my help. Definitely.” A single breath, and then she followed up her concrete answer with the unsure question. “Remind me what I’m helping with again…?

Nari listened as the other explained their troubles. She could see the eyes of the creature – first laying upon Yuki, likely mistaking her for a play mate, before moving to the coffee cup on the table – looking for something to do. Nari recognised the look, a look that a dog she had once had would often carry. She wasn’t sure that the behaviours should carry over to this game, but…well, weirder things had occurred hadn’t they? “I’m guessing you haven’t completed the quest to train them yet, have you?” She turned her attention towards the small cat, smiling. She could almost see the look i

She stepped back as Iris ran past, swinging her large sword in an arc that caught one of the stunned creatures, causing its health to dip slightly. Iris’ question made Nari glance over towards Nemo, seeing the man standing off by himself, smiling as they tore into his pets. She wondered if the NPC even noticed what was going on, or if there was no registration to the situation at all. “I…I’m not sure. It seems like he’s more interested in having friends over, compared to being concerned for his pets, at least for the time being.” She turned her gaze back to the wolves, which had begun to

Nari shook her head in response. Not that she didn’t want to believe Iris. She just knew better. With a scandal like this, it was unlikely that the servers that hosted the game would be left up and running once they had all escaped – if. She also doubted that she’d – or anyone else, for that matter – see a single penny after they escaped. Even were the company themselves still alive, Nari doubted they’d have the finances left to scrounge anything to pay off any lawsuits. “Maybe not everyone…but anyways, we’re here for some fun, right? What do you say we try our hand at taking out some of

She nodded at Iris’s final comment. Sometimes she found herself forgetting it was just a game. It seemed, with every passing day, that the game was becoming more of their reality. The real world a glimmer of a dream, left behind – replaced by their newfound homes. “Yeah…I know what you mean…sometimes I forget that we’re fighting to get out. Well, I don’t really forget, so much as…the world just seems to be this place. It’s like…I know that we’re in a game, but you forget that it is a game. You wake up, and this is life. Everything beyond it is…just not. At least, for now.” She contin

She crossed the bridge with a carefree attitude, spinning halfway across to look back at the other two in the group. Her eyes aimed mostly at Jomei, with a glance at Koga once in a while to try and read his expression. The man had immediately become engrained with his messaging, as if he were trying to… She shook her head mentally at the thought, figuring her couldn’t possibly be doing that. “Hey, Jomei. I uh…mentioned that I had some questions. And I know it’s not really your forte, so to speak…but uhm…well, in boss battles – what’s your general view of the tanks that are there? Do you f

She listened as Morningstar gave his information, assuring them both that it would be relatively safe. Nari knew she would have to take his word on it – she’d never been to this area before, and she knew nothing about it. It caused her to be at a slight disadvantage, only in the sense that she was walking into something she didn’t fully understand. ‘Which seems to be the case in much of Aincrad…’ “Can’t say I’ve had the joy of fighting lizardmen, is there anything specific I should know about them? Any immunities? Special strikes? Things to watch out for?” Her questions were half-hearted,

Nari smiled at the girl’s quick rebuttal. She had been intending to fix the whole bathroom situation, it just…hadn’t been a high priority quite yet. Still, it was on the list, and likely something that she should consider actually getting around to – she had the col, she was just…reluctant. “I’ve never actually had the…pleasure…of being in a sorority. They’re not big where I’m from, especially seeing as most people tend to live at home and commute to school. Or, at least, the people I knew did. Some people stayed on campus – but that wasn’t the majority by any means.” Thinking about

The group effort had been far more effective than Nari could’ve imagined – the creature’s health had depleted extensively with the continuous attacks they had poured into it. She had watched Jomei’s leap, and the follow up strike of the familiar after her own assault had landed. Astreya quickly striding in and slamming her blade into the creature, the health bar quickly depleting as the weapons laid into the larger creature’s sides. Another quick dip as the after affects of the assaults took hold, leaving the creature stumbling backwards, nearly three quarters of its health torn away as t

She huffed at the commentary, her face shifting to what she hoped looked like she was pouting at the suggestion. She knew that NIGHT had meant it in jest, that it was nothing more than a joke. And yet, a small part of her was upset by the idea. When she spoke, her words came out with a tone that suggested hurt pride, as if she had taken the commentary to heart. “Considering you’re the first…there really wouldn’t be much to tell. And it’s not like I…do this a lot. Or, well…ever. You are the…well, the first. And…well…I mean it’s not…” Her words fell to silence as she seemed to draw inwards,

Nari blinked once. Then twice. Then a large smile. “Actually, I hadn’t. But now that you bring it up…are you coming back tonight?” Suddenly remembering why they had come to the restaurant in the first place, she pulled up the ordering forms, frantically searching before she found what she was looking for. Swinging the menu over so that NIGHT could view it as well, she’ll glance towards the girl. “Lamb, right? Does this one sound appealing? It’s the only one I could find that mentioned it…” Her left hand had shifted into her hair, twirling it as she waited for a response, hoping she h

“I'm not fawning…am I?” Her confidence wavered only slightly as she considered the possibility. “It’s just…really good. And I haven’t had one in a long time and it came to mind…and you’re totally making fun of me right now.” She was about to stick her tongue out in retaliation, when her eyes caught sight of the interior of the restaurant. Built similar to a cabin style, Nari was enraptured momentarily by the coziness that came with the atmosphere. A fire place – located on each wall – provided warmth to the nearby tables and patrons – the latter of which there were few of. Following

“Well, in the real world I would cook by feel. Here it’s so…precise. There’s no originality to it, you just follow the steps and you get what you get.” She remembered her attempt at making steaks, not so long ago. It had gone, well, to the trash. Even Yuki had refused to touch the abomination that had once been a meat, but was now most likely some charred remains of dignity. She was suspicious when NIGHT found the dish, having to check the menu herself. Her eyes narrowed as she read the board, and although she immediately wanted to voice her distrust, she was also aware of the effort NIGH

She had just packed away the last of the materials when the ding of a message came in. Her eyes roamed over it once, then again as she felt herself beginning to giggle. From across the shop, a soft yawn echoed in the air, drawing Nari’s eyes away from the request for help, and to her own familiar. “What do you say, Yuki? Should we go help someone round up a misbehaving cat? Could be fun, if nothing else?” The little fox responded only with a blink of its eyes, something that Nari assumed was an agreement – of sorts. Or about as close as she was likely to get from her companion. Either way

Her shoulders dropped slightly at Koga’s words, wondering why he was being so resistant. She had made things up with NIGHT so easily, and yet, here Koga stood shoving her further away. She felt a familiar fear growing in her as her eyes glanced over at Jomei, for a brief moment a look of pleading in them before they turned back to Koga. “I…Koga I’m serious. There’s something between us. When she spent the nigh-“ Her mouth snapped shut as she realised what she was about to say, turning bright red. “…when we spent the day together the other day, well, it just…things just happened. And…look,

Lamb sounded good, but as Nari considered her options, she realised what she truly wanted. Something she hadn’t had in quite some time, but she wasn’t even sure was available here in Aincrad. Her nose scrunched slightly at the commentary of home cooked meals, and she felt the tip of her tongue slide out between her teeth. “I can cook just fine in the real world, but here…I just don’t have the patience. That’s where Onóra comes in. She loves cooking. It’s her thing, not mine.” A moment of thought, and then she turned what she hoped was puppy eyes towards NIGHT. “Do you cook?” “More i