His first word is fight.
His first sentence is "I shall not bow."
His first act is to risk himself for his mother and father, even when his life is worth a million of theirs.
His name is Jeremiah, and he can't stop crying.
Jeremiah had spent the last seventeen years of his young life fighting for it. He's been in countless ghost towns, far too many reserves, and has lost and never since found his hope. His eyes are a dark stormy gray, and still his heart is darker.
He hates himself, he hates the world, and most of all, he hates the man who left them to fend for themselves.
He feels Godforsaken.
He feels like he's alone in the world, when in truth, he has never been without someone to protect him. Michael. It's Michael's fault that his mother is dead.
Sometimes he wants to scream. Sometimes, he thinks that he might as well kill himself. Won't make a difference if the world is screwed, because he'll be dead. But however detached Jeremiah liked to think himself, he knew it was all real. Too well. Death meant hell or heaven, and in Jeremiah's mind, they were the same thing.
Spending eternity with either is his hell. But he counts his blessings, because for now, the devil can not reach him. Neither can God.
Not physically. But the nightmares. He knows the devil's mind games all to well from his nightmares to be fooled into to following either him or God. He doesn't have a side. He just wants to keep his father safe, the way Jeep has done for him, for so many years.
Jeremiah wiped away a single tear, vowing that it would be his last.
Lucas ran through the court yards, leading away the monster from the lesser Angels. He knows how to fight this, he knows how to win, because it is his purpose. He is a Celestial Angel, he is a Guardian, he is an Archangel.
He runs, and saves his wings for close-combat, continuing his pace, despite the fact that his armor grows heavier by the second. In the background, he can hear Aaron, his best friend, call his name, but Lucas doesn't listen, and thankfully enough, neither does the demon.
He's going to get in trouble for this. He knows, because it's happened before. Apparently taking on a demon by yourself is frowned upon, because every time Lucas does it, it only earns him a lecture.
Doesn't matter though. He needs to. Someday, he will get sent to him- The boy he was made to protect. For now, he had to deal with the demons sent by the worst of them all, Lucifer, because he needs to be able to fight well.
Against all odds, Lucas manages to slay the demon, and it sizzles to a pathetic puddle before him.
"There's a difference between protecting and fighting," a voice says from behind Lucas. Lucas' triumphant smile falls away as he turns around to see Michael.
"Michael, I-" Michael waits patiently for the explanation Lucas doesn't have.
"That's what I thought," he said in the calm demeanor he was so well-known for. Lucas frowned. "Come child," Michael said, gesturing along side himself. Lucas followed, and took to the sky just as Michael did. They flew to the private rooms of the Archangels, where Michael entered his own chambers.
"Why do you insist on breaking the rules we have set?" Michael says softly. Lucas swallows. Michaels voice sounds so hurt, so disappointed that Lucas just feels terrible-
"Stop it!" he said. "That's to fair; quit making me feel guilty. I did what I had to." Michael looks up. His face looks stern, but his dancing blue eyes give away his amusement. Eventually, he sighed.
"Lucas, you are too much like me."
