Mythological Taskforce: Angel Division | IC

[ValidEmotions]

OOC

 

Gunshots rang in her ears, smoke billowing from the muzzle of her shotgun as the silver bullet raced towards her target. A writhing mass of ethereal shadows snarled and hissed, leaping from wall to wall as it attempted to strike. The bullet hit its mark, punching through the creature's chest and exploding into a burst of icicles. The demon was blasted back, slamming into one of the surrounding buildings and tumbling to the ground.

 

Black wings beat at the air, feathers silencing most of the noise as she dove, gun leading. Another shot as the demon got to its feet, shadowy tendrils blurring as the beast darted down the alleyway. Zarall pursued, doing her best to keep it within her sight. The large size of her wings (almost thrice the size of her height) was required to get her body into the air but not very good for flight below rooftops within the city. At nearly six feet tall, Zarall had an athletic body with brown skin and effeminate features.

 

Cropped brown hair danced in the wind that was created from her flight, the strands swept back and out of her hazel-colored eyes. Her body was hugged by a gray tank top and denim shorts, black tights coming into sight from beneath the blue fabric and disappearing into black hiking boots. She had a green zippered jacket on earlier but quickly ditched it when she came upon the demon.

 

Demons. Deformed creatures that dwelt beneath the human world and plagued the unseen realm. In their own domain, they were solid but, among humanity, they were nothing more than ethereal tendrils of darkness with glowing eyes. They became formless, teeth and claws being the only distinguishing features beyond the eyes. And they were speedy. Each one sought out a human host so they could wreak actual havoc. But an Earthly body, human or animal, could not survive a demon's invasion for much longer than a week. It was a slow, painful decaying process, a process which the invaded body's mind was fully aware of until death consumed it.

 

For millennia, angels had been the primary opponents of the demons until, gradually, other benevolent supernaturals took up arms or aided with supporting roles. Humanity's world was the battleground, neither side able to penetrate the seams of the unseen realms to invade the home territory of their opponent. This war was Zarall's reality for the past eight hundred years. Her weapon of choice hadn't always been a shotgun or rifle; it once used to be a heavy mace. But, as humanity evolved, so did the demons and so, too, were the angels required. No longer did blades or hammers work. Now, it rested on the holy bullets, in the harness attached to her belt, to deal the damage.

 

But holy auras were not enough, even now. Each attack required an elemental aspect to bolster the effect and make enough of an impact. Fire, water, earth, air, or spirit. Everyone had one aspect out of the five. Zarall's was water, most effectively used against demons of fire and least affective against earth. Fire was strongest against air, air was strongest against earth. Spirit was a neutral element, neither strongest or weakest against the other four. Each element had a subelement as well. If you had fire, you also had lightning (or electricity, your choice of label). Water had ice, earth had metal, air had temperature, and spirit had nature (which is actually different from earth).

 

However, angels couldn't abuse their elements; they were confined to the bullets. You could only identify an angel's element if they fired their gun. Limiting, yes, but it provided some fairness among the supernaturals. Angels were responsible for all of humanity, or at least most of it. To avoid the annoyance of other creatures, it was deemed best to not encroach on the elemental abilities of many.

 

Zarall fired another bullet, causing the demon to trip and collapse with a painful impact as the shot hit what might have been a leg. A sphere of water enveloped the creature for barely a moment before it broke free, staggering. Around them, humans walked by, completely oblivious to the one-on-one battle. Their eyes were not capable of seeing supernaturals in their true forms. Neither could they hear or feel or smell them. Even the items in a supernatural's possession became completely invisible. As a result, Zarall did not worry about the gunshots being heard.

 

But she had to concern herself with ensuring that none of her bullets struck the wrong target. Even if the humans passing down the street were not one of her charges, it was a crime to inflict any harm on one. Accidental or not. Charges were not assigned to angels upon their birth. Rather, an angel was assigned to a specific family line. Any humans born or married into that line became their charge and they stayed wherever they did. This obviously resulted in many angels pairing up to protect both halves of their combined families. If, for example, a family member moved away from the rest, then one of the paired angels would follow. Official teams were never formed among the angels but, temporary groups often pull together to eradicate a swarm of demons.

 

But, that would be too many humans to look after at once. Isn't it? Not exactly. Animals were great allies, providing ears and eyes to help ensure the safety of charges. If something went wrong, an angel could be there in an instant if nothing prevented their arrival. After all, the safety of their charges was of the highest priority. Nothing else was allowed to take precedence.

 

Zarall only knew of a few angels that couldn't protect their charges. She did not, however, know what happened to them. They disappeared and another took their place. Speculations could be made but what would be the point? Things were made easier with the freedom to interact with their charges on a physical level. All that they needed to do was hide their wings, a process that dissolved the feathered appendages from sight and touch then, bam, they were a visible human. The only key difference was the lack of reproductive organs; nothing rested between their legs. Angels had no need of them, being unable to reproduce.

 

Grunting, she hit the ground running, chasing the demon by foot until it rounded a corner and whirled to attack her with swiping claws. Zarall scowled, quickly lifting her shotgun up and blasting another round into what could only be the beast's head. Ice burst outward, ripping the ethereal form to pieces. With a shriek, the demon vanished from existence and Zarall sighed, lowering the gun before pushing off the ground and taking flight again.

 

This was the war and it wasn't going to end any moment soon.

Edited January 3, 2017 by Narvix

[Dragonhatchling]

A figured sat half perched on a small outcrop of a taller building, half-lidded expression the only thing setting itself apart from being some intricate carving on some millionaire's home. The figure seemed humanoid and female in appearance save for how still they were. A slight gust of wind brushed aside longer sun-bleached hair. It was nearly platinum blonde toward the bottom, gradient style by the sun toward the top returning to the natural brown at the roots. The length stopped at the bottom of their shoulder blades as they pushed a strand out of their sight. A sigh let out. The age old battle of angel verses demon never stopped. They had been up here all day watching. Waiting. For a demon attack, yes, but none came. Not today. Had the angel finally taught them a lesson? They were one of the oldest angels so far that they had met, and apparently had made a difference in their district so far. This was the only day yet that no demon attacks were found in their district.

 

Larien boredly checked their cell-phone, scrolling through a few needless text messages. A few of the humans they mingled with were wanting to know where they were. They were all supposed to hang at a mutual's house again for the night. It was supposed to be quite a party. Sad that they were going to miss it, the angel stretched and swung into a sitting position on the outcrop of the building. Down below was a very far drop into a few busy streets.

 

A gunshot rang out far away. Not terrible or unecessarily far, but far enough to be curious. A few crows flew up and landed near them, cawing and carrying on about danger in Zarall's district. Many of these birds were the angel's animal charges. Life watching the humans was made an awful lot easier, and more fun, with the thousands of crows and ravens in their district. They too liked playing around with the humans, which made that all the more worth while for the angel.

 

That was Zarall's territory causing the stir all right. Larien pushed themself into the crouched position once more, crawling to the actual roof as they fully stood. "Amber's gonna be furious I miss this party." They exclaimed to the air with a chuckle. "I'm allowed to miss things though, they at least understand I am a busy person." They weren't talking to anyone, yet their demonour seemed as if they were. Hand motions and shrugs would have easily convinced someone watching that they weren't alone. "I'll owe 'em money too, darn." The angel added somewhat sarcastically. They had been paying for some special wine and a few other rather harmless ammenities they liked to dabble in.

 

A yawn let out. Larien wasn't tired, just rather bored waiting for this party that they were now deciding to miss. A night without some drugs and alcohol would do them fine. Granted, they had a very high tolerance at a base level anyways, and they never really were impaired like her human friends had been.

 

"Alright Zarall, let's see what's up..." They commented, situating their dark maroon leather jacket. At their waist, admist their belt holding their jeans, sat an M1911 pistol and a few more cartridges. Larien laced up one of their black combat boots, shrugging off another gust of wind. Yes they were slightly still high, as they had grown accustomed to functioning like this in their human form in their district. It offered a chance to strike up conversations with people otherwise too preoccupied with their days to care. Letting out another sigh, purely due to the boredom still refusing to leave, Larien stretched their wings now.

 

The raven black appeared almost purple in the light, complimenting their hair color when it was not bleached by the sun. The wingss too seemed vaguely whiter toward the tips, which had been a new occurance in the past 100 years for the angel. Maybe they was grower blonder instead of silver like the humans did when they aged and their wings were trying to follow that pattern. The angel shrugged at the thought. That sure would be interesting.

 

A few test flaps proved their wings still worked. They hadn't used them in the past month, choosing to wander around on foot ever vigilent but also having some fun on the side being a human. One text sent saying they would be missing the party and then they launched themself off the building.

 

"To bring the semi automatic rifle or to not?" Larien asked themself as they let themself drop. The wind rushed past them at a comforting speed, only subsiding as their wings opened slowly to catch the wind. They carried the angel along one of the streets leading closer to Zarall's district. They were often forgetten about by Zarall. They couldn't blame the other angel however; Larien often kept to themself for a lot of things. Or was busy socializing with the humans and keeping the demons out of their boarders to really socialize with the other angels unless necessary. The angel angled toward their actual home, dropping in as they always loved to do.

 

"Now where.... Ahhh, here we are!" Larien paid no mind to the minimal decor of their house. They scooped up the AR-15 and shouldered it onto their back with its strap. This would definitely prove useful. They opened their front door instead of dropping through the hatch on the roof, slamming that shut and taking off again. A neighbor curiously looked out the front door at the noise, seeing no one. Larien smirked, knowing they would get a phonecall of a supposed robbery to their house later. Their phone buzzed. Or now. Ignoring that, the angel pumped their wings a bit more to gain back to their previous speed in hopes of running into another angel somewhere come to investigate the noises. Or Zarall. Running in to the angel who's district this noise had sourced from would not be a bad plan at all.

[Epyon]

While the angel known as Zarall chased one shadowy figure, furious obsidian-lined carbon colored wings beat in pursuit of another. This figure was quick and agile, more so than the one that Zarall pursued as evidenced by the gunshots that he heard ring out somewhere behind him. She must be using her shotgun again, she seems to always use that shotgun, such a retort is nigh unmistakable. At last, his quarry paused, thinking itself clear and he took that moment to bring his weapon to bear, a H&K G36 glamoured to look like an AR-15. Some of the other angels initially expressed their distaste at the weapon, thinking that it was overkill, but he maintained his position that it's better for it to be overkill than underkill. Although, he has thought at a few times that they were right. He aimed through the iron sights and when he had a shot, he gently squeezed the trigger to unleash a three round burst, keeping his weapon ready to fire in case he missed. "Foul beast from the depths of Hell. With this instrument, I banish you to the darkness from whence you came," he uttered with the reverent tone of a prayer.

 

Luckily, there was no need. His bullets impacted with a flare of fire erupting through the dark form with the third arcing electricity. The beast shrieked and collapsed to the ground, moving very faintly. He dropped beside it, though not too close and he fired another burst between the glowing crimson eyes of the demon. At last, the dark form vanished within a flash of fire and electricity. Karleo lowered his weapon and flapped away, his brown eyes softened after his kill and breathed a relaxing sigh. Karleo's features are Mediterranean, black hair, olive skin tone and a modest height of 5'7" with his wings darker than the moonless night. For just over half a millennium, he's been assigned to the protection of the mortals of the world, it's noble work, but he wishes he could directly punish the wicked mortals instead of being forced to turn a blind eye.

 

After a couple minutes, he spots Zarall and dives to fly in formation with her. "The other one has been taken care of, Zarall. I think there were only two of them."

[ValidEmotions]

Hearing wingbeats, Zarall glanced over her shoulder and smiled slightly at the sight of an angel. "Karleo, good. If there are no more, then let's return," she stated. "Where's Odessa? Weren't you keeping an eye on her?" she questioned, a slight frown crossing her face. Some of the other angels frequently pointed out that she spoiled the young angel but Zarall believed otherwise. You can't spoil an angel, she was convinced. Now, she could maybe understand being a little too protective of Odessa, but she was a team member so her protective tendencies could be excused.

 

Angling one wing, Zarall dipped left, making a wide arch on her way back to their residence. After the three came to be a team, it was agreed on for simplicity that they would live under the same roof. Odessa got to pick the place - with some restrictions laid out by Karleo and Zarall. (The young angel would have picked a castle if she were allowed to.) So she selected a decent, 2-bedroom condo on the top floor of a five-story complex, wide windows taking up most of two walls. Of course, the bedrooms were split between Karleo and Zarall as Odessa had a preferred tendency of sleeping in the oddest spots.

 

Sometimes that meant Zarall woke up in the middle of the night with a knee jabbing her in the ribs.

 

Movement in the corner of her eye caught the angel's attention, provoking her to come to a hover high above the city buildings. Focusing her gaze on the figure, she waved slightly in perplexed greeting. "Larien? What brings you here?" she inquired.

[hazeh]

A sloppy bun of copper-red hair bounced along through the throng of passerby, just below the typical chin height of most people striding down the sidewalk. No one really took notice of the young woman-- or so she was today-- as she weaved through the crowd, humming a tune that had no definite origin and sounded entirely fabricated on the spot, accentuated with a few delighted sounds as she trotted past a pastry shop. After a minute, she backpedalled to the pastry shop window and pressed a heavily freckled nose into the glass, vivid blue eyes staring longingly at the maple glazed doughnut sat out on the counter just beyond. She realized, with a pained sigh, that she'd forgotten her wallet back at the house. Again.

 

"Hey, kid, you buyin' or are you gonna just stand there foggin' up my windows?"

 

Odessa looked up, blinking with surprise. A portly man stood in the doorway of the pastry shop wearing a hairnet over his head and a similar net stretched along the bottom portion of his face to contain the red-brown beard that curled at his jaw. As soon as she turned fully to face him, he scrunched his nose and muttered, "You're not a kid."

 

Odessa beamed at him. In all technicality, she was twice his age-- seventy two years old to be exact, though she looked every bit of a pint-sized nineteen year old, maybe twenty if she tried hard enough. It didn't help that she'd spent only the last twelve of those years down on the ground amongst the humans. So maybe that didn't really count. "Sure I am, Chris," she responded cheerfully, rocking back onto the heels of her cherry-red converse sneakers and pulling her thumbs through the loops of her denim-short overall straps. His thick brow furrowed at the mention of his name. "Whatcha making today? Anything new? I bet that galaxy cake is going to look rockin'. Oh, and--" she paused a moment to dig a hand through a pocket in her shorts and came up with a crumpled up paper with a mostly-accurate drawing of a deer, three quarters (score!), and the button that had popped off her blouse the other day. "--what can I get for this?"

 

Chris stared at her, eyes narrowed. She gave him the most enthusiastic grin imaginable. "Just take the damn doughnut," he grumbled after a minute. He stepped inside, grabbed the indicated doughnut with a clean napkin, and deposited it into her hands. "Keep your...whatever that is."

 

Odessa shoved everything back into her pocket and squealed, "Thanks, Chris! You're the absolute best! Tell your wife I said good luck with the baby!" She completely missed the startled expression on his face as she danced away, shoving half of the doughnut into her mouth in one bite. But whether he was startled about her comment of his wife or the neon-green, pump-action NERF shotgun strapped to her backside, was uncertain.

 

Like before, no one paid much mind to the five-foot ginger girl as she roamed the city, nor when she ducked into an alleyway that was empty other than several grimy dumpsters. Not a moment after she'd vanished behind one, a pair of snowy wings suddenly sprouted upward, stretching out the primary feathers as far as they would reach. The outer sides of the wings were smudged with charcoal grey and patches of silver, and were peppered in speckles of black and white. The undersides, the soft white, had a few smoky bands crossed over the tips of the primary and secondary feathers. Those wings would have easily belonged to a barn owl had they sported any rusted gold coloration, or were not currently attached to Odessa's backside.

 

She was supposed to be back at the condo, waiting for her teammates to return. Zarall was only doing a quick patrol, but then Karleo decided to go after her, leaving the young angel to wallow in boredom at home. She'd kicked her feet and watched some Netflix for about a hour before the itch to wander became too much to bear. Besides, she had graduated! She could go on a patrol too, if she wanted!

 

Odessa patted the strap of the NERF gun-- which really was just a glamored FN TPS shotgun-- and then removed two small, bright-blue water guns from both front pockets. Or, rather, two Glock 19 semi-automatic pistols magicked to look like water guns. Oh, how she loved to sweep into a fight dual-wielding.

 

"Time to find some danger," she whispered to herself. With a powerful thrust of her legs, Odessa took off into the air, giggling out an apology when her wing tip knocked a pair of large undies of the line and sent them smack into the face of an ornery stray cat.

 

[Dragonhatchling]

"Larien? What brings you here?"

 

The angel noticed the wave and glided over to Zarall and Karleo. There didnt seem to be any more signs of trouble around really. Good.

 

"I'd heard some gunshots, and things are rather quiet where I'm at. Haven't exactly seen Reydris in a week or so." Larien shrugged. She was often found wandering with the humans keeping watch that way instead of also patrolling above ground like Reydris sometimes did. She also hadn't exactly been home in a week or more- the angel actually lost track.

 

Her wings shifted a bit to bring her closer to Zarall and Karleo for better conversation. "Everything seems to be in order here however, which was expected but I figured I'd check up just in case." They were one of the older angels, second only to Reydris really. Both of them had watched over their own district for a fair amount of time, having gotten tactics down quite well. They worked great as a team, despite Larien's mostly-kept-to-self lifestyle. Keeping up on the other angels, however, also was somewhat out of Larien's characteristics.

 

Usually Larien was with the humans even during danger; fighting off demons from below as Reydris fought from above. It worked, somehow, where the humans never really suspected much. It probably helped that Larien often was found in the more shifty parts of their district where an occasional gun-fight wasn't out of the ordinary.

 

"But, if everything's in order..." The angel wasn't really ever good for small-talk. They'd hoped nothing would be going on, which was indeed what had happened. No danger right now, so no real reason to be here. "I probably ought to be getting back to mine n Reydris' district. Maybe find where the other angel flew off to." They shrugged, more wondering if they could actually go back to the party they'd skipped. The texts still came, buzzing the phone every so often, packed with 'where are you?' and 'why didn't you show up?' messages.

 

Little did Larien know, however, that two demons were already starting to terrorize the district without Larien around. They were on opposite ends of the district, smashing whatever they could find with their guns. Easily causing chaos while working quickly toward the middle where the angel's shared their large apartment. Humans and animals alike ran in all directions to try and get away as these possessed humans rang gunshots and demolished what they could. Fires were already being set to aid in the process and hopefully gain more reinforcements as the chaos grew stronger.

[hazeh]

This city didn't seem to be one for gargoyles. Though parts of it were old and crumbled in the way that hundred year old buildings tended to crumble, the spiraling Gothic of 12th century France was painfully absent from Reydris's vantage point atop one of the city's numerous cell towers. If there was one thing she missed from her budding days as an angel, it was the marvelous architecture and the stone sentries that she hid herself among. She remembered, faintly, the amusement of sitting herself on the edge of a towering castle in a row of statues whose faces were contorted and grotesque. She'd lifted her wings high above her head like them and pretended that she, too, was terrifying and magnificent. Though the humans who constructed such fiendish sculptures could not have possibly known-- or, perhaps they did, in that way that humans seemed to know things without understanding or realizing them-- that the gargoyles they created were closer in visage to the demons they were meant to protect from, Reydris had found humor in it. The humans had placed a demon's face on the neck of an angel and erected them over every door, every pathway, and in armies over the rooftops of the churches. Very humorous, indeed.

 

Reydris blinked against the wind as it tossed a handful of her thick dark hair into her face. She was still as stone, crouched over the lip of the tower with her massive wings cupped around her like the carvings of angels that decorated headstones and mausoleums. Perhaps if the wind hadn't been toying with her hair or rustling against the fabric of her cargo pants, she could have been mistaken for a gargoyle. The sharp stare that drew her brows together and her mouth into a hard, flat line would have been enough to frighten off a demon. Or, a human, at least, if they could have seen her. Reydris had been perched up there for the better of two days. Movement was minimal; she'd spent hundreds of years learning how to keep herself as still as the statues she used to mimic, letting only her sight and her ears roam the city for signs of unusual activity. This cell tower in particular gave her a decent view of half of her territory. Even if she wasn't a sniper-- Reydris had patience, but not that much-- she could pick out a demon and get there in enough time to empty a mag into its writhing shadow face.

 

The sun against her back felt like an old friend. It was late, likely approaching six o'clock if it hadn't already passed. As the sunset crept closer, brushing the sky with vibrant golds and pink, Reydris could feel the shift in the city as the nightlife began to stir. She watched it happen every night. It was not quite nighttime, though, but that soft lull of dusk where the steady flow of day transitioned into the unpredictable beat of dark. The time where the shadows lurched to life and devoured the world.

 

Reydris lifted her head slightly. Her eyes, a startling shade of light blue-green against the nut-brown of her skin, narrowed at a figure dipping over the top of a building in the distance on a pair of wings. A small figure. A figure that Reydris knew, unfortunately, and the scowl of her face deepened considerably. Her hand tightened over the metal of her perch, though she remained in place.

 

The figure glided closer. They did not see Reydris sitting atop the tower, and swooped low, arcing around it as they continued south. The wings at Reydris's back stretched outward at her sides. The darkened, smoked tips of her primary feathers flared out to reveal the soft striping of the secondaries against the white of the down on the underside of her wings. Like the osprey bird, Rey's wingspan was triple-- if not more-- than her height. And like the raptor whose wings she rode on, Rey was silent as she tipped off the edge of the tower and after the unsuspecting angel that soared below.

 

Odessa's red hair was difficult to miss. It looked like the fire of the setting sun as it streamed from the messy bun on her head. Reydris drifted above her, wings out in a glide just as the young angel's were. Their wings did not align perfectly, as Odessa's were wide like an owl's while the seahawk of Reydris's wings were long and narrow. Unlike Odessa, Reydris's hair was a rich dark and much longer, though her own was free-flowing against her backside. The wind rushed around them both, and yet Odessa did not seem to notice the older angel shadowing right above her.

 

Without warning, Reydris tucked her wings and dropped down onto Odessa. She clipped the young angel's wing, sending her in an off-balance spiral. Odessa squealed and flailed to right herself. Reydris caught the wind under her wings and veered sharply into the other angel. She twisted upward, tucked her wings, and let her momentum carry her boots into Odessa's backside. Odessa squawked and fell forward several yards before she seemed to find herself and catch the wind again.

 

"What was that for?" she hollered back at Reydris, who had settled back into a glide with practiced ease. Reydris came to a stop mid-air and kept herself aloft as Odessa surged up to meet her.

 

"For being off your guard," the older angel answered, and her tone, like it was whenever she spoke to Odessa, was not friendly. While Reydris was not known for her warmth toward other angels, there appeared to be a particular distaste in her for the youngest of them. "And for leaving your territory. What are you even doing out here?"

 

"I wasn't-- I am on my guard!" Odessa responded indignantly, jutting out her chin and wrinkling her freckled nose at Reydris. "And my territory is fine, Zarall and Karleo are patrolling-- hey!"

 

Reydris had snapped forward, ducking beneath one of Odessa's wings on its down stroke. In one fluid motion, she coiled an arm around Odessa's neck and wrapped her legs around Odessa's, immobilizing her. They struggled in the air for a long moment, but Reydris easily overpowered her. "What was that about being on your guard?" Rey asked softly, though the challenge in her voice was unmistakable. She waited a minute to make sure her point got through, and then pushed Odessa roughly away and beat her own wings to put some distance between herself and the young angel.

 

"What's your problem?" Odessa rubbed at her neck and glared at Reydris. "We're supposed to be fighting the demons, not each other!"

 

"What makes you think you can fight a demon if you can't even keep your guard up against another angel?" Reydris demanded. "How did you even graduate?"

 

"Just because I don't fight like you doesn't mean I haven't killed any demons," Odessa snapped, flying after Reydris as the older angel turned away. "You might be old, but that doesn't give you the right to-- hey! I'm talking to you!"

 

Reydris was not the fastest angel, but she definitely put some of them to shame. Odessa pumped her wings furiously to keep up with Reydris as the older angel weaved across the sky. Any time Odessa was close to catching up, Rey abruptly changed course and shot in another direction. But the younger angel was not so easily deterred, and every time she chased after Reydris again, shouting as much profanity as she could remember in several different languages.

 

Reydris was not one for games. Being followed by the angel equivalent of a lost puppy was exhausting, and it infuriated her that Odessa's teammates were nowhere in sight. Weren't they supposed to be babysitting the new angel? Reydris was the oldest damn angel in this city, next to her partner. She didn't have the time for this nonsense. Odessa was going to get in her way and cause problems for her charges, and Reydris was not going to play nice if and when that happened.

 

The warbling wail of a siren suddenly caught her attention. The dark-haired angel came to a sudden halt, pushing her wings against the air until she was hovering above two smaller buildings. In the back of her mind, she felt the spike of alarm from the creatures in her district with whom she'd shared a bond to protect the city. Hot. Danger. Fire! were the only impressions she was able to glean from the flurry of panic that began to fill her head. It came from the rats, mostly, to the east. She did not wait for Odessa to catch up as she took off in the direction of her panicked companions. It was barely even a minute before she saw a yellow blaze begin to mount. It spread in the wake of the humans that raced away, screaming and grabbing for each other as the glass in one of the windows shattered from the heat.

 

But what caught Reydris's attention were the two undulating masses of shadow slinking from the burning building, a pair of glinting eyes buried deep in the dark haze of their intangible bodies.

 

Odessa saw them, too. Immediately she grabbed for the two blue-colored guns inside her pockets, but Reydris held out a hand to stop the younger angel from moving forward. "Go home, Odessa," Reydris commanded in a hiss, unstrapping the rifle from between her shoulders. Unlike some of the other angels, Reydris did not glamour her guns. The HK416 looked exactly as it was.

 

"I can help," Odessa insisted, but the murderous glare that Reydris shot back at her made the young angel recoil slightly.

 

"If you want to help, go find Larien." She did not look at Odessa as she angled her wings and dipped low between the buildings and after the two demons that had crawled from the burning wreckage.

 

The demons had disappeared. Reydris's wings beats softly as she lowered herself onto the asphalt. The fire was a few blocks back, but nevertheless an uneasiness coiled in her gut. Something felt...off. The animals in her thoughts continued their chants of danger danger danger, bad, wrong wrong danger as she moved down the street. In the distance, she heard gunshots. Her heart stopped. Not all of the humans had cleared the area yet; though there was no way to tell if the shots came from a human's gun or an angel's, there still remained the possibility that someone was going to get hit and killed. Reydris crouched, ready to alight on her wings again to find the perpetrator of the shot. But in that moment, she felt a shift in the air, and immediately flattened. A massive creature darted over her head, snapping and snarling with teeth that materialized in the swath of black nothingness. Its eyes glinted ruby.

 

Back when she was young, Reydris craved the thrill of the fight. She'd favored a sword then, when the demons could be killed by a skillfully plunged blade. It was times like these, when the demons were close enough to taste the acid of their shadows on her tongue, that Reydris dearly missed her swords.

 

But, alas, the assault rifles would have to do. Reydris bounced back onto her feet and fired the rifle from her hip; the semi-automatic function of the rifle sent a cascade of bullets into the demon's belly, and from each bullet sprouted spikes of iron that skewered the shadow beast like a piece of meat. The demon bellowed in pain, eyes flashing. Its body was riddled with three-foot long spikes that did not dislodge, even as it lurched toward Reydris with the intent to kill. She fired again. Like arrows, the spikes blossomed in the creature's chest, and it screamed with fury.

 

"Too easy," she said under her breath, and as she suspected, the second shadowy form appeared in her peripheral. It lunged at her wings, but its wisping claws raked through empty air as she lifted off the ground with a powerful jump. The spiked demon behind her converged on them. She kicked away with a down stroke of her wings and sent rapid fire at the second demon as it grabbed for her feet. The bullets missed; this demon's eyes were silvery in color, and Reydris swore under her breath as it dodged easily around the gleaming spikes of iron that burst from the cement.

 

The air demon skittered around with a speed that made her head spin. Reydris kept herself in the air with another pump of her wings. The first demon was slowed by the metal encumbering its form, but it still snarled and screeched as it reached for her. Reydris swung the muzzle of the rifle down and blasted several bullets into its face; with an echoing wail, the shadow fizzled and smoked out of existence. The silver spikes clattered to the ground. The air demon snapped its teeth together with an ominous click from where it stood several yards away. It was far enough that its speed would make it near impossible to hit. Still, perhaps if she made a wide arc of bullets, surely one of them would hit--

 

A gunshot echoed off the walls. A bullet hit the demon square between its shining eyes and the beast's willowy, shifting figure dissolved in a dazzling array of multi-colored light. When Reydris turned to look over her wings, she saw Odessa several feet above her in the air, grinning like a fool. She held her water gun up to her lips and blew a puff of air over the tip of its muzzle with a wink.

 

"You're welcome," Odessa said, drifting down to level with Reydris.

 

The smugness in her voice made Reydris's lip curl in disgust. "I don't need your help," the older angel snapped, lowering herself back down onto the pavement. "This isn't your territory."

 

"You are the most ungrateful-- oh! Someone's down there!"

 

Reydris followed Odessa's finger as she pointed down the street at a human standing alone. It was a young woman from what Rey could tell. She stood motionlessly, like a statue. Reydris frowned. She didn't recognize this human, nor did she understand why the young woman wasn't moving. Every other human in the area had evacuated as soon as the fire had begun raging a few blocks away.

 

"Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Odessa glided closer to the young woman, pocketing her pistol into her pockets.

 

Reydris refrained from rolling her eyes. "She can't see you," Rey called, following after Odessa at a walk. "Your wings--" The human's head lifted up, and Reydris fell silent. Her skin began to crawl. "Odessa," the older angel called out, louder, a warning etching into the name. Something didn't feel right.

 

"I got it under control," Odessa said over her shoulder, waving at Reydris with dismissal. She landed a good thirty feet from the human and waited until the last feather had faded out of sight before continuing her approach. "You okay? Do you need help?"

 

The young woman remained standing there. She tilted her head slightly at Odessa's voice. After a long pause, she giggled. "Do I need help?" the human said, lifting up a gun that Reydris hadn't realized was in her hands until just then. She tapped the muzzle of the gun against her chin thoughtfully. "Help. What do I need help with?"

 

To Odessa's ears, the human woman sounded as young and innocent as she appeared. A soft accent, maybe, that could have easily been overlooked by an angel so freshly pulled from the sky as Odessa was. But Reydris heard it. The unmistakable hiss after each syllable so faint and hushed that it took Reydris six of her twelve hundred years to pick up on it. She could hear it in the slightly chopped way the young woman spoke, as if each word had to be pieced together from different thoughts. Alien thoughts. Demonic thoughts.

 

"Odessa, get out of there!" Reydris hollered, flaring out her wings. The human girl laughed and lifted her firearm, but instead of aiming for Odessa, she leveled the gun with Reydris. The older angel balked. That was impossible.

 

"Reydris? What--" Odessa started, turning toward the other angel. As she did so, the human moved the gun toward the little redhead.

 

Reydris gave her wings a powerful thrust and dove for Odessa as the gun fired off. The bullet lodged deep into the meat of Rey's arm and she growled with pain, but that did not stop her from slamming into Odessa to move the young angel out of the way. The human laughed and squealed with pleasure at the sight of dark blood dribbling down Reydris's arm. Another bullet fired off, and Reydris flared her wings in front of Odessa to keep the young angel safe. It stung just like the first, and deep crimson bloomed in the white of her feathers in the center of her wing-arm. Those wounds would not last, however. Reydris flexed her arm and the pellet of the bullet oozed from the hole until it fell to the pavement. The other bullet had gone clean through her wing, and the human watched with growing disappointment as both injuries stitched back together like someone had pressed an extreme fast-forward button.

 

"You really aren't much fun," the human said, pouting. She glanced briefly at the pistol in her hand, and then tossed it over her shoulder. "Not with this old thing, anyway. Time to upgrade." From her pocket, she drew out a new gun. It was sleek and black, newer than the one she'd been using prior. And for whatever reason, it made a heavy feeling of foreboding gather in the pit of Reydris's stomach. The human lifted this pistol and grinned. "Now, where were we?"

 

[ValidEmotions]

White wings cast a long shadow across the rooftops, a thick band of black running down the primaries like a reverse Mockingbird. Grey strands of hair played in the wind, fallen loose from the braid that tickled the small of their back. At almost 930 years of age, Ithuriel's green eyes were sharp and focused on the distinct pillar of smoke. Their t-shirt and jeans, ripped from age and various claws, concealed the Glock 42 they kept tucked beneath the waistband.

 

As they flew, the fabric of their shirt shifted in the wind, revealing old scars that flecked their tanned and muscled flesh. Drawing nearer, they made out the figures of two angels, the sound of gunshots striking their ears. Gone were the demons Ithuriel only caught glimpses of.

 

Narrowing their eyes at the site of a human just standing there, Ithuriel slowed their approach, faint details starting to come into focus. They couldn't hear any words but the motions of all three figures didn't seem right in any way.

 

One angel tackled the other as a gun was fired twice and Ithuriel renewed their speed.

 

Stretching their wings back, they dove, feet first as the human tossed her gun for a new one. "You were going to shoot?" they inquired, responding to the woman's question. They hit the possessed human in the back of her shoulders, bringing her down instantly. With the rest of their momentum, they pushed back into the air, quickly flying out of reach of any fists or feet.

 

Stealing a glance over at the pair, Ithuriel frowned. "Are you both alright?"

 

----

 

Shaking her head, Zarall smiled. "Thanks for checking in, Larien. We do have everything settled here; only a pair of demons this time," she informed. The older angel fell silent and, seeing her slight discomfort, Zarall glanced at Karleo before returning her gaze to Larien. "When we find Odessa, how about we grab Reydris and eat dinner together? My treat," she offered. "It's been awhile since we all caught up and properly checked in with each other. What do you say?" she asked.

 

Her smile faded, however, as something seemed wrong. Larien didn't say much, only mentioned trouble in her territory. Shooting a look at her partner, Zarall powered her dark wings and took off after the other. She pulled out her shotgun, keeping her arms at her sides until they came upon a trio of small fires. The flames worked to consume a set of houses in a tiny neighborhood, humans running out into the streets with shouts to get away.

 

Back-peddling until she hovered, Zarall examined the area, trying to figure out what was happening. Motion near the farthest burning home caught her attention and she pointed, "There." Lifting her shotgun, she started to thrust her wings downward when something struck her back, tearing feathers from her wing. Only twenty feet off the ground, she tumbled in a spiral and hit the street before she could right herself.

 

The demon used her like a springboard, leaping off her back to launch itself at Larien. Teeth gnashed together, intent on ripping flesh from the angel's bones. It slashed with its claws, aiming for the old angel's face, blue eyes glinting darkly.

 

Getting to her feet, Zarall leapt back into the air. "Look out! There's a third!" she warned, firing her shotgun towards the shadowy form that tried slipping into Karleo's blind spot. Icicles sprouted from its side, a wail rising from its contorted face.

[Dragonhatchling]

Larien noticed the beast's fast approach and fired their pistol without much thought. The claws missed, instead grazing their shoulder as they darted out of the way. The demons were back and causing more havoc. So much for a quiet day.

 

The shot was ringed with fire, the fire seeming to spiral out behind the bullet almost as it collided with the demon's head. The entire shadowy body was burst into flame almost instantly, only a shriek crying out lasting.

 

"Damn things get smarter each time!" They mentioned angrily, looking to where Zarall had pointed out other movement. The humans still scattered with screams as the fires worked their ways along the buildings. But there was one human male who seemed to be sauntering along, not bothered at all by the fires. Something seemed off about him. Larien turned back to the other two angels.

 

"You two ok? I think we should check out this straggler here...." They motion to the human slowly walking their direction from further away. He could just be hurt, but Larien knew by now hurt humans had a tendency to make a lot more racket. "Something's not right about this..." They muttered, moving a little closer.

 

A gunshot rang, coming from the human's shotgun he had been casually holding to his side. As the angel got a little closer they could spot some humans hiding amongst burning rubble, too hurt or too petrified to move with the recent gunshot and more spread of fire. "Great." Larien cursed, keeping an eye out for other demons ready for an ambush. The human fired again, closer to one of the hiding humans, with a slight laugh. Nothing serious, but also not usual. A snarl caught the angel's attention as a section of fire spread more. Another demon was darting among the balconies of one of the buildings, gearing up to jump upon Zarall.

 

"Watch!" Larien yelled, turning her back to the odd human in order to fire a shot at the demon readying its attack to the other angel.

[Epyon]

What in the hell was happening? he thought as he flew to investigate the source of the steadily growing pillars of smoke. He was hesitant of leaving his territory but he needed to see what was going on to better understand what he should do. Ithurial can kill him later, he hated to be stationary when things were happening. He flew southwest, angling from the spire that marked the northwest corner of the territory he shares with Ithurial. His eyes sweeping to and fro as he scanned for sign of his comrades or their hated enemies.

 

Faint gun shots sounded left and right, but whether they were humans or his fellow angels remained to be seen. This angel, Nithandros, was similar in build to Karleo but he had Latin American features, brown skin, blue black hair, brown eyes that are slightly almond shaped and a height of 5'8". His wings were the color of graphite outlined with ash grey, giving his wings a stormy appearance. So it was that he hovered in place, watching as humans ran from the fires while their firemen charged towards the roaring blazes like cavalry. Their red trucks with the flashing lights and sirens only reminded him that he had to move. Adjusting his hold on his TAR-21, he started flying.At least until a shot rang out and the bullet missed his head by a hairsbreadth. "What!?" he gasped, looking down and seeing a human with a pistol in his hand. Normally, he'd disregard it, some humans were mad enough to try and shoot others. But... this human was watching him. He could see him! He began doing evasive maneuvers, tucking one wing against his body and rolling in the direction of that wing. The human was watching him all the while, firing with abandon. "Damn you!" His weapon came up and he looked through the holographic sight, pulling the trigger to unleash a five round burst. The possessed human dodged, but unknowingly aligned himself perfectly for his next burst, which was fired when Nithandros flew just ten feet above the ground. He winced as he saw the human stagger from the impact of five jacketed rounds in the chest, but remained standing. "Damn you, filthy demon!" he yelled, firing several more times until the human collapsed and the demon exorcised.

 

 

Karleo dove for the deck but rolled opposite of the direction that Zarall fired her weapon. He remained on his back, wings flapping to keep him balanced as he saw the icicles sprouting from the side of the shadowy creature, bringing his gun up and firing into the belly and allowing the recoil to "walk" the spray of death up and into the head. With a final scream, the creature vanished, but a shot from behind him hit him below the elbow of his right wing. Karleo gritted his teeth and dropped before the wound healed enough so his wing can support his weight. Casting a murderous glare at the demon in human guise, he flapped hard and fast, ignoring the throbbing of his wounded wing. The human leveled his weapon and fired, causing Karleo to jink right, nearly clipping a street lamp but before the human could fire again, Karleo grabbed hold of the gun, pushing the human back while they wrestled for control over the gun.

Edited April 19, 2017 by Epyon

[hazeh]

Reydris kept her arms and wings spread in front of Odessa, her teeth grit against the pain of the gunshots that throbbed in her arm and wing. Though the wounds had stitched back together in mere moments, the sting of it still ached deep into the tissue. Not that Reydris wasn't used to that kind of pain; twelve hundred years was a long time to become accustomed to it, and she'd gotten into more than her fair share of compromised situations that warranted pain and suffering. She didn't twitch like she did back in the earlier days, but she made a mental note to heavily reprimand Odessa later for getting them into that position in the first place.

 

The human closed one eye and stuck her tongue from the corner of her mouth in a mock-aim as she leveled the new gun with Reydris's forehead. She was so focused the dark look across Reydris's face that she didn't hear the rush of wind around feathers until a new voice suddenly echoed from above her head. The human lurched, surprised, but the new angel's boots slammed into her shoulders and sent her reeling forward. Reydris darted forward in that moment and Odessa yelped as the human recovered much quicker than she expected-- with a shriek of manic laughter, the human whipped the gun across Reydris's face, knocking the older angel back a couple feet.

 

"Yeah, we're great," Rey answered through a clenched jaw before spitting out a mouthful of blood.

 

"You're right, this is pretty great," the human said cheerfully, though she shot a murderous glare up at the angel who had backpedaled out of her reach.

 

"Watch out!" Odessa hollered, as the human raised the gun for the angel in the sky. Odessa couldn't remember their name, though she'd seen them around occasionally. From what she remembered, they kept mostly to themselves; kind of like Reydris, just less...angry about everything. Or at least, less confrontational about newbie mistakes. As the human paused, Odessa brought up a pistol and aimed it for the woman, though she did not shoot. The uncertainty was evident in her young face. Did she shoot? Did she wait until another angel preformed a take-down? It was happening all so fast. All of a sudden, she couldn't remember the protocol around possessed humans, and now that one was standing right in front of her with an unfamiliar fire-arm turning towards--- a gasp strangled in Odessa's throat, and before she could even fathom what she was doing, the redhead jolted forward and cut under the human's arm, right in front of the gun that was swinging down toward Reydris. The owl wings burst into reality the second the gunshot barked out a bullet right into the speckled silver and gray feathers. A screech tore from Odessa; fire burned into her wing, eating through the muscle and bone, sending agony through every nerve until it felt as though each cell in her wing was going to explode. She crumpled forward, wheezing and clutching at her wing as the blood stained deep into her feathers.

 

"Odessa!" Reydris's voice boomed with fury but was edged in panic. She stared down at the young angel curled up on the ground, and she knew instinctively that whatever bullet the human had used, it was not a normal bullet. Definitely not a natural one. With a snarl, she whirled onto her feet and thrust a wing outward to knock the human back, at least to buy enough time to surge forward and grab the * by the throat. "Ithuriel, get Odessa out of here!" She twisted the gun out of the human's hands and turned the muzzle up under her jaw.

 

Raspy laughter fell from the woman's mouth. "Gotcha," she said, and the hiss behind that word was like a festering sore in Reydris's ear. It was if the taste of bile had a sound. "What's the matter, sweetheart? Don't you like my version of tag? Or was it a little too--" Another gunshot blasted from the gun, but this time it sprayed out from the human's skull and she fell limp and (thankfully) wordless from Reydris's grasp. The angel stood over the corpse for a long minute, holding the strange gun. Something new and very, very wrong was happening here. She needed to find Larien and share the news.

 

But first...

 

Reydris glanced around the abandoned street. Fire alarms and firetruck sirens were wailing together, and soon she saw the vehicles moving in toward the blaze. There didn't appear to be more demons milling about, waiting to cause havoc, but that could change quite quickly. Or perhaps they were elsewhere, and hopefully some other angel was able to stop them in her absence. She flexed her wings and launched into the air, gripping her rifle with white knuckles. That damn kid had gotten severely injured on her watch. Even if she was just a brat, Reydris should have reacted sooner. Should have tossed her farther away when she had the chance.

 

Once high enough in the air that she could look out over the city, Rey fished out a cell phone from one of her many cargo pants pockets and dialed Zarall's number. It rang several times before clicking through to voicemail. Reydris growled and nearly hung up the phone. At a time like this, and she let it go to voicemail?! She gave a sharp sigh of exasperation, but remained on the line until the beep signaled for her to begin.

 

"Hey, it's Reydris. There's a....situation. Odessa was in my territory and got hurt. Ithuriel has her now. I don't know what it is, but it's different. She's not healing from it. Call me when you get this." With a snap, she closed the phone-- and old piece of garbage, but hey, it still did the job-- and tilted her gaze toward the sky, looking for Ithuriel. Though she should spend the rest of the night patrolling, Reydris could not shake the mixture of anger and guilt as it gnawed deep within her. She sighed again and flew after them, slowing only once she spotted them flying toward Zarall and Karleo's territory.

 

"Hey, you can take her back to my place," Rey called into the wind, sliding up alongside the other angel. "I have supplies. I don't know where she and her teammates live, and they aren't answering my call." She glanced down at the young angel in Ithuriel's arms; her red hair was a mess, but she looked pale. Paler than normal. Her eyes were closed and her jaw was set, and even at the speed that they flew, Reydris could see her trembling. She wanted nothing more than to tell her, 'You should have gone for Larien like I told you to,' or 'This is why you stay in your own territory!' but the words would not move past her lips. Rey swallowed them back and turned away from the two angels, hard eyes set for the tall buildings in the distance where she and Larien lived.

[Dragonhatchling]

((small bump))

[ValidEmotions]

Zarall

 

Turning towards the human that Larien pointed out, Zarall lighted upon the ground, her sneakers touching the pale, cracked concrete of the sidewalk. On the ground, the angel's vantage point was different from the pair still in the air. Wings remaining out, and thus her glamour still in effect, Zarall started walking.

 

Her cellphone started to ring, the musical tone and vibration muffled by the fabric of her coat pocket.

 

"Watch!"

 

She twisted, catching sight of the hidden demon as Larien fired at it. Too late, the demon had already leapt, barely dodging the angel's attack. Grunting, Zarall jumped backwards, twirling as she brought a leg up and kicked the creature across the side of it's face.

 

Another gunshot was fired off, this one joined by the sound of Karleo's beating wings and Zarall stole a glance in his direction. He had reached the human and was struggling to gain control of his shotgun.

 

The demon was charging at her again, snarling and darting about. She didn't need to see its grey eyes to know its affiliation with Air; its speed was indication enough. Growling in annoyance, Zarall gripped her shotgun like a baseball bat. And she waited.

 

She trusted Larien and Karleo to handle the strange human while she dealt with... well, with her demon.

 

Got cha. The demon swept in, trying to come at her low. Swinging the shotgun, she connected again with the beast's face. The gun, however, fared the worst from the impact. The weapon cracked, splitting in half and clattering against the sidewalk as Zarall dropped the useless pieces. So much for that....

 

The demon recovered faster than she wanted and started darting in circles around her.

 

"Always have two guns on you at all times," Zarall muttered to herself, reciting an old training lesson. Reaching into her left boot to pull out a revolver, she kept the demon in her field of vision. The Taurus Judge wasn't even ten inches in over all length and possessed only five chambers, but it was good to have in close quarters. And whenever Zarall broke her other guns.

 

Diverting her gaze only long enough to ensure the revolver was loaded, Zarall leveled the gun, following the demon as it continued to speed around her. Finally, she fired a bullet, icicles bursting from a rear leg and causing the creature to trip and tumble with a shriek.

 

Glancing at the other two angels, Zarall frowned. "How's it going over there? I've got a bad feeling about all of this. There's no way only a few demons are around," she called.

 

Ithuriel

 

Frowning, Ithuriel watched the odd human as she turned her gun upon them, clearly displeased with the blindsided assault. "She sees me," they commented idly. Ready to dart out of the way, Ithuriel wasn't prepared for the woman's sudden change in target. Before anything could be done, the much younger angel was injured and down.

 

"Get Odessa out of here!" Reydris growled. Without hesitation, Ithuriel swooped downward and scooped the redhead up off the ground, gliding back into the air and out of reach. It didn't take long before the other angel caught up, informing them to change their route.

 

"Your place?" Given the situation, it made sense to them. Following Reydris, Ithuriel glanced back towards the abandoned chaos, flashes of lights indicating the presence of emergency vehicles. They remained silent, only looking at Odessa to assess her physical condition periodically. Her wing was not healing and that was problematic, perhaps as problematic as the appearance of a possessed human who could see glamoured angels.

 

Finally, "Reydris. We're both old enough. We've encountered change enough times." They paused briefly, wondering if the other angel was coming to a similar conclusion. "The demons are evolving again."

[TehUltimateMage]

Among the humans in her division, Vale was known to have an almost supernatural sense for disaster. They weren't wrong. They were sharper than she gave them credit for, sometimes. The short, dark-skinned woman never really associated with anyone outside of professional settings. She figured some of them -- like Jeff, sharp-eyed and who liked to have an irritating hand in everyone's business -- simply noticed that she was always the first to dispatch, as if she knew of emergencies before the calls started coming in.

 

It was difficult keeping track of the creatures in the city the further they were, but word traveled much quicker through the animal kingdom than over human telephone signals. That said, having seen near nine hundred years on the ground, the craftiness of her wards never ceased to amaze her. Unbeknownst to them, both angels and demons adapted pieces of their ever elaborate technology to fight an invisible war over who would determine the fate of the species.

 

Maybe if humans never invented guns, the demons would still be able to be cleaved by a blade. At least, that was what she wanted to believe. The truth might have been that firearms had saved them.

 

Her job gave her income, access to missing persons records, and the ability to carry firearms. But as may advantages as she had playing under human rules, it was frustrating to be confined to protocol. Even with her head start in the car, flying would have been much quicker: in the air there were no traffic lights, no terrible drivers, no needless detours. Even with the siren blaring at the top of the car, people didn't react fast enough for her taste. Off-duty, she ran her own patrols under her own rules, on alert for a different kind of danger. Sometimes the two overlapped. Those were the worst.

 

The rookie officer in the passenger side stayed silent the whole ride, sensing the tension in Vale's white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. Her expression was as neutral as always, although her brow and green eyes gave her a welcoming intensity to match her bold pixie cut. It was amusing that she scared her subordinates as much as her uniform scared the common public. People stood a little bit taller when she was around, even though most people were easily above her eye level.

 

"...fire, southern residential--"

 

The voices over the radio scanner gave her information she knew already. One of the first on the scene, Vale was eager to step out and assess the situation, swinging the car door open and slamming it shut behind her. Fire trucks were already beginning to pull in to fight the blaze. The masses had evacuated and were assembled outside and out of the way, but it was hard to say if everyone was accounted for.

 

This was Reydris' territory. No sign of any wings in the sky -- which either meant that there was no demonic threat here, or that something far more sinister was happening. She hoped for the former, but her gut knew that it was never that simple.

 

Hearing the door clap behind her, Vale knew that her tag-along apprentice had exited the vehicle as well. "Chief, there is a man standing too close to the perimeter," he reported. "Red hoodie, looks like he's just staring at the fire. We should tell him to move."

 

Vale looked away from the sky and toward the direction he pointed out. He had already begun heading over to talk some sense into that figure who was now staring straight at them, and Vale began to follow.

 

At that moment, several gunshots snapped through the air and Vale's chest tightened as her whole body went on high alert. "Seth, wait!"

 

From the hands tucked inside his pockets, the hooded figure produced a gun and easily closed the distance between him and the two officers. Vale's reaction was much faster than her partner's and with a hand already on her gun, she fired two shots straight through the human's chest. Her suspicions were confirmed when the figure staggered, but stood steady as if the gun wounds didn't exist. She locked eyes with it and the hatred was tangible. She was certain that it could see the overcast-grey wings hidden on her back. Seth screamed.

 

"How pathetic you look, ha, haha, and how clever you think you are," it said, punctuating the sentence with laughter. "But there is much more to come, you can't even imagine!"

 

Shoot to end the threat. That's what the human training said. A leveled gun was a threat. She fired four more shots, all of them aiming to be lethal, protocol technicalities be damned. One of them must have hit the correct spot in the head as the possessed human collapsed.

 

Seth looked at her with wide eyes, unsure of what to say of his chief's brutal display. Every time work overlapped with duty, she was prepared to hand in her badge. Duty to humanity was infinitely greater than duty to society. "I'm sorry you had to witness that," she said.

 

But now, she was certain there were demons in the area. And unlike angels, demons never worked alone.

Edited June 11, 2017 by TehUltimateMage

[Dragonhatchling]

((pardon the large wait... i got very busy with two new jobs))

 

Larien

 

Larien watched as the demon nearly collided with Zarall, noting the gunshot being fire off behind them. The angel turned to see one of the humans absolutely terrified, being held hostage by the demon-human who had recently fired a shot hopefully to get their attention. No blood was shown anywhere at least. The demon-human smiled viciously, glaring right at Larien and the other angels. Most of the attention was on Larien however, as they were closest.

"Such a sad day when these ones die no?" He drawled out, pointing the gun closer to the innocent human's head. "You're failing your duties." He added sternly, shaking the human slightly.

To the human, nothing was there. Who was this crazed human talking to? Probably the voices in his head, which didn't reassure matters. If anything that was probably worse. "Let them go..." Larien retorted equally sternly, moving slightly closer with her gun aimed.

"Uh-uh-uh. Not so easy!" The demon-human moved the innocent one quickly in front of himself, obviously as a shield. "Don't want this one dead now do we? But you wouldn't dare kill me if I can shoot this one right as quick." Larien was liking this less and less. Humans were supposed to be kept safe and this was anything but that. Meanwhile, all around, the fires spread more. The smell of gasoline wafted through the air. That wasn't good either. The other trapped humans still cowered in fear, even more so now as the possessed human walked toward the invisible angel to close the gap fully. Obviously a taunt. But also to get in the way of Karleo's clear shot.

The angel aimed a close cut shot in the closed gap, trying to gauge if there'd be a way to fake the demon-human in to thinking he didn't need to fire the gun just yet. He would have by now if he sensed impending doom. Right? One last kill before being killed. They usually prided themselves on that. Or was that only when they tried killing angels?

 

They swore silently, sending two shots directed at the head. The innocent screamed as a shot rang out from the possessed human, but he seemed too late. Larien hoped he was. A pain ripped through their left wing as the demon-human fell, freed and dead of the possession. Larien winced, chancing a glance. Feathers were missing and a gouge taken out of the upper edge of the wing, thankfully not anything super serious.

 

That demon had aimed at the last moment to try and kill Larien. Smart. The wound hurt terribly more than other wounds of similar kinds had before. Were they using different bullets this time? Their wing also wasn't healing as fast as it normally had. "Something's wrong." Larien voiced, hopefully loud enough for either Karleo or Zarall to hear.

[Epyon]

(Ok, I really have no excuse as to why I'm posting so late. Sorry guys)

Nithandros looked around the area, making sure this was the only possessed human in the immediate vicinity. He sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He knew the human was dead, but he had no choice. He knew he would be punished for this. Why couldn't the Elders see that they had to make decisions such as this? If a demon possesses one of the flock, then they as angels, have no choice but to purge it, lest it cause harm to their other charges. But, no, they don't care for that. Why would they? Nithandros made a face at the bitterness of his own thoughts. This wasn't the time nor place.  He can speak about it with the others when time permits, but for now, he just had to deal with it. Finding no more possessed or demons, he flew high so he could attempt to find his comrades. He was thankful that he escaped this encounter unscathed, but the next one may not be as forgiving. 

 

Karleo, meanwhile, was fighting a stalemate over control of the weapon. Both he and this demon proved to be matched in terms of strength, but Karleo was determined to get the weapon away from the possessed human. He snapped his head forward in a headbutt, it wouldn't hurt the demon, shielded as it was by the human, but it would at least, surprise him. He was thankful that it did, he was able to wrench the weapon loose but not before the possessed human pulled the trigger, giving Karleo a full blast of a shotgun into his stomach. He grimaced but wrenched the gun away in a burst of adrenaline fueled power. He reversed the weapon and shot the demon out of the human. The proximity ensured that the human would die, but he hadn't a choice. The human was dead, and the demon was exorcised. At least, for the moment. He staggered back and sat against a light pole. "Damn it all," he breathed, grimacing.