This is Me

[Tan Li]

Nhysa asked a thoughtful question. Li had to actually remember the answer. "No, it was after. I only use the power for neutral things. It comes from a place of balance, and violence is not something I know how to do with it. The monks who taught me didn't know anything either. Or rather they would not teach me." They probably knew, but Li hadn't taken any life with the power inside. The delicate balance would be disrupted. "But I did discover what I was while hunting a monster. A dreyken, he was about to kill a boy, I froze him. I still don't know how, and I did accidentally take the man's life. The monster wasn't a monster -- just a man pretending to be a monster. But he was a serial killer, the police let me off easily."

Li grinned at Nhyssa. "But no, there are no oni scars. Letting one of them get too close usually means you've been pummeled into the earth or thrown unconscious against a wall. Bullet Proof armored skin makes them hard to kill. Beheading without a sword is difficult -- the shotgun was the best I could do. And my aim for an eye shot isn't so good while having a 2 ton beast furling it self at me." There was a few exaggerations in the beast, but the neck was less armored for movement sake, but the area was very small -- almost as small as the eye shot.

[Nhysa]

His explanation made sense given how she’d had to protect him last night, and she didn’t judge him for it. Neither did it appear to concern her that Li admitted to killing a man he’d thought was a monster. Honestly, it would not have done so even if it hadn’t turned out to have been the dispensation of justice instead of a mistake. Her head canted as if she assessed him anew, but the tilt of her lips suggested it was not much more than tease. She did not offer her own story.

“Then I am glad you did not find yourself pummeled into the ground or gored on one of those pretty horns.” Nhysa laughed and slipped down from her perch. She caught his wrist, snake-strike fast, and twisted, though not ungently. The fingers of her other hand traced his skin. “Tell me about this one,” she said. Shadows enthroned the passions of last night, but she’d seen enough to have some idea of the landscape of his scars, including those current hidden beneath his clothes. Her present smirk suggested she was curious about those too, and that if these young ones did not finish their learnings soon, she might yet unravel him like a gift.

[Tan Li]

The scar Nhysa caressed with her fingers brought no fond memories, nor did they bring up the thrill of the hunt. Scars from his childhood -- of memories he had thought gone and forgotten until brought to the forefront. "Nothing quite so interesting." Li said as a way of referencing the abuse he received before the age of 4. "My biological father was an abusive drunk. I was a coward and my mother and brother took the brunt of his abuse, but not always." There was anger in his voice.

A dark cloud threatened to take over his mind and Li saught the balance of his true father. He took a deep breath and smile. "I think I hear the children breaking up." The desire pulled away but so had the anger. It was time to be taught a lesson he smirked to himself. "Shall we make some sort of wager?"

[Nhysa]

Her brow rose. She did not let go of his arm.

Nhysa killed people for a living. She did not ask questions or concern herself with justice or wonder if her marks deserved their fate -- in fact most of the time she didn’t know the why at all. Nor did she care. She was good at her work. No remorse plagued her conscience. No empathy stayed her hand when orders were given.

But neither was she bloodthirsty. 

She had never acted for her own interests, nor felt any inclination to do so. Little ever really riled her temper, and she didn’t typically find herself drawn to the plights of others either. So Nhysa remarked it strange to realise how his explanation made her feel. The spark of his anger kindled a protective flame, not least for the way he branded himself a coward. She said nothing though, just watched him rebalance himself and smoothly change the subject.

She smirked. “I am amenable to that. I would caution you not to bet anything too precious, though.”

[Tan Li]

Li chuckled. It was not unexpected for the acceptance of the wager, but Li hadn't actually thought of what he might light to gain out of this. Li tapped his chin in mock thought. "Hmmm. What do I want?" Li grinned.

"Maybe...." he teased.

The children all passed by with their parents. Some of them waved little hands and fingers at him. Others whispered shyly to their parents having seen him on their TV or the big screen. "If I win... You cook me dinner." It was mostly a tease.

[Nox]

[[ continued from Convincing Conversations ]]

The last kid finally walked out and Nox lead Raffe inside. The bright yellow of baboo floors and slightly Asian accents on the walls were a calling out to the owners tasts and his up bringing -- a monastery if Nox remembered the man's bio. He wondered what it was like to be famous -- not that he wanted to be. Just curious.

Trophies all sorts lined the walls. And the dojo was nearly empty, Nox could hear voices in the office and Nox wanted to squeeze Raffe's hand. He was far more nervous about throwing around the power than he thought. The darkness touched the edges, but it was the arm that he had the most concerns about. He wanted to impress Raffe not make a fool of himself, as if Raffe even cared. Other than a gentle tease anyway. Which only made Nox smile and hoped that eased his fears. He couldn't have fear in this -- fear lead down the wrong path and the power could consume him. This wasn't just relearning how to use his arm, it was learning out to fight the darkness while it pressed in on the power. He was in control. Nox waited for the voices to approach.

[Raffe]

It was nice to talk about even if it never happened. Wasn’t like Raffe wasn’t already a dreamer, even if he’d learned over the years to keep such things to himself. He’d lived through enough shit shows to realise that dreams usually turned at some point, if they even happened at all. Not that it stopped him donning those rose-tinted glasses. Seemed a poor way to live otherwise, always expecting the worst. He just didn’t put any great hope on it. Well, maybe a little.

The fact Nox considered his plants made him feel warm inside. He definitely didn’t picture said balcony, or anything else about the hypothetical apartment that already felt like it could be a home. The casual swing of their arms and Nox’s clear happiness made him grin. For now Raffe just lived in the moment of it.

He’d barely considered the dojo at all during the walk (or breakfast) before it was suddenly there. “I guess,” he said, a little uncertain now. Were you ever really ready for something like this? Well, he was here anyway, and willing to try. 

A tornado of kids spilled out as they arrived, alongside their parents. Raffe’s gaze explored the interior once they finally got the chance to step inside. Nox was quiet beside him, which Raffe took to be some uncertainty of his own. He leaned close, their hands an anchor between them. “You got this,” he said softly. Half a grin followed. His spare hand rubbed his jaw.

[Nhysa]

He teased an answer, and she humoured him with slitted eyes and a sly grin. What he chose to ask for made her laugh, for it was so adorably pedestrian. Nhysa had never cooked for a man in her life. Still, the thought was strangely appealing, if the glint in her eye right then suggested that not quite innocent thoughts were flitting through her head. She was almost tempted to let him win, but she knew once they were in the ring instinct would overrule any such desire.

"Okay," she agreed. He could have asked anything; she was confidant in her abilities. Meanwhile the children departed, many of them clamouring for Li's attention else traipsing past in awe. Nhysa was more than ready to see this wager through, though first she offered her own stakes. "And if I win, I want to see one of those in the flesh." She gestured the stuffed head on the wall behind. Curiosity, not bloodlust. For the creature itself, or perhaps only in arbitrary excuse to see him again, much as his had been. She smirked, then glanced at the two men who wandered in after the class left.

[Tan Li]

The wager was set with a handshake. Though Li was inclined to show her regardless of the outcome. Though he really didn't have any idea where he could find one to show here. "It might take a while for me to find you one in the flesh, rumor is a bit harder now that I don't have that connection any longer."

The children all left and two men holding hands walked into the dojo. Li did a double take, not at their apparent infatuation with each other but one man was missing an arm and the other's throat looked like it had been mangled by something awful. Li smiled at Nhysa "You can go warm up if you'd like, dear one, I won't be long" Li didn't wait for her ascent or decline as he approached the two men. "How can I help you?"

[Nox]

A man and a woman strolled out of the office and he came over. Nox grinned, the man himself even. "For teaching mystical arts, the place doesn't seem set up for that." Nox remarked and wondered he'd be better off at the Vega estate. Nox gave the man a smile as he offered his hand. "I'm Nox. This is Raffe. I'm looking to rent the dojo for some practice. And if you truly taught the mystical arts, my friend might stop by when he's ready."

The famous actor took Nox's hand and shook. "What type of practice?

Nox waved the new protestic. "Breaking in the new arm, relearning my balance in dance and fighting and my typical mastery of the arts." Nox reached into the sludge and grasped the power behind it with ease and wove a small fireball above his prostetic. He could feel the heat, that was good.