Ivan was the good man. The comfort, the light in all this darkness. Nox tried not to roll his eyes. There was no place for soft in the fight against monsters. But it wasn't until Lih's explanation that Nox stared at him. It was like a blow to his head. 'failure to protect'. Everything in his life was that one fucking failure. And it happened time and time again. First with his mother and then with his father, and again with lucas, bas, and his sister, and culminating in a promise he vowed to keep - killing Aria.
The whole situation reeked of his father and Nox growled to himself. That he hated most of all. He would not become his father. He. Would. Not!
Ivan's question pulled him out of his thoughts. Nox took a deep breathe of the air filled with the pungent smell of burning flesh and hair and innards. It wasn't pleasant and he felt like retching. But that was also why he hadn't eaten any of the donuts Lih had brought.
Nox shook his head. "Not cleaned up. My gut says they licked the stones clean of all blood and gore left behind. Either Pavlo is exrement or he's still walking around. No spots in a place like this means it was scoured clean by the scavengers." And that was a scary thought. To die with nothing left but the memory of you. He didn't want to die that way. He looked at Lih struggling with the whole situation and felt bad for griping at him.
"I get that you have had it rough. But you can't let it get in the way of it. If it's your first fine, you'll be fine. But right now, I need you here, not wherever it happened. I remember watching my mother get mauled by an invisible thing. I froze. I couldn't do anything. I have nightmares about it still. Push it aside. Focus on what's in front of you, what the job entails. And after this is all over we'll go get a drink and you can cry your head off for all I care. But right now. You are hunting monsters that if they bite you, you are fucking dead, or worse yet, you turn into one of them." Nox points to the remains still burning in the box of air. "He didn't start out like that. He was perfectly human a few days ago. Dorian led him down here. He chased him into a pack and Dorian barely got away. Pavlo seemed to have control of the monsters as they flowed around Dorian so he could deal with him. At least that's the story I got. So please, trust me. Get your head on straight. Or I'll have to take us all back the way we came and this won't happen. I'll come without any of you if I have to. I don't want to die down here."
And that was the real fear... dying here, dying alone without anyone. There was an internal sigh as Nox felt the depressed self try to take hold. Why bother? There is no one left to love you. Just go out with a bang!
Nova started growling in the direction they had come. Nox stood up and looked at Lih. "Now's the time. There is no more waiting." Nox tied off the box and the fire, it would expire in a few hours if it wasn't fully ash but that didn't matter anymore. They had to move. "That way is back towards Dorian's estate. We don't want to go that way." Nox didn't want those things coming anywhere near that place right now. Or ever, but still he felt the urge to protect it.
So it was the direction they'd been going when they found the intersection. "We need to move." Nox sliced through the walls of air with a simple spirit weave learned from Bas so many months ago. He missed his friend, but that was life. It went on, and it was time to focus.
Nox stepped past where the barrier had been, "This way. Pavlo or bust." Nox formed a fire whip. He didn't want to split his focus. Now danger was coming, the fire whip tied off at his waist and his handful of pepples he fondled in his left hand waiting on the wings of air that he was prepared to throw. This was the dangerous part. Monsters were coming. Nova followed on Nox's heels growling, but he never took off. Never left. Good dog! Nox thought as he moved the small caravan forward in the darkness, the landwarriors lighting their way.
The whole situation reeked of his father and Nox growled to himself. That he hated most of all. He would not become his father. He. Would. Not!
Ivan's question pulled him out of his thoughts. Nox took a deep breathe of the air filled with the pungent smell of burning flesh and hair and innards. It wasn't pleasant and he felt like retching. But that was also why he hadn't eaten any of the donuts Lih had brought.
Nox shook his head. "Not cleaned up. My gut says they licked the stones clean of all blood and gore left behind. Either Pavlo is exrement or he's still walking around. No spots in a place like this means it was scoured clean by the scavengers." And that was a scary thought. To die with nothing left but the memory of you. He didn't want to die that way. He looked at Lih struggling with the whole situation and felt bad for griping at him.
"I get that you have had it rough. But you can't let it get in the way of it. If it's your first fine, you'll be fine. But right now, I need you here, not wherever it happened. I remember watching my mother get mauled by an invisible thing. I froze. I couldn't do anything. I have nightmares about it still. Push it aside. Focus on what's in front of you, what the job entails. And after this is all over we'll go get a drink and you can cry your head off for all I care. But right now. You are hunting monsters that if they bite you, you are fucking dead, or worse yet, you turn into one of them." Nox points to the remains still burning in the box of air. "He didn't start out like that. He was perfectly human a few days ago. Dorian led him down here. He chased him into a pack and Dorian barely got away. Pavlo seemed to have control of the monsters as they flowed around Dorian so he could deal with him. At least that's the story I got. So please, trust me. Get your head on straight. Or I'll have to take us all back the way we came and this won't happen. I'll come without any of you if I have to. I don't want to die down here."
And that was the real fear... dying here, dying alone without anyone. There was an internal sigh as Nox felt the depressed self try to take hold. Why bother? There is no one left to love you. Just go out with a bang!
Nova started growling in the direction they had come. Nox stood up and looked at Lih. "Now's the time. There is no more waiting." Nox tied off the box and the fire, it would expire in a few hours if it wasn't fully ash but that didn't matter anymore. They had to move. "That way is back towards Dorian's estate. We don't want to go that way." Nox didn't want those things coming anywhere near that place right now. Or ever, but still he felt the urge to protect it.
So it was the direction they'd been going when they found the intersection. "We need to move." Nox sliced through the walls of air with a simple spirit weave learned from Bas so many months ago. He missed his friend, but that was life. It went on, and it was time to focus.
Nox stepped past where the barrier had been, "This way. Pavlo or bust." Nox formed a fire whip. He didn't want to split his focus. Now danger was coming, the fire whip tied off at his waist and his handful of pepples he fondled in his left hand waiting on the wings of air that he was prepared to throw. This was the dangerous part. Monsters were coming. Nova followed on Nox's heels growling, but he never took off. Never left. Good dog! Nox thought as he moved the small caravan forward in the darkness, the landwarriors lighting their way.
![[Image: nox_sig.gif]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/nox_sig.gif)