08-24-2016, 05:43 PM
Cain and Nox were so focused on messing with Cruz (and rightfully so, the prick) that they didn't consider the effect it would have on Rachel. To be fair, the redhead didn't actually realize that Nox and Rachel had some sort of past that was horrific and traumatizing or something. Given the way the girl was glaring daggers at his friend, and how she eventually stomped out to make a call, things were a lot more complicated than Cain had initially realized. When Rachel came back, it was clear that she'd been crying and the magician felt like an arse. He scowled at Nox. He'd been perfectly willing to poke fun at Cruz, but he hadn't realized that whatever Nox had said to the girl would be so disturbing. Damn it.
The redhead wasn't certain why he was so surprised. He thought back to his interactions with Nox today: stopping him from egging on Elias into a needless fight, drawing him away from Ascendancy's monument before he got himself killed by his so-called Atharim allies... Clearly Cain's friend wasn't nearly as put together as he appeared. The redhead thought back to his conversation with Sage; apparently there was a dead twin sister in the story as well. Plus Sage himself was pretty creepy. If you weren't someone with no electronic-presence like Cain, he'd probably be fairly threatening. So Nox was going around like a walking tragedy, his only allies would turn around and kill him the minute they realized his secret, and the closest things he had to friends were a weirdo-hacker who was in love with his dead sister, a homeless charity case, and some woman who was crazy enough to give Dane a go. For the first time, Cain realized that he should probably be the one taking care of Nox, not the other way around.
Cain sighed and deflated. He had a feeling that Nox would just keep needling and needling, messing with Cruz and Rachel until they got to a breaking point. Obviously he was going to have to be the one to extend the olive branch, even if he'd rather punch Cruz's smug face in. "Alright, listen... let's start over. My name is Cain, and this guy here is Nox. He can be a jerk sometimes but he's mostly harmless."
He shot a look and a quirked eyebrow at his companion, daring him to protest. Cain hoped that Nox was mostly harmless; he hadn't actually known the guy that long. Still, he was the type of man to shelter a homeless stranger in his hotel room and go out of his way to make an acquaintance feel safer by changing her locks.
"I swear we're not here to hurt you. Nox is a friend of his father."
Cain nodded towards Cruz, still not quite willing to say the prick's name. "We're here because we're like him; we have magic like him. And if he doesn't learn how to control his... well Nox and Daddy's, ah... colleagues will find out."
The redhead paused and finally met Cruz's eyes, staring him down with a stern expression. He was hoping the guy wasn't so much of a spoiled shite that he didn't realize how bad that would be. Cain didn't think that anyone had explicitly told him that Cruz-Sr. was Atharim, but he wasn't an idiot. He could read between the lines. "Trust me. You do not want these people to learn about your powers. I've seen firsthand just how willing they are to commit murder."
He still remembered the feel of suffocating, desperately clawing for breath while the woman with a serpent tattoo did her best to kill him.
The redhead wasn't certain why he was so surprised. He thought back to his interactions with Nox today: stopping him from egging on Elias into a needless fight, drawing him away from Ascendancy's monument before he got himself killed by his so-called Atharim allies... Clearly Cain's friend wasn't nearly as put together as he appeared. The redhead thought back to his conversation with Sage; apparently there was a dead twin sister in the story as well. Plus Sage himself was pretty creepy. If you weren't someone with no electronic-presence like Cain, he'd probably be fairly threatening. So Nox was going around like a walking tragedy, his only allies would turn around and kill him the minute they realized his secret, and the closest things he had to friends were a weirdo-hacker who was in love with his dead sister, a homeless charity case, and some woman who was crazy enough to give Dane a go. For the first time, Cain realized that he should probably be the one taking care of Nox, not the other way around.
Cain sighed and deflated. He had a feeling that Nox would just keep needling and needling, messing with Cruz and Rachel until they got to a breaking point. Obviously he was going to have to be the one to extend the olive branch, even if he'd rather punch Cruz's smug face in. "Alright, listen... let's start over. My name is Cain, and this guy here is Nox. He can be a jerk sometimes but he's mostly harmless."
He shot a look and a quirked eyebrow at his companion, daring him to protest. Cain hoped that Nox was mostly harmless; he hadn't actually known the guy that long. Still, he was the type of man to shelter a homeless stranger in his hotel room and go out of his way to make an acquaintance feel safer by changing her locks.
"I swear we're not here to hurt you. Nox is a friend of his father."
Cain nodded towards Cruz, still not quite willing to say the prick's name. "We're here because we're like him; we have magic like him. And if he doesn't learn how to control his... well Nox and Daddy's, ah... colleagues will find out."
The redhead paused and finally met Cruz's eyes, staring him down with a stern expression. He was hoping the guy wasn't so much of a spoiled shite that he didn't realize how bad that would be. Cain didn't think that anyone had explicitly told him that Cruz-Sr. was Atharim, but he wasn't an idiot. He could read between the lines. "Trust me. You do not want these people to learn about your powers. I've seen firsthand just how willing they are to commit murder."
He still remembered the feel of suffocating, desperately clawing for breath while the woman with a serpent tattoo did her best to kill him.