Ripped Wings

@ ashen knight;

Lily sat in silence for a few moments after Eugene had explained what had happened to him. She did not believe it for a moment. Angels did not exist and she highly doubted that they would be casting them out from heaven like the devil. Or rather that Eugene did not seem like the devil. He seemed nice. Not that she would really know. But either way, Angels did not exist. So that left her with two options for him. Either Eugene was flat out lying to her, or he was mentally unwell. The look on his face after his story also gave her a mix of confusion. Did he look that way because Eugene felt distraught about lying, or was it because he thought she wouldn't take his angel story well?
With a small sigh, Lily stood up and grabbed both of their finished plates. "There was no reason to lie so boldly. You could have just said you didn't want to tell me." With that she started to clear off the table since both of them have finished eating. Lily just decided to believe that Eugene was purposely lying to her, which was more comforting than the other possibility. And while she wasn't going to throw him out on the street, Lily was thinking it might be best to get a doctor to check out his mental state. If Eugene was unwell he would need someone to help.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

He wasn't sure what hurt more, her belief in that he lied or her disbelief in that angels existed. He watched her take the plates, but could not bare looking at her any longer and instead stared at the ground. What would he do now? Simply leave? She would throw him out for sure, or better yet - call someone else to take care of him. That would raise suspicion, they would lock him away - he thought so. He did not know how the humans functioned or thought in this world. Eugene instantly regretted in not having studied the human race as he had ought to, for now that it came to interacting with them directly he had no idea of how. He wanted to lecture to her how the human race was forsaken, that their lack of belief had lead to their ignorance of a God, of a mightier being than them, made them think they were alone and independent. But that was to get angry, and wrath was sin. He could not do that. Nor could he lie.
"I do not lie." He replied quietly, though he was not sure if it were to her or more to himself. "I cannot lie." If only there were a way to make her believe. Eugene looked at his hand. Could he? No. The powers he once had was far out of his reach, he did not even need to try - he felt it was further from the tips of his fingers than ever before. He could not convince her. He turned to her and put his hands together. To beg a mortal, how low he had come! "Please, let me stay until I have regained my strength. Until my wounds have closed a little more. I will leave then, and you will never see me again."

@ ashen knight;

Lily looked back at Eugene, surprised that he said he could not lie. Though she was even more surprised when he started to beg to stay. She had said nothing about throwing him out. Maybe the fact that Lily had not believed him was a concern to him too. It felt unsafe to keep someone in her home that she thought was mentally ill. However, Eugene seemed nice, or at least he seemed to not be a threat to her safety. And Lily did fully believe that if she were to send him somewhere, that the man would only run away. That would only cause more injury to himself and she really was trying to help him. He just wasn't in the state to be on the street. "Please, you do not need to do that." Lily said as she walked back over to him, taking one of his hands. "You may stay until your wounds are healed. It will probably be a week or two until you are able to go. While you are here, all I ask is that you respect me and my home." She smiled softly at him. Honestly, all she wanted to do was help and make sure that he wouldn't die anytime soon.

Eugene had lost all hope in himself and all those around him until she - to his surprise - came over to him and took his hand. He decided not to question her the source of her kindness nor the reason why - he accepted it. "I cannot thank you enough," he nodded in response, "I will respect you and your home. I swear it." He brought two fingers to his lips and touched it, then to his heart, a simple gesture of an oath common among the angels and men of old age - though it did not seem to hold up here.
Eugene lowered his hands and looked down at the ground, suddenly unsure of what to do. "Do you have work?" he asked for he knew it was a common thing of people to do nowadays. But she seemed to be in no rush to get anywhere.

@ ashen knight;
Lily smiled brightly before stepping away from Eugene. She didn't know what is gesture was but she believed that she understood the meaning behind it. As of now that was enough for her. As long Eugene kept to that promise, everything should be fine. She then went back to cleaning up.

"I do have work today but it is only a half day. But I need to start getting ready so you'll need to entertain yourself for a few hours. So I have a tv, some games, books things like that. Just make sure to keep it easy on your back." Lily walked out of the kitchen and looked at him. "Do you need help moving anywhere? I suggest the couch since it's rather comfortable."

@ Mother.Of.Dragons
He nodded as she talked, glancing around her room. Games? What sort? He did not know how to play games if she was leaving - games were for many people, right? How did one play alone? He was no toddler to pull a car back and forth. He didn't ask though, already caught on by another thought of a 'tv'. "Alright." Books it seemed was the only option available. He stood, shaking his head as he slowly made his way to the couch. "I'm alright, I can manage." He thanked her with a smile. Headed to the couch, he sat down and for a while stared at his reflection in the black screen of the tv in front of him. He curiously watched his own reflection, and that of hers in the background. He sat like so for a while, not moving, but fixed on the empty screen.

For he had no idea how to use the thing.

@ ashen knight;

Once Lily had finished cleaning up, she made her way to her room to get ready for work. Though she immediately stopped when she saw Eugene just sitting in front of a blank screen. Her head titled a bit as she watched him. "Is the TV not working?" Lily asked him as she walked over and picked up the remote. She turned the tv on with a quick click, a movie channel turning on as it did. "Oh." She said before handing Eugene the remote. "Well you can just click through the channels until you find something interesting. If you need any help just ask when I come back out in a bit." She gave him a small smile before disappearing in her room. How odd...She seriously was concerned about him.

Lily stayed in her room for about an hour before walking out in a skirt suit. Lily shifted her clothes slightly before turning to Eugene. "I'm going to head off. Are you going to be okay?"

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

It is true that he would have sat there for the rest of the next few hours if she had not walked over and turned it on for him - apparently one had to do such a thing. He was curious as she came closer and picked up a random rectangular object, a 'remote', as far as his knowledge could tell him. He watched her press a button and suddenly the TV clicked to life. He looked surprised. So that's how? He nodded, "Alright." And took the remote, waiting for her to leave before hesitantly pressing a number. The movie changed. Eugene observed the remote some more, found a volume and channels control, along with many other buttons. It took him the hour to learn to use the remote. He settled on a movie and was watching it by the time she came out all dressed for work, and he regarded her with mild curiosity.

"I'll be fine, I think." He managed a small smile, "Have a good day." He stood, walking with her to the door, for it was not in his nature to keep watching a movie while the host who had shown him kindness was leaving. Manners and all that.

@ ashen knight;

Lily smiled warmly at Eugene as he walked her to the door. She was not used to meeting someone with such manners. Though she did rather enjoy it. It was nice to see someone who was a little old fashioned in that aspect. She pulled on her winter coat before picking up her purse. "I will be back in a couple of hours. Though if you do run into any problems, feel free to call me. I put my number up on the fridge for you, so you'll just have to use the home phone." Once quick goodbyes were said, Lily made her way out of the apartment and headed off to work.

Lily came back hours later, holding two large grocery bags in her arms. Since she had to leave her food yesterday, and because Eugene was staying for a while, she had thought it best to go to the store and buy a few things. Once in, she headed straight into the kitchen. "Eugene?" She called out for him. Lily hoped that everything had gone well while she was gone.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

How he spent his time in her apartment he would never admit to telling - at least, not the whole version. At some point he decided he was a little hungry and peered into the fridge from which he knew food came but after a while decided nothing cold was appetizing and left it at that. For a long time he observed the people outside from a window but often quickly hid if anyone ever looked his way. The phone also rang and startled him, for its shrill noise was not something he expected - though he did not dare answer it or pick it up.

He made an effort to explore her apartment, not so much as to nose about but rather test turning water taps and other basic, mundane-seeming things. He pressed a few power swtich buttons and found they did nothing observable, though similar ones higher on walls turned on lights (he was surprised, though he almost did not see the change in light, it was so little in the daylight). No need for oil or gas it seemed - it had been a while since he last came down.

Worn out by his adventures about her apartment, he fell asleep on the couch, and napped for a while before taking on a book to read. He finished it soon enough, picked up another and by the time Lily came home he had two stacked up on the coffee table beside him and halfway into the third one in his hands. Perking up when he heard the door lock start turning, he quickly hid behind a corner, and peered out only when he heard her voice. Slowly he rounded it and glanced at the bags in her hands as she set them down. "Hello," he greeted, picking up the bags and taking them to the kitchen with only a small wince that reminded him of the pain in his back.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

How he spent his time in her apartment he would never admit to telling - at least, not the whole version. At some point he decided he was a little hungry and peered into the fridge from which he knew food came but after a while decided nothing cold was appetizing and left it at that. For a long time he observed the people outside from a window but often quickly hid if anyone ever looked his way. The phone also rang and startled him, for its shrill noise was not something he expected - though he did not dare answer it or pick it up.

He made an effort to explore her apartment, not so much as to nose about but rather test turning water taps and other basic, mundane-seeming things. He pressed a few power swtich buttons and found they did nothing observable, though similar ones higher on walls turned on lights (he was surprised, though he almost did not see the change in light, it was so little in the daylight). No need for oil or gas it seemed - it had been a while since he last came down.

Worn out by his adventures about her apartment, he fell asleep on the couch, and napped for a while before taking on a book to read. He finished it soon enough, picked up another and by the time Lily came home he had two stacked up on the coffee table beside him and halfway into the third one in his hands. Perking up when he heard the door lock start turning, he quickly hid behind a corner, and peered out only when he heard her voice. Slowly he rounded it and glanced at the bags in her hands as she set them down. "Hello," he greeted, picking up the bags and taking them to the kitchen with only a small wince that reminded him of the pain in his back.

@ ashen knight;

Lily smiled softly when Eugene picked up the bags. Though she quickly took grabbed one of them from him. "Thank you, but you shouldn't be straining your back. You will only injure yourself further. Though you can help me put everything away." It was nice of him to be helping her like this, and she was sure that she had allowed a gentleman into her house. Also seeing that everything in her home seemed to be clean and accounted for relaxed Lily. She was becoming more and more sure that she had made the right choice when it came to Eugene. Though, while he did want to help and she wanted to accept it, Lily was not going to let him do it at the price of hurting himself. That would defeat the whole purpose of her letting him into her phone.

With that taken care of, Lily set the bag down on the kitchen table and pulled off the rest of her winter gear, putting it away. She then moved on to putting away the food and deciding what they would be having for dinner that night. "How was your day? Did you do anything exciting?" Lily asked him while glazing around the apartment. What she did notice were the three books that were suddenly on his coffee table. Maybe he just read for the whole day? Well if Eugene did, he definitely had a better time here than she did at work.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

If he had been in better health, he may have had a small tug-wrestle with the girl over the bag she tried to take from him. He understood it was in help, but even in his injured state he felt the need to help her. After all, he was a guest in her house. He ought to do as she bade, angel or not. The mere thought caused him to hesitate a moment and he released the bag from his hold allowing her to take it. No, he was no angel anymore. "Right," his eyes traveled to the cupboards and pantry where Lily was putting the products and followed suit. Some he left on the table, unsure of where she would put them (a shampoo, for example, was no food and he did not know where to put it).

"I read your books," he replied, nodding to the three books she spotted on the coffee table. "I found them interesting... They are fictional, yes?" He looked up at her. One he recalled was named Pride and Prejudice, and when he picked it up he thought it be about sin. Sin was a tiny part of it, and in fact he was deeply wronged. It was rather about some lady, Elizabeth, and quite the drama. He felt sorry for the poor soul. It would be a shame if i were real. The other two he chose of the shelf simply because they were nearby and they were the basis for his conclusion of the trio being fictional. Hopefully. "Why do you read?"

@ ashen knight;

When he asked about the books, Lily walked over to the small pile that he had created to see what he read. She smiled softly when she nodded to him. "Yes, all of them are fictional." She told him before heading back to the kitchen. "Though I am surprised that you haven't read or seem to know that Pride and Prejudice is fiction. That was a book that I had to read back in high school. Though luckily I did like it quite a bit." She knew the book was extremely well known, but there was a chance that his school never mentioned it.

Once all of the food was put away, Lily put away the last few things before washing her hands. "Tonight we are going to make tacos." She told him as she grabbed a cutting board and the veggies that needed to be cut. "Can you chop these for me, please?" Lily asked him before starting on the meat. She hoped Eguene did not mind helping her since she did need it to make dinner quickly.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons
[I had tacos yesterday omg;; I burnt the taco shell by accident ]

Eugene cast a glance on the multi-paged square unrolled scrolls. Books. Fictional? It seemed he had been away from Earth longer than he thought. "I did not know fiction was actively written as of late," he mumbled, more to himself than to her. His fingers brushed over the edge of the books. So these were not real. Why spend so much time writing something that was not real? He enjoyed it, but it was like hearing someone boast a story about themselves only for them to say 'its not real', and you lose all feeling for the teller. A fiction, a lie.

He picked up the veggies that she gestured to and put them on the board. It took him a moment to look at her action of cutting before he expertly copied the idea over onto the vegetables, but of course by reason made the pieces smaller. He paused after cutting some making them into perfect little squares, and looked up at her, "Like this?" He glanced at the lettuce beside him, "And what about this? How do I...?" He wasn't sure if he had to dice it the same way, it didn't look easy to be diced. "I apologise I have not cooked before." He looked down at the knife in his hand.

@ ashen knight;
[i hate when the shell gets burnt!]

One week later:

After a week of having Eugene in her home, Lily was no longer concerned about what he might do. It had become very apparent that Eugene was appreciating the time to get better, as well as the help that she was giving her. He continued to show it in different ways, but mostly through trying to help her around the house. Though the more time Lily spent with Eugene, the more she grew concerned about his mental state. At this point she was positive that he was either mentally ill or had received a concussion. There were just so many simple and necessary things and actions that he seemed not to know about. One day she Eugene almost filled the landury room with detergent bubbles after she had tried to teach him. And another time she found him standing in front of the microwave with the timer running without he food cooking. But still she was debating on whether or not to call a physician, considering how he would react to it....

Though now was not the time to worry about it. Lily and Eugene were currently shopping. She had brought him to a small outlet mall in order to get him another pair of clothes that actually fit him. The last week he had been using the clothes that her exs have accidentally left at the house. Lily let out a small hum as she turned to him, holding a blue dotted shirt in front of him. "Blue would look good on you. Would you wear this?" She asked him as she walked closer to him. "Or should we head to another store? We haven't been having a lot of luck here for you."

@ Mother.Of.Dragons
[that one was completely black ]

A mall. He was in a mall. Eugene had taken a lot of time to look around for this was the place that during some events in the year many people went. A lot of money was spent here. The stench of wealth and greed was evident still even for him, let alone any angel. No wonder they didn't come here. There was no fairness in overpriced items, in corporations making money out of striving hopeful youth. But it seemed a necessity, and no human was bothered by it.

Eugene looked down at the shirt she held and eyed it. He raised his hand and poked a dot on it. "But- this-" Eugene frowned a little, confused as to why anyone would wear such a dotted shirt, and looked up at Lily. He did not want to be picky, nor seem picky, but these dots.... he felt like a child. "I would prefer something plain, please," he added quietly, and looked to the side of the store, on another wall - where they were more patterned shirts. Never ending patterns, everywhere. A simple white would be fine. Eugene looked out from the store and across the hallway into another, where he spotted a few plain shirts lying about. "What about those? Over there? They are cheaper too." The price tag on the shirt in the other store was definitely smaller than this one. How he managed to see it would be beyond human comprehension, but he had slipped up with the sight for a while now. He hoped she would just accept he had really good vision.

@ ashen knight;

Lily looked over at Eugene, still confused as to how he was able to see that far away. It had become apparent to her that Eugene's eyesight was quite impressive. Though while it was odd she didn't think much of it. After all, some people just were able to do things much better than others. Plus his eyesight had been proven to be quite helpful, like in this situation.

Setting down the shirt, Lily followed him over to the new store. Though when she got to the store, she couldn't help but look at him with some concern. "Well they are all white." Lily said as she picked one of them up. "If this is what you want, that is fine. Though I do think you should at least get one colored shirt. They don't look dirty as easily." Lily then picked up a dark purple shirt and showed it to him. "How about this one? Or a blue one." The shirts were still inexpensive and the only thing different from the white ones were the color. Lily hoped he would take at least one non white shirt. Though it was nice that he wasn't trying to take advantage of her by getting something expensive.

[I'l add the demon in the next post!]

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

What was wrong with white? White was a pure colour, innocent and beautiful, to him. He picked one up and held it in his hands a little while, holding the fabric with gentle care and respect - one sort of different to how an everyday human would handle it, more like a designer who really loved the job and treated every needle and string as lovers. Eugene glanced at the other coloured shirts and considered it. The purple was a little... royal, too overwhelming and bright. The blue was a lot calmer and cooler, in his opinion. Like the midnight sky. He nodded after a little consideration and said softly, "Perhaps we can take the blue and the white-" though quickly broke off and shook his head, "Sorry, I don't mean to impose. We can take the blue one, I think it is nice." He said so, but hesitantly put the white down. He would have liked to compromise and take both, but did not want to stress her out with the price - for he knew he had no money to pay her back with. Money... Where would he even start.

He turned to her and looked her in the eye, leaning forward over the shirts towards her, "I have one small strange favour, if I may. Could you please help me get a job? Anything will do." He looked to the side, out of the shop - noticing a strange movement, and keeping an eye on it for now - "I have no coin to my name. I do not know how to pay you back for all this."

@ ashen knight;

Lily picked up the white shirt that Eugene had placed back on the rack. "I will get you both. You will need more than one shirt after all. With the ones at the apartment, you should be good for now. Though you will need to get more clothes soon." She smiled at him gently before heading over to the register. After purchasing both of them, Lily handed the clothing bag to him. Lily really wasn't too concerned about the price, considering he went to one of the cheapest stores in the mall and seemed to want the most basic shirt. So it was a much cheaper trip than she had originally planned. But they were able to add two outfits that actually fully fit him, which was good.

As they walked out of the mall, Lily looked over at him in interest. She was just surprised that he wanted a job...Lily had always assumed he was a runaway of some sort, so him staying in Seattle and working was not something she expected from Eugene. Though she smiled up at him brightly, glad that he actually wanted to work. Lily thought that it would be good for him. "You don't have to worry about paying me back. I just wanted to help. Though, if you really want a job, I can help you with that. Once we get home we can talk about what you might want to do."

Lily pulled her coat closer to her face as they started to walk home. Since her apartment was actually pretty close to the mall, there had been no reason to drive. Though it was a bit cold outside. Just as she was reaching over to pull Eugene's hat down a bit, Lily suddenly felt herself pulled into the alley they had just been walking by. She groaned and winched as her body hit the pavement. Though as she opened her eyes, Lily was completely frozen in fear. There was a large, red wolf like creature standing over her, growling as it barred its teeth at her.

The man who had originally pulled Lily into the alley stepped over Lily and the animal, looking over at Eugene with a sick smirk. "It won't hurt you as long as you don't move...unless I tell it to that is." He chuckled a bit as he walked a bit closer to Eugene, standing between him and Lily. The man who came out was gorgeous, but he had the typically bad boy look. He was clearly the type of man you make mistakes with that you hide from your friends. Though the most stunning thing about him was his large black wings. "Eugene, why the long face? You don't look happy to see me at all." He laughed. "Now tell me, how did an angel like you drop so far into this dump? I guess they didn't even bother to drop you off somewhere nice after throwing you out."