Summary: They were forced into it. No Tenshi, or Angel, would ever go willingly. They weren't really angels but calling them birds didn't fit either. They were humans with a set of wings, born with them and sold as pets. Most didn't consider them human at all, just monsters, others tried to fight that thought, but they lost that battle. So now here they are, trapped in an atrium just waiting to be taken away by whoever decides to buy one.
TRASHING IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. WARNINGS IN CHAPTERS AS THEY ARISE! ENJOY YOUR STORY.
The first few Tenshi that were publicly known were called monsters, demons, mutations, freaks of nature, angels, gods, blessed and the like. The one that stuck was Tenshi, because it was a Japanese man who had found them. He called them angels because one had saved him from a deathly fall on his hiking trip. He had been alone when his leg gave out as he was jumping over a gap in the paths, only to miss and fall down the side of the mountain. He later tells the story of "…feeling weightless as a pair of arms grabbed hold of me and lifted me back up to the path with the touch that felt like the softest of silks. I turned to see who had saved me, only to see a woman with dark hair in a dress of silk and the wings of a Crane." He would later find out that she wasn't a Tenshi but in fact a human with wings, though he would refuse to call them anything else.
He researched the Tenchi with extreme depth and ended up having a child with the same female who saved his life. He found that, even though they were human, they could not communicate using words, but instead sounded like a silver pheasant.
You see these Tenchi were human in fact, they just had wings. There was no difference in them other than their bone structure. Despite this, they were treated like animals, pets, slaves, and even monsters, because humanity doesn't like it when things are different. The color of your skin decides how you are treated, even the color of your hair, so why should a monster with wings be any different.
Humanity is selfish. There is no other explanation.
Levi Arkerman, son of Kenny Arkerman; who was the head of The National Guns and Traps when he was alive, loathed the Tenshi. He thought they were dirty and deserved to be left out in the wild instead of make a mess in town as someone's pet. They were never taken care of correctly and it's not like anyone had published a book on caring for them differently than a dog or cat.
Yet, despite his loathing for the creatures, he had found himself at one of the outback, dirty, areas in one of the few shops that sold Tenshi. The winged fiends were hard to catch in the wild and any born in captivity often sold for more since they were tamer than their wild born parents.
Levi walked in after his taller butler refusing to touch any dirty surface despite his gloved hands. The front shop was rather small considering what was housed here, and no one was at the front desk. The short man scowled as he glanced around the shop, it looked like no one had cleaned here in months if not years at least, feathers littered the floor and the racks were lopsided and had few objects on them.
Someone finally came out of the EMPLOYEES ONLY door, and practically threw themselves at the chair behind the desk before addressing them. She looked young if not a little disheveled, 18 if he had to guess, she wore no makeup and her hair looked like it had been pulled recently.
"HELLO! Welcome to the Wings shop! How can I help you?!" The teen shouted the whole line as if she had lost her hearing, and Levi's scowl deepened.
The tall blonde man with Levi spoke "We are here in hopes to purchase a Tenshi."
"Great! What are you looking for?!" Why was she so shrill the store was almost silent.
"A gift." Levi stated simply.
"Oh! That's sweet who's it for?!"
"Is that really any of your damn business?" Levi's temper was shortening every time she spoke.
"Well, yes. We need to know for the forms you're going to fill out but it can wait," the girl shuffled around the desk for a moment before pulling out some papers, "Ok, so we usually ask the buyer to describe what they are looking for so it will be easier to find one in that category, but since you're buying a gift we will have to do our best."
Levi glanced at the paper as it was slid over on the desk, 10 simple questions with space to write or circle one of the many options sat there like an old stench.
"Here's the deal, you can either answer the questions for your giftee and we see if there's a match, or you can follow me to the observation room and see if you like any of them. I do have to warn you though, it's really loud in there and while we do provide disposable ear plugs the Tenshi can get kind of aggressive when there is someone new around." The girl seemed to hesitate while glancing hopefully at the paper.
Levi stopped Mike from touching the paper, "And why do you so strongly suggest we use the paper?"
The teen hesitated before sighing, she seemed to have calmed down a bit, "The Tenshi are much more aggressive in packs or large groups, they calm down significantly if we can pull them away from the others for more one on one time, they act more themselves alone and attack much less. We try to avoid showing customers the flight room if we can avoid it because it increases the chance of them leaving without buying one." She seemed to sag a bit at that last part.
Mike glanced at Levi to see his reaction, only to find the usual scowl. "I would like to see this room, if it will ease your little mind, I can also fill out the form."
The girl looked a little mad at his words but nodded anyway and held out a pen, only for Levi to produce his own and begin writing while avoiding touching the paper as much as possible.
The teen took the paper and walked to the EMPLOYEES ONLY door, "Follow me, I'll look at the papers in a moment." She held the door open for them as they stepped through, it was a normal sized storage area, boxes stacked and bags in buckets, it was rather tidy though the mess remained. Back here Levi could hear the faint sound of screeching and chirping from down a short hall.
"Alright, if you could follow me, I have some ear plugs if you want them, I recommend them but you don't have to. Also, if you have questions you might want to wait till we leave the observation cage before asking me." She spoke as she walked to a small door, it was louder here but not enough to bother a person too much. Levi took the package anyway not understanding the fuss and waited while Mike put his own in.
The girl made a small gesture for the males to follow her through the door. The moment it cracked the volume increased tenfold and got more frantic as they walked in. It was ridiculously loud and almost hard to focus on one thing. The second thing he noticed was the stench, it was awful and smelled like shit, he could only imagine how bad it was for Mike.
The 2 men looked around the small cage to find it could fit 5 people comfortably in its glass confines with a slanted top, most likely to keep the Tenshi off of it. The sight beyond the glass was, to say the least, overwhelming. There were feathers everywhere, males, females, young and old. Flying, sitting, fighting, walking, and what Levi could only guess was nesting. It was chaotic, he could understand the girl's concern now.
The screeching got louder as a group of 4 male Tenshi flew at the glass spreading their wings and scratching at the surface, idly Levi wondered what kind of glass they used.
Levi made a few hand gestures to Mike before stepping forward again, unflinching as a male screeched in his face. Mike on the other hand drew the teenager out of the box to discuss a few things so that Levi could have a moment alone. It was a strategy they used more in meetings and places that Levi needed to asses the situation.
Levi walked the perimeter of the box before stopping in the middle, the Tenshi had decided he wasn't worth their time and had flown off. He tracked as many individual winged being that caught his attention, a small female with bronze hair, a tall male with small wings, a larger male with spotted wings, a female with crooked wings. There were many of them, but none seemed right, he needed one that would clean up nicely since he didn't want to live with a slob and have to care for it. A nagging sensation formed on the side of his head like he was being watched and he snapped his gaze to the left in time to see a small male staring at him. The male, boy, too young looking, jerked his gaze away and even going as far as to cower under his wings, they were gray and dusty, the feathers looked out of place, his blonde hair knotted in places, his wings shaking as he hid. Levi watched the boy, never taking his eyes off as the wings dropped to show his face. The boy, he noticed was more of a teenager, not quite man. He looked thinner than he had seen in any of the other Tenshi.
Levi stepped out of the room, closing it firmly before removing the ear plugs. Mike had finished talking to the girl. "I have a question about one of the Tenshi in there."
The addressed teenager smiled brightly "Really? Which one?"
Levi gestured to the left, "He was along the far wall in one of the floor nests. Blonde, dusty looking wings. Small?"
The girls smile faltered as she thought before poking her head into the room, she closed it quickly as the shrieks reached them, "He looks like a child from behind? He flinched when you looked at him?"
Levi nodded, "Yes."
The girl frowned but nodded with him, "Ok what do you want to know?"
"How old is he?"
"He will be turning 17 on November 3rd."
"Why did you frown when I told you who I was asking about?" Mike gave a strangled grunting noise before looking away.
Again she hesitates, "He has been returned twice."
Levi looked unimpressed "That means..."
She sighed, "If a Tenshi is returned their value goes down, but it also means that they have a record in our system, if they get returned 3 times it means they are undesirable and will be... Put to rest." She looks like she is holding back tears as she speaks, "I have seen only 1 Tenshi get put to rest and it was... Awful... He was given back for lashing out at his owners and while I guess that makes sense. He..." She looks to the door, "He was given back because of his curiosity, they always said, 'he snoops around everything!', 'he peeks in drawers and lingers when we walk!'" The teen looks back at them, unsure.
Levi turns to walk back to the front of the store and at the girls questioning glance Mike steps in. "He wants to buy him."
The girl looks surprised before nodding and running to catch up with Levi, "D-do you want me to finish looking at the paper? Or..."
The short man shook his head and stopped when he reached the end of the hall, "Just have him brought out and get the papers ready."
She nods vigorously, "Ok! Just wait right here, you are welcome to sit in those chairs over there," she gestures, "I will have someone out with the papers and bring him out as soon as possible!" With that cheery note the teen ran off.
Levi scowled at the place she had been standing before looking at Mike, "I want you to go watch them bring him out."
Said man looked mildly surprised before nodding, "Of course, anything I should watch for?"
The shorter man considered, "Everything."
Mike nodded and bowed slightly before putting in the ear plugs as he left to the room once more. A thin man, sunken eyes and an ugly beard walked out of what he assumed was the manager's office with a few papers just as the door closed behind Mike.
"I assume you are the man who is buying?" He sounded like an old car engine.
"What do you think?" Levi was losing his patients with these people, it was disgusting and he wanted out of this trash heap.
The man snarled at him, "You should be more polite to your superiors little man. I own this shop and I don't like unfriendly people like you."
Levi snapped his hand out at the man and pulled him down by his clothes so they were eye level, "And you best learn that a buyer can easily walk away and change their mind about purchasing from your store because you were being an insolent shit. I happen to be on the edge of my tolerance for you and this place. But I have been to 1 other place looking for a Tenshi and I have only found 1 of these blasted birds that even slightly fits what I am looking for, and if you don't want me running this place into the ground? You best change your attitude." With a spiteful look Levi shoved the man away from him and pulling out a rag from his pocket to wipe away any grime on his person.
The man in turn looked like a tomato, whether from embarrassment or anger Levi didn't care, but he seemed to weigh his options before handing him the clipboard and stalking away.
"Fill that out. Jazmine will be out to finish up." And he slammed the manager's office door closed.
Levi glared at the door before hearing Mike approach, "You look constipated. What happened?"
Levi tossed the clipboard at him, "Fill that out before I have this place run into the mud before that guy can say another word."
Mike nodded before sitting down in one of the chairs and filling it out, a few moments later the girl walked out with a cage covered by a dark blanket, whimpers, silent screeches, and chirps of fear could be heard from said blanket.
"Ok! I think this is the right one! He's skittish but you are welcome to look." She pushes the cage closer looking more disheveled than before.
Levi nodded, bent down and gripped the blanket and lifting it so he could see, low and behold there sat the little blonde he had been staring at.
"This is him." He reached his hand out to place against the cage.
"I-I wouldn't do that if I were you, Tenshi get violent around strangers!" She reached as if to stop him as she spoke, but thought better of it.
The Tenshi looked dirtier up close, his clothes, much like the others consisted of shorts and a worn out shirt. He cowered in the back of the small cage as far as he could get from Levi. He had tears in his eyes and a small cut on its arm he hadn't seen from that far away, it looked old and was a little red from irritation.
Levi touched the cage gently as Mike addressed the girl, effectively distracting her, The boy flinched back as if he had been stung before looking at Levi with a small trill, obviously curious but afraid. Levi didn't move or make any sudden moves as he waited to see what it would do. To his surprise it moved forward slowly ready to fling itself back at a moment's notice, it looked at his hand then his face before leaning forward again to his hand, it looked curiously at the glove before nudging it with his nose and moving back quickly.
The boy looked at him fearfully before calming down a bit, he had stopped chirping or making noise in general, Levi noted. He moved forward once more, taking notice that Levi hadn't moved, and lifted his hand to touch the gloved appendage through the bars. The look in his eyes was of amazement, why? Levi didn't know but he decided he was getting too involved in his cousins gift. He never cared about them before so why would he now?
"Sir, I finished filling out the papers." Mike said softly from behind him, the Tenshi flinched and moved back quickly at the sudden loud voice and Levi took that as his que to stand, looking at Mike he nodded before looking to the girl.
"If you are ready I can help finish up front?" She looked rather happy all things considered.
Levi nodded walking to the exit while Mike and the girl followed, just as he was about to leave the door, MANAGER's office, opened to reveal the ugly man from before stalking towards them.
He stopped in front of Levi, "I have the right of mind to kick you out of this store and refuse you service. I can have you sued for assault with my camera footage!"
Levi's scowl deepened, if it were even possible, before Mike stepped in between them, "You must be the manager Kitz Weilman."
The man, Kitz looked startled before frowning, "Yeah, that's me. What's it to you? Are you with this shrink?"
Levi felt a blood vessel pop, "Yes, I am with this man. I was just wondering if you knew that the way you take care of the Tenshi is borderline animal abuse?" Mike was using his sweet voice, this ought to be good.
Kitz backpedaled, "Excuse me?"
Mike continued, "Yes! I was in the room while your employee's removed this Tenshi so we could observe it closer. The young man was being very aggressive as he pulled it out. He held a whip and used it on several of your birds before finally getting to this one. He was yelling an awful lot even at this seemingly harmless boy."
Kitz paled, "I don't know what you are talking about. We treat them like the animals they are."
Mike nodded, "While that might be true to your standards your contract for owning one of these wonders states that "You take the utmost care of them, providing the best quality anyone has to offer in the sales department for Tenshi" and if I am not correct, it states that "They have never been harmed by their handlers directly." I saw there were no cameras in that room, so I wonder if you knew how your 'product' was being treated?"
Kitz stood quietly as the girl, Jazmine, stepped forward, "The Tenshi are very violent and attack us every time we go in! We had no choice but to use something to keep them away! Kitz just provided the best means we had to keep them from killing us!"
Mike's smile widened as Kitz seemed to sweat, "I see, so you did know. Well, we would be more than willing to take this information to your head manager so it could be sorted out correctly or you could learn to hold your tongue when talking to someone of higher power than you."
Levi kept his scowl even as he was losing it on the inside. Jazmine seemed to have realized what she said a little too late, looking to Kitz with a look of worry.
Mike lifted the papers, "If you would be willing to help us finish our transaction, we will be out of your hair."
Kitz waved for Jazmine to lead them up front as he disappeared behind the office doors.
The next 10 minutes flew by, full of one sided tension and soft noises from the crate.