ᗯᗩITIᑎG ᗷᕮTᗯᕮᕮᑎ ᗯOᖇᒪᗪᔕ { ᵃᶰ ᵃᶰᵍᵉˡ ʷᵃʳ ʳᵒˡᵉᵖˡᵃʸ } ｏｐｅｎ！

I thought I responded..let me check]

"It is. I've never heard it described that way, but that's actually really accurate." Jackson said, surprise in his tone. He actually really liked the way she chose to explain speak in the language, he liked that he resembled song so closely and the way each word rolled off the tongue. He lead her down the hall to his room, it was like all the others, but with the benefit of arriving early he was able to choose a room with a nice view out the window. He liked having a view, when he couldn't sleep he could stare out the window. Upon arriving he wasn't sure how to decorate his room. He had pictures of family and friends on the dresser, a poster of New York City on the wall in addition to some bands he enjoyed as well as athletes he admired. A few aesthetic photographs pinned by his bed, it was obvious they had been taken by someone skilled but not a professional. He quickly went to his bed and kicked a sweatshirt and various clothing items left on the floor off to a heap in the corner, partially hidden under his bed. His sheets were still drawn back from sleep, as if they had been kicked off so he pulled them over in a more presentable way. Jackson glanced at her sheepishly, embarrassed by his somewhat unkept room, but it could have been much worse. "Sorry about the mess. Wait, did you say every language?" He asked once he processed what Angelique had said. Some children were lucky if the went to school, others wished they could and meanwhile angels were learning every language in the books. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised, angels were, well, angels after all and of course their education would be phenomenal. "Angel school huh. Sounds...rigorous." Jax didn't want to offend her, but he wanted to know more. Did they ever have fun? What did they think if earth? He felt like he had so many questions and wasn't sure which to ask first.

Arielle held his hand still and nodded in agreement. "Lead the way." Her own room was well kept, but she had always liked her things organized and had been taught to keep a clean room at a young age. "I don't mind." She promised with a slight laugh and glanced up at Malik's tall frame. She already had a feeling his room would have character, and even if it was a mess she wouldn't care, she was happy to see any piece of who he was. "You've been here for a little bit now." She asked, but her tone made it less of a question and more of a statement if knowledge. "I'm, um, sorry if I caused you any distress in taking my time to come meet you." Arielle said slowly. Her apology was genuine, but fairly awkward. She wanted him to know she was sorry and felt bad, but she wasn't so comfortable in explaining her irrational fear that he would reject her. She was a happy person for the most part and the kind of disparity paired with rejection from a soulmate was unbearable. She kept her hand in his as they walked, warmth and satisfaction radiated through her as she reminded herself he had protected her from that pain.

At a first glance, Angelique realized that she preferred his room much more than her own. His was graciously decorated, her room seemed almost barren when compared to it. She hadn't really thought of decorating her room with little objects here and there. After all, weren't they all there just to train and finish the war? What was the point of growing attached to a room that wasn't even Home? Angelique hadn't bothered to bring anything from her room up in the Gates of Heaven and from gazing at Jackson's room, some part of her she wished she had.
Angelique watched him try to neaten up his room, amusement in her eyes as he pushed some clothes under his bed with a foot. It reminded her of Alexander, one of the younger Angels who was still up in Heaven. He acted in a manner that was similar to Jackson's; he rarely cleaned his room and when scolded by Angelique, would hide his mess under the bed or in his closet. Her heart lurched at the thought of her younger brother, they were all family up in Heaven, and pushed the thought of him out of her mind.
She walked over, her movements lithe and precise as she settled herself on the bed. She hoped he wouldn't mind, and she crossed her legs comfortably. Angelique tilted her head as he questioned her about the teachings in Heaven. "We start to learn as much as possible when we're five years of age. I learned French, Spanish, and Mandarin at 7, finishing at 10 years old." She shrugged, as if it was normal. "The teachings are exhausting, to be honest. Battle and weapon training are every other day, so we get a day to recuperate and heal. We only get a one week break per year, and most of that time is spent practicing or resting." Angelique knew that when compared to the humans, an Angel's lifestyle seemed to be devoid of any entertainment.

---

"Hey, hey." He murmured, his voice barely a whisper as he began to comprehend the hidden meaning behind what she was saying. It was painfully obvious how bad she felt for leaving him here for so long, her voice held some sort of despair that made his heart wretch in pain. Because Malik didn't see it to be her fault at all. In reality, it was his. Ever since he realized he was to be a Chosen, he was so hyped up to pack his belongings and head to the city. He was eager to come to the building for the Chosen, to meet everyone he was going into battle with, to meet his Angel at some point and never having to be alone again. He left for the city as soon as he could, a smile etched on his face. Sure, he missed his family. A lot, actually. But he had a duty to fulfill, a war to stop. "There's no worry, really. I promise you. I knew that when my time to meet you would come, there was no rush." He ushered her into his room, a few clothes strewed here and there. Family photographs were on the wooden dresser, crumbled pieces of paper were scattered among his clothes. He kicked some of it away sheepishly, thankful that at least his bed was neat.

Angelique saw him slouch against the wall, wanting to desperately mimic his movements. She couldn't, of course. Angels were taught to be graceful creatures, adding even more to the litheness that was already seeping through their veins. So she sat there, legs crossed, spine straight and at attention. "Fun?" She questioned, eyes narrowing in confusion. His question made little sense to her, there were other things to do instead of growing stronger? "Like, something else besides training and learning? Well, we had that one week a year but that was spent practicing what we learned." She mused, deciding that the humans' education was quite leisurely when Jackson talked about it. Compared to the Angels, the humans were behind on the capabilities of their learning functions. "I found training to be amusing, if that counts? I didn't have to sit inside a building and stare at an Elder drone on and on in Arabic so.." She trailed off, lost in her own thoughts.

---

"Huh?" He turned his gaze from trying to neaten the mess that was his room over to where he heard her voice coming from. As soon as his eyes settled on her form unfolding one of the pieces of paper he had thrown around weeks ago, he chuckled to himself. "Those are sketches of my family and friends. And the city, I suppose. I sometimes got bored and drawing seemed like one of the most entertaining things to do." Malik shrugged, walking over to her and peering over her shoulder to see what was on the paper. "I usually second-guess myself and throw away most of the drawings because I don't like the way they look." As he saw the sketch in her hands, he smiled inwardly to himself. It was of the city's skyline, the buildings shadows across the rising sun. The building gave him a good view of the entire place they were located in, and he used that to his advantage.

{{ i have such a shoddy sleep schedule rip me }}

(Ugh I feel you I'm a mess)

It's totally fine just reply in the morning! I have somewhere to be by 10:30 my time but I can reply before then!

(Yeah I would be so tired lol)

Jackson didn't want to tell Angelique how angels should run their lives since they had been around much longer than humans and obviously had everything together. He wondered how pathetic and ridiculous humans must look. Violent and childish, living in slums and castles, people were greedy and cruel, but they also had a lot of good in them. He was sure Heaven couldn't be all rainbows and sunshine though either, despite what humans assumed. He shrugged a little. "Yeah, my mom's friend used to have this house outside the city, it wasn't amazing but it was on the outskirts of long beach. I'd go up there all the time, I used to be on my schools swim team." He explained, all that seemed far away now, but he did miss surfing and swimming. He liked a lot of sports, but he also enjoyed photography, something his sister had been avid about.

Arielle smiled up at him and folded each sketch gently to place in her pocket. She was thrilled he said she could keep them and even more excited that he offered to teach her to draw like him. She heard in his tone the doubt, he didn't see his talent the way she did. "Excuse me Mr your skills are most certainly not in the gutter. The gutter is for garbage and raw sewage and your drawings most certainly do not belong there." She replied definitely and poked his chest, despite the fact that she had to look up at him. She cursed their height difference. "I would love to learn from you." She added genuinely. The thought of Malik drawing during war made her both parts happy and sad. While his art would be a nice form of escape and a bit of beauty for the constant pain of war, it also heart her heart to think the only muse he would likely find would be from lost lives. 

{{ ahhh no biggie. responding rn!! }}

"I've always wanted to go to the beach." She admitted, her tone slightly embarrassed as the words escaped her lips. "It seems.. nice? I've only seen visions of it from Elders, but it seems amazing. It is, isn't it?" She questioned, trying to keep the excitement that threatened to show itself in her voice. "I mean, doesn't the sand feel nice? And isn't the water so pretty when there's a sunrise or sunset?" Angelique could barely contain herself, knowing full well that she would never be able to experience a beach during the time spent on Earth. They would be busy, with training and the war. There would be no time to lose. It was quite disappointing, but maybe Jackson could just confirm her thoughts. That would settle with her.
Realizing that her questions were too inquisitive and too rapid, she looked away sheepishly. "Sorry. I just.. I just wanted to know how enjoyable everyone says it is."

---

Malik chuckled, pleased that Arielle seemed to show some sort of appreciation for his art. And it wasn't fake, he would've felt it. This was genuine. That settled comfortably in his stomach, that his Angel enjoyed something he could do. Back at home, his Mother showed little to no excitement for his artistic talents. She had scolded him and said that he would have no career with his art, that he needed to find something more productive and useful. Malik wanted to argue, but held himself back. It was just useless to fight against his Mother on the topic of his future. After all, she was in denial that he was a Chosen and believed that he would live a normal life.
He still continued to draw little sketches here and there, but always burned them before his Mother could find them. Discovering that Arielle was so accepting of his talent was quite.. pleasing. "I'm not sure what we'd be able to sketch on the battlefield besides morbid scenes. Most likely nature, or each other." He mused, looking over at her. "But let's not rush into things, I don't know how bad you truly are." He teased, his tone light.

{{ i just realized how screwed i am once my classes start. oh boy }}

(Ugh same luckily I don't have morning classes
Aw sorry Falcon!)
Replying rn

Jackson was surprised at Angelique's enthusiasm, but pleased she had interest in the ocean. "The beach isn't like anything else. Having the sand on your feet, smelling the salty air. The water is warm in the summers but really cold in the winter. I like going at night and hearing the waves hit the sand, it's like a crashing sound, there's nothing better." He said earnestly, his eyes bright and far off. He smiled at her, "sunsets are beautiful, but I think sunrise is my favorite because everything just sort of lights up and you can see the sun peak over the horizon. When there's a storm everything is gray, but when you're out on the water and it's a clear night the stars are incredible." He explained. His father had owned a fishing boat that his mother kept and Jax liked to borrow when he had the chance. He frowned a little at her when she began to apologize "You don't need to apologize Angelique. I'm just sorry you haven't been to the ocean. When this is all over I'm taking you there."

Arielle could sense slight sadness for a moment and she wanted to ask why he wasn't aware of his talent, but she wouldn't be rude and pry into personal matters of his life. "I'm sure you'll find something. But I would prefer you keep it positive rather than morbid." She teased him, but was slightly serious. She loved art of all kinds and enjoyed studying human art, each was beautiful and special to her, however she preferred light Monet to dark and dreary paintings, or strange shapes like Picasso. "Rush into things? Please I'll be an expert in a matter of hours." She teased, flipping her hair over one shoulder for dramatic flare.

Wells decided not to push her for more information on her relationship with her father, if she wanted to speak about it she would bring it up later. He cracked a grin and shrugged. "Anything can be a weapon. If you learn to high kick you'll be slashing throats with your feet." He teased, but partially truthful. If their enemies were not foul and evil creatures then he would be less inclined to joke about death. He was a little ashamed with himself none the less. "I'll see what I can do about that. Who knows, maybe you'll be skilled with guns. Not everything requires muscle mass and size." He reassured her kindly.