[Noah St Cloud]

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[attr="class","Noahpostname"]noah st. cloud

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[attr="class","Noahpostlyric"]those walls will make sinners[break]
out of such lovely lads[break]

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[attr="class","Noahpostingbox"]


Most East End apartments tended to look the same from the outside, especially at night. They were all a little gritty. All in want of a paintjob. Sometimes with graffiti on the walls, a boarded-up window or two, or a few hooded figures loitering on the doorstep.[break][break]

It was the obvious roughness of the neighbourhood that ensured everyone with a smudge of situational awareness locked and reinforced their doors, so Noah was a little perplexed when he was able to enter Laurel’s apartment by simply turning the handle.[break][break]

It was silent. Noah didn’t need to flip the lights on; wispy white curtains did nothing to block out the white glow of streetlamps outside. The front door opened straight into a lounge covered in flattened carpet and dated, mismatched furniture, and to the right was a kitchen, laid with fading laminate flooring and plastic-looking cabinets.[break][break]

Between these two spaces was a dining area, holding a warped table with two chairs. One of the chairs was knocked over. As was the table and the uneaten meal that had presumably been set on it before it was flipped.[break][break]

Strange.[break][break]

Her bedroom was nothing special. The colourful blankets and pillows spread across her bed were a clear attempt to liven up the place, along with a few IKEA art prints taped to the otherwise plain white walls. The connected ensuite bathroom had a showerhead that occasionally dripped, and if he were living there Noah thought that laying in bed with the soft plink… plink… plink every minute would drive him insane.[break][break]

Anyway, his conclusion was: it was just a normal apartment of a lone woman trying to make the best out of living in a shitty neighbourhood.[break][break]

Noah stood by the overturned furniture with his gloved hands on his hips.[break][break]

“Hm.”[break][break]

A solid half hour of looking through her belongings had revealed nothing. He remained stumped. Even with the additional advantage of her laptop having been left open, allowing him to quickly scan through her socials and the messages on there, he had not uncovered any suspects. No spurned exes who might have swung by to ‘talk’ or fake friends who might have been overcome by a sudden jealous rage.[break][break]

It couldn’t be a robbery, either. A purse lay on her kitchen counter with cash and cards still inside and there would have been cabinets left open and far more items strewn about the floor, dragged out from drawers and the closet in case she had hidden any precious (sellable) possessions beneath them.[break][break]

In a world where Gifted were hunted… usually the most obvious answer for a Gifted’s sudden disappearance was the correct one.[break][break]

Damn.[break][break]

Noah was very tempted to walk away. If he was feeling generous, he could give the cops an anonymous call about a ‘disturbance’ and let them look into it. Otherwise, the landlord would probably come knocking at the end of the month when they didn’t receive their rent.[break][break]

But if someone knew what she was – had hunted her specifically because of it – perhaps she would try to offer up other Gifted in exchange for her life. Hell, it’s what he would do. But where he might have slowly offered up the individual addresses of objectively useless persons to buy time, one by one, she could be the type to panic and throw the whole bag of them under the bus.[break][break]

The main issue could be summarised as: she knew where the main Blackstorm hideout was, and he’d rather not relocate again.[break][break]

He dialled a number he knew by heart and held his phone to his ear. “Hey, we’ve got a guy who can see past events or something, right? Some kind of psychic?” The voice on the other end gave an affirmative answer. “Good. Could you ask him to go to Laurel Blakely’s house? Now, if that’s possible… Yeah, I’ll be here to let him in.”[break][break]

---

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He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting – if he had been expecting anything at all – but it wasn’t… this.[break][break]

A knock at the door had pulled him up from where he’d been reclining on Laurel’s couch, and now he was faced with a man he’d never seen before. There was nothing surprising about that part. He’d known he was waiting for a stranger.[break][break]

He just hadn't been expecting one so…[break][break]

So…[break][break]

For a heartbeat Noah could only blink down at him, the infinitesimal raise of his brow betraying how he'd been taken off guard.[break][break]

Then a grin split across his face. He opened the door a little wider and stepped aside to let him in. “Hey. Felix, right?” He pressed his lips back together, fighting his smile and losing the battle. Even if his mouth hadn't been twitching upwards his eyes were crinkled and they gleamed mischievously, making it obvious how pleased he was. “Like the cat food brand?”[break][break]

---

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OOC: sorry to everyone I owe replies to, I had a 2am flash of inspiration to do this last night. Mostly just setting the scene! Feel free to add any details you want! I’m hyped! And let me know if you want any changes <3 I put this thread in businesses because I assumed they'd head out from her house at some point lmao



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[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

It was late, but Felix had just come in from walking Hubble when he noticed his phone vibrating on his desk. The dog had followed him up the stairs and back to his room in the attic without being prompted, and he eyed the vibrating device with a steady and watchful gaze as he hopped onto the bed. Felix didn’t get a lot of phone calls, and when he hung up from the ones he did get one of two things usually happened; either he was unsettled, anxious, and twitchy the rest of the night, or he left. Hubble had, no doubt, noticed the pattern. Felix patted his back reassuringly as he passed the bed to retrieve his phone. ‘DISPATCH’ his caller ID said, and he sighed before answering. When he ended the call, he didn’t bother changing his clothes. He was already in all black, jeans and long sleeves. He just exchanged his running shoes for his combat boots, slipped the hunting knife into the sheath at his back, and headed out, locking the door to the attic behind him while Hubble watched him go from his spot on the bed. --- It wasn’t often that he got calls asking him to go somewhere. Most calls from Blackstorm were people telling him they were coming to him, bringing him something to work his magic on. He got the sense that they knew not to ask too much of him normally. That he wasn’t willing to provide nearly as much as Maisy had been. That he preferred to be left alone unless he was needed. He wondered if they knew about him from his uncle, or from Maisy, or if they were just assuming. Or perhaps there was someone with a gift, someone he’d never met, that was able to tell them more about him. That last thought was the most unsettling because, what else might they have seen? The place he’d been asked to go to wasn’t far, just on the other end of his neighborhood, so he didn’t bother with his car, deciding to walk instead, ignoring the twinge in his knee that the boots always caused. Aunt Maisy’s house was on the northern side of East End, surrounded by a few other nicer houses. He knew, even after only a few months in the city, that going further south could be dangerous, especially at night. He’d seen plenty to confirm that, but had never faced trouble himself. He’d been in enough dangerous places to know how to move through them and be left alone. He stepped onto the porch of the house he’d been sent to after double-checking that he was in the right place, and knocked three times on the door. He’d been told on the phone that someone called Noah would be meeting him here. He recognized the name, but couldn’t place it with a face, meaning they’d likely never met face to face, because Felix had a good memory for faces. The man who answered the door was tall, a lot taller than him, but that was nothing unusual, since most men were taller than him. Dark hair, dark eyes, a slightly surprised look morphing into a wide grin, and a aura about him that he could be quite dangerous in the right context. Something in the way he held himself, maybe. Which made sense, considering the line of work they were both in, if this was indeed Noah. Then the man said his name, confirming his own identity in the process. His instincts told him that Noah could be a threat, though he was not currently a threat to him. Still, he had the experience of knowing that could change at any time, for any reason. The knife in his boot, in his pocket, and at his back, gave him a measure of reassurance. Cat food? “Can’t say I’ve heard that one before,” Felix deadpanned, voice holding almost no inflection as he skirted past Noah and into the apartment. He gave the other man a wide berth to avoid any contact, though he was well aware that he was still within range if those long arms felt like grabbing. He ignored the obviously pleased gleam in Noah’s eye and the way it made alarm crawl up his spine, choosing not to think about the reasons that look might be present in Noah’s gaze. He didn’t confirm or deny his name, didn’t say that he knew this man’s name as Noah, and he didn’t bother with further introductions. His back was only to Noah for a moment as he entered the apartment before he spun around and backed up a few more steps to put more space between them and a wall at his back. While Noah shut the door, Felix’s gaze darted quickly around the apartment, noting every exit and potential weapon within view; a habit he’d never broken, and one he always indulged when entering an unfamiliar space. He kept his hands loose at his sides, just in case. “Brief me,” he said brusquely when Noah turned around. He’d gotten the threadbare details from the one who had called him, the dispatcher, as he’d taken to thinking of them, but it would help hearing more from Noah. He still didn’t know exactly what he needed to be looking for, but maybe Noah had some idea. Any clue at all would help. Otherwise he might see something pertinent and have no idea what he was seeing was important or not. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TAG: Noah St Cloud OOC: I realized I had written way too much and hadn’t given Noah a chance to react or interact lmao, so I chopped what I wrote in half, and the visions of what Felix finds will be in my next post XD. Excited to see where this goes!

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[Noah St Cloud]

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[attr="class","Noahpostname"]noah st. cloud

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[attr="class","Noahpostlyric"]those walls will make sinners[break]
out of such lovely lads[break]

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[attr="class","Noahpostingbox"]


The man appeared wholly unimpressed by the greeting. He responded flatly and his expression remained unmoved with not even a hint of a smile, which Noah took to mean he was a little moody. Probably because he’d been called out to a randomer’s house at short notice, near bedtime, and was now having his name associated with cat food. Noah could relate (excluding the cat food part). He’d had his own fair share of nighttime callouts and they never tended to wrap up neatly in less than an hour.[break][break]

However… more than just being tired… something about Felix immediately made Noah envision a grumpy feral cat. One who was done with everyone’s shit and clearly needed a home but wouldn’t accept one, because a cat like that wouldn’t tolerate just any person who extended a hand. No. It would take someone truly special to befriend him. Someone who was up for a challenge.[break][break]

Tawny liked cats. Pets. She had three – couldn’t Noah have one? He wanted to give him a hot bath and a warm meal and a collar. It would be so rewarding to earn his trust…[break][break]

Felix moved past him (giving him as wide a berth as possible as if he could sense Noah’s chaotic thoughts and decidedly did not enjoy the idea of being domesticated in such a fashion), yet Noah’s gaze remained steadfastly on him while he closed and locked the door, shutting them in.[break][break]

Felix was slender. Not especially short but shorter than most men and certainly shorter than him. He had neatly combed hair that, after some consideration, Noah decided was a muted russet. Pretty. And his eyes, which at that moment were rapidly scanning the apartment, were blue and underlined with dark circles. Did he not sleep enough? Did he need looking after? Would he like to be looked after?[break][break]

No, stop that. Noah bit the inside of his cheek. That was something the old Noah would think. God. There was a chance he was a bit pent up. Tawny’s birthday was in a couple of weeks – he just needed to hold out until then at the most and then he’d be fine.[break][break]

Thankfully he got the impression that Felix wasn't the type to entertain or intentionally tempt that sort of behaviour anyway. He didn’t seem willing to let Noah out of his sight, though, but where Noah’s attention arose from curiosity, Felix’s felt edged with wariness. Stranger danger, he supposed. Fair enough.[break][break]

Noah turned to face him fully and was ready to start quoting cat food adverts at him, but Felix spoke first.[break][break]

“Brief me.”[break][break]

He looked so serious.[break][break]

He had thick lashes like a baby cow.[break][break]

How adorable.[break][break]

Noah's smile softened and his sigh was light as he moved away from the door. “All business, huh? Alright…” It was probably for the best. They did have a job to do and it was likely a time-sensitive one.[break][break]

He walked across to the sofa he’d been sat on before Felix’s arrival and flopped back down onto it, sitting with his ankle crossed over his knee and an arm hanging back over the headrest. Hopefully being seated rather than just standing around ominously and towering over the other man would help Felix to feel a bit more at ease. There was also a chance he was staring too much, so he forced himself to break his gaze away and make it drift over their surroundings instead.[break][break]

(It was entirely possible that Noah was following Tawny’s past advice on how to make her cat, Myrtle, like him more. If it worked on Felix he would absolutely cite it as proof that his initial assessment of him had been correct).[break][break]

“I was doing a sort of… welfare check. The woman who lives here, Laurel Blakely, is new to our club. I talked to her on the phone this afternoon and we agreed I’d come over in the evening, but that –” he gestured across the room to the overturned table and chair – “is what I found when I got here.”[break][break]

As far as he was concerned, the scene seemed to indicate a scuffle. That, or Laurel had stood up extremely quickly halfway through her dinner and hadn't felt it was important to clean up after herself.[break][break]

“No Laurel in sight. Door unlocked. Phone disconnected.” His gaze finally swept back to Felix as he cocked his head. “Strange, don’t you think?”[break][break]

He was quiet for a moment, blinking slowly as he watched Felix for any kind of reaction. “So, how does your gift work?” Noah was still largely in the dark about it– oh. Was that why Felix hadn’t smiled at him? Did he have some sort of amplified version of Tawny's gift that let him know of Noah’s past without touching him? That could be awkward. But he'd entered the apartment, so… maybe it wasn't a big issue?


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OOC: it's midnight I'm sorry if this is a mess lol

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[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

Of course Felix was all business. Why would he be anything else? That’s what they were here for, after all. He didn’t even bother to reply to the statement. Noah sat on the couch before giving Felix the briefing he’d asked for, but he did so almost… pointedly. Putting himself at a lower level than Felix on purpose. Or maybe Felix was just reading too much into it. His gaze remained as intent and calculating as it had been since Felix had arrived, before it suddenly pulled away, meandering about the room rather than remaining fixed on him. Felix had already started to grow accustomed to the attention in the short time they’d been sharing space, so he didn’t know what to make of it now that it was suddenly gone. He shrugged off the briefly untethered feeling, annoyed at himself for feeling it in the first place. A few quick steps brought him closer to the couch, but he didn’t seat himself on it, or the chair across from it, preferring to remain standing as Noah told him what he knew about the situation. “Strange,” Felix repeated in agreement. That dark gaze fixed on him once again, as Felix waited for him to say more, but all Noah did was ask him about his gift. That was it? Felix sighed nearly inaudibly at Noah’s rundown. He was hoping to have a little more to go on, but he supposed being called to the scene rather than having an item brought to him should have been indication enough that this wasn’t going to be an easy job. He fixed Noah with a blank look for the question. “I touch something, I see things. Why do you need to understand how it works?” He started to turn away, toward the dining area where he intended to start, but then he paused. He supposed he ought to give him something, if only to keep him from prying any further. After a moment’s hesitation, he turned back and met Noah’s gaze, briefly lifting one shoulder in a half-shrug. “Feel free to watch me work, I suppose, if you think it’ll sate your curiosity.” He probably would have watched, anyway, but granting his consent before the choice was taken from him made Felix feel better about it, somehow. He didn’t bother asking Noah about his own gift, finding that he didn’t much care at the moment. Getting to work, he tried the most obvious object first, the knocked over chair, standing it upright on four legs as he focused on the energy-memories it contained. Once he sorted through the days of the woman sitting down for sad and lonely meals, all it gave him was a flash of alarm and panic as the door burst open and she shot to her feet. Nothing more useful than that. He hmed under his breath and moved on. He brushed against different objects as he moved around the room, searching for threads of strong emotion and recent activity. The most recent echoes in a lot of the things he touched were of Noah. It took him a few extra moments to sort the echoes each time he encountered one of Noah. Just enough to annoy him, but not enough to keep him from doing the job. He itched to chastise Noah for touching what amounted to a crime scene, but bit his tongue. Mostly. “Just a tip: If you plan to call for me again, try not to touch everything before I get here,” he said in passing as he bent over to pick up the set of keys from behind the small rickety bookshelf near the front door. Fear and desperation flashed through him as he palmed the jagged metal, and he focused his insight on the feeling immediately. Bingo. She’d fought back, and she’d managed to reach her keys. She was going for help. Her phone was already in her other hand, dialing on her path to the door. When she opened the door, another man stood there. She tried to slam the heavy door, but the man caught it effortlessly. He was inside before she could run, and he snatched at the hand that held her phone, knocking it from her grasp and sending it skittering underneath the couch nearby. She watched it go with a sinking feeling of dread. She tried to fight him as he grabbed her, but he was ready for it, and better equipped to handle her than the other man had been. She struggled in his grasp, but he was so strong, not budging at all. “Kyle, let’s go!” he snapped out, and there was groan, and movement from her bedroom before the other man came into view. “I lost my lighter,” he mumbled, rubbing at his head, and the man holding her snarled at him. “I don’t give a fuck! Come back for it later if it’s so fucking important. We don’t have time right now.” He snatched the keys from her hand and… He tossed the keys away, careless of where they landed as he half-dragged and half-carried the girl out her front door. Felix didn’t pick anything significant up from the man who had touched the keys last, besides a nagging sense of urgency. Crossing the room, he went down on one knee and reached under the couch, sliding out a shattered phone. Laurel’s phone. She’d been calling Noah when it had been knocked from her hand, he could see it in the echo that the device held for him. Felix placed the keys and phone on the table as he passed it, feet carrying him swiftly into the bedroom where he stopped, glancing around with a searching gaze. He didn’t notice whether or not Noah followed him, too focused on his work for anything but the most basic and instinctual awareness of his surroundings. He eventually found the battered golden zippo lighter underneath the nightstand and held it in his palm, letting the feelings and memories come. They were more slippery, less electrified with fear and strong emotion, but he was still able to grasp at them. The man the lighter belonged to was gifted, like they were. A pyrokinetic, but he couldn’t make his own fire, he could only control what already existed. Thus, the lighter. He’d used his fire against people numerous times, and he got a sick satisfaction from hurting people. Felix was familiar with the type, and he quickly pushed past those feelings with a frown and a furrowed brow, distinctly uncomfortable and not wanting to examine those moments too closely. He focused on a more recent memory, snippets of a conversation between him and the strong guy as he tossed the lighter high up into the air and caught it again, over and over. “…are we taking her?...don’t know if it’s going to…building three is best if…don’t see why she…” He finally stopped tossing the lighter, and Felix cursed him under his breath for not stopping earlier. “Yeah, but I get to try first, right?” A gleam of the anticipation and excitement that he always felt when he was going to hurt someone. “I can’t wait to—” Felix dropped the lighter abruptly, cutting off the memory before he could hear what the pyro wanted to do to Laurel. He rattled off the names he’d heard, the man’s power, the matching jumpsuits they’d been wearing with the pest control logo, what the pyro had said about “building three”, what their voices sounded like, the sense of urgency he’d felt from the second man, even how the one holding the woman had smelled. Every bit of information he had learned, because he didn’t know what, if anything, might be important, or if Noah might recognize a significance that he missed. It was the most he’d spoken to Noah since he arrived, and his voice remained intentionally neutral and flat as he relayed the information, faltering only tiniest amount as he mentioned the pyro and how he liked to hurt people, and was planning to hurt Laurel. The info dump was a mode of operation he’d made a habit of while working with his uncle, one his uncle had had to train into him in the beginning, when he’d been more selective with what he revealed. It had never been up to him to put the information together into a coherent meaning, only to be the tool used to provide it in the first place. His uncle had always done the rest and hadn’t often asked for his input or opinion. He mulled over the information anyway now, his brain slowly making the connections, unused to this kind of thinking as it was, while also trying to push past and ignore the uneasiness he felt toward the pyro. He could only hope Noah was quicker than he was, and could fill the role his uncle usually did. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TAG: Noah St Cloud OOC: sorry it’s so long! Don’t feel like you have to match it, I just got carried away 😅

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[Noah St Cloud]

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[attr="class","Noahpostname"]noah st. cloud

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[attr="class","Noahpostlyric"]those walls will make sinners[break]
out of such lovely lads[break]

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OOC: I love it *_* This got a little long (Noah being chatty as usual) and I took a couple of liberties – let me know if you’d like me to change anything c:[break][break]

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Had Noah’s attention not been focused on him, he might have missed Felix’s quiet breath – a faint whisper of a sigh that Noah translated as disappointment. Perhaps he’d been hoping for more information. Noah certainly had been when he’d been the one looking for clues.[break][break]

“I touch something, I see things,” Felix answered, which immediately made Noah wonder what constituted as something and what he meant by seeing things. Did his gift work like Tawny’s? Did it work on people and not just objects?[break][break]

The thought put him a little on edge, made him almost defensive, but he did not show it outwardly. If his gift did work on people… what if Tawny found out? Would she want to meet Felix? Want to meet someone who had lived their whole life with her gift, rather than just borrowing it on occasion as Noah had? Perhaps it would be better not to ask. Better not to hear it, so he’d have an easier time hiding it from her if it were true.[break][break]

Regardless, before he could ask for any clarification, Felix questioned why he wanted to know. Noah shrugged cheerfully. “I like knowing. Knowing things is fun.”[break][break]

Felix turned away. He paused, however, glancing back at him with the offer to watch him while he worked.[break][break]

Noah beamed.[break][break]

Starting with the chair, Felix began touching different objects as he made his way around the room. There were no glowing fingers nor rolled-back eyes to indicate Felix was having visions, but Noah assumed they very much were happening. A stealthy gift, then. Useful. It certainly made him less easy for Hunters to find and he'd be good for investigating potential recruits in plain sight.[break][break]

“Just a tip: If you plan to call for me again, try not to touch everything before I get here.”[break][break]

A slight frown immediately encroached on Noah’s forehead. He prepared to argue. He hadn’t touched everything and the items he did touch had been left exactly how he’d found them. More importantly, he’d been wearing gloves; no one would know he’d been there. But then he realised Felix hadn’t said it because he was concerned about fingerprints or messing with the crime scene.[break][break]

Noah’s expression cleared with his understanding. “Noted.” The tip seemed to imply that he could only see the times someone had touched an item. Otherwise, why would he comment? Unless he could ‘flick through’ its entire history like Tawny could with memories, and had homed in on Noah’s interactions because he'd believed him to be someone else.[break][break]

Back to square one of guessing how it worked.[break][break]

By any means, it meant it was a gift Noah couldn’t borrow; even if Felix had viewed Noah’s past with an object, Noah’s gift obviously didn’t detect it as a direct enough threat to steal. That was a shame.[break][break]

Felix found Laurel’s phone – completely shattered, there was no way it would turn on – beneath the couch (and Noah was a saint for resisting the urge to reach over and test how soft his hair was while he was crouched down with his head bowed). He placed it on the table along with her keys before walking off to the bedroom. Though Noah was tempted to follow, he reflected that there was likely nothing in there that he hadn’t already seen. Plus, he didn’t want Felix to feel crowded; he was clearly ‘in the zone’ and having Noah hovering about would only be a distraction.[break][break]

Felix came back and shared his findings, delivering them with a surplus of detail that was honestly a little surprising. He even described what one of the men smelled like (and Noah made a mental note to comment on that particular titbit later). As if he were in the military; a good little soldier dutifully reporting back to their commander without bias. Just facts.[break][break]

However, when he spoke of one of the men planning to hurt Laurel, the inflection of his voice changed ever so slightly. The first hint of emotion that he'd shown since entering the apartment. Did it make him uncomfortable? Granted, most people wouldn't enjoy the thought of someone being treated badly, but Felix had seemed so detached before.[break][break]

“Hah,” was Noah’s initial response. He took out his phone and pulled off one of his gloves with his teeth, letting it fall into his lap so he could use the touchscreen. “Y’know, no matter how bad life gets, at least neither of us are called Kyle.”[break][break]

He searched for pest control companies in Los Eurosia and flipped through the different logos, turning the screen to Felix each time until he confirmed one as being the same as on the jumpsuits. The company had pretty average ratings. No reviews accusing the staff of abductions or foul play, at least.[break][break]

Google Maps showed they had one main store on the very edge of Downtown and Noah frowned at the image Street View provided of it, muttering under his breath to himself. “Too public. Not where I’d take someone I’d kidnapped… Building three…”[break][break]

He went back to the company’s official website, scrolling through their ‘About’ page. It tried to advertise them as a small, family-ran independent business, but hidden in the footer of the website was a different logo.[break][break]

Switching back to the Maps app, Noah grinned as a new search provided different results. “So, fun fact, their parent company has a bunch of warehouses not too far away… Yup, big ol’ numbers painted on the sides. Could see that from a helicopter; very helpful.”[break][break]

He stood up, putting his glove back on as he stared down at the suggested route to get there from Laurel’s home. “If they were in uniform, that says to me that they’re going to use the job as an alibi for being somewhere they wouldn’t be allowed if they weren’t wearing it.” Confident that he’d memorised the way, his gaze lifted from the screen to find Felix, quirking his brow as he grinned at him. “Somewhere like a private warehouse. Cool. Good job, detective.”[break][break]

Seeing no reason to wait, he strolled over to the exit. “Assuming they’ve taken her there, I suppose we better go rescue her.”[break][break]

He paused, his hand hovering over the doorknob. Maybe it was presumptuous to think Felix would be going with him. He turned back to the other man, eyes narrowed thoughtfully as they roamed over his form. He was a little smaller than the typical guys Noah would be paired with on such ‘missions’. Could he defend himself if it came down to it? Was he willing to put himself at risk in the first place for a woman he’d never met?[break][break]

“Do you want to come? You could just hang out in the car if you don’t want to get involved – and hey, maybe I can do this all stealthy-style so there’s no fighting at all. It’d just be nice to have a friendly face around for the journey, y’know?” His lips twitched with the faintest hint of a snicker as he said ‘friendly face’; Felix’s expression had remained deadpan throughout their whole interaction.[break][break]

He gestured between them – or more specifically, between their matching dark attire and boots. “We already have a team uniform. Though, maybe we look more like a pair of cat burglars than heroes.”

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[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

Felix was quietly pleased when Noah seemed to accept his suggestion to avoid touching things before he called him. He knew better than to accept the word as obedience, though. In his experience, people’s actions seldom matched their words. Whether or not he actually followed through would be the real test. It was a relief when Noah immediately knew what to do with the information when Felix gave it to him. He was sure he would have figured it out himself given time, but Noah’s mind was quick and agile, putting things together so that Felix didn’t have to. In this specific instance, Felix was okay with ceding control to someone else who was more competent, as was his habit when he worked with his uncle. He perched on the edge of the creaky chair across from where Noah sat, posture offering only the illusion of rest as his feet were securely underneath him so that he could be ready to spring up at any moment if need be. He didn’t reply to Noah’s joke with anything more than a small nod of agreement. It was rare that anything made him laugh, and even the best attempt at dark humor could usually only elicit a snicker from him. He had to admit though, it was a pretty stupid name for someone that Felix was so nervous about. It almost made the guy seem less threatening than Felix knew him to be. After he’d correctly identified the company logo he’d seen in the echoes, he watched Noah as he tapped at his phone and muttered under his breath, occasionally speaking louder to share bits of information with Felix, who nodded as he took them in. He took advantage of the moment, of Noah’s attention being elsewhere, to really look at him for the first time. His clothing, all black like his own, looked well cared for and good quality, which Felix appreciated. He was what most people would probably call attractive, though Felix didn’t tend to look at people that way. The hand not tapping away at his phone was gloved, and Felix realized belatedly that he had probably left his own fingerprints all over Laurel’s home. Working as a bounty hunter had meant being just inside the purview of the law, and he’d never had to worry about leaving fingerprints behind before. He didn’t worry about it now, either, assuming that if things went south with this job, they’d end up calling in a cleaner, anyway. Noah must have had his own reasons for wearing the gloves, not that it was any of Felix’s business. As he observed him curiously, Noah stood up and jerked the glove in his lap back on, looking up to grin at Felix in the process as he rose to his feet as well. Then Noah complimented him, and Felix couldn’t control the tiny frown that twisted his lips at the words. He cruelly pushed down the pleased feeling of having done something right, reminding himself that Noah was just making a joke by calling him “detective”, thinking he was being cute or something. Maybe he was even being sarcastic. Felix hadn’t done much of anything, after all. He’d just relayed whatever information he’d seen. Noah had been the one to put it together into something useful. He shrugged off the annoyance without comment and followed the other man toward the door, assuming he was done for the night. Then he registered the “we” that had just come out of Noah’s mouth, and gave him a puzzled look. Noah seemed to register what he’d said at the same time Felix had, and he paused to turn back and give Felix a critical once-over, much different than the way he’d been looking at him since he’d walked in the door. This look said he was doubting whether Felix could even be of use to him. At least, that was how Felix read it. His brows pinched together as he took offense at the scrutiny. He’d been prepared to tell Noah to fuck off for assuming his presence without asking, but now he had changed his mind. He was definitely going, his anxiety about potentially having to face the pyro—Kyle—be damned. Noah’s next words deflated his irritation a bit as he backtracked, questioning if Felix even wanted to accompany him. He got the sense that Noah knew how to use his words to get what he wanted, and spared a moment to wonder if he was being underestimated again, or rather deftly manipulated; Noah clearly wanted him along for some reason, whether that was just to have "a friendly face around" or for something else. Though he suggested Felix could stay in the car if he wanted to. Despite the staring Noah had done, Felix didn’t get the vibes from him that he would be dangerous to him in that way—he just didn’t seem the type, and Felix was an excellent judge of character in that regard—and he’d already decided that Noah wasn’t a threat to him in any other way as long as things remained amicable between them. After a mention about their matching clothing, Felix nodded decisively. “I’ll come along. Being pretty in the passenger’s seat is one of my many fortes, but I think you’ll find I’m good for a lot more than that.” He didn’t realize until the words were out of his mouth that they sounded like an innuendo or a flirtation, and was annoyed at himself because that wasn’t at all how he’d meant them. He’d been trying to make a joke, trying to communicate in Noah’s language. Based on his own history, though, the tone of the joke was decidedly darker than he’d intended if it came across as a flirtation. Not that Noah would pick up on that, but still. His brows pinched in irritation again, this time at himself. “And I don’t know about heroes,” he said, hoping to move past his awkward comment, “but cat burglars may be more suited to this job, anyway.” Wait. Was that another reference to the cat food thing? Was Noah teasing him again? He narrowed his eyes slightly at the other man. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TAG: Noah St Cloud OOC: Noah is a delight, as always. I know Felix isn’t talking much right now, but he’ll get there!

✿

[Noah St Cloud]

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[attr="class","Noahpostname"]noah st. cloud

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The once-over seemed to offend Felix, who frowned at Noah throughout it. Was it the obvious looking that annoyed him or was it the idea that Noah was judging him? Potentially underestimating him? Maybe he had a bit of a small man complex, hating to be seen as weak because of his stature.[break][break]

His expression smoothed while Noah made his offer and he agreed to join him in a way that (to Noah’s ears) sounded flirtatious, even if delivered flatly. The frown sprung straight back into place, as if he disliked the words that came from his own mouth, and Noah lifted his brows, his head tipping slightly sidelong with a brief, interested hum as if to say, ‘oh really?’.[break][break]

Felix swiftly moved on, referencing their cat burglar outfits, and Noah’s lips twitched. Almost immediately those blue eyes narrowed at him in suspicion. Ah. Had he caught on? Noah grinned. “Meow.”[break][break]

With Laurel’s keys on the table and his lockpicks in his pocket, he had the option to lock the apartment door behind them. He didn’t, if only to save a few seconds of time and to make it easier for Laurel to get in once they’d retrieved her.[break][break]

The street outside was empty. No one loitering, watching the apartment, watching them, but that didn’t mean people couldn’t be peeking out from their windows. He didn’t bother raising his face to look; there was no need to threaten or bribe any witnesses into silence. East End residents tended to be good like that. Why speak up on a crime if it didn’t directly involve them? Why put that target on their back?[break][break]

Noah led the way to a black Honda Civic parked a short way down the road. It was about as unremarkable as a car could get, which made it perfect for all his Blackstorm-related outings unless he was sent somewhere exceptionally upper class. He much preferred driving in his other vehicle, the Spyder, but it would be way too traceable if it was noticed at the scene of a crime and he didn’t particularly want to get any blood in it.[break][break]

Having unlocked it, he opened the passenger door for Felix but did not wait for him to get inside, walking around the front of the car to the driver’s side instead.[break][break]

Once seated and clipped in, he cheerfully glanced over to ensure Felix had done the same. “Seatbelt, purr-lease.”[break][break]

His gaze dropped to his neck, catching on the pale line there.[break][break]

Hm.[break][break]

His smile didn’t falter but he looked away to put the keys in the ignition.[break][break]

Maybe Felix would be helpful in a fight after all, not as green to the concept as Noah had initially suspected. A scar like that didn’t mean he was good, exactly, but it meant he was scrappy. Had felt his blood spill and wasn’t shying away from the prospect of it happening again. At the very least he would probably be able to take some hits and survive them.[break][break]

How did he get it, though? Had the cut been deep? Had he needed to go to the hospital? Was it from a random mugging gone wrong or had the situation been more personal? It was at times like this when Noah thought it would be fun to use Tawny’s gift on other people, to sate his curiosity without having to do any of the work of getting friendly and coaxing the information from their lips.[break][break]

But using her gift on anyone else would feel like a betrayal. It was too intimate. It was what made what they had so special. Sometimes he almost felt they could merge; share every single memory and become one person – if she was willing to accept the bad as well as the good. He knew he was willing to for her.[break][break]

He started up the car and pulled away from the curb. Usually he would drive around in silence if he were on his own, yet he found that most of his passengers liked some background noise beyond the engine, the passing of other vehicles, and the occasional ti-ck ti-ck ti-ck of the car’s indicators.[break][break]

Keeping the majority of his attention on the road, he briefly side-eyed the other man. “So like… should we listen to music on the way there? Or would that be disrespectful?” They were on a very serious mission, after all. While he thought it would be funny, he imagined some of his Blackstorm members would be appalled by the idea of listening to ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’ on the way to save someone’s life.
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[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

Felix hated that Noah seemed to have interpreted his words in the flirtatious way he’d feared they could be, but he wasn’t surprised. It was a sad fact of Felix’s life, that he occasionally made remarks that other people interpreted as flirty or salacious and didn’t realize until after the words were out. It was most likely a product of his disinterest in sex or romance in general giving him a blind spot to those things that other people interpreted as innuendo. He pretended he had never said it and hoped it was forgotten. So much for trying to joke around. He should know better than that by now. He was better off sticking to sarcasm. And, yeah, Noah was definitely teasing him, Felix decided, when Noah fucking meowed at him. What was with this guy and cats?! Felix made a scoff of disdain at the teasing meow, but didn’t otherwise comment as he followed Noah out the door. The quick glance around, eyes darting back and forth while his head stayed still, always on the look out for danger, was habit. The street was vacant, but he thought he could feel eyes on him anyway, despite not being able to see anyone watching. Maybe it was just paranoia. Or maybe it was Noah, watching him surreptitiously again. The car Noah led him to wasn’t what he expected the other man to drive, for some reason, but he couldn’t put his finger on exactly why except that it was so incredibly nondescript and boring that it didn’t seem to fit the man who drove it at all. At least from what little Felix thought he had learned about him in the hour or so that they’d shared company. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was a rental or something like that, or maybe he was borrowing it from someone else. Then again, maybe nondescript was the goal. Noah opened the passenger door for him, which Felix found odd, but he didn’t wait for him to get in, and Felix shot a puzzled look at the back of Noah’s head as he circled around to his own side without a word. Okay. He hesitated for half a second as he looked into the car, almost tempted to turn around and walk back home to get his own car, not liking the idea of being taken somewhere with no control over it. What if he needed to leave on his own for some reason? What if things went bad with Noah on the way there? What if—? He mentally cut himself off, forcing himself to climb into the car and shut the door behind him. There was no point in what ifs, and he had promised himself to stop entertaining them. If something happened, he would deal with it, like he always did. He could get a cab or an uber. He could defend himself and get away. Hell, if it came to that, he could always bail from the moving car if need be. It wouldn’t be the first time, as the road rash scarring along his right bicep and hip could attest to. He settled into his seat as Noah climbed in and did the same and, while he could admit to being both curious about and mistrustful of Noah, he resisted the impulse to read the echoes of the vehicle. Noah would no doubt think it was rude if he noticed, but that wasn’t what kept him from doing it. He didn’t care if people thought he was rude. He stopped himself from doing it because he didn’t need to. He refused to let himself want to know more about his temporary companion, and he refused to let himself worry about the potential threat. He could control himself. His curiosity and anxiety weren’t in charge, he was. He didn’t bother with a seatbelt until Noah reminded him, somehow tacking on another cat pun, and Felix almost refused to wear it for a moment, just to spite him. But then Noah’s gaze had dropped to his throat, no doubt clocking the scar there, and he didn’t react at all, smile staying in place as he started the car. Felix wasn’t sure what to make of that. He often got some kind of annoying reaction when people saw it, either gasps, or sympathy, or prying questions, or just staring. He appreciated Noah’s ability to keep his mouth shut and his eyes to himself in this instance, proving that he had some restraint. Felix wouldn’t have thought so based on the way the man had been teasing him. That alone is what had him conceding to Noah’s request that he wear the seatbelt, but he pushed the chest strap over his shoulder leaving him with just the lap belt. He never wore a seatbelt in his own car, not liking the feeling of the strap pressing against his neck and chest. Felix almost laughed at Noah asking him if it would be disrespectful to listen to music. He didn’t give a fuck about what was or wasn’t disrespectful. “I have no preference either way. Do what you want, it’s your car. If you need some kind of theme music to get you in the mood for a heroic rescue, have at it.” On one hand, he was no stranger to silence, and didn’t often listen to music in his own car unless he was in a particularly good mood, which was rare. On the other hand, music might be nice. Maybe it would keep Noah quiet so Felix didn’t have to hear any more of his stupid and confusing cat puns. His fingers and lungs ached for a cigarette, something familiar to do with his hands and mouth, a comfort in an unfamiliar situation. “You mind if I smoke?” He took his pack out of his pocket and pinched out one of the sticks, moving sluggishly in case Noah really had a problem with it. Usually, he didn’t give a fuck if people were bothered by his smoking, but in this case, he was in someone else’s car. He knew he would be annoyed if someone was in his car smoking or drinking or eating and acting like they owned the space. It would piss him off. So he figured he might as well extend the same courtesy to Noah he’d want shown to him. At least while he was in his car. “Should we talk about how this is going to go? Make some kind of plan? Or would you rather wing it once we get there?” he asked boredly. He wasn’t sure how Noah tended to operate, but he was fine with either course of action. Plans could be useful, but instinct could be just as useful, if you had the ability for it. His uncle had always favored strict plans and rules, getting upset when Felix diverted from the plan to follow his gut instead. Even when his gut was right about something. He wasn’t used to an equal collaboration when it came to things like this. He was used to his uncle calling all the shots, telling him exactly how things were going to go, but he wasn’t going to let himself default to that just because it was what was normal for him. Noah wasn’t his uncle, and if Felix was going with him, then this was going to be an equal partnership, as much as it could be. TAG: Noah St Cloud

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[Noah St Cloud]

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Although Noah heard the click of the seatbelt, in the corner of his eye he could see it didn’t cross Felix’s torso. Noticing came with the temptation to reach over and pull the strap forward so it would lay over the man’s chest rather than where it currently hid behind his shoulder. Not because Noah was particularly concerned about health and safety, but because it would be awfully ironic (or ironically awful) if a police car pulled them over for a seatbelt of all things.[break][break]

With a soft chuckle and a shake of his head he decided to let it slide, if only because Felix’s suggestion of needing theme music amused him.[break][break]

He flicked the radio on, thinking Felix might secretly prefer it even if he claimed he didn’t care. It was already tuned in to a station that mainly played indie rock and he turned the volume down low so it wouldn’t cover their voices or any important sounds outside the car.[break][break]

Not long after, Felix asked if he could smoke and procured a pack of cigarettes. Noah considered saying no because, again, if police saw them and decided to be particularly annoying, they could end up being pulled over.[break][break]

But what were the chances of that, really? He shrugged. “Only if I can have a drag.” He rolled down their windows by a third. “And if you try not to smoke up the windshield too much.”[break][break]

Noah wasn’t a smoker, nor had he ever been. He had smoked, on occasion, moreso to be social than because he had any real desire for it, and if asked he would say the taste and smell was simply ‘okay’. If cigarettes were supposed to make him feel a certain way that would have him running out to buy his own, he’d never felt it.[break][break]

In a distinctly disinterested tone Felix questioned if they ought to make a plan. Noah hummed, fingers tapping the wheel again as he wondered if Felix was doing it on purpose (trying to appear detached, wanting to look strong) or if that really was just his voice. Perhaps he truly didn't care, and was just along for the ride. Just along to show that he shouldn't be underestimated.[break][break]

“I suppose that would be wise,” Noah agreed. “Alright, let’s start with the very basics: inventory and skills.”[break][break]

Felix had said he could be useful, and though it was a funny innuendo, his immediate frown had made it clear that that wasn’t what he’d meant. Still, Noah didn’t immediately believe he could fight. The scar gave a little more credence than there had been before Noah had noticed it, but he couldn’t ignore the amount of men he’d met who would puff up their chests declaring that they could take down all sorts of enemies before going on to be absolute liabilities when the time came to prove it. Their faith in themselves had been untested. Born from fantasies and the action movies they’d grown up on.[break][break]

“Do you have any weapons on you? Or could you comfortably use a knife, taser, or baseball bat?” The questions were delivered neutrally, Noah doing his best not to sound patronising or imply that he doubted that Felix could. He already had a bareboned plan in his head, one that didn’t require Felix to fight at all if it went perfectly, but it wouldn’t be so simple if Felix couldn’t manage his role in it or defend himself if he got noticed. “And how’d you feel about knots or handcuffs? Can you pick a lock?”



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[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

Noah ended up turning the music on after all, but immediately turned it down low enough that it wouldn’t prevent conversation. Felix immediately tuned it out. He frowned slightly when Noah indicated he wanted a drag off his cigarette, but his confusion didn’t prevent him from putting it between his lips and lighting up. He sucked in a long drag and then let it out, blowing the smoke toward the partially open window to get sucked away by the wind. The rush of nicotine was a balm to his nerves and a distraction for his fingers to keep him from fidgeting. He was unsure what to make of Noah’s request for a drag of his cigarette. He’d never shared a cigarette with someone before and wasn’t sure what he thought about the suggestion. After mulling it over for a moment, he decided that he didn’t like the thought of it. It was too intimate. “Want one?” Felix asked, offering his pack instead of the cigarette between his fingers. When Noah agreed that they should devise a plan, he prompted him for his qualifications with very pointed questions, and Felix resigned himself to having to talk about himself, which he hated. He decided to keep it simple and to the point with as few details as possible. Just what Noah needed to know. He wasn’t trying to impress. "I have three knives on me, and I’m trained to fight with or without one. I’m familiar with handling guns, but I prefer blades. And, yes, I'm capable of picking a lock.” He rattled it off casually and matter-of-factly, ignoring and squashing the annoying bolt of alarm that he’d felt when asked about knots or handcuffs. Noah meant that Laurel would probably be tied up in some way. Felix knew that was what he meant. In that case, his knives were sharp and could cut through binds with ease, or he could pick the lock on a pair of handcuffs if he needed to. Even ones that were on his own wrists, if it came to it. “And you? Weapons, skills?” He couldn’t ignore the specific nature of the questions. “Did you already have something specific in mind? Some way you think this is going to go?” Something he hadn’t shared with Felix? “I’m all ears.” He didn’t know if Noah thought he had a good idea of what they would be facing, but if so, Felix hoped he had left room for surprises; in his experience, things rarely went precisely to plan. That was why he preferred simple objectives these days, ones that left him room to adapt and improvise. When he was younger, he’d tried planning everything out, to try and give himself a sense of control over his day and the interactions he had with people. It had never ended well. He’d learned that planning so strictly only ever made him feel more out of control when he inevitably failed to cover for every possible eventuality. That had extended to jobs with his uncle, too. If Noah needed a detailed plan to make himself feel better, Felix would help him devise it, with a warning that he would deviate the moment that something felt off. That was the best he could do. He wondered if he’d have to kill anyone tonight. He didn’t want to, didn’t like it, but he wouldn’t hesitate if it came down to it. His life—and to a slightly lesser extent Noah’s and Laurel’s, if only for tonight—came before anyone else’s. He mentally prepared himself for the possibility. If anyone was going to die, he hoped it would be Kyle. TAG: Noah St Cloud

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[Noah St Cloud]

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OOC: he just be talking lmao[break]

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He couldn’t tell if Felix made the offer to be kind or because he was a germaphobe who didn’t want to share, but either way, Noah wasn’t interested in having a whole cigarette to himself. “Not really.” He glanced at the one already lit between Felix’s fingers. While it would probably provoke an entertaining reaction if he lunged across and pulled a drag from it anyway, doing so had the potential to piss him off enough that he wouldn’t help Noah in the upcoming mission. It wouldn’t be worth it. So he only shook his head and returned his gaze forward, the corner of his mouth curling like the smoke. “Forget it. But thanks.”[break][break]

Felix summarised the weapons and skills he had in the same matter-of-fact manner he’d delivered his findings in Laurel’s home. Noah nodded along as he spoke.[break][break]

“Three,” he echoed quietly. His voice was a little absent, more of a mutter to himself as he looked for the next turning. “That’s a holy number. It appears in the Bible four hundred and sixty-seven times – you out to do God’s work?” His mouth pulled wryly with the beginnings of a snicker, though Felix’s admission did make him think.[break][break]

For Felix to have brought three knives to what had apparently been a simple meeting to use his psychic gift… Did he not trust East End that much? Or did he arm himself whenever he was called on Blackstorm business, wherever that might be? Or did he always carry knives on him, like Noah did? And there was that word he’d used: trained. Not just, ‘I can use weapons’. Trained to use them. It wouldn’t have caught his attention so much if it weren’t for the scar on Felix’s throat.[break][break]

What a weird, messed up little dude. Stray kitty indeed.[break][break]

Felix turned the questions back on Noah.[break][break]

“Skills-wise, much the same as you,” he began. “Got a couple of knives on me. Got a whole bunch of other stuff in the trunk, but maybe we won’t use Molotovs on account of the fire thing Kyle can do.” Although, if Kyle used his gift to harm Noah, then might be a good time to bring the cocktails out and really heat things up.[break][break]

“As for the plan… The short version is: if you can do all that, I’m thinking your focus should be on sneaking in and getting Laurel out. Whereas I’ll focus on being as annoying as possible so the guys either don’t notice you or can’t stop you once they do.”[break][break]

If Laurel needed to be carried, though, could Felix do it? As proficient in weaponry he might be, could he lift a full grown, unconscious woman, almost the same height as him, and get away quickly? That was a lot of dead weight and Felix had slim arms. Perhaps Noah would need to do more than simply keep the two abductors busy.[break][break]

Damn. He’d been doing so well. He hadn’t killed anyone in ages.[break][break]

He sucked a breath through his teeth and sighed it out, a dent appearing between his brows.[break][break]

“Long version: I wanna do some recon first. Look around, see what the place is like, if there’s anything we can use. Might need you to stand on my shoulders if there’s some high windows that we can peek in through. We’ll need to know the layout, escape routes, etcetera.”[break][break]

His gaze shifted across to Felix again, looking to gauge his reaction to what he said next. “And doing all that might mean Laurel will be hurting in the meantime, but we don’t charge in to help her out, okay?” Yet as he spoke, he recalled the change in Felix’s voice when he’d talked about Kyle. Would he act impulsively if he saw or heard something he didn’t like?[break][break]

Noah’s frown deepened and he huffed through his nose, turning his attention back to the road. “Fine. Depending on how exactly she’s hurting, I might run in, but you should hang back. Try to be smart about it. If it’s a stupid mistake and I get fucked up then I’ll be counting on you for a rescue.” If their cover was going to be blown before they'd thought things through, he'd prefer to be the one to do it. The element of surprise helped a lot in these scenarios and until he saw Felix in action Noah would fancy his own chances of using it effectively more than the other man's.[break][break]

“Anyway.” His tone lightened again, the sudden severity sweeping off his features almost as quickly as it came. “There were two guys. Hopefully no one else will be joining them but we can’t discount them having friends as a possibility. Odds are, we aren’t going to be able to lure them too far from Laurel. Too paranoid, y’know? If they hear a weirdass noise their first instinct probably won’t be to split up and investigate unless they’re stupid. But I’ll try my best to keep them on one side of the room or drag them outside of it if I can.”[break][break]

“And if you end up getting noticed and Kyle starts using his fire thing, just stay out of his way. I’ll try to keep his attention on me and you can deal with the other guy if need be, but if he has a gift too, we’ll need to decide real quick which one is more dangerous and focus on taking them out.”[break][break]

He spared Felix another glance, brow quirked. “Thoughts? Do you think we should do it differently?”




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[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

Felix shrugged and pocketed his pack when Noah refused the offer and took another drag. When Noah babbled some nonsense about the bible, Felix had to fight the urge to look at him as if he’d grown another head. He managed to control his expression when he looked over at him, but just barely. Not that it mattered, since the other man wasn’t looking at him anyway. “It’s just my lucky number,” Felix revealed, voice hesitant with confusion, and was immediately pissed at himself for admitting something so personal. “Are you some kind of religious nut?” he asked warily, voice firmer now. Felix was an atheist. He hadn’t been raised with religion, and after the things he’d faced during his life, he wasn’t likely to ever convert. Didn’t stop religious types from trying anyway, and seeming to take it as a challenge when he told them to fuck off because he was a non-believer. Noah gave a rundown of his own when Felix prompted him, and Felix listened to him speak, nodding here and there, huffing in quiet amusement at the mention of molotovs. He was curious what else Noah had in the trunk, but didn’t ask. Then he moved onto his idea for a plan, and Felix frowned slightly. So Noah meant to act as a distraction so Felix could get to Laurel. Interesting approach. Risky, too, if there were more guys than just the two Felix had seen, or if Laurel was too injured to walk on her own. He wondered if this girl meant more to Noah than he was letting on. Or perhaps his gift would make the task easier than Felix thought. He realized he had never asked Noah what he could do, because it hadn’t seemed relevant before, and Noah hadn’t included it in his explanation of his skills. Maybe he was secretive about it because it was personal. Felix understood the need to keep things like that a secret, but he needed to know a little bit, at least. As for causing a distraction, Felix wasn’t sure that was the best course of action. They didn’t even know what Laurel had been taken for. If they were hunters who just wanted information, a distraction might not be prudent. As soon as there was any kind of disturbance they could easily decide to just cut their losses and kill her. The only hope she had was if she had information they needed. And if the distraction did work, but Laurel couldn’t walk of her own will, and he had to get her out of there quick, they were both fucked; his muscle was all in his legs, he was built for speed not strength. If they had time, he could probably carry her over his shoulders and let his legs and back do the heavy lifting, but that counted on a lot of ‘ifs’. This was why he didn’t like detailed plans. It was impossible to account for every outcome. When Noah started talking about recon, Felix’s mouth pulled into a faint grimace at the thought of standing on Noah’s shoulders, but he’d do it if need be. Depending on what they found when they arrived, though, they might be working on limited time. If they had to take out a lookout or guard first, they would only have until the man failed to check in before they aroused suspicion with their presence. He talked about the potential for Laurel to be suffering, and Felix nodded again, expecting as much, but then Noah said he might run in, and urged Felix to stay back if he did. He might have thought it was because Noah still doubted his abilities, which was annoying but understandable, seeing as how he hadn’t yet seen him in action. Except then he said he’d be counting on a rescue from him if things went bad for him. What the fuck was that about? He almost spoke up and asked him about it, but decided to wait until Noah was finished talking to interject anything. It was best to let him lay it all out there for Felix to examine and then respond to. If he started talking before Noah was finished, it might make the discussion last longer than it needed to be, or even turn it into an argument. Noah finished laying out his plan, and then asked Felix what he thought of it. Felix appreciated the consideration. It was better than having to force his opinions to be heard. “First off, is your gift battle focused? Is it going to be useful in creating a distraction, or getting their attention immediately? I don’t like the idea of one of us taking more risks than the other, but I will concede the point if necessary. And I assume you know what Laurel’s gift is?” He’d caught glimpses of something in the energy echoes of her apartment, but it wasn’t something he could pin down. Probably not something showy and obvious, then. “Do you have any idea why she might have been taken? If they have no reason to keep her alive, a distraction might get her killed.” If her gift was somehow useful to them, though, that might be a different story. “I don’t think running in prematurely is a good idea. I don’t know how you feel about it, but I’m fine with letting her suffer temporarily if it ultimately means saving her life.” She was an adult, she could handle it, she’d heal. It wasn’t her potential for suffering that bothered him, it was Kyle’s willingness and glee to cause it. “Recon is vital, but if they have a lookout that we have to take care of, we probably won’t have a lot of time to work with after that,” he assumed Noah knew that, but felt the need to point it out, anyway. “If it’s only the two of them…” he hesitated, unsure how Noah would react to what he was about to suggest. Unsure if he even wanted to suggest it but knowing it was necessary. “Our best bet might be to take them out before we even worry about the girl. Before they can kill her, or call for potential reinforcements.” He wasn’t used to dealing in terms of death, or even rescue. Jobs with his uncle were about capturing and containing, not about killing and saving. But it wasn’t hard to translate the skills needed, and if these guys were hunters, if they were willing to kill, then he had to be willing to kill, too. Willing to meet them on their level. Since Noah had already offered to focus on Kyle… “If it comes down to that, you take Kyle, I’ll take the other guy?” he suggested, reasonably confident he could handle the guy without much effort. And if he finished off his mark before Noah had dispatched his own, he could help with Kyle if Noah needed him to. “Or we can swap if you think that would be wiser.” He was fast, he could probably outmaneuver Kyle’s “fire thing”. He took another drag on his cigarette, which had almost burned out while he’d been talking, but the deep drag brought it back to life, flaring the cherry as he pulled the smoke into his lungs. He’d just spoken more than he had any other time tonight, and he waited to see what Noah’s reaction would be to everything he’d said. He was curious, but his expression remained as blank as ever. TAG: Noah St Cloud

✿

[Noah St Cloud]

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[attr="class","Noahpostlyric"]those walls will make sinners[break]
out of such lovely lads[break]

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Three was his lucky number?[break][break]

Noah shook his head in disbelief, amusement carved into every line of his features. How unexpected. And how cute – not just the concept but also the hesitant way Felix admitted to it. With how serious he'd looked all this time Noah hadn’t pegged him as that sort of person and he was immediately curious if there was any reasoning behind it. Any deeply revered spiritual beliefs or life-changing experiences that made it so. However, upon being asked (with palpable wariness) if he was a religious nut, Noah burst out laughing and shook his head more vigorously, his stream of thought efficiently diverted away.[break][break]

He resettled quickly to share his ideas, and Felix sat in near silence throughout the whole spiel. He only huffed once (the closest sound to a laugh he’d made so far) at the mention of molotovs, but whether that was because the idea was entertaining or because he thought Noah was joking about having them was not something Noah could discern.[break][break]

Felix gave his own opinions after Noah was finished, asking the kind of questions that Noah liked to hear. They proved he was paying attention. That he wasn’t a thoughtless drone who would accept every suggestion Noah made. Good. Noah preferred that in a mission partner; it was always beneficial to have different perspectives, different ideas, to be sure that if he missed something, the other person would bring it up if they noticed. Noah hummed and nodded along, sometimes with a soft “good point” or “yeah, agreed” as Felix spoke.[break][break]

Most importantly Felix agreed to leaving Laurel to the mercy of her abductors if it meant saving her life later, which implied there would be no reckless heroics from him. And, more than that, he said they could ‘take out’ the abductors, which had to mean killing them in that context and judging by the way he'd hesitated before saying it.[break][break]

But could he be trusted to do it? Had he taken a life before? Would his hands falter if the abductor cried and snivelled with just the right combination of words on their tongue? These weren't questions Noah could outright ask, despite how much he itched to. He would simply have to trust that Felix would do as he'd said and deal with it if it turned out he was all talk. Especially as, if they definitely were going to murder people tonight, he would rather they did it quickly. No time for begging. No drawing it out. Quick and clean; he needed to make the memory as small and harmless as possible even if that meant some mysteries went unanswered.[break][break]

Only when Felix finished and took another drag of his cigarette did Noah give a more detailed response.[break][break]

“No, I should take Kyle,” he said, answering Felix's last question first. “I just need to get burned once for his gift to be out of the game – or rather, in our hand; my gift lets me steal other people’s gifts if they use them against me.” He shot a wink at his passenger, grinning. “Like an Uno reverse card, y’know? Or maybe 'Go Fish' would be a better metaphor…” His expression shifted, rearranging into something sincerely contemplative for a few seconds, before he waved off his pondering both literally and figuratively.[break][break]

“Anyway, our friend Laurel can raise the dead! More specifically, she can make dead bodies move around again. Get that heart pumping and make them walk. Creepy, right? They don’t get their soul returned to them or anything – if you believe in souls, that is – so they’re just empty husks. Mindless zombies without the brain eating part. They’re not the person they were when they were alive.”[break][break]

Ah. As he spoke, it dawned on him why Laurel might have been taken rather than murdered in her home, for a reason that didn’t actually involve Blackstorm at all. He sobered again.[break][break]

“I mean… could that be why she was kidnapped?” Maybe someone was looking to resurrect a deceased loved one, not knowing Laurel’s gift couldn’t truly reunite them in the way they hoped. “She doesn’t use it so much nowadays (and why would she – it's gross) but she rose a bunch of animals from the dead when she was a kid, living on a farm. It’s how I found her, so I figured maybe some hunters might have found that trail as well. But maybe they’re not actually hunters?”[break][break]

Although, if they wanted Laurel’s help, surely abducting her from her apartment wasn’t a good way to go about it. They could have tried asking first and Felix hadn't seen anything like that in his visions.[break][break]

Noah sighed. “Maybe we should assume they are anyway. Assume that she’d be expendable to them. And that means, yeah, we should take them out before they have the chance to call for help or take her out first.”[break][break]

The car slowed to a halt at a red light and he fell silent, stare fixed ahead as he waited for it to shift to yellow, to green.[break][break]

“Hey… Back at Laurel’s apartment…” He licked his lips. Tapped his thumb against the steering wheel. “I couldn’t help but notice how… you picked up on what that one guy smells like.” He couldn't help it – he snorted, unable to withhold his grin any longer. “Was that on purpose?”[break][break]

His shoulders shook with silent snickers until suddenly a gasp tore from his lungs. He straightened in his seat as he whipped around to face Felix, eyes wide with both glee and amusement. “Did you pick up what I smell like? Better than him I’d hope. Any thoughts on that? Should I change my cologne?”





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[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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[Felix Golding]

rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive

Noah seemed to find the idea of being a religious nut hilarious, and Felix relaxed minutely at the sound of his laughter. Thank fuck. That would have been an extra layer of irritation he didn’t want to deal with tonight when he had more important things to focus on. He grew a tiny bit more comfortable with Noah as they discussed strategies and contingencies, throwing ideas back and forth, a familiar sense of camaraderie with a fellow fighter easing some of the tension in his shoulders. Noah was on his side for tonight. They were on the same team. They could count on each other, if only temporarily. Noah confirmed that he would focus on Kyle, and Felix was both relieved and disappointed. Relieved because Kyle made him annoyingly uncomfortable, and disappointed because if he were going to be the one fighting him, he would be sure to make it hurt and drag it out when he killed him. He didn’t know if Noah was the kind of person to do that, even if Felix asked him to. Noah went on to explain the reason he felt he should be the one to go for Kyle, and Felix was intrigued despite himself. Power stealing, interesting. Felix wondered what would happen if he touched Noah and tried to use his psychometry on him. He’d never actually tried to use it on a person before, had never wanted to, and it had never happened organically. Not that there were a lot of opportunities, considering he rarely touched people, and certainly not with any kind of curiosity. But he wondered if simply trying would be enough for Noah to take the ability. Or, better yet, what would happen if he had a vision with Noah in it? Would that count as using his power on him? Would Noah get his power? He would gladly give that particular power up for good. Did Noah get to keep the powers he stole? What else did he have up his sleeve? He didn’t voice any of those questions. He knew what he needed to know for now. When Noah lapsed into a brief, contemplative silence, Felix spoke up. “Do you have a lighter?” He offered the bic from his pocket in case he didn’t. He wondered how bad the burn would be when Noah stole Kyle’s power. He could imagine people might find Noah charming, but he had no doubt that charm would be less potent if the fire ruined his objectively attractive face or that thick head of hair on his head. He really wanted to encourage Noah to make Kyle suffer if he got the chance, the way Kyle liked to do to the people he hurt, but he refrained. Raising the dead was perhaps even more fascinating than power stealing. And disturbing. Creepy, Noah called it, and Felix had to agree, nodding slightly, though he could admit to himself he would like to see it in action. Noah deliberated out loud about the reasons Laurel might have been taken, but seemed no more sure than Felix was, despite having more information, so Felix approved of his assessment that they treat the situation as if the men were hunters, either way. Even if they weren’t, their intentions weren’t good, considering they had kidnapped a woman from her home with intentions to hurt her. “Agreed. And remember, Kyle is the tall brunet with the greasy ponytail. The other guy is shorter, with badly bleached hair and a notch in his ear.” He reminded him of the descriptions he’d given earlier, just in case. “If you see someone who doesn’t match those descriptions, we’ll need to reassess.” If there was time to do so. They came to a stop at a red light, and Noah started to talk about something from earlier at Laurel’s apartment, causing Felix to turn to him in curiosity. Then Noah started laughing at him, unreasonably amused by the fact that he had mentioned the way one of the guys smelled. Felix didn’t much care what people thought about him, but he sighed and made a mental note to censor his visions in the future if they ever teamed up again. He supposed he didn’t need to give every detail the way his uncle had trained him to. “I noted the way he smelled because Laurel did,” he said, just a hint of defensiveness in his tone as he passively watched Noah laughing. The second guy had smelled like some sort of sharp chemical, but it hadn’t been strong enough to cover up the smell of his BO, and Laurel’s reaction to it had been one of visceral disgust, strong enough to come across in the energy echo. He would rather not have known that, but he wouldn’t even have mentioned it if he didn’t think the chemical smell might have been relevant. He took another drag on his cigarette and waited out Noah’s laughter. He didn’t bother to comment on the way the other man smelled, as he knew he was just messing with him, and Felix hadn’t particularly taken note of it, anyway. His cologne wasn’t the pungent and bothersome kind that Felix couldn’t stand, so it was fine with him. “How much farther to go?” he asked when the light turned green. He hadn’t noticed Noah checking his phone, so maybe he had memorized the route. He was jealous of that kind of directional recall, if that was the case. His own was piss poor, and he couldn’t get anywhere without his phone GPS to guide him. TAG: Noah St Cloud

✿

[Noah St Cloud]

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out of such lovely lads[break]

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[attr="class","Noahpostingbox"]


Felix asked if he had a lighter and Noah glanced down at the one he offered. He did have his own, somewhere. Probably in the closed glove box right in front of Felix. Yet he took the offered bic and pocketed it anyway, thinking that it might make the other man feel useful and perhaps like him a bit more. Ben Franklin effect, or whatever it was called.[break][break]

“Thank you,” he smiled warmly, and he nodded along as Felix described the abductors once more. They didn’t sound like the type of people he’d want to touch (violently or not) and he grimaced at the thought of grappling with them; he much preferred fighting with the pretty ones with good hygiene, and who wouldn't? Still, a fight was a fight and the beginnings of excitement stirred in his gut as they drew nearer to their destination.[break][break]

(Then again, he wasn’t trying to fight with them, was he? Not really. He needed to kill them before it could get to that point).[break][break]

Upon being questioned on the smelling situation, Felix sounded just a hint defensive. He looked unimpressed, however. Unmoved. Simply continuing to smoke as Noah’s laughter petered into nonexistence. Hm. Noah resisted a pout. What would it take to get a reaction from him? A smack or a drawn knife or an expression that was not merely annoyed nor touched by boredom?[break][break]

“In any case, you’ve got a killer nose,” he mused. “Just like a… Dare I say it?”[break][break]

The light turned green and they set off again, with Felix asking if they had much farther to go. It reminded Noah entirely too much of a kitty caught in a carrier, sorely regretting its choice to trust an outstretched hand and wanting to escape into the night. The feline parallels were endless with this guy.[break][break]

“Almost there,” Noah murmured, fighting the desire to reach over and ruffle his hair or pat his leg. “Almost…”[break][break]

Perhaps he ought to change tactics. While it was funny as hell to him to tease him, there was the very real possibility he was just pushing Felix further and further away.[break][break]

“Alright, I’m sorry,” he chuckled. “Believe it or not, I really do appreciate everything you’ve done tonight and the detailed information you’ve shared with me. I haven't been this prepared in ages. And I appreciate you being with me now.” If not for Felix, he’d still be at the apartment trying to find out where Laurel had gone, probably growing increasingly frustrated as looking through her things and questioning her friends revealed nothing. And the amount of information Felix divulged was truly very useful; far better than chasing after dark, unknown figures.[break][break]

As for Felix coming along with him, it was certainly less boring.[break][break]

“How about this: for every question of mine you answer, I'll restrain myself the next time I think of a kitty joke.” That was fair, right? Noah was curious, and if his teasing was really that annoying then surely Felix would pounce on the opportunity to make it stop. “What do you usually do to have fun, hm? What would you consider a really good day? Or night, if that’s more your speed?”[break][break]

The roads were empty at that point; no other vehicles ahead of, behind, or beside them. He switched off his car’s headlights, the engine near silent as it slowed and crept around the final corner that brought the compound into sight.[break][break]

It was impossible to miss the huge metal warehouses that loomed in the distance, all a dark muted green which looked closer to grey in the shadows of night. Tall chain link fencing surrounded them, roughly twice Noah’s height yet thankfully not topped with barbed wire, and the apparent entrance had large gates (padlocked shut) wide enough for two trucks to drive through when open. Lights were dotted along the fence but there didn’t appear to be any on the buildings themselves.[break][break]

He couldn’t see any cameras either, which was strange, as places like that tended to have the large bulky ones – the blaringly obvious, visible ones – to deter trespassers from entering. He tentatively decided that probably meant they didn’t have any. Not in the areas outside the warehouses, anyway. But he’d still send a message to Blackstorm to ask that they get someone to find out and scramble the footage if there were.[break][break]

The car hadn't stopped yet and Noah was willing to let it prowl around the warehouses' perimeter until he had one more step to the plan figured out. “What do you think – cut a hole in the fence, climb over it, or find a less obvious gate to unlock?”


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[attr="class","Noahdark2PostTag"]Tag: Felix Golding

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