This is Me

[Nox]

Nox could hear the conversation between Raffe and Li though he tried to ignore it. He changed the playlist again and let himself drown in the music and the fight now that his body worked the way it should. Though he felt uncomfortable, this wasn't his natural state and it would take time before he truly felt at peace with the new limb. But he could fight, he could maintain the power, and the darkness stayed at bay while his body endured the physical onslaught he was putting it through.

He ignored what he heard and was grateful when they parted and Nox was left to the quiet of the sparring match next to him. Though the man was not his peak self that was evidence. And when the buzzer sounded Nox knew he'd overstayed his welcome. Balance... That was not something Nox ever thought about. He was one side of a coin, his sister the other, she balanced him and he'd never thought about it otherwise. Nox looked to Raffe and gave him a weak smile. "I hope he can help you." Nox had thought the Atharim connection and the man being a god would be more welcoming. And it had been until something shifted in the man. He stared wide eyed at Nox -- almost afraid. Probably more afraid of what he was capable of than what Nox was doing. He wondered if he scared Raffe the same way. Maybe bringing Raffe was the wrong thing to do.

Li Tan called after him. "I hope I'll see both of you again... soon." Nox was pretty sure he only meant Raffe. Fear was like that. Nox nodded and waved.

"You will come back?" Nox left off the 'without me' part of his question, he didn't want to make Raffe feel bad. "He learned control in a monastery. At least that's why I think he disappeared for many years. The Ascendancy was said to have learned from monks too. It was a beautiful monastery, though I suppose the ashes I saw were nothing to compare to what had been before the Atharim came to kill him."