Nari-Lanreth

NIGHT seemed to shift in from nowhere, her blade landed a blow on something within the chaos of wind that made up their opponent’s body. Nari sighed a breath of relief as the wind seemed to calm for a moment – likely in reaction to the health bar sliding slightly. It wasn’t a ton – far more than Nari could do, that was true – but it was something, a start. A sudden wonder popped into Nari’s mind as she realised that NIGHT had managed to draw the attention of the creature towards itself – something that she didn’t like the sound of. Taking advantage of the deadened air, she rushed forwards

Focused on the air elemental before her, Nari cursed the wind slamming against her. She tried calling out to NIGHT, but even she could tell her voice was lost on the winds around them. Gritting her teeth, she knew that she would have to focus on drawing all its attention towards her – which meant that she needed to strike it, repeatedly. ‘If I can just land a single strike…that would be a good start.’ She forced her feet to slide forwards, using her shield as a block from the gusts that continued to bombard her. She knew that this would be a challenge – but she hadn’t expected the challen

Focused on the tunnel ahead, and the new room it led to, Nari missed most of what was said by her companion. She felt herself come short as she took in the crystals along the walls, her eyes looking around – not in wonder, but in search. She wasn’t going to let something catch her by surprise again, now she would hunt whatever awaited them. “Do you think whatever we have to face next is going to be in here?” The words were out of her mouth before she had time to take into consideration that they’d only just entered the room – that NIGHT would have the same amount of information that she h

Nari’s eyes narrowed as she let the spear fall back into the crook of her elbow, shifting her weight onto her left leg and placing her right on her hip – the shield covering a good portion of her as it leaned with her arm. She stuck her tongue out at NIGHT for a moment, before remembering who she was talking to, and instead plastering a smile on her face. “The fact that you had to clarify makes me wonder…” She glanced at the spot the golems had been just moments ago, and her playful smile disappeared. “You may be right though…I need something more to draw attention to myself. Howl, or may

Nari let her eyes shift towards NIGHT as the girl spoke, her face void of any emotion while she held her combative stance – the shield raise, with the spear levelled across the top left corner, settled into the dip in the shield’s otherwise rectangular design. For a single heartbeat she seemed not to notice the worlds, her eyes empty of any recognition, before a sudden light filled them. “Howl…? Oh…uhm, yeah.” Her eyes shifted back to the two golems, considering her options. She hadn’t had much luck with striking both at once, and she decided that it was time to simply do what she did bes

The flash of NIGHT slipped by Nari’s guard, slashing out at the two rock golems before Nari could even react. A single trace of orange hung on the air as the girl’s attack lashed out against their enemies, tearing into them. Nari could see their health bars drain as NIGHT’s attack did more damage than Nari could ever dream of doing, and she felt herself grumble as she realised she needed to do something to get back into this fight. ‘I’m not going down as useless. No way, not if I want to make my way to the frontlines – I need to prove myself. Here. Now. No more games.’ Steadying herself,

Nari smiled slightly as NIGHT took the bait, falling into a modicum of humorous banter as she made her way towards the centre tunnel. Nari, falling in behind the girl, cocked her head before responding to the commentary, her voice dripping with a tone that spoke of the joke behind the words. “With a back like that, why wouldn’t I watch it?” She was just about to add to her commentary when something clattered behind her. Turning, she found herself face to face with what appeared to be large, stone golems – two of them standing side by side, having awoken from the boulders that had lined th

Silence hung between the two for about three seconds before Nari burst out laughing. She had to hold herself upright with the spear as the laughter took over her, tears forming in her eyes. A few seconds later, she had her giggles under control enough to be able to speak, the words coming out haltingly between further bursts of giggles. “I’m…sorry. I’m not…not laughing at you. It’s just…It’s just that you’re right. You’re completely right.” Another string of giggles and a few incoherent words, before she managed to get herself under control again. “Alright, point one to NIGHT. You win tha

The shriek echoed around the cavern as Nari jumped a good half metre into the air, her weapon whipping around and bouncing off a nearby stone as she fell forward, her leap of fear throwing off her balance and taking her to the ground. Her heart was beating faster than she thought it had any right to, and as she looked up, she NIGHT standing above her. She could’ve sworn there was a mischievous twinkle in the girl’s eyes, and Nari felt herself flush – both at realising what had been said, and her own reaction to the whole situation. “Not funny. So not funny…okay, maybe a little funny.” She

Nari tucked her spear in against herself, the shield dropping as her arm fell from its battle ready position. A sheepish look on her face, she mumbled her apology. “Sorry…I should’ve been…more useful there…I don’t know what happened I don’t usually have these sorts of issues…” She took a few steps before stopping, turning back to face NIGHT she let her smile split her face as her eyes filled with a wicked sparkle. “So…you don’t like getting wet, then?” She giggled to herself before continuing down the tunnel, seeing a light blue shine in the distance – a large opening that seemed to

Nari felt herself grinning as the other player countered her joke, the humour clearly not lost on NIGHT as Nari had thought it might be. She watched as the other player brushed past, obliterating the first two creatures with a show of flash, and leaving the two remaining with heavily depleted health bars. Nari twirled her spear, determined to at least do something useful this fight. Bringing the weapon in a rounded spin, she twisted herself in a circle, letting the weapon pick up her momentum and hopefully add to the strike – with any luck, at least. She watched as both creatures leapt ba

“Yeah let’s just…take caution. Especially if neither of us is entirely sure what lays within.” She’ll pause as she suddenly pulls up her inventory, retrieving one of the blank map data pieces she’d purchased, setting it up to trace their route as they went – knowing that it would be useful later. “I knew buying these would be worth the col…” With the map set up and running, she’ll pull her spear out from where it was tucked into her left shoulder, giving it a confident twirl before glancing around the darker area. She could see movement in the distance, as something clinging to the shadow

“I…think we should be okay – but I’ll be honest, Cardinal is not doing what it normally would here, so I’m skeptical of…well, everything. Let’s proceed with caution.” She’ll cast a quick glance over the room they were in, her gaze trying to decipher something about the entire area, before returning her attention to their new destination. She could see the main raised area in the centre, the pillars around it containing the switches that would – theoretically, based off what she had seen, cause some sort of reaction within the room itself. Throwing a glance towards Cleo, she’ll slide into

Nari let her hand fall away from NIGHT’s face, the smile still shimmering, if dulled slightly at the reminder. She nodded slowly, her eyes still locked on NIGHT’s own. “Yeah…yeah you did…” Her eyes lingered on the other girl for a few seconds, before she turned her attention back to their surroundings. Her gaze roamed over the area – realising suddenly just how far they had come from Ronbaru. As much as she didn’t want to break the moment, she knew that they still had some grinding to do – but perhaps later they could pick up where she had left off. She felt there was still more to say, o

The sudden grasp on her wrist, the tone of the other girl, the scowl and look in her eyes. Everything caused Nari to pause, to wonder…She cocked her head again, trying to get a new angle on the situation, trying to understand what had shifted – what had changed. She couldn’t quite figure out the sudden emotion, the aggression coming from the other. “Name…on your head? What’s that about?” She stared at the other girl for a moment, trying to figure out just what she was saying. “NIGHT…I don’t planning on falling. I can’t just give up anymore. I have…people waiting for me. To return. I…”

“What’s gotten into me? I’ve…found purpose. In life, I guess.” Her head tilted backwards as she stared up into the ever dark sky, contemplating the changes in herself. She’d been…different, since she attended the waterfall. Even Onóra had commented on it. Shrugging it off and smiling at NIGHT, she’ll add, “I guess it’s just…for once, in a very long time, I have something to look forward to. It…makes a huge difference.” Walking in silence again for a few moments, she’ll ponder the little bit of information that NIGHT had given. She didn’t enjoy the thought of not being able to teleport out

“It was…revealing. About who I’ve been, and what I’ve done…and who I should be.” Her voice took on a hushed tone, the smile dropping away. “My Sempai used to teach me that to look into oneself was to find the true enemy. I always thought it meant that we found that which we hated in ourselves. But after the whole waterfall thing, I think it was more about we see the faults in ourselves, and learn how to truly face them…” A few steps of silence, before she glances over at NIGHT. The girl didn’t talk much – Nari could understand, and even empathise with that. Some people just…preferred sile

“I’ve been…keeping busy. Between attending to a few quests – do you know Oji? We recently trained…well, I retrained, but he trained…our familiars. Yuki’s learning to be more protective.” Her left hand rose to scratch the little fox on the head. She’d dropped back beside NIGHT, facing the direction they were facing as they exited the city. The moment they had passed through the gates, she’d brought up her menu, donning her armour, shield and spear. A quick smile tossed towards NIGHT, before she continued her words. “And…well, I spent some time with Ir-Astreya, in Nemo’s garden. Did some fo

Nari listened as Oji talked, relishing in just the words. She found herself smiling – even as he spoke of the horrors of the world around them, and beyond. The ideas were something similar to her own, words that she herself had thought, if not spoken, before. Hearing them from another was comforting, even if she had reservations. “I look forward to the day when we’re both on the frontlines together, Oji. I made a promise to another once – one whom I need to make amends with, to show that the promise I made still stands.” Her eyes close again for a moment as her head rolls backwards, the

A quick nod, and then Nari will turn and begin leading the way out of Ronbaru proper, waving at an NPC as they passed – a elegant looking woman in a longer dress, with a consistent scowl on her face. The NPC seemed to pay Nari no mind, but the entire encounter seemed to bring a smile to her face. Spinning as she walked, she turned to look at NIGHT, the smile still on her face as she wandered backwards towards the gate, her head cocked slightly. “Hey, so uhm…I know it’s been a while since we last talked…how have you been?” The words are calmer now, the hysteria upon her appearance se

Letting her head fall backwards, she’ll close her eyes. Considering the words that Oji had said, she’ll toss a few responses around in her head – none of them quite capturing what she wanted to say. Eventually, settling on a single phrase, she’ll speak the words aloud – a tone as of one reciting something heard long ago on her tongue. “Fear not that which stands in your way, but rather than which drives you backwards.” Her eyes still closed; she’ll sigh a bit before continuing. “My Sempai taught us that phrase many years ago – that we shouldn’t allow fear of the thing before us to hinder

The messages came in, dinging in succession. She read them quickly – the words condescend in what Nari could only assume was a means of saving time. She rolled over and immediately fell off the counter – forgetting that she hadn’t been laying on her bed at all. “Ow! Shit! Ugh. Fifteen minutes?! I…need a shower…” Rushing up the stairs to her bathroom, she made sure that her shower wasn’t already in use before quickly running through her cleansing cycle. Twenty minutes later she was out the door and rushing down towards the teleporter, her armour currently stored in favour of the black legg

She’d spent the last few days… or had it been weeks?...scrounging around Aincrad, looking for better gear, for better drops, for better… well, everything. She felt tired, mostly. But she knew there was still more grinding to be done – that’s how it always went with these games, didn’t it? ‘Just when you think you’re ready… another surprise and you need to restart everything.’ She smiled at the thought, realising that once she had relished that exact play style. Now though… well, she still enjoyed it, but a break once in a while would be nice. Shifting herself more comfortably on the

Nari nodded from her spot on the ground, rolling over onto her stomach and placing her hands beneath her chin. Staring at Astreya, she’ll smile for a moment, before speaking again. “Completely understandable – honestly, I would say it’s fairly rare to make those sorts of connections with someone in a game. It’s…well, most people are well reserved in games. Either placing a façade around their identities by playing their character, or simply refusing to speak about themselves.” Her eyes will glance upwards towards the sky for a moment, before looking back down, her left hand snaking out an

Nari glanced backwards at the squeal from Astreya, spotting the moment that she rushed forward to bother Oji about the sable hidden away in his shirt. She had caught the tail end of the conversation about the fight – reminding her of the events that had occurred there, and bringing a slight reddening to her ears in turn. Deciding that she couldn’t hide away, she turned back around – continuing her walk, unaided by her vision – smiling, and waving a hand towards Astreya. “Careful Oji, if she’s of the right mind she may decide she likes Soup so much she’ll want to keep him.” A slight