Discovering New Toys

[Nox]

Nox watched the fire burn, it wasn't long lived since the napalm didn't burn long with the amount he had on the toothpick. But it was enough to catch much more of the pallet on fire. He dropped water and wrapped the pallet in air to suffocate the flames. It was kinda funny that air could keep the fire from burning. Suffocation was always an interesting feat with the power. Not that Nox had tried it on a living person before, and he'd not actually had time to try against a monster either since fights were usually a bit more quick paced than that.

But Nox wanted to know how long the sticky homemade napalm would burn by itself. Nox used a weave of air to scoop out a 'handful' of the stuff. He wanted an accurate measurement but he'd have to hit the store since Aurora would highly disprove of using the new cooking instruments. He grinned, he could if he really wanted to piss her off. But he decided not to. For now he'd just watch it burn.

Nox created an open box of air and tied the weave off, the blob of mixture sat in the middle and started to ooze to the corners of the box. Nox watched it's movements almost mesmerized. He wove a quick weave of fire and started the stop watch on his wallet and sat at the edge of the box and watched it burn. He held water and air ready to use at a moments notice.

Lucas voice next to him startled him. "What are you doing?"


Nox didn't look up but he grinned. "Sorry. Seeing how long it burns."


Lucas chuckled. "Why?"


Nox looked up, "Because I can. "
He laughed. "I want to see how long it burns by itself, no other material to burn with it. Just a curiosity. It's fire. It burns. It'll save me from having to hold on to a fire weave so I can do something else."


Lucas frowned. "And you use this for your....hunts? That has to be useful."
He frowned. "Why does your group consider you and Aria monsters"


Nox turned back to his box, looking up at Lucas was disquieting, he rarely had to look up at anyone. "I've not tried it yet, trying to figure out ways not to tire out so fast while using the power."


And like it had been burning a whole in his head for days now Lucas asked a question Nox really couldn't answer completely. "I honestly don't know why Sentient's are pretty much kill on sight other than they are different. Aria might know more, or Aurora, but I haven't the foggiest. People like me though I know that answer."


He remembered that answer rather vividly in the death of Father Stone in front of his eyes, the Regus strangling the man. Nox sighed, "Men and women would wield this power and used it to oppress humanity ages ago. Like before histories were kept or were lost in the battles. The Atharim rid the world of them and it has been our calling for millennia to keep the world safe from those like that. We hunt monsters that are left over, and new ones now. But the powers are returning, and the Atharim is called once again to keep humanity safe."


Lucas looked at him puzzled. "When was this? What do you mean oppressed?"


Nox stared at the flames, hating the teachings, knowing the reasons and hating that he was one of them. "It was a long time ago, the times of Zeus and Posiden. You think they are just stories in some book."
Nox shook his head. "The Atharim fought the gods of old. They killed every last one of those mad men. The men who enslaved humanity because they had power, lived long lives."
Nox spoke the words with the venom of the Atharim, he remembered feeling it, remembered believing to his core, until he had that power, and now, now he was one of them, one of these reborn gods meant to rain havoc on the world. Power corrupts the Regus said. Nox laid back on the ground. "It was a long time ago. But the Atharim remember."


Lucas was silent, his blue eyes also lost in the fire. Finally, he spoke. "The gods?...."
His words trailed off. He looked at Nox. "I know you aren't lying to me. But all of that is really hard to believe."
He eyes returned to the fire. In a whisper, he went on. "But what I'm looking at is impossible too."


He looked back at Nox. "How can this be the world that I live in? All this stuff happen and no one know about it? It's all just so hard to believe. But..."
He seemed to come to some sort of resolution. "You and Aria have the same struggle. The potential for great evil. I guess we all do, but for you both it means pain for a lot of people. I don't know you, Nox. But you look out for Aria. And that means something to me. Whatever I can do to help you, I will. For both your sakes."
He stuck out his hand to shake as men.

Nox sat up and took Lucas' hand. "Thanks. Aria and I will do what we can to keep each other from drowning in our potential."
He grinned before continuing, "You just keep Aria's sanity, and I'm sure we'll be fine. She won't tell you because I don't think she knows, but you mean a great deal more than she tells you. You are the reason she comes back from the darkness. I make sure she calls you when we get home from overly long or bad hunts, I see it in her eyes when she's talking to you. The darkness fades with each word."


Lucas smiled faintly. "That's cool"
he said softly, probably thinking of Aria right that second. He looked up. "Alright. I have work to do. And you have to practice for...whatever. I'll let you to it. "
He smiled and walked back to the barstool. Nox couldn't help but laugh.

The sweet odor of burning sugar and the acidic smell of the lighter fluid were the only thing he could smell after a while. The fire was no hotter than the bbq grill he'd used a few days prior to cook up some charboiled burgers. Aurora hadn't been too pleased with the smoke in the warehouse, but it was too damn cold outside!

It was a good thing she wasn't here now or she'd be all over him about things. He sighed as the last ember died down, leaving soot and burnt sugar remains floating in midair. Nox wrapped the box in water and air and insured that it was all under control before he walked away to get the garbage.

As he glanced over at Lucas, he smiled, Nox could see bits and pieces of lines and shadows on his sketch pad. Lucas was enjoying himself.

As Nox finished up his wallet beeped, he reached in to his pocket and turned the alarm of without paying attention to what it said. He knew from memory the order his alarms went off. It was after all the only way he could adhere to Aurora's ridiculous standards. On time, always. He sighed, but it had become a way of life for him. Though she seemed less rigid now that they weren't hunting and training together, as a matter of fact he hadn't seen Aurora train since they'd moved back in together here.

Nox threw the last of his experiment in the dumpster behind the warehouse and went back into the kitchen and fixed lunch. He didn't bother asking Lucas. It was sandwiches or not and he didn't care if he didn't eat, wasn't his hunger. Nox fixed two left burgers in the oven. He hated the microwave, it was a horrible invention, and those left in American hotel rooms were even worse than the models you could buy today. Archaic things usually.

It didn't take long, he wasn't the greatest cook in the world but he'd learned to fend for himself long ago. Aurora was a great cook, he was glad to live with her, even if it meant he had to eat some disgusting foods like zucchini or squash. He shivered at the thought. But he did and he would as long as he didn't have to cook it.

Nox dressed the burgers with lettuce and tomatoes but omitted the onions, another of those things he avoided when he could. Aurora liked them though. Ketchup and mustard he didn't add to Lucas', he slid Lucas a plate and the dropped the bottles within arms reach. And he slide another bottle of water next to the plate, "If you are hungry."



Nox took his plate out into the middle of the dojo again and set the plate down on the ground at his feet with his bottle of water and wove a weave of air. He pushed it and pulled it around the room as he ate. The weave followed his hand as he moved through the basic warm up's he and Aria almost always started with. Usually he wasn't eating while working, but he was hungry.

(( with Lucas ))