[F01-PP] gossip.

[NIGHT 0]

[<<]| @ChaseR: I've still got the easter candy. Is it alright if I come and we sit for a bit? Been a tiring day.
[>>]| NIGHT: u too?
      NIGHT: f1 

---

Maybe the stars were testing her. Maybe they were looking down on all of Aincrad.

For starters, despite the rush of adrenaline that came from her morning run, something about her movements felt restless when she'd kicked up dust on the beach. And she'd forced herself a crafting session later on; a distraction, trying to lure her thoughts away from what she could only imagine to be another player's obsession over their paladin. Though her work had been more than satisfactory in that time period, her movements were repetitive. Items of the same size and shape lined up in a row one after another. Good for business. Bad for her addled mind.

NIGHT let out an exhale as she threw back her figure onto the cushioned sofa. Making tea was the easiest task for her to have done that day. The sashimi pieces were only of a slightly more average grade than the first. 

Her guiding entity poured both of them a cup of fresh brew. Earl grey. The only outlier on the low table was a bottle of stored fruit-flavored soda. Each filled mug was set to corner a wooden platter of unenchanted sushi, before the pot returned to the surface with a clink of porcelain and glass.

A small nod and a innocent scowl could only be interpreted as a gesture of thanks to DAY. She returned the bow, taking a seat on the couch perpendicular to her player's.

Now all they needed was to play the waiting game.

	| NIGHT   | HP: 1690/1690 | EN: 181/181    | ACC: 5 | DMG: 19 | EVA: 4 | MIT: 79 | BH: 79    | PRLYZ: 1 | ABS. ACC | LD: 5    | Stealth Detection: 5 | Stealth Rating: 7
[19/2/21]: Using Mega Slime Farm for +2 SP at the end of this thread.
[Examine]  | equipment Cosmic Devourer -- [ Paralyze I | Natural successful attack rolls of 9-10 remove the enemy’s action on their next turn. Paralyzed opponents lose any evasion properties. ] -- [ Absolute Accuracy | +1 ACC. Attack rolls of 1 no longer automatically miss. ] -- [ Accuracy I | +1 ACC. ] Reinforced Black Tracksuit -- [ Mitigation I | +54 MIT. ] -- [ Evasion I | +1 EVA. ] Silver Crescent Necklace -- [ Accuracy II | +2 ACC ] -- [ Evasion II | +2 EVA ]  | battle-ready inventory - - - - - - - - -  | skills Skills Mod Count: 8/8 Two-Handed Straight Sword | Passive | RANK 5/5 > Ferocity, Precision, Finesse Light Armor | Passive | RANK 5/5  > Athletics, Sprint&Acrobatics Searching | Passive | RANK 4+1/5 Hiding | Passive | RANK 5/5 > Blindside, Vanish, Surprise Attack: Trickster Extended Mod Limit | Passive | RANK 3/3  Battle Healing | Passive | RANK 5/5 Energist | Passive Quick Change | Active Charge | Active | RANK 5/5 Extended Weight Limit | Passive   Extra Survival | Passive  Concentration | Active -- CD: 3 Familiar Mastery: Fighter | Passive | RANK 3/3  | consumed buffs Spoiler Bialas Statue | +TAUNT Mothra Statue | +1 EN Recovery Tanos Statue | +15 MIT Mōretsuna Statue | +50 HP Yamato-no-Orochi Statue | +1 LD Kumatetsu Statue | +1 DMG - - - - - -  | misc. buffs Spoiler Dimensional Backpack, Item Stash, Extended Weight Limit | +5 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: Searching | +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.

[ChaseR 0]

To her surprise, Chase was late- but not very much. He knocked on the door, waiting until NIGHT opened and quietly entering. If she had a rotten day too, then that- nah, not rotten. That was overselling it, he just asked if she had a bad day. Just because he didn't enjoy his doesn't mean that she enjoyed hers just as little. Or did it?

And so, he quietly plopped by the couch waiting for him alongside the other two in the living room, waiting quietly in silence before giving DAY a small smile. He always liked her, she was the best company he'd had since coming in here honestly. Second up was NIGHT- usually she wasn't bright enough to be considered 'fun' but Chase wasn't one to talk either now, was he? "... So. What fucked up your day?", he sighed and asked the rogue, quietly bouncing his right leg up and down nervously and giving her a slightly uncomfortable glance. "Mine's a bit of a story so go on. Take as long as you can, please. And uh. If I can help anyhow let me know.". Good to see that throughout this week or whatever of not talking his awkwardness hadn't changed any.

 

Spoiler

Name: ChaseR
Level: 83
HP: 1690/1690
EN: 166/166

Stats:
Damage: 20
Mitigation: 43
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 3
BH:84
VAMP DEF:84
PARA:1
HLY:12
HLY BLS:16
LD:5

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Fragmented Blade>> (T3/Perfect/2HSS): PARA I, HOLY II
Armor: <<Azure Overcoat>> (T2/Perfect/Light Armor): V.DEF I, HBS I, MIT I
Misc: <<Chained Bracelet>> (T2/Demonic/Trinket): EVA II, ACC II

Skills:
Two-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 5]
Battle Healing [Rank 5]
Searching [Rank 4]
Charge [Rank 5]
Hiding [Rank 5]
Parry [Obtained]
Extended Mod Limit [Obtained]
Fighting Spirit [Obtained]
Howl [Obtained]
Extended Weight Limit [Obtained]

Extra Skills:
Familiar Mastery: Fighter
Survival
Disguise
Meditation

Mods:
2HSS Finesse [R3]
Precision
Athletics
Sprint & Acrobatics
Ferocity
Focused Howl
Surprise Attack (Assassin)
Vanish

Battle Ready Inventory:
Imugi's Inspiration (Mass HP Recovery)*1
Insta-Life ++ (T2/Perfect/HP REC III)*1
Woodland Armor (T3/Perfect) MIT III (1/3)*1
Gugnir's Shard (T3/Instant/HP REC III)*5
Obtained via Item Stash (Housing)
Obtained via Dimensional Backpack

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor [Potted Tanabata Bamboo Tree]: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:
Kumatetsu Statue: +1 Base Damage for a thread

Wedding Ring:

 

[NIGHT 0]

A pair of chopsticks wrapped around the base of one nigiri as NIGHT watched Chase settle in. The sour look upon his face matched her internals, both of them only contrasted by the bright grin that faded into indifference from the non-human. It was almost ironic how the only figure aside from social relations was part of the very system they fought to go against -- the player chewed on fish the very second she was offered to go first.

One gulp, and it went down the hatch.

"Some idiot decided she'd wanted to spill her life story to me, thinking it was reason enough to want to stay in Aincrad," NIGHT huffed. Her eyes were careful enough not to meet DAY's. "And it was only because some random system hiccup decided to send a message to both of us from Yuki's console. It was early in the morning, too. That, or she'd entirely planned to meet up with us to begin with, then promptly forgot and turned off her notifications in the next two hours or so. That's not like her."

The woman exhaled. In her hands, her cutlery pincered in tandem with a light clack. She watched as her counterpart's own two darted forth to pick up one of the larger pieces on the platter and dip it into a small plate of soy sauce. With a hand held out underneath the food, the Gemini took a tiny bite out of it.

A few nods the player chef's way waived part of her concerns off for the time being.

"I don't get it," NIGHT continued, reaching for another piece. "Like, I didn't ask to get to know her. And the only reason I know of her now is because we went on an Easter Dungeon adventure once. Then Crow messaged me one day to sub in for Yuki on a quest when she went missing. That's when Miss Rando showed up, claimed that my contributions wouldn't be useful in the fight, and then nearly got herself killed because she ran in head first into the enemy as though she was a tank. Au contraire -- she was wielding a dagger on a stealth build...!"

Before the grip on her sushi piece could fall even looser, the woman devoured her meal with a growl. On her face, only the purest expression of annoyance could've been seen.

[ChaseR 0]

Chase remained quiet, looking at her with an almost blank expression. It sounded like a pain, nothing more, nothing else. Someone was trying to hit hard on NIGHT and boy did it sound bad. He found it kind of funny that she began to complain about the dagger, but... A sigh followed as he realised what that implied for the person in question. "A dagger..? Isn't that one of the most... bleh weapons?", he recalled his findings, looking at the ground with squinted eyes and groaning.

"Sounds like such a pain... Why was she crushing on you so hard after being that aggressive too..? It kinda reminds me of my last time out with Shay.", he blurted and remained quiet, sighing and weaving his fingers with one another. A silent glance at DAY again, and she looked back. Silence. And it slowly devolved into awkwardness. He looked back at NIGHT and gave a tiny smile. "I guess you can not hang out with her again? I've had enough with idiots too today.", he tried to suggest and then nodded to himself, feeling as if a huge weight began pressing down on his chest. He stretched and laid back on the couch, almost as if he was asleep as he swung one of his legs back and forth tiredly. "... Remember when I got an orange crystal? It was cause I'd punched Freyd, if I didn't tell you or if you'd forgotten. I honestly don't remember. Can't bother to if I'm being honest.", the bluehead continued, realising it might sound rude and sitting up, looking at her with a frown. "I- Uh, sorry. I didn't mean it... you know.".

Her blank face already spoke volumes about how much offense she'd taken- it'd probably take a lot more than his ineptitude to offend her after this morning. "Anyways, Eruda from Firm Anima called me out to talk about it. Freyd told his guild because I'm a danger now. One mistake and you're worse than scum, huh?", he threw his head back again and grunted, before taking a deep breath and exhaling a damn long sigh. "I played back the record crystal I had of what happened back then- I initially wanted Freyd to say sorry to show it to Mari. But they still think Freyd was not in the wrong. Uh. I can give it to you if you want. I've no more use for it. I just... I'm not at my best in it. It's why I was so torn up on the dock the other day."

[NIGHT 0]

"Crushing--?"

It was at those words that DAY's eyes seemed to light up.

"She was crushing?"

NIGHT wiped the back of her mouth with her hand, vision locked in contemplation as her gaze was fixated to a certain point in space. Her sights were squinted, frown apparent. "Where in the world would that idea have come from...?"

If it weren't for the strange turn in the conversation, the player would've never considered it. She continued with idled thought as DAY shared a glance with Chase -- there was an indifference on the entity's face, though a twinkle of intrigue festered behind the construct's eyes. Only after a pause did NIGHT speak up again, shaking her head. The rosiness on her cheeks was barely there. "No, that's not... right. I didn't do anything to have... and I definitely thinks she hates me now."

"--Not that that's a problem, mind you."

It was refreshing to both parties once the stage had been shifted to him; NIGHT slunk back into her seat as DAY took a sip of tea from her cup. "You definitely told me of the scuffle," she reiterated, clearly envisioning the docks on the eighteenth. The name Eruda didn't ring any bells in her head, but the player did feel herself wince at the revelation of Chase getting marked for horror.

"Over a fight?" The woman titled her head, the first signs of discomforts from her fidgeting showing. "You've got to be joking."

"And they've got the full image down, don't they?" DAY piped in once the recording crystal had been brought up. "I'm not too sure what's happened here, but it doesn't sound like they might be open to change their minds..."

"..."

NIGHT shifted forward to pick up her own mug. Her eyes ran across the floor as she brought it to her lips.

"I'm sorry to hear about it," the entity continued in her stead. The digits wrapped around her own cup were stoic, as DAY faced Chase with a look of light worry. "You could... share more about it, if you want. Or... NIGHT could do it for you, if you don't want to talk about it."

"I don't--"

A sigh escaped the player once she'd completed her drink. When she'd set her porcelain down onto the table, DAY shifted over to refill it. "I don't know the details of what happened. But I don't think I'd need to know them, either."

She folded her arms. "I'd said it before; Chase had his reasons to do whatever it is he needed to. Same for whoever -- but I don't like hearing these problems coming from the same source these days."

"It might be unrelated." The woman's gaze fell back onto her friend, image boldening with assertion as her irritation started to be emphasized. "But Bistro came to me a few days ago over some temporary store closing alongside a random complaint. Something about Firm Anima taking away almost all of her resources. Cleared them right through in the blink of an eye." Fingers wrapped around her nose bridge as NIGHT closed her eyes. "I don't know what's happening in their guild, but I get the feeling it's almost enough for concern. I don't suppose there could be some kind of internal conflict between the members aside from your argument, could there?"

[ChaseR 0]

The uncomfortable predicament that he had put her in wasn't really to his liking, but there was little he could do to change what he just said- she snapped out of it almost right away after all. "They didn't want to change jack, no. Raidou told me to not be surprised when he'd 'come to my rescue'. Because me and you are not unstoppable enough. Same to you DAY, you're... genuinely amazing. I can share with you, but uh. Give me a bit. O-Or actually, here, you take it.", he grumbled and opened up his menu, letting the record crystal appear and almost throwing it towards DAY before stopping himself.

"Eh, here.", he quietly sat up and offered it to DAY, seeming almost happy that he was going to rid himself of this stupid crystal. As if anything would change even if they heard anything. Then came the incident for Bistro. Chase's hand almost instinctively reached for his sword, but other than it not being there, he calmed down once he heard they were 'cleared right through'. For a moment, he thought she'd been coerced into giving all her materials away. "Internal conflict? With those sheep? Freyd does whatever he wants and gets away with it because noone is human enough to even stand up to him. He even threw Ma into this whole mess again. I left because they wouldn't listen. Eruda calls me yet Raidou and Gaius show up, of which only Raidou speaks. I even ask the other two and nothing, I'm worth silence and little else apparently. Katoka threatened to slice my head off because I told her to be careful of Freyd, but it's fine. Because everyone is going through tough times. But it's not fine when I am, since I'm not a sheep like the rest in Firm Anima. Freyd won't be punished either- but my reputation was fucked over already. Raidou won't do anything to fix it. They ignored everything I said and even Gaius, who was with me, ended up shaking his head or some shit. Bunch of hypocrites. I don't know what sort of brainwashing shit they do there, but I don't like the guild at all.", he ranted a bit, although it would prove little effective in giving a clear image of what had happened on the hearing.

And then, his eyes flared up as he looked at NIGHT. "... Who bought out Bistro's shop? Because Raidou is already an alchemist, and their guild vault is always stacked. It couldn't have been a newbie because it must have been costly. So who was it?", he quietly asked her with his weary look slowly transforming into a glare again, clenching a fist. He knew just the guy to pin the blame on, but... Mari said to not let feelings get the better of him. He shouldn't. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and put a hand on his temples, exhaling. It wasn't hard to see just how worn out he felt from all of this, being so on the edge and defensive about anything to do with the guild. It'd taken a toll on him and it definitely showed.

[NIGHT 0]

DAY's image brightened up once Chase went fishing for his item, and as she spared her original a glance, all the player received was an unusually proud (and sly) grin for their conversation.

"You heard that, didn't you? Chase thinks I'm amazing~!"

--What was this, selective hearing? It'd caught the woman off guard, both the comment and the smile, and NIGHT suffered through the stages of grief in a second before she fell into her seat grumbling; growling, shrinking, embarrassed. "Hey, don't feed her ego over there...!"

"Can't help saying what's true!" The entity chirped, setting aside the teapot before receiving the crystal with an appreciative bow of her head. Her fingers thumbed around its fragile form as she took a seat, nails sinking into the gaps and nooks of the item. NIGHT simply watched her in disbelief, partially aware of her aides movements whilst she returned her attention to Chase.

Was that all Freyd had been up to?

"Like there'd been a meeting of some sort?" More names had been traded around, and NIGHT knew of them even less. From her perspective, despite Chase having a good head on his shoulders, it sounded as though his own outlook of the company had been swayed by personal judgement and biases. Very much so with the imagery of a 'lost little lamb'; she'd soured that the idea that such a guild of reputation would be executing this much cult-mongering within their ranks.

"Well, I don't like them either." It wasn't so much as a speech for reassurance, this time -- if anything, what she'd observed as of recent was enough to sway her into placing the group back under her own suspicion. "That sounds like a lot of effort to shove one person out of the guild, though. But... I personally can't believe that's what they might've wanted to do. If you've mentioned 'brainwashing', then... isn't there any other aspect that might prove your point?"

If there was, then perhaps Chase might have been right.

NIGHT nodded at his query, though her words had lacked the answers Chase sought. "That's what Bistro and I thought, and now that includes you, too. But I never got a name for it. Let me send her a tell; she said it was one of her regulars for sure, though. Maybe the name would ring a bell for you..."

And so a short and quick inquiry was made.

[ChaseR 0]

Oops, it... seemed like there was a small misunderstanding. He opened his eyes again and shook his head, scratching its back and looking up at the ceiling. "N-No, no literal brainwashing... I just... don't get it. I love you, DAY and Ma like family. I know you don't want to hurt me and that you care for me. That's why I'd do anything to keep you safe. How can these idiots do the same for people they barely know? Knowing especially that they're pulling shit like this. He told the whole guild I assaulted him, and they listened to him... Is this fucking grade school or what? There's no reason for them to-"

Silence for a moment as he frowned and realised he wasn't doing himself any favors, as much as he wanted to keep self-restraint. "... Sorry. I just don't get it. Fuck I'll sound petty. Just... Why me? Why is it this important I become dangerous? I don't get why everybody wants me to be the villain. I told them again and again but nobody would have to 'suffer consequences', me neither. Forgetting that I was the one talked about in front of everyone, while the hearing I was invited to was me, Gaius, Eruda and Raidou. And Raidou told me that it's 'my responsibility' to tell his guild about my version of the story, the story that shouldn't even be one in the first place. He began to say that I demand stuff from the weaker ones that I protect and that I'm sorely mistaken for thinking they owe me something, which... You know that's not how I work. You've seen me, that's just not me. They kept hearing what they wanted to hear...". If there was one word for Chase's current mood, even he wouldn't be able to tell. Confusion? Disappointment? Fear for what was to come? A mix of all of the above.

"I've always thought that if I took the lead, I'd be able to protect others. I don't know how that makes me the dangerous one. How I'm the menace that used to lure among them when I've been poisoned, paralyzed and threatened on their behalf. I just don't get it. It... Just doesn't make sense. You understand what I mean?", he finally raised his eyes from the floor and looked at NIGHT like a scolded puppy, letting out a deep sigh and laying back on the couch again wearily. "And now, they're up Ma's case because they don't respect jack shit. I'm sure that's what's up. Raidou said 'Mari deserves to rest' but I know just how much he meant it."

[NIGHT 0]

Ah. So that was the proper reason; despite everything that they'd assumed, the full story was only impartially told. NIGHT's expression was wry the more she heard it; perhaps, selective hearing was right, but to different subjects instead of the blonde. The player watched as the recording crystal in the entity's hand trickled away into an inventory. DAY turned to look back at Chase as he continued speaking.

"Maybe we should make copies of that," NIGHT spoke aloud, before she could forget. Her pointer was gestured towards DAY, who summoned the item again with a confused grunt. "If not everyone got to hear it, then no one's judgement would be sound about the matter. Save for maybe four people who were present at the hearing."

"As for how they'd treated you, I can't say I'm a fan." She couldn't imagine how the entire guild might've been called for a meeting or another to hear only one side of the story. If Chase had to do it again just to get facts straight, it would make little sense to call for everyone to show up once again -- and that sort of disruption for a schoolyard fight was nothing but an annoyance in its slightest. "But it sounds like whoever's at the top -- err, Gaius, Eruda, Raidou -- have made up their opinion of the matter. Otherwise, they'd be open to spread the news or look for more opinions on the issue, I'd bet."

NIGHT reached out for another piece of nigiri, whilst DAY grabbed hold of the soda bottle and held it out to Chase. "Isn't it a little strange in that regard, then?" The entity added, her glance shot back her doppel's way. "If Raidou really does think Chase wants something, then what does he think Chase is looking for?"

"Beats any of us at this point, I bet--"

At that moment, the woman paused if only to pull open her message window. She'd casually stuck the sushi piece into her mouth, chewed it slow... then frowned when her eyes went over the name that was sent her way.

"You can't be serious."

Either something wasn't right, or he was a lot more of a public nuisance than she'd ever expected.

The window flipped around with a swipe, and NIGHT folded her arms tighter.

"Freyd's the one who bought her out."

[ChaseR 0]

All four people at the hearing just so happened to be the same four with no changed opinions- Chase himself, Rai, Gaius and Eruda. And the worst part was that the other three just didn't make a 'sound judgement' even having heard what happened in full. "... The three at the hearing with me all think the same Freyd does. That I did something wrong. If that many people are definite, the rest of the guild won't listen.", he huffed and raised a hand to pinch his nose bridge.

"That's a good question nobody can answer.", he said tiredly and waved his hand dismissively, knowing it wasn't worth even thinking about them at this point. It was a mess that they devolved into what it was. And then NIGHT stopped, sounding... bothered. "What's-", he raised his head and as soon as he began reading, his eyes fixed on the name. The same look as back then came on, and he remained quiet. It was around then that his ears were also what felt like bombarded with that all too familiar 'Freyd'. He glared at the window quietly, his eyes losing focus for a bit. What was it, a minute of complete silence? Maybe it was a few seconds, but it felt like much longer to the bluehead. "...", Chase lowered his eyes to the floor again, leaning forwards and resting his elbows on his knees as he weaved his fingers together once more, wearing the same look. "... I'm the problem. Nice one Raidou.", he mumbled with venom coating every single word he spoke, averting his gaze to NIGHT. "... So now what do we do about 'the problem'?"

[NIGHT 0]

What do we do about the problem?

That was tough. In truth, NIGHT had only planned on staying away from the guy a little more than she already did. Which was difficult to execute upon, since she'd rarely hung out with Freyd in the first place. There'd be no good gauge for 'staying away' in that respect, other than deciding to completely avoid the man entirely.

The expedition they'd gone on the other day also gave her little to no insights into what exactly he was investigating, and how it ever connected into her houseguest. The player's eyes settled on DAY, watching her take another sip of tea, before her gaze bounced back towards their visitor.

She didn't want any confrontations with the man. Too much responsibility would be on her plate then; making an enemy out of an entire guild on purpose was absolutely an anti-survival tactic in any scenario. It was a pained look now that her face was contorted in, observing Chase absolutely drained from the situation.

"... Ignore his presence, I suppose."

Her sights fell to the floor. "There's no good way about this if we take action into our own hands. And there's little to say about it if we do that anyone else would be willing to hear. So just... leave him. Focus on what we can do right now is what I'd suggest for this situation."

It was with an unease that she unfurled her arms from her torso. "But we keep track of his activities. Find out if there're any other slights about the man. Other than that, go about your day, I guess. I know Bistro's itching to get her shop back up and running, at least."

[ChaseR 0]

Silence for a bit as he processed what NIGHT had proposed, but... it wasn't long before a sigh sounded. He laid back on the couch once more, closing his eyes and trying his best to calm himself down. "... Sorry I've gotten you in this mess.", he huffed and raised a hand to pinch his nose bridge again, remaining quiet. Even in this digital body, all he could hear was his heart racing.

"... I won't let him get to you too. Both.", he tried to reassure the two sitting on the other side of the room, trying to relax and soothe his nerves. "I really don't know what I'd do without you.", he opened his eyes again and quietly exchanged glasses with the ceiling, keeping them half shut out of drowsiness. This was really one way to wear oneself out, wasn't it? Now the people he could talk with were genuinely much too few. Shay? She was gone. Yuki? ... Sure. NIGHT, DAY and Mari would be there. Grimm? He was part of the damned guild, so... Could he really rely on him? People he didn't expect to turned their back on Chase right now, so there were little ways to be aware. As far as he was concerned, anybody from Firm Anima he didn't know trusted him was now better off left alone. What a complete mess.

"Have you trained at all? I spent most days at home trying to relax from this great bonzana, but... Seems now it's finally over. I might take a few more.", he tried to switch the topic, although the growl under his voice remained for a bit. It'd take a bit of time for his anger to wear off, probably.

[NIGHT 0]

Watching Chase this upset only filled NIGHT with great turmoil. She'd pulled open the mail panel again to send Bistro a message in thanks, only barely registering her friend's question when he'd fired it, catching only the tail end of 'taking some time off'.

She couldn't blame him, even as her eyes flickered back to his form.

"NIGHT's been slacking off~."

That only sought to bring her back to reality, a squint sent the entity's way as the tattletale chuckled lightly to herself. "It's no problem to hear you out, Chase. And I appreciate the offer for protection, really. But it's alright! I doubt even if he'd best NIGHT's lowly numbers--"

"--Oi."

"--that'd he'd ever get to best an action-perfect construct like myself. I mean, there's no way that I could miss, for one. I'll be fine."

DAY's haughtiness was showing, and it was all the woman could do to elbow her in her side. Except, with all the empty space below the Gemini's cloak, she couldn't find it, earning her a clueless look from the construct herself.

NIGHT sighed, returning to her messages. "Don't be rude to our guest."

"I'm just speaking the truth is all." The construct raised her mug, before taking in tea once again.

The vague worry of what Freyd had been researching loomed over her as she tapped further upon the keyboard, finally hitting the enter button after a moment of quiet. "Rest all you need. It sounds like you definitely deserve it, too. Nigiri?" A hand gestured over to the sushi as NIGHT took her chopsticks to the platter for another bite.

[ChaseR 0]

What DAY was saying was right. He wasn't sure about NIGHT but she was a higher level than him- probably even now, if just barely. Even if she wasn't, she was much better trained with the blade than he was, and actually used it conventionally. Unlike his broken one, she still used a two handed sword. That's when he got a bit of an idea though.

"... What's this made out of?", Chase awkwardly blurted as he gave a rather intense stare at the meal, scouting the platter for a pair of chopsticks to use. If she was using chopsticks, so would he- he wasn't a caveman. "I think I remember how to use chopsticks.", he nodded to himself, shaking his head to take that stupid look off his face as he turned to the side at DAY. "Say, if you can't miss, DAY. Can you train me? You use two handeds just as NIGHT and I do, so... Can you teach me a few things?", he asked quietly. There was nothing he needed to be taught as far as he knew, but he would definitely appreciate being able to study someone else's moves and see just how well he could bastardize them into his own. With his blade usually being lighter than all other two handed ones, he'd be able to move faster. That's what he relied for with his build though. "If you move like NIGHT and fight like her, it's for the best to train with you if you can't miss."

And now that his proposal, or rather request, was on the table, he turned back to NIGHT, hoping she wouldn't be fuming as his lack of any culture. Just like back then with the pasta shop or what was it... 'ramen', right. "Is this related to rayman- rai-men... rai-men. Is this related to it at all?"

[NIGHT 0]

Right. In the discussion of Aincrad's ongoings, she'd completely forgotten Chase's unusual manner with food outside of his comfort zone. NIGHT held the half-eaten sushi between her chopsticks as she downed the other part of it. "You can use your hands. They were meant to be bite-sized, anyway. Raw fish on top of white rice."

Then she popped the other half of it into her mouth. Nearly choked on it when Chase wondered if he could take her Gemini out on rental.

DAY blinked at the query, before grinning at the mention of her handiness. She leaned backwards, corners of her eyes softening with pride. "I'm capable of using any weapon, thank you very much. But sure! It'll be interesting to face someone new for a change."

"Is that really a good idea...?" A sigh left NIGHT's lips watching the entity glower and sparkle, her fingers looking for the rim of her mug. "That just means you'll continuously be taking damage and gaining it back through Battle Healing. I doubt you'll learn how to hit back much."

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine!"

The lack of concern on her counterpart's behalf was really starting to edge on her nerves -- another player, their close friend, was being affected by her antics, after all. Before the woman could grumble back or sip her tea, she quickly bounced back with a realization. "Hey, make sure you two take it out in a duel. Got it?"

Almost as though her words had fallen onto deaf ears, the doppel was already nodding at Chase's other curiosity. "It's of Japanese origins, yeah. People usually tap the part that isn't rice into soy sauce for a savoury flavour, or wasabi for an added refreshing spice. At least, that's what I'd read."

"-- A-are you two listening to me...? Make sure to take precautions, dammit...!"

"We heard you," came the reassuring cry and glance. When NIGHT had sufficiently quietened with an incredulous look, DAY turned back to their guest with a tilt of her head. "Right now? Or some other time? It's been a long day, after all."

[ChaseR 0]

Chase quietly looked at the sushi upon being told to just use his hands, giving it an intense stare for a bit. "G-Guess I am a caveman after all... More like a house cat..? D-Don't say that to NIGHT. She'd kill me.", he rambled internally for a bit, hearing DAY agree to his proposal and reaching for the nigiri before swallowing it whole and chewing slowly, warily. It... didn't taste bad after all, huh.

NIGHT's words completely few over his mind as he began to hear the gemini talk about Japan. "H-How the fuck do you know about countries outside of Aincrad? You haven't even been...", he lowly muttered to himself before she finally added that she'd read it. And then he heard his host, looking to the side and giving a small smile and thumbs up. "I don't want to risk DAY's safety, I promise I'll take care of her... although I think I'm the one being cared for in the end...", he tried to reassure his friend for himself before hearing another question directed at him. "Oh, er... Maybe another day. It's been very long right now, y-yeah.", he nodded his head and leaned in to grab another piece of nigiri, stuffing it in his mouth again and laying back on the couch. "So what do you two do to relax and all? You do something together, right? Since you're... housemates? No?", the bluehead did his best to try and keep the conversation going, unsure if it was even interesting; at the very least it was. 

"I've these hot springs near my house and I sit there sometimes, or I just take walks around the caves. Monsters can spawn but... They're not strong enough to be a threat and they don't ever even try to attack us- well, me. I've also got a small farm with slimes at the back of my house that's fun to look at. The blobs that jump around and bounce all over the place?"

[NIGHT 0]

To be honest, NIGHT was more worried about DAY's care-taking of Chase than the other way around. But she nodded at his reassurance all the same, exhaling with relief as she leaned backwards with the cup to her mouth. The woman squinted at her friend's next question -- not that it was unexpected; in fact, it was welcome as compared to the queries she'd been receiving about her life as of late.

She just didn't have a good answer to it. Just because they were housemates--

"Oh! Cooking's something NIGHT usually needs help with."

With the entity responding in her stead, the player glared back at DAY, and within seconds she'd emptied her cup before the construct could continue much further. NIGHT held out the mug with disdain, catching the Gemini's eyes with a wave.

"--And then, let's see... Shopping? Reading? Ah, I usually look after the state of the house when she's out, but sometimes she drags me on walks outside too--"

"--Oi. I'm out."

Her words cut off, the system only returned the player an unamused stare. "You know how to refill it yourself, don't you?"

"Just shut up and do it."

"Lame," DAY quipped back. With a hand, she slid the teapot across the table to her original's side instead. The player rolled her eyes as she picked it up, wondering in dissatisfaction if her distraction had even worked as she filled her cup once more. "Oh, that reminds me though. The slimes are near overfilling these days. You'll want to clear them out, NIGHT."

"Got it."

"The hot springs sound nice though." Within seconds, DAY's mood seemed to bounce back to normal, interest gleaming when her sights returned to Chase. "It'd be nice to have something like that around these parts, but it's too bad we live in the city. Honestly, the closest we've got around here are parks in the smaller towns or wandering about in the Field of Beginnings. And it's nothing compared to sights on the other floors, I bet."

"I didn't live here to sight see," NIGHT murmured into her drink, before taking another sip.

"Mm... What else is there on the first? The Black Iron Palace... the Monument of Life?" The construct hummed, closing her eyes. "Ah, none of them seem like interesting places to visit, though..."

"It's a good city to find newbies in, though."

DAY huffed, giving the woman a glance. "That's if you ever left the town much to begin with. --Hmm... Let's see..."

Leaving the player to balk at her response, the entity continued to stay quiet, before piping up all of a sudden. "Chase, have you been anywhere interesting throughout the floors of Aincrad? Like, sights you wouldn't want to miss out on. Touristy-destinations!"

In the background, all the guest would be able to catch was a confused and silent NIGHT.

[ChaseR 0]

While on one hand it was entertaining to watch the two, and if there was anyone that Chase could say felt very homey to him it would be DAY, he did feel somewhat put off by how she joked at NIGHT's expense- and it seemed to bother NIGHT that much more too as she went on and on. "H-Hey, come on, be kinder to NIGHT~..."

Before he knew it, the two were already spitting little comments back and forth and then DAY asked him directly again. Destinations though? Chase had been on a wild trip the past however many weeks around Aincrad finishing every mission there was to finish, but hell if he knew any good places to go visit. He could only talk about what left him most impressed compared to everything else. "Well, uh... The twenty first is very nice. It's a cave, but I made my home there because it's both cold and bright. It has these crystals with some very good looking lights that make it feel like it's not real. I-It's not but you know.", he nodded to himself quietly, coughing dryly and trying to crank out some more floors that left quite an impression on him if anything. "Other than that, um. The fourth is very cool, with all the snow it has and whatnot? I like snow so... It looks nice. It has this very uh... cool forest. With pine trees..? I think... I-It's got a lot of snow."... Maybe trying to sell any areas wasn't his strong suit. Perhaps this is why he didn't enjoy running a shop this much after all?

"The... I think twenty fourth? It looks nice. It has these floating islands that shouldn't be able to exist and they're connected with land bridges. It just looks incredible, one could be the town and the one right after is a forest or a small lake on the island? I love them. I met a nice NPC there too. A traitor, but he sounded remorseful. W-Well, not remorseful uh... He didn't... He had his moral code. He knew what he was doing was wrong though.". By this point, he kept nervously exchanging glances between the two, hoping that he didn't lose them during his rather drawn out and poorly put together explanations. The things of note were still there as ever though; the 21st's cave system, the 4th's snowy terrain and the 24th's bridged islands.

[NIGHT 0]

In hindsight, if DAY had been in possession of any brain cells, perhaps she would've realized the predicament of asking combat-oriented players about locations around Aincrad in the first place. NIGHT hummed, watching the entity nod enthusiastically at each of the locales -- none of them were anything special in of themselves, but it was strange how she'd agreed, too, that these floors had been eye-catching.

Even stranger still was how the player realized she'd bound for these places with her Gemini by her side.

"Oh, we've been to the twenty-first!" The construct perked up with a sunshine smile. "There was this subsection down in the tunnels -- Route Zero, I think? It's like this whole winding river underground that not a lot of players come out of. Not that it's anything dangerous to go into in particular..."

"It's easy to get lost in," her counterpart mentioned.

"Right! And then the fourth..."

NIGHT was silently grateful for the glance she received from her doppel before running her mouth. A tightening of her features was enough of a prompt for DAY to decide to gloss over it. "Well, let's just say it had this wonderland quality."

The player still raised a brow at that comment, however.

"I don't think there're any more locations that featured snow and ice, though..." The entity hummed, eyes turned towards the ceiling. "Y'know, we did go hunting for dungeons on the twenty-fourth a few times."

"Oh, right." NIGHT soured up at the revelation; a few of the front-liners had intended to get some last-minute training done through runs into dungeons such as those, but their plans ended up falling through at some point or another. The quick grab of sushi and bite into it helped to sweeten her mood, however.

"The sea on that floor's pretty great! Almost makes one wonder what living there might be like." DAY turned to her original with a grin, hands hugging her knees now. "Don't you think so too?"

The player shrugged. "I think I wouldn't be able to tend to my shop if we just up and left."

"Aw, c'mon...!"

[ChaseR 0]

The boy listened to the two talk with a small grin, nodding his head. He was somewhat confused when the two just exchanged glances before speaking about the fourth, and then came talk of moving to the higher floors. "Your shop actually gets people? L-Like, mine doesn't at all so I thought artisans were just sorta... Y'know, done for? I don't know, you make two or three trinkets and then people are done buying them, right?"

Leaning forward and grabbing another piece of the sushi, he gave another nod in agreement with himself. "Mhm, I can't remember last I got someone... A-Although I don't tend to frequent around my shop all that much now that I'm thinking about it... Maybe if you make it in the safezone in the 24th more people will come, think about it~? It wouldn't hurt to have a nice view, would it?", Chase asked with a small smile, looking at DAY once more and then back at NIGHT. Honestly, a small break like this might have been exactly what he needed. If anything, maybe it had hurt him to have been sitting all alone in the same house for so long, with so little to do but read up on all the compiled knowledge in his database of a library. And that actually reminded him- he began to look through his inventory, before making a small cardboard box appear. "I just remembered, easter candy? We never started the real feast, right? DAY, you'll wanna try these, they're very nice.", he pushed the box slightly closer to her and grinned, looking outside the window before back at the duo and taking a handful of the sweets for himself. "... I'm glad I've met you two."