"Can I have one of those?"
Kai's head turned in the direction of Marina's voice, watching her gaze quickly flicker from his features to the lit cigarette firmly placed between his fingers. Smoking isn't a habit he indulged often, the rare moments he found himself stressed or needing the distraction, especially during the enforcer days. Anyone part of the council and particularly somebody as tight-assed as Benedict would slit his throat inhibiting the effectiveness of his protective abilities by hindering the strength of his lungs, but somebody with Kai's power could just manipulate the months or years it took for anything serious to spread. Besides, living in the same mansion as a psycho bitch goddess is enough reason to light one up. He had found his spot in one of the wicker loveseats on the back patio, feet propped along the little coffee table, enjoying the quiet moment of contemplation. Kai briefly glanced around the young witch at the door, almost anticipating his brother's frame to come barreling through and chastise him for encouraging the kid, but that did not stop him from retrieving the pack from his jean pocket and procuring a stick. "Just don't rat us both to Az."
"Cross my heart." Marina instantly made her way around the table and took a seat in the spot beside the time witch, taking the cigarette and giving him a tired smile that did not quite reach where it typically fell. "If I don't support my new terrible habits, who will?" She leaned forward after pondering whether using the 'first time for everything' logic and placed the stick to her mouth, watching Kai flicker the lighter and set the tip aflame. Counting from three, Marina inhaled slowly, feeling the smoke fill her mouth. However, she sucked in too quickly and sent herself down a complete coughing fit, the hacking sounds filling the quiet space between the pair. "I'm not a pussy or anything, but fuck," The witch cursed, forfeiting the used cigarette to Kai's awaiting hand who discarded it with a miniscule smile, "Maybe smoking's not for me. This is the first time I've ever seen you do it, actually."
"You know it's bad when I do, kid." Kai leaned further against the cushions and touched his own cigarette to his lips, humming contently at the action itself rather than the taste before he released the puff. "Had my first when I turned thirteen, would sneak one or two after a particularly difficult training session with a hardass instructor, and that doesn't account for the entire packs I ran through during my darker spirals." He lit himself up like a damn chimney within those moments and then enact the good old-fashioned magical reversal on the toll it started taking on his physical health. Kai wasn't even certain if Azriel or Gianna knew the full extent, but what difference did it make if he was killing himself anyway by diving headfirst over the cliff? "See, Marina, it's about testing the waters and playing the waiting game. Either I go out in a blaze of glory or I lose my life from a fucking stick jammed with nicotine." Flickering his eyes on the young witch again, he followed her gaze to the black and red flame-ridden tattoo riddling from his wrist and reaching just at his collarbone. "What?"
"Is seeing which kills you quicker how you ended up with that?" Marina knew the story from her and Constance's research, but she could understand how her phrasing sounded a fraction sarcastic or deadpan. Or, perhaps that's merely Azriel's snarkiness rubbing off on her. "Like, I know the Mark of Wrath is supposed to be this rare thing and you did it to be with your sister, but if there's anything I know about you, Kai, you totally tempt fate for kicks." It extended beyond being an enforcer too. She has never met a single person who outwardly enjoyed beckoning the threat of death more than the eldest Foxwood. No amount of information in a file could fully encapsulate the man's personality until she saw it happening with her own eyes. "It's like trying to give the world a good excuse."
"Oh, you want to open this can of worms and hear the truth? Fine." Kai stole one last drag from his cigarette before stamping out the bud on the wooden table, caring less if he burned a hole through Cronus' furniture, "Yeah, I probably hid behind being at Gianna's side after Envy forced a fucking crown on her head and threatened to rip us apart. Wrath guaranteed we could still see each other when his brother tried being a possessive little asshole, but here's the thing, it wasn't just about Gi. It wasn't about Az who made his own deal with a goddamn Prince, no. It boils down to the fact I saw something of myself in a signature sin I've felt deep within me since childhood and that shit, sweetheart, was clawing at the bits. You're right, I was giving the world a perfect excuse, but you go through what I had and tell me you wouldn't beg for it. And what about you, Marina?"
"What about me?" Marina folded her arms across her chest and spent the majority of the male's spiel contemplating his words carefully. She honestly didn't expect him to open up so quickly when the little time they were under the same roof together proved he wasn't such an easy shell to crack. Kai built his defenses so high, that it's a wonder how anyone could knock them down and infiltrate swiftly. The way he sat there examining her as if he too attempted cracking her the same way she did him left Marina wondering what exactly he implied. That she, what, begged for death constantly similar to him? Bargained her life with a demon Prince to be with a sibling?
"Not counting the fact you were on the road to become a witch assassin," Kai's eyebrows rose as he turned his body more toward the young girl, continuing the incoming word vomit, "Let's address the elephant in the room since we both know you were let off a little easy. We've got killer vampires, demon assassins, a fucking goddess of chaos wreaking havoc, and you still decided to leave a fortress heavily warded up the wazoo for what you excused as some fresh air. I don't give a shit if your prized record collection was still at Mil's house, Mar, you slapped a target on your back and served yourself to Bellora." Ainsley is the cause of it ultimately, a cause he made abundantly clear to the little goddess lapdog would be one she will never hear the end of, yet the younger girl practically barged down Bellora's front door. "And Azriel, shit," Kai slowly dragged out the swear word with a shake of his head, "I know I'm not the only reason he dove straight off the edge and put himself on the bitch's radar. He was fond of you, sweetheart. Fuck, does my brother not show it, but you were his responsibility. His kid to protect. You all were, yet you," He pointed an index finger at her briefly and shook his head again in dismissal of the thought, "Hell if I know."
"So, what I'm getting from all of this," Marina spoke after an uncomfortably long pause, after sitting in silence and listening for once instead of interjecting at the sheer analysis of her actions. The insinuation from her perspective that she too would have brokered a deal with a demon prince before embarking on the many rampages Kai Foxwood was famous for just like he had. "Is that it's my fault you and your brother decided to uproot yourselves to join her side." Azriel never hinted as much, even claiming everyone back at Castle Envy would be nothing but worried sick over her rather than angry she defied direct orders. Marina knew she isn't entirely blameless, however. Her choices, her actions, had consequences. It's one of the first lessons Constance imbued onto her.
"You're putting words into my mouth, honey." Kai could have kicked himself knowing exactly where the conversation was headed. The same happened when Cronus warned him about turning dark and it unfortunately happened for a period of time with Gianna when every interaction flipped on a dime from pleasant into a full-blown argument. Though, his never-ending blinding hatred of certain princes coerced the worst side of the time witch imaginable, but it's not a collision course he'd set himself or the young girl upon. "That's not what I'm saying."
"That's exactly what you're saying." Marina rose to a standing position and turned slightly in time to see Kai lift one of his hands in a shrug and sit back against the seat cushions with what appeared to convey exasperation as if he's found himself within this same situation before. Truthfully, knowing his personality and the general grumpiness seemingly bouncing between the brothers, it's no surprise he made a habit pissing people off. "Look, you think someone like me in my field would use my common sense in the face of danger. I knew what I risked stepping a toe outside while bloodsucking perverts and the wicked goddess bitch of the west went all scorched earth on this city. And yeah, making the journey back to Mil's house knowing all of that for my stuff seems selfish to you, but we were hauled away to safety without barely getting out a goodbye. I could see Az wasn't doing so well, I understand him well enough to know he doesn't have to say anything." She spoke quickly, fast enough it could remind anyone of Gluttony's motormouth, "And if being there for somebody who's obviously struggling is what you consider stupid, then it was fucking worth it."
"Marina, sit down." Kai squeezed his word in, stretching an arm along the length of the couch back cushions and gesturing a hand toward the seat the girl once occupied. "Sit." He could see the hesitation touch Marina's expression before she slowly lowered, looking almost ashamed as a child being admonished by a parent does. The truth is, Kai had no idea how to be a parent. The people who raised him threw him and Azriel to the wolves before dying at his own hand. Not to forget the fact he still technically had a son with Nikolai from a different timeline. Between the time Jasper spent in the woods and with Envy's boy, the two haven't really bonded.
"First off, I sometimes say shit that rubs people a real negative way. Secondly, comparing you to me was probably the wrong idea. And third," Kai continued, turning more towards the younger witch while his mind simultaneously flashed back on any moment he found himself connecting with Gianna. How often he needed reminding Marina isn't an emotional replacement for her. "You don't have to justify yourself to me. I was wrong making any comparison, sweetheart, because the reality is you've got a better head on your shoulders telling you when you should or shouldn't be impulsive than I do. I've fucked things up bad, to a point where it's shocking my siblings forgave me for the most part. I'm one to talk anyway, I involved myself with Bellora and dragged my brother as if he didn't have the choice either. I'm the biggest reason he's here. Shit happens, Marina, you face the hand you're dealt...that's what I'm getting at."
"You do have a funny way with mixing life lessons and compliments." Marina's body practically deflated like a balloon, leaning her head against Kai's shoulder. She didn't protest as she felt his arm slide from its original position and wrap itself around her own arms, pulling her close. A blanket of comfort. "Bellora would've found a reason collecting you two no matter what and I'd be here eventually because Double Agent Barbie ran out of tools in her arsenal." The girl released a lethargic breath, irritation still coursing through her veins at Ainsley for essentially selling her out. Of the two, however, Bellora is evidently the worst. "I didn't mean to verbally assault you." A part joking and part serious statement. She knew all was forgiven, though. "I think being here with her is starting to get me all worked up."
"Yeah, well," Kai reached for the pack of cigarettes he formally placed aside and yanked a stick from the packaging using his teeth before retrieving the lighter, holding the tip to the small flame and inhaling. He exhaled as he gave the blonde witch a gentle squeeze, watching the smoke dance and swirl through the air before it dissipated. "We aren't going to be dealing with her much longer, kid. Plans way above our paygrade are setting themselves in motion. All we need to do now is play our parts and wait out the clusterfuck storm brewing over our heads." He, Ainsley, and Azriel were nothing more than distractions for the goddess, keeping her from taking over every realm imaginable. Utilizing Marina in order to heighten her abilities at a greater level than the cosmos were ready for. "Then you can return to the First Mother and the jealous ass."
"Daily reminder of the day, Kai, don't be a dick. Envy's chill." Marina reached over and plucked the cigarette from the time witch's fingers, placing it to her lips and remembering to suck in the vapors slowly. This time, the urge to cough went away while she calculated how long before releasing the puff of smoke in Kai's face. Her mouth stretched in a sly grin as she watched the male grumble in agitation and wave it away.
"Daily reminder I'm not corrupting you again." Kai snatched the cigarette back with a mumble, although a sliver of a smile touched the side of his mouth as he returned to nursing it himself. Tilting his head back a little, he blew the smoke upwards toward the sky and pulled the girl closer, enjoying this small moment of peace while the personification of mayhem waited within the house behind them. They were all stuck together by unfortunate circumstances, and while he chose the lion's den to rid the world of Bellora quicker, it was just as much about protecting Marina the same way he would have for Gianna. For Az. The younger witch was coincidentally right, how he saw their situation. It was worth it.
