John looked down from his perch on top of one of the many spires that made up Prospet. From here he could see far across Skaia and down to the Earth which lie beneath it. He often came to this place to clear his head before he left for 'work', as he was doing now. John had been sent on assignment to Alternia, a rather poor city that he seemed to visit quite often now. The area featured a high population of humanoid creatures called trolls, which by itself was enough to give the city a bad name. Trolls by nature were violent and territorial creatures which caused a rift between them and the humans. This rift eventually grew until it was nearly impossible for the two species to coexist.
He beat his white wings and rose into the air. The troll he had been assigned to was named Karkat Vantas, aged 15. This made his stomach churn. His targets had steadily been decreasing in age, and this both sickened and angered him. No one deserved to die at such a young age. It was assignments like this that made him wish it was possible to quit. He knew that there was no way to become anything other than the angel he was. He was born into the business of soul collecting; doomed to see death after death until he met his own, and nothing could change that.
He sighed, determined to finish this assignment as soon as possible, and dove down though the clouds that supported all of Skaia. The wind rushed through his black hair and pulled at his white tunic, the standard 'uniform' for angels on duty. He closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation and trusting his wings to keep him on the right path. On a normal day he would continue at this leisurely pace, but today he was feeling an odd sense of urgency and with a frown he opened his eyes to the planet that lay beneath him. Carefully he honed in on his destination, using the steady wind to speed him along. It wasn't long before the cement roofs of Alternia came into view.
Aware that landing in the middle of the street would be too conspicuous John opted to land in an alley not far from his destination. From here he would have to continue on foot. He folded his wings against his back to keep them out of the way of the foot traffic he expected to encounter. Most humans and trolls couldn't see them so concealing them wasn't a concern. Again feeling the same sense of urgency, John swiftly left the alley and joined the rather large crowd of people no doubt on their way to work or school. He worked his way through the crowd to his destination.
The intersection was busy with people; however he had no difficulty picking Karkat out of the crowd. His bright red eyes, uncharacteristic of trolls, seemed to shimmer in the early morning sun like a beacon. These eyes were no doubt the cause of many of the scars and bruises that adorned the troll's face and arms, John thought. Carefully he maneuvered his way over to the young troll, preparing himself for what would come next.
The car would come speeding out of nowhere and blow the red light, hitting the boy as he crossed the street. A troll on the sidewalk would call an ambulance but it would come too late. The driver would speed off in a panic and nearly cause another accident. All of these things were set in stone.
Seconds passed like minutes as John waited for the light to change. He took this chance to think about what he had been told about the troll. His lusus was often at work overnight, leaving the boy to fend for himself. They lived in a cramped apartment a few blocks away that they were struggling to pay for. Karkat was in high school, though most days he didn't actually show up. He spent a lot of time hiding out at friends houses due to the fact that he was constantly being bullied. He could hold his own in a fight but, despite his temper, he preferred to avoid unnecessary violence. In all honesty, he was a better troll than most that John had had the displeasure of meeting.
He was snapped back to reality as Karkat brushed passed him. John watched the troll step into the street and something inside him shattered. Before he realized it he was pulling the troll out of the way of the car that would have ended his life. Karkat fell back onto John, too shocked to catch himself. John on the other hand was panicking. What he had just done was forbidden and more than once angels had been executed for saving the soul they were sent to collect just as he had done.
Filled with fear, John grabbed Karkat's hand and ran into a nearby alley. He knew that if he stayed put he would be caught and executed but at the same time he had nowhere to go. Karkat was struggling to catch up with the events that had just happened, still stunned by his near death experience. Deciding it was his only chance John unfolded his wings and took to the sky, grasping the troll tightly against his chest. Karkat managed a weak shriek as they rocketed into the sky. Unsure of what to do John looked down at the now panicked troll.
"Don't worry, I won't let you fall." John said in what be hoped to be a calm voice. The troll gave him a frantic look and not knowing what to say, John focused his attention on finding a place to hide. With no friends currently on the surface his only hopes were to cover their tracks as best he could and find a hotel to stay the night in.
"Do you have any money on you?" John asked. Karkat gave him an almost confused look.
"This is important, unless you want to sleep on the street tonight." He said a bit forcefully. John wasn't the best under pressure and the threat of death wasn't exactly helping.
"I-I think I have a few bucks." Karkat replied quickly. John mentally slapped himself, of course the troll wouldn't have much in the way of spending money, much less would he be dumb enough to carry it on his person. He ran through his options quickly deciding the only way he could make this work would be to get some help from a human or two.
"Wait. What the hell is going on?" Karkat yelled as his brain caught up with the situation, "Who the hell are you and how the hell are we flying right now!"
John opted to brush the troll's questions off with a curt "later". With a quick adjustment the boys were hurtling back towards the ground.
"No. Don't give me that later shit. I want answers now." Karkat demanded.
"Do you really think it's smart to argue with the one keeping you from free falling to your death?" John said back. Karkat promptly shut up, deciding that his life was worth more than an explanation.
A few seconds passed before the ground was easily visible. Again John picked a deserted alley to land in. He set Karkat on the ground and set about making himself look presentable. Karkat on the other hand was fuming, arms crossed and ready to yell at his abductor. John silenced the troll with another "later" and began finding his way out to a main street. After a moment of hesitation Karkat followed after John careful not to lose his only hope of getting home.
John paused at the end of the alley and motioned for Karkat to stay put. The troll watched as John walked up to a passing human. Quickly John extended his wings and surrounded the middle aged man. Most of the conversation was muffled by John's wings but Karkat was able to hear something about money. Only a minute or so passed before John was walking back over to the waiting troll.
"We're going up again." John said, waiving the troll over to him.
"What." Karkat said frowning.
"You heard me. We're going back up into the air. I need to find a motel." John said, again motioning Karkat to come closer. Begrudgingly the troll allowed himself to be grabbed and the two boys took off into the sky. John scanned the buildings below him, looking for some kind of inn or motel. After much searching and a few arguments John finally found a motel. It wasn't much to look at but that meant it was probably affordable.
John landed behind the motel and left Karkat while he went to rent a room. Karkat took the opportunity to explore the grounds around the motel. The entire motel was a two story building apparently named the Sunshine Motel. The paint on the outside of the building was peeling off in many places and the grass looked like it needed to be mowed. There were a few cars parked in parking lot but Karkat couldn't see anyone from where he stood which was a relief. He hadn't met many humans in his lifetime but those he had were all scumbags. Needless to say, Karkat didn't exactly trust humans.
Karkat huffed and leaned against the wall of the motel. It was just his luck that everything went to hell today. It was the last week of school, and with a vacation planned at his friend's summer home, everything seemed to be going fine. His life just couldn't stop throwing absolute bullshit at him when things were going right. John rounded the corner with hunched shoulders.
"I had enough for one night in the cheapest room." John said motioning for Karkat to follow him.
"Why is that significant?" karkat asked as they approached their room."
"Well…" John started. He put the key into the lock and pulled the door open revealing a rather small and dark room. There was what appeared to be a bathroom behind a door to the side of the room and the only furniture in the room was a large chair, a nightstand, a floor lamp, and a queen sized bed.
"We have to share."