There were reasons why Marta had likely not crushed on Hayden. Elyse wasn’t sure if Nox was aware of them or not. Marta had told her that she had met Nox once when she was still in Mexico, but they hadn’t talked. It was likely without a face, Nox wouldn’t know who Marta actually was. They would meet again face to face soon enough. When Nox mentioned Hayden was good at what he did, she had to smile a bit. Hayden was good at a lot of things.
Elyse began to eat her steak and eggs as Nox began to ask about her getting involved in the hunt for her farther. Elyse focused on her plate, chewing slowly and putting new bites in her mouth soon after she swallowed. The nice thing about eating when there was a question you weren’t sure how to answer was that you had an excuse not to talk. The problem wasn’t that it was a bad plan. Tactically it was a good one. Sage was good, but he wasn’t perfect. Using live bait was always preferable to something artificial. Her father might not be the most technically proficient Atharim out there, but he was very observant and he knew Elyse’s face and mannerisms well. He might spot a fake.
But Elyse didn’t know if Nox truly understood what he had asked her to do. There was more to this question than a simple yes or no. So she focused on eating as she thought of how to answer the question. Nox would see her methodology in eating for what it was. It was a stall tactic. She wasn’t trying to hide that.
Finally her plate was clear she grabbed a few pancakes to put on her plate. She began to speak as she put butter and syrup on the pancakes. ”Im not afraid of my father hurting me, Nox” she said, placing the syrup back on the counter. ”My father has hurt me in a way that I’m not sure I fully understand yet, and I’m not sure I’ll recover from,” Elyse put her fork down, and her hands crossed to her forearms, her fingers beginning the scratching motions that held the desire for self harm at bay. ”You want my help, but I can only offer it if you can promise me two things. One. I can’t see it happen. It would be best if I didn’t hear it either. Use your power to blind me and stop my ears temporarily or knock me out - whatever. And two - you must never tell me how you did it. Even years down the road - this is a secret you never tell me. You must promise me these things because I don’t think I can handle seeing and knowing that.” she looked up and met his gaze, her stare completely serious. ”Im not mentally well Nox. When I say I can’t handle it, it’s not out of fear for myself. I won’t become the monster he says I am. This is why I can’t take care of this myself. If you can’t promise me those things, it’s best for everyone for me to stay out of it.”
Elyse began to eat her steak and eggs as Nox began to ask about her getting involved in the hunt for her farther. Elyse focused on her plate, chewing slowly and putting new bites in her mouth soon after she swallowed. The nice thing about eating when there was a question you weren’t sure how to answer was that you had an excuse not to talk. The problem wasn’t that it was a bad plan. Tactically it was a good one. Sage was good, but he wasn’t perfect. Using live bait was always preferable to something artificial. Her father might not be the most technically proficient Atharim out there, but he was very observant and he knew Elyse’s face and mannerisms well. He might spot a fake.
But Elyse didn’t know if Nox truly understood what he had asked her to do. There was more to this question than a simple yes or no. So she focused on eating as she thought of how to answer the question. Nox would see her methodology in eating for what it was. It was a stall tactic. She wasn’t trying to hide that.
Finally her plate was clear she grabbed a few pancakes to put on her plate. She began to speak as she put butter and syrup on the pancakes. ”Im not afraid of my father hurting me, Nox” she said, placing the syrup back on the counter. ”My father has hurt me in a way that I’m not sure I fully understand yet, and I’m not sure I’ll recover from,” Elyse put her fork down, and her hands crossed to her forearms, her fingers beginning the scratching motions that held the desire for self harm at bay. ”You want my help, but I can only offer it if you can promise me two things. One. I can’t see it happen. It would be best if I didn’t hear it either. Use your power to blind me and stop my ears temporarily or knock me out - whatever. And two - you must never tell me how you did it. Even years down the road - this is a secret you never tell me. You must promise me these things because I don’t think I can handle seeing and knowing that.” she looked up and met his gaze, her stare completely serious. ”Im not mentally well Nox. When I say I can’t handle it, it’s not out of fear for myself. I won’t become the monster he says I am. This is why I can’t take care of this myself. If you can’t promise me those things, it’s best for everyone for me to stay out of it.”