This is Me

[Nhysa]

Nhysa laughed as she took Li’s hand. Her grip tightened like she was tempted to pull him closer. “Best not lose then.” She winked.

She ran a cursory glance over the two men who entered, hand in hand and cute as buttons with it. The blonde one held her eye a moment longer, though she could not say why. Both bore visible and somewhat unusual injuries, but as Li suggested, she did not stick around for the conversation to follow.

[Raffe]

Raffe was content to let Nox do the talking, though he offered a genial greeting when he was introduced. Two people had emerged from the office, though only the man stayed. Raffe realised he recognised him from a bunch of old films. Had Nox told him that? Maybe. Raffe had still been half asleep when he’d first mentioned it this morning.

[Tan Li]

Nhysa left go do her own thing while he dealt with the men who'd wandered in. He turned to the man with his own offering of his hand. "What sort of training are you looking for, Raffe?"

Nox interrupted as if the man couldn't answer for himself. "You have a less violent means to wielding the power of the gods, at least if your background is correct. I can help Raffe, but it's probably better if I leave that to someone else if only to make sure I don't mess up what we already have."

Li glanced down at the hands they were holding and the flame that still hovered in the air though he didn't look like he was still trying to hold it. "Can you put that out? I don't want the place to burn down." Li would probably get nothing out of the true student, Nox was already established from his own words. "There is no rental fee if you wish to use the dojo while no one is here. Nhysa and I will be using the floor as well between classes just mind your manners." Li waved Nox off.

Nox looked to the other man with a smirk. "Don't go too far." But he walked towards the floor kicking off his shoes and pulling off his socks before ever touching the floor. It made Li smile even as he rolled his eyes, the man was clearly infatuated with the other. Li turned back to Raffe, "Is this something you want? Or is he being overbearing and presumptuous?"

[Nox]

Nox gave the woman a slight nod of the head. He had dropped the fireball when Li had asked, but the power still radiated from him. Nox wove a wall of air around half the floor. He called out to the woman. "I have half the floor walled off with air. You'll see it when I get going." At least that was the plan. Nox stood in the middle of a box of air he tied off. Safety first. There were no protective coatings on any of the surfaces and as Li said -- he didn't want anything to burn down.

Nox dug his earbuds out of his pocket and started a slow playlist. He needed control, not speed. With a deep breath Nox took up his first stance. He wove the pattern that would create the aurora borelaius along all the walls he'd just created. They would move and shift as he did. The weave was fluent, it was an easy light show, but with strain and complexity. It kept the work light but left his ability to weave additional elements -- making the whole thing harder. This wasn't just a workout for his body and new arm but for his new mental distractions.

The darkness pushed at the edge of the emptiness. But Nox pushed back. He was in control.

His favorite ballet piece came up. Fond memories of his mother kept the darkness at bay. But Nox didn't break into the dance, instead he drew upon the power and split the first flow. Fire floated above his right hand, and Nox started the first of many forms his father had taught him. They were basic forms that in lesson flowed from one to the next and then the next in a pattern meant to teach you fluidity and the motions themselves. It was the first Kata he had been taught. The added addition of the fireball kept Nox's focus on the flame, and he stumbled on his first left turn. Fucking Balance!

Nox started again. He took a deep breath, set his stance, the fireball hovered over his right hand. It was meant to remain in his palm until he released it at the end to splatter against the air wall. His left arm was lighter, and Nox had to compensate. And only practice would fix that. The workout was not meant to be heavy or hard, but the use of physical exertion and the flow splitting made small beads of sweat start to form on his brow. If he could get through the Kata's today, he'd add the third flow, but right now two was all he could manage before falling on his ass when his balance shifted.

[Raffe]

When Nox let go of his hand, and after shaking Li’s in greeting, Raffe shoved both his hands in his pockets. The sense of menace swelled, and the more he watched Nox’s movements the more he thought he saw an essence of something weaving like little glitters of light in the air. It was difficult not to simply let himself be distracted, though. He’d seen Nox dance before. It didn’t make it any less mesmerising, even with the stalls while he acclimatised to his new limb.

“I’m a channeler,” he said to Li. He grinned, a little sheepish. “Apparently. Can’t do it though, not on purpose. I’ve been Sick at least once. And I’d rather not die. He might kill me if I do.” He laughed, though with the gurgle of his ruined throat and the bag of nerves jumbling around in his stomach, it probably sounded a little strained. Nox would probably be the first to admit to being a presumptuous asshole, but Raffe didn’t find it so. Most likely he wondered if Raffe might forget to mention the learning to channel part of Raffe coming along if he didn’t sneak it in first. And he might not have been wrong.

“I just want to be safe. That’s it.”

[Tan Li]

Li felt the tell tale menacing presence of another man channeling increase and the man in front of him watched his friend. Li turned to watch. Light made walls surrounded him. And then he lit them with another weave. He'd tied the first off... Li stared amazed at the feat. He'd not seen that done before.

The lights flickered like they did in the Northern most parts of the world. It was beautiful. He split the flow. Li blinked as he watched the fireball form above his hand and the lights still swirled around him. "He needs help to teach you what exactly?" Li stared mesmerized at the man. "I'm not sure I'm nearly as skilled as he is." Nox didn't hold much of the power, and Li wondered how strong the man might be.

Nox had mentioned less violent way. Other words rang in his memory -- power of the gods. No one called their power that unless they were Atharim. "He's Atharim." Li blurted out. Li turned to look at the other man, "What creature did this to you?" Curiosity? He wasn't sure. "Is that his only reason for bringing you here? He can't always be there to save you. Guilt is a mighty weight to bear." Li looked out on the floor and watched Nox move through various Kata's he recognized some. He smiled as he saw Nhysa stretching herself. He should join her soon.

[Nox]

Nox moved to the left, the weight balanced. The prothestic was lighter. It was almost like it was not there sometimes. Nox wondered what removing it might do, but not right now. It was nice having two hands. Nox spared a glance for Raffe who was watching on his next turn and smiled at him.

He was getting the hang of it. "Upbeat playlist." It wasn't his usual play list either but it would help set the next pace. His father would be annoyed that he'd started at the beginning. He pushed Nox too hard, but sometimes Nox knew better than his father. Nox knew how to move. His father just knew how to fight. Nox sped up the Kata's, no longer looking like a dance and more like what it actually was. Aria had laughed at him. His mother had taught him the Chinese fan dance, a woman's defense dance. But he had no shame and it was something he could do with ease, and now that he knew what it was Nox went through the motions. He split his weaves into two flaming fans. It was easier to split into identical weaves. It was harder, and Nox's heart beat faster in his chest. Nox was still afraid to use the hand itself, but maybe he'll start soon.

[Raffe]

Li seemed in awe, not that Raffe blamed him. He grinned back as Nox caught his eye. For a moment he continued to watch alongside the other man, half smiling, at least until the word atharim spilled from Li's lips in surprise. Raffe blinked, wondering what had suddenly made him think so. He didn’t confirm or deny. It hadn’t been a question anyway. 

“It wasn’t a creature,” he said firmly. “And Nox didn’t save me, not from that.” He touched the scar lightly, a frown flickering his brow at the memory. What Li said about guilt weighed heavier than he’d like, poking at all his insecurities. He didn’t want to be something that needed protecting. He didn’t want to be something Nox would always have to worry about.

“The way he does it doesn’t work for me. We tried,” he said eventually. His feet shuffled, clearly ill at ease with himself. A sigh pressed from his lungs. “Think I’m afraid of it. The power, I mean. I don’t want it, not any of it, but if I don’t learn then it’ll kill me. I only need to touch it once, right? Then I won’t get Sick again, and I can forget it’s even a part of me.” Even as he said it he knew it sounded naive, but it was sincere too.

[Tan Li]

The new godling was certain that his injuries were not caused by a creature. But what was his definition? If a man left that mark on him, Li hoped that he did not live and was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But in his admission Raffe also admitted that Nox hadn't saved him from that, but implied he had been saved. And there was a touch of feelings on that the man didn't seem to settle well with. Li didn't want to make this uncomfortable and dropped the line. He was here to learn. And Li wasn't truly certain he could help him. "I can try to teach you the ways that were taught to me. It's not a simple path. Nor will it be a quick cure to what ails you. I don't know more than what I do and I cannot say for certain if you touch this gift you will be safe from the sickness. But I know that even in the darkness there is a light. All things can achieve balance, even the torrent of power can be tempered with peace."

Li snickered. "If he is Atharim, his life has been violent and hard. And doubly so now that he does what he does." Li nodded to the man who without shame danced something he had never seen a man preform before. It was beautiful and scary at the same time. The flaming fans would mar any attacker. They lit the dojo in a haunting pattern. It was not a difficult dance but even Li could see the effort he was extending. "Perhaps, your inability for your friend to teach you has less to do with his methods and more to do with your own fear. You do not want this. No one desires to be faced with the question, if I don't accept this gift I will die."

Li watched the man's dance pick up speed as he grew more comfortable. It went from dance to fighting in the span of minutes he watched. The fans winked out and a fireball flew towards the wall in one violent motion. Nox looked as if he'd thrown the ball and then moved into the next invisible attacker. What had once been neatly choreographed dancing had turned into Nox fighting his own shadow. "Nox said you'd come when you were ready to learn. In order for any of this to work you'll need to accept the gift you've been given and want to learn. Much like asking for help in fighting any other mental disease or issue, you must want the help."

A fireball flew in the direction of where Nhysa stretched and Li was moving in her direction only to stop short when the fireball splattered against the invisible wall and fluttered to the floor hissing out in a pool of thin water surrounding the edges of the wall. Li blinked at the construction and wondered how often he did this.

[Raffe]

Raffe listened quietly, and his expression said he was absorbing it all carefully, even if his gaze was still on Nox as he moved through the dizzying patterns. The fire trailed after him. It was beautiful.

“Peace,” he repeated quietly. “It doesn’t feel anything like peace to me. Just violent, unbridled strength. How do you find that balance?” There was no one answer to that, he knew; it was too a personal battle. The melancholy was tight in his voice, deep with introspection as he considered the maze of a dilemma he saw no escape from. More fears surfaced. The worst of them: what if it felt good. But he didn’t want to voice them to a stranger.

“I promised I would try,” he said eventually, tugging a hand over his head. “And I won’t get anywhere pretending it’ll just go away. I’ll come back alone though. I don’t want him to see me fail again.”

He watched as Li half bolted off when one of the fireballs seemed about to hurl in the direction of the woman, though what he intended to do to try and protect her Raffe had no idea. Raffe flinched himself, though he trusted Nox knew what he was doing, and sure enough the flames fizzled harmlessly to nothing. The woman paused from her stretching like an indolent cat disturbed from a sunny spot. Her arms braced her hips, a brow raised.