Aftermath

[Marta]

The strange calmness that had permeated Marta earlier was gone. She was still calm, but her movements had more purpose to them. Lily began to fuss, but it stopped the moment that Marta gave her the bottle and she began to eat. She thought it was odd that she just seemed to know what to do. Maybe it was an unforeseen aspect of her wolf abilities.

Marta listened to the conversation between Cade and Hayden. It wasn’t really on purpose,  but the close proximity and her supernatural hearing made it difficult to ignore. Marta felt a little bad for Cade. He had been thrown in the deep end really fast. She found herself hoping he’d give his brother a chance. So many lives were the better for his presence.

Ricky came out soon and he smelled clean. That was so much better than the blood. ”Ricky, come here,” she said.

Ricky was wearing sweatpants and a robe on the top. Marta guessed they had been right. Nox’s shirts were too small for him. ”What’s up?”

”Hey - the wolf is still,” she said and she could see that Ricky was glad for that. ”More on that later - I was wondering if I could stay here tonight. Wanna talk to Elyse and - just stay with Lily for a bit. I think Anna is staying here for a bit too. Please!”

”If Elyse is okay with it, yes,” he said with a laugh. That was as good as a yes. Elyse wouldn’t say no.

”Thanks! You should call Marisol and ask her on a date,” she said, before walking away, leaving Ricky standing in amazement.

Marta went behind the bar, walking around Hayden to grab a towel that she put on her shoulder. Lily was done eating, so she needed to be burped. Marta excused herself around Hayden again and then went downstairs to find the rest of the crowd.

[Hayden]

Hayden chuckled. "Are you asking if he's worth diving head long into a mass of chaos and steam. He'd probably say no, cause shit is always hitting the fan. But Nox is never his own biggest fan, so me yeah, it's worth it. I know Lily thinks he's worth it, and all the other kids think he's worth it. Almost everyone at the club thinks he's worth it. Everyone for their own reasons."

Cade asked drink a long swallow of his coffee to hide his curiosity about their relationship. "What are your reasons?"

Hayden nodded. "That's fair. He makes my life both simpler and harder at the same time which makes it easier. He's an open book, so my job is easy. I never have to ask to get the information I need, he shares it freely so I can report to my superiors. And there are days like today where I'm fielding questions from strangers or talking to kids who have deep trauma. And there are days that are normal. Downright boring as fuck. Today should have been one of those days. Except Nox dove headlong into a fight without the power and came out the other side. It'll be interesting to see what he took away from the interaction."

Cade nodded and sipped at his coffee. "I get the impression he's not too interested in getting to know me."

Hayden laughed. "Nox believes if you want him to know something you'll tell him. It's how he goes through life. He doesn't ask questions, but that doesn't mean he's not interested. And to be fair, he knows you are a pediatrician looking for work. He knows the names of your parents, and siblings, and where you lived for the past ten years. He knows where you went to medical school. Hell he probably even knows if you own a gun or not. Nox doesn't do anything without preparing. And he has a hacker friend who loves information, and he knows everything there is to know about you, and gave a full report to Nox. He knows about your wife and son. And he went to see you because he longs for family. He makes his own, but he's dying inside after losing Aurora."

[Enrique]

The shower was amazing. There was something about being covered in blood, especially someone else's blood. He was glad to be rid of it. He found the go bag the Hayden had talked a bout. The shirt wouldn't fit, but the pants would. Ricky took those and covered himself with the robe on top. He had seen the way the girls and some of the guys had blushed when they talked about Nox walking around with a towel. Ricky knew people found him attractive and he'd rather avoid that kind of attention if possible.

Marta called for him when he got out. He had no problem with her staying here and Elyse would agree without question, but her response was strange. Where had this unfiltered girl come from? He had a feeling most of this came from her wanting him to just relax and not be so concerned about her. Much of this probably came from the wolf being still. Ricky had an idea she was figuring out who she really was, but still it seemed to come from nowhere. She went downstairs, but came back up, mumbling about forgetting the diaper bag before grabbing it and heading back down.

Ricky stood for awhile before turning around and facing the bar. The two others were having a pretty deep conversation it looked like. Ricky had no desire to interfere with that. He simply signaled to Hayden that he'd like a drink and signaled that he'd sit elsewhere. Drink poured, he'd pick it up and head to sit elsewhere unless they wanted to invite him to join.

[Marta]

Marta went back up to get the diaper bag, prompted by the fact that she needed it. Marta took care of changing Lily and headed downstairs where everyone else was. She moved Lily so her head was aligned with Marta’s shoulder and began patting her on the back to elicit a burp. Marta hadn’t found any of the work tedious. It was rather fulfilling.

Lily let out a burp and Marta smiled, shifting the child back to rest in her arms. She gave Jackson a smile when he looked up and Liv a nod to let her know that all was well. Marta then sought out Sterling. Nox was her cousin and Marta wanted to make sure she was okay. Marta came up to her, rocking Lily gently. The baby would likely fall asleep soon and when that happened, Marta would take her in to Nox just as Hayden had suggested. She’d likely stay in there too. Marta was no stranger to the puppy pile - although hers had been with Elyse, Sierra, and actual wolves.

Marta stood next to Sterling. ”Hey - you doing okay?”

[Sterling]

Sterling was play Go Fish with Ara when Marta came over. "I'm good." Sterling wasn't sure why people kept asking her. Nox was blood, but no more family than anyone else here. "He gets hurt all the time."

Sterling looked up at Marta and smiled. "You okay?"

Ara grinned up. "You wanna join us?"

[Legione Sumus]

Liam Wilson

Liv told them to help Nox get cleaned up. He wasn't completely lucid as they helped him to the room and got him out of his bloodly clothes. They shirt wouldn't survive, but the jeans Liv might be able to get clean. It wasn't the first time that he'd seen Nox without clothes but it was the first time he'd been helping him in and out of them. Noah and Jackson were there and helping. But as soon as Nox was clean and dressed and lying in bed they left to go finish their studies as if he was fine.

Liam supposed he was, but Nox was asleep and Liam sat in a chair with his knees pulled up to his chest. Just watching that he kept breathing. Liam couldn't imagine what he was going through. Everyone knew by now that he'd lost the power but no one really knew what that meant. But he wasn't as pale, just tired and sleeping. Liam would stay and watch until he woke up.

[Cade]

Cade wasn't really sure what to say or what to do. He should stay and get to know his brother. The other man with them had come out of the shower and Hayden poured him a drink. "How come he gets something stronger?"

Hayden set the glass down at the bar with him "I'm Hayden, if I didn't introduce myself. Join us. You can tell him more about monsters than I can, but I think he's had too much. And Cade you've had too much to drink. Only coffee for you."

Hayden turned to their new companion "So Atharim, or just a boy scout?"

[Enrique]

Ricky took the offered drink and sat down. He had guessed this was Hayden based on what Liv had said to the AI, asking him to come over. Of course he knew this was Elyse’s friend that was now talking to Marta. Ricky had been gone maybe a half hour and Cade was already getting cut off. He wasn’t dealing so well with it. You either took it one of two ways, Ricky thought, you took it in stride - or you tried to forget it.

”Enrique - or Ricky if you prefer and I’m Both,” Ricky said with a smirk at Hayden’s question. ”Full Eagle Scout. Atharim wasn’t the family business though. I was recruited in Mexico City.”

He turned to Cade. ”Its a lot to take in - all these fairy tales suddenly coming to life before your eyes. Been there. Drowned myself in a bottle of tequila the first night. I was the bartender - so didn’t have anyone to cut me off. Worst hangover I ever had. Anyways Doc - Cade was it? Anything I can do to help - questions about things that go bump in the night - whatever you feel you need.”

[Marta]

Marta’s mind was beginning to piece things together, and she found clarity. Right now she felt a lot closer to the Blackthorn group than she ever had. Like them, Nox had save her life. It was different. Marta hadn’t been in danger of dying - just losing herself - a fate maybe even worse than death. Marta wasn’t sure about all that - but Nox had done so and he hadn’t even tried.

”Yeah - I’m good. Better than I’ve been in a long time,” she smiled at Ara as she took a seat. ”Yeah I can play one while we wait for this precious little angel to fall asleep.” she touched Lily on the nose which elicited a giggle from both baby and the one holding her.

Marta sat down carefully. Seated she could rest Lily a little more in her lap, taking some stress off her arms. ”So much has changed for me,” Marta said to Sterling. ”Not panicking so much. I have friends - a nice big family,” she leaned in and whispered to Sterling. ”And suddenly boys are super cute - like all of them!” she smirked a bit and leaned back. ”Then Nox handed me Lily today. He trusted me. And now - for the first time since I started hearing the wolves, I feel calm. I don’t know if you know what a big deal that is, but I’m pretty sure he just saved my life. And he didn’t even try to do it. It’s…kind of amazing.”

Marta sighed as she looked at her hand. ”Got any threes? she asked Ara. ”After Lily falls asleep I think I’m gonna go say goodnight to Ricky and maybe talk to the other guy that’s up there with him and Hayden. Sounds like he’s Nox’s brother and he’s trying to decide if he’s gonna stay here and get to know Nox or leave. After that - gonna take Lily in to be with Nox - may stay there myself. Just - want to be there for him - ya know?”

[Hayden]

Hayden nodded at the admission to being both. Typical for Nox to find another soul willing to jump in and save someone else's bacon. Probably a good thing this go around. "Not Atharim officially, but it is the family business. I think that Doc here has had his mind blown enough for one day. We should keep the monster talk to a minimum, but that might be rather hard here all that the house has to offer."

Hayden poured Cade a small drink and offered him one so he didn't feel left out. "Unlike Nox I will ask. Why don't you tell us a little about yourself and why you're seeking out Nox."

"That's really between me and him."

Hayden laughed. "You think I don't already know. I just told you everything Nox knew and won't ask about. If you'd like I could go on. Tell you what I think it all means. I'm pretty good at reading people. I was just trying to do what Nox didn't do and make you feel welcomed and that I was interested."