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When Angels and Demons Collide {Jiaolong}

Started by Lowen Thorn, April 02, 2018, 09:27:05 PM

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Lowen Thorn

@Jiaolong

Join me in the forest, my friends.

A flute could be heard from miles off in the Niahi. It was a beautiful melody with an eerie undertone. It pierced through the woods on what otherwise was a calm, still night. With the enchanting sounds of the flute came the wind. The tree limbs and leaves tossed about as the air circled through the surrounding green as if a storm were approaching.

In the middle of this curious scene stood a mysterious figure. It was a man - the proprietor of the sound. He continued to play the melody with calm demeanor and closed eyes.

Just then, additional figures began filing into the opening where the man stood. Some men, some women. They walked toward him at a slow, lifeless pace. Each one had the same look on their face. They were all carrying gentle smiles, but their eyes were empty.  Were they just mesmerized by the music? No, this was the work of enchantment - the work of a curse.

As they drew near, the man opened his eyes. They were blood red. He ended his tune and moved the flute away from his lips before scanning the crowd around him.

"Welcome, my friends," he said softly. "I do apologize for what I must do, but do not worry. I will look after your souls when the time has come."

Jiaolong

Daniel had been flying over what the mortals had called the Niahi woods when he heard what sounded like music. And what a strange tune it was—as he continued listening he felt a faint tug in his chest, but the feeling stopped there. Feeling curious, he drifted down towards the trees, landing in the lush undergrowth.

A twig snapped behind him, and the angel turned. It was a man; Daniel quickly concealed his wings, having learned that they often scared humans. But the person didn't seem to have noticed; instead, he walked steadily forward, a dull look in his eyes.

Very strange.

Daniel followed the man and was joined by various other creatures who once again took no notice of his presence. They seemed to be walking towards the source of the music, and Daniel stopped when he saw the small clearing where the people had converged. At the center of it all was an extremely tall man playing a flute from which the mysterious music came.

Lowen Thorn

Epirus felt the presence of another - someone more powerful than the average folk he lured out into the forest. He took note of his attendance, yet he showed no indiciation that he was aware of him. He was of no concern. The flutist had no quarrel with this outsider, yet. By all means, he was welcome to stay and watch - though he found it curious as to why anyone would want to watch such a dreadful affair.

The hand that held his flute relaxed, dropping by his side. As his hand sat parallel to his hip, the instrument seemingly transformed into what appeared to be a whip made up of wooden thorns - though it emitted a force much deadlier than anything pricked from this forest.

"Let us begin," he said with soft calmness. The crimson shot of his eyes faded, returning to his natural hallow, steely-blue gaze.

He lifted his free hand and firmly snapped his fingers.

Thud.

The sound of weight hitting the soil grazed the clearing as all of the would-be victims dropped to their knees simultaneously.

Jiaolong

Daniel watched in wonder at the transformation of the flute into a strange looking whip. He stepped a bit closer to observe when those that had gathered abruptly dropped to their knees.

The angel tilted his head at their strange behavior. Had the man compelled them all to do so? A tingling sensation went down his back; someone...was about to die.

Lowen Thorn

The young demon's eyes focused in on a helpless man closest to him. His eyes flashed red once more as he stepped toward him. "You will be first," he said motionlessly. "You, Edwin Lanchet, have been found guilty of thievery, rape, and murder. What is more is you let all those who cared about you down with your heinous acts. By order of your once beloved, I sentence you to death."

He lashed his arm out and the whip wrapped around the man's throat in a split instant like a snake trapping its prey. With a gentle tug of his wrist, Epirus' whip snapped the man's neck like shattering glass. Upon release, the victim's lifeless body toppled to the ground.

There was no pain involved. No torture. Just the quick release of death while under the his control. It was like a drug. It was not something he particularly enjoyed doing, nor was it something he dreaded. He was just doing his job.

---
(OOC: Hope this type of violence is okay! I couldn't find your Wants and Limits, so if this isn't something you're cool with I can modify this post or ease up going forward.)

Jiaolong

Daniel felt the very life force of the man end as if it was cut by a knife, but for some reason, he could not sense the soul anywhere. Had it disappeared? But as far as he knew, that was impossible.

He finally decided to approach the man, stepping out into the moonlight which only enhanced the glow that already surrounded him. He sidestepped around the people on their knees until he came face to face with the strange man, oblivious to any possible danger.

"Where did his soul go?"

((OOC: Yup, I'm fine with any types of violence/mature themes. I should probably make a character catalogue and wants and limits page soon...))

Lowen Thorn

Brave.

The man's eyes had locked onto a woman, his next would-be victim, when the boyish entity approached him. He did not normally break concentration for such a matter, but he would allow it. He was intrigued.

He shifted his gaze over to the youngish-appearing man before him. "I have it," he said simply but with calm authority. "Who are you, or what are you? You are no ordinary human. And more importantly, do you plan to interfere with my work any longer? I have no problem with you, young traveler, unless you give me a reason to have one."


Jiaolong

Daniel tilted his head. "I've never seen someone take another's soul. And you're right, I'm not human; I'm an angel. Unfortunately, my memories are a bit scrambled, so I can't tell you any more than that." He sat in the grass besides the man, bringing his knees to his chest. The stranger's threat didn't seem to scare him as he continued.

"Well, go on. I won't disturb you. This is quite fascinating...do you only take the souls of bad people?"

Lowen Thorn

The demon formed a small smile and nodded. "I am a soul piper," he replied. "It's what I do. I collect the souls of the dead and guide them from this plane to the next, wherever that may be."

His attention turned back toward the woman he stood over, looking into her lifeless face for a few moments as he considered his next response. "It depends on what you mean by bad," he admitted with a soft undertone. "By human standards, this woman has done nothing bad in her life. Victoria Lasso. She is a loving wife and mother and has worked hard for the mediocre life she has lived up to this point. Unfortunately for her, in my human form, I find things such as hunger unavoidable so I take on these jobs to keep myself going."

His eyes lightened on the woman as he continued to study her. "So, by human standards, no," he repeated. "She is not a bad person. She has done nothing to deserve death today, and she still has many years until old age would catch up to her. But it cannot be helped. Someone wants her gone and I must oblige, else I would be going against my word. I will take good care of her soul once I take her from this world."

He knelt down in front of her, cupping her face with his free hand. "Humans are such fascinating, beautiful creatures, don't you think?"

Jiaolong

Daniel remained where he was sitting, watching the man caress the woman's face. "They are indeed beautiful. I love them. That was my job, I think."

He sat silent for a moment. "Her family will be sad for a while. I've seen that humans always mourn when their loved ones die. But they should be happy her soul doesn't have to experience the physical pain of the mortal world."

"It's kind of you to take their souls so gently. Some like to torture before they kill," he added, his expressionless face finally frowning.

Lowen Thorn

"You are... curious," the man concluded.

He stood, re-positioning himself in front of the woman. His grip firmed on the whip's handle, but he hesitated. He glanced back at the the young angel.

"Most would not find it kind," he said collectively. "To take the life of one so innocent such as hers. And coming from you, an angel, is intriguing. It's long been said that the Angels and Demons of this world would go against each other - our kind has been enemies for some time. But you are different. You speak contently toward the violence. Furthermore, you speak in a way that you do not know who you are. Have you lost your way?"

He studied the boy a bit more. "What is your name?"

Jiaolong

The angel paused, confusion showing in his pale yellow eyes. "My name is...Daniel," he said as if just remembering. "I wouldn't know of the relationships between demons and angels in this world. I don't come from here...I just found myself here one day, and I can't remember much."

He stood up. "Sometimes I wonder if I did something wrong. But, it's useless to dwell on the past." He stretched out his hand, remembering the humans always did this when they met another person. "As I said, my name is Daniel. And you are?"

Lowen Thorn

Ah. The human handshake. The formal introduction. Epirus had to oblige.

Extending his free arm, he awkwardly shook the Angel's hand. "My name is Epirus," he said gently. "Epirus Clove."

Slipping from his grip, he returned to the woman. "Tell me, Daniel," he started, eyes still locked on his would-be victim. "Would you have me spare her life? Would that be the human thing to do? I would be breaking my oath, but that could be remedied with other means."


Jiaolong

He tilted his head once again, golden hair shifting with the movement. "It's not my choice to decide whether she lives or dies. Even good people die young."

His eyes landed on one human kneeling in the grass; it was just a child. "I suppose a human would beg you to let her go. But I'm not a human—I'm not supposed to interfere unless told to do so."

Daniel sat back down in the grass, finding sudden interest in twirling a blade of grass. "Epirus, can only soul pipers take souls? Is it difficult?"

Lowen Thorn

"I do not know, but I have not known others to be able to do so," he answered honestly. "As for the difficulty, it comes natural to us. It's not anything glamorous, but it's what we do. It's what I have always done."

He paused for a moment, contemplating his next response.

"You said you cannot interfere unless you are told to?" he asked. "Bound by orders, then. I was too once."

I was too once.

"But not anymore," he muttered under his breath. His eyes looked on the woman further, jumping from her to the child, scanning the rest of the group, and then back to her. "Daniel. I think I am going to let the good people go. Something tells me I should. What are your thoughts?"

Jiaolong

"I too am no longer bound by orders...but somehow I can't bring myself to stop following them," Daniel explained. He pondered Epirus' following question.

"Their families would be very happy if you let them go, so I suppose you should. But didn't you say you were bound by oath? What will happen to you?"

Lowen Thorn

He mustered a soft chuckle. "Yes, I am," he reassured. "It has already been written that these lives would be taken today - and this amount of souls would be collected. To break the oath is considered treasonous among my people, but they and I do not talk much these days."

His whip quickly slithered back into flute-form. He had made up his mind: he was going to set them free.

"To keep the natural order intact, a life must be taken for each one spared. For one person alone, I'd gamble my own - but that will not work with multiple souls. No," he hesitated, thinking. "I must kill the ones who ordered their assassination instead. Should be a simple solution."

Jiaolong

A flicker of interest showed in Daniel's eyes. He was surprised Epirus had chosen to spare them knowing the consequences. "It sounds like a good plan. Shall I help you find these people, or will they come at the sound of your flute?"

Lowen Thorn

"No, I will need to find them," he answered quietly. "They are all far too spread out from one another to use my flute effectively. That would take ages. And I could use my flute to draw them in individually when I'm in their vicinity, but that would be a waste of time. You are more than welcome to join, but first-"

He stopped, his eyes flashing red at the lifeless crowd in front of him.

Just then, three among the crowd came to. The woman, the boy, and another man. They each had their own variation of a reaction, but it was essentially the same. The woman looked at the ground in front of her, and then quickly glanced around in horror as she saw the man lying dead on the ground and the demon man towering over them.

'AAAAAAAAAAGGHHHHHHHH!'

The women bellowed out a terrified cry, trying to get to her feet but immediately falling backward to her rear. She kicked at the ground, eyes focused on Epirus as she scooted away. "P-Please don't hurt me," she said hysterically. Finally getting her feet under her, she turned heel and ran off into the woods.

"S-Shit! What the hell is this?" the man said jumping to his feet. "Monster! Demon! Stay away!"

He too ran.

The last spared victim was the young boy. He blinked several times, confused, and walked over to Daniel. "Excuse me," he said quietly. "Where's my momma?"

Jiaolong

Daniel blinked, feeling a familiar tug in his chest at the sight of the small boy who only came up to his torso. Where had he seen this before?

Remembering the direction the boy had come from and a small human town to the west, he picked up the child, gently patting his head to reassure him. "Shall I take you to her?"

He unfurled his large white wings which seemed to glow in the moonlight. Some of the other humans who were beginning to wake from their stupor gazed at him in awe.

"An angel! Please, save us!"

How sad it was that he was worshiped by the humans while Epirus was shunned despite the two not being so different at all. He turned back to the demon. "I'll make this quick."

With a flap of his wings, he took off into the night sky.

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