Quiet (Tag: Nyx)

The pond was a nice area. It was off the beaten path and very much secluded. Zack sighed to himself, stretching out his wings and laying back in the grass. It wasn't perfect, because he was distracted but it was a start to say the least. If only he could actually focus on relaxing things would be perfect.

Nyx was out on a jog around the island. She was in her workout clothes, a sports bra and yoga pants. As she passed by the pond, she slowed down to look around. It was always so pretty. She would've kept going if she didn't see a man laying in the grass and with... wings? Nyx came to a full stop, finding herself accidentally staring at them. She'd never seen anything like them before.

Zack sighed and sat up. If he couldn't relax he may as well go for a flight. He was about ready to when he realized someone was staring at him. A light smile crossed his lips. Lots of people stopped and stared when it came to his wings. More often than not they had a whole freak out regarding religion. "Take a picture," he advised. "Lasts longer."

Nyx couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at what he said. "Sorry. I didn't mean to stare. They're just.." she stopped looking at them and finally glanced up to his face. "Beautiful." She smiled as she tucked a hair behind her ear. He was pretty good looking. "But I guess you must get that a lot." She added with a small laugh, based off what he said.

"Actually most people refer to them as heavenly." Zack replied. "But they don't normally see me when the feathers fall out. Molting season." He made a face. Every year or so, his feathers would fall out and he would grow new ones. It was natural for birds. But he left behind enough feathers to make a down blanket. "Can't say I got your name though. I'm Zack Fair."

"Alright well don't flatter yourself so much," Nyx replied playfully. Though they were beautiful. Molting season? That would be interesting to see. "I'm Nicola Loiselle, but call me Nyx." She blinked a couple of times, realizing what he said. "Wait, Zack.. Fair?" She asked, a mischievous smile growing on her lips. "Oh so you're Xion's brother.

"Yeah, Zack Fair - Wait, you know Xion?" Zack asked in surprise. Not many people referred to Xion as the first Fair sibling. It was normally 'oh so you're Zack's younger sister'. It was good to hear that Xion was getting out. "How do you know her?"

"Oh we met in the library," Nyx answered with a small shrug. "We talked about you for a little bit actually. Nice to know that I was right when I said that I had I met the cooler Fair sibling first." She teased him as she swayed a little bit, smiling.

Zack blinked owlishly. It took him a second to realize what she meant before he started to laugh. He certainly liked this woman enough already. Anyone who liked Xion was okay with him. "I know right?" He agreed. "Did you tell her that?"

"Oh yes," she nodded. Nyx raised her eyebrow when he agreed. Xion did say he was protective over her, so it was kind of nice to see that he was being brotherly. "I did in fact."

"And? And? How'd she take it?" Zack asked. Knowing his sister as well as he did there was probably a lot of protesting and blushing. Insisting that Zack was the more accomplished of the two of them. He hated she was so down on herself and wanted her to believe in herself more but she just wasn't confident. It would take time, he realized.

"Oh I had to keep assuring her that she definitely was," she put her hands on her hips, recalling the conversation. "She kept getting really scientific on me, and blushing. But it was cute. You've got a great sister."

"I know." Zack said. He smiled fondly as he thought about her. Even if she was angry with him. "Thanks though. I was kind if nervous bringing her here, you know? All these kids with powers. She has a hard time forgetting stuff though." It was his biggest fear was that something bad would happen and she would never forget it.

"I think she's doing fine," she commented. Nyx couldn't help but find herself smiling a little warmly at him. She caught herself and shook her head, laughing a little. "Sorry.. I just, I don't have any brothers or sisters so.. It's really nice to see you both talk about each other like that." They both insisted the other sibling was better, which was something she didn't really think most siblings would do.

"Yeah well, she's not talking about me like that right now. I kinda ticked her off." Zack admitted sheepishly. He was her least favorite person on the island that moment. "Caught her and a boy together and I chased him off. Now you tell me, kids these days don't go around kissing each other just because right? She says he was just a friend but he was trying to get in her room!"

Nyx blinked her eyes a little bit. "Xion.. was kissing a boy?" She didn't really believe what he was saying at first, it was just one of the things she didn't expect to hear at all. But she was also cheering the girl on in the back of her mind, happy that she was getting out. "Sorry to hear that. All that doesn't sound like just a friend... but I'm sure if Xion says so and she's really upset about it.. maybe you should listen to her?"

"More like he was kissing her. I just..." Zack sighed heavily. "I don't want to see her get hurt. She holds onto things like that longer than other people. If someone hurts her, she doesn't forget. She can't forget." It was the only thing Zack hated about her special ability. She remembered everything. Good or bad.

Nyx put her hand on his shoulder to console him. She had never asked Xion what her ability was, but it seemed like it was related to memory. Thoughts like that must haunt an older brother. "Hey. You're a good brother. But.. she's getting older too so there's just some things you can't always protect her from." She took her hand off of his shoulder and put it on her hips with a comforting smile to try to cheer him up. "And you said you chased the guy off right? I'm sure whoever it was.. knowing she has a big strong brother, he probably won't be trying anything funny with her."

"I know," Zack sighed. "I wasn't always around when she was growing up either. I was off in the marines when our father pushed her all the way through college. She's just sixteen..." He hadn't always been the best of brothers. He would be the first to admit that, even if Xion would try to defend him. He was trying to make up for it now when he realized the impact of what her powers had on her.

Nyx couldn't help but feel sympathy. "Well you know she's a smart girl... give her some space for now and even though she might be mad, she knows that you only meant well. Hey, don't beat yourself up so much." She glanced over to the pond and their reflections. Looking back to him, she offered him a friendly hand and another comforting smile. "Hey, let me buy you lunch. Or a drink. Regardless, you shouldn't spend your whole day brooding by the pond. It's not healthy."

Zack looked back up at her. It suddenly hit him where he knew her from. So he laughed a little nervously and scooted back, as if a drink would appear in her hand and he would end up soaked. Granted, if she wanted to she could have just pushed him into the pond. "Only if you promise not to dump one on my head!" he retorted. "You were at the pub the other night. You doused that Strife guy."

Nyx put her hand on her hip, raising an interested eyebrow at his comment. "So this is my legacy as a UN agent," she said with a half-smirk, suddenly remembering this guy. She never got his name before and it was dark so she didn't recognize him right off the bat. "Riight, I remember you now. Sorry about wasting that drink.. but you didn't hear what he said. He was being a complete jerk." She said with a small laugh as she recalled it. "Even more reason now, I'll pay you back."

"And he said he treated you honorably..." Zack grumbled, hating that he had believed Cloud for saying that in the first place. The way Cloud spoke of it, he just flirted a bit and never committed. He might just have to have words with Cloud the next time they saw one another. "Hey, I'm down for a drink any time. So don't hesitate if you need a drinking partner."

"Well.. it's whatever," Nyx said as she shrugged her shoulder nonchalantly. "I've not always been the luckiest when it comes to guys. Hopefully that'll change one day." She'd dated a few guys but never found the one yet. Smiling at his offer, she glanced over back to him. "Yeah, I'd like that. Although I'm not sure how well I'll hold up against you." She gave a small laugh.

"A drink won't kill you," Zack said. He just had a faster metabolism becuase apparently, flying took a lot of energy out of a guy. He tended to eat and drink twice the amount of calories a normal person would need and his metabolism burned faster. "Besides, always helps if you have a bit of food in your stomach before you drink."