**** Nox ****
Blood covered everything. It was on the walls, the ceiling. There was no telling which way it all came from, it came from everywhere. Nox stood in the middle surveying everything without a light, it was dark, but yet somehow he could see more than just the shadows. The Atharim here in Moscow got all kinds of neat toys. The googles were by far his favorite and Aria's desire to make them more useful to hunters was a grand idea. He loved that Aurora took it up. His sister was a god with technology. Nox laughed at the irony of the statement - the Atharim thought they were gods.
It had taken a while to get used to hiding his power from others in the organization. But Aria he trusted. She'd proven time and time again he wasn't her target, no matter the look in her eye. She was a scary person, thank the heavens she was on our side.
The land warriors were a godsend, he loved hunting the monsters on their home turf. He loved knowing that they were there, and that he would take then out. Aria helped. Well she did more than help but he wouldn't tell her that. She enjoyed the hunt as much as he did, maybe a lot more, he grinned at her as she searched for a hint of where they had gone.
Tracking in the city was a lot more difficult than tracking in the middle of the wilderness. He didn't think he could have stayed in Moscow if it weren't for Aria's unique talents. She could feel their emotions, sense which way they went and follow them. She'd lead them to many a monsters lair in the short time they'd known each other. That first meeting had been epic and they repeated it over and over again. The hunting part got better and better and the actual fight was glorious. The power would course through his veins and he was unstoppable, if he could only do more than one thing at a time. If only!
They were tracking some monster, they didn't know, and really it didn't matter. The only real issue they had with the tunnel monsters were the dranaika, their ability to foresee the future made them a bitch to kill. Aria had one to her credit, at least that's what the records say. Aria on the hand denied the kill and would't talk about it. He could see the fear in her eyes when he brought it up.
Aria signaled for him to follow and he did. Nox took note for Aurora. They were mapping the tunnels as they explored too. That was one of the side affects of using the land warriors, and why he was the one wearing them. That and the fact that they were cool.
Following Aria was always a treat but the large trench coat almost always hid what he wanted to look at. She glanced back at him with that look and he grinned back at her. She was with Lucas, yeah yeah yeah, I know, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't imagine what it was like to be with her. Her abilities were one of a kind, she'd shared with him before, but usually it was to calm him down, or to show him something without speaking. It was unique, he both envied and was glad he wasn't Lucas. She was a handful without adding sex to the mix. His mind had wandered and he ran into Aria who was standing staring at him with that look still. He laughed and leaned down and kissed her forehead. She still glared at him. "You know I love you."
It was a truth, but not like that. She was like a sister now, more or less, but that didn't mean he was going to stop looking at her. She resumed her tracking. Nox dutifully followed, trying to pay attention to the lay of the land and everything else around. This place was creepy.
**** Aria ****
Nox had a three tracks, drinking, hunting and sex. It was what he lived for. Though his drinking had definitely taking a back seat to the others, Aria knew it was because he was getting the high he liked from the hunt. He enjoyed it almost as much as she did. It was good to know that he felt similarly, but his wasn't drawn on the need to kill, to hurt, to draw pain, his was just the pure high you get from surviving, for fighting, the whole life thing. Aria prefered the dying part. They were two sides of the same coin. And the more she went down the darker paths with Nox, the more she had to rely on her ability to pull back. It was harder each day with Nox, but he kept the sanity intact, was an anchor to cling to when Lucas wasn't around.
She'd tried to hunt with Lucas. She'd tried to keep him close, but her feelings for him clouded everything. Together they could hunt, but they couldn't take on more than one or two creatures at a time. Aria constantly worried about him. Worried he'd get bitten, or scratched by the wrong creature. Or that he'd not be fast enough to stay out of the way of things. It was a life choice, one that he had not made. With Nox there was no worry, there was no second guessing the plan. Aria dared to say she loved Lucas, but only because she had no other word for what she felt when with him. She'd become ennamoured with him almost instantly, but that grew into a friendship. She could tell him anything, well almost anything. He still didn't know the depths of her darkness. The fight that she had everyday and mostly every night. The fight to not find someone to hunt, to kill just for the pure pleasure of it all. It was the struggle that he had drawn on paper and then inked permanently onto her arm. The struggle that defined her life. And Nox was capable of grounding her in a fight, Lucas was the light in her life and the only reason she came back from the darkness.
They were hunting now, the tunnels were dark. The air was damp and stale. They were getting close, she could feel the den ahead, more than one creature was hiding with in the depts of it. Nox would enjoy it, and so would she. They had been walking the tunnels for a few hours before they found a site that looked promising, and now they were heading into that fight. Aria could feel the hunger. But more she could feel the fear of a victim. One living victim, Aria didn't know the condition of the human in hands of the monsters. She could be too far gone, but they would try to help. Neither she nor Nox wanted to take human life.
Some of the monsters were satisfied, no longer hungry. Aria didn't want to see how many dead there were. She prayed that casualties were minimal, but she doubted that would be the case.
Nox went first with the land warriors in the dark. He would have gone first either way. Aria was more than happy to let him. It was one of the reasons they got along so well. He liked to take charge, wrong or right, it was his way or the highway. Aria was more inclined to follow him. She didn't mind following him, he rarely lead her wrong, at least they hadn't died yet.
**** Nox ****
Nox went first. He smiled at the missing fight. He and Aurora would have been at it, planning and plotting and determining the best course of action. It was a big reason he'd started with hunting with Aria and Aurora was happy to oblige, she could sit and do the research she wanted without the pain of having to hunt too. They had different tastes that was for sure.
He could see the rougarou through the land warriors. One was dining on a girl. Poor kid! She was afraid, Nox spared a glance back at Aria who was already feeling things pretty badly. Her eyes showed the tale tell signs of her hunger. He only knew the smallest depths of it, he'd seen it too often not to ask. She would be unstoppable soon, and it could mean their lives if she let it go. Nox reached back and squeezed her hand, it seemed to bring her out of it a little.
Nox grabbed the power and made the weave for his flaming whip and sent it flying at the dining monster. It coiled around its neck and the stench of flesh and hair immediately filled the air. Nox only saw Aria slip behind him and dispatched another out of the corner of his eye, he was aware of her, with his distance he had to be. The other three creatures rushed them. And Nox stood back and watched as Aria moved like the wind. He would never be as good as she was. But he hadn't practiced nearly every day for his entire life either. It was a dance, one he'd watched often enough, and one he tried ever so hard to fight. She was amazing, but he'd never tell her that. He'd find some excuse, some hole or some reason to poke fun at her. She took it well, the ribbing. Another reason he liked her.
The fury of the fight was minimal. He pulled a rougarou off her back with his whip, she'd startd to toy with the creatures. She wanted the fight, wanted to cause pain, and for her, Nox knew her pain was the most intoxicating of them all. She was a danger to herself more than anyone else in the entirety of the world. He felt bad for her. But the feelings were short lived as he yanked the whip again, adding a bit more razor to the edges of the weave as he did, the head was severed cleanly from the body. No spraying spurts of blood followed, to both of their disapointment, but it would mean less of a clean up for them later. And Nox intended to hit a bar afterwards. He didn't share Bas' fundamental need to get laid after a fight, but it didn't hurt and now that the pain from the plane crash was dying down, he had some energy left over.
**** Aria ****
The fight was quick. The rougarous weren't hungry, they weren't chomping at the bit to bite the flesh of their bodies, they were slow and sluggish, and three full monsters was hardly any fun at all. The fear from the girl fueled Aria's fight, it brought deep feelings from with in up, it made her body shake with excitement. The death and loss of connection brough more pleasure. The kill was intoxicating. The last connection to that being, their dying moment, the moment of loss of hope, knowing there was nothing more but darkness.
Nox beheaded the last creature and Aria drank in the girls fear. Nox would deal with her, Aria had to collect herself. Having a living vicitim was worse than them all being dead. The fear never stopped, the hunger fed and Aria wanted to kill more than ever. It was powerful, and Aria had to concentrate on that little light inside her, had to find the hope and the desire to fight back. Lucas was her reason to come back. She would come back for him. Not because he was her all, but she didn't want all his help to be for naught. The memories of him were far more powerful than he even knew. He was her anchor to the real world. He was why she came back.
Aria felt Nox caress her check and then grab her shoulder. He was empty, the power flowed throw him. She looked up at him. He grinned at her, it was his you are okay grin. Aria could read his expression even if she couldn't read him. She took a deep breath and found the light, let it calm her let it be her. She was not that person, not the killer her hunger wanted her to be. It was a slow transition, more like the chemicals in her body were returning to normal, and she was sure that was part of it.
Nox smiled, a happy smile. He dropped the power and Aria could feel him again, feel the calm and Aria centered on him. It was not Lucas by any means, but Nox understood, he understood much more than Lucas did, the extent to which Aria could go for the sake of that hunger and the ultimate pleasure.
**** Nox ****
It was always a good day when Aria came back to reality. It wasn't easy. He knew that much anyway. He didn't want to know the full brunt of it, she could show him. He knew his weaknesses. He could easily follow the white rabbit down the hole. Nox was 100% certain Aria was stronger than he was in that regard. He knew he couldn't come back from what she felt during the fight. It was hard enough for him to stop as it was. He enjoyed it. He did. He thrived on it. With Aria it was all about the hunt, there wasn't research, it was about the kill. It was ridding the world of these horrible creatures. In Moscow you didn't have to scoure the paper, though Aurora still sent them out specifically on those type missions. But if they were jonesing for a fight, all they had to do was dip down beneath the surface and head into the darkness, head into the home of beasts unfathomable. Thankfully they had not found any creatures like the had the day he and Aria had met. Aria still didn't know what they were. And even through everything Aurora looked through she didn't know what the were, so al in all they were screwed!
Aria back to normal Nox headed over to the girl. Her head slumped against her chest, Nox could see the wounds on her body. He sighed, he wasn't sure she'd make it, blood loss alone, they had a long walk ahead of them to get back to the surface.
He and Aria had set up plans beforehand for these exact times. Well Aurora had set them up, he and Aria had to employ it. They'd patch her up, that was one thing Aria had training in. She had training in so many things it was really a wonder she could live as a human in the outside world. He laughed to himself, she had only just started living. And if it weren't for Lucas she'd probably just be a hunter anyway. He was glad she had Lucas. If only he could find a girl like her to keep him company at night. But he was good, really. The random girl at the bar was enough to keep things interesting.
All they had to do now was get her top side, drop her off and call the paramedics. And pray to God that she didn't say anything about them. It wasn't typical Atharim protcol that they let the girl live. She was a witness, she could identify them. But they couldn't kill an innocent, it was wrong. Aria was already fighting her demons, and Nox wasn't about to have to start doing the same thing. Killing a human was just plain wrong.
Nox lifted the girl and she moaned in agonizing pain. How Aria did this he would never know. He carried her through the tunnels. Aria was on point with her sword drawn. The power still coursed through him, and a fireball weave waited in proximity as he walked. He could release it at any time if need be. But thankfully the return trip was uneventful. They'd made it to the surface and the girl had passed out. Her breathing was ragged, but she was breathing, so that was a plus.
Now out in the sun, the girl looked worse for wear. Her clothes were covered in sludge, her hair was matted with blood and grime. She wreaked of death. There were peices of her flesh missing, and a few fingers and ears too. She would survive, but Nox wasn't sure he'd want to. But it wasn't his call, he wasn't going to make that kill happen, he didn't care what kind of reprimand he would get for it.
That was the biggest difference here in Moscow versus being back home in the States. The freedom back home was grand. There were no bosses, there were no regular check ins. It was every hunter for himself. But this organization stuff, it had it's benefits. But Nox did miss home.
Aria called the paramedics and they left the girl propped against the wall in the mouth of an alleyway. Both of them walked away, Nox hadn't noticed when Aria put the sword away, but she had, her trench coat was pulled tight and unless you were paying attention, you'd not know she was packing any heat under that long leather trench coat she favored.
(5 pages - 2898 words)