KoL

Grimoiric Heart

Good, good.

Ark Riders, Race Across the Stars

Time for entertainment was short. Lydia didn't care if Wave's drones followed her to the place she was going, but they would have to pay extra to broadcast a slice of her private affairs to the general public.

However, what kinds of entertainment Lydia enjoyed while not racing was a matter for another time. Right now, it seemed the hour was about to run by, and the next race about to begin.

When she came back to the course, Lydia had a confident grin on her lips. She waved at the public as she got into her ship, filling her fans with confidence that this time, the result would be different. An ace racer like Lydia wouldn't fail to score a good position twice in a row.

---

Ark Riders, Race Across the Stars

"Ah, well... yeah..."

To say that Lydia was shaking, sharing in Aurora's excitement, was an understatement. In fact she was pretty much going around as she found herself on the receiving end of a prolonged, vigorous handshake.

"That's... Ahh... Thanks. But I gotta say yours is even more interesting," Lydia replied in a shaky voice after Aurora commented about her Aegis.

"Some people just can't chill out. It's always like this," she commented absentmindedly after laying an eye on Rema—and Claudia's—unsportsmanlike behavior following the conclusion of the race.

"Anyway, I have to get going now. One hour's hardly enough time to get some repairs done. Gotta get myself in shape if I wanna turn the tables next time, right?" Lydia said as she pulled away from Aurora, leaving to do some repairs on the Aegis with a cool smile stamped on her face.

While her ship was being fixed, Lydia had a whole hour to get herself up to speed as well.

"Good thing I know just the right place to get some quick R&R," she said to herself. Lydia bought a can of the strongest energy drink she could get and left the docks and headed to one of Mevalo's shadier districts with a knowing smile on her lips.

---

Tower of Fable

CLAIR

---

"Well, if that's how it's gonna be..." Clair said in a half-dejected voice as she noticed how her jokes had been ignored by pretty much everyone else. Sure they might be busy fighting to the death with a wolf spectre of the depths, but that was no excuse to leave her talking to the walls, right?

"I guess I'm gonna take a look at what's over there. Not that anyone will notice, of course," the blonde thief said as she walked to the other side of the cave, passing by Katie, Amy, and a strangely blurry presence on the way.

Clair'd been a solo thief for very long, so that didn't bother her half as much as she made it appear to. In fact, being alone had some benefits, like finding treasure where no one was paying attention to, such as the giant clams—bigger than she was tall—sticking from a wall nearby.

Certainly, they would have some kind of equally giant pearls inside of them would they not?

"Don't mind if I do," Clair said to herself as she pulled out her blade and began trying to pry one of the giant mollusks open.

CIEL

---

"That was just a simple trick. Let's say I have experience with that kind of thing," Ciel answered Runa's comment in a friendly manner, smiling all the way through.

"In fact, you remind me of—" Ciel was about to go into a spiel about her job when Katie interrupted her, making the Stargazer feel a little bit cheated.

"Fwa~ If you say so. I don't think you'll have to worry about anything with this one..." Ciel yawned a tired—or perhaps lazy—yawn as Katie dismissed her idea and sent her back to the card.

---

Ark Riders, Race Across the Stars

"Oh, come on!" was all that Lydia spouted when crossed the line second-to-last.

The teal-haired cyborg had a wry smile on her lips as scratched her unruly hair, letting her frustration—not with the others, but with herself—transparent.

"Just when I have to pay back the loan for that last augmentation. Oh well... I guess I'll have to count on that sponsorship deal again," she said to herself in a rueful tone.

Despite her lack of luck, when Lydia jumped out of the Aegis' cockpit, she had nothing but a radiant smile to beam to the crowd. She couldn't do anything else when they were so supportive of her efforts, after all.

In fact, Lydia's follow-up would likely get even more of the crowd on her side. Or at least Lydia thought so as she walked to Aurora, extended her hand, and said, "Old Bones is a tough nut to crack but it seems you made it, huh? That was quite an impressive show. I hope we get the chance to go at it again soon."

---

Tower of Fable

CLAIR

---

"Go get'er guys!" Clair cheered from a distance, watching both Thomas and Kanbaru pile up on the literal rabid dog in front of them.

"Meanwhile, I'm gonna sit here and look for—Eww!" The thief said as she jumped from the crab's back, doing a flashy somersault when she noticed the fungal growths sprouting from her now-ruined lunch.

Clair looked at Akiko with a disgusted grin on her lips. "I was gonna take a bite of that, y'know. It isn't every day a girl can get an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet for free," she said with a totally straight face while munching on a bit of a crab leg she managed to save from the demonic spores.

Even if it looked like Clair wasn't taking things seriously, she kept an eye on everything going on around her. If anyone dared anything she had a trick or two up her sleeve to show'em.

CIEL

---

"When have I ever done that?" Ciel asked after being accused of giving out complicated advice by her summoner.

"Isn't that a little cold, after all, we've gone through?" Ciel sniffed, almost letting out a forceful tear as Katie dismissed her as a mere card when Ami approached them.

"Anyway, I didn't know you've made a new friend. She looks to be quite the fiery type, huh?" The Stargazer said to Katie before turning her attention to the coming Ami. "I'm Ciel, the Stargazer. It's nice to meet you," she said, flashing a charming smile.

"Searching my feelings, huh? It's not even that hard to say the truth," Ciel said as she put a hand to her chin. "Hmm... If I didn't know better, I'd say we are being stalked by the Superior—though that's probably not the name you would use for them, right?" She said, looking at Katie with knowing eyes, before turning her attention back to the mysterious interloper.

"It's not that different of a skill. Someone who's here and not here at the same time, but they don't have the same aura as the Superior."

"If you wish, I could certainly try to restrain them with some help. After all, even if their being isn't completely here, the soul can't be hidden forever," Ciel said as she yanked at the air, pulling at the up-until-now invisible chains connecting all those who were under the yoke of the Abyss.

---

Ark Riders, Race Across the Stars

"There's never a dull moment around here, huh?" Lydia said as the tables were turned once again during the race.

It seemed like the looping section had given the advantage again for the Skull Rider and everyone tried to catch up to him once more. The other vehicles may have had a harder time with the loops, but for the Aegis, it was just another day of flying and aerobatics.

In fact, the configuration of this section was such that Lydia could probably outperform the Rider in its own game. But first, she had to get past her Roman and the Cyberpunk opponents, leaving the foes of past and present to tangle themselves as they were already doing.

"Ok girls, I hope you have no hard feelings," Lydia said as she stalled her own engines after reaching the crest of the first loop, falling fast like a rock for a moment, before powering back in the blink of an eye and reversing the direction of her flight in an instant, pulling an extremely tight double cobra maneuver.

As she did so, Lydia pulled the trigger on the Skulldugg, aiming at its tires, or at least the weapons system that annoyed her so much.

---

Arknights - Chiaroscuro World

I'm here, waiting, but still here.

Tower of Fable

CLAIR

---

"Oh yeah, that's more like it!" Clair said as they seemed to get the upper hand on the fight against the giant crab pretty quickly. Akiko's magic combined with Kanbaru's and Clair's assault making quick work of the threat from the depths.

Nevertheless, things were never so simple in the Tower. It was obvious that wouldn't change here all of a sudden.

"Shoot! It seems like things are about to get krusty," she said as the clacking of the other crabs came closer and closer to their position. "We could really use a hand here," Clair added as the remainder of their group —Thomas, Riku, and Katie— gathered together just as the crustaceans wobbled closer.

"What the—!?"

Things only got more chaotic as Ami joined the fray with a bang and a boom, prompting a surprised reaction from Clair who was now climbing a crab's back, stirring it in the direction of the others like an alien weapon of war. All things considered, using the crabs against one another was easier than Clair expected as they were already prone to cannibalism, to begin with. All she had to do was give them a 'gentle' push. But, if it worked, it was fine, right?

CIEL

---

"Fwaa~ Did you call me?" A lyrical voice came from beside Katie as Ciel answered her summons. A summoner becoming a summon would be considered a cosmic irony by anyone else, but—given the carefree yawn she let out shortly after being called—it seemed like Ciel wasn't that fazed by it.

She came in right in time to see the new interloper reveal her presence before the group; issuing a rather vicious challenge.

Nevertheless, Ciel's attention was focused on Katie, staring at her summoner with puppy-like eyes. "Isn't it a bit too on the nose to ask me to show you the way while we are under the sea? That said, there certainly are a few interesting things to see here," the Stargazer said as she looked deeply at Akiko, Kanbaru, and finally, Clair with keen, knowing eyes.

"By the way, why don't you introduce yourself to us just like your... friend, I presume?" Ciel said to, seemingly no one in particular. However, it was clear that her words were aimed at a much more subtle presence creeping around the group right now.

Even the inhabitants of the Abyss, with their strange powers, wouldn't be able to escape the gaze of the stars.

---

Arknights - Chiaroscuro World

Done with the CS.