10-30-2019, 10:29 PM
Jacinda quirked an eyebrow in amusement at the guy's tone. The questions were all business. But the barely constrained fury in his voice had disappeared almost instantly. Yeah yeah, the woman was gorgeous. So it could be as simple as him wanting to get into her pants. Or more accurately, wanting to peel her out of them. Jacinda had felt that momentary pull too, before punching her in the I. I may be delicate, but I can punch a bitch!. Hah! Right. Her delicate? Anyway. But he seemed to know her, too. She assumed she was Atharim as well. Maybe another Inquisitor.
Ten seemed tense and Jacinda smiled at her reassuringly before looking back at the guy's eyes in the mirror. She was being protective, just as she had been back when she was healing up. Jacinda figured she might as well do what she could to smooth things over from before, now that everyone had calmed down. She spoke up from the back seat. "I don't think he worked in a team. Well, he has a sister. Not sure where she's at. Or whether she came with him..." She trailed off. She felt oddly about that. He has a sister out there. She looked at Ten. Tenzin was her sister. She had a bond with someone.
A sliver of guilt wormed in her gut. Yeah, that was something she didn't want to think about. Like what Regan was? You sure hid from that for as long as possible, a voice said. She wasn't accustomed to facing things unpleasant. She had played a role in killing people who really hadn't done anything wrong because they were reborn gods. Or carried the genes. And yet...Hell, Nox was a god, but from the limited file she had seen, he had still kept hunting the true threats- Rakshasas and Oni and Rougs. Regan was fully human. And fully a monster, said that voice in her head- it had started up about the time she had met Tenzin.
Did that go the other way too? Could a god be a good person despite their power?
She realized she had been silent. "His file is not big. You know, we don't really do a whole lot of reporting. So no, I don't know if he had a partner. He was alone when we caught up to him." She remembered his use of the power even as he seemed to melt- FUCK! Wrong choice of words! She had seen someone melt before. She didn't know why he kept coming up, now. It was messing with her. Like all these places she had all closed up tight had been opened and exposed. Knots she had tied around her emotions unraveling.
Perhaps in mercy, she felt a slight pain in her shoulder where she had been stitched up that night. It helped. "Honestly, we threw everything we had at him. Granted, two of the Atharim with us were fucking morons. Mabye if we had more competent people it might have made a difference...maybe. We surprised him with a ruse. Tried to use the new god-weapons Regus had gotten us. Potent. But..." She paused, looking at Ten.
Still, just because her feelings about preemptively killing gods might be changing, that didn't mean that some didn't need to be put down. She just wasn't sure Nox was on that list. She damn sure knew the girl wasn't, no matter what she was. A girl- she was what, 12 maybe?- was innocent. Like me. All thought fled and she had to pause to catch her breath. It was like a punch in the stomach. She tried to regain her composure. She pursed her lips, and, looking at Ten, made a decision. She'd tell Tenzin the whole story. The thought terrified her. Not because of how she might react. She knew her well enough to know that.
No. But telling made it real. Made it something to experience all over again, to relive it. She breathed deeply, seeking peace. It came to her after a moment. She'd lived through it once and survived. She could do it again. Maybe talking would release this burden she had carried for all these years. Help get her out of this uncertainty. She hoped.
Still, the fact was, there were times when a god had to be put down- Brandon/Apollyon was one. Regus had died in the effort. An idea formed in her mind. She would share that with Ten as well. Because she had an idea about what kind of attacks would work. Similar to what they tried, but more overwhelming and instantaneous. Not something she would share with the Inquisitor or his girlfriend, though. She didn't trust them.
Ten seemed tense and Jacinda smiled at her reassuringly before looking back at the guy's eyes in the mirror. She was being protective, just as she had been back when she was healing up. Jacinda figured she might as well do what she could to smooth things over from before, now that everyone had calmed down. She spoke up from the back seat. "I don't think he worked in a team. Well, he has a sister. Not sure where she's at. Or whether she came with him..." She trailed off. She felt oddly about that. He has a sister out there. She looked at Ten. Tenzin was her sister. She had a bond with someone.
A sliver of guilt wormed in her gut. Yeah, that was something she didn't want to think about. Like what Regan was? You sure hid from that for as long as possible, a voice said. She wasn't accustomed to facing things unpleasant. She had played a role in killing people who really hadn't done anything wrong because they were reborn gods. Or carried the genes. And yet...Hell, Nox was a god, but from the limited file she had seen, he had still kept hunting the true threats- Rakshasas and Oni and Rougs. Regan was fully human. And fully a monster, said that voice in her head- it had started up about the time she had met Tenzin.
Did that go the other way too? Could a god be a good person despite their power?
She realized she had been silent. "His file is not big. You know, we don't really do a whole lot of reporting. So no, I don't know if he had a partner. He was alone when we caught up to him." She remembered his use of the power even as he seemed to melt- FUCK! Wrong choice of words! She had seen someone melt before. She didn't know why he kept coming up, now. It was messing with her. Like all these places she had all closed up tight had been opened and exposed. Knots she had tied around her emotions unraveling.
Perhaps in mercy, she felt a slight pain in her shoulder where she had been stitched up that night. It helped. "Honestly, we threw everything we had at him. Granted, two of the Atharim with us were fucking morons. Mabye if we had more competent people it might have made a difference...maybe. We surprised him with a ruse. Tried to use the new god-weapons Regus had gotten us. Potent. But..." She paused, looking at Ten.
Still, just because her feelings about preemptively killing gods might be changing, that didn't mean that some didn't need to be put down. She just wasn't sure Nox was on that list. She damn sure knew the girl wasn't, no matter what she was. A girl- she was what, 12 maybe?- was innocent. Like me. All thought fled and she had to pause to catch her breath. It was like a punch in the stomach. She tried to regain her composure. She pursed her lips, and, looking at Ten, made a decision. She'd tell Tenzin the whole story. The thought terrified her. Not because of how she might react. She knew her well enough to know that.
No. But telling made it real. Made it something to experience all over again, to relive it. She breathed deeply, seeking peace. It came to her after a moment. She'd lived through it once and survived. She could do it again. Maybe talking would release this burden she had carried for all these years. Help get her out of this uncertainty. She hoped.
Still, the fact was, there were times when a god had to be put down- Brandon/Apollyon was one. Regus had died in the effort. An idea formed in her mind. She would share that with Ten as well. Because she had an idea about what kind of attacks would work. Similar to what they tried, but more overwhelming and instantaneous. Not something she would share with the Inquisitor or his girlfriend, though. She didn't trust them.