Anouk opened her eyes and stretched on her bed. She let out an exaggerated yawn and swung her legs off the bed and sat up.
The sheets slid off her like discarded silk armor. Morning light cut through the slats of the high window above, casting long beams against the marble floor.
She blinked once. Twice. A slow, almost lazy smile tugged at her lips.
With a soft groan, she stood up and picked out something to wear and got dressed in her bathroom. A good hour later, a woman exited the bathroom. Her hair was wavy and reached her middle back. Her eyes were a bright red which matched the dress she changed into perfectly. Suddenly, her bedroom door is slammed open.
Two people entered her room. "Lady Anouk, good morning." In comparison to Anouk, they were incredibly short. After all, she was eleven feet and seven inches tall.
Her gaze lowered. She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she adjusted the cuff of her dress.
"Morning," she finally said with a smile.
The two attendants bowed instinctively. One of them, a younger woman, stepped forward. "Noctis has made an appearance in the material world outside Schrade, my lady."
Anouk raised a brow. "Hopefully he's brought me breakfast then."
The young attendant slightly flinched, not expecting the joke. "N-no, my lady. The people in the material world say he's coming to meet you."
"Oh? Prepare the gateway to the material world."
"Of course. Right away, my lady."
Anouk then left her bedroom alongside the attendants. 'Let's check up on my progress…'
She opened her panel.
[Name: Lady Anouk]
[Rank: Malakh]
[Age: 150]
[Pulse: 80,273,590]
[Attribute: Combat — Mistress of War]
[Trait: Oppressive, Bloodlustful, Zealous, Soul Reaper, Vampiric, Spiritual, Heightened
Senses, Fateless]
[Summon: Great Wolf, Maximus — Born of War]
[Titles: Maiden of War, Outcast of Fate, Immortal Sage, Lady in Red, Empress of The Rhine]
[Equipment: Spear of Ruin, Condemnation, Apotheosis, Daggers of The Moon, Shock Bow, That One Arrow, Flasks of Insanity, Dragon Scales, Valkyrie Blade, Queen's Armor (Full Set), Soul Reaver Armor (Full Set), Wooden Chair, Magic Toothbrush, Queen Sized Bed, Rusty Knife, Bottles of Ichor, Bolts of Lightning, Murderous Incantation, Book of The Dead, Wooden Spoon, Apple, Bloodred Comb, Greed, Lust, Dog Bone, Wooden Bowl, Malevolence (Full Set), Blood Rose, Mantle of War]
'Lookin' good so far…'
She entered her grand hall. In the middle stood a massive and imposing arch which formed a gate to the material world. Malakhs, you see, can't stay in the material world for too long due to their sheer presence causing an imbalance. She closed her panel and then walked in.
She appeared in her material world castle, in the middle of Citadel Schrade. Many of her attendants were already at the gate waiting for her.
"My lady… Noctis… is in the palace."
She let out a giggle. "The sneaky bastard broke in now did he?"
She summoned the dog bone. "Where's Maximus?"
Suddenly a large monstrous wolf burst through the massive hall doors. "Oh THERE you are…" She pet the… wolf? Dog? Wolf-thing-monster and rubbed its stomach.
"Alright, now I'll try to find Noctis." She smiled and threw the dog bone.
Anouk brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and began walking again, her heels tapping lightly on the floor.
"Shall we accompany you, Lady Anouk?" One of the attendants asked nervously.
"No, no need. I'll find him myself." Her smile grew.
As she passed a window, lightning struck the horizon. Her panel suddenly appeared with a soft chime.
[Passive: Heightened Senses — Presence Detected: Malakh, Noctis]
She waved it away. She opened the doors of the throne room and there he was. Noctis.
"Aha! Lady Anouk, long time no see!"
Anouk was somewhat startled by his demeanour. She expected something serious considering a malakh, the epitome of power, SNUCK into her palace.
"Long time no see indeed, what brings you here Noctis?"
"Ah well I thought I could visit the most interesting woman alive, out of boredom of course…"
"I'm flattered, truly, but why are you actually here?"
"I'm seriously just here out of boredom."
Anouk blinked hard. "So… you seriously snuck into my citadel… then snuck into my palace… then frightened all of my attendants to see me? Because you were bored…?"
"...Yup" Noctis' eyes gleamed.
"See I even got dressed in the finest garments." He wasn't lying of course, his long dark hair was tied in a messy ponytail. His hair also had a navy blue hue in light. His dark blue eyes also glistened in light and his style choice was flawless. Considering Citadel Escuro was located towards the east, he had very traditional eastern clothes on. He had a long black kimono on.
Anouk exhaled slowly through her nose, the way someone might do when they're calming down from a boiling rage.
"Please tell me… you at least brought breakfast."
Noctis laughed. "You do know… it's night outside right now."
"Oh right.."
Noctis placed a palm on his face. "Don't tell me you spent so much time in your pocket realm you lost track of time…"
"Maybe… that's uh none of your business." Anouk said with a laugh.
"Wanna see something cool?" Noctis suddenly said.
"That depends. Is it actually cool?" Anouk said with a sharp smile.
"ALL of my tricks are cool. Just follow me to your roof."
"MY ROOF?" Anouk said suddenly.
"Yup. Follow me."
Anouk sighed and then disappeared and reappeared on her roof, sitting beside Noctis.
The night sky was blanketed in a sea of stars. Nothing could compare to the full moon in the sky however, the sight was truly something to behold.
Noctis suddenly raised his arms. "Watch this." He said with a wink.
Suddenly, the sky began to move. It moved as Noctis moved his hands. It looked like the earth's rotation had sped up. All kinds of stars appeared and disappeared. All kinds of celestial events appeared and disappeared. The moon went through a cycle of all of its phases.
Anouk's eyes widened. "Okay, this is cool."
"Right?" Noctis grinned, clearly pleased with himself. "I call it Starweaving. Takes like no pulse to pull off which makes it all the more worth it."
Anouk rested her head on his shoulder, eyes still fixated on the sky. "You're insane."
"Incorrect. I'm brilliant and underappreciated." he adjusted his sleeves. "Besides, you get to see the stars the way they want to be seen—all at once."
She was quiet for a moment, the glow of the constellations dancing in her eyes.
"You know," Noctis said, voice low, "they're scared of you, Anouk. The other malakhs. Even Solis."
Anouk didn't respond at first. Her gaze was far away now.
"They should be," she finally murmured.
Noctis chuckled. "That's the problem."
She lifted her head off his shoulder. "And what about you? Are you scared of me, Noctis?"
He didn't answer with a smirk or another joke. He just looked at her—really looked.
"I don't think I know what fear feels like anymore," he said. "But if I did… I think it would look a little like you."
Anouk smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "Then you're smarter than most people."
The stars above slowed again, settling back into their rightful places.
"Wanna stay here for a while?" she asked.
Noctis gave her a nod and a smile. "Hell yeah. I think I'll stay longer."
Anouk chuckled and rested her head on his shoulder again.