Restlessness practically radiating from her body in tangible waves, Nis threw herself into her patrol of the park. Things always seemed to happen in the park, so there was a better than average chance of her meeting someone. Whether that someone would be friendly or not was another matter entirely. But right now? She’d be willing to have a brawl if it meant shaking off the feeling of her skin crawling with anxiety.

She had a good feeling about the park tonight.

As she drifted past dark trees, branches grasping at the night, the tall knight shook her head. What was it about the park that attracted strangeness? Sure, it was big and mostly empty, perfect for hiding or solo patrols like the one she was currently doing. But anything weird and big seemed to come from the park itself. Like, consider those awful cicadas. Biggest and oldest tree in the park. Almadel? Close to the park. Youma seemed to prefer the park to more urban settings. Someday, she thought, someone is going to really have to push for some sort of survey or study to try and pinpoint what, if anything, was happening here.

Thinking to the few knight meetings she’d attended, Nis snorted and shook her head in amusement. Yeah, it wasn’t likely that enough order people would be able to focus and agree long enough to get something big done. But you never knew. Someda, they might manage to be as organized as the Negaverse. Just without all the, you know, collaborating with monsters and evil stuff.

Nis shook her head again, thinking that maybe her energies would be better spent at her wonder. It was calm there and maybe her mood would improve with a visit.

As she considered the serenity of the cave lake, she attention was grabbed by a sudden movement just out of her main line of sight. Summoning her weapon instinctively, Nis spun and assumed a ready position. Only to feel… nothing. And whatever she’d seen had been fast. And small. So, a bat maybe? Or a moth? Feeling slightly ridiculous, she let her weapon go, watching it fade back into subspace. With a sigh, she shook her head again and turned around, thinking she’d take that wonder visit after all.

Only to shriek and jump as a small, glowing wisp of… something floated right in front of her face. The wisp just hovered there, swirling and pulsing gently in time to a beat only it could hear. Breathing hard, Nis almost summoned her weapon to smack the thing out of the air. All that held her back was the fact that the thing just hovered there. If there was malice, she couldn’t sense it. And for something without eyes, she felt like it was watching her and sizing her up as well. Feeling greatly daring, Nis held up a hand and decided she was going to have herself an ET moment. Forefinger extended, she reached for the wisp. She was met with a faint warmth , but nothing solid. It really was just a little wisp of energy and light.

It seemed to twist and swirl in what she thought was a satisfied manner before settling itself on the top of her hand. Marveling, Nis wasn’t sure what else to do. The wisp was intangible, but she thought it seemed pleased. And for something lacking a face and body, it was kind of cute.

“It’s always something in the park,” she muttered. “Every damn time.”

The wisp, for its part, simply floated to her shoulder and settled near her ear.

Feeling very much like she’d just been adopted, Nis began to laugh softly. Then, a moment later, willed herself to her wonder, wisp in tow.

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