Ripped Wings

@ Mother.Of.Dragons
Eugene glanced at her, raising a brow a little at her mentioning not paying her back. Her voice was soft and he sensed her intent was true - a truly innocent soul. He couldn't help but admit to himself that she was the fresh air of this place, a little light in the midst of sin. More people like her would surely make the world a better place. He smiled. "Alright then, a job just for me." He would pay her back anyways. Even if not directly with money, in any other favour. Or protection- Eugene broke that thought off before it went any further. He wanted to laugh at himself, and his smile dulled for a moment as he remembered his weakening powers.

And as if the world was all the more cruel, the moment he remembered that - he looked over to Lily as she stepped closer to him and suddenly she was gone. He looked at the empty space in shock, and then down the alley where she now lay, where a hound loomed over her, where it lurked.

His shock turned to disgust and anger - an emotion angels did not often show, only in the face of the sin itself. Eugene curled his hands into a small fist, frustrated. Why now? Why her? He closed his eyes as the other taunted, collecting himself and when he looked at the demon again, Eugene's eyes were as clear as a crystal lake, and yet the gaze was sharp, unforgiving. "That is not for you to critisize. Considering your origins, this dump is as close as you could ever get to paradise." Eugene glanced to the side. Nobody. Unfortunate. He stepped out from the street and into the valley, setting the bags down by the side of the building and turning his hand in a soft slow motion as if playing with streams of water. The air shimmered and moved around it, forming an object about half a meter long, a long, uneven crystal-like shard. It was the best he could do in his state. In fact, it was the only thing he could do now. Eugene felt the energy drain him as if he had opened a massive portal to Heaven itself, but dared not show it out. If he could at least pretend he had more power than this damned demon thought, then maybe he could scare him off. For now. His power was there, but draining. This shard would kill the hound, but not the man. As for what happened after... Eugene could only hope it would not involve Lily.

"Let her go. And I'll spare your bastard hound."

@ ashen knight;

Lily pressed farther into the ground, refusing - rather unable - to move. She was so in shock of what was happening, that even trying to leave didn't pass through her mind. All she could do was look back and forth from the hound and the two men in confusion and terror. Her eyes were as wide as they could be as she watched Eugene pull a crystal out of thin fucking air. As if she needed more to shock and horrify her besides the looming, growling beast over her and the man with the weird ass fucking wings.

The demon, Mal, walked a few more steps forward. There was still enough distance between him and Eugene to defend himself if necessary. Even fallen Angels could be quite dangerous despite their missing powers. Though Mal knew that he was still guaranteed to make it out of this altercation alive. "There is no need to kill my hound." He said with a small tsk at the end. "Though if you must, go ahead." Mal glanced over at Lily, his eyes shining. "However, I will warn you, while I do not care much for my hound, killing it may make me more inclined to play with your new little pet." Mal let out a chuckle. "I suppose that would upset you, wouldn't it. Even though you are no longer an Angel, you still are the type to be attached to such a lowly and weak creature."

Mal then turned his attention back to Eugene. "Anyways, I am not here to hurt your precious pet. Nor am I here to fight you...at least not yet. So as long as your girl doesn't move, and you don't do anything stupid, then everyone can leave unharmed." Mal pulled his wings in and stood up straight. "Satan would like to...recruit you. Since you one of our fallen brethren now, we would like to offer you the opportunity to come fight against those who have thrown you into this horrid place." He looked around a bit before scowling. "And least of all they dropped you off in Seattle. Not even anywhere decent." Mal shook his head. "They abandoned you, Eugene. And now Satan is ready to open his arms to you, to show you the rest of what they turn their backs on, and ignore. I assure you that much they told you about us is lies, and we want to show you the truth and what it really means to live."

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Pet. Eugene's lip curled. How dare he. Humans were more than pets, they were His creations. He would not stand here and let this filth insult the human race, the very race Satan had come to corrupt once and the very race both sides so desperately fought over. The Angels to protect, and the demons to break. Despite Mal's assuring words though, Eugene was still tense and even as the demon seemed to relax and pull his wings in, Eugene only gripped the shard tighter. The more he listened to Mal's words though, the more he heard and saw the weight of sin. In his view, Mal was nothing but a black mess of sin, an ugly wretched being.

"I've heard enough," Eugene spoke sharply, sharply turning his head back to Mal (he had slowly looked away, disgusted by these lies and promises and the mentioning of Satan). "I will not join you. I would rather stay here than join your treacherous gang." He took a breath to calm the anger within. How pathetic of the demon to speak in such a way. Despite all its temptations and easy access to regain some dignity, to regain power, the temptation to strike back at those who threw him down. Eugene frowned. No. He would not. That is sin, and it will kill him.

He let the shard droop a little, and with a tired sigh he shook his head. "Leave us be. Go away." It was so easy to just fall here and now and sleep, to close his eyes.... but he knew then the demon could pounce and rip him apart. So Eugene stayed wary. "I have a chance to go back." He said quietly, more to himself.

@ ashen knight;

Mal scoffed. "You will never be allowed back to the Angels. You are fallen. Even if you truly did nothing wrong, they will not accept you again. It is too late for that. Besides this is not an offer that you can reject so easily. Think about my offer, Eugene. You will be given a chance to get back at those who wronged you. You will be able to have your power back. You will be part of a group again that will welcome you. And you will have somewhere better to be than the mortal world. And you will finally see the truth behind it all."

As Mal took a few steps back, the hell hound even seemed to relax, the growling stopping. His wings then fanned out as he got ready to leave. "I will be back soon to hear your final answer. Though do think about it seriously. Even though you are no longer with the angels, you will still be seen as a threat to us. If you reject us, then we will be forced to remove you and anyone else that may get in our way." Mal then looked down at Lily on the ground. "And I fear there may be some who know too much." He then pushed off of the ground and flew into the sky. The hell hound that was hovering over Lily suddenly disappeared.

Even once the hell hound disappeared over her, Lily stayed where she was. She was frightened, but even more so trying to process what had just happened. Hell hounds, angels, demons, flying men and things just appearing out of nothing! And the fact that she had some strange man with powers living in her house?! Lily felt frozen. Though the moment Eugene started to move towards her, Lily was quick to shuffle back away from him, dragging along the ground. Lily suddenly didn't know how to feel about Eugene. Should she be frightened? "Who are you?! What are you?"

@ Mother.Of.Dragons
Eugene scowled. More like, give him time to think about the sin, to let it tempt him and grow. No, Eugene didn't think so. "You can't give me what I had," He retorted just as Mal stepped back. Eugene braced himself, but the hound relaxed, and Mal - with a threat that chilled Eugene's spine - disappeared. Eugene waited a second, and once he was sure Mal was gone for good, he released the shard in his hand and it fell into small shiny particles, shimmering out of view.

Eugene turned and started towards Lily, worried she had been hurt where he couldn't see. Her shuffling away surprised him, enough to make him slow down. He sensed her distraught state, and slowed before crouching altogether to appear less towering and hopefully a little more friendly. In a calm voice, he spoke, "I am Eugene, and I am an Angel." He hesitated and quietly corrected, "Was an Angel." He shuffled a little closer and stretched out his hand a bit, hoping to show he meant no harm. "I did not lie to you then, and I do not lie to you now. I am incapable of lying. And I... I'm so sorry you had to see this. I did not think they would come." He let his hand drop a little and a look of shame crossed his face before worry made itself known again. "Are you hurt?"

@ ashen knight;

Lily watched Eugene closely, unsure of what to think or feel about the man she had been helping. Sure she was confused, and scared. But she questioned if she should be scared of him. It was true that he hadn't lied to her. Eugene had said that he was an angel...She had thought him crazy but now it seemed that he wasn't, or that she had lost her own mind. Angels were meant to be creatures of goodness weren't they? Though what about a fallen angel? Should Lily trust that? But he had tried to protect her, and he had always been kind...Lily wasn't sure what to do.

Lily pushed back a little more, wanting to leave some distance between them as she thought of what to do. Her face shown a mixture of confusing feelings. And there was so much she wanted to say and ask, but Lily was finding it hard to just speak. "I-I...No." Her voice was a small quiet whimper. Lily dropped her head, looking at her now ripped jeans and she could feel the scratches on her arms from the road. Besides that, she wasn't injured. Though she slowly pushed herself up so she was sitting rather than sprawled out against the alley road. She looked up at him again but her face had grown softer. "Bring me home."

@ Mother.Of.Dragons
With a little hesitation, Eugene accepted her pushing back and allowed the moment to occur for the girl to have her own space and think. Clearly she was confused about what to do, what to expect. Of all things to come after him, Eugene hadn't expected a demon to show up. At lest not so soon. He thought about what would have happened if he were faced by an angel in this moment instead. Would Lily still act as afraid and uncertain?

She brought his attention back to her when she stirred and whimpered, and Eugene sighed a little out of concern and apology. He nodded and carefully reached down to pick her up, not giving her the chnace to stand but rather picking her up into his arms bridal style (he was sure she was injured but to the extent of which he did not know, nor did he know in how much pain she was) and returned to the bag he had left to the side, lowering down just a little to pick it up and head back out onto the street. It seemed the street was empty, and he made his way back to her apartment quickly, but this time tense and wary - let alone another visitor come. At the apartment, he set the girl down so that she could stand and open the door and helped her in.

Inside, he sat her down on the sofa and disappeared into the kitchen to go find those bandages that she had used on him just a few days ago. he brought them and a glass of water back and set it all in front of her. "Are you in pain?" He dared ask.

@ ashen knight;

When Eugene moved to pick her up, Lily was hesitant to let him do so. Though she could see the worry and concern on his face. So once she was in his arms, Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her face into his chest. And slowly, she began to find comfort in him holding her. Overall, Lily felt that she had nothing to fear from Eugene. After all, he had been nothing but kind, helpful and honest - even when she thought him a bit crazy. Plus, why an angel - even a fallen one - hurt someone that was helping them. And he turned the demon away.

Though she still had many questions and other concerns she wanted Eugene to address. Like why was he a fallen angel? And was it fully true that angels were good and demons were bad. At least that was what the tales said, and it seemed that way with out the alleyway commotion turned out. Plus, Lily was concerned that the demon would come back, and what it would mean for her if it did. And what if an angel came? Would that be good or just as bad? But, for now, Lily kept all of her questions to herself. It seemed that they both needed a few minutes before talking about it all.

Once Eugene set Lily down on the couch and came back with the first aid kit, she gave him a weary smile. It was sweet. "A little, but not much." She lifted her arms to show the large road scratches. They were bleeding a little, and there was gravel in them. Though it obviously wasn't anything serious. It would probably start scaring up and healing in a day or so. Lily leaned forward and started to put some alcohol on a cotton pad.

Eugene moved back a second to let her lift her arms and show him her cuts. He winced a little, knowing they would hurt some. He felt responsible for it - and it looked like it'd take days to heal. When she started to put some alcohol onto the cotton pad, he intervened, stopping her hand before it reached her side. "Wait, let me..." he gently moved her hand aside and - with some effort - drew on the little reserve of power he knew he had left. He knew he should save it for when the demon returns, for other dangers - but what he attempted now would consume very little.

His hand hovered over her skin and the air shimmered ever so softly. The scratch itself did not instantaneously heal, neither did he take away the pain. Both those actions would require a lot more than what he could hope to give her. Eugene pulled his hand away, allowing her to resume her work. "There," he said, "When it heals, it will not scar at all. I'm sorry - it is the best I can do."

Lingering a moment more, Eugene sat down and promptly leaned on the table, fixing her a firm look. "You have questions." It was an obvious statement. She would have questions especially after what happened, and he was responsible again to answer them. He owed her the knowledge of what he had gotten her into. And since he wasn't an angel anymore, he didn't have to hide his true identity nor the information about the world. In this respect, he was free.

@ ashen knight;

Once Eugene had finished, Lily had looked down at her arms. She wondered if what he did would really work, if there would really be no scars by the time her arms should heal. It was the type to scar, at least for a while. But it would be nice not to have it mess with her skin in that way. Especially since her arms were always so visible. And though it would be easy to explain away, Lily did not want too many questions.

"Thank you though." Lily whispered to him. Reaching out, she started to press the cotton ball soaked in alcohol onto her scars. As she did so, Lily winced in pain, clearly displeased about the pain she was feeling. But it was necessary. It needed to be disinfected and the gravel needed to be wiped out of her wounds. This was something she would only need to do once.

"I have many questions for you." Lily confirmed as she looked up at him gently. It had been easy for her to determine that she should continue to trust Eugene. There had been nothing he had really done to take away the truth he had earned. Eugene did nothing wrong until this point and even this was not truly his fault. Hell, he had even told her the truth and that was insane. "I am...worried. About a lot of things. Like why have you become a fallen angel? And will that demon...that man really come back? Should I be scared of what might come?"

@ BearGirl

Eugene took a moment to collect his thoughts before he could answer that. As much as he was expecting her to ask if he was or wasn't an angel, especially a fallen one, he still found himself at loss for words. How would he explain something he didn't know? He did not know why they cast him down in all truths, he was only accused of wrongdoing that he himself had not committed.

"I was accused of a wrongdoing. Of treason against my kind." He cast his gaze as if he were truly guilty, "But I did nothing of the sort. I was accused wrongly." A moment's pause, and he continued, "As for the demon. I am sure he will come back to hear my final answer. I do not think he is interested in you enough to hurt you, but as long as you are with me - he will not hurt you I think. If I stand between him and you, he won't try to kill me - if he wants me to join him." A simple fact. If she were elsewhere and far away, Eugene would have no control and the demon could use her as bait. Not good.

"You should be more concerned if the angels come," Eugene straightened and met her gaze. "Them, I cannot predict."

@ ashen knight;

"I don't understand. Why would that be? I thought demons were meant to be the bad ones and angels were good? If that is so, why should I be concerned if angels come as long as I have done nothing wrong?" Lily asked him, her eyebrows furrowing together as she looked up at him with concern. Though if what she had thought to be true was not the case, then what did that mean for her? For Eugene? "Or have I already done something wrong?"

If she was in great danger, then Lily was not sure what she should do. She wanted to help Eugene, keep him around. He had been kind and truthful since the beginning. Eugene would not know much about earth either, which did explain a lot of complications they have had. With him unable to use simple objects. Plus it seemed he would be able to protect her from the demon if he chose to come back, like she was afraid he would. But it was hard to justify it all if he was putting her at a large risk.

Lily shook her head before setting the cotton ball to the side and beginning to bandage up her arms. "And how is it possible that you were thrown out without doing something?"

@ BearGirl

Eugene waved his finger a little, shaking his head, "That's the thing. Demons - they are predictable and we generally know what they want. Angels are not the same. We cannot lie, so some become cunning and smart with their tongues. They say one thing to mean another with just the right amount of truth to make it seem viable." He pressed his lips. "You have done nothing wrong per se. But my surviving and meddling with the human world, and you opening your kindness to me - it might not appeal to the angels."

Taking a small breath as if he was about to confess to her, he added, "I was with their state of mind, I didn't think there was kindness left in humanity. In truth, many have abandoned humanity a while ago. You proved me wrong. And if they come for you - for you helped a fallen angel, and I am considered the lowliest now - I want to show them your kindness too. At the least, I can say I forced you to look after me. I want to keep you safe from my own consequences."

Obviously, it'd be better for him to leave, but he could not leave her - the angels wouldn't give her a moment to peep in defense if they decided her sinful. She knew too much.

To her question though, Eugene shrugged and leaned back in the chair, folding his arms. "If I knew that, I wouldn't be here."

@ ashen knight;

Lily finished wrapping up her arms. She then brought her feet onto the edge of the couch as she pulled her knees into her body. Nothing about this situation felt fair. Why should she be punished for helping Eugene? Why must the demons go after him? Why did the angels kick him out? The world she thought never existed, the one she had heard so much about. It simply wasn't as black and white as it had been made out to be. It seemed wrong. Wasn't heaven suppose to be the one purely good place?

She let out a small sigh, shaking her head. "I don't want you to start lying because of me. And I don't want you getting in more trouble either. If they ask about me, tell the truth. Taking someone in shouldn't be a crime." Lily pushed herself off of the couch. "I'm going to make dinner."

With her frustration, fear and anxiety rising, Lily wanted to put a pause on this conversation. It was getting hard to swallow and for now she understood enough. Heading to the kitchen, Lily got started in dinner, deciding to make pork chops for them.

@ BearGirl

Eugene wondered what to say. As she pulled her knees up to her body he knew she was upset, but asking or even saying 'you are upset', seemed useless. She clearly didn't want to talk about it anymore, today had been enough. Eugene watched her leave. He had no clue what to say. Were humans always so complex? Or was it because she was a girl - and in his whole life as an angel he had only interacted with angels and those tended to be all male. Did Adam know how to talk to Eve? To console her? Did anyone? The angel was, despite his unlimited information on the world, unsure. No amount of training or study could help him pass this test.

He stood and, like an obedient puppy, followed her into the kitchen, endeavouring to help best he could. To lighten the mood, he wondered if it would be good to ask her questions about her or things she liked? Eugene took a moment to decide and opened his mouth to speak, when there was a knock on the door and Eugene glanced at Lily in both surprise and confusion. He hoped she was expecting someone.

@ ashen knight;
Lily's eyebrows furrowed together once she had heard the knock on the door. She had not been expecting anyone to come over today. And it wasn't very common for her to have unexpected visitors. Some worry built up in her. What if the demon came back? Or the angels came down? Setting the knife down, Lily headed over to the door and cautiously opened it. Though soon the person on the other side pushed it up with abandon and bursted into the apartment. She jumped right on Lily, pulling her in for a hug. Lily was quick to wrap her arms around the woman. "Sammie?" Lily asked in confusion.

Sammie hugged Lily close to her, feeling her friend untense and maybe even deflate from under her. "Lily!" She said excitedly. She pulled back for a moment, seeing her friends face when showed a mix of worry,confusion and stress. "Aw sweetie. Did I scare you?" Sammie asked as she pulled her in for another tight hug. "Oh I just wanted to see how you were doing! No reason to fear!"

Pulling out of the hug, Sammie moved into the apartment. Lily closed the door and quickly followed after her. Already Lily seemed a little more relaxed than before Sammie had showed. What Lily had been craving was contact and she knew she could get that from Sammie. "Sammie, you should have told me you were coming. Not that I'm not happy you're here!"

Sammie laughed and shook her head. "I was close by and it was a spur of the moment thing. You know how I am. Besides are you hiding som..." Sammie trailed off as her eyes landed on Eugene. She blinked a few times before a large sly smile came over her lips. "Oh maybe you are. Well, Lily, what do you have to say about him, hm? Have I accidentally ruined your fun?"

Lily's face turned bright red as Sammie spoke. "S-Sammie it's not like that!" She said quickly. Though before she could explain, Sammie cut her off. "Ooohhh. So am I looking at something a bit more serious then? Perhaps the future Mr. Winters?" She teased.

@ BearGirl
Eugene was tense, and the face Lily had didn't ease anything. He quietly followed her to the door but kept his distance and peered out from the corner, not sure himself from what he was hiding. The door opened and thankfully, there was no angel or demon, but a girl who jumped on Lily. At first Eugene was urged to move and wrestle her free but Lily welcomed it and so he understood it was a friend. That's okay.

The two girls moved into the apartment, and Eugene wanted to flee for a second, but there was really no reason and nowhere to run and so he returned to the bench and kept cutting some vegetables in hopes he wouldn't be noticed. For a moment, he was in the false belief that it was working. Until the newcomer cut off and he felt eyes on him. He looked up.

"Mr. Winters?" Eugene echoed, blinking at the newcomer named Sammie, and then it dawned on him. "Oh, no, I-" He trailed off and glanced at Lily, hoping she would come up with something. Was there a reason for him to be here? He couldn't lie and say he's just a visiting colleague or friend - but she could.

@ ashen knight;

Lily looked back to Eugene for a moment, needing help to think of a reason. Though, as she looked at his face, she realized that he couldn't help her. After all, he wouldn't lie and she didn't necessarily want to put him in a position where he had to. So she looked back at Sammie and quickly shook her head. "Come on Sammie, that is not funny. He is just a friend who works in the same building as me. He's new to town and I've been trying to show him around today."

Sammie looked to Eugene for a moment before looking back to Lily. She smirked a bit before starting to wiggle her eyebrows. "Oh I see. You are showing him around town. Well I bet you're both excited to visit downtown then." Lily's face turned a brighter red and she quickly had to cover her face. "Oh god Sammie! Come on seriously!" Sammie was quick to wrap her arms around Lily, wanting to calm her down. "Oh it's okay! I'll keep my mouth shut for the rest of the night, I promise." She said before heading heading over to Eugene.

"So, all jokes aside, how is Lily treating you so far and how do you like the city?" Sammie asked him as she leaned against the counter. Oh she fully planned to try and get these two together by the end of the night if they weren't already. But Sammie knew she needed to calm down for a bit before Lily blushed so hard that her face fell off. Besides, it was nice to get a feel for the guy too, right? "Oh and my name is Sammie. It is very nice to meet you Mystery man from Lily's work."

@ BearGirl

"Downtown?" Eugene echoed involuntarily, and glanced between Lily and the girl. But Angels weren't pure as in they were void of information - no. A second later and it clicked, and he tilted his head down a little uttering a soft "Oh" and peering out at Lily from under his dark lashes, a look that didn't really relieve the implications, but one unintentional - sort of. He set down the knife he had been holding in his hand as Sammie neared and placed both hands down on the table.

Rest of the night? This would be interesting. "Lily has been a wonderful host," he replied, "The city is full of surprises, at every turn, there seems to be something new." He flashed a smile. There was no lie in his words. Just a lack of context. The art of concealing the truth despite laying it out right in front of a person. "You can call me Eugene," he thought holding out his hand would be polite, but decided not to try it - instead picking up the knife and continuing to cut the vegetables he had been assigned. He could see Lily blushing out the corner of his eye, "But don't mind me being here. You go do your thing, I'll finish up and come when its ready."

He hoped that was the right thing to say, to get Sammie and Lily alone again, and save Lily the blushing. Although she did look cute, and he was tempted to tease her a little more. He feared that, if Sammie pushed a bit more, he wouldn't be able to squiggle his way out this time.

@ ashen knight;

Sammie raised an eyebrow when Eugene mentioned finishing up in the kitchen. She found it rather strange that a work friend was offering to cook dinner by himself at someone else house. All it did was support her claim of them being together. Sammie glanced over at Lily, smirking a little as if she had caught them. Though, Sammie was going to make sure that she truly had. Surely there would be more slip ups than just that little one. "No, I am interested in you now, Eugene." Sammie said as she moved back and rested against the fridge. "What's your job?"

Lily was quick to answer. "He works in the mail room. Now can you please stop grilling him. He is a guest not a cheeseburger!" She said as she moved back to the pan to keep cooking. "And since you dropped by, missy, you might as well help us cook." Sammie nodded and moved into her own place in the kitchen, doing as Lily requested of her. It did only seem fair. And, thankfully, Lily's blush was beginning to depart and she started to calm down a bit.

"And I wouldn't say that I am grilling him, Lily. I just want to get to know your little friend here." Sammie looked over at Eugene with a large smile. "I mean, I am not grilling you, am I Eugene? Surely you don't mind that I am just trying to get to know you?" A suspiciously sweet smile moved over her face as she watched him. "Besides, I think you two would make an adorable couple if you aren't already. Don't you? Lily is a hottie and you're sexy yourself."

"Sammie!" Lily gasped as she looked back at Sammie. Her cheeks turning red all over again. Though Sammie quickly shushed her. "Now now, let him answer my question! Whats the harm in it!"