~~~A.N.G.E.L~~~
Suburbs of Magyar
Being surrounded by flowers was a new experience...well then again everything was a new experience...he had barely come into any existence after all...and they were so close that he could reach out with his foot and barely tap...
"Veeouch!"
Lovino had stamped quite viciously on his foot without any warning.
"Idiot! Don't touch things when you don't know what they are!"
Feliciano slumped down in the circle hurriedly, cradling his abused foot.
"I know what they are. They're flowers. And they're so pretty."
This time his hand received a firm smack when he tried once again to touch the flowers.
"I said no!" his twin fumed, glaring daggers.
Feliciano pouted and folded his arms trying not to cry. His brother really was a meany...and they had barely been formed. But he just instinctively knew that something was wrong. Somehow he sensed that they weren't like normal ANGELS were supposed to be. How...he didn't know at all...but one thing was certain...they had been meant to be a single being...not two...and that was why they were different...because they were essentially two halves of an intended whole. He, the sweet, adorable, loving, cheerful, frightened, emotional, understanding one, and Lovino... ... ...well maybe he would change over time.
"We need to figure out how to get out of here without being discovered." Lovino murmured, more to himself than to his brother.
Feliciano looked confused.
"Why don't we just ask her?" he pointed at the unmoving form of a woman lying not far from their circle.
"Are you mad?" Lovino spat, "Like hell we're going to ask her. She's the one that got us here in the first place, messed up."
"How do you know." Feliciano murmured. He was rather enjoying the fact that keeping Lovino talking and focused on the unconscious woman was preventing him from noticing that Feliciano had not only touched the flowers, but was slowly crawling his way through them and out of the circle.
Lovino looked up to the ceiling in exasperation. "I just do ok. Like how you knew these things around us are called flowers and..."
"Well whoever she is she's really pretty and her skin is soft."
"What do you mean her skin is soft how would you...What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Feliciano had made it all the way out of circle and was kneeling next to the woman, cradling her hand in one of his and brushing strands of hair out of her face with the other.
"I think we should help her Lovi. I don't want to leave her like this."
"Get the hell away from her!" Lovino shouted, rushing out of the circle and completely ignoring the dangerous flowers. He practically tackled his younger twin in his effort to get him away from the woman.
"Wahhh Lovi! She's not gonna hurt us!"
"How do you know bastard?" Lovino hissed in his brothers ear not loosening his vice grip.
"The same way I knew about the flowers and you knew about the conjuration. It appears that I automatically know good things and you automatically know bad things."
"Oh great." Lovino grumbled rolling his eyes, but he released his brother.
Feliciano recovered his breath before he flitted back over to the woman and smiled.
"I think this should wake her up."
"No!" Lovino shouted but it was a moment too late...Feliciano had already placed a kiss on the woman's cheek.
Instantly her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at the two of them.
"Wha? Huh? What happened? Who are you? Did I do it? Where's my ANGEL?"
Then she stopped and her mouth fell open as she noticed their tawny falcon wings.
"You're both ANGELS! I made two?"
"Yeah congratulations you got two of us. Now...tell us who the hell you are."
Elizabeta's eyes grew wider and she began shaking her head.
"You're already supposed to know who I am and...you're supposed to have white wings...and blue eyes...and..." she trailed off still shaking her head."No no this isn't right."
"Vee~ it's all right. Want me to make you some pasta to make you feel better?" Feliciano smiled at her.
"What the hell is pasta?" Lovino asked folding his arms.
"Dunno entirely, but apparently it must be something good since I know about it and I know that it will make things better!"
"Feli that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. How can some weird food make everything better?"
"Pasta does make everything better Lovi, I just know it!"
Elizabeta stared between the two ANGELS with, if it was possible, even more shock on her face.
"You...you have names?"
"Si! My name is Feliciano and this is my older brother Lovi."
"It's Lovino bastard. You're not allowed to call me Lovi." He glared at Elizabeta.
She continued to gape at the twin ANGELS before she got up and hurried to the kitchen.
Feliciano blinked in surprise and followed her while Lovino fumed in the living room about how rude it was to leave when someone was talking to you.
"Vee~ are you ok?" Feliciano asked worriedly.
"I need a drink." Elizabeta murmured as she pulled out a bottle of beer from its hiding place in the back of her fridge.
"Oh" Feliciano screwed up his face for a few minutes, "No I don't know about that which means it must not be good."
"Well it feels pretty damn good right now." Elizabeta countered as she downed a quarter of the bottle in one gulp.
Feliciano thought about that for a few moments.
"Oh...well I guess it's just not good for me then."
"Probably not." Elizabeta replied draining another quarter, "But it's good for Elizabeta Héderváry."
"Who the hell is that?" Lovino growled entering the room.
"That the hell is me." Elizabeta snapped back and downed the rest of the bottle.
~~~A.N.G.E.L~~~
Modest Mansion in Zhongguo
Yao and his faithful, if a bit irritating and perverted, daemon Im Yong Soo gazed across from them at the figure kneeling patiently on the pillow in the middle of the circle. His jet black hair framed his elegant features nicely and his deep brown eyes showed nothing but the utmost respect. He was on the shorter side, even by Yao's standards, but he seemed to hold himself upright with a great deal of grace and concern for proper etiquette. But it was his wings, the fine mottled brown wings of a pheasant, that held their attention.
"Aniki I thought you said that ANGELS are supposed to be..."
"I know what I said Im Yong." Yao sighed and rested his head in his palm, "But I think that I made a mistake...no You made me make the mistake...and this is the result."
He gestured back to the ANGEL across from them.
"Well maybe he just looks different. He'll probably still behave like a proper ANGEL." Im Yong grinned.
"Hey you ANGEL let my Aniki put his mark on you and then head straight to the military base near here like you're supposed to."
The ANGEL blinked at him and then turned to Yao.
"Is this what you desire?"
Yao blinked back and raised his head.
"Well um...isn't that what you're supposed to do aru? What is ingrained in your core?"
The ANGEL looked down at himself and blinked once more.
"All I know is that I have a desire to follow what I am told and what I feel to be right."
"What you feel to be right?" Yao asked with interest. This wasn't at all what other magicians had described their first ANGEL creation as being.
"And what would that be?"
The ANGEL stared back at him with calculating calm eyes and then bowed his head.
"I don't think I should join this military of yours. I'm sorry master."
Im Yong gritted his teeth and was about to fly at the ANGEL in a daemonic rage but Yao restrained him.
"Are you certain?" he asked the ANGEL, looking directly into those deep brown eyes with his own slightly lighter ones.
"Yes I'm sure." The ANGEL replied, "I do not believe that is the right place for me to be."
Yao nodded and stood up with a smile.
"You know...I don't think so either."
He smiled down at the ANGEL and offered his hand.
"So is it right for you to stay here with me aru?"
The ANGEL hesitated for a moment before he accepted the hand and was pulled carefully to his feet.
"Yes." He said at last, "If that is what you desire then I naturally accept."
Yao grinned.
"Well then I guess we'll have to think of a name for you. Just calling you ANGEL all the time won't work. Especially not if I want to keep your identity a secret aru."
The ANGEL blinked at him in slight confusion.
"I already have a name. It is Kiku Honda."
Both Yao and Im Yong stared at him in utter surprise.
"He's not supposed to..." the demon began but Yao cut him off once more.
"It's nice to officially meet you Kiku. I am Wang Yao, greatest magician in Zhongguo and...your master."
~~~A.N.G.E.L~~~
Castle in Russkaya Zemlya
Tino had already explored every corner of the small cellar he had been locked in, over 5 times. He probably would have found the nearly bare room uninteresting and left a long time ago...if circumstances were different...but as he had stated to himself time and again...he was locked in and...any form of activity helped to keep his mind off of the dread in his heart.
When he had first been created...how many hours had it been now?...the powerful magician who was his master by rule, Ivan Braginski, had simply stared at him for a few minutes before raising a hand and pointing it straight at the ANGEL'S chest. Within a few seconds a glowing ball of pure pulsing energy was spinning at the sorcerers fingertips. Tino...understanding perfectly what was about to happen...had collapsed to his knees trembling and shut his eyes tight, clutching his chest and stomach with all the force he possessed. He heard the energy snap and hiss as it was released and gave a terrified scream in preparation for the impact...but...instead a enormous crash rocked the room and Tino was completely knocked off balance and slammed into the wall with his wings taking the majority of the force and threatening to snap. Gritting his teeth against the pain and with a great deal of bleary confusion, Tino forced his eyes open. Ivan was standing before him with a strange expression on his face. The wall farthest from them had an enormous crater in it and pieces of splintered wood and shattered glass lay everywhere. Tino gulped and managed to raise himself up onto one arm and met his master's eyes. Ivan simply continued to stare at him before he shook his head and cracked an icy grin.
"I never much cared for that cabinet. I finally had a reason to dispose of it."
He turned to the crater and waved a hand. Fresh bricks filled in the gap making a perfect whole wall again. Then without another word to the ANGEL, he had turned on his heel and left the room, closing...and locking...the door behind him.
Tino grimaced slightly as he placed a hand against the cold wood and tried to stop his body from trembling. The important thing to focus on at the moment was that he was alive...and...possibly...would stay that way for awhile longer. There was no use in worrying about the future. All that got you was a headache and even more tremors of fear.
Tino gave another sigh and leaned his head against the door as well...just as it was wrenched out from under him.
With a yelp and a feeble attempt to use his wings...though they still hurt from his session with the wall...he collapsed face first onto the stone tiles outside.
"For being an ANGEL we're not very graceful are we?"
Tino flinched at the sound of the familiar syrupy ice voice and willed his stomach to remain securely inside his body as he struggled to his feet. His master however, decided to help him in this and jerked him up sharply by one arm so he was dangling slightly about the floor. He gave another yelp...of pain this time...and forced himself to look into the violet eyes of the sorcerer.
The considerably stronger man stared thoughtfully at him before a slightly gentler smile crossed his lips.
"Come now little ANGEL." He turned them both towards the stairs, "Come and meet the rest of ze family."
Tino caught his breath in fear and elation.
"Meet the...the rest of the family? You mean...you're going to let me live?"
The man's smile turned silky and his eyes sparkled with amusement and mischief.
"But of course Tino. Had I wanted to...I could have stood the cabinet for some time longer."
Tino shivered and closed his eyes so he didn't have to see the merciless malice that had just replaced the laughter in his master's eyes but...
"How...how did you know my name? You never asked for it...and I don't think I told you."
The man didn't turn around as he continued to drag the startled and shivering ANGEL up from the intense chill of the dungeons.
"Oh my little ANGEL...there are other ways of finding a name beyond simply asking for it."
Tino simply blinked and shivered once more...this time...the voice had sent an icey chill through his delicate wings and down his spine.
