Flying Solo

[Nox]

Nox would give everything at that moment to know what these people were feeling. It was like he had come to rely on Aria's intuition, her knowledge of the lies people kept. He hated the not knowing. His life hung in the balance by a man whom Aria had hurt. She knew it. Nox knew it. He knew exactly what the man felt, the pull of your own emotions used against you. He willingly submitted himself to such torture, he was getting better at resisting Aria, but this man, he'd done it without thinking, without knowing. He was far stronger than he gave himself credit for. Everyone looked so confused.

Nox chose to acknowledge Connor's comment first since it was the one he'd thought moments before. He'd been thinking it for days now. "You have no fucking idea how messed up they are."
He looked at Connor, "We are."
He was one of them, he would acknowledge that. He was Atharim. He was born Atharim, he would die Atharim. Granted he would likely now die at the hands of the Atharim, and not the way he was intended to go out - hunting monsters. But he was Atharim.

Nox finished his soup before answering why. Mostly because he didn't have a good answer for her. He looked up as he put the spoon in the now empty bowl. "I do this because this is what Aria would do to save me. She would hunt me down, she would find me and she would keep me safe. I follow Aria, not because she's a good leader, but because she's a good person."
He turned to Connor. "I know she hurt you. She knows what she did was wrong. She doesn't want her dead, your fiance has done nothing wrong. Aria doesn't want any of the innocent people to die because they born one way or another - or because they are the sires of abomination. Sentient, wolfkin, godlings. If there were a cure for being a rougarou, I guarantee you Aria would fight for them too, and any other monster that was formerly human."


Nox looked past them and to the door as a couple walked in hand in hand. "You think we are bad, we hunt without cause. We are misguided, but we put humanity back on top. They have the truth of it. They know. WE know. But our knowledge makes us blind. We can learn from our past if we let ourselves. Instead the past is buried. Instead we hunt gods because we are afraid. Afraid of it happening again."


He looked at Ayden. "Don't tell me that the power you hold right now isn't singing beautiful seductive songs in your ear. Don't tell me that we don't have a right to be concerned. You have this gift, you have this power, and instead of fucking using it to make a better place, you are threatening me with it."
He leaned in and whispered. "I at least have the fucking courage to do something with my gift."
As Nox spoke the last sentence he wove two small tendrils of air, he used one to brush the side of the red head's cheek, removing the slip of hair that had fallen forward. He sent the other at the gun and pushed the safety on. He wasn't going to get shot for this.