[F04-SP] Levitating -- <<Essence of Steel>>

[NIGHT 0]

<<Essence of Steel>>

It wouldn't do her any good to find herself standing against another opponent on the ice.

That was what NIGHT had figured, collapsing onto her bed after the frost monster's hunt. Under the tame night sky that stretched across the Town of Beginnings, she'd gazed out of her room's window, slowly easing into sleep's delicate hold. It would be the same with most other enemies in special environments, she'd figured; underwater, for example, or if Aincrad ever decided to launch a handful of aerial enemies at them at some point. There were just certain locales NIGHT was certain she'd be forced to fight in, and given the possibility of tripping up just earlier today, the idea of skirting by without prepared knowledge wasn't much to cut it.

The omen of ignorance trickled onto her form a prickly reaper's touch; that long and dangerous reach finding itself lining the edge of her trapezius even as she laid against the comforts of her pillow. And just as quickly as NIGHT had decided to do something about it, the world faded to black, exhaustion from her excursion finally catching up with the tired woman.

She would have to settle it in the morning.

	NIGHT   | HP: 1305/1305 | EN: 126/126   | ACC: 1 | DMG: 19 | MIT: 99 | BH: 65    | THORNS: 54 | HM: 6 | LM: 2 | LD: 4   | Stealth Detection: 3 | Stealth Rating: 7   | Dungeon Search: 2
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[Examine] [Equipment] Zokutō Yoroi -- [ Mitigation I | +27 MIT. ] -- [ Thorns II | 54 unmitigated DMG on attacking enemies when they strike this player on non-critical attacks. ] Sleek Shift -- [ Mitigation I | +27 MIT. ] -- [ Heavy Momentum II | +6 DMG on an unsuccessful attack. Buff is removed on a successful attack. ] Second Wind -- [ Mitigation I | +27 MIT. ] -- [ Light Momentum II | +2 ACC on an unsuccessful attack. Buff is removed on a successful attack. ] [Battle-Ready Inventory] [T1E3] Teleport Crystal (1) | Instant | TELEPORT Tier III Blank Dungeon Map (2) Maneki-Neko Figurine -- [ Loot Die III | +3 LD. ] Skills Skills Mod Count: 8/8 Two-Handed Straight Sword | Passive | RANK 5/5 > Ferocity, Precision, Finesse Heavy Armor | Passive | RANK 3/5  > Athletics Searching | Passive | RANK 3/5 > Reveal Hiding | Passive | RANK 4+1/5 > Blindside, Vanish, Surprise Attack: Trickster Extended Mod Limit | Passive | RANK 3/3  Battle Healing | Passive | RANK 4/5 [Extra] Survival | Passive  Concentration | Active -- CD: 3 Familiar Mastery: Fighter | Passive | RANK 3/3 Consumed Buffs Spoiler Tanos Statue | +1 LD Misc. Buffs Spoiler Dimensional Backpack, Item Stash | +2 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 EN for the first three expenditures of each combat.  Relaxed | +(5 * Tier) HP per out-of-combat post. Full energy restoration occurs after two turns out of combat. Squeaky Clean | -25% DoT damage taken from the first DoT applied to this player in a thread. Skylight: Hiding | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cooldown of 30 days to reassign. Multipurpose | +1 LD/Prosperity/Stealth/Detection to one post per thread. Can be applied after a roll. Filling | +1 T1 slot to a food consumed by this player in a thread. Can exceed Cook enhancement caps. Col Deposit | +5% col from loot-minimum mobs, +10% col from treasure chests.

[NIGHT 0]

Now, which morning in particular was never stated, but it was on a day stolen away from her squadron that she'd decided to round off her weaknesses, the shame a kept secret to herself. Though, NIGHT wondered for a moment if she was the only person who'd had problems with this. Fighting on the ice? Didn't Crow nor Yuki have any slip ups themselves? Other than falling into the broken frosty lake, of course.

Somewhat half awake, she'd scuttled down the stairs just in time to notice her double watching the stove, a pot of something warm brewing in their midst. Quietly, but not unnoticed, the player slipped into a seat at the table, wrestling with grogginess of her rest as her eyes settled into a welcome darkness. The woman had a set of fingers to her forehead and a thumb working against her temples. None of it would help her in her selfish request to the Gemini at hand.

Hell, she still felt uncomfortable eating the other's breakfasts when her days allowed it.

[NIGHT 0]

The dish turned out to be congee. Served warm with a topping of scallions, salted duck egg and fried dough with a dash of soy and pepper, the delicacy was a welcome sight for NIGHT's sore eyes, though she'd wanted to keep them shut. She'd left the porcelain spoon dipped into the gruel untouched, watching her counterpart set their bowl down on the table, pulling up a seat of their own.

"Not headed out today?"

A swallow down her parched throat. How DAY's voice had serenaded her ears and yet forcefully tugged her back to reality was something NIGHT could only grumble over, wordless.

"Nn," the player forcefully replied. On her skin, the coolness of the wood she'd rested her elbow on was brought to the forefront of her mind. A sense of mindfulness, unwarranted, unwanted. It continued its tussle with the woman's cherishment for rest, reverberations from the clatter of pottery ringing out in the airspace around her.

[NIGHT 0]

"Thank you for the food."

A low murmur from the raven-shaded mess. With a shift of their robe back up their arm, DAY picked up a spoonful of porridge and began to cool it with their breath. They leaned forward slightly, eyes settling on the deflated NIGHT, watching their motionless frame.

"Couldn't sleep well?"

"Couldn't wake up." It was a low whisper, dry and faded, and the only reason NIGHT hadn't repeated herself once again was her double's hum in acknowledgement of her words.

"Maybe the food would help. Cold shower?"

"Warm."

DAY pointed her spoon to her companion, after scooping up more rice. "Maybe that's it. Might do you better to take some cold ones in the morning sometimes."

They returned to their meal, eyes watching the player blinking hard and sighing. She shifted a free hand towards the bowl of food. Tired as she was, NIGHT still wasn't a person to scoff at a gift given to her.

"... Nn."

[NIGHT 0]

Each bite burned at the insides of her mouth, despite NIGHT's attempts at cooling down her food. The first few mouthfuls had her swallowing her intake in exasperation, whilst her company watched her in absolute confusion. She'd left her seat to pick up a glass of water for herself, and by the time she'd returned, both her meal and her tongue had simmered from passing time.

A couple of glugs and half her meal later, NIGHT felt just a tad bit more awake for the endeavor. Her hand settled on the table, thumb brushing habitually over its surface as she still found herself in the moment. Uncomfortable, this realization. Why had it still lingered?

"H-Hey."

"Mm?"

She didn't need to raise her sights to know that her companion had shifted their gaze at her voice. With a buzz in her throat, the woman's voice seemed to trail, before it erupted into words again.

"Is there... No, wait. ...Um..."

[NIGHT 0]

"I-- You’ve... got a database of knowledge somewhere, right?"

NIGHT wondered if the forgoing of numbness was intentional by the system, or if it had been a trick of her mind. Maybe a mix of the two? She watched as DAY lowered her spoon into the gruel, their face a blank stare towards their other half.

"A database?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Mm..."

Their pause left NIGHT bated with breath, the room growing even further quiet as the player wondered if she'd need to elaborate on her query at their prompt. Sure enough, DAY didn't seem to get the full picture. "What are you asking for, exactly?"

Nervousness. NIGHT's grazing thumb had begun to press into the wood instead. "I-It's nothing big, exactly-- I mean, you... already know how to cook and stuff, so--"

To NIGHT's inevitable hesitance, the system entity appeared to stir to life, eyes widened and lips pulled into a slight smirk.

"So you’re looking to pick up something new; is that it?"

[NIGHT 0]

"It-- It’s not..."

NIGHT's hesitance left something within her to be desired, though whatever it was had been obviously left unnamed, the start of a request trapped both in her gut and hanging mid air. At the player's frowning and growl, DAY rested their forearm on their dining table's surface, resting their cheek against a propped-up hand. "Really, NIGHT; you can ask me anything. I'm an absolute wonder, remember?"

"T-tch--"

"Whatever it is you're looking to know," they continued, patting lightly at their chest, "I bet I can do something about it."

DAY's smugness reared an almost bitter grin (read: NIGHT), the beam contrasting the player's own dissatisfaction. She begrudgingly swallowed her pride, lips pressed tightly together as she tried to keep her cool. While it was true that a computerized system was likely to hold a vast base of information, what she was asking for was... somewhat tricky. If it was with regards to motion, rather than instruction; or were they both categorized in a similar vein...?

[NIGHT 0]

Furthermore, there was a lack of context behind her query. Surely her request wouldn't stir up further questioning, would it? It felt strange to ask, but slowly, as NIGHT folded her arms together and strung together the words in her mind, her question trickled out of her system through short staggers, the player hoping her speech wouldn't besmirch her own image in front of her own housemate.

"Ugh, I-- It's about... fighting on ice."

"Huh?"

The sound of DAY being taken back only served to further exacerbate NIGHT's state of conscientiousness. But the entity mulling over it seemed to spell out an entirely different story.

"Fighting on the ice…? Do shoes with spikes on them not work just well for your style?"

"I hadn't really--" NIGHT took a moment to recover, thoughts going back to a pair of shoes in her inventory that acted as the closest thing to fit the cold. Still, the equipment piece was inadequate for most of her uses. "--N-no, I don't... think so."

[NIGHT 0]

"I see..."

DAY's eyes gleamed over the now-cooling congee in front of them, as NIGHT fidgeted wryly in her chair, wondering what must've been passing through the entity's calculations. Eventually, their smile returned to their cheeks, gaze addled as they picked up the spoon from their bowl, gently scooping porridge from its side.

"What is it?"

"I think I've got a pretty good idea on what you're asking from me."

"...?"

They hummed, chin resting on the back of their hand now, a small hum escaping their lips as they brought the spoon to their mouth. The food vanished quickly with a gulp, and DAY glanced over to NIGHT's half-touched meal.

"What are you planning, exactly...?"

"I can show you. You've got the day off from obligations, don't you?"

NIGHT grumbled and nodded, her fingers reaching out for a scoop of gruel, careful and tentative whilst she kept her eyes on the Gemini.

"Great. We'll head out after breakfast, then."

"A-as you say..."

[NIGHT 0]

| Floor 4

Whilst NIGHT stepped onto the snow still finding herself shivering in a black fur-trimmed winter's jacket, her companion's beige counterpart seemed only for show, the doppel nearly skipping out from the teleporter's flash into the white wonderland. DAY had on a pair of ski goggles that pushed up their fringe, spreading their locks around in a messy layered manner.

The player watched their fascination with the environment's climate, a light giggle escaping from their cheery manner, one that vastly contrasted with her own stoicness as they stood overseeing the floor's quiet settlement. She too had been just as excited for the cold once, until the frost seemed to nip at her ears and dry her lips -- or at least invoke the feeling of doing so, had the system not caught up in replicating these sensations fully so. NIGHT buried her hands into her pockets, even though they were gloved in plush black padding.

[NIGHT 0]

So much for Survival helping her adapt better to the chill. Well, if it wasn't Cardinal's skill nor her hands twice-insulated both working to keep the player feeling warm, then perhaps the best contender for spurring heat had to be the way DAY managed to call for her attention once they'd fawned over the scenery enough. Her bright smile seemed to be paired with rosy cheeks, and it pushed NIGHT to cozy up to her newest jacket further, a foggy huff expelled out of sheer frustration for her predicament.

"Let's head out to the nearest lake. Do you happen to know where it is?"

If only this was real life--

"Yeah," NIGHT replied, taking her first paces after her leader. The blonde whirled around, hasty in their advance, skittering and weaving along the downhill path.

-- and instead of a fake, it'd be her instead--

Where the ground was exposed to rock and dirt, NIGHT's heavy footsteps followed in turn, stepping where her shadow once did.

-- maybe, just maybe...

[NIGHT 0]

Frostbite Lake.

NIGHT occasionally spotted the locale's name printed on Aincrad newspapers and magazines. Now that she'd seen it first hand, she had to remark that it appeared much smaller of an area than Absolute Zero's vast territory. She took it as solace for there to be no dangerous boss underneath the ice's surface; especially not when the floor already had its own terror that pulled off that trick, no matter what the rumour mill might've churned out during the past few years.

The woman acted as the guide for the duo, once they'd reached Snowfrost proper. Upon reaching the edge of the frozen lake, it was easy to see how desolate the field beyond them seemed to be, despite its apparent popularity in the past for a location to relax and enjoy the winter chill in. NIGHT's advance only continued far enough on the slippery surface until she'd felt the ground give way under her--

[NIGHT 0]

-- and right by her waist, the world seemed to catch her, reeling her inwards and pressing the player up against their body of warmth.

DAY, her saving grace. NIGHT wasn't sure which had stolen her breath more. But if she had to bet...

"Thanks," she irked out, white mist gathering by her cheeks as she spoke. While most of her sentiment was in gratitude, a part of her bristled with spite for having to rely on her mirror for their support even more so than was necessary (see: today).

"No problem," they responded, directing the player upwards and back onto their two feet. NIGHT caught a glimpse of something glinting on their shoes; tall metal blades, whilst all she had on hers were a scatter of minute spikes.

When the woman took their Gemini's hand in support to rise, she turned to the entity with a mixture of hesitance and uncertainty. 

"You're-- teaching me how to ice skate?"

[NIGHT 0]

"Hmm? Yeah, I am." 

The blank stare NIGHT received sold her nothing short of genuine honesty. She wondered if there was a tinge of curiosity that laid behind the icy gaze she was given, though when it was finally torn off her visage, the entity was busy conjuring a set of skates on the ice with a kneel, hand off to the side grabbing hold of pulling something from space. "It's a solid mix of speed and safety, especially on the rink. If you can master it, I bet it'll be perfect for fighting."

"E-easy for you to say..."

NIGHT had never even skated before, on roller blades nor on the ice. The idea of keeping her balance felt like a tall order for the woman, especially on what were essentially two thin glorified sticks when she was on nigh slippery ice. Even if she'd nailed the steadying act down, there was no guarantee she'd be able to maintain it while in the midst of calculating her movements mid-battle.

[NIGHT 0]

With a sour face, she took the boots from her double and equipped them in a second. The sudden elevation from the skates of her boots was enough to cause her to lose her footing out of shock, but she managed to stand firm. Stopped mid way, her momentum was slowed as her companion held her shoulder with a tight grip, a piercing blue sweeping over her form just in case she were to slip up once again.

"You're really careless," DAY taunted with a smile, the moment their eyes fell on NIGHT's.

"S-S-Shut up." The woman felt her voice wobble more so than her feet pressing on glass. At least she wouldn't have to worry about her face being cold for the time being. "N-Now, how do I...?"

"You learn how to walk first, it seems." The Gemini further straightened out NIGHT's arms reaching to the side; the woman's futile attempt at trying not to hit the ground. "At least you have the posture down right."

[NIGHT 0]

Was that supposed to be a joke?

"Walk," she breathed. "As in, walk on the ice."

"That's the idea."

That... sounds tougher than gliding itself...

DAY whirled around to her side, gently taking the player's hand in their own. NIGHT followed their movements with her head, a little agitated from their freedom whilst she lacked it. With a gentle tug, they ushered her to turn around. "Here, this way."

"R-right..."

And not a single step was taken proper before NIGHT felt her knees beginning to buckle. Where she should've found herself standing upright, facing another direction, instead she caught herself mid-fall with her feet spread out apart and a glove to the ice below her. One chuckle from the other party present emphasized the flush on her cheeks even further, but a glance upwards told the player she wasn't alone in her endeavor.

They greeted her mistake with a smile.

[NIGHT 0]

"You really are clumsy, aren't you?"

Never mind. The fire in her breath must've been a withholding of curses locked behind her lips. She growled in response to her other's remark, fingers clenching fast at the ice trying to look for support.

"I-I don't need your remarks to tell me how badly I'm f-faring at this."

"Okay, okay," they offered back. In her hand, she felt her guide's hold loosening, and they placed yet another on it, a gentle patting upon her fingers. "No need to be a spoilsport, now. Better I teach you how to fall first before we do anything else."

"No, I can--"

Unceremoniously, DAY let their grip go. NIGHT’s hand instinctively shot to the ground. She grimaced as her skates seemed to betray her footing by the second, scraping up loose ice to the side.

"Now, would you get on your knees for me, please?"

The player nearly bit her tongue at their order.

[NIGHT 0]

Another scenario, ideally, and NIGHT might’ve given in without a second thought.

At least, perhaps, the player could rest easy in the assurance that she wouldn’t need to wear ear mufflers for the time being. Teeth gritted, heart pounding in her ears, she grumbled her way to the appropriate position, finally pulling her skates away from the ice and letting her knees meet the floor. NIGHT timidly raised her sights to meet her Gemini's form, feeling the savanna on her exposed skin. It was the pull from her other that forced her purple eyes on their blue, a scintillant mischief reflecting upon their iris.

"Oh, my obedient servant...~"

"Shut--" A gulp. Darting gaze. "Shut up."

What followed afterwards was the release of her chin, NIGHT nearly dropping to the floor with her shot limbs completely giving way. But as DAY reeled back with a giggle, they revealed themselves to be leaning down onto one knee, their back straightened. A gloved hand patted their padded trousers.

[NIGHT 0]

"So you get up on one foot first, like you're kneeling."

The player could only dream of glaring daggers into her companion at the moment. But as static flooded her mind, she made do with a distant look elsewhere, jaw firmly clenched as she set her skate onto the ice. The pressure was firm in her rise.

"Then the other."

Her Gemini's outstretched hand as they got up was an offering of truce, one that NIGHT only shyly glanced away from, but took it in her attempt to stand when she wobbled at the last moment.

"Try and keep your knees bent. I think that's tip number one when staying on the rink."

She took the advice in stride, reluctant, but found it surprisingly helpful in her ascent. When she'd managed to stay upright, DAY patted her shoulders with a grin and a (calculated) tilt of their head in affirmation.

"See? You're getting the hang of it already!"

It sent her little heart aflutter.

[NIGHT 0]

It was in a haze, the woman feeling giddy with a thunder in her chest, that she'd managed to push out her next few words. Though, they'd sloughed forth in a volume only slightly above a whisper, her question petering out, languid.

"So... w-what's next...?"

"Next?" A sharp eye took notice of the player's lost look, coupled with a muffled laughter before the entity returned her a smirk. "You haven't even started walking just yet."

Two blinks woke her up from her stupor, and NIGHT hissed her dissatisfaction. "Crap, you're right." Even as her companion's hands drew away from her frame, she found herself leaning forward to follow them in turn, stopping only when she recalled that she was planted at the edge of an incredibly slick lake.

With a kick, DAY retreated further inward, stopping themselves short a few feet away from the player. Their halt in a swivel had been smooth and graceful; practiced, even.

Almost like a figure skater...