11-18-2022, 10:04 PM
“Your friend flushed us out with fire and blood, Cruz. It is not the monsters down there that bother me.”
Ezekiel sounded casual enough, but there was a spark in his eyes like dry tinder. Raffe hadn’t exactly anticipated that Cruz would be the match. His gaze swept the milling groups of people, most of them dutifully paying no attention to the conversation, and he swayed with unease. Cruz’s protection of Nox’s integrity was admirable, but it was shame Raffe felt in his stomach then. Semantics on how and why these people were here was irrelevant. They were here, and they were suffering. He glanced at Sage for support, but after sprinkling a merry trail of gasoline, the man might as well have been a million miles away judging by the look on his face.
“That’s not what he means,” Raffe said quietly, stepping closer. He didn’t want to drop Nox’s name, and he hoped Cruz wasn’t so bullheaded as to not understand without him having to say it. It was the Custody itself that held Ezekiel’s scorn. No one cared about the undercity’s problems until they threatened to spill topside. No one cared that people were forced to live there at all. He was vaguely surprised at Cruz’s reaction, but then Raffe always was surprised when others missed the heart and humanity of things. “He just wants a better life for those of us society chooses to forget. We all do.”
He held Cruz’s gaze, but he wasn’t sure how much would sink in. Raffe’s clothes were old and worn even on a good day. He lived paycheck to paycheck, and a hefty amount on Carmen’s goodwill. His slashed throat might rob him of even that if he wasn’t careful – because what use was a bartender who couldn’t speak up over the club’s music? It’d only take a small fall for Raffe to end up back in the undercity, and it had taken all of his strength to get out in the first place.
“Maybe we should just go,” he added. The colour had blanched out of his face. He felt suddenly tired, wondering if Cruz’s ire and disappointment would burn him too.
But Cruz had already handed over the coin.
Ezekiel sounded casual enough, but there was a spark in his eyes like dry tinder. Raffe hadn’t exactly anticipated that Cruz would be the match. His gaze swept the milling groups of people, most of them dutifully paying no attention to the conversation, and he swayed with unease. Cruz’s protection of Nox’s integrity was admirable, but it was shame Raffe felt in his stomach then. Semantics on how and why these people were here was irrelevant. They were here, and they were suffering. He glanced at Sage for support, but after sprinkling a merry trail of gasoline, the man might as well have been a million miles away judging by the look on his face.
“That’s not what he means,” Raffe said quietly, stepping closer. He didn’t want to drop Nox’s name, and he hoped Cruz wasn’t so bullheaded as to not understand without him having to say it. It was the Custody itself that held Ezekiel’s scorn. No one cared about the undercity’s problems until they threatened to spill topside. No one cared that people were forced to live there at all. He was vaguely surprised at Cruz’s reaction, but then Raffe always was surprised when others missed the heart and humanity of things. “He just wants a better life for those of us society chooses to forget. We all do.”
He held Cruz’s gaze, but he wasn’t sure how much would sink in. Raffe’s clothes were old and worn even on a good day. He lived paycheck to paycheck, and a hefty amount on Carmen’s goodwill. His slashed throat might rob him of even that if he wasn’t careful – because what use was a bartender who couldn’t speak up over the club’s music? It’d only take a small fall for Raffe to end up back in the undercity, and it had taken all of his strength to get out in the first place.
“Maybe we should just go,” he added. The colour had blanched out of his face. He felt suddenly tired, wondering if Cruz’s ire and disappointment would burn him too.
But Cruz had already handed over the coin.
![[Image: Raffe-banner--scaled.jpg]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Raffe-banner--scaled.jpg)