04-15-2025, 10:54 AM
Hayden's tension faded the closer he got to Nox's bedroom. He'd learned that Sky couldn't open or lock the door. He knew that the system in the room wasn't on the network -- which meant that it was a powerful computer with information Sage didn't want to get out. And since it was in Nox's house, that meant it was likely connected to the Atharim. Hayden wondered what he had on the device that was so secret he didn't want anyone to know. Or maybe it was just Sage being paranoid and keeping stuff safe even from him.
Nox was in the bathroom when Hayden closed the door behind him. He kicked off his shoes and tugged off his t-shirt and laid it neatly over the back of the desk chair. Hayden had been in Nox's room a time or two before, but he never really looked around. And there really wasn't much of Nox in the room either. The closet was empty of clothes, except for the bags on the floor where Nox's belongings lived. He hadn't even bothered to unpack. But then again Nox had lived in a car most of his life, he was used to his things being in a bag.
One bag clinked when he accidentally kicked it. The gear inside rattling. That probably wasn't intended, but Nox probably didn't use the camping gear much in Moscow, he had a home. The other duffle bag the lid was flopped over and everything inside was neatly folded. Nox wasn't a neat freak, he didn't care about dust and dirt and cobwebs, but he liked order. Order kept him sane.
The only true personality in the room was the fountain in the corner of the room. A single white Loctus floated in the pond and water tricked down the rocks from an unseen source. On each level of the fountain were pictures and plants. Plants Hayden knew calmed anxiety, they were the only plants throughout the house. They must have helped the horde calm down. The same pictures that decorated the living room were in here, though there were less art from Thalia instead a picture of her sat with the rest of his family.
The other notable difference, Raffe's picture was viewable almost set into the stone near the flower. It all meant something but Hayden didn't dare pry into his ex. Nox would tell him when he was ready. Unlike everyone else he talked to Nox didn't need prompting. He talked and talked and talked and all Hayden had to do was listen and offer a suggestion here or there.
The water stopped in the bathroom and Hayden finished tugging off his clothes lying them over the back of the chair so as not to disrupt the balance of the room with a pile of thrown clothes that would drive Nox insane after whatever the night held for them was done. When Nox didn't come out Hayden knocked on the door. "You alright?"
Nox was in the bathroom when Hayden closed the door behind him. He kicked off his shoes and tugged off his t-shirt and laid it neatly over the back of the desk chair. Hayden had been in Nox's room a time or two before, but he never really looked around. And there really wasn't much of Nox in the room either. The closet was empty of clothes, except for the bags on the floor where Nox's belongings lived. He hadn't even bothered to unpack. But then again Nox had lived in a car most of his life, he was used to his things being in a bag.
One bag clinked when he accidentally kicked it. The gear inside rattling. That probably wasn't intended, but Nox probably didn't use the camping gear much in Moscow, he had a home. The other duffle bag the lid was flopped over and everything inside was neatly folded. Nox wasn't a neat freak, he didn't care about dust and dirt and cobwebs, but he liked order. Order kept him sane.
The only true personality in the room was the fountain in the corner of the room. A single white Loctus floated in the pond and water tricked down the rocks from an unseen source. On each level of the fountain were pictures and plants. Plants Hayden knew calmed anxiety, they were the only plants throughout the house. They must have helped the horde calm down. The same pictures that decorated the living room were in here, though there were less art from Thalia instead a picture of her sat with the rest of his family.
The other notable difference, Raffe's picture was viewable almost set into the stone near the flower. It all meant something but Hayden didn't dare pry into his ex. Nox would tell him when he was ready. Unlike everyone else he talked to Nox didn't need prompting. He talked and talked and talked and all Hayden had to do was listen and offer a suggestion here or there.
The water stopped in the bathroom and Hayden finished tugging off his clothes lying them over the back of the chair so as not to disrupt the balance of the room with a pile of thrown clothes that would drive Nox insane after whatever the night held for them was done. When Nox didn't come out Hayden knocked on the door. "You alright?"