Getting out of the estate with Nova had been difficult. Nox imagined it would have been that hard to walk away from Aurora or even his father, but he had to do it. Dorian was no better than the Atharim. Using him for the the things he could bring to the table and not actually caring what happened to him. They'd been happy when his gift saved the world, as long as they didn't know how he'd survived things sometimes. But Nox didn't really care. Fuck them! Fuck all of them.
He could still hunt monsters. But Nox wasn't going to step foot into the tunnels until he figured out what was going on with the phantom memories, and reliving the pain from the ijiraq every time he seized the power to wield. Nox had lain awake on the bed in the hostel he'd found after he'd stopped walking thinking about his next move. Nova was welcome and that was a big thing for him. The dog had curled up at the foot of his bed until Nox had invited him to lay next to him. It was warm and comforting.
Nox had flipped through his texts and always landed back on the image Jay had sent him. It reminded him that his life might not be great, but he had friends. Selfies had never been his thing but life was shit. Nox snapped a picture curled up around Nova whose head was resting on his chest sleeping.
Along with the picture Nox sent Jay a text. EVEN WHEN HELL RISES UP I STILL HAVE A CUTE BED MATE. NOT NEARLY AS FUN THO. [[ @"Jay Carpenter" ]]
Morning had come but not without the nightmares. Nox was grateful he was meeting Thalia for coffee (and cake - maybe). The coffee in the hostel was crap. But at least it was hot and caffeine filled. His first stop had been a park where Nova could run around and he could get a short workout in. He had a few gawkers pass by several times before he had finished. An alarm rang on his wallet and Nox called, "Nova, come on let's go." The dog trotted over and Nox clipped the leash on before he headed to the Old Arabat. He didn't like being that close to the Kremlin.
But that was such a price to pay for coffee and food. That was another thing he'd noticed when he checked his balance - there was more money than he'd expected. And when he asked Sage about it in a text the hacker just smiled. Nox didn't like that Sage was giving him money. But there was a long explanation in a new file in an email that Sage explained where the money came from. And it was a long convoluted story and Nox was not 100% that Sage hadn't made it up. But that was for later.
Thankfully the Artskaf had outdoor seating and it wasn't overly cold out anymore. Moscow had warmed up nicely. Nox sat down and waited for her to show up, he ordered a coffee while he waited, Nova sat on the sidewalk side of the chair and watched the people. The pup stood guard. Nox wasn't exactly sure where he'd learned the behavior, but as long as he didn't bite anyone he was welcome to sit there and act menacing. People walked wide and that was a good thing at the moment.
[[ @"Thalia" ]]
He could still hunt monsters. But Nox wasn't going to step foot into the tunnels until he figured out what was going on with the phantom memories, and reliving the pain from the ijiraq every time he seized the power to wield. Nox had lain awake on the bed in the hostel he'd found after he'd stopped walking thinking about his next move. Nova was welcome and that was a big thing for him. The dog had curled up at the foot of his bed until Nox had invited him to lay next to him. It was warm and comforting.
Nox had flipped through his texts and always landed back on the image Jay had sent him. It reminded him that his life might not be great, but he had friends. Selfies had never been his thing but life was shit. Nox snapped a picture curled up around Nova whose head was resting on his chest sleeping.
Along with the picture Nox sent Jay a text. EVEN WHEN HELL RISES UP I STILL HAVE A CUTE BED MATE. NOT NEARLY AS FUN THO. [[ @"Jay Carpenter" ]]
Morning had come but not without the nightmares. Nox was grateful he was meeting Thalia for coffee (and cake - maybe). The coffee in the hostel was crap. But at least it was hot and caffeine filled. His first stop had been a park where Nova could run around and he could get a short workout in. He had a few gawkers pass by several times before he had finished. An alarm rang on his wallet and Nox called, "Nova, come on let's go." The dog trotted over and Nox clipped the leash on before he headed to the Old Arabat. He didn't like being that close to the Kremlin.
But that was such a price to pay for coffee and food. That was another thing he'd noticed when he checked his balance - there was more money than he'd expected. And when he asked Sage about it in a text the hacker just smiled. Nox didn't like that Sage was giving him money. But there was a long explanation in a new file in an email that Sage explained where the money came from. And it was a long convoluted story and Nox was not 100% that Sage hadn't made it up. But that was for later.
Thankfully the Artskaf had outdoor seating and it wasn't overly cold out anymore. Moscow had warmed up nicely. Nox sat down and waited for her to show up, he ordered a coffee while he waited, Nova sat on the sidewalk side of the chair and watched the people. The pup stood guard. Nox wasn't exactly sure where he'd learned the behavior, but as long as he didn't bite anyone he was welcome to sit there and act menacing. People walked wide and that was a good thing at the moment.
[[ @"Thalia" ]]
![[Image: nox_sig.gif]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/nox_sig.gif)