Last Stop

[Dane Gregory]

Dane swirled the glass he held and watched the ice bob through the faintly fluorescent-colored liquid. It tasted about as good as it looked. Wasn't Mexico suppose to make good margaritas? So far the country was lacking.

He looked up when someone sat nearby. The man was more boy than man, yet his physique beneath the thin t shirt suggested muscle and sinew that Dane lacked. There was something printed on the front of the shirt, but he couldn't make it out.

That's when the essence of a looming darkness clouded his senses. Like waking up to a room thick with smoke, it was unmistakable.

He couldn't see what the boy used his power to do, but the sense pierced one moment and disappeared the next.

What a fascinating boy.

Dane lifted his drink with dainty fingers and moved himself into the seat next to Nox. He leaned aside and whispered with a faint, almost chiding, smile, "I know what you did."

Let him interpret it as he would.

[Nox]

Nox sipped at his beer missing home. It was funny how home became something completely different once you go back to where 'home' was before. The States had always felt like 'home' when he was in Moscow. Now everything was foreign to him, and Mexico was no different, he wanted to go home - the hunt called. Maybe that pack of chupacabras would be needed to get rid of some of the anxiety coursing through his body - and then there was the flight home.

But motion caught Nox's attention as the other man at the bar moved to sit down next to him. That wasn't creepy at all. And that feeling only went on when he leaned over and whispered. "I know what you did"


Nox turned towards the man and took him in, he was thin and not very athletic, almost look like he could be broken in half with a good gust of wind. Nox grinned. "I've done a great many things."
There was only one thing that he'd done that would be even worth mentioning. This man didn't look Atharim. And he didn't look Sentient, though he wasn't exactly sure that he could even tell, he doubted every Sentient was like Aria - cold and alone Asha hadn't been cold, but alone she was. However he was in the middle of the Atharim safe house there was no telling what could happen if he embraced the power.

"But since none of them are truly spectacular or worth mentioning you must mean only one thing."
Nox turned around to face away from the bar, holding his beer in the hand farthest from the other man and watched, taking in the rest of the scene as he leaned his elbows on the bar behind him. "But then again I did walk in."


The room looked relatively free of aggressors.. He was screwed either which way if the other were Atharim, and he really didn't want to be without his only weapon if he did turn out to be foe. But Nox couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet another like him or to show off either. Nox grabbed the power again. "This must be what you meant."


Edited by Nox, Jun 13 2016, 04:42 PM.

[Enrique]

((OoC: Ricky will be up there sort of doing his own thing - you guys continue ahead and poke me if I'm needed.))

[Dane Gregory]

Nox admitted he had done nothing worthy of noting in his life. Dane was unsurprised. This boy seemed to be nothing special, yet he was another bloke like Damien, although, thankfully, that surge of power which followed was not as intimidating.

The boy was brave to flex those muscles that he did possess. At that, Dane smiled like mates sharing a secret. "Yes indeed you are correct, my friend." His answer was of normal conversational volume again, this time highlighting his own posh accent. One which stood greatly out of place in the rubbish pub.

In an effort to elicit a smile from his new friend, Dane himself flicked a meager strand of power at the bartender, causing the bottle of triple sec in his hands to wobble. The amusement grew as the bartender flailed for the failing grip, and the bottle crashed to the floor. A puddle of sticky liquid puddled under his feet.

"Whoops," Dane uttered while the man danced out of the sticky mess. "A feast for the ants," Dane added.

He sat back and watched Nox's reaction closely. But he maintained a joking aire about himself as he added, "but there are far too many of those. Perhaps we should simply burn the building to the ground and save them the trouble of an exterminator."

"Joking. Of course." Not really.

[Nox]

His new friend had felt him touch the power inside which meant only one thing, he was a godling himself. That nagging feeling about the man returned and Nox turned his gaze upon him when he felt the menacing presence of another man using his gift.

Nox smiled as he watched the power tip the bottle in the hands of the bartender and crashed to the ground. No one else seemed to notice the power induced accident for anything more than a clumsy bartender. Nox thought he should warn the man about using his gift here, but he didn't really care enough. He'd have to look this guy up later see if he was in the database. Nox seemed to be meeting too many known gods lately.

Too many ants? Nox wondered what the man was getting into where he saw lots of ants. "I think I'd like to stay in the air conditioning a bit longer if that's all right with you. I'm sure we can find an appropriate building to burn down later."
Nox grinned at the obvious joke but still something told him he should be careful. He wished he could put a finger on the feeling. It was important.

The man spoke with a certain air to him, and he was clearly not from the US or Mexico, his accent was definitely European he'd say British but he was not going to mention it, he'd too many run ins where they too offense to being named from the wrong Island or whatever.

"You are a long way from home. What brings a guy like you to a dive like this?"
Nox took a drink of his beer as he assessed the other man. Dressed in nice clothes in a bar meant to accommodate even the roughest of the Atharim made Nox wonder why this guy was slumming it. He was probably too rich for his own good.

[Dane Gregory]

Dane studied their surroundings, "Is this what a dive looks like? I've always wondered."

The accompanying shrug suggested he didn't really care either way. He was more offended by a potential lack of cleanliness than the impoverishment of the facility.

He stirred his drink with distaste, yet still drank from it.

"I am a long way from home aren't I?" He added with a growing, sad distance to his eyes. He never thought of France as home, although he was raised there. Neither did he consider GB as his home. "Homes require attachment don't you think?" His thoughts let slip the question. There was nothing or no one that led him to stamp a place as his.

Except Moscow. But about this he remained silent. Instead, he let his tone grow more upbeat and added a smile to warm Nox's faith in him.

"I came to Mexico for the beaches and slowly let myself be drawn inland. What about you? Have you seen those glorious beaches? If you haven't you certainly should! I could tell you my favorites if you would like?"

[Nox]

Nox smirked at his wonderment at what a dive was, it only drove home the difference in their life styles. He'd never been in much more than a dive his whole life, and even with a steady paycheck hunting monsters he could never afford anything this man had. Yet they both sat in the same bar.

Speaking of homes seemed to be a depressing thing for both of them. Nox watched as the sadness crept into his eyes as he asked. "Homes require attachment don't you think?"
He was right about that. 100%. Nox had never really had a home before. Now all he wanted to do to was get back to Moscow. To the only one left to care about. Everyone else was dead.

"They do at that."
Nox pushed the lingering thoughts of dead family away. He wasn't going to dwell on things he couldn't change. He smiled as his companion spoke of the beaches.

"I have not seen the beaches."
In the few times his family had come this way they'd never had an adventure on the beach. Nox remembered trying to scramble away from his mom one trip to try and get a peep at the girls on the beach but he'd gotten caught before he was even in sight of water. "The beach was never a destination for my travels; our trips were always to much darker and damp places."
He smiled. "Places that could give you nightmares."
And they had.

He wouldn't be back to Mexico in any foreseeable future, maybe he should see one, it's not like Moscow is going to have any beaches. "I'm sure you could do better than tell me. Unless you've something better to do."
Nox grabbed the power again and let threads of fire and air dance around them warming the air slightly. No one else could see them, just the two of them. "There are always other things to do."



Edited by Nox, Jun 16 2016, 12:52 PM.

[Dane Gregory]

"As I a m not particularly fond of nightmares, I will not inquire about details of these places!" His chuckle bordered on humoring Nox's boast as absurdity and morbidly dodging such dark imagery.

There was little in the eloquent life Dane personified that could darken his spirits, but Dane Gregory was a facade to the creature inhabiting his skin. Howls and shrieks reminiscent of terror and death echoed inside his mind even as his face externally split into its rancorous accord. A mirror of Nox that cast no reflection.

Nox intrigued him. In a way separate from the allure of someone he might follow for the evening. A promise hung on the air, like a cape dangling from Nox's shoulders, it was always with him, but fluttering at the idea of fulfillment.

"I can indeed!" Dane's eyes danced with excitement that moments before were clouded with sanguine lenses. They followed the trail of power stranding throughout the room. "Do you have a car?"

He stood from the seat, glad for the chance to change the monotony of his days with Damien in recovery and all but inaccessible. As he lay a few pesos down for payment, he finished the sour margarita with a dissatisfied twist to his lips.

"While we are at it, I demand we hunt down better refreshments. On me, of course! There is one establishment with sights so exquisite, young and supple that you will not believe exists until you stand in their presence," a quirk to Dane's lips added his own brand of humor, "and the water is lovely also." Nox seemed like the type of man to enjoy a lude joke, even if Dane's attempt was poorly executed. It was an attempt at least.

"Shall we?" His arm stretched toward the door.

[Nox]

Nox liked his style and couldn't help but grin at his comment about the types of girls they could see.

What had started as a short night in the bar followed by a run had now turned into something with far more potential. And why not, he was in a paradise, a country where his normal rules didn't apply. Nox didn't have his sister nagging at him to behave, and he didn't have a dark demented little sister of sorts to look after. He was free of them all. To be young and stupid. There was only one thing he had to do, and that was keep his power under wraps. So far he was sucking at that - already one stranger knew his secret.

His only other concern was what happened to his sleeping arrangements once the bar closed. Maybe it didn't close, but Dane was already standing and ready to leave. He'd worry about it later, if he had to sleep in the Jeep it wouldn't be the first time.

Nox was thankful the gear was already covered under blankets, didn't need to have the guns in the back out in the open. He should have emptied them out, but too late now. Nox smiled at the bartender. "Put it on my tab. I'll be back to pay up."
He hoped the bartender remembered that he was staying in the safe house. He hated when non-Atharim people worked Atharim safe houses. It was never easy. Another reason to miss Moscow.

Nox lead the way out of the bar and into the sickly heat of Mexico, it was still cool for this time of year, but he was still used to the bitter cold of Moscow. These few weeks on the other side of the ocean had not acclimated him from that. Nox was thankful not to have the hoodie but he missed the comfort it provided. He'd have to deal with it.

The Jeep was nothing spectacular, the black paint had lost it's shine, it had been his fathers before he died. There were a lot of memories stuck in the back seat of that Jeep. It's a shame they weren't what normal teenage boys could claim. No he remembered watching as his mother patched up his father's bleeding arm and gut from a dreyken attack. The blood was everywhere but there was only a dark stain on the floor boards now.

Nox pushed the thoughts away and unlocked the doors with a touch of a button. "She's not pretty but she runs well and she'll get us wherever you want to go."
Nox laughed. "Might want to park a few blocks away if you care about appearances."


Short of the gear in the back under the cover of blankets, it was clean and tidy. Nox had spent the better part of his first night cleaning it out from top to bottom. Nox started the Jeep and retro dance music started blaring from the speakers before Nox turned it down. "Sorry. Where to?"



Edited by Nox, Jun 16 2016, 03:46 PM.

[Dane Gregory]

Dane critiqued the cushion before he climbed into the vehicle. Despite the car's age, it was surprisingly clean. He made himself comfortable and readied a map on his Wallet in short order. He was in the process if connecting it to the cars antique navigation system when the music made him wince. A cold glare cut from his eyes before he stifled the emotion with a ready excuse, "that was startling. Remind me to introduce proper music to you." His smile was joking but his tone was condescending. "I play, you know. Classical piano. Bach. Mozart. Chopin."

Just as the map appeared before Nox, Dane pushed expensive sunglasses onto his face and savored the sensation of wind rippling through his black hair like fingertips massaging his scalp.

A couple rather pleasant hours passed as they witnessed the landscape metamorphise into something tropical. Pieces of blue were seen between bends in the road, and after a break to eat, they arrived at a secluded resort.