Markus had a lot to say that Max had very little context of. Vicky hadn't mentioned her brother much, hadn't mentioned letters, or anything much at all. He'd realised that he hadn't known her very well at all, in the end. He wasn't sure what Markus' point was in bringing it up, but he just listened, lifting his beer for another gulp.
It turned out nothing, yet at least, as the man pivoted back to the disagreement. The other people too, but Max really had little to go on there.
“I don't know anything about her friends, like I said. I had nothing to do with them,” Max reiterated, puzzling his way through the muddled question. He leaned forward, lowering his voice to a murmur to keep it between them. Nari's whole place seemed to be filled with supes, but Max was cautious still. “My disagreement with her was about the magic she was getting into. Draining the life out of things, excusing it because she was just working with 'energy', or it was 'just a theory.'” As he spoke, Max lifted one hand to illustrate the quotations with his fingers. “I just know these other guys were encouraging it. I don't wanna fuck around with that shit, man.”
He'd ended up in an argument with Broder over the same concept. An entire section of forest at the mercy of some whack wizard, ignoring the consequences for his own ends. He'd never seen Vicky do it, but he'd caught the sour, rotten aftertaste of the magic. It smelled wrong somehow, and he'd never picked up that scent from Broder's magic, so he knew it had to be something worse than just some stupid kid high off his own fumes.
It turned out nothing, yet at least, as the man pivoted back to the disagreement. The other people too, but Max really had little to go on there.
“I don't know anything about her friends, like I said. I had nothing to do with them,” Max reiterated, puzzling his way through the muddled question. He leaned forward, lowering his voice to a murmur to keep it between them. Nari's whole place seemed to be filled with supes, but Max was cautious still. “My disagreement with her was about the magic she was getting into. Draining the life out of things, excusing it because she was just working with 'energy', or it was 'just a theory.'” As he spoke, Max lifted one hand to illustrate the quotations with his fingers. “I just know these other guys were encouraging it. I don't wanna fuck around with that shit, man.”
He'd ended up in an argument with Broder over the same concept. An entire section of forest at the mercy of some whack wizard, ignoring the consequences for his own ends. He'd never seen Vicky do it, but he'd caught the sour, rotten aftertaste of the magic. It smelled wrong somehow, and he'd never picked up that scent from Broder's magic, so he knew it had to be something worse than just some stupid kid high off his own fumes.