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Nenet gives Noel a subtle shake of her head as she leaves him to take care of the grunts. Instead she moves to the front desk as the fight breaks out and reaches around to press a button on its underside; an alarm blares, and the front doors to the Space Center slam shut as the security system there comes to life.
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One exit and entrance barred.
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She turns as Nomi shimmers into view. Two more grunts have entered the room behind her, though paused at the sight of the avatar. Her gaze cuts to Noel for a bare instance before she moves to stand behind him.
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"Nomi," she greets pleasantly enough, speaking before Noel can. "It's a shame you've thrown away your reputation like this. You were a promising student." Her lips press into a thin smile as she asks, "I don't suppose you'll leave?"
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Minior casts and eerie and hollow light, disconcerting navigate by. It rises higher and higher, to hang near the flickering fixtures, a black sun waiting to swallow everyone whole.
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Her voice low and soft, she murmurs for Noel's ears only, "Minior will buy us cover if we need. Be ready to run, and be careful."

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Something dark stirs in Nenet's expression - dark and hard as steel. How dare this man dismiss her - how dare he not understand. As Zev tries to step away her hands move and she grips his hips, forcing him off balance to turn to her once more.
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She steps forwards, her finger just below his nose as she points at him and hisses, "You will not dismiss me, you stupid, stupid man." She was livid, that much was evident. And for the whole of their relationship it was clear Nenet's intelligence lay leagues above Zev's when it came to science - to her chosen interests - but his lack of interest, knowledge, was something she had never scorned until this moment. Stupid. "You don't understand a single thing and you try to walk away? From me?"
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"How dare you."
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"Do you know what you're doing? Do you understand in the slightest how important that building is? The equipment?" Her voice raises, just under yelling, always cognizant that others lived beside them and could listen, "Do you think you can replace that?"
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Nenet pours herself a cup of coffee from the machine within, though nearly half the cup itself is creamer on its own. With that accomplished she takes a seat at the rickety table and blows on her mug before levelling Greyson with a look over its rim.
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A soft hum is his answer. Were she a lesser woman, something crass would have come as his reply. Instead she asks softly, indulgently, "What do you think our relationship was?"
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"We met at a bar and I picked him up. There really wasn't that much talking to be done."
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She arches a single eyebrow at Greyson before sipping at her coffee.

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Nenet's eyes widen and then search Zev's at the news of war. Her hands are removed, and though she can feel the warmth of his touch against her skin, she feels nothing at all inside.
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Her voice constricted when she speaks, Nenet demands all of a sudden, ignoring all else, "What about Mossdeep?" Hands fist at the hem of Zev's shirt at his waist as she steadies herself by dragging him nearer by his clothing.
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"You can't touch Mossdeep - the Observatory."

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Minior casts an ominous, brittle black light as it followed Nenet through the corridors of the Space Center. This was all a bit like playing chess: move a piece here, sacrifice another there, wait.
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She steps into one of the many rooms housing the Space Center's networks and stops at the computer terminal station to wait. Security was usually tight in the section of the building, but the current assault had the power flickering in and out, and races between Rocket's hackers and League's own fighting it out over control of the launching satellites aided in her objective.
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With the chaos came cover, and Nenet knew where the blind spots in the cameras were like the back of her hand.
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A tiny USB, one designed to be barely noticeable, is plugged into the console for Mark Cunningham and the others to continue their work, and to signal Naomi Sato to advance. With that accomplished, she then moves purposefully into the camera's view and taps open a few windows on the console, observing the rooms surrounding her.
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There. Movement flickers where it should on the screen. She spies Noel Parker on one screen and Rocket begins to move on another. She has cover to provide.
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Nenet quickly moves from the room and down the hallways. She barely pauses as she turns the corner and grasps Noel by his arm, instructing him authoritatively without breaking her stride, "Follow me, they're moving. I need your help."
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Beneath the glow the the black Minior, Nenet enters the atrium just as the opposite door explodes outwards and a Rocket grunt's Persian surges forward for a fight.

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Nenet smiles. It is not a warm smile, nor cold. Instead it is a secretive one: one that says nothing that has been said is quite right. "Not quite," is what she says, without further comment. She sips at her coffee, listening as Elisabeth continues.
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"They're not," Nenet then agrees with a shrug of her own, "but I'm here now and I suppose that's what matters." She then shakes her head, glancing away in thought. Whoever attacked her was dead if their identity ever became known - Zev would make sure of it.
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"You should let me know how your crystablooms experiment goes, however. I don't know a whit about them but I would be curious nonetheless. The blood samples will be posted.. wherever all of their date goes." She laughs, trailing off while making a vague gesture with her hand.

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Nenet arches a single eyebrow at the display, her head tilting subtly to the side. She does not move - not noticeably freeze at his introduction or relationship. Instead, she observes him in turn.
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Her voice measured, when she answers it's with a simple, "I see." She recognised the name, nebulously, as one of those listed as an Elite Four for the region. Still.
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It's then Nenet finally moves, her hand motioning towards one of the nearby doorways to suggest, "Perhaps we should speak in private." A tight smile is flashed.
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She does not wait for his acknowledgement, instead moving purposefully towards the indicated doorway and into a small side room - really little more than a makeshift break room - but with a door that could close and a fresh pot of coffee already brewed.
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"I can do my best to answer questions about Ultra Space, though I have little I can tell you of Zev."

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Nenet leans back against Zev as his arms slip around her - Pavlovian - and tips her head back to rest against his shoulder. Her arms coming to rest over his, hands above his, she stiffens at his words.
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Because that isn't right, is it? She hasn't heard what she just heard.
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"What," is what she says; brow furrowed she pulls from his arms and turns to face him. Her hands wrap around his wrists. "Why you?"
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"What war?"
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It is not a question of his ability - Nenet knows well that her husband is a killer. But of all the wolves why pick the most dangerous to let into the hen house? He couldn't be controlled - not ultimately - unless you counted Nenet's limited influence.
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And Nenet harboured no illusions as to her ability to muzzle his fangs. Even a bullet to the brain wouldn't be enough.

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Nenet had spent a good hour puzzling over Zev's text. What was he promoted to? How did this happen? She was fairly sure there wasn't exactly a document she could consult on the exact nature of Rocket's hierarchy, but given Zev's position as a Beast where else was there for him to go?
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Her confusion would have to wait, however. Work called, and it wasn't until some time later when she was back at home and once more staring at her phone did she come to the conclusion there wasn't much else she could do until Zev returned home to discuss this development.
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What greeted him was scent of chocolate and coffee and the sight of a tiramisu topped with earthy matcha powder set upon the kitchen counter. Nenet appeared a short moment later, once the utter chaos of the puppies subsided.
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Poking her head around the corner she greets as she wipes her hands on a dish towel, "Welcome back."
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She tips her chin towards the kitchen, motioning for him to come as she ducks back in to hand the towel up, "Tell me about this promotion."

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Her gaze never leaving his, a palpable relief colours Nenet's expression as Zev's demeanour changes; his lips pressed to her cheek and his hands held hers, she squeezes his in turn and moves to rest her head into the crook of his shoulder. Her lips press against his skin, not so much a kiss, so much as the nearness of her and a light pressure.
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Pressing her eyes closed, she gives a little nod at his words.
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"Thank you," she murmurs into his skin.
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Thank you for understanding. Thank you for pretending.
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Her hands squeeze his again, grounding herself, remembering the feel of him, before she pulls away; releasing one of his hands, her other remains in his as she pulls him into the steamed-up bathroom.
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There, she finally releases him and pulls off her clothes.

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Offence colours Nenet's expression immediately; loathing and anger came next. Her grip tightens on his hip, a quick tense of her fingers, and she bites out loudly in response, "I want you to be human, Zev."
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Her words punctuate the air, only to fall away away into the soft drone of the running shower.
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Nenet frowns subtly, golden eyes searching Zev's features once more. Taking a deep breath, she whispers softly, "I need you right now. With me."
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"I need us together."
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They had been so far apart for what felt like so long; biting, scratching, wounding one another when the could, all for her public facade. Zev may have weathered their imprisonment with little to show for it, but Nenet's wounds were fresh and their bond was bloodied.
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She was only human.

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