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Post by Banshee on Nov 2, 2023 4:56:28 GMT -6
Lux fell silent. Eerily silent. What Dawn was saying, seemed a bit like gibberish to him. But something about her reaction towards Mark, seemed so real. She was terrified of him. All because of what he looked like. With the ears and the eye color. Lux slowly glanced over to him, studying how he was reacting to her response.
And to be fair. Neither one seemed very comfortable to be around one another.
“A primordial God...” Lux whispered under his breath. But outside of that, he said nothing else. His mind, decided to travel elsewhere. Especially when Dawn mentioned Time. And for some reason. Something clicked.
After all, they did have a pet dinosaur.
“Oh, he’s nothing bad though!” Nox said to Dawn before being completely dragged off. “He’s been amazing around us. We’ve never been treated so nicely before. Especially my brother.” He pointed to the suddenly silent Lux, not realizing how he was trapped within his own mind, thinking. “Sometimes, others can surprise you. Regardless of where they come from and what they are. And if they’re known to be chaotic? Well...” He glanced at Mark for a moment as he was heading out. “He’s really nothing like that. He’s been kind of a Father to us, since we’ve arrived.”
“Come on. Let’s go.” Lux spoke as he fought through his thoughts and tried to pretend everything was okay. He was trying to keep the day going smoothly. Lux didn’t want to ruin it with anything negative. It was tough, but it was something he needed to do.
“I do hope we meet again!” Nox chimed to her. “It was fun speaking with you! Even if we’re both pretty bad at talking.” He laughed.
Lux then dragged him off so that they weren’t left behind.
Once they reached the car, Lux placed his stuff in the trunk and helped Nox put his books away. Then the brothers migrated to their seats and sat. And while Lux was sitting in silence over the whole ordeal, Nox was more talkative than anything.
“You know, that store was really cool. Maybe when we have the time to, I’d love to come back and explore the book section a bit more. I bet there’s some really neat stuff in there. Of course, I do know there’s gimicky things there. So I’ll have to pay attention to that.” Not once did Nox catch how awkward things got with Mark.
Lux gave his brother an unsure smile. “Nox, I think we should let Mark relax a bit before we talk his ear off. Okay?”
“But it was so much fun! Today has been a blast.” He then lightly slapped Lux’s arm. “You’re having a bunch of fun too. Right?”
“Of course.” He said, though speaking a bit lower than Nox was. Lux knew there was something going on with Mark and felt that the less noise there was, the easier it would be for him to relax. “Nox. Keep it down a notch.”
Out from his excitement, Nox ignored his brother’s warnings and showed the only book that didn’t make it into the trunk. He opened it up to a page and started to talk to him about it. “This is so cool. If I can manage this, I can make potions and stuff that can help you out when you’re going out and protecting people from danger. It’s going to be so cool.”
“Y-Yeah.” Lux said to him. “Just make sure you know what you’re doing before you test on me. Okay? I don’t want to be turned into an iguana or a slug. Though, a hawk would be kind of neat.”
“I don’t think these ones do any of that. That’s more of transformation and morphing. While we can perform some of those, we’re not considered to be a species that specializes in that. So it’s going to be near impossible for us. Not unless we take a serum or something, and those have been considered illegal.” he shook his head. “The thing with that is; a person who is born with abilities, their body can adapt to the sudden change. Whether it’s transformation or not. Fire, water, whatever they can do, their body genetics allow them to do it without much repercussion.” He stopped for a second.
“Well, of course there’s energy consumption and exhaustion. But I’m talking about your body breaking down and getting hurt. Natural gifts like that, don’t do that. Or...at least nearly as much as those who take the man-made serum. That grants them powers, but their body has to respond correctly to it or else, they simply mutate or break their bodies down a lot. Though, I suppose there could be some chances where a person does take it and can respond correctly to the alteration. But who knows? It’s illegal and shouldn’t be used.”
“What the hell are you on about?” Lux wrinkled his nose. “Stop talking. You’re making my head hurt. It’s illegal, who cares what it does?”
Nox frowned and added; “Bad people like that stuff, Lux. If you’re going to be a hero, there’s a chance that you can discover this while being out on the field.”
“I’m not drinking some potion from some random guy. Relax.” Lux closed the book on his brother and pushed it back to him. “I have more dignity than that.”
Nox took the book back but frowned more. “What if you end up not having magic powers? Would that change your mind?”
“Shut up.” Lux hissed before putting his hand on his brother’s face and shoving him away. “I’m not interested in drugs. So back off.” He then turned away from Nox and looked outside. If he pretended he couldn’t hear his brother talk, then maybe. Just maybe. He’d stop talking and Mark and Ikuki can have a moment of silence to deal with whatever just popped up.
“Mark?”
Lux rolled his eyes and looked at Nox, who STILL didn’t notice the social cues from earlier. He wanted to tell him to shut up again but he didn’t. For some reason.
“I want to let you know that I had a lot of fun today. And I greatly appreciate everything you’d done for Lux and I. You’re really a nice guy and...well...I think Tiffany is super lucky to have a really cool Dad like you.”
Lux added; “Regardless of what others say. Thank you, again. Both of you.”
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Post by Moe on Nov 2, 2023 8:50:03 GMT -6
Mark stayed silent as they got ready to leave. He made the motions like everything was okay, but in his head, he couldn't shake the look of terror in that kid's eyes, and what she said to him. He could hear Nox talking, but he wasn't sure if he was even responding to him. He was entirely on autopilot and didn't even realize he had buckled Tiffany in her carseat and packed up her stroller, until he was already in the car, himself.
Ikuki set her hand on his shoulder, which finally caused him to catch up with reality. "Are you okay?"
"Did you see the way that kid looked at me?" he finally spoke. "She was terrified. I'm used to people being scared of Hyper X, but that kind of fear...that was absolute terror. What did I do?" he started to panic as he gripped tightly on his bandaged arm.
"You didn't do anything. You're not your father, or your grandfather." Ikuki assured him. "You're not like them. You're a good person, Mark."
"Yeah, now. But she's right. I'm still human, and I have eternity to end up exactly like my dad. I'm sure he wasn't all that bad when he started out, either. Watching everyone you care about just...disappear...and an eternity of screw-ups and guilt...that can drive anyone insane, and make them stop caring. I don't want that. I don't..." he paused, trying to fight back having another panic attack. He took a moment to take a breath, and compose himself. "I don't want to stop caring." he was able to finish saying. "Nobody stays the same, throughout their lifetime...and I'm going to have a lot of lifetimes. I'm scared of what I'll become."
"Whatever happens, I'll always be there by your side." Ikuki moved her hand to hold his. "I love you, and I'm always going to love you, no matter what."
"You don't know that."
"You told me your dad saw me in your future. He didn't say how far into your future, but I was there and it's safe to assume I'm going to stick around for the long run." she smiled at him.
He held tightly onto her hand, silent for a moment, taking everything in and trying his best not to cause a further scene. "I love you, too." he returned her smile, though his was tired. He snapped out of it when he heard Nox call his name; he had heard everything Nox had been saying, but unsure if he had actually responded to him. Nox's words hit him right in the heart, but in a good way. He was already in a heightened emotional state, but tried his best to keep it all in; "I'm glad you had fun, today. And honestly? I should be thanking you. All of you." he included Ikuki. "I can't remember the last time I've been out, just to have fun."
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Post by Banshee on Nov 2, 2023 16:28:00 GMT -6
“Well, you shouldn't be afraid to have fun once in a while.” Nox said to him with a bright smile. “I know you're always keeping yourself busy with everything going on. But even heroes have days where they can just...be themselves, you know? I think you're more than deserving for one.” “You're welcome.” Lux simply said to him. “It's...really cool that we all got a chance to meet. Just by some whim, we arrived at the hub...We had no idea what we can do, what we could do, and whether or not any of the other heroes would even be willing to talk to us...” “Yeah, we got some shade from some of the other heroes.” Nox said to him. “W-Well more like them looking at us and laughing when we asked to hang out with them. I'm glad you didn't. It's super awesome.” Then there was a ring. Nox's phone rang. And the two boys looked at one another. Not impressed over who was calling. Nox handed it to Lux, which Lux pushed it back to him. The two brothers didn't want to answer it at all. Until, Nox's finger accidentally hit the answer button. “Hey...Reese.” Nox said with false enthusiasm before turning him onto speaker. “What caused the delay in responding to my call?” His voice sounded quite firm with Nox. “It is incongruous to sanction the phone to ring more than twice.” “Ugh...his big words.” Lux groaned. “Silence! You schlemiel! You are not to confabulate until acknowledged. Understand?” “What the hell is that word?” Lux whispered to Nox who only shrugged as a response. “Whatever. What do you want?” “Nox.” Reese ignored Lux for the time being as he wasn't directing his attention to him. “There are consequential topics that I would relish to discuss with you. But peradventure, you should do it without the others around. This is simply because they don't require to ken anything about this. Tell me, when is the best time to engage in a civilized conversation with you? Without the...deficient individuals around?” It took Nox a moment for him to comprehend the sentence structure. He frowned and glanced over to Lux with annoyance. “Um, excuse me?” “What's the matter, Reese? You think you're too good enough to talk to us?” Lux barked at him. “No one here is as deficient as you are, so why don't you take your damn attitude and stick it up your ass. Because no one here gives a rat about what you think.” “Nox, my inquiry. I demand an answer.” “Come on, Reese. Can you at least try and be nice for a change? Everyone here understands what you're saying. And if it's so important for me to know, Lux is going to know everything as well. Okay? We're twins. Identical twins. We go together as a pair. Not one of us is going to be left out of the loop. And you understand this. You know that whatever is said to me, gets relayed to him. So why make the extra step? Just accept the fact that he's important, just like me. Okay?” “Answer.” “Ugh...” Nox threw his head back out of exasperation. “Here's his answer for you. Va te faire foutre.” “LUX."
"Is that how you speak now? You impudent fool? Such vituperation cannot be greeted with such welcoming arms. When you return home, I am authoritatively mandating that you are to sit down and have a chat with me. We are going to verbalize about how imbecilic you've become since you've been within that city. It's vilifying to auricularly discern as it is vilifying to ken that you are of my kin."
"Mange ma chaussure." Lux barked at him. He was more angry with how poorly Reese was speaking about their friends. "You're just jealous because I can at least make friends, while you struggle on your own because of your personality."
"I beseech your pardon? My personality is as radiant as the sun. Unlike your personality, you little heathen. Now return the phone to your brother. I am not verbalizing with you." Reese demanded.
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Post by Moe on Nov 2, 2023 17:32:24 GMT -6
Mark only overheard a part of what Reese was saying, but he'd heard enough to know this guy was a jerk. "Hey, can I see that for a minute?" he didn't even wait for a response, before taking the phone from the boys so he could speak to Reese, himself.
"Reese's Pieces! How are you? Nice to finally talk to you, personally. I hear you like using big words, so I have a few things to say to you. The truth is, you're just an egomaniacal, pompous, bumptious blowhard who has nothing better to do in his time than vaunting at young children. You use big daunting words because you're too feeble-minded and anserine to ascertain anything on your own, so you have to belittle and insult their own intelligence. Sorry, did you have time to flip through your pocket thesaurus to figure all of that out? Yeah, I didn't think so, sorry I was going too fast for your simple mind to catch up. Let me put it in words that your slow-witted brain can comprehend; you're a fucking idiot, and if I ever catch you either in person or over the phone, belittling your brothers ever again, well let's just say you're going to have worse dreams than being turned into a waffle and chased by bees."
"Soy el dios del Tiempo, pedazo de mierda. No me jodan a mí ni a mis hermanos. Translate that, cabrón." he hung up the phone and smiled as he handed it back to Nox. "If he calls back, I'll deal with it."
"Um. It's not really my place, but maybe...we shouldn't interfere?" Ikuki was a little hesitant to say anything, since Mark sounded pretty angry, but the boys weren't their family and Reese technically could report them if he figured out where they were.
"Maybe he shouldn't interfere. Someone like that...isn't fit to be a guardian. That's child abuse. If he tries anything, I'll throw it right back at him. Surely he's smart enough to know that, though I'm starting to get the feeling that I might be giving him too much credit."
Ikuki made a worried expression, not wanting to get involved, herself. However, she didn't say anything else, not wanting to stir up anything more. This was supposed to be a fun day, and she wasn't going to dwell on the negative. Besides, they were turning in to Hope's driveway and it would be nice if everyone wasn't sour from one bad experience in the day.
"Well, hope you guys are all hungry." Mark sighed. "My mom is a lot nicer than yesterday, I promise. What happened was...it was my fault. We had a falling out about a year ago and I said some things I wish I could take back. I'm not...or at least I didn't used to be as good of a person as you think I am. Everything I am now, I owe to my mom. She set me on the path I'm on, today. So...I'm sorry, it was my fault if she scared you. I promise today is gonna be a lot better, okay?" he smiled at Lux and Nox, trying to reassure them both.
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Post by Banshee on Nov 2, 2023 17:43:56 GMT -6
When Reese couldn't even get a word in, the brothers looked at one another and giggled. Their toothy but devilish grins, matched one another and appeared as if they were looking in a mirror. Hearing Mark cuss out their brother was great and both of them couldn't thank him anymore than they already had. Reese was a dolt, through and through. And hearing someone else, outside of Lux, ripping into him like that, was simply marvelous.
Once he hung up and handed the phone back to Nox, Nox pocketed the phone and remained silent. But it was Lux who spoke up this time. Showing absolute amusement over it. “Wow! You sure told him. I bet he's probably sifting through his books, trying to figure out what you just said.”
“I wish he wasn't so cruel...” Nox mumbled. He felt slightly bad that Reese had become so cold. “I doubt he's going to collect any of that. He's too in love with himself and what he does.” He sighed and looked down at his reflection. “Thank you for telling him off, Mark.”
“Yes! Thank you!” Lux chimed in. “You seriously hate him over the phone, but meet him in person and you'll realize how and why no one likes him. Even his students, dislike him. Just ask Joe's family, if you ever get the chance.”
“Yeah...they had to train under him for a while. I...don't know if they learned anything from him.” Nox admitted. “He's ...not exactly that great of a teacher.”
Then the home appeared and Nox quickly forgot about what happened and looked upon the bright green grass that was freshly cut. The home was so quaint and comfortable, he quickly could tell that Mark's Mother took very good care of it. “Wow! This...this is her home? It's so adorable. I love what she did with the little gardens.”
Lux glanced out the window and agreed with him. “It's okay. I'm sure she's going to be a lot happier today.” He responded to Mark's apology. “She seemed like she could be a sweet person. I...think?”
“I will try not to speak only French to her.” Nox said to him.
“Do and I swear I'll slap you.” Lux threatened before returning his attention to Mark. “I hope you have a good time being with your Mom this time. She really did look like she wanted to reconnect with you. And uh...we'll be on our best behavior.”
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Post by Moe on Nov 3, 2023 18:10:11 GMT -6
As they approached the door, Mark handed Tiffany over to Ikuki which confused her at first, but went along with it without question. The reason why became clear, as soon as the door clicked open and a bow staff swung right at Mark, which he was able to dodge and counter, sending the assailant onto the floor.
"DAMN. You've been practicing!" Alex smirked, quickly picking herself back up.
"I could have had Tiffany, you know!"
"Pfft. I've been watching you from the window. 'Sup, Ikuki?" Alex greeted her. "Don't think I've met you two, yet. I'm Alex, the cooler, less dorky big sister." she introduced herself to the boys.
"There's nothing wrong with being dorky!" Mark stuck his tongue out, mocking her.
"MOM!" Alex shouted at their mother. "Mark is being rude to me!"
"¡Sé amable con tu hermana, Marcus!" Hope shouted from the kitchen.
"Heh." Alex snickered.
"Oof, tattling to Mom? That's the best you can do? Well, I can't blame you, since you didn't get the smart genes. Or the artistic talent, the good looks or the ability to cook without burning everything. We can't all luck out on the genetic lottery, but that's no reason to stoop so low. Oh, wait. You didn't get the tall genes, either. You don't have any other choice but to stoop so low!" Mark smirked at her.
Alex just gave him a flat look and quickly swept her bow staff under his legs, knocking him on the floor. "Y'know for someone who has the ability to travel through time, you'd think you would've seen that coming." Alex said with a sly grin.
Ikuki, meanwhile, was just watching the two bicker back and forth, wondering if they really did hate each other that much. Then Alex offered to help Mark off the floor, and it was clear the two were on good terms, that's just how their relationship was like.
"It's not too late to back out, Ikuki." Alex noticed how awkward she was.
"Oh, it's kind of amusing." Ikuki tried to laugh off her awkwardness. "I never had any siblings, so my brain is just trying to process if this is simply normal sibling behavior."
"It's normal, here." Mark shrugged. "Alex and I are cool, we bicker a lot but it's all in good fun. She was pretty much my only friend growing up, and I couldn't have asked for a better sister." he smiled.
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Post by Banshee on Nov 3, 2023 18:42:01 GMT -6
Suddenly, the door was opened and out came a bow staff. The item was swung so quickly that neither brother had the proper time to respond. It was only after Mark had reacted, when the boys jumped back and inched closer to Ikuki. They then watched in silence as the two swiped at one another before Alex called to Hope. Which then resulted in a stream of Spanish words being dished out.
The boys glanced at one another, then to Ikuki and Tiffany as they all watched the siblings battle with words. Commenting about genes and who had the better half of the deal. Then the insults about being short and lacking the foresight to know when he was going to be swiped off his feet. The whole scene was quite amusing to behold and both brothers couldn't help but giggle.
Though Nox was a bit more intimidated than Lux was.
After Mark introduced Alex and comforted them into knowing that this response was how the two got along, the twins felt a little more at ease. And it was Lux who decided to speak up first, introducing himself to Alex. “Bonjour. I am Lux and this is my twin brother, Nox.”
“Hi.”
Lux then said to Ikuki; “Sometimes siblings will do stuff like that.”
“Lux and I don't do it so often but we do argue. As you already know.” Nox then turned to Alex and gave her a small bit about them. “As the smarter one, I like to make sure that my opinions are correct and justified. Lux just...likes to punch things and ask questions later. Most of the time.”
“Sometimes, punching things in the face gets the answer you're looking for.”
“But that's all a lie. Lux really isn't that threatening.”
Lux wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, but you're the one afraid of their Mom.” He then turned towards the inside of the house and called out; “Bonjour, Madame Hope! We are here to see you!”
“Shush!” Nox flailed. “She still terrifies me.”
“Poulet.”
“I am not a poulet.”
“Sont trop. Un gros poulet!” Lux threw his arms out to the side. “You are a big chicken! Bwack! Bwack!”
Nox pulled his shirt over his nose and tried to hide his embarrassment. He inched behind Ikuki and said; “Lux is calling me a chicken. It's not cool. I don't have feathers or cluck. Not like what he's doing.”
“I smell some delicious food, Madame Hope! Nox will be enthusiastic to try it! He's a big foodie!” He then grabbed Nox by the arms and pushed him through the door and over to where Hope was. “See? Nox wants to say hi to you too!”
“B-Bonjour...” Nox waved to her. “H-How are you doing?”
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Post by Moe on Nov 3, 2023 19:41:15 GMT -6
"Yeah, siblings can be the the most annoying people on the planet." Alex said as she swung her arm around Mark; "But they're also you're best friends. I mean, you're kinda stuck with 'em for life, so might as well be best friends, amiright?" she laughed, dropping her seemingly-sweet demeanor and punching Mark in the shoulder.
"Ow." Mark rubbed at his arm.
"Shit, sorry dude. The fuck you do, this time?" Alex noted the bandage on his arm.
"Don't worry about it. And stop cursing in front of my daughter." He could feel Ikuki staring at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "That was different." he said, referring to his conversation with Reese.
"Hey, I like this kid." Alex turned her attention toward Lux. "Sometimes people don't wanna talk, you just gotta know which ones are really asking for it. It gets easier, but eventually you just know when someone deserves it." she smiled as she punched her fist into her hand. She couldn't help but laugh at the brothers' back and forth; "Damn, no wonder you get along with them, so well. They're basically us when we were kids."
"Yeah...I noticed that." Mark agreed. The boys really were a lot like he and his sister, growing up. Some in good ways, some in not so great ways. "Guess fate really did bring us all together."
"Hola, niños!" Hope shouted back at the boys, still busy in the kitchen. "I hope you both brought your appetite, te ves famélico. Need some meat on your bones! That goes for you, too!" she pointed a finger at Ikuki, which did intimidate her. "You kids these days wanting to be so skinny, it isn't healthy!"
While Hope was busy being distracted by Ikuki and the twins, Mark and Alex both tried to sneak behind her to grab a bit of food that she was preparing. Hope quickly swatted their hands with a spoon; "You will wait patiently, like everyone else!" she scolded them.
"But Moooom, I haven't eaten in three weeks! You wouldn't want your favorite son to starve to death would you?" Mark pouted at her.
"I was just doing what he was doing. He's a bad influence!" Alex shrugged.
"Niños podridos." Hope gave them both a sour look, causing them both to laugh it off.
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Post by Banshee on Nov 3, 2023 20:07:45 GMT -6
Hope's comment about weight caught the brothers off guard. Lux and Nox stared at one another, examining the other's body physique. Nox noticed that his brother was an inch or two smaller than him but was scrawny in terms of lacking fat. However, Nox also understood that his brother was a lot more active and the lack of extra fat may have been replaced by the muscle he built.
In return, Lux stared at his brother. Nox was slightly taller than him and a bit more lanky in the arms and legs category. However, he was also a bit on the chunky side as he was more involved with lesser active activities and was more comfortable with sitting around, reading books and analyzing facts. Plus if the myths were true, he really needed to add carrots into his diet as he had the thickest glasses Lux had ever seen on a kid.
Then the brothers examined themselves. Nox knew that he was a foodie and loved eating. Most of the time, whatever Lux didn't eat, he would finish for him. After all, wasting food was an insult to the cook and he felt that all of it should be eaten. Unless there were intentions of having leftovers for the following day. Which...happened a lot when they lived at home with Reese.
But that wasn't because the food was good. Because it wasn't.
Lux on the other hand, when he looked down upon himself. He knew that he was a bit underweight. But the truth was, he was so used to not eating a lot because of Reese's poor cooking skills. So food to him, was more of a pain to have than anything. Even when he enjoyed the meals, he just didn't have the appetite. In fact, he was more interested with just eating whatever he needed to satiate his hunger, just so he could continue doing whatever it was prior to food. To him, food was just a basic need to life and nothing more.
But it was Nox who realized something. The aroma of the food was remarkable. However, he could smell a twinge of spice within it. And his greatest concern came to life. “Um...Ma'am?” He said to her right after she scolded Alex and Mark. “Are...Is...your food really spicy?”
Lux was struck by the concern as well. Neither brother did very well with spicy food. He then looked to Hope with grave worry. “Like, spicy as in...burning your mouth and needing a lot of milk?”
The twins then looked to Mark and Ikuki in fear.
While Nox knew he could handle some spice in his food. But Lux? He slowly glanced to his brother who suddenly appeared pale at the idea of eating super hot food. Even though they were identical twins and matched nearly everything, Nox knew that there was one major difference. And that was, Lux wasn't able to properly hold down super spicy food. It often leveled him.
“I'm not hungry...”
Nox pulled him to the side and whispered to him; “Tu dois manger quelque chose d'elle. C'est tellement impoli de ne pas le faire.” (You have to eat something of hers. It's so rude not to.)
Lux whispered back; “Mais si je le faise, je vais tomber malade. Et je ne pense pas qu'ils veuillent que je vomisse dans leur salle de bain ou....pire...” (But if I do, I'm going to become sick. And I do not think they want me to vomit in their bathroom or...worse...)
“Si vous refusez sa nourriture, elle pourrait être triste.” (If you reject her food, she might be sad.) Nox frowned at him, knowing very well that Lux may could get sick from eating the hot foods.
“Sorry...” Nox quickly realized that he and his brother were being a bit rude for speaking in their native tongue when no one else could. “Um...my brother has a sensitive stomach. He feels horrible about it, but eating very spicy foods will make him sick. Not...all of it is hot, is it?” And knowing that he's taking one for the team he added; “I'm fine with eating mostly everything you have. It's just...he feels bad that he can't.”
“I am sorry.” Lux apologized to Hope. “I am sure that your food tastes amazing. I mean, it definitely smells super awesome. I just got the rejected genes, I guess.”
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Post by Moe on Nov 6, 2023 16:33:51 GMT -6
"Don't worry, I'm used to cooking extras without flavor." Hope said, not to be mean, but because she just considered spice, flavor.
"Don't worry, the melt-your-face-off stuff is for me and Mark." Alex reassured them. "Even Mom could never keep us with us. I like my food tasting like it came fresh out of a volcano." she laughed.
"Alejandra!" Hope smacked Alex with a spoon, again, this time much softer. "We have guests, go set the table!" she shood her out of the kitchen. "You, too!" she shoved Mark out, as well. "Just because you both moved out, doesn't mean I won't put you to work!"
"Oh, is there anything I can do to help?" Ikuki offered.
"No, you and Lux and Nox are all guests, you don't do anything but relax." Hope insisted.
"Well, I suppose we can look through the books we found earlier. You never know, maybe we'll find what we've been looking for." she said to Nox.
"And you can rummage in my old room, Lux." Mark shouted from the dining room. "I've got hidden stashes of spray paint, in every corner. Nobody could ever prove anything!"
"Pfft." Alex stuck her tongue out. "Man, as much as I love my husband and kid, sometimes I really miss our old trouble-making days. The hero thing is fun and all, but sometimes I just have an urge to go out there and vandalize something. Kick down a few trash cans, smash some mailboxes, graffiti storefronts. We should get together on weekends and just be degenerates for a day, ya' know?"
"I'm trying to set a better example, these days. I have the power to stop time, so nobody could catch us. Tiffany doesn't have that, so I have to be a better person. I have to lead by example. I have to, for her and the heroes I help train." Mark started to show the anxiety on his face, but did his best to face away from Alex.
"Hey. What's really bothering you?" Alex set the dishes down, forced Mark to sit in a chair, and sat next to him. "Talk to me. I know that bandage on your arm isn't 'nothing', I'm the one who found you last time, remember? Talk to me."
For a few moments, he didn't want to say anything. Alex was patient, and didn't force it. Eventually, he told her the truth. "I feel like too many people are looking up to me, and I don't know why. I never asked to be a leader or a mentor. Just because I steer people on the right path, they think I'm the one who knows everything. Now this whole thing with Dad... Alex, somebody worshipped me, yesterday. I already can't handle the pressure of being a leader, now I have to deal with being a god. Why can't I just be a good person, without so many people looking to me for all the answers? What is it about me, that people just gravitate to? I'm not that good of a person, I just try to do the right thing. Isn't that normal?"
"You know, the old you would've loved to be worshipped. You would've eaten that shit up. That alone shows how much you've grown, as a person. But the fact that so many people look up to you...I think they can sense you're a good person. You keep people safe, at any cost. Maybe it's because you radiate dad energy, or maybe it's because people can sense you're a higher power. Shit, dude, I dunno what to tell you about that. All I can tell you is that if you're feeling too much pressure, it's okay to say no. It's okay to just take a step back and focus on yourself and Tiffany. You're not obligated to help everyone who asks or you think needs it. You sure as hell can't help anyone, if it costs your own sanity. Honestly, I think you'd be really good at being a god. At least you listen to people." Alex laughed, hoping their mother wasn't in earshot of that comment. "Seriously, though. If you're ever feeling too much pressure, call me. We'll hang out and smash a few mailboxes, get some of that frustration out. Deal?"
"That...sounds nice, actually. Maybe not smashing mailboxes, but we'll work something out when we get there." Mark smiled at his sister, though it took a lot of effort to do so.
"Alejandra! Marcus!" Hope yelled from the kitchen. "You can help bring food to the table, if you finished setting it!"
"Next time, I'm inviting her to my place and pulling the same shit on her." Alex quipped.
"Heh." Mark laughed, genuine, if not quiet, laughter. "Just let me know when, because I would love to see you try."
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Post by Banshee on Nov 6, 2023 19:42:14 GMT -6
The twins were quite shocked to know they didn't need to help with anything at all. And while Lux was seemingly okay with the idea behind it, Nox wanted to keep trying to help. For some reason, he just wanted to do something kind to Hope, especially after his freak-out session with her at first meeting. But before he could get a word out, Lux pulled his hand over his brother's mouth, stopping him from saying another word. This was out of fear from pestering Hope too much as she already seemed to have planned out, who was going to do what.
When Ikuki mentioned hanging with Nox and looking over the books she'd seen, he quickly smiled. Nox shoved away Lux's hand and quickly migrated over to Ikuki. Then obediently followed her into the next room where she wanted to simply, hang out and look at the books.
Lux on the other hand, grinned when Mark mentioned checking out his old room. After thanking him, he quickly got the directions needed to find which room was actually his. And upon entry, he was rather shocked to see how different his house was, to his childhood room.
“Woah...” He said to himself as he stepped in and looked around. “His room is so cool...” Indeed, there were spray cans and equipment stashed within the room. Some graffiti artwork could be seen hanging on the walls. To Lux, this room was a hidden gem that Mark hid from the world.
“I want to do this to my own room...” He said while being struck by the graffiti. For some reason, he was more interested with the artistic flare to the room than anything else.
Meanwhile, Nox took a seat and rummaged through some books that he and Ikuki found. “Huh...You know, the interesting thing about being with you guys is; I never once would've thought about diving my face into this sort of stuff. Like...I had a slight fascination for it, but now it's quite elevated and I'm enamored by the idea of being able to enchant items and create potions.”
He opened a book and looked at some of the writing before adding; “I don't know how much of a magical ability I truly have and I feel the older I get, the more I'll discover. Which in the end, I hope I'll obtain some of my answers...”
Nox then handed her a book and smiled at her. “I hope you can eventually find something you're looking for too.” Then he recalled a scene from earlier. Ikuki was seemingly dodgy with Dawn about something. And so, he had to ask.
He leaned over to her and kept his voice low. “What was it that you were trying to look for, earlier? You were...pretty skittish about it with Dawn.” He then tilted his head. “Are you looking for something dangerous or bad?”
Nox stopped for a second and added; “Honestly...Magic to me is a tool. The tool itself isn't bad but what differentiates one spell from another, is how the user dictates it. If the user is bad, then the tool is used for bad deeds. While a good one, may use said tool as a good spell...Or something... I dunno. Maybe I don't completely understand magic?”
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Post by Moe on Nov 7, 2023 21:01:01 GMT -6
Ikuki hesitated to answer Nox, but she felt safe with everyone here. Maybe not so much Hope, but everyone else at least. "Yes, it's very dangerous." she answered. "The only element I haven't had any training it, is dark magic. It's...not exactly widely accepted, and in some circles, including the monastery I grew up in, it's illegal. If I start practicing dark magic, I'll be an outcast and could risk a bounty on my head. It's kind of exciting." she said with a grin.
"Nothing else has been able to stick, for me. I can use a few basic beginner spells, like fire and ice and a little healing, but they're all incantations and written spells. I know I have magic in me, but I don't know what comes naturally to me. Dark magic being the only element I haven't tried...I just need to know, for sure."
She smiled when Nox talked about magic being a tool, that any magic could be used for good or evil; "I agree. Dark magic might be frowned upon, but that's only because most people use it for evil. It's the easiest magic to learn, because you're trading one energy for another. To take life from something in order to fuel your own magic, is easy, but it can corrupt. But if someone uses it for good, then how could it corrupt them? Besides, I would never use any of the magic that requires killing anything. Unless it's something truly evil, like mosquitoes, bleh." she stuck her tongue out.
----
After Mark and Alex finished setting the table, Alex felt compelled to call her husband to ask him how things were going. Hope had a very strict no phones at the table rule, and she would absolutely enforce it. Better to get the call out of the way now, instead of risking missing a call later on. The phone rang once, and then a second time. Mark was standing behind Alex, waiting for Argaen to answer. Finally, when the phone clicked, Mark reached for Alex's phone before she could speak to him.
"Hello, we've been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty-" Mark shouted into the phone, before Alex shoved him away.
"Mark, I swear to fucking christ I am strong enough to lift you over my head and throw you in the garbage, outside!"
"But Alex! His car's warranty! It's about to expire! You don't want your car's warranty to expire, do you?" he grabbed at the phone, again.
This time, Alex did pick him up and carry him into the living room, with Ikuki and Nox. She dropped him on the floor in front of Ikuki, still holding her phone with her husband on the other end. "Here, this is yours, now. You might wanna keep a better eye on it." Alex said to Ikuki, before apologizing profusely to Argaen. The tone in which she spoke to him was much different than what she had spoken to the others, with. It was softer, more caring, like how she had talked one-on-one with her brother. The screaming child on the other end could be heard, audibly; "Is everything okay? Do I need to come home?"
"Hey." Mark smiled at Ikuki and Tiffany, from the floor. While Ikuki seemed concerned about the ordeal, Tiffany just laughed.
"Hey." Ikuki smiled back at him. "Is...she okay?" she looked over at Alex, who seemed worried.
"I'm sure it's fine. GUESS HER BIG BAD MONSTER-FIGHTING HUSBAND JUST CAN'T HANDLE A TODDLER TANTRUM!" Mark shouted loud enough for Argaen to hear. Alex said nothing, but turned around and flipped him off.
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Post by Banshee on Nov 7, 2023 21:49:01 GMT -6
Not once will Ikuki ever have to worry about Nox judging her for her thoughts on Black Magic. What he had said about it, is exactly what he will firmly stand by. To hear her speak so passionately about the topic and from just seeing how much it perked her up by simply speaking about it, he couldn't help but feel supportive. He appreciate the excitement in her voice when she mentioned that it was thrilling to learn such magic, despite what everyone else felt towards it.
In truth, he didn't think that she would ever use it as a malicious tool to get even with someone. Her heart was always in the right place. She seemed so nice to him. Kind. Loving. Appreciative. Ikuki wasn't someone evil, in his opinion.
“You know, in a strange way. There are some rules that coincide with alchemy. If one wants to create something new, they must exchange it with something equal in value. It's kind of an interesting exchange.” He tapped his chin a few times before adding; “It's fascinating.”
He then glanced down at the book within his lap. Sifting through some of the pages, he thought about something else to talk to her about. “It also reminds me of transformation. In a lot of areas, having such an ability used or magic, is illegal and highly frowned upon. It's perhaps why Reese is pretty hard on us about not changing shapes in public. If someone sees it, they may think we're shape-shifters or something, and may treat us with ill intent. But little do they understand is...neither Lux or myself can shape-shift into a person. Our abilities are highly restricted to only weapons. And they're bladed weapons, to be exact.”
Nox then shrugged. “Who knows? I'd be curious to see if I can do anything else. But my brother? I...some how feel that he lacks a lot more in magic than anything.” He frowned at the idea of the assumption being a reality. “It's going to shatter him if he finds out that he lacks it... He really wants to be a hero but he doesn't understand the idea of; being a hero doesn't necessarily mean that you have super powers or magical abilities. Sometimes, it just takes heart to do the right thing and brains to do it well.”
Nox shook his head once more. “Listen to me speak. I talk like someone much older than a mere ten year old.” He laughed to Ikuki. “It must be so strange hearing Lux and I react in ways that are seemingly so obscure for someone our age... Though, I have a feeling a lot of that has to do with how we were brought up.”
Not wanting to dampen the mood, he switched it back to the discussion of magic and his thoughts about her. “Ikuki, I think you're a wonderful person. You've done a lot to Mark, and I don't know how much he realizes it. But he's been smiling a lot more and it makes me feel happy that he's finally gotten with someone that makes him that way. He's...really lucky to have you venture into his life, I think.”
He listened to the conversation going on in the other room. Then he began to wonder where his brother had gone. Lux normally made himself known. But within the past many minutes, he has been oddly quiet. And Nox hoped that he wasn't getting into trouble or sneaking off to do whatever dangerous and mischievous things he normally did.
“I...hope Lux isn't causing trouble.”
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Post by Moe on Nov 8, 2023 15:32:46 GMT -6
Ikuki couldn't help but smile when Nox talked so highly of her; "We did all meet at the same time, you know." she reminded him. "I think he just needed a family to accept him for who he is. That includes you and Lux." she watched as Mark was still on the floor where Alex left him, now bouncing Tiffany up and down.
"You guys know I can hear you, right?" he didn't even bother to look over, keeping his attention on Tiffany. His smile never faltered, as he had to keep a happy face on for his daughter. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I just needed acceptance. Or, maybe I saw myself in all of you, and thought if I could help you all find what you were looking for, it would make me feel better about never finding what I was looking for at your age. Maybe it's some weird god power telling me that all our futures are important and connected..." his face briefly changed, though he still wore a smile, it was clear that it was hard to keep up.
"I'm sure Lux is fine." he changed the subject. "When Mom kicked me out, I took all the essentials and all that's left are old blueprints for my original suit, cans of paint, old clothes that don't fit, maybe a few sketchbooks from middle school when I was in a goth phase." he stuck his tongue out.
"Hey!" Ikuki chimed in, with a teasing tone.
"Hey you pull off the cool, genuine goth, I was the cringey kind." Mark clarified.
Hope, still in the kitchen, called out for her family and guests; "¡La cena está lista!" she shouted.
"Mom says dinner's ready." Mark translated for her, finally picking himself up off the floor. "Sorry, she's not used to me inviting people over. Well, normal people."
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Post by Banshee on Nov 8, 2023 17:04:51 GMT -6
When Hope called, Nox hopped out of his seat and offered a hand for Ikuki to grab so that he could help pull her up from the chair. Whether or not if she did, he then would follow her into the kitchen and headed over to the seat that he and his brother were supposed to sit at. However, before taking a seat, he figured to locate his twin and see what he was up to. Because there was a chance that he didn't understand Hope nor did he hear Mark rephrase it.
Walking away from the kitchen, he located Mark's room and opened the door. Inside, Lux was sitting on the floor looking at a comic that Mark had gotten when he was younger. Nox then slid over to him and peered over his shoulder to see who it was.
“What are you reading?” Asked Nox.
“It's a comic. Two super heroes—well a team, really. But the main characters are twins. A brother and sister. Captain Otto and his sister Odie.” He held the comic out to him. “They were born as pirates and sailed across the sea to find treasures and whatnot. Until a terrible day came about and a storm, which is the villain, came in and started to cause all sorts of trouble. He was on the search for these crystals that were to create a weapon that allowed him to obtain three wishes.”
“Interesting...” Nox said as he plucked the comic out from his brother's hands and looked over the pages. “Oh? They look Draygar.”
“They are.” Lux said to him. “It's really cool. But when I looked up how big the series was, they apparently canceled it. But the characters are really fun to read and comical...no pun intended.” He sighed. “I wonder if they're real though?”
“It's a comic.” Nox said a bit flatly as he lowered the book to him. “It's made up. They're not real.”
“Shame. I bet they would've been pretty cool to have around.” He sighed.
“Well, it's dinner time. We should probably get going.” Nox then offered his hand to his brother to take. When Lux grabbed him, he pulled him to his feet and waited for Lux to return the book so they could go get dinner.
Once there, the boys sat beside one another and looked over all of the delicious food. Some of it were quite spicy, but there was plenty enough for them to eat, without getting sick from it. Nox helped Lux out by pointing out the foods that he understood were easier on his stomach. But Nox was willing to give some of the hotter meals, a try. Since it was a neat opportunity to do so.
Lux was mostly quiet as he picked at his food. He was mostly enjoying the funny banter between everyone at the table. To him, it sounded like a well fit family. Something he wasn't really used to. But it was nice.
Nox chimed in from time to time to comment about what foods he found were delicious and which ones he felt were too hot. Some of them, he found to be okay enough for Lux to try and offered his brother to take a bite off his plate to test himself.
“You have a really cool room.” Lux said to Mark. “I found some of your comics. I..uh...read a couple of them while sitting there. I hope you don't mind... But I really liked the comic with the twin heroes were in. They were so funny.”
“You like them because we're twins.” Nox teased with his tongue sticking out.
“Well...most heroes don't have families. And if they do, it's usually a younger or older sibling. Or an Aunt and Uncle.” He shrugged. “So it's kind of nice being represented.”
Nox didn't have much of an opinion about that but nodded to him anyways. He then looked to Hope and said; “Your food is amazing! I've never had...well any of this stuff before. It's so nice of you to include us! I really appreciate it. Thank you!”
“Yes, thank you.” Lux chimed in with a smile. “I really like these tamales.”
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