Misdirection
Philadelphia, PA 2037
Nox was avoiding his studies. They were learning all about Oni - big hulking creatures with tough leathery skin that acted like armor. Where the tales of Ogres and stuff came from but got all wrong. The monster part was fun, but the learning every little detail about them was not - like what colors they could range from or how thick their skin actually was. That's what Aurora was for - she was the walking, talking textbook.
They sat in a diner across from each other, Aurora was twirling her blonde hair around her finger smacking gum as she stared at her computer screen reading something their father was making them study. Or maybe it was her math homework or science. It didn't really matter, she was intent on the screen before her so she hadn't noticed that Nox slipped his headphones into his ears and pulled up the hood of his hoodie from around his shoulders and sank back into the cushion on the chair and started playing a free album that was all the rage.
It was by a guy called Methos. He was dressed in spangled shirt that hung off his shoulders over a black tank top and wearing tight, tight jeans. His hair was dyed multiple colors and he worse an extravagant amount of make up. The music was very electronic, the bass was heavy and the lyrics few and far between. The title song, 'Eternal Sensationalism' already had a video released and Nox sat staring at the man as clips from history played across the screen in the background while in the foreground the man sang the few lyrics and the rest of the time played a small tiny box with colored lights that made the rest of the sounds throughout the song.
It was the type of music that played in the clubs and raves that he was told to avoid but didn't. He was only 13, but he wasn't the typical 13 year old either - he'd already shot his first gun, learned how to fight with his hands and feet. He could wield a whip and a cross bow with ease as well as a knife. Those were all things he and Aurora learned with their father. Their mother had chosen another route. With Aurora they sat and read - a book club of two. They read old school books, the ones you actually had to physically hold and flip through physical pages. They always smelled musty but the two would giggle and laugh over things the read for hours.
With Nox she'd spent hours upon hours teaching him how to dance. It was part of what made the hand to hand combat easy for Nox. He enjoyed both. The only part of dancing he didn't like was the outfits. He was always this thin short kid - nothing but skin and bones until he turned 11 and then he hit his first growth spurt. He was finally taller than Aurora and that made him happy.
So sneaking out of the hotel they were staying in became partly game with his father and part rebellion. Methos was playing in Philly that weekend. Nox stood outside the concert hall and tried to listen but there really wasn't much to hear and he couldn't afford to buy the tickets the guys were selling outside.
Resigned to the fact he wasn't going to get to see this new sensation hit the stage he found the nearest club that would let him in. Thanks to a faked ID and the growth spurt he could get in easily. He wasn't there to drink. He just wanted to dance.
The club was like most he'd gotten into in every other city. The bar was packed with men and women looking to hook up. There were half naked girls slinging themselves around poles - a few guys as well. The music was loud and Nox found himself immersed in the thrum of the music dancing for hours.
The music died with the lights. A familiar beat set the stage, fire erupted from the corners of the dj booth and in front of it a shadow stood, the glint of glitter and sequins were the only thing breaking up the dark shadows until the lights strobed through several colors as the music picked up and the scene materialized. The crowd on the dance floor moved into the new music with ease, there were screams all around him.
The crowd chanted "Methos" and Nox stared at the sight in front of him. The one thing he'd wanted to see that night stood before him. The music took over and Nox danced with the crowd completely oblivous to anyone and everything other than the beat.
The night was over too fast and Nox found himself sneaking back into the window he escaped from only to find his father sitting on his bed holding his laptop and glaring at him. They shared no words. He said nothing as he took Nox by the arm gently. He wasn't mad. At least this was an anger Nox had never seen from his father.
They weren't spanked as children, but his father's anger was not calm - it was more like a raging bull. Throwing things, hitting anything but his children. He'd go to shooting ranges. No this time it was white hot - cold and calculated. He dragged his son behind him to another room. "It's time you understand the way of men."
"The way of men" turned out to be a hooker in a room well away from his mother and sister. Nox was left alone with the woman for three hours before his father pulled him away. It was time to leave. Nox's education had been thorough.
Philadelphia, PA 2037
Nox was avoiding his studies. They were learning all about Oni - big hulking creatures with tough leathery skin that acted like armor. Where the tales of Ogres and stuff came from but got all wrong. The monster part was fun, but the learning every little detail about them was not - like what colors they could range from or how thick their skin actually was. That's what Aurora was for - she was the walking, talking textbook.
They sat in a diner across from each other, Aurora was twirling her blonde hair around her finger smacking gum as she stared at her computer screen reading something their father was making them study. Or maybe it was her math homework or science. It didn't really matter, she was intent on the screen before her so she hadn't noticed that Nox slipped his headphones into his ears and pulled up the hood of his hoodie from around his shoulders and sank back into the cushion on the chair and started playing a free album that was all the rage.
It was by a guy called Methos. He was dressed in spangled shirt that hung off his shoulders over a black tank top and wearing tight, tight jeans. His hair was dyed multiple colors and he worse an extravagant amount of make up. The music was very electronic, the bass was heavy and the lyrics few and far between. The title song, 'Eternal Sensationalism' already had a video released and Nox sat staring at the man as clips from history played across the screen in the background while in the foreground the man sang the few lyrics and the rest of the time played a small tiny box with colored lights that made the rest of the sounds throughout the song.
It was the type of music that played in the clubs and raves that he was told to avoid but didn't. He was only 13, but he wasn't the typical 13 year old either - he'd already shot his first gun, learned how to fight with his hands and feet. He could wield a whip and a cross bow with ease as well as a knife. Those were all things he and Aurora learned with their father. Their mother had chosen another route. With Aurora they sat and read - a book club of two. They read old school books, the ones you actually had to physically hold and flip through physical pages. They always smelled musty but the two would giggle and laugh over things the read for hours.
With Nox she'd spent hours upon hours teaching him how to dance. It was part of what made the hand to hand combat easy for Nox. He enjoyed both. The only part of dancing he didn't like was the outfits. He was always this thin short kid - nothing but skin and bones until he turned 11 and then he hit his first growth spurt. He was finally taller than Aurora and that made him happy.
So sneaking out of the hotel they were staying in became partly game with his father and part rebellion. Methos was playing in Philly that weekend. Nox stood outside the concert hall and tried to listen but there really wasn't much to hear and he couldn't afford to buy the tickets the guys were selling outside.
Resigned to the fact he wasn't going to get to see this new sensation hit the stage he found the nearest club that would let him in. Thanks to a faked ID and the growth spurt he could get in easily. He wasn't there to drink. He just wanted to dance.
The club was like most he'd gotten into in every other city. The bar was packed with men and women looking to hook up. There were half naked girls slinging themselves around poles - a few guys as well. The music was loud and Nox found himself immersed in the thrum of the music dancing for hours.
The music died with the lights. A familiar beat set the stage, fire erupted from the corners of the dj booth and in front of it a shadow stood, the glint of glitter and sequins were the only thing breaking up the dark shadows until the lights strobed through several colors as the music picked up and the scene materialized. The crowd on the dance floor moved into the new music with ease, there were screams all around him.
The crowd chanted "Methos" and Nox stared at the sight in front of him. The one thing he'd wanted to see that night stood before him. The music took over and Nox danced with the crowd completely oblivous to anyone and everything other than the beat.
The night was over too fast and Nox found himself sneaking back into the window he escaped from only to find his father sitting on his bed holding his laptop and glaring at him. They shared no words. He said nothing as he took Nox by the arm gently. He wasn't mad. At least this was an anger Nox had never seen from his father.
They weren't spanked as children, but his father's anger was not calm - it was more like a raging bull. Throwing things, hitting anything but his children. He'd go to shooting ranges. No this time it was white hot - cold and calculated. He dragged his son behind him to another room. "It's time you understand the way of men."
"The way of men" turned out to be a hooker in a room well away from his mother and sister. Nox was left alone with the woman for three hours before his father pulled him away. It was time to leave. Nox's education had been thorough.
![[Image: nox_sig.gif]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/nox_sig.gif)