Nemo's kindly expression went blank as Raiya rejected his gesture, which was probably the closing thing to looking hurt than Nemo could show. It didn't last long however, Nemo slipped his glove back on and wiggled his fingers, now sporting a small grin of his own as he looked back at her. [color=c0c0c0]"No... no, saying I'm [i]'only using you to protect myself'[/i] would be a vast misrepresentation of the nature of our relationship. You only asked me why I [i]picked [/i]you." [/color]Nemo replied.

[color=c0c0c0]"You really think I keep you along just for my own safety, my future? No, no, [i][b]no[/b][/i]. I didn't pick you to deter Felix for [i]my[/i] sake... it's for his. I don't fear a conflict with Felix, I long for it. I will bring the full force of my talents down onto him like a tidal wave of destruction. The only thing you could say I fear is the terrible acts I will do unto him should he ever give me a reason to. He's the only one who's proved to me he's worth my time without any payment at the end. But I think you'll make it so it never has to come to that." [/color]

Nemo's grin dissipated in response to Raiya's tone during the end of her exposition. [color=c0c0c0]"Don't beat yourself up, Raiya, I've found that bonds between friends, even family, people that you trust with your life, are broken easier than some may think. It's not your fault, it's not because Felix didn't care about you, it's because he cared about something more than you: himself. It usually comes down to the same thing, goals, dreams, the feeling of being in the right is often enough to get somebody to burn the people they care about for. In the society you and I occupy you'll find no shortage of people like that." [/color]

[color=c0c0c0]"If Felix would of came to you and said something similar, something that would of forced you to torch everything you knew, your dreams, your reputation, the people close to you, to live your life in fear. Even if they're right, would you? Or would you find it easier to just abandon that person instead?"[/color] Nemo asked. 

Nemo reached out and patted his left hand on the right shoulder of Raiya's jacket, he ran his sharp fingernail through the small chain tassels of her epaulet as he spoke. [color=c0c0c0]"Bonds with another person put you in a great danger, they make you just as vulnerable as they can make you strong. My lack of them is something that made me so uniquely successful in my work. But the way I see it, without their danger, they wouldn't be beautiful. Just as without them, [i]we[/i] become something hideous as well."[/color]