[[ if anyone wants to write an NPC feel free at any point in this thread. It is not pre-written I'm killing some time for some other threads to wrap. ]]
The hungers were fueled by the dark pleasures of taking a life. Nox hated the monster he was becoming -- or rather re-becoming. Memories he'd thought long forgotten resurfaced. His first time killing a god with Jacob. It wasn't pleasure but it was satisfaction of a job well done -- the praise that followed. What he would have done to hear those words from his father.
The whole idea of pleasing his father turned his stomach. But the horde latched on to the feelings and pushed his own memories at him -- feeding their lusts and desires. They wanted more and self pleasuring in the shower after a hearty steak dinner wasn't going to suffice tonight.
Nox learned from his father -- he hated the facts. But it was what it was. He knew how to find what he needed. He truly missed Oriena in that moment. A quick call -- and he'd have exactly what he horde needed the violence and the sex rolled into one. It would sate the beast inside.
Even in the middle of a place he'd never been Nox knew the signs of brothels and whore houses. Or even the woman walking the street who desired money for sex. But his feet carried him into a different place -- a different world. No the horde wanted violence -- Nox wanted to punish himself for the thoughts and feelings he was reliving. And a women no matter how good at her job wasn't going to cut it.
Nox left his gear and only took the credit chit and identification with him. He thought about leaving his wallet behind, but he'd probably need that to translate. He didn't know any Chinese.
He found himself in a rough and tumble bar filled with Chinese gangsters. They all stared at him when he walked in, but he didn't let it stop him as he made his way to the bar and ordered whatever was on tap with a little help from the translator on his Wallet.
The bartender didn't bring his drink, instead several men surrounded his bar stool and a big man growled in Chinese at him. Nox held up a finger and turned the translator back on. "Sorry, man, didn't understand that."
"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" The translator replied after he spoke in his words again angrily.
"Having a drink and looking to be fucked." Nox said, however the Nox was pretty sure that wasn't what the translator said. Or maybe it was and the implication that any of them might be gay resulted in the punch to his gut followed by another fist to his side until Nox was ready to curl up on the ground to protect his more vital organs. And then the feet started.
The horde reviled him, but the pain and the blood coursing through his body, the violence enticed them. Thrilled them even. But even Nox had a line. A few of them started kicking their feet at his head and neck and that was more than enough for Nox. Nox reached in through the slime slicked light of the power and he wove a blast of air that flung the attackers from him with ease.
Several of the men were pinned to the nearest wall, others had toppled over tables as Nox got up off the ground dabbing his thumb at the busted lip and grunting just a little as he sat down on the bar stool he'd vacated. "I'll have that beer now."
He let the power go and waited for whatever they wanted to throw at him.
The fight hadn't been what he wanted nor expected. And he certainly wasn't expecting what was next. Nox fully expected more asshats to sit down next to him and cause problems. But it was a larger man who wasn't part of the group that gave him a beat down.
He sat down next to Nox and ordered a drink. He pulled Nox's wallet over and typed the best he could with his large fingers. He changed the keyboard to Chinese and then translated the words into more words. Whatever he said was for Nox's eyes only he didn't want the others to know what it said. Closeted... or ashamed.
Either way Nox glanced at the text.
Bar three doors down. More accepting of your kind.
My kind... Nox rolled his eyes. His kind could be anything from a man who liked men to a fucking channeler or even an American. He still wasn't see as much other than a damned American anywhere he went. It wasn't a bad thing to Nox, but most people this side of the pond didn't much care for his home town. Not that he did either. But it was all he'd known.
Nox nodded to the man. Who then promptly left through the front door. Was that an invitation?
Nox paid his tab and polished the last of his beer off and slipped out the door. There were hushed whispers that he couldn't understand and the translation program didn't pick it up. He might need to talk with Sage about that if he was going to be around in strange parts where English wasn't the native language. Thankfully the CCD was all English most of the time. Laws and all. But China wasn't part of the CCD. One of the very few nations that weren't. So Chinese it was...
Nox didn't get far before he saw the man who'd left before him standing at the edge of the building waiting. He didn't smile. Just walked down the alley he stood in front of and I had a choice to make. Nox could see where it took him or he could go to the bar a few more doors down and be on the right page.
The horde wanted the danger. It scratched and clawed at the thought of potential violence, though that wasn't where Nox thought it would go. Nox followed the man down the alley and into another building.
It was dimily lit inside and smelled of lavender and sex. It covered the subtle smell of smoke. Likely an opium/sex den. Not exactly the place he was looking for, but the man waved his hand and a small slip of a girl came over. They exchanged a few words and then with a smile and broken English she spoke to him. "What you look for? Man, woman? boy, girl? More?"
Paying for sex wasn't something he had intended -- at least not really, it was something he hadn't done since coming to Moscow -- was always easy enough to find a willing girl at a club. But he wasn't clubbing here -- and he didn't want a girl. Nox sighed and told her exactly what he was looking for.
She relayed the information to the man who'd let him there and his smile grew wide. He cocked a finger at Nox and beckoned him to follow. Nox obeyed mostly out of curiosity and the horde was brimming with excitement.
The room he was taken too wasn't decadent, but it wasn't gross and disgusting either. It was neatly kept, paraphernalia hung around the room but there was little time to look around as the big man shut the door behind Nox and pointed at Nox and then removed his shirt. And then pointed at Nox again.
Nox disrobed, he wasn't shy but there was something about being naked in front of a strange man who still wore most of his clothes. The man pointed to the ground and Nox went to his knees. The man smiled and they'd come to an understanding with out a single word said.
There wasn't a lot of violence -- nothing like what he and Ori had done in the past, but the night was plentiful and the horde was sated as he lay naked on the bed while the man snoozed softly next to him.
A rap at the door indicated his time was up. Clients and all. And Nox didn't wait for the big man to wake up. Dropped credits on the table by his bed and pulled on his clothes. Wasn't emotionally fulfilling but it was at least what the horde needed to quiet down.
The Atharim contact was oddly quiet. And Nox had plenty of time to sit and think from the comfort of the safe house. It was occupied by other Atharim. None seemed to know who he was, nor cared enough to look up his name or even ask it. They minded their own business and he minded his.
Though, there were some rumors about other gods, but Nox wasn't interested unless Jacob sent him on one he wasn't killing another like him without reason. And even then those reasons needed to be verified.
Nox spent several hours talking with Thalia. They talked about a lot of things. But mostly he just talked. Nox sent Raffe a few pictures of plants he saw. And he sent him progress reports of his growing plants in their pottery he'd made. The were small, and growing well. He watered them regularly, tended to their soil. He felt a kinship with them unlike before. Lily was a gift and he loved her dearly. He actually missed her -- forgotten how much he'd talked to the lotus floating in her little water bowl. These guys were new. They listened just as well. But they had the added benefit of calming the horde.
There were many things to do in China. He'd never been but Nox mostly stayed in his assigned room practicing weaves backwards, and inverting them until he became so tired he passed out into a dreamless sleep. Those were the nights he loved -- nothing in his head but darkness.
His practice was paying off and it was getting easier. The easy weaves were quicker -- still fucking slow but easier. And the complex ones were slowly coming together. He was getting used to twisting and remembering them backwards. It all became part of his daily ritual. Though he moved the exercise to just before bed time as a wind down -- it made sleep better.
Wasn't too long before the Atharim phone buzzed and a new mission arose.
Target: Unknown man: Tangshan China, Yellow Sea [dossier attached]
The mission details were simple. Kill the man claiming to be the Earth god, Tu Di Gong. He was currently making trouble along the Yellow Sea outside the Tangshan Port just a few hours from Beijing. It wasn't quite as simple as hope a bus or train, but No managed to get there the same day the message was received.
The earth shook with a mild tremor a hour after Nox touched ground. The safe house he was staying in was above a small tea shop. Reminded him of London but not in brings back memories kinda way -- just the small place above a shop. Nox couldn't speak the langauge but it rarely mattered. Translation apps on his wallet allowed him to eat and say what needed saying. But it was all and all a lonely thing being in a world where even his flirting didn't translate well.
Didn't matter. He had Sage and the twins keeping him near constant company during the Moscovian wake times. And he was always in contact with Thalia. And the pictures he sent to Raffe. Nox stared at the pictures of the plants and flower and cool things he saw that he'd sent Raffe. He wished he could say more -- do more. But he didn't know what to do.
Sometimes he wanted to pull away completely and just let Raffe go. Let the man live his life away from all his bullshit. And then there were times when he was completely alone and missing the presence of the man in the next room. Raffe didn't even need to sit next to him to feel at home -- to be at peace.
Nox was still terrified that Raffe didn't want any of it -- and if he did that it wasn't with him. He prayed he hadn't imagined it. Prayed to a god that had never answered his prayers. Prayed to the fucking gods of old. He'd pray to the fucking godling proclaiming to be a god if he'd thought he could help him with his love life. That's how Nox felt about praying. It was pointless, but he still did it from time to time.
The earth shook again and pulled Nox from his depressing thoughts. "Time to work, I guess."
He tried to look for this man through the cameras. But Nox was distracted and sighed. The loneliness weighed on him. Nox stared at the imaged he'd sent Raffe. He just decided to bite the bullet and rapid fired some messages off to Raffe.
Hey! Serious talk? Don't have to answer right away, or at all
I miss you. I miss us. I shouldn't have walked out.
Did you... Do you? See a future with me? Do I have any hope of getting you back?
He hung his head and waited a few minutes. He wasn't waiting for an answer just waiting. Did he want a response? Not really. He didn't want to know if he had a future with Raffe. He muted Raffe for now. He'd look when he was free, when he remembered. Though he was sure that he'd look sooner rather than later. But he went to work. He had things to do.
The internet was a buzz with the small tremors. Granted Nox had to use translators to read the local articles. But it didn't take much to find seismic data that he could throw into his laptop and see where the epicenter of it all happened from. Aurora and Sage didn't much care about languages it was all about numbers in this instance, and those he could read easily enough. And the mapping software well it was easy enough to configure to show him exactly what he wanted to see.
Tracking and hunting monsters had always been easy when you use more than what you see with your own two eyes. Aurora had insisted on it even when their father hadn't. He hadn't had to do much lately -- nothing was tracking down the monsters. He had been hunting the same ones. And there was an odd tug to them lately -- like something was changing or they were getting stronger. But at the present he couldn't really determine what it all was. And it didn't matter because he knew where this guy was holing up.
Nox didn't have a true name. He didn't need one. This guy was causing earth quakes that rivaled the Ascendancy's display at the Red Square. He was bringing down buildings, causing tidal waves. Nothing good came from upsetting the local balance of things. All because he thought he could.
The man wasn't making a grand statement. Just proving he was a good. "I quake the land." and the land would shake.
He had a small cult starting to follow him. He was the reason all other godlings got a bad rap. It was how the war against the gods started. It should have started early and maybe it had. What really can the humans do against a god?
But he had a place and he'd stake it out for a little while. Though he was going to stand out like a sore thumb here. Thankfully it was getting colder by the day and bundling up wasn't out of the question even if he didn't need it. He'd have to go shopping. Nox's lip curled, he hated shopping.
Shopping as a little more difficult than finding clothes or food. He couldn't read any of the packages. Thankfully the internet was helpful and he could always ping Sage. Though he hadn't needed to do that. He picked up some small cameras that he knew would do the job. And he bought some warm clothes to hide himself in and blend in with the crowds outside the building.
Wasn't a horrible experience though people did look at him strange as he wandered the shop. Apparently an American in China wasn't very common in Tangshan Port. Probably wasn't common much of anywhere outside of the major cities and tourist attractions.
Nox wasn't sure how safe his things were in the safe house, but they did have lockers and he bought a padlock only he had the combination to. Not that a pair of bolt cutters wouldn't get in. He could only hope that his stuff would stay safe -- the laptop was irreplaceable. Even if he could get the hardware the software was not something he could just buy again. He should have Sage back it all up.
Is the laptop backed up somewhere -- all the programs that Aurora wrote etc?
Moments later Sage had sent a reply back.
You think I trust you not to lose shit? *evil grin*
Nox chuckled. And sent back a thumbs up emoji and a cat sticking his tongue out animated emoji.
The next few hours Nox spent setting up a workspace on the laptop with the land warriors so that he could manipulate things and set things up for surveillance. He wanted to know what was what. And the Atharim didn't have anything on this guy. No movement, it was a spur of the moment assignment he was pretty sure. One they knew he'd execute. Or hoped anyway. Tomorrow he'd surveil this supposed god.
Cameras, land warrior, warm clothes. All check. The want and desire to stand out in the chilly wet air was not something Nox really was looking forward to. But he'd done worse. Been in worse situations. He just needed to know how best to take this man out. Didn't matter what he was doing, just where there were less people. He didn't want a spectacle like the last two and he didn't want to fuck it up like the first one either.
So he did it right. He watched and waited. He stood in the cold. Walked around the block a thousand times and then some. It was all very boring and monotonous. But he was gathering good intel as he followed this man through his life.
By the end of the third day Nox knew this guys pattern. He gathered everyday near the port and called upon the earth. And everyday the ground shook, and the waters moved and the people gathered cheered. Nox had no idea what the man was saying. And it didn't really matter. Everyday the news reported mass tidal waves upending boats, eroding beaches and disrupting the fishing around the coasts.
There was no point to this man's life short of the fact that he wanted to be a god -- desired nothing more than to be worshiped. He was bad for business in every sense of the word. He had to go.
Nox's wallet buzzed while he stood under the hot streaming water of his safe house shower. It was middle of the afternoon -- he was about to head into the port to take down the false god.
It wasn't a normal buzz of a random junk or Raffe or anyone important -- well not that the Ascendancy's contacts weren't important -- it wasn't important personally. But it was probably one of the most important contacts on his wallet. He really didn't want to be on the bad end of the stick when it came to the most powerful man on the planet.
Nox quickly dried off and walked naked into the room he was staying. It wasn't easy to wrap a towel around your waist with one fucking arm and he didn't want to alert any channeler nearby to his presence. At least not until he needed to. Not that they weren't aware of him already. He'd been practicing inverting weaves since he got here. But he was already at his wallet by the time he though it was alright to use a bit of air to help with the process.
The message was from someone Nox had never heard of. Must be new to his case. He didn't expect the Ascendancy to handle him personally though he had been directly available to him if he should ask. What's strange about having the fucking Ascendancy on speed dial? Doesn't everyone. Nox chuckled remember the first time he'd met the man. How he'd pushed his power into the earth to find a tiny pendant in the earth. That had been the scariest day of his life. Well one that he could remember clearly. Falling out of a plan had to be fucking chilling thank god he didn't remember that.
The message read:
TOP SECRET//NOFORN
Immediate Action Required
To: Nox Durante
From:
Commander Reed, [Redacted] Operations Directorate
Subject: High Priority Assignment - Codename SILVER EAGLE
Your operational integrity and effectiveness in the field have been noted by Command. You are tasked with the surveillance and infiltration of a high-value target (HVT), a senior government official within the People's Republic of China. The HVT is classified under RHO-4 threat level for their potential to compromise international security infrastructures.
Mission parameters
Detail and confirm target’s threat level (power status). Upon confirmation, eliminate target.
Directive:
This mission is sanctioned at the highest levels.
Proceed with utmost caution and precision.
End of Directive
Destroy After Reading
TOP SECRET//NOFORN
Nox's eyes went wide. The fuck. He was now a fucking assassin for the Ascendancy too? The fuck! Even as he stared at the message and jotted down the information in his next quest. It was a good thing he'd been practicing the weaves sounds like he was going to need it. But it seemed he was needed back in Beijing asap.
"Guess I better get this done then."