Nari-Lanreth

"Hey! I can be flexible and unique and different!" Nari's eyes passed over the area, looking for something else to draw her attention away from the wolves she'd spotted just before Onora had spoken. It vexed her that the woman knew exactly what she was going to suggest, before she suggested it. It also vexed her that she knew Onora had already foreseen what was about to occur, because she knew the knightess well enough to figure out her plan of action. "Aha! How about those?" Onora followed the pointed finger, her eyes locking onto the tall, insectoid alien looking things in the distance

Whatever argument may have been voiced next was lost at the sound of Nemo's voice cutting in, his typical happy-go-lucky tone signifying their arrival to the garden. "We're here! I hope you enjoy what you find inside. I've collected a large number of creatures, plants and assorted items that I think will be appealing to everyone!" Nari turned to the NPC, her smile honest. "Thank you for inviting us Nemo, it's always a pleasure to come visit you and your garden of collections...I don't know if you remember our history, but...well, I appreciate your welcoming form in the present. It's...it

Nari poked Onora, the woman having fallen silent once more during their casual pace behind Nemo. They'd fallen back once the NPC had begun to lead them in earnest, putting a single step distance between them and him. He had continued to narrate stories that had long ago been told to both the women, and having no further interest in them they had feigned an awareness to the words, when in actuality they had fallen back to discuss other topics of interest. Most recently had been Nari's prodding of Onora's recent development of a new clothing line in Aincrad's lower levels - an involvement that O

Nemo's greeting had been enthusiastic to say the least. The man had almost leapt at being approached, and Nari had found herself sharing a glance with Onora as the two wondered just how sparing his visits had been as of late. Smiling to herself, and trying to show some interest in the stories that the man had started sharing almost immediately, Nari had fallen in alongside Nemo as he began to lead the two towards his garden. Beside her she'd felt Onora press close, her words lowered so that the NPC would be less likely to hear them, although Nari doubted the man-dragon would care about anythin

"Listen, all I'm saying is that there's no reason to not add chocolate to everything, right? I mean, obviously it's not going to go with somethings, but in general-" "In general it's going to taste disgusting." Onora's voice cut off the argument Nari was making, her voice harsh and almost condescending, but the smile on her face clearly telling Nari that the woman wasn't being entirely serious about the commentary. Nari gave a heavy sigh and groan of frustration, pushing herself off the counter and tossing a marshmallow at the other, the piece dropping far short of the blonde's form and b

So, you did know love?Nari felt herself recoil at the words, her mind repeating them over and over again even as the flow of conversation reached a hiatus, and eventually end. She hadn't expected the revelation, the statement catching her entirely unaware and off guard. She wasn't sure what to make of it, and yet somehow she felt it was important. Perhaps not damning or judgemental in nature, but the way that the other player had stated it left her feeling as if she'd faced some test, some unknown review to determine her place. She wasn't sure whether she had passed, failed, or if it had been

The first of the pair exploded into shards, giving a momentary pause to the assault as it's companion seemed to falter. Nari could see the confusion on it's face as it glanced towards where it's companion had stood mere moments before, as if wondering where they had disappeared to in the heat of the moment. She wondered if it had finally realised the danger in a forward assault against her, and the retaliatory measures that she implemented in order to keep the things at bay and the fight under her control. Tiring as it may be, Nari couldn't help but feel a moment of pride at what she had accom

The first humanoid creature had frozen in place, it's health dipping even as the stunned effect had ripped across it's body. Nari had felt herself give paused as she considered the finality of the battle - barely dodging out of the way as a set of claws raked past her face. She blinked in surprise, realising belatedly that her spear strike had missed the second creature, the thing coming forwards with it's monotonous energy and drive. Even with her lack of awareness however, the thing's strikes were wide and far from their mark, leaving no sting upon Nari's skin as it failed to connect with he

She chose her moment carefully, watching as the pair came closer and closer to her, their movements more and more erratic the longer the fight was going. Nari had given up dodging their assaults altogether, using the shield to simply block the half-hearted strikes. There was little left in the pair, a minimal amount of energy and zealousness that seemed to be fading as each second ticked by, barely keeping up the anger that had spurned them on mere moments ago. Nari could see the lingering death in their features - the acceptance that they were going to lose this fight, and there was nothing t

The thorns lashed out again as the creatures impacted against the shield, causing her health to drop ever so slightly before it returned to it's original amount. The fish creatures weren't nearly as lucky however, their own health dipping heavily as the reactionary spikes flashed from the shield and penetrated their forms before quickly disappearing from sight again. Nari had long since stopped questioning whether the pair would figure out the detriment to their own health or not, simply accepting that they would likely impale themselves to death upon her defences. All the less for me to do, s

With the leader gone and dead Nari found the two remaining creatures more animalistic than they had been earlier, their movements and strikes given over to a pure collection of swats and slams rather than any coordinated assault. She wondered for the first time if perhaps they would be able to overwhelm her, her steps being forced backwards towards the water as the two launched their entire form against her without hesitation or restraint. Shifting even as she moved, she turned herself in a slow circle, allowing the strikes to impact the more protected parts of her body and avoiding the

The large form of the creature seemed to become frantic as the escape route it had been determined to use was cut off. Screeching in a way that Nari hadn't previously heard from it, it seemed to lurch and sway in the air before her, as if hoping to cause her to retreat in fear. Gritting her teeth against the sound, she instead jabbed forwards, pushing the spear into the centre of the thing's form and twisting it in a way that activated the explosive skill, causing the very scaled exterior to explode slightly. She watched as flames and frost mingled together over it's hide and tore away at what

The sudden shift in momentum caught her off guard, as steps forward ceased motion and the body before her spun in an almost sinister, naturally defying manner to face her, Nari felt her heart rate rise. Adrenaline shot through her entire form as she felt her hands twitch; the motion reactive in nature in response to the sudden face she found herself before, it's eyes piercing through her in ways that she hadn't felt in quite some time. The question was simple, one which Nari herself had asked once or twice before. Who are the real monsters? She found herself, however, unable to answer it. She'

As the creature burst into shards, Nari's eyes shifted towards the waterfront, looking for the shifting lapse of waves that would signify another of the creatures emerging from the depths. She held her breath, sighing after a few seconds as nothing emerged to greet her vision - and she realised that she was finally heading in a direction where the finality of the fight was becoming clear. She could feel the sudden shift of the battle, an almost relief like feeling having washed over her the moment she realised that no reinforcements were arriving. "Looks like we're finally coming to the

The creatures had rushed upwards to swarm at her again, and Nari prepared herself, bringing her shield up and leveling the spear across it's top corner. She waited, watching as they crossed the short distance without care or worry. She felt the reverberation as one of the creatures slammed directly onto the spearhead, apparently unbothered as it wiggled up the spear's length, it's body slowly frosting over as the weapon released it's core effects into the creature. No sooner had the thing impaled itself than Nari found herself swarmed by the others, their forms closing over her and batt

No sooner had she made her realisation than she felt a measure of energy course back into her. Once more she returned to her dance of dodging the assaults of the creatures, letting them slash and whip about in the trails of her movements, focusing on avoiding as much as deflecting. She was careful in her return strikes, stabbing outwards only during those openings she was sure would not leave her ready for retaliation, knowing all too well that she had as much time as she required in this conflict. Instead of pressing her attacks, she found herself falling back, leading the gaggle of creatures

The fight had already gone on too long as far as Nari was concerned. She was almost out of energy, and what little damage the creature's had done was beginning to wear on her mentally. She doubted she was in danger of any actual death, but there was a rush of adrenaline that had been flowing through her veins that had begun to subside, the energy of it leaving her feel drained and doubting her success. She knew that if more of the creatures appeared and worked together in swarm, she would be in trouble. For a brief second she considered the teleportation crystal, wondering if it wouldn't be sa

The weapon had struck true as the create leapt forward ahead of it's companions, almost impaling itself upon the spear's tip in it's rush to engage Nari. She had been quick to react, letting the weapon slide across it's side and engaging the explosive art as it came close - watching as the frost spread from blade to skin as it contacted the creature and forced it to retreat momentarily. The respite was brief, and before Nari could truly take a full breath the remainder of the creatures had rushed towards her in a blind fury meant to overpower and overwhelm her. She raised her shield, blocking

It didn't seem to matter how much they slashed and slammed into her, and Nari found herself sighing in a mixture of boredom, frustration and slight disgust at how easy it was to overcome the monsters of this floor. She figured, the more aware and realistic part of her mind at least, that it was likely good that these things were easy enough to face and bring down alone. But she would be lying if she didn't admit that a part of her wanted nothing more than to find a small challenge in the fight. To find that difficulty that all gamers looked for when it game to their games - just difficult enou

They came in a single rush, allowing Nari to dodge out of the way and dance around them. There was no thought, no planning, no tactical nature to their movements, and Nari found it almost appalling how quickly they were to simple throw themselves to their eventual deaths. She knew there was assurance in her victory over the creatures - she was running lower and lower on energy, something that would eventually cause her to fall and fail in such a situation - but she also doubted their ability to overcome her defences in any meaningful way. Already she'd absorbed what she felt were the strongest

Even as she struck down another of the creatures, she could see a replacement appear from the depths of the water, trudging it's way onto land and making her feel as though her efforts were in vain. Frustration taking over, Nari brought the spear around in a large arc, slashing outwards at the various targets that seemed determined to overwhelm her. She knew it was desperate, wild and overall doubtful to do anything of actual damage to the creatures - but as two of them froze in place, it gave her a bit of space to back away and clear her mind as she considered what needed to be done to surviv

Nari couldn't help but wonder at her luck, drawing up a quest that was quickly becoming more nuisance than actual benefit to her. She'd taken it, originally, only to strike a box off on an ever growing list that had been of little consequence to her. Now, however, as the thing rushed towards her, Nari was beginning to wonder if checking off boxes was worth it in the long run. Especially those boxes that seemed to provide her with little of value in return, other than some experience. "I just need to finish you off quickly and find the real threat..." She mumbled to herself as she dodged

The responses had come quickly, albeit in limitation. Still, Nari was pleased to see that there was at least someone else out there - and from the looks of it, a few someone else's - who were still interested in tackling the horrors and challenges that Cardinal designed for them. Her movements had been quickly following the confirmations, a collection of goods and materials that could be useful, before collecting Mio and making her way out towards the teleportation pad and the thirteenth floor. Her arrival was mere moments before the others - and although she may have looked collected an

Nari had slipped backwards, providing the opening she knew would be required by the more aggressive attacker of their duo, her eyes flitting about and looking for anything that could be used towards their advantage, even as she danced around the limbs and branches that seemed to grasp towards her. She could hear the shifting of movement from the Treant, the sound of her own breathing, and the sliding sound that she had associated with Freyd's own existence. She'd fallen into the lull of combat even as she'd continued speaking - her words only cut off when the shockwave had struck her, causing