[PP-F??] Temple of Dreams

[Hidden 1]

'She has a house, so why was she sleeping in some random secluded cave?' One may ask. It was a question that even the snow-haired girl couldn't answer. Her own home felt foreign to her, unsafe. It was a house for someone else. Or maybe, she was just hiding from Ayame. She couldn't bring her eyes to meet the young girl. How could she come to face a girl that had been tricking her from the moment they met? Normally, doing away with her was the answer. This time that didn't seem like much of an option. Despite what she might have done, she was still important. Now, Hidden laid sprawled out in a sleeping bag out in a random cave. No player would bother her there, she was far off the main trail. It wasn't comfy but she had done it for over a year in the past. It wouldn't be long before sleep came. 

At first all was as normal, the darkness of sleep. A moment of time where all can relax and leave the world behind. Then, the darkness brightened and became and endless stretch of blue that reflected off a sea of small lights that twinkled above. Hidden could feel herself floating over this scenery. It was... peaceful. Taking a step would ripple the world beneath her, casting her foot's effect into infinity. Turning, she stood looking up a case of stone steps where the warm light of a palace shone at the top. A blink, and she would stand at the top of these steps.

The inviting smell of a scented candle seemed to fill the air, only adding to the mesmerizing warm light that greeted her at every turn. Cherry blossom petals filled the air, taking an orangish-hue with the lighting. A soft and pleasant breeze pushed them ever so gently further into the air. 

Hidden stepped forward into a Japanese-styled courtyard. A quick spin to capture the sight would see her hair and attire flow to the side with her movement. A confused expression rested on her face as she realized what she adorned. A traditional Shrine Maiden outfit. Why would she dream of herself wearing something like that? No good in worrying about it, dreams weren't meant to be understood.

Stepping in further, a familiar red-haired man walked passed his eyes holding onto her for a brief moment before he continued about his walk. A name fluttered into her mind as she locked her eyes on him but faded just as quickly. She let him go, even though unsure if she should have spoke to him. 

Stepping through the warm light, she stopped at a small fountain where cherry blossom petals floated atop the water. Bending down, she picked one up from the water. The petal immediately became dry as she pulled it away from the water. Blowing on it, it would reenter the air and join the rest of the petals that floated in the air. 

Spoiler

Hidden, White Silence
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 40
HP: 780/780
EN: 96/96

Stats:
Damage: 24
Mitigation: 20
Evasion: 4
Accuracy: 4
Battle Healing: 42
Loot Dice: 1
HLY: 16
PHASE
REC: 8
V.D.: 42
V.O.: 85

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Kura Yu Yami | Holy II, Phase, Vamp Off. 
Armor: Vantablack | EVA III, Vamp Def
Misc: Night's Bloom | ACC II, Recovery II

Custom Skill:
Lady Midnight

Skills:
Dagger R5
Battle Healing R5
Cloth Armor R5

Active Mods:
Untraceable
Vanish
Surprise Attack (Assassin)
Athletics

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Stamina
Ferocity
Precision
Nimble

Active Extra Skills:
Hiding R5
Survival
Disguise

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

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

Wedding Ring:

 

[NIGHT 0]

A world away, NIGHT was asleep, dreaming. Dreaming about a castle unreal, a courtyard too big, a starry midsummer's sky peppered with speckles of white and silver and gold.

It was in the realm of unimportance that one was want to wake in a haze, dizzy, senses failing them each time they shifted to move and take an action. Feeling as though they didn't have any choice in where they were going, what they were meant to do. NIGHT had felt it, aware of not being in control, but at the same time she too was familiar of her failing lucidity. She stumbled from one of the rooms, a comforting warm treasury, towards the corridor and slowly found herself once again. The wooden boards beneath her clogs were grainy, fibrous, and though she had no business in making contact with them, somehow it felt like her footwear was not even present, shifting upon the floor than her sandals as she trudged herself past the circular gate.

The moment she stepped down towards the gardens was when the rough pebble flooring, cold and blunt, prickly, finally jolted her consciousness awake. She wouldn't ask too many questions; none about the attire she wore, a traditional Japanese montsuki, nor about the necessity of her hair clip she would've left in her workshop, that familiar silver crescent's edges finding the glow of nearby lanterns to glint off of. Her primary focus was this, however:

Where in the seven hells was she? In fact, what was she doing here, at all?

In her sopor, perhaps they would've gone unmentioned. Yet, waking, she found herself filled with a whole desire to seek out her truth -- find someone familiar, if she could remember coming here with anyone or recognizing any of the attendees faces -- and then maybe get the hell out of dodge. After all, where did she even arrive from? The room she was in was so inexplicably warm...

NIGHT turned her head back towards the way she came, and found herself momentarily entranced by the comforts of the room's atmosphere. Had she returned, she surely would've lost her sobriety again. Fatal stirred judgement pulled her along the gardens otherwise.

The mixed temperate winds shifted alongside her walk. It was a white-haired beauty who seemed to be alone that caught her attention on her investigation, for the other patrons appeared to be too busy, too clustered -- they knew what they were doing, and NIGHT herself did not. But neither did the other girl, it seemed, or perhaps the other's guard seemed to be down -- idle by a small fountain and tending to the petals, it looked like a calm and serene sight, the trail of other blossoms spiraling into the sky. The player wondered if it was important, had any significance to their apparent party down in the castle.

She pushed aside any lingering, hesitant thought.

"Excuse me," NIGHT spoke under her breath, just a few feet away from the girl, familiarity growing somewhat as she'd come to react to the player. "Do you happen to know what this place might be? I must've fallen asleep and forgotten, but perhaps... You may know...?"

| NIGHT  | Lv. 92 >> P. 61, Lv. 31  | Status: [ ... peanut gallery. ]  Notes:  //

Spoiler NIGHT | HP: 860/840 | EN: 124/124 | DMG: 21 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 44 | LM: 2 | HLY: 8 | PHASE | LD: 5 | BH: 25 | Stealth Rating: 6 equipped Orgoth's Legacy ACC, PHASE, HOLY (8) Tracksuit of Unfathomable Fashionability MIT (24), LM II Silver Crescent Necklace ACC II, EVA II battle-ready inventory // skills Spoiler mod count: 4/5 2HSS | RANK 5/5 focus, stamina, precision shift: aoe CLOTH ARMOR | RANK 5/5 athletics, nimble COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 SEARCHING | RANK 4+1/5 BATTLE HEALING | RANK 3/5 EXTENDED MOD LIMIT ENERGIST FAMILIAR: PROFESSION QUICK CHANGE extra SURVIVAL CONCENTRATION HIDING blindside, vanish, surprise attack-t Spoiler statue BIALAS | +TAUNT MOTHRA | +1 EN Recovery TANOS | +25 MIT MORETSUNA | +50 HP OROCHI | +1 LD KUMATETSU | +1 DMG consumables - - - - - - paragon Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to looting. Spoiler en cost matches multiplier unless stated otherwise. shift underlined. ST | x12 -> x15 | x20 AOE | x15 -> x18 TECH-A | x12 | STUN | 13EN TECH-B | x12 | DELAY TECH-D | x12 | SHATTER TECH-G | x12 | BURN Spoiler housing 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: 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. gathering Greenhouse | +2 G.EXP, +1 CD&LD to gathering attempts. Familiar: Profession | +2 G.EXP Demeter's Cornucopia | +1 CD to gathering attempts.

 

[Hidden 1]

Distracted by the petals, she didn't notice the approaching figure. As her voice cut the serene silence, Hidden internally jumped as the high of the atmosphere faded in an instant. Her head quickly turned, violet eyes meeting the newcomers form. The person also adorned traditional attire, though not the same here. Dark hair and purple eyes were prominent in her facial features. A sense of familiarity rested with the woman. Standing from her crouched position, she found that they were similar in height.

"Do you happen to know what this place might be? I must've fallen asleep and forgotten, but perhaps... You may know...?" Focusing on the woman's voice, she was able to pinpoint why this girl had seemed so familiar. Her clothes and unapprehensive voice had thrown her off completely. This girl was NIGHT. Or at least what this dream had made her out to be. Despite who the woman was, it would be best to just let the dream play out. The fact that NIGHT had appeared in her dream was rather strange and especially in this light....

How was she supposed to answer NIGHT's question? She didn't know where they were at either. Her eyes peeled away from NIGHT and moved back to the fountain. "I don't really know. Something tells me I'm here when I know I'm really not. I don't even know how long I'll be here."

A pleasantly warm breeze blew in, playing with Hidden's hair and clothes. A gentle smile formed on her lips. "I might've asked you the same thing but I don't need to know. I don't think I'll ever get to come back here. A dream that will only come once. So I had better enjoy it while I can. My mind hasn't felt this clear for as long as I can remember." The air and atmosphere was warm and welcoming. It was much like the feeling she had felt in her time with Sey. As if she was eating an endless candy apple. 

[NIGHT 0]

Who was this? They seemed familiar, as far as NIGHT could tell. Odd. But she knew subconsciously she didn't know them, only knew of them, like an acquaintance of an acquaintance. A face you'd only see in your day dreams because your mind had decided to pick it out of a crowd one day without your realization. The woman (she realized, after the stranger had started to speak) seemed particularly distant, she knew. Not in physicality, but in who she was to NIGHT.

Maybe, perhaps, it was because that was who she was as a person.

But the player wasn't here to make assumptions about others, not when there seemed to be a festive bustling mood occurring, and her companion seemed to be having a good time. She watched the petals as they swirled higher, the sudden wind guiding them further into the sky.

"Clear," NIGHT repeated, knowingly absent-mindedly, "but you're not really sure where you are, nor what you are doing here, either." Her gaze returned to the other woman's form -- was Hidden her name? How'd she suddenly know that, as though it had been common knowledge? -- and words began flowing through her lips, hands gesturing, like they were on more than familiar terms. "A little strange to be at odds there, don't you think? --Hidden?"

That last bit was almost her check to ensure she didn't have the wrong person, and subsequently needed to hunt down the correct corresponding individual instead. Were they even present at this party? Hell, wasn't the woman -- whoever this Hidden was -- supposed to be an acquaintance, a stranger? And yet, something odd about the atmosphere told her that NIGHT and the stranger were, frankly, comfortable. If this person was even Hidden. And as though nothing was out of the ordinary with their meeting at a distant, unparticular castle in the middle of neither-of-them-knew-where.

Somehow, the player still felt the compulsion to stay, stance shifting that her foot was drawn close to each other, one balancing on toes rather than heel. Her finger reached for her locks; they felt longer than before, more combed, neat and tidy, but it wasn't as though her hair had grown to its once monstrous cape-length, and neither did she feel as though she was struggling to play with her strands. NIGHT fidgeted, holding her elbow up with her other empty hand. "Enjoyment and clarity," she murmured, although she could've sworn she was saying 'clear' with apostrophes emphasized rather than an edited, checked version of her stray thought. "Maybe if you had more of it in your daily routine, you wouldn't have to rely on it only in your dreams."

The familiar tune wiggled into her throat as she hummed the last few bars of its melody -- short, simple, sweet quip -- and before the player knew it, the moment had passed.

"Then you'll never need to come back here, ever."

NIGHT glanced over her shoulder as she said that, a little tepid. "Not like there's anything wrong with this place. It's quite... swanky. Rich, upstanding... Homely." Then, she tilted her head after she heard herself speak. "... Homely, but not quite like home. There's something about it that doesn't feel quite right. Not to me, anyway. Not my home."

"Say, what do you do in your daily life, anyway...?"

[Hidden 1]

NIGHT's figure remained unchanging as she responded to Hidden's words, voicing perfect reason. The dark-haired girl made perfect sense. Why would anything be clear when she understood nothing about where they were at. Her name was mentioned which confused Hidden for a moment but it all made sense. Why wouldn't Dream-NIGHT not know her name? A moment of silence ensued as Hidden pondered NIGHT's question. "I... can't really think of an answer for it. If I were to have to guess, it's because I don't feel the need to understand it. It doesn't feel like here that I need to worry about what's going to happen. I can just let myself enjoy the aroma of the sweet scent in the air. Don't you agree?"

NIGHT mentioned Enjoyment and clarity, speaking in a way that made Hidden unsure of whether NIGHT was insinuating that she herself experienced it always or never. Brushing a stray strand of silver hair from her face, Hidden neatly replied, "Rely on it? I'm just letting it come as it does." Truth be told, Hidden hadn't ever slept well. Even before Aincrad. "Never need to come back here? I guess if I could somehow get some wisteria trees near my house it would be something like this. I think that would look pretty." When someone thought of her though, she doubted they'd guess she was interested in the pretty things. She had a nice place on Floor 11 with Sey in the past, that home was in the past. It wasn't something she could return to. 

"No, it definitely not home." Agreed Hidden with a nod. "More like..." A pause as she thought for a moment. "... like a place you would go on vacation." She let go of the newest petals she had captured, returning her full attention to NIGHT and her various questions. 

"Say, what do you do in your daily life, anyway...?"

A slight tilt to her head was made as this question was voiced. How would she answer this question? She knew for a fact as of recent she personally had sitting around in deserted areas, staying away from others as she asked herself which direction to go next. The problem with answering this; however, was that she didn't feel at this moment that was her. Almost as if she had taken the backseat to her own body's driving. Her constant conflicted state tugging her in which direction she needed to go. Where did you go after you started questioning your very relationship with those closest to you?

"Well, I'll admit I am pretty lackluster when it comes to things like questing. I hate doing it all of the time. There's this little girl, Ayame, who hangs around me and calls me her sister. I guess I spent a lot of time with her. Sometimes, she expects me to show affection for her and throws a huge tantrum if I even say anything bad about myself. Honestly, she's a pain like nearly all the time. I almost have to take her everywhere or else who knows what trouble she'll find herself in. It's almost as if she has some death wish."

A warm smirk appeared on Hidden's lips. "I guess keeping her around has its benefits. She lives with me now so its always something new to do. I never really wanted a sibling in the real world... but now I guess I kinda have one don't I." The usual thought of her wanting her mother back didn't even cross her mind in this warm trance. 

Violet eyes remained trained on NIGHT's. 

 

[NIGHT 0]

The lack of worry proved to be one hell of a distracting thought, despite it feeling to NIGHT that it should've been light on her mind. Was the atmosphere about them too subtle or sweet? That nagging feeling seemed to waver in the air, only for a split second, just long enough for the player to reflect on the thought.

"If you say so," she responded. Though no tension remained still, it bothered her to let go of all pretense. The woman clung onto it, like a thread tied to her pinky; faint, still tethered. It felt like she was listening, just as Hidden was responding to her words, and then not. The elements of their conversation, their topic subject slipping out of the corners of her mind.

Wisteria trees.

"I bet they would," the comment slipped out of her, and almost as though it had been in her periphery the entire time, her gaze went towards the closest example of such a plant, admiration dancing in red lights amidst the warm reflections in her eyes. Her stare remained blank, however, drifting back towards Hidden. "Especially if the architecture of your house matched the palace we seem to find ourselves in. A nice Japanese garden like this..."

Yuki would appreciate it, she'd wanted to say, but the words failed to leave her this time.

She'd continued to ruminate upon Hidden's suggestions. "Vacation? At somewhere this wonderful?" A part of her was almost tempted to point out the surrealism of their surroundings, its nature, the way things felt muddied and loose despite all things, visible or not, remaining intact. That hesitation left her just as soon as she'd realized, however, the warmth that the idea of a trip elsewhere resonated with her. "That doesn't sound too bad, actually. I should take a vacation sometime soon, myself."

And her eyes continued to rest on the hanging flowers of the wisteria trees.

When her associate spoke up next, it had initially rubbed her the wrong way. The forlorn thought that they were in a game had all but abandoned her, and that bubble came and went just as Hidden's speech danced around the issue. More of NIGHT's focus was spent contemplating about Ayame; Hidden didn't seem like the type of person to have a sister, or a sibling, but it felt right hearing about it. As though it was a dynamic that should've always been. That it felt natural for her to speak about her younger sister, whether or not this Ayame was related to her by blood.

She'd chuckled upon hearing the outbursts, the wry smile that passed by her companion's visage. "It must be nice," NIGHT replied, a faint wish dancing behind her pupils. "Not the part where you get into danger, of course. But the company. Must be nice not to feel so alone."

There was a brief passing scent of brine, just at that moment. A soft gust of wind that frayed at the woman's locks. NIGHT was fully aware of Hidden's gaze upon her own; her fingers reached out to her own cheeks if only to brush aside the strands that had fallen out of place.

"Nothing wrong with gaining a new sibling, I'd say. Almost adoptive, like that. To do it for a kid when she's in need."

For a moment, her sight passed by her companion's lips.

"I've never really been just as alone myself, come to think of it." The woman hummed, eyes tracking the litter of stars across the night sky. "Nice to have some family around, I'd think. Never really figured how having people around, people you somewhat truly like, would feel like. I mean, Ayame might be a nuisance sometimes, but you wouldn't exactly trade her for the world, would you?"

[Hidden 1]

Hidden mused NIGHT's words. "My house doesn't meet that criteria. It isn't traditionally styled at all. Looks more like a summer home. Warm grass, a small river that flows through near. Only real decoration is small flower beds in the front. The stone steps in are sometimes nice to sit down on and look out." The warm sensation of the dream seemed to subside a bit as she remembered it. She had been away from her house for a couple of weeks now. She wondered if Ayame was still waiting there for her to come back. 

She averted her eyes from NIGHT as they dimmed a bit in regret of her actions. She felt as if she needed to go back, but she doubted she'd feel the same way when she awoke. This dream was one without worry, the burdens of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. A slight breeze picked up, blowing in fresh petals and playing with both of the girls' hair. 

Hidden glanced down at her attire once more, finding herself playing with the fabric for a short moment. It felt thin, made of a much different material then the clothes that she wore underneath her cloak. They were far looser, not hugging her body as near as much. It almost made her feel naked or instead covered only by a sheet. 

"We didn't get along at all at first. I guess you could say she lied to my face when I first met. She followed me around for a while for some quests. She's hell-bent on getting stronger, it's weird. Though, when I got to understand more about her and her... past.... I guess she reminded me of me. I decided to be more like the person that I wanted around when I was that age." Just someone to look up to. That was all. She had seen pictures of her mother before, along with faint memories. Her mother was beautiful and kind. She always wanted someone like her mother to be in her life. 

"Nice to have some family around, I'd think. Never really figured how having people around, people you somewhat truly like, would feel like." .

Hidden's face scrunched in confusion. "Is that some kind of joke? I thought you and Yuki were inseparable. That boy she's with that's bad at... he hangs around you too. Everyone that I know that knows you seems to adore you. They all seem to talk about how powerful and cool you are." Words at this point seemed to flow through her, unfiltered. "It's why everytime I see you, I can't help but feel pointless. You do everything I do, and you do it better. Everyone likes you, you're pretty, you get this standoffish attitude that everyone seems to be fine with."

To her, it was almost insulting that NIGHT thought she had no friends to be around. The girl that she thought had everything was claiming to have nothing. "Basically nobody likes me, and the few friends I made just pity me." Despite being in the dream, the warm fuzzy feeling faded. It was as if her subconscious was awake now. She was aware and the nagging voice had returned, even if only for the moment. "You're literally perfect and everything I want to be."

Hidden averted her eyes from NIGHT and took a step back after realizing she had ended up stepping in really close during her small rant. 

[NIGHT 0]

A nice summer home.

Had NIGHT been lucid, perhaps it would've filled her with an equal amount of fear as did pleasure to have known that sensation: the thought of warm sunlight, the catch of sweet spring water, the frost of the breeze that swept through the fields that laid around it. A cozy summer home; tiny dancing flowers on their long, thin stalks, stone steps that she could feel her sneakers, her bare feet even graze upon. Granite. Rough, unpolished, wild.

That dream died just as the two of them came away from wistful thinking about such an idea. Wisteria trees wouldn't match, NIGHT had decided in her delusion. "But they would definitely be complimentary," she reflected aloud, the lingering sentiments surrounding such a thought lost to all.

NIGHT, too, would listen just as Hidden appeared to shift. Was it worry? Hesitancy? None of it felt concrete when her companion started to talk. In fact, that commentary on herself felt ice thin, paper even, when Hidden had disclosed her feelings about Ayame.

Somehow, that stirred up a mild taste on her tongue. Fresh grass. The player waved it off.

"Well they do say you're liken to become the person you needed most when you didn't have that sort of figure," NIGHT briefly commented, reminiscing on the saying with a tinge of nostalgia at the corner of her lips. "That's good. You're doing your job well, anyone would think."

The abrupt mention of Yuki pulled some solace of reality back to her, enough to still the world around them, that castle and bring it back into focus. Right, their sensation had felt so ethereal, the woman had almost contemplated their existence in mid-air. The garden they were in; NIGHT too fumbled with the cloth on her skin, grounding herself, but the presence behind her eyes was still empty and lost.

"—"

And hearing the words Hidden had wanted to say felt like a sharp cut matched with a dull pain.

Literally perfect and everything I want to be.

There was a pause in the fumbling of her seams, just as NIGHT blinked back in a semblance of herself to look right into Hidden's eyes.

"You must've gotten me confused for the wrong person," she muttered, still struck with confusion, loss. "Am I right?"

When it was clear that NIGHT wasn't about to be able to write their conversation off, when the gears in the back of her head had so chose to churn just as much as Hidden's filter had failed to work, the player found herself gulping down air, fingers finding hair to tuck behind her ear again. Again with the habits. Again, she found herself to steel a gaze back at Hidden, this time with an illusory feeling.

"I can't be perfect," NIGHT started, the hitch of a warble at the fringe of her voice. It was subtle, a vocal withdrawl, that part of her that had wanted to hide away. "I'm not perfect. I'm... one of everything I believe society's come to hate. I mean..."

Her fingers found fingers, an index pinched between one hand.

"You... don't have to hate yourself."

They shifted as she went down the list, voice growing more strained.

"You don't like girls, I think. You don't have to hide that part of yourself away from everyone else."

"You're not a broken stereotype. Some failure of the education system. You don't have to live with that looming over your head every day. Or... didn't."

"You're not struck with some puppy-dog love over someone you can't get over from years and years ago. You don't have to be reminded of their existence every time you turn your head. Don't have to seal it shut from everyone else you get along with or meet. Don't have to struggle with trying to justify their reasoning by your side every waking moment."

"You..."

By the time she'd slowed on her words, NIGHT's sights were already hazy once again, stewing on Hidden's own fingertips.

"You don't... live alone."

Her speech trailed off, mind working backwards in flagrant, arduous recall.

"You don't have to have it all put together in the eye of the public. Isn't that a boon in itself? You don't need to have people who rely on you for one thing or another. Don't need to try and fit into how society works as it is. Yuki, that boy, they all have expectations for me, or for each other."

NIGHT's hum was more of a drone, this time. Whirring, pained, narrowed eyes tossed towards the star-littered sky.

"I don't know anyone who would adore me. Me or my position. If I do everything better, maybe it's because I try. Too hard. I mean, there's no reason to need to try this hard, really..."

The player fell silent. Her lids fell, just as she brought her expression back down to settle on Hidden's. When she opened her eyes again, a slight crack parted her lips.

"You think I'm pretty?" The hint of a scoff. NIGHT's gaze fell back to the cobblestone, searching the foliage for answers.

"... I don't."

[Hidden 1]

It was apparent in Hidden's eyes that she had become upset. Unlike before with her dazed expression, her self-doubt was laid plainly on her face. In the current atmosphere, her sense of Pride had all but vanished. All that remained now was her and her own feelings. 

The voice that nagged in the back of her head spoke where she could hear it, but the voice was lulled and sleepy. It was almost as if she had to strain herself to hear and understand her own thought's quiet voice. 'Wake up... it's not good to be here. Th.. is NIGHT. Not t. .. tr..... '

You must've gotten me confused for the wrong person, Am I right?"

Ignoring the voice's warnings, Hidden shook her head furiously. "No, you're NIGHT." Her words were stated with absolute confidence. NIGHT could no longer meet her gaze, looking away while tucking hair behind her ear. When the girl's eyes could meet hers, she spoke more nonsense as an attempt to try to make Hidden feel better about herself. Some of the words, didn't seem to be making any sense in her statement however. The puppy dog bit made no sense to her. NIGHT did seem really bothered by living alone. Her words were definitely personal, Hidden had no one from years and years ago. 

"You don't have to have it all put together in the eye of the public. Isn't that a boon in itself? You don't need to have people who rely on you for one thing or another. Don't need to try and fit into how society works as it is. Yuki, that boy, they all have expectations for me, or for each other."

It seemed to her, that each of them wanted what the other had. When at the same time, they ignored the drawbacks of each lifestyle. "I can't be in the eye of the public. Not even if I wanted to be. Thanks to Hestia and Itzal, my very name is associated a murderers. As for expectations... I have my own. I can only let people get so close, every time I let someone in they are made a target by someone who doesn't like me. I want to help, I even told Raidou I'd help protect his guild so he didn't get himself killed watching over it." 

It was now Hidden's gaze that fell to the floor. "I don't have to justify keeping people near me... I can't relate to that. Instead, I push them all away. I ruined my relationship with Sey because I didn't want him getting hurt. He can find someone better anyway. Someone that isn't going to bring him stress and just randomly not return home for weeks on end." 

Hidden looked up, brushing the fallen hair from her face. The pleasant aroma swept in from the breeze, calming her down a bit. It wouldn't prevent the few tears that trailed down her face however. 

"You think I'm pretty?"

Stifling a laugh, a smile spread across her teary face. Violet eyes trained on the girl, and even if just for a moment she seen her. She didn't see her feelings toward the woman, just the girl as she was. NIGHT. "Yeah!" Wiping a tear from her cheek, she continued. "I'm far too pale to pull off the dark-haired look. Even though you look uninterested in everything around you, when you fight you get this look of confidence. As if everything is under your control." Taking a second to breathe, she focused on NIGHT. "You always seem to know just what you're doing." She also had a cute body and figure which mixed surprisingly well with a tracksuit. She didn't tell her this, however. 

[NIGHT 0]

That 'pretty' statement was supposed to make a point.

It'd slipped out of both conversationalists' grasp, however, the moment Hidden had affirmed her considerations to NIGHT. Throat gulp, a duck of her head — there might have been a nigh unmissable flush if they had been outside of dreams. Here, she maintained her complexion, NIGHT forgetting how warm everything seemed when she was complimented by another woman.

"Even though you look uninterested in everything around you, when you fight you get this look of confidence. As if everything is under your control. You always seem to know just what you're doing."

Her attention still remained on Hidden's words, processing them while regaining her composure. It was at those words that she'd looked away, arms tucked close to her chest in a fold. Did NIGHT know what she was doing in her daily operations? Her fingers played with the hem of her sleeve, gaze cast idle upon the dirt of the garden. "I don't."

"... I mean..."

An exhale, shoulders lowering; that breath taken put her thoughts in a slurry, speech fragile once again. "I don't think you do, either. If you're hiding yourself away like that, hiding from the people you want to be with but won't allow yourself to be. I don't... mean to push you to action, of course, but... I don't think that looks like a good fit on you."

She clarified, a distant gaze to her companion and an open palm in gesture. "Blaming others for a circumstance upon you. Deciding for others how they should interact with you because of it when you, too, aren't in favour of it. Maybe it's my ideal that you continue to live how you want to under their oppression--"

"-- Maybe even my norm, at this point..."

"... But by giving that power away, you're only doing what they want you to do. Why put the desires of others, desires of people you don't agree with nor hold to high regard above your own?"

NIGHT looked back towards the grass, that spot in the dirt she was fixated on earlier, lingering upon it for a beat longer before returning back to Hidden. "Hestia and Itzal. They're those... policemen or whatever, right?" A second exhale, this one with an edge bordering on scorn. "I still don't get why they're such a big deal to you. Them, and what army? If bounties were so easy to attach to a name and a face, it would be just the same to place one upon them, reason paper thin or whatever. C'mon. Are those threats from nobodies really worth your heartache of not being able to connect with anyone?"

"You've got friends who are strong, resourceful. Like, Raidou... right?"

The flash of liquid shadow came to mind the moment that name struck her tongue, and she'd sworn that a flitter of darkness snuck its way into vision from the corner of her sights. A harsh blink, and the world realigned. She shook her head, if only to stave away a cold shiver, her unspoken concern. "Even Yuki, Crow. Ayame if she's matching you in levels. Each of them can hold their own from the forces that work against you, can't they? ... Better if you all work together, then, right?"

"I mean, since you hold Yuki to such high regard, after all." There was almost a smirk when NIGHT had slipped it in, light melting away at the corner of her eyes. "It's a fine excuse to go looking for her, isn't it? Honestly, if I didn't know any better..."

But a wakeness registered, near kicked her right in the head once the words had left her mouth. It returned to her expression after a closing of lids, the hint of a surprise from a small agape mouth, quickly erased by the changing of posture. Back straightened. Disappointment gracefully left her lips. Silence, before a whisper. 

"... No... I don't think you got that."

Now wordless, NIGHT could only lean forward, still pondering upon Hidden's spiel from earlier. She'd tilted her head at almost a crooked angle with her spine curved once more; a crone's analysis on purpose. Her squint was a mix of sleepiness and sour grapes, eying the woman up and down with slight dissatisfaction.

"That's the difference between me and you; us. You, too, have your expectations... and you force them onto others. For what, their own benefit? And what about your own?"

When she raised her head again, she kicked her feet, disturbing gravel. A pebble skipped twice over the garden path.

"I should be no different, to say the least. But if you had the chance to return to society... you'd want to, wouldn't you? To have friends again, and... even this Sey guy."

(Liquid lucidity. It ebbed and flowed like the tides, moon ever changing, and here it withdrew for but a moment.)

"If he's half the man I believe you to be captivated by," she simmered, traces of gold hidden away behind her eyelids, "and he's not by your side, I'd bet you were the one to push him away on your account of isolation. Am I right?"

There was a pause in her speech. Allowance for a response. NIGHT didn't care then what Hidden was going to say.

"You should go to him," she murmured, the corner of her jaw making a home out of her palm. "You should be with the ones you want to be with. Hardships are easier when you're with people who're willing to help you; there's always going to be trouble, either way. You up your chances of survival by being in a community than otherwise. And why waste your time living a life you don't want because someone else had dictated you to do so? ... Where are your fangs to bite back?"

A flash of light reflected in her eyes; there was shifting of shadows elsewhere, revealing and obscuring a stray lantern further away. An unconcious revelry, that blink and shift of her body to face Hidden's once again. In that moment, NIGHT had almost forgotten what she had mentioned mere moments ago.

Almost forgotten.

"Humans prefer their pack mentality, you know?"

[Hidden 1]

Hidden shifted as NIGHT began to speak, turning her body to the side to create a more passive interaction. Only her gaze remained toward NIGHT. The girls words were entirely focused on Hidden now, almost completely ignoring the statements about NIGHT herself. A wince at the mention of those that she had actually surrounded herself with before. Her words almost brought bare her excuse about Itzal and Hestia. The two were hardly ever to be found anymore and the hunts for her had all but ceased. The APD fell apart after some time and had shown no signs of reviving. 

"You're right. I do push people away from me. Its better for them anyway, even if it isn't for me. I'm toxic, draining them of their time and resources. Besides Raidou are on completely different terms after what he did. Then after that he even called me the child." Yuki had completely vanished and never seemed to reach out anymore. Even the random dungeon runs had ceased. No doubt because NIGHT had completely replaced her usefulness. Ayame... why was she bei-

Like a snap, the whisper of her own voice in her hand returned. While before it had only been a sleep murmur, it was far more wakeful this time. Hidden must've been close to waking in the real world. 

'Don't forget, Ayame is just using you for her own gain. Deceiving you until she becomes strong enough to rid of you. A parasite in sheep's clothing.'

As NIGHT continued and reminded her more and more of those from the past: even Sey. She had let Sey go for his benefit. She hoped that he was happier now. They hadn't talked since she had left that note at their house together. 

The whispers drew closer, but Hidden spoke through them with a pained expression. "I broke up with Sey for h-his benefit. He was working himself to death to try to come up with a solution where the APD would leave me alone and make me happy at the same time. He would've done anything and everything for me. I couldn't let him do that. He would be even willing to kill himself over it. I... loved him too much for that."

"Humans prefer their pack mentality, you know?"

Suddenly, the whispers became shouts, pounding at her head. Reminding her of who she was and why she didn't need others. Face whitened, she looked at NIGHT. Without any emotion, the words seemed to fall out of her mouth. "You really think I need help? People that need others to survive are just we-" 

"SHUT UP!" Hidden's voice tore through her own. Breathing heavily, she held her hands over her ears as if to keep her own thought from rushing into her head.

"Must you shout?" A figure said quietly with distaste in her tone. "I came out here for quiet." The voice was strangely soothing, Hidden's thoughts retracting as if to take a moment to find out who the newcomer was. The girl had brown hair, amber eyes and interestingly enough a pair of ears. Like cat ears. She also had a bust that Hidden normally would be jealous of. With the entrance of the girl, the air returned to its calming scent and the area itself became warmer. The Celestial took a look at each of the girls as they stood in silence. "Better." 

[NIGHT 0]

Haziness made light of Hidden's sudden shift in demeanor. Though the shift in tone and pitch had caught her off-guard, so too did a wave of drowsiness in the moment. And NIGHT felt her gaze shift, from the woman to the floor to the cat celestial that suddenly made an appearance, and the player had a tinge of jealousy, choked nostalgia and wishing.

Fingers through a cat's fur. Fingers through gold hair.

Had the player felt like moving, perhaps she would've been bouncing at the chance to pet the random other that had appeared. But with chaos quelled, the dream figure paced herself away, and NIGHT shifted her attention back onto Hidden.

And she paid no mind to the lingering stare towards them both.

"You really think I need help? People that need others to survive are just weak." 

That sentence didn't need completing, after the first remark had been made. "Have you ever heard of the phrase 'no man is an island'?" The woman mused comfortably, shuffling forward and taking Hidden's hands into her own. By her wrists, a thumb and index held them lightly, tentative, as though to assert themselves of NIGHT's sudden behaviour. Had Hidden let her hands be drawn away from her sides, the woman would curl the rest of her fingers around her conversationalist's own. "I don't think you need help, whoever you are. Quite the opposite, actually..."

Blurry images through faded lenses. She tilted her head, lids lowering to a demure, clandestined look.

"I know you need help. And that's okay. To lean on others, to need others to survive with is okay."

Tiny ears twitched in the background, just as NIGHT whispered in Hidden's vicinity, dazed words uttered in a spiraling swirl. "Even the mightiest of lions would seek out a pack out of their own volition. It's a sound strategy to stand together than to stand alone, only one. The people who look up to you, who care for you, who like you for who you are..."

"Actually, they're a secret source of one's strength. That's why the kings of beasts are so fierce to begin with."

[Hidden 1]

NIGHT stepped forward, not skipping even a beat after Hidden's own sudden outburst. Pulling Hidden's hands away from her ears, NIGHT would curl her hands around Hidden's and speak softly. Her words contradicted that of Hidden's saying that she knew she needed help. Hidden shook her head but continued to listen to the girl's words. Her words were calm and soothing and even just for this moment. She could listen to her without the background noise. The self doubt had quietened as the two became directly connected. 

As NIGHT whispered, Hidden couldn't help but no hear the words. Her eyes shifted down to their hands. Returning the grasp, she burned the warm sensation into her own memory. The feeling of being wanted and accepted. It wasn't a feeling she had really felt much before. The only time in her life had been her moments with Sey. In their little house on the eleventh floor. Things were calm and peaceful then until life happened. She had given everything to Sey... except her future. She stole that away from him. It wouldn't be right to try to give it back.

A tear traced down the side of her face. Just one. Hidden's face did not reveal any anguish; however, instead was a smile. It wasn't NIGHT's words that mattered to her but instead the fact that she was now there. Even if just for the moment, a ray of happiness shone through her own dark clouds. 

Letting go of NIGHTs hands, Hidden would step forward and wrap her arms around the slightly taller girl. A heavy breath before Hidden would sleepily murmur, "I just wish... wish that you were real...." Closing her eyes, a sleepiness began to take over her. In NIGHT's arms, Hidden's figure would slowly begin to lose its opacity as she began to slowly fade from this dream world.  

[NIGHT 0]

The hug... took her aback.

In dreams, it was difficult to tell where reality started and imagination ended. For her, still burbling on the edges of her reverie, NIGHT was starting to see sunlight when she could've sworn it was still dusk.

Warmth. The woman's arms around her figure was comfortable. And as Hidden breathed languid, somnus, the player finally found her vision fixing itself. Again, and again, from mixed colours to sharpened focus, the weight of another upon her own stole her faded mind to the present.

And the words that rolled from her conversationalist's mouth were even more damning.

An unintentional shift to waking memory. Pitch and intonation faded away, as someone else's voice was registered despite her decided, final moment of mindfulness. It was on instinct, as Hidden fell to slumber with the edges of her form fading away in NIGHT's arms, that the latter wrapped her own back around the other woman's waist. She searched for recollection, to try and comprehend what she'd just heard, to verify if her words had been right.

Because this didn't look right.

"I just wish... wish that you were real...."

"I just wish... wish that you were real...."

Heavy. S̷̻̚h̸̜̾ę̴̏ was feeling so, so heavy. Trying to support h̶̤͝ė̷̹r̸͕̊, NIGHT stumbled backwards, found herself falling, and colours mixed again after they'd been crystal clear for only a heart beat. A voice half stolen, all trembles. She heard palpitations in her ear as the world sent onto her an uneasy rest.

"-- DAY?"

 

 

 

in an instant, she was gone.
darkness.

[Hidden 1]

Hidden was awoken by her own sobs, which ceased almost immediately after she awoke. Violet eyes flicked to the cave entrance, a dim light entering into it. It was dawn, and the sun was beginning to touch the horizon, casting its light out onto the surface. Hidden couldn't enjoy this as a pounding headache cast its ambience on her already frayed thoughts. 'What did I even dream about?' The recollection of it was already so hazy. She just remembered warmth. 

'I didn't dream about anything important. It isn't like dreams really mean anything anyway.' 

The thought seemed to almost implant itself in her head and she accepted it with blank slate expression. Standing and stretching to stave off the aches from sleeping on the cold hard ground Hidden began to run through her morning routine. Which simply consisted of a quick brush to her hair. She wore her typical combat clothes to sleep. It was cloth armor so it wasn't uncomfortable at all. She stood, stepping out into the morning light of the Eleventh floor. She'd been lucky to find a spot that the Giant Ants hadn't made a part of their hive. 

"Say, what do you do in your daily life, anyway...?"

The voice was distant and yet so familiar. Hidden couldn't quite put her finger on who, when, and where she had heard it from. It was as if it had been a memory stolen from her. Another pang from Hidden's headache. Stepping out into the light, Hidden kickstarted her day. 

[NIGHT 0]

Cold fingers on her lips. They made her eyes flutter open, a racing heartbeat to pair with, and a terrible sense of grogginess, lethargy and confusion.

She hadn't considered why her bedmate had been the first of the two to wake -- even unspoken contracts had their rules, and NIGHT had always been the one to uphold them. Neither did she think twice about why her associate had shifted, out of immediate grasp and reach. Her arms had only caught air when she curled inwards, finding nothing to soothe the stinging frost from her face.

So lost was the descriptor that would've been used to define her expression. And her waking routine was shot, the moment things in her vicinity went awry.

DAY was perched over the player, hands and knees, almost crawling out of bed. All NIGHT could see, painfully so, was the flush of white over the rest of her figure.

Her AI gave her a tilt of their head.

"Are you okay?"

... Why wouldn't she have been?

"You were muttering and writhing in your sleep. --Even more so than usual, I mean..."

"..."

And yet, some part of her refused to linger on their breach of social contact, their understanding that their time together shouldn't have been given a name. She closed her eyes, found peace in the dark. Solace found her when she swore she'd usually woken up more unsettled.

"'mmokay."

A sigh from her other.

"--That's good. So then..."

The trailing of speech implied a question to be asked. But the player wasn't much in the mood for getting ahead of herself and filling in the blanks. For one, she did wonder what her dream had been, drawing a blank when she swore she felt the world fall around her.

Maybe it was one of those 'fell from a high place' sort of nightmares. The kind where the body jolts its person awake, to ensure its heart wouldn't slow beating too much.

"...Nevermind."

She thought she heard the entity scurry out of bed to take her leave, NIGHT feeling a stare directed her way for a few moments longer. When she imagined it was lifted, she opened her eyes. Caught the last trace of her companion striding out of the room.

Alone, again. And with tossed sheets, she felt herself shivering, skin prickling more than usual.

NIGHT pulled the blankets over herself. Thought back to the missing dream, concepts fleeting like chasing fish underwater.

The last thought she had before sleep took her once again was a nice summer home. Contemplated on it, wondering if she should change her estate elsewhere.

... It must've been about Lynn, she thought, before promptly forgetting about it for the rest of forever.

[Hidden 1]

Stepping into the morning light, Hidden opened her inventory and equipped the final piece to her equipment and most recent addition. A cloak as black as it gets. Light wasn't able to bounce off of its color and seemed to chill the air itself. For some reason, she felt drawn back to the second floor. To her own home. She didn't want to see Ayame, but for some reason she had to know. Some part of her wanted to know if the kid was doing alright. The city of Taft was busy with guards, but Hidden circumvented them without thought. She knew NPC guards patterns by heart now. It changed from town to town, but it was more than easy to read now. She didn't even have to hide, she just simply walked. 

It was a matter of an hour before Hidden could see her own house in the distance. She gazed upon it wistfully. 

[NIGHT 0]

She didn't really remember too much afterwards. NIGHT found herself awake an hour later, to the incessant messaging from her brokers on tasks, and ruffled sheets where there might've been someone there before. Breakfast ready-made downstairs; despite the lack of taste, she enjoyed the rice otherwise, and made no comment to the lack of other personnel within her home.

Nyanko watched her lounge, paws tucked underneath himself, squinting with discerning green eyes.

And what of the new floor, Bistro had asked her earlier, alongside the invitation (order) to drop by her store as soon as she could. NIGHT set the small bowl down at the sink once her meal was done, shuffling towards the front door of her home, under her kitten's continued stare.

One look outside, and she wondered if there was a more compact apartment somewhere. Maybe settled by a field of flowers, perhaps.

"I'm heading out, Nyanko. Take care of the house for me, okay?"

[Hidden 1]

Stepping forward, Hidden moved in the direction of the house. Stepping up the few concrete stairs, she pushed open the door with a hand. Heart pounding with anxiety, she stepped in. A musty smell appeared to be the only thing inhabiting the place. How long had it been since Ayame had been here? Standing in the living room alone now, she allowed the ambience to take her as she closed her eyes. It was quiet. It didn't feel like it used to when she first moved in. She remembered Ayame being so happy to move in here. Why had she left then? Is it because Hidden hadn't been around to support her?

Turning to walk up the stairs to the master bedroom, Hidden swung open the door to her own room. The first thing she noticed that she had left her bed unkept. Walking over, she would straighten it out a bit. Better. She didn't plan on staying, but she wasn't going to leave her a mess to come back to. She turned to her mirror. 

And recoiled.

Blinking furiously, she ensured that what she saw wasn't true. For a moment, she could have sworn she seen that vicious smile. The one the woman inside of the waterfall's smile. That was insane thinking though. That woman was laid to rest inside of Hidden's mind. They... wait... when had she actually beaten the shadow? She had a feeling she had done it, but couldn't recall the final blow. Weird. Hidden turned, and left her room behind. 

[NIGHT 0]

* * *

She was going somewhere, afterwards. Bistro's, probably. Not that NIGHT needed to recall.

Staring up at the wooden scaffolding, hands tucked away in her track suit, only the bare minimum of her dream seemed to arise from memory. Something about Hidden and her family. Ayame, a little sister. Some man she'd wanted to get back with. Tears rolling down her cheeks.

And a hug.

A name uttered, and frost on her pursed lips. One stone-cold tone -- the kind she thought herself to be familiar with, when Hidden proved herself to be stubborn, and yet pitch slightly deeper. A scream. A stare. She winced. A nice summer home.

Where were they, even? She didn't think either of them knew. And all of that, placed on the shoulders of someone unfamiliar, someone with the orange cursor above her head. That there was always more to the story than what is commonly perceived.

NIGHT felt her scalp shift against the smooth wooden pillar behind her. The idea reminded her of a certain other player present that she'd seen, met before. A different cursor. She wondered about what happened to her, watching time flit by on her interface. Between the peaceful chirping of birds and the nearby tranquil creek, her mind also drifted, then, reflecting inwards. Wondering if it had anything to do with herself.

 

Even if what Hidden said was true, between the two of them, NIGHT was at a loss to decide which one of them had it rougher.