Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Stop that," Evan scolded. "You know there's no thanks necessary. I would kill anything that tried to hurt you even if it wasn't in the job description." He leaned forward to take his as-yet untouched cup of tea from the tray, wrapping his fingers around it to take advantage of its lingering warmth. It smelled earthen and mild in a way that usually wasn't to his tastes, but Stormy seemed to enjoy it and she had gone to the trouble of making it. He took an obliging sip and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't syrup-thick strong like coffee. He sat back, content to idly sip the tea as he pondered her question.

"I think it's hard to judge what constitutes good around here," Evan answered haltingly. "If you ask Caelius, none of us are doing a good job. After that last mission," he trailed off, shaking his head. "That was a clusterfu--uh, a mess, but you've made it this far, you know whose side you're on, and you're still alive. By Deus standards, that's better than most."

Evan toyed idly with the cup as he considered just how much honesty to give her without at least one of them being drunk. Close as they were, he had always taken pains to shelter Stormy from anything less than the prettiest face he could put on the truth both for her sake and his own piece of mind. He had just spent the past few months watching her struggle through her own personal hell and come out the kind of person who could still laugh and hug and share lunch--stronger, for all appearances, but he didn't want to test that.

"I don't think anyone really belongs here," he finally answered, meeting her gaze with his own and a wan grin. "I think it's just somewhere people end up. I think kids like you and Noemi and your little friend shouldn't be," he caught himself before he had a chance to get on that old, familiar soapbox. "I think if you have to be here," he tried instead, "then I'm glad it's somewhere you feel comfortable enough to build a family around yourself."

Evan went cautiously still as Stormy expressed her opinion. Gir whined in anxious disappointment in the back of his mind, making his disagreement clear; Evan, for his part, agreed with his weapon. Mostly, he felt sympathetic pity for Stormy--she was still so young despite all that she had been through, still naive enough to be twisted by the authority figures she had been taught to believe and obey.

It was easier to think of it that way. He didn't want to think of her like Chel, like a traitor-in-waiting. Stormy sounded uncertain enough to still be on the fence. Evan didn't need her to feel the same level of hatred for Halloween as he did--he didn't want her to, didn't want her to be in a position to, even though after what had happened to Nevada, she had a right to be there.

She needed to understand, though. "They're all on the same side," Evan replied, trying to keep the censure out of his tone. They were just talking, that was all. "They're all monsters. They all have the capability to hurt you. Best to put them down as early as you can before they have a chance to--for their sake and yours."

Evan opened his mouth to reply, to instinctively soothe, and realized in that moment how easy it would be to push Stormy down the path of vengeance, to use Nevada's death as a teaching tool and a reminder of what their mission should be, always. He could do that, remind her that she should be angry and all the best ways to hone that rage into something useful and productive. He could teach her the best places to strike for a quick kill and how to drag it out and make it last. He could cut her off a stick for her to keep track of the number of monsters she put down. He could twist her like he had gotten twisted, somewhere, and it wouldn't take much. She was so vulnerable.

The thought slid away just as quickly as it had struck him, leaving him feeling bitterly ashamed of having considered it at all. Still, it lingered at the edges of conscience and ate away at it like acid. "You don't have to be scared," he finally said. "You don't have to be a Sun, either, if you don't want to. You can take all the Life duties and stay in the labs and never have to see another monster again. I'll fight them all for you. That's my job." It wasn't a lie, not really. It was pretty words and hope. She would probably have to fight again someday, eventually, but if he could keep her out of harm's way as often as possible, that would be a victory, too.

He moved himself this time, scooting out of the nest just enough to enfold her in his arms. "It's not your fault," Evan assured her, stroking her head, her back, trying to soothe her as though she were a frightened child and not a seasoned Hunter. "It's never your fault. Put the blame where it deserves to be--on the monsters, on Deus, even--but it's not on you. You're not the one who got her killed, and this place is enough to drive anyone crazy."