Heaven and Hell.
Two distinctly separate places, two distinctly different races.
One made of light, one of the dark.
Fire and brimstone can never join with streets lined with silver...
And so they fight.
And so they die.
And so the colors blend until one succeeds,
Comfort sacrificed for survival
Life will soon end.

Looking up from his text, Micah sighed, closing deep, almost liquid brown eyes and rubbing at the bridge of his nose futilely. The ancient, otherworldly scroll, without his hands there to hold it down, curled up at the edges, obscuring the passages that he had been trying to make sense of. He had read this particular passage more times than he could remember, and outwardly, it was alarmingly clear- Angels and Demons would fight until either one race or the other perished. But there had to be more than that, because as with everything else in the scroll attained from sources that were not of the humans' earth, the true meaning of the words wouldn't sink in until after it was too late- and he couldn't let that happen.

An Angel, they called him. He had laughed the first time he heard it whispered, to his 'host' by a young lady whose eyes showed more interest than he could, admittedly, return. It was ironic, that here, where most didn't believe in his kind anymore, he was being likened to what he was. And understandably- like all beings that were not of the Earth Mother, he held an otherworldly appeal, though in no way what most humans were used to. Tall and lean in a way that would be unhealthy in a human, he towered over his host and many humans that he met. His skin was tinted in a way that could only be described as bronze, though the coloring was not nearly so deep or shimmering, and his hair, though pulled back in a modest low-hanging tail, still hung in a thick sheet of black so dark that it reflected no shine. His coloring was an oddity even back in his home in Heaven, amongst all the pale beings with hair that could almost be called white. Now, that would cause him even further problems.

His heart clenched at the thought of home, and a melancholy look crossed his face. He would have to be leaving this place soon, just as he had left Heaven, so as not to be caught. His fingers pressed against his chest, his heartbeat a steady pulse against his fingertips. If Lucifer weren't already going to die, Micah would have killed the devil for what he had done- in placing his heart, still beating, in Micah's chest, he had condemned the Angel to years, or months, depending on his survival skills, of being chased by both Demons and Angels for the immortality that would come from ripping the organ out of his chest and- here he shuddered, as squeamish as any sane human being for that moment in time- eating it. And he still, as was his duty as a Naturally Created Angel rather than a human who had died, had to protect humans along the way. It was all rather headache-inducing, really.

He knew what would come if he didn't die, and he would tear out the traitorous heart himself before letting it happen, but he couldn't give up so easily. And so, he hid, and searched for an answer, a way to make this trickery of Lucifer's void. Moving downstairs, he smiled at the sight of his host- a kind woman who thought him to be in North America for a year as a college exchange student of sorts- sleeping on the couch. Vowing to guide her to make all the right choices in life should he survive this, he placed his hand over her forehead, drawing out the memories of him existing, and then headed out the door, secretly relieved for the fact that he needed no mortal possessions. It was time to find a new temporary home.

There was a loud crash, a flurry of leaves, and the snap of a tree trunk as a figure slammed full speed into a large oak tree on the outskirts of town. As the leaves settled the slim form of a young man sat up, detangling torn flesh from wood as he got to his feet. His skin instantly healed over, immune to mortal wounds. The human world was no threat to the dead after all, or those who never really lived.

Despite the graceless entrance, the man took on an apearence of a very graceful being. As a demon it was a bit unusual, he looked more angelic then was usually accepted in his world. His skin was pale from a lack of sunlight and his waist length hair was, quite naturally, a shade of vivid blue to match his unnaturally bright eyes. At present he was decked out in leather, but he deemed the attire innapropriate for his current task, and with a snap it changed. Now he wore a pair of heavey black boots under black slacks with a white button up shirt hanging open over a form fitting long sleeved black one. Several peircings lined each of his slightly pointed ears, and despite the coloring and the points on his ears, it was as human as he could get himself to look.

"Where oh where have you gone birdie?" He muttered as he hitched a ride with a traveler into town. It didn't take long for the sound of Lucifer's beating heart to reach his ears. The sound haunted him constantly, and it grew louder as he neared it's keeper.

He reached the roof of the building with a few cleverly footed jumps and guaged where his target was. With another loud crach a perfect circle in the ceiling gave way and he landed in a graceless heap, yet again, but this time in a place he much prefered. Target sighted.

"Hold up angel, I'm not here t' hurt you, lookie, unarmed, see?" He said as he held his hands up and offered a grin. Of course, he didn't have to have a weapn to be a threat, and his could be summoned on a whim, "I'd have made a much classier entrance if I wanted to take that heart of yours, don't you think?" He pleaded in his mind for the angel not to run. Even an attack would be better, but he didn't want a chase. Had he thought it through better he'd have found a way to prove the angel could trust him, but as it was, he was on his ass in front of an angel that would likely want nothing to do with him.

The second that the demon- and a Demon he was, it would be as impossible for Micah to mistake that energy as it was for the Demon to mistake the heart thudding in the Angel's chest- crashed through the roof, Micah whipped around, arms crossed and hands tucked into the opposing sleeves to hide the white glow that had surrounded them. He glared at the being, low growl rumbling in his throat, ready to attack or flee at any moment. The words that escaped the Demon's lips, however, pulled him up short, and he rather involuntarily let out an inelegant snort, one brow twitching upwards. "Here to hurt me... You say that as if you even could," Micah drawled, voice low and smooth and as frigid as the autumn air outside.

"Demon, I know what you're after, and you aren't going to get it," he said, now removing his hands from his sleeves, letting the glow of what humans would call 'holy power' be visible. "I suggest you move along to a less residential area if you intend to fight for it, though. I will not have you harming the humans who live here." Never let it be said that Micah was a wimpy Angel- humanity's perception of an Angel was a feminine creature, delicate, who could stun a creature of darkness with one compassion-filled glance... Micah didn't exactly fit that, but then, that was what one should expect when dealing with a guardian Angel who had been more active in taking care of his charges than most. Might have had something to do with the fact that he tended to get the ones with the most trouble filled lives...

Shaking himself from that train of thought, he focused once more on the Demon before him, eyes narrowed, before he glanced up at the roof with aggravation. He was really going to have to find someplace to stay made of stone, if his pursuers insisted on causing so much damage to his sanctuaries. "Is his heart really worth so much trouble," he pondered, turning his back on the Demon as if it represented no threat and rubbing again at the bridge of his nose. He began to walk, aware that the Demon, strangely enough, was still sitting on his ass there on the ground, and unwilling to further risk the humans around should he shake himself out of his stupor and gather the wits to actually attack.

"Oh heavens, don't tempt me." Jin said dryly, displeased with himself for turning down a chellenge like that. "You really know very little if you ask me, especcially when it comes to my desires." He got to his feet, brushing of debris from the ceiling, "I've made quite a mess haven't I... I really should have rethought that entrance, sorry!"

He blinked at the comment about fighting and humans, "I'm not interested in humans frankly, either way. I generally avoid becoming involved with this world sice it's becoming a hell of it's own. And there's no benefit to fighting you. If I kill you it's an awful waste, why would I want to imortalize myself when I don't ike the life I've got? No no, not the choice for me. My motives should become clear with time, but by the time I achieve them, well, it won't be any worry for you." He swept his long blue hair over his shoulder and placed narrow fingered hands on his hips, looking up at the ceiling, "I'd offer to fix that, but if you stay here much longer you'll have much worse problems then a broken ceiling, so let's head out shall we? Wouldn't want to attract more critters to such a residential area would you? Besides, it's uncomfortable to hold this form."

Jin seemed to already have it set in his mind that he would stay with the angel. "So Birdie, what's your name anyway?" he asked uing a typical Demon's term for the angel. "How rude, I should introduce myself first hnnn? I'm... Well, you can Call me Jin. It's what I'll be going by for now anyway."

Micah paused, glancing back at the Demon, then returned to the couch, once more placing his hand over the womans forehead. The contact point glowed briefly as he altered her memory again, adding in a false memory of something- let her fill in what- large falling through her roof, then turned his eyes, mildly curious, back to the Demon. "... Hnn. Fine." Turning again, he stalked away, calling back over his shoulder, "Then follow, if you're so worried about being caught. And do not call me that. My given name is Micah. Use it."

"So, why are you bothering with that form?" he asked, his curious side taking over as he got further away from any possibility of harm towards humans. Himself, he'd never hidden anything but the wings, the large wings with feathers as black as his hair. Even as they walked, his long strides taking him farther into the long stretch of green field beyond the neighborhood, he let the illusion slip, feathers flickering back into existence slowly but surely. He stretched them gladly, glancing back over his shoulder at Jin. "And how did you find me? My illusions aren't foolproof, but I'm fairly sure that they're tight enough not to have been breached that easily, or I would be long dead."

He paused for a moment, far enough out that human eyes would only see vague silhouettes, and turned to face Jin. "You have impeccable timing, since I was about to leave anyways. If you aren't going to harm me, do you have any suggestions for where I can hide out next?"

EDIT 2: MULE! Oh my, I misread your post. XD I'll fix that...


"How did I..." He grinned, "That's my little secret, but don't worry, I'm the only one it would work for anyway and my no choice of mine. I'm bothering with it because its not worth the hassle of having humans panic over my being here." As he said this a pair of curling dar blue horns broke skin at his temples, shooting back in a curve like ram's horns, the tips sharp and pointed forward. The deep blue shone like glass matching a gem looking mark that had appeared on his forhead. Matching wings burst from his bakc, leaving the shirt somehow unharmed. They too were a deep transparent blue and seemed to be liquid glass. Solid to the touch but fluid to the eye. His nails, made of the same material grew out, sharpened at the tips, and his hands and wrists faded from blue glass scales to skin. His ears had taken the same look as his hands, becoming more elven, and the scales faded to skin along his cheeks and jawline. "There, this works, a happy medium I'd say. A true form's only for a fight after all." Two silver bangles, simple circlets, appeared around each wrist, as well as a heftier one that fit snuck at his neck, the bindings were power limiter but he doubted the angel would know anything about that. After all, only those in the palace who Lucifer considered dangerous were bound as such. Of course Jin had broken the magic seal years ago, he left them on to prevent Lucifer from noticing. It had been a pain and he didn't want to repeat such a process.

"Micah..." He repeated, testing the name. "You're so serious, relax a bit would you? Or this'll be no fun." He grew thoughtfull, "Lets try a more deserted place shall we? Since you're so worried about the icle humans, and I'd rather not have them in the way." His large wings spread as he shot off, expecting Micah to follow.
((XD Jin's such a pretty boy. ))

He watched for a moment, stunned slightly at the audacity, then rose as well, wings pumping hard until they caught at an air current, which he drifted on until he reached Jin. "Mm, so having them panic at you doesn't matter as long as you can't hear it, I presume, since you're flying in plain sight." He circled Jin a few times, his scholarly side kicking in- he was, truly, a peace-loving scholar at heart, this showing now as he unabashedly studied the horns, and then the nails. "I never did believe Her when She told me Demons had horns," he murmured, before backing away with a couple of flaps of his wings. "And my life is constantly on the line because some asshole- wait, forgive me, Lucifer- decided to have a little fun and singled me out for no reason apparent to anyone I've met. So yes, I may be a little serious. Forgive me," he said sarcastically, making a mock bow as his hair fell forward over his shoulder. "Now... where did you have in mind, exactly?" He asked, straightening up and taking one more glance at the strange horns and wings.

[=3 Jin is indeed a pretty boy. I want a plushie now... XDD Sorry my post was so short. =X]

"Ah, well, not all do..." Jin said, a bit uneasy about the staring. "Frm this height? They won't know what I am, and I won't have to deal with them, so no, I couldn't care less." He grinned at the sarcasm. "That's what I'm talking about. And it wasn't for 'no reason'. He needed someone who would be strong enough to adapt to the heart of another race and live long enough to be entertaining. Of the angels being birthed in that time period, you were the most promising. It was quite a gamble on his part really, but it seems to have worked well." He slanted off slighty to the left. "Someplace tropical and nice, an island around Asia somewhere if my geography isn't too terrible. If I remember, there's an old monastary we can stay at, if the years haven't been too unkind to it. It should be abandon by now. There's enough room there we can fight. For practice I mean, and for the fun of it. It's been a while since I've found anyone at my level, I can only hope you'll be a good match. Oh, that was arrogent of me wasn't it?" He blinked, "Oh, plane, fly higher." He said as he shot up through the cloud cover.

"I'm honored," Micah retorted dryly, "That he chose me for such an... auspicious... calling." Rolling his eyes, he followed at the other rose, effortlessly flying backwards a few feet, caution recovered for the moment. "Entertaining? Only one such as him could find amusement in the suffering of another," he said, feeling a faint tug of guilt- had he never felt joy at the acts of the wicked being prosecuted? No, not that he would admit, and he shot up higher, as though he could escape the hypocritical and utterly un-Angelic thoughts swimming around in his mind. "Tropical, Asia? I wasn't aware the two correlated," he murmured in response, face brightening slightly anyways. "Oh? A monastery? A holy place, then it can't be that bad..."

At the mention of fighting, his head turned, and his brow rose. "'Good Match'...? Heh, aren't you cocky. Suppose it's to be expected of your kind, though. Worry not your pretty little head," he mocked. "I shall be more than enough of a 'good match' for you." Turning his head up, he glanced around for any hazards, then executed an odd bow, one leg extended and hands folded over his heart. "Well then, if you will lead the way." Pondering, he tilted his head to the side, then narrowed his eyes, thinking. "... So, I doubt you're here to add to dear Lucifer's amusement. Does he even know you're here? I hear he keeps a pretty tight leash on his... pets. Minions. Whatever you would call yourself."

"Maybe not honored, but it does say something about you doesn't it?" He turned to fly on his back, the sunlight sending cascades of blue light from his wings onto the clouds below. "Maybe it isn't in Asia then, hell if I know. I don't generally hang around earth. Where were you expeting? I may be a demon but I'm not really interested in the war between the worlds. Honestly, any of the three are hells of thier own now."

He blinked at being called cocky, "Says the arrogant one. Just because you aren't dead yet doesn't mean there aren't any threats. You shouldn't be so quick to dismiss those you know nothing about. I may be a lanky pretty boy, but I'm not weak by any means." Jin dove back through the clouds, "It's all ocean now." He informed as he flew lower and lower until he could trail a blue scaled hand through the water. "By now he probably knows I'm here, he does his best to keep track of me. I'm rather... valuable." Jin said bitterly, "And while I'm not here to amuse him, that's likely one of the few things I'm acomlishing by confronting you. These silver things, they're power limiters. I'd call that a pretty tight leash."

Micah sighed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, it says that I'm one fucking unlucky bastard," he muttered, absently admiring the pretty patterns that the Demon's wings made on the clouds before he caught himself. "I don't know about Demons," he replied, "but Angels are forced to study Earth's terrain and Geography from the cradle, especially those of us meant to become Guardians. As to the war, it's stupid and pointless. We could co-exist, but no, Lucifer has to be a dick, and our higher-ups have to be stubborn moro- Ow!" He cringed, bringing a hand up to his head as his wings faltered, and he fell towards the water, one shoe dipping in before he caught himself and pulled himself back up, glaring up into the sky.

"OH, FINE. DON'T PROTECT ME, BUT STILL MAKE ME FOLLOW YOUR RULES. NICE ONE, GOD." Swearing softly under his breath, he hurried to catch up with Jin. "Who's arrogant? I'm fleeing from my haven every two weeks just so that no one can find me- which, obviously, has failed me- I'm always looking over my shoulder for any threats. You shouldn't be so quick to judge. Just because I'm confident in my strength and power doesn't mean I don't know my own limits."

He fell silent for a few minutes, then sighed. "Power Limiters... Brilliant. Look, answer me this- how can this be amusing to him? It's not like there's any action, just me running around like a beheaded chicken."

"And you thought I was on a short leash?" Jin laughed, "As long as we aren't a threat to him, and do what we're asked promptly, Lucifer doesn't care what we do. And there's no co-existing. It just isn't meant to be that way. Not many demons would be willing to speak to you like this, they'd just attack. It's in our blood. The angels aren't any better, a good number of them would kill you, one of thier own, just to extend thier own life. It's amusing for Lucifer to watch this struggle amoungst the creatures he hates, and the challenge for those beneath him. Best yet for him is that he'll be dead and won't have to face the consequences of his actions. No, he's leaving that for... whoever takes his place." Jin frowned, "This world, all parts of it, are only shadows of what could have been. Remains of empires brought down by our own stupidity. We're as bad as humans, fighing amoungst ourseves." He blinked and shook his head, "Sorry, I shouldn't be so negative." He said as he forced a smile. "And don't worry about the limiters, they're a bit of a pain, but I've beaten the spell down so I can still acess all of my power. They're useless as jewelery now."

Micah glowered at him, waving it off. "I'm not on a short leash- I can do whatever I want as long as I don't insult the 'powers that be'. Tche." Rolling his eyes, he snorted, shaking his head. "Typical idiotic bull is all I hear spewing from your lips. Do you honestly believe that, if we weren't poisoned against each other from the cradle, Demons and Angels still wouldn't be able to coexist? It's got nothing to do with blood, it's how we are raised. I guarantee you that you did not hate or fear or whatever Angels from birth- you were taught, and you learned. Blood... I'd expect something like that from a human." He paused to listen for a few moments, then smirked, shrugging. "We're worse than humans," he said simply. "Humans were made to learn all of this shit through doing it. We- Angels, at least true Angels, and Demons as well, I'm sure- were created already knowing what to do, what could happen. We were meant to be peaceful, and we fucked it up. Humans? They're just doing what they were created to do." Turning to glance up at the sky, he sighed, then perked slightly, looking back towards Jin. "Oh? You must be pretty powerful then. I might not want to fight you after all," he said jokingly.

"Maybe Angels are different, but for demons... There's a certain pleasure that comes from killing an angel. The desire to kill is second only to the reproductive desire. I'm agitated, just being this close to you. everything I know is telling me to attack, it takes a lot of supressing to beat back what instinct tells me." The shor of an island was drawing near, "There, see? We should be safe here for a while." He blinked at the comment, then gave a dry laugh, "With so many hunting you I should have the chance to fight some of the best the three worlds have to offer. This'll be fun, won't it?"

"I think I'm only partly Angel," Micah said dryly, "For my kin seem to take the same pleasure in the idea of killing a Demon, though they seldom get a chance to. I, on the other hand, even after being trained in how to kill you, and told every moment of my life that 'If You See A Demon, Kill It'... I have no desire to kill you. In fact, the thought is almost repulsive." Glancing up, he nodded, looking around reflexively- it paid to be paranoid, lately. Looking back at Jin, he snorted.

"I suppose it will for you, at that. Do you know if this place has a library? I might die without a source of intelligence around."

"If it does the books and srolls might be damaged beyond repair. We'll have to see." He was a bit surprised to hear how different Micah was from other angels. "So how much do you know about your own curse?" He asked as he touched down on the sandy beach. The ruins of manastary loomed over them, and Jin seemed quie at home. "We should try fighting here, in the sand it's much more challenging."

Micah wrinkled his nose at that thought, shaking his head. "Horrible. Abandoned or not, no source of knowledge and information should ever be so neglected." Glancing at Jin without surprise, he sighed, knowing that the question had to come up sooner or later. "Um. I know that whoever eats my- er, Lucifer's- heart gets to be immortal, big whoop there, we practically are anyways. I know that if in a certain amount of time, no one does, then something big happens- I dunno, maybe the annihilation of a certain race, or maybe everything just goes 'boom', I just know that it's bad. And I know that I am neither willing to be a catalyst nor to die. So I know I've gotta hurry up and figure out a fuckin' loophole before shit really gets going."

Looking around, he landed lightly on his feet, stumbling slightly on the less-than-solid sand and frowning at Jin. "No doubt. Now? If so, let me at least take my shoes off." He did so, relishing in the feel of the sand granules between his toes, face relaxed in bliss.

"I didn't mean now, but there's no reason to put it off I suppose. You won't always be able to prepare, you should practice as you would be if caught off gaurd." Jin lectured, "And yeah, everything meets a less freindly 'Big Bang'. I won't be helping you find a loop hole though, if everything is wiped clean, it'll restart, clean and untainted."

Jin smiled, looking forward to a fight, "I'll even let you start." He said, his wings rustling against his back. "I'll warn you now, I don't always fight fair, since few others do anymore, but for this fight I'll be kind enoguh to set and follow a few basic rules. No weapons, no 'magic', this will be a ground based fight, meaning you may use your wings, but try to keep the fight on the ground, and you may go anywhere on the sand. I just want to get an idea of your skill, not drench myself or attract unwanted attention. First to have thier torso touch ground loses, agreed?"

((He's assuming any uses of magic can be tracked. ))

Micah snorted. "Clean and Untainted...? If the 'powers that be', bless their souls," he said, the sarcasm obvious in his voice and face, "are destroyed along with everything else, do you really think anything will be able to come into existence? Well, whatever you choose to believe," he muttered, relaxing where he stood in an even, more or less steady stance. He made an amused sound in the back of his throat at the warning, and shook his head. "I'm a defender, I don't attack or start fights. I wouldn't know how to. And fight as dirty as you want- just because I'm an Angel doesn't mean I'm all high-and-mighty with a stick up my ass about following the rules."

He nodded in compliance with the rules, flexing his wings slightly and smiling with anticipation. "An idea of my skill... Alright, whenever you're ready."


[It's possible. But then, anyone who's strong enough to really do any damage probably can track them anyways, magic or no magic. XD]

((Alrighty, I haven't rped fights much, so please forgive me if I screw something up, it's very easy to godmod or be unfair in rped fights. n.n; ))

Jin grinned, "Suit yourself." He said as he pushed off from the sand. His feet sank slightly into the sand as he ran, kicking up bits as he ran, his speed difficult to match. He had little traction in the sand, he'd haveto count on his wings more than he'd like to. He swung his fist around, expecting Micah to block it. It wouldn't be a difficult block, but it would put the in range of each other and get things started.

Micah, though to block would have been the logical thing, ducked under the oncoming fist, hands pressed to the sand as one foot swept out towards Jin. He managed not to fall over, though the sand shifted alarmingly under his feet, and he lept back, wings suddenly gone from sight and being. He wasn't up to maneuvering on such a tricky surface with them out. Narrowing his eyes, he launched himself forward, not entirely sure whether to take this as a friendly (with a demon? HA!) spar, or to actually fight with everything he had. He didn't' want to hurt the other...

[Bah. I've role played a fight all of... Once. Ever. XD So don't worry about it. And yes. Micah IS ungodly arrogant and self-confident. I'm hoping Jin will lay him out and burst his bubble. XD]

Jin dodged th foot with ease, "Careful now..." He said in a condecening tone as Micah slid in the sand. "You put your wings in? I find it easier to balance with them..." He noted. In the sand they both had different advantages. Micah was heavier, and in theory, wouldn't slide as far and would have stronger attacks since he would be able to put more force into them. Jin however, being fairly light, slid easily across the sand, a good and bad point. His direct attacks wouldn't do quite as much damage, but he could land more of them, and his defense was pretty good. His real strengths were in his magic and his speed. He shot past Micah, his wings spreading to catch the angel in the face, me as a distraction than anything. If grabbed they would turn to a thick and insanely sticky blue goo, limiting the opponents motions and tangeling them together for close combat. This however wasn't what Jin was aiming for either. With a small portion of effort the bone forced its way ouf of the skin on his elbow in a jagged point just as he brought it back, aiming for the Angel's spine. If it met it's target it would paralyze the angel's lgs. Nothing a bit of magic couldn't heal, but such a trick would take quite a while even for an angel. The odds were against him, however he'd be doing damage as long as he connected with flesh, and no matter the outcome his next move would likely be to fall to a crouch while pulling his opponents legs out from under him with a well aimedkick to the back of the knees or ankles.

((Jin's body is strange, yay for being a demon. XD He can manipulate his body as needed, but it's painful for him to do so.))