Turn 85 (Pt. 1): Meeting With Noah Delacroix

--- Maya Williams ---

Having received a text message from her newly named contact ‘The Magical Mierde’ she was walking around one of the numerous paths in the park to try and find him, a task that took her far longer than she liked given how deep in the park he’d set himself up.

“So you showed up.” Noah noted as he looked up from the book he was reading.

“You told me to meet you here.” She pointed out while gesturing to the park around them. “And what does this place have to do with ‘the Deviant side of things?’”

“Little bit of this, little bit of that.” Noah shrugged as he closed his book and hopped off of his stone perch. “We could’ve met up at the Witch’s Wares, but given how you’re an M.A.D. and those people know where I live… I decided it was best to side step all of that.”

“Side step what?” She growled while narrowing her eyes.

Noah snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “That, you M.A.D.s tend to be a volatile bunch and if you burned the shop down well… that wouldn’t go over well for any one. Me especially.”

“So you brought me to a park?” She reiterated.

“This park is a Deviant hotspot if you know what to look for. For instance the city Arcane meet here whenever we need a truce. There’s enough escape routes in every direction that no one can really get locked down unless they’re stupid.” Noah explained, before giving her a curious if condescending look. “You said you were pretty new to the masquerade, do you know anything about all of that?”

She considered what was safe to tell him before eventually admitting that, “I joined an M.A.D. club.”

“And they didn’t tell you anything about the Deviant side of things?” Noah frowned before shaking his head. “Wait, I know who you’re talking about. They’re that hobbyist group that runs that science museum or something.”

“Yeah…” She nodded, wondering if she should feel offended. “That’s them.”

(Obviously, you should be offended by the filthy magic user’s very presence.) Her inner madness assured her. (Punch him!)

“Makes sense none of them would tell you anything then, since none of them are really on the level of the Masquerade.” Noah huffed, looking amused.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She wondered, leaning towards that offended feeling.

(Do it!)

“There are three layers to the Deviant’s Masquerade.” Noah explained, tapping his fingers against the cover of his book before throwing them to the side causing a small swirl of fog.

“First are the hobbyists, those people who just happen to be Deviants.” A double of her wearing an M.A.D. club shirt appeared. “These are the people who could quit being a Deviant and it wouldn’t change too much for them.”

“Then there are those who live and breathe the life of a Deviant full time.” A (cute) girl with green hair, yellow eyes and pointed ears appeared. “These people actually make a living by being a Deviant, their Deviancy a part of their very livelihood and culture.”

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“And of course we have the actual Masks, who don’t just live the life of Deviants but actively revel in it.” This time a tanned young woman wearing a Mask and a blue outfit appeared. “People to whom being a Deviant is more important than whoever they are beneath the mask.”

“That’s… Terraform, right?” She checked, because while she’d never met the hero herself she’d still be an idiot to not know one of the town’s biggest stars. (Especially when Vi dressed up as her for Halloween.)

“Yeah… you’ll find if you meet her in person, that like I said, being Terraform is more important to her than the girl beneath the Mask.” Noah sighed, before snapping his fingers and causing all three figures to dissipate. “Not that it matters since as you said you fall into the hobbyist category.”

“How do you know that?” She asked him, not really sure how to feel given how he talked about the town hero. (I’m not like that… I won’t be like that.)

Noah gave her a considering look, his eyes flashing blue for the briefest moment. “Tell me, what’s your greatest fear as a Deviant?”

Her mind flashed back to (a bag fell over her head as hands dragged her into a van and her things fell to the ground, her screams muffled.)

“Being kidnapped for being an M.A.D.” She answered, not entirely sure why she did.

Noah blinked as if surprised by her confession, something she couldn’t help but mirror just as surprised that she’d said it given how… hard she’d been trying to avoid that particular memory.

The other teen broke their staring contest first, something… guilty to his expression. “If you want to avoid that you’ll either have to be a hobbyist too weak to bother with, or a Deviant so strong they’ll be scared to go after you.”

She inhaled, forcing down whatever… feelings that memory had dredged up and instead focusing on the burning (rage) she felt at the idea that someone would think her weak enough to do that. “I know.”

They were both quiet for a moment before Noah ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Damn it, I didn’t mean for this to be so serious… I was just trying to do something nice for a newbie…”

“Yeah, I didn’t mean for this to… go that way either.” She agreed, feeling… off.

“Alright, you’re… a little more serious about this Deviant thing than the other hobbyists at that club.” Noah admitted with a grimace. “If you want me to, I can still answer any questions you have about being a Deviant… I, uh, I owe you that much for all of… this.”

“Given how we barely know each other…” She wasn’t sure she agreed.

“No, trust me… I owe you one or else I’ll be feeling like an asshole all week.” Noah admitted looking pained. “Just… just ask me anything that comes to mind and I’ll do my best to answer. I may not be an actual Mask but… I’ve interacted with enough of the city’s Masks and Hunters that I probably know more about the masquerade than most other Deviants in the city.”

She considered that for a moment, not really sure what to do given how she could recognize her emotional state was a little… out of sorts.

(This is what we came here for.) Her inner reason reminded her. (While we might not be able to outright state that we are a Mask, especially given his stance on them, he is still far more connected than us within the community.)

(If he’s actually that connected.) Her inner instincts chimed. (I don’t know what it is but he’s definitely hiding something. Maybe he’s not connected as he claims?)

(You’re just on edge because he’s a magic user.) She thought to herself, not really willing to put much effort into the whole magic vs. science thing at the moment.

(It’s not just that… something’s off about him.) Her inner paranoia insisted.

(Regardless, this is an opportunity we shouldn’t squander.) Her inner logic argued. (Honestly, Decker is the only one we know more capable of answering our questions without drawing too much attention and even he said we need to make more contacts within the Masquerade.)

That was a point she couldn’t really ignore given how she’d already used her ‘Favor’ with Decker and there was no telling what the gang lieutenant would ask of her for another.

She bit her lip as she considered it for another moment before finally opening her mouth and asking her first question.