07-26-2016, 11:18 AM
The humming was unnerving... hush little baby in the depths of the tunnel hummed by Dane. It fit well with Nox's mood.
They could have gone back the way they'd come in, but Nox didn't want to fight with the power and remove the grating again. Instead he wandered in the direction that the new map and the old maps would converge. There were signs of monster activity all around - odds scratches on the walls, the smell of death and decay permeated the humid air. It gave him an odd sense of comfort being down in the tunnels, enough to push aside the problems of his life. The hunt was all that mattered. Which was a lie unto itself - Aria mattered, Aurora had mattered and he'd let her die.
Guilt rode him. He'd thought he'd pushed past it but knowing his life was about killing humans again had changed that. He'd saught Aria's help in taking care of Diego - a man who had strangled and raped countless women - his own sister. He couldn't even deliver justice to him. Aria did it so carelessly.
He'd given Dane the same freedom - to kill a man who could destroy the Atharim. Why did he care if the Atharim were destroyed, they'd destroy him in the end. If he thought he could get away from it he would but Nox knew nothing other than hunting - than being Atharim.
Nox sighed and pulled himself out of his thoughts. "How long have you known what you can do?"
Nox remembered his own incident - saving Aurora's life, at least they had known what they were - struggling through life unknowing what you truly were. Nox couldn't imagine.
The map from his HUD finally merged together and Nox breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been worried that they'd never find a common area. Nox saught the nearest exit. It wasn't far, and by the smell of it they were near a settlement of humans - the far edges of humanity could be seen and smelt - debris was everywhere.
They could have gone back the way they'd come in, but Nox didn't want to fight with the power and remove the grating again. Instead he wandered in the direction that the new map and the old maps would converge. There were signs of monster activity all around - odds scratches on the walls, the smell of death and decay permeated the humid air. It gave him an odd sense of comfort being down in the tunnels, enough to push aside the problems of his life. The hunt was all that mattered. Which was a lie unto itself - Aria mattered, Aurora had mattered and he'd let her die.
Guilt rode him. He'd thought he'd pushed past it but knowing his life was about killing humans again had changed that. He'd saught Aria's help in taking care of Diego - a man who had strangled and raped countless women - his own sister. He couldn't even deliver justice to him. Aria did it so carelessly.
He'd given Dane the same freedom - to kill a man who could destroy the Atharim. Why did he care if the Atharim were destroyed, they'd destroy him in the end. If he thought he could get away from it he would but Nox knew nothing other than hunting - than being Atharim.
Nox sighed and pulled himself out of his thoughts. "How long have you known what you can do?"
Nox remembered his own incident - saving Aurora's life, at least they had known what they were - struggling through life unknowing what you truly were. Nox couldn't imagine.
The map from his HUD finally merged together and Nox breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been worried that they'd never find a common area. Nox saught the nearest exit. It wasn't far, and by the smell of it they were near a settlement of humans - the far edges of humanity could be seen and smelt - debris was everywhere.
![[Image: nox_sig.gif]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/nox_sig.gif)