[F27 - PP] A Return to Ronbaru

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

“Well, I may have borrowed an outfit or two-“ The words stopped suddenly as Nari realised what she had just walked in to. She came to a full stop as her brain processed everything she had just heard, and realised. Her mouth opening and closing as her eyes seemed to go distant, things falling into place as NIGHT’s teasing suddenly made her consider a large number of situations in the past.

“Fuck me.” The only two words to slide off her tongue in the moment, as she continued to process everything. After a few seconds, she regained her composure, continuing to walk as though nothing had happened. As they reached the teleporter pad, she stopped and looked at NIGHT again, her smile wicked in nature.

“Alright, fine. Maybe I missed something. Or some things. Or a lot of things. But she’s just a friend.” She stressed each of the last words, trying to make her point obvious. A brief pause, and then she added, “Without benefits. Aside from the clothing. And the curfew bit was a joke. Which is to say. It was meant to be…fuck. I don’t have a curfew. I’m not expected to be home…fuck.”

Throwing her hands into the air, she walked towards the teleporter, stepping on the pad and looking back at night. Devilish grin spreading, she called out to the teleporter. “Floor one. NIGHT’s house.” Before winking and disappearing from sight.

Spoiler

Word Count: 236

 

[NIGHT 0]

oh, come now. surely, after all the talk of experience, nari couldn't have been sappho-and-my-friendsing her companions that bad.

“Fuck me.” 

nevermind.

"i didn't know you wanted it that bad," she quipped in return, humor dry as they continued walking along. nari had been serious, then-- though the question of how she hadn't caught on was beyond the woman. night knew of the jokes they made of 'useless lesbians' but this nearly took the cake.

(and frankly, the devil may have wanted to bash her head in with it.)

when a grin was shot back her way, it was all the player could do to remain composed.

“Alright, fine. Maybe I missed something. Or some things. Or a lot of things."

she lost it there, mischief pulling at her lips.

"But she’s just a friend.”

that's what they all say.

“Without benefits."

"i'm glad you had to clarify."

"Aside from the clothing. And the curfew bit was a joke. Which is to say. It was meant to be…fuck."

she watched as nari stewed in the conflict of her own making. had she never thoroughly considered the implications of her own living situation? amusement danced in her eyes watching the break down occur, live, in front of her, and night wondered if her pushing had finally gone too far.

when nari reached the teleporter, night let her vanish first. to little dismay.

“Floor one. NIGHT’s house.”

never mind. "i didn't think you would--" but before she could finish her sentence, her friend was gone.

night simmered, both impressed and upset in equal measures. she shook her head and fell into the light -- at the very least, cardinal wasn't going to take the woman directly to her front door.

when the world fell back into place from white, she tapped nari on the shoulder, stoic. loading times gave her enough to think of a come back. "so i see the benefits really outweighed your decision," night returned, calling her friend's bluff, before taking off down the stairs of the elevated pad. her eyes scanned the streets, the woman trying to reorient herself in the middle of the town of beginnings.

south eastern wing. she didn't have a name to the cafe, either, but she was certain she remembered where it was.

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

“The benefits – hey, wait for me!” She gave chase after NIGHT as the girl immediately made her way off the teleporter pad, heading down a street Nari wasn’t at all familiar with. She managed to catch up after a moment – the words streaming from her without hesitation as she came up alongside the other girl.

“I’m definitely glad you found your humour – but just to be clear, I’m going to pay you back for this.” She let the threat sit for a moment, her tone one of someone only slightly serious. A few seconds later, she was still mumbling to herself. “I can’t believe…going to have to make sure there’s no…expectations…”

Her eyes shot towards NIGHT, and a sudden thought crossed her mind. The words were out of her mouth before she had even considered them, an incredulous tone to them. “Wait a second – you’re jealous.”

A few milliseconds pause before she realised she’d said the phrase aloud. Her hands came up to cover her mouth as she continued talking – trying to cover what she had just said, her face flushing in response to…well, everything. “I mean- well. That’s not what I meant to say. Well. It is. But…nevermind. Where’s this restaurant? You’re a benefit.”

‘What did I just say?’ The thought slammed her into silence as she realised she was losing her touch. She hummed to herself while she followed NIGHT, the sound something of a melody she had heard in years past, likely not something most people would be familiar with.

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Word Count: 253

 

[NIGHT 0]

night had nearly spilled her laughter once she realized nari's sprinting after her -- because she'd been taking her movements slowly, for one. for another, the fluster was incredibly fun.

and night realized she hadn't felt this comfortable, nor fun in a long while.

"pay me back for what? the benefits?" she snorted, looking over the buildings they were passing by. it had to be one of the outlets nearby -- after all, it couldn't have gone out of business if it had been established on the first.

when the familiar outdoor seats finally came into view, night heaved a sigh of relief, pace slackened.

that is -- until she realized the words coming out of her friend's mouth. and the player let her gaze trace across the street to rest on nari, almost confused.

jealous?

night hesitated a little, the shock still hurting a little. likewise, traces of her grin still remained; how strange, that observation. only someone willing to risk being wrong would make such a statement. "there's malice in jealousy," she commented back, tearing her vision away from her companion and towards the cafe. and similarly, she felt the need to rub the corners of her ears a little.

there was warmth where she didn't want it to be. but she couldn't have been jealous. she couldn't have been. the player was all but certain she could identify it, given the case--

"But…nevermind. Where’s this restaurant?"

"we're approaching it--"

"You’re a benefit.”

and night closed her mouth, gentle, the moment she heard nari leak out a compliment.

she'd been leading, of course, and still she was afraid that by some measure of a glance, her companion would've picked up on her nerves growing unsteady. unbecoming of herself. night observed their silence, at a loss with her defence, before stopping at the entrance of a restaurant.

"we're here."

the place must've expanded since she last saw it. from shrubbery in ivory square pots that lined its territory, white stone tiles sprawled across the establishment's front, speckled with the odd pastel discoloration that faded to grey in the dark hour's light. it was lit with glows warm, though not as powerful as ronbaru's; mix of candle fire at tables and white pours from installed lanterns gave the locale its hues. and the kitchen in a nondescript concrete building behind the sea of seated tables was the menu's amour.

in the eve, it was practically brimming with players and npcs alike.

just as well. she hadn't been since forever, and was glad to see growth reflected upon it. and the only time she could recall having been was in the middle of the night with a friend long forgotten.

night took a menu from the wooden holders and passed it to nari, a smile growing on her face. nostalgia swept across it completely, and she wasted no time calling for a place should they be able to scurry the duo. "it's a japanese-western fusion," she clarified, looking over the restaurant's new additions. its modern layout almost reminded her of home. "spot anything you want?"

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

Her eyes hovered on the girl as she made her joke, snorting in a way that Nari actually found somehow…cute? Whatever the feeling, it brought a smile to her face – one without sarcasm or a devilish intent, for once. As they approached the restaurant, she considered her words carefully, before deciding that it was safe to do so.

“I thought there were no benefits? Or is that just something I don’t have the experience to unlock, yet?” She let her smile rest on her face as she turned her attention to the menu being proffered to her. She barely glimpsed at it as she heard the words ‘Japanese-western’. One single thought took over, and her voice was filled with excitement as she asked her question.

“Sushi? Do they have…sushi? I want sushi. Tell me they have sushi.” She could barely contain the excitement as she began bouncing on the tips of her feet, trying to get a better glance at the restaurant – hoping that she would see her desires within. She saw one desire, but that didn’t lay in the restaurant itself. “Oh! And ice cream? Do they have ice cream?!”

Her voice had begun to rise slightly with the excitement, and she forced herself to quietness in an attempt to control it – but it only ended up coming out in the form of a physical reaction. Hopping in place, she waited for NIGHT to lead into the restaurant, or to direct how best to place an order – her hair bouncing around her as she beamed her smile at the other girl.

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Word Count: 262

 

[NIGHT 0]

"wow. classy." night rolled her eyes, amused as she waited, exchanging weights upon her feet. "experience? look at miss harem protagonist over here. treating the women she meets like they're an rpg character."

she shook her head with a smile, then turned to the waitress who would see them inside. some guidance, before they were properly seated at their table; intricate brown metal with plush cushions of red. almost divine.

"it's almost like you've never tried it before," the player observed, just as nari appeared to spark to life at the mention of japanese cuisine. she turned to the menu, examining the print, fine. "they have it, alright. and if you want some ice cream... well, i am planning on pancakes. they're souffle'd. i could get you an extra scoop on them just to share."

she slid the menu aside, while considering her companion's desires. "i haven't been here in a while, but i'm hoping the seafood's good on your behalf. if you've not had it before, i think i could recommend..." night's gaze went down to her fingers as she counted the ones she could recall by heart. "the tamago -- that's always a good start. it's just egg on rice. then there's sashimi and ikura; raw salmon and fish eggs. the latter's my personal favourite."

then her voice died down, for she realized it was better to have nari decide what she wanted from the ocean's bounty rather than to impose. in a change of subject, she turned to a small list at the corner of the menu, page faced towards her. "so what flavour of ice cream would you like?"

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

Her tongue came out again at the commentary about the harem. Although her face was affixed with a look of disagreement – she was secretly, or well, maybe not so secretly enjoying the back and forth banter. It was…well, it was enjoyable.

“Where I come from we have…well, a bastardised version of sushi. Which basically covers everything from “wanna-be sushi” to “I saw the name sashimi once and decided I’m a chef”. So, when it comes to the real thing…yeah, I may have never tried it before.” She gave a sheepish smile, hoping that her innocence wouldn’t be an issue here. She knew that others were far more experienced in certain cuisines than she herself was, and she was willing to follow the leader here – so to speak. “In this case…I’ll trust your suggestions – you said tamigago and…ikaru? No. Ikura? Oh, hush.”

She knew she’d butchered the words, her practice at Japanese being…less spoken, and more auditory. She chastised the coming lecture before it even had the chance to begin – her face turning red in embarrassment as her mix-up with the words became obvious, even to herself. ‘Gods, I’m an idiot. And I study languages…’

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Word Count: 194

 

[NIGHT 0]

she'd winced at the thought of bastardized sushi. at least where she was from, they came in small boxes, cheap, and hence the selling point of them were the prices rather than the taste. yet she was certain in a place where they were a rarity, even poor quality goods were sold at a marked up rate. night nodded at this revelation, turning back to the menu at the woman's acceptance of her offer, and chuckled at the mispronunciation of the names.

"Oh, hush.”

well, she joyfully decided not to.

"it's tamago. you got the ikura one right."

the player pulled her hand away from her face from her laughter. she went back to studying the menu again. "it's fine. did you mention where you happen to be from, again?" somewhere with guns, unfortunately, she registered at the back of her mind. at the same time, the notice of nari's adaptation of the pronunciation registered itself subconsciously.

"then, let's go with these..."

and she jotted a list of chosen sushi to a note in her menus, fingers working off to one side. "it'll be a surprise. unless cardinal works with allergies too? ...best declare them now so i can work through my choices. oh, i'll be having vanilla on my pancakes too, if you don't have an input on them."

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

“Only thing I’m allergic to is bad jokes…except when I make them, then I’m surprisingly resilient.” She giggled a bit at her own poor joke, before deciding to be serious for a moment. “Not sure I ever did…northern central area of the lovely frozen tundra that is Kanata. Which puts me at a disadvantage miss…?”

She left the question hanging, wondering if the girl would ever actually answer it – or if it would go ignored, for the time being. She watched as the fingers ran through a menu, placing their order for them, seemingly confident in her decisions. Nari’s ears perked up at the mention of vanilla on pancakes, however.

“Wait, you mean like…a vanilla sauce? Or straight vanilla?” Her eyes spoke to the confusion in her mind, the disbelief of someone downing straight vanilla on top of pancakes. She cocked her head, making the confusion only more apparent as she tried to read the intentions of the other, her mind completely forgetting the mention of ice cream to even begin with. “I don’t even want to imagine how that would taste…”

She waited patiently as NIGHT placed the orders, her feet tapping the ground in tune with the humming she’d had on their walk over, just light enough that she figured no one else would hear it. As soon as the girl was done with the menu, Nari pounced on the conversation.

“So, tell me how bad I am.”

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Word Count: 240

 

[NIGHT 0]

night blinked as she tried to register where nari's origins were from. the shy grin afterwards almost looked as though it'd masked pain behind it. "miss," she decided. "i don't see how it would be a disadvantage at all. though i hadn't taken geography in a while, by now -- if you'd be so kind to jog my memory -- where's kanata at again?"

she wasn't even sure such a place with said name ever existed. and if this was anything like the australians and their dropbears, night would surely find herself unsurprised.

“Wait, you mean like…a vanilla sauce? Or straight vanilla?”

"like vanilla ice cream," she returned, half amused. "it tastes just fine, thank you very much. and if you hadn't tried those either, i'd offer you a portion of my meal." a tilt of her head. "not that you weren't allowed to taste test from my plate to begin with, given you've never been here before."

when the waiter, flagged of her own accord, had finally left them, night turned to nari with a questioning look. not the humming -- the silence had been placated by that. rather, the question of what her friend had meant by the command was in need of investigation on her account. her mouth was partially open, the woman's eyes searching the blurred colours past her companion as though the world beyond her had answers to their private moment.

"here?" she protested-- "now?" --still uncertain. "i figured you preferred statements about your performance to be made in the bedroom, which if i recall correctly, you mentioned not wanting to give up space within it yet." for a moment, night was quiet, trying to place a subject for her ire on nari's sake. then she spoke, voice trailing in volume. "had you meant it in regards to your build...?"

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

“Canada…Kanata? I guess that’s not really a…well, I guess they don’t teach that in world geo, everywhere. Which tells me you’re not from North America. Can tick that one off the list at least.” She winked at the girl as she pretended to cross off a couple of items in the air, exaggerating the movement ever so slightly.

“Right. Ice cream. That…that makes sense. More sense than straight vanilla…far more sense…” She paused, as the waiter came and went, before continuing her line of thought. “Oh? We’re plate sharing? I can more than happily get in on that…”

Her broad smile faltered for a moment as NIGHT brought up the topic of the bedroom again – that was how many times now? Something was definitely up there… “That is not what I said…or meant. That’s not what I meant. I meant like…my bedroom is mine. For now. Until I find someone who wants to share it. Because, you know, sharing is caring? But…yes, the build. For now. We can come back to the whole bedroom thing later.” She finished off the whole awkward thing with a wink, before leaning back in her chair and folding her hands in her lap. Her head was beginning to spin, trying to keep up with everything – but not in a bad way. The smile on her face spoke to the fun she was having, although she wasn’t sure if her companion would pick up on that or not.

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Word Count: 243

 

[NIGHT 0]

she shot a smile somber back nari's way the moment she heard about the term being an off-the-grid lesson. the dropbears. "singapore," night returned, as the drinks they'd ordered finally arrived. a curt nod to their server before she was back to the conversation. "somewhere in the heart of asia, at the equator. some people might think we're settled in the middle of china. we're not."

and the player hadn't meant to return to the notion of keeping anyone company in their late hours, but she did wonder when her friend would finally stop the teasing, afterwards. "the build," she restated, for what good it did the duo. "i'll have to look over your equipment for a bit. if you'll allow me?"

once the displays came into view, she started to summon a notebook with which to better jot with. something that felt more tactile than just words on a screen, or scribbles on light. "a tank's build." so something similar to what yuki might get. "is there any stat in particular you're looking to maximize?"

night then paused, pen in her hand stopping its motion. "correction. what aspect of aincrad's combat do you see yourself catering to the most? floor fights, quest lines?"

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

“Combinations. The ability to balance between quest lines and the floor fights – I need something that will give me the balance to do tanking in any aspect.” Her eyes seemed to glaze over slightly as she spoke, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Basic tanking; draw everything towards me and be able to take the hit. Hence the focus on Mitigation…although clearly the attention grabbing needs work. That being said, there’s also the secondary aspect of being able to debuff – mostly in Techs. Although I do have a few songs on order…I’m sure Iris will get those done eventually – she’s been…busy.”

A pause as the thoughts seemed to distract her for a few moments, before she suddenly snapped back to reality. “People really believe Singapore is part of China? Do they not have world maps out your way?”

She shook her head in disbelief, wondering about the education systems in some of the other countries. Her own had been…well, not the best – but enough that she knew Singapore. It was…well, a reminder of the world beyond the game – if only for a brief moment.

“My focus is basically being able to take hits and set up the real damage dealers for an easier fight – either through paralyzing, freezing, tacking stats…anything to make it easier for the DPS to drain and avoid.” She gave a devilish grin again before she finished her sentence. “So, what are you thinking, Nee-Nee?”

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Word Count: 238

 

[NIGHT 0]

so that explained the interest in the weapon before. likewise the teetered focus towards tanking opposed the investment in damage-related skills. night couldn't help but wonder if it was nari trying to be as efficient as possible as a solo player, or if yuki had been the part of the fool attempting to rank her mitigation alone.

she went with the latter and apologized to her friend in her head.

"you should be asking that to people outside of asia," night countered, though her comment had been unintentional at best. her scribbles only placed the priorities of the build to come for her companion; a weapon with debuffs, and the requisite armor to match. she thought harder about nari taking damage considered the possibility of evasion.

"i think the conflict here has to be between trying to hit things while trying to take it in return." an observation made with a slight to the system. the player frowned at making it, considering. "if you want a balance of both, you're going to have to drop something in exchange for obtaining enmity. block's what i would wait for, if i were in your position."

she reviewed the rest of the woman's armor. it was equally in need of uniques, just as her paladin had once experienced. "can't do much about gear except getting lucky," night said, before going back to her drafts. "in that case, you could likely afford to keep your shield and exchange your plate armor for something to boost accuracy. at least until you get the skills going, if you want to maintain them as they are."

night roused to shoot her companion a look of doubt at the nickname. wasn't night short enough? and it was slang for--

"i'd rather you not call me that. not on you-- just a faux pas."

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

“You’re right, it wasn't a very good name. I'll figure out something better…” Her eyes glanced at the notes NIGHT had been taking, the thought of losing the heavy armour causing her nose to wrinkle slightly. “Like I said, hitting things is more secondary…and added bonus. Oh, and I have block. And parry. For what that is worth…I've never really used it though. Parry, that is…maybe I should consider that…”

Her eyes darted over the possibilities, trying to conceive… “I think the big thing is I need to really focus more on…well, being a tank. As nice as being able to hit back is, I'm not getting enough…hate, right? I can't hit it, which means it's not focusing on me. So I need some other way to gain hate. You mentioned howl…tell me more about it?”

She almost made it. Almost. But then the words slipped out. “And how do I make you howl?”

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Word Count: 154

 

Edited March 15, 2022 by Nari-Lanreth

[NIGHT 0]

"that sounds like a good move." night spun the pen in her hand, twirling it between two fingers. "with your mitigation, it's likely enough for now to keep you safe without needing parry." and she let the tank ramble on about her thoughts on the build. it made sense enough that nari would be concerned over her duty, after all.

"You mentioned howl…tell me more about it?”

night opened her mouth to speak. "well--"

“And how do I make you howl?”

and then closed it immediately afterwards, the shock of her comment striking her too closely to work for comfort. the player paused for a moment, righting her mindset, before returning a grin to nari.

"i'm not much of one." the white light of a lantern nearby was caught in the reflection of her eyes. and she thought her companion was playing the game of modesty more than she'd realized. "good thing i wasn't cut out to be a tank then, right?"

her elbow rested on the table as night leaned in, cheek upon the bottom of her palm. her other hand reached out for the iced peach tea from earlier, thumb running along the build of condensation on the side of the glass. "oh, i don't know. if you're looking for offers, some people have been known to scream." head tilted at an angle. "quite loudly, i might add. if you'd be so feral, i wouldn't be surprised if you picked up on it as well."

then she chuckled, taking a sip of her drink before continuing. "that being said, there are tools to call for attention. yuki -- the paladin i told you about the other day? -- she uses a battle horn and calls for everyone's attention that way."

"or," night smirked, chin upon on the back of her hand now. "you could just call the enemies by name. i'm sure if they were leaning towards your preference they'd come running. --not that i'd know any better, of course."

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

She fell silent for a while as she considered a few things, her hand playing with one of the utensils laid out on the table, eyes seeming to have drifted away from the world around her. She wasn’t sure how long she was lost in thought – maybe a few moments at most – but it was long enough that when she did return to the conscious world, it was with a shiver.

“I – contrary to your beliefs here – prefer not to scream, if at all possible. Nor do I really like the idea of a Battle horn…Cardinal lets you use skills in anyway that fits, so long as it’s logical, right?” Her eyes were still glazed over as she spoke, her focus clearly more internal than external. “I think…I have some ideas around that…”

A few seconds of silence before her attention seemed to snap back completely to reality. Glancing at NIGHT, she’ll throw a large, beaming smile at the girl. “You know…I would like to get some more practice in with you, if you’re up for it. In the dungeons, I mean. The game dungeons.”

Her face went a light shade of red as she fought to keep her composure. She did, however, manage to keep her eyes locked on NIGHT, holding her gaze until the girl answered.

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Word Count: 218

 

[NIGHT 0]

she shrugged. "something like that." night wasn't invested in knowing how that worked, and likewise wasn't interested in how it would adapt for her, either. if anything, she was mostly concerned with how nari had reacted -- as though all the jokes they'd made had been lost.

the player wondered if she should sober up.

then came the offer to go dungeon-running again, and night tilted her head, still toying with the pen in her hands. "why those in particular?" though they gave a decent amount of experience, the effort necessary to run through them was more than the player was want to bargain for. she'd gotten through this one through an egregious use of consumables, plus crystals to boot; the more reliable her methods of combat, the better. dungeons weren't that for her.

-- likewise, she wasn't trying to seem defensive, either, despite her words curt as opposed to before. hoping it would take the edge off the conversation, she took another sip of her drink as they continued to pass the time.

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

“Well… for starters it let’s me spend more time together with you. But also, I’ve been told that it’s an excellent way of hunting down unique item enhancements for armour and weapon upgrades.” She tilted her head to the left, lifting her right hand and holding up two fingers in the shape of a V. “And I think we all know which of those two is far more important…”

She wiggled her two fingers in emphasis, before letting the second one drop, leaving just her pointer finger up – and a smile on her face that bespoke her humorous intent once more. She wasn’t sure how far she could push it, but so far things seemed to have been going well enough… so she figured it wouldn’t hurt to try.

“Unless of course you’re scared… or have some better ideas. I’ll defer to your guidance if you know a better way to boost my abilities right now.” The lilt of humour was still in her voice, but there was also a seriousness to her suggestion. Although she was enjoying the teasing, she still wanted to remain somewhat on topic – especially if it helped her in the battles to come. 

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Word Count: 198

 

Edited March 15, 2022 by Nari-Lanreth

[NIGHT 0]

"..."

and was she really someone who had another after her own schedule now? night hadn't choked, having downed the liquid savoured, but she did simmer to docility when the two fingers were held up. rude. her hand wrapped around her neck, knowing her own cheeks were betraying her cool.

similarly, the pen spun in her hand hadn't stopped moving. the player stared at nari's index held up before glancing to her writing instrument.

the conversation hadn't escaped her any, despite her thoughts having fled somewhere else.

with a reach of her hand, she connected the tip of her friend's finger with one end of the tool. a sigh escaped her. "then if it were up to me," night clarified, eyes steeled despite her haze, "i'd say grinding's the better option."

she traced a circle around skin, before pulling her affect away, allowing it to dissipate into ether. "it's more cost efficient than dungeons if you're going for equipment upgrades," the woman continued, mindfulness slowly being restored, "and it's better to go into dungeons prepared for the fights to come. i'll need more buffs and crystals. i'm assuming you'll want to get your hands on them, too."

faded. she'd almost lost her train of thought looking to her companion's fingers, before the sight of food to arrive caught her attention instead. a tray of sushi, colours of various warm hues set side by side in a horizontal manner: sashimi, ikura, tamago, mango-prawn rolls, maguro and salmon belly with mentaiko. at the sight of it, she'd almost regretted not ordering the meal for herself similarly, until her own plate of pancakes arrived.

a fruit medley with whipped cream, fresh butter and two scoops of ice cream. it was more than enough for a meal, despite its status as a dessert.

"well," night spoke, as though to draw herself away from her tarnished mind, "time to feast, i guess. let me know how those taste."