Moving out was probably the easiest thing he'd done in ages. Ana was right. And he'd told her he'd sign whatever he needed to. His father had Cruz. He would be happy and maybe he'd disown Dorian.
And in those lost thoughts Dorian removed his assets for any account his father knew about. It wasn't hidden from Ana, but his father wasn't going to take what he'd given him already. It was his money now, it had been for some time. Jivana did not add to his riches. He had long since given all shares to Cruz. Along with the house in Madrid, and now this one.
A humble apartment - though it was hardly humble if he were to look at it through Nox's eyes. He knew that. And no matter how many times Dorian thought about his decisions he would not change a single one of them. His family came first - always. Ana and Christian were family - Cruz was his son. Nox was nothing but a man he hired, though he felt for the boy. But even the look on his face didn't mean anything in comparison to his family's life. It was worth the risk. He'd gambled on more without knowing and lost it all.
Dorian didn't think he'd ever get any of it back. How their loyalty had shifted to the boy so quickly was not something Dorian thought possible. He was just a kid. And he still needed that kid.
Nox refused to answer the texts. He'd received them, he was sure of that. But there was no answer. The final text lead him to tell Nox why he needed to talk to him. If anything the boy was Atharim to the core. He'd come now, and he'd answered.
So with Nox coming, Dorian met at a coffee shop just a few blocks from Domovoi, and he invited Ivan and Lih as well. Nox wouldn't work with him. But he might with these two. And he desperately needed Nox in the tunnels.
[[ @"Ivan Sarkozy" and @"Lih" - this is for when Lih gets back so Ivan can finish what he's doing and when Lih gets back we can move this along - no rush at all here - just setting up ]]
The meetings seemed to go on forever. In between, it always took a moment for him to shift gears into whatever he needed to be. Lawyers and judges and advocates, he went into policy mode, thinking about tight legislation and their ramifications. Application specialists, it was contemplating the future roles and careers in the CCD. Curriculum, research and training. Not to mention all those applicants who needed to be vetted and categorized, their abilities and skills and gifts studied and understood.
Soon, he'd be meeting with Leonid and Alexandrova regarding shaping the public's view of channelers. A Captain Drayson would be coming by too, to begin the process of enfolding Domovoi into the Consulate and expanding it.
Marcus had some thoughts on that and on field readiness for their members. Though now a Rod, Sanjay had not been deployed yet. Any channelers in Domovoi would need field training and he'd be crucial to setting up the training parameters if not teaching the first few himself. Marcus would have to eventually find someone to oversee that, though.
And then there were small things. A message from Natalie Gray peaked his interest. He couldn't help the smile that formed.
As it happened, he liked her. He studied her work in the app. Not a scientist or engineer, she nevertheless had a flair for exploring and working off hunches. And while he hoped her explanations and testing could become more rigorous, the work she was doing was good. She was in truth an artist, driven by instinct and feeling.
Some in the STEM fields discounted that as a valid approach. And perhaps in the very end, they were right. The foundations had to be solid. In the end. But, he knew better. Srinivasa Ramanujan was one such artist, exploring and discovering mathematical islands and continents, spelunking caves and ascending mountains, all based on instinct. He claimed his family's patron goddess inspired him. And while Hardy tried to force him to adhere to rigor, Ramanujan's artistic whimsy was still more often right than wrong. There were now entire fields based soley on deciphering and understanding his work, as if he had peeked into the mind of god and had seen too much.
Maybe she wasn't a Ramanujan, but she was an artist. And her work hinted at promise. And now she needed a favor. Sometimes he marvelled at the universe. As if the Force were making things work out for him.
Of course he knew that was mere confirmation bias. How many threads had he tied, how many connections? He couldn't begin to know. Clearly, some of them would bear fruit. The old story. "Oh my god, I was just thinking about you when you called!" And yet, how many times had you thought about someone who hadn't? The human brain- that most exquisite of pattern finding objects in the universe; a device that saw faces in clouds and Jesus in a water stain- only noticed and stored recollection when the pattern matched, reinforcing an existing belief. Confirmation bias.
So probably not the Force. Just a single seed coming to fruition. And yet how wonderful it was. Not only helping a Northbrook Gray- and banking a favor, a lever, should he need it- but also helping one of the Rods. He remembered Carpenter. Providing asylum to his family...well, if he had the measure of the man- and he knew he did- that would not be forgotten.
Neither would Vellas fail to take note. Marcus almost smiled at his imagined irritation. Why Marcus and not himself? Sanjay was already his man. The others would not fail to see that Marcus was the one to go to for sensitive issues- or for pressing ones.
All for something that was quite easy for him to perform. Indeed, the request was made and approved within the hour. Answering her other question took a bit more time. Dr. Weston had been hard to catch, but he had spun a story- Consulate related. He wasn't sure his information was helpful but it was all that was available.
Finally, he was done for the evening. Oddly, the sun was still out. A pleasant surprise. His meeting with Ms Fisher had sparked something. Rekindled an interest in his own work. He wouldn't head home yet. A walk in the adjacent park would help center him and get him in the right mental place.
Hi guys. How do you put pictures on the top of your posts like you do in shared posts? I figured out how to attach an image and insert the attachment into the post, but not sure what to do next to make it look right. Can someone help?
Posted by: Nox - 03-28-2019, 10:59 AM - Forum: PPC board
- No Replies
Name: Juliana Nazarova (red)
26 years old Russian girl going to med school (cliche)
favorite color purple
Aquarius (big into astrology) Friendly, Humanitarian, Intelligent, Inventive, Loyal, Unpredictable, Detached, Stubborn, Aloof, Extremist
19 year old Japanese girl you'll get this later(cliche)
favorite color black
Gemini Adjustable, Versatile, Enthusiastic, Soft Spoken, Witty & Humorous, Intellectual, Lack of Consistency, Superficial, Lack Decision Making Ability, Lack of Direction, Anxious
20 year old Swedish girl who's not so bright (cliche
favorite color red
Pisces Imaginative, Kind, Intuitive, Sensitive, Selfless, Escapist, Idealistic, Weak-willed, Over-sensitive, Pessimistic, Lazy
Raffe had looked lost for words, but he was clearly interested. But it could be a big problem, so Nox tried to push the cute boy from his head. He glanced at his wallet and saw the last message to Thal, he said he'd call. Which was also very unlike him.
He needed to talk to Dorian, and Sage and Aiden were off doing good knows what but he had a message from Sage marked important. More to deal with and Nox wasn't exactly ready for it yet. So he let them both sit.
He hadn't heard word from Jay yet, but that wasn't exactly unusual. He wasn't worried too much, but the last time they'd spoken he'd been in deep in something. It could mean something, maybe he should reach out to the Ascendancy and see if he knew where one of his rods was. The thought made Nox snicker as he and Nova walked through the park. Nova was running circles around his feet as they walked. It was cute. Which brought Raffe to mind again. Was he really swooning over a guy.
Nox sat down on the bench. He had a show to put on too. He didn't even know any of the other employees, and he wasn't going to dance on the stage by myself for his virgin experience. Nox leaned back against the back of the bench and stared up at the sky. It was easy to day dream for a little while, but he couldn't stay there for long he had to go back to the shadows.
He stood up and called, "Nova, come on, we gotta get our things and get home." Nox told himself he could only flirt with Raffe when they got back. The rest was up to him.
****
The motel run had gone quickly. It was merely a matter of picking up a bag and tugging it over his shoulder. Nox went into the side door, he'd have to ask about a key or anything, Nova trotted upstairs behind him. Nox took the first door off the stairs. It wasn't much, and it would likely stay that way, the bed just comfortable enough to survive on, the room just enough to move. A window looking into the city blocked by the wall of the next building over. It was nicer than the last place.
Nox wove a thread of spirit in front of the door, it was a trip wire attached to nothing, but it would keep Nova away from the door. "Nova." He pointed at the line and the pup sniffed and whined backing away. "Stay i n the room okay?" Nox patted the bed and Nova jumped up and curled up on the pillow. Nox grinned, "That's good."
Nox stepped over the trip wire and headed down stairs. He had a routine to throw together. He had figured out a potential skit he could do, just now to figure out how many people he needed to meet and if they were interested - first though he had to figure it all out. He hadn't actually done the whole choreography thing in a long time - not for anything more than a work out. This was going to be fun and cleansing.
![[Image: amayanpc.jpg]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/amayanpc.jpg)
