Of Monsters and Magic

[Elias Donovan]

A long, slow turn of the neck and Elias looked dumbfounded at Nox. He slowly rose to his feet. Elias was tall, but probably weighed thirty pounds less than Nox. Yet he confronted the other man unconcerned about the differences in their physical strength. With power, Nox was strong, although how much so Elias didn't know, but such was the advantage with men like them, the sense of the unknown drove fear, and fear drove men to action they were otherwise too foolish to pursue.

"Let me get this straight,"
he started. His hands splayed, fingertips thoughtfully pushed together, his index fingers tapping his lip. "There is a man out there as 'messed up as' - or insane - as Aria. That knows Aria doesn't live here but you're worried that he might come anyway. He can use these god powers like the rest of us,"
Elias waved his hand in dismissal at Cain in case he didn't know. "And he has a key. And you're too proper to ask for it back because it's --- what? Not your place?"


Elias drew power upon himself. Not a lot. Nothing that even approached what he saw in the Red Square. But enough. And he looked at the shiny new doorknob.

"What do you think changing the locks will do when I could rip the door from the hinges?"


His tone was calm the whole time. His expression was still as windless waters. But his gaze was direct and daring.

He looked finally at Asha, shaking his head. "You're not staying here alone."

[Nox]

Nox sighed as Elias threatened him with the power. The posturing was seriously getting annoying. Nox grinned, "Now what did that door ever do to you?"


Nox took one step towards Elias is own threat of sorts. He didn't draw upon his own power. "One. From outwards apparences, Dane looks like the perfect English gentleman. In the time that Aria has lived her he has never once broken into her apartment with or without a key. And his obsession is with her, not with Asha. Yes he can rip the door off the hinge. But it's unlikely, he'll wait for Aria - but that doesn't mean he won't use the key."


Nox smiled at the other man - dressed in something other than black. "Two. You are a guest in this house. And the person living under this roof can keenly feel every emotions you and I and every fucking body else can feel around her. I was being civil. I was doing what I could. I'm not hiding the danger from Asha. Asking for the fucking key back is pointless. it might remind him that he has an apartment to stalk around. It's easiest just to change the fucking locks."


"And three. Do you honestly think I'm afraid of your little display of power. You might be stronger than me. You might be more skilled than me. You might have more potential than I do. But I guarantee you, if it came down to a fight. I would win. Do you want to know why, Elias. Because I fucking hunt monsters with it. I spent an entire fucking year in the middle of no where learning how to destroy things with my mind. I spend every waking moment doing nothing but trying to figure out how better to spend my energry so that I can fight longer, fight harder and kill things you can't impossibly imagine. I practice nearly every fucking day making weaves. Increasing the speed in which I can do it. It may not be pretty it may not be right. But I could rip the skin from your body in one fucking blink of an eye if I so desired."


Nox gave Elias a grin. "Asha is more than free to leave Aria's apartment. We aren't keeping her prisoner. It might be safer elsewhere. You are free to stay and watch over our little Sentient bird here. But you see... Asha is a big girl. Asha can make her own decisions. If I find out that you forced this girl out of this house because you think it's for her own good. I will rip your fucking head off without thinking about it."
Nox smirked, he'd used the same threat with Dane only days ago. And he'd used his power them to be impressively dominate. But Nox wasn't going to disappear like Elias. He wasn't afraid of the man. He wasn't afraid of anything he could do to him. Nox wasn't even angry. He could feel the calm inside. This was just funny. Damn right funny!


Edited by Nox, Aug 20 2016, 07:43 AM.

[Elias Donovan]

Nox ruffled his peacock feathers, rolled out the F-word, and nonchalantly threatened decapitation, flaying skin, and might as well have thrown in eviseration while he was at it. All with a creepy smile. All because Elias, a skinny deviant like him, dared to question his almighty ways. He was a goddamned bully, meathead, and asshole just like everyone else that Elias fought his whole life. But with one terrible difference.

"You are a psychopath, Nox."
. He dropped his hold on the power, not because Nox's intimidation attempts worked, but because Elias wasn't a murdering lunatic just because someone disagreed with him. Not in this lifetime, anyway. With long black hair, gaunt cheeks, and depressing attire, he may look like a Satanic, but he actually had a few ounces of morality buried down deep.

Despite the dismissal of what would have been an epic fight, anger stirred, a disruption in his emotions in the base of his heart, far from the surface like a monster slowly roused from the abyss.

"You broke a guy's arm and laughed at it. A man, not a monster. I am no monster either, and you're ready to flay me alive in front of a friend you supposedly feel responsible for. Who anointed you patron saint of Sentients?"
He snorted. "I know what she is."
He waved the thought aside; he didn't care. In fact, he barely thought about it. Not coddling her was probably why she preferred his company over anyone else. Who guided her out of the Red Square when she was drowning? Not Nox.

Calling her a big girl was so goddamned condescending too. Punching people wasn't his usual first instinct, mostly because he'd never been in a fist fight and he wasn't a caveman, but Nox's penchant for gruesome violence was leeching into his skin like slime. He wasn't angry before, but Nox provoked him to it.

"You're so worried about Asha. Why don't you get off on ripping the head off this Dane if it's so easy for you instead of me? And leave us alone."
That's all Elias ever wanted. To be left alone. Until Asha wormed her way into his life.

[Cain Belasis]

((Btw Aria I'm pretty sure that men can't feel the potential of channelers like women can, so they wouldn't necessarily know that Elias has a higher ceiling than Nox)

Whoa. When they were Underground, Cain had seen Nox get pretty preachy to Dane, but nothing like this. Wow the guy was throwing around some pretty big threats. The redhead didn't know his friend had it in him. He filed away that comment Nox made about Asha being able to sense the emotions of everyone around her. Huh, that was a pretty interesting talent, and probably a bit cumbersome in situations like these. He also made note of the comment Elias made about Nox breaking a guy's arm and laughing about it. That was good to know about his housemate.

Cain had seen this situation a thousand times before. He grew up getting into fights and starting fights and witnessing fights, and they almost all started with two alpha males (or wannabe alpha males) getting their hackles up (and there was a girl in the picture too, great) and refusing to back down. If it came down to a fight, he and Nox would probably win, because there was no way Cain was taking Elias' side, and Asha's magic didn't seem to have offensive capabilities. However, that wasn't the point. Cain had learned a thing or two about how stupid and petty fights like these were. It had only taken him getting his arse handed to him a dozen times, but still.

It was probably stupid, getting between two magicians stronger than he, but the redhead did it anyway. The last thing they needed was fireballs and earthqukes around here. Someone - be it Atharim or CCD forces - would come running. Thankfully neither of them were holding onto their magic (he probably wouldn't have done this if Elias hadn't dropped his). Cain put his hands up placatingly, his left shoulder facing Elias and his right Nox so that he had both of them in his field of vision. "Alright fellas, we all want the same thing."


Cain took a moment to make eye contact with both of them for a moment. "Both of you want Asha to be safe. She knows the dangers now so she can decide if she wants to stay here, or if she wants you to stay with her. Trust me when I say that ripping off Dane's head wouldn't be easy for anyone."
He wanted to add a line about moving somewhere else if they wanted to fight, but neither of them were using magic so it seemed like the danger of that had mostly passed. Cain's biggest worry was that one of them was going to say something heated to the other and start this mess all over.

[Nox]

(( Nox wasn't sensing anything. He was merely stating that even if Elias was better in every possible way Nox would still win... ))

Nox rolled his eyes at being called a psychopath. It was just a name people called you when you did bad things. Nox knew exactly what he was... He never claimed to be a hero - a saint as Elias put it.

Cain stepped between them to mediate the fight. Nox wanted to laugh but he didn't. It seemed the every time he saw Elias they didn't get along. Nox turned his back on Elias and pulled a card out of his pocket. "This is the last of the funds I took out when I went home. Find a new place for a few nights, buy food, whatever. I'll look in on you in a few days if you are still here, great. If not, well it's been a pleasure."
He gave Asha a friendly smile s he handed her the last couple hundred credits he had on him. It wasn't going to break him, and he felt bad for putting Asha in this situation. He wasn't going to even acknowledge Elias again. He was done... if he wanted to attack him fine. But he better kill him with that blow.

"Cain, let's go see if we can get closer to what Ascendancy did with his power."
He didn't wait. He didn't care if he hurt Asha's feelings. She had Elias to comfort her pains. He was done with Elias. "See ya Asha."



Edited by Nox, Aug 20 2016, 01:04 PM.

[Ashavari]

For a while it seemed things were going to work out okay. Nox brushed off the confrontation, and though Cain's ire kindled like flame, he didn't put voice to it. Asha made the mistake of letting herself relax, just a fraction. Nox's usual good humour was infectious.

Then Elias stood and the tension grew very still.

Nox could have ignored it; she sensed his amusement, knew that he wasn't truly angry at Elias. But pride gilded his tongue, and he couldn't shut his lips against criticism. He had a good heart, and he was well intentioned. But he desperately needed to learn when to keep quiet. The spark ignited, fluttering dangerously close to a trail of gasoline. Though they all insisted it was her decision, not a single one of them took breath long enough to give her the opportunity to speak for herself. Her name whipped like a razor as she stood there, journal hugged to her chest, face ashen. She sagged against the edge of the desk.

The argument was juvenile. Misunderstanding. Judgement. Pride. Arrogance.

And then it was over. Cain stepped in with calm words. Nox turned his back on Elias. Like land and sea, irreconcilable. She didn't want his money, but wanted to illicit bruised feelings even less, so said nothing. Instead she handed Nox the journal he'd apparently forgotten about. Made a point of eye contact. "Thank you for changing the locks."
Weariness tugged at her expression. She had more questions about Dane and whether she really had cause for concern, or if these were just precautionary measures, but the opportunity for that was lost. Her control was fraying, and while they both claimed to care about her safety, neither seemed willing to remain civil for her sake. He was already leaving.

She held the door for them. "Nice to meet you too, Cain. Hopefully next time will be under better circumstances."


And then they were gone.

She waited a heartbeat to draw herself together as the door clicked shut. It took a moment for their essence to fade. "You've a talent for making friends, Elias."
She sighed, leaning on the door, but it was said without malice. Elias hadn't said anything unreasonable, just couched it in too much needless hostility. "Please don't be angry."

[Nox]

(( replied here ))

[Elias Donovan]

They finally left. Elias stared above Asha's shoulder like the door behind her wasn't enough of a barrier to the outside world. Her plea hovered on the surface for a minute before it truly sunk in. He felt his walls drop, his expression soften.

"I'm not mad at you."
He sank to the cushions, relieving the ache in his throat with a sip of water.

"I was serious though. I don't think you should stay alone. It would be better to have a different place completely. Away from this ex-boyfriend and Nox as well. But it's not exactly easy to find a place to live. I've been on a guy's couch since I got to Moscow."


His gaze shifted around the room thoughtfully. Only to land on a bookcase. He waved Asha away from the door, and grabbed a hold of it with the power. Tendrils of light shoved the piece of furniture in front of the door. He dropped the power after that.

"A barricade won't stop someone, but it'll be a surprise and the noise will give me time to react."



He stalked the apartment to do something similar with he windows. When he returned, he silently moved the plates and bowls back to the kitchen with tendrils of power, holding the source of it only long enough to accomplish the task. Chores as a kid would have been much easier like this, but nobody in Kenab needed more reasons to hate him

"Thanks for dinner. I'll clean up if you want to go rest. I'll sleep out here."

[Nox]

(( fyi studio apart. One room. Bed and couch in same room. Only other room is a bathrrom. ))

[Ashavari]

He stood stiff and unmoving, glaring at the door. It prickled at her consciousness, filling her up with darkness. Then, finally, something pierced his concentration and the pressure eased. Her shoulders drooped a little with the relief, shedding her discomfort from the past few minutes with a few steady breaths. Did he really think this ex-boyfriend might try something? Even once he realised Aria was no longer here? It seemed unlikely, even if he had the power to melt the door with his mind. Still, she only nodded to his words, and moved when bid.

Elias winked out, and a bookcase shifted of its own accord. She watched the display without disguising her awe; eyes wide, mouth tilted into a smile. Meandering footsteps took her to perch on the arm of the couch while she watched him work. He was determined and methodical while he secured the apartment to his liking, and Asha's mind drifted in the stillness.

Her eyes blinked back open when he disappeared again. Dishes soared through the air, depositing themselves on the kitchen counter. She wouldn't ordinarily allow a guest to clear up, and it grated against her idea of hospitality to accept the help. The uncertainty hovered on her face, before she paused to rub her tired eyes. He wouldn't offer if he didn't mean it. Though she did fuss around for a few moments unearthing spare blankets.

"Thank you."


Living on the road made a skill of sleeping when and where you could. The apartment's bed was a novel luxury, though it was still her habit to curl up tight like the space was much smaller. She didn't bother to undress; a mixture of shyness and plain weariness. She squished a pillow into her arms, and for a while laid watching him clean before her eyes pressed closed and her breathing deepened.