The Last Straw

[Nox]

This day was just getting shittier and shittier the more he moved through it. The feeling of euphoria of having done the right thing was dashed the moment Aria stepped between the senior cop. The gun and sword were drawn and Nox couldn't help but laugh - only Aria would bring a sword to a gun fight. The laugh quickly faded as he remembered her guns and other weapons were now lost to the fires of what he assumed were the Atharim covering their tracks. Fuck them!

The younger cop showed him a picture of Bas but there had been no time to react before Aria identified Vega as Atharim. Shit!

Aria outed his partner too. How nice of her. Nox grinned playfully. He was tired of being the mediator - he could rain destruction down upon them if he so desired. He let the power go and nodded to the godling cop. Nox put his hand on Aria's sword hand "Sheath it."


Nox looked at Vega with a grin as he pushed up the left sleeve of his hoodie to reveal the red and black dragon biting its own tail. "We both are. My father was a hunter, his father a hunter, and so on for six generations."
Nox patted Aria's shoulder, "I'm sure your buddy Borovsky can tell you all about her."



Edited by Nox, Oct 30 2015, 11:47 AM.

[Ivan Sarkozy]

The woman who spoke up was familiar to him though it took a moment to recognize her from the tunnels. Before he could say two words, though, the whole situation seemed to go to hell and he had no freaking clue what had caused it.

The woman acted like it was his fault, which was ridiculous, of course. But Dorian had his gun out and then she had her sword out and they said a bunch of stuff that made no kind of sense. Who was a god? Or protecting one?

Before he could put himself between them- what was wrong with Vega? This wasn't part of police training. Escalation was NOT exactly the way to keep the peace. Then again, if a brother drew his weapon he usually had a reason. And the man could use the power- the man with the power looked at him pointedly as he let the power drain away even as he lifted up his sleeve to show a tattoo. Suddenly the tension between his shoulders he hadn't been aware of seemed to loosen.

Vega still had his gun out though it was lowered slightly, as if the threat level had gone down. The man told the woman to sheathe the sword and she complied. Ivan kept his eyes on the man and woman and held on to the power, to the weave he had been going to use. He glanced at Vega and shifted so he was side by side with him.

"Let's everybody calm down."
He addressed the couple though he hoped that Vega was calming down. The tension between everyone was still palpable, though. Clearly there was something going on here that he didn't understand.

He briefly looked to Vega and addressed him as he kept the bulk of his attention on them. "Who are they, Vega? What is this? What are they talking about?"

[Dorian]

The kid had a good head on his shoulders. Both of the would be gods did. Dorian was still on edge despite the fact that Ivan was backing him even if he didn't understand. Hell Dorian didn't understand. And now he had to explain to the pretty boy cop that he was Atharim. There was no getting around it now. It seemed they both had secrets - thought Dorian didn't intend for anyone else to find out his secret.

The boy grinned at Sarkozy. "With all due respect, I could decimate you easily, probably faster than you could swing your bludgeoning weapon. You will make my friend here far more likeable if you let go of the power."


Her sword was put away but the look said she could probably do just as much damage hand to hand. Dorian sighed and put his gun away. It seemed shit had hit the fan and they had a job to do. Dorian looked at Ivan, "If what he says is true and you hold a weapon. I suggest you drop it. Volodin is dead. He was in there when the building went up. But that is off the record."


Dorian looked around at the chaos around the area. He looked at the two Atharim. "For now. I will keep your secret. But if you for one moment do anything I don't like. I will not be so kind the next time."
Dorian turned to Ivan. "We've a job to do. I'll handle the crowd, you can deal with these two. You should be more than capable of it. They lived here, figure out if they knew Volodin and get their statements."


Dorian didn't wait for Sarkozy's answer he stalked off toward the crowds milling around. His badge in plain sight but he felt a new sort of tension in his body. How was he going to ask Martin about the girl - or did he have to. If she knew him, he could easily find out who she was. A new project. He would have to keep an eye on both her and the boy. One wrong move and Martin would know their secrets.

[Ivan Sarkozy]

The guy forced a grin at him as he threatened him. He looked tired. Still, he was probably right, from what Ivan saw of how he had put out the fire. This was a man who knew what he was doing. And just like that Ivan had another opportunity. And wasn't gonna let the guy get away like the pastor had. Who knew when he'd find someone like him again- at least on the right side of the law- so far anyway.

He let the power drain away and with it the world shifted back into normal mode. It was drab and seemed nearly colorless after that. Still, that was life. And if things worked out, maybe he'd be able to learn how to seize the power without having to be tense or whatever.

Vega, of course, couldn't know he'd released it and suggested it. And somehow knew that Volodin was dead. Then he remembered the message the guy had gotten in the tunnel. He'd already known. Ivan looked at him for a moment but didnt' say anything. They needed to talk, but in private. Clearly the man knew much more than he was telling- about all of this. He was a man of secrets. Then again, so was everyone on the squad. There was a reason, after all, that they had all been chosen. While he may not be like Ivan or Alex, he still had some skills that made for his being on the team. Later, then. He'd get answers later.

After leaving them in his care, he headed off to handle the crowd and Ivan was left with the man and woman. Now was his chance. Still, before he enlisted the guy's help he needed clarification. He'd done good, it had seemed. But looks could be deceiving. And the coincidence of their being here was a bit much.

"So did you know Volodin? If so, how?"



Edited by Ivan Sarkozy, Nov 2 2015, 12:33 PM.

[Nox]

The menacing presence disappaited as did the weapon he had been holding.

A cop was asking him if he knew a thug/ganster. Um, how was he supposed to answer that. And why had Vega just left them alone. He could tell their secret to Barovsky and they'd be dead in a heart beat. And Borovsky wouldn't give Aria any chance to explain anything. Vega must not have know that. Secrets were everywhere in the Atharim. Vega was keeping his mouth shut but why? Another problem for another day. He had to deal with this godling cop first.

Aria shook her head. "Met him once."


Nox sighed. "Yes. But before you get the wrong impression we are nothing alike."


Ivan looked at Nox with narrowed eyes as if trying to figure out the truth. "How's that?"


"Sebastian was a thug. And volatile."
Nox gave an awkward laugh, "I'm dangerous but I'm not going to go throwing my power around like some ass hat. I don't exactly want attention drawn to who or what I am. I kinda like my life the way it is - ya know living it."
Nox was fairly certain this cop knew nothing of the Atharim. He was about to get a very big dose of reality. If Vega was going to work with him it would be a miracle.

Ivan looked at him for a moment and then nodded. "Ok."
He looked at Aria for a moment, seeming to study her and looked as if he was going to ask something. When he did speak to her, it was to ask "And you? Do you use the power too?"


Aria glared at him and Nox grinned helplessly. "She's not exactly in a good mood right now."
Nox turned to Aria with a smile, "Why don't you go see what you can salvage?"
Aria looked at him and Nox nodded. "I'm fine. I promise."
He was glad she was concerned but it was getting a bit much. "Go before you burn a whole in his face or something."
It was a joke of course and Aria rolled her eyes at the comment before turning towards the rumble pile. Nox wondered about the mural in her room. Fuck! The last thing of Lucas and it was gone now. This was not going to go over well.

Nox turned back to the cop. "She has her own unique ability. Not like ours, but an ability none-the-less."


****

Ivan watched her leave. She was pretty hot, even with the scowl. Nice figure too, though of course he had to be draped in that stupid long jacket so he couldn't get a proper look. Women could be so inconsiderate at times. Anyway, she was gone and that was ok. Though something about her looked at bit familiar to him. He couldn't figure out what it was though. Maybe another time when she didn't look like she wanted to chew rocks. He glanced at the smoking ruins and felt sympathy. They had lost everything. "Sorry about you and your girlfriend's loss."
He didn't know what had caused the fire though he suspected Volodin, if he had died in there. He really wondered how Vega had known that. Later he told himself.

And now it had come down to it. Except he doubted the guy was in the disposition to help him, what with all that had happened. "You need a place to stay? I know there are emergency services for disasters. I can put a word in and get you at least a bed for the night. For both of you, anyway."


****

Nox smirked - girlfiend - ha!. "She's the farthest thing from my girlfriend, but thanks for the sentiment. We are good. We have a place to go."
They really didn't have a place to go that either of them wanted to be at for long. And Aria's apartment wouldn't fit three and they really wouldn't want to impose upon Ashavari right now. They were an emotional mess. But HQ had bunks and for the moment no one other than Vega knew his secret and as long as Vega kept quiet they would be good for now. It might be good to get out of Moscow though - at least for a little while.

"You think Bas was in there when it went up?"
Nox had a pretty good idea that he was. He'd heard the end of that conversation. And it was Sebastian's idea for them to stay there. He probably came for safety. Dude, putting me and mine in danger like that. Nox growled, stupid idiot!

****

Ivan nodded at him. At least they had somewhere else to go. To his question, though, Ivan shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. This seems to be Vega's show and he seems to know more than he's telling. To be fair, though, we only just met and started working together."
He was going to get answers. The monster squad was not going to work well if everyone was keeping secrets about their abilities and skills and what not. He'd make sure Vega understood that. If that didn't work, he'd have a conversation with LT about the problems secret keeping was going to cause for all of them.

And now- the important stuff out of the way- he could ask. He lowered his voice, though. Just because he didn't think the team should keep secrets didn't mean he wanted to broadcast this. The noise of all the workers and people was enough to mask their conversation, though. "How long have you been able to use the power? Can you touch it any time you want to?"


****

Nox didn't particular care about the dynamic between the two and merely nodded at his conversation additions. Talking to him was better than talking to Vega at least. That man, if he was anything like Borovsky, would probably have had his head in a hand basket if he so much as sneezed.

Nox was mildly suprised by the whispered question. He grinned as he pulled the power around him. "I've known what I am for almost two years now."
From the line of questions Nox was fairly certain the cop couldn't touch the power for some stupid reason. "My sister and I had to be in physical contact in order to reliably use our power. That was until we forgot who we were and that we were supposed to hold hands. Hell we didn't even know each other."
He was spilling too much information. But if Nox was right, this was a man who survived by pure happenstance and now was trying to break whatever block he had - like Pytor in the tunnels.

Nox dropped the power. He asked the obvious question."You can't?"


****

Ivan felt the familiar sense of danger suddenly loom from the man and a stab of fear lanced through him, the memory of Volodin in the market still clear in his mind- and like that the power presented itself to him all pretty and tied up in a bow and he seized it. Both of them held the power now but did nothing with it. Just held it. Ivan could tell the man was far stronger than him, which only fed the tension he felt. Then Ivan grinned sheepishly. "I have to feel....tense, I guess."
He wouldn't admit to more. After a moment, he deliberately let the power go again, the feeling of loss compounded by the threat that seemed to fill the air. He squared his shoulders and stood up straight, shoving the fear and anxiety to the background. He would not be driven by his fear. Not here. Not ever. The feeling of tension drained away though the menace coming from the guy was still there.

He smirked, thinking of the guy's own old need. "I guess mine is better than that. At least I don't have to have someone with me."
He looked back the woman. "She your sister?"
They didn't look much alike. That didn't necessarily mean anything. People didn't always look like their family- though that might be more do to some extra-curricular exercise mom might be getting. And sometimes people who weren't related looked similar. And then he knew why Aria looked familiar. She bore a resemblance to Alex. They had the same build and everything, though Alex was probably a bit bigger up top. Stupid coat. That made him laugh to himself.He

"Still, it's a stupid thing to need. You beat yours. Can you teach me?"
And then he looked at the smoking ruins and remembered the weaves. "I'd like to understand what it is we can do. I'd do better as a cop fighting monsters and douchebags in markets and all."


****

"Aria is my sister by choice - not blood. My sister is dead."
Saying the words brought new sorrow to his voice. He had almost pushed it away temporarily.

It was a pretty stupid thing to need. It seemed everyone's so-called block had to do with how it manifested. Both Aurora and himself were protecting the other and it became what it was. Tense was likely fear and he was probably playing it to look cool. Nox grinned as the cop pulled the power around him. Nox scared him.

Nox shrugged. "I don't know how I'd be as a teacher. I can show you what I know. Bas was a quick study, another friend of ours was okay at it. I've seen someone try to copy a weave I've done in front of them before and it backfired when they tried to do it."
Nox laughed at the memory of the dickwad he'd met out of the hosiptal - all let me show you who is better just to impress a girl. If Nox could only find that douche bag again, he'd show him a thing or two.

"You need to break that block first thing. Or what I show you is just gonna be gallery tricks. Never save your life if shit sneaks up on you. Though fear is a great motivator."
Nox remembered an old movie, one of Aria's favorites actually. She had a thing for super hero movies. "Embrace it. Be David Banner 'My secret is I'm always angry.'"


Nox thought about all the shit that had happened today. What's one more thing added to his plate. He ran through the events counting the shit that had happened, and as he quicky replayed the events he had an ah-ha moment. Fighting with Aria and Ayden embraced her gift. He'd weilded two weaves! How the fuck did I do that? He'd been holding Aria, he distinctly remembered not tying the weave off. And then he threw a fireball at her feet. Holy shit! Now if I could do it consciously. He grinned at his so called student. "And after that there is a whole other realm of things to learn."


Nox warned, "I don't know many things that are beneficial. I can teach you combat as that's what I do. I can't teach you the finer art of things that benefit a person. But trial by fire. I need to deal with Aria and this."
He waved his hands at the surrounding area. "You have plans tonight?"


****

"I'm sorry man."
He meant it. He had a sister and knew how it would feel if she were dead. Some of the man's expression made more sense. Perhaps now wasn't the best time to ask. But the guy seemed willing enough, at least to show him how he did what he did. That was something. And he seemed to want to fight with the power. If he had been teaching Volodin- and he'd seen first hand what he was capable of back at the market- then it would be good for him to learn. The guy didn't guard his power jealously, which was cool.

The words about fear left him looking at the guy blankly. Was that a quote? He wasn't the quote guy. Stuff like that was forgotten as soon as it was over. Still, the sentiment was something to think about. He hoped it was wrong though. Walking around in a perpetual state of stress wasn't something he wanted to do. Still, just being with someone who knew might lead to all kinds of things.

He stuck out his hand. "Ivan Sarkozy. And yeah, I'm free."
He felt hope stir and it made him glad. Finally. Something deep inside him felt anticipation. This was what he was born for, to protect his people. And now there was hope that he would be able to do that far more effectively.

He looked around. It was time he got back to work. He gave the guy his number and then headed over to join Vega. Which reminded him. They needed to talk.

****

A name - finally. He hated not knowing someone's name particularly another guys. He could be cute and funny with a chick - Duckling worked in all sorts of ways, but he hated giving a guy a name unless they were total tools. And Ivan didn't seem like a tool. He seemed pretty cool. And Nox was looking forward to actually hunting. Though Aria was going to be pissed she couldn't come along. Nox wasn't sure Ivan would go for having a tag along.

Nox offered Ivan his first name. Last names could get him killed. Not that Nox was a common name, but most people wouldn't spell it the way his folks had - he thanked god for that.

He took Ivan's information and supplied his own. Vega could easily look him up now - which sucked but such was life. Before they parted Nox called after Ivan. "Here tonight. 9pm."
Then Nox went in search for Aria. He finally had a piece of good news to share on this horrid day.

[Aria]

Aria's mood didn't get any better wading through the rubble. It didn't help that she could feel Vega's eyes on her back the whole time. She could feel his distrust and wished that she hadn't said anything. He would have been clueless to who they were. Though she wasn't about to let Nox show up on the Atharim radar without a friend. Even through it all she didn't want him to be alone anymore than he was already. He was the last she had. Lucas was gone.

A new wave of fury rose up inside her she picked up a rock and threw it across the pile. It crashed into a pile and sent shards and dirt flying in every direction. There really was no point in looking through this pile of rubble. There was nothing salvageable. The fire had ravaged everything before it had finally collapsed in on itself. The Atharim knew how to make things disappear.

Aria climbed out of the pile and found a spot near the alley away from everyone and leaned against the building across from their destroyed home. Aria let the chaos of the world in, felt the world around her, searched for some semblance of hope. Something to cling to - but found nothing.

Eventually Aria felt Nox approaching long before he rounded the corner with a look of excitement on his face and it radiated from him. Aria couldn't help but offer him a smile as he sat down next to her. "Shitty day huh?"


Aria nodded and continued to stare across their former home.

"You want to talk about it?"
He was trying to be a friend. But Aria didn't want to talk about it and shook her head. Aria saw a grin play across his face. "Good. Neither do I."
He leaned forward and looked back at her over his shoulder, that sparkle of hope and excitement in his eyes. "I wielded two weaves earlier today. I don't know how yet, but I did it. I will get it."


Aria smiled. "That's good. At least your meeting with Ascendancy had something good come from it."


Nox frowned and leaned back against the wall. "Speaking of that. What happened?"


"He flew me to a hidden facility where he tested my so-called abilities. Now he wants me to kill a man who's causing hi problems."


Nox stared at her with a incredulous look.

"I will fly to Beijing and do that job. Then I have more personal matters to attend to."
Aria was lost in the chaos of the world. She pulled herself together again and looked back at her friend. She could tell something had changed. "You can't do this can you?"


Nox shook his head. "I thought I could. I'm sorry."


Aria smiled at Nox with reassurance. "I won't keep you to your promise. Though I expect you to try to keep me in line before that."


He grinned. "I'll do my best. The godling cop wants me to teach him."


It was Aria's turn to be surprised. She hadn't expected that. The man had seemed capable before. Capable didn't mean good though. And short of Michael Vellas, Nox was by far the best with his ability that she had seen. Granted that was a limited perspective, but still at least the cop knew something good when he saw it.

Aria stood up and held out her hand to Nox. "I will call when I get to Beijing. You take care teaching the cop."


There was little left to say so Aria walked away from her friend. She was going to find that Banker, and then she was going to hunt down her father and make him pay for what he'd done to her.