Message #67100

[Queriter]

The battle was short. A small skirmish, at best. And it was a grand success by the standards of the people of Venoth. Somnus, however, was not so pleased with the outcome, and Nox couldn't say she disagreed with him any. She had made a mistake, for such an act on her part could be considered nothing but. And worst of all, she found she did not regret it much at all.

For the second time that day, Nox found herself staring up at the sky, this time at the ever darkening dome above her and the barely visible twinkling lights. She heard Somnus approach before he made himself known. Or rather, the fact that she was able to hear him approach was Somnus making himself known. As toned as her hearing was, Nox was convinced that there was not a being on the entire damn planet that could hear Somnus when he didn't want to be heard. She sighed loudly, guessing what was to come. With a low grunt, she pushed her upper body up from the ground and refocused her center of gravity to her hips rather than lower back. She spared a glance over her shoulder at the approaching pokemon, following him with her eyes until he finally stood directly before her. He fixed her with a piercing gaze and she fixed him with a disinterested look. Well matched, they were. There was a pause before Somnus' breathy voice finally reached her ears.

"There were survivors."

Nox cocked a brow. "I'm well aware. I'm the one that made them 'survivors.'"

"You aren't meant to make them anything but dead," hissed Somnus.

Nox sat for a moment, silent and still, before she stood, quickly enough to make some people flinch. Somnus stood stock still, the jarring movement before him eliciting no more than a blink.

"Do not question me, Somnus. I am the leader of these people and I make the calls," Nox snarled through clenched teeth.

Somnus was not phased. He had known Nox longer than she had known herself. "Do not play as Arceus, Nox. It does not become you. You are not able to save every father or mother that crosses our paths. You never were and you never will be able to. The only thing you accomplished tonight was putting the people here at risk."

So he had seen. He had seen the very same slip of paper that she had. He had seen the yellowed scrap flit out of seemingly nowhere, twisting and turning, avoiding every blade that nearly sliced it in two, as though the photograph and the knives were dancing an intricate waltz of touch and go. He had seen the smiling family fall to the ground, only to be crushed by stampeding feet only moments later. Clearly it had not had the same effect on him as it had on her, for moments later when she told the remaining men to go in the lowest voice she could muster, Somnus had sent her a disapproving look-- one she had blatantly ignored. No doubt the men would return to their homeland spinning tales of a small gang that had ambushed them and the man that led them. Androgyny worked well for her sometimes. With any luck, the men would be cared for and nursed back to health, but what remained of Venoth would be left alone.

Nox scoffed, something of a scathing laugh, and turned her back to him. "I think you are mistaken, Somnus. What I did was quite the opposite of playing as Arceus. Even if the people here hold me in the regards of a god, I would never play the part of one so cruel."

There was a long silence that followed. Nox noticed that during it, a familiar metal tang had filled her mouth. She removed her lip from between her teeth.

When Somnus did speak, his voice was soft. Not low in the menacing manner Nox had grown used to, but soft. "Had the events that conspired that day never occurred, we would not have been acquainted." Nox recognized it as some attempt at comfort.

She had never told him the full truth of the day they had met. Not once had she mentioned to him that she had seen him before the fateful events of that day. She could still recall the memory with crystal clarity-- when she had seen him first, his sleek body darting out of the shadows and tackling a creature that had begun to feed on what she guessed had been Somnus' supply of food. In no time at all, Nox was staring at what she recognized as the limp body of a Murkrow. The moment she realized what had happened, Nox fled from the scene, her child's mind enabling her only to replay the image over and over again. What she had seen was appalling, grotesque, disgusting. Only when she returned to the swamp a year later, and saw the same Greninja performing a similar act, did she recognize it as beauty.

Nox shut her eyes, a quiet resignation. Somnus was right. In every way, he was nothing but pure reason. She nodded. "You're right. I can't save families, and I won't. From here on out, any people who travel through the treacherous roads of Venoth will receive no compassion from me. I am only the protector of myself and the people of Venoth. I owe nothing to anyone else, and they deserve nothing from me." She turned on her back foot, facing Somnus once more. Had he not had the entire lower half of his face covered, Nox would have seen a slight smile.

"The people of the other nations have done nothing to help us. They merit no favors in return. No survivors anymore," he encouraged. Once Nox nodded her full understanding, he continued with the news he had originally come to deliver. "Unfortunately, the future will not save us from the recent mistakes. We must assume the worst-- that the men who returned to their homeland will return will an army to eliminate the threats to their caravans once and for all."

Nox breathed out through her teeth. Her mistakes could very well cost the people who remained in Venoth their lives. Somnus was right once again. They had to prepare for the worst. "Very well," said Nox, already starting to head to the building that acted as the people's hub of living. "If we assume the worst, we must prepare for the worst as well. Gather any people that are scattered around the city. Bring them to the Lorem Ispum. We will prepare ourselves for any battle that may follow. And if none comes, we will consider ourselves lucky."