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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 11, 2016 22:44:32 GMT -5
Here we are! Posts will probably get longer the more I warm up to the characters.]]
It wasn’t that she was scared of blood, or scared of violence. She just didn’t like it when it was her blood. That’s why it was hard to stay calm when you woke up, slumped over in an alley, wondering what the hell you were doing here. Not just because she had a bloody knife in her gut. That wasn’t it at all.
The young woman sat up quickly, green eyes wide. She braced herself on the red brick wall, trying to slow her breathing, her heart racing. She wobbled a bit unsteadily, then immediately fell back down. Pain tore all the way through her stomach and up her chest, creeping its way up until she was left with a dull ache on every inch of her body. She couldn’t even think clearly. She could hardly even see. So there she lay, back flat on the cold stone ground of the alley, staring up at the crescent moon that stared back. It was dark, the sky was a harsh and black grey. Why, the only light at all came from a distant street lamp that flickered on and off, the orange glow hauntingly dim. The woman grasped at her temples, letting out a dull growl. The headache by far was the worst part of the pain, and she had blood all down her front. If that didn’t make it clear how much life sucked at the moment, she didn’t know what would. Maybe a brick landing on her stomach would do the job. She rested a hand gently on the hilt of the weapon in her stomach and was about to pull the thing out, biting down. She stopped herself before she nearly bit her lip (managed to avoid another injury, thank god for that), muttered a curse and yanked the blade out.
It didn’t do good things for her. And it hurt. A lot.
She rolled over, gasping quietly. She could feel the blood running on her hands. The amount of red around her made her wonder why she wasn’t already dead. Surely a human could only lose so much blood before they died, right? She managed to get up onto her hands and knees, but it didn’t feel like her body was going to allow her to do much more than that. Dizzy to the point where her vision blurred, she leaned against the wall and nearly passed out. She didn’t know what had happened, but she decided right then and there she needed to drink less. She ran a hand through her wavy red hair, her hands still shaking. Her heart still racing, her fingers still twitching. She did not want to to stay here, and she had already been here long enough. She had a gut feeling (if she still had any damn feeling in her gut) and it one she desperately wanted to listen to. Get the heck out of here. Right now. Nothing good will come from this. Yet her legs refused to work. She wasn’t going anywhere until she calmed down.
She patted her pockets down, hoping for something of use. She rolled her eyes at herself. What, did she think she’d be carrying around bandaids? And what good would that do, anyway? Get a happy sticker to go with your knife wound? Man, today was just a wonderful day, now wasn’t it?
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 11, 2016 23:00:12 GMT -5
I'll do my best to rp decently. I'm a bit rusty XD)
He paced back and forth in the dark, hands clenched into fists at his sides. He shouldn't have done this. He really shouldn't have done this, but there was no going back now. The others would have already cast him out by now, even though it had only been minutes since his incredible crime. He cursed to himself then turned and punched the nearest wall. Pain shot up his arm, and he recoiled quickly, grabbing his fist with his other and and gritting his teeth. It was going to be so hard getting used to things such as minor pain again.
Moments later, his stomach made an odd gurgling noise; it'd been so long since this had happened to him. With a sigh and shake of his head, the tall man looked out into the dimly lit street. In his mind, he knew he'd never go back to Heaven, and he wasn't what he used to be anymore. He'd have to live here now because of his crimes. This was his punishment, this was the consequences of saving her. He knew nothing of these being, though - not anything he would need to survive as one now.
Her... With his brain drifting back to the one who had helped him cause all of this trouble, he knew what he had to do. He'd have to get her help now. What a degrading thing to do...
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 11, 2016 23:27:02 GMT -5
[[Heh, I’m about a third RUSTy if I do say so myself.]]
She didn’t know her name. That was the next thought that popped into her head. How could she not know her own name?! The woman stood there, looking particularly stupid (but could one really blame her for that, drenched in blood and hopelessly confused?) She concentrated, as if by sheer willpower it would pop into her head that her name was… Was…?
Of course that wouldn’t work. She couldn’t trick herself into spilling the information that she so tauntingly withheld from, well herself. This wasn’t fair. She probably would have punched that wall, if she hadn’t already come to the terms with the fact that that would hurt. A lot. What good would it do her, punching random walls? It wasn’t the wall’s fault? It was hers. She had to think, and actually think this time, not just accuse herself of being stupid (already knew that stuff anyway, kiddo). She slid down the wall back onto the alley. If she wasn’t leaving she might as well get comfortable, anyway. It would be awhile before she pulled herself together; she’d already proven herself to be a slow one. Man, all the people surely said, that… lady… she sure is a slow one. Yeah, real great job. Lady. Good work on that name there; gotta remember that one.
It struck her then, that there was a simple solution to that problem. The solution any reasonable soul would have immediately thought of, if they had any brains at all. She hoped she hadn’t always been this annoying; she didn’t want to imagine dealing with a person like this every day. A person like… No, still no name. She’d have to cheat. Sticking her hand in the back jean pocket, she found her wallet. It was stained a red in a few spots and the leather was a little scratched up, but it had, for the most part, held together. She flipped through it, noting that she really liked holding onto gift cards and coupons. So she was that type of person. She could live with that. After all, she’d managed this long, no?
There it was. The driver’s ID. All that good, juicy information that she needed. Wow. She was a woman. Big surprise there. 26, so definitely legal for that drink she could definitely use. Then again, she needed what little wits she had. The name was in fine print. Why, for the love of it all, did it have to be fine print? Maybe, she reminded herself, whoever made these licences didn’t expect the owner to forget their own name. Poor planning, really; one only really needed to show the dang thing when they were too tipsy to drive. That was probably how she wound up here in the first place. Bad hangover.
Better start piecing the story together, Lady, she reminded herself, and held the thing up to her eyes. Dark and fine print combined, this was near impossible. “Sofia Marie…” she stopped, squinting at the last name, which had been scratched up something fierce. She cursed again, and shoved the wallet back into her pocket. “Wonder how the hell I am supposed to pronounce that… Fsshsghh?” It was German. She’d said that in German. Well good for her, she’d managed to trick herself at least once. Sofia Marie Something spoke German. She smirked at herself, feeling somewhat successful, despite the circumstances. It almost didn't even bother her that she had forgotten pretty much everything in her life anymore. ...Almost.
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 11, 2016 23:43:42 GMT -5
Sorry my responses are going to be short, too, by the way. Doing other stuff at the moment as well.)
The man ran other options through his head, but the same result always popped up. He really would have to ask the human for help. Even if he cared about her enough to do what he did, it was still very degrading to have to get help from a mere human. With a long sigh, he began to walking back to where he had left her, against that wall.
Silently, as if his feet did not even touch the sidewalk, he made his way down the street and back to where he was sure she still resided. He rounded the corner of the large, brick building. In doing so, his long, almost invisible shadow stretched out before him and covered the girl, thanks to the dim light of the street lamp near by. Darkness clouded his actual appearance, however, as he faced her. All one could really tell was that he was tall, really tall. In fact, he was easily seven feet high and skinny, and he clearly wore a long tailcoat which wavered in the slight breeze along with the shaggy hair atop his head.
"Sofia," he said in a deep but rather surprisingly soft voice. Reaching out a hand to her, he slowly began to approach. Once again, his footsteps made almost no sound without even trying - something one wouldn't have expected from someone of his stature.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 11, 2016 23:59:51 GMT -5
She didn’t even notice the shadow until it spoke to her. She looked up from the fumbling mess of tiny jean pockets and wondered briefly if shadows were supposed to be that tall, or if the light was playing tricks on her. Or drinks. It could have been drinks. Or blood loss. Blood loss was the easiest thing to blame. “Shadow,” she said back, trying to push herself back to her feet. This guy probably had a name. Or maybe he didn’t. Maybe he was a shadow and she was crazy. Who knew?
“Care to explain vhat zee hell all this is?” she asked after a moment, curiously noting of the accent when she went to English. She spoke it naturally, but it felt weird in comparison to how her company spoke. She managed to find her feet, stumbling a little. Thankful she didn’t embarrass herself by falling on her face she covered up her sloppiness by striking a more defensive stance, crossed her arms, eyebrows raised. She couldn’t see anything in the dark, and her dizziness wasn’t helping. She didn’t know who this guy was, but if he knew her name she was going to have to work with him. Weird as it was.
He came closer. She would have backed away, if not for the wall, and she found herself hoping this man wasn’t the one responsible for the knife or the bullet wounds. That would make them enemies, and she didn’t think she wanted to get in a fight with such a huge man. She held her temples when the headache panged again, not taking her green eyes off the shadow for a second. As he drew closer, it became more and more clear how tall this guy was. “Is zere somezink I can do for you…?” Sofia muttered, steadying herself on the wall again. “Or are you goink to be veird about it?”
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 12, 2016 0:22:37 GMT -5
The man stopped in his tracks as she spoke, and he let his hand fall back down at his side. "There's a lot explain here, Sofia." Nothing in his voice suggested he was German at all. In fact, he sounded rather American.It was odd really.
After a pause, he stepped closer again until he was only a foot in front of her and looming over the girl. Being so close now, more of his appearance could be made out. Along with the before mentioned description, he had almost emotionless, blue-gray eyes which seemed to look right into Sofia. Slight stubble adorned his face, and his hair was as black as the night around them, a few inches long and shaggy and just barely missing his eyes. The tailcoat he wore was the same shade of black as his midnight hair, with a dark gray t-shirt underneath. Black, leather gloves covered his hands, all except for the finger tips. Blue jeans and black sneakers with white soles completed the look, but tiny crimson spots shone on his feet occasionally with his movement.
He crouched more to her level, and a gloved hand reached out and rested on her shoulder as his eyes scanned her body up and down, taking in the whole scene of the blood and wounds. His eyes rested onto hers. "My name is Shane, and I am your guardian angel." He flinched then. "I was, anyway."
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 12, 2016 0:45:54 GMT -5
She glanced down at the hand on her shoulder, then back up to his face. This ‘Shane’ seemed pretty serious, which was probably the worst of it. Like he believed that to be true. “Ah,” she said, like she understood. But she didn’t. “So vee are both insane. Got it.” There was no way he was telling the truth and she knew that. She realized then that she would have to play along if she wanted to get out of here; crazy people often did crazy things. She didn’t want to end up any worse than she already was. Mainly, she didn’t want to be stuck with a crazy man in an alley. Hopefully, though, a ‘guardian angel’, didn’t plan on killing her or anything like that. Why, she almost certain, now that she thought about it, that ‘not killing the person you’re protecting’ would quite literally be the job description. “Vas?” A pause there, and Sofia uncrossed her arms to gesture at her bloody shirt front. “Vere you fired for doink bad job? Got stabbed vhile you vere on break, for goodness sake.”
Maybe he wouldn’t like her mentioning that. Of course, that realization came too late, and she winced, a combination of physical pain and mental awareness. (Which was great; if she was terrified of a crazy guy it proved her head was working alright. Of course, it was also terrible, because it meant she was dealing with a crazy guy) One thing was for certain; she did not want to provoke this guy. He was bad news; that was clear as day. He wasn’t anything like an angel, anyway. No wings, no halo, no magical glow. The only thing particularly odd about him was the height. ...And maybe the clothes. And the voice, too, she supposed (then again, she could have been in America, who even knew anymore?) The worst part about it was that she couldn’t leave. Really, her only way out was if this guy helped her out of here. Or if he left her alone. She wouldn’t object to being left alone. Sticking her hands in her pockets, she found what felt like a pair of keys. A flickering memory of an apartment came into her head (where that was, though, was the real question). She smiled weakly, feeling hopeful about all this. This was good. She could figure something out, right? Leave the country? Get a restraining order? That all depended on her not dying, though. “Appreciate fact zat you are vatchink out for me… or vhatefer, but-”
She probably would have said more, asked more questions, but just then Sofia had pretty much stopped working. Her legs gave way underneath her and she passed out. There were probably a number of things that could have been to blame for that. It could have easily been shock, blood loss or even (though it was starting to seem less believable) too much to drink. Hell, could have been a combination of all that. But really, all Sofia knew was that one moment she saw the ground rushing up to meet her, and the next? Well, the next she simply didn’t. Her vision just went black. She slumped over and went limp.
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 12, 2016 1:02:53 GMT -5
Shane's face contorted into a frown at her comments, and slight anger flared up in his eyes at the mention of all the blood. The anger was towards himself, however. He had done a bad job of protecting her, ad he knew it. Even though angels were limited in their affairs with the humans they protected, he could have done something, right? But no, instead he let her almost die. He did the most forbidden thing he could have done to save her.
He had opened his mouth to say something but realized she was suddenly falling with her legs buckling underneath her. With reflexes that were lightning quick, he caught her in his arms then brought her to his chest. "Don't worry, I will still protect you," he promised quietly, mostly to himself. He had to make up for what he had done, if he even could make up for this. Then, a sensation stirred within his stomach; it was extremely foreign and uncomfortable. He had o idea what it was, but he realized he suddenly had a heartbeat as it grew faster. Thoughts started to race through his mind: what could he do with Sofia? Where could he take her? What if more danger came?
Shane shook his head violently to clear his mind of all but two thoughts; he had to get Sofia somewhere she could rest, and he had to keep her safe. He shifted his arms and her body so that he carried her bridal style then exited the alleyway which still held so much blood. Glancing around, not many people were in sight. Good. He started walking with the girl in his arms. Where was he going? He had no idea. He just went. Eventually, after a few minutes, he found a house that looked abandoned and took Sofia in there. It was pitch black almost, but he managed to find his way to a crusty mattress. A homeless person was probably living there, but he had no idea of that and simply laid the girl down gently. Som sheets rested strewn about over the bottom of the mattress. On instincts he didn't know he had, he began to rip sections off and wrap them thickly around her wounds. He then proceeded to lie down beside her and wrap his arm protectively around her, listening for any movement in the darkness that might threaten her safety.
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 12, 2016 13:40:43 GMT -5
Are we going to continue this?)
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 12, 2016 14:18:20 GMT -5
Yes, sorry about that. I'm juggling four RPs at the moment. One of the advanced PM ones I thought was dead just got back to me after a week or so, and another just came back from a break, but yes, I'll get a reply back to you in, no more than, hopefully, thirty minutes :D ]]
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 12, 2016 14:42:50 GMT -5
Sofia didn’t even remember where she was when woke up.
While normally, one might have wondered why they weren’t at home, in their own bed, she didn’t have that. It was more a flicker of surprise as she realized she wasn’t in the same spot as the last time she’d woken up from passing out. And then came the return of what few memories she still had. Those wonderful memories; classics, like the ones telling her she had gotten in a knife fight with some crazy man and lost. She sat up, and just as quickly lost all her progress, being pulled back down by something that had pinned her arm. Sofia Marie fell back down onto the flat, dirty mattress and stared up at the ceiling with a look of disgust on her face. It was not the best way to wake up, that was for certain. She carefully poked the horrible, stinging wounds in her stomach, not believing that they could be real. But they were. And poking them hurt. With a hole in her stomach, it was a miracle she wasn’t dead. But she didn’t want to think that angel nonsense was true. All logic and reason told her otherwise. Then again, she hadn’t proven herself to be the type of lady who acted based on logic and reason. That brought up another good point; if a person who was stupid warned you about how stupid you were being, it was probably best to assume it wasn’t a good thing to think.
She was giving herself an even worse headache. Sofia lifted her sore arm up to her face (her other one was under a pillow, or something heavy) and she had to bring it pretty close to see her fingertips. Blood was dry, then. And she still wasn’t dead (because even if Shane really was an angel, Heaven couldn’t possibly look like this). And, she noted, she was in bandages. Messily done, like five year olds had worked together tied them. Joy. This was all a wonderful way to point out that Mr. Crazyangel had picked her up and carried her off to whatever run down, old and dirty house he lived in. And then the next realization came, and it might have been the worst of them all. At least it was warm, and at least she wasn’t dead yet. And he cared enough keep her alive, though she still wouldn’t recommend his guardian angel services to anyone else. Where was he, anyway?
Maybe it was the combination of how numb she felt, or maybe it was just her natural slowness, but it finally dawned on her. Sofia flinched, realizing that Shane had lay down next to her (and she even managed to put some distance between them by rolling over). Yes, the young woman got a faceful of mattress, but she decided that was the least of her worries at the moment. She groaned in irritation, wondering how far the door was from here, and if she could outrun him. Angels didn’t run fast, right? About the same speed as psychopaths, if she had to guess.
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 12, 2016 15:08:03 GMT -5
Yay! I was very much enjoying this one. Don't stress yourself out with this, though. Take a break from this one if you need to)
Shane as awake and alert the whole time, constantly listening for the 'owner' of the home to return, or any other threats. When Sofia awoke, he stayed still and silent while she fumbled around in the dark; he figured she was eve more confused, but that didn't matter. It was after she groaned that he decided to make his awareness known. "Glad you're awake," he said in a rather emotionless voice. He sat up, looking at her. By now, his eyes had adjusted well to the darkness, as much as they could, an d he could make out the outline of her figure along with some more detailed features, such as her facial expression. He cared not for her frustration.
It as at that moment that the front door of the old house opened. They were in a room off to the side and own a hall, but the door's creaking, old hinges could clearly be heard as the rust ground together when opened. In an instant, Shane was on his feet and ready to fight. His muscles tensed and back faced Sofia as he stood guard in front of her. He realized he had no weapons, though. "Did you keep the knife?" he asked her, training his eyes on the bedroom doorway and dropping his voice to a low but urgent whisper. Footsteps of heavy boots echoed in the dank, dusty house as the mystery guest approached.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 12, 2016 16:00:56 GMT -5
“I’m not,” she muttered into the mattress, not particularly enjoying the view. It wasn’t exactly easy to move, either, and it didn’t like she was going anywhere any time soon. Shame, that; she’d rather forget all this happened and get on with her life. Which would be difficult, considering the fact that she didn’t remember any of it.Taking a great deal of effort to change her position, Sofia rolled onto her side, looking at him with an expression that of a disapproving mother. Such a look didn’t really fit her, and only made her look rather pathetic. She could almost see his face, just the traces of it in the dark. She imagined he could see hers, as well.
Like him, she froze (not that she was moving in the first place) at the sound of the door opening. The rusty hinges creaked and squealed, giving them just a few moments of warning. She didn’t know who was coming, but she got the feeling they wouldn’t be friendly. Shane stood up, and Sofia fell off the mattress (nearly landing on her face, too). She caught herself with one arm, which hurt even more than she thought it would. Why, it might have even been better for her to smack her head. That, at least, might have jumbled her brains back into place. Unable to stand up (or do much else without crashing down, she stayed on the ground, doing a sort of one armed plank. Shane’s whispered question, though, made her look up.
Why would she have brought the knife? Why did he think that? She'd been passed out; he'd been the one to carry her here, and it was pretty clear she didn't have anything useful with her. She supposed she she have appreciated the fact he hadn't left her on the street, but that was not the important thing at the moment. She made a gesture towards the door with her free hand, which, not surprisingly, made her arm hurt. "You say you are angel, no?!” she hissed back. “Send holy fire at zem or somezink!”
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 12, 2016 16:22:33 GMT -5
Shane's mind may have been almost as jumbled as Sofia's right now. He knew what he wanted to do, what he had to do, but he no longer had those sorts of skills. There were no weapons at hand, either. All he had were his body and the little knowledge of hand-to-hand combat from his years as an angel ans watching humans. At Sofia's words, he gritted his teeth. "I can't," he hissed back.
The footsteps grew closer and louder until only a couple seconds had passed and a dirty man in rags of clothes entered the dark room. He stared at Shane in surprise, not noticing Sofia at first. Then, he pulled out a knife with a shaky hand and held it up in defense. Without a word, the man lunged at Shane, but he was much shorter and clearly emaciated. Long story short, he was no match for the giant that Shane was once the knife was out of reach from the man; him finally noticing Sofia was a good distraction. In a minute, the man was pined to the floor with the former angel sitting on top of him, pressing the hobo's face into the dirt covered floor.
"You will not hurt her!" Shane snarled at the man, pinning his arms to the floor.
Although clearly beaten, he gave a pervy smile and glanced at Sofia but before he could say anything, his head twisted with a snap and he fell limp. Once Shane had caught sight of that look in the man's eyes, he made the choice that he was too much of a danger to Sofia to live. No matter what it took, he would protect her.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 13, 2016 17:12:27 GMT -5
The footsteps drew closer still and he hadn’t done anything about it yet. The young woman stared at Shane with a look that mixed frustration with disbelief, completely unsympathetic. She seemed indignant of his inability to be of use. “Zen punch him!” she suggested, frustrated. It was bad enough that she couldn’t really move, it was worse when she was surrounded by crazy people. She cursed under her breath, trying to get herself into a better position. Her arm gave wave way under her (it had only been a matter of time, anyway) and hit the ground with a bit of a thump. It was a fairly painful thump, too. It would take poor Sofia Marie quite a while to adjust herself again, now that she was back on the floor. She roll back over just in time to watch, wide eyed, as Shane tackled the man.
It was over real quick (well, kind of). One moment they were fighting and the next the man was pinned to the floor and Shane was holding him down. The ‘angel’ shouted something Sofia couldn’t quite make out; her ears were still ringing and her head was still pounding. By a stroke of horrible luck, she met that strange man's eyes and saw that sick sort of smile that had made its way onto his face.She didn’t have much time to be disgusted by it, however, for it was just a moment later she had something else to make her feel far more sick.
There was a sharp crack. Sofia looked away, but the damage was done. She’d seen enough. She thought what she’d seen was bad already, but oh, how wrong she’d been. “...Zank you?” she said after a few moments, her voice kind of shaking. Sofia pushed herself upright, sitting flat on the floor, head turned away. She didn’t want to look.
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 13, 2016 20:34:55 GMT -5
Shane panted slightly, adrenaline still coursing through him but fading at a steady pace. For a moment he stayed on the man, letting himself calm down before standing again and turning his head to look at Sofia. He frowned at her turned head, realizing that he'd probably upset her with what he had done. Humans tended to be that way, to hate witnessing things such as death. It was so normal for angels, though, and so normal to kill.
"I'm sorry to have put you through that," he said and let his eyes float to the floor. "But if I hadn't, he would have hurt you." A small thought popped into his mind then, and the tall man walked over to Sofia, crouched in front of her, and spoke again. He watched her with soft eyes in the darkness. All the compassion and love he could have went to this one girl, for that's how guardian angels worked. They had a special bond with their humans that nothing else could compare to almost. He moved to sit down beside her then pulled her into a gentle hug.
It was strange, being able to touch the girl like this. sure, he had picked her up to carry her here and even stepped in sometimes throughout her life to help her in certain situations, but this was different. It was like he could relax knowing she actually was safe, and, with that, he really noticed how warm she was, how warm it was to hold her. It was not like he loved her like a girlfriend, no, but hugging her was sort of...magical.
"You're safe now." The words came out just as soft as cotton. He did not let go. "I suppose you'd like an explanation now of how I'm an angel, er, was?" With that, he only pulled away a little bit, enough to look at her.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 14, 2016 10:50:24 GMT -5
Sofia flinched away from his touch at first; it stung. Not in a magical way, like being touched by some crazy angel, but just thanks to moving. Moving stung. Breathing stung. Hell, existing right now stung. She was no expert on getting stabbed in the gut, but she could safely say it sucked. (And, well, she kinda was an expert now, having had it happen to her. Why, she could have been and simply forget; she didn’t remember much at all.) But really, if this Shane was truly an angel, why did she still have a hole in her stomach? It wasn’t the sort of thing she would have imagined being saved by an angel would feel like. She probably didn’t spend a lot of time imagining that; who even knew anymore? Still, she didn’t think this was how guardian angels worked; why couldn’t he do anything now? Saving her was his job, right? Was he fired for being so terrible, because at least she was alive. She was glad for that. She hadn’t been thankful enough towards him, and she felt bad about that, truly.
“It’s okay,” she mumbled, though it wasn’t really okay. She wasn’t going to berate him again; it wasn’t fair. She didn’t want to push him away just yet. It was oddly comforting, in some sort of crazy way. So she just sat there, not exactly able to hug him back and not sure she wanted to. He was just a stranger she didn’t even know; she didn’t know exactly how to react to him hugging her. He’d probably known her for a while now, but today was really her first time to get to know him. He said something else she didn’t really hear, but the question? Oh, she had been listening for something of the sort since the second he told her he was an angel.
“Zought you’d nefer ask!” she exclaimed. “Please, vould really like to know vhat zee hell is goink on.”
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 14, 2016 13:12:30 GMT -5
Shane looked at her a moment, trying to figure out where to begin. He then let her go and simply sat beside her, looking down at his half-gloved hands. "Since your birth, I was assigned to be our guardian angel by Heaven. I'd done it many times before, so this was nothing new. My job was to keep you safe until your time came. When you fell off your bike, I was there to catch you so you didn't get hurt too badly. When you were alone in the house as a kid, I made sue you weren't frightened too badly. When demons tried to attack you, I fought them off even though you had o idea what was going on. (If a angels existed, demons did, too.) He paused for a moment. "I watched you grow up and kept you safe every second of every day your whole life. I'd done it with so many other people, but...I grew so fond of you for some reason. Your time was to come when you were shot and stabbed. As per rules, I was to let it happen so that you may ascend to Heaven and I would receive a new human to watch, however, I clearly didn't let that happen."
His mind aced as he told her of everything, while his stomach rolled. Whether it was with guilt, sadness, or something else, he did not know. All he knew was that he was human now, but he didn't have a clue how to be human anymore. It had been so many years (though, he only looked to be about 27.)
He inhaled a deep breath before finishing. "Before I knew what I was doing, I scared your killers off and healed you. Basically, I kept you from dying when you should have left your body. I bound your soul to it longer, and, in doing so, I lost my powers as an angel. Preventing a human from dying when it's their time is the worst crime an angel can commit aside from turning against Heaven in favor of evil. As such, I will be banned form Heaven once I die, but until then...I am human, just like you." He turned his head to look at her, so much sadness and even confusion in his blue-gray eyes. "I gave everything I had for you besides my life, but I'd give even that." A tiny smile crept onto his face. Although it saddened him deeply to no longer be an angel and to know he'd be banned from Heaven once he died - of any way a normal human could - he was at least happy to still let Sofia's heart beat.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 15, 2016 15:37:27 GMT -5
She listened to everything closely, wanting to believe it. It was crazy, yes, but it felt true. She didn’t know why she was so eager to trust Shane; there was just something about him, she supposed. Something about him that was warm; kind, almost gentle, maybe. A weird, broken sort of gentle, like harsh and calloused hands holding a kitten. Soft and careful, but a violent sort of shell to it. Now, Sofia wasn’t one to get all caught up in those sorts of details (at least, she didn’t think she was), but it felt as if she had been doing a lot of that. She wasn’t all the way there, she figured blood loss had something to do with, or maybe it was a dying thing. He said he had brought her back when she was supposed to be dead. That sounded like the kind of thing that would make one forget everything. But not everything, no, just who she was, where she was. There was still other things, under the surface. Instinct was the word she was looking for. She knew how to walk (although right now it didn’t feel like it), she knew that bleeding wasn’t good, it was just the things that applied to her that she didn’t know. Her family, her last name, where she was…
“Don’t know how to follow zat,” she said when he was done. “Zank you von’t cut it...” She trailed off and glanced around the room, skipping over their unbreathing guest and looking anywhere except Shane’s face. She struggled for words; it was still difficult to think clearly. Or maybe she didn’t think clearly ever. Maybe she was stupid. Then again, were the stupid aware of their own stupidity? That was a depressing thought. Living each day knowing you were less than everyone else? Stupider than everyone else? She would much rather live each day, unknowing, than have such knowledge. Or perhaps realizing she was stupid made her the tiniest bit less stupid; she didn’t know.
It hit her, after a few moments of looking around the room in a daze, that she still hadn’t finished her sentence. Sofia looked back at him, seeming a bit bewildered by it all. “I mean, vhat do you say to somezink like zat?” she asked him, not expecting to receive an answer. “Appreciate greatly zat you vould do zat for me, but vhat else can I say?” She smiled weakly back, although it was painfully obvious how flustered she was feeling. “Vee boz are screwed… I hafe no idea vere house is, little money. ...Zere is dead guy in room.” The young woman wanted to fall over and then not get back up. Not die, just stya there until the conflict resolved itself. That wasn’t how life worked, but oh, how she wished it did. But even then, she had a feeling it would hurt, especially if she didn’t catch herself. Her reaction time had proven itself to be particularly slow, and she didn’t think her arms would catch her in time.
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 15, 2016 18:49:53 GMT -5
"It's okay. I don't need any repayment. Just stay alive and let me hang around so I can keep you safe," Shane told her and gave a small smile. He glanced over at the other man then back at her. "How much money do you have?" If they had enough, they could stay at one of those motel buildings for a night at least to figure things out. He wasn't a fan of hotels or motels - he'd seen people he protected go into them, some of them having more than necessary danger. They had nowhere else to go, though, really. He didn't want to stay here any longer. More people could just come in at any time. At least motel doors had locks, he knew.
Looking at her, he decided mentally that it was probably best to carry her to the nearest one, especially after witnessing her fail to even get up much from falling off of the mattress. It's not like he wanted her to be in pain either. Even if she protested, he decided, he would carry her to the nearest motel, wherever it happened to be. If only he could still fly, though.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 15, 2016 19:26:09 GMT -5
“...How much?” Sofia blinked, brushing her red hair out of her eyes, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out her wallet and peeked in the pocket. The pocket itself had a fifty, two fives and a ten, which was probably enough to buy them a really cheap room. They needed to save their euros until they found a good way to get more. Even if she didn’t want to live in a horrible room, she still wanted to have money for food, non bloody clothes and other important things. She didn’t know quite what those would be yet, but it was smart to save.
The rest of the stuff in wallet was useless trash. There were a few things that were interesting, like a small picture of a twelve year old girl holding up a drawing. Sofia couldn’t tell if that was younger her or not; she didn’t really know what she looked like, other than what she could see on the scuffed up picture on her license. Besides, she couldn't think up a good reason to have a picture of herself, anyway. She checked the other pocket, where there was a library card, a piece of paper with three phone numbers on it and a few coupons for free (and one for 25% off) on frozen yogurt. She made a mental note to try the numbers later, when she got her hands on a phone. She weakly held out the wallet to Shane to let him hold it while she checked her pockets. She found a five cent coin, but that was it. Just some pocket lint and a handful of disappointment.
“Vee take taxi?” she suggested. She would have much liked to walk, and that wouldn’t have cost them anything, but she had become increasingly aware of her inability to do much more than move her arms. A side effect of being dead, probably. Maybe she regain the ability to use her brain after this. She couldn’t wait for that.
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 15, 2016 19:37:10 GMT -5
Shane took the wallet as she dug around and peeked inside the pockets of the thing, too. It would be enough to tide them over for a little bit, he thought. He knew money well enough from watching others, thankfully. He had a feeling that would still be much to learn about being human. Realizing he would have to learn more about how humans behaved and such, he felt a little knot of anxiety in his stomach. He simply didn't want to mess up.
At her inquiry, he shook his head and stood up, shoving the wallet in his coat pocket. "No, I'm going to just carry you. It won't cost anything, and it's safer," he informed her. His mind was always on possible dangers, even still. People were always a constant threat, as they were unpredictable.
He had seen time and again what they could do. Not only did they kill and torment, but some were capable of horrible things such as befriending another then betraying them in ways of going behind their backs and causing mental scarring, or literally stabbing them in the back. Some seemed to be completely normal and then all of a sudden they're holding a gun to a stranger's head. How people got guardian angels like that in the first place, he'd never know. He was happy to have a human like Sofia, though, even if he wasn't her angel anymore. In his mind, he'd always be her guardian.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 15, 2016 20:03:11 GMT -5
She hesitated, finding difficulty in agreeing with that. She knew he probably didn’t understand exactly how humans worked, but she’d hoped he at least knew enough to realize how terrible it would make him look, carrying a bleeding woman off down the street. Even if he was helping her, it would not exactly look trustworthy to passerby. It would draw a lot more attention to them, and really, felt more dangerous than just getting in a taxi. Still, it was looking like their only option, whether she wanted it to be or not. She was going to ask him if he could even carry her, but seeing as he managed before, that didn’t look like it was going to be an issue. “Okay, but vee need to know vhere vee are goink,” she told him. They, er, he couldn’t just march off into the street in the middle of the night, looking for a place to stay. Well, he could, but it wasn’t exactly the smartest option and left them rather… exposed? That wasn’t the worst word for what she was thinking, but it certainly wasn’t the best.
“I don’t remember anyzink,” she told him, realizing she had yet to mention that detail. “Who I am, vhere I am… is all new to me.” She wasn’t going to be able to be his guide, she wasn’t going to be able to do anything remotely useful. She had nothing going for her, except maybe the talk to people in a normal way (rather than formal angel talk(. Ooh, she could also pay for things, which was nice, and she had a driver's license. Maybe she had a bike. That would be nice. That and... well, she could admit that was about the end of her ability. For a least a little while, she was going to be about as useful as a mop without a handle; all the things you absolutely needed were there and you could work with it, but it was going to be pretty damn inconvenient for everyone involved.
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 15, 2016 21:03:39 GMT -5
Shane scrunched up his face slightly at the mention of her memories being gone. "To be honest, I don't know much about you either. My job was to stay on high alert for danger, so most everything else was unessential of my attention," he admitted, feeling a bit stupid about that. If he'd paid more attention to details like his surrounding, besides danger factors, maybe they could get her safely to her house. He was sure to know her house when he saw it, but he would have no idea how to really get there. In all actuality, he wasn't the most useful right now either besides muscle and basic human company.
"Perhaps we can find a map somewhere?" he suggested, knowing that was a thing. He knew of many things and how stuff worked, so he wasn't completely oblivious to everything. It was mostly human behavior that he would soon struggle with. Unfortunately for Sofia, this may lead to uncomfortable events in the foreseeable future.
He rose to his feet then scooped the girl up as gently as he could, holding her close after. "It's still dark out, but I'm sure stores are still open. One may have a map for tourists. That is a thing here, I think." he was fairly certain towns and cities would have maps in stores or on the streets. he'd seen some before. Only real question was, were they here and available? He did not know but walked quietly out of the old house with Sofia in his grasp. Outside wasn't much lighter than in the house.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 16, 2016 10:46:56 GMT -5
Sofia winced at Shane’s response. She’d been meaning to ask him if he knew any of that sort of thing. Who her family was, where her house might have been… any of that would have been helpful. She had been wrong to think that they might have had a chance out here. They were going to get demolished by the harshness of the real world. If she wasn’t so worried about how the rest their lives were going to go, she might have laughed. Laughed at the hopelessness of it all. The idea that they were gonna dig themselves out of this; there were plenty of people stuck in position like this, unable to get out. No home, no job…? She just had the bonus of not remembering anything. Oh, and dragging along an antisocial angel. Brilliant, really. And somehow, Shane didn’t seem to be regretting any of this for even a moment. Maybe he just didn’t realize yet how much worse these things were going to get.
“Yes,” she agreed. “A map.” They’d look pretty silly walking around with a map, but the tourist gig sounded like a good idea. New to wherever they were. She just hoped that neither of their accents were going to get them into trouble. There were a lot of things that were different in different cultures, and she hoped she’d be able to figure something out before it got embarrassing.
She almost laughed when he picked her up so easily. She didn’t know what she’d been worried about. Her mind raced with ways to handle her current situation without getting too much in the way. All she could really use was her arms, which was annoying to say the least. Crutches, maybe. That was a cheaper alternative to a wheelchair. Then again, where would she get those from? Hopefully this didn’t last too long. She wiggled her legs a little bit, then realized that was exactly helpful to Shane. Sofia stopped squirming and stayed still, wondering if he could see in the dark, or if they were just marching off into the night. Too crazy tourists, one without use of her legs and the other rather tall, off into the night to buy a map. It sounded like the start of some wild joke, but she found herself unable to laugh.
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 16, 2016 11:17:18 GMT -5
Shane glanced around, the darkness still harsh to his eyes. They had adjusted well, but human eyes could only so far into the darkness. This was yet another moment he wished he had had his angel abilities back, simply for the convenience of it all. Healing Sofia completely would also be a nice advantage. Oh well. Things didn't always work out in one's favor.
"I suppose we will go this way and head towards some of the lights," he thought aloud, turning left and heading back up the way they had come to the old house. Sofia wouldn't know it yet, but they were heading right back to where she was 'killed.' In his mind, he thought it a good idea to retrieve that knife as a weapon. Without powers now, a weapon would be a great asset in his ever lasting mission. Plus, there may have been a map somewhere up around that area, in one of those buildings.
Silently, he walked with Sofia. Even though one would think a person as tall as he was would leave heavy steps on the sidewalk, his were virtually silent, just like before. It was more instinct for him to walk quietly, like it was to fight and be alert for danger. At least a broken angel like him still had some advantages. He did not speak either until they reached their destination. Their shadow stretched with the lamp's dim light down the alley, some of the glow catching on the crimson liquid and making it shine in the night. Shane set the girl down against the wall, next to the puddle. It was only for a moment as he grabbed the knife and gave it a quick examination. Bloody, definitely, but it would serve its purpose. "Think there may be some clues as to who you are or anything here?" he asked her, glancing over his shoulder, his back to her.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 16, 2016 12:07:42 GMT -5
She understood his reasoning behind that. She would much rather be able to see where they were going, even if she had no idea where they were. It would be best to start memorizing the streets. She made count of certain buildings they passed, just in case they ever came through here again. Of course, it wasn’t until she actually saw the pool of her own blood that she realized that he had carried her back to where she’d first woken up. Not saying a word, Sofia looked at Shane curiously when he set her down. Her attention flickered to the knife when he went to pick it up. She didn’t agree with that choice, but the switchblade would definitely be of use for them, and she knew it. She frowned. Each step they took brought them closer to the hard part; the finding a home, the trying to get some sleep. He didn’t seem to be aware that yes, they could buy a room for the night; the problem would be every day after that. Considering a sarcastic remark, but quickly deciding against it, she only shook her head at his question. “Do not zink so, no. Zee valley is how I know my name.”
He brought up a good point, though. It would be wise to look for details. Not just because of learning who she was, but because a puddle of blood would already be pretty suspicious; not leaving a way for the police or otherwise to trace it back was in her best interest. “My biggest concern is vhen vee are questioned,” she told him. “Is bound to happen; I am cofered in blood and can’t valk, and you are strange tall man.” Like, Shane wasn’t just tall. He was insanely tall; enough to draw attention of anyone who saw him walk by. She didn’t know if it was an angel thing or if he was just a oddly tall guy. It didn’t matter; they looked rather odd and surely would stick out.
She used the wall to prop herself up better, rather than falling over again. Her legs were kind of working again, which was splendid news for her. She didn’t know how long it would be before she could walk, but she had become increasingly aware of the fact that this whole dying business was pretty inconvenient for everyone involved. “Zere may be somezink about zee guys vith zee knife,” she offered. Anything was helpful, though she would have loved to figure out more about herself. And right now, they were the guys with the knife. It was great news, and terrible news. She had to stop getting excited about things like picking up a knife, because that was not really a good thing. A good thing would not be needing a weapon at all. A good thing would be not having gotten stabbed.
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 16, 2016 12:27:39 GMT -5
"I saw them as clearly as I need to, and I don't want to see them again," Shane said with a sternness to his voice, indicating that he wanted to drop that subject. Instead, he glanced around but saw nothing else of interest and turned away form the spot. After shoving the blade in his pocket, he simply scooped Sofia up again and walked out of the alley, continuing up the street. With the aid of the lights, he eventually found a store that was still open, a gas station, actually. It wasn't the most preferable thing, and rather oddly placed among the more city buildings, but it would do. As long as it had a map, and maybe some food, that's all he cared about.
"This may have a map," he muttered but wasn't too keen on going inside; he knew there would be people there, so a nice little threat of danger. He carried her in without a problem, only struggling for a second to open the door quickly. Of course, the man behind the counter was quite shocked upon seeing them, but Shane did not seem to notice, or just really didn't care. Still, he kept an eye on the man while he also looked for a map.
The man was an older fellow with a white beard and balding head. He eyed them with complete shock and concern but never once spoke. Perhaps he was simply too shocked to find the words to address them? Or maybe he felt it best not to speak to them because of the dried blood which stained Sofia's shirt and Shane's pants. Would anyone really have the guts to talk to them this way?
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 16, 2016 13:03:37 GMT -5
Sofia let him drop the subject, realizing the mention of it bothered him. She could understand why, but really she thought that it wouldn’t bother him nearly as much as it did her. She supposed had to be more careful about that sort of thing. Think things through first. All that good stuff. She really didn’t want to upset him, and really hadn’t a clue how he would react to pretty much anything he did. She let him pick her up again, remaining unmoving as to not get in the way as much as possible. That was difficult, but right now it was the least she could do. She felt really pathetic, but there wasn’t really any other options. And so they (or rather, Shane) marched off back down the street in search of some place that was still open; preferably a place that would have maps.
When he spoke again, she opened her eyes, realizing she had been about to fall asleep. He was right. The gas station convenience store was not her first choice, but it would probably have what they needed. And, at least, those kinds of places were somewhat used to weird people walking in. Never an angel and a recently not dead woman, though. Then again, maybe; this could be a more common thing than she thought, which was odd enough. She smiled hopefully, but bit her lip when Shane struggled to get the door open. She was really wishing she could walk right now. This whole mess could be dubbed something like ‘the awkward party’, because Sofia didn’t think that it could get any more awkward than it already was. But oh, how wrong she was.
Shane just walked in without so much as a greeting to the man behind the counter. He probably didn't realize how insane they looked. Sofia, however, did. Very much so. She frowned at him and twisted her head to look over Shane’s shoulder at the man behind the counter. “Hello,” she called to the shop keeper. Nevermind the fact that they walked in covered in blood in the middle of the night; manners still applied. He only stared at her, his eyes flicking between her face and the bloody wound in her gut. “Is nozink to vorry about,” she told him quickly. His slight confusion made her realize that he probably didn’t even understand. “I am fine,” she told him, this time in German, and hoped she had assumed correctly. “He is a nurse.” The man looked a little dubious, still looking at her and Shane like they were aliens. Which, actually, probably wasn’t that unreasonable of him. Sofia rolled her eyes. “Do you have any maps?” She struggled to find a good way of saying it without sounding more crazy. She looked at Shane nervously, then back to the older man. They needed a good lie, and fast. Her heart was racing now. “We were robbed a little way down the street, this vacation has not gone well at all.”
“In... in the back,” was all the man said, his words stumbling a bit, giving away his discomfort. He probably didn’t want to get involved in all of this mess, anyway, which was understandable. Sofia looked back at Shane happily, with a sort of beaming in her green eyes.
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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Oct 16, 2016 13:33:46 GMT -5
Shane listened to their conversation quietly. He figured it was perhaps best to let her do the talking. At the mention of the maps existing, he gave Sofia a slight smile back, a bit hopeful as well. Paying no more attention to the man, (not like he paid him attention anyway) Shane carried Sofia back into the more isolated part of the store where the maps were located. Happily, more happily that before, he held Sofia closer to the rack of papers so she could grab one and figure out where the heck they were. He understood it was Germany, that, he was used to, but like his companion, he had no idea where in the country they were standing.
Just then, his stomach gave a grumble that he was no longer used to. In fact, the whole prospect of eating was so alien anymore. He knew now that he was human again he'd have to eat, but this just made it all the more real. "We're buying food after this," he stated, not going to let Sofia disagree, even though he was fairly certain she wouldn't have disagreed anyway. A simple candy bar or bag of chips, or even a small sandwich or whatever wouldn't cost that much. He'd noticed a few prices of things when he went on his own short, solo search, before she asked the man behind the counter where the maps were. Why hadn't he asked himself instead of making her ask? Stupid, he thought, knowing he would really have to get a grip on this whole human behavior thing again.
It'd been 1861 since he was last alive. Human manners and behaviors were so different back then. His mind started to wander, and his face eve gained a spaced out look like he was deep in some other dimension. If Sofia talked to him now, he wouldn't have heard until being jolted back to reality. All those distant memories of his life presented themselves before his mind's eye in faded, old images. He didn't even realize he was getting so lost, his mind didn't register the sole thought he was bent on keeping present, that danger may be lurking.
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